31 July, 2015

SECOND EDITION

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 106

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Midnight’s children fear new neglect In less than 24 hours Bangladesh and India close a 68-year chapter in their history by putting an end to the territorial anomalies known as chhitmahals. This is the sixth report in a series on the exclaves

New Bangladeshis await midnight hour

Nesa Alo with Sazzadur n Jebun Rahman Sazzad, Panchagarh Exclave residents who say they were left out of a population survey – and even forcibly barred from participating in it – are worried they will not be able to choose their nationality, a privilege conferred on them by the recently finalised Land Boundary Agreement.

Exclave residents who are on the survey list are entitled to choose whether to take either Bangladeshi or Indian citizenship. For those who are not on the list, the prospects for a future in India are slim.

Even for those on the list – indisputably Indian citizens – the road “home” to the Indian mainland is less welcoming than they had expected.

Listed exclave dwellers who previously elected to remain in Bangladesh cannot change their decision at this point and opt for India instead, said Laila Muntezari Deena, upazila executive officer of Panchagarh Sadar.

By contrast, those who earlier opted for India are welcome to change their choice by 5pm on July 31, she added, meaning that Bangladesh will welcome the erstwhile  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Jebun Nesa Alo from Lalmonirhat

The wife of Krishna Kanta Barman emerges from morning devotions at a temple in Dasiar Chhara exclave.

Although her husband has opted for India, she does not want to leave the land of her birth but cannot object to his decision SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Exclave residents, who have lived in a grey zone of citizenship for 68 years, will observe their independence today.

A series of programmes have been planned to observe the victory of reclaiming Bangladeshi land by local people who wish to hold Bangladeshi nationality.

The programmes include a flag rally, torch lighting ceremony, candle lighting ceremony and cultural events. There is a festive atmosphere in all of the exclaves with residents evidently enjoying the gaiety of the occasion.

“We will observe our land victory through various formalities,” Altab Hossen, a resident of Dasiar Chhara exclave in Kurigram district, said.

Hossen, also the president of the local coordination committee to the Joint Survey Committee, said: “We were deprived of basic amenities for 68 years and now we are going to become Bangladeshis. It is our great victory  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

July not the time for cyclones

Cyclone Komen slowly fizzling out

n Abu Bakar Siddique

Cyclonic storm Komen was gradually dying out after crossing the Chittagong coast through Sandwip last night.

When this report was being updated around 12:42am, Komen had already crossed Chittagong around 9:30pm and was somewhere around Noakhali.

Rasheduzzaman, an officer of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told the Dhaka Tribune after midnight: “A part of Komen has already come over land. It has got very weak and is heading towards Noakhali. It will die out somewhere around there by sunrise.”

Dhaka Tribune’s Tarek Mahmud reported from Chittagong around 12:30am that the storm had passed the port city three hours before; there was just a bit of drizzle and occasional gusts.

Santosh Chandra Matubbar, deputy di-

The occurrence of cyclone Komen is unusual for this time of the year, when it is the middle of monsoon in the country, experts said.

“Cyclone at this time of year is completely unusual,” Dr Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, told Thirdpole.net.

In Bangladesh, April-May and November-December are usually considered cyclone seasons. According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department, all of the cyclones that hit the country in the past decade occurred during those periods.

Sidr and Aila, two severe cyclones in recent history, hit in November 2007 and May 2009 respectively.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

PAGE 3 DCs asked to publicise govt’s good works

n Abu Bakar Siddique

PAGE 4 71 poachers killed to save Sundarbans animals

rector of the Chittagong met office, told the Dhaka Tribune after midnight: “The storm has not completely crossed Chittagong. It is behaving a bit unusually. Every now and then it would stop moving and spend some time in certain areas.

“But this also means that the more time it spends on land, it will get weaker. There are chances that it will stay where it is now for a few more hours and die out early in the morning,” Santosh said.

Our Barisal Correspondent Anisur Rahman Swapan also said around half an hour past midnight that it was raining there but there was no signs of any gust.

Earlier yesterday, Komen, which started as a monsoonal depression, was behaving unusually as it proved forecasts wrong by not hitting the Chittagong coast last evening. It stayed static for several hours some 50-60km off the coast.

PAGE 8 India says Punjab attackers came from Pakistan

Before that, it swept the Saint Martin’s Island in Bangladesh’s far south, and killed four people and forced the evacuation of thousands in different places along the coast, the met office said.

All of the four people died in separate incidents when trees, uprooted by strong winds, fell on their houses. At least 150 houses of fishermen were destroyed as well.

Our district correspondent reported that about a hundred houses have been destroyed in the wind in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar. Several hundred makeshift houses in Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Bhola and other coastal districts were also demolished.

Our Bhola correspondent said that at least 24 people have been missing at the Lalmohon upazila of the district after fishing trawlers capsized in the turbulent sea and the heavy rainfall.

PAGE 9 Afghan Taliban confirm Mullah Omar’s death

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 32 Bullet-hit newborn shifted to DMCH ICU

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Cyclone Komen slowly fizzling out In a weather bulletin at 6pm yesterday, the met office said that the cylcone was positioned around 50km southwest of the Chittagong port, 105km northwest of Cox’s Bazar, 200km east of Mongla port and 125km east-northeast of Payra port.

On Wednesday night, the maritime ports of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar had been advised to keep hoisted danger signal number seven which also applied for Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Bhola and their offshore islands and chars.

Mongla and Payra kept hoisted danger signal number five, which also applied for Borguna, Patuakhali, Barisal, Pirozpur, Jhalokathi, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars.

The 6pm met office bulletin yesterday said that the signals will remain the same until further notice.

Meanwhile, the government has made preparations for evacuating people to shelters and arrangements for rescue and relief operations in case Komen made a landfall last night.

All kinds of holidays of all government officials stationed in the coastal areas have been cancelled.

However, the storm has hit at a time when all the deputy commissioners – the top district administrators who generally lead local relief operations – are in Dhaka attending their annual conference.

Ruhul Amin, director of the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) said last evening that their volunteers had started helping people to come to the shelters after danger signal

Midnight’s children fear new neglect Indian exclave dwellers if they decide at the eleventh hour to remain here and become Bangladeshi nationals.

The decision was made at a conference of the Join Survey Committee held on July 23.

Even more worrisome is that some exclave dwellers say they were never surveyed. They are therefore not on any list and after tomorrow their nationality, and indeed their right to apply for citizenship will enter a grey area.

To compound the problem of unsurveyed exclave dwellers are those who say that they were surveyed but their names were dropped – intentionally or due to clerical errors – from the final survey committee list.

The Dhaka Tribune reported on July 26 that some exclave residents in Kurigram were harassed and barred from getting their names on the survey list.

These exclave dwellers are deeply concerned about the future and fear being regarded as stateless.

Those who claim to have been left out of the head count in 2011 say they were not able to get on the new joint survey – held from July 6 to July 16 – either.

While the chief of the Bangladesh survey team, Deputy Commissioner of Lalmonirhat Habibur Rahman rubbished claims that some exclave residents were left off or dropped from the list, the Dasiar Chhara exclave United Council claimed that a mere tenth of those who wanted to go to India managed to get on the list.

Just 300 out of some 10,000 Dasiar Chhara residents are currently listed as having opted for India. The council claims closer to 3,000 want to go to India.

The survey report does not mention the number of people left off the list.

Rabbul Alam, a resident of Dahala Khagrabari exclave, said around 1,100 people out of a total of 5,000 were left out of the survey in his exclave.

Alam, also the president of exclave Citizen Committee, said those not on the list were not given any advice from the Bangladesh-Indian Joint Survey Committee.

Shamsul Azam, asistant deputy commissioner of Panchagarh district, said: “It is a very complicated situation because there is no official instruction on what will become of those who are not on the list.

“We, however, have not received any official complaints from those not on the survey list,” he said.

Shamsul explained that the new survey was conducted on the basis of the original head count taken in 2011. The 2015 joint survey offered no room to include new adults on the list: only infants and spouses born or wed to listed exclave dwellers since 2011 were included.

Shamsul placed the responsibility for failing to get on the list upon the unlisted exclave dwellers themselves, saying that a massive awareness campaign had been conducted in 2011.

number seven had been hoisted.

He also said that a good number of people have taken shelter, but many have also gone back home thinking that Komen is a smallscale cyclone.

The Chittagong port authorities have issued a danger alert for vessels and advised them to remain in safe waters in the channels.

The airports in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Barisal has been closed until further notice.

The authorities have also closed all educational institutions in the districts. l

July not the time Rajendranath Dev Singh, 50, a resident of Kothajni exclave, says he wants to become an Indian citizen but failed to get on the list.

But because he, his wife and six family members were excluded from the list, they do not have the option of going to India.

He said all of his relatives live in India but he is stuck in Bangladesh because he and his family failed to get on the survey list.

Earshadul, 26, lives in a 14-member joint family that includes his wife, children, elder brother, 30, and his brother’s wife.

He claims they were all listed in the head count of 2011 but the names of only five family members appeared on the survey committee list.

Earshadul, whose name was dropped from the list, discussed his situation with the Joint Survey Committee but they were not able to offer a solution to his problem.

“Nationality is a very precious thing... especially for exclave residents. What will be my fate if I do not get my identity?” Earshadul asked.

Juel Islam, 20, a resident of Dahala Khagrabari, is an agricultural worker whose family of four was dropped from the list. He is worried about what that will mean for their future. He is worried about being regarded as a stateless person.

“I want to live in Bangladesh but I was not told how to secure my citizenship by the survey committee.” l

But Komen formed a few days ago from a monsoon depression over the northern part of the Bay of Bengal.

Dr Saleem said this could be another consequence of changing climate.

According to the fifth assessment report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Bangladesh is at specific risk from the impact of climate change due to its exposure to sea-level rise and extreme events like salinity intrusion, drought, erratic rainfall, unusual cyclonic event and tidal surge.

Ruhul Amin, director of Cyclone Preparedness Programme under the Department of Disaster Management, said he had never seen a cyclone in July in his 20 years with the programme.

Terming the cyclone unusual, Ruhul also said it could be the result of the changing global climate.

Komen formed on early Wednesday night and was supposed to hit Bangladesh coast between Barisal and Chittagong around noon yesterday. But around 12:30pm, the met office said the cyclone had moved slightly towards Cox’s Bazar, its strength weakening, later moving a little closer to Chittagong port.

Although weaker, Komen hit offshore islands and destroyed dozens of homes in the St Martin’s Islands, Teknaf and Bhola.

It finally made a landfall, hitting Chittagong coast near Sandwip around 9pm. The cyclone may move west-northeastwards and weaken gradually, the UNB reported. l

New Bangladeshis await midnight hour and we hope that the Bangladesh government will provide every facility and service as soon as possible.”

He said: “We will cut a cake tomorrow and hold a meeting attended by our local member of parliament.”

Moniruddin, 50, a resident of the exclave, said: “It has been our dream to become Bangladeshi nationals for 68 years. The dream is now coming true.”

Young people were seen busily decorating the area and preparing to hold traditional games such boat racing and stick playing.

Children appeared to be delighted because they now have the right to be admitted to school.

Those leaving for India seemed sad on the eve of their departure. They were busy making final preparations to leave the country, including selling their property and completing departure formalities.

The Bangladesh-India Chhitmahal Exchange Coordination Committee has chalked out an extensive plan to celebrate the historic day.

As the clock strikes midnight, the national

flag of Bangladesh will be hoisted after taking down India’s flag permanently.

Sixty-eight candles, signifying the 68 years of exclave life, will be lit to wither away the darkness of the past and usher in a new beginning.

Fireworks and sky lanterns will also light up the night sky, adding to the festivities.

The formal programme of the committee will begin with special prayers at religious establishments at noon. This will be followed by a boat race, horse racing, lathi khela (stick play) and cultural events.

A number of local and foreign media representatives, international organisations, political figures and various social workers have already gathered in the enclaves to witness what has been described as “history in the making.”

“There is no special programme from the administration for today,” said Samsul Azam, assistant deputy commissioner of Panchagarh district.

“The Bangladeshi flag will be flown tomorrow in all the exclaves to announce that it is

now Bangladesh territory,” he said.

Travel passes for those leaving for India are not complete yet but would be provided soon, he said.

Those opting for Indian nationality will have from August 1 to November 30 to sell their property and leave Bangladesh.

Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed, director general of Border Guard Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that during the census, 15 platoons were present to ensure security.

“After the handover at midnight tonight, we will do everything possible to assist the civil authorities as required,” he said.

Asked about undecided land, Maj Gen Aziz said: “As far as I know, there is only one piece of land about which a decision has not been taken yet.”

“It will be decided later and we are hopeful that the decision will be in our favour,” he added.

About the hand over process, the Home Ministry said the Land Ministry would issue a gazette notification about the new territory, a Home Ministry press release said.

Except for those who have chosen to become Indian citizens, those living in the 111 exclaves inside Bangladesh territory will get Bangladeshi nationality.

The 51 Bangladeshi enclaves inside India will be treated as Indian territory after midnight on July 31 and their residents will be regarded as Indian citizens.

The Bangladesh national flag will be hoisted from the morning of August 1 in the newly acquired 111 enclaves, according to the Home Ministry press release.

A high official of the Home Ministry, asking not to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune that no matter when the Land Ministry issues the gazette notice, the 111 exclaves will be treated as Bangladeshi territory after midnight on July 31.

Gias Uddin Ahmed, the police superintendent of Panchagarh, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Our officials are ready to ensure security in the new territories but we do not have the right to enter them until midnight on July 31.

“After midnight, our forces will enter the former exclaves and take steps to secure the new lands.” l

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NEWS 3

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

DCs asked to publicise the good works n Tribune Report Emerging from a discussion with the DCs yesterday, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan told reporters that the district administrators had been asked to publicise the development activities taken by the government.

“We are not saying that they will have to work like party workers. No matter which party is in power, it is the DCs duty to inform people about the government’s good works,” Shajahan said.

The minister said that the DCs have been also asked to demarcate the rivers in the country in line with a court directive and do all they can to resist encroachment and pollution.

Asked if the DCs have raised concerns about impediments created by political musclemen, the minister replied in the negative.

“It is not true that ruling party [Awami Legaue] men are always the influentials. Local goons can be influential, opposition men can also be influential,” he said.

During the three-day conference of the deputy commissioners – the top administrative officials from the country’s 64 districts – placed as many as 253 proposals but did not express any concerns.

“Just like we wanted it to be, the conference was interactive. They [DCs] talked openly. They did not express any concerns. If they said anything I would have heard it. They did not raise any concerns even in their closeddoor meeting with the prime minister,” M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, secretary of the Cabinet Division, told reporters on the last day of the DC Conference 2015 yesterday.

The secretary said highest number of pro-

Charm of Korea celebrates BD-Korea relationship n Tribune Report

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has arranged a jazz concert in celebration of 42 years of diplomatic relationship between Bangladesh and the Republic of Korea.

The first event of the concert, named Charms of Korea VII, began yesterday at International Convention City, Bashundhara, featuring top Korean jazz artiste Woong San. This year’s event is significant as it is also a farewell event for Ambassador Lee Yunyoung, who will leave Dhaka next month.

Addressing the event yesterday, the ambassador said: “Korea and Bangladesh have enjoyed an excellent partnership. I host Charm of Korea VII concert with the conviction that culture has been deepening our friendly relationship and binding our two peoples closer.”

The second concert will be held today at National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and in Chittagong tomorrow at Shah Alam Bir Uttam Auditorium.

The Charms of Korea music series has been taking place in the country since 2013 to celebrate the long-standing friendship between the two countries. l

posals were associated with the education, land and public administration sectors.

According to Musharraf, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the DCs to play roles beyond their boxes. “Deputy commissioners are not alienated from the society. Apart from their administrative jobs, they have many social activities. So, the DCs should play role going beyond their boxes. Civil bureaucracy is there to support the political leadership,” he said referring to the prime minister.

The PM has also stressed on ensuring housing and education for everyone, he told reporters.

Asked what the DCs discussed with their new boss – Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam – the secretary said: “The minister talked about decentralisation. It is a policy issue and also a political issue. As far as I know, the prime minister also wants this.

But it would not be possible to achieve overnight. To implement this, local governments will have to be strong enough.”

In the latest reshuffle in the cabinet earlier this month, Syed Ashraful Islam, who was in charge of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD), was first made a minister without portfolio and then the first Public Administration minister since the portfolio had been renamed from establishment ministry in 2010.

Emerging from a separate meeting with the DCs, Law Minister Anisul Huq said he had the DCs’ cooperation in making the alternative dispute resolution methods work better to reduce the huge stockpile of pending cases in the courts.

“We have requested them to publicise the method among people and provide legal assistances,” he said. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina consoles a woman while presenting cheques to the family members of victims of petrol bomb attacks carried out during nationwide blockade called by BNP-led 20-party alliance. The photo was taken at the Prime Minster’s Office in the capital yesterday BSS

GAIBANDHA FORMER JMB MAN KILLING

Sleuths playing mind games with arrestees for clues n Mohammad Jamil Khan Detectives, after getting no clues from the eight Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leaders arrested over the July 19 killing of a former JMB leader in Gaibandha, have now begun applying psychological tricks to get the job done.

Besides, a team of Gaibandha police paired up with Detective Branch members of Dhaka Metropolitan Police for grilling the eight JMB leaders.

Fazle Rabbi, 30, who was earlier a JMB leader, was shot dead in Gaibandha’s Saghata on July 19. It was suspected that the eight JMB leaders had killed him as he stopped being involved with the outfit after his arrest in a case back in 2007.

On Tuesday, detectives arrested the eight JMB leaders from the capital’s Uttara, including the group’s acting chief Abu Talha alias Fahim alias Pakhi. Pakhi is also the younger son of JMB chief Saidur Rahman.

Yesterday was the second day of their

three-day remand.

“The arrestees are high-profile JMB leaders and are very professional. We have got no specific information on the murder from them.

They only gave some common information that are of little use,” Mahfuzul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of the Detective Branch, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said police were trying to get information on the plans the arrestees had and their destructive activities but with little success.

“It will be fruitless if we apply the common interrogation steps to glean information and that is why we are now playing mind games with them.

“To do so, we will lead them to false situations to make them disclose authentic information that we actually need to know for the investigation.

“A police team from Gaibandha is also working with us and we are hopeful that we will be reaching a conclusion soon,” added ADC Mahfuzul. l

Two Hindu trust leaders sued for embezzlement n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched a case against the president and the general secretary of a religious trust named Pal Organisation on charge of embezzling Tk2.61 crore from it.

ACC Deputy Director Abdus Sattar booked the lawsuit with Mohammadpur police station yesterday against the organisation’s trustee board President Biswanath Pal and General Secretary Surekhon Kumer Pal after conducting an inquiry into the allegation for above one year.

The trust’s founding leaders had embezzled the figure in the name of selling and taking lease of land in favour of Pal Organisation by making fake bill and voucher, said ACC Public Relations Official Pranab Kumer Bhattacharya.

According to the case briefing, Pal Organisation is a religious and social organisation and it collects money from different donors for the development of the Hindu community in the country as well as holding their religious festivals.

During the probe, the anti-graft body questioned so far 64 people including the duo regarding the allegation. l

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

71 poachers killed to save Sundarbans animals n Mohammad Jamil Khan At least 71 poachers or pirates have been killed in shootouts with policemen during different drives to save wild animals particularly tigers in the Sundarbans in fiver years, police chief says.

Besides, so far 223 were arrested and 391 firearms and 201 rounds of bullet were recovered during the moves, and finally a total of 87 cases were registered in this incidents as well.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque informed it to a delegation of USAID Bengal Tiger Conservation Activity (Bagh) in police headquarters yesterday.

The team included the programme’s Director Joe Smith, enforcement specialists Craig Andrew Fullstone, Chief of Party Prokash Kant Silwal and patrolling specialists Rudro Kausher.

The delegation informed of their activities to the IGP for saving the wild animals, tigers and wild resources. In the reply, the IGP claimed that they have been trying their best to save the wild resources.

Later, the police chief stressed the need for creating awareness among local people about the concern and increasing coordination among the forest officials and police. l

Marking the International Tiger Day 2015, Bangladesh Forest Department and Ministry of Environment and Forests bring out a rally on Manik Miya Avenue in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

RAB arrests gang of con men n Tribune Report Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided a fake office in the capital’s Badda area and arrested six of its officials for taking money from people by fraud.

A team of RAB 1 conducted the drive at the office, located in Reazedel Tower at Pragati Sarani, early yesterday following a tip-off and arrested Nazmul Hasan Himel, 35, Masudur Rahman Sumon, 33, Habibur Rahman Daud, 54, Akbar Shaikh, 38, Amir Hossain, 30, and Shahjahan Miah, 32, said Lt Col Tuhin Mohammad Masud, commanding officer of RAB 1, during a press briefing at RAB 1 Headquarters in Uttara yesterday afternoon.

RAB also recovered fake visiting cards, appointment letters and two motorbikes during the raid. A number of victims have complained about being conned by them, the RAB official said.

Describing the con artists’ modus operandi, he said they would rent a well-decorated office and publish employment advertisements on newspapers. When people responded to the ad and sent in applications, they would invite them for an interview, offer them a job and ask them to give a security deposit.

Once they collected a good amount of money, they would shut down their office and flee. Some time later, they would repeat the routine using different names for themselves

as well as their business.

On one such stint, they opened an office named Rexton Electra Industries Limited on the ninth floor of Delta Dalia Tower at Kemal Atartuk Avenue Earlier this year. They published an job circular in newspaper on January 19.

Seeing the circular, one of their victims named Ashraful Haque responded and was invited to an interview, where accused Nazmul Hasan introduced himself as MN Hasan, managing director of Rexton, and offered Ashraf the post of a director.

“Along with the appointment, Ashraf was also asked to deposit Tk1.2 lakh as seciurity,” Lt Col Masud said.

Besides Ashraf, they took money from several others and collected Tk23 lakh – some were promised jobs, while some were promised a share in the company.

After conning a number of people, they collected Tk70-80 lakh and shut down the office in February.

“After receiving several similar complaints, RAB started investigating and found a similar job circular published on June 18. This time, the company was named Confident Electra, located in Badda, with Nazmul posing as company head Saimon Sarkar,” the RAB commanding officer said.

Legal action is being taken against the accused, he added. l

Kazi Anwarul Islam passes away Milky murder suspect held n Tribune Report Kazi Anwarul Islam, the former Head of Personnel at British American Tobacco, breathed his last at 6:15am yesterday at his own residence after struggling with kidney-related complications. He was 81 years of age.

Islam had served Crescent Jute Mills in Khulna and British American Tobacco Company for many years.

After retirement, he was associated with Otobi Limited as a management consultant. He had also been associated with the Group of Ahsania Mission for a few years as Group Advisor.

He had penned books in both English and Bengali, of which the latter, on the Liberation

War, was titled “Amar Ekattor.”

His books in English, “Human Resource Management Practices in Bangladesh” and “In the Wonderland of Bangladeshi Managers,” have received wide acclamation and are taught in undergraduate Human Resources Management courses.

Islam was widely known as a management trainer for nearly four decades. He also authored the religious book, “Allah Amader Ja Bolechen.”

Islam left behind two sons, three daughters, and 11 grandchildren, and a host of relatives and friends to mourn his death.

The Janaza will be held after Jumma today at the Sector 4 Jaame Mosque in Uttara.

Everybody is hereby requested to be present at the Janaza and pray for the salvation of the departed soul. Anyone, knowingly or unknowingly was hurt by him, may kindly excuse the departed soul. l

n Tribune Report The Criminal Investigation Department has arrested a youth for his alleged involvement in the 2013 killing of Jubo League leader Riazul Haque Khan Milky.

Tanzim Mahmud Tanim, 25, arrested on Wednesday night, was not mentioned in the previous charge sheet or even in the first information report.

A court in Dhaka yesterday put him on a two-day remand.

ASP Uttam Kumar Biswas, who is investigating the murder case, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday Tanim had been arrested from the capital’s Badda and his involvement in the killing was found in the primary probe.

“We are hopeful that we will get new information from him.”

CID officials said Tanim created a misunderstanding between SM Zahid Siddique alias

Tarek and Milky by providing false information, which might have led to the killing.

On July 30, 2013, 42-year-old Milky, who was the organising secretary of Jubo League’s Dhaka (south) unit, was shot dead in the capital’s Gulshan area.

Tarek, joint secretary of Jubo League’s Dhaka (south) unit, who reportedly killed Milky, was also killed in what RAB members said was a gunfight with them in Dhaka’s Kawla the following night.

RAB launched an investigation and submitted a charge sheet on April 14 last year against 12 people, mostly Jubo League members, and dropping the names of at least two Awami League leaders who were mentioned in the first information report.

The court in June asked the CID for further investigation after Milky’s brother Rashedul Haque Milky filed a no-confidence petition against the charge sheet submitted by RAB. l

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SPOTLIGHT 5

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

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AN END TO THE EXCLAVE SAGA 1. Mamataz Khatun, a student of Gangarhat Girls School, walks home after classes. From tomorrow she will be free to attend school as a Bangladeshi.

2. Shukhamayee Bala, who will not be leaving the country for India, rebuilds her house temple as she prepares for the future.

3. Alijan Bewa stands with her great-grandson next to her home, in front of which the country’s flag is seen hoisted.

4. Krishna Kanta Barman poses next to the house he and his family will be leaving behind when they move to India.

5. Timber traders collect and carry logs from exclave families who are selling their assets as they prepare to leave Bangladesh.

All the photos were taken from different areas of Dasiar Chhara exclave yesterday by Dhaka Tribue’s senior photographer Syed Zakir Hossain

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

NGO vanishes with client money of Tk4.5 crore n Our Correspondent, Chandpur A non-government organisation has allegedly disappeared after collecting about Tk4.5 crore from various clients in Hajiganj upazila of Chandpur.

Al-Arafat Environment Development Foundation (AEDF), with a registration no S 584/(85)06, began its operation in 2006 on the first floor of Talukdar building in Hajiganj bazar.

Tempting people with a scheme to double their deposit without interest as per the Islamic sharia, the foundation collected money from villagers, especially women and migrant workers. In the beginning they followed up with their promise and gave interest to some people to gain trust.

After few months, the Executive Director of the foundation Ibrahim Khalil opened up a factory to manufacture plastic pipes. He also

urged others to buy shares of his Rupa Plastic factory.

However, Ibrahim left Bangladesh in March of this year for a so called visit to five countries. In his absence, the Managing Director of the foundation Azad Mazumdar continued the money collection.

Mizanur Rahman, a resident of Borokul union, said: “When I was working in Kuwait, my wife made a fixed deposit worth Tk1.18 lakh for six years with the foundation. Now they are supposed to give me back Tk2.36 lakh but they have been avoiding me. Today when I came to visit the office, I was told it no longer existed.”

Abu Taleb, a resident of the same union, said his wife opened a monthly deposit scheme for Tk200. “Now I don’t know where they are. Not only my wife, many people from our village had fallen victim.”

He further said someone named Krishna

from the organisation collected money from more than 200 people in his village. “The amount will be about Tk1 crore. In the same way he collected money from Dherra village, Borokul, Bolakhal, Mokimabad, Enayetpur, Sudiya, Urpur, Rampur, Kochua, Rampur, Deshgaon and other places.”

Shahinur, an elderly of Borokul village said Krishna took Tk96,000 from her. “That was all I had as cash savings.”

The clients said Krish, Shahid and Motaleb from the foundation collected money from them even before the Eid-ul-Fitr. “A day after the Eid, a rumour spread that Krishna left his house. And Ibrahim was already gone. The other employees of the foundation are not traceable either. A rough estimation given by various clients has calculated the amount to be about Tk4.5 crore” they said.

Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, president of Hajiganj Upazila Bhangari Malik Samity, said

Rupa Plastic bought bottles from him for Tk2 lakh. But he was given a cheque instead of cash as payment.

Owner of Talukdar building Anisur Rahman Talukdar said: “Ibrahim took Tk6 lakh from me. Moreover, I owe him Tk5.5 lakh as rent. Now I don’t know whether I would ever get the money back.”

When inquired about the registration of AEDF, upazila social welfare officials said the organisation was not registered with them.

The cooperatives office also said they did not know about AEDF’s registration.

Sheikh Murshidul Islam, Hajiganj upazila nirbahi officer, said he never heard of such an organisation.

“May be they took approval from Dhaka.

However, NGOs are not allowed to collect money and operate any deposit schemes. If we get complaint from any affected persons, we will look into it,” he said. l

Five extortionists get life terms n Tribune Report

Five extortionists were awarded life imprisonment by a trial court yesterday on charge of killing a youth under Batiaghata upazila in Khulna on June 6, 2003.

Judge of the Additional Session Judge Court of Khulna Md Al Mamun found them guilty of the charge and declared the verdict.

Among the five, three convicts were present at the court. They are Shaheen, son of Nuru Howlader, Edris, son of Abdus Sattar and Monir, son of Abdul Haque, residents in Tootpara area of the city. The absconding convicts are Moin, son of Abdus Sattar and Zahidul Islam alias Zahid, son of Tara Miha, residents of the same area.

The court also fined Tk10,000 to each of the convicts, in default of which they would receive more six months in jail.

According to the prosecution case, a gang of extortionists demanded Tk2 lakh at gun point from Alamgir’s father Omor Ali Gazi, an employee of Bangladesh Bank, in the last week of May, 2003, saying that he will not be allowed to construct a new residence without paying the extortion money. l

Elephants kill two in Rangamati n Tribune Report

Two people were killed and another injured in an attack by marauding elephants at Shiber Aga village in Longodu upazila, Rangamati in the early hours of yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Mozammel Hossain and Nurul Haque, residents of the village.

Abdul Gaffur Chowdhury, chairman of Bogachotor union, said a herd of wild elephants during an attack on the houses of the area in the early morning pounced on the three people, leaving two of them dead and another injured. The injured was sent to Rangamati Sadar Hospital.

The elephants also damaged three houses, uprooted trees and damaged standing crops of the area. l

A woman heading home yesterday carrying jute fibre after drying it in sun at Kadipur under Naldanga of Natore. The crop has grown in the area this year abundantly AZAHAR UDDIN

Ninth grader raped in Chandpur, now in hospital n Our Correspondent, Chandpur A ninth grader of Belcho High School at Haziganj upazila in the district was raped brutally on Wednesday.

The victim’s father filed a case in this connection on the day and police arrested the rapist, Jakir Hossain, 23.

According to the case statement, the 16-year-old victim took shelter at Jakir’s business outlet on her way back home from school while it was raining.

Jakir forcefully took the girl behind his shop, tied her hands with her scarf and raped her.

Hearing the scream and cry of the victim, locals rushed in but the rapist fled the scene immediately.

The girl was sent to her house after locals rescued her.

Acknowledging the matter, influential persons of the area first tried to settle it locally.

But, the issue was brought to the police when the victim’s condition deteriorated and she was admitted to Chandpur 250-bed Hospital.

When contacted, Haziganj police station Officer-in-Charge Md Shah Alam said: “The medical report confirmed that the girl was raped. We have arrested the rapist.” l

Man to die for killing wife

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur A court sentenced a man to death at Sreepur in the district yesterday for killing his wife.

The court also fined the convict, Shamim Ahmed, 28, Tk10,000.

District and Sessions’ Judge AKM Enamul Haque pronounced the verdict in the morning.

According to sources, Champa Akter, daughter of Dulal Mia in Beldia village had been married off with Shamim ,son of Abdul Maid of Tek Village ferw years ago.

The court’s Inspector Rabiul Islam said Shamim used to torture his wife for dowry.

“He suffocated Champa to death in his room on January 5, 2011 over the issue,” Rabiul said. l

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Chittagong police bust prostitution ring, rescue girl n Tribune Report

Police in an overnight drive arrested a gang which abduct girls and female and later force them into prostitution.

“Police conducted drives in Chittagong city’s Bakalia and Chandgaon areas and arrested seven members of the gang,” said Mohammed Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Bakalia police station.

The arrestees are Badiul Alam alias Alam, 45, his wife, Mony Begum, 32, Omar Faruk alias Badsha, 25, Ariful Haque, 19, Abu Taleb, 55, and Baby Akhtar, 30.

Of them, Alam and his wife were held from Bakalia area while the rest of the arrestees were arrested from Faridapara area. Police also rescued a girl during the drive.

The OC said the gang had brought a domestic help from Banshkhali upazila a few days back luring her to provide a good job.

Later, the syndicate confined her into a flat at Faridapara. Later, taking the case into cognizance filed by the abducted girl’s brother police conducted drives and rescued the girl from the clutches of the gang. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

FRIDAY, JULY 31 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:43PM

SUN RISES 5:27AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

35

24

Chittagong

27

26

Rajshahi

32

25

Rangpur

38

24

Khulna

30

24

Barisal

28

24

Sylhet

34

24

Cox’s Bazar

27

27

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

37.0ºC

23.8ºC

Bogra

Kutubdia Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

4:02am 5:26am 12:05am 4:43pm 6:43pm 8:13pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Khokon announces DSCC budget of Tk2,085 crore n Abu Hayat Mahmud Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has proposed a Tk2,085.36 crore budget for the 201516 fiscal year.

The budget is almost triple the size of the revised budget for the previous fiscal year, which was Tk642.87 crore, while the proposed budget for FY2014-15 was Tk1,565crore.

DSCC mayor Sayed Khokon made the announcement at Nagar Bhaban on Thursday afternoon.

Khokon said: “This year, the budget will be financed by an expected Tk1,060.69 crore development assistance from the government, private sectors, public private partnerships and foreign finance.”

Also Read: DSCC announces Tk1,565 crore budget DSCC expects Tk632.09 crore revenue income.

Tk1,635.48 crore of the allocation will be spent on development.

The allocation will be spent on waste management, maintenance and development of roads, drains, footpaths, hospitals, markets, bus terminals and public toilets, among others.

In response to a query on whether holding tax is to be increased, the DSCC mayor said he is yet to take a decision on the matter.

Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayed Khokon speaks at a press briefing in Uttara Community Centre yesterday on budget of 2015-16 fiscals MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU He, however, said there is a possibility of reassessing holding tax as it has not been reassessed since 1989.

Khokon said DSCC has Tk101 crore dues from holding tax. “Of the amount, Tk50 crore is due from the government, semi-government and autonomous institutions, while Tk51 crore is due from general taxpayers.”

Earlier on Wednesday, at the budget programme Dhaka North City Corporation

Heavy downpour takes toll on low-income people n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong Abdul Latif, 27, a day laborer hailing from Mymansing, has been passing idle time for last two days in his shanty located in Nimtala area in Chittagong city as he has no works to do due to heavy downpour.

“I am compelled to sit idle in my room as I did not get any job in last two days. I have a little amount of money to maintain my family,” he said.

Kuddus Munsi, a worker of Chittagong Port Jetty, said loading and unloading goods in Chittagong Port remained suspended due to inclement weather Like him, a number of people who live hand to mouth have been going through hardships as torrential rain has turned into a curse for them.

During visits to several areas, this correspondent found that roadside traders, construction workers and vendors have remained idle for a couple of days.

Yesterday, contractual day laborers were also seen to sit idle in different passengers’ sheds in Kajir Dewri, AK Khan and Dewanhat

areas till afternoon.

Sajib Hossen, a vendor of Agrabad area, said he had folded his makeshift shop with plastic mat since morning as there was no respite from then rain.

“There is no money as there is no sale,” he said, adding that he opened his shop for only for three hours on Wednesday as presence of customers was very thin.

Anwar Hossain, a betel leaf and cigarette seller, took shelter inside a passengers’ shed in GEC area due to adverse weather.

“I have earned only Tk200 since the morning while my income is between Tk500 and Tk600 in a normal day,” said Anwar.

Tidal flows have inundated Agrabad-Beparypara, Halishahar, Khatunganj areas and lower coastal parts in Patenga-katgor area in Chittagong.

People were seen waiting in different points to board on traffic to reach their destinations. However, presence of mass transports were very few.

Kuddus Munsi, a worker of Chittagong Port Jetty, said loading and unloading goods in Chittagong Port remained suspended due to inclement weather.”

“So I did not get any single penny today [yesterday] as there was no work”, he added.

Chittagong Met Office, Patenga’s Duty Assistant Rezaul Karim told Dhaka Tribune that the met office had recorded 80.8 millimeters showers till yesterday 3pm while the danger signal number seven was hoisted till filing this report around 6pm for coastal areas. l

(DNCC) Mayor Annisul Huq said the DNCC will reassessment of holding tax this year, and it would be hike from next fiscal.

The DNCC has announced a Tk1,601.95 crore budget for the fiscal 2015-16.

The budget is almost double the size of the revised budget for the previous fiscal year, which was Tk803.19 crore. The proposed budget for the FY2014-15 was Tk2041.87 crore. l

Shibir leader held while making explosives n Tribune Report

Police arrested a leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, while making explosives at a students’ mess in the capital’s Khilkhet area yesterday.

Khilkhet police conducted the drive in Namapara area and arrested Imran Hossain, 20, secretary of Islami Chhatra Shibir’s Khilkhet unit, said Khilkhet police station Officerin-Charge Nazrul Islam.

“Imran was arrested while making bombs inside a mess. The team recovered 70 crude bombs, over one kg of gun powder, one laptop, propaganda books and CDs related to Chhatra Shibir. Hailing from Sirajganj, Imran is a honours second year student of political science at Government Titumir College in Dhaka,” he said.

President of Shibir’s Khilkhet unit Jahangir, who used to live with Imran, managed to flee from the spot. A case was filed against Imran, said the OC. A team of Detective Branch (DB) arrested three while they were planning to conduct a robbery in the railway gate area of Tejgaon yesterday, said Deputy Commissioner Muntasirul Islam of Dhaka Metropolitan Police media wing.

They arrested Md Shamim, Masum Miah and Dulal Sarker, and recovered a mini truck, one iron machete and two knives from their possession. They confessed that they used to steal valuables like mobile phones, batteries, tyres, tubes, mobil and cement from shops in the area by cutting shutters. l

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8 WORLD

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India says Punjab attackers came from Pakistan, but talks on for now n Reuters, New Delhi Gunmen who stormed a police station and killed seven people in India’s Punjab came from Pakistan, the Indian government said yesterday, but it gave no indication that a plan for bilateral high level security talks have been jeopardized by the attack.

Citing a preliminary analysis of data from GPS tracking devices carried by the gunmen, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament the three men crossed over via a river that criss-crosses between Pakistan and India.

In a statement shorn of the nationalist rhetoric the ruling party is known for, Singh warned of a forceful response to any attempt to undermine India’s security but did not specify what action was being taken after

Monday’s attack.

There was no immediate response from Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Nawaz Sharif agreed on July 10 the two countries’ National Security Advisers (NSAs) should meet in New Delhi to discuss “all issues connected to terrorism,” signalling a thaw in ties after Modi called off peace talks almost a year ago. No date was set.

By calling the meeting a discussion on terrorism rather than peace talks, Modi may have partly insulated himself from the inevitable pressure to cancel after every cross-border raid.

Singh said in the past month alone there had been five attempts by Pakistan-based militant groups to cross the border in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, part of a region

claimed by both countries.

Monday’s attack surprised security forces because it was further south in previously peaceful Punjab where the border fence is less heavily guarded.

Preliminary analysis of GPS data indicates the men crossed the Ravi river, which is swollen by heavy rains that could have made it harder for security patrols to detect the group, Singh said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also the government’s main spokesman, said the evidence the group came from across the border was “overwhelmingly conclusive.”

He said a decision on the NSA talks was part of “a diplomatic strategy” and would be taken by the government and the foreign ministry. l

Tsipras seeks Greek ruling party vote on bailout n Reuters, Athens

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called on his divided Syriza party to ballot its members on whether Greece had any alternative to accepting a tough bailout, setting up a showdown with far-left rebels threatening to split the party.

Greece narrowly averted an exit from the euro zone for now when it struck an 11th-hour deal with lenders this month, but that cost Tsipras the support of a quarter of his lawmakers who accuse the party of betraying its anti-austerity roots.

In a defiant speech to the party’s central committee gathered at an old movie theatre, Tsipras said his preference was for Syriza to hold an emergency congress in September to deliberate strategy for the mid- and long term.

The deepening crisis within Syriza is the most serious political challenge to the prime minister, who otherwise enjoys unrivalled domination of Greek politics and remains popular despite his sudden U-turn to accept stringent bailout terms.

Failure to assert his grip on Syriza and quash the far-left revolt could plunge Greece back into turmoil and risk derailing talks with European and International Monetary Fund lenders on a new 86 billion euro aid package to keep Athens afloat. His government wants to wrap up negotiations with lenders on that package in time for a major debt payment due on August 20, before moving on to sorting out his party’s troubles. l

Yemen blockade ‘killing’ civilians n AFP, Riyadh

Chinese nationals, who were jailed for illegal logging, walk out of Myitkyina prison after being released during an amnesty in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, north of Myanmar yesterday REUTERS

Political prisoners, Chinese loggers among thousands freed in Myanmar amnesty n Reuters, Yangon Myanmar freed some political prisoners and 155 Chinese citizens jailed for illegal logging in an amnesty for nearly 7,000 people yesterday, a move that could ease diplomatic tensions with influential neighbour China.

A total of 6,966 prisoners were pardoned including the Chinese citizens held in Kachin state, of which 153 were given life sentences last week that prompted a diplomatic protest by an “extremely concerned” China.

Thirteen of those released were prisoners of conscience, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which said it was still checking names to confirm if more had been freed.

Despite Myanmar’s flurry of engagement with the West since a quasi-civilian govern-

ment replaced a junta in 2011, its ties with China - its economic lifeline during two decades of sanctions - remain crucial to trade, security and energy.

Relations have soured this year over fighting between Myanmar’s army and a rebel militia that has seen Chinese citizens killed by stray shells in border areas.

The loggers were among 210 foreigners included in yesterday’s amnesty, according to prison, immigration and Home Ministry officials. China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the loggers had been released and said they would return home on Friday.

Myanmar’s incarceration of more than 2,000 journalists, activists, politicians and even comedians during military rule was a key factor behind the West’s imposition of sanctions, many of which were eased after

hundreds were freed by the new government.

Human rights groups, however, say many are still in jail and others continue to be arrested. As of last week, there were 136 political prisoners in Myanmar and another 448 facing trial, according to AAPP. “So far we have been able to confirm the release of only 13, comprising activists and four journalists who are on our list,” said Kyaw Soe of the AAPP. A senior prison official, who requested anonymity, said around nine former top members of the country’s powerful military intelligence were among those released.

The Chinese loggers were arrested in January in a crackdown on Myanmar’s lucrative illegal logging and timber trade. More than 400 vehicles and 1,600 logs were seized during the raid, state media said at the time. l

The Saudi-led military coalition’s blockade of Yemen is “killing” as many civilians as the war, the head of aid group Doctors Without Borders said yesterday during a visit to the country.

By preventing medicine from reaching the sick, the blockade is “killing as (many people as) the current conflict,” Joanne Liu told AFP in a telephone interview from Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa.

It was the latest warning about the humanitarian situation in Yemen, four months after the coalition began bombing pro-Iranian Shiite Huthi rebels who seized territory in the already impoverished nation.

A UN aid ship last week reached Yemen’s southern port of Aden, and coalition aid planes landed there after anti-rebel forces drove the Huthis and their allies from the city.

The Saudi-led coalition has imposed a land, sea and air blockade, that has hampered the flow of aid deliveries and rebels too have set up blockades in areas under their control.

Liu said she understood the need for the coalition to enforce a blockade of Yemen, where the Huthis are under a UN Security Council arms embargo.

“But we need to put in place ways to get supplies to come in, in a safe way, and people can get their medicine and not die” of easily treatable diseases, said Liu. “What we have to remember is Yemen is 90 percent dependent on external supply for food, 100 percent for medical supplies,” said Liu, the international president of the Swissbased Charity. l

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Afghan Taliban confirm Mullah Omar’s death n AFP, Kabul The Taliban yesterday confirmed the death of their leader Mullah Omar but gave no word about who would take charge of the movement still waging a bloody insurgency in Afghanistan.

The militants said Omar died of “sickness,” citing family members, a day after the Afghan government said the one-eyed warrior-cleric had passed away in Pakistan two years ago.

Omar’s death marks a significant blow to the Taliban, which is riven by internal divisions and threatened by the rise of the Islamic State group, the Middle East jihadist outfit that is making steady inroads in Afghanistan.

“The leadership of the Islamic Emirate and

the family of Mullah Omar... announce that leader Mullah Omar died due to a sickness,” a Taliban statement said, using the movement’s official name.

The Taliban now face the tricky process of choosing a successor to the near-mythical figure who led them for some 20 years.

Militant sources have told AFP that Taliban deputy Mullah Akhtar Mansour is leading the race to take over, but stressed that no final decision has been taken yet.

A Taliban official said the process had several stages: the group’s ruling council would choose a candidate who must then be approved by a college of religious clerics.

Omar’s son Mullah Yakoub was favoured by some commanders, sources said, but at 26

he was considered too young and inexperienced for such a key role.

Talks in limbo

A fresh round of peace talks between the militants and the Afghan government, planned for today in Pakistan, has been postponed, according to Islamabad.

The ministry said the Taliban leadership had asked for the postponement “in view of the reports regarding the death of Mullah Omar and the resulting uncertainty.”

Earlier the militants had distanced themselves from the process, casting doubt over its possible effectiveness.

“Media outlets are circulating reports that peace talks will take place very soon... either

in the country of China or Pakistan,” the Taliban said in an English-language statement posted on their website yesterday.

Omar had not been seen publicly since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban government in Kabul.

Haseeb Sediqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, told AFP on Wednesday that Omar died in hospital in the Pakistani city of Karachi “under mysterious circumstances.”

The Taliban statement did not say when he died but said “his health condition deteriorated in the last two weeks” and “not for a single day did he go to Pakistan.” It added that three days of religious ceremonies would be held “to pray for the soul of Mullah Omar.” l

Israel authorises force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners n Reuters, Jerusalem

Israel’s parliament authorised yesterday the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike, a move that has met vehement opposition from the country’s medical association and rights groups.

The legislation promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist coalition reflected Israel’s concern that hunger strikes

by Palestinians in its jails could end in death and trigger waves of protests in the occupied West Bank.

But Israel’s Medical Association, which considers force- feeding a form of torture and medically risky, has urged Israeli doctors not to abide by the law.

The government weathered a lengthy parliamentary debate and the law passed with 46 lawmakers in favour and 40 opposed in the 120-seat Knesset.

In the West Bank, Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian Prisoners Club that advocates for Palestinians jailed by Israel, denounced the law as a product of a “racist and fascist” government.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel called the law shameful.

“It pushes the medical community to severely violate medical ethics for political gains, as was done in other dark regimes in history,” the group said in a statement, urging the doctors “to refuse to serve as a fig leaf for torture.”

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Internal Security Minister, defended the law as a way to prevent Palestinians jailed for security offences from using hunger strikes to pressure Israeli authorities to release them.

Writing on Facebook, he said it would ultimately be up to an Israeli civilian court to decide whether to order force-feeding.

In June, Khader Adnan of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group went on a hunger strike in jail for 56 days, refusing solid food and drinking only water, demanding an end to his detention without trial.

Adnan, who was released this month, had gone on hunger strike for 66 days during a previous detention in 2012, the longest such Palestinian protest. It ended when Israeli authorities promised to release him. l

Police carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday said the debris, believed to be a part of a wing, was ‘very likely to be from a Boeing 777 but we need to verify whether it is from flight MH370.’ But as local French air transport police studied the debris and experts from Malaysia headed to the scene, authorities warned against jumping to conclusions AFP

Air India staff arrested over people smuggling n AFP, New Delhi Indian police said yesterday they have arrested two Air India employees after uncovering a people smuggling operation at New Delhi airport that apparently targeted Nepalese quake victims.

A senior police officer at the airport said staff at the national carrier were suspected of helping Nepalese women promised jobs in wealthy Gulf countries to evade immigration procedures.

So far 28 women have been identified, most of whom police said were from areas of Nepal badly affected by a major earthquake in April, which killed thousands and left many more homeless.

MI Haider, deputy commissioner of police at the airport, said the scam was exposed on July 21 when a group of seven Nepalese

women transiting Delhi airport en route to Dubai were found with their travel documents stamped even though they had not yet cleared immigration control.

Police briefly detained the women and arrested two Air India ground staff, who admitted under questioning that they had been paid $90 per person to arrange the forged documents. A police statement named the two as Manish Gupta and Kapil Kumar. The airline did not return calls for comment.

“Security personnel caught a group of seven Nepalese women who had been issued their international boarding passes and travel documents without following the proper procedure,” Haider told AFP. “The questioning of the detained women and the arrested duo also revealed that there were at least 21 other Nepalese women in Delhi waiting their turn to fly out of the country

via the same route.” Police found the 21 women when they raided a hotel in Delhi and they will be returned to Nepal along with the other seven, Haider said.

Two suspected traffickers were also arrested, both Nepalese nationals.

“The open border between Nepal and India makes it easy for people to travel across, and agents exploit this route to traffic people,” a spokesman for Nepal’s home ministry Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP. “We have an agreement with India to not allow Nepali nationals without our stamp in their passport to travel from their airport.”

The women had travelled to India from Nepal by bus after being promised work in Gulf countries.

Haider said it was unclear what their fate would have been had they made it to their destination. l

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Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party in plea not to write-off peace process n AFP, Ankara

The co-chair of Turkey’s main Kurdish party yesterday said the peace process between Turkey and Kurdish militants is “in deep crisis” due to the military offensive by Ankara against the separatist rebels.

But Selahattin Demirtas of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) insisted it was wrong to write-off the peace process aimed at ending a three-decade insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

“The peace process right now is going through a deep crisis,” Demirtas told AFP in an

interview at his party’s Ankara headquarters.

“But to say the process is over is against the spirit of peace. Peace will come sooner or later.”

Demirtas said the “weapons must be silenced” by both sides immediately so that conditions can be created for a return to talks.

A spiral of violence sparked by a suicide bombing last week blamed on the Islamic State group in the town of Suruc on the Syrian border that killed 32 activists prompted retaliation from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which accuses Turkey of collaborating with the jihadists.

Since then, Turkish army jets have pound-

ed Kurdish militant targets inside Turkey and in neighbouring northern Iraq.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies, had until now largely observed a truce declared by its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in March 2013.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week it was “not possible” to continue the peace process with the imprisoned Ocalan so long as the PKK was attacking Turkish targets.

Demirtas told AFP that the military operations were a manoeuvre to oust his party from parliament in a snap poll and impose effective one-party government. l

Landslide in Nepal kills 30

British PM ‘swarm’ of migrants comment sparks outrage

Landslides triggered by torrential rain in Nepal swept through villages yesterday, killing at least 30 people close to the nation’s most popular trekking circuit, home ministry officials said.

The landslides struck the villages near the resort town of Pokhara, 125 km (77 miles) west of Kathmandu shortly after midnight.

In the village of Lumle about half of the homes were buried or destroyed by a torrent of mud and rocks.

Soldiers and policemen, working in heavy rain, used shovels and food bowls to search for nine missing villagers.

At least 13 bodies recovered from the village were laid out on straw matting, covered by a plastic sheet and rug to protect them from the rain. l

n AFP, London

n Reuters, Lumle

Prime Minister David Cameron faced heavy criticism yesterday for saying a “swarm” of migrants was trying to come to Britain as authorities in France struggle to stop them crossing the Channel.

“This is very testing, I accept that, because you have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs, it’s got a growing economy, it’s an incredible place to live,” Cameron told ITV television during a visit to Vietnam.

Around 3,000 people from countries including Syria and Eritrea are camping out in the northern French port of Calais and trying

UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt shakes hands with a Kachin ethnic refugee child as she visits Eight Miles Palana IDP camp in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, Myanmar yesterday REUTERS

to cross into Britain illegally by clambering on board lorries and trains.

The controversy has flared up to dominate British media this week as holidaymakers and truck drivers are blocked on the British side due to delays caused by the migrants’ actions.

Acting leader of the main opposition Labour party Harriet Harman said Cameron should “remember he is talking about people, not insects.”

The Refugee Council, a leading charity which works with asylum seekers, said it was “awful, dehumanising language from a world leader.” And Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, which wants strict controls on immigration, said he would not use similar words. l

Kuwait says uncovers Islamic State network n Reuters, Kuwait

Kuwait has uncovered a network of Islamic State militants who fought in Iraq and Syria and detained some of its members, the interior ministry said yesterday, a month after the group carried out the Gulf state’s deadliest militant attack.

The network included five Kuwaitis, a ministry statement carried by the official KUNA state news agency said. The statement said without elaborating that one of the five had been killed in “a terrorist operation” in Iraq.

The individuals admitted receiving lessons in the “science of a terrorist organisation” and military training, the statement said. “They were involved in fighting operations in both Syria and Iraq.”

The Gulf state launched a security crackdown on Islamist militants after a June 26 attack claimed by Islamic State, when a Saudi suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shi’ite Muslim mosque, killing 26 people.

The government declared itself at war with militants and said the bombing, Kuwait’s worst militant attack, was aimed at stoking sectarian strife in the majority Sunni state where the two sects have traditionally co-existed in peace.

An interior ministry source told Reuters the individuals named in yesterday’s statement were not connected to the June 26 attack. Authorities are prosecuting another group of suspects in that case.

Up to 30 percent of Kuwait’s 1.4 million citizens are Shi’ite Muslims, who have enjoyed relatively good relations with the country’s majority Sunnis. The Gulf Arab state however shares its borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and its northeast is just a few km from Shi’ite power Iran, in a region in the grip of sectarianism. l

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EDITORIAL 11

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

INSIDE

A good place to start Imagine a violence and arms-free Dhaka University campus, where education takes priority. Imagine no impunity for crimes because of the political connections of the perpetrators

PAGE 12

Technology can beat poverty Thanks to the use of ICT, many NGOs now have access to timely, relevant, and updated information to make evidence-based decisions in improving social policies

PAGE 13

Salahuddin’s fortunes turned out to be better, thanks to the rise of anti-historical forces in the aftermath of Bangabandhu’s assassination in 1975

PAGE 14

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Going green helps secure RMG factories

W

Notes on the 1971 collaborators

Be heard

BIGSTOCK

e welcome the extra support announced by the Bangladesh Bank to help textile factories access low cost funds to invest in environmentally friendly technologies and practices.

One fund supplied by the World Bank will provide $300m towards export-oriented industries while the central bank itself will supply $200m from foreign exchange reserves to add to its green banking finance scheme.

It is encouraging to see more attention being given to help garment factories invest for the future. Competitive pressures on this vital sector are inexorably growing, and it is absolutely essential for our economy to give it a lift so it can grow exports at a faster rate.

As business leaders and the prime minister have pointed out, ultimately the industry needs higher prices from buyers to help sustain improvements in safety practices and working conditions and grow output.

New funds are vitally needed now to enable the industry to invest in improving conditions and making its products more attractive, in order to best encourage global buyers to purchase more from Bangladesh.

The benefits of investing in environmentally-friendly factories have been shown to not only lower long-term costs and emissions, but to vastly justify upfront costs by making them more attractive to buyers.

With consumers all around the world demanding leading brands put ever more importance on good working conditions and environmental sustainability, more green factory initiatives are invaluable to enhance the competitiveness of Bangladeshi products in the global marketplace.

The government should also help by securing more land on which new factories can be built to which RMG manufacturers can relocate. Fiscal and tax incentives should be increased to encourage more manufacturers to utilise the new funds to green their operations and to grow and secure future jobs.

More green factory initiatives are invaluable to enhance the competitiveness of Bangladeshi products

DT

12 OPINION

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

A good place to start n Zafar Sobhan

I

understand that for political parties in Bangladesh, student cadres are like nuclear weapons: The other side has theirs, so you have to have yours. In short, unilateral disarmament is not an option, as it will leave you vulnerable to the thugs on the other side.

But that is why the current political situation in Bangladesh offers such a unique opportunity for the ruling AL. For the first time in living memory, we do not have rival factions of student groups battling for supremacy.

The Chhatra Shibir and the JCD (student fronts of Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP, respectively) have been driven so far underground in the past six years that the Chhatra League reigns supreme on almost all university campuses as well as on the other traditional battle-grounds of student fronts around the country.

It is for this reason that, these days, when we read about violence between student cadres, it is typically intra-party violence between different factions of the Chhatra League.

Try as it might, there is no way for the ruling AL to disown the Chhatra League or to deny their connection. This was made very clear at the recently concluded 28th council session of the student front organisation, where the chief guest was Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Everyone knows and understands that the Chhatra League operates under the protection of the ruling party in return for being the ruling party’s shock troops when needed.

This means that the ruling party bears the moral responsibility for the actions of its student activists, if not the legal responsibility.

Certainly, this is how it is seen by the common man or woman in the street, who makes no distinction between the ruling party and its student activists.

In fact, it was the thuggishness of its cadres which was the principal blight on the tenure of the 1996-2001 AL government and the primary reason that they were removed from power by the voters in a landslide in 2001.

Today, the dynamic is similar, and achievements in terms of development or growth that the government points to proudly are, to a large extent, over-shadowed by the criminality of the Chhatra League, which serves to bring the entire government into disrepute.

Now, it would be incorrect to think that the problem of reining in its hoodlum element is a uniquely AL problem. All political parties, either in opposition or in government, have relied heavily on their student fronts in order to try to control the streets and enact their agenda.

Indeed, it is the Shibir that has made its name as the most ruthless and dangerous of all student front organisations, and it is not as though the JCD was any less fearsome when the BNP was in power than the Chhatra League is now.

The difference today is that, while in 1996, Sheikh Hasina might plausibly have argued that she needed the strength of the Chhatra

Dhaka University should be a place for learning, not thuggery

Imagine a violence and arms-free Dhaka University campus, where education takes priority. Imagine no impunity for crimes because of the political connections of the perpetrators

League, and Khaleda Zia might have made the same argument for the JCD in 2001, now, the PM really has a chance to take steps to rein in the more criminal and unruly elements of her party’s student front.

Imagine a violence and arms-free Dhaka University campus, where education takes priority. Imagine no impunity for crimes because of the political connections of the perpetrators. Imagine businesses being able to run without having to pay extortion to thugs operating under the guise of student politics. Imagine tenders being floated and won by the most meritorious bidder.

Think of the massive benefit to the economy and the attendant improvement in the lives of everyday citizens. There is no one thing that this government can do that would have a more beneficial impact on people’s lives and be better received by the public

than to impose a zero tolerance policy for crimes committed by its student front.

And there would be no better way for the government to signal that it really means business about building a new Bangladesh.

As long as Chhatra League hoodlums are permitted to run roughshod over the rest of us with impunity, all promises of a brave new Bangladesh look like empty rhetoric and will be seen as such by a weary populace.

This is not to say that the Chhatra League necessarily needs to disband or cannot exist.

I am sure that the organisation has no shortage of conscientious young people who are dedicated to the common good. It is important to empower them and to structure and discipline the organisation such that they are the ones who come to embody and define it and not the thugs.

As for the need to rule the streets and

RAJIB DHAR

ensure that the government remain safe from the thugs on the other side of the aisle, that is what law enforcement is for.

With the opposition activists so powerless, there is no reason why periodic shows of strength on their part cannot be dealt with more than adequately by law enforcement, which would also set a healthy precedent for how to deal with violence and unruliness in the future.

Setting your own people on opposition thugs is no way to solve the problem and does nothing to create a safer Bangladesh governed by the rule of law.

The AL government today is the most powerful government we have had in the history of this country. For the first time since independence, it rules as a uni-polar power with no other significant power centre to contend with.

How the government uses this power is what the whole country is waiting to see. If it uses it to make the polity more functional and to enact the reforms necessary to improve rule of law, and thus the everyday lives of the public, then it can truly begin to move Bangladesh towards a new era.

But how it deals with the Chhatra League is a litmus test of the other kinds of changes that it wishes to bring, and will be seen as such by the people of this country. There is no better place for the government to start and no time like the present. l Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

DT

OPINION 13

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Technology can beat poverty

ICT can really help improve lives

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Thanks to the use of ICT, many NGOs now have access to timely, relevant, and updated information to make evidence-based decisions in improving social policies. It would be difficult to overstate the impact that ICT has had on improving people’s lives

n Clara Schettino “We think the next 15 years will see major breakthroughs for most people in poor countries ... they will have unprecedented opportunities to get an education, eat nutritious food, and benefit from mobile banking. These breakthroughs will be driven by innovations in technology.” -- 2015 Gates Annual Letter

I

magine you are Shammi, a poor woman living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A new NGO has arrived in your town, and is delivering fortified milk. However, you are not one of the beneficiaries even though you are as poor as Sitna, and poorer than Maliha, your neighbours who are receiving help from the NGO. Imagine you are a field officer from the NGO, and you observe that Sitna’s children are not drinking the milk, as they complain

about its taste. Furthermore, even in the households where mothers make their children drink it, you are not noticing any change in child nutrition -- they still look too small.

Additionally, a year after, when new babies are born, you do not have access to more milk to supply to these families. And every time you return to your office, you have already forgotten one or two of the things you observed, and even though you notice that the children are too thin, you do not have data on their height and weight to prove it to your manager.

Imagine you are a donor based in the UK. You have been allocating aid funds to the fortified milk NGO for the last couple of years. You don’t know it, but your money is not achieving the intended goals -- children are still malnourished.

The fortified milk NGO plays an important role in providing services and giving a voice to the most vulnerable. However, given the current situation, the NGO is unable to achieve its goal. The primary reason for the NGO’s failure is its inability to allocate its resources in the most efficient way due to lack of data.

How could things have been different if the NGO relied on timely and accurate data about individuals’ socio-economic characteristics and the program’s performance to make decisions?

Let’s rewind.

Imagine that the NGO you work for has introduced the use of ICTs to build a comprehensive information system. Therefore, once

you arrive at the new village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, you go house by house with your mobile phone, imputing information regarding each family’s income, diet, and level of schooling, among other things.

When the NGO finally starts delivering the milk, both Shammi and Sitna receive it.

Now, every time you visit a household to follow up on their performance, you record the children’s height and weight, the comments of the beneficiaries, and your own observations, in your mobile phone. Thanks to this information, the NGO is able to change the flavour of the milk, notice that, besides milk, children need de-worming pills to be able to absorb the milk’s nutrients and provide more milk once new babies are born.

Finally, the NGO has the necessary data to show the UK donor that children are not being nourished and that de-worming pills are needed. Given this, the donor allocates more resources for the NGO to purchase them.

Using ICT for social development helps NGOs to have accessible, timely, relevant, and updated information to make on-time decisions and improve social policy. By utilising ICT, the fortified milk NGO was able to ensure that resources were reaching all people in need; it was able to follow up the implementation of the program and make the necessary changes to improve the program’s performance, and finally, through ICT, the NGO was able to assess its performance and report to its donors the results being achieved.

Thanks to the money from the UK donor, the constant follow-up from the field officer, the timely decisions made by the NGO managers, and the compliance of Sitna in giving the milk to her kids, the children were not malnourished anymore.

Like this story, many NGOs in Bangladesh have been using ICT to improve the performance of their programs. WaterAid was able to guarantee that water facilities were built in the right place; USAID, together with CARE and DAM, disseminated agricultural training to remote areas through mobile phones; mCARE, together with Johns Hopkins University, provided medical services for pregnant women where, through the use of mobile phones, they would send labour pain alarms in order to get assistance, and Shiree established a monthly monitoring system that allowed them to make timely decisions according to the beneficiaries’ needs. mPower, a social enterprise committed to expanding the use of ICT to positively impact development programs, has been the technology partner in all of these cases.

Thanks to the use of ICT, many NGOs now have access to timely, relevant, and updated information to make evidencebased decisions in improving social policies.

It would be difficult to overstate the impact that ICT has had on improving people’s lives, but if ICT is going to be a game-changer for mankind, there is no doubt it should be by helping the two billion human beings we have left behind. l Clara Schettino is a summer intern at mPower Social Enterprises. She is pursuing a Master in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School.

DT

14 OPINION

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Salahuddin won’t have a reason to smile anymore

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Notes on the 1971 collaborators n Syed Badrul Ahsan

T

he sentence of death passed on Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury is as good a time as any to delve into the stories of the whereabouts of the collaborators of the Pakistan occupation army after the liberation of Bangladesh in December 1971.

In the early phase of Bangladesh’s freedom, Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, father of Salahuddin, former speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly in the era of Field Marshal Ayub Khan and a leading collaborator of the Yahya Khan junta in 1971, was taken into custody when he reportedly tried to flee to Burma. He was lodged in Dhaka Central Jail, where he eventually died of natural causes.

Salahuddin Quader’s fortunes turned out to be better, thanks to the rise of anti-historical forces in the aftermath of Bangabandhu’s assassination in 1975.

The repeal of the Collaborators Act in December 1975 enabled Salahuddin, and also old collaborators like Khan A Sabur, once Ayub’s communications minister, to resurface in politics, ironically in a country they had violently opposed between March and December 1971.

Sabur was elected to the Jatiyo Sangsad at the elections of February 1979. He reorganised the Muslim League as the Bangladesh Muslim League and served as its president till his death, when he was replaced

by Justice BA Siddiky, once chief justice of the East Pakistan High Court. Salahuddin was to serve as a minister in the Ershad regime and then in the BNP government led by Begum Khaleda Zia. At one point, he was her adviser on parliamentary affairs.

Within hours of the liberation of Bangladesh, Maulvi Farid Ahmed, chief of the Nizam-e-Islam party, was lynched by citizens. His remains were never found. Another collaborator, Syed Sajjad Husein, who served as vice chancellor of Dhaka University under

Tikka Khan and AAK Niazi, was the recipient of a mass beating and left for dead. He survived and made his way to Saudi Arabia, where he taught for a number of years before returning to Bangladesh in the times of General Ershad. He died not long after.

Hamidul Haq Chowdhury, owner of the Pakistan Observer newspaper and former foreign minister of Pakistan, was stranded in Rawalpindi at the time of Bangladesh’s liberation. He returned to Bangladesh in the 1980s, reclaimed his newspaper, by then known as the Bangladesh Observer, in a legal battle and died some years later.

and Hindus were in control of the country. He returned to Bangladesh in 1978 on a Pakistani passport and stayed on despite the expiry of his visa. The regime of General Ziaur Rahman looked the other way as Azam slowly made inroads into Bangladesh politics. He died in disgrace not long ago, having been convicted of war crimes in 1971.

Nurul Amin, chief minister of East Pakistan between the late 40s and early 50s, was one of two individuals bucking the Awami League wave at the 1970 general elections.

After March 25, 1971, he became a willing collaborator of the genocidal Yahya-Tikka

Salahuddin’s fortunes turned out to be better, thanks to the rise of anti-historical forces in the aftermath of Bangabandhu’s assassination in 1975

His sons-in-law, Reaz Rahman and Manzur Ahmed Chowdhury, both in Pakistan’s diplomatic service, opposed Bangladesh’s liberation but went on to serve as Bangladesh’s diplomats in the post-1975 period of the country’s history. Reaz Rahman is, today, foreign affairs adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Ghulam Azam, stranded in Pakistan, where he had gone in November 1971 for consultations with General Yahya Khan, was sent to a number of Middle Eastern capitals

by President ZA Bhutto in the post-December 1971 period, to spread propaganda against a newly-independent Bangladesh.

Azam disseminated the lie before his hosts that Islam was under threat in Bangladesh

junta. On December 3, 1971, he was appointed Pakistan’s prime minister by President Yahya, with Bhutto as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

The surrender of Pakistan’s army in Dhaka, a fortnight later, changed conditions in Rawalpindi. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over as president from the disgraced Yahya Khan and appointed Nurul Amin as the country’s vice president, in which capacity Amin spread the falsehood that the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini were engaged in genocide in “East Pakistan.” He died in 1974 and was buried beside Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi.

Mahmud Ali, a leading right-wing politician from Sylhet, and Raja Tridiv Roy,

chief of the Chakma tribe, cheerfully lent their support to the Pakistan army in 1971.

Following the emergence of Bangladesh, both men, then stranded in Pakistan, were appointed as ministers in the government of ZA Bhutto. Roy later served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Argentina before taking on the role of Pakistan’s special envoy. Both men were to die in Pakistan.

Shah Azizur Rahman, who led Pakistan’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly session in September 1971, became a prisoner in Bangladesh after liberation in December of the year. His support was solicited by General Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first military dictator, when the latter sought to make a formal entry into politics in the late 1970s. Zia subsequently appointed Shah Aziz as Bangladesh’s prime minister. Other collaborators, among whom were Abdur Rahman Biswas, Moulana Abdul Mannan, and Justice Nurul Islam, were rehabilitated by the military regimes of General Zia and General Ershad.

Biswas would become Bangladesh’s president; Moulana Mannan, accused of playing a leading role in the abduction and murder of Bengali intellectuals on the eve of liberation, would become minister for religious affairs in the Ershad regime as well as owner of two newspapers, Inqilab and The Telegraph, and would die before he could be prosecuted for war crimes; Justice Nurul Islam, who was chairman of the East Pakistan Red Cross Society in 1971, would serve as Bangladesh’s vice president under General Ershad.

Here ends this brief account of the lives and careers of some of the leading Bengali collaborators of the Yahya Khan junta in a free Bangladesh. There are other stories of other men and women, of a similar nature, that need to be told in the larger interest of history. l Syed Badrul Ahsan is Associate Editor, The Daily Observer.

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Japan June factory output subdued, Q2 GDP contraction eyed

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Federal Reserve holds key US rate unchanged

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Stocks inch up in volatile trade

20

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Business

15

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Monetary policy cuts credit growth target

NBR to fine cos illegally hired foreigners n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to launch a special drive soon for identifying the business firms that are recruiting foreigners illegally.

Once identified, such companies will have to pay penalty as per new provisions incorporated in the finance bill 2015, that came into effect from July 1, said a NBR official.

According to the recently passed bill, if found guilty, the companies will have to pay 50% additional tax from their total payable tax or Tk5 lakh fine, whichever is higher, as penalty for giving jobs to foreign nationals without necessary documents and work permits.

Apart from the penalties, benefits including tax holiday and other tax exemptions will be annulled if any company is found to be involved in such unscrupulous engagements, said the official.

“The field offices have been asked to get ready for taking the issue into cognisance as a drive will be launched within a month to identify the firms for penalising them as part of the move to boost the revenue collection,” said a top NBR official.

The NBR is assigned to collect Tk1,76,370 crore revenue for the on-going fiscal year. Of the total amount, the lion share will come from income tax wing worth Tk65,932 crore.

According to the Income Tax Ordinance

HIGHLIGHTS Businesses to pay Tk5 lakh fine for hiring foreign nationals illegally A good number of foreign workers are alleged to evade taxes with the help of their employers No compiled list of foreigners working in Bangladesh NBR calls for an end to employ any foreigners illegally Currently, around 4 lakh foreign nationals working in Bangladesh, of them, only around 10,000 of them pay tax annually Foreign nationals are liable to pay income tax at the rate of 30% on their income 1984, a foreign national needs to open tax file if he or she lives in the country for 90 days in a year. They also need to present their tax clearance certificates from the NBR while crossing the immigration desk before leaving the country.

While delivering the budget speech on June 4, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said: “Despite the existence of large unemployment amongst our eligible workforce, a huge number of foreign nationals are being employed in our country most of whom are not within the tax net.”

The government has already started registering foreign nationals working in the country and that they would be brought under the tax net soon, the minister told the parliament.

Meanwhile, the income tax wing of NBR sent a letter to the leading chambers and employers’ organisations on July 1, asking them not to employ any foreigners illegally to avoid heavy penalty.

The letter was sent to Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Bangladesh Chamber of Industry (BCI), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), and the Executive Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI).

A good number of foreign workers evade taxes with the help of their employers as they stay in the country on temporary basis by renewing their work permits after every three months, alleged businesses.

“Many foreigners, particularly from India, come to Bangladesh with a three-month VISA, but they stay here for long period illegally,” said FBCCI Additional Secretary Shah Md. Abdul Khaleq, who looks after the NBR issues.

Khaleqhas requested the home ministry and board of investment, the two core authorities to monitor the issue properly, to check the issue carefully, so none can leave the country without paying taxes.

Acknowledging the receipt of the NBR letter, MCCI Secretary General Farooq Ahmed said, “We’ve have already circulated a notice among our members to aware them about the issue.”

“Although there is a need for expert workforce in businesses, we don’t encourage our members employing the foreigners illegally,” he said.

Currently, around 4 lakh foreign nationals, mostly from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, South Korea and some European and African countries are working in Bangladesh.

Most of the foreigners are working particularly in the readymade garment sector, IT and other manufacturing industries.

Usually, three government agencies-Board of Investment, NGO Affairs Bureau and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) approve work permits for the foreigners.

However, there is no such compiled list of foreigners working in Bangladesh due to lack of coordination among the government agencies concerned.

Although all the foreigners have to pay income tax at a rate of 30% on their income, only some 10,000 of them pay income tax annually while the rest depart the country without paying any tax.

According to the BoI data, around 12,000 foreigners are working in the country with valid work permits. l

Islami Bank agrees to pay one- Joy for tech-neutral policy n month salary under CSR Tribune Report

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has finally agreed to provide funds for paying a onemonth wage of around 1,300 workers of Swan Garments under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

“The bank management has verbally informed me that they would give fund to the Swan Factory owner to pay a one-month wage under the CSR,” Inspector General of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Syed Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune.

The bank will formally inform the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the issue after taking approval from its board and Bangladesh Bank, he added.

Swan Garments mortgaged its properties to Islami Bank. It owed the bank Tk42 crore.

As per the committee’s assessment, the factory owner needs over Tk1.39 crore to pay wages of workers for the month of April and staff

for the month of February, March and April.

“Providing a one-month wage will act as a cushion against the workers’ agitation as they had been demonstrating for their dues,” said Wazedul Islam, general secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre (BTUC).

“We will take the next course of action to realise the workers’ dues later and if needed, the workers will further go on demonstration,” said Wazedul.

The main task of the government and the stakeholders is to clear the property ownership issue its owner is dead and it is needed to sell properties to pay off all the dues of workers, he added.

In the first meeting of July 23, the committee, formed to settle the Swan Garment crisis, sought loan from the bank to pay workers wages.

But the bank rejected the request of lending Swan Garments as there was no legitimate heir to the factory properties after the owner had died. l

ICT Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister Sajeeb Wazed Joy urged the Telecommunication Division to incorporate technology neutrality in the National Telecommunications Policy.

He made the call during his visit to the division at Secretariat yesterday.

Officials said technology neutrality would reduce mobile phone operators’ production costs and offer better services, especially in data service speed.

At present mobile phone operators can use 1800MHz spectrum for 2G service and 2100MHz for 3G service. If technology neutrality is incorporated in the telecommunications policy, 4G with 1800 MHz bands will be possible.

State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim, Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury and BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose, among others, were also present during the visit.

Sajeeb Wazed asked the BTRC to collect huge amount of dues from the market through arbitration process. He advised the BTRC to lease out more bandwidth in the local market even in fewer prices and at the same time try to export it to other countries if more unused bandwidth was left.

He stressed adopting zero tolerance policy towards illegal call termination and keeping the telecom sector free of corruption. l

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16 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Japan June factory output subdued, Q2 GDP contraction eyed n Reuters, Tokyo Japan’s factory output rose modestly in June after a big drop in the prior month, highlighting worries of a second-quarter economic slump as exports weaken and manufacturers are saddled with large inventories.

Analysts expect the economy to bounce modestly in the current quarter, helped by a pick-up in private consumption as household incomes improve, but some warn of a prolonged lull as China’s economic slowdown takes its toll on external demand.

Industrial production rose 0.8% in June from the previous month, trade ministry data showed on Thursday, exceeding a median market forecasts for a 0.3% gain after May’s 2.1% drop.

“You cannot rule out the possibility of output sliding for two straight quarters to September, forcing the economy to stall,” said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities. “The main risk is China’s slowdown, which will keep a drag on exports.”

Reflecting expectations of a gradual pickup in factory activity ahead, manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect industrial output, which accounts for roughly 18% of Japan’s gross domestic product, to rise 0.5% in July and 2.7% in August.

Still, the underlying weakness in output could reinforce a view that the economy probably slowed sharply in April-June from the prior quarter, or even contracted, keeping the central bank under pressure to deploy fresh monetary stimulus.

The factory data, which is strongly correlated with economic growth, will be closely

A man works on a top of a structure at a construction site in Tokyo scrutinised by the Bank of Japan, along with a batch of indicators due on Friday.

The BOJ is widely expected to keep monetary policy steady next week and is in no mood to act any time soon, arguing that the economy will emerge from a soft patch in the current quarter, helping inflation hit its ambitious 2% goal by around September next year.

But some analysts are bracing for fresh BOJ stimulus as early as October, with signs of weakness in the economy adding to doubts whether inflation will accelerate as quickly as

REUTERS

the central bank projects.

BOJ board member Koji Ishida signalled his reluctance to top up an already radical stimulus programme, though he sounded less convinced about the economy’s recovery prospects.

“There’s a risk the recent softness in exports and output may hurt corporate sentiment just when companies were beginning to turn more aggressive on investment,” he told business leaders in Kyoto, western Japan, on Thursday. l

Oil prices mixed in Asia n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices turned mixed in Asia yesterday with a strong dollar limiting gains fuelled by a decline in US crude inventories, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery fell three cents to $48.76 in afternoon trade, reversing an uptick in the morning session.

Brent crude rose 21 cents to $53.59 a barrel, extending gains the day before.

Both contracts rebounded from recent losses to close higher on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said stockpiles fell 4.2 million barrels in the week to July 24, more than expectations of a 200,000 barrel decline. A slide indicates stronger demand and is supportive of prices.

“WTI and Brent reversed losses overnight on Wednesday amid bullish supply data released by the EIA,” said Sanjeev Gupta, who heads the Asia oil and gas practice at professional services organisation EY. The EIA also said US oil production fell during the week, giving some relief to the global crude oversupply that has depressed prices.

Dealers are also keeping tabs on the Federal Reserve’s plans for raising interest rates after it held fire Wednesday at its latest policy meeting but indicated the US economy is improving.

The dollar edged up after the meeting as expectations grow that the central bank will announce a liftoff as early as September.

“The market will closely monitor the Fed’s move as the rate hike will impact commodity prices heavily. Most analysts expect the first interest rate hike to happen in September or December this year,” Gupta said.

As oil is traded in dollars, a strong US unit makes it more expensive for holders of weaker currencies, hurting demand and dampening prices. l

Dollar picks up after Fed boosts view on economy n AFP, Tokyo

The dollar picked up yesterday after the Federal Reserve boosted its view of the US economy, with analysts saying it has left the door open for a possible interest rate hike as early as September.

In Tokyo, the dollar traded at 124.07 yen, up from 123.91 yen in New York and 123.64

yen in Tokyo Wednesday before the Fed finished a two-day policy meeting.

The euro slipped to $1.0977 from $1.0990, while it was at 136.20 yen from 136.19 yen.

The greenback came under selling pressure this week as a plunge on Chinese shares renewed fears of another rout in the markets of the world’s number two economy, sending investors running for safer investments.

CORPORATE NEWS

But it bounced back after the Fed said the US economy had expanded “moderately” in recent months and the jobs market strengthened, though it noted continued “soft” business investment and exports.

It also said inflation was below target but put much of that down to falling energy prices and to cheaper imports caused by the strong dollar.

Goldman Sachs reiterates outlook gold could fall to $1,050 n Reuters

BRAC Bank Limited and Meghna Bank Limited have signed an agreement to facilitate trade business.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, MD & CEO of BRAC Bank Limited and Mohammed Nurul Amin, MD & CEO of Meghna Bank Limited have signed the agreement

While it gave no more clues about its plans for raising interest rates, analysts said the wording suggested September was now a strong possibility for a rate rise.

Policymakers said that “the labour market continued to improve, with solid job gains and declining unemployment”, adding that a rate hike would come after they see a further uptick in the jobs figures. l

Gold prices are at risk of falling to as low as $1,050 per ounce, Goldman Sachs global head of commodities research Jeffrey Currie said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, reinforcing the bearish outlook for bullion after last week’s rout.

That would be a new 5-1/2-year low, although still above the psychologically key $1,000 level that many market participants say is on the horizon.

The comment follows last week’s massive sell-off that saw prices touch

$1,077, the weakest since February 2010, as bullion’s appeal as a hedge against inflation fades ahead of an expected US interest rate hike.

Earlier this month, the influential Wall Street bank pegged gold price forecasts at $1,180 per ounce in three months, $1,150 per ounce in six months and $1,050 per ounce in 12 months.

Spot gold XAU= was at $1,095.10 an ounce by 1320 GMT on Wednesday, little changed from late on Tuesday. US gold for August delivery GCcv1 was down 0.2% at $1,094.50 an ounce. l

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BUSINESS 17

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Federal Reserve holds key US rate unchanged n AFP, Washington The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark federal funds interest rate unchanged at near-zero percent as expected Wednesday, providing no fresh hints on when a long-awaited rate rise might come.

The Federal Open Market Committee said the US economy had expanded “moderately” in recent months and the jobs market had strengthened, but noted continued “soft” business investment and exports.

It also said that inflation remained softer than monetary policy makers want to see, though noting that much of the weakness is related to the plunge in energy prices over the past year and to cheaper imports, thanks to the strong dollar.

But the FOMC’s brief policy statement, at the end of a two-day meeting, gave no fresh sign of their thinking on when they will embark on an expected series of rate increases.

Minor changes in the language of the statement showed only that “the past six weeks data pushed the FOMC a little closer to raising rates,” said economist Chris Low of FTN Financial.

“But they are still waiting for more good news before they actually pull the trigger,” he said.

The fed funds rate has been held at 0-0.25% since late 2008 to help bring the US economy back from deep recession, and Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said twice this month that she expects a rate hike will come by the end of the year.

An increase was not expected at this

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen prepares to testify before a House Financial Services committee hearing on Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy on Capitol Hill at in Washington REUTERS week’s meeting, but some thought the panel might tip its hand on the coming months by changing some of the language in the statement.

Instead, the Fed has made clear it will wait to see what the two monthly employment reports and other various data updates show before its next meeting, on September 16-17.

Wages, inflation still weak

Despite some calls to hold off until 2016, FOMC members appear anxious to break the ice with the first increase, even as they assure markets that increases after that are likely to come in slow steps.

Key data has recently been closer to what the Fed said it wants to see to “normalize”

Microsoft gears for turnaround with Windows 10 rollout n AFP, Washington Microsoft launched its Windows 10 operating system Wednesday, in its boldest effort yet to reshape the tech giant and move ahead in mobile computing and the “Internet of Things.”

The stakes are high for Microsoft as it pushes out the new operating system for both traditional computers and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

The company is hoping the new system can help it gain traction in mobile, where it lags behind Google Android and Apple iOS, and in emerging technologies for computing.

“Our vision was one platform, one store, and one experience that extends across the broadest range of devices from the smallest screens to the largest screens to no screens at all,” said Microsoft executive vice president for Windows, Terry Myerson, in a blog post.

“Windows 10 begins to deliver on our vision for more personal computing. In this world experiences are mobile, moving with you seamlessly and easily across your devices. Interacting with technology is as natural as interacting with people - using voice, pen, gestures and even gaze for the right interaction, in the right way, at the right time.”

Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett said Microsoft faces a tough task in catching up with Google and Apple in the mobile space. Windows’ smartphone market share is around three percent, compared to roughly 80% for Google’s Android phone and 15% for

the Apple iPhone.

“Microsoft will face a long road ahead to gain Windows share in mobile,” he said.

“While it will win a growing share of enterprise tablet purchases, the plans for Windows 10 don’t show enough potential to create a differentiated mobile experience that will draw developers and customers away from iOS and Android.”

Richard Edwards, analyst at the consultancy Ovum, said Microsoft is looking beyond mobile to emerging technologies including wearables and other connected devices.

“This isn’t about recapturing the important mobile operating systems market,” Edwards said.

“It’s about gaining a strong foothold in the next multibillion dollar market: the ‘Internet of Things.’”

Skipping to Windows 10

Windows 10 - Microsoft skipped directly from Windows 8, which got a lackluster response - is being offered as a free upgrade for most devices, making it possible to be available quickly on billions of devices.

It will allow for voice, pen and gesture input, and in some cases biometric identification for improved security.

The Cortana virtual assistant - Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri and Google Now - will also be integrated.

And Windows 10 will include the Microsoft Edge browser, a move designed to help

the tech magnate regain market share lost to rivals such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

To appease users who complained about the loss of the “start” button on Windows 8, Microsoft has brought that feature back, while allowing users to switch back to the “live tiles” menu.

Microsoft hopes to break the cycle in which consumers shun Windows for mobile because it lacks the large catalog of applications found on rival platforms, thus discouraging app makers from creating Windows versions.

Hit apps could ramp up popularity of Windows-driven hardware made by Microsoft and its partners, and increase opportunities for the company to make money from online activities such as search, shopping and software as services in the Internet cloud.

With Windows 10 and other products, Microsoft is shifting away from one-time software sales to a subscription model - or software as a service - in an effort to better compete in the new tech landscape.

Bob O’Donnell at the research firm Technalysis said the new operating system may help stimulate new sales of computers and other hardware - a phenomenon of the past which has been absent in recent Windows releases.

“I’m still hopeful that the PC industry will see some decent upside from Windows 10, particularly in the fourth quarter of this year and into 2016,” he said. l

monetary policy after years of easy money.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.3% in June, from 10% at the 2009 peak.

Inflation, as measured by core consumer prices, picked up to 1.8% in June year-overyear, nearing the FOMC target of around two percent.

But another measure that the Fed focuses more on, the PCE price index, remains much lower, up only 0.2% year-on-year in May. While expressing confidence in a pickup in economic activity in the second half of the year, Yellen has also singled out some weaknesses in July comments: that the labor force participation rate is still extremely low at 62.6%; that part-time employment remains high; and that wage growth remains slow.

The FOMC statement reiterated that raising rates will be appropriate “when it has seen some further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its two percent objective over the medium term.”

“The Fed, as usual, is keeping its options open,” said Pantheon Macroeconomics economist Ian Shepherdson.

“Not much more improvement is needed, keeping the door to a September hike open,” he said, but it will mostly be contingent on the next two employment reports.

The dollar strengthened about 0.8% to $1.0977 against the euro and 0.3% to 123.95 yen on the Fed report, while US Treasury bonds fell, with the yield on the 10-year note rising to 2.28% from 2.25%. l

BAT sees ‘plain packaging’ challenge in Britain being heard in December n Reuters, London British American Tobacco expects its legal challenge to the implementation of “plain packaging” of tobacco in Britain to be heard in court in December, with possible final resolution by the end of 2016, a senior executive said.

“We expect a hearing in December,” Jerome Abelman, BAT’s director of legal and external affairs, told reporters on Wednesday, adding that “whatever the decision, there will likely be appeals.”

Britain adopted a law in March that would prohibit tobacco products from being sold with any branding, colors or logos. This “plain packaging” rule, aimed at reducing the lure of smoking particularly to youngsters, will go into effect in May 2016.

BAT and larger rival Philip Morris International are challenging the law.

Abelman said it was hard to judge exactly how long its challenge will take to move through the court system but said it was possible that any appeals could be decided by the end of 2016.

He said he thought the British government should grant a stay to the implementation of plain packaging pending a final decision.

Separately, BAT said it would do a market test this year of a next-generation product that heats tobacco without burning it. It declined to give any details about the product or the test. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures RANFOUNDRY (HY): EPS Tk. 1.71 /Tk. 1.60. NAV per share was Tk. 19.51 Jun’15/Tk. 20.00 Dec’14.

UPGDCL (HY): EPS Tk. 4.57 / Tk. 3.22. NAV per share was Tk. 32.02 Jun’15/Tk. 26.79 Dec’14.

UNIONCAP (HY): EPS Tk. 0.41 / Tk. 0.30. Consolidated NAV per share was Tk. 17.76 Jun’15/Tk. 15.42 Jun’14.

GREENDELT (HY): EPS Tk. 0.90 /Tk. 0.87. NAV per share was Tk. 70.89 Jun’15/Tk. 65.76 Jun’14.

APEXFOOT (HY): EPS Tk. (12.31) /Tk. (3.70). NAV per share was Tk. 216.62 Jun’15/Tk. 234.43 Dec’14.

STANDBANKL (HY): EPS Tk. 0.32 /Tk. 0.98. NAV per share was Tk. 15.44 Jun’15/Tk. 14.23 Jun’14.

BDFINANCE (HY): EPS Tk. 0.03 /Tk. 0.13. NAV per share was Tk. 14.52 Jun’15/Tk. 14.49 Dec’14.

TOSRIFA (HY): EPS Tk. 1.63 / Tk. 1.72. NAV per share was Tk. 33.88 Jun’15/Tk. 37.44 Dec’14.

BATASHOE (HY): EPS Tk. 20.13 /Tk. 20.37. NAV per share was Tk. 197.01 Jun’15/Tk. 174.84 Jun’14.

ASIAINS (HY): EPS Tk. 0.60 / Tk. 1.20. NAV per share was Tk. 17.71 Jun’15/Tk. 19.58 Jun’14.

BAYLEASING (HY): EPS Tk. 0.35 /Tk. 1.16. NAV per share was Tk. 20.56 Jun’15/Tk. 21.71 Dec’14.

PRIMEFIN (HY): EPS Tk. (0.85) /Tk. 0.51. NAV per share was Tk. 14.37 Jun’15/Tk. 16.47 Dec’14.

FIRSTSBANK (HY): EPS Tk. 0.44 /Tk. 0.45. NAV per share was Tk. 13.49 Jun’15/Tk. 9.63 Jun’14.

PRAGATILIF: 17% cash and 5% stock dividend AGM: 29.09.2015,. Record Date: 20.08.2015.

SHASHADNIM: 10% interim cash dividend for 2015, Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.

PTL: The Company has informed that their Board of Directors has decided to purchase the following 2 brand new capital machineries under the credit facilities of Pubali Bank Ltd. for the enhancement of existing productivity and business of the company: 1. Automatic Sampling Loom Machine: Model Evergreen from Taiwan with total price of $ 59,000.00 and 2. Golf Car & Electric Bed from China with total price of $ 12,500.00.

ARGONDENIM: The Company has informed that their Board of Directors has taken a decision to make an investment for purchasing and installing 9 Air Jet Loom at approximate cost of Tk. 5.00 Crore in order to increase the production capacity of the Company.

FIRSTFIN (HY): EPS Tk. 0.47 / Tk. 0.69. NAV per share was Tk. 13.46 Jun’15/Tk. 13.64 Dec’14.

SALVOCHEM (HY): EPS Tk. 0.29 /Tk. 0.55. NAV per share was Tk. 12.02 Jun’15/Tk. 11.74 Dec’14.

PROVATIINS (HY): EPS Tk. 0.78 /Tk. 0.68. NAV per share was Tk. 15.20 Jun’15/Tk. 13.53 Jun’14.

NBL (HY): EPS Tk. 0.73 /Tk. 0.76. Consolidated Consolidated NAV per share was Tk. 17.92 Jun’15/Tk. 16.16 Jun’14.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company BD Finance-B GeminiSeaFood-B Jute SpinnersA PragatiLife Insu. -Z Quasem Drycells -A Northern Jute -Z National Tubes -A IDLC Finance -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A Miracle Industries -B

Closing (% Change) 9.71 8.74 7.56 7.48 6.13 5.92 5.80 5.43 5.43 4.61

CSE GAINER Company BD Finance-B Rupali Bank - A Pragati Gen. I -A Apex Foods -A S.B. 1st M. F.-A Quasem Drycells -A Linde (BD) Ltd. -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A IDLC Finance -A Anwar Galvanizing-B

Closing (% Change) 9.71 7.84 7.60 7.11 6.90 6.81 6.56 6.02 5.60 5.57

DSE LOSER Company Bangladesh Welding -B Bay Leasing.-A Prime Finance-A ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A Republic Insu.-A Salvo Chemicals-B People`s Leasing-A Social Islami. B-A First Finance- A R. N. Spinning-Z

Closing (% Change) -6.44 -6.19 -5.76 -5.58 -5.10 -4.97 -4.52 -4.32 -3.88 -3.77

CSE LOSER Company BD Fixed Income MF-A Anwar Galvanizing-B Bangladesh Welding -B Monno Ceramic -B First Finance- A Kay & Que (BD) -Z Prime Finance-A NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A AsianTigerSandhani GF-A Midas Financing-Z

Closing (% Change) -10.00 -7.03 -6.01 -5.88 -5.30 -5.26 -5.07 -4.35 -4.35 -4.32

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features July 30, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

6,298.63 162,525,672 137,848

Traded Issues

316

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

127

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

185

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,705.57

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.79

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 271.61 515.65 90.37 1060.33 164.32 876.45 8.37 920.04 1029.98 20.93 86.95 21.35 90.41 473.82 47.94 23.05 40.61 179.40 116.44 260.22 0.38

% change 4.31 8.19 1.43 16.83 2.61 13.91 0.13 14.61 16.35 0.33 1.38 0.34 1.44 7.52 0.76 0.37 0.64 2.85 1.85 4.13 0.01

Million Taka 17.71 35.69 3.80 105.78 95.67 70.22 56.20 66.52 2.50 7.85 1.43 4.30 41.76 2.50 0.93 3.44 54.80 21.02 24.33 0.02

Average (% Change) 8.00 7.43 3.75 8.37 4.82 5.32 2.85 3.52 3.37 1.74

Average (% Change) 8.51 6.15 7.76 8.54 6.90 5.86 6.23 3.51 3.68 5.37

Average (% Change) -9.56 -6.44 -7.37 -5.09 -5.47 -4.77 -6.67 -3.55 -7.65 -3.36

Average (% Change) -9.59 -5.90 -8.40 -4.00 -5.13 -5.33 -6.82 -3.07 -4.60 -4.32

CSE

ClosingAvg. 11.21 290.81 49.80 109.88 60.93 205.57 115.06 62.60 49.38 15.78

ClosingAvg. 11.22 50.90 26.94 126.46 9.30 61.41 1225.33 49.54 62.81 44.95

ClosingAvg. 21.38 19.76 13.07 20.31 15.03 15.36 16.66 13.31 12.20 23.03

ClosingAvg.

% change 2.87 5.79 0.62 17.16 15.52 11.39 0.00 9.12 10.79 0.41 1.27 0.23 0.70 6.77 0.41 0.15 0.56 8.89 3.41 3.95 0.00

9.90 42.30 21.60 32.64 12.40 12.60 13.12 4.42 8.91 13.30

Closing 11.30 293.70 49.80 109.20 62.30 205.60 116.80 64.10 50.50 15.90

Closing 11.30 50.90 26.90 125.00 9.30 62.70 1225.40 51.10 64.10 45.50

Closing

DHIGH 11.30 293.70 49.80 119.00 62.60 207.80 117.80 64.50 51.30 16.30

DHIGH 11.30 50.90 27.00 128.00 9.30 62.80 1225.40 51.70 64.70 45.60

DHIGH

21.80 19.70 13.10 20.30 14.90 15.30 16.90 13.30 12.40 23.00

Closing

10.40 276.00 49.80 105.20 59.00 200.00 112.00 60.90 47.50 15.00

DLOW 10.60 50.90 26.50 125.00 9.30 59.90 1225.00 47.30 61.20 43.00

DLOW

22.40 20.60 13.50 21.70 15.50 15.60 18.00 13.70 12.90 24.00

DHIGH

9.90 42.30 21.90 32.00 12.50 12.60 13.10 4.40 8.80 13.30

Million Taka 289.32 551.34 94.18 1166.12 259.99 946.68 8.37 976.23 1096.50 23.43 94.80 22.78 94.70 515.58 50.44 23.98 44.05 234.20 137.46 284.54 0.39

DLOW

21.00 19.10 12.60 20.10 14.80 15.00 16.00 13.20 12.00 22.70

DLOW

9.90 42.30 22.60 33.70 12.50 12.60 13.60 4.60 9.20 13.30

Total

9.90 42.30 21.00 32.00 12.10 12.60 13.00 4.40 8.80 13.30

% change 4.18 7.97 1.36 16.86 3.76 13.69 0.12 14.12 15.86 0.34 1.37 0.33 1.37 7.46 0.73 0.35 0.64 3.39 1.99 4.11 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Turnover in Million

Latest EPS

18.342 8.854 0.025 6.491 114.096 0.229 12.506 181.089 22.005 15.523

Turnover in Million

0.06 11.77 -31.68 2.38 1.81 1.75 -1.36 6.50 2.52 0.36

Latest EPS

4.355 0.025 0.017 0.033 0.019 2.648 0.007 1.747 5.608 0.216

Turnover in Million

186.8 24.7 -ve 46.2 33.7 117.5 -ve 9.6 19.6 43.8

Latest PE

0.06 5.84 1.44 0.36 1.54 1.81 32.00 2.52 6.50 0.68

Latest EPS

87.016 9.187 22.639 0.706 1.495 16.144 180.413 5.257 6.445 16.797

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

187.0 8.7 18.7 351.3 6.0 33.9 38.3 19.7 9.7 66.1

Latest PE

-0.80 0.70 -1.70 2.61 2.18 0.58 0.56 0.70 0.94 0.44

Latest EPS

0.005 0.063 7.515 0.157 0.093 0.000 6.784 0.169 0.085 0.007

-ve 28.2 -ve 7.8 6.9 26.5 29.8 19.0 13.0 52.3

Latest PE

0.51 0.68 -0.80 0.16 0.94 0.28 -1.70 0.94 0.60 -1.55

19.4 62.2 -ve 204.0 13.2 45.0 -ve 4.7 14.9 -ve

CSE key features July 30, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

616.46 14,250,953 19,460

Traded Issues

248

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

102

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

141

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,604.43

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.57

DT

BUSINESS 19

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Stocks inch up in volatile trade n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-A Square Pharma -A Shasha Denims -N Beximco Pharma -A IDLC Finance -A People`s Leasing-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Olympic Accessories -N Grameenphone-A FAR Chemical-N

United Power-N MJL BD Ltd.-A Ifad Autos -N ACI Limited- A Quasem Drycells -A

VolumeShares 3,315,180 969,711 5,448,017 2,926,309 2,892,621 10,829,665 5,081,733 2,490,521 458,992 2,619,393

Value in Million 416.70 263.51 239.31 202.74 181.09 180.41 172.33 164.74 152.08 137.71

% of TotalTurnover 6.62 4.18 3.80 3.22 2.88 2.86 2.74 2.62 2.41 2.19

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

809,936 1,156,140 1,203,480 205,816 1,872,596

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Olympic Ind. -A Grameenphone-A Olympic Accessories -N LafargeS Cement-A United Power-N Beximco Pharma -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Tosrifa Industries -N UNITED AIR-A BSRM Ltd. -A

Square Pharma -A Shasha Denims -N MJL BD Ltd.-A People`s Leasing-A BSRM Steels-A

305,445 150,200 627,140 312,810 161,527 315,300 512,873 526,050 1,408,485 139,259

45,701 251,948 98,711 515,585 99,599

133.53 129.46 127.52 119.51 114.10

88.12 50.32 41.31 39.12 26.66 21.90 17.39 17.00 15.35 13.47

12.41 11.12 11.03 8.87 8.39

2.12 2.06 2.02 1.90 1.81

14.30 8.16 6.70 6.35 4.32 3.55 2.82 2.76 2.49 2.19

2.01 1.80 1.79 1.44 1.36

ClosingP 127.00 272.70 44.40 69.70 64.10 16.90 33.80 66.10 330.50 53.20

165.00 112.90 106.60 585.20 62.30

ClosingP

Change % 3.00 -0.58 2.07 2.05 5.43 -4.52 0.00 2.48 -2.56 3.91

-0.42 2.82 1.91 3.01 6.13

Change %

277.10 330.60 65.90 126.50 165.00 69.90 33.80 32.70 10.90 97.00

272.60 44.50 113.00 17.00 84.60

1.17 -2.45 2.49 3.43 -0.06 2.19 0.00 4.14 0.93 2.75

-0.26 2.30 3.10 -3.41 1.68

ClosingY 123.30 274.30 43.50 68.30 60.80 17.70 33.80 64.50 339.20 51.20

165.70 109.80 104.60 568.10 58.70

ClosingY

273.90 338.90 64.30 122.30 165.10 68.40 33.80 31.40 10.80 94.40

273.30 43.50 109.60 17.60 83.20

DHIGH 127.80 274.80 44.80 70.40 64.50 18.00 34.50 66.90 335.00 53.70

166.80 113.50 107.00 588.00 62.60

DHIGH

278.90 336.90 66.70 127.20 166.00 70.80 34.30 32.80 11.00 97.90

274.80 45.90 113.10 17.80 85.00

DLOW 123.70 268.00 42.30 68.00 60.90 16.00 33.60 64.80 329.00 51.40

163.50 109.60 104.50 568.50 59.00

DLOW

275.20 330.00 64.50 123.20 163.80 67.80 33.70 31.30 10.80 93.60

269.00 42.90 108.60 16.80 83.00

AvgPrice 125.69 271.74 43.93 69.28 62.60 16.66 33.91 66.15 331.32 52.57

164.86 111.97 105.96 580.67 60.93

AvgPrice

288.51 335.00 65.87 125.07 165.04 69.46 33.92 32.32 10.90 96.75

271.58 44.12 111.77 17.21 84.20

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

12222.39550

(+) 0.30%

1883.91037

(+) 0.77%

14715.23710

(+) 0.43%

12222.39550

(+) 0.68%

8959.59530

(+) 0.43%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks gained marginally in volatile trade yesterday, led by the rally of cement, power and pharmaceuticals issues.

The market was in the positive territory in most of the session with lackluster trading as investors were vigilant about the monetary policy stance unveiled on the day. But last minute buying has sent the market to the positive territory.

The benchmark of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, gained 14 points or 0.4% to close at 4,792 after marginal fall in the previous session.

The Shariah index, DSES, edged over 5 points or 0.5% higher to 1,189. The blue chip comprising index DS30 was up 14 points or 0.8% to 1,883. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, surged over 38 points to settle at 8,959.

Among the positive performing sectors, cement gained the highest 2.9% followed by engineering 1.9%, power almost 1% and pharmaceuticals 0.8%.

Non-banking financial institutions advanced marginally while banks, telecommunication, food and allied declined.

The turnover at DSE was

relatively stable as it stood at Tk630 crore, which was only 0.1% lower than the previous session’s value.

Lanka Bangla Securities said the market continued to move sideways amid no direct implication of monetary policy statement to the stock market.

“The statement included some subtle changes with no cut on repo rate directing towards no change in near-term interest rate. After seeing a subdued trade in morning session and mixed performance in earnings news, stocks continued to perform well following the announced of accommodative stance from the Bangladesh Bank.”

IDLC Investments said having volatile movements throughout the session, the bourse ended flat by the day-end. It said besides, half-yearly earning declarations were mixed and investors were seemed demonstrating minimal reaction to favorable earnings as they were waiting for a confirmation of upbeat reversal.

Accordingly, the search for lucrative and short-term spread put investors in a cautious floor of trading, keeping the market turnover almost flat, it said. l

ANALYST

The market continued to move sideways amid no direct implication of monetary policy statement to the stock market

DT

20 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Monetary policy cuts credit growth target n Tribune Report Sticking to its cautious stance, Bangladesh Bank has cut private sector credit growth target, kept policy rates unchanged, created fund for promoting manufacturers and exporters, and planned to increase broad money supply.

In its half-yearly monetary policy statement unveiled yesterday, the central bank said: “This is a cautious but explicitly progrowth monetary policy stance supporting the 7% growth target and the 6.2% inflation target for the fiscal year 2016.”

Justifying its cautious stance, Governor Atiur Rahman said: “Vehicle is running comfortably. We do not want to gear up its speed suddenly for making room of instability.

That’s why it is similar to the last one.”

Private sector credit growth is projected to grow at 14.3% for the next six months, down from the previous monetary policy.

Credit growth to the private sector stood at 13.6% by June, falling short of target of 15.5% set in the previous monetary policy.

BB governor said some quarters held the view that setting high targets for credit expansion was needed for stimulating higher rates of GDP growth.

“Pumping excessive liquidity in absence of progress in addressing infrastructural inadequacies and other well-known investment impediments will only stoke inflation and worsen social inequity by encouraging unproductive speculative pursuits.”

“We have, therefore, been taking care in adopting cautious, restrained monetary stance ensuring adequacy of credit growth but at the same time avoiding undue excessive expansion.

“This stance is serving our economy well in maintaining inflation moderation and stability on a sustained basis.”

If the last fiscal year’s 13.6% credit growth could endow the economy with 6.5% output growth, a provision of 15% private credit growth appears to be adequate to support 7%

TREND OF PRIVATE SECTOR CREDIT GROWTH 16.5%

15.5% 15.5%

14.0% 12.3%

13.5%

14.3%

13.6%

Actual growth Projection in MPS

10.6%

H1 FY14

H2 FY14

H1 FY15

H2 FY15

H1 FY16

BB PROJECTIONS Slowdown in foreign exchange reserves in near future $500m credit fund created for promoting manufacturers, exporters Repo and reverse repo rates to remain unchanged at 7.5% Economic growth in current fiscal to be 7% Headline inflation to keep moderate level in line with economic growth Broad money projected to grow at 15% in H1, 15.6% in FY16-end Public sector credit is projected to grow at 8% in H1, 23.7% in FY16-end Private sector credit is projected to grow at 14.3% in H1, 15% in FY16-end output growth for the current fiscal year, said the BB statement.

In extending loans to the productive and vulnerable sectors at lower interest rates, a fund for $500m will be created to support medium and long-term projects, especially environmentally responsible investments at lower interest rates in the current fiscal year.

Of the fund, the World Bank has committed to contribute $300m as credit and BB will add another $200m which will be specifically for greening initiatives in the export oriented textiles, apparels, and leather sectors.

“Creation of this fund means to make more room for investment. We are discussing with

the World Bank to increase the fund,” said Atiur. “So space has been kept more than what is needed to achieve 7% growth in the new monetary policy.”

Bangladesh Bank kept the benchmark repo rate at which it lends money to banks, unchanged at 7.5%, in the monetary policy for first half of the current fiscal year.

Against the backdrop of falling general inflation due to easing food prices and edging up nonfood and non-fuel core inflation, the statement said, “Policy interest rates (repo, reverse repo) will remain unchanged, but easing will be considered after point-to-point headline general inflation and core CPI inflation take a sustained declining trend.”

BTRC warns VSP operators of dues

NSIC-SME Foundation set to sign MoU for developing SME sector

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will take stern action against VoIP Service Providers if the latter does not pay its dues to the regulator after settlement of revenue sharing with International Gateways.

Even BTRC will go to the extent of cancelling VoIP licences.

The telecommunication watchdog warned the VoIP Service Provider (VSP) recently in a notice.

At the same time, the IGW operators will find ways over their revenue sharing with VSPs, said the notice.

If any objection is raised against IGWs revenue sharing with BTRC, the IGW Operators Forum (IOF) will address it.

On the contrary, IOF would be responsible to recover default payment from VSPs, said the notice. IGW and VSP operators owe BTRC more than Tk600 crore.

The government took the initiative to issue VSP licences in 2013 to stop illegal use of VoIP. l

n Tribune Report

n Tribune Report

The SME Foundation is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC) of India to work jointly for integrated development of SME sectors, particularly in the industrial fields of Bangladesh.

A three-member NSIC delegation, led by its Chairman and Managing Director Ravindra Nath, disclosed this while visiting the office of SME Foundation in the city yesterday.

Attending a meeting, both parties have agreed to sign a bilateral MoU soon in this regard, said a SME Foundation media release issued yesterday.

SME Foundation Chairperson KM Habib Ullah said, “Proper nursing and development of SMEs can help boost income opportunities, strengthen household security, improve living standard and reduce the risk of unemployment issues.”

He also expected that the development

could be made through sharing of knowledge and technology between the two organisations having the same objects and practice of socio-economic, cultural and official themes.

The NSIC delegate chief Ravindra Nath said, “Establishment of incubation centre in Bangladesh with support of SME Foundation would be an initiative to accelerate access to improved facilities for the entrepreneurs in Bangladesh in a sustainable way.”

The initiative will help to mobilise as well as facilitate the flow of available and potential resources to accelerate investment in SME sector throughout the country with a goal to reach the SMEs. The meeting was attended, among others,

by SME Foundation Managing Director Md Ihsanul Karim, General Manager SM Shaheen Anwar, Deputy General Managers Nazim Hasan Sattar and SM Nurul Alam and officials from Bangladesh Bank and Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (IIDFC). l

“In addition, the fall in interest rates is not significant enough to warrant a downshift of policy rates immediately. The changes are nevertheless not substantial enough to outweigh the concern about rising core inflation.

Policy rates will, therefore, remain on the course as before.”

In February 2013, the central bank had cut repo rate by 50 basis points to 7.5% after three years. BB expects to keep inflation rate at a moderate level. For a developing economy like Bangladesh, various empirical studies and the public perception define a range of 4-6% inflation as moderate.

“The upper limit of this range may move further up if the economy is accelerating at 7% or above. Then affording an inflation rate of 7% or 8% will be necessary to absorb the speeding up of employment, output, and wages,” the statement said.

“The government’s 6.2% inflation target for the FY16 implies that we need to go for further reduction by slightly pressing the brake on the price level.”

The central bank also sees a slowdown in the growth rate of foreign exchange reserves in the near future because of imports’ outpacing exports by around 8.5 percentage points.

Reserve money is projected to grow at 16% and broad money (M2) at 15.6% which are adequate to support the growth and inflation targets. It has also taken the growth rates of both public and private credit into account.

Describing the widening current account deficit and its financing blessing to monetary policy, the statement said an augmenting current account deficit would turn out to a blessing in disguise for at least a year or two ahead once it came to the exchange rate and reserves.

The next current account deficit for the FY16 is projected to reach $3.55bn which will eventually reduce the overall balance to $1.13bn.

The central bank expects 14% growth in imports, 7.5% growth in exports, and 10% growth in remittances for the fiscal year. l

Asian markets mostly higher after Wall Street gains n AFP, Hong Kong Asian markets mostly rose yesterday, tracking a second straight rally in New York, while the dollar also pushed higher after the Federal Reserve upgraded its outlook on the US economy.

With the mood on global markets a little more upbeat than at the start of the week, oil prices edged up although concerns over a supply glut are keeping a lid on rises.

Tokyo jumped 1.05% as the yen weakened against the greenback, while Hong Kong added 0.77%, Sydney climbed 0.58% and Shanghai was 0.10% higher. Seoul dropped 0.73%, hurt by selling in heavyweight Samsung Electronics after it reported disappointing earnings.

After a two-day policy meeting, the Fed said in a statement that the world’s top economy had expanded “moderately” in recent months and the jobs market had strengthened, but it noted continued “soft” business investment and exports. l

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

T-JUNCTION

Sweet surrender Photo: Tasmia Momin

INSIDE

23

Tantalise

A date with dessert

24 news

22

listology

A typical university classroom

Commonwealth ministers commend Bangladesh’s National Youth Policy at the Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in New Delhi

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22 T-JUNCTION

Listology

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

listology

A typical university classroom Here’s a list of types of people you might encounter while struggling for proper education

n Tasnia Khandaker As students, we spend most of our days cramped up in a boxed up room (read prison). Dreams shatter and hopes die as we discover, within those walls, the reality of this world. But hey! At least we don’t have to do it alone. We have our equally oblivious comrades.

The to-do-lists Have you ever felt an overwhelming pang of hatred just at the sight of someone? Like their sheer existence is giving you allergies?

You haven’t? Then you probably haven’t met these folks. The to-do-lists make your life more miserable than it already is. When you’re staring at the clock anxiously for the class to end at 3:30pm, they are the people who ask a confusing, elaborate question to the teacher at 3:29pm. They remind the teachers about forgotten quizzes, they advise them to take more tests. You hate them with a passion you didn’t know a human being could possess.

The latecomers They’re the most determined and consistent students in the classroom. Without fail, they manage to be late for every single class. Teachers have tried lecturing them, punishing them, even asked them to not come to class again. But the latecomers do show up, and they show up late.

The runway models Prada bag? Check. Jimmy Choo shoes?

Check. Hair on point? Check. Butt-load of makeup at 8am classes? Double check.

Every time one of these walk into the classroom, your self-esteem, along with your nerd glasses, shatter. Their faces look brighter than your future. Even if they are outnumbered by girls, the guys of this category, with their branded shoes, shades, belts, and well everything, are not bad at show-stopping either. While some of them might not talk-the-talk, they sure do know how to walk-the-walk.

The know-it-alls Easiest way to spot one of these is when you finally scrape up all your courage to ask a question in class, and the teacher has barely gotten a sentence out in response. The ones who interrupt him/her acting like they are the ones with the PhD, are the know-it-alls.

It is absolutely crucial for them to point out the fact that they’re better than everyone else. Don’t you just want to stab them in their smug faces or something? Or maybe it’s just me.

The clueless These people have mastered the arts of staring at walls for prolonged periods of time, pretending to listen and sleeping with their eyes open.

Lectures about the reproduction system might end up with them asking, “Wait! So they’re not just found wrapped up in a blanket outside your door? My mother’s story about where babies come from, was a lie?” If they manage to find the right classroom, or finally get the course name right, don’t forget to give them a medal.

The future teacher’s assistants Working hard or actually studying for grades isn’t really working out for them.

So what else is there? Buttering up the

the information on their LinkedIn profiles, the future TAs know it all.

The blue moons Classes have started in January but the first time you catch a glimpse of them is around mid-February. Eating expired nachos might be on their priority list, but attending classes sure as hell isn’t. Chances are, they are retaking this course, so they might show up for one or two exams, write giberish and walk out like they’ve better things to do.

They probably do.

teacher of course! The faculty’s tie might look like goblin-vomit mixed with hints of rat excreta, but in the eyes of these people, it’s the most chic piece of clothing ever to have existed. They stalk the teacher on every social networking platform possible.

Starting from the teacher’s marital status to

The groupies Being alone? They haven’t heard the word.

They are the ones who sit all cluttered together in a classroom and talk non-stop about their daily life dilemmas, which is unquestionably more important than anything the teacher is lecturing on. They eat together, take the same classes, rant about the same problems, and of course, bully the same people. l

news

Awareness workshop on Establishment of IQAC and Self-Assessment held at DIU A workshop on “Awareness of Establishment of IQAC and Self-Assessment Program” was held on July 28 at DIU auditorium organised by the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Daffodil international University (DIU). Professor Dr Yousuf M Islam, Vice Chancellor, Daffodil International University presided over the programme while Professor Dr Mesbahuddin Ahmed, head, Quality Assurance Unity (QAU), UGC was the chief guest. Prof Dr Sanjoy Kumar Adhikary, QAU specialist, UGC, and Dr Md Mokhlesur Rahman, senior operations officer, Education Global Practice, World Bank were present as the special guests in the workshop. Md Sabur

Khan, chairman, board of trustees, Daffodil International University was present as the guest of honour in the programme.

Prof Dr Golam Rahman, pro-vice chancellor, Professor Emeritus Dr Aminul Islam, Professor Emeritus Dr M Lutfar Rahman, Professor Dr Muhammad Mahboob Ali, director, IQAC, DIU, Professor Dr Md Fokhray Hossain, additional director, IQAC also spoke on this occasion.

Professor Dr Mesbahuddin Ahmed, head, Quality Assurance Unity (QAU), UGC, spoke on the importance of Self Assessment and Quality Assurance in higher education.

He also said that Daffodil international

University believes in good quality education and he hoped that through establishment of this institute the university will be able to

ensure and develop the quality of education further.l

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Tantalise

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

A date with dessert Two delicious sweet treats to unwind with this weekend

n Tasmia Momin After a long work week, what better way to relax and let loose than to put on those baking gloves and indulge in the joy of baking. This week we’ve focused on two sweet treats, a good old chocolate brownie and a traditional welsh cake. Easy to make, these treats are perfect for a quite weekend at home or even a shared teatime date with a special one.

Chocolate brownies Brownies are an eternal favourite, but when done wrong, they can be a source of major disappointment. This week I present you a simple 1-2-3 step brownie recipe that packs just the righ amount of punch.

• • • • • • • • • •

2 eggs 1 cup sugar ½ cup butter ½ tsp. vanilla 80gms of melted chocolate ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup cocoa powder ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt Handful of cashew nuts (optional)

Sift the dry ingredients and keep aside. Cream the eggs and sugar. Add in butter and vanilla essence along with melted chocolate and cashew nuts. Mix everything till well combined. Fold in the dry ingredients. Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degree celsius, or until a toothpick comes out clean or with crumbled bits of brownie (not uncooked batter).

Welsh cake Welsh cakes are traditional teatime treats originating in the heart of rural Wales. An old favourite for the British, the beauty of this cake lies in it’s home cooked simplicity.

Unpretentious and full of the feel good flavour of a treat that has been passed on through generations, these spiced cakes have everything you need for a quick afternoon snack. These little ones are a balanced combination of sweet and salty, crumbling in your mouth with each bite. Best served with lots of butter or a generous sprinkling of sugar.

Ingredients • 1 cup all-purpose flour • ½ cup butter • 1 tsp baking powder • 2 tbsp sugar • Zest of a lemon • Handful of raisins • Handful of fresh or tinned blueberries • A pinch of salt • A pinch of nutmeg • 1 egg • 2 tbsp of milk

Photos: Tasmia Momin

Mix flour and butter with the help of your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in baking powder, sugar, lemon zest, salt, nutmeg and the dried fruits and blueberries.

Crack in an egg along with a small amount of milk and knead lightly to form dough. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and cut into small rounds using cookie cutters.

Cook them over a fry pan on medium heat, 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with custard crème and berries of your choice.

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

News

Commonwealth ministers commend Bangladesh’s National Youth Policy at the Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in New Delhi Principal consultant of Bangladesh’s National Youth Policy 2015 and President of Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC), Ejaj Ahmad, and the director general of the Department of Youth Development (DYD), Anwarul Karim, delivered a presentation on Bangladesh’s National Youth Policy Formulation at a high level meeting today in New Delhi, which was attended by youth Ministers and senior government representatives of commonwealth Asia region. Also in attendance was the Bangladesh state minister for youth and sports, Shri Biren Sikder, and the secretary of ministry of youth and sports, Nur Mohammad.

With technical assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and the ministry of youth and sports, Ejaj Ahmad led a team of researchers over the past one year to conduct extensive desk research, national youth survey, stakeholder consultations, FGDs and key informant interviews to develop a comprehensive youth policy that reflects the hopes and aspirations of the youth of Bangladesh.

During their presentation, Ejaj Ahmad and Anwarul Karim said, “The mission of the National Youth Policy 2015 is to outline steps to equip youth with critical thinking and problem solving skills and transform them into competent, compassionate, productive, healthy, technologically aware, environmentally conscious, and socially responsible citizens.”

(From Left to Right) President of BYLC Ejaj Ahmad, Youth Secretary Nur Mohammad, Commonwealth Youth Affairs Director Katherine Ellis, State Minister of Youth and Sports Shri Biren Sikder, DG of DYD Anwarul Karim & Deputy High Commissioner in India Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury pose for a photo after presentation on the Bangladesh National Youth Policy Formulation at the Asia Region Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in New Delhi. June 30, 2015.

The core research team for National Youth Policy 2015 and National Action Plan included Ejaj Ahmad, Dr Ummul Ruthbah, lead economist of the project and associate professor at Dhaka University’s economics department, Tanvir Mahmud, research

16 find Lux’s gold locket in Dhaka

16 people from Dhaka division got lucky when they found the gold lockets that were part of a special Eid campaign.

The 16 people who have found the gold lockets were Mirpur’s Mamun, Shafique and Shahidul Parvez; Gazipur’s Tariqul Islam, Priyanka, Shafiqul Islam and Fahmida; Narayanganj’s Sultan Ahmed, Abu Bakr and Joynal Abedin; Demra’s Manik and Mehedi Hasan; Faridpur’s Amirul and Mohammed Asaduzzaman; Mohakhali’s Arafat and Aminul Islam from Keraniganj. When describing their feelings, they said that they always use Lux and

are delighted to win the gold lockets. The winners were also pleasantly surprised to find out that the gold lockets were infused with their favorite Lux perfumes.

Previously, 10 people from Chittagong and one person from Dhaka found gold lockets with Lux. l

fellow at BYLC, Tashmina Rahman, analyst at World Bank, Tasfia Zaman and Grace Priyanka Sengupta, researchers at BYLC. The ministry of youth and sports has posted the draft National Youth Policy 2015 on their website and are currently welcoming

feedback from different stakeholders.

Feedback on the policy can be emailed to Mohammad Golam Kabir, senior assistant secretary, ministry of youth and sports, at mgkabir24@gmail.com. l

Le Meridien Dhaka partners with Bengal Art Lounge to unlock local contemporary art scene for guests

Le Méridien Dhaka, city’s newest upscale hotel, and Bengal Art Lounge, a leading art gallery in the country, this week signed a non-commercial partnership to help guests of the hotel to better engage in the local contemporary art scene. The partnership is critical for the roll out of one of the brand programmes of Le Méridien, Unlock Art™.

The agreement has been signed by Managing Director Nawshin Khair and Director Luva Nahid Choudhury of Bengal Art Lounge and by General Manager Ashwani Nayar and Marketing Communications Manager Zaireen Sultana Lupa of Le Méridien Dhaka.

Witnesses to the ceremony were Manager of Bengal Art Lounge Hadrien Diez and Experience Specialist of Le Meridien Dhaka Rose Delos Reyes.

Under the terms of the Unlock Art™ partnership, guests of Le Méridien Dhaka will be encouraged to visit a local contemporary cultural centre throughout the year at Bengal Art Lounge. Furthermore, Bengal Art Lounge will also provide a cultural experience directly to the guests of Le Méridien Dhaka by organising arts-related events in the premises of the hotel on a periodical basis. l

Former Chelsea forward Adrian Mutu has joined FC Pune City as their marquee player for the second season of the Indian Super League, the club announced on Thursday.

Sport 26

JUST WANT TO BOWL, MAN: STEYN

27

‘300 WILL BE A GOOD TOTAL FOR OUR BOWLERS’

29

25

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

JOHNSON JOINS AUSTRALIA’S 300 CLUB

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim drives one on way to his 15th fifty during the opening day of the second and final Test against South Africa at SBNS yesterday

Proteas wrest away initiative n Mazhar Uddin Despite getting some good starts, the Bangladesh batsmen fell like ninepins in the final session as the Tigers finished the opening day’s play of the second and final Test against South Africa on 246/8 at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Replacing Taijul Islam, Nasir Hossain was the only change in the Bangladesh line-up that played the first Test in Chittagong while it was the same for the Proteas with uncapped wicket-keeper Dane Vilas named as a replacement of the struggling Quinton de Kock.

On a rather slow and low track, Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and decided to take first strike. However, speedster Dale Steyn, who was just a wicket shy from reaching the 400-club, drew the first blood when he dismissed opener Tamim Iqbal (six) in just the fifth over of the day. The 32-year

old fast bowler became only the second South African cricketer, and 13th overall, to pick up 400 wickets after all-rounder and former captain Shaun Pollock.

Opener Imrul Kayes and top-order batsman Mominul Haque then added 69 runs for the second wicket to bring Bangladesh back into the tie.

However, the situation changed drastically for the home side after lunch as off-spinner JP Duminy, who did not bowl a single over in the first Test, bagged the scalps of both Imrul and Mominul.

Imrul and Mominul would be disappointed getting out after registering impressive starts.

While Imrul scored 30 from 93 balls, Mominul added 40 runs to the Tigers’ first-innings tally from 87 deliveries.

Mushfiq and Mahmudullah then began the recovery act and were successful in guiding the ship through troubled waters, add-

ing 94 runs for the fourth wicket. However, just when it appeared that the Tigers were heading towards a big score, the Proteas struck back.

The home side went on to lose five wickets for the addition of 92 runs in the final session of the day with Mahmudullah (35 off 91 balls) departing first.

Skipper Mushfiq (65 off 125 balls) remained steady at the other end and smashed his 15th fifty, and first after 10 innings. The 26-year old however, can consider himself unlucky after he was given out caught behind off part-timer Dean Elgar. Shakib al Hasan was also among the culprits after being dismissed for 35.

Liton Kumar Das (three) and Mohammad Shahid (one) departed late in the day to enable the visitors to the driving seat at stumps on the opening day.

Duminy (3/27) and Steyn (3/30) were the wreckers in chief for the tourists. l

DT

MARQUEE PLAYER

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BANvSA, DAY 1 BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS

R

B

Tamim Iqbal c Amla b Steyn Imrul Kayes lbw b Duminy Mominul Haque c Vilas b Duminy Mahmudullah Riyad c Bavuma b Steyn Mushfiqur Rahim c Vials b Elgar Shakib Al Hasan c Elgar b Morkel Liton Das c Elgar b Duminy Nasir Hossain not out Mohammad Shahid b Steyn Extras (b5, lb11, nb2)

6 30 40 35 65 35 3 13 1 18

15 93 87 91 125 65 11 40 4

Total (for eight wickets; 88.1 overs)

246

Fall of wickets 1-12 (Tamim), 2-81 (Mominul), 3-86 (Kayes), 4-180 (Mahmudullah), 5-215 (Rahim), 6-220 (Das), 7-245 (Shakib), 8-246 (Shahid) Bowling Steyn 16.1-4-30-3, Philander 11-2-25-0 (nb2), Morkel 14-2-45-1, Harmer 23-3-76-0, van Zyl 2-15-0, Elgar 7-0-22-1, Duminy 15-4-27-3

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26 Sport

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Steyn-gun joins 400 club

IN NUMBERS

80

Tests Dale Steyn has taken to reach 400 wickets - the joint-least by a fast bowler. Richard Hadlee also took his 400th wicket in his 80th Test. Overall, Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 72 Tests, is the only bowler quicker to the landmark than Steyn.

n Minhaz Uddin Khan South African fast bowler Dale Steyn became the 13th cricketer, and quickest in terms of balls, to join the 400-wicket club when he dismissed Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal during the first day of the second and final Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Steyn reached the milestone in 16634 balls.

No other cricketer in history has reached the landmark in so less deliveries. Steyn is ahead of the likes of Shane Warne (264 wickets from 16634 deliveries), Glenn McGrath (323), Wasim Akram (315), Courtney Walsh (298), Muttiah Muralidaran (262) and Jimmy Anderson (281) among others.

Steyn required just one wicket in the series decider against Bangladesh to join the club. And he did not have to wait long for the landmark as he sent back Tamim to the dressing room in the fifth over of the opening day.

Steyn is the second South African to reach the milestone after all-rounder and former captain Shaun Pollock. l

13

Bowlers who have taken 400 wickets in Tests including Steyn, who is the ninth fast bowler to do so and the second South Africa bowler after Shaun Pollock. The last bowler before Steyn to complete 400 Test wickets was James Anderson, who got to this landmark against New Zealand in May this year.

16634

Balls it took Steyn to collect 400 wickets - the least, by far, taken by any bowler. Richard Hadlee, who was the previous quickest to the milestone in terms of balls bowled, took at least 3600 deliveries more than those taken

by Steyn.

41.58

Steyn’s strike-rate when he took his 400th wicket, the best among bowlers with 200 or more wickets in Tests. Among bowlers in the 400-club, Richard Hadlee comes closest to Steyn, with a strike-rate of 50.8.

0

Fifties by Bangladesh’s No. 5 batsmen against South Africa in Tests before Mushfiqur Rahim’s 65 in this match. Mehrab Hussain’s unbeaten 43 in Bloemfontein in 2008 was the highest score before this.

BOWLERS WITH 400 TEST WICKETS Match/In

Wickets

Kapil Dev (India)

131/227

434

Richard Hadlee (NZ)

86/150

431

Shaun Pollock (SA)

108/202

421

Harbhajan Singh (India) 102/188

416

Wasim Akram (Pak)

104/181

414

James Anderson (Eng)

106/199

406

Curtly Ambrose (WI)

98/179

405

Dale Steyn (SA)

80/149

402

14.6

Mushfiqur’s average in his last ten Test innings before this match. He had got out for a duck thrice in these 10 innings and had scored a highest of 45, against Zimbabwe in Chittagong.

94

Partnership runs added by Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah for the fourth wicket, Bangladesh’s second-highest for any wicket against South Africa. Bangladesh’s only century stand against South Africa came in 2003, when Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar added 131 for the second wicket.

3

Times Bangladesh have had five or more of their top six batsmen scoring 30-plus in an innings including this match. Both the previous instances had come against West Indies at home.

South African fast bowler Dale Steyn celebrates one of his three wickets on the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Just want to bowl, man: Steyn n Mazhar Uddin South African speedster Dale Steyn’s happiness knew no bounds yesterday when he claimed his 400th Test wicket during the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Here are the excerpts from yesterday’s post-day press conference where he expressed his elation upon joining the 400-club:

Is this the best moment of your life?

No, I have to be honest with you. That’s about it really. Most definitely not. I have never been a stats person. It’s nice to have them numbers but there have been a lot better moments in

my cricketing career. Winning games for my country has always been my number one objective so yeah, job’s not over. It’s cool. It’s nice to have 400.....(laughs away)

You did not celebrate much after getting your 400th Test wicket. Any reasons behind that?

I don’t know. It’s a mix of different emotions really. I don’t really know what to say. It’s pretty cool to take the wickets and get the headband off and get the hair off. I think I have taken some abuse about my hair. That doesn’t influence my bowling at all.

You have taken 400 wickets faster than the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Wasim Akram, among others. Have you ever

thought of taking 400 wickets this early in your career?

I just want to play every game. I want to bowl again [today]. I want to bowl again the next time South Africa pick me. Anything can happen, I don’t set targets. I would have been happy if I had taken just one wicket in my international career. It’s enough to play for South Africa and take wickets for South Africa. And then I managed to get 400.

I never thought that this would ever happen in my life.

So, I just want to bowl, man. I have said that many times before, and I probably sound like a broken record. I just repeat myself.

But I just love bowling. Just give me the ball and if I am fit and I am strong, I will bowl all

day. So there’s no targets. It’s not like I want to take 500 or I want to play 100 Tests. I just want to bowl.

How would you assess the first day for South Africa?

Yeah, look, it was a good day for us, we always knew that once we got them to sixdown. Their lower-order batters don’t tend to like hanging around. Those are wickets we can wrap up quickly. It’s not wrapped up yet but that was the initial goal. And throughout the day, we didn’t let them get away with the game. It’s quite difficult conditions to bat and bowl, because the ball gets pretty soft and the economy rate never got higher than 2.8. l

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FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

QUICK BYTES Mourinho hits back at Rafa’s wife with ‘fat’ jibe Jose Mourinho’s bitter feud with Rafael Benítez has reopened in the Chelsea manager’s third attack on a rival in less than a week. Mourinho is in combative mood ahead of the new Premier League season, after a remarkable riposte to criticism from Montse Seara, Benítez’s wife, which has reignited a long-running row that stretches back to 2005.

–AGENCIES

Kaka powers MLS All-Stars over Spurs Brazilian star Kaka scored one goal and set up another as the Major League Soccer All-Stars edged Tottenham 2-1 Wednesday in an international friendly featuring the North American league’s elite talents. The MLS team improved to 5-3 in All-Star Games against English Premier League teams. Since the MLS squad began facing European clubs at the All-Star Game in 2005, the North Americans are 7-4, including a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich last year.

–AFP

‘Di Maria still absent as United exit nears’ Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted he still does not know where Angel Di Maria is as Paris Saint-Germain once again claimed they are close to signing the Argentina international. Di Maria, who had been given time off after the Copa America, was supposed to fly to California on Saturday to link up with United on their preseason tour. But he missed his flight and Van Gaal implied he had gone absent without leave in an attempt to force a move by saying that he had still not appeared after Wednesday’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago.

–ESPN

BCCI sells 4-year home series rights for $31.7m The BCCI has sold the title rights for India’s home series for the next four years - from October 2015 to September 2019 - for Rs 203.28 crore (approx US $31.7m) to ecommerce firm, Paytm, an increase of around 20% compared to last season.

–CRICINFO

Federer withdraws from Rogers Cup in Montreal World number two Roger Federer has withdrawn from next month’s Rogers Cup in Montreal, though he gave no reason for his decision in a statement released by organisers on Wednesday.

Federer, a 17-times grand slam singles champion, has twice won the elite ATP World Tour Masters event - in Toronto in 2004 and 2006.

–REUTERS

Tokyo logo design ruffles feathers abroad Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic emblem has triggered astonishment in Europe due to its resemblance to the logo of a Belgian theatre and a separate Spanish design. In the latest public relations blow to Tokyo after plans for its $2 billion Olympic stadium were ditched, a Belgium-based designer took to social media to register surprise over the similarities between the logos.

–AFP

300 will be a good total for our bowlers to bowl at: Mominul n Mazhar Uddin Yesterday was rather a disappointing outing for the Tigers as the second and final Test against South Africa got underway at Sher-eBangla National Stadium. Although five batsmen registered starts, only captain Mushfiqur Rahim crossed fifty as Bangladesh ended the opening day on 246/8.

With the last recognised batsman – Nasir Hossain - at the middle, top-order batsman Mominul Haque believes they can very well cross the 300-run mark when the second day’s proceedings resume today. Mominul however, thinks even if they reach 300, it will be a below-par total against the world’s number one ranked Test outfit.

“I think the score is not big. It has to be around 350-400 runs. Bowlers then can have a good total to bowl at. The runs are not enough. We will try to get to 300, which I think will still be a good score. I think 300 is possible if Nasir bats well. Our tail can defend the ball. Then, we can bowl on the right areas,” Mominul told the media in the post-day press conference yesterday.

Mominul posted a good score but gave away the initiative when he was caught behind by debutant Dane Vilas off JP Duminy for 40. The diminutive batsman vented his displeasure at the manner of his dismissal.

“I took a wrong decision. It was also a

South African spinner JP Duminy (R) exults after dismissing Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque during the opening day of the second and final Test at SBNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK wrong decision in the last game. I hope to overcome quickly. I do not think I am losing concentration. The cut is my scoring shot, so I am playing those shots from which I get runs.

Sometimes your best shot do not work for you. When it does not happen for you, even the half-chances went to the hands of the fielders. I have to be more careful next time,” lamented Mominul.

The classy southpaw said although some of the Bangladesh batsmen gifted their wickets, the Proteas did bowl at a tight line and length throughout the opening day’s play.

“My wicket and Liton’s [Kumar Das] did not make for great viewing. Imrul [Kayes] got out to a good ball. I think some of us gifted our wickets but Shakib [al Hasan] bhai’s dismissal was off a good ball,” he said. l

BCB on the lookout for new BPL owners n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh Cricket Board is looking for new owners for the third edition of the money-spinning Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 due to the irregularities of the franchises.

The BCB has sent out advertisements for the franchise ownership rights of the BPL for a period of four years, from 2015-18. BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury informed the media that the board has decided to opt for new tender after terminating the contract with the previous franchise owners.

Cricket’s governing body in the country has asked the interested parties to submit their Expression of Interest for the divisional franchise teams of Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet. The EOI must be submitted within August 17, 2015.

Nizamuddin said although the contract with the previous owners has been discontinued, they can still buy a franchise provided they meet the BCB compliances.

“At this point of time, the contract with the previous franchises stand terminated. In terms of the unpaid amount that they were supposed to have paid, we are undergoing an arbitration process. If that does not work, we will take the next step. The previous franchise owners can apply for the ownership but they will have to meet our compliances like everyone else,” Nizamuddin told the

media yesterday.

The BCB CEO added that there have been some contact from several interested parties but it is too early to name them.

The previous franchise owners of the first two seasons of the BPL were SQ Sports (Chittagong Kings), Shihab Trading House (Dhaka Gladiators), Orion Sports (Khulna Royal Bengals), Mohan & Associates (Duronto Rajshahi), I Sports Ltd (Rangpur Riders) and Alif Group (Barisal Burners). The seventh franchise – Sylhet Royals – underwent too many changes in the ownership, thus, the last owner was not possible to determine.

Earlier last May, the BCB had said the Dhaka Gladiators franchise is unlikely to participate in BPL 3 due to the corruption charges against them. Their owners Shihab Jishan Chowdhury and Salim Chowdhury have each been banned for 10 years.

“It is almost confirmed that Dhaka Gladiators will not be participating in the next BPL because the International Cricket Council has given a decision regarding them. They cannot take part in the tournament,” BPL member secretary Ismail Haider Mallick had said back then.

The Gladiators clinched the first two editions of the BPL in 2012 and 2013. The cashrich tournament has been a big uncertainty since then due to fixing allegations in BPL 2.

However, following a long wait, the BCB has finally decided to hold the third edition of the domestic T20 tournament. l

Sumon Khan poses with his gold medal in the shotput 4kg category of the 14th Special Olympics

Bangladesh shines in Special Olympics n Tribune Desk Bangladesh experienced a memorable fifth day in the 14th Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles yesterday, clinching three gold medals. Mohammad Nayemur Rahman sealed gold in table tennis, Rezwanul Haque won gold in badminton singles while Sumon Khan claimed gold in shotput (4kg category). Among the other Bangladeshi medal winners, Mosammat Khushi Khatun bagged silver in 50m backstroke and bronze in 50m freestyle.

Bibi Fatema grabbed Bangladesh’s final medal, a bronze, in shotput (3kg category). l

DT

28 Sport

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

THIS DOES IT

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s Gambian midfielder Landing Darboe sweeps in the match-winning and title-sealing goal from a free-kick during their Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League match against Mohammedan at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sheikh Jamal Bangladesh’s best n Shishir Hoque Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s three foreign forwards shone again as the new Dhaka powerhouse retained the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League title by beating Mohammedan 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Wedson Anselme, Emeka Darlington and Landing Darboe continued their brilliant form by netting one apiece to give the Dhanmondi giants their third premier league title with two games to spare. Mohammedan tried their best to halt the champions’ charge but

Jewel Rana and Ismael Bangoura’s goals were just not enough.

With an amazing tally of 45 points from 18 matches, Sheikh Jamal moved 11 points clear of second-placed Mohammedan in the 11team points table to ensure their second consecutive title, a feat that was only achieved by Abahani previously. It was also their second silverware at home this season, and third overall, after triumphing in the Federation Cup and King’s Cup in Bhutan.

The trophy was given to the champions right after the game. Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin was

the chief guest yesterday and handed over the trophy to Joseph Afusi, Manjur Kader et al.

It has been an amazing season for Sheikh Jamal’s attacking trio of Wedson, Emeka and Landing. The former two are jointly at the top of the highest scorers’ list with 17 goals while Landing has 12, including yesterday’s winner.

Sheikh Jamal’s Nigerian head coach Joseph Afusi credited his players for the title success.

“We got the success only because my players played well. They deserve all the credit. It’s true that they (foreign trio) made a difference but they couldn’t have performed like this if they didn’t have support from the local play-

ers. Now, we concentrate on qualifying for the AFC Cup,” Afusi told the media after the game.

Sheikh Jamal’s talismanic midfielder Mamunul Islam on the other hand said their decision to train during the Eid vacation this year paid off in some style.

“Credit goes to my team mates for the title.

We deserve it. We worked hard to retain the title. We did not even enjoy a vacation during Eid. Rather, we trained hard. You have to play some extraordinary matches to become champions and we did it, against Mohammedan and Sheikh Russell. Now, our target is to win the next one and make it a hat-trick of titles.” l

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE 2015-16 EPL There’s an immense amount of talent in the universe of football today, particularly in the English Premier League. Below, Norma Hilton lists down five players she thinks are so talented that they will not only capture your attention but also your hearts.

MEMPHIS DEPAY

Age : 21 Nationality : Dutch Team : Manchester United Position : Winger Height : 1.76m Market value : 20m Euros He has an astonishing ability to hold onto the ball, even when he’s surrounded by an army of defenders. He dribbles with finesse and thinks quickly on his feet. Memphis Depay is a dependable go-getter and the quality of football he plays will be a lovely addition to Manchester United.

RAHEEM STERLING

Age : 20 Nationality : English Team : Manchester City Position : Winger/ATM/striker Height : 1.70m Market value : 30m Euros He finds spaces where there’s seemingly none and creates chances. If people haven’t already, they should start calling him “Sterling Silver” because whenever he’s on the pitch, he shines.

It isn’t hard to guess that he will definitely score goals and win hearts during his time at Manchester City.

CALLUM WILSON

Age : 23 Nationality : English Team : AFC Bournemouth Position : Striker Height : 1.80m Market value : 7m Euros He’s fast and hungry to score. He utilises his wide range of skills and gets himself out of difficult situations.

Callum converts almost every goal scoring chance and gets results. It’s a shame he’s so underrated but hopefully he will get his chance to shine with AFC Bournemouth.

SAIDO BERAHINO

Age : 21 Nationality : English Team : West Bromwich Albion Position : Striker Height : 1.80m Market Value : 15m Euros He shoots from impossibly strange angles that logic dictates will not result in the ball reaching the back of the net. But it does and quite often. A star penalty-taker, Saido is there when needed, waiting to take advantage of the first moment the opposition lets their guard falter.

PETR CECH

Age : 33 Nationality : Czech Team : Arsenal Position : Goalkeeper Height : 1.96m Market value : 12m Euros He’s amazing at anticipating the opposition strikers’ movements but Petr is better known to do whatever it takes to stop the ball reaching the back of the net. After his 11 years at Chelsea, it’s undeniable that he will remain a force to be reckoned with at his new club as well.

DT

Sport 29

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson dishes out a short pitch delivery to a struggling Jonny Bairstow during the second day’s play of the third Investec Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham yesterday. This very delivery proved to be the undoing of Bairstow as the Yorkshireman was caught behind by Peter Nevill for two to give Johnson his 300th Test wicket REUTERS

AUSTRALIANS WITH 300+ TEST WICKETS 708 - Shane Warne 563 - Glenn McGrath 355 - Dennis Lillee 310 - Brett Lee 301 - Mitchell Johnson Note: Johnson’s tally includes his dismissal of Stokes.

Johnson joins Australia’s 300 club n AFP, Birmingham Mitchell Johnson became just the fifth Australia bowler to take 300 Test wickets as he hauled his side back into the third Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Left-arm fast bowler Johnson had started the match on 299 wickets but met with no success in his five overs on Wednesday’s first day at Edgbaston after Australia had collapsed to 136 all out.

But his third ball on Thursday saw Johnson

DAY’S WATCH Gazi TV, BTV, Star Sports 4 9:30AM South Africa Tour of Bangladesh 2nd Test, Day 2

Star Sports 1 4:00PM Australia Tour of England 3rd Test, Day 3

Star Sports 2 Pro Kabaddi League 2015 8:30PM Hyderabad v Bengaluru 9:30PM Patna v Delhi

Ten Action 3:15PM ATP World Tour 500 2015 Bet At Home, Quarterfinals

Sony Six 7:00PM Swiss Open Gstaad: QF 11:30PM BB & T Atlanta Open: QF

to the 300 mark with a superb lifting delivery that recalled England batsman Jonny Bairstow, averaging over 100 in county cricket this season, could only fend off the glove to wicket-keeper Peter Nevill for five.

Two balls later, Johnson had his 301st Test wicket as a similar delivery had all-rounder Ben Stokes caught behind for a duck.

Johnson had taken two wickets for no runs in three balls, with England now 142 for five just nine runs in front.

Only leg-spin great Shane Warne and fast

bowlers Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee and Brett Lee had previously taken 300 Test wickets for Australia.

And having scored three runs on Wednesday, Johnson became just the second Australian player, after Warne, to complete the Test double of 2,000 runs and 300 wickets.

Johnson’s 69-Test career has not, however, been one of uninterrupted progress, with the 33-year-old mocked mercilessly by visiting fans when he lost control of both line and

length during England’s 2010/11 Ashes series win in Australia.

But it was a very different story in 2013/14 when he took 37 wickets at under 14 apiece as Australia regained the Ashes with a 5-0 rout of their arch-rivals.

However, that didn’t stop England fans making Johnson their ‘pantomime villain’ of choice when he conceded 111 runs without taking a wicket in the first innings of Australia’s 169-run defeat in the first Test of the current series in Cardiff. l

A FAN’S PERSPECTIVE ON DAY ONE BANvSA, SECOND TEST, DAY 1

To end the first day of a Test with only two wickets to spare is doubtlessly disappointing for any batting side. It is even worse when the reason for this is mainly set batsmen gifting away their wickets with little resistance.

The day saw Dale Steyn earn his 400th Test wicket by sending Tamim Iqbal back to the pavilion for just six runs. The South African speedster went on to take a total of three wickets by the end of the day.

Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque were both guilty of being dismissed from quite dominant positions, courtesy of JP Duminy. The duo put up a 69-run partnership for the second wicket, which was broken when Mominul offered a simple catch to debutant wicket-keeper Dane Vilas. This crucial breakthrough was followed by Kayes being trapped in front in the very next over.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim’s fighting 65 runs, including seven fours, was simply not enough to take Bangladesh to a strong position. While he will breathe a sigh of relief after scoring his first 50+ score since the ODIs against Pakistan in April.

On the other hand, he will probably be living and reliving his rather unlucky dismissal in his head.

After being adjudged caught behind off part-timer Dean Elgar by the on-field umpire, he seemed very

confident when opting for the review. The main reason for this was probably the fact that the small peak shown by the snickometer could have been a result of the bat hitting the ground. But ultimately the decision went against Mushfiq.

He did, however, share a 94-run stand for the fifth wicket with Mahmudullah. The Tigers seemed to be in a solid position until Mahmudullah was caught by Temba Bavuma off Steyn, thanks to quite an unnecessary and rash shot he had attempted. An innings which could have translated to a much longer one was cut short with him scoring only 35 off 91.

With a lot of hope riding on the experienced pair

of ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiq, Bangladesh desperately needed to hold on to their remaining wickets. Unfortunately, that was not the case as Mushfiq’s 15th Test half-century failed to stretch the innings into a bigger score. Liton Kumar Das’ appearance on the crease was barely noticed as he managed only three runs before becoming Duminy’s third victim, being caught by Elgar.

This opened the doors for the team’s last reliable batsman Nasir Hossain to join Shakib at the middle.

Sadly, the partnership was short-lived as Shakib seemed utterly clueless when he was caught at slip by Elgar off Morne Morkel. From a position of 215/4, Bangladesh had slipped to 245/7. The day ended after Mohammad Shahid was bowled for one by Steyn. The Tigers ended the day on a disappointing 246 at the cost of eight wickets.

Going into the second day, Nasir will have to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility, although the amount he can score will probably be limited due to little support likely to come from the other end.

The team will look to the bowlers, including specialists Shahid, Mustafizur Rahman, Jubair Hossain and all-rounders Mahmudullah, Shakib and Nasir to bring them back into the game. l –TAHRIMA HUQ

DT

30 DOWNTIME

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Corrosion (4) 5 Beat with a stick (5) 9 Shrewd (6) 10 Female bird (3) 11 Niggardly (4) 12 Thickness (5) 14 Lawful (5) 16 Article (4) 19 Horse’s father (4) 21 Tracking system (5) 24 Principal (5) 27 Quote (4) 29 Large cask (3) 30 Plant used in cookery (6) 31 Sanity (5) 32 Vast ages (4)

DOWN 1 Slope between levels (4) 2 Employ (3) 3 Plays for time (6) 4 Melody (4) 5 Coming too late (7) 6 Timid (3) 7 Golf mound (3) 8 Register (5) 13 Drink (3) 15 African animal (7) 17 Breed of sheep (6) 18 Truths (5) 20 Anger (3) 22 Pimply condition (4) 23 Slippery catches (4) 25 Colour (3) 26 Tavern (3) 28 Cardinal number (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 20 represents B so fill B every time the figure 20 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

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

Ant-Man opens today n Showtime Desk

former gifted student Darren Cross (Corey Stoll of House of Cards fame) manages to replicate his invention and wants to sell it to ruthless arms dealers. So the ageing Pym chooses Scott Lang, a low-level thief just out of prison and trying to organise visiting rights with his daughter, to become AntMan and save the planet.

The film has visual fun with dimensions, as Lang shrinks from human size to a small, microscopic size. Director Peyton Reed’s precise camera-work highlights the comic effects, notably with Michael Pena, who plays Lang’s thief friend.

Moreover, Ant-Man has been a hit with critics in the US even before its release. Variety wrote, “The Marvel cinematic universe can be an awfully big, noisy and repetitive place to spend your time and money.”

Some consider Ant-Man to be the best Marvel movie since Guardians of The Galaxy, which landed $234m from the box office since July 17. l

Marvel’s latest venture, Ant-Man, an American superhero film is all set to open today at Star Cineplex.

This movie is directed by Peyton Reed with a screen play by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd. Paul Rudd plays Ant-Man who has been known for family comedies with Judd Apatow in movies such as Knocked Up and This is 40, Rudd could follow in the footsteps of fellow Parks and Recreation TV star Chris Pratt.

Ant-Man tells the story of Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas), a science guru who discovers a chemical substance that can shrink someone while increasing their strength. Ant-Man can also use his mental power to control armies of ants. But his

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

Ellie Goulding @elliegoulding I’m so sorry Planet Earth for humans #Cecil

Abhishek Bachchan @juniorbachchan Happy birthday to my brother @SonuSood stay smooth bro.

TED @Laughbook i text back embarrassingly fast or three hours later there is no in between

WHAT TO WATCH

Bengal Cinematheque screenings only the volcano will provide solace and escape. It does not.

Upcoming screenings: Mysterious Object at Moon (Weerasethakul) Time: September 5, 2015, 7pm, Saturday Flowers of St. Francis (Rossellini) Time: September 6, 2015, 7pm, Sunday l

n Showtime Desk Bengal Foundation has arranged “Bengal Cinematheque” a quarterly series of private film screenings that commenced in April 2015. The second cycle of this initiative takes place in July, August and September which has been programmed by Omar Adnan Choudhury. The next set of movies will be screened on August 1 - 2.

Syndromes and a Century (Weerasethakul) Time: August 1 2015, 7pm, Saturday Details: 2006, 105 minutes, colour In a rural Thai hospital, awkward love stalks the hallways. Logic dissipates as the country days vibrate with longing and slowness. Everyone is in on the act as they wait to be treated. The film restarts and

retraces its own steps. Now in the city the cold modernity holds magical machines and enigmatic actions. We witness the world sleeping, until it wakes to the beat of mass aerobics.

Stromboli (Rossellini) Time:August 2, 2015, 7pm, Sunday Details: 1950, 107 minutes, black and white A woman whiles away time at an internment camp. Boredom pushes her towards a man. They want to use each other. They marry. Then a journey to an island under the shadow of a volcano. The fisherman’s way of being is archaic, nearly geologic and she rattles against her selfmade cage. She blasphemes and debases herself. The surroundings are indifferent to her unmoored dissolution. She feels that

Taken Star Movies 1:30 pm A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.

Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Xander Berkeley, Holly Valance Ocean’s Thirteen WB 6: 39 pm Danny Ocean rounds up the boys for a third heist, after casino owner Willy Bank doublecrosses one of the original eleven, Reuben Tishkoff.

Cast: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Michael Mantell, Elliott Gould, Ray Xifo Mission Impossible 3 ZStudio 9:00 pm Ethan Hunt comes face to face with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer while trying to keep his identity secret in order to protect his girlfriend.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Maggie Q

DT

32 BACK PAGE

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015

MONETARY POLICY CUTS CREDIT GROWTH TARGET PAGE 20

MOMINUL: 300 WILL BE A GOOD TOTAL PAGE 27

ANT-MAN OPENS TODAY PAGE 31

BULLET-HIT NEWBORN

Mother brought to Dhaka, child shifted to NICU Durjoy with n Nur-e-Alam Mohammad Jamil Khan

filing of this report at 11pm yesterday.

Dr Kaniz Hasina, associate professor of the paediatric department of DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune that the baby had been suffering from fever since last night.

“She also threw up couple of times and because of the fear of blood infection, we have shifted her to NICU.” “This is the first time in my life that I have seen such a case. And we are doing everything we can to save the baby,” said Kaniz Hasina adding that she was hopeful of reuniting the mother and child.

Ashraful Haque, chief of child surgery unit, said the condition of the child started to deteriorate from Wednesday night. “Her platelet count was very low. Presently she has only 50

AFP

Fatigued and worried, she finally reached Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) at around 7:30pm in her ruffled sari and tussled hair. As soon as she was brought out of the ambulance on a stretcher, she became the centre of attention.

But her eyes, oblivious to the world around her, was frantically searching for her daughter who she has not seen since birth.

Meanwhile, Suraiya, the bullet-hit newborn, was asleep at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of DMCH, where she was shifted as her situation deteriorated yesterday.

Despite enduring the pain of travelling the long distance from Magura, mother Nazma Khatun could not wait to see the baby.

“What more can I say? I just want to see my child,” cried an emotional Nazma when asked by the hordes of media about her reaction. And before the doctors whisked her away to NICU, all she could mumble out was to demand punishment of the culprits.

Earlier, the doctors opined that it was essential for the baby to receive breast milk to recover fast.

However, the mother and the child were still waiting to be together till the

thousands platelet whereas the normal count is 1.5lakh,” Asharf added.

Meanwhile, the baby’s father Bachchu Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune that the culprits were threatening them to withdraw the case.

“Ali and Farid, accused in the case, called my brother Kalam on Tuesday morning. They said they would kill us if we don’t withdraw the case,” he said.

After being called ‘Nazma Begum’s child’ since her birth, the newborn was given a name finally yesterday.

“We have named her Suraiya as my elder daughter is called Sumaiya,” said Bachchu Bhuiyan adding that he was really worried about securing longterm treatment.

“I don’t have the money for the future treatment. I request the government to take care of them,” he added.

The newborn received bullet injuries when her eight-month pregnant mother, Nazma Khatun, was shot in the abdomen during an attack by a Magura Jubo League faction on the extended family of another rival faction Thursday afternoon.

Both the baby and the mother survived the two-hour caesarean operation at Magura General Hospital.

Later on early Sunday, the newborn was rushed to DMCH for better treatment. A nine-member medical board was also formed for the baby. l

Mumbai blasts plotter Yakub Memon hanged n AFP India executed convicted bomb plotter Yakub Memon on Thursday for conspiring in the nation’s deadliest attack, a series of blasts that killed hundreds in Mumbai more than two decades ago.

Memon was hanged at Nagpur jail in the western state of Maharashtra on his 53rd birthday after India’s president and Supreme Court rejected 11th-hour appeals for clemency.

Memon, a former accountant, was convicted of plotting a series of co-ordinated bomb attacks that rocked India’s financial capital in March 1993, killing 257 people and injuring around 700.

The stock exchange, the offices of Air India and a luxury hotel were among about a dozen targets. They were believed to have been staged by Mumbai’s Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence that had killed more than 1,000 people a few months earlier.

Security was tight near the targets and at sensitive areas across Mumbai on Thursday, with heavily armed police outside Memon’s former home and at a cemetery where the body was taken for burial late in the afternoon.

Memon and two of his brothers were convicted in 2006 by a specially-designated court using controversial anti-terror legislation that was introduced after the 1993 attacks and is no longer on the statute books.

The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act lapsed after two years and was never revived, with activists accusing the government of using it to harass Muslims.

Memon was the only one of 11 people found guilty over the atrocity to have his death sentence upheld on appeal. The others had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

He denied any involvement in the blasts during a staggered trial and appeal that bitterly divided opinion in India and led to calls from rights activists and an ex-judge for his life to be spared.

Former Supreme Court judge Harjit Singh Bedi had also said reports that Memon co-operated with investigators and returned voluntarily from Pakistan, where he fled, should have been taken into account when hearing his appeal.

Others pointed out that one of his brothers, Tiger Memon, was alleged to have masterminded the attacks, along with Mumbai gang boss Dawood Ibrahim. Both have been on the run since 1993.

Memon’s lawyers made a last-ditch mercy petition to Supreme Court Chief Justice HL Dattu after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected a clemency plea late Wednesday. But the court dismissed it in a pre-dawn hearing, paving way for Memon’s execution shortly afterwards.

Kirti Ajmera, who was severely injured in the bombing at the stock exchange, welcomed the hanging. “I’m happy that justice has been done, although it has been delayed by 22 years, but ultimately I will not be satisfied until Tiger and Dawood are punished too,” the 58-year-old told AFP. Amnesty India described the execution as “cruel and inhuman.” l

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