Khaled Mahmud backs Al Amin exclusionn Mazhar Uddin from Melbourne

Bangladesh cricket team manager Khaled Mahmud has termed the punishment for fast bowler, Al Amin Hos-sain, a decision that will

keep the other cricketers on a leash. The 25-year-old quickie was sent back home yesterday from the Tigers’ World Cup campaign after he was found

breaking team rules on Sunday.Mahmud yesterday said the strict-

ness would keep the youngsters away from any wrongdoing. “Many [general people and cricketers] may think the decision was a bit harsh but one thing I can tell you: the decision will be helpful for not only Al Amin but also for the re-maining nine young players of the side.

“If a player like Shakib [al Hasan] can be punished for breaking rules,

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

IKHTISAD AHMED: THE ART OF RULING THE MINDS

11 | OP-ED

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SHAFIUL ELATED WITH UNEXPECTED CALL-UP

12 | SPORT

Rescue called o� , 69 con� rmed deadShipping minister and Manikganj administration pledge Tk1.25 lakh to family of each victimn Abid Azad back from Paturia

Ghat, Manikganj

Authorities yesterday called o� the Paturia capsize rescue operation after 69 bodies were pulled from the Pad-ma River, but said a search operation would continue.

“Sixty-nine bodies have been re-covered from the sunken launch. The rescue operation was closed after the launch was hauled up and brought to the riverbank. A search operation for � oating bodies will continue,” Mani-kganj Deputy Commissioner Rashida Ferdous said at a press brie� ng at Pa-turia Ghat at 10:30am yesterday.

O� cials could not say for certain how many passengers were on board the ill-fated launch. “Since it had a ca-pacity of 140 people, there were prob-ably around 150 passengers on board,” Deputy Commissioner Rashida said.

Residents of the area claimed there were closer to 200 people aboard the stricken vessel.

Favourable weather, a gentle cur-rent and a relatively shallow river depth made the MV Mostafa rescue the quickest operation of its kind in the country’s maritime history, with the salvage of the vessel taking a little over four hours to complete.

Just 22 hours passed between the time the passenger vessel capsized and the time the rescue operation was

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1A relative of one of the victims of the MV Mostafa capsize breaks into tears after identifying her loved one. A total of 69 bodies have been recovered so far while some passengers are still reportedly missing. The photo was taken yesterday at Paturia ferry terminal where bodies are being kept for identi� cation. MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Despite 10,000 deaths, shipping safety still beyond horizon n Shohel Mamun

A study by the country’s waterways authority says that despite the death of 10,436 people in over 20,000 accidents since 1972, shipping safety recommen-dations had yet to be strictly imple-mented.

The BIWTA study said that despite the repeated occurrence of maritime mishaps in the country, the govern-ment had yet to implement probe com-mittee suggestions aimed at decreasing the incidence of accidents.

Furthermore, even though the shipping ministry has convened more than 500 accident probe committees to date, just � ve committees have published their � ndings. And even these recommendations have not been implemented.

Following the Pinak 6 tragedy last year, the probe committee identi� ed � ve key causes of maritime accidents.

They are vessels’ structural and technical defects, uncerti� ed changes in vessel design, overloading of passen-gers and goods, irresponsible piloting, and ignoring meteorological depart-ment advisories.

Although the Pinak 6 accident led to the sacking of three BIWTA sta� and the punishment of four others, opera-tional and behavioural changes were not implemented across the inland

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Police claim mob shot Mirpur victimsn Ashif Islam Shaon

Police brought the bodies of three youths with multiple bullet injuries to Dhaka Medical College morgue early yesterday claiming that those “arson-ists” were killed by a mob in the capi-tal’s Mirpur area.

The youths, aged between 18 and 22 years, however, did not have any major injury marks of beating but their bodies were riddled with bullet injuries in the chest, abdomen, waist, hands, arms, back and legs, morgue sources said.

In another incident, the bullet-hit bodies of two BNP men were found in Jhenidah Sadar yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, Abdul Wadud, 30, con-vener of the ward 10 unit of pro-BNP Sramik Dal, was killed in a “shootout” between police and his alleged associ-ates at Kalyanpur in the capital early yesterday, police claim.

Wadud’s family members, however,

claimed that he had no political a� lia-tion and that police had picked him up on Sunday morning from a street.

About the three victims of Mirpur, police claim that they learned in pri-mary investigation and quizzing some witnesses that the victims and some of

their cohorts gathered in front of Kris-hibid Bhaban at Kazipara to hurl petrol bombs and explode crude bombs on vehicles around 11pm on Sunday, dur-ing the BNP-led alliance’s ongoing har-tal programme.

“Some people who were present there chased them to Baish Bari area and caught them. They beat and shot them leaving critically injured. On in-formation, we rushed to the spot and

took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital,” Moinul Islam, OC (investi-gation) of Mirpur police, said in the in-quest report.

According to the DMCH sources, a team of Mirpur police took them to the hospital around 1:20am.

The inquest reports of the three vic-tims, prepared before the autopsy, had the same narrative.

According to the report of one 19-year-old victim, whom the police assumed to be a non-Muslim, he had 16 marks of bullet injuries. Of those, two were on the throat, two on the right el-bow, two on left arm, two on his chest, two on abdomen, � ve on the back and three on waist. He was wearing a yel-low T-shirt and pants.

Another youth, aged around 20 years, had 16 marks of bullet injuries. He had a shallow injury mark on his ab-domen, according to the inquest report

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

OC Moinul expressed concerns over the ‘shooting by mob’

CMP: Government o� cials � nancing subversive actsn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

A section of government o� cials have been � nancing subversive activities carried out in Chittagong during the ongoing political turmoil, said the port city’s police chief.

At a media brie� ng yesterday, Chit-tagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mandol said: “While confessing their crimes in cus-tody, 10 accused have mentioned the names of people who gave them the money for carrying out the subversive activities.”

The CMP boss, however, did not want to disclose the identities of the government employees whose names came up in interrogation.

“Enamul Kabir, an executive PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Manna claims no plot in leaked conversations The Nagorik Oikya leader says he is shocked and saddened n Tribune Report

A day after audio clips of Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Man-na’s two telephone conversations were leaked, the leader has claimed that there was nothing provocative and con-spiratorial in either of his conversations.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Man-na acknowledged that he did have a phone conversation about the on-going political movement with BNP Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Kho-ka, but said there was no conspiracy or bad intention in that conversation.

“I am surprised, saddened and shocked by the overall incident. In my political life, I have never harboured vi-olence and conspiracy,” the post read.

Manna – a former Awami League leader – requested people to carefully listen to his telephone conversations and read the transcripts to � nd that “there was no hint of conspiracy or provocation there.”

He added: “Character assassination of anyone will intensify the prevailing crisis. I hope that everyone will use their good sense and face the crisis positively.”

On Sunday, two audio clips of Man-na were leaked: one where he spoke to Khoka, and another where he was heard speaking to an unidenti� ed per-son – discussing about plans to meet army o� cers.

Manna was heard brie� ng Khoka, who has been living in the US for the last eight months, about his plans to bring out a march from National Press Club on February 23. Following that, he reportedly advised Khoka to send his people to go in for a massive show-down at the Dhaka University.

“If possible take over a few halls in a huge head-on confrontation. Maybe a few will die on both sides; but if a few halls can be taken over, it will shake up the government,” Manna is heard ad-vising Khoka.

But the BNP leader was found to be somewhat reluctant, fearing subse-quent massive police action.

Throughout the conversation, Man-na asked Khoka to “tell your people” to join Nagarik Oikya programmes.

“It will strengthen the democratic movement at the end of the day,” Man-na was heard telling Khoka.

Meanwhile, Manna’s political plat-form Nagorik Oikya postponed its rally yesterday, only minutes after it began on the National Press Club premises. Nazmul Hasan, convener of Nagorik Chhatra Oikya, announced the post-ponement of the programme due to unavoidable circumstances, saying Manna was feeling ill.

‘Manna’s move unconstitutional’ Following the conversation leaks, Awa-mi League Publication and Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud has warned Manna to be careful about his unconsti-tutional move against the government.

“Khoka has acknowledged the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s violence in the country. The citizens are now informed about the persons [Manna and other civil society members] who have urged the government to sit with the sabo-teurs [BNP-Jamaat]. We urge those per-sons to be alert,” he said.

Hasan Mahmud made the call while speaking at a human chain, organised by Bangladesh Swadhinata Parishad, in front of National Press Club yesterday.

‘Manna will receive mass beating’Meanwhile, Chhatra League, the student wing of Awami League, has threatened to hand a mass beating to Manna for his statement on the Dhaka University.

“Manna, a former student of Dhaka University and former general secre-tary of Ducsu, has been declared un-welcome in Dhaka University and he will be a victim of mas beating if he is seen anywhere [on the campus],” Sid-dique Nazmul Alam, general secretary of Chhatra League, said yesterday.

“Manna provokes BNP-Jamat to cre-ate anarchy in the country by killing innocent people. As part of Manna’s conspiracy, he told Khoka to kill DU students,” Nazmul told a demonstra-tion in front of Oporajeyo Bangla.

Terming Manna a black sheep, he also urged the DU authority to con� s-cate Manna’s academic certi� cates. l

Rescue called o� PAGE 1 COLUMN 1� nally abandoned.

Of the 69 bodies recovered, 57 have been identi� ed and handed over to their families, Rashida said.

Four of the casualties were male children, 10 were female children, 22 were adult males and 21 were adult fe-males, she said.

Twelve bodies had not been identi-� ed and will be kept at Dhaka Medical College morgue for two days.

If the bodies remain unclaimed, they will be handed over to Anjuman Mu� dul Islam for burial.

The administration could not say for sure how many passengers had man-aged to swim ashore or to nearby ves-sels. Witness reports suggest perhaps 35 or 40 people survived the accident.

Many relatives of passengers say their loved ones are still missing.

The deputy commissioner said her o� ce had received hardly any reports of missing persons.

Search operations for victims whose remains may have � oated downriver will continue.

“The administration has received just one missing person report about a Brac employee who has not been ac-counted for. If more are reported we will take necessary steps,” Rashida said.

Swift operationThe MV Mostafa rescue was quickest operation of its kind in Bangladesh.

The sunken ship was pulled from the river � oor, righted and brought to shore at 4am yesterday after rescue vessel Rustom joined the operation around 11:30pm.

Dr Md Shamsuddoha Khandaker, chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said: “It is the quickest rescue operation ever be-cause of nature’s favour. The depth of the river where the launch sank was about 20ft and there was no strong current.”

“Because of this, we easily located it and started our operation within the shortest possible time of the arrival of rescue ship Rustom,” he said.

The rapid recovery has meant that retrieved bodies had not su� ered too much water damage or decomposition.

Rescue e� orts continued until 10:30am yesterday with around 150

members of the Navy, Coast Guard, Fire Service, BIWTA, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) and district administration taking part.

“We need to rescue people alive – then we can say we are successful. We are far away from saving people,” the BIWTA chairman said.

“We need more technological sup-port and logistical support, like a well-manned, well-organised and well-equipped rescue team with enough speed boats and helicopters,” he said.

“We can count ourselves success-ful when we can bring the number of deaths down to zero,” he said.

He told the Dhaka Tribune: “There should be more patrolling of the rivers, especially at possible accident sites.”

He called for strict laws and exem-plary punishment for those responsible for such accidents.

Most rescue operations were de-layed due to insu� cient resources and natural obstacles, he said.

For example, the Pinak 6 rescue op-eration in 2014 failed due to bad weath-er and strong currents.

E� orts to detect the vessel were called o� eight days after the launch capsized in the Padma River with over 250 passengers aboard.

The vessel’s salvage ended in fail-ure due to foul weather and strong currents, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said at the time.

Inquiries and compensationThe Manikganj district administration has said it will provide each victim’s family Tk20,000, while Shipping Min-ister Shajahan Khan announced that he would provide Tk1.05 lakh to the fam-ilies of each victim, Deputy Commis-sioner Rashida said.

The captain of Nargis 1, the vessel which crashed into the MV Mosta-fa causing it to capsize and sink, and three of his assistants were arrested in connection with the accident.

The Department of Shipping has formed a three-member probe com-mittee to determine the cause of the accident and identify those who were responsible. A separate Shipping Min-istry probe committee, consisting of 11 members, has also been convened to look into the matter. l

Al Amin exclusion PAGE 1 COLUMN 2then it should be understood that the board will not tolerate any indiscipline attitude from any of the cricketers.”

Mahmud also informed the media that Al Amin has been under the ra-dar of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (Acsu) since Bangladesh played their � rst match against Af-ghanistan in Canberra although there was no allegation of match-� xing against him.

“Acsu previously informed us that they had seen a Bangladeshi cricketer outside the hotel after the 10pm curfew set by the team management and Al Amin was out of the hotel alone which could have been dangerous in terms of any suspicious activity,” said the former national cricketer.

Meanwhile, sources said Al Amin broke down in tears, apologised and begged for mercy from the Bangladesh team management after admitting his mistake.

But the sources said the man-agement had to make the decision following quite a few incidents that indicated his suspicious activities in Australia.

A source revealed an incident that had taken place on February 19 and said after the team dinner Al Amin left the hotel by a car and returned around midnight on foot.

Al Amin is allowed to play and will take part in the ongoing � rst-class Na-tional Cricket League after his return and any further disciplinary action, if any, will be taken through an inquiry

after the World Cup.Khaled Mahmud also believes the

shocking decision will not hamper the team morale as the players know their job very well and instead this incident will encourage them to focus more on cricket rather than any other o� -the-� eld activities.

The Tigers spent another relaxed day yesterday and enjoyed a dinner thrown by BCB Vice-President Mah-bubul Anam. The three young guns – Taskin Ahmed, Anamul Haque and Mominul Haque – visited the famous cricketing goods maker Kookaburra’s factory and got new willows for them-selves.

Bangladesh are scheduled for a training session today at the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground. l

Despite 10,000 deaths PAGE 1 COLUMN 6shipping sector.

Experts said launch owners fre-quently change the design of their ves-sels and still managed to obtain � tness certi� cates from the Shipping Ministry. They said corruption in the process of certifying water craft must be stopped.

Sources said more than 80% of ves-sels plied the waterways without any form of � tness certi� cation at all.

Despite Shipping Ministry rules for A, B and C category launches, low-er standard B and C category launch owners rarely followed the rules and regulations. Most launches involved in accidents are B and C category vessels.

Jatri Kalyan Samity Secretary Mo-zammel Haque Choudhury said no im-provements have been made in passen-ger safety despite repeated attempts to pressure the authorities to enforce the rules strictly.

A government inland waterway safety project which aims to reduce the number of accidents has not been im-plemented yet.

The project envisages setting up 11 meteorological centres, a tracking tank to monitor channel currents, a hull sta-bility testing centre and a maintenance fund.

Meteorological centres are planned for Ashuganj, Narsingdi, Narayanganj, Chandpur, Barisal, Kawkhali, Potu-akhali, Ramgati, Paturia, Baghabari and Mawa.

Although only government-ap-proved dockyards are legally allowed to make vessels, uncerti� ed manufac-turers abound.

BIWTA Chairman Khandakar Sham-suzzaman told to the Dhaka Tribune: “We have taken several steps to de-crease maritime accidents and when all the projects have been implement-ed, the number of accidents may de-crease.”

The last three years have witnessed four major maritime disasters, including Sunday’s MV Mostafa capsize, that have left a total of 396 dead in their wake.

Sixty-nine people have been con-� rmed dead after the MV Mostafa cap-sized and sank on Sunday.

One-hundred and twenty died on August 4 last year, when MV Pinak 6 went down near Mawa on the Padma River, 62 perished on May 15, 2014, when MV Miraj 4 sank in the Meghna River and 145 lost their lives on March 12, 2012 when the MV Shariyatpur sank in the Meghna River.

MV Mostafa probe committee The convener of the 11-member Ship-ping Ministry probe committee, Joint Secretary Nur-ur Rahman, visited the accident site near Paturia Ghat in Mani-kganj yesterday and spoke with several witnesses.

Nur-ur Rahman yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have started talk-ing with witnesses of the accident. We will also talk to the survivors of the accident, the launch operators and to nearby villagers. We are trying to de-termine the causes of the accident as

quickly as possible.”The Department of Shipping formed

a separate three-member investigation committee to determine the cause of the accident and to identify those who are responsible.

It is expected to submit a report of its � ndings within 15 working days.

The convener of the commit-tee is nautical surveyor, Captain Muhammad Shajahan, who is joined by special o� cer Golam Mainuddin Hasan and chief inspector Sha� qur Rahman. l

Police claim mob shot Mirpur victims PAGE 1 COLUMN 5prepared by Sub-Inspector Md Masud Parvez of Mirpur police.

The body of the other victim, aged around 20 years, had a total of 22 bullet injuries.

Several marks of bullet were found on a wall where the incident took place yesterday.

There were marks of blood on the road and a wall. More than 10 shells of bullets, of di� erent guns, were found lying around. There was also a long blood-stained rope on the spot.

However, when a team of police went to the spot in the noon, they drove away the onlookers. Collecting the bullet shells and the rope, they threw those in a drain.

Talking to several dwellers, who did not want to disclose names, it was learned that they heard sounds of bullets around 10pm but did not see the incident of � ring. Some dwellers claimed that they had seen around 10 armed people entering the lane and stayed there for around an hour.

Asked how the victims had su� ered bullet injuries if a mob beat them up, OC Moinul Islam said: “It can happen if someone from within the crowd shoot them.”

He, however, expressed concern over the “shooting by mob.”

“We are investigating the incident. We have already � led a case against 100-150 unnamed dwellers of the area.”

He made no comment on the blood-stained rope and said they were trying to know identities of the victims.

About taking much time to send

the bodies to the hospital, he said the locals had informed the police after an hour of the incident. “We took time to complete the formalities.”

He also claimed that the police had recovered petrol bombs and crude bombs from the spot.

Wadud’s deathThe family members of Wadud claim that police picked him up from in front of the Mirpur police station around 10:30am. Jhut trader Wadud was going to his business shop at Tolarbagh from Mirpur house.

But the police claimed that a mob handed him over to them after they had caught him near the city corpora-tion o� ce at Mirpur section 10.

Salahuddin Khan, OC of Mirpur po-lice, claimed that during primary in-terrogation, Wadud had admitted his involvement in several arson attacks during the blockade.

“A police team went to Kalyanpur along with Wadud to nab his cohorts – Parvez and Rubel – around 1:15am. His cohorts opened � re on the police triggering a gun� ght. Wadud sustained bullet injuries as he tried to jump o� the police vehicle.”

The OC claimed that Wadud had launched crude bomb attacks on buses from his motorcycle at Mirpur on Jan-uary 25 and 29 and February 22 during the blockade. “Police have the CCTV footage of the attacks,” he mentioned.

Wadud was declared dead around 1:30am at the DMCH, he said.

According the inquest report, the victim had marks of six bullet injuries

on his body.The victim’s paternal uncle, Chand

Mia Bepari, identi� ed the body at the DHC morgue in the morning.

He later told reporters that Wadud had been in jhut business for 10 years and that he had two shops in Tolar-bag. “His phone was found switched o� shortly after he went out on Sun-day morning. In the afternoon, some-one phoned his father informing that Wadud was at the Mirpur police sta-tion,” Chand Mia said.

Wadud’s father Abdul Ali Bepari went to the police station and enquired the OC about his son. The OC then de-nied having arrested him.

“But our relatives saw Wadud’s black motorcycle on the police station premises,” Chand Mia said.

The family came to know about the death of Wadud in “shootout” on TV yesterday morning and identi� ed the body at the morgue.

Asked about Wadud’s political iden-tity, Chand Mia alleged that the police had cooked a story. “He was just a trad-er. He was not named as accused in any case. He used to stay with his parents and two siblings at home.”

OC Salahuddin said: “I think his family members did not know about Wadud’s involvement in arson attacks. Moreover, the family members of such criminals usually do not admit these matters.”

He also claimed that Wadud used to carry out subversive acts under the directives of Mirpur unit Jubo Dal Pres-ident Mamun Hasan and local Chhatra Dal leader Milton.

Bullet-hit bodies in JhenidahLocals found the bodies of BNP activ-ists Polash Hossain, 25, and Dulal Hos-sain, 24, of Charkhajura village under sadar upazila, yesterday morning lying on a lentil � eld at Dafolbaria village, our correspondent reported.

Polash’s father Golam Mostafa is the councillor of ward eight under Jhenidah municipality.

Alal Hossain, elder brother of Dulal, told the Dhaka Tribune that his brother had been picked up by the DB police on Wednesday evening from Chuadanga bus stand of Jhenidah town.

On the other hand, relatives of Po-lash claimed that he had been caught by DB police around 5pm on Thursday from Saradganj bazaar in Chuadanga.

The bodies bore marks of bullet in-juries on their ears and wounds on the hands.

BNP’s Jhenidah unit O� ce Secretary Jahangir Hossain said both the victims were BNP activists. He alleged that the law enforcers had killed them so that no BNP activist dared to bring out any procession in the town.

Former BNP lawmaker and Presi-dent of Jhenidah district Moshiur Rah-man condemned the killings.

OC Ra� qul Islam of Jhenidah DB po-lice refuted the allegation claiming that the law enforcers had not picked them up. “We are not involved in this shoot-out,” he said.

A team of Sadar police led by SI An-war Hossain recovered the bodies from the spot and sent those to Jhenidah sadar hospital for post mortem exam-ination. l

CMP: Government o� cials � nancing subversive acts PAGE 1 COLUMN 6committee member of Shibir [Jamaat’s student front], and two others were arrested for plotting attacks on state-run oil depots in Chittagong. Police are now trying to � nd out more about the sources of their � nance and the mas-terminds,” the CMP commissioner said.

Last week, a food inspector in Gui-mara of Khagrachhari was arrested in connection with a political violence-re-lated case.

According to Sukanta Roy, inspector of Chittagong city’s Khulshi police sta-tion, the food inspector’s name was men-tioned by two activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir who were arrested for possessing crude and petrol bombs on February 18.

At yesterday’s brie� ng, Jalil said a total of 1,878 people have been accused in 71 violence-related cases in the port city from February 1 to 22. Of them, po-lice have managed to arrest 473.

He also said the CMP have so far re-warded four people for helping police with information leading to the arrest of miscreants.

Of those rewarded, two said they were supporters of the ruling Awami League and the rest did not claim to have any political a� liation.

The ruling party supporters are Sha-hidul Islam Jewel, an activist of Chha-tra League; and Md Mostafa Amir, a supporter of Jubo League.

Abdul Mannan, a businessman, and Md Nasim, an employee of a private � rm in the port city, are the other two. They assisted Khulshi police in arrest-ing bombers.

The CMP commissioner handed over Tk10,000 to each of them at the media brie� ng.

Nasim helped police arrest Shah Alam Monu, who got injured when a bomb he was carrying exploded in the Shegun Bagan area.

Mannan helped police nab one Sho-hel Rana in the Garibullah Shah Mazar area in the port city along with several crude bombs on January 18.

Ruling party supporter Jewel and his associates caught one Rubel along with three petrol bombs in the Diesel Colony area of Jawtala on February 2.

Jubo League man Mostafa caught a man named Rinku with two petrol bombs in the Master Lane area on Feb-ruary 10. l

SINCE 1972

10,436 people have died in maritime accidents.

20,000 accidents have taken place in the

last 43 years.

MAJOR LAUNCH ACCIDENTS Year Name of launch Deaths

2015 MV Mostafa 692014 MV Pinak 6 1202014 MV Miraj 4 622012 MV Shariatpur 145

HC appoints amici curiae for opinion on amended CrPC n UNB

The High Court bench of Justice M Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice M Ashraful Kamal yesterday appointed � ve lawyers as amici curiae for the � nal hearing on a writ petition challenging the validity of the amended Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) providing judi-cial power to executive magistrates.

They are Dr Kamal Hossain, barris-ter M Amir-Ul Islam, Mahmudul Islam, barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud and bar-rister Azmalul Hossain, QC. The court � xed April 8 for the next hearing. l

Devastated, they wait for their loved onesn Abid Azad back from Paturia

Ghat, Manikganj

Two-and-a-half-year-old Fatema Akter felt exuberant when she was drinking juice on the launch, MV Mostafa, on Sunday. She was excited as she was go-ing to meet her grandparents after long.

But little did she know that the pleasant journey would turn into one of the most devastating experiences of her life.

Daughter of Milon Hossain and Nidi Khatun, the little girl and her parents boarded the launch from Dhaka. Their destination was Bhaluka village under Kumarkhali thana in Kushtia.

Fatema was on her father’s lap and her mother was enjoying the view of the Padma River when cargo ship Nar-gis 1 hit the launch around 15 minutes after it set o� from Paturia terminal for Daulatdia.

“I heard the sound of a big collision and we all three fell o� our seats right away. My wife, after falling o� , ended up a few feet away from us, and that was the last time I saw her,” Milon told the Dhaka Tribune while recalling the terrible accident.

“For a while, I was at a loss to under-stand what had happened. I held on my daughter and broke a window. Fatema passed out when I managed to come out of the launch. I was swimming real fast and she was with me. A rescue boat discovered us shortly and took us to the shore,” he said.

Milon then whisked Fatema o� to Manikganj Sadar Hospital and came to Paturia terminal early yesterday morn-ing to � nd his missing wife.

Till 8am, 64 bodies were recovered and 56 were identi� ed but Milon did not � nd Nipi’s body among those.

Fatema was still unaware that her

mother was unaccounted for, but she kept crying and asking her father about her mother’s whereabouts.

Milon, who was constantly looking through the dead bodies and thinking at the same time about what he should do, could not hold back his tears either.

Manikganj Deputy Commissioner Rashida Ferdous o� cially called o� rescue operations around 10:30am, saying that a total of 69 bodies had been recovered and no one else was re-ported missing.

But like Milon, several families at Paturia terminal were still looking for their loved ones.

The mother-in-law of Sourav, Ayesha Begum, told the Dhaka Tribune

that she had found his shirt but had no idea where he was.

Sourav has been working as the chef of MV Mostafa for nearly a decade, said Ayesha.

Another survivor Moushumi, who managed to swim ashore after the acci-dent, said: “My two-year-old daughter Ria Moni who was with me also survived but my mother Arizunnesa is missing.”

Forty-year-old Amena Begum came to the terminal in search of her hus-band, who boarded the launch and was bound for Faridpur.

“We talked around 11:30am on Sun-day for the last time, and my husband told me that he would phone me after reaching his destination but...” Amena

could not � nish the sentence and burst into tears.

But the Manikganj deputy commis-sioner denied that any passenger was missing after she called o� rescue op-erations.

She said none had informed o� cials of anyone missing from his family or among his relatives.

“Only a Brac employee was reported missing. However, we will take neces-sary steps if any such case is reported later,” said Rashida.

MV Mostafa had a capacity of 140 passengers but is believed to have been overloaded when it left Paturia. The ex-act number of passengers boarding the launch has not yet been determined. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Court demands Ershad’s academic documentsn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A declaration suit has been lodged against Jatiya Party Chairman HM Er-shad and four others seeking cancel-lation of Ershad’s parliamentary mem-bership for not complying with the Election Commission’s criteria.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal leader Sabbir Ahmed, who contested the 10th parlia-mentary election from Rangpur 3 con-stituency, � led the suit with Dhaka’s First Joint District Judge’s Court of Md Sahadat Hossain on Sunday.

The other defendants in the case are the chief election commissioner; chair-man of Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board; Dhaka University registrar; and chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Accepting the suit, the court issued summons notice against the � ve and asked them to explain their stance by March 25, Abdur Rashid, an assistant bench o� cer of the court, told the Dha-ka Tribune.

The plainti� claimed that the former military dictator had given false infor-mation about his educational certi� -cates (HSC and BA) in the a� davit sub-mitted to the EC.

Sabbir also demanded that the mon-ey laundering case � led in 1995 against Ershad be resumed. The JaPa chief was relieved from the charge in the � nal re-port submitted in 2001.

Sabbir in November last year � led a petition with the High Court seeking a rule to produce all academic docu-ments of Ershad. If failed, the petition-er sought rule on the CEC to scrap Er-shad’s candidature and declare Sabbir as the lawmaker from the constituency.

However, the petition was dropped from the cause list on December 1.

According to the case statement, plainti� Sabbir alleged that the JaPa chief had registered a General Diary with the Cantonment police on November 19, 2008 which says Ershad lost all his orig-inal certi� cates, from SSC to graduation, on December 12, 1990 – the day the “fall-

en military ruler” was arrested.The EC in 2008 made it mandatory

for candidates to submit all education-al records.

Ershad, however, submitted the attested copies of his academic certi� -cates along with an a� davit while � l-ing his nomination paper for contesting in the ninth parliamentary elections in 2008.

The case says Ershad did not submit the copies of his certi� cates before the January 5, 2014 elections, rather in-cluded a copy of the GD with the nom-ination paper.

The JaPa chief withdrawn his can-didature before the election but the EC did not accept it since the withdrawal application was not submitted follow-ing rules.

The case says Ershad, in the GD, did not mention the name of the college from which he had passed the HSC and BA (pass), roll number, registration num-ber, passing year and education board.

The plainti� said he had searched for Ershad’s academic records with the Dhaka board and the DU, but in vain. He mentioned that Ershad had not even collected duplicate copies of his missing certi� cates.

According to the case, Ershad passed SSC from a Cooch Behar school in West Bengal.

“He was admitted to Carmichael College in Rangpur but left the college before passing the HSC exams,” the plainti� quoted a report of Daily Ob-server dated September 13, 2014. The newspaper the following day, however, published a clari� cation mentioning that Ershad later joined a college in Dhaka and passed HSC.

Ershad claimed that he completed graduation from Dhaka University in 1950 and was commissioned in the Pa-kistan Army in 1952.

The plainti� alleged that Ershad gave false information in his election a� davit and hid real information. So his membership should be cancelled according to the Election Commission laws and Sabbir’s name should be pub-lished in gazette as winner as the near-est candidate.

The plainti� also sought passing a decree upon the ACC chairman to re-sume the case � led against Ershad with Tejgaon police in 1995 for laundering $105 million abroad through the BCI Bank. Sabbir demanded that the case be reinvestigated. l

BNP: None involved in mass killing will be sparedn Tribune Report

The BNP has said it is keeping track of every “mass killing” and will bring to justice everyone involved in these mur-ders despite the fact that the prime min-ister has already taken the responsibili-ty for these killings by giving orders.

“Even if Prime Minister Sheikh Ha-sina bears all responsibilities, having ordered RAB, police and BGB for the Rakkhi Bahini-style mass murder, none will be able to escape justice,” said a statement released by BNP Joint Secre-tary General Salahuddin Ahmed.

“The government will have to bear all responsibility for the loss of lives

due to the political deadlock as these are results of the illegal government’s instigation of undemocratic power and fundamentalism by using � repower,” the statement said.

Referring to Monday’s lynching inci-dent in Mirpur, Salahuddin said: “The police ordered the Shramik Dal presi-dent of Mirpur ward 10 unit to be pres-ent at the police station Sunday night. After they killed him, they fabricated the story of so-called cross� re. They [police] have also killed three other peo-ple in the same way and later claimed that they were killed in mob beating.

“We strongly condemn and criticise the killings.”

It further claimed that the govern-ment was trying to hide the actual toll of extra-judicial killings by labelling the murders as cross� re, mob beating, hijacking etc.

The statement begins: “The consti-tution is not the last word, it is for the people, not vice versa.” It reiterates that the BNP does not undertake any undemocratic path to power, and nev-er wants to involve the armed forces in any controversy.

Meanwhile, sources con� rmed that a medical team had come to Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan o� ce yesterday to check on the health of those who have been with the party chief at that o� ce since January 3. l

Jubo Dal leader held for defaming PM on Facebookn Tribune Report

Police arrested a Jubo Dal leader in Mirsarai of Chittagong early yesterday for defaming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Facebook.

Accused Iftekhar Mahmud alias Jip-son, 30, a student of Chittagong Col-lege, is the president of Dhum union unit Jubo Dal, youth wing of the BNP.

A case was � led by police after Mah-mud had shared a defamatory photo of the premier on Facebook on November 1 last year, police said.

Riad Mahmud, inspector (investiga-

tion) of Jorarganj police, said they had arrested Mahmud, on a tip-o� , at his residence in Gonokchara area of Jorar-ganj in a drive early yesterday.

The o� cial said Mahmud was also facing several other cases � led for car-rying out subversive activities.

Police on January 3 arrested a youth, Rajan Das, for defaming the premier on Facebook in Brahmanbaria. Earlier, National University teacher AKM Wahi-duzzaman was sued while Buet teacher Ha� zur Rahman Rana and Jahangirnagar University teacher Ruhul Amin Khon-doker jailed over the same charge. l

Milon, who was able to swim ashore with his daughter Fatema, could not save his wife Nidi Khatun when launch MV Mostafa capsized. He anxiously waits for her. The picture was taken yesterday at Paturia ferry terminal MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

CorrectionThe Dhaka Tribune on February 17 ran a report titled “Blogger Rajeeb murder tri-al still far away” which mentioned that one of the accused, Sadman Yasir Mah-mud, had been on the run since July last year after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail. However, verifying the matter with the police yesterday, it was found that Sadman surrendered before a lower court 10 days after the bail had been re-voked, and is now in Kashimpur jail.

The report also quoted Rajeeb’s fa-ther as saying Sadman had � ed to Pa-kistan and that his father was a senior army o� cial. Following a rejoinder sent by Sadman’s family, the Dhaka Tri-bune looked into the matter and found that Sadman’s parents were doctors.

We regret the mistakes.

Ershad says he graduated from DU in 1950 and was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1952

Ruling MPs demand Manna and Khoka’s arrestn Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Ruling party lawmakers demanded yesterday that the government arrest Mahmudur Rahman Manna and Sad-eque Hossain Khoka for planning to kill students at Dhaka University in the name of movement.

“The government should take mea-sure against those who are instigating killing‚” said Awami League Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim while discussing the president’s speech at par-liament, mentioning a telephone conver-sation between Manna and Khoka.

An audio clip of the conversation was leaked on Sunday. Manna is a for-mer leader of the Awami League, and

Khoka is a senior BNP leader who is currently residing in the US.

Selim said: “The military would not dare usurp state power.”

He claimed intelligence agencies re-ported that killers and militants have been staying at Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan o� ce.

“That is why Khaleda Zia did not go to Shaheed Minar. She cannot take a single step without consulting Ja-maat‚” he said.

Selim said: “Khaleda Zia has de-clared war against the country and its people.

“But militancy and democracy can-not coexist. The government should ban BNP-Jamaat after declaring them

as terrorist organisations, and punish those who issued the directives to kill people.”

Selim criticised civil society mem-bers who urged the government to hold talks with the BNP.

He questioned whether the civil so-ciety members fought for the country during the War of Independence.

“How many of them participated in the war? …many of them opposed in-dependence‚” he said.

Awami League lawmaker Fazilatun Nessa Bappi demanded that the gov-ernment arrest Manna and Khoka.

Jatiya Party (Manju) lawmaker Salma Islam said: “They have turned the whole country into a burn unit.

Who orders the killings?”

Diplomats’ activities questionedQuestioning the role of diplomats in the political context, Selim said: “For-eign intervention in Bangladesh is in no way acceptable. We do not fear the glare of foreigners.”

“Who is Khaleda Zia? What kind of conversation can take place with an un-elected politician? If you have anything to say‚ say it to the government and the opposition leader of parliament.

“This is an elected government of Sheikh Hasina. If you want to do any-thing by going around this‚ we will take steps for violating the diplomatic norms‚” he said. l

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Rizvi on 3-day remand for sixth timen Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday put BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on a fresh remand for three days in an ar-son attack case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Maruf Hossain passed the order after Kamal Krishna Saha, sub-inspector of Mo-hammadpur police station and the investigating o� cer of the case, pro-duced him before the court with a sev-en-day remand petition.

It was the sixth time Rizvi had been remanded since his arrest from a Baridhara house on January 31 on charges of perpetrating violence and carrying out subversion.

The case was lodged in connection with an arson attack in Mohammadpur

area on January 17.According to the case statement, a

bus was torched on the day in front of Ashulia embankment area in Moham-madpur during the blockade imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

Sub-Inspector of Mohammadpur police station Nurul Islam � led the lawsuit against Rizvi for his alleged in-volvement in the incident.

Rizvi yesterday was taken to the court after the end of his two-day re-mand in another case, which was also � led with Mohammadpur police sta-tion in connection with setting ablaze a bus in Mohammadpur area during the blockade.

Defence counsel Md Sanaullah Miah � led a petition seeking bail for his cli-ent but the court dismissed it. l

Dhaka Translation Centre to start ‘Library of Bangladesh’n Tribune Report

The Dhaka Translation Centre (DTC) at the University of Liberal Arts Ban-gladesh (ULAB) has announced plans to start a “Library of Bangladesh” to showcase translated works of Bangla-deshi writing.

It will hold a collection of high-qual-ity translations of works of leading Bangladeshi writers.

Dr K Anis Ahmed, founder of the Centre, said the Centre also plans to launch four books at the upcoming Hay Festival Dhaka 2015.

“DTC aims to assemble the best, most exciting, political, thought-pro-voking and argument-inspiring presen-tation for Hay Festival Dhaka,” he said during a press conference held at the National Press Club yesterday.

The works to be launched at the fes-tival are Ditiyo Diner Kahini by Syed

Shamsul Haque, Agunpakhi by Hasan Azizul Huq, Dinraatguli by Syed Man-zoorul Islam, and Bhangary by Salma Bani.

The translations will be commis-sioned by DTC and published by Ben-gal Lights Books in Bangladesh as well as partners abroad. Arunava Sinha, the award-winning Bengali translator from India, will be the series editor.

Dr Anis further said there will be focus on those who have been writing after 1971.

DTC Director and eminent poet Kai-ser Haq said: “We are already working on an antholology of Dhaka stories with Commonwealth Foundation and Comma Press in the UK, which will showcase ten writers in translation.”

Khaedmul Islam, editor of Bengal Lights Books, and poet Shamim Reza, editor of Kagoj Prokashon, were also present and spoke at the conference. l

Teenage girl commits suicide over watching TV serialn Our Correspondent, Natore

A female student of class seven com-mitted suicide for not being able to watch a popular TV serial at Agran vil-lage of Baraigram upazila in Natore on Sunday night.

The deceased was identi� ed as Swarna Khatun, 13, daughter of Ohid-ul Islam and a student of Agran High School.

Emran Hossein, OC (investigation) of Baraigram police station and Ohidul Islam said, Swarna was watching the TV serial Kironmala on Star Jalsa at around 8:30pm. Being outraged, Ohid-ul scolded her and ordered her to go study. Feeling insulted Swarna ran to her bedroom and hanged herself from the ceiling with her own scarf.

Hearing her grunts, the family mem-bers rushed to her room and took her to the upazila health complex where the attending doctor declared her dead.

An unnatural death case was lodged in this regard, police said. l

Dhaka, Delhi to work for Bay of Bengal’s securityn Tribune Report

Bangladesh and India will work togeth-er in achieving comprehensive mari-time security in the Bay of Bengal.

Indian Chief of Naval Sta� Admiral RK Dhowan, who arrived in Dhaka yes-terday on an o� cial four-day visit to Bangladesh, discussed the issue with Bangladesh Navy Chief M Farid Habib.

“The visit is intended to further con-solidate the defence relations between the two countries and also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation towards achieving comprehensive maritime se-curity in the Bay of Bengal,” said a press release issued by the Indian government.

The major issues that are likely to be discussed by the Indian naval chief with Bangladesh o� cials include ex-change of white shipping information towards development of comprehen-sive maritime domain awareness, co-

operation in maritime infrastructure development, training and exchange of subject matter experts.

In addition, Bangladesh Navy has been invited to attend the prestigious International Fleet Review being organ-ised by the Indian Navy at Visakhapat-nam in Feb 2016, the press release said.

Meanwhile, a press release from the Inter Services Public Relations Director-ate under the Ministry of Defence said Farid Habib and Dhowan had a meeting yesterday, where they hoped that both the countries would continue coopera-tion to strengthen regional security.

Bangladesh Air Force chief Moham-mad Enamul Bari had meeting with Dhowan as well, where they discussed matters of mutual interest.

Enamul Bari returned from India on Sunday where he attended 10th Inter-national Aerospace Exposition - Aero India 2015. l

UGC Chairman Professor Dr AK Azad Chowdhury, British High Commissioner Robert Gibson and DU Pro VC Dr Nasrin Ahmed, among others, attend the inauguration ceremony of a workshop titled “Governance and Management of Gender Relations: A Comparative Study of Law and Society” jointly organised by British Council and DU at Brac Centre Inn in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Kazi Anis Ahmed, president of Dhaka Translation Centre, an a� liated organisation of ULAB, addresses a press conference yesterday at the National Press Club to announce the establishment of ‘Library of Bangladesh’ MEHEDI HASAN

WEATHER

PRAYER TIMESFajr 5:09am

Sunrise 6:24amZohr 12:12am

Asr 4:21pmMagrib 5:58pm

Esha 7:14 pm

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:58PM SUN RISES 6:25AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW32.5ºC 15.0ºC

Rajshahi Srimangal

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 31 21Chittagong 31 19Rajshahi 31 18Rangpur 31 18Khulna 32 18Barisal 32 18Sylhet 30 17Cox’s Bazar 30 19

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

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visit our website @www.dhakatribune.com

British Council launches int'l researcher links workshopn Tribune Report

The British Council launched the second International Researchers Links Work-shop yesterday, titled “Governance and Management of Gender Relations: A Comparative Study of Law and Society.”

The inauguration ceremony took place at Brac Centre Inn in the capital, attended by University Grants Commis-sion Chairman Professor Dr AK Azad Chowdhury as chief guest and Dhaka University Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Nas-rin Ahmed as special guest, while Brit-ish High Commissioner Robert Gibson was present as the guest of honour in the programme.

The British council is funding the workshop under its Researcher Links programme where national and inter-national law scholars and young re-searchers will be presenting their pa-pers on various current issues relating to gender, law and society.

Many eminent researchers, aca-demics, policy makers, in� uencers, development partners, entrepreneurs and members of the donor community were present at the inauguration. l

JU decides not to provide grace marks under brood quotan JU Correspondent

The authorities of Jahangirnagar Uni-versity (JU) yesterday decided not to provide any grace marks to the ap-plicants who failed to pass in the ad-mission test under the brood quota in 2014-15 academic session. The brood quota is for the family members of of-� cers and employees of the university.

The decision was made in a meeting of university’s central admission test conduct committee yesterday morn-ing at the administrative o� ce with JU Vice Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam pre-siding over the programme.

JU Deputy Registrar (Education) Mohammad Ali yesterday told the Dha-ka Tribune: “The committee has de-cided not to provide any grace marks to those aspirants under brood quota, who failed in the admission test.”

The general teachers and students of the university including students and teachers’ di� erent socio-cultural and political organisations welcomed the decision. Yesterday in the morning, around 150 teachers and students under the banner of “Shikkhok-Shikkharthi Oikyomoncho” formed a human chain on university’s Shaheed Minar premis-

es around 10.30am protesting irregular-ities under brood quota.

In the admission test of 2014-15 ac-ademic session under the brood quota only 43 applicants of 139 passed secur-ing 35% marks. The o� cers and em-ployees of the university had launched

a movement to admit the remaining 96 aspirants by giving them minimum grace marks. Earlier, they had also called a general strike in the university to press home their demand.

However, the general teachers and students under the “Oikyomoncho” submitted a memorandum in this regard to JU VC and presented their three-point demand which stated: Stopping grace marking for any special community violating university’s rules, determining seats under all quotas and

bringing them under competition, and admitting authentic applicants under freedom � ghter quota by forming a committee.

Asked about the three-point de-mand of teachers and students regard-ing quota, JU Deputy Registrar and central admission test conduct com-mittee’s secretary member Moham-mad Ali told the Dhaka Tribune: “The committee decided not to give any grace marks and the seat numbers un-der di� erent quotas are already � xed. Applicants under the freedom � ghter quota get admitted according to their attained marks in admission test.”

Welcoming the decision of the au-thorities, the teachers and students of “Oikyomoncha” withdrew their movement in the afternoon yesterday. Philosophy department Associate Pro-fessor Raihan Rhyne said they appreci-ated the initiative from the authorities and also demanded to legislate an act for admitting applicants under quotas.

JU Workers’ Association President Aynal Haque told the journalists that they would discuss the matter in their next general meeting of the union to-day whereby further decisions would come after the meeting. l

Water supply in Khulna disrupted due to blockaden Our Correspondent, Khulna

Despite being almost completed, the much needed water supply project in Khulna city has been stalled for more than a month now due to the country-wide blockade and hartals enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

The project, once completed, will be supplying 55 lakh litre of water daily to almost 2.5 lakh residents of ward no 1 to 8 of Khulna City Corporation (KCC).

Water Supply & Sewerage Author-ity (WASA) of Khulna began the pro-ject costing about Tk13 crore 95 lakh in 2011. Under this project, water of Bhairav River is supposed to be sup-plied to the metropolitan dwellers after puri� cation.

With December 30, 2014 as the dead-line for completion, 98 percent work of the project has been done so far. Set-ting up a pipeline under the Fulbari gate rail line is the only task left now.

In last November, tender was � oat-

ed to construct the pipeline. Necessary goods were also brought in after plac-ing the work order. However, the work could not begin as the blockade was en-forced from January 6.

Deputy Managing Director of Khul-na WASA Kamal Uddin Ahmed said: “All the works under the project have been completed. Now only the connec-tion at Fulbari gate is pending.”

He further said as part of the pro-ject, an intake pump station had been set up in Shoshan ghat area beside the A� l Jute Mills. A water treatment plant with a capacity of 55 lakh litre of water, a reservoir and pipelines to supply the water are also ready.

Md Nazmul Islam, acting chief en-gineer of KCC, said the pipeline under Fulbari gate rail line could be set up within 10 days if the situation improves.

Managing Director of Khulna WASA Md Abdulla also opined the same and urged for a quick end to the political stalemate. l

Speakers: Stalking plays vital role in drop-outn Our Correspondent, Barisal

Speakers at a programme said eve teas-ing was a social menace and it played a vital role in increasing drop-out rate among female students across the country.

They came up with the observation while addressing a discussion organ-ised by the Bangladesh Women Law-yers’ Association (BNWLA).

The eve teasing prevention camp under legal literacy session held at Ox-ford Mission School with the � nancial assistance from Swedish International Development Agency.

The programme was addressed by Advocate Munira Begum, Kamrunna-har Tanu, Keka Ansari, Masuk Kamal of the BNWLA, Polonius Guda, head-master, Dipali Bain, Samir Kumar Roy, teachers of Oxford Mission School.

The speakers said despite a direc-tion from the Supreme Court to stop eve teasing, school and college going female students were still falling victim to brutality of eve teasing and sexual harassment.

One of the most adverse conse-quences of eve-teasing would be the

rise in drop-out rate of girls from school. Those who are the victims of eve teasing are sometimes forced to marriage, before they are mentally or physically matured, the speakers said.

They also said random access of inter-net and western medias were also play-ing a vital in increasing drop-out rate.

The speakers stressed on prevent-ing dowry, early marriage, domestic violence and spreading education and empowerment for the girls and females for ensuring their legal rights, safety, security.

An interactive teaching method is needed in the classroom alongside making the ways to school safe for fe-male students, stopping eve-teasing and child marriage and removal of students’ malnutrition to prevent the dropout of students from schools, they said.

All the legal actions will only be successful when we as a nation will change our attitudes. If we want to get rid of violence against women, we need to change the attitudes of men and engrave a self generated respect for women coming from their heart, they opined. l

In the admission test of 2014-15 academic session under the brood quota only 43 applicants of 139 passed securing 35% marks

Border Guard Bangladesh and executive magistrate of Rajshahi escort more than 200 trucks loaded with essential goods such as onion, garlic and ginger to Dhaka and other parts of the country from Sona Masjid port. The photo was taken near Belpukur Bridge at Rajshahi city’s Bypass area yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

DHAKA TRIBUNE Nation6

DoE o� cials allegedly grab Khas landn Our Correspondent, Savar

Some o� cials of the Department of Environment have allegedly grabbed 71 decimal government land in Genda area under Savar municipality.

According to land o� ce sources, the government took the lead of 71 decimal khasland 30 years ago in the area.

Habibul Islam Amin, 6 No Word councilor of the municipality, said some people including 18 government o� cials of the department set up the o� ce of ‘Sonali Housing Society Ltd’ near the land with the help some local in� uential people.

Kurshid Alam Bhuiyan, Tarikul Is-lam, Sawkat Ali, Nur Mohammad, Sa-nowar Hossain, Ali Akbar Khan, Abdul Wadud, Sharif Sahamim and Moham-mad Sawkat Ali members of the socie-ty, also the government o� cials of the department grabbed the land by mak-ing fake papers, said local businessmen Salauddin, Shiplu and Faruk.

The businessmen alleged that the children and youths could not play as there was no playground.

The children used the land as play-ground. But the grabbers erected a wall around the land and they could not play on it, they said.

Locals tried to protest the grabbers. But their hired goon tortured some pro-testers brutally, they added.

The society men also � led false cas-es against some youths in the area. Lat-er, none dared to protest them as they are linked up with highly in� uential persons.

When contacted, Ruhul Amin, presi-dent of the society denied the allegation.

He also asked to communicate with the secretary of the society about the matter.

Sawkat Ali, general secretary of the society said: “We have got registration of the society in 1979 and set up the of-� ce in the area. But we are not involved with land grabbing.”

“We have bought the land from its legal authority,” he said. When he was asked about the legal authority, he re-quested to communicate with the pres-ident of the society about.

Savar Upazila Co-operative O� cer Monira Akter said: “I have been in-formed that some o� cials have regis-tration to build up the housing society. But I have not been informed about the

land grabbing.” “After investigation, I will take proper steps,” the o� cer said.

Land o� cer Taslima Khatun said: “The land is government property. If anyone tries to grab it, proper steps will be taken against him.”

When contacted, Assistant Land Commissioner Taslima Khatun said: “Legal steps will be taken after investi-gation the incident.” l

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

10 students injured in Gopalganj clash At least 10 students were injured in a clash between the students of two schools in Mohammadpara area, Gopalganj yesterday. Of the injured, Yasin Sheikh, 14, Amir Hossain,15 Tarique, 14, Rajib, 14, and Mithun Sheikh, 15, were admitted to Gopalganj General Hospital in critical conditions. O� cer-in-Charge of Gopalganj Sadar police station told the Dhaka Tribune that a group of school students who were residents of Gosherchar area harassed a schoolgirl and her school friends raised voice against it ensuing a clash between them.– Our Correspondent, Gopalganj

Man stabbed dead over extramarital a� airsA man was stabbed to death by his friend allegedly over extramar-ital a� airs with the friend’s wife at Ghatmagura village in Dupchan-

chia upazila early yesterday. The deceased was identi� ed as Abdur Rahim, 35, son of Fajer Ali Pramanik, a resident of the same village. Dupchanchia Police Station o� cer-in-charge Gopal Chandra said Rahim had an extramarital a� air with the wife of his friend Filips recently. When Filips came to know about the incident, he stabbed Rahim indiscriminately in front of a tea stall at the village around 8pm, leaving him critically injured. – UNB

Huge quantity of illegal drugs destroyed Members of Border Guard Bangladesh yesterday detroyed a huge quantity of illegal drugs which were seized during separate drives on Kurigram frontiers. The drugs, including liquor, phensidyle and cannabis, were destroyed on the compound of BGB headquarters. – Our Correspondent, Kurigram

NEWS IN BRIEF

Illegal Pagla River dam submerges crops on vast tracts of landin Shibganjn Our Correspondent,

Chapainawabganj

Hundreds of hectares of Boro cultiva-tion is under threat due to water log-ging caused by illegal dam construction in four points of Pagla River in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj.

Farmers, who are largely dependent on Boro cultivation, fear to face a huge loss if the water does not recede soon. The stagnant water has also given rise to environmental pollution and health risks for the local people.

A recent visit to the four spots – Bahlabari, Fakirpara, Mahdipur and Tartipur – found concrete dams built across the river by � lling it up with earth, bricks and trees.

The contractor of the dams built those without any permission of the upazila parishad.

Locals said owners of the sand mounds and brick � elds on two sides of the river built the dams to transport their goods with complete disregard to the laws and consequences. Each transport is said to pay around Tk50 each way to cross over the river.

The Pagla River, coming from India through Shahbajpur union of Shibganj, � ows through the Sadar upazila for 25 kilometres till Kalinagar. Due to the dams with narrow passage, water is not being able to travel causing the nearby areas to be � ooded.

Mosharraf Hossain, an a� ected farmer from Gangarampur, said though he got a good yield last year, he could not cultivate Boro this year due to the � ooding.

Monirul Islam of the same village said his two bigha land was underwater due to the illegal dam.

Meanwhile, Nazrul Islam of Dur-lavpur said he and his brothers could not cultivate Boro in their � ve bigha land. He further added that about 650 hectares of land – either with crops or

ready for cultivation – may not be able to produce this year due to the water logging.

The stagnant water is also blamed for environmental pollution and health hazard for the residents of Gangara-mpur, Kalupur, Parkalpur, Mahdipur, Farikarpara and Tartipara.

Saidur Rahman, lecturer of Shibganj Degree College said local people were su� ering from various skin diseases and diarrhoea after using the still water in-fested with germs. He further said that the Gangarampur � sh sanctuary was also under threat because of � ooding.

The contractor of Tartipur dam Sadiqul Islam said the dam was built for the convenience of local people. But he also admitted that the dam had no ap-proval of the due authorities.

Though some locals said it was easy for them to cross the river over the dam, most of them said they could not protest the construction as the contrac-tors were powerful people.

When contacted, Upazila Nirbahi Of-� cer Syed Irtiza Hasan said the district agriculture o� cer had been asked to investigate the matter following com-plaints from several farmers. “We will take necessary measures if the investi-gation � nds that the dams are causing any hindrance to Boro cultivation,” he added. l

Four workers killed in landslide in Sylhet n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Four workers were killed in a landslide while extracting stones at Bholaganj stone quarry in Companyganj upazila, Sylhet on Sunday night.

The labourers were identi� es as Moin, 40, son of Atim Hossain, Dana Mia, 42, son of Anwar Hossain, Del-war, 24, son of Shahjahan and Emdadul Haque Selim, son of Siddik Ali. All of the deceased were inhabitants of Kath-albari village under Islampur village in the district.

Quoting witnesses, police said when the workers were extracting stones from the quarry, suddenly a big chunk

of earth fell on them in which the four died on the spot. Quarry sources said the incident took place in between 8:30pm and 9pm when a very few peo-ple were present at the quarry.

On receiving information, a team of police led by Sub-Inspector of Com-panyganj police station rushed to the spot. The rescue operation was began around 1pm. The bodies of the four vic-tims were retrieved around 2pm.

On March 13, 2013, a landslide in Jaf-long killed three workers dead and two others injured.

The accident took place when the workers were excavating land to dig up stones in the Ballaghat area. l

Man, woman commit suiciden Our Correspondent, Sylhet

A young couple reportedly committed suicide yesterday by hanging them-selves with a rope at Gowainghat upazila in the district after parents re-fused permission for marriage.

Goainghat police station O� cer-in-Charge Abdul High said Sagor Bhow-mik, 18, son of Sunil Bhowmik and Su-roti Munda, daughter of Montu Munda, resident of Section area in the upazila loved each other.

They committed suicide hanging from a jackfruit tree around 6am near-by home as Suroti’s family decided to marry o� Suroti to another man, he said. On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to hospital. l

Narsingdi rivers losing navigabilityn Tribune Desk

The rivers � owing through Narsingdi district are facing the threat of exist-ence as most of the rivers have lost their navigability.

There was a time when boats, launches and steamers were seen in the rivers carrying goods and passengers from one district to another district. Now it has become a dream.

Continuous dumping of garbage, wastes of local industries and lack of

dredging operation led to siltation on the rivers’ beds.

Besides, some land grabbers occu-pied the wet beds of the rivers and built unauthorized structures on the rivers, reports BSS.

During the winter season the water level of the rivers fall as some points of the rivers simply turn into dried canals.

Once the river Kalagasia under Shib-pur upazila, the old Brahamaputra in Madobdi area of Narsingdi Sadar upazi-la, Haridoa river in Shibpur and Belabo

upazilas and Arial Kha river in Raipura upazila were full of life.

Now the movement of boats and launches are totally stopped in these rivers. The dearth of � shing resources due to loss of water � ow is evident in the rivers. Markets, schools and madrashas were built on the shores of the rivers.

Local people urged the government to save the rivers by recovering the oc-cupied lands of the rivers from the land grabbers and carrying out dredging op-eration to revive their navigability. l

Four killed in road accidentsn Tribune Report

Magura correspondent reports: A po-lice o� cer was killed in a road accident in Echhakhada area on the Magura- Jhenaidah Road under Sadar upazila.

The deceased was SI Mosiur Rah-man, 48, of Hajipur police camp and son of Golam Mustafa of Sailkupa upazila in Jhenaidah district.

The accident occurred when a brick-laden truck hit a motorcycle from opposite direction in the area at about 11am, leaving motorcycle rider Mosiur critically injured, said Magura Superinten-dent of Police Sudarsan Kumar Roy. Mosi-ur died on the way to Magura Sadar Hos-pital. A case was � led in this connection.

Kishoreganj correspondent said a vegetable trader was killed in a road ac-cident in Pakundia upazila.

The deceased was identi� ed as Bad-al Khan, 40, son of late Abdur Rasid of Charpolash village.

According to police and local sourc-es, the accident took place on the Kisoreganj- Pakundia Highway in Chi-lakara area around 7:30am as a speedy pick up hit Badal while he was going to Kishoreganj with vegetable sack by bicycle, leaving dead on the spot.

Zakir Rabbani, O� cer-in- Charge of Pakundia police station con� rmed the incident. Gopalganj correspondent said two people were killed in an acci-dent on the Gopalganj-Kotalipara Road in the district. l

Border Guard Bangladesh yesterday destroyed a huge quantity of illegal drugs on the compound of BGB headquarters in Kurigram. The illegal drugs were seized during separate drives in the district DHAKA TRIBUNE

Department of Environment o� cials have illegally grabbed 71 decimal government land in Genda area under Savar municipality. The picture shows the DoE o� cials have built a brick wall around the land recently DHAKA TRIBUNE The Pagla River, coming

from India through Shahbajpur union of Shibganj, � ows through the Sadar upazila for 25 kilometres till Kalinagar

7Long Form Tuesday, February 24, 2015DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Arild Engelsen Ruud

It is di� cult to predict the future. Or so it is said. But as a thought experiment, looking into the future may still be valuable, as it could give us an opportunity to

understand where we are heading.Four years down the line there will

be another parliamentary election according to the constitution. Given the situation today, with its ongoing con� ict and no solution in sight, what is the situation going to look like at that point?

The Islamist scenario

One scenario is that the Islamists have been provoked out of their current stu-por and thrown themselves with full force and rhetoric into a battle against the secular and progressive forces of the country.

There are two possible ways in which this may happen. One is that the government pursues its policy of crushing the BNP to the extent that the Islamists come to see themselves as the next target. If the Islamists feel threat-ened, as a party, they have vast resourc-es and dedicated cadres that they may choose to exploit in order to create a diversion, to weaken the government. Bombs, protests, hartals. A situation of perpetual unrest may follow, and the country may see increased terrorism inspired and funded by fundamentalist movements in the Middle East.

Another route to the same situation

is that the government is unable to crush the BNP or to stop the unrest. Such continued unrest will constitute a blow to the government’s image and to the economy. And when your populari-ty is � oundering or you face a revolt of increased dissatisfaction within your own circles, what better than to raise a common enemy, one that can rally friends and allies to your colours?

The Islamists will provide the ogre because their particular interpretation of Islam is anathema to most Bangla-deshi Muslims. The government can easily provoke the Islamists in so many ways. If their assets are frozen, their businesses closed, or more war crimi-nals hanged, Islamists could easily be provoked into actions that will help the government rally support.

The Jatiya Party scenario

The Jatiya Party is easily dismissed by many, but this is often done a little hastily. The Jatiya Party has many intelligent second-layer leaders who are poised to take over when nature takes its toll on the upper rung of the party leadership. Besides, JaPa has that unique quality of both intelligent (second rung) leaders and a reasonably solid understanding of how grassroots politics works.

The Awami League and the BNP also have this combination; otherwise they would not survive in the highly competitive Bangladeshi political envi-ronment. The parties that do not have this blend of qualities are the other small members of the country’s party � ora – Gono Forum or Bikalpa Dhara, for instance. Their lack of grassroots organisation make them irrelevant.

The Jatiya Party is poised to reap a great advantage if the situation develops in the following manner: The BNP continues its policy of oborodh and hartals, with less and less e� ect, and rapidly loses support and activists. Many will end up in jail or go into hiding, others will jump ship – to the Awami League or to the JaPa. This is not an unlikely scenario.

The situation right now is that the government has many tools at its disposal and few reasons to compromise. There is a good chance that the government will organise an election in 2019 and that there will be no caretaker government. The BNP will oppose the election – how can they do otherwise? – and the Awami League will win again. Another � ve years in the valley of shadows is not a prospect that will go down well with BNP workers, leaders, or activists. Many of them have seen that for a long time.

The problem is that the Awami League is not welcoming for them. The open arms of an opposition party, that can lay its hands on at least some government powers, will look very tempting. The JaPa may be that party, and provided that the leadership of JaPa knows how to play the situation, it may well be ready to harvest a great many dissatis� ed BNP voters and activists.

With a withered BNP, the Jatiya Par-ty can take over whole sections with leaders and supporters and emerge as the real opposition party.

The army scenario

If the BNP with its hartals and obo-rodhs proves to be less easily stopped than the government hopes, the situation may deteriorate quite con-siderably. In particular, if the Islamists at some point decide to throw their fat into the pan. If a civil war-like sit-uation arises and the economy su� ers horribly, the army may decide to take over.

However, the situation was much worse in the winter of 2006/2007, when the army last took over, than it is now. And that was not a happy experiment. The army will surely re-member that even if the take-over was initially quite popular, that popularity vanished rapidly.

The experience proved that ruling a country is di� cult. So the decision to push the government over and take power again will not be taken lightly. It will only be accepted if the violence and boycotts have a signi� cantly negative long-term impact on the economy. Or in the case of an Islamist threat.

Also, there is the question of what to do with power once it is taken. The minus-two formula will have to be re-suscitated – otherwise, why take pow-er? – but any serious plan to reshape the political landscape of Bangladesh involves holding on to power for years.

The BNP may welcome such a move by the army, but only for a while, and the Awami League would certainly not appreciate it. Chances are that the coup will set o� violent reactions, and foreign displeasure will make it di� -cult to keep the economy going. After a short while, public dissatisfaction may also become unmanageable.

If it takes power to prevent this situation from happening, once the army has seized power, they might opt for very severe and suppressive meas-ures in order to prevent any display of opposition.

The autocrat scenario

In this scenario, the BNP exhausts its resources in an unequal battle with the government-controlling Awami League, and the Awami League is left victorious on the � eld. Now, the Awami League is wedded to democracy. Its whole heritage and history is about de-mocracy and the people’s right to rule.

However, the AL also has strong autocratic tendencies in the sense that it will tend to interpret democracy as the right to vote and not in terms of respect for the opposition or the rule of law. Many (not all) in the Awami League do not quite understand how anyone but Awami League can rule their beloved Bangladesh.

The Awami League will want the BNP to survive as an organisation, be-cause it is a useful proof of democracy. So Khaleda Zia is safe.

But the BNP will not be allowed to go back into power. In order to make sure that the BNP does not gain power, the Awami League will continue its encroachment on the government machinery and the politicisation of the state. The judiciary is already highly politicised, and so is the bureaucracy, including the local levels, and the army.

Increasingly, the Awami League will have a � nger in the pie in the media world – withholding licenses, warning editors, asking them to appear in court. And in civil society organisations, in par-ticular those that refuse to tow the line.

Again, licenses are useful, po-lice investigations, court cases, and many other kinds of pressure. Other would-be independent institutions such as the Election Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission are clearly under the government’s rule as it is. Laws forbidding locals in the Hill Tracts from talking to foreigners without a government representative present are also indicative of autocrat-ic tendencies.

By the time the next election will be held, the BNP will be too weak to represent a credible alternative and years of rhetoric will prevent it from taking part in an election under Sheikh Hasina. The government’s grip on civil society will prevent any third voice from being heard, except perhaps in polite English-language newspapers read in the embassies.

The trigger scenario

The situation today is stuck on “No Solution Visible. “However, a trigger situation may force both parties to the negotiation table, or will convince them that to do so will not constitute a

climb-down.Such triggers may come in any

shape or form – from national disasters (� oods, acts of terrorism, a foreign threat) to attractive new opportunities.

There are small triggers and big triggers. The death of Koko could have been such a small trigger – a new opportunity. Though, it was not to be. Another possible small trigger is the upcoming city corporation election in Dhaka. The election may constitute an opportunity that may end the stand-o� .

The BNP has previously taken part in city corporation elections, under an Awami League government, in the spring of 2013. If it chooses to do so, it may consider calling o� the oborodhs and hartals for the sake of the elec-tion. There are many in the BNP who are thirsty for in� uence over public budgets, and the DCCs will certainly provide opportunities.

The Awami League may have to relinquish the DCCs to the BNP just in order to show how democratic it is. However, the BNP may choose otherwise. It may choose to point out that the moment when it could still trust the government to conduct a fair election is long gone.

Even if a small trigger helps the BNP to call o� the oborodhs and hartals, the situation will only return to what it was after the January 2014 election. There will still be the unresolved issue of the how and when of the next par-liamentary election.

A big trigger could force the two parties to the negotiation table to solve the issue, much in the vein of the 1996 situation. But such a big trigger would have to be massive to be e� ective – an economic meltdown, nearby inter-national unrest, or a natural disaster. These are triggers of a magnitude one would not hope for.

So then?

What is likely to happen? The dif-ferent scenarios are not exclusive. An autocratic government may exist alongside a � ourishing Jatiya Party, and both may well happen even if a trigger situation arises and convinces the BNP to take part in the DCC election. What is unlikely to happen and not considered here as a scenario, is that the BNP is successful in its current strategy – using oborodh and hartal as the sole weapon to force the government to change the constitution and call a fresh election. l

Arild Engelsen Ruud is Professor of South Asia Studies, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental languages, University of Oslo, Norway.

Five scenarios for BangladeshWe don’t know what will happen, but we can imagine some possibilities

Ruling a country is di� cult. So the decision to push the government over and take power again will not be taken lightly

The Awami League will want the BNP to survive as an organisation, because it is a useful proof of democracy. So Khaleda Zia is safe

Is there a solution in sight? DHAKA TRIBUNE

Will fundamentalism rise up? SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Tuesday, February 24, 2015DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

40 French banned from travel over jihad plansn AFP, Paris

Six French citizens have had their passports con� scated and 40 more will be banned from leaving the country af-ter allegedly planning to travel to Syria and Iraq, Interior Minister Bernard Ca-zeneuve said yesterday.

It is the � rst time the measure has been used in France following its intro-duction as part of a raft of new count-er-terrorism laws in November.

“If French people go commit attacks in Iraq or in Syria, on their return they will present an even greater danger of carrying out large-scale terrorist attacks on the national territory,” Ca-zeneuve told reporters.

“There are currently six administra-tive bans on leaving the country that have already been signed, and around 40 that are being prepared,” he added.

A security source earlier said the six French were “imminently” about to travel to Syria.

Their passports and identi-ty cards have been con� scated for six months, after which the order can be renewed.

Cazeneuve highlighted his minis-try’s e� orts to set up a warning system through which friends and family can alert authorities about potential jihad-ist cases.

He said the ministry had been alert-ed to over 1,000 cases and that “several dozen” planned trips to Syria and Iraq had been prevented as a result.

Cazeneuve has also been in Califor-nia in recent days, meeting with ma-jor internet � rms in a bid to improve information-sharing about online jihadist networks.

They are due to meet again in Paris in early April, he said.

Some 1,400 people living in France have either joined the jihadist cause in Syria and Iraq or are planning to do so, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said last month. l

France deploys aircraft carrier in Gulf for IS � ghtn AFP

A French aircraft carrier launched op-erations in the Gulf yesterday as Paris stepped up its participation in the US-led military campaign against the Is-lamic State group.

Seven weeks after extremist attacks killed 17 people in Paris, Defence Min-ister Jean-Yves Le Drian vowed France would face the jihadist threat head-on.

“This threat, jihadist terrorism, wants to reach our citizens, our in-terests, our values. France’s re-sponse will be total � rmness,” Le Drian said as he launched opera-tions aboard the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

Four Rafale � ghter jets took o� in the morning from the carrier as it sailed about 200 kilometres (120 miles) o� the coast north of Bahrain in the direction of Iraq.

France launched Operation Cham-mal in support of the US-led coalition against IS in September.

The Charles de Gaulle left its base in Toulon on January 13 for a � ve-month mission that will include eight weeks in the Gulf working alongside the USS Carl Vinson as part of the coalition launched after IS seized swathes of Syria and Iraq last year.

The French carrier is then to travel to India, where it is due to take part in exercises in mid-April.

Carrying 12 Rafale and nine Super Etendard � ghters, the carrier will sig-ni� cantly increase French air capabili-ties in the region.

France has nine Rafales in the Unit-ed Arab Emirates and six Mirage � ght-ers in Jordan operating in Iraq, along with a maritime patrol and a refuelling aircraft.

The warship’s deployment will cut in half the time it takes for planes to reach Iraq for strikes against IS from the base in the UAE. l

Hong Kong ‘radicals’ up ante in democracy push against China n Reuters, Hong Kong

Nearly three months after police cleared away the last of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy street protests, linger-ing anger is stoking a new front of rad-ical activism that has turned shopping malls and university campuses into a fresh battleground.

While still relatively few in number, a cluster of outspoken groups have staged small but disruptive protests in recent weeks targeting mainland Chi-nese visitors - tapping a seam of grass-roots resentment to call for greater Hong Kong nationalism and even inde-pendence from China.

More than 100 such activists descend-ed on the New Town Plaza, a mega-mall a short train ride from the border, on a recent Sunday to harass the day-trippers who stream across daily to shop, eat and sight-see. The mainlanders - 40.7 million of which visited the city of 7 million last year - spur the local economy, but also exasperate locals by clogging streets and emptying store shelves of cosmetics, baby formula and other essentials. l

Rahul Gandhi takes leave of absence, fuels speculation about his future plan n Agencies

Congress vice-president Rahul Gand-hi has gone on a sabbatical “for a few weeks” following a string of electoral losses, fuelling speculation about his future plan as well of a long-await-ed change in the party to revive its fortunes.

Rahul has led Congress to a series of electoral defeats since it was hand-ed its worst drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections last year at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A member of Lok Sabha from Am-ethi, Rahul gave a miss to Parliament which commenced its budget ses-sion yesterday with President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to a joint sitting of both the Houses.

Party sources said he has “request-ed Congress president Sonia Gand-hi for some time to re� ect on recent events and future course of the party.”

He has been “granted leave of ab-sence for a few weeks after which he will return and resume his active par-ticipation in the a� airs of the Congress party,” they said.

He believes that the direction that the party adopts at the upcoming AICC session will be of crucial importance for its future and he wishes to prepare for it, the sources added.

“Rahul Gandhi has been granted leave of absence for ‘aap chintan, aap manthan’ (introspection),” a party leader said.

“He will not be in Delhi until the end of this week to attend the presen-tation of the budget,” he said.

However, the entire duration of absence is not known, another source added.

Asked about the sabbatical given to Rahul, Congress president Sonia Gand-hi said he has been “given a few weeks. He needs some time.”

“Well, the reason is what you have been told,” she said in reply to a ques-tion whether he has been given time to re� ect on recent events and future

course of the party as has been told to the media.

As there was no o� cial word on what Rahul plans to do or where he was at the moment as speculation raged whether it could be a precursor to his keeping away from politics.

Congress leaders expressed hope that a break would do him good and that they would continue to look for guidance from Sonia and Rahul.

Party sources said Rahul believes that the direction that the party adopts at the upcoming AICC session will be of crucial importance for its future and he wishes to prepare for it.

Congress had had a disastrous year

starting with the rout in the Lok Sabha elections last May which continued in the assembly elections in various states including Delhi recently.

The debacle in Delhi, where Con-gress failed to get even one seat in the 70-member House, was all the more humiliating as the party had ruled the state for 15 years till December 2013.

The AICC session is expected in ear-ly April and media reports have sug-gested that Rahul could be made the party chief on that occasion.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said he did not think Rahul going on leave is related to Delhi elections.

“I suppose it’s a time to re� ect and

think. I think Mr Gandhi must be want-ing time for that. I feel glad he has ap-plied and o� cially told people that he would not be available for a while.”

Dikshit said Rahul must be given that space as he genuinely wants to think and re� ect on issues.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and another lead-er Veerappa Moily said party would continue to function as an e� ective and constructive opposition under the guidance of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

Another party MP Ashwini Kumar said whatever the BJP’s interpretation, it’s a plain and simple case of a mem-ber seeking leave as per procedures of

the House to be absent for a while.The ruling Bharatiya Janata Par-

ty (BJP) and its ally Shiv Sena did not miss the chance to take jibes at Rahul and Congress revelling in the party’s discom� ture.

Reacting to the development, Union minister and BJP leader Prakash Ja-vadekar said, “If somebody wants to go on leave, he can go. But the people of the country have sent Congress on a long leave. This is de� nite.”

Minister of state for parliamentary a� airs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said it shows his seriousness at a time the Budget session of Parliament was beginning and raises questions over his political inclination.

Without taking Gandhi’s name, BJP’s youth wing chief and MP Anu-rag Thakur said Congress has been re-duced to 44 seats in Lok Sabha due to the absence of its leaders in Parliament in the last one decade.

“They were missing in the last two Lok Sabhas as well. And this is why the Congress has come to 44 seats in Lok Sabha,” he told reporters when asked about Rahul’s absence.

Thakur said that though it is for the Congress to decide on what it wants to do, he feels that it would have been bet-ter if all participated in the discussions in the two Houses of the Parliament.

Union Minister Kalraj Mishra also said that leaders from all parties should be present at the start of Bud-get session.

He, however, added that there could have been some compulsion because of which Gandhi could not come.

Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut took a dig at Rahul, saying just when the issue of land acquisition has come to the fore in Parliament, he has gone to retrieve the “lost land” of the Congress party.

Congress ally Nationalist Congress Party also took a jibe with its leader Praful Patel and said that all, espe-cially leaders, should take Parliament very seriously to voice the needs of the people. l

Kiev to not withdraw heavy weaponsn Reuters, Kiev/Donetsk

Ukraine’s military said yesterday it could not start withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line in the east as required under a tenuous cease� re because pro-Russian separatists who advanced last week were still attacking its positions.

A truce to end � ghting that has killed more than 5,600 people appeared still-born last week after rebels ignored it to capture the strategic town of Debalt-seve in a punishing defeat for Kiev.

Nevertheless, the peace deal’s Eu-ropean sponsors still hold out hope it can be salvaged, now that the Mos-cow-backed separatists have achieved that objective.

Kiev says it fears the rebels, backed by reinforcements of Russian troops, are planning to advance deeper into territory the Kremlin calls “New Rus-sia.” Moscow denies aiding the rebels.

Fighting has diminished since Kiev’s forces abandoned Debaltseve in defeat last Wednesday, and there were hope-ful signs for the truce over the week-end, with an overnight exchange of

around 200 prisoners late on Saturday and an agreement on Sunday to begin pulling back artillery from the front.

But Kiev said yesterday that it still could not start the artillery withdrawal.

“Given that the positions of Ukrainian servicemen continue to be shelled, there can not yet be any talk of pulling back weapons,” spokes-man Vladislav Seleznyov said in a televised brie� ng.

Anatoly Stelmakh, another military spokesman, said rebel forces had at-tacked the village of Shyrokyne over-night, along the coast on the road to Mar-iupol, a port of half a million that Kiev fears could be the next big rebel target.

“The � ghters have not stopped their attempts to storm our positions in Shyrokyne, in the direction of Mar-iupol. At midnight the armed groups again attempted unsuccessfully to attack our soldiers. The battle lasted half an hour.”

Rebel commander Eduard Basurin denied the � ghters had launched any such attack, and said the situation was calm. “At the moment all is quiet, there is no shelling,” he told Reuters. l

N Korea leader urges ‘combat readiness’n AFP, Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has urged the army to ensure its combat readiness ahead of US-South Korea mil-itary exercises that see an annual spike in tensions on the divided peninsula.

In a “historic” speech to the ruling party’s Central Military Commission (CMC), Kim said the army had to be “fully ready to react to any form of war to be ignited by the enemy,” state me-dia said yesterday.

The CMC meeting followed on the heels of a North Korean military drill – personally overseen by Kim – that sim-ulated an attack on a frontline South Korean island. Participating in the drill were artillery units that shelled the South’s Yeonpyeong island in 2010, killing four people and brie� y trigger-ing concerns of a full-scale con� ict.

Stressing the need for the Korean People’s Army (KPA) to “focus all its e� orts on rounding o� combat readi-ness,” Kim spoke of the need to simpli-fy and reorganise the KPA “machinery,” the o� cial KCNA news agency said without elaborating. l

Turkey: Syria mission meant to counter possible attack n Reuters, Ankara

A Turkish military operation to rescue 38 soldiers guarding a tomb in Syria surrounded by Islamic State militants was launched to counter a possible at-tack on them, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said yesterday.

The action, which involved tanks, drones and reconnaissance planes as well as several hundred ground troops, was the � rst of its kind by Turkish troops into Syria since the start of the civil war there nearly four years ago.

“With this operation, our govern-ment has removed the risk of a possi-ble attack on the tomb and the military post, and of endangering the lives of our soldiers,” Kalin told a news confer-ence in Ankara.

The Syrian government described the operation as an act of “� agrant ag-gression,” a response dismissed by Ka-lin, who said the Syrian authorities had lost all legitimacy.

He also said Turkey was working intensively with the British authori-ties to trace three London schoolgirls who travelled to Turkey last week and are believed to be making their way to Syria. l

Nigeria o� ensive against Islamists progressesn AFP, Abuja

Nigeria’s military said Sunday that the o� ensive against Boko Haram was progressing, claiming soldiers had recovered stocks of arms abandoned by insurgents � eeing the recaptured town of Baga.

“The cordon and search as well as patrol of the localities continue while the o� ensive on terrorists is progress-ing in other areas of the theatre of the counter terrorist campaign,” military spokesman General Chris Olukolade said in a statement.

Troops engaged in cordon and search operations in Baga have con-tinued to discover arms of various types and provenance that were dumped by � eeing insurgents in houses and surrounding areas, the statement said.

Many abandoned or destroyed mo-torcycles have also been found, it said.

The town, a � shing hub on the shore of Lake Chad in the far north of Borno state in northeast Nigeria, was retaken on Saturday morning.

A soldier was stabbed and an-other was shot during a close quar-

ter battle which ensued as troops caught up with � eeing terrorists, it added.

Nigerian military claims to have re-captured the town of Baga from Boko Haram came more than a month after it was overrun in what is feared to be the worst massacre in the six-year in-surgency that has claimed more than 13,000 lives.

There was no independent cor-roboration of Baga returning to army control, as thousands of the town’s residents � ed after Boko Haram at-tacked on January 3. Hundreds of people, if not more, were killed in the following days.

In an interview published in a national newspaper on Sun-day, President Goodluck Jonathan said he had underestimated Boko Haram Islamists.

Over one million people have been left homeless since 2009 as the rebels have sought to carve out an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria.

The extremists have recently ex-tended their violent campaign into na-tions neighbouring Nigeria’s northeast as regional forces pursue them. l

Reuters’ Pak-Afghan bureau chief found dead in Islamabad n Agencies

Maria Go lovnina, the Pakistan and Af-ghanistan bureau chief of Reuters who was based in Islamabad, was found dead at her o� ce in the capital’s F-8 sector, sources in the police told Dawn.

Golovnina had reportedly gone to the toilet, and had not stepped out for a long time when people who were pres-ent barged in.

She was reportedly lying on the � oor covered in vomit.

The bureau chief was rushed to Pakistan Institute of Medi-cal Sciences (Pims) where she was pronounced dead.

Doctors at Pims told Dawn Maria had passed away before she could be brought to the hospital.

The hospital will carry out a post-mortem before handing over the body to Russian authorities.

The cause of Golovnina’s death could not be determined immediate-ly and authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain the facts of the case.

Golovnina had been working with as the Reuters bureau chief for Paki-stan and Afghanistan for the past year and a half. l

Foreign secretary: IS a serious threat to Pakistan n Agencies

The Pakistan foreign o� ce broke its silence yesterday regarding the Islam-ic State’s (IS) activities inside Pakistan, admitting that the radical Islamist group posed a “serious threat” to the country.

Speaking to the Senate Foreign Af-fairs Committee at Parliament House today, Foreign Secretary Azaz Ahmed Chaudhry acknowledged IS was in-deed a real concern, while simultane-ously assuring those present that the government would talk all steps neces-sary to counter the threat.

“Under UN resolutions, Pakistan is � rmly against extremist organisations like ISIL [IS] and is taking all actions to counter them,” Chaudhry told the Sen-ate Foreign A� airs Committee.

Chaudhry disclosed that after Op-eration Zarb-e-Azb was launched in North Waziristan, some extrem-ist elements tried to emerge to-gether on the IS platform, but

their e� orts were countered.“There is concern in the Gulf and

other Muslim countries about ISIL,” the foreign secretary noted.

Lea� ets calling for support for IS were seen in parts of Northwest Pa-kistan, while Pro-IS slogans have ap-peared on walls in several cities.

In January this year, security forc-es had arrested a man they believed was the commander of IS in the country as well as two accomplices involved in recruiting and sending � ghters to Syria.

Intelligence sources, who had spoken to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the man, Yousaf al-Sala� , was arrested in Lahore and confessed during interrogation that he represented IS.

Rifts among the Taliban and dis-putes about the future of the insurgen-cy have contributed to the rise of IS’s popularity but security sources believe there are no operational links yet be-tween IS and South Asia. l

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi who has gone on a few weeks leave to re� ect upon recent events and future course of the party AP

Tuesday, February 24, 2015DHAKA TRIBUNE Preview 9

River safety requires wholesale reforms

It is not enough to open an inquiry into the capsize of the launch MV Mostafa on the Padma River which killed over 69 people on Sunday.

The Paturia-Daulatdia bound vessel was carrying far more than the regulation 140 passengers permitted, when it collided with a cargo vessel.

For the BIWTA to o� er Tk1.05 lakh to the families of each victim o� ers scant apology and paltry condolence to the bereaved.

We have no con� dence in the shipping minster who has presided over numerous disasters in his tenure to take meaningful action to improve safety. The public needs more assurance from the prime minister that callous acceptance of the endemic � outing of safety rules will no longer be tolerated.

In the last 30 years, over 3,500 people have been killed in river ferry accidents. Barely a handful out of some 500 probe reports � led have been disclosed or led to even the semblance of punitive action against parties and individuals responsible.

Poor sta� training and collusion among corrupt o� cials and irresponsible transport operators is allowed to carry on with impunity.

For the litany of avoidable accidents and deaths to end, the government has to not only ensure proper punishment when negligence and recklessness occur, but to make the BIWTA tackle the root causes.

It must be made compulsory for launch operators to hold proper insurance policies and � tness certi� cates for passengers. This would incentivise both insurers and vessel owners to improve maintenance and pressure authorities to root out rogue o� cials and operators.

Business as usual will not be acceptable.

Skill centres should be about more than manpower export

We welcome the EU’s o� er of � nancial support to help the government build more training centres to enhance workplace skills.

It is important to keep in mind however that improving skills training is also necessary to maxmise employment and income opportunities at home.

For Bangladesh to make proper use of its demographic dividend, we need policies that can help improve our human capital so entrepreneurs can create and sustain more valuable jobs at home. The government’s Tk15,000cr plan to build at least one technical training centre in each upazila, is important not just to help train people for manpower export, but to help locally based industries as well.

It is appreciable why attention is focused on providing training to improve the skills of people going abroad. The economy receives nearly $14bn worth of o� cial remittances from the country’s 8 million expatriates.

Remittances have grown steadily during both economic crises and upturns and remain the country’s most valuable net in� ow of foreign currency. Improving the skills and knowledge of people going abroad can certainly help Bangladeshi workers overseas secure and advance in better paid jobs, which in turn can � nance more remittances.

It is still vital then for the government to cultivate new agreements with countries seeking labour. However, this is not enough to meet the challenge of providing su� cient jobs for the growing numbers of young people entering the workforce each year.

The government and businesses need to encourage more projects such as this to build skills development and improve workplace training.

Why can’t you or I be PM?February 7

roseYes indeed, why can’t someone else be the prime minister and serve the people of this country in the most appropriate manner?

Day labourers worst su� erers of blockade, shutdownFebruary 7

roseDoes anyone care for such day labourers?

Dhaka Central Jail to be shifted to Keraniganj by JuneJanuary 29Shakil SulaimanAccording to my father, he has been hearing this since he was 10 years old ... but now it seems imagination is becoming reality and the migration is actually happening!

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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Tackle the root causes of poor safety on our rivers

Improve human capital to create more valuable jobs at home for young people entering the workforce

We had to destroy the village in order to save itFebruary 6

zkAnother profoundly sincere piece by Dhaka’s best! Someone has to ask the right questions over and over for these stubborn leaders to listen to what people have to say. At this rate, our country will become unrecognisable by the way both parties are terrorising the civilians. No rational person takes pleasure in the destruction of a nation. Some of the party leaders, by now, have managed to violate most of the democratic principles … they are creating hell on earth.

RahatWish the caretaker govt was back.

Charles non SurfThey love the smell of burning petrol in the morn-ing, afternoon, night, evening

Joshim UddinCharles non Surf: It’s isis

shottikar bangaleeWho hasn’t at some point or other thought of burning Dhaka to the ground though?

Karl HungusI don’t think a more perfect analogy is possible.

People“It is because that is precisely what the AL wants ... It is the AL that held sham elections on January 5 and it is the AL that is dedicated to wiping BNP o� the face of the Earth.”

The caretaker system was abolished, the bill passed in parliament, so there shouldn’t be any question about it. Because, it’s done according to the laws in the country. And the election was also held according to the current laws of the country. It was the BNP and its alliance who didn’t participate in the election. However, now it looks like the public has to pay the price for BNP not participating in the election. Does it make sense? As the election was held in accordance with the law, BNP should wait until the governing party’s tenure is over. If BNP says that this is an unelected government, that’s totally wrong. Why? Because, the election was held in accordance with the coun-try’s law. Or, say the election was held against the country’s law. Now, careful – this will also mean that all the bills passed in parliament during BNP tenures are also void.

I am not a supporter of either BNP or AL, but I would urge the government to take strictest measures towards those murderers killing innocent people.

Pillion RiderPeople: You claim to be non-partisan in this matter, but your repeated argument that the election “was held in accordance with the law” says otherwise.

PeoplePillion Rider: Taking the side of the law doesn’t mean to be taking the side of AL. Please read carefully. When a bill is passed in the parliament, it becomes a law. The scrapping of the caretaker system was approved by parliament.

The Pillion Rider Rides Again!People: If they approve a bill tomorrow that dictates something like “a citizen must yell out ‘T’WAS MOI!’ every time he or she passes gas out in public,” do you still think it would be a law worth abiding? Just because something is made into a law does not mean it can not be disputed.

SammyThe Pillion Rider Rides Again!: You are trying to ar-gue with party cadres parroting the typical line ap-proved by gonobhobon. They wanted BNP to par-ticipate in an election where the rules were made by AL, the counting was done by AL, and the results managed by AL. It is like blaming a football side for not playing an opponent who insists on selecting the referees, the stadium, and the crowd and then says those are the rules since its supporters wrote them so in the football federation manual. Come to think of it, that is precisely what Abahani (an out� t created by AL in 1972) used to do.

BeccamSammy: Any team worth watching has to play and win away from home quite a lot actually … yeah I know they have FIFA-approved refs so that makes it OK then (even when they have questionable eye-sight/parentage). So not quite the right analogy, the present football tournament might be a closer one to your point about Jan 5. But even so, I fail to see how BNP has any moral right to risk people being killed just to call for an election – when we know neither side believes in them, otherwise, losing parties would never boycott parliament/ally with Jamaat etc

SammyBeccam: Please show me where I said about BNP’s “moral” right … or any other kind of right to do so. Assuming things and reading between the lines to � nd what you are looking for are not particu-larly impressive qualities, once you are past high school.

BeccamSammy: Sorry, it wasn’t directed at you personally. I was thinking more of the original article and considering comments upthread. I simply fail to see how the BNP hopes to gain support against the government by wreaking havoc. There is no justi� cation for AL being dictatorial and undemo-cratic, but violence of the sort we are seeing in the blockade can never be excused. Won’t it just turn people to say better the devil we know than the one that burns buses?

Khaleda Zia seems to be saying AL � xed things so we wouldn’t play last year (when we had a good chance of winning). Now, we’ve lost form, we’ll burn down the stadium to get a fair rematch ... where’s the logic? (And yes, AL has done the same in the past against the BNP. Both are morally wrong. Strategically, BNP should have relied on the govt to lose support through AL’s own arro-gance – the fact that many people are prepared to make excuses for their actions shows they could eventually win an election when it happens).

SammyBeccam: I appreciate the clari� cation and the civility therein; I think I understand your perspective better now and see rigor of your argument. Thank you!

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Highway (4)5 Interior decoration (5)8 Whole (6)9 Illuminated sign (4)10 Colour (3)12 Enigma (6)13 Soothed (6)15 Tentacle (6)18 Sibilates (6)20 Greek letter (3)21 Skirting board (4)23 Rubs out (6)24 Supple (5)25 Curved (4)

DOWN1 Of the kidneys (5)2 United (3)3 Coral isle (5)4 Loud noise (3)5 Determines (7)6 Small rope (4)7 Ill-mannered (4)11 Otherwise (4)12 Arbitrator (7)14 Single entity (4)16 Letting contact (5)17 Henhouse (5)18 Restore to soundness (4)19 Sold sailor (4)21 Expert (3)22 Lair (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 17 represents D so � ll D every time the � gure 17 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

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 Tuesday, February 24, 2015DHAKA TRIBUNE

n FS Aijazuddin

It is not sound policy to treat Chinese presidents with the same casual insouciance that we reserve

for Pakistan’s own Mamnoon Hussain.Each head of state is the symbolic

apex of the nation. The di� erence is that China’s President Xi Jinping, owes his pre-eminent position to the collec-tive con� dence the Chinese leadership has in him to propel their country into the 21st century, while President Mamnoon Hussain owes his sinecure and “grace and favour” residence in Islamabad to the personal generosity of the Sharifs.

Nothing could o� er a starker contrast to the norms of reciprocal hospitality than the treatment each host country has shown its esteemed guest recently. The Chinese presi-dent received Mamnoon Hussain on a state visit in February, and again in May 2014. President Xi Jinping had to cancel “on security grounds,” his return visit to Pakistan, scheduled for September 14-16. It was a shabby quid pro quo, especially after Xi Jinping had singled out Pakistan as China’s unique “iron brother.”

The relationship between Pakistan and China invites such euphuistic analogies. It also de� es rational analysis. Even though both countries became independent within two years of each other (Pakistan in 1947 and China in 1949), China’s role over the past � ve decades has emerged as that of an unstinting donor; Pakistan’s as the voracious, insatiable donee.

China’s support to Pakistan has cov-ered the gamut of inter-state relations -political, economic, military, nuclear, trade, social, and now terrorist-related.

Why should China commit itself to Pakistan with such monocular single-mindedness? After all, its trade with Turkey is twice as high, with the Philippines three times higher, with India six times higher still. The answer was given in a rare moment of candour by a Chinese diplomat. “Pakistan,” he explained, “is our Israel.”

Out of the mouth of such junior functionaries comes Confucian wis-dom. Geopolitical considerations such as USA’s support for Israel and Russia’s for Cuba are their own imperatives. Like human passion, they overwhelm reason.

If President Xi Jinping should accept General Sharif’s invitation to attend the grand military parade planned for 23 March, he can expect to watch roll past him tanks, missiles, and weapons that reveal a discernible Chinese DNA.

If he looks upward, he will recognise the silhouette of aircraft such as the JF-17 and J-10, modelled on Chinese prototypes and now being manufac-tured in Pakistan with Chinese help.

If he should travel south by train, his carriage will be hauled by Chinese supplied locomotives. At Gwadar, he can stand in the sand-pit port that will soak up over a billion US dollars of Chinese investment.

And looking out across the Indian Ocean, he could catch a glimpse of the F-22P and Jianwei frigates, ploughing through the waves of what might soon have to change its name, if his Mari-time Silk Road achieves fruition.

President Xi Jinping’s grati� cation at seeing so much Chinese military would be understandable. He would not have to relive US President Barack Obama’s excruciating unease on India’s Repub-lic Day, when he was subjected to an unending procession of Indian arma-ments and hardware that owed their paternity less to American largesse than to Soviet/Russian generosity.

President Xi Jinping’s dream of a Maritime Silk Road is already India’s nightmare. His “string of pearls” – link-ing Shanghai with Colombo, Gwadar, and Mogadishu – is viewed by India not as a graceful ornament around its slender, peninsular neck, but as an encircling, constricting noose.

Some Pakistanis see the proposed Silk and Rail Road that will connect Kashgar with Gwadar as a divisive cleft, bifurcating their already riven country. Others have misgivings about plans to eliminate Pakistan’s power de� cit.

The Chinese made a hasty proposal to build 10 coal-� red power plants, each with a capacity of 660 MW. They retracted after they realised (belatedly) that the local infrastructure required to support such ambitious projects did not and was not likely to exist.

Concerns are erupting about Paki-stan Atomic Energy Commission’s K2 and K3 nuclear projects, being con-structed within a donkey cart’s ride of Karachi’s overpopulated city. The risk of a nuclear accident, Karachi-ites have been told, is “almost one to noth-ing.” Survivors of any nuclear accident will be reassured by the memory of such odds.

China warns Pakistan of the “three evils of extremism, splittism and ter-rorism”. It has traced terrorist tracks from the southern region of Xinjiang into Pakistan territory. They expect their “iron brother” to deal with them. He will, as soon as he can rid himself of the same three evils at home.

The fourth evil that no one talks about is obsolete technology. Poor countries like Pakistan get hand-me-downs. These may be tailored to � t, but their designs remain dated. Technologically, Pakistan will have the same DNA as its imported arsenal, the single child born of Chinese parents and Russian grandparents. l

FS Aijazuddin lives in Lahore and is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s main English-language newspaper. This article was � rst published in Dawn.

The fourth evil

A rare moment of candour by a Chinese diplomat: ‘Pakistan,’ he explained, ‘is our Israel’

n Mohd Fahad Ifaz

The title of this article alone was probably enough to make you turn o� your screen or minimise

the window and look around so no one was watching you read it. Well, you can relax. I was just trying to get your attention.

On a serious note, make this the year that you truly lose your virgini-ty. Well, I am not talking about your sexual virginity but rather your “I want to do something di� erent with my life” virginity, or your “I have an idea but I just don’t have time to get it started” virginity, or maybe your “I hate my job but where else am I going to make this kind of money?” virgin-ity, or your “I’m too old, too scared, too set in my ways” virginity, or my personal favorite, “I always wanted to …” virginity.

Well, this whole idea became an analogy for entrepreneurs, created by none other than Richard Branson – founder and CEO of Virgin group of companies. Always with a grinning smile on his face and a model in his

arm, he just seems like a guy who enjoys showmanship and being the centre of attention.

His books are must-reads when it comes to entrepreneurship, and, as the multi-billionaire founder of Virgin Group, an international conglomerate of about 400 businesses, he clearly has done something right during his ca-reer. One of his most acclaimed books is his biography Richard Branson: Losing My Virginity.

Losing your virginity can be scary, exciting, sometimes awkward, and most de� nitely life-changing. Losing your virginity means you might en-counter some very bumpy experienc-es, but they will also be some of the best in your life. Losing your virginity means taking a bold step into the unknown and sometimes not being able to turn back, it means accepting a di� erent level of responsibility and ownership for your actions.

Well, in Bangladesh, losing your virginity before the “right time” is a taboo. Hence, we keep waiting for the right time to come. Is it the fear of rejection from family and friends? The

fear of rebuke from people you love is, in most cases, the biggest challenge. A lot of communities in Bangladesh lack respect for entrepreneurship and do not consider business owners at par with services.

Being a primary income source for the family also seems to deter young entrepreneurs, and loan repayments bury many ideas. Social commitments like a stable education, a settled life-style, a well-paying job, marriage, and family gossip too are several reasons behind the fear of losing the virginity.

Or, is it just the anxiety of the unknown and the fear of failure? Our schools never teach us how to start a business, they merely teach us how to join one. Creative young minds are unaware of whom to approach for ad-vice on the many aspects that go into making an idea a reality, and this lack of awareness may lead to failure even if the idea is a great one.

A failure in turn would lead to not just huge losses in terms of time, ef-fort, and money, but also, as believed, a loss of respect in society. In most families, it is still taboo to think about

doing something on your own, let alone discussing and getting support from family members.

So, wondering what it would be like is not a substitute for actually experienc-ing it. At some point you need to stop reading and hearing about the things you dream of trying and start to really experience them. You can’t make any major changes to your life by being on the virtual end of the experience. You are going to have to lose your fear and your inhibitions to really determine whether the grass is really greener on the other side.

Wishing you were your own boss while staying in a dead end job will turn into professional suicide in the

long run. Hoping to learn a new skill won’t advance your expertise unless you actually begin to develop that skill-set. Complaining about your cir-cumstances is like throwing water on a � re while hoping it will reignite.

Dreaming about what you can do with a great idea will not make you the master of your destiny. Lots of people have ideas. Successful people imple-ment ideas. You can take action or keep dreaming, but the outcomes will

be very di� erent.Telling yourself you are too young

or old or too afraid to try something you have always wanted to is an ex-cuse that was invented decades ago, to have an excuse on hand whenever you did not want to use the word “regret.” Maybe it’s time to stop with all this nonsense.

Saying, “I always wanted to …” without ever even trying is like prom-ising yourself you will start your diet “tomorrow” every morning of your life.

Start your second career while working at your “just a job.” Invest time or money in learning a new skill. Take up a hobby, learn to code or engage in some activities you have always told yourself you would.

Eliminate your fear of the un-known, performance anxiety, nagging second thoughts, and worries about what others will think. Don’t feel guilty. What matters is what it means to you. l

Mohd Fahad Ifaz is a private sector development consultant.

It’s time to lose your virginity

Telling yourself you are too young or old or too afraid to try something you have always wanted to is an excuse that was invented decades ago

Technologically, Pakistan will have the same DNA as its imported arsenal, the single child born of Chinese parents

n Ikhtisad Ahmed

Bangladesh is either on the verge of a political crisis, or is in the midst of it, in the same vein as the one that crippled the country

in 2013, leading up to the election on January 5, 2014. Depending on person-al prejudices, the situation is largely de� ned in one of two ways.

The � rst states that the aforesaid election was necessary to serve and save democracy, conducted in ac-cordance with the law of the land. All attempts to sabotage and stop it were not only illegal, but tantamount to terrorism.

The current situation is the fault of the same terrorist organisations, who, having opted out of the sphere of governance of their own volition, are determined to turn Bangladesh into a failed state. They are evil, and they need to be ended, for the sake of the country and the populace. Glory to Bangladesh, glory to its people.

The second states that the aforesaid election was an illegal one to end all elections, the government produced as a fruit of that poisonous tree an illegitimate one. It should not have been allowed to go ahead, and, having had its noble e� orts to do precisely that thwarted by state terrorism, the once legitimate opposition and now legitimate government is trying again.

Bangladesh needs to be saved from the autocracy in charge, to keep it from becoming a failed state. The government is evil, and it needs to be ended, for the sake of the country and the populace. Glory to Bangladesh,

glory to its people.The media, worried about pro-

gramming and developing content under normal circumstances, has been in a blissful state of contentment. When the manifestation of normal circumstances is political warfare, real and imaginary, mental and physical, content takes care of itself within the framed syllogism. There is nothing else to report or comment on.

Regardless of the overt prejudices and biases, it is clear from all the self-important statements that something needs to be done to permanently correct the nation’s course, and that this needs to start somewhere. Since the current and former prime ministers have directed their scions, parties, and allies to take leave of their senses, some ground rules ought to be set for the depraved sycophants, the unscrupulous fraudsters who pollute the country’s airwaves and newspapers.

The term “democracy” needs to be banned, its use made a punisha-ble criminal o� ence. No one wants democracy, no one’s rhetoric re� ects

true democracy, no one is representing democracy: Therefore, no one can speak of or for it. Judging according to democratic values and lectures on democratic practices are similarly o� ensive. The next step is equally simple.

Everyone speaks of accountability, for when it is lacking, corruption is not only possible, it is easy and inevitable. Excellent deduction, time to imple-

ment it. Every time anyone dares open his or her mouth to spout more partisan drivel, he or she needs to be reminded to take responsibility for his or her complicity in the zealot pursuit of despotism that is causing unbridled devastation once more.

Blaming someone else does not pass muster any longer, not when the only objective truth is that people are su� ering and dying. It does not matter whose fault it is when everyone agrees it cannot be allowed to continue. If one is not willing to play one’s part in that process, deliberately fanning the partisan � ames instead, one should politely be told to hold one’s peace, inde� nitely, for the good of humanity.

Any editor or programmer who gives these inconsiderate, unconscion-able, irresponsible wastes of space in all their guises – “Joy Bangla” and “Bangladesh Zindabad” sloganeers, foreign diplomats, the Polli Bond-hu’s friends, military sympathisers, extremists, members of the civil society, intellectuals, the righteously indignant, professional grovelers – a platform needs to beg forgiveness for his or her inexcusable indiscretions, and vow never to do it again.

It is glaringly obvious that no one is speaking for the people. If someone was, the endless rivers of excrement that � ow to ponti� cate about and de-bate the state of a� airs in Bangladesh ad in� nitum, would run one sentence long: People are su� ering, and nothing is being done to put a de� nitive end to this and constructively pave the way for a better tomorrow, for a stronger nation.

There are no clean hands in this, about that irrefutable truth everyone ought to be honest. No one can have the audacity to presume to speak for the people, to take ownership of the country and its heritage and history, to wrest its values and soul from the citizens. Ban all hollow political rheto-ric, regardless of whether it originates from members or representatives of domestic or foreign political parties, or their lackeys who pose as concerned private individuals – at least let Bang-ladesh be free from this pathetic brand of nonsense. l

Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @Ikhtisad.

The art of ruling the minds

People are su� ering, and nothing is being done to put a de� nitive end to this and constructively pave the way for a better tomorrow

The January 5 election: Democratic necessity or illegal move? MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

12 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Moeen hits century as England open account n AFP, Christchurch

Moeen Ali’s century set up England’s opening win in the World Cup in Christ-church on Monday when they downed Scotland by 119 run in their Pool A clash.

Ali contributed a masterful 128 runs towards England’s total of 303 and Scotland were all out for 184 with more than seven overs remaining.

Although Scotland were outclassed, the win was not as convincing as three-times World Cup runners-up England would have wanted.

After hidings by Australia and New Zealand they were desperate for a con-� dence-boosting win and the opportu-nity presented itself against the low-ly-ranked Scotland.

But their jubiliation at putting points on the board was tempered by the lack of � ght at the back of the innings when they lost six wickets for 102 runs in the � nal 15 overs.

England had set themselves up for a big total when Ali, supported by 54 from Ian Bell, took them to 201-2 with their 172-run stand for the � rst wicket the highest opening partnership so far in the tournament.

Ali, dropped in the second over when Freddie Coleman failed to grasp a sharp chance, was untroubled by the occasion as he posted his second career ODI century.

Having been sent in under overcast skies and with swing-friendly con-ditions at the Hagley Oval, he took a fearless approach to the bowling with a liking for the aerial route to beat the inner � eld.

His 128 included 12 fours and � ve sixes while the more sedate Bell only reached the boundary twice in his half century.

Bell had an early life when Alasdair Evans’ lbw shout was turned down. Scotland decided not to appeal, al-though replays showed the ball would have clipped the leg stump.

He was � nally undone driving at Richie Berrington to be caught by Kyle Coetzer and Ali followed soon after, un-done by the gentle o� -spin of Majid Haq.

Ali’s dismissal started a run of three wickets in 10 balls for two runs with Gary Ballance (10) and Joe Root (one) removed as England slumped from 201 for one to 203 for four.

James Taylor (17) and Jos Buttler (24) made starts but could not carry on

while captain Eoin Morgan added 46 before he was among three wickets to fall in four balls as England pushed to get the score over 300.

Josh Davey, whose � rst spell only lasted two overs with the � rst includ-ing four wides and the second conced-ing 14 runs, came back to claim four wickets for an expensive 68 runs.

Facing 304 to win was a huge moun-tain for Scotland to climb although opener Kyle Coetzer and skipper Pres-ton Mommsen bravely took up the challenge.

A Mommsen boundary took them past the 100 mark in the 22nd over, � ve overs slower than England but with a healthy seven wickets in hand.

However, the game began to slip from Scotland soon after when Root ended the 60-run partnership for the fourth wicket when he removed Mommsen for 26.

Coetzer was back in the pavillion eight balls after Mommsen for a 71 o� 84 deliveries. From there the last � ve wickets fell for 62 runs with Steven Finn picking up three for 26. l

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

SportDid you know?Andre Russell has failed to score o�

3 of the 26 balls he has faced at CWC15, lowest dot ball per-centage of anyone,

5+ balls

14 Real four points clear with win at Elche

14 McGrath hunting photos spark death threats

TODAYWest Indies v Zimbabwe, 9:30am

TOMORROWIreland v UAE, 9:30am

UPCOMING MATCHES

Sha� ul elated with unexpected call-up

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

The world fell crashing down for na-tional paceman Sha� ul Islam, a prom-inent member of the Bangladesh squad in the 2011 ICC World Cup, after � nding out that he was snubbed for the � nal 15-man squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup. The right-arm paceman was only named as a standby meaning he would sit out the global showpiece event if all the 15 members are � t and � ring.

However, the situation has drastically changed for Sha� ul within a span of a few days. Fellow paceman Al Amin Hossain, who was part of the Tigers’ 15-man squad, breached team discipline by staying outside their hotel in Brisbane after the 10pm deadline last Thursday. As a result, Al Amin was withdrawn from the Bangladesh squad and Sha� ul was told to catch the earliest possible � ight to Australia ahead of their third Pool A game against Sri Lanka this Thursday at Melbourne

Cricket Ground.The 25-year old Sha� ul obliged and

left Dhaka yesterday night. “I am surprised to be honest,” Sha� -

ul told the media yesterday evening. “I always wished the team well and expected them to perform. Now I am a member of the team and have been handed the responsibility. I will try to play my role in the best way possible.”

Sha� ul’s inclusion in the team is quite similar to what happened back in 2011. Originally excluded from the squad, skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza’s injury paved the way for his return and the lad from Bogra justi� ed the selectors’ faith by pulling o� match-winning perfor-mances against Ireland and England.

“It’s not in my hand as to how I get called up. I got the chance to play in the previous World Cup after Mashrafe bhai got injured and this time I got the call to replace Al Amin. I am not at all thinking of how I got the chance. My job is to perform and I will try to do that,” he said.

Sha� ul informed that he was busy with the ongoing 16th National Cricket League when he got the call from the Bangladesh Cricket Board to pack his bags and leave for Australia.

“I was at BKSP when I got a call from Sabbir bhai (Sabbir Khan, BCB cricket operations committee manager). That’s when I got to know about my inclusion in the team. I came back home straight-away. The feeling was di� erent. It was hard for me to realise that I got the call to play in the World Cup. This is the stu� of dreams,” he added. l

‘England remain vulnerable’n AFP, Christchurch

Scotland were beaten but now bowed following their 119-run World Cup loss to England in Christchurch on Monday, with captain Preston Mommsen saying the result did not re� ect the game.

Mommsen was disappointed with the batting e� ort from his lowly-ranked Scotland side after believing they were capable of winning the Pool A clash af-ter restricting England to 303-8.

Scotland have now lost both their opening games while England notched their � rst win with an innings built on a 172-run opening partnership between Moeen Ali and Ian Bell. England’s batting fell away after their departure with the last 15 overs producing 102 runs for the loss of six wickets and that was how Mommsen preferred to remember the game.

“I thought we did brilliantly to re-strict them to only 300 with the plat-form they had and the batters they had to come,” he said.

“Once we got rid of Ian Bell and Moeen Ali they were pretty vulnerable in the middle and we knew we could keep taking wickets which allowed us to restrict them to 300. l

Al Amin mum on World Cup exclusion

The travelling Bangladesh journalists have been spending busy times in Melbourne ever since Tigers paceman Al Amin Hossain was withdrawn last Sunday from the 2015 ICC World Cup for breaching team protocol.

We were eagerly waiting outside the Langham – the Bangladesh team’s hotel – for Al Amin’s reaction yesterday as the right-arm paceman was supposed to � y for Bangladesh later the same day.

However, there was no sign of the 25-year old cricketer. After waiting for a while, most of the journalists left the hotel premises.

Around 5pm, me and only a few journalists were still there when Al Amin managed to deceive us before leaving through the back door of the hotel on his way to the airport to catch

the 7pm � ight to Bangladesh. It was learned that the paceman

was advised not to make any public comment and it was the team management’s decision to make him leave through the back door.

According to Bangladesh manager Khaled Mahmud, Al Amin breached the team curfew and was outside the hotel in Brisbane after the 10pm deadline last Thursday. The International Cricket Council’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit later noti� ed Al Amin’s indiscretion.

Al Amin has played 11 ODIs for Bangladesh and picked up 17 wickets following his debut against Sri Lanka last year.

He did not feature in the Tigers’ opening Pool A game against Afghanistan and was also not considered for the second game against co-hosts Australia.

Right-arm fast bowler Sha� ul Islam will replace Al Amin and has already left for Melbourne yesterday night ahead of their third game against Sri Lanka. l

SCOvENGEngland R BM. Ali c Coleman b Haq               128 107I. Bell c Coetzer b Berrington        54 85G. Ballance b Evans                   10 18J. Root c Cross b Davey                1 3E. Morgan c Mommsen b Davey 46 42J. Taylor st Cross b Davey            17 26J. Buttler c Davey b Wardlaw          24 14C. Woakes c Mommsen b Davey 1 2S. Broad not out                       0 3S. Finn not out                        1 1Extras (b1, lb4, w15, nb1)            21Total (8 wickets, 50 overs) 303Fall of wickets: 1-172 (Bell), 2-201 (Ali), 3-203 (Ballance), 4-203 (Root), 5-252 (Taylor), 6-297 (Buttler), 7-300 (Morgan), 8-300 (Woakes)Bowling: Wardlaw 10-1-60-1; Davey 10-0-68-4; Evans 10-1-46-1; Haq 10-0-51-1; Berrington 5-0-43-1; Machan 2-0-11-0; Coetzer 3-0-19-0;Scotland R BK. Coetzer c Woakes b Ali 71 84C. MacLeod c Buttler b Anderson 4 6F. Coleman c Morgan b Woakes 7 16M. Machan c Buttler b Finn 5 7P. Mommsen c Broad b Root 26 42R. Berrington c Morgan b Ali 8 13M. Cross c Root b Finn                23 32J. Davey c Buttler b Finn              9 15M. Haq c Ballance b Woakes            15 24A. Evans c Buttler b Anderson          9 15I. Wardlaw not out                     0 0Extras (lb5, w2)                       7Total (all out, 42.2 overs)          184Fall of wickets: 1-17 (MacLeod), 2-47 (Cole-man), 3-54 (Machan), 4-114 (Mommsen), 5-122 (Coetzer), 6-128 (Berrington), 7-150 (Davey), 8-160 (Cross), 9-184 (Evans), 10-184 (Haq)Bowling: Anderson 6-0-30-2; Broad 7-0-24-0; Woakes 5.2-0-25-2; Finn 9-3-26-3; Ali 10-0-47-2; Root 5-0-27-1;

England won by 119 runsMan of the Match: Moeen Ali (England)

Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh)Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)Umar Akmal (Pakistan)Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh)

Andre Russell (West Indies) Virat Kohli (India)

C O O L E ST H A I R D O S AT # C WC 1 5

‘I was at BKSP when I got a call from Sabbir bhai (Sabbir Khan, BCB cricket operations committee manager). That’s when I got to know about my inclusion ‘

Morgan happy with team and his own formn Reuters, Christchurch

England captain Eoin Morgan � nally found something to celebrate on Monday after a harrowing week for his team and himself.

Morgan had barely been able to scrape a run together during two crush-ing defeats to Australia and New Zealand and his future, as well as that of coach Peter Moores and managing director Paul Downton, has been openly questioned in the British media.

“I don’t think there’s ever a state of pan-ic,” Morgan told a news conference. “Obvi-ously two hard games, and the fact we didn’t perform was the most disappointing, but a win just puts things a little more at ease, and it gives guys a little bit of con� dence, even the guys who didn’t perform today.”

Morgan said it had been nice to spend some time at the wicket and to get some runs. The England captain said he would still like more consistency from his team before they meet Sri Lanka in Wellington on March 1.

“I think just a little bit more consis-tency in what we do.” he said. “Just being ruthless and simple, very simple in the way we approach things.” l

Mazhar Uddinfrom Melbourne

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 13

Liverpool survive penalty drama n AFP, London

Liverpool survived three penalty ap-peals to boost their bid for a top-four � nish in the Premier League with a contentious 2-0 win at Southampton on Sunday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side moved up to sixth place, within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United, as goals from Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling secured their sixth win in their last seven matches in all competitions.

But � fth-placed Southampton had reason to feel aggrieved after a trio of penalty claims were turned down in the � rst half, starting in the opening moments when Emre Can tugged at Filip Djuricic.

Coutinho responded by lashing Liver-

pool into a third-minute lead with a bril-liant long-range strike that streaked into the top corner for the Brazilian mid� eld-er’s � rst league goal since November.

Djuricic’s second penalty appeal came when he appeared to be fouled by Joe Allen, but again referee Kevin Friend ignored his appeals.

Then Can handled in the penal-

ty area as he tried to control before clearing a cross, yet once more Friend waved play on.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino praised the � ghting spirit of his Tottenham Hotspur players af-ter Harry Kane rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw against West Ham United.

Pochettino’s team had fallen 2-0 behind at White Hart Lane as the Ham-mers struck through Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho, but an error by goal-keeper Adrian allowed Danny Rose to get one back with nine minutes left.

And when in-form striker Kane was fouled in the area by Alex Song deep into second-half stoppage-time, he kept his composure to smash in the rebound after his spot-kick was saved for his 24th goal of a breakthrough campaign. l

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

FIFA seeks accord on 2022 World Cup dates A FIFA task force meets in Qatar this week to try to set dates for the 2022 World Cup -- with a groundbreaking but highly controversial winter tourna-ment likely. O� cials from football’s global governing body, top leagues and players’ representatives will meet in the Gulf state on Tuesday to try to seek agreement. A November-December tournament is considered favourite. But the task force will make a recommenda-tion to FIFA whose executive committee will decide on March 19-20 in Zurich.      While concerns about Qatar’s baking summer temperatures caused the calls for a change, the meeting comes as the Gulf state su� ers some of its worst weather for months with cold winds and sandstorms. FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said last month that the 2022 World Cup “will not be in June or July”. But the dates are still disputed, especially by Europe’s powerful leagues. –AFP

La Liga will be decided on � nal day, predicts AncelottiReal Madrid may have extended their lead over second-placed Barcelona at the top of La Liga to four points on Sunday but coach Carlo Ancelotti still expects the title to be decided on the � nal day of the campaign. Real took full advantage of Barca’s 1-0 defeat at home to Malaga on Saturday and their 2-0 success at Elche lifted them to 60 points with 14 games left, with Barca on 56, three ahead of third-placed champions Atletico Madrid. La Liga top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo struck again for Real after Wednesday’s e� ort at Schalke 04 in the Champions League, suggesting the Portugal captain’s brief goal drought is over, and Ancelotti’s side have gone three straight games without conceding a goal. Ronaldo has 29 goals in Spain’s top � ight, three ahead of great rival Lionel Messi of Barca, who drew a blank on Saturday after hitting top form since the turn of the year.

– Reuters

Chelsea fan apologises over Paris Metro racism A former police o� cer and Chelsea fan apologised on Sunday for his involve-ment in an alleged racist incident involving football supporters on a Paris Metro train. Footage posted online last week showed supporters blocking a man named as Souleymane S from boarding a metro train in the French capital and chanting “we’re racist and that’s the way we like it”. Richard Barklie, 50, a director with rights group the World Human Rights Forum, acknowledged he was involved but insisted he is not a racist in a statement released by his lawyer. “He did not participate in racist chanting and singing and condemns any behaviour supporting that,” the statement from Belfast solicitor Kevin Winters said. “He wants to put on record his sincerest apologies for the trauma and stress su� ered by Mr Souleymane.”

–AFP

Roma lose more ground after yet another drawAS Roma drew for the sixth time in their last seven league games when they were held 1-1 at lowly Verona on Sunday, losing yet more ground on leaders Juventus in a chaotic Serie A programme. Antonio Candreva capped the weekend’s bizarre sequence of events when he scored a spectacular winner to give Lazio a 2-1 suc-cess over Palermo, only to injure himself as he tried to climb the fence to celebrate with fans. Bottom club Parma’s match at home to Udinese was postponed by the Italian federation (FIGC) on Friday be-cause the cash-strapped hosts, who have not paid their players all season, could not a� ord stewards or policing. Meanwhile, the Sampdoria-Genoa derby on Saturday was postponed minutes before kicko� due to a waterlogged pitch and will now be played on Tuesday (1730 GMT).

– Reuters

QUICK BYTES

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UEFA Champions League Man.City v Barcelona

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DAY’S WATCH

EPL RESULTSEverton 2-2 Leicester Naismith 57, Nugent 63,Upson 89-og Cambiasso 70

Southampton 0-2 Liverpool Coutinho 3, Sterling 73

Tottenham 2-2 West Ham Rose 81, Kane 90-P Kouyate 22, Sakho 62

BRIEF SCORES, DAY 1Chittagong v Barisal

Barisal 417/6 in 90 oversMosaddek 150*, Gazi 94, Shajib 45; Faisal 2/96

Khulna v Dhaka divisionDhaka 244/6 in 91 oversShuvagata 84*, Majid 65, Rakibul 44; Mo-sta� zur 3/62, Ziaur 2/28

Rangpur v RajshahiRajshahi 263 allout in 85.5 oversMuktar 85, Tareq 57; Tanvir 3/14, Sanjit 3/65, Sohrawardi 2/62, Mahmudul 2/70Rangpur 25/0 in 6 overs

Rangpur trail by 238 runsDhaka Metro v Sylhet

Dhaka Metro 229/8 in 90 oversMarshal 67, Mehrab Jr 54; Sadiqur 3/19, Jayed 3/57

Mosaddek continues purple patchn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Barisal mid-dle-order bats-man Mosaddek Hossain contin-ued his sensa-

tional run of form as he scored an un-beaten 150 against Chittagong on day one of the � fth round of the 16th Nation-al Cricket League yesterday.

The 19-year old right-hander is coming to the � fth round on the back of a mesmerising 250 in the previous match.

Three other matches also got under-way yesterday at di� erent venues.

Chittagong v Barisal, BKSP 2Riding on Mosaddek’s undefeated 150, Barisal dominated the opening day’s play on their way to 417 for the loss of six wickets.

Batting � rst, Barisal were initially in trouble having lost � ve wickets with the scoreboard reading 191.

However, a 138-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Mosaddek and Sohag Gazi resurrected Barisal’s cause. While Mosaddek took 166 balls for his 150, Gazi hit a quick� re 94 o� 86 deliveries. Mosaddek smashed 20 fours and two sixes while Gazi blasted half a dozen boundaries and as many sixes.

Khulna v Dhaka division, FatullahTaking � rst strike, Dhaka were in con-trol as they ended the day on 244 con-ceding six wickets. Middle-order bats-man Shuvagata Hom led the way with an unbeaten 84. His 108-ball knock featured a dozen boundaries and a six.

Rangpur v Rajshahi, BKSP 3Rajshahi were bundled out for 263 in their � rst innings despite an 85-run knock from Muktar Ali.

Muktar faced 101 balls and hammered six boundaries and eight sixes. Tareq Khan played his part with a 57.

17-year old spinner Sanjit Saha and

Tanvir Haider scalped three wickets each for Rangpur.

In reply, Rangpur ended the day on 25 for no loss with Liton Kumar Das and Tarik Ahmed unbeaten on 21 and four respectively.

Rangpur are trailing Rajshahi by 238 runs.

Dhaka Metro v Sylhet, SBNSDhaka Metro ended day one on 229/8. Skipper Marshal Ayub topped the in-nings with 67 while Mehrab Hossain Jr chipped in with 54.

Sylhet paceman Abu Jayed and o� -spinner Ahmed Sadiqur bagged three wickets apiece. l

Giants Jamal face upbeat Orangesn Raihan Mahmood

In a duel of ‘David and the Goliath’ defending champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club faces Brothers Union in the � rst quarter� nal of the Federa-tion Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5:15pm today.

Comparing the sides will be a hard task for any football expert as the Sheikh Jamal’s in yellow out� t are bolstered with 13 Bangladesh national team players complimented by an e� -cient foreign quartet of Haitian Wedson Anselme, Nigerian Emeka Darlington, Haitian Leonel Preux and Gambian Landing Darboe Jamal.

On the other hand, Brothers, coached by Indian football legend Syed Naeemuddin, have nothing to lose as former national stalwarts, goalkeep-er Biplob Bhattacharjee and defender Mohammad Sujon are the lone source of inspiration to the youngsters for the daunting task while they will be also be counting heavily on Augustin Walson, the Nigerian forward who has been the live-wire for the Oranges this season.

However, despite having proli� c mid-� elders like Mamunul Islam, Ja-mal Bhuiyan, Sohel Rana and defend-ers like Nasiruddin Chowdhury, Raihan Hasan at his disposal, Sheikh Jamal coach Muruful Haque is not taking their opponent lightly.

“Its a knock-out stage game and there is no room of complacency, on the � eld you have to respect the oppo-nents,” said Maruf.

Naeemuddin emphasised on the pres-sure-less situation and said, “We have nothing to lose and thats our advantage. We will � ght it out, we will make life hard for them with our all out e� orts.” l

Abahani’s Ariful, Mamun asked to pay � nen Shishir Hoque

Abahani defenders Ariful Islam and Mamun Mia were each asked to pay Tk700,000 to their previous club Mohammedan by this Friday, con� rmed the Bangladesh Football Federation’s professional football league committee.

The Abahani duo earlier appealed against the same judgement but the professional football league committee dismissed their request. The defensive duo have been asked to pay the money to the BFF within three days. Failure to do so will see them getting suspended until further notice.

“Their (Ariful and Mamun) appeal was dismissed and they were asked to pay the money. As far as I know, they are taking initiatives to solve the issue,” said Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu yesterday.

Meanwhile, the professional football league committee also asked Sheikh Ja-mal Dhanmondi Club defender Yeasin Khan and Abahani mid� elder Shahedul Alam Shahed to come to an agreement with Sheikh Russel KC by this Thurs-day. Russel earlier complained that the two players each took advance money worth Tk500,000 from the club during the transfer window but later changed their decision. l

Federer sorry for India ‘bleed blue’ upset n AFP, Dubai

Roger Federer has apologised for getting caught up in the bitter rivalry between Indian and Pakistani cricket fans after he was pictured admiring the blue shirt of World Cup champions India in a marketing photo-shoot.

The 17-time Grand Slam title winner shares the same sponsor as the Indian team and on the eve of the two sides’ World Cup clash in Adelaide last weekend, Federer posted a picture on his Facebook page of him admiring a blue playing jersey with the caption “Dressing up for a Gentleman’s game today. #BleedBlue.”

“It was more of a Nike thing to be quite honest,” said the Swiss star on the eve of the Dubai Open.

“It was a Nike campaign they had because I met some of the Indian players and I had just spent some time in India so they presented the shirt to me.

“I support South Africa, and everybody knows that. The idea wasn’t to spark any � re and I’m sorry if it did that.”

The photograph certainly irritated Federer’s legion of fans in Pakistan.

One, a student at Cambridge University in England and writing in the Express Tribune, an English language newspaper in Pakistan, claimed he had deleted all his Federer photos and taken a brief opinion poll in which ten out of 12 Pakistanis apparently felt hurt or betrayed.

Federer has certainly gone public in his support for the Springboks rugby team in the past, and has strong South African connections. 

His mother Lynette is from

South Africa and the Roger Federer Foundation has raised large sums to help disadvantaged children in the country.

Nevertheless, Federer sought to clarify his attitude to cricket which is currently being showcased at the ongoing World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. 

The Indian team, he said, he supported “a little bit.”  

Whether or not he followed cricket, “really depends where you are,” he added.

“When I’m in America de� nitely not. When I’m in Europe de� nitely not. But then when I’m in Australia and here (in the UAE) a little bit sometimes. So it really depends where I am in the world which sport I follow.”

Federer and India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar are known to be close with the ‘Little Master’ a regular visitor to Wimbledon each year to see the Swiss play.

Virat Kohli, who made a century for India in the World Cup win over Pakistan, also met Federer in Sydney in January, describing the tennis player as an “absolute legend” in a captioned picture he posted on his Twitter site. l

Khulna wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan appeals successfully for the leg-before wicket decision of Dhaka division opener Abdul Majid during their National Cricket League � fth round match in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Tennis player Serena Williams arrives at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday

REUTERS

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14

Real 4 points clear with win at Elchen AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid moved four points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win at Elche on Sunday.

After passing up a host of chances in the � rst-half, Madrid � nally made the breakthrough when Karim Benzema tapped home from close range 11 min-utes into the second period.

Cristiano Ronaldo then sealed the three points when he bulleted home a header from Isco’s pin-point cross 21 minutes from time.

Barca’s shock 1-0 defeat to Malaga on Saturday means the Catalans have it all to do in the � nal 14 games of the season with the two sides set to meet at the Camp Nou on March 22.

Madrid started brightly at the Marti-nez Valero and should have been well in front by half-time.

Gareth Bale had an early strike ruled out for o� side before Ronaldo smashed an e� ort from 20 yards o� the post.

The World Player of the Year then passed up a huge chance when he mis-cued with the goal gaping from Bale’s low cross. Another e� ort from Ronal-do, this time with his head from Toni Kroos’s free-kick, � ew just wide as the pressure built.

And the visitors were unfortunate not to be ahead in stunning fashion when Benzema’s overhead kick was also chopped o� for the tightest of o� -side calls.

Madrid captain Iker Casillas was making his 500th La Liga appearance, but had barely touched the ball until he had to make a smart low save to his right to deny Aaron Niguez two min-utes after the break.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men � nally got the break that had deserted them early in the game on 56 minutes when David

Lomban’s clearance from Ronaldo’s low cross bounced o� Elche ‘keeper Przemysław Tyton and into the path of Benzema to slot into an empty net.

Ronaldo then ended his three-game goalless streak in La Liga with a won-derful header from Isco’s � ne cross to put the game to bed.

Earlier, David Moyes’s Real Sociedad struck twice in the � nal 10 minutes to come from behind and seal a thrilling 4-3 win over Sevilla at Anoeta.

The hosts had got o� to an ideal start as Imanol Agirretxe slotted home the opener after 16 minutes, but Timothee Kolodziejczak levelled for the Europa League holders before the break.

Sociedad were then gifted a soft penalty at the start of the second pe-riod, which Xabi Prieto converted, but Sevilla responded once more when their top scorer Carlos � icked home Ever Banega’s free-kick.

Defeat means Sevilla still trail Valen-

cia by � ve points in the � ght for fourth place, while Sociedad jump three plac-es to 10th and are now eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Villarreal are now just a point be-hind Sevilla in sixth after substitute Luciano Vietto scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Eibar.

Athletic Bilbao were also 1-0 vic-tors over Rayo Vallecano thanks to Aritz Aduriz’s strike four minutes from time. l

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

WORLD CUP HEAD-TO-HEAD

PLAYER TO WATCH

Dwayne Smith, Chris Gayle, Jonathan Carter, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (C), Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn

Sikandar Raza, Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (WK), Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Solomon Mire, Elton Chigumbura (capt), Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Tafadzwa Kamungozi

PROBABLE XI

OVERALL

Gayle will be disappointed having posted scores of 36 and 4 in the � rst two

matches. The swashbuckling southpaw very recently came under the � re of

the board president. The oft-smiling opener will be desperate to silence the

critics once and for all GAYLE WILLIAMS

The 28-year old Williams almost left Zimbabwe in order to pursue a place

in the playing XI of either England or South Africa. As

fate would have it, he stayed behind in Zimbabwe and

was able to make a name for himself in the Zimbabwe side

WEST INDIES ZIMBABWE 5 Wins 0 264/8 Highest totals 217/7 155/4 Lowest totals 151/9

44 Matches 44 34 Wins 9

BATTING

Brian Lara (159) Most runs Dave Houghton (109) Gordon Greenidge (105*) Highest scores Duncan Fletcher (71*)

BOWLING

Winston Benjamin (3) Most wickets Paul Strang (4) Winston Benjamin (3/27) Best bowling Paul Strang (4/40)

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (C) celebrates with team mates Gareth Bale (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo after he scored a goal against Elche during their Spanish La Liga match at the Martinez Valero stadium in Elche on Sunday REUTERS

City aim to break new ground by beating Barcan Reuters, London

Manchester City have been on a steep learning curve in the Champions League but Tuesday’s last 16 � rst-leg clash with

four-times European kings Barcelona o� ers a chance to show they are now serious contenders.

Last season’s exit at the identical stage also against Barca, 4-1 on aggre-gate, revealed City’s shortcomings in a squad good enough to win the Premier League but still lacking authority and discipline against Europe’s very best.

A year later, however, and City are approaching the tie with growing op-timism, even if they will be missing mid� eld talisman Yaya Toure at the Etihad on Tuesday as he completes a three-match suspension for his red card against CSKA Moscow.

After � nding their creative edge blunted in recent months, City’s attack-ing � air returned with a vengeance as they crushed Newcastle United 5-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

In contrast, Barca’s lethal-looking frontline mis� red badly at the weekend as their 11-match unbeaten run ended in a surprise 1-0 defeat by a well-drilled Malaga side.

City’s run to the last 16 a year ago was their best e� ort in the competition after two successive failures to sur-vive the group stage and they will be buoyed by the way they sneaked into the knockout round this time, beating Bayern Munich and AS Roma.

Both of those victories were record-ed without Toure.

On-loan mid� elder Frank Lampard, a

veteran of many battles with Barca from his Chelsea days, says that while the Catalans must be respected, City have the weapons to out-gun Barcelona and reach the last eight for the � rst time.

“You can admire and respect them so long as that doesn’t transmit into giving them too much space to do what they do best,” said Lampard, who was in the Chelsea side that beat Barca in the semis on the way to their 2012 Champions League triumph.

“I played against Barcelona when they were at their very best four or � ve years ago and they were absolutely � y-ing -- in truth, there’s not much you can do when they play like that -- but we have players who can hurt them, too.”

In Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Samir Nasri, Manuel Pellegrini’s City side can score goals but keeping Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez quiet, as well as having 11 men on the pitch unlike last season, will be the key.

Messi scored in both legs last term and has recently been in scintillating form again, even if he was subdued against Malaga.

Barca defender Gerard Pique says City’s natural propensity to attack could play into his side’s hands as they seek an eighth successive place in the quarter-� nals.

“City are a team that is more at-tack-minded and that will help us as it will be a more open game,” he said.

“We need to put (Malaga) behind us because on Tuesday we face the most important game of the year.” l

West Indies say sleeping giant Gayle ready to � ren Reuters, Melbourne

Despite a poor start to the World Cup and eight innings since his last one-day international half-century, West Indies opener Chris Gayle is “awake” and ready to � re up the Caribbeans with a big score, according to captain Jason Holder.

Gayle managed a scratchy 36 from 65 balls in the opening loss to Ireland and scored four in Saturday’s big win over Pakistan.

Though the win over Pakistan was a relieving return to form for the un-der-pressure islanders, Gayle’s second World Cup failure overshadowed it, with board president Dave Cameron re-tweeting a post from a Twitter user suggesting the 35-year-old should quit.

“Gayle goes... Can’t buy a run. Let’s give him a retirement package ... Can’t fail repeatedly and still front up based on reputation,” read the post, re-tweet-ed by Cameron during play.

Cameron later tweeted an apology but it did little to dismiss the impres-sion that tensions still exist between players and administrators months af-ter a contracts dispute scuppered a lu-crative tour of India.

Given the hard-hitting Gayle has not scored a one-day century in 19 innings, his last coming in mid-2013, the tweet may have had some currency among West Indies fans. On the eve of West Indies’ third World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Canberra, Holder said he was “fully con� dent” the opener was primed to turn things around. l

Zimbabwe banking on Whatmore know-how against Caribbeans n AFP, Canberra

Zimbabwe believe the guile of coach Dav Whatmore can help them spring a World Cup upset by beating the West Indies, senior batsman Hamilton Ma-sakadza said Monday.

Zimbabwe head into Tuesday’s piv-otal Pool B match at Canberra’s Manu-ka Oval level on points with the un-predictable Caribbean cricketers and responding well to the much-travelled Whatmore’s words.

Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup title and has also been in charge of Bangladesh and Paki-stan, was only appointed to the Zimba-bwe job six weeks before the World Cup.

However, Masakadza said he had made an immediate mark upon the team.

“The coach has had a very big impact for us. He’s changed a couple of things and he’s really got the guys going in a certain direction, and that’s been work-ing really well for us,” Masakadza said.

“I think the atmosphere within the team has been really good now. The guys are really working hard and the guys are very focused.

“The guys are really looking forward to this World Cup, and I think even be-yond this World Cup, we’re expecting a lot of good things to happen, because we’ve had a few problems in the past with administration and things like that,” he added.

“I think that’s also getting better. Guys are a little bit more focused on the actual cricket and giving the cricket side a little bit more of what they need.

“I think looking forward and going

ahead, I think things are looking up.”Masakadza, who top-scored with 80

in Zimbabwe’s creditable � rst-up loss to South Africa before his side defeated the United Arab Emirates, said Whatmore had complied plenty of information for the team ahead of the West Indies game.

“The coach got quite a bit of infor-mation yesterday (Sunday) when we got here, so we basically have a really good idea what it’s going to be like out there,” the batsman said.

“I think it’s going to be really import-ant to start o� well, both with our bat-ting and our bowling, because I think their top order is very dangerous.

“We mustn’t let them get away from us too quickly, and similarly, the bat-ting, Pakistan were four down early (against the West Indies on Saturday), and you can’t really recover from a po-sition like that.

“We just have to make sure that we start early, both with bat and with ball.”

Masakadka, playing at his � rst World Cup, said Zimbabwe would have the plans to deal with the West Indies and their potentially destructive opener Chris Gayle.

“They’ve had a bit of a mixed tourna-ment so far, so we just come along with our plans, planning for them to be on top of their game and being able to deal with them being on top of their game,” he said.

“Chris Gayle is a good player. We all know that. He hasn’t really got runs so far.

“But we have our plans against him and have our plans against all the dif-ferent batters, and hopefully we � re up front and get a few wickets early.” l

McGrath African hunting photos spark death threatsn Agencies

A Melbourne photographer who ignit-ed a social media storm by posting pho-tos of former cricketer Glenn McGrath grinning alongside dead African wild-life said he has received death threats from hunters around Australia.

He has also been deleting a number of repulsive statements directed to-wards McGrath and his family, assumed to be from animal rights activists.

Celebrated wildlife photographer Christopher Rimmer said he had re-ceived more than 600 personal mes-sages since he posted the pictures to his Facebook page on Friday afternoon. The photographs of McGrath posing with a shot elephant, bu� alo and two hyenas were sent to him by a friend in South Africa.

Rimmer said more than a dozen peo-ple – many with hunting links on their Facebook pro� les - had made written threats to hurt or kill him. He said one

man from the Western Australian min-ing town of Kalgoorlie wrote “he’d like to hunt my family down and use me as a trophy on his wall”.

Another critic who wrote on Rim-mer’s blog accused him of being “out for his � ve minutes of fame”.

“Glenn is one of life’s gentlemen and his reputation amongst those who mat-ter won’t be tarnished by the likes of you,” he said.

Some of those on the other side of the debate also resorted to ugly public threats, most too obscene to be repeat-ed, directed to McGrath and his wife and children.

The wave of vitriol has prompted Rimmer to ask: “I wonder who is more nutty – the animal liberation [activists] or the hunters?”

He said he was yet to contact police with the death threats, as he did not be-lieve they posed a genuine threat.

McGrath, a former Australian test cricketer, made an apology via his

Twitter account on the same day the photos began circulating last week showing him posing with a gun and the line-up of dead African animals.

In the short statement he admitted participating in a Zimbabwe hunting safari in 2008 that was “legal but in hindsight highly inappropriate”.

In 2008 McGrath lost his wife Jane following a long � ght with breast can-cer. He noted in the Twitter statement that: “It was an extremely di� cult time in my life and looking back I deeply re-gret being involved.”

The pictures of McGrath are believed to have been originally published on the website of Chipitani Safaris, a game park in South Africa. But Rimmer said it was his Facebook post on Friday afternoon that led to them being widely shared.

Although now based in Melbourne with his family and two young children, the wildlife photographer was born in South Africa and has travelled to Africa more than 20 times in recent years. l

Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath posing with a dead elephant and bu� alo that he shot down while hunting in Zimbabwe in 2008. (Inset) McGrath’s subsequent apology for shooting down the animals INTERNET

FIXTURES Juventus v Dortmund Man City v Barcelona

SHOOTERZee Studio, 5:25pmCast: Mark Wahlberg, Rhona MitraA marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learn-ing of a plot to kill the President.

JERRY MAGUIREHBO De� ned, 2:55pmCast: Tom Cruise, Renee ZellwegerWhen a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is � red for express-ing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an inde-pendent with the only athlete who stays with him.

MURDER ON THE HOME FRONTStar Movies Action, 6:30pmCast: Patrick Kennedy, Tamzin Mer-chantSet during the London Blitz of 1940, this is a world where people live life in the moment. It is also a world where criminals can use the blackout and devastation to hide their darkest activities.

STEPMOMHBO Hits, 11:50pmCast: Julia Roberts, Susan SarandonA terminally ill mother has to settle on the new woman in her former husband’s life who will be their stepmother.

DHAKA TRIBUNE Entertainment Tuesday, February 24, 2015 15

WHAT TO WATCHTELEVISION

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 3DI ZERO DEGREE I ROMEO V/S JULIET I SEVENTH SON 3D I JESSABELLE@ Star Cineplex

SEVENTH SON 3D I ROMEO V/S JULIET I EXODUS 3D I INTERSTELLAR I NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB I THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES I THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 3D I ZERO DEGREE

@ Blockbuster Cinemas

THEATRE

2 0 1 5 A C A D E M Y A W A R D S R E D C A R P E T Dhaka Tribune's Best-Dressed list from the Oscars 2015 red carpetn Mahmood Hossain and Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

#OSCAR TWEETSCOLIN @duckisgodFifty Shadesof Travolta#Oscars2015pic.twitter.com/y0106slmlP

ROB DELANY@robdelanyCommon’sacceptancespeech gotme pregnant

STYLECASTER@StyleCasterEvery presenter should have a British accent. It makes every word seem more important.#oscars2015

SANDYT@sassygirlcanadaThe fashion panel on E! is atrocious. It’s like Cinderella and her clueless stepsisters! #YorkdaleOscars#Oscars2015

MAXIMILIANO@maxi_schon“When you have to attend the#OscarsRedCarpet but you left the dishes in the sink at home @ladygaga #brava.”

Naomi Watts inArmani PriveThis beautiful woman took a step outside of the box and graced us with something edgier for the red carpet. Kudos. - MH

The cutouts, the berry lip. Looks like someone’s really been paying attention to the Spring2015 runway trend reports. - SFA

Marion Cotillard in Dior Haute CoutureThis French beauty is always on the top dressed list. The look is elegant, I just wish it didn’t remind me of bub-ble wrap. - MH

Winter whites are the perfect foil to Mademoiselle Cotillard’s warm per-sonality. - SFA

Lupita Nyong’o in custom Calvin Klein She’s wearing 6,000 pearls! I mean, come on! That takes guts, and Ms Nyong’o isn’t lacking con� dence in this gown. - MH

Once again, Lupita’s proven that she’s not Hollywood’s fashion icon du jour for nothing. This is a � awless execution of a bold choice. - SFA

Sienna Miller in Oscar de la Renta with Forevermark jewelsThe black cutout, � oral detail had just enough exposure on this bow favoured navy gown. Sienna was simply gorgeous. - MH

Another navy stunner, Sienna really knows how to work it. - SFA

Jessica Chastain in custom Givenchy Haute CoutureEverything in this look is just perfect. From the hair, makeup, jewellery, and that winning smile, Beyonce would be proud because she looks � awless! - MH

The elegant navy blue is a perfect foil for Jessica’s dramatic colouring. The entire look just works. - SFA

Scarlett Johansson in Atelier VersaceA tad reminiscent of Uma as Poison Ivy? Who knows? But the neck piece, skin-tight fabric and that � erce hair-cut topped the entire look. Bravo. - MH

The necklace and the dress might strike some as too matchy-matchy, but ScarJo somehow made it work. Thumbs up for that faux-hawk pixie cut. - SFA

Felicity Jones in Alexander McQueen Sigh. Why she hasn’t been cast as British royalty is ba� ing. This shade is so soothing to the eye, you could easily confuse her for a Disney princess. - MH

The balanced proportions, the immaculate blending of detail and simplicity, and the discreet accessorising. This look is perfection. - SFA

Rita Ora in Marchesa with Lorraine Swartz jewelsJaw dropping, something we always expect from Marchesa. Rita looked like she just walked out of a Gothic fantasy. A fantasy worth revisiting over and over again. - MH

We love that Rita ditched her signature red lip for this frosty nude. This look is sleek, polished and classy. - SFA

Emma Stone in Elie Saab Haute CoutureShe’s always been a favourite of ours, seriously beautiful. However, the colour should have been di� erent and this would have been a winner. - MH

Ms Stone knows what works on her, and keeps her look understated and classy. We’re totally digging that bold orange lip. - SFA

Reese Witherspoon in Tom Ford with Ti� any & Co jewels

Precious. How many times can you say that about a Tom Ford dress? Ford’s silhouettes are always tempt-ing and sexy, not on Reese though. -MH

If you needed any more reason to hop aboard the classic black and white trend, the � esty Ms Wither-spoon has just given you it. - SFA

Best Picture:Birdman

Best Director:Alejandro González Iñárritu- Birdman

Best Original Screenplay:Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Ar-mando Bo – Birdman

Best Adapted Screenplay:Graham Moore– The Imitation Game

Best Actor:Eddie Redmayne– The Theory of Everything

Best Actress:Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Best Supporting Actor:JK Simmons - Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress:Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Best foreign � lm:Paweł Pawlikowski - Ida

87th Annual Academy AwardsThe Winners

87th Annual Academy AwardsThe Winners

MEHAZABIEN set to play in Mon Putuler Golpon Entertainment Desk

Lux Channel i Superstar 2009 Mehaz-abien Chowdhury has been recently roped into Ruman Runi's directorial venture titled Mon Putuler Golpo. The TV play has been penned by Sharif Shujon. She will be playing the role of Tushi, the protagonist. In a conversation with Dhaka Tribune, Mehazabien ex-plains, “Mon Putuler Golpo' is a nar-rative. At the end of the story, we dis-cover that it is a doll whose real life is being narrated. These kinds of sto-ries are abstract and challenging to play. I have worked with Runi before and it is always a good experience.” “I am working in fewer TV plays, as I am in search of good scripts,” she adds. The � lming of the TV play has been completed. The drama is expected to be aired on Eid-ul-Fitr. Mehazabien has recently been en-dorsing numerous brands for TVCs. Also among her projects in progress is a sci-� � lm titled “Porobashinee." l

Best Oscars 2015 quotes n Entertainment Desk

Here are this year’s key soundbites, as they’re served up at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Neil Patrick Harris’s diversity zinger“Tonight we celebrate Hollywood’s best and whitest, sorry… brightest.”

JK Simmons’s parental plea“If you’re lucky enough to have a parent or two alive, call them. Don’t text, don’t email. Call them. Listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you.”

Patricia Arquette’s equality speech“To every woman who gave birth, to every citizen and taxpayer, it’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women of the United States of America!”

Julianne Moore goes funny “I’ve heard it said that winning

an Oscar means you live � ve years longer. If that’s true I want to thank the academy because my husband is younger than me.”

Alejandro González Iñárritu does funny and serious“Maybe next year the government might impose some immigration rules on the academy. Two Mexicans in a row is suspicious. [On Mexican immigrants in the US] I hope they can be treated with respect of the ones who came before and built this incredible immigrant nation.”

Paweł Pawlikowski’s Ida irony“We made a � lm about the need for silence and withdrawal… and here we are at the epicentre of noise and excitement. Life is full of surprises.”

Neil Patrick Harris’s Edward Snowden joke“The subject of Citizenfour, Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason.” l

Some books draw more attention than othersn Nure Alam Durjoy

While the fair see new arriv-als every day, some have caught the at-tention of more readers than others have,

especially Muhammad Zafar Iqbal’s science � ction novel, Serina.

Besides Iqbal’s novel, some oth-er books to have caught the readers’ eye include “Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita,” “Apon Chokhe Bhinno Chokhe,” “Bik-khober Dingulite Prem,” “Ghetuputra Kamala,” “Rokkha Koro Hey Bhoirob,” “Toronger Osthir Noukay,” and a translation of the Iliad, said their re-spective publication houses.

In the early hours of the fair, yes-terday, when this correspondent was

browsing through the pavilion of So-moy Prokashan’s, he saw a moderate number of booklovers, especially the youth, asking for “Serina.”

In the seven or eight minutes he spent at Somoy Prokashan, the corre-spondent learned that at least 11 cop-ies of the book had been sold.

“The fourth edition of “Serina” is now available, and the � fth edition is expected to hit the fair soon,” said Anisur Rahman, an attendant of this stall.

Though busy serving customers, Rahman told Dhaka Tribune: “Each edition contains 5,000 copies of “Se-rina.”

“Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita” by Sheikh Hasina, available at the Agamee Prakashani stall, has drawn a good number of readers. According to the stall’s attendants, the second edition of this biography about Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is available, as the � rst edition had sold out earlier.

Mithila Osman of Agamee Prakashani said Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita is one of the top sellers.

“Apon Chokhe Bhinno Chokhe,” a biography on Bangladeshi cricket giant Shakib Al Hasan, by Debbrata Mukerjee, is on o� er by Oitijjo.

“This book is one of our best sell-ers, along with some others,” said Oitijjo director Amjad Hossain Kajol.

Prothoma Prakashan has available at the fair Anisul Hoque’s new nov-el, “Bikkhober Dingulite Prem.” This book has drawn a good number of readers as well, said the stall’s attend-ants yesterday.

They added, though the � rst edi-tion is still available, the novel is still being sold well, when compared to our overall sales.

Pronoy Das, an attendant at the

stall, said to Dhaka Tribune: “Sales of the translated epic, Iliad, are sat-isfactory. In fact, Homer’s “Iliad” has drawn the most readers, and is our best seller here.”

“Ghetuputra Kamala,” a cine-script by Humayun Ahmed, has also drawn many readers to Anonya Prakash, ac-cording to its stall attendants.

“Rokkha Koro Hey Bhoirob,” a poet-ry collection by Nirmalendu Goon and “Toronger Osthir Noukay,” Syed Sham-sul Haque’s poetry collection, are avail-able at the stalls of Bibhas Prakashan and Shudhashar, respectively.

Attendants at the stalls shared sim-ilar stories about their sales, that in 23 days, sales have been quite decent.

However, the number of visitors is increasing, as the fair is on the verge of coming to an end. With 99 new ar-rivals yesterday, the number of new arrivals now stands at 3,052. l

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

AMAR EKUSHEYBOOK FAIR 2015

With only a few days left before the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela comes to an end, book lovers continue to throng to the fair in search of new books written by their favourite authors. The photo taken yesterday shows readers of all ages at the Suhrawardy Udyan section of the book fair MEHEDI HASAN

Costs of crude oil halved in BPC’s revised purchase plann Aminur Rahman Rasel

State-owned Bangladesh Petrole-um Corporation ( BPC) has estimat-ed crude oil imports to cost a Free on Board (FOB) price of $74 per barrel, in a revised proposal sent to the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase last week.

The BPC chairman said the revised proposal for around $600mn in imports takes into consideration drastic de-clines in oil prices which have brought oil prices to less than $60 per barrel.

“Our proposal from three months ago which was sent to the cabinet committee in December last year was a mistake. We have sent a revised a proposal to cabinet through the Ener-gy and Mineral Resources Division that takes into account the new price of oil,” BPC Chairman AM Badrudduja told the Dhaka Tribune recently.

The BPC plans to import 1.3 million tonnes of crude oil, up 9.53% from the 1.176 million tonnes imported during the last � scal year that ended on June 30, he said.

According to the proposal submit-ted to the cabinet committee, the BPC will buy 700,000 tonnes of Arabian light crude oil from state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Company, widely known as Saudi Aramco, and will import 600,000 tonnes of Murban crude oil from UAE state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC.

He said the oil will be purchased at prevailing global market prices.

An earlier BPC proposal sent to the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on February 11, 2015, estimat-ed import costs to be approximately $1.129bn, nearly double the $600mn revised estimate.

At the time, the FOB price of oil was estimated to be $117.88 per barrel for the period January-June 2015 and $127.88 per barrel for the period Ju-ly-December.

FOB is a trade term that means that

the seller pays for the transportation of goods to the port of shipment, plus loading costs. The buyer pays the cost of marine freight transport, insurance, unloading, and transportation from the arrival port to the � nal destination.

Badrudduja said the BPC had re-vised its proposal to an FOB price of $74 per barrel for the January-Decem-ber 2015 period.

The corporation’s import bill has dropped 40.95% from $968.55 million expended last � scal year for 1.176 mil-

lion tonnes of crude, to the current year’s estimate of $600 million for 1.3 million tonnes, the high o� cial said.

Of the 5.5 million tonnes of petro-leum Bangladesh annually requires, crude oil accounts for 1.3 million tonnes of domestic demand while the rest is for re� ned oil.

BPC has incurred losses in the last few years because of soaring prices in the international market, purchases made on credit and a policy of reselling in the domestic market at relatively low prices.

The BPC chairman said his organisation had not taken any money in subsidies from the government since October last year, as oil prices kept on decreasing in the international market.

“We will not need to take any more

money for the rest of the current � nan-cial year,” he added.

The BPC will reach its break-even point if oil prices hold steady, he said.

“Bangladesh has standing agree-ments with both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for import-ing crude oil under the selling price system of the government,” Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Abu Bakar Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune recently.

“But every year the contracts need to be renewed by both sides in order for them to be e� ective for another year,” he said.

The energy secretary said the oil purchase rate could change if oil prices or exchange rates change.

“The cabinet committee suggest-ed that we should revise our earlier proposal. We have done so and sent them a proposal with a new FOB price. Whether the committee will be satis-� ed with our revisions is a matter for the committee to decide,” Abu Bakar said.

The price per barrel of crude oil will be � xed at $60 or less, depending on when it is purchased, he said.

The BPC typically funds its oil im-ports with loans from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the lending arm of the Islamic Develop-ment Bank, foreign banks and via de-ferred payment mechanisms.

The state-run fuel import and mar-keting monopoly also takes loans from the government exchequer through the Ministry of Finance for meeting fuel import bills.

The remaining amount comes from the sale proceeds of petroleum prod-ucts in the domestic market.

After import, all crude petroleum is re� ned at the state-owned Eastern Re-� nery plant in Chittagong.

The re� ned fuel oil is marketed by three oil marketing companies under the Bangladesh Petroleum Corpora-tion. l

Power Division instructs entities to prevent grid failuren Aminur Rahman Rasel

The Power Division has circulated a standing instruction for generation, transmission and distribution agencies and companies to ensure proper man-agement of the national electricity grid.

Centring the blackout on Novem-ber 1 last year, the circular was signed by Power Division Joint Secretary Md Mahbub-Ul-Alam. He said coordination among all entities is must for ensuring proper management and supply.

The circular describes 47 separate points for generation, transmission and distribution companies.

Nearly a month after the blackout, State Minister for Power Nasrul Ha-mid said lack of adjustment between production and supply had caused the blackout.

At present, 12 agencies, companies and independent power producers generate, transmit and distribute elec-tricity under the Power Division.

Short term instructions for agencies and companies generating power in-clude identi� cation of technical fault and formation of troubleshooting teams.

Power stations have to assign groups who will work on six-hour shifts to ensure that frequency remains under control.

Mid and long-term instruction for power generating agencies and compa-nies include ensuring at least one auxilia-ry unit at one power station in each region and completing maintenance between November 1 and February 15 every year.

Short-term instructions for transmis-sion companies include ensuring pres-ence of at least one o� cial not below the rank of executive engineer at the Nation-al Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) to man-age the emergency situations.

Other instructions for them are en-suring implementation of grid code at all grid sub-stations, distribution agen-cies and power plants to prevent grid failure; and identifying the reasons be-hind frequent tripping at the Bherama-ra High Voltage Direct Current sub-sta-tion and take measures accordingly. l

PM signs proposal for holding split DCC pollsn Tribune Report

The prime minister has signed an LGRD Ministry proposal regarding the staging of elections to the bifurcated Dhaka City Corporation, while directing au-thorities to also immediately organise city elections for Chittagong.

After a cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed the summary of the proposal, said a cabi-net member who attended the meet-ing, adding that LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam was also present at time.

The poll schedule will be announced by the Election Commission following consultation with the LGRD minister, the cabinet member said on condi-tion of anonymity, adding that Hasina would later announce the prospective candidates for the Dhaka South City Corporation and Chittagong City Cor-poration polls.

“At the last cabinet meeting, the prime minister announced the possi-ble candidacy of former FBCCI pres-ident Annisul Haque for the Dhaka North City Corporation election. But on Monday’s cabinet meeting, she did not mention any possible candidates for the two other city corporations [Dhaka South and Chittagong].”

The cabinet member said Hasina also directed Awami League leaders to stop multiple candidates of the party from competing against each other in individ-ual seats in the city corporation elections.

Before the Dhaka City Corporation was split on November 29, 2011, the last election of the DCC was held in April

2002. Awami League, then main oppo-sition, did not participate, and Sadeque Hossain Khoka, then a minister of BNP government, became mayor.

Meanwhile, asked about the pre-mier signing the summary, LGRD Sen-ior Secretary Manzur Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that he had heard that the prime minister had ap-proved it, but was yet to see the � le.

“The Election Commission has al-ready received a gazette on demar-cation of the two city corporations in Dhaka... We know that after receiving the gazette noti� cation, the Election Commission will announce the election schedule within 14 days,” he added.

Regarding the election in Chit-tagong, the outgoing LGRD senior sec-retary said the EC would also stage the Chittagong City Corporation election within a short time.

Meanwhile, the cabinet member said the prime minister did not make any re-marks yesterday regarding media reports about a controversial leaked phone con-versation allegedly between Nagorik Oik-ya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna and BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

However, several cabinet members reportedly held discussion about the leaked conversation and pointed out that Bangla daily Ittefaq – where Envi-ronment Minister Anwar Hussain was a former editor – had published stories regarding the leak.

Yesterday’s cabinet meeting report-edly did not have any discussion about the ongoing blockade and hartals by the BNP-led 20-party alliance. l

Verdict today in fugitive Jabbar’s war crimes caseJabbar, 85, allegedly played a key role in forming the razakar force in Mathbarian Ahmed Zayeef

A war crimes tribunal in Dhaka is set to deliver its verdict today in the case against former Jatiya Party lawmaker engineer Mohammad Abdul Jabbar, now fugitive, for his alleged crimes committed in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War.

The International Crimes Tribunal 1 has kept the case on its cause list for today.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, concluded the trial proceedings on December 3 last year and kept the case waiting for verdict. Jabbar was indicted on August 14, 2014.

The alleged chairman of Mathbaria unit Peace Committee, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, is fac-ing � ve charges of crimes against human-ity and genocide committed in Pirojpur.

Jabbar, now 85, had allegedly played a key role in the formation of razakar force and led the collaborators in com-mitting crimes in Mathbaria.

The charges levelled against him in-clude killing 36 people, forcefully con-verting 200 Hindus to Islam, and loot-ing and torching 500 houses in several villages of the district.

The prosecution submitted the for-mal charges against Jabbar on May 11 last year. On May 12, the tribunal issued arrest warrant against him after taking the charges into cognisance.

On July 8 last year, the tribunal ap-pointed Mohammad Abul Hassan as counsel to defend the fugitive accused.

A total of 24 prosecution witnesses testi� ed against Jabbar. The defence did not bring anyone to give deposition in favour of the accused.

A former Muslim League leader, Jab-bar was also made accused in a case � led under the collaborators’ act in 1972.

After the independence, he went into hiding and remained fugitive un-til the political changeover of August 15, 1975. Resuming politics, Jabbar was

elected lawmaker from Mathbaria in 1986 and 1988 with Jatiya Party ticket.

Jabbar has been on the run since 2009, according to the war crimes in-vestigation agency.

According to a witness, Jabbar was elected an MPA in 1967-68. He took the charge of Peace Committee of Mathbar-ia during the war and recruited Iskan-dar Ali Mridha as the razakar com-mander of that area.

The charges say razakars and other anti-liberation forces on Jabbar’s in-struction killed Motaleb Sharif and Ab-dur Razzak Bishwas in Phuljhuri village of Mathbaria on May 16. They also loot-ed and torched the houses of around 100-150 Hindus at Kulupara and Nath-para the same day.

On May 17, upon Jabbar’s order, his accomplices killed Sarada Kanta Paik while attempting to � ee away. They also torched around 360 houses be-longing to Muslim and Hindu families after looting.

On May 22, Jabbar shot dead Sokhanath Kharati in Naligram village while his accomplices, under his or-der, killed Jitendra Nath Biswas, Nishi Kanta Biswas, Surendra Nath Biswas, Sokhanath Kharati, Gonesh Chandra Mistri, Nepal Chandra Mistri, Upandra Nath Mistri, Basanto Halder, Boloram Mistri, Upendra Nath Biswas and Shasti Hawlader. Around 60 houses of the lo-cal Hindus were looted and set on � re.

Around 200 Hindus of Paik Bari un-der Phuljhuri village were converted to Islam in the last week of May. They were given Muslim names and forced to eat beef. Later the razakars established a mosque in the area and forced the Hin-du women to marry Muslim men.

On October 6 of 1971, about 40-50 razakars led by Jabbar went to Angulk-ata village and detained 37 Hindus. Out of them, 22 persons were killed by gun shots while 15 others injured. The col-laborators also looted the houses of the victims. l

The BPC chairman said his organisation had not taken any money in subsidies from the government since October last year, as oil prices kept on decreasing in the international market

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 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

B3 Fed rate rise timing back in the spotlight

B4 Oil edges up on Greek debt optimism, but market remains oversupplied

Agriculture loan rescheduling policy relaxed BB also asks banks to withdraw certi� cate cases or settle the cases through negotiation n Jebun Nesa Alo

Bangladesh Bank has relaxed the re-scheduling policy for agriculture loans to facilitate the country’s agribusiness.

From now on, the condition of re-ceiving down payment in rescheduling a farm loan can be relaxed on the basis of bank-client relationship, according to a circular issued yesterday that takes immediate e� ect. In some cases, loans can be rescheduled even without tak-ing any down payment.

“Farmers will get further short-term agriculture loan just after rescheduling their previous loans. In this case, loans can be provided even without taking any fresh deposit.’’

Loan rescheduling facilities could be o� ered during the proceedings through negotiation with the clients, and the farmers will get the facilities till December this year.

The o� er for the farmers came one month after blessing the big borrowers through approving a separate restruc-turing policy to bring them out from losses caused by political unrest.

Earlier on January 27, Bangladesh Bank had o� ered a separate loan re-structuring policy for the big defaulters, having loans worth over Tk500 crore.

Settling certificate cases

In a separate circular issued on the same day, the central bank asked the banks to take necessary measures to withdraw certi� cate cases or settle the cases through negotiation as well as regularising the loans.

All the banks will have to inform the Agricultural Credit and Financial In-clusion Department of the central bank about the monthly progress, it said.

“Banks also asked to take necessary steps to reduce the certi� cate cases in future by any means.”

State-owned commercial banks and specialised banks will form di� erent cells for recovering all the default loans including agriculture loans.

The farmers a� ected by natural dis-asters will be provided with fresh loans along with the rescheduling facilities by the banks.

The circular also asked the banks to reward the farmers, who pay their loans regularly, for encouraging them in agribusiness.

Earlier, on December 2013, Bang-ladesh Bank had relaxed its loan re-scheduling policy as a strategy to help the banks cut their default loan rates.

Though the relaxed loan policy con-tinued till June last year, banks are still continuing the process to reschedule loans.

On the pressure of commercial bank, the central bank allowed to re-schedule loans taking advantages even after June last year as bank’s CEOs were asked to bring down the default loan rate at single digit by December 2014.

Finally, the default loan rate came down to single digit 9.69% in the fourth quarter of the last year from 11.60% in the previous quarter thanks to huge re-scheduling of default loans. l

Digital payments gain popularity at Ekushey Book Fair n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Customers at Ekushey Book Fair are increasingly using digital system like bKash to pay for books.

Although the publishers adopted the system last year, the response from the visitors is huge this time, said the peo-ple concerned, adding that the system has made the transactions hassle-free.

Besides, the book buyers are enjoy-ing discounts from bKash if they use the system to make their payments at the fair.

“Payment through bKash (in book fair) was a new experience for me. I opened my bKash wallet mainly to re-ceive money from my father at home.

But I could use it now for other purpos-es too, for example, in buying books,” said Rumana Rahman, a Dhaka Univer-sity student.

She bought 10 books from the book fair making the payments through bKash.

Hasnat, another student, chose some books to buy but saw the money he had in his wallet and bKash account not su� cient.

He called a friend and asked him to transfer some money to the bKash ac-count. Finally, Hasnat could buy the books of his choice.

Like Rumana and Hasnat, a good number of visitors at the book fair, are choosing bkash to make payments.

bKash, the leading mobile � nancial

service provider in the country, has signed agreements with more than 120 publishers to accept payments through bKash by the customers.

The service provider also o� ers 10% cash back if the wallet users make the purchase through bKash.

The o� er got started on February 7 and has been able to generate positive response from the book lovers.

On the other hand, though the num-ber is few, some publishers are also ac-cepting debit and credit cards as mode of payment.

“The book fair is no more a cash-on-ly a� airs. Introduction of bKash, deb-it and credit cards as payment option brings a lot of bene� ts to customers,”

Milon Kanti Nath, owner of Anupom Prokashoni, told Dhaka Tribune.

Milon, also president of the Pub-lishers Association, said though they had started accepting digital payments since last year but this year the re-sponse is huge.

“Everyday we are selling some books using digital payment system. But it is di� cult to say how much the number is,” Milon said.

Asif Ahmed, head of marketing at bKash, said the response from custom-ers is “very encouraging.”

According to bKash authorities, pay-ment through bKash is free of charge and books already sold using bKash worth Tk5 lakh. l

Many MLM � rms � out law, clients feared vulnerable to lossesn Asif Showkat Kallol

Many of Multi-Level Marketing compa-nies are doing business allegedly vio-lating law.

Such violation might lead to anoth-er round of heavy � nancial loss for cus-tomers, say o� cials.

Eight MLM companies in the country continue their business having stay or-der from the court on government deci-sion which disquali� es them for licence.

The sources said foreign MLM com-panies are illegally transferring their pro� t without taking permission from Bangladesh Bank.

The eight MLM companies include foreign Daehsan (Bangladesh) Pvt Ltd, Destiny 2000 Ltd, Dream Together (Pvt) Ltd, foreign Forever Living Prod-ucts Bangladesh Ltd, Pinnacle Sourcing Ltd, foreign Tianshi (Bangladesh) Com-pany Ltd, Life Way Bangladesh (Pvt) Ltd and Maknom International Ltd.

A commerce ministry o� cial said the MLM � rms are violating MLM law and depriving clients of travel incen-tive and pro� t sharing.

They are also involved in irregularities in transfer of rights of distributors and duel distributors and abnormal commis-sion at procurement stage, he said.

According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) report, the country’s largest MLM company Destiny laun-dered around Tk5,113 crore from 2002 to 2006 through 282 accounts by its three sister con-cerns - Destiny 2000 Ltd, Destiny Tree Plantation

Ltd and Destiny Multipurpose Cooper-ative Society Ltd (DMCSL).

A total of 7m clients of Destiny had lost their deposit from 2002 to 2006.

The BB report said Destiny 2000 started operating bank accounts from 2000, DMCSL from 2005 and Destiny Tree Plantation from 2006.

The BB found only Tk190 crore in Des-tiny Group’s 282 frozen bank accounts.

Commerce ministry sources said the parliamentary standing committee on commerce ministry is now examining the irregularities of MLM companies.

The committee will also give its opinion on the extension of four MLM companies as their respective licences expired on February 2 this year.

The four MLM companies are Mod-ern Herbal, World Mission, Shadhine Online and Rich Business System.

“If necessary, we will amend the MLM law 2013 to stop cheating innocent people,” said Senior Commerce Secre-tary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon said.

He said they would make a decision on the renewal of licence soon after getting opinion from the standing com-mittee.

According to the law, every MLM company must obtain a licence before starting its business. l

A bKash poster hangs at a stall at Bangla Academy’s Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka. The use of digital channels of payment has increased at the book fair RAJIB DHAR

State banks will form di� erent cells to recover all default loans including agriculture loans

NBR boss hopeful about achieving revenue target n Tribune Report

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Nojibur Rahman yester-day expected that the revenue target for the current � scal year would be achieved despite the ongoing political situation.

He expressed the high hope on the performance of VAT (Value Added Tax) collection in the last couple of months.

“The VAT collection for December last year and January this year has al-ready been achieved,” he told report-ers while visiting the VAT Audit In-telligence & Investigation Directorate of NBR in Dhaka. Director General of Customs Intelligence & Investigation Directorate Moinul Khan and senior revenue o� cers were present during the visit.

Moinul said the economy is going through some challenges due to the political unrest, but still it is not in dan-ger. “The revenue collection target will be achieved despite this situation … It may even exceed the target.”

He asked the directorate to � nd out the dishonest businessmen and take legal action against them.

The chairman warned that the poor performing o� cers will not be appoint-ed in the vital posts. He also o� ered in-centives for good performers.

“We have already identi� ed well performing o� cers to be appointed in the vital posts for conducting the key activities of the revenue management.”

He said: “We will overcome the on-going crisis soon and the economic ac-tivities will return to normalcy.” l

Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen addresses the audience at a function in Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR

‘We will overcome the ongoing crisis soon and economic activities will return to normalcy’

Amartya Sen for more investment in human development n Tribune Report

Nobel prize-winning economist Am-artya Sen said in Dhaka yesterday that economic development will not be sustained without human develop-ment that depends on increased social investments such as health and educa-tion sectors.

He said India’s much lauded eco-nomic development is faltering as it fails to remove disparity between poor and reach. Sen was delivering a speech among thousands of audiences on the occasion of launching a book in Bang-la version tilted “An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions” he coau-thored with Jean Drèze.

Sen is currently Professor of Eco-nomics and Philosophy at Harvard University, and an OPHI advisor, while Drèze is currently an honorary Professor at the Delhi School of Economics, and Visiting Professor at the Department of

Economics, Allahabad University. The function was jointly organised

by the Centre for Policy Dialogue and Prothom Alo.

The Nobel laureate said over the past three and four decades, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in human development indicators such as life expectancy, child immunisation and child mortality. “Bangladesh has pulled ahead of India despite being poorer.”

Sen said now everybody says about the private sector-led growth. “But this thinking has � aws. Look at India that saw huge economic development, led by IT, pharmaceuticals and auto parts, but failed to improve living standard of the poor.”

India’s economic growth makes no sense without recognising that human development depends on how that wealth is used and distributed, he said.

Kerala are held up as good examples of how social investments from the 60s

to the 80s have reaped dividends in economic growth.

Comparing to the economic develop-ment with China, he said China has made huge social investment in the 70s so that by 1979 and their economy sustained.

In reply to a question, Sen said ba-sic democratic rights have been under-mined in the name of perfect democra-cy. “Don’t think that perfect democracy will come in Bangladesh within a short period of time.”

“But the bottom line is that you should have ensured freedom of speech, and the media can play big role in this regard. I do not believe that you will cry for democracy for attaining lib-erty.” He stressed the need for dialogue to enable democracy.

“Is democracy reducing disparity between reach and poor?” he posed the question. “It is important to talk with the poor and listen to them for bringing changes in the society.” l

B2 Stock Tuesday, February 24, 2015DHAKA TRIBUNE

News, analysis and recent disclosuresUCBL: The Board of Directors has recom-mended 10% cash dividend and 20% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 31.03.2015, Time and Venue: To be noti� ed later on. Record date: 04.03.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 4.39, NAV per share of Tk. 26.88 and NOCFPS of Tk. (1.81) for the year ended on December 31, 2014.PRIMEINSUR: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 30.03.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management (BIAM), 63, New Eskaton, Dhaka. Record date: 04.03.2015. The Com-pany has also reported EPS of Tk. 2.53, NAV per share of Tk. 17.04 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.15 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.UCBL: The Company has requested the shareholders to update their BO Account with 12 digits e-TIN number through their respective DP before the Record Date. If anyone fails to update e-TIN in BO Account before the Record Date, disbursement

of respective dividend will be subject to deduction of Advance Income Tax (AIT) at the rate of 15% instead of 10% (in the case of individual) as per amended IT Ordinance XXXVI of 1984 under Section 54.HEIDELBCEM: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on February 26, 2015 at 4:00 PM to consider, among others, au-dited � nancial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014.GLAXOSMITH: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on February 24, 2015 at 4:30 PM to consider, among others, au-dited � nancial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014.ACTIVEFINE: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors has decided to purchase a land measuring 0.40 acres at Shoilmary, Botiaghata, Khulna at a cost of Tk. 40.00 lac (excluding registration and other related expenses).Dividend/AGMBATBC: 450% � nal cash dividend (i.e. a

total of 550% cash dividend for the year 2014 inclusive of 100% interim cash divi-dend which has already been paid) , AGM: 12.04.2015, Record date: 05.03.2015.LANKABAFIN: 10% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 19.03.2015, Record Date: 02.03.2015.GREENDELT: 15% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 24.03.2015, Record Date: 01.03.2015.NCCBLMF1: 3% cash, Record date: 24.02.2015. MAKSONSPIN: 5% stock, AGM: 07.04.2015, Record date: 26.02.2015. FAREASTFIN: 10% cash and 2.5% stock, AGM: 25.03.2015, Record date: 26.02.2015.GP: 65% � nal cash dividend (i.e. total 160% cash dividend for the year 2014 in-clusive of 95% Interim cash dividend which has already been paid), AGM: 21.04.2015, Record date: 18.02.2015. SAPORTL: 10% cash and 5% stock, AGM: 14.03.2015, Record Date: 18.02.2015. CNATEX: 11% stock, AGM: 15.03.2015, Record Date: 18.02.2015.RAKCERAMIC: 25% cash, EGM and AGM: 25.03.2015, Record date: 17.02.2015.GSPFINANCE: 55% stock, AGM: 23.02.2015, Record Date: 05.02.2015.

Stocks end � at amid volatility n Tribune Report

Stocks ended � at with continued volatile trading yesterday, as late short-term pro� t booking cut early gains.

The market opened higher rising around 35 points but pro� t taking sale pressure mainly from inves-tors who remained wary over the current political impasse prevented further gains.

The benchmark index DSEX saw marginal rise of 6 points or 0.2% to settle at 4,808.

The Shariah Index DSES also moved up marginally by over 7 points or 0.7% to 1,143. The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,797, edging 9 points or 0.6% higher.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, lost slightly 8 points to 8,923.

Trading at DSE was relatively active compared to the last six ses-sions. The total turnover amount-ed to Tk315 crore, registering an increase of 28% over the previous session.

IDLC Investments said despite

gloomy political scenario, investors remained active in large-cap stocks, which surged the market in the ear-ly hours but failed to keep up the momentum as the day progressed.

LankaBangla Securities said mar-ket gave some return in early morn-ing although it erased the gain on pro� t booking.

At the end of trading, DSEX closed � at but remained mostly positive after moving sharply up around 35 points in early trading, it said.

“The market is still looking for the political resolution. Some sector speci� c stocks are bene� ting from optimism about the corporate earn-ings,” said the stock broker.

Among the major sectors, banks and food and allied sectors inched lower while all other major sectors moved up marginally.

Cement posted the highest gain of 1.5%, followed by pharmaceuti-cals which advanced by 1%.

Telecommunication, non-bank-ing � nancial institutions and power closed marginally higher.

Losers took a modest lead over the gainers as out of 311 issues trad-ed, 144 decline, 126 advanced and 41 remained unchanged on the DSE.

In the top turnover list, nine out of ten issues were large-cap stocks. Square Pharma was the most traded stock with shares worth about Tk17 crore changing hands, followed by United Commercial Bank Limited, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Com-pany Limited, ACI and IFAD Autos.

Altex Industries was the day’s top gainer, posting a rise of 9.7% while Imam Button was the day’s worst loser, losing more than 9%. l

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Imam Button -Z -8.59 -8.18 11.79 11.70 13.00 11.60 0.428 -1.48 -veKay & Que (BD) -Z -8.39 -8.39 14.20 14.20 14.20 14.20 0.001 -1.41 -veIntl. Leasing-B -5.13 -4.03 15.01 14.80 15.40 14.70 0.967 -0.09 -veAB Bank 1st Mutual Fund-A -4.76 -4.76 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 0.081 0.68 8.8Aziz PipesZ -4.52 -4.44 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 0.002 -0.37 -vePeoples Insur -A -3.88 -3.60 19.84 19.80 20.80 19.50 0.023 2.25 8.8Ifad Autos -N -3.69 -3.16 55.80 54.80 57.60 54.50 6.737 1.92 29.1S.B. 1st M. F.-A -3.66 -2.96 7.88 7.90 8.10 7.80 0.135 1.54 5.1BATBCL -A -3.56 -3.64 2,901.00 2,900.00 2,905.00 2,900.00 0.073 104.70 27.7Fareast Finance-Z -3.39 -2.42 17.33 17.10 17.70 17.00 0.734 1.93 9.0

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Imam Button -Z -9.09 -7.54 11.52 11.00 12.50 11.00 1.150 -1.48 -veSamata LeatheR -Z -6.25 -5.81 18.00 18.00 18.30 17.90 0.099 -0.46 -veIntl. Leasing-B -4.49 -3.89 15.08 14.90 15.80 14.80 8.667 -0.09 -veProgressive Life-A -3.91 -8.93 71.43 71.20 73.00 71.00 0.019 2.30 31.1United Finance - A -3.89 -3.94 27.56 27.20 28.40 26.80 13.358 2.33 11.87th ICB M F-A -3.89 -4.07 86.34 86.50 87.00 86.00 0.313 12.76 6.8EBL First M F-A -3.85 -2.32 5.05 5.00 5.10 5.00 0.379 0.84 6.0Ifad Autos -N -3.69 -2.88 55.92 54.80 57.50 54.60 81.075 1.92 29.1C & A Textile -N -3.66 -2.65 18.70 18.40 19.20 18.20 18.689 2.48 7.5Fareast Finance-Z -3.39 -2.75 17.33 17.10 17.90 17.00 14.778 1.93 9.0

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change % ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

FAR Chemical-N 1,064,345 25.48 9.71 26.50 0.00 26.50 26.90 23.90 23.94BD Submarine Cable-A 161,887 20.36 7.76 126.00 4.39 120.70 128.00 121.90 125.75Square Pharma -A 56,514 14.95 5.70 264.70 1.15 261.70 266.40 261.50 264.51BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 364,820 12.41 4.73 33.70 -0.59 33.90 34.60 33.50 34.02Shahjibazar Power-N 61,521 10.17 3.87 160.60 3.61 155.00 174.00 160.50 165.25UCBL - A 316,324 9.94 3.79 31.00 -0.32 31.10 33.00 30.80 31.43Ifad Autos -N 120,738 6.74 2.57 54.80 -3.69 56.90 57.60 54.50 55.80Grameenphone-A 17,246 5.88 2.24 339.60 0.09 339.30 343.90 339.00 340.67Alltex Industries -Z 233,011 5.79 2.20 25.80 9.79 23.50 25.80 23.80 24.83LafargeS Cement-Z 44,411 5.41 2.06 121.20 1.00 120.00 123.60 121.00 121.80ACI Limited- A 12,692 5.23 1.99 414.70 1.82 407.30 416.70 407.10 412.13aamra technologies-A 127,089 5.12 1.95 39.80 -3.16 41.10 41.50 39.60 40.28MJL BD Ltd.-A 36,042 4.44 1.69 123.20 1.40 121.50 124.00 122.40 123.23Singer BD -A 16,174 3.68 1.40 226.10 -1.14 228.70 233.00 225.70 227.54C & A Textile -N 192,801 3.60 1.37 18.50 -3.14 19.10 19.10 18.40 18.65

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

Square Pharma -A 638,435 168.68 5.36 265.00 1.42 261.30 266.10 261.40 264.21UCBL - A 4,092,620 128.39 4.08 30.80 -1.91 31.40 32.50 30.70 31.37BATBCL -A 37,377 110.21 3.50 2898.40 -0.57 2915.00 2950.00 2873.00 2948.67BD Submarine Cable-A 774,756 97.75 3.11 126.60 4.54 121.10 128.00 122.00 126.17ACI Limited- A 213,529 88.01 2.80 414.70 2.32 405.30 416.20 407.00 412.18Ifad Autos -N 1,449,770 81.08 2.58 54.80 -3.69 56.90 57.50 54.60 55.92LafargeS Cement-Z 631,798 76.90 2.44 121.50 1.33 119.90 122.90 119.90 121.71Shahjibazar Power-N 448,807 74.52 2.37 162.80 1.31 160.70 172.00 161.00 166.03HeidelbergCement -A 133,422 69.30 2.20 517.60 3.27 501.20 524.50 505.00 519.38MJL BD Ltd.-A 542,061 66.77 2.12 123.20 1.15 121.80 124.00 122.40 123.17IDLC Finance -A 855,686 66.52 2.11 77.50 -0.77 78.10 79.20 77.00 77.74BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 1,856,296 63.06 2.00 33.60 -1.47 34.10 34.60 33.40 33.97Delta Life Insu. -A 403,452 60.57 1.93 152.70 5.67 144.50 153.80 144.80 150.14aamra technologies-A 1,486,239 60.08 1.91 40.00 -2.68 41.10 41.40 39.80 40.42Grameenphone-A 171,941 58.68 1.87 340.60 0.21 339.90 343.60 339.10 341.26

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 331.84 10.55 26.63 10.15 358.47 10.52NBFI 241.71 7.68 12.50 4.76 254.22 7.46Investment 22.54 0.72 2.54 0.97 25.08 0.74Engineering 311.53 9.90 22.81 8.69 334.34 9.81Food & Allied 246.51 7.84 7.52 2.86 254.02 7.45Fuel & Power 331.28 10.53 25.99 9.90 357.27 10.48Jute 4.25 0.14 0.00 4.25 0.12Textile 290.34 9.23 25.35 9.66 315.69 9.26Pharma & Chemical 535.85 17.03 55.49 21.14 591.33 17.35Paper & Packaging 8.26 0.26 0.83 0.32 9.09 0.27Service 53.07 1.69 4.65 1.77 57.71 1.69Leather 26.74 0.85 0.28 0.11 27.01 0.79Ceramic 33.31 1.06 2.99 1.14 36.30 1.07Cement 156.45 4.97 10.05 3.83 166.50 4.88Information Technology 137.77 4.38 7.92 3.02 145.70 4.27General Insurance 31.40 1.00 0.71 0.27 32.11 0.94Life Insurance 72.28 2.30 3.82 1.46 76.10 2.23Telecom 156.43 4.97 26.23 9.99 182.66 5.36Travel & Leisure 31.47 1.00 6.37 2.43 37.84 1.11Miscellaneous 121.58 3.86 19.76 7.53 141.35 4.15Debenture 1.32 0.04 0.02 0.01 1.34 0.04

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4808.64143 (+) 0.13% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1797.66124 (+) 0.53% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 14685.13910 (-) 0.10% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 12188.77740 (+) 0.55% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8922.59180 (-) 0.15% ▼

DSE key features February 23, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

3,151.84

Turnover (Volume)

68,128,195

Number of Contract 87,673

Traded Issues 313

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

145

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

161

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,589.55

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.39

CSE key features February 23, 2015Turnover (Million Taka) 262.47

Turnover (Volume) 7,416,640

Number of Contract 12,714

Traded Issues 235

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

111

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

117

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,504.76

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.36

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

Market gave some return in early morning although it erased the gain on pro� t booking

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Alltex Industries -Z 9.79 3.89 24.83 25.80 25.80 23.80 5.785 2.02 12.3Samata LeatheR -Z 9.04 9.04 20.50 20.50 20.50 20.50 0.004 -0.46 -veIslami Ins.BD-A 7.34 7.16 19.00 19.00 19.00 19.00 0.002 1.48 12.8First Lease- A 6.51 6.75 18.03 18.00 18.10 18.00 0.029 1.27 14.2ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A 5.33 4.91 7.90 7.90 7.90 7.90 0.008 0.96 8.2Usmania Glass -A 5.31 4.90 113.50 113.00 115.10 110.00 0.316 -0.88 -vePrime Insur -A 4.97 4.97 19.00 19.00 19.00 19.00 0.166 2.53 7.5Mithun Knitting -A 4.77 2.94 75.65 76.90 77.50 73.10 1.151 3.42 22.1Delta Life Insu. -A 4.54 3.99 150.28 152.00 154.00 148.00 3.238 2.92 51.5GQ Ball PenA 4.52 3.37 98.94 99.50 100.00 97.00 0.042 2.21 44.8

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Alltex Industries -Z 9.70 4.49 25.11 26.00 26.00 23.60 38.310 2.02 12.4Usmania Glass -A 6.03 4.72 114.82 116.00 116.90 110.00 3.703 -0.88 -veDelta Life Insu. -A 5.67 4.56 150.14 152.70 153.80 144.80 60.574 2.92 51.4Mithun Knitting -A 5.34 3.36 75.74 77.00 77.70 73.50 27.279 3.42 22.1Prime Insur -A 4.86 3.32 19.27 19.40 19.70 18.80 6.413 2.53 7.6BD Submarine Cable-A 4.54 4.77 126.17 126.60 128.00 122.00 97.748 0.76 166.0National Tubes -A 4.45 3.87 104.97 105.60 106.90 102.20 4.367 -1.36 -veRahim Textile -A 4.38 2.97 243.06 245.60 247.00 238.50 2.688 9.98 24.41st ICB M F -A 4.05 2.88 1,059.07 1,059.40 1,079.90 1,040.00 0.251 55.18 19.2JMI Syringes MDL-A 3.93 3.64 171.34 171.70 174.90 166.70 32.298 4.48 38.2

ANALYST

'The market is still looking for the political resolution. Some sector speci� c stocks are bene� ting from optimism about the corporate earnings'

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

CORPORATE NEWS

National Bank Limited has recently opened its 180th branch at Bhairab Bazar in Kishorganj. The bank’s MD, Shamsul Huda Khan inaugurated the branch as chief guest

Leathergoods & Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) has recently signed an agreement with INTERTEK Bangladesh in Dhaka. President of LFMEAB, Syed Nasim Manzur and Rajesh Saigal, regional managing director of INTERTEK, South Asia have signed the agreement

State Minister of Ministry of Finance and Planning, MA Mannan has recently attended the bank’s annual conference 2015 as chief guest along with the bank’s chairperson, Professor Dr AHM Habibur Rahman

Green Delta Insurance Company Limited has recently organised a two daylong workshop and strategic business meeting titled 'Movers & Shakers'. The company’s MD and CEO, Farzana Chowdhury was present at the workshop

First Security Islami Bank Limited have recently signed an agreement with West Zone Power Distribution Company for collection of electricity bills. The bank’s MD (CC), Syed Waseque Md Ali and Md Sarwar Hossain from West Zone Power Distribution Company were present on the occasion among others

BRAC Bank employees have paid homage to the language martyrs at a programme on the occasion of 'Amar Ekushey & International Mother Language Day'

Fed rate rise timing back in the spotlight n Reuters, London

Greece’s struggles with its euro zone creditors may have grabbed much of the world’s attention, but US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is likely to reclaim the spotlight this week with testimony on a long-anticipated shift in policy.

If the Fed sticks to mid-year for its � rst interest rate rise in a decade, it will be perceived as a re� ection of the world economy’s growing resilience.

US core CPI in� ation data due next week will also give some idea of just how much the collapse in oil prices which has tamped down in� ation glob-ally will work as a counterweight to the Fed’s apparent comfort so far with higher rates in June.

But the fretting over Greece - which makes up less than half of one percent of world GDP - has underscored the im-pression that for all of the piles of mon-etary stimulus over the past few years, much of the troubles remain the same.

While purchasing managers’ data for the euro zone in February are point-ing in the right direction, Europe is still struggling to create meaningful growth that would generate the kind of strong hiring that might in turn push up wage in� ation.

China is grappling with a property market and debt overhang as it tries to rebalance its slowing economy and a purchasing managers’ index due on Wednesday is expected to show per-sistent stagnation in its once-booming manufacturing industry.

Much of Latin America, particularly Brazil, has slipped back even further from a past position of strength and has very little to o� er a world economy that the World Bank warns is now running on one engine, made in America.

Minutes to the Fed’s latest policy-setting meeting suggested to some analysts that policymakers might be backing o� a June rate rise. But the strongest set of jobs data in many years were published after that late January Fed meeting took place.

“If unemployment keeps falling, the laws of supply and demand have not been repealed, we will get in� ation out of this,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief US

economist at High Frequency Econom-ics in Valhalla, New York.

“In terms of going to the next step, does that mean they’re tightening in June? Not necessarily,” he said.

O’Sullivan expects Yellen to sound optimistic on the full employment part of the Fed’s dual mandate when she delivers her twice-annual testimony to Congress on monetary policy, starting with the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.

The majority of forecasters still ex-pect June for lift-o� on U.S. rates, and the latest Reuters poll suggested that about two-thirds of them had held to the same conviction over the timing over the course of the past month.

What hasn’t been working in the

Fed’s favour is evidence that in� ation is picking up. Core in� ation, which strips out food and energy prices, is expected to hold steady at 1.6% when data are due Thursday, according to a Reuters poll.

With a few notable exceptions, like Brazil, in� ation has been far too low for comfort, and continues to fall, triggering surprise central bank monetary easings from Canada to Sweden to Australia to Indonesia over the past several weeks.

To many, that makes the Fed’s con-tinued focus on soon doing the oppo-site seem out of step. But perhaps not for long.

“The outlook for some large emerg-ing market economies such as Brazil, Mexico and Russia has deteriorated but the meaningful tailwinds of lower en-

ergy prices and global policy easing are likely to persist,” wrote Gustavo Reis, global economist at BofA-ML.

Much will depend on whether the euro zone, where some signs of eco-nomic revival have drawn stock markets to multi-year peaks, can sail through the latest bout of wrangling over its future without too much damage.

The European Central Bank’s bond purchase programme announced at its January meeting, worth 60 billion euros ($68 billion) a month, will begin in March, many years behind its peers. But it may have arrived at a particularly good time.

Any risk of investor � ight over the outcome of heated negotiations over Greece’s debt burden and the future of

the euro now will at least have one of the world’s largest central banks acting as a backstop scooping up sovereign debt.

And the economic news is not all bad. The German Ifo business climate index, due at the start of the week, is expected to rise for a fourth straight month in February.

German gross domestic product (GDP) is also expected to be con� rmed as growing a solid 0.7% quarter-on-quarter in the � nal months of last year.

“Europe’s biggest economy is clearly entering 2015 with more momentum than we and the consensus had expected,” wrote analysts at Morgan Stanley, who expect � rst quarter growth of 0.5% . l

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington REUTERS

Apple hiring big brains in car battery spacen Reuters, San Francisco

A year and a half ago, Apple Inc had ap-plied for just eight patents related to auto batteries. Recently, it has hired a bevy of engineers, just one of whom had already � led for 17 in his former ca-reer, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis.

The recent spate of hires and pat-ent � lings reviewed by Reuters shows that Apple is fast building its industrial lithium-ion battery capabilities, adding to evidence the iPhone maker may be developing a car.

Quiet, clean electric cars are viewed in Silicon Valley and elsewhere as a promising technology for the future, but high costs and “range anxiety”, the concern that batteries will run out of power and cannot be recharged quick-ly, remain obstacles. Those challenges could also be seen as opportunities to � nd solutions to take the technology mainstream.

The number of auto-related pat-

ents � led by Apple, Google Inc, Korea’s Samsung, electric carmaker Tesla Mo-tors Inc and ride-sharing startup Uber tripled from 2011 to 2014, according to an analysis by Thomson Reuters IP & Science of public patent � lings.

Apple has � led far fewer of these patents than rivals, perhaps adding impetus to its recent hiring binge as it seeks to get up to speed in battery tech-nologies and other car-building related expertise.

As of 18 months ago, Apple had � led for 290 such patents. By contrast, Sam-sung, which has been providing elec-tric vehicle batteries for some years, had close to 900 � lings involving auto battery technology alone.

The US government makes pat-ent applications public only after 18 months, so the � gures do not re� ect any patents � led in 2014.

Earlier this month, battery maker A123 Systems sued Apple for poaching � ve top engineers. A search of LinkedIn pro� les indicates Apple has hired at least

another seven A123 employees and at least 18 employees from Tesla since 2012.

The former A123 employees have ex-pertise primarily in battery cell design, materials development and manufac-turing engineering, according to the LinkedIn pro� les and an analysis of patent applications.

A123, which � led for bankruptcy in 2012 but has since reorganized, sup-plied batteries for Fisker Automotive’s now-discontinued hybrid electric car.

“Looking at the people Apple is hir-ing from A123 and their backgrounds, it is hard not to assume they’re working on an electric car,” said Tom Gage, Chief Executive of EV Grid and a longtime ex-pert in batteries and battery technology.

Apple is building its own battery di-vision, according to the A123 lawsuit. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit re� ects how lines be-tween the auto and tech are blurring as Silicon Valley companies from Google to Tesla begin to encroach on Detroit’s turf,

while automakers develop “connected” vehicles that incorporate the latest ap-plications and Internet services.

So far, sales of pure electric cars in the US and globally are still a tiny slice of a market dominated by internal com-bustion vehicles. However, Apple and other companies looking to develop electric cars could see opportunity in government mandates and incentives designed to boost sales of vehicles that do not emit carbon dioxide.

Among those Apple hired from A123 is Mujeeb Ijaz, its former chief technol-ogy o� cer who also worked at Ford Mo-tor Co for 16 years. Ijaz has � led for 17 patents during his career, many in the battery sector, according to the Thom-son Reuters IP & Science analysis.

All told, the � ve engineers from A123 have � led for 23 patents -- some three times what Apple has alone, said Thomson Reuters IP & Science. They generally specialize in battery cell and materials design, and manufacturing engineering. l

Bundesbank may raise German growth forecast n AFP, Frankfurt

Germany’s central bank hailed Monday the robustness of the country’s econo-my at the end of last year and suggest-ed it could upgrade its growth forecast for this year.

The German economy, Europe’s big-gest, grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.7% in the fourth quarter of last year, shrugging o� the temporary lull in the preceding quarters.

In its latest monthly report, the Bundesbank said consumer spending was the main driving force behind the increased momentum, spurred on by record low unemployment and falling energy prices. A weaker euro also gave exporters a boost, the central bank added..

The 0.7% expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) in the � nal quarter of 2014

lifted growth for the whole year to 1.6%. “Against the background of more

optimistic income expectations, in-creased purchasing power and robust consumer sentiment, household con-sumption has become the main driving force behind the recovery for now,” the Bundesbank wrote.

In addition, the tangible decline in the euro against the dollar will boost export opportunities outside the single currency area, it continued.

“In view of the brighter overall eco-nomic picture, it is feasible that growth during the course of the year will come out noticeably higher than initial fore-casts drawn up last autumn,” the report said.

At the beginning of December, the Bundesbank had halved its growth forecast for 2015 to 1% and trimmed its 2016 estimate to 1.6% from 1.8% . l

Cheaper gas causes sharp fall in producer prices n AFP, Washington

US wholesale prices took a sharp monthly fall in January pulled down by the plunge in gasoline prices, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The producer price index dropped 0.8% last month, the third month in a row the PPI has fallen, and the � fth fall in six months. Over a one-year period, the index was � at. The fall came on the back of a 10.3% drop in energy prices, itself the result of plunging crude oil prices around the world.

But food prices were also down 1.1%. Core PPI, stripping out food and en-

ergy, was down 0.2% in the month.Services prices also fell, by 0.2% ,

further underscoring the lack of in� a-tionary pressure in the economy de-spite � rm overall growth. l

Indonesia posts $710m trade surplus in January n AFP, Jakarta

Indonesia posted a higher-than-ex-pected trade surplus in January as global oil prices slumped, government data showed on Monday .

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy saw exports slide 8.09% on-year to $13.30bn and imports sank 15.59% to $12.59bn.

“The drop was due to the sharp fall of the (global) oil prices,” Statistics Agency chief Suryamin, who goes by one name, said.

Indonesia’s economy expanded 5% last year, a sharp slowdown from the 5.8% growth recorded in 2013 and the weakest pace since 2009.

The growth � gures underline the challenge for Indonesia’s new President Joko Widodo, who despite a promising � rst few months in o� ce faces many economic hurdles, analysts said.

Widodo, who won o� ce partly on a pledge to revive the slowing economy, has promised to woo investors by cut-ting red tape and ploughing money into overhauling the country’s ageing infra-structure. l

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 24, 2015

DILBERT

Reuters poll: Japan Inc sees no need for 2% in� ation n Reuters, Tokyo

Japan Inc sees no need for an aggres-sive pursuit of a 2% in� ation goal or additional monetary easing, a Reuters poll showed - a stance that supports the central bank’s recent softer tone on achieving its consumer price target in the near future.

Analysts, however, expect the Bank of Japan to embark on more stimulus later this year, topping up its latest round launched in October, to sup-port economic growth and ensure rises in in� ation, a separate Reuters poll showed this month.

Seeking to wrench the country out of nearly two decades of de� ation, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda unleashed an unprecedented burst of monetary stimulus in April 2013, saying the aim was to achieve 2% in� ation in roughly two years. But last month he declared the timeframe was not set in stone and noted that a steep slide in oil prices had derailed earlier expectations.

The Reuters Corporate Survey, con-ducted Feb 2-17, showed that while most � rms want consumer in� ation to be higher than the current 0.5%, four-� fths were content with levels of less than 2%.

Just over 70% of companies said they saw no need for additional eas-ing despite the plunge in oil prices - a � gure consistent with previous survey results in recent months.

Bold monetary stimulus over the past two years has weakened the yen substantially and many respondents said any further softening would drive up import costs.

“Japanese � rms appear to believe more monetary stimulus would do more harm than good as it could raise volatility in markets, disrupting their business,” said Takuji Okubo, chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors, who reviewed the poll results.

“It’s true that Japanese exporters are bene� ting from a weak yen caused by monetary easing, but many companies

seem to be content with current ex-change rate levels.”

Monetary policy maxed out? The survey of 483 large and mid-sized � rms showed 38% would like to see in� ation between 1% and 2%. Another 28% preferred in� ation around 1 per-cent while 13% wanted lower levels.

Around 260 � rms answered questions on in� ation. Respondents reply anony-mously to the survey which is conducted for Reuters by Nikkei Research.

In addition to fears of further yen weakness, corporate managers in the poll also wrote that a 2% in� ation goal was unrealistic and unnecessary, and that monetary policy had done all that it could do.

“The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy up until now has already had an impact and we are gradually mov-ing towards a virtuous cycle for capital spending from manufacturers,” wrote a respondent at an electronics � rm.

“That prices aren’t going up is not the fault of monetary policy but rather that companies which are getting fat on pro� ts in the wake of changes in mon-etary policy have lagged in passing on those rewards in the form of wages,” the manager added.

Last week, the BOJ stood pat on pol-icy. Unfazed by slowing in� ation and tumbling oil prices, Kuroda said he saw no need now for stimulus but added he would not hesitate to ease again if cir-cumstances warranted.

The 60% slide in oil prices between June and January has also boosted hopes that Japanese companies will reap some windfall pro� ts as their hefty fuel import costs drop.

But the survey found that just over two-thirds of companies saw no net gain, with any bene� ts from oil price drops nulli� ed by climbs in import costs due to weakness in the yen.

Around 49% of � rms saw domestic demand � at this year while 44% saw it expanding a little, the survey also showed. l

British ‘chocolate greenhouse’ saving the world’s cocoa n AFP, London

Chocolate lovers take heart: a steamy greenhouse near London is helping to ensure that cocoa crops globally remain disease-free and bountiful to cope with the growing appetite for sweet treats.

On a winter morning, the tempera-ture is a chilly eight degrees Celsius but inside the International Cocoa Quar-antine Centre (ICQC), which simulates tropical conditions, the air is a balmy 23 degrees.

“Cocoa plants are generally quite di� cult plants to grow,” said Heather Lake, a technician at the newly-re-vamped centre, which is funded half by the British chocolate industry and half by the US government.

“They don’t like too much sunlight, they don’t like too much shade. It’s quite di� cult to get the climate correct,” she told AFP at the facility, which is hosted by the University of Reading.

Situated in the village of Arbor-� eld, west of London, the ICQC boasts around 1,000 square metres (10,760 square feet) of greenhouse space and 400 cocoa plant varieties.

The centre’s aim is to reduce the amount of disease a� ecting cocoa plants by quarantining them before sharing them with di� erent countries to produce new, more resistant variet-ies.

The plants are often collected in the wild on expeditions to the tropics on which researchers collect cuttings or seeds from disease-free samples.

At a time when changing tastes in emerging economies like China and India are fuelling global demand for chocolate, the centre acts as a vital re-source for producer countries when pests or droughts strike crops.

“That’s where we come into play,” said Andrew Daymond, manager of the ICQC, which was set up 30 years ago. “We are the main hub for international movements of cocoa plants.”

Keeping chocolate affordable Cocoa originates from South America but west Africa now dominates pro-

duction, accounting for 73% of global output, according to the International Cocoa Organization.

Such a heavy concentration of pro-duction in one region - Ivory Coast and Ghana alone represent 60% - makes it vulnerable to shocks.

Prices leapt to almost $3,400 (3,000 euros) a tonne in New York in Septem-ber amid fears that the Ebola crisis in west Africa could a� ect cocoa supplies.

Both Ivory Coast and Ghana have, however, so far been spared by the out-break.

The three countries worst hit by Ebola - Sierra Leone, Guinea and Libe-ria - represent just 0.7% of world cocoa output and saw their yields plummet.

Cocoa prices later fell back again but still rose 15% overall during 2014.

There is also the potential threat to the industry from plant diseases, which in west Africa can mean up to 30% of the annual harvest is lost.

“In each cocoa-growing country, they face particular challenges to do with pest and diseases, low yield po-tential of planted materials, extreme weather events,” Daymond said.

“The basic objective of the project is to allow safe movement of cocoa plants from one part of the world to another.”

In Britain, which has no endemic pests or diseases a� ecting cocoa, the centre can grow resistant varieties before dispatching them around the world, though few people would recog-nise these as cocoa trees.

“When we do an export, we send the small branches o� a tree,” Lake said. “We then remove all the leaves and we just send a stick.”

Daymond explained that producer countries can then “establish a plant that is genetically identical to the plant that they received the cutting from”.

The centre also researches the ef-fects of climate change on cocoa crops and is looking at developing new vari-eties that would be more resistant to droughts or increased carbon dioxide levels.

All of which could help to make a box of chocolates that little bit more af-fordable. l

Euro steady after Greece bailout deal n AFP, Tokyo

The euro held steady yesterday after it rallied on news of a last-minute deal to extend Greece’s bailout, giving Ath-ens a critical lifeline to pay its bills and avoid a damaging default.

The common European currency was slightly higher at $1.1387 and 135.55 yen, from $1.1381 and 135.51 yen on Friday in New York where it got a boost from the conditional debt deal.

The dollar barely budged at 119.04 yen against 119.03 yen in US trade.

On Friday, Greece received a four-month debt bailout extension, easing worries over its future in the eurozone.

But European � nance ministers gave Athens until late Monday to pres-ent proposals that would convince its creditors to sign o� on the extension.

On Sunday, Athens was racing to � -nalise reform proposals required under the fresh agreement. Greece’s bailout programme expires at the end of the month. Without an extension, Athens could run out of money and be forced out of the single-currency bloc.

“The Tokyo market has largely taken over the euro-buying sentiment follow-ing the agreement,” said Daisuke Kara-kama, a market economist in Mizuho Bank’s forex unit. l

Gold near seven-week low on Greek debt deal, China holiday n Reuters, Singapore

Gold hovered around the key $1,200-an-ounce level on Monday, its lowest in seven weeks, as support for the safe-ha-ven metal eased after a deal was struck over Greece’s debt, while the absence of major consumer China also took a toll.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,202.10 an ounce by 0225 GMT, after dropping to $1,197.95 in the previous session as safe-haven bids receded. The metal recorded its fourth straight weekly decline on Friday.

Eurozone � nance ministers reached an agreement to extend heavily indebt-ed Greece’s � nancial rescue by four months, o� cials on both sides said.

The deal removes the immediate

risk of Greece running out of money next month and possibly being forced out of the single currency area.

“With China temporarily out of the market and apparent progress on the Greek bailout, the path of least resis-tance appears lower for gold and also silver,” said HSBC analyst James Steel.

Key events for gold prices this week could be Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s semiannual address to the Sen-ate Banking Committee on Feb 24 and a raft of US economic data, including homes sales and consumer con� dence, Steel said.

Technically, gold will face resistance at $1,215, while support will come in at $1,197, followed by $1,190, MKS Group said.

China, the No 2 gold consumer, has been shut since Wednesday for the Lu-nar New Year holiday, removing a key support for bullion.

Chinese buying typically provides a � oor for falling gold prices, but their absence along with a strong dollar has hurt the yellow metal.

The greenback has been robust in recent months on expectations the Fed would soon raise rates on the back of a strong economic recovery in the United States.

The dollar index gained on Monday, hurting gold’s appeal as a hedge and making the metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Investors remain cautious about gold’s price outlook. Hedge funds and money managers cut their bull-ish stance in gold futures and options for a third straight week, taking it to a six-week low in the week to Feb 17, US Commodity Futures Trading Commis-sion data showed on Friday.

However, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.23% to 771.25 tonnes on Friday - a second straight day of in� ows. l

Oil edges up on Greek debt optimism, but market remains oversupplied n Reuters, Singapore

Oil prices rose yesterday along with global markets, lifted by optimism that another euro zone crisis over Greek debt had been averted for now, although analysts said that crude mar-kets remained oversupplied.

The euro rebounded against the dollar and equity markets around the globe surged to record highs on Fri-day after euro zone � nance ministers agreed in principle to extend heavily indebted Greece’s � nancial rescue by four months.

That optimism helped lift oil prices

from early morning falls. Benchmark Brent crude futures

were trading at $60.34 a barrel by 0532 GMT, up 12 cents from their last settle-ment, while US WTI crude was up 6 cents at $50.87 a barrel.

Despite the rises, prices remain be-low last week’s highs as the market re-mains oversupplied.

US oil production growth is expect-ed to reach 440,000 barrels per day by the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with a year before, based on the cur-rent rig count, Goldman Sachs said in a note.

US drilling has slowed since the be-

ginning of the year as producers react to a collapse in oil prices that started in June 2014. But Goldman said the pace of the US rig count decline was also slowing down.

“The current rig count is pointing to US production growth decelerating close to the level required in our view to balance the oil market,” the bank said.

Following the fall from June 2014 to six-year lows, oil prices have picked up since mid-January, with Brent jump-ing almost $20 a barrel to touch $63 a barrel last week as traders closed long-standing short positions in reaction to

the falling US rig count. Analysts said that a cold spell in

the Unites States, which has hit re� n-ery output, could prevent crude prices from rising further.

Major U.S. East Coast re� neries have been hit by cold weather, sending up heating oil futures on fears of tight sup-plies.

“Since the amount of crude oil being re� ned is less than usual, we would be seeing excess crude oil in the US mar-ket ... This causes crude oil to decrease in price while re� ned products increase in price,” Phillip Futures said on Mon-day. l

RBI: Costs involved in increasing FX reserves n Reuters, Pune

There are costs involved in increas-ing the country’s foreign exchange reserves as the interest rate earned on such foreign exchange is low, deputy governor of the Indian central bank, H.R. Khan, said yesterday.

“Foreign exchange reserves act as the � rst line of defence but acquisition of reserves has its own costs,” Khan said in a speech to students at a man-agement school in Pune, close to the country’s � nancial capital Mumbai.

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a record high of $333.17bn as on Feb 13, compared with $330.21bn a week earlier, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday. l

Gold jewellery is seen displayed for sale at a shop in a gold market in Basra, southeast of Baghdad REUTERS

A ship passes a petro-industrial complex in Kawasaki near Tokyo REUTERS