03 August, 2015

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

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Shraban 19, 1422, Shawwal 17, 1436

FELANI VERDICT TO TOP BGB-BSF TALKS PAGE 3

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 109

CABINET UNLIKELY TO MULL PAY SCALE TODAY PAGE 5

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

PVT UNIS SEEK TIME FOR RELOCATION PAGE 32

New lands to get electricity soon Nesa Alo from Lalmonirhat and n Jebun Aminur Rahman Rasel in Dhaka

A resident of Dasiar Chhara, a former Indian exclave in Lalmonirhat which is expected to get power connections soon, shows fellow exclave dwellers the way to a candlelight procession on July 31 SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Migration of former exclave residents to take time n Jebun Nesa Alo from Lalmonirhat Nearly a thousand residents of the former exclaves who have registered to migrate to India will have to wait a little longer as the Indian government is yet to finalise the modalities of repatriating them.

The migration was scheduled to start on August 1 and continue until November 30.

But nobody has left Bangladesh yet because they have not been able to sell their property at good prices.

India’s initial plan was to accommodate all of the 50,000 residents of its former exclaves – better known as chhitmahals – in Bangladesh. They were getting ready to receive the

PAGE 3 Two under-10 girls raped in capital

migrants after Durga Puja in October. The West Bengal government sought an allocation of Rs3,500 crore from the central administration for their rehabilitation.

But since only 979 people from the 111 former exclaves have opted for migration after the joint Bangladesh-India survey, the Indian government is having to revise its finance and accommodation plans, sources said.

“The Indian government wanted to welcome the former exclave people after Durga Puja. But they have not yet managed to complete setting up the temporary camps,” said Habibur Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC) of Lalmonirhat and chief of the Bangladesh survey team.

PAGE 4 Police HQ: Odhikar, BHRC spreading propaganda

There were rumours that the migrants would be given apartments to settle down, but there has been no such official announcement.

The Dhaka Tribune has learned from sources in the joint survey teams that the rumours were in fact true. The members of the survey committees – comprising DCs of the relevant districts – have reportedly discussed this among themselves.

Those who have already registered for migration – just 0.2% of the total excalve population – were given until 5pm of July 31 in case anyone wanted to stay back. However, it could not be immediately confirmed if

PAGE 5 Bullet-hit newborn now stable

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 6 Khulna dyke collapse washes away houses and crops

The first thing the new citizens of Bangladesh in the former Indian exclaves expect from the government is to get power connections, said a resident of Dasiar Chhara.

Good news for them as the government has instructed the deputy commissioners concerned to take necessary steps to bring the former Indian exclaves – now ceded to Bangladesh – under electricity coverage as soon as possible.

Official formalities and laws have been relaxed to bring the new lands under electricity coverage, said Habibur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Lalmonirhat.

These new connections would be provided free of charge, Rural Electrification Board (REB) Chairman Brig Gen Moin Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. The connections also include installation of wiring in homes.

“We will supply electricity to these areas very soon in order to bolster irrigation and agricultural production,” Habibur Rahman said.

Altab Hossain, a resident of former exclave Dasiar Chhara, told the Dhaka Tribune: “For years, we have struggled to farm the land.

There was no electricity and therefore no irrigation. Most people living in the exclaves are  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Exclave residents want new territories declared as unions This is the ninth and final report in a series on the exclaves Nesa Alo with Sazzadur n Jebun Rahman Sazzad, Panchagarh The residents of India’s erstwhile exclaves in Panchagarh district who have decided to take Bangladeshi nationality want the former Indian territories to be turned into independent unions in Bangladesh.

After 68 years of neglect under India,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

PAGE 8 Attacks spark calls for Israeli crackdown on Jewish extremists

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2 NEWS

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Land depression moves towards West Bengal

French and German foreign ministers to arrive next month

14-party to meet tomorrow

n Tribune Report

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The land depression, which was created from cyclone Komen on Saturday and was positioned in Noakhali and adjoining areas, became weaker and moved to West Bengal yesterday.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department in its yesterday’s bulletin said light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur in many places of Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Rajshahi today.

Besides, there will be moderately heavy rain in a few places in Rangpur, Dhaka and Sylhet. l

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will arrive together in Dhaka for a twoday visit in September.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali had a successful visit to France in June and this is a continuation of that visit, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune.

The two visiting foreign ministers are scheduled to arrive on September 21.

“Climate change, trade, culture and other matters will be discussed during the visit,” Shahidul said.

A meeting of the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance will be held tomorrow.

It will begin at 11am at Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political office at Dhanmondi in the capital, said a press release from AL Office Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap yesterday.

Alliance spokesperson and AL Presidium Member Mohammad Nasim urged the central leaders of each party to timely attend the meeting.

AL sources said the 14-party central leaders are expected to decide on a rejoinder to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s recent demand for a midterm general election. l

Another foreign ministry official, seeking anonymity, said: “This is unique since, for the first time, the foreign ministers of two powerful European countries are coming together to Bangladesh.”

Both ministers are expected to open the Franco-German joint Chancery building in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has robust trade with Germany and France, which continues to grow, the official added.

The two-way trade with Germany is about $5bn with $4.7bn in export from Bangladesh while, for France, the two-way trade is $2bn where Bangladesh export is about $1.8bn. l

n Tribune Report

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Migration anybody had reconsidered their initial choice.

The joint surveys confirmed that nobody from the former Bangladeshi exclaves in India are migrating to Bangladesh.

“Anyone wanting to leave Bangladesh will be allowed to and must apply to their respective DCs to obtain travel passes,” Lalmonirhat DC Habibur Rahman said.

“Those who want to sell their property will also have to apply through their DC offices. If they do not get a fair price, the government will acquire the land at market price,” he said.

The government will need land to build schools, hospitals and other infrastructure and the process of land acquisition will start after November 30, the DC said.

Four were injured in clashes yesterday in Dasiar Chhara between sellers and buyers of land over counter claims arising from the fact that the land is not registered. The injured were admitted to Phulbari Sadar Hospital in Kurigram district. l

New lands involved in farming as their means of livelihood.”

REB Chairman Brig Gen Moin Uddin expects that some 8,000 families in the new Bangladesh territory will get electricity connections within a year.

The REB will install a total of 151 kilometres of overhead power lines to provide electricity to 27 former exclaves in Kurigram, Nilphamari and Thakurgaon districts, Moin told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Power Development Board member ATM Zahirul Islam Majumder said: “We will also provide electricity connections to exclaves that come under the jurisdiction of the PDB.” Of the 111 former exclaves, 27 fall under the jurisdiction of the REB and the rest under the PDB. Meanwhile, law enforcers have set up security camps in the new territories in order to maintain law and order. Primary education centres have also started operation at local mosques since the first day of independence.

Bangladesh Bank has advised all scheduled banks to take up programmes under corporate social responsibility budgets to help improve the living condition of the new Bangladeshis.

The central bank issued a circular yesterday considering the needs of the under-served people living in the neglected areas. l

Residents of Dasiar Chhara who want to settle down in India are vexed at the delay in processing their repatriation

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Exclave residents want new territories declared as unions exclave residents say they are keen to fast-track the development of the under-served areas.

“We want our exclave to be a separate union to enable the quick development of the land,” Rabbul Alam, 50, a resident of Dahala Khagrabari in Panchagarh, told the Dhaka Tribune on Thursday.

Rabbul, also president of the exclave Citizen Committee, said the residents of the former Indian territory had never enjoyed any public services. But Rabbul believes his people’s deprivation will continue if the exclave is attached to an existing union.

Former exclave residents, some of whom described their lives as “wretched,” said they want to transform their condition after becoming part of Bangladesh.

Tojammel Hossen, vice president of the exclave Citizen Committee said: “Currently exclaves are administered by a citizen com-

mittee formed by the people of the exclaves of both India and Bangladesh.”

“The committee will automatically lapse after the exchange of territory takes place at midnight on July 31,” he said.

Tojammel demanded that the land be declared a separate union and elections be held to form a local administration.

He said: “There are three enclaves – Balapara Khagrabari, Dhala Khagrabari and Kothajini – situated close to one another in Panchagarh.

The people living here want them to be merged into an independent union.”

“Some 12,000 people live in the three exclaves and the total length of the territory is around 28 kilometres, fulfilling the requirements to form a union,” Hossen said.

Dahala Khagrabari resident Bokul Islam, a second-year Honours student at a Bangladeshi college who used a fake local address in order

to gain admission to the educational institute, said: “We have long been deprived of basic amenities. We should get give special benefits.”

Shahidul Islam, 50, a resident of the same exclave, said: “The exclaves have no proper roads, schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, sanitary facilities or electricity.”

He demanded a special allocation in the Bangladesh government budget to develop the infrastructure of India’s former exclaves.

Shahidul continued: “Everybody living in the exclaves is involved in agriculture and yet they have never received government assistance with irrigation or government support to procure seeds, machinery, fertilisers and pesticides.

“Forming a separate union will enable the residents of the former exclaves to quickly bring much needed infrastructure to the area and improve their lives.” l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Felani verdict to dominate BGB-BSF talks n Mohammad Jamil Khan The controversial acquittal of the lone accused in Felani murder case by a special BSF court that irked her family as well as the BGB officials will be on top of the agenda during the director-general-level conference that starts in New Delhi today.

A month into the acquittal, the BSF chief is yet to approve the verdict before its official announcement. The BGB already expressed frustration and said that it would file an appeal against the verdict that came on July 3 after consultation with the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, Amnesty India on July 13 submitted a petition with the Supreme Court of India alleging that human rights were violated in the murder case. Moreover, West Bengal-based rights group MASUM has decided to move the Indian top court challenging the

verdict together with Dhaka’s Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).

Another petition filed by Felani’s father and Salma Ali, the executive director of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers Association, against the first verdict of September 6, 2013 is pending with the Indian Supreme Court.

Terming the judgement injustice, parents of Felani Khatun have rejected the verdict outright.

In the both the verdicts, the court said that the self-confessed BSF member, Constable Amiya Ghosh, had been acquitted for inconclusive and insufficient evidence. It is the first-ever trial of any BSF member for border killing.

Apart from border killing, the two forces will also discuss cattle, arms and drugs smuggling, poppy cultivation at border points and human trafficking during the four-day event.

The two countries share around 4,000km border.

At least 23 Bangladeshi nationals were killed – 15 shot dead while eights others tortured to death – and 38 others injured in attacks by the BSF from January to June this year, ASK says based on reports from 10 national dailies. It adds that the BSF members also abducted 49 people during this time.

Since 2010, the Indian authorities have been saying that they would use non-lethal weapons but it has never been materialised.

Despite making such pledges, the BSF highups defend shooting at Bangladeshi people by saying that they open fire for self-defence only.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) chief Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed will lead a 22-member delegation at the 41st DG-level talks. On the other hand, the 24-strong Indian team will be led

by Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Shri DK Pathak, a BGB press release said.

The previous conference was in December in Dhaka.

The BGB chief is accompanied by senior officials of the paramilitary force, representatives from the Department of Narcotic Control, and several ministries.

The conference will end on August 6 with the signing of a joint record of discussions.

Maj Gen Aziz will meet Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Secretary Anil Goswami.

The BGB chief, for the first time, will also take salute during the passing out parade of the BSF’s sub-inspector training at its academy at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh on August 7.

A friendly handball match will also be held at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on August 5. l

BNP’s Aman denied bail in 56 cases n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Two under-10 girls raped in capital n Mohammad Jamil Khan Two minor girls have been admitted to the One-Stop Crisis Centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition after they were raped in the capital’s Hazaribagh and Mirpur areas on Saturday.

Doctors confirmed that they had found evidence of rape in primary examination.

Police arrested the rapist in Hazaribagh incident but yet to trace the other.

Rights group Ain o Salish Kendra reports that at least 378 incidents of rape occurred during January-June this year. Of them, 24 are aged below seven, 63 between seven and twelve, while 42 others are aged below 18.

Among the 129 child victims, 13 were killed after rape, says ASK, based on reports published in 10 national dailies.

Dr Bilkis Begum, coordinator of the OCC, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have sent samples for forensic test and will be able to say clearly about it after getting the final reports.”

The child from Hazaribagh was raped around 10am on Saturday by a neighbour named Khokon, 30, at his house in Rayerbazar area, the victim’s parents said. Her father is a rickshaw-puller while the mother works as a domestic help.

Locals who rescued the girl hearing screams first tried to settle the matter. But her parents went to the Hazaribagh police and

filed the case in the night. The child was admitted to the DMCH yesterday morning.

Muntasir Islam, DMP deputy commissioner of media and publication, said that they had arrested Khokon immediately after filing of the case.

Meanwhile, mother of the nine-year-old Mirpur rape victim said that her daughter had been raped by a youth named Rasel on Saturday evening when she was outside home. Rasel came to her neighbour’s house in a slum near Chhapra Mosque in Mirpur.

She learnt about the matter in the night and filed a complaint with Mirpur model police.

The DMP official said that the police were trying to arrest the culprit. l

BNP Joint Secretary General Amanullah Aman was sent to jail yesterday in a number of cases filed on charges of arson attacks and vandalism in the capital and its outskirts during the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s anti-government programmes.

Ten Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Courts, a Senior Judicial Magistrate Court and another Metropolitan Sessions’ Judge’s Court sent the BNP leader to jail rejecting his bail petitions in 56 cases.

Of the 71 cases he is facing, Aman was granted bail in seven cases filed with Paltan, Motijheel, Jatrabari, Khilgaon and Savar police stations. Hearings on the eight other cases were deferred due to lack of cases documents.

Meanwhile, four CMM courts granted bail to BNP Standing Committee member MK Anwar in six cases filed with Khilgaon, Paltan, Motijheel and Jatrabari police stations on charges of arson attacks and vandalism in the capital.

The courts of Ashok Kumar Dutta, Aminul Haque, Asaduzzaman Nur and Tareq Moinul Bhuiyan passed the orders after the former minister surrendered on completion of his four-week bail granted by the High Court.

On the other hand, BNP chairperson’s Adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo also surrendered before the CMM court and sought bail in a case filed with Paltan police. But the hearing was also deferred for lack of case document.

The three top BNP leaders surrendered before the courts earlier in the day.

On July 27, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ordered them to surrender before the lower court within one week in the cases.

AM Mahbubuddin Khokon, Md Sanaullah Miah, Masud Ahmed Talukdar among dozens of pro-BNP lawyers took part in the hearings on behalf of the BNP leaders while public prosecutor Abdullah Abu and Salma Hye among others stood for the state. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue to discuss strategic priorities n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The fourth Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue is going to be held next month in Washington to discuss strategic priorities.

“We had an inter-ministerial meeting on preliminary dialogue today (Sunday) on Bangladesh’s position on different strategic security issues,” said a senior Foreign Ministry official.

The meeting is scheduled to be held in the second week of September, preferably September 11.

In the last three meetings both the countries have discussed strategic priorities, regional issues, military-military engagement and secu-

rity assistance issues in details and this time there would not be any exception, he said.

Washington has huge interest in the region and it has been expanding its relationship with Bangladesh for the last 10 years.

According to a report of the State Department, it said: “Military-to-military engagement between US and Bangladeshi armed forces has expanded rapidly, especially since US Marines participated in relief efforts after the devastating cyclone in November 2007.”

Bangladesh has also requested a possible sale of 4 Lockheed Martin C-130E US Air Force baseline aircraft and 20 T56AA Rolls-Royce engines as grant under Excess Defence Articles (EDA).

The estimated cost of the equipment is $180 million.

The first security dialogue was held in Dhaka in 2011 to have a formal platform to discuss security related issues between the countries.

Bangladesh also has similar arrangement in different format with India.

When contacted, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune that security and non-security issues would be discussed in the dialogue.

“We have had the dialogue every year for the last three years and there would be stalk-taking of all the issues,” he said.

In the previous dialogues, both the countries discussed about their relationship with

India, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Indian Ocean region under the regional issue agenda.

Under the military-military engagement agenda, they discussed potential cooperation in intelligence sharing, surveillance and reconnaissance and civil-military relationships.

Defence trade, excess defence articles programme, and military education and training were discussed in the previous dialogues.

Washington has provided more than $2.5 million in International military education and training and other military funding to Dhaka.

Regional counter-terrorism cooperation and countering violent extremism were also in the agenda in the last three dialogues. l

Police HQ: Odhikar, BHRC spreading propaganda n Tribune Report Reports on extrajudicial killings prepared by rights organisations Odhikar and Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (BHRC) are nothing but subversive propaganda and threat to the rule of law, the Police Headquarters said in a protest statement yesterday.

It claims that no incident of extrajudicial killings took place in July.

‘Only the magistrates and the courts have the authority to justify whether any incident of encounter or gunfight is extrajudicial or not’ “Magistrates have examined all the incidents of July and found nothing extrajudicial. Only the magistrates and the courts have the authority to justify whether any incident of encounter or gunfight is extrajudicial or not,” reads the statement.

A recent report by Odhikar claimed that seven people had been killed extra-judicially in the name of “crossfire, encounters, gunfights” of the law enforcers in July. Of them, five were killed by elite force Rapid Action Battalion while the two others by the police.

“Some foreign-funded agencies are producing reports that are aimed at blemishing reputation of the law enforcement agencies and the judicial system. These are considered as subversive activities,” the Police HQ statement says adding that such reports are defamatory and also tantamount to criminal offence.

The statement also mentions that 102 members of the police force were killed while discharging duties last year. Recently, a tourist police official was killed by muggers in Cox’s Bazar.

Nazrul Islam, assistant inspector general (media) of the Police HQ, told the Dhaka Tribune that the courts can make statements about the legal aspects of police’s activities.

“But these agencies are making statements illegally,” he claimed. l

Kazuhiro Watanabe hands over the Japanese translation of The Unfinished Memoirs of Bangabandhu to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office yesterday.

Watanabe, chief programme director of the Japan’s public broadcaster NHK’s Bangla section, translated the book PMO

Gold seized, 5 smugglers held n Mohammad Jamil Khan Gold smugglers have found a new way to evade the eyes of law enforcers at international airports in the country.

The criminals use domestic terminals to get out of the airport with smuggled gold as security is more relaxed there, said RAB members upon interrogating a gang of smugglers held from the capital’s Khilgaon area yesterday.

“Smugglers are now using domestic terminals as security is more relaxed there compared to the international terminal,” said RAB 3 Commanding Officer Lt Col Khondokar Golam Sarowar while addressing a media brief.

The gang was on way to Bongshal by a car with 12.5kg gold smuggled from Oman. The arrested members of the gang are Syed Mahmud

alias Hasan Javed, Md Forkan, Meherunnesa, Bibi Fatema, and chauffeur Shamsul Alam.

“Iqbal, an Indian based in Oman guides their actions,” said Lt Col Sarowar.

RAB members recovered the gold worth around Tk6 crore, a private car, one laptop, four passports, nine mobile phones, Tk15,000, foreign currencies from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Unites States from their possession.

During primary interrogation, the arrestees said they boarded a Biman flight after it landed in Chittagong from Oman. Some Omani men handed them the gold.

The gang members reached Dhaka Airport at 12.15am yesterday and came out through the domestic terminal, said the commanding officer.

“They were on way to Bangshal to hand over the gold to another group.” l

City Bank founder’s wife dies n Tribune Report

Rayhana Ibrahim, wife of founding director and former chairman of City Bank Limited Mohammad Ibrahim Mia, passed away in Canada on Wednesday. She was 68.

He is also founder of Ibrahim Group. Rayhana is mother of Fakhrul Alam, chairman of Development Media Limited.

The family member sources said she had been undergoing treatment at Toronto General Hospital for months. She left her sons, daughters, grandchildren and a number of well wishers to mourn her death.

Her Namaz-e-janaza was held on Gulshan Azad Mosque premises yesterday before her burial at Banani graveyard. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Flood takes a toll on the lives of people living in Cox’s Bazar’s Chakaria upazila. They wade through waist-deep water in search of pure drinking water while many families are still living on the streets as local shelter homes are full. The photos were taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Intelligence agencies asked to monitor 12 onion wholesalers n Asif Showkat Kallol With retail price of each kilogram of onion currently peaking at Tk80 in the markets of Dhaka, the Commerce Ministry has directed authorities concerned to strictly monitor the activities of 12 major onion wholesalers.

The capital dwellers have seen onion prices of Tk65 per kg from only a couple of days ago experience a spike to become Tk75-80 per kg, while there are concerns that the price may climb further in the coming days.

Even though the wholesalers are reportedly selling onions to retailers for prices as low as Tk52-55 per kg, there are allegations that the wholesalers are creating a supply shortage that is resulting in the spike in prices.

Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, senior secretary at the Commerce Ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “We have asked the government intelligence agencies to monitor the onion wholesalers and their business activities.

“Although the price for exporting onion has climbed to $250 per tonne from [the previous price of] $175, onion prices should not exceed Tk50 per kg in the local markets,” Hedayetullah added.

Expressing doubts over the Agriculture Ministry’s low estimations regarding onion consumption in the country, the senior secretary said the government should now calculate how much Indian onion was being consumed annually.

Meanwhile, sources inside the Commerce Ministry said intelligence agencies have identified two onion importers of Bhomra land port who had claimed to have imported Indian onions for Tk45 per kilogram when the real price was only Tk25 per kg.

The ministry has now asked the local deputy commissioner to notify those importers regarding the issue.

Earlier, the Commerce Ministry decided to procure onion from Myanmar within a short time to ease price pressures on the local market.

The annual domestic demand for onion is 2.2 million tonnes, of which, 1.923 million tonnes are grown locally. l

Cabinet unlikely to see new pay scale proposals today n Asif Showkat Kallol The proposals on the new pay scale are unlikely to be placed before today’s scheduled cabinet meeting as there were still indecisions regarding whether to drop key provisions of time scale and selection grade.

Well-placed sources told the Dhaka Tribune that complications still existed regarding the National Pay and Services Commission’s recommended pay scale for university professors. They added that allowances under the new pay scale were also unclear, while the pay scale for court judges and armed forces personnel had not yet been completed.

“There are still complications regarding the new pay scale proposals; we will place the proposal before the cabinet only after overcoming the difficulties,” a Finance Division of-

ficial involved with the process told the Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity.

Sources at the division’s implementation wing, however, said the already-prepared proposals were now awaiting directives from high-ups to be placed before the cabinet.

Last week, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the new pay scale for government employees would be placed in Monday’s cabinet meeting.

According to recommendations by the pay commission, the new pay scale does away with time scales and selection grades, replacing these two provisions with annual cash increments instead.

But a Finance Division official said the government has been facing strong opposition regarding this move as a large number of public servants who benefited from the two

Bullet-hit newborn stable, two accused arrested n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Law enforcement agencies have arrested two accused who were allegedly involved in the clash in Magura that resulted in a child getting shot while still in her mother’s womb.

The newborn, currently undergoing treatment in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, is in stable condition as of yesterday.

The arrestees are Sumon Sen, 30, a Bangladesh Chhatra League leader and prime suspect in the incident, and Nazrul, 27, one of the accused listed in the case’s first information report, sources said.

Sumon was arrested yesterday evening at Kalyanpur in the capital by a team of Rapid Action Battalion, sources in RAB 4 told the Dhaka Tribune.

Nazrul, on the other hand, was on his way to Khulna when police intercepted the bus he

was riding in Wapda Road, Magura on a tipoff and arrested him, said ASM Ahsan Ullah, superintendent of police in Magura.

With the arrest of Sumon and Nazrul, the total number of arrests in this case now stands at four.

Meanwhile, a 10-member specialised team of doctors from Dhaka Medical College and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University is supervising the child’s treatment.

Prof Ashraful Haque Kazl, chief of Child Surgery Unit, said the baby was suffering from jaundice and low count of platelet as it was a premature birth.

“Her condition cannot improve overnight, but the good news is she is taking breast milk.

Her condition is stable and we are hopeful.”

The child’s mother, Nazma Begum, is undergoing treatment at the same hospital and is getting better, said her husband Bachchu Bhuiyan. But she has yet to meet her child. l

provisions were unhappy with the proposed changes.

The finance minister, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet today with representatives from the Bangladesh Sarkari Karmachari Samannay Parishad for discussing the new pay scale.

According to the Finance Ministry’s estimate, an additional Tk12,212.29 crore – an increase of 59.5% - will be required to pay only the increased basic salaries of government employees.

On May 13, a secretary-level committee submitted its updated report to the finance minister on the government’s eighth pay revision.

The pay commission, headed by former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin, had originally proposed 16 grades under the new pay scale; but the secretary-level committee revised it to 20 grades. l

HC sets August 5 for order on Khaleda’s Gatco case challenge n Tribune Report The High Court has set August 5 for passing an order on two petitions by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia challenging the legality of trial proceedings in the Gatco graft case.

The bench of Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Abdur Rob fixed the date yesterday morning. On June 17, the same bench kept the petitions waiting for verdict after concluding hearing the arguments.

On September 2, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case with Tejgaon police station against former prime minister Khaleda Zia, her son late Arafat Rahman Koko, and some of Khaleda’s cabinet colleagues.

The case was filed for graft in awarding Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Company Ltd (Gatco) the contract for container handling at depots in Dhaka and Chittagong, causing a loss of over Tk14 crore to the state coffer. l

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6 NEWS

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Family planning programmes lose momentum in Sreepur n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Family planning programmes in different unions of Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila have slowed down, with designated workers facing the allegation of selling family planning equipment meant to be distributed free of charge.

A range of such equipment are now available in the local market in Sreepur while the poor and low-income people continue to remain ignorant about the importance of birth control and family planning.

The slow progress of family planning programmes is getting in the way of the government’s objectives to rein in population growth.

There are 46 family planning workers working in different unions and their key task include educating women about family planning and distributing contraceptives free of charge, said Sreepur Upazila Health Complex officials.

Forty of the 46 family planning workers are old and are rather reluctant to carry out field tasks despite pushes by officials.

Local men and women said they were completely unaware of such initiatives of the government.

Husne Ara, wife of Abdul Latif who lives at Satkhamair village in Barmi union, told the Dhaka Tribune she had no idea that the government ran family planning programmes.

“I would see some family planning workers occasionally visiting houses but have not seen any in the past three years,” said Sarbanu of the same village.

Ambia, wife of day-labourer Hamid Ali of Uttar Para village in Mawna, said she had never received any family planning product free of charge.

“But those are available at local stores,” she said.

Grocery store owner Abdul Rahim of Badni

Bhanga village said he buys family planning devices at a very low price from designated workers. “Such products are in great demand among people who belong to the low-income group.”

Family planning worker Sajeda Begum, who covers Tengra area in Telihati union, said she does not discharge her duties regularly as she has aged but denied the allegation of selling birth control products in the market.

Another worker Rashida Akhter who works in Gosinga union observed that she sometimes sell family planning devices to drug stores as not many people are interested in collecting such products if supplied without any charge.

The upazila family planning officer, Dr Jinat Sharmin, refused to directly respond to the allegation of birth control products being sold to medicine shops but said action would be taken against those involved in such practice. l

Hospital vandalised over patient’s death n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur

A hospital was vandalised in Sadar upazila yesterday centering the death of a patient.

According to hospital sources, Nayan Akter, wife of Basir Ahmed at Bhabaniganj village was admitted to Lakshmipur Nagar Hospital on 23 July for treatment.

Nayan also gave birth a child four days ago after she had been admitted to the hospital.

She was released from the hospital after became well. But she stayed at the hospital as the child fall sick.

At one stage, Nayan became ill and doctor pushed slain and injection. She died after-while.

Later, relatives of the deceased vandalised the hospital over the issue. They claimed that the patient died due to wrong treatment and negligence of the doctors and nurses.

Contacted, Abdur Razzak, Manging Director of the hospital said that the patient died over heart attack.

Giasuddin, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said steps would be taken after investigation. l

Dyke collapse washes away dwelling houses, crops n Tribune Report

Over 100 homes, 100 shrimp enclosures, hundreds of acres of paddy field were damaged due to collapse of a dyke yesterday in the Shibsha River at Dakop upazila in Khulna.

Uinon Parishad Chairman of Suterkhali Gazi Ashraf Hossain said many people took shelter in another areas as their houses have remained under water.

“If the repair work is not done in two or three days, maximum area of Koyra Upazila may go under water,” he said.

Three villages under the upazila already had been flooded and 100 yards of Nolian Bazar went under water, said upazila parishad Chairman sheikh Abul Hossain.

Upendra Nath Mistri, Kamola Rani, Panchanan Mondal, Govinda Mistri, Krishna Pada Mondal with their family members took shelter on the Wapda embankment as they had lost everything due to flood, said the chairman.

Upendra said: “We informed the authorities about the incident two months ago but no step was taken for repairing the dyke.”

Shuvash Mondal said: “We have lost our croplands due to collapse the embankment and we are in anxiety about our aman paddy.”

Md Firoj Ahmed, Assistant Engineer of Water Development Board (WDB) said the Nolion Bazar protection embankment was not under their department.

Meanwhile, UP Members Masum Ali Fakir and Aboni Baidya engaged hundreds of workers for repairing the embankment.But the work is being hampered due to strong current and tidal surge.

The upazila parishad chairman said that he had informed the officials of the concerned authorities for repairing the embankment.

Local lawmaker Panchanan Biswas visited the spot. l

Farmers in Bayabaria, a village situated in between Naogaon district and Rajshahi’s Bagamara border, pump out water from a ditch to irrigate paddy. On the one hand, flood situation in various parts of the country has deteriorated in the last couple of days, while on the other hand, farmers in this area are suffering from crisis of water needed to irrigate paddy AZAHAR UDDIN

Ex-state minister Monnujan sued in recruitment forgery case in Khulna n Our Correspondent, Khulna

An allegation of recruitment fraud has been raised against former state minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian as well as some senior officials of the Education Ministry and its directorate recently.

The complaint appeared in a case booked by one job seeker named Farzana Hoque with Khulna Assistant Judge Court on July 23.

The accused Khulna 3 constituency MP Munnuzan is the president of Daulatpur (Daynight) College as well and the irregularities allegedly took place in the teacher recruitment to the college. A total of 23 people were made accused in the lawsuit while the rest included the education ministry secretary, director

general of education directorate, national university VC, Jessore education board chairman and its college inspector among others.

According to case briefing, Farzana Hoque has been English teacher of vocational unit of Daulatpur (Day-night) College from October 23 in 2013. On April 4 in 2014, the college authorities circulated a vacancy advertisement to appoint an English lecture in its main department in line with some other subjects.

That year’s May 9, she along with 16 candidates sat for the selection examinations of English lectureship and she stood first in the competitive exam.

Later, the accused finally appointed Ujjal Kumer Shaha who stood third in the examinations. The 23 including the ruling party Awami

League central leader Monnujan ensured Ujjal’s appointment on bribe, reads the statement.

However, MP Monnujan could not be reached for comment over the issue despite repeated attempts by the correspondent when her mobile phone was found switched off.

The litigant’s lawyer Piyus Kanti Datta said Farzana in her court plea sought permanent, short-time or mandatory stay order on the appointment. Besides, she sought scrapping the service order and necessary legal action against the corrupt officials, advocate Piyus continued.

When contacted, Daulatpur (Day-night) College Principal Mahabub Hoque said: “I have received the show cause notice of court in the case on July 30 and I am directed to give a reply seven working days.” l

DT

NEWS 7

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Suspected robber’s ringleader killed in ‘gunfight’ n Our Correspondent, Meherpur

An alleged ringleader of a robber gang was killed and five police personnel were injured in a gunfight with law enforcers at Rajanagar village in Sadar upazila early Sunday.

Ahsan Habib, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said on a tip-off, a team of police raided the house of Miarul Islam, son of Iman Ali at Nurpur village, wanted in several cases in three police stations, including murder and robbery case.

The team arrested him and recovered several hand bombs, firearms and ammunition from in possession of him. After interrogation, the law enforcers team along with Miarul conducted a drive in the area around 2am.

As the team reached the spot, the associates of Miarul opened fire on police, prompting them to fire back that triggered a gunfight.

Miarul was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot while his associates managed to flee the scene, the OC said.

Police recovered four hand bombs, three cartridges, one LG, one shutter gun and two machetes from the spot.

Five police personnel including SI Ahsanullah, ASI Abdul Haque and Arjun Kumar got injured during the gunfight. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

MONDAY, AUGUST 3 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:41PM

SUN RISES 5:28AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 34 31 32 32 32 33 32 30

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 25 25 26 26 24 26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.4ºC

24.0ºC

Sylhet

Teknaf Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:04am 5:27am 12:05am 4:43pm 6:41pm 8:11pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Auto-rickshaw workers protest ban n Tribune Report CNG-run autorickshaw workers yesterday staged protests in different parts of the country against a government move that banned such vehicles on highways.

The protests mostly involved road blockades that disrupted traffic while vandalism marked demonstrations in Comilla where 20 people were also injured.

The ban imposed on July 27 through a gazette notification in the wake of frequent road fatalities in different districts came into effect on the first day of this month.

20 injured in Comilla

The situation in Comilla turned violent as 20 people, including five police officials, were injured during clashes involving police and autorickshaw drivers.

More than a thousand drivers blocked Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Gazipur area of Daudkandi upazila, causing traffic congestion that stretched 30 kilometres.

The protesters began vandalising vehicles when police charged batons on them, creating panic among passengers who ran away at random.

The protesters vandalised some 50 vehicles, forcing police to fire rubber bullets and throw teargas shells.

Of the 20 injured, 10 people sustained bullet injuries. All the injured were treated at a local hospital.

Comilla Autorickshaw Owners Association leader Md Idris Mia said police charged batons even though protesters were peaceful when they blocked the highway.

“The protesters hurled bricks and police responded by firing at them,” he said.

But Daudkandi Model police station Sub-Inspector Tapan Kumar Bagchi said protesters threw bricks at police when the latter arrived on the scene of blockade.

“Police charged batons on protesters to save themselves. Rubber bullets were fired when protesters vandalised vehicles,” he added.

The blockade was lifted around noon.

Protests at 12 points in Sylhet

Autorickshaw workers in Sylhet staged sit-ins on Dhaka-Sylhet and Sylhet-Sunamganj highways in protest at the ban. The sit-ins staged since morning caused passengers to suffer immensely, reports our correspondent.

Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Md Joynal Abedin said he would hold a meeting with autorickshaw workers at noon today.

Zakaria Ahmed, president of Sylhet District Autorickshaw (CNG) Workers Union, said members of the union held protests at 12 points on Dhaka-Sylhet and Sylhet-Sunamganj highways.

The protests drew huge crowds, who said they were expressing opposition to the ban peacefully.

Transport workers yesterday block the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway at Kanchpur in the capital protesting a government move that banned plying of CNG-run auto-rickshaw on highways DHAKA TRIBUNE They also said they would attend today’s meeting with the deputy commissioner.

Sugyan Chakma, spokesperson for Sylhet district police, said the protests did not disrupt long-haul transport services on highways.

“The protesters took position beside roads while police were on alert to ward off any untoward situation,” he said.

The ban on CNG-run autorickshaws on highways, which was announced by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quaders, came into force on Saturday, triggering protests by autorickshaw workers.

400 protest in Chittagong

Our Chittagong correspondent reported that autorickshaw workers there protested by blockading Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Sitakunda upazila yesterday noon.

Officer-in-Charge of Baro Aulia highway police outpost Md Shahidullah told the Dhaka Tribune the protesters blockaded the highway for some 30 minutes, disrupting traffic on both sides.

Police later arrived on the scene and persuaded the protesters to lift the blockade.

“We asked the protesters to highlight their demand in a way that will not cause passengers to suffer in any way,” said OC Shahidullah.

Earlier in the day, around 300 to 400 autorickshaw drivers and workers gathered at Faujdarhat area around 10am and held a demonstration demanding withdrawal of the ban.

Autorickshaw drivers in the district have called a daylong strike for August 13 in protest at the ban.

Chittagong Divisional CNG-run Autorickshaw and Tempo Sramik Union’s chief adviser Waziullah said the strike would be enforced in

Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachhari Lakshmipur, Feni and Noakhali.

Chittagong residents said they had faced an acute shortage of public transports in the wake of the ban, adding that the government should reconsider the move or arrange alternate transports for people.

Meanwhile in Feni, police foiled an attempt by autorickshaw drivers to stage a protest at Dula Mia area on Dhaka-Chittagong highway around 11am.

Angry drivers later vandalised a covered van, said Officer-in-Charge of Feni’s Mahipal highway police station Saleh Ahmed.

’Protesters’ move wrong’

The government will ensure strict enforcement of the ban on autorickshaws on highways in spite of demonstrations, said Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary MAN Siddique yesterday.

“The government is adamant as far as the enforcement of the ban is concerned and will not backtrack from its decision,” he told reporters at his office.

The secretary said autorickshaw workers took a wrong step by staging protests against the ban.

“This is because the ban affects only 3,570 kilometres of the national highway network among a total of 250,000 kilometres. National highways are those connecting the capital with other parts of the country, those connecting one division with another and Asian highway roads,” he explained.

MAN Siddique also said divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners and police had been asked to prevent autorickshaws from plying on highways. l

54 illegal structures demolished in Ctg n Tribune Report

Two separate mobile court led by Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) yesterday demolished 54 illegal establishments from Kazir Dewri and Sadarghat areas in Chittagong city.

Executive Magistrate of the CCC Nazia

Shirin and CPA’s executive magistrate Abul Hasem led the drive on behalf their respective organisations, said the sources.

Nazia Shirin said during the drive the mobile court evicted around 14 tin-shed houses and shanties from the canal “Dhoper Khal” in Kazir Dewri area in the city.

CPA’s executive magistrate Hashem said

around 40 illegal establishment were evicted from the land of CPA in Sadarghat area during the drive.

The local ruling party’s Jubo League men allegedly collected tolls from the establishments and set up the illegal structures on CPA land.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) and Ansar men assisted during the drives. l

DT

8 WORLD

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Attacks spark calls for Israeli crackdown on Jewish extremists n AFP, Jerusalem Israel faced mounting pressure yesterday to crack down on Jewish extremists after a fire-bombing that killed a Palestinian child and the stabbing of six Gay Pride marchers drew widespread outrage.

Friday’s fire-bombing of a Palestinian family’s home in the West Bank by suspected Jewish settlers has further inflamed tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, with clashes breaking out in various cities.

The fire-bombing which killed 18-monthold Ali Saad Dawabsha also left his parents and four-year-old brother critically wounded. Hospital officials said yesterday their lives remained at risk.

The family’s small brick and cement home in the village of Duma was gutted by fire, while a Jewish Star of David was spray-painted on a wall along with the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah.”

The graffiti was indicative of so-called “price tag” violence – nationalist-motivated hate crimes by Jewish extremists. Some have speculated that the attack was revenge for the demolition of the two buildings last week.

Yesterday morning, Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, though calm was later restored.

The stabbings at the Gay Pride march in Jerusalem on Thursday night has also put a spotlight on Jewish extremists, with an ultra-Orthodox man accused of carrying out the violence only weeks after being released from prison for a similar attack.

Shira Banki, 16, stabbed along with five other people at a Jerusalem Gay Pride march by a suspect identified as an ultra-Orthodox Jew died of her wounds yesterday, a hospital said.

The suspect, Yishai Shlissel, carried out the attack just weeks after being released from a 10-year prison sentence for stabbing participants of the 2005 Gay Pride march in Jerusalem, wounding three people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly condemned both attacks and called the fire-bombing “terrorism” – a word usually

Another US hunter suspected of killing a Zimbabwe lion n AFP, Harare

Another US hunter is suspected of killing a lion in Zimbabwe, the parks authority said yesterday, following the outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion by an American dentist.

A government statement said a crackdown since Cecil’s killing had led to the arrest of safari organiser Headman Sibanda on allegations of breaching hunting regulations. It said his client was an American called Jan Casmir Sieski who was in Zimbabwe in April.

“Headman Sibanda’s case is in connection with a lion that was killed by the other American (Sieski) in April,” confirmed parks authority spokeswoman Caroline Washaya-Moyo. l

Israeli security forces block Palestinian protesters from using a road leading to the annexed east Jerusalem al-Aqsa mosque yesterday as they demonstrate against the death of an 18-month-old child killed in an arson attack in the occupied West Bank earlier in the week by suspected Jewish extremists AFP used by Israelis to refer to violence by Palestinians. Yesterday he spoke of “zero tolerance” for such acts.

But despite the prime minister’s strong words, many have accused his government of failing to address the problem of Jewish extremism and of going dangerously far in its support for right-wing settler groups.

“Those who incite against Israel’s Arab citizens should not be surprised when churches and mosques are set on fire, and when finally a baby is burned in the middle of the night,” ex-president Shimon Peres told an anti-violence rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

His comments were seen as at least partly directed at Netanyahu, who on election day in March caused outrage when he warned that Arabs were being mobilised “in droves” to the ballot boxes.

Last week, Education Minister Naftali Bennett addressed protesters at a West Bank out-

post where settlers clashed with police when authorities moved in to seize two buildings ruled illegal by the Israeli High Court.

On the same day demolition of the two unfinished buildings began, Netanyahu, who has only a one-seat majority in parliament, approved the immediate construction of 300 new homes in the same area.

Yesterday Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon authorised the use of a controversial detention procedure for suspects in the fire-bombing generally reserved for Palestinians.

The procedure, known as administrative detention, allows suspects to be held indefinitely without charge, theoretically to allow investigators to gather evidence while preventing further attacks.

Israel has been accused of abusing the procedure to keep militants behind bars without trial. But many have urged the government to do more and questioned why Jewish extremist

attacks rarely lead to arrests and convictions.

“It is incomprehensible that a state ... which has been a role model for how to fight terrorism and whose doctrines are copied by many security agencies around the globe, finds it difficult to deal with a few hundred terrorists and their helpers,” security analyst Yossi Melman wrote in the Jerusalem Post.

According to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, some 85 percent of cases involving “ideological crimes” are closed due to investigative failures with no charges filed.

As for the suspect in the Gay Pride stabbings, who was arrested immediately after the attack, police have faced questions over how he was allowed near the march so soon after he had completed a jail sentence for a similar crime.

He had also posted a letter on the Internet speaking of the “abomination” of a Gay Pride parade being held in the Holy City and the need to stop it. l

Pakistan claims killing of major al-Qaeda commander in country n AFP, Quetta Pakistani security forces have killed a senior al-Qaeda commander and detained his wife in an overnight raid on his hideout in the south-western province of Baluchistan, a provincial minister said yesterday.

The security forces also took the couple’s two young daughters into custody during the raid in the Chaghi district.

“An important al-Qaeda commander – namely Umar Lateef, a Pakistani national – was killed in an encounter with local security agencies,” provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti told reporters.

“Lateef was a senior commander of al-Qa-

eda for Pakistan’s Baluchistan and south Punjab regions,” Bugti said.

“His brother Bilal succeeded in escaping during the raid, probably to neighbouring Afghanistan.”

Bugti said Punjab province had offered a reward of two million rupees ($20,000) for Lateef and half a million rupees for his wife, who was head of al-Qaeda’s women’s wing in south Punjab and Baluchistan.

The minister said Lateef had established an al-Qaeda network and was supervising its “terrorist activities and providing travel and logistical facilities to terrorists in both Baluchistan and south Punjab as well as in Afghanistan.” His wife is being interrogated by security officials.

Al-Qaeda announced last September it was setting up a chapter in the sub-continent to counter the spread of the rival Islamic State group, which controls a broad swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Pakistan launched an offensive against Taliban and al-Qaeda-led militants in the north-western tribal regions in June last year.

The operation intensified in December after Taliban militants attacked a Peshawar school, killing over 150 people, mostly children.

Mailk Ishaq, the leader of an anti-Shiite group behind some of Pakistan’s worst sectarian atrocities, was killed in a shoot-out with police last week along with 13 other militants, authorities said. l

DT

WORLD 9

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

No plane link to new debris in hunt for MH370 clues n AFP, Saint-André A fevered hunt for more wreckage from missing flight MH370 on La Reunion island turned up no new clues yesterday as authorities said metallic debris found by locals did not come from an airplane.

However Malaysia urged authorities in the Indian Ocean region to be on the lookout for debris washing up on their shores as hope flared a piece of a Boeing 777 wing could help solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Locals on La Reunion island have been combing the shores since the wing part was found last Wednesday, handing over bits of what they believe to be wreckage to police.

Yesterday morning several pieces of debris sparked excitement, one of which was believed by locals to be from a plane door.

However investigators quickly shot down hopes. Malaysian Director General of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman who is in France for the analysis of the wing part, told

AFP one item “was actually from a domestic ladder. It is not a door.”

And a source close to the investigation in Paris said “no object or debris likely to come from a plane” had been placed into evidence yesterday.

Jean-Yves Sambimanan, spokesman for the town of Saint-Andre where the wing debris was found, said islanders were dumbfounded that after cursory helicopter flights the day after the wing part was found, no official search of the coastline is under way.

The rush to find more debris is a sign of the desperation for answers 16 months after MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai confirmed in a statement that the wing part found Wednesday on the French island had been “officially identified” as from a Boeing 777 – making it virtually certain that it was from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Flight MH370 is the only Boeing 777 to ever be lost at sea.

Authorities have warned that even if the debris confirmed to come from MH370 it is unlikely to completely clear up one of aviation’s greatest puzzles.

The mystery of what happened to the plane and where it went down exactly are still likely to persist unless the black box is found.

The flaperon will be examined in a lab near the French city of Toulouse that specialises in plane crash investigations.

For the families of the victims, torn between wanting closure and hoping that their loved ones are somehow still alive, the discovery of the part has been yet another painful twist on an emotional roller-coaster.

“It has been hurting for so long. We need the closure and all the evidence possible so that we can go ahead with our lives. It’s been so long,” said Nur Laila Ngah, the wife of the flight’s chief steward Wan Swaid Wan Ismail. l

Czech president tells migrants: ‘No one invited you’ n AFP, Prague

Czech President Milos Zeman lashed out at illegal immigrants yesterday after dozens tried to flee a detention centre, prompting police to use tear gas against the demonstrators.

“No one invited you here. But now you are here, you must respect our rules, as we respect the rules when we go to your country,” he said in an interview published on the website of popular newspaper Blesk.

“If you don’t like it, then leave.”

About 100 people who were awaiting deportation, mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, tried to flee a detention centre in the north-east of the country on Friday.

Police were called in and used tear gas against the migrants, some of whom caused damage to the centre, the authorities said.

A survey published Friday by the Centre for Analysis and Empirical Studies, said over 70 percent of Czechs are reluctant to welcome migrants from Africa and the Middle East into their country. An EU member state since 2004, the Czech Republic has agreed to host 1,500 refugees by 2017. l

Kerry: US, Egypt deepening ties n Reuters, Cairo

A woman leaves a message of support and hope for the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 in central Kuala Lumpur in this March 16, 2014 file photo. Malaysia is ‘almost certain’ that plane debris found on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is from a Boeing 777 heightening the possibility it could be wreckage from missing Flight MH370 REUTERS

The United States and Egypt are returning to a “stronger base” in bilateral ties despite tensions and human rights concerns, US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday after talks with his Egyptian counterpart.

US-Egyptian relations cooled after Islamist president Mohamed Mursi was ousted in 2013 by the military amid protests against his rule.

But Cairo remains one of Washington’s closest security allies in the Middle East.

Cairo and Washington have been exploring opportunities to expand their security relationship. In March, US President Barack Obama lifted a hold on supplying arms to Cairo, authorising deliveries valued at over $1.3bn.

The United States delivered eight F-16 fighter jets last week to Egypt, which is battling insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula who have killed hundreds of soldiers and police since Mursi’s removal. The most active group is Sinai Province, an affiliate of IS. l

UAE to try 41 on charges of seeking caliphate n AFP, Abu Dhabi The United Arab Emirates is to try 41 people for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government to set up an Islamic State groupstyle caliphate in the Gulf state, prosecutors said yesterday.

Such mass trials on terrorism charges are rare in the UAE which has largely been spared the Islamic militancy that has hit other Arab states.

The suspects, who include Emiratis as well as foreigners, are accused of setting up a group “with a terrorist, takfiri [Sunni Muslim extremist] ideology” in a bid to “seize power and establish a caliphate,” the prosecutor general said.

They are accused of setting up cells to

train members in handling weapons and the manufacture of explosives in preparation for attacks on UAE soil. Prosecutors charge that they were “in contact with foreign terrorist organisations ... to help them achieve their goals.”

The UAE is part of the US-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria since September last year and has upped security measures since the wave of Arab Spring protests that swept the region four years ago.

In July, following the murder of an American teacher in an Abu Dhabi mall, authorities enacted tougher anti-terror legislation, including harsher jail terms and even introducing the death penalty for crimes linked to

religious hatred and “takfiri groups.”

Takfiris regard Muslims who do not follow their extreme interpretation of Islam as apostates punishable by death.

It is the ideology of al-Qaeda as well as IS. Alaa Bader al-Hashemi, 30, was executed last month for December’s stabbing murder of Ibolya Ryan, 47.

Hashemi’s execution was the first in the oil-rich Muslim federation since January 2014 when a Sri Lankan was put to death by firing squad for murdering an Emirati man in 2006.

Before her execution, human rights watchdog Amnesty International had reported last year that a dozen people had been put to death in the UAE since 1997.

The prosecutor said yesterday that the

cell was highly organised, operating under a “hierarchy” to recruit young Emiratis, obtain weapons and manufacture explosives, and spread Islamist propaganda.

It is the second time in recent years that the UAE has carried out a mass trial on terrorism charges.

Like neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the UAE regards the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, as a terrorist organisation. The Brotherhood is one of dozens of Islamist-inspired groups outlawed in the UAE in a blacklist that extends far beyond the jihadists of IS and Al-Qaeda.

Human rights groups have raised concerns that the blacklist is intended to stamp down on even peaceful dissent. l

DT

10 WORLD

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Rescuers search for 20 feared buried in India landslide n AFP, Guwahati

People try to retrieve a car stuck in a flood as flood waters submerge roads in Thoubal district in Manipur state yesterday AFP

Rescuers were searching yesterday for 20 villagers feared killed in a landslide in remote north-east India, as the death toll from days of torrential rains elsewhere in the country rose, officials said.

The side of a hill collapsed on Saturday on a village in Manipur state close to the border with Mynamar where monsoon downpours there have also triggered landslides and flooding. “So far we have reports of 20 people killed when a hillock caved and trapped the villagers,� local magistrate Memi Mary said.

In West Bengal, 42 people have been killed in the last week from flooding, while some 250,000 homes have been

destroyed, state disaster management minister Javed Ahmad Khan said. The flooding in West Bengal has spiked in recent days after the remnants of Cyclone Komen swept across the state from the Bay of Bengal.

In the far western state of Gujarat, the death toll from floods has reached 53, after more drownings, electrocutions and other incidents. More than 10,000 people have been evacuated across Gujarat in the past week. But officials said waters were now receding, allowing power and communications to be restored.

The monsoon, vital for South Asia including for crop production, routinely brings flooding and destruction. India receives nearly 80 percent of its annual rainfall from June to September. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

INSIDE

Our brand of secularism In a country where all four major faiths have a strong presence in the lives of millions, emphatic declarations of atheism cause disquiet

PAGE 12

The enemy at the doorstep ISIS has formally declared India as an enemy. The diplomatic necessity is to raise sufficient awareness of the need for an uncompromising united front against ISIS

PAGE 13

The morbid accomplishments of Bangladesh’s vigilantes The problem with vigilantes is that they do not look into the eyes of a felon and see past the crime. They do not scrutinise the way a judicial system would

PAGE 14

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

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

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

BIGSTOCK

Openly investigate land disputes involving minority communities

A

n open inquiry should be held into allegations that the mayor of Khagrachhari municipality is trying to grab land beside the Tri Ratna Buddhist temple, next to the town’s Agriculture Research Institute.

The high number of unresolved land disputes throughout the nation, which are held back by inefficient record-keeping and prolonged legal cases, is a matter which needs more urgent government attention.

It is even more worrisome when allegations surface that public officials may be taking undue advantage of their positions. This is particularly so in relation to complaints by minority communities that they may be being treated unfairly.

The temple in question was built on donated land over 20 years ago and is registered by Bangladesh Buddhist Welfare Trust as an entity with the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

According to the mayor, he had purchased the remaining part of the land which was donated, and denies allegations made by local people that he has any intentions to displace the temple.

According to the temple committee, in the years since the land was donated, the Roads and Highways Department has built shanty houses on part of the land and the mayor planted trees on some of the area in dispute.

The present dispute rests on whether or not the temple is the rightful owner of this land. We make no comment on the case itself, other than to say it should be determined impartially and swiftly.

However, we are troubled that the case reflects official disregard for the rights of minority communities. It appears similar to the high-handed manner in which court authorities began filling in land apparently belonging to the Barisal Saint Peter’s Church, which was constructed in 1849.

All land owners and claimants in their nation are entitled to have disputes resolved fairly and quickly.

It is especially important that the Khagrachhari dispute be openly investigated and settled, to guard against any suggestions of official discrimination or impropriety.

Guard against any suggestions of discrimination or impropriety

DT

12 OPINION

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Our brand of secularism

n Towheed Feroze

O

n the way to office, I tuned in to BBC radio and there was a program being aired on secularism in Bangladesh vis-a-vis the recent killing of outspoken bloggers. It was interesting, though I was a bit puzzled when very little scope was given to a university teacher who had spoken out against derogatory comments made against religion in general.

The father of one of the slain persons was talking. He said that his son, with a huge following, wrote on a site called Muktomona, and was a target of Islamic extremists due to his truculent anti-religious views.

I am compelled to ask -- did this blog, where the so-called secular opinion was aired, target one religion, or all faiths?

As for a huge following, one is unsure as to who reads these; I haven’t met anyone who had even heard of Muktomona before the fatal attack on the blogger, which has to be condemned from all moral angles.

In recent times, whenever there is talk of reprisals by hardliners against advocates of free speech, the issue of one religion, Islam, comes up. So then, are we to assume that these blogs only attack one faith, leaving the others out?

In the program, words like “atheists,” “free speech,” “hardliners,” and “religious bigots” were being used, though never for once was it underlined if the whole topic was surrounded by one religion, or all the other major faiths that are firmly represented in the country. Do free speech anti-religious advocates write against Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism?

In the radio program, the minister for information said Bangladesh is a country where respect for all faiths is central to an integrated, peaceful existence, which is a fact.

I am not saying we haven’t had community clashes divided by religion, but these

incidents have never undermined a general desire for harmonious co-existence. In Bangladesh, all major religious festivals of other faiths are celebrated with equal fervour, resulting in different sections of society, belonging to multiple faiths, coming to unite.

Therefore, Eid, Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima, and Christmas are held in esteem by all; if that is not secularism, then one is perplexed as to what is.

In fact, the word secularism in Bangladesh carries curious, though hardly harmful, contradictions. The other day, I was talking to an English daily editor, praised and respected for his erudition, and he pointed to something which no one ever takes into account while trying to define secularism in Bangladesh.

post-burial milad seeking eternal peace for the departed soul.

Would I be wrong in calling these the enlightened of the country? Of course, many do not touch alcohol, though they do not shy away from having fun at social gatherings, irrespective of what religious tag it carries.

But most of these liberals would recoil at the idea of denigrating a faith which many of the so-called blogs do. The occidental idea of atheism is an anathema in Bangladesh.

There are those who only go to mosques twice a year for Eid and never wear the religious identity on their sleeves, yet they understand very well that attacking a faith or valiantly flying the non-believer flag is hardly a civil move. It’s baffling as to why the European idea of extreme secularism is

In a country where all four major faiths have a strong presence in the lives of millions, along with all the contradictions mentioned earlier, emphatic declarations of atheism cause disquiet

In Bangladesh, most people are open-minded; we see a lot of people who drink socially all year round while refraining from taking alcohol during Ramadan, but then celebrate Eid with a bottle and friends.

On Thursday nights, plenty of people have a drink and the same bunch religiously go to the Jumma prayers the next day.These easy-going men and women enjoy the religious festivals of other faiths, take part in the Pohela Boishakh rallies, and, when someone dies, also take it as a moral duty to attend a

being used time and again in the Bangladeshi context.

Curiously, most international media outlets, while reporting on free speech in Bangladesh, appear to be motivated by a single-minded desire to prove that people here are killed if they speak their minds.

This is certainly not the case; our society, that includes all faiths, never talks openly about atheism or apostasy. If someone wishes to be one, no one is stopping him or her.

Just the act of propagating one’s views, when

they border on the unorthodox, is not welcome, simply because they have the potency to create schisms!

Just in the same way, we never talk of gay people or same-sex relations in Bangladesh.

It’s common knowledge people in same sex relations are present in society, though no one openly talks about or espouses it.

People having same-sex bonds are not being hounded out; most in urban areas turn the other way when they see one and, as for me, I have many friends who are involved in such relations, though they do not harp on about it. Nor are they stigmatised.

The social approach in this case is rational: Do what you want but since there is an eventual religious loyalty, no matter how liberal, public disclosures are deemed insulting.

A sort of South Asian “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach.

The BBC, while covering an attack on a gay pride rally in Turkey in late June, reported that, while Turkey always took a lenient stance on such processions, permitting it to take place every year, it’s not understood why this time the reaction was so severe.

It’s obvious this way because the march was being held during Ramadan, much to the bother of devout as well as the open-minded.

It’s certainly not right that people were killed for their writing. However, before Western-style free speech is imposed on Bangladesh, the rather unique form of liberalism that we have needs to be understood.

In a country where all four major faiths have a strong presence in the lives of millions, along with all the contradictions mentioned earlier, emphatic declarations of atheism cause disquiet.

Let’s be secular the moderate Bangladeshi way, instead of aping some other radical format!

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

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OPINION 13

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

The enemy at the doorstep

The march of ISIS has led it closer to us than we may think

ISIS has formally declared India as an enemy. The diplomatic necessity is to raise sufficient awareness of the need for an uncompromising united front against ISIS. This pseudoCaliphate has already acquired the geography of a mediumsized nation, and the revenue of a smaller one

n MJ Akbar

W

hen India re-assumes its engagement with successor states of the Safavid, Ottoman, and European empires to its west up to the Nile and the Sahel in North Africa, it will renew dialogue with a region that has not had a good night’s sleep for at least two centuries. Analysis is not an advent of any blame game. The fault, as that crusty realist Shakespeare noted, may lie in ourselves, rather than our stars, but the destiny of men also has its profound cycles across the cartwheels of time.

The past is littered with skeletons of nations which once ruled as much as the world as they could reach, and then imploded, leaving those who suffered colonisation to search for a new beginning within the debris. This search has never been easy, or short. All interventions disorient.

Every collapse destabilises.

The one great incubation of the 20th century is that it has made the 21st a more egalitarian age. We should be careful, however, about how far we stretch the meaning of a more egalitarian spirit. It does not necessarily mean an equitable transformation towards democracy. But the era of acquisitive, or even domineering, empires is over. Great powers

REUTERS

have to be more subtle in their manoeuvres, more guarded in their expectations. Only foolish powers, super or medium-sized, make non-negotiable demands.

The job of a contemporary diplomat, as he seeks to negotiate his or her way towards a better relationship, is certainly not to play God. The divine right of judgement is now best left to the sole custody of a historian.

Nor can a diplomat afford to become a school-master. The class will soon become empty. The world may not be a comity of nations that are equal, but it is certainly a more equitable globe.

The best diplomat is a geologist working within the turbulent geographic and mental landscapes embedded in fast-changing scenarios. The objective? How do you spot a port for a bilateral anchor?

India has one substantive advantage in West Asia and Africa. It does not have to deal with hostile governments. Most nations of the region host Indians, sometimes in millions, who work and contribute creatively to local economies. The crucial, if often diplomatically silent, question is: India may not have enemies, but does it have friends?

More important: Does friendship pass the strategic test? This is important because the nature of this region has changed.

From the oil price revolution of 1973 to the beginning of this century, this region was, albeit to different degrees, synonymous with economic growth, and hence, a welcome partner for all nations with the ability to participate in that growth. Today, the prime determinant of relations has become response to multi-dimensional conflict.

There are many wars going on simultaneously, but by far the most dangerous of them is the deadly challenge posed by terrorism in its latest manifestation. In its previous phase, terrorism was a manic form of hit-and-run (or hit-and-die) violence organised by small groups or militias, many of whom were used by regular intelligence agencies in the service of “war by other means.”

The emergence of ISIS, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has radically changed the metabolism and reach of this danger. It is true that ISIS rose from the swamp of contrary ambitions of regional powers. As always with Dr Frankenstein’s monster, the end-product has moved away from the range of his master’s voice. Today, the pseudo-Caliphate has an agenda of its own, and threatens to destabilise regimes within its immediate periphery as much as it provokes murder and mayhem on more distant targets.

India understands this danger all too well.

ISIS has formally declared India as an enemy.

The diplomatic necessity is to raise sufficient awareness of the need for an uncompromising united front against ISIS. This pseudo-Caliphate has already acquired the geography of a medium-sized nation, and the revenue of a smaller one. But its enormous potential to destabilise lies in the fact that it has become the largest sanctuary of rogue-movements, sheltering under the banner of false fantasies but nurtured by the dialectic of radical Islamism. This is not new in the history of Muslims. Such extremist groups appeared in the time of the first four Caliphs, proving that the power to mislead can have as much traction as the ability to lead.

India knows that it cannot be indifferent to this mortal danger, or take comfort in distance. The enemy is at its doorstep as well, and we are not speaking psychologically here. India must build strategic links and relationships with the major powers in West Asia in the common confrontation against terrorism and a terrorist neo-state. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads towards the region in the near future, this will surely be at the top of his mind. One hopes that his hosts are thinking on similar lines. If the mind is clear, the rest will follow. l MJ Akbar is an Indian journalist. He is the founder of The Sunday Guardian. This article was first published in The Sunday Guardian.

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14 OPINION

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

The morbid accomplishments of Bangladesh's vigilantes n Zyma Islam

I

n some places in the world where justice is a far cry, vigilantes are born.

Take, for instance, in the past two months in Bangladesh, there have been seven incidents of public lynching by people who have probably given up on the police and decided to save the day on their own.

They didn’t, however, have Spider-Man’s code of ethics -- they went in for the kill.

Save for two, all the individuals lynched were dead by the end of it.

These included children who were dealt the punishment of death for doing things that Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn would have gotten a spanking for.

One of those killed was a 16-year-old boy who stole a pigeon from the neighbour’s coop. The boy was killed in early April but the incident got lost among the multitudes of crimes happening daily, and only came to light in the last week of July when the footage surfaced.

He was beaten, burned with lit cigarettes, and, when the teenager begged for some water out of exhaustion, he was bound and thrown into a river. All these while, crowds stood by jeering and applauding.

Even the two victims who were lucky enough to escape death were minors -- one nine years old and the other eight. In legal terms, their action can be at best described as vandalism -- they had removed a neighbour’s fence. In their defence, the fence was made of prickly date-palm branches, and had hurt them when they tumbled into it while playing.

grandmothers begged forgiveness and promised to fix the fence.

In the middle of the month, another 13-year-old called Rajon was beaten to death after he tried to steal a three-wheeled van. At one point, to make sure they drive home the point, the men asked the 13-year-old boy to take off his pants.

To put things into perspective, a transgendered person was killed while asking for money despite the fact that she was technically not doing a crime. She was only indulging in a long-standing tradition of livelihood.

In countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh transgenders are ostracised, disowned by their families, and refused education and jobs.

Their only way of earning a livelihood is by appearing on special occasions like weddings to celebrate and ask for gift money. Their

There is no substitute for a working judicial system

The problem with vigilantes is that they do not look into the eyes of a felon and see past the crime. They do not scrutinise the way a judicial system would. In a courtroom, an accused has his/her entire life inspected by the jury before a verdict is reached

Maybe the children thought it was a public safety issue, maybe they wanted to keep their play area free of thorns, we shall never know.

However, the owner of the fence, who was a de facto village chief, saw it fit to shackle the child vandals to a tree and stuff their mouths with dead snails.

There they stayed for six hours, until their

appearance is supposed to bring good luck according to local superstition.

That is precisely what the transgendered woman, Lucky Akhter, was doing when she was lynched.

Lucky and some of her mates had joined a rural village wedding for celebrations and then asked for gift money.

She was earning money the only way society lets her. These nuances, however, were lost on the vigilantes who rushed in for the kill.

Vigilantism is an accepted phenomenon in societies like Bangladesh, where the police are corrupt, there is no insurance for health or property, and conviction rates are low.

When an alleged felon, Shamul Islam Monir, was lynched to death on July 14, the religious leader of the village, the imam, had drummed up people using the loudspeaker used to call for prayers.

His message was that a local robber has been caught and the village people should come deal with it.

The problem with vigilantes is that they do not look into the eyes of a felon and see past the crime. They do not scrutinise the way a judicial system would.

BIGSTOCK

In a courtroom, an accused has his or her entire life -- beginning from infancy -- inspected by the jury before a verdict is reached.

Anyone who has read Lord of the Flies is familiar with the concept that the institution of civilisation is the only wall between humans and savagery.

The absence of justice brought out the monsters of revenge in us -- and I do not just mean the vigilantes.

This includes every person who remained quiet for years and years while lives were shed in the hands of mobs. It may just be time to prove that people can recognise a wrong for what it is. l Zyma Islam is a freelance journalist and crime reporter. This article was first published in The Huffington Post, India.

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PMI: China July factory growth unexpectedly stalls

17

Study: Establish tax regime conducive to Digital Bangladesh

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Stocks continue to edge up in volatile trade

BB asks MFS providers to verify clients information with NID n Syed Samiul Basher Anik Bangladesh Bank yesterday directed the mobile financial service-providing banks and subsidiaries to verify their clients information.

As per the directive, the banks will see if the information given in the know your customer forms and the SIM cards match.

The central bank made the directive to reduce the risk of criminally-motivated transactions.

The Payments System Department of Bangladesh Bank sent a circular, signed by its general manager KM Abdul Wadud, to managing directors of the banks concerned to comply with the directive.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission already instructed the telecommunication firms to re-register the SIM cards properly by cross-checking information with the National Identity Card.

To keep the transactions secured, the clients information have to be same with other information provided in the KYC form, the circular said.

Before opening an account for MFS, the companies have to be sure that the clients information registered with mobile phone’s SIM card and the information with the NID card are same.

AS OF JUNE, 2015

Banks permitted 28 Banks operating services 20 Agents 5,38,170 Registered clients 286.46 lakh Active clients 122.34 lakh Transactions in June Tk12,969.51cr Daily average transactions 32.05 lakh Average transactions held daily Tk432.31cr Source: Bangladesh Bank The central bank said the mismatch of information would raise the risk criminal activities and transactions using the services.

With its four-point directive, Bangladesh Bank said all the SIM cards have to be either registered or re-registered by next six months to make the information same.

After registration or re-registration, the agents of the MFS companies have to collect personal data from clients and preserve them after verification.

The MFS providers were also asked to launch necessary campaign to make the registration and re-registration successful.

To reduce the risk of criminal transactions, the agents need to collect a copy of the clients photograph and preserve it with the transaction documents if any transaction exceeds Tk5,000 as cash-in or cash-out.

The central bank also requested the MFS providers to send a report on steps taken in this regard by August 31.

The companies will also need to send monthly development reports on the matter to the central bank.

The report of a month will be sent on 15th of the following month. This will continue for next six months.

Bangladesh Bank took the initiative to check money laundering and terrorist financing activities using MFS, officials said.

The initiative is expected to counter fraudulent activities using fake mobile banking accounts.

In early 2010 the central bank initiated providing financial services to the country’s unbanked population.

It so far allowed 28 banks to offer mobile banking services, among which, 20 have started operating the services.

The total value of monthly transactions through mobile phones in Bangladesh stood at Tk11,104 crore in February, according to a study by USAID. l

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Business

15

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Who needs the Fed? The rate hike comes on its own

Ministries asked to evaluate terms of Indian credit n Asif Showkat Kallol

All the ministries and divisions concerned have been asked to evaluate the conditions tagged with the Indian second line of credit worth US$2 billion.

Economic Relations Division (ERD) yesterday gave the directive at an inter-ministerial meeting at the planning ministry, with Additional Secretary of ERD Mohammad Asif-uzZaman in the chair.

It was a preliminarily meeting and a series of meeting will be held in the next couple of months before finalising the loan, an ERD official told the Dhaka Tribune.

The Exim Bank of India, which will extend the loan, proposes investing in seven sectors - power, railways, road transportation, ICT, shipping, health and technical education.

The draft loan agreement states the contract would be signed between the government of Bangladesh and the bank. The proposed interest rate for the dollar-denominated credit is 1% annually. In default, the rate will increase up to 2% . The proposed commitment fee for the credit is 0.5% per year.

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

Survey: Bangladesh poses rule of law challenges to FDI n Kayes Sohel

Bangladesh is ranked third after China and Australia for posing challenges to ensure the rule of law for foreign investors, according to a new report.

The US-based international law firm, Hogan Lovells, and The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a survey towards the end of last year among 301 senior decision-makers of companies with at least $1bn global annual revenue.

The survey released recently seeks to relate between the rule of law and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

It found that the existence of a strong rule of law was identified as the third most important factor in selecting the location of FDI. Respondents cited corruption (both public and private) as the main factor, followed by political and social instability and risks to the physical security for their investment decision making.

On the other hand, the low cost of doing business, access to natural resources or raw materials and access to innovation or R&D in

the host country were ranked as the least important factors.

Of the respondents, 7% cited the rule of law as a significant issue in Bangladesh. The survey placed China in first spot as 11% of respondents described it as the country where the rule of law was a concern.

Some 8% of the respondents said Australia is the second country that poses the rule of law.

Commenting on the report, former Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Syed Ershad Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune non-coordination among the government agencies has basically made the legal issue complex in the country.

He said getting permission for any foreign investment-related project is very cumbersome as investors need to rush to several ministries and departments for permission.

“Bangladesh needs to address the issues in quickest possible time to attract FDI for faster economic growth.”

According to the UNCTAD report, the country attracted $1.53bn in FDI in 2014, a fall of over 4.8% from $1.6bn in 2013.

FDI still constituted a low share of more

than 1% of GDP, which is considered to be much lower than in other countries, such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

According to the survey, 57% of Western European investors made FDI in Western Europe while 68% of Asian investors made the investment in Asia.

Respondents represented companies operating in a variety of industry sectors, including financial services (19%), information industries and telecommunications (16%), energy and natural resources (15%) and healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnologies (15%).

The report showed that the strength of the rule of law was the third major consideration of companies when making decisions about when to invest, along with “ease of doing business” and “a stable political environment”.

A strong rule of law is either “essential” or “very important” to investment deci-

sion-making, some 88% of the respondents.

The report noted that more than $1tn in FDI flows across borders worldwide every year. Understanding the factors that influence companies’ choices is the key to capturing that capital.

The report used a broad definition of the “rule of law”, including the clarity, certainty and predictability of laws as well as certain elements of justice within the country’s legislature. l

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16 BUSINESS

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

NBR plans to strengthen relation with stakeholders n Tribune Report

The National Board of Revenue has decided to deepen its relationship with the stakeholders through sharing information and discussing revenue-related issues to boost revenue collection.

NBR field offices will organise revenue dialogues across the country where they will inform businesses about revenue mobilisation strategies and collect valuable suggestions and opinions from the stakeholders.

The commissioners of taxes, customs and excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) will hold such dialogues at least on a quarterly basis to strengthen the spirit of partnership with its stakeholders to find out ways to achieve the

CSE-50 index revised n Tribune Report The CSE-50 index has been revised on the basis of performance of the CSE-listed companies with effect from July 30, 2015, Chittagong Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday.

CSE-50 index is reviewed twice a year.

The new companies are ACI and Lafarge Surma Cement Limited while British American Tobacco and Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company were excluded from the previous list.

The final 50-index companies are AB Bank, Aftab Automobiles, Al Arafah Islami Bank, Bank Asia, BEXIMCO, Brac Bank, Bangladesh Submarine Cable, BSRM Steel, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, The City Bank, Delta Life Insurance Company, DESCO, Dhaka Bank, Eastern Bank, EXIM Bank, GP, Heidelberg Cement, IDLC Finance, IFIC, Islami Bank, Jamuna Oil Company, Khulna Power Company, Lanka Bangla Finance, Mercantile Bank, MJL Bangladesh, Meghna Petroleum, National Bank, NCC Bank, Olympic Industries, One Bank, Orion Pharma, Padma Oil Company, Prime Bank, Pubali Bank, RAK Ceramics Bangladesh, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Southeast Bank, Square Textile, Square Pharma, Standard Bank, Summit Power, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, UCBL, Unique Hotel & Resort, United Airways, Uttara Bank, Uttara Finance, ACI, and Lafarge Surma Cement Limited. l

revenue collection target, said officials.

The tax authority is set to collect Tk1,76,370 crore for the ongoing fiscal year 2015-16.

The field offices will seek support from the local administration and the chamber of commerce and industry concerned to make the programmes a success. A revenue dialogue had already taken place in Sylhet on August 1 as part of making people aware about tax issues and encouraging them to pay tax.

The National Board of Revenue Chairman Nojibur Rahman attended the discussion and listened to the opinions made by the businesses at the dialogue organised by Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The revenue collection authority is also planning to host monthly dialogues in co-

operation with apex chamber, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), officials said, adding that revenue boss Nojibur Rahman may also attend the dialogues using video conference if he fails to attend the programmes in person.

The move on sharing information between NBR and stakeholders will help boost revenue collection, officials expected.

Along with the trade bodies, the tax authority will also deepen its engagement with the government and private stakeholders including the Board of Investment, Commerce Ministry, Land ministry, city corporations, Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and civil society members for maximum utilisation of tax-related strategies, they added. l

PMI: China July factory growth unexpectedly stalls n Reuters, Beijing Growth at China’s big manufacturing companies unexpectedly stalled in July as demand at home and abroad weakened, an official survey showed on Saturday, reinforcing views that the economy needs more stimulus as it faces fresh risks from a stock market slump.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 50 in July, compared to the previous month’s 50.2. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted another tepid reading of 50.2, pointing to expansion, albeit a sluggish one.

However, both export and domestic orders shrank for the large firms covered by the survey, and in response they continued to cut jobs.

It did not mention any impact from a savage 30% drop in stock markets since midJune, though analysts said wild price swings could hit consumer and business confidence and investment decisions, adding pressure on the already cooling economy.

“It warrants more concrete policy measures to stabilise the real economy. Perhaps

the funds used to prop up the share market could be used to support the real economy,” ANZ economists Li-Gang Liu and Louis Lam said in a research note.

ANZ maintained its forecast that the central bank will cut interest rates by another 25 basis points (bps) this quarter and reduce banks’ reserve requirements by 50 bps by year-end.

The government has rolled out a flurry of steps since last year to try to put a floor beneath sputtering economic growth, including accelerating infrastructure spending and repeated reductions in interest rates and banks’ reserve ratio. But growth is still expected to moderate this year to around 7%, the slowest in a quarter of a century.

The statistics bureau said the weaker reading was partly due to the weather, as hot temperatures and heavy rain led some firms to reduce production and carry out maintenance.

“The recent fall in prices of oil and other commodity products also affected related industries,” it added.

A preliminary, private Caixin/Markit survey last month showed activity at smaller factories contracted by the most in 15 months. l

Workshop on combating counterfeiting and piracy begins n Tribune Report A national workshop focusing on familiarising Bangladesh customs and other border officials with global trends and threats of counterfeiting and piracy began yesterday.

The customs of National Board of Revenue (NBR), in cooperation with World Customs Organisation, organised the five-day-long workshop titled “Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy” in Grand Sultan Tea Resort and Golf in Sreemongol, Moulvibazar.

The workshop, aimed to equip officials concerned with legal framework covering intellectual property rights (IPR) at borders, was jointly sponsored by Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF)/Japan of WCO and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Around 35 officials from NBR, Commerce ministry, Industry Ministry, Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Copy Right Office and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) is participating at the workshop.

The workshop is designed to assist officials from customs and other relevant agencies to fight against counterfeiting and piracy effectively.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith inaugurated the opening session of the workshop as the chief guest while Social Welfare Minister Syed Mohsin Ali and State Minister for Planning and Finance MA Mannan attended the programme as special guests.

Local lawmakers, public representatives, deputy commissioner and police super of Moulvibazar, local political and business leaders also attended the opening session presided over by NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman.

The workshop is designed to train officials on key roles of customs to stop counterfeiting and piracy at the borders, and the various methods that customs officials can employ, including seizure of counterfeit goods, use of mobile communication/detection tools, establishment of dedicated IPR offices, efficient information exchange, cooperation with the private sector, conducting education and awareness raising campaigns, and working in cooperation with international agencies such as WCO, the International Criminal Police Organization, and European Police Office. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Islami Bank holds business conference n Tribune Business Desk

Union Bank Training Institute has recently been launched through a ceremony on July 28, 2015. Managing director of Union Bank, Md Abdul Hamid Miah has inaugurated the institute as chief guest of the inaugural ceremony

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has held its half yearly business development conference on Saturday, said a press release.

The bank’s deposit stood at Tk596.49bn while investment stood at Tk497.62bn by the end of second quarter of 2015, added the press release.

The bank’s chairperson, Engineer Mustafa Anwar, among others, was present at the conference as chief guest. l

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BUSINESS 17

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

DCCI: Monetary policy not private sector friendly n Tribune Report

Rajeev Sethi, Grameenphone CEO, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT Division, Hasanul Haq Inu, information minister, Anir Chowdhury, policy advisor of Access to Information and Rohan Samarajiva, CEO of LIRNEasia, at a report unveiling programme on Digital Bangladesh in the city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Study: Establish tax regime conducive to Digital Bangladesh n Tribune Report A joint task force is necessary to establish a conducive taxation regime for rapid roll out of the broadband services in the country, according to a latest study on Digital Bangladesh.

The study suggests forming a joint task force, comprising ministries of finance and ICT, and National Board of Revenue (NBR) to rationalise tax regime that will balance government’s entitlement to reasonable and stable revenue with the needs of operators to be able to predict tax effects.

Having access to the mobile internet is difficult for many Bangladeshi because of the combined effect of low spending power, device costs, and usage costs. Besides, the government’s taxes and fees constitute an additional barrier as taxes amount up to 17.6% of the cost of owning and using a mobile phone.

The study titled “Realising Digital Bangladesh” was conducted by LIRNEasia, a Tel-

ecom think-tank in association with Telenor Group and Grameenphone.Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu unveiled the study report at a city hotel yesterday.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT division, Rajeev Sethi, CEO of Grameenphone, Anir Chowdhury, policy advisor of Access to Information (A2i) and Rohan Samarajiva, CEO of LIRNEasia were present on this occasion. RohanSamarajiva presented the study report.

The study, which compiled the achievements so far made in realising Digital Bangladesh, identified priority actions needed for the next step of development and setting success measurement standards.

It pointed out some areas like youth employment, healthcare, education and climate change, which need special attention to realise Digital Bangladesh.

It also mentioned that mobile broadband would need to be supplemented by a quality

and widespread fibre network. Competition should be opened up for building better quality fibre network.

Addressing the occasion HasanulHaqInu said, “This report will help us to implement Digital Bangladesh in a pragmatic way.”

Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “Both public and private sector need to work together to implement Digital Bangladesh.”

AnirChowdhury, policy advisor of A2i, Prime Minister’s Office said, “We need a winwin ecosystem, where all public and private stakeholders will be benefited equally. There should be a holistic approach by all stakeholders to implement Digital Bangladesh.”

Grameenphone CEO Rajeev Sethisaid, “Providing universal and affordable access to Internet is the core to Digital Bangladesh. If we have the right regulatory and investment environment, we will be able to provide internet for all to support the implementation of Digital Bangladesh.” l

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) yesterday termed the recently announced monetary policy for the first half of the current fiscal year as not private-sector friendly as it would not encourage investment.

On Thursday, Bangladesh Bank announced its half-yearly (H1 FY2015-16) monetary policy, aiming to curb inflation and increase investment to support 7% growth target and 6.2% inflation target.

“As a whole, the H1 MPS does not seem encourage the substantial private sector borrowing and investment as this sector needs to be revamped against the slimming and declining FDI trend in Private sector of Bangladesh,” said DCCI in a statement issued yesterday.

The cost of borrowing is still unaffordable for SME and other industries’ entrepreneurs though the central bank forecasts 15% growth in private sector borrowing in this term, said the DCCI statement.

DCCI in its statement said, “The trade body feels existence of bad loans is a major concern for the economy. As such DCCI opines that slashing rate of interest on lending may fuel investment, both local and foreign.”

The DCCI also feels that the MPS doesn’t reflect the growth potentials and employment creation opportunities in productive sectors.

Inflation control is subject to other external economic factors but the higher cost of borrowing, cost of doing business and proposed pay scale may interpolate the expected inflation regulation in the market, it added.

The proposed MPS does not have any clear indication and direction to recover and minimize the burden of classified borrowing and bad debt in the banking sector, the trade body said.

BB declares that productive sectors will get loans in lower rate of interest but this will not reap any benefit until other influential factors in money market and economy consistently stabilised and improved in the next two quarters, it added.

The cost of borrowing and doing business needs to be reasonably low to encourage decent flow of lending for increasing industrialisation, economic mobility towards achieving 8% GDP growth as per the vision 2021.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has urged the Bangladesh Bank to ensure 38% investment of GDP to attain 8% growth to become a middle-income country by 2021. l

Roadmap for $50bn export target to be shared in Chittagong RMG expo n Tribune Report Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is going to organise a three-day Bangladesh Apparel and Safety Exposition in the port city of Chittagong to share with stakeholders a draft roadmap for achieving an export target of US$50b by 2021.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed is expected to inaugurate the expo while Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain will be present as special guest.

Ambassador and head of delegation of the

European Union to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat and Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Pierre Laramee are scheduled to join the function as guest of honor.

The 3-day mega event will be held from Thursday at the Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View.

“From the Dhaka Apparel Summit, we’ve received a set of recommendations from the stakeholders including government, private sector, donor agencies, brands and trade unions on sustainable plans for achieving $50b

target,” BGMEA President Atiqul Islam told the reporters at a press conference held in the city yesterday.

He also said, “Based on the recommendations, a road map has been drafted in consultation with RMIT University of Australia, which will be placed to the government through Bangladesh Apparel and Safety Expo in Chittagong, said Islam.”

“It is quite possible to earn $50bn by 20121, but we need gas and electricity connection to start production in new factories,” Atiqul said in response to a question.

According to researchers, Bangladesh has

to post 10.50% growth in RMG export to reach the target and to attain the goal, restoring political stability as well as branding is a must.

During the expo, there will have three seminars on “Branding Bangladesh”, Training and Developing Skills for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth, Financing Apparel Growth and Capacity Building of port, Customs, Power and Infrastructure to reach $50bn.

These seminars are aimed at devising ways for Bangladesh to pursue its $50b target by 2021 and to brand Bangladesh by rebuilding images tarnished due to the political unrest. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures 8THICB: 140% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 17.26.

NAV of Tk. 43.89 at cost price and Tk. 71.89 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.

7THICB: 150% cash Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 20.76. NAV of Tk. 51.72 at cost price and Tk. 109.18 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.

6THICB: 120% cash Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS = Tk. 13.93. NAV of Tk. 34.87 at cost price and Tk. 59.48 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015..

5THICB: 250% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 35.67. NAV of Tk. 78.19 at cost price and Tk. 246.54 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015..

4THICB: 300% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 36.29. NAV of Tk. 97.70 at cost price and Tk. 289.06 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.

3RDICB: 300% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 35.57.

NAV of Tk. 86.61 at cost price and Tk. 364.91 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.

2NDICB: 450% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 55.89. NAV of Tk. 129.14 at cost price and Tk. 300.28 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.

1STICB: 1,000% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 142.

NAV of Tk. 268.33 at cost price and Tk. 1,521.50 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.

BERGERPBL: 100% interim cash dividend. Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.

GRAMEEN1: As per BSEC letter dated July 12, 2015, it is to inform that the conver-

sion/redemption process of Grameen One: The First Scheme of Grameen Mutual Fund One, the current tenure of which concludes on August 31, 2015, is to be completed by December 31, 2015 following BSEC Directive No. SEC/CMRRCD/2009-193/175/Admin/62 of July 08, 2015.

Dividend/AGM 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.

NAVANACNG: 15% cash general shareholders (excluding Sponsors), AGM: 16.09.2015, Record Date: 18.08.2015.

SUNLIFEINS: 6% stock, AGM: 15.09.2015, Record Date: 18.08.2015.

APEXSPINN: 20% cash AGM: 30.09.2015, Record date: 18.08.2015.

RECKITTBEN: 500% interim cash dividend, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 05.08.2015.

LINDEBD: 200% interim cash dividend, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 03.08.2015.

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

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

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

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company 1st ICB M F -A Bangladesh Welding -B Islami Bank BD - A National Polymer -A GeminiSeaFood-B BSRM Ltd. -A Shasha Denims -N ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A Navana CNG-A Stylecraft -A

Closing (% Change) 19.50 9.63 9.59 9.50 8.55 8.33 8.11 7.88 6.94 6.24

CSE GAINER Company 8th ICB M F-A 1st ICB M F -A 7th ICB M F-A Islami Bank BD - A Bangladesh Welding -B National Polymer -A Shasha Denims -N BSRM Ltd. -A Aramit -A 6th ICB M F-A

Closing (% Change) 22.58 17.80 16.67 10.00 9.13 9.07 8.99 8.87 8.74 8.20

DSE LOSER Company Meghna Life Ins. -A ISN Ltd. -Z People`s Leasing-A Phoenix Finance-A Standard Insurance-A Rupali Bank - A PragatiLife Insu. -Z National Housing Fin.-B FAS Fin. -A Pragati Gen. I -A

Closing (% Change) -18.77 -10.00 -8.88 -7.11 -5.56 -5.41 -5.13 -4.67 -4.55 -4.51

CSE LOSER Company Meghna Life Ins. -A EXIM Bank 1 MF-A ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A ISN Ltd. -Z Rupali Bank - A People`s Leasing-A Standard Ceramic -A Eastern InsurA NLI 1st M F-A Continental Insur. -A

Closing (% Change) -19.11 -12.50 -9.89 -9.52 -9.43 -8.82 -7.25 -7.11 -6.25 -5.96

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features August 2, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

8,065.32 194,680,382 163,463

Traded Issues

320

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

158

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

158

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,707.50

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.82

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 422.26 470.25 113.14 1709.33 257.94 1392.26 5.65 805.31 1349.20 26.63 238.01 31.85 87.26 369.14 48.93 30.22 51.73 243.48 120.03 292.32 0.41

% change 5.24 5.83 1.40 21.19 3.20 17.26 0.07 9.98 16.73 0.33 2.95 0.39 1.08 4.58 0.61 0.37 0.64 3.02 1.49 3.62 0.01

Million Taka 22.69 40.71 6.05 170.06 11.80 84.80 56.81 83.01 2.86 15.41 2.24 4.81 35.82 5.38 0.97 3.29 17.78 15.34 27.75 0.01

Average (% Change) 14.59 8.93 7.59 5.41 9.75 7.30 6.10 7.73 5.10 5.74

Average (% Change) 22.58 17.79 16.67 7.73 7.92 6.57 6.89 7.08 8.74 8.20

Average (% Change) -17.75 -14.27 -3.00 -5.14 -5.99 -3.52 -4.24 -4.56 -2.81 -4.72

Average (% Change) -18.54 -12.50 -8.95 -10.94 -9.53 -8.43 -1.09 -7.43 -6.25 -6.16

CSE

ClosingAvg. 1,375.05 23.29 23.53 104.96 319.15 104.11 46.61 21.88 59.98 1,091.66

ClosingAvg. 76.00 1341.67 105.00 23.70 23.31 104.78 47.16 103.60 246.30 66.00

ClosingAvg. 61.13 10.99 16.16 18.65 15.23 45.56 105.22 24.68 12.79 25.42

ClosingAvg.

% change 3.73 6.70 1.00 27.99 1.94 13.96 0.00 9.35 13.66 0.47 2.54 0.37 0.79 5.90 0.89 0.16 0.54 2.93 2.52 4.57 0.00

61.74 7.00 8.24 11.40 46.05 15.76 44.64 23.42 9.00 14.16

Closing 1,434.00 23.90 24.00 108.30 318.80 105.30 48.00 21.90 61.60 1,096.20

Closing 76.00 1341.70 105.00 24.20 23.90 107.00 48.50 105.60 246.30 66.00

Closing

DHIGH

DLOW

1,440.00 23.90 24.00 108.70 319.40 106.90 48.60 22.00 61.80 1,096.20

1,285.00 22.00 21.80 101.10 314.30 97.50 44.40 21.90 57.90 1,045.00

DHIGH

DLOW

76.00 1350.00 105.00 24.20 24.00 107.00 48.80 99.90 246.30 66.00

DHIGH

60.60 10.80 15.40 18.30 15.30 45.50 103.60 24.50 12.60 25.40

Closing

DLOW

64.00 11.90 18.00 19.20 15.50 48.00 111.00 25.90 13.10 28.00

DHIGH

61.80 7.00 8.20 11.40 46.10 15.50 42.20 23.50 9.00 14.20

Million Taka 444.95 510.96 119.19 1879.39 269.74 1477.06 5.65 862.12 1432.21 29.49 253.42 34.08 92.07 404.96 54.31 31.20 55.02 261.26 135.36 320.07 0.42

76.00 1300.00 105.00 21.70 22.20 100.00 44.30 100.00 246.30 66.00

60.30 10.80 15.30 18.10 15.00 44.60 103.00 24.20 12.50 25.20

DLOW

68.00 7.00 8.30 11.40 46.10 16.70 50.00 23.50 9.00 14.20

Total

60.20 7.00 8.20 11.40 46.00 15.30 42.10 23.40 9.00 14.00

% change 5.13 5.89 1.37 21.67 3.11 17.03 0.07 9.94 16.51 0.34 2.92 0.39 1.06 4.67 0.63 0.36 0.63 3.01 1.56 3.69 0.00

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

Turnover in Million

Latest EPS

3.703 63.350 119.103 56.489 7.127 183.595 198.318 0.079 111.035 1.191

Turnover in Million

39.55 -0.80 4.22 3.36 11.77 2.16 5.24 2.61 3.54 62.57

Latest EPS

0.015 0.016 0.002 7.203 3.357 2.606 15.068 28.852 0.000 0.001

Turnover in Million

34.8 -ve 5.6 31.2 27.1 48.2 8.9 8.4 16.9 17.4

Latest PE

7.79 39.55 9.73 4.22 -0.80 3.36 5.24 2.16 13.84 8.68

Latest EPS

6.254 0.658 220.564 5.798 0.598 4.498 1.795 3.054 1.558 1.200

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

9.8 33.9 10.8 5.6 -ve 31.2 9.0 48.0 17.8 7.6

Latest PE

6.45 0.16 0.56 2.96 2.88 5.84 2.38 2.24 1.02 1.44

Latest EPS

0.421 0.001 0.068 0.002 0.046 15.493 0.115 0.002 0.002 0.014

9.5 68.7 28.9 6.3 5.3 7.8 44.2 11.0 12.5 17.7

Latest PE

6.45 0.56 0.87 0.16 5.84 0.56 0.49 2.76 1.83 3.02

9.6 12.5 9.5 71.3 7.9 28.1 91.1 8.5 4.9 4.7

CSE key features August 2, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

607.60 16,467,433 23,421

Traded Issues

261

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

123

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

131

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,604.75

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.57

DT

BUSINESS 19

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Stocks continue to edge up in volatile trade n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-A Beximco Pharma -A Khulna Power-A DESCO Ltd. -A FAR Chemical-N People`s Leasing-A Shasha Denims -N Grameenphone-A BSRM Ltd. -A BSRM Steels-A

Olympic Accessories -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Square Pharma -A SAIF Powertec-N BD Building Systems -A

VolumeShares 2,339,483 4,044,507 3,756,126 3,439,896 4,092,245 13,645,642 4,254,737 597,837 1,763,414 2,047,742

Value in Million 297.80 288.32 287.80 262.74 223.31 220.56 198.32 194.78 183.60 179.71

% of TotalTurnover 3.69 3.57 3.57 3.26 2.77 2.73 2.46 2.42 2.28 2.23

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

2,722,718 4,983,080 578,779 1,795,084 2,775,422

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Olympic Accessories -N LafargeS Cement-A BSRM Ltd. -A United Power-N Khulna Power-A Beximco Pharma -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BSRM Steels-A People`s Leasing-A Shasha Denims -N

Aftab Auto.-A UNITED AIR-A Grameenphone-A Appollo Ispat CL -N Square Pharma -A

484,961 248,503 278,495 150,701 270,283 280,115 496,996 191,359 982,853 319,507

228,228 1,298,245 40,185 564,699 43,770

177.87 170.19 156.49 151.97 141.69

31.64 31.51 28.85 24.45 20.77 20.02 16.96 16.85 15.49 15.07

14.58 14.11 13.12 12.09 11.82

2.21 2.11 1.94 1.88 1.76

5.21 5.19 4.75 4.02 3.42 3.29 2.79 2.77 2.55 2.48

2.40 2.32 2.16 1.99 1.95

ClosingP 125.80 71.20 76.30 76.30 54.10 15.40 48.00 325.70 105.30 87.80

64.10 34.10 269.60 85.70 51.30

ClosingP

Change % -0.94 2.15 -1.29 2.28 1.69 -8.88 8.11 -1.45 8.33 3.66

-3.03 0.89 -1.14 4.26 3.22

Change %

64.00 125.60 105.60 160.80 76.50 71.30 34.00 88.20 15.50 48.50

64.60 10.80 326.20 21.70 269.10

-2.88 -0.71 8.87 -2.55 -1.29 2.00 0.59 4.26 -8.82 8.99

4.19 -0.92 -1.33 4.33 -1.28

ClosingY 127.00 69.70 77.30 74.60 53.20 16.90 44.40 330.50 97.20 84.70

66.10 33.80 272.70 82.20 49.70

ClosingY

65.90 126.50 97.00 165.00 77.50 69.90 33.80 84.60 17.00 44.50

62.00 10.90 330.60 20.80 272.60

DHIGH 129.60 72.00 78.90 77.20 55.50 18.00 48.60 330.20 106.90 90.00

67.80 34.70 273.00 86.10 52.00

DHIGH

67.40 129.40 99.90 167.00 78.60 72.00 34.50 90.00 16.70 48.80

65.50 11.10 330.50 21.90 272.10

DLOW 125.30 70.40 76.00 75.10 53.60 15.30 44.40 324.40 97.50 83.00

63.60 33.80 268.70 82.50 49.90

DLOW

63.80 125.10 100.00 160.10 76.20 70.70 33.80 85.00 15.30 44.30

62.10 10.70 325.00 20.90 268.50

AvgPrice 127.29 71.29 76.62 76.38 54.57 16.16 46.61 325.81 104.11 87.76

65.33 34.15 270.37 84.66 51.05

AvgPrice

65.25 126.82 103.60 162.22 76.85 71.46 34.12 88.07 15.76 47.16

63.88 10.87 326.42 21.40 270.00

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

12294.50280

(+) 0.20%

1885.90004

(+) 0.11%

14745.47150

(+) 0.21%

12294.50280

(+) 0.59%

8977.99810

(+) 0.21%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks continued to gain marginally yesterday with volatile but higher trade, led by heavyweight banking and small cap engineering issues.

The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, rose about 10 points or 0.3% to close at 4,802.

The Shariah index, DSES, was up nearly 3 points or 0.3% higher to 1,192. The blue chip comprising index DS30 moved up 2 points or 0.2% to 1,885. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, surged over 18 points to settle at 8,977.

Small cap engineering sector was at the forefront of investors’ interest, making up over 21% of total turnover. It also led in sectoral gains by yielding 1.6% return.

The large cap sectors showed mixed performance with heavyweight banks rising highest 1.2%, followed by pharmaceuticals 0.7%.

Power advanced by a meager 0.1%. Telecommunication lost a significant 1.5%.

Most other sectors, including non-banking financial institutions, food and allied, power, textile and cement closed flat.

Strong buying and selling has helped DSE turnover to cross Tk800 crore mark.

The turnover stood at Tk810 crore, which is 28% higher over the previous session’s value.

Lanka Bangla Securities said investors were mostly active trading on multi-national companies, pharma and construction material stocks.

As mixed earnings news flooded the Motijheel Street, it said, traders are churning their position on stocks, keeping eyes on company fundamentals.

IDLC Investments said DSEX slightly improved to close over psychological level of 4,800 points in the first session, following the release of monetary policy announcement for the first half of the current fiscal year.

In absence of any conspicuous stimulus, market soul searched drivers within and found earnings declarations to be most powerful, it said adding that mixed earnings disclosures kept the market static with minor volatilities across the session.

“Investors were enthusiastic this session, rebalancing their portfolio to capture new opportunities, which resulted in a surge of activities.” l

ANALYST

DSEX slightly improved to close over psychological level of 4,800 points in the first session, following the release of monetary policy announcement for the first half of the current fiscal year

DT

20 BUSINESS

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Who needs the Fed? The rate n hike comes on its own

US economy revives in second quarter

n Reuters, New York As traders, market pundits and economists jaw over whether the Federal Reserve this year will lift its benchmark lending rate for the first time in almost a decade, several corners of the US bond market are not waiting around.

A wide range of short-term interest rates, which tend to be the most sensitive to Fed policy expectations, has been quietly grinding higher for weeks, or in some cases much longer. Several have even surpassed their levels of two years ago during the bond market’s “taper tantrum,” when prices dropped steeply and yields shot up as the Fed pondered whether to halt its massive asset-purchase program.

Banks, money market mutual funds and other investors do not want to be stuck with low-yielding debt when the US central bank finally does begin raising interest rates, something it last did in June 2006. Generally positive comments about the economy by the Fed at the conclusion of its latest policy meeting on Wednesday signaled to many that a rate rise could come as early as September.

“The confidence is starting to rise about a rate hike,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York. “You want to be compensated for at least one hike.”

For example, overnight bank borrowing rates have been inching up for the better part of a year and are around 36 percent more costly than in May 2014, when they fell to a record low.

Yields on investment-grade corporate bonds are holding near recent two-year highs, and the premium paid for holding them relative to Treasuries is the steepest since September 2013.

And even as yields on bond market benchmarks such as the 10-year Treasury note and 30-year T-bond have seen only intermittent upward pressure, those on shorter-dated Treasuries are decidedly higher.

The yield on two-year Treasury notes, at 0.73% on Thursday, was just a tick from a four-year high and more than three times that of May 2013. Rates on T-bills with durations of less than a year are at their highest so far this year.

Yields, or rates, move inversely to the price of bonds.

To be sure, yields on two-year Treasuries slid back to 0.66 percent on Friday after a key

The current U.S. national debt is displayed before a House Financial Services committee hearing on ‘Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy’ on Capitol Hill in Washington REUTERS measure of US employment costs came in far weaker than expected, suggesting the Fed may not get the wage gains it seeks before raising rates.

The Fed could still blink in the face of such factors as Greece’s unresolved debt woes and stock market turmoil in China, the world’s second largest. And a fresh bout of weakness in oil markets could make it difficult for inflation to move in the direction desired by the Fed. To that end, some measures of Fed rate expectations suggest almost no probability the central bank will move before December.

Prices of Fed fund futures reflect a zero percent chance of a rate increase in September, a 37 percent chance in October and a 64 percent chance in December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch.

The Fed has long emphasized that it expects to raise interest rates only gradually, unlike in the last decade, when policymakers raised borrowing costs slightly at every meeting.

In recent weeks and months, policymakers have stressed that the timing of the initial rate rise is less important than how the economy evolves afterward. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester even gave a speech this month entitled “Timing isn’t Everything.”

Whites of fed’s eyes

Overnight borrowing costs between banks are a reliable proxy that traders expect short-term US rates to head higher sooner than later.

Since the Fed has increasingly de-emphasized the timing of a first rate increase, and especially since Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s mid-July testimony to Congress, “the markets started to price in a more hawkish Fed,” said Com Crocker, managing director of global inflation markets at Mesirow Financial in New York.

“You saw it in rates, you saw it in the curve, you saw it in the dollar, in commodities, in stocks and in everything,” he said.

The federal funds effective rate, which the Fed seeks to control, has averaged 0.14% for four days in a row, matching its highest since May 2013. That is 1.5 basis points above the midpoint of the zero-to-25-basis-point target range the Fed adopted in December 2008.

The bottom range of fed funds trading climbed to 0.10 percent on Thursday, a level last seen in 2011. Another key rate, the threemonth London interbank offered rate, or Libor, a benchmark for $350tn worth of financial products worldwide, topped 30 basis points on Wednesday for the first time since January 2013.

On Friday, Libor rose the most since 2011. l

AFP, Washington

The US economy revived in the second quarter, shaking off its winter slumber as consumers flung open their wallets and exports rebounded, official data released Thursday showed.

Gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 2.3% in the April-June period, the Commerce Department reported, slightly below the 2.5% consensus estimate.

That was the strongest pace of growth since the 2014 third quarter’s 4.3% as the world’s largest economy slowly recovers from the Great Recession.

The first quarter, marred by severe winter weather and West Coast port strikes, did not contract as previously estimated. GDP was revised to 0.6% growth from a 0.2% downturn.

“The economic recovery has lasted six years and shows no signs of old age. Most notably job growth is strong and broad-based, and wage increases are set to accelerate more significantly as the economy approaches full employment,” said Scott Hoyt of Moody’s Analytics.

Briefing.com analysts said the data showed “some mild improvements after the weak first quarter” but that growth trends were still below the economy’s 2.7-3% potential rate.

The fresh data raised speculation about the timing of the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise its near-zero key interest rate this year.

The central bank has kept the federal funds rate pegged at 0-0.25% since late 2008 to help pull the economy out of the severe 2008-2009 recession.

Some analysts said the US economy appeared to have enough momentum to keep the Fed on track for the first hike in more than nine years.

“Updated GDP numbers deliver a double-punch to US economy doom-mongers, painting a reassuringly bright picture of the health of the US economy so far this year and raising the odds of the Fed hiking interest rates in September,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

It was the Commerce Department’s preliminary estimate for the second quarter, to be followed by two revisions.

Consumers drive growth

Second-quarter growth was fueled mainly by a solid increase in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of US economic activity.

Spending jumped 2.9%, accelerating from a 1.8% increase in the first. Gains were led by higher spending on goods, with purchases of durable goods such as autos surging 7.3%. l

Facebook ready to test Internet-beaming drones n AFP, Menlo Park

Facebook on Thursday said it is ready to begin test flights of a high-altitude drone designed to provide Internet access to remote locations of the world.

The Aquila drone has a wingspan on par with that of a Boeing 737 jet; weighs less than a small car; can remain aloft for three months or so, and will beam Internet service to the ground from altitudes ranging from 60,000 to 90,000 feet (18,000 to 27,000 meters).

Yael Maguire, the engineering director of the project, told journalists the team had

“achieved a significant milestone” with laser communications for high-speed data connections that are faster than most current speeds.

Using the solar-powered drone could mean “quickly bringing connectivity to an area that needs it,” he said at a presentation at Facebook’s California headquarters.

“Our goal is to accelerate the development of a new set of technologies that can drastically change the economics of deploying Internet infrastructure,” Facebook vice president of global engineering and infrastructure Jay Parikh said in a blog post.

“We are exploring a number of different

approaches to this challenge, including aircraft, satellites and terrestrial solutions.”

But he said this would not lead to Facebook becoming an Internet operator or carrier.

“Our goal is to provide the technology to other partners,” he said.

Aquila drones and using lasers to provide Internet connections are the work of a project devoted to finding ways to provide online access to the billions of people in the world who don’t yet have it.

Hitting a dime

Facebook last year unveiled its ambitious

plan to use drone, satellite and laser technology “to deliver the internet to everyone” via the leading online social network’s Connectivity Lab. “A full-scale version of Aquila -- the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft designed by our aerospace team in the UK -- is now complete and ready for flight testing,” Parikh said.

Data fired off by the lasers can hit a target “the size of a dime from more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away.”

The lasers are being tested in real-world conditions. l

DT

21

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

T-JUNCTION INSIDE

22

school survival

Back to school films

23

Draped in fashionable glory Photo: Saudia Afrin

i tried it

Real Techniques bold metal 301 contour brush shop

Majestically matte

24

trending

Hand chic

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Schoologistics

Back to school films school survival

The holidays are over, and it’s time to bring out those school uniforms back from the dead. After a long holiday with friends, food, fun and selfies, it does become a little tough to get back to the old mundane way of life. But here is a list of a few must watch movies which can help you ace the coming semester

High School Musical I know you are imagining me to be a 13 year old girl, obsessed over Zac Efron, who probably believes in unicorns and other fantasies. But honestly this movie, although it can be a little childish, is a story of how modern day students in high school interact with each other.

The constant struggle to survive everyday, getting good grades, trying to chase your dream to be a singer or a dancer, handling peer pressure but most importantly, making friends. Let’s admit it, friends are what makes going to school a fun place (insert happy crying emoticon).

The Internship “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Remember being flooded by this question when you were younger? Some of you might encounter this question even now.

The answers are usually doctor, engineer or lawyer. Many of us want to do something different. And that is okay, as long as you try to excel in what you do. The movie depicts the story of two friends who aren’t too educated and have insufficient skills to be having a proper job. One day they find an internship opportunity at Google. There they prove their potential and eventually get selected to work there. You should have an idea of your future career, or where you want to work at. Keep that in mind, and work hard towards that goal. If you work hard, and give your 100%, all your goals and ambitions can be met.

3 Idiots Once we have got the taste of what a regular school life should be, then comes the more serious part. Our parents send us to school with the sole belief that we will return home with a perfect set of As. If we do try hard enough, it’s not too difficult. But sometimes we tend to lose hope, give up and sit in a corner contemplating life. Do watch 3 Idiots if you have ever faced such a problem. The movie is the story of how fierce competition can get in any academic institution, but we need to learn to not lose our heads and stay calm. Memorising everything like the Terminator is not always helpful. Sometimes one should resort to understanding the topic well and simply enjoy what one is learning.

Your result will simply show your hard work. A famous line in the movie sums it up, “Chase excellence and not success. If you are able, you will be successful.”

Mean Girls Yes, you read it right. I am talking about the Lindsay Lohan starrer, high school cult classic.

If you have not seen it yet, the name says a lot. It’s a story about how an average girl is initially bullied by the so called elite class group of girls. She later works her way to befriend them and becomes popular. Sounds irrelevant? Well most, if not all of us face bullying in school. The movie will show you that no matter who is sitting next to you, a rich hot-shot, the Ronaldo of your school football team or the next Stephen Hawking, you should not feel intimidated by them.

Be who you are, and remember what your main aim in school is. Be nice to everyone, even if they are not nice to you. Try to be good at sports or other extracurricular activities, besides your studies. Don’t ask for popularity, earn it.

Jobs This movie is the story of late American innovator and CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs.

Jobs never graduated college, and he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth either. He worked hard and never gave up, until gradually he stood atop his billion dollar industry. Soon enough he was asked to leave his own company which he started.

He simply did not give up, he started from scratch but made his way back to the top.

Failure is a part of life. Sometimes losing teaches you a lot. It builds your strength in character. If you ever fail a test, or get very poor marks, don’t think that to be end of the world. You can always dust off and stand back on your feet. Like the theme of the movie, never give up and always strive to be the best. l

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Tempt

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

I tried it

Real Techniques bold metal 301 contour brush nN Anita Amreen The Real Techniques bold metal contour brush is a dream, to put it simply. For those of you under the misconception that the glamorous packaging and detailing is only a gimmick to justify its pricing, you’re wrong.

Not only does this baby look and feel like a dream in your hands, this synthetic fibre brush does everything it promises. While most contouring brushes are angled, this one comes in an interesting flat-top edge, making it ideal for drawing the initial contour lines along your jawline and on the hollows of your cheeks. It fits into every curve with picture perfect precision.

Very densely packed but extremely soft, the white bristles let you know just how much product you’ve taken, making it easier for you to control the amount of product you’re using. Once you’ve

drawn your initial lines (be it with cream or powder products – it does a great job for both), you can start blending out in short, sweeping motions. This is where the brushes true genius lies – it blends any harsh lines so smoothly, it just does all the work for you. There will be no repetitive skimming or sweeping required, one

sweep, a few quick blending strokes and you’ll have the perfectly blended, smooth contouring in a matter of minutes.

In comparison to the mid-range priced Real Techniques contour brush from their Sculpting Set, their bold metal version is a true winner. While both brushes are densely packed, the 301 really makes it easier for precise contouring, while the low-range contour brush only works well if you are a pro at contouring yourself. The only downside is that this baby is priced at Tk2,350, awkwardly placing it between being a budget-buy and being a high-end purchase.

Many may just consider this a waste, opting to pay a little more for a guaranteed high quality brush such as a Sigma or a Mac. In its defense, let me just say that this is worth every penny you pay for. It is not worth spending that extra cash and going for a Sigma or a Mac because this brush really fits the bill when it comes to your contouring needs. l

shop

Majestically matte 3 budget buys to master that on-trend matte pout

n N Anita Amreen If there’s one pout that’s all the rage this season, it’s the velvet matte pout. From Kylie Jenner’s highly controversial mauve pout to Beyonce’s bare-it-all pout, celebs have really taken the trend of matte pouts to a whole new level. This week we look at four matte lipstick brands that give you that ultimate matte finish without breaking the bank.

Sleek Matte Me (Tk700 at www. themallbd. com)

The ultimate queen of matte lip creams, Sleek’s Matte Me lip cream formula is long-wearing and highly, highly pigmented. With Sleek, a little goes a long way as you don’t need too much product to get the depth of colour the product promises. Priced at Tk700, this really is a steal, especially if you want a colour that doesn’t budge or bleed for hours.

The only downside is that it comes in very few shades, the most popular being Birthday Suit, a beautiful light mauve-nude that goes with almost every skin type. The second most popular choice includes Fandango Purple, a dark but brilliant, broodingpurplish pink.

Wet n Wild MegaLast Lipcolour (Tk300Tk450 at www. themallbd.com, www. banglashoppers. com)

Not as matte as Golden Rose or even close to as matte as Sleek, Wet N Wild still remains a steal when it comes to matte lipsticks. It comes in several pigmented shades that glide on super smooth, making it an easy everyday lipstick that lasts up to four hours.

Recommendations include: Don’t Blink Pink (a gorgeous bright pink), Wine Room (a warm, everyday coral) and Mauve Outta Here (a warm but everyday mauve).

Tips and tricks

• To master the perfect matte pout, always begin by gently exfoliating the lips • Make a mix of honey and sugar to gently exfoliate • After exfoliating, use a good lip balm or Vaseline • Allow the cream to be absorbed fully

Golden Rose Velvet Matte (Tk460 at www. banglashoppers. com) The ultimate budget buy, the Golden Rose Velvet Matte range comes in 27 shades, ranging from beautiful nudes to dusky reds and bright pinks. The formula is thick, pigmented and will last for a few hours before needing a reapplication. The moisturising formula is matte, but doesn’t dry up the lips.

Many claim that Golden Rose Velvet Matte may just be a drugstore dupe for some of Mac’s favourite shades. For instance, No 11 is a close match for Mac’s All Fired Up. • For precise lip work, it's best to begin with a lipliner to outline the lips • To make the colour really stick, use a lipliner in the same or similar shade to fill the lips • Apply the lipstick directly or you can also use a small lip brush to work the colour into lips l

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Tempt/Take Care

trending

Hand chic

Chic hand adornments you need to try right now

n Farhana Shahnaz Accessory trends keep changing like the mood swings of a pregnant woman. The shoulder grazing earrings have taken a trip north and shifted into ear cuffs, while the tattoo chokers from the 90s have taken a ride on a time machine and made a major comeback. But the most interesting changes have been seen in the hand department.

Stack’em up!

If you loved rocking stacked bracelets you’ll love this trend too! Stacked bracelets can effortlessly give a fresh boho-chic vibe to any outfit. Gone are the days of bare, minimalistic fingers; it’s about going all out with rings now. Pile multiple rings on one Harnessed gorgeousness Whoever told you you could only wear hand harness to your cousin’s wedding, or your own, was wrong. This quintessential, traditional jewellery piece has found a new place into every fashionista’s collection.

Harnesses can add spunk to any outfit as well as some novelty in your accessory game. You can try heavily embellished harnesses or petite chain ones, if you are not too daring.

Step aside statement necklaces, there is a new contender in town!

For the love of cuffs Cuffs have been on everyone’s wish list for a while now. The advent of the mighty cuff has made all our accessorising woes go away.

Only one stunning piece is enough to add just the right amount of pizzazz to your look.

This is one trend that is both high fashion and effortless to pull off. The rule of thumb for cuff is go bold or go home so don’t be afraid to experiment. Just downsize the rest of your look to let your cuff shine and you are golden.

finger, some on almost every finger, or both!

The best part is this look is totally easy on your wallet. Just tighten the adjustable rings you already have and wear them as midirings. You can try as many combinations and designs, as your hands will look more stunning each time.

Bangle up Unless you have been living in fashion void, you should be familiar with bangle bracelets. The possibilities are endless with these fashion favourites. Stack up bold chunky bracelets for a revved up flair or layer with a watch. l

health

Turning the cold shoulder to the common cold n Mithul Roy

A runny nose, sore muscles and a splitting headache? Congrats, you have the common cold. No cure exists for this devilish disease and all the ibuprofen and paracetemol in the world doesn’t seem to make a dent in the malicious illness’ destructive path. However, there are several ways to power through it so it doesn’t get the better of you.

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially hot fluids to help replace what you’ve lost from having a runny nose and sweating. Have hot ginger and lemon tea to soothe a sore throat and battle nausea. Drink as much water as possible (preferably two liters or more) to keep mucous membranes moist and help thin mucus so that it’s easier to expel.

• Get plenty of rest; listen to your body when it says it wants to shut down.

Resting for a few days will save you a long and tiresome recovery.

• Eat healthy foods, preferably low fat

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and high fibre foods along with ample fruits and vegetables. You may lose your appetite when you have a cold so force yourself to eat if you’re not feeling hungry, as it is more important for your body to fight illness than digest food.

For a sore throat, gargle with lukewarm water and plenty of salt added for a few minutes at a time. Rinse and repeat for about 15 minutes. You can also gargle with warm water with a squeeze of lemon added about four times a day.

Suck on menthol sweets or dissolve solid menthol crystals in hot water and inhale the steam given off for an effective cure for blocked noses.

For young children, rub their chest, back and nasal area with vapor rub or mustard oil, gently warmed with garlic and massage well for easier breathing.

To help keep mucus loose, stay in a moist, warm, well-ventilated room.

Steamy showers moisturise your nasal passages and relaxes you, so run a steamy shower while you sit on a nearby chair and

take a sponge bath.

• Sleep with an extra pillow, this will help relieve congested nasal passages • Turns out grandma was right. Chicken soup alleviates the cold as it stops certain white blood cells (neutrophils) from congregating and causing inflammation, preventing large amounts of mucus from being produced and also thins the mucous. Add freshly chopped garlic to your soup, as it kills germs and appears to stimulate the release of natural killer cells. A dash of red (chili) pepper flakes can increase the broth’s decongestant power.

Photo: Bigstock If you are still feeling under the weather, pursue under the counter drugs for the flu or seek medical help. l

Ronaldinho Gaucho made a triumphant return to Brazilian soccer on Saturday when he set up the goal that gave Fluminense a 1-0 win over Gremio at the Maracana stadium

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BANGLADESH BAG 12 GOLDS IN SPECIAL OLYMPICS

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ASHRAFUL, SUNNY, NADIF UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

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WINNING RETURN

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ERVINE’S MAIDEN TON LEADS ZIM TO RARE VICTORY

BCL brought ahead of Aussie Test n Mazhar Uddin

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is looking to bring forward the 4th Bangladesh Cricket League by five months as it will give the national cricketers a good amount of match practice ahead of the Australia Test series.

The franchise-based first-class tournament was initially scheduled for February 2016, but the BCB tournament committee chief Akram Khan yesterday expressed their willingness of holding at least a couple of rounds before Australia arrives to play the two-Test series on September 28.

“We are hoping to start the BCL longerversion tournament from September 15 as Australia are scheduled to arrive on September 28. I think the players will get the opportunity to play the first two rounds, but if not then we will ensure they play at least a round of the BCL,” said Akram before adding that they expect the owners of the four teams – Walton (Central Zone), Islami Bank (East Zone), Prime Bank (South Zone), BCB (North Zone) – to cooperate when approached.

“The franchises have always stood beside us and they helped us through thick and thin and we did get positive outcome from the franchises before, whenever we needed them. I hope that the franchises will come forward and give priority to the national issue,” the former Bangladesh skipper added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s No 4 batsman in Tests and ODIs, Mahmudullah greeted the news with joy and said the tournament can help them prepare well ahead of the first Test against Australia on October 9.

“Just heard the news (BCL to be held in September) and I think it will be great for us as we are scheduled to play two Test matches against Australia. There was not much cricket against South Africa due to rain and we can have a good preparation if the tournament takes place ahead of Australia series,” said Mahmudullah after another day, the third consecutive day, of their second Test against South Africa was washed out yesterday. l

AUSTRALIA TOUR OF BANGLADESH SCHEDULE October 3 Three-day practice match vs Bangladesh Cricket Board XI, Fatullah

October 9-13 First Test, Chittagong

October 17-21 Second Test, Dhaka

Nasir Hossain and Heath Streak grapple for the ball during training at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Nasir isn’t liking it, so aren’t we, says Mahmudullah Rain pushes second Test towards another dull draw n Mazhar Uddin B a ng l a d e s h’s Nasir Hossain has been unbeaten on 13 for three days of the second Test against South Africa now. However, that does not make the batsman feel better as the monsoon season continued to dominate in its usual manner with the home side locked on 246/8 from 88.1 overs in their first innings.

After losing two days in the first Test in Chittagong, it was the third consecutive day washed out in the ongoing Dhaka Test, taking the tally of rain-affected days in the series to five. Another dull draw and a shared series does not make the players feel any

good either as Mahmudullah sees this as a missed opportunity to play the top-ranked Test nation.

“At breakfast [yesterday] I was talking to Imrul [Kayes] about what would have happened had the match taken place properly.

We (team mates) sometimes talk about such things. We usually spend time in our hotel room but when we are together, we talk cricket. We share ideas,” Mahmudullah told the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

He continued, “He (Nasir) told me in the morning that he is not liking the situation. He has been not out for two days! We all want to play but we have to face the circumstances.

Let’s see what happens [today].”

“It would have helped us immensely had there been 10 days of cricket, whether we

won, lost or drew the matches. We would have played 10 days against the best team in the world, and test our skills against them,” said Mahmudullah.

If it’s a crime for a batsman to get out after getting set in the middle, then Mahmudullah is among the four Bangladeshi batsmen who committed the crime in the match. The tall right-hander scored 35 before becoming Dale Steyn’s 401st victim in the longer-version.

“I think everyone understands the need to take the opportunities. It is always hard to score the first 20-30 runs. It is the major hurdle. Then one has to play normally. Threefour of us got out in the 30s and 40s. I think it is a big crime. We have to find out, by speaking in groups and individually, how we can get out of this. I am sure we can get out of this quickly,” he said. l

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Rain dampens Vilas’ international bow n Minhaz Uddin Khan South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Dane Vilas yesterday said he was excited after making his Test debut against Bangladesh in the ongoing Dhaka five-dayer but at the same time expressed disappointment with the persistent rainfall.

With rain causing havoc, wiping out three days of the second and final Test between the two teams, Vilas’ only contributions include the catches of Mominul Haque and Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

“Obviously I was very excited on the first day and to get my cap. I thought we bowled really well. The last couple of days have been frustrating but we have been preparing to get on the park,” the 30-year old told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday after match officials called off the fourth and

penultimate day’s play.

“The field has been unbelievable. We were really surprised how well the drainage works here. So it’s been both sides. Really excited and disappointed with the rain obviously,” he said.

Vilas earlier made his Twenty20 international bow for the Proteas against India three years ago but never got the opportunity to bat. That was his only international appearance prior to the Dhaka Test as he had to wait three years before being called up to the national fold again.

The right-hander has played 71 first-class matches and scored 3,854 runs at an average of 41, including 10 centuries and 19 half-centuries, and it was his domestic form which enabled him to replace the struggling Quinton de Kock, who played the first Test in Chittagong.

When queried to give his reasons behind the long hiatus in between his international appearances, Vilas said, “I have been playing domestically for a number of years now. It was always a dream to play for South Africa.

And I think competition is very good in any situation. It just shows the strength of South Africa’s domestic set-up.

“Everybody wants to get in this team with some of the guys like we got like Dale [Steyn] and Morne [Morkel]. Competition is healthy.

Quinton is a brilliant player, he has done fantastically. I have no doubt he is going to be knocking on the door and putting pressure on everyone. As I said, everybody wants to get into this team and represent the country.” l

The South African team management (R) vent their frustration while speaking with a match official as the fourth and penultimate day’s play of the second Test against Bangladesh was washed out yesterday at Mirpur’s SBNS without a ball being bowled MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

‘Selfies, six-packs to derail Arsenal hopes’ n Reuters, London Arsenal are not capable of winning the Premier League title this season because they have too many players interested in selfies and six packs rather than winning football matches, according to former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.

Keane, a fire and brimstone midfielder, won seven Premier League titles as a player and enjoyed particularly competitive relationship with Arsenal and their similarly combative captain Patrick Viera.

The current Ireland assistant manager, however, said he saw little in the current Gunners side to convince him that they are poised for a first league title since their Viera-led ‘Invincibles’ team in 2004.

“Arsenal have some really good players some good characters who roll their sleeves up,” Keane told the Mail on Sunday.

“But they also have one or two players who are more interested in selfies and six-packs, guys who are trying to get their pictures taken every day of the week.

“Every year we hear the same thing about Arsenal being contenders. Instead of focusing on the Premier League, it’s all about how their bodies look, how their hair is, more so than winning football matches.”

Arsenal, under manager Arsene Wenger, have become one of the most dazzling attacking sides in Europe but a perceived lack of leadership has undermined their ability to make a sustained title challenge for

a number of years.

Back-to-back FA Cup triumphs ended their nine-year trophy drought but for too long the north Londoners have not been relevant during the intense 38-game toil of a Premier League season.

Last season, under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea - built around a strong spine of hard-working, physical players - stifled their closest rivals to canter to the league title and Keane said the Stamford Bridge side remained the benchmark in the upcoming season.

“For me, Chelsea remain the team to beat,” the 43-year-old added. “Their team is the one with the strongest spine - John Terry, their goalkeeper (Thibault Courtois), Eden Hazard - and if they can add (Everton’s England defender) John Stones to their team then they will be even harder to beat.

“The bottom line is that if Chelsea’s players show the same hunger and desire that they did last year then they’ll win the league.

They will only be in trouble if they are complacent.” l

Bangladesh bag 12 golds in Special Olympics n Tribune Desk Bangladesh bagged a total of 12 gold medals in the Special Olympics Summer World Games 2015 in Los Angeles, USA, that ended on Saturday.

Along with the gold, the Bangladesh Special Olympic team also earned 11 silver and eight bronze medals, including being the runners-up (silver) in the 11-a-side football after Great Britain beat them 8-6 in the final on the last day.

Bangladesh won the most number of gold medals in the badminton discipline, four, while athletics produced three gold, five silver and three bronze medals.

Two gold medals each were achieved from table tennis and bocce discipline while one came from swimming.

Sumon Khan and Abdul Kader Soron won two golds from athletics and badminton respectively while Parul Akter won a gold, silver and bronze in swimming.

The 2015 Games featured competitions in aquatics, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, football (soccer) and many other summer sports involving 6,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities from around the world. l

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QUICK BYTES Bangladesh U16s to face SL in Saff opener Bangladesh will kick off their Saff Under-16 Championship 2015 campaign against Sri Lanka in Sylhet on August 11, according to the fixture which was announced yesterday. The 10-day event will get underway through the Group A encounter between India and Sri Lanka at Sylhet District Stadium on August 9. Hosts Bangladesh will take on defending champions India in their second and final group-stage match on August 13. All the round-robin matches will begin at 5pm. Group B comprises Nepal, Afghanistan and Maldives.

–SHISHIR HOQUE

Mymensingh lift U-14 women’s football title Mymensingh district lifted the JFA Under-14 National Women’s Football Championship title by comfortably beating Tangail 2-0 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Sanjida put Mymensingh ahead in the 18th minute before Sajeda doubled the lead in the 29th minute, placing home a low cross from the right flank by Tohura. Mymensingh’s Marzia became the highest scorer in the tournament with 10 goals while Maria Manda was adjudged the most valuable player. Narayanganj bagged the fair-play trophy. The champions received Tk50,000 while the runners-up got Tk25,000.

BFF president Kazi Salahuddin distributed prizes among the winners as the chief guest.

–TRIBUNE DESK

Leach takes hat-trick with first three balls of match Worcestershire bowler Joe Leach claimed a hattrick with the first three balls of his side’s Royal London One-Day Cup match against Northamptonshire on Sunday. Leach had Richard Levi and Rob Keogh caught behind by Ben Cox with the opening two balls of the match before Ben Duckett was pouched by Jack Shantry to prompt scenes of mass shock and hysteria within the Worcestershire team.

–REUTERS

Ashraful, Sunny, Nadif under the spotlight for playing in USA without NOC n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury yesterday informed the media that the board will investigate the issue of some of its contracted players participating in an American domestic league, the Diversity Cup, without obtaining the No-Objection Certificate.

What has perhaps raised a few eyebrows is the cricketers playing alongside Mohammad Ashraful. The former captain was banned by the BCB from all forms of cricket activities after he confessed his involvement in match-fixing in the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 two years ago. The BCB high-up said they are looking closely into the board’s rules and regulations before determining their course of action.

Discarded players Elias Sunny and Nadif Chowdhury, meritorious Under-19 all-rounder Shaker Ahmed and former cricketer Tapash Baisya are participating among others in the T20 tournament for Bangladesh Tigers XI. The event is taking place in Michigan and is scheduled to come to an end today.

Both Sunny and Nadif are contracted with the BCB as first-class cricketers while Shaker last played domestic cricket in Bangladesh in the 2013-14 season. It was confirmed by the BCB officials that Sunny and Nadif did not acquire any NOC to participate in the Michigan tournament.

The occasion is not the first when the Bangladesh cricketers were found playing alongside Ashraful, who is currently serving a five-year ban. A month ago, at least nine Bangladesh cricketers, former and current BCB directors and a few officials participated in an indoor celebrity tournament alongside Ashraful. Last May, a few cricketers participated in a media competition where Ashraful

was also a participant.

Such situations have raised concerns among the stakeholders. While explaining the situation, Nizamuddin said the board will look into the matter soon because of the frequency of the incidents.

“We have to look into the board’s guidelines and then comment on it. Since it is happening frequently, we will look closely. We can talk about it after seeing what we can do, as far as preventive measures are concerned.

We have to see the board’s anti-corruption rules and procedures before we can say anything about it,” said the BCB CEO. Ashraful was slammed with an eight-year ban by Justice Khademul Islam, the convenor of the three-member probe committee of the BPL match-fixing scandal. The cricketer later appealed the decision and the BCB disciplinary committee was forgiving with their verdict, reducing the ban by three years last September.

Since then, Ashraful has participated

PSG beat Lyon to win third successive Trophy of Champions n Reuters, Toronto

Nadal claims 67th title with Hamburg Open win Nadal, a 14-times grand slam champion, has endured an indifferent season winning just two titles in Stuttgart and Buenos Aires prior to Sunday and dropped to number 10 in the world rankings. World number 32 Fognini, who won the Hamburg title in 2013, was aiming for an almost unthinkable third claycourt victory against Nadal this season following successes in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.

–REUTERS

Rome rules out using Vatican for 2024 bid Rome will not use the Vatican for events in its 2024 Olympic bid, a top Italian sports official said Sunday, as Toronto gave stronger hints that it will join the campaign. The Italian capital was one of the first of the four cities so far in contention to announce that it would compete.

Budapest, Hamburg and Paris are also in the race, while Los Angeles is expected to enter after Boston’s embarrassing withdrawal. Toronto is also considering entering.

–AFP

in several tournaments, both home and abroad, alongside the Bangladesh cricketers.

Ashraful’s explanation mentions that he only plays in unofficial tournaments that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the International Cricket Council.

If that is the case, then the Bangladesh cricketers are the ones who should be taken care of.

“The ban on Ashraful is within the jurisdiction of the BCB. The tournament or match you are referring to is outside our jurisdiction. Secondly, the players within our first-class contract who have participated in an unauthorised cricket event without the board’s seal of approval or without NOC, will be addressed in accordance with the board’s policy,” said Nizamuddin before adding, “It will not be right to comment over whether it is disapproved cricket or not. What we understand is that this is not official cricket. Whether this is a neighbourhood tournament, we have to find out.” l

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian defender Thiago Silva (L) and Brazilian midfielder Lucas Moura celebrate after they claimed the French Trophy of Champions match against Lyon at Saputo stadium in Montreal, Canada on Saturday AFP

Paris St Germain claimed a third straight Trophy of Champions with a 2-0 win over Olympique Lyonnais at Montreal’s Stade Saputo on Saturday.

Full back Serge Aurier headed the first goal in the 11th minute and Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani scored from close range seven minutes later.

Lyon, runners-up to PSG in Ligue 1 last season, finished the game with 10 men after Maxime Gonalons was shown a second yellow card just after the hour.

PSG were without Argentine internationals Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi who have returned to the squad late following their involvement in the Copa America.

Lyon were minus attacking midfielder Clement Grenier, who is expected to be out for four months with a leg injury, and the suspended Nabil Fekir.

The two teams prepared for the game in contrasting fashion. l

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Wolfsburg stun Bayern to win German Super Cup n AFP, Wolfsburg

LOSING MLS DEBUT

New York City FC midfielder Frank Lampard (2L) plays the ball while being defended by Montreal Impact midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker (14) at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard had an unhappy Major League Soccer debut when his new club New York City were beaten 3-2 by the Impact. The 37-year-old received a rousing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd when he came on as a substitute in the REUTERS 69th minute, with New York already 2-1 behind

German Cup winners Wolfsburg upset Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on penalties to win their first domestic Super Cup at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday.

Arjen Robben’s second-half strike from close range looked to have secured victory for Bayern, who were searching for their first Super Cup triumph since 2012 after successive defeats to Borussia Dortmund.

But substitute Nicklas Bendtner - who scored just one goal in 18 league appearances for the Wolves last season - equalised in the 89th minute after a terrific cross from Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne.

With no extra-time played, the match went straight to penalties with Xabi Alonso the culprit for Pep Guardiola’s Bayern who lost the shootout 5-4.

Alonso - Bayern’s second penalty taker - was thwarted by Wolfsburg’s Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels who saved with his legs, while Dieter Hecking’s Wolfsburg were successful with all five of their spot kicks.

Bendtner also converted the winning penalty to cap a fine personal performance as Wolfsburg secured the first piece of silverware of the season.

In the match played before the start of every Bundesliga season between the previous campaign’s league champions and Cup winners, both sides contributed to what was at times a high quality opening period with slick passing and fluid movement. l

TOP CONTENDERS FOR THE 2015-16 EPL TITLE

Football may be an unpredictable sport but one thing is for certain: the 2015/2016 season in the English Premier League will not be a boring one. While each team has been readying their arsenals, all hungry to take home the title, below is a list of the teams that Norma Hilton predicts will not only make it a fight to the finish but captivate fans all around the world, including in Bangladesh, with their style of play. It truly will be the “survival of the fittest”.

CHELSEA

MAN UNITED

ARSENAL

MAN CITY

Last season: Champions Key player: Eden Hazard Major signings this season: Asmir Begovic, Radamel Falcao

Last season: Fourth Key player: Wayne Rooney Major signings this season: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay

Last season: Third Key player: Alexis Sanchez Major signing this season: Petr Cech

Last season: Second Key player: Vincent Kompany Major signings this season: Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph

Despite Jose Mourinho’s tactics being called “boring”, he has managed to lead the Blues to the EPL crown last season. And it’s probable that he will do so again. The dynamic duo of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas are likely to smash through opp defenses with the help of last season’s Premier League Player of the Season Eden Hazard. And they can rest easy knowing that the trio of Thibaut Courtois, John Terry and Nemanja Matic will take care of things in the back.

Perhaps the team most active this summer, United have bought a player for nearly every position. And with all this money being thrown around, one cannot help but wonder, will all these transfers live up to the hype? United has signed Sergio Romero, Matteo Darmian, Memphis. Depay and the Schmidfielders (Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin). Depay seems the most promising of Louis van Gaal’s newest transfers.

The Gunners finished third in the EPL and won the FA Cup last season. Alexis Sanchez wowed, living up to all the hype. Francis Coquelin and Hector Bellerin strengthened two very troublesome positions as well. However, the long list of players injured included Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Olivier Giroud, Mathieu Debuchy, Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott made Arsene Wenger’s men unable to bring home the English title. But with the signings of Jeff-Reine Adelaide and Petr Cech et al, the future looks very bright.

Despite having a trophy-less season last year, Manuel Pellegrini’s men are one of the favourites to win the English title this season. They might have begun last season with high hopes but their lack of a creative midfielder, Samir Nasri’s injuries and Vincent Kompany’s cluelessness didn’t allow them to take home any trophies. With the signing of young guns like Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph, City have addressed the problem of a lack of English players at their disposal.

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Sport 29

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Ervine’s maiden ton leads Zimbabwe to rare victory n Reuters, Harare Craig Ervine struck a powerful maiden century to lead Zimbabwe to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first one-day international at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Ervine scored 130 not out off 108 balls as Zimbabwe made 304 for three, reaching their target with five balls to spare.

Ervine struck five sixes and 11 fours in a cavalier innings to secure a rare Zimbabwe victory which gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

New Zealand, playing without several

BRIEF SCORE New Zealand 303 /4 in 50 overs w(Taylor 112*, Williamson 97, Panyangara 2/50)

Zimbabwe 304/3 in 49 overs (Ervine 130, Masakadza 84, N McCullum 3/62) Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets

regulars who led them to the World Cup final this year, scored 115 runs in the last 10 overs to push their score to 303 for four off 50 overs.

Ross Taylor made 112 not out and standin captain Kane Williamson, deputising for Brendon McCullum, was bowled for 97.

Grant Elliott added a cameo 43 off 32 balls to remind the Kiwis of his exploits at the World Cup in March.

Zimbabwe replied with a solid foundation of 87 for the first wicket but looked to be facing the possibility of another late meltdown when Hamilton Masakadza was the second wicket to fall at 194 with 15 overs left.

Masakadza scored 84 before being caught behind off a thin outside edge.

But Ervine proved steady amid the tension of the chase and, with support from skipper Elton Chigumbura (36), took his country to only their third ODI win in 15 games this year.

The winning run came off a wide from Nathan McCullum at the start of the last over with Zimbabwe having tied the scores at the end of the 49th.

The remaining ODIs are also in Harare on Tuesday and Friday. l

Zimbabwean batsman Craig Ervine celebrates reaching his hundred against New Zealand in the first of three ODIs in Harare yesterday AP

Waqar credits attacking mindset

Iraq’s new coach leaves country after a day n AFP, Baghdad n AFP, Karachi The contract and press conference were ready but Bosnian coach Dzemal Hadziabdic left Iraq a day after flying in to take over the national football squad, the federation said Sunday.

Best known as Jamal Haji, the veteran Bosnian coach who spent years managing teams in the Gulf, arrived in Baghdad on Friday, Iraqi federation spokesman Kamel Zghayr told AFP. “We were surprised Jamal Haji turned down the job and demanded to fly back to his country immediately,” he said.

“Everything was going as planned. We had agreed after his arrival that the contract would be formally signed on Sunday and that he would then be presented to the press,” Zghayr added.

Haji told Iraqi television as he landed in Baghdad on Friday how happy he was to become Iraq’s new coach. It was unclear what made the 62-year-old change his mind so suddenly.

He had been expected to oversee a first training session at the Shaab stadium in Baghdad on Sunday before taking the national squad to Qatar on a 10-day training camp. l

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis Sunday hailed his players’ positive and attacking approach after they comprehensively defeated Sri Lanka in all three formats on the islanders’ home turf.

Pakistan clinched the second Twenty20 against Sri Lanka in a sensational last-over finish by one wicket to take the series 2-0 on Saturday, capping a successful tour where they

also won the Test series 2-1 and one-dayers 3-2.

Waqar said the victory had made him proud of his players, and the team was on the up.

“I would not say that we have become world beaters after winning the whole tour but I would say that we are heading in the right direction,” he told AFP via phone from Colombo. “I think the best thing on this tour was that the mindset of the players has changed towards positive cricket.”

The former fast bowler attributed the

SLvPAK, 2ND T20I

DAY’S WATCH

Sri Lanka 172 for 7 (Kapugedera 48*, Jayasuriya 40)

Gazi TV, BTV, Star Sports 4 9:30AM South Africa Tour of Bangladesh 2nd Test, Day 5

team’s recent success in Tests, where they are now ranked third in the world, to finding the right blend of youth and experience.

“I think for the last one year we have been well settled in Tests as seniors support the juniors and everyone knows how to perform their roles,” he said, singling out batsmen Younis Khan and Shan Masood and leg-spinner Yasir Shah for extra praise.

On the one-day series victory, Waqar said the introduction of fresh blood had helped Pakistan improve their fielding and shed the go-slow approach that had hindered them in recent times.

“Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan and Anwar Ali were outstanding,” he said.

“The change in world cricket was adopted by us, which was to smash the ball if it is there for a hit,” he added, referring to surging run-rates that have become a feature of oneday cricket following the arrival of the Twenty20 format.

Pakistan’s victory in the one-day series moved them from ninth in the rankings to eighth, thereby ensuring their qualification for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England. l

Pakistan 174 for 9 (Anwar 46, Afridi 45) Pakistan’s cricketers celebrate after their victory in the second Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Saturday AFP

Pakistan won by one wicket

DT

30 DOWNTIME

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Firefighting equipment (4) 4 Custom (5) 9 Period of time (3) 11 Farewell! (4) 12 Flowed back (5) 13 Old cloth measures (4) 14 Remainder (4) 15 Build (5) 19 Got up (5) 21 Encourage in crime (4) 25 Fastener (4) 26 Banishment (5) 28 Spoken (4) 29 Make brown (3) 30 Replenish (5) 31 That following (4)

DOWN 1 Pay attention (4) 2 Sphere (3) 3 Prized fur (5) 5 Wards off (6) 6 Large bundle (4) 7 Ailments (4) 8 Irritable (5) 10 Snake (5) 16 Disconcert (6) 17 Gathering of witches (5) 18 Small drum (5) 20 Select group (5) 22 Eagre (4) 23 Dash (4) 24 Departed (4) 27 Lacking discipline (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 20 represents U so fill U 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

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

Indalo’s new music video, coming soon

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

Marc Anthony @MarcAnthony #NewMusicFriday Dance to the new SALSA version of #LaGozadera! @Vevo

n Showtime Desk Newly formed rock band, Indalo’s debut studio album was previously scheduled to hit the stores last July but they couldn’t finish recording in time. Altering their plans, the band is set to release a music video before the complete album comes out.

Jon Kabir, the ex-Black frontman, along with other Indalo band-mates, Dio Haque, Zubair Hasan and Bart Nandit Areng, have wrapped up the shooting for the music video of the song Antonogor,

Snoop stopped again

n Showtime Desk Well, well, well. Seems like the European Union has it out for hip hop legend Snoop Dogg. First it was his bitter encounter with the Sweedish, and now he’s been stopped by the Italians. Snoop was stopped by customs at the Lamezia Terme airport with $422,000 in cash. The authorities in Calabria had stated the rapper was carrying way above the legal limit one can have transported through the EU borders undeclared.

The financial police confirmed that half the cash was impounded under Italian anit-money laundering codes.

In these cases, the balance is returned without any fines by magistrates.

Travellers within the European Union are required to declare 10,000 euros ($11,000) or more in cash. This comes as yet another unwanted PR head ache for Snoop Dogg, as he was suspected of being under the influence when stopped by authorities in Stockholm a week before.

Snoop Dogg performed in Calabria, Italy on Friday night and now is scheduled to perform in England.

Hopefully, his European tour can end on a good note. l

a track from their upcoming album. The video is currently being edited.

Earlier, a promotional video for the debut album Kokhon Kibhabe Ekhane Ke Jane featuring tantalising teasers of the album tracks was uploaded on YouTube on May 7. The band members are expecting the album to come out midSeptember.

The band’s first single, ISD, was featured on Iqbal Asif Jewel’s initiative Rock 808, produced by G-series last April.l

Peace at last?

Enrique Iglesias @enrique305 “Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” - #MayaAngelou

Zayn Malik @zaynmalik Proud of my boys the new single is sick.

Big love. :) x

WHAT TO WATCH

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Star Movies 11:30pm As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with another super soldier, the black widow, to battle a new threat from old history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson

n Showtime Desk You would think that times of bereavement brings the family together. Unfortunately, that was not the case at Bobbi Kristina Brown’s memorial ceremony. Even at this solemn and sad occasion, the Houston and Brown families couldn’t hold their horses, giving rise to some major drama and gossip.

Perhaps Oprah spoke too soon.

The tension between the Brown family and the Houston family is no secret. The already disputing families could not see eye to eye regarding their plans for the memorial service. Bobbi’s aunt and Whitney Houston’s manager, Pat Houston wanted to commemorate her life with a sweet-sixteen themed memorial service which enraged the Browns. Pat’s thought behind this

controversial idea was giving Bobbi a sweetsixteen she never had. Later at her funeral held on August 1st at St. James United Methodist Church in the state of Georgia, Leolah Brown (Bobbi’s sister) was seen storming out of the church. She expressed her anger about Pat’s presence and stated, “I told her that Whitney is going to haunt her from the grave.” She also told the reporters that the drama was far from over. “It’s just getting started,” she added.

Bobbi Kristina, who was found dead on July 26th, is the only child of late pop-star Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown. Although the memorial service was held in Georgia, she will be buried next to her mother in Westfield, New Jersey on August 3rd. l

The Exorcism of Emily Rose WB 9:31pm A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl.

Cast: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo Mission: Impossible Zee Studio 9:30pm An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart

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32 BACK PAGE

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015

BB ASKS MFS PROVIDERS TO VERIFY CLIENTS INFO WITH NID PAGE 15

BCL BROUGHT AHEAD OF AUSSIE TEST PAGE 25

Private unis seek more time to move to own campuses n Shadma Malik Authorities at several private universities have asked the government to extend the deadline of relocating to their own campuses, which ends in September this year.

The deadline has already been extended twice since the Private University Act 2010 was implemented, which states a private university must have its own premises.

After the law was enacted in 2010, the government set the end of 2012 as the deadline for all private universities to move to their own campuses, which was first extended to 2013, and again to September this year.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has put stress on maintaining the deadline and said the government would take action against the universities that fail to transfer to their own campus on time.

While several universities have already been running their academic operations from their own campuses, many others are still in their rented premises and are highly unlikely to be able to have their own campuses ready by the deadline.

The authorities of those universities, however, claim they will be able to move to their permanent base soon and are trying to convince the government to extend the deadline.

“We already have our own campus in Dhan-

mondi Road 27. We have another campus in Kalabagan which we are running in a rented building. We have a plot at Purbachal in the capital where we are planning to build our permanent campus. But building an entire campus takes time,” said Prof Iftekhar Ghani Chowdhury, vice-chancellor of State University Bangladesh.

“We also have to take the convenience of our current students into consideration. I hope everyone joins in as we ask for an extension of deadline.”

‘Only 17 private universities have moved to their own campuses so far’ Prof Md Golam Samdani Fakir, VC of Green University, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have already purchased 50 bighas of land in Purbachal to build our campus. The campus is still under construction, but we are putting all our efforts to finish the construction. We have sent our progess report to the UGC. I hope the deadline will be extended.”

In this regard, Brac University is several steps ahead. “We are relocating to a new campus at Rajendrapur in Savar. But we plan to build another campus at Badda in the capital,

where we will have residential facilities for our students,” said Prof Syed Saad Andaleeb, VC of Brac University.

Eastern University has had some trouble with Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) in acquiring land for its permanent campus in Ashulia. “There are many procedures in Rajuk that are taking time. We also have plans to build student dormitories and bus services for the students to commute to and from the campus. We hope our campus will be ready enough by March next year that we can move at least one department,” Prof Abdur Rab, VC of the university, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Out of the 52 private universities that were instructed to establish their own campuses, 17 have already moved to their campuses, but the rest are asking for more time even though the deadline has been extended more than once by the government,” said Jesmin Parvin, assistant director at University Grants Commission (UGC).

Md Khaled, secretary of the UGC, said there will be a meeting among the education minister, other officials and the vice-chancellors of private universities that are seeking deadline extension.

“We are meeting to discuss several issues, but our main topic will be relocation of the universities to their own campuses. We will come to a decision at the meeting.” l

INDALO’S NEW VIDEO COMING SOON PAGE 31 Aussies due on September 28 n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday confirmed the dates of the upcoming bilateral home series against Australia, slated for this October. The visitors will reach Dhaka on September 28 and before locking horns with the hosts in two Test matches, the world champions will play a three-day warm-up game against the BCB XI at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, starting from October 3.

25

BD VS AUS FIXTURES

The two teams will then travel to Chittagong for the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, beginning from October 9. The second and final Test will be held at Mirpur’s Shere-Bangla National Stadium from October 17.

The Test series will be the first between the two sides in more than nine years, and third overall, since the Tigers’ inception in five-day cricket. The last time Bangladesh contested a Test series against the Aussies, currently ranked the world’s second best side in five-dayers, the Tigers lost the two-Test series 2-0 at home.

Given Bangladesh’s form in 50-over cricket right now, it was expected that the BCB would make an effort to inject a three-ODI series right before or after the Australia Tests, but the move did not materialise.

According to BCB officials, no formal initiative was taken on their behalf nor was the proposal put forward to Cricket Australia. l

VAT on private university: Students to see chancellor on Thursday n DU Correspondent A group of private university students are set to see Chancellor Abdul Hamid on Thursday and submit a memorandum demanding the withdrawal of VAT on private academic institutions.

The students made the announcement at a demonstration rally in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday afternoon, where students of several private universities were present, including University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Stamford University, Daffodil International University, Green University, East West University, American International University Bangladesh, Bangladesh University of Business and Technology and University of Asia Pacific.

Speaking at the rally, the protesters vowed to launch tougher programmes if the government did not meet their demands.

“We will continue our protests until our demand is met,” said Kafil Uddin Mohammad Shanto, student at Stamford University.

“We are planning to file a writ petition with the Supreme Court challenging the government’s decision,” said Farhan Habib, coordinator of the protest. “This decision must be withdrawn, because many students will not be able to continue their studies if the VAT is implemented on private education.”

Students of several private universities form a human chain in the capital’s Shahbagh yesterday demanding withdrawal of VAT imposed on educational institutions MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU In the budget of the FY2015-16, the government for the first time imposed a 7.5% VAT on private universities, medical and engineering colleges in the country.

Since the proposal was placed at parliament, students have been staging protests demanding immediate withdrawal of the VAT on private education.

Earlier, the students staged rally at Public Library on July 5 and performed street drama on different streets around the capital on July 6-9 to press home their demand. l

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