13 Aug, 2015

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

|

Shraban 29, 1422, Shawwal 27, 1436

POLICE PROBE: NILOY VISITED POLICE STATION PAGE 3

|

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 119

BERNICAT: GSP AFTER ALL CONDITIONS MET PAGE 15

|

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

19 MORE RECEIVE DEATH THREATS PAGE 32

Little Suraiya victim of AL infighting Doctors hopeful about bullet-hit baby

n Kamrul Hasan, back from Magura Last month’s incident of a baby getting bullet-hit in her mother’s womb in Doarpar of Magura town was the climax of a three-month feud that had been brewing between two rival groups of ruling party supporters.

On the surface, Doarpara – with a population of about 60,000 – is just like any other “sleepy” locality of a small district town in Bangladesh. But the word sleepy has a literal meaning for Magura.

First, Magura is one of the major transit hubs for contraband drugs trade, phensidyl in particular. It is next door to the Benapole land port in the neighbouring Jessore district.

Any illegal consignment of the banned cough syrup coming in through the port must pass through Magura.

Second, as a result of this, it is very hard – almost impossible – to find a household in the area that is not in some way involved with phensidyl trade.

According to police sources, there are around 25,000 consumers of the drug in this small area alone. Moreover, people from the neighbouring areas also come here to buy the drug. Overall, phensidyl trade accounts for around Tk30-40 lakh per month.

Until about three months ago, local ruling party supporter Kamrul Bhuiyan – a former organising secretary of the district unit of Awami League’s student body Chhatra League – used to control the entire phensidyl business.

n Kamrul Hasan

tortion but also manipulated tenders for government works.

But things started going south between Kamrul and Ali about three months ago when Kamrul refused to give Ali his fair share of a hefty deal. Ali got angry, broke his association with Kamrul and formed his own group.

Doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday said they would hand over the baby, hit by bullets in her mother’s womb, to her mother today if every thing goes well.

As the baby was born prematurely the DMCH took extra care and assigned additional nurses to ensure the best medical treatment for her, they said.

Suraiya Begum was bullet-hit while she was in her mother’s womb during a factional clash of Bangladesh Chhatra League in Doarpara area of Magura Sadar.

Medical sources said Suraiya was born when she was only 32 weeks old. She needed extra care.

Dr Kaniz Hasina, Paediatric Department’s associate professor who had been with the baby since she arrived at the DMCH, said at present the baby was improving but it could not be said for sure that she was out of danger.

The baby had stopped losing weight but now It has started gaining weight.

“Doctors are now hopeful about her

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Doctors say little Suraiya has improved since this photo was taken at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital five days after she had been shot in her mother’s womb in Magura MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU Kamrul is also uncle of little Suraiya, who was hit by a bullet while still in the womb after her mother got shot.

Another local political muscle-man Ali Ahmed – one of the main accused in the case filed in connection with the shooting – used to be a close associate of Kamrul. Together they not only controlled the drug business and ex-

JU teacher jailed for Facebook remark on PM

Prime Bank fined for identity theft and forged loans

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

n Jebun Nesa Alo

A Dhaka court has handed down a three-year jail sentence to a university teacher for posting a Facebook status wishing the death of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Dhaka Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nazmul Haque Shyamal yesterday delivered the verdict in a sedition case tried in absentia against the convict – Mohammad Ruhul Amin Khandaker.

Ruhul, a lecturer at the Institute of Information Technology of Jahangirnagar University, was also fined Tk10,000; he will have to spend six more months in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

The teacher was punished for wishing the death of the prime minister in a Facebook

PAGE 3 Tushti’s father seeks High Court directive

post on August 13, 2011, written in reaction to the road accident that killed filmmaker Tareq Masud, ATN News CEO Mishuk Munier and three others.

In his post, he wrote: “Sheikh Hasina has been providing driving licence without tests. Result of providing driving licence … everybody dies, but why does Sheikh Hasina not die?”

The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Ruhul, who has been on the run since the case was filed in 2011.

“As the accused has been at large since the beginning of the trial, his conviction will be effective when he surrenders before the court,” the judge said.

PAGE 5 Accused confess to killing Rakib, Robiul

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Two unauthorised branches of a major private bank have been caught stealing clients’ identities and using them to forge loans in an attempt to steal money.

In a serious breach of banking regulations, Prime Bank was found by Bangladesh Bank to be operating two unauthorised bank branches involved in identity theft and loan application forgeries.

The central bank slapped Prime Bank with a Tk10 lakh fine.

The central bank probe said that a large number of loan accounts at the two unlawful branches, including a $30 million disbursal to a non-resident subsidiary institution, may

PAGE 6 Dhaka-Sylhet bus strike brings miseries

also be fraudulent. A Tk172.5 crore ($22 million) land acquisition in the capital’s Gulshan area is also under scrutiny.

Bangladesh Bank began investigating allegations of identity theft and false loans at the two branches after receiving a complaint filed by a client whose identity was used in the forgery.

A letter was yesterday sent to the offending bank asking that the Tk10 lakh fine be paid within 14 days. The penalty will be deducted from Prime Bank’s current account deposited with Bangladesh Bank if it fails to pay on time, according to the letter.

The central bank governor approved the fine on July 10.

PAGE 8 Devastating flood hits Myanmar

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

PAGE 32 MP Badi back in the headlines

DT

2 NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Govt planning to amend terrorism related laws n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The government is mulling over a plan to amend terrorism related laws against the backdrop of growing menace of violent extremism and terrorism.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque said: “We will take a couple more weeks to put together amendments to the (terrorism) acts.”

He was speaking at the inaugural session of a workshop on Designation and Asset Freez-

ing under United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1267 and 1373 at the Foreign Ministry yesterday.

He said there was an interesting debate in the cabinet last week over what amendment could be brought to the terrorism-related laws and acts. The government was surprised to find out that some global non-government organisations are engaged in terrorist financing.

“Some of the global NGOs in disguise try to get resources not for real welfare of the people

but for this kind of terrorist activities,” he said.

In the name of development, NGO and welfare works resources are being pooled in the country, he added.

Over the past couple of years the government has not only put together legislation it has also implemented them.

UN Resident Coordinator Robert Watkins said murders of four bloggers by extremist groups were very unfortunate events.

He said this type of terrorist events were

serious threat to the ability of any state to ensure a society where ideas can be expressed freely and openly.

He admitted that there was a huge debate over how free people could express their views.

“We all agree that people should have at least the right to express their ideas without threat and violence,” he said.

If they break the law that’s different issue but murder or threat as a consequences of it is unacceptable, he added. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Doctors hopeful survival. She has gained over 200 grams in two days,” she said. Yesterday she weighed over 1860g.

“If we can assign three nurses and prevent entry of general people she can be sent to the cabin to stay with her mother,” said the doctor.

She also said doctors from the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital will visit her today and advise if she needs surgery for the right eye. If she continues to improve, she might be discharged next week.

At present, Nazma is undergoing treatment at the Ward 212 and Suraiya was transferred to the Ward 211 for her better treatment three days ago.

The baby was injured when her eightmonth pregnant mother was shot in the abdomen during an attack on July 23 in Magura, that left one killed and another person injured.

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

She was born after a three-hour-long operation at Magura General Hospital. Later, she was sent to DMCH on July 24. l

JU teacher Ruhul was appointed temporarily as a JU teacher in 2008, but he left for higher studies in Australia the following year.

Additional Public Prosecutor Md Anwarul Kabir Babul told the Dhaka Tribune that the convict was still residing abroad.

After the teacher made the remarks against Hasina on his Facebook post in 2011, Chhatra League JU unit leader Sheikh Shariful Islam lodged a general diary with Ashulia police station on August 18, 2011.

A university probe committee later found the allegations true and recommended the teacher’s punishment, while the police in its own investigation of the GD also found the claims to be true.

The sedition case against Ruhul was then filed by Assistant Superintendent of Police (Savar circle) Md Manwar Hossain on October 2, 2011.

The charge sheet in the case was filed by ASP (Dhaka range) Abdus Salam, also the investigation officer of the case, with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Dhaka on October 21, 2012.

In 2012, the High Court also sentenced Ruhul to six months in jail for not complying to an order summoning him to the court.

On April 23, 2014, the Dhaka court framed charges against Ruhul in his absentia under sections 124 (A) and 506 of penal code.

A total of 12 prosecution witnesses including Ruhul’s colleagues at the department gave depositions in the sedition case.

The latest verdict follows the 2013 sentencing of a Buet teacher, who was given a seven-year jail sentence for a Facebook post threatening to kill Sheikh Hasina. l

Prime Bank fined for identity theft and forged loans According to the investigation report, the bank has been operating two unauthorised branches, the SME Division on Rajuk Avenue and the Retail Banking Division in Gulshan, since 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Business was being conducted at the two branches without any approval from either Bangladesh Bank or even Prime Bank’s board, the probe report said.

In response to queries from the central bank, Prime Bank admitted to the offence and apologised.

The investigation found that a forged loan account of Tk3 lakh was created against client Abu Sayed Md Shahidul Haque by the Retail Banking Division branch in Gulshan.

Although the client had not borrowed money from the bank, his name, identity card, photograph and identifying details were used to forge the loan account.

Luminas Private Limited was appointed to verify loan applications at the branches, but

approval was not taken from the board to appoint Luminas.

Prime Bank informed Bangladesh Bank that Luminas had been appointed the contact point verification institution by a former Prime Bank managing director.

Luminas was not assigned any more work after revelations of irregularities surfaced, according to Prime Bank’s reply to central bank investigators.

Central bank investigators recommended that Haque be absolved of any responsibility for the forged loan and that punitive action be taken against the officers responsible and the former managing director of the bank.

The central bank probe discovered the existence of five more loan accounts believed to be forgeries and 23 clients who could not be reached at the numbers they had submitted to the bank.

The investigating team believes a large portion of the loans disbursed through the unapproved branch is fake, according to the

investigation report.

The bank branch is also believed to have disbursed loans of $30m against non-resident subsidiary institution, PBL Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.

The salaries and allowances of two officials of PBL Finance was paid by Prime Bank, violating the conditions of PBL Finance’s license.

Most of the building in Gulshan, bought for Tk172.50 crore, ostensibly to house the Prime Bank head office, remains unused. The respective department of the central bank has been asked to take necessary measures in this regard as well, according to the recommendations of the probe report.

Azam Chowdhury, chairman of Prime Bank, and Ferdousi Sultana, executive vice-president and public relations in-charge, could not be reached by mobile telephone despite several attempts by the Dhaka Tribune to contact them. l

Little Suraiya victim of AL infighting Local residents, seeking anonymity for obvious fear of retaliation, said that it was inevitable because both of them also want to run for the post of the local ward councillor in the upcoming municipal elections.

The Dhaka Tribune has learned that over the last year or so, Kamrul’s allegiance has shifted to Shikhar although his family was still loyal to Biren.

The bigger picture

On July 22, a day after the election, following a chase and counter-chase, Ali’s men stabbed one of Kamrul’s close associates, Alamgir.

The next day, Kamrul and 20-30 of his men, all armed, decided to avenge Alamgir’s stabbing. They gathered in front of Kamrul’s residence and at one point left the area in search of Ali’s men.

In the meantime, four to five of Ali’s men including Ajibor – one of the accused in the Suraiya shooting case – was waiting inside another house near Kamrul’s place. When Kamrul and his men left the area, they pulled out their guns and bombs and headed towards Kamrul’s house.

They got inside, firing their guns and blasting bombs, and in the skirmish pregnant Nazma got shot in the abdomen. A bullet went on to hit Suraiya in the womb.

In the firing and blasting, Kamrul’s uncle Momin Bhuiyan also got injured and later died in hospital.

Kamrul’s family claimed that he was ill and was lying in bed inside the house when the attack took place although local witnesses said they had seen Kamrul going in search of Ali’s men.

Rubel Bhuiyan, son of Momin, said Ali and Ajibor led the attack as they knew that no

As is common in almost everywhere in Bangladesh, conflicts between district- and national-level leaders often give rise to smaller local feuds and bloody clashes among their supporters.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder and Prime Minister’s Assistant Personal Secretary (APS) Saifuzzaman Shikhar are the two top figures of the ruling party in Magura.

Biren is a full-time politician. Shikhar, on the other hand, is a government employee and hence cannot directly get involved in politics, but his family, especially his brothers have a lot of influence on district politics.

So, according to local people, there are two clear divisions in Awami League’s politics in Magura.

Interestingly, both Kamrul and Ali were known as supporters of Biren. They had an agreement about not extending support to Awami League candidate Rostam Ali in the July 21 by-polls in Magura because he was loyal to Shikhar.

But in the eleventh hour, that is just two days before the voting, Kamrul’s family decided to extend support to Rostam, who eventually emerged the winner. That also angered Ali.

The July 23 shooting

male members were present at the moment except Kamrul, who was ill. “They came to kill Kamrul.”

Ajibor’s mother Rupban Khatun denied all the allegations against her son. She said Ajibor was a licensed contractor and had no connection with the incident. “He was framed with the case because we are Ali’s relative. My other son Rana was also made an accused although he was in Jessore when the incident took place.”

Ali’s family also said he had nothing to do with the shooting. Ali’s elder brother Farooq Ahmed said: “Ali did not even smoke. But now he drinks. Kamrul is the one who made him addicted to alcohol. When Kamrul realised that Ali might become his political rival, he laid a trap for him.”

Ali’s family also alleged that police were being soft to Kamrul’s family.

Updates from Doarpara

In the one month preceding the shooting of the pregnant mother, at least six clashes took place between the supporters of Kamrul and Ali in which at least 10 people were injured.

A local shopkeeper said Kamrul and Ali split ways three months ago but clashes started only in the last week of June.

However, the shopkeeper said that things have been tense but calm since July 23 as Ali’s group has been inactive after the shooting because most of the active members are accused in the case and are now either in jail or on the run. l

DT

NEWS 3

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Police probe admits Niloy visited police station before murder n Mohammad Jamil Khan A police probe into reports that Niladri Chatterjee Niloy had been rebuffed by police as he attempted to file a general diary (GD), has admitted that the slain blogger had made at least one visit to a police station.

Despite finding evidence from an analysis of Niloy’s phone records, the probe body could not confirm the reason for his visit to the station.

Known as Niloy Neel on blogging platforms and on Facebook, Niladri posted accounts of his difficulties with filing a GD despite telling police that he feared he was in danger.

He was hacked to death with machetes by four unidentified assailants at his home in Dhaka around 1:30pm last Friday.

A police official asking not to be named, said Niloy’s cell phone showed evidence of activity in the Khilgaon police station area on

the date when it is claimed he attempted to file a GD. “However, that does not prove he was there to file a GD. We are still investigating.”

A three-member police probe body led by Tareq Bin Rashid, additional deputy commissioner of Motijheel division police, submitted its preliminary report to the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The probe body recommended that action be taken against the Khilgaon police station officer-in-charge and duty officer who were on duty when Niloy visited.

Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of Motijheel division police, said a preliminary report had been sent tot the deputy commissioner of DMP headquarters containing proof that Niloy had been at the police station.

“If it is proven that Niloy was there to file a GD and the police refused to take it, those responsible will be held to account,” he said.

It has been reported that before his death, Niloy visited Khilgaon police station around 8:10pm on May 14 to file a GD. The duty officer Sub-Inspector Shamshul Islam did not take the GD, but instead suggested to Niloy that he leave the country. The duty officer reportedly would not discuss the matter with his superiors.

SI Shamshul’s mobile telephone was found switched off when the Dhaka Tribune attempted to contact him yesterday for a comment.

When asked about it, Mustafiz Bhuyan, the officer-in-charge of Khilgaon police station, last night said he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

“Besides, it is the responsibility of the duty officer to take a GD and no one contacted me about it, so it is not my responsibility,” he added.

Detectives are trying to trace the location

of Ashif Adnan, who is believed to be a coordinator of a sleeper cell of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Detectives say if he were arrested, not just Niloy’s murder but many other murders would be solved.

Adnan was arrested in the capital’s Segunbagicha area on September 25 last year but was later bailed. His whereabouts have been unknown since Niloy’s murder, according to a police source.

Investigators said they were searching for a left-handed killer and two accomplices to the crime.

Sources said three possible suspects, identified by the police after hearing eyewitness accounts, had been placed under surveillance.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said law enforcers were analysing the clues in the Niloy murder case and would hopefully make an arrest soon. l

Tushti’s father seeks HC directives n Tribune Report

The High Court has halted the transfer of a case from special tribunal to military court filed against the Army’s Maj Nazir Uddin over torturing his wife for dowry.

The bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque yesterday also stayed the case proceedings as the victim’s father has questioned whether a case lodged under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act could be tried in a military court.

Victim’s father retired Krishi Bank official Md Nurul Islam Bhuiyan filed the petition on Monday.

The victim, Dhaka University’s MBA first-semester student Nusrat Jahan Tushti, was rescued from her in-law’s house in Tangail’s Kalihati in critical condition and admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on March 30.

She was tortured for dowry allegedly by her husband and father-in-law Idris Ali, also a retired army officer. They also assaulted Tushti’s mother Shahnaz Akter and brother Muyeed Hasan when they tried to stop them. The case was filed with the special court in Tangail on April 2.

Maj Nazir was a platoon commander at the Bangladesh Military Academy in Chittagong’s Bhatiari during the incident and brought back to Dhaka after the allegations surfaced.

“The High Court has issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain in two weeks as to why the letter should not be declared illegal,” he said adding that Court Martial does not have the jurisdiction to try any case filed under the special acts.

The defence secretary, law secretary, area commander, chief of army staff, Tangail’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal judge and advocate general of the Army Headquarters have been made respondents to the rule. l

This shabby building in AGB Colony at Motijhheel of Dhaka was singled out long ago as vulnerable and risky, but the residents refused to leave. Yesterday, the Public Works Ministry conducted an eviction drive there. As part of the drive, a worker demolishes a staircase MEHEDI HASAN

20-party assures Khaleda of strong unity n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP-led 20-party alliance leaders have assured BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia that the unity among the alliance members is strong and there is no room for confusion over the split of the alliance.

Khaleda has also denied the rumour that Liberal Democratic Party is going to dissolve and its leaders are returning to the BNP, said an alliance leader seeking anonymity.

The alliance members also reiterated that they want an election under a non-partisan interim government.

“We have discussed the country’s present political situation and the next course of action in details. The details of the meeting will be disclosed on Thursday at a press conference,” Kazi Zafar Ahmed, chairman of Jatiya Party (Zafar), told reporters yesterday after a meeting at Khaleda’s Gulshan office.

“The BNP chief will fly to London for treatment but the schedule is yet to be set.”

The BNP chief held the 20-party alliance meeting after nine months. The last meeting was held in November last year.

Mustafizur Rahman Iran, chairman of Labour Party, said, “We have fought three

months for restoring democracy in the country. We sat together after long and our discussion was fruitful.”

The meeting also broadly discussed blogger killings and the government’s corruption in details.

Asking not to be named, a senior leader of the alliance told the Dhaka Tribune that Khaleda told the alliance leaders about her meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“She said she had urged Modi to develop ties with the people of Bangladesh, but not with the Awami league,” he said. l

DT

4 NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Global health giant MSD partners with Healthcare Pharmaceuticals n Syeda Samira Sadeque

Global healthcare leader Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) yesterday announced a strategic partnership with the country’s Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Limited (HPL).

The deal will allow MSD to provide advanced medical services through HPL and it is also expected to bring a special focus on women’s health issues, as well as strong scientific knowledge, global experience and unique patient-centric solutions.

“This partnership will allow access to MSD’s best-in-class innovative products and also collaborate for scientific expertise with leading medical institutions and healthcare providers to work towards enhancing patient management and care in Bangladesh,” said KG Ananthakrishnan, president and managing director of MSD in South Asia, during a press briefing.

Three vaccination programmes have already been launched under the partnership – one of them an advanced vaccination to prevent cervical cancer.

The partnership further aims to build various customised services, such as an app that will help measure and identify diabetes during Ramadan for Type II Diabetes patients.

“Although this is just the beginning of the partnership, MSD’s interest is to continue this as a long-term deal in providing service to patients as well as help in research on different health areas,” Ananthakrishnan said.

MSD is a global healthcare leader which operates in more than 140 countries and provides services through their prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. l

TIB inaugurates fair marking International Youth Day

n Tribune Report Marking the International Youth Day 2015, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) inaugurated a two-day “youth fair” on the Bangla Academy premises yesterday.

At the inauguration, the officials of TIB and the present crowd of youth pledged to counter corruption in the country.

As part of the day’s programme, they brought out a rally from TSC. Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique, Chairperson of TIB Board of Trustees Sultana Kamal and TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman attended the rally.

Today, TIB has arranged a cultural programme with the theme “fighting against corruption” which is scheduled to start at 4pm at Rabindra Sarobar in Dhanmondi. l

VAT ON PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

Students to hold demo in front of PMO today n DU Correspondent

In continuation to protests that havebeen going on for the last two months against the decision to impose 7.5% value-added tax (VAT) on the tuition fee of private universities students, a demonstration will be staged in front of the Prime Minister’s Office today.

Students of three private universities, with the slogan “No VAT on education,” announced the programme at a press conference in Dhaka University’s Madhur Canteen yesterday.

Jahid Gogon, a student of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) and a spokesperson of the protesting students, told the Dhaka Tribune: “For the last two months we have been waging movements to scrap the decision of government to impose

7.5% VAT on around 160 private sector universities including medical and engineering colleges. But our demands have fell on deaf ears, so now we have decided to take to the PMO.” Farhan Habib, coordinator of the press conference, said: “Earlier we had submitted a memorandum to our Chancellor President Abdul Hamid,; still our demand went unaddressed.”

Students from around 20-25 private universities are expected to take part in today’s demonstration.

The National Board of Revenue, on July 4, issued a notification imposing 7.5% VAT on tuition fees of students of private universities, and medical and engineering universities and colleges.

Students of State University of Bangladesh, ULAB, East West University, arranged the press conference yesterday. l

JCD chief placed on remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) President Rajib Ahsan was placed yesterday on 16-day remand in connection with eight cases of violence filed with Paltan police station in the capital.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ali Masud Sheikh passed the order when investigation officers of the cases produced the JCD chief before the court, on completion

of an eight-day remand in another case, seeking 80 days’ remand for interrogation in the cases.

Defence counsel Md Sanaullah Miah filed separate bail petitions before the court seeking bail for Rajib but the court rejected the pleas after a hearing.

On July 29, Rajib had also been placed on 8-day remand in four cases filed with Paltan, Motijheel and Shahbagh police stations. l

126 human traffickers identified in 10 districts n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar Police have identified 126 human traffickers in 10 districts based on information obtained from the 159 migrants, who were handed over to BGB by Myanmar officials on Monday.

The migrants were questioned at Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre, where they were taken after their return on Monday.

Cases would be lodged against the traffickers with police stations in their respective areas, said Tofayel Ahmed, Cox’s Bazar additional superintendent of police.

Meanwhile, Cox’s Bazar district administration yesterday handed over 142 of the 159 migrants to their families with the help of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), while the Red Crescent supervised the reunion of the remaining 17, who are minors, with their families on Tuesday.

They had been afloat in the sea for nearly three and a half months before the Myanmar navy rescued them.

Cox’s Bazar IOM Programme Officer Asif Munir said a total 501 migrants had so far returned. “Another 450 migrants could be brought back in accordance with legal proceedings.” l

DT

NEWS 5

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

BCL activist killed over territory dispute in Sylhet college n Our correspondent, Sylhet Bangladesh Chhatra League activist in Sylhet’s Madan Mohan College killed a fellow student activist over territory dispute in the college premises yesterday.

Confirming that the incident had taken place, Sylhet Kotwali police station OC Sohel Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that the victim, Mohammad Ali, 22, was a Class XII student in the college and was from Nij Silam village in Dakkhin Surma upazila.

Sources at the college said Ali, a member of a Chhatra League faction under the leadership of Arun Debnath Sagar, had an altercation with another faction, led by Parvez, on Tuesday on the college campus.

Still agitated over that altercation, the Parvez followers cornered Ali on the second floor of the college’s academic building yesterday and stabbed him around 12:30pm.

Teachers rushed a critically injured Ali to Osmani Medical College Hospital right away.

His heart had been punctured in the attack, and he died while undergoing treatment, around 2:30pm.

A source in the college’s Chhatra League unit said the two factions of the student wing of the ruling party have been involved in a fight for dominance in the college for a while.

However, Kotwali OC Sohel said police suspected that the attack might have been fuelled by personal dispute.

“We are working to find out why Ali was attacked. We have already arrested a man named Rubel, who we suspect was involved in the incident.”

Ali’s father Aklis Miah told the Dhaka Tribune that Ali had been his eldest child among three. “I have faced many difficulties to give my son good education. Now he is gone. I want the killers to be hanged,” he said. l

Public servant caught red-handed while taking bribe n Tribune Report An assistant engineer of the Department of Public Health Engineering in Chuadanga was caught red-handed while receiving Tk50,000 in bribes from a contractor yesterday.

An Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) team caught Mahmud Alam at his office, said the commission’s public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.

He said the commission had filed a case against Mahmud with Chuadanga Sadar police station.

A four-member ACC team headed by Deputy Director Abdul Gaffar arrived at Mahmud’s office in the wake of a number of corruption allegations made against him.

Pranab said Mahmud demanded a bribe of Tk50,000 from the contractor to pay the contractor’s bill.

“The contractor complained to the commission and we laid a snare to catch Mahmud in the act,” he added. l

One gets life-term for selling girl to brothel n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha A man was sentenced to life-term imprisonment in Gaibandha district yesterday for selling a minor girl to a Lalmonirhat brothel after abducting and raping her more than 20 years ago.

According to the prosecution, Abdul Mannan of Pathanocha village under Sadullapur, along with his cohorts abducted the then 11-year-old girl on June 6, 1994.

They raped the girl and later sold her to a Lalmonirhat brothel.

At one stage, the girl was rescued by police while she was being trafficked to India from Lalmonirhat.

She was handed over to her father the next day and a case was filed accusing Mannan and his cohorts on the day.

Amlan Kushum Jishnu, Judge of Special Tribunal 2, delivered the verdict against Mannan after examining the records of the case.

The court also sentenced three other cohorts of Mannan to jail terms of different lengths. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina takes a look at the camera and audio recorder that taped the historical speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, 1971. The premier inaugurated the newly-built information building of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday BSS

Mintu also confesses to killing 12-year-old Rakib

Murder suspect confesses to killing minor boy Robiul

n Our Correspondent, Khulna

n Our Correspondent, Barguna

Mintu Miah, the only suspect left to confess in the Rakib killing case, has now also admitted of being involved in the murder of the 12-yearold who was killed when air was pumped into his rectum.

Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Faruk Iqbal recorded Mintu’s confessional statement given under section 164 of the penal code, said Khulna Sadar police station OC Sukumar Bishwash. The latest confession means that all three suspects have now confessed before the court, the OC added.

Sub-Inspector Kazi Mostaque Ahmed, also the investigation officer, said Mintu agreed to confess to the crime on the third of his fiveday remand. After recording the confession, the court sent Mintu to jail, the SI said.

On August 3, Md Rakibul Islam was viciously killed by Mintu Miah, garage owner Md Sharif, and Sharif’s mother Beauty Begum in the city’s Tutpara because Rakib had left employment at their garage and taken up a new job.

On August 7, Sharif’s mother Beauty Begum confessed regarding her complicity in the killing of Rakib, while Sharif also confessed to the crime on Tuesday. l

A court in Barguna yesterday rejected a remand petition of Miraj, the prime accused in the case filed over the killing of 10-year-old Robiul Awal, after he confessed to the crime.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Baijayanta Biswas rejected the petition after the investigation officer, Babul Akhter, produced Miraj before the court with a seven-day remand plea.

He also asked police to interrogate Miraj at jail gate, said Fazle Ali, the court sub-inspector.

Also in the morning, a human chain was

formed to protest the recent child killings in different districts across the country.

Students and development activists joined the protest on Amtali upazila parishad premises under the banner of Sammilito Nagorik Moncho.

The protesters strongly condemned Robiul’s killing and demanded that Miraj be sentenced to death.

They also called for the authorities to subject those responsible for child killings to exemplary punishments.

Robiul’s father Dulal alleged that Miraj’s family was involved in the killing of his son. l

DT

6 NEWS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Strike on Dhaka-Sylhet route leaves thousands in miseries n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Transport strike on the Dhaka-Sylhet route enforced by the Sylhet Inter-district Bus Owners’ Association protesting killing of a bus driver left thousands of people in miseries.

Although the association eased the programme from 4pm considering the hazards of commuters, it could not reduce people’s sufferings.

Running of all buses on the Sylhet-Dha-

ka route remained suspended almost till the evening cutting Sylhet region from the capital.

Swapan Bhowmic went to Sylhet with his family a few days ago. He was supposed to leave Sylhet city yesterday morning. While waiting in the counter of Greenline Paribahan in the morning, he said: “As I am not getting any transport, I have to leave the city in the evening.” Like him, many people got stuck in the city and waited for transport for several

4 die in Munshiganj road accident n Tribune Report Four people were killed and three others injured as a pick-up van turned turtle on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Bhaberchar in Gazaria upazila, in Munshiganj yesterday.

But identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.

Hedayetul Islam Bhuiyan, officer-in charge of Gazaria police station, said the pickup van skidded off the road and turned turtle as its driver lost control over the steering, leaving its four passengers dead on the spot and three others injured.

The injured, including the driver of the pick-up van, were rushed to different local hospitals.

On receiving information, police rushed in and recovered the bodies.

Traffic movement on the busy highway remained halted for 15 minutes following the accident, said the OC.

Two war crimes accused hurt in prison vanbus collision in Gazipur

Two war crimes accused and four policemen were injured as a prison van collided head-

on with a bus in Rajendrapur area in front of National Park of the city in the morning.

The war crimes accused were identified as Hazi Amjad Ali, 95 and Riaz Uddin Fakir,70.

The injured policemen are nayek Mustafiz, 30, and constables Mehedi, 26, Wasim, 30, Nur Uddin,39.

Sub-inspector Baharul Alam, in-charge of Naujor highway police camp, said the Netrakona-bound bus from Dhaka collided head-on with the prison van in the area around 8am, leaving two war crimes accused and four policemen injured.

The war crimes accused were being taken to Dhaka by the prison van to be produced before the International Crimes Tribunal.

The injured were rushed to Tongi Government Hospital. Later, critically injured Amjad and Mustafiz were shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Earlier, police arrested suspected war crimes accused Hazi Amjad Ali from Keshoreganj village and Riaz Uddin Fakir from Bhalukjan village in Fulbaria upazila of Mymensingh district on Tuesday noon. The tribunal had earlier issued a warrant for arrest of the two suspected war criminals. l

Girl commits suicide for HSC failure n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Another girl has allegedly committed suicide Gazipur’s Bhaorayed area as she could not pass this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination.

The deceased Shima Akhter, 18, daughter of Nasir Uddin Hawladar of Bhaorayed area.

She appeared in the examination from Rovarpolli Degree College.

College Assistant Professor Abdus Salam said she was a student of humanities department.

Joydebpur OC Khondokar Rezaul Hassan Reza said: “She committed suicide by hanging herself around some time on Tuesday night.”

He said police recovered the body on Wednesday morning and sent it to Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College morgue for autopsy.

The results of HSC examination was published on Sunday afternoon. On the same day, another students of the same college committed suicide by hanging herself for failing in the HSC examination. l

Child killed in Sunamganj clash n Our Correspondent, Sunamganj A child has been killed in an attack over land dispute at Kolipur village under Chhatak upazila in Sunamganj.

The deceased is Sadia Akhter, 4.

Locals said there was a longtime dispute between Faruk Mia and Abdus Salam of the village over land property.

Following the matter, Faruk’s supporters attacked Abdus supporters with local weapons. Sadia was injured in the incident.

Chhatak OC Mohammad Ashraful Islam said: “Sadia died under treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.”

“We are conducting drives to arrest the culprits,” he said. l

hours. Several passengers said they did not know about the strike.

In the capital, no inter-district bus left from Gabtoli, Mohakhali or Sayedabad bus terminals for Sylhet. Transports workers were seen passing idle time. People who did not know about the strike came to bus stands.

Many of them changed their travel schedule while many waited till the end of the strike.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, the Association announced the strike at a press confer-

ence in protest of the killing of ‘Shyamoli Paribahan’ driver Babul Debnath.

On Monday night, a number of passengers beat Babul, a resident of Jaflong area in Goaighat upazila, to death at Sayedabad bus terminal in the capital at as his vehicle arrived at the terminal beyond the schedule.

Spokesman of Sylhet distrcit police Sugayan Chakma told the Dhaka Tribune that the strike was being observed peacefully without any unpleasant incident. l

DT

NEWS 7

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Mayor Nasir calls for coordinated efforts to make Ctg a megacity n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Chittagong Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin yesterday introduced a 125-point proposal before government, autonomous and private authorities of the port city, in an attempt to initiate a coordinated effort to turn Chittagong into a mega commercial city.

Representatives from 26 organisations turned up for the coordination meeting at Chittagong’s Nagar Bhaban, where the mayor pointed out that a united effort by the stakeholders would reduce expenses and sufferings of the port city residents.

“I expect everyone’s help in making Chittagong a perfect megacity and I hope that my city corporation staff will work with discipline and dedication,” he said. Political affiliations would not be taken into account, the mayor said, adding that everyone’s work would be evaluated.

The meeting titled “Chittagong city’s overall development plans” was organised to address the lack of coordination among different agencies serving Chittagong residents.

The Chittagong City Corporation authority

requested all organisations to pay their respective holding taxes and to extend all necessary assistance to solve the problems of the city.

The mayor’s Personal Secretary Manjurul Islam presented the 125 points, saying the key problems of the port city included water stagnation, traffic congestion, land grabbing, transportation shortage, waste management, water shortage, drainage, security, illegal billboards, gas shortage, and hill cutting.

After the presentation, representatives from different authorities discussed the issues during the two-hour meeting.

Chittagong’s Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Abdullah said: “We have to work together to make Chittagong a role model in the world and my office will provide every kind of help to the city corporation.”

Chittagong District’s Deputy Commissioner Mezbah Uddin also promised the support of his office to the CCC. Chittagong Port Authority’s Chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed stressed on focusing on traffic management.

“Traffic management should be bettered to

ease all works for the public and other organisations,” he said.

Calling for a combined initiative to control the law and order situation, Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mandal said the CMP remains alert to prevent any offence in the city.

Mentioning the different steps taken by the Chittagong Wasa to solve the city’s water crisis, its Managing Director AKM Fazlullah said the port city would be fully rid of its water problems by 2020 if the ongoing projects are completed in time.

Chittagong Development Authority’s Chairman Abdus Salam said the CDA would need the CCC’s active assistance to implement its different projects.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s President Mahbubul Alam suggested the CCC mayor to take short-, mid- and longterm plans for sustainable development.

Representatives of all the invited agencies, with the exception of Chittagong Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board and Border Guard Bangladesh, attended yesterday’s meeting. l

Seven robbers held in separate drives in capital n Tribune Report

Police in separate drives arrested seven robbers from the capital’s Motijheel and Sabujbagh areas in the early hours of yesterday.

“A team of Detective Branch of police first conducted drive in Sabujbagh area, around 12:15am and arrested four armed robbers, identified as Abdur Razzaq alias killer Razzaq, Shahidul Islam alias Shahid, Shariful Islam alias Rasel and Raju Das,” says Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner, media , Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The DB team also recovered a revolver, three rounds of bullet, two machetes and three knives from their possessions, added DC Muntasir.

In separate drive, Motijheel police arrested Osman alias Anowar Hossain, Faridul Islam alias Farid and Tariqul Islam. Police also recovered one Chinese axe, one machete and two knives from their possession, says DC Muntasirul Islam.

During preliminary interrogation, all the arrested confessed that they were involved in different criminal activities. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:34PM

SUN RISES 5:33AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 31

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

26 26 26 26 25 27 27 27

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

35.3ºC

25.4ºC

Rajshahi

Sylhet Source: Accuweather/UNB

Students of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology take position in front of the vice-chancellor’s office yesterday demanding cancellation of the ’33 credit’ system AZAHAR UDDIN

Deadlock at Ruet over promotion rule n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

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

A deadlock situation has created on the campus of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology over promotion rule.

Finding no solution, the university authorities yesterday suspended all classes and examinations of 2013-2014 session students who have been demanding the cancellation of the ’33 credit’ system for sine die.

The decision was made at an emergency meeting of disciplinary committee. Meanwhile, students of the batch continued demonstrations yesterday for the second consecutive day.

Recently, academic council of the university passed a rule that a first-year student would be promoted to the second year only if he/she got 33 credits out of 40 in two semesters.

However, about 700 first year students under 2013-2014 academic session had been agitating demanding reinstate of the previous improvement system.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Rafiqul Alam said classes and examinations of the batch had been postponed to avert any untoward incident. He also said additional police has been deployed on the campus.

The students alleged that university authori-

ties did not disclose the changed promotion rules till they had already started attending classes.

On the other hand, denying the students’ allegation, the VC said the system was clearly explained to the students in their orientation class.

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 gave a 3-day ultimatum for the authorities to cancel the 33-credit system.

Addressing a press conference on Ruet campus, the series 13 students threatened to launch a tough movement if their demand is not met by that time. l

DT

8 WORLD

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Taliban leadership struggle fuels wave of attacks in Afghanistan n Reuters, Peshawar A spike in attacks in Kabul was designed to prove the Taliban’s new leader was firmly in charge, the extremist group claimed, but Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour’s position remains precarious as clerics and top militants meet secretly to decide whether to back him.

Divisions are deep over Mansour’s appointment as head of the hardline Islamist movement fighting since its ouster in 2001 to overthrow Afghanistan’s Western-backed government and reestablish strict Islamic rule.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, confirmed two of three big suicide bombs last week within 24 hours were in response to rumours the insurgents had been weakened by disputes following confirmation of the death of founder Mullah Mohammad Omar.

“Some of these attacks were already planned, but the aim at this stage was to convey a message to those saying the Taliban had been split into factions,” said Mujahid.

“We wanted to convey a message that the Emirate of Afghanistan is still intact and is capable of carrying out attacks on highly guarded installations.”

Whether the violence in the capital indicates a long-term escalation of the insurgency and an abandonment of fledgling peace talks begun last month may become clearer once Taliban leaders and religious scholars resolve the leadership row.

According to several Taliban sources, a group of around 1,000 religious scholars has been meeting senior figures in the movement opposed to Mansour. He was named leader by a “shura” leadership council in the western Pakistani city of Quetta.

They are also due to meet Mansour himself, although direct contact has not been possible because of security concerns, according to people close to him.

Both sides dig in

Mansour’s appointment last month after the Taliban was forced to confirm the death of the reclusive Omar has shaken the movement, which has launched an increasingly successful insurgency since NATO troops ended combat operations last year.

The fact that Omar had apparently been dead for two years before the announcement and that Mansour, his longtime deputy, was appointed leader by a body based in Pakistan rather than Afghanistan, has deepened resentment.

Mansour’s legitimacy has been challenged

by Omar’s family, as well as by longtime rivals and the former top official at the Taliban’s Qatar office, who resigned last week.

While both sides say they will accept the clerics’ decision, neither appears inclined to give ground, heightening the risk of a prolonged standoff.

“The majority of people are with us. We aren’t going to form a faction but we are the representatives of the Islamic Emirate,” said Mullah Manan Niazi, spokesperson for an anti-Mansour faction.

“If Mansour and his few men refuse to accept the decision of religious scholars, then we call whatever they do in Afghanistan un-Islamic and against the Islamic Sharia,” he added.

Niazi said Mullah Omar’s 26-year-old son Yaqoob had the support of the group to take over the leadership.

For their part, Mansour’s followers appear unwilling to budge, saying that whatever the decision of the scholars, he would not give up the title “emir.”

“He has been appointed emir by the shura, so there is no way he will step down on demands of these people,” Mujahid said.

Touting support Widely considered a pragmatist, Mansour recently approved the creation of an international Taliban office in Qatar to act as a point

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan UN data, January to June Bullet-riddled windscreen of bus transporting civilian employees, Kabul, May 2015 Photo: Wakil Kohsar

Killed Injured

3,208 2,577

2,341 1,979

1,990 1,439 1,052

1,575 1,281

2009

2010

1,686 1,344

1,159

2011

3,329

2012

2013

2014

1,592

2015

Source : UNAMA of contact with the rest of the world and a potential avenue for peace talks with the Afghan government.

But in one of his first public acts after being named leader, Mansour issued an audio statement pledging to continue the insurgency, which costs thousands of lives every year, and dismissed the idea of peace talks as “enemy propaganda.”

“I don’t think there is any change in strategy,” said Kate Clark, country director for the Afghan Analysts Network in Kabul. “Mansour has largely been focused on the military struggle for years, there’s been precious little on the peace front.”

So far, Mansour has proved as good as his word.

More than 50 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the Kabul attacks, which have derailed the tentative peace process and driven a wedge between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, where many Taliban leaders are based.

With Taliban field commanders suspicious of any sign the armed struggle could be abandoned, and with competition from the ultra-hardline Islamic State growing, Mansour must show his fighting credentials.

“I don’t think this is a turning point, I fear this is normal,” said Clark. l

UN: Africa celebrates one year without polio

Devastating flood hits Myanmar, thousands evacuated

n AFP, Mogadishu

n Reuters, Yangon

Africa has marked one year since the last case of recorded polio, with the United Nations celebrating yesterday a key step towards eradicating the disease.

The last recorded case on the continent was in Somalia on August 11, 2014, although health officials must wait two more years before declaring the continent free from the highly infectious, crippling virus.

The UN children’s agency Unicef, which plays a key role in polio vaccinations, called it an “extraordinary achievement” but warned it was “not an end point.”

Success depends on the continuation of vaccination campaigns and close monitoring of possible cases, it said.

“We have had no new cases for a year despite all the challenges in the country,” Unicef’s chief for Somalia Steven Lauwerier said yesterday.

“We never want to see another Somali child being paralysed by this preventable virus. That means we need to continue to support the vaccination campaigns to ensure polio is completely eradicated.”

Nigeria marked one year since its last recorded case of polio in July. It is one of only three countries – along with Pakistan and Afghanistan – where the virus remains endemic.

Nigerian health ministry spokesman Dan Nwomen said yesterday said the anniversary was “welcome” but stressed the “momentum should be sustained” through improved immunisation campaigns.

“Globally, we are on the verge of totally eradicating a disease for only the second time in history,” Unicef polio chief Peter Crowley said, referring to the elimination of smallpox.

However, WHO has warned that there may have been cases that had gone unrecorded in Africa. l

Myanmar was evacuating parts of a city yesterday after mudslides wiped away hundreds of houses and torrential rain threatened further damage in the worst floods to hit the country in decades.

The government in Hakha, the capital of impoverished Chin state in northwest Myanmar, was moving nearly 4,000 people to safety after landslides caused by rains destroyed 375 houses, Chin Finance Minister Nan Zamon said.

At least 103 people have been killed and more than one million “critically affected” by the flooding, according to the government and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It is the worst natural disaster since Cyclone Nargis killed nearly 140,000 people in May 2008.

Five out of six townships in Hakha, population 50,000, had been hit by landslides and

another 900 houses were in danger of being damaged, Nan Zamon said.

“We are carrying out the evacuation now, giving priority to people from the houses that are completely damaged,” he said.

Hakha is 970km to the northwest of Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, and is the capital of one of the poorest and least-developed regions.

The government has declared Chin and three other areas disaster zones and appealed for international help. At least a dozen countries have donated cash, with China dispatching a convoy of trucks with relief supplies, India and Australia flying in military aircraft to deliver supplies and the European Union and United States pledging funds for the relief effort.

Nan Zamon said another 3,000 people from nearby villages were also being moved to temporary shelters at government buildings and churches. l

DT

WORLD 9

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Turkey, Iran help broker rare truce in Syria n Reuters, Beirut Syria’s warring parties declared a 48-hour ceasefire in a frontline area on Wednesday after a month of unprecedented mediation from Turkey and Iran, signalling a new approach by some regional powers backing opposing sides in the conflict.

The ceasefire halted fighting between insurgents on the one hand, and the army and its Lebanese militant Hezbollah allies on the other, in the rebel-held town of Zabadani and in a pair of Shia Muslim villages in Idlib province.

The two areas are strongholds of each side under ferocious attack by the other, meaning both could benefit from a ceasefire by evacuating civilians or combatants.

Three officials close to Damascus described the truce as a result of mediation by Turkey, which backs rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, and Iran, whose support has been vital to his survival.

It was among the strongest signs yet of a new regional approach towards a conflict that has killed a quarter of a million people, made 10 million homeless, left swathes of Syria in the hands of Islamic State (IS) militants and divided the countries of the

Middle East on sectarian grounds.

After four years in which international diplomacy made no headway towards peace, countries that support Assad and his opponents have been quietly discussing ways to end the war and tackle the common threat from IS. But Assad’s fate remains a major obstacle to the new diplomatic effort.

The Iranian foreign minister was due in Damascus later on Wednesday and expected to discuss a new peace plan for Syria.

Sources on both sides of the civil war earlier on Wednesday said the truce was to begin at 6am (local time), and negotiations would continue. The rebel group Ahrar al-Sham had led the talks on the insurgents’ side.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that reports on the war, said no fighting had been reported in Zabadani, Kefraya or al-Foua after the ceasefire’s agreed start time.

“So far there is calm,” Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory, said.

Zabadani, about 45km northwest of the capital Damascus and about 10km from the border with Lebanon, has been the focus of a weekslong offensive by the army and Hezbollah aimed at wresting control of the town from rebels.

The United Nations envoy for Syria said last month that government air strikes had caused widespread death and destruction in Zabadani, and expressed concern that civilians were trapped both there and in the two Shia villages.

Ahrar al-Sham said last week it was holding talks with an Iranian delegation over Zabadani, located in an area of western Syria where Assad, who faces an army manpower shortage, has sought to shore up control.

The source added that ongoing talks were focused on an evacuation of rebel fighters from Zabadani, and an evacuation of civilians from the two villages.

While diplomacy has so far been a total failure in ending the war, there are signs of a new push following Iran’s nuclear deal last month with major powers including both the United States and Russia.

Turkey, a major regional power and opponent of Assad that until now had avoided a direct role in the war, has revamped its strategy in recent weeks to join a campaign against Islamic State. It is pressing for a buffer zone in Syria near its frontier that would be free of Islamic State and controlled by opponents of Assad. l

Bush, Clinton trade blame over Iraq war n AFP, Washington DC

A decade of anger over the Iraq war resurfaced in the 2016 US election race Tuesday, with Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns trading blame about that country’s continued instability.

Twelve years after president George W Bush led the US into an unpopular and troubled conflict, his brother, now a Republican presidential hopeful, accused Democrats of abandoning Iraq before the job was done.

Jeb Bush blamed his Democratic White House rival for allowing the brutal emergence of the Islamic State group by withdrawing troops from Iraq too fast.

“That premature withdrawal was the fatal error, creating the void that (Islamic State) moved in to fill,” he claimed.

In 2002, Clinton voted in favor of authorising Bush’s invasion as a Senator for New York, a vote she later said was a mistake. But on Tuesday her campaign defended her later record.

Long-time foreign policy aide Jake Sullivan - a frontrunner to become Clinton’s National Security Advisor if she is elected - accused Jeb Bush of a “pretty bold attempt to rewrite history and reassign responsibility.”

“They cannot be allowed to escape responsibility for the real mistake here,” he said, saying the IS didn’t exist before the invasion. It emerged in no small part as a result of president Bush’s failed strategy,” he said. l

Q&A

Yuan devaluation: An enigma explained China flustered global financial markets by devaluing its currency Yuan, in what it said was an effort to make its exchange rate more market-oriented. The yuan’s value declined 1.9% on Tuesday, its heaviest one-day drop in a decade, and dropped a further 1.6% yesterday. The move could help Chinese companies by making their products less expensive in global markets.

Meanwhile, on the orher side of the Pacific, US stocks sank, partly on fears about a worsening economic slowdown in China.

Q1. What did China do?

A woman shouts slogans during the 5th March of the Daisies at the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia on Wednesday. Rural women workers from different social movements take part in the March of the Daisies in demand of an agrarian reform and support for small farm workers AFP

A1. China doesn’t let its currency trade freely in financial markets as the US does.

Instead, it links the yuan’s value to a basket of currencies the composition of which is secret but is believed to be dominated by the US dollar. Then it restricts trading to a band 2% above or below a daily target set by the central bank. Along with the biggest drop of yuan’s value in a decade, the central bank also made a technical change to give market forces more influence in determining the currency’s value: Its daily target will now be based on the previous day’s closing value and on currency supply and demand in the market. This change will allow the yuan to make bigger, faster moves up or down and better reflect investors’ outlook on the prospects for China and its currency, experts opine.

Q2. Why did China devalue its currency?

A2. The People’s Bank of China said it act-

ed because the yuan has been rising even when market forces say it should be falling.

Worried Chinese have been moving money out of the country, putting downward pressure on the yuan. Yet the yuan has remained up anyway because of its link to the dollar, which has been rising. An overvalued yuan has hurt Chinese exporters by making their products more expensive overseas. In July alone, Chinese exports plunged 8.3% percent year over year. China’s economy already needed help. The economy is expected to grow less than 7% this year, its slowest rate since 1990, and could decelerate even more next year. The stock market has been in a freefall since June.

Q3. How will China’s trading partners be affected?

A3. Investors fear the worst. US stocks sank Tuesday, dragged down by falling shares in such big exporters. In theory, a weaker yuan could reduce exports of US goods to China, already down nearly 5% this year through June. Economists doubt that a one-day 2% drop in the yuan will do much damage to exports from the US or other countries.

Source: News wires

DT

10 Advertisement

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

DT

EDITORIAL 11

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

INSIDE

Let the money talk: Where Rampal truly stands Though Bangladesh has to bear the entire risk and repercussions of building a potentially dangerous project in the most feeble ecosystem in the country, India is siphoning away almost 50% of the power produced in the plant

PAGE 12

Tagore beyond Tagore

RAJIB DHAR

Tagore is so relevant to our lives, so alive and contemporary, that we don’t need to remember him on a special day -- Srabon 22 or Boishakh 25

PAGE 13

What do university rankings tell us?

When it comes to comparing education providers, ranking is put forth as the indicator by almost all

PAGE 14

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

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

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

US won’t help Bangladeshi workers by singling them out

I

t is disappointing that the updated list of states qualifying for the United States’ duty-free GSP program still excludes Bangladesh, which was suspended in 2013 over concern about workers’ rights issues.

Although RMG exports do not come under this arrangement, reinstating Bangladesh is important as a vote of confidence in the work done to advance labour rights since the Rana Plaza disaster.

This progress and the work done by the government and the brand-led Alliance and Accord stake-holder initiatives on improving factory safety, deserves to be acknowledged.

It is unjust to single Bangladesh out for exclusion, when concerns about labour rights are international, and the new list contains 122 different countries including all other members of SAARC. The government should renew efforts to persuade the US to allow Bangladesh GSP privileges. At a time when other countries are benefiting from new trade deals, it is vital to ensure that our exporters are not left behind.

In the same vein, we would urge the US government to review the high rate of tariff duties paid on Bangladeshi RMG exports to the US. Bangladesh pays the second-highest rate of tariff duty (15.6%) for exports to the US market. This amounts to over $828m a year, and is almost twice the rate of other developing countries such as Vietnam, and roughly five times that of China and India.

The US should adopt the elegant proposal made last year by the chief economist of the Bangladesh Bank for a Tariffs for Standards fund.

A portion, say a quarter of the $800m plus that Bangladesh pays the US to export garments, could be invested by the US in a fund administered by a third party such as the World Bank, to finance factory upgrades and improvements in working standards in Bangladesh.

This type of a multilateral arrangement would make it much easier for the RMG industry to make the substantial long-term investments it needs to build modern factories and improve working conditions, while directly addressing the concerns of US consumers about workers’ rights.

Progress made since Rana Plaza deserves to be acknowledged.

Addressing discriminatory tariffs will do more to help workers

DT

12 OPINION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Let the money talk: Where Rampal truly stands Building a power plant only 14km away from the Sundarbans’ border can only be bad news ing the prestigious status of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site (official assessment to be completed by the end of June as per reports), in addition to risking the extinction of one of its most prized possessions, the Royal Bengal Tiger, India is siphoning away almost 50% of the power produced in the plant, conveniently citing their 1972 Wildlife Protection Act as the main factor deterring it from allowing the plant being built within its own premises.

India has two sticks to dangle here: The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 of India, which states that no ecologically-sensitive areas like national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, or reserve forests can be contained within 15km of a thermal power plant, and the rule stated by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests prohibiting the construction of thermal power plants within a 25km radius of any “ecologically sensitive area,” including forests.

In contrast, Bangladesh has no rule of law as such. The proposed Rampal Power Plant is only 14km away from the Sundarbans’ core area border. And the transportation of 3.2 million tonnes of coal a year through the Passur River, the main water body that seeps deepest into the forest, in addition to the industries that will mushroom surrounding the peripheries of the plant, can only bring bad news.

And this is not even the only project to be struck with the giant either. The Rampal Power Plant is just one of the three major deals signed under the Bangladesh-India

withdrawn their support from the project on grounds of fabricated reports submitted by the authorities to convince the funders.

The analysis of Bank Track, a global coalition of non-profit tracking and co-operating in the field of banks and financial institutions and measuring their investments and actions based on sustainability, reports: “The analysis shows that serious deficiencies in project design, planning, and implementation and due diligence obligations render the project non-compliant with the minimum social and environmental standards established by the Equator Principles, as well as the International Finance Corporation’s performance standards.”

The repercussions are already beginning to shine through -- not only with the welcome outsiders, but with the home-grown veteran supporters as well. The Bangladesh Planning Commission, the central body of the Bangladesh government for formulating policies and frame-works in line with the government’s development goals and objectives, has already refused approval for the project. Reason: The project was not compliant with the country’s existing policy, nor was the funding and ownership of the plant clear.

This clearly leaves even the 15% stake of Bangladesh in the project uncertain. The dismissals can only work to fuel apprehension from any funder to back the project.

Even before funds can be raised to build the first plant, the BPDB has inexplicably

Though Bangladesh has to bear the entire risk and repercussions of building a potentially dangerous project in the most feeble ecosystem in the country, India is siphoning away almost 50% of the power produced in the plant We need to protect our forests

n Armin Zaman Khan “The 1320MW Rampal power project is making progress in accordance with your laws and regulations. We can do more together in the power sector, here and in India.”

-- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Bangladesh on June 6

A

s of June 25, three French banks have expressed their strong denial to fund the ethically, environmentally, and politically controversial power plant project -- the joint venture between Bangladesh and neighbouring country India -- the Rampal Power Plant.

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

And they are not the first ones to pull out from this project either. The pull out of the much-coveted Norwegian Pension Fund six months earlier had made the news and flooded the headlines, giving the guys with big pockets a shake in their iron chairs and water on their eyelids -- a much needed step waiting to happen for a long time.

The $1.5bn coal-powered plant project is planned to produce 20,000 megawatts of cheap coal-powered electricity for the citizens by the year 2021. But interestingly enough, though Bangladesh has to bear the entire risk and repercussions of building a potentially dangerous project in the most feeble eco-system in the country, and even risk los-

Friendship Power Company, formed in 2013, as a joint venture between Bangladesh Power Development Board and the National Thermal Power Corporation in India.

The primary funding of the (estimated) $1.5bn project was planned to be provided by commercial loans, 70% of the total fund expected being granted by financial banking institutions and the remaining 30% being split between India and Bangladesh equally.

According to the public reports and insider news in the last few months, several private multinational banks, even the ones with very explicit records of funding environmentally degrading projects in Bangladesh (eg coal power plants, tanneries, etc), have

started acquiring land for a second plant.

With the possibility of a “legally binding deal” hanging in the air ahead of the Paris Climate Summit this year, disapprovals and cold shoulders from the international institutions can only tarnish the face of the victim that had served as our last saving grace in this battle. l Armin Zaman Khan is a development practitioner and social entrepreneur based in Dhaka. This article is the second one in a series of articles is she currently writing for Adopt a Negotiator’s “Call for Climate,” leading up to the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Paris this year. She writes for her blog sleepydoodles.com.

DT

OPINION 13

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Tagore beyond Tagore Rabindranath’s works open up a new world to all who read him

n Mamun Rashid

I

am indebted to my teacher Nazrul Islam for introducing me to the larger world of Tagore -- Tagore’s poems, short stories, novels, and drama at Faujdarhat Cadet College. The same goes for our beloved teacher Mohammad Zakerullah, who shared with us the chequered life of Tagore -- his childhood, his family, his marriage, and his definition of life.

Mr Islam used to tell us: “You complete your own Bengali literature syllabus, let me read out from Tagore, the best of his novels.”

Believe me -- he read out all of Gora and Ghare Baire when we were in eighth grade.

And that was the beginning; I continued to read every book by Tagore or about Tagore in our school library -- be it Amar Chelebela, Nationalism, Two Sisters, Post Office, Mashi and other stories, Chitrangoda, and so on. Many may not believe that I have almost all the quotable quotes from Gora and Ghare Baire written in my school and college diaries.

Tagore opened up a new vista of life to me, and in fact to all who read him or listen to his songs, or watch the dramas he wrote. I only wonder how he could write so much.

them could read Tagore only in translation, devoid of the linguistic nuances, subtlety of rhythm, and metrical inventions, untranslatable delicacy, cadence, and poetic communication available in the original Bengali.

Driven by divine inspiration, Tagore did not merely produce works of art, but a new art of living with creative impulses into a social context with which we, his readers, get charged up. Looking at the disconnect in his times and the crisis of civilisation, he became its healer, a discerner, and interpreter with the simplest magic of heart and feeling.

I wonder how he came up with “amar ma na hoye jodi hote onno karo ma.” I was so intrigued when I got to know what prompted him to write “keno jamini na jete jagale na.”

Criticisms by Pramathanath Bishi, Pramatha Chowdhury, or Maitreyi Devi tell us a lot.

He is ever-lasting in our minds. He wrote so many things in so many ways, and truly believed in drinking life to the lees. When we read about Ratan in The Postmaster, we cried.

Fatik in Chuti made us cry. Haimanti made us so sad, yet strong enough to protect women’s values. His Gora or Ghare Baire made us hate narrow patriotism, or philistinism. His Russiar Chithi or Europe Jatrir Diary still make us

Tagore is so relevant to our lives, so alive and contemporary, that we don’t need to remember him on a special day -Srabon 22 or Boishakh 25

I wake up with Tagore songs on Tara music or Channel I, and try to go to sleep listening to his lyrics: “Tomar shure shure shur melate, amar bela je jay shaj belate” and others. I am very happy that the present government and its ministry concerned are doing a lot to highlight Tagore and his values. Our prime minister herself is an avid Tagore lover.

Tagore was not only a poet or writer; he was a philosopher in every right. Tagore wrote: “Death’s stamp gives value to the coin of life, making it possible to buy with life what is truly precious.”

Rabindranath Tagore, the first nonEuropean Nobel Prize winner in literature back in 1913, significantly enriched Bengali language, literature, and culture. Tagore is so relevant to our lives, so alive and contemporary, that we don’t need to remember him on a special day -- Srabon 22 or Boishakh 25. Tagore has inspired us to discern life through thinking, feeling, loving, realising, and thereby, living in full.

When we read the spontaneous reactions on his Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by three eminent poets, namely Irish poet WB Yeats, American poet Ezra Pound, and French poet Andre Gide, we can understand it is not about Bengali sentiments anymore. All of

so open and respectful to other cultures.

Tagore’s writings reshaped Bengali literature and music. He is so vast, yet so meaningful. He wrote poetry as an eightyear-old. As a humanist, universalist, internationalist, and strident nationalist, he denounced the British Raj and advocated for independence. As an ardent champion of the Bengali renaissance, he advanced a sea of knowledge that comprised painting, sketches and doodles, hundreds of texts, and some 2,000 songs.

His legacy endures also in the institution he founded -- Visva Bharati University. His Gitanjali got him the Nobel Prize, and his compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems -- India and Bangladesh.

The lyrics and music for the original song of Sri Lanka’s national anthem were also the works of Tagore.

Tagore is vast, and engrossing. Tagore’s values and life remain so relevant to our lives. We live in Tagore, and live with Tagore.

Tagore is our life and breath. Long live Tagore, long live tolerance, and long live universality. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

After all these years, Kobiguru still matters to us

DT

14 OPINION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

What do university rankings tell us?

While university rankings may help us compare different educational institutions, they do not necessarily give us the whole picture

What should students look for when pursuing higher education?

BIGSTOCK

n Palash Ranjan Sanyal

L

iving in Bangladesh, we often tend to raise questions about the education that we receive from universities. The quality of instruction can certainly be taken as an issue, but if we look at professed educational institutes providing high quality education, what must we take as indicators of quality?

When it comes to comparing education providers, ranking is put forth as the indicator by almost all. It not only helps students to decide, but also helps universities as a tool for publicity and for attracting better funding and students. As I inched through every step of my higher education, ranking is what I often looked at while comparing two universities, their qualities, and research.

When it comes to ranking, it’s hard to decide the standards. No uniform standard exists for universities. Based on popularity, three ranking systems are prominent over others. The first and foremost is the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) which was first established in 2003.

It came into being as an idea to yardstick the top Chinese universities with universities in the United States. The idea was to stop the brain drain from China. The ranking is updated yearly and considers around 1,000 universities, of which the first 500 are ranked in the league table of the world’s top universities.

Now, how does it rank the universities?

The ranking is based on absolute numbers like the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel prizes, the number of staff included in the lists of most highly cited researchers, and the number of papers published in pres-

When it comes to comparing education providers, ranking is put forth as the indicator by almost all. It not only helps students to decide, but also helps universities as a tool for publicity and for attracting better funding and students

tigious journals. It only concerns research performance, and it is based on bibliometric assessment -- research performance is based on one central assumption: Scientists who have to say something important do indeed publish their findings vigorously in the open, international journal (serial) literature.

As a response to the ARWU ranking came along the second most popular ranking -Times Higher Education World Universities Rankings (THE). THE can be considered a research-oriented ranking as well, and it is not size-dependent, based on both bibliometric (37%) and non-bibliometric indicators (reputation surveys on research and teaching 34.5%; income indicators 10.75%; importance of PhD studies 8.25%; internationalisation indicators 5%; and student to staff ratio accounting for 4.5%). The main purpose of this ranking is also to produce league tables of top universities, excluding graduate schools, and those that have not provided data.

The third most popular ranking is the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) university

ranking. The purpose is to produce university league tables. Its activities focus on over 2,000 international universities and business schools. It is similar to THE because it uses similar methodology and is based on both bibliometric and non-bibliometric indicators.

Other university rankings or classifications include, but are not limited to: l Taiwan Higher Education Accreditation and Evaluation Council University Ranking (HEAACT) which considers the 700 top universities for its overall university ranking and around 500 top universities for each subject field. l EU U-Multirank, an EU-funded project which aims to respond to the main criticism moved towards the international rankings. l Webometrics, which is based on the degree of visibility on the web. l U-Map which is based on a number of indicators comparing universities that have similar profiles. l SIR (SCImago Institutions Rankings) is grounded on research, innovation, and web

visibility indicators.

The ARWU system shows 32 universities out of 500 are from China, one is from India.

No university from Bangladesh is listed in the ARWU, THE, and QS systems. Webometrics has a list of Bangladeshi universities where they ranked the universities based on four indicators -- impact, presence, openness, and excellence. It shows Shahjalal University of Science & Technology being on top, ranking 2,400 worldwide, followed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (2,709), BRAC University (2,712), and University of Dhaka (3,222).

Main rankings of the universities face a major criticism: International rankings only cover a very small percentage of the world’s around 17,000 universities, between 1%~10%.

This means that the ranking cannot be considered an assessment of the quality of the academic institution, but simply a ranking producing global league tables. Then comes the question of making specialised field-related ranking. The most international rankings predominantly focus on indicators related to the research function of universities.

Measuring the quality of teaching and learning generally undertakes the use of proxies, often with a very indirect link to the teaching process, with the result that these rankings are rarely effective. The link to external stakeholders and environments are largely ignored, whereas reputational factors tend to have disproportional importance in many cases.

The bibliometric assessment faces criticism as well. Inappropriate design, improper calculation, and sloppy application of bibliometric indicators negatively influence the ranking. How the impact factor and citation is quantified, and peer reviewing process carried out, often raise questions.

The quality of the technical system is a common set of problems. For example, citation error often changes the number of papers for a specific university, whether co-authors are counted or not, as pointed by researchers.

Then review papers tend to get more citations than a research paper in any specific field, meaning review papers will influence more on the ranking than research papers. A paper written in any other language will get less attention than one written in English.

There are attempts from university authorities and entities to boost respective university rankings. Most attempts do not focus on teaching quality (but do focus on research enrichments), rather on increasing citations and fame. Fame and citation increases ranking, ranking brings more funds/students, funds can be put into research, and thus the cycle goes on. All this is good. But one might ask what place the classroom/teaching quality has in all this. It is crucial that students understand what they are going after when they want to pursue higher studies.l Palash Ranjan Sanyal is a Graduate Assistant at University of South Carolina.

16

New export policy approved to boost sub-regional trade

17

RMG makers urged to spend more from bottom line

19

Stocks inch up amid technical glitch

20

Bernicat: GSP revival after meeting all conditions n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh may get back the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in the US market if it implements all the conditions mandatory for availing of the facility.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat yesterday expressed the view just after visiting two international-standard readymade garment factories in Gazipur.

A group of foreign diplomats in Dhaka visited two readymade garment units in Gazipur to assess the working environment and compliance issues.

President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) M Atiqul Islam led the tour of the factories – UTAH Fashion Ltd and Epylion Style Ltd. Among others, Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Benoit-Pierre Laramee, EU Ambassador Pierre Mayaudon and Spainish Ambassador Eduardo de Laiglesia Y del Rosal, also visited the two factories.

The United States has recently extended its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility for 122 countries, but Bangladesh has been left out.

Currently, there are 16 conditions including worker safety, freedom of association, safety of the labor right activists etc for getting the GSP facilities in the US market.

Brushing aside an allegation that Bangladesh has been left out of the GSP list just on political ground, US Ambassador Bernicat has categorically clarified: “Though Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the RMG sector following the Rana Plaza disaster, it fails to fulfill all the conditions of the Sustainability Compact.”

“Although there has been significant improvements in safety, security and workers rights issues, Bangladesh is not included in the GSP facility list as the overall development in RMG sector is still not up to the mark.”

Visiting the two factories, Bernicat

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat and other diplomats visit two RMG factory units in Gazipur yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU observed that the global perception about Bangladeshi RMG factories was changed significantly after the Rana Plaza collapse because of the tremendous improvement in the field of workers’ safety, security and compliances.

“These two factories can be good example to others units in terms of safety, workers’ rights and other issues,” she said.

She, however, stressed on establishing online database of the workers, stopping harassment of workers for the formation of trade unions and implementing all the rules under labour law to get back the GSP facility.

She also advised the government of Bangladesh to make visible development in labour union formation in the RMG sector to get back

the GSP facility.

Head of the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon stated that the standard of the visited factories was quite satisfied.

“However, Bangladesh needs to increase the productivity and quality of its products to get increased price in the international markets,” he said while responding to a query.

Expressing his utter frustration, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said, “Though Bangladesh has tried its best to improve the overall scenario to regain the GSP facility, it is still out of the list, which is quite unfortunate.”

He, however, hoped that the country would get back the GSP facility in the US market after the factory visit by the delegation. l

BB launches POS transaction system n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has launched the interbank POS (Point of Sale) transactions under NPSB (National Payment Switch, Bangladesh) to facilitate card transactions, making the debit and credit cards usable to POS devices.

Attending as chief guest, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman formally

inaugurated a new transaction system at a function held in its headquarters in the capital yesterday.

The four banks including Pubali, Trust, Dutch-Bangla and The City Bank came under this new POS transaction system.

As a result, a client of Pubali Bank will be able to execute transaction through POS of any other three banks.

Earlier, clients of a bank could only ex-

ecute the card transaction through POS of the respective bank only. Now, any debit or credit card holders of the above mentioned four banks would be able to execute transaction in any POS of the four banks.

NPSB brought the ATM transactions at a unique platform and POS is the new inclusion of NPSB. Currently, 46 banks executed the transactions of Tk12 crore through the NPSB. l

DT

Business

15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

China tries to calm currency war fears as yuan slips further

RMG export drops 12% n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The country’s RMG export earnings registered a 12% decline to $2.22bn in July this year, the first month of current fiscal year, compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, in July of FY2015-16, the overall export earnings showed 11.96% decline to $2.62bn compared to $2.98bn of the same month in last fiscal year.

According to the provisional data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh earned $2.22bn, exporting apparel products, which was $2.52bn in the same period last year.

As per the data, Knitwear products earned $1.13bn while woven fetched $1.09bn.

In the last financial year, RMG sector, the lifeline of Bangladesh’s export earnings displayed the poorest performance in six years with over 4% rise. The apparel sector earned a total of $25.49bn compared to $24.49bn in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the country’s total export earnings in last fiscal year amounted to $31.2bn, making a 3.39% growth, the lowest in 13 years.

The sharp rise in production cost left Bangladesh in tough competitions, which caused sharp decline in export earning, Abdus Salam Murshedy, Exporters Association of Bangladesh president, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“We have to install safety equipment to ensure safety and implement new wages, which pushed the production cost up, and ultimately we lost our competitiveness in the global market, said Salam.

On the other hand, Bangladesh also lost some production capacities due to closure of factories for safety concerns, and inspection also hinders production, he said. Fluctuation of exchange rates was another reason behind the slow export growth, Salam added.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, executive director, Centre for Policy Dialogue, told the Dhaka Tribune the downswing in export earnings could be due to Ramadan and holidays on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr.

During Ramadan offices remained open less than the usual hours, and because of holidays, shipment delayed, which led to fall in earnings, added Mustafizur. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

New export policy approved to boost sub-regional trade n Tribune Report Bangladesh has approved new export policy with an aim to invigorate sub-regional trade, particularly with neigbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan and India.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs yesterday made the approval for next three years at a meeting presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.

The duration of previous export policy taken in 2012 came to an end on June 30 this year.

Commerce minister took advice from every stockholders during the preparation of the next export policy which will be effective from July this year, said Mustafizur Rahman, additional secretary at cabinet division.

He added stakeholders’ recommendations were taken into account in preparating the policy which targets to increase the country’s exports to $60bn by 2021.

The policy has also put emphasis on attracting more foreign investment in the export-orientated industries.

It further includes a plan to set up international standard testing centres in Bangladesh to ensure export of quality goods.

Special development focus will be given on the sectors like tourism, architecture, engineering and consultancy services.

The policy considers information technology, pharmaceuticals, light-engineering, agro-products, herbal and ship-building as

Oil prices slide to fresh lows in Asian trade

potential and promising sectors in Bangladesh.

Special importance has been given to the IT-based service export and ensuring more use of e-commerce in export processing.

Formation of a committee is promised to prepare a road-map for ensuring quality in exporting plants and plant products.

Stakeholders’ recommendations were taken into account in the policy which targets to increase the country’s exports to $60bn by 2021 Given the denial of testing results of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution by many countries including the European Union and neighbouring India, it emphasises the need to set up accredited testing laboratories under both public and private sector initiative.

Bangladeshi agricultural and RMG products were barred from entering on several occasions by the EU, US and India to their market citing the country’s labs had no inter-

national accreditation.

The policy also recommends that the export-oriented industries should be given priority in getting power, gas and other utility services.

It gives generous importance to raising productivity, quality improvement of goods, and compliance in line with buyers’ requirements.

It also proposes duty-free import of compliance-related and fire-extinguishing equipment.

The policy suggests taking steps for infrastructure development of ports, easing delivery of goods from the ports, and reducing cost of doing business by introducing onestop service to help raise competitiveness of exporters.

The latest data, which was submitted to cabinet committee, reads despite unfavourable economic situation and global pressure on compliance issues, Bangladesh exports grew by 5.99%, 11.22% and 11.69% in last three fiscal years - 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively.

According to the policy, the government will simplify offloading system in Chittagong and Mongla sea ports and develop communication system.

It reads: “Friendly export policy and vigorous endeavour from both public and private sectors assisted the country achieve success in export.” l

CORPORATE NEWS

n Reuters, London OPEC on Tuesday raised its forecast of oil supplies from non-member countries in 2015, a sign that crude’s price collapse is taking longer than expected to hit US shale drillers and other competing sources.

In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast no extra demand for its crude oil this year despite faster global growth in consumption, because of higher-than-expected production from the United States and other countries outside the group.

In contrast, the US government on Tuesday lowered both its 2015 and 2016 US oil production forecasts, signalling that the 60% rout in benchmark prices since last summer may finally be weighing on shale output.

The US 2015 crude oil production growth forecast was cut by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 650,000 bpd from the previous report, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s short-term energy outlook. Meanwhile, it expanded the production decline forecast for 2016 by 400,000 bpd from a 150,000 bpd decline previously.

Benchmark Brent LCOc1 is trading below $50 a barrel, close to its 2015 low after an 18 percent drop in July. But OPEC has refused to cut output, seeking to recover market share by slowing higher-cost production in the United States and elsewhere that had been encouraged by OPEC’s prior policy of keeping prices near $100. l

Smartphone, tab expo begins today n Tribune Report

n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices extended losses in Asia yesterday as dealers worried about China’s economy following its surprise currency devaluation, while oversupply concerns also added to downward pressure, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery fell five cents to $43.03 while Brent crude for September slipped 35 cents to $48.83 in late-morning trade.

WTI on Tuesday sank to its lowest level since March 2009, while Brent also fell in London, after China’s central bank moved to devalue its currency by nearly two percent against the US dollar. The People’s Bank of China again lowered the daily fix that sets the value of the Chinese currency against the greenback on Wednesday by 1.62%, sending a new shockwave through financial markets.

“The Chinese yuan continues to weaken for the second day, which could suggest further weakening of oil prices,” said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Investors fear Beijing’s move signalled concerns over growth in the world’s second-largest economy and top energy consumer, which came after data published over the weekend showed a slump in Chinese trade.

It also pushed up the greenback, which strengthened further against Asian currencies on Wednesday. l

OPEC: Cheap oil taking longer to subdue rivals

Rotary International (Dist 3281) District Governor Elect Rtn Mohammad Ayub is seen handing over lifetime achievement award to Rtn PP Ishtiaque Ahmed Chowdhury, MD and CEO of Trust Bank Limited for his outstanding contribution to the cause of Rotary

The Palace Resort & Spa has recently signed an agreement with Jamuna Bank on providing the bank’s employees corporate facilities with discounts at its resort in Habigonj. The bank’s DMD, AKM Saifuddin Ahamed and Mahboob Alam, executive director of the resort have signed the agreement

A three-day technology carnival titled “Robi Smartphone and Tab Expo” begins in the capital today.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak is scheduled to inaugurate the country’s largest tech fair at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).

Local and international technology brands will showcase the digital devices with special offers and gifts.

Organisers said the visitors will be able to get in touch with the latest technology as well as to buy smart devices at special prices.

Samsung, Apple, Symphony, Stylus, Gloldberg, ZTE, Oppo, Huawei, Maximus, Sony, Rangs, Elite, Asus, Lenovo, MyCell, Twimns, Prestigio, Contigo, Shawmi, One Plus, HTC, ADATA, HPS, gadget Gang Seven, Miuju, Inol, DX generation will participate in the fair.

The expo will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm for the visitors. Entry fee is Tk20. But it is totally free for school students and disabled persons. The school students should wear school uniform or show ID card to avail the free entry.

The participating companies will display their products in one mega pavilion, 13 pavilions, 5 mini pavilions and 10 stalls at the expo.

There will be a special pavilion at the expo remembering the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This pavilion will show rare photographs and videos of the greatest leader. l

DT

BUSINESS 17

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

COMPLIANCE AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS

RMG makers urged to spend more from bottom line

Centre for Policy Dialogue and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung holds a dialogue on apparels sector in Brac Inn in the capital yesterday

n Tribune Report Both manufacturers and buyers should spend additional fund from their profit margin to ensure compliance and workers’ rights as well as increasing sustainability of the sector, experts said yesterday.

They also viewed that strengthening government’s institutional mechanism and social audit system set up by the buyers and retailers would be essential to inspect factory-level compliance and maintain international standards.

The observations emerged from a dialogue on “Bangladesh Apparels Sector: Does Margin Matter for Ensuring Compliance?” organised

by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Bangladesh in the capital.

The apparel experts gave their views over a CPD study on Margin and Its Relation with Firm-level Compliance and Illustration on Bangladesh Apparel Value Chain, presented

by CPD Additional Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem.

The study said it would be very difficult for Bangladeshi manufacturers to increase spending for compliance under the existing level of margin.

Economic and noneconomic factors, in-

cluding higher labour efficiency, low interest rate, financial incentives, semi-automated production process and developed infrastructure force will enable domestic firms to compete with other countries that spent most on compliance than Bangladesh, it said.

It said Bangladesh spent 15.1% for trimming or packaging, which is the highest than any other competitive countries.

Bangladeshi manufacturers invariably spend less for selling, general and administrative cost and manufacturing overhead cost of manufacturing, according to the study.

It revealed that a disjointed value chain is in operation in the apparels value chain of Bangladesh because existing structure and market forces put little emphasis on compliance.

Expenditure on compliance is extremely low in comparison with other countries and in contrast with investments in industrial raw materials including fabric, it said.

Chairing the event, CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan observed that increasing export competitiveness at the cost of workers’ wellbeing is socially unjust and politically unsustainable.

He proposed making the workers into shareholders to positively include their contribution in the global value chain and thus

MEHEDI HASAN

make the industries sustainable.

Highlighting initiatives so far taken by the government for ensuring compliance, labour and employment ministry secretary Mikail Shipar said the government is committed to expand RMG sector in the country in future and to keep sound relation between the workers and owners.

Mohammadi Group Managing Director Rubana Huq said maintaining compliance standards pose challenging, especially without apparels industries regulating themselves by addressing real compliance issues instead of protecting reputation for business.

She laid emphasis on necessary fund minting compliance saying so many assurances that we will be funding you. That’s fine, but my point is when.

Assistant Executive Director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed said fundamental rights of workers are not dependent on maximum margin. He urged buyers to give support on ensuring compliance in Bangladesh apparel sector.

Opex Group Chairman and former BGMEA President Anisur Rahman Sinha said: “We have to be practical that things are being built, but not destroyed.” l

BEPZA employment doubles in FY15 n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) has witnessed double growth in terms of employment generation in fiscal year 201415 as compared to the previous fiscal year.

Through eight EPZ’s under BEPZA, it has witnessed 107% growth by employing 31,084 Bangladeshi nationals in the just concluded fiscal, which was only 15,009 in FY13-14, according to a press release issued by the authority yesterday.

Of the new employments, 9,167 persons were employed in Karnaphuli EPZ, 8,194 in Chittagong EPZ, 5,347 in Comilla EPZ, 4,864 in Uttara EPZ, 4,084 in Adamjee EPZ, 1,129 in Ishwardi EPZ and 182 in Mongla EPZ. As of June 2015, the cumulative employment stands at 4,20,101 in the eight EPZs under BEPZA which was 3,89,017 till June 2014.

In FY14-15, 17 new industries started commercial operation that raised the number of total operational industries of BEPZA at 445.

Among the industries, 248 are under foreign ownership, 66 joint venture and 131 are under fully Bangladeshi ownership. l

MSD, HPL form strategic partnership n Tribune Report

MSD (Merck Sharp and Dohme), a global healthcare leader, announced a strategic partnership with the national pharmaceutical company, Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Limited (HPL).

The announcement came at a joint press conference held in a city hotel yesterday.

KG Ananthakrishnan, president and managing director of MSD for South Asian region, and Muhammad Halimuzzaman, chief executive officer of HPL, made the announcements.

Through this partnership, MSD plans to launch five new products in Vaccines and various therapeutic categories.

The alliance aims to collaborate with key stakeholders and healthcare providers in Bangladesh for disease education and capacity building initiatives, said Ananthakrishnan.

The new partnership will enable MSD to bring its best-in-class and first-in-class products for patients in Bangladesh, he said.

HPL manufactures generic products for local and overseas markets in Asia, Africa and CIS region. It started developing factory in 1996 and is now manufacturing more than 200 products with all types of dosage forms. l

Draft Telecom Policy goes online for public opinion n Ishtiaq Husain To get feedback on draft Telecommunication Policy from public, the Post and Telecommunications Division has decided to post the preliminary version to its website.

The draft will be available on the web from today and remain open for next seven days for public opinion. Anyone can send feedback via email to info@ntd.gov.bd.

Husnul Mahmud Khan, joint secretary, Post and Telecommunications Division, under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, yesterday said: “We want to formulate a pro-people telecommunications policy and

post the draft for the betterment of masses.”

Husnul was speaking at a consultation meeting with a group of journalists at the ministry.

The National Telecommunications Policy was formulated in 1998 and had never been updated since then.

“Our mission is to ensure an integrated telecommunications network and services for all individuals, households and businesses in Bangladesh,” he said.

For the first time, the government included short-term, mid-term and long-term policy targets in the telecommunications policy.

A total of 1,2,00 union parishads will be connected through optical fibre cable in 2018

under the short-term target while 100% telecom density will be achieved by 2021 under the mid-term target.

Around 60% population of the country will come under broadband services by 2025 under the long-term vision.

According to the draft policy, to protect customer rights, mobile number portability will be introduced in the shortest possible time.

The service providers shall comply with performance standards and quality of service parameters.

The draft policy stresses that Teletalk and BTCL increase their capacities to compete with business entities in the market.

Sources said there is a huge demand for various smartphones and different latest devices.

“Considering this, we can develop institutional framework to support the research and development and manufacturing industry,” said Husnul.

Welcoming the policy, Ekram Kabir, vice-president of Robi Axiata Limited, said to update the national telecommunications policy is the order of the day.

“We hope it will be finalised within a very short time and our goal is to connect all people of the country so that they can improve their livelihood,” said Ekram. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures ATCSLGF: The Trustee Committee of the Fund has approved the audited accounts of the Fund for the year ended 30th June 2015. The Fund reported net profit of Tk. 37,845,219.00 with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.62. Taking into consideration previous years retained earnings of Tk. 82,463,773.00 the Board has approved 7.50% Cash dividend and a dividend of 2.50% on the Capital Fund of Tk. 605,905,000.00 in the form of Re-Investment Units to be issued at a valuation based on last published NAV per unit before Record date. Record date: 01.09.2015.

AIMS1STMF: As per Regulation 19(1) of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Listing) Regulations, 2015, the Trustee of the Fund has informed that a meeting of the Trustee committee of the Fund will be held on August 13, 2015 at 2:45 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Fund for the year ended on June 30, 2015.

RELIANCE1: As per Regulation 19(1) of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Listing) Regulations, 2015, the Trustee of the Fund has informed that a meeting of the Trustee committee of the Fund will be held on August 13, 2015 at 3:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Fund for the year ended on June 30, 2015.

Dividend/AGM SEBL1STMF: 12.50% cash, Record date: 31.08.2015.

NLI1STMF: 13.00% cash, Record date: 31.08.2015.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Islami Bank BD - A Apex Tannery -A Saiham Cotton-A Emerald Oil Ind. -A BSRM Ltd. -A Sonali Ansh -A Rahima Food -Z Quasem Drycells -A Progressive Life-A Ratanpur Steel -N

Closing (% Change) 9.96 9.96 9.84 7.46 7.28 7.08 7.06 6.48 5.67 5.52

CSE GAINER Company Islami Bank BD - A Apex Tannery -A Rahima Food -Z Eastern Cables-A Saiham Cotton-A BSRM Ltd. -A Emerald Oil Ind. -A Usmania Glass -A EBL NRB M.F.-A Samorita Hospital -A

Closing (% Change) 9.96 9.84 9.83 7.90 7.69 6.94 6.76 6.70 6.38 5.91

DSE LOSER Company Midas Financing-Z GeminiSeaFood-B Prime Insur -A Sonargaon Tex -Z Renata Ltd. -A Global Insurance -A Tosrifa Industries -N Renwick Jajneswar-A PragatiLife Insu. -Z BD Fixed Income MF-A

Closing (% Change) -5.41 -4.07 -3.82 -3.41 -3.35 -2.99 -2.67 -2.52 -2.49 -2.47

CSE LOSER Company Eastern InsurA AMCL 2nd MF-A ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A H.R. Textile -A ICB Emp. PMF-A Berger Paints-A Global Heavy Chemicals-N Tosrifa Industries -N ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A Nitol Insurance -A

Closing (% Change) -8.55 -5.88 -4.61 -3.48 -3.45 -3.22 -2.80 -2.66 -2.60 -2.59

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features August 12, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

6,157.91 133,930,843 134,308

Traded Issues

310

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

154

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

151

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,717.02

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.93

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 445.93 128.11 89.36 1350.05 297.93 971.53 25.29 772.01 941.51 16.01 102.29 99.84 90.03 174.78 43.46 19.57 135.07 148.03 121.51 185.39 0.22

% change 7.24 2.08 1.45 21.92 4.84 15.78 0.41 12.54 15.29 0.26 1.66 1.62 1.46 2.84 0.71 0.32 2.19 2.40 1.97 3.01 0.00

Million Taka 32.68 6.48 2.98 125.46 625.52 69.47 36.98 58.01 1.89 7.43 8.06 5.18 13.54 7.51 0.74 8.88 12.58 15.25 16.08 0.09

Average (% Change) 7.59 8.66 6.66 5.06 5.97 7.55 9.30 3.80 5.05 3.83

Average (% Change) 5.73 6.06 7.56 4.62 3.52 4.68 3.64 5.86 5.49 5.17

Average (% Change) -9.85 -1.41 -4.01 -3.43 -0.03 -1.87 -3.55 -2.16 -0.79 -3.54

Average (% Change) -8.65 -6.25 -5.44 -3.48 -2.59 -3.22 -2.89 -3.01 -2.60 -2.88

CSE

ClosingAvg. 28.35 131.44 20.82 45.02 117.98 138.52 45.14 66.44 55.77 64.76

ClosingAvg. 28.05 128.00 44.52 133.80 20.28 116.19 44.37 122.01 5.00 85.38

ClosingAvg. 12.99 459.68 15.09 8.45 1246.53 13.09 29.36 292.50 103.56 7.90

ClosingAvg. 24.60 4.80 20.52 22.20 5.64 1,955.00 41.68 29.64 7.50 22.57

% change 3.10 0.61 0.28 11.89 59.30 6.59 0.00 3.51 5.50 0.18 0.70 0.76 0.49 1.28 0.71 0.07 0.84 1.19 1.45 1.52 0.01

Closing 28.70 134.70 21.20 46.10 119.40 139.10 45.50 67.40 55.90 65.00

Closing 28.70 133.90 45.80 138.00 21.00 118.60 45.80 122.70 5.00 86.00

Closing 14.00 452.10 15.10 8.50 1212.20 13.00 29.20 285.80 102.00 7.90

Closing 24.60 4.80 20.70 22.20 5.60 1,955.00 41.70 29.30 7.50 22.60

Million Taka 478.61 134.59 92.34 1475.50 923.45 1041.00 25.29 808.98 999.52 17.90 109.71 107.90 95.21 188.32 50.97 20.32 143.94 160.61 136.75 201.47 0.31

DHIGH

DLOW

28.70 134.70 21.20 46.60 120.90 142.70 46.70 67.90 58.10 66.40

DHIGH

26.90 125.00 19.80 43.50 114.50 134.30 42.90 64.00 55.00 62.50

DLOW

28.70 134.00 45.80 138.00 21.20 119.50 46.30 125.00 5.00 86.20

DHIGH

26.20 123.00 41.00 125.00 19.50 113.00 43.40 116.00 5.00 84.90

DLOW

14.00 490.00 15.40 8.50 1266.90 13.40 29.90 304.00 105.40 8.20

13.80 441.00 14.90 8.40 1206.10 12.80 29.10 283.50 101.90 7.70

DHIGH

DLOW

24.60 4.80 20.70 22.20 5.70 1,955.00 41.70 30.80 7.50 22.60

24.60 4.80 20.30 22.20 5.50 1,955.00 41.50 29.20 7.50 22.30

Total

% change 6.64 1.87 1.28 20.46 12.80 14.43 0.35 11.22 13.86 0.25 1.52 1.50 1.32 2.61 0.71 0.28 2.00 2.23 1.90 2.79 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

156.075 70.103 34.784 158.384 137.285 13.317 6.755 59.015 0.116 213.715

Turnover in Million

4.22 2.19 1.43 2.88 2.16 0.87 -0.47 1.81 2.30 4.17

Latest EPS

16.544 6.738 0.760 0.335 1.632 26.209 16.356 1.593 0.050 0.371

Turnover in Million

6.7 60.0 14.6 15.6 54.6 159.2 -ve 36.7 24.2 15.5

Latest PE

4.22 2.19 -0.47 1.12 1.43 2.16 2.88 -1.39 0.61 2.11

Latest EPS

0.005 6.322 0.122 0.097 123.840 0.888 25.504 3.001 1.582 0.049

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

6.6 58.4 -ve 119.5 14.2 53.8 15.4 -ve 8.2 40.5

Latest PE

-1.55 11.77 1.12 -2.26 38.92 1.64 3.26 3.91 2.38 0.51

Latest EPS

0.017 0.005 0.023 0.001 0.009 0.010 0.047 5.584 0.008 0.056

-ve 39.1 13.5 -ve 32.0 8.0 9.0 74.8 43.5 15.5

Latest PE

2.76 0.71 2.61 0.85 0.61 69.64 1.78 3.26 0.87 3.04

8.9 6.8 7.9 26.1 9.2 28.1 23.4 9.1 8.6 7.4

CSE key features August 12, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

1,054.79 11,056,699 17,427

Traded Issues

254

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

131

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

115

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,616.11

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.71

DT

BUSINESS 19

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Stocks inch up amid technical glitch n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N Ratanpur Steel -N Shahjibazar Power-N Al-Haj Textile -A Square Pharma -A Emerald Oil Ind. -A Islami Bank BD - A FAR Chemical-N Bengal Windsor-A BSRM Ltd. -A

LafargeS Cement-A BD Building Systems -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Renata Ltd. -A Delta Life Insu. -A

VolumeShares 1,705,677 3,300,229 1,087,341 1,321,840 642,443 3,518,197 5,505,953 2,571,886 1,732,359 1,163,672

Value in Million 278.39 213.72 206.34 186.68 172.23 158.38 156.08 148.96 138.24 137.29

% of TotalTurnover 4.52 3.47 3.35 3.03 2.80 2.57 2.53 2.42 2.24 2.23

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

1,072,993 2,376,078 274,960 99,348 1,056,974

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BATBCL -A United Power-N Square Pharma -A BSRM Ltd. -A Islami Bank BD - A Emerald Oil Ind. -A Singer BD -A UNITED AIR-A Ratanpur Steel -N Bengal Windsor-A

CVO PetroChem RL-A Olympic Accessories -N LafargeS Cement-A FAR Chemical-N BSRM Steels-A

200,001 206,686 104,550 225,567 589,884 368,644 78,956 1,264,069 214,039 150,265

26,523 192,058 83,179 158,905 102,532

130.65 125.90 124.00 123.84 122.87

600.00 33.19 28.02 26.21 16.54 16.36 13.88 13.72 13.68 12.02

12.02 11.99 10.15 9.16 9.13

2.12 2.04 2.01 2.01 2.00

56.88 3.15 2.66 2.48 1.57 1.55 1.32 1.30 1.30 1.14

1.14 1.14 0.96 0.87 0.87

ClosingP 165.50 65.00 192.90 135.60 268.00 46.10 28.70 57.80 80.70 119.40

121.60 53.30 444.20 1212.20 117.00

ClosingP

Change % 3.96 5.52 5.24 3.12 0.15 7.46 9.96 2.12 2.54 7.28

-0.41 2.50 -0.94 -3.35 4.09

Change %

3050.00 160.10 267.90 118.60 28.70 45.80 173.70 11.00 65.20 80.20

450.00 62.50 121.70 57.90 89.40

0.00 0.57 0.26 6.94 9.96 6.76 0.12 2.80 5.84 2.95

0.22 1.63 0.25 2.48 3.59

ClosingY 159.20 61.60 183.30 131.50 267.60 42.90 26.10 56.60 78.70 111.30

122.10 52.00 448.40 1254.20 112.40

ClosingY

3050.00 159.20 267.20 110.90 26.10 42.90 173.50 10.70 61.60 77.90

449.00 61.50 121.40 56.50 86.30

DHIGH 167.00 66.40 194.70 144.60 269.00 46.60 28.70 58.80 81.90 120.90

122.60 53.50 459.90 1266.90 118.00

DHIGH

3050.00 162.00 268.50 119.50 28.70 46.30 178.90 11.10 65.80 80.70

460.00 62.90 123.00 58.60 90.40

DLOW 159.50 62.50 183.60 134.60 267.10 43.50 26.90 57.10 77.80 114.50

121.20 52.10 441.20 1206.10 112.70

AvgPrice 163.22 64.76 189.77 141.23 268.08 45.02 28.35 57.92 79.80 117.98

121.76 52.98 450.97 1246.53 116.25

DLOW

AvgPrice

3000.0 159.80 265.50 113.00 26.20 43.40 173.00 10.60 62.10 77.50

3000.00 160.57 267.98 116.19 28.05 44.37 175.84 10.85 63.91 80.00

448.00 61.70 121.30 56.00 86.70

453.14 62.41 121.97 57.65 89.08

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

12413.58680

(+) 0.63%

1868.13549

(+) 0.47%

14811.91670

(+) 0.78%

12413.58680

(+) 0.78%

9018.03900

(+) 0.77%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks inched higher yesterday, amid technical glitch that delayed more than one and a half hour to begin the trade on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The glitch, however, failed to mar the market sentiments as DSEX, the prime index of DSE, rose 30 points or 0.7% to settle at 4,821.62, after losses of four sessions.

The two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 8.65 points or 0.46% to end at 1,868.13. DSES index advanced 8.63 points or 0.73% to finish at 1,192.72.

The Shariah index, DSES, rose 8 points or 0.8% to 1,192. The blue chip comprising index, DS30, gained 8 points or 0.5% to 1,868.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, rose 68 points to close at 9,018.

The trading that usually begins at 10:30am resumed at 12:10pm and continued till 4:10pm. It, however, took place for full four hours as usual.

The DSE turnover improved to Tk615 crore in the prime bourse, up 12.6% over the previous session.

Lanka Bangla Securities

said, “After one hour and forty minutes of suspension, trading started with sharp rise, with prime index that stayed above the 4,800mark supported by bank, engineering and selective stocks of other sectors”.

‘Overall, the market sentiment was buoyant as investors were looking for an upbeat reversal’ “Some value stocks reignited the rally as investors came back with buoyancy,” it said.

“Overall, the market sentiment was buoyant as investors were looking for an upbeat reversal,” said IDLC Investments.

All large-cap sectors showed mixed performance.

Banks gained the highest with 1.32% followed by power 1%, food and allied 0.4%.

NBFIs closed the session flat in green. Pharmaceuticals lost 0.4% while telecommunication retraced by a meager 0.2%. l

ANALYST

After one hour and forty minutes of suspension, trading started with sharp rise, with prime index that stayed above the 4,800mark supported by bank, engineering and selective stocks of other sectors

DT

20 BUSINESS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

China tries to calm currency war fears as yuan slips further n Reuters, Shanghai China’s yuan hit a four-year low yesterday, slipping further a day after authorities devalued the yuan in a move that sparked fears of a global currency war and raised concerns that Beijing was looking to support its struggling exporters.

Spot yuan fell to 6.43 per dollar, its weakest point since August 2011, after the central bank set its daily midpoint reference even weaker than Tuesday’s devaluation. The currency fared worse in offshore trade, touching 6.57.

The central bank, which had described the devaluation as a one-off step to make the yuan more responsive to market forces, sought to reassure financial markets on Wednesday that it was not embarking on a steady depreciation.

“Looking at the international and domestic economic situation, currently there is no basis for a sustained depreciation trend for the yuan,” the People’s Bank of China said in a statement.

Tuesday’s devaluation followed a run of poor economic data and raised market suspicions that China was embarking on a longerterm slide in the exchange rate. It was the biggest one-day fall in the yuan since a massive devaluation in 1994.

A cheaper yuan will help Chinese exports by making them less expensive on overseas markets. Last weekend, data showed an 8.3% drop in exports in July and that producer prices were well into their fourth year of deflation.

More indicators due later today for factory output, retail sales and fixed-asset investment are expected to underline sluggish growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

The International Monetary Fund said China’s move to make the yuan more responsive to market forces appeared to be a welcome step and that Beijing should aim to achieve an effectively floating exchange rate within two to three years.

Beijing has been lobbying the IMF to include the yuan in its basket of reserve currencies known as Special Drawing Rights, which it uses to lend to sovereign borrowers. This would mark a major step in terms of interna-

A customer holds a 10 Yuan note as she pays for pork at a market in Beijing tional use of the yuan.

“Greater exchange rate flexibility is important for China as it strives to give market forces a decisive role in the economy and is rapidly integrating into global financial markets,” an IMF spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The rapid drop in the value of China’s currency - more than 4% in the last two days dealt a body blow to appetite for risky assets globally, with equities, currencies and commodities coming under selling pressure as money managers weighed the implications of China’s latest policy move.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.5% to two-year lows. Stock markets from Australia to Singapore were a sea of red in early deals.

Jens Nordvig, managing director of Nomura Securities, said in a note the yuan’s weakness over the last two days has the “potential to turn into a trend very quickly” and can impact US growth and “meaningfully impact risk sentiment”.

The Dow fell 1.2% and the S&P 500 shed 1%

REUTERS

as China’s currency move on Tuesday added to worries about the global economic outlook and hit companies with large exposure to China, such as Apple Inc and Caterpillar.

Many Western firms have already been reporting slowing sales in China as its economy cools. Emerging market currencies from Indonesia to Brazil reeled as investors feared central banks around the world could rush to weaken their own currencies in response.

That meant only the greenback was left standing tall with the US dollar holding near a two-month high of 125.15 yen, while the broad dollar index was stuck within recent trading ranges.

Currencies considered as China proxies were singled out for special punishment, with the Australian dollar nursing losses at 0.7255 per dollar after falling more than 1.5% overnight.

“The bottom line is that we believe investors will orientate portfolios towards more rate cuts rather than currency weakness. Real rates are way too high, in our view,” wrote Sean Darby, chief global equity strategist at Jeffries. l

Sharp drop in German investor sentiment in August n AFP, Berlin

Investor sentiment in Germany fell sharply in August due to persistent geopolitical uncertainty clouding the outlook for Europe’s top economy, a leading survey found on Tuesday.

The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute sank 4.7 points to 25 points this month, the lowest level since November 2014, ZEW said in a statement.

It was the fifth monthly decline in a row, even as analysts polled by financial services company FactSet had been expecting a rebound this month to 31.5 points.

“The German economic engine is still running smoothly. However, under the current geopolitical and global economic circumstances a substantial improvement of the economic situation in Germany over the medium term is improbable,” said ZEW president Clemens Fuest.

“That is why economic sentiment has declined.”

For the survey, ZEW questions analysts and institutional investors about their current assessment of the economic situation in Germany, as well as their expectations for the coming months.

The sub-index measuring financial market players’ view of the current economic situation in Germany improved slightly in August, ZEW said, rising 1.8 points to 65.7 points.

Economists said a relative respite in the Greek crisis had not put German investors’ minds at ease.

“This month’s fall in ZEW investor sentiment suggests that, despite progress in Greece’s negotiations with its creditors, investors are increasingly worried about Germany’s recovery,” James Howat of Capital Economics said.

“The drop in the index echoes weakness in recent activity data, including industrial production and the PMI, suggesting that the German recovery will not gather much pace.”

Stefan Kipar of BayernLB said that beyond Greece, the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the possible negative impact of an impending US hike in interest rates, particularly on emerging economies, had weighed on investors’ moods. l

Central banks hold nerve after China depreciation n Reuters, Singapore

Global policymakers, including those at some of Asia’s most intervention-minded central banks, are holding the line on their currency policies after China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan.

China’s central bank said Tuesday’s 1.9% devaluation was a one-off move. It also switched to a more market-determined benchmark for the currency’s daily trading band. In spite the Chinese yuan was let depreciate a further 1.5% yesterday.

A weaker yuan makes Chinese exports cheaper and competing exports more expensive. Countries that see themselves at a competitive disadvantage might be tempted to devalue their own currencies in retaliation.

But so far policymakers from South Korea,

India, Indonesia and Japan see no reason for tit-for-tat trade-war policies.

“I don’t think the move would trigger a global currency war,” a Japanese policymaker said.

The devaluation is unlikely to perturb the Bank of Japan, whose money-printing programme to stimulate the economy has weakened the yen by 50% against the dollar since 2012.

Beijing’s move may reverberate more strongly in South Korea. China is its largest trading partner, accounting for a fifth of total trade last year. Its policymakers have been talking down the won and actively encouraging outflows from their country, and the won has weakened against the yuan this year.

“We are not overly worried about the won, but we are closely watching the market to see

if there’s any excessive volatility happening,” a South Korean foreign exchange official said.

“This came as emerging-market currencies have already been depreciating against the dollar,” he said, but the yuan remained relatively stable.

Most emerging market currencies have weakened this year. Commodity-linked ones such as the Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and South African rand are at their lowest in well over a decade against the greenback.

Already weak metals and crude oil prices lost more ground as the devaluation fanned more worries about China’s economy “To the extent that the yuan has been devalued, what you are going to see is that it would impact on the competitiveness of South Africa’s manufactured exports to China, but we do not sell a lot of manufactured

exports to China,” Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, said.

“That as it might be, the yuan had been relatively stable and we have seen significant depreciation in the domestic currency over the past 18 months,” he added, referring to the rand’s 9% fall this year to the dollar.

Some margin before concern

Most central banks appear willing to give Beijing’s policy the benefit of the doubt, hoping economic recovery in China, the world’s second-largest economy, will be the rising tide that eventually lifts all boats.

The Bank of England, for instance, said last week that Chinese demand was critical to the health of the global economy, and further yuan appreciation would probably reduce demand elsewhere for its exports. l

INSIDE

news

Magnito CEO cited as “Asia’s Most Influential Digital Media Professional” Riyad Shahir Ahmed Husain, CEO of Magnito Digital Limited, one of the country’s leading digital advertising agencies, has recently been awarded the citation, one of “Asia’s Most Influential Digital Media Professionals” at the 24th Edition of the World Brand Congress, held at the Pan Pacific, Singapore on August 11-12, 2015.

The World Brand Congress is an annual event to celebrate and explore the power of brand building.

It is a meeting place for business leaders and

DT

Photos: Bigstock

T-JUNCTION

Requeim for a dream

21

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

influential marketing organisations from across the globe. The theme for this year’s World Brand Congress was, “If not now, when?”

The keynote speaker at the event was Frederique Covington, international marketing director of Twitter Asia Pacific. Some of the other speakers included Damien Cummings, global head of digital marketing, Standard Chartered Bank, Aseem Puri, brand director, Unilever Asia and Nilesh Shah, chief marketing officer, GE Healthcare.l

22

Hot Topic

Great expectations

24 Career

Which way?

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Hot Topic

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Great expectations n T-Junction team Too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing. This week, we explore

the ways in which over protective parents can restrict their kids and even harm them.

Biye pass n Raisa Rahim “I still remember attending my own walima as a new bride and running the next morning to the exam hall to sit for my third year final at the university. I am a mother of a beautiful child now but I wish I could have studied and built a career before getting married since being a single mother comes with great hardship when you don’t have a degree to qualify for a job”- Anonymous.

Often times, a woman’s ultimate goal, prescribed by her family, is to get married. What is the whole point of going to school or college, and obtaining knowledge? Well, sadly, there is a point. Apparently, if a girl obtains a higher degree, she is more likely to get a better suitor; a doctor maybe?

It is very unfortunate how the whole purpose of being educated has been re-defined by society. In many families, it is the parents who let their children dream about a bright working future, but soon after they reach the age of dilemma, they are pressurised to get into a life they aren’t ready for. It is as if, the moment the doctor announces the gender, her parents start to plan out her future, and by future we mean “marriage.”

“When I was told that I gave birth

news

NSU’s new vice chancellor

Photos: Bigstock

DIU holds grand reception for Eramus+ SmartLink scholarship winners Daffodil International University (DIU) held a grand reception for the SmartLink Eramus scholarship winners under the European

Prof Dr Gour Gobinda Goswami, the current treasurer of North South University (NSU) has been given the charge of the vice chancellor by the board of trustees of NSU, effective from August 11, 2015 as per the clause 31 (6) of the Private University Act 2010. It is to be noted that on health grounds, Prof Amin U Sarkar, the vice chancellor has taken an extended leave for his treatment in the USA. l

to a baby daughter, I was scared - for her. I didn’t want her to go through the sacrifices and struggles that I once did but luckily she grew up as a fine woman. She works at a private firm and supports our family financially”- Nasrin Syed, 56, Dhanmondi.

Let’s keep the gender bias aside and talk about another scenario where girls are treated as a burden in the family.

It is no news that this country is not safe for women. As a female transits from being a young girl to a woman, her family is burdened and worried by her safety issues. When it comes to the filthy rumours that surround the notion of a “single-unmarried” woman, the only protective measure they can think of is to marry her off to a man who takes her responsibility because apparently, society has a specific expected-age for marriage that most parents feel the need to abide by. God save the ones who remain single after that certain age, for she will be labelled as a “defected piece” and will have to settle for less.

Union programme for education, training, youth and sport on August 10, 2015 at DIU Auditorium. Jürgen HEIMANN, minister

counsellor, human and social development and a delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh was present in the reception programme as the chief guest while Prof Dr Yousuf M Islam, vice chancellor, DIU was present as special guest. Rafael Sanchez Carmona, programme manager, human and social development, EU Bangladesh was present as the guest of honour. Prof Dr M Golam Rahman, DIU presided over the programme. The function was also addressed by Emeritus Professor Dr Aminul Islam, Emeritus Professor Dr M Lutfar Rahman, Prof Dr S M Mahbub Ul Haque Majumder, dean, FSIT, Prof Dr Golam Maola Chowdhury, controller of examinations, Mohamed Emran Hossain, director (administration) and Prof Dr Syed Akter Hossain, head, department of CSE and team leader, SmartLink.

Five students and faculty members won scholarships out of 80 scholarships given among the students and faculty members of different universities of Bangladesh.

The scholarship winners are Jerin Nasrin Tumpa, Ashraful Alam Raj, Marzan Tasnim Oishee, Md Mahamudul Hassan and Dr Sheikh Rashed Haider. l

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Hot Topic

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

The after dark conundrum

n Saudia Afrin

High hopes n Baizid Haque Joarder “I wanted to study anthropology, because it intrigued me. My parents, however, thought there wouldn’t be any ‘real-world’ application of my degree. They thought a degree in Economics would hold more value. So here I am studying Economics, because they told me to.”

- Moumita Islam, a fresher at a reputed private university.

Moumita is not alone in her struggles.

There are many just like her who tend to be under parental pressure while making life altering decisions. Moumita expressed her reluctance towards the subject she’s currently studying, the same field in which her parents believe that she’ll be able to achieve greatness. It’s a wonder how parents’ minds work since they want us to flourish in life, yet they never think twice before pressuring youngsters into making life choices which they might regret later in life, let alone the next four boring years

of university. What happened to the “joy of learning?” If things don’t turn out as well as expected, who is to take the blame?

Parents want the absolute best for us, no matter what. Be it their expectations of us excelling in studies or being a champion in ECAs, adolescents feel they are in constant pressure to perform and succeed.

Some argue that the pressure is healthy as it “motivates” youngsters to shine.

However, adolescence is a confusing time for both parents and teens. Their minds are in constant turmoil, which is probably why they are so daunted by the intense pressure put on them. Some can take the pressure, but for others, the struggle is gruesome. According to CDC WISQARS, suicide is the second leading cause for college aged youth, with depression being a dominant factor. The failure to meet such high expectations could account for a chronic state of depression, which makes it ever so essential for parents to know when to stop setting towering standards.

news

US ambassador speaks at BYLC on the occasion of UN International Youth Day

During the celebration of UN International Youth Day, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) hosted an event titled “Youth Civic Engagement and Leadership” on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. The US ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat, attended the event as chief guest.

In her keynote address, the ambassador shared important leadership lessons from her career and underscored the importance

of developing leadership skills at a young age to build a better Bangladesh.

The event was attended by BYLC President Ejaj Ahmad, American Center Director Ann McConnell, officials from the US embassy, and BYLC staff and graduates. In his remarks, Ahmad emphasised the need for young people to develop leadership skills from an early age through active engagement in community initiatives. l

Are you a slave to the sun’s reign? If you’re confused by the meaning of this question, read on.

“My parents don’t allow me to stay out after dark. No matter what, I have to be at home before the sun is down,” is a common phrase used by several young girls who have restrictions when it comes to going out of the house. In the Bangladeshi context, for many concerned parents staying safe instantly equates to staying at home after dark.

Some of these young men and women even follow a going-out chart approved by their parents. “‘Do not go there,’ or ‘you cannot stay outside for too long,’ or ‘get back home right after you’re done with work’ are common phrases many young women encounter,” says Farzana Sultana, programme organiser in a local NGO. Yes it is true; no one in this world loves their brood better than their parents.

Throughout their lives, children are blessed with their parents’ unconditional love and care. However, when it comes to supporting their children’s dreams, they scoff at it, especially if it happens to be a female child with ambitious dreams.

These cases take a disappointing turn

when “concerned” aunties and uncles enter the picture. While most parents have their children’s best interest at heart, their decisions are not always their own. Often, they too, are pressurised by what society will think and how relatives will react to having a single unmarried girl in the family.

These very parents even confine their children, not allowing them to go out. They often claim that their children are not ready or prepared to take on the world. They aren’t aware of the dangers that lurk in the dark alleys where their children might venture out to. As a result, they do what they think is best – they protect and restrict.

Farzana’s mother shed some light on her perspective on the issue, “Children don’t even try to understand our concerns. God knows when they make a turn into the wrong alley. It is our love, care and concern for them that make us take the decisions we take. We want to save them from the outside human-made-mind-polluted games.”

It is clear to see that these arguments are valid when seen from both perspectives.

Both parties have their fair share of rationality and logic, making it difficult to choose sides. Perhaps the best way to find a solution is by having a balanced discussion between both parties. l

Bti signs exclusive agreement with Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd

Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd (LSC), one of the leading multinational cement manufacturers of Bangladesh signed an MoU (Memorandum of understanding) with bti (building technology & ideas ltd), one of the leading real estate companies of Bangladesh on August 11, 2015. Under this agreement, bti will use Supercrete cement from now on in all its construction

projects. Masud Khan, finance director of Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd and Md Sharifur Rahman, executive director, construction of bti signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations at the Six Season hotel in Gulshan. Along with, the directors other high officials from both the companies were present at the event. l

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Career

Which way?

When in desperate need of a life-changing epiphany

n Farhana Shahnaz Remember the time you were in kindergarten and told the class you wanted to be the prime minister when you grow up? Those days of innocence and frivolousness are long gone and life has taught us all to be practical and skeptical. Now we take a million things into consideration, do in-depth costbenefit analysis for every move we make and sometimes even after that we find ourselves at a loss, without any direction.

Since when did life become so tough? The key to figuring out what you want in life is simple, take it easy. And follow the steps below.

Don’t always listen to your parents We are not trying to patronise you but sometimes not listening to your parents can work wonders. You don’t have to be an engineer or doctor because your parents want you to withhold the legacy, you don’t have to study in BUET to make them stop comparing you to your second cousin. Sometimes you need to do what you want to do. If you think you can make it big in marketing with your sales pitch or that the world deserves to marvel at your gorgeous designer pieces, go for it.

No one knows your forte better than you so pursue something that feeds your soul, not something that drains the life out of you.

Undertake cost-benefit analysis As enticing as it is to pursue something that is aligned with your interests, you also want to look at the bigger picture. Consider if you would have the same passion five years along the way or if the prospects are attractive because you don’t want to get frustrated or demoralised midway. Be sure you are ready for the commitment. Of course, you can always switch paths and change directions but make sure you don’t get any

life-changing epiphanies when it’s too late.

This does not, however, mean that you have to keep yourself leashed but know that there is a thin line between unrealistic and unconventional.

Start now In the blink of an eye tomorrow will be today and today will be yesterday. So it’s best to work on your game plan from today. There

is nothing more motivating that having something to look forward to. Explore opportunities that will prepare you for the future or help you discover your interests.

If anything, it will at least help amp up your resume. Look for gigs that you can take up while continuing your studies.

Seize every opportunity you get because you never know, it may open doors to new possibilities. l

news

100,000th visitor welcomed at joint Etihad Airways and Alitalia Expo Pavilion Official Expo Milano 2015 sponsors Etihad Airways and Alitalia celebrated a major milestone by welcoming the 100,000th guest to their joint pavilion at Expo Milano 2015. Italian national Luigino Nonino, accompanied by his family, was the lucky 100,000th visitor to the pavilion. To mark the occasion, the Nonino family was presented with tickets to return to Expo, an Airbus A380 model aircraft, and was invited to dinner at the exclusive pavilion lounge.

The family also enjoyed a guided tour of the pavilion and the new Etihad Airways and Alitalia cabin and service products including The Residence by Etihad. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad airways chief commercial officer, said, “The popularity of this amazing pavilion has exceeded our expectations, and in welcoming our 100,000th guest in the short period since we unveiled it to the world, we also celebrate the successful collaboration between two great airlines creating a showcase of airline innovation.”

The two-storey Etihad Airways and Alitalia pavilion has a prime location next

to Palazzo Italia and measures 1,150 square metres. The spectacular venue boasts a Social Hub, which provides a multimedia experience around the theme of “Connecting

the World Journey,” using cutting-edge technology and large interactive screens, and an impressive Imagination Lounge hosting several daily cooking demonstrations

by Etihad Airways’ on-board chefs and celebrities, including Italy’s Gabriele Rubini, famously known as Chef Rubio, and the UAE’s Chef Khulood Atiq. l

Pedro has scored two European Super Cup goals in his career, both in extra-time, both in the 115th minute and both winners

Sport 26

ANGI IS THE FUTURE OF SL CRICKET: SANGAKKARA

27

JUBILANT BANGLADESH TAKE ON INDIA

29

25

DT

COINCIDENCE?

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

SERENA SHAKES OFF RUST AT ROGERS CUP

Mini pays tribute to Pup, Sanga

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

n Mazhar Uddin Mominul Haque, one of Bangladesh’s mainstays in Tests, believes the game will be a poorer place without the two legends of modern-day cricket, Australian captain Michael Clarke and Sri Lankan linchpin Kumar Sangakkara, who recently announced their retirement from international cricket.

While Clarke will hang up his boots after playing his 115th Test in the upcoming Ashes five-dayer against England at The Oval, Sangakkara, a veteran of 133 matches, will don the whites for one final time against India in the upcoming second and final Test in Colombo.

Having already called it a day in ODIs and Twenty20 internationals, the cricketing fraternity will get one last opportunity to witness the two legends in action and it was no different for Mominul either.

The diminutive batsman, while talking with the media yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, informed that he will miss both the stars, especially Sangakkara, whom Mominul grew up watching ever since his childhood days.

“Actually, I did not get the opportunity to play against Clarke but I have been a true follower of Sangakkara. Whenever he went out to bat, I could not stop watching him. Especially the way he plays against spin and pace. His skills just mesmerise me as he can bat all day long,” said Mominul, alluding to his batting idol Sangakkara.

“He barely makes any mistakes. So obviously there is a lot to learn from him. I think the most important thing is his mental strength, which is incredible. It makes your job really easy when you are mentally strong,” he added.

Although the 23-year old Cox’s Bazar lad did not get the chance to speak with the Lankan legend in flesh, Mominul said one can learn a lot from him just by simply watching him play.

“I never talked with him and I think there is no need as you can learn from him by simply watching him bat. I can remember my Test debut (at Galle) when he was batting with a lower order batsman. It is difficult to bat with the tail-enders. However, I witnessed how comfortably he adapted to the situation.

It was just amazing,” he said.

Mominul, who is without a Test fifty in three innings, stated that he would try to take a leaf out of Sangakkara and Clarke’s book and attempt to come back to form against Australia in two five-dayers, slated for this October.

“If we treat these things (lack of form) negatively, then it might translate to added pressure. It makes your job as a cricketer easy if you do not think about such things. There will be some bad patches in a player’s career but you need to overcome those.

I am looking forward to giving my best in the Australia series,” said Mominul before adding, “I am also hoping to make a comeback in the ODI side by performing well.” l

DT

26 Sport

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Ashwin wrecks Lankans for 183 n AFP, Galle

Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (R) celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara during the first day of their opening Test at The Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle yesterday AFP

Angi is the future of Sri Lankan cricket: Sangakkara n Agencies Kumar Sangakkara is best known for a few things - his partnership with Mahela Jayawardene, his outstanding batting records, a few interesting tussles, cheeky wit and a lot of cricketing achievements. As he gets nearer to calling time on a glorious career, the master batsman is ready to play his penultimate Test at Galle and is rightly the cynosure of all eyes. Here are few tough questions Sangakkara tackled recently.

You and Mahela (Jayawardene) or you and Yehali Sangakkara? What has been the best partnership of your life?

(Laughs) On the field, definitely Mahela and all the partnerships that we have forged out in the middle. But, if I had to pick just the one, then it is Yehali. Most definitely, without a doubt it is, Yehali!

The double ton record, your Test batting average, or Man of the final in World T20 2014? Pick one.

The World T20 one for sure.

Your numbers speak for yourself. So here is something on two other Sri Lankan stalwarts.

Who's the better batsman - Mahela or

Aravinda de Silva?

That's a tough question. Both of them are amazing. Aravinda is everyone's personal favorite, without a doubt. Even Mahela will say that, if you ask him. Sentimentally, it is Aravinda, but style-wise it is definitely Mahela.

will you miss the least?

I'll miss wicket-keeping the least. I'm a terrible fielder, so that doesn't even come into the picture. I won't miss all three, really.

Who would be your first choice spinner, opener and fast bowler in your dream XI?

Both were exceptionally difficult, and in both he's made me look like an idiot.

Non-Srilankan? All around the world it will be Murali, otherwise. If it is a non-Sri Lankan, then it will be Shane Warne. Opener... I would say Matthew Hayden. My fast bowler would be Wasim Akram.

Are you better with words or better with the bat?

Virat Kohli, Joe Root or Angelo Mathews?

Pick only one.

Keeping to Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) or batting against him - Which was more difficult?

I don't think that I'm that great with either.

I've been lucky in both.

What is the best batting advice that you got?

And from whom?

Not just one. Three people. One is from my father, the other is Sunil Fernando and then Aravinda de Silva. Aravinda taught me how to watch the ball properly and adjusted my bottom-hand grip. My father has been instrumental in my entire game and the way I think about it. Sunil Fernando has based my technique.

Wicket-keeping, captaincy or fielding? Which

That's a tough pick. All three are unbelievable players. If I can separate the three Kohli will break every Indian record. Root is going to get very close to or probably (become) the best England has produced. Angi (Angelo Mathews), you can write now, he's unbelievable as an all-round cricketer. Angi is the future of Sri Lankan cricket. He's just unbelievable!

Debates with the board, debates in the dressing room or debates at home. Which are the easiest to tackle?

Easiest to tackle will probably be the debates with the board. l

India, replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings score of 183, were 128 for two at stumps on the opening day of the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan was unbeaten on 53 and skipper Virat Kohli was on 45. The pair added 100 for the third wicket after India were reduced to 28-2.

Earlier, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed six wickets and leg-spinner Amit Mishra took two as the hosts were shot out in 49.4 overs after electing to bat.

The hosts, who went to lunch struggling at 65-5 after they won the toss and elected to bat, were lifted by a sixth-wicket stand of 79 between skipper Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal.

Chandimal - lucky to survive a dropped catch by wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha off Ishant Sharma in the second over after lunch when he was on five - made 59 with nine boundaries.

Ashwin ended the threatening stand by having Mathews caught superbly by a diving Rohit Sharma at forward short-leg for 64.

Ashwin then trapped Dhammika Prasad leg-before for zero in his next over to claim his 11th five-wicket haul in 26 Tests.

Leg-spinner Mishra, one of the three spinners in the Indian side, removed Chandimal and Tharindu Kaushal off successive deliveries, but last man Nuwan Pradeep denied the bowler a hat-trick.

Ashwin terminated the innings by bowling Rangana Herath for 23 to finish with six wickets for 46 runs off 13.4 overs. l

SL V IND, DAY 1 SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS D. Karunaratne c Rahane b Ishant K. Silva c Dhawan b Aaron L. Thirimanne c Rahane b Ashwin K. Sangakkara c Rahul b Ashwin A. Mathews c Rohit b Ashwin Jehan Mubarak c Rahul b Ashwin Dinesh Chandimal c Rahane b Mishra D. Prasad lbw b Ashwin R. Herath b Ashwin T. Kaushal c Rohit b Mishra N. Pradeep not out Extras: (b1, lb1, nb3)

R 9 5 13 5 64 0 59 0 23 0 0 5

B 19 24 38 12 92 7 77 6 24 1 1

Total (all out, 49.4 overs)

183

Fall of wickets 1-15 (Karunaratne), 2-15 (Silva), 3-27 (Sangakkara), 4-54 (Thirimanne), 5-60 (Mubarak), 6-139 (Mathews), 7-155 (Prasad), 8-179 (Chandimal), 9-179 (Kaushal), 10-183 (Herath) Bowling Ishant 11-3-30-1 (nb3), Aaron 11-0-68-1, Ashwin 13.4-2-46-6, Mishra 6-1-20-2, Harbhajan 8-1-17-0

INDIA 1ST INNINGS L. Rahul lbw b Prasad S. Dhawan not out R. Sharma lbw b Mathews V. Kohli not out Extras: (lb6, w2, nb6)

R 7 53 9 45 14

Total (for two wickets, 34 overs)

128

B 7 103 24 77

Fall of wickets 1-14 (Rahul), 2-28 (R. Sharma) Bowling Prasad 7-0-22-1 (nb1), Pradeep 8-1-32-0 (w2), Mathews 4-1-12-1, Kaushal 8-0-41-0 (nb5), Herath 7-1-15-0 India trail by 55 runs

DT

Sport 27

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

QUICK BYTES Arsenal to miss Rosicky after knee surgery Arsenal will miss Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky for up to two months pending his recovery from a recent knee surgery, Czech media said Wednesday, citing his agent Pavel Paska. The 34-year-old injury-prone Rosicky “underwent an arthroscopic surgery on his knee” on August 4,” Paska said. “The recovery is expected to take four to eight weeks.” Rosicky suffered the injury during a Euro 2016 qualifier in Iceland in June.

–AFP

Balzaretti retires over groin injury Italian international fullback Federico Balzaretti announced on Wednesday he was retiring due to a long-standing groin injury. The injury kept the Roma defender off the field for a year and a half. “It was a difficult decision to take but I can’t continue playing if I’m not at 100 percent,” said the 33-year-old. Blazaretti, who played 16 times for Italy, including at Euro 2012, will join Roma’s coaching staff.

–AFP

Courtois loses ban appeal Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will miss the champions’ visit to Manchester City on Sunday after an appeal against a red card for the Belgian international was rejected by the Football Association. Courtois was sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity in the 52nd minute of Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

–REUTERS

Djokovic starts US Open buildup with Montreal win Top-ranked Novak Djokovic began his preparation for the US Open by defeating Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) Tuesday, advancing to the third round of the ATP Montreal Masters.

But there was no luck with the weather for Andy Murray, with the British second seed forced off court at 4-4 against Spain’s Tommy Robredo when rain struck less than an hour before midnight, postponing the finish of the contest until Wednesday.

–AFP

Japanese climber found dead in Swiss Alps The body of a Japanese climber was found in the Swiss Alps but his climbing partner was still missing three days after the pair got into difficulty on the Matterhorn, police said Tuesday.

The two mountaineers had on Saturday scaled the 4,478-metre (14,700 feet) Matterhorn, whose pyramidal shape makes it one of the world’s most recognisable mountains.

–AFP

Schmeichel despairs of De Gea impasse Manchester United goalkeeping great Peter Schmeichel believes mistakes have been made regarding the contract stand-off involving David de Gea. De Gea has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, but United are reportedly holding out for defender Sergio Ramos in an exchange deal.

–AFP

An Afghanistan attacker evades the challenge of a Maldives defender (Red) during their Saff Under-16 Championship match in Sylhet yesterday

COURTESY

SAFF U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP

Jubilant Bangladesh take on holders India in group-decider n Tribune Report Hosts Bangladesh and reigning champions India look to book the top spot in Group A as the teams face each other in their second Saff Under-16 Championship match at the Sylhet District Stadium at 5pm today.

Both Bangladesh (4-0) and India (5-0) registered comprehensive win against their weaker opponent in the group – Sri Lanka – as the side winning today will play the semi-final as Group A winners.

However, in case of a draw India will top the home side with the plus-one goal differ-

ence they have at their disposal.

“Our finishing was not up to the mark in the first match against Sri Lanka. We squandered a few clear cut chances and could have won the game with bigger margin. Hopefully we can overcome those mistakes against India and put up a better display,” hoped Bangladesh head coach Syed Golam Zhilani yesterday.

“We respect every opponents and again with all due respect I want to say that we are favourites and will fight against whatever team comes in front of us. We will not leave any space. The boys are also determined,”

added the coach who also admired the Sylhet crowds for their support from the stands.

Bangladesh captain Shaon Hossain expressed confidence ahead of the clash. “India are defending champions and are also a very strong side. But we have the confidence and the ability to beat any team.”

Meanwhile in Sylhet, Afghanistan beat Maldives 4-2 in their Group B match yesterday. Naser Amini scored a brace and Shayeq Hakeme and Sher Hamedi netted one goal apiece for the Afghans while Yanish Adil and Ismael Amir scored one each for Maldives. l

Jamal face Benfica challenge in AFC Cup play-off qualifiers n Tribune Report Bangladesh Premier League champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club will begin their AFC Cup 2016 play-off qualifying campaign with the game against Macau Club Casa Benfica today. The game kicks off at Spartak Stadium, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan at 6pm.

The match result will also indicate the strength of each side as Casa Benfica are the back-to-back winners of Macau’s top division while Sheikh Jamal are also the two-time Bangladesh Premier League champions.

However, having lost the first game against FC Alga 0-2 on Tuesday, the encounter is a door-die match for the Macau champions.

Meanwhile, a win for the Bengali side will be very essential in determining their position in the group. If Jamal win, the goal

margin will prove handy in determining the champions from Group B. Joseph Afusi’s men will be taking on fivetime Kyrgyzstan champions FC Alga on Saturday which will decide the team going forward to the 2016 AFC Cup play-offs.

Although Sheikh Jamal will miss the service of their in-form Haitian forward Wedson Anselme, second highest scorer in the Dhaka league this season, through injury, skipper and defender Nasiruddin Chowdhury’s recovery will boost the side ahead of their opening game.

This season Sheikh Jamal have participated in three tournaments, both local and international, and finished on top on every occasion. Their impressive record marks just one defeat in 29 matches combined across the top-tier, Federation Cup and the King’s Cup in Bhutan. l

French L1 football club Toulouse’s new Brazilian midfielder Wergiton Do Rosario Calmon, known as Somalia, poses during his official presentation in Toulouse, France, on Tuesday AFP

DT

28 Sport

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

SUPER CUP TALKING POINTS Double the treble?

How could Luis Enrique’s team possibly improve on last season’s historic treble? They could, in fact, double that haul. The Catalan giants are in contention for six trophies this term, one of which is already under lock and key courtesy of this epic defeat of Sevilla. “We now have to think about the Spanish Super Cup [against Athletic Club],” said Luis Enrique.

No Neymar News that Neymar, one third of Barcelona’s enviable “MSN” frontline, would miss the game with mumps prompted speculation about who would start on the left. Pedro was the favourite, yet it was Rafinha who got the nod and scored to make it 3-1 and seemingly kill off the contest. It did not work out that way, but the young Brazilian continued to impress and was denied by the bar late on. Still, it was substitute Pedro who grabbed the headlines as he lashed in the rebound from a Lionel Messi free-kick to win the match deep into extra time. This was a Uefa Super Cup story we’d heard before. Back in 2009, when Barça lifted the trophy for the third time with success against Shakhtar Donetsk in Monaco, it was Pedro who struck the clincher. Again in the 115th minute.

Again as a substitute.

Uefa Best Player in Europe watch Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (R) scores from a free-kick during their Uefa Super Cup match against Sevilla FC on Tuesday at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia AFP

Pedro future overshadows Barca’s success n AFP, Madrid

Barcelona can take a big step towards a fifth trophy in 2015 when they face Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup on Friday, just three days after sealing the UEFA Super Cup with a remarkable 5-4 extra time win over Sevilla.

Pedro Rodriguez proved to be the unlikely hero for the Catalans as the wantaway winger, who had been controversially left out of the starting line-up, came off the bench to smash home the winner with five minutes left in extra time after Barca had conspired to throw away a 4-1 second-half lead.

“When you know that you could leave, it is a complicated situation. I was very angry to have not played (from the start) because I have always tried to be professional and go

5-4

Barcelona

Sevilla

Messi 7, 16, Rafinha 44, Suarez 52, Pedro 115

Banega 3, Reyes 57, Gameiro 72-P, Konoplyanka 81 Score after 90 minutes 4-4

out to help the team,” said Pedro.

“It is a complicated situation for many reasons. Not for money as has been said, which

Free kick goals were ‘lucky’ n ESPN

Lionel Messi called his pair of free kick goals in the UEFA Super Cup “lucky” as he guided Barcelona to a 5-4, extra-time victory over Sevilla on Tuesday.

Messi placed the ball in the corner in the seventh and 15th minutes to go level with Cristiano Ronaldo for the most goals in all UEFA club competitions with 80.

The game marked the first time in Messi’s illustrious career that he scored twice from

2

Messi has scored two direct free-kick goals in the same game for the first time in his career.

4

Messi has been involved in Barcelona’s last four goals in Uefa Super Cup (two goals, two assists).

Barcelona’s Pedro Rodriguez celebrates a goal with teammate Lionel Messi during their Uefa Super Cup match in Tbilisi yesterday REUTERS

is another lack of respect. It is a question of continuity, of minutes on the pitch and I am an ambitious player.”

And he also hit back at Barca technical secretary Robert Fernandez for claiming that he asked to leave the club, citing that statement as “unfortunate”.

Pedro’s opportunities have been limited since the arrival of Luis Suarez last season to join Lionel Messi and Neymar in attack. However, even without Neymar, Luis Enrique opted for Rafinha ahead of Pedro and was rewarded as he scored after Messi had fired in two brilliant freekicks to cancel out Banega’s opener for Sevilla.l

7

No single European Super Cup game has seen more goals than Barca v Sevilla.

free kicks, but the Argentine remained humble after the game.

“I’ve just been lucky enough to score those and I’m very happy the team won and very grateful to everyone for their support and such a warm welcome,” Messi said.

The Uefa Super Cup is Barcelona fourth trophy in 2015 and first in a season that will next see them face Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup beginning on Friday.

“The key thing is to win and to win as many trophies as possible,” Messi said. “Winning today was significant because of what the Super Cup represents in terms of starting the season on the right foot, so we’re delighted. All trophies are great.”

Messi’s goals rallied Barcelona back from an early deficit following Ever Banega’s third-minute free kick. Barcelona later wasted a 4-1 lead in the second half, but Messi insisted his team were superior.

“The match began strangely for us, we were losing but then I thought we were much better and stronger,” Messi said. l

With the three finalists for the Uefa Best Player in Europe award set to be announced on Wednesday, this was an opportunity to catch two of the ten nominees in action. One in particular, Messi, put on a real show for the adoring Georgian fans.

After seeing Éver Banega curl in an early opener, Messi refused to be outdone and promptly turned in two of his own. Thirty-six goals in 37 outings in 2015 so far tells its own story, the latest pair drawing him level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 80 Uefa club competition goals. Luis Suárez is also in contention for Europe’s most prestigious individual accolade. If initially he was not quite as conspicuous as his fellow South American, the Uruguayan did make an impact. Racing clean through on 44 minutes, it looked like it might not be his night when Beto made the save. However, the No9 pounced upon the rebound, teeing up Rafinha for Barcelona’s third. When his second chance came along, Suárez made no mistake.

Man of the match Messi – without a shadow of a doubt. The locals were dying to see their hero score and they were treated not once but twice to the kind of Messi magic that makes him arguably the best player on the planet. Rising to the occasion – and the Georgian supporters’ cries of “Messi, Messi, Messi” – the Barcelona superstar delivered two immaculate free-kicks in succession to turn the game inside ten first-half minutes. From there it was as though he could do no wrong. Some of his link-up play with Daniel Alves down the right was outstanding.

Friends in Georgia When the Argentinian got off the team bus, when his name was read out before kick-off, whenever he was on the ball, it was a cue for mass applause from the Georgian public savouring the rare opportunity to see one of the world’s best up close. Messi, though, was not the only one to win new friends. Sevilla’s players were asked beforehand whether it would be like an away fixture given the strong local bias towards Barça. Coke joked that “hopefully by the 50th minute they’ll be supporting us because our football is so good”.

DT

Sport 29

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Serena shakes off rust, Bouchard woes continue

Burns, Agar in Aussie ODI squad to face Eng n AFP, Sydney Cricket Australia Wednesday named a refreshed squad for one-day internationals against England, with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, spinner Ashton Agar and batsman Joe Burns set to make debuts.

Australia claimed their fifth World Cup in the 50-over game in March but since then wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and Test captain Michael Clarke have announced their retirement from the format. Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood are also being rested after Australia’s unsuccessful Ashes campaign against England, which followed a Test series in the West Indies.

“The squad we have selected has a few fresh faces in it as well as some experienced players that will provide us with the right balance,” said selectors’ chairman Rod Marsh. l

n Reuters, Toronto

Serena Williams shook off some hard-court rust before rolling to a 2-6 6-3 6-0 win over Italy’s Flavia Pennetta at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday, but the home crowd failed to fire up local favourite Eugenie Bouchard, who slumped to another first round exit.

Williams, playing her first match of the North American hard-court swing after pulling out at Stanford last week with a sore right elbow, endured a ragged opening set in which she was broken four times and fired four double faults.

But the 33-year-old American, a three-time champion on the Toronto hardcourts, eventually found her rhythm in the second round match.

While Pennetta would break on her next opportunity to lead 2-1 in the second set, Williams shifted into another gear and stormed through the next four games on her way to levelling the match at one set each.

Fans were treated to the sight of Williams in full flow in the third as the 21-times grand slam champion finished off Pennetta with a thundering backhand winner.

“It was tough holding serve today for me,” said the world number one, adding that she could not recall another match where she had been broken four times in a single set.

“It was definitely good for me to have a match like this, to play a good player like her, especially since I haven’t played a match on hard court since early April.”

Two former world number ones Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka made smooth passage to the second round with straight sets wins. Twice Australian Open champion Azarenka, who withdrew from an event in Washington with a sore shoulder, opened with a 6-1 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitova while Jankovic stopped Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 7-6(4) 6-2.l

DAY’S WATCH Ten Action 12:45AM Capital One Cup 2015/16 Doncaster Rovers v Leeds United

Sony Six 10:30AM India tour of Sri Lanka 1st Test, Day 2

Star Sports 1 11:30PM Natwest Twenty20 Blast 2015 Birmingham v Essex

Star Sports 2 Pro Kabaddi League 8:20PM Kolkata v Pune 9:30PM Pro Kabaddi League Bengaluru v Jaipur

Star Sports 4 12:30AM ATP Masters: Rogers Cup Montreal

Kiwis seek to continue improvement n AFP, Durban

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus serves against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during day two of the Rogers Cup at the Aviva Centre on Tuesday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada AFP

Despite missing several key players, New Zealand are confident they can continue their growth as a team when they take on South Africa in two Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals this month.

The first T20 is at Kingsmead in Durban Friday and New Zealand go into the match fresh from a crushing 80-run win over Zimbabwe in a one-off match in Harare last Sunday.

The Black Caps also won a one-day series in Zimbabwe, recovering from a surprise seven-wicket defeat in the first match to win the next two convincingly.

New Zealand have come a long way since their previous visit to South Africa in 2012-13 when they were thrashed in two Test matches before coming back strongly to win a one-day series.

Coach Mike Hesson says that tour was the start of a New Zealand renaissance. l

Lehmann apologises for Ashes defeat n Reuters, Sydney Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann took responsibility Wednesday for the crushing Ashes defeat to England, saying that his players were desperate to make amends in the final Test at The Oval.

Australia are 3-1 down in the series after a humiliating fourth Test drubbing by an innings and 78 runs at Trent Bridge when the tourists were bowled out for 60 before lunch on the first day.

“We have been poor, we have been outplayed by a superior opponent, and as coaching staff, players and selectors we fully accept the blame for our losses at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge,” Lehmann said in a column for the Cricket Australia website.

“On behalf of our team I want to apologise for the manner in which we have lost, especially to those tour groups and individual fans who paid to travel to the UK to watch us and to the millions more tuning in at home.”

Lehmann attacked the suggestion that the players’ wives, partners and families who had

accompanied them on this tour had somehow contributed to the their lack of form on the field.

“There’s no question we haven’t performed as we expected and we appreciate that in those circumstances we have to accept negative criticism from the media because we’ve had so much positive coverage during our success over the past two years,” he said.

“And while we’re happy to cop criticism

for the way we bat, bowl, field or prepare I believe it’s unfair to suggest having families with us as a reason for our on-field efforts.”

Lehmann said the reality of international schedules was that some in the squad would have only been home for three or four days since the Boxing Day Test last December.

“I can’t think of any other sport in which the players are away from their homes and their loved ones for such long stretches of time,” he said.

“And as such we will continue to welcome families as part of any tour because it is simply unrealistic to expect them to spend those long periods apart.”

Lehmann also rounded on criticism directed towards captain Michael Clarke, who announced that the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval would be his last.

“Michael is one of our most committed trainers who will go to the nets every day even when we have optional sessions or give guys a day off, and on practice days he’ll travel to the ground early with the support staff who go ahead to get everything set up,” he said. l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Mass book (6) 5 Lacking strictness (3) 7 Flower (5) 8 Wise counsellor (6) 10 Greek letter (3) 12 Of sound mind (4) 13 Before (3) 14 Annoying child (4) 16 Quick (4) 17 Bishop’s territory (3) 18 Commotion (4) 20 Flow back (3) 23 Part of the eyeball (6) 24 Exuded moisture (5) 25 Self (3) 26 Examined (6)

DOWN 1 Play a part without words (4) 2 One’s right wits (6) 3 Make amends (5) 4 Bait (4) 5 Falsehood (3) 6 Liable (3) 9 Pastry dish (4) 11 Insect (3) 14 Finest quality (4) 15 Oppose (6) 16 Enemy (3) 17 Undressed kid (5) 18 Worry (4) 19 Hairless (4) 21 Wet, spongy ground (3) 22 Shout disapproval (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 8 represents U so fill U every time the figure 8 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

A B C D E FG H I J K L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

Prachyanat to stage Koinnya today

Remembering Tagore

n Showtime Desk Marking the 74th death anniversary of

Shakib Al Hasan and wife pair up in Banglalink ad The world’s Number 1 all-rounder in cricket, Shakib Al Hasan has starred in a recent Banglalink advertisement with his beloved wife Umme Shishir.

Shakib has been working in a variety of advertisements for a while now, but this is the first time he has been paired with his wife for an ad. He commented, “There is a joy in doing anything for the first time. This is our first work together.” l

Rabindranath Tagore Daffodil International University Cultural Club (DIUCC) arranged musical programmes along with recitation

n Showtime Desk Theatre troupe Prachyanat will stage its ninth production Koinnya (The Maiden) at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 7pm in the capital today.

Scripted by Murad Khan and directed

by Azad Abul Kalam, the play has garnered major positive response.

Based on a local myth originating in the north-western part of Bangladesh, the play traces the mystery and imaginative creation that operates at the subconscious level of men. The play is not an exploration of the distinction between good and evil but rather a probing into the vary nature of man.

The play has been seen by many theatre reviewers and critics as a powerful use of myth translated into modern image.

Azad Abul Kalam played the role of Naior while Rahul Anand played a couple of roles, including Bahurupi.

Shahana Rahman Sumi, Shatabdi Wadud, Reetu Sattar and Kazi Toufikul Islam Emon played other major roles.

Rahul Anand also did the music, which comprises of a bunch of traditional Sylheti songs, including a Shah Abdul Karim number “Kon mestori nao banailo.” l

and commemorative discussion to pay tribute to the bard on August 9, 2015 at DIU Auditorium. The event titled “Srishti Rokkha” was successfully organised by DIUCC. Dr Jhumur Ahmed, assistant professor in music of UODA and Ashish Narayan Sharkar from Shantiniketon. Kolkata, India was present as the guest of honour to make the event more colourful. Two very special guests Debjaani and Anki Tiyaan from India also joined the event and shared their thoughts on Rabindranath.

Prof Dr Syed Akhtar Hossain, head CSE, Professor Dr Binoy Barman, associate professor of English department, Mahbub Parvez, head, tourism and hospitality management department, Rashedul Hasan, associate lecture of journalism, Anuz Kumar Chakrabarty, senior lecturer, Shamsi Ara Huda, senior lecturer of English and Mustafizur Rahman Sameen, assistant professor of English and convener of DIUCC were present at the programme. l

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

Manisha koirala @mkoirala Wearing @AJSKOfficial #G.O.D. Awards #CNN SHAANDAAR Alia @ Aliaa08 Aaaaah this is the #fastestshaandaarmillion !!!! Wohooo thank you all you lovely lovely people #Shaandaar22ndOct

Lenny Kravitz @LennyKravitz Check out Lenny’s #FLASH and @ candyTman’s #Ascension at @OstLicht_ Vienna until 8/22. http://bit.ly/1MmnAB3 -TeamLK

AROUND TOWN Workshop: How to Harness the Power of Dialogue Conducted by: Sal Imam Venue: Red Shift Auditorium Date and time: Saturday, August 22, 2015, 11am-5pm Workshop fee: Tk1,000 per head.

Pre-workshop assignment: Please try to see the movie Crimson Tide starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington. A few copies will be available at Music Mania from Wednesday, August 12.Lunch and tea/coffee will be available on payment throughout the day from Red Shift Coffee Lounge.Please bring writing pad and pens as the workshop will include written exercises. Laptops are welcome as well.

Exhibition:Gallery Cosmos presents Brave Heart Venue: Gallery Cosmos, SIAM-Mozzaria, 101 Gulshan Avenue Date and time: Friday, August 14, 11am10pm The group art exhibition consists of 75 contemporary artists on the 40th death anniversary of the paramount leader of independence and founding father of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Exhibition: Tomar chokhe S M Sultan Venue: Shilpakala Academy Time: September 8 To celebrate 91st birth anniversary of artist S M Sultan a children’s art exhibition is going to be held at Shilpakala Academy.

Artwork submission deadline is August 20. For more information, log into www. facebook.com/charuputhi.

DT

32 BACK PAGE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015

BB LAUNCHES POS TRANSACTION SYSTEM

PAGE 15

MINI PAYS TRIBUTE TO PUP, SANGA PAGE 25

PRACHYANAT TO STAGE KOINNYA TODAY PAGE 31

MP Badi back in the headlines n Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar

Artists busy in painting portraits of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 in the capital yesterday.

The portraits are prepared for observance of the National Mourning Day on August 15 SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

19 more receive death threats n Mohammad Jamil Khan A new radical Islamist group, Ittehadul Mujahideen, has emerged by issuing death threats against 19 noted personalities including politicians from Sylhet, teachers and bloggers for their alleged activities against Islam and madrasa education.

This is the fourth such letter issued since May mentioning a total of 48 persons.

The letter sent to online news outlet bdnews24.com yesterday first mentioned Niladri Chatterjee, who was brutally killed at his flat by four alleged militants on Friday.

The name was struck through with a red pen.

It said that the listed persons would have to die “for the sake of Almighty … and for insulting the Prophet.”

“A letter bearing no address of the sender came to our office around 2:15pm [yesterday].

However, the envelope has a seal of Bangladesh Post Office, Sylhet, dated August 10,” Golam Mujtaba Dhurba, a reporter of bdnews24. com, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The persons are bloggers Arif Jebtik and Sushanta Das Gupta, academician Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, war heroine Ferdousi Priyabhashini, Abdur Rahman, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Social Welfare Minister Syed Mohsin Ali, Udichi’s Maqbul Hossain, Awami League MP Suranjit Sen Gupta, bloggers Arifur Rahman, Omi Rahman Pial, Ananya Azad, Mahmudul Haque Munshi and Maruf Rasul, teacher Arafat Rahman,

bloggers Nirjhar Mazumder, Dr Atik, Ashfak Anupa and Nur Nabi Dulal.

After the names, the letter contains the threat in the form of a poem: “Death will come one day friend, today or tomorrow. For the sake of Almighty we will take the life of His enemies. What is your identity if you do not cry for insult of the Prophet? Death will come one day friend, take the life of the enemy.”

In the beginning of the letter, the listed personalities were labelled as enemies of Islam and madrasa education, atheists, anti-Sylhet activists and Sylhet’s shame, satanic bloggers, Hindustani brokers and munafiqs (someone who outwardly practises Islam concealing his disbelief).

The existence of Ittehadul Mujahideen is only found in Waziristan as a wing of Taliban and some parts of India.

Some of the listed persons including Shahjalal University teacher Prof Zafar Iqbal were given death threats through letters recently – sent twice in June and once in May this year – by banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, who termed them anti-Islam and atheists.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, PM’s Adviser HT Imam, lawmaker Tarana Halim, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique, Gonojagoron Moncho spokesperson Imarn H Sarker are among them. Some of the victims filed general diaries with the police after receiving letters.

At that time, the home minister blamed the BNP-Jamaat activists for the act. “I do not do

anything that may suggest that I am an atheist. I say my prayers on time and regularly,” he said adding that the listed persons would be given protection, if necessary.

None of the three cases has been solved as yet.

On Monday night, six Gonojagoron Moncho activists of Barisal, three of who are poets, were given death threats from a Facebook page named Ansar BD. It also published their photos. Local police were on alert after one of them filed a general diary.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of police’s Detective Branch, said that they were yet to complete investigation. “We are checking whether such outfits really exist or not.”

Soon after the murder, Ansar Al Bangla, believed to be a wing of Ansarullah, claimed responsibilities for the murders of Niladri alias Niloy Neel and three other bloggers, and a Rajshahi University teacher since November. It said they were the Bangladesh wing of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent aimed at eliminating the atheists.

Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had learnt about the matter from the media. “We will investigate it giving top priority.”

When contacted, the home minister said the law enforcers had been given instructions to investigate all the killings and threat incidents.

“We have got some evidence about it. The persons responsible must be tried,” he added. l

He is the top human trafficker in Cox’s Bazar, says Home Ministry. The Department of Narcotics Control says he is the main sponsor of yaba smuggling. The Prime Minister’s Office says he is one of those who can arrange illegal national ID cards for Rohingyas. Last year, he was sent to jail for 18 days in a corruption case.

Making headlines is therefore not new for Abdur Rahman Badi, the parliament member from Ukhiya-Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar. Yesterday, he beat up an executive engineer for not attending a meeting of the Ukhiya upazila council.

Witnesses said that Executive Engineer Mostafa Minhaz was working in his office when the monthly development coordination meeting was going on. Badi sent for him but he did not come. So, the MP took local upazila executive officer Hillol Biswas along with him, went to Mostafa’s office and beat him up.

Those present in the office intervened; they calmed the MP down and brought him back to the meeting. Later, engineer Mostafa also joined the meeting.

Hillol said something unwanted had happened but refused to elaborate. His mobile phone was later found switched off.

Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Ali Hossain confirmed that MP Badi had beaten the engineer. “It is very unfortunate. If an engineer does not attend meetings, the rule is to complain to higher authorities. Based on that complaint, the district administration could have taken steps. But instead of doing that, MP Badi beat up the engineer,” the DC said.

When contacted, Mostafa Minhaz said: “I was not absent in meeting. I was just five minutes late and for this the MP came to my office, used abusive language and beat me up. Later, the UNO and local Awami League leaders saved me. I have already informed the higher authorities about this.”

This reporter yesterday tried repeatedly to reach MP Badi on his three mobile phones but nobody received or returned the calls.

This is not the first time that the two-time lawmaker has beaten up someone.

The first of this happened in 2009, only 22 days after he was elected MP for the first time. On that day, he beat up Islami Bank official Gias Uddin, who served as a presiding officer in the 2008 national election. Gias’ fault was that he did not greet Badi by standing up when he went to inspect a polling centre on the election day.

In the later days, Badi took on Cox’s Bazar Forest Department official Hazi Mujibul Haque; a freedom fighter from Teknaf named Hazi Mostafa; noted lawyer and cultural personality Rakhal Mitra; teachers Abdul Jalil and Pulin Chandra; Cox’s Bazar Road and Highways Executive Engineer Abdul Halim; Ukhiya upazila executive officer Golamur Rahman; and Ukhiya magistrate Abdur Rahman.

None of them, except for magistrate Abdur Rahman, even dared to file any assault case against the lawmaker. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com