17 Aug, 2015

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

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Bhadro 2, 1422, Zilqad 1, 1436

PUBLIC UNI TEACHERS ABSTAIN FROM WORK PAGE 3

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 123

BB MAGIC HELPS CUT DEFAULT LOANS PAGE 15

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INDONESIA PLANE CRASHES WITH 54 PASSENGERS PAGE 32

Jamaat agents provocateurs let duped foot soldiers languish Jamil Khan with Syed n Mohammad Samiul Basher Anik from Patgram A middle-aged Patgram woman, hawking produce by the roadside, let out a long sigh and spoke about what she called her illstarred fate.

Working by herself on a rainy morning on the August 15 government holiday, she described the life she and her husband used to lead with their two daughters as simple and decent.

She said her husband, Sultan, used to work in a limestone crushing workshop.

At the end of 2013, when the country was being racked by political violence, her hus-

band fell ill and left his Tk200 a day job.

That was when the family was visited by people who offered him work that would pay twice his wage and three meals per day.

The men with the job offer were Jamaat-Shibir agents provocateurs hiring down and out day labourers to do their dirty work in exchange for money and three meals a day.

“It was a good package. He was ill so he could not take heavy jobs. He agreed to the work they offered: taking part in rallies and cutting down trees. But at the time we did not know what his actual work was; Sultan hid that from us,” she said.

Their happiness and the relatively good pay did not last long. In early January 2014,

police raided Sultan’s house and arrested him on charges of committing violence.

“He is not a criminal. He is a victim. He had no other way to feed his family aside for taking the offer they made,” she said.

Asked whether the leaders of the Islamist party had visited the family after his arrest, she said: “Nobody came to see us. Most of them are on the run.”

“We cannot even approach the court for bail because we have no money and no political power,” she said.

Financially, Sultan’s family is in dire straits.

But Sultan’s is not an isolated incident. The Dhaka Tribune has found that almost every  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Four-year-old shot as rival gangs trade bullets

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Kamrul among 13 charged for Rajon murder n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Police yesterday filed a charge sheet in the murder of teenager Rajon against 13 persons, mentioning Kamrul Islam as the prime accused, to the Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

Kamrul was detained by Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia and handed over to the police.

Two of his brothers – Shamim and Pavel – are on the run. Ten others are now in police custody. Eight of them have given confessional statements in the case.

The names of detained Islamil Ali Abullus and Lipi Begum were dropped as their involvement in the July 8 killing could not be  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Now a child worker abused in Joypurhat n Our Correspondent, Joypurhat

n Our Correspondent, Comilla

A four-year-old boy has been shot and injured in Comilla city after being caught in the middle of a shoot-out between two rival criminal gangs.

The victim named Hridoy, the son of a local rickshaw-van puller, was just an innocent bystander during the shoot-out, which took place less than a month after infighting between political rivals led to an unborn child being shot in her mother’s womb in Magura.

Hridoy, the son of a rickshaw-puller, suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and abdomen and is currently receiving medical attention, said Dulal Chandra Sutradhar, ward master of the emergency department at Comilla Medical College Hospital. Another person named Hasib has been released by doctors after he was given primary treatment, Dulal added.

Dr Kazi Tahmina Farhana, a doctor at the hospital’s surgery department, told the Dhaka Tribune that the child was out of danger.

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

Hridoy, 4, is comforted by his mother and grandfather at Comilla Medical College Hospital. He was shot in the abdomen and left arm during a shoot-out between criminal gangs yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Police in Joypurhat detained three men on Saturday night on charges of abusing a 12-year-old child worker.

The detainees are Abdul Matin, owner of a restaurant named Mega Hotel and Fast Food in Akkelpur Sadar upazila, Rubel, an employee of the restaurant, and Sumon, who works at a local salon.

Their detention came amid a number of cases of violence against children in different parts of the country over the past few months that led to public outrage and strong condemnation.

The victim, Sazzad Hossain, is a former employee of Matin’s restaurant, located in College Bazar area of the upazila, and he left the job of cleaning dishes allegedly because the owner would maltreat him.

Sazzad’s father Shahar Ali said his son, after quitting the job, was hired by a nearby food shop which angered Matin.

“Sazzad was returning home on Saturday night when Matin confronted him and forced him into the restaurant. Matin and some of  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

DT

2 NEWS

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

IGP: Factional clashes may happen in a big party like AL n Tribune Report Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday said that the ruling Awami League is big organisation and there might be some factional clashes.

“Police will follow the legal course if any criminal offences take place,” he told reporters in response to queries after attending a programme at Rajarbagh Police Lines auditorium.

He also claimed that no clashes had taken place centring share of extortion money, collected to observe the National Mourning Day on August 15.

Shahidul, however, admitted that some factional clashes occurred recently in Badda in the capital, Kushtia and elsewhere, “but all the offenders will be brought to the book.”

While addressing the programme, the police chief said that none should have eligibility be the citizen of Bangladesh if they do not accept Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the father of the nation. “[BNP founder] Ziaur Rahman was an autocrat, marshal law administrator and indifferent over democratic system. He was going to the Chittagong Port to release arms and ammunition of the Pakistani Army when some

local Awami League leaders forced him to announce the declaration of independence on radio in favour of Bangladesh,” he said.

Shahidul said when he, the DMP commissioner and the Rapid Action Battalion director general speak the truth, some vested groups brand them as pro-government. “This is unfortunate.”

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia alleged that the BNP-Jamaat forces were running havoc across the country under the disguise of Hefazat-e-Islam.

Several other police officers also criticised BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for celebrating birthday on August 15. l

BNP: Ruling party in holiday mood n UNB BNP yesterday alleged that the ruling party leaders and activists have got desperate as the government has been in a holiday mood for lack of inclusive politics in the country.

“The current regime has been in a holiday mood as there’s no inclusive politics, no movement and pressure from the opposition... that’s why the ruling party men have become very desperate,” said BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon. The BNP leader came up with the remark while addressing a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office.

He alleged that the ruling party men are indulging in widespread corruption, plundering and grabbing public property as a lawlessness situation has been prevailing in the country. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Now a child worker Four-year-old shot as rival gangs trade bullets abused in Joypurhat his employees forcefully wrapped a gamcha around Sazzd’s neck, cut his eyebrows and then took him to a salon where his hair was cut in a fashion to make him look ugly,” the father said.

Sazzad returned home and told his father what had happened.

This resembles the case of Md Rakibul Islam, a 12-year-old garage worker in Khulna who was killed by his previous employer early this month for the offence of switching his job.

Early in July, 13-year-old Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon was brutally beaten to death in Sylhet after he was suspected of theft and the disturbing video was released online, causing widespread anger across the country.

Sazzad’s father said his son’s maltreatment enraged the neighbours, who attempted to attack Matin’s restaurant after the incident.

“But police arrived shortly and detained the three,” he said.

The father filed a case with Akkelpur police station against four persons on that night.

Officer-in-Charge of Akkelpur police station Ashraful Islam said Matin, Rubel and Sumon were detained in connection with the case. l

A bullet grazed the skin of his abdomen, while an operation would be performed on him on Monday to treat the bullet wound on the left arm, she said.

Police and local sources said yesterday’s gunfight was the result of a long-running feud between local criminal gangs led

by Nazim Hossain and Anwar Hossain respectively.

Nazim, who had just been released on bail five days ago, suspected Anwar for be-

ing behind his arrest last December. To take revenge, he and his cohorts attacked Anwar around 6am yesterday in the city’s Shubhopur area.

As the clash intensified, around 10-12 rounds of bullet were fired. Hridoy, who was standing in front of his own house at the time, was caught in the exchange of gunfire, said the child’s mother Mahfuza Begum.

Kotwali Model police station Officer-inCharge Khorshed Alam said Hridoy’s father

Arif Miah has filed a case accusing Nazim and around five unnamed persons. Additional police have been deployed in the area to prevent further violence.

Meanwhile, Comilla’s Superintendent of Police Md Shah Abid Hossain said he visited Hridoy in the hospital and gave Tk5,000 for his treatment. All medical expenses of the child would be provided by the police, the SP said, adding that efforts were on to apprehend the culprits. l

Kamrul among 13 charged for Rajon murder proved, Investigation Officer Suranjit Talukder said.

As many as 38 people have been made witness in the case.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune about submission of the charges.

On July 8, Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon, 13, was beaten to death in Sylhet’s Kumargaon by some men who falsely accused him of stealing a rickshaw van. One of the killers recorded the incident on mobile phone and it was uploaded on Facebook.

The video soon spread on social media platforms, triggering massive outrage among the public. The 28-minute video, recorded on a mobile phone camera, shows the victim tied to a pole in front of a workshop in the still-closed Sultan Ali Market, beside the Dhaka-Sunamganj road.

In the video, it seemed there were five to six men who took part in the barbaric torture.

Rajon studied up to class IV and later started selling vegetables. His father Sheikh Azizur Rahman is a car driver.

After the murder, police filed a case. Rajon’s father later filed a complaint.

The 10 other accused are Muhith Alam, Ali Haider alias Ali, Dulal, Moyna Mia alias Boro Moyna, Nur Mia, Ayaz Ullah, Firoz Ali, Azmat Ullah, Taj Uddin Badal and Ruhul Amin. They are now in jail. Muhith was held while dumping Rajon’s body on the day of the murder.

It was alleged that Jalalabad police had helped Kamrul to leave the country in exchange for bribes. The government is trying to bring him back from Saudi Arabia.

The authorities so far suspended Jalalabad OC (investigation) Alamgir Hossain, and sub-inspectors Aminul Islam and Zakir Hossain. l

Jamaat agents provocateurs let duped footsoldiers languish household in Patgram living a hand-to-mouth existence on day-wages is in the same sort of trouble.

Kanak Kumar Sarker, assistant sub-inspector of Patgram police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that many workers’ families were now on the streets because their sole breadwinners are on the run, absconding from accusations in political violence cases.

With their menfolk absconding, the women and children of Patgram have been left to fend for themselves and are not faring well.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Kanak said some weeks ago, the police had received a court order to demolish the house of Jamaat member Mozammel, in the Burimari area.

“When we arrived, we found the house nearly empty. It was a tiny little house. We found Mozammel’s wife and three children in a very bad state because nobody in the household was earning any money,” he said.

Mozammel earlier worked at a stone workshop, but when he was later out of work, Jamaat-Shibir men offered him Tk300-400 a day to be a professional saboteur.

The masterminds who preyed on these day-labourers’ poverty are now beyond reach but the low-income families duped into this line of work are now leading a horrible life, Kanak said.

“We have no choice. These men were involved in sabotage. We are duty-bound to bring them to justice,” Kanak added.

According to Patgram police station, nearly 90 cases were filed during the time of political violence.

Police have arrested several of the accused in the cases but the leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami in the area are out on bail.

By contrast, those with little or no money, day-labourers who took up this line of work

for the pay, remain in jail. Others have deserted their families and are in hiding from the police.

A number of families in the Masterpara area said some of the men quietly visited their families during Eid – but they met in nearby localities, fearing arrest if they came home.

The party bosses, however, are nowhere to be found.

The Dhaka Tribune tried to contact Patgram upazila Bangladesh Nationalist Party President Abdul Karim Bhuyan, who faces a number of cases, but without success.

Ruhul Amin Babul, the Patgram upazila Awami League-backed chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune that this was a fact of life in the area. “Jamaat-Shibir men use cash to lure low-income people in the area to commit sabotage.”

Ruhul said: “I have personally spoken with a number of the accused. Some are college

and madrasa students who have no political background whatsoever.

“They got involved in sabotage because they were given money and meals to take part in demonstrations and were promised jobs after the present government falls.”

Ruhul said punishing the saboteurs was necessary to deter people from committing such crimes.

“The police must carefully probe the cases and submit charge sheets so that no one dares commit such crimes again,” he said.

Mahfuz Alam, inspector (Investigations) of Patgram police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the police were investigating the cases on a priority basis.

Police have submitted charge sheets in 36 cases whose trials have now begun, he said.

“We have arrested some of the accused, but many others have been on the run since cases were filed against them,” he added. l

DT

NEWS 3

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Public university teachers observe work abstention for better pay n Tribune Report Teachers of all public universities across the country observed work abstention yesterday, demanding a separate pay scale for university teachers and protesting what they claimed were discriminatory and biased proposals under the new pay scale.

The work abstention at Dhaka University was observed between 10am and 1pm, during which teachers gathered at the DU Teachers Club and initiated a mass signature campaign to press home their demands.

“We will submit the signatures to the ministry concerned to press our demands,” said Maksud Kamal, general secretary of Dhaka University Teachers Association.

Threatening tougher programmes unless their demands were met, the DU teachers also said they would boycott classes for three hours every Sunday during August; exams, however, would stay out of the purview of

the boycotts.

Teachers at Jahangirnagar University, meanwhile, staged a one-hour work abstention from 10am as well as holding demonstrations on the campus.

Teachers from different departments and institutes of the university joined a programme organised by JU Teachers Association in front of the new arts faculty building and also initiated a mass signature campaign.

Agitated teachers said the implementation of the new pay scale – as it currently stands – would diminish their rights and would be humiliating for the teaching community. They further pointed out that many neighbouring countries also have separate pay scales for their university teachers.

A similar three-hour work abstention was also organised by Chittagong University Teachers Association between 10am and 1pm.

No classes were held, but the examinations went on ahead as scheduled.

As part of their demonstrations, CU teachers staged a sit-in programme and held a mass signature campaign on the campus.

Professor Khasrul Alam Quddusi, general secretary of CUTA, said CU teachers would continue to observe work abstentions every Sunday during August as per a decision by the Bangladesh University Teachers Association Federation.

Teachers of Rajshahi University and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) also staged a sit-in and observed a three-hour work abstention.

More than 500 teachers under the banner of Rajshahi University Teachers Association staged a sit-in in front of the university senate building to press home their demands.

Addressing the programme, RUTA President Ananda Kumar Saha alleged that all public university teachers have been disgraced by the proposed eighth pay scale.

He also called for retaining time scale and

Little Suraiya shifted to cabin

Doctors at DMCH hand Suraiya Begum, the baby who sustained bullet injuries in her mother's womb, over to her mother yesterday

n Kamrul Hasan Little Suraiya was shifted to a general cabin at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday, 23 days after she was hit by a bullet in her mother’s womb.

She had been at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) since July 31 and now she will be staying – for the first time after her emergency surgical birth – with her mother Nazma Begum in one of the cabins on the second floor of the DMCH main building.

Doctors said she could have been moved earlier but the shift had been delayed because

the cabin had to be readied for giving the infant 24-hour emergency care.

Her doctor Kaniz Hasina, associate professor of paediatrics at Dhaka Medical College, said: “We have shifted Suraiya as her condition is improving fast.”

Three nurses have been stationed at the cabin and they would work by rotation to make sure that at least one of them is always present beside her, Dr Kaniz said.

She also said that they might release Suraiya by the end of next week if everything goes well.

The baby was brought to the DMCH on July 23 after an emergency C-section at the Gener-

selection grades, as their exclusion would be a disgrace to the dignity of university professors.

Around 500 Ruet teachers also showed up at a separate sit-in on their respective campus. Speaking there, Ruet Teachers Association President Prof Dr Tarik Ahmed said public university teachers had to survive on a low salary whereas developing countries like India and Pakistan had separate pay scales for the university teachers.

Elsewhere at the Khulna University, teachers observed work abstention for three hours, as well as staging a sit-in and a mass signing campaign on the campus.

Vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Dr Mohammad Fayek Uzzaman, expressed his solidarity with the demonstrating teachers.

Addressing the teachers, the VC expressed hopes that the prime minister would take into her consideration the sensitive issue on which the teachers’ respectability relies. l

Ekattor TV contempt hearing likely tomorrow n Tribune Report The Ekattor TV authorities yesterday submitted to the Supreme Court the leaked audio conversation between two apex court judges, video footages of a talk show and a news aired on August 10 by the private satellite channel as per a court order.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam submitted those to the two-member Appellate Division bench of Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana and Justice Hasan Foez Siddiqui. Hearing on the contempt charge is likely to be held tomorrow.

The four-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha asked for the footages on August 11.

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

At that time, the court was holding hearing on another contempt charge against the daily Janakantha. l RAJIB DHAR

al Hospital in Magura, her hometown.

Suraiya was injured in the womb when her seven-month pregnant mother was shot in the abdomen during an attack by ruling party supporters the same day in their Magura residence. One of her grandfathers was killed in that attack.

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

She was born after a three-hour surgery at the Magura hospital.

Her mother Nazma was brought to the DMCH on July 30. The next day, Suraiya was taken to the NICU and her mother to ward 212. l

Parliament session to begin on September 1 n Tribune Report President Abdul Hamid yesterday summoned the 7th session of the parliament of the 10th Jatiya Sangsad on September 1.

The president summoned the parliament session exercising his power bestowed upon him by article 72 (1) of the constitution, said a Parliament Secretariat press release. The session will begin at 5pm on Tuesday. l

DT

4 NEWS

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

MADHYA BADDA KILLING

DB claims to have already identified 3 killers n Kamrul Hasan

Police yesterday claimed to have identified the criminals who had killed three Awami League supporters and injured another in Dhaka’s Madhya Badda three days ago.

However, investigators, who have detained five people in connection with the incident, have yet to know for certain the motive behind the killing.

Around 9pm on Thursday, three to four criminals came to the Adarshanagar water pump area in Madhya Badda and opened fire on Mahbubur Rahman Gama, Shamsuddin Molla, Firoz Ahmed and Abdus Salam, who were having their customary evening chat

there.

Shamshuddin, a ward-level leader of Awami League, and Firoz, caretaker of a local private hospital, died soon after they were taken to hospital.

Mahbubur Rahman Gama, leader of the ruling party’s volunteers’ wing Swechchhasebak League, died on Friday from the bullet wounds that he had sustained.

They were all attached with various associate bodies of the ruling Awami League.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of police’s Detective Branch (DB), told reporters about identifying the three murderers after a programme in Dhaka yesterday afternoon.

“DB started a shadow investigation right

after the murder instead of waiting for filing of cases and has already identified those involved...They will be arrested soon,” he said.

Asked about the motive, Monirul said business rivalry, especially centring the control of the local cattle market for Eid-ul-Azha, and other money-related disputes could be the reasons.

Police sources said investigators had taken dozens of local ruling party leaders under surveillance right after the murders and detained five people named Faruk, Milon, Nurul Islam Nuru, Mintu, Mamun and Bijoy.

Team from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is also conducting drives of their own to arrest other suspects including Ramjan, Maruf

Ahmed Manik, Roni, Karni Sohel, Shamim, Rana, Khalil, Mahabub, Pavel and Jewel.

Meanwhile, Shamsuddin’s family have alleged that local police had harassed them. Jahid Molla, a cousin of the deceased, said that police had refused to accept their case.

“We wanted to accuse Sohel, Jewel, Bijoy and Manun in our case. But police neither took our case nor gave any reason,” Jahid said.

When contacted, Rafiqul Islam, assistant commissioner of police’s Badda Zone, said: “As the three people died in the same attack, so there will be just one case. If they [Shamsuddin’s family] has additional information to give then their complaint will be recorded under the common case.” l

10th anniversary of JMB’s nationwide series bombing today n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Expired and adulterated food items are produced in a factory, which RAB raided and sealed off yesterday. The owner was also fined Tk3 lakh. The photo was taken from Fatullah Shahid Nagar area in Narayanganj MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Hasina calls for any sacrifice n UNB

Asserting that she is ready for any sacrifice to establish Bangabandhu’s ideals, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says she cares little about any conspiracy to derail her from establishing a poverty- and hunger-free ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.

“The dream of my father was to bring smile to the faces of common people through establishing a poverty- and hunger-free Sonar Bangla. I’m working on that dream, and I don’t care about any conspiracy against that,” she said.

The Prime Minister was speaking yesterday at a memorial meeting organised by Bangladesh Awami League marking the National Mourning Day at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).

Recalling that the Almighty Allah repeatedly saved her several times from death, Sheikh Hasina said, “It seems the Almighty is giving me the scope to finish the unfinished works of Bangabandhu to establish Sonar Bangla.”

The Awami League chief said by giving his blood Bangabandhu showed the path of freedom. “So, we’ll have to establish that ideal at the cost of any sacrifice, I’m ready for that sacrifice.”

Noting that there had been so many games played with the fate of the people of this country, Hasina said the fate of the Bengalee nation has to be changed and the dream of the Father of the Nation fulfilled.

After losing her parents, brothers and other nearest relatives, the Prime Minister said, she has nothing to gain personally. “Now my only desire is to change the fate of the nation for which my parents and brothers laid down their lives.”

She mentioned that the entire nation got disgraced before the world with the August 15 massacre. “I want to restore the dignity of the nation and bring smile to the faces of common people as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.”

Hasina said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman dreamt of ensuring food, cloths, home, healthcare and

education for all through building a povertyand hunger-free nation. “To fulfill that dream is my only aim and I‘m working to that end.”

“Bangladesh is marching ahead…we’re now in the lower middle-income country group and will be in the developed country group before long,” she hoped.

Talking about Ziaur Rahman’s link to the August 15 killing, the Prime Minister said he had given shelter to the killers, destroyed the spirit of the independence, rehabilitated the war criminals and destroyed the ideals on which the country was built.

“We tried the killers (of August 15, 1975), started executing the verdicts against the war criminals, and Bangladesh is now free from stigma,” she said.

Awami League leaders Sayeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury, Mohammad Nasim and general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain also took part in the discussion. l

Today is the terrifying day for Bangladesh and the 10th anniversary of the countrywide series bomb attacks carried out by Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

The attacks left two people killed and 100 others injured.

On this day in 2005, the banned militant organisation JMB carried out the heinous attacks by blasting some 449 bomb in 63 districts simultaneouslt, except Munshiganj district.

The 30-minute mayhem starting from 11:30am killed one in Chapainawabganj and another in Savar while the injured were from elsewhere in the country.

In the attacks, a total of 161 cases were booked across the country against 660 JMB members and 103 of them have already seen the end.

In a yesterday’s press release, the ruling Awami League blamed the BNP-Jamaat alliance for the bombing, saying the JMB series bomb attacks were part of the terrorism and militancy of the coalition.

Dhaka City unit Awami League will observe today as the anti-terrorism and anti-militancy day. It will hold a discussion at its Bangabandhu Avenue office in the capital this afternoon.

Besides, Sechchasebak League will hold a human chain in front of the national press club.

Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling party, is going to hold a demonstration at Madhur Canteen on the Dhaka University premises. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

First Biman hajj flight takes off n Tribune Report The first Hajj flights carrying 419 Bangladeshi pilgrims took off for Saudi Arabia yesterday at 8:35 am and it reached Jedda at 12:10 am at local time.

Khan Mosharraf Hossain, general manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines said, the first hajj flight reached Jedda safely where Bangladesh AQmbassador Golam Moshi received the pilgrims.

High official of Bangladesh Embassy were also present at the Jedda airport.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines official said, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon and Religious Affairs Minister Matiur Rahman bade farewell to the first flight of pilgrims at 8:35am at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The civil aviation minister said the inauguration flight left Dhaka today (Sunday) and will continue until September 17.

“We have taken all necessary measures to carry the pilgrims and Biman is determined to complete the task with utmost priority,” said the aviation minister.

Khan Mosharraf Hossain said the national

6th witness testifies in Rajeeb murder n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu Iskander Ali, a cleaner at the office of police’s DB, yesterday testified in the blogger Ahmed Rajeeb Haider murder case. The sixth prosecution witness said that upon instructions from DB officers, he had seized a machete and a knife from a drain in front of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar High School.

Killers threw away the weapons after hacking Ahmed Rajeeb Haider to death in front of his Pallabi house on February 15, 2013, witness Iskander told Dhaka’s Third Speedy Trial Tribunal.

The court fixed August 23 for recording further depositions.

Defence counsels Mosharraf Hossain Kajal and Khairul Islam Liton grilled the witness.

Chief of banned militant organisation Ansarullah Bangla Team Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani and seven of his followers, all expelled students of North South University, are the accused in the case. Jasim used to profess killing of atheists. His group follows al-Qaeda and Taliban while supports the activities of Jamaat and Hefazat-e-Islam.

The other accused include its operations wing chief Redwanul Azad Rana, now on the run. Rana is a charge-sheeted accused in the case filed over attack on blogger Asif Mohiuddin and prime suspect in secular writer Avijit Roy murder case. l

More than 400 pilgrims board the first hajj flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines that left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for Jeddah yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE flag carrier had procured larger capacity aircraft to meet growing number of pilgrims in the country.

A total of 285 dedicated flights will be op-

erated by national flag carrier while 61 scheduled flights will also carry the pilgrims.

Air Marshal Jamal Uddin Ahmed (Retd.) yesterday inaugurated the permanent sales

center at Ashkona Hajj camp. The permanent sales center will remain open every day from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated this year’s Hajj programme at Dhaka’s Ashkona Hajj Camp on 13 August.

Biman will also operate several direct flights from Chittagong and Sylhet to ease the pilgrims’ sufferings.

This year, some 101,758 Bangladeshi pilgrims will perform the hajj. Biman will carry 51,000 pilgrims and the rest will travel on Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Return flights will begin on September 27 and will continue until October 28.

Biman is charging pilgrims $1,515 for economy class seats and $2,500 for business class seats this year, excluding taxes and others charges.

According to Biman rules, each pilgrim may carry 32kg in luggage and a 7kg in handbag.

No pilgrim will be allowed to individually carry Zamzam Well water on board the aircraft.

The state-owned airline will provide each pilgrim with five litres of Zamzam water. The hajj will likely to be performed this year on September 24. l

Govt positive about phasing out mercury use n Tribune Report

Speakers at a programme yesterday expressed concerns over the growing use of mercury as it would be disastrous for environment and public health.

A programme was arranged at the Jatiya Press Club for launching a study report titled Mercury added products: Country situation analysis in Bangladesh. It was conducted by the Environment and Social Development Organisation (Esdo) in association with UNEP. The report said that around 60 tonnes of mercury was imported in 2014 and estimated that more than 1,100kg of the metal was generated and released into the environment.

“Esdo has uncovered the situation and now we can work with this. We have to know how the de-

veloped countries are handling the situation. We have to improve waste management systems.

“If we receive any constructive suggestions, we will certainly go ahead with them. We have already taken some initiatives and hope that we will be able to ratify the Minamata Convention soon,” said Kamal Uddin Ahmed, secretary to the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Kamal also said awareness should be raised against the use of mercury and the media can play a vital role in telling people about the threat that the metal can pose.

Absence of quality alternatives, standardisation and certification of products and high costs are some of the barriers to shifting from the use of mercury in healthcare instruments and dental amalgam, the study has concluded.

Bangladesh does not yet have any specific guidelines regarding the management of mercury release into the environment or how to safely manage the use of products and equipment that contain mercury, mercury compounds or other specific chemicals, it said.

“This report is the first of its kind. It will be very helpful for us in devising a strategy to contain the use of mercury. We have already taken some initiatives,” said Mahmood Hasan Khan, a director of the Department of Environment.

Shahriar Hossain, secretary general of Esdo, said if the government takes step soon, it would be possible to phase out mercury usage in Bangladesh by 2020.

Former secretary Syed Marghub Murshed chaired the programme. l

DT

6 NEWS

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Chemical-free pineapples find fewer buyers n Our Correspondent, Tangail The farmers who have produced pineapples without chemicals are counting huge losses as buyers are not interested to buy the agri-produces because of its small size.

Normally, customers are interested to buy pineapples which are large in size and bright in color. But naturally ripen pineapple are not large in size as well as it gets natural color which is not brighten look-alike chemical treated pineapple.

Madhupur pineapples, once famous for their flavour and juiciness, have lost their original flavour because of the unrestricted use of growth hormones and chemicals.

Many farmers spray growth boosting

chemicals on pineapple flowers to produce larger-than-usual fruit and then apply hormones to immature fruit to artificially ripen them and ready them for harvesting.

Md Aziz Ullah, deputy director of Tangail Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said pineapples were being grown on 7,612 hectares of land this year in the district’s Madhupur upazila and Ghatail upazila.

Sanower Hossain, who is growing hormone and chemical-free pineapples in Mohishmara village under Madhupur upazila on six bighas of land, said, “Consumers do not like our produce because of its size and colour. We are selling our fruit at half the price of chemically-enhanced fruit.”

“Because our pineapples mature naturally,

we need to harvest it every day as they ripen.

We cannot harvest more than 50 or 60 pineapples a day. So we have to hire labour every day to harvest the fruit and get it to market, raising production costs,” he said.

“We are still harvesting pineapples from our fields even now, but those who sprayed their fruits with chemicals and hormones sold off their produce when the price was high,” said Sanower.

Another farmer, Lokman Hossain, who planted chemical and hormone-free pineapples on 8 bighas of land said, “I am selling my fruits at Tk12 to Tk14 per piece while chemically treated pineapples sold at Tk20 to Tk25 per piece.”

He said he was sad that consumers only looked at the size and colour without compar-

ing the flavour of chemically-treated fruit and naturally grown fruit.

Tangail civil surgeon Dr Sayed Ibne Saied said: “All kinds of chemicals are harmful for health. It destroys the resistance power of the body. It may damage our kidneys and liver.”

Deputy Commissioner of Tangail Md Mahbub Hossain said: “We have taken some steps to discourage farmers from using hormones and chemicals to enlarge and ripen their fruit.

We have instructed agriculture officers and Upazila Nirbahi Officers to raise awareness among pineapple wholesalers, consumers and the sellers of agro-chemicals.”

“Leaflets will be distributed and mobile courts will be used when appropriate,” the DC said. l

Youth hacked to death in Jessore n Our Correspondent, Jessore A youth who was attacked by miscreants at Purba Barandipara village under Sadar upazila on Saturday died yesterday morning.

Sources said Shaon, Bachhu, Mamun and their cohorts hacked Abu Hanifa,25, son of Basiruddin of the village, leaving him critically injured over establishing supremacy in the area.

Later, he was admitted to Jessore Sadar Hospital where he died.

Locals also said Hanifa developed a relation of love affairs with Shaon’s sister Bonnya.

Saon along with his cohorts killed him over the incident, they said.

Contacted, Sikder Akkas Ali, officer-incharge of Kotowali police station, said the reason behind the murder could be said after investigation. l

Lightning strike leaves two dead in Dinajpur n Tribune Report

Two people, including a schoolboy, were killed and nine others injured in separate incidents of lightning strike in Bonchaganj upazila yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Bappi Islam, 12, son of Babu Islam of Deur village and Shyamol Chandra Roy, 35, son of Madan Chandra Roy of Jalgaon village in the upazila.

Quoting witnesses, police said a thunderbolt struck 10 people, including nine students of Deur High School, while playing on the playground of the school amid rain, leaving Bappi dead on the spot and nine others wounded.

The injured were rushed to Bonchagaon Health Complex.

In another incident, Shyamol Chandra Roy, 35 of Jalgaon village, was killed in lightning strike while catching fish in a pond in the afternoon.

Habibul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bonchaganj police station confirmed the incident. l

Women labourers are seen processing turmeric in an earthen oven in Arani Bazar, Rajshahi yesterday. Turmaric growers in Chaghat, Arani and Bagha upazilas have witnessed a bumper yield of the spice this year. Farmers are now planting turmeric commercially because of its high price AZAHAR UDDIN

Chhatra League foils Khaleda Zia’s birthday celebration n Our Correspondent, Barisal

A birthday celebration programme of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was reportedly foiled by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists at Government B M College in Barisal on Saturday.

Witnesses said Jatiotabadi Chattra Dal (JCD), students wing of BNP, arranged a programme to celebrate the birthday of Khaleda Zia on the college campus.

Before starting the programme, some BCL cadres led by Faisal Ahmed Munna attacked the JCD activists foiled the programme.

Four JCD activists were injured in the attack, claimed Wahidur Rahman Rubel, the college unit JCD leader. SM Imanul Hakim, principal of the college, said on information he went to the spot and called police. The police brought the situation under control, he said.

A three-member probe-committee headed

by Prof Abdul Kaium, chairman social science department, had been formed to investigate the matter, added the principal.

Sakhawat Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, said on information, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control. l

2 children drown n Tribune Report

Two minor cousins drowned in a pond at Bakultola village in Sharankhola upazila on Saturday.

The deceased were identified as Nowrin Aktar, 5, daughter of Abdul Mannan of Bakultola village and her cousin Shanta Aktar, 6, daughter of Abdul Mondal of Kushtia district.

Family source said Shanta Aktar along with her mother came at Bakultola to visit her uncle Abdul Mannan. On Saturday night Nowrin and Shanta slipped into the pond when they went there to wash their legs.

Family members rescued them and rushed to Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared them dead, said officer-in charge of Sharankhola police station Md Rezaul Karim. l

DT

NEWS 7

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Two robbers shot in Ctg gunfight n Tribune Report Two alleged robbers sustained bullet injuries and two policemen were injured during a gunfight between law enforcers and robbers in Bahaddarhat area in Chittagong city early yesterday.

The injured policemen Assistant Sub-Inspectors Monir and Arnob received primary treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said Officer-in-Charge of Chandgaon police station Sairul Islam.

The bullet-riddled Idris, 24, and Iqbal, 25, were admitted to the hospita. Police seized a lighter gun, three rounds of bullet, three cleavers and two stolen motorbikes from their possessions, said the OC, adding that Idris and Iqbal were the members of a robbers’ gang.

Acting on tip off, a team of police conducted drive in the area when a group of 8 to 10 robbers was trying to take preparation to commit robbery, OC Sairul said.

“Sensing presence of police, robbers opened fire on police triggering law enforcers to take retaliation that led the gun fight. Later, police chased the robbers and police got involved in scuffle with the docits. Idris and Iqbal were the accused 20 about cases lodged with different police stations in the port city, l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

Dhaka Elevated Expressway construction finally begins n Abu Hayat Mahmud

MONDAY, AUGUST 17 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:31PM

SUN RISES 5:35AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

32

27

Chittagong

30

26

Rajshahi

32

27

Rangpur

32

26

Khulna

31

27

Barisal

31

27

Sylhet

27

25

Cox’s Bazar

29

26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.0ºC

25.4ºC

Rajshahi

Coxz’s Bazar Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the first phase of construction of long-awaited Dhaka Elevated Expressway in the capital yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

4:12am 5:33am 12:03am 4:38pm 6:31pm 8:01pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

The construction of the long-awaited Dhaka Elevated Expressway, a project that involved many obstacles around the past five years, finally began yesterday.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the first phase of construction in the capital.

He opened the work and handed over the land properties to the construction companies in accordance with the deal in the capital’s Kawla near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Bangladesh Bridge Authority Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam and Italian-Thai Development Public Construction Company Limited President Prenchai Karnasuta were present there among others.

The project is being implemented by Bang-

ladesh Bridge Authority under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and is financed

by Italian-Thai Development Public Construction Company Limited while China Railway Construction has won the contract.

“Today can be called an auspicious day because we are finally starting the construction after overcoming many hurdles,” Quader told reporters.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate Dhaka Elevated Expressway as well as the Padma bridge in 2018,” he expressed his hope.

Quader said the expressway measures 19.73 kilometres in straight length but the total length is 47 kilometres, including ramps.

The structure includes 31 ramps and link roads.

The minister said the cost of the project being built under a Public-Private Partnership

Construction worker killed n Tribune Report A construction worker was hacked to death by some unidentified assailants in Kadamtoli area of the port city yesterday morning.

Deceased, Md Aziz, 35, son of Syedul Haque, hailed from Char Khijirpur area under Boalkhali upazila in Chittagong.

Quoting locals, Officer-in-Charge of Sadarghat police station, Mainul Islam Bhuyian said when Aziz was going to Majhirghat area in the morning, the assailants riding on a motorbike waylaid him and hacked him indiscriminately.

Then, he was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital in critical condition where

the on-duty doctor pronounced him dead.

The body was sent to the CMCH morgue for autopsy while legislative measures were under processing in this connection, OC Mainul said. The OC also said the miscreants killed him over previous enmity.

With the killing, three people were killed in the port city in last three days.

On Saturday, a drug addicted readymade garment worker was stabbed to death by his friend following an altercation in the city’s EPZ area.

On Friday, an accused of seven cases was slaughtered to death in Sagariaka area under Pahartoli police station in Chittagong city in broad day light over personal conflict. l

(PPP) venture was fixed at Tk8,940.18 crore.

The expressway, which is the first such structure in the country, starts from in front of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and runs along New Airport Road via Mohakhali, Tejgaon and Moghbazar to Kamalapur Railway Station before connecting with Dhaka-Chittagong highway via Sayedabad and Jatrabari.

According to Bangladesh Bridge Authority, construction was scheduled to begin back in December 2011 but was delayed for over three years due to lack of funding.

In January 2011, the government signed an agreement with Italian-Thai Development Public Construction Company Limited to build the four-lane expressway at a cost of Tk8,703 crore.

The deal was later revised and a fresh one was inked on December 15, 2013. l

One to die for killing n Tribune Report

A Chittagong court yesterday gave death penalty to a person for killing a man over previous enmity two years back.

The court also sentenced him to life-term as he also stabbed another person during the same incident, said court sources.

Chittagong Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal’s Judge Mahitul Haque Enam Chowdhury yesterday passed the order in presence of the accused, Radhashyam Horijon, 55, said the tribunal’s prosecutor Advocate Ayub Khan.

According to the prosecution, Radhashyam on July 27, 2013 stabbed Asok Kumar Horijon, 60, to death in front of Rajanigondhya Market at Hajigonj upazila in Chandpur. l

DT

8 WORLD

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

German vote on Greek bailout carries risks for Chancellor Angela Merkel n Reuters, Berlin

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told the ministers by telephone that she could not commit until her board reviewed the situation in the autumn. She renewed a call for “significant” debt relief for Greece, a demand Merkel’s government has repeatedly pushed back against.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reiterated his opposition to an outright writedown of the face value of Greek debt in an interview with Deutsche Welle published on Saturday. He said the scope for milder forms of debt relief, like extending debt maturities, was “not very big.”

The IMF took part in the first two rescues for Greece, which totalled €240bn, and Berlin is keen to keep it on board because of the Washington-based institution’s reputation for rigour.

Last month, a record 65 lawmakers from Merkel’s conservative camp broke ranks and refused to back negotiations on the bailout.

Far more could rebel in Wednesday’s vote, with top-selling German daily Bild estimating

In a major test of her authority, Chancellor Angela Merkel will ask skeptical German lawmakers to back an €86bn ($95.5bn) bailout for Greece on Wednesday despite uncertainty over whether the IMF will play a role in the rescue.

Parliamentary approval is not in doubt because the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens are expected to back the deal. But the vote could expose a deep divide among Merkel’s conservatives, damaging the German leader and her close ally Volker Kauder, the head of her bloc in parliament.

Kauder, who incensed fellow lawmakers last week with threats of retaliation if they rebelled and voted against a bailout, has described the involvement of the IMF as a “condition” for the support of his party.

However under the bailout approved by euro zone finance ministers at a meeting in Brussels late on Friday, it is unclear whether the IMF will end up playing a role.

Cuba-US relations

Aug 2015

2006 2001 1993 1980 1977

Diplomatic ties renewed 3 months after historic Obama-Castro meeting

HAVANA

Collapse of the USSR sparks Cuban economic crisis Mass exodus: 125,000 Cubans leave for exile in US

Jimmy Carter opens US Interests Section (de facto embassy) in Havana

1962

J. F. Kennedy imposes trade embargo on Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis

April 1961

ATLANTIC OCEAN Guantanamo (US)

Bay of Pigs Caribbean Sea

Santiago

100 km

CANADA

USA WASHINGTON MEXICO

Botched CIA-sponsored invasion of the Bay of Pigs

Jan 1961

n AFP, Los Angeles

Raul Castro replaces Fidel as president

G. W. Bush tightens economic embargo

CUBA

Diplomatic ties are severed

1960 1959

US-owned businesses in Cuba are nationalised Fidel Castro overthrows dictator Fulgencio Batista

Tributes for Pakistan’s ex-spymaster bound to anger neighbours n Reuters, Karachi Tributes for Pakistan’s late former military spy chief Lieutenant General Hamid Gul poured in on Sunday, words bound to infuriate Pakistan’s neighbours after he spent a career promoting Islamic militancy in Afghanistan and India.

The tributes will anger Afghanistan and India, who saw Gul as Pakistan’s most senior and vocal proponent of militancy in their territory.

n Reuters, Amsterdam

Dutch lawmakers have been recalled from their summer break to vote on the latest emergency funding package for Greece, parliament said on Sunday.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to lend Greece up to €86bn ($96bn) after Greek lawmakers accepted their stiff conditions.

Assuming approval by Euro zone parliaments, €13bn should be in Athens on Thursday to pay pressing bills and a further €10bn will be set aside at the European Stability Mechanism, earmarked to bolster Greek banks’ capital.

The debate in the 150-seat Dutch lower house will begin on Wednesday at noon, a statement from parliament said.

Like Germany, the Netherlands has taken a tough line on lending to Greece.

The centre-right government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte will face strong opposition to additional loans in Wednesday’s debate. l

50 years after LA’s Watts riots, tensions still simmer

US raises flag over newlyreopened embassy in Havana

July 2015

that up to 120 members of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), may refuse to back the government.

The Bundestag debate on Greece is scheduled to start at 9am on Wednesday, disrupting Merkel’s travel plans to Brazil.

If 100 or more of her conservative allies rebel in the vote it would be seen as a major political setback for the chancellor, who remains highly popular after 10 years in office.

Senior Merkel allies Ralph Brinkhaus and Eckhardt Rehberg tried to put a positive spin on the Greek deal, noting that Schaeuble had won concessions on privatisations and that the first tranche of aid, at €26bn, would be smaller than initially planned, keeping Athens on a tight leash.

But Bild asked in a full-page spread: “How dangerous is it getting for Merkel?.” The paper said it would be a “political catastrophe” for her should she fail to get a majority of her 311-strong conservative bloc in parliament to back the deal. l

Dutch parliament recalled to debate new Greece bailout

Gul worked closely with the US and Saudi officials to strengthen Afghan fighters against the Soviet military when he headed the feared military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, from 1987 to 1989.

Some of those fighters later joined the Taliban insurgency.

Towards the end of his posting, officials began diverting men and guns from the Afghan war towards budding militant groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, founded in 1990 as a separatist movement in Indian Kashmir. l

On August 11, 1965, Marquette Frye, an African-American man, was stopped for drunk driving by a white officer in Los Angeles, touching off six days of riots that left 34 dead and changed America.

Fifty years later, many things have changed but the friction between police and the public remains.

Demonstrations in Ferguson last week to mark one year since the death of 18-yearold Michael Brown are a reminder that many still accuse police of unfairly targeting blacks and using excessive force.

Brown was the first in a string of deaths of African Americans in the hands of police, which sparked waves of sometimes violent protests, reminiscent of those that followed 21-year-old Frye’s arrest in Watts.

For Masai Minters, Frye’s arrest was a call to action.

“I was watching television. I heard the police brutalized Marquette Frye,” said the psychologist and counselor at the University of California Los Angeles.

“When it began to swell, I got in a car with my friends and got there,” added Minters, who was 15 at the time.

Rumors swirled that the Los Angeles Police had killed someone and hundreds of people swarmed into the streets.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson was six at the time and remembers being two blocks away from the riots on that first day.

“LAPD was coming down in their battle gear. They were screaming ‘get out of the streets.’ People were shouting back.

I remember the liquor store, it went in flames. It was like a scene from ‘Dante’s Inferno,’” said Hutchinson, an author and political commentator.

“It was just chaos. It was transforming.”

After years of frustration over discrimination and police brutality in predominantly black Los Angeles neighborhoods like Watts, residents were setting their anger loose.

More than 1,000 people were injured in the riots, which caused more than $40m worth of damage.

Hutchinson described scenes of war between what he said was a mostly white police force and black residents.

“It was them against us. They were wearing battle gear, they had tanks, they had state power, but I will never forget the look of fear in their eyes,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said you could feel change happening during the Watts riots.

The desegregation of the South was still fresh in people’s memories and the Voting Rights Act, which lifted barriers preventing many African Americans from voting, had just been signed days earlier.

But the Black Power movement, the Black Panthers, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists on the Olympic podium – those were all still to come.

“It’s a spark that aroused a political consciousness,” says Scott Brown, a history professor at UCLA. In 1992, those hallmarks reignited Los Angeles tempers after the police officers who had beat up a young black man, Rodney King, were acquitted. Fifty-five people died in those riots.

Now, the police force is more ethnically diverse, there is more interaction with residents, and there are greater safeguards against corruption, Hutchinson said.

But the frustrations that gave rise to past riots continue to simmer over. l

DT

WORLD 9

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

40 migrants die off Italy coast as Europe faces ‘worst crisis since World War II’ n AFP, Rome At least 40 migrants died in the hold of a boat off Italy Saturday as the EU struggled to cope with “the worst refugee crisis since World War II,” with thousands making dangerous crossings to reach Italy and Greece.

“Operation under way... many migrants saved. At least 40 dead,” the Italian navy said on Twitter, while the Corriere della Sera newspaper said those who died were found in the hold of the vessel, apparently having suffocated below deck.

An Italian navy helicopter had spotted the boat, which was “overcrowded and starting to sink,” about 21 nautical miles off the Libyan coast, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa, a reporter with Italy RaiNews TV at rescue operation headquarters said.

An Italian navy patrol boat was sent to its aid at 7:00am (local time) and when its sailors boarded the boat, the grim discovery was made.

“We were faced with a very emotional scene,” Commander Massimo Tozzi told the

Italian news agency AGI, describing how some bodies were floating on the water.

The 312 survivors – including 45 women and three children – were then transferred to the Norwegian vessel Siem Pilot.

Almost 400 other migrants were picked up in the Mediterranean Saturday by other vessels taking part in the EU’s patrol and rescue operation, Triton.

Survivors of the hazardous crossing from Libya often tell of how traffickers lock migrants in the hold who pay less for the voyage – mostly black Africans.

Packed inside the confined space they not only risk drowning if the rickety boats capsize, but many are also overcome by diesel fumes.

“This tragedy will not be the last if the international community does not find a solution to the crisis in Libya,” from where most of the migrants set out, Italy’s Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.

The European Union says the scale of migration, driven by war, disaster and poverty, has no parallel since the end of World War II.

More than 2,000 Mediterranean migrant deaths this year

And more than 188,000 people attempting the crossing have had to be rescued Arrivals, 2015

96,971

Deaths, 2015

SPAIN 1,617 18

GREECE 61

Source: IOM

“The world finds itself facing the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War,” EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avram-

n Reuters, London

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is seen wearing a day dress in this portrait taken by British photographer Hugo Rittson Thomas on May 1, 2013. The portrait was taken to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s Colonelship of the Regiment REUTERS long reign, with the queen forced to return from Scotland to address the nation amid a general outpouring of grief and dismay.

“For about a week it seemed as though the institution had been rocked to its foundation,” said Lewis.

With a more professional and sophisticated media operation, the royal family’s reputation has been restored from the dark days of the 1990s and even taken to new heights.

88,695

ITALY

M A L T A 94

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II poised for record after rallying troubled monarchy Queen Elizabeth, who rallied support for the monarchy despite presiding over what was once known as the world’s most famous dysfunctional family, next month becomes Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

She never expected to take the throne and only did so because her uncle abdicated, but on September 9 she will beat the record held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.

“It is a job for life,” the 89-year-old Elizabeth once said, and unlike some European monarchs recently, and even a pope, she is not expected to abdicate.

While the world and British society have changed dramatically during her reign, the queen has always appeared dependable and reassuring. Despite traumas in the 1990s, such as the death of Princess Diana, that seemed to threaten the monarchy’s very existence, the queen has been able to lead the thousand-year-old institution into a new era of popularity.

“The key to the change has been anticipating what’s coming next,” Simon Lewis, her former communications secretary, tsaid.

“The lesson of these last 20, 30 years has been for the institution always to be slightly ahead perhaps of where the British people are.”

At the start of her reign she was a glamorous figure who seemed to typify Britain’s post-war resurgence, but by the 40th anniversary of her accession the royal family appeared to have become little more than celebrity fodder for the tabloids.

Diana’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997 was undoubtedly the darkest moment of her

1,931

She was just 25 when she became Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 1952 on the death of her father. She was crowned queen of Britain and other realms, including Australia and Canada.

While on the throne, she has seen 12 prime ministers, beginning with Winston Churchill, and bade farewell to the British Empire amassed by her forebears from Kenya to Hong Kong. l

opoulos said on Friday.

Italy and Greece have borne the brunt of the emergency. l

Blast kills Pakistani provincial home minister, 8 others n Reuters, Lahore

A bomb killed one of Pakistan’s provincial ministers and at least eight others when it destroyed the minister’s home on Sunday in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s political heartland, rescue officials said.

Police said the blast appeared to be a suicide attack, and it had caused the roof to cave in as the home minister of Punjab province, Shuja Khanzada, held meetings with around 20 people in his hometown of Attock in northern Pakistan.

Salman Rafiq, provincial health adviser for Punjab, said Khanzada had died.

“There were between 20 and 30 people present when the blast took place,” district information officer Shahzad Niaz said. “The roof collapsed.”

Rescue workers at the scene said nine bodies had been recovered so far.

A Taliban-affiliated militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was retaliation for military operations against them.

“Such types of attacks will continue in the future,” Saluddin Ayubi, a spokeseron of th e millitant group, said.

It was unclear if Lashkar-e-Islam, based mainly in the tribal areas along the Afghan border, had actually carried out the attack or was just taking credit for it.

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 190 million people, is plagued by a Taliban insurgency, criminal gangs and sectarian violence.

Two weeks ago, Punjab police killed the leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, along with his two sons, deputy, and 10 other supporters.

Police described the incident as a shootout as he sought to escape from custody, but many insiders say the shooting had the hallmarks of an extrajudicial killing. l

DT

10 World

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

In this photograph taken on July 21, 2015, an Afghan artist paints the design of the eyes of a woman on a barrier wall at the presidential palace in Kabul AFP

The walls have eyes: Kabul’s anti-corruption graffiti n AFP, Kabul Under a soldier’s watchful gaze, a group of artists paint a blast wall outside Kabul’s presidential palace with a huge pair of eyes in bright, almost psychedelic colours.

Alongside the eyes, a slogan reads: “Corruption cannot be hidden from God or from the people.”

The project is not some guerilla graffiti campaign but comes with the blessing of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani – bringing colour to the sometimes drab Kabul streets while pushing an anti-corruption message in a country where graft is rife.

One of the artists, 35-year-old Maryam, said the eyes were those of “all the Afghans who have had enough of corruption,” gazing down on officials who might be tempted to take a backhander.

As the Taliban’s insurgency has raged on, the grey cement blast walls have mushroomed in Kabul in recent years, usually to insulate the rich and powerful.

That has prompted anger from Kabir Mokamel, one of the other artists who created the fresco.

“They’re supposed to protect us? No, I think they’re supposed to protect the people who are inside. And me, I am outside the wall,” he said.

The anti-corruption message, written in the two main Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto, resonates deeply in a country where the

culture of graft is entrenched at every level of life and especially among public officials.

Ugly blast walls

Fourteen years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan remains stuck in the depths of Transparency International’s annual corruption perception rankings, lying 172nd out of 175 countries.

Feeding the longstanding culture of graft is the lack of proper checks on the hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid that have poured in since 2001 to stabilise and rebuild the country.

Ehsan, a student from eastern Afghanistan, pointed out, corruption feeds into security problems.

“If the police arrest a kidnapper or a terrorist he can easily bribe the court and escape justice,” he said.

Mokamel has already painted the large accusing eyes on the wall of the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s main spy agency, and plans to decorate the whole of the wall around the presidential palace complex and central bank, all with the presidency’s blessing.

“I have been trying to do this project for the last three years,” he said.

“But now there are many young people inside the new government and they understand the value.”

In a militarised, concrete capital regularly hit by bloody attacks, street art is a rare sight. l

In this photograph taken on July 24, 2015, an Afghan pedestrian walks past a painting on a wall showing a man pushing his wheelbarrow with a heart aimed to combat corruption in Kabul AFP

DT

EDITORIAL 11

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

INSIDE

Going nowhere fast The pain of the people alone should be a solid enough reason to take these measures. But one could also think about the consequences on the country’s economy brought by traffic jams of this level

PAGE 12

Let facts speak for themselves

BIGSTOCK

What is not comprehensible is the impatience, immaturity, cynicism, and negativity which Rahul Gandhi, abetted by his mother Sonia Gandhi, has brought into play. No one has told them that this is counter-productive, and will diminish Congress even further

PAGE 13

One year after Operation Protective Edge The gruesome stories of innocent civilians killed are too many to recount.

While some were killed attempting to bury their dead, some were children playing

PAGE 14

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Fraud at Prime Bank warrants more than a Tk10 lakh fine

W

e are concerned that the central bank has taken an unduly lenient approach in dealing with its findings that Prime Bank has committed several serious breaches of banking regulations.

Bangladesh Bank’s inquiries uncovered substantial evidence of identity theft and fraud at two unauthorised Prime Bank branches.

The central bank has fined Prime Bank Tk10 lakh and has recommended action against officials directly involved, including the institution’s former managing director, who was discovered to have appointed a third party firm, without authority, to give the appearance of verifying illegal transactions.

Although it is commendable that Prime Bank has admitted to offenses and apologised, we believe a stronger response was warranted by the central bank in this case.

The deep-rooted nature of the fraud found strongly suggests that Prime Bank’s auditors and board should have been aware of the problems earlier and taken more prompt action to stamp it out.

In addition to finding a large number of suspect loan accounts at two Prime Bank branches, which had been operating without approval for over four years, the probe report discovered a $30m disbursal to a non-resident subsidiary institution.

This large payment appears to have not only breached foreign exchange regulations, but also have been fraudulent as the salaries of two officials of the recipient company were paid by Prime Bank in violation of its license conditions.

Given the nature of the irregularities, not least the blatant breach of operating branches without approval, it is clear that the bank’s board and governance procedures should have identified and stopped these widespread illegalities sooner.

Bangladesh Bank should have gone beyond fining Prime Bank a nominal amount and imposed clear conditions on its board to improve its audit procedures. The public needs regulators to take tougher action when fraud is found to help deter offenders. A stronger message needs to be sent to ensure boards are not negligent in preventing fraud and upholding the law.

A stronger message needs to be sent to deter offenders and ensure banks uphold the law

DT

12 OPINION

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Going nowhere fast A letter from a citizen to the prime minister

n Rushiba Ahmad

D

Traffic jams do more than just delay

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

ear Honourable Prime Minister, I really need to tell you something. I have no connections to arrange a meeting to tell you in person, and frankly, I’m not important enough for that either. I could send you a letter I suppose, but I have no faith in whether that will ever reach you at all.

So I decided that I’d write this and send it off to the leading daily newspapers of the country. I really hope you read this and decide to do something, for the sake of us general people.

Those of us who live in Dhaka are somewhat used to traffic jams by now. We pre-calculate each of our trips considering these jams, and know how long a traffic jam to expect at each location. But shockingly, what has been happening after Eid this August has pretty much surpassed any of our predictions.

It’s hard to imagine things getting any worse than this. It’s reached the point of not being tolerable anymore -- at least not this much traffic.

With the usual traffic, it takes me about 45 minutes to a maximum of one-and-ahalf hours on bad traffic days to go from my home in Kalabagan to my daily destination in Elephant Road. But this past week it has taken more than two hours to travel both to and from there. Yesterday it took three hours, and it would’ve taken more time if my “rickshawala mama” hadn’t taken oli-goli shortcuts to get me home, something my parents have told me to avoid when it gets dark. If I’d stuck to the main road, I’m not sure if I could’ve come home in at least four hours.

Believe me, I’m not the only one complaining. Countless citizens, young and old, have been facing this problem for the past couple of weeks. I guess it’s hard for you to imagine the true picture of a traffic jam since the roads are cleared of vehicles and citizens every time you travel. You probably only see police everywhere when you look outside your car window. If only you knew what we have to go through, you’d understand.

When politicians block the roads for public use while travelling, the other roads come to a literal stand-still.

A few days ago, you came to the Abahani field for a public speech and a lot of major roads were barricaded. That day was witness to one of the worst traffic jams, Dhaka has surely ever seen.

We understand that you’re the busiest person in the nation, and you have to travel like this for security reasons, perhaps.

But do you think you could possibly get a helicopter? We would all be utterly grateful to you for that.

And could your many ministers maybe travel like us normal people, that is, without blocking multiple roads? That would lessen the traffic jams by a significant amount. You would be rescuing us, the people, to a certain extent, by taking these steps.

If we were face to face, at this point, you might have brought up ideas of underground metro rails, sky metro bullet trains, etc -those are nice plans, and I’m sure they’ll pay off in the long run, someday.

But till then, there are these smaller ways you can help us reduce traffic jams from their current extreme magnitude to what we’re habituated to.

Sometimes, different political parties hold rallies and meetings throughout the roads of Dhaka, which also cause extra traffic jams.

Couldn’t these gatherings be held in fields or parks?

Why cause thousands of people to suffer for the accommodation of a hundred?

The pain of the people alone should be a solid enough reason to take these measures. But one could also think about the consequences on the country’s economy brought by traffic jams of this level. The efficiency of people from various stages of life is being affected because of the delay

The pain of the people alone should be a solid enough reason to take these measures. But one could also think about the consequences on the country’s economy brought by traffic jams of this level

traffic jams cause. The amount of work that could be done isn’t being accomplished. An hour for an individual is countless hours for a nation, when combined to count for millions of people.

Traffic jams can be used as an excuse for being late to parties, but such excuses don’t count when we students are late for exams -- we’re not given extra time. When ambulances with ailing patients get stuck in traffic, it becomes a matter of life and death.

Each and every one of the citizens spending unpredictably long hours trapped in their transport has opportunity costs, high or low.

This cannot be good on an individual level nor on a national one.

I know this is a rather informal way of making these requests. But desperate times call for desperate measures indeed. I’m sick of getting too tired in traffic jams to come home and do anything other than sleep for endless hours until the next day looms dauntingly bearing the same struggles.

Regards, A citizen. l Rushiba Ahmad is a freelance contributor.

DT

OPINION 13

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Let facts speak for themselves Modi's government has made progress which Congress did not see coming

Rahul Gandhi's attempts to disturb parliament are a childish way to win a losing argument

What is not comprehensible is the impatience, immaturity, cynicism, and negativity which Rahul Gandhi, abetted by his mother Sonia Gandhi, has brought into play. No one has told them that this is counter-productive, and will diminish Congress even further

n MJ Akbar

T

his might seem a far-fetched thought, but then these are overstretched times. Would it help if Indians renamed the monsoon session of parliament? It ends each year just before Independence Day: Could they call it the Azadi session? The memory of the founding generation just might persuade those who invest in pandemonium to consider the erosion in credibility of institutions central to democracy.

Is this the legacy they want to bequeath to their children? Will the class of 2084 recall 2015 with even a 100th of the admiration they possess for the great generation of 1947?

There is now only one session of parliament which proceeds in comparative calm: The operative word is comparative, not calm.

No one disturbs the budget process because all sides of the House recognise that govern-

REUTERS

ment would come to a standstill. When are we going to realise that if mayhem continues, democracy might come to a standstill?

There is no great mystery about why Congress, under the petulant leadership of Rahul Gandhi, decided to wreck every day of the last Rajya Sabha session and severely damage the Lok Sabha. When a fading opposition encounters good governance and a revived economy, it must fight for relevance.

This is understandable. What is not comprehensible is the impatience, immaturity, cynicism, and negativity which Rahul Gandhi, abetted by his mother Sonia Gandhi, has brought into play. No one has told them that this is counter-productive, and will diminish Congress even further.

The story begins in May, on the first anniversary of the Modi administration.

First advantage went to Congress, particularly when it got some surprise help from celebrities who felt that they had been denied a role in the new dispensation. Their attack was around a theme: Modi was all talk and no delivery. The government took a few days to organise itself, but recovered its poise. So far, so normal.

The rules of a five-year engagement in our system are logical. You skirmish for three years, then start building momentum before the war for the jugular occupies the last year of any term. Rahul Gandhi, however, decided to launch an immediate now-or-never campaign, using everything in his arsenal, undeterred by the truth that his armoury was

largely light artillery or dud ammunition.

Perhaps he thought that if he could batter the prime minister enough, it would open a breach that he and his allies in Bihar, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, could exploit in the October Assembly elections. In such a partisan scenario, they would then hold the political advantage, damage India’s economic recovery, undermine Narendra Modi’s development plank, and make the Modi government ineffective for the rest of its term.

The triumvirate of Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar, and Lalu Yadav made two mistakes.

They underestimated the prime minister’s resilience. And they refused to recognise that facts were not on their side.

Facts survive when polemics have withered. Facts influence voters far more than rhetoric. Facts are the big boys in this game.

We shall let the facts speak for themselves.

On August 14, Mint, an independent business newspaper, published a twopage spread of graphics listing precisely what Prime Minister Modi had achieved in hard, practical terms during his first 14 months in office. At the top of the list was financial inclusion, which is the present administration’s core program to improve the quality of life among the impoverished.

Through the Jan Dhan Yojana, an astonishing 174.5 million new accounts have been opened. For the first time, hundreds of millions have access to bank services which will become their vehicle to security and opportunity. On August 15, the Prime Minister explained the meaning of opportunity. He asked the roughly 125,000 bank branches across the country to provide loans on easy terms to small start-ups which will be owned by tribals, Dalits, and women.

Think about what this will mean to the poor, and the number of jobs this start-up, standup program will create at the base level.

Over 80 million people have already taken insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, and nearly 30 million in the inexpensive life insurance plan. This initiates the first social security for those who need it most. The Mudra plan has already disbursed funds worth Rs137cr to the self-employed who earn a living, to take an example, by selling vegetables on carts.

To repeat, or even list, all the financial empowerment schemes would take up far more space than this column has, but at least I can mention the various heads: Financial inclusion, competitiveness, health and hygiene, reviving rural India, subsidy reforms, reviving urban India.

The Indian voter is deeply unimpressed by the politics of hypocrisy. Rahul Gandhi’s cynical attempt to hurt India’s economy for his personal interest has damaged Congress.

For this party, the fortunes of one dynasty are more important than the nation’s recovery.

One day, possibly soon, the last dynasty in India’s history will realise this. l MJ Akbar is an Indian journalist. He is the founder of The Sunday Guardian. This article was first published in The Sunday Guardian.

DT

14 OPINION

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

One year after Operation Protective Edge Israel's treatment of Palestenians in Gaza is now a genuine reason for concern

n Avisekh Konar

E

very child in Gaza, seven years or younger, has, in their little lifetime, seen three of the most murderous atrocities committed by Israel. Israel calls this periodic assault of Gaza “mowing the grass” -- a chilling phrase which typifies the systematic dehumanisation of the Palestinian people, necessary for the acquiescence and approval of the Israeli population for the genocidal campaigns of their government.

August 2015 marks one year of the completion of Operation Protective Edge (OPE), the most recent of these assaults, which was launched on July 8, 2014 and continued for 51 days. 2,251 Palestinians were killed, of whom 1,462 were civilians, 299 were women, and 551 children. More than 11,200 Palestinians were injured, of whom 3,540 were women and 3,436 were children. 10% of the injured suffered permanent disability. 1,000 children have been permanently disabled. On the other hand, 73 Israelis were killed, all but six were civilians; 1600 were injured, of whom 270 were children.

Professor Ilan Pappe, an eminent Israeli historian, coined the term “incremental genocide” to describe Israel’s repeated assault on Gaza. Many thought, after the destruction of Gaza from Operation Cast Lead in 2008, and the wide-spread international condemnation it drew, that Israel would not quite wreak devastation on that scale. OPE, sadly, proved them wrong. More than 142 families lost more than three or more members in a single Israeli attack, and up to 1,500 children were orphaned.

The gruesome stories of innocent civilians killed are too many to recount. While some were killed attempting to bury their dead, some were children playing in a park near the beach, some killed were as old as 75 and 85 years, some died while they were eating breakfast, and then there were others who died in refugee camps where they thought they could escape death.

Two tragic incidents stand out in some ways: One was the killing of four children playing football on the beach, witnessed firsthand by Guardian reporter Peter Beaumont.

The children were killed trying to escape, when a second shell hit them, raising concerns that Israel was deliberately targeting children. In Peter Beaumont’s words: “The second shell hit the beach, those firing apparently adjusting their fire to target the fleeing survivors. In the space of 40 seconds, four boys who had been playing hide and seek among fishermen's shacks on the wall were dead. They were aged between seven and 11; two were named Mohammad, one Zakaria, and the youngest Ahed. All were members of the extended Bakr family.”

The other publicised incident was when nine people were killed and 15 wounded while they were watching the World Cup semi-final match at the Fun Time Beach café, “where dozens broke their Ramadan fast on Wednesday night before settling down to watch Argentina play the Netherlands.” The complete disregard for civilian lives appalled

the international community.

Many human rights groups documented and expressed grave concern over the increasing number of cases where civilians were directly targeted by Israeli forces. The UN report noted: “Human rights organisations have expressed serious concerns regarding incidents where civilians or civilian objects have been directly hit by Israeli airstrikes, in circumstances where there was allegedly no rocket fire or armed group activity in the close vicinity … raise concerns about the targeting of civilians.”

Human Rights Watch, in a report called “Gaza: Israeli soldiers shoot and kill fleeing civilians” stated: “Israeli forces in the southern Gaza town of Khuza’a fired on and killed civilians in apparent violation of the laws of war in several incidents between July 23 and 25, 2014. Deliberate attacks on civilians who are not participating in the fighting are war crimes.”

Another report by Human Rights Watch, entitled “Israel/Palestine: Unlawful Israeli airstrikes kill civilians,” remarked: “Such attacks committed deliberately or recklessly

The gruesome stories of innocent civilians killed are too many to recount.

While some were killed attempting to bury their dead, some were children playing in a park

Even after a year, Gaza is yet to be repaired constitute war crimes under the laws of war applicable to all parties.”

At the height of the devastation, over 500,000 Palestinians were internally displaced. 108,000 Palestinians were rendered homeless, 18,000 housing units were destroyed or severely damaged, and a year later, not one of them have been rebult. The Gaza Power Plant (GPP), hit by an Israeli airstrike on July 29, 2014, has been inoperable for a long time, resulting in power-cuts of 18 hours a day on an average for an extended period of time, impacting hospitals, bakeries, refrigerators, etc; which, according to yet another Human Rights Watch Report, titled “Gaza: Widespread Impact of Power Plant Attack,” is “an unlawful disproportionate attack under the laws of war, causing far greater civilian harm than military gain.”

According to an Amnesty International report, “Gaza: Attacks on UN school and power plant are likely war crimes,” the attack on GPP constitutes a “collective punishment of Gaza’s population,” which caused disruption to the water and waste-water situation,

and strained the already fragile condition of health services due to the closure of hospitals and primary health centres. Israel had targeted the same electricity plan during assaults in 2006 and 2008-09.

The destruction of GPP led to the shutdown of water treatment plants, and Israeli tank fire put Gaza’s largest sewage treatment plant out of commission. Raw, untreated sewage coming from underground sewage pipes, destroyed by bombardment, created concerns for disease as, on occasions, it created trails of raw, untreated sewage draining in to the Mediterranean Sea. This resulted in a reduced catch for fishermen, and increased concerns for spreading of disease, not only from the sewage water directly, but also from consuming the fish from contaminated water.

An Oxfam report estimated that 15,000 tons of solid waste had leaked into the streets of Gaza. The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs report entitled “Gaza Emergency Situation Report” observes: “The GPP remains inoperable following an Israeli airstrike on July 29 and

REUTERS

despite extensive repairs, electricity outages of 18 hours a day continue in most areas across Gaza. Extensive damage to the water and waste-water system means that 20% to 30% of households, or 450,000 people, remain unable to access municipal water due to damage and/or low pressure.”

The illegal blockade of Gaza by Israel makes re-construction efforts all the more difficult. Palestinian Housing Minister Mufid al-Hasayneh laid the first brick, as part of re-construction, on July 22 this year, more than a year after the bombings started. It is time that the international community does not let Israel get away with impunity after committing crimes like this. We should pressurise to build public opinion to force Israel to pay for re-construction efforts in Gaza, which would at least mean that the next time they embark on what they call “mowing the grass,” they will incorporate this cost. l Avishek Konar, PhD, is an Economist, and currently an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata.

16

$3bn foreign aid received in FY15

17

New import policy entails measures for safe foods

19

Stocks fall as volatility persists

20

DT

Business

15

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Why Google and Larry Page created their own Alphabet

BB magic helps cut default loan n Jebun Nesa Alo The growth rate of default loans has come down to single digit again in the second quarter from the double digit of the previous quarter, thanks to loan rescheduling by the large business groups under the special rescheduling package offered by the central bank.

Total default loans decreased by Tk2,141 crore to Tk52,516 crore in June 2015 compared to Tk54,657 crore in January-March quarter The gross default loan rate stood at 9.67% in April-June quarter of the year 2015 from 10.47% in the previous quarter.

The amount of the total default loans decreased by Tk2,141 crore to Tk 52,516 crore in June 2015 compared to Tk54,657 crore in January-March quarter.

According to Bangladesh Bank’s latest data, “The total outstanding loan stood at Tk5,43,085crore in June.”

Though the default loan amount decreased

TREND OF DEFAULT LOAN 12.00%

11.60%

11.50% 11.00%

10.45%

10.50%

10.47%

10.75%

10.00% 9.50% 9.00% 8.50%

9.69%

9.67%

8.93%

8.00% Dec-13

Mar-14

Jun-14

in June, it is still up by Tk2,316 crore compared to Tk50,155 crore in October-December quarter of the last year.

The banking sector has experienced of single digit default loans rate of 9.69% in October-December quarter of the last year, thanks to the measures taken by the central bank.

However, the trend could not sustain any longer as most of the clients, who rescheduled their loans by taking advantages of the relaxed policy, failed to pay their installments.

Earlier, the default loan rate came down to single digit in October-December quarter of the year 2009. Then it remained below 10%

Sep-14

Dec-14

Mar-15

Jun-15

till July-September quarter of 2012.

The banking sector witnessed a rise in NPL since last quarter of 2012 and also saw abnormal growth during the year 2013.

Bangladesh Bank relaxed its reschedule policy in December 2013 to facilitate the business groups affected by political unrest.

As a result, the default loan rate came down to single digit 8.93% in last quarter year 2013, thanks to huge loan rescheduling under the relaxed policy.

The trend did not sustain longer as the clients, who rescheduled their loans taking advantages, failed to pay their installments further.

The banks were asked to bring down the rate of default loans to single digit at any cost by the end of December 2014.

The default loan rate came down to single digit again in June this year as some large groups, who applied for loan restructuring, have been shown as unclassified in June closing statement of the banks, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

Around fifteen large business groups that have defaulted repayment of around Tk12,500crore loans have applied for restructuring their debts under a Bangladesh Bank policy issued in January to aid top defaulters on grounds of prolonged political crisis.The deadline of applying loan restructuring under the policy expired on June 30 this year.

The central bank has approved Janata Bank’s proposal for rescheduling loans against four companies amounting to Tk3,700 crore under the large-loan restructuring policy.

The four companies are-Beximco Group with Tk1,849crore, Jamuna Group Tk598 crore, Thermax Group Tk666 crore while Ratanpur Group Tk691 crore.

On January 27 this year, Bangladesh Bank had allowed defaulters of large loans with above Tk500 crore to restructure their loans considering the ground that they were badly affected by the then political turmoil across the country. l

Export earnings fall short of target in July n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The country’s overall export earnings missed the target by 15.65% or $487m in the wake of a drastic fall in European zone in July, the first month of the current fiscal year.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released yesterday, Bangladesh earned $2.62bn in the month of July, which was 15.65% less than the target of $3.11bn set for the month.

The government has set an export target of $33.5bn for the current fiscal year.

The EPB data shows that the country earned $1.45bn from Euro zone in July which is 16.29% less than the previous year’s earning of $1.73bn.

Among the sectors, raw jute performed well and exceeded the target by 40.54% after earning $14.63m against the target of $10.41m while leather earned $51.94m, a 1.62% rise against the target of $51.11m.

“The shipment of export-oriented products was delayed because of the holiday on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, which caused downswing in export earnings,” Prof Mustafi-

zur Rahman, executive director, Centre for Policy Dialogue, told the Dhaka Tribune.

But this effect is not a sustained one and the export earnings will revive in August, he said.

Mustafizur also urged the government to remove infrastructural barriers and also called RMG entrepreneurs to enhance productivity to remain competitive in the global market as Bangladesh competitors are doing well.

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

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

Meanwhile, the country’s RMG export earnings registered a 12% decline to $2.22bn in July, which was the highest since September of FY2009-10 when it registered a 26.83% fall. In July of the last fiscal year, Bangladesh’s apparel sector earned $2.52bn.

As per the data, Knitwear products earned

$1.13bn with 13.80% downswing while woven fetched $1.09bn registering a 10.11 fall in terms of earnings.

Meanwhile, 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.

RMG sector people blamed compliance issues and the rise of production cost in line with the implementation of new wage structure and installation of safety equipment for the drastic fall in export earnings.

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. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

$3bn foreign aid received in FY15 n Tribune Report

‘Foreign pledges continue to slow down because of the current political standoff, and donors have adopted wait and see policy’ The receipt was more than 10% down from the fiscal’s target for foreign aid of $3.4bn.

The aid commitment for FY15 declined as some donors were cautious over the current political impasse, officials said. The commitment during the period was around $5.21bn, down 10.8% from $5.84bn in FY14 and 14% from fiscal target of $6bn.

Of the total commitment in the last fiscal year, around $4.75bn came in the form of loan and $455m as grants.

An ERD official said: “Foreign pledges continue to slow down due to the current polit-

FOREIGN AID FLOW Commitment Figure in US$bn

6 5

4.99

4.49

4 3 2

1.77

2.78

2.03

Imports through Burimari Land Port in Lalmonirhat district resumed yesterday after remaining suspended for around two weeks.

The traders and the clearing and forwarding agents suspended the import of goods on August 4, protesting the decision of National Board of Revenue.

The NBR issued the directive that all the goods entering through Burimari Port have to be unloaded in the customs yard first in presence of custom officials and later taken to the warehouse of clearing and forwarding agents.

However, C&F agents stood against the decision. They said the new system would increase their loading and unloading costs along with carriage.

Usually, trucks come in the Burimari zero line to unload imported goods, mostly boulders, limestone, coal, fly ash and fruits from two countries – India and Bhutan.

Earlier C&F agents were allowed to take the imported goods to their own warehouse after paying duties.

But the customs authorities took the decision as there were allegations that the traders do not reveal all import items due to lack of thorough check by the authorities.

Later on Friday, both parties came to a consensus that the earlier system would be fol-

5.21 3

3

FY13-14

FY14-15

1 0

FY10-11

FY11-12

FY12-13

ical standoff. Donors have adopted wait and see policy.”

Among the development partners, the leading multilateral donor World Bank disbursed highest amount of $10.2bn, followed

by Asian Development Bank $711.59m, JICA $294.02m, India $93.88m, China $148m and IDB $127.21 million.

Top 10 development partners according to contribution are IDA, ADB, Japan, the USA, UN systems, the UK, Canada, Germany, the EU and the Netherlands.

During the period, the government had paid over $1.2bn, of which $923.5m as principal amount and $182.5m as interest, to the development partners against the outstand-

Import resumes thru’ Burimari land port after 12 days Samiul Basher Anik and n Syed Mohammad Jamil Khan

5.84

5.3

Disbursement

Source:ERD

The country has received more than US$3bn foreign assistance in the last fiscal year, which was similar amount compared to the previous fiscal year, according to Economic Relations Division (ERD) figures released yesterday.

Of the total foreign assistance, development partners disbursed $2.5bn as credit and $5.7bn as grant in FY15 while it was $2.3bn as credit and $7.3bn as grant in the previous fiscal.

lowed from now on and the import will begin from Sunday. After the consensus was made, the traders started importing goods through the Burimari Land Port which mainly deals with products imported from Bhutan and India.

Burimari Land Port C&F Agents Association president Ruhul Amin Babul told the Dhaka Tribune they were protesting the decision as it leads to cost hike.

“We have to count additional cost if the NBR directive was implemented. We have written to the authorities and are glad that they realised the matter,” he said.

In the 12 days of suspension, several hundreds of goods-laden trucks remain stranded on the Indian side, officials said. As the port was open from Sunday, the trucks started to enter in Bangladesh side.

Till filing of the report at 6:30pm, trucks from India and Bhutan were entering in Bangladesh from the Indian side at Changrabandha of Mekhaliganj in West Bengal.

Confirming the matter, Burimari Land Port Customs Assistant Commissioner Billal Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune import activities became normal at the port from yesterday as traders resumed import.

“They (traders) suspended the import, but we were open every day. The export was normal, but as there were no import, the government had to count a huge amount of revenue loss,” he said. l

ing loans.

In the corresponding period of last fiscal, the government had paid $1.3bn, of which over $1bn as principal amount and $206m.

An official said it is very often seen that there is a gap between aid commitments and disbursements, resulting in huge pipeline of foreign aids.

He said the receiving countries have to perform better in some key things like approval of projects and meeting conditions in a speedy way to quick release of the funds.

“If the government releases the fund faster, the disbursements and investment would increase, and so as the GDP growth. Otherwise, the development efforts would be affected.” l

Brazilian farmer hopes for sweeter coffee market n AFP, Mococa Brazilian farmer Marcos Croce has woken up and smelled the coffee - embracing the organic trend and bucking Brazil’s long-held status as a mass producer of poor quality beans.

His Hacienda Ambiental Fortaleza plantation, surrounded by tropical plants and trees in Sao Paulo state, goes against everything that has made Brazil the world’s biggest, though hardly most appreciated, source of coffee.

Croce’s specialty-grade coffee grows organically: some of the plants in the sun, others in the shade, and the soil are fertilizer free.

“We will never manage to compete in terms of quantity, but here we have managed to stand apart with consistent quality,” Croce, 62, said as he walked between rows of shrubs speckled with red coffee beans.

The hacienda stands 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) above sea level, some 185 miles (300 kilometers) north of Brazil’s financial capital and biggest city, Sao Paulo.

It has been producing coffee since 1890, most of that with an eye on the mass market and using fertilizers and pesticides. But when Croce and his wife took over the family business in 2001 they switched to organic, a shocking - but ultimately beneficial, he believes - change in rhythm.

“Our production dropped 80%,” Croce remembers.

Before, the plantation collected 10,000 bags of coffee a year. Croce would not reveal the current output. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) has organised programme to commemorate national mourning day at the auditorium of its training division. Chairperson of DESCO, Dr Ahmad Kaikaus was present on the occasion among others

The first hajj flight of the year to Saudi Arabia has taken off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka yesterday. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon and Religious Affairs Minister Matiur Rahman were present at the airport among others

DT

BUSINESS 17

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

New import policy entails measures for safe foods n Asif Showkat Kallol

Importers will have to submit clearance certificate of their goods to the Bangladesh customs authorities for the import of food stuff including rice and wheat.

The traders who import fruits and fishes from other SAARC nations will also need to present radiation-free certificate in favour of their goods.

These compulsory provisions have been included in the country’s new import policy, the draft of which was finalised yesterday.

The three-year policy will be placed at cabinet committee on economic affairs meeting this week for approval, said sources concernced.

A series of meetings with different stakeholders were held to prepare the draft drawing more than a hundred recommendations and proposals. The policy asks for ensuring the imported milk and other food items for children and adults are safe.

It suggests preventing import of 12 items and restricting import of 50 items including shrimp, poppy seed, furnace oil, industrial sugar, artificial soybean oil, fishing net, polyethylene bag, three-wheelers, micro-bus, mini-bus, jeep and equipment of motorcycle.

The banned items include not mentioned map of Bangladesh, chart, geographic global, import of terrorist books, newspaper, film, old types writers, phone, old computers, machine control air pollution. An entrepreneur can import capital machinery of $200,000 a year while one procure rice, pulse, onion, ginger, maize, soybean and fish from Myanmar of $50,000 annually and other items of $30,000.

The amount can be increased to $2m when the government will import rice from Myanmar.

Cows will be imported from the European Union countries with clearance certificate that the animals are disease-free from the countries of origin. l

Grameenphone’s Chief Marketing Officer Yasir Azman announces ‘EasyNet’ offer at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

GP offers EasyNet to build internet awareness n Tribune Report Grameenphone (GP) Limited launched ‘EasyNet’, an easy solution process that will build internet awareness among unconnected customers.

EasyNet will allow customers to learn about the internet through video tutorials, try free internet sites for themselves and buy small data packages, all without an existing data subscription.

Yasir Azman, chief marketing officer of Grameenphone announced the new offer yesterday at a hotel in the capital.

YasirAzman said, “EasyNet will help our customers to learn about the internet and support the power of knowledge to move ahead in their lives.”

To get the opportunity customers will have

to dial *5000*55# to receive a micro site link from which they may watch a video tutorial on the basic ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the internet.

“Primarily, the easy net offer has introduced for three months and hope it will continue after that. GP has targeted to reach 7.5 lakh people who are unaware of the benefits and relevance of internet. It will be our first steps towards internet,” said the newly appointed CMO of GP. Upon learning about the internet, users can browse through selected zero rated sites such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and others for free to experience the internet for themselves.

Customers can also buy small internet packages through the link for future use.

Grameenphone CMO said, “This solution is another indication of our commitment to pro-

vide ‘Internet for all’. Lack of awareness on Internet is a significant barrier for the spread of data services and we believe that Easy Net will help us to significantly reduce this barrier.”

Grameenphone has an ambition to provide ‘Internet for all’ in Bangladesh. The company has covered the whole country with its network and has been aggressively rolling out 3G services.

GP has also been working with different partners on reducing the price for internet-enabled devices, in its efforts to promote data in Bangladesh and help in the realization its Internet for all ambition.

Nehal Ahmed, marketing director of Grameenphone, Sayed Talat Kamal, head of external communications and Tariq-Ul-Islam, general manager, wireless & broadband of GP were also present at the press conference. l

‘Accessibility, affordability key to ensuring healthcare’ n Syeda Samira Sadeque Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), a leading pharmaceutical company in the world, has partnered with Bangladesh’s Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Limited (HPL). They signed a strategic partnership deal last week, which is expected to allow MSD to provide advanced medical services through HPL. The partnership will also give a special focus on addressing women health issues, sharing scientific knowledge and global experiences and bringing unique patient-centric solutions in Bangladesh.

KG Ananthakrishnan, president and managing director of MSD in South Asia region, has shared the company’s plans and strategies here with Dhaka Tribune. Ananthakrishnan has an extensive career in pharmaceutical sector spanning almost four decades, and is currently in charge of MSD’s operation in the South Asia region which in-

cludes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

Why did you choose to partner with HPL?

Before we enter any kind of partnership, we do our research and identify the right partner. Fortunately, HPL’s portfolio, which focuses on specialty in treatment of diseases, matches with ours. So, this is a good merger in terms of our synergy.

What do you expect out of this partnership?

Any partnership we enter is a strategic partnership, that is, we’re looking at it from a long-term perspective.

We are starting with three vaccines and our whole idea is how we further strengthen this partnership bringing in newer specialty products through HPL, research products – how we make it available in the Bangladesh market. That is what we’re looking forward to seeing.

What is the biggest challenge in healthcare service providing in this part of the world today?

One of the biggest challenges in this part of the world is access (to medical facilities). I am talking about lack of awareness, acceptability and affordability, as well as infrastructure constraints. If the healthcare challenge has to be addressed in South Asia, it is important to address all the facets of the problem in a systematic manner.

Could you please elaborate?

First of all is raising awareness about a disease – what it is, how can it be cured, managed and prevented.

With that you have to have adequate medical service infrastructure too like more medical institutions, skilled manpower, technicians, nurses and quality diagnostic facilities. So it’s very important that we must meet the infrastructural necessities.

Once this challenge is addressed, we need to ensure that healthcare products and services are available at prices which are within affordability of local people. Fortunately in this part of the world, pharmaceutical products are by and large are available at low prices.

You’ve been in this field for a long time.

What is your mantra in addressing diseases?

I always say the disease has to be addressed in a complete fashion. Just addressing one small facet of it will not produce a complete solution.

It has to be addressed holistically. And that is why I say: it is a multidimensional problem which has to be addressed with multiple stakeholders, each one utilising their own strength, knowledge, research and other capacities.

That’s the reason why we say in our own logo: Be Well. Our whole idea is based on what it is that we can do in our own capacity to make the world well, to make the patients well in countries where we work. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures GREENDELMF: 4.50% Cash Dividend. Record date: 06.09.2015. EPU= Tk. 0.49.

ABB1STMF: EPU= Tk. 1.67. 15% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015.

EBLNRBMF: EPU= Tk. 0.43.

6% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015.

PHPMF1: EPU= Tk. 0.68. 7.50% Unit Dividend Record date: 07.09.2015.

POPULAR1MF: EPU= Tk. 0.86.

12% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015.

FBFIF: EPU= Tk. 0.89, 9% Unit dividend. Record date: 03.09.2015.

TRUSTB1MF: EPU= Tk. 0.75, 8% Unit dividend. Record date: 03.09.2015.

EBL1STMF: EPU=Tk. 0.66, 7% Unit Dividend Record date: 03.09.2015.

EXIM1STMF: EPU=Tk. 0.79, 8% Unit Dividend. Record date: 03.09.2015.

IFIC1STMF: EPU= Tk. 0.99, 10% Unit dividend. Record date: 03.09.2015 1JANATAMF: EPU=Tk. 1.04, 12% Unit dividend. Record date: 03.09.2015 RELIANCE1: EPU= Tk. 1.10. 11% cash dividend. Record date: 06.09.2015.

AIMS1STMF: EPU= Tk. 2.24.

175% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015 DBH1STMF: EPU= Tk. 0.45. 4% Cash Dividend. Record date: 06.09.2015.

SQURPHARMA: (Q1): Consolidated EPS for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 3.28 as against Tk. 2.51 for April-June, 2014; Consolidated NAV per share was Tk. 59.38

as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 56.09 as of March 31, 2015.

JAMUNABANK: (HY): EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.75 as against Tk. 0.46 for Jan-June, 2014. NAV per share was Tk. 18.27 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 15.46 as of June 30, 2014.

Dividend/AGM ICBSONALI1: 10% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015.

EPU= of Tk. 1.03, NAV per unit of Tk. 9.69.

IFILISLMF1: 10% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015. EPU= Tk. 1.02, NAV per unit of Tk. 9.86.

ICB3RDNRB: 5% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015. EPU= Tk. 0.51, NAV per unit of Tk. 7.58.

PF1STMF: 5% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015. EPU= Tk. 0.53, NAV per unit of Tk. 7.86.

PRIME1ICBA: 7% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015.

EPU= Tk. 0.56, NAV per unit of Tk. 8.37.

ICBEPMF1S1: 7.5% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015.

EPU= Tk. 0.62, NAV per unit of Tk. 8.13.

ICBAMCL2ND: 5% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015.

EPU=Tk. 0.54, NAV per unit of Tk. 8.50.

ICB2NDNRB: 10% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015.

EPU= Tk. 0.87, NAV per unit of Tk. 10.99.

ICB1STNRB: 32% cash dividend, Record Date: 02.09.2015.

EPU= Tk. 2.46, NAV per unit of Tk. 24.17.

ATCSLGF: 7.50% Cash and 2.50% Unit Dividend Record date: 01.09.2015.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company EXIM Bank 1 MF-A Beach Hatchery -A Apex Foods -A Northern Jute -Z Bangladesh Welding -B Ratanpur Steel -N Al-Haj Textile -A Central Pharm-A Shahjibazar Power-N Monno Ceramic -B

Closing (% Change) 11.86 9.69 9.04 8.28 8.05 7.33 7.13 6.23 5.53 5.06

CSE GAINER Company Beach Hatchery -A EBL NRB M.F.-A Bangladesh Welding -B Ratanpur Steel -N Apex SpinningA BD Fixed Income MF-A Central Pharm-A MutualTrust Bank-A National Housing Fin.-B Shahjibazar Power-N

Closing (% Change) 9.79 9.43 8.82 7.64 6.89 6.67 6.23 5.52 5.29 5.25

DSE LOSER Company Square Pharma -A EBL NRB M.F.-A 7th ICB M F-A EBL First M F-A Trust Bank 1st MF-A 8th ICB M F-A 2nd ICB M F -A 6th ICB M F-A 3rd ICB M F-A Samata LeatheR -Z

Closing (% Change) -11.57 -10.42 -9.75 -9.26 -8.93 -8.55 -8.34 -8.32 -8.05 -6.27

CSE LOSER Company Square Pharma -A 7th ICB M F-A Phoenix Insur -A EBL First M F-A Hwa Well Textiles-A Libra Infusions-A Trust Bank 1st MF-A Continental Insur. -A 1st ICB M F -A Eastern Bank - A

Closing (% Change) -11.50 -9.91 -9.65 -9.26 -9.14 -8.67 -7.27 -6.25 -5.91 -4.96

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features August 16, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

5,334.05 131,463,113 123,263

Traded Issues

321

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

71

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

243

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,693.85

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.65

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 420.41 118.76 143.34 1020.65 247.58 933.82 15.04 623.74 1013.69 13.50 61.65 53.83 38.80 143.82 41.29 27.94 98.24 87.26 109.47 120.78 0.42

% change 7.88 2.23 2.69 19.13 4.64 17.51 0.28 11.69 19.00 0.25 1.16 1.01 0.73 2.70 0.77 0.52 1.84 1.64 2.05 2.26 0.01

Million Taka 33.07 9.49 6.30 78.36 13.21 79.95 35.29 57.81 0.71 3.76 2.65 3.04 18.15 6.99 0.59 2.62 10.74 14.35 10.73 0.01

Average (% Change) 12.05 5.86 3.83 4.64 4.28 3.90 3.71 4.05 1.22 3.78

Average (% Change) 5.24 9.43 4.47 3.75 4.42 6.67 4.15 1.10 5.29 1.55

Average (% Change) -10.83 -9.07 -3.79 -5.83 -7.51 -9.25 -9.26 -8.74 -7.95 -7.11

Average (% Change) -10.80 -9.91 -9.65 -8.74 -9.25 -7.50 -6.88 -7.00 -5.91 -5.04

CSE

ClosingAvg. 6.60 21.12 142.48 292.51 25.10 67.21 138.21 30.05 194.80 37.03

ClosingAvg. 21.07 5.80 25.46 67.44 77.89 8.00 30.09 16.48 23.90 195.59

ClosingAvg. 239.06 4.31 96.21 5.01 5.17 61.53 263.16 53.75 281.00 28.22

Closing 6.60 21.50 147.10 300.70 25.50 68.80 139.70 30.70 198.50 37.40

Closing

DHIGH 6.60 21.50 147.90 302.00 25.90 69.40 141.90 30.80 199.80 37.60

DHIGH

21.30 5.80 25.90 69.00 79.10 8.00 30.70 17.20 23.90 198.40

Closing 237.00 4.30 96.30 4.90 5.10 62.00 265.80 54.00 281.00 28.40

DLOW 6.60 19.90 137.00 280.00 23.50 63.90 130.90 28.90 186.30 35.00

DLOW

21.30 5.80 26.10 69.90 81.00 8.00 30.90 17.20 23.90 199.70

DHIGH

20.00 5.80 23.80 64.00 74.10 8.00 29.00 16.30 23.90 187.40

DLOW

241.30 4.80 99.90 5.30 5.50 63.00 266.10 54.50 281.00 29.90

236.10 4.10 96.10 4.90 5.00 61.20 265.00 53.10 281.00 28.00

ClosingAvg.

Closing

DHIGH

DLOW

239.05 99.10 20.60 4.91 32.75 416.27 5.14 14.88 1,400.00 24.88

237.10 99.10 20.60 4.90 32.80 411.00 5.10 15.00 1,400.00 24.90

241.50 99.20 20.60 5.00 32.80 440.00 5.20 15.00 1,400.00 25.10

236.50 99.00 20.60 4.80 32.70 411.00 5.00 14.80 1,400.00 24.80

% change 8.53 2.45 1.62 20.21 3.41 20.61 0.00 9.10 14.91 0.18 0.97 0.68 0.78 4.68 1.80 0.15 0.68 2.77 3.70 2.77 0.00

Million Taka 453.48 128.25 149.64 1099.01 260.79 1013.76 15.04 659.03 1071.50 14.21 65.41 56.48 41.84 161.97 48.29 28.52 100.87 98.00 123.81 131.51 0.43

Total

% change 7.93 2.24 2.62 19.21 4.56 17.72 0.26 11.52 18.73 0.25 1.14 0.99 0.73 2.83 0.84 0.50 1.76 1.71 2.16 2.30 0.01

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

Turnover in Million

Latest EPS

0.000 24.173 28.232 4.603 48.569 276.893 127.776 148.189 321.014 5.749

Turnover in Million

0.56 1.29 0.36 1.75 -0.80 4.17 1.07 1.97 8.44 0.16

Latest EPS

3.119 0.001 4.768 15.376 0.834 0.008 12.713 0.008 0.007 20.586

Turnover in Million

11.8 16.4 395.8 167.1 -ve 16.1 129.2 15.3 23.1 231.4

Latest PE

1.29 0.61 -0.80 4.17 2.52 0.51 1.97 2.70 2.24 8.44

Latest EPS

317.445 0.120 0.203 2.650 11.582 0.966 0.050 2.064 0.014 0.068

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

16.3 9.5 -ve 16.2 30.9 15.7 15.3 6.1 10.7 23.2

Latest PE

13.12 0.61 20.76 0.69 0.69 17.26 55.89 13.93 35.57 -0.05

Latest EPS

21.130 0.040 0.024 0.389 0.033 0.005 0.573 0.010 0.008 0.001

18.2 7.1 4.6 7.3 7.5 3.6 4.7 3.9 7.9 -ve

Latest PE

13.12 20.76 3.96 0.69 2.32 3.38 0.69 3.02 142.00 4.06

18.2 4.8 5.2 7.1 14.1 123.2 7.4 4.9 9.9 6.1

CSE key features August 16, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

387.81 10,654,400 16,148

Traded Issues

249

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

58

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

183

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,604.60

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.57

DT

BUSINESS 19

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Stocks fall as volatility persists n Tribune Report

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

LafargeS Cement-A UNITED AIR-A Delta Life Insu. -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A

VolumeShares 1,647,879 1,327,863 4,119,795 7,799,548 1,265,449 4,931,474 1,118,114 924,475 2,169,183 2,359,964

Value in Million 321.01 317.45 276.89 238.63 203.31 148.19 134.93 127.78 120.92 108.64

% of TotalTurnover 6.02 5.95 5.19 4.47 3.81 2.78 2.53 2.40 2.27 2.04

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N Square Pharma -A Shahjibazar Power-N Islami Bank BD - A BSRM Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-A Ratanpur Steel -N Olympic Accessories -N Central Pharm-A UNITED AIR-A

Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A CVO PetroChem RL-A BD Submarine Cable-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Beximco Pharma -A

872,873 8,029,147 736,302 190,558 5,322,511

209,557 88,390 105,255 637,653 142,774 140,596 227,990 215,349 422,559 1,166,618

551,112 18,032 58,263 196,699 93,932

105.19 85.31 84.35 84.13 80.05

33.67 21.13 20.59 19.49 17.20 16.86 15.38 13.20 12.71 12.48

8.26 7.96 7.93 6.39 6.26

1.97 1.60 1.58 1.58 1.50

8.68 5.45 5.31 5.03 4.44 4.35 3.96 3.40 3.28 3.22

2.13 2.05 2.04 1.65 1.61

ClosingP 198.50 237.00 68.80 30.80 159.80 30.70 120.70 139.70 55.10 46.40

119.80 10.60 113.10 436.70 14.90

ClosingP

Change % 5.53 -11.57 7.33 2.67 -1.11 6.23 3.07 7.13 -1.78 2.20

-1.16 -1.85 -1.22 0.95 -2.61

Change %

159.20 237.10 198.40 30.60 120.60 119.20 69.00 61.00 30.70 10.60

14.90 436.00 135.20 32.30 66.10

-1.36 -11.50 5.25 2.00 2.20 -1.49 7.64 0.33 6.23 -1.85

-1.97 1.16 -1.24 -1.22 -2.51

ClosingY 188.10 268.00 64.10 30.00 161.60 28.90 117.10 130.40 56.10 45.40

121.20 10.80 114.50 432.60 15.30

ClosingY

161.40 267.90 188.50 30.00 118.00 121.00 64.10 60.80 28.90 10.80

15.20 431.00 136.90 32.70 67.80

DHIGH 199.80 241.30 69.40 31.30 162.70 30.80 124.00 141.90 56.60 47.00

DLOW 186.30 236.10 63.90 29.50 159.20 28.90 117.00 130.90 54.50 45.30

121.60 10.80 115.90 450.00 15.50

119.40 10.50 112.20 434.00 14.80

DHIGH

DLOW

162.80 241.50 199.70 31.00 123.80 121.00 69.90 62.70 30.90 10.80

15.30 450.10 137.30 33.20 68.30

158.00 236.50 187.40 29.70 117.60 118.00 64.00 60.50 29.00 10.60

14.80 435.00 134.70 32.20 65.10

AvgPrice 194.80 239.06 67.21 30.60 160.66 30.05 120.67 138.21 55.74 46.04

120.51 10.62 114.56 441.48 15.04

AvgPrice

160.66 239.05 195.59 30.56 120.50 119.91 67.44 61.29 30.09 10.69

14.99 441.55 136.06 32.47 66.64

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

12328.61760

(-) 0.52%

1845.27210

(-) 0.76%

14697.2944

(-) 0.57%

12328.6176

(-) 0.66%

8949.8362

(-) 0.56%

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼

Stocks fell yesterday as investors were cautious in continued volatile market and declining volume of trade.

The benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, lost 25 points or 0.6% to settle at 4,783.

The Shariah index, DSES, was down 6 points or 0.6% to 1,184. The blue chip comprising index, DS30, closed at 1,184, losing nearly 6 points or 0.6%. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, dropped 50 points to 8,950.

Trading activities remained sluggish as DSE stood at Tk530 crore, down 11.6% over the previous session.

Most sectors closed flat with non-banking financial institutions rising highest 0.3% and banks remained unchanged.

Low cap cement sector lost almost 1%, followed by pharmaceuticals 0.7%, food and allied 0.5% and power 0.4%. The market bellwether, telecommunications, ended flat in red. Mutual Fund and textiles also declined marginally.

Losers beat gainers strongly as out of 320 issues

traded, 64 advanced, 214 declined and 42 remained unchanged.

IDLC Investments said the gradual trimming down of the market continued as most scrips traded succumbed to investors’ reluctance.

“In absence of any major development or story that is strong enough to break 4,800 points barrier, indices are falling.”

Shahjibajar Power Company that gained 5.5% was the most traded share with a turnover of over Tk32 crore.

Square Pharmaceuticals came second with shares worth Tk31.8 crore changing hands. The country’s leading drug maker was also the worst loser slumping more than 11% due to dividend adjustment.

Other top turnover leaders included RSRM Steel, Islami Bank, United Power Generation and Distribution Company, Central Pharmaceuticals, BSRM and Al-haj Textile.

Exim Bank First Mutual Fund was the biggest gainer posting a rise of nearly 12% after the fund reported that its net asset value stood at 11.41 per unit on the basis of current market price against the face value of Tk10. l

ANALYST

The gradual trimming down of the market continued as most scrips traded succumbed to investors’ reluctance

DT

20 BUSINESS

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Why Google and Larry Page created their own Alphabet n Reuters With the launch of its new holding company, Alphabet, Google is trying its hardest not to be Microsoft. And Chief Executive Officer Larry Page is signaling that he does not want to be Bill Gates.

The software startup that Gates founded morphed into a tech giant and gradually took over nearly every computer desktop in the world. Its core products — Windows, still the dominant desktop operating system, and productivity software like Office, which made computers invaluable to office workers — minted money. With this cash flow, Microsoft funded a research arm that attracted the smartest engineers and scientists looking to do blue-sky projects.

Then the Internet took over. Bill Gates went off to fight malaria and to save the world.

Microsoft receded slightly into a comfortable existence as an industry behemoth that did extremely well but no longer pulled in the brightest minds. Those computer scientists were accepting jobs somewhere else: Google.

A tech CEO told me this week that hiring the best engineers creates a network effect.

They want to work with the smartest people on the best projects, and the more of them a company attracts, the better projects it can tackle — leading to more top people joining the company. That’s one reason why Seattle became a hub of tech companies like Amazon; Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, had done the groundwork by luring so many techies to town.

Google remains one of the coolest com-

Letters spell the word ‘Alpahbet’ as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris REUTERS panies on earth, measured by the number of people clamoring for jobs there. For the last six years it’s ranked number one on Fortune’s list of the best companies to work for. The company has set the bar for perks that techies in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and elsewhere now consider standard, like the legendary free cafeterias that offer chef-designed meals for all employees. But Google is not the only hot company, and it faces hiring competition from Facebook, Twitter, and a phalanx of newer startups. This is especially true as Googlers

leave to start their own new companies.

Keeping a company on the cutting edge is about more than making workers happy.

They have to feel relevant, heard and purposeful. One of the best ways to imbue work with a sense of purpose is to make people feel as though they are changing the world. Google’s wackier projects have the potential to be earth-shaking: driverless cars could reinvent the way we get around; even the much-mocked Google Glass might turn out to be amazing in the next iteration. The Calico life-extention

project — which focuses on aging and age-related diseases — represents a push toward the holy grail of all technological research.

Commentators have noted the silliness of the name Alphabet and its abc.xyz domain.

That’s not the point; Google is a pretty silly name as well. The message behind the reorganization is that Google is trying its hardest not to become irrelevant or complacent. Page and his co-founder Sergey Brin are aiming to prevent the company from missing out on the next major tech trends. If it puts too much focus on its search and advertising businesses, which make money, to the exclusion of new products, Alphabet risks failing to invent the next amazing product or service that will change the way we live the way Google search did.

The concept behind the reorganization seems to be anointing several non-search divisions as equally important as the core Google business. That’s just optics, because the company will continue to make its money in the same way for the near future. The most important change is in Page’s role, which is shifting to a spot at the top, with Brin, of the new Alphabet entity.

By formalizing a structure that gives weight to its most out-there, passion-project research, Page is inviting the coolest and most innovative engineers to come work for him.

He’s saying that he does not know, as no executive ever does, what his company’s next big product will be. Prioritizing and separating old-school Google from the idea-factory divisions of the company may help ensure he gets the people he needs to make that next idea as big as his search breakthrough. l

Russian energy giant Gazprom faces challenges as output slumps n AFP, Moscow Facing a cold shoulder from Europe and increased competition at home, Russia’s Gazprom has struggled to assert dominance on the global energy market, prompting speculation the energy giant could have no choice but to splinter.

With the Russian economy slipping into recession on the back of lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, the economy ministry predicted Gazprom would produce 414 billion cubic metres of gas this year, an alltime low for the public company sitting atop some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves.

Gazprom’s market capitalisation has plummeted in recent years. Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, the company was worth more than $300bn. Its value now hovers around $50bn, trailing far behind the world’s other major energy companies.

“Gazprom is confronted with the greatest challenge in its history,” Chris Weafer, a partner at the Macro Advisory consultancy firm, told AFP. “What remains to be seen is whether Gazprom becomes an appendage of the foreign ministry or evolves into a global energy com-

pany.” The decline in Gazprom’s value and gas production coincides with mounting tensions with the European Union, which has accused it of catering to Moscow’s geopolitical interests instead of operating according to business principles.

Gazprom is now grappling with a series of issues, including its recent loss of the Ukrainian market, Europe’s energy diversification efforts and increased competition on the domestic market, which jeopardise its status as a gas giant.

Struggling with Asian ambitions

The gas giant struck a $400bn natural-gas deal with China last year, an agreement that was heralded as the symbol of Russia’s pivot to Asia. Moscow and Beijing have since agreed on Russia supplying natural gas to western China.

But Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis have undermined Gazprom’s attempts to turn away from Europe, its traditional market.

Washington’s ban on technology transfers to Russia for certain energy projects, including Gazprom’s Yuzhnoye Kirinskoye field in the far eastern Okhotsk Sea, is stifling Mos-

cow’s ambitions on the Asian market.

Gazprom was set to use the field to develop its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity and, according to some reports, exchange assets with Anglo-Dutch company Shell.

Without US technology, experts fear that Russia will not be able to exploit the field’s resources.

“This is bad news for Russia because the production of LNG is a strategic objective in the region,” said Valery Nesterov, an analyst at Sberbank Investment CIB. The Ukraine conflict, which has propelled Russia’s relations with the West to their post-Soviet nadir, has meanwhile exacerbated Europe’s desire to dissociate from Gazprom.

The company, however, has reiterated that Russian energy resources remain the most accessible to fulfil Europe’s growing demand for gas.nGazprom’s exports to Europe, which are expected to rise this year, still provide the company with hefty revenues in spite of lower energy prices.

TurkStream delays

After the EU blocked Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project - which would have brought Russian gas to western Europe via

the Black Sea - Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the country would work on a new pipeline, the TurkStream, which would run through Turkey.

Gazprom is eager to complete the TurkStream pipeline to bypass Ukraine in its gas shipments, but its construction, which was scheduled to start in June, has been delayed.

Experts said it is unlikely that Ankara will make any decisions on the project until after upcoming general elections.

According to Mikhail Korchemkin, the director of the East European Gas Analysis firm, there are “next to zero” chances that the pipeline will be completed.

Critics have said Gazprom has been slow to react to the ever-changing gas market, clinging to lengthy contracts pegged to fluctuating oil prices. Analysts have claimed that Gazprom could benefit from dividing its mammoth structure into smaller entities that would be more efficient and transparent.

Russian media has reported that Igor Sechin, the influential head of Russian oil giant Rosneft, has asked the government to open up gas exports to competition and to split Gazprom in two, separating energy production and transportation. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Illustration: Anika Farjana

INSIDE

news

Australian Education Open Day 2015 Pacasia Bangladesh has organised “Australian Education Open Day 2015� on August 14 at Hotel Amari, Gulshan 2.

10 reputed universities of Australia participated in the event and interested students were given the floor to talk to the university representatives in person regarding admission requirements, scholarship opportunities, post-study work permits, part-time work opportunities and so on.

The participating universities were Macquarie

T-JUNCTION

De-friending the enemy

University, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, Deakin University, University of Technology Sydney & UTS Insearch, University of Tasmania, La Trobe University, CQ University, TAFE NSW and USQ Sydney.

Entry to this event was open for interested students, all of whom were given the opportunity to apply to those universities without any application fees on the event day.

22

school survival

Let it go

23

beauty

Strobing is in Bake your face

24 health

Settle the sore

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22 T-JUNCTION

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Schoologistics

school survival

Let it go

laughter and secrets. Considering you feel at ease to share your thoughts, feelings and secrets with the other person, evaluate how accurately you can assume their reactions, and know what they are thinking or feeling as well. If you can, thumbs up. Next…

The action As actions speak louder than words, let’s notice what they do for you compared to what you do for them. See if they make time for you, make you a priority as a close friend should, and make equal contributions to work on the friendship.

There are some red flags which make their way to a terrible ending between friends in the long-term, and these should be looked out for. One of them is keeping promises, and the consistency of them doing what they say and saying what they do. If the two doesn’t match, then neither do the both of you.

Some guesswork can also be applied, for you may turn your Sherlock mode on and think if there are ulterior motives for your friend to be your friend. Common reasons could be for popularity (happens more than you know), convenience (your class notes are beautiful!) or boredom (let’s stare out into the classroom together). Everything good?

Now...

Know which friends are genuine, true to you and here to stay; for the others will be gone anyway

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal All throughout your school life, the sheer number of people you will meet shall be countless. The many you will interact with may be in several hundreds, among whom you may befriend much less, but a large number nonetheless. But only a special few will remain in the end, and we do not mean the end of school, but till your very own.

Here’s how you try to know who they are.

news

Radio 2008 app at Google Play Store Good news for bengali music lovers, foe Radio 2008 recently launched their app for all genres of Bengali music, which is now available at Google Play Store.

SSD-TECH Ltd has developed this app to spread Bengali music worldwide, following the launching of their website (www.

Radio2008.com), which is the portal of Radio 2008.

Updated regularly, android users can download and install the app to listen to Bengali movie songs, folk songs, modern band tracks, etc, of their choice. l

The verbal One of the most important requirements for having a friend is for support, and whether you like it or not, you need it. Well, that’s actually the first step, noticing how much the friend supports you when you need it the most. Now if you have a cheerleader in mind, that’s not the only form of support we are referring to. It may also come in the form of compliments and encouragement, sometimes even in silence, as long as s/he is

there for you.

Now comes the part where you notice if they listen, judging from how they reply.

A surefire way of confirming if your words reach their brain or take the expressway out the other ear is by inspecting how much they remember. Moreover, if you’re the one doing all the talking, or vice versa, it means the relationship is imbalanced in terms of priority.

Not all conversations will be full of

The returns At this point, the question you need to ask yourself: does the friend make you feel better and valued? S/he should be there for you, maybe not necessarily agreeing with you but telling you what you need to hear. You take something back from every meet, even something as little as a happier mood.

Lastly, if you’ve realised how lucky you are to have that friend around, you’re doing it right. Gratitude is also a glue that will help you stick together till the end of time, one you will be grateful for.

It may be helpful to remember to treat others the way you want them to treat you. l

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Tempt

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

beauty

Strobing is in Who wouldn’t love to look like a Grecian goddess?

n Farhana Shahnaz The latest edition to every fashionista’s must-try repertoire is strobing, which is basically the make-up terminology for a better and easier counterpart of contouring, and it is changing the make-up game entirely.

half the time and effort of contouring. It is a much easier technique to follow and it is almost impossible to get wrong, unlike its counterpart. Haven’t we all had a disaster experience in our amateur contouring days?

So master this work of art in a breeze because this technique is here to stay.

What is strobing?

The buzzword taking the beauty community by storm, strobing, is touted to be the opposite of contouring. While contouring focuses on creating an illusion of a chiseled face using concealer or powder two shades darker or lighter, strobing focuses solely on highlighting the face. The idea is to make your face pop with a stroke of highlighter strategically applied to your high point and voila!

Strobing already has an ardent fan following because of the extra sculpted and healthy glow it gives to the skin, in

How to strobe?

Thankfully, strobing doesn’t include strenuous steps like contouring. Start off with your base make-up done, the basics.

And then lightly brush the tips of your cheek bones, centre of your nose, below your brow bone, above the arch of your brows, and at the corners of your eyes with a generous amount of your favourite highlighter. Then blend it with a make-up sponge of blender for a flawless dewy finish. For a more polished look, finish off with a light layer of normal foundation atop for the luminosity reminiscent of a Grecian Goddess.

Products to use The cosmetic scene is now afloat with strobing kits, be it a drugstore or high-end.

The trick is to choose one that complements your skin tone. If you are on the fairer side, opt for a highlighter with a pearly finish, and if you are olive or slightly tan, opt for one with a golden tinge that will bring out an understated luminosity. As for brushes,

fan brush is a holy grail product for this technique. Use this brush in gentle sweeping motion for a gentle glow that can pack a mighty punch. A pointed concealer brush also comes in handy in blending out the highlighter in areas close to the eye or at the centre of the nose. l

news out. This time allows your concealer or foundation to melt in your own body heat for a satiny coverage. The results - flawless, creaseless skin all day!

Bake your face Not what you’re thinking

n Farhana Shahnaz You might have wrapped your head around contouring and strobing by now, but the new entrant in the face sculpting game deserves your full attention as well. This technique is

called baking, and has been a long kept secret of makeup artist. However, this involves no “baking” or the use of any cooking utensils.

Baking your face is essentially letting your foundation or concealer to sit on your face for 10-20 minutes before blending it all

An ode to endings

Steps: 1. Do your base make-up by applying primer and foundation and contour if you want a complete glamorous look.

2. Apply your go-to under-eye concealer in a sideways triangular shape while staying in the cheekbone area. You can use loose powder as an alternative to concealer for a subtle highlight.

3. Now sit tight for the next 10-20 minutes and let the magic unfold!

While you are at it you can fill our eyebrows, lip your lips or do your hair.

4. Once the countdown ends, blend with a beauty blender for a smooth finish.

5. For increased longevity, set your makeup with a setting spray or loose powder. l Longitude Latitude 6 presents Nabil Rahman, a poet, journalist and artist, whose exhibition “It hung over us like an anvil” focuses on endings. He starts with “shomapto,” the word that appears at the end of every Bengali film, and uses it to meditate on the looming sense of ending that constantly threaten our lives. It starts today at 2pm.

Find out more: facebook.com/ LaitudeLongitude6 l

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Take Care

health

Settle the sore What you can do at home

sores. Multi-vitamins rich in zinc, calcium, and folic acid may also help, but do consult a doctor before you start taking them.

Love, hate, and food A balanced diet with generous helpings of fruits and veggies can help prevent the sores before they happen, but once you’ve got them, it’s best to avoid acidic and citrus fruits, as well as spicy food, as these may irritate the condition and make life really uncomfortable.

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad They’re like the ninjas of oral issues; striking when least expected, causing a world of hurt, and then disappearing without so much as a by-your-leave. Canker sores are a fairly common phenomenon, small, but painful shallow ulcers that may appear in the mouth and make swallowing and talking difficult.

While scientists debate on cause and cure (neither have been definitively proven as of yet), here’s what you can do to manage it.

Vitamin power Stock up on vitamins. Often a B12 supplement is prescribed to combat the

A brush with pain Switch to soft-bristled brushes to prevent internal mouth injuries that may trigger, or irritate the lesions. Braces, or improperly fitted dentures may also worsen the condition, so make sure yours fits. Not chewing gum prevents the sores from getting irritated.

Rinse In severe cases, doctors may prescribe an anti-microbial mouth rinse, but you can make your own at home by mixing equal parts water and 3% hydrogen peroxide. Be sure to avoid swallowing the solution, and don’t eat anything prior to, or immediately after the rinse. l

Photos: Bigstock

Slaying the nightmares n Pragya Rahman

Basic steps of lucid dreaming:

Ever wake up in the middle of the night soaked in cold sweats and silent screaming?

You clutching onto your sanity, looking around you to check if it was all an illusion, a trick or a momentary, cognitive, lapse in the realm of dreams?

Relaxation Start with unwinding and unburdening yourself from all the worldly matters. Take deep breaths in and breathe out all your worries and concern. Let all the bones and muscles of your body sink into the comfort of your bed, and then slowly and gently, when you feel comfortable, close your eyes.

People dream for a reason. It is to relax you and your brain and ease you into comfort by energising your spirits for the next day.

Nightmares usually occur when you are stressed out and are the result of irregular, abnormal and sometimes disturbing images that you perceive during your daily routine.

But nightmares do not necessarily have to mean that your sleep is no longer your sanctuary. If there is a particular recurring nightmare that is bothering you, it may mean that - it’s about time you take things into your own hands and learn to control your dreams by practicing the art of “lucid dreaming.”

eventually sink into your dream void, but aim it towards something which relieves you rather than stresses you out.

Affirmation Whilst constructing the image for your main dream, keep reminding yourself that you are about to sleep and step into your world of dreams. l

Visualisation Think of a place, it could be any place in the world. It could be a place that you’ve been to before or a place from your imagination, but a place that brings you an abundance of peace. Consciously take your mind and body to that place; notice everything around you, the sounds, the sights. This is your sanctuary.

Every time before you go to sleep, come back here and chances are you will eventually eliminate the nightmares you have.

Image sketch Start sketching an image of what it is you want to dream about. It could be anything.

While you’re working on your image, you will

Photo: Bigstock

Former Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella has turned down a lucrative offer to take charge of three-time Asian champions Saudi Arabia, local media reported on Sunday

Sport 26

TAMIM IQBAL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

27

ABAHANI, MSC PLAY OUT STALEMATE

28

25

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TURNED DOWN

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

AUGSBURG’S BABA POISED TO JOIN CHELSEA

MAMUNUL ISLAM National Football captain

Congratulations Bangladesh U-16 football team.

Insha’Allah we will be the champions..You will accomplish what we could not do.

MUSHFIQUR RAHIM National Cricket captain

Wow, what a win! Bangladesh U-16 team just beat Afghanistan U-16 and qualified for the final, Alhamdulillah. One more game to go only. In Sha Allah we will be champions! Congratulations to the boys.

MAMUNUR RAHMAN CHAYAN National Hockey captain

Congratulation boys.. (with a picture of celebration)

Bangladesh midfielder Saad Uddin (R) evades the challenge of Afghanistan midfielder Ali Baset Mardani during their Saff Under-16 Championship semi-final at Sylhet District Stadium yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Saad inspires unbeaten Bangladesh Will face defending champions India in maiden Saff U-16 Championship final tomorrow muddy as players of both sides found it difThe Afghans, on the other hand, will be do-or-die encounter yesterday. Saad’s strike n Tribune Report blaming their fate and lack of proper finishing 11-minutes after the breather left the Sylhet ficult to control their balance and the ball Saad Uddin paved the way for Bangladesh to reach their first-ever final in the Saff Under-16 Championship as the home side edged past Afghanistan 1-0 in the first semifinal of the contest at the jam-packed Sylhet District Stadium in Sylhet.

The margin was the same from two years back when the red and greens beat Afghanistan to secure the third place in the previous edition of the tournament in Nepal. Yesterday, Bangladesh held on to the early second-half goal from midfielder Saad to book a place in the final against India on August 18 at the same venue.

as they could have easily put the hosts under pressure in the first-half but failed horribly to capitalise on the gifted opportunity.

Defender Jahangir Alam Sajeeb brought down Afghan forward Abdul Naser Amini inside the box which resulted in a penalty in favour of the visitors in the 38th minute. However, Afghanistan captain Omid Haidar sent the spot kick miles over the cross bar as the home crowd took a sign of relief.

The support from the stands for the young booters has been exceptional throughout the tournament and it wasn’t any different in the

crowd ecstatic as Bangladesh lived to maintain their 100 percent winning record in the event. It was full-back Khalil Bhuiyan’s corner that was won by Shaun inside the box before the midfielder set up the Player of the Match, Saad, for a calm finish.

Early morning rain left the playing pitch

RESULTS Bangladesh U16

Bangladesh Squad

1–0

Afghanistan U16

1–0

Nepal U16

Saad Uddin 56

India U16 Rahim Ali 22

throughout the 90 minutes. The knockout game produced seven yellow cards with four shown to the eventual winners.

India also reached the final beating Nepal 1-0 in the day’s second semifinal. Rahim Ali netted the all important goal in the 22nd minute.

Faysal Ahmed, Shaun Hossain, Emon Khan, Mohammed Atikuzzaman, Jahangir Alam Sajeeb, Khalil Bhuiyan, Fahim Murshed, Mohammad Shawon, Saad Uddin, Mostajeb Khan, Sarowar Zaman Nipu. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

'If someone wants to distract me by doing stupid things, I take it as a challenge and try to return it' n Mazhar Uddin In spite of relentless criticism, Tamim Iqbal has been one of Bangladesh's most consistent batsmen over the last eight years or so. The records speak for themselves as the southpaw is the Tigers' highest run-scorer across all three formats. The 26-year old is also Bangladesh's leading Test run-scorer in the last 12 months with an average of 49.94.

The dashing opener yesterday had a brief conversation with Dhaka Tribune when he talked about a number of topics, including the toughest period of his career. The Chittagonian lad has also set himself a target in Tests and ODIs. Here are the excerpts:

Despite a stream of criticism, you are Bangladesh's highest Test run-scorer in the last 12 months. Does the criticism makes you more motivated?

I do not think criticism works as a challenge.

It adds pressure on you and I do not think any sportsman or cricketer likes that. The best scenario is when a sportsman feels comfortable. I have realised that I cannot change this thing. And, it (criticism) will be there forever, unless I keep playing well. There was a lot of determination on my part as I wanted to do well and enjoy the game and that was the key.

There was a period in my career when I did not enjoy the game.

How does it feel to become the Tigers' leading run-scorer in all three formats?

Obviously it is a great feeling. But with all due respect to others who previously set the benchmarks, I think they were not able to play enough matches and if they would have

Are you creative enough? n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bangladesh Cricket Board, along with national team sponsor Robi, launched a jersey design contest yesterday. The contest, titled “Adommo Jersey Design Contest”, will be open to the general public and anyone, irrespective of age, can participate in the competition. Both professionals and non-professionals can participate in the contest.

Designs will be accepted by the BCB until August 31. The top 11 designs will be selected and put up for public poll. The best designed jersey will be selected through voting by SMS

and the website. The winner of the competition will receive Tk5,00,000. The Tigers will be seen in the jersey designed by the winner of the contest.

The contestants can submit their designs at jersey@robi.com.bd and one can also upload the design at www.wearetigers.com.bd.

A press conference was held at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday where the contest was launched. Robi Chief Operating Officer Mahtabuddin Ahmed, BCB marketing and commercial chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed and CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury were present among others in the ceremony. l

BCB marketing and commercial chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed (L) speaks as Robi’s Chief Operating Officer Mahtabuddin Ahmed (2R) and BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury (R) look on MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

played more games, I am sure they would have scored even more runs than what they have scored.

team played well in the tournament but individually, I passed the worst time possible. My family also suffered.

Where do you want to see yourself and Bangladesh when you finish your career?

In order to sustain in the international arena, what will be your message for youngsters like Soumya Sarkar and Liton Kumar Das?

I want to set a standard and as you mentioned, I am the highest run-getter in all three formats for my country. My aim would be to reach such a place where it will be difficult for others to follow. But compared to the other Test-playing nations, we play less games and if I am able to play 50 more Test matches and finish on 8,000 runs with an average of 45 or 45+, I will be very happy. And in ODI cricket, I will try to score even more as we play more games in this format.

You have experienced the transitional period of Bangladesh. You have seen both good times and bad. What are the changes that you have observed over the last couple of years?

As you know, every player goes through a good time and a bad time as well. The same goes for a team. When a team play well together, it gives a lot of confidence. And we have been playing great cricket in the past few months because of the growth in confidence.

That is the main thing that has changed. Our attitude has also changed and I think that was the key.

When was the toughest period of your career?

There were a few lean patches in the last eight years of my career. Many things have happened. But if you ask for a specific one, I would say the 2015 World Cup. Although my

I think the key for them will be to continue the type of cricket they have been playing.

But, there will be a tough period for them as well when they will not be able to perform.

Then, there will be questions raised about their playing style. My advice for them would be to not take these things seriously and keep on playing their natural game. When things do not go your way, just keep calm, work hard and concentrate as you have been doing that during your good times.

Right from the start of your career, you have been aggressive on the field as the incident involving Zaheer Khan in the 2007 ICC World Cup would attest. Recently, you have also been involved in an altercation with South African duo Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw. Do you think aggression is required to succeed in the international arena?

When I walk out at the middle with the bat in my hand, I forget what is my average or my ranking. I think I am the best in the world and I play that way. And if someone wants to distract me by doing some stupid things then I take it as a challenge and try to give it back to them. That's my philosophy of playing. It depends on the individual as I like interacting on the field and I like taking the challenges.

But there are some cricketers who do not react, even if you say something to them but that's not my style. l

Emile treble as Sk Russel finish second in BPL n Tribune Report Cameroon forward Paul Emile slammed a hattrick as Sheikh Russel crushed Rahmatganj 4-0 at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday to conclude their Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League campaign at second position, behind champions-elect Sheikh Jamal.

Sheikh Russel required a victory to confirm their runners-up place and Emile and Mithun Chowdhury ensured it for the former treble winners.

The Blues finished their premier league campaign with 42 points from 20 matches, six points behind Sheikh Jamal, who have played a game less. Rahmatganj on the other hand finished second-bottom with 14 points, ahead of the already-relegated Farashganj.

Mithun gave Sheikh Russel the lead in the 41st minute when he broke into the penalty area through the left flank before slotting past Rahmatganj goalkeeper Al Amin. Emile doubled the lead in the 57th minute as he headed home from a precise Zahid Hossain corner.

Emile netted his second – yet another header - five minutes later to put Sheikh Russel in a comfortable position. The Cameroonian com-

pleted his hat-trick in the 70th minute, firing home from the box following a Mithun cutback.

It was Emile’s 10th league goal this season. l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Abahani, MSC play out stalemate n Tribune Report Abahani and Mohammedan played out a goalless draw in the second and final Dhaka derby of the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League 2014-15 season at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Mohammedan finished their premier league campaign at third position with 38 points from 20 matches while the Sky Blues, with 35 points from 19 matches, concluded theirs a place behind in fourth.

Abahani will play their final league game against champions-elect Sheikh Jamal this Thursday and the former have to win the match by a margin of more than one goal if they are to leapfrog their rivals, Mohammedan, into third position.

Yesterday’s derby was a dull affair with both sides struggling to create any clear-cut chances.

In the first half, Mohammedan managed only two shots on target; Jewel Rana’s header on a Masuk Mia Jony cross saved easily by the Abahani goalkeeper in the 15th minute while Ismael Bangoura’s free-kick went straight into the hands of the custodian a few minutes later.

Seven minutes into the second half, Guinean striker Bangoura saw his header from a Habibur Rahman Shohag free-kick fly over the bar. l

The Abahani defenders try to thwart a Mohammaden (stripes) attack during their Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League match at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BCB receives poor response for new deal n Mazhar Uddin

In its bid to attract new franchise owners for the upcoming third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20, the Bangladesh Cricket Board received a disappointing response as it was learned that only two corporate houses expressed their interest ahead of today’s deadline.

According to sources, Beximco Limited and Summit Group submitted their tender while the BCB is apparently trying to lure industrial giant Square Group to be among the new franchises.

Rumours are doing the rounds that a few other corporate houses like Prime Bank Limited, Hamim Group, Abul Khair Group, Asian

DAY’S WATCH

TV Limited and DBL - an organisation linked with BCB director and vice-president AZM Nasir - are interested in buying a franchise in the third edition of the cash-rich yet controversial domestic T20 competition.

We are open to keeping them in the BPL, only if they clear the dues It was also learned that the previous owners of franchises Chittagong Kings, Rangpur Riders and Duronto Rajshahi are interested in keeping their team and submitting their Expression of Interest.

9:00PM ATP 1000 Masters 2015 Western & Southern Open Round 1 Day 1

Star Sports 2 8:20PM Pro Kabaddi League 2015 Pune v Mumbai

Star Sports 4 1:00AM English Premier League 2015/16 Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth

Andy Murray will replace Roger Federer as number two in the world after defeating Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday to reach the final of the Montreal Masters.

The Scot will Monday move into second on the ATP Tour’s ranking list behind longtime number one Novak Djokovic, his Sunday finals opponent on the Canadian hardcourts.

Murray will line up against Djokovic after the top seed defeated France’s Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4 in the other semi-final. Beating Djokovic in Sunday’s final would be a huge step towards that goal. Djokovic advanced in 80 minutes to win his 10th match against Chardy l

Barca need improvement for Super Cup tie n Reuters, Madrid

Ten Action

According to Ismail Haider Mallick, one of the board’s most influential director, the BCB is hopeful of retaining the owners of the previous franchises, provided they clear their outstanding dues.

“We are open to keeping them in the BPL, only if they clear the dues. Even if they do not take part, they will still have to pay the dues,” said Mallick yesterday.

The BCB earlier terminated the ownership agreement with all the seven franchises for their inability to clear the dues, amounting Tk 69 crore.

Two-time winners Dhaka Gladiators were banned from participating in any kind of cricket activities for their involvement in match-fixing in BPL 2. l

Djokovic, Murray to clash for Montreal title n AFP, Montreal

Barcelona have leaked eight goals in their opening two official games of the season and will need a drastic improvement in defence if they are to have any chance of denying Athletic Bilbao the Spanish Super Cup. After edging Sevilla 5-4 to win the European Super Cup last Tuesday, Barca suffered a 4-0 drubbing at Bilbao in Friday’s first leg and host the Basque side for the return on Monday.

The defeat for the Spanish and European champions at the San Mames, when coach Luis Enrique fielded a weakened side, means their hopes of matching 2009’s feat of winning all six competitions they contested are hanging by a thread.

Luis Enrique has refused to throw in the towel and told a news conference on Sunday

he and the players are “utterly convinced” they can turn the tie around.

If they manage it, they will prevent Bilbao lifting their first silverware since they won the Spanish Super Cup in 1984-85.

“It’s a challenge that a team of this quality is capable of meeting,” Luis Enrique told reporters.

“If we do things well we will have a chance,” said the former Barca and Spain midfielder, noting that his side regularly put four goals or more past opponents.

“We will be fresher than in the first leg and when Barca is playing anything can happen.”

Barca’s versatile Argentina international Javier Mascherano, who normally plays in central defence but was deployed in midfield for the first leg, said the team had not deserved to lose by such a wide margin.l

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MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Classy City outclass Chelsea, Gunners win n AFP Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho scored as Manchester City crushed Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday to establish a fivepoint advantage over the champions in the fledgling Premier League table.

After going close several times, Aguero celebrated his return to the starting XI by wriggling through Chelsea’s defence to score a 31st-minute opener before Kompany and Fernandinho made the game safe late on.

The well-earned victory continued City’s impressive start to the season following their 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion and gave Manuel Pellegrini a first win over his nemesis Jose Mourinho since the Portuguese returned to Chelsea in 2013. Defeat completed a miserable week for Mourinho, widely criticised for demoting his medics Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn after last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Swansea City, and means Chelsea have failed to win one of their first two league games for the first time since 1998.

It was also a day to forget for visiting captain John Terry, who watched the second half from the bench after being substituted at half-time -- the first time Mourinho had taken him off in 177 league games.

After a flurry of near-misses, Aguero broke the deadlock by exchanging passes with Yaya

Toure, darting into the box and placing a low shot beyond the reach of Asmir Begovic, deputising for the suspended Thibaut Courtois.

Hazard forced Joe Hart into a save in the second half, but City looked more likely to add to their lead and so it proved as Kompany headed home from David Silva’s 79th-minute corner before Fernandinho drilled home from the edge of the box.

EPL RESULTS Crystal Palace

1-2

Ward 28

Arsenal Giroud 16, Delaney 55-og

Manchester City

3-0

Chelsea

Aguero 31, Kompany 79, Fernandinho 85

Earlier, Arsene Wenger breathed a sigh of relief as Arsenal got their title challenge up and running with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. After slumping to a dismal 2-0 defeat against West Ham United in their opening game, Wenger’s side had no margin for error at Selhurst Park if they wanted to avoid being cast adrift in the title race.

They rose to the challenge, securing a first league win of the season thanks to Olivier Giroud’s superb 16th-minute volley and a Damien Delaney own goal in the 55th minute after Joel Ward had blasted Palace level. l

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero (L) has a shot saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic during their English Premier League match at The Etihad stadium in Manchester yesterday AFP

Guptill leads Kiwis to 32-run win over SA n AFP

Martin Guptill hit 60 as New Zealand earned a share of the series by winning the second Twenty 20 international against South Africa by 32 runs at SuperSport Park on Sunday.

New Zealand made 177 for seven -– their highest total in a Twenty20 international against the Proteas -– before restricting South Africa to 145 for eight.

Stand-in captain Kane Williamson, leading a side missing several key players, some injured and others resting, was delighted with what he described as “a much improved effort” following defeat by six wickets in the first match in Durban on Friday.

South Africa were never on target in the chase after losing their first three batsmen, including world stars Hashim Amla and AB de

Villiers, for 47 runs inside seven overs.

New Zealand spinners Nathan McCullum and Ish Sodhi both took two wickets and were

BRIEF SCORE New Zealand 177 for 7 (Guptill 60, Rabada 3-30)

South Africa 145 for 8 (Behardien 36, Sodhi 2-27) NZ won by 32 runs, draw series 1-1 economical on a pitch which Williamson admitted got more difficult to bat on in the second innings.

De Villiers, again captaining South Africa in the absence of an injured Faf du Plessis,

said his side were well beaten.

The sides start a three-match one-day series at the same venue on Wednesday.

As in the first match, Guptill and Williamson got their side off to a fast start, putting on 52 off 5.3 overs before Williamson was caught at third man off Kagiso Rabada for 25.

The pair put on 68 for the first wicket in Durban before the side subsided to 151 for eight.

With Guptill making his 60 off 35 balls, New Zealand put up a better performance on Sunday but again there were no major partnerships.

Fast bowler Rabada took three for 30, including two wickets off successive balls in the penultimate over. But New Zealand’s bowlers struck early, with left-armer Mitchell McClenaghan having Morne van Wyk caught behind before Amla drove fast bowler Adam Milne to point. l

Dortmund rout Gladbach n AFP, Berlin Borussia Dortmund threw down the gauntlet to defending champions Bayern Munich on Saturday with a 4-0 drubbing of Borussia Moenchengladbach on the opening weekend of the new Bundesliga season.

After Jurgen Klopp resigned last season, Dortmund’s new coach Thomas Tuchel began his tenure in emphatic style with left winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring twice as Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also netted.

Bayern began their quest for an histor-

ic fourth successive title when they routed Hamburg 5-0 at home on Friday.

Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen warmed up for their Champions League play-off clash at Lazio on Tuesday with a 2-1 comeback win against Hoffenheim.

Schalke picked up their first win under new coach Andre Breitenreiter with a 3-0 victory at Werder Bremen.

Meanwhile, Paraguay striker Raul Bobadilla penned a contract extension at Augsburg until 2018 only to be sent off just 45 minutes into the new Bundesliga season on Saturday in his team’s 1-0 defeat at home to Hertha Berlin. l

Augsburg’s Baba poised to join Chelsea n AFP, Berlin Augsburg manager Stefan Reuter confirmed Saturday that Ghana’s Abdul Rahman Baba is poised to join English champions Chelsea with the deal set to net the Germans up to 30 million euros ($33m).

The left-back was missing from Augsburg’s matchday squad against Hertha having undergone a medical check for the Blues in Paris while a British work visa is arranged.

The Blues have targeted the Augsburg defender following the departure of Brazil defender Filipe Luis to Atletico Madrid after just one season at Stamford Bridge.

The transfer fee is set to be £14 million (19.8 million euros, $21.9m), with further bonuses of up to ten million euros. l

RESULTS

2-1

Bayer Leverkusen Kiessling 45, Brandt 71

Hoffenheim Zuber 5

0-1

Augsburg

Hertha Berlin Kalou 48-pen

0-3

Werder Bremen

Schalke

Gebre Selassie 34-og, Choupo-Moting 68, Huntelaar 85

Mainz

0-1

Ingolstadt Hinterseer 66

Darmstadt

2-2

Heller 31, 54

Dortmund Reus 15, Aubameyang 21, Mkhitaryan 33, 50

Hanover Benschop 48, Sulu 62-og

4-0

Moenchengladbach

29

DT

Ascent Cup 2015

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

RESULTS, DAY 3 LE MERIDIEN

2-7

BEXIMCO TEXTILE

EDGE CONSULTING

6-10

SAJEEB

GENERAL ELECTRIC

2-7

RUNNER GROUP

IMDHAKA.COM

2-5

BONGO

TODAY’S FIXTURES 5:30PM

Centro TEX VS IPDC

6:00PM

bKash VS Comfit Composit

6:30PM

Brac Bank VS Asutex

7:00PM

Kazi Farm VS Bangla Cat

7:30PM

IPDC VS Metronet

(Clockwise) Actions from the matches between Sajeeb Group and Edge Consulting, Le Meridien and Beximco Textiles, and General Electric and Runner Group yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Sajeeb Group, Bongo through to Cup phase n Arsalan Quddus and Syed Shabab BEXIMCO TEXTILES vs LE MEREDIEN

After their disappointing opening match, Beximco Textiles returned to winning ways by beating Le Meridian in a 7-2 battle. Le Meridian showed their mettle in this encounter with a spirited performance in the second half especially Raju who netted twice for the hoteliers but in the end Bulbul’s hat-trick, Faiz, Wasim, and Amit’s contributions saw Beximco Textile grab all three points.

SAJEEB GROUP vs EDGE CONSULTING

The match that caught everyone’s eye was the encounter between Edge Consulting and Sajeeb Group. An incredible 16 goals were scored in this high pressure engagement.

The first-half saw the score line oscillating in favor of and against either team. The young Director of Sajeeb Group Farhan made his debut in this match and his contribution seemed to be of use to the rest of his team.

The second-half saw Sajeeb Group take the impetus after they capitalised on some weak defending by Edge Consulting. The match ended 10-6 for Sajeeb Group.

GENERAL ELECTRIC vs RUNNER GROUP

Akihiro Ueda of Runner Group continued to impress the stands with his overall skills. He is a dynamo of a player who can be seen covering every inch of the pitch.

Small, compact, and slippery as an eel, he was a constant thorn on the side of General Electric, who could do very little to contain this live wire.

Needless to say he scored a fine hat-trick along with his captain Saiful. GE need to recharge in order to compete in these high voltage games. Sakti and Romel both scored for GE.

IMDHAKA.COM vs BONGO

IMDHAKA.com versus Bongo was next, which we have dubbed as the BATTLE OF THE NERDS. Ahad Bhai of Bongo right from the offset decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck and led his team to a fine 5-2 victory.

To be fair to IMDHAKA, they did put up a bit of a fight in the second half but it was all to no avail. Bongo flying high as the leader of Group I. ADCOMM gave a walkover to FAS Finance ensuring their passage to the plate championship. l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Cleaning aid (5) 4 Be wanting in (4) 7 Optical illusion (6) 8 Added clause (5) 10 Close up (4) 11 Unsuitable (5) 12 Do wrong (3) 14 Slender support (4) 17 Stagger (4) 19 Fuss (3) 20 Traffic light (5) 23 Fingering salmon (4) 25 Unaccompanied (5) 26 Fierce animals (6) 27 Surrender (4) 28 Headwear (5)

DOWN 1 Exchange (6) 2 Augury (4) 3 Deep mud (4) 4 Endures (5) 5 Mature (3) 6 Stopped (6) 9 Dreadful (4) 13 Discount (6) 15 Edible rootstock (4) 16 Unassuming (6) 18 Big (5) 21 Fishhook point (4) 22 Otherwise (4) 24 Disencumber (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 2 represents l so fill L every time the figure 2 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

A B C D E FG H I J K L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

Mila and Habib team up n Showtime Desk To bring her musical contributions back on track, Mila accomplishes another stepping stone in her career by lending her voice to a playback song.

Out-of-the-ordinary to Mila’s usual style, she teamed up with talented musician Habib Wahid, who tuned and composed the song titled “O aakash bole dey.” It’s a female-perspective romantic number, for Bulbul Biswas’s directorial venture “Rajneeti” starring Shakib Khan and Peya Bipasha. Kabir Bakul penned the song for the film, which was recorded last week.

When Habib Wahid asked Mila to lend

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has been working on the score for a Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s Old Times which hopes to attract a “new kind of theatregoer.”

Tony Award-winning British actor Douglas Hodge will make his directorial debut with the show, and Yorke corresponded for six months via email with him to create the intro and exit music as well as set transitions. 1970’s synthesisers are also being used to match the period setting of the play.

Yorke said in a statement, “It’s been a

Taylor Swift @taylorswift13 Just wanted to let you know that the next single from 1989 will be........... Wildest Dreams.

Dwayne Johnson @TheRock Buenos dias.. kickin this week off strong w cardio in the Cali mountains. If I don’t return, do not sell my pick up truck on Ebay.

her voice saying, “this would go perfectly with your voice” she did not hesitate to accept the offer and she fell in love with the lyrics at the studio.

On her very first endeavour with Habib Wahid, Mila said, “Habib and I always wanted to work together but it did not happen earlier. Finally the time has come.”

Currently working on the documentary “Uncensored,” which is based on her musical career, the fusion and folk singer is back with her fourth album after six years.

In the 90-minute documentary, many undisclosed tit-bits about her musical life will be shown. The documentary is set to be released before Eid-ul-Azha. l

IGGY AZALEA @IGGYAZALEA Recorded an awesome verse for demi today. very cool song.

WHAT TO WATCH

Thom Yorke to make Broadway debut n Showtime Desk

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

pleasure working with Doug on my first stage production. I’ve enjoyed exploring the scripts’ themes of love and memory as well as Pinter’s rhythms, twists and turns.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Hodge said Yorke would send him an email of some music he had wrote, which would be primeval and unusual.

He added in a statement, “The music Thom has written for Old Times gives an immediacy and a ‘now-ness’ to the show.”

Old Times will run from September 17 to November 29. l

Kung Fu Panda Zee Studio 4:35pm Po is a huge and clumsy panda who is also totally enthusiastic about kung fu. He dreams of making it big in the martial arts and is as good as his idols, the legendary Furious Five. The Furious Five consists of the Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. He gets the chance to train under Master Shifu. But will Po be able to make it?

Voices: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu

Studio 13 n Showtime Desk

Studio 13 is the brainchild of Abtahi Iptesam, an independent guitarist/ producer/songwriter living in Dhaka.

Abtahi collaborates with different artists, primarily with Rayhan Islam Shuvro and Rubayet Chowdhury.

Their covers of the Bangladeshi band Black had many views and high appraisal on YouTube and eventually led to Rubayet being hired as Black’s new vocalist.

Catch this young and talented band on the premiere episode of the new online music show “Bongo Open Mic,” presented by Radio Shadhin, in association with Dhaka Tribune, this Thursday night on August 8. All their performances from Open Mic will be available on demand exclusively on www.bongobd.com l

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles HBO 9:00pm Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The heroes in a half shell will need the help of courageous reporter April O’Neil and her quick witted cameraman Vern Fenwick as well.

Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Whoopi Goldberg, Minae Noji Baby’s Day Out Star Movies 7:00pm An infant is kidnapped by three bumbling idiots, who pretend that they are photographers. Unfortunately for the kidnappers, as they manage to lose baby Bink even before they’ve had the chance to pick up the ransom money. As Bink’s parents, the police, and the kidnappers try to find the missing baby before it’s too late; Bink unwittingly crawls in and out of hair-raising situations, always managing a happy last-minute escape, Bink seems to be more than a little bit smarter than the three bumbling criminals.

Cast: Kevin Showker, Joe Mantegna, Lara Flynn Boyle, Joe Pantoliano, Brian Haley

DT

32 BACK PAGE

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

EXPORT EARNINGS FALL SHORT OF TARGET IN JULY

PAGE 15

SAAD INSPIRES UNBEATEN BANGLADESH PAGE 25

THOM YORKE TO MAKE BROADWAY DEBUT PAGE 31

40 students injured in Jubo League attack on school n Our Correspondent, Chandpur More than 40 students of Bhuyapara High School under Kachua upazila in Chandpur district were injured yesterday as Jubo League activists attacked them.

Sources said some Jubo League activists went to the school on August 15 and demanded extortion to its headmaster Dulal Chandra Sarker on the occasion of National Mourning Day. They harassed him physically as he rejected their proposal.

Fazlur Rahman, an assistant teacher of the school went to the spot and rescued the headmaster. He also protested the Jubo League men.

Later, a number of Jubo League activists attacked the house of Fazlur Rahaman at night and tortured him.

In the morning, the students organized

a protest rally in the school premises while Jubo League activists led by Faruk, Liton and Munir attacked them with local made firearms, leaving 40 injured.

Of the injured, Sujan, Sahaparan, Rakib, Makbul, Milon, Rafi,Popy, Misti, Tania, Sayema and Tanjina Meem were admitted to Upazila Health Complex in critical condition.

Dr Bijoy Krishna Saha of the health complex, said of the injured, the condition of Sujon was seriously critical.

Najmul Aalm Sawpan, Jubo League convenor of the upazila unit, said they were not involved with the incident.

Contacted, Ibrahim khalil, officer-incharge of Kachua police station, said a case was filed by the headmaster accusing eight people in connection with the incident.

The police also arrested a youth named Mozammel around 7pm, the OC said. l

Female students of Bhuyapara High School in Kachua upazila, Chandpur, who were injured in a Jubo League attack yesterday, are seen being treated at the local health complex DHAKA TRIBUNE

Villagers find crashed Indonesian plane

Journalist Probir Sikdar taken for questioning by DB

n AFP

n Kamrul Hasan

The wreckage of a passenger plane which went missing with 54 people aboard in rugged eastern Indonesia yesterday has been found by villagers, an official said, with rescuers expected to head to the crash site.

The plane operated by Indonesian carrier Trigana Air lost contact with air traffic control just before 3pm (0600 GMT) after taking off from Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, the search and rescue agency said.

The ATR 42-300 twin-turboprop plane was carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and five crew on the flight, which was scheduled to take about 45 minutes, it said.

But the plane disappeared about 10 minutes before reaching its destination Oksibil, a remote settlement in the mountains south of Jayapura, shortly after it asked permission to start descending to land.

Officials said initially that villagers in the Okbape district of Papua reported seeing a plane crash. The Transport Ministry later said local residents had found the wreckage.

“The plane has been found [by villagers]. According to residents, the flight had crashed into a mountain,” said Director-General of Air Transportation Suprasetyo who goes by one name.

Officials were still verifying the informa-

tion from local residents, he said. There was no information about whether anyone may have survived.

Search and rescue teams, police and the military would head to the site as soon as possible Monday, said transport ministry spokesman JA Barata.

After the plane failed to land, Trigana Air sent another flight over the area to hunt for it but the aircraft failed to spot anything due to bad weather.

Captain Beni Sumaryanto, Trigana Air’s service director of operations, told AFP that Oksibil was “a mountainous area where the weather is very unpredictable. It can suddenly turn foggy, dark and windy without warning.

“We strongly suspect it’s a weather issue.

It is not overcapacity, as the plane could take 50 passengers.”

Barata said the weather in the area had been “very dark and cloudy.”

Trigana Air is a small airline established in 1991 that operates domestic services to around 40 destinations in Indonesia.

It has suffered 14 serious incidents since it began operations, according to the Aviation Safety Network, which monitors air accidents.

The airline is on a blacklist of carriers banned from European Union airspace. Indonesia has a patchy aviation safety record. l

Senior journalist Probir Sikdar, currently the editor of online portal Uttoradhikar 71 News, was picked up by the members of the Detective Branch (DB) of police yesterday evening for questioning.

Muntasirul Islam, the DMP deputy commissioner (Media), told the Dhaka Tribune that they had picked him up to verify claims, made on Facebook, that he was under constant threat by certain influential persons.

On August 12, Probir wrote on Facebook that several gangs had been kept ready in Dhaka and Faridpur to “teach him a good lesson.” Two days ago, he said three people and their supporters would be responsible if anything happened to him.

The three people he named are LGRD Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, business tycoon Moosa bin Shamsher and fugitive war crimes convict Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar.

Probir earlier worked for the daily Janakantha, the daily Samakal and the daily Kaler Kantho. He has written investigative reports on the three persons including Musa’s complicity with war crimes in 1971.

The reports on Moosa, also known as Nula Moosa during the war, and Bachchu Razakar

were published in the daily Janakantha in 2001 under a series of reports called “Shei Razakar” describing the status of those who collaborated with Pakistani forces in 1971.

Following this, Probir came under attack by unknown miscreants and his leg had to be amputated. He published the report on Musa in his online portal u71news.com on July 17 and shared it on his Facebook profile several times recently.

The journalist went to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station to file a general diary on July 22, his son said. But Inspector (Investigation) Sabbir Ahmed refused to take the GD, saying that instead he would deploy a sub-inspector for protection. Three days later, SI Abdul Jalil met Probir at his Indira Road office.

His son Suprio Sikdar told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that some plain clothes police personnel had gone to the office around 6:30pm yesterday. “They asked my father to go with them to the police station to discuss the GD.” When Suprio wanted to go with them, the police stopped him. Later Probir was taken in a police patrol jeep while Suprio followed them on a motorcycle.

The police later shifted the detainee to a car near Sangsad Bhaban and then went to the DB Headquarters on Mintoo Road. 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