19 April, 2016

SECOND EDITION

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

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Boishakh 6, 1423, Rajab 11, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 363

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

Volvo double deckers sit in disrepair n Shohel Mamun The Volvo double decker buses were a novelty when they first hit the streets of Dhaka. Air conditioned and comfortable, they quickly gained popularity among commuters. But they disappeared within a decade and are unlikely to be seen on the roads of Dhaka again.

The authorities had not accounted for maintenance and repair when these buses were procured and as a result they went out of service within eight to nine years although they were projected to have an economic life of 15 years, possibly 20 with good maintenance.

The state owned road transport corporation (BRTC), which operated the buses, is still hopeful of reviving them under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

BRTC had brought 50 of those buses for Tk57.50 crore from Sweden in 2002. Lack of maintenance saw the buses starting to go out of commission within four to five years.

Of the buses, 22 are now stashed at the Mirpur depot and 26 at the Kalyanpur depot. Only two are still plying the streets. One official said only 30 of them might be reparable.

The corporation started the Volvo bus service in 2002. The buses  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

The BRTC bus depot in Mirpur, Dhaka is filled up with out-of-commission Volvo double decker buses. These buses were expected to be in service for a good 15 years when they were introduced in Dhaka streets, but they did not last even a decade MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Police: Shafik admits he met plotters PM censures sympathisers Rahman Rabbi and n Arifur Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

INSIDE

The police are saying that noted journalist Shafik Rehman has admitted during interrogation that he was present at a meeting in the US where a conspiracy was allegedly hatched to abduct and kill Sajeeb Wazed Joy. DB Senior Assistant Commissioner Hassan Arafat told this to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. However, Arafat, also the officer investigating the case filed in connection with the allegations, said Shafik has not yet disclosed what issues had been dis-

HC drops writ on Tonu

The High Court yesterday dropped a writ petition filed seeking judicial inquiry into the killing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu and providing the family compensation.  PAGE 3

cussed at that particular meeting.

Yesterday was the second day of the seven-day remand for the former Jaijaidin editor.

Arafat said the veteran journalist has been using different evasive tactics during questioning to protect himself.

The DB official said detectives have already collected documentary evidence about Shafik's presence in the meeting, where the alleged plotters – JaSaS leader Mohammad Ullah Mamun's son Rizve Ahmed Caesar, ex-FBI official Robert Lustyik, and Lustyik's friend Johannes Thaler – are believed to

have conspired against Joy, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Meanwhile, the DB police yesterday sought a 10-day remand against Daily Amar Desh Editor Mahmudur Rahman in the same case filed for the abduction-murder scheme. IO Hassan Arafat submitted the prayer to the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Golam Nabi.

The IO also sought permission from the court to show Mahmudur arrested in the case. The court fixed April 25 for holding a hearing in this regard.

Govt bank borrowing to grow 35.73%

Bogra’s historic Nawab Palace sold out

The government’s borrowing from the banks will see a significant rise in the coming fiscal year due to the shortage of funds from foreign sources to meet the budget deficit.  PAGE 5

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

The iconic Nawab Palace of Bogra, which is laced with memories of former Pakistan prime minister Syed Mohammad Ali, has been sold to three influential local businessmen.  PAGE 8

of Shafik, Mahmudur n BSS Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday came down heavily on the sympathisers who criticised the arrest of journalists Shafik Rehman and Mahmudur Rahman saying a person accused of criminal acts cannot escape law on human rights grounds.

“How do they raise the question of human rights when they were arrested in connection with a heinous crime like abduction and

killing?” she said at a discussion organised by Awami League central committee at the city’s Krishibid Institution marking the historic Mujibnagar Day. “I do not know what kind of journalism and press freedom they believe in. They criticise the arrest, but say nothing on the big conspiracy of the journalists that was unearthed by the FBI,” she said.

The prime minister said: “The accused persons should feel  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

CID: 20 foreigners involved in BB heist

CID says from their visits to Philippines and Sri Lanka they had found that some twenty foreigners from different countries were allegedly involved in the Bangladesh Bank heist.  PAGE 32

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

BTRC: Over 61 million internet subscribers in country n Ishtiaq Husain

More than one-third of the country’s population are now internet subscribers, according to latest data released by the BTRC. Currently there are more than 61 million internet subscribers in the country, says Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory

Commission (BTRC).

The BTRC findings stated that the popularity of internet was rising rapidly among different subscribers. As of March this year, the total number of internet subscribers was over 61m, which was around 44.6m a year ago.

According to the data, the number of mobile internet subscribers have steadily increased to more

than 58m in March.

However, the BTRC mentioned that the figure represented the number of active subscribers, who used internet during the last 90 days.

Internet service providers (ISP) and public switched telephone network (PSTN) also saw an increase in subscribers, however, WiMAX service providers were los-

ing customers. In the BTRC data it was found that around 3m people subscribed to ISP and PSTN by the end of March, while only 131,000 subscribed to WiMax. Meanwhile, there is a substantial drop in active SIM cards and the currently ongoing biometric SIM registration, which started December last year, is thought to be

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Police

Volvo double deckers sit in disrepair started getting damaged from 2006 and the last one went out of commission in 2010. There have also been allegations of mismanagement and corruption in procurement of spare parts.

After a long gap, BRTC recently took an initiative to repair the double deckers and formed a technical committee in May 2015.

The committee’s report said the buses needed repairs worth varying from Tk25 lakh to Tk48 lakh, totalling upto Tk15 crore for 48 buses.

But Volvo bus spare parts are not available in Bangladesh. BRTC contacted several spare parts dealers including Volvo for the purchase.

Volvo initially declined on account of unpaid bills of Tk70 lakh. The corporation had imported spare parts from Volvo in 2006-08 but never paid the bills. Volvo later agreed though, but only through India.

BRTC asked the Road Transport and Highways Division (RHTD) for funds in June last year and was turned down.

Then BRTC decided that the buses would be repaired under a PPP scheme. They floated a tender to do so in November 2015.

According to the conditions, the party that repaired the buses would be allowed to operate them for five years with a deposit of Tk200,000 up front for each bus and a daily deposit. But not a single company showed interest.

The BRTC then floated the tender again in January 2016.

“However, even a single company is yet to respond,” BRTC Chairman Mizanur Rahman admitted.

“When we floated the tenders the first time, a number of companies demanded to reduce the deposit rate. Then we floated another tender, this time with a reduced deposit rate — Tk100,000,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

“We have been discussing continuously with several organisations to repair the buses. We hope to get interested companies to repair the buses,” BRTC chairman said.

“Although the economic life of the buses was projected to be 15 years, it is possible to have them run for 20 with proper maintenance and regular servicing. So we hope that investors will be interested,” he said.

He explained that each Volvo double decker could carry 160 people — 120 seating capacity and a standing passenger load of 40 people. “So a Volovo bus can carry five times more than minibuses, which means higher revenue.”

“If we don’t get any interested parties to invest then we will repair them with our own funds on a monthly basis. That would mean 12 buses a year.”

The price of the each bus was Tk1.15 crore, funded by Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). But the procurement cost did not include spare parts and maintenance.

Consequently, the buses started having trouble within two to three years of starting operation and gradually went out of service.

the reason behind the decline, the data released stated.

In the first two months of this year, all six mobile operators lost around 2.7 million active subscribers in total. Though Grameenphone lost few subscribers in march but they also added 158,000 subscribers which made its total subscriber base 56.2 million. l

Masud Alam, the mechanical manager of Mirpur BRTC bus depot, said: “We failed to repair the buses and keep up maintenance due to a lack of spare parts, simply because they were not available in Bangladesh.”

“The 48 buses have been garaged for a long time,” he said.

Alam observed that the condition of the buses have deteriorated because of sitting idle for such a long time.

“But the chassis of most buses is still good. We hope at least 30 buses are still reparable.”

But sources said that many of these buses lying in depots have many parts missing.

RTHD Secretary MAN Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune: “We did not refuse the BRTC. We directed them to repair the buses with their own funds.”

He also pointed out that there had been a couple of tenders from the BTRC but they were yet to find any takers. l

DB Deputy Commissioner Masrurqure Rahman Khaled said if the court places Mahmudur under remand, then Shafik and Mahmudur – who is already behind bars in an unrelated sedition case – would be interrogated together.

If necessary, detectives would interrogate all the suspects face-toface to solve the case, Khaled said, adding that all the accused would be brought to book soon.

On Saturday, 81-year-old Shafik was arrested from his residence in Dhaka. Following his arrest, police claimed that the BNP-leaning journalist met with Caesar, Lustyik, and Thaler on January 29, 2012, to plot the abduction and murder of Joy. Rizve, Lustyik and Thaler are currently serving jail sentences in the US in connection with a bribery scheme to dig up confidential information about Joy. When Joy came to know about the matter, he passed on the information to Bangladesh Police. Later in 2015, police first filed a general diary and then filed a case with Paltan police station. l

PM censures sympathizers of Shafik, Mahmudur ashamed as their names are involved in such a conspiracy.” She said the critics should condemn the offenders instead of criticising the government for bringing the accused to book.

Sheikh Hasina said: “I think they do not like to consider an offender as an offender and perhaps they will not feel any necessity of their trial for this terrible deed. How did they turn a blind eye to a journalist’s misdeed?” she asked.

The discussion was organised as part of a two-day central programme of Awami League to observe the historic Mujibnagar Day, marking the oath taking ceremony of the first government of Independent Bangladesh at Mujibnagar in the then Kushtia district (now Meherpur) on April 17, 1971. On this day in 1971, the government in exile took oath a week after its formation.

“The government will certainly take action against the persons if found guilty of conspiracy,” she said adding that “no one had raised the question of our human rights when the killers responsible for destroying my family, had been given impunity.”

“We suffered 21 years of torment when our human rights were violated. Now they are criticising us and have become vocal for the human rights of the accused persons when we have arrested them who are hatching conspiracy against us,” she said adding that as citizens we have the right to seek justice.

Sheikh Hasina suggested they deal with the FBI instead of accusing her government for arresting the journalists on specific grounds as the USA intelligence agency has found their names during their probe.

Awami League advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed, senior presidium members Mohammad Nasim and Matia Chowdhury, General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, presidium member Sahara Khatun, joint secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Dr Dipu Moni and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Organising Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Liberation War Affairs Secretary Capt AB Tajul Islam took part in the discussion.

Central Awami League leader Advocate Quamrul Islam, Sujit Roy Nandi, newly elected president of

the party’s Dhaka North and South city units AKM Rahmatullah, MP and Abul Hasnat and newly elected general secretaries of the units Sadek Khan and Shahe Alam Murad also spoke on the occasion while Awami League Publicity Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud and Deputy Publicity Secretary Asim Kumar Ukil conducted the meeting.

Pointing out the FBI report on involvement of a number of BNP leaders in a reported abduction and killing attempt on Prime Minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the prime minister said BNP leaders siphoned off crores of money abroad during their rule, and with that money they now hire FBI officers to cause damage to Awami League.

“Our government always takes measures wherever it finds any injustice. We never give indulgence to any injustice and we will never do this in the future,” the prime minister said adding that the main aim of her government was to reach the benefit of independence to every house, establish justice, basic rights of the people and rule of law.

Pointing out the significance of

the Mujibnagar Day, the prime minister said on this day in 1971 the first government of independent and sovereign Bangladesh was constituted. In the oath taking ceremony, the Declaration of Independence was also read out and in line with this Declaration the government functioned, the armed forces and liberation forces were raised.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is the result of 23 years of relentless struggle of people under the leadership of Bangabandhu. After independence Bangabandhu reconstructed the war ravaged country and within a very short time he had taken every step to build a self-reliant nation.

The prime minister said Bangladesh could earn seven percent economic growth in 1975 when Bangabandhu was in power. The country has earned the same growth rate this year when Awami League is in power, she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the killers of Bangabandhu and anti-liberation forces hatched conspiracy to keep Awami League out-of-state power after 1975 and they were successful

till 1996. They never wanted to see Bangladesh go ahead.

Pointing out political situation after 2001 election, the prime minister said not a single family could escape their torture and intimidation. They made the country a haven of militancy and terrorism. They made people victim for casting their vote for Awami League. Former finance minister SAMS Kibria, Ahsanullah Master and Ivy Rahman were the worst victims of their atrocities, she said.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is now on the road of development as the pro-liberation force is in power. The country for a long time was ruled by the anti-liberation force, under which a country can never progress, she said.

Highlighting the country’s ongoing development, the prime minister said 50 million people could come out of extreme poverty level to middle income level. Awami League always follows the principles of Bangabandhu to bring smile on the face of the toiling masses which is very much consistent with the oath taken by the country’s first government in Mujibnagar in 1971, she said. l

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New MoU signed after failed attempts to set up LPG plants n Aminur Rahman Rasel The government has signed a new memorandum of understanding with an Indian company for setting up a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling plant in Chittagong region, in the wake of three similar failed projects by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD).

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Md Mahmud Reza Khan and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) Chairman B Ashok signed the MoU at a Dhaka hotel yesterday.

Because of the earlier failed projects, the country cannot reap the benefit of the LPG, the international market price of which has dropped to half of what it was a year ago.

“This a failure for us,” EMRD acting Secretary Nazimuddin Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

In July 2011, the BPC initiated

a Tk210.46 crore project to set up an LPG bottling plant at Bagerhat's Mongla that would have included import facilities, storage tanks and pipelines.

The original June 2013 deadline was missed and later extended to June 2016.

But even then, the project failed to take off as the contract with its Indian consultants had to be terminated after they failed to provide any support.

Also in 2011, another Tk250 crore public-private partnership project was launched to set up an LPG bottling plant with a 100,000 tonne capacity at Kumira or any suitable place in Chittagong. Although the project's deadline was extended to June 2016, it also did not see the light of the day.

The list of failed LPG projects also includes another project to construct a 240,000-tonne-capacity LPG bottling plant at Elenga in Tangail. No progress has been made in that project as of now.

Energy state ministers meet

State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid met visiting Indian State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Prodhan, yesterday to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The agenda of their talks included setting up a joint LPG terminal in Chittagong, Bangladesh's import of re-gasified LNG from India, each other's cooperation in offshore survey in maritime area, and Bangladesh's import of liquid petroleum through pipeline from India.

In the meeting, Dhaka formally proposed India to import 70 million cubic feet gas per day (mmcfd) of natural gas from Tripura to meet the country’s growing energy demand.

"We have requested India to consider whether they could connect their gas field in Tripura with our network and we sought 70mmcfd gas to meet our demand in Chittagong. The Indian state minister has assured to get back after dis-

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cussing with his government", Nasrul Hamid briefed reporters after the signing of the MoU. Prodhan, who arrived here on a three-day visit on Sunday, said he would have to check the Indian gas system and analyse the request, but added that he was looking forward to greater energy cooperation between the countries.

India has proposed Bangladesh to set up the LNG terminal in Moheshkhali in joint venture for which Bangladesh has already floated tender and an Indian company has participated in it.

"We agreed that Indian company Petronet India will submit an offer for it and Bangladesh will conduct feasibility on it within two months," said the Indian state minister.

Bangladesh also sought Indian cooperation in providing scholarships to Bangladeshi students in Indian institutions for studying on petroleum and mining engineering. l

'Shafik Rehman's arrest dirty' n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan has said that the police had used a dirty technique to arrest the noted journalist Shafik Rehman.

“Police introduced themselves as journalists and arrested Shafik Rehman. Is this humorous or lawlessness?” he asked journalists at a programme organised by All Community Forum demanding release of Shafik Rehman at the National Press Club yesterday.

Nazrul said the only offence of Shafik Rehman was that he spoke the truth and wrote with reason.

Criticising the arrest, Nazrul said, “Some one bribed an FBI agent in USA to get information about prime minister's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy's illegal wealth and Shafik Rehman was arrested on that issue.”

Noted journalist and former editor of the daily Jaijaidin Shafik Rehman was arrested and put on a five-day remand yesterday to be interrogated over his involvement in the plot to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. l

HC drops writ on Tonu n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court yesterday dropped a writ petition filed seeking judicial inquiry into the killing of Sohagi Jahan Tonu and providing the family compensation, from its hearing list.

The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil did not entertain the petition as an investigation into the case was already going on.

Petitioner Eunus Ali Akond said he will move the petition before another High Court bench soon. He filed the petition with the court on April 3.

He had sought the court's directives upon the government to constitute a judicial committee to investigate into the murder and arrest of the killers within 24 hours.

Akand prayed to the court to order the government to give Tk30 lakh as compensation to Tonu’s

family and requested a rule asking the government to explain as to why its inaction to arrest Tonu's killers should not be declared illegal.

Eight people including the defence secretary, the home secretary, the area commander of Comilla Cantonment, the inspector general of police (IGP), the police superintendent of Comilla and the Comilla Kotwali police station officer-in-charge were made respondents in the writ.

Tonu, a second-year history student and a cultural activist, was found dead near her home inside the cantonment on March 20.

The case was handed over to the Detective Branch of police on March 25 but the CID was put in charge of the case a day later. Investigators are yet to make a breakthrough. A second autopsy report is underway after the first one failed to determine the cause of her death. l

Police block a procession brought out by unemployed nurses demanding recruitment based on seniority in front of National Press Club yesterday. The protesters set out to go to the Secretariat to submit a memorandum when they were blocked by police DHAKA TRIBUNE

Lawmaker's office expenditure raised by Tk6,000 n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs yesterday finalised the “Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) (Amendment) Act 2016 by increasing the office expenses of lawmakers by Tk6,000.

The parliamentary watchdog committee finalised the bill after thoroughly examining it in a meeting at the parliament. The bill may be passed in the upcoming session of the parliament.

Sources said Law Minister Anisul Huq placed the bill in the parliament on January 24 and then it was sent to the parliamentary standing

committee for scrutinisation.

Committee members raised objections in a January 27 meeting, saying secretaries receive salaries of Tk82,000. However, the proposed law states lawmakers will receive Tk55,000 honorariums and this should not be acceptable, the sources said.

A committee member also said

lawmakers are elected through public voting, and so they deserve higher salaries than secretaries.

Wishing to remain anonymous, he added that if necessary, the honorarium could be Tk1 but honour should be given properly.

Committee sources said the issue was discussed in yesterday’s meeting again in the presence of

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Mia, where a proposal was placed to raise the lawmakers’ office expenses to Tk15,000 instead of Tk9,000.

Committee president Suranjit Sengupta and other members of the committee approved the proposal. l

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Khaleda challenges 2 rejection petitions n Ashif Islam Shaon BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia prayed to the High Court to scrap a lower court order that rejected her two petitions in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case on Sunday.

In two separate petitions on the same day, she sought the HC order to re-cross examine the investigation officer (IO) of the case and to scrutinise the case diary.

The BNP chief also prayed to stay the trial proceedings against her in the graft case.

The court may hear the petitions within a day or two.

Her counsel Raghib Rauf Chowdhury said that the statement of IO Harunur Rashid is unacceptable, as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) withdrew him for incompetence

in 2005 and the HC and Supreme Court upheld the decision.

On Sunday her counsels submitted two petitions before Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-3 in the presence of Khaleda, which were rejected.

On March 9, Khaleda challenged the legality of the appointment of the IO with the HC but that was rejected.

The corruption case was filed by the ACC on August 8, 2011 on the charge of abusing power in setting up the Zia Charitable Trust.

The other accused are Khaleda’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his assistant private secretary Ziaul Islam Munna, and the assistant private secretary of former mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Monirul Islam Khan. l

Case against Janakantha editor, five others to continue n Ashif Islam Shaon The trial of a case lodged against the Daily Janakantha editor and five others more than a decade ago for publishing the name, address and photograph of a physically harassed woman will continue, the High Court ruled yesterday.

The bench of Justice Md Emdadul Huq and Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan dismissed a petition finishing the final hearing on a ruling issued earlier. The petition was filed challenging the trial proceedings.

There is no bar to continue the trial against the accused at the trial court, said Helal Uddin Mollah, lawyer of the victim.

According to the case statement, the woman filed an attempt-to-rape case with Mirpur police station against then lawmaker Kamal Ahmed Majumder in 2001. In January next year, Janakantha published two news stories in which the plaintiff ’s photograph was used.

The victim then filed a case with Ramna police station

against the newspaper’s editor, Atikullah Khan Masud, and five others under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000. In the act, there is a restriction on the press to publish names, addresses and photographs that can be used to identify the victims.

After the charge sheet was submitted by police against Masud, Advisory Editor of the newspaper Toab Khan and four others, a trial court took it into cognisance.

A petition was then filed with the High Court in January 2003, seeking its order to scrap the case proceedings.

That year, the court, following a primary hearing, issued a ruling and stayed the case proceedings.

Assistant Attorney General Aminur Rahman Chowdhury said the court had disposed of the petition by rejecting it and lifting a stay order on the case proceedings.

Shahjad Al-Amin, lawyer of the petitioner, said they will decide on filing an appeal with the Supreme Court after consulting with the Janakantha authorities. l

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Govt bank borrowing to grow 35.73% n Asif Showkat Kallol

The government’s borrowing from the banks will see a significant rise in the coming fiscal year due to the shortage of funds from foreign sources to meet the budget deficit.

Bank borrowing target for 201617 has been set at Tk43,000cr, which is 35.73% higher than what the government borrowed in this fiscal.

The decision came at a budget management committee meeting presided over by finance minister AMA Muhith yesterday.

Last year the banks lent the government Tk31,675 crore, which is 17.78% less than what had been aimed in the 2015-16 budget. Senior Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed said bank borrowing had declined as the ministries and divisions did not complete their de-

going to be finalised within two days before it goes to the parliament for the revised budget bill to be passed,” he added.

Bank borrowing may increase in the next fiscal year because the government wants to put more funds into skill development in the education and health sector, Mahbub also said.

According to the Planning Ministry, the government drew criticism

velopment projects in the current fiscal year.

“Those ministries and divisions do not have enough capacity to utilise their development funds, and as a result most of the funds were returned at the end of the fiscal,” the secretary said.

“So we had to reduce the current fiscal year’s bank borrowing outlay.”

“The revised budget outlay is

as it could barely utilize 41% of the Annual Development Programme budget in the first nine months of the current fiscal.

Slow implementation compelled the government to cut down the size of the development programme as it found the utilization of 59% of the ADP in the remaining three months of the fiscal an impossible task. l

BNP picks 20 leaders for its executive committee n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Seeking respite from the unbearably hot weather, two boys jump into the lake at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka and have the time of their lives. The photo was taken yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

The BNP has selected 20 leaders as members of its new executive committee. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed announced the names at a press brief in the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday.

The newly appointed organising secretary is Col (retd) Anwarul Azim for Comilla Division.

The assistant organising secretaries are – Abdus Salam Azad and Sahidul Islam Babul for Dhaka; Mahbubur Rahman Shamim and Abu Hasem Bakar for Chittagong; Abdul Momin Talukdar and Saheen Sawkat for Rajshahi; Aninda Islam Amit and Joyanta Kumar Kundu for Khulna; AKN Kuddusur Rahman and Mahbubul Huq for Barishal; Dildar Hossain Selim and Kalimuddin Ahmed Milon for Sylhet; Shamsuzzaman and Jahangir Hossain for Rangpur; Shariful Alam and Wares Ali Mamun for Mymensingh; Mustak Hossain and Abdul Awal Khan for Comilla; Ali Newaz Mahmud and Selimuzzaman Selim for Faridpur. l

Indecent proposal leads to suspension of 3 JnU teachers n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Three teachers of the Mass Communication and Journalism Department of Jagannath University (JnU) have been suspended from teaching master’s students for threatening a female student and giving her indecent proposals.

An official order issued by the university authorities to Meer Mosharraf Hossain alias Razib Meer, Bornona Bhoumick and Prianka Sornokar said the three would not be allowed in any academic activities of

the department from yesterday.

A five-member body headed by JnU Treasurer Prof Md Selim Bhuyan was formed to investigate the incident. The committee was asked to submit the report within 3 weeks.

Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman, vice-chancellor of the university, said a journalism student filed a complaint against Razib, alleging that he had threatened to lower her exam score if she did not accept his indecent proposal.

“Based on the complaint and analysing some voice records, the

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the committee.”

JnU treasurer Prof Selim said the report would be submitted shortly.

Razib could not be reached for comment yesterday, but he told Bangla Tribune that the president of the Mass Communication and Journalism Department is a pro-Jamaat person and is spreading misleading information against him to prevent him from becoming the chairman of the department.

The two female teachers - Bornona and Prianka – said they were totally unaware that Razib had

probe body found that the claim of the complainant was true. This is why Razib was suspended. The two other female teachers were suspended as Razib told the girl that he would convince the teachers to also lower her score in their subjects if she did not say yes to his proposal,” he said.

“The girl filed the four-page complaint on April 12. The probe body is analysing it further and the next decision regarding the suspended teachers would be taken after getting the report of 43

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used their names while talking to the complainant.

In April 2014, JnU journalism students held a human chain and submit a memorandum to the university authorities against Razib, mentioning his illicit relationships with female students of the department and support for militant activities.

Students of Shamsunnahar Hall of Chittagong University, where Razib previously worked, confined him to the dorm for giving indecent proposals in March 2004. l Sylhet

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Fajr: 4:15am | Zohr: 11:58pm Asr: 3:25pm | Magrib: 6:22pm Esha: 7:41pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Yet another fire raging through Sundarbans Third incident of fire in three weeks considered alarming

n Hedait Hossain, Khulna A fire broke out in Nangli area under Chandpai range of east Sundarbans, Khulna yesterday morning. With the fire, this is the third incident of forest fire in Chandpai range over the last three weeks.

M Saidul Islam, divisional forest officer of Sundarbans East Zone, said, the fire originated at Abdullah Shila adjacent to Nangli camp around 11am. Later, fire fighters from Moralganj rushed to the spot and managed to extinguish the fire by 3pm with the help of Coast Guard members.

Terming the incidents of fire as a sabotage, he said a vested quarter might have set fire to the forest area in order to facilitate their illegal activities. He also said he would

file a case with Swarankhola police station in this connection.

There are less tress in the place where the fire erupted. As forest officials were caution, the loss from the fire was less, said Sultan Mahmud, forest officer of Dhansagar range. But the loss caused by the fire could not be known immediately.

Earlier, another fire broke out in the same area on April 14 within 17 days of another forest fire that burned forestry on a vast tract of land.

On April 14, the fire that originated at Dhansagar station of Chandpai range under the Sundarbans East Zone around 10am on the day, gutted forestry on several acres of land before the forest officials, firefighters and locals man-

aged to extinguish the fire.

On March 27, a fire broke out in another area near Nangli forest camp. Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control by the morning of March 28.

Sundarbans expert Sheikh Fadirul Islam, the chairman of Save the Sundarbans Foundation, said the consecutive forest fires were a great threat to the biodiversity of the forest.

He pointed out that the government had no effective policy to prevent fires from spreading in the Sundarbans.

Local people alleged that some fishermen who were influential in the locality set fire to the forest in Rajapur and Dhansagar areas during dry season every year to set up a canal and facilitating

their fish netting. As soon as rainy season begins, they start random fishing.

Sources on condition of anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune that some unscrupulous forest officials gave lease of the land to local people for catching fish with current nets.

From the fishing, the unscrupulous section pocket a huge amount of money every year depriving the government a huge amount of revenue.

The probe body, which was formed after fire erupted in the area on March 27 submitted its report on April 4.

The probe blamed carelessness of local people for the fire incident.

Six people have also been sued in connection with the fire incident.

Meanwhile, a Bagerhat court on Sunday issued separate warrants for the arrest of them in a case filed over the forest fire that burnt around 8.5 acres of forestry in Abdullah Shilla in Chandpai range of the Sundarbans on April 14.

The Forest Department formed a three-member committee, led by assistant forest conservator (Chandpai Range) Belayet Hossain, to investigate the fire incident.

The committee was asked to submit its report within two weeks.

In the last 14 years, there have been 19 fire incidents in Chandpai and Sharankhola ranges of the Sundarbans.

According to experts, repeated forest fires affect the quality of top soil ultimately putting the ecosystem at stake. l

3 kidnapped cattle traders found dead n UNB, Bandarban Three cattle traders, who were kidnapped by miscreants here on Friday, were found dead in Deem Hill area of Thanchi upazila yesterday.

Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Thanchi police station, said miscreants called the three cattle traders -- Abu Bakkar, 27, son of Omar Hamza; Nurul Absar, 28, son of Mohammad Shafi; and Shahab Uddin, 30, son of Nurul Islam of Alikadam Bus Station area in Alikadam upazila, to the Deem Hill area on Friday over business purpose.

When the trio reached the area, the miscreants looted their belongings and kidnapped them at gunpoint.

Later, the kidnappers demanded Tk 3 lakh as ransom from their

families over phone.

A general diary was lodged in this connection with Thanchi police station the following day.

Following the filing of the GD, police arrested two tribal men on suspicion of their involvement in the incident. Later, they confessed to their involvement in kidnapping.

Based on their confessional statement, a joint team of police and Border Guard Bangladesh conducted a drive in the Deem Hill area today and recovered the slaughtered bodies of the three farmers around 12:30 pm.

The bodies were taken to the Thanchi police station.

As the news of the killing spread around, locals brought out a procession in Alikadam area. l

A mobile court seizes around 24 tonnes of Ilish fry from a vessel anchored in Sadar Ghat area of the port city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

2 alleged robbers killed in 'gunfight' Gazipur mayor shown n arrested in another case FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Two alleged robbers were killed in a “gunfight” with the members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 7) in Muhuri project area in Chittagong early yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Md Kamrul Hasan, 41, son of Mojammel Haque of Dhaka and Yakub Ali, 34, son of Abdul Hay, of Pirojpur, says a press release signed by RAB's Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Md Amirulla, also Assistant Director (AD) of RAB 7’s media wing.

Four foreign pistols, one DBBL

shot gun, two SBBL gun, two one-hooter guns, six magazines, 21 rounds of bullets, eight round of cartridges, two axes, four machetes, two knives, 10 mobile phones along with 14 SIMs, 50 grams looted gold, cash and liquors were also recovered from spot, said the ASP. RAB members were informed that a group of robbers went to Muhuri area to commit robbery. Then, RAB personnel conducted a drive in the area.

But sensing the presence of RAB members, the robbers opened fire on them forcing members of the elite force to fire back triggering a

gunfight.

Later, the robbers fled the spot, but Kamrul and Yakub were found critically injured.

The duo were taken at Mirsarai Upazila Health Complex where the on-duty doctors declared them dead, added the ASP. In the gunfight, two RAB members were also injured, said the press release, however, the name of the injured did not mentioned there.

ASP Amirulla said the deceased were accused in a case filed in connection with a robbery at a jewellery shop located in Baraiyarhat area of Jorarganj on February 26. l

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Imprisoned suspended Gazipur mayor and BNP chairperson’s adviser MA Mannan was shown arrested in an another arson attack case yesterday.

Sub-Inspector Monirul Islam of Kaliakoir police station filed a case on Sunday against 35 persons including the mayor for arson attack on vehicles in Chndna intersection and attack on police van on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway on Friday night.

Abdul Motaleb, officer-in-charge of the police station, said the BNP activists hurled petrol bombs to a police-van on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway in the area around 6pm leaving the vehicle damaged seriously. On the other-hand, the BNP activists set fire on vehicles in Chndna intersection after they got order from the mayor.

Police arrested Mannan along with seven of his political followers around 10pm Friday from Vannara area in Kaliakair and taken to Joydevpur police station. l

DT

8

News

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Bogra's historic Nawab Palace sold out Nazmul Huda Nasim, n Md Bogra The iconic Nawab Palace of Bogra, which is laced with memories of former Pakistan prime minister Syed Mohammad Ali, has been sold to three influential local businessmen.

Archaeology Department's efforts to declare the palace an antiquity and demonstrations by cultural activists to protect it could not deter two of Ali's sons from selling the 1.55 acre palace. It was registered on Sunday for just over Tk27.45 crores.

The buyers are Bogra Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Masudur Rahman Milon, Vice-President Shafiqul Hasan Jewel and former vice-president Abdul Gofur. Milon is the son of district Awami League unit chief Momtaj Uddin.

Locals reacted with shock and indignation at the news. They sought the governemnt's interference in preserving the site.

Ali's two other children, residing in Canada, have ordered their legal advisors to take legal steps.

During his Bogra visit on January 14, Syed Mahmud Ali demanded preservation of the palace which is filled with his father's memories.

A view of the iconic Nawab Palace of Bogra, which is laced with memories of former Pakistan prime minister Syed Mohammad Ali. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE On Friday, the registry office commission took signatures of Syed Hammad Ali and Syed Hamed Ali on documents. The registration process was completed on Sunday

at Bogra sadar registry office.

Several registry office officials, who declined to be named, said the sellers did not get more than Tk15 crores because Tk27.45 crore was

BNP candidates go into hiding Correspondent, n Our Jessore Bangladesh Nationalist Party backed candidates of 11 union councils at Jhikargachha upazila in the district have gone into hiding following a threat by ruling party men.

The district unit BNP leaders came up with the allegation at a press briefing at Jessore Press Club yesterday.

They said the election would held on May 7. But BNP candidates of 11 union councils went into hiding after they got threat from

Awami League men.

AL men made force to BNP candidates to withdraw nomination papers.

The candidates and their workers are alarmed and panicked, they said.

On April 16, the ruling party men confined Khorshed Alam, the BNP backed candidate from Sadar uinon council, in the office of upazila truck owners’ association.

They threatened him not to continue campaign for vote in favour of sheaf of paddy.

The ruling party men tortured BNP member candi-

Two crushed under train Correspondent, n Our Brahmanbaria A woman and her son were crushed under a train at Kautali in Brahmanbaria yesterday.

The deceased are Rina Begum, 35, and her son Zilani, 8. They were the residents of Sonargaon village under Kashba upazila. The incident took place around 8:30am.

OC of Akhaura railway police station said: “They might have been crushed under Demo train.”

dates and their supporters in Nirbasonkhola union council.

Jamir Hossain and Madhu, two member candidates had withdrawn their papers due to the torture.

On April 17, the ruling party men kidnapped Monir Hossain, member candidate of Godkhali union council.

The press briefing was addressed by the upazila unit BNP secretary Mortoza Elahi Tipu where district unit BNP secretary advocate Syed Saberul Haque Sabu and organizing secretary Delwar Hossain were present. l

Two muggers held Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong Members of Detective Branch (DB) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) in a drive arrested two alleged muggers from Chittagong city’s Khulshi area yesterday morning.

The arrestees are Jahangir Alam alias Selim, 36, and Md Riaz, 25, said DB police sources, adding that both of them are CNG-

run auto rickshaw driver by profession. During the drive, the DB also seized a CNG-run auto rickshaw from their possession.

The DB in a statement said a group of muggers snatched a vanity bag of Chittagong Joint Metropolitan Session Judge Begum Salma Khatun in front of city’s Popular Diagnostic Centre at Panchlaish while she was going with her friend by rickshaw on March 11. l

mentioned as the price on technical grounds. They declined to divulge further.

The whole process was cloaked in secrecy. Businessman Gofur and

Jewel own 40% stake each in the property while Milon owns the rest. They confirmed the purchase and said were yet to decide what to do with the palace. Gofur said they would keep the palace as an amusement park if the people want.

Bogra Archaeology Department Regional Director Nahid Sultana told reporters that they had sent a proposal to their higher authorities to declare the palace an antiquity.

The district's combined Sanskritik Jote chief Toufique Hasan Moyna said they had been demonstrating for quite some time to protect the palace. The district administration and Cultural Ministry had promised to take steps, too. ''We will continue our demonstration,'' he added.

Deputy Commissioner Ashraf Uddin told the reporters that the palace could still be preserved with a government order.

Mohammad Ali's younger son Mahmud's legal advisor Shahjahan Talukder said they had moved the court several times seeking embargo on sale of the palace. The court told them that selling the property would not be easy. ''I am preparing to take legal actions at Mahmud Ali's order,'' he added. l

9

DT

Feature

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Tower companies: A way forward for telcos?

Viom.

However, hyper-competition in the mobile industry and the ongoing fallout from competitive and regulatory challenges over the past 12 months have put cost pressures on Indian tower companies. With around 365,000 towers, there is now an over-supply, and growth has tapered off. As a result, Indian tower companies have begun to look for new growth avenues and focus more on operational improvements.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, recent regulations have made tower sharing mandatory, and they are anticipating an increase in tenancies outside Java (population coverage outside the island of Java is limited). Data traffic is expected to grow by 50 percent per year for the next five years, fostering nationwide 3G deployment. This will drive an increase in tenancy

n Mahmood Sadi Tower management companies who build, own and operate network towers for various telcos (telecommunication companies) are a given in mature telecom markets, but Bangladesh has only begun to avail the benefits of these services as telcos have finally overcome the initial concerns associated with sharing tower infrastructure with competitors.

Industry experts say telcos can slash operational costs by 50-60%, and sure enough, a slew of national and international companies are making a beeline into the nascent market. Realising this, telcos in Bangladesh now opt for sharing network towers because they realise if they can reduce operating costs, they can concentrate more strongly on the quality of customer service.

But have these endeavours really been a success? Are tower companies creating value for their shareholders and their mobile operator clients? We need to look at the existing shared network tower market scenario to get a clear picture.

The current tower markets

First, we need to look at the tower companies market in our neighboring India. Inspired by the early success of tower companies in India, operators around the world are contemplating selling or spinning off their towers.

The Indian telecom sector saw a dramatic growth phase from the late 1990s to 2010. As operators were focused on acquiring customers and expanding services in the midst of hyper-

Tomorrow’s tower company will be more than a cost-sharing proposition; it will be a specialist provider of telecom network services with operational skills in energy management, operations, customised site planning, and low-cost design competitive pricing pressures, they started outsourcing network management, information technology, call centres, and then tower infrastructure - all previously seen as core strategic activities.

In 2008, Quippo, an independent company with a small portfolio of towers shared by operators, acquired 1,000 sites from Spice Telecom, which later became Idea Cellular. In the same year, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea created the world’s largest tower company, Indus Towers, through a joint venture.

Between 2007 and 2010, the number of towers rose from about 100,000 to 310,000, fueling an increase in tenancy ratios to 1.6 per tower. From 2010 to 2012, there was aggressive growth of new operators, allowing private players such as Viom to boost their tenancy ratio to 2.4.

Tower sharing created a strong incentive in the Indian telecom market: it allowed operators to reduce costs considerably and focus on core marketing activities while enabling new operators to rollout networks in record times.

For example, Tata DoCoMo rolled out 16,000 sites within a year with

ratios and new infill requirements in Java, and in some new sites outside of Java, provided they can be economically deployed to justify this expansion.

In Malaysia, population coverage (network) has reached 95 percent, and operators have shared towers for some time now, both formally and informally. As site acquisition in major cities becomes more difficult, the focus is turning to mobile broadband and the required optimisation of in-building coverage and small cell networks. Infrastructure sharing, consolidation, and optimisation are the way leading operators are most likely to go.

Interestingly, edotco, the tower management company which has tower management business in five countries across Asia and is a part of the Malaysia based Axiata Group came to Bangladesh to grab the telecom tower market. The Malaysian company started its activities in Bangladesh with the BTRC’s (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) “No Objection Certificate” in September 2013, albeit on a limited scale. BTRC is now on the verge of providing licenses for tower business in

this market. The final guideline is nearing approval stage.

The changing scenario

The tower businesses are undergoing a fundamental transformation. For years, one dimension—tenancy ratio— has generally governed tower businesses. But as mobile markets mature, the number of operators a tower company has is no longer a measure of success and may even be risky.

Slowing subscriber growth, technology-integrating equipment, operator consolidation, and active network sharing are making it more difficult to add revenuebearing tenancies and are forcing companies to take another look at the conventional tower business model.

The new measure of success is site-level profitability. This means that operational excellence, somewhat overlooked in the past, is now an essential skill. As with managed services, the value of outsourcing is not just in sharing costs but in a specialist provider’s ability to manage costs and

quality.

Tomorrow’s tower company will be more than a cost-sharing proposition; it will be a specialist provider of telecom network services with operational skills in energy management, operations, customised site planning, and low-cost design. These companies will offer operators a clear and sustainable value proposition— especially attractive to companies with site rentals, power, and fuel that can account for 70 to 80 percent of network costs.

The economic reasons for mobile operators to spin off their tower operations will be difficult to ignore, with operational improvements dictating partner choices and construct, whether captive spinoff, management contract, or sale to a tower specialist or financial investors.

As the nature of the tower business shifts from growth to operational excellence, the opportunities to improve shareholder value will flourish.

And with data traffic accelerating, the tower growth story is certainly not over. l

PHOTOS: BIGSTOCK

DT

10

Event

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

International Autism Awareness Day celebrated at BSMMU

n Sohel Rana On April 17, 2016, the Shahid Dr Milon Hall at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) was covered with blue decorations and lit up with the smiling faces of children with neurodisorders and autism. The cultural event was organised by the Institute of Paediatric Neurodisorder and Autism (IPNA) at BSMMU in order to celebrate the International Autism Awareness Day. Asaduzzaman Noor MP, Minister of Cultural Affairs, was the chief guest at the event, along with Syed Monjurul Islam, secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as the special guest. The event was presided over by Prof Kamrul Hasan Khan, vice-chancellor of BSMMU. Other panel guests included Joe Hyun Gae, country director of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Prof Shaheen

Akhter, director of IPNA, Prof Iqbal Arsalan, general secretary of Bangladesh Medical Association, actor/director Shankar Shaojal, singer Bappa Majumdar and writer Anisul Haque.

The event opened with a welcome speech from Prof Shaheen Akhter, who briefly spoke about IPNA’s work with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and stressed the importance of not only listening to these children, but taking the time to listen to their guardians as well.

“The parents of children with neurodisorders and autism go through a lot, but we tend to focus on the medical problems. It is important for us to listen to and understand their experiences, and use this knowledge to spread greater awareness on autism.”

This view was echoed by Syed Monjurul Islam, who spoke of the government efforts in working with special issues and creating a national policy to protect them,

and praised IPNA for its important work in spreading awareness.

Asaduzzaman Noor also spoke of the need to spread awareness, and stressed on the duty of common citizens in carrying out their duties as guardians of all children, not just their own.

“The children who are are present here today are not what people call ‘normal’ children. And I agree, they are not ordinary, but they are surely extraordinary.

They have to overcome a lot of obstacles as they go through life, and it is our duty to stand next to them and create an environment where they can flourish.”

Prof Kamrul Hasan also thanked the government for standing next to children with autism and neurodisorders, and also thanked KOICA for standing alongside BSMMU and providing constant support and expertise.

Caring for the children with special issues, and creating the right environment for them to

“The parents of children with neurodisorders and autism go through a lot, but we tend to focus on the medical problems. It is important for us to listen to and understand their experiences, and use this knowledge to spread greater awareness on autism.”

bloom, was also the main message of the IPNA theme song, which was released at the event. The song was written by Shankar Shaojal, composed by Bappa Majumder and sung by Bappa, Elita and Konal. It also included public messages from Suborna Mustafa and Asaduzzaman Noor, and was produced by Batighar.

Last but not least, the programme included a surprise visit from the much beloved Sisimpur characters Halum, Ikri and Tuktuki, much to the delight of the children present at the event. As a part of Autism Awareness Day celebrations,

IPNA had also organised an essay competition where parents of specially abled children wrote in about their experiences. 52 entries were received, and the best 15 were selected by judges Anisul Haque and Tarik Sujat.

These winners were handed their awards by the Sisimpur characters.

According to Anisul Haque, “only those who live with autism can give us the true perspective of their lives, better than any of the best writers, so it is extremely important to bring forward these experiences. We read some beautiful entries, and we hope to work with all of them and bring these stories to the mainstream.”

The event ended with a cultural programme from children with autism and neurodisorders, ranging from a drama production to dance and musical performances.

According to 13 year old Poshla, who sang a song by Tagore at the event, she really enjoyed the celebrations because “I am an artist first, and specially abled later.” l

DT

Editorial 11

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

INSIDE

Where the buck stops Our PM must remember that she is not the prime minister of Muslims or believers exclusively, she is the prime minister of all the people of Bangladesh, including atheists. The responsibility of our improving our country’s deteriorating law and order situation falls on her shoulders PAGE 12

The left isn’t dead ‘Marxbad shorbosoktiman karon iha sotyo’ (Marxism is all-powerful because it is true) is not something that even the CPI(M) places high on its slogan-writing agenda PAGE 13

Do they not bleed?

The only common denominator you can divide people with is just that: They’re people. They’re human beings, their mutual ground being that of belonging to a single species, and the inhabitants of a great, big world 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.

BIGSTOCK

Time to develop diaspora bonds

R

emittances account for over 8% of Bangladesh’s economy. In common with other developing countries, they have long far outweighed foreign aid.

The $15 billion sent home last year by Bangladeshis working abroad provides a bigger single net inflow of foreign currency than export industries.

Bangladesh Bank estimates remittances are responsible for two-thirds of the country’s growing foreign exchange reserves.

As well as being an invaluable source of sustenance for millions of families, they drive a significant proportion of private consumption and property investments.

Experience shows their biggest advantage is reliability. While amounts sent change from month to month, the overall trend is of upward growth which has continued to flow through both good and bad economic climates.

The goodwill and family ties represented by these remittances offer considerable potential for expansion.

In particular, expatriates and people with ancestral links, whose families don’t need regular support in Bangladesh, may have a greater desire than nonBangladeshis to invest here.

New research by the the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Unit confirms investors with a personal link to a country are often happier than other outsiders to take risks in local currencies or at lower yields.

While experiences vary, China, India, and Israel have hugely managed to stimulate foreign investment by creating special investment vehicles and opportunities for diaspora communities.

The government should emulate such efforts by exploring the potential to develop bonds for remittance senders.

For a large part, this means building the trust and confidence that are key to attracting investors, whatever their nationality. If this is achieved, it can also encourage other means, such as bank accounts, and pension funds, as vehicles for attracting investment.

Developing new financial instruments to attract new funds for infrastructure development could prove both helpful for the economy and be attractive to overseas Bangladeshis alike.

Leverage the goodwill and family links represented by remittances to attract new investment

12

DT

Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Where the buck stops It is the government’s responsibility to find the killers of all victims, including atheist bloggers

n AKM Wahiduzzaman

N

azimuddin Samad, a law student at Jagannath University who was active on social media in support of atheism, was hacked to death on April 6.

Besides his anti-religion commentary, Nazim’s Facebook posts also showed that he was fairly vocal against the government’s inability to control crime, corruption, nepotism, and its continuous failure at protecting the lives of bloggers.

After the murder, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said: “The write-ups of the slain secular activist need to be scrutinised to see whether he wrote anything objectionable about religion.”

This was not the first example of a responsible person from a law-enforcing authority issuing an irresponsible statement.

Last year, when four atheist bloggers were assassinated in a row, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque said: “According to laws, if anyone hurts one’s feelings, he will be punished by the law -- none should cross the limit.”

And finally, on the eve of the Bengali New Year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said: “We perform our religious rituals.

But, if anyone writes filthy words against our religion, why should we tolerate that?

Everyone should maintain decency. Otherwise, in case of any uncivilised attitude, the government wouldn’t take the responsibility.”

As a practising Muslim, I like to differ with the first statement of our honourable PM. “Islam” is derived from “salaam,” a word that means “peace.”

It also refers to a person submitting to the will of Allah in order to seek eternal peace and tranquillity. Teachings of the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad incline Islam towards peace and tolerance.

Yet, Islam has faced filthy and false criticisms since its beginning.

The prophet faced much difficulty and opposition in his own birthplace, the city of Mecca. He was eventually forced to migrate to Medina.

But, in spite of all the opposition and even physical torture that his followers suffered in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) always approached the non-believers of Mecca with tolerance.

Islam teaches patience and tolerance

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Our PM must remember that she is not the prime minister of Muslims or believers exclusively, she is the prime minister of all the people of Bangladesh, including atheists. The responsibility of our improving our country’s deteriorating law and order situation falls on her shoulders

Arabia has been under Muslim influence for 1,400 years. Yet, there are about 12 million Christians in that region. If the Muslims were intolerant and used the sword for the propagation of Islam, the situation would have been very different.

This is the Qur’anic point of view, this is what Allah says: “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.” (16:125) The Holy Qur’an warns that

some people who have darkness in their souls will use the Holy Qur’an for their own monstrous gains.

That is, no matter how much we teach them (or argue with them), their darkness and ignorance will not allow them to understand the Holy Qur’an.

Just because we grew up in a Muslim family or in a Muslim country does not mean that we are Muslim, or that we understand the Holy Qur’an or Islam.

Intolerant folk who harm others and hide behind the Holy Qur’an will be encouraged by the recent

statement made by our prime minister.

As a practicing Muslim, Sheikh Hasina might be hurt by the filthy words against Islam, but she cannot say, “why should we tolerate it?”

Rather, she must keep patience and act with tolerance. That’s what Allah says in the Qur’an: “And if you punish them, punish them no worse than they punished you -- but if you show patience, that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient.” (16:126) Our PM must remember that

she is not the prime minister of Muslims or believers exclusively, she is the prime minister of all the people of Bangladesh, including atheists.

The responsibility of improving our country’s deteriorating law and order situation falls on her shoulders.

It is the government’s responsibility to seek out the killers and ensure exemplary punishment so that no one can get the courage to kill anybody in the name of anything, either religion or politics.

The head of the state simply cannot afford to say: “The government will not take the responsibility.”

It is the government’s responsibility, and it has to take it. It is our administration’s task to find the killers of all victims, including atheist bloggers, and ensure safety for all citizens, instead of pointing fingers at them. l AKM Wahiduzzaman is an educator and political blogger.

13

DT

Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

The left isn’t dead CPI(M) and Trinamool, in their commitment to people’s welfare, stand miles apart from BJP and Congress

Communists don’t need a certificate of authenticity from Mamata Banerjee, but it helps

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

agenda.

This shift had started during the last CPI(M) regime under Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, when it had pursued the “capitalist” road.

This shift started long before, after the fall of the USSR, when the pull of socialism or communism as a world-scale alternative for the entire human race got a severe jolt -- something from which it is yet to recover.

The smaller left-wing parties (parties like the SUCI(C) or the many Naxalite splinters including some relatively large ones like CPI(ML)-Liberation) have not grown but have not seen a steep decline either. Add to this the periodic spurts in Maoist politics in the western districts of West Bengal, and the state of leftism in West Bengal appears more complicated.

While in parts of Latin America and Europe left-wing politics has experienced a marked revival and upswing in popularity in the last 20 years, that phenomenon has passed by the leftist political groups of Bengal who have not been able to reinvent themselves with the changing times so as to attract the young to their

n Garga Chatterjee

T

he now-legendary fall of the CPI(M)-led Left Front government in West Bengal was read by many as the final nail in the demise of left-wing ideologies in West Bengal. For many, it was the moment when a certain unthinkable happened -- and this feeling was not limited to the supporters of the Left Front.

However, for many years before its fall, far away from the distant and hence reality-divorced political chatter of Delhi, the Left Front had been facing a different kind of criticism inside West Bengal. That the CPI(M) was moving away from its leftist credentials.

While hot-talk about imperialism and stances of communalism kept certain Delhi lobbies assured about the CPI(M)’s leftist pedigree, the realities unfolding in Bengal were very different. This is why the victory of the Trinamool Congress in 2011, if read as a defeat of leftist politics in Bengal, is a misjudgement.

Leftist politics can only be judged by actual practice and not by theory. In actual practice in the sub-continent, this translates into policies that put people’s rights before corporate interest,

It is the CPI(M) which has abandoned the Marxist slogans that was so evident on the walls of West Bengal through much of their rule.

‘Marxbad shorbosoktiman karon iha sotyo’ (Marxism is all-powerful because it is true) is not something that even the CPI(M) places high on its slogan-writing agenda

protection of public sector services and production, expansion in social sector spending along with an anti-communal and antiimperialist, pacifist outlook. If anything, in 2009 parliamentary elections and 2011 assembly elections, the Trinamool challenged the CPI(M) from a more “leftist” stance.

Mamata Banerjee was quite conscious of the electorate she was dealing with and the fact that “communism” isn’t a dirty word to many in Bengal. She famously said that she makes a difference between CPI(M) and communists.

While communists may not need a certificate of authenticity from Mamata Banerjee, it shows

that it’s a real constituency. In fact, during her rapid rise in the wake of the Singur Nandigram agitation, it was the ideological heft provided by a section of the left intellectuals who were critical of the CPI(M) that gave her broader legitimacy among the urban middle classes.

Leftism or speaking in a “leftist” voice mattered and still matters in Bengal.

In fact, it is the CPI(M) which has abandoned the Marxist slogans that was so evident on the walls of West Bengal through much of their rule. “Marxbad shorbosoktiman karon iha sotyo” (Marxism is allpowerful because it is true) is not something that even the CPI(M) places high on its slogan-writing

core ideological commitments about people’s welfare and emancipation.

While the post-Manmohan urban middle classes are the most vocal and generally it is their view that is represented as the view of West Bengal, their whole-hearted welcome of private investment and privatisation at any cost as the favoured antidote to the state’s employment crisis, evokes, at best, mixed feelings.

When it comes to differences between Trinamool and the CPI(M) on a leftist stance on policy issues, we find a mixed bag. Trinamool has been long opposed to Special Economic Zones (if only against the actual term SEZ), while CPI(M)

promoted SEZs in West Bengal while rhetorically opposing it in theory.

Trinamool is among the few state governments which have been against GM seeds and the Monsantos of the world have limited power over the present West Bengal government. On the question of nuclear power plants, CPI(M) has never been opposed to it as a matter of policy in West Bengal while Trinamool opposes setting up of a nuclear power plant in Haripur of West Bengal.

However, in the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool has sided with the BJP (where the government is in a minority) on the Coal Bill that opens up this important public resource for commercial profiteering by private entities.

In West Bengal, the Trinamool has not followed up on its commitment of releasing all political prisoners and has in fact abolished the category of political prisoners from the jail code -something that is as far away from leftist ideology as can be.

Trinamool’s increased social sector spending based on much-increased revenue has been severely criticised as being “handout” politics. But such “handouts” are among the very few things that the poorest among the public ever get from the public exchequer. These attract much more criticism than handouts to corporate entities or thousands of crores in corporate tax breaks ever do.

While in this election season, Trinamool is under severe fire for corruption, few among her opponents are criticising her schemes to providing huge number of scholarships to girls, religious minorities, talented artists, and artisans practising their traditional craft such as 4 million bicycles to school students, setting up of several “fair-price” medicine shops, and a huge expansion in the proportion of population that provides rice at Rs2 per kilo.

Whichever is the new government, these schemes are set to continue. These are the policies through which the leftist commitment to people’s welfare is visible in public politics and on that question, the CPI(M) and the Trinamool are not appreciably different and stand miles apart from the Congress and the BJP. l Garga Chatterjee is a political and cultural commentator. He can be followed on twitter @gargac.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Do they not bleed?

Bangladesh has an empathy problem

Standing apart from the pack isn’t always a bad thing

BIGSTOCK

The only common denominator you can divide people with is just that: They’re people. They’re human beings, their mutual ground being that of belonging to a single species, and the inhabitants of a great, big world.

The more such blanket characteristics are spread out, to include more and more people, the more personal and individual stories are stamped out, unique characters are lost under a homogenous blur of false ideals

n SN Rasul

T

his is perhaps a result of the lack of diversity within the Bangladeshi “diaspora” if you will, but there is a constant attempt by the national narrative to label and identify people as being of part of an overall, all-encompassing identity.

This is a problem as old as humanity, when the first homogenous group found within its midst an individual who would not quite gel as well with the crowd. And why wouldn’t they?

Maybe their behaviour differed, perhaps their opinions were not the same, or because they were somehow so unique in the way they functioned that they stood out, either to be noticed as being a threat to the very existence of the group, or as being somehow

“another” from the group dynamics.

This is not a problem unique to our country. The ostracism of those who stand out has always been, and will perhaps continue to be, an issue within all realms of the world as we know it.

Because of, primarily, an influx of a plethora of different cultures as a result of the promise of a better economic, medical, and socio-political environment and, secondly (and subsequently), a need for the media realpolitik to be politically correct so as to be allinclusive, the West has fared better in this regard. At least, when it comes to a public platform.

I cannot, of course, speak for other countries with as much personal finesse as I can about the country I oftentimes call home.

Having lived here for most of my adult life and cavorted

with people ranging from the upper echelons of society to the lower, dangling-on-the-bus, rickshaw-riding, rickshaw-driving kind, one is privy to some of the inner thoughts that plague the commonest man.

It is indubitably the state that Bangladesh suffers from a severe case of both detesting and fearing what it cannot understand.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a recent statement in Turkey, called for “greater unity of the Muslim Ummah.” And during her Pohela Boishakh speech, she waxed poetic about how religious sentiments are sacred and that it is only natural for people with a religious ideology to get hurt, including herself, and that, if it continues, the government will not be responsible for the consequences.

Meaning: The government is not responsible for protecting its

own citizens.

This kind of sentiment from the government further propagates such a society. This is a society where racism and bigotry are the norm, and jokes about differences in culture and religion are common.

This is not a clamping down on the ideals of free speech, which I have constantly spoken in favour of. This holds especially true for comedy, which is one of the few, pure forms of art still left.

But one is subjected to statements claiming certain minorities are “always stinky and cheap” and “those negroes, they’re always so violent,” and “all Pakistanis are haramis” -- and please, laugh at a racist joke if you will, but do not for a second think that those who joke the jokes have done so in complete jest.

Of course, generalisations and stereotyping will seep through, especially in a country where most of the population is of a single kind (read: Muslim), and are controlled, too, by a singular kind of individual (read: Male).

And as it so happens with any minority or any group worthy of oppression, singular individuals become representative of the entirety. The same fallacy that is relied on to propagate the idea of Muslims being terrorists of course applies to the same kind of bigotry that is spewed when making remarks of such a nature, when a woman is raped, when Hindus

kill a man for eating beef, when atheists are murdered.

The majority and minority always exist in a dichotomy, a one and the other. Only the majority isn’t asked to apologise for the mistakes of individuals or small groups that can be considered to exist within its fold.

And Bangladesh, or even the East, aren’t special in this regard, or any worse really. The West, too, exists under a similar dynamic.

If not openly, inside buses and tea stalls, then under wraps, at dining tables, and with subtlety and a cleverer and more disguised rhetoric.

And this kind of stereotyping is detrimental not only to the minorities, but to the majority too. Even if the characteristics that members of the group are deemed to follow are positive.

Why should Muslims -- or anyone else for that matter -- who form a very varied bunch of people, forget within the world, but within small, microscopic, regional communities, adhere to a singular way of life? Of being united with so-called “brothers” and “sisters” with whom they do not share any form of cultural ties with?

A clear example of this is during debates regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. Is it a coincidence that Muslims support Muslims, and Jews support Jews?

With almost no one amongst them being able to recognise the individual acts which Israel purports, and the harm it does, taking religion out of the equation?

The only common denominator you can divide people with is just that: They’re people. They’re human beings, their mutual ground being that of belonging to a single species, and the inhabitants of a great, big world. The more such blanket characteristics are spread out, to include more and more people, the more personal and individual stories are stamped out, unique characters are lost under a homogenous blur of false ideals.

This kind of bigotry speaks of a bigger problem within Bangladesh, one that speaks of a lack of empathy within the individual to recognise people who are different as being just the same in that regard. Another individual person.

For, hath a Jew not eyes? If you prick a Pakistani, does he not bleed? If you tickle a Hindu, does he not laugh? And if you poison an atheist, does he not die? l SN Rasul is a sub-editor at the Dhaka Tribune. Follow him @snrasul.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

INSIDE 20 applicants to vie for two deputy governor posts A total of 20 applicants will face interview for the two posts of deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank. The selection committee made a short list of applicants by scrutinising 56 applications at its second meeting held on Sunday at the Bangladesh Bank headquarters. PAGE 16

Brexit could shrink UK economy by 6% If Britain leaves the European Union its economy could shrink by six percent by 2030, the finance ministry warned in a report yesterday that was dismissed as scaremongering by eurosceptics. PAGE 17

Expansion an elusive dream for Indian industry Expansion is a distant dream for many Indian manufacturers as they grapple with under-utilised factories and towering debts, putting pressure on Prime Minister Narenda Modi to count on government spending instead of private investment to boost Asia’s third-biggest economy. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Monday DSE Broad Index

4,391.4

-0.0% ▼

Index

1,062.9

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

1,672.9

-0.0% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,258.0

34.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

118.2

41.8% ▲

All Share Index 13,522.0

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

-0.6% ▼

CSE

Selected Index

12,351.6 8,214.5

-0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

272.8

44.7% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

10.8

66.1% ▲

Grameen Bank profit fell sharply in 2014 n Jebun Nesa Alo Grameen Bank experienced a drastic fall in its profit in 2014 as well as in its financial indicators.

The net profit of the bank witnessed 67.29% down to Tk43.60 crore during the year from Tk133.29 crore in the previous year, according to an investigation report prepared by Bangladesh Bank.

Earlier in 2012, the bank saw a jump in profit by 113% to Tk145.48 crore from Tk68.35 crore in 2011.

The rapid growth took a downward trend just after 2013, registering 8.38% growth to Tk133.29 crore from the previous year.

Bangladesh Bank identified increased provision requirement and operating cost as the causes of sharp fall in Grameen Bank (GB) profit.

The reduction in deposit rate in the market also contributed to the profit fall as a large portion of GB profit comes from the surplus fund deposited with different commercial banks, explained Ratan Kumar Nag, acting managing director of Grameen Bank.

The number of fraud cases inside the bank increased in 2014, raising concern to the central bank.

A total of 451 fraud cases involving around Tk27 crore were found during the year. Of the forged amount, only Tk5.78 crore was recovered.

PROFIT TREND OF GRAMEEN BANK (TK IN CR) 150

145.48

120

133.29

90 60

68.35 43.60

30 0

2011

2012

2013

2014

Reduction in deposit rate in the market also contributed to profit fall as a large portion of GB profit comes from surplus fund deposited with different commercial banks, explained Ratan Kumar Nag The foreign fund inflow into the bank dropped gradually to Tk134 crore in 2014 from Tk152 crore in 2011. The highest foreign fund in the bank was Tk173 crore in 2008.

Nag said the flow of foreign

fund reduced because of adequate deposits of Grameen Bank.

“Now the bank has enough deposit to invest, and so it does not need foreign fund any more,” he said.

The total deposit of GB stood at Tk17,000 crore by the end of 2014 compared to Tk14,854 crore in the previous year, according to the BB report.

The net loan of the bank was Tk9,164 crore in 2014 which was Tk8,770 crore in 2013.

The post of Grameen Bank managing director fell vacant since the resignation of its founding Managing Director Muhammad Yunus in 2011.

Moreover, nine directorial posts of borrower members also remained vacant from February last year.

There was no board meeting held since the vacancy of nine director’s post.

Grameen Bank regular activities are not being much interrupted at this moment, but its major policy decisions remain stuck, said Nag. Though the central bank suggested reducing GB management cost, Nag apprehends that the cost will rise more this year due to wage hike.

He said GB follows the government wage scale, and so its cost will rise more than income in the coming years.

The central bank investigation report recommended holding the Grameen Bank board meeting in due time and making efforts to permanently appoint an MD. l

20% quota in IPOs for one year more Showkat Kallol and n Asif Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Finance Minister AMA Muhith has approved the stock market regulator’s proposal for extending the tenure by one more year to continue 20% quota in all IPOs for the affected small stock investors.

The extension of 20% quota in the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) was made following the request of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

Earlier, the stock market regulator placed a proposal to the Finance Ministry for the extension of the tenure of IPO quota by one more year to June 30, 2017, considering the market situation. The ministry had earlier extended the tenure till June 30, 2016 for third consecutive time.

“This is the last extension and

the proposal has been approved,” said Muhith on the approved proposal.

As per the approval, the affected small stock investors will enjoy the quota facilities for another year.

The government had earlier decided to provide a 20% quota in all the IPOs for the small investors, who were affected during 2010-11 stock market debacles, to be offered by the private companies to the listed with the stock exchanges.

Apart from 20% quota for affected investors, 10% quota is also preserved for mutual funds and 10% for non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) in the IPOs. Just after the debacle in the country’s stock market in 2010, the government had formed a committee to control the sudden rise and fall in the stock market to bring stability and to protect in-

vestors’ interest.

The committee led by the then Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) Managing Director Md Fayekuzzaman placed a special scheme including a set of recom-

mendations for the affected small stock investors. In line with the committee’s recommendations, the government offered 20% quota for the affected small stock investors on March 5, 2012. l

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

20 applicants to vie for two deputy governor posts n

Jebun Nesa Alo

A total of 20 applicants will face interview for the two posts of deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank.

The selection committee made a short list of applicants by scrutinising 56 applications at its second meeting held on Sunday at the Bangladesh Bank headquarters.

The shortlisted candidates will be called within this month, said Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation.

Kholiquzzaman, also head of the selection committee, said only the applicants that met all requirements stated in the advertisement were selected for the interview.

Of the applicants, two will be

picked up to fill the vacant DG posts, said a member of the committee.

The committee published an advertisement for the post on March 30, requiring 25 years of experience in either central banking, or commercial banking, financial institutions or any regulatory authority at home or abroad.

Total nine top officials of Bangladesh Bank including former and incumbents applied for the post, but some of them were rejected for not qualifying all the requirements.

Of the applicants, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Mohammad Naushad Ali Chowdhury and former Executive Director Mahfuzur Rahman are much-talkedabout candidates on the central

FIs allowed to hold meeting via video conference n Jebun Nesa Alo Bangladesh Bank has allowed financial institutions to hold meeting through video conference while their chairs or directors are abroad.

FIs can hold board meeting, executive committee meeting or audit committee meeting through video conference if necessary while their heads are staying out of the country, said a circular Bangladesh Bank issued yesterday.

But the video conference will be subject to prior approval from Bangladesh Bank with

immediate effect.

The decision came following the need of financial institutions, said Shah Alam, general manager of the Department of Financial Institutions and Markets of Bangladesh Bank.

Earlier, chairpersons or directors were not allowed to attend meeting through video conference while being abroad.

As a result FIs faced difficulties in case of emergency decision.

In this perspective, the central bank allowed them to attend meeting through video conference with prior approval, he said. l

Stocks plunge further n Tribune Business Desk Despite higher activities, stocks plunged further yesterday when the broader price index of the prime bourse broke the 4400 resistance level, says BSS. The DSEX of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed the day flat in red at 4391.42, with the bluechip DS30 and Shariah DSES following it to finish at 1672.86 and 1062.93 respectively.

The major CSCX index of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended in red at 8214.51, losing over 10 points on falling share prices.

The daily transaction at DSE rose significantly on the day. The trade value surged by 34.61% to Taka 425.80 crore and

volume jumped by nearly 42% to 11.82 crore shares. At CSE, the trade value increased to Taka 27.27 crore for 1.08 crore shares.

The price indices at the two stock exchanges fell because of continuing price fall. At DSE, 146 securities incurred loss against 124 gaining issues. Similarly, 117 scrips closed lower when 95 gained marginally at close.

Market analyst attributed the fall to the speculation of changes in the coming budget. Lanka Bangla Securities Limited said that the modest drop on the day came on the heels of vigilant nature of market players when anticipation on possible changes in upcoming budget for fiscal 2016-17 grabbed the investors’ attention. l

bank premises.

Naushad has around 34 years experience in the banking sector and is highly appreciated for supervision-related activities in Bangladesh Bank.

On the other hand, Mahfuzur Rahman experienced 35 years in banking sector and is well known for writing a book titled “Prevention of Money Laundering” which is used in all banks.

The recent removal of two DGs— Abul Qusem and Nazneen Sultana— over the digital heist of $81 million from the Bangladesh Bank’s forex account with Federal Reserve Bank of New York has brought the DG posts to the forefront of people’s attention. l

Star Kabab evades VAT n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The VAT intelligence directorate of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday simultaneously raided 11 branches of the renowned food restaurant Star Kabab in the city and all of them found guilty of VAT evasion.

A total of eight teams, consisting of 150 officials, took part in the raid, which was made just after receiving around 200 complaints from the consumers against the chain restaurants of The Star Kabab group.

The drives were made at Star Kabab branches located at Dhanmondi, Banani, Wari, Tikatuli, Elephant Road and Thatari Bazar in the city.

The teams have seized the documents of the outlets to examination those for calculating the amount of VAT evaded by the

shops, said NBR Member (VAT Audit and Intelligence) Rezaul Hasan at a post-raid press briefing held at NBR headquarters in the city.

He said that the directorate would sue the group after assessing the evaded VAT amount.

“The major allegations against the outlets include-non-issuance of VAT challan, issuing of unauthorised challan, not using electronic cash registers, and using non-fiscal ECR and hand written bills on white paper,” said Additional Director General Belal Hossain Chowdhury.

To restrict VAT evasion, such drive against the large business companies will continue in future, he added.

During the last six months, the VAT intelligence office have conducted 70 drives at various business houses on allegation of VAT evasions and found those cases as true. l

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Brexit could shrink UK economy by 6% n AFP, London If Britain leaves the European Union its economy could shrink by six percent by 2030, the finance ministry warned in a report yesterday that was dismissed as scaremongering by eurosceptics.

The report said a Brexit would cause “permanent” economic damage as Britain would never be able to negotiate quota-free, no-tariff access to the single market if Britons vote to leave in a June referendum.

“The conclusion is clear: for Britain’s economy and for families, leaving the EU would be the most extraordinary self-inflicted wound,” Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne wrote in The Times.

“There would be less trade, less investment and less business ... Leave the EU, and the facts are: Britain would be permanently poorer,” he said.

Under all the Brexit scenarios examined, Britain would have a “less open and interconnected economy”.

“It’s a complete fantasy to suppose that there is some radically different other arrangement that Britain could negotiate, where we have access to the single market but don’t accept any costs or obligations of EU membership,” Osborne wrote.

The six percent economic drop forecast was based on the assumption that in the event Britain left the bloc, it would negotiate a trade deal similar to the EU-Canada pact, according to extracts from the report.

The agreement with Canada will remove most duties between the EU and Canada by 2023 and allow EU companies to bid for public contracts in Canada.

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Moody’s downgrades South Korea banking to ‘negative’ n AFP, Seoul

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne warns, Leave the EU and Britain would be permanently poorer The UK Treasury’s 200-page report has been months in the making and is the latest stark warning from the government ahead of the June 23 referendum.

The polls show the two camps neck and neck, while around a fifth of voters remain undecided.

Vote on a ‘knife-edge’

The run-up to the referendum is being closely watched across Europe and beyond because of its potentially far-reaching economic and political consequences.

The Treasury report is being published just days before US President Barack Obama is due in London on a visit in which he is expect-

ed to underline the importance of Britain staying in the EU. The world’s G20 top economies last week warned that one of the risks to the global economy was “the shock of a potential UK exit from the European Union”.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde also called on Britain and the EU to save a “long marriage”.

The IMF last week downgraded its forecast for British economic growth by 0.3 percentage points to 1.9% for 2016, although it held its 2017 forecast at 2.2%.

Charismatic London mayor Boris Johnson, who is campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, wrote

OPEC freeze failure could hasten oil’s recovery its output if Iran also participated in a freeze, n Andy Critchlow thus preventing the latter gaining from higher Saudi Arabia’s increasingly bitter dispute with Iran is now being played out in the oil market.

The kingdom has stubbornly blocked a deal among major oil powers to freeze production, primarily because it refused to allow the Islamic republic to be exempted. The breakdown of talks will almost certainly lead to another rout in oil prices over the next few weeks – but the pain could be short-lived.

There are already signs that output is falling sharply among higher cost producers, and the economic pain caused by cheap oil could eventually lead to price-inflating output cuts instead of a freeze to production when OPEC next meets again in June. In its last market report the cartel said it expects production from outside OPEC to drop by 730,000 barrels per day, a 4.2% increase on its previous estimate.

Analysts had widely expected the talks held in Doha on April 17 to fail. Their skepticism was fueled by Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman insisting that the kingdom would only rein in

oil prices. Riyadh is at loggerheads with Tehran across the Middle East, mainly because the two sides oppose each other’s political goals and influence.

But a freeze was never an option for Tehran.

It has just emerged from the isolation of trade sanctions and is determined to restore its output to pre-embargo levels before it agrees to any production limits within OPEC. Meanwhile, major oil producers from Iraq to Nigeria and Venezuela are suffering severe economic pain. At current export levels these three OPEC members – among the most economically strained in the cartel – are losing around $465mn in gross daily revenue at today’s prices compared to when they were around $115 per barrel in mid 2014. The longer Saudi Arabia blocks any deal in order to wage economic war on Iran the more it endangers the economies of other OPEC members. l Andy Critchlowis a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.

The article was initially published at Reuters.

AFP

in the Daily Telegraph that the vote was on a “knife-edge”.

“All the usual suspects are out there, trying to confuse the British public and to persuade them that they must accept the accelerating loss of democratic self-government as the price of economic prosperity,” he said.

John Redwood, a pro-Brexit lawmaker and former government minister, dismissed the Treasury analysis, comparing it to arguments made in favour of staying in the EU’s Exchange Rate Mechanism.

“The remainers were wrong then and they are wrong now - people should not trust their judgement on the EU,” Redwood said. l

Ratings agency Moody’s yesterday downgraded its outlook for South Korea’s banking system from stable to negative, predicting a deterioration in creditworthiness over the next year.

“While our previous stable outlook had anticipated some weakening of profitability and pressure on asset quality, the operating environment for banks is deteriorating amid Korea’s diminished growth outlook and ongoing corporate sector restructuring,” said Sophia Lee, a Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer.

The agency’s report assumed economic growth of 2.5% in 2016 - the slowest rate since 2012 - with external demand remaining weak.

The report said government efforts to address burning issues like high household debt would trigger policy measures that “negatively affect” the banks’ profitability and asset quality.

Collective household debt in South Korea stood at a record high of close to a trillion dollars at the end of December.

The fact that inflation is currently running well below government targets leaves room for further interest rate cuts by the Bank of Korea - a move that could further depress lending margins, Moody’s said.

The central bank’s key interest rate currently stands at a record-equalling low of 1.5%. l

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Expansion an elusive dream for Indian industry n Reuters Expansion is a distant dream for many Indian manufacturers as they grapple with under-utilised factories and towering debts, putting pressure on Prime Minister Narenda Modi to count on government spending instead of private investment to boost Asia’s third-biggest economy.

There is a renewed manufacturing push under Modi’s flagship ‘Make In India’, but with global demand depressed, factories remain under-utilised and plans to increase corporate investment are left on the back burner.

Capacity utilisation was at 72.5% in October-December, according to the latest Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Total capital expenditure is expected to slump 14% in the year ending March 2017, according to a Reuters analysis of 133 Indian companies for which comparable data since 2011 is available. That would be the biggest decline in at least seven years. In the industrials sector, capi-

tal spending is expected to slide 22%.

In utilities, materials and energy, declines of up to 24% are expected.

Squeezing cash flows further is the reluctance of commercial banks to lend despite a cut in the RBI’s key policy rate this month to a more than five-year low. Only three out of 45 domestic commercial banks have lowered interest rates, with most arguing they cannot cut costs for borrowers as they too are facing tight cash conditions.

Devang Shah, head of investor relations at Tata Steel Ltd, told Reuters that the RBI rate cut would help capital expenditure but not immediately. “We don’t plan any fresh capex,” he said.

Public spending, rather than private, is more likely to give a new lease of life to investment in India’s manufacturing sector, as the government pushes to increase spending on roads, railways, smart cities and renewable energy.

In the government’s latest budget, $32bn will be set aside for infrastructure development, up 22.5% from the previous year, with a focus on rural communities where a drought has crushed farming incomes. l

CORPORATE NEWS

An employee works inside an undergarment factory in Kolkata, India

Iran calls on US, EU to help it access global financial system n Reuters, Washington

Symphony has recently distributed prizes to winners of its campaign named Bombastic Offer, said a press release. Chairperson of Edison Group, Aminur Rashid was present at the prize distributing ceremony

LankaBangla has recently launched a mobile app named FinSmart on Google Play Store, said a press release. The company’s customers can avail services by using the app. Managing director of LankaBangla Finance Limited, Mohammed Nasir Uddin Chowdhury inaugurated the app

REUTERS

Iran called on the United States and the European Union to help it access the global financial system, including assets that Tehran says were supposed to be unfrozen following its historic nuclear deal with major international powers.

“They need to do whatever is needed to honor their commitments,” Iranian central bank Governor Valiollah Seif said at an event on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.

“Otherwise the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) breaks up under its own terms,” he said.

Seif met with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Thursday and said they discussed Iran’s expecta-

tions under the July 2015 nuclear agreement. Under that deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for improved access to the global economy, including the dropping of certain economic sanctions.

Lew told Seif at that meeting that the United States would keep meeting “its sanctions-related commitments in good faith” as long as Iran continues to uphold its end of the bargain, a Treasury official said in a statement.

Iran is increasingly exacerbated that few trade deals are going through as foreign banks shy away from processing transactions with the country even after the nuclear-related sanctions were lifted.

“In general we are not able to use our frozen funds abroad,” Seif said.

Iranian hopes of rapidly ending the country’s economic isolation are fading as European banks in particular, some of which have already been hit by hit huge US fines for sanctions busting, fear falling afoul of the many other restrictions imposed by Washington that remain in force.

“We want both sides of this agreement, especially the US, to take the required measures to remove the obstacles,” Seif said.

He urged Iran’s partners in the deal to hold more “face-to-face contacts” with international bankers to assure them they won’t be penalized for working with Tehran.

He said the United States needed to make changes to its laws and regulations to give Iran access to the US financial system. l

OECD: Trade in fake goods has worsened to almost half a trillion dollars n Reuters First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL) has recently signed an agreement with Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (DESCO) on collecting electricity bills from customers through mobile and online banking services, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Syed Waseque Md Ali and managing director of DESCO, Brig General (retired) Md Shahid Sarwar were present at the signing ceremony

Counterfeited and pirated goods accounted for up to 2.5% of world trade, or as much as $461 billion, significantly damaging companies and state coffers, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said yesterday.

The trade in fake products such as Louis Vuitton bags or Nike shoes has also worsened in the past decade, with a previous OECD study in 2008 estimating it at up to 1.9% of world imports or $200bn.

The impact of counterfeiting is greater for rich countries - where most of the companies making the

highly desirable branded goods are based - with the European Union importing up to 5% of fakes in 2013, or as much as $116bn. The Paris-based think-tank said China appeared as the largest producer of counterfeited products, but that the intellectual property rights of Chinese companies had also been frequently infringed. l

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Biz Info

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

| launch |

| service |

Hotel Sarina inaugurates Bengali Food Festival

Hotel Sweet Dream offering complimentary services

With regard to the Bengali New Year, Hotel Sarina launched the 10 day Bengali Food Festival at Amrit Restaurant from April 13 to 22. On the occasion, Hotel Sarina held an Inaugural ceremony at the hotel on April 13.

Sabera Sarwar Nina, chairperson of Hotel Sarina Dhaka, inaugurated the festival as chief guest. Ekramul Hoque, general manager and Muhammad Fawad, head of sales and

marketing welcomed the invited guest.

Ekramul Hoque said, “Hotel Sarina always tries to promote the traditional culture and food.

This festival is a symbol of the Bengali heritage. One can explore the authentic culinary delights of Bengal which represents the essence of Bangladesh.”

“The Food Festival will be a treat for the food lovers who will be able to experience an

authentic Bengali spread,” said Muhammad Fawaad.

For 10 days, food festival chef Rahman and his expert team have crafted the menu to beautifully blend subtle flavors and create the wonderful sojourn of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The lavishing spread of delicacies include few traditional and savory items such as bhapa ilish, ilish shorshe, papda shorshe, pui shaak diye Ilish maacher matha, chingri malai curry, a traditional Bengali dishes made with jumbo prawns cooked in a spiced creamy sauce and thick coconut milk.

Lastly, soul-satisfying desserts like misti doi, rossogolla among much more are present.

Moreover, dining guests will have the chance to win return air tickets to Cox’s Bazar, courtesy US Bangla Airlines, and many more exciting prizes at the raffle draw. l

Hotel Sweet Dream located in Kamal Ataturk Avenue, Banani is offering a host of complimentary services. They are as follows: Buffet/continental breakfast.

Airport pick-up or drop Welcome drinks Fruit basket on arrival Local telephone and local fax Daily newspaper Business center equipped with computer, fax and broadband

Internet (WiFi) A modern fitness centre with wide range of health equipments Free mineral water upon arrival.

Free parking facilities For more informartion contact 60, Kamal Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka or call their hotline numbers: +88 01919777766-67.

Tel:(+88 02) 9821042, 9821025, 9820641 and 982063. l

| event |

| food |

BIA meeting held

BBQ’s chicken specialties An executive committee meeting of Bangladesh Ikebana Association (BIA) was held recently at Calcutta Darbar in Dhaka. The main purpose of the meeting was how to introduce the Japanese method of flower arrangement more widely within Bangladesh. The follow up AGM of BIA which will be held on June 4. President of BIA, Shamsunnahar Hossain and executive committee members were present in the meeting, which Dr AKM Moazzem Hussain presided over.l

| celebrations |

Apollo celebrates 11 years of service On April 16, 2016, Apollo Hospitals Dhaka, the first and only JCI accredited hospital in Bangladesh, celebrated its 11th Anniversary and the Bengali New Year 1423. In this doubly joyous occasion, the hospital staff, management and consultants joined together to celebrate the two occasions along with patients and visitors. They celebrated 11 years of Apollo’s service, the treatment of more than 2.3 million patients across 42 clinical

specialities and achievements such as the first ever Bone Marrow Transplant in the history of private hospitals in Bangladesh. During the event, consultants and management expressed great joy for the hospitals’ past successes and promised that they would reach closer to achieving their vision

of being the leading and premier world class healthcare provider in the country. l

Chicken is well known as one of the best sources of protein.

Some of the numerous methods of preparing chicken in a healthy manner include grilling, roasting, stir-frying and baking. Advantages of chicken include stimulating growth and body development.

BBQ Chicken’s main appeal is in their practice of using 100% olive oil. Unlike off-the-shelf olive oil that burns in the fryer, the olive oil used at BBQ Chicken is specially purified to enable it to have a higher burning temperature. No pre-cooked or readily prepared

meals are served at BBQ Chicken.

Using only the best and freshest ingredients in our restaurants, consumers can be assured that they are served with quality chicken meal. Every item on the menu is clearly differentiated by its taste and quality. BBQ created its own inimitable formula with flavours and ingredients of Korean cuisine like Ginseng and authentic barbecue sauces etc.

To try out some of their scrumptious dishes, contact House 175/A, Road No 61, Dhaka or call 01776-117788.l

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Bobbin (5) 4 Skin eruption (4) 7 Very small (6) 8 Bird (5) 10 Cult (4) 11 Joint (5) 12 Kimono sash (3) 14 Slender support (4) 17 Numeral (4) 19 Greek letter (3) 20 Rows (5) 23 American state (4) 25 Essential (5) 26 Runs away to marry (6) 27 Spheres (4) 28 Respond (5)

DOWN 1 Pulpit discourse (6) 2 Augury (4) 3 Connection (4) 4 Tricks (5) 5 Consumed (3) 6 Unrevealed fact (6) 9 Conceited (4) 13 Acrimonious (6) 15 Examine (4) 16 Tool (6) 18 Disposition (5) 21 At all times (4) 22 Get up (4) 24 Vestment (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 9 represents N so fill N every time the figure 9 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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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

INSIDE #PANAMAPAPERS LEAK

Palestinian heavyweights pop up in offshore dealings documents Al-Qaeda re-emerges as challenge for US, Nato in Afghanistan Leadership turmoil within the Taliban since the death of the militant group’s founder has fuelled closer links with foreign groups like al-Qaeda, the new commander of international forces in Afghanistan said, complicating counter-terrorism efforts.

PAGE 23

Trump, Sanders, Clinton : Who’s the most authentic New Yorker?

Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have one thing in common: they are all New Yorkers and have been proudly professing their links to America’s largest city ahead of the state’s key primary election on Tuesday.

PAGE 23

What’s ahead now for Dilma Rousseff With Sunday’s vote in the lower house of Congress to authorise the Senate to open an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s political crisis enters ever deeper crisis.

PAGE 24

n Tribune International Desk Ever since the inception of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1994, local and international organisations have repeatedly issued reports on the rampant corruption plaguing its ministries and departments. The problem is not limited to administrative and financial excesses committed by irresponsible individuals for personal motives, but rather is seems entrenched in the PA’s structure.

The most recent corruption case was revealed by the socalled “Panama Papers,” which were published early this month.

The Panama Papers exposed the involvement of international figures, which also includes notable Palestinians, in tax evasion and money laundering, Tareq Abbas, the son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was among the Palestinian names contained in the papers. According to these documents, junior Abbas secretly owns, in partnership with the PA, a holding company worth more than $1m in the British Virgin Islands.

Abbas had not made any statement on this yet. However, a Palestinian political aide close to Abbas, on condition of anonymity, said: “What has been published in the Panama Papers is part of a campaign against both the president and his family. This campaign goes in line with recently published Israeli allegations aimed at tarnishing his image and promoting corruption charges against his family without any supporting legal documents. The president does not have to respond to every piece of news being published here or there.”

The Israeli newspaper NRG ran an article on March 12 on what it views as the Abbas family’s ill-gotten fortune. On April 10, popular newspaper Haaretz accused Palestinian officials close to Abbas of using their government posts to further their own personal interests.

Another significant name emerged from the leaked document is Mohammed Mustafa, the former Palestinian deputy prime minister who resigned in 2015 and current head of the Palestine Investment Fund. He is also the head of the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC), one of the largest companies in Palestine

Supporters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) take part in a protest against the policies of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Gaza City April 12 REUTERS with more than 1,500 employees.

Mustafa’s office issued a statement saying: “The information contained in the Panama Papers with regard to my membership in the APIC is no secret and is even available to the public. It surprises me that some media outlets have brought this up with no grounds, and I call on these outlets to stick to their ethics, to stay away from vague intimidating headlines and to rely on original sources and concerned individuals.”

Tarek Aggad, chairman of APIC’s board of directors, an-

Any Palestinian judicial action is yet to be taken to investigate the revelations of the Panama Papers as of today.

Rafiq al-Natsheh, chairman of the PA’s Anti-Corruption Commission, has declined to comment on the matter since “he was not sufficiently informed of the Panama Papers’ content.”

Meanwhile, Azmi Shuaibi, the coordinator of Palestinian civil society platform Coalition for Accountability and Integrity, stressed on April 8 the need to investigate the names contained in

Tareq Abbas

Mohammed Mustafa

COMMONS

nounced April 8 that the company is subject to the authority of the Palestinian regulatory authorities, which publishes financial reports, and has paid more than $1bn to the Palestinian Finance Ministry in taxes, customs and fees. He also noted that its employees do not have any interests that could be considered monopolies.

It should be noted that Tareq Abbas, the president’s son, is one of the company’s executive directors.

COMMONS

the Panama Papers.

Observers say corruption in the PA is driven by the clientelism that governs relations within its institutions and departments and gives the Palestinian ruling elite a strategic tool to control the popular bases and expand its network of supporters by redistributing public resources and buying political allegiances. These methods have enabled the PA to maintain the status quo, dominate political and economic assets, and imple-

ment its political agenda without facing any effective opposition.

The disclosure of the Panama Papers coincided with the results of a Palestinian poll that were issued on April 4 by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in the West Bank. The poll found that 79% of respondents believe there is corruption in the PA. Mohammed Abu Giab, the editor-in-chief of Saudi-based al-Eqtesadia magazine, said: “The documents will have a dramatic impact on two levels in the region. The first is political, as the PA might face international pressure and accountability regarding its role in the use of funds out of the view of international eyes. The second is economic, as international efforts to revive the Palestinian economy could slow down.”

The Panama Papers may have highlighted some of the heavy corruption plaguing the PA, such as money laundering and tax evasion, but there are many more problems, including the direct theft of public money, the receipt of bribes in exchange for government services, the involvement of high-level Palestinian officials in private commercial companies, the ownership and transfer of government land to officials, world travel at the PA’s expense and the appointment of relatives in government jobs. l

[This is an excerpt of a al-Monitor article, which can be found at http:// bit.ly/1SRDMsf]

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Death toll tops 200 in cross-border Ethiopia raid n AFP, Addis Ababa More than 200 people were killed and over 100 children abducted by armed men from South Sudan in a cross-border raid into Ethiopia, the country’s leader said.

Ethiopian officials blame Murle tribesmen from South Sudan for a series of deadly attacks on Ethiopian villages in the western Gambella region on Friday.

“The atrocities committed by an armed Murle tribe from South Sudan claimed the lives of 208,”

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on state television on Sunday evening, increasing the death toll from an earlier estimate of 140.

Hailemariam said “mothers and children” were among the dead and, “they also abducted 102 children.”

The foreign ministry said over 2,000 livestock were also stolen.

The Murle, a tribe from South Sudan based in the eastern Jonglei region close to the Ethiopian border, often stage raids to steal cattle

and abduct children but rarely on such a large or deadly scale.

“There had been abduction of children and raiding of cattle from Gambella through crossing the Ethiopian border. However, Friday’s attack was massive” Hailemariam said.

“The Ethiopian defence force is taking measures against the attackers to free the abducted children without any precondition,” he said, without specifying whether Ethiopian troops had crossed the border into South Sudan.

Friday’s attacks targeted the Nuer tribe, one of the two main ethnic groups in South Sudan, who live on both sides of the border.

The western Ethiopian region of Gambella, which borders South Sudan, is also home to some 272,000 South Sudanese refugees who have fled the civil war that erupted in their country in December 2013.

The raid -- dubbed the “Gambella massacre” in the Ethiopian media -- reinforces long-standing fears that South Sudan’s civil war since December 2013 would spill

into Ethiopia.

The conflict has split South Sudan roughly along ethnic lines pitting the president’s Dinka tribe against the rebel leader’s Nuers.

Ethiopia believes the raids are not linked to the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

Located 50km from the South Sudanese border, Gambella is home to Ethiopian Nuers.

Local journalists have reported attackers carrying AK-47 assault rifles and killing anyone who resisted. l

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INSIGHT

SOUTH ASIA

Al-Qaeda re-emerges as challenge for US, Nato in Afghanistan n Reuters, Kabul Leadership turmoil within the Taliban since the death of the militant group’s founder has fuelled closer links with foreign groups like al-Qaeda, the new commander of international forces in Afghanistan said, complicating counter-terrorism efforts.

In an interview, General John Nicholson pointed to what US officials saw as a shift in the Taliban’s relationship with groups that Washington considers terrorist organisations.

That could influence his assessment of plans to cut US troop numbers next year, because if al-Qaeda, which carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, can operate in Afghanistan with increasing freedom, it may pose a greater security threat inside the country and beyond.

That was the very reason Nato forces went into Afghanistan in the first place: to prevent al-Qaeda functioning freely while the Taliban, which ruled the country until its ouster at the end of 2001, looked on.

“You see a more overt cooperation between the Taliban and

Afghan National Army officers march during a training exercise at the Kabul Military Training Centre in this 2015 file photo REUTERS these designated terrorist organisations,” Nicholson said.

“Our concern is that if the Taliban were to return, that because of their close relationships with these groups, that they would offer sanctuary to these groups.”

Nicholson is about half way though a review of plans that would see US troop numbers nearly halved to 5,500 by 2017 and an end to much of the training

and advice the Nato-led coalition currently provides Afghan forces fighting the Taliban.

Some US politicians and Afghan commanders are urging Washington to reconsider its draw-down plans, worried that the Taliban movement poses a growing threat to security.

Public appetite for an even more prolonged deployment of US forces in Afghanistan is low, partly because the conflict is seen as lim-

ited to the country itself with little risk of international spillover.

Nicholson highlighted a “greater linkage” between the Taliban and US-designated terrorist group al-Qaeda since the death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and his replacement by current leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour.

Prompted by the need to win support in a leadership battle that broke out after Omar’s death was announced last year, Nicholson said Mansour had been forced closer to groups like al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network, blamed for a series of high-profile suicide attacks in Kabul.

Al-Qaeda, which US officials have estimated has between 100300 fighters in Afghanistan, has returned as one of the main focuses of the US counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan. Some independent assessments say that estimate is too low.

The group has been less prominent in recent years as the Taliban, numbering thousands of fighters, seized territory in a series of intense battles including, briefly, the northern city of Kunduz and, more recently, swaths of Helmand in the south. l

INSIGHT

Trump, Sanders, Clinton : Who’s the most authentic New Yorker among the trio? n AFP, New York Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have one thing in common: they are all New Yorkers and have been proudly professing their links to America’s largest city ahead of the state’s key primary election on Tuesday.

But the trio are vastly different types of New Yorkers.

Donald Trump

The son of a wealthy property developer and Scottish immigrant mother, the 69-year-old billionaire grew up in a 23-room, nine-bathroom mansion in a tony section of Queens. Launching his business career with a million dollars from his father, Trump eschewed building the middle-class housing that was the foundation of his family’s wealth, and instead developed luxury properties in Manhattan.

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Eventually he branched into casinos and golf courses. For 10 years, Trump hosted “The Apprentice” reality show that brought him into living rooms across America. Even with the brutal travel demands of the campaign trail, Trump tries to return home to New York to sleep in his luxury apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower.

Bernie Sanders

“I am very proud I was born here in New York City,” Bernie Sanders says. His father, a Polish Jew, arrived in the US as a penniless 17-year-old. Sanders was born in Brooklyn, grew up in a humble apartment and attended neighbourhood public schools. The 74-year-old recently held a rally in front of his childhood home, and snacked on a hot dog in Coney Island. He likes to point out that his wife, Jane, was also born in Brooklyn, and that his opponent Hillary Clinton is a New Yorker by recent relocation. But Sanders also thought New York subway

riders still use tokens, which were abandoned in 2003. Sanders eventually left New York, taking his thick Brooklyn accent to the small north-eastern state of Vermont.

Hillary Clinton

Born in Chicago, the former US first lady served as a New York senator from 2001 to 2009. She owns a home in Chappaqua, about an hour north of New York, purchased in 1999 to make her eligible to run for the senate position. Clinton, 68, says she has visited every corner of New York state. “I think I know the state a lot better” than Sanders, she said. “New Yorkers took a chance on me, and I will never forget it,”

the Democratic frontrunner told supporters at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem last month. To prove her New York bona fides, Clinton recently rode on the city’s subway, though it took her five tries to successfully swipe the magnetic card at the stubborn turnstile. She says of Trump: “I wish he’d get out of one of his towers and actually walk the streets.” After her marriage to her Yale law classmate, Clinton lived in the southern state of Arkansas, where her husband Bill was governor. Then she lived in the White House from 1993 to 2001. Clinton prefers to work in Manhattan instead of from her campaign headquarters in Brooklyn. l

Maldives revokes medical leave for former president The Maldives government has revoked an extension of the medical leave given to the former president. Government spokesman Ibrahim Hussain Shihab said Nasheed had sought an extension of the medical leave and the government had initially agreed but withdrew the approval because Nasheed’s lawyers confirmed that no surgery is scheduled.

-AP

INDIA

India: Koh-i-Noor diamond belongs to Britain The 108-carat Kohinoor was neither stolen nor forcibly taken by the British, the government told the Supreme Court on Monday, adding that India should not reclaim the famous diamond. The Koh-i-Noor gem, which came into British hands during the colonial era, is the subject of a historic ownership dispute.

But India’s Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said the 19th-century Sikh king Ranjit Singh had given the stone to the British.

-AFP

CHINA

China to set death penalty in graft cases Corruption cases involving $463,000 or more may incur the death penalty in future, Chinese authorities ruled Monday, signalling that officials could be executed for graft. The ruling was jointly issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. In cases where the death penalty may be too strong, convicts may receive a life sentence without commutation or parole.

-XINHUA

ASIA PACIFIC

S Korea president to visit Iran for the 1st time Park Geun-Hye will become the first South Korean president to visit Iran next month, her office announced Monday. Despite Iran’s suspected ties with North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, South Korea is keen to strengthen trade ties with Iran, and Park is expected to push for corporate deals including chemical and power plants, infrastructure and information technology.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Syrian rebels accuse UN envoy of bias Syrian rebel groups launched a new offensive against government forces on Monday and some accused the UN of bias, imperilling peace talks already threatened by fighting. The opposition’s coordinator at the Geneva talks said it was unacceptable for negotiations to go on if the government and its allies pushed on with sieges and bombing civilian areas.

-REUTERS

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USA

US defence chief offers Iraq more help US Defense Secretary Ash Carter flew into Iraq on Monday to discuss offering more help in the fight against Dae’sh, possibly including sending in more troops. Carter would meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi and discuss ways to build on recent gains against the militant group, which also controls large parts of neighbouring Syria.

-REUTERS

FACTBOX

Impeachment process of Brazil President rov App

THE AMERICAS

A British Airways plane struck an object believed to be a drone on Sunday as it was coming in for landing at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, police said. The plane, an Airbus A320 with 132 passengers and 5 crew on board. An investigation has been launched into the incident, which follows a string of near misses involving drones and is believed to be the first case of a collision in Britain.

-AFP

EUROPE

EU to discus support for Libya unity government European Union ministers said Monday they will discuss concrete economic and security projects to back Libya’s new unity government as a bulwark against Dae’sh and migrant surges to Europe. The foreign and defence ministers in Luxembourg will discuss via video link such support with Libyan prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli.

-REUTERS

AFRICA

Sudan urges Egypt to discuss disputed territories Sudan’s foreign ministry Sunday called on neighbouring Egypt to discuss two disputed border territories days after Cairo transferred two islands to Saudi Arabia. Sudan and Egypt have long disputed ownership of the Halayeb and Shalatin areas between the countries near to the Red Sea. It was the first time Sudan’s foreign ministry has called for talks on the small territories.

-AFP

If app rove d

TRIAL IN SENATE For the impeachment process to continue; a simple majority of 2 The lower house votes those present 4 SUSPENDED April 17 Rousseff must step To authorise down for 180 days during impeachment: the Senate proceedings 367 for 137 against FINAL PROCEDURE Meeting of the entire Senate: For approval: 2/3 majority (54 votes out of total of 81) April 11 CONGRESSIONAL 5 Rousseff would be COMMISSION ousted and ineligible Recommends launching for eight years impeachment process against Rousseff Dilma Rousseff

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Suspected drone hits a British Airways plane

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UK

Brazil vice president Temer: Poetry, quiet power, restrained calculator

What’s ahead now for Dilma Rousseff

Brazil sees rising threat from jihadist militants The threat of attack by militant Islamists is on the rise in Brazil as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August, the national intelligence agency said.

Counter-terrorism Director Luiz Alberto Sallaberry said in a statement the threat had increased in recent months due to attacks in other countries, and the number of Brazilian nationals suspected of sympathizing with Islamic militants.

-REUTERS

PORTRAYAL

1

With Sunday’s vote in the lower house of Congress to authorise the Senate to open an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s political crisis enters ever deeper crisis.

Here’s a snapshot of how Latin America’s biggest country got there -- and what’s next.

Court suspended his appointment as a minister after accusations that he was taking the post to gain legal immunity from corruption charges. In the end, Rousseff’s last-ditch fight turned into a desperate, partisan struggle where she accused her vice president, Michel Temer, and Cunha of conspiring against her.

er house’s lead and oust Rousseff, making her the second Brazilian president to be impeached in two decades. Temer would take over as soon as the 180 day period began -- and would stay in power until scheduled elections in 2018 if the impeachment went through.

How it all started On December 2 last year, controversial lower house Speaker Eduardo Cunha formally opened the impeachment saga by accepting a petition from a group of lawyers. They accused Rousseff of having illegally juggled accounts and taking loans in order to mask the depth of government shortfalls during her 2014 re-election. Ironically, many politicians, including Cunha, are snared in separate criminal corruption probes linked to a vast embezzlement scheme at state oil company Petrobras. Rousseff denied the charges and described the impeachment drive as a “coup,” since she is elected.

How Rousseff tried to escape Against a backdrop of huge pro- and anti-Rousseff street protests, Brazil’s solicitor general, Jose Eduardo Cardozo, made final arguments in the president’s defence on April 4. He told deputies on a special committee that the charges do not amount to impeachable offenses and that the process is fueled by Cunha’s “desire for revenge.” Rousseff also enlisted her predecessor and mentor, ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, to spearhead the intense lobbying campaign for votes in the lower house. The opposition needed 342 out of the 513 votes, or two thirds on Sunday, normally a tall order in the fractious legislature. But Lula’s political comeback hit a major snag when the Supreme

Demonstrators celebrate, after the lower house of Congress voted to proceed with the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in Sao Paulo on Sunday REUTERS

What’s next?

Road bumps

Rousseff had hoped to kill impeachment in the lower house. Now that she has lost that vote, the case goes to the Senate. Even now, not all is lost for the country’s first woman president, but analysts see her chances of staging a comeback shrinking fast. The Senate will meet, probably in May, to vote whether a trial should open. A simple majority vote will be enough and in that case Rousseff would have to step down for an 180 day period while the trial gets under way. To impeach, the Senate would later have to vote by a two thirds majority. If not, Rousseff would return to office. Current estimates of voting intentions are that the Senate will follow the low-

If the Senate launches an impeachment trial, it could be under way as Brazil hosts the Olympic Games in Rio from August 5 to 21. Angry street protests could heat up, further tarnishing Brazil’s international reputation. Temer may take power, but is embroiled in a case at the country’s electoral court that could eventually see him, along with Rousseff, being forced to step aside for new elections. In addition, pro-Rousseff supporters have filed to start impeachment proceedings against Temer. And while the political paralysis in Brasilia deepens, nothing is being done to address Brazil’s tough recession. l

Source: AFP

Michel Temer

REUTERS

n Reuters, Rio de Janeiro His manners and dress are so impeccable that the man who may soon be Brazil’s next president is quietly known by political allies and enemies alike as “The Butler.”

Yet Vice President Michel Temer, a respected constitutional scholar who would step into the presidency should President Dilma Rousseff be impeached in coming weeks, is not quite what you might expect.

Married to a former beauty pageant contestant 43 years his junior, Temer has also released a book of poetry titled “Anonymous Intimacy.”

It is by no means guaranteed that Rousseff will be impeached on accusations of accounting irregularities in the government budget.

But the chances of that sharply increased when Temer’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) broke with the ruling coalition earlier this month.

For 15 years, the son of Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Brazil in 1925, has led the PMDB, a regionally fragmented party with no consistent ideology, yet which holds more Congressional seats than any other.

Since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985, the PMDB positioned itself as the legislative power broker.

That has now come to an end and the PMDB plans to field its own presidential candidate in 2018. Impeaching Rousseff would give it power within weeks.

Temer’s supporters say his long political career working across the ideological spectrum would make him a strong transition leader and help set the PMDB up for a presidential win two years down the line.

Temer honed his craft over several years in Brazil’s bare-knuckle lower house of Congress where he served as speaker three times and was an ally to both centrist Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Despite the voracious and varied political food fights that played out in Brazil’s lower house, Temer was known for remaining above the fray. l

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INSIDE

Five-star Kingley thrashes Feni Soccer Nigerian striker Eleta Kingsley netted a sensational hattrick with five goals as Team BJMC handed Feni Soccer Club a crushing 6-0 defeat in their last group match in the Independence Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. PAGE 26

PCB names Inzamam as new chief selector PCB has appointed former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq as the head of the new selection committee, which also includes former test offspinner Tauseef Ahmed. “We are happy that Inzamam has accepted to be the chief selector,” Shaharyar Khan told reporters.

PAGE 27

Messi hits 500th career goal Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal when he netted in Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat by Valencia on Sunday. He tapped home the landmark goal from Jordi Alba’s cross in the second half. PAGE 28

Czechs face France in FedCup final Karolina Pliskova and Lucie Hradecka secured the Czech Republic a fifth Fed Cup final appearance in six years with victory in the deciding doubles against Switzerland.

Waiting for the defending champions in final will be France, who edged the Netherlands. PAGE 29

Sheikh Jamal players attend a practice session at their club ground yesterday prior to the upcoming Dhaka Premier League

Value first, stars later n Minhaz Uddin Khan The changed perception towards the value of a Bangladeshi cricketer was reflected at the players’ draft of the Dhaka Premier League last week. The clubs now focuses on making a balance combination rather than roping in any star cricketer in the market.

The result of this changed perception was the high demand among the clubs for Mahmudullah within the top three draft picks for the icon and A+ category players. Once he was picked up

by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club with the firs pick, the remaining teams did not go for any big-name player but for those that would sit right in their squad.

This is a departure from the tradition perception of seeing big players with the highest demand. Mahmudullah in the recent past has come up as a depending all-rounder for Bangladesh.

Sheikh Jamal Dhamondi head coach Anwar Hossain Monir said that they called the middle-order batsman who bowls handy offspin, because the club felt he was the best available option.

“He is in form and has positive attitude and the team can rely on him. He can be effective in the middle with the bat and also can bowl good off-spinners. We wanted someone as a good captain from the Icon category and Mahmudullah looked to be the best option for us,” Anwar explained to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Interestingly the second and the third teams to make the call, defending champions Prime Bank Cricket Club and Prime Doleshwar, respectively, had also eyed Mahmudullah. But Prime Bank, at No 2, went for Sabbir Rahman who offers same things as Mahmudullah with his dependable batting and handy legspin.

Prime Bank general secretary Tanjil Chowdhury wanted to retain Mahmudullah who had guided the side to the title last season as captain. But once gone to Sheikh Jamal, Prime Bank though Sabbir to be the best option.

“He (Sabbir) I think is underrated. He has lot to prove for the caliber he has. I think Prime Bank will be the right platform for him to act as a senior cricketer show

his worth. I believe he is hungry to perform and is our team, we want to defend the title. So the opportunity is a big one for Sabbir,” Tanjil explained.

Prime Doleshwar head coach Mizanur Rahman said the side needed a middle order batsman who also bowls spin. By the time they reached the round to call the Icons, they had seen Mahmudullah and Sabir gone, so they went for the next best option. While Nasir Hossain has not been in the best of his shape in recent times, he has often been a match-winner in domestic cricket. “I am hopeful that Nasir will live up to the expectation and fulfill what the side had planend if they had Mahmudullah in the line-up,” said Mizanur.

But it doesn’t mean the likes of

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have lost value. While Shakib isn’t available for most of the first phase of the tournament, it was a surprise not to see Tamim among the top three picks given his rich recent form and overall performance in domestic cricket. Tamim and Muahfiqur Rahim were the fourth and fifth picks by Abahani and Mohammedan Sporting Club respectively while a hot favorite like Mashrafe bin Mortaza had to wait till the 11th call before Kalabagan Krira Chakra roped him in.

Now, almost every cricketer, big and small, have to adjust to the changed perception in domestic cricket, much of which is derived from the performances and roles of Bangladeshi cricketers in the international stage. l

Akram- Moni likely in ‘chucker catching’ committee bowling action by the ICC during the ment manager, is likely to work in the n Mazhar Uddin World Twenty 20 earlier this year the committee. It was also learned that Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has all but formed the bowling action review committee for the upcoming Dhaka Premier League, said the board’s CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury yesterday.

Though he was reluctant to reveal the names or the number of members in the committee, sources have told Dhaka Tribune that Akram Khan, the cricket operations committee chairman, will fill the role of the board director in the committee while umpire Enamul Haque Moni and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, BCB’s game develop-

there is a fourth member, most likely a coach, but the appointment is yet to be decided.

Fahim said that he hasn’t been officially informed but is ready to be part of the committee. He recently helped Sohag Gazi and Al-Amin Hossain.

“I am ready to work whenever the board wants me to join the bowling review committee however I did not received any official instructions yet,” said Nazmul to Dhaka Tribune.

After the suspension of Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny for illegal

BCB has taken the matter seriously.

Nizamuddin said that the committee will be announced before the start of the Dhaka Premier League.

“The BCB has already formed a draft committee for illegal bowling action and it will work on rectifying the illegal bowling action along with the rehabilitation process which will work from the upcoming league.

“We will announce the names who will work in the bowling action review committee ahead of the DPL,” said Nizamuddin Chowdhury yesterday. l

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3 ‘Bachao Football’ candidates running for BFF VP post

n Tribune Report

Three candidates yesterday submitted their nomination form for the senior vice-president post from ‘Bachao Football’, an opposition alliance against the current committee of BFF, against only one candidate – Abdus Salam Murshedy – from Kazi Salahuddin led combined panel.

Along with Sheikh Jamal DC president Manjur Kader and Mohammedan’s director in-charge Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, former national footballer Dewan Shafiul Arefin Tutul also decided to fight for senior vice-president post in the BFF Election scheduled to be held on April 30.

A total of 57 out of 61 forms were submitted on the only date of submission at the BFF House yesterday. Three nomination forms for senior vice-president, vice-president and member posts were collected on behalf of former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Tutul on Sunday but he didn’t submit form of vice-president.

“Friends and people close to me requested me to come to football.

I’m not a wizard but I will try my best to take football to glory like past. I believe if we try altogether we can achieve that,” said Tutul after submitting his paper yesterday.

He continued, “Salam is my friend but if you look at last eight years then everyone has to take responsibility for the failure.”

The current senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedy said, “If the whole committee is a failure then I will take the responsibility and if there is success then I’m also part of it. I tried to fulfill my responsibility.” l

Mustafizur Rahman of Sunrisers Hyderabad sends down a delivery during their IPL match against Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi Intl stadium yesterday, The Bangladesh sensation takes the wicket of Hardik Pandya conceding 32 runs in his full quota to restrict Mumbai Indians to 142/8 in 20 overs BCCI

Five-star Kingley thrashes Feni Soccer n Tribune Report

Nigerian striker Eleta Kingsley netted a sensational hattrick with five goals as Team BJMC handed Feni Soccer Club a crushing 6-0 defeat in their last group match in the Independence Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The victory lifted BJMC to sec-

ond in the Group B points table leapfrogging Abahani Limited, Rahmatganj MFS and Arambagh KS with seven points from five matches. Feni concluded their campaign with only three points to sit at the bottom of the table.

Abahani have two matches left, against Rahmatganj and Sheikh Russel, with five points and if they

fail to get less than two points from the remaining matches then yesterday’s victory would send BJMC to the last-four.

It was all about Eleta Kingsley throughout the game. The former Muktijoddha forward completed his treble in the space of ten minutes of the opening half. The opener came in the 36th minute before

netting two more in the 38th and 45th minutes of the game. He later added two more in the 50th and 73rd minute while Samson Iliasu netted the last one in the 87th minute.

Meanwhile, Group A leaders Sheikh Jamal DC will return to BNS today against Muktijoddha SKC at the same venue. l

DHAKA PREMIER LEAGUE 2015-16 PREVIEW CRICKET COACHING SCHOOL (CCS) If there is a misfit among the Dhaka Premier League clubs this season, it is CCS. During the players by choice event last week, they admitted that there is little money to finance the club.

They skipped taking any players in the icon and A+ category, and have bulked the team with Under-19 cricketers like Saif Hassan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Saeed Sarkar and Saleh Ahmed Shawon. They will be led by Rajin Saleh, one of the seniormost active cricketers in the country, which could be their only saving grace if they are to avoid going down to the Dhaka First Division Cricket League from where they just earned the promotion.

RESULTS Promoted to the premier league this season

PLAYERS TO WATCH Saif Uddin, Saleh Ahmed Shawon, Saif Hasan

KALABAGAN CRICKET ACADEMY KCA were brilliant to finish third in the previous season behind Prime Bank and Prime Dholeshwar Club. They are another of the young brigade, a genuine underdog. The Bangladesh under-19 captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz, dependable allrounder Mahmudul Hasan and paceman Abu Jayed Chowdhury are among their leading players. Definitely, a lot will be expected from young Miraz for his leadership skills as well, and much will depend on him.

RESULTS (Last two season) 2014-15 third, 2013-14 Sixth

SQUAD (so far) Nasum Ahmed, Saeed Sarkar, Rajin Saleh, Amit Majumdar, Saleh Ahmed Shawon, Salman Hossain, Refatuzzaman Ovi, Ali Ahmed Manik, Mehrab Hossain Joshy, Saif Hasan, Saif Uddin

PLAYERS TO WATCH Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Mahmudul Hasan

SQUAD (so far) Irfan Shukkur, Bishwanath Haldar, Myshukur

Rahman, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Abdul Halim, Prashanjit Das, Nur Hossain, Taposh Ghosh, Rifat Prodhan, Didar Imran Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mahmudul Hasan -MAZHAR UDDIN

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QUICK BYTES Record wicket-taker Malinga ruled out of IPL Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been ruled out of this season’s Indian Premier League because of the lingering knee injury that also sidelined him at the World Twenty20. Malinga, the IPL’s highest all-time wicket-taker, has flown back to Sri Lanka from India where he had been with his Mumbai Indians team, but had not played in any of their three matches. “MI’s star pacer, Lasith Malinga has been ruled out of IPL 2016 due to a knee injury,” the team wrote on their official Twitter handle late Sunday. “Malinga was expected to miss the first few matches of MI’s IPL ‘16 campaign but the recovery period is longer than previously expected.

–AFP

Dortmund cool on Gundogan move Borussia Dortmund reacted coolly on Sunday to reports Germany international Ilkay Gundogan is set to join Manchester City next season to work with Pep Guardiola. Both German daily Bild and UK tabloid The Sun claim the 25-year-old defensive midfielder will leave at the end of the season and has already signed a five-year contract with City. “I only learnt about this myself from the newspapers,” said Dortmund’s director of sport Michael Zorc before Sunday’s 3-0 league win at home to Hamburg.

–AFP

Italy blow as Marchisio limps out of Euros Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio will miss Euro 2016 after his club Juventus confirmed he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Juventus star Marchisio was stretchered off 15 minutes into the champions’ 4-0 victory over Palermo in Turin after a challenge that left him rolling on the turf in pain. Juve’s victory took their Serie A lead over Napoli to nine points with five games remaining, but the shine of that achievement was tempered by the setback to Marchisio.

–AFP

Parma begin long climb back with promotion Two-times UEFA Cup winners Parma have returned to the ranks of Italian professional football after confirming their promotion from the fourth division on Sunday. The club, kicked out of the professional league last year after being declared bankrupt, secured promotion to the third tier with a 2-1 victory over Delta Calcio Rovigo, which guarantees that they will play in Lega Pro next season. “I am experiencing some indescribable emotions today,” captain Alessandro Lucarelli told the club’s website.

–REUTERS

Nadal hails Monte Carlo win after tough times n AFP, Monte Carlo Even king of clay Rafael Nadal was struggling on Sunday to comprehend the full significance of his ninth title from ten finals at the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Spaniard who has ruled for most of his career on the dirt, went for two and three-quarter hours before beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in a morale-boosting victory of massive proportions.

“Winning nine times here is something unbelievable for me.

Outside of that, that is something so special. Compete well two weeks in a row is something so positive,” Nadal said.

“I have another chance next week in Barcelona, I going to try my best again.”

After last lifting a title in the Principality in 2012 and then losing a 2013 final to Novak Djokovic, Nadal was overjoyed with his latest success, his 68th title as he played in his 100th career final.

“I’ve been a couple of time without winning big, big tournaments, I’m enjoying this moment. I’ve worked hard to have this trophy with me. I am enjoying this moment.

“It’s an emotional moment after some tough times. But that’s part

Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with his trophy after winning his final match against Gael Monfils of France at the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday REUTERS of the life, is part of the sports in general.

“I’m very happy today. I hope and I believe that Indian Wells and this week - two tournaments in a row - I’ve been playing at a very high level, That’s so important, that’s what I needed.”

The Spaniard said that a year and a half of comeback effort has finally paid dividends as he won his first title since last summer and first Masters 1000 honour in almost

two years.

“I have been working hard. Last year was a tough year - I don’t want to talk about it anymore, I was nervous during the matches.

“It is hard work every day to slow down that (problem). The victories help. but I’m still not 100 per cent perfect, I don’t have that (emotional and weakened) feeling I had last year on court.

“I’m very happy for that. I’m playing better. It’s obvious.” l

Pep talk ended City’s title bid, says Pellegrini n Reuters Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge derailed once the club announced Pep Guardiola would take charge from next season, outgoing manager Manuel Pellegrini has said.

City won just three of their next 11 games to fall behind in the title race and exit the FA Cup once the announcement was made in February about the Bayern Munich boss.

“At the start of February, there was news about a change of the manager, about players who will not continue here next season, about a lot of things involved in the minds of all the players,” Pellegrini told British media.

“It’s not easy for the players when you read in newspapers all things that will happen next season, all the players who will go out, all the players that will come in. It’s not easy for the players to focus their mind.

“In February we were involved in all the competitions, in the Champions League, we won the Capital One (League) Cup, we were forced to leave the FA Cup, and we were three points behind the leaders.”

Third-placed City, 13 points behind leaders Leicester City, have since picked up from the dip and are unbeaten in their last five games, winning 3-0 at Chelsea on Saturday. l

PCB names Inzamam as new chief selector n AP, Islamabad Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq as the head of the new selection committee, which also includes former test offspinner Tauseef Ahmed.

“We are happy that Inzamam has accepted to be the chief selector and we will give him full authority in selecting the teams,” chairman PCB Shaharyar Khan told reporters in Lahore on Monday.

Former international fast bowler Wasim Haider and batsman Wajahatullah Wasti are the other members of the new selection committee.

Inzamam was the Afghanistan cricket team coach for the past six months, but said he was released

by Afghanistan Cricket Board to perform national duty.

“I want to thank ACB that they allowed me to do national duty,” Inzamam said. “I worked for them for six months, I am thankful to their players and their cricket board officials for the cooperation.”

Under Inzamam’s coaching, Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe in both one-day and Twenty20 series

and also qualified for the Super 10 stage of the World Twenty20, where it beat eventual champion West Indies in a group match.

Inzamam replaced Haroon Rasheed as chief selector after the PCB dissolved the selection committee when Pakistan won only one of its three group matches at the World Twenty20 in India.

“I have picked one spinner, one fast bowler and a batsman in

my team (of selectors) to cover all the areas,” Inzamam said. “I don’t have a magic wand to improve the performance of the team, it will take some time and you have to be patient.”

Soon after the World Twenty20, coach Waqar Younis quit and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed replaced Shahid Afridi as Twenty20 captain.

Khan said the PCB was in touch

Former skipper of Pakistan cricket team Inzamam-ul-Haq (R) speaks while Pakistan Cricket Board's Chairman Shaharyar Khan looks on during a press conference in Lahore, Pakistan yesterday AP

with several foreign and local coaches and hoped the new coach will be appointed this month.

Inzamam said the coach and captains of all the three formats of the game — tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20s — will be consulted before he finalizes Pakistan squads.

“When I was the captain, I used to give my suggestion to the selectors. Similarly I will give importance to what captains and coach will have to say because they are the ones who ultimately matter,” he said.

Pakistan is currently ranked No. 4 in test matches, but has slipped to eighth and seventh in ODIs and Twenty20s.

“Our cricket is not at its peak,” Inzamam said. “If we have to improve, selectors, captains and coaches have to work on the same page otherwise we will face the same problems.”

Inzamam scored 8,830 runs in 120 test matches and 11,739 runs in 378 ODIs before he retired in 2007.

Pakistan travels to England in July for four test matches, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20. l

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Where does it leave Messi?

Messi’s 500th equals mere consolation

INT'L CLUB COMPETITIONS 83: UEFA Champions League Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s race to become the all-time top scorer in the world’s top club competition is one of the great footballing dramas of the modern age.

3: UEFA Super Cup Messi is currently the joint-leading scorer in UEFA Super Cup games, sharing his place at the head of that leaderboard with Oleh Blokhin, Radamel Falcao, Arie Haan, Terry McDermott, Gerd Müller, François Van der Elst and Rob Rensenbrink.

5: FIFA Club World Cup Messi is one of three players to have notched five times in the competition that pits together the winners of the various confederations’ UEFA Champions League-equivalent tournaments.

1-2

DOMESTIC COMPETITIONS

Barcelona's Lionel Messi reacts after a Valencia goal during their Spanish La Liga match at Camp Nou stadium on Sunday

Messi hits 500th career goal n Agencies Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal when he netted in Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat by Valencia on Sunday.

The Argentine tapped home the landmark goal from Jordi Alba’s cross midway through the second half at the Nou Camp, although it wasn’t enough to prevent a third consecutive loss for Luis Enrique’s side.

Messi’s strike ended a rare personal drought of four games without a goal, but it was still his 26th in 28 games in 2016. l

SEASON BY SEASON Season 2004/05

Barca Argentina Total 1

0

1

2005/06

8

2

10

2006/07

17

4

21

2007/08

16

3

19

2008/09

38

3

41

2009/10

47

1

48

2010/11

53

4

57

2011/12

73

9

82

2012/13

60

9

69

2013/14

41

7

48

2014/15

58

4

62

2015/16

38

4

42

TOTAL

450

50

500

REUTERS

La Liga title race analysed n Agencies After Barcelona’s third successive league defeat, we look at what has turned out to be a keenly contested La Liga title race.

Just one month ago, if you were to suggest anyone other than Barcelona as La Liga champions come May, then your opinion would be immediately dismissed as foolish in the extreme.

However, out of nowhere, Spain’s top flight has become the most enthralling title race in Europe, as the men from the capital have closed the gap.

Valencia’s trip to the Nou Camp seemingly presented Barca with the perfect platform to put their midweek Champions League exit behind them, but they once again looked incredibly lacklustre as they slumped to a 2-1 home defeat on Sunday night.

What does the result mean for the La Liga title race? We look at how things could pan out with five games to go.

Two goals to the good at Villarreal on March 20, Barca could do no wrong, but 45 minutes later, the seeds of doubt were planted.

Luis Enrique’s men threw away a two-goal lead, and have crumbled

at home and abroad ever since.

Real Madrid capitalised on an indecisive Barca to secure a vital El Clasico win at the Nou Camp - ending the hosts’ 39-game unbeaten run.

Then, a fourth defeat in as many visits to Anoeta saw Real Sociedad inflict further damage to Barca’s confidence, before a Champions League exit and the Valencia loss

LA LIGA P

W

D

L GD

Pts

Barcelona

33 24

4

5 59

76

Atletico

33 24

4

5

76

Real Madrid 33 23

6

4 68

75

Villarreal

33 17

9

7

14

60

At Bilbao

33 16

6

11

11

54

41

RESULTS Malaga

0-1

Athletic Bilbao Raul Garcia 53

Sevilla

1-1

Deportivo

Iborra 21

Rayo Vallecano

Riera 81

2-1

Villarreal

Javi Guerra 7, Miku 81

Atletico Madrid

Adrian 20

3-0

Granada

Koke 15, Torres 59, Correa 83

Barcelona Messi 64

1-2

Valencia Rakitic 27-og, Mina 45

left us all dumbfounded.

Since defeat in the Madrid derby in late February, Real have been imperious domestically. Seven wins in a row, scoring 27 goals in the process, has brought Zinedine Zidane’s men right back into the hunt - with Madridistas right behind their team following a stunning Champions League comeback against Wolfsburg.

Atletico have done what they do best and performed when it really matters. Diego Simeone’s men have won seven of the last eight and have a huge psychological advantage over Barca - having knocked them out of Europe’s premier competition.

In reality, it is Barcelona’s to lose with their remaining fixtures seemingly all more than winnable, on paper.

The trip to Galicia to take on Deportivo on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports, represents Barca’s highest-placed opponent in their remaining five matches - and they are currently 13th.

Another potential stumbling block is the derby clash with Espanyol on May 8, but Real and Atletico have much more imposing games to come.

309: La Liga Messi is the Spanish top flight’s alltime top scorer, having surpassed Telmo Zarra’s mark of 251 in November 2014.

39: Spanish Cup Former Athletic Club centre-forward Zarra did not live to see Messi break his all-time Liga scoring record – yet it seems extremely unlikely that Messi will wrest away the Bilbao great’s Copa del Rey benchmark of 81 goals.

11: Spanish Super Cup For the moment, this record looks secure. Messi’s 11 is already the mark to chase in the Spanish season curtain-raiser, and with the retired Raúl second in the rankings on seven goals,

INT'L FOOTBALL 50: Argentina (23 competitive, 27 friendly) With 56 goals, the ex-Fiorentina, Roma and Internazionale striker Gabriel Batistuta is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer, but Messi is hunting him down and needs just seven more to trump ‘Batigol’.

However, 50 goals is not massively impressive in international terms: Iran’s Ali Daei – with 109 strikes – is the all-time international top scorer.

500: Career total While it is a huge number, 500 senior goals is by no means a unique figure. Ronaldo – now on 478 for his club and 56 for his country, 534 in total – passed the 500-mark last October. The top scorer of all time is generally accepted to be Czech-Austrian legend Josef Bican, whose final haul, albeit including reserve fixtures and games outside the top flight, is around 805. Romário and Pelé both ended their careers with tallies well into the 700s. l

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Totti, Spalletti feud erupts at Atalanta

RESULTS D’Alessandro 33, Borriello 37, 50

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL STAR SPORTS 1 12:50AM English Premier League Newcastle v Manchester City

TEN 2 12:30AM German Cup SF: Bayern v Werder Bremen

SONY SIX 12:40AM Italian Serie A Napoli v Bologna

SONY ESPN 12:30AM Spanish La Liga Real Betis v Las Palmas

CRICKET SONY SIX 8:30PM Indian Premier League Punjab v Kolkata

Roma

Digne 23, Nainggolan 27, Totti 86

3-1

Fiorentina

n AFP, Milan

Francesco Totti’s late leveller in a 3-3 thriller at Atalanta has done little to ease relations with Roma coach Luciano Spalletti amid reports of a post-match bust-up on Sunday.

With Roma trailing 3-2 in Bergamo after a pair of goals by former club striker Marco Borriello, Totti came off the bench to make a rare appearance and promptly levelled four minutes from time.

The result kept Roma in third place, 14 points behind Serie A leaders Juventus, and in contention for a third consecutive appearance in the Champions League next season.

According to several reports on Sunday, tensions reached a new high during a bust-up outside the Roma dressing room following Spalletti’s media conference.

“Totti didn’t save anything, it was the team that saved the result for us,” Spalletti told media. “They helped set him up for the goal, he scored a good goal and gave us the chance to level the game.

“He’s part of the team and he’s done the job that the rest of the team have to do.”

Speaking directly to media after the game, Spalletti suggested the undercurrents at the club were far more relevant than Totti’s goal.

“The goal that Totti scored, he could score one like that in three years’ time, but it’s the other things going on that haven’t yet come to light.

“Maybe if you worked a little bit harder (on it), you would find out.” l

3-3

Atalanta

Sassuolo

Rodriguez 10, Ilicic 57, Consigli 84-og

Berardi 56

1-2

Verona Bianchetti 64

Frosinone Russo 15, Frara 90+2

4-0

Juventus

Palermo

Khedira 10, Pogba 71, Cuadrado 74, Padoin 89

Udinese

0-0

Chievo

Lazio

2-0

Empoli

Candreva 6-pen, Onzai 44

0-1

Sampdoria

AC Milan Bacca 71

SERIE A P

Roma forward Francesco Totti (L) fights for the ball with Atalanta midfielder Maximiliano Moralez during their Italian Serie A match at the Azzuri d'Italia stadium in Bergamo on Sunday AFP

W

D

L GD

Juventus

33 25

4

4 45

Pts 79

Napoli

33 21

7

5

37

70

Roma

65

33 18

11

4 34

Inter Milan 33 18

7

8

14

61

Fiorentina

8

8 18

59

33 17

Pogba inspires blitz as Juve sight fifth title n AFP, Milan Paul Pogba inspired a second-half blitz as champions Juventus put one hand on a record-equalling fifth Serie A title on Sunday with a 4-0 win over Palermo.

Juventus last achieved the feat of five straight league titles in 1935, and the Turin giants were given extra incentive when title challengers Napoli suffered their second reverse in three games with a 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan Saturday.

It left Napoli in second at six points behind but Juventus turned

the screw to leave Maurizio Sarri’s men nine points adrift with five games remaining this season.

Fiorentina are fifth, but closed the gap on Inter to two points thanks to a 3-1 win over Sassuolo that saw an impressive volley from Viola midfieler Josip Ilicic and an incredible own goal by visiting ‘keeper Andrea Consigli.

Elsewhere, a first-half penalty from Antonio Candreva and a 44th minute strike by Ogenyi Onazi handed Lazio a 2-0 win over Empoli, coach Simone Inzaghi’s first at the Stadio Olimpico since he

replaced Stefano Pioli two weeks ago, having started his appointment with a 3-0 win at Palermo last time out.

Lazio remain eighth and are still four points behind AC Milan, who sit in sixth and a possible Europa League spot after a cagey 1-0 win at Sampdoria.

It was Cristian Brocchi’s first game in charge since he was promoted as youth team coach to replace sacked Sinisa Mihajlovic last week. Brocchi ditched Mihajlovic’s 4-4-2 to deploy a 4-3-1-2 with Giacomo Bonaventura playing just behind

Defending champions Czechs face France in FedCup final n AFP, Paris

Karolina Pliskova and Lucie Hradecka secured the Czech Republic a fifth Fed Cup final appearance in six years with victory in the deciding doubles against Switzerland on Sunday.

Waiting for the defending champions in the November 12-13 final will be France, who edged the Netherlands in their semi-final in Trelaze.

The semi-final in Lucerne, level at 1-1 overnight, went down to the wire after Pliskova’s comfortable win over Timea Bacsinszky before a stunning 3-6, 7-6 (8/6) 6-1 comeback win from Viktorija Golubic against Barbora Strycova.

But Switzerland’s dream of making their first final since 1998 was ended when Pliskova and Hradec-

ka despatched Golubic and Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-2 to take the tie 3-2.

Czech captain Petr Pala paid tribute to his team.

Swiss skipper Heinz Guenthardt said: “I am very proud of my team.

We left everything out on the centre court and I don’t think there is any question or any doubt in anyone’s mind that we did that.

France, all square with the Dutch at 1-1 after Saturday’s singles, progressed in similar fashion to the Czechs to make their first final since 2005.

Skippered by Amelie Mauresmo the French went into the tie on claycourt against surprise semi-finalists the Netherlands as clear favourites. But the Dutch took a 2-1 lead courtesy of Kiki Bertens’s 7-5, 6-4 win over Kristina Mladenovic in Sunday’s opening match. l

Mario Balotelli and Carlos Bacca, and it ultimately paid dividends.

After Bacca came close on seven minutes, Sampdoria had a goal chalked off when Fabio Quagliarella was ruled offside having nodded Fernando’s spectacular overhead kick into the path of Dodo, who tapped past Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.

Samp ‘keeper Emiliano Viviano produced an incredible point-blank stop on Bacca following Balotelli’s glancing header, while Donnarumma did well to stop Fernando’s vicious drive just before the interval. l

Dortmund break Hamburg bogey n AFP, Berlin American teenager Christian Pulisic scored his first Bundesliga goal on Sunday as Borussia Dortmund kept some pressure on leaders Bayern Munich with a 3-0 win over 10man Hamburg.

Dortmund bounced back from the heart-break of their last-gasp 4-3 defeat at Liverpool on Thursday, which ended their Europa League campaign at the quarter-final stage. It was their first win over Hamburg in five league games having last beaten Bruno Labbadia’s side back in September 2013. l

RESULTS Dortmund

3-0

Hamburg

Pulisic 38, Ramos 44, 86

France's Fed Cup captain Mauresmo (L) celebrates with players after France won the semi-final doubles match AFP

Mainz

2-3

Cordoba 9, Balogun 49

Cologne Risse 64, Jojic 74, Modeste 82

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TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Mojo Anthem of Revolution n Karishma Zaman The Rockstation has brought forth one of the biggest underground band fests in Bangladesh, titled “Mojo Anthem of Revolution,” containing 50 underground bands.

The fest will continue from April 19 to 22 at the Russian

Prachi negates rumours

Cultural Centre in Dhanmondi.

Bands are joining in from Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Rajshahi and Sylhet.

In order to participate, register at www.ticketchai.com, and buy a Mojo from the venue to enter the concert.

Underground bands including Black, Arbovirus, Mechanix, Dreek, Poraho, Blue Jeans, Aushruto, Warsite among many others are prepared to perform.

For the first three days, the concert will begin from 2pm, and 3pm on April 22. Warsite, a heavy metal underground band, will be releasing their debut solo album on the final day as well.

One of the tracks from the album, named Aurthohin, shall be featured by Bassbaba Sumon.

While every song has a different theme and story, the whole the story shall express the life story of a person. In fact, the album cover includes lyric based pictures of different individuals.

The album title is “Juddher Chorus” which includes 10 songs. It is partially sponsored

by Commando Guards Ltd and Incursion Music.

The registration partner for the event is www.ticketchai.com, with Colours FM as radio partner, Radio Next as media partner, Incursion Music as logistic partner and Dhaka Tribune as print media partner, all organised

by The Rockstation. l

n Promiti Prova Chowdhury On the sets of Rock On 2!!, sequel to the hit musical-drama Rock On, Prachi Desai termed the news about her rivalry with Shraddha Kapoor as “completely ridiculous.”

Actresses not getting along is not really a shocker, however, the 27-year old actress says that the rumour about hers not getting along well with her Rock On 2!! costar Shraddha Kapoor is untrue.

Shraddha, the Ek Villain actress is a new addition to the cast of Rock On. “These reports are completely ridiculous. We both shared a great rapport and

got along really well. I am sure she (Sharddha) will laugh about this when she hears this too,” Prachi told a news portal, reports Bollywood Life.

There were words about Prachi not being too comfortable shooting with Shraddha for the sequel.

She dismissed the rumour by saying: “I assume that when people have nothing to do and run out of ideas, they start these rumours. But they don’t affect me at all. We all had a great time shooting and are friends. Sure, we don’t get to meet very often because of our work schedule but the bond remains intact.” l

cartoonish, even in the instance of Kaa’s (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) hypnotic eyes.

There isn’t much to dwell on the story itself, assuming the audience is already aware. The main focus is the end product. We’ve been given a visual treat like we’ve never seen before on the big screen. These can only be greater signs of what is

to come from the talent at Disney.

For modern-day technology, this is the most realistic take on an animated classic a studio has ever created. With a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, you shouldn’t need too much convincing into watching this film. You will not be disappointed. This is a very good film, if not great. l

Welcome to the jungle Another Disney remake hits it out of the park

n Mahmood Hossain The latest take on The Jungle Book, a live-action film based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling, was yet another masterful stroke by the folks at Disney. After the live-action version of Cinderella leading the way, we can only expect more and better work from the media giants.

This new film was beautifully cared for and presented by the talented John Favreau. The entire cast gelled in magnificently, as each actor voiced each character to perfection.

I, fortunately, had the privilage of watching this film on IMAX 3D. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how 3D is executed; this coming from a movie buff who hates 3D. It is to no surprise that the film had the second largest April

opening ever, racking up over $103 million in the States. There are many reasons for this success aside from Favreau’s wonderful direction. Take the introduction to young Neel Sethi, who takes on the main role of Mowgli. This young actor played his role so geniunely, you immediately forget this boy was acting in front of a green screen with CGI characters.

He was surrounded by computeranimated creatures throughout the entire film. Favreau wasn’t lying when he said we would be treated to something we have never seen before. The level of artwork and animation is out of this world.

The atmosphere was so life-like, there wasn’t a single scene that felt out of place. The same can go for the supporting cast. Bagheera (Ben

Kingsley), Baloo (Bill Burray), Shere Khan (Idris Elba), Raksha (Lupita Nyong’o) and many other famous actors lent their voices perfectly for these animated creatures of the jungle. The sophisticated, technilogical machinery that went behind each creation can easily fool anyone, blurring the lines of reality. The animations never felt

10 fun facts about GOT

n Showtime Desk

up to an astounding $8 million.

With the inevitable Game of Thrones fever that is about to grip the entire world again on April 24, we at Showtime thought about treating you to 10 fun facts about the show.

Six different nations and many more to come Till date, the producers have filmed the series in several different locations, including the United States, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Morocco and Malta. Spain was added to the list of locations in season 5.

Hodor is a DJ in real life Kristian Nairn, who is possibly the tallest actor on Game of Thrones being a real-life giant of six feet ten inches, is actually a DJ in real life. Growing up in Northern Ireland, the actor sings, plays the guitar and also performs on stage.

During his shows, some fans often cheer out “Hodor” as recognition of his work and praise!

Sean Bean played football with his prosthetic head after dying on the show’s first season finale.

Not everybody can play football with prosthetic heads, especially if the head is made to look like your own, but actor Sean Bean who played the role of Ned Stark, can! The actor told during a Reddit AMA that he was very creeped out by the prosthetic head but eventually managed to get over it by kicking it around in a game of football!

Game of Thrones is one of the most expensive shows on TV Game of Thrones may as well be one of the most expensive shows on television, with each episode being produced at an average cost of $6 million. Some episodes, such as “Blackwater” cost even more,

Game of Thrones is helping countries become richer!

According to Northern Ireland, the TV series has brought more than $100 million into their economy.

Even an ancient city of Morocco, Quarzazate, is said to have a 100% increase in their bookings after becoming filming locations for fictional cities Yunkai and Pentos The show almost didn’t make it to air because the original pilot was bad The Game of Thrones pilot plot was originally filmed in the fall of 2009, directed by Thomas McCarthy, and in locations like Scotland and Morocco instead of Northern Ireland, Croatia and Malta. But apparently the pilot was really bad and scrapped.

In the original plot, Daeneryes Targaryen and Catelyn Stark were played by Tamzin Merchat and Jennifer Ehle.

Lena Heady was living off credit only last year When your TV show is one of the most watched TV series in recent times, it genuinely comes as a shock when you get to learn that one of its major actresses was living off credit only last year.

Lena Heady, who plays the iconic role of Cersei Lannister had less than $5 in her bank account before she was cast for the series, she said as she opened up about her previous financial situation, and admitted that she was living off credit cards. But her life’s plot twisted as rapidly as her

character’s (it’s been a year and its not really a spoiler any more!) after she became the infamous Cersei Lannister and things have gone up ever since. She recently has bought a house in California worth about $790,000!

It’s also the most pirated show on television According to BitTorent, Game of Thrones is one of the most pirated shows on television. The 2013 season finale alone has been downloaded via their site 5.9 million times. Apparently HBO doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, and CEO Richard Pepler

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WHAT TO WATCH

even referred to it as a “terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers.”

The adult film industry is a big fan of Game of Thrones as well Known for its gratuitous sex scenes, Game of Thrones have inspired the adult film industry to make their own versions of the show. Three different porn parodies have been made till date, with at least one of them being directed by the popular Lee Roy Myers.

Jack Gleeson (aka. Joffrey) may never act again Joffery Baratheon is possibly

the most popular “hated” character in Game of Thrones, and actor Jack Gleeson got huge credit for making it happen.

He supposedly received a letter from George R.R. Martin which said “Congratulations on your marvelous performance!

Everybody hates you now.”

Having played Joffrey so perfectly, he has come to be harassed by strangers on the streets. Although he says he has no regrets about playing the character on the show, he added that he has retired from being a celebrity. Despite his spiteful on-screen character, he is actually a humanitarian who is devoted to helping others through charity organisations like GOAL.l

Sex and the City 2 WB 6:40pm This sequel continues to revolve around the four friends – Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. All four of them are married now and loathe the responsibilities that come with marriage and motherhood. They all take off for a “forbidden” week in Abu Dhabi and have the fun of their lives.

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, David Eigenberg Noah HBO 4:00pm When God decides that mankind has become too sinful and must be wiped off the Earth, he chooses Noah, a pious man, for a great task. Noah must build an ark large enough to hold his wife, adopted daughter, sons and their wives, along with breeding pairs of every animal. When the task is completed, Noah and his family witness God’s wrath in the form of an apocalyptic flood.

Cast: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson Die Hard 2: Die Harder Star Movies 7:00pm In this sequel, yet again New York Police Officer John McClane finds himself at the right place at the right time, much to the annoyance of the bad guys. John is waiting at the airport to pick up his wife Holly. That’s when he finds out about the plot to sabotage the landing system there. A drug baron is being extradited to the USA for trial and the thugs are keen to release him. They plan to hold the airport to ransom and they had to pick a time when John is right there at the venue. Watch John go into action against the villains.

Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco Nero

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Blazing summer heat takes toll on children n Abid Azad and Shadma Malik Excessive summer heat over the past few days has terribly affected children’s study in schools as they say they have struggled to perfectly concentrate in classroom in such weather.

But teachers argue that they will not be able to cover the syllabus if holidays are announced.

Principal of Ideal High School in Dhaka Dr Shahan Ara Begum told the Dhaka Tribune: “Unless the government announces shutdown of schools, we cannot make the decision. Our school will go into summer vacation on May 11, which will continue till 27.

“After that, there is Ramadan holiday in June-July. If we announce holidays now because of heat, the teachers will be unable to cover all the lessons in the syllabus. However, we have electric generator so that students do not suffer during power outages.”

The West Bengal government in neighbouring India on April 9 announced that government schools in the state would be closed from April 11 as soon as the Meteorological Department issued a heat wave warning for Kolkata and other districts, Times of India reported. The vacation was later extended till June 17.

Faria Amin, a third-grader at Morning Glory School and College in Savar, said summer vacation in her school had been preponed due to heat.

Children, who say it has become very difficult for them to attend classes because of torrid summer heat, are compelled to go to school as school authorities refuse to announce holidays, arguing that teachers will not be able to cover all the lessons in the syllabus RAJIB DHAR “Attendance in the class has been poor for the last few days. The intolerable heat is making children sick. The school will go into summer vacation in June. The authority is yet to take a decision if the school will be closed earlier due to heat,” said Nabila Bhuban Zaima, a teacher at Masco School Kanchan in Narayanganj’s Rupganj.

Joint Secretary of the Education

Ministry AKM Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune the ministry was aware of the fact that students were facing problems due to torrid heat.

“The government has its plan to deal with the situation. We are also aware of the shutdown of schools in West Bengal. If temperature rises more, we will take appropriate measures so that students do not

have to endure the terrible heat,” he added.

Also, the sweltering heat has caused children to catch seasonal diseases, including fever, cold, diarrhoea, sore throat, dysentery and pneumonia.

According to health specialists, such diseases – many of them water-borne – are mostly affecting children and people who work outside.

Arnab Mahmud, a second-grader at Ahsania Mission School and College in Dhaka’s Mirpur, suddenly fell ill with viral fever two days ago.

“As I took my son to hospital, doctors said he got viral fever because of scorching summer heat.

They suggested keeping him at home and giving him pure drinking water as well as fruits to eat,” said Arnab’s father Abul Kalam Azad.

According to the ICDDRB, 465 diarrhoea patients were admitted on April 10 while 445 on 11, 437 on 12 and 165 on 13.

The Directorate General of Health Services said 5,141 diarrhoea cases had been recorded in the second week of April in 10 districts across Bangladesh.

“In this season, children mostly catch cold and fever. We are receiving child patients with viral fever every day. During this time of the year, parents should be careful about their children. They should ask children to avoid having ice cream and playing outside,” said Asharf-ul Haque Kajol, professor at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s infant and child department.

“Also, children should be advised to drink a lot of water and eat vegetables and fruits. If children vomit or are affected by diarrhoea, parents should immediately take them to doctor,” he added.

Child specialists also suggested keeping children away from heat and keeping them at home as much as possible. l

CID: 20 foreigners involved in the BB digital heist n Kamrul Hasan

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday disclosed that from their visit to Philippines and Sri Lanka they had found that some twenty foreigners from different countries were allegedly involved in the digital heist of $101 million from Bangladesh Bank.

Two CID teams went to Sri Lanka and the Philippines on April 6 and returned on Friday.

Additional Deputy Inspector General Shah Alam made the disclosure in a press briefing held at the CID Headquarters in Dhaka yesterday.

However, he did not disclose the names for the sake of the probe.

On February 5, hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh

Bank’s accounts in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and transferred $81m to Philippines’ Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, from where the money was moved to local casinos. A further $20m was recovered from Sri Lanka.

Shah Alam said investigators had also shortened their suspect list of the Bangladesh Bank employees who could possibly be involved in the heist.

“We will look into whether they neglected their duty unintentionally or intentionally,” he added.

An investigating source told the Dhaka Tribune that many of the names had already been published in the Daily Inquirer, a national daily of Philippines and one of them was a Chinese businessman. The identified persons were the beneficiaries

of the heist and the persons from the RCBC bank involved in the heist.

Asked if any hacker had been identified, the source said they were working on it. They had made several advancements in identifying them. But at this stage of the investigation, they needed help from some other countries.

Meanwhile, a member of one of the teams told the Dhaka Tribune that although the Pan Asia Bank in Sri Lanka had returned the laundered $20 million to the country on February 5, investigators were also looking at possible criminals there.

After the teams returned, several meetings were held at the CID office to analyse what information they received from the two countries and what more they would need.

The central bank had $1.2 billion

in cash at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of which the hackers tried to appropriate $101 million.

They successfully transferred $81 million to the Philippines where it was divided into two major portions – $22 million to casinos and $59 million to Philrem, a Philippine company that converted the dollars to peso. Among the two portions $42 million was later received

by Kim Wong, a Chinese-born Philippine businessman.

Although the heist was made from false accounts, the beneficiaries had several accounts at four banks in the countries. Both governments froze the accounts following the heist.

The countries are under pressure to amend their banking or money laundering acts, investigators said.

Meanwhile, a source said the teams might visit the two countries again. They could also visit two neighbouring countries of the Philippines to trace the root of the heist, the source said.

Additional DIG Shah Alam said during the visit they had told the local investigating authorities that bank compliance had been violated in dispersing the money from RCBC Bank and they could not avoid the responsibility for their roles in the heist.

Every possible step will be taken to identify the masterminds and the criminals who committed the crime, he added.

Asked about the countries CID teams plan to visit, he said at this stage of the investigation it would be wrong to comment on the matter. l

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