Falgun 4, 1420 Rabius Saani 15, 1435 Regd. No.

DA 6238 Vol 1 No 324

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014

www.dhakatribune.com

SECOND EDITION

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6 | NATIONAL ROBOTICS FESTIVAL 2014

7 | GOOD TIME FOR ACCOUNTANTS

9 | NORTH KOREA UNDER UN SCANNER

13 | YOUNG TIGERS OPEN WC ACCOUNT

Bangladesh in al-Qaedas cross-hairs?

Home ministry terms an al-Queda audio baseless, DB not sure until the terrorist outfit denies responsibility
n Julkar Ali Manik
An audio clip available on a website Jihadology became a much-talkedabout issue in the country yesterday as it claims that the audio message was from terrorist organisation al-Qaedas leader Ayman al-Zawahiri with a call to Bangladeshi Muslims to fight against secularists and atheists. Private television channels throughout the day broadcast news based on the audio clip that claimed As-Sahb Media presents a new video [though it was only voice] message from alQidahs Dr Ayman al-Zawhir: Bangladesh: A Massacre Behind a Wall of Silence. section of people as there was apprehension of further rise of Islamist militancy, radicalisation and terror activities. According to the claim, Zawahiris audio voice came with footages of Hefazat-e-Islams violent rallies in Dhaka last year. The audio message was in Arabic and there was sub-title in English over the footages. However, Kamal Ahmed, additional secretary (political wing) of home ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune: We depend on our intelligence wing for any issue related to our internal security. According to our intelligence wing officials, the media report on al-Qaedas audio message is totally baseless, as they are yet to find any source to confirm the news. According to the subtitles, Zawahiri was saying, Thousands are being killed in the streets of Bangladesh... they have come out to protest the collusion of the anti-Islamic secular government with a bunch of transgressing secularists who are heaping insults and vulgar abuses on Islam and the Prophet of Islam, may peace be upon him He said hundreds of religious scholars were also facing hardships, manhunt, imprisonment, trials, death sentences and life imprisonment without any guilt, except that they have taken a stand against the agents of this Crusade onslaught, who are being used as tools by the leading criminals of the western world to distort the image of Islam and poke fun at this religion, its Prophet, and beliefs. Zawahiri, the top leader of al-Qaeda, says: My Muslim brothers in Bangladesh, I invite you to confront this Crusade onslaught against Islam, which is being orchestrated by the leading criminals in the subcontinent and the West against Islam, the prophet of Islam, and the Islamic creed, so that they
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WHEN PROFIT COMES BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT

My Muslim brothers in Bangladesh, I invite you to confront this Crusade onslaught against Islam
The Dhaka Tribune enquired a number of sources to verify the authenticity of the audio clip, but could not confirm it. Meanwhile, the home ministry termed the audio message baseless as per their intelligence information. Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, who listened to the audio tape, said: Primarily it seems that it was a message from al-Qaeda and Zawahiri. Until and unless al-Qaeda officially denies their responsibility over this audio message, we will have reasons to believe that they published it, Monirul told the Dhaka Tribune over phone. Though authenticity of the audio tape remained unconfirmed, this type of message raised concerns among the cross

Contaminated water from a local sugar mill spreads across farmlands, with farmers desperately trying to save their crops from being polluted

BANGLAR CHOKH

Jihadology hosted in US n Julkar Ali Manik

The website named Jihadology that posted an audio tape of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on Bangladesh is hosted at a domain located in the US. An IT expert after a quick look at the technical information of the website said Jihadology had been created on August 16, 2010, but came into operation in September the same year. According to the website, the audio clip (having footages of still photos) was taken from alfidaa.info, which is hosted in Kuala Lumpur. The Jihadology website at the top of the page said the video message titled Bangladesh: A Massacre behind a Wall of Silence was presented by As-Sahab Media.
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Gunfight kills 2, another body found

n Tribune Report
Two more suspected criminals were killed in a gunfight with law enforcers in the capital yesterday, while the body of another was recovered in Sirajganj. In the first incident yesterday evening, two suspected robbers were killed in a shootout between police and members of the robber gang in the captials Jatrabari area. Elias Sharif, deputy commissioner of Wari police, claimed that Salahuddin, 28, and his cohort Jewel, 27, were members of a local gang of robbers that operated in the Kolapotti area. The incident took place within hours after the National Human Rights Commission chief called for stopping all sorts of extrajudicial killings. Police said Salahuddin was wanted in eight cases, including four under-trial murders. Recently, he was freed on bail in one of those cases. Police also claimed that the two were arrested from the locality around 11am yesterday and brought to the Jatrabari police station. In custody, they admitted carrying illegal arms. Around 5:30pm, law enforcers took Earlier yesterday in Sirajganj, the body of a suspected criminal, wanted in a murder case, was recovered, police said. Jahangir Alam, 45, was wanted for the killing of local Awami League leader Saiful Islam, who was allegedly hacked to death in December 30. Local residents found Jahangirs dead body near the Dhaka-Sirajganj-Rajshahi highway in the morning and informed police, said Abdul Based, SI of Kamarkhand police station. The body had two injury marks on the head, the SI said. RAB and Police claimed that they did not have any information about the death. Rozina Khatun, wife of the deceased, alleged that plainclothes policemen nabbed her husband and one Joban Ali from Dhaka on January 19.
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P2

NHRC BOSS REACTS

the two on a drive to recover more arms, when seven-eight of their fellow robbers attacked police with firearms in the Sutikhalpar area, resulting in a gunfight. The two robbers, who sustained injuries in the gunfight, were declared dead after being taken to a local hospital. Their bodies were sent to the Mitford hospital for autopsy, police said.

Decomposed bodies of 3 newborns recovered n Tribune Report

Police recovered the decomposed bodies of three newborn children from two separate places in the capitals Mohammadpur area yesterday. The unidentified bodies of the newborns, aged only around a couple of days, were found in a roadside dustbin and a drain at Nobodaya Housing and Aziz Mahalla areas respectively. Nayan Mia and Jahangir, sub-inspectors of Mohammadpur police station, recovered the bodies and sent those to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy. Locals informed us after noticing the bodies in the dustbin at Nobodaya housing. We suspect that the babies were born two or three days back, said Nayan. Police said the bodies could have been dumped by clinics or hospitals, but suspected that the infants were not connected by birth.
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Sheikh Jamal defeated in Kolkata tie-breaker

n Shishir Hoque
A bizarre red card shown to Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Clubs Haitian forward Sony Norde appeared as the turning point in the final of the 118th IFA Shield final as the Bangladesh side despite dominating lost to Kolkata Mohammedan Sporting 3-4 in tiebreakers at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan, formerly known as Salt Lake Stadium, yesterday. After 120 minutes of endless end-toend football could not see a winner, the breathtaking final went to the penalties with both side locked at 1-1. It took Mohammedans substitute goalkeeper Naseem Akter, who came on in the 118th minute, to produce two brilliant saves against Linkon and Didar to rob the luck from the Jamals and hand the Kolkata Black and Whites the title of the fourth oldest club cup competition after 43 long years. Backed by thousands of supporters the hosts attacked right from the opening whistle which however did not puzzle the visitors who matched with equal brilliance. The much talked about footballer in the tournament Norde opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a glorious free-kick before Mehrajuddin Wadoo cancelled out the lead at the stroke of the first-half mark. The Bangladesh Premier League giants dominated and enjoyed ball possession throughout the game before the momentum was literally robbed from them with the dismissal of Norde. Mohammedans Brazilian defender Luciano Sabrosa was closely guarding Norde in the 82nd minute when suddenly he fell down with hands on his faces prompting the referee to call it a foul. Referee Santosh Kumar without any further consultancy with his linesmen showed the red card to the Haitian which saw the Jamal players burst
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INSIDE
3 The aspiring candidates of third- and fourth-phase upazila parishad polls would not be able to change their voter areas before the upcoming election, the Election Commission officials said yesterday.

News

move forward when our language, perhaps uniquely of all, uses the same colloquial word for yesterday and tomorrow?

Entertainment

Op-Ed

11 One of the more profound laments of anguish I heard from a South Asian expatriate was the pithy observation that how can we

12 As part of Shadhonas 3 year project Dhrumel, Shadhona and Manipuri Theatre will stage the premier show of their new dance drama Premamritam at the auditorium of Dance and Music Department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

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NHRC: Stop extrajudicial killings n Tribune Report
The National Human Rights Commission has called upon authorities concerned to immediately stop extrajudicial killings going on in the name of shootout and crossfire. There should be no extrajudicial killing whatever the reasons may be. It should be stopped immediately, NHRC Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman said yesterday at a programme in the capital. He made the statement at a time when two suspected criminals were killed in a gunfight with police in the capitals Jatrabari area yesterday. We started raising our voice against all sorts of extrajudicial killings after taking over [NHRC office] in 2010, he said claiming that such incidents had come down to almost zero percent. Mizanur, a professor of law at Dhaka University, also said: People today hear and read about cooked up stories of gunfight. The stories are all similar. Only the names of victims, places of occurrences, times, dates and the names of the officials involved are different, he said. These incidents indicate deterioration of human rights situation in the country, he said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 16, 2014

BNP to write to EC today on upazila polls

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
The BNP is in doubt whether the upcoming upazila polls will be free and fair as the party alleging that the ruling party men are violating the electoral code of conduct and the opposition leaders and activists were harassed. The party will send a letter to the election commission mentioning the harassment of the opposition men, obstruct in the campaigning and the influence on the administration by the ruling party men and also urging the commission to take immediate and necessary steps, said a party insider. BNP leader alleged the ruling party have been hatching conspiracy to keep low voter turnout in the polls because if turn out is huge then the majority votes will go in favor of the BNPs bag. Look at the field and know whether the voters would vote freely. BNP leaders and activists were arresting everyday. How a fair poll will take place, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a standing committee member of the party, told the Dhaka Tribune. In many places, the BNP backed candidates alleged that they have been facing troubles in campaigning as cases were filed against many of their activists and law enforcers hunting them everyday disrupted their smooth campaigning. On Friday, some leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League, students wing of the ruling AL, attacked a microbus of Gouranadi upazila chairman candidate Abul Hossain Mia, a BNP-backed aspirant. In Sailakupa upazila of Jhenaidhah, the BNP-backed chairman candidate Rakibul Hasan in an alleged attack by the Awami League men on Wednesday. Rakibul said, All my activists are either on the run or in jail. How can I will campaign to woo voters. On Saturday, some of Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and activists with a motorcycle fleet also ransacked and torched election camps of BNP rebel candidate and district (north) BNP vice president Lokman Hossain Khan at Mahilara, Diasur areas. Abul Kalam Azad, Gournadi police station in charge, said they yet not received any allegation of attacking election camp of BNP leader Lokman Hossain and already arrested BCL activist Firoz Sardar as an accused for attacking Journalist Monir. Our Barisal correspondent said more than 64 percent of total 139 vote centers in Gournadi and Bakerganj upazilas of Barisal district marked as vulnerable. Md. Dulal Talukdar, district election officer and returning officers of the elections said elections in these two upazilas scheduled to be held on February 19. However Barisal district election office and police superintendent office said they marked 89 out of 139 vote centers in those two upazilas as vulnerable. Out of those 89 vulnerable vote centers, 55 marked as highly riskprone, EC and police sources said. All of 45 vote centers Gournadi upazila marked as vulnerable including 28 as risk-prone and 17 as highly riskprone. In Bakerganj upazila 50 out of 94 centers were marked as normal, 6 as vulnerable and 38 as highly risk-prone, the EC and police sources told. Considering infrastructural conditions of the vote centers, communication facilities, geographical, political and law and order situation, those centers were marked as risk-prone according to the confidential reports of law enforcing agencies, police sources said. Special security arrangements including deploying of increasing number of forces, striking forces, mobile teams, raids to arrest miscreants and terrorists would be taken to conduct free fair peaceful polls in risk-prone vote centers as like as normal centers, district police superintendent AKM Ehsan Ullah told. Returning officer said list of vulnerable vote centers already sent to concerned upazila nirbahi officers for taking necessary actions. l

AL men torch 13 houses of party men n Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

A group of people, allegedly supporters of ruling Awami League, torched some 13 houses of their party rivals at the Swalpo Paschimpara village in Gouripur upazila in Mymensingh last night. Police said the attack could be a retaliation to another attack on local Awami League supporter Shahed Ali, who was injured by unknown miscreants on Friday night. Shahed had a longstanding dispute with one Mustakim Member, also an Awami League supporter, over establishing supremacy in the area. Police said Shaheds supporters blamed Mustakim and his men for the attack, said police. Following the attack on Shahed, his sons Swapon and Nayan, along with their men, attacked and ransacked the houses of Mustakim Member and his relatives around 9pm yesterday. At one stage, they set the 13 houses on fire, said Hamidur Rahman, OC of Gouripur police station. l

Dhaka seeks HasinaManmohan meeting

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman
Bangladesh has sought time from India for a meeting between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Bimstec summit in Myanmar next month. The third Bimstec summit, attended by heads of states or governments of the member countries, will be held on March 4 in Myanmar capital Naypyidaw. We also sought sideline meetings with the heads of participating states and governments, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque said. Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran told the Dhaka Tribune that there were definite chances that the two prime ministers might meet. A senior foreign ministry official said Bhutan had sought schedule for a sideline meeting with Bangladesh and Dhaka had confirmed it. The schedule of all sideline meetings will be decided after the Bangladesh delegation reach Naypyidaw, he said. The flight schedules and other arrangements of the Bangladesh prime minister was yet to be fixed. About Hasina-Manmohan meeting, he said in all previous multilateral programmes including the UN General Assembly the two leaders held sideline meetings. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) was formed in Bangkok in 1997 and had its first summit in 2004 in Bangkok and the second one in New Delhi in 2008. It has 14 sectors and Bangladesh is the lead country in trade, investment and climate change issues. At the summit, the countries are likely to sign several deals including setting up the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka and also a Weather and Climate Centre in New Delhi, said another diplomat. l

Police fail to arrest rogue student leaders n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

The law enforcers have failed to arrest the rogue student leaders of Madan Mohan College in Sylhet in their first drive, launched upon directives of Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Friday. A team of Sylhet Kotwali police on Friday night conducted the drive in Dokkin Surma area to arrest Arun Debnath Sagar, president of the college unit Bangladesh Chhatra League, who has been charged for vandalising the principals room on January 26. But the police did not find the accused at his home. A case was filed against Sagar and 15 others centring the incident. It is alleged that the accused had collected around Tk70 lakh through admission business, and attacked the principals room as they failed to continue the extortion. Muhith is the president of the colleges management committee. l

Police recover pistols, pipe guns, bullets and several machetes in an overnight raid at Dhaka College in the capital on Thursday night. The photo was taken at New Market police station yesterday FOCUS BANGLA

Environmentalists: Rooppur plant lacks proper assessment

n Abu Bakar Siddique
Conservationists have expressed concerns over the establishment of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant as it was taken without conducting proper assessment of risk management. At a discussion yesterday, they also urged the government to take proper precautions to avoid environmental and health hazards since it was the first of its kind in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) organised the discussion at Dhaka Reporters Unity. Former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dr Abdul Matin said the government had taken the project in a hurried manner. He stressed proper waste management mechanism since nuclear wastage is extremely detrimental to environment and human health. In addition, the government has to prepare efficient manpower who will deal with the process. It should not depend on the foreign experts. The government has planned to establish the Rooppur project with a power generation capacity of 2,000MW. On April 2 last year, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the first phase of the 2,000MW project at a cost of Tk5,242 crore. In January last year, Bangladesh and Russia signed a $500m loan agreement to cover the costs of feasibility study, plant design, infrastructure development and training of the plants personnel. Prof M Firoz Ahmed, vice-chancellor of Stamford University Bangladesh, said: The government should follow the recommendations and guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Commission properly to avoid any kind of accident. He demanded that all the agreements and contracts be made public. Regarding the risks, former director of International Atomic Energy Commission Dr Jasimuddin Ahmed said the country would experience massive disaster if any kind of accident occurred at the plant. The people living within 30km radius would be affected. Citing the example of Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan, he said the site of Rooppur plant was also vulnerable to earthquakes. l

Jihadology
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It was difficult to determine the official website of As-Sahab Media. But according to another website named Global Jihad, the As-Sahab Foundation for Islamic Media Publication (The Clouds) is the media production house of the al-Qaeda. It distributes the organisations point of views for promoting the Global Jihad, encouraging young Muslims to identify themselves with the cause and glorifying the al-Qaeda. It says the As-Sahab started in 2001 under Abdul Rehman al-Maghrebi, the son-in-law of Zawahiri, and with the involvement of Adam Yahiye Gadahn and Attiya Allah. Since then, As-Sahab distributed through Arab TV networks including Aljazeera or Al-Arabia or local Pakistani TV stations the footages and audios of primarily Zawahiri, much less of Osama Bin Laden, and footages of successful attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and all over the world. The Global Jihad website is hosted in Germany. l

UK parliament condemns attacks on minorities

n UNB
The British Parliament has condemned the calculated and indiscriminate attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh in the aftermath of January 5 election. The House, however, noted with appreciation the response of the Bangladesh government to the violence, particularly the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the affected areas and her assurance of compensation, rehabilitation and security for the victims. In a motion tabled on February 12,

the British parliament called on all political parties, both in government and opposition, to ensure that such attacks did not repeat in the future, according to the UK parliament website. The motion underscored the bid for all stakeholders to uphold the tradition of communal harmony that has been a hallmark of the people of Bangladesh. It said the House was particularly disturbed by the repetition of such incidents that took place after the general election in 2001, the perpetrators of which were not brought to justice. l

Decomposed bodies of 3 newborns

PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

Gunfight kills 2, another body found

PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

We do not think they were twins and the parents dumped them together, SI Nayan said. The infants had no injury marks. The infant recovered from the Aziz Mahalla drain had no injury marks and was also dumped soon after his birth, said SI Jahangir. We are trying to find out whether the infants were born dead or if they died after being dumped, he said. As of filing this report at 8:45pm, no case has been filed in this connection. l

The dead body of Joban Ali, the prime accused in the murder case, was found on February 5, but her husband had been missing. On February 10, an activist of Jubo League, youth front of ruling Awami League, was killed in an alleged gunfight with RAB in the Chawk Bazar area in the Barisal city. RAB claimed that Faruk Ahmed alias Panama Faruk was killed when a group of young men opened fire on them and they retaliated with gunshots. Last year, Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a Dhaka-based rights body, said in a monitoring report that at least 208

people were killed by law enforcement agencies. ASK observed that despite assurances from the government, state actors had been involved in killings in the name of crossfire, gunfights and encounters. The rights watchdog also expressed concerns about the rising number of deaths in police custody. On January 21, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the joint forces comprising mainly Police, RAB and BGB members were engaged in an operation against terrorists and criminals and that none of those involved in violence and crime would be spared. l

Bangladesh in al-Qaedas cross-hairs?

PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

Sheikh Jamal defeated in Kolkata

conspiracy in which the agents of India, the corrupt leadership of Pakistan Army, and treacherous power-hungry politicians of Bangladesh and Pakistan, who are always prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of fulfilling their ambitions and desires, were all equal participants. But, the real victim was the Muslim Ummah in the subcontinent generally, claims the video. It further says:The crimes that are being committed in Bangladesh today against the core beliefs of Islam, the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), and the Muslim Ummah are the only fruits of the rotten seeds sown by these criminals. Their purpose was not achieving independence from Pakistan, stopping the aggression against the people of Bangladesh, or getting rid of military rule in Pakistan. None of this was the real objective, even if these criminals took cover behind these slogans, parroted these lines and propagated this out of their malevolence or stupidity, or due to both. Claiming that independence of Bangladesh was a conspiracy of India and the Pakistan Army, Zawahiri says: The real purpose was weakening the Muslim Ummah in the subcontinent. It was to rip the Ummah into pieces, and bleed it to death by getting it entangled in mutual strife, regional conflicts and wars. What is taking place today in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Afghanistan is only a prelude to the execution of this evil plan, and the aforementioned criminals are the tools of the enemies of Islam in this vile conspiracy. Those who massacred the Muslims in Bangladesh only yesterday are the same people who are massacring the Muslims in Pakistan today. Bangladesh which they claimed to have won from Pakistan so that it may get its freedom is being turned into a subjugated surrogate of India, says the message. l
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may turn you into slaves of a despotic and disbelieving system. Though some parts of the message gives an idea that he was talking about the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders who are in jail and facing war crimes charges while some of them have already been awarded death sentence, he did not mention specifically about them. Similarly, the audio gives a sense that the al-Qaeda leader was talking about the propaganda of killing thousands of people after Hefazats May 5 rally at Motijheel. But Hefazats name was not mentioned specifically in the audio message. Qawmi madrasa-based Hefazat in a statement yesterday said they and the Islamic scholars had no relation with the audio message. Egyptian physician Zawahiri, born in 1951, is the leader of al-Qaeda. In 1993, al-Zawahiri travelled to the US, where he addressed several California mosques under his Abdul Muiz pseudonym.

The audio message said: O scholars of Islam in Bangladesh! You must fight an ideological and propagational war against the secularists and atheists to expose the shallowness of their beliefs and ideas. You must highlight in front of the masses their failures, scandals, and the blind alley they are leading this country into. At the same time, you must also elucidate the merits of the Shariah. You must shed light on the justice, freedom, glory, honour, chastity, and protection of ethics, values and human dignity which the Shariah calls for. Claiming that a massacre of Muslims was being carried out these days, and the Muslim world was totally oblivious to it, the message says: The western media is colluding with the killers to belittle its significance and hide the facts. This is the bloodbath taking place in Bangladesh, without the Muslims paying the least attention to it. Bangladesh is the victim of the

into anger. Replays clearly indicated they had every right to oppose the decision as it was a clear play-acting from the Mohammedan defender who was untouched by Norde. The drama was yet to begin as Santosh also cautioned Luciano not once, but twice during the brawl of the Jamal and Mohammedan players resulting in a send-off to the Brazilian as well. Sheikh Jamal dominated from their very first attack and emphasised on aerial crosses from the wings. They could have taken the lead on five minutes as Wedson skipped past two defenders to break into the penalty area, but his cut back deflected off a defender on to the keeper. A silly foul on Norde gifted Jamal a free-kick from 25 yards and he did what he does best to give his side the lead. The Haitian forward curled the freekick that sneaked in from the top left corner. Josimar outmuscled his marker seconds before the breather to find Wadoo unmarked who slotted home the

equaliser. Sohel Rana almost retained the lead four minutes into the second-half but the midfielder fired wide before Norde saw his scorching shot from 25-yards grasped by Mohammedan goalkeeper Luis Barreto in the 63rd minute. With two red cards and each side down to 10-man the game opened more in the last few minutes with Jamal continuing to mount pressure. In the 115th minute substitute Alli Amisu almost scored for the visitors but Barreto was once again up to his task producing an excellent fist away on his angular shot. Jamal coach Joseph Afusi earlier brought in goalkeeper Ziaur Rahman to replace Hemel. He also made another tactical change bringing in Alli Amisu for Emeka. Alli, however, frustrated Afusi by missing to convert in the tie-breaker. Wedson, Nasir and Yasin managed to convert from the spot for Jamal while Khanthang Paite, Manish, Nirmal and Mehraj scored for Mohammedan. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 16, 2014

EC rejects plea to change voter areas

n Mohammad Zakaria
The aspiring candidates of third- and fourth-phase upazila parishad polls would not be able to change their voter areas before the upcoming election, the Election Commission officials said yesterday. The EC turned down applications of the aspiring contestants who prayed for a transfer of their names on voter registration roll to those areas they were intending to contest from. In the last couple of days, over 100 applications were submitted to the EC for changing voter areas, a senior assistant secretary yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune. The official also said the aspirants submitted their applications to the commission, National Identity wing and respective election offices across the country. The Election Commission will not allow the ambitious contestants to change their voter areas and vie for the poll. The EC in this regard sent letters signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Mahfuza Akter to all district and upazila election officers, asking them not to transfer voters from one area to another till the end of upazila parishad polls. The commission took the decision considering the possibility of anomalies in voter roll. Meanwhile, the commission has already announced the schedule of fourth-phase upazila parishad poll of which the first two phases would be held on February 19 and 27. The EC is likely to announce soon the schedule of last phase upazila poll and complete the election race by March. It will start updating voter list from April next. The commission will hold the upazila parishad poll using the existing voter list which was used in the recently held 10th parliament poll. A record number of candidates of all political parties including Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami are competing in the poll. l

3RD 4TH PHASE UPAZILA POLLS

Ershad hesitant about JaPas role in parliament

n Manik Miazee
Jatiya Party Chairman and former military strongman HM Ershad has doubted his partys role as opposition in the current 10th parliament. He said yesterday it would have been better if the party had criticised the role of the government as opposition, not as an ally of the government. Like others, I too am hesitation over Jatiya Partys role as the opposition, Ershad said after attending annual sports of Banani Bidya Niketan in the capital. It would be better if the Jatiya Party did not join the cabinet, he said in response to a question whether the JaPa could simultaneously be pro-active being with the government and as the opposition. It would be appreciated if the people take the role of the Jatiya Party to evaluate the governments action, Ershad said. He also claimed that there was no internal feud in his party. For the next election, Ershad said he himself would give nominations. If anyone tries to stand in the way, it will be an unworthy attempt. l

Dhaka-New Delhi to form working group of MPs n Tribune Report

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury yesterday said a working group would be formed comprising members of parliamentary standing committees of Bangladesh and India. The working group will jointly work on cutting poverty, connectivity, women empowerment, disaster management, health, environment and other issues, she told journalists in India.

YET ANOTHER BLOW FOR LOCAL WILDLIFE

Padma Bridge to be completed in 3 years

n Tribune Report
Communications Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the main work on the much-awaited Padma Bridge project would be completed within three and a half years. The construction work on the main bridge will begin in June next while that on river training in July, he said. Obaidul gave the information to reporters after visiting Mawa-Jazira connecting road at Madbarchar in Shibchar thana. The minister said the construction of river protection dyke at Jazira point was at the last stage and the dyke at Mawa end would begin soon. Obaidul Quader who frequently visits road construction works across the country said the 5% work on Mawa connecting road and 22% on Jazira connecting road was completed. l

Politicians on both sides optimistic over initiative

The speaker said necessary steps would be taken to make functional the friendship committee of Bangladesh and India. Terming her visit to India successful, she said: I am going back to Bangladesh with the high hope that the valuable bond of relationship between the two countries would enhance, unresolved issues would be settled and cooperation would be further strengthened in the coming days. During the visit, Shirin met Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Speaker Meira Kumar and discussed in details the common issues between the two countries. She thanked India for making arrangements for Bangladesh to construct Rampal Power Plant and to supply power from Tripura to Bangladesh. Replying to a question, the speaker said democracy of Bangladesh was going on the right way. Non-participation of any political party in election will not hamper flourishing of democracy, she added. l

Ex-army man, 6 smugglers held n BSS

RAB arrested six people, including a retired army person and policeman, for their alleged involvement in gold and dollar smuggling, after an overnight raid at Savar yesterday. Rapid Action Battalions Media and Legal Wing Director ATM Habibur Rahman said the six were arrested from Savar Bazars kitchen market area yesterday. The arrestees are retired army person Rejaul Haque, ASI Fajiqul Islam, Miran Khan, Shamsul Haque, Sujan Sheikh and Sabur Mia, chairman of Bohria Union Parishad of Tangail district. l

Children pose with a dead fishing cat after killing the feline at Damkura area of Rajshahi. Although marked as one of the many endangered species in Bangladesh, the forestry department has failed to raise awareness among villagers to prevent such extinction DHAKA TRIBUNE

Trustworthiness of political leadership dips

PPRC launches report on good governance trend and perception
n Muhammad Zahidul Islam
More than three-fourths people think that trustworthiness of political leadership has deteriorated while only 5.6% people sees improvement, says a new survey report prepared by Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a think tank. However, Democracy International in a USAID-funded opinion poll recently said parliament is the most popular institution in the country when 83% people strongly like it as a political institution. While three major political parties enjoy support of 69%. The DI opinion poll results, released this month, says 32% people like the Awami League, 31% like the BNP while 6% like Jatiya Party (Ershad). The PPRC launched the report of its first series Bangladesh 2013: Governance Trends and Perception yesterday at the Bilia auditorium in the capital. Rehman Sobhan, chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue, and Akbar Ali Khan, a former adviser to a caretaker government, along with others unveiled the report. When some of the speakers criticised the PPRC report from different aspects, its Executive Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman defended their study claiming that economic development would not continue without good governance. If the GDP rises up to 20% it will fail if the government cannot provide dignity and security to the people. However, Rehman Sobhan said: You can never run a report without proper explanation. Figures do not mean anything if there is no justification with it. The PPRC claims: The political leadership has suffered the steepest decline in trustworthiness with which they are held by the citizens as institutions of government. The report states that 75.6% of the respondents had negative assessment compared to only 5.6% who were positive. As many as 17% people had an unchanged assessment. Former bureaucrat Akbar Ali Khan said though there were lots of criticisms inside the PPRC survey, at the same time, we need to find some indicators and this report can be an indicator. The World Bank also gives us some reports but that does not give us any indicator. It is a multinational corporation. We need our own data, information and indicators. Echoing Prof Sobhan, he said: The PPRC needs to explain the data. As per the PPRC findings, 71.2% respondents think the police service has deteriorated. It also says every three out of five people suffered criminal incidents, while 70.9% affected people never sought redress. The PPRC also found that 41% respondents did not seek remedy as their expectation about result was very low whereas some others think that it may invite fresh harassment to their life as they have no confidence on the law enforcement agencies. The report was prepared after surveying 500 households mainly in Dhaka last year. Another former adviser of a caretaker government, M Hafizuddin Khan, said the police had been involved in politics with other agencies seriously. He shared how he was mugged by criminals using government vehicle and the police remained reluctant despite being informed. According to the PPRC report, corruption in politics and bureaucracy was setback for the nation. The report says 55% of the government employees are taken from quotas, which should be cut down. The respondents said the state of rule of law and judiciary, and the performance of RAB also deteriorated. Lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan said: We always see the same statement from RAB when someone is found dead following arrest. It should be changed, or the force will lose the peoples respect. Farah Kabir said the society was also allowing crime through political and bureaucratic systems. Hossain Zillur said the PPRC would run this type of survey every year and those would be more advanced and pragmatic. Along with others, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Brac Dr Sultan Hafeez Rahman, formed caretaker advisers Hasan Arif and Maj Gen Manjur Kader, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder, former member of the Planning Commission Kazi Mezbahuddin also spoke at the programme. l

Abducted child rescued

Correspondent, n Our Sherpur
A child was rescued from Gozaripara village under Jhinaigati upazila of Sherpur district yesterday afternoon. He was originally abducted from Banani in the capital. Mohibul Islam Khan, additional police superintendent said the child had been brought to a house in the village 3-4 days ago after the abduction. On the tip-off, police rescued the child. The police also arrested one Khokon Mia in connection with the incident. According to sources, Khokon and the father of the child used to work together in the capital as masons. Khokon might have abducted the child over a family feud. l

4
n Ashif Islam Shaon
Two construction workers were killed, while two sustained injuries, when a protection wall collapsed on them at the capitals Uttar Badda area yesterday afternoon. The incident took place when they were working at the basement of a building beside Badda General Hospital around 2pm.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 16, 2014

2 construction workers die in underground wall collapse

workers who were near the edge of the basement. There were more four workers at the site, but they remained unhurt, injured Motaleb told the Dhaka Tribune. Several holes were dug near the wall to build pillars, which might also be responsible for the collapse, he opined. The collapsed wall was built just a month back. Badda police station officer-incharge said, ten doctors of the General Hospital own the 10-katha plot and were jointly constructing a six-storey building. We have picked up one Anwar Hossain, a sub-contractor of the building, and two construction supervisors for interrogation. We are trying to locate the whereabouts of the buildings owners, said the OC. However, residents in the area claimed the land was owned by a local named Mohsin and he, along with some doctors, were building a private hospital there. Meanwhile, a team from the Fire Service and Civil Defense visited the spot and searched for victims from beneath the rubble. No one was trapped under the wall. The collapse took place due to faulty construction. Besides, the workers were not wearing any safety gears, Md Rafiqul Islam, assistant director of the fire service, told Dhaka Tribune. Police said a case will be filed in this connection and the owners and detainees will be interrogated. l

The collapse took place due to faulty construction. Besides, the workers were not wearing any safety gears
The deceased were identified as Abdul Jalil, 32, and Md Aslam, 35. Both Jalil and Aslam died on spot while Abdul Motaleb, 50, and Saddam Hossain sustained injures in the incident. The injured were rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital after the incident. The workers were working around 10 feet beneath the surface. A temporary 10 inch-wide wall was built around the basement so that mud cannot slide in. Suddenly, a portion of the walls western end wall collapsed on the

Firefighters and locals dig into the rubbles of a collapsed wall in search of victims at he capitals Uttar Badda area yesterday

BANGLAR CHOKH

Singra BNP observes half-day strike n Our Correspondent, Natore

A half-day hartal was observed yesterday in Singra upazila of the district demanding the disclosure of the whereabouts of BNPs Organising Secretary Ibrahim Khalil Fatik, who was alledgedly kidnapped by plainclothes police from High Court area recently. The hartal was observed from 6am to 12pm and a rally was also held at the Singra Bazar area. Upazila BNP President Abul Kalam Azad, Secretary Majibar Rahman and Joint Secretary Dauder Mahmud spoke at the rally, among others. Speakers blamed the government for Ibrahims kidnaping from the High Court area as the court premises remains heavily guarded with law enforcers always. They demanded the disclosure of their leaders whereabouts soon. Ibrahim Khalil Fatik was alledgedly kidnapped on February 10 afternoon when he was coming out from the High Court after receiving bail on upazila Awami League leader Fazlar Rahman Fanu murder case. A group identifying themselves as plainclothes police had picked him up but since then there was no trace of him, sources claimed. l

Call to ensure press freedom

n Mohammad Atiqur Rahman
A seminar was held yesterday in the city with a call to ensure press freedom in the country. News Network and The Media Project hosted the seminar titled Key Challenges for Media Freedom in Bangladesh at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital. The discussants, in their addresses, focused on freedom of the press and challenges facing the journalists. Farid Hossain, former Bureau Chief of the Associated Press in Dhaka, Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, advisory editor of The Financial Express, and Syed Badrul Ahsan, executive editor of the Daily Star, addressed the seminar. In his address, Zaglul said: When the question of freedom of the press comes, one rightly wonders whose freedom it is all about. He also spoke of the interference from the owners of the media houses both in print and electronic media. Syed Badrul Ahsan also echoed the barriers, adding that writing anything against Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus might cost ones job. Saiful Huda, chief news Editor of SATV, shared the experiences of having phone calls from the government asking to remove reports. Huda pointed to one of the obstacles, saying, We cant write anything against RAB. situation. In 2013, Bangladeshs position was 144 of 179 countries which were in dangerous category, in 2012 it was 129 of 179 countries, and in 2011 the rank was 144 of 179 countries termed noticeable. While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Dr Arne H Fjeldstad, CEO of The Media Project, USA, said, religious issues should be treated in the media in a nonprovocative way. Media must give everyone the right to be heard. Mind it, you are not political, you are a journalist, added Fjeldstad. Farid Hossain said political and religious extremism would emerge if election like January 5 takes place in future. The speakers also talked about the guarantee of the journalists security while interviewing a lawmaker like Shamim Osman. Journalists from both print and electronic media attended the seminar while Shahiduzzaman, editor and CEO of the News Network, moderated the programme chaired by Dr Arne H Fjeldstad. l

Protest rally called against Rampal power plant

n Tribune Report
The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports has called for countrywide protest rallies, including in the capital, for February 26 to press home their seven point demands and cancellation of the 1,320MW coal-fired Rampal power plant project. The announcement came from a press conference held at Mukti Bhaban auditorium in the capitals Purana Paltan yesterday. Kollol Mustafa, a member of the citizens platform, in a written statement said: The government has been ignoring the public demand for cancelling the Rampal power plant project which will destroy the biodiversity of the Sundarbans. He alleged that the government was protecting the interests of local and international land grabbers rather than the environmental threats. Indian company NTPC is implementing the project violating the law of their country and as a result, [Bangladeshi] people have to buy electricity in higher price to provide more profits for them, he said. Among others, Convener of the organisation Sheikh Mohammad Shahidullah and member Ruhin Hossain were present at the programme. The national committee in September last year observed a long march demanding annulment of the power project, situated on the bank of Pashur River, in Bagerhat. The prime minister inaugurated the construction of the plant in early October. Speakers at the press conference said the government had chosen a dangerous path for the benefit of land grabbers under the pretext of mitigating power crisis. Apart from halting the Rampal project, their other demands include cancelling the agreements of quick rental power, setting up new plants under the government arrangement and renovating the state-owned power plants and enacting a law for banning export of mineral resources. l

In 2013, Bangladeshs position was 144 of 179 countries which were in' dangerous' category, in 2012 it was 129 of 179 countries, and in 2011 the rank was 144 of 179 countries termed 'noticeable'
However, according to the international media watchdog, Reporters Sans Frontirs (RSF)'s World Press Freedom Index 2014, Bangladesh stands in 146 among 180 countries facing difficult

1st round of Bangladesh Kazi Shahid Ahmed unveils autobiography Mathematics Olympiad ends n
Rabiul Islam

WEATHER

Tazlina Zamila Khan

Rain or thundershowers likely n UNB

Rain or thundershowers is likely to occur at a few places over Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions until 6pm today. Night and day temperature may fall slightly over the country. The sun sets in the capital at 5:54pm today and rises at 6:30am tomorrow. Countrys highest temperature 30.5 degrees Celsius was recorded yesterday in Sitakunda and lowest 11.0 degrees in Sreemangal. Highest and lowest temperature recorded in some major cities yesterday were: City Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Coxs Bazar High 24.2 28.5 20.5 16.8 27.0 27.2 17.4 28.8 Low 17.5 15.5 14.5 13.1 16.0 14.6 15.3 16.0

Out of the 1,055 students coming from 22 districts, around 70 emerged from the 12th Bangladesh Mathematics Olympiad yesterday to make their way to participate in the 55th International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO). The result was announced at capitals Saint Joseph School. From the selected, around 30 will be part of camp to be held in seven divisions across the country from March 12. For SSC candidates, a separate camp will start from March 28. Based on performance, 12 participants will finally be selected for an extension campaign to be held in May from which around five best candidates will be selected to contest in the IMO to be held from July 3-12 in South Africa. It is a thrill to come first, I cannot express my feelings in words, said Nur Mohammad Safiullah, a student of Dhaka College who secured the first position and achieved the Champions

of the Champions award by obtaining the highest mark (81 out of 100) under the higher secondary category. The competition was tough, so one must take the preparations for 4-5 months to get selected, he added. Winners were awarded in four categories- primary, junior, secondary and higher secondary-with certificates, medals and crests for grabbing positions of first, first runnerup, second runnersup and champion of the champions. Samiul Bashar, a student of Scholars School and College, said: I love math. Losing the competition will not stop me from practicing math. I have learnt a lot of things which will help me in future. Some of the winners were awarded prize bonds of Tk8,000-Tk12,000 under memorial awards including Jamal Nazrul Islam memorial prize, Lutfur Rahman memorial prize, and SojolKajol memorial prize. Under the Rubiks Cube competition, three students received crests for solving questions within shortest time. l

Jiboner Shilalipi, an autobiography by Kazi Shahid Ahmed, chairman of Gemcon Group, was unveiled at Bangla Academy Auditorium in the capital yesterday. At the launching ceremony, many eminent citizens applauded his art of expression, choice of words and depiction of his real life, and hoped that readers would find many issues in the book regarding society, politics and economy. The ceremony was attended by Education Secretary Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, Professor Rafiqul Islam, Professor Jahanara Begum, Columnist Syed Abul Maksud, Samakal Editor Golam Sarwar, Kaler Kantha Editor Imdadul Haque Milon, Litterateur Debesh Roy from India, Public Administration Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and Publisher of The Dhaka Tribune Kazi Anis Ahmed, among others. Professor Rafiqul Islam said it is difficult to frankly express everything of somebodys real life but Kazi Shahid has done it in an honest manner. Syed Abul Maksud said the new generation would be able to learn a lot

Kazi Shahid Ahmed poses for a photograph during the launch of his autobiography Jiboner Shilalipi at Bangla Academy Auditorium yesterday RAJIB DHAR from his book. Kazi Shahid has disclosed himself openly, which is very rare. The readers can learn about society, politics and economics from his book, he added. Samakal Editor Golam Sarwar said: Kazi Shahid has openly disclosed the poverty of his ancestral family during his childhood. He has also introduced a new kind of newspaper through publishing Ajker Kagoj, a daily Bengali newspaper. So far I have read the book, it seems to me that the book is extraordinary, Imdadul Haque Milon observed. The launching ceremony also witnessed the performances of Sadi Muhammad and Amina Ahmed. The book has been published by Agamir Prokashoni. l

PSC scholarship to be awarded today n Tribune Report

The awardees for the Primary Scholarship Award 2013 will be announced today. Based on the results of Primary School Certificate examinations last year, around 22,000 students would be awarded under the talent-pool category while around 33,000 students would be awarded under the general category. Mass education Minister Mostafizur Rahman will announce the result at the secretariat around 12:30pm. l

Ganajagaran Mancha demands punishment of its martyrs

n Tribune Report
Youths platform Ganajagaran Mancha has urged the government to immediately arrest and try the people who were responsible for the killings of its activists including blogger Ahmed Razib Haider. The demand was raised at a programme yesterday organised to pay respect to Razib Haider and other martyrs who demanded capital punishment of all war criminals and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islamis politics, reports BSS. The platform emerged on February 5 last year demanding the highest punishment to Abdul Quader Molla. On February 15, the 10th day of the non-stop movement, miscreants killed Bolger Razib near his Mirpur house. Spokesperson of the organisation Imran H Sarkar said the sacrifices of all martyrs including Agrani Bank liftman Zafar Munshi had proved the mass peoples involvement with the movement. l

Factory, shops gutted

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong
A shoe factory was gutted in a fire incident at the Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in the city yesterday. Md Jashim Uddin, deputy assistant director (DAD) of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters told the Dhaka Tribune that the fire had originated from an electric short circuit in a warehouse of Sheng Tseng Enterprise Company Ltd, a Taiwanese shoe factory, at 12:55pm and engulfed the adjacent area soon. On information, firefighters from Agrabad, Bandar and EPZ Fire Stations went to the spot and doused the fire at 2:05pm with a lot of effort. The losses in the incident could not be estimated till filing this report. Meanwhile, another fire originated from an electric short circuit at a shop in Marium Nagar Bazar area engulfed the adjoining 15 shops at around 1am. Firefighters from Rangunia Fire Station went to the spot and doused the fire at 3:15am. Valuables worth about Tk 12 lakh were gutted in the fire. l

PRAYER TIMES
Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha 5:15am 6:30am 12:13am 4:18pm 5:54pm 7:10pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Poor drainage a headache for Hazaribagh locals

The residents of the capitals Hazaribagh area continue to suffer from the long-running troubles of ineffective drains and potholed roads in the area, allegedly because of negligence from authorities concerned. During a recent visit to the area, the Dhaka Tribune found many roads to be in dilapidated shape because of haphazard digging of the roads for installing sewage lines of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa). Ataur Rahman, a resident of the Ambia Mosque Market area, said although the sewage project had been completed by Wasa around six months ago, the repairing of the dug roads was yet to begin. The slabs covering the drains in the area were also found to be broken; Ataur claimed faulty construction by the contractors had caused the slabs to crack within months of being constructed. Admitting to the dismal condition of the drains in Hazaribagh, Chief Engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Zahangir Alam told the Dhaka Tribune: The drains in Hazaribagh were made about 100 years back. From current perspective, their condition is not good. We have tried to widen the drains in the area, but it created difficulties as the roads had cracked because of the digging for drain space, he added. Zahangir said the city corporation was ready to widen roads and drains if the locals agreed to provide land on both sides of the existing roads. But the real problem is no one wants to sacrifice their own land, he added. Although the populace in Hazaribagh has grown exponentially and the number of tanneries has increased, there has not been adequate revamp of the roadside drains in the areas, locals alleged. The inadequate drainage system also causes water to become clogged in

Artworks of 2 local artists selected for Facilities cannot keep up with rising demands; government at loggerheads with local businesses Unesco exhibition n UNB n Abu Hayat Mahmud Artworks of Rokeya Sultana and Kanak
Chanpa Chakma, two eminent women artists from Bangladesh, have been selected for exhibition at Unesco Headquarters in Paris. Unesco Director General Irina Bokova will inaugurate the exhibition on March 7. The exhibition will remain open to public till March 21. The exhibition is being organised jointly by Unesco and its member states to celebrate the International Womens Day on March 8, said a Foreign Ministry media release issued yesterday. The theme of this years celebration is Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls. The artworks of Rokeya Sultana and Kanak Chanpa Chakma have been selected to represent the Asia-Pacific region. Their artworks will be displayed alongside artworks of seven other renowned artists from Ajerbaijan, Bolivia, Benin, Bulgaria, Canada, Peru and Russia.l

Students lock CU department, journo assaulted n FM Mizanur Rahaman

A recent photo shows workers repairing the drainage line of a road in the capitals Hazaribagh area. Although the sewerage project had been completed by Wasa around six months ago, the repairing of the depleted roads was yet to begin MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU the area during rainy season, resulting in breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The situation has worsened as over 200 tanneries in the area wash, dry and process raw hide inside factories and on open areas, causing even more blockage in the drains. The chemical and liquid wastes of the tanneries also regularly overflow from the narrow drains, causing health hazards for the locals as well as engulfing the area with an unbearable stench. Despite repeated calls by locals and different environmental rights bodies, the move to relocate tanneries from the capital to Savar has remained suspended for a decade, because of disagreements between the authorities and tannery owners over who should bear the cost of the move. After a public interest litigation was lodged, the High Court in June 2009 asked the government to relocate the tanneries from Dhaka to a proposed leather estate at Harindhara, Savar by February 28, 2010 or face shutdowns. The government has repeatedly sought more time. l The students of the Computer Science and Engineering Department of Chittagong University yesterday put the classrooms, including that of the department chair, under lock and key demanding that the authorities hold their long-awaited yearly examinations in no time. Campus sources said the agitated third year students of CSE Department of the 2009-2010 session shut down the rooms around 11am to press home their demand. The department is yet to take any steps to hold our examinations although 22 months have elapsed, said Saiful Alam Saif, a third year student of the department. On information, police and the proctorial team rushed to the spot and managed to open the locks around 1pm assuring the students of necessary measures to hold exams immediately. Dr Khairul Alam, chairman of the CSE Department, could not be reached for comments on the issue. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Chhatra League activists harassed Sakerul Haque Toru, university correspondent of the daily Inqilab, physically while covering the incident. Professor Siraj Uddowla, proctor of the university, said they had received a verbal complaint from the newsman and were looking into the matter. l

115th birth anniversary of Jibanananda tomorrow n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Barisal city, the ancestral home of poet Jibanananda Das, is all set to observe his 115th birth anniversary on Monday. Jibanananda was born on February 17 in 1899 in a Vaidya-Brahmin family in the small district town of Barisal, To mark the day, the Barisal branch of the Jatiya Kabita Parishad will organise a programme at Poet Jibanananda Memorial Hall built at Jibananandas parental home situated on the Kabi Jibanananda Das Sarak, a road that was named after the poet in 2008. Barisal B M College, the college where the poet studied, will hold a day-long festival on campus featuring discussions on the life, works and achievements of the poet. Professor Fazlul Huq, principal of the college would be present as the chief guest at the festival. He said a festival observance committee had been formed in this regard headed by Professor Shah Sajeda. A cultural programme would be held in the morning. Singers Maqsud, Kafil Ahmed, and two bands, Sohojia and Chitkar, would perform in the latter segment in the afternoon, said Abdullah Mahfuz, one of the organisers of the festival. Jibanananda Das is best known as the poet of Ruposhi Bangla and is the creator of Banalota Sen, an unparallel character embodying all facets of a Bengali beauty. Contemporary poets and other artists also sent a message of rememberance to all concerned and said that other events will also be hosted soon to remember the great poet. They also announced severa book launches to mark the occaision l

JU teachers demand reformation of senate body

n JU Correspondent
A section of Jahangirnagar University teachers yesterday demanded reconstitution of the universitys present senate body before holding of the vice chancellor panel election, which is scheduled for Thursday. The teachers, under the banner Muktijuddho O Progotibadi Chetonay Biswasi Shikkhokder Jote, also demanded changing the legal procedure to elect a new senate before the VC panel election. Sajed Ashraf Karim, a former dean of the social science faculty, presented the demands at a press conference held at the teachers lounge of the new arts faculty in the afternoon. The validity of some 63 senate members of the university has expired. Avoiding this serious issue, the [VC] election schedule has been declared to protect the interest of a particular party, which is clearly a perfect example of partiality, the professor claimed, reading out from a written statement. The Muktijuddho Jote, consisting of pro-Awami League and left leaning teachers, also called for following the university act properly in holding the VC panel poll in a credible manner. After months of agitation by a group of teachers forced ex-VC Anwar Hossain to resign last month, JU Chancellor President Abdul Hamid ordered a new VC panel election to be held within a month with the incumbent senate. Following the chancellors order, acting VC MA Matin scheduled the next VC election for February 20. Sixty-three of the senates 93 members ended their tenures at various times over the past one year. Out of the 30 remaining members, 10 are government appointed. According to JU rules, former senate members can participate in university elections until their successors are named, but many believe the practice to be unethical. Some teachers also criticised the presidents directive to hold the VC election within 30 days. The president cannot issue such a directive in a self-ruling institution. This is a violation of the constitution of the country and the university act, claimed A T M Atikur Rahman, a professor of history. Nasim Akter Hossain, convenor of Shikkhok Shomaj, said if necessary, the left-leaning teachers group would launch a movement and go to court on the issue. l

Chhatra League men assault journalist

n Our Correspondent, Barisal
Chhatra League activists allegedly attacked a journalist of daily Samakal yesterday for publishing a report on terrorist activities of the group in Barisal on Saturday. The victim is Moniruzzaman Monir, Gournadi upazila correspondent of the daily Samakaland former president of the Gournadi press club. He was admitted to the Gournadi upazila health complex. The criminals also vandalised election camps of a BNP candidate for the upazila poll. Firoz Sardar, an activist of Chhatra League was arrested in this connection. Witnesses said Monir came under the attack while supervising work at his business near the Gournadi bus stand around 1:30 pm. A group of criminals led by Jobayerul Islam Santu Bhuiya, secretary of Gournadi Government College Unit of Chhatra League had mercilessly beaten up journalist Monir leaving him injured, they said. Jobayerul is anaccused in a murder case who was out on a bail, said police Shouting out bad words, the Chhatra League men accused the journalist for publishing exaggerated and fabricated news on terrorist activities of Chhtra League. The shop of Monir was ransacked and two construction workers were also injured in the attack. Monir lodged a case with Gournadi police station accusing ten including five BCL men by name. BNP leader and former lawmaker Zahiruddin Swapan condemned the attack and demanded punishment to the attackers. l

Math festival held in city

n Tribune Report
The Seventh National Aloha Abacus & Mental Arithmetic Festival 2014 was held on Friday at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in the capitals Mirpur. Bishwa Sahitya Kendra Chairman Abdullah Abu Sayeed, who was the chief guest at the programme, advised students who took part in the math competition to dream big for making their own lives as well the country beautiful. Our future will be beautiful if our childhood and teenage life is beautiful. If we want to build a beautiful nation, we have to beautify our childhood and teenage life, he said. Airtel Bangladesh Chief Service Officer Rubaba Dowla and Akij Food & Beverage Ltd Deputy General Manager Md Shafiqul Islam Tushar were present at the function as special guests. Loh Mun Sung, founder of Aloha International, was also present at the function. The program was associated by Frutika mango drink as prime sponsor,

Winners of 7th National Aloha Abacus & Mental Arithmetic Festival 2014 pose for a photograph at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Fresh milk powder as platinum sponsor, Novoair, Igloo ice cream & Al-Hassan Diamond Gallery as gold sponsor. The strategic partner was Pressmeet. Aloha Mental Arithmetic is an internationally recognized training programme that has benefitted over five million students in 27 different countries including the USA, Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan and Philippines. Aloha Bangladesh is the first company to bring internationally recognized and accepted Aloha Mental Arithmetic program from Malaysia to Bangladesh for the total brain development for children aged between four and 14. l

Mismanagement rife at Gazipur correctional centre

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur
Parents of teenagers detained at the Gazipur Juvenile Correctional Centre have claimed that most of the time, they had to wait for hours to see their children due to the alleged mismanagement and negligence of suspended supervisor Anwarul Kabir. I had to wait two to three hours for getting permission before meeting my child. Most of the time I returned home without seeing my son, said Ali Akbar of Sripur upazila in Gazipur district. Ali said his son had made several allegations of torture against the supervisor, who would often badmouth the parents and torture them mentally. Ali also claimed that his son was accused in false cases. A businessman at College Gate near the correctional facility, who asked his name not be used, said, Parents of the teenagers could be seen waiting and standing before the gate for hours. Some would be crying while returning home. Meanwhile, a five-member committee formed by High Court on Thursday has started probing the reported mismanagement at the centre. The committee, headed by Gazipur Additional Deputy Commissioner Shahnawaz Dilruba Khan, is expected to submit a report within seven working days. After visiting the centre yesterday as part of the investigation, Director General of the Department of Social Services Aiyub Hossain said the teenagers, who had wounded themselves with razors, were undergoing treatment at the centre provided by a medical team from Tongi Government Hospital. We are taking care of the injured regularly, said Gazipur Civil Surgeon Dr Shah Alam. I have never heard of such an incident at the centre before. The teenage inmates have received treatment from Tongi Government Hospital many times before. We usually took them to the hospital when they caught fever or cold, the doctor said. Ziaur Rahman Chowdhury, the present supervisor in charge, said, The injured are fine now. The matter was informed to higher authorities. About 20 boys, aged between 14 and 18, slashed their own foreheads, arms and wrists on Tuesday night to demand the removal of acting supervisor Anwarul Kabir for allegedly torturing the inmates, most of whom are under trial for various rimes. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Feature

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Cycling for recycling

Bangladeshi bikers take their cause to the United States

COURTESY

n Syeda Samira Sadeque

nspiration its a matter of time, as long as you are persistent with your purpose. You cannot get it from anyone else unless you have it within you, unless you want to change something, he said. I am sitting at a Dhanmondi cafe with Muntasir Mamun, recipient of the World Bank backed Connect4Climate prize. He is a man of myriad identities: researcher, climber, hiker, and photographer. Professionally, he currently works for the flight department at the Korean organisation Young One in Dhaka. But his most interesting identity is that of the biker who crossed the United States to raise awareness about climate change.

Over a cup of coffee, he delves into the details of his trip. Muntasir and his biking partner Mohammad Ujjal began their trip to the US in May 2012. They set out on a 66 day trip that would cover 3,446 miles across 12 states: Washington, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wyoming, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, and ending in Washington, DC. Upon completion of their tour, Muntasir and Ujjal received the Connect4Climate Special Prize in the Voices4Climate competition, and Muntasir was declared an International Climate Leader by The Climate Reality Project. Launched by the World Bank, the Italian Ministry of Environment, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in collaboration with more than 140 global partners in September 2011, C4C is now a global partnership programme dedicated to climate change communications. Muntasir had years of experience in both research and biking, and decided to use it to raise awareness in the US and in turn, to benefit Bangladesh. The first question here is: Why the United States? It is because they have the highest per capita plastic consumption in the world, and that effects us all the way over here in Bangladesh. Why? Because plastic-based products require a lot of water and energy, he said. Muntasir developed a phone application called Trash Maniac. If anyone sees recyclable material that has been discarded, he or she can check it in

Why the US? Because they have the highest per capita plastic consumption in the world, and that effects us all the way over here in Bangladesh
COURTESY

on the app, which notes the location where the material was found. This allows local collectors to track the location of recyclable goods and increase the efficiency of their system, Muntasir said. He used this app during his American cross-country journey. Muntasir had been planning this trip since 2008, but faced difficulties with his visa. The first time I was denied the visa, I went to biking in Brazil instead, he said. Then I went to Mexico for two months, and Australia for two months. He also spent time in Egypt and Europe biking. In 2011, he was invited for a conference in Hawaii to present his paper on marine debris a research he had been

in involved with for eight years, but was denied a visa for the third time. Nothing is the end of the world for me. When I got rejected, I went to Kashmir, for a winter trek on the Chadar river. While it was frozen over. Upon his return from Kashmir, he was notified that his US visa was ready to be picked up. At last he embarked for the trip that helped make history. He and his partner were the first Muslims and South Asians to complete a crosscountry biking tour. Before I went, I had posted on a lot of blogs regarding my travel plans. Many would respond by saying: If you are going all the way to the US, why work with waste? He laughed. But I always maintained that I am doing this

thing, and it shouldnt only be about me and for me. It should be for a greater purpose. During his time in the US, he along with the cause he was working for was welcomed warmly and much appreciated. The people were also very hospitable, with few families even offering the duo shelters. They did not have reservations about accepting offers from strangers. Of course we went! We had nothing to lose! Reflecting on the Bangladeshi populations lack of interest in curbing our basic problem of littering, he said: This problem will continue. But you go forward in your own way. The way I did. I didnt need an army for what I did, I just went ahead and did it. l

The startup story

A local documentary highlights emerging tech businesses

National Robotics Festival 2014

uity of their company, and get not only monetary funding, but also an invaluable rolodex of contacts and priceless experience and knowledge, says Samad Miraly, investor at Empty Ventures. The film itself raised funds through a campaign in Indiegogo, an international platform where people from anywhere in the world with access to international payments options can contribute to finance a project, where it raised an amount that exceeded 6% of their initial target. Crowd funding on the Internet is yet to receive popularity in our country but traditional crowd funding where we seek money from our relatives and friends has been and continues to be practiced. Samads take on such funding is simple. Theres more to funding startups than just money. You also need people with expert opinions to guide you in the initial stages of starting out which is not available through crowd funding. A student from American International UniversityBangladesh explains the Falcon Drone, a low-cost drone he and his team produced that can be sent to places where humans cannot go in certain circumstances. For example, this robot can reach inside a building on fire to detect the presence of human life Last week at National Sports Council, Paltan, Dhaka

n Tasnuva Amin Nova

Home to a large and growing group of tech-savvy youngsters, Bangladesh is gradually becoming a major startup hub. The scene is particularly exciting in the capital, where the use of Internet is growing at an exponential rate. To highlight this brewing culture, as well as to encourage and inspire locals to become entrepreneurs, organisers of last Novembers StartupBashBD produced a film entitled Startup Dhaka through which the films director Mustafiz Khan wanted to draw global attention to the countrys steps towards technology-based entrepreneurship.

Bangladesh, however, the ratio is comparatively impressive. Through this film, I have deliberately focused more on women in the field. For example, they interview the founders of Maya, the first Bangladeshi website entirely dedicated to women, expressing the need for more encouragement and contribution from the society to empower women.

Feature presentation

Md Fahad Ifaz, co-founder of Amarcv. com, comments on the film: At first I did not know what to expect from Startup Dhaka, but after it came out, getting featured seemed more than just a cool thing. In fact, it was an organised effort to document the issues that startles any new business, the motivation and the story behind every little dream. Amarcv.com is a web-based platform where fresh graduates or any job seeker can create their CVs by simply entering required information on a step-by-step process. The idea first came to the founders mind from his observation of his relatives and friends facing difficulty in making their CVs. Among other pioneering enterprises featured in the film are Amar Desh Amar Gram, a website that links rural farmers and urban consumers, Chaldal, an online grocery store and Dugdugi, a website for listening to and downloading Bangla songs. Mustafiz addresses the act that there are only a handful of women entrepreneurs in the film. Tech startups have globally been a male-dominated sector and there is no logical explanation of why this is. In

The story of possibilities, as they refer the film, showcases the positive expectations about Bangladeshi entrepreneurship to the world
Show me the money
There are innovative entrepreneurs building inspiring business models in Bangladesh, who can disrupt industries at a global scale, like NewsCred, says Fayaz Taher, an angel investor currently based in Bangladesh. Newscred is a leading startup founded in Bangladeshi that recently raised $25m in investment. Through this film, the founders say they have tried to not only create awareness and inspire entrepreneurship, but also show the pathway to start a business, starting from getting financed. It introduces sources of funds which are quite new to Bangladesh, despite expressing concern about the lack of trust and regulatory framework needed to establish a formal angel network in Bangladesh. Angel investment is a viable funding option for startups in Bangladesh, where startups can find an angel or a group of angels here to purchase eq-

The patriots

Founders of Startup Dhaka dream of creating a better Bangladesh for all through entrepreneurship. In the future, they want to explore local ventures, which will not be restricted to technology startups only. With 160 million people and over 100 million mobile subscribers, Bangladesh is the ideal destination for innovation, and our ideas will soon turn into businesses that will accelerate our economic growth, said the first-time director. The story of possibilities, as they refer the film, showcases the positive expectations about Bangladeshi entrepreneurship to the world. This leaves only one option for the youth: to believe in their ideas, and get started. Mustafiz adds: We wanted this to be a voice saying: We are here to help you with your dreams. l

The number of female participants at the festival was inspiring, although there were far fewer women visitors. But the command the robotics ladies showed over their machines was something to celebrate
PHOTOS: NASHIRUL ISLAM

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Career

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Opportunities calling: The world of Chartered Accounting

Insights to succeed and prosper at the increasingly popular field in Bangladesh
n Nakibul Hoq and Naiian Yazdani
Today, a nations prosperity in the global village is achieved through trade and commerce. As the proverbial walls have been torn down between nations, the ability to access products, services and investments between nations has eased. In this world, the integrity and quality of the finance function are paramount to achieving prosperity. In this backdrop, professional accountants have become a sought-after breed. Today accountants are not just bookkeepers. They are managers, analytical thinkers and high self-monitors complemented by sincerity and dedication. They form a collective group of highly talented global professionals who can reach their utmost potentials through their hard work and self-improvement. Their importance cannot be understated, because these bearers of integrity leave their imprint across all large organisations both in Bangladesh and abroad. A Chartered Accountant (CA) in Bangladesh, like the rest of his peers all across the globe, is highly sought after not only by accountancy firms but also by MNCs, listed companies, public taxation departments and financial institutions. The plethora of options for CAs are one of its biggest attractions, and unrivalled by any other industry. If you wish, you can be a management consultant helping strategise the direction of the business. At other times, you will be an independent auditor examining financial statements at the end of the companys an accounting major at the undergraduate level in order to become a successful CA. According to AF Nesaruddin, FCA and Partner at Hoda Vasi Chowdhury and Co: You dont have to necessarily be a degree holder in accounting. You can be a finance, economics or any other business major, or even a mathematics student. What is more important is the ambition and the discipline. Once you have entrenched these qualities inside you, theres nothing to stop you from becoming a chartered accountant. As a career with extremely high growth potential in todays modern world, chartered accountancy can open horizons for you that not many other professional degrees can. Do expect to work hard though. To flourish in this sector, first you need to pass the chartered accountancy exams administered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB). You will have to work at entry-level positions in recognised chartered accountancy firms like Hoda Vasi Chowdhury and Co, KPMG Bangladesh etc. It is only then, once you have done your time with due diligence, that you will be equipped to reach the top echelons and have success. Next week we will be featuring an in depth analysis of the accountancy profession examining why young graduates are increasingly interested in pursuing this career through an interview with AF Nesaruddin. l Nakibul Hoq is a Research Analyst at GradConnect, an international career information and advisory firm. You can email him at nakib@grad-connect.com. Naiian Yazdani is the Director of Strategy at GradConnect. You can email him at naiian@ grad-connect.com and find more career information at www.grad-insights.com and www.grad-connect.com.

BIGSTOCK

fiscal year. These options are derived from the ability of CAs to see the business from a micro perspective with inbuilt analytical cognition. CAs in Bangladesh are used by companies in their top-level management. They serve as financial controllers, chief financial officers, internal auditors, finance directors, chief accountants, vice presidents and even CEOs. They also serve on the boards of directors of companies not just because of their image as trustworthy, sincere and dedicated professionals but also for the insight they bring into the business process. After all, if you are a chartered accountant, you have already set your bar of expectations from others at extremely high levels. To become a CA is not simply a

You dont have to necessarily be a degree holder in accounting. What is more important is the ambition and the discipline
choice; rather, one has to pass a rigorous examination process combined with practical experience. It will require commitment, self-improvement and technical accounting skills to pass through a chartered accountancy exam in Bangladesh. One of the toughest exams administered in this country, it re-

quires a blend of many positive virtues. You must be quick and neat with what you do, and your analytical skills must always be better than those beside you. You have to be able to cope with extremely complex problems, tight deadlines and must always see things through until the end. Most importantly, you have to be ambitious, practical and dedicated. Once you set the bar this high for yourself and start working to achieve that ceiling, nothing can hinder you. The rewards after you pass the exams and become an established professional will be well worth the sacrifice. Have we mentioned the financial rewards? The compensation package you receive will be more fulfilling and lucrative than anything else!

The opportunities will also follow, and casting an eye across Bangladesh, we have seen CAs serving as elected members of the National Parliament and as ministers. Mohammad Saifur Rahman, the longest serving Finance Minister of Bangladesh, was a Chartered Accountant and one of the founders of Rahman Rahman Huq (currently KPMG Bangladesh), a premier accounting firm of the country. AHM Mustafa Kamal, currently Planning Minister for the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and elected representative of Comilla-10, is an FCA besides being the President and CEO of the Bangladeshi conglomerate Lotus Kamal Group. One misconception that needs to be cleared is that one does not need to be

How my UWC experience at Waterford Kamhlaba shaped my worldview

n Itmum Momin
As I landed at the tiny airport, the heavens opened up and I was drenched before I could find a taxi. On my way to my new home, I spent the entire ride staring out of the window, waiting for the next awe-inspiring bolt of lightning in an otherwise grey, cloudy sky. The dancing lightning with the backdrop of the lush hills and mountains made for a spectacular view. The only reason I looked away was because the taxi driver informed me that lightning often kills people here in Swaziland. Wonderful, I muttered under my breath, Just had to pick the UWC in Africa! A little backstory: I was offered a scholarship to Waterford Kamhlaba, the United World College located in Swaziland, Southern Africa. I accepted the offer without hesitation. People gave me strange responses, the most common of which was Oh youre going to Switzerland to study! After clarifying that it was Swaziland, which is a tiny kingdom in Southern Africa, the usual response was, Why in the world are you going to Africa? I did not pay much attention to them. I had wanted to go to a UWC since the 8th grade in Sunbeams and when the opportunity came, I did what I could to seize it. I was going to go to Africa, a country where HIV is prevalent in almost half the population! A far off country in a strange land where I was told people would speak weird languages! At the end of my journey, as I sat on top of the Waterford Mountain and gazed upon what had been my home for the last two years, I realised that all those things were true. I was indeed in Africa. So what? Africa is not a country. It is a continent comprising various countries. The traditions of each of these nations are quite different. The languages they speak (Siswati, Shona, Zulu, etc.) did indeed sound strange to me, but then again, so does Spanish, French, Dutch, and German. The people I met in this school changed my life forever. I was going to school with people from over 50 different nationalities! I was immersed in a sea of different cultures and I did my best to enjoy all of them while holding on to my own. Each of us looked at the same thing in different ways and took different approaches to the same problem. We did not necessarily agree or see eye to eye on everything but because of my experience, I now have a tolerance and respect of how different people have different perspectives.

Doing the money-talk right

n Ahsan Sajid
Negotiating your salary is the first task that you will be doing at the job you are about to embark on, and as far as tasks go this is an extremely tricky one for veterans as much as it is for fresh graduates. There are a number of aspects to watch out for, such as maintaining the right attitude, not making promises that cannot be kept or not getting emotional. While negotiating salary is not easy work for any individual, following are a few tips to do it in a sophisticated and professional manner. Be confident: The good thing about an employer-employee relationship, unlike other relationships, is that there is a contract and both parties arrive at a mutually agreed upon expectation from one another. There is no reason to be shy as many people are wont to be when it comes to talking about money. A crafty employer might just use your shyness to lowball you. Thinking it is too rude, demanding or belittling to talk about money will be the most expensive mistake you make. While most of us do not enjoy engaging in the money-talk, it is best to be firm and courteous and negotiate the number. Re-check the breakdown: It is common to focus on your consolidated salary instead of heeding the breakdown, which often lets numerous HR sleight of hand tricks fly under your radar. There are a number of questions to ask both yourself and your employer. What is your base pay? Are the bonuses discretionary or guaranteed? Who exactly decides whether you deserve performance bonuses? Is your festival bonus percentage based on your base or your consolidated salary? Do not be the first to name a number: Any halfway decent negotiator will most definitely try to get you to name a number first. What do you expect to earn? is a simple but extremely high-pressure question to answer, and it is easy to give in to the pressure and fumble. If you really want the job, you will probably end up naming a figure lower than you are seeking. Nevertheless, when you really have to answer the question, it is best to answer it with another question: What is the budget allocated for this position? Ask for more than the number you will go for: A number can always be negotiated down, but never up. Do not be afraid to name a figure that is too high (which remaining realistic, of course). The numbers talk happens at the end of a drawn out interview period, so you need not be afraid that you will name a figure so high the interview will immediately be terminated. When you must name a number, if you stay within realistic bounds and still ask for a higher than expected number, you will enter a negotiation. By negotiating down bit by bit to the number both parties can work with, your employer will also feel like they are winning the negotiation. Do not be stubborn: Sometimes the best way to negotiate is to be flexible and let certain things that do not really mean that much to you go. A lot of people enter a negotiation with their mind completely made up, trying to derive every morsel they can get. If you are rude, uncompromising and difficult, you may feel like you won the negotiation but you will be entering a new relationship on the wrong foot. A negotiation should leave all parties pleased with the outcome. l

Itmum Momin with fellow UWC friends at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland in Southern Africa

COURTESY

I know for a fact that I left Waterford as a better human being and in essence, that is what the UWC logo and Waterfords Phoenix emblem are all about
From the globally controversial topics of abortion, racism, adoption, marriage to the issues that were controversial on campus like supervised study time and lock-up time, everyone had their own opinion. Similarly, everyone had their own value systems and moral codes and it was very interesting to see how their ones matched up to mine. There were instances where I adopted a few of theirs and there were others where I felt mine were fine the way they were. The last two years were not completely rosy. There were some horrible experiences. Rather than doing the IB programme, the IB programme was doing me! Several moments made me feel like I was just not going to make it. But I did, and I think I did fairly well. There were occasions when life

taught me quite a few lessons. This came from experiences while doing community service projects, watching friends who were homesick, relatives passing away while I was not in the country, etc. At one point, a few of us went to Mozambique for holidays and soon I almost ran out of money. There was no father to help me out, and no relatives nearby either. This was my first time living in a different country from my parents. In fact, I was living in a different hemisphere! I spent the last bit of my money at a rundown caf. I could see flies and mosquitoes flying around in the kitchen and trust me the burger I ordered did not look much better. Upon reflection, I realised just how much of an ATM machine my dad is to me. I love my dad, but I never really realised the value of money until that point; I used to ask him for money as if I was asking for something that was readily available. I have always budgeted better after this experience. However, I believe that the most important lesson that Waterford has taught me is that no matter how different people are and no matter how different the worlds they come from may be people can become the best of friends. For me this was emphasised when an Israeli and an Iranian became great

friends. They saw themselves as individuals and the conflict between Israel and the Muslim world did not matter as much. In my opinion, this makes the utopian idea of world peace achievable. This is one of the beauties of a UWC experience. The romantic idea of world peace that most people say is unachievable suddenly does not seem that lofty anymore. The other beauty of it is that there is no one UWC experience. Individuals have their own story to tell after these two years. I know for a fact that my best friends one is very different from the one that I am sharing with you. As I sat in the terminal at Swaziland for the last time I realised that the last two years were not just about the grades. Sure, the education I received was world class, but perhaps the fact that I had received a flavour of the world from the multicultural student body and teaching staff was equally important. I know for a fact that I left Waterford as a better human being and in essence, that is what the UWC logo and Waterfords Phoenix emblem are all about. As I came to this realisation, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky. I smiled and took out my boarding pass. It was just as awe-inspiring as it was the first time I saw it. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International
n Reuters, Rancho Mirage
President Barack Obama said on Friday he is considering new ways to pressure the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he pledged fresh US assistance to Jordans King Abdullah, whose country is reeling from the Syrian civil war. Obama and Abdullah held talks at the Sunnylands retreat, the estate of the late philanthropist Walter Annenberg, in a desert region of California. With the Syrian civil war a central focus of their talks, Obama told reporters with Abdullah seated beside him that he does not expect the conflict to be resolved any time soon and that there are going to be some immediate steps that we have to take to help the humanitarian assistance there. There will be some intermediate steps that we can take applying more pressure to the Assad regime and we are going to be continuing to work with all the parties concerned to try to move forward on a diplomatic solution, Obama said. Obama did not disclose what steps he has under consideration, but Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier while traveling in Asia that a set of new options are under discussion. We have been ramping up our support to the moderate opposition and Jordan has its own strong role to play in relationship to the moderate opposition, said a senior Obama administration official after Obama and Abdullah held two hours of talks. The official said the two leaders also discussed the rising extremist threat emanating from Syria and what might be done to counter it. With Jordan under pressure from housing more than 600,000 Syrian war refugees and facing other economic troubles, Obama announced at the outset of their talks that he intends to pro-

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Syria second round peace talks end in deadlock

Obama considering new pressure on Assad

vide the strong US ally with $1 billion in loan guarantees. In addition, he said Washington will renew a five-year agreement that locks in annual aid for Jordan. The current package, which expires at the end of September, has been providing $660 million a year. Obama did not say what funding level he would urge Congress to back in another five-year agreement.

Twenty-five years after Soviet exit, Taliban says US will meet same fate n Reuters, Kabul
The Taliban called on Afghans to expel the United States from Afghanistan on Saturday just as they said Afghan mujahideen fighters had done to Soviet forces 25 years ago to the day. In a statement issued on the 25th anniversary of the final Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, a national holiday for Afghans, the Taliban sought to connect the steady departure of US and NATO troops ahead of a year-end deadline to the end of the decade-long Soviet occupation. Today America is facing the same fate as the former Soviets and trying to escape from our country, the Taliban said in a statement emailed to reporters by Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the group. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is calling on its people to deal with todays invaders the same they did with the yesterdays invaders, he said, using the name the Taliban government used during its repressive 1996-2001 rule. In line with the so-called Geneva accords, a last convoy of Soviet soldiers crossed a bridge connecting northern Afghanistan with the then-Soviet Union on February 15, 1989. We want to remind the Americans that we did not accept invaders with their sweet and nice slogans in the past. We eliminated them from the world map. God willing, your destiny will be the same, the statement said. While US and NATO forces in recent years have pushed Taliban militants out of many areas of their southern homeland, they appear to be dug in across remote areas along the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border and insurgent violence continues. l

Helping to improve the position of the Syrian opposition, put pressure on the Syrian regime, is certainly part of the overall calculation
Frustrated that conditions on the ground in Syria remain horrendous, and confounded by Assads refusal to engage in serious negotiations about a transition in power, Obama has been signalling a potential shift toward a more aggressive policy. Senior administration officials who briefed reporters about Obamas talks with Abdullah said all options remain on the table short of putting American boots on the ground. Among the long-standing options has been the possibility of arming Syrian rebels. Such a step would only be applied if it would help nudge the process toward a political solution, one official said. Helping to improve the position of the Syrian opposition, put pressure on the Syrian regime, is certainly part of the overall calculation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. l

A Syrian activist group says the death toll in Syrias three-year-old civil war has reached 140,000

REUTERS

n Agencies
Syrias government and opposition have agreed on an agenda for a third round of peace talks in Geneva, despite disappointment at the little progress achieved as the second round came to an end. No date was set for the negotiations to resume, and dispute overshadowed the potential talks as the two sides debated the order in which the agendas four topics will be discussed: combating violence, transitional government, national institutions and national reconciliation. UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimiproposed devoting the irst day to a discussion of violence and terrorism, and the second to the issue of a tran-

sitional governing body. I apologise to the Syrian people...I apologise to them that in these two rounds we havent helped them very much, Brahimi said. He urged both sides to reflect and return ready to make progress in the anticipated third round. A third round without talking about transition would be a waste of time, opposition spokesman Louay Safi told reporters in Geneva, after the negotiations ended in failure. Al Jazeeras James Bays, reporting from Geneva, said the government delegation and opposition spoke for less than 30 minutes before talks ended on Saturday. It was a short, tense session, dominated by differences over how to tackle

the issues of violence and political transition, opposition negotiator Ahmad Jakal told the Reuters news agency. A Syrian activist group, meanwhile, said the death toll in Syrias three-yearold civil war has reached 140,000. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that the dead include civilians, rebels, members of the military, pro-government militiamen and foreign fighters. The group bases its count on a network of informants on the ground. The UNs human-rights office, however, has stopped updating the death toll from Syrias civil war, saying it can no longer verify the sources of information that led to its last count of at least 100,000 last summer. l

18 Iraq soldiers, police die Barroso tells UK: Dont turn your back on Europe in attacks and clashes n
Reuters, London

n AFP, Tikrit
Eighteen Iraqi soldiers and police have been killed in targeted attacks and clashes, officials and doctors said Saturday, as the country struggles to contain its worst violence in years. Meanwhile, militants Saturday held part of the northern town of Sulaiman Bek, after security forces withdrew despite reportedly making gains in a battle for control of the area the day before. Most of the casualties occurred overnight. In the city of Tikrit, north of the capital, gunmen lured a police colonel out of his house, shot him dead, and fled the area. And militants shot dead four soldiers and wounded three who were driving in a civilian vehicle on the main highway in the area. In Sulaiman Bek, a police captain was stopped by militants and shot dead on his way to pick up relatives in the town and evacuate them to safety. In the Jurf al-Sakhr areas south of Baghdad, five soldiers died in clashes with militants. And a bomb killed five police guarding a pipeline in Baiji, north of the capital. On Saturday, meanwhile, gunmen killed a policeman and a soldier in separate attacks in the Sharqat area, also north of Baghdad. The security forces, who suffer from often-lacking training and discipline,

are the target of near-daily attacks by anti-government militants. Gunmen initially seized part of Sulaiman Bek and nearby areas in Salaheddin province Thursday, but officials said security forces regained ground there in heavy fighting the following day. Local official Talib al-Bayati told AFP security forces had succeeded in retaking militant-held areas on Friday, but then withdrew for unknown reasons. On Saturday, gunmen were in control of the towns Al-Askari neighbourhood, he said. Sulaiman Bek has been hit by numerous attacks over the past year, and was briefly seized by militants in late April. In July, 150 militants struck with mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, and executed 14 Shiite Muslim truck drivers on a nearby highway. Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a period of brutal sectarian killings. Another 22 people died in attacks and clashes earlier on Friday. Foreign leaders have urged the Shiite-led government to do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni Arab minority to undercut support for militants. But Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line ahead of a general election scheduled for April. l

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Britain on Friday to engage with the European Union rather than turn its back on it, saying London should fight to try to change the things it doesnt like. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to try to renegotiate Britains ties with the 28-nation bloc if re-elected next year and to offer Britons an in/ out referendum on EU membership by late 2017. Barroso was visiting Britain ahead of European elections in May in which the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) is expected to do well and at a time when opinion polls show a slim majority of Britons would vote to leave the EU. The right thing to do is not to turn away but to engage and see what we together can do to make it better, Barroso said in a speech at the London School of Economics. If you dont like Europe as it is, improve it.

Barroso ruled out any attempt to change the EUs rules on freedom of movement, something Cameron has said hed like to do to stop the citizens of new EU member states from tapping Britains welfare benefits.

An internal market needs all these freedoms, if not we are shooting ourselves in our feet. We cannot have a single market without the free movement of European citizens
Barroso, who is stepping down after a decade at the helm of the EU executive, said such attempts would be like shooting Europe in the foot.

An internal market needs all these freedoms, if not we are shooting ourselves in our feet, he said. We cannot have a single market without the free movement of European citizens. By underscoring the importance of free movement at a speech in the British capital, Barroso was seeking to send Cameron a message on freedom of movement. It was a message that we are not going to compromise on the principle of free movement - this is a big thing in relation to David Camerons position which seems to be that there has got to be compromise. I would see some divisions looming there, Anthony Giddens, director of the London School of Economics from 1997 to 2003, told Reuters. When asked about the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, Barroso said: The existential crisis of the euro is over. When our American partners and friends, including by the way the American president, asked at the most difficult moments, Do you think the Germans will stand by the euro? I have always

said to them: I am absolutely sure Germany will stand by the euro, he said. Barroso praised Germany for its determined support of the euro, evidence, he said, of Berlins deep strategic allegiance to the European project. In a question and answer session following his speech, Barroso was asked whetherGermany, which has resisted mutualising public debt in the euro zone, would eventually drop its opposition to the idea. As to (debt) mutualisation, it is something that Germany will not say no (to) at a later stage, Barroso said, adding he felt German acceptance of mutualisation would come gradually. There is already a principle of mutualisation but it is progressive mutualisation only at the end of the process, when all the countries have their own fund for resolution and not before, he said. So yes, I believe ... fiscal union will come at the appropriate time for the members of the euro area ... it will take time, Barroso said. l

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS...

Turkey passes bill amid brawl

n AFP, Ankara
Turkeys parliament passed a bill Saturday tightening government control over the judiciary, with lawmakers violently scuffling over the contested reforms introduced amid a major graft scandal. Fighting erupted overnight with fists flying in the air between ruling party and opposition lawmakers as the bill was debated in a marathon 20-hour sitting. Ali Ihsan Kokturk, lawmaker from the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), got a bloodied nose in the brawl, while ruling party lawmaker Bayram Ozceliks finger was broken. The opposition says the reform is a government manoeuvre to limit fallout from a graft probe that has ensnared top allies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The law is an apparent indicator of the ruling Justice and Development Partys (AKP) attempt to cover the corruption investigation by redesigning the judiciary, CHP lawmaker Aykan Aydemir told AFP. Parliament resumed debate of the bill Friday despite an uproar from opposition parties and the international community who warned it threatened the independence of the judiciary in the European Union hopeful country. The reform package gives the justice ministry greater sway over the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), an independent body responsible for appointing members of the judiciary. l

A man works on a sculpture made of oranges and lemons on February 14, in Menton on the French Riviera, ahead of the start of the Fete du Citron (Lemon carnival). The theme of this 81st edition, running from February 15 until March 5, is 20 000 lieues sous les mers (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) AFP

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Sunday, February 16, 2014

UN finds crimes against humanity in North Korea

n
Agencies
A UN Commission of Inquiry has found that crimes against humanity have been committed in North Korea and will call for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Associated Press news agency has reported. The report, to be released on Monday, is the most authoritative account yet of rights violations by North Korean authorities, and is bound to infuriate its unpredictable leader. But justice remains a distant prospect, not least as North Koreas ally, China, would be likely to block any referral to the Hague-based ICC. The commission says it has evidence of an array of crimes, including extermination, crimes against starving populations and a widespread campaign of kidnapping in South Korea and Japan. The conclusions of the year-long inquiry are due to be released on Monday but the AP reported it had been made aware of its contents ahead of publication. The news agency said that an outline of the report was provided to it by someone familiar with it, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to divulge the information before its official release. A US official, speaking anonymously for the same reason, confirmed the main conclusions, the news agency reported. The report refers to murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, forcible transfers and forced disappearances, and persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds. It also cites an overall system of political repression - the songbun class system - that discriminates against North Koreans on the basis of their familys perceived loyalty to the regime.

Rival Koreas agree to tone down hostilities

n Agencies
North and South Korea have agreed in a rare high-level meeting to stop insulting each other and to go ahead with planned reunions of Korean War-divided families next week. A joint statement released on Friday by the South Korean government and North Koreas state media announced that Seoul agreed to Pyongyangs proposal that the sides stop vilifying each other, which North Korea has demanded over the past weeks in protest of South Korean media reports critical of its leader, Kim Jong-un. The North and the South agreed to refrain from slandering each other in order to promote mutual understanding and trust, the statement by North Koreans state media read. Both countries also agreed to continue discussing issues of mutual concern. The statement comes after senior officials from both Koreas met for the second time this week in a border village of the Korean peninsula. Seoul says that what the North labelsas slander, such as a recent reporting of Kims failure to take offhis shoes during a visit to an orphanage, comes from its media and not its government. South Koreas lead negotiator pointed out that his government could not put a stop to such media coverage. Its still ambiguous how they can stop mutual insults, but the fact that South Korea agreed to it is meaningful, said Lim Eul Chul, a North Korea expert at South Koreas Kyungnam University. He said top South Korean officials are expected to stop making comments that could provoke North Korea. For weeks, North Korea has also maintained that scheduled family meetings between the two countries, the first in three years, could not take place at the same time as annual United States-South Korean military exercises slated to begin during next weeks reunion event. A previous meeting on Wednesday the countries highest-level talks in years achieved little progress because of North Koreas demand that the South delay the drills start until the reunions end, according to South Korean officials.

The North and the South agreed to refrain from slandering each other in order to promote mutual understanding and trust
Pyongyang calls the exercises a rehearsal for invasion, while Seoul and the US say they are defensive in nature. Both countries negotiators, however, made concessions to achieve the agreements. Chief South Korean delegate Kim Kyou-hyun told reporters in Seoul that North Korea withdrew its insistence that the reunions be delayed because of the drills. The first step towards trust building is the reunions of the separated families, so we persuaded [the North] that we should trust each other and hold the event as scheduled, and the North Korean side agreed with us, said Kim Kyou-hyun. Several thousand Koreans were displaced and separated during the 195053 Korean War, and since then many across the border have lost contact with each other. l

North Korea has shrugged off years of continuous outside pressure, including tough UN and US sanctions The UN has not yet confirmed its accuracy but North Koreas UN mission has rejected the reported findings. The document, AP says, does not talk in detail of individual responsibility but recommends steps towards accountability. It concludes that the testimony and other information it received, create reasonable grounds ... to merit a criminal investigation by a competent national or international organ of justice, AP said. The commission, the news agency reported, recommended the UN Security Council refer its findings to the International Criminal Court. Its publication could pile international pressure on North Korea, whose rights record has drawn less censure at the UN than its nuclear and missile programs. The secretive countrys hereditary regime, however, has shrugged off years of continuous outside reproach, including tough UN and US sanctions directed at its weapons programs. The three-member commission, led by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, was set up by the UNs top human rights body in March 2013. It conducted public hearings with more than 80 victims and other wit-

AFP

nesses in Seoul, Tokyo, London and Washington, but was not allowed into North Korea itself. As well as speaking to defectors, the commission heard from experts about a network of camps, estimated to hold 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, and about access to food in a country where many children suffer from malnutrition. When the UN Human Rights Council authorised the commission to begin its work, North Korea denounced it as politically-motivated by hostile forces trying to discredit it and dismantle its socialist system. l

India prosecutors want new charge in French child rape case n AFP, Bangalore
Prosecutors asked an Indian judge Saturday to allow them to bring an additional charge of sodomy against a French consular official who has been accused of raping his three-year-old daughter. Special public prosecutor B.T. Venkatesh said that the judge Shubha Gowdar had admitted his application to bring the additional charge against Pascal Mazurier during a brief hearing in the southern city of Bangalore as there was prima facie evidence of him committing sodomy. The judge had then told Mazuriers defence team to file any objections to the prosecutions application at the next hearing of the court which was set for February 24. The judge is expected to set a trial date once a final decision has been made on whether to allow the additional sodomy charge, the prosecutor added. Mazurier had on Monday pleaded not guilty to allegations that he raped his daughter in a case that dates back to June 2012. The 40-year-old was arrested on a complaint filed by his wife and spent four months in jail before being released on bail. Mazuriers lawyers had argued there was insufficient evidence against him, but the judge ruled in January that there was a prima facie case against him. l

Thai protesters to press Kerry meets Chinese bloggers on with campaign squeezed by Internet controls
n Reuters, Bangkok
Anti-government protesters vowed on Saturday to maintain their campaign to unseat Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra despite dwindling numbers on the streets and a first tentative move by police against sites they are occupying in Bangkok. Riot police reclaimed a thoroughfare in the capitals government district on Friday without resistance, but backed off from confrontation elsewhere in the city and made no move against the largest protest sites at intersections in the main shopping and business areas. Our mission is still going on, which is to reform the country, Ekkanat Promphan, the protesters spokesman, told reporters. All protest site are still occupied by us and we will still continue our activity during the weekend. The protesters view Yingluck as a proxy for her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a self-exiled former prime minister who clashed with the establishment before he was overthrown by the army in 2006. They are demanding that Yingluck makes way for an appointed peoples council to overhaul the political system and rid it of the influence of Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire they accused of using taxpayer money to buy votes with populist giveaways. Riot police lined up on Saturday near a protest site at a government complex in north Bangkok, scene of a tense stand-off on Friday morning, but made no attempt to move in. National Security Council Chief Paradorn Pattanathabutr said later that the authorities had called off the operation and were hoping to hold talks with the local protest leader at the site, a Buddhist monk, on Sunday. We have already called off the plan to reclaim the site since there were several factors that could disrupt the operation, Paradorn told reporters. Moreover, police who were working at the...site told me that they are trying to persuade the monk to sit down and talk again tomorrow. Tarit Pengdith, chief of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailands equivalent of the FBI, told a news conference that protesters would not be dispersed by force. The protests, which began in November, are the latest round in a bitter eight-year conflict broadly pitting the Bangkok-based middle-class and royalist establishment against the mostly rural supporters of the Shinawatras in the north and northeast. Haunted by memories of a bloody 2010 crackdown by a previous administration that killed dozens of pro-Thaksin red shirt activists and anxious to avoid giving the coup-prone military a reason to intervene, the government has largely avoided confrontation. Despite that, 11 people have been killed and hundreds hurt in sporadic clashes. The past week has been quiet with most protest sites dotted around Bangkok thinly attended during the day. l

n AFP, Beijing
Chinese bloggers urged US Secretary of State John Kerry to push for greater freedom online in China during a rare meeting in Beijing Saturday, asking for help to tear down the great Internet firewall. The roundtable discussion, organised by the US Embassy, was a unique opportunity for the top diplomat to hear directly from Chinas bloggers amid reports that Beijing is stepping up its efforts to clamp down on political dissent.

Chinese microblogs similar to Twitter have become key drivers of public opinion in recent years

The meeting came a day after Kerry held talks with senior Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which he called on Communist Party authorities to improve their human rights record. Zhang Jialong, a reporter at Tencent Finance who was one of four bloggers taking part in the discussion, urged

the United States to support Chinese who aspire for freedom and help tear down the great Internet firewall. Zhang also accused US companies of helping China block access to social networking sites such as Twitter and the Internet in general. Kerry said he had not heard of such moves, but promised he would check. In the 40-minute meeting, Kerry also heard from Ma Xiaolin, a former journalist at Chinese state news agency Xinhua, who said that the Internet was his main form of communication. He complained about the limits on Internet freedom in China, and urged Washington to use its sway to ease the squeeze. Kerry told reporters Friday that in his discussions with the Chinese leadership he had a frank discussion about some human rights challenges... and the free flow of information in a robust, civil society which included some of the challenges of the cyber world that we live in today. I emphasised that respect for human rights and for the exchange of information in a free manner contributes to the strength of a society in a country, he told reporters after his meetings in Beijing. Chinese microblogs similar to Twitter have become key drivers of public opinion in recent years, with bloggers drawing attention to official corruption, pollution and other issues that challenge Chinas ruling Communist

Party. The rising influence of microblogs has been accompanied by the emergence of celebrity users with verified accounts, known as Big Vs. Wang Keqin, who was fired from his job at the Economic Observer last year after he reported on the cause of flash floods that hit Beijing in 2012, said at times he believed he had a price on his head for his work as an investigative reporter. Internet freedom was going backward, there is less of it, he told Kerry. Chinas ruling party, which has provided more room for public debate in recent decades, has long been engaged in a cat and mouse game with Internet users, tightening restrictions in periodic crackdowns before new forums emerge to challenge such restraints. And the rising popularity of microblogs such as Sina Weibo has triggered a government-backed campaign to assert greater control over social media. Last year Chinese-American investor Charles Xue, who had more than 12 million followers on his microblog which was heavily critical of the government, was arrested on charges of soliciting prostitutes. State media insisted at the time that his arrest had no connection with his online presence, but government-run broadcaster CCTV showed him in prison clothes while under detention, confessing that he had used microblogging to gratify my vanity. l

Bilawal Bhutto lashes out at the stone-age Taliban

n AFP, Karachi
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Pakistans assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, on Saturday slammed the Taliban for trying to drag the country back to the stone-age. Addressing a gathering during the closing ceremony of a two-week cultural festival in his home province of Sindh, Bhutto also urged the country to rise up against the threats. The Taliban want to impose the law of terror in the country, but I want to tell them, if you have to live in Pakistan you will have to follow its constitution, he said. We dont accept the law of terrorists he added. Some people are trying to bring back the stone-age era in the country in the name of Islam. The start of 2014 has seen a surge in militant violence with more than 130 people killed. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs government has been under fire from political opponents for failing to mount a strong response to the upsurge in attacks. The government has for months said it favoured talks with the Taliban but 25-year-old Zardari has spoken in favour of military action against them. Former premier Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007 by the Pakistani Taliban after leaving a campaign rally of her Pakistan Peoples Party. Her husband and Bilawals father Asif Ali Zardari was president from 2008-2013. The Talibans demands include the nationwide imposition of sharia law and an end to US drone strikes, conditions the government and army are unlikely to be able to meet. The terrorists should think of the time when the whole nation will stand against them, Zardari added Saturday in Makli, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the north of Karachi. We are Muslims and the terrorist groups should not try to teach us Islam. Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in the insurgency by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since it began in 2007, according to an AFP tally. Stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan is seen as important to neighbouring Afghanistan, where US-led NATO troops are pulling out after more than a decade of war. l

Government: 11 dead in terrorist attack in Chinas Xinjiang

n AFP, Beijing
A total of 11 people died in an attack in Chinas Xinjiang region on Friday, with eight terrorists shot dead by police and three blowing themselves up, having injured four people, authorities said. The incident in Aksu prefecture is the latest violence in the restive region home to mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs. Eight terrorists were killed by police and three by their own suicide bomb during a terrorist attack Friday afternoon, the Xinhua official news agency said, citing police. Riding motorbikes and cars carrying LNG cylinders, the group approached police officers near a park in Wushi county as they prepared to go on patrol, it said. The Tianshan web portal, which is run by the Xinjiang government, said that the 11 attackers were killed, while two police and two passersby were injured and one assailant detained. Photos posted on the site showed a charred police van and jeep. Xinjiang police and information officers reached by phone declined to comment to AFP. Wushi government and police officials could not be reached. Aksu, in the far west of Xinjiang near the border with Kyrgyzstan, was the scene of triple explosions in late January that killed at least three people, according to Tianshan. Police shot dead six people soon afterwards. Xinhua, citing a police investigation, described those blasts as organised, premeditated terrorist attacks. The vast and resource-rich region of Xinjiang has for years been hit by occasional unrest carried out by Uighurs, which rights groups say is driven by cultural oppression, intrusive security measures and immigration by Han Chinese. Authorities routinely attribute such incidents to terrorists, and argue that China faces a violent separatist movement in the area motivated by religious extremism and linked to foreign terrorist groups. Terrorist attacks totalled 190 in 2012, increasing by a significant margin from 2011, Xinhua said, citing regional authorities. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial
LETTER OF THE DAY

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Letters to

the Editor

Price gas properly

Green banking
February 13 Through your esteemed newspaper I would like to bring to the notice of all the concept of Green banking. It means promoting environment-friendly practices and reducing your carbon footprint from your banking activities. This comes in many forms. Using online banking instead of branch banking, paying bills online instead of mailing them, opening up CDs and money market accounts at online banks, instead of at large multi-branch banks, or finding the local bank in your area that is taking the biggest steps to support local green initiatives. Any combination of these personal banking practices can help the environment. In Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank has been working on this from 2012. If they can finish their projects successfully, we will be able to save a huge amount of money every year as there will be many cost effective features included in its Green Banking concept. Thanking you, Nahid Hasan, Kaisar Mahmood and Asif Imran Ruben MBA Program, East West University

he state owned gas provider, Titas, is due to start a new drive against illegal connections in its franchise area. It estimates these consume 200m cubic feet of gas per day, causing daily losses of several hundred crore taka for the government. However, the problem of illegal connections is only a symptom of inefficiency in the countrys gas supplies, it is not the cause. Gas, like diesel and power, is not priced efficiently or prudently. Ill targeted subsidies and inefficiencies create perverse incentives which enable and encourage waste and poor service to customers. An artificially low price enables households to waste precious gas supplies by leaving burners on unnecessarily, and this inefficiency extends throughout the system. The consequences in terms of hardship for businesses and consumers are widespread cuts and fluctuations in supplies. Despite occasional crackdowns, officials of Titas, remain alleged to be complicit in enabling new and/or illegal connections themselves, whilst the company is slow in increasing capacity and infrastructure. While combating corruption and improving efficiency may help, the root cause of the sectors inefficiency lies in pricing policy. It does not make sense to subsidise gas or other non-renewable energy sources. This only uses up scarce resources and increases fossil fuel emissions. Gas must be priced properly to discourage waste and improve efficiency. Proper pricing is needed to provide the funds needed to modernise supplies and incentivise companies to become efficient. It will also stimulate more private investment in renewables and allow taxpayer funds that are currently wasted to be targeted to help consumers in need.

Dhakas storied roads

February 9 Rashda/Mina Khan Love this! WaliulHaqueKhondker Such an interesting read! Thanks very much. Enayet Mowla It is an interesting piece of history but all I know about this is that hundreds of Chawks or Chawkbazars can be found in almost every corner of the sub-continent. I have been to some of these Chawks myself, in India, Pakistan and of course in Bangladesh. I think a detailed history of the old Dhaka city can be learnt from the research done by Syed Taifoor.

Khaleda Zia, the tragic protagonist

February 10 Akhtar Shah Shes spent up! Great pity. Its a gross understatement to say a meaningful , strong and effective opposition is needed for BD. Ronnie For starters, Khaleda Zia clearly hasnt fallen, and her decline is healthily debatable. So, the rueful romanticisation of Khaleda Zias plight today as tragic appears rather exaggerated to me. Overall, though, I largely endorse the authors persuasive analysis. He speaks the truth on many of the points of argument he makes here. However, as difficult and demoralising the current situation must obviously feel to the BNP chairperson, I dont believe that she paints a tragic figure at all, nor that her partys political predicament is that dreadfully dire or beyond salvageable. Begum Zia clearly recognises the errors and failures of her partys ways in their protest campaign against the manifest injustice, immoralities and despotism of the then ruling AL government, and of the illegitimate incumbent regime of that same party, today. And its clear that, under the express direction of the chairperson, a revamp of the BNP, in organisation, recruitment, advocacy, strategic planning etc is underway, in earnest. As one among legions of the partys supporters, Im optimistic about the BNPs renewal and resurgence. It is misleading, though, to wrongly ascribe to Begum Zia motives of revenge or even wounded pride regarding her righteous (albeit flawed) struggle to force the restoration of the non-partisan, caretaker system to oversee national general elections. I cant vouch the same, though, for an always spiteful Sheikh Hasina and her patented politics of revenge and vitriolic personal attacks. Also, as much as Ive always resented and denounced the BNPs needless alliance with the likes of Jamaat and company as an unwarranted, tragic political mistake, I think its grossly unfair to merely chastise the BNP for this, and routinely let the AL off the hook for its own myriad unholy dalliances with religious obscurantists and abject abdication of the ideals of the Liberation War, from 1972-onwards. Its entirely fair to say that the failure of the BNPled oppositions campaign to thwart the ALs election-time machinations have just as much to do with the ALs unprecedented savage repression of the opposition as with the vile acts of violence and carnage of certain segments of said opposition that somewhat alienated public sympathies for the BNP cause. The conclusion that the author states here is clearly something all fair-minded Bangladeshis cruelly denied of their voting rights by the AL expect and demand should happen without delay. It goes without saying that it is their inalienable democratic right.

Gas must be priced properly to discourage waste and improve efficiency

Khaleda bashes Dhaka city leaders for failure

February 11 Its good to know the chairperson is being assertive and decisive in her actions. Theres no alternative to fully revamping the partys Dhaka city committee. Im hoping Begum Zia will be able to successfully make a new city committee that is genuinely stronger, more committed, courageous, and far more effective in delivering the outcomes that BNP need in executing their resistance campaign against the incumbent regime. Ronnie

Stop extra-judicial killings

n the past 17 days, three suspects in the murder of Sirajganj unit Awami League leader Saiful Islam have been found killed. The body of the most recent such victim, a BNP activist, was recovered on Saturday. These extra-judicial killings of murder suspects must be fully investigated fully so that all perpetrators can be brought to book. We should be able to rely on our criminal justice system to execute justice through the proper legal system. Criminal elements within a political party or rogue law enforcement officers should not be able to engage in such acts with impunity, as is being alleged in this and other cases. As the accused was killed while in police custody, an enquiry must be conducted into the conduct of all law enforcement officers involved. In 2009, the AL government itself, made a commitment to put an end to all custodial deaths, but this is yet to be achieved. The government and police must deliver better results in stopping extra-judicial killings. Such incidents damage rule of law and are a stain on our human rights situation. There should be a open and thorough investigation into the killings of these suspects. Ensuring a proper probe into such cases is necessary to end extra-judicial killings.

Mission Hatirjheel
February 11 Good initiative, and great news! We are waiting for this game! :D Delower Hossain

Tamim resigns from vice-captaincy

February 9 Good. He is not performing well, and he doesnt seem to correct the mistakes that he made over and over again. An extra burden of vice captaincy would cause even more pressure. Ahammed Imran Hassan

Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

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Extra-judicial killings damage rule of law. They need open and thorough investigation

PEANUTS

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ACROSS 1 Employer (4) 5 Useless remains (5) 8 Tempt (6) 9 Observed (4) 10 Old French coin (3) 12 Abstract (6) 13 Dry inflammable matter (6) 15 Rarely (6) 18 Goes by (6) 20 Flightless bird (3) 21 Grassy expanse (4) 23 Turned away (6) 24 Undressed kid (5) 25 Stains (4) DOWN 1 Infatuate (5) 2 United (3) 3 Harsh (5) 4 Transgression (3) 5 Longs for (7) 6 Otherwise (4) 7 Close (4) 11 Norwegian capital (4) 12 Merit (7) 14 Muslim leader (4) 16 Daybook (5) 17 Repairs (5) 18 Church seating (4) 19 Certain (4) 21 Was ahead (3) 22 Tiny (3)

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How to solve Sudoku: 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 numberrepeating.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Sunday, February 16, 2014

11

Intellectual attacks on Islam

F
n Muhammad Eusha
or the past few months, the Dhaka Tribune has been publishing articles promoting a very different version of Islam, far different from the traditional image that has been around for 1,500 years. I believe the first was the absolutely ludicrous article about how people who do not even believe in Allah can also be regarded as shaheeds according to Islamic principles. surely pay them their full recompense. The problem is, there seems to be a peculiar inability to comprehend the fact that the equality stated in this verse is in terms of the reward, and not in terms of social roles assigned to men and women. In fact such a provincial analysis of Quranic verses is becoming common these days, producing very sophomoric conclusions and thoughts. Islam very conspicuously distinguishes between men and women, and their respective roles in society. As I pointed out in one of my articles for the Dhaka Tribune (Gender equality and Islam), the very concept of equality of sexes does not exist in Islam simply because they are not equal in terms of capacity, specialisation, mental, physical, psychological tendencies, and social and familial roles, just as a shirt and a pairs of pants are not comparable. There are completely unequivocal statements about the inequality of the sexes and their differences both in the Hadith and the Quran, on the other hand. I must abstain from listing them here, since the essay would become too long, but any interested reader is welcome to contact me for a comprehensive analysis. All Islamic principles are derived from a set of fundamental beliefs. The first is absolute monotheism, the second is the transience of the material world, the third is accountability for actions, and the fourth is spiritual purification. All Islamic regulations respect these. The segregation of sexes is only to ensure spiritual purification, for example. As a practicing Muslim, I am enraged at people being so frivolous and experimenting with Islam as if it were a toy at the hands of so-called intellectuals.

There seems to be a peculiar inability to comprehend that the equality stated is in terms of the reward

Is it a problem that we use the same word for both?

BIGSTOCK

Of yesterdays and tomorrows

n Esam Sohail
ne of the more profound laments of anguish I heard from a South Asian expatriate was the pithy observation that how can we move forward when our language, perhaps uniquely of all, uses the same colloquial word for yesterday and tomorrow? That word kalke denotes both the day past and the day to come in regular Bengali, albeit the suffixes gataand agami- are appended for more accuracy in the formal language. This unheralded quirkiness of our language does provide a glimpse of a culture that is rich and elaborate but hopelessly anchored in an idealised past while fighting battles that have but limited relevance in the new century. Outside of the purists of culture and religion, most observers will find it silly that so much of our national energy is spent on endless seminars about what happened 1,400 years ago or 40 years ago, with all such seminars invariably reaching the same conclusion: The sorry state of affairs is the fault of the Pakistanis, the British, the Mughals, the Greeks and so on and so forth. Compare Bangladesh to none other than Asian giants like Japan and Korea both literally demolished to the

ground in international wars, and you see a trajectory of development that is breathtakingly different. In both the cases of Korea and Japan, within a period of four decades after their respective dnouements, powerful economies and pluralist democracies emerged slowly, steadily, but surely. Does that mean that those two societies, even more ancient than ours, did not value their heritage or culture?

Future-looking would have meant celebrating the past without losing sight of the future, preserving the richness of Bengali without destroying the English language ability of two generations of people, and crafting a pluralist democracy without obsessing about whose long deceased father was a Razakar or Mmurtad. Taking the future in both hands would have signaled a cold stop to the national pastime of blaming the

This unheralded quirkiness of our language provides a glimpse of a culture that is rich and elaborate but hopelessly anchored in an idealised past

On the contrary, they decided that a real celebration of their past glory was to build a grand future. So, while we were debating who declared independence and what the length of a pious mans beard should be, Korea was graduating into building top-notch cars and Japan was becoming the worlds top economy. To a lesser extent, that has also been the story of Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

bogey of colonialism and imperialism for every ill of society and, instead, focusing on our own drastic shortcomings. Ask yourself a simple question. For all the cultural programs and seminars on Amar Ekushey decade after decade, could the Bengali language have been better served if those same resources were poured into creating a top notch translation software for science and

technology journals which are invariably written in English? Or perhaps the resources expended on the fruitless who declared independence in 1971 question could have been utilised on fulfilling the direct and unambiguous command of the constitution to establish an office of a national ombudsman? And those are only the most obvious examples. Resting on an idealised remembrance of the past, or endlessly fighting the irrelevant battles of yesteryears, is emotionally satisfying and gives many an intellectual a sense of utility at a pompously titled seminar or symposium. Beyond that, such activities simply take away the finite resources material and emotional of a people to move forward. A great British statesman said it well that if we spend the present bickering over the past, we will invariably lose the future. The world is moving into the agami-kaal; we cannot afford to get stuck in the gata-kaal, no matter how wonderful it makes us feel. It is a hypercompetitive globe. You do not get a medal for having a glorious culture, a beautiful religion, or a rich past. Results matter, remembrances dont. l Esam Sohail is an educational research analyst and college lecturer of social sciences. He writes from Kansas, USA.

The writer of the article would have suffered much had he written this for a Bengali newspaper. However, he was shrewd enough to know that English newspapers in Bangladesh are usually read only by tolerant intellectuals who have greater digestive powers, and therefore the probability of problems surfacing was little. Later we saw an article, from the same author, on how Islam probably does not condone polygamy. And then came another piece from yet another writer who claimed that feminism and Islam have but nothing incongruent in-between them. I wonder what is coming next! I can suggest a few titles myself! How about: Does Islam really dislike homosexuality? or Is drinking really forbidden in Islam? Who cares about what Imam Ghazzali thinks, or Imam Bukhari, or the millions of scholars who have expounded Islam for the past 1,500 years? There seems to have emerged a perverse movement to prove that Islam does not confront the mainstream philosophies of life in the Occident. How is it done though? It is done through fabricating false explanations and mentioning only the supporting examples hiding the contradictory ones. I would like to state here one of many possible examples of deliberate or inadvertent efforts to misconstrue verses from the Quran by one writer in his Must Islam and feminism contradict? (Dhaka Tribune, February 15). In asserting that Islam supports the supposed equality of the sexes, the following famous verse (Chapter 16, verse 97) is used: Anyone who works righteousness, male or female, while believing, we will surely grant them a happy life in this world, and we will

Islam very conspicuously distinguishes between men and women, and their respective roles in society

I am used to confronting open vilification of Islam from straightforward enemies, but not such covert and sly attacks which are but machinations to promote a completely false image of the glorious religion. I sincerely request all such intellectuals to stop disseminating lies about Islam. l Muhammad Eusha is an HVAC specialist and a DT columnist.

I will not choose

P
n Imran Jamal
olitics is about making choices. Making choices does not necessitate choosing sides but choosing ideas and ideals. It is about compromise and being constructive. About being partisan on issues but not dogmatic to a party or a narrative. Why must we choose sides if neither of the big parties, nor the myriad of the smaller ones, represent our ideals, interests, or elicit our sympathy? In an article published by this paper some time ago, there was a call for people to essentially ascribe blame for the recent violence and turmoil to the BNP and Jamaat and exonerate the ruling party of blame to a greater degree because they were on the winning side. to the terror theme that has been developed in an attempt to stir feelings of righteous indignation by providing partial facts. The casual relation that ties A with B, BNP and terrorism, is dangerous and pretty weak. Dangerous because it tries to drum up a moral case to support one party over the other something done repeatedly in that article and condemns the reader for making an immoral choice if it does not confer with the authors point of view. Would a case of highlighting the weakness of the government on issues of law and order not have been more apt? Weak, well like all neo-con fear-mongering evoked by the repeated use of terror without a systemic or rigorous, but lazy, analysis. It is the cheap, crass ploy to divide that is the problem with politics, creating a partisan politics that has no space for healing but based on hollow rhetoric entwined with morality of the nationalist-fascist bend. Terror, terrorism, and terrorists are useful words to hide behind when one wishes to project a sense of urgency, the need for unity when public opinion is low and the need to polarise, demonise is high. The violence currently conducted by all sides including state actors and sanctioned groups is abhorrent and needs to be condemned. Attacks on civilians are never justified. They are violent, criminal acts whose perpetrators need to be brought to justice. It is the crude understanding of politics as a zero-sum game that has put us in the situation we are in today. It is the cheap nationalist feelings stirred up to be manipulated by all sides that has led to such entrenched positions. Instead of choosing sides, why not choose ideals? Togetherness, forgiveness, and honesty? Maybe that is too idealistic but something with the emphasis on being inclusive and not beating down the ever popular, and easy us and them rhetoric would be helpful, useful in such a situation. It is easy to divide, perhaps far too easy, but inclusiveness is what is missing and needed. Such a call, of course, could not exist in the narrative that says Jamaat and, by association, the BNP and their followers are terrorists to whom we cannot be held hostage. In that equation, would the AL not also be terrorists for their joint anti-government programs in the mid-90s? Less people died during that period to their credit but to claim that those were pro-poor would be a stretch. Pro-democracy, yes, but like these, they were neither free nor fair. Those of us who refuse to take sides in this ongoing saga are or at least I am not able to identify with the narratives propagated by either side. Maybe it is that we choose not to take sides as the way you would have us; a bland monochrome where for the sake of being partisan we let go of the greys (the complex and complicated history and facts) and join a party. Sorry, but that is not going to happen, not because I will join the BNP or Jamaat. Being neutral is not the same as not choosing, it means that I do not wish to hoist a banner of blades of rice, a boat, or whatever the JaPa or Jamaat insignia is. something that we are yet to see since the democratic transition (sic) of 1991. Does this sound far too optimistic? Well, why not? Why not start with outlandish ideals and try to work as close to that as possible? Despite years of gross misconduct and mismanagement, the country has managed to elevate itself and millions of people from where they were 20 or 30 years ago. This, along with countless other achievements, is not celebrated in the manner it should be an all important character is oft missing from such narratives. The peoples tenacity has led to such development regardless of what has been happening in the country. It is their fortitude, perseverance, and resourcefulness that is left out when it needs to be celebrated and embraced. For development programs to work, it is not only the management or the planning that is working, but also peoples reactions to it. They will embrace it and continue along the path of self and communal improvement. I will keep rejecting all the parties until there is a change in the way business is done. Until the people all citizens are protected, given dignity, and their interests are prioritised, not only in rhetoric but through action. This, I believe, can only happen through a new beginning, one where new spaces with fresh voices flourish, and move Bangladeshi politics into a post-1971 era. l Imran Jamal is a freelance contributor.

Instead of choosing sides, why not choose ideals? Togetherness, forgiveness, and honesty?
Instead, Id like to see a politics based on basic ideas of justice for all and not just the victor. A politics based on egalitarian values of respect, and equality regardless of wealth, and political and social connections. A politics where the dogmatism, if it must remain, is to uphold the value of human life, dignity, and rights. Above all a politics based on unity and dialogue. Any government that comes into power wherever is not only ruling over their cadres and supporters. Their duty is towards the jonogon, a word that is being misused in the public arena to such an extent that it holds almost no meaning. It is in the interest of their supporters and detractors that governments need to rule, and that is

Why must we choose sides if neither of the big parties, nor the myriad of the smaller ones, represent our ideals, interests, or elicit our sympathy?

It is this sort of hyper-nationalism that is perhaps the root of the problem in many ways. It posits an us or them narrative, which resonates very well

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Premamritam premiers today

n Entertainment Desk
As part of Shadhonas 3 year project Dhrumel, Shadhona and Manipuri Theatre will stage the premier show of their new dance drama Premamritam at the auditorium of Dance and Music Department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 6:30pm. Choreography and conceptualisation of the dance drama by Mou Das, Premamritam is based on these songs. In the dance drama, they will showcase both the exquisite songs and the local Manipuri singers and musicians within the dance-production, while also developing a Bangladeshi margam (way - signifying repertoire) for Manipuri dance. Premamritam, signifying divine love, depicts Lord Krishnas antics in each of the eight divine divisions of each day culminating in the duet dance of Krishna and his foremost devotee Radha. The narrative of the production is based on the collective singing of spiritual songs in the eight (ashta), three-hour (prahar) periods into which each day is divided. Preached by Chaitanya Mahapraubhu of Nabadwip Dham, Sankritan is the easiest way of devotion leading to total salvation. Vaisnava Padavalis, or songs, tell of the love-play, separation, and union between the flute-playing cowherd Krishna and the cowherds Radha. On an esoteric level, Radha is understood to be the individual soul that petulantly feels abandoned by God, symbolised by Krishna, who, in turn, loves all souls and is therefore accused of infidelity by Radha. But Radha finally overcomes her hurt and rejoins her lover in passionate union. Using the hugely magnetic power of desire, these bhakti, or devotional classics, describes a pathway to return to Oneness with the Divine. The production from Shadhonas 3-year Manipuri Dance Project Dhrumel, in Komolganj of Moulvibazar in Sylhet. Shadhona has initiated Dhrumel based in Komolganj (Moulvibazaar, Sylhet), with the support of Manipuri Theatre, to work with Manipuri dance. As part of Dhrumel, research and documentation of the vibrant treasure-trove of Bangla Vaishnava Padabali songs sung during the rituals and festivals. A vital part of their research and documentation programmme is the showcasing of the music and musicians of Komolganj. Premamritam is based on these songs. We hope to showcase both the exquisite songs and the local Manipuri singers and musicians within the dance-production, while also developing a Bangladeshi margam (way - signifying repertoire) for Manipuri dance. They have undertaken research and documentation of the vibrant treasure-trove of Bangla Vaishnava Padabali songs sung during the rituals and festivals. A vital part of our research and documentation programmme is the showcasing of the music and musicians of Komolganj. l

Fusion band Joler Gaan performs at Bakultola

BAYEZID WAHEED

Joler Gaan celebrates love for mother tongue

n Afrose Jahan Chaity
To celebrate the Valentines Day, the fusion band Joler Gaan organised a colourful evening titled Amar Sonar Bangla at 6pm at Bakultola. Joler Gaan started their programme with their popular love song BokulPhul. Thousands of audiences were waiting for the moment; when the band started performing the crowd erupted with joy. They were in for a treat as they performed some of their unreleased tracks along with thealready popular songs. The stage was set in such a manner that direct interaction with the fans was possible. Everything starting from the design of the set to lights and projection, was arranged in a manner that made an excellent interaction with audience. They performed Kagojer Nouka, Andhar Raite Chander Alo, Dure Thaka Megh, Ronger Gaan, Ei Pagoler Bhalobasha and also played some instrumentals which took the audience to a new level of musical experience. While performing, some of the fans climbed onto the stage and enjoyed it with the band. One of them offered even gave a rose to Rahul Anand on stage. Their unreleased track Ghorer Bhitor Voy was a bit different than other songs. It was a Jazz fusion composition. Joler Gaan explained a bit what their lyrics were about before performing a song, and it helped the audiencea lot to connect with them. While performing Tumi Amar PasheBondhu, it seems like the band celebrated their childhood memories on stage. Near the end of the programme, the band performed Emon Jodi Hoto, Patar Gaan and an encore of Bokul Phul. The concert was an evening well spent for everyone who went to there families, friends, couples to celebrate their love for each other. The band is planning to release their next album this year. l

Celebrated actor Afzal Hossain talks about his realisation and personal experience about love on the occasion of Valentines Day at Code:Love exhibition at the Bengal Art Lounge. Code:Love is designed to encourage visitors to participate in and connect with the exhibits using smart phones and code scanners. Bengal Art Lounge, Carefountain and a team of collaborators have created the exhibition of encrypted messages and audio-visual installations. In the medium of each work is the message; the codes, sounds and lights are all statements on the commercialisation of romance and the role of technology in human relationships. l A scene from dance drama Premamritam

Two-day Sultan Utsab ends in Narail

Tahsan and Mithila in Landphoner Dingulite Prem

n Entertainment Desk
A single-episode play featuring celebrity duo Tahsan and Mithila in the lead roles will air tonight at 9pm on NTV. Written and directed by Ashfaque Nipun, the story is based on the period of early 90s when mobile phones were not available. The play revolves around Kamal and Pushpo who are neighbours. The youngsters are deeply in love but their families are against it and dont often get the chance to see each other. Hence they greatly depent on their landphones to communicate. At one point, Pushpos family starts forcing her to marry another guy. Since Kamal was unemployed, Pushpo fails to convince her family. The consequence of the two lovers is revealed at the end of the play. l

Karma Coffee celebrates relationships

n Shadma Malik
To mark Valentines Day, a romantic comedy Karma Coffee was staged at Red Shift Coffee Lounge on February 14. Written by Shazia Omar and directed by Amit Ashraf, the play offered two hours of laughter for the audience. The play depicts the story of a young man named Ansari (Zach Imtiaz Kibria) on his search for a soulmate. In a single afternoon, his sister Samiya (Rumana Habib) sets up four blind dates for him, trying to get him to tie the knot. For his first date, the happy-golucky, but not very ambitious Ansari, meets Ruby (Nissim Jan Sajid), an investment banker. A capitalist to the core, Ruby makes him feel like he has no drive in his life, which makes Ansari think about his own wasted potential. Then Ansari meets a girl name Ganga (Afia Rashid), a yoga practitioner. On their date, she keeps giving Ansari health tips and advice. Ansari realises he is not taking good care of his health. Social activist Umbereen (Shehzeen Choudhury), who works for Brac, makes Ansari realise that he is making zero contribution to society. Ansari was happy to meet such a noble person, on the other hand, he feel that he could be need of the society. Ansari fails to connect with Nazia (Neda Shakiba), a talented musician, after his friend Imran (David Browne) sweeps in and takes over his date. But all is fair in love and war, as he and the girl end up in a serious relationship. In between these blind dates, Ansari meets an enigmatic girl named

n Our Correspondent, Narail

A two-day Sultan Utsab in celebration of the 89th birth anniversary of internationally acclaimed late Bangladeshi artist SM Sultan was concluded at district Shilpakala Academy premises in Narail on Saturday. Different cultural groups in association with BSA, Sultan Foundation and district administration have organised the festival. A series of colourful events like art exhibition, art competition, boat trip with children on Chitra river, acrobatic performance, music and dance performances marked the event. Sultan, a legendary artist, won Ekushey Padak in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and Swadhinata Padak in 1993. He was declared the Man of Asia in 1982 by Cambridge University and Bangladeh government declared him as resident of artist in 1984. Sultan died in Jessore on 10 October, 1994. He was buried at the yard of his own house of the Masumdia village in Narail. l

A scene from Karma Coffee Omi (Ulfath Kuddus). Omi and Ansari spend time together and find common ground. Searching for unprecedented of the power of the saint love. Additionally, with his funny laugh and broken English, the waiter Babu (Baizid Joarder) brought much humour to his character. And the care and love of Yasmeen Aunty (Neeta Mannaf) for the people in her caf dominated the scene. Meanwhile, Samiya and her husband Javeds (Mashur Rahman) portrayal of the strong relationship of their marriage supported Ansaris quest. The play was a tingly comedic study of human nature, talking about celebrating relationships and emotions, and searching for oneself by understanding others. The title Karma Coffee is about how good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intentions and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and future suffering. The play closed on an upbeat note when Nazia played two songs, Let It Be and Fools Rush In, for the jampacked audience. The story turned in hilarious manner, while the dialogue featured sarcasm and humor. The actors performances were applauseworthy. l

TODAY IN DHAKA
Film
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Thor: The Dark World, Pacific Rim in 3D, The Conjuring, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Escape Plan Time: 10am 10pm Star Cineplex, Level 8 Time: 3pm 8pm Dhaka Art Center (DAC) House-60, Road-7A Dhanmondi R/A A Life Like that of a Dragonfly By Sanjib Datta Time: 12pm 8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts House 42, Road 16 (New) / 27 (old) Dhanmondi

Exhibition

3rd Kibria Print Fair

Sonakshi Sinha turns down Mani Ratnams film

n Entertainment Desk
Filmmaker Mani Ratnams who has already roped Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is making a comeback after a long maternity leave with this film, Shruti Haasan has also been signed. For the third heroine, the filmmaker wanted the R...Rajkumar actor Sonakshi to play the third heroine in his forthcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual. But according to a source, the actor has refused the offer. Ratnam met Shatrughan Sinha, who is a friend of the director, and outlined the role he had in mind for his daughter, before discussing it with Sonakshi. The Times of India quoted a source saying, She loved the role and it was really tough for her to let go of the offer. But she had prior commitments and didnt have the required dates. But she will definitely work with Mani Sir in the future. This is the second film Sonakshi has refused in the last month. A few days ago, she turned down Subhash Ghais film on Sarabjit Singh. l Super model Mehazabien (left), also the brand ambassador of Lux Sandal and Cream, visits an university campus to celebrate Pohela Phalgun as part of the brands campaign

ON TV
MOVIE
5:30pm Star Movies
The Mummy 3

9:30pm HBO

Wrath of the Titans

DRAMA
10:30pm Sony
Maharana Pratap

11:30pm Sony Max

Mujhse Dosti Karoge

Did you know?

Sk Jamal forward Sony Norde carries training DVDs of Beckham and Ronaldinho in his backpack

Sport
27 47 13 43 1 41 6 0 12 4 10 8 212 126 81 9 216

Sunday, February 16, 2014

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

0 2 8
DAYS TO GO

14 Maradona

appeals to EU over tax bill

15 Top seeds Potro,

Murray tumble by same scoreline

SCORECARD
Afghanistan Under-19s innings Usman Ghani run out (Mosaddek) Mujtaba b Mosaddek Ihsanullah c Joyraz b Abu Haider Hashmatullah b Mosaddek Hossain Younas c Mustafizur b Mosaddek Nasir Ahmadzai* run out (Litton) Waheedullah run out (Mosaddek) Sharafuddin c Joyraz b Rahatul Muslim Musa c Shadman b Rahatul Abdullah Adil run out (Litton Das) Sayed Shirzad not out Extras (lb 4, w 4) Total (all out; 50 overs)

Mushfiq returns, Arafat the new face

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is fully fit and will resume his job as captain of the Bangladesh team in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting from tomorrow. Leftarm spinner Arafat Sunny, who was impressive in the recent Twenty20s, also made it in the 15-member squad that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced yesterday. Sunny, grabbing tree wickets in the two T20s, showed excellent temperament and capability to play in the international arena and he was rewarded a place in the vacant position left by Abdur Razzak. Razzak picked up an injury in his left hamstring during the first innings of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong two weeks ago. Anamul Haque, Naeem Islam and fast bowler Shafiul Islam were also named in the squad. Shafiul recovered from a ligament tear in his ankle which he picked up almost four months ago. All-rounder Ziaur Rahman lost his place from the Tigers squad. However, Tamim Iqbal once again named as the vice-captain remained the interesting part of BCBs announcement as the opening batsman had resigned from the job ahead of the T20s last week. It was reported in the media that being the vice-captain it was natural for Tamim to be named as captain in absence of skipper Mushfiq, but instead the board opted for Mashrafe bin Mortaza which left Tamim furious. However, BCB cricket operations chairman Akram Khan informed that Tamims resignation was not accepted by the board while Tamim said he wants to concentrate on his performance rather than the off field issues.

Helal blasts late decisions

Anwarul Karim Helal, the mainly appointed manager of the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club who could not travel with the side due to passport problems, blasted the coach Joseph Afusi for his tactical decisions and said it cost them the final of the IFA Shield in Kolkata yesterday. Helal also informed that the president of the club Manjur Kader is also furious over the decision. In the absence of Helal, Abdul Gaffar is carrying the role in Kolkata. Jamals Nigerian coach Afusi replaced their in-form Nigerian striker Emeka Darlington with Alli Amisu in the extra time and the fresh player Alli was among the three missed penalties on the night. Helal believed Emeka should have stayed on as he could have been instrumental in the shootout. Defenders Didarul Haque and Mohammad Linkon were the other two who missed penalties. They did a big mistake in changing players. They took away Emeka, they gave Didar to take the tie-breaker who never takes penalty. Mamunul, Sohel Rana, Emeka should have given the chance to take penalty. Even Linkon is not good at penalty, said Helal to Dhaka Tribune over phone. Im really sad. If I were there I would never let this happen as a team manager. The president is also furious at the manager (Abdul Gaffar). The game was lost in those decisions, he added. l

Bowling Mustafizur Rahman 9 0 42 0, Abu Haider 6 0 41 1 (1w), Mehedy Hasan 8 1 37 0 (1w), Rahatul Ferdous 7 0 382 (1w), Nihaduzzaman 10 1 31 0 (1w), Mosaddek Hossain 10 1 19 3 Bangladesh Under-19s innings Shadman Islam not out Joyraz Sheik not out Extras (lb 1, w 7, nb 1) Total (0 wickets; 42.3 overs)

SQUAD
Mushfiqur Rahim (Capt), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Hoque, Shakib al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Sohag Gazi, Arafat Sunny, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, AlAmin Hossain, Naeem Islam, Shafiul Islam

Bowling Abdullah Adil 9 1 50 0 (1nb, 1w), Sayed Shirzad 9 0 59 0 (3w), Muslim Musa 4.3 0 26 0, Sharafuddin Ashraf 10 032 0, Mohammad Mujtaba 8 0 34 0 (1w), Hashmatullah Shaidi 2 0 14 0 (1w) Bangladesh U 19s Shadman Islam (file photo) scored an unbeaten 126 against Afghanistan in their U 19 World Cup opener in Abu Dhabi yesterday COURTESY

Young Tigers open WC account in style

Bangladesh rode on a commanding 216run opening stand between Shadman Islam and Joyraz Sheikh to start their Under-19 World Cup campaign with an emphatic 10-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi yesterday. After roping the Afghans to 212 runs with an impressive bowling performance, it was Shadman who registered his careers first century and paved the way for an easy win with over seven overs to spare at Sheikh Zayed Stadium . Player of the match Shadman, the dominating off the two, clobbered 14 fours and a six to remain unbeaten on 126 runs from 142 deliveries. Joyraz at the other end was sensible to assist him with a valuable 81 off 114 balls. He struck 11 fours. Their partnership of 216 in 42.3 overs was the second best for Bangladesh in the Under-19 stage. The best was of 231 runs between Amit Majumder and Anamul Haque against Zimbabwe in Bogra in 2009. Earlier, put in to bat first Afghanistan were off to a good start with their openers adding 69 but once the partnership was broken through a run-out by Mosaddek Hossain they young Tigers never looked back. The spinners played the vital role as they tied the run-rate and pressurised the Afghan batters to go for big shots which eventually cost them their wickets in regular intervals. Off-spinner Mosaddek was the most successful bowler claiming three for 19 while left-arm spinner Rahatul Ferdous took two for 38. 8 In the other match of Group B Australia also registered a 101-run win over Namibia. Meanwhile, India and Scotland also picked up wins in their respective matches against Pakistan and Papua New Guinea. l

I had informed my decision to the board. It was on them to decide on my move. The ODI series is important for us and for me as I havent been able to play up to my ability in the previous games, said Tamim to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Starting tomorrow all the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. The second and third match will be played on February 20 and 22 respectively. l

Atletico Madrid go back top

Atletico Madrid moved clear at the top of La Liga, for a few hours at least, as two goals inside the first four minutes guided them to a 3-0 win over Valladolid. Raul Garcia opened the scoring from a well-worked free-kick after three minutes before Diego Costa lofted in his 25th goal of the season 60 seconds later. And Diego Godin rounded off the scoring when he headed home the third 17 minutes from time. Atletico now lead Barcelona and Real Madrid by three points. The key was the intensity that the players started with. Going 2-0 ahead allowed us to relax and once it went 3-0 even more so, said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. l

Positive attitude the key

A never say die approach squared up with some belligerent batting and courageous bowling took Bangladesh to the verge of the victory in the twomatch T20 series against Sri Lanka, the highest ranked team in the shortest version of the game. Though the Tigers lost both matches in the final ball, many positives could be pulled out from their performances. The result would have come Bangladeshs way had they enjoyed some luck as the last-ball controversy in the first T20 will bring the storm back to the tea cups again and again. Whether it was a no-ball above the waist height or not, remains debatable but Bangladesh was the sufferer for sure. Bangladesh paved the way for three debutants - Arafat Sunny and wicketkeeper Mithun Ali in the first match while Sabbir Rahman made his in the second. Sunny, who has been roaming through the local cricket arena for about 12 years took two for 17 in the first T20 and opened the ball in the second match and chipped away with another victim. His line and length was up to the mark. Mithun Ali, however, did not have nice debut with the bat, but his work behind the wicket was good. Meanwhile Sabbir Rahman took the field in a pressure point with many of big guns already gone. Known for his hard hitting ability the youngster contained himself and his sensible 26 off 36 must have pleased the selectors. What were in the minds of the Bangladesh batsmen in the second T20 was not known as they were in an attacking mode from the word go. The way Anamul Haque and Shakib al Hasan featured was a relish to the eyes and so did the crowd let know with wild cheers. Maybe the attacking style was a demonstration of the strategy the Tigers would wear in the coming World Cup T20 and regular skipper Mushfiqur Rahims return will just bolster the attacking instincts. The three catches gripped by Farhad Reza, Nasir Hossain and Anamul in the first T20 should work as an inspiration in the field for a long time. All the three were world class catches and showcased the improvement in the fielding sector of the Tigers. Taking the match to the last ball against the worlds top ranked T20 side will be the most notable point off the two matches. The attacking approach with just 120 to defend in the second match was admirable. T20 moves too fast and Bangladesh may have lacked the fine tuning, but with the T20 World Cup knocking at door Bangladesh surely can look forward with confidence. The recent performance only sends the message that Bangladesh will be a tough nut to crack. l

SCORECARD
Australia, first innings, 397 South Africa, first innings, 206 Australia, second innings

Johnson bowls Aussies to crushing win

1 44 17 24
290 Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson claimed his career-best match figures as he bowled his team to a crushing 281-run win over South Africa on the fourth day of the first Test at SuperSport Park on Saturday. Johnson followed up his seven for 68 in the first innings with five for 59 as South Africa were bundled out for 200. As he did in the first innings, Johnson took a wicket in his first over and dismissed both South African opening batsmen cheaply to leave the hosts struggling. AB de Villiers, who made 91 in the first innings, again provided the only significant resistance to the Johnsoninspired bowling attack, hitting 48 before driving Johnson to short cover where Australian captain Michael Clarke held a stinging catch. Johnsons match figures of 12 for 127 bettered his previous match best of 11 for 159 against South Africa in Perth in 2008/09. It was a match dominated almost entirely by Australia, who thoroughly outplayed the team currently ranked number one in Test cricket. Given the performance of Johnson in particular, it will be difficult for South Africa to come back in the two remaining Test matches. South Africa have not been beaten in a series since Australia beat them, also in South Africa, in 2008/09. As he did in the first innings, Johnson took a wicket in his first over, having Alviro Petersen caught behind for one. It was Johnsons 250th Test wicket in his 57th Test match. Clarke declared Australias second innings closed at 290 for four after only 3.2 overs when Shaun Marsh was caught behind off Dale Steyn without adding to his overnight score of 44. l

(overnight 288 3) C. Rogers b Steyn S. Marsh c De Villiers b Steyn M. Clarke not out Extras (b3, lb14, w7)
Total (4 wkts dec, 72.2 overs) Bowling

Philander 11 2 28 0, Steyn 14.2 2 61 2 (1w), McLaren 11 0 47 0 (1w), Morkel 13 4 38 0, Peterson 19 1 87 1 (5w), Duminy 4 0 12 1
South Africa, second innings

A. Petersen c Haddin b Johnson G. Smith c Doolan b Johnson H. Amla c Marsh b Harris F. du Plessis lbw b Siddle A. de Villiers c Clarke b Johnson J. Duminy c Doolan b Johnson R. McLaren c Haddin b Johnson R. Peterson b Siddle V. Philander not out D. Steyn c Marsh b Harris M. Morkel run out (Lyon) Extras (b10, lb5, nb1, w11)
Total (59.4 overs) Fall of wickets

1 4 35 18 48 10 6 21 26 3 1 27
200

Sylhet bag easy win, Metro on course

Sylhet bagged their first win of the National Cricket League season beating Dhaka division by nine wickets inside three days at Khulnas Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium yesterday. Dhaka Metropolis were comfortably placed against Barisal with a lead of 257 runs at stumps of the third day. Meanwhile the days play in the other two matches of the third round Chittagong versus Khulna and Rajshahi versus Rangpur did not roll on the field due to drizzle and overcast conditions. to win which they achieved in three and a half overs.

BRIEF SCORES
Sylhet v Dhaka Div Dhaka (1st innings) 100 all out in 39.4 overs Sylhet (1st innings) 356 all out in 110.3 overs Dhaka (2nd innings) 269 all out in 85 overs (Rakibul 54, Nasum 4/60, Jayed 4/82) Sylhet (2nd innings) 14/1 in 3.3 overs, (Rumman 6*, Nurul 1/3) Sylhet won by nine wickets Dhaka Metro v Barisal Metro (1st innings) 400/ 9 declare in 119.2 overs Barisal (1st innings) 249/9 in 102 overs (Rabbi 121, Nayeem 70, Bakker 5/25) Metro (2nd innings) 106/4 in 27 overs, (Sunny 31, Marshall 26*, Ahsan 3/22) Dhaka Metro lead by 257 Runs

Barisal v Dhaka Metro

1 6 (Petersen), 2 12 (Smith), 3 49 (Du Plessis), 4 97 (Amla), 5 128 (Duminy), 6 140 (McLaren), 7 151 (De Villiers), 8 165 (Peterson), 9 178 (Steyn)
Bowling

Sharda Alam (2L) receives the womens singles trophy at National Tennis Complex yesterday COURTESY

Harris 12.4 5 35 2 (1w), Johnson 163 59 5 (1nb, 2w), Siddle 16 6 55 2, Warner 2 0 3 0, Lyon 13 1 33 0
Result

Amol, Sharda take singles title

Amol Roy clinched the mens single and doubles title in the 17th MA Jabber Memorial Tennis Tournament at the National Tennis Complex in Ramna. In the mens singles, Amol crushed Arif Hossain 6-1, 6-0 in the final to lift the title. In the mens doubles, Amol partnered with Ranjan Ram to beat Anowar Hossain and Dipu Lal 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Sharda Alam lifted the womens singles title after beating Ishita Afroz 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. l

Dhaka division v Sylhet

Australia won by 281 runs

Series

Australia lead the three-match series 1 0

Dhaka resumed the day on 111 for three in their second innings and reached 269 before getting bowled out in front of some controlled spin bowling from Abu Jayed and Nasum Ahmed. Jayed and Ahmed claimed four wickets each. Sylhet was set a target of 13 runs

At Fatullahs Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadiums outer ground, Barisal were cruising along with a superb third wicket partnership between opener Fazle Rabbi and Iftekhar Nayeem before left-arm spinner Abu Bakkar wrecked through their innings with a five-wicket haul. Barisal ended their first on 249 for nine. Mohammad Sajib hurt his finger while fielding and could not bat. Resuming on 109-2, Fazle carried on and scored 121 while Iftekhar made 70 as they added 159 runs together. Metro, with a massive 400 in their first innings, ended the day at 106 for four in their second innings withMarshal Ayub and Tasamul Haque unbeaten on 26 and 10 respectively. Off spinner Islamul Ahsan picked three wickets for Barisal. l

14
Fulham hire Magath as Rene sacked
Fulham took dramatic action Friday in a bid to preserve their Premier League status by sacking Rene Meulensteen and bringing in Felix Magath as their new manager with just 12 games of the season left. Former Manchester United head coach Meulensteen had been in charge of the Cottagers for little more than two months after being promoted from within the west London clubs backroom staff to replace fellow-Dutchman Martin Jol on December 1. AFP

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Wenger can splash the cash

Arsenal chairman Chips Keswick has told Arsene Wenger he is free to splash the cash in the next transfer window after the Premier League club revealed cash reserves of over 120 million ($200 million, 147 million euros) in their latest financial results. The Gunners parent company on Friday published figures covering the six months up to November 30, 2013. Although those results showed there was a group loss before tax of 2.2 million, Arsenals sound financial footing was clear to see. AFP

Ramos is going nowhere, say Hertha

Hertha Berlin on Friday denied rumours that their top-scoring Adrian Ramos had agreed to join Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Its false, said the sporting director of Hertha, Michael Preetz, ahead of their crucial Bundesliga clash with Wolfsburg at the weekend. A number of reports in the German and international media have claimed in the last few days that the current top scorer in the Bundesliga had agreed a four-year contract with Dortmund to begin in the summer, when Lewandowski will leave the Signal-Iduna Park to join Bayern Munich. AFP

SCORECARD, DAY 2
New Zealand 1st innings 192
K. Williamson 47; I. Sharma 6 51, M. Shami 4 70

India 1st innings

(overnight 100 2) S. Dhawan c Watling b Southee I. Sharma c Watling b Boult V. Kohli c Rutherford b Wagner R. Sharma b Neesham A. Rahane c Boult b Southee M. Dhoni c Watling b Boult R. Jadeja c Fulton b Wagner Z. Khan c Watling b Wagner M. Shami not out Extras: (b8, lb4, w7, nb2) Total: (all out; 102.4 overs) 98 26 38 0 118 68 26 22 0 21 438

Rahane hits ton as India take firm control

A maiden century to Ajinkya Rahane, inspired by advice from master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, boosted India to a formidable 246-run first innings lead over New Zealand in the Second Test in Wellington on Saturday. India were all out late in the day for 438 in reply to New Zealands 192, with Rahanes 118 backed by 98 from Shikhar Dhawan and 68 from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. At stumps, after facing nine overs, New Zealand were 24-1 in their second innings and with three days remaining they face a huge struggle to prevent India drawing the series. Hamish Rutherford was not out 18 with Kane Williamson on four. Peter Fulton went for one, lbw to Zaheer Khan. The promising Rahane, playing only his fifth Test, was in exquisite form as he drove and pulled the New Zealand seamers in a near chanceless innings on a Basin Reserve wicket which had lost the venom it held on the first day. He said he was inspired by words of advice from the recently retired Tendulkar. He took his chance with a 158ball knock that included 17 fours and one six before it came to an end with an exceptional catch from Trent Boult, running in from the boundary and diving forward to clasp the ball one-handed. When India resumed the day at 100-2, New Zealand made heavy weather of removing nightwatchman Ishant Sharma. He was twice sat on his backside while subjected to a barrage of shortpitched deliveries, but still managed to extend his score from an overnight three to 26 before he was caught behind. Dhawan, a century-maker in the first Test, reached 98 when an attempt to drive a seaming Tim Southee delivery gave Watling the second of his five catches. For New Zealand, Southee, Boult and Wagner took three wickets apiece, while debutant Jimmy Neesham bowled Rohit Sharma to claim his maiden Test wicket. l

Fall of wickets 1 2, 2 89, 3 141, 4 162, 5 165, 6 228, 7 348, 8 385, 9 423, 10 438 Bowling Boult 26 7 99 3 (2w, 1nb), Southee 20 0 93 3, Wagner 22.4 3 106 3 (1nb), Anderson 16 2 66 0 (3w), Neesham 18 2 62 1 (1w)

New Zealand 2nd innings

P. Fulton lbw Khan H. Rutherford not out K. Williamson not out Extras (nb1) Total: (one wicket; nine overs) 1 18 4 1 24

Bowling I. Sharma 3 0 9 0 (1nb), Khan 3 2 7 1, Shami 3 0 8 0

India Ajinkya Rahane celebrates his first Test century against New Zealand on the second day of their second Test in Wellington, New Zealand yesterday AP

Wenger in spotlight as Arsenal seek revenge

Branded a specialist in failure by his Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will hope his side prove otherwise when they host Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday. Chasing a first trophy since their 2005 success in the FA Cup, Arsenal will not want for motivation against a Liverpool side who thrashed them 5-1 when the teams met last weekend. Brendan Rodgerss side smashed four goals past Wengers men inside the opening 20 minutes of their game at Anfield as Arsenal were ruthlessly toppled from the league summit. Arsenal recovered to draw 0-0 at home to Manchester United in mid-week, but Wenger admitted afterwards that his players has been left nervous after their chastening experience at Anfield. Nevertheless, the London club prevailed 2-0 when the sides met at the Emirates Stadium in November and Wenger is confident that his players will be determined to restore pride after their capitulation seven days ago. Liverpool manager Rodgers has been eager to play down his sides title chances, but after winning 3-2 at Fulham on Wednesday the Merseyside club are only four points off the pace in the league. Rodgers, however, is reluctant to become further embroiled in the verbal sparring that looks set to characterise the final three months of the season. Liverpool are the form team in the Premier League at the moment and striker Daniel Sturridge can set a new club record by scoring in a ninth consecutive game if he finds the net against Arsenal.l

Tributes paid to Finney, Messi of his day

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke led tributes to late England great Tom Finney on Saturday, saying that the former Preston North End winger would be forever remembered. Finney died at the age of 91 on Friday after a life-long attachment to Preston that made him a byword for sporting loyalty in Britain. A dashing wide player, he scored 210 goals in 473 appearances for the team from northwest England and later became club president. He also represented his country on 76 occasions, scoring 30 goals. On behalf of the FA, I would like to send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sir Tom Finney, Dyke said in a statement. He was one of English footballs all-time greats and will be much missed across the game.l

Balotelli wonder goal sinks Bologna

A late wonder goal from Mario Balotelli gave AC Milan a 1-0 home win over resilient Bologna in Serie A on Friday. Balotelli lifted a dreary match with his 10th league goal of the season, an incredible looping long-range strike from near the sideline in the 86th minute moving Milan up to 10th, level on 32 points with ninth-placed Lazio. Milan are four points behind rivals Inter Milan, who are fifth, with Walter Mazzarris side facing a tough trip to Fiorentina on Saturday. I saw the keeper was off his line so I thought Id try and hit it hard. Luckily for me I struck it well, said Balotelli. The Italy striker cried after being substituted in last weeks 3-1 defeat at Napoli and did not celebrate after his incredible winner on Friday. Theres a tendency here to look too much at peoples private lives and I would suggest that we avoid that because Im an attacker in the national team. Leave me alone to live my life and give my best on the pitch, said Balotelli. The defeat was harsh on Davide Ballardinis Bologna who have won only four times in the league all season and recently lost leading forward Alessandro Diamanti to Chinese club Guangzhou. They remained four points clear of the relegation zone in 16th but on another night might have snatched a shock win with Jonathan Cristaldo unlucky not to score with a smart volley on the hour. With chances at a premium the most interesting thing to happen in the first half came when referee Mauro Bergonzi suffered a bleeding lip after the ball deflected from a tackle between Riccardo Montolivo and Diego Perez and hit him in the mouth. Bologna looked dangerous on the break and it took a moment of magic from an otherwise disappointing and seemingly disinterested Balotelli to grab a third win in five league games for new coach Clarence Seedorf. With a place in next seasons Champions League 15 points away, Milan will hope their local rivals slip up in Florence and that Hellas Verona, who are level on 36 points with Inter, stumble at home to fellow European challengers Torino on Monday. The win is a boost for Seedorf as he prepares for Wednesdays home game against Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League. Atletico do not play the same way as Bologna who defended very deep, said the Dutchman who also hit out at media reports that suggested he criticised Balotelli by saying that he isnt a champion. People like to take what I say out of context. I didnt say Mario isnt a champion but that he will become a champion, explained Seedorf. I believe in him a great deal and I believe in the man he is becoming. l

Roma set for Samp test, leaders Juve host Chievo

Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will put his close friendship with Roma captain Francesco Totti to one side in a bid to hand the Serie A title contenders their second shock of the week. Roma took a 3-2 advantage over Napoli into their Italian Cup semi-final second leg on Wednesday but departed with their tails between their legs after a 3-0 rout by Rafael Benitezs side, who will now meet Fiorentina in the Cup final. Rudi Garcias Roma have so far done well to stay in touch with leaders Juventus -- they are nine points behind with a game in hand -- and keep Antonio Contes champions on their toes as they bid for a third successive scudetto. But while Juventus are expected to claim an easy three points at home against a Chievo side who are just one point above the drop zone, Romas task against Sampdoria is not quite so straightforward. Mihajlovic remains friends with Roma captain and icon Totti but the former Lazio midfielder expects his side to play to the open, attacking game that has helped him steer them out of the danger zone to just below mid-table since his appointment two months ago. After Wednesdays shocker, Garcia expects a reaction from his side, whom he said were not clinical enough in both legs of their Italian Cup semi. Roma will be expected to beat Parma when their game, postponed due to heavy rain two weeks ago, is finally played.

FIXTURES
Catania Atalanta Cagliari Genoa Juventus Sassuolo Roma v v v v v v v Lazio Parma Livorno Udinese Chievo Napoli Sampdoria

Juve coach Antonio Conte will expect nothing less than three points from his side at home to Chievo, although his plans to give Mirko Vucinic a rare start fell flat after the striker was ruled out for several weeks with a sprainted knee.

Conte could reshuffle his midfield trio of Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo by bringing in Claudio Marchisio, according to reports. Napoli are third, four points adrift of Roma and 13 behind Juve, and are also in action on Sunday away to relegation-threatened Sassuolo. In Saturdays only game, Fiorentina host Inter in a match deemed important for both sides chances of qualifying for Europe next season. Fiorentina are fourth, three points behind Napoli, but with an eight-point lead on Walter Mazzarris men. Struggling Milan, meanwhile, host Bologna on Friday in a match brought forward due to the Champions League first leg last 16 clash at home to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. l

AC Milan's coach Clarence Seedorf (R) talks to Mario Balotelli during their Italian Serie A match against Bologna at San Siro Stadium in Milan on Friday REUTERS

Maradona appeals to EU over tax bill PSG coast past Valenciennes

Diego Maradona announced Friday he has asked the European Union (EU) to step in as arbitrator amid an ongoing feud with the Italian authorities over an alleged 39m euros in unpaid taxes. Maradona is accused of building up the huge tax bill during a spell playing in Italy where he led Napoli to their only two league titles, at the end of the 1980s and start of the 1990s. Im being persecuted in Italy, Maradona said Friday as he spoke to media at the Rome offices of the EU. Im not a fraudster. I dont have 40 million euros, I havent even earned that much during my career. However, Pisani added: If theres been a mistake, were ready to pay. If we owe 40 million, we will pay 40 million. According to Rivellini, the EU will announce a decision within four to six weeks an Diego will go to Brussels for the announcement. l Paris Saint-Germain extended their cushion at the top of Frances Ligue 1 to eight points on Friday after cruising past struggling Valenciennes 3-0 at the Parc des Princes. Ezequiel Lavezzi struck a first-half opener for Laurent Blancs men before two goals in two second-half minutes, the first from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the second an own-goal by Gary Kugelmacher, saw PSG coast to victory. The win extended the Parisian clubs unbeaten home run in the league to 25 matches and served as an ideal rehearsal for Tuesdays trip to Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 of the Champions League. The focus before Leverkusen was above all to win this match, reflected Blanc. The players have been thinking about Leverkusen but (tonight) they put it to one side and got the job done. We could have been more efficient, but to score three goals and not concede any isnt bad, added the PSG coach. Defeat for Valenciennes means Ariel Jacobs side remain in the bottom three, two points from safety and fourth-from-bottom Evian TG. Bearing in mind next weeks firstleg tie in Germany, Blanc predictably chose to rotate his squad, making five changes to the side involved in the stalemate at Monaco last weekend. l

Julio Cesar finalises Toronto loan

Brazils first choice goalkeeper Julio Cesar on Friday announced he had finalised a loan move to Major League Soccer side Toronto. I have signed a loan deal until the end of December, said the 34-year-old, who has not featured at all this season in Englands second tier Championship with QPR. The veteran revealed the move on his new clubs website and will now look to get match-fit ahead of his planned March 15 debut in Seattle. I have not just come here to be able to play in the World Cup but also to discover a league and win, said the former Inter Milan shot-stopper, who has won 77 Brazilian caps. l

Former Argentine player Diego Maradona (C), his lawyer Angelo Pisani (L) and member of the European Parliament Crescenzio Rivellini (R) pose with an European Union flag after a news conference at the European Parliament office in Rome on Friday REUTERS

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Sunday, February 16, 2014

15
Not punching blokes is way forward for reformed Warner
Another century for David Warner was further proof of a growing maturity in both his professional and personal life, the opener said after a quickfire ton on Friday put Australia in a commanding position in the first test against South Africa. Probably not going out and punching blokes at a club sums it up, he told reporters of his transition from the enfant terrible of the team less than a year ago to a key player in Australias march to a formidable 479-run lead after the third day at SuperSport Park. I put a lot of credit down to a lot of hard work with my batting coach back home and also my conditioning trainer. Also since Ive settled down with Candice, things have been fantastic there. The way she prepares for her sport influences me to knuckle down and be the best I can at the moment. His partner Candice Falzon is a professional endurance athlete who competes in ironman competitions. Im scoring runs more consistently now, although Id like them more in the first innings than in the second innings but Im just enjoying my cricket at the moment and enjoying winning games for Australia. The 27-year-old Warner smashed 115 off 151 balls on Friday as he thrashed South Africans bowlers to all corners of the ground, although he survived three catching chances. It was a marked transformation from June last year when he was fined and almost sent home before the start of the Ashes series in England after punching England player Joe Root in a Birmingham night club. Warner was suspended for a month but was spared the embarrassment of becoming the first player ever sent home from an Ashes series. He denied a drinking problem but was out of sorts in his three test appearances, amassing just 128 runs as England won the series comfortably. Warner bounced back in the followup Ashes series over the Australian summer with a century in the first test in Brisbane, another in Perth and ended as his teams top run scorer in the 5-0 whitewash with 523 at an average of 58.11. He has shown no loss of form at the start of the three-match series against top-ranked South Africa. l

QUICK BYTES

Mini Handball begins tomorrow

Milk Man Mini Handball Tournament will get underway with the match between Bananai Bidyaniketon and Viqarunnisa Noon School & College at the M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadium tomorrow. A total of 26 teams including 15 boys and 11 girls are taking part in the competition, it was informed at a press conference yesterday. The total budget of the event is approximately Tk240000 among which the sponsor organistaion Pran-RFL group will provide Tk200000. Tribune Desk

Mourinho intensifies Wenger attack

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has gone one step further in his criticism of Arsene Wenger by claiming he would have quit by now if he had been as unsuccessful as the Arsenal boss. The high-profile managers became embroiled in a war of words on Friday as the Premier League title race hots up, with Mourinho labelling his Arsenal counterpart a specialist in failure. Wenger, whose side are one point behind their London rivals in the Premier League title race, claimed that many of the teams at the top are afraid to back themselves due to a fear of failure, with Mourinho having labelled Chelsea the little horse behind Manchester City and Arsenal. Yet, just hours later, Mourinho hit back with his failure jibe, a reference to the fact Arsenal under Wenger havent won a major trophy since lifting the 2005 FA Cup. Mourinho said that if he went even half as long as Wenger without winning a trophy at a club hed resign. AFP

Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson celebrates after taking the wicket of South Africa's Petersen, during the 4th day of their first Test at Super Sport Park in Centurion yesterday

AFP

Top seeds Del Potro, Murray tumble by same scoreline

Top seed Juan Martin del Potro and number two Andy Murray were both knocked out of the Rotterdam World Tennis in quarter-final upsets on Friday by the same 6-3, 6-4 scorelines. Latvian Ernests Gulbis ended del Potros winning run when he beat the top seed, while unseeded Croatian Marin Cilic won his eighth match in a row this season with Murray his latest victim. The Scot had claimed victory in nine of their 10 previous matches but was well off his game as he went out in 71 minutes, losing serve once in each set. I would have liked to have done better but Im not frustrated. Im striking the ball well, said Murray, who now has 10 days before his next start in Acapulco. Third seed Tomas Berdych maintained the seeded status quo with his 6-7 (9/11), 6-2, 6-4 comeback over Polands Jerzy Janowicz taking nearly two-and-a-half hours. Dutchman Igor Sijsling beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to become the first home player to reach the last four here in more than a decade. He will face Cilic, champion last week at home in Zagreb. Gulbis, who can be brilliant or less than impressive depending on his mood, preyed upon Del Potro as the Argentine took treatment before the start of the second set on the left wrist which has been posing problems since last month in Australia. Del Potro came to the match without the ability to hit a penetrating backhand as he plays with medical permission while trying to clear up his wrist problem. Gulbis will be playing in his first semi-final at the event after advancing in 81 minutes with a dozen aces as he forced Del Potro to save seven of nine break points. Del Potro said he has felt delicate all week but still believes his dodgy wrist is on the mend. Murray is still recovering fitness after autumn back surgery and has not looked comfortable all week. Cilic said his big serve saw him through. Tonight was a good win, I played some great tennis, said the Croatian. l

Pellegrini reveals schedule fears

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is concerned his side may suffer in the long-run for a fixture pile-up caused by their ongoing involvement in four competitions this season. The clubs Premier League clash at home to Sunderland on Wednesday was postponed because of the severe weather battering Englands north-west. That meant City had an unexpected rest ahead of Saturdays headlining FA Cup fifth round clash against Premier League title rivals Chelsea and next weeks home Champions League tie with Spanish giants Barcelona. However, City have already postponed a derby trip to Manchester United because of their involvement in next months League Cup final and a home clash with Aston Villa will also be re-arranged if they defeat Chelsea in the FA Cup. Both things are good and bad, Pellegrini said Friday. It is better to have more rest because we have two important games on Saturday and Tuesday but also, as we postponed the game, we are going to have a lot of games during midweeks at the end of the season. AFP

Andy Murray of Britain waves hand to the crowd after his quarter final match at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on Friday AFP

Halep heads Doha storm as seeds are blown away

Simona Halep again proved herself the most exciting new young star on the WTA circuit as she rode the storm which has blown away so many of the seeds at the Qatar Open. Halep, a 22-year-old Romanian who was voted WTA Tour newcomer of the year, needed less than an hour to overwhelm the fourth-seeded Sara Errani, and allowed one of the tours gamest fighters only two games as she hurtled into the semi-finals. A highly effective first serve and strident flat hitting on the run built up Haleps impressive momentum, which earned the last seven games in succession and created a feeling that she will be climbing the top 10 standings she reached for the first time last month. Actually I could not run very well because I have an injury, Halep said to a mixture of amazement and amusement after her 6-2, 6-0 success. So I just wanted to be aggressive and finish the points as soon as I can. She succeeded so well in this that noone uninitiated would have been aware she was carrying an Achilles strain. Halep may also have been motivated by the memory of a heavy defeat by the Italian in Miami last year. It means that 11 of the 15 seeds who started the tournament have failed to reach their allotted places. Earlier, the third-seeded former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was ousted almost as quickly by Jelena Jankovic, whose recovery from a careerthreatening plunge is continuing nicely. Purely in tennis terms, the result was not really a surprise, as the former world number one from Serbia had beaten the unpredictably talented Czech in their last meeting, late last year in Beijing. l

Nadal back in the groove in Rio

World number one Rafael Nadal will top the bill at next weeks inaugural Rio Open as he returns from the back injury that wrecked his Australian Open title assault. The Spanish star, denied a 14th Grand Slam title in Melbourne by Stanislas Wawrinka, will be the biggest draw for what is South Americas only combined ATP World Tour 500 and WTA International event. The event replaces Memphis in the tennis calendar. For Nadal, forced to skip Buenos Aires last week as he returns to full fitness, the tournament is an early stepping stone in a claycourt season he hopes will culminate in a ninth French Open crown. Fellow-Spaniard David Ferrer will be Nadals main rival as the latter returns to Brazil having captured the Sao Paulo titles last year. The $1.5 million event at Rios Jockey Club Brasileiro will have two stars from the past on hand in triple Wimbledon and quadruple US Open champion Maria Bueno, as well as three-time French open winner Gustavo Kuerten. The pair, the biggest names in Brazilian tennis history, are both scheduled to make a show of backing South Americas biggest tennis event. Nadal said Friday he is hoping to leave his back problems behind him as he tunes up for another successful clay swing this season. I hope it will stand up well. I wasnt able to play Buenos Aires and feel bad about that but luckily here I am in Rio, which is a new city for me. I hope I shall be able to compete well, he told reporters. I trained at home for a few days and now well see how it goes at the top level. l

DAYS WATCH
Sony Six 3:30AM (Monday) New Zealand v India 2nd Test: Day 4 Ten Cricket 2:30PM South Africa v Australia 1st Test, Day 5 Star Sports 4 12:50 PM Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games Day 9 8:00PM Italian Serie A Juventus v Chievo Verona 10:00PM FA Cup Arsenal v Liverpool La Liga 12:00AM Athletic Bilbao v Espanyol 2:00AM Sevilla v Valencia Star Sports 2 11:15AM ICC U 19 World Cup England v Sri Lanka 10:00PM La Liga Getafe v Real Madrid 1:45PM Italian Serie A AS Roma v Sampdoria Ten Sports French Ligue 1 10:00PM Evian Thonon v Losc Lille 2:00AM St Etienne v Olympique Marseille

Nishikori, Lu advance, Hewitt out at Memphis

Defending champion Kei Nishikori rallied to reach the semi-finals of the $647,000 ATP US Indoor Championships on Friday, but Australian third seed Lleyton Hewitt was eliminated by American Michael Russell. Nishikori battled back to defeat Russian Alex Bogomolov 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to book a last-four berth against Russell, who downed Hewitt 6-3, 7-6 (8/6). Russell earned his first victory in four career meetings with the Aussie in one hour, 48 minutes. Taiwan fourth seed Lu Yen-Hsun also advanced, ousting US qualifier Alex Kuznetsov 6-1, 6-4 in 74 minutes to reach a semi-final against Croatian Ivo Karlovic, a 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 winner over American Jack Sock. Nishikori, an ATP top seed for the first time, saved all four break points he faced in the final set to win after two hours and 18 minutes. It wasnt easy, Nishikori said. My tennis level is not quite 100 percent yet, so I hope I can get better. I have a lot of confidence and my goal is to win the tournament. Nishikori, ranked 16th, has never before played Russell, who is ranked 98th and has never won an ATP title. Bogomolov, aged 30 and rated 80 spots below Nishikori is also seeking his first ATP title, and he broke Nishikoris first two service games for a 4-0 lead. Nishikori broke back in the seventh game but Bogomolov held in the ninth to take the first set. The second set featured two early exchanges of breaks before Nishikori held for a 4-3 edge, then broke the Russian and held again to force a third set. Nishikori, 24, broke for a 2-1 edge and again to seize command before fighting off the Russians final break chance in the last game. l

Pakistani blind wicketkeeper Nisar Ali (CL) tries to stop a sweep shot of Indian blind cricketer Ajay (CR) during their match at the Baghe-Jinnah cricket ground in Lahore yesterday. A 17-man Indian squad are in Pakistan to play a series of three Twenty20s and as many one-day matches in Pakistan in their first visit for three years AFP

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Contrary laws a hurdle in rape cases

n Udisa Islam
Contradictions in existing laws are depriving rape victims from getting the best possible justice amid longstanding demand from rights activists to ensure capital punishment for the crime. In the Code of Criminal Procedure, better known as the penal code, although there is a provision for life term imprisonment for committing rape, there are also mentions of other terms of up to 10 years. According to the specialised Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, coined in 2000 to speed up the trial of rape cases and ensure justice for women, the highest punishment for rape is death sentence. However, for awarding death sentence, a court has to be convinced that the victim has died because she was raped or injured from gang rape. On Thursday, a court in Manikganj sentenced two men to death for raping an 18-year old garment factory worker in a running bus in Savar near Dhaka. Recently, two special tribunals in Chittagong and Bogra sentenced seven people to life term imprisonment for abducting and raping three girls. In Chittagong, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 1 found three people guilty of abducting two girls and gang-raping them in 2011 and sentenced them to life in prison. Lawyers, however, said these were just exceptions. In most other cases filed in connection with rapes and attempted rapes, the victims were deprived of justice, mainly because the cases were filed under the penal code, the less strict law towards rape. Prakash Ranjan Biswas, a lower court practitioner, told the Dhaka Tribune: In our country, justice cannot always be ensured because of ignorance about existing laws. The police stations often encourage or suggest the complainants to file cases under the penal code instead of the specialised Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. As a result, the court cannot always ensure the highest punishment for such crimes. Sources said sometimes the police stations mediated understanding between the victim and the accused. There had been instances where the victim or her family decided to not file a case after getting meagre compensation from the rapist. In November last year, two alleged rapists were arrested by police in a village in Faridpur district. Police, however, later freed the two. The local Union Parishad chairman said the duo paid Tk20,000 to the family of the housewife, whom they had allegedly raped. Local police claimed that nobody had come to file any case. In May last year, a man forcefully entered a house in the capitals Badda and allegedly raped a woman. Police picked up the alleged rapist from that very house. However, a few days later, the alleged rapist, with strong political connections, secured bail and started threatening the family of the girl to withdraw the case filed again him. He has never been put behind bars again and the woman and her husband have since been struggling for justice. Lawyers say life term is not enough as punishment for heinous crimes such as raping. They also allege that weak investigation, incorrect police report, and failure of prosecutors and police officers to present strong cases before criminal courts are vital reasons behind low conviction rate in rape cases. The 2013 annual report of rights body Ain O Salis Kendra mentioned a total of 813 reported rape incidents and 185 attempted rapes. Among those, 287 victims were minor girls, of whom 188 were less than 12 years old. Some 256 were gang rapes. However, only about 550 cases were filed in connection with all those rapes and attempted rapes. Moreover, most of these cases have remained in the shelves because the prosecutions could not find enough witnesses. Womens rights activist Salma Khan, former chairman of the international Cedow committee, said: Violence against women is the extreme form of prejudice where men often go unpunished. If we can ensure real punishment, then the circumstances will never encourage other people to commit the crime. She alleged that police did of not record cases properly and as a result, the accused often got away with minimum punishment. l

Picnic bus crash kills seven kids in Jessore

n Tribune Report
At least nine persons, including seven primary school students, were killed in separate accidents in three districts yesterday. The seven school children were killed and 40 others injured as a picnic bus fell into a roadside pond in Chougachha of Jessore last night, according to our correspondent. ASP Reshma Sharmin told the Dhaka Tribune that the victims were the students of Benapole Government Primary School. However, she could not confirm the identities of the deceased. Chougachha police said the accident took place around 8:30pm when the driver lost control over the steering of the bus. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock at the deaths of school children, according to UNB. In a condolence message, she asked for proper investigation into the road crash and punitive actions if anybody was found guilty. Our Khagrachhari correspondent reports that a class VIII student was killed and 17 others injured when a car overturned in Atbari area under Matiranga upazila.

A child uses a wooden trolley to transport books to and from book stalls at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair yesterday

Street kids hit the fair in search of living

new books published
A M A R E K U S H E Y B O O K FA I R 2 0 1 4

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock at the deaths of school children
The deceased was Riachh Tripura, 13, a student of Alutilla Junior High School, said Matiranga police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Mainuddin. Locals rescued the injured and took them to Matiranga Upazila Health Complex and Khagrachhari Adhunik Sadar Hospital. According to our Lalmonirhat correspondent, a businessman riding on a motorcycle was killed when a truck hit him in Patgram town of the district. The deceased was Alam Hossain, 45. Police said a Dhaka-bound truck from Burimari Land Port hit his motorcycle while he was crossing the road. A case was filed in this connection. l

n Ahmed Zayeef
While hundreds of children along with their parents thronged the fair during the shishu prohor (childrens hour) yesterday, a number of street children were found struggling to earn a little money by doing small businesses inside the fair. Eight-year-old Md Alam collects scrap bottles inside the Bangla Academy. While collecting scrap bottles he watches children joyfully buying books from the stalls. He lives in front of the High Court with his mother, who also collects scraps, and studies in class one at Shegunbagicha Ideal School. I come here every day after class. After collecting bottles me and my mother go to Puran Dhaka to sell the

bottles and buy food for us. I do it every day as my mother cannot gather a lot of bottles alone, Alam said. I can read now and I love to read. But I do not have money to buy the colourful books. However, I will buy a lot of books one day when I will start earning, he added. Like Alam, a number of street children gather at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair every day. Some of them sell flowers, some collect scrapped bottles, while some carry books to different stalls. These children, who are studying in different schools run by different social welfare organisations, cannot afford to buy books although they are capable to read. The fair has become a new spot for them to earn livelihood but unfortunately the festivity of the fair does not really matter in their lives. The Bangla Academy authority celebrated its second Shishu Prohor yesterday from 11am to 3pm, four hours exclusively dedicated to children. The children were found putting on designs with water-colour and paint brush on their cheeks and hands.

Simultaneously, at the Doyel chottor, the street children were found waiting for publishers to carry books to the stalls on their handmade trolleys-a new medium to make money developed at the fair. Hridoy, a class three student who lives in the capitals Anondobazar slum, said: My father is a day labourer, but whatever he earns is not enough to run the family. Every day I earn Tk100-150 by carrying books to help my father. Before the fair started I used to work in a hotel near my house. Maria and Marjia, two sisters were found selling flowers in front of the Surawardy Udyan. They come here every day from the Kamrangirchar slum. Maria, the elder one, said: Our father died a few years ago in a road accident. Now my mother looks after us. We help her by selling flowers. A total of 126 books hit the fair yesterday, the fifteenth day of the fair while 17 books were unveiled at the Nazrul Mancha. A discussion on Lalon Shah was held presided over by former Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University Professor Pabitra Sarker at the central stage. l

Over 600 secretly admitted in private med schools after deadline expires
Colleges ignore the cut-off mark for admission set by ministry Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, director sion of students with scores as low as 110. n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Senior officials of the health ministry (medical education and manpower
Several private medical colleges have allegedly admitted students with scores as low as 110, ignoring the cut-off mark of 120 set by the health ministry. Sources said several medical and dental colleges have secretly admitted around 600-700 students who had scored as low as 110. The fresh admissions came as the original deadline for private medical and dental colleges expiring yesterday. Among those who allegedly violated the admission cut-off mark, Samorita Medical College, a Dhaka-based private medical school, openly flouted ministry directives by publishing advertisements on national dailies calling for the admisand the Directorate General of Health

BPMCA secy gen says no new student will be admitted in violation of the previously set cutoff mark, before a full copy of the High Court verdict is received
Services (DGHS) told the Dhaka Tribune that they had noticed the advertisement, which they termed illegal and a clear violation of the ministry directive.

development) of the DGHS, said the ministry had been informed about the advertisement and the private medical college has also been asked to clarify how they published the advertisement, violating the direction of the ministry. Aiyubur Rahman, an additional health secretary, told the Dhaka Tribune that the health ministry had not issued any instruction to admit students with a score of 110, adding that the Bangladesh Private Medical College Association (BPMCA) failed to produce any document despite claiming that the High Court had issued an order in this regard. Shah Md Selim, secretary general of the BPMCA, yesterday said the high

court had issued an order to the health ministry for allowing students in private medical and dental colleges with the score of 110. However, he said no new student would be admitted in violation of the previously set cut-off mark, before a full copy of the verdict was received. Selim said the BPMCA would submit an application to the health ministry to further extend the admission deadline, which had already been extended several times before. He hoped to get the full copy of the High Court judgement within a couple of days, which would be submitted to the ministry along with the application for time extension. However, 600-700 seats would re-

main vacant even after the cut-off mark would be lowered, Selim added. Seeking anonymity, several senior officials of the BPMCA told the Dhaka Tribune that the ministry did not respond to their previous application for relaxing the original cut-off mark of 120. On February 9, the BPMCA held a meeting in the city, where statistics revealed that a large number of seats were vacant at different medical colleges. The Sikder Medical College had around 40 to 50 seats vacant, while there were 45% vacant seats at TMMS Medical College, 40-50% at City Medical College, 35% at Munnu Medical College, 50% at Southern Medical College, 25% at East West Medical College, 20% at Taerunessa Medical College, 50%

at North Bengal Medical College, 50% at Shahabuddin Medical College, 50% at Mainamoti Medical College, 15% at Eastern Medical College, 60% at MH Samorita Medical College, 45% at Dr Sirajul Islam Medical College, 45% at Northern International Medical College, 50% at International Medical College and 60% at Nightingale Medical College. In accordance with a decision reached at the meeting, BPMCA Treasurer Ikram Hossain Bizu filed a case on February 10 with the bench of Justice Kazi Rezaul Hossain and ABM Altaf Hossain. According to BPMCA senior officials, the judges then passed an order to admit students with scores as low as 110. l

Two children killed in fires

n Tribune Report
Separate incidents of fire have claimed the lives of two children in Gazipur and Brahmanbaria, while three workers of a steel mill sustained serious burn injuries in the capitals Shyampur yesterday. Six-year-old Mehedi Hasan of Gazipur died in his sleep when his familys house was burned down in Kaliakoir upazila on Friday night. Sub-Inspector Syed Azharul Islam, in-charge of Mouchak police outpost, said Mehdis mother Moyna Begum and his grandmother were working the night-shift at a garment factory when the fire took place at their house in Kaderia Colony of Kathaliachala area. When going to work, Moyna had locked the doors leaving a sleeping Mehedi inside, the SI said. There had been a load shedding in the area since the evening, the police official said, adding that: Electricity was reconnected around 10:15pm and a wire of a nearby room of another house caught fire because of an electrical short circuit. The blazes spread within moments. Locals found Mehedis body inside the room when the flames were doused after an hours effort, reports our correspondent. Kaliakoir Fire Service and Civil Defense station officer Apurba said locals doused the flames before fire fighters could reach the spot. Meanwhile, at Titaspara area of Brahmanbaria town, a three-year-old boy died yesterday when a fire gutted his familys house. The deceased was identified as Yamin, son of Kamal Mia of Titaspara. The victims father told the Dhaka Tribune that their tin-shed house caught fire from an electrical short circuit. Yamin was asleep during the incident. Sensing the smoke, locals rescued him but he died allegedly from suffocation and electric shock. Tapos Chandra Ghosh, assistant police superintendent of Brahmanbaria Model police station, said the police have visited the spot to find out more details, reports our correspondent. In the capital, three workers of a steel mill sustained severe burn injuries when melted iron fell on them at Shyampur yesterday. Three workers Sanjay, 25, Mohammad Ripon Ahmed, 25, Md Belal, 41, sustained burn injuries of 90%, 75% and 60% respectively in the incident, confirmed Partha Shankar Paul, resident surgeon of the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Harun-ur-Rashid, senior supervisor of the Kadamtoli Steel Mills, where the incident took place, said the injured were working at the production unit where scrap metals were being melted in a machine. Because of a technical fault, suddenly the melted iron blasted in the machine and poured on the workers, he said. Polash, a coworker of the victims, said: In that section [of the mill], we always stay vigilant so that no intact tin or iron-made bottle or box goes inside the machine with other scraps, as they blast in high temperature during melting. Unfortunately that kind of bottle went into the machine with other scraps to be melted. In total, seven workers sustained injuries in the incident, but four of them had suffered minor injuries, he said. Kadamtoli police station OC Mazharul Islam said they have visited the spot and the owner of the mill would be interrogated to find out if there was any negligence in providing workers safety. l

Family members console Ripon, 25, who received burn injuries when a devastating fire broke out at a steel mill at Kadamtali yesterday morning. This photo was taken at the Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital RAJIB DHAR

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093 94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Bandwidth export may not yield NBR demands tax of Tk3,000cr immediate profit for BSCCL n on SIM resale
Tahmidur Rahman
BANGLADESH SUBMARINE CABLE COMPANY LIMITED
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Operators say revenue body unilaterally makes the decision of a tripartite review committee of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bann Muhammad Zahidul Islam gladesh (Amtob) sent a letter in this
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has finalised a report which says four mobile phone operators will have to pay Tk3,010 crore as tax for SIM resale. But the operators said they didnt resell the SIMs, rather replaced them. For replacement of SIM cards there is no tax imposed as it will lead to double taxation. The revenue board came to the point after the scrutiny of the SIM replacement data supplied by Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel. According to the NBR, 79% of the documents showed the subscriber identification module (SIM) cards were resold to different subscribers.

BTRC and mobile operators representatives didnt sign the NBR report although they were a part of the reverification process
SIM resale to a different owner is not allowed by the rule, said the industry insiders. NBR report said nearly 79% of the submitted documents of SIM replacement didnt match with the original Subscriber Application Forms (SAF). The four private mobile companies criticised the report labelling as unilateral and unacceptable. Before 3G auction, a report of a tripartite committee with representatives from telecom regulator BTRC, NBR and mobile operators said a few of the documents were problematic. The NBR prepared a terms of reference (TOR) last year, which was approved by the finance ministry before the 3G auction to quantify the resold SIMs, said Vivek Sood, chief executive officer of Grameenphone. But the NBR unilaterally revised the TOR after the operators participated in the 3G auction which is not acceptable, he said while speaking at the companys yearend financial disclosure at a city hotel last week. He hoped the NBR chairman would review the matter and find a solution. In December last year, Association

regard to the NBR, Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and telecommunications ministry seeking a solution. The letter signed by Amtob secretary general TIM Nurul Kabir and other four senior executives from the operators said the NBR used a new process for re-verification of the SIM information. The SIM Card Replacement Review Committee (SCRRC) of the NBR prepared the report after scrutinising the SAF, SIM Registration Form (SRF) and Undertaking Form (UTF) of the operators submitted between August, 2010 and December, 2011. According to the SCRRC claim, four mobile phone operators have dodged tax through selling old SIMs to new clients. Currently, the companies pay Tk300 tax against the sale of a SIM card. The Dhaka Tribune obtained a report on SIM re-verification prepared by the telecom regulator earlier, which showed there was no inconsistency in the information. BTRC and mobile operators representatives didnt sign the NBR report although they were a part of the re-verification process. According to the SCRRC report, Grameenphones 94.79% of information were inconsistent. This is the highest among the operators, followed by Banglalinks 94.83%, Robis 93.42% and Airtels 29.81% . The committee verified 1,400 samples from Grameenphones data, Banglalinks 1,200 samples and Airtels 1,097 samples Grameenphone failed to provide any CDR data before 2010, so the committee could not cross-check the data for the period, said the SCRRC report. It also said Banglalink provided incomplete data of a specific field while Airtels CDR failed to provide incoming call record, subscribers handset IMIE number and some system logs before the committee. The NBR has been demanding the amount of tax from the four companies since early 2012. After analysing the documents, the amount of payable tax decreased to Tk3,010 crore from the initial demand for Tk3,062 crore. Of the amounts, Grameenphone Tk1,562 crore, Banglalink Tk762 crore, Robi Tk647 crore and Airtel Tk39 crore. l

The revenue to be generated from export of bandwidth is unlikely to result in immediate profit for Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), a state-owned company listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange. The revenue from the exports may not result in immediate profit, analysts said. The proceeds will be used to finance a Tk100 crore project to install the second submarine cable, expected to be live by the first quarter of 2016," BSCCL Managing Director Monwar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. On the first day of last week, the company obtained an approval of exporting its unused bandwidth that would help surge revenue by at least Tk60 crore annually. Before the approval, a rumour spread across the stock market that BSCCL is going to get the government to export the bandwidth, stock investors alleged. The government has given us approval for renting or leasing out 40 lakh MIU-kilometres of internet bandwidth as we have a total of 82MIU-km of un-

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used bandwidth, Monwar said. However, the stock last week registered a gain of 15.9% over the previous week at Dhaka Stock Exchange, riding on the back of a buying spree as the total trade value stood at Tk144.9 crore. The A category companys stock price saw a surge of almost 30% in past two weeks. The current cable provides 200Gbps while the new connection will add up

1,400Gbps that may free more bandwidth for export in future. Contrary to the positive news of bandwidth export approval, the company last month reported its half yearly profits that decreased by 50% against same period a year earlier. According to the unaudited report, the companys profit stood at Tk24.6 crore after tax in (July to December) 2013 while it was Tk49.2 crore in the

same period of 2012. The latest unaudited report shows a sharp fall in rent revenue of IPLC (International Private Lease Circuit), which fell from Tk64.7 crore in the second half of 2012 to Tk41.9 crore during the second half of 2013. Our rent revenue fell due to unholy competitions that exist in the currently unstable market, said the BSCCL MD. However, we will not join the price war as we are clearly the better one in terms of quality and ethics, which eventually will help us overthrow the competition despite the inequality. Industry insiders alleged that BSCCL competitors like International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) operators are providing bandwidth at a lower rate as they do not yet have to share revenue and charges like revenue fees with regulator BTRC. The BSCCL MD said the company would perform even better, despite export revenue, once the market stabilises and a level-playing ground is created. Replying to a question, he said increase in the cost of electricity, generator fuel, administration and depreciation of core machinery put slight weigh on the companys profitability. l

Closing Price

Accord starts RMG factory inspection this week

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh will launch first phase inspection involving fire and structural integrity this week and it will inspect 200 apparel factories, from which its signatories source products, Accord said. We will begin apparel factory inspection this week to perform fire, electrical, and building structural safety inspections at Accord brand producing factories, Rob Wayss, Executive Director (Bangladesh Operations) of Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune via email. In the first phase,200 RMG factories would be inspected, he added. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) plans on having a meeting with Accord officials to share perspective on Bangladesh today. The issue of fire and building safety came under the spotlight last year, following the catastrophic incident at the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1,100 workers. the factory disaster, the retailers platform made a commitment to provide financial and technical support to improve fire and building safety standard of RMG factories, from which they source products. The Accord, a platform of 150 European Union retailers will inspect 1,500 factories under common standards to be completed by September 2014.The inspection will be conducted under the supervision of experts. According to Rob, the Accord has hired four international engineering firms to conduct initial inspections and is working to recruit another 25 Bangladeshi engineers, who will be appointed as Accord staff. Replying to a query on completing the inspection within stipulated deadline, Rob said We are hopeful that the engineering teams will be able to safely conduct the 1500 scheduled and planned inspections and that this recent hartal-free and blockade-free period continues. Last year, the Accord had investigated 10 factories for fire, electrical, and building safety in a pilot inspection.With the sustained unrest at the end of calendar year 2013, we were not able to complete all of the pilot inspections we had planned, said Rob. We will meet with Accord today to have a discussion on the procedure of inspection and to share with them a view of the countrys RMG sector as factory owners are apprehensive about the inspection, said Shahidullah Azim, BGMEA Vice President. It would not be wise if factory inspection is conducted with the American perspective in mind as the sector has matured without adequate plans in three decades, said Azim, adding that it should take the perspective of Bangladesh under consideration. On the other hand, he said,The inspection should be conducted in line with Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and we are committed to make the sector compliant but it needs time. l

ICBs Tk31 lakh picnic allocation raises eyebrows n Asif Showkat Kallol
Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), a state-run financial institution, approved an allocation of Tk 31 lakh to hold annual picnic, prompting the authorities to ask for clarification from the ICB board of directors. Banking and Financial Institutions Division of the finance ministry wanted to know the rationality of allocating a huge amount of money from the ICB fund, officials said. One of the board members from the finance division, Additional Secretary Gokul Chand Das, raised objection at a meeting of the board earlier when ICB officers submitted a requisition for an amount of Tk37 lakh in January. He pointed out that the issue should be discussed further and suggested including it in the regular agenda of the board meeting. But later, the board approved Tk31 lakh in its next meeting when Gokul was not present at the meeting. Now the Banking and Financial Institutions Division sought explanation from the ICB as to why they allocated the fund, according to a letter served to the ICB. Chairman of ICB Dr SM Mahfuzur Rahman said it is a misunderstanding of directors. If we see the matter blindly, the amount may be big for annual picnic. But it includes two other jobs like annual sport and cultural function. l

'It would not be wise if factory inspection is conducted with the American perspective in mind as the sector has matured without adequate plans in three decades'
The international firms the Accord has selected have committed an adequate number of engineers and have provided viable plans to complete 1,500 inspections by September 2014, Rob added. The Accord was scheduled to begin factory inspection from November 2013, but facing certain obstacles, it failed to launch inspection in due time.

MRA to launch CIB services to discipline microcredit ICB Islamic Banks share
n Tribune Report
The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) plans to launch a Credit Information Bureau (CIB) soon to bring more discipline in lending and borrowing process of the micro-credit financial institutions. Bangladesh Bank governor and also the chairman of MRA Atiur Rahman came up with the disclosure yesterday while he was addressing the Dhaka Microcredit Conference 2014 in the city. The conference organized by the Credit and Development Forum (CDF), was also addressed, among others, by state minister for finance M Abdul Mannan, MRA executive vice-chairman Khandakar Muzharul Haque and CDF chairman Mosharrof Hossain. Addressing the conference Atiur Rahman said, MRA has been working for introducing CIB services for the streamlining of the micro-financers. Referring to the example of Bangladesh Bank, he said, banks and financial institution under the ministry of finance oversee the activities of the central bank for ensuring effective credit risk management. Recently, a team has come back from Cambodia after witnessing fasthand experiences about their mode of CIB services set for microcredit institutions. they are not able to realise the credit. However, credit given to the MFIs does not remain unrealised and the rate of loan realisation is also good, he said. Lending to the MFIs has been increased to 250 from 91 in 2011, as many banks, even foreign ones, began to pick up microcredit institutions for disbursing loan among small farmers, said the governor. I have no hesitation to mentioned that the banking industry is now on strong financial footing but MFIs are yet to reach that level due to many problems, including fund shortage, higher interest rate, banks reluctance to give loan and hidden costs, he said. Atiur said, Bangladesh Bank will include microcredit institutions in its Tk200 crore project for credit disbursement among small farmers having bank accounts. Central bank plans to introduce Tk10-bank account for the street children as like as the small farmers, cleaners and RMG workers. The governor has also urged the MFIs to diversify their services besides lending. You (MFIs) can give various services like cold storage facilities to preserve perishable goods like potato, he said. Since its establishment in 2006, MRA gives licences to 732 MFIs with 1900 branches across the country. l

acquisition halts
n Asif Showkat Kallol
ICB Islamic Bank has stopped talking about selling majority of its shares to the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh after asking for an independent audit of the financially-troubled bank. We want to buy the majority shares of the ICB Islamic Bank. But it seems that they are not interested after asking for an independent audit, ICB Chairman Dr SM Mahfuzur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. They (the management of ICB Bank) have stopped communication with us, he said. ICB Islamic Bank has continued to face financial troubles and the acquirement of the banks ownership by the state-run ICB may raise the hopes of recovery. However, the Bank and Financial Institutions Division is examining the proposal of majority shares purchase by the ICB. The proposal will be placed to Finance Minister AMA Muhith for his consent. ICB will acquire 52.76% shares of the bank now owned by the Switzerland-based ICB Financial Group Holdings AG, a company listed with the London Stock Exchange. ICB in principle has decided to buy

BB governor said, Microcredit Financial Institutions (MIFs) have contributed a lot in alleviating poverty during the last two decades and also in bringing regeneration in the countys economy through credit disbursement in the remote areas. Credit Information Bureau (CIB) usually maintains records of an individuals borrowing and payment records. These records are submitted to CIB of the central bank by the member banks and financial institutions and this information is later on used to help evaluate and approve loan applications. If CIB was established by the MRA,

such records will be submitted by the MFIs including Grameen Bank and BRAC. The central bank had earlier set up CIB on August 18, 1992 aiming to improve credit risks and reduce the extent of default loan in the countrys banking system. The governor has also asked the banks to lend the MFIs with reduced interest rates, as they have played an important role in creating small entrepreneurs in the remote areas where banking facilities are not available. Banks are interested to lend credit to the big borrowers but in some cases

the shares of the bank after an independent audit, said an official of the division. According to the sources, the shares price has been agreed at Tk8 each against the face value of Tk10. On Thursday last, the banks shares in the Dhaka Stock Exchange was traded at Tk6.30 each. At a recent meeting, the board of directors of the ICB empowered its Managing Director Fayekuzzaman to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the bank. Sources said the central bank has agreed to offer all kinds of cooperation to the ICB to acquire the shares of the bank. The Orion Capital Ltd, a potential strategic partner for the acquisition, has sent a draft MoU to the ICB. Sources said the ICB Financial Group Holdings AG, a sponsor shareholder of the bank, in its MoU said the shares will be sold on as-is-where-is basis. Selling price of the shares will remain fixed at Tk8 which should not be changed after due diligence. It also wanted payment of the value of 10% shares it was disposing of before due diligence and the rest 90% be paid before the signing of the agreement as proof of fund. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock
DSE GAINERS Company BD Submarine Cable-A DESCO Ltd. -A GeminiSeaFood-Z Apex Tannery -A NCCBL Mutual Fund-1 A Olympic Ind. -A National Life I -A Square Pharma -A ACI Formulations-A Rupali Life Insur.-A CSE GAINERS

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Profit-booking breaks six-week rally

n Tribune Report
Profit booking has sent stock markets to red in the past week ended Thursday, breaking the rally for six previous weeks. The benchmark DSEX lost nearly 86 points or 1.8% to 4,759 after the end of the week when the blue chip index DS30 rose 14 points or 0.9% to 1,696. The Shariah Index DSES declined fractionally 0.7 points to 995. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was down 161 points or 1.7% to close the week at 9,362. to be a natural profit booking as market is standing over 13% return since the beginning of 2014, said Lanka Bangla Securities in its weekly market analysis. It said average turnover declined in the past week by 21%, indicating that selling pressure is getting thinner at lower prices. According to Bangladesh Bank, banking system has now Tk90,100 crore of excess liquidity, which is piling up as investment proposals were low in 2013 due to unfavorable business environment caused by political unrest. This excess liquidity is expected to lower interest rates further in the economy. So we can expect capital gain from bond holdings of financial institutions which are considered as held for trading securities, said Lanka Bangla The weeks top gaining sector was pharmaceuticals that rallied over 4%, followed by life insurance 3% and, fuel and power 2%. Conversely, top losing sector were IT that fell more than 6%, followed by service and real estate 4.8%, general insurance 4.6%, bank 4.5% and textile 4.4%. IDLC Investment said reverting previous weeks gain, the past week was halted by profit booking and investors cautious stance. However, portfolio re-balancing prevailed supported by the expectations of upcoming corporate declarations. The top traded stocks were Square pharmaceuticals, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited, Meghna Petroleum, Olympic Industries, Jamuna Oil, Delta Life Insurance and Grameenphone. l

DSE key features February 09-13, 2014

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract Traded Issues Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis) Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis) Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)
28,956.80 532,035,603 598,298 298 48 247 3 2,289.33 27.75

Closing (% change) 15.89 14.93 11.95 11.30 10.53 9.86 8.34 7.30 7.07 7.05

Average (% change) 21.26 11.66 11.66 12.63 13.04 10.89 6.11 8.60 6.48 3.48 Average (% change) 21.80 16.12 15.79 11.97 12.52 11.12 7.66 7.47 8.26 8.68

Closing average 220.66 67.69 159.30 175.23 10.66 204.02 343.56 266.42 88.91 106.22

Weekly closing 216.60 69.30 159.30 173.30 10.50 203.90 347.00 266.20 89.30 107.80

Weekly high 230.00 70.20 159.30 179.90 13.00 207.90 348.90 270.00 91.40 110.00

Weekly low 169.50 57.00 130.80 150.00 9.10 174.00 300.00 237.00 83.30 90.00

Turnover in million 1450.504 256.077 0.559 145.245 47.718 1113.197 67.017 1760.523 56.331 62.446

Latest EPS 3.28 1.12 6.44 4.86 1.03 6.90 12.46 11.36 2.13 5.33

Latest PE 67.3 60.4 24.7 36.1 10.3 29.6 27.6 23.5 41.7 19.9

Company BD Submarine Cable-A 7th ICB M F A NCCBL Mutual Fund-1 A DESCO Ltd. -A Apex Tannery -A Olympic Ind. -A Rangpur Foundry -A National Life I -A 6th ICB M F A Square Pharma -A

Closing (% change) 16.47 16.12 15.79 15.40 10.56 9.89 8.00 7.46 7.43 7.29

Closing average 220.71 85.00 11.00 67.73 176.89 204.95 108.00 350.00 65.56 266.97

Weekly closing 217.80 85.00 11.00 69.70 174.80 204.50 108.00 350.00 65.10 266.50

Weekly high 225.40 85.00 11.30 70.10 183.00 208.80 108.00 350.00 67.00 270.50

Weekly low 189.90 85.00 11.00 56.50 158.20 187.50 108.00 316.60 59.50 250.00

Turnover in million 178.562 0.043 0.149 22.409 14.399 47.262 0.108 3.871 0.163 102.527

Latest EPS 3.28 13.84 1.03 1.12 4.86 6.90 3.03 12.46 6.54 11.36

Latest PE 67.3 6.1 10.7 60.5 36.4 29.7 35.6 28.1 10.0 23.5

'Reverting previous weeks gain, the past week was halted by profit booking and investors cautious stance'
Market participation at DSE remained sluggish during the past week with the total turnover going down by 1% to Tk2,900 crore and the daily turnover averaged at Tk580 crore, a drop of 21% over the previous weeks daily average of Tk721 crore. Out of 302 issues traded, 48 advanced, 244 declined, six remained unchanged and 4 were not traded. Market has observed a correction phase in the week. This seems

CSE key features February 09-13, 2014

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract Traded Issues Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis) Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)
2,496.95 55,534,801 89,831 253 45 204 3 2,166.34 26.26

Weekly news from trade server

Dividend/AGM
GP: The Board of Directors has recommended 50% final cash dividend (i.e. total 140% cash dividend for the year 2013 inclusive of 90% Interim cash dividend which has already been paid) for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 09.04.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Bashundhara Convention Center-2, Block-C, Bashundhara R/A, Baridhara, Dhaka-1229. Record date: 20.02.2014. The Company has also reported net profit after tax of Tk. 14,701.57 million, EPS of Tk. 10.89, NAV per share of Tk. 23.06 and NOCFPS of Tk. 27.46 for the year ended on December 31, 2013. NCCBLMF1: The Trustee of the fund has declared 10% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Record date: 24.02.2014. The fund has reported net profit of Tk. 111,225,788.00 and earnings per unit (EPU) of Tk. 1.0251 for the year ended on December 31, 2013. GEMINISEA: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st December 2013 (Oct'13 to Dec'13), the Company has reported net profit/(loss) after tax of Tk. 1.77 million with EPS of Tk. 1.61 as against Tk. (3.60) million and Tk. (3.27) respectively for the same period of the previous year. Accumulated profit/(loss) of the Company was Tk. (16.43) million as on 31.12.2013 resulting total shareholders' equity stands at Tk. (4.50) million. HRTEX: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st December 2013 (Oct'13 to Dec'13), the Company has reported net profit after tax of Tk. 9.91 million with EPS of Tk. 0.39 as against Tk. 10.78 million and Tk. 0.43 respectively for the same period of the previous year. MAKSONSPIN: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st December 2013 (Oct'13 to Dec'13), the Company has reported net profit after tax of Tk. 35.13 million with basic EPS of Tk. 0.17 as against Tk. 5.16 million and Tk. 0.03 respectively for the same period of the previous year. However, considering proposed bonus share @ 5% for the year 2013, restated basic EPS will be Tk. 0.16 as on 31.12.2013 and Tk. 0.02 as on 31.12.2012.

paid-up number of shares i.e. 38,000,000 shares. However, considering Post-IPO 50,000,000 number of shares, Company's basic EPS would be Tk. 1.15 for 9 (nine) months ended on 30 September 2013 (Jan 2013 to Sep 2013) and NAV would be Tk. 11.04 as on 30 September 2013.

Weekly capital market highlights

DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :
DSE LOSERS Company Stylecraft -A GSP Finance-A Desh Garments -B Peoples Insur -A PrimeFin. 1st MF A Libra Infusions-A Legacy Footwear -A Union Capital -A IFIC Bank - A AB Bank - A CSE LOSERS Company Eastern InsurA Hakkani P& Paper -B GSP Finance-A Union Capital -A Prime Islami Life -A Kay & Que (BD) -Z PrimeFin. 1st MF A IFIC Bank - A Islamic Finance-A AB Bank - A Closing (% change) -11.43 -11.21 -11.19 -10.98 -9.97 -9.91 -9.75 -9.31 -9.17 -9.12 Closing (% change) -14.00 -11.19 -10.86 -10.46 -10.13 -9.56 -9.52 -9.28 -9.07 -8.85

4759.32706 1696.65731 14759.6558 12520.6525 9362.0009

(-) 1.77% (+) 0.88% (-) 1.78% (-) 1.08% (-) 1.69%

Weekly high 1084.70 30.00 83.70 39.20 24.40 520.00 40.60 33.40 37.80 35.50

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)
Weekly low 995.00 25.50 73.20 33.00 20.80 441.70 35.90 29.00 31.20 28.50 Turnover in million 0.310 55.206 19.688 33.036 67.146 2.875 15.505 26.536 147.732 155.748 Latest EPS 47.83 1.34 1.18 2.20 1.00 3.04 0.36 0.28 4.33 1.65

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports:

Average (% change) -14.00 -11.30 -11.47 -8.23 -11.31 -9.43 -9.75 -10.05 -10.21 -9.56 Average (% change) -11.43 -10.97 -11.49 -10.33 -9.72 -9.83 -10.35 -9.93 -8.32 -9.29

Closing average 995.00 26.38 74.46 35.70 21.33 468.33 36.19 30.16 34.29 31.11

Weekly closing 995.00 26.20 73.90 35.10 21.30 467.60 36.10 30.30 34.10 30.90

Latest PE 20.8 19.7 63.1 16.2 21.3 154.1 100.5 107.7 7.9 18.9

Closing average 43.40 28.58 26.42 30.04 116.50 20.00 21.30 34.38 19.94 31.23

Weekly closing 43.40 28.50 26.20 30.00 116.50 20.00 21.30 34.10 19.80 30.90

Weekly high 49.00 31.00 29.50 34.60 128.00 22.20 24.10 37.50 21.50 33.40

Weekly low 40.10 28.40 26.20 29.60 116.50 20.00 21.30 34.00 19.70 30.80

Turnover in million 0.056 0.358 2.446 3.036 0.149 0.064 1.729 12.086 5.918 15.519

Latest EPS 2.60 0.28 1.34 0.28 4.95 -0.89 1.00 4.33 0.87 1.65

Latest PE 16.7 102.1 19.7 107.3 23.5 -ve 21.3 7.9 22.9 18.9

ENVOYTEX: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 31st December 2013 (Oct'13 to Dec'13), the Company has reported profit after tax of Tk. 39.36 million with EPS of Tk. 0.28 as against Tk. 105.63 million and Tk. 0.75 (restated) respectively for the same period of the previous year. AFC Agro Biotech Limited: (Q3): The Company started its commercial operation on 07 October 2012, as stated in the prospectus. The Company has reported that its net profit after tax has stood at Tk. 19.07 million and basic EPS is Tk. 0.50 for the 3 (three) months ended on 30 September 2013 (July 2013- September 2013). It is to be noted that basic EPS has been calculated based on the weighted average Pre-IPO paid-up number of shares i.e. 38,000,000 shares. However, considering Post-IPO 50,000,000 number of shares the Company's basic EPS for the 3 (three) months ended on 30 September 2013 would be Tk. 0.38. Whereas for the period of 9 (nine) months (Jan 2013 to Sep 2013) ended on 30 September 2013 profit after tax was Tk. 57.59 million and basic EPS was Tk. 1.52. It is to be noted that the said EPS has been calculated based on weighted average Pre-IPO

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment: GENNEXT: The Company has further informed that the subscription period for rights issue will be from 18.03.2014 to 09.04.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 25.02.2014. The purpose of issuing Rights Share is to pay off debt and expand the production capacity. DELTALIFE: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to establish two fully owned subsidiary companies namely (1) DLIC Asset Management Company Limited with an Authorized and Paid-up Capital of Tk. 50.00 crore and Tk. 10.00 crore respectively and (2) DLIC Financial Services Limited with an Authorized and Paid-up Capital of Tk. 50.00 crore and Tk. 25.00 crore respectively subject to the approval from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) and Bangladesh Securities & Exchange Commission (BSEC). DBH: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has authorized the Management to negotiate and complete the necessary formalities to procure a floor space as follows: Floor space measuring 2,075 sft. at the 4th floor of Union Nahar Square, Plot # 19, Sonargaon Janapath Road, Sector # 13, Uttara Moderl Town, Dhaka at a total cost of Tk. 3,01,50,000.00 (excluding registration expenses).

CHANGE OF DSE BROAD INDEX VS SECTORAL INDEX

6% 5%

NBFI Index

DSE BroadIndex

ANALYST

Market has observed a correction phase in the week. This seems to be a natural profit booking as market is standing over 13% return since the beginning of 2014
CSE Total

4% 3% 2% 1% 0%

03

07

24

28

10

21

31

17

04

-1%

-2%

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 2921.24 1616.02 642.37 2676.44 1724.41 4437.33 7.43 2320.72 4452.18 3.07 155.67 427.80 322.29 1150.72 425.16 580.04 1894.72 2103.82 515.07 574.64 5.66

% change 10.09 5.58 2.22 9.24 5.96 15.32 0.03 8.01 15.38 0.01 0.54 1.48 1.11 3.97 1.47 2.00 6.54 7.27 1.78 1.98 0.02

Million Taka 318.84 136.87 28.50 338.17 101.53 220.65 0.00 207.86 365.73 2.63 18.10 27.91 42.53 59.31 73.62 21.43 97.03 249.38 80.89 112.64 0.13

% change 12.73 5.47 1.14 13.51 4.06 8.81 0.00 8.30 14.61 0.11 0.72 1.11 1.70 2.37 2.94 0.86 3.88 9.96 3.23 4.50 0.01

Million Taka 3240.08 1752.89 670.87 3014.61 1825.94 4657.99 7.43 2528.59 4817.91 5.70 173.77 455.71 364.82 1210.03 498.78 601.47 1991.76 2353.21 595.96 687.29 5.79

% change 10.30 5.57 2.13 9.58 5.80 14.81 0.02 8.04 15.31 0.02 0.55 1.45 1.16 3.85 1.59 1.91 6.33 7.48 1.89 2.18 0.02

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Square Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A Meghna Petroleum -A Olympic Ind. -A Jamuna Oil -A Delta Life Insu. -A Grameenphone-A Padma Oil Co. -A LankaBangla Fin. -A BD Building Systems -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BD Submarine Cable-A AFC AgroBiotech-N Square Pharma -A Appollo Ispat CL -N Grameenphone-A Aftab Auto.-A Delta Life Insu. -A BSC A aamra technologies-A UCBL - A

Volume shares 6,754,276 7,078,058 4,091,893 5,675,801 3,742,955 2,951,550 3,146,200 1,819,619 8,421,950 6,348,200

Value in million 1760.52 1450.50 1175.98 1113.20 880.67 800.19 653.32 614.59 609.40 458.54

% of total turnover 6.08 5.01 4.06 3.84 3.04 2.76 2.26 2.12 2.10 1.58

Weekly closing 266.20 216.60 292.10 203.90 237.10 278.70 207.20 334.70 70.10 74.20

14

Price change 7.30 15.89 4.96 9.86 2.73 6.25 -1.33 1.76 -4.23 5.85

Weekly opening 248.10 186.90 278.30 185.60 230.80 262.30 210.00 328.90 73.20 70.10

Weekly high 270.00 230.00 297.50 207.90 242.10 282.80 211.40 345.00 75.60 74.70

Weekly low 237.00 169.50 254.00 174.00 215.00 262.00 199.00 315.00 65.80 63.00

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

Volume shares 863,193 1,708,500 392,893 2,399,800 341,800 723,909 224,500 126,080 1,441,755 2,029,310

Value in million 178.56 107.95 102.53 76.00 70.82 69.18 60.97 60.43 59.72 58.35

% of total turnover 7.15 4.33 4.11 3.05 2.84 2.77 2.44 2.42 2.39 2.34

Weekly closing 217.80 60.30 266.50 31.80 206.90 92.20 279.90 486.00 39.60 27.70

Price change 16.47 0.00 7.29 -2.45 -1.57 -1.39 6.63 3.01 -7.91 -6.73

Weekly opening 187.00 0.00 248.40 32.60 210.20 93.50 262.50 471.80 43.00 29.70

Weekly high 225.40 68.80 270.50 33.00 210.10 99.70 283.00 494.80 44.00 30.00

Weekly low 189.90 53.00 250.00 30.10 195.00 92.00 262.00 462.00 39.30 27.60

11

Weekly average 266.42 220.66 293.32 204.02 238.43 275.21 207.00 337.17 70.47 72.99

Weekly average 220.71 61.09 266.97 31.23 206.66 92.56 275.50 489.70 39.88 27.96

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Sunday, February 16, 2014

B3
tagong Stock Exchange from a list submitted by the CSE. The regulator selected former NBR chairman Abdul Majid, Chittagong University professor Ayub Islam, former CSE director Moinul Islam Mahmud, former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, BGMEA first vice-president Nasiruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Institute of Chartered Accountants Bangladesh president Showkat Hossain and former ICMAB chairman Momtaz Uddin Ahmed. The new board will be comprised of 13 members, four from its existing shareholders, seven from independent directors, CSE chief executive officer and one from strategic investor, according to the Demutualisation Act 2013. l

New DSE chairman elected

n Tribune Report
Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Siddiqur Rahman has been elected chairman of the Dhaka Stock Exchange for a three-year term. He became the first chairman of the DSE after its demutualization a way of separating management of the bourses from ownership. The 13-member new DSE board elected him as the chairman at its first meeting held on Friday. The board is comprised of newly elected four directors, BSEC approved seven independent directors, DSE chief executive officer and one from strategic investor in line with the Demutualisation Act 2013. Besides Siddiqur Rahman, other six independent directors are former secretary Waliul Islam, member of University Grants Commission Abul Hashem, BUET Professor Dr M Kaykobad, former ICMAB President Ruhul Amin, Brigadier General Mujibur Rahman and FBCCI Senior Vice-President Monowara Hakim Ali. The four elected directors are Shakil Rizvi of Shakil Rizvi Stock, Khwaja Ghulam Rasul of Khwaja Equity Services, Mohammad Shahjahan of Jahan Securities and Sharif Anwar Hossain of Shahidullah Securities. A law on demutualisation was passed in parliament on April 29 last year with a promise to bring transparency in the stock market. l

Four CSE directors elected

n Tribune Report
Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday elected four directors from six contestants. This is the first election after the demutualised stock exchange. The elected directors are Mirza Salman Ispahani of Ispahani Securuties, Khairul Anam of Lanka Bangla Securuties, Mohammad Mohiuddin of Island Securities and Shamsul Islam of Berich Securities. Ispahani bagged the highest number of 92 votes, followed by Anam 86 votes, Mohiuddin 58 votes and Islam 57 votes. Chairman of the CSE will be elected from its seven independent directors approved by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission earlier. The BSEC on Thursday picked seven independent directors for the Chit-

Japan PM keen to cut corporate tax rate

n Reuters
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to cut Japans corporate tax rate, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, a step experts say could boost the global competitiveness of Japanese companies and make the country more attractive to foreign investment. Suga, who serves as the governments top spokesman and is one of Abes most trusted aides, also said Japans participation in talks on a USled free trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, was a vital part of Abes growth strategy, the Third Arrow in his Abenomics policy that also includes hyper-easy monetary policy and fiscal spending. The prime minister has made a definite statement regarding a reduction in the corporate tax rate, Suga told Reuters in an interview. We want to achieve this. Finance ministry officials have expressed concern that cutting the corporate tax rate, considered high by global standards at about 35% for national and local taxes combined, would worsen the public debt, which is already the worst among advanced nations. But Suga said: Whatever the finance ministry says, the government policy will not change. We will consider what will happen to government finances if the corporate tax rate is lowered, but the prime minister has said all along that a reduction is necessary. We want to do that properly. Abe took office in December 2012 pledging to revive the economy and end the deflation that has plagued it for a decade and a half. Suga said that nearly 14 months later Japan was on track to escape deflation. Without a doubt, we have been able to create the atmosphere such that we can escape from the deflation that has continued for 15 years, he said. I think that we are a cabinet that will achieve the two extremely difficult (goals) of escaping deflation and rebuilding the government finances, he added. He said the real test would come after the government raised the 5% sales tax to 8% in April. Without a doubt, the critical time awaits us after the sales tax rise, he said. Another rise to 10% is scheduled from October 2015. Suga said it was up to the Bank of Japan to decide whether further monetary easing would be needed if the economy struggles after the April sales tax hike. With regard to monetary policy, Bank of Japan Governor (Haruhiko) Kuroda shares the Abe governments way of thinking so we want to trust him and leave it to Governor Kuroda. The Bank of Japan launched an intense burst of monetary stimulus last April, when it pledged to accelerate inflation to 2% in about two years with aggressive asset purchases. l

Stronger-than-expected Germany, Politics, Fed could whip up new emerging France nudge up euro zone growth n markets storm
Reuters

n Reuters
A stabilisation in emerging markets after Januarys rout may turn out be the calm before the storm if political flareups and Fed policies provide the spark for the next round of selling. Currencies in Turkey, South Africa, Hungary and Russia, which suffered violent sell-offs over the past month, have recovered slightly, partly because central banks have fought back via interest rates hikes or exchange rate interventions. Investors also appear more sanguine about the US Federal Reserves plan to steadily withdraw monetary stimulus, a stance confirmed by its chair Janet Yellen this week. But the next stress points are already emerging. Some investors are bracing for the April tipping point, when the Feds stimulus withdrawal in real terms is expected to start having a more material impact on the economy. Another catalyst will be political uncertainty, with many of the deficit countries facing elections in 2014, said Gautam Chadda, director of investment consulting at RBC Wealth Management.

can commodity exporter Ghana, has also fallen to record lows.

Falling reserves

Nigeria is also an example of an emerging economy that is seeing a steady depletion in its hard currency reserves
That includes the capital-hungry Fragile Five countries, voters in all of which are due to pass judgment on their governments this year. Markets dont like uncertainty and there is a lot of political uncertainty out there, said Chadda, who expects pressure on emerging markets to return as the Fed scales back its asset-purchases over the course of the year. And if turbulence has ebbed in markets such as Turkey and India, it appears to be spreading to other parts of the developing world. For instance, markets in commodity exporting Nigeria, which is sensitive to Chinas growth and until recently a top frontier market investment destinations, have tumbled. The naira has hit two-year lows after President Goodluck Jonathan sacked four cabinet members ahead of next years general election, and its weakness has been only partly stemmed by central bank intervention. A weaker currency worsens the inflation outlook for Nigeria which depends on imports for almost 80% of goods sold in the country. The cedi currency of another Afri-

Nigeria is also an example of an emerging economy that is seeing a steady depletion in its hard currency reserves - its cash pile has fallen 7% over the past year. Reserves fell in 11 out of 17 key emerging economies, including Russia, South Africa and Indonesia, in the year to January, as once-buoyant investment inflows dwindle and trade with a slowing China declines. That in turn undermines the ability of central banks to support currencies under pressure. Michael Howell, managing director of CrossBorder Capital, said recent poor economic data out of China is a reminder for investors of the sensitivity of many emerging markets to the worlds second-biggest economy. Is the crisis over? Its not. Real exchange rates of emerging markets have to come down further, Howell said. Which banana skin are you going to slip on? I believe it would be weak economic data coming out of China or signs of FX reserves to start falling significantly. He noted that Britain and the United States had recovered faster from Great Depression in the 1930s than France, which prioritised monetary discipline. That could set the stage for a round of beggar-thy-neighbour competitive currency devaluations in emerging markets. Kazakhstan may already have started it, with its 19% tenge devaluation this week. That move was motivated by weakness in the rouble of Russia, Kazakhstans key trade partner. The shining lesson from the 1930s is that those countries that devalued currencies first got out quickly. (Kazakhstan) is following the script, Howell said.

Slightly stronger-than-expected growth in Germany and France pushed the euro zones recovery up a gear in the fourth quarter and offered potential for a more robust 2014, albeit with risks. Data on Friday showed the euro zone economy rose by 0.3% in the three month to December compared with the previous quarter. This slightly exceeded market expectations for a 0.2% expansion. The 9.5tn euro economy had already emerged in the second quarter from its longest recession since the introduction of the single currency, but record high unemployment, external economic risks, fiscal austerity and low inflation have kept a lid on the rebound. The EUs statistics office will publish a detailed breakdown on March 5, but analysts said the fourth-quarter growth was mainly driven by exports and investment. A positive signal was that for the first time in almost three years all of the six largest euro zone economies recorded quarterly expansions. Germany, the Europeans largest economy, saw its growth accelerating to 0.4% on the quarter thanks to a rise in exports and capital investment, up from 0.3% in the previous three months. The French economy expanded by 0.3% and statistics office INSEE revised up the third quarter figure to flat from -0.1%. That meant France grew 0.3% over the course of last year, more than the governments estimate of 0.1%. Analysts nonetheless were cautious. It is still going to be far from plain sailing for the euro zone in 2014 as a number of significant growth constraints remain, said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS. Martin van Vliet, an analyst with ING, said a sustained recovery was not yet assured.

Italy, now awaiting a new prime minister with Enrico Letta due to resign having been forced out by his own Democratic Party, dragged itself back to growth for the first time since mid2011. Its economy expanded marginally by 0.1%. Over the whole of 2013, GDP contracted by 1.9%, the ISTAT statistics office said. Italy has been one of the worlds most sluggish economies for more than a decade. Growth has averaged less than zero over the last 12 years. In 2014, the government forecasts growth of 1.1%.

Ecb watching

'Capital investment developed positively, however, a strong reduction in inventories put the brakes on economic growth'
The German Statistics Office saw mixed signals from the domestic economy, which has driven growth throughout most of the year, with public expenditure stable and private consumption slightly below the level of the previous quarter. Capital investment developed positively, the Statistics Office said. However, a strong reduction in inventories put the brakes on economic growth. The German Economy Ministry said on Wednesday it expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.8% in 2014 - more than four times faster than in 2013 as a whole. The rise in capital investment is very positive and signals that the German economy is starting the new year well, said Johannes Mayr, an economist at Bayern LB.

The European Central Bank kept policy steady earlier this month with President Mario Draghi declaring more information was needed before deciding on any action. He cited fresh ECB staff forecasts which will be ready for the March policy meeting and the fourth quarter GDP numbers. Spain has already reported fourth quarter growth of 0.3%, its second successive quarter of expansion. The government now expects growth this year of close to 1%, compared with an official forecast of 0.7%. The Dutch economy grew by a solid 0.7% on the quarter, well above the market consensus. Austrian GDP rose 0.3%. The French government expects growth will accelerate this year to at least 0.9%, driven by a rebound in company investment. A breakdown of the fourth quarter French figures showed growth was driven by the first rise in corporate investment in two years. Public investment was even stronger and household spending also recovered. Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici nonetheless described the economys strength as unsatisfactory and said faster growth was needed to create more jobs with unemployment at nearly 11%. The growth, however, now needs to spill over into a decent job creation, a crucial link the recovery was missing so far, analysts say. Moreover, both the relatively strong euro and the slowdown in emerging market economies are clear downward risks to the growth outlook, INGs van Vliet said, adding he expected the ECB to stay cautious. That said, todays better-than-expected GDP data does provide the ECB with a little more confidence about the recovery and hence reduce the chances of a March 6th ECB rate cut.l

Tipping point

The Federal Reserves winding-down stimulus, which began in December, has so far not significantly driven up US bond yields, which remain below levels seen in May-June last year. But it may simply be that the real effect of tapering has not kicked in yet, because as the economy recovers and the US budget deficit shrinks, the Treasury is issuing less debt. Stephen Jen, managing partner of SLJ Macro Partners says that until the Feds monthly bond-buying falls below $55bn, tapering will not have a real impact, relative to total bond sales. The Feds tapering will only catch up to the Treasurys tapering by April or so, Jen said. This may help explain why equity prices have been so well supported in Q4 2013 and early 2014, despite the Feds decision to taper. l

Toshiba says to invest $500m in India over five years

n Reuters
Japans Toshiba Corp said on Friday it plans to invest 30bn rupees in India over the next five years to expand its businesses in the country. Toshiba will position India as a strategic business hub in its thermal power, energy equipment, water treatment and software development businesses, Chief Executive Officer Hisao Tanaka said in a statement. The company said it is targeting sales of 180bn rupees from India by 2016/17, about seven times from the current level. It expects to employ 8,000 people in India by then. l

Toshiba's Chief Executive Officer Hisao Tanaka addresses a news conference in New Delhi REUTERS

Oil, gold prices hit multi-month highs n AFP, London

Oil and gold prices hit multi-month peaks this week on improved demand prospects in the worlds two biggest economies, the United States and China, and owing to a weaker dollar. Global crude prices rallied on improving US demand prospects. On Wednesday, US crude struck the highest level for four months at $100.37 a barrel, while Brent achieved the steepest peak since the start of year at around the $110 a barrel mark. Renewed concerns of colder weather in the US bolstered support for New York prices, said Kash Kamal, research analyst at Sucden brokers. l

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited recently appointed Sabbir Ahmed as its head of retail banking and wealth management in Bangladesh. His new role in the bank is effective from today

Pizza Inn launched its third branch at Banani, Dhaka on Thursday. Sayed Anowaruzzamn, chairperson, Eng Sayeed Ahmed, managing director and other directors of Mohammad Food and Alights were present at the ceremony

Kurmitola Golf Club began its three-day long Square Cup Golf Tournament 2014 at the clubs premises in the Dhaka on Friday. The tournament was inaugurated by Lieutenant General Mollah Fazle Akbar, ndc, psc, comdt, National Defence College

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page
THE DOG AND THE TECHNOLOGY

Sunday, February 16, 2014

World Bank aims to boost lending by 50% over 10 years

n Reuters
The World Bank hopes to boost its lending by 50% over 10 years by cutting costs, loosening a restriction on how much it can lend, and charging richer nations higher fees for some services, several people familiar with the matter said. The banks board signed off on the plan to raise lending by $100bn this week, and the details are supposed to be worked out ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in April, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The banks current loan portfolio is around $200bn. The World Bank, a poverty-fighting institution based in Washington, has been undergoing its first major strategic realignment since 1996 to make it more efficient and attuned to what countries need. Under the new strategy, the bank said it was seeking ways to boost its overall lending portfolio in order to keep itself relevant amid greater competition for development funds. Middle-income countries, including the banks five biggest borrowers -- China, Brazil, Turkey, India and Indonesia -- can rely more on private funding and bilateral loans as they grow. But the bank is betting that these countries, which still have deep pockets of poverty, want access to its advice and experience in areas like the environment and infrastructure. The bank also offers lower rates than the private sector. The $100bn lending boost would come specifically from the IBRD, or the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank arm that focuses on reducing poverty in middle-income countries, two of the sources said. The IBRD gets contributions from each of its 187 member countries. But the World Bank hopes to finance the higher lending itself, including by lowering its loan to equity ratio. The World Bank also plans to cut $400m from its administrative budget over the next three years to be able to provide more to its client countries, the banks chief financial officer told Reuters in October. l

A dog wears a "Petfit tag" equipped with 3G and Bluetooth from Japan's largest mobile phone carrier NTT Docomo during a press briefing in Tokyo on February 13, 2014. NTT Docomo announced it will start the communication service "Petfit" in March allowing owners to manage the health and locate the whereabouts of their dog through a tag attached to a collar from a PC or smart phone AFP

World shares head for best week of 2014

n Reuters
Evidence of a gradual acceleration in euro zone growth put the regions shares on course for their best week of the year on Friday and pushed the euro to a three-week high. As well as the encouraging economic data, which helped take some of the sting out of Thursdays disappointing US retail and unemployment figures, investors gave a cautious thumbs up to the latest changeover at the summit of Italian politics. Stocks in Milan were Europes best performers by some distance, rising 1.1% versus a 0.4% higher pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index. In the debt market, Italian borrowing costs hovered near 8-year lows. Italian centre-left leader Matteo Renzi forced party rival Enrico Letta to resign as prime minister on Thursday after criticising his governments failure to pass major reforms. That means the country faces its third administration in a year, but the hope is the youthful, sharp-talking Renzi can breathe new life into efforts to streamline the euro zones third largest economy. The appointment of Renzi is seen as something positive. He is a new politician who can take decisive action, BNP Paribas rate strategist Patrick Jacq said. This is not political uncertainty. In fact, the political situation in Italy now is clearer. In the currency market, the euro traded at just under $1.37, within touching distance of a three-week high hit earlier in Asia. Euro zone growth and the positive sentiment towards Italy helped its cause, although a softening dollar on the back of Thursdays lacklustre data had an equal effect. The mood was buoyed as fourth quarter economic growth in Germany and France marginally exceeded expectations and offered hope of a more robust 2014. The euro zone-wide number is due at 1000 GMT and forecast to show quarterly growth of 0.2%, though given the performance of the blocs top two economies, it may well exceed those bets. It (GDP data) will confirm there is a recovery in train in the euro zone which if you are an equity investor should at the margin bolster your confidence that the improvement is for real and sustainable, said Macquarie Capital strategist Daniel McCormack.

Dollar softens

Asian gains

Traders are pictured at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt stock exchange

REUTERS

Early futures prices pointed to subdued end to the week for Wall Street though it, like European shares and MSCIs 45-country world index, was on course for its best week since the end of December. Data from both the US and China have been unconvincing recently but the wobbles have been offset by assurances from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England that their supportive policies will remain in place if needed. In Asian trading, share markets mostly rose to give MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan its biggest weekly gain since September. Japans Nikkei stock average underperformed its counterparts though, tumbling 1.5% for its sixth straight weekly losses as the yen continued to make ground against the weaker dollar. Japanese stocks have trouble advancing as overseas investors have become reticent, said Kenichi Hirano, a strategist at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo.

The weaker dollar helped point Asian emerging market currencies towards weekly gains as they continued to recover ground after last months squalls. The Indonesian rupiah hit a near 11week high after data showed that countrys current account deficit narrowed sharply in the fourth quarter, though both the Russian rouble and Nigerian Naira remained under pressure. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes dipped after Thursdays data but climbed back to just under 2.74% in early European trade, pulling benchmark European German Bund yields in its wake US yields rallied this week after the US Congress approved an increase in the debt limit and incoming Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen maintained the central banks commitment to gradually withdraw its stimulus. In commodities trading, US crude slipped about 0.2% to $100.13 a barrel after skidding on the previous sessions dismal US data. Brent crude also edged down about 0.1% to $108.40. Spot gold added about 0.3% in Asian trading to $1,306.90 an ounce, after hitting a three-month high of $1,307.80 earlier in the session. The US data gave gold futures a lift and helped them post their eighth straight gaining session - the longest winning streak since July 2011. l

Indias finance minister seen walking budget tightrope as economy slows

n Reuters
Indias finance minister will be walking a tightrope when he presents an interim budget for the coming fiscal year tomorrow, doling out more funds to woo voters and tax cuts to support industry while projecting a lower fiscal deficit before elections. Asias third-largest economy is facing its worst economic slowdown in nearly a decade, with shrinking manufacturing, slower jobs growth and high inflation limiting the governments ability to offer sops to voters or companies to boost growth. Opinion polls predict defeat for the Congress-led ruling alliance in elections due by May amid widespread discontent with its mismanagement of the economy, high inflation and corruption scandals. Officials say Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is likely to make a lastditch attempt to win back voters by announcing more funds for health, rural jobs, roads and food subsidies, and to speak about the governments achievements in the last 10 years. Chidambaram will have slightly more manoeuvring room after an auction of telecommunications spectrum which ended on Thursday brought in a much higher-than-expected $9.85bn in bids. The government will get at least $3bn of that upfront in the current fiscal year, with the rest spread out until 2026. In an election year, India presents an interim budget to parliament for approval for planned expenditure for three to four months, but leaves the next government to take major policy steps in the full-year budget after the polls. Chidambaram is expected to cut factory-gate duties on products like autos to support the manufacturing sector, extend an interest subsidy on bank loans to exporters, farmers, and offer tax concessions for poorer regions. near 6% GDP growth and a fiscal deficit target of 4.2% of gross domestic product for coming 2014/15 fiscal year. He is expected to report a fiscal deficit of nearly 4.8% of GDP for the current fiscal year, helped by sharp spending cuts, higher receipts from the sale of telecoms spectrum and dividends from state firms. cal year, compared with 2.21tn rupees ($35.59bn) budgeted subsidies for this fiscal, the second source said. The next government may revise these numbers when it presents the full-year budget in June or July. Officials say the finance ministry has rejected the power ministrys proposal to grant an annual 250 billion subsidy for gas-based power plants to cushion customers as natural gas prices are set to almost double from April 1. However, the railways, defense, health and other ministries have been assured of more funds in the budget.

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French economy grows 0.3% in 2013, mixed signal for Hollande

The French economy turned in slightly firmer growth than expected last year, expanding by 0.3%, but undershot in the final quarter in a mixed message for the beleaguered government. This was a stride ahead of the governments own estimate that the economy would limp into growth of just 0.1% in 2013. AFP

'The government is expected to cut budgeted expenditure by 550 650bn rupees in sectors like roads, metro rail, defense and power sectors to meet the deficit target'
Economy losing steam
Industrial output has fallen 0.1% in the first nine months of 2013/14 fiscal year, and annual car sales declined by about 5%. Since taking charge last August, Chidambaram has taken many steps such as reducing spending and gold imports to rein in the fiscal and current account deficit that helped stave off the threat of credit rating downgrades last year. But he has made limited headway in taming persistently high inflation and shoring up economic growth. The economy is projected to grow by 4.9% for the current fiscal year ending in March, much lower than the more than 9% growth seen before the 2008 global financial crisis. Annual retail inflation remains uncomfortably near 9%. Chidambaram is likely to project We will surprise everyone on the fiscal deficit numbers, a senior finance ministry official told Reuters. The government is expected to cut budgeted expenditure by 550-650bn rupees in sectors like roads, metro rail, defense and power sectors to meet the deficit target, said another government source. It also may defer oil, fertilizer and other subsidies worth nearly 1tn rupees ($16.10bn) to the next fiscal year, he said, adding the final figures could be higher, and would be known only at the end of fiscal year on March 31. Both sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about budget numbers. However, the oil, fertilizer and food subsidies are likely to be budgeted at about 2% of GDP for next fis-

US industrial production falls 0.3% in January

Deferring burden

Analysts and the central bank are worried that by deferring a large amount of subsidies to the next fiscal year, Chidambaram may harm growth prospects. The government should avoid deferring release of funds for expenses that have already been incurred, to prevent tightening of systemic liquidity and further harm to sluggish growth, said Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, the Indian arm of credit rating agency Moodys. The central bank has asked the government to target food and fuel subsidies for fiscal consolidation, and take steps to deal with food inflation. The quality of fiscal consolidation worries us, Samiran Chakraborty, senior economist, Standard Chartered Bank, said in a research note on Wednesday. It expects gross borrowing for next fiscal year at 5.8 to 6tn rupees, assuming 12% nominal GDP growth. l

US industrial output fell 0.3% in January in a surprise downturn, partly due to severe weather in parts of the country last month, the Federal Reserve said Friday. AFP

European stocks firm up on eurozone growth data

European stocks advanced cautiously on Friday, boosted by news of recovering economic growth across the eurozone, while dealers tracked fresh political turmoil in Italy. At close, Londons benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the

Greek recession easing faster than expected, official data shows

Crisis-hit Greece took a step closer to recovery on Friday with official data showing that the six-year recession choking the country was easing faster than expected. Overall, the figures indicate that Greece has now managed to cut the recession by almost half in the space of one year. AFP