August 12, 2015

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015 |

Shraban 28, 1422, Shawwal 26, 1436

TOFAIL: GSP SUSPENSION POLITICALLY MOTIVATED PAGE 15

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 118

BANGLADESH BLOW AWAY ISLANDERS PAGE 26

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

HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICTS RISING PAGE 32

Death for Siraj the Butcher n Ashif Islam Shaon A war crimes tribunal in Dhaka has awarded death penalty to Bagerhat razakar leader Sheikh Sirajul Haque alias Siraj Master and imprisonment until death to another razakar leader Khan Akram Hossain for genocide, murder, abduction and forceful conversion of Hindus into Islam in 1971.

Former Muslim League leader Siraj Master, who was also known as Siraj the Butcher, was sentenced to death on five charges and acquitted of one charge. Three charges were brought against Akram Hossain of which he was found guilty in one.

The International Crimes Tribunal 1 pronounced the judgement yesterday morning.

It said that Kosai Siraj could be executed by hanging by the neck or by shooting until he is dead, as decided by the government.

Siraj was so vicious that he used to slit the throat of at least one person captured by his followers, before taking breakfast. He was also a key associate of razakar founder AKM Yusuf during the war.

According to a 2001 report of the daily Janakantha, Siraj used to kill 10 freedom fighters every day by axe. He was also named in the list of Peace Committee members of Khulna as a razakar. The verdict says that Siraj

Niloy killers bought four SIM cards n Mohammad Jamil Khan

The killers of secular blogger Niladri Chatterjee Niloy bought four new SIM cards without proper documents just six days before the murder at his rented flat in the capital’s Goran on Friday, detectives said yesterday.

“Using fake identities, the killers collected the SIM cards from a shop. These numbers were only used inside the building where the killing took place,” a high official of police’s Detective Branch told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The official, requesting anonymity, said that they had found the numbers active for a couple of minutes during the murder and that those were found switched off since then.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

PAGE 3 Woman raped inside a training centre in Chittagong

War criminals Sheikh Sirajul Haque alias Siraj the Butcher and Khan Akram Hossain being taken on to a prison van outside the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka yesterday after they were handed down death penalty and imprisonment until death respectively MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU was a surrogate of local Razakar commander Rajob Ali Fakir.

In its observation, the three-member tribunal led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim said that no punishment other than death can be proper for Siraj Master’s horrific crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War. “...The fierceness of the events of genocide and crimes against Humanity were extremely detrimental to basic humanness. It deserves

to be evaluated as ‘crimes of serious gravity’ intending to demean the human civilisation,” it said in the judgement.

The tribunal started reading the 133-page verdict against the war criminals around 11am in presence of the duo.

The court earlier abated the third accused, Abdul Latif Talukder, from the charges as he died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on July 28.

Bangladesh a transit hub for fake rupee smuggling n Mohammad Jamil Khan Over the last few years, Bangladesh is being used as a transit for smuggling counterfeit Indian currencies. Syndicates based in a number of countries, especially Pakistan, have been doing this, intelligence agencies have said.

To find out more about this and ways to tackle the smuggling, a team from an Indian state intelligence agency has come to Bangladesh.

The Indian National Intelligence Agency (NIA) team, led by their inspector general, will hold meetings of the joint task-force at the police headquarters in Dhaka today and tomorrow, says a document of Bangladesh Police signed by Mokhlesur Rahman, an additional inspector general of police.

PAGE 5 Bleak job prospects for seafarers

Seeking anonymity, an official of Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told the Dhaka Tribune that 151 cases have been filed here since 2009 in connection with smuggling of fake rupees.

Most of the fake currencies were smuggled into Bangladesh from Pakistan, Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia, the high-ranked CID official said.

Customs officials said several consignments of fake Indian rupees have been caught in recent times at the Dhaka and Chittagong airports.

In February, a Pakistani diplomat was withdrawn from Dhaka after local intelligence dug out his involvement with terror financing and currency forgery.

The diplomat, Mohammad Mazhar Khan,

They were indicted on November 5 last year on eight charges of crimes against humanity including genocide, murder, abduction and forceful conversion of Hindus into Islam in Bagerhat during the war.

The prosecution submitted a list of 64 witnesses along with formal charges and documents. But at the time of the trial, the prosecution produced 32 witnesses including  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

24th BCS cadres to get ‘scrapped’ selection grade n Asif Showkat Kallol

The twenty-fourth batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) began receiving selection grade financial benefits from July 2 despite the new pay scale scheduled to come into effect on July1 that abolished selection grades, official sources said.

The Public Administration Division issued a circular yesterday announcing selection grade benefits for around 350 BCS officials of the 24th batch, who will receive the first tranche of the payouts.

A Cabinet Division official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “It might be alright for civil servants to receive selection grade increments at this time. But if the new pay scale is applied retroactively from July 1, as was proposed earlier, then it may not be

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 6 Jessore fish farmers lose Tk50cr due to unknown disease

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 7 Your mini fire station on the go

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Bangladesh a transit hub attaché at the consular section of the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka, was also an agent of his country’s secret service ISI, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry officials said at that time.

He had allegedly set up a wide network of manufacturing and distributing fake Indian currency.

In the last week of April, customs officials seized a consignment with a face value of Rs600 crore. The massive consignment of rupees, packed in a big carton, was seized from the cargo lounge of the Dhaka airport.

Two weeks before that, a Bangladeshi national named Mohammad Sajjad Hossain was arrested at the Dhaka airport along with fake Indian bills with a Rs2.5-crore face value.

The detectives were able to trace the shop and detained the seller for interrogation. But quizzing him, they did not get any information about the killers.

They earlier said that the two guard dogs living on the building premises had been killed within two weeks before the murder.

The samples – a towel and a T-shirt, found outside the building – were sent to the forensic wing of the Criminal Investigation Department yesterday. Investigators think that they will be able to get more clues about the killers once the results reach them, Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner (media) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said.

The DB police said that they had kept three suspects under surveillance. The law enforcement agency thinks that banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team was behind the murder of Niladri, also known as Niloy Neel.

Critic of all religions including Islam, Niloy also used to write against radical Islamists and Jamaat-e-Islami, and on social injustice.

He completed master’s in philosophy from the Dhaka University two years ago.

Apart from the DB, teams of the CID and the Rapid Action Battalion are also working to trace the killers.

A high official of DB police said: “We have come to know that at first a killer entered the flat forcefully. As he used his phone, the three other killers appeared in the scene.

Using the information, we found that four new SIM cards were used at that time and switched off under the coverage of the same mobile tower.”

The killers bought the SIMs without providing proper documents, for which the detectives could not trace them, said the official adding that they were further investigating

the matter.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that they had got much evidence and clues over the murder.

“We are trying to identify the killers effectively so that no innocent person is harassed,” he said at a programme in the city yesterday.

In response to a query by reporters about Khilgaon police’s refusing to file Niloy’s general diary in May, the minister said that action would be taken if any police officer was found responsible for neglecting duties.

Kamal warned that the police would also take action against those who make insulting remarks on religions since it is a criminal offence. “No one have the right to make derogatory comments against a religion.”

The decision was taken at a meeting of the law enforcers recently, he added.

Ansar Al Islam, who claimed responsibility for the murder on Friday, warned the other secular activists saying that they would continue to launch attacks on the enemies of Allah and the Prophet. “If your ‘freedom of speech’ maintains no limits, then widen your chests for the ‘freedom of our machetes,’” the email reads,” they said in an email.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the killing in her speech on Saturday and warned that her government would not allow killing in the name of Islam.

However, on Sunday, police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said that free-thinkers and bloggers should not cross the limit of tolerance while expressing their views on religion.

Speaking at a press conference, he also said that they do not support killing someone for writings. “If any person is hurt by any writing, s/he may take legal action. They can file a case with the police. Everyone should obey the law.” l

trol a huge crowd who came to see him.”

According to the prosecution, the trio took training under the Pakistani occupation forces at an Ansar Camp in Khulna and set up razakar units in different areas of Bagerhat.

Subsequently they carried out killings, genocide, rape, loot, arson and forced conversion from those camps.

According to the indictment order, Siraj Master was a teacher of Khulna Multilateral High School until 1971. He was an activist of National Students’ Federation during his student life and thereafter he joined the Muslim League. In 2001, he joined the BNP and was active in the party until 2006.

During the war, he joined the razakar force, an auxiliary unit of the Pakistani Army, became a potential leader of the force in the then Bagerhat sub-division.

On the other hand, Akram served as a mechanic at the Agriculture Department and retired from the service in 2011. He joined razakar force and become the camp commander of Daibbagati and engaged in crimes in Bagerhat.

Latif was elected a member of Raripara union Kochua police station in 1985. He was a local leader of Jatiya Party. In 1990, he joined the Awami League. He died under trial.

Akram and Latif were arrested on June 10 and June 20 last year, and Siraj on July 21.

50 Hindus in Ranjitpur village under Bagerhat sadar and looting their houses. The tribunal said that the attack had been launched “with specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Hindu religious group.”

On May 21, when several thousand Hindu men gathered at Kalimandir in Dakra of Rampal to take refuge in India, an armed group killed around 600-700 Hindus. Siraj was involved in the killings.

Collaborators on June 18 captured 19 pro-Liberation people of Besargati and Kandapara under Bagerhat sadar, tortured and killed them. Siraj is found to have been involved in the killings.

The notorious collaborator allegedly took part in the looting of 50 houses of Chulkathi village. A total of seven pro-Liberation people were murdered and 50 houses looted and torched.

On November 5, the trio attacked civilians at Shakharikathi Haat under Kochua. A total of 42 pro-liberation people were killed and many houses looted in that incident.

Five persons of different villages of Kochua were abducted, confined, tortured and subsequently killed by the three war crimes accused on November 22, the charge sheet says.

Akram and Latif detained freedom fighter Fazlur Rahman of Teligati village and killed him on December 13.

It, however, mentioned about section 368 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which provides that when any person is sentenced to death, it shall direct that he be hanged by the neck till he is dead. On the other hand, section 34 (A) of the Special Powers Act, 1974 says that when a person is sentenced to death, the sentence may be executed by hanging him by the neck or by shooting him till he is dead.

“So, it appears that in our jurisdiction a death sentence may be executed either by hanging the accused by the neck or by shooting him, till he is dead,” the verdict reads.

“However, as and when any one of the five sentences to death will be executed, the other sentences to death would naturally get merged into the sentence to death first executed.”

Charges

The tribunal in its judgement said that there is no specific provision relating to the mode of execution of death sentences.

He was arrested when he arrived on a flight from Qatar’s Doha. Further probe found that he had travelled from Karachi to Doha and boarded the flight to Dhaka after a three-hour stopover.

Sajjad was a frequent visitor to Pakistan and he had visited Karachi a few days after getting a new passport. The probe also showed that the Pakistan High Commission had issued him visa a number of times.

CID officials said that the syndicates smuggle in the fake currencies and send them to the areas near the Indian border.

The use of Bangladesh as a transit for gold smuggling into India has also risen in recent years after India raised the duty on the import of gold ornaments. l

24th BCS cadres appropriate for them to receive these selection grade payments.”

The official said the government had delayed the payment of civil servants ‘ salary cheques because a suitable alternative to the existing time scale and selection grade provisions had not been agreed upon.

The official added that many powerful administrative officers were members of the 24th BCS batch, hinting that they may have had some influence on the decision to issue the circular.

According to Finance Division data, nearly two-thirds of the country’s 2.1 million public servants will lose out financially if time scales and selection grades are scrapped in accordance with the National Pay and Service Commission recommendations.

The National Pay and Services Commission (NPSC) and a secretary-level review committee earlier proposed to remove time scale and selection grade provisions from the new pay scale.

The two government bodies recommended

Niloy killers bought four SIM cards

a cumulative increment policy for civil servants to become effective from July 1, instead of the existing time scale and selection grade.

Under the time scale and selection grade systems, public servants receive salary increments without being promoted.

Some 4,500 officials of the 24th batch of the BCS will receive selection grade benefits in phases, according to Ministry of Public Administration sources.

Under the existing selection grade provisions, senior assistant secretaries will receive Tk22,500 instead of their current pay of Tk18,500 per month.

Finance Division sources said Finance Minister AMA Muhith has not submitted the new pay hike proposal to cabinet because of unresolved complications arising from claims made by university teachers and those lower on the pay scale.

Last week the finance minister said the new pay structure for government staff would be placed in the cabinet meeting this month. l

Death for Siraj the Butcher the investigation officer.

Of the charges, Siraj was indicted on four charges – for the killing of 600-700 Hindus in Rampal; 50 Hindus in Ranjitpur; abduction and killing of 19 people at Besargati and Kandapara; and the killing of seven people at Chulkathi.

Two common charges were brought against all of them – for the killing of 47 people while one each against Khan Akram and Latif.

Welcoming the verdict, locals in Bagerhat brought out processions and demanded quick execution of the death penalty.

The state-appointed lawyer for Siraj, Mohammad Abul Hasan said: “The prosecution wanted to establish him as deputy commander of razakar force’s Bagerhat sub-division unit but could not submit any documents in favour of their claim. We will appeal against the verdict.”

Abul was appointed as Siraj claimed that he had not been financially capable of appointing a lawyer. If Siraj moves the appeal, the state will need to appoint a lawyer for him again.

Khan Akram’s lawyer M Sarwar Hossain said that they would file an appeal to get justice.

On the other hand, prosecutor Haider Ali said that death penalty was appropriate for Siraj considering his crimes.

Another prosecutor Syed Sayedul Haque Sumon said: “During the trial, we told the tribunal that the freedom fighters had caught Siraj Master after the independence. But they handed him over to the police failing to con-

According to their indictment order, Siraj on May 13, 1971 was involved in the killing of 40-

Execution of death sentence

Celebration in Bagerhat

War trial campaigners were jubilant over the verdict in Bagerhat town and other places including Siraj’s native village Gotapara under the sadar upazila. They also distributed sweetmeats among the locals.

District Muktijoddha Sangsad brought out a procession in the town. Freedom fighters and local Awami League lawmakers Dr Mozammel Hossain and Mir Shawkat Ali Badshah were present at that time. They welcomed the verdict but said that Akram should have been given capital punishment too.

Kosai Siraj never returned to his village after independence. His aunt Noorjahan said: “He also wanted to kill me … they torched my houses during the war.” l

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MANPOWER EXPORT TO MALAYSIA

Modalities not yet finalised n Adil Sakhawat

The newly appointed Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam has asked aspiring migrants not to attempt to go to Malaysia at this time because the modalities of manpower export to the country had not yet been finalised.

The minister said: “Discussions are in the preliminary stages. I request aspiring migrants not to deal with brokers to go to Malaysia.”

A four-member Malaysian delegation led

by Mustafa Bin Ibrahim, director general of the Malaysian immigration department, is in Dhaka to finalise the mechanism for importing Bangladeshi manpower.

The Malaysian delegation met with the minister from 10am to 11am. From 11am to noon, it met with expatriates’ welfare Secretary Khandaker Iftekhar Haidar.

When asked about allegations that some recruiting agencies and Malaysian companies were allegedly trying to form manpower trade syndicates, the minister replied: “Nobody can buy me.”

The salary of Bangladeshi labourers was also discussed at the meeting, the secretary said.

The minister said Bangladeshi workers will be paid a minimum of RM900 or approximately $225 per month. The Malaysian government expects to import 1.5 million workers from Bangladesh, but travel costs and fees have not been finalised.

“The migration costs to go to Malaysia have not been finalised but aspiring migrants may go to Malaysia on Business to Business (B2B) contracts. The Government to Government (G2G) process will remain in place as well.

Both those who are registered in the database and those who are not may go to Malaysia,”

the minister said.

Malaysia now wants to import manpower for work on plantations, agriculture, mill factories, service and the construction sector.

They only took in workers for the plantation sector under the G2G process that was initiated in 2012. Between 2009 and 2012 Malaysia did not import Bangladeshi labour.

On August 9 and 10, the delegation attended a meeting with the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) Director General Begum Shamsun Nahar.

A BMET official told the Dhaka Tribune, requesting anonymity, that the Malaysian delegation wanted to know whether it was possible for Bangladesh to supply 50,000 workers per month.

The government maintains a database with

1.4 million aspiring migrants on it and there were 71 technical training centres in Bangladesh, the official quoted Shamsun Nahar as saying in reply.

“So we can train 30,000 workers in 15 days to send to Malaysia,” the official quoted the director general as saying.

At the meeting it was proposed that migration costs be capped at Tk65,000. It costs Tk35,000 to go to Malaysia on the G2G process, the official said.

Baira strongly urged the Malaysian delegation to allow private sector manpower recruitment agencies to be able to send workers to Malaysia.

“We urged the delegation to control the illegal competition of their recruiting companies as had happened before 2009, because this increases the costs of migration,” Baira President Abul Basher told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Woman raped inside Ctg training centre n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong A 24-year-old woman was raped inside the premises of Chittagong Women’s Technical Training Centre by two of its security guards on Monday night.

Police held the alleged rapists – Md Sumon, 24, who also works at the cafeteria, and Md Zahirul Islam, 35 – from the training centre yesterday morning after the victim filed a complaint with Khulshi police, said OC Nezam Uddin.

The victim was sent to the One-Stop Crisis Centre at Chittagong Medical College Hospital for forensic examination.

The victim was taking a month-long housekeeping course at the training centre and lived in its dormitory, said BM Shariful Islam, the centre’s principal. Her plan was to migrate to Saudi Arabia after her course ended.

OC Nezam said the on the night of the incident, the victim and her two roommates went down to the training centre compound to run an errand. The victim later stayed behind, while the roommates found her in the security guards’ room an hour later, assaulted. l

Key accused in Rakib killing confesses n Our Correspondent, Khulna One of the main accused in the killing of Rakib, the 12-year-old who was killed earlier this month when air was pumped into his rectum, has confessed before a Khulna court.

Md Sharif, the owner of the garage where the victim previously worked at, gave his confessional statement to the court of Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Faruk Iqbal yesterday.

The magistrate then sent the accused to jail.

Sharif confessed under section 164 of the penal code on the second of his five-day remand, said Khulna Sadar police station OC Sukumar Bishwash. Another suspect, Mintu Miah, continues to be interrogated under remand, he added.

On August 7, Sharif’s mother Beauty Begum also confessed her complicity in the killing. l

Police bar a rally of Bangladesh Students’ Union as it marches through the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday with manifold demands, including end to sexual harassment of women at workplace and at educational institutions SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

HC wants govt to fix weight of schoolbags n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court yesterday asked the government to explain why it will not be directed to enact a law, guideline or a set of rules fixing the maximum weight of a kid’s schoolbag.

The HC bench of Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Ashraful Kamal asked the law secretary, education secretary, director general of the Directorate of Primary Education and the National Human Rights Commission to respond within two weeks.

On Sunday, Supreme Court lawyers Masud Hossain Dolon, Mohammad Ziaul Haque and Anwarul Karim filed a writ petition seeking directives on the government in this regard.

The respondents will have to explain two specific things: first, why pre-primary schoolgoers should not be legally bound to not carry any bags; and second, why a law or guideline should not prevent primary students from not carrying bags that weigh more than 10% of their weights.

Dolon himself stood for the petitioners while

Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain argued for the state during yesterday’s hearing.

Following the court order, Dolon told reporters that in several countries, including neighbouring India, there are specific laws mentioning how much weight can be carried in schoolbags.

It is harmful for pre-primary students to carry any weight on their backs and health issues may arise if primary students carry more than 10% of their body weight.

“So, we filed the writ in public interest, seeking the High Court’s directives,” he said. l

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Ctg Mayor Nasir calls for city government system n Abu Hayat Mahmud Chittagong Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin has stressed on the need to introduce the city government system, adding that he would request the prime minister’s initiative on this regard.

“I will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today [Tuesday]. When meeting her, I will request the premier to take necessary steps and issue directives for introducing the city government system in all city corporations of the country,” said Nasir.

“This demand had been raised by the first Dhaka city mayor Mohammad Hanif and former Chittagong mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury,” he told a meet-the-press programme organised by Chittagong Journalists Forum Dhaka at the National Press Club yesterday.

The Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) mayor further urged all city mayors to push the government to start the system.

Reiterating his vow to make the CCC free from corruption, Nasir said: “No city corporation official will be spared if they are found to

be corrupt. Even political shelter would not be considered.

“I am the general secretary of the Awami League’s Chittagong city unit; so anyone from Awami League will also not be spared for such illegal practice,” he added.

Terming financial crisis and manpower shortage as obstacles to development, the mayor said most of the departmental chiefs at the CCC were in charge in an acting capacity only.

He, however, pointed out that the financial woes could be overcome by properly collecting the revenue and other incomes of the CCC.

Nasir added that he has already directed the CCC chief executive officer to take initiative to free the port city’s occupied canals from the clutches of land grabbers.

The mayor also stressed on implementing the Chittagong Drainage Master Plan 1995 to mitigate the water stagnation situation and to turn Chittagong into a greener and cleaner city.

Nasir also said he has been working to intensify coordination among different government agencies like Wasa and the Chittagong Development Authority. l

ANUB urges govt to withdraw 7.5% VAT n Tribune Report The Association of Non-Government Universities of Bangladesh (ANUB) yesterday urged the government to withdraw the 7.5% value added tax (VAT) on private tertiary education.

The call was made at a press conference organised by the association at the National Press Club.

At the conference, Sheikh Kabir Hossain, chairman of ANUB, said: “Around four million students are enrolled in 83 private universities across the country. And of them, 70% comes from the low-income group.”

“Many of the parents already struggle to manage their child’s educational expenses and imposing the 7.5% VAT will make it more difficult,” he added. He said the government should consider these issues and withdraw the VAT on education.

Speakers the conference also pointed out that public universities in the country receive subsidy from the government but the same government is asking for VAT from private universities.

They said the purpose of higher education is to develop the country’s human resource and economic conditions and therefore the VAT should be withdrawn. l

Six war criminals to be tried in absentia

Sheikh Kabir Hossain, chairman of the Association of Non-Government Universities of Bangladesh, speaks at a press conference at the National Press Club yesterday urging the government to withdraw the VAT on private tertiary education RAJIB DHAR

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 yesterday decided to try six alleged war criminals from Jamalpur in absentia as they did not appear before the court after publication of newspaper advertisements.

The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan fixed two lawyers for the fugitives – Ashraf Hossain, 64, Prof Sharif Ahammed, 71, Abdul Mannan, 66, Abdul Bari, 62, Md Harun, 58, and Abul Hashem, 65 – and set September 15 for the hearing.

They were all alleged al-Badr men whom police could not arrest.

On April 20, the prosecution pressed five charges against them and on July 22, the tribunal passed an ordered to publish advertisements on national newspapers asking them to appear before the tribunal within seven days.

The charges included murder, abduction and torture in nine incidents which were committed in Jamalpur between April 22 and December 11, 1971 during the country’s Liberation War. l

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

n Tribune Report

IO testifies in Oishee case The investigation officer yesterday gave deposition against three accused including Oishee Rahman in a case filed over the killing of her parents SB inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and Swapna Rahman in the capital on August 16, 2013.

Judge Sayeed Ahmed of the Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal 3 recoded the deposition of Abul Khair Matubbar, an inspector of Detective Branch (DB) of police, in the case. The court also fixed today for his cross-examination.

With this, 37 prosecution witnesses gave their depositions in the case. “Recording depositions of the prosecution witnesses will be concluded soon,” special public prosecutor Mahbubur Rahman said.

Police yesterday produced Oishee and her friend Asaduzzman Jony before the court while another accused Mizanur Rahman Rony, now on bail, also appeared during the proceedings.

According to the case statement, the bodies

of Mahfuzur and his wife Swapna were found at their Chamelibagh residence in the capital on August 16, 2013. Oishee, who had taken her O-level examination, surrendered before the Paltan police station the next day. Later, police arrested their house maid Khadiza Khatun Sumi, and Oishee’s friends Jony and Rony.

On March 9 last year, the IO submitted two charge sheets against the four accused. One charge sheet was pressed against Oishee and her two friends while the other against Sumi who is under 18. Her trial proceeding is taking place at a juvenile court in Dhaka.

According to the charge sheets, Oishee alone killed her parents while Jony instigated the murders and Rony gave her shelter after the incident while Sumi has been accused of assisting Oishee in concealing the bodies.

Oishee’s uncle filed the case. He, however, in his testimony claimed that Oishee had not murdered her parents. He said miscreants might have killed the couple over previous feud. l

UGC Chairman Abdul Mannan receives Certificate of Fellowship from AABL n Tribune Report

Professor Abdul Mannan, chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh, has been awarded with “Certificate of Fellowship” by Australian Academy of Business Leadership (AABL).

British Council Bangladesh Director Barbara Wickham handed over the certificate to the UGC chairman at the latter’s office yesterday for his contributions to the fields of business and research in social science.

Matt Pusey, deputy director, British Council and Towhidur Rahman, head of Higher Education Wing, British Council, were also present. l

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Bleak job prospect for seafarers n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Job prospect for Bangladeshi seafarer are diminishing due to rampant use of false documents to get employment in ships.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and other countries are reluctant to provide jobs to Bangladeshi seafarers.

These countries also do not issue visas to Bangladeshi job seekers who aspire to work for different flag carriers.

The issue was discussed at a meeting at the Foreign Ministry yesterday where Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan were present.

The participants discussed the issue and asked the Shipping Ministry to take action against false documents holders.

This is not only tarnishing the image of Bangladesh but also shrinking job opportunity abroad, said an official who attended the meeting.

Citing an example, he said seven Bangladeshis got jobs in a Singaporean ship last year

and when it berthed at a US port they left the ship and never to return.

The Singapore authorities later informed the Foreign Ministry that they would not recruit any Bangladeshi in their ships, he said.

In another similar incident 17 Bangladeshis disappeared from a Saudi ship last year, said another official who attended the meeting.

The Kingdom country also informed Bangladesh about not recruiting any Bangladeshi for their flag career in future, he said.

Hong Kong complained to the International Maritime Organisation against Bangladesh as it detected 52 false documents in the territory, he said.

United Arab Emirates also frustrated by false documents provided by Bangladeshis announced that it would not issue any visa to Bangladeshi seafarers.

Iran also detected 50 false documents provided by Bangladeshis, the official said.

On June 18, Bangladeshi cadets went to Mumbai to get jobs in a ship and they obtained visas for 72 hours.

“But they were cheated by the recruiting

company which took away all their money.

After 72 hours they became illegal and landed in jails,” the official said.

India complained on security ground posing the question as to why Bangladesh sent its seafarers without confirming their jobs, he said.

The official said one Golam Kibria became captain of a Cambodian ship and afterword when the company asked for his documents, they found his documents false.

Another official said it is very easy to get competency certificate or seaman identity card in Bangladesh.

Even non-technical people like ship cleaner or cook can get those documents easily, he said.

The official said marine academies in Bangladesh enrolled about 900 students but they don’t have the capacity to provide them training.

Bangladesh has only four ships in public sector and 27 in private sector and these are not enough to provide training to them, noted the official.

“Without training nobody can afford to get a job in any foreign ship.” l

Ekattor TV asked to submit talk show footage n Ashif Islam Shaon

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered private television channel Ekattor TV to submit video footage of a talk show and a news item it aired on Monday on a sub-judice matter.

The four-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order yesterday on its own volition and asked Attorney General Mahbubey Alam to contact with the authorities of the TV channel to submit the footages by August 16.

The court would examine whether the channel committed any contempt of court by broadcasting the news and conducting the talk show on a sub-judice matter, the attorney general told reporters after the court order.

“They aired the conversation of two judges at the talk show last night [Monday]. The participants of the talk show also discussed on the conversation. I think the matter is contemptuous. It has drawn attention of the court,” he said.

The bench on Monday held hearing on a contempt of court rule issued against the daily Janakantha Editor and Publisher Atiqullah Khan Masud and its Executive Editor Swadesh Roy for publishing an article on the alleged conversation over the verdict in the war crimes appeal case of Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. It will pass an order on the matter on August 13.

“When a verdict is pending, broadcasting a report and a talk show on a sub-judice matter is tantamount to contempt of court,” the attorney general said. l

Police rescue six traffic victims, arrests two n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority demolishes illegal structures put up by sand traders from the bank of Buriganga River at Hasnabad, Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Contempt of court against 10 tannery owners n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court yesterday issued a contempt of court rule against ten Hazaribagh tannery owners for failing to relocate their units to Savar as per the court order.

An HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Zafar Ahmed issued the rule in reply to an appeal submitted by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

The bench asked those 10 tannery owners as to why the contempt of court rule proceedings should not be started against them.

The HC also asked them to give reply to it within two weeks.

In 2001, an HC bench ordered the state authorities to shift the tanneries in Hazaribagh

to outside of the capital after the HRPB filed a writ petition.

The HRPB in its writ petition said the tanneries were posing health hazard induced by factories to the city dwellers.

It also said the writ was aimed at saving Buriganga river from pollution.

In 2009, the government selected a place in Harindhora area of Savar for the shifting and ordered the owners to shift their tanneries there through announcing a deadline that ended in this June.

Earlier, the deadline, however, was extended for several times in reply to repeated appeals by the owners.

Later, the government submitted aforesaid tannery owners’ names to the court as they

adopted to dilly-dally method in following the state order and at last they sought a twoyear extension for the shifting.

The contempt of court was issued against Arefin Shamsul Al Amin, managing director of Rana Labour of Industries limited; Sayedul Haque Master, proprietor of Jules Enterprise; Mahbubur Rahman Panna, proprietor of Pubali Tanneries; Giasuddin Ahmed Pathan, managing director of Rumi Leather Industries Limited; Abdus Salam, proprietor of Salam Tannery; Rezaul Karim Ansary, proprietor of Karim Lather Limited; Abdul Wadud Mia, proprietor of Mahim Tannery; Abdul Wahab, proprietor of Nabipun Tannery; Mafiz Mia, proprietor of Asia Tannery and Akbar Hossain, managing director of paramount Tannery. l

The Detective Branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police rescued six trafficking victims – four of them from Myanmar – and arrested two traffickers in Chittagong city yesterday.

The traffickers – Mahmudul Hasan and Abul Kalam – had rounded up the victims in a flat in the city’s Goribullah Shah Mazar area to ship them off to Malaysia via the infamous sea route, DB sources said.

Following a tip-off, a team of detectives raided the flat around 10am and found the six victims there, said SM Tanvir Arafat, additional deputy commissioner at the DB. The traffickers had planned to send the four Myanmar nationals, brought into the country illegally, and the two Bangladeshis off on a Malaysia-bound trawler at a time of convenience when they could escape the eyes of law enforcement teams watching the sea route, Tanvir further said.

Assistant Commissioner ABM Foyjul Islam said a case was field against the arrested traffickers with Khulshi police station, while another case was filed against the four Myanmar nationals for entering Bangladesh illegally.

The traffickers were handed over to Khulshi police station. l

DT

6 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Unknown disease causes Jessore fish farmers Tk50cr loss n Our Correspondent, Jessore Fish farmers in Jessore’s Chanchra area are facing huge financial loss due to an epidemic of an unknown disease that is attacking a particular species of fish.

Sources said the species, Vietnamese climbing perch, was introduced in the hatcheries at the beginning of the season, but the fungal disease has killed nearly 80% of the population since it broke out four and a half months ago.

Chanchra, known as the capital of fish farming in the country, has around 80 fish hatcheries producing fish that are supplied to the rest of the country.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, several farmers said they heavily invested in the particular species of climbing perch – “koi machh” in Bangla – and are now facing a collective loss of more than Tk50 crore due to the epidemic.

“I released around 150,000 hatchlings of Vietnamese climbing perch in my pond; the disease have wiped out all of them,” said Anwar Hossain Nannu, an award-winning fish farmer and owner of Adarsha Matshya Khamar. “This disease caused me a loss worth around Tk8.5 lakh.”

Officials at the Jessore substation of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) have not been able to help the farmers as they

are not equipped to diagnose the disease.

“That species is foreign and is having trouble with adjusting to Bangladeshi climate.

That is likely the reason of the outbreak,” said Md Ramzan Ali, district fisheries officer in Jessore. “We are merely a substation. We do not have modern laboratory facilities to run tests and determine what this disease is. But we are working on finding cure for the disease.”

The affected farmers urged the government to help them tackle the loss by cancelling loan interests, providing subsidies to cover for the loss, and introducing easier loan schemes If a full-fledged laboratory is established in Jessore, it will be much easier and quicker to determine and cure all kinds of diseases and such a huge loss can be avoided, he further said.

Extreme weather conditions have not helped matters either, said Anwarul Kabir Anu, general secretary of fish farmers’ welfare association in the district.“Not only the disease, but drought and heavy rain have severely affected our fish production as well.”

Farmers could not release hatchlings in their ponds on time due to drought. When they did manage to release them in the ponds, bouts of heavy rain caused the ponds to overflow, and most of the fish washed away.

“I released around 300,000 Tilapia hatchlings in my three ponds this year,” said Nazrul Islam, owner of Abir Matshya Khamar. “But incessant rain caused the banks of my ponds to break and the water to overflow, and all the fish got washed away. I incurred around Tk15 lakh of loss because of that.”

The combined financial loss due to the outbreak of the unknown disease and unfavourable weather conditions has caused a major setback for the farmers – to the point where they are having difficulties in paying their utility bills and bank loan instalments.

Some farmers have been affected worse than others, having been forced to shut down their hatcheries.

“I have trade loans, and I am having trouble paying them off because of this loss,” Anwar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune.

The affected farmers urged the government to help them tackle the loss by cancelling loan interests, providing subsidies to cover for the loss, and introducing easier loan schemes.

They also demanded a modern BFRI laboratory in Jessore to facilitate fish production in Chanchra. l

Students of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology stage demonastrations on the campus yesterday, demanding the cancellation of the ’33 credit’ system Azahar Uddin

3 of a family drown

Ruet students go on strike

n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj

n Tribune Report

Three members of a family have drowned at Cholon Bil under Tarash upazila in Sirajganj.

The deceased are Quami Madrasa Moulvi Teacher Altaf Hossain, 35, his daughter Anita, 8, and son Naful Islam, 6.

Locals said they went to fish in the pond on Sunday night but did not return home after that.

Tarash OC said: “On information, we sent a team to the spot to recover the bodies. We are assuming that the children first got drowned while the father died while trying to save them.” l

Students of 2013-14 session of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) went on strike yesterday demanding the cancellation of the ’33 credit’ system.

They confined the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of RUET Prof Rafiqul Islam Beg to his office from 10am to 1:30pm, as part of their strike.

RUET sources said according to the ’33 credit’ system, which was intro-

duced in the 2013-14 academic session, a first-year student will be promoted to the second year only if he/she gets 33 credits out of 40 in two semesters.

The agitated students said 40 students of their session could not achieve the targeted credit. As a result, they will not be promoted to second year.

The students alleged university authorities didn’t disclose the changed promotion rules till they had already started attending classes. l

Elderly man hacked to death n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Miscreants hacked a man to death in Palpara area under the city yesterday.

Deceased Ratan Mazhi, 55, was son of Rustam Mazhi of Sultali area under Mehediganj upazila in Barisal district.

Sub-inspector Ruhul Amin of Joydebpur police station said some unidentified miscreants hacked Ratan with sharp weapons ,leaving him critically injured while he was returning home from Telipara Bazar in the morning.

On information, police went to the spot and rescued him.

Later, he was admitted to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College and Hospital where the doctors on duty declared him dead.

Ratan had been living in the area for about two years. Recently, the daughter of his neighbour Jahangir married a man secretly and a case was filed in this connection. Ratan was a witness in the case. l

14 houses gutted n Tribune Report

At least 14 houses were gutted in a devastating fire in Khejurtola Shanty area under the city yesterday.

Fire service sources said the fire originated from an electric short circuit at a thatched house in the area around 2:30am, leaving 14 houses burnt to ashes. Firefighters went to the spot and doused the fire. l

DT

NEWS 7

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Three homeopathy pharmacies sealed off in Chittagong n Tribune Report

A mobile court of Directorate of Drug Administration in Chittagong yesterday sealed off three homeopathy stores and fined two other stores for running bussiness without licenses and selling adulterated medicines.

Assistant Commissioner and also Executive Magistrate Ruhul Amin of Chittagong District Administration led the mobile court in Hazari Lane area under Kotwali police station.

Superintendent of Drug KM Muhsinin Mahbub said the mobile court conducted the drive around 11:30am.

During the drive, the court sealed off three homeopathy pharmacies—Loknath Homeohall, Jagannath Homeohall and Sadhana Homeohall for running medicine business without license. The mobile court also fined owners of the medicine shops Tk10,000 each.

The court also fined two other homeopathy pharmacies—National Homeohall and Banik Homeohall, with Tk12,000 for selling unapproved foreign medicines. KM Muhsinin told the Dhaka Tribune that the Directorate of Drug Administration would continue such types of drives to manufacture of sub-standard medicines. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:35PM

SUN RISES 5:33AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 33 33 32 33 32 32 33 31

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

27 27 26 27 27 27 26 27

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.8ºC

24.1ºC

Dinajpur

Srimangal Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:09am 5:31am 12:04am 4:40pm 6:35pm 8:05pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Fire Service and Civil Defence authorities have introduced “Two Wheeler Fire Fighting Units” with a view to dousing fire in remote areas, especially in those places streets are narrow and big trucks cannot enter SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Your mini fire station on the go n Mohammad Jamil Khan Every time there is a major fire incident in Dhaka, especially in the densely populated older part of the city, firefighters regret how they could have minimised damage if the streets were a bit broader for their trucks.

During political demonstrations over the last few years, torching vehicles such as buses and trucks emerged as the most ‘popular’ way of showing dissent. Almost all the vehicles set on fire by the protesters were eventually burned beyond redemption because the big firefighting trucks take time to move out of the stations.

Even for dousing a small fire – let’s say the fire that catches a running bus on the road from an engine glitch – full firefighting units

have to be mobilised.

Keeping this things in mind, the Fire Service and Civil Defence authorities have introduced an innovative new service, which they are calling the “Two Wheeler Fire Fighting Units.”

These are basically motorbikes but equipped with fire extinguisher, a 40-litre water tank, foaming device, compressor and first aid box. Around 150 of these motorbikes have been recently imported from China.

Instead of remaining stand-by at the fire stations, these mini firefighting units will be patrolling the streets of initially Dhaka and then gradually those across the country.

The idea is to allow these mini units get the first shot at containing a fire until full units arrive. Initially, they will be attached with patrol units of law enforcement agencies and au-

thorities believe that these mini units would come in handy during political programmes such as hartals and blockades.

Maj Mohammad Mahbub, project director of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “The motorbikes have been mainly introduced to douse fire in remote areas, especially in those places streets are narrow and big trucks cannot enter. One example is Old Dhaka.

“Moreover, moving big trucks out of stations take time. But these motorbikes can be dispatched as soon as the news of a fire comes.” In June, 12 of these motorbikes were handed over to the Khulna district fire service authorities.

“We are planning to import more motorbikes in the coming days,” Maj Mahbub said. l

Social activists threatened on Facebook n Our Correspondent, Barisal A group called “Ansar BD” that joined Facebook this year, have declared their stance against six Barisal-based writers and social activists in their most recent status.

The status put along with the picture of the six persons read: “Masallah, we are successfully start work in division. There are three anti Islamic poet & three organizer if blogger.

They are the enemy of Islam. We should do what will our aim.”

The group first sent friend requests to the six persons and later put up the status along with a collage of their photos.

The six targets are poets and writers: Henry Swapan, Syed Mehedi Hasan and Tuhin Das, former president of Barisal Reporters’ Unity and an organiser of Gonojagoron Mon-

cho Nazrul Biswas, Organising Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra Union Barisal unit Pritom Chowdhuri and Charu Tuhin, a Barisal-based artist and activist.

Assuming the status to be a threat from Islamist hardliners, the activists have filed a General Diary with Kotwali police station Assuming the status to be a threat from Islamist hardliners, the activists have filed a General Diary with Kotwali police station.

“Police have advised them to file a GD and observe the situation,” said Md Ansar Uddin,

a spokesperson of Barisal Metropolitan Police.

Syed Mehedi Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune: “Although the status does not contain a direct death threat, we are anxious about out security because of the attitude expressed along with our photos.”

Seeking security, Henry Swapan, on behalf of the six, filed the GD yesterday.

Police have started investigation to trace the IP address of the group Ansar BD, said Abdur Rouf, deputy commissioner of BMP south.

“If needed, police would provide security arrangements for 24 hours to the six targeted persons,” he said.

Barisal Reporters Unity has condemned the threat of religious fundamentalists to the progressive writers and activists. It has asked the government to ensure safety of citizens. l

DT

8 WORLD

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Japan ends nuclear shutdown 4 years after Fukushima n AFP, Tokyo Japan switched on a nuclear reactor yesterday, ending a two-year shutdown in the energy-hungry country that was sparked by public fears following the 2011 Fukushima crisis, the worst atomic disaster in a generation.

Utility Kyushu Electric Power, which operates the reactor at Sendai about 1,000km southwest of Tokyo, said it was turned on at 10:30am (local time).

The 31-year-old reactor – operating under tougher post-Fukushima safety rules – was expected to reach full capacity around 11:00pm yesterday and would start generating power by Friday.

Commercial operations are to begin early next month, the spokesman said.

The restart comes more than four years after a quake-generated tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, prompting the shutdown of Japan’s stable of reactors and setting off a pitched battle over the future use of atomic power.

Anti-nuclear sentiment still runs high in

Japan and there were reports yesterday of protesters scuffling with police in front of the Sendai plan. Local media said about 200 protesters gathered in front of the plant.

The resource-poor nation, which once relied on nuclear power for a quarter of its electricity, restarted two reactors temporarily to feed its needs. But they both went offline by September 2013, making Japan completely nuclear-free for about two years.

The country has ushered in stricter safety regulations to avoid a repeat of Fukushima, including more backup prevention measures and higher tsunami-blocking walls in areas most susceptible to them.

The measures are key to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to get some of about four dozen reactors back up and running.

Japan’s post-Fukushima energy bill skyrocketed as it scrambled to fill the gap left by taking reactors offline, pushing the country into successive trade deficits. Power companies that own them are also keen for more restarts, fed up with having to make up lost generating capacity with pricey fossil fuels. l

Q&A

Explaining nuclear power’s importance in Japan

Nuclear power had been an integral source of electricity for Japan until the Fukushima crisis in 2011 led to the government shutting down all reactors.

With one of those reactors restarting yesterday, here are key questions about Japan’s nuclear power industry explained:

according to Masakazu Toyoda, from Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics. This has led to large trade deficits and, with electricity prices going up by more than 20%, a dampening of economic activity that has curtailed tax revenues.

Q1: How important was nuclear power for

much nuclear energy does Japan hope to produce?

Japan’s electricity mix and how did it make up for the loss?

A1:

Nuclear power accounted for a quarter of Japan’s electricity production before the Fukushima crisis. Japan increased imports and production of gas, oil and coal to overcome the lack of nuclear power.

By March this year, about 91% of Japan’s electricity came from fossil fuels, 8.5% from hydropower and the rest from other sources.

Q2:

What has been the cost of shutting down the nuclear power industry?

A2: Japan has spent about 3.6tn yen ($29.4bn) annually buying more fossil fuel imports to make up for the shortfall,

Q3: With one reactor turned back on, how

A3: The government has set a target of 20% to 22% of its total electricity coming from nuclear by 2030. This will come from more than 40 existing reactors, although some of them may never restart because they are too old or because of opposition from local communities. The government may also build new reactors, although there are no plans yet.

Environment group Greenpeace believes only between 2% and 8% percent of electricity will be nuclear by then, because of technical issues and widespread public opposition to the industry.

Source: AFP

Drama looms over Indian PM Modi’s tax reform plans

Protests return to Ferguson, state of emergency declared

The BJP-led Indian government began a last push before the end of a stormy parliament sitting to pass a major tax reform aimed at boosting economic growth, but an opposition party dug in its heels to stop the bill.

Aimed at creating a customs union, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is the biggest revenue shake-up since the country’s independence in 1947. Supporters say it will add up to 2% points to economic growth.

A series of obstacles to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious agenda of economic reform has increased a sense among debt-laden domestic companies suffering subdued earnings that India’s fledgling economic recovery could take longer.

Indian shares fell about 1% yesterday led by declines in banking stocks along with jitters over the parliament showdown and China’s yuan devaluation.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the bill in the upper house to yowls of protest from members of the opposition Congress party. Seconds later, the speaker adjourned the chamber, putting off any discussion until Wednesday.

The Congress party is demanding the resignation of senior BJP leaders it accuses of graft before allowing parliament to work. It also wants changes to the bill, which it says has been diluted to win support from states.

Failure to pass the GST bill now will make it hard for Modi to meet a self-imposed 2016 deadline for implementing it. In a research note, DBS Bank said any holdup “will be negative for market sentiment and could further delay the recovery process.” l

Riot police clashed early yesterday with protesters in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri marking the anniversary of the police shooting of an unarmed black teen whose death sparked a national outcry over strained race relations.

About 200 demonstrators, some waving flags, beating drums, and shouting anti-police slogans, marched along a street that was a flashpoint of riots that erupted last year after white police officer Darren Wilson killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Police carrying shields rushed into a crowd of protesters around midnight, prompting many to scream and run away.

Authorities declared a state of emergency on Monday for the St Louis suburb and surrounding areas after police officers shot and critically wounded a man in an exchange of gunfire Sunday night, marring what had been a day of peaceful demonstrations to commemorate the anniversary.

Monday’s demonstrations capped a day of civil disobedience called by activists to protest against the shooting of Brown and other unarmed black men by police across the US. Clergy and civil rights groups led a series of protests, staging a demonstration at a courthouse in St Louis where 60 people were arrested. Police arrested several dozen other protesters who blocked rush-hour traffic on Interstate. The death of Brown and a grand jury’s decision to spare the white officer from criminal charges provoked a wave of demonstrations that boiled over into rioting and arson at times and spawned sympathy rallies across the country. l

n Reuters, New Delhi

n Reuters, Ferguson, USA

A man walks down a flooded street in Wenling, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on August 10 after strong storms hit the area during Typhoon Soudelor’s landfall. The number of people killed by Typhoon Soudelor in China rose to 21 on August 10, authorities said, with five more missing AFP

DT

WORLD 9

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Russia, Saudis talks on fate of Assad fail n Reuters, Moscow Russia and Saudi Arabia failed in talks yesterday to overcome their differences on the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a central dispute in Syria’s civil war that shows no sign of abating despite renewed diplomacy.

Russia is pushing for a coalition to fight Islamic State (IS) insurgents – who have seized swathes of northern and eastern Syria – that would involve Assad, a longtime ally of Moscow. But, speaking after talks in Moscow, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reiterated Riyadh’s stance that Assad must go.

“A key reason behind the emergence of Islamic State was the actions of Assad who directed his arms at his nation, not Islamic State,” Jubeir told a news conference after talks with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov.

“Assad is part of the problem, not part of the solution to the Syrian crisis... There is no place for Assad in the future of Syria,” he said.

An uprising against four decades of Assad family rule broke out in 2011 and evolved into civil war in which Islamist militants have become the strongest element fighting Damascus.

Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led regional coalition conducting air strikes on IS positions in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, but Lavrov said this was not likely to successfully combat the ultra-radical Sunni movement.

Jubeir and Lavrov said they discussed

The African lion: vulnerable and threatened by hunters 866 <1

Estimated population by country

bringing various opposition groups closer together to improve their chances in facing Islamic State and better coordinate in international talks on solving the conflict.

“The talks are about... coordinating all those who are already fighting terrorists so that they put their main focus on fighting terrorism and leave for later settling scores between themselves,” Lavrov said in describing Russia’s proposal.

“More coordinated efforts on the ground would help reach the goal,” he said, adding that this covered the Iraqi and Syrian armies, Kurdish forces and some armed Syrian opposition groups.

Lavrov said anti-Islamic State forces united on the ground should have wide international backing. But Jubeir specifically ruled out any coalition with Assad and tension between the ministers was often visible during the conference.

Lavrov still said some “early details” have started to emerge under the Russian proposal but gave no further detail.

He said Moscow would hold separate talks with Syrian opposition representatives including the Syrian National Coalition and Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union in coming days.

Moscow is looking to host another round of talks between Damascus and various Syrian opposition groups. Two rounds of such consultations have failed to yield any breakthroughs. l

SOUTH SUDAN

Zones inhabited

than 75,800 Less 30,000 2015

At least 7,565 lions were killed by hunters for sport between 1999 and 2008

64% of trophies were exported

TANZANIA 2.2

2,349

Dwindling natural habitat Hunting for sport and the international trophy market Illness

10,752

ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE

2.5 801

NAMIBIA

ZIMBABWE

2

678 3

1,362 8.9

BOTSWANA

to the United States

Threats

2,515 <1

KENYA

Total population living in the wild

1980

1,239 <1

ETHIOPIA

1.4

3,063

SOUTH AFRICA

8.7 3,284* Early July, Cecil the lion killed outside Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe) where he had enjoyed protection, shot by Walter Palmer, a US trophy-hunter

Wild lions exported every year (as a %) Less than 2 % 2-5 % More than 5 %

* 9,000 including those raised in captivity

Sources : IFAW, IUCN, Duke University

Map of African detailing numbers of lions living in the wild and numbers exported.

Zimbabwe has partially lifted a ban on big game hunting around Hwange National Park, which was imposed this month after an international outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion by a US dentist which sparked international outrage. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority said in an undated statement yesterday that the ban remained in place for two private game parks and rural communities near the park. In the areas where it has been lifted, all lion, leopard and elephant hunts must be supervised by park staff REUTERS

All you need to know about Greece debt crisis TIMELINE

2009 October: The Greek government reveals that the national public deficit for 2009 was twice as big as thought – at 12.7% percent of the country’s output, instead of 6% . The figure is later raised again to 15% of gross domestic product (GDP).

2010 April: Ten-year bond yields leap above 8.5%, the highest since Greece adopted the euro in 2001. With public debt at 350bn euros ($385bn) and Greece essentially unable to borrow on debt markets, Athens appeals for aid from the EU and the IMF. May: Greece becomes the first eurozone country to receive a bailout as the EU and IMF agree to a 110bn euro package of loans in exchange for austerity measures.

2011 October: As Greece’s economic situation deteriorates, the eurozone prepares a second loan package ultimately worth 130bn billion euros. In addition, private sector creditors agree to write off more than 100bn euros.

2012 February: The eurozone approves Greece’s second bailout package.

May 6: Two Greek political parties that accepted austerity measures, the socialist Pasok and conservative New Democracy, suffer losses in early elections. The radical

left Syriza party vaults to second place. Fresh elections are held.

June 17: The two pro-bailout parties form the core of a new government after a close vote. The conservative prime minister creates a three-party coalition.

2015 January 25: Syriza wins a snap election with a pledge to renegotiate the bailout terms. In five years, Greek GDP has fallen by 25%.

February 20: Greece’s creditors agree to extend emergency loans until the end of June. Athens vows to enact reforms in exchange for the last 7.2bn euros in rescue funds.

June 30: Greece’s bailout officially expires and the country misses a 1.5bn euro debt payment to the IMF. July 5: More than 61% percent of Greeks reject creditors’ bailout terms in a referendum.

July 13: After an especially tense round of brinkmanship, Greece and its creditors agree to preliminary terms of a third bailout deal worth up to 86bn euros, in return for reforms that exceed those rejected a week earlier.

August 11: Greece and its creditors agree on fiscal targets for the third rescue package.

The final deal is expected to be voted on by Greek lawmakers on August 13, and put to eurozone finance ministers the following day.

Source: AFP

Reforms Greece must make for its 86bn euros ($95bn) bailout Targets

l Greece to produce primary budget sur-

plus starting 2016.

tax in advance on their forecast income.

l Increase to 6% from 4% of a “solidari-

ty tax” paid by those earning 50,000100,000 euros a year.

l Primary budget deficit of 0.25% of

GDP in 2015, followed by surpluses of 0.5% in 2016, 1.75% in 2017, and 3.5% in 2018. l Greek economy to shrink between 2.1% and 2.3% in 2015, contract by 0.5% in 2016, and return to 2.3% growth in 2017.

‘Prior actions’

l l l

l l

l

Some of the “prior actions”, or measures required before bailout aid is disbursed, are expected to include: New laws on non-performing loans held by banks.

Deregulation of the natural gas market.

Setting up an independent sovereign wealth fund in Greece intended to raise 50 billion euros, three-quarters of which would be used to recapitalise banks and decrease debt.

Scrapping tax breaks for farmers who now receive subsidised fuel.

Tighter regulation of a repayment system for individuals owing back taxes to the state.

A gradual increase in a system under which taxpayers ranging from the self-employed to small businesses pay

Passed

l l l l

Greece passed a number of prior actions in July including: Simplifying VAT rates and applying the tax more widely.

Cutting back on pensions and making the national statistics agency independent.

Measures to overhaul the civil justice system Adopting EU bank resolution and bail-in rules, applicable from January 1, 2016.

To come

l l

l l

Greece’s bailout agreement is also expected to set a clear timetable for the following measures: Ambitious pension reform.

Reforms covering Sunday trading, pharmacy ownership, milk sales and bakeries.

Privatisation of electricity transmission network.

Review of rules on collective bargaining, industrial action and collective dismissals.

Source: Reuters

DT

10 WORLD

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

After nuke deal, Pakistan and Iran seek to increase trade n Reuters, Islamabad

Pakistan is in the final stages of negotiating a deal to increase its electricity imports from Iran tenfold, a Pakistani government spokesman said yesterday, part of a push to boost trade if sanctions relating to Iran’s nuclear programme are phased out.

Pakistan’s trade with Iran, worth $1.3bn in the financial year 2008-9, plummeted to $217m in the 2013-14 financial year.

The drop came after the United States, European Union and UN imposed sanctions aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear programme, which Western powers suspected was aimed

at creating a nuclear bomb. A deal reached last month means the sanctions could soon be phased out.

US Senator Brian Schatz said on Monday he backs the US-led international nuclear deal with Iran, moving President Barack Obama one vote closer to locking in enough Senate votes to make the deal fly.

Iran currently exports around 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the areas of Pakistan that border Iran. Pakistan is in the final stages of negotiating a deal that will increase that to 1,000 MW, said Zafar Yab Khan, the spokesman for the Pakistan Ministry of Water and Power.

“It’s likely to be finalised shortly,” he said.

“The power purchase agreement would include a transmission line.”

He declined to give details until the agreement is signed.

Energy-starved Pakistan suffers about 12 hours of power cuts per day and is keen to import Iranian oil and gas, said Robina Athar, additional secretary in Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce.

She said Pakistan was upgrading its current border post with Iran and preparing to open a second one in anticipation of greater trade.

Iran was interested in Pakistani textiles, surgical goods, sports goods and agricultural products, she said. Pakistan wanted

energy products, iron and steel.

She said that Pakistan would set up industrial sites in the impoverished border area, especially petrochemical storage, and link the infrastructure to a $46bn project with China.

Plans for a gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan have also been given new impetus, said Mobin Saulat, head of state-run Inter State Gas Systems, which oversees the Pakistan’s pipeline network.

Most of the pipeline - stretching from Pakistan’s industrial heartland of Punjab to a planned terminal for liquefied natural gas at Gwadar port in the south - would be built as part of the Chinese project. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

INSIDE

Inbetweeners v ISIS While it’s tricky to get inside the heads of young Westerners who turn to violent jihad, it is not a stretch to imagine that some consciously object to the hedonistic right to party ingrained in series like the Inbetweeners PAGE 12

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Vietnam’s progress holds lessons that can help our exporters

T

Living in a lonely world We should remember that relationships with our closest neighbours humanise us. These relationships should be nurtured PAGE 14

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his week’s state visit by President Abdul Hamid to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang, provides an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the friendly relations between our two nations.

We hope the visit will lead to good progress in building new cultural and people to people ties, and increasing co-operation on trade and investment.

Vietnam’s successes in improving its infrastructure are helping to attract record levels of overseas investment, with FDI topping $24 billion last year, the second biggest in Asia after China, compared to just $1.6bn in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh should strive to emulate Vietnam’s successes in building up its infrastructure and economy.

With the centre of gravity of the global economy moving towards Asia, and the strong trend of more companies, particularly from China, looking to outsource manufacturing jobs, both our nations stand to gain by making our economies more business-friendly and conducive to investment.

On present trends, particularly with its participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, Vietnam is in a strong position to overtake Bangladesh in the value of its garment exports. The government needs to give more priority now to helping the RMG sector develop so that it can continue to grow the exports and jobs that are so important to our economy.

For Bangladesh to live up to its potential, the government needs to cut red tape and uphold the rule of law to create a more business-friendly environment. It also needs to considerably increase investment in infrastructure, particularly in relation to energy and transport, and work to improve skills and productivity to allow for more higher-value jobs to be created.

New fiscal and tax incentives and measures such as the RMG bank proposed by the planning minister can help supply the finance which export sectors need to build their competitive advantage.

The RMG sector has achieved much in the past two decades. There is no reason why, with a more business-friendly environment and government help to secure more land on which new factories can be built, it cannot seek to move up the value chain and create valuable new export jobs.

Bangladesh should strive to emulate Vietnam’s successes in building up its infrastructure and economy

DT

12 LONG FORM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Inbetweeners v ISIS The obvious difference is that one group invites laughter, the other horror and revulsion

Keeping calm and carrying on is generally the best way to deal with extremism

While it’s tricky to get inside the heads of young Westerners who turn to violent jihad, it is not a stretch to imagine that some consciously object to the hedonistic right to party ingrained in series like the Inbetweeners

n Niaz Alam

A

small band of religiously inspired fanatics travels from Britain to the Middle East and brings destruction and mayhem. They rejoice in cruel punishments and persecution over others, which they uphold as their divine right to inflict.

Eventually they are defeated, and few right-thinking persons seek to justify their actions any more.

But enough about Richard the Lionheart and the Crusades. Or centuries of Western

REUTERS

colonialists. What about the present day?

Newspapers abound with opinion-mongers asking why some young Muslims in Western nations have chosen to give up the democracy and safety of their homes to go and support, and even die fighting for, violent jihadist groups such as ISIS. A vogue which recently led to Assad Uzzaman, a 25-year-old British-Bangladeshi from Portsmouth, reportedly becoming the 50th UK volunteer for ISIS to have been killed fighting in Syria.

Lately, this trend has become high profile enough to compete with the UK media’s regular hand-wringing about lewd behaviour by inebriated British tourists abroad.

The latter phenomenon was simultaneously celebrated and mocked in the 2011 film of The Inbetweeners, a sitcom about four English adolescent males in their late teens who struggle through high-school life, constantly thwarted in their desires for drink and girls by their own social awkwardness, and the indifference of parents and teachers to the bullies that prey on them. Frequently puerile and reveling in bad taste, the series is in its own way very funny and touching.

In the less appealing film version, a distinctly British take on Hollywood tales

of college-age high jinx, the quartet are transported from their mundane suburban habitat to a Mediterranean holiday resort.

Their hopes for sun, sea, sand, and sex come even more askew as women barely glance at them and bullies run free amid a bacchanalia of drunken debauchery.

It’s a curious mixture -- a depressing vision of young people going wild combined with humour at their failed sexual encounters and sympathy for the bar-owners and hoteliers who have to clean up their mess.

While it’s tricky to get inside the heads of young Westerners who turn to violent jihad, it is not a stretch to imagine that some consciously object to the hedonistic right to party ingrained in series like The Inbetweeners.

Many Western jihadis are precisely that.

Individuals deeply steeped in western culture and society, sometimes native converts; they are often not outsiders. They demonise the West not because they have not been exposed to it, but because they are actively choosing to fight against its values.

The critical difference between real life Inbetweeners and alienated jihadist volunteers is not that individuals in either group do not have the capacity to grow up

DT

LONG FORM 13

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

and settle down. Age, responsibility, and work usually take care of that.

It’s that violent jihadists, like other iconoclasts throughout history, act on the arrogant belief that they can use violence to impose their codes on other people.

By definition, they are a self-selecting bunch, whose methods are self-defeating in winning over others and have to rely on brutality to secure control. With a few exceptions, they should be of more interest to psychologists and sociologists rather than the nexus of security analysts and terrorism consultants who are the Kremlinologists of our day.

It should be obvious that many large groups of people, not just Muslims, may be influenced by or sympathise with the global political causes which violent jihadists adopt as their own. And that very few such people in Western democracies, who disagree with their country’s foreign policy or oppose oppression in other nations, ever resort to criminality.

It actually takes highly individual combinations of alienation, quests for identity, and peer pressure to push individuals like Assad Uzzaman towards violence.

Yet, Western politicians still fall into the trap of making glib generalisations about the diverse Muslim populations in their midst. It is not as if that there aren’t deep-rooted challenges of cultural barriers, self-segregation, unemployment, and societal discrimination facing immigrant Muslim communities in the West. And yes, these should be talked about.

It’s just that solving those problems alone is not going to stop some people brainwashing themselves towards violent jihad. Worse, by intentionally, or otherwise, singling out Muslims for talks about terrorism, politicians can give succor to racists who indulge in Islamaphobia as cover for their antipathy to other ethnic groups, while also feeding the perceived sense of victimisation which Muslim extremist groups rely on to hook supporters.

The media’s tendency to simplify issues only confuses the picture. Airtime on Muslim related issues in the UK is habitually given to an inglorious mix of self-appointed community leaders, religious extremists, and ex-extremists who have recanted their views for think-tank funding. Sometimes, the same person may have been all three. Ordinary British people who rub along side by side quite peacefully enough thank you very much, whatever their faith, ethnicity, and sexuality, don’t get much of a platform.

It is little surprise then, that ever narrower fundamentalist definitions of who is and who is not a Muslim have taken root as stereotypes.

Hence, the UK press prefers to focus on the three teenage girls from British-Bangladeshi families in London who traveled to Syria to become “Jihadi brides,” rather than on the three British-Bangladeshi women who were recently elected as UK MPs in the same city. It prefers to stir up moral panic about radicalisation at mosques attended by thousands of law-abiding citizens, rather than the more likely story of teenage girls rebelling against their parents, and seeing within Salafist-type ideals greater opportunity to make their own personal choice for marriage.

Perversely, for the women recruits, their perception, however mistaken, of increasing personal choices, appears to have been a motivating factor. Whereas for the young men, being simpler creatures like their Inbetweeners counterparts, martyrdom and the sexual

motivation of multiple marriages offer more easy-to-draw explanations.

The obvious difference being, of course, that the women in the world of Inbetweeners, objectified though they may be, have their own agency and are happy to ridicule and reject their sex-obsessed suitors. This invites laughter, while tales of ISIL fighters kidnapping and raping women across the Levant bring horror and revulsion.

It is important to keep a sense of perspective here. At least 210,000 Syrians have been killed in the last four years of civil war. A third of the country’s 22 million population is reported to have been displaced, with well

the characters are aware that sexism, racism, and homophobia are wrong, and over-indulging in alcohol is rarely attractive.

You can be fairly certain that most of their real-life counterparts will grow up to be as ordinary British adults. It is precisely this capacity of the UK society to nurture the civility that allows diverse communities, containing both the devout and the profane to co-exist in relative peace and harmony, that fascists, of both the white supremacist and Islamist chauvinist types, want to damage.

This is why keeping calm and carrying on is generally the best way to deal with extremism.

There is nothing to gain by exaggerating their menace.

Notoriety only emboldens their propaganda. Panic and giving in to the temptation to over-react is exactly what they want to induce. Being ignored or laughed at is what they truly fear

But plain truths still need to be spoken.

In democratic western societies, devout Muslims can and do live freely alongside irreligious Inbetweeners, and can count on fair courts to uphold human rights.

But ISIS and its ideological sympathisers do not want to live peacefully alongside anyone they disapprove of, and it is from this intolerance that discrimination, brutality, and the oppression of violent conflict so freely flow.

It is the very antithesis of the justice and peace that ordinary people everywhere, whatever their background, seek and desire.

So much for the easy bit. In the wider world, even its terrorist soulmates like al-Qaeda does not like ISIS, we all know that.

Sooner or later, it will destroy itself.

However, until everyone, whatever their cause, faith, ideology, or motivation, appreciates the value of democracy and moderation, and countries get better at ending conflicts, violent extremists like ISIS will still find a way to brainwash new recruits.

Convincing everyone that mutual tolerance is the best way to protect everyone is the only way out. Live and let live is not too much to ask. l Niaz Alam has worked on ethical business issues since 1992 and is a former vice-chair of War on Want.

He is Chief Editorial Writer at the Dhaka Tribune.

over 3 million becoming refugees abroad.

With its historically disempowered Sunni majority, Syria has inevitably drawn Sunni and Salafi extremist groups from around the world, adding to the huge difficulties faced by more democratic anti-Assad forces.

But the 20,000 or so estimated highprofile foreign fighters are really only froth on this conflict. And when you take away those with family ties to the region, or who have ancestral roots in North Africa, the Caucasus, and Pakistan, or who may feel kinship to those areas’ well-established insurgencies and fighters, then relatively few of the 3,000 recruits from Western nations are motivated simply by an appeal to help the ummah.

As with the Inbetweeners, cheap air fares and the proximity of Western Europe helped grow their numbers across the Mediterranean. In an inter-connected age, it may be inevitable, perhaps, that these worlds will keep colliding. We may well see more lone wolves wreak havoc of the sort which saw an ISIS-inspired gunman murder 38, mainly British, holiday-makers at Sousse in Tunisia last month.

Needless to say, his innocent victims were hardly Inbetweener types, being of all ages and well liked by their hosts. But then one can hardly expect consistency and rationality among terrorists. Once someone makes the decision that violence is justified, the path is open to all manner of atrocity.

Even so, I am confident the world can expect the counter-productive methods of violent jihadists to eventually, and sometimes literally, burn themselves out, so that they don’t pose a threat to wider populations.

There is nothing to gain by exaggerating their menace. Notoriety only emboldens their propaganda. Panic and giving in to the temptation to overreact is exactly what they want to induce. Being ignored or laughed at, is what they truly fear.

So, I will return to the Inbetweeners -however overtly laddish their comedy may be, the viewer recognises that, deep down,

Frequently puerile and reveling in bad taste

DT

14 OPINION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Living in a lonely world Life in the city alienates us from human contact

n Md Shamim Alam

D

o you know the names of the people living next door to you? Assuming that you live in the city of Dhaka, in one of those countless apartments in the urban sprawl, my best guess is that you do not.

What if I ask: “How many times have you spoken to them?” Your reply will most likely be “once or twice,” or, in most likelihood, “never.”

We know so many people on Facebook, but so few of our next-door neighbours.

This aloofness that is inherent in city life invites comparison with life in villages, where people know the names, occupations, and in some cases, even the ages, of almost all the inhabitants in the neighbourhood.

They also know quite a few people living in adjacent villages, which are some distance away.

socialise only when they have to step out of home.

Outside the office or off campus, only a handful of occasions warrant socialising.

Among these occasions are Eid, new year celebrations, wedding parties, and birthday bashes.

Now, what can possibly be the reason for such aloofness in people inhabiting this mega-city?

The first reason that comes to my mind is modern electronic gadgets, which, by the way, are also responsible for a sharp decline in the amount of reading people do.

Electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops have a lot in store to keep adults and children sitting in their homes for hours on end.

Music and movies aside, they can immerse people in the addictive world of social networking and video games, among other things.

We should remember that relationships with our closest neighbours humanise us. These relationships should be nurtured

On special occasions, such as wedding receptions, villagers talk not only to those they know very well, but also to those they think they know, asking them if they are the sons or daughters of so-and-so.

When they meet fellow villagers at the bazaar or on the road, they do not forget to inquire after them and have a little chitchat.

This is in marked contrast to life in Dhaka city, where the occupants of an apartment have only a vague idea of the people occupying the adjoining apartments.

Even in cases when they know their nearest neighbours, they avoid small-talk when they come across each other, for example, while boarding or getting off the lift, or when climbing the stairs.

For adults in the city, much of the socialising happens at the office, at the cafeteria, or outside the office building. For adolescents and youths, who are generally better at mixing with other people, much of the interaction happens on campus, between classes.

In other words, city-dwellers tend to

It is very easy to fall in love with these gadgets and spend hour after hour lazing around at home. For many people, nothing else can beat boredom or loneliness like these gadgets.

Another reason city people are reluctant to mingle with neighbours is a lack of trust, which is perhaps not without good reason.

Rape, doping, kidnappings, muggings, and so on, are rife in the city, and are reported in the media with almost metronomic regularity.

Whatever the reasons behind city-dwellers not wanting to socialise with neighbours, we should remember that relationships with our closest neighbours humanise us. Therefore, these relationships should be nurtured by human interaction.

We should remember that, even though our lifestyle has changed at the hands of the Internet and new technology, meaningless bits of conversation can actually make life more meaningful. l Md Shamim Alam works at Impress-Newtex Composite Textiles Ltd.

We are surrounded by people in the city, but do we know them?

DHAKA TRIBUNE

16

Nokia prepares for mobile comeback

17

China weakens yuan amid economic boost

19

Stocks end lower for 4th day

20

Tofail: GSP suspension for export to US politically motivated n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed alleged the US would not restore GSP for Bangladeshi products despite all conditions were met as the authorities, being motivated politically, revoked the trade facility.

“Even if we did more than meeting the outlined conditions, the facility won’t be given back as this was a political decision,” he told journalists in reply to questions yesterday.

“I don’t want to take any further initiative to get back the GSP in the US market,” announced Tofail who earlier held a views exchange with Darja Bavdaž Kuret, Slovenian envoy to India, who also deals with Bangladesh affairs.

Commerce minister said the GSP suspension didn’t hurt Bangladesh exports to the US as the garment products, the major items, were not under the facility.

He said while all other countries were coming up with trade facilities for Bangladesh as per the WTO decisions, the US was going opposite.

A USTR-led interagency review has concluded that Bangladesh has made progress over the last year to address many issues, including fire and building safety inspections in the ready-made garment sector.

“Further progress is needed, however, in areas such as unfair labor practices and implementing rules of the Labor Law before reinstatement of trade benefits under the GSP,” it adds.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of Centre for Policy Dialogue,

BANGLADESH EXPORTS TO US MARKET

Year 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

All Items 5.11 5.10 5.42 5.58 5.78

Source: Export Promotion Bureau

RMG 4.63 4.53 5.00 5.14 5.29

in $bn

said though there was no impact of GSP suspension, Bangladesh would face competition from other countries which got the trade facility renewed.

“To remain competitive in the global market and maintain the current growth, the exporters will have to come up with better prices by reducing production cost or lowering profit,” he told Dhaka Tribune.

He, however, said products of Bangladesh’s small-scale industries like ceramics and plas-

tics would suffer from the GSP withdrawal as importers might change sourcing due to pricing challenge.

Khondaker Moazzem urged the government not to consider the GSP suspension as politically motivated rather focus on ensuring compliance in the industrial sector. He also suggested raising the issue in the TICFA meeting.

The US government has extended general system of preferences (GSP) for 122 countries, but Bangladesh has been left out of the list.

US President Barak Obama signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act 2015 on June 29 reauthorising the GSP programme until December 31, 2017.

The renewed trade facilities would be effective from July 29, 2015. The trade facilities under GSP expired in July 2013.

On June 27, 2013 the US suspended the GSP for Bangladesh asking the later to fix the issue of worker rights violation.

After the suspension, the US government outlined a 16-point Action Plan for restoration of trade facilities under GSP. The government claimed that it has fulfilled all the conditions as per the action plan.

Tofail criticised those trade union leaders, who are affiliated with foreign unions but are not working in any factory, for causing “extensive damage” to the country’s apparel industry.

He said they were concentrating on market and product diversification rather than sticking to some limited export destinations as prime minister had directed. l

DT

Business

15

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Bangladesh investment summit to be held in Singapore in Sept

Exports fall 15% in July n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh earned $2.52bn from exports in July with a decline of over 15% from the same month in last fiscal year as the country’s largest RMG sector earnings suffered a sharp fall.

The provisional data released by Export Promotion Bureau revealed the figures for the first month of the fiscal year. The total figure was $2.98bn in July 2014.

The data showed the earning was $2.52bn in July 2015, which was 15.29% less than one year ago.

The woven sector earnings dropped by nearly 10%, while the knitwear exports saw a fall of around 11% last month.

The readymade garment displayed the poorest performance in six years with 4.1% rise in the just-concluded fiscal year.

In last fiscal year the RMG sector earned a total of $25.49bn compared to $24.49bn in the previous year.

The total export earnings in last fiscal amounted to $31.2bn making a 3.39% growth, the lowest in 13 years.

“This is the reality and nothing unexpected for the industry people as they were experiencing less order of supply from buyers,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, Exporters Association of Bangladesh president, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the compliance issue also caused a fall in production capacity of factories and in exports.

Fluctuation of exchange rate was another reason behind the slow export growth, Murshedy added. l

TechnoSity signs hi-tech park agreement n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority yesterday signed an agreement with Bangladesh TechnoSity Limited to develop 3rd block of the hitech park in Kaliakoir on the outskirts of the capital.

The signing ceremony took place in a city hotel with the presence of Prime Minister’s Office Principal Secretary Abul Kalam Azad and Malaysian High Commissioner in Dhaka Norlin Othman.

Bangladesh TechnoSity Limited is a newly established Malaysia-Bangladesh joint venture partnering MSCTC, IRIS corporation and Alfa Technologies to develop the project.

Initially, TechnoSity will initially invest $25.80m for infrastructure development, and if necessary, the investment might also be increased by 10-12 times.

Moynul Haque Siddiqui, chairman of Bangladesh TechnoSity Limited, said the project

will provide ‘Private One Stop’ exclusive service to the investors.

“Our main objective is to develop a world class innovation and production facilities for different hardware and software industry,” he added.

Hosne Ara Begum, managing director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, and Moynul Haque Siddiqui signed the agreement on behalf of their respective companies.

Hosne Ara Begum said said: “The investors from home and abroad will enjoy 10 years tax holiday, exemption of income tax for expatriate professionals, 10 years accelerated depreciation permissible, exemption from import duties, 100% exemption of taxes on all exports and 100% equity allowed for FDI companies.”

Anisul Haq, minister for law, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT Division, Imran Ahmed, president, standing committee for Telecommunication and ICT, Shyam Sunder Sikder, secretary to ICT Division were

present at the signing ceremony.

Summit Technopolis will develop 2nd and 5th block of the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) within next 40 years.

The proposed park, which is only 40km away from the capital, is now set to be accomplished on a 232-acre land at a cost of over $207m.

The main of objective of the hi-tech park, which is still under construction, is to introduce Bangladeshi hardware manufacturers to the global market.

Kaliakoir hi-tech park, first of its kind, is located at Kaliakoir upazila in Gazipur district.

The park aims at attracting investment especially from the foreign investors in the country’s emerging IT sector as Bangladesh has vast potential of young educated and

technically skilled work force.

The hi-tech park will be equipped with available gas, electricity connection, highspeed internet, separate customs-bonded offices, single window agency to fasten business process and a separate power plant with a capacity of 150 megawatt. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Nokia prepares for mobile comeback n Reuters, Frankfurt Nokia is hiring software experts, testing new products and seeking sales partners as it plots its return to the mobile phone and consumer tech arena it abandoned with the sale of its handset business.

Once the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, the Finnish firm was wrongfooted by the rise of smartphones and eclipsed by Apple and Samsung. It sold its handset business to Microsoft in late 2013 and has since focused squarely on making telecoms network equipment.

Now Nokia boss Rajeev Suri is planning a comeback. He must wait until late 2016 before he can consider re-entering the handset business - after a non-compete deal with Microsoft expires - but preparations are underway.

The company has already dipped its toe into the consumer market; it has launched an Android tablet, the N1, which went on sale in January in China and days ago unveiled a “virtual-reality camera” - heralding it as the “rebirth of Nokia”. It has also launched an Android app called Z Launcher, which organizes content on smartphones.

The Nokia headquarters is seen in Espoo, Finland Meanwhile its technologies division has advertised on LinkedIn dozens of jobs in California, many in product development, including Android engineers specializing in the operating software Nokia mobile devices will use.

Nokia had also planned to lay off about 70 people at the division, according to a May announcement, but a company source told Reu-

New Google CEO Pichai made ascent with low-key style and technical chops n Reuters, San Francisco A low-key style and an unusually firm handle on diplomacy propelled new Google chief executive Sundar Pichai to the top of the search engine giant, former colleagues said, cementing his successes such as creating the Chrome browser.

As part of a major overhaul of its operating structure, Google said on Monday it was creating a new holding company called Alphabet.

Google co-founder Larry Page will step down as Google’s chief and Pichai was appointed as head of a “slimmed-down” version of the company.

Pichai joined Google just before its 2004 initial public offering and several colleagues who worked with him in the years following said he never seemed annointed for the top job. Instead names that came up as potential future Google chiefs included longtime product executives Salar Kamangar, Merissa Mayer and Susan Wojcicki.

Back then, he was one of a small group of product managers, but his responsibilities escalated from working on new versions of the Google tool bar to overseeing the building of Chrome.

Chrome’s rise since its 2008 launch to become the world’s dominant browser made Pichai’s reputation, and he started overseeing apps like Gmail. He later became head of Android, Google’s mobile-phone operating system.

Pichai aided his ascent by never trying to steal the limelight and advancing his agenda through quiet advocacy, according to former colleague Keval Desai.

“He’s a very very strong opinionated person who has clear point of views about where

product and initiative might go, but he’s very good at letting other peoples’ opinions emerge before he gives his own,” Desai, now an investor, told Reuters.

As time went on, Kamangar was replaced as head of the company’s YouTube division last year by Wojcicki. Mayer left in 2012 to run technology company Yahoo .

Tony Zingale, the executive chairman of Jive Software, said Pichai was “incredibly insightful and direct”, acting as “the quiet yet thoughtful outside director” when he served on the board of the collaboration software maker for several years until July 2013.

Pichai excels at managing relationships, wrote longtime Google product manager Chris Beckmann in a post last year on the question-site Quora. “Google has politics like any other large company, and Sundar navigated those politics to make his team successful while inflicting the least possible damage on any other team,” Beckmann wrote.

“Google has politics like any other large company, and Sundar navigated those politics to make his team successful while inflicting the least possible damage on any other team,” Beckmann wrote.

Such diplomacy could come in handy as Pichai continues to oversee some big challenges for Google, including navigating an often difficult relationship with partners like South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the top Android smartphone maker.

He must also contend with Apple Inc, which has made bigger inroads with its music services and in wearable devices.

Wall Street appeared to recognize Pichai’s talents, with the stock heading up as much as 7 percent in after-hours trading. l

REUTERS

ters that the figure had since been halved.

Nokia itself is not giving much away about its preparations, beyond saying some staff at the 600-strong technologies division are working on designs for new consumer products, including phones, as well as in digital video and health.

But it will not be easy to claw its way back

to relevance in the fast-changing, competitive mobile business where Apple has been scooping up nearly 90 percent of industry profits, nor for it to carve out a place in electronics.

One ace Nokia that holds is ownership of one of the mobile industry’s biggest troves of intellectual property, including patents it retained after selling its handset business. It does not want to waste such resources, built up with tens of billions of euros of investment over the past two decades.

It will also get an injection of talent when it completes the 15.6bn euro ($17bn) acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent, announced in April, in the form of Bell Labs - a US research center whose scientists have won eight Nobel prizes.

It says it will not repeat the mistakes of the past of missing technology trends, being saddled with high costs, and reacting too slowly to changing consumer tastes.

To blunt such risks, it is seeking partners for “brand-licensing” deals whereby Nokia will design new phones, bearing its brand, but - in exchange for royalties - will then allow other firms to mass-manufacture, market and sell the devices. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Mohammad Abu Jafar has recently joined Dhaka Bank Limited as its deputy-managing director.

Jafar has started his professional banking career back in 1990. He obtained BSS with Honours and MSS in Economics from University of Chittagong

Green Delta Insurance Company Limited has recently held its 30th half-yearly business conference in Dhaka. The company’s chairperson, Abdul Hafiz Choudhury, FCA inaugurated the conference as chief guest

MoneyGram Foundation has recently awarded a grant of $53,600 Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programs (UCEP), Bangladesh in order to improve teaching and learning environment of 25 UCEP general schools in Bangladesh

DT

BUSINESS 17

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

China weakens yuan amid economic boost n AFP, Shanghai China’s central bank yesterday devalued its yuan currency by nearly two percent against the US dollar, as authorities seek to push market reforms and boost the world’s second-largest economy.

The surprise move marked the biggest drop since China reformed its currency system in 2005 by un-pegging the yuan - also known as the renminbi (RMB) - from the greenback.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) set its daily reference rate for the yuan at 6.2298 to $1, compared with 6.1162 yuan the previous day, effectively 1.86% lower.

The change came amid speculation China is preparing to widen the trading band for the yuan for the first time since March 2014 from its current two percent.

The range is calculated from a central fixing point each day. Before Tuesday, Chinese officials said they based it on a poll of market-makers, but the PBoC’s move means it will now also take into account the previous day’s close and other factors.

Beijing has kept a tight grip on the value of the yuan on fears fund outflows and inflows could build financial risk and reduce its policy control. But it is also seeking to reform its yuan policy in an effort to be included in the International Monetary Fund’s basket of “special drawing rights” (SDR) reserve currencies.

“A reasonable adjustment of the RMB’s value is good for China’s exports and also good for the RMB to be admitted to the SDR,” Liu Dongmin, director of international finance research office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told AFP. “But most importantly, this marks key progress for RMB exchange rate reform since 2005 and a major step for RMB marketisation,” he said.

Beijing keeps the yuan stable compared to other major global currencies and a two percent move in its value is dramatic - before Tuesday’s announcement it had traded within a roughly 0.4 percent band for four months.

Supply and demand

China’s currency has been a key sticking point with the US, which argues the yuan has been kept “significantly undervalued” to make ex-

An employee counts Chinese 100 yuan banknotes at a branch of China Merchants Bank in Hefei ports more competitive.

Beijing’s market intervention has also been a stumbling block in gaining admittance to the IMF’s SDR club, now comprised of the US dollar, Europe’s euro, British pound and Japanese yen.

The Washington-based fund said this month “significant work” still needed to be done for the yuan to be considered before its next review in November.

The PBoC described the sharply lower rate as a one-off move, though it did not use the term devaluation, saying the weakening in the currency reflected a new method of calculating the daily price.

The bank will now “comprehensively consider the supply and demand of foreign exchange” as well the latest international market rates for foreign currencies to set the fixing, according to a statement.

Analysts said data showing a slump in exports over the weekend could also have prompted the move, which should make Chinese goods cheaper overseas.

Exports, a key driver of the country’s growth, plunged 8.3% year-on-year in July, customs said Saturday, spelling more worry for the economy.

China’s gross domestic product expanded 7.4 %in 2014 - its slowest rate since 1990 - and

REUTERS

has slowed further this year. It grew 7% in both of the first two quarters, in-line with the government’s annual target for 2015.

With China’s economy already slowing, analysts said a weakening of the currency was long overdue.

“The RMB exchange rate deviated greatly from the market (consensus) before, so the one-off correction of two percent today is big,” Li Daxiao, an analyst from Yingda Securities, told AFP. On Tuesday morning, the yuan was quoted at 6.2570 to $1.0, down sharply from Monday’s close of 6.2096, according to the operator of the national foreign exchange market. l

Oil prices down in Asian trade China yuan devaluation pressures Asian currencies n AFP, Singapore

n AFP, Tokyo

Asia’s currencies came under pressure yesterday after China unexpectedly devalued its yuan currency in the face of weakening growth, driving the dollar higher.

China’s central bank announced a near two percent drop in the value of its yuan against the US dollar, the biggest fall since the currency was unpegged from the greenback in 2005.

The surprise move sent ripples through Asia’s currency markets, sending the Australian dollar -- often seen as a proxy for the yuan - tumbling 1.16% to 73.28 US cents.

The US dollar also gained against the South Korean won and Indian rupee, but was marginally down against the Japanese yen, trading at 124.67 compared with 124.72 in New

York on Monday.

The People’s Bank of China’s announcement “looks to be a move to a more open market policy,” Stephen Innes, a senior trader at OANDA, told Bloomberg News.

“Traders are looking for US dollar strength across the Asia region and pressure on all local currencies.” The euro dipped after news that Greece has reached an agreement with its creditors on fiscal targets, leaving it on course for a bailout deal to avert an August 20 default.

The single currency changed hands at $1.0985 and 136.91 yen against $1.1019 and 137.31 yen.

The dollar fell overnight in New York against the euro as Fed officials gave fresh clues about the timing of the central bank’s rate hike. l

Oil prices fell in Asia yesterday as dealers focused on an upcoming US energy report for clues about production and demand levels in the world’s top crude consumer amid abundant global supplies.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery fell 47 cents to $44.49 while Brent crude for September eased 45 cents to $49.96 in mid-morning trade.

The US Energy Information Administration will release the latest US stockpiles report for the week to August 7 on Wednesday.

Analysts said dealers will focus on production after it rose 52,000 in the previous week, slightly offsetting a 4.4 million drop in overall crude reserves that indicated healthy demand.

London-based research house Capital Economics said the main drivers pressuring oil

prices were “signs of a recovery in US production and buoyant OPEC supply”.

Dealers predict a slowdown in US output and increased demand during the summer driving season - could whittle down a huge global glut that has been a key reason prices collapsed from a peak of around $120 in June last year.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Export Countries’ (OPEC) decision to maintain its output level at around 30 million barrels a day despite sagging demand is also seen as a reason for the abundant supplies.

The move is seen as an attempt by the producer cartel’s kingpin Saudi Arabia to defend its market share as it fends off competition from US shale oil.

That policy may be working, with the latest drop in prices prompting “more Western oil companies to shelve investment plans, which will feed back into slower growth in nonOPEC production,” Capital Economics said. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures SEBL1STMF: The Trustee Committee of the Fund has declared 12.50% cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2015.

Record date: 31.08.2015. The Fund has reported net profit of Tk. 140.82 million and earnings per unit of Tk. 1.41 for the year ended on June 30, 2015 as against Tk. 141.24 million and Tk. 1.42 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

NLI1STMF: The Trustee Committee of the Fund has declared 13.00% cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2015.

Record date: 31.08.2015. The Fund has reported net profit of Tk. 75.42 million and earnings per unit of Tk. 1.50 for the year ended on June 30, 2015 as against Tk. 70.89 million and Tk. 1.41 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

STYLECRAFT: (Q1): EPS for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 14.01 as against Tk. 14.11 for April-June, 2014; NOCFPS was Tk. 33.46 for April-June, 2015 as against Tk. 139.60 for April-June, 2014.

NAV per share was Tk. 386.67 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 329.07 as of June 30, 2014.

1STPRIMFMF: (HY): Earning per unit for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.17 as against Tk. 0.24 for April-June, 2014, Earning per unit for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.26 as against Tk. 0.65 for Jan-June, 2014. NOCFPS was Tk. (0.13) for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. (0.13) for Jan-June, 2014. NAV per unit at market price was Tk. 10.06 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 10.28 as of June 25, 2014. NAV per unit at cost price was Tk. 16.04 as of

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Dulamia CottonZ Northern Jute -Z 7th ICB M F-A Anwar Galvanizing-B Monno Stafllers -A National Tubes -A Pharma Aids A Aramit -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Rahima Food -Z

June 30, 2015 and Tk. 16.17 as of June 25, 2014.

REPUBLIC: Alpha Credit Rating Limited (AlphaRating) has rated the Company as “A” in the long term and “AR-2” in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited financial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2014 and relevant qualitative information up to August 09, 2015.

FIRSTFIN: Alpha Credit Rating Limited (AlphaRating) has rated the Company as “A-” in the long term and “AR-3” in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited financial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2014 and relevant qualitative information up to August 09, 2015.

TOSRIFA: The Company has further informed that the AGM of the Company will be held on 21.09.2015 at 10:00 AM at Army Golf Club, Dhaka Cantonment, Dhaka. Record date will be 30.08.2015 for entitlement of 5% Cash and 7% Stock dividend which was earlier declared (news disseminated by DSE on 17.06.2015) for the financial year ended December 31, 2014.

4th ICB M F-A Stylecraft -A Bangladesh Welding -B AsianTigerSandhani GF-A Kay & Que (BD) -Z H.R. Textile -A Progressive Life-A EBL NRB M.F.-A Tosrifa Industries -N Libra Infusions-A

Dividend/AGM

CSE LOSER

8THICB: 140% cash. 7THICB: 150% cash 6THICB: 120% cash 5THICB: 250% cash. 4THICB: 300% cash. 3RDICB: 300% cash. 2NDICB: 450% cash.

1STICB: 1,000% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015.

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

Closing (% Change) 9.86 8.75 8.54 7.72 6.81 6.63 6.62 6.32 5.80 5.46

CSE GAINER Company 4th ICB M F-A Anwar Galvanizing-B EBL NRB M.F.-A Rangpur Foundry -A S.B. 1st M. F.-A 1st ICB M F -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Argon Denims Limited-A Rahima Food -Z Aramit -A

Closing (% Change) 26.24 9.87 6.82 5.94 5.68 5.67 5.32 5.32 5.30 5.18

DSE LOSER Company

Company Monno Ceramic -B Northern G Insur-A Bangladesh Welding -B ISN Ltd. -Z Dutch Ban. Bnk- A Berger Paints-A One Bank -A Tosrifa Industries -N PrimeFin. 1st MF-A The Ibn SinaA

Closing (% Change) -6.41 -5.30 -4.72 -4.44 -4.38 -4.24 -4.17 -4.08 -3.54 -3.45

Closing (% Change) -9.24 -5.58 -5.45 -4.76 -4.62 -4.49 -4.41 -4.14 -4.10 -3.98

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

DSE GAINER

Sector

5,469.77 132,162,439 128,848

Traded Issues

322

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

106

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

208

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,701.72

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.75

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 445.30 113.44 174.19 1000.37 278.75 1012.11 11.38 628.24 827.63 14.48 58.24 31.74 40.13 172.40 38.55 31.67 55.81 194.42 123.85 216.82 0.25

% change 8.14 2.07 3.18 18.29 5.10 18.50 0.21 11.49 15.13 0.26 1.06 0.58 0.73 3.15 0.70 0.58 1.02 3.55 2.26 3.96 0.00

Million Taka 27.18 7.07 4.26 75.92 14.93 79.08 41.91 43.03 1.32 4.42 1.63 4.42 14.30 5.01 0.76 6.32 16.23 13.67 20.43 0.00

Average (% Change) 11.00 9.12 7.21 3.89 4.13 4.08 3.94 8.01 2.53 4.82

Average (% Change) 26.24 5.73 7.73 3.07 4.87 5.67 3.04 5.61 4.49 6.83

Average (% Change) -6.32 -4.56 -5.86 -1.78 -2.27 -3.36 -3.44 -3.69 -2.75 0.37

Average (% Change) -9.24 -5.02 -5.90 -4.19 -4.74 -4.49 -3.76 -3.05 -3.04 -3.94

CSE

ClosingAvg. 7.77 277.19 116.53 50.44 287.74 122.98 281.74 307.76 437.17 41.30

ClosingAvg. 255.00 51.46 4.74 112.27 9.26 1585.00 437.70 27.86 41.39 304.81

ClosingAvg. 229.52 1030.77 24.75 8.83 13.33 23.04 53.09 4.70 30.44 434.49

ClosingAvg. 33.40 20.42 25.04 10.06 88.69 2,020.00 13.05 30.56 11.82 119.28

% change 7.12 1.85 1.12 19.88 3.91 20.71 0.00 10.97 11.27 0.35 1.16 0.43 1.16 3.74 1.31 0.20 1.65 4.25 3.58 5.35 0.00

Closing 7.80 277.20 118.20 51.60 290.30 123.90 286.70 307.70 448.40 42.50

Closing 255.00 52.30 4.70 114.10 9.30 1585.00 449.00 27.70 41.70 304.80

Closing 229.30 1020.90 24.20 8.60 13.10 22.60 52.90 4.70 30.00 425.30

DHIGH

DLOW

7.80 277.20 119.70 52.50 295.00 125.80 289.90 314.70 455.00 42.80

DHIGH 255.00 52.30 4.80 115.80 9.30 1585.00 453.50 28.80 42.80 310.00

DHIGH

7.60 277.00 110.00 47.90 275.00 116.40 267.50 290.50 423.00 39.60

DLOW 255.00 50.00 4.40 108.50 9.00 1585.00 422.00 26.50 40.10 300.00

DLOW

245.00 1062.00 25.80 9.20 13.70 23.90 53.00 4.70 31.50 447.90

225.00 1015.80 24.00 8.50 12.60 22.50 52.80 4.70 29.70 421.00

Closing

DHIGH

DLOW

33.40 20.30 24.30 10.00 88.70 2,020.00 13.00 30.10 11.70 118.20

33.40 21.10 26.30 10.10 90.60 2,020.00 13.30 31.70 12.20 122.00

33.40 20.20 24.20 10.00 87.50 2,020.00 12.90 30.00 11.60 118.20

Million Taka 472.48 120.51 178.46 1076.29 293.69 1091.18 11.38 670.15 870.66 15.80 62.65 33.37 44.55 186.70 43.55 32.42 62.13 210.65 137.51 237.25 0.25

Total

% change 8.07 2.06 3.05 18.39 5.02 18.65 0.19 11.45 14.88 0.27 1.07 0.57 0.76 3.19 0.74 0.55 1.06 3.60 2.35 4.05 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

0.124 1.817 6.692 11.841 2.632 26.608 61.266 13.539 134.482 3.995

Turnover in Million

-3.15 1.75 20.76 0.68 0.70 -1.36 8.83 14.86 6.89 -0.47

Latest EPS

0.012 0.754 0.003 0.632 0.083 0.002 13.575 8.967 0.618 0.066

Turnover in Million

-ve 158.4 5.6 74.2 411.1 -ve 31.9 20.7 63.4 -ve

Latest PE

36.29 0.68 0.61 3.42 1.41 142.00 6.89 2.78 -0.47 14.86

Latest EPS

0.241 1.005 51.061 2.028 0.028 1.777 0.055 0.003 31.729 2.988

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

7.0 75.7 7.8 32.8 6.6 11.2 63.5 10.0 -ve 20.5

Latest PE

36.29 56.04 -0.80 0.60 -0.24 0.85 2.30 0.61 3.26 3.38

Latest EPS

0.067 0.068 1.800 0.018 0.023 0.018 1.174 5.849 0.098 0.328

6.3 18.4 -ve 14.7 -ve 27.1 23.1 7.7 9.3 128.5

Latest PE

0.16 3.90 -0.80 -0.20 11.16 69.64 1.78 3.26 0.52 4.82

208.8 5.2 -ve -ve 7.9 29.0 7.3 9.4 22.7 24.7

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

381.87 10,641,029 17,538

Traded Issues

259

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

73

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

180

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,600.88

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.53

DT

BUSINESS 19

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Stocks end lower for 4th day n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N Islami Bank BD - A FAR Chemical-N Square Pharma -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Grameenphone-A Bengal Windsor-A Appollo Ispat CL -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-A

Ratanpur Steel -N BSRM Ltd. -A Emerald Oil Ind. -A BD Building Systems -A Al-Haj Textile -A

VolumeShares 2,342,866 9,096,311 2,995,812 532,126 307,618 400,800 1,492,658 4,570,857 3,197,823 840,048

Value in Million 377.39 239.67 168.82 142.41 134.48 128.82 120.27 107.12 105.75 103.31

% of TotalTurnover 6.90 4.38 3.09 2.60 2.46 2.36 2.20 1.96 1.93 1.89

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N CVO PetroChem RL-A Olympic Accessories -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BSRM Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-A UNITED AIR-A BD Submarine Cable-A Argon Denims Limited-A Square Pharma -A

Islami Bank BD - A WesternMarine -N Appollo Ispat CL -N Khulna Power-A Grameenphone-A

1,588,941 857,669 2,026,146 1,639,842 589,868

258,008 31,014 209,724 337,891 95,821 81,929 915,753 67,280 321,847 33,484

317,475 178,831 302,461 96,588 21,502

99.11 95.49 86.82 86.16 78.22

41.59 13.57 12.89 11.18 10.64 10.00 9.81 9.33 8.97 8.96

8.42 8.21 7.09 6.98 6.90

1.81 1.75 1.59 1.58 1.43

10.89 3.55 3.38 2.93 2.79 2.62 2.57 2.44 2.35 2.35

2.21 2.15 1.86 1.83 1.81

ClosingP 159.20 26.10 56.60 267.60 448.40 320.60 78.70 23.10 32.90 122.10

61.60 111.30 42.90 52.00 131.50

ClosingP

Change % -2.57 0.77 0.00 -0.34 5.80 -0.59 -2.36 -2.53 -0.90 -1.37

-0.65 2.39 3.62 0.19 1.54

Change %

159.20 449.00 61.50 32.90 110.90 121.40 10.70 137.20 27.70 267.20

26.10 45.50 23.10 71.50 320.30

-2.51 5.32 1.32 -1.20 1.84 -1.46 -0.93 -1.29 5.32 -0.74

1.16 -2.36 -2.12 -1.52 -0.62

ClosingY 163.40 25.90 56.60 268.50 423.80 322.50 80.60 23.70 33.20 123.80

62.00 108.70 41.40 51.90 129.50

ClosingY

163.30 426.30 60.70 33.30 108.90 123.20 10.80 139.00 26.30 269.20

25.80 46.60 23.60 72.60 322.30

DHIGH 165.00 27.00 57.40 269.50 455.00 324.90 82.50 23.90 33.50 125.50

63.40 113.70 43.30 53.10 136.90

DLOW 158.60 26.00 55.30 267.00 423.00 320.10 77.80 23.00 32.80 121.60

61.30 108.90 41.30 51.40 125.50

DHIGH

DLOW

165.00 453.50 62.40 33.60 112.60 124.00 10.90 140.90 28.80 269.00

158.70 422.00 60.80 32.80 109.00 121.00 10.60 136.80 26.50 266.00

27.00 46.50 23.90 73.40 327.50

26.00 45.40 23.00 71.00 319.00

AvgPrice 161.08 26.35 56.35 267.62 437.17 321.40 80.57 23.43 33.07 122.98

62.37 111.33 42.85 52.54 132.60

AvgPrice

161.20 437.70 61.47 33.07 111.00 122.09 10.72 138.70 27.86 267.47

26.53 45.89 23.42 72.26 320.96

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

12293.43250

(-) 0.50%

1859.48229

(-) 0.53%

14715.41690

(-) 0.52%

12293.43250

(-) 0.52%

8960.37340

(-) 0.52%

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼

Stocks declined for the fourth consecutive session yesterday amid low volume of trade as continued volatile market confused investors over the market direction.

After passing a nervy morning trade, stocks moved mostly lower, pulling down the index.

The benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, lost 24 points or 0.5% to settle at 4,791.

The Shariah index, DSES, was down 5 points or 0.5% to 1,184. The blue chip comprising index, DS30, closed at 1,859, losing nearly 10 points or 0.6%.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, dropped 58 points to 8,949.

Weak trading activities continued to intensify as DSE turnover stood at Tk550 crore, which is 17.2% lower over the previous session’s value. Energy and engineering accounted for 36% of total turnover.

Almost all the sectors closed negative except life insurance that saw fractional rise of 0.2% after previous session’s steep correction.

Non-banking financial institutions was the worst loser, dropping 1.5%, followed by cement 1.2%, power 0.8%, telecommunications 0.7%, banks 0.5% and phar-

maceuticals 0.3%.

Losers beat gainers strongly as out of 320 issues traded, 92 closed positive, 191 negative and 37 remained unchanged.

IDLC Investments said psychological worries put investors in a discomfort zone, pressing them to shift position in anticipation of further correction.

Losers beat gainers strongly as out of 320 issues traded, 92 closed positive, 191 negative and 37 remained unchanged Since, almost all the half-yearly earnings became available, investors started thinking about ‘what comes next’ and seemingly re-allocating their portfolio.

United Power Generation and Distribution Company continued to top the liquidity chart for the fourth straight session with turnover worth more than Tk37 crore.

Other top turnover leaders included Islami Bank, FAR Chemical, Square Pharmaceuticals, CVO Petrochemical and Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics Limited. l

ANALYST

Investors started thinking about ‘what comes next’ and seemingly reallocating their portfolio

DT

20 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

Bangladesh investment summit to be held in Singapore in Sept n

HSBC announces Export Excellence Awards

Fund repatriation major hindrance to foreign investment

n Tribune Report Most of the foreign investors are reluctant to invest in Bangladesh as they are still facing fund repatriation impediment.

“Fund repatriation is a major hindrances to foreign investment in Bangladesh,’’ said Abrar A Anwar, chief executive officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh.

He came up with the observation while announcing the upcoming 3rd Bangladesh Investment Summit, Asia, which will be held on 1 September this year in Singapore.

Abrar A Anwar and Sohail RK Hussain, managing director and CEO of The City Bank, jointly made the announcement at a press conference held at a city hotel yesterday.

The Standard Chartered Bank and The City

Bank are platinum sponsors of the summit.

The other partial sponsors of the daylong summit include BRAC EPL, BRAC Bank and DFDL. Addressing the press conference Anwar said, “Lack of good governance and inadequate foreign currency also refrain the potential foreign investors from investing in Bangladesh.”

“From our previous experiences, we’ve found that foreign investors want to get assurance of their fund repatriation before their long-term investment plan.”

He also urged Bangladesh Bank to be more flexible on allowing fund repatriation to encourage the foreign investors.

“We’ve noticed that foreign investors are more interested to invest in energy and power

sector only if we could comply with their basic demands,” he said.

Anwar also said, “We’re going to convey the message to the foreign investors that it is the high time for investment in Bangladesh as the country is now on the track to reach 7% GDP growth with adequate reserve, stable currency, steady growing of remittance and exports.”

The summit, which is planed to be a regular annual event, will be a good platform for understanding the investment opportunities in Bangladesh, Sohel Hossain told the press conference.

Around 300 investors from different sector are going to attend the summit to discuss the investment opportunities in various areas, he said. l

Tribune Report

The HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Bangladesh has announced its 6th installment of “HSBC Export Excellence Awards” to recognise the exporters for their outstanding contribution to the sustainable growth of Bangladesh through exports.

The bank made the announcement at a press conference held at a city hotel yesterday.

Exporters will be able to contest for the reward titled “Exporter of the Year” in four categories.

The four categories are-RMG and Textile, EPZ Enterprises, Traditional and Emerging sectors and SMEs. Nominations will be accepted till 17 September 2015.

Winners of the award are selected based on different aspects such as annual contribution to the national exports, diversity, responsibility, sustainable business practices and governance strengths of their respective businesses. l

Ecnec okays dredger procurement project

Int’l firms may be hired for Moheshkhalin Tribune Report Anowara Gas pipeline The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved the pron Asif Showkat Kallol curement of 20 dredgers at a cost of Tk2,048 The government is likely to hire two international firms from Canada and China to get equipment for the construction of Moheshkhali-Anowara Gas Transmission pipeline to transmit 500 million cubic feet (mcf) per day Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Moheshkhali to Anowar.

The proposal for the procurement of Thermo Electric Generator and coating and wrapping materials by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division is likely to be placed before cabinet committee on public purchase today.

According to the proposal, Canadian firm Global Thermoelectric Ink, Canada will supply Thermo Electric Generator with a cost of US$3,99,420 while Chinese joint venture firm Ningbo Skyway Imp & Exp Co Ltd will supply coat and wrapping materials with a cost of $2,53,286.

For the procurement of coat and wrapping materials, three firms participated in the biddings are-Seal for Life India Pvt Ltd, India, Ningbo Skyway Imp & Exp Co Ltd, PR China and Friends Traders, Bangladesh.

Chinese Joint-venture firm Ningbo Skyway Imp & Exp Co Ltd was the lowest bidder.

In 2012, the government planned to build a floating LNG import terminal with a capacity to handle five million tones a year of LNG, re-gasification capacity of at least 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), and berthing and mooring facilities for LNG ships with a capacity of 138,000-260,000 cubic metres.

Separately, state-owned Gas Transmission Company Limited undertook a move to lay a 91-km Moheshkhali-Anowara gas transmission pipeline to carry re-gasified LNG from the terminal to shore.

Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding to import four million tonnes per year of LNG from Qatar Petroleum in January 2011. l

crore for smooth navigation in the country.

The dredgers will be procured for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to conduct dredging of 232.50 lakh cubic metres per year.

BIWTA under the Shipping Ministry will implement the dredger procurement project

by December 2019. The dredgers would be added to the BIWTA fleet.

The dredgers to be procured include some six 26-inch cutter suction dredgers, nine 20-inch cutter suction dredgers, five 18-inch cutter suction dredgers, 20 crane boats, eight tugboats, 20 crew-house boats, eight officers houseboats, five inland survey vessels, 10 survey work boats, 12 barges, 12 pipe-carrying barges, five well barges, four water barges and 3,200 shore pipes.

According to the ‘Feasibility Study of Capital Dredging and Sustainable River Man-

agement in Bangladesh’, conducted by the Bangladesh Water Development Board with joint initiatives from both local and foreign experts, showed that some 216 cutter suction dredgers will be necessary for dredging some 23 big and medium rivers.

The BIWTA fleet has so far got 18 dredgers while three more dredgers will be procured by 2015. At this, the number of dredgers will be 21 with the annual dredging capacity of 110 lakh cubic meters.

According to officials, there is a need for having some 882.53 lakh cubic metres of dredging every year throughout the country to maintain the navigability of rivers.

Following the Ecnec meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said 10 dredgers would be collected in the first two years while the rest 10 in the next two years after the first slot.

A BIWTA official said the rivers of Bangladesh discharge about 5m cusec of water during the flood, and 2.4bn tonnes of silts are flown annually through the rivers which is 18.5% of the total silts of the world.

As a result, most rivers are gradually dying, and in this respect, it is very much essential to develop the waterways for socioeconomic development of the country, he said.

The minister said the improvement of waterways by dredging will have a favourable impact on the economy of the country by providing better transportation and irrigation facilities.

The dredging of rivers would also boost fish production and to some extent help control flood by providing better drainage as well as ecological improvement in the country, he said.

The country had 24,000km long waterways in the past, but silting of river-beds hampered navigability of the water ways.

At present, the country has only 5,968km navigability during monsoon while 3,865km during dry season, according to BIWTA. The above project was one of the seven projects valued Tk2,384.85 crore approved by the Ecnec meeting at the NEC conference room with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. l

ITU announces new telecom world entrepreneurship awards n Tribune Report

International Telecommunication Union has launched the ITU Telecom World Entrepreneurship Awards 2015.

The new awards go to the most innovative start-ups, micro, small and medium-size businesses, ITU said in a statement yesterday.

The award recognizes the crucial role played by the ICT entrepreneurs, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), supporting technology hubs, incubators and government initiatives in driving industry growth, creating employment and contributing meaningfully to social development across emerging and developed markets.

All SMEs and entrepreneurs exhibiting at ITU Telecom World 2015 in Budapest, Hungary, from October 12 to 15 are eligible to enter the award, whether taking part with an independent stand or pod, or as part of a National Pavilion.

Selected by an expert jury including ministers, regulators, industry CEOs and leading ITU officials, the ITU Telecom Entrepreneurship Award will be presented at the closing ceremony of ITU Telecom World.

Prizes will also include People’s Choice Award, chosen by delegates attending ITU Telecom World 2015, and the Innovation Champion Award for what is judged to be the most effective government scheme fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and SMEs in

the ICT sector.

Winners will benefit from international recognition as leading entrepreneurs for social good, unique visibility and networking opportunities, and the guarantee of a free exhibition stand and speaking slot in the forum debates in the next year’s ITU Telecom World.

“In celebrating the most promising highgrowth SMEs using ICTs for social good, along with successful government initiatives supporting entrepreneurship in this sector, ITU is setting the bar for good practice and the fruitful exchange of ideas globally, and taking a lead in promoting innovative ICT entrepreneurship for socioeconomic development,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. l

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Photo: Courtesy

T-JUNCTION

Prints Charming

INSIDE

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The threaded truth

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Strings on fire news

A Wave of Words â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Feeding the imagination of Dhaka city

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Trial Room

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The threaded truth It’s always nice to be introduced to talents in our city that most of us are unaware of. Even better, the origin story can be quite intriguing. That’s what we saw in fashion designer Rezwan Islam.

He tells the T-Junction crew how it all came about and what he hopes to achieve in the fashion world friend offered me a job at his advertising agency, I took the job in the blink of an eye.

I worked there for about a year and a half and learned a lot about how the market works, and I felt ready to work in the fashion industry again. Soon after, I launched my menswear line at the end of 2013. As a designer my strengths are in patterns and prints. I like playing with different shapes, colours and prints. After completing my diploma in fashion design, I mostly spent my time in pattern making to understand how a garment fits a particular type of body.

Since I’ve been working in the industry for almost nine years now, it has given me vast experience about different body types and shapes and how to fit a garment accordingly.

Using prints and texture in my design is my forte. I am one of the pioneers in using floral prints in menswear in Bangladesh. In 2014 for my Eid collection, I used lots of prints, especially floral prints for making men’s kurtas. This year I’ve also used plenty of floral prints for men’s shirts, kurtas, trousers and shorts. Another expertise I have is my exquisite hand embroidered garments. All of my handwork are very detailed and intricate.

I also like hand dying my fabric to give it a unique touch. Every collection of mine always has some dyed fabric. I mostly use imported fine cotton which I collect from a local market. I spend a great time choosing the best quality fabric for the ultimate comfort in our hot, humid weather.

n T-Junction Desk Where did it all begin? How did you fall into your passion?

I’ve always been very passionate about fashion since my childhood. However, when I was growing up we neither had cable TV nor the Internet. Our only source to get acquainted with the fashion world were dated magazines! I’d save my pocket money, buy those magazines and come home to ask my mom to make me shirts, trousers or shorts. I remember we used to get new clothes only on Eid-ul-Fitr, or if there was a wedding in the family. My mom and aunts would all sit together to make our clothes.

They’d select designs from catalogues or magazines, cut pattern on newspapers, and sew the garments. While my cousins would play outside, I’d always sit by my mother and watch her going through the whole process

of making a garment. I’d ask her millions of questions and she would always answer them very patiently. That’s how I found my niche in fashion.

I grew up in a big family where art and culture had been moderately practiced. I used to draw, paint, act and sing when I was in school but now, I can only make fashion sketches. When I graduated high school, I wasn’t allowed to go to art school, and fashion designing was completely an alien concept. We also didn’t have any schools that would offer any degree in fashion design. So I decided to pursue my career in environmental studies at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). After my undergrad, I went for my masters in energy and environmental analysis at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. Before I even got my library card I subscribed for GQ and Instinct – men’s lifestyle magazines.

After my graduation, when I was looking for a full time job in the field of environment, I started working as a part-time salesperson in one of the leading retail stores, The Colors of United Benetton. I worked there for almost a year, and I started dreaming again to get into the fashion industry.

I returned to Dhaka in 2006, and joined BRAC as a research assistant. However, I felt something was missing and wasn’t very content with what I was doing. I decided to follow my passion. I left BRAC, joined North South University as a part-time lecturer, and enrolled myself into a fashion design diploma programme at INIFD in Banani. After my diploma, I started working in the industry but on a very small scale. I was working both for men and women, but mostly women. I knew I was good at designing, at the same time I knew my marketing strategy and skills were very weak. So when my childhood

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It’s one thing to follow your passion and express your art through fashion, but you must cater to the crowd. How much are your designs being made by what you want, as supposed to what the market wants? Is it ever difficult to compromise your designs because you know there is a target market to consider?

As much as I’d like to show my creativity in my designs, I’d also like to sell them. So there has to be a right balance of art and commerce to make any design commercially viable. It’s not always an easy task, however I would say I rather adjust my designs to cater the targeted clienteles.

Where do you find inspiration, does the recent fashion scene ever play a factor? Or

do you just go with what you think will look good for the season?

Nature is always a great inspiration for me. I also follow the current international fashion trends, and get my inspiration from there. I went to Thailand and Cambodia in April for a month-long vacation. The landscape and the temples of Cambodia have inspired me so much that I’m thinking of making a small wedding collection based on my trip.

We’re sure that would keep you plenty busy, as you are now. When you do have free time, what are you up to?

I like cooking and baking, dining out with friends and watching Project Runway! And working out at the gym or at home everyday, one of my favourite things to do. I plug in my headphones, play my favourite music and it feels like I have the whole world just to myself for those few hours.

How would you describe your style? How much does it influence your work?

It’s smart casual. Sometimes very cutting edge. I like taking risks. In fashion, you have to always take risks. And it does reflect in my designs a lot.

What are the five things you never leave your home without? Your fashion or style essentials?

Keys, wallet, phone, sunglasses and my gym bag.

Would you say the dreams you’ve had earlier in your career are coming true? What does the future hold for you? More dreams to reach (future projects)?

What I’ve dreamed of are slowly coming into reality. My only dream now is to have an outlet and show the people my design.

Considering your own style, how do you see the fashion scene for men in our city? Has it improved, or do you see more work to be done?

The fashion scene for men has definitely improved in terms of fit and shape. Colours and prints – we still have a long way to go.

Men in Dhaka are getting fashion conscious, but yet to be very fashion forward.

Would it help to have more influential menswear designers in our country? Is it because the lack of exposure for new talent?

It certainly would. We have lots of designers working in women’s fashion, but I think it’s high time we patronise new talents to work in men’s fashion.

Going through your own career, who are your favourite designers in the fashion world?

Roberto Cavalli, Marc Jacobs, Rohit Bal and Naeem Khan.

Is there a label that you would love to work for or collaborate with?

I’d like to work for Cavalli or Jacobs. And in Bangladesh I’d like to collaborate with my dear friend Mehruz who has an excellent taste in menswear – a forward thinker, and his craftsmanship is the best in town.

Finally, what kind of legacy do you wish to leave in the industry? What do you want to be remembered by or as?

I’d like to be remembered by my design. Plain and simple. l

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Tucked in

room of the week

news

Exciting offers from Huawei at the Smartphone and Tab Expo 2015

Huawei has announced exciting offers for the upcoming “Smartphone and Tab Expo 2015” at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), Dhaka. The event is to be held from August 13 till 15. It is the biggest of its kind and is attended by a huge number of visitors. To celebrate the occasion, Huawei has declared exciting gifts

and discounts for visitors at the event.

Huawei is offering up to 9% discount on all their handsets and tabs for the Expo.

Free Bluetooth speakers will be given upon the purchase of every Huawei P8 Lite, G7 and Mate 7. The Huawei P8 and P8 Lite are the current Huawei flagship models with specifications to rival the best in the market. Huawei is offering an 8GB memory card with the Huawei Y625. There is a Tk1,000 discount on the Huawei Y3C. Those who are looking for an Android experience from an international manufacturer can avail this handset at a discounted price of Tk4,990 from the previous price of Tk5,990.

Huawei is also offering a Transcend 16GB memory card with its T1 tabs. The offers are valid during the Expo only. l

A Wave of Words – Feeding the imagination of Dhaka city

Strings on fire

A corner to celebrate your favourite music heroes and a spotlight on your precious guitar; a dream room for most music lovers.

Room: Zarif Rashid Area: Gulshan

Writers and readers gathered at Red Shift Café in Dhaka yesterday to discuss creative art and literature. The “Wave of Words” literary brunch was organised as an event to celebrate literature.

The event, hosted by literary patron, Sal Imam, brought together authors, Shazia Omar (Like a Diamond in the Sky), Srabonti Narmeen Ali (Hope in Technicolor) and poet Sabahat Jahan (Handful of Nothing), along with a new group of writers called the Pen Warriors.

Together the artists performed an experimental piece, collaboratively written by the Pen Warriors, a murder mystery called Biriani To Die For, which had the audience laughing off their seats at times, and also, thinking critically about some of the social peculiarities of our city and culture.

The group observed a minute of silence in honour of Niloy, the sixth secular blogger to be brutally murdered this year.

In reaction to the murder of the blogger, writers expressed their concern and demanded quick action by the government.

The writers also pleaded for an attitude of

tolerance and compassion among religious groups.

Sadad Saaz, organiser of the Hay Festival Dhaka, complimented the programme, saying, “This is a lovely initiative. We need literary events throughout the year to encourage writing and an appreciation of literature in English, to create a thriving community around books, as we see present in India, UK and America.”

Marcia Bernicat, Honourable Ambassador of USA, attended the programme and said, “I really enjoyed the event. Reading stories is enjoyable but hearing them performed is an even greater joy. I am happy to see people coming together to be creative and have fun!”

Pen Warriors is a writing group, much like Writers Block, for new writers to share their work and refine their art. The group is still open to new members so those interested are invited to get in touch via Facebook.

The event was complimented by a book sale hosted by Charcha Books featuring an eclectic collection of English books from around the world. l

Highly-rated German coach Jurgen Klopp has ruled out taking over from Marcelo Bielsa at Marseille, his agent told Tuesday’s edition of Bild

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BANGLADESH UNDER-16 BLOW AWAY ISLANDERS

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MOHAMMEDAN MOVE TO THIRD, SK RUSSEL HELD

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SANGAKKARA HAPPY TO SAY GOOD-BYE

Bangladesh High-Performance wicket-keeper Kazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, a future prospect for the Tigers, trains at the BCB Academy ground in Mirpur yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BCB introduces PONI – a new lifeline for discards n Mazhar Uddin In a bid to keep the back-up players of the national side prepared at all times, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has formed a group, Players of National Interest, comprising seven cricketers – Al Amin Hossain, Robiul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Shuvagata Hom, Mohammad Mithun and Naeem Islam.

The septet will work under the guidance of local coach Sarwar Imran and it was learned that more cricketers will be added to the roster later onwards.

“We need to work specifically with the cricketers as everyone has something to work on. Most of the cricketers suffer from small or big injuries due to a lack of fitness. We will work with the cricketers so that they can remain fit whenever they get a call from the national team,” Imran told the media yesterday.

With the exception of Sunny and Shuvagata, the other five cricketers have not been

considered for national duty for quite some time now. And although Sunny is an automatic choice for the ODIs, the left-arm spinner was named in the group in order to maintain his fitness throughout the year.

Pacemen Shafiul, Robiul and Al Amin on the other hand praised the formation of the programme and expressed their willingness to graft hard and script a way back to national reckoning.

Robiul, who made his Test debut against England at Lord’s in 2010 but played the last of his nine five-dayers against the West Indies last September, has remodelled his bowling action in a bid to improve his fortunes.

“I have been working under the supervision of Stuart Karppinen. I look forward to sharpening my skills through PONI. I will try to correct the small things of my bowling.

Earlier, I fell prey to injuries due to my bowling action. I have tried to change my action a little bit. I think it will help me to do better in future,” said Robiul.l

NAEEM

SHAFIUL

A SUNNY

ROBIUL

MITHUN

AL AMIN

SHUVAGATA

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De Kruif to coach, not guide against Australia n Tribune Report Bangladesh will take the field against Asian champions Australia in their third World Cup joint qualifiers match in Perth on September 3 without their head coach Lodewijk de Kruif in the dug-out. The Dutch will be serving the second of his two-match sideline ban following his ill-tempered behaviour towards Singaporean referee Sukhbir Singh during Bangladesh’s opening game of the joint qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan on June 11.

Assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu will perform the job in the absence of De Kruif. Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag confirmed the Dutchman’s twogame ban yesterday and informed that De Kruif will return to Bangladesh on August 17 to take the responsibility and will also travel to Australia, but will not be allowed to guide his charges from the dug-out or the players’ area.

De Kruif was also slapped with a heavy fine of Swiss Franc 7000, equaling Tk 554869, which the coach will have to pay from his pocket. l

U19 booters pitted with Bhutan, Nepal n Tribune Report Bangladesh have been pitted in Group A alongside hosts Nepal and Bhutan in the first edition of the Saff Under-19 Championship, scheduled from August 20-29 in Kathmandu. Maldives, India and Afghanistan were drawn in Group B. The teenagers from Bangladesh will kick off their campaign with the opener against Bhutan on August 22 at the ANFA Complex astro-turf at 3.30pm (local time). The curtains of the tournament will be raised when Nepal take on Bhutan on August 20. According to the latest Asian Football Confederation U-19 rankings, Bangladesh are the highest ranked team in the inaugural edition of the Championship, followed by India, Maldives and Nepal. l

Young Bangladesh forward Sarwar Zaman Nipu (C) celebrates one of his two strikes against Sri Lanka in the 2015 Saff Under-16 Championship at Sylhet District Stadium yesterday BFF

SAFF U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP

Bangladesh blow away Islanders n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Hosts Bangladesh kicked off their Saff Under-16 Championship campaign in imposing fashion, sweeping past Sri Lanka 4-0 inside a packed Sylhet District Stadium yesterday. A brace from Bangladesh's No 9, Sarwar Zaman Nipu, and strikes from Abedin Rakib and Mohammad Atiquzzaman were enough to guide the dominant home side to the semi-final, alongside the other team of the group, India.

The Bangladesh youngsters, clad in red, controlled the entire game. The defenders marshalled the back-line perfectly, the

midfielders protected their area brilliantly and were successful more often than not in threading killer passes to the attackers while the clinical forwards put in an impressive shift and could have well and truly racked up a cricket score.

Bangladesh U16

4-0

Sri Lanka U16

Sarwar Nipu 4, 85 Abedin Rakib 61 Atiquzzaman 76

The Lankans, in the face of continuous onslaughts from the opposition, were mostly busy clearing their line.

The islanders, who shipped five goals in their opening match against the Indians, were unable to register a single shot on target.

Bangladesh head coach Syed Golam Jilani thanked the Sylhet crowd for their enthusiastic support and vowed to win the title for the country and its people.

Bangladesh squad

Faisal Ahmed, Shaon Hossain (C), Fahim Morshed, Mohammad Ridoy, Sarwar Zaman Nipu, Abedin Rakib, Mohammad Shaon, Saad Uddin, Mohammad Atiquzzaman, Jahangir Alam Sajib, Khalil Bhuiyan l

UK-based group to develop domestic football n Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin (L) talks with members of the Soccer League International, UK yesterday regarding upgrading the Bangladesh Premier League BFF

The UK-based event management group Soccer League International UK will be at the helm of organising and managing the next edition of Bangladesh Premier League with a vision of developing the marketing sector of the clubs.

Representatives from Soccer League UK (SLUK) and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) came to a mutual agreement on the issue during their meeting at BFF president Kazi Salahuddin's residence in Gulshan yesterday.

SLUK will guide the premier league clubs to gather sponsors for the season while also help the Bangladeshi top-flight's marketing sector.

The agreement also include a plan that will help develop the clubs' annual fiscal and visible infrastructures, renovation of the venues and spreading the league out of the capital.

Earlier, the UK-based company proposed to hold a franchise football league titled Su-

per Soccer League, a mirror reflection of the cash-rich Indian Super League (ISL) which started its journey last year. However, the BFF is not considering the proposal yet as it wants to move forward only after tasting success in the domestic arena.

“Soccer League UK will first look after the marketing sector of the Bangladesh Premier League. Then, they will provide a detailed plan about what steps to take in the development and marketing of the premier league clubs,” said BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag yesterday. “Nothing is finalised yet about the financial terms.”

BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, Soccer League's chairman Abdul Karim and chief commercial officer Jonathan James were present during the meeting. Initially the proposal of partnering the sport in Bangladesh was presented to the BFF boss during the Fifa Congress in Zurich in May this year. l

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Phelps finishes US meet, sends message for Rio

QUICK BYTES Bielsa back in Argentina

Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa on Monday returned to his home country two days after his surprise resignation from French Ligue 1 side Marseille. Bielsa, 60, who has been linked to the Mexico national team manager’s role in recent weeks, arrived at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza airport and travelled immediately by road to his hometown of Rosario, 300km from the capital.

–AFP

n AFP, San Antonio

Celtic wary of Kilmarnock backlash Celtic manager Ronny Deila says the Hoops will be wary of a Kilmarnock backlash when the sides clash at Rugby Park on Wednesday.

Gary Locke’s team have endured a difficult start to the season and sit bottom of the Scottish Premiership following two consecutive defeats.

Glasgow giants Celtic, however, occupy a familiar position at the top of the table after wins over Ross County and Partick Thistle.

–AFP

Martinez criticises ‘unfair’ transfer window Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes the transfer window should close once the new season starts so that clubs can focus on the competition without worrying about interests in their players. Martinez has been critical of Chelsea’s continued pursuit of Everton defender John Stones, for whom the champions are reportedly readying a third bid after the first two were rejected.

–REUTERS

Hertha post Cup win after team gun attack

Michael Phelps poses on the awards stand after competing in the Men’s 200 LC Meter Breaststroke final during the 2015 Phillips 66 National Championships at the Northside Swim Center on Monday AFP

Hertha Berlin cleared the German Cup first round hurdle on Monday 24 hours after a shot was fired at their team bus as a clash between lower league Osnabruck and RB Leipzig was suspended when the referee was struck on the head by a lighter. A police inquiry is underway into Sunday’s incident when a motorbike rider fired at the empty Hertha bus as it was being driven to pick up the team at Bielefeld train station.

–AFP

Lisicki routs Venus Williams at rain-hit Rogers Cup

Leipzig offer rematch Second-tier RB Leipzig on Tuesday offered to replay their German Cup first round match against Osnabrueck which was abandoned a day earlier after the referee was struck with a lighter.

Favourites Leipzig were trailing 1-0 against their third division hosts when referee Martin Petersen was hit on the head with a lighter thrown from the home fans in the 71st minute.

–REUTERS

Swedish referee starts FB page to give fans insight Swedish referee Mohammed Al-Hakim has taken to Facebook to offer an insight into the minds of the men who officiate soccer matches: and has received a thumbs-up from Allsvenskan fans for his efforts. Concerned that referees are seen as being too remote, the 30-year-old, posts about his role, discussing decisions with fans and showing them a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes of one of the more unpopular jobs in football.

–REUTERS

n Reuters, Toronto After a long rain delay Germany’s Sabine Lisicki made quick work of Venus Williams, strolling into the second round of the Rogers Cup on Monday after routing the American 6-0 6-3.

Rain wiped out most of the opening day action but play finally resumed on the Toronto hardcourts late in the evening following a nine-hour wait with Williams and Lisicki walking out onto a near empty centre court.

For those who waited out the storm, the reward was brief as Lisicki needed just 66 minutes to dismiss the 14th seed.

“It’s always tough after a long rain delay, you don’t know if you are ever going to get onto the court and with a tough match against Venus,” said Lisicki.

“It’s always a pleasure to play her because you know you have to play well to beat her, so I’m really happy with my performance today.”

Lisicki, who got her North American hardcourt campaign off to a shaky start with a first-round loss last week at Stanford, came out looking sharper and ready to play, opening the match with a break.

Williams, trailing 3-0, had a chance to break back but could not convert as Lisicki

held to forge further ahead.

Williams’ resistance continued to crumble, with three straight double faults in the fifth game handing her opponent a third break, before Lisicki closed out the set 40-0.l

Olympic swim legend Michael Phelps completed an epic effort at the US national championships Monday, having served notice he has the speed and skill to star at the 2016 Olympics.

Phelps only finished fifth in Monday’s 200-meter breaststroke final in 2mins 11.30 secs, well off winner Craig Benson’s winning time of 2:09.68.

But Phelps seldom swims the event and was entered more as a challenge and training exercise rather than with a victory in mind, having won three events in the prior three days and beaten the winning time at the world championships in Russia in each.

“I’m in a great place, a place where I haven’t been in a long time, a place where I have confidence,” Phelps said. “I’ve seen the work I’ve been doing, and done, has worked.

“I’m going into an Olympic year having something to build on and that hasn’t happened in a while, probably since 2007. I’m excited to get back into it.”

Phelps was supposed to be competing at the worlds but a drink driving incident led to him being dropped from the US team, instead having to be content with vying for national titles as the US meet being staged at the same time as the worlds.

Phelps met his self-imposed goal in the 200 breaststroke by breaking his former North Baltimore Aquatic Club record of 2:12.1.

“That’s what I wanted to beat,” Phelps said. “I’ll take a 2:11.3 any day of the week. I was just spinning coming in. I had no legs.” l

BANGLADESH PREMIER LEAGUE

Mohammedan move to third, Sk Russel held n Tribune Report Mohammedan jumped to third place in the 11team Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League points table after they edged past Rahmatganj MFS 1-0 at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Elsewhere, Sheikh Russel were held to a goalless draw by Chittagong Abahani away at MA Aziz Stadium in the port city on the same day.

Sheikh Russel could have confirmed a runners-up finish if they had won the game but now they have to wait for their last game of the league against Rahmatganj. The Blues have 37 points from 19 matches, two more than Mohammedan.

In Dhaka, it took the Black and Whites only 10 minutes to break the deadlock and it remained the only goal of the game. A precise cross from Arup Baidya from the right flank found Guinean forward Ismael Bangoura inside the box. Bangoura made no mistake heading home from the middle of the box.

Farashganj came close to an equalising goal in the 27th minute when winger Mohammed Sohel’s looping effort hit the woodwork.

In the 40th minute, forward Didarul Alam’s header following a cross from Sohel flew inches away of the side post. l

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EPL STANDINGS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Team Man City Leicester Crystal Palace West Ham Aston Villa Liverpool Man United Chelsea Everton Newcastle Southampton Swansea City Watford Bournemouth Tottenham Stoke City Sunderland Norwich City Arsenal West Brom

RESULT West Brom

Pld 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

W 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0-3

D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

GD Pts 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 -1 0 -1 0 -1 0 -2 0 -2 0 -2 0 -3 0

Manchester City Toure 9, 24, Kompany 59

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany scores from a header during their English Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns, West Bromwich, England on Monday AP

Vintage Toure in the mood as City begin impressively n Reuters, London

Yaya Toure rekindled memories of the blockbusting performances that helped Manchester City win two Premier League titles in three seasons, scoring twice in an impressive 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

When on song the imposing Toure is one of the most dominant players in European football but those games were few and far between as City finished well adrift in second place last season.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side needed to make a

statement of intent in their league opener and did so with the long-striding central midfielder Toure leaving the West Brom players floundering in his wake on numerous occasions with powerful runs and incisive passing.

His first goal had an element of fortune, with a double deflection, but a sublime second saw Toure scythe through midfield, exchange passes with compatriot Wilfried Bony, and fire into the top corner.

“I think we saw the Yaya of one season ago, not like last season when he had so many problems,” City manager Manuel Pellegrini

told Sky Sports.

“I like attacking football. I like to see good players playing in a technical way so I think the first 30 minutes we did really well.”

With Toure, 32, dominating midfield, Spanish maestro David Silva had the freedom to float undetected between the ranks of West Brom defenders and he was able to pick holes in the hosts’ defence at will in another effortless display.

“David, especially in the first half, had a brilliant performance,” Pellegrini said.

Captain Vincent Kompany added a third and

Losing Pedro unthinkable for Iniesta n AFP, Tbilisi

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta doesn’t want to consider the possibility that Spanish international teammate Pedro Rodriguez could be entering his final days as a Barca player.

Pedro has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United before the transfer window closes at the end of the month after seeing his first-team opportunities squeezed by the arrivals of Neymar and Luis Suarez in the past two summers.

Yet, the 28-year-old looks set to start as Barca attempt to add the UEFA Super Cup to their trophy haul of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey from last season against Sevilla on Tuesday after Neymar was ruled out for

two weeks after contracting the mumps.

“As of today we are not thinking that we could lose him,” Iniesta said ahead of the match in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

“He continues to be our teammate and he is here to win the first title (of the season).

Hopefully, as a teammate and a player he can

continue with us because he is a world class player.”

Dani Alves turned down the chance to make the move from Barcelona to Old Trafford earlier in the summer after signing a new two-year deal with the European champions and said he would understand if Pedro was tempted by a lucrative offer from the free-spending Premier League side.

“It is a decision for him and what his heart feels,” added the Brazilian.

“If he stays we will be delighted and if he leaves we have to respect that decision.”

Whether the World Cup and European Championship winner stays or goes, with Barca unable to register any new players until January, Barca boss Luis Enrique is just keen for the window to close.l

the Belgian said he was keen to banish memories of a poor season on a personal and team level and send a message to those who were discounting City as credible title challengers.

“I think for us we have something to prove as last season was below what we are used to,” Kompany said. “This is a team with a lot of intent. “Obviously there is a lot of favourite teams now and we’re not part of it I’ve heard.

It’s something that gives us extra motivation.

“We came out here today knowing we had a point to prove. As a team we all have to improve this season.” l

‘United should sign Lloris if De Gea leaves’ n Reuters Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has criticised the club for their handling of David de Gea’s contract situation and advised them to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris if the Spaniard leaves for Real Madrid.

Manager Louis Van Gaal dropped De Gea from United’s Premier League opener against Spurs and questioned the 24-year-old’s focus after a summer of speculation over his future.

Real Madrid are interested in taking the Spain international to the Bernabeu, but United are refusing to do business unless the Spanish giants part with defender Sergio Ramos.l

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

India suffer Vijay blow for Sri Lanka Test n AFP, Galle

‘Dinosaur’ Sangakkara happy to say good-bye n AFP, Galle

India’s dependable opener Murali Vijay has been ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, team director Ravi Shastri said on Monday.

Vijay suffered the injury during last month’s limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe, but was expected to recover in time for the start of the three-match series in Galle from Wednesday.

Shastri said the 31-year-old had not regained full fitness, dealing a major blow to the tourists’ hopes of winning their first Test series in Sri Lanka in 22 years.

“Vijay has not fully recovered and we don’t want to take a chance,” Shastri told reporters at the Galle International Stadium.

“It’s a big blow. He is the in-form player, had a fabulous run in Test cricket and has the ability to play long innings. He will be missed.”l

Sri Lanka’s batting great Kumar Sangakkara has no regrets about his impending retirement, telling reporters on Tuesday that he felt like a “dinosaur” in the dressing room.

Sangakkara, who turns 38 in October, will end his international career after playing in the first two Tests of the three-match series against India which opens in Galle on Wednesday.

The left-hander, who is Test cricket’s leading run-getter among those still playing, said looking at the young teams in Sri Lanka and his English county Surrey made him realise it was time to go.

Sangakkara said 37-year-old Rangana Herath in the Sri Lankan team and Surrey teammate Gareth Batty, also 37, were the only ones who matched him in age.

“The rest are mostly 26,” he said. “I feel like a dinosaur in their company. It convinced me this was the right time to go.”

Sangakkara, who is fifth in the all-time scorers list headed by India’s Sachin Tendulkar, is head and shoulders above other current Test batsmen.

His 12,305 runs and 38 centuries far exceed second-placed Alastair Cook of England, who has 9,223 runs and 27 hundreds.

Sangakkara won’t catch up with Tendulkar’s tally of 15, 921 Test runs and 51 hundreds, but his 11 scores of 200-plus are just one short of Australian legend Don Bradman’s record of 12.

Defying age, Sangakkara has been at his best over the past year. He hammered 203 against New Zealand in January, after making 221 against Pakistan and 319 against Bangladesh last year.

He became the first batsman to hammer four consecutive one-day centuries in the World Cup in Australia in February-March where Sri Lanka entered into the quarterfinals.

Sangakkara, however, looked below-par in the recent home series against Pakistan in June, with scores of 50 and 18 in the first Test, and 34 and a first-ball duck in the second.l

Smudge promises more aggression n AFP, Sydney Australia’s Steve Smith has vowed to be a more aggressive captain if he is appointed to lead the side as expected following a disastrous Ashes campaign which prompted Michael Clarke’s retirement.

The 26-year-old, in line to take over after Clarke’s final Test at The Oval later this month, has promised to be less defensive than he was while captaining against India at home earlier this year.

“I think the two games that we drew I could probably be a bit more aggressive there and give ourselves more of a chance to bowl the opposition out,” Smith told The Australian.

“But in regards to my captaincy I think it’ll be pretty similar.”

Smith skippered Australia in Tests against India during the last home season when Clarke was sidelined with a hamstring injury, and made centuries in all three Tests where he was skipper.l

DAY’S WATCH Ten Action 12:45AM Capital One Cup 2015/16 Portsmouth v Derby

Sony Six 10:30AM India tour of Sri Lanka 1st Test, Day 1

Star Sports 1 11:30PM Natwest Twenty20 Blast 2015 Sussex v Northamptonshire

Star Sports 2 8:20PM Pro Kabaddi League Bengaluru v Mumbai

Star Sports 4 12:30AM ATP 1000 Masters 2015 Rogers Cup Montreal

Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara leaves the field as rain interrupts their practice session yesterday, ahead of their first Test against India in Galle, Sri Lanka, starting today AP

England’s 2005 side better than 2015 version: Pietersen n Reuters, London England’s 2005 Ashes-winning side were better than the team that sealed a series victory over Australia with a game to spare in Nottingham on Saturday, according to Kevin Pietersen.

“This team has been brilliant but our 2005 side was better,” England’s fifth highest run-scorer in Tests said on Monday.

“I think our batting lineup was stronger than this side and with the likes of (Simon) Jones, (Steve) Harmison and (Andrew) Flintoff we definitely had a much stronger bowling attack.”

England regained the Ashes when they beat Australia by an innings and 78 runs on day three of the fourth Test to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

They skittled the opposition for 60 in the first innings with Stuart Broad taking eight for 15.

Pietersen, however, said the series victory in 2005 was more special because it was against one of the great Australian sides.

“There were stronger characters in both sides in the 2005 series,” said Pietersen who was sacked after the 5-0 series defeat in Australia in 2013-14 and agitated for a recall after England were crushed in the second Test at Lord’s last month.

“Australia had the likes of (Shane) Warne, (Adam) Gilchrist, (Justin) Langer, (Matthew) Hayden and (Ricky) Ponting while we had Harmison, (Michael) Vaughan, Flintoff and me whacking it round with a stupid hairstyle so I think there was definitely a lot more for the crowds in 2005.” l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Fuel (4) 4 Celtic tongue (4) 8 By way of (3) 9 Scottish dance (4) 10 Stern (4) 11 Ship of the desert (5) 12 Prima donna (4) 14 Metal (3) 15 Bath (3) 17 Faucet (3) 19 Spinning toy (3) 21 Soon (4) 23 Waste (5) 26 Flying toy (4) 27 Assumed attitude (4) 28 Marsh (3) 29 Copied (4) 30 Remainder (4)

DOWN 1 Convincing (6) 2 Greedy (4) 3 Restrict (5) 4 Period of time (3) 5 Send money (5) 6 Observe (3) 7 Old cloth measure (3) 11 Rule (5) 13 Essential (5) 16 Suffering loss (6) 18 Self-possession (5) 20 Card game (5) 22 Numeral (4) 23 Mineral spring (3) 24 Mild explosion (3) 25 Was ahead (3)

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

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

A B C D E FG H I J K L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

In remembrance:

Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier

n Showtime Desk Marking the fourth death anniversary of Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier,

EMK Center to hold screening of Town of Runners

n Showtime Desk On the occasion of the International Youth Day, USAID Bangladesh, Women and Girls Lead Global (WGLG) and EMK Center have jointly organised a screening of Town of Runners today at 6pm at the EMK Center, under the Gender Seminar and Women of the World Film Series.

Town of Runners is a documentary about the extraordinary record of one small Ethiopian town in producing world-class long-distance athletes. Jerry Rothwell’s film offers a dispassionate inspection of Bekoji, and introduces us to genial coach Sentayehu Eshetu, the man who spots potential champions and brings them on. There is no magical answer – other than a desire to escape grinding poverty – any aspiring Olympian has plenty of obstacles to overcome.

Set against the background of the seasonal rhythms of a farming region, the film showcases the impact of increased urbanisation and globalisation on agriculture, focussing on how rural young Africans strive to make their own future.

Entry is free, subject to preregistration here: goo.gl/bzXYyV l

Federation of Film Societies of Bangladesh (FFSB), in collaboration with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), will hold film screenings and a commemorative meeting

at the National Music and Dance Auditorium of BSA on August 13.

Runway, Noroshundor and Adam Surat, three directorial ventures of Tareque Masud, with Mishuk Munier as his cinematographer, will be screening from 4:30pm.

Later, film-maker Morshedul Islam, Lainun Nahar Swemi, the president of FFSB, and film critique Sajedul Awal, among others, will take part in a commemorative meeting with Liaqut Ali Lucky presiding it. Belayat Hossain Mamun, the general secretary of FFSB, is scheduled to say a few words, marking the beginning of the meeting.

Internationally acclaimed film-maker, Masud and media broadcast journalist, Munier, died in a road accident on August 13, 2011 at Ghior of Manikganj with three others, including camera assistant Wasif and the driver. The team was returning from a location scouting trip for Masud’s next film Kagojer Phool. l

Melbourne Film Festival to unleash whole range of emotion n Showtime Desk

Britney Spears@britneyspears What a sweetheart! Thank you for coming tonight @Skrillex, dream come true for my boys!!

Kendall Jenner @KendallJenner New @PacSun collection with @ KylieJenner coming your way on 8/14! #kandk4pacsun http://bit.ly/1T8YCUt

Rob Delaney @robdelaney I’ll wait till Peter Jackson turns it into 19 eight hour films.

2) Head

This year the Melbourne Film Festival is set to have a whole range of treats in the form of 370 films from around 69 countries.

Happiness, anger, fear, sadness and disgust – no emotions are left unveiled, as the festival touches on every aspect of human emotion. The following is a list of the top five screenings to be on the look out for.

If you’re looking for a film with the feels of the utterly random and absolutely unforgettable – this is it. Head is director Bob Rafelson’s 1968 work that was apparently written by Jack Nicholson while on a LSD trip. Completely random, this trailer promises to provide audiences with a viewing experience that is supposedly as close as it gets to a hallucinogen trip.

1) Emotion Simulator Chair

3) Vertical cinema

Festival organisers have introduced the brand new concept of the Emotion Simulator Chair. Initially participants maybe surprised by its shocking similarity with a machine designed to administer electroshock therapy, but closer inspection suggests otherwise. The chair is meant to “electro-stimulate” the faces of participants to display facial expressions of happiness, sadness, disgust and fear.

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

Yes, you’ve read that right. As simple as it sounds, festival organisers have draped a large vertical screen in Federation Square to project 10, on-rotation 35mm short films made by experimental film-makers.

4) Raiders

Friends Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb made an exact remake of Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) to pay homage to the American legend. Working a tight shoestring budget, they began shooting at 11 years of age, finishing when they turned 19. Director Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen captured the three in their final journey, as they finish their movie thanks to the money raised from Kickstarter in 2014.

5) Thank You for Playing

In the past we’ve seen documentaries about video games such as The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and Indie Game: The Movie. Directors David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall tells the story of a programmer who makes a game about his son’s battle with cancer. This emotional account is sure to be a tearjerker. l

WHAT TO WATCH

The Mummy Star Movies 11:30pm An American serving in the French Foreign Legion on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra accidentally awakens a Mummy.

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah Planes Zee Studio 9:30pm A cropdusting plane with a fear of heights lives his dream of competing in a famous around-the-world aerial race.

Cast: Carlos Alazraqui, Dane Cook, Stacy Keach Resident Evil: AfterLife WB 9:30pm While still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors living in a prison surrounded by the infected who also want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.

Cast: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller

DT

32 BACK PAGE

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015

EXPORTS FALL 15% IN JULY PAGE 15

BCB INTRODUCES PONI – A NEW LIFELINE FOR DISCARDS PAGE 25

IN REMEMBRANCE: TAREQUE MASUD AND MISHUK MUNIER PAGE 31

Conflict with humans blamed for declining Asian elephant population STATE OF ASIAN ELEPHANTS IN BANGLADESH

5 elephants killed every year

make room for the camp, said Motaleb.

Another corridor in that vicinity is also facing obstructions in the form of a under-construction road, brick fields and a crocodile firm, he added.

Chief Conservator of Forest Mohammad Yunus Ali said policymakers and people concerned with the issue will have to be aware of the obstructions that infrastructural development has been creating for these elephants.

“It requires policy-level decisions regarding whether establishments like army and BGB camps and other settlements will continue to create the obstructions,” he said adding that the number of elephants will come down

to zero if this continues.

He emphasised on addressing these issues in the environment policy and the land zoning act, which are set to come into force soon.

Forest Conservator Tapan Kumar Dey said the government has undertaken a 10-year national action plan for elephant conservation.

The IUCN is also conducting an elephant census to make a corridor map and to find out the exact number of elephants in Bangladesh, Tapan said, adding that the results will be out

by January next year.

He also said shortage of manpower has been hampering the monitoring of such issues. l

In 2004, there were 196-227 elephants

62 elephants killed since 2003 226 people killed in elephant-human conflicts since 2003 Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

n Syed Samiul Basher Anik Over the last 12 and a half years, at least five Asian elephants, a critically endangered species in Bangladesh, are being killed on an average every year.

These causalities were recorded as the elephants faced obstructions in movement corridors and engaged in conflicts with humans.

The expansion of agriculture and human settlement, unplanned government and private establishments and destruction of corridors have all contributed to human-elephant conflicts and resulted in the decline.

According to a 2004 survey, the number of resident elephants in Bangladesh ranged between 196 and 227. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conducted the survey titled “Conservation of Asian Elephants in Bangladesh 2004.”

At that time, 83-100 migratory elephants occasionally stepped into Bangladesh from India. These migratory elephants were also found in the forests of Sylhet, Khagrachari, Sherpur, Jamalpur and Netrokona districts.

Nearly a decade has passed since that survey was conducted, and environmentalists say that the number has fallen significantly during this period although there is no data on the exact number of elephants in Bangladesh.

Since 2003, a total of 62 elephants have been killed in human-elephant conflicts; the number of humans killed in such conflicts is 226, shows that Forest Department’s latest data.

Conservationists say that the establishment of army cantonments, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) camps, construction of roads, human houses, India’s barbed wire fencing, destruction of forests and expansion

of agricultural land blocked most of the movement corridors of these majestic animals.

These are also included in the list of nine risks for elephant conservation that the Forest Department identifies.

In 2004, there were 11 elephant corridors in Bangladesh, including nine in the greater Chittagong region. But most of these routes have been changed since due to human intervention in the form of establishments and roads.

Now, there are 12 such routes and most of them have been put into severe risks by the expansion of human structures and this had resulted in escalation in human-elephants conflicts, conservators said at a programme in Dhaka yesterday.

To mark the World Elephant Day 2015 for the first time in Bangladesh, the Forest Department organised a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka yesterday.

According to another IUCN survey conducted in 2006, there were 35,000-50,000 Asian elephants in 13 countries. Of them, 66.4% were found in the Indian subcontinent.

The highest number of Asian elephants were found in India with the population ranging from 20,000 to 24,000. Bangladesh ranked ninth in that list with 200-350 elephants. Nepal ranked right at the bottom with 41-50.

IUCN Programme Officer Mohammad Abdul Motaleb said that establishment of brick fields, army camps, houses and roads are creating obstruction in the elephant corridors.

For example, an army camp was built in the middle of one of the elephant corridors located between Naikkhongchhori in Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar, he said.

The forest office, which was there to monitor such issues, was shifted from the area to

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