01 April, 2016

SECOND EDITION

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 | Chaitra 18, 1422, Jamadius Sani 22, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 346 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend supplement | Price: Tk10

BB team to visit the Philippines n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has decided to send a team to the Philippines to assist the Bangladesh ambassador in Manila provide information to the country's Senate committee.

The two-member team consists of Jaker Hossain, deputy general manager of the central bank's accounting and budgeting department, and Mohammad Abdur Rab, joint director of Bangladesh  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

‘$34 million can still be recovered’ n Tribune Report The Philippines government can recover 40%, or about $34 million of the $81 million stolen by hackers from Bangladesh bank and laundered through its banking system, said the country's Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Wednesday.

When interviewed over radio, Recto urged law enforcement agen-

cies to move swiftly to recover portions of the loot still in the country following testimony on Tuesday’s Senate blue ribbon committee hearing that not all of the amount was laundered successfully through the casinos, reports Inquirer.net.

Under questioning by Recto, casino junket operator Kim Wong admitted that only about $61 million of the $81 million entered the casinos.

When Hagoda Gamage Shalika Perera, a small Sri Lankan businesswoman, got a deposit of $20m in her account last month, she said the funds were expected but had no idea they were stolen from Bangladesh's central bank in one of the largest cyber heists in history.

Unknown hackers breached Bangladesh Bank's systems between February 4 and February 5

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WI chase down 193 to reach WT20 final

Minor among seven killed in violence n Tribune Report

INSIDE

n Reuters, Colombo

Wong said his Beijing-based friend Shuhua Gao and Macau investor Ding Zhize were responsible for bringing in the $81 million and that Maia Santos-Deguito, a branch manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), was involved in the scheme to facilitate its withdrawal.

By Recto’s estimate, the govern-

Gao, Zhize responsible

SECOND PHASE UP POLLS

Seven persons, including a minor boy and a Dhaka University student, were killed in violence during the second phase of union parishad elections in different parts of the country while sporadic clashes left many injured.

The victims are Shubho, 10, of Keraniganj area in Dhaka, Rafiqul Islam, 50, of Jamalpur, Sanaullah, 26, Md Ibrahim, 25, and Jamal, 50, of Chittagong, food vendor Mujibur Rahman Bishey of Jessore, and Sujan Mridha, 22, of Madaripur.

Shubho sustained bullet injuries when two rival candidates fired at each other, and died on the way to hospital.

Keraniganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abul Bashar Md Fakhruzzaman said: “The incident took place at Madhuchar Government Primary School centre in Hazratpur union around 10:30am.”

In Jamalpur, 50-year-old Rafiqul Islam died in a clash between the supporters of two candidates in Melandaha upazila.

Supporters of Marjina Begum, reserved-seat female candidate, clashed with those of member candidate Wahed Ali at Uttar Baluchar Government Primary School centre in the upazila's Shyampur union.

Rafiqul died after he was hit by bricks hurled during the clash but

Lankan in BB heist claims she was set up

n Reuters, Mumbai

that broke out around 3:45pm.

The sixth victim, food seller Mujibur, was killed in violence in Jessore's Chachra union.

Ali Ahmed Hashmi, officer-incharge of the Detective Branch of police in Jessore, said bombs were hurled in front of the polling centre

Late replacement Lendl Simmons led a charmed life to blast 82 not out and carry West Indies to a nail-biting seven-wicket win in the last over against India in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

Simmons was caught twice at the Wankhede Stadium, on 18 and 50, but both times the bowlers had overstepped for no-balls and he made the hosts pay dearly for their mistakes as West Indies set up a final against England on Sunday.

Earlier, Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form by smashing an undefeated 89 to guide India to 192 for two after they were put in to bat.

West Indies lost Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels early in their reply but opener Johnson Charles kept them in the hunt with a 36-ball 52 and a third-wicket stand of 97 with Simmons.

The right-handed Simmons plays for Mumbai in the Indian Premier League and was only called into the squad two days ago as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher.

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Family members of 10-year-old Shubho Kazi cry in grief after learning of his death in their Keraniganj residence in Dhaka yesterday. Shubho was caught in the line of fire when two rival candidates of the ongoing UP polls in Keraniganj opened fire at each other. He died on his way to the hospital DHAKA TRIBUNE Officer-in-Charge of Melandaha police station Nasimul Islam said the man died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Sanaullah, Ibrahim and Jamal were killed in violence in the last hour of voting at Bauria union in Chittagong's Sandwip upazila.

Executive Magistrate of the

upazila Md Obaidur Rahman said the three died in a clash between the supporters of two candidates who attempted to occupy Char Bawria Government Primary School centre.

He said at least five others, including a police constable, sustained bullet wounds in the clash

BD issue heats up Assam poll

Petrobangla inks deal to use LNG terminal

Kolkata flyover collapse kills 17

Ahead of assembly election, Assam’s political arena heats up over the issue of Bangladesh-India border relations.  PAGE 3

Petrobangla has signed an initial agreement with Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited to use their LNG processing terminal.  PAGE 5

A flyover under construction in Kolkata collapsed on to vehicles below, killing at least 17 people with over 100 people feared trapped.  PAGE 32

2nd Round

Sport Page-28

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CEC: Violence marred gains

Lankan in BB heist claims she was set up and tried to steal nearly $1bn from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Many of the payments were blocked. But $20m made its way to Perera’s Shalika Foundation before the transfer was reversed.

Bangladesh central bank officers said they acted after a routing bank, Deutsche Bank, sought clarification on the transfer because hackers misspelled the company’s name as “Fundation.”

Another $81m was routed to accounts in the Philippines, and diverted to casinos there, where the trail runs out.

The Philippines Senate is holding hearings in the case, but until now, few details had emerged on the Sri Lanka link.

In her first public comments on the case, Perera, a struggling businesswoman who heads Shalika, said she expected $20m to come from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to help fund a power plant and other projects in Sri Lanka. She said she had no direct dealing with Jica, but the deal was arranged by an acquaintance who she met in Sri Lanka but had connections in Japan.

Shalika was set up in October 2014 and says in its registration

documents that it constructs lowcost houses and provides other social services.

Jica, a Japanese government agency that provides official development assistance, said it has no ties with Shalika Foundation, including through any intermediaries.

“We have had no exchange with them, and that includes such areas as loans and grants,” Jica spokesman Naoyuki Nemoto said.

The Sri Lankan police’s criminal investigation division declined to comment because probe is ongoing.

BB team to visit

Minor among seven killed in violence

Financial Intelligence Unit.

They would fly for the Philippines on Saturday for a week-long visit, according to a source.

“We are sending the team to the Philippines based on the requirement of the Bangladesh ambassador to the country,” said BFIU General Manager Debaprosad Debnath.

He said the team members would help the ambassador with information, explaining technical terms and other moves that need to be taken.

Earlier, these same officials visited the Philippines for two weeks in connection with the digital heist of $101m. l

at Bhaturia Government Primary School around 11am when Mujibur was selling food there.

“He was injured in the blast and was pronounced dead after he was taken Jessore 250-bed Hospital.”

But locals claimed Mujibur was hit by a bullet in the head when police fired shots after the explosion outside the polling station.

Abdullah Al-Mamun, a doctor at the hospital, said: “There was a bullet wound in Mujibur’s head while he had several splinters of bomb in other parts of his body.”

Following the incident, Presiding Officer of the centre Md Selim postponed voting.

In Madaripur, Dhaka Universi-

ment can recover $34 million and these included: $17 million that Wong claimed was still with Philrem Service Corp, the remittance company that transferred the stolen money from RCBC’s branch on Jupiter Street in Makati City to different accounts and individuals, but which Philrem denied.

The $10 million or P450 million that Wong’s firm Eastern Hawaian Leisure Co Ltd received from Philrem and which Wong set aside as payment of the debt owed to him by Gao. The $5.5 million that consists of the remaining $4.63 million of the $5 million that Wong claimed he got in the house of Philrem’s Michael Bautista and the $870,000 or P40 million left from the P550

million that Wong sent to Midas casino.

The $2.362 million now with Solaire casino, which is made up of the P107.35 million it has frozen after the account of the “Ding Group” was linked to the stolen $81 million as well as P1.347 million in various denominations of cash that were confiscated from the rooms of the group.

n Adil Sakhawat Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad has said the overall achievements of the commission faded because of irregularities and violence during the second phase of union parishad polls.

“This phase ended well … it was better than the first phase,” he told reporters at the EC’s media centre.

“The commission took cautionary measures to conduct the polls in a free and peaceful manner after the experience in the first phase.

Despite this, violence and irregularities took place in some union parishads.”

Meanwhile, the BNP yesterday warned that they would boycott the UP elections if the irregularities continued. They also demanded re-election.

On the other hand, the ruling Awami League has termed the second phase of elections free and fair.

“There were some problems only in 22 centres. So there is no way to raise question over the polls,” Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told a press brief at the party’s Dhanmondi office. l

“What’s important is that we get all this money so we can return this to Bangladesh because we know this came from the poor of this country,” Recto said.

Recto said if Gao was a real person, he was a “lead character” in the heist and that “it’s possible he

WI chase down

The head of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, Brigadier General Moin Uddin, said it was “ridiculous” to think that the money could have come from them.

Police have questioned Perera’s acquaintance, according to an investigation report filed in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The man told authorities that a Japanese middleman had helped arrange the funding, according to the report.

The report provided the names of Perera’s acquaintance and the Japanese middleman. Reached by phone, the middleman said he was travelling and unable to provide immediate comment.

The court has ordered a travel ban on Perera, her husband, the acquaintance and four other people listed as directors of her company.

Perera maintains she is innocent and describes the government’s move as “an injustice”.

In early February, Perera said her acquaintance, who had been helping her for more than a year to meet investors, told her to expect $20m from JICA. Under their agreement, the payment would be split, between her power plant project and a housing project controlled by her acquaintance, she said. l

He cracked seven fours and five sixes in 51 balls and added an unbeaten 80 with Andre Russell for the fourth wicket to take West Indies home with two balls to spare.

Russell, known for his powerful hitting, contributed 43 off 20 balls.

Earlier, the West Indian bowlers began strongly, before India took control in front of a stadium filled to the brim with fans wearing the team’s blue jersey.

India, the inaugural champions in 2007, dropped under-performing opener Shikhar Dhawan and the move paid off as Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) put on 62 for the first wicket.

That laid the perfect foundation for Kohli as he compiled a third unbeaten half-century in tournament.

Kohli began nervously, twice going close to being run out, but made the opposition pay for failing to take their chances.

He struck 11 fours and a six in his 47-ball knock, putting on 66 for the second wicket with Rahane and an unbroken 64 for the third with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (15 not out).

West Indies’ women also defeated New Zealand by six runs to set up a final against champions Australia on Sunday. l

ty student Sujan died when police fired on the supporters of two member candidates to break up a clash.

Police said the clash broke out in the evening between the supporters of Dhurail union contestants Abdul Motaleb Mridha and Aiyub Ali Fakir when results of a centre were to be announced.

Sujan sustained bullet injuries when police charged batons and fired shots to bring the situation under control. He was taken to Madaripur Sadar Hospital where he died around 8pm.

But Sarwar Hossain, superintendent of police in Madaripur, said police fired no shots and the reason for Sujan’s death could not be con-

firmed without investigation.

Eight people were killed in violence during the first phase of union parishad elections on March 22.

A journalist was shot during a clash between the supporters of two chairmen candidates outside Rajapur Government Primary School centre in Bhola’s Rajapur union.

Afzal Hossain, NTV correspondent in Bhola, sustained bullet injuries in the leg and was admitted to Bhola Sadar Hospital, said Khairul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Bhola police station.

He said at least 20 people were injured when police opened fire to calm two groups who clashed with each

other near another polling station.

Also, BNP-backed candidate Md Siraj Uddin boycotted Purba Ilisha union elections alleging vote rigging.

Voting at 10 polling stations in Chandpur was suspended following massive anomalies, including beating of presiding officer, occupation of centres and casting of fake votes.

Law enforcers fired at least 130 rounds to bring the situation under control. Two Ansar members and a police official were injured when shots were fired, according to local election office sources.

In Natore, 10 people were injured in clashes among supporters of candidates. l

knew the hacker.”

He said that Wong and Zhize knew that the money was coming in on February 4 to 5.

Wong was at the centre of this scheme, Recto said, because about P3 billion went through him. Recto said Wong was also involved in the opening of the five fictitious bank accounts at RCBC. Wong introduced Gao to Deguito in May 2015 when the bank accounts were opened and which almost a year later became the recipients of the stolen $81 million.

Recto said he was certain the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was now looking into Wong’s testimony as this was an international crime.

Test case

Bank secrecy loopholes

‘Genuine people’

“We are very genuine people. We are not doing any illegal things,” said Perera, 36, in an interview in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital.

Perera said she now thinks the acquaintance was either a victim of the hackers or in league with them, and she was hoodwinked into becoming a part of their scheme.

She showed a copy of an inward remittance advisory from the SWIFT bank messaging system to put the $20m in her company’s account. The remitting entity was shown as a Bangladesh government electricity agency that had taken a loan from Jica in 2010 to fund an electricity project.

‘$34 million can still be recovered’

Lead character

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Journalist shot

Former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the money-laundering scandal should be a “test case” for Philippine law enforcement agencies.

De Lima, who is seeking a Senate seat under the Liberal Party, also said the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) should be at the forefront of the investigation of the country’s biggest money-laundering case.

“This should serve as a template on how we should go about fighting transnational crimes of this kind in the future so [that] we do not end up in confusion the next time it happens,” De Lima said in a statement.

“It should be clear by now that the bank heist made use of the current loopholes in our laws that relate to bank secrecy, banking operations, antimoney laundering and regulation of casino operations,” she stressed. “This should serve as enough impetus for Congress to start a comprehensive revision of all laws that relate to this,” she said.

De Lima said the country’s bank secrecy law was a “dinosaur that no longer protects ordinary depositors, but has more often than not served as a cover” for criminal activities.

She said an amendment to the current anti-money laundering law was needed to allow the AMLC to pry into the cash transactions in casinos. l

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BD-India border relation heating up Assam poll n Tribune Report Ahead of Assam's upcoming legislative assembly election, the political arena in India's northeastern state has heated up over the issue of Bangladesh-India border relations.

Ministers from the ruling BJP government, which is trying to stamp its influence in the Congress stronghold state, promised local voters of taking strong actions to address the border issue.

Rajnath Singh, the Indian federal home minister, told a rally

in the poll-bound state that the India-Bangladesh border will be completely sealed shortly.

"The border has remained unfenced. I wonder why Congress could not fence the border and allowed unabated influx from Bangladesh into Assam," the minister said on March 30.

"Influx has been continuing ever since Bangladesh was created. I have visited the international border areas with Bangladesh and will soon completely seal Indo-Bangladesh border. I held talks with the

Bangladesh government," he said.

Addressing several rallies during the day, the minister also criticised the Tarun Gogoi government for not taking any steps to stop the inflow of fake currency notes from across border either.

Meanwhile, addressing a separate election meeting in central Assam, India's Federal External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the BJP would take opportunity of the unprecedented level of good relationship with Bangladesh to solve the problem of infiltration.

"We have never had such a good relationship with Bangladesh and we will take this opportunity to ensure a permanent solution to the problem of infiltration... The issue of infiltration is a matter of national security and not vote-bank politics for us," she said yesterday.

The problem of infiltration has persisted for long in Assam with students launching a long-drawn agitation in which so many lives were lost but there has been no solution as the Congress is not interested in resolving it, she claimed.

"For the Congress, the issue of infiltration is a matter of vote-bank politics, but for us it is a matter of security and it is only BJP who can solve the problem," the Union Minister said.

"We believe all problems can be solved through dialogue and we intend to do that with Bangladesh," she said.

Bangladesh has been given 100MW of power from the Palatana power project in Tripura and India is getting Internet connectivity in return, Swaraj added. l

Hasina: No corruption, no apathy n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the new members of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) to work as public servants and not indulging in corruption nor allowing apathy in their activities.

“Don't indulge in corruption and don't let others indulge in corruption. You must perform your duties with honesty as public servants because all of your salaries and allowances come from the hard-earned money of the common people,” she said at the Certificate Award ceremony among participants of the 60th Foundation Training Course of Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) at Bangabandhu International Con-

ference Centre in the capital.

The prime minister directed the new civil service officials to make sure that there is no sluggishness in their activities due to bureaucratic tangles. “Discharge your duties with utmost patriotism… you must love and know the country and its people. You can't neglect the common people.”

Putting emphasis on maintaining the rule of law in the country, she said there would be no development without the rule of law.

“Bangladesh could not move ahead with the desired pace after the assassination of father of the nation, as the military rulers in any country only spoke against corruption but adopted corruption as their policy,” she said. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the graduates of the 60th Foundation Course of Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre at the certificate awarding ceremony in the capital yesterday BSS

Court orders Khaleda to appear on April 7

Tk317cr for Nababarsha allowances

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Civil servants will receive a festival allowance for the first time for the Bengali New Year in the first week of April at 20% of their basic pay.

Finance Division yesterday issued a circular, signed by Joint Secretary Md Habibur Rahman, asking the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to take necessary measures for disbursing the amount.

“It will require more than Tk317 crore to give the festival allowance titled 'Bangla Nababarsha Bhata' to public servants and government owned autonomous bodies,” a Finance Division official said.

The CAG will take necessary steps to pay out the bonus before April 14, the day of Bengali New Year, the official said.

The government spends more than Tk1600 crore giving basic salaries to its 2.1 million employees.

According to the circular, the Finance Division asked the CAG

A Dhaka court yesterday ordered the four accused in Zia Charitable Trust corruption case including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to appear before it on April 7 to defend themselves.

Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court passed the order after the defence completed cross examining the last prosecution witness.

The court recorded the depositions of 32 out of 36 prosecution witnesses including ACC Deputy Director Harun-ur-Rashid, also the investigation officer and complainant of the case.

Former premier Khaleda, the key accused in the case, did not appear before the court yesterday on health grounds.

The ACC filed the case with Tejgaon police on August 8, 2011

accusing four people of abusing power of the PMO in setting up the Zia Charitable Trust and collecting money from unknown sources during the 2001-06 tenure of the BNPled government.

The other accused are Khaleda’s former political secretary Abul Harris Chowdhury, and his personal secretary Dr Ziaul Islam Munna, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka. Of them, Harris is on the run while the others are on bail.

“The court has asked all the accused including Khaleda Zia to appear before it on April 7 to give statements defending themselves about the graft charges,” chief prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol said.

On that day, the court would read out the charges to Khaleda and would want to know whether she is guilty or not. “If Khaleda

claims not guilty and demand justice, the court will fix a date for hearing on arguments,” he added.

TM Akbar Hossain, counsel for Monirul, yesterday cross examined the investigation officer of the case. Counsels of other accused including Khaleda cross examined him earlier.

On behalf of Khaleda, her counsel Md Sanaullah Miah submitted time petitions before the court for her non-appearance.

Meanwhile, the same court yesterday fixed April 7 for recording depositions of witnesses in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. So far only the complainant, ACC official Harun, has testified in the case.

The case was filed in 2009 against Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and five others on charges of embezzling over Tk2.1 crore by forming a “fake” trust in 1991 which existed only on paper. l

n Asif Showkat Kallol

to approve the bills of Bangla Nababarsha Bhata before April 14 because there is allocation for that bonus before the revised budget.

Later in the revised budget of 201516 the amount will be adjusted, the circular said.

On September 6, former cabinet secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan announced that public servants would be getting a 20 percent bonus for the Bangla New Year in addition to other festival bonuses.

The cabinet on September 6, 2015 approved the eighth pay scale for government employees with a highest basic pay of Tk78,000 and a minimum of Tk8,250, allowing an across-the-grade hike ranging from 91 to 101 percent.

On Dec 21, 2014, former central bank governor Mohammad Farasuddin, who chaired the Eighth Pay Commission, recommended a pay scale of minimum Tk8,200 and a maximum of Tk80,000. l

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DB to help PBI in Pohela Boishakh harassment case n Arifur Rahman Rabbi Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective branch will provide full cooperation to the Police Bureau of Investigation in the investigation into the sexual harassment during Pohela Boishakh celebrations in Dhaka University area on April 14 last year.

DMP spokesperson Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam said: “If PBI wants any help with their probe, DB will cooperate fully.”

However, PBI had not asked for any kind of assistance so far, he said.

Monirul told the Dhaka Tribune that police had filed a case under the Women and Children Repres-

Khaleda hopes government will resolve crisis n Tribune Report BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has again asked the government to resolve the country’s political crisis through dialogue with the opposition political parties with a view to holding an acceptable election.

“We have urged the government to engage in dialogue with all concerned to resolve the crisis and to restore a government that represents the people through a credible election. Now the ball is in the ruling party’s court,” she told the national council of a faction of Bangladesh Islami Oikya Jote at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.

The three-time former premier hoped that the ruling party would take proper steps leaving the path of confrontation.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party chief Shafiul Alam Prodhan, among others, spoke at the function.

IOJ Chairman Maulana Abdur Rakib presided over the council.

Khaleda alleged that there was no democracy, no pro-people government or no good governance in the country. “All institutions have collapsed. There is anarchy everywhere. The law and order has deteriorated sharply.”

Noting that the common people were suffering miserably, she claimed that injustice,

repression, murder, violation of women rights, corruption and looting had exceeded all previous records.

She alleged that Bangladesh had been alienated from the international community. “The government is now busy clinging to power by choosing the path of slavery instead of friendship.”

Khaleda said they were now reorganising the BNP after the council.

Terming Ulamas (scholars) leaders of the religion of peace, Khaleda said there is no room for malice, violence, terrorism and militancy in Islam. “But a handful of deviated people have chosen the path of terrorism, vengeance and cruelty. As a result, the Muslims are taken to dock as criminals globally.”

She asked the Islamic scholars to be aware of the country’s image.

Mirz Fakhrul claimed that more than 500 leaders and activists of the party had lost their lives in the struggle for democracy and rights, while over 300 others fell victim to forced disappearance.

He strongly criticised the arrest warrant issued against Khaleda Zia in Jatrabari arson case. “It is very shameful that the BNP chairperson was shown as fugitive in the charge sheet of the case though she attends her office every day, and joins meetings and rallies regularly,” Fakhrul added. l

sion Prevention Act, which stipulates a fixed investigation time for any case. But since the police could not find the culprits within that time, they submitted the final report of the case to the court.

On January 29, a team of the Detective Branch arrested one of the eight men wanted in this case

named Mohammad Kamal, a small trader, from a house at Khaji Dewan of Chawkbazar area.

“After that we prayed to the court to reopen the case. But the court directed the PBI to re-investigate the case filed in connection with sexual harassment of several women during the Pohela Boishakh

celebrations,” Islam said.

Meanwhile, Ahsan Habib Palash, Special Superintendent of PBI, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that arrested Kamal was in their custody and had been interrogated.

“But this is not the right time to say anything since we are still investigating the case,” he said. l

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Petrobangla inks deal to use LNG terminal n Aminur Rahman Rasel Bangladesh Oil and Gas Corporation, commonly known as Petrobangla, has signed an initial agreement with Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited (EEBL) to use their liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing terminal.

Under the agreement, the EEBL, a subsidiary of US-based Excelerate Energy, will build the country’s first floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) – popularly known as LNG terminal – to process imported LNG into natural gas on a build-own-operate-transfer basis.

Syed Ashfaquzzaman, secretary of Petrobangla, and Karlman Tham, business development manager Excelerate Energy in Asia, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations at

nalised with the help of local and international lawyers and foreign technical consultants.

Now that the terminal use agreement has been ratified, the EEBL will conduct the geophysical study within the next two months, to determine the composition of Earth’s interior under the ocean in the area.

The EEBL will also carry out a geotechnical study and detailed engineering design before starting the construction of the terminal.

It will build the terminal within 16 months of signing the final deal.

The import of LNG may start in early 2018.

Petrobangla will pay 0.59 cents per million British Thermal Unit (mBTU) – a measure of energy content in fuel – to use the terminal.

Petrobangla will also pay the port service charges and taxes on

crease to 1,000 mmcfd in two years.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the government was determined to maintain an uninterrupted supply of gas for all.

Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, secretary at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and Ishtiaq Ahmed, chairman of Petrobangla, were also present on the occasion.

The EBBL already carried out a met-ocean study on June 22 last year via the Maritime Research Institute (MARIN), a reputed organisation from the Netherlands. Met-ocean study determines the physical environment near an offshore platform.

Petrobangla Chairman Ishtiaq Ahmad said the EEBL submitted the draft terminal use agreement based on the findings of that study.

Later, that agreement was fi-

Petro Centre in the city yesterday.

Petrobangla took the initiative to install the LNG terminal six years ago considering the country’s ongoing gas crisis.

In line with that initiative, it has now signed the agreement with the EEBL under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2015 to set up the terminal at Maheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.

After receiving approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on the project, Petrobangla will sign the final agreement with the EEBL for 15 years.

During the signing ceremony, Prime Minister’s Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said once fully operational, the FSRU will initially supply 500 mmcfd – million cubic feet per day – which will in-

behalf of the EEBL throughout the duration of the contract.

Furthermore, the Bangladesh government will have to buy the LNG, which will be imported from Qatar and other countries.

The terminal’s LNG storage capacity will be 138,000 cubic metres, and it will receive a supply of 500-600 million cubic feet per day.

The state-owned Gas Transmission Company Limited has also moved to lay a 91km Maheshkhali-Anwara gas transmission pipeline to carry the re-gasified LNG from the terminal to the mainland.

At present, the country’s gas production is about 2,700 mmcfd against a demand of 3,300 mmcfd.

The Awami League-led government in its last term decided to import LNG to feed 500mmcfd to the national grid in 2013. l

BASIC official remanded n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra Union try to break a barricade placed by police on the road near the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University yesterday. Police put up the barricade to stop the protesters from marching towards the Prime Minister’s Office to demand arrest and punishment of the killers of Sohagi Jahan Tonu MEHEDI HASAN

A Dhaka court yesterday granted the Anti-Corruption Commission time to interrogate BASIC Bank Assistant General Manager Ikramul Bari and three businessmen in seven cases filed over loan forgery at the state-run bank.

Others remanded are Syed Hasibul Gani Galib, owner of Emerald Oil industry, Md Akbar Hossain, owner of Asian Shipping BD, and Fayezunnabi Chowdhury, managing director of Farsi International.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Maruf Hossain gave the order after ACC officials Md Ibrahim and Zaynal Abedin, also investigators of the cases, produced the four before the court and sought seven-day remand in each case for each accused.

The court granted three-day remand for Ikramul in a case, 12 days for Galib in four cases, three days

for Akbar in a case, and three days for Fayezunnabi in a case.

On March 28, the ACC arrested the four in Dhaka over the loan forgery cases.

On the same day, the ACC produced them before the court and moved remand pleas. The court ordered them into jail and fixed March 31 for hearing remand petitions.

It sought seven-day remand for Ikramul in a case over embezzlement of TK 25.87 crore and submitted a 28-day remand plea for Galib in four cases. It filed a seven-day remand petition for Akbar in a case over Tk 25 crore loan forgery and seven-day remand for Fayezunnabi in a case over embezzlement of Tk 44.48 crore.

Sources said 56 cases had been filed against 120 individuals including 27 BASIC Bank officials for swindling about Tk 4,500 crore from the bank in the last six years. l

um products come from different gas fields and private fractionation plants.

Crude oil is processed only at Eastern Refinery Limited to produce diesel, petrol, octane, furnace oil and liquefied petroleum gas.

The BPC fixed octane price at Tk99, petrol at Tk96, diesel at Tk68 and furnace oil at Tk60 per litre in 2013 when oil prices shot to $122 per barrel in the international market.

But it has not revised the prices although global oil slump saw crude drop below $40 a barrel in the last two years.

A BPC official said the government makes Tk27, Tk26, Tk34 and Tk37 on an average by selling each litre of diesel and furnace oil, kerosene and jet fuel, petrol and octane respectively.

The last time the price of oil was lowered was in 2008. l

Government cuts furnace oil price n Aminur Rahman Rasel

The government reduced the price of furnace oil, used mainly to generate electricity, by Tk18 per litre, effective from yesterday midnight.

A gazette notification announcing the price cut – from Tk60 to Tk42 – was issued by the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

According to the Power Devel-

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

Dhaka

RAIN OR THUNDERSHOWER LIKELY FRIDAY, April 1

Mahmood told the Dhaka Tribune.

State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid had said there was no decision yet to reduce prices of petrol, diesel, octane and other fuel oils.

State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) imports oil from 13 international companies.

At present, BPC imports around 1.2 million tonnes of crude oil and 4.2 million tonnes of refined oil, while around 300,000 tonnes of petrole-

opment Board, furnace oil is used to produce 21.56% or 2,508MW of the total power; 7.97% or 927MW is generated using diesel and 61.62% or 7,169MW comes from gas.

“At present, generating each unit at furnace oil-based plant is Tk 13-14. With the price cut, the PDB will be able to save Tk200 crore on an average as production cost will come down to Tk 11-12 per unit,” PDB Member (generation) Khaled 32

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Chittagong

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Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:15PM

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Rangpur

30

21

Khulna

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21

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:50AM

34.8ºC Jessore

19.0ºC Chuadanga

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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Fajr: 4:31am | Jumma: 12:02am Asr: 3:30pm | Magrib: 6:19pm Esha: 7:45pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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News

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Ministry raises issues with Rooppur loan n Asif Showkat Kallol The Finance Ministry has raised several objections on the draft credit agreement for the $12.65 billion loan from the Russian government for the Rooppur nuclear power plant construction.

In a letter to the Economic Relations Division, which is negotiating the deal, the ministry has asked to reduce the interest rate, amend advance payment clauses and include an unavoidable accident clause.

The ministry in its observations pointed out that a crucial element, a force majeure or unavoidable accident clause, is not included in the draft agreement. It also pointed out the lack of any court reference for dispute settlement and arbitration

mechanism in the agreement.

“We have given our comments on Russia-Bangladesh Intergovernmental State Credit Agreement (ISCA). Although the negotiation is going on but the Economic Relation Division has not mentioned some of the time frames and figures,” a Finance Division official said.

ERD has mentioned that the state to state agreement will be complete by the second week of this month, the official said. Negotiations over the ISCA began in mid-March.

On December 24, Bangladesh and Russia signed a general contract for the construction and commissioning of the 2,400 megawatt Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna, at a cost of $12.65 billion.

Sources at the Finance Division

Three held with arms and ammo in capital n Arifur Rahman Rabbi The Detective Branch of police and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CT) arrested three alleged arms dealers from the capital's Bangshal area on Wednesday with foreign-made pistols and ammunition in possession.

Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of DMP and head of CT, disclosed the matter at a press conference yesterday held at DMP Media Centre in the capital's Minto Road.

The arrestees are Dobir Uddin alias Tuhin, Abdul Hamid and Ifranul Hasan Piyash. Five foreign-made pistols, a revolver and 30 rounds of bullets were seized from their possession.

Monirul Islam said the three have been involved in arms trade for long and a case has also been filed with Bangshal

police in this regard.

He claimed that the weapons were being brought from the border areas and supplied to different districts to create chaos during the Union Parishad polls.

He said the arrrested Dobir and Hamid, who are from Chapainawabganj, would sell a pistol or revolver for Tk60,000 to Tk65,000 according to the demand and the other arrestee Ifranul used to buy the weapons from them and sell it for Tk70,000 to Tk75,000.

Monirul Islam also said the dealers would say that the arms were from USA, China or Italy but most were made in India and entered Bangladesh through the borders.

“We are currently interrogating them and will soon find out the whereabouts of the others involved,” he added. l

BTCL to change 10,000 telephone numbers in Ramna n Tribune Report The Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) yesterday said it would change about 10,000 telephone numbers under the Ramna Telephone Exahange to provide the customers enhanced facilities of the NGN technology.

Telephone numbers begin-

ning with ‘711’ and ‘712’ will be replaced by new eight-digit numbers starting with ‘471’ and ‘571’, the BTCL said in a statement.

It said the conversion process would start from April 3.

The BTCL said the customers would be informed over phone while changing numbers. The new numbers are available on the BTCL website www.btcl.com.bd. l

said that the Russian government had refused to pay for the education of a second batch of Bangladeshi students on nuclear science at universities in Russia despite this being a part of the agreement.

A source said Finance Minister AMA Muhith had expressed his disappointment over this issue saying, “We have been nothing but deprived from this contract.”

Under the current terms the Rooppur nuclear power plant will be financed through the credit up to 90% and the remaining 10% will be provided by the government of Bangladesh as advance payment.

The ministry wants this revised so that the 10% advance payment will also be financed.

Otherwise, if the cost is $12bn,

the government will be required to pay $1.2bn which may put pressure on the forex reserve.

The ministry said the agreement should contain a clause under which if the company becomes unable to utilise the full amount of the credit, there will be provisions by which it can extend the time frame.

The ERD in its latest draft did not mention an interest rate, although in earlier drafts it was 6 month libor plus 1.75% with a 4% cap. The Finance Ministry wants this interest rate lower considering the country's stable sovereign rating and highly promising economic outlook.

Bangladesh has been maintaining a sovereign rating of BB/Ba3 for five consecutive years with stable outlook. l

SC upholds bail for Mirza Abbas n Tribune Report

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the bail order issued by the High Court for senior BNP leader Mirza Abbas in a graft case, allowing his release from prison.

The four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha scrapped an appeal filed by the ACC against a previous High Court order that granted Abbas bail.

His counsel Sagir Hossain Leon said BNP Standing Committee member Abbas has been in prison since January 6 this year after he surrendered to a trial court in two cases of violence. He secured bail in both the cases from the High Court in February. l

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Study: 25% city residents suffer from lung disease n

Abu Hayat Mahmud

Nearly 25% of Dhaka residents suffer from lung disease owing to the extreme level of air pollution, a study said.

The air pollution has abnormalised the pulmonary function of one-fourth of the residents, and they have been infected with all sorts of lung diseases.

Bangladesh University (BU) Urban Lab carried out the study, titled “Impact of Air Pollution on Public Health,” in a bid to continue research on man-made problems of the capital.

The study recommended the government concentrate on taking immediate steps toward reducing

air pollution in the capital. Otherwise, the percentage of those with lung troubles will rise rapidly.

All industries should also be established based on the Green-Chemistry Polity, it recommended further.

BU Urban Lab along with Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) disclosed the findings at a programme in Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in the capital yesterday.

DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq addressed the event as the chief guest and child disease specialist at Dhaka Shishu Hospital Dr Md Ruhul Amin represented the study key note.

Dr Amin said various procedures – Pulmonary Function TestPFT, a test to correlate PFT results

with air pollution, a test to discover disease patterns according to age, gender, and others – have been applied in the study.

Of the 23.47% of study participants found to be lung-affected, 24.72% are women and 22.18% are men, he added. The research was carried out among various age groups from 10-year olds to 40plusyear-olds, he added.

DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq said: “We have started various projects to make the city green, clean, healthy, and livable. So every landlord, trader, shop owner and others should follow our rules and regulations in the process.”

The mayor further warned that if anybody breached the city corpora-

DT

News

tion’s rules, the city corporation authority would enforce tough measures and all of that person’s utilities lines would be disconnected.

Architect Iqbal Habib presented a paper on air pollution status in Dhaka city, and BU Trustee Board Chairman Quazi Jamil Azhar highlighted the BU Urban Lab activities and research aimed at building a traffic jam-free, environmentally friendly, and pollution-free dream Dhaka city.

The two Dhaka city corporations cover more than a 360 square kilometre area, with 12.5 million out of 17 million people of Dhaka, which includes different satellite cities and housing areas of private companies. l

Three testified on Kibria killing case n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

A Sylhet court yesterday recorded witnesses’ testimonies in the former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case.

Makbul Ahsan, judge of Sylhet Division Speedy Trial Tribunal, recorded the deposition of Ali Afsar, Jasimuddin and Sayed Suhel Ehsan in presence of suspended Sylhet City Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury, a BNP leader and an accused in the murder case.

The tribunal’s Special Public Prosecutor advocate Kishor Kumar Kar said 12 accused, including Sylhet City Corporation’s dismissed mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Harkat-ul-Jihad leader Mufti Hannan, out of the 32 were present in the courtroom.

The next testimony will be held on April 7. l

Rafiur Rabbi gets bail n Ashif Islam Shaon

Narayanganj Santrash Nirmul Mancha Convener Rafiur Rabbi yesterday secured bail from the Supreme Court in a cheque forgery case.

Supreme Court Chamber Judge Justice Mirza Husain Haider passed the order after holding hearing on a leave-to-appeal. Rabbi, father of slain schoolboy Tanvir Mohammad Twoki, would be on bail until January 5 next year.

Rafiur challenged the High Court verdict that on February 15 upheld his one-year imprisonment in the case and also prayed for bail, said Rafiur’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan.

A regular bench of the Appellate Division will hear the leave-to-appeal plea on January 5 next year.

A Narayanganj court on Tuesday sent Rabbi to jail upon surrender in the case. He moved the leave-toappeal plea the next day.

Last year, the cultural activist was sentenced to one-year imprisonment in the case, filed in 2012 by Jalal Uddin Ahmed, the uncle-in-law of Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, and fined Tk2.10 crore.

Of the amount, he was asked to pay Tk1.4 crore to the plaintiff and Tk70 lakh to the government exchequer.

Rabbi, also the Narayanganj unit convener of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, Rabbi filed an appeal with the High Court against the verdict and submitted Tk35 lakh.

On February 15, the High Court rejected his plea and sent all relevant documents to the district court. The documents reached the court on March 13 and the court asked Rabbi to surrender. l

Two young people are seen walking in the rain at Shahbagh in the city yesterday. Rain in the last three days has brought a sigh of relief to the townspeople after several days’ scorching heat MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Students start stealing ballot boxes n Our Correspondent, Barisal Following the political culture, students too have started stealing ballot boxes. The incident took place during a student cabinet election at Kagashura Secondary School in Barisal yesterday afternoon just two hours before the poll ended.

Abdur Rahman, a student at the school, said a few outsiders led by Md Zaman stole ballot papers and boxes around 2pm in support of a candidate named Rabbi, a student

of class X. On receiving the information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control by charging batons on them, said Osman Gani, acting officerin-charge of Barisal Kawnia police station.

Shafiqul Islam, headmaster of the school, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had suspended voting of the cabinet election soon after the theft.

Saidur Rahman Rintu, president

of the school management committee, said he had heard about the incident and action would be taken as per the rules.

Luthfunnahar Afroj, district education officer, said this student representative election was held at 517 secondary schools and madrasas of the district yesterday.

The student cabinet election has been introduced at every school across the country to facilitate democratic practices among students, she said, adding that the

tenure of the eight-member school cabinet is one year.

After the election, one of the members among the cabinet will be elected head of the cabinet through a voice vote. Later, he or she will distribute portfolios of cabinet colleagues following the norms of parliamentary democracy.

The cabinets will have ministers to maintain the educational environment on campus, including ensuring the mid-day meal for all students of an educational institution. l

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News

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Mayor Ivy at police station for release of accused Correspondent, n Our Naraynganj Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy spent yesterday night at Sadar Model police station to protest the arrest of a city corporation contractor.

Local sources said police arrested Zakir Hossain, owner of Ratna Enterprise, around 10pm on Wednesday in a case filed by a railway land officer.

The sources also said on information of the arrest, Ivy rushed to the police station and stayed there until morning.

Ivy claimed: “Influential quarters arrested Zakir in a false case to foil a project.”

Zakir was implementing a pro-

ject to build an amusement park and beautify a lake at the city’s Gymkhana area.

Abdul Malek, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station said: “Zakir was arrested in a case filed over an incident of beating up some staff of Bangladesh Railway.”

The contractor was accused of beating up and injuring some railway staff with seven to eight unidentified people on Mar 27, the OC said.

“No such incident took place.

I contacted the railway secretary.

He told me that he knew nothing about any such incident,” said Ivy. The city corporation had awarded the contract for implementing the project on railway land and there was a dispute over this.

The mayor told the journalists: “The contractor was working on the city corporation’s directives. If anyone has a complaint, I should be arrested first.”

The district unit Jubo League president Abdul Kadir, panel mayor Moniruzzaman were present among others with her.

Ratna Enterprise got the contract for the Tk77.5 million project in August last year. The project is scheduled to be completed by August this year. l City Corporation Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy is seen sitting at Narayanganj Sadar police station yesterday after arrest of a contractor. She spent the entire night at the police station protesting the arrest DHAKA TRIBUNE

Two testify on 7-murder case Correspondent, n Our Naraynganj

A court in the district yesterday took deposition of two witnesses over the sensational seven-murder case.

Sources said District and Sessions Judge Syed Enayet Hossain took the deposition of Shahidul Isalm alias Shahid chairman, father-in-law of Nazrul Islam, who was also among the seven victims, and Shahjalal Mian, a relative of Nazrul, in presence of the 23 arrested suspects in the case.

The court fixed the day ear-

lier for the deposition of witnesses, said Public Prosecutor Wazed Ali Khokon.

The 23 accused including prime suspect former ward councillor Nur Hossain and three former officials of Rapid Action Battalion were brought to the court amid tight security from Dhaka Central Jail and Kashimpur Jail.

Earlier, charges were framed on February 8 this year against 35 suspects, named by police in the case’s charge sheet submitted in court on April 8 last year.

Among the 35 suspects, 23

Lightning kills nine n Tribune Report Nine people were killed and 21 others injured in separate incidents of lightning strike in six districts on Thursday.

In Comilla, two brick kiln workers were killed and 17 others injured as a thunderbolt struck them at Bakhornagar village in Muradnagar upazila around 2:30am while working.

The deceased were identified as Al-Amin, 30, son of Bashir Miah, and Mohammad Ali, 25, son of Dilu Miah, hailing from Majlispur area of Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila.

The injured were admitted to different local hospitals.

In Narayanganj, a streak of lightning killed two teenage boys and injured a young man at Char Kishoreganj Mollarpara in Sonargaon upazila. The deceased were identified Anik, 15, and Ferdous, 17, residents of the area.

In Bagerhat, two day-la-

bourers were killed and another was injured in a lightning strike while digging soil at Kamlagram village in Morelganj upazila around 2pm.

The deceased were identified as Kalipad Majumder, 50, son of Binod Majumder of Kumarkhali village, and Rafiqul Forazi, 28, son of Aziz Forazi of Ghorgota village.

In Netrakona, an elderly man was killed as he was struck by a thunderbolt at Noapara village of Sadar upazila in the evening. The deceased was identified as Abdul Khaleque, 50, of the village.

In Brahmanbaria, the muazzim of Noahati mosque at Shilail village of Sadar upazila was killed in a lightning strike around 2pm. Two other people were also injured in the lighting strike.

In Faridpur, a schoolboy, Md Hasan Mollah, 16, son of Javed Mollah, was killed in a lighting strike at Khrishanagar village of Sadar upazila at noon. l

were arrested and 12 still remain in hiding.

On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj City Corporation’s panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his friend Moniruzzaman Swapan, Tajul Islam, Liton, lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar and their drivers Jahangir Alam and Ibrahim went missing in Narayanganj.

Their bodies were later found in the Shitalakkhya River on April 30 and May 1.

A Narayanganj court took deposition of two witnesses in the seven-murder case yesterday in the presence of the 23 arrested suspects in the case. l

Man shot dead in Noakhali Correspondent, n Our Noakhali A mechanic has been shot dead at Sharifpur union, Begumganj upazila in Noakhali.

The deceased was identified as Faruq, 27, son of Nurul Amin of Bepari Bari.

Officer-in-Charge of Begumganj model police station said Faruq had set up motorcycle workshop at Chowmuhani Purba Bazar.

When he was returning home from his shop, some miscreants numbering four to five waylaid of him and snatched his mobile phone and cash around 10pm on Wednesday.

Later, the assailants shot him on his head that left him dead on the spot.

A case was filed in this connection. l

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DT

Writing

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Ending it A short excerpt on how to write proper conclusions

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal While we all admit the difficulty of dishing out a beautiful beginning when writing a story (or anything really), the tediousness of ending that story is often less spoken of.

The final words are visualised as dream-like when you get a good start, but in reality, that isn’t always the case. Thing is, your ending doesn’t need to be perfect at all. What’s required is a natural finish, one which definitely tells the readers that it’s over.

The simplest way to show what you should do in these cases would be to elaborate on the things you absolutely shouldn’t.

Before you start considering which area the final bullet shall hit your main character in a flawlessly planned murder, here are the late errors you need to be aware of.

Closing the curtains All in order, most stories initiate with a struggle, set to end with a chain of causal events coming to a temporary or final resolution of that struggle. For instance, when the murderer confesses his sins, or when two individuals realise their true love for each other or when the brave hero dies of a fatal wound; the struggle may be concluded as resolved. The mistake revolves right here: How long did you make your readers wait for that to happen?

Failing to kill your story (metaphoric) when the core problems have been rectified is like letting your ice-cream melt on a hot day before you eat it; it’s excruciatingly painful and pointless. There is absolutely no obligation for you to explain each and every scenario and tie a knot for any loose ends that remain.

If you’re the kind to take to fancy steps and tempted to add in prologues and/or epilogues, or add a beginning before beginnings or endings after endings, we advise you to plan the story out well.

Instead of proving you know what you’re writing, it usually hints you aren’t aware when to start or when to quit your own story.

Resolving issues As stated above, another pet peeve of avid readers is not being given a resolution to a conflict which is supposed to be resolved.

The story starts off fast, elevates dramatically as the problems snowball into a huge pile, only to taper off pathetically on the sidelines. In most cases, this awful act is justified with the reasoning that,

“it is left up to the readers on how they wish to end it themselves.”

Well, simple fact is the readers are not the ones creating the story, and are simply left with a rotten apple to ponder on an empty, unsatisfied stomach.

Every story is undeniably expected to contain an ending to the primary conflict without fuss.

Ending so clean that it’s dirty Looking at the flip side, some stories are ended so neatly that it physically bothers you. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but some endings just seem clichéd to the point that it feels inattentively contrived. Yes, true, all ends are contrived. You got us there. However, the issue this creates is that the story plot becomes unrealistic and loses its believability. The fact of the matter is, no one likes to read about the ordinary. An ordinary ending, it is rejected immediately.

Expecting expectations It would be important to note that while you may be expected to create a wonderful ending to

your own tale, your readers are also feeding their expectations from you as the story intensifies.

Primarily, they hope for a logical

Failing to kill your story (metaphoric) when the core problems have been rectified is like letting your ice-cream melt on a hot day before you eat it

ending from a single or series of events which occur to resolve the issue(s) at hand. They wish for those events to have a necessary and probable relationship with each other. Lastly, when they have finally read the ending of your story, they should be made to feel like it could not have gotten better than that; it could have only expired the one way.

Secondly, they yearn for the unexpected. However, this is risky as it may contradict your plot entirely if you push it, and you might as well have to burn the book like the logic you flared inside it.

If your plot has begun well and gradually gained traction and intensity, you also have increased the readers’ anticipation along with it. To end it too late, or early, too easily or not to at all will not only destroy their impression of your story, but also lose faith in your writing. Deadly cycle, this. l

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

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10

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Feature

The four greatest fears of entrepreneurs “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” –Nelson Mandela

n Ibrahim Mahbub For the people who embark on uncertain journey like that of building an enterprise from scratch, the nature of fear is different. Entrepreneurs often come across more than one aspect of fear rather they regularly expose themselves to the multiple facets of it. At times, it is all consuming and frightening and the next it forces people to act faster and to make bold decisions. Similarly, it also paralyses us, makes us weak and manipulates our decisions.

Understanding fear is important for entrepreneurs. A proper understanding of the nature of fear enables us to get over our fear and accomplish things that we need to accomplish. In following infographic, we put together a list of common fears that entrepreneurs often come across and have to master and few ways that they can apply to overcome those fears.

Fear is a constant companion for entrepreneurs who are striking out on their own and working hard to thread their own path. It often becomes the difference between what we choose to do and what not to do. Fear is at the core of most of our decisions, choices and actions that shape our lives. Here are few common fears that most entrepreneurs have and what to do about them.

FINANCIAL SAFETY How do you pay for yourself, your co-workers and your family? This insecurity is central to the life of any early stage founder.

Focus on generating revenue early on. Have enough money in the bank to have a decent runway.

COMPETITION Many entrepreneurs spend quite a good amount of time worrying about competition.

Competition does not kill a business, a mediocre product does.

PHOTOS: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

UNCERTAINTY What’s next: next hour, next day, next month? Most of the time, you don’t know what’s coming and what you exactly need to do.

That’s why entrepreneurship is exciting. There is no similar day. You tackle new challenges everyday.

FEAR OF FAILURE Most destructive of all. Many people don’t even give it a try because of fear of failure.

Failure is a very common thing for entrepreneurs. You need to learn how to get along with it and how to get up every time you fall.

[Reprinted with the permission of futurestartup.com]

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Editorial 11

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

INSIDE

5 things T-20 cricket teaches us Today’s consumer is time-starved, and is carefully managing their time across multiple priorities. Products and brands need to give them what they want on their terms. T-20 has tailored its model such that it provides them quick-fire entertainment over a short duration of time PAGE 12

Pakistan, take a lesson from Lahore Nawaz Sharif rushed to Lahore, his power base, and consoled the weeping families. He should beg forgiveness, as he has failed to protect his own people as their head of state, a state that many say has failed PAGE 13

BIGSTOCK

Invest in skills to grow economy

Where’s your underwear?

I stand up from prostration often to be greeted with the unfortunate sight of exposed buttocks directly in front of me PAGE 14

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

T

he government is right to be encouraging specialisation in education to help develop skilled human resources.

As the education minister pointed out recently, improving the quality of education and skills development for the nation’s children is vital for the economy.

Bangladesh urgently needs its workforce to become more skilled and productive in as many different sectors as possible. With 2 million people entering the job market every year, developing young workers in particular is essential to help the economy become more internationally competitive.

Without improving skills and productivity, the potential of the demographic dividend will be lost.

The country needs to be able to rise up the value chain as it moves ahead on the path to become a middle-income country. Reliance on cheap and unskilled labour is not sustainable.

The cost of failing to improve skills can already be seen in key sectors such as RMG, where growing businesses employ a significant number of foreign employees in technical and managerial positions due to a shortage of local skills. According to estimates by the Finance Ministry, this leads to an outflow of $4 billion a year.

It is welcome, then, to see the ADB and the government working with business organisations take on programs to train over 1.25 million young people with employable skills by 2021.

Such investment in vocational training is key to providing the skills the economy needs for future economic growth and job creation.

Improving the quality and value of education is the best investment the country can make to help attract future investment and create the new higher value jobs the economy needs.

Investment in vocational training is key to providing the skills the economy needs for future economic growth

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Opinion

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

5 things T-20 cricket teaches us The world is in the grips of the Twenty-20 World Cup, but can the corporate world learn something from the game? ball overs per side. Australia won the game by five wickets.

After that, it took another 34 years before the first international Twenty-20 match was played in February 2005, where Australia defeated New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland.

And since then, there has been no looking back. The T-20 format has taken the cricketing world by storm, and has gained immense popularity over the last decade.

So, what are the lessons that we can learn from T-20, which would be relevant for organisations in today’s world? I have tried to capture below five lessons.

Expand your playground

The T-20 format (read: Indian Premier League) came and converted cricket from a sport for the boys to a complete valuefor-money family entertainer.

This was done through carefully orchestrated marketing plans which included catchy advertising, music during the match, cheerleaders, and what have you. T-20 has cleverly expanded the consumer base to maximise revenues.

quick-fire entertainment over a short duration of time, something akin to watching an EPL match or a Bollywood pot-boiler.

Organisations need to understand their customer needs and tailor their business models to meet those needs.

The age of the utilitarian

T-20 has effectively put to bed the concept of a “specialist” -- someone who could only bat or only bowl. Today, there is a premium placed on all-rounders or utility players, someone who can bat, bowl, and preferably field well. Organisations would do well to look for talent that is wellrounded and flexible, with a good business sense; someone who is not too technical and steeped in their own area of specialisation.

The F-words

The T-20 format requires players to use the 3Fs: To be fast, focused, and flexible. Similarly, organisations today are looking for employees who are conscious of increased speed to market, are focused on the consumer, and adapt themselves well to the

so far in over 500 T-20 matches.

The fastest century has been in 45 balls! Batsmen come up with innovative shots, bowlers find new means to curb runs, fielders rise to greater heights -- all in the pursuit of excellence in the face of challenges.

Organisations need to encourage employees to take risks, redefine the rules, and explore uncharted territories to come up with effective and efficient business solutions.

Over the last century, several iconic corporations have been built across the world on the back of some very strong fundamentals.

Some continue to hold sway, while many who have not been able to cope with change have perished.

IBM is a great example of an organisation which evolved its business model with changing time so that it could survive. In the 1980s, IBM was the undisputed king of the computing world through the sales of its iconic PC. However, the PC clones with their cheaper versions almost wiped them out in the 1990s.

And that’s when IBM decided to abandon the core of its business

Today’s consumer is time-starved, and is carefully managing their time across multiple priorities. Products and brands need to give them what they want on their terms. T-20 has tailored its model such that it provides them quick-fire entertainment over a short duration of time

In cricket as in business

n Rajesh Ramakrishnan

T

he T-20 World Cup is being played in India this month, and it is non-stop entertainment time for all those who understand cricket and are passionate about it. There is a high level of interest and excitement, with endless debates around the toss, team selection, batting order, field placements, and of course, the umpiring decisions.

While the fans are gripped in a frenzy, it’s a good time to step back and see what lessons are there to be learnt from the T-20 format for those of us in the corporate world.

Before we get into the lessons,

let’s take a brief journey in time to the early days of cricket, often referred to as the gentleman’s game. Cricket is generally believed to have been first played in southern England in the 16th century. The first Test match was played in March 1877 between an English team and an Australian team.

It would be almost another 100 years before the first ODI was played in January 1971 between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. When the first three days of the third Test were washed out, officials decided to abandon the match and, instead, play a one-off one day game consisting of 40 eight-

Organisations need to redefine their competitive set and play in a wider field. As we all know, the same Rs5 can be used to buy a bar of chocolate or a pack of biscuit or a bottle of fizzy drink or an icecream or even a samosa. Brands need to appropriately define their competitive set and accordingly devise their marketing plans to drive revenues.

Evolve new models

Today’s consumer is time-starved, and is carefully managing their time across multiple priorities.

Products and brands need to give them what they want on their terms. T-20 has tailored its model such that it provides them

changing environment.

A great example of this is Rahul Dravid. Branded as a Test cricketer, he reinvented himself to excel in ODIs, scoring more than 10,000 runs at a strike rate of over 70. He then went on to play T-20 and scored over 2,000 runs in the IPL at a strike rate of 115.

Constantly push the boundaries

The constraints that we work under very often spur creativity and enable us to achieve new highs. Nothing seems impossible in T-20.

There was a time when a batsman scoring a century in an ODI was a big deal. No longer so -- there have been 20 centuries

model and started focusing on providing IT expertise and computing services, and it became the number one seller of enterprise server solutions by 2013.

In order to succeed in today’s dynamic environment, organisations need to correctly define the pond that they want to fish in, resource themselves appropriately, evolve their business models, be fast-focusedflexible, and be able to constantly push the boundaries of creativity.

And as for the future, five-over a side cricket anyone? l Rajesh Ramakrishnan is Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle Bangladesh Pvt Ltd.

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Opinion

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Pakistan, take a lesson from Lahore Pakistan needs to say sorry for its own crimes, and for exporting terror abroad

May the souls of those who perished in Lahore rest in peace

n Nadeem Qadir

P

eople of all faiths and colours gathered at the Westminster Abbey on March 29 to pray for Bangladesh, a country that celebrated its 46th Independence Day some days ago. This is an annual ritual.

The Bangladesh envoy and officials from the high commission were seated on one side, while selected guests were placed around them along with choirchildren. Members of the public were seated just a little farther away.

But as the choir children sang, we had to stand up and sit down as the ritual goes. Ah … what peace. I saw people of all races and creeds, and at least some Muslims and a large number of Christians prayed to the Almighty Lord for a better life and a better world. If we can do this here in London, why not in other parts of the world?

Especially in light of the recent cowardly bomb attack in Lahore, in which nearly 100 people, almost half of them innocent children, were killed.

The terrorists had specifically targeted Christians, who constitute 3.8 million of Pakistan’s

197 million-strong population.

The incident took place on Easter Sunday, and the killers perpetrated the atrocity in the name of Islam.

What did Christians ever do to them? Or their children for that matter?

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who never stopped crying since 1971 when her husband was killed by the Pakistani Army. I remembered the pain my younger brother lived with every day, as he was not lucky enough to be born when his father was still around.

of certain arrestees prove, keep on trying to turn our country into a Talibanesque state in the name of Islam and their heinous brand of politics.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent a message of condolence to

Nawaz Sharif rushed to Lahore, his power base, and consoled the weeping families. He should beg forgiveness, as he has failed to protect his own people as their head of state, a state that many say has failed

It’s regrettable that their actions also saw many of their Muslim brethren losing their lives as well.

Pakistan’s tough blasphemy laws have often led to Christians getting targeted by extremists. The law prescribes the death penalty or life imprisonment. Pakistan is the sixth nation in which Christians are most at risk, according to a list prepared by a monitoring organisation called Open Doors.

When the mothers cried, I remembered my own mother,

I remember how I lost my own childhood innocence to a world without a father.

The only happiness I can find these days is in the fact that we have Bangladesh -- but we still have to fight pro-Pakistani elements that did not feel any sense of patriotism after 1971, yet still reaped the benefits of an independent Bangladesh. The so-called Jihadis who have been cultured and exported by Pakistan to Bangladesh, as the interrogation

her Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after the killings. This is what I call humanity.

Nawaz Sharif rushed to Lahore, his power base, and consoled the weeping families. He should beg forgiveness, as he has failed to protect his own people as their head of state, a state that many say has failed.

Aid to Church in Need’s John Pontifex reportedly said that unless the Pakistani government tackles extremism, “Pakistan

will soon be added to the list of countries at risk of a genocidal threat against Christians and minorities.”

Pakistan is yet to admit that it committed a genocide in Bangladesh and seek the forgiveness of the people of our country.

The ghosts of 1971 will forever haunt Islamabad as long as it does not seek forgiveness. Pakistan needs to stop exporting its terrorists elsewhere, especially to Bangladesh, as it has lost its influence since the Awami League came to power.

A prophecy? Not at all. It is Allah’s lesson to make them seek forgiveness for their crimes and wrongdoings. The 3 million martyrs of Bangladesh may forgive -- although we cannot forget Pakistan’s crimes back in 1971 -- if only they came to their senses and said “sorry.” With the martyrs are the people of Bangladesh, who are getting some justice finally, with the punishment of pro-Pakistani war criminals. l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism. He is the Press Minister of Bangladesh High Commission in London.

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Opinion

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Where’s your underwear?

Nobody wants to see your privates

n Matthew Islam

S

o, it’s Friday. I’m all cleaned up and in a state of spiritual calm heading into our local mosque. I stow away my soon-to-be-stolen sandals into the shoe-box nearest to where I will sit for my prayers.

This is to facilitate the third eye in the back of my head from unsuccessfully stopping the inevitable happening.

I see an old man stashing away his pair of sandals, dividing each sandal into two separate and distant boxes.

The logic behind this being one sandal without its pair will not be stolen. Many apparently use this technique.

Well played, old seer! Wisdom is an age-acquired talent, I say to myself, when, in that very moment, the little voices in my head pitch in with a depressing thought: “Or maybe you are just really slow.” Anyway, I digress.

I settle into the back of the mosque, a popular location with the young and the posh who attend it.

Being neither, my MO for choosing this location almost always is a pre-emptive strike against the exiting traffic at the end of prayers; that almost always ends up in a traffic jam at the mosque gates, lasting a good half an hour. Don’t judge me. I suffer enough commuting on our clogged up roads to allow the same fate to affect my weekly spiritual bliss.

So, the supplementary prayers begin, and all goes without a hitch. It’s important for many

There must be a pair somewhere

BIGSTOCK

I stand up from prostration often to be greeted with the unfortunate sight of exposed buttocks directly in front of me. I know I am not the only one who encounters this. The frequency of said sightings is on the increase. Spirituality and public exposure of the inter-gluteal clefts are seldom happy partners

others and people like me to be able to concentrate on our prayers, because Allah knows, the universe’s stream of bull always beams into your head when you try to pray, so you try extra hard to be mindful, in an empty spiritual state, so to speak.

Well, guess what? There are

enemies to that too. Imagine, 20 reminders plastered everywhere for people to put their mobile phones on silent; yet there are at least five imbeciles, per prayer, anywhere I go to, who will have their “Nantu Ghotok” and “Munni Badnaam” ringtones grace us with their presence.

I have learned to ignore the odd sounds but, to concentrate, I find it’s always better to keep your eyes open while praying. This too has resulted in grief for me.

I stand up from prostration often to be greeted with the unfortunate sight of exposed buttocks directly in front of me. I

know I am not the only one who encounters this.

The frequency of said sightings is on the increase. Spirituality and public exposure of the intergluteal clefts are seldom happy partners. Going commando, however, is trending with members of the youth, and their dislike for belts and longer forms of clothing lead to an assault on our piety, weekly.

So, I humbly ask you, oh, youth, where on God’s Earth is your underwear? What you do behind closed doors, on Tinder or Snapchat, is your domain; do us a favour and cover your mounds of destiny this one day, for God’s sake! l Matthew Islam is a writer, entrepreneur, barrister-at-law, and a Dhaka Tribune columnist. He can be contacted on twitter via @matthewislam or www. facebook.com/thematthewislam.

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Business 15

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

INSIDE Realtors for indemnity to undisclosed money Realtors have urged the government to allow legalising undisclosed money whitening facility with indemnity against their investments in the country’s housing sector. PAGE 16

Stocks extend gains with volatility Stocks rose for the third consecutive day amid volatility yesterday as active participation mainly by institutional investors helped lift turnover to more than a week high. PAGE 16

S&P lowers China outlook to negative Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut its outlook on China from stable to negative yesterday, warning that economic rebalancing was taking longer than expected. PAGE 17

China-led AIIB eyes first loans to India India hopes to receive one of the first loans issued by the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) later this year, as it looks to raise $500mn for solar power projects from the newly created lender, Indian officials said. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Thursday DSE Broad Index

4,357.5

0.5% ▲

Index

1,052.1

0.1% ▲

30 Index

1,649.0

0.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,129.6

7.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

126.2

21.0% ▲

All Share Index 13,407.2

0.4% ▲

30 Index

0.4% ▲

CSE

Selected Index

12,036.8 8,140.9

0.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

351.7

53.9% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

10.3

25.8% ▲

ADB inks $40m trade finance deal with four banks n Tribune Report The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and four local banks have signed trade finance programme agreements for a total value of $40 million.

Under the agreements, ADB and the City Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Pubali Bank and Southeast Bank will provide loans and guarantees to support exporting and importing companies in Bangladesh, including small and medium-size enterprises, said ADB in a statement yesterday.

Steven Beck, ADB’s head of trade finance, said: “This agreement will help create economic growth and jobs.”

Southeast Bank is already a part of the programme while the three others are joining the trade finance programme (TFP) for the first time.

“Bangladesh is a very active country under ADB’s Trade Finance Programme. ADB’s TFP has had good experiences working with banks in Bangladesh and we

With dedicated trade finance specialists and a response time of 24 hours, the programme has established itself as a key partner in the international trade community, providing fast, reliable,

‘This agreement will help boost economic growth and create jobs’ A worker walks past inside the ADB headquarters in Manila are pleased to be expanding our relationships and coverage here.

We look forward to continuing this trend,” said Edward Faber, Trade Finance Programme relationship manager for Bangladesh.

The programme has provided more than $2.2 billion in trade finance support in Bangladesh since 2009 through more than

REUTERS

1,400 transactions.

With these latest agreements, the total number of banks under TFP in Bangladesh reaches 15.

Backed by ADB’s AAA credit rating, the TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia to engage in import and export activities.

and responsive support to fill gaps in the region’s most challenging markets.

Since 2009, TFP has supported more than 7,000 small and medium-size enterprises across the region, with about 10,000 transactions valued at over $20 billion in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods to medical supplies and consumer goods. l

Govt allocates Tk13cr Board formed to operate RMG welfare fund for exclusive tourist zone project in Teknaf n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

n

Asif Showkat Kallol and Ishtiaq Husain

The government has allocated Tk12.90 crore to acquire land for construction of Sabrang exclusive tourist zone in Teknaf near seabeach town of Cox’s Bazar, said official sources.

With the money, around 1,028 acres of land will be acquired for the project. However, the total project cost is yet to be estimated while the project duration still remains undecided.

The public-private partnership project was approved by the cabinet committee on economic affairs in August, 2014. It features hotels, cottages, beach villas, night clubs, a convention hall and an amusement park.

In last February, a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair discussed the Sabrang ETZ project in details.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon

recently said they would “soon conduct a feasibility study” of the project.

He expects foreign investment in the development of Sabrang ETZ. “Many foreign companies are willing to invest in Sabrang,” Menon claimed adding international tender will be called after the feasibility study. According to sources, the World Bank is likely to fund the feasibility study.

Rashed Khan Menon said construction of a marine drive road in the area was under way and a four-lane road would also be developed to reach the zone. Besides, the development work of Cox’s Bazar airport was also progressing fast, he added.

Exclusive tourism zone project is first in Bangladesh and expected to bring about a change in the country’s tourism industry which still lacks international standards.

Officials said the project, once implemented, could attract foreign tourists too. l

The government has formed a board with representatives from RMG stakeholders to operate a Central Fund designed for the welfare of workers in 100% export-oriented apparel sector.

The fund, apart from ensuring welfare, aims to tackle untoward incidents.

According to the rules of Bangladesh Labour Act 2013, the own-

ers of export-oriented garment industries will contribute 0.03% of export value to the workers’ welfare fund. Of the fund, 50% will be kept for welfare purposes and 50% for tackling unrest, if any. In September last year, the government published the gazette notification of amended Labour Act 2013.

Sate Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu will lead the board as chairman.  PAGE 16 COLUMN 4

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Business

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Stocks extend gains with volatility n Tribune Report

The 11th Dhaka Motor Show, 2nd Bike Show and Auto Parts Show kicked off yesterday at the capital’s International Convention City Bashundhara. The three-day event will continue until tomorrow DHAKA TRIBUNE

Realtors for indemnity to undisclosed money n Tribune Report Realtors have urged the government to allow legalising undisclosed money whitening facility with indemnity against their investments in the country’s housing sector.

The sector received the opportunity of legalising undisclosed money, but the facility remains mostly untilised because of not having indemnity, they argued.

The realtors requested the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to amend the existing provisions of income tax ordinance 1984 to provide the investors with legal indemnity for benefiting the real estate sector.

Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) made the call at a pre-budget meeting with the NBR in the city Wednesday. NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman chaired the meeting.

“Many term it black money, but it should be called undisclosed money. The facility given to the sector is not being utilised as the authorities can raise questions over the source of income,” said REHAB first vice president Liakat Ali Bhuiyan.

If undeclared money is allowed to be invested without any question, the investors can be brought to the tax net in future, he added.

The sector urged the NBR to allow investors to invest their undisclosed amount of money in the housing sector— flat, plot, commer-

cial building and markets—for the next 5 to 10 years without raising any question over their source of income, according to the proposal.

Undisclosed money stands for the money, wealth or property that individuals and organisations have not included in their tax returns.

However, economists termed it black money that refers to money or wealth accumulated through unlawful or criminal activities.

Money is being illegally flown to other countries using legal channels like second home scheme of many countries, REHAB proposal said.

“If the government allows investment of undisclosed money in the housing sector without any conditions, it will help stop capital flight and boost the sector,” it argued.

According to the existing law, black money can be whitened in the housing sector, but that does not guarantee the investors indemnity.

According to a 2011 study endorsed by the Finance Ministry, black money accounted for 62.75% of the total GDP in 2009 while it accounted for only 7% of the GDP in 1973.

NBR statistics shows that only Tk9,683 crore had been whitened in between 1971 to 2009. According to the Global Financial Integrity Report 2013, more than Tk2,098 crore was whitened in Bangladesh during 2009-2013, which fetched only Tk279 crore in taxes. >>Tax cut demanded for used flat registration<< The realtors also requested the

government to reduce tax and registration fees of used flats from 14% to 3.5% to boost sales in the secondary market.

Currently, there is a 14% tax on registration of any apartment, no matter whether it is new or a used one. The price of used apartments can come down significantly if the government approves the proposal, they said.

The sector also called upon the NBR to fix gain tax at 2% from the existing 4%, stamp duty at 1.5% from current 3%, registration fee at 1% from 2%, local government tax at 1% from 2%, and value-added tax in registration of plots and flats at 1.5% from 3%.

It has also demanded reduction of income tax on transfer of per square metre residential land, buildings and apartments to Tk500, Tk450 and Tk300 respectively from Tk1,600, Tk1,500 and Tk600 and per square metre commercial lands, buildings and apartments to Tk1,000, Tk800 and Tk500 under areas divided in three different categories.

The association also called upon the government to allow duty-free import of fire safety machinery including fire alarms, fire extinguisher, fire pump, fire hose etc for at least next five years to ensure securities in the buildings.

It has also demanded five years tax holiday for metropolitan areas and 10 years for municipality areas to encourage decentralised urbanisation. l

Stocks rose for the third consecutive day amid volatility yesterday as active participation mainly by institutional investors helped lift turnover to more than a week high.

The benchmark index DSEX increased by 22 points or 0.6% to end at 4,357.

During the three-day rally, the key index has gained over 45 points. The Shariah Index DSES witnessed a factional rise of 0.9 points to 1,052.

The blue chip comprising index DS30 rose almost 4 points to 1,648.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX was up 30 points to 8,140.

Trading activities improved well as the DSE turnover crossed Tk413 crore, which is 7% higher over the previous session and highest since March 23 last.

Though both indexes and the volume of trade moved up, investors still felt edgy as the key index touched an intraday high of 4,362mark as against an intraday low of 4,340-mark.

Food and allied stocks continued to display its muscle as it rallied about 2% led by multinational tobacco firm BATBC that rose over 3%.

Non-banking financial institutions gained significantly 1.9% driven by Lanka Bangla Finance,

which was the biggest gainer of the day surging nearly 10%.

Power, engineering, pharmaceuticals, textile and banks also moved upward. Telecommunications and cement, however, suffered losses falling 1.4% and 1% respectively.

Non-banking financial institutions gained significantly 1.9% driven by Lanka Bangla Finance, which was the biggest gainer of the day surging nearly 10% Among 314 active scrips, prices of 158 issues advanced, 110 declined, whereas values of 46 other companies stayed unchanged.

Lanka Bangla Finance was the most traded stocks, followed by Aman Feed, BSRM Limited, Orion Infusion, Keya Cosmetics and KDS Accessories.

Samata Leather led the major price losers with decrement of over 7%. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Board formed to operate RMG welfare fund Senior Secretary to Labour and Employment Mikail Shipar and BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman will also be on the board.

The other members of the board include Bangladesh knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) president AKM Salim Osman, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) vice-presidents Mohammed Nasir and Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, Sammilito Garment Sramik Federation president Nazma Akter, Jatiya Sramik League (JSL) president Sukkur Mahmud and Garments Tailors Workers League general secretary Badruddoza Nizam.

In every four month, the board has to hold at least one meeting and the tenure of board will be three years from the date of its formation.

It will work on managing the fund as per the instruction of labour rules.

“After the first meeting of the

board, we will send letter to Bangladesh Bank for taking initiatives to open accounts to deposit the fund contributed by the RMG owners,” Mikail Shipar told the Dhaka Tribune.

According to the rules, there will have two accounts for depositing money. One account is for welfare fund and the other for tackling untoward situation.

Respective banks will cut 0.03% from the export value of the company and deposit that to the accounts.

The owners’ contribution to the welfare fund would be Tk72 crore in line with the current export value of $24.5 billion and this contribution would reach Tk150 crore in 2021 when the export value is expected to stand at $50 billion.

The issue of Labor Act amendment came under spotlight following the suspension of Generalised System of Preference (GSP) by the US government in the wake of Rana Plaza collapse that killed over 1,135 workers in 2013. l

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Business

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

S&P lowers China outlook to negative n AFP, Beijing

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut its outlook on China from stable to negative yesterday, warning that economic rebalancing was taking longer than expected.

“The economic and financial risks to the Chinese government’s creditworthiness are gradually increasing,” it said in a statement.

S&P kept its rating on Chinese sovereign bonds unchanged at AA/A-1+.

Beijing is grappling with a tough economic transition away from dependence on heavy industries toward a consumer-driven model, but fluctuations in the exchange rate and stock markets have undermined confidence in leaders’ willingness to push through reforms.

S&P said that it could downgrade Chinese government bonds this year or next if Beijing tries to keep economic growth at 6.5% by opening the credit floodgates and pushing investment to above 40% of GDP. That would be “well above what we believe to be sustainable levels of 30%-35% of GDP and among the highest ratios of rated sovereigns”, which it said would weaken the economy’s resilience to shocks.

The US-based agency also said

A woman walks past twin buildings of Tencent’s new headquarters under construction in Shenzhen its downgrade was motivated by its view that much-needed reforms to hulking, inefficient state-owned enterprises may be “insufficient” to reduce the risks of credit-fuelled growth.

It projected the economy would expand at 6% or more over the next three years, but forecasted that government debt would rise to

43% of GDP. But it said ratings could stabilise if Beijing takes measures to cool credit growth so that it is more in line with nominal GDP. A lowered outlook does not necessarily mean there will be a downgrade of Chinese bonds, which would push up borrowing costs for Beijing in international markets.

REUTERS

Chinese stock futures fell after the announcement yesterday evening, but analysts said the outlook cut was unlikely to weigh heavily on markets.

“I don’t see this as a game changer,” Nordine Naam, global macro strategist for Natixis SA told Bloomberg News, adding he did not expect “any major impact”.

“While things will remain difficult, we’re expecting fiscal stimulus in the coming months that will be supportive of growth,” he said.

China’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, fell to $3.2tn in January, the lowest in more than three years, official data have showed.

S&P pointed to increased global use of the yuan and ambitious plans to increase fiscal transparency as positive signs for the economy, while noting that a history of uneven implementation and a lack of “checks and balances” or a “free flow of information” could lead to distortions and “foster discontent over time”.

S&P joins fellow ratings agency Moody’s, which cut its outlook on Chinese sovereign bonds earlier in March, citing increasing capital outflows and rising debt.

After the Moody’s downgrade the official news agency Xinhua carried a commentary criticising the “short-sightedness” of Western ratings agencies, and claiming they lacked credibility and significance.

China’s economy grew 6.9% last year, its weakest rate in a quarter of a century, and concerns over its outlook have kept mounting. l

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Business

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

China-led AIIB eyes first loans to India

Global funds tiptoe from share slump n Reuters, New Delhi hopes to receive one of the into China’s new India first loans issued by the China-led Infrastructure Investment economy firms Asian Bank (AIIB) later this year, as it looks to raise $500mn for solar n Reuters, Singapore power projects from the newly creGlobal funds are cautiously venturing back into Chinese equities after prices collapsed to 4-1/2-year lows in February, taking advantage of cheaper valuations to buy stocks they believe will benefit from China’s shift to a consumption-led economy.

Foreign investors are tentatively buying in sectors linked to the main themes of the 13th Five-Year Plan released earlier this month, including urbanization, consumption, internet growth, green development and innovation.

The MSCI China index has gained 17% since Feb 12 and while foreign investors are still net sellers the scale of net selling has shrunk to $272mn from March 1 to March 25 versus an average of $2.1bn over the previous four months, according to EPFR Global data.

Most investors are focusing on specific “new economy” industries, which make up only a small proportion of the market, while avoiding those sectors linked to the “old economy”.

“China’s transition to a consumption and service-led economy is likely to be a bit painful, and it’s worse for the stock market because 70-80% of the market is highly dependent on the infrastructure and investment-led economy,” said Tan Eng Teck, senior portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management in Singapore.

“But the remaining 20-30% is growing, and we like those sectors because they’re in a multi-year growth phase.”

Beijing’s five-year plan aims to create at least 10 million urban jobs, boost research and development investment to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2020, develop alternative energy sources and reduce emissions, and expand internet penetration.

Tan’s prefered sectors include tourism, insurance, environment and healthcare. Among the biggest holdings in Nikko’s China equity fund and Shenton Greater China Fund are Ping An Insurance, internet firm Tencent and China Traditional Chinese Medicine Co..

M&G Investments combines the internet and consumption growth themes, with recent purchases including an online travel agency listed in the US, said Matthew Vaight, M&G portfolio manager for global emerging markets in London.

Internet firm Baidu and mobile operator China Unicom are among the top 10 holdings of M&G’s Global Emerging Markets fund. l

ated lender, Indian officials said.

Funding for clean energy projects would allay fears of environmental lobbyists that the bank’s relaxed lending criteria could promote dirty fuels like coal in developing economies, like India, that are in a hurry to ramp up energy output.

The multilateral investment bank, which has authorised capital of $100bn, plans to join global clean-energy initiatives, and could fund eco-friendly investment projects to avoid allegations of promoting pollution.

India, the bank’s second biggest

shareholder after China, is looking to borrow from the AIIB, a senior official said, to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of expanding installed solar capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2022.

“In about six months, funds could start flowing from AIIB,” Tarun Kapur, joint secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, told Reuters.

Interest on the loan is likely to be 2-2.5% and would be linked to LIBOR - a floating benchmark based on the rate at which commercial banks lend to each other for a term of over 15 years.

The AIIB, which is headquartered in Beijing and was launched in January, did not comment directly on borrowing by India but said it was developing a project pipeline in a number of countries.

“It is expected that the first loan

decisions will be taken later this year,” it said in written answers to questions submitted by Reuters.

Billions sought

India is in talks with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Germany’s KfW and the New Development Bank, set up by big emerging economies that form the BRICS bloc, to raise more than $3bn in the financial year that starts April 1.

India has requested $500mn in financing from the ADB to support rooftop solar, and a similar sum to expand transmission networks to connect to solar parks. The ADB signed a cooperation agreement with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to back the solar power expansion.

India estimates it needs to invest up to $100bn in solar power in the next 6-7 years to meet its am-

bitious target of boosting capacity by roughly 17 times from current levels of 5,800 megawatts.

“Financing is not an issue but we need cheaper funds,” said Kapur. After hedging costs of about 6-7%, the cost of funding from the AIIB funds works out at just below 10%, compared to domestic rates of about 12%, he said.

Another official at the finance ministry who has been liaising with the AIIB, said initial talks had taken place on clean energy projects and more proposals could soon be submitted on other priority areas.

The AIIB is expected to lend $10bn-$15bn a year for the first five or six years and could start operations in the second quarter of 2016.

AIIB president Jin Liqun said earlier this year that the bank has a good pipeline of co-financing projects and stand-alone projects. l

Gold heads for biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30 years n Reuters, London Gold rose yesterday as a drop in equities boosted its appeal as an alternative asset, heading for its biggest quarterly gain in nearly 30 years as expectations that the Federal Reserve would press ahead with interest rate hikes receded.

The metal is highly exposed to rising rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets while boosting the dollar. It fell 10% last year ahead of the first US rate increase in nearly a decade

in December.

Spot gold was up 0.8% at $1,234.61 an ounce at 0921 GMT, while US gold futures for April delivery were up $8 an ounce at $1,236.60.

Gold has climbed 16% in the first three months of this year, its biggest quarterly rise since 1986, as concerns over global growth battered equities and sparked a wave of safe-haven buying.

“A combination of safe-haven demand on the back of worries about China in particular, a scaling back of expectations of further

rate hikes from the Fed, and rising inflation expectations ... have been behind the rally in the gold price,” Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini said.

“Overall real interest rates will remain low, which is what matters for gold.”

The metal rallied late on Tuesday after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the US central bank should proceed only cautiously in raising interest rates.

World stocks fell for the first time in four days yesterday as a

roller-coaster quarter drew to a close, while the dollar retreated 0.2% against the euro.

Attention is now turning to US non-farm payrolls data today, a key barometer of the health of the world’s biggest economy. A soft reading could further boost gold.

“The possibility that the jobs number may be good and therefore bearish for gold was reinforced by news that the private sector added 200,000 net new jobs in March, according to the ADP National Employment Report,” HSBC said in a note. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Faculty of Science and Technology at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) has recently organised a seminar on ICT in healthcare technology and social engineering. Major General Munshi Md Mojibur Rahman, MBBS, MCPS, FCPS, FICS, acting DGMS was present at the seminar as chief guest

Managing director and CEO of Sonali Bank, Pradip Kumar Dutta has recently presided over a meeting of the bank’s asset liability committee (ALCO), said a press release

Standard Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with Rangs Industries Ltd for providing the bank’s credit cardholders with EMI facility up to 12 months at 0% interest rate on consumer electronics and home appliances of Rangs Industries Ltd. The bank’s EVP & head of HRD, M Ahsan Ullah Khan and Iminder Singh Khurana, COO of Rangs Industries Ltd have signed the agreement, said a press release

United Commercial Bank Limited has elected MA Sabur as its chairperson, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury as vice-chairperson, Showkat Aziz Russell as executive committee chairperson and Md Jahangir Alam Khan as risk management committee chairperson yesterday at a board meeting, said a press release.

MA Sabur is also the chairperson of Masco and Maxim Group while Anisuzzaman Chowdhury is a director of Ronny Chemical Industries Ltd.

| event |

| food |

Eye-catching performance of magic icon Aliraj in Florida

FireFlies introduces Daab Chingri and Bhaapa Hilsha

Aliraj the magic icon of Bangladesh recently performed in the biggest event in Florida, USA, at the “Asian Trade Food Fair and Cultural Show” organised by Bangladesh Association of Florida.

Bollywood playback singer Purba Mantri, singer

19

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Biz-info

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

| fashion |

Baishakh Collection 1423

Porshi, Chirkut from Dhaka, magician entertainer Iqbal Chowdhury from Chittagong, Alexandro & his group and Chinese performing art group also performed in that event.

Notably, Aliraj will also perform for the Bangladeshi community in New York and Houston. l

| service |

Grameenphone launches Facebook free basics Grameenphone has partnered with Facebook to launch Facebook Free Basics for its users in Bangladesh. The partnership will enable more people to come Online and use basic Internet services for free.

Free Basics by Facebook provides people with useful internet services on their mobile phones for free. The websites are available without data charges, and include content on things like news, employment, health, education and local information.

Easynet by Grameenphone is a pioneering internet service for the Bangladeshi people. It is a one-stop solution for non-

Internet users to learn about the Internet, try free utilities such as Facebook, Wikipedia, etc, and buy Internet packs and contents.

Since its launch in August 2015, Easynet has attracted around 1.5 million internet users who were previously not using the internet.

As a result of this partnership, Grameenphone users will be able to take full advantage of Facebook’s Free Basics service, which will allow them not only to get comfortable to the Internet, but will also allow them to establish initial connection with the information superhighway for free. l

Daab Chingri: This is a very typical Bengali dish. Chingri (prawns – jumbo prawns, in this case) wrapped in spices is cooked inside a coconut shell (daab means tender coconut). The spices add an aromatic flavour to the prawns.

Bhaapa Hilsha is steamed hilsa fish that has been cooked with mustard sauce. Bhapa ilish is a very sumptuous dish that is both delicious and healthy.

To try out both this traditional dishes come to fireflies located at Dhanmondi 27(Old). l

Mayasir by Maheen Khan presents vintage ensembles.

Each piece is hand made, defined with details and finished

| meal |

Thai Bistro Introduces Combo Meals

| Nawab Chatga |

| recognition |

Abdul Monem and A.S.M. Mohiuddin Monem Receive Award Abdul Monem, Managing Director of Abdul Monem Limited (AML) has received the President’s Industrial Award under the large industries category for playing an important role in economic progress through industrial development, creation of employment, and increasing national income. A S M Mohiuddin Monem, Deputy Managing Director of AML was also honoured with the prestigious award under the high-tech industries category.

Held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium, the President’s

Industrial Award event was graced by the presence of Md Abdul Hamid, Honorable President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The event was chaired by Amir Hossain Amu, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Industries. The welcome speech was delivered by Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, ndc, Secretary, Ministry of Industries. The Honourable President handed over awards to the winners in different winners, including Abdul Monem Limited.

For more information, please visit www.amlbd.com/corporateprofile l

They provide a quality food solution with reasonable prices in prime locations (Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and surrounding area) for the office goers, as well as customers interested carrying food home to avoid cooking hassles.

It also provides the fast service (5 minutes from order) within the time from 12:30pm to 11pm. l

with care.The colours, forms and styles truly represent our heritage and delivered with the spirit of Bangladesh. l

Thai Bistro well known for their authentic Thai dishes introduces new combo meal.

Combo 1 consists of Fried Wonthon (2pcs), Thai thick soup with chicken, Egg Fried Rice, Chicken Basil and Mixed Vegetable. The whole meal costs only Tk499/Combo 2 consist of Spring Roll (2pcs), Clear Thai Soup with chicken, Chicken chilli, Beef Basil, Fish Samrot, Egg Fried Rice, Mixed Vegetable. The whole meal costs only Tk599/- l

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Downtime

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Agreements (5) 4 Valley (4) 7 Do wrong (3) 8 Fish (3) 9 Henhouse (5) 12 Large volume (4) 13 Arbitrators (7) 15 Play on words (3) 16 Eyelid affliction (3) 18 Donkey (3) 19 Domestic animal (3) 21 Cookery instructions (7) 24 S-shaped moulding (4) 26 Tantalise (5) 27 Forefront (3) 28 Illuminated (3) 29 Water pitcher (4) 30 Board game (5)

DOWN 1 Country (4) 2 Fragrances (6) 3 Season’s yield (4) 4 Small spots (4) 5 Fuss (3) 6 Foe (5) 10 Drink slowly (3) 11 Suspension of fighting (5) 14 Decree (5) 17 Essay on a theme (6) 18 Sun-dried brick (5) 20 Neckwear (3) 21 Bring up (4) 22 Wan (4) 23 Becomes firm (4) 25 Day before (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 17 represents T so fill T every time the figure 17 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 DE FG H I J K L MN 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

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World 21

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

INSIDE POINTS TAKEN

Five challenges ahead of Myanmar’s new civilian government UN to hold secretary general job hustings for first time ever Candidates for the world’s top diplomatic post, United Nations secretary general, are to compete openly for the job for the first time as the current holder, Ban Ki-moon, prepares to step down at the end of this year, reports the Guardian.

PAGE 23

A new President was sworn in to office in Myanmar on Wednesday, capping a transition from military dictatorship to the country’s first civilian-led administration in more than half a century.

The previous junta-led government who ran the country’s economy into the ground and brutally suppressed ethnic minorities and political opponents have stepped back, allowing liberalising reforms and new freedoms.

The constitution poses other problems for the new civilian leadership. It enshrines the army’s position in politics — men in fatigues occupy a quarter of the seats in parliament, which gives the commander-in-chief a practical veto over constitutional amendments.

But there is plenty else for the new government to do--

A broken economy

Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff scrambles to hold coalition together Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff scrambled on Wednesday to hold together her crumbling ruling coalition by negotiating key government posts with remaining allies, aides said, as key partners discussed abandoning her amid impeachment proceedings.

PAGE 23

Myanmar is predicted to see healthy GDP growth of 8.4% in the year up to March 2017. But years of mismanagement and economic sanctions have taken their toll.

The road and rail networks are past crumbling and major cities still suffer frequent power outages. The Asian Development Bank estimates the necessary upgrades will cost $60bn through 2030. Barriers to investment also include land-grabbing concerns, poorly enforced employment standards, rampant child labor, and an economy dominated by cronies of the former military regime and companies under the control of the defence ministry.

A failed cease-fire

Militant interest in attacking nuke sites stirs concern in Europe Metre-thick concrete walls and 1950s-style analog control rooms help protect nuclear plants from bomb attacks and computer hackers, but jihadist militants are turning their attention to the atomic industry’s weak spots, security experts say.

PAGE 24

The country also remains at war — with itself. Since independence from Britain, armed groups avowing to represent the interests of ethnic minorities (and, earlier, communists) have been taking up arms against Myanmar’s central government. A cease-fire signed last year failed to include the groups who still control territory along the border with China.

Fighting in the country’s northeast has ramped up since it was signed, and the federal system of government demanded by minorities appears a long way off. On top of numerous allegations of abuses by the armed forces, videos have emerged on social media in recent weeks seemingly showing soldiers beating civilians they suspect of being linked to an eth-

Myanmar’s socio-economic indicators Population: Around 51 million

12

26%

GDP growth % 12.0 2007

of population 8.4 Forecast 2016 8.4 2013

10

5.6 2011

8 6 4

GDP current

$64.3 billion

GDP per capita

$1,204

Perception of corruption rank Transparency International 2015*

3.0

2.5

2.5

Malaysia 54 Thailand 76

*168 countries surveyed

Mandalay Bagan Sittwe

NAYPYIDAW THAILAND

M YAN M AR Yangon

Philippines 95 Pakistan 117

147

2.3

Kalay

Hong Kong 18

More corrupt

Foreign direct investment $ billion

Area: 653,080 sq km Myitkina CHINA

INDIA

(UNDP)

Less corrupt

3.6 2008

2

Poverty rate

Cambodia 150

2.0

250 km

1.5

1.3

1.0

1.4

0.5

Seats held by women in national parliament, %

14.5

International tourist arrivals Thousands

2,044

200506 07 08 0910 11 12 13 2014 Internet users

Merchandise trade

% of GDP

24.2 2012

12.6

50.9 2014

763

792

816

1,059

per 100 people

2009 2010 2011

2012 2013

Sources: WorldBank/UN/IMF/TransparencyInternational/IWS/UNDP/AsiaFoundation/Government

nic armed group. Again, the new administration is unlikely to be able to do much about this since defence minister is still a military appointee.

The Golden Triangle

Then there’s Myanmar’s narcotics problem, which is not unrelated to the ongoing conflict. The drug trade flourishes in the unruly, mountainous area known as the Golden Triangle, bordering Thailand, China and Laos. Myanmar ranks as the No 2 source of the world’s opium — after Afghanistan — with the military, proxy armies and rebel armed groups all thought to make money from the crop, which feeds demand for heroin in China. Myanmar is also a production hub for synthetic drugs like amphetamine.

Rohingya issue

Successive Myanmar governments have enacted discriminatory policies against the Rohingya, numbering just over 1m, who are restricted to run-down camps or villages penned in by checkpoints in the Rakhine state. Former President Thein Sein on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in the state, almost four years after clashes that saw scores of people killed and tens of thousands displaced. But Myanmar doesn’t recognise the Rohingya as its citizens, contending that they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh — a view widely supported among the population.

Inherited oppression

A recent Amnesty International report charts how Myanmar’s previous government held highly visible

mass releases of political prisoners — more than 1,100 people have been freed since 2011 — only to begin locking up a new generation of activists simply for taking part in demonstrations over issues like education reform and land confiscation. A government led by a former prisoner of conscience, Suu Kyi, takes power with at least 90 people — including students, journalists and Facebook users — currently behind bars for expressing political views. The new President can hold his own prisoner amnesties, but with the military retaining control over the police, there is concern over “how and to what extent will the NLD-led government be able to break this cycle of politically motivated, arbitrary arrests. l

Source: TIME

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

World

Dae’sh chief Baghdadi’s exwife wants to live in Europe n AFP, Stockholm An ex-wife of Dae’sh group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with whom he had a daughter, wants to live in Europe “in freedom”, she told Swedish daily Expressen in an interview published Thursday.

“I want to live in a European country, not an Arab country,” Saja al-Dulaimi said in the interview filmed in Lebanon.

Dulaimi was freed several months ago from a Lebanese prison, where she had been held since 2014 with her children on suspicion of links to extremist organisations.

“I want to live in freedom,” the 28-yearold said. Her seven-year-old daughter, Hagar, said she wanted to go to Europe to “study.” A DNA test conducted by Lebanese authorities confirmed she was Baghdadi’s child.

Born into a well-heeled Iraqi family, Dulaimi was first married to an Iraqi member of Saddam Hussein’s personal guard.

Widowed, she married again in 2008, on the advice of her father, to Bagdhadi. Dulaimi described Baghdadi as “a normal family man”.

Baghdadi was at the time fighting in the ranks of al-Qaeda in Iraq, from which Dae’sh group was born. In 2010, he took over the reins of the jihadist network.

Dulaimi said she left him after just three months of marriage in 2008, when she was pregnant with their daughter.

“How he could become emir (caliph) of the most dangerous terrorist organisation in the world is a mystery,” she said.

“The last conversation we had was in 2009. He asked me if I wanted to come back.

But I’d made my decision,” she said. l

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

UN to hold secretary general job hustings for first time ever n Tribune Desk Candidates for the world’s top diplomatic post, United Nations secretary general, are to compete openly for the job for the first time as the current holder, Ban Ki-moon, prepares to step down at the end of this year, reports the Guardian.

The contenders are to explain their ideals and intentions in front of representatives from the 193 member nations next month at the UN general assembly and many will also hold unprecedented public debates in New York and London, facing questions from individuals and civil society organisations from around the world.

The London hustings will take place on June 3 in Central Hall Westminster, where the first UN secretary general, Trygve Lie, was chosen, and will also be co-hosted by, the United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) and the Future of the UN Development System (Funds), a policy institute mostly funded by European governments.

The April 13 event in New York will be staged in Civic Hall, a community centre and forum in the Flatiron district, in collaboration with the New America thinktank.

For the UN’s first 70 years, the secretary general was chosen behind closed doors by the major powers on the security council,

The General Assembly hall at the UN headquarters in New York and only then presented to the general assembly for approval.

The choice was usually a function of geopolitical compromise, someone deemed at the time to be least likely to rock the boat.

So far seven candidates have declared their bids after a grassroots campaign to force the contest into the open. From 12-14 April, they and any additional contenders who enter will face the general assembly in what are being billed as “informal dialogues”, although like many general assembly events, prepared statements from both questioned and questioners are expected to dominate.

The hustings will be open to the press and public, to watch the

BIGSTOCK

candidates being quizzed on how best to reform the UN to make it more capable of responding to the global challenges of the 21st century, including climate change and mass killings that have sent more refugees moving across and between continents than at any other time since the World War II. The questions will be shaped in part through polling beforehand.

The contrast with previous secretary general contests, where candidates and their sponsoring governments campaigned almost entirely behind closed doors, could not be starker.

“Both the security council and the general assembly have given their approval, and now you have candidates being listed by the

president of the general assembly with their CVs. This has never happened before. This is huge for us,” said Natalie Samarasinghe, the executive director of UNA-UK, who co-founded the campaign for an open contest, called 1 for 7bn, with the backing of some 750 NGOs with 170m supporters around the world.

The campaign also won the support of the UK government, which helped push through resolutions in both the security council and the general assembly calling for an open selection process late last year.

So far, most of the candidates who have put their names forward publicly are from eastern Europe, in line with an expectation pre-dating the open contest that the next secretary general would come from that region, which is yet to have a turn in the post.

They include an array of former foreign ministers: Vesna Pusić (Croatia), Srgjan Kerim (Macedonia), Igor Lukšić (Montenegro), Irina Bokova (Bulgaria), who is also director general of Unesco, Natalia Gherman (Moldova), and Danilo Türk, a former Slovenian president and assistant UN secretary general. They have been joined

by António Guterres, the former head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, who became a prominent figure around the world during the refugee crisis. l

Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff scrambles EU-India summit fails to defuse to hold coalition together row over Italian marines n Reuters, Brasilia Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff scrambled on Wednesday to hold together her crumbling ruling coalition by negotiating key government posts with remaining allies, aides said, as key partners discussed abandoning her amid impeachment proceedings.

A day after Rousseff ’s biggest coalition partner broke away and ordered its six ministers in her cabinet to resign, another coalition ally - the Progressive Party (PP) convened a meeting for April 11-12 to decide whether to leave as well.

A presidential aide said the government was reaching out to individual members of allied parties to offer positions that have opened up after the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) bolted on Tuesday.

With the lower house of Congress due to vote in mid-April on whether Rousseff should stand trial in the Senate for allegedly ma-

nipulating government accounts to win re-election in 2014, the PMDB’s decision on Tuesday to abandon her government was a heavy blow.

Rousseff needs one-third of the 513 votes in the chamber in her favour to halt impeachment, but support for her administration has been undermined by Brazil’s worst economic recession in decades and its biggest ever corruption scandal.

In an apparent revolt against the PMDB’s withdrawal, Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu said in a Twitter post that she would stay in the Cabinet as long as Rousseff needed her.

Government sources said the other five PMDB ministers would also stay for the time being, but their positions would be forfeit if Rousseff needed to use the portfolios to shore up support with other parties.

The loss of the PP, which has 49 seats in the lower house, would make it all but impossible for Rousseff to muster the 171 votes needed to avoid impeachment. l

n Reuters, The Hague/Brussels The European Union and India failed on Wednesday to defuse a long-running row over two Italian marines accused of murder and the case moved to an international tribunal after four years of diplomatic squabbles.

At a joint summit in Brussels, held after delays imposed by Italy, the Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and EU leaders maintained their positions over the case.

In 2012, India arrested two Italian marines who were escorting an oil tanker on suspicion of shooting dead two fishermen they mistook for pirates. Though they were not charged, the pair were barred from leaving India.

Massimiliano Latorre was allowed to return home last year for medical treatment but Salvatore Girone has been confined to New Delhi, where he lives at the

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World

Italian ambassador’s residence and reports regularly to police.

“The EU shares Italy’s concerns to find an expeditious solution for the prolonged restriction of liberty of the two Marines,” said a joint statement issued after the meeting.

“India stressed the need for rendering due justice for the families of the Indian fishermen who were killed,” the document added.

Italy says Girone’s human rights are being violated and has asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to order India to send him home.

But India’s lawyers in the Hague say the delays resulted from Italy’s 2012 move to escalate the affair to international courts rather than letting Indian courts handle it.

Italy has paid $190,000 in compensation to each victim’s family. l

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan launches int’l move over nabbed Indian spy Pakistan on Thursday said it has informed the EU and major world capitals about the arrest of an Indian spy from restive Balochistan province and asked Iran to provide details of his spy network. Kulbhushan Yadav, the alleged chief operative of Research and Analysis Wing was arrested by Pakistani security agencies last week from Chaman near Quetta.

HT

INDIA

Lok Sabha launches probe on Narada sting op The Lok Sabha ethics panel has launched a probe into a sting operation, which allegedly caught Trinamool leaders taking bundles of bribe money, by seeking incriminating video tapes from Narada News. The panel may also look into the possible motive of the sting operation, considering that it was carried out just before the West Bengal assembly elections.

-HT

CHINA

China to US: Be careful in South China Sea Beijing’s defence ministry on Thursday warned the US navy to “be careful” in the South China Sea and slammed a newly signed defence agreement between Washington and the Philippines.

Asked about a recent report on US patrols in the sea, defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a briefing on Thursday: “As for the US ships which came, I can only suggest they be careful”. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

UN: Cambodia near dangerous tipping point A UN human rights envoy on Thursday urged Cambodia to ensure judicial fairness and prevent threats and violence as political tension moves the country closer to a dangerous tipping point. Rhona Smith, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, said political rivalry had led to violence against opposition party members and disproportionate use of judicial mechanisms as attention turns towards a 2018 election. -REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Qatar World Cup stadium workers suffer abuse Workers of a 2022 World Cup stadium have suffered human rights abuses 2 years after the tournament’s organisers drafted worker welfare standards in the wake of criticism, Amnesty International said. Dozens of construction workers from Nepal and India were charged recruitment fees, housed in squalid accommodation and barred from leaving the country by employers.

-REUTERS

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World

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

USA

Trump in abortion firestorm Women who have illegal abortions should be punished, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said Wednesday, before backpedaling after a firestorm erupted over his latest controversial comment. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton branded Trump’s remark “horrific,” Bernie Sanders called it “shameful” and even major pro-life groups spoke out strongly against punishing women who have abortions.

-REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Argentina passes bill to end 15-year debt battle Argentina’s Senate approved an agreement to pay billions of dollars to holdout creditors early Thursday, ending a 15-year battle over a catastrophic debt default that locked the country out of capital markets.

The vote clears the final legislative hurdle for the deal and paves the way for the government to pay off creditors that rejected Argentina’s efforts to restructure its mountain of defaulted debt.

-AFP

UK

Britain to ship nuclear waste to US Britain will ship 700kg of nuclear waste to the US under a deal to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron at a nuclear security summit in Washington on Thursday, a British government source said. In return for the shipment, the largest ever movement of highly enriched uranium, the US will send Europe a different type of nuclear waste that can be used to produce medical isotopes for the treatment of some cancers.

-REUTERS

EUROPE

French protesters clash with police over labour reforms Clashes broke out on the streets of France on Thursday during fresh protests over labour reforms, just a day after beleaguered President Francois Hollande was forced into an embarrassing U-turn over constitutional changes. A nationwide strike shut the Eiffel Tower, disrupted train services and saw dozens of schools closed or barricaded by students. -AFP

AFRICA

9 killed in Somalia Shabaab hotel suicide attack A suicide bombing in central Somalia killed at least 9 people and wounded 10 others, a police official said Thursday. The bomber blew himself up among a group of people at a cafe near a hotel in the town of Galkayo on Thursday, said Ali Aden. AlShabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted officials from Puntland, a semiautonomous state in northeastern Somalia.

-AP

INSIGHT

Militant interest in attacking nuclear sites stirs concern in Europe n Reuters, Paris/Frankfurt Metre-thick concrete walls and 1950s-style analog control rooms help protect nuclear plants from bomb attacks and computer hackers, but jihadist militants are turning their attention to the atomic industry’s weak spots, security experts say.

Concerns about nuclear terrorism rose after Belgian media reported that suicide bombers who killed 32 people in Brussels on March 22 originally looked into attacking a nuclear installation before police raids that netted a number of suspected associates forced them to switch targets.

Security experts say that blowing up a nuclear reactor is beyond the skills of militant groups, but that the nuclear industry has some vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

“The insider threat is one of the most difficult to deal with, as this hinges on the ability to screen employees and figure out the nature of their intentions,” said Page Stoutland at the US-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), citing recent reported incidents in Belgium.

His assessment reflects growing anxiety among Western governments and regulators, including the UN nuclear watchdog (IAEA), about the risk of radicalised individuals gaining access to sensitive energy infrastructure, including nuclear sites.

In 2014, an investigation into a deliberate act of sabotage at Belgium’s Doel 4 nuclear reactor found that a former employee of the plant had died earlier in the year while fighting with jihadist militants in Syria.

In December, Belgian police found a video tracking the movements of a senior nuclear industry official during a search of a flat as part of investigations into the Islamic State attacks in Paris on November 13 that killed 130 people.

Security around Belgian nuclear power stations was ramped up as a result.

Industry experts say that deliberately triggering a disastrous meltdown of a nuclear reactor would be difficult as nobody is ever alone in its control room, which typically has four to six operators there at all times.

Deliberate acts of sabotage cannot be ruled out, though. In 2014, the Doel 4 reactor was halted four months after someone purposely damaged its turbine by draining 65,000 litres of oil. The perpetra-

tor was never found.

The risk of cyber attacks is also increasing. Most nuclear plants were built before the internet or even the computer age, and their control rooms run on 20th-century analog technology. But the NTI says that nuclear plants are now digitalising quickly, increasing the risk that hackers could commandeer them.

Plutonium shipments

The biggest risk arises from the nuclear fuel cycle, which involves the enrichment of uranium, fuel production and recycling, transport and storage of radioactive material.

Specialists say the pools in which spent nuclear fuel is left to cool are more vulnerable than the reactors themselves.

Installations like La Hague in France or Sellafield in Britain where spent fuel from dozens of reactors is stored in pools before it is reprocessed or put in casks for dry storage - pose a particular worry.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, French authorities deployed ground-toair missiles in La Hague, though these were removed a few months later after the threat level was deemed to have receded.

Every week, plutonium - one of the two key ingredients in nuclear bombs, along with highly enriched uranium - is transported overland from La Hague to Marcoule in southern France for recycling into mixed-oxide fuel.

Areva defends the plutonium shipments, saying they are coordinated with state authorities, have armed escorts and are housed in containers that are “real fortresses” secured by 100kg of steel for every kg of plutonium.

Dirty bomb

Experts also worry about militants pilfering radioactive material from medical or industrial installations.

Radioactive isotopes are used in dozens of applications, from cancer treatment to pipeline-welding inspections, and thousands of packages with small amounts of radioactive material are shipped across Europe every year.

Stolen radioactive material from these shipments could be combined with traditional explosives to create a “dirty bomb”.

While the radioactivity spread by such a device is unlikely to be lethal, it would create huge

An old uranium nuclear reactor in Germany’s Atomkeller panic and pollute a vast area that would be very expensive to decontaminate.

In 1995, Chechen rebels placed a cylinder of radioactive caesium in a Moscow park, but did not detonate it and alerted Russian authorities, who deactivated the device.

Since the mid-1990s, member states of the watchdog Interna-

BIGSTOCK

tional Atomic Energy Agency have reported about 2,800 instances of radioactive material going missing.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said last month only a handful of these incidents involved material that could be used to make a nuclear explosive device, but some of the missing material could go towards devising a dirty bomb. l

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Sport 25

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

INSIDE

SCORECARD

Fearless England get it right on the night England continued their rebirth, after plumbing the depths in a dismal 50-over World Cup campaign last year, by destroying New Zealand to reach the World T20 final. Eoin Morgan’s team beat a New Zealand side by seven wickets. PAGE 26

Azarenka warns best is yet to come Victoria Azarenka says she is playing better now than when she was ranked number one in the world in 2012 and warns rivals that her best is yet to come. “I still feel I’m far from my best and that’s what’s really exciting.” PAGE 28

7-0 Barca drubbing began demise Gary Neville’s appointment as Valencia coach in December stunned the world of soccer but his sacking was easier to predict, the only surprise being that it did not come sooner. The former defender was handed the job out of the blue. PAGE 29

R B 43 31 40 35 89 47 15 9 5

Total (2 wickets; 20 overs)

192

Fall of wickets 1-62 (Sharma), 2-128 (Rahane) Bowling Russell 4-0-47-1, Badree 4-0-26-1, Brathwaite 4-0-38-0, Benn 4-0-36-0, Bravo 4-0-44-0

New rule stretches Tiger’s wait Tiger Woods will have a longer wait before taking his place in the World Golf Hall of Fame after officials announced the qualifying age for enshrinement had been raised. The Hall of Fame said in a statement that candidates for inductions must be at least 50 at the start of the year. PAGE 27

INDIA INNINGS Sharma lbw b Badree Rahane c Bravo b Russell Kohli not out MS Dhoni not out Extras (lb 1, w 2, nb 2)

WEST INDIES INNINGS Charles c Sharma b Kohli Gayle b Bumrah Samuels c Rahane b Nehra Simmons not out Russell not out Extras (lb 3, nb 2)

R B 52 36 5 6 8 7 83 51 43 20 5

Total (3 wickets; 19.4 overs)

196

Fall of wickets 1-6 (Gayle, 1.1 ov), 2-19 (Samuels, 2.6 ov), 3-116 (Charles, 13.1 ov) Bowling Nehra 4-0-25-1, Bumrah 4-0-42-1, Jadeja 4-0-48-0, Ashwin 2-0-20-0, Pandya 4-043-0, Kohli 1.4-0-15-1

West Indies Lendl Simmons hits a six during their ICC World Twenty20 2016 semifinal against India at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai yesterday AP

DPL 2015-16 season begins April 20 Cash-rich BPL 4 scheduled for this November different grades once again. instead want a return to the old n Mazhar Uddin “We have revised the players’ tradition of the Dhaka League in The much-awaited Dhaka Premier League 2015-16 season will get underway this month with the players’ draft scheduled for April 10 and the tournament opener slated for April 20.

“Following a meeting of the working committee, it was decided that the players by choice of the DPL will be held on April 10 and the league will begin on April 20,” Bangladesh Cricket Board’s media committee chairman Jalal Younus informed yesterday.

However, ahead of the premier domestic 50-over competition of the country, several cricketers have raised questions regarding the structure of their payment.

The frustrated cricketers have openly expressed their disapproval over the players’ draft and

which they get to choose their own destinations.

The players’ draft came into effect in the DPL 2013-14 season. Although the BCB initially informed that it was a one-off, the board did not stay true to its words as the players have been divided into

PLAYER GRADES Grades

Remuneration

Icon players

Tk 30 lakh

A+

Tk 25 lakh

A

Tk 20 lakh

B+

Tk 15 lakh

B

Tk 12 lakh

C

Tk 8 lakh

D

Tk 5 lakh

E

Tk 3.5 lakh

category. The Icon players will receive Tk 30 lakh, Grade A+ Tk 25 lakh, A Tk 20 lakh, B+ Tk 15 lakh, B Tk 12 lakh, C Tk 8 lakh, D Tk 5 lakh and E Tk 3.5 lakh. The payment of the players has been increased compared to the previous year. I think the cricketers also know that and are satisfied with it,” said Jalal.

In the 2013-14 season, the Grade A+ cricketers pocketed Tk 22 lakh, A Tk 15 lakh, B+ Tk 10 lakh, B Tk 8 lakh, C Tk 5 lakh and D Tk 2.5 lakh. The Grade E cricketers, meanwhile, had to negotiate with the club officials for their salary.

Jalal added that the fourth edition of the money-spinning Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 will take place this November. l

West Indies won by 7 wickets MoM: Simmons (WI)

KFC Independence Cup kicks off today

n Tribune Report The much-anticipated season-opening professional football tournament, the KFC Independence Cup, is all set to kick off today with the match between Team BJMC and Rahmatganj MFS at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The tournament opener gets underway at 4:30pm.

In the second game of the day at the same venue, newly-promoted Uttar Baridhara Club lock horns with Brothers Union at 7pm.

The curtain-raiser was originally scheduled to roll on the field last Wednesday but was later pushed back by two days after Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club filed a writ petition to bring back their eight former footballers and the High Court subsequently asked the Bangladesh Football Federation to take necessary steps.

Group A consists of Mohammedan, Brothers, Muktijoddha, Ctg Abahani and Uttar Baridhara while Sheikh Russel, Abahani, BJMC, Feni SC, Arambagh and Rahmatganj make up Group B. l

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Cooper fires Windies to first World T20 final n AFP, Mumbai Britney Cooper fired a half-century as the West Indies beat New Zealand by six runs in Mumbai yesterday to reach the women’s World Twenty20 final for the first time.

The right-hander scored 61 off 48 balls as the Windies made a formidable 143 for six in their 20 overs after the Kiwis won the toss and opted to field.

Cooper’s impressive knock included five fours and two sixes before she was caught by Rachel Priest off Sophie Devine, who took four wickets for 22 runs at the western Indian city’s Wankhede Stadium.

“Congrats to my amazing team.

We worked really hard,” Cooper said afterwards.

“This is our fourth semi-final (at a World Cup) and to finally cross this border... I hope I score another 61 in the final,” she added.l

BRIEF SCORE West Indies Women 143 for 6 (Cooper 61, Taylor 25, Devine 4-22) New Zealand Women 137 for 8 (McGlashan 38, Satterthwaite 24, Taylor 3-26) West Indies Women won by six runs

West Indies' Merissa Aguilleira goes big during their World T20 women's semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai yesterday

AFP

Fearless England get it right on the night n Reuters, London England continued their rebirth, after plumbing the depths in a dismal 50-over World Cup campaign last year, by destroying New Zealand on Wednesday to reach the World Twenty20 final.

By virtue of picking the correct players, Eoin Morgan’s team beat a New Zealand side, which won all four matches in the group stage, by seven wickets with nearly three overs to spare to set up a final against hosts India or West Indies on Sunday.

England simply got it right on the day, something they have struggled to do in recent years.

Jason Roy, Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan were the leading performers. Only Jordan was in the squad at last year’s World Cup when England went out meekly at the group stage after a series of inept performances.

“I think the key thing is the selection,” former captain Michael Atherton told Sky Sports television.

“These guys have been around in county cricket for a few years now but they were not getting picked.

England were rewarding their Test

players by picking them for one-day cricket and it did not work.

“Now they are selecting specialist one-day players and we are seeing the results,” said Atherton.

England rediscovered their mojo during last year’s run-drenched home limited-overs series against New Zealand.

Morgan’s team scored more than 300 runs in each of the first four one-dayers, playing with a freedom they have maintained and has now made them serious players in the modern one-day game.

There was no better example than in their destruction of New Zealand in the World Twenty20

semi-final.

The street-wise Kiwis raced to 89 for one after 10 overs before superb bowling at the death by Stokes and Jordan restricted them to a competitive but chaseable 153 for eight.

The 25-year-old, born in South Africa, smashed four fours from

the first over and went on to plunder 78 off 44 balls.

By the time he was bowled by leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, England were firmly on course for victory and despite the dismissal of captain Morgan for a golden duck, Joe Root and Jos Buttler calmly completed the job.l

THE STATS YOU NEED TO KNOW England have hit 34 sixes, the most of any team in the tournament. South Africa are second with 28.

Joe Root is now the leading run-scorer in the tournament proper, with 195 runs.

Jason Roy’s 78 was the second-highest score in a World Twenty20 semi-final, behind Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 96 at the Oval in 2009.

Ben Stokes became only the eighth bowler - and the first Englishman - to take three wickets in a World Twenty20 semi-final.

There is guaranteed to be a repeat winner of the World Twenty20 for the first time; England were champions in 2010, India in 2007, West Indies in 2012.

27

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Guardiola faces tough challenge in EPL: Ferguson n Reuters

QUICK BYTES Ripon clinches Nepal Amateur Golf Bangladesh golfer Mohammad Ripon emerged as the champion in the 6th Nepal Amateur Golf Championship which concluded at Gokarna Forest Golf Resort in Kathmandu, Nepal yesterday.

The tournament was organised

by Nepal Golf Association. A two-member Bangladesh team comprising Akbar Hossain and Ripon took part in the event. The duo also became the runners-up in the team event.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

BGB lift Independence Day Kabaddi Border Guard Bangladesh sealed the Walton Independence Day Kabaddi Championship after defeating Bangladesh Army by 1913 points at the National Kabaddi stadium in Paltan yesterday. Earlier, BGB beat Bangladesh Air Force in the semi-finals to reach the final of the five-day event. State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder distributed the prizes among the winners as the chief guest.

Ayumi Kaihori of the Japan football team kicks a ball watched by Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy of the United States during the ANA Footgolf Faceoff between Team USA and Team Japan as a preview for the ANA Inspiration at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California on Tuesday AFP

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes Pep Guardiola will need time to adapt to Premier League football when he takes charge of Manchester City in July but has tipped the Spaniard to be a success.

Guardiola has won numerous trophies in Spain and Germany with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively but Ferguson feels the English game, known for its fastpaced and physically demanding nature, will pose a completely different challenge.

“Without question Pep has got a fantastic work ethic about him. He has got great coaching ability, there is no doubt about that. Man City have made a real coup in getting him,” the 13-time league champion told.

“But Pep won’t find it easy, English football is not easy. Every foreign coach that has come to England will tell you that. (Arsenal manager) Wenger was talking about that a few months after coming and even Mourinho was.”l

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Arambagh FA into Pioneer Football final

Messi provokes outrage in Egypt by donating shoes

Arambagh Football Academy swept into the final of the Dhaka (South and North) Aaron Pioneer Football League after beating Bashundhara Kings 3-2 in a thrilling semi-final at the Kamalapur stadium yesterday. Yeasin put Arambagh ahead with just four minutes into the clock before Arif equalised the margin at the quarterhour mark. Aaref gave Arambagh the lead in the 22nd minute but Mehedi restored parity in the 66th minute.

Fahim sealed victory in the 77th minute. Aaref was adjudged player of the match. Gazipur City Football Academy will face Uttara Recreation Club in the second semi-final today at the same venue.

n AFP, Cairo

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Nedved wings in to replaces Beckham as China ambassador Former European Footballer of the Year Pavel Nedved has stepped in to fill the boots of England’s David Beckham as ambassador for the burgeoning Chinese Super League. Former Real Madrid and Manchester United midfielder Beckham was appointed three years ago as the first envoy for the cash-rich league. The 43-year-old Nedved enjoyed a trophy-laden career with Sparta Prague, Lazio and Juventus as well as winning 91 caps for the Czech Republic and the Ballon d’Or in 2003.

–REUTERS

A charitable gesture by Argentinian football star Lionel Messi has provoked outrage in Egypt, where a lawmaker and football official took umbrage at the donation: his sneakers.

Messi, in an interview with the private satellite channel MBC Misr, had donated his shoes to the channel to auction them off for charity.

“Messi, I really thank you,” said the interviewer as she sat across from the Barcelona player, dangling his shoes, in the segment

aired on Saturday.

While no one would consider being hit with a shoe or being labelled a shoe a compliment, it is especially insulting in Middle East cultures.

Donating shoes, it emerged, was equally insulting to Egyptian member of parliament Said Hasasein, who attacked Messi on his television show.

“This is my shoe,” he said, holding up a beaten loafer. “I donate it to Argentina.

“This is an insult to Egyptian people,” he elaborated, thumping his fist on his desk.

Egyptian Football Federation spokesman Azmi Mogahed phoned in to the show to express his outrage.

“Even in our religion..” he began to say, when Hasasein interrupted: “His religion is Jewish!”

Mogahed agreed. “I know he’s Jewish, he donates to Israel and visited the Wailing Wall and whatever ... we don’t need his shoe and Egypt’s poor don’t need help from someone with Jewish or Zionist citizenship.”

“People in Argentina sleep in parks!” Hasasein added.

Messi was born into a Catholic

New rule stretches Tiger’s wait n AFP, Miami

Tiger Woods will have a longer wait before taking his place in the World Golf Hall of Fame after officials announced Wednesday the qualifying age for enshrinement had been raised.

The Hall of Fame said in a statement that candidates for inductions must be at least 50 at the start of the year when selections are made, rather than the prior age of 40, or have not actively played for five years.

That means 14-time major champion Woods, who turned 40 last December, would have been considered this year under the old rules but, provided he keeps play-

ing, must now wait another decade for his chance.

“We work very closely with our

Hall of Fame Members to ensure all aspects of the induction criteria are shrewd and judicious,” said World Golf Hall of Fame president Jack Peter.

“As players continue to elevate their fitness levels and play at a high level for a longer period of time, moving the age requirement to 50 ensures that we are able to celebrate their careers at the proper time.”

Woods was a main figure who inspired golf’s fitness revolution, shattering the Masters tournament record in winning his first major in 1997, before dominating the sport for years and forcing rivals to improve their conditioning in order to compete with him. l

family, and has made the sign of the cross after scoring goals.

Some Egyptians criticised Messi, and his interviewer, on Twitter, using the hashtag “Messi’s shoe for the Egyptian people.”

“It’s not your fault, Messi you dog. It’s the fault of that son-of-ashoe channel, and that daughterof-a-shoe interviewer,” wrote one.

Others, including former Egyptian football star Mido, defended Messi.

“The most precious thing a writer has is his pen, and the most precious thing a football player has is his shoes,” he wrote on Twitter.l

Eboue banned for failing to pay agent fees n Reuters, Zurich Sunderland defender Emmanuel Eboue has been banned for one year because he owes money to his former agent, soccer’s governing body FIFA said yesterday.

However, FIFA said the ban on the Ivorian would be lifted if he paid the outstanding amount to the agent, named as Sebastien Boisseau. Eboue was ordered to pay the undisclosed amount by FIFA’s Players’ Status Committee in July 2013, a decision taken on the basis of the players’ agents rules.l

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Djokovic rolls into Miami semi-finals n Reuters

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns a shot to Johanna Konta of Great Britain during the Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center in Florida on Wednesday

AFP

Back-in-form Azarenka warns best is yet to come n AFP, Miami Victoria Azarenka says she is playing better now than when she was ranked number one in the world in 2012 and warns rivals that her best is yet to come.

“I still feel that I’m far from my best and that’s what’s really exciting for me, to be motivated, to keep improving,” she said.

The 26-year-old from Belarus advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Miami Open on Wednesday by beating British 24th seed Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2, ensuring she will jump to fifth in Monday’s new rankings.

After winning the 2012 and 2013

Australian Open and losing to Serena Williams in the US Open finals each of those years, Azarenka was nagged by a series of injuries that limited her 2014 and 2015 campaigns.

But she is back with a vengeance this year, winning at Brisbane, cracking the top 10 for the first time since August of 2014 by beating Williams in the Indian Wells final and marching farther up the ladder in Miami.

“I’m a better player right now,” Azarenka said when asked to compare now to her days atop the rankings. “I improved my serve a lot. I’m just stronger in the tougher moments. I feel happier on the court so that’s very important, to

be able to go out there and perform in a difficult fight.”

Azarenka has stressed improved performance with every match as a goal for the season.

“My game is developing with pretty big progress,” she said. “I want to see this process moving forward and not really be stuck on the rankings or the tournaments, just give myself opportunities to grow.”

A major part of her rise has been better utilizing her serve to attack opponents.

“I always had a pretty high firstserve percentage,” Azarenka said.

“I think the difference is the way I’m using my serve. I’m going for a lot more. I take a lot more risk.

“It has been more rewarding in terms of winning percentage as opposed to making percentage of serves in. Really trying to work on it and make adjustments to use it more as a weapon. I think that has been missing for a long time to really take my game to the next level.”

Azarenka says confidence in her health has sparked confidence in her game.

“I never doubt my abilities,” she said. “What came to my mind is definitely after being for so long injured, the doubt was to get healthy.”

And Azarenka gladly will take a few bad language warnings to keep her focused.l

Terms & Conditions:

Prizes: (Second Round)

The lucky winners among all the participants who have answered correctly will be selected in an official lottery and will have their picture published in the newspaper. v Answers must be sent in only the coupon (photocopy will not be accepted). v Quiz coupon should be submitted in the Dhaka Tribune newspaper address. v No one affiliated with Dhaka Tribune and Walton will be able to participate. v Coupon submission deadline April 4, 2016. v A person can send as many coupons as he/she wants. v Walton-Dhaka Tribune T20 World Cup should be written on top of the envelope.

1st prize 2nd prize 3rd prize 4th prize 5th prize

v

01: Who scored the first T20I century for Bangladesh?

Ans: Tamim Mashrafe Taskin 02:Who won the first World T20 in 2007?

Ans: India Zimbabwe Afghanistan 03:In which year did Bangladesh host the World T20?

Ans: 2014 2004 2015

World number one Novak Djokovic rolled into the Miami Open semi-finals with a 6-3 6-3 romp over Tomas Berdych on Wednesday as he continued his pursuit of a fifth title in six years on Key Biscayne.

Djokovic did not face the difficulty that he had in his fourth round match, when he was forced to fend off 14-of-15 break points, while he also attacked Berdych’s second serve to advance to a clash with Belgium’s David Goffin after 99 minutes.

Goffin beat France’s Gilles Simon 3-6 6-2 6-1 in the day’s other quarter-final.

Djokovic’s triumph over Berdych continued a trend of domination with the Serb clocking up his 10th consecutive victory over the Czech.

Berdych was coming off a marathon win against Richard Gasquet on Tuesday and did not have enough left to challenge Djokovic. He won just six of his 23 second service points and was broken four times.

The match began with Berdych nearly breaking Djokovic’s opening service game and then successfully stealing the third game but he quickly lost momentum en route to committing 45 unforced errors.

Djokovic improved to 26-1 this year with his only defeat coming in February, when he was forced to retire against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in Dubai due to an eye infection.

Injuries seem to be the only force capable of stopping the Serb at the moment and although Djokovic called a medial timeout for a back ailment in the middle of the second set, he quickly shook it off to win three of the last four games.

He has yet to drop a set in Miami, despite his issues with Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the fourth round.l

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Seven-nil Barca drubbing began Neville’s demise n Reuters, Barcelona Gary Neville’s appointment as Valencia coach in December stunned the world of soccer but his sacking on Wednesday was easier to predict, the only surprise being that it did not come sooner.

The former England and Manchester United defender was handed the job out of the blue, taking his first assignment as a head coach after having spent several years as a respected pundit for Sky Sports television.

The calls for Neville’s dismissal began on Feb. 3 after a 7-0 King’s Cup drubbing at Barcelona and grew louder following a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis that left Valencia four points above the relegation zone.

A first La Liga win in 10 matches finally arrived against Espanyol, loan signing Denis Cheryshev heading the winning goal in a dramatic second half at the Mestalla Stadium to complete a come-from-behind victory.

The home crowd, normally so impatient, got behind Neville’s team throughout the game and there was a feeling the tide was turning, strengthened by a 10-0 aggregate

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL TEN SPORTS 06:30PM I-League 2016 Shillong Lajong v Aizawl 12:45AM Sky Bet Championship QPR v Middlesbrough

TEN ACTION 12:30PM French Ligue 1 2015/16 Monaco v Girondins De Bordeaux

TEN CRICKET 02:10PM A-League 2015/16 WS Wanderers v CC Mariners

SONY ESPN 12:30AM Spanish La Liga Rayo Vallecano v Getafe

FORMULA 1 STAR SPORTS 2 04:25PM F1: Bahrain Grand Prix Practice Sessions

BADMINTON STAR SPORTS 4 2:30PM Yonex Sunrise India Open 2016

win over Rapid Vienna in the Europa League and La Liga triumphs against Granada and Malaga.

The good work was undone, though, by a late collapse against Athletic Bilbao and a miserable run of three straight La Liga defeats including a 2-0 reverse against bottom club Levante that the local media described as “grotesque”.

The former United full back was also sent off for his furious reaction to a handball incident in the buildup to Bilbao’s goal.

Faced with little chance of qualifying for European competition next season, and already out of the King’s Cup, Valencia’s season was effectively ended by that awaygoals defeat. Neville’s time as coach seemed to be coming to an end at that point.

His relationship with owner Peter Lim, the Singaporean billionaire with whom he shares a business interest in English minor league club Salford City, helped secure him the job and kept him in it when others may not have been so patient.

However, that patience started to wear thin following another late collapse against Celta Vigo.l

Leicester title may spark big changes: Forest heroes n Reuters, Nottingham Leicester City’s surge towards a first top-flight crown may spark a major power shift in England, according to players from the 1978 Nottingham Forest team that produced a similarly unexpected title triumph.

It is 38 years since Frank Clark, Garry Birtles, John McGovern and Archie Gemmill were involved in Forest’s remarkable transformation.

Having scraped promotion to the old first division in third place, they stunned the football world by winning the league in their first season back in the top flight before claiming consecutive league and European Cup title triumphs under manager Brian Clough and assistant Peter Taylor.

Leicester, five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League with seven games remaining, are attempting to become the first side since Forest to win a maiden crown.

While they still have a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath, City’s exploits this season have drawn inevitable comparisons.

“We were a side that came out of

nowhere, won promotion, then astounded everyone by winning the league by seven points when it was still only two points for a win,” said McGovern who captained Forest to both European Cup successes.

“Like Leicester we were told we were just a flash in the pan ...

I am not so sure that if Leicester, or Spurs for that matter, win the title, it will be a one-off either,” added McGovern who played all 42 matches in Forest’s title-winning season.

Leicester share another similar-

ity to the title-winning Forest side in that they have made the most of limited resources.

“It’s fantastic that a provincial team like Leicester can be five points clear at this stage of the season,” said Gemmill who won two league titles with Clough at Derby County before landing the crown again and the first European Cup with Forest.

“I hope they go on and do it.

It will be terrific for football in this country. The league needed a breath of fresh air.” l

P28

NEVILLE

BY NUMBERS Record W10

D7

L7

GF39

GA38

35.7%

Neville’s win percentage in all competitions

7-0

Valencia’s crushing defeat by Barcelona was their heaviest in a Spanish cup match since 1928

0

Clean sheets kept in La Liga by Valencia under Neville. They have conceded 25 goals in 16 games

3

Neville won just three games in La Liga

6

Valencia are just six points above the relegation zone in La Liga with eight games to go

70

Number of days Neville had to wait to pick up his first La Liga victory

Dortmund tie incredibly difficult: Klopp n AFP, London Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is more worried about former club Borussia Dortmund’s on-pitch threat than any mixed emotions he will feel when facing them, he said on Wednesday.

Klopp will go up against Dortmund in a two-legged Europa League quarter-final beginning next week, having left the club at the end of last season following a richly successful seven-year spell.

It promises to be a unique occasion for the 48-year-old German, but he is not thinking about sentiment.

“It’s not going to be an inner battle between my old and my new love,” Klopp said.

“It won’t be a problem for me.

Before I joined BVB, I had a good relationship with (former club) Mainz. We are all aware how incredibly difficult this draw is for us. The way Dortmund plays commands enormous respect. But on a good day and when (we) put our plan into action, we have a chance.

“We always had a relatively good plan against teams who play football well. We will not rest anyone.”l

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Khan asked Kangana to stop? n Rupkotha Chowdhury Nowadays, the Ranaut and Roshan fight has become quite the sensation in Bollywood.

Just yesterday, Hrithik Roshan filed an FIR with the police and stated that the person who has been impersonating him under a fake email ID was none other than Kangana Ranaut. When others are staying away from this saucy matter, Aamir Khan, the perfectionist of Bollywood is taking sides with Mr Roshan. Or so it seemed.

It’s not like Kangana and Aamir have issues with each other, as they have shared a special bond and have been often spotted partying together. Last year, the duo skipped a popular award ceremony in Mumbai and had their own little bash. Kangana and Aamir had also attended PM Narendra Modi’s private dinner at the Turf Club together. However, the actor has not advised the actress on anything about Hrithik. Online

reports suggested that Khan had pepped up Kangana and asked her to move on. An article in Deccan Chronicle states that Aamir had even asked her sister Rangoli to, “look out for her,” and “steer clear of Hrithik.”

But in the mean time, a source close to Aamir has revealed to BollywoodLife that Aamir is not participating in this tussle between

Deepika- Diesel warming the social media seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, co-starring with Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra. The film released last year. This year she will be missed in Bollywood, but yes Hollywood will be warmer with her appearance. l

n Showtime Desk Deepika, who will make her debut in Hollywood with XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, has already shared several images from the sets of the film. This picture with Mr Diesel, which she posted recently, is deadly.

Actor Vin Diesel also shared a new picture from the sets of XXX: The Return of Xander Cage with his co-star Deepika Padukone on Wednesday. In the image, Vin Diesel, 48 and Deepika, 30, are seen embracing each other.

XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, the third film in the XXX series, also stars Nina Dobrev, Donnie Yen and martial arts expert Tony Jaa. The film is scheduled for a 2017 release. In Bollywood, Deepika was last

the two ex-lovers.

The source informed, “Aamir Khan has nothing to do with Kangana and Hrithik’s ongoing controversy. Yes, he does share a cordial rapport with Kangana, but that does not mean he is going to interfere in her personal life. He is busy with Danga and is focusing on the work front right now.” l Source: Bollywood Life

Banglavision: 10 years of celebration n Rashna Munawar Popular satellite channel Banglavision is celebrating its tenth year anniversary by scheduling a special series of programs.

The two-day long celebration began on March 31 with a live telecast of the musical show Egarotomo Borshe Podarpon at 9:00am, from the station. The channel also aired a daylong show, Fire dekhar ek doshok which depicts the journey and achievements of Banglavision over the decade.

Apart from the special series of programs, the channel also celebrated its founding anniversary by cutting cakes with guests.

Hearty congratulations to Banglavision from the Dhaka Tribune family! l

Kaley Cuoco’s new equestrian beau n Showtime Desk When Kaley Cuoco posted a lovable Instagram picture with 25-year-old equestrian Karl Cook earlier this week, the 30-yearold actress got the rumour mill going into overdrive. Kaley Cuoco adores horses, so it would totally make sense for her to date a fellow equestrian and it turns out, the two have been actually spending time together for a few weeks now.

Earlier this month, The Big Bang Theory star and her rumoured new beau took to the BNP Paribas Open and the pair was spotted looking cuddly and comfortable together at the tennis tournament.

While Cuoco has yet to officially confirm the relationship, the two certainly have a love

for horses in common. The star frequently shows off her own impressive riding skills and posts on her Instagram account.

Turns out, she also received an accolade titled the Horsewoman of the Year, given by the Humane Society.

Meanwhile Cook, who hails from Woodside, California and is the son of a billionaire businessman, is quite the accomplished equestrian. Cook recently took home the blue ribbon in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix.

Last September, Cuoco split from her ex Ryan Sweeting, a pro tennis player, spending almost two years of marital life.

Earlier this month, she told Cosmopolitan magazine that she’s not exactly ready to love again. l

Prioty rejects Bollywood film for unethical offer n Rashna Munawar Miss Ireland 2014 Maksuda Akhter Prioty, of Bangladesh origin, has refused a Bollywood producer after an offensive offer.

The information was gathered from her Facebook status along with screenshots of the conversation.

The actress said that a noted producer in the Bollywood film industry offered her to act in a film with the precondition of sleeping with him.

The producer also offered her a huge amount of money as a signing deal of the film, pairing her with actor Sidharth Malhotra.

She refused the deal, terming it completely unethical as the producer showed his interest in having a physical relation with the actress at the penultimate stage of the deal.

Though the name of the producer couldn’t be deciphered from the Prioty’s post, it is known that he was connected with the noted producing house of Yash Raj Films.

Bangladeshi by birth, the Irish model is the first Irish-Asian to be crowned the first runner up in the Ms Earth 2016 international pageant in Jamaica, representing Ireland. She has also agreed to model for the famous Irish artist

Jim Fitzpatrick under a 10,000 euro contract.

The actress, who is currently working on her second Irish venture Cu Chulainn, the first one being The Wonderland, will receive an amount of 100,000 euros from HML magazine for her biography. l

“A stink bucket of disappointment” – the most savage Batman v Superman reviews.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has been the victim of some of the harshest reviews ever to be given a blockbuster in recent memory. They are enough to make a video of star Ben Affleck looking sad, after being politely reminded about them, become an immediate viral monster. Don’t look now, Sad Ben! Here are some of the most damning write-ups from its opening weekend.

“The director is Zack Snyder, who was responsible for 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel and other Chekhovian chamber pieces, and whom I suspect of having worked for NutriBullet before he joined

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Swiss dancer brought sitespecific act in Dhaka

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Swiss choreographer and performer Gregory Stauffer will present Walking, a solo dance performance in Dhaka on April 2, 2016. This contemporary dance performance will be held at the Goethe Institut Auditorium, Dhanmondi at 7pm.

This performance is jointly brought to Dhaka by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and Goethe Institut Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

Walking is a site-specific act and Stauffer’s tribute to the ground that supports changing verticalities, dreams, and ambitions, as it traces life’s journey.

The performance suggests that an individual’s environment, mind, and body are connected

to each other to form a musical chord.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Gregory Stauffer possesses a playful yet serious mind. In the last decade, he has created works which are deliberately located in a transverse and blurred territory between dance and performance. His work has been performed as much in theaters and festivals as in galleries. During his stay in Dhaka, Stauffer will also conduct a workshop which will be attended by young dancers from Bangladesh.

According to Goethe Institut Bangladesh, complimentary entry passes can be collected from it’s Dhanmondi premises, and admission to the event is on firstcome first-serve basis as seating arrangement is limited. l

WHAT TO WATCH Green, Lena Headey

The disappointment n Showtime Desk

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the movie business. When in doubt, he simply slings another ingredient into the mix, be it an irradiated monster, an explosion on government premises, or the sharp smack of masonry on skull.”

- Anthony Lane, the New Yorker “The substance of Snyder’s film is crude and unambiguous, lacking any ideological or emotional nuance. Hans Zimmer’s score is made of lead. Characters intone expository dialogue in a manner that suggests they are heavily constipated.” - Michael Bonner, Uncut “A stink bucket of disappointment, a sad and unnecessary PG-13 orphan fight that director Zack Snyder believes is an homage to DC Comics’ most iconic heroes, but is more along the lines of a home invasion perpetrated on comic book culture.” - Alex

Abad-Santos, vox.com “No major blockbuster in years has been this incoherently structured, this seemingly uninterested in telling a story with clarity and purpose. It grumbles along for what feels like for ever, jinking from subplot to subplot, until two shatteringly expensive-looking fights happen back to back, and the whole thing crunches to a halt.” - Robbie Collin, the Telegraph l Source: The Guardian

How to Train Your Dragon Zee Studio 11:40pm A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons, becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher MintzPlasse 300: Rise of an Empire HBO 11:16pm Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva

Die Hard 4.0 Star Movies 8:30pm John McClane and a young hacker join forces to take down master cyberterrorist Thomas Gabriel in Washington D.C. Cast: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant Despicable Me 2 Movies Now 9:30pm When Gru, the world’s most super-bad turned super-dad has been recruited by a team of officials to stop lethal muscle and a host of Gru’s own, He has to fight back with new gadgetry, cars, and more minion madness.

Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt Final Destination 5 WB 11:04pm Survivors of a suspensionbridge collapse learn there’s no way you can cheat Death.

Cast: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Arlen Escarpeta

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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

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Kolkata flyover collapse kills 17 n Agencies A flyover under construction in the bustling Kolkata city collapsed on Thursday on to vehicles and street vendors below, killing at least 17 people with more than 100 people feared trapped, reports ANI. Residents used their bare hands to try to rescue people pinned under a 100-metre length of metal and cement that snapped off at one end and came crashing down in a teeming commercial district near Girish Park.

“The concrete had been laid last night at this part of the bridge,” resident Ramesh Kejriwal said while talking to Reuters.

“I am lucky as I was planning to go downstairs to have juice. When I was thinking about it, I saw that the bridge had collapsed.”

A coordinated rescue operation was slow to get under way, with access for heavy lifting gear and ambulances restricted by the buildings on either side of the flyover and heavy traffic.

Police said 78 injured had been taken to Kolkata’s Medical College Hospital after the disaster struck at around noon.

“Most were bleeding profusely.

The problem is that nobody is able to drive an ambulance to the spot,” said Akhilesh Chaturvedi, a senior police officer.

Video footage aired on TV channels showed a street scene with two autorickshaws and a crowd of people suddenly obliterated by a mass of falling concrete that narrowly missed cars crawling in a traffic jam.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose cen-

tre-left party is seeking re-election in the state of West Bengal next month, rushed to the scene.

“We will take every action to save lives of those trapped beneath the collapsed flyover. Rescue is our top priority,” she said.

Banerjee said those responsible for the disaster would not be spared. Yet she herself faces questions about a construction project that has been plagued by delays and safety fears.

A newspaper reported last November that Banerjee wanted the flyover - already five years overdue - to be completed by February. Project engineers expressed concerns over whether this would be possible, The Telegraph said at the time.

“Every night, hundreds of labourers would build the flyover and they would cook and sleep near the site by day,” said eyewitness Ravindra Kumar Gupta, who together with friends pulled out six bodies.

“The government wanted to complete the flyover before the elections and the labourers were working on a tight deadline ... Maybe the hasty construction led to the collapse.”

The disaster could play a key role in the West Bengal state assembly election, to be held next month.

Indian company IVRCL was building the 2km-Vivekananda Road flyover, according to its web site.

IVRCL’s director of operations, AGK Murthy, said the company was not sure of the cause of the disaster.

“We did not use any inferior quality material and we will cooperate with the investigators,” Murthy told reporters in Hyderabad where the firm is based. “We are in a state of shock.” l

A general view of the collapsed flyover in Kolkata, India, yesterday

REUTERS

NHRC chief: Evidence may have been tampered with n Tribune Report National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Mizanur Rahman yesterday said a visit to the TONU KILLING site where Sohagi Jahan Tonu’s body was found led him to suspect that there might have been attempts to damage evidence.

“It could potentially alter the course of the trial and hinder identification of the culprits,” he told reporters in Comilla. “In that case, those trying to alter evidence

should be brought to book.”

Tonu, a second-year Comilla Victoria Government College student and cultural activist, was found dead inside the Comilla cantonment on March 20. Her father Yaar Hossain, a cantonment board office assistant, filed a case without naming anyone the next day.

Mizan said the bush where Tonu’s body was found had been cleared. “This piques suspicion. If soil from the site was removed and replaced by soil from somewhere else, it could have destroyed some evidence, further complicating the investigation.”

The NHRC chief spoke with Comilla deputy commissioner, superintendent of police and army officials.

“Army officials said they would provide all out assistance in the investigation,” he said. “Tonu’s murder is a tragic incident. We must ensure punishment for those involved.”

Protests continue

Demonstrations, rallies and human chain protests continued in Comilla with everyone demanding justice for Tonu. A platform named after her at the Victoria college staged

daylong protests like previous days.

Different organisations protested against the March 20 killing at the city’s Kandirpar. In Nangolkot Upazila, teachers and students of Moyura High School and local Chhatra League activists formed a human chain to press for maximum penalty for the killers.

Meanwhile, in Savar, over 100 students of Mirza Golam Hafiz College blocked the busy Dhaka-Aricha Highway at Ashulia’s Baishmail locality for about half an hour. The demonstrators threatened to intensify their agitation if Tonu’s killers are not arrested soon. l

Committee formed to find Moghbazar flyover plan fault n Shohel Mamun The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Planning Ministry has decided to find out if Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover's plan contains any structural fault.

The committee has also formed a three-member sub-committee in this regard.

A press statement issued by the Parliament Secretariat said Md Tajul Islam, a member of the Parliamentary Standing committee on the Planning Ministry, is the convener of the sub-committee, and the two other members are Samshul Haque Chowdhury and Muhibur Rahman Manik.

Experts have already said there are some faults in the plan. They said foreign engineers made the plan keeping in mind that the driver's seat is on the left-hand side of the vehicle but most of the cars in Bangladesh have the driver's seat on the right.

Tajul told reporters yesterday after a meeting of the sub-committee that some observations had been made about the plan. “We want to inspect who made the plan and how it was executed. We will also examine if the flyover could be a bit long.”

“Besides, we will also review the designs of other flyovers too,” he added.

The press statement said because of faults in flyover plans in Dhaka, people face tailback at each end of the flyovers.

The sub-committee will not only find possible flaws in the plan of Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover but will also identify the responsible persons if there is any fault.

On January 20, Prof Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, a teacher of civil engineering at Buet, said an expert team had identified some faults in the flyover.

Yesterday, he said: “The government has finally taken an initiative but may be it is already too late.”

Construction of the flyover has not yet ended but the two-kilometre stretch from Satrasta intersection to Holy Family Hospital – a fourth of the flyover’s total length – was opened for traffic on Wednesday.

It was estimated to cost Tk343.70 crore when the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved it in 2011. l

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