09 Aug, 2015

SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

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Shraban 25, 1422, Shawwal 23, 1436

WHO WILL LEAD ANTITERRORISM UNIT PAGE 3

A verbatim translation of the general diary Niloy tried to file, but not recorded May 14, 2015 Officer-in-Charge Khilgaon Police Station Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Dhaka.

Subject: About accepting a general diary Dear Sir: I am Niladri Chaterjee; father – Tarapada Chaterjee; mother – Aparna Chaterjee; present address – 167, East Goran, Khilgaon, Dhaka 1217; permanent address – village and post office – Chalisha, police station and district – Pirojpur. I work as a senior research officer for a non-governmental organisation named Gobeshona O Unnayan Collective and I am also an active worker of the Gonojagoron Moncho, apart from these I have also been writing blogs for a long time on the Liberation War, free thinking, human rights, and other issues.

After office, I came to Gulistan on a Raja City Bus around 7pm yesterday after attending a rally of the Gonojagoron Moncho organised to protest the “murder of Ananta Bijoy Das” in the afternoon. Then I took a small laguna  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Niloy killers cleared guard dogs Before carrying out the operation to kill secular blogger Niladri Chatterjee at his Goran residence on Friday, the murderers might have killed the two faithful dogs living under the stairs on the ground floor, detectives claim.

Neighbours yesterday said that the dogs had been living there for a long time and the residents of the building used to feed them. But they died for

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 115

CLARKE TO QUIT AFTER ASHES PAGE 26

The GD that could have saved a life

Jamil Khan n Mohammad and Kamrul Hasan

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mysterious reasons over the last two weeks.

Investigators and locals suspect that the dogs were killed so that the murderers faced no obstacles during their mission.

Family and neighbours said that Niloy had no direct attachments with the dogs. He rented the flat two years ago.

In primary investigation, detectives have also found that it was a planned murder coordinated by several small groups.

They think that the killers kept  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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

FOREIGN PRESSURE MOUNTING FOR MID-TERM POLLS? PAGE 32

DT

2 NEWS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

PM: Politics with religious sentiment won’t be tolerated n

Tribune Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned that the government will not allow anyone to do politics with religious sentiment.

“This cannot be done, not in Bangladesh at least,” she told a function yesterday, organised by the Women and Child Affairs Ministry at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium marking the 85th birth anniversary of Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, her mother.

She said various incidents are now occurring in the country and the government is tackling those. “At least our government is not sitting idle.”

Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the wave of terrorism and militancy that has spread to different parts of the world are now hitting Bangladesh. “We are trying to check those with iron fists.”

The prime minister said that 90% people in Bangladesh are Muslims and there were so

many attempts to unleash terrorism and militant activities in this country.

“But, Bangladesh is a non-communal country. This is how the Father of the Nation brought the country’s independence…We are building the country in that way and we want to maintain that path,” she said.

Expressing her grief over the suicide bomb attack on a mosque after Jumma prayers in Saudi Arabia, she said: “Are they Muslims?

Those who commit suicide and kill other Muslims, how can they be Muslims? Which religion are they protecting?”

“So where is the answer to this conflict…

Muslims are killing Muslims through suicide attacks, again killing people and bloggers for writing against religion, then which one is real, which one is true, which path will people follow,” she asked.

Terming Islam as the religion of peace, she said those who are polluting Islam cannot be believers of any religion. l

How can one be hacked alive? n Tribune Report Secularist blogger and rights activist Niladri Chatterjee, also known as Niloy Neel who was hacked to death by four people on Friday, had himself never been able to slaughter a chicken. He even always avoided watching those being slaughtered.

He wrote about this phobia of his in a Facebook post on April 19 this year to condemn the recent killing of secular activists and bloggers by suspected radical Islamists, all of them with machetes that are commonly used by butchers.

Niloy wrote that rats turned to be irritating for him at his house. “Even I failed to kill a single rat with poison. Finally, I brought a trap where if I put food, the rat will get stuck eating it.

“But the problem is I will have to use a plas tool to kill that helpless rat stuck in the trap.

The plas needs to be used to hold its neck and then I will have to make sure that it is dead.

“I thought about it for a long time wheth-

er I can do this and how. I am now preparing myself saying that I must kill the rat that is alive. Only the Almighty knows whether I will be able to do this. Oh God, please help me to kill the rats.”

Next, Niloy wrote about slaughtering chicken. “I always bring processed or sliced chicken from the kitchen market, and do not watch those being killed. Recently, I bought a live chicken but was confused about beheading it. No, I could not do it, I could not slaughter it despite many attempts.

“I cannot kill a live rat or a chicken. I cannot understand how they can hack a live person to death!”

At least six secular writers and activists have been hacked to death by militants and radical Islamists since February 2013. Three others, who were hacked, narrowly escaped death. They were all labelled as atheists to justify the killings.

All the victims had a common identity: they were vocal against the religious bigots, the 1971 war criminals and all sorts of social injustice. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Niloy killers cleared guard dogs an eye on the house and Niloy’s movements for at least two weeks.

They think that the killers chose to kill Niloy during the Jum’a prayers since people’s movement remains thin in the area at that time.

“We have already got some clues and are investigating the murder taking those into consideration,” Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of police’s Motijheel division, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said that they were also checking whether Niloy had personal enmity with anyone or rivalry with any of his colleagues at the NGO he worked for.

DMP Joint Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy said: “It is clearly a preplanned murder.

The killers observed the area and chose the time of Friday prayers.”

The investigators are now trying to locate the killers through mobile phone call records.

They are also looking for the person who sent emails to the media after the murder on behalf of Ansar Al Islam, presumably the same banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Ansar Al Islam said that they represent the Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Detectives are yet to confirm the authenticity of the claim and the existence of the so-called AQIS that had earlier claimed responsibilities for the murders of seven secularist activists since February 2013.

Known as Niloy Neel on blogging platforms and Facebook, the 27-year-old was killed with machetes by four unidentified assailants at his flat around 1:30pm on Friday. The killers held Niloy’s wife and sister-in-law hostage in another room while hacking him.

The former Dhaka University student was a member of Bangladesh Rationalists’ Society. An active campaigner of Gonojagoron Moncho, Niloy was very critical of radical Islamists and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Wife files case

Ashamoni, wife of the slain writer, filed a case with the Khilgaon police late Friday night against four unnamed persons.

“We have interrogated the locals and the residents of the house including its owner, but yet to arrest anyone,” Khilgaon OC Mostafiz Bhuiyan said.

“The Criminal Investigation Department, who are giving technical support in the probe, collected primary data from the crime scene.

We are now analysing all the information we have got,” the OC added.

According to a source, the case is likely to be handed over to the Detective Branch (DB) of police, who have been investigating the similar murders.

The court of Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate accepted the case yesterday. The court set September 16 for filing of report, SI Dipak Kumar told the Dhaka Tribune.

Probe body formed

Meanwhile, a three-member committee was formed to look into why the officials at Khilgaon and Shahjahanpur police stations refused to record the general diary Niloy had wanted to file in May. Motijheel DC Anowar said that they had noticed the media reports on Niloy’s Facebook post that made such an allegation. “Necessary actions will be taken if the probe body finds negligence by any officials.”

Dhaka Tribune published a verbatim translation of the GD today.

FBI wants to assist in probe

Meanwhile, US agency Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who are assisting DB in solving Avijit Roy murder, has shown interest in Niloy murder probe as well.

The Bangladesh representative of FBI will hold a meeting with DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam today.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said: “We have not received any official communication from the FBI yet. But as they are already assisting us in the Avijit murder case, we have no problem if they want to investigate Niloy murder too.”

14 stab injuries

Forensic doctors have found marks of 14 stab injuries on Niloy’s body. The post-mortem examination was conducted at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday morning.

Prof Dr Habibuzzaman Chowdhury, head of the forensic medicine department of DMC, told the Dhaka Tribune that Niloy had died on the spot due to deep wounds on his throat. The killers hacked him repeatedly to confirm death.

“Of the 14, eight are major injuries. The previous killings of bloggers were carried out in a similar fashion. All these incidents may be connected,” he added.

Family was concerned

After post-mortem examination, Niloy’s body was handed over to the family at noon. He was cremated at his village home in Chollisha of Pirojpur sadar upazila around midnight.

Binoy Chatterjee, uncle of the deceased, said: “Niloy wanted to be cremated at his own village.

“He came to the village during Eid-ul-Fitr and expressed concerns saying that his name was on the hit list of radical Islamists. We asked him to stay at the village with his parents and sister if the problem turns serious,” Binoy told the Dhaka Tribune.

RAB, DB checking AQIS claim

RAB officials said that they were investigating the case from every possible aspect and scrutinising the clues. They are also trying to verify the claims made by the AQIS. Lt Col Abul Kalam Azad, director of RAB’s intelligence unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that the AQIS earlier claimed that they had killed the other bloggers. “This is nothing new. But since we do not have any evidence that they had committed the murders, it is considered a mere claim.”

On the other hand, DB said that they too were yet to confirm the existence of AQIS. DB Deputy Commissioner Muntasirul Islam said that they were checking whether any other militant outfits had been using the name of AQIS to dodge the eyes of the law enforcers.

The home minister yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that they had given instructions to the law enforces to take all necessary actions to arrest the killers. l

The GD (a human haulier) and started heading towards the Khilgaon rail crossing. I saw two people (both around 20 years old) with me on the bus and one of them got on the same laguna that I took. At first it seemed normal to me but after I saw that he was continuously sending text messages on his mobile phone, I got suspicious.

From that suspicion, instead of my actual destination, I got off at the Amtola intersection which is located before the Khilgaon rail crossing. That young man got down following me and seeing that I immediately got inside a narrow alley on the left. Later I saw that the young man, instead of following me into the alley, was standing in the mouth and soon he was joined by his companion. From then on, I got sure that I was being followed because even though their destination was the same, they came by different routes and were following me. Later, with help from a friend, I took a rickshaw and arrived home safely.

In the past, in connection with my writing and because of ideological conflicts, I have on different occasions received threats on the internet from the followers and supporters of anti-Liberation War force Jamaat-e-Islami and other radical groups but I was never bothered. Now, I am concerned about my security in the wake of the back-to-back attacks on free thinkers over the last few months.

Under this circumstances, I would like to request you to please record this issue as a general diary.

Thanking you Niladri Chaterjee Phone - 01714551937

DT

NEWS 3

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Dilemma over who to lead the new counter terrorism unit n Mohammad Jamil Khan Six years have passed since the current government decided to form a specialised law enforcement unit, particularly to combat militancy and terrorist activities in the country. But it is yet to be materialised due to various reasons.

Process of launching the unit is at final stage, said a senior Home Ministry official.

The government is now pondering on selecting the leading agency and the unit’s officers.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that they were holding meetings to decide on the officials for the counter terrorism unit – whether to take officers from RAB or police or DB, or from the upcoming recruitment where some 50,000 posts would be filled for the police force.

“We have also taken some decisions that include improving skills of the law enforcers.

It will be a continues process,” the minister told the Dhaka Tribune.

So far, it has been decided that the unit will be led by an officer of additional inspector general rank, and that initially it may have around 800 members.

Presently, police’s Detective Branch and Rapid Action Battalion are working to combat militancy and organised crimes. Moreover, the government last year formed a task force with representatives of the ministries concerned and the law enforcement agencies.

The ministry officials fear that if the senior officials of DB or RAB are transferred to the new unit, those agencies would become weak.

The urgency for establishing the unit

looms as nearly a dozen of war crimes trial campaigners and secular activists have been hacked to death while over 40 noted personalities threatened with death by the militants since 2013.

Moreover, the law enforcers have arrested a number of leaders and followers of banned militant groups that are trying to regroup and of new organisations that are coming into being across the country with an aim to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic state and establish Shariah law through armed jihad.

Militant activities were first seen in the country with the formal launching of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) on April 30, 1992 through a press conference at National Press Club. Most of its founding leaders and activists are now in jail in various cases of murder and blasts. It was banned on October 17, 2005.

Five other militant organisations were banned between 2003 and 2015.

Rahamatul Monim, additional secretary of the Home Ministry, thinks that both the police and the RAB are doing good in containing militant activities. So its officers should not be shifted to the anti-militancy unit.

The issue of forming the unit was first raised after the Twin Tower blasts on September 11, 2001 in New York. After the blasts, the United Nations too recommended that Bangladesh government form a special unit as militant activities have spread across the country.

The formal decision of creating the unit was finally taken in 2009. Then additional

inspector general of police, also the present IGP, AKM Shahidul Haque, at a discussion in 2011 first proposed to from the unit.

Later, the planing and research department of the Police Headquarters, after completing research, submitted a proposal to the Home Ministry on August 23, 2011.

The ministry revised the proposal a number of times. It reduced the number of posts from 962 to 793, and approved 440 vehicles.

But there has been no update on the matter since 2012.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said that it would be easier for the law enforcers to tackle militant activities if the specialised unit was formed.

“The militants are now using sleeper cells for which they cannot be traced and arrested easily. Moreover, they are using fake names and forming new groups with members from the banned organisations and fresh recruits through online. They are planning attacks following the styles of international terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State,” he added.

Security expert Maj Gen (retd) Abdur Rashid has observed that Bangladesh is in need for such a unit with expertise in IT, bomb-making technology and militant activities. There must be a research team too.

Militants change their locations, and planning and execution style very frequently, he said. “Because of absence of such a force and lack of experience of the officials concerned, the police force could not solve many cases involving militants,” he observed. l

Ferdousi Priyabhashini threatened with death over phone n Kamrul Hasan Sculptor Ferdousi Priyabhashini yesterday received death threat over phone from an unknown caller.

The threat to her life came just a day into the killing of blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy in Dhaka.

The veteran sculptor received the Independence award in 2010 for her sacrifice in the Liberation War in 1971.

The war heroine (Birangona) said: “I got several calls from an unknown number but I could not take those calls.

Later, my son got a call from the same number.”

When he answered the call, the caller said: “You will meet the same fate as Niladri,” she said adding: “Maybe they meant to threaten me.”

She said she would file a general diary in this connection.

Officer-in-Charge of Dhanmondi police station Nur-e-Azam said he had talked with her son over phone and he said he received the call around 5:07pm.

On last Friday, four unidentified assailants hacked blogger Niloy Neel to death.

From his relatives and friends it was learned that he was first threatened by the anonymous person over phone and within three months he was murdered in his own house. l

Gonojagoron Moncho’s 7-day ultimatum for government n DU Correspondent

Demanding immediate arrest of blogger Niloy’s killers, Gonojagoron Moncho and several progressive students’ organisations have issued a seven-day ultimatum for the government and the enforcement agencies.

If the government fails to meet the deadline, Moncho said they would observe tougher programmes.

Imran H Sarkar, spokesperson of Gonojagoron Moncho, yesterday announced a seven-day demonstration programme protesting the killing of Niladri Chatterjee alias Niloy, who was one of their members.

He also slammed the government for failing to find out those who have killed several bloggers and progressive writers in recent months.

“Due to negligence of the government and law enforcement agencies, bloggers are getting killed by militants...None of the killers have been brought to book although at least four writers have been killed ruthlessly in broad daylight in the last few months,” Imran said.

Later, the Moncho activists brought out a candle light vigil from Shahbagh in the evening in memory of Niloy.

Moncho’s seven-day programme includes paying floral tribute to Niloy at Shahbagh today, processions on Tuesday across the country and a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar on Dhaka University campus on Friday. l

Gonojagoron Moncho brings out a torch procession in Shahbagh area of the capital yesterday in protest against the murder of blogger Niloy Chatterjee RAJIB DHAR

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4 NEWS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Sultana Kamal calls upon all to resist human trafficking n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

Former advisor to the caretaker government and Executive Director of Ain-o Shalish Kendra Sultana Kamal yesterday called upon all to resist human trafficking, and urged the government to bring the traffickers to book.

She came up with the speech while addressing a human chain at Kotbazar Station Chattar of Ukhia on Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway yesterday morning.

Human Rights Defenders’ Forum in association with Cox’s Bazar Relief International organised the road march and human chain to protest the human trafficking.

Speaking as the chief guest, Sultana Kamal demanded the government to bring back those who were earlier trafficked to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The road show was attended by rights activists, lawyers, teachers and youths, said HRDF Member Secretary Mizanur Rahman Bahadur.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, 88,000 people from the coasts of Bangladesh and Myanmar took the sea journeys to Malaysia through Thailand, and 300 of them died at the sea. l Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed poses for a photo with BSF sub-inspectors after taking salute at the march past at the closing session of the BSF sub-inspectors’ training on Friday at New Delhi. This is the first time that a BGB chief has attended the function as the chief guest DHAKA TRIBUNE

PM: Bangamata still an example for the womenfolk n Tribune Report Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib would remain as an example amongst not only the womenfolk also an inspiration figure and dedicated lady for the sake of the nation.

“I have learned many things of politics from the great lady,” said the PM whose mother is Fazilatunnesa Mujib.

The premier made the statement while addressing a function marking the 85th birth anniversary of her mother in Osmani Memorial Hall in the capital yesterday.

State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki presided over the function organised by her ministry.

“Begum Mujib has sacrificed her whole life for the people. I am saying this not only

as she is my mother. My father [Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman] could face so much sacrifices as he had got immense support from my grandparents as well as his spouse.

Bangabandhu’s lifelong goal was to achieve the freedom of the people of Bangladesh and their economic emancipation. My mother’s inspiration had played a catalytic role to this end,” Hasina who is eldest daughter of Bangabandhu continued.

The PM went on Bangamata as a woman and wife had no demand in her life and she led a very simple life. She even was used to serve the families of the others detained leaders in their economic hardship, children’s education and illness when Bangabandhu was in prison.

Meanwhile, the ruling Awami League, its associate bodies and other socio-cultural bodies yesterday arranged various pro-

grammes across the country to mark Bangamata’s birthday.

AL leaders placed wreaths on her grave at Banani Graveyard around 8:30am and arranged Milad and Doa Mahfil seeking eternal peace of the departed soul.

Dhaka City unit AL, Swechchhasebak League, Jubo League, Chhatra League, Mahila Awami League and others have also laid wreaths on the grave. Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote also hosted cultural programmes on the day.

Besides, BCL has organised a discussion at the TSC of Dhaka University at 4pm today.

On August 8 in 1930, Fazilatunnesa Mujib was born in a respectable Muslim family at Tungipara of Gopalganj.

She was assassinated along with her husband and most of the family members in Dhanmondi 32 residence on August 15, 1975. l

Suraiya breastfed every two hours at NICU n Kamrul Hasan

Doctors yesterday said bullet-hit baby Suraiya Begum was still in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and her mother was breastfeeding her at intervals of two hours.

The infant was transferred to the NICU on Friday, the same day her mother was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Ward 212.

Doctors said Suriaya was taken to the NICU for better treatment as her chance of developing infections increased after operation.

Dr Kaniz Hasina, paediatrics department’s associate professor who had been overseeing Suraiya’s treatment since she arrived at the hospital, said doctors had regularly held meetings to discuss the best treatment the baby could be given.

“Her condition improved after she met her mother. The mother was allowed to breastfeed her in every two hours.

“When the child was born, she weighed a little over 2kg. A newborn baby’s weight can decrease for up to two weeks after the birth

but Suraiya is losing weight even 17 days after she came into the world,” the doctor said.

She said the weight loss could be explained

by Suraiya’s premature birth.

The infant suffered injuries when her eight-month pregnant mother was shot in the abdomen during a Jubo League factional clash on July 23 in Magura.

The bullet pierced through the unborn baby’s right shoulder and damaged her right eye.

She was born after a three-hour operation at Magura General Hospital. l

International Indigenous day today n Tribune Report Though the government has no arrangement to observe the day officially, some social, political and cultural organisations as usual this year have chalked out many programmes to mark the International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples today.

With the slogan of “Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples’ health and well-being” declared by the United Nations, Bangladesh Adibashi Forum will hold a rally, a procession and cultural programmes from 10am on Central Shaheed Minar premises.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman, Transport and Tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon were due to attend the event alongside some foreign delegates.

Manuser Jonno Foundation will hold a two-day-long indigenous fair and seminars on Bangla Academy premises to mark the day.

Besides, many programmes have been scheduled to be held on different parts of the country by the community on the day. l

India Educates officially launched n Tribune Desk India Educates, a private organisation to provide credible services to Indian education was officially launched yesterday in Dhaka.

Jishnu Prasanna Mukherjee, first secretary (education) of the Indian High Commission, launched the latest avatar of its website www. indiaeducates.com.

India Educates (IE), headquartered in Kolkata, commits to produce quality knowledge provider, admission facilitator and a holistic education counselling organisation for the students intending to study in India. l

DT

NEWS 5

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

POLICE DRIVE ON HIGHWAYS

Accused drivers to lose licenses n

Mohammad Jamil Khan

The police have decided to destroy the licenses of those drivers who have been accused in cases filed in connection with highway accidents.

Also on the cards is another decision to cancel the licenses or route permits of drivers whose vehicles would be involved in three accidents on the highways, officials of highway police told this to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Stressing that many accidents take place because of reckless driving, officials said such rules are in place in many developed countries.

Police data shows that a total of 26,665 cases have been filed in the last six months in connection with accidents and other occurrences on the highways. During the same period, individuals and organisations have been fined Tk1.25 crore on the highways.

In the first five days of the ongoing drive to stop three-wheeled vehicles plying the highways, law enforcers have filed 5,850 lawsuits. The drivers of 1,511 vehicles have

FILE PHOTO

been sued for reckless driving and the remaining 4,338 cases relate with other crimes.

“Cases were been filed and sometimes fines were imposed for breaking rules or creating nuisance on the highways. The situation is improving now,” said Mollic Fakhrul Islam, deputy inspector general of highway police.

According to highway police, the DhakaChittagong, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Mawa, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-

Mymensingh Highways are most prone to accidents. The frequency rises sharply before and after the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha vacations when millions of people travel out and back into Dhaka.

In most of the major accidents, bigger vehicles such as buses and trucks collide with smaller and slower vehicles like microbuses and CNG-run three-wheelers. Because of this, the government has recently banned threewheelers on highways.

Highway police claimed that accidents have declined significantly since the drive against three-wheelers began. They have been continuously patrolling the highways to keep the small vehicles off the highways and suing or fining the reckless drivers of bigger vehicles.

When contacted, Chowdhury Abdullah AlMamun, a deputy inspector general of police, said: “All officials are putting in all-out efforts to prevent accidents and the plying of threewheelers on the highways. The drive will be strengthened before the upcoming Eid-ul Azha. We are also taking actions against unfit vehicles.” l

HSC results today n Tribune Desk Results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations will be published today.

As per tradition, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid along with chairmen of all the education boards will hand over copies of the result to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Around 10am, the PM will publish the results through video conferencing with two colleges in separate districts from her official residence Ganabhaban. In the afternoon, minister Nahid will officially announce the results at a press conference at the Secretariat.

Results will be also available on the website www.educationboard.gov.bd and at the respective college campuses.

For knowing grades on mobile phones, one will have to type HSC, space, first three letters of the education board, space roll number, space 2015, and send the SMS to 16222.

Madrasa students can know their results by typing Alim, space Mad, space roll number, space 2015, and send the SMS to 16222.

Vocational students can access their results by typing HSC, space Tec, space roll number, space 2015, and sending the SMS to 16222. l

Nasim urges Khaleda to participate in the next polls n DU Correspondent Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim yesterday urged BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to participate in the next national election.

“The next national election will be held in 2019 as per the constitution. You (Khaleda) should prepare your party to participate in the next national election” he said.

The Minister said this while addressing a discussion at the Bangabandhu the Hall auditorium of Dhaka University (DU) in the afternoon.

The discussion was organised by the hall unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) marking the 15 August, the national mourning day.

“Law enforcement agencies should arrest those who torture and torment children, abuse them and engage them in inhuman work.”

The Awami League presidium member urged the Chhatra League leaders and activists to be aware of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s conspiracy to destroy the country.

He also urged Chhatra League men not to involve in any corruption.

He advised them to study more on father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib and follow their ideology.

With DU Bangabandhu Hall Unit BCL President Darus-Salam Shakil in the chair the discussion was also addressed, among others,

by DU Arts Faculty Dean Professor Akhteruzzaman Khan, DU Teacher Sabur Khan, BCL Central President Saifur Rahman Sohag, General Secretary SM Jakir Hossain, DU unit President Abid Al Hasan and General Secretary Motahar Hossian Prince. l

Guests unveil the book titled ‘Real Estate Development’ written by Dr Toufiq M Siraj at a ceremony held at the office of Sheltech Ltd in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

The Real Estate Development, a guideline for developers n Tribune Report Toufiq M Seraj encapsulates all that is there related to the real estate sector in his book titled “The Real Estate Development.”

Contrary to what the title suggests, the book is less about chronicling growth and more about producing a guideline for the fast growing sector.

This recent Pathak Shamabesh publication includes every possible sub-sector and how to go about regulating them, said speakers at the launching ceremony held at Sheltech Lounge in the capital yesterday.

They said the book was a guideline for the developers, buyers and students, and all

those involved with the booming sector.

Nazrul Islam, honorary chairman of the Centre for Urban Studies, said: “The book addresses all important issues of the sector such as the concept and administration of real estate, urban planning, real estate management, land and legal matters, real estate projects, economics, finance, and real estate construction.”

Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus at Brac University, said: “Those who face problems in the sector, rarely write about the problems.

This book is like a manual and a Bible for the professionals.”

“The book is a compilation of my daily experiences of the last 25 years. I started writing the book four years ago but could not get

enough time to complete the book. As my business was not going well for the last couple of years, I got time and completed the book,” said the author Toufiq M Seraj.

Bishwa Sahitya Kendra Chairman Abdullah Abu Sayeed said: “If Taufiq's business was good, we could not get such a wonderful book. Taufiq's experience is reflected in the book and it will benefit millions. It is a compilation of his lessons and an important document for researchers.”

Toufiq M Seraj is the founder managing director of Sheltech Pvt ltd. He is an engineer by profession and has extensive professional experience in real estate development, construction, management and planning consultancy. l

DT

6 NEWS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Thousands suffer as bridge subsides in Kishoreganj n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj A paved bridge on Ekrampur-Marichkhali road in Kishoreganj’s Baruk Bazar has been announced off-limits to traffic after it subsided two feet on Tuesday.

The bridge also developed cracks and was closed as the local authorities considered it risky, heightening the woes of more than 0.1 million people in three nearby upazilas – Nikli, Mithamoin and Karimganj. They are now forced to make boat journeys that are costing them extra money.

A pillar of the bridge, built more than 25 years ago on the Narsunda River in Gundhar union, subsided on Tuesday afternoon, prompting its closure.

The bridge is an important trade route in Kishoreganj, with transports carrying fish to different districts across the country and bringing fuel to Marichkhali Bazar.

Many transports on both sides of the river were stuck after the bridge subsided.

Nazmul Haque, a trader at Marichkhali Bazar, told the Dhaka Tribune local traders were counting heavy losses after the bridge was closed to traffic.

“The bridge has to be repaired as early as possible. Otherwise, traders will continue to incur losses. Many fish wholesalers, and fertiliser and fuel dealers have businesses at Marichkhali Bazar,” he said.

Sharif Uddin, who lives in Bhari Nanasri area, said the bridge is a one-way path and its

closure had caused commuters as well as passengers to suffer a lot.

Kishoreganj LGED Executive Engineer Md Golam Mawla told the Dhaka Tribune the subsidence of the pillar on the west side of the bridge might have been caused by recent torrential rains.

“Strong current in the river may have displaced the soil beneath the pillar. We will soon begin repairing the bridge,” he said.

The engineer said traffic was not being allowed on the bridge to ward off possible accidents. “We have also put up a warning sign.”

Locals meanwhile have demanded quick repair of the bridge, and also called for an investigation into why the structure subsided. l

11 fugitives arrested in Munshiganj n Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Police in drives arrested a total of 11 fugitives from Betkabazar and Chanderbazar areas in Tongibazar upazila here early yesterday.

During the drives, the law enforcers recovered firearms, bullet and wine.

When contacted, Tongibari police station OC Alamgir Hossain said they on a tip-off made the arrest of Ekbal Hossain Bepari, Abul Dali, Milton Talukder, Suman Dali, Ramjan Dali, Omar Faruk and Akkas Mollah from a house in Chanderbazar area around 1am and recovered a foreign-made pistol, bullets and some liquor.

Of them, Ekbal is main accomplice of Rampal top terror Khasrur and he is accused in seven cases.

In another drive, police arrested four fugitives named Kamal Hossain, Manik Mandol, Uttam Mandol and Kadir Sheikh who are accused in Kabir Hossain killing case. l

Dhaka-Ctg Highway blockaded; 100 vehicles vandalised n Our Correspondent, Feni

Being infuriated by police bar to enter local roads crossing highway, local CNG-run autorickshaw drives barricaded the busy Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Lalpole and Silunia areas in Sadar upazila yesterday.

Sources said the stalemate continued for about one and a half hours starting from 11am created long tailback on both sides of the road causing immense suffering to the commuters.

The blockaders vandalised above 100 vehicles forcing the local police to take action leaving ten people including three policemen injured.

Police fired about 90 rounds of rubber bullet as the autorickshaw drives engaged in clash with them during bringing the situation under control and they detained three clashers from the spot.

Feni model police station OC Mahbub Morshed admitted the incident, saying they managed to restore normalcy on the highway finally and injured ASI Rafiqul Islam, Sepoy Raju Majumdar and Nirandra Kumar received first aid treatment from the district hospital. l

Adivasi Chhatra Parishad and Parbatya Chattagram Pahari Chhatra Parishad Rajshahi chapter organise a human chain yesterday at Rajshahi University gate ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples today demanding constitutional recognition of them AZAHAR UDDIN

Two schoolboys, Jubo League leader killed n Tribune Report

At least two schoolboys and a Jubo League leader were killed in Noakhali, Habiganj and Sherpur districts yesterday.

Our Noakhali correspondent reports: A Jubo League leader was killed at Deoti village under Sonaimuri upazila. Deceased Milon Sarker, 36, son of Md Naderuzzaman was the office secretary of Deoti Union Jubo League.

Joydeb, officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri police station, quoting locals said Milon went out home at night for catching fish beside his house. At one stage, some miscreants hacked him indiscriminately with sharp weapons, leaving him dead on the spot.

On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Noakhali Abdul Malek Ukil Med-

ical College and Hospital for autopsy.

Abdul Motaleb, elder brother of the victim said that Milon had a business of decoration.

A case was filed with the police station in this connection.

In Habiganj, a college student was stabbed to death allegedly by some of his classmates on the campus of Shachindra Degree College in Baniachang upazila, said our correspondent.

The victim Sumon Miah, 18, was a Class XII student of the college and son of Mukhlesur Rahman of Bitangal village in the upazila.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Sazzat Ibne Raihan said Sumon had enmity with some of his classmates over his love affair with a girl of the class.

As a sequel to the enmity, a group of his 7-8 classmates chased Sumon while he was

waiting for bus in front of the college to return home at noon.

At one stage, when Sumon entered the college campus for saving himself, the attackers stabbed him with a knife, leaving him injured critically.

Sumon was rushed to Sadar hospital where doctors declared him dead Our Sherpur correspondent said the body of an 8-year old schoolboy who was kidnapped six days ago was recovered from Madhutila Eco Park area in Nalitabari upazila.

The victim Arafat Islam Rahat, was a Class I student of Biplap-Lopa Memorial School and son of Shahidul Islam Khokon of Gridanarayanpur area of Sherpur district town.

Superintendent of Police M Shahjahan Miah said Rahat’s maternal uncle Abdul Latif and his associates abducted Rahat from in

front of his house on August 2.

The kidnappers later demanded Tk2 lakh from his family as ransom over mobile phone.

On a tip-off, a police team arrested three kidnapers Rahat’s maternal uncle (husband of aunt ) Abdul Latif, and two other people- Robin Miah, 21, and Imran Hasan ,21, from different places of the upazila on August 4.

According to their statement the police arrested another kidnapper, Aslam Miah, 22, from the district town in the morning.

On the basis of the information given by Aslam, the police recovered Rahat’s decomposed body from the area at noon.

Aslam confessed to the police as per the directive of Latif, he along with his associates kidnapped Rahat for ransom and strangled him to death. l

DT

NEWS 7

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

15 hurt in cops-CNG drivers clash n Our Correspondent, Feni CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers clashed with police in Lalpole area on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway yesterday in protest against the highway ban, leaving 15 including cops injured.

The protesters also vandalized some 20 vehicles, disrupting communications on the highway for about one-and-a-half hours.

Inspector Saleh Ahmed of Highway Mohipal police station said the auto-rickshaw drivers blockaded the highway in the area around 11am placing stones.

As the police went to bring back normalcy, the protesters had an altercation with them, said inspector Saleh, adding that at one stage, they threw brickbats at the law enforcers and broke glasses of over 25 vehicles.

Vehicular movement on the highway became normal around 12:30pm.

Feni Model police station Officer-in-Charge Mahbub Morshed said the law enforcers fired over 50 gunshots and lobbed teargas shells to take control over the situation.

Fifteen people including police members were injuring during the melee, he added.

Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further violence. Rapid Action Battalion also strengthened patrol. l

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:37PM

SUN RISES 5:32AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 32 32 33 33 33 32 30 31

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 26 26 26 26 25 26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.7ºC

25.0ºC

Chuadanga

Khepupara Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:08am 5:30am 12:04am 4:41pm 6:37pm 8:07pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Medical students form a human chain in front of the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital yesterday demanding classes before they sit for supplementary examination MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Adulterated dried fish floods Ctg Shutki Polli 1,000kg chemical mixed dried fish seized; six shops fined, one sealed preserve fish for longer than usual. n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong “Many traders shut their shops in fear The age-old Chittagong Shutki Polli in the port city’s Asadganj and Chaktai areas has been flooded with dried fishes mixed with poisonous chemicals and artificial colours.

Some unscrupulous traders are doing this for preserving the product for long and also to boost sales that will lead to bigger profits, said Asadganj Shutki Wholesale Traders Association and Asadganj Shutki Polli Traders Association leaders.

Shutki Polli is one of the busiest dried fish markets and products from here are shipped to different parts of the country.

Local sources said the use of toxic chemicals and colours is an open secret at Shutki Polli while buyers and consumers of other districts are not aware of the adulteration practice.

During a three-and-a-half-hour mobile court drive at the dried fish trade hub yesterday, about 1,000 kilogrammes of dried ilish adulterated with poisonous chemicals and colours, and several sacks of expired colour-mixed salt were seized.

The mobile court, led by Chittagong District Administration’s Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Md Ruhul Amin, later destroyed the fish and salt. The magistrate said six traders were fined a total of Tk95,000 during the drive and a shop was sealed.

Most of the wholesalers preserved chemical-mixed dried fishes in unhygienic warehouses and retailers were selling those after mixing colours to attract buyers.

Magistrate Ruhul said some traders were also found to have used formalin in order to

when the mobile court arrived there. Adulterating fish this way is illegal and consuming such fishes is certainly detrimental for health.

“Besides, traders and workers can contract various diseases as they work in this unhygienic environment,” he added.

Asadganj Shutki Polli Traders Association’s General Secretary Farid Ahmed said 250 retailers operate businesses at Shutki Polli and they have buyers from across the country.

“This is why they will not involve themselves in this unscrupulous act because they will lose customers if they sell adulterated fish.

The wholesalers who preserve fish in warehouses should be mostly blamed for this nefarious act,” he said. Farid said the mobile court drive was the first of its kind at Shutki Polli.

“We consider adulteration of fish a serious issue and will look into it. All traders have already been warned and we will take stern action against any of them if he is found guilty of mixing chemicals and colours with fish in the future.”

Asadganj Shutki Wholesale Traders Association’s General Secretary Md Nazer said there are 50 wholesalers at Shutki Polli but only a few of them might be involved in fish adulteration.

“Chemicals can be applied in dried ilish while some traders use colours to attract buyers but they have no intention to sell expired items,” he said.

“The National Board of Revenue from August 1 has raised import duty on dried fish from Tk61 to Tk147 per kg. This may be a reason why traders will be inclined to apply chemicals in their products,” he added. l

Tea factory shut down following extortion threats

n Our Correspondent, Panchagarh More than 500 tea growers and 250 workers of North Bengal Central Tea Industries in Panchagarh district are frustrated as the factory closed down following extortion threats on Friday.

A complaint was filed in this connection, said workers of the factory.

According to the written complaint and locals, a local man named Abdul Hamid had been trying to extort money out of the factory owners for the last couple of months. On Thursday, Hamid and his 10/12 associates came to the factory and demanded huge amount of money as extortion. When the authorities refused to pay, they locked the main gate of the factory. They also tried to intimidate the owners and workers of the factory.

Following the incident, the factory owners shut down the factory on Friday.

Hundreds of small tea growers in the district became distressed for not being able to sell tea leaves to the factory in due time.

Yesterday the farmers gathered in front of factory and demanded the factory be opened right away.

Manager of North Bengal Tea Industries Md Abdur Razzaque told the Dhaka Tribune: “Abdul Hamid put a lock on the main gate of the factory as we refused to pay extortion money. Police came and removed the lock after we informed them, however, Hamid continued to threaten us. So to ensure security, we closed down the factory.”

Hamid said: “I own a piece of land beside the factory on which the employees of the factory used to dump wastes. I told them several times for not to do so, but my words fell on deaf ears.

On Thursday I went to tell them the same thing but they did not listen to me. So I put a lock on the main gate from outside. Now, they are filing a case of extortion just to grab my land.” l

DT

8 WORLD

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

51 dead, hundreds wounded in Kabul bombings n AFP, Kabul Fifteen more fatalities were confirmed yesterday from a barrage of bombings in Kabul, taking the toll to 51 in the deadliest day for the city in years as Afghanistan battles an escalating Taliban insurgency.

The explosions on Friday, which devastated buildings and overwhelmed hospitals with hundreds of casualties, were the first major militant assaults on Kabul since the announcement of Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s death.

The attacks underscored the country’s volatile security situation amid a faltering peace process and the potency of the Taliban insurgency, despite it being riven by growing internal divisions.

In the first attack, a powerful truck bomb tore through the centre of Kabul just after midnight on Friday, killing 15 civilians and wounding 240 others.

Less than 24 hours later, 27 cadets and civilians were killed when a suicide bomber dressed in police uniform blew himself up at the entrance of Kabul Police Academy.

Explosions and gunfire also erupted when Camp Integrity, a US special forces base in Kabul, came under attack late Friday, killing nine people, including a NATO service member.

The Taliban distanced themselves from the truck bombing which struck near a Kabul military base – as they usually do in attacks that result in mass civilian casualties.

But they claimed responsibility for both other attacks, which marked a serious breach of security at a premier training institute for Afghan forces and a foreign coalition facility.

The three assaults made Friday the deadliest 24 hours in Kabul since December 2011, when more than 50 people were killed in a suicide attack during the

Shiite holy day of Ashura.

Friday’s bombings were the first major attacks since Mullah Akhtar Mansour was named as the new Taliban chief last week in an acrimonious power transition after the insurgents confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar.

Experts say the escalating violence demonstrates Mullah Mansour’s attempt to boost his image among Taliban cadres and drive attention away from internal rifts over his leadership.

“The new wave of attacks is a tactic by the Taliban’s new leadership to show they are capable, potent and operational,” said security analyst Abdul Hadi Khaled.

“The demise of Mullah Omar divided the movement and affected the morale of their ground fighters. Hitting Kabul with a wave of powerful attacks is a way of showcasing their strength.” l

Pro-government forces launch offensive in Yemen n AFP, Aden

Pro-government forces in Yemen strengthened by tanks newly supplied by a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive yesterday to retake the rebel-held capital of Abyan province, military sources said.

A two-pronged drive on the southern province’s capital of Zinjibar was launched from the north and south, the sources said.

It came two days after tribal and military sources said Saudi Arabia, leading an Arab coalition air war on the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, had sent new military equipment including tanks to Yemen.

The tanks were part of a package of reinforcements including armoured vehicles and personnel carriers as well as hundreds of Yemeni soldiers trained in kingdom, a military source said. This week has seen heavy fighting in Zinjibar and heavy coalition air strikes against positions of the 15th Army Brigade allied to the Huthis.

Military sources said at least 22 people, mostly returning civilians, have been killed since Thursday by explosions of mines planted by retreating Huthis in Aden and Lahj provinces. l

UN peacekeeper kills 4 colleagues in CAR n Reuters, Abidjan

A migrant dives into the water from an overloaded wooden boat during a rescue operation off the coast of Libya on August 6. An estimated 600 migrants on the boat were rescued by the international non-governmental organisations Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) without loss of life on Thursday afternoon, according to MSF and MOAS, a day after more than 200 migrants are feared to have drowned in the latest Mediterranean boat tragedy after rescuers saved over 370 people from a capsized boat thought to be carrying 600 REUTERS

A Rwandan soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic shot dead four Rwandan troops and wounded eight others yesterday before committing suicide, according to the Rwandan Defence Ministry.

The incident occurred around 5:45am (0445 GMT) at the Rwandan battalion’s headquarters in the capital Bangui.

“Investigations have immediately commenced to establish the motive behind this deplorable shooting,” spokesman Brigadier General Joseph Nzabamwita said. “We suspect terrorism, without ruling out mental illness as the cause.” The statement said the injured soldiers had immediately been transported to a hospital in Bangui for treatment.

Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power, triggering reprisals by “anti-balaka” Christian militias who drove tens of thousands of Muslims from the south in a de facto partition. l

Pro-Kurdish party leader calls for steps to halt Turkey violence n Reuters, Diyarbakir The leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP urged the militant Kurdistan Workers Party yesterday to “remove its finger from the trigger” and said the government should launch talks to halt a surge in violence.

The militant PKK announced it was stepping up attacks in mid-July, saying Turkish forces were violating a 2013 ceasefire. Turkey began an air campaign against PKK camps in northern Iraq on July 24.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas told reporters: “Today

we call to both sides: the PKK must immediately remove its finger from the trigger and declare it will observe the ceasefire.”

Speaking in the southeastern city of Van, a day after six people were killed in clashes between security forces and militants in the mainly Kurdish southeast, he said the government must halt security operations and revive a peace process launched with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 2012.

Demirtas’ HDP won 13 percent of the vote in a June 7 election which has yet to produce a coalition government. He had regularly visited Ocalan in his Imrali island jail south of

Istanbul. Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said the state was continuing talks with Ocalan but the HDP could no longer visit him because it had “betrayed” the process.

In comments to Milliyet newspaper published yesterday, he said tactical PKK declarations on halting violence were unacceptable.

“Their withdrawal from Turkey and a complete halt to activities is now a pre-requisite,” he said.

On Friday evening militants fired a rocket at an armoured car in the town of Cizre, killing a police officer and wounding another, security sources said.

Earlier that day, three people were killed and seven wounded during clashes between police and PKK in the town of Silopi. Both towns are close to Turkey’s borders with Syria and Iraq.

In Van and Agri provinces, militants killed two soldiers, bringing the death toll among Turkish security forces since July 20 to at least 21.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and European Union, launched its insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. l

DT

WORLD 9

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Twelve dead as Mali hotel siege ends n Reuters, Bamako

Malian security forces yesterday stormed a hotel used by United Nations staff and freed four hostages held there by suspected Islamist militants during a nearly 24-hour siege in which 12 people died.

The gunmen had seized the Byblos Hotel in the town of Sevare, around 600 km (400 miles) northeast of the west African nation’s capital Bamako, early on Friday and held off government troops who quickly surrounded the building.

The attack, far to the south of the Islamist militants’ traditional desert strongholds, was the latest in what appears to be a growing campaign against Malian soldiers and UN personnel by remnants of an al Qaeda-linked insurgency. “(The siege) seems to be over and it has ended well,” said a Malian defence ministry spokesman, Colonel Diaran Koné. “We freed the four hostages. But unfortunately we also found three bodies at the site.”

A spokeswoman for Mali’s UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, said four UN contractors - two from South Africa along with a Russian and a Ukrainian - had been freed in the pre-dawn raid by security forces.

“At no point were they discovered by the terrorists in the hotel. They were hiding,” Radhia Achouri said, adding that the mission was verifying whether any other MINUSMA personnel were present inside the hotel.

Three hostages died during the ordeal, Malian government spokesman Choguel Kokala Maiga said. A Malian military spokesman said they were from South Africa, Russia and Ukraine.

South Africa’s foreign ministry confirmed that two of its citizens were safe while a 38-year-old Pretoria resident working for an aviation company contracted with MINUSMA had died.

Five soldiers and four gunmen, including one who officials earlier said was strapped with explosives, were also killed, he said.

Ukraine and Russia had previously con-

firmed that their citizens were among the hostages. Russian news agencies, citing a press attache at Moscow’s embassy in Mali, said a Russian hostage employed by the airline UTair was among those freed yesterday.

Seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, according to a government statement released late on Friday.

Small Arms Fire A 2013 French-led military operation drove back Islamist fighters, who had taken advantage of an ethnic Tuareg rebellion and a military coup to seize territory in the north a year earlier.

While the United Nations has managed to broker a tenuous peace agreement between the government and Tuareg separatists, Islamist fighters left out of the negotiations have mounted an insurgency.

Former colonial ruler France and other Western and regional nations fear Islamist fighters could turn the remote region into a launch pad for attacks further afield if they regain power there.

Describing the security forces’ operation early yesterday, a Sevare resident living near the hotel told Reuters: “The assault ... took place between 4 and 5 o’clock this morning (0400-0500 GMT). We didn’t hear heavy weapons this time. There was just some small arms fire.”

On Friday Malian forces had used heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, in a failed attempt to dislodge the gunmen that then gave way to the prolonged stand-off.

The resident and a Malian military source said a special unit of the Malian gendarmes had carried out yesterday’s pre-dawn raid.

Koné, the defence ministry spokesman, said that French forces had backed the operation. But a French army spokesman said French soldiers had not been directly involved in the assault on the hotel.

“We played a coordination role with MINUSMA and the Malian armed forces, but this is a normal role that we play all the time,” the official said. l

Russia finds helicopter that crashed 10 months ago with 14 people n AFP, Moscow

Russian investigators said yesterday they had found the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed last October with 14 people on board in a remote mountainous region of Siberia.

Rescuers “confirmed information that the Mi-8 helicopter of TuvaAvia airline that went missing on October 10 was found in an isolated mountainous area,” investigators said in a statement.

“According to provisional information, there were 11 passengers and 3 crew members on board.”

The helicopter was transporting workers who were returning from a hydroelectric project in the Siberian Buddhist region of Tuva, which borders Mongolia.

It crashed into a mountainside amid low cloud and falling snow and caught fire when it hit the ground, the spokesman for the regional emergencies ministry, Dmitry Kryzh, told TASS news agency. “There is a very steep slope – with a gradient of around 45 degrees,” he said of the crash scene.

He said the helicopter most likely went undetected after the crash because it was quickly covered with snow.

The wreckage was initially spotted Friday from the air by military helicopter pilots.

Rescuers were still searching for the helicopter’s black boxes which could have been swept downhill by rock falls, Kryzh said.

So far the remains of 10 people have been found.

“Unfortunately the crew and the passengers had no chance,” the leader of Tuva, Sholban Kara-ool, said in a statement.

It is not unknown for crashed aircraft to lie undetected for months in Russia’s sparsely populated countryside.

In 2013, a small plane was found in a marsh 11 months after it crashed in the Urals region of central Russia, killing all 13 on board. l

A man looks at a car damaged by fallen roof near a bent traffic light caused by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor in Taipei, Taiwan yesterday

REUTERS

Typhoon Soudelor hits Taiwan, six dead n Reuters, Taipei/Yilan

A powerful typhoon battered Taiwan yesterday with strong wind and torrential rain, cutting power to 3.62 million households as the death toll rose to six.

Four people were missing and 101 were injured, authorities said. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled and more than 9,900 people were evacuated from their homes.

Television footage trees uprooted and power poles toppled over, a moped being swept into the air by wind and shipping containers piled on top of each other at a port.

“The storm will weaken but we expect

more rain, particularly in southern Taiwan,” said Wang Shih-chien, an official with the island’s Central Weather Bureau.

The storm made landfall early on the island’s east-coast counties of Yilan and Hualien, bringing more than 1,000 mm of rain in mountainous areas and wind gusting up to 200 kph (124 mph).

Although the eye of Typhoon Soudelor passed Taiwan, and was heading towards mainland China, rain was expected to lash the island until Sunday morning.

In Taipei, large steel sheets and rods were blown off a half-constructed stadium and city authorities shut down much public transport.

“The metal roof of the house next door to mine was completely blown away,” said resident Jack Lin. “I saw a car crushed to bits.”

Authorities issued flood and mudslide alerts and television showed mud trapping people and murky water nearly covering the roofs of cars in some areas.

Among the dead was one person who drowned in his flooded home and another who was killed by a falling tree.

Earlier, authorities said one adult and one child had drowned at sea, while a foreign worker was killed by a falling sign and a rescue worker was hit by a car and killed while clearing downed branches from a road. l

DT

10 WORLD

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Colorado gunman gets life term for killing 12 in movie rampage n Reuters, Centennial A Colorado jury sentenced movie rampage gunman James Holmes to life without parole on Friday, rejecting the death penalty for the 27-year-old who entered a midnight screening of a Batman film wielding a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun and pistol and killed a dozen people.

After less than a day of deliberations, and in a surprise to many legal experts and those in the packed courtroom, the jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous decision condemning Holmes to execution. They found him guilty last month on all counts for his July 20, 2012 massacre. Seventy people were also wounded.

Holmes showed no reaction. The former neuroscience graduate student stared straight ahead with his hands in his pockets as the judge announced the decision.

The verdict brings to an end an often-delayed, lengthy, and high-profile trial just a little more than three years after his rampage in a suburban Denver multiplex put a spotlight on gun control, mental illness and security in public spaces.

Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was murdered by Holmes, commiserated outside the courtroom after the verdict with a wheelchair-bound survivor, Caleb Medley.

“Justice is not served. Sorry, Caleb,” she told him. As two members of Holmes’ court-appointed defense team walked past, Phillips said: “I wonder how it feels to save the life of a mass murderer? Good job.”

Nine jurors were in favor of the death penalty, a member of the panel said later. One was

n AFP, Yangon

James Holmes sits in court for an advisement hearing at the Arapahoe County Justice Center in Centennial, Colorado in this file photo from June 4, 2013. A Colorado jury sentenced Holmes to life in prison on August 7 REUTERS against execution, and the other two were on the fence, she said, without giving her name.

“I think primarily it was the mental illness,” Juror 17 told reporters, referring to the reasoning given by the hold-out.

Because the jurors could not agree, Holm-

Fugitive Cambodian ex-governor hands self in over shooting n AFP, Phnom Penh A former Cambodian governor who has evaded arrest since he shot and wounded three garment workers during a protest in 2012 handed himself to police yesterday, officials said.

Chhuk Bundith’s submission follows a call for justice from Prime Minister Hun Sen, in a country where the rich and well-connected are often seen to be beyond the reach of a corrupt judicial system.

“He showed up this afternoon by himself,” Phnom Penh police chief Chuon Sovann told AFP, adding that Bundith would be taken to a court and then prison, where he would “serve his jail term.”

Authorities said they had been unaware of Bundith’s whereabouts since he was sentenced after shooting into a crowd of protesters demanding better working conditions in eastern Svay Rieng province in February 2012, wounding three women.

Police did not arrest the official at the time and he was handed the 18-month jail term in absentia in June 2013 for causing unintentional injuries through shooting.

During sentencing, Bundith – removed as

Myanmar activists open museum to mark student uprising

governor of Bavet City in Svay Rieng after the incident – was also ordered to pay a total of $9,500 in compensation to the three victims who were employed at a factory supplying sportswear giant Puma.

His decision to hand himself in comes weeks after a similar call from Cambodia’s premier led to the detention of a fugitive property tycoon whose vicious assault on a TV star, captured on a widely circulated video, sparked a public outcry.

Wealthy businessman Sok Bun was only arrested in July after CCTV footage of the attack on popular actress Ek Socheata, better known as SaSa, went viral on social media.

Bundith’s victims had in recent weeks again urged Hun Sen for justice in their case following the success of his call for the return of the property magnate. It was not possible to reach them for comment.

At the time of Bundith’s sentencing rights groups had criticised the jail term as overly lenient and said he should have been charged with attempted murder.

It was not immediately clear if the former governor would face further charges for avoiding detention. l

es serves a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. They would have had to be unanimous for a death penalty to be imposed. The defense had said Holmes suffers from schizophrenia and was not in control of his actions. l

More than 200 democracy activists gathered in Yangon yesterday to launch a museum marking a 1988 uprising against military rule that ended in a bloody crackdown as Myanmar prepares for its freest elections in decades.

Dozens of members of the 88 Generation activist group attended the opening to commemorate the start of mass student-led protests 27 years ago which were brutally crushed by the then-junta, leaving thousands dead.

The 8888 Memorial Hall, set across two storeys in a building in the eastern outskirts of Yangon, showcased archive photographs from the period as well as a documentary about the students involved. ‘’This is the first museum to remember the democracy movement,” Ant Bwe Kyaw, a key figure in the 1988 protests and a leader of the 88 Generation, told AFP, adding that the group aimed to open a larger venue in the future.

The 88 Generation also released a statement calling for the ‘’unconditional release” of political prisoners still languishing in jails before November’s polls as well as of the dozens of activists detained over recent student-led protests over education reform.

On August 8, 1988 Myanmar saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets across the country in a call for democracy, protests that came to a violent end the following month in an army crackdown that killed more than 3,000.

The demonstrations also heralded the rise to prominence of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

INSIDE

If people ran the country Some people live in peace, knowing very well that they will not be punished, no matter how big their crimes. When a society has developed a culture of impunity, keeping crime in check is impossible

PAGE 12

Kalam: A people’s president Even though Kalam became the president of India, he was more famous as a scientist and the principal architect of India’s missile and space programs PAGE 13

Can we find a common ground with Chinese culture?

What part of Chinese culture can be accepted by Bangladesh? Of course, we do have a lot in common. Food, family lifestyles, and values -- these common grounds need to be harnessed as a base for cultural fusion

PAGE 14

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Hold police to account for failing to protect bloggers

I

t is disgraceful that police refused to offer help to Niladri Chatterjee, the blogger who was brutally stabbed to death on Friday.

On May 15, writing under his Facebook name of Niloy Neel, he catalogued the events which led him to repeatedly seek police protection. It is shameful that after reporting how he had been suspiciously followed by two potentially identifiable people, while returning from an event commemorating the murdered writer Ananta Bijoy Das, he was told by police officers that his complaint was not under their jurisdiction, and advised to “leave the country as soon as possible.”

He was subsequently also turned away when he tried to file a general diary at several police stations. One police officer even reportedly told him that the police do not usually register such GDs since the officer who registers it will be accountable for ensuring the complaint’s security, and they do not want to risk their jobs if found negligent in this duty.

Clearly, it was a far greater dereliction of duty for police stations to have refused to act upon Niloy’s concerns. Had the police made inquiries to follow up death threats and offered guidance and credible security measures to protect him, it is possible that the murder plot might have been prevented or disrupted.

There is no excuse for them not to have taken his requests seriously.

The country has witnessed a series of murders of academics and writers about religion and related matters, who have been killed after personal death threats were made against them by Islamist groups. With three such killings occurring this year, it is inexcusable that no practical help was offered to Niloy.

The government has to end the inaction and indifference which emboldens those who incite and carry out such murder plots.

It must hold the police to account for failing to register Niloy’s concerns, and ensure meaningful measures are implemented to protect people who have been threatened by extremist groups.

Only by demonstrating that it takes death threats seriously can the government deter and prevent these cynically targeted murders and properly fulfill its duty to protect citizens.

Take death threats seriously. Indifference only emboldens those who incite targeted killings

DT

12 OPINION

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

If people ran the country Is the government listening to what the citizens have to say?

n Mushfique Wadud

O

ne thing I love about Bangladeshi people is this: Everyone knows the causes of all the major problems and their solutions. This will be clear to you if you ride public buses or you have the habit of frequenting roadside teastalls.

Every day, as I ride the bus, I find people talking about problems that are still outstanding in society, and they also discuss their solutions. As a silent observer, I enjoy listening to them, and try to get to the root of their problems. You might not believe me, but to me, the discussions on the public buses are far more interesting and informative than our late-night talk-shows. The masses know the root of all problems, and they know how to solve them. The problem is that they don’t have the executive power to do anything about it.

I was impressed yesterday as I listened to a few passengers inside a human-hauler on the Mirpur-Farmgate route discussing the recent incidents of inhumane violence against children. It is worth noting that most conductors of these “temps” are 10 to 15-year-old children.

While one passenger scolded the conductor of this human-hauler for a trivial matter, a woman (probably in her 30s) protested.

She said: “These scolding tendencies later develop into violence against children.” Most of the passengers, I saw, supported her.

One passenger asked: “Do you know why these killings happen?” He did not wait for the answer. “Because there is no rule of law … because the abusers are not punished.”

“You are right,” another passenger concurred. “If you have money or you are influential in society, no one can touch you, no matter how big your crime.” Before he could finish his point, however, another passenger had taken the floor: “Were the killers of Rajon punished? It seems we forget everything.

What can we learn from over-hearing conversations on buses?

Some people live in peace, knowing very well that they will not be punished, no matter how big their crimes. When a society has developed a culture of impunity, keeping crime in check is impossible

And so it goes.”

I got off from the hauler at Pirerbagh. As I was getting off, the discussions continued. This is a common occurrence. I regret missing the rest of the conversation, as I do almost every day, and sometimes, I think that I should go to the end of the route only to listen to people’s discussions on the bus. They really are quite interesting and insightful.

Right about the time the Rajon video had gone viral on social media, and people were

talking about it, I listened to another interesting conversation inside an Alif Paribahan bus that runs from Mirpur 1 to Banasree. One passenger said: “I saw a person carrying a placard saying ‘stop child-killing’ and posted it on Facebook. You will see these kinds of reactions for only two or three days, and then no one will remember the incident.”

We have, indeed, all forgotten the Rajon killing. Another passenger said: “Do you know why people are so brutal these days?

It’s because we live in a society where money is everything. We don’t love people. We are in a competition, and everyone wants to win the competition. That is why children are being killed for stealing the most insignificant of things.” Another passenger chimed in: “Proper punishment of the culprits could check these tendencies, but who knows if they’ll ever be punished?”

Can we disagree with these people? Isn’t brutality increasing as the days go by? Isn’t it true that culprits are not punished, but, in fact, sometimes they are rewarded?

One cannot help but agree with them -- the rule of law must be implemented to prevent not only child-killings but all other crimes. The reasoning is obvious: When people know that they will be punished, they will refrain. That is why these “reactions” to violence against children are useless if we cannot restore rule of law.

This is not something that is difficult to understand. Everyone knows this, but it seems our policy-makers are reluctant in ensuring rule of law. One passenger pointed out the

NASHIRUL ISLAM

reason: Some of the criminals are influential, either for their money, or because of their political backing. It is undeniable that a culture of impunity has developed in our society.

Some people live in peace, knowing very well that they will not be punished, no matter how big their crimes. When a society has developed a culture of impunity, keeping crime in check is impossible.

The conversations on these public buses provide me with a sliver of hope. The problem of this country is that politicians do not hail from the masses. When the common people rule the country, only then will there be a better ruler. They will understand our problems as their own, and find solutions which cater to the masses.

All we have to do is make sure we have politicians from the common people, as in the case of our neighbouring country. Narendra Modi has gone from tea-seller to prime minister. l Mushfique Wadud is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

DT

OPINION 13

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Kalam: A people’s president May his achievements in science and government continue to inspire us

The Missile Man was loved all across India

REUTERS

Even though Kalam became the president of India, he was more famous as a scientist and the principal architect of India’s missile and space programs

n Abdul Matin

I

t is a rare occasion when a president of a country is known as the “people’s president.” It is none other than APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, who was bestowed with this honour and became popularly known as such.

It is sad that he died on July 27, after suffering a massive heart attack in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya. He collapsed while delivering a lecture to the students of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management in Shillong.

After leaving the office as president, it became his passion to inspire the young generation. He travelled all over India, and last year, while addressing a gathering of youth in Dhaka, quoted the great Persian poet Rumi: “I am born with potential. I am born with goodness and trust. I am born with ideas and dreams. I am born with greatness. I am born with wings. I am not meant for crawling, because I have wings. I will learn to use them and fly.”

Even though Kalam became the president of India, he was more famous as a scientist and the principal architect of India’s missile and space programs. As the chief scientific adviser to the then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he made significant contributions to India’s nuclear weapons program during the late 90s.

Abdul Kalam was born in a small town, Rameswaram, in Tamil Nadu, on October 15, 1931. He came from a poor background, and sold newspapers at an early age to supplement his family's income. His grades at school were average, but he was a bright and hard-working student with a strong desire to learn.

He spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics. After finishing school, he first graduated in physics from St Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, but did not find interest in the subject. Later, he studied aerospace engineering at Madras Institute of Technology and graduated in 1960.

Having initially worked for the Defence Research and Development Organisation, he joined the Indian Space Research Organisation, and became chief of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Under his leadership, India developed Agni, an intermediate range ballistic missile, and Prithvi, the tactical surface-to-surface missile.

While developing the missile technology, Abdul Kalam was greatly inspired by Tipu Sultan of Mysore, who made innovations in the military use of rockets against the British East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

Rockets developed by Tipu Sultan led to

a renaissance of interest in the technology in Britain. Abdul Kalam wrote: “Rocket technology engulfed me for two decades since my visit to Srirangapatna in 1960. The question continued to haunt me. How could Tipu Sultan have led to the world’s first war rocket?”

Referring to an article by Frank H Winter of National Air and Space Museum, Washington, USA, titled “The rocket in India from ancient times to the 19th century,” he wrote: “Soon, I learnt that two of the war rockets captured by the British at Srirangapatana have been displayed in the Museum of Artillery at Woolwich in London. One of my missions during my visit to Europe in 1980 was to study this rocket. Dr VR Gowarikar and I visited the museum. It was a great thrill, especially for rocket technologists like us, to see an Indian innovation in foreign soil well-preserved, and with facts not distorted.”

Abdul Kalam served as the 11th president of India. His term lasted from July 25, 2002 to July 25, 2007. After leaving office, he became a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Shillong, where he delivered his last lecture, and at other IIMs at Ahmedabad and Indore. He was an honourary fellow of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.

In May 2012, Kalam launched a program for the youth of India called the “What Can I Give Movement,” with the theme of fighting corruption. He inspired the young generation through his speeches and writings. One of his famous quotes is: “Let us sacrifice our today, so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”

Kalam sacrificed not just one or two days, but his life, for a better future for the younger generations.

Abul Kalam received numerous awards from home and abroad. His 79th birthday was recognised as World Student Day by the UN. Kalam received India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his contribution to the scientific research and modernisation of defence technology in India.

Abdul Kalam had no property to his name -- his scientific adviser V Ponraj said that after his death. He added that Kalam’s only properties were his books and 640 million youths in the country. Upon his death, India lost a great scientist and a great teacher.

The government declared a seven-day national mourning as a mark of respect for the man known and loved across the country as the “people’s president.” Kalam was laid to rest in his hometown Rameswaram, with full military honours and in the presence of the country’s top leaders, family members, and a chanting crowd. Even after his death, his contributions in science and technology, and his speeches and writings, will inspire the youth in his country and abroad for a long time. l Abdul Matin is a retired nuclear engineer and currently Dr Rashid Professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

DT

14 OPINION

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Our partnership with China is poised to go from strength to strength

REUTERS

Can we find a common ground with Chinese culture?

The relationship between our cultures goes back centuries

What part of Chinese culture can be accepted by Bangladesh? Of course, we do have a lot in common. Food, family lifestyles, and values -- these common grounds need to be harnessed as a base for cultural fusion

n Li Zhifei

I

n today’s increasingly globalised world, while cultural exchanges become more and more frequent between China and Bangladesh, relationships between the two have also become more complicated and profound. The two countries’ communication hasn’t been interrupted since ancient times.

Chinese philosophers such as Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, and Bengali like Atisa and Tagore had witnessed the long history of exchanges between the two countries. Nevertheless, the cultural fusion between China and Bangladesh isn’t always smooth.

It was reported, in a piece titled “Padma

Bridge: Work starts in Chinese style” in The Daily Star on March 2, 2015 that “(the Chinese) sacrificed two black bulls, two goats, and two chickens on the occasion of the test piling, and let the blood flow in the water on the Mawa side of the project in Munshiganj.” Obviously, there were grievances from the Bangladeshi side, and the subsequent reaction is an example of cultural conflict.

It is popular, in Chinese culture, in some opening ceremonies of large projects to slaughter bulls, goats, chickens, geese, etc to be sacrificed to God, and wish the projects are successful. Without a doubt, this was in conflict with local culture in this case. Local people’s reprimands included: “We told them not to do so. But they did not listen to us,” and “we also ensured that the animals were slaughtered according to Islamic laws.” The Bangladeshi people, it seemed, had their grievances.

What part of Chinese culture can be accepted by Bangladesh? Of course, we do have a lot in common. Food, family lifestyles, and values -- there is a lot that is the same between the two countries: A preference for rice and fish, or the traditional family patterns of men managing external affairs while women manage the internal. Both countries are developing countries now, and the culture of enterprise is needed at the same time.

These common grounds need to be harnessed as a base for cultural fusion.

What we have in common is only one part of the cultural fusion; cultural differences are more important, especially cultural homogeneity, which has become a serious matter under the increasing globalisation. Bangladesh is a country that has particular national characteristics.

From eating rice (plain, polao, or otherwise) and curry, to dressing in lungis, saris and panjabis, to a wide range of Islamic rituals, these all combine to create Bangladesh’s unique identity. This is a colourful country, and is very different from China. On the other hand, China’s spectacular rivers and mountains, the unique ethnic customs, the original arts, and so on, draw the attention of the Bengali people too.

“From the same to the different” may be the main principle of culture fusion.

Common areas ensure that the two cultures can understand and respect each other; differences can make the two cultures learn from each other and attempt mutual absorption. Though this will be a long process, the outcome, if it comes to fruition, will be a rewarding one. l Li Zhifei is Lecturer, Faculty of Chinese Language and Literature, Yunnan Normal University, China and visiting teacher, Faculty of Arts, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

16

Asian gold demand picks up, but buyers in no rush

17

Bank of England signals early 2016 hike after sterling climb

19

Stock markets marginally up in past week

20

DT

Business

15

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Muhith calls for private sector investment in infrastructure

NBR to audit tax files of big, medium enterprises n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is set to begin auditing tax files of the large and medium companies to dig out any possible attempt for dodging taxes.

The tax offices will scrutinise the tax files and bring them into audit, considering the revenue risk factors, officials said.

Meanwhile, the NBR has asked its field offices to do the task based on legal provisions, not on doubts, so the taxpayers don’t feel any sort of harassment.

As per the procedure, multinational and large businesses firms can be selected considering their imports, procurement, exports, sales, increase of assets and quantitative analysis of manufacturing accounts.

Specialised and medium business houses may also be selected for field audit bearing in mindthe revenue potentials.

The NBR field offices of the three wings-income tax, custom duties and Value Added Tax

(VAT) will conduct joint audits for finding out possible concealment to maximise the revenue collection.

Currently, these three wings conduct separate audits although they are under a same umbrella.

The NBR has also asked its three wings to mutually share information among them for determining the actual tax payable by large and medium businesses and detect tax evasion incidences by the businesses.

“If the three wings mutually share information between themselves, it can help find out possible tax concealment attempts,” said an official of NBR. The risk factors include cumulative increase of income compared to that of previous year, declaration of loss in business, gift, personal loan more than Tk5 lakh, tax-exempted income, and tax refund demanded in the tax files for the current fiscal year.

The income tax returns, abnormal differences in import and export data, purchase,

depreciation, bank balance, gross-profit rates and net profit compared to the figures for the previous corresponding year will also be brought into consideration for bringing the tax files under audit.

The government set the collection target at Tk1,76,370 core for the revenue board for the current fiscal year.

To meet the gigantic target, which is around 30% higher than the just concluded fiscal, the NBR is looking for potential sectors to maximise the revenue collection.

As part of the latest drive, the NBR has al-

ready decided to conduct intensive audit of tax files of all mobile operators in the country.

The Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) of NBR has recently asked the commercial banks to submit detail bank account information of Grameenphone, Robi, and Airtel for the calendar year of 2013.

The tax authorities require the bank transaction statement to assess the tax file of the three operators for the fiscal year 2014-15, mainly for audit purposes.

The NBR will also seek the tax files of the rest three companies- Banglalink, Citycell and Teletalk in phases.

Usually, the Large Taxpayers Unit (income tax) and large taxpayers unit (VAT) jointly collects around 65% of the total revenue in every fiscal year. These two wings collect income tax and VAT from the large business firms.

“The tax authorities is considering to bring the files of large companies as these files can generate higher amount of revenue, if any concealment is found,” the NBR official said. l

DSE set to go for alternatives to boost reveues DSE EARNINGS PERFORMANCE 2000

1,757

Net income of DSE in Tk million

1,500 1500

1,340 1,155 944

1000

500 12 10

Net asset value per share in Tk

10.19

10.93

8 6 4

2.10

3.07

3.60

2 2009-10

2010-11

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) – the country’s prime bourse – is set to offer space on its webpage for commercial advertisements in an effort to boost income.

After fixing the advertisement rates within the next three months, interested companies will be able to advertise on the DSE website.

These ads might particularly be aimed at companies in the financial sector – an initia-

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

tive that will increase its profits and also help attract strategic partners.

According to the Demutualisation Act 2013, stock exchanges have to pick up strategic partners within three years from the date of demutualisation. Failing to do so, they can apply to Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) that can extend time for one year, considering reasons behind the delay.

“We are going to post commercial advertisement on the DSE website within two-three

months,” said MD Shakil Rizvi, director of Dhaka Stock Exchange.

“Currently, DSE is working on fixing advertisement rate. Hopefully, it will be done soon.”

Since July 1, the prime bourse already has posted commercial ads provided by Google AdSense, a programme run by Google, which allows publishers in the Google Network of content sites to serve automatic text, image, video, or interactive media advertisements.

These adds generate revenues for the website.

“We have applied to the Google for opening accounts to display ads, and as part of that process, some ads provided by the Google management have already been displayed on the website,” a DSE official, said, asking not to be named.

He said displaying more ads will start after getting nod from the Google authority.

“Strong financial footing is required of a demutualised stock exchange to woo strategic partners. Otherwise, they will not be interested to invest,” Khwaja Ghulam Rasul, director of DSE, told the Dhaka Tribune.

As part of making the stock exchange profitable, DSE decided to offer commercial ads to maximise its annual profits as higher EPS would help draw strategic investors, he said.

According to the latest financial statement of 2013-14, DSE’s income stood nearly at Tk134 crore. In 2012-13, it was

Tk1,15.5 crore.

The earnings per share (EPS) were recorded at Tk0.74 against Tk0.64 a year ago. While the Net Asset Value (NAV) per share stood at Tk10.93 at the end of June 2014, up from Tk10.19 a year ago.

According to a DSE high official, the bourse did not declare dividends for its share holders in the fiscal year 2014 – the first financial year after demutualisation.

On November 22, 2013, DSE and Chittagong Stock Exchange had turned into demutualised exchanges as the country’s twin bourses get certificates from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC).

In line with the demutualisation scheme, 60% share of Dhaka Stock Exchange have been kept in a block account for strategic and institutional investors and the general public while the rest 40% are allotted to existing shareholders. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Asian gold demand picks up, but buyers in no rush n

Reuters, Mumbai

Gold demand in Asia picked up modestly this week as global prices wallowed near multi-year lows, but buyers in the world’s biggest consuming region for the precious metal were in no hurry as they waited for the market to weaken further.

Spot gold has languished mostly below $1,100 an ounce since breaching that support level in a July 20 rout, sinking as far as $1,077 on July 24, its weakest since February 2010.

Bullion is en route to fall for a seventh straight week, its longest retreat since 1999, with investors looking ahead to Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls data that may help determine how soon the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.

Premiums in India, the world’s second-biggest gold consumer after China, hovered between $1.30 to $2.10 an ounce over the global spot benchmark, up from $1.50-$2 last week, with ample supply offsetting an improvement in demand.

“Jewellers have increased buying for the peak festive season. They are replenishing inventory,” said Pradeep Nagori, senior vice president at Edelweiss Metals Ltd in Mumbai.

Nagori said jewellers are expecting increased retail demand during the last quarter of the year amid lower prices. Demand for gold jewellery is usually strong in India during that time, when it celebrates festivals such as Diwali and Dussehra and gold buying is considered auspicious.

India’s gold imports in fiscal 2015/16 are likely to be between 900 and 1,000 tonnes as

A sales woman displays a gold bracelet as she poses for pictures at a jewellery shop in Lin’an, Zhejiang province REUTERS lower prices will boost demand during the festive season, said Rajesh Khosla, managing director of MMTC-PAMP India, the country’s biggest gold refiner. Still, “retail demand is not as robust as it should be as consumers are thinking prices will go down further,” Khosla added.

In Hong Kong, premiums inched up to $1-$1.20 an ounce from 90 cents to $1.10. On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, premiums were steady at $3-$4 an ounce.

“There’s no rush to buy. People are not

sure if the price is low enough,” said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

Buying interest in China, where the economy is facing headwinds from weaker exports and slow demand, is unlikely to be robust even if the gold price falls further, said Dick Poon, general manager at Heraeus Precious Metals, also in Hong Kong.

“I don’t think it’s a really good time to buy,” said Poon. l

Italy in favour of a European Monetary Fund n AFP, Rome

Italy is in favour of tighter European integration and the creation of a European Monetary Fund, its finance minister said Tuesday.

“The monetary union will sooner or later have to be based on common elements... in my opinion a European monetary fund, an insurance mechanism against the shocks of the labour markets, shared budget resources,” Pier Carlo Padoan said.

“If this does not happen, the monetary union will remain stuck in the middle of the river... and risks being hit by a more violent wave and being washed away,” he said in the wake of the economic crisis which left several members at risk of crashing out of the eurozone.

“It is what economists call ‘risk-sharing’, the sharing of risks which has made the monetary union stronger over the years... sharing resources, both financial and political,” he said at a press conference.

Padoan’s comments followed calls earlier this year from Portugal for the creation of an EMF to take over the role played by the Washington-based International Monetary Fund during the economic crisis.

Portugal, which had a full EU-IMF bailout in 2011, says an EMF would mean countries in trouble - like Greece - would only have to deal with one institution rather than relying on the approval of national parliaments.

The idea for an EMF was first put forward in 2010 and initially endorsed by Germany and France as a potential rescue fund to help member countries cope with future financial troubles, but critics said it risked undermining rather than enhancing EU stability. l

Facebook launches feature to allow businesses to privately message users n Reuters, San Francisco Facebook Inc rolled out features Wednesday that enable businesses to privately communicate with customers through messages as part of the social networking company’s push to make its Messenger app a stand-alone platform.

Businesses can now include a “send mes-

sage” button in ads that appear in Newsfeed that allow Facebook users to click a button and send messages, which are private. If users post a comment on a business’ Facebook page, then the business can privately message that person The features are part of Facebook’s efforts to convince more small and medium-sized businesses - especially those in emerging markets, such as India, Brazil and Indonesia

- to advertise on its platform.

By giving them direct access to customers, the world’s largest social network hopes to show that advertising on Facebook directly leads to increased sales.

To encourage quick responses, Facebook will award “very responsive to messages” badges on business pages that respond to 90 percent of messages and respond on average

within five minutes. People will, however, still be able to block private messages from businesses.

The features will be especially valuable in southeast Asia, Facebook wrote in a blog post.

About twice as many Thai and Singaporean users use Facebook messages to communicate with businesses each month and most Southeast Asia users follow some company pages. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Heidelberg Cement holds Bajimat 2015 n Tribune Business Desk

Jamuna Bank and Sayeman Beach Resort have recently signed an agreement for providing the bank’s credit card holders with coporate facilities with discounts from the beach report in Cox’s Bazar. The bank’s DMD, AKM Saifuddin Ahamed and senior manager (sales and marketing) of the resort, Afra Illham Binyta signed the agreement

Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh has recently arranged a get-together programme titled Bajimat 2015 with its brands’ (Scan Cement and Ruby Cement) channel partners in Dhaka.

Director (marketing and sales) of Heidelberg Cement, Syed Abu Abed Saher along with its brands’ ambassador, cricketer Mahmudullah Riyad was present at the event, said a press release.

More than 2000 retailers were also prenset at the event, added the press release. l

DT

BUSINESS 17

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

German industrial output, exports fall in June n AFP, Berlin

A bus passes the Bank of England in London, Britain

REUTERS

Bank of England signals early 2016 hike after sterling climb n Reuters, London

The Bank of England pointed to a possible rise in interest rates early next year as just one of its top policymakers backed an immediate move and it said the strength of sterling meant inflation would only pick up slowly.

The pound fell sharply and investors briefly pushed back their bets on a first rate hike until June next year, before BoE Governor Mark Carney said the Bank was getting closer to beginning to undo its stimulus for Britain’s economy.

“The likely timing of the first Bank Rate increase is drawing closer,” he told reporters.

“However the exact timing of the first move cannot be predicted in advance ... in short, it will be data-dependent,” he said after the BoE for the first time published its quarterly economic forecasts and details of its latest policy discussions on the same day.

The BoE slashed interest rates to 0.5% in the depths of the financial crisis in 2009 and has kept them there since.

With the economy now recovering strongly and wages finally rising more quickly, speculation is growing about when it might start to wean Britain off low rates, mirroring the debate at the US Federal Reserve.

Carney warned investors that they might be too relaxed about the path, or ‘curve’, that they are predicting for rates.

He pointed out that the Bank was forecasting that inflation would start to overshoot its 2% target in just over two years’ time, based on predictions in the market for a first BoE rate hike in the second quarter of next year.

“The market curve does not deliver a sustainable return of inflation to target, because

there is an overshoot,” he said.

In an interview with the Mirror newspaper, Carney declined to say there was now no chance of a rate hike in 2015. “I would be crazy to rule anything out or to rule anything in,” he said.

Three weeks ago, Carney said the decision when to hike interest rates would likely come into “sharper relief” around the end of the year. He emphasized on Thursday that this was his own view and that it had not changed.

Several economists said they continued to predict a rise in the first three months of 2016.

‘In a sign of how the debate on the MPC may develop, some of its members saw a risk that inflation could pick up more strongly than the central forecast’ Vote surprise

Investors were taken by surprise earlier on Thursday when the Bank said just one of its nine policymakers - Ian McCafferty - had voted for a rate hike at their August meeting, which ended on Wednesday.

Most economists in a Reuters poll had expected two or even three members of the Monetary Policy Committee to vote for a rate hike. The 8-1 result prompted markets to push out their bets on a first rate hike into mid-2016.

McCafferty, a non-staff member of the MPC, backed rate hikes last year along with his

colleague Martin Weale. They both rejoined the fold in January as oil prices tumbled.

As Carney spoke on Thursday, the bets on a June 2016 rate hike were quickly reined back in. Jason Simpson, a Societe Generale rate strategist, said: “The message is clear: rates need to rise. Not yet, but they need to go up and every inflation report is one step closer to that.”

Few economists think the BoE is likely to move before the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise rates this year, in large part because it would further push up the value of sterling. On Wednesday the pound hit its highest level against a basket of currencies in more than seven years =GBP.

Focus on sterling

The Bank stressed how a recent strengthening of the pound and a renewed fall in oil prices would push down inflation until at least the middle of next year and said the impact of the rise in sterling could persist even longer.

Carney made it clear, however, that a strong currency was no replacement for eventual rate hikes.

In a sign of how the debate on the MPC may develop, some of its members saw a risk that inflation could pick up more strongly than the central forecast, the BoE said.

But the Bank’s array of forecasts and policy debate details suggested it was largely focused on how the stronger pound could keep a lid on inflation.

The BoE also noted that Britain’s weak productivity growth was finally on the rise, which would help mute inflation even after wages grew surprisingly strongly in recent months. l

Germany’s industrial output fell 1.4% and exports from Europe’s top economy dropped by one percent in June from the previous month, data showed Friday.

Many German companies are struggling with China’s slowdown and recent volatility over the Greece crisis, despite the benefits of a low euro, cheap oil and rock-bottom interest rates.

“Overall, today’s data is a setback for the German economy and bodes ill for second-quarter real GDP growth,” said Natixis bank, which revised down slightly its forecast to 0.4 percent GDP growth quarter-on-quarter.

UniCredit also lowered its forecast for the second quarter GDP figure to be released next Friday to 0.4%, from 0.5%, although it called the output drop “a statistical fluke.”

Industrial production, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, unexpectedly fell 1.4% over the month, with a particularly severe 4.5% drop in construction output, said the economy ministry.

Analysts polled by financial services provider FactSet had forecast a small increase of 0.4%.

Economists at BayernLB blamed the Greece crisis and the effects of an earlier major train strike for the disappointing figure and predicted a recovery, given a recent rise in factory orders. l

Pound falls as BoE keeps rates low n AFP, New York

The British pound fell Thursday as the Bank of England kept interest rates low, while the dollar fell against the euro ahead of the July US jobs report.

Pound on Friday was steady in Asian trading. It fetched $1.5516 in Tokyo against $1.5513 in US trade. While dollar rose Friday as traders focused on key US jobs data later in the day. In Tokyo, the greenback ticked up to 124.79 yen from 124.73 yen in New York. The euro edged down to $1.0917 and 136.22 yen from $1.0923 and 136.25 yen.

The Bank of England, as expected, kept its main interest rate at a record-low 0.5%. The BoE raised its forecast for British economic growth this year to 2.8% from a previous estimate of 2.5%.

However, the central bank also said the near-term outlook for inflation is “muted,” according to BoE minutes.

“The falls in energy prices of the past few months will continue to bear down on inflation at least until the middle of next year,” the minutes said.

The weak inflation outlook means traders pushed back their time frame for the first British rate hike “into later 2015,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.

The BoE’s statement “failed to impress,” said Kathy Lien, analyst at BK Asset Management.

“Investors were looking for a clear sign that the central bank is moving closer to raising interest rates but instead what they got were changes in their economic forecasts that suggests the central bank is still in no rush to tighten,” Lien said. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures AGM/Dividend 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.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports: SAPORTL (H/Y Audited): The Company has further informed that they have audited their half yearly financial statements for the period ended on 30th June, 2015. Consolidated EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.46 as against Tk. 0.41 for Jan-June, 2014. Consolidated NOCFPS was Tk. 0.57 for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. 1.28 for Jan-June, 2014. Consolidated NAV per share was Tk. 28.00 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 40.00 as of December 31, 2014.

TUNGHAI (Q2 Un-audited): EPS for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.32 as against Tk. 0.47 for April-June, 2014, EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.57 as against Tk. 0.72 for Jan-June, 2014. NOCFPS was Tk. (0.93) for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. 1.38 for Jan-June, 2014.

NAV per share was Tk. 13.36 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 12.79 as of December 31, 2014.

GHCL (Q2 Un-audited): EPS for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.37 as against Tk. 0.61 for April-June, 2014, EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.89 as against Tk. 1.22 for Jan-June, 2014. NOCFPS was Tk. 1.75 for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. 1.70 for Jan-June, 2014. NAV per share was Tk. 52.71 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 51.82 as of December 31, 2014. 04-08-2015

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Closing (% change)

Company GeminiSeaFood-B Islami Bank BD - A Beach Hatchery -A 1st ICB M F -A Libra Infusions-A Berger Paints-A Anwar Galvanizing-B Bangladesh Welding -B Al-Haj Textile -A Premier Cement-A

37.21 26.48 25.97 21.25 20.53 19.90 19.72 19.27 18.20 18.08

CSE GAINER Closing (% change)

Company Libra Infusions-A 1st ICB M F -A Beach Hatchery -A Islami Bank BD - A Aramit -A National Polymer -A Anwar Galvanizing-B 8th ICB M F-A Bangladesh Welding -B 7th ICB M F-A

40.89 31.61 27.78 26.82 24.37 21.00 20.09 19.52 18.26 17.78

DSE LOSER Company Meghna Life Ins. -A EXIM Bank 1 MF-A ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A ISN Ltd. -Z People`s Leasing-A Phoenix Finance-A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A Aziz PipesZ Dulamia CottonZ PragatiLife Insu. -Z

Closing (% change) -14.75 -10.77 -10.11 -10.00 -9.47 -8.63 -7.27 -7.21 -6.10 -5.77

CSE LOSER Company PragatiLife Insu. -Z EXIM Bank 1 MF-A BD Fixed Income MF-A Meghna Life Ins. -A ISN Ltd. -Z ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A Rupali Bank - A People`s Leasing-A H.R. Textile -A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A

Closing (% change) -26.67 -21.25 -20.20 -16.23 -13.49 -10.99 -9.63 -9.41 -7.27 -7.02

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features August 2-6, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

41,374.36 1,076,859,993

842,789

Traded Issues

325

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

218

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

103

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,738.35

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

33.19

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 3463.13 1446.11 657.87 7647.88 1835.03 7684.07 46.57 4451.51 5877.89 170.03 870.02 231.03 419.77 1775.38 362.51 188.95 399.17 937.23 1211.64 1696.84 1.76

% change 8.37 3.50 1.59 18.48 4.44 18.57 0.11 10.76 14.21 0.41 2.10 0.56 1.01 4.29 0.88 0.46 0.96 2.27 2.93 4.10 0.00

Million Taka 231.47 123.36 28.70 675.39 91.33 685.17 0.00 302.72 400.79 13.62 60.00 12.87 28.19 139.57 37.65 5.11 29.57 70.16 152.69 149.39 0.37

Average (% change) 33.78 27.89 26.69 22.33 19.91 20.84 16.88 22.50 14.35 17.19 Average (% change) 40.89 31.60 27.32 26.95 24.35 21.67 19.79 22.73 21.25 17.78

Average (% change) -16.00 -9.80 -9.47 -15.13 -8.16 -8.09 -7.83 -7.36 -5.12 -8.39

Average (% change) -26.67 -21.25 -20.20 -18.04 -14.84 -10.50 -9.63 -10.92 -7.41 -6.70

CSE

Closing average 389.06 27.97 22.93 1,467.99 415.33 2,126.95 50.48 26.19 123.45 74.73

Closing average 410.00 1498.96 22.93 27.93 281.66 119.63 50.67 76.09 26.19 106.00

Closing average 62.43 5.80 8.03 10.88 15.30 18.07 5.18 19.27 7.78 100.66

Closing average

% change 7.15 3.81 0.89 20.86 2.82 21.16 0.00 9.35 12.38 0.42 1.85 0.40 0.87 4.31 1.16 0.16 0.91 2.17 4.72 4.61 0.01

110.00 6.30 7.90 62.12 10.90 8.10 46.00 15.33 20.37 5.29

Weekly closing 403.00 27.70 22.80 1,455.00 417.50 2,123.50 51.60 26.00 127.30 75.10

Weekly closing 410.00 1499.00 23.00 27.90 281.70 118.70 50.80 74.10 25.90 106.00

Weekly closing

Weekly high 403.00 29.30 23.80 1,590.00 418.00 2,150.00 52.20 27.50 129.30 76.90

Weekly high 410.00 1609.00 24.50 29.10 281.90 120.50 50.80 80.00 27.40 106.00

Weekly high

63.60 5.80 8.00 10.80 15.30 18.00 5.10 19.30 7.70 102.90

Weekly closing

314.30 21.80 17.80 1,285.00 338.30 1,815.00 42.40 22.00 108.00 63.10

Weekly low 410.00 1300.00 17.70 21.70 246.30 100.00 41.00 74.10 22.20 105.00

Weekly low

64.00 6.50 8.80 11.90 18.00 19.20 5.60 21.80 8.30 111.00

Weekly high

110.00 6.30 7.90 64.00 10.90 8.10 46.00 15.40 20.40 5.30

Million Taka 3694.60 1569.47 686.58 8323.27 1926.36 8369.24 46.57 4754.23 6278.68 183.64 930.02 243.90 447.96 1914.95 400.15 194.06 428.74 1007.39 1364.32 1846.22 2.13

Weekly low

59.00 5.80 8.00 10.40 15.10 17.60 5.10 19.00 7.60 96.50

Weekly low

110.00 7.00 10.00 68.00 12.10 8.30 46.10 16.70 22.50 5.90

Total

108.00 6.30 7.60 59.00 10.60 8.10 45.00 15.20 20.00 5.20

% change 8.28 3.52 1.54 18.66 4.32 18.76 0.10 10.66 14.07 0.41 2.08 0.55 1.00 4.29 0.90 0.43 0.96 2.26 3.06 4.14 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

40.863 1104.580 236.009 11.097 5.897 40.743 45.203 384.928 353.990 37.048

Turnover in million

11.77 4.22 1.29 142.00 3.38 69.64 0.68 -0.80 1.07 1.55

Latest EPS

0.082 0.271 34.256 62.820 0.259 11.586 1.480 0.532 27.078 0.004

Turnover in million

33.1 6.6 17.8 10.3 122.9 30.5 74.2 -ve 115.4 48.2

Latest PE

3.38 142.00 1.29 4.22 14.86 3.36 0.68 17.26 -0.80 20.76

Latest EPS

27.144 0.068 6.922 1.486 341.622 25.730 34.632 1.160 0.233 11.012

Turnover in million

Latest PE

121.3 10.6 17.8 6.6 19.0 35.6 74.5 4.4 -ve 5.1

Latest PE

6.45 0.56 0.87 -0.20 0.20 1.54 0.63 -2.12 -3.15 2.38

Latest EPS

0.000 0.001 0.021 2.218 0.023 0.162 0.175 32.220 0.033 4.120

9.7 10.4 9.2 -ve 76.5 11.7 8.2 -ve -ve 42.3

Latest PE

2.38 0.56 0.51 6.45 -0.20 0.87 2.20 0.20 0.85 0.63

46.2 11.3 15.5 9.6 -ve 9.3 20.9 76.7 24.0 8.4

CSE key features August 2-6, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

3,238.12 95,108,299 123,465

Traded Issues

283

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

175

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

102

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,626.54

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.84

DT

BUSINESS 19

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Stock markets marginally up in past week with buoyant trading n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N LafargeS Cement-A Islami Bank BD - A Square Pharma -A Beximco Pharma -A UNITED AIR-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Khulna Power-A Appollo Ispat CL -N Shasha Denims -N

FAR Chemical-N BSRM Ltd. -A Grameenphone-A BSRM Steels-A DESCO Ltd. -A Ifad Autos -N

Volume shares 11,431,425 10,180,739 40,559,190 3,726,786 13,953,337 87,016,840 26,289,587 11,285,258 34,912,331 15,363,672

13,354,339 6,629,529 2,127,492 7,621,146 8,965,224 5,696,805

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N UNITED AIR-A Olympic Accessories -N Beximco Pharma -A BSRM Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Khulna Power-A BSRM Steels-A Appollo Ispat CL -N

Square Pharma -A Islami Bank BD - A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Keya Cosmetics -A Shasha Denims -N

Volume shares 1,922,821 12,059,136 2,068,038 1,533,285 1,040,849 838,234 2,672,418 1,034,353 780,720 3,103,569

239,119 2,326,067 4,339,220 2,701,985 1,075,475

Value in million 1887.21 1279.46 1104.58 1003.22 993.11 987.72 900.53 857.65 789.51 712.51

709.98 698.40 693.89 685.81 680.11 669.83

Value in million 318.01 136.18 133.12 109.63 109.31 105.14 91.48 78.71 70.06 69.96

64.31 62.82 62.60 54.34 50.12

% of total turnover 4.56 3.09 2.67 2.42 2.40 2.39 2.18 2.07 1.91 1.72

1.72 1.69 1.68 1.66 1.64 1.79

% of total turnover 9.82 4.21 4.11 3.39 3.38 3.25 2.83 2.43 2.16 2.16

1.99 1.94 1.93 1.68 1.55

Weekly closing 172.10 123.30 27.70 265.80 68.90 11.20 33.90 73.80 22.80 44.70

52.30 108.90 323.80 89.70 73.10 114.30

Weekly closing 170.50 11.20 63.00 68.90 108.50 123.00 33.80 73.60 89.80 22.80

265.20 27.90 14.40 20.00 44.60

Price change 4.30 -2.91 26.48 -2.53 -1.15 2.75 0.30 -4.53 9.62 0.68

Weekly opening 165.00 127.00 21.90 272.70 69.70 10.90 33.80 77.30 20.80 44.40

Weekly high 179.50 129.60 29.30 273.00 73.10 12.00 34.80 78.90 23.70 48.60

Price change 3.33 2.75 -4.40 -1.43 11.86 -2.77 0.00 -5.03 6.15 9.62

Weekly opening 165.00 10.90 65.90 69.90 97.00 126.50 33.80 77.50 84.60 20.80

Weekly high 179.00 12.00 67.40 73.00 112.00 129.40 34.90 78.60 94.00 23.40

-1.69 12.04 -2.03 5.90 -2.01 1.06

-2.71 26.82 3.60 1.52 0.22

53.20 97.20 330.50 84.70 74.60 113.10

272.60 22.00 13.90 19.70 44.50

55.50 113.00 330.50 94.20 77.90 124.50

272.10 29.10 14.80 20.80 48.80

Weekly low 156.50 122.60 21.80 264.80 68.60 10.70 33.70 73.40 21.00 44.40

50.00 97.50 323.00 83.00 72.70 110.10

Weekly low 156.50 10.70 62.90 68.60 100.00 122.70 33.70 73.30 85.00 20.90

264.50 21.70 13.60 19.40 44.00

Weekly average 175.01 123.70 27.97 265.75 69.24 11.40 33.91 74.28 22.83 44.86

51.79 106.83 324.01 89.57 73.19 116.84

Weekly average 173.89 11.37 63.45 69.36 106.97 123.39 33.85 74.47 89.52 22.80

265.55 27.93 14.50 20.06 44.85

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

4864.45045

(+) 1.51%

1886.83329

(+) 0.16%

14909.7816

(+) 1.32%

12436.4344

(+) 1.75%

9079.9638

(+) 1.34%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stock markets witnessed a moderate rise in the past week with sharp increase in turnover after previous week’s profit booking marginal fall.

The week’s rally was pulled up by mainly financials, particularly heavyweight banks, whose half-yearly earnings results began to pour in the market.

The market was dominated by choppy trading.

The blue-chip comprising index DS30 gained nearly 3 points or 0.2% to 1,886. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, rose 7 points or 0.7% to end at 1,197.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, rose 120 points or 1.4% to 9,040.

The week’s daily average turnover on DSE was Tk827 crore, an increase of more than 22% over the previous week. Engineering, power and pharmaceuticals accounted for more than 50% of the week’s total trade volume.

Banks showed robust performance in the week, jumping over 5%, driven by sector’s heavyweight Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, which

gave over 26% return.

IDLC Investments said, “Investors remained cautious about price levels and kept on looking for undervalued issues with growth opportunities that were not priced yet.”

The search led to banks in the middle of the week as they were trading at drastically low P/Es, it said.

It, however, said the excitement could not be prolonged as investors’ confidence on the sector is yet to find a solid ground. Later on, investors scattered over sectors in search of undervalued stocks, it said.

Lock in on stocks of the large-cap United Power Generation and Distribution Company (UPGDCL) for institutional investors expired in the past week. Market had anticipated some correction to the stock price due to institutional sell pressure.

But, the stock kept on gaining 4.3% in the past week.

Among other well performing companies, non-banking financial institution rose 1.6%, and food and allied 0.8% and power 0.6%. Telecommunication, cement and pharmaceuticals declined. l

ANALYST

Investors remained cautious about price levels and kept on looking for undervalued issues with growth opportunities that were not priced yet

DT

20 BUSINESS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Muhith calls for private sector investment in infrastructure n Tribune Report

Finance Minister AMA Muhith emphasised that private sector should also invest in Bangladesh’s infrastructure development, a prerequisite to regional connectivity and expansion of trading activities with neighbours.

“About the infrastructure, the onus also lies on you (businesspeople),” he said at the opening session of an event titled “India– Bangladesh Business Conclave: The Way Forward” in Dhaka yesterday.

“This is an area (infrastructure) where least importance has so far been given by both the private sector and the government. But the government simply cannot do it alone.”

Muhith called on the businesses to develop big infrastructures including roads, railways and waterways under public-private partnership.

“In most places, we find PPP a wonderful model and we also should begin utilising it right now.”

This is for the first time finance minister attached such an importance to the PPP model since being launched in Bangladesh six years ago. The model has appeared unsuccessful so far.

The minister in his budget speech admitted the fact that PPP was yet to take off due to lack of institutional framework.

In the current fiscal year, the government lowered the allocation for PPP initiative to Tk2,000 crore from Tk3,000 crore last fiscal.

“Connectivity is needed for regional cooperation, trade and investment. Most important thing at this moment is connectivity. This is very very urgent,” Muhith stressed.

Assuring of give necessary supports to private sector in infrastructure development, finance minister said, “The government is there to assist you and I think the Indian government will also do the same.”

He said the infrastructure was also needed to facilitate transit, as Bangladesh was declared a transit country by the former Khaleda

Finance Minister AMA Muhith addresses the India-Bangladesh Business Conclave in the city yesterday Zia government. He said the present government “fully support the concept.”

Muhith added: “Perhaps, this is the first wholesale political decision taken by the country that Bangladesh wants to be a transit country.

“But its benefit is yet to be ripped mainly because of transportation difficulties—the easiest means of transportation.”

Indian envoy in Dhaka Pankaj Saran said role of business bodies were critical to improve infrastructure between the two sides and boost bilateral trade and investment.

“India is committed to move Bangladesh forward in all areas, particularly trade and investment,” Pankaj Saran said.

He suggested paying visits by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to India, exploring business opportunities and holding road shows and dialogues there.

FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed invited Indian private sector investment in development of infrastructural facilities like power and gas.

He emphasised that Bangladesh needed an investment of about US$10bn in energy sector alone in next five years.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

“We definitely need FDI in this area (energy sector), and Indian investors can avail the opportunity.”

FBCCI chief urged the Indian entrepreneurs to make joint-venture investment in manufacturing sector, particularly electronics, electrical machinery, finished jute products, diversified leather products and agro-processed goods, service sector, IT, tourism and health care.

ICC Director General Rajeev Sing said Indian entrepreneurs were very keen to invest in Bangladesh’s energy, education, IT, health and service sectors. l

Industries Ministry decides to pay $1.05cr Pakistani supplier’s credit

Oil prices set to continue multi-week decline

n Asif Showkat Kallol

Oil prices looked set to continue a multi-week decline in Asian trade on Friday on concerns over a global oversupply of crude and mixed prospects for energy demand.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery was at $44.81, down from $47.12 a week ago, and on course for its eighth consecutive week of declines.

Brent crude for September, meanwhile, was trading at $49.73 compared to $52.21 last week, and set for a sixth straight weekly fall.

In Asian trade through the day, both contracts were up slightly, with WTI rising 15 cents from $44.66 in New York and Brent

Industries Ministry has asked the finance division to arrange the remaining payment of $1.05 crore Pakistani supplier’s credit in 26 installments.

The credit had been taken 25 years ago for setting up Pabna Sugar Mills during the then BNP regime, official sources said.

Industries Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan in a letter sent to Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed requested disbursement of the fund from the current fiscal year budget.

The letter reads: “Due to financial loss, the

state-run Pabna Sugar Mills failed to pay the remaining installments of the credit after paying 15 such installments in 2014.”

Last month Pakistani authorities asked the Industries Ministry to pay the rest amount of money to Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The credit interest rate was only 2% per annum while the penal interest rate 1% plus London Inter Bank Offered Rate, added the letter.

Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation conducted an audit through the local chartered accountant firm AB SAHA & company regarding payment of the Pakistani supplier’s credit which now stands at $1.05 crore in 2015. l

n AFP, Hong Kong

gaining 21 cents from $49.52. A glut of crude oil supply is seen as the main driver for a sharp decline in oil prices that has seen crude fall about 50 percent from mid-2014 levels.

“The rebalancing of supply and demand will likely prove to be far more difficult than what was previously priced into the market,” US investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report, according to Bloomberg News.

“The risks remain substantially skewed to the downside.”

The United States is producing crude at high levels and output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continues to exceed the cartel’s quota of 30 million barrels per day. l

Donned right

DT

21

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

T-JUNCTION INSIDE

22 news

ULAB Charity Cultural Show

23

style session

Sari, not sorry trend alert

Bag in business

24

wardrobe check

Panjabi power Photo: Shoilpik

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

News

ULAB Charity Cultural Show Shoilpik’s monsoon collection

ULAB Social welfare Club believes in helping and supporting the needy and underprivileged community of all age groups for a healthy and peaceful society.

The Social Welfare Club of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) arranged the “Cultural Charity Show” on August 5, at ULAB auditorium with the objective of sharing happiness with underprivileged street children.

The program started at 2.30pm with an

inaugural speech by Prof H M Jahirul Haque, pro-vice chancellor, and continued with the performances given by highly motivated young students of ULAB and faculty members.

The show was organised by SWC’s advisor and associate professor of ULAB School of Business, Dr Pinki Shah. With a vote of thanks by SWC’s advisor, the activites successfully concluded. l

Shoilpik highlights the colours of monsoon with a new collection of saris, kameezes, tops, panjabis, fotuwas and T-shirts, all made to be stylish and comfortable.

EMERGED FROM UNKNOWN VII

Book launch ceremony at North South University

The book “GOVERNANCE in South, Southeast, and East Asia: Trends, Issues and Challenges”, collaboratively written by Prof Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman and Prof Syeda Lasna Kabir, and edited by Ishtiaq Jamil, Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman and Sk Tawfique M Haque, was launched by the Public Policy and Governance (PPG) Programme under the Department of Political Science and Sociology (PSS) of North South University (NSU).

The book launching ceremony took place at the Faculty Lounge of the university. Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser of the caretaker government of Bangladesh,

innaugaurated the book as the chief guest while M A Kashem, chairman, board of trustees of NSU, was present at the event as the special guest. Dr SK Tawfique M Haque, director of PPG Programme opened the floor with a welcome speech. Among the speakers were Dr Akbar Ali Khan and M Hafizuddin Khan, former advisers, of the caretaker government of Bangladesh; Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh and Prof M Emdadul Haq and Prof Abdur Rob Khan from the department of Political Science and Sociology of NSU, to name a few. l

To create awareness on autism and introduce the latent talents of special children, students’ association HANS, in partnership with Surf Excel, organised an 8-day art exhibition for the seventh time, starting on August 7 at DRIK Gallery, Dhanmondi, under the title “EMERGED FROM UNKNOWN VII.” The exhibition held around 120 paintings of special children from various special schools and will continue till August 14 every day from 3pm to 8pm.

The inauguration ceremony started with a press conference with Meer Sohrabul Hossain, chairman of HANS, Abul Barq Alvi, Professor, faculty of fine arts, University of Dhaka and Zaved Akhter, brand building director, Unilever Bangladesh Limited were present.

Followed by the press conference, Abul Barq Alvi along with the other guests cut the ribbon and the 8-day art exhibition began.

Meer Sohrabul Hossain said, “This exhibition is organised to spread the sphere of diversity among the autistic children. I invite everyone to be conscious about the exposure of their hidden talent

and come forward to help them.”

Abul Barq Alvi said, “The diversity in autistic children is not an impediment.

Rather, it’s a virtue that surpasses the creativity in many people. We should let this specialty bloom and not think differently about them and also should create such an environment where they can express their potential within the society.”

Zaved Akhter said, “I am amazed by the talent of the children taking part in this exhibition. I think it is fundamental to understand their colorful world.”

In Bangladesh there is a common perception among general people that Autistic people are disabled and incompetent. Through this event, the organisers wanted to enlighten the mass about the latent talent of the special children with autism. The pictures in the art exhibition are the reflection of their feelings and emotions. They express their unique thinking and take on life, culture, freedom fighting etc through painting.

All the pictures of this exhibition are for sale and the proceeds will be awarded to the painter’s family. l

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

style session

Sari, not sorry A beginner’s guide to saris

Volumising

If you’re a slender, willowy belle looking to add a little more curve to your shape, reach for organza, stiff-starched cotton, jamdani, fluffy tissue and tussar saris. These billow out beautifully, and draped in the mermaid style, is a head-turning look.

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad Is there any garment that flatters the curvy Bengali body the way a sari does? Even in this day of cultural fusion and the Middle East madness that has overtaken the city, with those elaborate long dresses and palazzos and aachkans, a sari stands out in its unbeatable elegance. Here’s a quick guide to help you pick the right one for you.

Vertical horizons

Curve contouring

If you’re a whole lotta woman, you want to go for fabrics that hug your assets and drape well, disguising parts you want to downplay.

Opt for flowy chiffons, georgettes, and crepes that drape well. Silk katan also has a visually slimming effect. Avoid organzas, kora, and tissue silks, since they flare out and can make you look bulky.

Petite ladies need to skip the wide borders and go for saris with thin, or even no borders. A monochromatic chiffon or crepe is a great choice.

The full wash of colour draws the eye vertically, adding inches to your frame. Pair with a pair of nude pumps to maximise on the heightening effect. l

trend alert

Cross-body envelopes

Bag in business

Party purses need not be limited to itty-bitty clutches. Look for edgy envelope bags on chains. The Art Deco trend continues to be popular through this season.

The Hobo

Meet the It bags of the season

n T-Junction Desk

Photo: La Mode

Shoes are the answer, whatever the question, but if you’re buying for a fashionista, bags make for a better, less personal, and overall more comfortable shopping experience. To make it even easier, here are this season’s trending bags.

The quilted classic

Photo: La Mode

With the 70’s fever running high, the hobo bag has the perfect Bohemian flair. Roomy and comfortable and oh so casual, these are a highly versatile choice for both work and play. The old reliable has received a contemporary update with fun prints and eco-friendly materials. l

Coco Chanel’s personal favourite, nothing screams “elegance” the way the classic quilted coach-style bag does. This season, get yours in a bright colour, and you’ll turn heads.

Beachy tote

Holiday season may be over for now, but there’s no reason not to retain those beachy fantasies, if only in the bag you carry. This season’s hottest totes have nautical stripes and come in a bright, clean colours.

Photos: Zia Uddin

Photo: Jutemart

Backpack

As we head back to school, backpacks are enjoying their month of popularity. Choose a light, breezy fabric and a bright colour to make yours stand out.

Photo: Apex

Photo: Jutemart

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24 T-JUNCTION

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Tailored

wardrobe check

his style

Panjabi power

Fade to white Stain alive: the white denim edition

Because, what’s cooler than a kurta?

n Baizid Haque Joarder It’s already disheartening to see some people complain about not having the “perfect attire.” Especially guys, who tend to complain about the lack of comfort, but would only think about wearing shirts and trousers EVERYTIME they’re going out. Well technically, there’s nothing wrong about that, but why settle for less when the options are endless?

This might seem like a rant to you but we simply do not give panjabis and kurtas the respect they truly deserve. Keeping that in mind, we decided to list all the marvellous reasons why you should go ethnic more often.

You look amazing!

Solid colours hardly ever miss when it comes to panjabis and you don’t have to think much about contrasting halves. Whichever colour you are donning, pair it up with a white or black pajama and it won’t be a miss.

Some kurtas even have quirky prints that are ready to bring out the hipster in you.

It makes you look stunningly regal, that too effortlessly, if you don it right. The best part is, they’re flattering on almost all body types.

n Mahmood Hossain Sweet dreams are made of these

Looking fly, comfortably Doesn’t matter if your clothes are worth millions, if you aren’t comfortable in them, you’ll probably look like a dime. When it comes to panjabis and kurtas, they are so comfortable that you can sleep in them.

Bear in mind that you’ll look good while you’re snoozing too. Imagine tackling the Dhaka heat wearing cotton pajamas instead of trousers that cling on to your waist like a baby koala; that’s the dream.

“Fashion has two purposes: comfort and love. Beauty comes when fashion succeeds.” - Coco Chanel Wearing a panjabi takes much less effort to dress. Team a fitted panjabi with a Nehru coat and you’re sophisticated enough for any formal event, day or night. It’s workappropriate, place-of-worship appropriate, just-chilling-with-friends appropriate and last but definitely not the least, it’s perfect for festivities.

With a pair of suitable shades, chances are you’re rocking your kurta already! Opt for loafers to give things a modern twist or go traditional all the way with chappals or kolapuris; the end result would have you looking elegant and dignified.

SWAG

It’s a symbol Panjabis and kurtas are often seen as a “South Asian revolutionary” outfit. A complimenting coat with your panjabi is all you need to get some of that political swag going on in your outfit. Politicians may not all have the most rational minds, but they sure do know how to keep things classy.

All in all, panjabis and kurtas have been a staple for mens wardrobe in this region for ages and have become an integral part of our culture. There are no credible reasons as to why said outfits shouldn’t be made mainstream.

Photo: Sailor

#PanjabiBackinVogue l

We know what you’re thinking; who in the right mind would be walking around in white trousers? Well, it’s not common, but why limit yourself, especially when white jeans are the champions of this summer, the number one item to support your derriere in the suavest way.

If you ever find yourself with what looks like a catastrophic stain (perhaps pasta sauce) on your white jeans, there’s a simple procedure to fix it all.

There’s no reason to panic if you think the party is over, as everyone stares at your eye-sore of a stain.

First thing is first, take your pants off. No, seriously. This isn’t your round about rub away stain process.

When using the following cleaning supplies, you don’t want any part of them touching your skin. It will bleed through, so take those pants off. And please don’t immediately start rubbing at the stain either. Believe it or not, it makes it more difficult to get the stain out. Any excess globs of matter should be removed before you get to the nitty gritty.

Sparkling water isn’t just great for those glassed concoctions. You can easily head off to your nearest Meena Bazaar and grab a bottle or can. Club soda has a better effect than the regular tap, while carbonated water makes for some fun bubbly action. The high sodium level helps dig in deep of the first state of the cleaning process.

Salt, gentlemen. This next element in your cleaning arsenal is used for its abrasive qualities. It gets straight into the stain and grinds out the harder parts of the stain. Pour whatever the required amount may be or depending on the size.

Scrub like you have never scrubbed before. You can either get a paper towel or smaller towel to scrub out the stain.

This is going to take a few minutes, so you can skip the forearm workout at the gym for the day. And when we say scrub hard, we don’t mean burn a hole in the denim; just give it a go without digging into it.

You didn’t think you could get rid of this without soap, did you? After the initial scrub, reach for the dish soap in your kitchen.

You know what to do. Scrub the crap out of it, again. Just don’t burn a hole.

Now, for the drying bit. You can either lock yourself in your friend’s room for 20 minutes for it to dry or head out to the shining sun. Okay, sure, it may look like you leaked in your pants but only for a little while, but it’s still better than having that stain bleed into your denim, that’s for damn sure.l

Joe Root has moved to the top of the Test batting rankings following his fine showing in this Ashes. Former No 3 Root replaced Steven Smith as AB de Villiers remains at No 2

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CLARKE TO RETIRE AFTER ASHES FINALE

27

BANGLADESH U12s BEGIN CAMPAIGN WITH WIN

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RUTHLESS ENGLAND REGAIN THE ASHES

Swansea thwart Chelsea, United open with win n AFP, London

EPL RESULTS Bournemouth

0-1

Aston Villa Gestede 72

Chelsea

2-2

Oscar 23, Fernandez 30-og

Everton

2-2

Barkley 76, Kone 86

Leicester

Watford Layun 14, Ighalo 83

4-2

Vardy 11, Mahrez 18, 25-P, Albrighton 66

Man United

Swansea Ayew 29, Gomis 55-pen

Sunderland Defoe 60, Fletcher 71

1-0

Tottenham

Walker 22-og

Norwich Redmond 69

1-3

Crystal Palace Zaha 39, Delaney 49, Cabaye 90

Manchester United’s Dutch winger Memphis Depay (2R) celebrates with English striker Wayne Rooney after United took the lead due to an own goal from Tottenham Hotspur’s English defender Kyle Walker (L) during their English Premier League football match at Old Trafford yesterday AFP

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off as Chelsea began their Premier League title defence with an engrossing 2-2 draw at home to an excellent Swansea City side on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho’s men were leading 2-1 at Stamford Bridge when Courtois was sent off for fouling Bafetimbi Gomis right on the edge of his area in the 52nd minute and the French striker scored the equaliser from the spot.

It was another impressive opening-day display by Garry Monk’s Swansea, who won 2-1 at Manchester United a year ago, and added weight to Mourinho’s prediction that Chelsea will face a fight to retain their title.

Diego Costa overcame hamstring trouble to start up front for Chelsea and after a bright start by Swansea, the home side went ahead in the 23rd minute when Oscar’s free-kick from wide on the left curled straight in.

Swansea debutant Andre Ayew equalised six minutes later, finishing smartly after an initial attempt had been blocked, only for Chelsea to regain the lead when Willian’s cross deflected off Federico Fernandez and looped over visiting goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for a cruel own goal. But after Swansea midfielder Jonjo Shelvey had hit the post from a corner, Courtois was sent off for felling Gomis and the former Saint-Etienne frontman beat Asmir Begovic from the spot to equalise. The dangerous Jefferson Montero twice tested Begovic and Gomis had a goal disallowed for offside, while Fabianski saved at his near post from Eden Hazard as a pulsating contest drew to a close.

Earlier, Kyle Walker’s own goal gave Manchester United a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, but Louis van Gaal’s reconfigured team showed plenty of ring rust.

Walker put through his own net in the 22nd minute, rushing back in an attempt to prevent England team-mate Wayne Rooney taking aim from Ashley Young’s cross and succeeding only in scuffing the ball into his own net.

United handed competitive debuts to Sergio Romero, Matteo Darmian, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, while Bastian Schweinsteiger came on in the second half to become the club’s first German player.

Leicester City finished the day on top of the table after Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez inspired them to a 4-2 home win over Sunderland at the King Power Stadium in Claudio Ranieri’s first game at the Foxes helm.

After Marc Albrighton teed up Jamie Vardy for an 11th-minute header, Mahrez scored with a header from another Albrighton cross and then added a penalty to put Leicester 3-0 up with only 25 minutes gone. l

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Clarke to retire after Ashes finale n AFP, Nottingham Australia captain Michael Clarke said Saturday he would retire from international cricket after the fifth Ashes Test against England at The Oval later this month.

The 34-year-old Clarke made his announcement after England completed a crushing innings and 78 run victory over Australia in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match Ashes series.

“I will have one more Test and that is the end of my career,” said Clarke during the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I am retiring from international cricket. I don’t want to jump ship now so I will have one more go at The Oval,” he added after reports in Australian media earlier Saturday that he was about to end his Australia career.

The fifth Test starts at The Oval, in south London, on August 20.

The 34-year-old Clarke, one of the best batsmen of his generation but plagued by a longstanding back problem and more recent hamstring trouble, is in a desperate run of form, having reached 25 just six times in his last 30 Test innings.

Clarke has made 28 Test centuries, one short of Australia batting great Donald Bradman’s tally, in his 114-match career.

England captain Alastair Cook paid tribute to

his opposite number by saying: “To Michael from the England team you were a fantastic player, fantastic leader. You should be remembered as a great captain.”

Saturday’s defeat saw Clarke become the first Australian in more than a century to lose four successive Ashes series in England.

Clarke averages just 16.71 in eight innings this Ashes, with a top score of 38 and, as a consequence, his career Test average has dropped below 50.

He retired from one-day international cricket after leading Australia to World Cup glory on home soil earlier this year, with Clarke saying he had made the decision in order to prolong his Test career.

One of the few major targets left for Clarke would have been to win a Test series in England, having previously been on the losing side during Australia’s tours in 2005, 2009 and 2013.

But this is one achievement that will now elude him.

“There’s no doubt I’ll always hold myself accountable, my performances haven’t been anywhere they need to be,” said Clarke.

“I don’t blame anyone in the changing room, but I haven’t led from the front.

“I started this great game at six years of age and I think it’s the right time to walk away now to give Australia the time to prepare for the next Ashes series. l

Salma and Co reluctant to visit Pakistan n Mazhar Uddin Bangladesh women’s captain Salma Khatun expressed her concern over the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s willingness to send the team to tour terror-stricken Pakistan this October.

The women’s team are currently preparing for the home series against South Africa, slated for next month, while the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers is also in their schedule later this year. However, in recent times the BCB has said it would send a two-member security team to Pakistan in order to assess the playing conditions and security arrangements before finalising the tour.

“We still do not know whether the tour is going to take place or not and it is too tough to say anything at the moment, but if BCB wants us to visit Pakistan we have to go,” said all-rounder Salma before admitting, “Yes,

there are fears and concerns among us.

“There has been turmoil in Pakistan and the recent attack on former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram raised more concerns among us and I hope the BCB will take a decision after taking all of these factors into consideration.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has been doing their best to try and convince the BCB to send its men’s team for a bilateral tour.

Although that wish remains unfulfilled, PCB chairman Shahryar Khan’s visit to the country late last year helped revive the relationship as Pakistan toured Bangladesh in April-May this year.

“The cricketers are not interested in touring Pakistan after knowing about the attacks on the Sri Lankan team (in 2009) and Wasim Akram (recently). If the former captain (Akram) of their country is not safe there, how will we feel safe in Pakistan?” said Panna

Ghosh, a senior member of the Bangladesh women’s team.

BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury, when contacted, said, “PCB proposed the tour as our women’s team have not played outside the country for a long time and they are looking forward to play overseas. We will send a security team to Pakistan to assess the current situation of the country and we do not have much time left in our hands as the tour is likely to take place this October.”

It should be mentioned, a security team from the BCB had earlier visited Pakistan in 2012, but two such proposed tours were called off by Bangladesh owing to security concerns.

In response, Pakistan pulled its players out from participating in the Bangladesh Premier League T20 in 2013 and the Dhaka Premier League, making the relation bitter between the two countries.l

Not thinking about cricket at the moment, says Shakib n Tribune Desk Maverick Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan yesterday informed that he is enjoying the well-deserved break and is not thinking at all about cricket right now.

The 28-year old said this to the media during the official inauguration of his restaurant “Shakib's Diner” in the capital's Banani yesterday.

“Cricket is not in mind right now. I will leave for the United States tomorrow along with my wife for a vacation. I want to enjoy my holidays. Upon my return, I will join the fitness camp [on August 22],” Shakib told the media.

Soon-to-be-father Shakib is the world's premier all-rounder in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals. l

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QUICK BYTES FINA WORLD SWIMMING C’SHIP

Sagor finishes 68th, Jewel 58th, Tumpa 98th

Mahfizur Rahman Sagor finished 68th among 113 participants in the 100-metre freestyle event of the 16th Fina World Championship in Kazan, Russia last Friday. The Bangladesh swimmer clocked 24.43 seconds to finish first in his respective heat but failed to better his personal record of 24.39 seconds that he set in the 2013 Fina World Championship in Barcelona, Spain. Sagor also finished first in the 100m freestyle heat three days ago.

Another Bangladeshi swimmer Jewel Rana finished eighth among 10 swimmers in the 50m backstroke heat. Jewel required 29.10 seconds and finished 58th among 68 swimmers.

Sonia Akter Tumpa, Bangladesh’s only female representative in Kazan, finished 98th among 113 participants in the 50m freestyle, taking 30.89 seconds to finish third in her respective heat.

–SHISHIR HOQUE

Cambiasso joins Olympiakos after Leicester exit Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, who played a crucial role in helping Leicester escape relegation from the Premier League last season, signed for Greek champions Olympiakos on Friday. Greek media reported that the 35-year-old signed a two-year contract and will be receiving two million euros annually for his services.

Cambiasso played 31 matches for Leicester last season, scored five goals and was voted the club’s player of the year.

–AFP

Lyon boost as star striker Lacazette extends contract Lyon received a massive boost on Saturday when star striker Alexandre Lacazette signed a new contract up to 2019, the Ligue 1 club announced. The deal appears to end any danger that last season’s top scorer in France with 27 goals would be lured away from the Stade de Gerland despite interest from some of Europe’s superpowers.

–AFP

McIlroy scheduled to play PGA Championship World number one Rory McIlroy is set to return from injury at next week’s PGA Championship after being scheduled to tee off in the first round, the PGA of America said Friday. The PGA said on Twitter that defending champion McIlroy had been grouped with US Open and Masters champion Jordan Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson for the opening round next Thursday at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

–AFP

Mourinho signs new four-year Chelsea deal Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on Friday signed a new four-year contract to stay in charge of the English champions until 2019, the club announced. The new deal for the 52-yearold was penned just a day before Chelsea begin the defence of their Premier League title at home to Swansea.

–AFP

The Bangladesh Under-12 football team are all smiles following their victory over Ansan Junior FC in the Asian Youth Football Fiesta at Anseong Sports Complex in South Korea yesterday BFF

Saff U-16 Championship kicks off today n

Shishir Hoque

The third edition of the Saff Under-16 Championship will get underway today when reigning champions India and Sri Lanka take on each other at Sylhet District Stadium at 5pm.

India assistant coach Bibiano Fernandes uttered words of confidence while facing the media in the pre-match press conference yesterday.

“We have a good team that I can expect to play positive football. Our target is to win the title,” said Bibiano before adding, “It’s true that we are the defending champions but that is in the past and what we now have is a different side.

They are talented and ready to take the field.”

While the Indians are targeting the title, the Lankans are eyeing a semi-final spot. If the islanders are to achieve their target, they must oust either the title holders or hosts Bangladesh from the group stage.

“We have been taking preparation for a month. India are favourites but we want to do something different. It’s a tough group where we face India and Bangladesh but I hope we can make into the semi-final,” Sri Lanka head coach Mohammad Roomy told the media yesterday.

The home side will begin their campaign against Sri Lanka this Tuesday before facing India two days later. All the matches will kick off at 5pm and will be held at SDS. l

BD U12s begin campaign with win n Shishir Hoque

The Bangladesh boys kicked off their Asian Youth Under-12 Football Fiesta campaign with a 1-0 victory over home side Ansan Junior FC at Anseong Sports Complex in South Korea yesterday.

Meraj scored the all-important goal in the eighth minute of the game. The game duration is 20 minutes.

The budding Bangladesh booters however, were held to a goalless draw in their other match of yesterday against INFC FC U-13 of South Korea at the same venue.

Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their third match today before facing East Timor later on the same day. A total of 15 Asian nations, split into two groups, are taking part in the event. l

REACTION TO ENGLAND’S ASHES WIN England captain Alastair Cook “I said I wouldn’t cry but maybe I might at some stage.

Someone told us to watch the Ashes from behind the sofa.

From where we’ve been as a side over the last 18 months, we’ve stuck to what we believe was the right thing to do. The way the lads stepped up has been unbelievable.”

England fast bowler Mark Wood “I can’t quite believe it. The summer couldn’t have gone any better for me. To miss out at Edgbaston and then to be back here and take the winning wicket is an incredible feeling, one I’ll never forget. I was still shaking in the dressing room half an hour later.”

England fast bowler Stuart Broad “Alastair Cook has stood up as a man and led from the

front - he’s a pleasure to play with, he’s got such hunger for England to do well.”

Former England captain Sir Ian Botham “Great day England win the ASHES! It doesn’t get any better !! Well played boys !!”

Australia captain Michael Clarke “It’s obviously a tough time.

I’m extremely disappointed with losing the Ashes and how I’ve performed.

England deserve so much credit - they outclassed us in this series and we need to learn from the way we performed.”

Former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne “Congratulations to Alastair Cook & the England team on the Ashes victory. Played fearless & entertaining cricket, was nice to watch !!”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan “Alastair Cook has led England with a real style in this series. He has put England in the right frame of mind to deliver their skills. This feels so much better than 2013. Australia were clear favourites, so this is an amazing achievement.”

Former Aussie fast bowler Glenn McGrath “Australia will make changes for The Oval. There will be a few guys left out and a few careers finished.

You live and die by your

England batsman Ian Bell “It’s amazing. Performances from the whole group have been incredible. This win is right up there.”

performances.”

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28 Sport

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

ENGLAND 3 AUSTRALIA 1

IN NUMBERS

4

Number of away Ashes Australia have now lost in a row; this is the longest such sequence for them since 1896-97 when they had lost the first-six Ashes series consecutively.

6

Ashes Tests won by Alastair Cook; among England captains only Mike Brearly (11) and WG Grace (8) have won more Ashes Tests than Cook. Percy Chapman also won six Ashes Tests.

5

Number of Ashes series wins Ian Bell has now been part of, which equals the most Ashes series wins for any England player since 1950. Ian Botham too featured in five Ashes wins, from seven series. This is Bell’s seventh Ashes series as well.

2

Number of England captains to win two or more home Ashes series before Alastair Cook. WG Grace had captained England in four Ashes wins at home and two of Mike Brearly’s three Ashes wins had come at home.

3

Man-of-the-match awards won by Stuart Broad in the Ashes - equals the second-most won by any England player since such awards started being given away. Ian Botham won five such awards during his career. Andrew Flintoff too won three such awards in the Ashes.

7

England captain Alastair Cook (L) and Ian Bell (2R) react as England’s Mark Wood (unseen) bowls Australia’s Josh Hazlewood during the third day of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, England yesterday. England are leading 3-1 ahead of the fifth and final Test at The Oval AFP

SCORECARD AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS 60 (S Broad 8-15) ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS 391-9 dec (J Root 130, J Bairstow 74; M Starc 6-111) AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS (overnight: 241-7) C. Rogers c Root b Stokes D. Warner c Broad b Stokes S. Smith c Stokes b Broad S. Marsh c Root b Stokes M. Clarke c Bell b Wood A. Voges not out P. Nevill lbw b Stokes M. Johnson c Cook b Stokes M. Starc c Bell b Stokes J. Hazlewood b Wood N. Lyon b Wood Extras (b20, lb16, w1, nb3)

R

B

52 64 5 2 13 51 17 5 0 0 4 40

83 74 9 6 37 118 57 16 17 10 12

Total (all out, 72.4 overs, 319 mins)

253

Fall of wickets 1-113 (Rogers), 2-130 (Warner), 3-136 (Marsh), 4-136 (Smith), 5-174 (Clarke), 6-224 (Nevill), 7-236 (Johnson), 8-242 (Starc), 9-243 (Hazlewood), 10-253 (Lyon) Bowling Broad 16-5-36-1; Wood 17.4-3-69-3 (2nb, 1w); Finn 12-4-42-0 (1nb); Stokes 21-8-36-6; Ali 6-0-34-0; Result England won by an innings and 78 runs Series England lead five-match series 3-1

Ruthless England regain the Ashes n Reuters, Nottingham England ripped out the last three Australia wickets for 12 runs to win the fourth Test by a crushing innings and 78 runs and regain the Ashes at a euphoric Trent Bridge on Saturday.

Ben Stokes had Mitchell Starc caught by Ian Bell at second slip for nought and Mark Wood bowled Josh Hazlewood for a duck.

Wood produced another ferocious fullpitched delivery to shatter Nathan Lyon’s stumps for four and complete the rout, sparking wild celebrations on the pitch and around the ground.

The England players celebrated in a huddle before going on a lap of honour to strains of “Rule Britannia” and “Land of Hope and Glory” as the crowd basked in the sunshine.

“It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t be happier,” England captain Alastair Cook told reporters.

England were whitewashed 5-0 in the last Ashes series in Australia in 2013-14 and the touring side had been strong favourites to retain the famous urn.

Adam Voges was left unbeaten on 51 in Australia’s total of 253 and Stokes finished with Test-best figures of 6-36.

England won the first Test in Cardiff by 169 runs but Australia bounced back to level the series with a crushing victory by 405 runs at Lord’s.

The hosts dominated the third Test at Edgbaston and won by eight wickets inside three days before dismissing Australia for 60 on the first day at Trent Bridge to set up another overwhelming victory.

“When you lose 5-0 there’s a big turnaround and a new side develops pretty quickly,” Cook said. “There’s a lot of talent and the guys have come in and done incredibly well.

“It all comes down to hard work. A lot of that work has been done over the last 18 months,” Cook said.

“I had to take a big step forward as captain.

I am quite stubborn and it took a while. But ultimately you are only as good as the other 10 players.”

England lead the series 3-1 with one match to play at the Oval starting on Aug. 20. l

Ashes Tests lost by Michael Clarke - the most by any Australian as a captain.

Overall, only three other captains have lost more Ashes Tests than Clarke. Archie McLaren lost 11 Ashes Tests, Mike Atherton lost nine and Johnny Douglas lost eight Ashes matches.

1986

Last time in the Ashes a team made a first-innings total lower than England’s 391 in this Test and still went on to win by an innings. On that occasion too, England beat Australia, by an innings and 14 runs at the MCG, after posting a total of 349 in their first innings. Overall, there have been 12 such instances in the Ashes including this Test and only five have happened since the 1900s.

1921

Last time before this series a team lost back-to-back Tests in the Ashes, each within three days. On that occasion though, Australia were on the winning side, beating England inthree consecutive Tests, each within three days.

6/36

Ben Stokes’ bowling figures in Australia’s second innings - his best in Tests. This was also his second 5-for in Tests. His first five-for had also come against Australia, at the SCG in 2014. On that too, Stokes took six Australian wickets.

Stokes has taken 23 of his 37 Test wickets in the Ashes.

5

Number of times two England bowlers have taken six-wicket hauls (or better) in an Ashes Test including Stuart Broad and Stokes in this match. This is the second time in this series that two England bowlers have taken such hauls in a match. At Edgbaston, James Anderson and Steven Finn had taken six-wicket hauls.

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Lucas lifts 10-man PSG to rare seasonopening win n AFP, Paris Japanese teen Watanabe wins world breaststroke gold n AFP, Kazan Japanese teenager Kanako Watanabe won the women’s 200m breaststroke gold at the world swimming championships on Friday to claim her second medal in Kazan.

Watanabe, 18, clocked two minutes, 21.15 seconds with Micah Lawrence of the United States taking silver at 1.29 back. It was the second gold for Japanese women in the Kazan pool in as many days after Natsumi Hoshi claimed a surprise victory in the 200m butterfly on Thursday. It was the five foot, five inch Watanabe’s second medal in Kazan after silver in the 200m individual medley on Monday. l

DAY’S WATCH Ten Sports 8:00PM Moto GP 2015: Race Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix 3:00AM WTA: Bank of West Classic Final

Ten Cricket 5:00PM New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe 1st T20I 9:00PM French Ligue 1 2015/16 Toulouse FC v AS Saint-Etienne

Ten Action 5:00PM Sky Bet Championship 2015/16 Preston North End v Middlesbrough 8:00PM DFB Pokal (German Cup) 2015/16 Chemnitzer FC v Borussia Dortmund 1:00AM French Ligue 1 2015/16 Olympique Lyonnais v FC Lorient

Brazilian Lucas Moura of Paris St Germain is about to score the winning goal during their French Ligue 1 match against Lille at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascqon last Friday REUTERS

A second half goal from Brazilian winger Lucas Moura gave ten-man Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win, their first in a Ligue 1 opener since their new Qatari owners took over in 2011, at Lille on Friday.

The three-time Ligue 1 champions were a player down after half an hour after midfielder Adrien Rabiot was given his marching orders for two yellow cards in the space of five minutes.

Rabiot picked up the first on 22 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Lille midfielder Florent Balmont, and minutes later was sent off by referee Fredy Fautrel for a foul on defender Sebastian Corchia.

The 20-year-old Rabiot, who had a spat with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during a friendly against Chelsea in July, had been favoured by Laurent Blanc over Thiago Motta despite several run-ins with the coach at the end of last season.

The Parisians had been struggling to contain Lille who finished eighth last season and were playing their first competitive match under new coach Herve Renard.

Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore filled in for injured Swede Ibrahimovic while awaiting the availability of new Argentinian recruit Angel Di Maria.l

Wenger talks up Arsenal’s title chances n AFP, London Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal’s title rivals that his resurgent side are finally strong enough to end the club’s 12-year wait to win the Premier League.

Wenger’s team kick off the new campaign against West Ham on Sunday and the mood at the Emirates Stadium will be one of unbridled optimism in the aftermath of a pair of Wembley victories that are being hailed around north London as the foundations of a sustained title challenge.

FIXTURES Arsenal v West Ham United Newcastle United v Southampton Stoke City v Liverpool Despite finishing 12 points behind Chelsea in third place last term, Arsenal have the feel of a team on the rise and Wenger is so confident in his squad that the signing of Petr Cech, the veteran goalkeeper lured across London from Stamford Bridge, was his only major pre-season signing.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes Stoke will face a much different team than the one they humiliated at the end of last season when the Reds return to the Britannia Stadium for their Premier League opener on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Steve McClaren returns to the Premier League on Sunday when Newcastle United take on Southampton, who represent the ideal blueprint for his attempt to transform a team who were only 90 minutes away from starting this season in the Championship.l

Star Sports 2 08:50AM Tri Series India A v South Africa A Pro Kabaddi League 2015 8:20PM Mumbai v Kolkata 9:30PM Delhi v Patna

Star Sports 4 English Premier League 6:30PM Arsenal v West Ham United 9:00PM Stoke City v Liverpool 12:30AM ATP: Citi Open Washington DC Final

Juventus’ Argentinian forward Paulo Dybala (L) scores his team’s second goal during the Italian Super Cup final against Lazio in Shanghai yesterday.

Juventus won 2-0 AFP

DT

30 DOWNTIME

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Tribal symbols (6) 5 Poor actor (3) 7 Metal-bearing rock (3) 8 Sea robber (6) 11 Armed conflict (3) 12 Closes up (5) 14 Bill of fare (4) 16 Staggers (5) 18 Embellish (5) 20 Part of the eye (4) 21 Brings up (5) 23 Doctrine (3) 24 Temporary stops (6) 27 Choler (3) 29 Drowsy (6)

DOWN 1 Helpful hint (3) 2 Hill (3) 3 Effacement (7) 4 Limiting mark (4) 5 Small cable (6) 6 Marsh (6) 9 Decorated a cake (4) 10 Corn spike (3) 13 Freedom from occupation (7) 14 Evil intent (6) 15 Regular (6) 17 Citrus fruit (4) 19 Short sleep (3) 22 Scoff (4) 25 Bishop’s territory (3) 26 Secret agent (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents N so fill N every time the figure 15 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

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Film screening at Shilpakala Academy n Showtime Desk Castaway Man | Kesang Tseten | 82 mins | 2015

Dor Bahadur Bista, Nepal’s most controver-

sial intellectual of modern times, disappeared without a trace in 1996. He became an anthropologist by assisting well-known anthropologist Fuerer Haimendorf, but was mostly self-trained. He controversially argued that Nepal didn’t develop because of Brahminism, values of fatalism and hierarchy of the caste system. Stirring acrimony, he moved to remote Jumla to put his ideas into practice. Speculation over his disappearance include his upper-caste enemies; his alleged affair with a young woman under his mentor-ship; and becoming a renunciate on the banks of the Ganges in North India.

Kesang Tseten is a Nepali writer-turned film maker of Tibetan origin. His films have been screened internationally and have won prestigious awards there.

A Walnut Tree | Ammar Aziz | 92 mins | 2015

An old man reminisces about a distant homeland he wants to return to. The son and daughter-in-law argue with him. The grand children watch the tension rise. Internally displaced and forced to live in a camp, the family is caught between memories of what life used to be, insecurity of the present and the bleakness of future. The sadness and tension is unbearable, something is

Stewart bids farewell from The Daily Show

CELEBS ON SOCIAL Anna Kendrick @AnnaKendrick47 Sometimes I just open Twitter, hit the home icon, and close it again. #GottaClearThatBlueDot

about to happen.

Ammar Aziz is a Lahore-based independent documentary film maker and a left-wing activist. Featured in the Christian Science Monitor’s ‘30 under 30’ from all over the world for his art and activism, he was the only Pakistani film maker to be selected for the Talent Campus of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012. Ammar is the founding director of SAMAAJ, a newly formed non-government, non-profit organisation for creating rights awareness among the marginalised communities of Pakistan. l

End of an era

The wedding much waited for

n Showtime Desk America's number one satirist Jon Stewart leaves the hit program The Daily Show, which never held back in their comments on current political affairs and media.

Being restless for months, Steward wanted to move on despite the disappointment of his fans. After 16 years on the show, he finally does.

Joined by the sidekicks of the show, videos were shown of the most hilarious moments of Stewart over the years on the last show. "Guess what?" Stewart said as the final show began, "I've got big news. This is it." l

n Showtime Desk Known best as Rachel from the hit TV series Friends, Jennifer Aniston reportedly got married to her fiance Justin Theroux at their Bel Ait mansion recently. This is her second marriage, the first being with Brad Pitt which ended in 2005, following relationships with Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.

Aniston has been a victim of controversy and media ever since her divorce, and it is hoped that will end after the last ten years.

Aniston, 46, and Theroux, 43, got engaged when Theroux popped the question on his birthday in August 2012.

No official confirmation of the wedding were given but Aniston’s representatives were reached out to by Sky News for a comment. l

Carly Rae Jepsen @carlyraejepsen I am heart broken that our trip to Taiwan is postponed bc of the typhoon- but we hope to be there soon to party with you all! Xoxo Becky G. @iambeckyg Make-up can’t cover everything....

WHAT TO WATCH Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol Zee Studio 6:45pm Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates “Ghost Protocol”. Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency’s name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg Thor 2: The Dark World Star Movies 9:30pm When Dr Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful object, Thor must protect it before an army and its ruthless leader try to get their hands on it to take over the remains of Earth.

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston 300: Rise of an Empire HBO 7:36pm Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

Cast: Eva Green, Hans Matheson, Lena Headey

DT

32 BACK PAGE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

NBR TO AUDIT TAX FILES OF BIG, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES PAGE 15

RUSTY MAN UNITED BENEFIT FROM WALKER CHARITY PAGE 25

FILM SHOW AT SHILPAKALA PAGE 31

Foreign pressure mounting for mid-term polls?

Hossain Shaikh and n Emran Pavel Haider Chowdhury The government is facing fresh foreign pressure for holding mid-term polls, several policy-makers of the Awami League government have suggested, according to an exclusive report by Bangla Tribune.

Seeking anonymity, a number of influential ruling party leaders have reportedly told Bangla Tribune that internal discussions are going on in closed forums about this.

However, the government is unlikely to cave to the pressure, and is confident that it will be able to complete its full tenure up to 2019. The government has been using the militancy issue as a shield against the international pressure, and feels that this is a persuasive argument to not disrupt the status quo.

In addition, the government has also made it a point to communicate and broadcast its economic and development achievements to project a positive image among the international community.

US taking lead

Bangla Tribune reports that it has learned that the development partner apparently showing the most enthusiasm for a mid-term national election in Bangladesh is the US. And for this, the country is banking on India, which has very good relations with Bangladesh.

Sources also said that the Obama government wants to highlight the agenda of the meetings that special UN envoy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco had with the AL and BNP before the January 5 election last year.

One of the resolutions of those meetings was that the January 5 election was just a constitutional formality and there was a pledge for a mid-term election in the quickest possible time. However, because the BNP is now not in a strong position in the political arena, the government sees no need to show any flexibility in this regard.

India the conduit

Against this backdrop, a number of people

from the policy-making level of the AL have admitted that several western countries have been trying to put pressure on the government through India.

At the same time, they have also communicated with conviction that there will not be any elections before 2017 at the very earliest, and that too only under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership.

‘We continue to support an inclusive, participatory electoral process; however, the people of Bangladesh must decide the timing of any future elections. We continue to call on all parties in Bangladesh to work within the political space’ India however has still not shown any interests about enforcing a mid-term election in Bangladesh.

All of the above has been confirmed to Bangla Tribune by two ministers and two secretaries of the ruling party, all of whom requested anonymity, but were willing to speak extensively off the record.

Senior leaders’ denial

But several senior leaders of the ruling party have rubbished all talk of international pressure as nothing more than rumour and gossip.

Suranjit Sengupta, a member of the Awami League advisory council, told Bangla Tribune: “What pressure are you talking about? It is true that there is pressure, but the BNP will have to fix its politics first. They will have to shun the path of militancy and extremism.

If they can do that, then we will see. I do not think the US and the European countries will make the mistake of bringing a pro-militancy force to Bangladesh’s state power through election. There might be meetings here and

there between people, but there is no way that an election can be squeezed out from somewhere.”

According to insiders, sensing the foreigners’ attitude, the BNP has recently started giving statements demanding mid-term election. This is a turnaround for the BNP after a break of about three months following a failed movement staged during the previous three months for the same demand.

The ruling party is also hopeful about completing its full tenure in light of the fact that the BNP organisational structure has been left in tatters due to its failed movement to agitate for mid-term polls.

The government has also assumed that the BNP would come to election in 2019, even if it is held under Sheikh Hasina. This is because two consecutive national election boycotts would result in cancellation of the party’s registration with the Election Commission and the BNP would not take that risk.

Suranjit admitted that during their meeting with Taranco, there was a pledge for holding a fresh election soon after the January 5 elections. The veteran leader was a member of the Awami League delegation in that meeting.

“It was said at that time ‘Let this election be held; then we will have another election.’

But BNP did not act in that line. They broke that condition by boycotting and trying to prevent that election. So, that issue was settled there,” Suranjit pointed out.

Awami League presidium council member Kazi Zafarullah said: “There is a rumour that there is international pressure on the government for a mid-term election. But I think this rumour is baseless.”

Another presidium member and also Health Minister Md Nasim said: “There might be different pressures at times. We also felt pressure when we executed the verdict against the war criminals. But Sheikh Hasina is not the kind of leader to bow to such pressures.”

Joint General Secretary Mahub-ul Alam Hanif said: “There is no possibility of any midterm elections. Talk of international pressure is nothing but rumours.”

Word from New Delhi

Meanwhile, several South Bloc leaders have reportedly admitted that the US has been trying to implement its agenda in Bangladesh using India, but India’s stance regarding Bangladesh is very clear cut: “India believes that there is a democratically elected government in Bangladesh. India has never interfered with Bangladesh’s internal matters, and it never will.”

However, no matter what they say in front of television cameras, Indian officials have said off the record that it is true that the US wants to see a mid-term election in Bangladesh.

Washington has already requested New Delhi to talk to Sheikh Hasina about holding an election (that will have to be held long before 2019) in which parties including BNP will participate. This request has been forwarded through diplomatic and other channels.

The problem is, India itself is not convinced that Bangladesh now needs a mid-term election.

A source from the Indian foreign ministry said: “How would we try to convince someone about something that we ourselves are not convinced about? Moreover, we do not have anything to gain from a mid-term election in Bangladesh. In fact, Sheikh Hasina has managed to bring things under control to a great extent. Now there is nothing to lose if an election is held at the designated time.”

When contacted, the US embassy in Dhaka said in an e-mail message: “We continue to support an inclusive, participatory electoral process; however, the people of Bangladesh must decide the timing of any future elections.

We continue to call on all parties in Bangladesh to work within the political space.”

Ann B. McConnell, public affairs officer of the embassy, also wrote: “The United States enjoys strong bilateral relations with both Bangladesh and India and continues to work together to advance our shared regional and global objectives, including cooperation on democracy and governance, trade, and security cooperation.

“We also support democracy as a key element in promoting stability, security, and prosperity in South Asia and throughout the global arena.” l

Police seek no remand for Mufti Izhar n Tribune Report

A Chittagong court yesterday sent senior Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury to jail in a case filed over grenade blasts at his Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa that killed three students in 2013.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abdul Quader passed the order when Izhar was produced before the court, said CMP Detective Branch’s Additional Deputy Commissioner SM Tanvir Arafat.

Police did not submit any remand petition as decided earlier.

Izhar, 70, the ameer of an Islami Oikya Jote faction and also the chairman of a Nezam-eIslam faction was arrested on Friday by the DB

police after two years of hiding. He was facing arrest warrants in three cases filed over the blast that took place on October 7, 2013.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police on Friday also formed a 10-member committee to interrogate Izhar to know whether he had any connection with the recent killing of bloggers, and any local or international militant group.

He was supposed to be placed at the court with a 10-day remand prayer, CMP DB officials had said.

Sources said the detectives on Friday night scrutinised Izhar’s case records and found that he had no other cases than the three. So they decided not to interrogate him.

Izhar’s Jamiyatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa

has long been known as a den of Islamist militant outfit Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB), banned in 2005. Izhar played a significant role in spreading the network of the radical outfit across the country since early 1990s with the ultimate goal of launching a jihad.

Sources said Izhar had very close links with Osama Bin Laden of al-Qaeda and Mullah Omar of Taliban. He travelled to Afghanistan on several occasions and met Laden, Omar and many other Taliban leaders, as described in different publications circulated within the Huji network.

After the 2013 blasts, the law enforcers recovered hand grenades, grenade-making materials and 18 bottles of picric acid used to amplify the magnitude of explosions.

Izhar, his son Harun Izhar and seven others were indicted last year in the three cases filed with Khulshi police. Izhar first secured bail last year for eight weeks, but did not surrendered after the term expired.

Sources said that he had been hiding in a madrasa in the city’s Bakalia area. Locals said that Izhar had been leading the Jum’a prayers at Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa mosque for the past few months.

Police’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion arrested him in December 2010 in connection with two criminal cases filed in Chittagong.

Later the Criminal Investigation Department showed him arrested in a case to investigate his HujiB links. l

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