BTRC favour lets Banglaphone dodge croresWith licence for land phone services, the operator runs optical � bre networkn Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The country’s telecom regulator has been bestowing apparently abnormal favours to a private operator for a num-ber of years, allowing the operator to dodge crores of taka in legal govern-ment fees.

In 2004, private telecom operator Banglaphone obtained a licence for providing land-phone services to the country’s northeast zone.

Since 2011, the company has also been running an optical � bre networking business on temporary permits from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

However, contradicting the telecom act, the watchdog has not informed the Telecommunications Ministry about awarding the permission andhas not made any arrangement for getting a proper NTTN licence for the company.

Every year since 2011, the BTRC kept

on renewing Banglaphone’s permitby a year.

According to the Nationwide Tel-ecommunication Transmission Net-work (NTTN) guidelines, if Bangla-phone was operating with a proper licence, it would have needed to pay the government an initial licensing fee of Tk3 crore, a one-time application fee of Tk50,000 and Tk25 lakh as annual fees over these four years.

The guidelines also suggest that the company would have needed to place a Tk10 crore bank performance guaran-ty and share 1%-3% of its gross annual revenues with the government.

However, the BTRC has reportedly allowed the company to operate its op-tical � bre network without paying any of these fees and meeting any of the other criteria.

Sources said some senior BTRC of-� cials had been bypassing all the rules and regulations to favour Banglaphone.

Last year, Banglaphone � led a for-mal application for a proper NTTN licence. The plea, which is currently

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Two RAB members held for trying to grab landn Kailash Sarkar

Two members of the Rapid Action Bat-talion and three other persons were ar-rested last night for attempting to grab a piece of land in Uttarkhan area of the capital.

The arrested RAB members are Cor-poral Md Mizanur Rahman, 32, and Corporal Abdullah Al Mahmud, 33; the others are Zahir Uddin alias Polash, 35, Sheikh Md Nahid, 32, and Rifat Huq, 20.

Inspector Yunus Ali, o� cer-in-charge of Uttarkhan police station, said they had arrested the RAB men and three others on the spot while they were trying to grab a piece of disputed land.

When contacted, RAB 1 Command-ing O� cer Lt Col Kismat Haiyat said: “We heard about the arrest of two RAB members by police on charges ofhelping a person named Humayun Ka-bir to recover a piece of disputed land in Uttara.”

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

9 | 5 BIZARRE INDIAN ‘RAPE’ COMMENTS

20 pages | Price: Tk12MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Joishthya 26, 1421Shaaban 10, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 2, No 70

7 | CHINA-JAPAN TENSIONS 11 | TIANANMEN MATTERED 14 | MESSI SCORES IN ARGENTINA WIN

BTRC FILES CASEP2

NO WAY OUT

B1 | BusinessNon-budgetary measures like ensuring personal security and removing political uncertainty are crucial to put sluggish private investment and growth on right track, economists and entrepreneurs.

3 | NewsIn the face of widespread use of toxic disinfectant formalin on fruits, DMP has announced the launch of a massive anti-formalin drive from June 11.

4 | NewsHoping to deliver improved healthcare services to � stula patients, the National Fistula Centre (NFC) is going to be opened at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) today.

6 | NationA section of ruling party men are � lling a canal near Boromachua Bazar at Mathbaria upazila in Pirojpur district after illegally grabbing it.

INSIDE

The recent photo shows children play on a cart in a dumping ground of the Hazaribagh tannery in the capital as chemical fog envelops them. People are still forced to live in the hazardous environment as the government is yet to relocate the industry to Savar MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Ekram murder probe questioned n Mohammad Jamil Khan with

our Feni Correspondent

Police are allegedly manipulating the probe into the killing of Fulgazi upazila Chairman Ekramul Haque Ekram try-ing to hiding the real masterminds.

There are allegations against law enforcers that they are arresting local criminals rather than chasing the real ones under pressure from top political leaders of the district.

They are also forcing the arrestees to give depositions as per their order, alleged locals and family members of Ekram.

The family members said they would expect Prime Minister’s inter-vention in solving the murder case.

It has been many days since the kill-ing but the administration is not taking any strong action against the killers, Tasmina Akther, wife of Ekram, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“Everyone in the district knows who is responsible for the murder but the investigators are doing nothing about it,” she alleged.

Police yesterday arrested one more man in connection with the killing of Ekram. The arrestee was Arman Hos-sain Kawsar, 17, a student of Feni Gov-

ernment College and son of police con-stable Abdul Qaiyum.

Abul Kalam Azad, inspector of Feni Model police station and investigat-ing o� cer in the case, told the Dhaka Tribune that based on the information, police arrested Qaiyum who allegedly stopped Ekram’s vehicle on the day of the murder by pushing a van in front of it.

Police have so far made 24 arrests, all of whom are suspected to be in-volved in the murder. Most of the arres-tees are supporters of the ruling Awami League while others are pro-BNP men.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

HC questions Nizam Hazari’s parliament membershipn Nazmus Sakib

The High Court issued a ruling yes-terday seeking an explanation in four weeks as to under what authority Nizam Uddin Hazari was holding o� ce as the lawmaker of Feni 2 constituen-cy. It also wanted to know why the seat would not be announced vacant.

The order was passed by the bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar, follow-ing a writ petition � led by Shakhwat

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Chetia’s repatriation under considerationn Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Indian separatist leader Anup Chetia’s application for willful repatriation to India is under the consideration of Bangladesh Home Ministry, State Min-ister for Home A� airs Asaduzzaman Khan has told the parliament.

Since his arrest for illegally entering Bangladesh and holding a fake pass-

port and foreign currency, Delhi had been placing repeated demands for the handover of the general secretary of the banned guerrilla organisation Unit-ed Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa).

But because there was no bilateral extradition treaty between the neigh-bours, Dhaka has always refused to give him back.

However, � nally, the two govern-

ments have signed a deal that has paved the way for his handover to the Indian authorities.

Replying to a query from independ-ent lawmaker Rustom Ali Farazi during the scheduled question-answer hour for ministers, Asaduzzaman said Anup Chetia alias Golap Baruahad recent-ly applied to the Home Ministry for

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

NARAYANGANJ 5 BY-POLL

Anwar, Habib withdraw nominationn Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

Two candidates yesterday withdrew from the Narayanganj 5 by-poll.

The two are Anwar Hossain, pres-ident of the city unit Awami League, and Habib Siddique, organising secre-tary of Krishak Sramik Janata League.

At a press brie� ng in the city Awa-mi League o� ce yesterday, Anwar de-clared the withdrawal of his candidacy.

He said he did not want to contest the by-poll since his party was not tak-ing part in it.

“I do not want to stand for the by-poll against the will of Awami League,” he said in his address.

“The ruling party activists will cast vote for the best candidate who will make an e� ort to � ght terrorism,” he said.

Krishak Sramik Janata League Or-ganising Secretary Habib Siddique lodged an application with the return-ing o� cer’s o� ce for withdrawing his nomination "to support" his fellow par-ty member, Sha� qul Islam Delwar.

Today is the last day for withdrawal of nomination.

The Narayanganj 5 constituency fell vacant following the death of lawmak-er and Jatiya Party presidium member Nasim Osman who died on April 30 at Dehradun in India.

The by-poll contest was mainly cen-tred on four contestants.

The four were independent candi-date and former lawmaker SM Akram, Jatiya Party-backed candidate AKM Selim Osman, independent candidate and city Awami League President An-war Hossain and another independent candidate Ra� ur Rabbi. l

JaPa MP criticises government in parliamentn Kamran Reza Chowdhury

A lawmaker of the Jatiya Party yester-day heavily criticised the ruling Awami League for the government’s demand for additional grants of Tk8,066 crore which, he said, could not help the peo-ple and would rather make the corrupt richer.

This was the � rst time the govern-ment faced such harsh criticism in par-liament from JaPa, whose existence in the House as both the ruling and oppo-sition party has been questioned since the formation of the 10th parliament.

Fazlur Rahman, the JaPa MP elect-ed from a Sunamganj constituency, steered the criticism in parliament yes-terday that inspired independent MP Rustom Ali Farazi also to follow suit.

Fazlur also criticised a senior minis-ter for undermining JaPa “in the tone of the BNP-Jamaat.”

Agriculture Minister Matia Chow-dhury, State Minister for Finance MA Mannan, and Noorjahan Begum took part in the discussion on the supple-mentary budget for 2013-14 � scal year. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury presided over the sitting.

Fifty-� ve ministries and depart-ments have sought additional alloca-tions of Tk8,066 crore for FY2013-14. The original allocation was more than Tk106,104 crore.

“Allocating this huge supplementa-ry budget without ensuring good gov-ernance will make the corrupt people richer and not bene� t the people,” Fa-zlur Rahman told the House.

He said the state was being deprived of thousands of crores of taka every year because of the corrupt administra-tion that implemented the budget.

“The Health Ministry has sought Tk4,840 crore additional funds, but the post of a cardiac specialist in Sunam-ganj town – where I live – has been va-cant for years. This is the state of health services there,” Fazlur said.

He said the Education Ministry had demanded additional Tk1,193 crore, but “question papers of the public ex-ams are available everywhere. This is the state of education.”

The JaPa MP also opposed the ad-ditional allocation of over Tk440 crore

for the Finance Division, saying 33,000 small investors had been pauperised and the Ibrahim Khaled report had identi� ed them. “The share market manipulators swindling crores of taka of these small investors are still at large. So, such additional demand will only make people bleed.”

He said: “You have to ensure good governance. Unless you establish good governance, such additional grants will make the corrupt richer, not the peo-ple.”

Independent lawmaker Rustom Ali Farazi also criticised the government for poor performance.

Opposing the additional grant of over Tk76 crore for public administra-tion, Farazi said all developed countries in the world made their bureaucracy e� cient. “But here in Bangladesh, syc-ophant bureaucrats loiter [around the bosses] and they are promoted from as-sistant secretary to secretary,” he said.

Farazi said the Banking Division had sought an additional grant of Tk41 crore against the backdrop of scams in the state-owned Sonali Bank and BA-SIC Bank whereas small farmers were harassed for a loan of Tk5,000 and nobody would ask any question on de-faulters of Tk 5,000 crore.

“These cannot happen without someone’s collaboration,” he said, sug-gesting that the government prepare a list of bank looters.

Pointing � nger at Health Minis-ter Mohammad Nasim, Farazi said: “The minister talks bold but cannot force doctors to stay in rural areas.” He alleged that physicians and nurses skipped duties at government hospitals to practise privately.

People were forced to fake private diagnostic centres, he said.

“You take money, no problem; but ensure that people get health services,” Farazi told the health minister.

He praised Law Minister Anisul Huq for his honesty and said he could demand for additional grant of Tk30 crore.

He, however, said: “A sub-registrar earns Tk30,000 per month but has an income of Tk10 lakh. Is the minister aware of it? This sort of corruption must be stopped.” l

Ashraf: None essential for ALn Emran Hossain Shaikh

Referring to party leaders in a word of caution, Awami League General Secre-tary and LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said none was essen-tial for the party.

“All will face action if they break party discipline, no matter if they are in� uential or not. The party, the govern-ment and the country will fall into ruin if there is no discipline,” quoting Ashraf, an organising secteray of Awami League told the Dhaka Tribune following a joint meeting. The meeting was attended by the party’s joint secretaries and ogranis-ing secretaries and was held at Sheikh Hasina’s political o� ce in Dhanmondi.

At the meeting, schedules of seven organising district councils were an-nounced, with the � rst on June 21 and the seventh on July 19.

Sources said Awami League Organ-ising Secretary of Chittagong division Bir Bahadur and Publicity Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud talked about the

in� uence of Presidium Member Eng Mosharraf Hossain in local politics of Chittagong. They claimed that Mos-harraf was not giving any room to the dedicated leaders Gias Uddin and Abul Quasem to play role in local politics.

After the meeting, Joint Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told the Dhaka Tribune they had discussed recent po-litical issues and had � nalised sched-ules of district conferences.

“We want honest people having so-cial acceptance to come in the leader-ship,” he said. Sources said the meeting had discussed holding divisional dele-gate meeting in September to October. At the meeting, local lawmakers were urged to take initiative to make up for the gap with local leaders and activists.

According to the press release signed by O� ce Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, the probable schedules have been set for June 21 in Munsiganj, June 26 in Barguna, June 27 in Patuakhali, June 28 in Kishoreganj, July 12 in Thakurgaon, July 15 in Khulna city and July 19 in Rajshahi city. l

BTRC to � le criminal case against an IGW todayBestec Telecom owes regulator Tk130 crore; no decisionyet about Ratul Telecomn Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The telecom regulator is going to lodge a criminal case today against three owners of International Gateway (IGW) operator Bestec Telecom over non-pay-ment of more than Tk130 crore in reve-nue shares and annual licence fees.

“We have made preparations to � le a criminal case against the directors and owners of Bestec Telecom Ltd,” Md Ab-dus Samad, commissioner (legal) of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Reg-ulatory Commission, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Toriqul Islam, chairman of Bestec Tel-ecom, Enayet Kabir, managing director, and Md Mamunoor Rashid, director, will face the case to be � led with Gulshan po-lice station, a BTRC source con� rmed.

The BTRC yesterday also went to � le a case under the Public Demands Recov-ery Act with Narayanganj district judge’s court to recover outstanding Tk91.5

crore from Kay Telecommunications Ltd, previously owned by ruling Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman.

A number of sources at the commis-sion however told the Dhaka Tribune that the BTRC lawyer had returned without � ling the case “out of fear.”

Meanwhile, the government has once again extended time for Ratul Tel-ecom Ltd to pay its dues of Tk96.5 crore.

Ratul Telecom, in which former LGRD state minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak’s daughter Syeda Amrin Rakhi has 50% shares and his wife Syeda Arzu-man Banu has 20%, had so far been giv-en � ve chances to pay its dues and the last time extension ended on May 31.

The BTRC decided to � le a case against Ratul Telecom under the Pub-lic Demands Recovery Act this time but the government once again extended the time for the payment.

BTRC Commissioner Md Abdus Samad said their legal consultant � rms

had already recommended � ling crimi-nal cases against the defaulting IGWs.

According to sources, Bestec Tele-com owes the BTRC Tk115.41 crore in revenue sharing, Tk7.5 crore in annual licence fees, Tk1.13 crore in VAT on li-cence fees, and Tk6.71 crore in � nes for delaying the payment of fees. The tele-com watchdog had earlier sued Bestec under the Public Demands Recovery Act, and two other IGWs – Vision Tel Ltd and Telex Ltd – over non-payment of Tk181 crore and Tk92.5 crore.

BTRC o� cials said the act was not enough to collect the dues. Bestec Tel-ecom also faces a case � led by mobile phone operator Grameenphone over an outstanding worth Tk13.49 crore.

Telecommunication Minister Abdul Latif Siddique, Secretary Md Abubakar Siddique, BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose and Vice-Chairman Md Giashud-din Ahmed are all out of country and were not available for comments. l

'Dr Kamal was a failure as minister' n Tribune report

Finance Minster AMA Muhith yesterday said Dr Kamal Hossain was unsuccess-ful as the country’s � rst foreign minis-ter and his word has no actual value.

The � nance minster made the remarks at his secretariat o� ce a day after, and in response to, a dire criticism by D Kamal regarding him (Muhith) and the budget.

“Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rah-man had given Dr Kamal a big opportu-nity by appointing him as Bangladesh’s � rst foreign minister, but he failed. He is a man of failure,” Muhith said.

The minister also said he was not the general secretary of Gonoforum and he joined the party in 1993 as pre-sidium member at Dr Kamal’s request and the following year he left the party.

On Saturday, at Mirpur Moiyur Com-munity Centre, Dr Kamal called Muhith a mentally sick patient as he proposed an unrealistic big budget for the 2014-15 FY.

In response to a query on the remov-al of the Basic Bank chairman against whom a scam allegation was raised recently, the � nance minister said al-though PM Sheikh Hasina appointed the chairman, full responsibility of the state-owned banks lay on him. “I will discuss the matter with the PM,” he said. l

Two RAB members PAGE 1 COLUMN 6He said they were yet to learn the details about the charges as the police had not yet informed them formally of the arrest.

In reply to a question, the RAB 1 chief said the two RAB members had been de-puted to the force from Bangladesh Army.

O� cials at Uttarkhan police station said a person named Md Jamir Ali of Fauzir Batan in the area had � led a case against the RAB men and others for van-dalising and trying to grab his land prop-erty, and also for demanding money.

They said alongside the � ve, a group of hired people had also gone to the spot to grab the land, but they � ed being chased by the police and local people.

The crime-busting force, RAB, has been under � re recently following al-legations of three RAB 11 o� cials’ in-volvement in the killing of seven peo-ple in Narayanganj. l

EC to probe low voter enrolmentn Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission has formed a central monitoring committee to � nd out the problems in the ongoing voter roll updating as it did not get the target-ed number of people in the � rst phase of new voter enrolment.

The EC began the fresh enrolment from May 15 to 24, aiming to enrol 5% new voters in 181 upazilas, but they were only able to enrol 4%.

“The committee will � nd out the cause of the low number of new voter enrolment,” a senior assistant secretary yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune.

Committees were formed at every

division, district, upazila and city cor-poration to monitor the voter list up-dating activities, he said, adding that 10 sub-committees had been formed under the central committee. They all would submit area-based reports.

Some of the sub-committees would be led by the commission’s deputy sec-retary and the others by its senior assis-tant secretary, the o� cial said, adding that the commission had meanwhile decided to launch a mass campaign for voter enrolment.

New voters will be enrolled at 218 upazilas in the second phase from June 15 to 24 and at 115 upazilas from Sep-tember 1 to 10 in the third phase. l

High Court PAGE 1 COLUMN 3Hossain, ex-joint convener of Feni dis-trict Jubo League.

The plea mentioned that a Chittagong court had sentenced Nizam Hazari to 10 years in jail in an arms case. He, however, was released on December 1, 2005, after serving only � ve years behind bars.

Although he appealed against the judgment with the High Court and the Appellate Division but the appeals were dismissed, said the petition.

Manzill Murshid, counsel for the pe-titioner, told the court Nizam resorted to fraud in his a� davit submitted to the Election Commission prior to the tenth parliamentary election, by con-cealing that his appeals were disposed of and he was freed. According to the constitution, Nizam could only con-test the parliamentary elections if they were held in 2015, the lawyer said.

The constitutional provision says: “A person shall be disquali� ed for election as, or for being, a member of the parliament who has been, on conviction for a criminal o� ence involving moral turpitude, sen-tenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of � ve years has elapsed since his release.”

The court directed the inspector gen-eral (prison) and senior jail super of Chit-tagong Central Jail to submit a report on Nizam’s stay in jail along with relevant � les within 30 days. Manzill said Nizam had been elected uncontested. l

Chetia's repatriation PAGE 1 COLUMN 6voluntary return to his homeland.

“His application is now being pro-cessed at the ministry,” he said.

Contrary to the Rules of Procedure, the answer was not discussed in the House, preventing questions from MPs. Anup Che-tia � nished his seven-year jail term in 2008.

Reluctant to face trial in India, Anup Chetia in December 2008 wrote to the chief of the United Nations High Com-mission for Refugees for a refugee sta-tus so that he could seek political asy-lum in Bangladesh.

But his appeal was not taken into consideration. l

BTRC favour lets Banglaphone dodge crores PAGE 1 COLUMN 2under government consideration, was forwarded to the ministry by BTRC in December last year.

As the government did not make any decision about the plea by April 22 – the expiry date of the last BTRC “extension” – the company went to the High Court.

The court ordered the government to allow it to continue operations until the disposal of the application, on con-sideration that Banglaphone had many subscribers and had inked resource sharing deals with companies such as Robi and Teletalk.

Following the court order, in a let-ter on May 8, the ministry allowed the company until April 23, 2015 to contin-ue its operations but on condition that it “cannot build any network and install any instrument within this period” and

directed the regulator to � x annual fees and revenue sharing rates.

However, a May 26 BTRC letter sent to Banglaphone which the Dhaka Tribune has obtained, does not include any of the conditions set out by the government.

Moreover, the BTRC letter does not say anything about the April 23, 2015 time limit that the government has set for the company. The Dhaka Tribune has compared copies of both the letters and has found the anomalies.

Interestingly, during one of its meet-ings on April 16, the telecom watch-dog discussed the probable penalties including a Tk300 crore � ne and can-cellation of licence that Banglaphone might have to pay for � outing rules.

However, according to the minutes of that meeting, it ended up not mak-ing any decision in this regard. The

Dhaka Tribune has also learnt that the BTRC has not o� cially disclosed any of this to the ministry.

Banglaphone Managing Director Amjad Khan admitted getting a permit from the BTRC which did not mention any time bar for continuing operations.

“Our company did not ask for any favour. We simply wanted the minis-try, the BTRC and all other government agencies to create a level-playing � eld for all,” Amjad Khan told the Dhaka Tribune.

When asked about the anomalies between the letters from the govern-ment and the BTRC, Amjad suggested that the BTRC had merely simpli� ed the language for him.

He also claimed that the government could not bar Banglaphone from ex-panding its network because it would contradict the court order.

“This clause is a violation of the court order. The ministry de� ed the court but BTRC, in its extension per-mit, did not violate the court order,” Amjad said.

A senior ministry o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune: “Honouring the court order, we allowed one more year [to Banglaphone] against some condi-tions, which already apply to the other players. The government will decide on the application within a short time.”

When asked whether he knew that the BTRC had discussed penalties for the company, Amjad said: “Let us not talk hypothetically on what will hap-pen in future. Banglaphone did not do anything wrong.”

BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose was not readily available for a com-ment on the matter because he was out

of the country.Md Giasuddin Ahmed, vice-chair-

man of BTRC, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Actually I do not have any idea about the present situation of the Bangla-phone issue. I heard that there were some problems but I do not know why we are not carrying out the govern-ment’s orders.”

A couple of months ago, the Dhaka Tribune reported on another anomaly in Banglaphone’s declaration, which included the names of Technohaven Co Limited and Nitol Motors as partners in a consortium, although these two com-panies had pulled out in 2005.

After the report was � led, the tele-com regulator sent a correction letter to the ministry right away, saying it was an “unconscious mistake” but did not recommend any penalty. l

Ekram murder probe questioned PAGE 1 COLUMN 413 of them gave confessional state-ments and police are still looking for 29 more accused.

In his confession, Abid, who was one of the attackers, alleged involvement of Awami League lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari and Joint Secretary of district Awami League Jahangir Mohammad Adel in Ekram’s killing.

Another mastermind Jihad Chowd-hury has also claimed Adel’s involve-ment in the killing.

Jihad said Jubo League leader Jiaul Mister had directed him to commit the crime and spent around Tk2 crore for

the murder, said an investigating of-� cer.

“He mentioned the name of Awami League leader Harun-ur-Rashid Ma-jumder of Anandapur union as a � nan-cier and said BNP leader Minar Chowd-hury had paid him Tk one lakh after the murder,” he said.

Locals and district Awami League leaders, however, alleged that this was nothing but a drama staged by police as Jihad’s statement had been written by investigators themselves.

This is because Harun was one of the close associates of Ekram who made him upazila chairman. This allegedly led to

con� ict between Ekram and Jihad. Another source claimed police

would not take any action against Adel and Mister because of their intimate re-lation with Nizam MP.

Both of them moved freely in the area for a week after the murder but are now believed to have � ed to India. Borders were put on red alert two days after their suspected escape.

Ziaul Haque Jashim, elder brother of Ekram and plainti� in the case, said: “We are still uncertain about whether we will get justice as the investigation might end without arresting all the criminals.”

“We hope the authorities would take necessary action in this regard and would not end investigation before ar-resting them all,” he added.

Feni Police Superintendent Paritosh Ghosh told the Dhaka Tribune they got many clues from the statements of Ji-had and other accused.

“We are analysing all those and ac-tion would be taken upon veri� cation,” he said.

Paritosh said many puzzles sur-rounding the mystery would be solved once Adel and Mister were arrested.

“Police are raiding di� erent areas in search of them,” he added. l

A train passenger takes a barn owl he rescued to the veterinary hospital after street children captured the endangered species and allegedly broke one of its wings. The photo was taken at the capital's Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Witness describes Subhan’s brutalityn Udisa Islam

The 11th prosecution witness against Jamaat leader Moulana Abdus Subhan gave a vivid description yesterday of how Subhan and his cohorts brutally killed a person in Iswardi in 1971.

“On April 17, a white car came in front of a ‘torture cell’ set up beside the central mosque in Iswardi. Moulana Subhan was in the car and four others, including Khoda Box, welcomed him. All of them were armed. After � nish-ing prayers at the mosque, Subhan and his cohorts dragged Moazzem Hossain out of the mosque and took him to a nearby coal depot. Subhan slashed Moazzem with a sword before his co-horts hacked at him,” said the witness.

The witness was Fazlur Rahman Fantu, 63, the editor of a local newspa-per and businessman from Dorinaricha in Iswardi of Pabna. He said Moazzem was the father of Tohurul, who was with him when they saw Subhan and his men stage the brutal murder. Tohu-rul tried to protest but he stopped him by placing a hand over his mouth.

The witness told the tribunal that Subhan had killed Motleb Ahmed Khan and his son Nazmul Huq Khan on April 18 in the same manner. A group of Razakars took them to a nearby coal depot and Jamaat activist Hariz Uddin gave Subhan a sword and Sub-han slashed Motleb and his son with

the sword before his cohorts stabbed them. The witness claimed that he had seen all these incidents from a hideout in a nearby bush.

After the deposition, defence coun-sel Mizanul Islam grilled him with a few questions and the second Interna-tional Crimes Tribunal adjourned the hearing until today.

The witness said: “On April 11, 1971, Pakistani soldiers occupied Iswardi and set up camps at the local airport, Ishwardi government bunga-low, the Sugar Research Centre and the Hardinge Bridge... Jamaat-Muslim League men and the Biharies started looting and arson attacks. Most villag-ers took shelter in our village [Dorinari-cha]... They killed at least 200 people in the area. More than 200 others took

shelter inside the central mosque only to be killed later by Subhan.”

Fantu claimed that when they came back from near the central mosque on April 18, Sahiduzzaman, slain Mot-leb’s brother-in-law, told him that he had also seen the killing from another bush.

After that, they went to India to get trained in freedom � ghting. On September 1971, they came back from there.

He con� rmed that the coal depot, which was being used as a torture cell by the collaborators and the occupa-tion army, is now a press club. There is also a monument there with the names of martyrs such as Moazzem Hossain, Motleb Ahmed Khan and Nazmul Huq Khan inscribed on it. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

Cattle trader recalls Qaisar’s atrocities in 1971n Udisa Islam

A new prosecution witness in the trial against former Jatiya Party lawmaker Syed Mohammad Qaisar yesterday said the accused had led all the atrocities that took place in Habiganj and Brahmanbar-ia during the 1971 Liberation War.

Nayeb Ali, 73, from Islampur of Brahmanbaria, claimed that Pakistan Army personnel beat him brutally after Qaisar had identi� ed him as a support-er of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In his deposition to the International Crimes Tribunal 2 as the 19th witness, Nayeb, a cattle trader in 1971, said he had known Qaisar from the very beginning.

He said their village had come un-der attack of the “Qaisar Bahini” on a Baishakh day and the attackers were chanting the slogan “Pakistan Zind-abad.” When he came out of home he faced Qaisar and his accomplices. “Even though I showed him respect by giving him Salam, he without answer-ing me asked the troops to beat me up identifying me as a man of Mujib.”

He said Qaisar and his force had burnt at least 200 shops in the Madhab-pur market in Brahmanbaria.

After his deposition, defence counsel SM Shajahan questioned him. The tribu-nal adjourned the trial until today leaving the cross-examination incomplete. l

3,500 posts in government colleges remain vacant n Mushfi que Wadud

According to the Directorate of Second-ary and Higher Education (DSHE), 3,500 out of a total of 15,165 posts are lying va-cant in government colleges across the country.

DSHE o� cials said 60 of the 306 gov-ernment colleges are running without principals and three colleges do not have any vice-principals.

Tala Government College in Satkhira has only one Bangla teacher and one En-glish teacher for 1,500 students, and it is operating without a principal.

Shamim Hossain, an assistant profes-sor of the college, told the Dhaka Tribune that more than one class is often held for Bangla and English due to the shortage of teachers. “It is di� cult for a single teacher to teach 1,500 students,” he said.

With just 22 teachers against 42 posts, the college has no teacher for some major subjects.

Requesting anonymity, a teacher there said the absence of a principal was a major hindrance to the smooth aca-demic and administrative operations.

Because of the shortages of teachers in government colleges, guardians have no option but to send their children to costly private colleges.

“My daughter’s monthly tuition fee is Tk2,000. It is hard for me to a� ord this but

I have no other way as the quality of edu-cation in government colleges is not up to the mark,” said Delwar Hossain, a grocery store owner at Mirpur 6 in the capital.

Teachers at government colleges also admit that students now prefer private colleges to public colleges.

Professor KM Rezaul Huq, principal of Gouripur Munsi Fazlur Rahman Gov-ernment College, said local students were more eager to go to nearby private colleges than to get admission into his college.

“Facilities at state-run colleges must improve. Sometimes, students at these colleges cannot attend classes during the rainy season because of poor condi-tion of buildings,” he said.

“We have 18 teachers in our college to � ll 28 posts,” said Rezaul, adding, “We do not have any teacher to teach social welfare.”

DSHE Director General Fahima Kha-tun told the Dhaka Tribune that many posts at government colleges have be-come vacant because people occupying those posts have gone into retirement.

“Another reason is that many teach-ers are employed in the urban areas and posts in rural areas remain vacant. Some of the vacant posts are posts for lectur-ers and those will be � lled after the BCS examination,” she said.

“We are trying our best to solve these problems,” she added. l

DMP to check formalin on capital’s entry routesFood adulterators to be charged with attempt to mass murdern Kailash Sarkar

In the face of widespread use of toxic disinfectant formalin on fruits, Dhaka Metropolitan Police has announced the launch of a massive anti-formalin drive and set up special check-posts at all eight entrances to the capital from June 11.

“Controlling the use of formalin has become a great challenge for the government. Time has come to nab traders using formalin on fruits as their actions are similar to attempting mass murder,” DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said while addressing a press brie� ng at the DMP Media Centre yesterday.

He also issued a warning to illicit

traders that charges of attempted murder will be brought against them if they fail to refrain from such heinous activities.

Saying a social movement was required to stop the usage of formalin, Benazir also urged people from all walks of life to come forward for the cause.

Urging fruit farmers not to use formalin on their harvests and transport workers and retailers to create a resistance against such practices, he also added: “We hope that all concerned sectors will respond to our request so that we do not need to destroy formalin-administered fruits, which cause � nancial losses.”

According to the DMP, the

check-posts would be set up at Postogola Bridge, Sign Board in Jatrabari, Demra, Babubzar Bridge, Sadarghat, Gabtoli, Abdullahpur and Dhour in Uttara.

O� cials from the Dhaka District Administration and Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI) will be present at these check-posts.

At the press conference, DMP authorities informed that so far Tk 21 lakh has been collected as a � ne from di� erent traders at di� erent markets of the capital.

Formalin is normally used for preservation of animal specimens and tissue samples, disinfectant and anti-bacterial wash and treating parasite infections in � sh. l

Law enforcers destroy formalin-administered mangoes from a roadside sales centre outside Dhanmondi playground in the capital yesterday. Surprisingly, the stall from where these mangoes were con� scated had been brandishing banners promising formalin-free fruits RAJIB DHAR

Illegal structures to be removed in 10 days from Padma Bridge construction arean Rabiul Islam

Communications Minister Obaidul Quader asked the authorities concerned yesterday to remove all illegal struc-tures within 10 days from the Padma Bridge’s construction yards 1 and 2.

The minister said the structures erected in alignment with the main bridge will also be removed within the same period.

The construction of the much-await-ed Padma Bridge will kick o� in July with the help of the county’s own funds,

said Obaidul.The minister made the announce-

ment at a meeting on the removal of illegal structures from the bridge’s con-struction yards and the alignment.

The meeting was held at Setu Bhaban in the capital yesterday.

Members of parliament and o� cials concerned were present at the meeting.

Those who constructed structures illegally on both sides of the Padma Bridge had been asked to vacate the places in consideration of national in-terest, Obaidul said, adding that those

who were not yet compensated, would be compensated soon.

“We have received an allegation that a gang of frauds were cheating the inno-cent people in the name of recruitment,” the communications minister said.

He clari� ed that the Ministry of Com-munications, Bridges Division and the Army had no authority to hire workers.

Only the assigned construction � rm had the authority to do so, the minister said, adding that legal action would be taken to rein in the fraudulent activities. l

4 NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

National Fistula Centre opens todayn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Hoping to deliver improved healthcare services to � stula patients, the Nation-al Fistula Centre (NFC) is going to be opened at Dhaka Medical College Hos-pital (DMCH) today.

The 20-bed facility has been set up on the fourth � oor of the casualty building of the hospital with assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Health Minister Mo-hammed Nasim will formally inaugu-rate the centre at 3pm.

Dr Mus� qur Rahman, deputy direc-tor of DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune it is the � rst-ever centre of excellence in the country aimed at providing better healthcare facilities for obstetric � stula patients.

The centre will create opportunity for specialised training, research and academic learning for doctors, nurses and paramedics, he said.

A group of doctors of anesthesiol-ogy, surgery, orthopedics and urology � elds were given specialised training to deliver better services to patients.

According to 2009 data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), every year, an estimated 2,000 new women develop obstetric � stula and 71,000 women are living with it at present.

A top UNFPA o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune the consequences of � stula condition are physical, social, eco-nomical and profoundly psychological,

with many su� erers being labelled as social outcasts.

During childbirth, as a result of pro-longed labour, in most cases, the baby is stillborn or dies within the � rst week of birth, and the woman su� ers from � stula that leaves her incontinent.

In Bangladesh, e� orts to manage � stula were accelerated by the UNF-PA-led “Campaign to End Fistula” was launched in 2003. At present, coordi-nation of � stula activities is led by the National Task Force on obstetric � stula with the Ministry of Health, UNFPA, Engender Health, Obstetrical and Gy-naecological Society of Bangladesh, and members of the civil society.

UNFPA is also supporting nine hos-pitals that treat � stula patients. To date, 2,904 complicated � stula cases have been operated on.

The government has taken initiative to eliminate classic obstructed labour by facilitating community acceptance of 100% labour and birth in proper fa-cilities, to increase the number of mid-wives in the healthcare system, and to expand the availability and access to emergency obstetric care.

With support from UNFPA, there were also initiatives by the government to rehabilitate � stula survivors who were isolated or separated from fami-lies and communities.

Around 421 � stula survivors have been rehabilitated. Of them, 102 be-came � stula advocates to create aware-ness in the community. l

UGC to introduce rankings for private universitiesn Mushfi que Wadud

The University Grants Commission is considering a possibility to introduce a ranking system among the private uni-versities to promote quality eduction there.

“A ranking system will help create competition among private univer-sities and improve quality education

on a great scale,” UGC Chair AK Azad Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said it was discussed in a UGC meeting yesterday in presence of other commission members.

Asked when the ranking system would be introduced, Azad Chowdhury failed to set any time frame, but hinted that it would be done soon.

He said the criteria would be based on whether they were following the Private University Act 2010 and on oth-er academic activities.

Azad added that a high-powered UGC team recently made a surprise vis-it to 35 private universities and found that most universities were running as per the Private University Act 2010.

“Some of them are not following the

guidelines. We have discussed with the Trustee Board members. If they do not go by the rule, we will take legal action against them,” he said.

At present, 79 private universities are running their higher education pro-grammes in the country.

Some 3.15 lakh students are engaged in their academic pursuit in these uni-versities. l

Argentinian footballs fans in Narayanganj bring out a procession yesterday to celebrate and show support for their favourite team ahead of the World Cup DHAKA TRIBUNE

NCTF for review children allocation in budgetn Abid Azad

Claiming that the allocation proposed in the 2014-2015 � scal year budget for children is insu� cient, the National Chil-dren’s Task Force (NCTF) yesterday urged the authorities concerned to review it.

The children rights organisation also urged the creation of a separate budget for children.

“The government has lowered the number of projects and allocations for children in the 2014-2015 proposed budget compared to the last FY. Only 21 welfare projects for children have been proposed in this FY while there were 55 projects in the previous budget” said Fatema Siddika Rima, Dhaka unit pres-ident of NCTF.

She made the remarks while ad-

dressing a 2014-2015 post-budget pro-gramme hosted by the NGO Save the Children at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

She also said: “We hope the gov-ernment will review this year’s budget allocation for children as 45% of the country’s population are children.”

NCTF demanded children’s partici-pation in the pre-budget discussion for them from the next � scal year. l

Charge framed against 59 Chittagong BNP leadersn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court framed charges yes-terday against 59 BNP leaders including its Chittagong city unit General Secre-tary Dr Shahadat Hossain in a vandal-ism case lodged with the city’s Kotwali police station in 2012.

Metropolitan Magistrate, Syed

Mash� qul Islam, indicted the BNP leaders at a charge framing hearing, said Additional Deputy Commission-er (prosecution) Md Rezaul Masud of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

Defence Counsel Abdus Sattar said the court was adjourned till July 8, when it would start recording the depositions. l

BNP leaders’ indictment hearing deferredn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka Court deferred the indictment hearing yesterday against BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other leaders of the party until August 10 in three separate cases.

Metropolitan Magistrate Tarek Mainul Islam Bhuiyan put o� the hearing, acting on a petition for extension � led by the defence counsel for the cases.

At least 24 BNP leaders and activ-ists, including Mirza Fakhrul, Barrister

Moudud Ahmed and Mirza Abbas at-tended the hearing.On March 27 last year, DB police sub-mitted charge sheets in the three cases.

The three cases were � led, two with Paltan police station and the other with Shahjahanpur police station under the Speedy Trial Act, for creating panic among people, torching vehicles and obstructing police in the course of their duty during a BNP rally in front of the party’s Naya Paltan o� ce in the capital on March 2. l

Another step towards improved mother-child healthn Tribune Report

An updated operation manual for the union health and family welfare centres was launched at a city hotel yesterday.

The event was jointly organised by the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) unit of the Directorate General of Fam-ily Planning, and Women and their Children’s Health (WATCH) project of Plan International Bangladesh, funded by the Department of Foreign A� airs, Trade and Development Canada.

Health MInister Mohammad Nasim unveiled the manual. He said: “We have already made strides in reducing child mortality, and I am con� dent that these centres will cut down the mater-nal death rate substantially.”

Citing Plan’s statistics, Dr Mary Rashid, WATCH project manager, said a modest investment of Tk20,000 every month could pay for the trained hands required to run a health centre and pro-vide safe delivery services.

Senait Gebregziabher, country di-rector of Plan, said she was grateful for the government’s support and hoped the close collaboration between Plan and the government. l

WEATHER

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

PRAYER TIMES Fajar 3:43am Sunrise 5:09am Zohr 11:58am Asr 4:38pm Magrib 6:45pm Esha 8:13pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:45PM SUN RISES 5:10AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW36.2ºC 24.3ºCKhulna Bogra

MONDAY, JUNE 9

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 37 29Chittagong 34 28Rajshahi 39 29Rangpur 35 26Khulna 37 28Barisal 36 28Sylhet 36 24Cox’s Bazar 33 27

THUNDERSHOWER OR RAIN

Mobile courts to free rivers from grabbers n Mohosinul Karim

The government has taken a decision to launch mobile courts across the country to recover rivers from illegal occupants. The operation of mobile courts will start shortly.

The taskforce on protecting rivers took the decision at its regular meeting held at the shipping ministry confer-ence room yesterday the chief Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan in the chair.

Committee members Law Minister Anisul Haque, Water Resources Min-ister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Housing Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Food Min-ister Kamrul Islam, Liberation War Af-fairs Minister AKM Mojammel Haque and Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif, and State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid Bipu and Lalbag-Kam-rangirchar’s MP Haji Muhammad Selim, among other, attended the meeting.

Shahjahan Khan said the Bangla-desh Inland Water Transport Authori-ty led by a magistrate, would launch a mobile court which will take immedi-ate action against encroachers.

Regarding the presence of Selim,

one of the primary accused in building structures after grabbing river, Shaja-han Khan said, “He was invited to the meeting because of the allegations against him. We have requested the MP to remove the structures he built on river and sought his help to remove other structures as well.

“He has pledged to remove his structures from river and help us in re-moving the structures built by others.”

“No one will be spared if found guilty, whoever he may be,” the minis-ter said.

“We have decided to operate mobile courts in eviction drives. This enables us to take immediate actions against illegal occupants,” he said.

Regarding recovery of the Buriganga’s main channel, the taskforce chief said, the committee formed recover it will meet tomorrow [today].The sub-com-mittee formed to create public awareness led by reserved seat MP Sanzida Khanam will also start its activities shortly.

The taskforce also instructed the au-thorities concerned to complete the re-moval of the ‘Saiham Future Complex’ from the Sonai River of Habiganj. l

Unlicensed pharmaceutical factory sealed o� n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Law enforcement authorities sealed o� G Sons Laboratories, an unlicensed pharmaceutical factory which is locat-ed at a residential area in Barisal city, yesterday and put the owner in jail.

Sha� qur Rahman, superintendent at the Directorate General of Drug Ad-ministration (DGDA),  Barisal o� ce, said Administrative Magistrate Qamru-zzaman led the drive and was accom-panied by Bhaskar Saha, assistant com-missioner (detective branch) of Barisal Metropolitan Police.

The drive was conducted based on a complaint that the factory was produc-ing fake and adulterated drugs, said the superintendent.

The complaint was � led by Sabbir Ahmed, director of Indo-Bangla Phar-maceuticals, he added.

The law enforcers also arrested ABM Manirul Islam, who was running the factory illegally in a residential house in the city’s Fakirbari area.

The factory was sealed o� after Man-ir failed to present any valid licence for the production of drugs and medicines.

The products at the factory were also found to be contaminated with fungi and adulterated with chemicals which are harmful for health.

The work environment in the facto-ry was also unhealthy, with substan-dard equipment, and an illegal power connection.

The mobile court seized the adulterated products and packing materials worth Tk5 lakh and sentenced Manir to two years of imprisonment,

said the magistrate. Confessing his crimes, Manir said he

had started producing Ayuverdic drugs around eight years ago after acquiring

a licence from the authority concerned, but did not renew the licence since 2009, despite having a good market for his products. l

Ctg senior jail super, nine o� cials sued over suicide of inmate n Tarek Mahmud

Chittagong: Nine personnel of Chit-tagong Central Jail including its Se-nior Jail Super were sued yesterday morning for killing a prisoner in the jail on June 3 night.

Md Yiakub Kaisar, younger broth-er of the inmate Md Zakir Hosssain, 30, lodged the case with the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM), Moshiur Rahman Chowdhury, said court sources.

Taking the complaint into cog-nisance, the court ordered Kushum Dewan, deputy commissioner of De-tective Branch of police in Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), to investi-gate the matter, said Additional Dep-uty Commissioner (Prosecution) Md Rezaul Masud of CMP.

Advocate Nasir Uddin, counsel for the plainti� , said the case was lodged mentioning nine jail o� cials’ names, along with numerous unnamed jail of-� cials and prisoners.

The nine are Chittagong Central Jail Senior Jail Super Md Sagir Mia, Jailer Nesar Ahmed, Jail Hospital Physician Dr Mosta� zur Rahman, former Subed-ars Amju Mia and Humayun Kabir,

Chief Jail Guards Mohammad Hossain and Abdur Rashid, Jail Guards Moham-mad Alam and Ziabul Islam.

Of them, Amju Mia and Humayun

Kabir were transferred from the jail, Ziabul Islam and Mohammad Alam-gir were suspended and departmental case was � led against Mohammad Hos-sain and Abdur Rashid soon for their negligence in duty.

The body of Zakir, prisoner num-ber 8385/A, was found hanging from the railing of the stairs  of the second � oor of a jail building on June 3 around 8:30pm. The jail authorities termed it as a suicide.

The family members of the prisoner, who was awarded 14 years of imprisonment in an abduction case, however, have been claiming that Zakir had been tortured to death by the jail personnel.

Asim Kanti Paul, deputy inspector general (DIG) of Prison in Chittagong, formed a three-member probe committee, led by himself, while the Senior Jail Super formed another three-member probe body, led by the Jail Hospital Physician, to look into the matter. l

Show cause notices issued against six SBMCH doctors n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Health and Family Planning Ministry issued show cause notice against six teachers of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Med-ical College for absence in the work-place.

The show cause notices were issued for Dr A HM Sha� qur Rahman, associ-ate professor and head of community medicine department and Dr Syed Md Baqi Billah, assistant professor of the same department.

The others were Prof Dr Saidur Rah-man, head of medicine department, Dr Md Awal, associate professor of urolo-gy department, Dr MM Ehsan Ul Huq, associate professor, and Dr Md Nuru-zzaman, assistant professor of neuro surgery department.

Prof Dr Ranjit Kha, principal of SBMC, said the show cause notices were faxed yesterday morning and was signed by Moin Uddin Ahmed, deputy secretary of Health and Family Plan-ning Ministry.

He said as the doctors were absent in classes, students were academically falling behind.

The notices have been served to teachers concerned and they have been asked to submit a reply within seven working days, he added. l

Eight sea robbers arrested in Ctgn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Coast Guard (East Zone) nabbed eight alleged sea robbers with valuables worth Tk15 lakh in their pos-session at the outer anchorage area in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday morning.

The robbers and the seized items were handed over to Patenga police station and a case was � led in this re-gard, said a press release issued by the coast guard.

Captain Shahidul Islam, zonal com-mander of Bangladesh Coast Guard (East Zone), said a patrol team of CGS Porte Grande, a coast guard ship, con-ducted a drive at the outer anchorage area in the sea around 11:30am follow-ing a tip-o� and nabbed the eight.

The team also seized two engine boats, two barrels of paint, eight bar-rels of diesel, 50 empty barrels, a 12V battery, a hosepipe, an electric switch board, a motor pump and 100kg of scrap rope from their possession, he said.

The zonal commander also said the gang targeted foreign merchant vessels and monitored them by posing as � sh-ermen. Later they robbed the ships at night, keeping the crew at bay by point-ing lethal arms at them.

“Recently, sea robbery in the area has increased, so the coast guard is conducting drives to detain those in-volved with the robberies,” Captain Shahid said. l

Battery-run rickshaw owners and workers stage rally for recognitionn Our Correspondent, Barisal

Owners and workers of battery-run rickshaws yesterday held an agitation rally and condemned the Barisal City Corporation, demanding legalisation of their vehicles.

The protesters also handed over a memorandum to the BCC and dep-uty commissioner’s o� ce in thisregard.

The programme was organised by several associations of owners and workers of battery-run rickshaws,

popularly known as metro-rick-shaw, to press home their 4-pointdemands.

The demands included issuing li-cences for owners and drivers of bat-tery-run rickshaws, providing reg-istrations for their associations and

stopping the harassment and detention of such vehicles.

The rally was addressed by Advo-cate A K Azad, central vice president Trade Union Center, Arman Hossain Malek, Nazrul Islam, Azizul Alam Sayed, and leaders of the associations,

among others.After the agitation rally, the pro-

testers handed over memorandums to the Barisal City Corporation Chief Executive O� cer Nihkil Chandra Das and Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Wahiduzzaman. l

AL activist bombed, hacked to death n Our Correspondent,

Chapainawabganj

A gang of miscreants threw bombs at a local activist of the ruling Awami League and then hacked him to death in Ramchandrapurhat area in Sadar up-azila here yesterday.

The victim Azizur Rahman Azu, 38, was the ringleader of Azu Bahini which allegedly works for local AL, and the son of Lal Mohammad Lalu, of Dihir-mat village of the upazila.

Witnesses said some miscreants at-tacked Azu by hurling crude bombs in the area around 12pm and then hacked at him indiscriminately with lethal weapons when he was having tea at roadside tea stall, leaving him dead on the spot.

On being informed, a team of po-licemen from Chapainawabganj sadar police station recovered the body and sent it to the district hospital morgue for an autopsy.

Infuriated by the killing, Azu Bahini

followers started sporadically vandal-ising and looting all shops of Ramchan-drapur bazar around 2:30pm. At one stage, the unruly supporters set � re to the shops, said Nawabganj police sta-tion OC Md Jasim Uddin.

Upon receiving information, the lo-cal � re � ghting unit rushed to the spot and doused the blaze.

Meanwhile, a good number of po-lice, RAB and BGB members went to the spot and stopped the vandalism, the OC continued.

Chapainawabganj SP Basir Ahmed said AL-backed Azu Bahini and BNP-blessed Kalam gang have been at loggerheads for a long time over the es-tablishment of their dominance in the area and this might have been the mo-tive for the murder.

The situation was under control and necessary law enforcing members were deployed in the area to prevent any fur-ther untoward incident, said Chapain-awabganj DC Sardar Sorafat Ali. The DC and the SP visited the spot. l

The photo shows some equipment of an unlicensed pha rmaceutical factory which was sealed o� by law enforcers yesterday. The factory is located in Fakirbari area of Barisal city DHAKA TRIBUNE

People look at various projects at science fair at the National Science and Technology auditorium in the capital yesterday. The fair is arranged marking the National Science and Technology Week every year SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The family members of the prisoner, who was awarded 14 years of imprisonment in an abduction case, however, have been claiming that Zakir had been tortured to death by the jail personnel

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

AL men grab government canaln Our Correspondent,

Pirojpur

A section of ruling party men are � lling a canal near Bo-romachua Bazar at Mathbar-ia upazila in Pirojpur district after illegally grabbing it.

According to sources, lo-cal AL men have been � lling the canal for ten days using three dredgers, causing suf-ferings to the people.

The canal has connected many areas including Khe-jurbari and Tusharkhali with the bazar. The people in the areas go to the bazar by boat through the canal. The canal also plays a great role in trade and commerce in the area.

Local Mozammel said the canal was an artery among the people in the area. If it is � lled up, the business will collapse in the areas.

He said: “As the ruling party men are involved with the activities, nobody dares to protests it.”

When visiting the area, it was found that local Sormik League president Moham-mad Kayum and his associ-ates were supervising the � lling work. Locals said local AL president and its secre-tary were also involved with the activities.

Machua Union Land of-� cer Ohiduzzaman said that the ruling party men were involved with grabbing the government canal .

Businessman Nurul Is-lam said:” The canal is vital in emergency situations like when a � re breaks out.”

He alleged that the ruling party men � lled the canal, violating the law.

Hazrat Ali, an elderly in the area said: “We haveused the water of the canalin our household chores since childhood. If it is � lled, we will have to facedi� culty.”

Mozammel said:” We have informed the matter to the higher authorities. But they have not taken steps yet.”

When contacted, Boroma-chua Jubo League president Mainul Islam said: “We have � lled the canal to rehabilitate the businessmen.”

While answering a ques-tion they said that they would take permission from the government after com-pleting the work.

When contacted, UNO Ahsan Habid said: “I have been informed of the inci-dent and lodged a diary with Mathbaria police station in this connection.” l

BGB destroys narcotics worthover Tk1.88crn Our Correspondent,

Kushtia

Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) yes-terday destroyed narcotics worth over Tk1.88 crore at Mirpur upazila in Kushtia.

Among the narcotics were 7314 bottles of Phensidyl syr-up, 16595 bottles of foreign wine, a litre of locally-made wine and 14 kilograms of hemps, said BGB o� cials.

These narcotics had been recovered at various times in Kushtia and Meherpur dis-

tricts, they said. Captain Lieutenant Colo-

nel Khandker Mahmud Ho-sain of 32nd BGB Battalion kicked o� the destruction of the narcotics at the battal-ion’s o� ce in the upazila.

Kushtia BGB Sector’sGeneral Sta� O� cer Major Tareq Mahmud Sarkar, Ad-ditional Director of 32nd BGB Battalion Mehedi Hasan, Upazila Nirbahi O� cer Azad Jahan and Executive Magistrate Shihab Raihan, among others, were presentthere. l

Man beaten for protesting harassment of wifen Our Correspondent,

Pirojpur

A man was severely beaten on Saturday night because he raised his voice against the harassment of his wife by some local hoodlums in Nan-duhar village under Swarup-kati upazila of Pirojpur.

Local sources said the injured, Khokon Mia, has been admitted to Swarupkati Upazila Health Complex in a critical condition.

Khokon said Liton used to harass his wife Khadija Akter when she was working as a cook at di� erent messes in Mirpur of the capital.

“After being annoyed by him, we left Dhaka and have been living in Pirojpur for the last three months,” he said.

But Liton did not stop

stalking Khadija, said Khokon, adding, “As on pre-vious days, he was harassing my wife on Saturday night, and I protested against him doing so.”

Liton and one of his friends beat Khokon indis-criminately, leaving him crit-ically injured.

When contacted, local Un-ion Parishad Member Kabir Hosain told the Dhaka Trib-une that Khokon had been beaten over a family feud.

He said they would look into the matter.

Meanwhile, Musta� jur Rahman, o� cer-in-charge of Swarupkati upazila, said he had yet to receive any com-plaint in this regard.

“If we get any complaint, we can take measures,” he added. l

Security guard commits suicide over ‘poverty’ in Chandpurn Our Correspondent, Chandpur

A night guard of Agrani Bank Ltd’s Habiganj upazila branch allegedly committed suicide in Chandpur early yesterday.

Borhan Uddina, an o� cial of the bank, said a cleaner had informed him that Monirul Is-lam, 26, the son of Mojibur Rahman from Mod-dhosonna village under Patuakhali sadar upa-zila, was not opening the gate in the morning.

“I then entered the bank by breaking the lock and saw his hanging body,” he said.

Agrani Bank Manager Md Lokman Hajra said: “We found a letter in Monirul’s pocket which stated that he had committed sui-

cide because of poverty.” O� cer-in-Charge of Habiganj Sadar police station Md Shah Alam said: “On receiving information from Borhan Uddin, police went to the spot and recovered his body in the morning.” l

Children play with mud and water on a canal which being allegedly � lled by the ruling party men at Mathbaria upazila in Pirojpur DHAKA TRIBUNE

7Long Form Monday, June 9, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Ifty Islam

The heated exchange of words between China, the US and Japan at the Annual Shangri-La Dialogue, the premiere regional defence

forum that was held at the end of May, is likely to prove far more than rheto-ric and re� ects a growing anxiety and mistrust between the world’s second and third biggest economies.

The catalyst has been China’s increasingly aggressive assertion of its territorial claims on the South China Sea that has not only increased frictions with its largest regional rival but also with a growing number of it’s other regional neighbours including Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea.

The � ashpoints have been growing with reports on May 25 by Japan’s defence ministry that Chinese SU-27 � ghters had come within 50m of a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane close to the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Also last month, a Vietnam-ese � shing boat sank after it collided with a Chinese vessel near a contro-versial oil rig in the South China Sea and Vietnam has protested against China moving its oil rig to waters also claimed by Hanoi, at a spot near the disputed Paracel Islands.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry addressed a recent attempt by Vietnam to list its historical claims to the Paracel Islands, saying it was “absurd and laughable.” As a result of these tensions, there has been a number of attacks within Vietnam on Chinese fac-tories as anti-China sentiment within the Vietnamese population ratchets up to the extent that the head of the Chinese po-lice force formally asked his Vietnamese counterparty to ensure the safety of Chi-nese nationals there. It was also reported that more than 600 people thought to be Chinese nationals � ed into Cambodia in fear of their safety. Meanwhile, the Phil-ippines is in the process of taking China to a UN court over its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

In surprisingly forthright language at the Forum, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel stated that the US “would not look the other way when the fun-damental principles of the internation-al order are being threatened.” He went on to say that China was underlining its claims that the South China Sea was a “sea of peace, friendship and cooper-ation” by using coercive tactics.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also stated in keynote address at the forum that Japan would play “a more proactive role than it has until now in making peace in Asia and the world … Japan will o� er its utmost support for the e� orts of the countries of Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] as they work to ensure

the security of the seas and the skies.”The Chinese response was also

surprisingly direct with Deputy Chief of the Chinese General Sta� Gen-eral Wan Guanzhong, stating at the Shangri-La Forum that “The speeches by Mr Abe and Mr Hagel gave me the impression that they coordinated with each other, they supported each other, they encouraged each other and they took the advantage of speaking � rst . . . and staged provocative actions and challenges against China.” Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Fu Ying, who was also at the summit, said Mr Abe was “trying to amend the security policy of Japan” in a move that was “worrying for the region.”

However, international pressure on China has not abated and at their June 3 meeting, G7 leaders stated in a joint communiqué: “We are deeply concerned by tensions in the East and South China Sea. We oppose any unilateral attempt by any party to assert its territorial or maritime claims through the use of intimidation, coer-cion or force.”

Another dimension that cannot be dismissed, is the sensitive issue of the potential nuclear re-arming of Japan. It has been reported that Japan is planning to start a $21bn nuclear reprocessing plant, triggering concern in China that the facility’s output could be diverted for use in an atomic bomb. The Chinese foreign ministry stated back in March that “Japan has stockpiled large volumes of sensitive nuclear materials, including not only plutonium but also uranium, and that’s far exceeding its normal needs.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry said at a March 13 senate subcommittee hearing: “We are working with Japan and the Republic of Korea in order to make sure they don’t feel so threatened that they move towards nuclearisation in self-help.” This was a topic that was addressed at last month’s Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague, Neth-erlands, that both PM Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended.

The key questions are whether this escalation in hostility is tempo-rary and will abate, and what are the geo-political and economic implica-

tions? On the former question, even if there is a near-term calming in the war of words, the underlying forces that are fuelling disagreements in the region are unlikely to diminish in sig-ni� cance for the foreseeable future.

These range from the most obvious economic importance of territorial claims on the potentially oil/commodity rich South China Sea, to historical ani-mosities arising from a China that has su� ered oppression at the hands of the Japanese from more than century back.

Then there is the geopolitical re-alignment and reality of moving from the unipolar world dominated by the United States of the last 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall to one where by 2015, China will be the world’s largest economy in PPP albeit still lagging behind the US in military expenditure and power by a wide margin. There is also the emergence of Asia’s two other would-be regional superpowers, Japan and India, that the US has to contend with.

But one might argue that an addi-tional factor driving tensions in the

region, is a tacit reliance on renewed nationalist fervour in China and Japan to mitigate and support both political transition and domestic economic challenges. In the case of China, the balancing once again of the economy away from an investment/export driv-en model to one with higher consump-tion will likely necessitate an accept-ance of much lower growth of around 6% than the country has been used to over the past three decades.

This economic slowdown may risk undermining the legitimacy of the communist regime, especially sensitive with the transition to the new dec-ade long Politburo leadership under President Xi Jinping. Similarly in Japan, nationalism, in addition to furthering PM Abe’s goal of strengthening Japa-nese Defence Force, may also mitigate some of the di� cult structural reforms that will be necessary if Abenomics is to work in moving Japan out of a two decade depression and back to more acceptable trend in growth levels.

Coming back to the global geopoliti-cal re-alignment, one might also argue that the US ine� ectiveness in prevent-ing Russia’s annexation of Crimea has renewed the Obama Administration’s commitment to preempt similar Chi-nese moves in the South China Sea by more aggressively re-iterating it’s stra-tegic commitment to Japan’s security umbrella. A move to a new and more comprehensive China-Russia strategic alliance is by no means certain, given historical suspicions and Russian Pres-ident Putin’s wariness of an economy four times that of Russia.

Nonetheless in his recent visit to Beijing, President Putin signed a $400bn 30 year gas supply agreement with China. China and Russia con-ducted joint naval drills. Furthermore, China and Russia have announced that they will deepen cooperation under the Conference on Interaction and Con� dence Building in Asia (CICA), a new security organisation that excludes the US and Japan. Finally the two countries agreed to establish their own joint credit rating agency.

Another important question is potential implications of the landslide victory by newly elected Indian PM Narendra Modi. A thought provok-ing article, “Will economic empathy shared by Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe enable Japan to play key role in India’s growth?” was published on June 1 in India’s in� uential “Economic Times.” The article noted: “It is the hottest cross-border bromance India has seen in a long time.

Newly elected Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi and his Japanese counter-part Shinzo Abe have been buddies for close to a decade now … The Modi-Abe equation is expected to have deeper and wider rami� cations for India’s international relations. Japan is likely to be the centrepiece of Modi’s ‘look east’ policy. Defence and diplomatic ties between the two countries will get substantially scaled up.

And in sync with Modi’s thrust on economic diplomacy, bilateral economic and trade ties will get the biggest boost.” So a Japan-India

economic and security alliance could supplement the long-term strategic link with the US in attempting to neu-tralise Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea.

The economic implications for Chi-na, Japan, India and other countries in the region are likely to be profound and challenging given the massive FDI into China seen by Japanese and Ko-rean companies, as Chinese factories became the engine room for global manufacturing and supply chains.

As I suggested in a previous article (“Senkaku – Accelerating the China Relocation Trade,” FT, Dec 9, 2013) suggested geopolitical tensions would have an increasing in� uence on Japan’s economic diplomacy. I stated that “… it is becoming more apparent that political risk mitigation in the face of resurgent Chinese regional and territorial ambitions and aggressive-ness will reinforce the macroeconomic justi� cation for diversifying away from China.

Countries such as Indonesia, Viet-nam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka are likely to see a more focused and aggressive push from corporate Japan to step up FDI in 2014. Indeed the intersection of geopolitics and China balancing once again, is likely to be the dominant macro catalyst and opportunity for such countries for the coming decade.”

Japan’s greater activism in eco-nomic diplomacy as a result of China tensions, was amply illustrated by the recently concluded state visit by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan in May. The agreement by Japan PM Shinzo Abe, to commit Y600bn ($5.9bn) in economic assistance to Bangladesh over the next four to � ve years has the potential to catalyse growth in both countries. The joint communiqué has emphasised that the funds, mainly in low cost loans, will be used to build infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. PM Abe stated: “Bang-ladesh has great economic potential. In order to realise its potential and expedite further growth, Japan has come up with the concept of the Bay of Bengal industrial growth belt,” what PM Abe termed “The BIG-B.” The Japanese initiative sought to build on the recently announced BIMSTEC agreement for developing economic corridors via Bangladesh and Myanmar to link China, India and Japan. And in an important political sign of support, Bangladesh’s PM Hasina rea� rmed

Bangladesh’s support for Japan’s aspi-ration to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

More than a year ago, Sheila A Smith of the Center for Foreign Rela-tions, wrote an insightful report, “A Sino-Japanese clash in the East China Sea” (Contingency Planning Memoran-dum No 18, CFR, April, 2013). She not-ed: “Political miscalculation in Tokyo or Beijing, or unintended military in-teractions in and around the disputed islands, could escalate further, leading to an armed clash between Asia’s two largest powers ...

Given current circumstances in the East China Sea, three contingencies are conceivable: � rst, an accidental or unintended incident in and around the disputed islands could trigger a mil-itary escalation of the crisis; second, either country could make a serious political miscalculation in an e� ort to demonstrate sovereign control; and third, either country could attempt to forcibly control the islands.”

She went on to note: “China’s dispute with the Philippines over the Scarborough Reef in the South China Sea has set a particularly danger-ous precedent. Many leaders in the Asia-Paci� c region are beginning to see China’s maritime behaviour as unpredictable and will be watching to see if Washington ultimately resists or accommodates Chinese military

pressure on its periphery. The Japa-nese case will be decisive not only for Japan’s future choices but for many other allies and friends in the region adjusting to the rise of China.”

In conclusion, China-Japan tensions over Chinese territorial claims over the South China Sea are unlikely to dissi-pate for the foreseeable future. This is already triggering a broader geo-polit-ical alignment in the region with the US attempting to bolster its long-term regional ally, Japan. The economic implications will be signi� cant and o� er new opportunities for a broader range of countries in Asia as well as accelerating the relocation of factories from China to lower cost nations.

But the risks of an escalation in the con� ict is also very much there and both the Chinese and Japanese govern-ments need to remain ever-vigilant that armed confrontation does not emerge with disastrous consequences. l

Ifty Islam is the Managing Partner of Asian Tiger Capital, and can be reached at ifty.islam@at-capital.com.

China-Japan tensions over Chinese territorial claims over the South China Sea are unlikely to dissipate for the foreseeable future

China-Japan tensions: A diplomatic conundrum

China’s increasingly aggressive assertion of its territorial claims on the South China Sea is fuelling Japan’s mistrust and anxiety WIKIMEDIA

Maritime disputes in the South China Sea UNCLOS/CIA

Political miscalculation in Tokyo or Beijing, or unintended military interactions in and around the disputed islands, could escalate further, leading to an armed clash between Asia’s two largest powers

A Japan-India economic and security alliance could supplement the long-term strategic link with the US in attempting to neutralise Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea

Monday, June 9, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

Egypt swears in new presidentSisi won an election boycotted by Muslim Brotherhood and secular dissidentsn AFP, Cairo

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in as president yesterday following a land-slide election almost a year after he de-posed Egypt’s � rst freely elected leader and crushed his Islamist supporters.

The retired � eld marshal took the oath of o� ce at the heavily guarded Con-stitutional Court and then left to attend a reception with foreign dignitaries.

Western countries alarmed by the brutal crackdown on dissent following the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year mostly sent low level representatives.

Sisi scored a lopsided victory last month in an election boycotted by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and sec-ular dissidents, also targeted by the army-installed government in the wide-ranging crackdown.

Soldiers and police deployed in force in the capital in anticipation of protests by the battered Brotherhood move-ment and possible militant attacks.

“I swear by almighty God to pre-serve the republican system, and to re-spect the constitution and the law and to care for the interests of the people; and to preserve the independence of the nation and its territorial integrity,” Sisi declared in the ceremony broad-cast live on television.

Elite policemen stood guard outside as helicopters dropped posters of Sisi on dozens of well-wishers who turned up to see the former army commander.

“I’m here to congratulate Sisi, the man who rescued us from terrorism and the Muslim Brotherhood,” said one � ag-waving supporter, Amira Ahmed.

The presidency said he would later host a reception at Cairo’s Ittihadiya presidential palace, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Arab royals and African leaders in attendance.

Sisi will also sign a transfer of power agreement with Adly Mansour, a chief justice whom Sisi had installed as in-terim president when he ousted Morsi on July 3. Riding a wave of populari-ty since then, Sisi won the May 26-28 election with 96.9 percent of the vote against his only rival, leftist leader Hamdeen Sabbahi.

The nature of the victory showed he still enjoyed immense support for his overthrow of the divisive Morsi, after millions held protests demanding an end to the Islamist’s single year of tur-bulent rule.

But the lower than anticipated turn-out of about 47 percent denied Sisi the overwhelming mandate he had called for ahead of the vote.

The now banned Brotherhood had called for a boycott of the election.

Sisi’s main challenges will be to re-

store stability and revive the economy after three years of turmoil, following a 2011 uprising that ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Since Morsi’s ouster, the crackdown on his supporters has killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands be-hind bars, while militants have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.

‘Return security’ In a televised address after his victory was announced on Tuesday, Sisi called on Egyptians to “work to return securi-ty to this nation”.

Sisi’s opponents fear that under his rule, Egypt will return to an autocratic regime worse than under Mubarak.

In the run-up to the election, Sisi said that “national security” takes pre-cedence over democratic freedoms.

He will be the � fth Egyptian presi-dent to rise from the ranks of the mil-itary, and is expected to reassert the

army’s grip on politics.Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who

opposed Morsi’s Brotherhood, called for a donor conference to help Egypt after the results were announced.

The oil kingpin was to be represent-ed at the swearing-in ceremony by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, alongside the rulers of Kuwait and Bah-rain.

Western nations, which congratulat-ed Sisi on his election win while stress-ing the importance of safeguarding hu-man rights, sent low-level o� cials or were represented by ambassadors.

The United States has voiced con-cerns about “the restrictive political environment” during the vote, urging Sisi to show “commitment to the pro-tection of the universal rights of all Egyptians”.

Senior State Department o� cial Thomas Shannon was to represent Washington at the palace ceremony. l

Sisi: From army chief to civilian strongmann AFP, Cairo

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was sworn in yesterday as Egypt’s president, may have donned civilian clothes but his crackdown on opponents has raised fears he could herald a return to autocracy.

Sisi was chosen as president in a May 26-28 election with 96.91 percent of the vote, nearly a year after toppling the coun-try’s � rst freely elected leader, Islamist Mo-hamed Morsi.

Taking the oath on Sunday, Sisi vowed “to respect the constitution and the law and to care for the interests of the people; and to preserve the independence of the nation”.

The 59-year-old became Egypt’s most popular political � gure and de facto head of state after leading the July 3 ouster of Morsi following massive rallies demanding the Islamist’s resignation.

A subsequent crackdown on Morsi’s supporters left at least 1,400 dead and thousands more in jail.

Since he retired from the army to run for o� ce, Sisi has preferred to address the people through television interviews, appearing in crisp suits and often smiling.

Sisi has said that for him, “national se-curity” takes precedence over democratic freedoms.

It could take “20 to 25 years to achieve true democracy,” he told Egyptian newspa-per editors in an interview, saying the Arab world’s most populous nation cannot be compared to Western democracies.

Such remarks have sparked concern of a return to autocracy worse than under Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted by a pop-ular uprising in early 2011.

Sisi himself served as Mubarak’s mili-tary intelligence chief, the youngest o� cer to hold the post.

Mubarak’s successor Morsi promoted Sisi to defence minister in what was seen at the time as an assertion of civilian con-trol over the military, which ruled between Mubarak’s overthrow and Morsi’s election in June 2012.

Since last July, more than 15,000 peo-ple have been jailed, with hundreds sen-tenced to death after cursory trials, trig-gering widespread international outrage.

The crackdown has also seen secu-lar-leaning activists who revolted against

Mubarak jailed for organising unlicensed protests.

Nationalist iconSisi’s actions against the Brotherhood have seen him emerge as a nationalist icon in the mould of Egypt’s � rst modern military ruler, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Sisi and Nasser, the charismatic colo-nel who deposed King Farouk in 1952 and ruled until his death in 1970, both rode to popularity overseeing crackdowns on the Islamist movement. But unlike Nasser, a champion of pan-Arabism whose speech-es brought people onto the streets, Sisi has kept a lower pro� le.

His supporters see him as a tough lead-er able to restore stability and kick-start an economic recovery after years of unrest.

Speaking on television after the elec-tion results and a lower than anticipated turnout, Sisi had struck a positive note, saying: “The future is a blank page, and it is in our hands to � ll with what we want ... bread, freedom, human dignity, social justice”.

Other Egyptians simply want him to end the turmoil that has dogged the coun-try since 2011.

“I voted for Sisi for stability, but I fear a crackdown on freedoms,” one 29-year-old voter told AFP after the election.

But his opponents in the Brotherhood despise him, comparing him to a pharaoh and to villains of Islamic lore.

“CC (Sisi’s name in gra� ti shorthand) is a killer” reads one slogan scrawled on Cairo walls by detractors.

However, these are dwarfed by the ubiquitous image of a uniformed Sisi plas-tered on walls, car windows and even on cakes in bakeries.

To his supporters, Sisi is a pious, humble man of the people, who addresses them in colloquial rather than classical Arabic. l

Egyptians receive portraits of Egypt’s now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they take part in celebrations in front of the presidential palace in the capital Cairo on June 8, after Sisi was sworn in AFP

Members of the ‘Minyons de Terrassa’ Human Tower team form a traditional ‘Castell’ or human tower on Placa de Sant Jaume in Barcelona on June 8 in a bid to draw international attention to a referendum on Catalan independence next November 9. Members of another Human Tower team form a traditional human tower in Barcelona. A group of acrobats create a Catalan Tower in front of Tower Bridge in central London as the person on top unfurls a banner reading ‘Catalans want to vote’ AFP

REFERENDUM ON CATALAN INDEPENDENCE

He will be the � fth Egyptian president to rise from the ranks of the military, and is expected to reassert the army’s grip on politics

CIA debuts on Twittern Agencies

In the movie “Tomorrow Never Dies,” James Bond famously claims that he has “enjoyed learning a new tongue,” prompting a saucy Ms Moneypen-

ny to riposte, “You were always a cunning linguist, James.” In keeping with the times, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the world’s premier spook out� t, threw its hat in the social media on Friday, essaying its � rst tweet and attracting a raft of followers — and repartees.

“We can neither con� rm nor deny that this is our � rst tweet,” the @CIA account tweeted in its smart-alecky debut, with the kind of droll humour the British spymaster was known for. Within hours, the tweet was relayed 220,000 times and the Agen-cy garnered more than 400,000 follow-ers, prompting it to continue its tongue-in-cheek sortie.

“Thank you for the @Twitter welcome! We look forward to sharing great #unclas-

si� ed content with you,” it said in a second tweet, even as it drew a raft of sassy re-sponses, among them from @wikileaks, which greeted it with a digital dig. “@CIA we look forward to sharing great classi� ed info about you,” it said, along with links to CIA-re-lated revelations in the Wikileaks website.

The CIA has been slow to hit the so-cial media front, with its spooky associ-ates such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) way ahead of the curve.

In part, that was because the more famous Agency had to reclaim the @CIA handle, which had been � rst snagged by Cleveland Institute of Art, and after it gave it up, was acquired by some squatter who had to be evicted with help from Twitter parent company.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International was quickly o� the mark, dourly noting that the CIA’s � rst Tweet “would be funny if it weren’t for the agency’s use of torture and extrajudicial executions. They should put as least as much e� ort into following the law as they do into social media.” l

Childhood changes for Spain’s eight-year-old queen-to-ben AFP, Madrid

Like many eight-year-old girls, she eats in the school canteen and goes to ballet class. Her friends know her as Leonor – but soon they will have to call her “Highness”.

Her childhood will not be the same now that her grandfather Juan Carlos is stepping down as king of Spain. Once her father Felipe is crowned king, she will no longer be “Infanta”, but Princess – and one day Queen. She will be the youngest direct royal heir in Europe.

She will step out for the cameras to zoom in on her blue eyes, blonde hair and toothy smile. Royal-watchers say those may be just the charms the Span-ish royal family needs to save its image.

“Until now, her parents have delib-erately protected her so that she is not in the papers all the time. Those days are over,” said the prince’s biographer, Jose Apezarena.

“They will still try to minimise the impact on her personal life, but soon she is going to be the heir to the throne.

It will change her life,” he added.“I feel a bit sorry for her because the

change is going to take away some of her freedom.”

‘Normal’ childhoodPrince Felipe and his wife Letizia were already darlings of the celebrity press when Leonor was born on October 31, 2005. Letizia, an ex-newsreader, has

made countless front pages.The births of Leonor and her sister

So� a, who is now seven, turned them into possibly the cutest royal family in the world: a tall prince, glamorous mother and two little girls with long blonde hair.

The couple have kept their daugh-ters largely out of view so their child-hoods can be as normal as possible.

The few glimpses of the girls al-lowed by the palace have shown them smiling as they hold hands with their mother and father or their grand-mother, Queen So� a.

“Leonor is a very intelligent child, very active but calm. She faces the cameras with great serenity,” said Apezarena.

“She does the same things as her classmates, eats in school, goes to bal-let class, and studies English,” he said.

She is said to speak good English, learned from her grandmother and a British nanny as well as at Holy Mary of the Rose Bushes, her expensive private school in western Madrid. l

Israel backs law to block Palestinian prisoner releasesn AFP, Jerusalem

The Israeli cabinet yesterday approved changes in a law that could block amnesty for Palestinians imprisoned for murdering Israelis. The amendment, which needs to be approved by parliament before passing into law, would give the courts power to prevent Israel’s president from granting clemency or shortening the jail term of anyone imprisoned for murder.

Ayelet Shaked of the far-right Jewish Home party who initiated the change said it was aimed at preventing the re-lease of Palestinian militants who killed Israelis as well as other murderers.

“The mass release of terrorists through diplomatic deals makes a mockery of the Israeli public as does shortening the prison terms of criminal murderers,” she said in a statement.

The latest round of US-led peace talks collapsed in April after Israel re-fused to release a fourth and last round of 26 long-term prisoners. l

9Monday, June 9, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World

Bergdahl family gets death threats n Agencies

US authorities are investigating emailed death threats to the father of Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier released by the Afghan Taliban last week after � ve years in captivity.

Four threatening emails were being investigated, police told Reuters.

The � rst of the four death threats was sent to Bob Bergdahl - Sgt Berg-dahl’s father - at his home near Hailey, Idaho, the town’s police chief Je� Gunt-er told Reuters.

He said that Bergdahl received the � rst threat on Wednesday, the same day as a rally in Hailey celebrating Sgt Bergdahl’s release was cancelled amid controversy over the circumstances of his release.

Gunter said that the threatening emails were now being investigated by the FBI. The authorities are reported to be providing security to Bob Bergdahl and his wife, Jani.

Meanwhile, the details of Sgt Berg-dahl’s capture in 2009 remain unclear.

Some of the soldier’s former com-

rades say that he fell into Taliban hands after deserting his post in Paktika Prov-ince.

Critics of the deal - in which � ve Tali-ban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay were released in exchange - have alleged that six US soldiers were killed in the initial e� orts to locate the missing man. They say that 30 days’ notice needs to be given to Congress before Guantanamo prisoners can be transferred.

President Barack Obama has de-fended his decision to go ahead with the prisoner swap. l

5 bizarre ‘rape’ comments from Indian Agencies

In India, it seems like there is no dearth in the number of political leaders and other public speakers who have made it their sole purpose to comment in a dastardly fashion about rape. Here is a list of lead-ers whose comments on rape and women raised quite a stir in the past months:

No one commits rape intentionally Chhattisgarh’s home minister Ram-sewak Paikra: On Saturday, the minis-ter said: “No one commits rape inten-tionally. It happens by mistake.”

Police cannot deter rapes Babulal Gaur: He sought to absolve the police of any responsibility when it comes to curbing the incidence of rapes.

“I said police cannot deter rapes, but can take action only after it has been report-ed. Rapes occur within closed doors or in isolated places. Without prior infor-mation, how can police prevent crime?”

Boys will be boys Mulayam Singh Yadav: The SP supremo’s comment that “boys will be boys”and that they “make mistakes” should go down in history as the example of a lead-er who has little or no concern about the like-altering consequences of rape. Ad-dressing a rally in Moradabad, Mulayam said that “rape accused should not be hanged. Men make mistakes.”

TV brings vulgarity into homesSP MP Ram Gopal Yadav: Yadav, who is also Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son, said

that the media was tarnishing the image of India, and UP in particular, by blow-ing the Badaun gang rape and murder case out of proportion. He also blamed television for bringing vulgarity into homes and “polluting young minds.”

Even the woman is guiltyAbu Azmi: Another Samajwadi party leader and father-in-law of actor Ayesha Takia, Abu Azmi had gone to the extent of saying that those women who get raped should be hanged and also that just because by virtue of the fact that married women have extramarital sex (when they get raped!), they should be punished along with the rapist. “Rape is punishable by hanging in Islam. But here, nothing happens to women, only to men. Even the woman is guilty.” l

Freed Taliban militants say committed to Qatar prisoner release dealn AFP, Doha

Five leading Afghan militants freed from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for a US soldier have pledged to honour an agreement between the Taliban and Qatar, which is hosting them.

The men, o� cials in the Taliban re-gime driven from power by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, were released on May 31 and � own to Qatar in exchange for US army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

Their release provoked criticism from some US politicians, who said

they could pose a threat to Americans abroad, and anger from Afghans op-posed to the Taliban. But in a statement posted on their Pashto-language web-site on Friday, the men said they would remain faithful to an agreement with Qatar, which mediated their release.

“We want to reassure all sides that we are still holding to the agreement which was reached between the Is-lamic Emirate (the Taliban) and the government of Qatar on our release,” they said, urging the release of fellow Taliban militants held in Guantanamo.

The freed prisoners are Mohammad

Fazl, Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq.

Little has been revealed about the deal, but Qatar has said it will impose a one-year travel ban on the men.

US President Barack Obama is facing intense scrutiny over the deal to secure Bergdahl’s release after � ve years.

He said Qatar had set up a process to monitor the prisoners and the US would also be “keeping eyes on them”.

But Obama admitted it was possible some of them could return to activity “detrimental” to the United States. l

India and China hold � rst major talks since Modi winn AFP, New Delhi

India hailed talks with China yesterday as a good step towards stronger ties in the � rst high-level meeting of the rival Asian giants since Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi took charge.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Indian counterpart in New Delhi during a two-day visit to build relations with the right-wing Modi government which came to power last month on a pledge to revive the economy.

Foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akba-ruddin said talks between Wang and In-dia Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on economic and other issues were “pro-ductive and substantive”.

“All issues of signi� cance were raised and discussed in a frank and cordial manner,” Akbaruddin told reporters.

“In our view this is a productive be-ginning between the new government of India and the Chinese government,” he said without giving details.

The talks focused on trade ties but also touched on a border dispute be-tween the nuclear-armed neighbours that has soured relations for decades.

Wang is expected today to meet Modi, who has extended olive branches

to traditional rivals China and Pakistan since coming to o� ce despite his hard-line nationalist reputation.

Modi has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit later this year, an o� er that Wang told India media had been accepted.

Wang told the Hindu newspaper he had travelled to the capital as a special en-voy of Xi to “cement our existing friend-ship and explore further cooperation”.

“China is ready to work with our In-dian friends for an even brighter future of our strategic and cooperative partner-ship,” Wang said in an interview.

Analysts say Modi’s landslide election win has given him a mandate for more assertive foreign policy than the previ-ous government. He held talks with his Pakistani counterpart last month after inviting leaders of regional neighbours to his inauguration.

Trade and suspicionChina is India’s biggest trading partner with two-way commerce totalling close to $70 billion. But India’s trade de� cit with China has soared to over $40 billion from just $1 billion in 2001-02, Indian � gures show. Experts say Modi must bridge the de� cit by seeking greater ac-cess to the Chinese market, with the two sides targeting annual bilateral trade of $100 billion by 2015.

Relations however are still dogged by mutual suspicion – a legacy of a brief, bloody border war in 1962 over the Indian northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. Modi had warned China to shed its “expansionist mind-set” at an election rally earlier this year. China hit back, saying it “never waged a war of aggression to occupy any inch of land of other countries.” l

Earn $5 million if you have info about MH370n AFP, Kuala Lumpur

Grieving families of those aboard Flight MH370 yesterday launched a drive to raise $5 million to reward any insider who comes forward and resolves the mystery of the plane’s disappearance exactly three months ago.

The “Reward MH370” campaign launches on fundraising website Indiegogo and aims to raise at least $5 million “to en-courage a whistleblower to come forward with information”, the families said in a press release.

The Malaysia Airlines jet lost contact on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard -- about two-thirds of them Chinese.

The Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, but an extensive search has turned up no sign of wreckage so far, leaving frustrated and anguished families of those aboard sus-pecting a cover-up.

“We are convinced that somewhere, someone knows something, and we hope this reward will entice him or her to come

forward,” said Ethan Hunt, a technology company chief who is heading the “Reward MH370” project.

Sarah Bajc, partner of American pas-senger Philip Wood, said a handful of fam-ilies were behind the campaign to look at the unprecedented aviation mystery with “a fresh set of eyes”.

“Governments and agencies have given it their best shot but have failed to turn up a single shred of evidence, either because of a faulty approach or due to intentional misdirection by one or more individuals,” she said in the release.

Malaysia and Australia, which is leading the search far o� its western coast, have promised that the hunt for the plane will continue. An international team is now de-termining an expanded search zone of up to 60,000 square kilometres (24,000 square miles) based on where the aircraft last com-municated with an Inmarsat satellite.

Australia has also released a request for tenders for a company to be engaged as a prime contractor and provide the expertise, equipment and vessels needed to carry out the deep-sea search from August. l

Norway peace envoy keen to testify on Sri Lanka warn AFP, Colombo

A top Norwegian peace envoy said he is willing to testify to any international war crimes investigation over alleged rights abuses during Sri Lanka’s sepa-ratist con� ict, a report said yesterday.

Norway’s former international devel-opment minister Erik Solheim said he was prepared to give evidence on the � -nal months of the war in Sri Lanka, where he had tried but failed to broker peace.

“The war was won at a tremendous cost and I will (act as a) witness before any recognised international tribunal investigating Sri Lanka,” Solheim told the local Ceylon Today weekly.

Solheim’s mission was formally aborted by Colombo in April 2009, a month before the end of the de-cades-long war between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Sri Lanka’s war ended after a bloody � nale by the military against the rebels � ghting for a separate homeland for the ethnic Tamil minority. The UN Human Rights Council in March voted in favour of setting up an international probe to look into allegations that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the � nal stages, a charge Colombo vehemently denies.

A team of investigators is expected to be named shortly, but Colombo op-poses any foreign inquiry. l

Indian minister: Rapes happen accidentallyn AFP, New Delhi

A minister from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party has said rapes happen “accidentally” in the latest controversial remarks by a poli-tician, amid renewed outrage over at-tacks against women.

Ramsevak Paikra, the home minis-ter of central Chhattisgarh state who is responsible for law and order, said late on Saturday that rapes did not happen on purpose.

“Such incidents (rapes) do not hap-pen deliberately. These kind of incidents happen accidentally,” Paikra, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which also rules at the national level, told reporters.

Paikra, who was asked for his thoughts on the gang-rape and lynch-ing of two girls in a neighbouring state, later said he had been misquoted. His original remarks were broadcast on television networks.

The remarks come just days after the home minister of the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh state said rapes were “sometimes right, sometimes wrong”.

The minister, Babulal Gaur, gave the remarks on Thursday amid growing anger over the gang-rape and murder of the girls, aged 12 and 14, in northern Uttar Pradesh state late last month.

Modi, whose party came to power in a landslide election victory and has pledged increased women’s security, has so far stayed silent over the rapes.

Women’s groups have slammed the comments as evidence that politicians were unable to stem sexual violence because they lacked respect for India’s women and were ignorant of the issues.

India brought in tougher laws last year against sexual o� enders after the fatal gang-rape of a student in New Delhi in December 2012, but they have failed to stem the tide of violence against women across the country. l

SRI LANKA ON A PATH OF RECOVERY

Indian activists shout slogans against the government during a protest against the alleged rape of a schoolgirl by three teenage boys in Kolkata on June 2. According to Indian government statistics, a rape occurs every 22 minutes but activists say the � gure is conservative as many rapes go unreported in the nation of 1.2 billion where sexual crime victims are often publicly shamed AFP

Foreign tourists walk past artwork for sale at a roadside stall in Colombo on June 8. The number of foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka has swelled since the island ended a 37-year separatist con� ict with Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 AFP

Soldiers, police deploy across Bangkok fearing protestsn AFP, Bangkok

Thousands of soldiers and police were deployed across Bangkok yesterday, an o� cial said, as anti-coup protesters vowed to stage � ashmob rallies in sev-eral locations in de� ance of an army edict banning political assemblies.

Small but vehement protests have been held since the military seized power from the civilian government on May 22, despite the junta’s move to ban all public protests.

The majority have taken place in the Thai capital where demonstrators have become increasingly creative to avoid detection and arrest, including adopt-ing a three-� nger salute from the “Hun-ger Games” � lms.

The salute has become the uno� cial symbol of resistance against the mili-tary regime.

“We have deployed more than 6,500 soldiers and police at several key places believed to be the areas for protest this afternoon,” said deputy national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung.

“So far the situation is quiet,” he added. Political assemblies of more than � ve people were banned under martial law declared by Army Chief Prayut two days before he seized power in a coup three weeks ago.

His troops have so far taken a rela-

tively light touch to policing the near daily rallies, making more than a dozen arrests but not using force.

On Friday the junta said it had cap-tured a prominent anti-coup � gure Sombat Boonngamanong who had spearheaded an online campaign to stage illegal � ashmob rallies against the military takeover. He had asked followers to � ash three-� nger salutes during peaceful demonstrations.

A ‘We are all Sombat’ Facebook page established since his detention urged demonstrators to meet on Sunday af-ternoon at � ve place across the city, in-cluding near the Grand Palace and the city’s main international airport.

The page told protesters to “move quickly, take a picture (with the salute) and then disappear into the crowd” to avoid arrest.

In a televised address to the nation on Friday, Prayut had warned Thais against using the salute. “I beg you not to raise the three � ngers. Why do you have to imitate them (foreigners)?” he said.

“If you want to show it, you can, but can you show it inside your house? Don’t show it outside,” said the army chief.

Prayut said he was forced to seize power after nearly seven months of an-ti-government protests which saw 28 people killed and hundreds of others wounded. l

Relations between the two countries took a hit last April when India accused Chinese troops of intruding deep into its territory

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Period of time (4)4 Game of skill (5)8 Evil intent (6)9 Tart (4)11 Mannequin (5)12 Excuse (4)14 Bishop’s territory (3)15 Willfully disregard (6)19 Whole (6)21 Barrier (3)22 Fitting (arch) (4)24 Songs for two (5)27 Votes in favour (4)29 Rest (6)30 Full of cheer (5)31 Whirlpool (4)

DOWN1 Word of acceptance (3)2 Talisman (6)3 Uncommon (4)4 Obscure (3)5 Fruit of the oak (5)6 Colour (3)7 Precious metal (6)10 Frank (4)13 Melody (3)14 Rarely (6)16 Precious stone (3)17 Followed orders (6)18 Scold (4)20 Bury (5)23 Comfort (4)25 Do wrong (3)26 Secret agent (3)28 Arch (3)

CROSSWORD

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

SUDOKU

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents C so � ll C every time the � gure 15 appears.You have one letter in the control grid to start you o� . Enter it in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

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The mighty penJune 3

ZAGreat read! Kudos to the writer for calling out the pretenders!

FarhanLiterature has become a commercial venture now. Where it was once an outlet for creativity, often in the face of great adversity, it is now all about making the most money and winning the most accolades, while looking good on the cover of a magazine.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Maya Angelou were truly inspirational and I really wish others

would take the right lessons from their lives, as Mr Ahmed here has done.

SrabontiMaya Angelou wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Her work was about the perseverance of human nature, not about the celebrity that comes with its success. I am really glad to see that this piece pays tribute to what she, and Marquez, really stood for, because so few people even re-member that amidst all the false praise. The writer clearly has respect for the legacy of these greats, and I can only hope that others follow suit.

Malfunctioning preventive road spikesJune 4

Engr SA MansoorThe back page photographs by Rajib Dhar, published on May 28, say it all! This initial problem needs to be tolerated, as it is the only way out of our lawless tra� c created very often by VIPs and other so-called important people who ignore all tra� c rules, including the most dangerous and potentially fatal tendency to drive on the wrong tra� c lane, against the normal � ow of tra� c.

I congratulate the innovative technicians who devised this interesting tra� c guard. Hats o� to them! Usually all such newly developed devices need � eld trials, and we should bear with the initial problems with some patience. Maybe in two or three months the problems will be eliminated.

Finally, it was of interest to know, that the vehicle involved in the � rst tra� c violation, and trapped in this “retractable spike” on the road was a lawmaker’s vehicle!

Energy policy needssecurity and sustainability

The budget included a goal of ensuring electricity to every household within � ve years.

It increased the target for power generating capacity to 24,000MW of electricity by 2021.

These plans involve building 71 extra power plants by 2018. Most of these power plants are intended to be gas-based as they are cheaper than those that run on diesel or furnace oil.

However, doubts exist about the availability of an adequate gas supply, because there have been growing shortages in recent years. Unless fresh gas reserves are developed quickly, the new plants may not be able to go into production or will be forced to rely on costlier imported oil.

The economy needs reliable and cost–e� cient power. It also needs to ensure sustainability as well as energy security. It is imperative that the government reduce subsidies on power and gas, in order to discourage waste and stimulate investment in new power supplies, particularly from renewable sources.

Cutting subsidies will give more incentive to power companies to invest in generating capacity.

As well as seeking to increase domestic production, and to stimulate generation from sources such as solar and bio-gas, the government must act to build bilateral, and regional agreements.

These have the potential to enable power from sustainable sources, such as hydro-power plants in Nepal, to be imported from neighbouring countries.

There is no alternative but to think long term and prioritise increasing e� ciency and reducing dependency on � nite fossil fuels.

City plans needmore vision

A lack of vision and poor enforcement of planning rules are major reasons why the capital’s growth has come at huge costs to the environment and quality of life for residents.

The recent amendment to the current Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka by a cabinet committee, approving alterations to allow major housing schemes around Badda, on areas identi� ed as � ood � ow control zones, has caused considerable debate.

In anticipation of objections, the committee laid down requirements for separate concrete drainage systems for storm water and waste management, and speci� ed that water bodies should be protected and the developments will be required to install e� uent treatment plants.

While it is to be hoped that these rules will be properly enforced so they achieve their aim, past precedents are poor. In a city where illegally built structures are not uncommon, there is little surprise if changes are made to core parts of the DAP itself.

Consistency in the enforcement of planning rules has to be a pre-requisite to ensuring that the future growth of the city is sustainable and viable.

More vision and strategy is needed as well. Dhaka’s limited land space is shaped by water. It needs to ensure its rivers and canals are not blighted by encroachment and waste dumping, but instead are nurtured and valued as core features of the city .

Improving transportation is most vital. Not only can this reduce congestion within the city, but by encouraging relocation of some industries around the country, it can facilitate more productive and environmentally sensitive use of land.

Value rivers and improve transportation

No alternative but to think long term

From Japan, with loveJune 2Zero-AgendaIt’s genuinely refreshing to hear a foreign voice speak so enthusiastically about our country. Here’s to a bright future for both Japan and Bangladesh!

Disha DhakaJapan is the rays of hope and light from the rising sun for BD. But we must handle China with the utmost sensitivity for being, not only the strongest economy, but also our most coveted strategic ally.

What the next budget promisesJune 3

Lisa_54 It is true that it doesn’t matter how big the budget is. If the government doesn’t ful� ll its promises with integrity, then the hollow numbers on paper can do no good for our economy.

author Lisa_54: Does the mere number attract people in any way? What matters more is delivery of services in keeping with promises and public expectations. Do the masses have any expectations at all?

Kamal: Fire exchange a misunderstandingJune 1

GuestApart from appeasing a rogue state and it’s equally rogue border police, there’s another thing that will clear up any misunderstanding. That’s called proportionate retaliation.

Spanish PM: King Juan Carlos to abdicate in favour of sonJune 2

OsmaniaNobody expects the Spanish abdication.

Police bar Moncho processionJune 2

Akhtar ShahSeems the Moncho is way past its “best before date!” In AL’s eyes, GRM had a use then; now, they don’t, so scoot o� !

Introduce big size onion cultivation

June 4

Md Ashraf HossainThough the growing of onions in Bangladesh

has increased in recent years, even a huge quantity of scarce foreign exchange is drained

out for importing onions every year. Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), in collaboration with the Agriculture Extension

Department (AED), needs to initiate a project to make the country self-su� cient in onion

production. From satellite TV channel, one sees that large-size onions are grown in Europe. The

colour and peels of those onions resemble that of our local ones, but their size is greater; one may

weigh 250 to 300 grams, whereas the weight of a local onion varies from 10 to 25 grams.

BADC can import a certain amount of large-size onion seeds from European nations and sell them

to farmers in traditional onion-growing districts here. AED can provide farmers with the technical

knowhow to grow large onions. Then, one can expect that within a couple of years, Bangladesh

would be able to stop the further import of onions. I would like to urge the government to take on

a project to provide large-size onion seeds from Europe and provide this knowhow to farmers to

grow large onions here.

Are all languages created equal?June 3

TJThis scenario in India is similar to the situation in our country. Even though it is necessary to have

expertise in foreign languages, especially English, we should not give less importance to the Bangla language. Same goes for the di� erent languages

of all the indigenous communities of our country. They should be encouraged not to forget their

mother tongue because their language and culture are the components that make our

Bangladeshi culture so diverse.

Gold crest scam comes under ACC scanner

June 3

VKI’m without words!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

11Op-Ed Monday, June 9, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Towheed Feroze

That image of a lone un-armed protestor standing de� antly before a column of tanks is � rmly secure in the collection of iconic

20th century images. It speaks vol-umes – not just of the courage of the individual but of faith in something which triggers superhuman actions from seemingly average people. Super-men in real life never possess extraor-dinary powers – they just rise above the human level to aspire to something special.   

In 1989, when the Tiananmen inci-dent unfolded, China was still cloaked in mystery. It was an enigma which, at the fag-end of the cold war, was � rmly tucked away behind a thick curtain of communism. The country was a far cry from modern day China where communism is the shiny red cover for a large box � lled with the mouthwater-ing trappings of capitalism.

As we all know, the student-led democracy movement was crushed by the government, much to the dismay of the West and as the 25th year of the rising is being commemorated, there is once more a buzz around the event – obviously, used more as a propagan-da machine to discredit the Chinese government.

The campaign to revive the Tiananmen is gearing more pace as China becomes assertive in territorial disputes, sending out feelings of chill among its neighbours. From a neutral perspective, suppression of any popu-lar movement, especially if it involves killing, is condemnable but if we look at the evolution of the country post 1989 and assess its rise as an inde-pendent nation which has delicately created a balance between capitalism and communism, we � nd that the government that quelled the uprising learnt a tough lesson. In fact, they not only learnt a lesson but also decided

to carry out subtle changes which have turned China into an intriguing paradox of sorts – a glamorous hub of consumer luxuries with the hammer and sickle intact on top.

Maybe this rather perplexing blend was never envisaged by China’s detractors. In fact, if someone had � oated the idea in the early 90s that China would soon undergo phenome-nal changes while holding to the basics of her ideology, very few would have given credence to it. Surely, the com-forts of the West cannot be introduced by keeping the communist core intact? Amazingly, that is exactly what has happened.

If I understand the policy right, the government made concessions – gave the citizens everything they wanted, encouraged private-sector growth, and even turned a blind eye when items deemed for too long as signs of Western decadence � ooded the country. Would anyone have believed in the early 90s that BMW, Aston Martin, and Ferrari would � nd the best markets in China?

There was one condition though – do whatever you want, pursue what-ever your heart desires, but leave the ruling to the selected party members. Twenty � ve years later, is seems, the plan has worked to the letter. Yes, rampant corruption is a concern but China has recently surpassed Japan as an economic giant.

Recent reports say that young Chinese are not too familiar with the

episode 25 years ago and the govern-ment has erased most records of it. Such moves to cleanse history has been criticised by the West as a move to crush any chance of free thought. Interestingly, no one in the West ever talks about the highly dubious Brit-ish-French intervention in Egypt in the 50s and nor does anyone refer to the sel� sh politics to topple democratic governments (Iran in ’53, Chile in ’73) during the cold war period. To recall declassi� ed historical documents, some did not want to recognise or condemn the genocide being carried out in Bangladesh in 1971.

Also, when imperial powers talk

about their history, they carefully side-line events of the past where blatant gunboat diplomacy was used to sub-due others. Going back in time, China was turned into a massive opium market with several European nations setting up forti� cations. When the Chinese rose against dismemberment of the country by imperial powers in what is called the Boxer Rebellion, a joint military force was sent by almost all major Western powers under the banner “Eight-Nation Alliance” to subdue the uprising. This adventure was glori� ed in the 1963 movie – 55 days at Peking.

After victory, massive suppression followed. O� cials who supported the rising were executed, plus a large indemnity of silver was imposed on China. If China is wary of the West and any movement that reeks of Western

ideologies, then they can’t be blamed, because the 100 years of humiliation – the period when she was controlled by outsiders – is etched deeply within the nation’s identity.

Of course, at the same time, one cannot condone the killings of protest-ers and the subsequent crackdown on dissidents simply on the grounds that in any country, citizens have the right to express their feelings openly. For argument’s sake, let’s look at a hypo-thetical scenario – China, faced with widespread protests, decides to carry reforms and the old administrative order is scrapped. If the 1989 episode had succeeded, would we have a China with a robust global voice or would we be facing a molli� ed country willing to kowtow to others?

If there is any lesson to learn from the so-called democratic movements in the Arab world which the West endorsed e� usively – no revolution brings an abrupt end to old problems, they just compound already existing anomalies. Having said all that, the au-dacious rise of civilians in China won’t be forgotten because if that event didn’t take place, the authority in the country would not have triggered the process to change the once monolithic outlook.

So in a way, Tiananmen was not a failure. It was a wake-up call which the administration took seriously. Hence, the modern-day economic miracle plus a formidable military might happen. After all, if all countries are paci� ed, there won’t be check and balance. The world cannot have one-sided-superiority, it needs a counter balance.

As Newton said: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So for the 100 years of forced subjugation plus mindless injecting of opium for pro� t, there has to be some reaction. l

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

Tiananmen mattered

n A Baten

When you are accountable for something, there are certain things you can and cannot

do. Accountability is supposed to keep you out of trouble and create trust for you. Accountability creates obligations for an individual, an organisation, or a government to account for their ac-tivities, accept responsibility for those activities, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.

When you create trust through accountability, you are earning re-spect, transparency, and legitimacy. You can utilise it forever for your own bene� t and the bene� t of the nation. It creates a positive image which will go a long way in your favour. When we take responsibility for something, we cannot blame others for our faults. We cannot say we weren’t there or say that someone else was responsible. When we are responsible for something, we are obligated to ful� ll that responsi-bility, no one else should ful� ll our obligations.

Sometimes we pick or elect the wrong people to be accountable for a major task, like leading the country. The one with the power to choose the individual who is to be held account-able, also plays a major role in this process. They cannot get away from their responsibility as long as they are independent. In the Bangladeshi con-text, it is very di� cult to be independ-ent and not be pressurised and biased, but it is not impossible.

We can � nd a good number of examples of accountable individuals who are above controversy, around us. They are rare but they are there. They are not in� uenced by any kind of pressure. They are motivated to do the right thing for themselves and for others. You can distinguish them from far away, they are well-known and well-respected.

Accountability is a brand which helps get things done, like getting a job or being elected. Accountable individuals are assets, not liabilities. Accountability increases productivity and the overall progress of a nation or an organisation. The government should create an environment where people can work with accountability. The current situation is encouraging us to not be accountable; this is not how it should be.

Accountable individuals should be promoted to higher positions and should be elected for longer terms, but in reality the situation is the exact opposite. If you are not taking ac-countability for your actions, you are deceiving others, including yourself.

In my opinion, it is very di� cult to reach the top without accountability,

transparency, and legitimacy. When we are missing all these essential ele-ments but still making some progress, we need to ask ourselves if the pro-gress is sustainable. Lack of account-ability can create trouble and thus ruin an organisation, or even a nation. They might lose the trust of clients or citizens in the long-run, which could be very di� cult to get back.

We need to ask ourselves what our goal is. Do we want to stay longer to serve the clients, the citizens? Or are we in it to make some quick money and exit the scene, creating a bad name for ourselves in the process? We need to ask ourselves what our intensions are, and make sure they are known to everyone.

Even if we are not successful in our attempts, our intensions and e� orts will be counted for positively, and those who are witnessing will appreci-ate that. Good intensions are neces-sary for accountability, transparency, and legitimacy. No one can stop us if our intensions are honest and clear.

There is a saying: If we do the same thing over and over again, we will get the same results. So, if we want better results, we have to do things di� erent-ly. Short-sightedness does not give us the true picture. Some people like to do things that they are not supposed to do for short-term gains. Most of the time, we do not stop ourselves from making the mistakes because they are socially accepted. If everyone is doing something, then why should I not do it as well and reap the bene� ts in the process, right?

There are always social and political pressures to take the wrong path. Once someone takes the wrong path, it is very di� cult to deviate. They get addicted to power, money, and other short-term bene� ts. In the current context, people around us encourage and advise us to do illegal and unethi-cal things so that they can bene� t from our wrongdoings. When the bad times come, these so-called friends or advi-sors disappear in no time, not caring at all about what happens to us.

Knowing we are not part of any wrongdoing and not causing any trou-ble in anyone’s lives will give us some peace of mind. We would be amazed to see how much we would be appreci-ated if we acknowledge our mistakes and try to correct them. The days when people would judge us for our mistakes are gone. Instead, they will respect us more if we acknowledge our mistakes and work to � x them. This should be the correct approach. It should make us better human beings and leaders. Everyone makes mistakes, but only heroes can admit to them and ask for forgiveness. There shouldn’t be any shame in self-correction, for in return, we will get more respect. l

A Baten is an Assistant Professor at ULAB.

Owning up

n Robert W Gibson

The use of sexual violence in war is one of the great injustices of our lifetime. It is hard to docu-

ment, let alone investigate. Perpetra-tors do not discriminate, because it’s not about sex, but violence, terror, power, and control. 

When rape is committed during con� ict, it has often been seen as an inevitable part of war, and so it has been allowed to go unpunished.

But even war has rules. So just as the world could agree that land mines have no place on the battle� eld, the world must agree to end sexual vio-lence in con� ict.

I took the opportunity to speak about this at the Dhaka Press Club on

Thursday, and discussed what we can all do to make it happen.

In London, between June 10-13, the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and UN Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie, will co-host the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Con� ict. Represent-atives of governments, civil society, the military, and the judiciary will

all take part. So too will the public. Events will also take place around the world. Representatives of Bangladesh will be asked to commit to concrete action that will help remove wartime rape and sexual violence from the world’s arsenal of cruelty. You can help to ensure they do so.

It will be a summit like no other, because sexual violence is a crime like no other. Women and men are made

to su� er its horrors in con� icts around the world, and shocking as it may seem, many victims are very young girls and boys. Sexual violence carries a corrosive after-e� ect that lasts a life-time: An unjust and destructive shame for the victims and their families.

But we � rmly believe that this can – and must – change.

The appalling truth is that only a tiny number of perpetrators of these crimes have ever been brought to trial, let alone convicted. That is why at the summit we will launch the � rst International Protocol on the Docu-mentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Con� ict. The protocol will help investigators preserve informa-tion and evidence in the aftermath of an attack, improve the chances of someone being successfully prose-cuted later, and protect victims and survivors from further trauma.

At the summit this week, we want governments to announce their support for the protocol and to encourage local activists, lawyers, police personnel, and doctors to use it. We also want governments to make sure that their national laws on rape and sexual violence are in line with

international standards, so that there’s a greater chance of securing successful prosecutions for war crimes in their own courts. The summit will also look at the role that the military can play. When sexual violence occurs in con� ict zones, soldiers are often the � rst people on the scene, but are not always properly equipped or trained to deal with this sensitive problem. This needs to change. And armies are often responsible for

carrying out these abhorrent acts. This must stop. Finally, we hope the governments of the world’s wealthiest nations will announce new funding support, including to local grassroots organisations which often work at the heart of the most a� ected communities.

But government action alone is not enough. We need every family and community to change the culture that stigmatises survivors and to be united

in their abhorrence for these crimes, so that any man with a gun will think twice before ordering or committing rape. Will you add your voice to the global call for decisive action?

It is time to support survivors, shat-ter the culture of impunity, and ensure that justice is done, both now and in the future. It is #TimeToAct. l

Robert W Gibson is the British High Commissioner to Dhaka.

Ending sexual violence in con� ict

S E R P E N T I N E D E N

In a way, Tiananmen was not a failure. It was a wake-up call which the administration took seriously

Just as the world could agree that land mines have no place on the battle� eld, the world must agree to end sexual violence in con� ict

Everyone makes mistakes, but only heroes can admit to them and ask for forgiveness

The current situation is encouraging us to not be accountable. This is not how it should be

What would China be if the 1989 uprising had succeeded? REUTERS

Hridoy Khan’s album launch goes haywire n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

On June 7, a huge crowd of Hridoy Khan fans gathered infront of Besty Music at Bashundhara City for the launch of his third solo album “Bha-lo Lage Na.” Since the management of the event were not expecting such a huge turnover of fans, the situation soon got out of control and the singer was taken inside the shop and the shutters were closed in a hurry to the disappointment of the fans. The two-hour rendezvous among the singer and his fans was also cancelled.

The album consists of 10 tracks of various genres and Hridoy Khan worked on the musical arrangement and tune of the numbers. S A Haque Alik, Rabiul Islam Jibon and Gunjan Rahman are the song writers among others.

Hridoy Khan gained populari-

ty in 2008 with the album “Hridoy Mix.” His � rst solo album “Bolna” was released in 2009 and “Chhowa” came out in 2011. In between, he re-leased two more mixed albums un-der the “Hridoy Mix” series. A com-poser, he was also a playback for a

number of � lms including “Chorab-ali,” “Most Welcome,” “Amar Praner Priya” and “Television.”

“Bhalo Lage Na” is being released under the banner of Laser Vision. The album is sponsored by mobile phone operator Robi. l

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 201412

Exhibition Of Man and Earth IITime: 12pm – 8pmBengal Art Lounge,Gulshan AvenueRd-131, Circle -1

Unconsciously ConsciousTime: 9am to 9pm Alliance Francaise de Dhaka Road-3, Dhanmondi

Can You Handle the Truth?Time: 9:30am – 8:00pmEMK Center,Road-16, Dhanmondi

TODAY IN DHAKA

Jaya Ahsan and Mahfuz Ahmed worked in a TVC of a motorbike company and the shoot ended yesterday. The TVC is also directed by Mahfuz

Canadian Int’lSchool brings the house downn Entertainment Desk

Canadian International School’s an-nual concert titled “Five Elements” was held on Saturday at the ISD au-ditorium in the capital. With music, dance and a small theatre produc-tion, the programme took place amid huge enthusiasm.

As the title suggests, the theme of the concert was the � ve elements of the universe—air, � re, space, wa-ter and earth—alone they are instru-ments and united they create a sym-phony. Through the songs, dance recitals and the play, the students represented the elements.

The show began with the rendi-tion of the National Anthem. Later, the students from elementary to high school level presented Tagore songs, Nazrul songs, a folk dance along with some popular English songs. They presented a theme based perfor-

mance on Michael Jackson’s legend-ary number “The Earth Song.”

From space aliens cruising through a “human” solar system to hunters stalking deer in an imaginary forest, there was no end to the surprises in the original production performed by the students.

The programme wrapped up with the chorus performance of the Tagore song “Aguner Poroshmoni Chhowao Praney,” with a wish to eliminate all the illness, poverty and discrimina-tion prevailing in the world.

Dr M Enamul Haque, member of law commission and ex-IGP of Ban-gladesh Police, attended the show as the chief guest. Munshi Faiz Ahmad, chairman of Bangladesh Institute of International Strategic Studies was the guest of honor and Daniel Lout� , head of political section of Canadian High Commission was the special guest. l

Iresh Zaker turns gangster n Shadma Malik

Iresh Zaker is playing the antagonist in a � lm titled “Chhuye Dile Mon.” We caught up with the actor/entrepreneur to � nd out his take on the character: “I am playing the role of a passionate guy who loses the love of his life to Are� n Shuvo. My character's name is Danny, and he is a gangster and a politician and is a bad in� uence on society. But when it comes to love, Danny is quite sentimental and not at all like his usual resilient self.”

About establishing himself as an actor of negative roles only, Iresh said: “The role of Danny is a negative one. I don't believe that an actor has to play a positive or negative role all the time. I am interested in versital-ity and in this � lm, I have placed myself on a grey line.

“Since I do not have the 'look' that is a 'must have' for actors, I need to � nd my niche. I am very selective about the type of roles I usually go for. My selections depend on the director and more importantly the script. If I like what I see, I count myself in.”

About his co-stars in the � lm, he said: “I am well acquainted with Momo since we have worked together in a lot of TV plays. I also get along with Shuvo, therefore, work-ing with them was a breeze.”

Talking about his preference between TV and � lms, the actor said: “The two are poles apart. Working in a TV play is much more re-laxing than acting in a � lm. An actor has to

be in character all the time while shooting for a � lm.”

A cook by hobby, Iresh also enjoys pho-

tography and has a knack for writing. The � lm “Chuye Dile Mon” is the directo-

rial début of Shihan Shaheen. l

AR Rahman brings Michael Jackson to India

n Entertainment Desk

The o� cial versions of two of Michael Jackson’s songs from his posthumous album “Xscape” will soon be released in India. The Indian versions of “Love Never Felt So Good” and “Slave To The Rhythm” have been created at com-poser AR Rahman’s music school, KM Music Conservatory, in Chennai.

"It is a wonderful opportunity for KM to be creating Indian in� uenced covers of these tracks from such a leg-endary musician. We hope to capture the spirit and essence of Michael Jack-son’s music and infuse them with ele-ments from di� erent Indian traditions to make new musical masterpieces showing homage to his legacy," says Fathima Ra� q, executive director, KM.

The tracks will be available for download and streaming by end of June. "Although KM primarily teaches Western and Indian Classical music, working on MJ’s music demonstrates how connected popular music is with its classical past tradition," says Adam Greig, academic coordinator, KM. l

Jacqueline Fernandez to start a restaurant in Sri Lankan Entertainment Desk

Jacqueline Fernandez is on a high, and is making the most of the name, fame and money that she has earned from all the hard work

she has been doing.This Sri Lankan beauty is all set to open a restaurant in her coun-

try as she has often expressed her desire to go back to her roots. Excited about this new development, Jacqueline Fernandez

stated that she always had this in mind but could not take time o� to set it up.

We also hear, that the actress will personally look into the design and interiors of the hotel. Jacqueline will launch this restaurant very soon.

Apart form this, Jacqueline Fernandez has two plum projects in hand; one being “Kick” where she shares screen

space with Salman Khan and Randeep Hooda and the sec-ond being “Roy” where she is working with Arjun Rampal and

Ranbir Kapoor. If reports are to be believed, then Jacqueline has a double role in Roy. l

Mick Jagger’s mystery womann Entertainment Desk

Mick Jagger sparked rumours that he is dating a mystery brunette after he was spotted � irting with her.

The 70-year-old rocker was photo-graphed smiling and having fun with a mystery brunette on the balcony of a hotel room in Switzerland last week-end, reported Contactmusic.

The singer was left devastated when his partner L’Wren Scott, 49, killed herself in her Manhattan apart-ment on March 17, but the new pic-tures with an attractive woman sever-al decades younger than him suggest that he’s starting to put the tragedy behind him.

The pair reportedly met at a night-club in Zurich, where the Rolling Stones were on tour, and spent last Saturday and Sunday enjoying each other’s company, before emerging on the balcony on the � nal day look-ing dishevelled as the brunette beau-ty attempted to steal a kiss from the rocker.

The Rolling Stones, also consisting of Keith Richards, 70, Ronnie Wood, 67, and Charlie Watts, 73, cancelled

their gigs in Australia and New Zea-land in March while Mick grieved for

L’Wren, whom he had been dating for 13 years. l

Shadhona staged a dance recital at cultural organisation Ghashphul's commemorative programme on Kazi Nazrul Islam on Saturday

13DHAKA TRIBUNEMonday, June 9, 2014

Sport 14 15 Russel pip MSC in crucial premier league tie

Did you know?Germany have

missed just one of 18 penalties taken

in WC penalty shoot outs, winning all 4 in which they have

participated

Messi scores in Argentina win over SloveniaDAYS TO GO

3

Marco Reus (Germany)

Germany squad su� ered a shock as an ankle injury ruled mid� elder Marco Reus out of the tournament. The 25-year-old Borussia Dortmund star, known as ‘Rolls Reus’ and scorer of seven goals in 21 appearances for Germany, su� ered a slight tear to ankle ligaments shortly before half-time in Friday’s 6-1 friendly win over Armenia. Reus, who enjoyed a superb season at Borussia Dortmund, was seen as a key player in Ger-many’s quest to claim their � rst internation-al title in 18 years.

Franck Ribéry (France)

France’s World Cup hopes su� ered a mas-sive blow on Friday when star winger Franck

Ribery withdrew himself from the tourna-ment because of a back injury that has vir-tually stopped him running. Ribery, 31, who has scored 16 goals in 80 appearances for France, had said before the tournament that this would be his last World Cup. Ribery’s form even before that had dipped after he su� ered depression which he blamed on his failure to land the Ballon d’Or trophy for the world player of the year. He has been su� ering from lower back pains for several weeks, playing only once for club or country since April 29. However, the three-time French player of the year was instrumental in France’s qualifying campaign, scoring � ve goals for the 1998 world champions.

Radamel Falcao (Columbia)

Colombia had been worried about the � tness of striker Radamel Falcao for months following his anterior cruciate ligament injury in January. After months of uncer-tainty, Jose Pekerman � nally con� rmed

on June 2 that the Monaco star will not be � t in time for the World Cup. The proli� c striker, nicknamed as El Tigre (Spanish for The Tiger), was the main front-man of coach Jose Pekerman’s team. Falcao scored 20 goals in his 51 appearances for Columbia. While palying for Monaco on January 23, it was con� rmed that Falcao su� ered a knee injury and might miss the World Cup. Pekerman waited until the last minute for Falcao’s � tness, but eventually Falcao failed to regain match � tness.

Riccardo Montolivo (Italy)

Italy mid� elder Riccardo Montolivo su� ered a broken leg following a clash during his side’s 0-0 friendly draw with Republic of Ireland and could require surgery, meaning he will not make the � nals in Brazil. He is de-scribed as a versatile player capable of play-ing anywhere in the mid� eld. Montolivo’s two main roles are as a deep-lying playmaker and an attacking mid� elder, which best uti-

lise his technical ability, creativity, and range of passing. Montolivo made his debut for It-aly senior team in 2007 against South Africa and since then has represented the country in two FIFA Confederations Cups (2009 and 2013) as well as in Uefa Euro 2012 and the 2010 Fifa World Cup, where he started every game. The in� uential mid� elder has made 58 appearances so far for the Azzuri.

Van der Vaart (Netherlands)

Rafael van der Vaart was ruled out after injuring his calf in Holland training few days ago. The Hamburg captain helped his side narrowly avoid relegation from the Bundesli-ga this season after a play-o� with Greuther Furth. Van der Vaart has won 109 caps for his country scoring 25 times. He was a key part of the Netherlands side that � nished as runners-up to Spain in the last World Cup and his injury might not a� ect Van Gaal’s starting XI, but his squad lacks depth and will certainly be a� ected in a big way by the loss

of the former Spurs and Real Madrid man.

Roman Shirokov (Russia)

Russia captain Roman Shirokov was ruled out after failing to recover from a knee problem. The Zenit St Petersburg mid� elder picked up the injury in April. He was selected by caoch Fabio Capello in the 30-man preliminary World Cup squad. He sat out the recent friendlies against Slovakia and Norway, and was forced to miss Friday’s win over Morocco after su� ering a relapse in training. The 32-year-old is now due to have surgery on the knee injury next week, prompting Russia coach Fabio Capello to replace him from the wold Cup Squad. Shirokov, 32-year-old mid� elder, scored 12 goals in 41 international appearances since making his debut in 2008.

Giuseppe Rossi (Italy)

Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi was the major absentee when Italy coach Cesare Prandelli named his 23-man World Cup squad recently. Prandelli wasn’t convinced

that Rossi would be � t and able to cope with the rigours of tournament football in Brazil. The Fiorentina striker was enjoying the best season of his career in Florence and his recovery from injury to place himself into contention for a place on the Italian plane to Brazil, but he will once again miss out on a major tournament. Before Saturday’s friendly international against Ireland, the 27-year-old had played just 140 minutes at club level since returning to action.

–Ali Shahriyar Bappa

FRANCEClement Grenier (CAM), Steve Mandanda (GK) MEXICOLuis Montes (MF) CROATIANiko Kranjcar (CAM) NETHERLANDSGregory van der Wiel (RB), Kevin Strootman (MF) SPAINVictor Valdes (GK), Thiago Alcantara (CAM)ENGLANDTheo Walcott (LM), Kyle Walker (RB), Andros Townsend (LW) GERMANYHolger Badstuber (CB), Ilkay Gundogan (CM)

INJURED PLAYERS LIST

Fifa World Cup, the biggest footballing show on earth, is around the corner. This tournament has produced many legends over the decades. But injuries have thrown away some big stars in the build up of this year’s event. Fans witnessing the 2014 Fifa World Cup will

de� nitely miss some of these mega stars of the football world during the biggest football extravaganza.

FALLING PREY TO INJURY

A street vendor sells � ags of the World Cup participating teams outside the National Parliament in Dhaka on Saturday AP

Maradona slams Fifa ‘bribes’

Argentina legend Diego Maradona lashed out at “bribes” within FIFA, de-manding action against those involved in corruption claims linked to Qatar’s World Cup bid, in remarks published Sunday.

“There are huge bribes” in the world football governing body, UAE-based Maradona told Abu Dhabi daily, Al-Ittihad.

“Those behind them must be held accountable, especially in regards to the latest events related to awarding Qatar the 2022 World Cup.

“Where has this money gone, who received it, and why,” must all be in-vestigated, he said, adding that he had repeatedly denounced, “in vain, cases of bribery within FIFA.”

Qatar is facing growing pressure over its hosting of the 2022 World Cup after fresh allegations over the role disgraced former top football o� cial Mohammed bin Hammam played in its bid.

Last week, Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper said it had obtained mil-

lions of emails, documents and bank transfers showing that bin Hammam paid over $5 million (3.67m euros) from slush funds to win support in the bid-ding process.

FIFA completes its probe Monday into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, won by Russia and Qatar, chaired by former US attorney Michael Garcia.

“I hope football would go back to be-ing a fun game away from bribery and corruption,” said Maradona, who will be present at the World Cup in Brazil as a commentator for a Venezuelan televi-sion channel.

“It is unfortunate that there are foot-ballers within FIFA such as (UEFA pres-ident Michel) Platini, who have surren-dered” to such irregularities, he said.

Platini has attacked The Sunday Times for seeking to “tarnish” his reputation by drawing him into the corruption claims against the Qatar World Cup bid.

Meanwhile, World Cup sponsors Sony have reportedly called for an “ap-propriate” investigation into how Qatar won those hosting rights. l

Hathurusingha arrives in Dhaka tonight

The newly appointed head coach of Bangladesh national cricket team Chan-dika Hathurusingha is expected to ar-rive in the capital tonight 11pm. He was the coach of Sydney Thunders in the Big Bash League and an assistant coach for New South Wales Blues before being named as the Tigers coach on May 19.

The former Sri Lanka batsman was roped in for a two-year deal and he will be taking charge of the wounded national side ahead of the three-match ODI series against India starting from June 15. Hathurusingha replaces Aus-tralian Shane Jurgensen, who quit the position after the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh in March-April.

The 45-year old, who played 26 Tests and 35 ODIs for Sri Lanka, began his cricket coaching career in 2005. He is a Cricket Australia and ECB Level-3 quali� ed coach with considerable international and � rst-

class coaching experience. A consultant coach for Canada

in the 2011 World Cup, Hathurus-ingha, between 2006-2010, was bat-ting-cum-shadow coach to the Sri Lanka team for a period of 18 months and prior to that he was the head coach of the Sri Lanka A team for three years. This followed a two-year stint as the head coach for the UAE national team and several club-level coaching assignments in England, Sri Lanka and Australia.

Hathurusingha will be assisted by Sarwar Imran, who was the coach during Bangladesh’s inaugural Test match in 2000, for the upcoming home series. The Sri Lankan will pair up with the new fast bowling coach Zimbabwe-an Heath Streak who has already joined the Tigers training camp.

Meanwhile, new Sri Lankan trainer Mario Villavarayan arrived in the capi-tal yesterday and he will begin his ten-ure with the upcoming series. l

Siddikur third in Queen’s Cup

Premier Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rah-man ended his Queen’s Cup campaign in joint third position after the conclusion of the fourth and � nal round’s play yes-terday at the Santiburi Samui Country Club in Koh Samui, Thailand.

Siddikur was harbouring hopes of a ti-tle win following a stellar showing in the third round but two bogeys on the third and 18th holes on the � nal day of the $300,000 event shattered his ambitions.

A solitary birdie on the � fth hole failed to brighten Siddikur’s prospects as he carded one-over-par 72 in the � nal round and concluded the tournament with an overall aggregate of 10-under-par 274. The 28-year old gol� ng sensation’s joint third � nish earned him $16,950.

“Everything was bad today. It was very disappointing, especially on hole 18. In the last moment, I had a chance but it didn’t happen,” Siddikur was quot-ed as saying in the Asian Tour website.

Another Bangladeshi golfer Zamal Hossain ended in joint 47th position. l

‘No Comment’ on punishment: BCB

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) tribunal informed the ICC, BCB and the accused individuals of its complete judgement on last year’s BPL match � xing allegations yesterday. The judgement was made through email maintaining secrecy in the whole process.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury in a prompt reaction upon receiving the soft-copy of the judgement said, “The tribunal informed us the reason or reasons why they are convicted guilty or acquitted through their reasoning judgment papers.”

Nizamuddin further informed that those found guilty will be punished in the sanction judgement of the tribunal scheduled to beging on June 18.

“Guilty will be punished at this stage. Further hearings will be held for their punishment,” said the BCB acting CEO.

On the other hand, the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a separate

statement con� rmed that they have received the written reasons behind the decision of the Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

“While we remain disappointed at the outcome of the proceedings, we will now carefully review the written reasons before deciding on any further action, including whether to appeal any aspect(s) of the decision,” the ICC statement said.

“In the meantime, the ICC and the BCB will not make any further com-ment on this matter,” the statement added.

Barrister Nawroz M R Chowdhury, lawyer of Dhaka Gladiators owners and couple of cricketers accused of corrup-tion in BPL 2 also con� rmed of receiv-ing the papers.

“However it will take some time for us to � nish reading it [papers] as the � le is lengthy, more than 100 pages,” said Nawroz to Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“The papers elaborate the reasons behind the tribunal’s short judgement made in February. So basically we were

informed why the tribunal acquitted the six individuals and why others were found guilty,” he added.

Nawroz further informed of com-plaining the tribunal of comments made by the BCB president Nazmul Hasan last month. Nazmul while in conversation with the media expressed his tension over the delay of the judge-ment and also with judgement of Mo-hammad Ashraful.

“We have written to the tribunal on the issue. Those comments did not only o� end us but also the tribunal’s decision. So lets see what the tribunal decides on this. Hopefully we will get to know something about it on 18th,” informed Nazroz.

The tribunal in its short judgement on February 26 found Dhaka Gladiators’ managing director Shihab Chowdhury guilty of making an attempt to � x the Gladiators’ match against the Chittagong Kings in February last year while their players Mohammad Ashraful and Kaushal Lokuarachchi from Sri Lanka pleaded guilty to the tribunal. l

Monday, June 9, 2014

Suarez kicking ball again Luis Suarez kicked a ball again during World Cup training Saturday just 16 days after undergoing knee surgery, Uruguayan media reported. The Liverpool striker has been “walking, running a little in a straight line and for the � rst time kicked the ‘Brazuca’ ball”, said the Uruguayan football website Ten� eld. “He played short passes and did some headers”, Uruguayan newspaper Ovacion reported of the team training session, which was supposed to take place behind closed doors. –AFP

Chile sweat on Vidal for WC openerChile’s mid� eld star Arturo Vidal is a doubt to face Australia in Cuiaba as he battles a knee in� amation, La Roja’s medical sta� revealed at their Belo Hor-izonte camp Saturday. Vidal only just made the squad to face the Austra-lians, Spain and the Netherlands following knee surgery last month and he is still recuperating. “The tests showed up in� ammation from the surgery,

albeit within the expected parameters at this stage of recovery” from the surgery, said team doctor Giovanni Carcuro. –AFP

Ox boost as England head to BrazilEngland winger Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain will be � t to take part in the World Cup after making good progress with his knee injury, manager Roy Hodgson said after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Honduras. Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up the injury in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Ecuador and Hodgson had said he may have to wait until 24 hours before England’s Group D opener against

Italy on June 14 before deciding whether the Arsenal wide-man could be part of his squad. –AFP

Brazil races to � nish World Cup opener arena

Brazilian workers are racing to complete the stadium that will host the World Cup’s � rst game, wiping seats, checking beams and in-stalling wiring just days

before the opening whistle.As night fell on Saturday, helmeted

workers were still toiling away on two long-delayed stands of Sao Paulo’s new Corinthians Arena where Brazil will take on Croatia on Thursday.

A worker sat on a beam as he re-viewed the structure under the south-side stand, which is surrounded by a massive grey tarp.

In the back, two workers stood on a lift raised to the top of the stand, also appearing to review the structure.

Six others wiped sand from the white seats whose sturdiness was test-ed with sandbags.

The 61,600-capacity stadium has come to symbolize Brazil’s struggle to be ready on time for the World Cup as authorities scramble to � nish � ve of the tournament’s 12 venues.

The original deadline was Decem-ber 31, but preparations have been hit by chronic delays, cost overruns and construction accidents that killed eight

workers, including three in Sao Paulo.The Corinthians Arena has never

been tested at full capacity due to the delays in the two temporary stands, which together will welcome a total of 20,000 fans.

Despite the last-minute e� ort, con-struction workers told AFP they were con� dent they would wrap up their work before Brazilian star Neymar and crew hit the � eld.

The delays have contributed to the rising bill of hosting the World Cup, infuriating many Brazilians who have held protests demanding that President Dilma Rousse� spend the $11 billion on hospitals and education instead.

Corinthians o� cials say the venue will end up costing between $417 mil-lion and $431 million -- or 14 to 18 per-cent over its original budget.

The stadium’s last test took place on June 1 in a 1-1 draw between Corinthi-ans football club and Botafogo before a crowd of 37,119.

One of the temporary stands was left empty and the other was only half-full as � re� ghters had yet to give a safe-ty clearance.

A spokesman for the subcontractor building the stands, Fast Engenharia, said the � re� ghters � nally gave the green light on Friday and that all that was left was some “cleaning” to do. l

Toothless England held by 10-man Honduras in Miami

England came up against a resilient Honduras side reduced to 10 men for the last 20 minutes and found them-selves short on ideas about how to break them down as they were held to a 0-0 draw in their last World Cup war-mup match on Saturday.

The match was suspended for 43 minutes in the � rst half due to the threat of lightning although in the second period the sparks were on the pitch with Honduras reduced to 10 men when Brayan Beckeles caught Leighton

Baines in the head with his arm.But England failed to capitalise on

the one-man advantage in the closing stages leaving manager Roy Hodgson to put a brave face on their second draw in Miami after Wednesday’s excit-ing 2-2 result against Ecuador in front of half as many fans.

Honduras coach Luis Fernando Su-arez, whose team lost their previous warmup game 4-2 to Israel, was de-lighted with the draw, telling reporters: “A result like that against England can make people in Honduras believe and give them optimism.” l

Injured Lukaku to rest for several days

Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku will need to rest for several days after injur-ing his ankle in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up against Tunisia, his coach Marc Wilmots said.

The Chelsea forward, who spent last season on loan at Everton, came on in the 61st minute of the 1-0 victory in Brussels but limped o� just before full-time.

“He’s in pain but the doctors don’t think it’s too serious, at least at � rst glance,” Wilmots was quoted as saying in Belgian press on Sunday.

“He will be checked over more closely on Sunday but it’s probably a bad sprain. Hopefully he just needs three or four days to recover.”

The news was worrying for Belgium who have already lost Christian Bente-ke due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

It means their only remaining out-and-out striker is teenager Divock Ori-gi, who started on Saturday before be-ing replaced by Lukaku.

Wilmots lashed out at the Tunisian players for what he perceived as rough-house tactics in what was a friendly.

“I had hoped there wouldn’t be any injuries but in the changing rooms all I saw were bruises and ice-packs,” com-plained Wilmots.l

Messi scores in Argentina win over Slovenia

Substitute Lionel Messi scored his 38th goal for Argentina as they breezed past Slovenia 2-0 in their � nal World Cup warmup on

Saturday.Messi, his country’s second highest

scorer after Gabriel Batistuta, had not found the net in an international since a 5-2 qualifying win over Paraguay in Asuncion in September.

Argentina’s captain began the match on the bench along with other key play-ers like Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Ma-ria, with coach Alejandro Sabella fear-ful of his squad being caught up in the spate of injuries a� ecting other World Cup � nalists.

Sabella used the friendly at the Es-tadio Unico to test an alternative tac-

tical plan with three at the back and � ve across the middle before changing things in the second half.

Winger Ricky Alvarez opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a low left-foot shot from the edge of the box but two minutes later mid� elder Lucas Biglia came o� after receiving a knock and was replaced by Hugo Campagnaro.

In the 76th minute Di Maria lobbed the ball from the edge of the box to the left where Aguero headed it down to Messi, who had come on for Alvarez in the 57th, and he dinked it between two defenders and the goalkeeper.

“Now the hour of truth has come, the friendlies are over and we’re going to Brazil full of desire,” Messi told re-porters after winning his 86th cap.

“We’ve managed to be a united and very strong squad and we did that as Ale-jandro wanted. We’re more together than ever because of the dream we all have.” l

Two-star Villa pushes for starting role

David Villa scored twice as Spain de-feated El Salvador 2-0 on Saturday in their � nal World Cup warm-up match before they launch the defence of their title in Brazil.

The Atletico Madrid striker netted a header in the 60th minute and added the clincher in the 87th minute, pro-ducing his 57th and 58th career goals for the Spanish national side.

The Spaniards kick-o� their World Cup Group B campaign on Friday against the Netherlands in a rematch

of the stormy 2010 � nal they won in South Africa. Spain’s other � rst round opponents are Chile and Australia.

Villa opened the scoring after a pass to Sergio Ramos pulled Salvadoran goalkeeper Derby Carrillo to his left and away from the posts.

Villa, who is set to play in Austra-lia later this year before joining a new Major League soccer team in New York next year, made sure of the win three minutes from time.

Spanish striker Diego Costa started and played until the 74th minute with no signs of trouble.l

USA beats Nigeria in Brazil tune-up

Jozy Altidore broke his goalscoring drought as the United States beat Ni-geria 2-1 on Saturday in the Americans’ � nal World Cup warm-up on US soil be-fore heading to Brazil.

Sunderland’s much-maligned strik-er -- without a goal in 2014 -- netted in the 32nd and 68th minutes as Jurgen Klinsmann’s men made it a hat-trick of wins after victories over Azerbaijan and Turkey in their “Send-O� Series.”

“It took us awhile to get into the game,” Altidore said. “But after 25 min-utes we started playing better.l

Bu� on, Pirlo still hungry for Italian job

They may have a com-bined age of 71 but Gi-anluigi Bu� on and An-drea Pirlo are as hungry as Italy’s young guns as they embark on a possi-

ble World Cup swansong this summer.Bu� on, a World Cup winner in 2006,

is now 36 years old but the Juventus goalkeeper is quick to parry any suggestions his winning desire is on the wane.

“I’m still hungry,” said Bu� on when asked his feelings ahead of Italy’s quest for a record-equalling � fth World Cup title.

Together, Bu� on and Pirlo boast 247 Italy appearances, Bu� on holding the current national record of 139 as he and Pirlo head into their fourth and third World Cup campaigns respectively.

That experience, and the pair’s un-

derstanding from playing together at Juventus, can only bene� t a squad in which Cesare Prandelli has included several fresher faces.

Bu� on has been untouchable as It-aly’s number one since pushing Fran-cesco Toldo aside four games into the qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup.

He was in stunning form at Germa-ny 2006, conceding a World Cup record of two goals throughout and � nishing with � ve clean sheets as Italy set up a � nal against France.

Bu� on captained Italy for Euro 2012, and the e� ect was instant. He conced-ed only three goals on Italy’s path to the � nal where the Azzurri were hum-bled 4-0 by Spain.

Having conceded just 23 league goals in yet another triumphant Serie A season, Bu� on has no doubts about what he expects from Italy in Brazil. “I expect our squad to be solid, organised

and determined not to lose games by our own design,” said Bu� on.

“It will be hard to beat everyone, but other teams will have to work hard if they want to beat us, we won’t be giv-ing anything away for free.”

As Bu� on barks from the back, Pir-lo will go about his quieter but no less important role of conducting play from in front of the defence, moving the ball forward and seizing on deadball situa-tions where he can exploit his stunning free-kick abilities.

Former Italy coach Marcello Lippi once said: “Pirlo is a silent leader. He speaks with his feet.”

Pirlo’s vision, technical skill, passing and goalscoring have been crucial to It-aly at key stages in recent years.

A pair of Pirlo free kicks against Scotland secured Italy’s ticket for the 2006 World Cup and in Germany the then AC Milan mid� elder was on � re.

Pirlo scored the opener against Gha-

na and then set up Vincenzo Iaquinta for a 2-0 win, while in the second game he set up Alberto Gilardino for a diving header which secured a crucial 1-1 draw against United States. l

Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi scores during a friendly match against Slovenia at La Plata stadium in La Plata, Buenos Aires on Saturday AFP

David Villa of Spain celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during an international friendly against El Salvador at FedExField in Landover, Maryland on Saturday AFP

RESULTSBelgium 1 0 TunisiaMertens 88

Argentina 2 0 SloveniaAlvarez 11, Messi 75

Cameroon 1 0 MoldovaEdgar Salli 30

Spain 2 0 El SalvadorVilla 60, 87

England 0 0 Honduras

USA 2 1 NigeriaAltidore 32, 68 Moses 86-P

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14

Monday, June 9, 2014

Mascherano extends Barca deal until 2018Argentine mid� elder Javier Mascher-ano has extended his contract with Barcelona by two years until June 2018, with the option of a further season, the club announced Saturday. Barca stressed that there was a buyout clause of 100 million euros in the con-tract of the 29-year-old. Mascherano arrived at Barcelona from Liverpool in 2010 and he has played 184 matches for the Spanish giants. He has won the Champions League (2011), two La Liga titles (2011, 2013), a King’s Cup (2012), a European SuperCup (2011), two Spanish SuperCups (2012, 2014) and a World Club cup (2011) with Barcelona. Mascherano is currently with Argentina preparing for the June 12-July 13 World Cup � nals. The South Americans are in Group F with Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria.

–AFP

Ferdinand has o� ers from several clubsRio Ferdinand, who left Manchester United at the end of the season, has no intention of retiring yet and has had o� ers from a number of clubs, he told the Mail on Sunday newspaper. In his � rst column ahead of the World Cup, where he will be working as a television pundit, the former England defender wrote: “I see myself as going to Rio very much as an active footbal-ler with playing time ahead of me. “It is feasible that in the coming weeks, perhaps even while I’m in South Amer-ica, I’ll make a decision about the next stage in my career. “I have options on the table from several clubs in England and overseas for next season and I’m intending to play on if the right situa-tion arises.” Ferdinand, 35, played for United for 12 years, having joined from Leeds United in 2002. He appeared 81 times for England, but missed the last World Cup after being named as captain, because of a knee injury.

–Reuters

Murray appoints Mauresmo as coachWimbledon champion Andy Murray sprang a surprise as he appointed Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach on Sunday. Murray’s man-agement team announced in a state-ment that Mauresmo will initially work with the Scot for his grass-court cam-paign, which gets under way at Queen’s Club this week in the build-up to his defence of the Wimbledon crown. “I’m excited by the possibilities of the new partnership and Amelie is someone I have always looked up to and admired,” Murray wrote on his o� cial website. “She’s faced adversity plenty of times in her career, but was an amazing player and won major titles, including Wim-bledon.” Murray had been searching for a coach since parting ways with Ivan Lendl in March and was linked with a host of big names including legendary American John McEnroe and leading coaches Larry Stefanki, Darren Cahill and Roger Rasheed.

–AFP

Halep shrugs o� go-slow SharapovaSimona Halep refused to blame Maria Sharapova’s go-slow approach for her French Open heartbreak. The 22-year-old Romanian went down to a 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 defeat to the Russian super-star in the second longest � nal at Roland Garros on Saturday. It lasted 3hr 02min but it took umpire Kaider Nouni until the second set to hand Sharapova a warning for a time violation. “It’s her style, and I don’t want to say anything about this. It’s normal. She does this always,” said Halep. “For me it wasn’t too bad, but sometimes, yeah, I felt a little bit nervous during those moments. I cannot say any-thing about her style, how she’s staying before the serve.” Sharapova, who now has two French Opens and � ve majors in total, defended the time she took with the lengthy interludes compounded by her occasionally checking and restarting her service motion.

–AFP

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DAY’S WATCH

THE ARRIVALS

Germany’s national team players arrive at the Santa Cruz Cabralia harbour aboard a ferry near their training camp in Santo Andre yesterday AFP

England’s national team players Frank Lampard, front, and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Galeao Air Base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil yesterday AP

Switzerland mid� elder Xherdan Shaqiri poses with Brasilian children at the La Torre Hotel in Porto Seguro on Saturday AFP

Algeria’s forward Nabil Ghilas (C)

arrives with teammates at

Campinas airport yesterday

AFP

Japanese players Yuto Nagatomo (C) and Shinji Kagawa (R) walk on the tarmac upon their arrival in Campinas on Saturday AFP

Fabio Capello, coach of Russia’s national team, arrives at the Sao Paulo International airport, Brazil yesterday AP

Mexico forward Javier Hernandez gets down from the bus upon arrival at their hotel in Santos, Sao Paulo on Saturday AFP

THE ARRIVALS

Easy wins for Ansar, Abahani

Shahanaz Parveen helped Ansar crush Kalabagan by 152 runs, Rayer Bazar de-feated Indira Road KC by 51 runs while Abahani claimed a convincing 100-run win over Gulshan Youth Club at di� er-ent venues in the Metropolitan Wom-en’s Cricket League yesterday.

At the Dhanmondi cricket stadium, Ansar posted a huge 283/7 in 40 overs with Shahanaz making 89 o� just 84 balls with 14 boundaries. Ansar skipper Panna Ghosh also played a crucial role scoring 88 o� 95 balls.

In reply, Fatema Khatun Sriti wrecked through the Kalabagan line-up scalping six wickets at the expense of just 13 runs in 4.4 overs as Kalaba-gan’s innings stopped at 131.

At BKSP 3, Rayer Bazar managed a mediocre 148 with captain Nadesda Muntaha making the highest 26.

However, disciplined bowling saw Rayer Bazar defend their total with ease as they restricted Indira Road to just 97 runs with Habiba Akhter grab-bing four wickets and Aleya Akter tak-ing three.

Meanwhile at BKSP 4, an unbeaten 45 from Sharmin Akter helped Abahani Ltd register 185/4 in 40 overs. In pur-suit of the target, the Gulshan side fold-ed for a mere 85. Lata Mondol bagged three wickets for Abahani. l

Russel pip Mohammedan in crucial premier league tie

Sheikh Russel wrapped up their second phase of the Nitol Tata Bangladesh Pre-mier Football League on a positive note as a very late strike from Mithun Chow-dhury earned them a cru-

cial 1-0 victory over 10-man Moham-medan at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

With the game seemingly heading towards a goalless draw despite the Black and Whites’ dominance, national forward Mithun sealed the win with a sensational strike in the last minute of injury time to salvage all three points for the Blues.

Mohammedan missed the oppor-tunity to leapfrog archrivals Abahani to second position as the Motijheel out� t concluded the second phase at third position with 32 points from 18 matches. Defending champions Russel remain at sixth with 24 points.

The � rst half was a dull a� air as there was only one shot on target from both the sides. Mohammedan dominated the mid� eld but could rarely create chances for the strikers. They had the � rst shot on target in the 42nd minute when Wahed Ahmed’s strike from outside the box was decently saved by

Russel keeper Biplob at the near post.Mohammedan piled up more

pressure on their opponents in the second half but Russel veteran custodian Biplob put up another heroic display to upset the Black and Whites.

Towhidul Alam Sabuj squandered a glorious chance in the 79th minute when he failed to hit the target from the six-yard box after � ne work by Mohammedan skipper Zahid Hasan Emily and Burkina Faso mid� elder Zongo Ousseni.

Mohammedan were then reduced to 10 men when their Nigerian mid� elder Damien Chigozi received a red card.

Biplob produced another brilliant save in the 88th minute with a diving e� ort to deny Emily’s header following a cross from Sabuj.

In the last minute of the � ve-min-ute stoppage time, Mithun stunned the Mohammedan fans by putting Rus-sel ahead to score his � fth goal in the league. The national forward dribbled past a defender and chipped the ball from the edge of the box which � ew over the Mohammedan goalie Mamun Khan and entered the near post.

It was the last game of the second phase of the league with Sheikh Jamal still at the summit of the points table with a massive eight-point lead. The third round of the league will kick o� from June 14. l

Sheikh Russel players celebrate the all-important goal against Mohammedan during their premier football league match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

No fear for Spain in Dutch WC rematch

Defending champions Spain leave for Brazil optimistic about their chances of a repeat tri-umph and undaunted by Friday’s opening game

against the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2010 World Cup � nal.

“We don’t have any fear. But we do have respect,” Spain manager Vicente del Bosque said. “They are runner-up from the last World Cup so we have full respect for Holland.”

After the Spaniards kick-o� their World Cup Group B campaign on Friday against the Dutch in the � ashback to their stormy � nal four years ago, they face Chile and Australia in later � rst-round matches.

“We’re very optimistic after our training and two friendly matches,” del Bosque said. “We are meeting our ex-

pectations. We are con� dent heading into the World Cup.”

Del Bosque also said injuries which have sidelined stars such as France’s Franck Ribery and Colombian Radamel Falcao would not detract from the World Cup.

“A couple of world stars are not go-ing to be at the World Cup but I don’t think because of that the World Cup is going to be less attractive,” he said.

“That’s not going to diminish the World Cup from being a great event.”

David Villa, Spain’s all-time goals leader, lifted his total to 58 with two goals to give his side a 2-0 win over El Salvador.

Coming into Brazil as defending champion brings only a sense of pride for Spain, now the target for 31 rivals trying to dethrone them.

“It’s important but it doesn’t give you any advantage or something like that,” Villa said. l

Nadal wins ninth French Open

Rafael Nadal clinched his ninth French Open and 14th career Grand Slam title on Sunday with a brutal 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory over a

battling Novak Djokovic.The world number one also became

the � rst man to win � ve Roland Garros crowns in succession as the 28-year-old took his record at the tournament to 66 wins against just one defeat.

His tally of 14 majors equals the mark of Pete Sampras and puts him just three behind the all-time record of Roger Federer who is almost � ve years older.

Defeat was cruel for world number two Djokovic, the 2012 runner-up, who still needs a French Open title to be-come just the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam.

The Serb dominated the early stages of Sunday’s � nal, the pair’s 42nd

meeting, seemingly immune to the sweltering 30-degree heat on Philippe Chatrier court.

But Nadal, playing in his 20th Grand Slam � nal to Djokovic’s 13th, grew stronger as the � nal wore on as he end-ed a four-match losing streak against his old rival. The 3hr 31min duel end-ed on a sour note when Djokovic dou-ble-faulted on match point, shaken by a shout from the crowd.

In a tense opening to their seventh Grand Slam � nal meeting, the steadier Djokovic, sporting a white cap against the � erce sun, pounced to break for 5-3, after Nadal put too much zip on a forehand.

He took the opening set when Na-dal, o� balance and stranded behind the baseline, went long with a slapped backhand.

It was only the second time the champion had dropped the opening set of a � nal in Paris – in 2005 against Mari-ano Puerta and in 2006 against Roger Federer. l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 15

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

Dhaka invites Delhi to JRC meetn Mohosinul Karim

After sending an o� cial invitation to hold the next Joint River Commission meeting in Dhaka within the short-est possible time, Bangladesh is now awaiting response of the next-door neighbour.

It is expected that the meeting, post-poned in last July by the Indian author-ities, will be held shortly.

The pending issues regarding Tees-ta water-sharing,India’s initiative to construct a dam in Tipaimukh and its plans to develop a National River Link-ing Project (NRLP) might be discussed at the next meeting, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud told the newsmen at the Secretariat yesterday.

Earlier, Chinese Vice Minister of Wa-ter Resources Liu Ning met with the minister. Ning is now visiting Bang-ladesh to sign a renewal agreement between the two countries on data

and information exchange regarding Brahmaputra’s water resources. The Brahmaputra River � ows through from China.

The agreement was signed yester-day morning at the state-guest house Meghna in the capital. It will remain e� ective for the next � ve years.

Anisul said the probable date of the next JRC meeting will be � xed upon consultation after getting a response from India. “We hope that the new gov-ernment will consider the importance of the meeting,” he stated.

He said around 65% of the river water that enters Bangladesh from di� erent countries comes through the Brahmaputra River. “So, it is the most important issue for the country.

“We are planning to protect the river and preserve its water. Several initia-tives have been taken in this regard. The government will start implement-ing the projects shortly,” he added.

When asked about the proposed al-ternative to the Ganges Barrage Project, the minister said: “It is under process. We are working on this. It will be a fruitful project for the country.

“There is no need to acquire land or rehabilitate locals to implement the project. A dam will be built for con-structing the barrage on the river bank. As a result, the project will be imple-mented shortly after the work begins.”

About the rumours that India is planning to implement a national riv-er linking project for the trans-bound-ary rivers, Anisul said: “There is no any such initiative. As far as I know, they are planning to connect their in-ter-state rivers. We are keeping an eye on the matter.”

Regarding the Tipaimukh Dam, he said:“If India executes such a project, they will have to face resistance [of the locals] as they will be a� ected � rst. But, we are also concerned about it.” l

Letters for Kalpanan Rifat Islam Esha

It has been 18 years since Kalpana Chakma, former organising secretary of Hill Women’s Federation, went missing.

She was allegedly ab-ducted by military o� cials and two members of the vil-lage defence party from her house in New Lalyaghona of Baghaichhari, Rangamati on June 12, 1996. Kalindi Kumar Chakma, her older brother, is still vying to get the justice that had been denied to his sister and his family.

The federation yesterday hosted an event in Upajatio Thikadar Kalyan Shamiti Bhaban, where Kalindi was handed over some 5,000 let-ters from people around the world expressing solidarity for her loss.

These letters were gath-ered as a part of Write for Rights, a campaign by UK-based human rights organisa-tion Amnesty International.

The letters were given to Kalinda by CHT Commis-sion who acted as a media-tor organisation. There were letters from France, England and many other countries.

Some of the letters were written within the folds of colourful handmade cards. There were letters from adults and children who have been touched by the tragic fate of Kalpana.

In the event, several hu-man rights activists, a few media personnel and locals were present. It was an emo-tional moment for Kalindi who gracefully thanked those who have been in-volved with Write for Rights and those who have been supporting him and his fam-ily throughout the years.

While addressing the event, he said the grief of losing his sister was still there, but he was grateful to � nd that many people em-pathised with his su� ering.

Rangamati police and Chittagong Zone Criminal In-vestigation have yet to make progress in the investigation of Kalpana’s abduction. The report they presented was not accepted by the mag-istrate in Rangamati court since the investigation of the key accused was insu� cient.

The reinvestigation re-port for the case is due to be submitted today. l

Man jailed for raping Rana Plaza victimn Md Sanaul Islam TIpu

A Dhaka court yesterday sent Shahabud-din, 56, son of Abdul Khalek of Choita vil-lage under Shibaloy of Manikganj to jail for allegedly violating a Rana Plaza collapse survivor in Bank Colony area of Savar.

The order was passed by Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate Tajul Islam after Savar police produced him before the court.

According to the case, Shahabuddin had phoned the female worker on June 5 and o� ered to provide � nancial assistance of Tk25,000 to the Rana Plaza victims.

Later, around 4pm, the victim went to Amiruddin Haji’s house in Bank Colony area where she was raped by Shahabud-din. She was rescued by locals who heard her cries for help. The statement says the culprit was arrested on Saturday.

The victim was sent to One Stop Crisis Centre of DMCH yesterday for medical examination. Her mother � led a case with Savar police. l

Police beat woman for not paying bribe n Our Correspondent, Habiganj

A woman in Habiganj was beaten up by a policewoman yesterday for allegedly refusing to pay a bribe to meet her hus-band in jail.

Taslima Akter, 25, was admitted to Habiganj Sadar Hospital in a critical condition and the incident resulted in a state of panic among people who were in Habiganj Sadar Model police station during the beating.

Taslima’s husband Dulal Mia, 30, was arrested with yaba pills from Basti-bari in Shaestaganj on Saturday night and was taken to the police station at night, said police.

Sub-inspector Nazma Akter asked Taslima for bribes when she arrived at the police station yesterday morning to meet her husband. When Taslima

refused to pay said bribe, Nazma beat her up and left her injured which con-founded people in the police station.

O� cer-in-charge of the police sta-tion Md Nazim Uddin admitted to the beating of Taslima and said legal ac-tions were being taken against the po-licewoman.

Nazma, also duty o� cer of the po-lice station, denied the allegation of beating and said Taslima was ejected from the police station for giving Dulal cigarettes without permission.

“There was no beating. No relative of an accused can give the inmate an-ything without taking permission � rst. This is why she was forced to leave,” claimed Nazma.

Taslima lodged a complaint to the police super against Nazma, a source said. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: 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

www.dhakatribune.com/business MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014

B3 Thai coup raises fears for ‘sick’ economy

B4 China taps tech training to tackle labour market mismatch

Take non-budgetary measuresEconomists and entrepreneurs recommend as a strategy to promote private investment and achieve GDP growth target in FY2014-15

n Tribune Report

Non-budgetary measures like ensuring personal security and removing politi-cal uncertainty are crucial to put slug-gish private investment and growth on right track, economists and entrepre-neurs said yesterday.

Fiscal sops proposed in the budget for next � nancial year beginning next month are not enough to exceed 7% of GDP growth, they viewed.

The observation came at a discussion on “Budget for 2014-15: Will It Boost Growth and Investment” organised by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) at

the national press club in Dhaka.A panel of renowned economists

and entrepreneurs took part in the dis-cussion.

“Per-condition for accelerating eco-nomic growth is to pick up private in-vestment,” said former � nance adviser to the caretaker government AB Mirza Azizul Islam.

“But we are witnessing the govern-ment focused only to increase public investment, which has insigni� cant contribution to the economic growth.”

Usually, rising public investment is supposed to crowd in private invest-ment but in our country, the story is

di� erent, said the eminent economist. Terming the proposed budget unre-

alistic, he said, it lacks speci� c plan to attract private investment – only men-tioned some infrastructure develop-ment and � scal incentives.

“With traditional problems like shortage of land, power and gas, ab-sence of good governance, rule of law, administrative e� ciency and political stability hold back private investment.”

Professor of economics at Dhaka University MA Taslim said since 2010-11 the private investment is falling. “It is not only for traditional problems but for some undesirable incidents that

took place during the period,” he said.He said a number of factors – from

share market debacle to fraudulence of multilevel marketing companies and scam in the banking sector – have af-fected the investment.

“Public investment is far less e� -cient than the private investment and output from public investment brings no meaningful result to the country's economic growth.”

Bangladesh Institute of Develop-ment Studies (BIDS) research director Zaid Bakht said Hallmark loan scam still hunts the private investment. “The situation is not yet conducive to invest-ment,” he said.

Without setting investment-friendly political climate, it is not possible to at-tract private investment, he said. “The onus lies on government to put the de-railed private investment back on track.”

Former Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Faruq Ahmed Siddiqui said: “We are discuss-ing much about the budget because of emerging questions of its credibility.”

From the past experience, the bud-getary targets and even revised ones never came true, which stimulates question of credibility, he said. “In the long run, it is not good for the country.”

About the proposed capital gain tax, he said, it is good but not right time as the market is on recovery path from de-bacle in late 2010.

Founder of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Vice Chairperson of Nitol-Niloy Group Selima Ahmad blamed bureaucratic tan-gle, shortage of gas, power and land for restricting the private investment. “Fail-ure in project implementation is another barrier for investment,” she said.

CPD Additional Director Khondoker Muazzem, Ifad Group Director Tash-feen Ahmed, ERF President Sulatn Mahmud and ERF General Secretary Sajjadur Rahman also spoke. l

Former Finance Adviser to Caretaker Government Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam speaks at a post-budget discussion organised by Economic Reporters Forum at National Press Club in Dhaka yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

BCMCL exempted fromVAT till June 2015n Tribune Report

Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Limited (BCMCL), a concern of state-owned Petrobangla, has been exempt-ed from paying VAT (Value Added Tax) till June 2015.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) is-sued a Statutory Regulatory Order on Thursday last, saying the company will enjoy VAT exemption from the sales or de-livery of the produced coal at all the stages.

NBR o� cials said the mine compa-

ny, that produces around 5,000 tonnes of coal per day, has been enjoying VAT exemption facilities every year and the NBR has extended the facility for another year as the company has wit-nessed a setback in between October to December last year due to the polit-ical turmoil.

The company has been demanding renewal of the exemption due to the losses it faced in selling coal to Ban-gladesh Power Development Board at a cheaper rate than other customers. l

Investors react adversely to gain taxn Tahmidur Rahman

The benchmark index at Dhaka Stock Exchange fell by 1.14% as sellers have outnumbered buyers, clearly in re-action to the proposed tax on capital gains in the new national budget.

The bourse witnessed sharp fall despite having a trade value of Tk416 crore, which was above the monthly average.

Brokers believe the tax-free ceiling of dividend income has cast shadow over the market, which was 3% to 5% on realised capital gains that starts from a gain above Tk10 lakh.

They said investors are, however, not clear about the details of the new measures and when will these be im-

plemented, and this type of uncertain-ty is also looming around the trading � oor amid selling spree.

The fear among small-scale inves-tors is perhaps psychological than a real one because a capital gain of Tk10 lakh would require a large amount of invest-ment, said Md Moniruzzaman, manag-ing director of IDLC Investments.

Brokers, however, expressed con-cerns that the big players mainly drive the markets and upsetting them may directly a� ect the small-scale investors.

The bourses on Saturday have ques-tioned the feasibility of the new rule, which would also require revamping the existing trading system due to in-su� cient infrastructure.

“The market at this particular time

needs a support and such negatively ef-fective rules should be reconsidered for the sake of the investors,” said Syed Sa-jid Husain, managing director of Chit-tagong Stock Exchange (CSE).

Analysts have backed the measures, but few of them argued for a better timing.

Such measure is no di� erent from tax on interest or dividend income, said Shahidul Islam, CEO of VIPB Asset Management Co Ltd.

He added: “It’s fair to impose some tax on capital gain but tax should be higher in case of short-term gains and lower in case of long-term one.”

Equity market experts hinted that a chance of tracking manipulators might become easier with more information of the equity market gamblers. l

Facebook commerce ‘gaining popularity’n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

As Facebook commerce is getting pop-ular, speakers at a seminar urged the government formulate a guideline to help expand the business, shortened as F-commerce, in the country.

They said the business is growing faster and even gradually overtaking the e-commerce or online business in Bangladesh.

The seminar titled “Social Media: A Tool for Change” was held in the city on Saturday.

Market analysts and leading IT en-trepreneurs spoke on the occasion.

F-commerce is a new business plat-form in the country which is a little di� erent from e-commerce and main-ly operates through social networking site Facebook.

“The government or any other au-thority can formulate a guideline as it is the high time to help F-commerce � ourish,” Abu Alam Shahid Khan, Chief Operating O� cer of Jamuna Television and former LGRD secretary.

He said the business is still at its starting point and e� orts should be tak-en to help it expand through making a “proper guideline.”

Around one thousand young entre-preneurs have already started using business channels on Facebook, ac-cording to Saiful Islam, an entrepreneur

of AmarGadget.com, an online store.He said: “Out of them, about one-

fourth are actively running the service on regular basis.”

In reply to a question, Saiful Islam claimed 2-3 companies are making huge net pro� t which is not less than Tk1 lakh per month.

“Though it's still largely at infor-mal stage, it will become a leadingservice sector within a short time,” he expected.

Razeeb Hasan Chowdhury, CEO of ogilvy, said Facebook is not a platform for abusive words, but some are trying to present F-commerce as a slang.

After the session, Saiful Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the market size of e-commerce has reached near-ly Tk100 crore in Bangladesh now and F-commerce has already captured a big portion of it.

Using the F-commerce facility, the traders are bringing seasonal fruits like mangoes to Dhaka from the coun-tryside to supply to the customers, he said.

The traders use courier services to bring the products.

Saiful Islam said the FIFA World Cup 2014 can also be an opportunity to cre-ate business on Facebook.

Jana Syeda Gulshan Ferdous from somewhereinblog said the country now has at least 1.75 lakh active blog-gers.

She said the bloggers try to mobilise public opinion in favour of some local and national issues.

In Bangladesh, Facebook use began in the second half of 2006.

According to the speakers, there are around 80 lakh Facebook users in the country.

Market insiders said it needs less than an amount of Tk5,000 to start F-commerce, just creating a Facebook page with the products' pictures along with prices.

On receiving orders, the traders will supply the products to the customers. l

BTRC gets Tk1,708cr as 3G spectrum feesn Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The country’s four private mobile phone operators have recently paid their second installment of the 3G spectrum charges worth Tk1,708 crore.

The four operators got their 3G spectrums in an open auction held in September, last.

Leading operator Grameenphone along with the three others Robi, Airtel and Banglalink deposited the charges

to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) at the end of last week, said a source.

In an open auction process, Grameenphone secured 10 Megahertz spectrum on 2100 band with a value of US$21m per MHz. Grameenphone had earlier paid 60% of the total spectrum value (Tk936.5 crore including 5% VAT) immediately after the auction, and it has recently paid its second in-stallment worth Tk649 crore as spec-

trum fees while Tk37 crore as VAT.The three other operators, who were

able to get 5 MHz each, have paid Tk341 crore each as their second installment fees while each company paid Tk16.22 crore as their 5% VAT, according to a BTRC source. According to the 3G guideline, operators have to pay 60% of the spectrum charges within 30 days of the auction date and rest of the money have to be paid within next 180 days.

The government has so far earned

Tk4,258 crore from the four private mobile phone operators as spectrum charges along with VAT, but only state-owned operator Teletalk, which was allocated 10 MHz spectrum, has so far only paid Tk50 crore while its out-standing rose to Tk1,600 crore as yet.

BTRC collected Tk6,728 crore till March of this � scal, which might cross Tk10,000 crore land mark after the current � scal, a BTRC o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Pubali Bank to appoint two disabled every yearn Tribune Report

Pubali Bank is going to appoint two physically challenged job seekers ev-ery year under its newly introduced human banking programme.

The Board of Directors of Pubali Bank made the decision at a recent meeting held in Sylhet.

The decision will be implemented under a project styled “Employment for the Handicapped,” said Managing Director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury.

Under the human banking, the bank recently handed over two appointment letters to physically disabled Sanjida Rahman and visually disabled Dewan Salamat Raza Chowdhury a function.

Directors Fahim Ahmed Faruk Chowdhury, Moniruddin Ahmed and Azizur Rahman attended the function.

“We want to be a model to encour-age multinational and other corporate companies to introduce human bank-ing and give it an institutional shape,” said Helal Ahmed.

If 57 banks appoint two handi-capped each year, a total of 114 physi-cally challenged persons will get jobs, which will reduce the burden over the society, he said.

“The disabled can also make contri-bution to the society if they are given chance,” MD said.

Bangladesh Bank has taken e� orts to encourage banks to launch human banking. As part of the e� orts, the cen-tral bank has recently brought street children under the banking service. l

‘Though it’s still largely at informal stage, it will become a leadingservice sector within a short time’

Banking sector still su� ering from Hallmark scamn Tribune Business Desk

The crisis in the banking sector caused by Hallmark-Sonali Bank loan scandal is yet to be addressed fully, creating an inter-bank mistrust, said Sonali Bank Limited director Dr Zaid Bakht.

“The overall crisis in the banking sector after the Hall-Mark incident sce-nario is not being well-attended,” he told a post-budget discussion at the Ja-tiya Press Club yesterday, reports UNB.

Zaid Bakht, also Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Develop-ment Studies (BIDS), sees budgetary measures and direct intervention by the � nance ministry as a solution to that arti� cial crisis.

He said the scenario in each bank, especially the public ones, in terms of disbursement of credit to private sector is totally di� erent in the post-Hallmark scandal period.

“We’re not even getting proposal (for investment). Banks are sitting on idle cash. We’re pushing managers for increasing disbursement, but the prog-ress is very slow,” Zaid said.

Another director of the state-owned Bank Selima Ahmed was also present at the discussion titled “Budget for 2014-15: Will it boost growth and in-vestment?” arranged by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) arranged with its president Sultan Mahmud in the chair. l

Investors closely observe stock prices after the announcement of proposed national budget for FY2014-15 DHAKA TRIBUNE

ANALYST

B2 Stock Monday, June 9, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks tumble as new budget fails to impressn Tribune Report

Stock markets yesterday reacted negatively as it opened sharply lower on the � rst day after propos-ing the new national budget for the next � scal year.

The benchmark index DSEX slipped to � ve-month low and wit-nessed biggest single-day fall in a month.

At the end of the day, the DSEX closed at 4,346, declining more than 50 points or 1%, which is the largest single day fall since May 11 and lowest since January 8 this year. The index recovered to some extent from even worse situation as it went down by 90 points in the mid-session.

The comprising blue chips DS30 was down nearly 11 points or 1% to 1,000. The Shariah index DSES, however, closed at 1,600, shedding over 22 points or 1%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, declined 71 points to 8,262.

The salient feature of the day was the traders’ scramble to buy the textile stocks, which resulted in almost all active textile scrips clos-ing higher. Investors were buoyed by the incentives to boost textile export growth.

Non-banking � nancial institu-tions were the biggest losers with a loss of 1.6%, followed by banks and power which went down by over 1%

each. Pharmaceuticals, telecom-munication and, food and allied edged lower.

“At the � rst trading day after the national budget proposal of FY15, market ended in red zone. Probably investors took capital gain tax pro-posal at individual level somewhat negatively,” said Lanka Bangla Se-curities in its market analysis.

Moreover, withdrawal of the provision for 10% tax rebate for companies declaring more than 20% dividend has also a� ected the market negatively, it said.

“Overall, the day exhibited in-vestors’ psychology towards na-tional budget proposal.”

IDLC Investments said the bourse took a hit due to over-ex-pectational mismatch on the pro-posed budget. “A few proposals, particularly capital gain tax, a� ect-ed the market sentiment strongly.”

The total turnover at DSE stood at Tk416 crore, which was slightly lower over the previous session’s turnover value of Tk419 crore. Share prices fell across the board as out of 289 issues traded, 86 advanced, 176 declined and 12 re-mained unchanged.

Lafarge Surma Cement was the most traded stock topped the li-quidity chart with turnover of Tk50 crore, followed by BSRM Steel, Grameenphone, Generation Next, Meghna Petroleum and Square Pharmaceuticals. l

News, analysis and recent disclosersNCCBANK: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on June 05, 2014. The Company has also started disbursing cash dividend for the year 2013 to the respective sharehold-ers' Bank Accounts through Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN).GENNEXT: The Company has further informed that due to unavoidable circum-stances the 10th AGM of the Company will now be held on June 29, 2014 instead of June 19, 2014. Other information of the AGM will remain unchanged.IPO Subscription: Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited subscription date 15-19 June 2014, NRB upto 28 June 2014. @ taka 27, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shurwid Industries Limited subscrip-tion date 08-12 June 2014, NRB upto 21 June 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Saif Powertec Limited sub-scription date 06-10 July 2014, NRB upto 19 July 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited subscription date 13-17 July

2014, NRB upto 26 July 2014. @ taka 40, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Dividend/AGMWATACHEM: 30% stock, AGM: 27.06.2014, Record Date: 11.06.2014.AMBEEPHA: 15% cash and 20% stock, AGM: 16.06.2014, Record Date: 28.05.2014.MBL1STMF: 3% cash, Record date: 02.06.2014. AIBL1STIMF: 5.5% cash, Record date: 02.06.2014.ORIONPHARM: 15% cash, AGM: 22.06.2014, Record Date: 21.05.2014. PURABIGEN: 15% stock, AGM: 29.06.2014, Record date: 21.05.2014. SALVOCHEM: 10% stock, AGM: 27.08.2014, Record date: 25.06.2014.ISNLTD: No dividend, AGM: 17.06.2014, RD May 20, 2014.GOLDENSON: 25% stock, EGM and AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. MERCINS: 10% cash, dividend for the Public Shareholders (B-Group) only, AGM: 16.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. CMCKAMAL: 12.50% stock, AGM:

30.06.2014. Record Date: 29.05.2014. RUPALIBANK: 15% stock, AGM: 31.05.2014, Record date: 14.05.2014. LEGACYFOOT: 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 12.05.2014. BDTHAI: 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 25.05.2014. MEGHNACEM: 15% cash, AGM: 29.05.2014, Record Date: 14.05.2014. MONNOSTAF: 10% cash, AGM: 26.06.2014, Record Date: 19.05.2014. INTECH: 10% stock, AGM: 23.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. ISLAMIINS: 15% stock, AGM: 09.07.2014, RD: 12.05.2014. BXPHARMA: 10% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, RD: 18.05.2014. STANDARINS: 15% stock, AGM: 18.06.2014, RD: 15.05.2014. BAYLEASING: 17% cash & 15% stock, AGM: 29.05.2014, RD: 12.05.2014. JMISMDL: 15% cash, AGM: 24.07.2014, RD: 22.05.2014. ACIFORMULA: 25% cash, AGM: 10.06.2014, RD: 12.05.2014. ACI: 85% cash & 20% stock, AGM: 10.06.2014, RD: 12.05.2014.

CSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Islami Ins.BD-A -9.68 -9.75 22.40 22.40 22.40 22.40 0.045 1.92 11.7Prime Insur -A -8.64 -8.64 20.10 20.10 20.10 20.10 0.010 0.92 21.8BDCOM Online-A -8.51 -8.20 21.50 21.50 21.50 21.50 0.043 1.43 15.0Northern G Insur-A -7.10 -4.49 34.00 34.00 34.00 34.00 0.170 6.40 5.3NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A -7.04 -7.30 6.60 6.60 6.60 6.60 0.007 1.52 4.3Samata LeatheR -Z -6.67 -7.40 27.78 28.00 28.00 27.10 0.111 0.09 308.7LR Global BD MF1-A -6.15 -7.07 6.05 6.10 6.10 6.00 0.036 1.56 3.9LafargeS Cement-Z -6.12 -7.70 83.69 84.40 88.00 81.00 28.286 2.16 38.7Anwar Galvanizing-B -5.81 -5.63 24.30 24.30 24.30 24.30 0.024 0.27 90.0Fine Foods A -5.33 -3.63 14.32 14.20 14.50 14.20 0.294 -1.01 -ve

DSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Samata LeatheR -Z -7.17 -7.14 26.00 25.90 26.10 25.50 0.065 0.09 288.9AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A -6.67 -4.12 5.82 5.60 5.90 5.50 1.086 1.49 3.9LafargeS Cement-Z -5.88 -8.26 83.57 84.80 89.30 81.10 502.432 2.16 38.7GeminiSeaFood-Z -5.65 -4.00 128.00 127.00 130.00 126.20 0.032 -11.90 -veReckitt Benckiser -A -5.24 -5.18 1062.00 1061.40 1080.00 1050.10 0.531 41.12 25.8Hakkani P& Paper -B -4.78 -5.60 25.94 25.90 26.70 25.50 0.415 0.28 92.6SonarBangla Insu. -A -4.71 -5.29 18.10 18.20 18.20 18.00 0.887 1.52 11.9Sinobangla Indu.-A -4.56 -3.02 25.37 25.10 26.40 25.00 7.650 1.04 24.4NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A -4.48 -3.58 6.46 6.40 6.50 6.40 0.252 1.52 4.3Bay Leasing.-A -4.42 -3.42 24.01 23.80 24.90 22.50 3.543 1.44 16.7

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

LafargeS Cement-Z 338,000 28.29 11.78 84.40 -6.12 89.90 88.00 81.00 83.69Generation Next-A 1,289,366 22.75 9.47 18.20 9.64 16.60 18.20 16.60 17.64BSRM Steels-A 191,180 16.90 7.04 92.60 3.81 89.20 94.00 85.00 88.40Grameenphone-A 48,000 13.46 5.61 283.10 -0.70 285.10 286.20 275.50 280.48Square Pharma -A 36,110 9.76 4.06 270.50 -1.31 274.10 272.00 268.10 270.18Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 351,500 8.83 3.68 25.60 4.92 24.40 25.90 24.30 25.13BD Submarine Cable-A 37,000 6.60 2.75 177.40 -2.04 181.10 180.80 176.20 178.29Aftab Auto.-A 67,218 5.56 2.31 83.60 -0.24 83.80 84.00 81.00 82.65UNITED AIR-A 421,038 4.52 1.88 10.70 -2.73 11.00 10.90 10.60 10.74Delta Life Insu. -A 23,450 4.50 1.87 191.20 -3.14 197.40 194.20 190.00 191.94Appollo Ispat CL -N 157,800 4.14 1.72 26.40 -0.38 26.50 26.70 26.00 26.25Unique Hotel RL - A 54,420 3.78 1.57 71.00 5.50 67.30 71.30 66.00 69.38Meghna Petroleum -A 13,280 3.56 1.48 266.80 -1.95 272.10 270.10 264.10 267.70HeidelbergCement -A 6,700 3.43 1.43 512.70 -1.95 522.90 518.00 506.00 512.61Padma Oil Co. -A 10,533 3.32 1.38 314.20 -2.15 321.10 318.00 309.00 315.45

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

LafargeS Cement-Z 6,012,000 502.43 12.07 84.80 -5.88 90.10 89.30 81.10 83.57Mercantile Bank -A 19,538,334 353.36 8.49 16.60 0.00 16.60 18.20 15.50 18.09BSRM Steels-A 2,951,115 260.47 6.26 93.00 4.61 88.90 94.90 82.00 88.26Grameenphone-A 738,922 207.43 4.99 284.00 -0.66 285.90 287.00 275.00 280.72Generation Next-A 9,172,217 161.82 3.89 18.10 8.38 16.70 18.30 15.20 17.64Meghna Petroleum -A 583,709 156.30 3.76 266.30 -1.99 271.70 270.60 248.00 267.77Square Pharma -A 445,128 120.51 2.90 271.90 -1.06 274.80 274.80 265.00 270.74MJL BD Ltd.-A 1,207,215 107.33 2.58 90.10 -1.31 91.30 93.00 82.20 88.91Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 3,109,000 78.16 1.88 25.70 5.33 24.40 25.90 24.00 25.14GreenDeltaInsu -A 768,815 75.58 1.82 91.30 -3.08 94.20 99.30 84.80 98.31HeidelbergCement -A 147,300 75.49 1.81 512.30 -1.65 520.90 521.90 505.00 512.51Padma Oil Co. -A 224,562 70.98 1.71 313.30 -2.79 322.30 323.00 310.00 316.10Eastern Housing -A 1,122,407 68.25 1.64 61.50 -0.65 61.90 63.00 58.00 60.81GPH Ispat Ltd-A 1,222,160 63.93 1.54 53.90 4.66 51.50 55.00 47.00 52.30Unique Hotel RL - A 867,325 60.16 1.45 71.20 5.64 67.40 71.60 60.70 69.36

CSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Standard Ceramic -A 9.97 7.31 43.00 43.00 43.00 43.00 0.022 1.32 32.6Generation Next-A 9.64 7.43 17.64 18.20 18.20 16.60 22.746 2.28 7.7H.R. Textile -A 8.33 4.50 32.26 32.50 32.50 31.70 0.081 1.62 19.9Sonargaon Tex -Z 7.23 7.13 8.87 8.90 9.10 8.20 0.372 -0.92 -veISN Ltd. -Z 7.14 7.80 10.50 10.50 10.50 10.50 0.016 0.20 52.5Apex SpinningA 6.22 5.26 90.50 90.50 90.50 90.50 0.018 1.85 48.9Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 6.19 6.45 12.04 12.00 12.40 11.40 0.331 0.04 301.0Unique Hotel RL - A 5.50 2.83 69.38 71.00 71.30 66.00 3.776 2.84 24.4Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 4.92 1.95 25.13 25.60 25.90 24.30 8.832 4.64 5.4NLI 1st M F-A 4.49 4.27 9.28 9.30 9.70 8.70 0.028 1.36 6.8

DSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 9.73 8.11 12.27 12.40 12.40 11.40 3.184 0.04 306.8Metro Spinning -A 8.81 4.08 16.82 17.30 17.40 14.40 15.047 0.92 18.3Generation Next-A 8.38 7.43 17.64 18.10 18.30 15.20 161.819 2.28 7.7Rahima Food -Z 8.22 5.57 55.71 56.60 57.20 54.10 2.702 -1.01 -veCMC Kamal Tex. -A 7.83 5.23 22.73 23.40 23.70 21.00 50.458 1.32 17.2Wata Chemicals -A 7.60 4.54 400.54 405.10 409.40 350.00 30.966 9.80 40.9Kohinoor Chem -A 5.94 4.85 395.82 399.80 399.80 379.90 0.247 9.37 42.2Al-Haj Textile -A 5.67 (0.29) 157.44 164.10 167.90 145.00 51.925 2.00 78.7Unique Hotel RL - A 5.64 2.44 69.36 71.20 71.60 60.70 60.158 2.84 24.4Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 5.33 2.24 25.14 25.70 25.90 24.00 78.164 4.64 5.4

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 570.95 13.72 15.56 5.64 586.51 13.22NBFI 61.47 1.48 5.55 2.01 67.02 1.51Investment 40.62 0.98 2.00 0.72 42.62 0.96Engineering 578.46 13.90 36.36 13.18 614.83 13.86Food & Allied 135.97 3.27 9.71 3.52 145.68 3.28Fuel & Power 416.24 10.00 18.28 6.62 434.52 9.79Jute 1.63 0.04 0.00 1.63 0.04Textile 637.06 15.31 55.14 19.98 692.20 15.60Pharma & Chemical 354.17 8.51 26.17 9.48 380.34 8.57Paper & Packaging 0.42 0.01 10.24 3.71 10.65 0.24Service 73.57 1.77 2.69 0.98 76.26 1.72Leather 28.35 0.68 12.52 4.54 40.87 0.92Ceramic 10.96 0.26 0.70 0.25 11.66 0.26Cement 640.13 15.38 36.42 13.20 676.55 15.25Information Technology 19.52 0.47 2.54 0.92 22.06 0.50General Insurance 119.12 2.86 0.67 0.24 119.79 2.70Life Insurance 67.87 1.63 6.91 2.50 74.78 1.69Telecom 261.74 6.29 20.06 7.27 281.80 6.35Travel & Leisure 79.80 1.92 8.30 3.01 88.10 1.99Miscellaneous 62.96 1.51 6.16 2.23 69.12 1.56Debenture 0.14 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.15 0.00

Daily capital market highlights

DSE Broad Index : 4346.33671 (-) 1.14% ▼

DSE Shariah Index : 996.99906 (-) 1.07% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1600.30196 (-) 1.40% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 13390.67210 (-) 1.08% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 10828.43110 (-) 1.23% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8262.55500 (-) 0.86% ▲

DSE key features June 8, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

4,161.14

Turnover (Volume)

98,909,541

Number of Contract 83,827

Traded Issues 289

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

52

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

234

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,256.02

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.35

CSE key features June 8, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 245.29

Turnover (Volume) 6,721,775

Number of Contract 9,305

Traded Issues 215

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

50

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

162

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,163.26

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.22

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

Overall, the day exhibited investors’ psychology towards national budget proposal

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

Thai coup raises fears for 'sick' economyn AFP, Bangkok

The last time Thailand had a coup, the stock market crashed when the king-dom imposed draconian capital con-trols. This time around, investors hope the generals have learned their lesson.

Markets have largely taken May's military takeover in their stride, but there is still nervousness about a re-gime that has put the air force chief in charge of the economy and appointed the navy commander to oversee tour-ism.

Experts say the last putsch, in 2006, showed that soldiers lack the expertise to run Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

"The military government struggled to manage the economy, re� ecting the lack of technocratic skills in economic management and administration," re-called Rajiv Biswas, chief Asia econo-mist at the IHS consultancy � rm.

The regime was also unable to move ahead with signi� cant reforms because of its caretaker status, he added.

After the 2006 coup, markets were particularly frightened by drastic for-eign capital controls introduced several months later to try to curb the rise of the baht, noted Ryan Aherin, Asia ana-lyst at risk advisory company Maplec-roft. "The measure was very unpopular with investors, he said.

The Thai stock market su� ered a plunge of 15% in just one day before authorities quickly backtracked. The regime also brie� y considered limiting foreign investment in businesses.

By the time it abandoned the idea, "investor sentiment had already plum-meted due to fears of nationalistic poli-cies", said Aherin.

So far, the Thai stock market is up about four percent since the May 22 coup, helped by buoyant global invest-ment sentiment.

But Japan, Thailand's largest foreign investor, is watching events with trepi-dation. Japanese auto giants Toyota, Honda and Nissan have invested heavily in Thailand, attracted by its skilled work-force and the ease of doing business.

'Economy needs oxygen' Even before the coup, Thailand's economy was reeling from nearly sev-en months of deadly street protests, which dented consumer con� dence and scared o� foreign tourists.

The economy shrank 2.1% quarter-on-quarter in the � rst three months of

2014, according to an o� cial estimate. The fear is that it will contract again in the second quarter, sliding into reces-sion. "The economy is like a dying per-son - it's sick so it needs oxygen," said Tanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Fed-eration of Thai Industries (FTI).

Thai consumers appear relieved that the military takeover has, for now at least, brought a halt to the bloody polit-ical unrest. Consumer con� dence rose in May for the � rst time in 14 months, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

But the government expects eco-nomic growth of just 1.5-2.5% for 2014, against a previous forecast of 3-4%.

Thailand now faces structural issues

such as growing regional competition and delays in public infrastructure in-vestments, said Ste� en Dyck, analyst at Moody's Investors Service.

After the last coup a strong global economy helped Thailand to post robust economic growth of about � ve percent in both 2006 and 2007, he noted. Seem-ingly aware of the investor nervousness, the junta has quickly invited various economic actors to make proposals for a "roadmap" out of the latest crisis.

"Using absolute power to solve eco-nomic, � nancial and � scal problems is dangerous in the long run," army com-mander-in-chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha acknowledged in his weekly address to the nation on Friday.

To get the economy moving again, the junta has pledged support for small and mid-sized � rms, as well as tax re-form and the creation of special eco-nomic zones on the country's borders.

It is also reviewing infrastructure projects begun by the ousted govern-ment of former premier Yingluck Shi-nawatra, which was accused by its crit-ics of cronyism and corruption.

But so far the army's only concrete measure on the economy has been unblocking $2.8bn for farmers under Yingluck's loss-making rice price guar-antee scheme.

Thailand's long-running crisis broadly pits Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin - a billionaire tycoon-turned

politician toppled in the 2006 coup - against a royalist establishment backed by parts of the military and judiciary.

While the country has earned the nickname "Te� on Thailand" for its re-cord of bouncing back from past epi-sodes of political turmoil, experts say the current bout of uncertainty will in-evitably have an impact.

"The biggest worry for investors is that long term-instability will result in inconsistent economic policies," said Aherin. "While investors are not likely to pull out of Thailand at this point, they may hold o� on starting any new investment in the country until there are elections and signs of longer-term stability." l

Tourists walk past discount promotion placards displayed at a shop in Bangkok on June AFP

China's May exports gain steam but imports fall unexpectedlyn Reuters, Beijing

China's exports gained steam in May thanks to � rmer global demand, data showed yesterday, but an unexpected fall in imports signaled weaker do-mestic demand that could continue to weigh on the world's second-largest economy.

Exports rose 7% in May from a year earlier, quickening from April's 0.9% rise, while imports fell 1.6%, versus a rise of 0.8% in April, the General Ad-ministration of Customs said.

China's trade surplus widened sharply to $35.9bn in May from April's $18.5bn, the customs o� ce said.

That compared with market expec-tations in a Reuters poll of a 6.6% rise in exports, a 6.1% rise in imports and a monthly trade surplus of $22.6bn.

"We do not think the May trade data will change the policy stance signi� -cantly," Louis Kuijs, an RBS economist in Hong Kong, said in a note.

"While the export data is reasonably positive, the weakness of domestic de-mand implied by the import data may keep the pressure up for initiatives to support growth," he said.

China's commerce ministry had predicted that the trade picture could brighten in May as base e� orts fade and government support measures kick in. Analysts have attributed the weak trade � gures partly to an in� ated comparison base with last year due to a rash of fake invoicing of exports to beat currency restrictions. Authorities have cracked down on such activities since May of last year. "The data shows that the country's exports growth has returned to a normal level and will continue to improve," customs o� ce spokesman Zheng Yuesheng told state television.

Exports to the United States rose 6.3% in May, slowing from a rise of 12% in April, while shipments to the Eu-ropean Union rose 13.4% last month, compared with 15.1% in April. Exports to ASEAN countries rose 9.1%, quick-

ening from 3.8% in April, the data showed.

The pick-up in exports follows a batch of factory surveys for May that showed improvement in activity, as the government steps up targeted measures to support growth, including quickening construction of railways and public housing and loosening cred-it conditions for selected banks.

The government has also unveiled some policy support for the export sec-tor, including giving more tax breaks, credit insurance and currency hedging options to its exporters.

Last month, a senior commerce minis-try o� cial suggested China could miss its target for trade growth for a third consecutive year in 2014 as higher la-bor costs and weaker global demand hurt what had been one of the econo-my's main engines.

China's combined exports and im-ports edged up 0.2% in the � rst � ve months from a year earlier, trailing far behind the annual growth target of 7.5%.

Analysts believe that China's prop-erty market could put downward pres-sure on growth even as global demand improves, as evidence mounts of a rap-id cooling in what had been one of the few strong spots in the economy.

The government is due to release in� ation data on Tuesday, and indus-trial output, retail sales and � xed-asset investment on Friday. New loan and money supply data will be issued be-tween June 10-15.

A Reuters poll found analysts expect annual economic growth to slow to 7.3% in the second quarter from 7.4% in the previous quarter, with full-year growth of 7.3% in 2014, the weakest in 24 years and below the government target of 7.5%. l

OPEC seen sticking by oil outputn AFP, Vienna

OPEC is set to stick by its oil output ceiling when it meets this week, as sup-ply tensions linked to global crises help to keep crude prices high, bene� tting producers.

The Organization for Petroleum Ex-porting Countries, whose dozen mem-ber nations together supply about one third of the world's crude, is widely pre-dicted by experts to keep its daily out-put ceiling at 30 million barrels of oil.

While OPEC is satis� ed with current price levels at around 100 dollars a bar-rel, the cartel is in fact pumping below its collective target owing to abundant supplies in top crude consumer the United States.

O� setting this are worries of poten-tial supply strains as Ukraine risks slid-ing into all-out civil war.

Investors are concerned that a full-blown con� ict in Ukraine would disrupt supplies and send energy prices soar-ing. Russia accounts for nearly 40 per-cent of EU gas imports, with half of that transiting through pipelines in Ukraine.

While higher oil prices boost the cof-fers of producers, they can weigh heav-ily on economic growth, dampening demand and resulting in price weak-ness further down the line.

Crude prices have meanwhile won support since OPEC's last meeting in December also on solid demand from Asian powerhouse China despite jitters over its economic slowdown.

OPEC 'happy' with prices "It should be a very quick meeting," Bill Farren-Price, head of energy consul-tancy Petroleum Policy Intelligence, said of OPEC's upcoming gathering in Vienna on Wednesday.

"Prices are very stable and in a com-fortable place, the market is pretty balanced for the moment, China has been importing more crude than ex-pected over the last few months and the Ukraine crisis has helped keep the price underpinned.

OPEC "will be very happy with the price and for that reason, there will be no need for change" to the output ceiling, he told AFP. Since December, oil prices have rallied by about ten percent and on Friday, New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in July, stood at $102.44 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for July, the European benchmark, was at $109.09, above OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia's tar-get level. l

Professional Advancement Bangladesh Limited, a subsidiary of Green Delta Insurance Company Limited recently organised its � rst workshop with Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), UK. The company’s director Farzana Chowdhury was present at the worksho

Jamuna Bank Foundation recently held a seminar on severity of narcotics and how to combat along with a rally at National Press Club in Dhaka. The chair of the foundation Al-Haj Nur Mohammed was present as chief guest at the ceremony

The Western Union Company, a money transfer and global payment service provider and Bank Asia have introduced Western Union’s Direct-to-Bank money transfer service for the � rst time in Bangladesh

A joint meeting of Rotary Clubs of Bangladesh and Rotary Club of Seoul Ye Jang (South Korea) was held on Saturday in Dhaka. Key note speaker was Engr KM Zainul Abedin

IDLC Finance has recently opened its 27th branch in Shibbari Moor, Khulna to provide a range of consumer � nance and SME products to the people living in that area. Md Abdul Jalil, divisional commissioner in Khulna formally inaugurated the branch yesterday

Tanjib made City Bank directorn Business Desk

Barrister Tanjib-ul Alam has recently been appointed an independent direc-tor to the City Bank’s board of directors.

Alam, the head of chamber at Tanjib Alam & Associates and he is currently acting as the lead consultant of IFC in Bangladesh in drafting new Companies Act for Bangladesh.

He was involved in drafting the Bangla-desh Telecommunication Act, the Bangla-desh Energy Regulatory Commission Act and Information Technology Act. He also worked as consultant to the World Bank and UNDP on various law reform issues involving the separation of judiciary. l

'We do not think the May trade data will change the policy stance signi� cantly'

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 9, 2014

DILBERT

China taps tech training to tackle labour market mismatchn Reuters, Beijing

China is waking up to a potentially damaging mismatch in its labor market.

A record 7.27 million graduates - equivalent to the entire population of Hong Kong - will enter the job market this year; a market that has a shortage of skilled workers.

Yet many of these university and college students are ill-equipped to � ll those jobs, prompting the government to look at how it can overhaul the higher education system to bridge the gap. The problem is part structural, part attitude.

While most liberal arts students are still looking for work after graduating this summer, 22-year-old Li Xidong is preparing to start a job as an electrician that he landed well before � nishing three years of training at a small voca-tional school.

Li's diploma may appear less impres-sive, but his coveted job in a tight labor market may hold the key to the employ-ment conundrum in the world's second largest economy. The machinery sector alone projects a gap of 600,000 comput-er-automated machine tool operators this year, media have reported.

"We're trained as skilled workers, it's quite easy for us to � nd jobs while still in school," said Li, who is in the � -nal stretch of a 3-year program at Hebei Energy College of Vocation and Tech-nology in Tangshan, an industrial city 180 kms (112 miles) east of Beijing.

"Seventy percent of our class found work and some others are starting their own businesses," Li noted, as he waited for a friend at a recruitment fair in the capital, where fewer than a third of this year's university graduates had found work by end-April.

The government has said it plans to refocus more than 600 local academic colleges on vocational and technical education - replacing literature, history and philosophy with technology skills such as how to maintain lathes and build ventilation systems. Course cur-ricula will be tailored to meet employ-ers' speci� c needs.

Pilot programs will be launched this year, and 150 local universities have signed up for the education ministry's plan, the o� cial Xinhua news agency

has reported.After 13 years of aggressive policy

to expand academic colleges, China had almost seven times as many fresh-men last year than in 1998. That rap-id growth compromised educational quality, especially in local colleges es-tablished after 1999, experts say.

"Understanding of oneself and the job market, and training and educa-tion to face the job market, these are all missing in our ivory-tower style educa-tion," said Chen Yu, director of the Chi-na Institute for Occupation Research at Peking University.

Part of the problem lies with the students, too, who harbor unrealistic expectations, especially as China's eco-nomic growth loses momentum.

Chinese graduates are less will-ing than their Western peers to take blue-collar jobs, work in smaller com-panies or start their own businesses, hoping to land steady jobs instead in the government or high-paying white-collar work, Chen said.

"College students should know they are not God's gift and it's di� cult to � nd jobs, so they can adjust their atti-tude and don't necessarily have to join

the civil service or big state-owned � rms," he added.

For instance, China's call-center sec-tor needs 20 million workers to cater to its vast consumer population, but currently employs just 2 million due to a dearth of trained workers, says Yako Yan, chairman of the China Call Cen-ter and Business Process Outsourcing Association. "Call centers are technical labor ... graduates often don't have the technical ability. Some think it's rela-tively low-end and disapprove of it," says Yan.

That attitude and the harsher reali-

ty of China's jobs market today has left many graduates feeling helpless. In a changing market, many graduates with big dreams and high scores � nd they have few marketable skills.

"What we studied has no use in � nding jobs," said Xu Ke, 23, who was at the same Beijing job fair and is soon to � nish her course majoring in general marketing planning at an agricultural institute in eastern Jiangsu province. "In college, we thought companies would be queuing up to hire us. Now, I just hope I can � nd a job soon."

The government plans to reform the

national college entrance exam system by setting up a technical training exam separate to the academic exam, Educa-tion Vice Minister Lu Xin was report-ed by Xinhua as saying. The ministry would also turn more than 600 local universities into higher-education vo-cational colleges, Lu said. China has 879 public universities and colleges, according to a 2013 ministry list.

"Vocational education has a bearing on China's economic transformation and upgrading ... and on the employ-ment of hundreds of millions in the la-bor force," Yu Zhengsheng, the fourth-ranked member in the elite Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party, told a meeting of the national po-litical advisory body earlier this month.

The ministry declined to comment for this article.

In recent years, graduates from high-er vocational schools, which rank be-low universities in the Chinese system, have consistently done better in � nding jobs than standard college graduates, Lu told the People's Daily, the o� cial newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, in a separate interview.

Apart from the economic concern, the government is keen to move grad-uates into suitable jobs to prevent any formation of a restive young popula-tion - which played a major role in the 1989 pro-democracy movement. For years, Beijing has encouraged students to accept more lowly positions, such as village o� cials, especially in the less developed western regions, and to start their own businesses.

About 80% of higher vocational school graduates last year found jobs, while only around two-thirds of college graduates secured work, according to a report from the 21st Century Education Research Institute. Vocational college graduates also had a higher average start-ing salary - at 3,291 yuan ($530) a month versus an average 3,157 yuan among stu-dents from China's top-100 universities.

"We don’t necessarily need to sit in an o� ce after graduating. I can start in the factories and work my way up, step by step," said Li, who hopes to pick up the practical skills that will allow him to move on to more advanced electrical work. l

Job seekers attend a job fair at Tianjin University REUTERS

Gates Foundation sells stake in Britain's G4Sn Reuters, London

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates has sold his entire stake in G4S Plc, the British security � rm trying to bounce back from a series of scandals that have hurt its reputation and pro� ts.

Cascade Investment, a � rm owned by Bill Gates that manages assets exclu-sively for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun-dation Trust, had last June disclosed a stake in G4S, when its holding crossed the 3 percent threshold for the � rst time.

A � ling on May 28 showed the hold-ing was reduced below 3 percent, and a spokesman for the Gates Foundation told Reuters on Saturday it no longer held any interest in G4S.

G4S declined comment.G4S, which runs services such as cash transportation and prison manage-ment in more than 125 countries, is in the middle of overhauling its sprawl-ing business, shaking up management, cutting costs, improving customer ser-vice and restructuring weak divisions to help revive its fortunes.

Having failed to provide enough se-curity guards for the London 2012 Olym-pics, G4S su� ered another scandal last July when, alongside rival Serco Group Plc, it was banned from new UK gov-ernment work after being found to have charged for monitoring criminals who were dead, in prison or not tagged at all.

On Thursday G4S's own security guards ejected protesters from its an-nual shareholders' meeting, after they criticised the company's work in Israel, where it provides security at prisons and occupied Palestinian territories.

Gates's investments range from stakes in the Canadian National Rail-way Co to drinks group Diageo Plc. l

Japanese TV makers bet on super-HD as World Cup loomsn AFP, Tokyo

With a hopeful eye on the approaching World Cup, Japan's embattled TV mak-ers are hoping the key to their rescue can be found on the second � oor of Bic Camera's downtown Tokyo outlet.

Sales of big-screen televisions with super-high de� nition 4K technology are picking up at the nationwide electronics retailer, and their fatter pro� t margins are o� ering a lifeline to one-time indus-try giants Sony and Panasonic.

Retailers report that demand for the cutting-edge technology -- with four times the resolution of standard HD sets -- has surged sports fans shell out big bucks with the football World Cup kicking o� in Brazil on Thursday.

"Many customers are coming to buy a new TV set because of the World Cup," said Daisuke Kogure, visual prod-ucts � oor manager at Bic Camera's Yur-akucho outlet.

In a corner of the store devoted to 4K screens, crystal-clear images of footballers and � owers show o� the new technology. "Even though com-mercial broadcasting is still to come, customers are still interested in seeing photo images and movies on 4K televi-sion screens," Kogure added.

On Monday, a consortium of ma-jor Japanese broadcasters, TV manu-facturers and communications � rms began test broadcasts of satellite tele-vision programmes in 4K across the country of 128 million, with some World Cup games set to be shown.

The move comes with Tokyo's back-ing as it looks to boost the competi-

tiveness of the world's number three economy - neighbouring South Korea is already testing 4K technology for ca-ble programming.

Sony president Kazuo Hirai recent-ly pointed to the ultra-high-de� ni-tion technology as a possible saviour for the company's money-losing TV unit, which has bled about 790bn yen ($7.8bn) over the past decade.

Hirai's e� orts to drag the TV busi-ness into the black have so far failed, but he has repeatedly shrugged o� pleas to abandon a division that he insists remains central to Sony's core business.

'Great quality, limited programmes' Sony's rivals Panasonic and Sharp have also su� ered massive losses in their TV businesses, although their units are re-covering as they look to go on the of-fensive with high-end televisions.

The Japanese giants have been hammered by razor-thin margins and ferocious competition from overseas rivals, particularly in South Korea and Taiwan.

Panasonic and Sharp have both said they will boost their lineup of 4K tele-visions and computer monitors, while Sony, a world leader in the technology, is also eyeing the booming health � eld.

It is hoping that a tie-up with Olym-pus - best known as a camera maker but which also makes medical equip-ment - will usher in endoscopic 4K im-ages that can better diagnose diseases.

But persuading enough consumers to embrace the cutting-edge technolo-gy could still be a struggle. l

Tech giants scramble for lead on 'Internet of Things'n AFP, Washington

It's not just smartphones and tablets anymore. The world's tech giants are now battling over a wider array of con-nected devices, from refrigerators to cars to wristwatches.

Announcements in recent days from Apple and Samsung made clear they are staking their claim to the "In-ternet of Things" following Google's announcement earlier this year that it was creating a new Android platform for wearable electronics.

"The Internet of Things is the next big platform," said Roger Kay, an ana-lyst with Endpoint Technologies Asso-ciates. "These are potentially billions of devices. That's a big market, so every consortium is lining up for that."

A study released by research � rm IDC said the market for the Internet of Things (IoT) will grow from $1.9 trillion in 2013 to $7.1 trillion in 2020 as busi-nesses and consumers adopt smart technology for homes, cars and a vari-ety of accessories.

Apple unveiled Monday its new mo-bile operating system iOS 8 along with

HealthKit software to manage personal healthcare and HomeKit for home ap-pliances, while encouraging develop-ers to create services for the iOS operat-ing system used in iPhones and iPads.

Apple opens up"Apple iOS 8 has the beginnings of a full-� edged platform supporting IoT, you can see it with their health and � t-ness hooks and their ability to entertain more third party devices," said Compass Intelligence chief mobile analyst Gerry Purdy. But Apple is following its own path, aiming for tighter control and with less interoperability by limiting connec-tions with non-Apple devices.

"It may be that Apple will just col-onize a few areas and do it well," said

Kay. Samsung, meanwhile, is jumping into the fray with Tizen, an open-source operating system that could take on iOS and Android for connected devices.

Frank Gillett at Forrester Research said Samsung - by far the most suc-cessful maker of Android phones and tablets - wants to distance itself from Google in the next phase of technology.

"I think Samsung is in a challenging and di� cult place," Gillett told AFP.

"They have been successful in building devices but they don't have a software platform or a consumer rela-tionship." Gillett said that with Tizen, Samsung is aiming for "a multi-part software and services strategy to build sticky relationships with customers to keep them buying hardware."

Still, he said it was "an uphill battle" for Samsung, which is trying to estab-lish a new platform to compete against Android, iOS and others -- including Microsoft's Windows and BlackBerry's QNX, which is widely used in automo-bile systems. Richard Windsor of Edi-son Investment Research says Google has shown it can make money from this strategy of o� ering Android for free. l

A cow is milked in a mobile electric milker at an experimental farm in the village of Trevarez near Saint-Goazec, western France. The farm is the � rst in France to have this type of treatment system in open � elds AFP

They have been successful in building devices but they don't have a software platform or a consumer relationship