August 1, 2013

Law

5

Tenants have rights too

Shraban 17, 1420 Ramadan 22, 1434 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 132

International

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Panama uncovers fighter jet engines from seized North Korea ship

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com

Op-Ed

11

Mamun Rashid: Money matters

16 pages with 8-page business tabloid plus 24-page supplement Avenue-T | Price: Tk10

Oil spill blackening Karnaphuli

KOKO MONEY LAUNDERING

n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong

ACC denies awarding Tk13m to PM’s special assistant n Syed Samiul Basher Anik

A train accident has sent thousands of litres of furnace oil from six wagons pouring into the Karnaphuli river for the past two days at Kalurghat area in the port city, blackening the surface and threatening fish resources.

When our correspondent visited the Kalurghat Bridge area yesterday, furnace oil was found draining into the river water through the Brick Field Canal. The river water in the area and different sorts of refuse floating on the river had turned black.

Hari Prasad, a fisherman, said he and his co-workers had been seeing dead fishes floating in the river since the morning.

“Even the river water smells of oil,” he said.

Mohammed Idris, a Chittagong College professor who has been conducting a research on the Karnaphuli, said the contamination would have a severe impact on the biodiversity of the river.

“The authority is supposed to take necessary measures immediately,” he said. Idris warned that the failure to do so may result in long-term adverse impacts for the river.

Harun-ar-Rashid, an inspector at the Department of Environment, told our correspondent that the department had not been aware of the incident

The Anti-Corruption Commission has denied awarding Tk13m to the Prime Minister’s special assistant Ferdous Ahmed Khan as “reward” for his contribution in recovering Tk131.5m, siphoned off to Singapore by Arafat Rahman Koko, youngest son of the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. The graft watchdog last year brought back the said amount, which was laundered by Koko during the tenure of the BNP-led four-party alliance government from 2001-2006.

Quoting the commission’s chairman M Badiuzzman, an English daily on Wednesday reported that Tk13m was given to Ferdous Ahmed Khan as “reward” on government approval.

However, on Wednesday, the commission Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, in front of the media, denied paying any money to Ferdous.

Pranab, reading out a written statement of the ACC chairman, admitted that Ferdous had filed an application with the commission asking for a reward for his services.

The official, however, did not confirm the percentage sought by Ferdous, which was reported to be 30% of the recovered amount.

Pranab said: “The consulting firm

Biodiversity and environment in and around the river put at severe risk

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Oil spill from a derailed wagon carrying furnace oil reaches River Karnaphuli in Chittagong by the adjoining canals, polluting the river severely

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Operators threaten to AL in surplus, BNP and JP report deficit boycott 3G auction n FINANCIAL REPORTS SUBMITTED TO ELECTION COMMISSION

Mohammad Zakaria

Both BNP and Jatiya Party have shown higher expenditures than incomes in 2012, while the ruling Bangladesh Awami League has reported a surplus in their respective annual reports submitted to the Election Commission yesterday.

The ruling party reported the highest income and expenditure— Tk100m and Tk90m, followed by its key ally Jatiya Party with Tk48m and Tk49m, respectively. The JP’s income and expenditure were double the figures the main opposition BNP earned and spent last year.

BNP showed Tk18m as annual income and over Tk22.6m as expenditure.

The three major political parties waited until the last day to file audited reports on annual income-expenditure as required by law.

Deputy Office Secretary of Awami

League Mrinal Kanti Das, Joint Secretary General of BNP Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, and presidium member of Jatiya Party Tajul Islam submitted the reports on behalf of their respective parties.

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MILKY KILLING

Politics turns childhood friends into bitter foes n Kailash Sarkar Feuds over tender manipulation, election candidature and formation of local committee led to the killing of Reazul Haque Khan Milky, said law enforcers.

Prime suspect Zahid Siddiki alias Tarek and victim Milky were childhood friends who grew up at the AGB Colony in the capital’s Motijheel.

Latest Tarek and one of his associates Shah Alam were killed in a Rab shootout at Khilkhet in the capital yesterday.

Law enforcers said the two had a parallel political career as well but monetary interests and the run to establish supremacy turned them into bitter foes.

“They had been engaged in feuds for the last three and a half years over getting hold of tender schedules, especially a Jatiya Krira Sangshtha tender”, said Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of the Legal and Media Wing of Rapid Action Battalion.

He also said both Milky and Tarek

Awami League did not disclose its annual income or expenditure,but said both were more than what was earned or spent in the last year.

“As per the party decision, the figures will not be disclosed to the public, unless the commission wants us to do so,” said MrinalKanti Das. However, party insiders confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune earlier that the ruling Awami League made savings of around Tk10m in 2012, as its total income stood at around Tk100m and expenditure at Tk90m.

According to sources in the Awami League, the ruling party has shown donations and subscription fees from its central committee members, advisory council members, lawmakers, members and well-wishers as its income source. The party also earned by selling books and old papers, and interests

had been preparing to contest the Dhaka City Corporation polls as councillors of Ward 33 in the Motijheel area.

Moreover, the formation of ruling Awami League’s youth front, Jubo League’s Dhaka City (South) committee, was another reason behind their enmity, Habibur said.

Sources said Tarek sought help from Shakhawat Hossain Chanchal, a leader of Dhaka City (North) unit Jubo League and together they planned to kill him.

Milky was gunned down in the early hours of Tuesday in front of the Shoppers’ World shopping mall in the capital’s Gulshan area by an armed gang, allegedly led by Tarek.

Four hours later, Rab arrested Tarek and five others – Md Sujon, Rashed Mahmud, Saiful Islam, Tuhinur Rahman and Mushtak Ali. The victim’s younger brother Major Rashidul Huq Khan filed a case accusing 11 people, including those arrested. Other accused includes Shakhwat Hossain Chanchal and Sohel Rana alias Karni Sohel.

Meanwhile, Rab has expressed interest to investigate the case and will  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Dhaka expresses concern to London over UK visa bond policy n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh has flagged its concerns over the planned UK visa bond policy, that has drawn huge criticism from the targeted countries.

“Our High Commission in London has already flagged our concerns with the British Foreign Office that we are against the policy, which is yet to be implemented,” said an official of the foreign ministry.

The British government intends to run a pilot scheme for introducing financial bonds, tightly targeted at a small number of visa applicants assessed to pose a high risk of overstaying, according to a new article of the British High Commission in Dhaka.

The UK authorities have declared plans to introduce a financial scheme of demanding a 3,000 British pound sterling from visitors who have high risk of overstaying from certain countries, including Bangladesh.

“The problem regarding visa policy of any country is not an issue of consultation,” the official said, adding, “When Bangladesh will impose a visa policy, it will also not discuss the issue with  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Showkat Kallol and n Asif Muhammad Zahidul Islam Three leading private mobile operators – Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi – expressed their concern over the indifferent attitude of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) towards their demands.

The mobile telecom operators threatened not to participate in the 3G (third generation of mobile telecommunication technology) auction until and unless the BTRC settled several major issues like outstanding taxation and investment protection.

Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive officer of the Telenor (major shareholder of the Grameenphone), Jo Lunder, group chief executive officer of the VimpelCom and Robi

Axiata President and Chief Executive Officer Jamaludin Ibrahim in a letter on July 29 asked BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose to resolve the issues.

The letter also requested the BTRC chairman to delay the process by one month so they could resolve their problems within time.

The BTRC’s unilateral rights to change terms and condition in the spectrum 3G license undermines confidence in Bangladesh as an investment destination, the three international investors’ letter reads.

Earlier, a similar letter was also sent to the ministries concerned including Posts and Telecommunications Minister Shahara Khatun on January 17 and Finance Minister MA Muhith on May 16.

The letter requested the issues be

INSIDE News

International

traders produce and sell fake education certificates across the capital to a good number of students at minimal price.

negotiators gives themselves about nine months to reach an agreement on ending their six-decade long conflict.

Metro

Business

out of Dhaka ahead of Eidul-Fitr is a phenomenal task for thousands of homebound passengers.

loans in the banking sector stood at around Tk253bn up to June 2013, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics.

4 Some unscrupulous

7 Purchasing advance tickets

8 Israeli and Palestinian

B1 The total written off

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HC to decide Jamaat’s fate as party today n UNB A larger High Court bench is expected to deliver its judgment today on a long-pending petition challenging the validity of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration as a political party.

On January 27 , 2009, Maulana Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, and 24 others, including Islamic scholars, children of freedom fighters, Tariquat Federation, Zaker Party and Sammilita Islamic Jote filed the public interest litigation petition.

Responding to the petition, the High Court bench, headed by Chief Justice M Moazzem Hossain, issued a rule upon the Election Commission to explain why Jamaat’s registration as a political party should not be declared to have  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Dipu Moni’s 116th trip ‘personal’ n

Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni is heading to Saudi Arabia today on a personal tour.

“I will not be in the country from August 2 to August 7,” Dipu Moni told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

According to the government statement, the minister will leave Dhaka on August 2 and will return to Dhaka on August 8.

The trip is a personal tour when the minister will be accompanied by her kith and kin and will bear all the expenses, according to the foreign minister’s statement.

This trip will be her 116th trip over the last four and a half years. Following this visit, the number of days she is staying outside of the country will be 522, which means during this period, she was abroad for one in every 3 days.

At a press conference on July 21, Dipu Moni blasted the media alleging that a section of the media, including Bangla and English dailies, launched an “orchestrated” campaign against her

PM and family offer prayers for Wazed Miah n UNB

by publishing “untrue and baseless” stories.

The minister claimed that she had undertaken 114 foreign trips which accounted for 31%, or 514 days, of her total 1,660 days in office.

After the press conference, the minister went to India on July 25 and returned on July 27.

At the press briefing, the minister said the reports in the media compared her trips with the US Secretary of State.

“The Secretary of State uses her own jet – I do not.”

“I have to take 2 to 3 flights to visit some central-Asian or African countries. I have to wait even 6 hours or 8 hours in transit,” she said, adding that it thus raised the number of travel days abroad.

The minister said she had spent approximately 50 days attending meetings at the UN, noting that attending a meeting at the UN is not considered a foreign visit for the US Secretary of State as she would simply have to fly from Washington to New York. l

Driver to be evicted from MP Rony’s official flat n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

The parliament’s House Committee asked the parliament secretariat to evict the chauffeur of detained MP Golam Maula Roni, who had recently made headlines by beating up two television journalists, from his apartment that the Jatiya Sangsad had provided him.

The committee, which looks after the accommodation and other facilities of the MPs, also instructed the officials to evict all unauthorised people who are residing at the flats allotted to lawmakers, as soon as possible.

“We learnt through our investigation that Mr Rony’s chauffeur Nazrul lives in apartment 702 in building 2 at the Manik Mia Avenue, violating the accommodation rules. We have asked the officials to evict him from there,” Chief Whip Abdus Shahid, the committee head, told Dhaka Tribune after attending a meeting held at the parliament yesterday.

Before his arrest on July 24, Rony told Dhaka Tribune that his apartment remains locked.

Syed Ahmed, the additional secretary and secretary of the House Committee, told Dhaka Tribune that he visited Rony’s apartment on July 19 and found the chauffeur living there.

The meeting highlighted the issue

of illegal stay of outsiders in government provided apartments, commonly known as Nam flats. In an article published on July 18 in a Bangla newspaper, Rony criticised the parliament secretariat by writing that the MPs having more power get the larger apartments.

Referring to his article Abdus Shahid said Rony was allocated a 1,260 square feet apartment against his application.

“So, his comments are invalid. However, the House Committee would not cancel the allotment of his apartment as he is entitled to live there as long as he remains an MP,” he said.

“According to the MPs accommodation policy, the lawmakers would be allowed to stay in the apartments up to the next general election. The lawmakers failing to get elected in the 10th parliamentary polls must vacate their flats,” added the chief whip.

He further said: “Candidates not taking part in the next polls must leave the apartments immediately after the Election Commission announces candidates for different constituencies.”

Police arrested Awami League lawmaker Rony for assaulting two journalists of a private television channel on July 20.

Other committee members, Jatiya Sangsad Whip ASM Feroz, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, AKM Abdul Awal and Saidur Rahman attended the meeting. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy wave at supporters on their arrival at Pirganj yesterday

MILKY MURDER

Six people placed on seven days’ remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday placed six people on seven days remand each for their alleged involvement in the killing of Jubo League leader Riazul Haque Khan Milky.

Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Md Rejaul Karim rejected defence’s bail petition and granted the remand after police prayed for 10 days remand.

Mohammad Sabbir Rahman, sub inspector of Gulshan police station in the capital and investigation officer (IO) in the case, filed the remand prayer.

The IO said police needed time to quiz the arrestees and find out more about the motive and the source of the gun being used in the alleged

AL in surplus, BNP and JP report deficit  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

from bank deposits. The party also owns four decimal of land on Bangabandhu Avenue, a property worth Tk47.5m. It also earned from the rent of the shops on the avenue.

The party’s expenditure covers maintenance of the Dhanmondi office, salaries of employees at party offices, organising meetings, council sessions and seminars, publishing papers and magazines, conducting relief and organisational activities, and advertisements.

Briefing reporters yesterday after

submitting the annual report, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the annual income of his party was around TK18m while the annual expenditure over Tk22.6m. He said the deficit was met with the savings and deposits from the previous year.

Donations from well-wishers and subscriptions from party members are the main sources of the BNP’s income.

Observance of different national days and party events, anniversaries, staff salaries are main expenditures of the party, Rizvi told the Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier during the day, Tajul Islam submitted the audit report on behalf

of Jatiya Party. Their income was about Tk48m while their expenditure was around Tk49m.

Meanwhile, Bikolpo Dhara Bangladesh, Jatiya Party (Monju), Workers Party and Samyabadi Dal requested that the Election Commission extend the submission deadline.

The commission had set July 31 as the last date for all political parties to submit their audit reports.

According to the Political Party Registration Rules-2008, all parties have to submit their annual financial reports to the EC. l

murder.

The remanded accused are: Nurzzaman Saidul, 22, student of Shanta Marium University, Tuhin Rahman Fahim, 25, member of Chaatra League, Md Jahangir, 23, Chhatra League activist from the capital’s Uttara, Rashed Mahmud, 25, former vice president of Uttara unit of Chhatra League, and Chhatra League activists Md Sujan Hawlader, 22, and Sayed Mustofa Ali, 33.

A team of Rapid Action Battalion rounded them up from the Uttara area.

Police, however, did not produce Zahid Siddiki – the prime accused in the case and currently being treated at the Fortune Hospital in Uttara – before the court yesterday because his physical condition was not good.

of Ferdous, ‘Octokhan’ has been providing different services to the graft watchdog, especially with issues related to bringing back laundered money from abroad.”

Denying the allegation of giving any percentage to Ferdous, he said: “Since the PM office official’s application is still under consideration, there should be no question about giving percentage by the ACC.”

Though the commission is now denying the allegation, a highly placed official at the commission said, after mid-July, Ferdous Ahmed Khan and ACC commissioners, including its chairman had a meeting, where the prime minister’s special assistant demanded 30% of the total recovered money as “commission.”

“Upon negotiation, the commission agreed to pay him 10% as reward. The commission in this regard sent a letter

to the cabinet division asking them whether it should pay the money or not. Last week, the cabinet division ordered the ACC to give the money thus an account payee check was delivered to Ferdous last Thursday.”

Under the new ACC chairman M Badiuzzaman, the cabinet division approved the application saying that a 10% commission could be given to him.

“After the cabinet division’s approv-

Milky’s brother, Major Rashidul Haque Khan, filed a murder case with Gulshan police station on Tuesday night, accusing 11 people, including Zahid Siddiki, for the murder.

Quoting witnesses, police said a group of armed men shot Riazul Haque Khan Milky, 43, organising secretary of Dhaka City south unit of Jubo League, at close range around 1:30am in front of the Shoppers’ World in the capital’s Gulshan.

Prime accused Zahid also sustained bullet wounds during the shootout.

The incident was caught on a closed circuit camera of the shopping mall and the video footage has been widely broadcasted on television channels and circulated on social media. l

Oil spill blackening Karnaphuli  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

till yesterday afternoon. “We have received the news and have just started heading towards the spot,” he said.

According to Bangladesh Railway, three wagons of a fuel train turned upside down and three others tilted when a the train derailed after crossing the Kalurghat Bridge on its way to the Dohazari Peaking Power Plant at about 12:45pm on Tuesday.

Sukumar Bhoumik, divisional rail manager of Railway East, told our correspondent that the wagons were carrying about 33,000 litres of furnace oil each. He

ACC denies awarding Tk13m to PM’s special assistant  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

PMO

al, the ACC gave the money to Ferdous last week”, another official said.

To enquire in this regard, the Dhaka Tribune tried to reach Ghulam Rahman, who did not answer the phone calls.

Earlier, at a press briefing, the former chairman had said Arafat and the others accused laundered S$2,041,143.59 and $932,672.81 out of the country between 2001 and 2006.

Deputy Director of the commission,

added that most of the oil from the three wagons which had turned upside down had spilled out during the accident. He said a three-member committee headed

by Railway East Divisional Traffic Officer Jakir Hossain had been formed to probe the accident.

“The committee has been asked to submit its report within a week,” he said.

Wahidur Rahman, divisional mechanical engineer of Railway East, said the railway officials had visited the area and their estimate was that at least 60,000 thousand litres of furnace oil had already seeped into the river. l

settled before the auction was held as it involved a huge amount of money in the process,” Mahmudur Rahman, executive vice-president of the Robi, said.

After receiving the letter the BTRC chairman met the finance minister on Tuesday and decided to reschedule the auction deadline.

On Wednesday the BTRC extended the deadline by 10 days for mobile operators to apply for the spectrum auction for the 3G mobile network.

The new last date for filing an application is now August 12 instead of August 1 and the last date for paying the earnest

fee, $20m per operator, has been shifted to August 25 from August 18.

The auction date too was deferred until September 8 from September 2.

The letter said: “We hope the government would maintain the general investment protection provision under the Foreign Investment Protection Act-1980.”

It proposed the BTRC and Ministry of Post and Telecommunication should include a provision reflecting the investment protection act in the 3G spectrum licenses.

A last minute price increase in 2G renewal costs is a major barrier to

3G auction participation, 2G licensing value added tax payments currently subject to dispute in court should be set against operators value added tax (other taxes/fees) due over a five year period commencing from 2014, the letter continued.

“We propose one fifth of the amounts disputed by operators should be set against value added tax (or other taxes/fees) each year from 2014.”

The private mobile operators objected to the tax imposed on SIM replacement by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) terming it double taxation.

“We (three operators) propose that issues including tax compliance be approached through the formation of a joint audit committee or task force including the NBR, BTRC and industry association representatives,” observed the letter.

The three operators want the government to follow the model of 1996 in awarding 3G spectrum licenses.

In 1996 licenses were issued on the basis of contract between two parties – licensor and licensee.

But this time the NBR was involved in the process.

According to the 3G guideline, the

Politics turns  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

soon seek permission from the home ministry to get approval to carry out the investigation, said Lieutenant Colonel Ziaul Ahsan, director of the Intelligence Wing of Rab. Jubo League leaders Tarek and Chanchal had been suspended from Jubo League yesterday for their alleged involvement in the killing of Milky. A Jubo League statement said the duo had been suspended after the organisation got confirmation about their involvement in the killing.

Police have sent messages to all the airports and border installations in order to stop the four on-the-run accused from fleeing the country.

Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of the capital’s Gulshan police station, said the messages had been forward following directives from higher authorities. Sources said the fugitive accused might try to flee to India as they had close links with several Bangladeshi criminals who are residing there at the moment. l

HC to decide  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

been done unlawfully and ultra vires to the constitution.

On November 4, 2008, the EC granted registration of Jamaat under the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972. The petitioners sought enforcement of Section 90C of the RPO along with certain articles of Bangladesh Constitution, including the proclamation of independence and preamble. l

Dhaka expresses  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

Abu Sayeed filed a case with the Kafrul police station in this regard on March 17, 2009, saying Arafat had illegally earned the money and laundered it abroad during 2001 to 2006.

According to the first information report, Arafat illegally sent money abroad and his source of income was preliminarily proved illegal, which is a punishable offence under section 4(2) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2009. l

Operators threaten to boycott 3G auction  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday offered fateha at the grave of her husband eminent nuclear scientist Dr MA Wazed Miah and prayed for the peace of the departed soul. Sheikh Hasina also offered fateha at the graves of her fatherin-law and mother-in-law.

On her arrival at Pirganj after fourand-half years, thousands of people from all walks of life gathered near Fatehpur helipad to welcome the prime minister.

Hasina is visiting Pirganj with her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter-in-law Kristine Overmire for the first time after the Awami League-led grand alliance government assumed office in January 2009. On arrival Sheikh Hasina went straight to her father-in-law’s house, Joy Sadan, at Fatehpur Laldighee. Joy and Kristine received Hasina there.

Thousands of people gathered at Joy Sadan to have a glimpse of the prime minister and welcomed her by showering her with flower petals.

Sheikh Hasina later introduced Kristine to Joy’s aunts Zohra Khatun and Rawshan Ara Wahed and other relatives.

Later in the afternoon, the prime minister inaugurated a number of development projects, including the newly-constructed Wazed Miah Bridge over River Karatoa at Kanchdahaghat.

The newly constructed 303.32 metre long and 10.25 metre wide Wazed Miah Bridge was built at a cost of Tk211.4m.

She also opened the Pirganj Duckbungalow Bhaban, Rangpur Regional Passport Office, Officers’ Dormitory Building and the activities of Pirganj Municipality.

She laid the foundation stones of several installations in the area. The prime minister also addressed a public rally at Pirganj Government High School ground organised by local Awami League. l

telecom regulator will award to the highest bidders from among the five existing operators and a new one.

The state-run Teletalk has already got the 3G license by default. The tenure of the 3G license will be 15 years.

The regulator will offer a 5-Megahertz (MHz) slot in the 2100 band; the floor price of per MHz spectrum has been fixed at $20m.

The guideline also suggests 60% of the total price of spectrum assignment has to be paid in the first instalment within 60 days of the auction and the remaining 40% within another 180 days. l

other countries.” He, however, said the government can raise the issue as many Bangladeshis live in the UK and both the countries have good relationship.

Another official from the foreign ministry said British High Commission officials have explained the financial bond issue to the ministry.

“They told us that it will be very selective and it will only be applicable for the travelers who have a high risk of not returning to Bangladesh,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indian daily The Hindu reported that Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday termed the 3,000 pound bond policy a “retrograde step”.

Associated Press in a report published on July 29 said Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Olugbenga Ashiru discussed the issue with the British ambassador in Nigeria last month and expressed “strong displeasure” over the “discriminatory” policy.

AP also reported that the six countries targeted are Ghana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and Nigeria.

About half a million Bangladeshis, mostly from Sylhet, live in England while the UK imports over a billion dollars worth of product from Bangladesh. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Chittagong port officials accused of taking bribe n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong The leaders of a local organisation at a press conference yesterday alleged that eligible candidates were being failed to get job as they could not bribe a section of dishonest officials of the Chittagong Port Authority.

“There is no chance to get job without providing bribe to the dishonest officials of CPA,” said Nur Mohammed Khan, president of the Council to Protect the Interest of the Victims of Land Acquisition by the port while addressing the conference at Chittagong Press Club.

He said there had a provision to provide jobs to the defendants of the victims of land acquisition, however, none of the victim was getting job for being failed to provide bribe.

“There was no transparency in the activities of the recruitment committees of the port,” he added.

He also said in a recent recruitment process of the security department of CPA many of the candidates had not gotten jobs even after being physically fit and qualifying the viva examination.

The organisation placed a 13-point demand and threatened to lay siege to the port if their demands are not met after 30 days. Organisation leaders Siddiqul Islam, Jahangir Alam and Shah Alam, among other, were present at the press conference. l

ALIM CASE

Tribunal asks defence to complete IO’s cross examination

n Muktasree Chakma Sathi

Law enforcers help people to identify fake notes ahead of Eid festival at Bashundhara City yesterday

NASHIRUL ISLAM/DHAKA TRIBUNE

The tribunal dealing with war crimes trials yesterday asked the defence lawyer in the case against former BNP state minister Abdul Alim to complete cross-examination of the investigation officer on Sunday.

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 also said otherwise, it would pass further orders.

The tribunal set the date just after defence lawyer M Tajul Islam submitted an application seeking adjournment of the cross-examination of the IO, ZM Altafur Rahman, till Sunday saying Alim’s conducting lawyer Ahsanul Huq Hena was ill.

Altafur is the 35th and last prosecution witness in the case. His cross-examination was due yesterday.

Allowing the plea, the tribunal, however, said the defence had been repeatedly seeking adjournment in the cross-examination of the IO and it could not be allowed repeatedly.

Earlier, the IO testified at the tribunal on July 24 and on July 25. Later, the tribunal fixed July 29 for his cross-examination but the defence sought adjournment which led the tribunal to adjourn the cross-examination till July 30. That day, the defence cross examined the IO only for around half an hour. l

for Mir Kashem’s Data mismatch slows migration Re-order privileged communication of Malaysia bound jobseekers n Udisa Islam

Online data and passport particulars did not match even after BMET verification On November 26 last year, the govWhen the registration was conductdetails were completed, the Malaysian n Rabiul Islam human resource ministry sent back a ed, workers made mistakes when re- ernment signed an agreement with Incorrect data on Malaysia-bound workers was sent repeatedly, delaying labour migration to the biggest destination in southeast Asia as per bilateral government arrangement.

The Malaysian authorities detected mismatch between online data and particulars in passports of Bangladeshi jobseekers even after BMET sent verified information.

As an immediate response, the government has transferred a senior official of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) from head quarters, ministry officials said.

Ending a four-year pause, Malaysia reopened its job market for Bangladesh and recruited 198 workers in April under official arrangements. But the process slowed due to data mismatch reported by Malaysian employment authorities, officials said.

The Malaysian human resource ministry said the data of workers they received was full of mistakes.

The human resource ministry said a number of workers’ passport details and father’s names were not filled in.

The ministry also identified mistakes in dates of birth and addresses and requested the mistakes be corrected online.

Using the workers’ passports for reference, BMET began correcting the errors. According to officials, those who were responsible for correcting the files failed to make the corrections properly.

When corrections of 9,000 workers’

list of 6,035 workers and requested for corrections once again and the data resubmitted as there were further mistakes with names, passport numbers, and dates of birth.

Hurriedly, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) sent a list of 200 workers details online after corrections were made and Malaysia then issued visas.

A total of 198 workers left for Malaysia in the last week of April, according to BMET. When BMET made corrections of 5,835 workers’ details, the Malaysian home ministry noted the data contained within the CDs was not correct and once again returned it for the mistakes to be rectified.

Following these multiple submissions of erroneous data, the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry made the decision to resubmit fresh data on workers. Subsequently, workers were contacted and asked to contact BMET to provide finger prints for identification.

At first, data on 600 workers was sent once more and was confirmed by Malaysian officials to be accurate.

However, further mistakes were subsequently detected on the fourth CD containing workers’ details.

Officials at BMET, under the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, admitted the data sent out to Malaysia was incomplete and full of mistakes.

cording their names, fathers’ names, dates of birth and addresses, said officials on condition of anonymity.

They said the selected workers were asked to obtain passports. As per the information in the passports, CDs containing the data of workers were prepared and sent to the Home Ministry of Malaysia.

The officials said it was a blunder to send the data of workers without issuing the workers passports at first. They claimed at first Malaysia did not seek the information as per requirements but later demanded it.

Meanwhile, the government transferred BMET Director Md Nurul Islam from Dhaka headquarters and sent him to Barisal to take over as principal of Technical Training Centre (TTC) on July 4.

Officials said the post of principal of TTC is below than that of a deputy director.

“We have made him principal as a punishment because he was in-charge of technical matters, including sending data on Malaysia-bound workers,” Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan told the Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday.

The official concerned denied any wrongdoing.

“I was not in-charge at all but I was asked to carry out jobs and I did accordingly,” Nurul Islam, who is now on leave, told the Dhaka Tribune over phone on Tuesday.

Malaysia to send Bangladeshi workers there with low migration costs.

In March 2009, the Malaysian government suspended recruiting Bangladeshi workers, citing the world economic recession as reason. But Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on separate occasions stated the suspension was due to irregularities in the recruitment process and high migration costs.

Officials said it was a blunder to send the data of workers without issuing the workers passports at first Following diplomatic efforts of the present government, Malaysia agreed to resume recruitment from Bangladesh.

Candidates who aspired to work in Malaysia were registered online through all union parishad information centres.

After the online registration was completed, data of 11,532 workers selected through a lottery system was sent to the Human Resource Ministry of Malaysia.

Officials claim that the appropriate corrections have now been made and the corrected CD is now being sent.

Asked about the latest developments regarding the sending of workers to Malaysia, Zafar said: “We expect a positive response from Malaysia within a week.” l

The war crimes tribunal yesterday accepted a petition from Jamaat leader Mir Kashem Ali seeking permission for having privileged communication with his counsels at the jail gate on August 4.

Earlier, the tribunal 1 set July 28 and August 1 for the communication. But the defence counsel could not meet the accused since the order did not reach the jail authorities.

Defence counsel Abu Bakar Siddiqui pleaded for setting August 4 as the new date to have the privileged communication with their client to consult with him on the legal aspects of the case.

The defence will argue on the charge framing on August 7.

The tribunal allowed Tanvir Ahmed Al Amin and Ahmad Bin Quasem to

SQ Chy ‘Rasputin of Bangladesh’: Prosecution n Udisa Islam The prosecution of the war crimes tribunal yesterday ended the closing arguments in the case against BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, who is accused of perpetrating crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The prosecution claimed that their provided evidences showed Salahuddin Quader as the war criminal and sought capital punishment.

As the prosecution ended their argument session, the three-member tribunal 1, led by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, ordered the defence to start their argument from today. The defence has

‘Politically backed’ criminals obstruct DGHS office activities

Court rejects Savar mayor bail, allows a day’s remand

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

A Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail appeal for suspended Savar municipality mayor Refat Ullah and placed him on a one-day police remand in a building code violation case in connection with the Rana Plaza disaster.

Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate Kazi Shahidul Islam passed the remand order after investigating officer of the case, CID assistant superintendent Bijay Krishna Khar asked for a five-day remand to question Refat, who is also president of the BNP’s Savar municipality unit. Sanaullah Miah appeared for the accused, who was present before the court.

Rajuk authorised officer Md Helal Uddin filed a case on April 25 under the Building Construction Act against Refat, and 21 others, for ignoring regulations while permitting the construction of the multi-storey building.

The Rana Plaza collapse killed at least 1,131 people, and injured around 2,500 others.

Yesterday was fixed for submitting an investigation report in the case. The court extended the deadline until September 25. Meanwhile, the same court rejected bail pleas filed for five other accused in the case – Abdul Khaleque, father of Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana; Bazlus Samad Adnan, chairman of New Wave Apparels; Mahmudur Rahman Tapash, managing director of New Wave Bottoms Ltd; engineer Rafiqul Islam and Abul Hasan – who were present during the hearing.

Additional public prosecutor, Anwarul Kabir Babul, opposed the petitions, saying the investigation would be hampered if the accused were freed on bail. l

The threatening presence of politically backed criminals is making the officials of the government’s health directorate feel increasingly insecure.

Local political leaders of the capital’s Mohakhali and adjacent areas have been reportedly going to the office of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to make several demands.

There are allegations that these leaders and their followers are trying to influence the directorate’s processes of employment, recruitment, transfers and postings.

A number of DGHS officials said in the past, they had only had to deal with people who had recommendations from influential figures like ministers, ruling party lawmakers and leaders, and the government’s secretaries.

But now, they say, they have to deal with these “criminals” who are backing a section of DGHS unscrupulous doctors, officials and employees.

These DGHS employees, with the support of the political leaders and

criminals, have been putting pressure on the authorities to finalise recruitments, postings and transfers according to their recommendations, the officials say.

Armed leaders and cadres of the ruling party are reportedly staging showdowns at the DGHS office demanding the recruitment and transfers of their favoured candidates There are reports that these criminals, including students from at least two local educational institutions in Mohakhali, have even threatened DGHS officials by showing them firearms.

Recently, in the presence of this correspondent, a leader of the technologists’ union of the DGHS arrived the office with a group of students of two educational institutions.

Claiming to be very close to an influential leader of the ruling Awami League, he said he would not allow any recruitment for the newly created instructor post unless his chosen candidate was selected.

He said the DGHS authorities were recruiting opposition BNP and Jamaat-backed candidates instead of Awami League supporters.

Seeking anonymity, a deputy director of the DGHS said with the current government nearing the end of its tenure, the divide between the ruling party leaders was getting wider.

He said having been unable to reach a consensus on which candidates they were going to lobby for, the ruling party leaders were trying to stage a showdown of power by sending these local activists to the DGHS office. These unwanted visits have been an obstruction to regular activities at the DGHS office, he said.

DGHS Director General Professor Khondaker Md Shefyetullah said some officials informed him about the matter a few days ago.

He said despite there being a security archway at the entrance to the DGHS office, the so-called criminals were able to enter the building by claiming to be doctors.

Prof Khondaker also said they were planning to station law enforcers to ensure the security of the DGHS officials. l

communicate with Mir Kashem that day. Accepting the petition, the tribunal asked the defence to take a copy of the new order.

The prosecution on July 25 ended their argument on the charge framing against the Jamaat treasurer. Prosecutor Sultan Mahmud argued on 14 charges they brought against the accused on May 16. The charges include murder, abduction, torture, arson, looting and dumping bodies.

According to the prosecution, Mir Kashem was commander of al-Badr (a para militia group that assisted the Pakistani occupation army during the 1971 Liberation War) in Chittagong.

Accused of committing crimes against humanity, Mir Kashem was arrested on June 17 last year and has been put at Kashimpur Jail. l

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

been given four working days to complete their argument.

Prosecutor Tureen Afroz argued on the legal points of the charges and sought capital punishment of the accused. She also termed Salahuddin Quader as the “Rasputin of Bangladesh.”

The six-time Chittagong MP is facing 23 charges of crimes against humanity he allegedly committed during the 1971 Liberation War in Raozan and Rangunia of Chittagong.

But in his deposition as the first defence witness, the BNP standing committee member denied all the charges claiming that he had been in Pakistan during March 30, 1971 to April 20, 1974. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Rony’s chauffeur to be evicted from the lawmaker’s flat n Kamran Reza Chowdhury The parliament’s House Committee asked the parliament secretariat to evict the chauffeur of detained MP Golam Maula Roni, who had recently made headlines by beating up two television journalists, from his apartment that Jatiya Sangsad provided him.

The committee, which looks after the accommodation and other facilities of the MPs, also instructed the officials to evict all unauthorised people who are residing at the flats allotted to lawmakers strictly, as soon as possible.

“We learnt through our investigation that Mr Rony’s chauffeur Nazrul lives in the apartment no 702 in building 2 at the Manik Mia Avenue, violating the accommodation rules. We have asked the officials to evict him from the there,” Chief Whip Abdus Shahid, the committee head, told Dhaka Tribune after a meeting held at the parliament yesterday.

Before his arrest on July 24, Rony told Dhaka Tribune that his apartment remains locked.

Syed Ahmed, the additional secretary and secretary of the House Committee, told Dhaka Tribune that he visited Rony’s apartment on July 19 and found the chauffeur living there.

The meeting highlighted the issue of illegal stay of outsiders in the government provided apartments, commonly known as Nam flats. In an article published on July 18 in a Bangla newspaper, Rony criticised the parliament secretariat by writing that the MPs having more power get the larger apartments. Referring to his article Abdus Shahid said Rony was allocated a 1,260 square feet apartment granting his application.

“So, his comments are invalid. However, the House Committee would not cancel the allotment of his apartment as he is entitled to live there as long as he remains an MP,” he said.

“According to the MPs accommodation policy, the lawmakers would be allowed to stay in the apartments up to the next general election. The lawmakers failing to get elected in the 10th parliamentary polls must vacate their flats,” added the chief whip.

He further said the candidates not taking part in the next polls must leave the apartments immediately after the Election Commission announces candidates for different constituencies.

Police arrested Awami League lawmaker Rony for assaulting two journalists of a private television channel on July 20. Other committee members, Jatiya Sangsad Whip ASM Feroz , Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, AKM Abdul Awal and Saidur Rahman attended the meeting. l

Temperature unlikely to change

n UNB

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at many places over Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions and at a few places over Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions until 6pm today.

Moderately heavy to very heavy falls are also likely at places over the country, Met Office said. Day and night temperature may remain unchanged over the country. The sun sets in the capital at 6:41pm today and rises at 5:28am tommorow.

Country’s highest temperature 33.5 degree Celsius was recorded yesterday at Sylhet and lowest 24.0 degrees at Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar.

Highest and lowest temperature recorded in some cities yesterday were: City

High

Low

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

31.0 32.2 32.6 32.8 30.5 29.0 33.5 30.0

26.6 25.0 26.5 27.0 25.5 25.5 25.7 24.0

Shehri and Iftar time Day

Shehri

Iftar

Ramadan 22/Aug 1 Ramadan 23/Aug 2 Ramadan 24/Aug 3

4:00am 4:01am 4:02pm

6:45pm 6:44pm 6:44pm

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:04am 5:27am 12:05pm 4:43pm 6:45pm 8:04pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Fugitive terrorist “DB Mohim” arrested n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

PA I N F U L WA I T

Chittagong Metropolitan Police yesterday arrested an enlisted terrorist who had been on the run for a long time to escape his 17-year jail sentence in an arms case.

Police said they caught Mohammad Mohim Uddin alias DB Mohim, 30, from an alley near Bagdad Hotel at Chandranagar area of the port city at around 3am.

Sairul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bayezid police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that fugitive Mohim had been engaged in various criminal activities such as robbery, extortion, mugging for a long time.

The OC added that in his primary interrogation, Mohim disclosed much information about his crime world.

Md Shahidullah, additional deputy commissioner (North) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said Mohim’s tyranny drastically increased during the month of Ramadan.

Mohim has been a fugitive in one case, but there were other several cases lodged against him with different police stations in the city. l

Victims and relatives of Rana Plaza wait for payment of Eid bonus and wages in front of the BGMEA building in Karwan Bazar yesterday

NASHIRUL ISLAM/DHAKA TRIBUNE

Rampant sale of fake education certificates continue SSC, HSC, O level, A level certificate being sold at Tk3,000

n Mushfique Wadud Some unscrupulous traders produce and sell fake education certificates across the capital to a good number of students who buy them at minimal price.

Some computer shops in the capital’s Nilkhet book market, have been selling fake SSC (secondary school certificate) and HSC (higher secondary school certificate) certificates for quite some time.

These shops are infamous for producing and selling fake certificates.

Usually they sell the certificates priced at Tk3,000 to Tk4,000. The production and sale of fake O and A level certificates

is a recent addition to their business.

The certificates are produced in such a deliberate manner that it is hard to find any difference at the first glance.

Visiting the computer shops, it was found that many of the traders are involved in the crafty business and that a good number of people buy the fake certificates.

Sumon Ahmed, owner of Masud Book Binding and Computers at Nilkhet Bakusha Market told this reporter that he would produce an A level certificate for Tk3,000.

He said, “It is not easy to identify a fake certificate because ‘special’ papers are used to produce them. People, who want to get fake certificates, bring pho-

Leftists oppose Ticfa n Manik Miazee

WEATHER

News

Communist party of Bangladesh (CPB), and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) led by Khalequzzaman, yesterday voiced their strong opposition against the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) deal with USA, saying, “The government is penning the Ticfa deal with USA, discarding national interests and without securing public opinion.”

The concerns were raised at a seminar on “Ticfa deal and National Interest”, jointly organised by CPB and BSD held at CPB central office auditorium in the capital on Wednesday. CPB president Mujahidul Islam Selim presided over the programme.

Addressing the seminar, Mujahidul Islam Selim said: “We have clearly warned the government that the Ticfa deal goes against the country’s interest. It not only threatens the country’s economy, but is also a military threat.

Not only have the left-leaning people, but also all patriots have raised strong protests against the Ticfa deal.”

Khalequzzaman, secretary general of BSD, said: “It’s clear that the Ticfa deal fails to secure our country’s interest, for several sections of the Ticfa deal is against the country’s benefit.

Especially the signing of the agreement will allow USA to dominate our country’s information and technology sector and service sector.”

Presidium member of CPB, Haider Akbar Khan Rono said: “USA’s strategic partners did not sign the Ticfa deal.

But our country’s ruling and opposition parties are competing to satisfy USA, in order to secure power. They are choosing power over defending the country’s general populace.”

Anu Muhammad, Member Secretary of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, said: “USA has laid out the Ticfa deal against the country’s interest, in tandem with the ruling party, opposition and commission receivers.”

CPB central committee member Hasan Tarik Chowdhury gave a keynote speech at the seminar. l

tocopy of an original one and we just change the personal details on it.”

“The roll number remains the same, so it is not easy to recognise if it is the real one or the fake one,” he added.

When asked who the main customers of fake certificates are, he said mainly overseas workers and people from rural areas who need them to get visa buy O and A level certificates.

Speaking to some other traders, it was found that they collect papers from the education boards; however, the education board officials denied such claims.

Taslima Begum, chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Dhaka, told the Dhaka Tribune

that the papers used for producing certificates are collected from Securities Printing Press and it is not possible to obtain those papers and use them in the black market.

SM Wahiduzzaman, controller of examinations at Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education told the Dhaka Tribune that sometimes, organisations bring certificates to them to clarify whether they were real or not.

“By comparing those with our documents stored in the archive, we confirm the authenticity of the certificate,” he said.

He said they have received several complaints in the last few years regarding fake certificates. l

6th witness testifies in Bishwajit murder case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu The sixth prosecution witness in the sensational Bishwajit Das killing case was declared hostile yesterday as he denied at a Dhaka court witnessing the incident even though he earlier told the investigation officer about it.

Judge ABM Nizamul Haque of the Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 recorded the deposition of Md Babar alias Babu, a worker at QG Samdai Petrol Pump located on the north side of Victoria Park. Later the court set August 4 for the next witness.

The defence did not cross examine the witness.

Babu said in his deposition that he did not mention the names of the accused names before the IO and that he did not see the incident.

The witness said he came to know about the incident from television and newspapers on the next day.

Then public prosecutor SM Rafiqul

Islam declared the witness “hostile.”

The court also rejected a bail prayer of accused Quiyum Miah Tipu.

The five others who testified earlier are Sub-Inspector Md Jalal Uddin of Sutrapur police station, complainant of the case; Md Abdul Zabbar, a cutting master at Amantran Tailors owned

by Bishwajit’s elder brother Uttam Kumar Das; Md Suman Khan, a worker at Athithi Tailors; and Md Saleque, a worker of QG Samdai Petrol Pump.

On July 14, the court began the trial in the sensational case. The prosecution submitted a list of 60 witnesses.

Bishwajit, a 24-year-old tailor, was hacked to death on December 9 last year by the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the ruling party’s student wing, near Bahadur Shah Park. He was brutally hacked up and beaten for half an hour in the presence of police by the ruling party men who reportedly mistook him for a pro-opposition activist. l

BTRC’s rejoinder and our reply An article, titled “Dead auction revived for Ollo” published in Dhaka Tribune on July 22, 2013 alleges that Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is in favor for awarding a billion dollars spectrum along with LTE license in the name of Wi-max services under a five year back ‘dead’ auction, though there is a huge abjection from a commissioner.

BTRC sent a rejoinder on it and claimed it is a wrong statement. Md Abdus Samad, Commissioner (legal and license) of BTRC not object to the commission decision, which is not true.

Two Wi-max operators fully failed to achieve the goal of ‘digital Bangladesh’. And with the ICT policy of 2009 BTRC is going for new license of Wi-max.

Our reply

Our report is based on 153th and 154th Commission meeting minutes and the letter BTRC sent to the ministry.

We also depend on the sources who attend the meetings. Sources confirm not only Commissioner Md Abdus Samad, another commissioner also made abjection and disagree with about Bangladesh Internet Exchange Ltd. (BIEL) for awarding a new wi-max license as the auction on 2008 made dead for the company.

Though it is not clear in meeting minutes but there are clues on it. As commissioners objection about it BTRC then went to their legal consultant firm to seek comments.

Though the story also features huge corruption on spectrum BTRC not tell anything on it to their rejoinder. l

Syed Abul Hossain’s rejoinder Syed Abul Hossain, former communications minister, sent a rejoinder on a report titled “Firms backed by politicians owe BTRC 9bn” on June 27 in the Dhaka Tribune.

He said, “My daughter in fact bought 50% of the share of Cloud Tel Ltd. from the original directors of the company on April 25, 2012.

Due to her lack of knowledge and declining interest in Telecommunication sector she resigned from Cloud Tel Ltd. as a director on December 9, 2012 and thereafter sold her shares in full with all assets and liabilities to another interested party.” l

Vested quarters want to keep GPS surveillance for the Limon issue unresolved: NHRC chief Sundarbans soon n Muktasree Chakma Sathi Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Mizanur Rahman yesterday denied he asked Limon to withdraw the cases against Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

He said allegations were intended to mar his reputation and damage the NHRC’s image.

Speaking at a book launch organised by the Maleya Foundation in the city, he referred to Limon’s case and said: “The state did that because ultimately good always prevails...allegations against me are by vested quarters, those who do not want the Limon issue resolved for their benefit.”

The NHRC head didn’t mention

names but said, “they want to keep the issue ongoing.”

On June 23, Limon said the NHRC chief had urged him to withdraw the cases filed by his mother Henoara Begum.

Limon said during a meeting the chairman said: “If Rab withdraws their cases, you have to do the same.”

17-year-old Limon’s left leg was amputated after members of Rab shot him on March 23, 2011 in Saturia, Jhalakathi district, just a few days before he was to sit for the Higher Secondary Certification examinations.

Rab filed two cases against Limon, and seven others. Limon’s mother however filed cases against six Rab personnel.

The NHRC chairman defended his

position when he said he made suggestions to Limon because “it is very tough to get justice by making a rival of the state. We have to find a solution without making the state a rival [...] justice will be ensured gradually.”

Yesterday, Mizanur Rahman welcomed Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir’s “bold steps” in withdrawing the cases against Limon.

On July 9, the home minister told journalists the cases against Limon would be withdrawn.

On July 29, the Jhalakathi Special Tribunal-2 acquitted Limon in the arms case.

The hearing on the acquittal appeal for charges against Limon is on August 18. l

n Tribune Report The government is set to introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor the activities of forest officers and for forest management through the satellite device.

The European Union is funding the project to protect the Sundarbans, to be implemented soon A three-day training programme on GSP has started in this regard from Tuesday morning in Chadpai Range office in the eastern Sundarbans to train the officers about the new system named “Seals,” according to banglanews.

Md Habibur Rahman, an MIS consultant, and Md Khalilur Rahman, assistant conservator of forests, have been conducting the programme.

Khalilur said: “The European Union is funding the project to protect the Sundarbans. It will be implemented soon.”

Chowdhury Amir Hossain, divisional forest officer of the eastern Sundarbans, said officers would be provided with a modern machine so that their movements can be recorded. High officials of the forest department would monitor them.

Through this project, the Sundarbans can be protected from robbers, illegal fisherman and hunters, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Law

5

Thursday, August 1, 2013

LEGAL TIPS

ASK YOUR ADVOCATE

Tenants have rights too n Abdullah Al Arif

Question: I am a musician and play guitar with a local band in Dhaka. I enjoy composing songs too. Some of them have been recorded in mixed albums, others I sing in live shows from time to time. I want to know how I can secure my intellectual property rights over my creations.

Masud, Mirpur, Dhaka.

Statistic shows that nearly 85% people in Dhaka city are living as renters.

Many of them are not familiar with the law relating to rental fees of properties. Hence they are often harassed and sometimes cheated by some unscrupulous landowners.

We have the Premises Rent Control Act, 1991 in place to regulate rents of premises. Let us now see what are the rights that renters have under the law. l

Advance payment According to Section 10 of the act, landowners are not allowed to claim any premium, salami, security or any other sum in addition to the rent for granting, renewal or continuance of a tenancy of any premises. However, with the previous consent of the controller, who is appointed by the government under this act, landowners may claim one month’s rent of such premises as rent in advance.

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Receipt for paid rents According to Section 13 of the act, where a tenant has paid his rent, the landlord shall give forthwith to the renter a signed receipt for the rent. The landlord shall also retain a counterpart of the receipt.

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SYED LATIF HOSSAIN/DHAKA TRIBUNE

If any landlord receives any sum as rent in advance in excess of one month’s rent without the written consent of the controller, he will be liable on the first occasion to a fine which may extend to twice the amount received in excess of one month’s rent, and on every subsequent occasion to a fine which may extend to three times the amount received in excess of one month’s rent

Restriction on increasing of rent According to Section 16 of the Act, landlords are not allowed to increase the rent of the premises for two years once the standard rent, fixed by the controller, takes effect.

The standard rent can be refixed only after two years. Section 8 and 9 of the act provides exception to this general rule. According to these sections, a landlord may claim an additional sum if any addition, improvement or alteration, not included in necessary repairs, has been made to the premises to the landlord’s expense or any furniture has been supplied by the landlord.

lords to maintain the premises in a livable condition for the tenant. Landowners are also bound to make necessary repairs to the premises let by them or to take any measures for the maintenance of any essential supply including the maintenance of supply of water or electricity, the maintenance of drainage service and the maintenance of any lift, which the landlord is bound to maintain in the premises let by him under the conditions of the contract or according to local usage. If the landlord fails to make such repairs, the tenant may himself make such repairs and submit to the controller a statement of the cost thereof.

Determining the standard rent The controller appointed by this act, upon an application made by the landlord or tenant, shall determine the standard rent of any premises at an amount per annum which shall be equivalent to 15% of the market-value of the premises, says Section 15 of the act.

Maintenance and repairs Section 21 of the act requires land-

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Eviction from the premises No tenant shall be evicted from the

premises as long as he/she pays rent to the full extent and performs the conditions of the contract, says Section 18(1) of the act. Even if the ownership of the premises gets changed, the tenant shall not be evicted as long as the he/she pays rent to the full extent and performs the conditions of the contract, says Section 18(2) of the act.

Penalties for infringement of the provisions of the act

Section 23 of the act provides for penalties for infringement of any provision of the act. It says: l

If any landowner knowingly takes rent in excess of the standard rent, he will be liable on the first occasion to a fine which may extend to twice the amount

LAWYER WE REVERE

Answer: Thank you for your question.

A piece of music generally comprises of three elements (1) lyric (2) composition/arrangement (3) vocal.

In most instances, the three components will be done by three separate individuals.

Let us assume that you are the composer of the music but the lyric was written by your friend and it was sung by another person.

In that case you can copyright your contribution to the song as its composer.

Your friend can on the other hand copyright his contribution to the same music as lyricist. You can copyright any piece of music as a composer even if it has not been recorded anywhere.

If you fear that your musical ideas may be stolen and used by someone else you will be well advised to copyright your music.

recovered in excess of the standard rent, and on every subsequent occasion to a fine which may extend to three times the amount of such excess. l

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Advised by: Nabil Ahsan, a practising lawyer and a part time lecturer of legal studies.

NOTICE BOARD

If any landlord receives or asks for, whether directly or indirectly, any premium, salami, security or any other like sum in addition to the standard rent for any reason, he will be liable on the first occasion to a fine which may extend to Tk2000 and on every subsequent occasion to a fine which may extend to Tk5000.

Send us queries for

‘Your Advocate’

and also your articles on any legal issues at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/c Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka- 1207 Email us at: law@dhakatribune.com Visit our website at: www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

If any landlord receives any sum as rent in advance in excess of one month’s rent without the written consent of the controller, he will be liable on the first occasion to a fine which may extend to twice the amount received in excess of one month’s rent, and on every subsequent occasion to a fine which may extend to three times the amount received in excess of one month’s rent. l

LAW HUMOUR This is a very serious charge, young man.

You may need a lawyer to represent you.

Sreekail College, Comilla is a legacy of the Dutta family

The process for obtaining copyright is fairly simple. You will have to fill up a form mentioning the relevant details (name of the song, your contribution etc.) and provide a sample of the music that you want to copyright by means of an audio CD. After that, your application will be published in a circular.

If no objection is raised by any concerned person about you application, it will be accepted and you will be given a certificate of copyright as ‘composer’ over the song.

You will have to pay appropriate government fees to obtain the copyright of your content.

Our copyright office is located at Agargaon. You may want to pay them a visit sometime.

You can speak to one of the officers and they will give you necessary instructions.

Alternatively, if you want to avoid hassle, you may contact a legal firm who will look into the matter and instruct you appropriately.

The website of our copyright office is also very handy and can be accessed at http://copyrightoffice.gov.bd/ l

No, I don’t.

I’m going to tell the truth.

COURTESY

Kamini Kumar Dutta: A true legend n Law Desk Kamini Kumar Dutta was a professionally committed lawyer of his time. He profoundly performed both in civil and criminal cases as well as political cases.

Mr Dutta was born in 1879 at Sreekail village, under Muradnagar police station, in Comilla. Mr dutta had a strong academic background as he passed his BA examination with distinction. On obtaining BL degree he served as Munsif in his early career. Later on he left the service and embraced the glorious uncertainties of the legal profession as an advocate.

Very few lawyers of his time became a legend in the profession that he was in his own lifetime. Mr Simpson, an ICS District Judge of the then Tipperah District once said of him: “If I would have ever been made an accused in a murder case, I would have felt like engaging Kamini Babu in defending me properly.

If I was ever involved in a Civil suit with a complicated question of Civil law, I would have felt like engaging Kamini Babu to represent me.”

His political life is characterised by liberal and totally non-communal

approach to politics which earned him the faith and trust of both Hindu and Muslim communities. He played an active role in the non-cooperation movement of the Indian National congress.

He was a true revolutionary lawyer of his time. His ford car was used during the Chittagong Armoury raid for which he was arrested. But on release he defended the accused in the Chittagong Armoury raid case and helped them financially enduring displeasure and threats of the authorities.

Kamini Kumar was a member of the Bengal Legislative Council and upon partition of India refused to leave his motherland for India and decided to dedicate his life to the service of his people at home.

Kamini Kumar has made immense contribution in the framing of the Constitution of Pakistan in 1956 as a member of the Constituent Assembly. Later Kamini Kumar was appointed Health Minister in the Pakistan Cabinet of Chowdhury Mohammad Ali. He was universally respected for his capability and honesty.

The then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan gave him a medal, received by his

widow Mrinalini Dutta, in the dedication of his service to the country.

As in life, so in death Kamini Kumar remains charity personified. Following his wishes, his entire moveable and immoveable properties, those of his brother’s Captain Narendranath Dutta and those of his ancestors’, were dedicated after his death to the cause of education and welfare of the people of the then East Bengal irrespective of cast, creed or religion under a deed of Trust executed by his widow Mrinalini Dutta and their children. The Dutta Family established Sreekail School and College at their ancestral village which are still functioning. His ancestral home is being used for education. The residential house of late Kamini Kumar Dutta in Comilla town is being used as Mrinalini Dutta hostel for school and college girls.

Kamini Kumar Dutta Memorial Law Lecture at Dhaka University is also a part of that Trust scheme.

His end came on the January 4, 1959.

He was so well loved and respected by all that his Sradh (last rites) ceremony became a meeting ground for Hindus and Muslims of all ages. l

Ten funny laws around the world 1

In Alabama, you’ll be apprehended if you have an ice cream cone in your back pocket

2 In California, a vehicle without a driver is not allowed to go beyond 60 miles per hour 3 In China, you must be intelligent to go to college 4 In France, no pig should carry the name of Napoleon 5 In Hawaii, a resident who does not own a boat may be fined

6 In Massachusetts, you can’t have a gorilla in the back seat of your car 7 In Nevada, it is illegal to drive a camel on the highway 8 In New York, jumping off a building is punishable by death 9 In Nova Scotia, Canada, it is against the law to water the grass when it is raining 10 In Scotland the law obliges citizens to allow whoever knocks on their door to use their toilet l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Coliform found in drinking water of Barisal restaurants n Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal

Nation

Thursday, August 1, 2013

BUSY AS EID COMING

The presence of coliform bacteria has been detected in the water supply of 87 percent of hotels and restaurants in six districts of Barisal division, according to officials yesterday.

The Barisal office of the Directorate of Environment served notices on 375 hotels and restaurants to ensure pure drinking water, after finding traces of the bacteria in their water supply.

Coliform bacteria exist naturally in animals, soil, plants and water. Although the microbes are usually benign, their presence in food or water means contamination by other harmful parasites or pathogens that can cause diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid, dysentery, jaundice, cholera, urinary infections or respiratory problems.

Sukumar Biswas, director of DoE Barisal office, said water samples were collected during April-June from 431 hotels and restaurants in various towns of the division, including Kalapara and Kuakata tourist zones.

After completing the testing on July 15, the DoE found traces of coliform in the samples of 375 hotels and restaurants. The samples of the remaining 56 establishments also contained the bacteria, but at a tolerable level.

“When coliform is detected, repairs or modifications to the water system are required. So we served notices on the affected hotels and restaurants to do that as early as possible,” Biswas said. Testing for the bacteria is the only reliable way of knowing if the water is safe, an expert said.

“You cannot tell by the look, taste, or smell of the water if it contains diseasecausing organisms,” said Dr Prodip Kumar Banik, a pathologist at Barisal Shere-Bangla Medical College Hospital.

If coliform is present in drinking water, the risk of contacting a water-borne disease increases, said Dr Mizanur Rahman, a former resident medical officer of Barisal general hospital.

They advised boiling and retesting of the contaminated water to remove the bacteria. l

‘Terrorist’ killed in Narail ‘shootout’ n UNB, Narail

Business suffers at Langalbandh Bazar lacks basic infrastructure

Arsenic detected in 54 schools in Moulvibazar

An alleged terrorist was killed in a ‘shootout’ with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Kurigram helipad area in the district headquarters early yesterday.

The deceased was Rashed Parvej, 25, son of Jaber Hossain of Chandiborpur village in Narail Sadar upazila.

Rab sources said terrorist Rashed along with his associates was about to commit crimes in the helipad area around 2.00am, a team of Rab-6 raided the area.

Sensing the presence of Rab, Rashed and his aides opened fire at them and the Rab officials also retaliated triggering a gunfight.

Rashed was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot while his associates managed to flee the scene.

Rab also recovered two foreign pistols, five rounds of bullet and one shooter gun from the spot. l

n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah

n Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

A lack of basic facilities is creating hazards for the shop owners and traders of the Langalbandh Bazar under Shailkupa upazila of Jhenaidah and Sripur upazila of Magura.

The largest weekly market of the south-western district of Jhenaidah and Magura, which is widely known for wholesale of crops and corrugated tin, is in a bad shape due to lack of maintenance. The market earns several millions in revenue a year. A transaction of Tk100m is done each week at the market.

Langalbandh Bazar sits twice a week where traders from three districts -Jhenaidah, Magura and Rajbari - run their business. But most of the shops running in the century old market have become unfit as they have not been

An indigenous woman busy waving clothes as the Eid is coming nearer . The photo was taken from Rakhainpara in Patuakhali yesterday

repaired or maintained in the last 48 years, claimed some members of the Langalbandh Bazar Banik Samity.

The land of the market was registered under the ‘khas land’ by the revenue department of the government in 1965. We have filed a writ petition against the registration of the private lands under the Khas Khatians-1. We are supposed to appear in the court upon notice but notices have not been served for quite a long time, keeping us deprived of the rule of law, said the business leaders of the samity.

As a result, the shop owners cannot expand their shops in spite of having a number of problems.

During monsoon most of the lanes inside the market go under water creating tremendous hardship for the traders and customers. Moreover, rain drops fall through the roofs of many of

Heavy rain, tidal surge inundate 100 villages in Hatiya n

Our Correspondent, Noakhali

Around 100 more villages in Hatiya, Noakhali went under water due to the torrential rainfall and tidal surges yesterday.

BIWTC sources said the rough weather and tidal surges caused the sea track to suspend on this route.

When contacted Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Hatiya, M Mahidul Islam, quoting respective union parishad chairmen told this correspondent that tidal water seeped into the villages through the breaches of the flood control embankment in the upazila.

The water washed away several shrimp enclosures and pond fish and damaged transplanted vegetable plants in the last four days, the UNO said, adding that a 100 more villages went under 3-4 feet of water yesterday.

Among the newly inundated 100 villages are Steamer Ghat, Farji village, Kalu Haji Gram, Lumbria, Bobjan, Char Kawlash, Char Latia, Baju Gram, Char King, Bolia, South Bojgram, Sulaakia, Sonadia, Char Changa, Mijchara, Satful, Adrsha Gram, Molla Gram, Monhigram, Batan, Chiaghli. Nearly 40,000 people from Nijum Dwip were marooned on Monday.

Many homesteads were submerged in Patuakhali due to heavy rain and tidal surge The tidal surge also damaged Kutcha roads and at least 40,000 people from Hatiya’s various unions had been leading a sub-human life.

Locals said the tidal water entered five villages in Nijum Dwip of Hatiya upazila. The water washed away fish from over 100 ponds and fish farms,

while around 20 shops adjacent to the cross dam were washed away. A good number of poultry and goats were also washed away.

People from the affected areas with no preparations in this regard were forced to spend their days with no roof over their heads. l

the shops, said, Dipak Kumar Kundu, a pharmacy owner trader of the market.

Langalbandh Bazar Banik Samity President Golam Kuddus said, about 900 business men are running trade in this market. They have to incur enormous loss due to frequent fire incidents. Fire fighters cannot enter any of the lanes or roads inside the market as they are too narrow.

Jute merchant Haradhan Kundu said at least 20,000 people work in the market but lack of public toilets make the situation embarrassing.

An associate of the lease holder of the market, Abdul Kuddus said they had purchased the yearly lease of the market for Tk38,00,000.

Upazila Executive Officer of Sripur, Apurba Kumar said: “We are trying to improve the condition of the market with the existing fund.” l

Three missing in trawler capsize in Padma n Our Correspondent, Rajbari Three people went missing after a trawler capsized on the Padma river near a ferry terminal in Daulatdia union of Goalondo upazila, Rajbari.

The incident occurred at around 10pm on July 30, police said.

Assistant sub-inspector of Goalondo police station Abu Taleb said the trawler, carrying seven wedding attendants, capsized due to a strong river current off the terminal point. Out of the seven, three went missing.

They were identified as Abdur Razzaque,30, Md Rafiqul Islam,50, and Md Shamim Mia,53. One survivor, Asif Ali, described how the incident happened.

“We were returning home to the Daulatpur upazila of Manikganj after attending a wedding at the Char Daulatdia area. Suddenly, a large wave crashed on our trawler and overturned it. It sank instantly. Four of us managed to survive, but three couldn’t make it.

When contacted, Station Master Rajkumer Das of Rajbari civil service and fire brigade station said they couldn’t launch a rescue operation in time as they were not informed by the police.

A case with Goalondo police station. was filed in this connection. l

Tailors in Satkhira on strike for 10 days for wage hike n Tribune Desk Workers at the tailoring shops in Satkhira have been on strike for the last 10 days as their demand for wage hike remains unmet.

This has put the people in the town in a bothersome situation as Eid-ul-Fitr is knocking on the door.

On the other hand, the tailors are determined to continue their strike until their demand is met, reports UNB. Meanwhile, owners of the tailoring shops through loudspeaker announcements have requested the

people who placed Eid orders to take back their cloths as they will not be able to deliver the clothes on time.

Many of the town residents have started buying readymade garments from the shopping malls for Eid, but the poor and low-income group people are seeing no alternatives.

One customer, Abdur Rouf, who came to take away his panjabi’s cloth said that in every Eid his sons buy cloth for him to make Panjabi.

“I am afraid that this year I may not make Panjabi by tailors as they are on strike.” Many other customers expressed same reactions like Rouf.

Another female customer, Monwara Momtaz, said they would not face any problem if the owners had met the workers’ demand.

She said although Eid is now imminent, tailoring shop owners are returning customer’s clothes.

How many times can one buy clothes for one Eid? she questioned.

Darji Sramik Union President Mozaffar Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Shaheed Akbar Hossain said they had given an ultimatum to the owners twice to meet their 14-point demand.

But the owners did not show re-

spect to their demands.

Satkhira District Tailoring Shop Owners Association General Secretary Sirajul Islam said demands of the tailors were unjustified. During every Eid festival, they raise unfair demands, he added.

He said they had a two-year agreement with the Darji Sramik Union at Satkhira Chamber of Commerce which made last year.

But after eleven months, the workers have now raised new demands and are observing strike, which is in violation with the agreement, he added. l

High levels of arsenic has been detected in tube wells of 54 primary schools of Moulvibazar sadar upazila. Due to arsenic in the water, scarcity of pure drinking water has been prevailed in these schools.

Moulvibazar sadar upazila’s Department of Public Health Engineering said they had recieved approval to install tube wells at 54 government primary schools in sadar upazila under the project titled - Primary Education Development Programme 3.

DPHE has installed deep tube wells at the primary schools of Lama-Kagabola, Satbag, Ratanpur, Sathal and Basuriya in January this yesr. After installing the wells, the water was tested in the laboratory of Sylhet regional DPHE center and a dangerous level of arsenic

FOCUS BANGLA

was found. After the test, DPHE postponeded the remaing PEDP3 work.

Md Maruf Ahmed, Moulvibazar sadar upazila primary education officer, said there was a scarcity of safe drinking water in more than 50 primary schools of the sadar upazila. He added that he has informed the higher authorities about this matter.

Dhananjoy Kumar Das, sample analyzer of Sylhet regional DPHE center’s laboratory, said the safety level of arsenic in water was 0.05 milligram per liter. However, in case of the school tube wells, the rate was higher than normal.

Md Atiqur Rahman, sub-assistant engineer of DPHE, Moulvibazar sadar upazila office, said installation of tubewells in primary schools of sadar upazila has been postponed after arsenic was detected. They have sent a proposal to the DPHE head office in this regard. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Kidnapped Nilphamari chairman rescued, three held

Chairman of Ramnagar Union Parishad, who was abducted a week ago, was rescued from Raiganj upazila in Shiddirganj by police.

Chairman Shafiqul Islam Tuhin was rescued yesterday from Mouhar village under Shonakhara Union of Raiganj at around 12pm, according to banglanews. According to Officer-in-Charge of Raiganj police station, police had held three men for their involvement in Tuhin’s abduction. The names of the suspects could not be confirmed immediately.On July 24, Tuhin was abducted from Lichutola Bypass area of Bogra. Later the kidnappers demanded Tk30m as ransom from his family. – Tribune Report

Robbery at lawyer house in Narsingdi

A gang of armed robbers looted valuables worth about Tk1m from the house of a lawyer in Brahmandi area of Narsingdi town on Tuesday night. Police said a gang of robbers numbering 15 to 16 equipped with lethal weapons entered the house of Advocate Mujibur Rahman, breaking a collapsible gate. After that the dacoits broke the lock of an Almirah and looted nine tolas of gold ornaments, Tk200,000 in cash, mobile phone sets and valuable electronic goods and managed to flee from the scene with the booties safely.

House owner Advocate Mujibur Rahman was not present in his house during the robbery. A case was filed with Narsingdi police station. – Our Correspondent

Two siblings drown in Moulvibazar

Two siblings drowned in a pond at Fatiguli village in Kulaura upazila on Tuesday evening. The deceased were Ishaq Miah’s two children- Kuddus Miah, 7 and Reshma Begum, 5, of the village. Local sources said Reshma drowned in the pond adjacent to their house while taking a bath at around 3pm and Kuddus drowned when he went to rescue his sister. Later, their bodies were recovered from the pond. – UNB

Mother, daughter killed in Jessore pillar collapse

A woman and her daughter were crushed to death when a truck collided with a

pillar of a building under-construction in Rajarhat Bazar area in sadar upazila yesterday. The victims were identified as Momena Khatun, 75, and her daughter Marjina Khatun, 40, of the area. Officerin-charge (investigation) of Kotwali Police Station M Rafiqul Islam said a pillar of the under-construction building collapsed at about 7am when a soil-laden truck hit the pillar after its driver lost control, leaving Marjina dead on the spot and Momena and their relative Jamila Khatun injured. The injured were rushed to the district hospital where on-duty doctors declared Momena dead. The bodies were kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy. – UNB

40 injured in Sylhet clash

At least 40 people were injured in a clashs between two rival groups at Paikraj village in Goainghat upazila on Tuesday.

Sources said there had been a longstanding dispute between Ruhul Amin and Bilal Member over ownership of land at the local Paikraj Primary School and Jame Mosque. As a result, two groups – one led

by Ruhul Amin and another by Bilal - were locked in a clash at 1pm after they failed to settle the dispute at a local arbitration.

The clash left at least 40 people injured on both sides. Of them, 16 sustained critical injuries and were rushed to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital while the rest given treatment at a local hospital. A case was filed in this regard with Goainghat police station. – UNB

Stalker jailed in Kurigram

A mobile court in Chilmari upazila on Tuesday sentenced a young man to two months’ imprisonment for sexually harassing a girl. The convict was identified as Mahbub Hossain, 19, son of Nur Mohammad of Narosingvanj area in the upazila.

Police said Mahbub recorded indecent conversations between him and a local madrasa girl on his mobile phone and circulated it to others’. Upon being informed of the matter, the father of the girl lodged a complaint with the local police, who arrested Mahbub on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, he was produced before a mobile court led by upazila nirbahi officer Mohammad Mamul-ul-Hasan who handed down the verdict. – UNB

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Metro

7

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Advanced tickets get into fuddle

NU extends deadline to change department n Tribune Report

Some prefer not to go home; others decide to leave early

n Mohammad Jamil Khan Purchasing advance tickets for journeys to the southern and northern parts of the country ahead of Eid-ulFitr is a phenomenal task for thousands of homebound passengers. Frustrated, some decide not return home for celebrating Eid with their loved ones, while others choose to depart for their Eid destinations before the vacation.

At the Sadarghat Launch Terminal on Wednesday, many passengers were seen rushing from one place to another for tickets. The same rush was seen at bus counters in Shamoly, Kallyanpur, Saydabad and Gabtoli. Most of the passengers’ efforts went in vain.

According to reports from different bus and launch terminals, advanced tickets for regular and special buses along with launch services have already been sold out. However, many passengers claimed that the tickets sold out within hours of hitting the booths, and they could not obtain them even after trying for several days.

As many of the passengers failed to collect advance tickets, they are now leaving the capital much earlier. Those who cannot leave the city earlier are sending their family members to their village homes.

Mahadi-ul-Morshed, a resident of Luxmibazar area said, “I failed to collect advance tickets. So, taking leave from my office, I have decided to go to my village home much earlier on Thursday with my family.”

Ticket sellers at the counters of Shohagh Paribahan, Shamoly Paribahan, Hanif Enterprise, SR Travels, TR Travels, Agomony Enterprise and Sakura Paribahan of Saydabad and Gabtoli Terminals said most of the advance tickets were sold out between July 26 to July 28. Tickets Managers of Parabat

11, Sundorban 7, Rajdut, Agradut Plus, Kirtonkhola said, the advanced cabin tickets were sold between July 25 and July 26.

Although bus and launch ticket vendors said the advanced tickets had been sold out, employees of different transport firms said, If any passenger has personal contract with the bus or launch staff, they get their tickets from them.

Apart from that, special launch and bus services are going to be introduced from August 5 and 6 respectively.

Talking to our correspondent, Sayed Anower, an employee of Shohag Paribahan, said the number of tickets is much less compared to the number of passengers.

Dilip Babu, ticket manager of Kirtonkhola launch said, unavailability of tickets had been a common problem during Eid. It is the responsibility of passengers to collect advanced tickets earlier, he added.

However, sources of bus and launch terminal said that only 30 percent launch cabin and 60 percent bus tickets had been sold out for general public through regular channels and the others were sold out under different requests of VIPs or to people associated to bus employees’.

Dr Jalal Ahmed, one of the passengers at Sayedabad bus terminal, said he had been trying to purchase a ticket for the past three days, but failed to do so.

“It is impossible to go home without a ticket,” said Aysha Akter Tonni, one of the frustrated passengers.

Jobayed Ahmed, a resident of Mohakhali area, said, “As I failed to collect advanced tickets, I think it is better not to go home. I will take a holiday from my office after Eid to go home, as it is easier to travel to home then without facing any hassles.” l

National University (NU) authorities have extended the deadline of submitting application to change the student’s selected discipline.

Students enrolled in degree (pass) course under 2012-13 academic session can apply to change their department or subject by August 26, said a press release yesterday.

Md Faizul Karim, a public relations officer of the university, said it to the journalists.

He said the deadline of submitting the applications was on July 30 which has been changed to August 26.

Students can get detailed information about the matter in university’s website (www.nubd.info and www. nu.edu.bd). l

One held with excavator in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

People collecting tickets standing in queue at Kamlapur Railway Station in the city

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Police nabbed a person red handed who was cutting hills using an excavator in Shapla residential area of Chittagong city early yesterday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team from Akbarshah police station detained Arif, 22, driver of the excavator, at around 4am, said Abdur Razzak, officer-in-charge of Akbarshah police station.

Police said the hill, owned by Mainuddin and Mohsin, was being cut by Abdul Hannan and Parvez to construct a multi-storied building.

Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the cutters fled the scene leaving behind Arif. Police also found some handmade tools used for hill cutting, said the OC. A case was lodged with Akbarshah police station. Police were investigating the matter, added the OC. l

Train tickets unavailable for Sylhet Rajuk to allocate flats to Hatirjheel bound passengers project victims n Tribune Report Frustration is running high among thousands of homebound people, as the highly-sought Eid advance train tickets were sold out within three hours after sales began in Sylhet.

The rail routes to Syhlet gets the third largest volume of passengers during the Eid rush, trailing only Dhaka and Chittagong. The ten days advance package for homebound passengers, which started on July 26, ended on Tuesday.

Sources suggest that some passengers failed to avail tickets even after waiting in the rail station queue from dawn to afternoon. Tickets were also unavailable in online and MobiCash.

Passengers alleged to Banglanews that tickets were put up for black market sale. They also requested for a special train to Sylhet.

Tuesday was the scheduled date to get tickets for August 8. Only some of

those waiting in the queue were rewarded with tickets, while most had to return home empty handed.

Sources at Bangladesh Railway informed that ticket booths will not be offering seat tickets between the dates of August 4 to August 8. But tickets for August 9 will be available after the evening of August 8, if the moon of Shawwal month is not seen. Moreover, standing tickets will be sold daily from counter.

Some passengers alleged that the black market salesmen were opting to use MobiCash, as loudspeakers made public announcements on the platform to raise awareness among the passengers.

Exploiting the option of purchasing four tickets from a single mobile sim, the unscrupulous black marketeers have been using ten to fifteen sim cards to purchase tickets, which they will look to sell later, based on the demand of tickets in the market.

A syndicate allegedly maintains direct connection with the rail employees to get tickets, while in some cases, another syndicate stands in the queue from night to get tickets of different routes. Afterwards, they sell it for high prices.

As most of the passengers do not have master card and visa debit cards, they cannot buy tickets through the e-service. Complaints against the e-service also include of a faulty network service for most of the card holders.

Station master of Sylhet Muhibur Rahman said, we cannot provide tickets according to the demand of the passengers. The rail officials are also not getting tickets by standing in queue. Apart from providing us any special train, the suffering of the passengers could be alleviated a bit if at least two compartments can be added to every train, he suggested. l

n Abu Hayat Mahmud Flats will be allocated to the affected land owners of the adjoining areas of the ‘Hatirjheel-Begunbari Project’ by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) at the end of this year.

The construction of the 300 acre Hatirjheel Project stretching from behind Hotel Sonargaon at city’s Karwan bazaar to Bansree, started in 2004 and the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved it in 2008 RAJUK has taken the decision to compensate those who lost their habitation due to the implementation of the project.

The state-run organisation Rajuk plans to handover the flats to the owners within December 2014, said Rajuk

officials.

ASM Raihanul Ferdous, director of the Hatirjheel-Begunbari Project told the Dhaka Tribune, “We have already started to construct the two multi-storied buildings as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has promised to compensate the affected people.”

“We will publish notices in the national newspapers by October this year inviting application from the victims for flat allocation. We will identify the genuinely affected land owners through testing the validity of documents,” he added.

The government acquired a total of 219.9490 acres of land for the Hatirjheel-Begunbari Lake development project of which 139.9693 acres were privately owned by 500 people.

In the inauguration programme of the project, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said steps were being taken for the rehabilitation of those affected by the project.

According to her commitment, Rajuk started constructing two 16-storied buildings each having 56 flats.

Raihanul said, “After distributing a total of 112 flats between the selected land owners, we will sell rest of the flats to general people, if we are left with any.”

The construction of the 300 acre Hatirjheel Project stretching from behind Hotel Sonargaon at city’s Karwan bazaar to Bansree, started in 2004 and the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved it in 2008.

Engineering Construction Battalion of the Bangladesh Army has been implementing the project, under the supervision of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and Rajuk.

Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (Buet) is also a consultant to the project. l

Expatriates of Sylhet return home to celebrate Eid n Our Correspondent, Sylhet A good number of expatriates have returned back to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their friends and family.

But many immigrants have returned back as summer vacation is going on in the UK now, he said, adding that all flight bound for London-Sylhet has been already booked for July-August.

A young girl glipses at Eid fashion put on mannequin in the capital’s Bashundhara Shopping Mall yesterday

NASHIRUL ISLAM

The shopkeepers are found jubilant as the migrants are purchasing expensive items from their shops. The arrival of the migrants has changed the atmosphere at markets and shopping centres in Sylhet.

An owner of a fashion house at Al Hamra Shopping City of Zindabazar said the sale at their shops has increased than the previous year. The immigrants are purchasing the items which worth more than Tk5000.

Many people of Sylhet, Suna-

mganj, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts of Sylhet division live and work abroad.

Among the migrants, about 550,000 and 2m live in United Kingdom and Middle East respectively.

The immigrants usually visit the country around this time of the year as summer vacation in the UK starts in July which lasts until August.

Executive Officer of Sylhet Overseas Centre Shamsul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune he does not have idea about exactly how many immigrants have recently come back to the country to celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr.

But many immigrants have returned back as summer vacation is going on in the UK now, he said, adding that all flight bound for London-Sylhet has been already booked for July-August.

Like many others, residents of Londoni Road of Subidabazar area of Sylhet Zahedur Rashid Babor and his wife Surma Amina Rashid Khanom returned to Sylhet on July 24 to celebrate Eid. Babor, who lives in Manchester of the UK, said he had come to the coun-

try after almost eight years.

“I am feeling happy as I will celebrate Eid with my relatives,” he said.

But he also expressed his dissatisfaction as he had to waste a lot of time every due to traffic congestion.

He said celebrating Eid in Bangladesh gave the feeling of umbilical connection which cannot be found anywhere. Shopping adds a different gala to the celebration which is not available in EuropeAmerica.

Despite being living with many obstacles, the poor people of Bangladesh also go to markets to buy Eid items which inspires him a lot, he said.

Managing Director of Reservation and Sales In charge of Sylhet office of Biman Bangladesh Shahnewaz Mozumder said immigrants normally come to the country by London-Sylhet flight. He also said all London-Sylhet flights have already been booked, he added.

Direct flights of the route lands in Osmani International Airport every Mondays and Thursdays. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Israeli and Palestini negotiators strive Al-Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for Iraq for peace deal within 9 months John Kerry reminds both sides burden must not be left for next generation to bear

n Reuters, Washington Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Tuesday gave themselves about nine months to try to reach an agreement on ending their conflict of more than six decades in US-brokered peace talks.

The two sides held their first peace negotiations in nearly three years in Washington on Monday and Tuesday, a diplomatic victory for Secretary of State John Kerry, but one that foreign policy analysts believe has low chances of success.

Flanked by the chief negotiators for both sides, Kerry said he was well aware of the doubts but described the initial talks, which focused on process rather than substance, as “constructive and positive.”

Speaking after the meetings, which included a closed-door session with President Barack Obama at the White House as well as talks between the two sides without US officials present, Kerry said peace was possible despite the obstacles.

“While I understand the skepticism, I don’t share it,” Kerry said with Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat at his side, adding all so-called final-status issues to end the conflict were on the table. ““We cannot pass along to another generation the responsibility of ending a conflict that is in our power to resolve in our time,” he added. “They should not be expected to bear that burden, and we should not leave it to them.”

The talks will go to a second round by the middle of August, Kerry said, adding that “our objective will be to

A boy holds a Palestinian flag during a march against the construction of a section of Israel’s separation barrier in the outskirts of the village of Iskaka, near the Jewish West Bank settlement of Ariel in January 2005 AP achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months.”

Kerry said Israel had agreed to take unspecified steps to ease the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank, which is ruled by a Palestinian Authority dominated by Abbas’ Fatah faction, and the Gaza Strip, where the Islamist Hamas group holds sway.

Speaking to reporters later, a senior US official declined to identify these but said they aimed to improve economic growth and added “it’s more than just removing roadblocks.”

Little Detail About Talks US officials declined to describe this week’s talks in any detail, saying secrecy was vital, and they said they did not

yet know whether they would take part in the talks planned within two weeks in Israel or the Palestinian Territories.

The United States is seeking to broker an agreement on a two-state solution, in which Israel would exist peacefully alongside a new Palestinian state created in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands occupied by the Israelis since a 1967 war. The last direct talks collapsed in late 2010 over Israel’s building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The major “final status” issues to be resolved include borders, the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

Livni, the chief Israeli negotiator, sought to cast the talks in a positive light.

Erekat said it was time to end the conflict. “Palestinians have suffered enough, and no one benefits more from the success of this endeavor more than Palestinians,” he said. “It’s time for the Palestinian people to have an independent, sovereign state of their own.”

The resumption of negotiations is a rare moment of good news in the Middle East for the Obama administration, which has struggled to formulate a policy to try to end the civil war in Syria or to facilitate a democratic transition in Egypt.

Kerry, who has prodded and coaxed the two sides to resume negotiations in a flurry of visits to the Middle East during his less than six months in office, urged the Israelis and Palestinians to embrace “reasonable, principled compromise.”

However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pointed to some of the tough issues still to be discussed, saying no Israeli settlers or border forces could remain in a future Palestinian state and that Palestinians deem illegal all Jewish settlement building within the land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

Foreign policy experts voiced deep doubts about the chances of success for the peace talks, the latest in a long series of US-brokered efforts that have so far failed, including former President Bill Clinton’s 2000 Camp David push.

Among the many obstacles to any agreement are split opinions within both the Israeli and Palestinian publics. l

bombings n Reuters, Baghdad

An al-Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings across Iraq that killed 60 people on Monday and the Interior Ministry said it was facing an “open war” from insurgents bent on plunging the country into sectarian strife.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between al-Qaeda’s affiliates in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement posted online it had carefully selected its targets, which were mainly Shias.

The 17 blasts were the latest in a relentless campaign of bombings and shootings that have killed more than 4,000 people since the start of the year.

Nearly 900 people have lost their lives in militant attacks in July.

Another 26 people were killed in scattered attacks on Tuesday evening, and the bodies of two unidentified men were found in the northern city of Mosul with gunshot wounds and their hands bound behind their backs.

The ministry said it was setting up a hotline for citizens to report information that uncovered “terrorist cells,” offering big cash rewards to anyone who came forward.

Hundreds of convicts ran free after simultaneous attacks on two high-security prisons last week, raising questions about the ability of Iraq’s security services to combat al-Qaeda, which has been regaining momentum in its insurgency against the Shia-led government.

“The latest operations came at the height of security deployment after the blessed operations to break the chains of the lions in Abu Ghraib and Taji

Rights group Manning sentencing hearing underway after conviction condemns lashing, n AFP, Maryland, US jailing of Saudi US soldier Bradley Manning’s court martial moved to the sentencing phase blogger on Islam Wednesday, one day after he was convicted of espionage, but cleared of Reuters, Dubai n “aiding the enemy” in leaking US seAn international rights group condemned the sentencing of a Saudi Arabian website founder to be whipped 600 times and jailed for seven years for violating Islamic values, saying it undermined the kingdom’s stated support for religious debate.

A court in Jeddah handed down the sentence on Raif Badawi, who started the ‘Free Social Liberals’ website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, Saudi media reported on Tuesday.

“This incredibly harsh sentence for a peaceful blogger makes a mockery of Saudi Arabia’s claims that it supports reform and religious dialogue,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at US-based Human Rights Watch.

The United States said it was deeply concerned about the case. The world’s top oil exporter follows the strict Wahhabi school of Islam and applies Islamic law, or sharia. Judges base their decisions on their own interpretation of religious law instead of precedent or a written legal code. l

crets to WikiLeaks.

Manning on Tuesday was acquitted at a military trial of the most serious charge against him – that in having delivered a trove of US government files to the anti-secrecy group, he sought to wilfully help al-Qaeda.

But he was found guilty of espionage and other charges which carry as much as 136 years in prison.

Manning’s sentencing hearing could take as long as a month, with each side expected to present about 10 witnesses – including, the defence has said, possibly Manning himself.

Tuesday’s verdict follows an exhaustive two-month court martial at the Fort Meade military base in Maryland near the US capital.

The 25-year-old US Army private was working as an intelligence analyst near Baghdad when he was arrested more than three years ago and he has been in military custody ever since.

Having admitted earlier this year that he had passed a trove of 700,000

Crisis-weary Zimbabweans were voting Wednesday in a fiercely contested election dominated by veteran President Robert Mugabe’s bid to extend his 33year rule and suspicions of vote rigging.

The 89-year-old firebrand, Africa’s oldest leader, is running for office for the seventh and perhaps final time, after a series of violent crackdowns, economic crises and suspect elections.

But on the eve of the vote, Mugabe vowed to step down if he lost and claimed the army – long the bulwark of his rule – would also respect a victory

for Morgan Tsvangirai, his perennial rival and reluctant partner in an uneasy coalition for the past four years. “If you lose you must surrender,” the 89-yearold said, insisting.

The United States however, voiced concern about the way the vote would be run and Tsvangirai, who was forced out of the race in 2008 after 200 of his supporters were killed, told CNN he took Mugabe’s promise “with a pinch of salt.”

Voters, some wrapped in blankets on a cold winter morning, started queuing at least four hours before polling stations opened and voting appeared to be brisk in many urban ar-

Voters queue to cast their ballots in elections in Mbare, Harare

AP

WORLD WATCH Student left in DEA cell to get $4m from US

A 25-year-old college student has reached a $4.1m settlement with the federal government after he was abandoned in a windowless Drug Enforcement Administration cell for more than four days without food or water, his attorneys said Tuesday. The DEA introduced national detention standards as a result of the ordeal involving Daniel Chong, including daily inspections and a requirement for cameras in cells. Chong said he drank his own urine to stay alive and tried to carve a farewell message to his mother in his arm.

At least 10 dead as record heat wave hits China

Supporters of US Army Pfc Bradley Manning, march outside Fort Lesley J McNair, in Washington documents to WikiLeaks, Manning’s culpability was no longer in question and he was ultimately found guilty of all but two of the 22 offences for which he was tried.

Government lawyers argued that

Zimbabwe heads to elections n AFP, Harare

jails,” read the statement by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The group said Monday’s attacks were part of a “heavy price” the government would pay for its mistreatment of the Sunni minority, which resents Shia supremacy since the US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The jailbreaks came exactly one year after the leader of al-Qaeda’s Iraqi branch, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, launched a “Breaking the Walls” campaign that made freeing its imprisoned members a top priority, the group said in a statement.

In a separate statement, a spokesman for the combined Syrian and Iraqi groups said the “Breaking the Walls” offensive was over and al-Qaeda would move on to a new phase called “the Harvest of the Soldiers,” calling Sunnis to join their ranks.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shia mosque on the northern outskirts of Baghdad on Tuesday evening, killing six people, and another bomb in a Sunni mosque in the town of Tuz Khurmato killed three.

Six people were killed when a bomb exploded outside a cafe in central Baquba 50km northeast of Baghdad.

In Baghdad, two blasts near a Sunni mosque in the western al-Jihad district killed two people, and three bombs went off in a busy street in the Turath neighborhood, killing three others, police said.

Gunmen attacked a police patrol in central Mosul, killing two, and in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad, a bomb struck another police patrol, also killing two. A bomb targeted a third police patrol in the town of Mishahda, killing two more. l

eas, which have traditionally recorded strong support for Tsvangirai.

Millions of Zimbabwean were forced to migrate to find work elsewhere after an economic crisis which was exacerbated by the violence-marred 2008 elections.

While this year’s campaign has seen little of the bloodshed of 2008, Tsvangirai, a 61-year-old former trade union leader, has raised alarm bells about fraud.

His Movement for Democratic Change on Tuesday handed what it claimed was documentary evidence of plans to rig the election to observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The dossier, which an SADC observer said raised serious questions, listed examples of duplicate or questionable voters gleaned from an initial examination of the electoral roll.

In June, the non-governmental Research and Advocacy Unit said after examining an incomplete roll that it included a million dead voters or émigrés, as well as over 100,000 people who were more than 100 years old.

Some 6.4 million people, around half of the population, are eligible to vote.

A candidate needs 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off and both Mugabe and Tsvangirai appear confident. l

the soldier exhibited malign intent in transmitting the files to WikiLeaks, which later published them, much to the embarrassment of the United States and its allies.

The prosecution had argued that

AP

Manning’s actions directly benefited Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, but Colonel Denise Lind, the presiding judge, was not persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt that such damage had occurred. l

Cambodian opposition claims election win n Reuters, Phnom Penh Cambodia’s main opposition party said on Wednesday it had won the weekend’s general election, stepping up its battle with the party of authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen that has also claimed victory and rejected allegations of electoral fraud.

Yim Sovann, a lawmaker and spokesman for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said the CNRP had won 63 seats in the 123-member parliament, with Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) getting 60. The claim was based on its own data.

“This is according to figures of votes we collected from various provinces and this needs to be investigated,” Yim Sovann told Reuters.

The government announced on Sunday that the CPP had won 68 seats, a sharp fall from its previous tally of 90 but beating the CNRP’s 55.

The election campaign and voting on Sunday were largely peaceful but Phnom Penh remains tense because of the political stand-off. Police and the military are maintaining a presence on the streets, although business is mostly back to normal.

Hun Sen, 60, has been prime minister for 28 years and has crushed dissent in the past while building a network of government and military allies. He has kept out of sight since Sunday and made no comment on the election.

The CNRP was formed last year from the merger of two opposition parties. Long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy returned from exile on July 19 to galvanise its campaign after a royal pardon that removed the threat of jail for what he called trumped-up charges relating to criticism of a new border the government agreed with Vietnam.

Rainsy has demanded an inquiry into the election with UN involvement, alleging in particular that up to 1.3m names were missing from the electoral rolls.

The government has rejected that idea.

The United States and European Union have expressed concern about irregularities. Both have said an investigation should be conducted by Cambodia’s National Election Committee.

Even by the government’s own figures, Sunday’s vote was Hun Sen’s worst election result since Cambodia returned to full democracy in 1998 after decades of war and turmoil that included the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge “Killing Fields.” l

More than 10 people have died in China’s commercial hub Shanghai, a local health official said Wednesday as the city grapples with its highest temperatures in at least 140 years.

China Meteorological Association issued a high temperature warning for several eastern and central provinces, saying temperatures could reach 41 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. ¡¡Leng Guangming, a spokesman at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said there had been at least 10 victims of heat stroke up to last Friday in the city.

Chinese workers strike over takeover of US firm: Xinhua

More than 5,000 Chinese workers at a Sino-US joint venture tyre manufacturer have gone on strike against the American parent company’s $2.5bn takeover by an Indian firm, state media reported. Cooper Tire and Rubber announced last month that it would be taken over by Apollo Tyres of India, making the combined group the seventh-largest such firm in the world. But thousands of staff at Cooper Chengshan, a joint venture in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, have walked out in protest, the Xinhua news agency said late Tuesday.

Colombia to charge militants for crimes against humanity

Colombia will charge 13 right-wing paramilitary chiefs and three leftist rebel chiefs with crimes against humanity for some of the worst atrocities in decades of civil strife. “We are talking about 16 crimes in which there were approximately 3,000 people killed.

And the attorney general’s office will be addressing 11,000 cases of serious rights violations,” the country’s top prosecutor Eduardo Montealegre told a news conference. He said that the guerrillas would be charged for war crimes, mainly kidnapping. The paramilitary’s crimes covered a broader range, from kidnappings to sexual abuse to attacks on entire towns, he said.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Panama uncovers fighter jet engines from seized North Korea ship Investigators have gone through most of two storage houses in the 155-metre vessel but three more warehouses remain

n Reuters, Colon, Panama Panamanian investigators unloading the cargo of a seized North Korean ship carrying arms from Cuba under sacks of brown sugar on Tuesday found 12 engines for MiG-21 fighter jets and five military vehicles that officials said resembled missile control centres.

Investigators earlier this month had found two MiG-21 fighter jets and two missile radar systems on board the Chong Chon Gang, which was bound for North Korea when it was stopped by officials.

Panamanian Security Minister Jose Mulino said the cargo appeared to fall within what Cuba had said was a range of “obsolete” arms being sent to North Korea for repair.

Panama asked the United Nations to delay the arrival of investigators by a week until August 12, because the process of unloading cargo found un-

Panamaian forensic workers carry out investigations in a container holding a MiG-21 fighter jet seized from the North Korean-flagged ship l in Colon city REUTERS der 100,000 tonnes of sugar has taken longer than expected.

About 25% of the sugar has been removed so far, Mulino said.

Investigators have gone through most of two storage houses in the 155-metre vessel, Mulino said, but three more warehouses remain.

The process has involved about 500 police since June 15 when Panamanian law enforcement discovered the military equipment.

They initially pulled over the Chong Chon Gang after receiving a tip it was carrying drugs, Panamanian law enforcement have said. Cuban officials told Panama the cargo was a donation of sugar for the people of North Korea.

Officials have found most of the weapons Havana said were on board, including the two fighter jets, originally produced by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s, and two missile radar systems.

No missiles have been found, and though officials originally feared one container held explosive material, none was discovered. l

9

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Al-Qaeda vows to free Guantanamo inmates n Reuters, Dubai Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri slammed US treatment of hunger striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay and said the group would spare no effort to free them, according to an audio recording posted on the Internet on Wednesday.

Zawahri also said Shia Hezbollah’s intervention in the conflict in Syria was an attempt to promote Iranian hegemony over the country.

“The (hunger) strike by our brothers at Guantanamo unmasks the true ugly face of (the United States of) America,” Zawahri said in an audio recording posted on an Islamist website and whose authenticity could not be verified.

“We pledge to God that we will spare no effort to free all our prisoners,” he added, referring to prominent Islamist militants held by the United States.

He did not elaborate on what al-Qaeda intended to do, but militants have in the past kidnapped Westerners and sought to trade them for jailed comrades.

UN reports increase in civilian deaths in Afghanistan

Afghan women wait to receive free food donated by Muslim Hands, a not-for-profit organization, during the second week of Ramadan in Kabul insurgents, who were increasingly targeting civilians seen to be cooperating with the government, the report said.

Gagnon urged insurgents to “stop deliberate targeting and killing of civilians and withdraw orders that permit attacks” on legal personnel, clergy and government workers.

But the Taliban said anyone supporting President Hamid Karzai’s Western-backed government was a legitimate target.

“We never consider those people as civilians who are directly involved in our country’s occupation and work with sensitive organs of the enemy,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement.

Women, children in firing line

The rise in deaths of women and children maintained a trend marked last year.

In one of the worst instances, 10 children, most of them infants, were killed in an aerial bombardment in the eastern province of Kunar that “appeared to serve no clear military/tactical purpose,” the United Nations said.

An investigation by the Nato-led force in Afghanistan concluded it was not responsible for the deaths, though human rights groups and the UN have questioned that finding.

The threat to civilians has become a significant source of stress in relations between Karzai and his backers, partic-

ularly when civilian deaths are caused by foreign forces.

But questions have been raised about the ability of domestic forces not only to take on the insurgents but to win the trust and support of people in areas where insurgents operate.

Casualties caused by a security force known as the Afghan Local Police, set up in 2010 to operate in remote, insecure areas, rose more than 60%, the United Nations said. Force members had been accused of murder, torture and rape.

Many communities, however, reported that they owed an improvement in security to the police.

But the report also noted increased

Indian left parties divided over Telangana issue n Tribune Report Left political parties were divided over the Telangana state issue on Wednesday with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) opposing it and Communist Party of India (CPI) and Forward Bloc favouring the statehood, The Hindu reported.

But all of the parties wanted the people of the state of Andhra Pradesh to maintain harmony in the wake of the government’s decision to go ahead with its formation.

The decision to create Telangana state “seems to have been impelled by the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. It will give a fillip to demands for separate states in other places,” the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement on Wednesday.

The party, which has been opposing the Telangana demand, said it has “always stood for the integrity of the states based on the democratic principle of linguistic states.”

The party also accused the Congress

A map of the state of Telangana and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of taking a decision to divide Andhra Pradesh and creating Telangana “after long procrastination and more than two years after the report

AP

submitted by the Srikrishna Committee.”

The UPA government in March 2010 constituted a committee, led by a retired Indian Supreme Court judge Justice Bellur Narayanaswamy Srikrishna, to draft

a report for the separate statehood of Telangana and the committee later that year submitted six recommendations to the union home ministry.

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat earlier said statehood for Telangana would spur such demands in other parts of the country.

“The central government will have to take the responsibility to see that there is no further division of states whether it is West Bengal or anywhere else. It should be made clear that you cannot go on having an endless division of a state or creation of new states,” he said.

The Forward Bloc also sought the creation of a separate state of Vidarbha and the establishing of the second State Reorganisation Committee to “find a justifiable solution on all pending demands of small states once and for all.”

But CPI National Secretary D Raja termed the decision as “too late” and said his party had agreed to a separate Telangana “after in-depth discussion and considering and exhausting all options.” l

Zawahri also said Shia Hezbollah’s intervention in the conflict in Syria was an attempt to promote Iranian hegemony over the country Some 166 men are currently being held at a US military base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Many have been on hunger strike to protest their indefinite detention, with some being force-fed.

Zawahri also denounced Washington’s use of drone strikes targeting Islamists, saying it was a sign of the defeat of US campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

Drone strikes have been widely criticised by rights groups who say the strikes often miss their targets and hit civilians. l

Myanmar floods force 25,000 into relief camps n AFP, Yangon

n Reuters, Kabul Violence against civilians has risen by almost a quarter in Afghanistan as international forces hand security to Afghans, the United Nations said in a report on Wednesday, with insurgents striking in areas where troops have already left.

The report, presented by the Human Rights Director for the UN in Afghanistan, said the number of dead and injured civilians had increased by 23% in the first six months of 2013, compared to the same period last year.

Women and children are increasingly the victims of the 12-year-old war, the report said, noting a 30% leap in the number of children killed. The total civilian death toll stood at more than 1,300, with 2,533 reported injuries.

Mounting casualties are reinforcing fears about Afghanistan’s ability to tackle the Taliban insurgency on its own, after most foreign troops leave next year. The Afghan army faces one of the highest desertion rates in the world and a chronic lack of logistical and medical support.

“The stepped-up transition of security responsibilities from international military forces to Afghan forces and closure of international forces’ bases was met with increased attacks by anti-government elements...,” Georgette Gagnon said in presenting the report.

The intensified attacks occurred “mainly at checkpoints, on strategic highways, in some areas that had been transitioned and in districts bordering neighboring countries.”

Figures released in 2012 showed a decline in civilian deaths compared to the previous year.

The UN report said bombs, or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), remained the single greatest killer, claiming 53% more victims than last year, most of them children.

Fighting between security forces and insurgents had emerged as the second most significant cause of civilian deaths, with the report putting the death toll in crossfire at 207.

Both sides were responsible for civilian deaths, but the report said almost three-quarters were caused by

Al-Qaeda has also claimed responsibility for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons last week in which they said more than 500 inmates had been set free.

And in Pakistan, Taliban broke 250 prisoners out of a jail on Tuesday.

AP

numbers of clashes between unaligned armed groups, a recurrence of the insecurity in the 1990s that enabled the Taliban to take control.

The report also revealed that the US army had launched a fresh inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed between November and February in the strategically important province of Wardak.

That investigation comes on the heels of the arrest of an Afghan translator who worked with US special forces who he said had killed civilians he helped capture. The bodies of as many as 10 civilians were found this year near the military base used by the special forces soldiers. l

Nearly 25,000 people have been evacuated to makeshift camps after floods ravaged eastern Myanmar, an official said Wednesday, as relief teams struggled to reach remote areas inundated by water.

Flood waters have risen dramatically after several days of heavy rain in Karen State forcing thousands to flee to nearly 80 relief camps, Chum Hre, director of the social welfare, relief and resettlement department told AFP. “Altogether 24,499 flood victims have been evacuated” in Karen State, he said, adding hundreds more had been displaced in Mon and Rakhine states.

“It is very difficult to reach some of the disaster-hit places because of the bad weather and landslides,” he said, adding that helicopters had been deployed.

Heavy rains also inundated areas across the border in Thailand. Seven Thai provinces remained flooded on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said in its daily update.

Three people have died since Monday after they were hit by trees felled by fast-moving water, it added.

In Thailand’s western town of Mae Sot, which borders the flood-hit area of Myanmar, waters have receded in the town centre but remain high in outlying areas, especially near the frontier checkpoint.

“The situation has returned to normal in Mae Sot city,” Pramote Chantasri, of Mae Sot City Municipality told AFP. “The worst was on Monday after four days of heavy rain in the mountains,” he said, adding the bridge between the two countries remains open.

Parts of Thailand and Myanmar are inundated each year during the monsoon period, which ends in October.

Deadly floods in 2011 left more than 800 dead in Thailand, inundating swathes of the country for months, deluging parts of the capital and taking a heavy toll on the country’s lucrative manufacturing industry. l

Snowden’s father willing to fly to Moscow on FBI request n Reuters, Moscow The father of former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden said on Wednesday he was willing to agree to a request by the FBI to fly to Moscow to see his son, but first needed to know what the security services wanted.

Lonnie Snowden told state-owned Russian 24 television the FBI had suggested a “few weeks ago” that he should travel to Moscow to talk to his son, who faces espionage charges in the United States for exposing secret US surveillance programmes.

Edward Snowden, whose exposure of the surveillance raised questions about intrusion into private lives, has been stuck in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong more than a month ago.

His father has had no direct contact with him. “I received this suggestion (from the FBI to travel to Moscow) a few weeks ago, and I have yet to de-

cline it,” Lonnie Snowden said, his English translated into Russian. He added that he would first like to know what the FBI wanted him to do.

He said he believed his 30-year-old son, who has applied for temporary asylum in Russia after the cancellation of his travel documents meant he was unable to travel on to a preferred destination in Latin America, was better off in Moscow.

Lonnie Snowden again said he did not think his son would get a fair trial in the United States because of “what happened in the last 5-6 weeks”.

“I hope that he will return home and appear in court ... But I don’t expect that ... a court would be fair. We cannot guarantee a fair court.”

The Russian lawyer helping Edward Snowden, Anatoly Kucherena, told the programme he thought his asylum request would be granted “in the coming days,” and that the United States had failed to send an official extradition request. l

10 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

Build the deep sea port before it is too late

I

t is refreshing to note that the government has received presentations from major port operators in three different countries.

The Rotterdam Port Authority of the Netherlands, one of the world’s busiest, made a presentation earlier this month and the dynamic DP World which runs Dubai port and is backed by the UAE government is interested in a number of projects.

Sonadia remains a The opportunity prime site for a deep costs of failing port venture, but related to act now are projects include a new too great. The container terminal in committee should Chittagong and improved pick a developer rail connectivity with or consortium to both Dhaka and Mongla. implement a deep Of course, none of sea port without these ideas is completely delay new and the business case for these proposals has long been argued.

We can be grateful that the size of our market still draws development proposals towards Chittagong and that past indecision has not prevented major players from submitting proposals. With the development of Myanmar being fuelled by large amounts of overseas investment, there is a growing risk of a rival deep sea port being developed first by our neighbour.

The opportunity costs of failing to act now are too great. The committee should pick a developer or consortium to implement a deep sea port without delay.

AL needs to rein in the thugs within its ranks

J

ubo League leader Rizaul Haque Khan Milky was killed, apparently in an intra-party shooting yesterday. His death is the latest example of the severe dysfunction within the Awami League’s front organisations, which seriously calls into question the ability of the ruling party to maintain order within its own ranks.

For months there have been almost daily reported incidents of infighting between various rival factions of the Chhatro League. This has not only led to The fact that the serious injuries and governing party deaths of Chhatro itself is making such League members, but in many cases innocent a visible contribution bystanders have also to the deterioration suffered as collateral of law and order damage. does nothing but These incidents undermine the reflect poorly on the people’s confidence AL as an organisation in its ability to and raise some serious govern concerns about its internal governance. We cannot help but wonder how these types of violent thugs are admitted into the party in the first place and what, if anything, the party is doing to keep a lid on their excesses.

Law and order is an issue that is extremely important to the electorate. The fact that the governing party itself is making such a visible contribution to its deterioration does nothing but undermine the people’s confidence in its ability to govern.

The onus is now on the AL to demonstrate that it is a party that can deal with the violent elements in its midst, swiftly and justly.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

the Editor facebook.com/DhakaTribune

LETTER OF THE DAY

Lack of application creating further lawlessness

The democratic dilemma

July 27

July 27

Rule of law is a pre-condition to building an ideal nation. When laws are not obeyed according to the provisions, it creates space for further lawlessness. The harsh reality in a developing nation like ours has been unveiled in the recent Dhaka Tribune report.

Firstly, shops on the foothpaths are illegal. They hamper proper movement of the pedestrians. They are also responsible for traffic jams. Occupation of footpaths can also be considered as an obstacle to a healthy environment. But there is the other side of the coin. Unemployment is an everlasting phenomenon in Bangladesh. The shops on the foothpaths are the source of income for many. This is a kind of self employment. Goods are sold here at a cheap price. So these shops are useful for common people.

But activities against law should always be called illegal. Another illegal practice is ongoing behind the scene. Extortion is being collected from the foothpath shop owners. With Eid ahead, these practices have increased. A group of people are trying to earn their living by their shops on foothpaths. On the other hand, another group influenced by some portion of the social elite is collecting money from them. So this presents a complex picture of social inequity from every aspect.

Suaib Siddik

Could you kindly elaborate on Singapore? Singapore never followed the traditional concept of democracy since its birth, nor is it also in any form of disarray even in the face of the on-going global crisis.

Also could you kindly elaborate in the case of Kenya? Kenya for the longest time was going through chronic political turmoil. The current system with the newly elected President Uhuru Kenyatta is brushing down a major reform which is changing the country over night. And I am confident that they will progress.

Otherwise a great article. You have managed to put my thoughts perfectly in black and white.

Thank you.

Robin Abdullah

dhakatribune.com

Approaching problems multilaterally July 28

At the end of the day, Dipu Moni’s trip was a failure.

Difficult to imagine that she is being lauded for an “initiative” that has very little end result.

Suppose that the parties were to come to an agreement on a common basis, what would be the terms of it? Would it really reflect Bangladesh’s legal share? Would we really not be bullied to a raw deal?

Simply trying does not help our cause in the long run, unless you deem that Bangladesh actually won in its pursuit over the maritime territory.

I personally advocate a stern stance in terms of securing the interests of our nation rather than

just coming to a resolution just for the sake of only proclaiming success.

There should be a fairer reflection of the overall failure that was Dipu Moni’s trip to India. She failed in the Teesta issue and she also failed the LBA. Dipu Moni is being ridiculed in India and Anandabazar’s report says, “Dipu returning home empty-handed.”

What has the country gained from her proposal?

From my nation, I expect a strong foreign minister who does not get pushed around.

Shahtab

Work to begin on nuclear power plant

Be Heard Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207

Democracy has now proven not to be a perfect system like many others. Money, power and manipulation can corrupt it irrevocably giving mediocrity the reins more often than not. Not only in Bangladesh but also all over the world even in the States, the birthplace of modern democracy (not UK as many would argue).

Mir Mahboob Ali

July 27

Dear HRH (BD), you want a coal power plant in Sundarbans, a Russian nuclear plant in Roopganj, and you have spent millions of dollars jetting around world with entourage and consultants highlighting climate change. Please don’t build the nuclear station; please just take the money. (Vote Independent).

Shammi Huda

Email us at: letters@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community:

A great initiative, though worried about the safety issues.

M Hasan

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

RMG worker loses finger due to boss’s attack July 27 These people don’t even deserve bail.

Sanzida Rahman Nothing changes. Men here treat women like rubbish.

Malcolm Arnold

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Game of skill (4) 4 Chess pieces (5) 8 Very small (6) 9 Article (4) 11 Illustrious (5) 12 High mountains (4) 14 Beverage (3) 15 Part of the foot (6) 19 Eyeball coat (6) 21 Narrow beam (3) 22 Writer of verse (4) 24 Repasts (5) 27 Insect (4) 29 Little ball (6) 30 Out of sorts (5) 31 Stained (4)

Around the world, politics has become a profession, and the people in power seldom represent any reality of the lives of the people.

Burke was clear about the role of politicians, but, unfortunately, the highmindedness he expected is seldom seen.

Self interest and half educations have resulted in parliaments stuffed with self interest, “served” by a breed of bureaucrats who also lack any real vision, or sense of responsibility, knowing that, if they blow whistles, their careers, and possibly lives, will be over.

Tim Steel

DOWN 1 Hawaiian dish (3) 2 Egg favourite (US) (6) 3 Flaccid (4) 4 Play on words (3) 5 Minute particles (5) 6 Fly trap (3) 7 Drowsy (6) 10 Story (4) 13 Wrongdoing (3) 14 Fragrances (6) 16 Short sleep (3) 17 Formal agreement (6) 18 Consumes (4) 20 Lazed (5) 23 Was indebted (4) 25 Monkey (3) 26 Arch (3) 28 School of whales (3)

9 3 6 5 2 9 3 8 3 7

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

1 8 4 2 4 1 7 5

7 5 4

Crossword

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5 8 2 9 3 1

Code-Cracker

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Thursday, August 1, 2013

11

North Korea’s continued confidence n AP

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Bangladesh banks monetary policy undermines the importance of investment growth

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SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN/DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Money matters Monetary policy, capital market and investment growth

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n Mamun Rashid friend working for a global cement producer asked me the other day - how important is the monetary policy announced by the central bank in Bangladesh? Knowing him, he must have asked this question having seen the headlines regarding Bangladesh Banks’ half yearly monetary policy.

In a country like ours, where decision makers are often influenced by political priorities and economists don’t have much visibility through the markets, fiscal measures still remain important for growth. Inflation here is mostly an outcome of low accountability among the business community – a situation made worse by an increasing number of people who can afford to buy things at a higher rate while keeping their mouth shut.

Monetary policy, for us, may not be as important as other developing economies. Yet, we need this, to gradually follow a disciplined path with regard to overall money management.

Very much like what we did with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), monetary policy statement also helps us organise our thought process with regard to money supply management, credit growth and to some extent also influence develop-

ment strategies.

Bangladesh Bank started with the release of monetary policy statements from early 2006. Bangladesh Bank’s research division, which was almost looking redundant, found renewed energy to look at the core job of the central bank. Soon, with the help from the international monetary fund, we got to see the more focused ‘policy analysis unit’. Subsequently, the position ‘chief economist’ also came back to Bangladesh Bank.

Now, with a public relation focused governor, much hue and cry is being raised around monetary policy statements, which is not bad. The country that can hardly be proud of having many accredited macro economists and more importantly economic journalists is now making its ‘monetary management’ process known to many individuals and charting a more respectable way of financial management. Sadly, deviating from monetary policy, people responsible seem to be gradually losing interest or shifting it to other areas.

The recently announced monetary policy seemed to be a defocused, not well thought out and directionless one.

I don’t think that it gives any impetus towards - 1) private sector led growth, 2) increasing surplus liquidity in the banking sector, which now stands at almost Tk700bn and more importantly 3) bringing back life into the investment

space. The regulators still seem to be too concerned with inflation. While average inflation has cooled down and international market prices seem manageable, investment, especially domestic investment, looks quite dull.

If I believe my friend in regard to the irrelevance of monetary policies in a country like Bangladesh, I have reasons to relax. However, if I believe some of the early authors on monetary policy statements of the Bangladesh Bank, I truly believe, if we err, let us err with growth.

Bangladesh Bank and its’ monetary policy seemed too one eyed towards the capital market

The history of economic development teaches us - a reasonable inflation may also help investment, employment and poverty reduction. Unless the decision makers ‘goof up’ badly on other fronts, we don’t need to panic with 7% inflation, give or take. Rather they should by all means drive investment. The policies will be helped by a large `shadow’ economy, savings surplus and poverty

reduction strategies that are able to create synergy in the rural economy.

So, repurchase agreement (Repo) and reverse Repo rates could have been lowered as a signal for the market to reduce the loan interest rates further.

Bangladesh Bank and its’ monetary policy seemed too one eyed towards the capital market. Early economics studies taught us how interest rate and liquidity is important to the capital market. The Federal Reserve Bank always championed this. A retail investor driven market, not backed by proper research, may not be adequately responsive to monetary policy. Lower interest rates and timely liquidity supply should still be helpful towards a better run bourse.

Economic management in Bangladesh is quite complex and cumbersome. We should thank our seniors who are trying to take things forward amidst various tensions. However, it does not mean that we should not learn from countries in similar economic conditions – possibly our neighbours. It does not also mean that we will forget our macroeconomic concerns in regard to interest rate management or tackling high inflation. Economic management in a changing world is challenging, but we should also garner enough strength to face the reality.l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

Mr President, time for ‘mission impossible’ n Faiz Sobhan

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he political violence that has been taking place in Bangladesh over the last six months has been worse than any unrest since 1971.

Both the Awami League and the BNP have adopted a “take no prisoners” attitude.

For the man in the street there is no excuse or rationale for hartals and violence during the Holy Month of Ramadan. It gives rise only to anger and frustration.

The heavy toll of violence and hartals has had a seriously detrimental effect on the country as a whole. Businesses have been unable to function at optimum level, schools, colleges, universities have been diverted from their timetables, and no area of government has remained unaffected. Travel inside the city and elsewhere is a daunting proposition.

In public and in private, the general mood is dour and pessimistic.

The demands and protests of the Hefazat-e-Islam have further aggravated the already highly fractious political situation. The latest reports indicate that it plans to continue with it protests after Eid. So what will it take to bring the warring factions to the table?

Although neither the Awami League nor the BNP are willing to deviate from their entrenched positions, there is nothing to stop them from sitting across the table and talking. At least it would be the start of a process, which could possibly, in the best scenario, lead to some sort of constructive solution or perhaps point a way forward.

BNP’s return to parliament last month did bring some hope but they decided, for reasons unknown, not to broach the issue of a caretaker government.

The current political situation which has seen Awami League and BNP battling each other since last year was triggered by the fifteenth constitutional amendment adopted in June 2011, which did away with the system of a caretaker government, following the Supreme Court judgment declaring the 13th amendment to the constitution to be illegal.

The thirteenth constitutional amendment adopted in March 1996 provided for the non-partisan caretaker government, which gave the country three free and fair elections in June 1996, October 2001 and December 2008. However, in the case of the last mentioned election, the Caretaker Government remained in office for two years instead of the ninety days stipulated in the Constitution.

Who can take the initiative to create such a group? Here the role of the President of Bangladesh may be pertinent

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken the position that the caretaker system was no longer necessary, and that she would give the country a free and fair election while continuing as prime minister.

Evidently, Sheikh Hasina has forgotten her own long and arduous struggle; when, as leader of the opposition, she campaigned relentlessly for a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee free and fair elections. The ruling BNP government, at that time, strongly opposed the idea but caved in to opposition pressure and amended the Constitution to provide for a care-

taker government.

Both sides have offered strong arguments on the merits of holding free and fair elections with or without a caretaker government. The prime minister’s concerns are that a caretaker government can exceed the allotted ninety days within which to hold the elections.

At an Awami League meeting in New York last year, the Prime Minister said: “People are the source of power. We all need to be aware that no one can play with the rights of the common people. They don’t want to return to the 1/11 situation again.” The memories of the caretaker government (CTG) during that period clearly troubled the prime minister, even though it was this very CTG that cleaned up the electoral rolls, and introduced for the first time, a photo ID card and gave the country a free and fair elections, which Sheikh Hasina and the Mahajote won by a landslide.

The prime minister is now determined that there be no repeat of a situation where an unelected interim government can remain in power indefinitely.

No doubt to give emphasis to this point, the 15th Amendment stipulates that if any person were to attempt to abrogate or repeal the constitution, the move would be deemed as “sedition” according to Article 7A of “The Constitution (15th Amendment) Bill, 2011.”

It is unfortunate that after 42 years of independence, chaos and mayhem continue to be the order of the day.

As politicians and elected representatives of the people, the very first requirement should always be to place the national interest above everything else.

One possible way of breaking the impasse may be through the “good offices” of a group of eminent persons, who are trusted and deemed neutral by both the BNP and Awami League,

to mediate between the two parties.

This raises the key question: who can take the initiative to create such a group? Here the role of the President of Bangladesh may be pertinent. Being the head of our state, he is in an ideal position to take the initiative in forming such a group of eminent persons.

The president may consider inviting four to six persons to undertake this important mission. This group could engage in shuttle diplomacy and help both sides agree on a compromise solution.

The citizens of the country will welcome such an initiative.

Even if nothing emanates from such an exercise, at the very least, it can be argued that an attempt was made to break the deadlock between the two adversaries.

Some recalling that such an initiative was attempted in 1995 without success, might dub such an initiative as “mission impossible,” but the truth is that today the whole country finds itself in a desperate situation. Our extremely fragile economy, made more so by the fallout from the Rana Plaza tragedy, can ill afford further agitation and chaos.

In the final analysis, the onus of bringing peace and stability in the country, leading to greater confidence in our political system, rests with our political leaders.

All too often, there is a general feeling among the people that the politicians have no “maya” or love for their country.

Instead, they are quite content with the status-quo, and would rather focus on finding new ways and means of harming the other side.

Mr President, in the interest of safeguarding democracy and stability in the country, please initiate “mission Impossible” without further delay. l Faiz Sobhan is research director, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute.

oose-stepping soldiers, columns of tanks and a broad array of ominous-looking missiles poised on mobile launchers paraded through Pyongyang’s main square on Saturday in a painstakingly choreographed military pageant intended to strike fear into North Korea’s adversaries and rally its people behind young ruler Kim Jong Un on the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. The lavish assembly of weapons and troops is reminiscent of the marches held by the Soviet Union and China at the height of the Cold War. It is one of the few chances the world gets to see North Korea’s military up close. Although Pyongyang frequently uses the occasion to reveal new, though not always operational, hardware, there didn’t appear to be any new weapons in Saturday’s parade.

Its arsenal of missiles, however, was front-and-centre.

Overlooking a sea of spectators mobilized in Kim Il Sung Square to cheer and wave flags, leader Kim Jong Un saluted his troops from a review stand. He was flanked by senior military officials, the chests of their olive green and white uniforms laden with medals. As fighter jets screamed overhead, a relaxed looking Kim smiled and talked with China’s vice president.

China fought with North Korea during the war and is Pyongyang’s only major ally and a crucial source of economic aid. Kim did not make a speech.

Saturday’s parade marks a holiday the North Koreans call “Victory Day in the Fatherland Liberation War,” although the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce and the Korean Peninsula remains technically at war.

In Washington, US President Barack Obama marked the day with a speech at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall, saying the anniversary marks the end of the war and the beginning of a long and prosperous peace.

“Here today, we can say with confidence, that war was no tie, Korea was a victory,” with 50 million South Koreans living in freedom and “a vibrant democracy” in stark contrast to dire conditions in the North, Obama said.

He said the US-South Korea partnership remains “a bedrock of stability” throughout the Pacific region, and gave credit to the US service members who fought all those years ago and to the men and women currently stationed there.

Kim’s rule, which began in late 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, has been marked by high tensions with Washington and Seoul.

He has overseen two long-range rocket launches and a nuclear test that drew widespread condemnation and tightened UN sanctions.

The lavish assembly of weapons and troops is reminiscent of the marches held by the Soviet Union and China at the height of the Cold War

North and South Korea have turned to tentative diplomacy in recent weeks, but March and April saw North Korean threats of nuclear war against Washington and Seoul in response to annual South Korean-US military drills and UN condemnation of Pyongyang’s February nuclear test, the country’s third. Long-stalled North Korean nuclear disarmament talks show no sign of resuming.

Last year’s parade in Pyongyang, held to commemorate the April celebrations of the 100th birthday of the late national founder Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, created a buzz among military watchers when the North rolled out a mysterious long-range missile known abroad as the KN-08. Most outside observers now believe the missiles were mockups, but they were carried on mobile launchers that appeared to have been obtained from China, possibly against UN arms trade sanctions.

ChoeRyongHae, the army’s top political officer, said North Korea should be ready to fight to defend the stability the country needs to revive the economy. But his speech at Kim Il

Sung Square was mild compared with past fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang wwattacking the United States and South Korea.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, President Park Geun-hye vowed not to tolerate provocations from North Korea - Seoul says North Korean attacks in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans - but she also said Seoul would work on building trust with the North. “I urge North Korea to give up the development of nuclear weapons if the country is to start on a path toward true change and progress,” Park said in a speech.

North Korea is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear bombs, but many analysts don’t think it has yet mastered the technology needed to build warheads small enough to fit on long-range missiles.

The beauty of a parade is that weapons systems don’t actually have to work in order to be impressive - a missile launcher looks good even when the missile won’t launch,’

About 200 people gathered in Seoul, some burniwng pictures of the North’s ruling Kim dynasty, at a rally meant “to condemn the nuclear development and threatening strategy of the tyrannical regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” said Park Chan-sung, an anti-North Korea activist.

Shin Eun-gyeong, who visited an exhibit on the armistice on Saturday at a recently opened history museum, said she wants the rival Koreas to be unified - but as a democracy, not under North Korea’s autocratic rule. “It’s a real tragedy for Korea that we are still a divided nation,” Shin said.

The North’s parade tradition goes back to the founding of the country in 1948. Few countries - including North Korea’s communist models - continue to trot out their military forces in public squares with such pomp and pageantry. But Pyongyang has stuck with them because its leaders believe they are a good way to show the world those things about the military they want to reveal, while at the same time sending a potent message domestically of the power of the ruling elite.

“The beauty of a parade is that weapons systems don’t actually have to work in order to be impressive - a missile launcher looks good even when the missile won’t launch,” said David Stone, an expert on the Soviet and Russian militaries at Kansas State University.

That can be risky, however.

Almost as soon as last year’s parade was over, military experts around the world said they thought the stars of the show - the long-range KN-08 missiles - were mock-ups of a design that is still being perfected and probably couldn’t actually fly, despite North Korea’s claims that it has the capability to strike the United States with nuclear-tipped ICBMs. “They certainly learned that they might lose some reputation by showing imperfect mock-ups,” said Marcus Schiller, a private-sector aerospace engineer in Germany who is regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on North Korea’s missile capabilities. “Better to show nothing and let the world know by ‘leaked secret information’ how dangerous they are.”

Even so, analysts say the parades send important messages meant to signal strength to North Korea’s people - who are not privy to such outside analysis. As it rolled out its arsenal Saturday, military helicopters, jets in formation and other warplanes did flyovers. Later, thousands of civilians marched alongside festive floats, a departure from previous parades. A truckload of soldiers wore chest packs with nuclear symbols.

“After watching this parade, I feel our country could defeat anyone,” said RyangUnHo, 84, a captain in the North Korean infantry during the war who sat in the hot sun with other veterans at the square for the two-hour spectacle.l Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim, Elizabeth Shim and Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Thursday, August 01, 2013

‘Arnob and Friends’ Swapnadal stages anti-war production ‘Tringsha Shatabdi’ today brings new album n

Punny Kabir

Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, one of the biggest names in the music industry of recent times, is working on his latest album which is nearing completion.

In an interview with Dhaka Tribune on yesterday, the dynamic artiste shared that the album is “kind of ‘Arnob and Friends 2’ but with a different title since the line-up has been changed from the previous album.”

“Arnob and Friends Live” was released in 2009 and created huge buzz amongst the music lovers for bringing up fresh taste of fusing eastern and western music. Arnob informed that this time theline-up includes Buno in bass, Pantha Kanai in drums, Shoyeb in classical vocal, Saadul in guitar, Eivind Lodeme on piano and Arnob on vocal and guitar. The team is preparing to launch the album after Eid.

Arnob said, “The album features a total of 10 songs and we are left with recording of two songs only. Here you will find some of my old songs such as ‘Kono Din Dekho Jodi Borsha Ratey,’ ‘Tui Janish Na’ and ‘Rastay Khuje Phiri’ with completely different music arrangement. Moreover, there are three new songs.” As an added attraction, Pantha Kanai has sung a song for the album.

The most exciting feature of the album is the songs are being recorded in one take. “The audience will have a feeling of live music. While the industry is engulfed with synthesised sound, I believe our album will give a refreshing experience to the music enthusiasts.”

Arnob’s latest solo album “Adhek Ghume,” was released in 2009 where the multi-talented musician presented Tagore songs with piano. l

Actors of Swapnadal in ‘Tringsha Shatabdi’

n Entertainment Desk In observance of Hiroshima Day, which falls on August 6, theatre troupe Swapnadal will stage a special show of its anti-war production, “Tringsha Shatabdi”

at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy today.

The play is an adaptation of Indian playwright Badal Sircar’s work with the same title. Directed by Zahid Repon, “Tringsha Shatabdi” is a protest

against war and speaks for promoting of peace all over the world.

The play opens with a narrator who raises questions about the war and seeks speedy trial of the war crimes of 1971.

He interrogates some historical characters such as Einstein (who invented the theory of atom bomb), Major Fereby (the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), and Major Claude Itharby (who carried the nuclear bomb to Nagasaki and later became insane on his realisation of the crime).

In addition, he raises questions about contemporary brutal war waged by the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. And through a replicated military exercise, he has depicted the nuclear activities by the global superpowers.

In a transformation, the narrator of the play becomes a character, namely Suman, who wants the trial of war criminals acted against the country’s Liberation War during 1971. l

Channel-i to air five movies during Eid n Entertainment Desk

Arnob

AMIRUL RAJIV/DHAKA TRIBUNE

Like every year, to meet the audience’s expectations, seven day long Eid special programmes will be aired on Channel-i.

The channel will be telecasting the most popular director’s films. For the first time, Channel-i is airing five TV World premieres such as “Kajoler Din Raatri,” written by Mohammed Zafar Iqbal and produced by Shojol Khaled.

The film featuring Tarin, Tonmoy, Iresh Zaker will be shown at 2:30pm on Eid day. Shorotchondro’s “Debdash” by Chashi Nazrul Islam featuring Sakib Khan, Opu Biswas , Moushumi and others will air at 11:05am on the second day of Eid. Musfiqur Rahman Gulzar’s “I Love You” starring Sakib Khan, Purnima, Ilias Kanchon and others will telecast on the third day of Eid at 11:05am. “Tumi Ashbey Bole” by Ashraful Rahim, paired with Nirob and Nipun will be

ON TV MOVIES 4:30pm Star Movies Brave

6:00pm Star Movies King Kong

6:08pm HBO

Legendary Assassin

6:40pm Zee Studio

Remember The Titans

7:10pm WB The Ring

7:50pm HBO

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

9:10pm Zee Studio Mafia!

9:30pm HBO Armageddon

9:30pm WB 300

12:00am Star Movies Tangled

TALKSHOW 9:00am Independent TV Ajker Bangladesh

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Shongbaadpotre Bangladesh

12:20pm NTV Ei Shomoy

1:30pm Channel Ekattor Rendezvous

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8:10pm Channel Ekattor Ekattor Moncho

10:10pm Somoy TV Shompadokio

11:00pm SA TV Talk To SA TV

COMEDY 9:00am Star World

The Big Bang Theory

A scene from ‘Debdash’ on air the fourth day of Eid at 11:05pm.

The film “Koti Takar Malik” by FI Manik will air on the fifth day at 11:05am.

11:00am Comedy Central The film’s star cast includes Sakib Khan, Opu Bishash, Razzak, Farukh and others. l

Anger Management

1:30pm FX

The Simpsons

3:30pm Z Cafe

Just For Laughs

5:00pm Colors

Bebo-Hrithik back after 12 years in an intense love story n Entertainment Desk Karan Johar and Karan Malhotra are on a winning track. The producer-director duo, the team behind the Hrithik Roshan-Priyanka Chopra, Rs 100-crore film, ‘Agneepath’ (2012), is back on course with Dharma Productions’ “Shuddhi”. It is known that Hrithik will play the lead and joining the light-eyed superstar will be Kareena Kapoor.

Says KJo, “I’m excited to see Hrithik and Kareena back after 12 years.” Yes,

Duggu and Bebo were last seen together in 2001, in Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein and later in Karan’s super-duper hit Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. In the time gone by, both actors have done different pieces of work separately.

And though Karan doesn’t look at their casting as a coup, he feels both actors will bring in the required energy that his director has envisioned.

KJo says, “When Karan (Malhotra) came to me with Shuddhi, his desire was to cast Hrithik and Kareena. I

Comedy Nights With Kapil

7:30pm Sony SAB

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma

8:30pm Big CBS Love Rules Of Engagement

10:00pm FX

spoke to both of them and they were happy to be on board. The film is an intense love story and because it has a reincarnation theme, he has written a script that is dramatic and outstanding.

Also, such a theme requires actors who can bring the desired intensity. To me, it is really an important casting. But I don’t look at it as a coup. Kareena is beautiful, talented and a powerhouse performer. And Hrithik, well, what can I say? He can melt a nation just with his eyes.’’ l

8 Simple Rules

DRAMA 1:30pm Zee Studio

The Lincoln Lawyer

2:30pm NTV Neer

6:30pm Zee Tv Punar Vivah

8:15pm Banglavision Dui Takar Bahaduri

9:30pm Star World Revenge

9:30pm Zee Café Lost

9:45pm Banglavision Korta Kahini

10:00pm Sony

Nargis Fakhri goes dare-devil while shooting n Entertainment Desk Actor Nargis Fakhri, who will next be seen in the political thriller “Madras Cafe,” essays the role of a war journalist reporting on a crisis between two countries.

And we hear that the lady has gone dare-devil while shooting the film. Nargis was to be part of an underwater action sequence for which director Shoojit Sircar recommended having a body double.

However, the actor insisted on performing the stunt herself.

The 33-year-old actor went ahead and gave several retakes before the scene was okayed despite being ill, impressing everyone with her dedication. Says a source, “‘Madras Café’ will introduce audiences to Nargis Fakhri —the actor.

The film showcases her acting prowess well. There are several intense high-drama scenes that she’s performed effortlessly.

Apart from that, she insisted on doing her stunts herself which impressed everyone, especially since this is just her second film in Bollywood.” l

Nayi Umra ki Nayi Fasal

10:30pm Colors Uttaran

12:00am Star Plus Meri Bhabi

NEWS 12:00pm Desh Tv

Shongbad Shomoi

3:30pm Channel 24 Live 24

4:45pm RTV

Jelar Shongbad

9:00pm Channel-i Raater Shongbad

10:30pm Independent Joto Khela

11:00pm NTV

Bangla Shironam

Hindu organisation submits petition against ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ n Entertainment Desk A right-wing Hindu organisation demanded removal of a song from the recently-released “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,” describing it as “denigratory.”

Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has objected to the song “Havan Karenge” in the movie, saying that the term “havan” is considered holy in Hinduism.

The memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar demands that the song be dropped from the film.

“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” has been made tax-free in Goa for three months.

However, the organisation says, “The decision to make the film tax-free is like rubbing salt on the wounds of the majority community.”

It further said, “Secondly, when the state is in need of funds due to the closure of mining activities and resorting to unrighteous means of earning revenue through the casinos, there is a loss of revenue from tax money through the promotion of the movie. This move is unexplainable.”

“Promoting the movie with the denigratory song means indirect encouragement by the government to defame Hindu religion at the cost of exchequer,” it added.

Starring Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles, the movie “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” has been released this July. The movie is based on Milkha Singh (1935), also known as The Flying Sikh, a former Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. l

MISC 8:30am Vh1

Good Morning Vh1

11:30am FTV Models

1:30pm NDTV Good Times

I Am Too Sexy For My Shoes

3:30pm National Geographic Taboo

5:30pm Fox Traveller Style And The City

7:00pm Travel XP

Great World Hotels

8:30pm AXN Top Chef Fahmida Nabi’s latest album ‘Icche Hoy’ was launched on July 30 at Seven Hill Restaurant in the capital SYED LATIF HOSSAIN/DHAKA TRIBUNE

10:30pm MTV Hit It

Did you know?

In 1999, the trophy won by the India at 1983 World Cup, was damaged during a violent rampage on the BCCI headquarters by the Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena

Sport

Thursday, August 1, 2013

14 Substitute Neymar denied victory on Barca debut

14 Bale under scrutiny as Spurs return to training

Case filed against five hockey players n Raihan Mahmood The Bangladesh Hockey Federation yesterday has filed a case against the five national hockey players who threatened their fellow players and head coach Naveed Alam.

The case was filed at the Paltan Police Station and the hockey federation is looking to tighten the security arrangement for the national hockey players and put a stop to the frequent interference by the outsiders at the national hockey camp based in the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium.

The hockey federation on Tuesday, banned Russell Khan Bappi, the president of the Hockey Players Welfare Association, Ariful Haque Prince, the general secretary of the association, and players Asaduzzaman Chandan, Ashiquzzaman and Shamsuddin Tuhin for their involvement in the incident that saw a chair being thrown at Naveed Alam as he was talking with the national players.

On that particular day, the Players Welfare Association leaders also threatened the players and instructed them not to attend the practice sessions over their two-point demands. Following the incident, the hockey federation in a Governing Body meeting on Wednesday handed a life-long ban from all hockey activities to Russell Khan Bappi, a ten year ban to Prince and five suspensions for the other three.

Tamim cameo outshines Shakib n

Tribune Desk

The Caribbean Premier League got off to a flying start, with Shakib Al Hassan’s team Barbados Tridents overcoming a plucky St Lucia Zouks side featuring Tamim Iqbal. Their on-field performances were in stark contrast to their team’s fortunes as Shakib had a bad day with both bat and ball and still ended up on the winning team, while Tamim played well in a little cameo for the losing side.

Winning the toss and batting first Barbados lost a wicket off the very first ball of the match. With two down in less than five overs the stage was set for Shakib who fell innocuously after a few dabs and one ferocious pull over midwicket.

Barbados soon found themselves in trouble and Shoaib Mallik steadied the ship with Captain Kieron Pollard, whipping sixes over midwicket with consummate ease and was eventually out for a well-crafted 78 off 51 balls.

Pollard caned the Zouks in the final two overs with 30 coming of the last 12 balls, his 61* propelling them to 169.

Tamim started the Zouks chase in a manner that has come to define his batting, with an audacious shot over long off for a boundary off the very first ball of the innings. Stepping away from the wicket and opening up his shoulders, by the time he was done with the shot he was facing the bowler chest first. His 14 ball cameo was studded with whips of his legs and the occasional straight drive.

Shakib’s dismal game continued as his first two balls were deposited into the stands by Fletcher as he leaked 29 runs in 2 overs. Tamim gifted his wicket to Nurse in the 6th over after charging down the pitch to the off-spinner only to be beaten and stumped by thegentlest of turn.

With the Zouks at 80 for 1 in the 8th over the game seemed to heading for an early finish but then Barbados pulled the game back with a few quick wickets and tight overs.

Nurse’s four parsimonious overs and were ably backed up by Pollard who took three cheap wickets. Sammy gave the batting side hope with a volcanic 35 off 16, but it proved to be a bridge too far for the Zouks as they were bowled out for 152. l

Bangladesh midfielders Qamruzzaman Rana and Rumman Sarkar fight for the ball in a practice match of the national hockey team at the hockey stadium yesterday MUMIT M/DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bangladesh booters go down to Thai club The month-long hard training did not reflect much in Bangladesh’s performance as the Red and Greens suffered a 2-1 defeat against Thai premier league side Osotspa Saraburi FC in their first practice match at the Saraburi Central Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday.

It was substitute forward Shakhawat Hossain Rony who scored the only goal for the visitors from the spot after Narong netted a brace in either halves for the home side.

Bangladesh coach Lodewijk de Kruif admitted they are yet to overcome their weak points.

“We have to work on our weaknesses. They are a matured team and we have to deal with that,” said the Dutch.

Osotspa head coach Chalemvud, a former Thailand national player who took the charge of the club two months

15 Australia mull Warner recall for Ashes revival

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

There were threats, reportedly even bribing. They came to the national camp at their will and stayed till midnight, they created a frightening atmosphere.

It can’t go on and for the sake of the national camp, the GB decided to submit a case against the five players

n Shishir Hoque

13

Discards look to cash in from ‘A’ team tour

BHF general secretary Khwaja Rahmatullah thought the step was necessary to ensure the security of the national camp. “There were threats, reportedly even bribing. They came to the national camp at their will and stayed till midnight, they created a frightening atmosphere. It can’t go on and for the sake of the national camp,

the GB decided to submit a case against the five players,” said Rahmatullah at his federation office yesterday.

“We are not saying anything exaggerated. Everything we said really happened. The law enforcers will take care of has to be done now, the law will go in its own way,” he added.

Meanwhile, Asiquzzaman has written a letter to the president of the hockey federation to reconsider his ban as he claims that he did not threaten or scold the coach, but was just physically present at the time of the incident. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

earlier, said the Bangladeshi players were very good in their movement and tactics, but the problem lied in the striking zone.

However, Bangladesh missed the service of their skipper and two vital players, midfielder Mamunul Islam Mamun and fast winger Zahid Hossain, in the match due to injury. German expatriate Reasat Khaton also missed out for injury.

Meanwhile, the strong club side consisted of five Thai national team footballers along with six foreign recruits, three from Japan and the others from Africa.

Lodewijk opted for Wahed and Emily upfront with Jamal, Sohel and Mithun in the midfield. Mamun Khan started in front of the goal with Arif, Nasir, Linkon and Waly taking responsibilities in the back line.

Mobarak created the first real opportunity for Wahed, but the Mohammedan star failed to capitalise despite

getting the opponent goalie in a oneon-one situation. The young striker was again denied a goal as his header on target was cleared by defender Yamamoto.

Osotspa took the lead in the 24th minute with Narong scoring from a counter attack while a powerful strike from him inside the penalty zone doubled the margin in the 68th minute.

Bangladesh were rewarded a penalty five minutes from the stipulated time after Toklis was brought down inside the box by an opponent defender.

Rony, who replaced Emily in the second-half, made no mistake in converting the spot kick.

Bangladesh will play their second and last practice match on August 3.

Starting XI: Mamun Khan (GK), Arif, Nasir, Linkon, Waly, Sohel, Jamal, Wahed, Mithun, Mobarak and Emily.

Subs: Sohel (GK), Kasto, Reza, Meshu, Babu, Toklis, Rony. l

Bangladesh ‘A’ team is all set to depart for England on August 3 for the threeweek long tour where they will play five one-day games against five different County sides and three one-day matches against England Lions.

The national players are not involved in any sort of competitive cricket since their tour of Zimbabwe in April which prompted the selection panel to name most of the senior players in the second-string side ahead of Bangladesh’s home series against New Zealand in October.

The squad features some prominent names like Elias Sunny, Ziaur Rahman, Jahurul Islam, Naeem Islam, Anamul Haque, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain and Mominul Haque.

“I think is a good opportunity for players to establish themselves as a regular national team player can perform in the tour and get the attention of the selectors before the New Zealand series,” said ‘A’ team skipper Jahurul to Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“Spots in the top-order are not secured for anyone except for Tamim (Iqbal). So a good performance by the batsmen can get them a spot there and a bowlers can avail the same opportunity,” the wicket-keeper batsman added.

It is also a great opportunity for Naeem, named vice-captain, who lost his place in the national side in December. “It is good that those national cricketers who are yet to be prominent are being sent for the tour. The platform is right and good performances will always get us closer to get selected for the New Zealand series,” said Naeem. l

Hockey team to focus on defence n Raihan Mahmood National hockey coach will implement a compact, defence based game in the Asia Cup Hockey and is confident that the players have already adopted the system in the month long camp.

Yesterday was the last day for submitting the 18 member squad to the Asian Hockey Federation and Naveed was busy completing the process. The squad played a practice match in front of the national selection panel. The hockey federation will keep the camp intact with 25 players till the players go on an Eid vacation, though the 18 member list will be send to the Asian Hockey Federation.

“We need players to play the matches and we don’t want to break the hearts of the players who will be omitted before the Eid, so we decided to keep all the players in the camp,” explained Khwaja Rahmatullah, the general secretary of the federation. However, in a late night decision the federation decided to reveal the team today.

Speaking about the 18 member squad for the Asia Cup that is scheduled to start

at Ipoh Malaysia on July 24, Naveed said that defence had been the focal point his strategy from the very beginning.

“I have observed that Bangladesh went all out attacking without paying the required attention in the defence. We tried three different options but later decided to take two. We will play with a midfield oriented defence and the other one is emphasizing the defence line.Tthe key will be whenever we go to attack, there will be balance in the defence line,” said the Pakistani.

Naveed said as both Korea and India are superior in strength, Bangladesh would have to be cautious over its approach. “Both Korea and India are stronger than us and we have to keep our defence compact. The players are training hard with the formations and they have understood their roles,” said Naveed.

Naveed said “We have Chayan, Khorshed and Shitul, we have been working in bringing variations. It is very important to possess some variations as the opponents get the strategies after it is used. I can say the three penalty corner takes are good.” l

HPWA, MSC ask for withdrawal of bans n Raihan Mahmood

Sir Garfield Sobers (c) with the Barbados Tridents and St Lucia Zouks before the inaugural match of the Caribbean Premier League in Barbados yesterday

CPLT20

Hockey Players Welfare Association (HPWA) and Dhaka Mohammedan both demanded immediate withdrawal of the bans imposed upon five hockey players by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation.

In two separate press releases yesterday, the HPWA said the players were just trying to find out when the date of the players transfer would be and they did not assault the head coach. If there are any misunderstanding the association apologises for the unwanted act and demands immediate withdrawal of the bans imposed upon the players.

BHF banned HPWA president Russell Khan Bappi for life, GS Ariful Haque Prince for ten years and players Shamsuddin Tuhin, Ashiquzzman and Asaduzzaman Chandan for five years each.

MSC also demanded the bans be withdrawn and said the incident would further complicate the ongoing crisis in hockey. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Substitute Neymar denied victory on Barca debut

Robust Football League reaches 125th anniversary

Barcelona’s new signing Neymar was denied a win on his debut when the Brazil forward came on as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 draw in a friendly at Polish side Lechia Gdansk on Tuesday.

The standout performer in his nation’s triumph at last month’s Confederations Cup, Neymar joined up with his new team mates on Monday and made the trip to Poland to feature in a Barca squad for the first time since joining from Santos.

He replaced Chile forward Alexis Sanchez in the 78th minute, just after World Player of the Year Lionel Messi had been substituted, and was welcomed with a series of robust challenges from the home players.

New coach Gerardo Martino did not make the trip to Poland and will make his debut on the bench when Barca host Neymar’s former club in a friendly at the Nou Camp on Friday.

The 21-year-old is due to face his former club Santos on August 2 in the Joan Gamper Trophy and, while admitting that it will be an odd experience to come up against his old team-mates so soon after leaving, Neymar insists that he will not be holding back on his return.

A minute’s silence was held before the match in Gdansk after Barca announced earlier on Tuesday that their former goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets had died at the age of 89.

Ramallets made 473 appearances for the Catalan club between 1946 and 1961 and won six La Liga titles and five Spanish Cups. l

They have been playing against each other, on and off, since September 1888 and next weekend Preston North End, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and Notts County are marking a very special milestone.

They will be kicking off the 125th anniversary season of the English Football League, the oldest in the world, and the model on which virtually every other domestic league competition has been based on ever since.

Although the FA Cup, which began in 1871, had spread the soccer gospel around the British Isles and professionalism had been legalised in 1885, Aston Villa chairman William McGregor thought regular competitive fixtures would be a far better way for the top clubs to make money and sustain themselves rather than rely on irregular cup games and friendlies.

So on March 2, 1888 he wrote to 12 of them suggesting a league format and on Sept. 8, 1888 the Football League began with clubs from the north and midlands.

It was clearly a successful idea with a second division added just four years later. The third division was formed in 1920-21, which was then regionalised the following season into North and South.

Eleven of the 12 founder members are still in existence: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, who won the first title, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. l

n Reuters

n Reuters, London

Barcelona's new signing Neymar (L) and Lechia Gdansk's Lukasz Kacprzycki fight for the ball during their friendly match in Gdansk on Tuesday

Bale under scrutiny as Spurs return to training n AFP, London Gareth Bale reported for training with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, amid mounting rumours about a lucrative move to Real Madrid in a possible world record transfer deal.

The 24-year-old Wales winger, voted player of the year and young player of the year last season by his English Premier League peers, was seen arriving at the club’s Enfield training ground, north of London, in a black Mercedes sportscar, television pictures on Sky Sports News showed.

His return to training was being closely watched because of persistent questions about his immediate future.

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said during the club’s pre-season visit to Hong Kong last week that they were in talks with the highly rated player, who scored 26 goals last season, about a new contract.

He said he was optimistic of reaching agreement on a deal but fuelled speculation that Bale would leave the club after saying that there was currently no agreement.

Since then, the British and Spanish media have gone into overdrive, with

Argentina to play Italy in front of Pope n AFP, Buenos Aires Barcelona star Lionel Messi will be part of an Argentina squad to face Italy in a friendly in Rome on August 14 to be watched by Pope Francis, coach Alejandro Sabella has announced.

The four-time World Player of the Year is among the 22-man strong squad picked by Sabella on Tuesday night.

Pope Francis is the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires and a lifelong supporter of Argentinian top flight club San Lorenzo.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero, Oscar Ustari, Mariano Andujar Defenders: Hugo Campagnaro, Federico Fernandez, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo, Pablo Zabaleta, Fabricio Coloccini, Cristian Ansaldi, José Basanta Midfielders: Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega, Augusto Fernandez, Ricardo Alvarez, Lucas Biglia, Erik Lamela.

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Angel Di María, Rodrigo Palacio, Gonzalo Higuain, Ezequiel Lavezzi l

Gareth Bale leaves Tottenham Hotspur's training ground in Chigwell, southern England yesterday. Britain's media continues to speculate on Bale's transfer prospects REUTERS Bale reportedly being given a price tag upwards of the record £80 million ($122 million, 92 million euros) Real paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

The Guardian said Real had indicated they were willing to pay a world record £100 million for Bale while Spanish sports daily Marca has claimed that Spurs have demanded a fee of £125 million for the player.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has also been reported as having set up a meeting with Real president Florentino Perez in Miami next week, where the Spanish club are due to play in a preseason tournament, to broker a deal.

Bale’s family were even said to have met Levy earlier this week to persuade him to allow the player to go, even though he has reportedly not submitted a formal transfer request.

The Daily Mirror claimed Levy was holding out for the best price for Bale and would be prepared to bring back Luka Modric, who left White Hart Lane for the Bernabeu last year in a similarly drawn-out transfer saga.

France legend and former Real player Zinedine Zidane, currently an ambassador for the Spanish capital club, was reported as saying: “If he (Bale) has expressed a desire to join Madrid, then Tottenham should give him permission to speak with us.

“The chance to play for Real Madrid might only come around once in a player’s lifetime -- and it’s understandable that Gareth doesn’t want to miss out on it.”

Real and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas added that Bale would be welcomed as he was “one of the top three or four players in Europe”.

But former Tottenham star Glenn Hoddle suggested that Bale could be better served by staying in England and building on his impressive performance from last season.

“It’s one thing setting a standard, it’s keeping the standard which is the hardest thing, the consistency,” the former Monaco and England midfielder told talkSPORT radio. l

REUTERS

Banner controversy sparks S Korea-Japan history rows n AFP, Seoul Political banners and a military flag displayed at a football match between South Korea and Japan have dragged top government officials from both countries into a diplomatic spat.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) issued a statement Wednesday insisting that Japanese fans waving a large “rising sun” Japanese military flag had incited South Korean supporters at Sunday’s East Asia Cup tie in Seoul.

The home fans had unfurled a giant banner in the first half that read: “There is no future for a people that have forgotten history” -- a reference to Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of South Korea.

Many South Koreans believe Japan has failed to atone for abuses during the colonial period which remains a constant source of tension between the two countries.

The banner was taken down at halftime, but Japan’s football association still lodged an official complaint and demanded an explanation from the KFA. Two other banners displayed before the game bore portraits of a Korean independence activist who assassinated a top Tokyo official in 1909, and the admiral who fought off a Japanese invasion in the 16th century.

On Monday, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said the banners were “extremely regrettable” and violated a FIFA ban on political statements.

Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura went further on Tuesday, saying the style of the banners called into question “the nature of the people” in South Korea.

The South Korean foreign ministry then responded with a statement deploring Shimomura’s “rude comments.”

Although the size of the South Korean banners suggested the protest was pre-planned, Wednesday’s KFA statement argued it had been triggered by the away supporters’ military flagwaving.

“The flag evokes painful memories for Koreans. Yet the Japanese fans waved a giant flag right after the match kicked off, greatly provoking South Korean fans and triggering the whole incident,” it said.

“Japan should stop highlighting the act by South Korean fans while ignoring the fact some Japanese waved the giant Rising Sun flag in the middle of the South Korean capital,” the KFA said.

A similar incident occurred when the two football teams met during the London Olympics last year. l

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIERS

PSV, Lyon take first-leg leads n Reuters, London Former European champions PSV Eindhoven beat Belgian side SV Zulte Waregem 2-0 and Olympique Lyonnais

Results Shakhter K (KAZ) Austria V (AUT) Nomme K (EST) Dynamo T (GEO) Basel (SUI) N'jaelland (DEN) PAOK (GRE) PSV (NED) D Zagreb (CRO) Lyon (FRA)

3-0 1-0 0-4 0-2 1-0 0-1 0-2 2-0 1-0 1-0

Skënderbeu (ALB) Hafnarfjördur (ISL) V Plzen (CZE) Bucharest (ROM) M Tel Aviv (ISR) Zenit (RUS) Met Kharkiv (UKR) Zulte W (BEL) Sheriff (MDA) Grasshoppers (SUI)

(Second leg matches to be played Aug 6 and 7)

edged Grasshoppers 1-0 in the first legs of their Champions League third qualifying round matches on Tuesday as they bid to reach the playoffs for a spot

in the lucrative group stage.

Dutch championship runners-up PSV took the lead against competition debutants Waregem with a stunning 30-metre strike from Memphis Depay just after the hour before substitute Jurgen Locadia added a second in the 75th minute for the 1988 European Cup winners, who also hit the woodwork four times.

While PSV are aiming for their first group stage appearance since the 2008/09 season, Lyon have had more success in recent years having reached the semi-finals in 2010 and they gave themselves the narrowest advantage to take into the second leg when Milan Bisevac headed the only goal after 64 minutes.

The Serbian defender’s powerful header flashed past goalkeeper Roman Burki from Clement Grenier’s free kick but Michael Skibbe’s Zurich-based side will feel hard done by having twice hit the post in the first half at Stade Gerland. l

Zenit St. Petersburg's Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (L) and Luis Neto (R) fight for the ball with Nordsjaelland's Patrick Mtiliga during their Champions League qualifying round soccer match in Farum Park on Tuesday REUTERS

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Arthur reaches deal with Cricket Australia

Quick Bytes

Unbeaten Zia clinches title Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman emerged as the unbeaten champion in the Bishal Trade & Rupahali Sarees International Rating Chess Tournament with a maximum eight points yesterday. In the last and 8th round of the meet, the Mohammedan chess player defeated Md Sharif Hossain of Fire Service & Civil Defense at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall room. Fide master Mehdi Hasan Parag, Abdullah Al-Saif and Rezaul Haque shared the second spot jointly with 6.5 points each. International Master Abu Sufian Shakil, Anisuzzaman Jewel, Abdul Momin, Golam Mostafa Bhuiyn, Sharif Hossain and Uten finished third with 6 points each. Ghulam Muhammed Quader MP, commerce minister and president of Bangladesh Chess Federation and Mohammad Nasim, presidium member of Bangladesh Awami League distributed prizes among the winners as chief guest.

– SH

Most capped international Hassan to play on in Egypt

The world’s most capped international, Ahmed Hassan, is to prolong his career by one more season with Egyptian club Zamalek. The 38-yearold midfielder, who is now out of the Egyptian national side, will play in the African Champions League this weekend in Congo, the Cairo club said in a statement. It is his second season at Zamalek, who he joined in a shock move from arch-rivals Al Ahli last year.

Hassan is acknowledged by world governing body FIFA as the player with the most international appearances, having represented Egypt 184 times between 1995 and 2012.

– Reuters

Hantuchova opens Carlsbad campaign with a bang

Daniela Hantuchova roared into the second round of the WTA Southern California Open on Tuesday with a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Austrian Tamira Paszek. Slovakia’s Hantuchova, who needed just 47 minutes to dispatch Paszek, set up a second-round clash with second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, and also warmed up for her marquee doubles match on Wednesday with former world number one Martina Hingis. Swiss great Hingis will be playing her first WTA match since 2007 when she and Hantuchova play first-round doubles against Julia Goerges of Germany and Darija Jurak of Croatia.

- AFP

Metsu facing 'match of his life' Former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu once told his players they were playing the match of their lives as he sought to motivate them, but now the 59-year-old cancer sufferer knows exactly what that feels like. When he led unfancied Senegal on their World Cup debut during the opening match against champions France in 2002, few could have predicted what would happen next. Not only did Papa Bouba Diop’s goal defeat France in one of the tournament’s greatest upsets but their unmistakeable long-haired blonde coach guided the team to the quarterfinals where the fairytale finally came to a proud conclusion with a narrow defeat by Turkey.

- AFP

Beckham to release picture book in Oct

Former England soccer captain David Beckham will release a picture book in October featuring images from his playing career in a deal with a UK publishing unit of French media company Lagardere. The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder is expected to release the book on Oct. 31 with Lagardere’s UK-based Headline Publishing Group.

– Reuters

Day’s Watch Star Cricket 4:00pm Australia Tour of England 2013 Test 3 Day 1, LIVE Ten Sports 5:30pm India Tour of Zimbabwe 2013 4th ODI, LIVE ESPN 6:00pm Ricoh Women’s British Open 2013 Day 1, LIVE Ten Action 10:00pm MLS All-Stars vs AS Roma

15

Thursday, August 1, 2013

n AFP, Sydney

Australia's captain Michael Clarke listens to former player Shane Warne (L) during a training session before Thursday's third Ashes cricket test match against England at Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester yesterday REUTERS

Australia mull Warner recall in bid to stoke Ashes revival n AFP, Manchester Australia are pondering whether to recall controversial batsman David Warner for their must-win third Ashes Test against England at Old Trafford starting on Thursday.

Top-order batting has long been Australia’s Achilles heel and so it proved in a crushing 347-run second Test defeat at Lord’s, where the tourists were skittled out for just 128 in their first innings.

England lead the five-match series 2-0 and Australia need to win in Manchester if their hopes of regaining the Ashes are not to be extinguished -- a drawn series would see holders England retain the urn.

Australia, following a 4-0 series reverse in India earlier this year, have suffered six successive Tests defeats for the first time since 1984 -- they last lost seven in a row in the 19th Century.

Warner missed the first two Tests of the current series having been suspended in the run-up to the Ashes for punching England’s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar after Australia lost a Champions Trophy match to their arch-rivals last month.

Instead the 26-year-old opener joined up with Australia A for whom he made 193 against South Africa A in Pretoria last week before becoming embroiled in a sledging row with the home side’s wicketkeeper.

Former Australia captain Ian Chap-

pell is adamant that, if selected, Warner must open as that would give him the best chance of imposing his game on England’s bowlers.

But that would mean Australia coach Darren Lehmann having to give up on at least half of his chosen first-wicket duo of Shane Watson and Chris Rogers.

A middle order berth could be found for Warner if Australia drop Phil Hughes or Steven Smith fails to recover in time from a back injury that saw him miss training Tuesday.

Australia’s batsmen, none of whom including world class strokeplayer and captain Michael Clarke, have yet made a hundred this Ashes, are assailed by conflicting advice, be it “play your natural game” or “bat time”.

For Rogers, who has scored just 89 runs in four innings this series, the example of former Australia opener Justin Langer, a team-mate at Western Australia, is one he hopes to follow in Manchester.

“It’s just to fight,” Rogers said Tuesday. “There were times playing at WA, and we weren’t doing so well, and that was Justin Langer’s motto.”

Rogers added: “You’ve got to fight as hard as you can, try to stay out there and not surrender your wicket -- which we’ve probably been doing a little bit too easily.”

It always seemed unlikely an Australia pace attack with a history of injury problems would last the whole of the Ashes. l

Former Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur said Wednesday he had reached a settlement with Cricket Australia over his sacking after he “significantly reduced” his claim for damages.

The South African had been suing for his job back or up to Aus$4 million (US$3.7 million), claiming there was a deliberate campaign against him and he had no choice but to take legal action.

After conciliation talks lasting more than 13 hours at the Fair Work Commission in Sydney, the two parties reached a “confidential agreement”, the Australian Associated Press reported.

Arthur was ousted two weeks before the start of the Ashes series in England, with two years left on his contract, and was replaced by Darren Lehmann.

“I am very happy with the financial settlement we have reached tonight with Cricket Australia,” he said in a statement.

“For me, this was never solely about the money. I just wanted to be treated fairly, and with dignity and respect.

“I have significantly reduced my claim, as it is being settled tonight and not dragging on at significant cost,” Arthur said, adding he also wanted to protect Australia’s cricket team from any further publicity surrounding the dispute. l

Pietersen set to play third Test n Reuters, Manchester

England batsman Kevin Pietersen looks poised to play in the third Ashes test against Australia at Old Trafford from Thursday after recovering from a calf injury.

Pietersen has been struggling since the second test at Lord’s but batted in the indoor nets for almost an hour on Wednesday and then had a short fitness test on the soggy outfield, with strapping filled with a liquid visible on his leg.

“Pretty good,” captain Alistair Cook told a news conference when asked about the chances of Pietersen playing.

“He has gone through training the last two days and done everything we asked of him. Fingers crossed.” l

Anderson ‘best in the world’: Wasim Indian Grand Prix n AFP, Manchester Pakistan great Wasim Akram believes England’s James Anderson is the best bowler currently operating in world cricket.

The 31-year-old Anderson has taken 13 wickets in the first two Ashes Tests to help England into a 2-0 lead over Australia ahead of the third Test at the Lancashire paceman’s Old Trafford home ground starting Thursday.

Anderson, whose tally of 320 Test wickets places him third on England’s all-time list behind Ian Botham and Bob Willis, is currently only equal fifth with Australia’s Peter Siddle in the International Cricket Council’s Test bowling rankings, which are led by

South Africa quick Dale Steyn.

But Akram, arguably cricket’s greatest left-arm fast bowler, who took 414 wickets in 104 Tests at a mean average of 23.62, was in no doubt of Anderson’s standing amongst his peers.

“Jimmy Anderson is leading from the front. For me he is the best bowler of this era,” Akram told BBC Sport on Wednesday. “He does it consistently, with the new ball and the old ball.”

Akram and Pakistan team-mate Waqar Younis formed a highly effective fast bowling partnership in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their command of reverse swing often proving too much for even the world’s best batsmen.

In Anderson, Akram said he recog-

nised an equally skilled exponent.

“Jimmy is up there with me and Waqar because of the control he has,” said Akram, who played for Lancashire between 1988 and 1998.

“He was always good with the new ball, but with the old ball he is intelligent,” Akram explained.

“He bowls five away-swingers, then one inswinger and takes a wicket.”

Although Anderson’s career average of 29.66 is more expensive than Steyn’s 22.65, Wasim said the Englishman had the edge.

And that was despite Steyn having 33 wickets in five Tests at just 12.56 apiece in 2013 compared to Anderson’s haul for the calendar year, which currently stands at 32 in seven at 23.12 l

dropped for next year n AFP, New Delhi The Indian Grand Prix has been cancelled for next year but is expected to return in 2015, an official said on Wednesday.

Vicky Chandhok, head of the Federation of Motor Sport Council of India, said the Indian event was being dropped because of an imminent reshuffle of Formula One’s calendar for next year.

But Chandhok said India was targeting a 2015 return, and the Indian event, which started in 2011, was not under any threat of being abandoned for ever.

“The race in 2014 is definitely ruled

Sri Lanka rout South Africa in last ODI n Agencies South Africa surrendered meekly against hosts Sri Lanka in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday. Sri Lanka won the final match by 128 runs to seal the series 4-1.

Needing 308 runs to win after an outstanding batting display by the hosts, South Africa got off to a steady start as openers Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock added 35 runs for the opening partnership before the latter failed to read the line and was bowled by Sachitra Senanayake. Their batsmen started off well scoring easy runs against the Sri Lankan pacers. However, the spinners troubled them. The middle order, barring AB de Villiers, offered little resistance as the visitors were reduced to 85 for five within 20 overs.

Skipper de Villiers played a composed knock of run-a-ball 51. However, it was too little too late. He was lucky to survive while batting on 28 in the 25th over of the innings, when an edge to Kumar Sangakkara was not referred to the third umpire after the on-field umpire had turned down the appeal. De Villiers added 52 runs for the seventh wicket with Ryan McLaren and just when the visitors seemed to have been going well, they took the Batting Powerplay after the 32nd over. Sri Lanka brought in spinner Ajantha Mendis into

Savour the win, Afridi urges Pakistan n AFP, Karachi

the attack, who dismissed de Villiers off the very first delivery and followed it up by uprooting Morne Morkel’s stump in the fifth ball of the over. Mendis returned with figures of three for 36.

Coming into the match, South Africa dropped their lead spinner Robin Peterson, who had gone for 166 runs in 30 overs without picking a wicket in the previous four encounters in the series.

Earlier in the day, Tillakaratne Dilshan fell just one short of his century

Brief Score Sri Lanka 307 for 4 in 50 overs (Dilshan 99, Kumar Sangakkara 75*; McLaren 1 for 47) beat South Africa 179 in 43.5 overs (de Villiers 51, McLaren 29; Lakmal 3 for 22, Mendis 3 for 36) by 128 runs after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat. He guided the hosts to 307 for four in their 50 overs. Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne did well to provide a strong platform for the middle-order to score freely and they added 163 runs for the second wicket. Kumar Sangakkara took advantage of the situation slamming 12 boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 45-ball 75.

While skipper Angelo Mathews managed a quick 23, the fifth-wicket partnership of Sangakkara and Thisara Perera kept the opposition at bay. l

out and 2015 is what they are looking at,” Chandhok told the Press Trust of India in the city of Chennai.

Chandhok said F1 management wanted the Indian race to be held in March in the 2015 calendar instead of October, but it was impractical to have the race in October 2014 and then again five months later.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone also confirmed the change while speaking to the Times of India in London.

“The circuit in India is fantastic,” Ecclestone was quoted as saying by the paper. “We are really disappointed that we can’t have the GP in India in 2014.” l

Australia legend Glenn McGrath (L) imitates the pose of a wax statue of himself at Madame Tussauds, Sydney yesterday AFP

All-rounder Shahid Afridi Thursday urged Pakistan to savour their one-day and Twenty20 wins over the West Indies and forget allegations of fixing.

Pakistan beat the West Indies 3-1 in the five-match one-day series, and clinched both the Twenty20s on the tour which finished on Sunday.

But the wins were clouded by controversy after British newspaper The Mail on Sunday claimed the one-day matches could be investigated by the sport’s international anti-corruption unit.

Asked about the claims, Afridi said: “I don’t know about any allegations, but I would say ‘Savour the win when you have done well and forget any other thing’.”

Team manager Naveed Cheema denied the allegations.

“These are baseless allegations and anyone can investigate,” said Cheema.

“The discipline of the players was exemplary and that showed on the results.”

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal also urged people to give Pakistan credit.

“Sometimes they must appreciate us,” he said. “Why people take our wins lightly and allege strongly is unfathomable.”

Pakistani cricket has an unenviable history of corruption and fixing. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Thursday, August 1, 2013

RMG storehouse torched in Gazipur n Tribune Desk

Why no elections to Dhaka city corporations: HC n Tribune Online Report

Agitated workers of a garment factory torched the storehouse of the factory at Nishchintapur in Kaliakair upazila on yesterday.

Police said several thousand workers of Libas Textile started demonstration for Eid bonus and salary in front of the factory in the morning.

The workers threw brickbats breaking the windowpanes of the factory.

At one stage, the agitated workers set fire to the storehouse of the factory around 2:30pm that burnt yarn, cloth and machinery of the factory.

On information, fire fighters from Gazipur, Kaliakoir, Tongi and Savar EPZ rushed to the spot and controlled the flames at around 4:30pm.

At least five people were injured while extinguishing the blaze.

Police arrested three people from the spot. Additional police were deployed in the area to avoid further trouble. l

Fire at shoe factory n Mohammad Jamil Khan A 12-year-old boy, Mohammad Dipu Bepari, is fighting for his life at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s (DMCH) burn unit with third-degree burns.

Dipu was burned along with six other employees of a shoe factory in a fire on Monday. He suffered 90% burns on his body. One worker, Sabbir, 24, died in the fire.

All the injured workers are being treated at the DMCH. They were identified as Rubel, 24, with 60% burns, Babu, 22, and Mohammad Jarif, 16, with 30% burns, Mohammad Sentu, 34, with 24%, Sohel Rana, 22, has 20%, and Mohammad Uzzal, 24, around 19% burns.

Dipu has been working at the factory’s packaging department for a year and half, for which he earns Tk1000 monthly.

The factory was rushing to meet a tight schedule leading to Eid holidays.

Barely able to speak, Dipu told the Dhaka Tribune: “I had dreamt of buying a colourful shirt for myself and something for my mother for Eid but now I am sorry I won’t be able to do so.”

Dipu’s father Mohammad Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune his only son was sent to work because he was uninterested in studying. “But we never imagined such misfortune would strike our family,” he said.

His mother Rima Begum said on that day Dipu went back to work after lunch, because of work pressures. She said: “If I knew this would happen, I would never let my son go back!”

Doctors said condition of all the injured workers was not good, because they had severe respiratory damage.

This was not the first fire at the shoe factory, a fire also started on the third day of Ramadan. Relatives said owner Hazi Murad failed to take steps for safety.

Atiqul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chawkbazar police station told the Dhaka Tribune, a relative of the young man who died in the fire has filed a case of unnatural death. He said they are investigating the fire, if it was due to negligence, they will take action against the owner. l

Agitated workers set fire to an eight-storey garment factory during a protest demanding the increase of Eid Bonus at Nischintapur in Gazipur yesterday

Last homage paid to Belal Mohammad n Arif Ahmed People from different walks of life paid their respects to Swadhin Bangla Betar pioneer and freedom fighter Belal Mohammad at Central Shaheed Minar yesterday.

His body was taken there at around 11am. Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad, MP Mahfuza Khatun Baby Moudud, Bangla Academy Director General Shamsuzzaman Khan and representatives of different political, social and cultural organisations went there to pay their respects to the poet.

On behalf of Dhaka district administration, Magistrate Amitav Talukdar gave a guard of honour to the freedom fighter.

FDCC Director Pijush Bandopadhay said, “Belal Mohammad was a great organiser and cultural person. The nation has lost a valued and irreplaceable citizen.”

“Belal Mohammad served everyone with his financial and mental support. He was a brave person who sacrificed a lot for the people,” said Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee President Shahariar Kabir.

Later his body was taken to Dhaka University Central Mosque for his Namaz-e-Janaza. l

Dhaka district administration gives guard of honour to late poet and Liberation War organiser Belal Mohammad at Central Shaheed Minar yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM/DHAKA TRIBUNE

Earthquakes ‘may add to methane leaks’ n Tribune Report And here’s another shuddering twist to the horror story that is climate change: even earthquakes may play a role.

Large quantities of methane may have escaped during a violent earthquake that shook the floor of the Arabian Sea in 1945, according to German and Swiss researchers.

Hydrocarbon seepage triggered by earthquakes needs to be considered in local and global carbon budgets at active continental margins David Fischer of the University of Bremen and colleagues from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven and the ETH in Zurich explored the region in a research ship in 2007, and began to examine cores of sediment from the seabed.

One core, from just 1.6 metres below the seabed, contained methane hydrate - an ice-like mixture of methane and water - and the other did not.

But, the researchers report in Nature Geoscience, both cores carried subtle chemical evidence that at some point in the past dramatic quantities of methane or natural gas had actually flowed through the sediments beneath the Arabian Sea. Since the methane would move as a

gas, there is only one direction it could go: bubbling upwards through the sea into the atmosphere. And since methane is a potent greenhouse gas - at least 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide - such escapes could be significant.

“We started going through the literature and found that a major earthquake had occurred close by in 1945”, said Dr Fischer. “Based on several indicators, we postulated that the earthquake led to the fracturing of the sediments, releasing the gas that had been trapped below the hydrates into the ocean.”

The tremor was recorded at magnitude 8.1 – magnitude 9 is about as bad as an earthquake can be – and seismic waves would have raced through the seabed at colossal speeds, quite enough to shake loose any brittle chemical structures in the seabed.

The researchers estimate that the release of methane from that location since that one event could be conservatively estimated at 7.4 million cubic metres: this is roughly the capacity of 10 large gas tankers. “...hydrocarbon seepage triggered by earthquakes needs to be considered in local and global carbon budgets at active continental margins...”

This calculation does not take into account how much escaped during the quake itself, and it holds for only one location. “There are probably even more sites in the area that had been affected

by the earthquake”, said Dr Fischer.

Such research is another reminder of the complexity of the planet’s climate system. Methane hydrates can be considered as a form of fossil fuel: decayed plant material from millions of years ago, trapped in the mud under the pressing weight of the sea.

Climate scientists have for decades worried about the fragility of these hydrates - as the world warms, they are likely to be released in huge quantities from the Arctic seabed, for instance but this is the first evidence that natural rather than human-triggered cataclysms could make a serious difference to the global carbon budget.

The lesson is that scientists now have to take such processes into account as they try to calculate the carbon budget for the planet - the quantities of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, the volumes subsequently absorbed by plants and then incorporated into sediments.

“We now provide a new mechanism of carbon export that had not been considered before”, said Dr Fischer, and with his co-authors he pushes the message home in the research paper.

“We therefore suggest that hydrocarbon seepage triggered by earthquakes needs to be considered in local and global carbon budgets at active continental margins.” - Climate News Network. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

The High Court yesterday issued a rule to know why the authorities concerned would not be directed to conduct polls immediately to the two city corporations in Dhaka.

A HC bench, comprising of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, gave the order after hearing two writ petitions seeking elections to Dhaka’s north and south city corporations.

The court also sought reply form relevant authorities within four weeks.

The respondents include the local government secretary, the finance secretary, the election commission secretary and the chief election commissioner and his three deputies.

Lawyers Alamgir Hossain and Mostafa Ahmed filed the petition for Dhaka north and south respectively.

On November 3, 2011, the government divided the Dhaka City Corporation into two parts, north and south to ease administrative work, as well as to improve services.

The city elections were scheduled to be held within May last year, but were postponed following a HC order.

In May this year, the court gave the signal for holding the polls.

However, the election process has apparently been disrupted due to complexities over the demarcation of Dhaka South’s boundaries. l

EU-led RMG safety forum to open firm in Bangladesh Each member to donate $500,000 for factory repairs or relocation Showkat Kallol and Kayes n Asif Sohel European Union-led RMG Safety Accord has decided to set up a foundation in the Netherlands and open up a non-profit firm in Bangladesh within two weeks to run trainings and their factory-safety programme in Bangladesh.

The forum of the 84 clothing retailers and brands, mostly European, revealed their plan in a meeting with Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed yesterday.

Following the meeting, Mahbub told reporters that his ministry has given all types of assistance to the EUled RMG Safety Accord team to ensure that the country’s garment sector is labour-friendly and for training of RMG workers and factory staff to guarantee building safety.

He added that the team identified 1,495 factories, which did not comply with the building safety code and labour standards. They also promised to provide funds for their repairs or relocation outside Dhaka.

The forum members also decided to donate $500,000 each to the foun-

dation to run the firm, which would be overviewing the transition into safe and labour-friendly environment at the factories. The accord members want to immediately register the nonprofit firm with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, he also pointed out adding that the accord would form an advisory board with representatives of BGMEA, BKMEA, commerce, labour and home ministries.

The visiting delegation also agreed to work on a unified code of conduct with other stakeholders including the US alliance for a safe and sustainable garment industry in Bangladesh.

It was led by C&A Buying’s head of sustainable business development, Philio Chamberlain, and was manned

by Industriall Global Union director of policy trade and development, Jenny Holdcroft, and UNI Global Union deputy secretary general, Christy Hoffman.

Hoffman said in a statement Tuesday, “We have had an incredibly positive welcome here in Dhaka. All sides have confirmed a commitment to the Accord and the manufacturers have been reassured that the brands are here for the long haul.

“The Bangladeshi government has agreed to pave the way for the Accord to begin its work without delay.”

Top global retailers and brands on Monday launched talks with garment factory owners in Dhaka to work out a roadmap for executing the building and fire safety accord signed earlier this month for RMG sector.

A total of 84 clothing retailers and brands, mostly European, signed the legally-binding accord, initiated by IndustriALL following the collapse of the Rana Plaza in April that killed 1,132 people, mainly factory workers.

North American buyers separately signed a similar but non-binding accord for ensuring safety in the country’s garment sector.

The commerce secretary said the ILO regional officer for Asia and the Pacific, Yoshiteru Uramoto, also met with him and expressed interest to provide assistance for developing the country’s export product value chain to enter the new global export market.

He also said a consultant from New Dehli will come to Dhaka to provide assistance to the authority to that end. l

New wage structure for garment workers after Eid: Minister

n Tribune Online Report

Labour Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju yesterday said a new pay scale for garment workers would be announced after the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

“The minimum wages commission is working hard on it, as the government wants to announce it as soon as possible,” the minister told reporters after a meeting with a delegation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at his secretariat office.

Raju said the visiting team, led by Yoshiteru Uramoto, assistant director general of Asia and Pacific region, had assured Bangladesh of ILO’s commitment to provide $40m in assistance to improve the readymade garment sector.

Regarding a recent statement by ILO’s Asian regional office criticising the new Labour Bill 2013, the minister said it was issued apparently without going through the English version of the latest amendments to the law. Bangladesh strongly protested the statement, he added.

Meanwhile, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar said the government had taken an initiative to appoint 200 factory inspectors, in line with an ILO proposal to ensure safety of the country’s garments industry. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed at Romask Limited, 184, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1215. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207.

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Continue to the Business section...

Business

B2 Experts for identifying reasons behind slow PPP implementation

B3 Stocks continue to end flat

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Business www.dhakatribune.com/business

Written-off bad loans intensifying

HANDMADE

Borrowers pass responsibility on gas, power supply shortage

n Jebun Nesa Alo The extent of writing off bad loans has been intensified recently as it witnessed four times higher at Tk11.65bn in April-June quarter than the previous quarter’s Tk3.22bn.

The total written off loans in the banking sector stood at around Tk253bn up to June 2013, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics.

The written off loans would be around 5% of the total loans and advances of Tk4.25tn the commercial banks disbursed till May this year.

The written-off loans help the banks clear balance sheets, but reduce their capital base and profits. Such loans also create a negative impact on their business and investment.

Of the total written-off loans, the private commercial banks (PCBs) share the most with Tk109bn, followed by state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) Tk107bn, foreign commercial banks (FCBs) Tk3.69bn and development financial institutions (DFIs) Tk32.59bn in June.

The corresponding amount of such writ-

ten-off loans was PCBs Tk103bn, SCBs Tk102.51bn, FCBs Tk3.32bn and DFIs Tk32.37bn respectively in March 2013 while it was Tk100bn, Tk102.49bn, Tk3.14bn and Tk32.37bn respectively in December 2012.

In the last quarter written off loans of SCBs increased by Tk4.69bn, PCBs Tk6.37bn and FCBs Tk370m compared to the previous quarter. The extent of written-off loans was increasing continuously, making Bangladesh Bank worried.

A senior executive of the central bank said the written-off loans of the state-owned banks increased as the loans were disbursed mostly on political consideration. As a result, loan recovery is not regular.

The borrowers, however, passed their responsibility on the short supply of gas and electricity that affected production as well as repayment of the bank loans, he said.

According to the BB policy in writing off the bad loans, banks may, at any time, write off loans classified as bad or loss. Those loans which have been classified as bad or loss for the last five years and for which 100% provisions have been kept should be written off without delay.

Banks may write off loans by debiting to their current year’s income account where 100% provision kept is not found adequate for writing off such loans.

All out efforts should be made to realise the written off loans. Cases must be filed in the court of law before writing off any loan for which no legal action has been initiated earlier.

A separate “Debt Collection Unit” should be set up in the bank for recovery of written off loans.

In order to accelerate the settlement of law suits filed against the written off loans or to realise the receivable written off loans, any agency outside the bank can be engaged.

A separate ledger must be maintained for written off loans and in the Annual Report/Balance Sheet of banks there must be a separate “notes to the accounts” containing amount of cumulative and current year’s loan written off. l

Two workers seen busy making footwear to catch the last-minute Eid shopping. The Eid shoppers usually crowd shoe stores at the end of their shopping. The photo was taken at a factory in the old part of Dhaka recently Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

E-TIN wins welcome response from taxpayers n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The Electronic Taxpayers Identification Number (E-TIN) has received a good response as 75,000 taxpayers registered with the new system within first month of its introduction, officials at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said yesterday.

The revenue authorities introduced the system on July 1 to boost revenue collection, reduce hassle of the taxpayers and prevent issuance of fake TINs. According to the new system, NBR has now an automated database for TIN holders where existing and new TIN holders will have to register with the E-TIN within December 31 and with this process, the existing 10 digit TIN will be replaced with 12-digit ones. There would be no effectiveness of old manual 10-digit TIN from January 1 next.

NBR officials told the Dhaka Tribune the E-TIN system received a bit slow response in the first half of July.

A total of 2,068 people registered with the system on the day 1, followed by an average of

around 2,500 people every day. Around 25,000 new taxpayers registered with E-TIN last month while 50,000 were existing TIN holders.

In FY 2012-13, the income tax wing of NBR collected Tk366bn against its target of Tk353bn with a 27.62% growth.

For the FY13-14, NBR set a target to collect Tk1.361tn revenue from income tax wing, and the introduction of E-TIN is expected to help the revenue board to meet the target, said an official.

According to the newly introduced system, computer generated TIN certificates will be issued as soon as the application procedure is completed online.

A team of NBR is working on automation of TIN database with assistance of International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The web portal is now linked with the National Identity Card database of the Election Commission to verify individual applicant while corporate taxpayers’ application will be checked with the database of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Experts for identifying reasons behind slow PPP implementation n Tribune Report Business leaders and economists have stressed on identification of the reasons behind the slow progress in implementation of the public private partnership initiatives and ensuring maximum success in project implementation.

They put the emphasis at a seminar titled “Public-Private Partnership in Bangladesh,” organised by the Dhaka School of Economics (DSoE), an institution of the Dhaka University, at the auditorium of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) in the city yesterday.

Director General of Prime Minister’s Office Dr Mahmudur Rahman presented the keynote paper presided over by chairman of the governing council and director of DSoE Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad.

“We want to see the full implementation of PPP as it is not a matter which will exist in plans,” said Anwarul Alam Chowdhury, former President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

He, however, suggested adopting BOT and BOOT for project implementation as they have been successful in India, Malaysia, Thailand and other developing countries.

“We have to identify options based on the nature of the projects and size. We should take the option which is most viable in implementation of the project.”

There is nothing to be frustrated, all the problems will be resolved if the PPP Law is approved Chowdhury expressed frustration over delay in implantation of Dhaka-Chittagong fourlane project and said only 36% of the project has been implemented over the last eight years.

He stressed on political stability, stable government, undisrupted power and gas supply for proper implementation of the PPP projects.

Kholiquzzaman said: “We have to work together rather highlighting only the

negative aspects and then be able to achieve the target.”

He said: “First of all we have to identify problems then necessary steps have to be taken setting target on priority basis.”

The government has failed to make PPP operational after spending much time, said BEA General Secretary Prof Dr Toufiq Ahmad Choudhury, adding that it is important for reducing corruption in the public sector and private management. He also said PPP is mostly needed in implementing government projects.

“There is nothing to be frustrated, all the problems will be resolved if the PPP Law is approved,” said Mahmudur Rahman.

He put emphasis on improving the investment climate for attracting private investment.

Former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled and Director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Abdul Haque also spoke at the meeting. l

Oil prices mixed in Asian trade

n Reuters Bangladesh’s Eastern Refinery Ltd will skip exporting naphtha in October, for the third straight month, as plant maintenance and repair work continue, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

On average, it exports one 170,000-barrel naphtha cargo about every 45 days.

The loss will be easily filled in the market as high volumes of naphtha will continue to stream into Asia from Europe, the United States and the Mediterranean.

Since the start of the year, Asia has been receiving an average of 1 million tonnes of naphtha a month from the west in the last six months. The refinery, the only one in Bangladesh, was shut on July 25 and the shutdown will last for about 40 days, he added.

After the plant resumes operations, it will need another two months before it is able to export naphtha.

The 1.5 million tonnes a year refinery, a subsidiary of state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, carries out maintenance once every two years. It last sold 170,000 barrels of naphtha at a discount of 62 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes to Socar Trading Pte Ltd in mid-July. l

Russian business team due in Dhaka in September

n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices were mixed in cautious Asian trade on Wednesday as dealers await the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in September, was up three cents at $103.11 a barrel in afternoon trade, and Brent North Sea crude for September fell 22 cents to $106.69.

Investors are waiting for a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FMOC) at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday, hoping for some clues about when it will begin to wind down its $85bn a month bond-buying scheme.

“The Fed continues to hold investors’ attention,” Kelly Teoh, market strategist at IG Markets Singapore, said in a note.

“The key event will be (the) conclusion of the FOMC meeting, with most expecting a September tapering,” she said.

Other analysts said the Fed is unlikely to announce a major shift from its earlier statements that the timing depends on how strong the economy is.

“It is likely to be more of the same with the Fed reiterating their stance that they are looking to taper when certain conditions are met,” said Jason Hughes, head of sales trading at CMC Markets in Singapore.

Over the longer term, however, Teoh said oil prices are expected to trend lower after WTI slipped below its support level of $104 as slower global growth dents demand.

“The underlying support for energy prices has been from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, renewed optimism on global demand and low inventories,” she said.

“These factors look short lived and waning,” Teoh said. l

Naphtha exports halted for there month

n Tribune Report

Bank branches concerned will remain open on weekly holidays to facilitate onion import

Bank branches open on weekly holidays n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank directed all authorised dealer (AD) branches of the scheduled banks at the land ports at the border with India to keep open on Fridays and Saturdays before the upcoming Eid to ensure uninterrupted supply of onions from India.

Besides, the AD branches of the commercial banks at some points have been directed to continue operation on the weekly holidays until further order to facilitate the foreign trade and transaction. The places include Dhaka and Chittagong airports, Chittagong and Mongla seaports and Benapole, Sona Masjid and Hili land ports along with Kamalapur

Inland Container Depot. The directions came at a circular issued yesterday. Also, any bank branches dealing with export-import trade can be kept open on the weekly holidays if the banks feel necessary.

In another circular issued on the same day, Bangladesh Bank advised the scheduled banks to keep open on Tuesday next only those branches related with garment industry located at the industrial areas of Dhaka city, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Khulna and Chittagong.

Before, the Labour Ministry and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) had requested the central bank to make the order. l

A Russian business delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation headed by the Deputy Minister will visit Dhaka in September to discuss the prospects of bilateral economic cooperation with Bangladesh.

The delegation will comprise of agriculture, railway, fertilizer, and infrastructure sectors’ businessmen. The delegation will have one to one B2B business match-making with Bangladeshi counterparts.

Alexander A. Nikolaev (HE) Russian ambassador to Bangladesh in formed the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) while he met Nessar Maksud Khan, acting president of the chamber yesterday. l

Maxus named the world’s fastest growing media network

n Tribune Business Report The Research Company Evaluating the Media Agency Industry (RECMA) has named Maxus the world’s fastest growing media agency network for the fourth year running.

In 2012, Maxus grew 30% with global overall activity rising to $8.8bn from the previous year’s $6.8bn.RECMA now considers Maxus to be the 12th largest media agency in the world, said a press release.

Maxus is WPP’s youngest media network that was set up in 2008 to take advantage of the opportunities created by the digital age and it is focused on large local business and handling several international clients such as Fiat, UPS and Church and Dwight. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Stocks continue to end flat DGEN disappears from trade screen today

No display of DGEN on screen from today Scrip wise movements existed throughout the session amid half-yearly declarations in recent times.

The major sectors posted mixed results.

Financial sectors performed poor as banks and non-banking financial institutions lost 1.37% and 0.37% respectively.

Telecommunications was the biggest gainer, driven by Grameenphone that rose 5.7%. The other two major sectors that ended positive were pharmaceuticals and power that rose 2% and 0.22% respectively.

Meghna Petroleum was the most traded stock with turnover Tk324.5m changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Padma Oil, Grameenphone,

Rajib Dhar/Dhaka Tribune

Olympic Industries, Jamuna Oil and RN Spinning.

In January this year, the prime bourse had decided that the DGEN will be displayed along with the new DSEX on the screen for some time so that people do not get confused.

The DSEX, built by Standard and Poor’s, was formally launched on January 28, based on the free-float method used by the world’s major indices.

The DGEN which contains inflated points due to faulty calculation and the need of a fresh index first came to the front in November, 2009 when Grameenphone (GP) was listed with the stock exchanges. l

Two banned labour bodies win no objection to get fresh registration NBR gets two new members n Tribune Report

National Board of Revenue (NBR) has appointed two new members, officials said yesterday.

Following an order from the Internal Resources Division of NBR, M Lokman Chowdhury and Mahbubur Rahman have been selected as members of the income tax authorities.

Lokman, who earlier was Commissioner of Taxes Appeal Zone-1, Dhaka, took over his charge of audit, intelligence and investigation, and Rahman, who earlier was Commissioner of Taxes Zone 1, Dhaka, got his responsibility of information management and services. In a reshuffle of incumbent members’ responsibilities, Member Begum Rahela Chowdhury will oversee internal taxes, Member Bashir Uddin Ahmed tax administration and Member M Shahjahan tax appeal and release. l

n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has given no objection certificate to award fresh registration to two labour organisations in an effort to regain US GSP facilities.

The intelligence agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday sent the no objection certificates to the Ministry of Commerce.

The organisations are Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity and Social Activities for Environment.

Earlier, the government banned the two organisations due to the labour unrest in the Export Processing Zones.

The US government spelt out a 16-point charter of action plan on July 19 and urged the government of Bangladesh to engage with it for the sake of reinstatement of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) that the Obama administration suspended on June 27 last over poor labour rights and safety standards.

As per the conditions set out in the US action plan, the social welfare ministry was looking into the issue of registering the two organisations.

No Commission, no enforcement n Asif Showkat Kallol

n Tribune Report Stocks continued to end flat for the third consecutive session amid volatility yesterday, as most investors particularly retailers were cautious before Eid-Ul-Fitr to be celebrated on August 9 or 10.

Market started the session with steep gain within the opening 45 minutes of trade, but the momentum did not last long as the indices declined and slowed down afterwards.

The benchmark DSE General Index, DGEN, closed at 4,343, gaining slightly 31 points or 0.8%. The DGEN will not be seen on the screen from today as per earlier decision of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. It was introduced in 2001 with a base point of 817.62.

The free float-based benchmark, DSEX, was down 16 points or 0.5% to 3,940. The blue chip index DS30 declined 2 points or 0.2% to 1,483.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, edged 0.1 points lower to 7,805.

“Investors’ pursuance of ‘wait and see’ strategy kept the participation sluggish. As a result, turnover continued to hover around Tk3.5bn level for the last three sessions,” said IDLC Investment in its daily market analysis.

Cautious trading, including portfolio rebalancing at lucrative prices were active in anticipation of post Eid-ul-Fitr scenario, it said.

The total turnover at DSE stood at Tk3.7bn, which was 8.7% higher over the previous session’s value. Out of 287 issues traded, 97 advanced, 169 declined and 21 remained unchanged.

3

On the other hand, the home ministry withdrew all criminal charges against labour leaders Babul Akhter and Kalpana Akter as per conditions in the action plan. It was also looking into the murder of labour leader Aminul Islam, sources in the ministry said.

The government earlier banned Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity and Social Activities for Environment due to the labour unrest in the Export Processing Zones When the action plan came to the commerce ministry, it sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office apprising of the conditions set out for the export processing zones (EPZ). The PMO has been urged to look into the issues including freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.

US Ambassador Dan Mozena said last month the GSP is very crucial for Bangladesh not only for its economic benefits from the US but also for its gain from World Trade Organisation (WTO) for future duty and quota-free market access. l

A year into passage in the parliament, the Competition Act could not be in place yet due to absence of a Commission which will ensure the enforcement of the law.

Bureaucratic tangles and strong opposition from certain business groups including multinationals who feel worried in losing control over the market are blamed behind non-implementation of the law.

A gazette notification was issued seven months back by the law ministry on setting up an office for Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC). The commerce ministry has not completed the process of launching the office till date.

However, Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the BCC office will be set up in three months.

“We do not face any pressure against the establishment of the BCC office. In three months, we are opening the office,” he said.

In its election manifesto, the ruling Awami League pledged to enact the competition law.

A commerce ministry source said the ministry has decided to open BCC office at the building of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

According to the source, the commerce ministry already sent a letter to the Public Administration Division to provide a secretary for the BCC. The BCC secretary will be equivalent to the post of joint secretary.

As per the law, the government will select a commissioner from five possible commissioner candidates.

The BCC to be comprised of a chairperson and a maximum of four members may investigate any allegation on its own or on receiving complaints.

Besides, it will oversee the market situation and take necessary measures against unscrupulous businesses and organisations.

Under the law, if found guilty of violating the Commission’s order, one will be punished with a jail sentence of maximum one year and a fine of Tk100,000 per day in case of non-compliance of orders.

The government will appropriate measures against business syndication to ensure healthy competition in trade and commerce as per the law.

The Commission equivalent of a civil court will be responsible for ensuring the enforcement and implementation of the Competition Law-2012 to resist any anticompetition designs and ensure healthy competition for all, particularly small and medium enterprises.

In November 2012, the commerce ministry constituted an eight-member committee to formulate rules for commission to oversee the execution of the law in order to give relief to consumers from unhealthy syndication of traders.

Amitava Chakraborty, Director General of the ministry’s WTO cell, and Md Abul Hossain Mian, Director General of Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection were in the committee. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Apple CEO met China Mobile head, discussed cooperation n

Reuters, Beijing

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday met with the head of China Mobile Ltd, the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscribers and the only Chinese carrier that doesn’t offer iPhones and iPads.

The meeting with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing was to discuss matters of cooperation, the Chinese firm told Reuters in an emailed statement. It gave no further details.

The talks could pave the way for a longawaited deal for China Mobile to distribute Apple products on its vast network, benefitting both companies.

Apple said last week that its April-June sales in Greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, slumped 43% from the previous quarter. Greater China accounted for 13% of Apple’s quarterly sales, or $5bn, down from nearly 19% in JanuaryMarch.

Fewer than a fifth of China Mobile’s customers have adopted 3G, lagging rivals China Unicom’s 38 percent and China Telecom Corp’s 50%, according to data from the three carriers. Analysts say China Mobile would attract higher-end 3G users if it strikes a deal to carry Apple’s iPhone.

India to restore subsidised gas supply to Bhutan

n BSS

India will restore the supply of subsidised gas to Bhutan from August One, a month after it was halted and became an issue in the Himalayan Kingdom’s second national polls.

“We have obtained and completed all clearances-- technical and administrative. We are ready to supply the subsidised cooking gas and kerosene from August one,” officials sources said here yesterday.

They also said the decision has been conveyed to the new Bhutanese government.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay met with the Indian Ambassador to Bhutan V P Haran at the Gyalyong Tshogkhang (National Assembly Hall) Monday during which India’s decision was conveyed, sources said.

Before the elections, the Indian Oil Corporation discontinued the supply of the subsidised fuel, on technical grounds with officials here maintaining that Bhutan’s 10th Plan expired on June 30 under which India was providing such assistance.

India’s subsidy cut to Bhutan gave rise to reports that the decision was taken in view of government’s unhappiness with former Prime Minister and chief of ruling political party Druk Phuensum Tshogpa Jigme Thinley’s proximity with China.

Meanwhile, Haran was introduced to the new Bhutanese Cabinet ministers and as per the press release from the Information and Media Division of the Office of the Prime Minister, Tobgay and the Ambassador discussed wide range of issues. l

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook waves to the crowd during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2013 in San Francisco

REUTERS Low 3G adoption crimps China Mobile’s profits as mobile users shift away from SMS messaging to data-reliant apps such as

Tencent Holdings’ WeChat, which now has more than 300 million users in China.

China Mobile’s homegrown 3G technology is inferior to what is offered by China Unicom and China Telecom, which are based on international 3G standards.

Any deal between China Mobile and Apple, combined with the Chinese government issuing 4G licenses later this year, could turn around both companies’ fortunes with wider product distribution and faster Internet speeds attracting new smartphone adopters.

Apple was not immediately available for comment. Morgan Stanley estimates China’s mobile Internet market could more than treble to around $30bn by 2015, driven by a surge in demand for mobile gaming, advertising, and e-commerce.

Currently, 78.5% of Chinese Internet users access it through their mobile phones, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Centre. The total number of mobile netizens reached 464 million by the end of June, up 10% from the end of 2012.

Cook’s visit also follows accusations in a China Labor Watch (CLW) report this week that Pegatron Corp, a Taiwanese firm that assembles iPads and iPhones in China, violates workers’ rights in China. l

Japan Airlines April-June net profit down 31.9% at $187m

n AFP, Tokyo

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced Wednesday that its net profit in the April-June quarter dropped 31.9% to 18.33bn yen ($187m), after rival All Nippon Airways reported a loss on soaring fuel costs. JAL, which re-listed its shares in Tokyo last year after a high-profile bankruptcy restructuring, reported sales of 294.1bn yen, up 2.6% on-year.

While the carrier did not give specific reasons for the weaker profit, a sharp decline in the yen has pushed up the price of dollar-denominated fuel, which is a major expense for airlines. The four-month grounding of Boeing’s Dreamliner also hit Japan’s two biggest airlines hard, with ANA saying Tuesday that the crisis had helped drag it to a 6.6bn yen loss for the three months to June.

For the fiscal year to March 2014, JAL kept its previous forecast unchanged at a net profit of 118bn yen on sales of 1.272tn yen.

Japanese airlines were also hit by a flare-up last year in a territorial row between Tokyo and Beijing which sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese brands in China. The impact of the boycott has lingered with some Japanese firms saying it was still weighing on results. JAL said moves to expand its network and the launch of discount airfares helped to offset the negative impact from the “grounding of Boeing 787s and a decline in demand in routes involving South Korea and China”. l

President Barack Obama revives tax plan in bid for fiscal ‘bargain’ n AFP, Chattanooga US President Barack Obama yesterday offered to lower corporate tax rates in exchange for simplifying a code “riddled with loopholes,” in a renewed bid to strike a fiscal deal with rival Republicans.

The reheated tax reform plan, first proposed

by Obama and rejected by Republicans in 2011, is part of an attempt by the president to create a “better bargain” for the middle class in a second term thus far marked by few accomplishments.

Republicans, especially Tea Party conservatives, have rejected any proposals that would increase government revenue, insisting that only spending cuts can roll back the bloated deficit without further harming the sluggish economic recovery.

Seeking middle ground, Obama, in a speech in Chattanooga, Tennessee, proposed lowering the maximum rate to 28%, down from 35%.

“Our tax code is so riddled with loopholes and special interest tax breaks that a lot of companies who are doing the right thing and investing in America pay 35% in their taxes,” Obama said.

In contrast, “corporations who have got fancy accountants and stash their money overseas, they pay little or nothing in taxes.

That’s not fair, and it’s not good for the economy here,” he lamented.

“So I’m willing to simplify our tax code,”

he said, offering a plan that “closes those loopholes, ends incentives to ship jobs overseas, (and) lowers the rate for businesses that are creating jobs right here in America.”

The speech at an Amazon distribution center in Chattanooga aimed to continue a ground campaign launched last week to revive interest in stalled economic initiatives, many of which date back to his first term.

Our tax code is so riddled with loopholes and special interest tax breaks that a lot of companies who are doing the right thing and investing in America pay 35% in their taxes Obama is seeking a “grand bargain” with rival Republicans that would simplify the tax code while boosting investment in education and infrastructure.

“I want to use some of the money that we save by closing these loopholes to create more good construction jobs with infrastructure initiatives that I already talked about,” Obama said.

“Here’s the bottom line: I’m willing to work with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs,” the president said, to applause.

But with 2014 congressional elections on the horizon, the Republican- controlled House of Representatives has expressed little interest in working with the president.

The Republicans insist Obama’s plans would only saddle corporations with more taxes while pouring more money into government programs they believe do not work.

An aide to Republican House Speaker John Boehner, speaking on condition of anonymity, roundly rejected the latest initiative.

The official insisted that any reforms apply to the corporate and individual tax codes, that all changes be revenue- neutral and that there be no additional “stimulus spending.”

“The president is taking his idea of tax reform, making it worse, and then demanding ransom of more stimulus spending to get it.

Some bargain,” the official said.

And Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, said Obama’s plan was “just a further-left version of a widely panned plan he already proposed two years ago - this time, with extra goodies for tax-and-spend liberals.”

On Monday, Amazon announced it will hire another 5,000 full- time employees at centers like the one in Chattanooga.

Despite lingering high unemployment and low growth, Obama has insisted in a string of recent speeches that the economy is on the right track after his administration helped it to narrowly avoid another Great Depression in 2009. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Wal-Mart, Google, others back US bill to fight ‘patent trolls’ n Reuters, Washington Dozens of major US companies, including Morgan Stanley, Google, Wal-Mart and Dell, on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass bills that they said would protect new products against “extortive demands” on patents.

The abusive use of patent litigation has become an increasing concern for companies, many of which have been hit by lawsuits by firms known as “patent trolls” that buy intellectual property and seek money from companies that may infringe on these patents.

In a letter to the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committees, 44 companies urged support for bills that would broaden the power of the US Patent and Trademark Office to review patents and invalidate any that it determines should not have been granted.

Currently, the patent office can review business method patents related to financial services more aggressively than other patents.

The proposed legislation would expand that authority to include all business method patents.

The business method patents, many of which are also software patents, are frequently used by “patent trolls” to file infringement lawsuits.

The expanded program “would increase certainty for innovators actually bringing new products to market, who now face an increasing threat of extortive demands based

France’s rush to tax nationals who inherit from Swiss residents will backfire by spurring many wealthy Frenchmen to move to Switzerland, taking their tax euros with them, observers say.

France “has shot itself in the foot, several times,” Claudine Schmid, a French parliamentarian of the rightwing UMP party, told AFP Monday.

Her comments came after Paris and Bern signed a deal earlier this month changing the way cross border inheritance is taxed, as part of a French drive to rake in taxes.

France, which has also been pushing Switzerland to loosen its long sacrosanct banking secrecy and help it track down French nationals with hidden Swiss bank accounts, is eager to tax its residents who receive inheritances from across the Swiss border.

Since 1953, inheritance has been taxed in the country where the deceased lived, but the new agreement will mean beneficiaries will be taxed in the country where they themselves reside.

The change still needs to be ratified by both the Swiss and French parliaments and which is not set to take effect until 2015 at the earliest.

But when it does it will dramatically in-

Chinese workers strike over takeover of US firm: Xinhua n AFP, Beijing

More than 5,000 Chinese workers at a Sino-US joint venture tyre manufacturer have gone on strike against the American parent company’s $2.5bn takeover by an Indian firm, state media reported.

Cooper Tire and Rubber announced last month that it would be taken over by Apollo Tyres of India, making the combined group the seventh-largest such firm in the world.

But thousands of staff at Cooper Chengshan, a joint venture in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, have walked out in protest, the Xinhua news agency said late Tuesday.

It quoted union leaders saying they wanted to block the huge transaction, which saw Cooper shares leap on the New York stock exchange.

A Google logo is seen at a Best Buy electronics store in this file photo illustration taken in Encinitas, California REUTERS on low-quality patents,” the companies said in a letter dated Tuesday.

They estimated that frivolous patent litigation cost companies $29bn in 2011, the most recent figures available.

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, introduced the Senate version of the bill in May, and California Representatives Darrell Issa, a Republican, and Judy Chu, a Democrat, launched a similar measure in the House this month.

No action has been taken on the legislation so far, but the backing from major companies could help create momentum.

The White House urged Congress in June to take steps to curb lawsuits by firms that make or sell nothing but specialize in suing others for patent infringement.

Other signatories of the letter include Amazon, Netflix, Newegg, Facebook, Eddie Bauer LLC, Samsung Electronics America, SurveyMonkey, Macy’s and the Kroger Co. l

French hunt for taxes sends many scurrying to Switzerland n AFP, Geneva

5

crease the tax burden on French heirs of estates in Switzerland, which caps its inheritance tax at 7%, compared to 45% in neighbouring France.

Schmid, who represents French nationals living in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and who opposes the change, said she already knew of two future heirs of Swiss residents who had decided to move to the small, wealthy Alpine nation.

One, a Frenchman in his 60s, was planning to move from Paris to join his parents and sister in Switzerland, she said. She also knew of a Swiss citizen living on the French side of the border near Geneva who was getting ready to move back.

“He has put his house up for sale,” she said.

Geneva-based tax expert Philippe Mortge also said he had been receiving calls from French citizens who had sold everything in France, “cars, stocks, works of art and even a Cote d’Azur apartment,” wanting advice on how to move to Switzerland.

The people he talks to insist they don’t want to hand over nearly half of their estate to French tax authorities, he said.

In the past, many people may have used Swiss banking secrecy as a shield to keep their wealth out of view from the French tax man.

Since France’s former budget minister Jerome

Cahuzac was forced to resign in disgrace earlier this year over an undeclared account, the tax authorities have been cracking down especially hard.

“Banking secrecy is dead, and the dawn of tax exiles has arrived,” Mortge said.

An estimated 200,000 French citizens already reside in Switzerland.

Many other wealthy Frenchmen have hinted they might soon follow, especially after French President Francois Holland’s Socialist government last year proposed a 75% tax rate on earnings of more than one million euros ($1.3m).

Schmid insisted Monday the inheritance tax shift would cause a new wave of French tax, or rather pending heir, exiles. They would thus not only escape French inheritance tax but also stop paying payroll and other taxes in the country.

Many Swiss also oppose the law change, with around a dozen parliamentarians - from the Greens through the centre and to the right recently condemning the accord as “completely unfavourable for Switzerland”.

According to the deal, a Swiss national living in France who inherits 850,000 euros will according to the new deal have to pay over 156,000 euros to the French tax authorities. l

‘I cannot imagine what the company will become after it is taken over by the Indian company,’ Cooper Chengshan worker Ma Rufu said, according to Xinhua Workers are concerned the Indian company will be unable to repay debt taken on in the highly leveraged acquisition and their interests could be damaged, Xinhua said.

Employees have become increasingly vocal in China with numerous labour disputes occurring in recent years, but the cause of the Cooper Chengshan strike is unusual, with protests normally focusing on pay and current working conditions.

It is the latest incident to hit a foreign joint venture after Chinese workers held an American factory executive hostage for nearly a week in late June over a plan by his US-based medical supply company to lay off 30 workers.

The dispute also comes as China and India have vowed to boost trade. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited India in May and promised to open China’s market wider to India and forge a “dynamic trade balance” to deepen economic ties and ease political tensions.

Cooper holds 65% of the joint venture while China’s Chengshan Group has the remaining 35%.

“I cannot imagine what the company will become after it is taken over by the Indian company,” Cooper Chengshan worker Ma Rufu said, according to Xinhua.

Ma added that Apollo’s annual profits were not enough to repay the interest on the debt.

“How can our welfare be sustained (after the acquisition)?” Ma said.

Zhang Huaqian, another employee, said: “We shall fight to the end with anyone who allows us to lose our jobs.”

Xinhua quoted Yue Chunxue, the director of the Cooper Chengshan labour union, as saying it had been given no information about the deal.

“This is in contempt of Chinese law and disrespect(s) Chinese workers,” Yue said, adding the union wanted the deal scrapped. l

6

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Thursday, August 1, 2013

DSE General Index: 4342.31 ⇑ 0.72% Turnover: 3735.85 M.Tk ⇑ 8.37%, PE: 12.40 Turnover 4,055.31 MTk. ⇑ 8.09% July 31, 2013 MarketCap. 1,915.61 BTk. ⇑ 0.54% CSE All Share Index: 12230 ⇑ 0.56% Turnover: 319.46 M Tk. ⇑ 4.67%, PE: 12.24 Combined Turnover Leader Meghna Petroleum -A

1224408

BD Submarine Cable-A

1019590

Padma Oil Co. -A Grameenphone-A Olympic Ind. -A

CompanyCode | EPS | BV | Volume Traded (Share) DSE/CSE: ClosePrice ⇓/⇑ Chn % | Avg.Price | Hi / Lo

BANK ABBANK | 2.95 | 32.60 | Vol. 334352 D: 24.30 ⇓ 0.82% | 24.42 | 25.30 / 22.50 C: 24.50 ⇓ 1.61% | 24.62 | 24.90 / 24.40 CITYBANK | 1.15 | 25.97 | Vol. 558134 D: 18.00 ⇓ 3.74% | 18.34 | 19.30 / 16.90 C: 18.20 ⇓ 2.15% | 18.33 | 19.00 / 18.10 IFIC | 1.10 | 18.34 | Vol. 1741928 D: 20.80 ⇑ 3.48% | 20.82 | 21.70 / 19.20 C: 20.80 ⇑ 3.48% | 20.93 | 22.10 / 20.30 ISLAMIBANK | 3.78 | 27.16 | Vol. 136942 D: 35.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 35.83 | 37.00 / 32.50 C: 35.90 ⇑ 0.28% | 35.78 | 36.00 / 35.50 NBL | 1.05 | 15.76 | Vol. 879544 D: 12.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 12.61 | 13.00 / 11.50 C: 12.50 ⇓ 0.79% | 12.56 | 12.70 / 12.50 PUBALIBANK | 1.92 | 21.18 | Vol. 293034 D: 31.70 ⇓ 1.25% | 32.00 | 32.90 / 30.00 C: 31.70 ⇓ 0.63% | 31.70 | 31.80 / 28.90 RUPALIBANK | 6.70 | 64.27 | Vol. 40700 D: 59.70 ⇑ 3.29% | 61.01 | 63.50 / 57.50 C: 60.30 ⇑ 5.42% | 61.17 | 62.00 / 60.00 UCBL | 1.90 | 21.72 | Vol. 3051335 D: 18.60 ⇓ 3.13% | 19.04 | 20.10 / 18.00 C: 18.60 ⇓ 2.62% | 18.85 | 19.60 / 18.50 UTTARABANK | 3.42 | 26.97 | Vol. 271191 D: 25.50 ⇓ 0.78% | 25.56 | 26.40 / 24.00 C: 25.50 ⇓ 0.39% | 25.88 | 26.50 / 25.20 ICBIBANK | -1.60 | -13.03 | Vol. 55500 D: 6.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.02 | 6.10 / 6.00 EBL | 3.91 | 28.22 | Vol. 256460 D: 27.20 ⇓ 1.09% | 27.29 | 28.00 / 25.00 C: 26.80 ⇓ 2.55% | 26.92 | 27.00 / 26.80 ALARABANK | 2.03 | 14.91 | Vol. 817020 D: 15.10 ⇑ 0.67% | 15.10 | 15.40 / 14.50 C: 15.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.03 | 15.20 / 14.80 PRIMEBANK | 2.89 | 22.40 | Vol. 632398 D: 21.90 ⇓ 8.37% | 22.21 | 25.00 / 21.60 C: 22.40 ⇓ 7.82% | 22.64 | 23.30 / 22.00 SOUTHEASTB | 1.89 | 22.66 | Vol. 488662 D: 16.70 ⇓ 1.76% | 16.83 | 17.50 / 16.00 C: 16.60 ⇓ 2.92% | 16.65 | 17.00 / 15.50 DHAKABANK | 1.46 | 18.08 | Vol. 191580 D: 19.60 ⇓ 2.00% | 20.00 | 21.20 / 18.00 C: 19.90 ⇓ 2.45% | 19.93 | 20.10 / 19.60 NCCBANK | 1.90 | 15.88 | Vol. 327597 D: 12.10 ⇓ 2.42% | 12.21 | 13.50 / 11.80 C: 12.20 ⇓ 3.17% | 12.27 | 12.50 / 12.20 SIBL | 2.05 | 14.47 | Vol. 402142 D: 12.60 ⇓ 2.33% | 12.78 | 13.00 / 11.90 C: 12.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 12.87 | 13.00 / 12.80 DUTCHBANGL | 11.57 | 54.27 | Vol. 47330 D: 99.70 ⇑ 0.50% | 99.84 | 100.5 / 92.00 C: 98.00 ⇑ 1.03% | 98.00 | 98.00 / 98.00 MTBL | 1.17 | 17.27 | Vol. 56033 D: 14.50 ⇓ 2.03% | 14.65 | 15.00 / 13.40 C: 15.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 13.50 | 15.00 / 15.00 STANDBANKL | 2.33 | 14.41 | Vol. 676592 D: 14.40 ⇓ 1.37% | 14.63 | 16.00 / 13.60 C: 14.40 ⇓ 1.37% | 14.48 | 15.00 / 14.00 ONEBANKLTD | 2.35 | 15.34 | Vol. 1292109 D: 15.20 ⇓ 3.18% | 15.74 | 17.00 / 14.20 C: 15.20 ⇓ 2.56% | 15.44 | 15.90 / 15.00 BANKASIA | 1.35 | 20.80 | Vol. 311658 D: 18.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.50 | 19.20 / 17.00 C: 17.80 ⇓ 1.11% | 17.80 | 17.80 / 17.80 MERCANBANK | 2.07 | 16.59 | Vol. 271461 D: 11.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.93 | 12.20 / 11.00 C: 11.90 ⇓ 2.46% | 12.00 | 12.20 / 11.80 EXIMBANK | 1.80 | 14.31 | Vol. 337053 D: 12.20 ⇓ 0.81% | 12.32 | 12.70 / 11.50 C: 12.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 12.40 | 12.50 / 12.30 JAMUNABANK | 2.47 | 18.56 | Vol. 724392 D: 13.70 ⇓ 2.84% | 13.96 | 14.50 / 13.00 C: 14.00 ⇓ 3.45% | 14.15 | 14.50 / 13.90 BRACBANK | 1.51 | 24.87 | Vol. 229753 D: 29.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 30.05 | 30.50 / 27.20 C: 29.50 ⇓ 0.67% | 29.50 | 29.50 / 29.50 SHAHJABANK | 2.61 | 14.47 | Vol. 244277 D: 14.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 14.62 | 14.90 / 13.30 C: 14.50 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.48 | 14.70 / 14.40 PREMIERBAN | 1.18 | 13.95 | Vol. 1035109 D: 10.30 ⇓ 6.36% | 10.41 | 11.50 / 9.90 C: 10.40 ⇓ 5.45% | 10.54 | 11.00 / 10.30

Vol.

621708 1223485 800047

TO M. Tk.

% of TTL

340.14 310.22

8.39 7.65

225.96

5.57

223.47 174.12

5.51 4.29

TRUSTBANK | 0.50 | 18.00 | Vol. 112054 D: 17.70 ⇓ 3.80% | 17.93 | 18.50 / 16.60 C: 18.00 ⇓ 1.64% | 18.05 | 18.50 / 18.00 FIRSTSBANK | 1.85 | 13.89 | Vol. 225692 D: 12.40 ⇓ 2.36% | 12.55 | 13.10 / 11.50 C: 12.60 ⇓ 2.33% | 12.64 | 13.00 / 12.50 NON BANKING F I IDLC | 4.43 | 29.18 | Vol. 195692 D: 57.20 ⇓ 1.55% | 57.70 | 60.00 / 56.00 C: 56.90 ⇓ 1.90% | 57.41 | 58.50 / 56.10 ULC | 1.80 | 14.90 | Vol. 82280 D: 27.60 ⇓ 2.82% | 27.80 | 29.00 / 27.60 UTTARAFIN | 7.16 | 41.54 | Vol. 68757 D: 75.20 ⇑ 1.76% | 75.06 | 75.70 / 66.60 C: 74.70 ⇑ 0.54% | 74.94 | 75.00 / 74.60 MIDASFIN | -1.99 | 10.05 | Vol. 5500 D: 33.00 ⇓ 2.65% | 33.09 | 34.00 / 31.60 FLEASEINT | 2.34 | 13.93 | Vol. 283270 D: 24.50 ⇓ 3.54% | 24.83 | 25.90 / 24.00 C: 24.80 ⇓ 0.40% | 24.90 | 25.00 / 24.60 PLFSL | 1.37 | 17.48 | Vol. 383491 D: 22.90 ⇓ 1.72% | 23.15 | 25.00 / 21.00 C: 23.10 ⇓ 1.28% | 23.19 | 23.50 / 23.00 PRIMEFIN | 0.87 | 17.88 | Vol. 251542 D: 26.00 ⇓ 1.89% | 26.27 | 27.00 / 25.80 C: 26.30 ⇓ 1.13% | 26.33 | 27.00 / 26.20 PREMIERLEA | 0.10 | 11.37 | Vol. 176812 D: 10.90 ⇓ 0.91% | 11.23 | 11.50 / 10.80 C: 10.90 ⇓ 2.68% | 11.02 | 11.10 / 10.10 ISLAMICFIN | 1.03 | 15.48 | Vol. 309201 D: 15.40 ⇓ 0.65% | 15.68 | 16.00 / 14.00 C: 15.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.59 | 16.50 / 15.50 LANKABAFIN | 1.61 | 31.07 | Vol. 667915 D: 50.20 ⇓ 2.33% | 50.61 | 52.60 / 48.00 C: 50.60 ⇓ 2.69% | 50.77 | 52.20 / 50.00 BIFC | 0.15 | 18.58 | Vol. 62275 D: 14.30 ⇓ 2.05% | 14.40 | 14.60 / 13.80 IPDC | 1.23 | 19.43 | Vol. 28305 D: 16.30 ⇓ 1.81% | 16.44 | 17.50 / 15.60 C: 16.50 ⇑ 0.61% | 16.75 | 17.00 / 16.50 UNIONCAP | 0.54 | 17.85 | Vol. 90208 D: 31.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 31.59 | 33.50 / 30.00 C: 30.80 ⇓ 0.65% | 31.10 | 31.30 / 30.80 BDFINANCE | 0.57 | 14.77 | Vol. 146135 D: 17.40 ⇓ 8.42% | 17.70 | 19.20 / 17.10 C: 17.50 ⇓ 6.91% | 18.04 | 18.90 / 17.20 ILFSL | 0.35 | 12.19 | Vol. 299500 D: 12.50 ⇓ 3.10% | 12.68 | 13.30 / 12.40 C: 12.70 ⇓ 2.31% | 12.75 | 13.10 / 12.50 PHOENIXFIN | 2.46 | 19.39 | Vol. 271821 D: 33.00 ⇑ 0.30% | 33.70 | 34.90 / 30.00 C: 33.20 ⇑ 0.30% | 33.69 | 34.00 / 33.20 FASFIN | 0.19 | 13.56 | Vol. 601000 D: 13.30 ⇓ 5.67% | 13.53 | 14.30 / 13.30 C: 13.50 ⇓ 4.93% | 13.59 | 14.00 / 13.30 DBH | 3.40 | 16.80 | Vol. 37575 D: 60.10 ⇓ 1.64% | 61.13 | 63.00 / 55.00 NHFIL | 0.57 | 12.70 | Vol. 131540 D: 27.30 ⇓ 2.50% | 27.61 | 28.10 / 27.10 C: 27.40 ⇓ 2.14% | 27.33 | 27.50 / 27.00 BAYLEASING | 0.72 | 25.55 | Vol. 179404 D: 27.50 ⇓ 1.43% | 27.83 | 28.30 / 25.50 C: 27.10 ⇓ 3.90% | 27.10 | 27.10 / 27.10 ICB | 109.65 | 595.98 | Vol. 7175 D: 1868 ⇑ 0.69% | 1863 | 1950 / 1850 GSPFINANCE | 1.63 | 22.23 | Vol. 55300 D: 24.40 ⇓ 0.41% | 24.52 | 24.80 / 24.30 C: 24.50 ⇓ 2.00% | 24.50 | 24.50 / 24.50 INVESTMENT 1STICB | 64.70 | 137.05 | Vol. 250 D: 937.2 ⇓ 0.31% | 936.00 | 954.0 / 930.0 2NDICB | 33.02 | 76.34 | Vol. 1550 D: 340.7 ⇓ 4.51% | 340.65 | 354.5 / 327.1 3RDICB | 24.83 | 58.91 | Vol. 2550 D: 213.7 ⇑ 0.00% | 213.73 | 219.9 / 209.1 4THICB | 23.40 | 58.63 | Vol. 4400 D: 210.3 ⇑ 4.42% | 210.23 | 219.0 / 207.0 5THICB | 18.93 | 41.95 | Vol. 1200 D: 195.8 ⇑ 0.36% | 195.83 | 200.0 / 195.0 6THICB | 10.58 | 26.73 | Vol. 115500 D: 75.10 ⇑ 5.48% | 74.39 | 76.90 / 72.00 C: 76.00 ⇑ 7.50% | 72.86 | 76.00 / 70.10

Avg. P 277.8 304.26 363.45

DSE Gainer

C%

A%

CP

DSE Loser

Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N

9.90

5.90

32.20

Imam Button -Z

9.86

9.86

7.80

Apex Tannery-A PrimeFin. 1st MF-A

8th ICB M F-A

8.75

4.47

78.30

BD Finance-A

182.65

Ambee Pharma-A

8.42

5.12

244.70

Prime Bank-A

217.64

GlaxoSK (BD)-A

7.50

6.53

836.00

Beximco Syn.-A

7THICB | 13.47 | 32.05 | Vol. 5620 D: 105.9 ⇑ 5.90% | 105.87 | 110.0 / 100.0 8THICB | 12.33 | 29.54 | Vol. 104180 D: 78.30 ⇑ 8.75% | 77.07 | 79.20 / 71.50 1STBSRS | 14.43 | 161.88 | Vol. 45000 D: 101.6 ⇑ 2.42% | 100.98 | 103.0 / 100.0 AIMS1STMF | 2.27 | 15.70 | Vol. 673800 D: 50.10 ⇓ 1.76% | 50.57 | 51.50 / 49.80 C: 49.80 ⇓ 2.16% | 50.21 | 51.00 / 49.20 ICBAMCL1ST | 7.14 | 48.54 | Vol. 52500 D: 49.10 ⇓ 3.16% | 49.20 | 50.00 / 47.40 ICBISLAMIC | 2.21 | 26.81 | Vol. 10000 D: 20.80 ⇑ 2.97% | 20.90 | 21.40 / 20.40 GRAMEEN1 | 6.26 | 33.23 | Vol. 210500 D: 51.80 ⇓ 2.08% | 52.32 | 53.30 / 51.50 C: 52.10 ⇓ 1.33% | 52.03 | 52.10 / 52.00 ICB1STNRB | 4.06 | 35.31 | Vol. 117000 D: 28.80 ⇑ 2.49% | 28.50 | 29.00 / 28.30 ICB2NDNRB | 2.49 | 16.24 | Vol. 469000 D: 13.50 ⇑ 0.75% | 13.54 | 13.70 / 13.20 GRAMEENS2 | 2.17 | 16.41 | Vol. 595350 D: 18.70 ⇓ 2.60% | 18.93 | 19.40 / 18.70 C: 18.70 ⇓ 3.11% | 18.89 | 19.20 / 18.60 1STPRIMFMF | 0.64 | 11.63 | Vol. 530000 D: 16.60 ⇓ 9.78% | 17.01 | 18.20 / 16.60 C: 16.80 ⇓ 9.68% | 17.08 | 17.60 / 16.80 EBL1STMF | 0.99 | 12.62 | Vol. 352000 D: 8.60 ⇓ 1.15% | 8.61 | 8.80 / 8.50 C: 8.60 ⇓ 2.27% | 8.64 | 8.70 / 8.60 ICBAMCL2ND | 0.60 | 12.12 | Vol. 42500 D: 6.40 ⇓ 4.48% | 6.47 | 6.50 / 6.40 ICBEPMF1S1 | 0.52 | 11.32 | Vol. 205000 D: 6.40 ⇓ 3.03% | 6.46 | 6.60 / 6.40 C: 6.60 ⇓ 2.94% | 6.32 | 6.60 / 6.30 TRUSTB1MF | 0.61 | 11.65 | Vol. 659500 D: 8.60 ⇓ 4.44% | 8.80 | 9.10 / 8.60 C: 8.70 ⇓ 3.33% | 8.80 | 9.00 / 8.70 PRIME1ICBA | 0.42 | 11.18 | Vol. 73000 D: 6.20 ⇓ 3.13% | 6.24 | 6.40 / 5.90 C: 6.10 ⇓ 6.15% | 6.15 | 6.20 / 6.10 DBH1STMF | -1.12 | 10.15 | Vol. 208000 D: 6.30 ⇓ 1.56% | 6.39 | 6.60 / 6.20 C: 6.40 ⇓ 1.54% | 6.35 | 6.40 / 6.30 IFIC1STMF | 0.47 | 11.88 | Vol. 315500 D: 7.80 ⇓ 1.27% | 7.89 | 8.00 / 7.80 C: 7.90 ⇓ 2.47% | 7.88 | 7.90 / 7.80 PF1STMF | 0.51 | 11.11 | Vol. 254500 D: 5.90 ⇓ 1.67% | 5.95 | 6.00 / 5.90 C: 5.80 ⇓ 4.92% | 5.76 | 6.00 / 5.70 ICB3RDNRB | 0.00 | 10.60 | Vol. 239000 D: 5.80 ⇓ 1.69% | 5.85 | 6.00 / 5.40 C: 5.90 ⇓ 1.67% | 5.92 | 6.00 / 5.90 1JANATAMF | -1.23 | 10.68 | Vol. 307000 D: 6.20 ⇓ 3.13% | 6.32 | 6.70 / 6.20 C: 6.30 ⇓ 7.35% | 6.35 | 6.50 / 6.30 GREENDELMF | -0.82 | 9.72 | Vol. 119500 D: 5.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.85 | 6.00 / 5.80 C: 5.70 ⇓ 1.72% | 5.77 | 5.80 / 5.70 POPULAR1MF | -0.47 | 11.38 | Vol. 877500 D: 6.40 ⇓ 4.48% | 6.58 | 6.80 / 6.30 C: 6.60 ⇓ 2.94% | 6.62 | 6.80 / 6.20 IFILISLMF1 | 0.00 | 10.45 | Vol. 320500 D: 5.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.34 | 5.40 / 5.20 C: 5.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.42 | 5.50 / 5.40 PHPMF1 | -0.67 | 10.92 | Vol. 522000 D: 6.10 ⇓ 3.17% | 6.20 | 6.40 / 6.10 C: 6.20 ⇓ 3.13% | 6.22 | 6.40 / 6.10 AIBL1STIMF | -0.07 | 9.25 | Vol. 65000 D: 6.60 ⇓ 1.49% | 6.68 | 6.90 / 6.60 MBL1STMF | -0.16 | 9.08 | Vol. 148000 D: 6.30 ⇓ 3.08% | 6.38 | 6.60 / 6.30 C: 6.60 ⇓ 1.49% | 6.60 | 6.60 / 6.60 SEBL1STMF | 1.48 | 11.86 | Vol. 1018500 D: 10.30 ⇓ 2.83% | 10.47 | 10.70 / 10.30 C: 10.30 ⇓ 2.83% | 10.34 | 10.50 / 10.20 RELIANCE1 | 0.35 | 11.36 | Vol. 1038000 D: 10.60 ⇓ 4.50% | 10.78 | 11.20 / 10.50 C: 10.70 ⇓ 7.76% | 10.76 | 11.70 / 10.70 LRGLOBMF1 | 0.50 | 10.82 | Vol. 14500 D: 7.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.31 | 7.60 / 7.10 ABB1STMF | 0.46 | 10.63 | Vol. 51500 D: 8.50 ⇓ 1.16% | 8.62 | 9.00 / 8.50 NLI1STMF | 0.71 | 10.33 | Vol. 565500 D: 11.30 ⇓ 2.59% | 11.46 | 11.90 / 11.30 C: 11.30 ⇓ 2.59% | 11.29 | 11.40 / 11.00

C%

A%

CP

-9.83

-7.84

93.60

-9.78

-9.33

16.60

-8.42

-7.33

17.40

-8.37

-8.03

21.90

-8.13

-8.35

14.70

FBFIF | 0.00 | 10.27 | Vol. 500 D: 9.50 ⇑ 5.56% | 9.50 | 9.50 / 9.50 NCCBLMF1 | 0.00 | 10.48 | Vol. 1000 D: 9.40 ⇓ 6.00% | 9.00 | 9.90 / 9.00 ICBSONALI1 | 0.00 | 10.39 | Vol. 821000 D: 7.70 ⇓ 7.23% | 7.85 | 8.30 / 7.70 C: 7.90 ⇓ 5.95% | 8.00 | 8.20 / 7.80 EXIM1STMF | 0.00 | 10.91 | Vol. 12500 D: 8.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.24 | 8.40 / 7.70 ENGINEERING AFTABAUTO | 4.29 | 52.65 | Vol. 338290 D: 108.4 ⇓ 1.09% | 109.39 | 113.5 / 99.00 C: 108.4 ⇓ 1.09% | 108.87 | 112.5 / 108.0 AZIZPIPES | 0.39 | -42.04 | Vol. 1500 D: 16.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.00 | 16.50 / 15.50 OLYMPIC | 5.94 | 14.91 | Vol. 800047 D: 217.8 ⇑ 1.26% | 217.64 | 225.0 / 200.0 C: 218.1 ⇑ 1.07% | 217.74 | 220.5 / 214.0 BDLAMPS | -5.31 | 37.07 | Vol. 4300 D: 129.7 ⇓ 0.46% | 129.52 | 131.5 / 127.5 C: 126.9 ⇓ 1.63% | 124.66 | 129.0 / 123.2 ECABLES | 2.04 | 18.87 | Vol. 1800 D: 58.60 ⇑ 1.91% | 58.82 | 60.00 / 58.20 C: 55.10 ⇓ 5.33% | 55.10 | 55.10 / 55.10 MONNOSTAF | 5.31 | 44.78 | Vol. 50 D: 180.0 ⇓ 1.10% | 180.00 | 180.0 / 180.0 SINGERBD | 9.99 | 45.74 | Vol. 198974 D: 194.8 ⇑ 4.62% | 194.32 | 197.8 / 185.0 C: 193.7 ⇑ 4.31% | 194.34 | 198.9 / 190.0 ATLASBANG | 11.98 | 207.70 | Vol. 8800 D: 175.7 ⇓ 1.57% | 178.07 | 187.8 / 175.0 BDAUTOCA | 0.25 | 6.23 | Vol. 2550 D: 21.60 ⇓ 2.26% | 21.57 | 21.90 / 21.60 QSMDRYCELL | 1.65 | 58.49 | Vol. 142032 D: 33.60 ⇓ 0.88% | 33.92 | 37.00 / 33.20 RENWICKJA | 5.62 | -90.00 | Vol. 2550 D: 147.1 ⇑ 0.00% | 149.80 | 154.0 / 143.2 NTLTUBES | -2.52 | 312.10 | Vol. 15800 D: 62.90 ⇓ 1.10% | 63.16 | 64.90 / 62.00 BDTHAI | 0.43 | 39.35 | Vol. 69471 D: 20.00 ⇓ 3.85% | 20.15 | 21.20 / 19.90 C: 20.30 ⇓ 2.87% | 20.77 | 21.00 / 19.00 ANWARGALV | 0.51 | 8.08 | Vol. 11000 D: 14.50 ⇓ 2.03% | 14.57 | 14.80 / 14.40 C: 14.00 ⇓ 7.28% | 14.00 | 14.00 / 14.00 KAY&QUE | -3.89 | 6.03 | Vol. 3000 D: 13.00 ⇓ 0.76% | 13.00 | 13.10 / 13.00 RANFOUNDRY | 2.84 | 18.62 | Vol. 5500 D: 62.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 62.91 | 63.90 / 61.90 SALAMCRST | 3.31 | 20.00 | Vol. 241700 D: 36.90 ⇓ 2.38% | 37.27 | 38.80 / 36.00 C: 37.00 ⇓ 2.89% | 37.03 | 37.50 / 36.90 GOLDENSON | 3.70 | 28.70 | Vol. 147002 D: 38.40 ⇓ 0.26% | 38.48 | 39.50 / 35.00 C: 38.90 ⇑ 0.52% | 39.36 | 40.00 / 38.50 BSRMSTEEL | 3.06 | 19.53 | Vol. 144349 D: 71.10 ⇓ 2.87% | 72.29 | 73.80 / 67.10 C: 71.70 ⇓ 2.45% | 72.31 | 73.30 / 71.20 NAVANACNG | 4.09 | 27.04 | Vol. 115775 D: 69.20 ⇓ 1.42% | 69.87 | 71.90 / 66.00 C: 70.20 ⇓ 0.71% | 70.21 | 71.20 / 69.70 DESHBANDHU | 1.16 | 12.02 | Vol. 87603 D: 19.70 ⇑ 1.03% | 19.70 | 19.90 / 18.00 C: 19.60 ⇓ 1.51% | 19.62 | 19.70 / 19.50 GPHISPAT | 2.94 | 14.51 | Vol. 51900 D: 47.00 ⇓ 1.26% | 47.23 | 49.90 / 44.00 C: 47.00 ⇓ 0.42% | 47.00 | 47.10 / 46.60 BENGALWTL | 2.42 | 20.72 | Vol. 141800 D: 41.40 ⇓ 2.36% | 41.70 | 42.60 / 41.10 C: 41.50 ⇓ 1.66% | 42.01 | 42.50 / 41.50 NPOLYMAR | 2.01 | 324.37 | Vol. 39200 D: 41.10 ⇓ 2.84% | 41.57 | 43.50 / 40.80 C: 40.40 ⇓ 9.82% | 40.40 | 40.40 / 40.40 SINGERBD | 9.99 | 45.74 | Vol. 12100 C: 193.7 ⇑ 4.31% | 194.34 | 198.9 / 190.0 FOOD & ALLIED APEXFOODS | 2.71 | 96.70 | Vol. 25550 D: 71.40 ⇓ 3.77% | 72.20 | 75.20 / 71.20 C: 70.30 ⇓ 5.00% | 70.30 | 70.30 / 70.30 BANGAS | 7.20 | 50.27 | Vol. 41035 D: 520.0 ⇓ 0.48% | 529.06 | 550.0 / 502.0 C: 534.8 ⇓ 1.20% | 536.16 | 544.0 / 510.0

BATBC | 65.69 | 117.22 | Vol. 11350 D: 1447 ⇑ 1.40% | 1457 | 1500 / 1430 GEMINISEA | 10.88 | 9.69 | Vol. 800 D: 140.2 ⇓ 0.07% | 140.00 | 143.0 / 138.5 NTC | 29.88 | 110.05 | Vol. 6000 D: 878.4 ⇑ 6.81% | 882.67 | 884.0 / 860.0 ZEALBANGLA | -23.01 | -193.09 | Vol. 400 D: 7.90 ⇑ 1.28% | 7.50 | 8.00 / 7.90 CVOPRL | 2.66 | 13.28 | Vol. 31100 D: 428.6 ⇑ 2.10% | 429.31 | 433.8 / 420.1 C: 438.1 ⇑ 3.74% | 433.75 | 440.0 / 420.0 AMCL(PRAN) | 6.53 | 53.37 | Vol. 46500 D: 172.8 ⇓ 3.08% | 175.34 | 182.4 / 172.1 C: 170.5 ⇓ 8.48% | 171.27 | 175.0 / 169.1 RAHIMAFOOD | 0.62 | 4.46 | Vol. 23500 D: 14.70 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.79 | 15.00 / 14.60 C: 14.60 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.69 | 14.90 / 14.60 FUWANGFOOD | 1.26 | 12.37 | Vol. 320056 D: 23.70 ⇓ 2.87% | 24.00 | 24.90 / 22.00 C: 23.80 ⇓ 3.25% | 24.10 | 24.70 / 23.70 MEGCONMILK | -6.68 | -16.22 | Vol. 500 D: 7.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.10 | 7.10 / 7.10 BEACHHATCH | 1.01 | 12.48 | Vol. 285100 D: 16.10 ⇓ 5.85% | 16.16 | 17.00 / 15.60 C: 16.20 ⇓ 5.26% | 16.33 | 16.40 / 16.00 FINEFOODS | -0.11 | 10.58 | Vol. 26600 D: 16.20 ⇓ 2.41% | 16.28 | 16.50 / 15.50 C: 16.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.00 | 16.00 / 16.00 RDFOOD | 0.91 | 16.84 | Vol. 273192 D: 19.90 ⇓ 1.97% | 19.99 | 20.70 / 18.30 C: 20.30 ⇓ 1.46% | 20.19 | 21.50 / 19.90 GHAIL | 1.01 | 22.08 | Vol. 300900 D: 42.00 ⇓ 0.24% | 42.28 | 43.00 / 38.10 C: 42.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 42.00 | 42.30 / 38.00 FUEL & POWER LINDEBD | 31.71 | 144.00 | Vol. 40150 D: 621.6 ⇑ 2.91% | 623.19 | 648.9 / 585.1 PADMAOIL | 16.38 | 43.67 | Vol. 621708 D: 363.4 ⇑ 2.05% | 363.47 | 367.9 / 340.0 C: 361.9 ⇑ 1.51% | 363.20 | 368.0 / 358.1 EASTRNLUB | 6.32 | 68.68 | Vol. 50 D: 290.0 ⇓ 2.03% | 290.00 | 290.0 / 290.0 BDWELDING | 0.33 | 16.82 | Vol. 294875 D: 17.30 ⇓ 2.26% | 17.65 | 18.10 / 16.00 C: 17.70 ⇓ 1.12% | 17.69 | 17.70 / 17.60 SUMITPOWER | 3.17 | 19.26 | Vol. 244927 D: 34.70 ⇓ 1.42% | 34.96 | 36.00 / 32.00 C: 35.00 ⇑ 0.29% | 35.38 | 37.00 / 34.80 DESCO | 2.80 | 35.25 | Vol. 235212 D: 79.40 ⇓ 0.63% | 79.97 | 81.00 / 75.00 C: 78.60 ⇓ 0.25% | 79.01 | 81.00 / 78.00 POWERGRID | 2.56 | 48.08 | Vol. 23330 D: 55.30 ⇑ 0.36% | 55.27 | 56.80 / 50.00 JAMUNAOIL | 22.78 | 50.24 | Vol. 651428 D: 241.0 ⇑ 1.26% | 241.11 | 245.0 / 225.0 C: 240.2 ⇑ 0.92% | 241.37 | 245.0 / 237.0 MPETROLEUM | 16.98 | 40.41 | Vol. 1224408 D: 280.3 ⇑ 4.39% | 277.81 | 285.0 / 247.0 C: 279.6 ⇑ 4.52% | 277.65 | 286.0 / 267.1 TITASGAS | 9.01 | 36.56 | Vol. 1200640 D: 84.50 ⇓ 0.59% | 84.87 | 86.50 / 76.60 C: 84.20 ⇓ 1.06% | 84.31 | 85.70 / 83.70 KPCL | 4.73 | 15.86 | Vol. 451405 D: 52.30 ⇓ 2.61% | 52.86 | 54.50 / 48.40 C: 52.50 ⇓ 2.05% | 53.24 | 53.70 / 52.20 BEDL | 1.57 | 17.89 | Vol. 325177 D: 33.80 ⇓ 0.29% | 33.97 | 34.50 / 30.80 C: 33.80 ⇓ 0.59% | 34.09 | 34.50 / 33.70 MJLBD | 2.73 | 30.24 | Vol. 37194 D: 71.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 71.12 | 72.60 / 64.90 C: 70.90 ⇓ 0.14% | 70.45 | 71.00 / 70.20 GBBPOWER | 1.86 | 22.63 | Vol. 530135 D: 24.80 ⇑ 0.81% | 25.19 | 26.00 / 22.20 C: 24.90 ⇑ 1.22% | 24.94 | 25.40 / 24.70 SPPCL | 3.81 | 23.34 | Vol. 578150 D: 56.70 ⇓ 2.24% | 57.59 | 59.30 / 52.20 C: 56.90 ⇓ 2.40% | 57.53 | 59.40 / 56.30 JUTE JUTESPINN | 2.06 | 17.42 | Vol. 1850 D: 72.70 ⇓ 3.84% | 72.97 | 73.00 / 72.50 SONALIANSH | 5.54 | 218.80 | Vol. 5500 D: 123.4 ⇑ 2.32% | 123.27 | 125.0 / 121.0

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Thursday, August 1, 2013

7

JULY 31, 2013 Sectotal Index: BANK: 34,133.80 ⇓ 1.57% NBFI: 19,700.86 ⇓ 1.49% INVS: 5,363.83 ⇓ 1.88% ENGG: 5,807.19 ⇓ 0.46% FOOD: 7,146.47 ⇓ 0.35% F&P: 10,815.48 ⇑ 0.49% TEXT: 2,833.37 ⇑ 0.85% PHAR: 16,139.51 ⇑ 0.86% PAPR: 779.88 ⇓ 2.53% SERV: 3,002.38 ⇓ 1.20% LEAT: 4,478.77 ⇑ 1.89% CERA: 477.90 ⇓ 1.39% CMNT: 4,034.08 ⇑ 0.45% INFO: 6,708.66 ⇓ 1.78% GINS: 9,310.04 ⇓ 0.37% LINS: 97,784.35 ⇑ 1.51% TELC: 1,402.51 ⇑ 3.22% MISC: 6,163.37 ⇓ 8.70% TEXTILE AL-HAJTEX | 1.35 | 15.64 | Vol. 9452 D: 55.50 ⇑ 2.02% | 55.45 | 56.40 / 54.20 RAHIMTEXT | 0.51 | 73.88 | Vol. 200 D: 192.1 ⇓ 0.67% | 190.00 | 198.5 / 189.9 SAIHAMTEX | 2.75 | 29.50 | Vol. 349900 D: 29.20 ⇓ 1.68% | 29.42 | 30.30 / 28.80 C: 29.30 ⇓ 1.01% | 29.36 | 30.10 / 29.00 MODERNDYE | 1.09 | 12.93 | Vol. 50 D: 60.00 ⇑ 1.52% | 60.00 | 60.00 / 60.00 DSHGARME | 0.72 | 12.00 | Vol. 2400 D: 26.70 ⇓ 7.93% | 26.67 | 27.50 / 26.40 DULAMIACOT | -8.46 | -27.78 | Vol. 1300 D: 8.00 ⇑ 1.27% | 8.46 | 8.10 / 8.00 TALLUSPIN | 2.56 | 12.06 | Vol. 1438380 D: 34.20 ⇑ 1.18% | 34.43 | 35.10 / 30.60 C: 34.10 ⇑ 1.19% | 34.11 | 34.60 / 33.90 MITHUNKNIT | 4.54 | 30.39 | Vol. 85640 D: 82.80 ⇑ 0.36% | 83.23 | 84.50 / 82.50 C: 82.50 ⇑ 4.43% | 82.53 | 83.90 / 81.20 DELTASPINN | 3.06 | 18.12 | Vol. 193000 D: 31.30 ⇓ 0.95% | 31.58 | 32.20 / 31.10 C: 31.30 ⇓ 1.88% | 31.40 | 31.60 / 31.30 SONARGAON | 0.27 | 34.50 | Vol. 33550 D: 13.00 ⇓ 0.76% | 13.03 | 13.50 / 12.90 C: 12.80 ⇓ 1.54% | 12.84 | 13.00 / 12.80 PRIMETEX | 1.01 | 63.54 | Vol. 105500 D: 21.80 ⇑ 3.81% | 21.64 | 22.10 / 21.00 C: 22.40 ⇓ 3.45% | 22.46 | 22.70 / 21.00 ALLTEX | -0.11 | 23.81 | Vol. 42500 D: 7.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.40 | 7.60 / 7.20 C: 7.30 ⇓ 2.67% | 7.40 | 7.60 / 7.30 ANLIMAYARN | 1.19 | 11.01 | Vol. 163500 D: 28.50 ⇑ 0.71% | 28.70 | 29.50 / 28.20 C: 28.40 ⇑ 1.43% | 28.40 | 28.80 / 28.00 HRTEX | 2.08 | 14.92 | Vol. 35000 D: 25.40 ⇓ 1.55% | 25.54 | 26.00 / 25.40 C: 24.60 ⇓ 3.15% | 24.60 | 24.60 / 24.60 CMCKAMAL | 1.37 | 19.31 | Vol. 722561 D: 23.90 ⇑ 1.70% | 23.94 | 24.50 / 22.50 SAFKOSPINN | 0.95 | 21.78 | Vol. 81730 D: 17.00 ⇓ 2.30% | 17.21 | 18.00 / 15.70 C: 17.30 ⇓ 0.57% | 17.59 | 17.30 / 17.20 SQUARETEXT | 4.32 | 31.82 | Vol. 121810 D: 86.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 86.55 | 89.00 / 84.00 C: 86.80 ⇑ 1.40% | 86.17 | 87.00 / 85.80 METROSPIN | -1.00 | 19.59 | Vol. 72849 D: 14.50 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.58 | 15.00 / 13.30 C: 14.40 ⇓ 4.00% | 14.41 | 14.70 / 14.20 MAKSONSPIN | 0.16 | 20.55 | Vol. 921149 D: 13.70 ⇑ 1.48% | 13.66 | 14.00 / 12.30 C: 13.70 ⇑ 1.48% | 13.59 | 14.00 / 13.20 DACCADYE | 1.21 | 31.13 | Vol. 115065 D: 26.50 ⇓ 0.75% | 26.64 | 27.00 / 24.50 C: 26.50 ⇑ 0.38% | 26.52 | 26.90 / 26.00 RNSPIN | 2.80 | 16.58 | Vol. 5639889 D: 26.80 ⇑ 6.77% | 26.52 | 27.30 / 23.80 C: 26.90 ⇑ 7.17% | 26.58 | 27.50 / 25.50 BXSYNTH | 0.93 | 25.42 | Vol. 790557 D: 14.70 ⇓ 8.13% | 14.82 | 15.30 / 14.50 C: 14.70 ⇓ 8.70% | 15.00 | 15.90 / 14.60 MALEKSPIN | -1.44 | 46.87 | Vol. 852415 D: 27.00 ⇓ 0.37% | 27.13 | 28.00 / 24.40 C: 27.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 27.07 | 27.50 / 26.80 ZAHINTEX | 1.91 | 35.25 | Vol. 212350 D: 31.20 ⇓ 2.50% | 31.27 | 32.40 / 30.00 C: 31.10 ⇓ 1.89% | 31.00 | 31.10 / 30.80 SAIHAMCOT | 2.48 | 22.87 | Vol. 852250 D: 26.70 ⇓ 0.74% | 27.06 | 28.00 / 26.50 C: 26.80 ⇓ 0.74% | 27.03 | 27.30 / 26.80 GENNEXT | 1.68 | 15.15 | Vol. 610920 D: 20.80 ⇓ 0.48% | 20.96 | 21.30 / 19.00 C: 20.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 20.92 | 21.20 / 20.80 ENVOYTEX | 3.26 | 39.26 | Vol. 455250 D: 48.60 ⇓ 1.82% | 49.04 | 50.80 / 45.00 C: 48.40 ⇓ 2.22% | 48.54 | 49.50 / 48.00 ARGONDENIM | 1.89 | 38.86 | Vol. 715700 D: 34.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 34.16 | 34.90 / 30.60 C: 33.90 ⇑ 0.30% | 33.83 | 34.00 / 33.70 FAMILYTEX | 3.72 | 14.68 | Vol. 2880500 D: 32.20 ⇑ 9.90% | 31.25 | 32.20 / 28.60 C: 32.10 ⇑ 9.93% | 31.17 | 32.10 / 28.70 PHARMACEUTICAL & CHEMICAL AMBEEPHA | 3.94 | 26.15 | Vol. 11510 D: 244.7 ⇑ 8.42% | 238.18 | 245.0 / 227.0 C: 242.8 ⇑ 8.73% | 240.33 | 242.8 / 225.0

BXPHARMA | 3.77 | 52.55 | Vol. 256465 D: 46.10 ⇓ 1.07% | 46.43 | 47.00 / 42.00 C: 46.20 ⇓ 0.22% | 46.39 | 47.00 / 46.00 GLAXOSMITH | 20.25 | 123.32 | Vol. 8100 D: 836.0 ⇑ 7.50% | 829.01 | 836.0 / 779.0 ACI | -5.82 | 126.42 | Vol. 13230 D: 146.4 ⇑ 0.00% | 146.92 | 150.0 / 140.0 C: 147.4 ⇑ 1.38% | 151.50 | 159.0 / 142.4 RENATA | 33.57 | 138.83 | Vol. 23650 D: 671.6 ⇑ 3.42% | 682.41 | 698.0 / 645.0 RECKITTBEN | 27.16 | 78.89 | Vol. 1150 D: 691.8 ⇑ 6.87% | 692.00 | 695.0 / 685.0 C: 660.0 ⇑ 3.13% | 660.00 | 660.0 / 660.0 PHARMAID | 5.06 | 26.30 | Vol. 41600 D: 170.8 ⇓ 2.68% | 173.44 | 179.9 / 168.4 KOHINOOR | 9.52 | 10.49 | Vol. 1600 D: 368.0 ⇑ 6.76% | 366.25 | 371.0 / 340.0 IBNSINA | 3.44 | 34.02 | Vol. 3440 D: 81.30 ⇓ 0.61% | 81.40 | 83.80 / 80.70 LIBRAINFU | 4.64 | 1565.37 | Vol. 400 D: 230.0 ⇑ 6.83% | 230.00 | 230.0 / 230.0 ORIONINFU | 8.72 | 1.73 | Vol. 41000 D: 39.90 ⇓ 0.25% | 40.02 | 40.80 / 39.90 C: 40.00 ⇓ 0.99% | 40.00 | 40.00 / 40.00 SQURPHARMA | 9.01 | 50.83 | Vol. 473329 D: 211.4 ⇑ 2.37% | 210.24 | 212.0 / 189.0 C: 210.3 ⇑ 2.19% | 209.07 | 211.0 / 205.5 IMAMBUTTON | -1.68 | 5.67 | Vol. 1000 D: 7.80 ⇑ 9.86% | 7.80 | 7.80 / 7.80 KEYACOSMET | 3.19 | 19.99 | Vol. 415949 D: 27.80 ⇑ 0.36% | 28.05 | 28.50 / 25.00 C: 27.90 ⇑ 0.36% | 28.05 | 28.40 / 27.20 BERGERPBL | 32.46 | 100.20 | Vol. 12650 D: 768.4 ⇑ 7.44% | 766.80 | 768.8 / 747.0 ACIFORMULA | 3.33 | 38.08 | Vol. 16300 D: 70.40 ⇓ 0.56% | 70.72 | 71.80 / 70.40 C: 70.50 ⇓ 0.98% | 70.48 | 74.90 / 70.00 MARICO | 27.53 | 62.47 | Vol. 55350 D: 655.1 ⇑ 6.28% | 651.10 | 661.0 / 623.2 C: 656.0 ⇑ 1.69% | 651.29 | 660.0 / 631.0 BEACONPHAR | 0.33 | 11.97 | Vol. 227500 D: 14.40 ⇓ 0.69% | 14.55 | 14.80 / 13.50 C: 14.70 ⇑ 0.68% | 14.64 | 15.00 / 14.30 ACTIVEFINE | 3.23 | 13.89 | Vol. 621524 D: 84.80 ⇓ 2.64% | 86.08 | 88.00 / 78.50 C: 85.20 ⇓ 1.84% | 86.06 | 88.00 / 80.00 SALVOCHEM | 0.68 | 10.57 | Vol. 116880 D: 17.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.80 | 18.10 / 16.00 C: 17.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.80 | 18.00 / 17.40 GHCL | 2.14 | 57.31 | Vol. 80500 D: 42.50 ⇓ 2.52% | 42.99 | 44.90 / 42.30 C: 42.30 ⇓ 2.76% | 42.40 | 43.10 / 42.10 ORIONPHARM | 5.02 | 68.68 | Vol. 781400 D: 62.80 ⇓ 2.94% | 63.15 | 65.10 / 58.30 C: 62.70 ⇓ 3.54% | 63.29 | 65.00 / 60.60 JMISMDL | 1.12 | 12.83 | Vol. 188000 D: 88.80 ⇓ 1.33% | 89.68 | 93.00 / 87.00 C: 89.20 ⇓ 1.76% | 89.78 | 92.00 / 87.00 PAPER & PACKAGING HAKKANIPUL | 0.64 | 11.02 | Vol. 500 D: 16.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.00 | 16.00 / 16.00 SERVICE SAPORTL | 1.23 | 38.39 | Vol. 102144 D: 24.70 ⇓ 1.20% | 24.93 | 25.40 / 23.00 C: 24.80 ⇓ 1.20% | 24.86 | 25.20 / 23.00 EHL | 2.87 | 18.48 | Vol. 143325 D: 43.90 ⇓ 2.66% | 44.37 | 45.20 / 40.60 C: 43.90 ⇓ 2.44% | 44.25 | 45.40 / 43.00

LEATHER APEXTANRY | 7.07 | 66.44 | Vol. 161900 D: 93.60 ⇓ 9.83% | 97.21 | 106.0 / 93.50 C: 94.50 ⇓ 10.00% | 97.59 | 98.20 / 100.5 BATASHOE | 49.12 | 135.53 | Vol. 29588 D: 652.3 ⇑ 4.10% | 653.23 | 670.0 / 630.0 C: 668.0 ⇑ 7.34% | 668.00 | 668.0 / 668.0 APEXADELFT | 23.01 | 203.26 | Vol. 35000 D: 291.6 ⇓ 2.02% | 288.40 | 300.0 / 280.2 SAMATALETH | -0.07 | 12.08 | Vol. 3500 D: 11.80 ⇓ 1.67% | 11.71 | 12.90 / 11.50 LEGACYFOOT | 0.63 | 17.19 | Vol. 26667 D: 13.50 ⇓ 0.74% | 13.49 | 13.70 / 13.40 C: 13.60 ⇓ 0.73% | 13.60 | 13.60 / 13.60 CERAMIC MONNOCERA | 0.71 | 96.33 | Vol. 4200 D: 25.50 ⇓ 1.54% | 25.48 | 26.00 / 25.20 STANCERAM | 1.07 | 15.97 | Vol. 500 D: 33.60 ⇑ 5.00% | 33.60 | 33.60 / 33.60 FUWANGCER | 1.43 | 13.25 | Vol. 271700 D: 17.40 ⇓ 3.33% | 17.67 | 18.20 / 16.50 SPCERAMICS | 0.62 | 30.92 | Vol. 381738 D: 15.40 ⇓ 7.23% | 15.71 | 18.00 / 15.00 C: 15.50 ⇓ 7.19% | 15.72 | 16.30 / 15.30 RAKCERAMIC | 1.98 | 16.76 | Vol. 46092 D: 51.10 ⇓ 0.58% | 51.64 | 53.90 / 47.00 C: 50.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 51.11 | 51.50 / 50.80 CEMENT HEIDELBCEM | 22.85 | 111.50 | Vol. 38550 D: 307.6 ⇑ 3.19% | 303.73 | 310.8 / 300.0 C: 302.0 ⇑ 1.96% | 302.00 | 302.0 / 302.0 CONFIDCEM | 6.23 | 90.76 | Vol. 358007 D: 127.9 ⇑ 1.67% | 127.29 | 130.0 / 120.0 C: 128.1 ⇑ 1.43% | 127.96 | 130.0 / 125.5 MEGHNACEM | 6.28 | 33.81 | Vol. 16000 D: 100.6 ⇓ 1.28% | 101.70 | 105.0 / 99.60 C: 98.10 ⇓ 1.41% | 98.10 | 98.10 / 98.10 ARAMITCEM | 3.03 | 14.65 | Vol. 26000 D: 66.70 ⇓ 0.15% | 66.24 | 67.00 / 65.30 C: 65.10 ⇓ 1.36% | 65.10 | 65.10 / 65.10 LAFSURCEML | 1.60 | 7.22 | Vol. 799500 D: 31.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 31.38 | 31.50 / 31.10 C: 31.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 31.21 | 31.50 / 31.00 MICEMENT | 4.14 | 40.00 | Vol. 139745 D: 89.00 ⇓ 1.55% | 89.77 | 92.00 / 82.00 C: 88.80 ⇓ 0.78% | 88.72 | 90.90 / 88.30 PREMIERCEM | 3.59 | 22.92 | Vol. 140600 D: 116.3 ⇓ 2.02% | 117.67 | 121.1 / 115.2 IT IINDUSTRIES ISNLTD | 0.28 | 17.31 | Vol. 2330 D: 13.30 ⇓ 0.75% | 13.33 | 13.50 / 12.30 BDCOM | 1.00 | 14.91 | Vol. 60056 D: 20.10 ⇑ 1.01% | 20.16 | 20.60 / 18.00 C: 19.80 ⇓ 1.00% | 19.73 | 19.80 / 19.70 INTECH | 0.94 | 10.08 | Vol. 96542 D: 12.70 ⇓ 7.30% | 12.97 | 13.70 / 12.50 C: 12.80 ⇓ 8.57% | 12.84 | 13.70 / 12.60 AGNISYSL | 1.07 | 25.52 | Vol. 99792 D: 21.50 ⇓ 0.92% | 21.45 | 21.90 / 20.00 C: 21.40 ⇓ 1.83% | 21.18 | 21.50 / 21.00 DAFODILCOM | 1.12 | 11.14 | Vol. 91520 D: 16.20 ⇓ 1.22% | 16.31 | 16.50 / 14.90 C: 16.50 ⇓ 0.60% | 16.53 | 16.70 / 16.20 AAMRATECH | 1.17 | 20.44 | Vol. 412600 D: 36.80 ⇓ 1.08% | 36.94 | 37.80 / 34.00 C: 36.80 ⇓ 1.08% | 36.90 | 37.90 / 36.50

GENERAL INSURANCE BGIC | 1.65 | 20.33 | Vol. 146595 D: 30.00 ⇓ 1.32% | 30.15 | 31.00 / 27.40 C: 30.60 ⇑ 0.99% | 30.42 | 30.80 / 30.00 GREENDELT | 4.05 | 64.44 | Vol. 114144 D: 108.6 ⇑ 0.84% | 108.38 | 114.0 / 98.00 UNITEDINS | 2.47 | 21.04 | Vol. 26800 D: 51.10 ⇑ 0.99% | 50.90 | 51.40 / 48.10 PEOPLESINS | 2.05 | 20.72 | Vol. 86500 D: 27.60 ⇑ 1.47% | 28.14 | 29.30 / 27.50 C: 27.90 ⇑ 8.56% | 27.98 | 28.20 / 27.60 EASTERNINS | 2.22 | 35.88 | Vol. 9200 D: 36.30 ⇓ 3.71% | 36.30 | 36.50 / 36.20 JANATAINS | 7.84 | 170.69 | Vol. 6560 D: 226.0 ⇓ 1.42% | 227.29 | 232.0 / 224.5 PHENIXINS | 2.70 | 20.96 | Vol. 32111 D: 40.10 ⇓ 0.99% | 40.08 | 41.00 / 38.00 EASTLAND | 4.06 | 23.29 | Vol. 118851 D: 45.50 ⇓ 3.81% | 45.91 | 47.50 / 42.60 CENTRALINS | 1.54 | 19.04 | Vol. 10000 D: 29.10 ⇓ 1.02% | 29.17 | 29.60 / 28.80 C: 28.50 ⇓ 9.52% | 28.50 | 28.50 / 28.50 KARNAPHULI | 1.56 | 19.42 | Vol. 17962 D: 22.30 ⇓ 1.76% | 22.38 | 22.90 / 21.80 RUPALIINS | 2.76 | 23.38 | Vol. 171185 D: 32.10 ⇓ 0.31% | 31.99 | 33.30 / 31.10 FEDERALINS | 1.10 | 10.98 | Vol. 79437 D: 22.40 ⇓ 2.61% | 22.54 | 23.10 / 21.20 C: 22.40 ⇓ 0.88% | 22.73 | 23.00 / 22.30 RELIANCINS | 3.93 | 61.52 | Vol. 1087 D: 72.00 ⇓ 2.83% | 71.84 | 72.00 / 70.00 PURABIGEN | 1.05 | 18.71 | Vol. 86200 D: 21.20 ⇓ 1.85% | 21.54 | 22.20 / 21.20 PRAGATIINS | 2.01 | 50.30 | Vol. 21004 D: 56.20 ⇓ 0.18% | 56.75 | 60.00 / 56.00 C: 55.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 55.00 | 55.00 / 55.00 PRIMEINSUR | 2.14 | 14.14 | Vol. 189750 D: 26.20 ⇓ 5.42% | 26.45 | 28.90 / 26.00 PIONEERINS | 3.11 | 23.84 | Vol. 47800 D: 76.30 ⇑ 0.53% | 76.24 | 78.90 / 74.00 MERCINS | 1.53 | 14.50 | Vol. 73668 D: 25.50 ⇓ 5.20% | 25.80 | 27.00 / 24.50 AGRANINS | 1.73 | 14.39 | Vol. 28673 D: 24.10 ⇑ 2.12% | 24.13 | 24.70 / 22.00 GLOBALINS | 1.09 | 11.78 | Vol. 149177 D: 30.30 ⇓ 4.72% | 30.56 | 32.00 / 29.50 NITOLINS | 2.59 | 15.41 | Vol. 23341 D: 33.10 ⇓ 3.50% | 33.19 | 34.30 / 33.10 C: 34.20 ⇓ 10.00% | 34.20 | 34.20 / 34.20 ASIAPACINS | 1.84 | 13.76 | Vol. 99000 D: 27.10 ⇓ 3.90% | 27.07 | 27.50 / 26.70 SONARBAINS | 1.68 | 13.38 | Vol. 21520 D: 22.00 ⇓ 3.51% | 22.33 | 23.90 / 22.00 PARAMOUNT | 1.26 | 13.19 | Vol. 10278 D: 21.50 ⇓ 3.15% | 21.60 | 22.10 / 20.90 CITYGENINS | 1.65 | 14.26 | Vol. 50875 D: 25.20 ⇓ 1.95% | 25.49 | 26.00 / 23.20 C: 25.10 ⇓ 5.64% | 25.35 | 25.50 / 24.50 CONTININS | 1.41 | 15.68 | Vol. 48065 D: 29.30 ⇑ 1.38% | 29.66 | 30.00 / 29.00 C: 29.00 ⇑ 3.20% | 29.00 | 29.00 / 29.00 TAKAFULINS | 2.19 | 15.17 | Vol. 62033 D: 31.00 ⇓ 2.82% | 31.11 | 32.90 / 30.80 C: 32.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.80 | 32.00 / 32.00 STANDARINS | 2.58 | 13.99 | Vol. 2000 D: 37.40 ⇓ 4.35% | 37.50 | 37.90 / 37.00 NORTHRNINS | 1.77 | 11.15 | Vol. 209327 D: 47.20 ⇓ 4.26% | 47.75 | 50.20 / 45.00 REPUBLIC | 2.14 | 12.42 | Vol. 57889 D: 54.70 ⇓ 2.15% | 55.29 | 56.50 / 53.00 C: 53.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 50.00 | 53.60 / 53.60 ASIAINS | 1.56 | 17.34 | Vol. 47193 D: 26.70 ⇓ 2.55% | 26.90 | 27.90 / 24.90 C: 27.10 ⇑ 3.44% | 26.62 | 28.00 / 23.60 ISLAMIINS | 1.29 | 11.96 | Vol. 10012 D: 26.00 ⇓ 4.76% | 25.97 | 28.50 / 24.60 C: 25.40 ⇓ 2.68% | 25.40 | 25.40 / 25.40 PROVATIINS | 1.90 | 14.30 | Vol. 33355 D: 25.70 ⇓ 1.53% | 25.78 | 27.00 / 25.00 C: 25.10 ⇓ 0.79% | 25.10 | 25.10 / 25.10

DHAKAINS | 2.84 | 18.02 | Vol. 34000 D: 39.70 ⇑ 0.51% | 39.78 | 41.00 / 39.20 C: 37.90 ⇓ 7.56% | 37.85 | 38.10 / 37.30 LIFE INSURANCE NATLIFEINS | 12.34 | 80.99 | Vol. 50800 D: 244.4 ⇓ 0.69% | 249.61 | 255.0 / 242.0 C: 245.0 ⇑ 3.81% | 245.00 | 245.0 / 245.0 DELTALIFE | 38.53 | 189.40 | Vol. 3500 D: 4734 ⇑ 1.39% | 4810 | 4857 / 4698 C: 5230 ⇑ 3.56% | 5230 | 5230 / 5230 SANDHANINS | 2.39 | 28.22 | Vol. 24745 D: 68.90 ⇓ 1.15% | 68.90 | 69.90 / 62.80 POPULARLIF | 3.70 | 715.41 | Vol. 8500 D: 143.9 ⇑ 1.05% | 144.00 | 144.5 / 142.4 FAREASTLIF | 9.21 | 60.79 | Vol. 16798 D: 105.6 ⇑ 0.09% | 105.28 | 106.7 / 101.0 C: 104.5 ⇑ 0.58% | 104.50 | 104.5 / 104.5 MEGHNALIFE | 10.82 | 48.87 | Vol. 25200 D: 88.20 ⇑ 0.46% | 87.97 | 89.40 / 87.00 C: 88.00 ⇓ 2.22% | 88.00 | 88.00 / 88.00 PRAGATILIF | 0.60 | 30.15 | Vol. 34000 D: 94.90 ⇓ 0.32% | 94.71 | 95.20 / 90.60 PRIMELIFE | 5.51 | 27.10 | Vol. 12942 D: 92.90 ⇓ 0.85% | 93.00 | 94.00 / 85.00 RUPALILIFE | 3.75 | 31.25 | Vol. 3000 D: 87.00 ⇑ 0.69% | 87.00 | 87.00 / 87.00 PADMALIFE | 1.63 | 25.76 | Vol. 16500 D: 56.00 ⇓ 0.53% | 55.93 | 56.50 / 55.50 C: 55.20 ⇓ 1.08% | 55.22 | 55.50 / 55.00 SUNLIFEINS | 0.00 | 0.00 | Vol. 72500 D: 47.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 47.12 | 48.00 / 46.30 C: 46.20 ⇑ 0.43% | 46.21 | 46.80 / 46.00 TELECOM GP | 12.96 | 26.26 | Vol. 1223485 D: 184.2 ⇑ 5.74% | 182.61 | 186.1 / 170.0 C: 184.5 ⇑ 6.16% | 182.89 | 185.9 / 175.0 BSCCL | 7.14 | 23.70 | Vol. 1019590 D: 299.8 ⇓ 2.41% | 304.29 | 312.0 / 282.0 C: 299.3 ⇓ 2.51% | 303.79 | 312.8 / 296.1 TRAVEL & LEISURE UNITEDAIR | 1.60 | 15.12 | Vol. 4311305 D: 19.70 ⇓ 0.51% | 19.88 | 21.00 / 17.90 C: 19.80 ⇓ 0.50% | 19.83 | 20.20 / 19.70 UNIQUEHRL | 4.02 | 86.29 | Vol. 1451870 D: 86.40 ⇓ 2.92% | 86.26 | 89.90 / 80.20 C: 87.10 ⇓ 2.13% | 87.80 | 90.00 / 86.20 MISCELLANEOUS ARAMIT | 16.07 | 99.93 | Vol. 2500 D: 215.6 ⇑ 1.46% | 214.40 | 218.0 / 211.2 BSC | 1.77 | 565.82 | Vol. 129805 D: 532.3 ⇑ 0.00% | 538.87 | 552.0 / 526.0 C: 531.8 ⇑ 0.19% | 538.97 | 552.0 / 528.3 GQBALLPEN | 6.55 | 250.45 | Vol. 109791 D: 143.5 ⇑ 2.57% | 145.06 | 148.3 / 126.0 C: 142.7 ⇑ 0.85% | 143.18 | 145.1 / 142.2 USMANIAGL | 0.50 | 26.03 | Vol. 16940 D: 112.0 ⇓ 0.71% | 113.66 | 116.0 / 110.0 C: 108.8 ⇓ 3.72% | 108.82 | 110.0 / 108.0 SAVAREFR | 0.23 | 12.32 | Vol. 50 D: 66.90 ⇑ 7.38% | 66.90 | 66.90 / 66.90 BEXIMCO | 3.24 | 86.74 | Vol. 2752696 D: 34.00 ⇓ 8.11% | 34.60 | 40.70 / 33.30 C: 34.40 ⇓ 7.28% | 34.99 | 36.80 / 34.10 SINOBANGLA | 1.75 | 21.01 | Vol. 13000 D: 18.30 ⇓ 4.69% | 18.32 | 18.80 / 18.20 C: 18.10 ⇓ 2.69% | 18.06 | 18.20 / 17.50 MIRACLEIND | 0.14 | 14.90 | Vol. 14000 D: 11.60 ⇓ 0.85% | 11.65 | 11.80 / 11.60 C: 11.50 ⇓ 4.17% | 11.50 | 11.50 / 11.50 BOND IBBLPBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 875 D: 940.3 ⇓ 0.24% | 940.70 | 942.0 / 940.0 C: 945.0 ⇑ 3.85% | 923.67 | 945.0 / 913.0 ACIZCBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 46 D: 835.5 ⇓ 0.42% | 825.00 | 840.0 / 820.0 C: 821.0 ⇓ 1.08% | 821.00 | 821.0 / 821.0

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Facebook stock almost hits IPO price, 14 months after rocky debut n Reuters, San Francisco Facebook Inc’s stock on Tuesday came within a hair of reclaiming its $38 debut price for the first time since going public in 2012, a milestone in the social networking company’s effort to wipe away Wall Street’s skepticism of its business.

The stock has surged more than 40% in the past week after the company reported blowout quarterly results that showed Facebook’s progress building a mobile advertising business.

Shares of Facebook climbed as much as 7% to $37.96 in heavy trading on Tuesday, before settling back to finish the regular session at $37.63.

The social network, with 1.15 billion users, has never traded at or above $38 since its initial public offering in May 2012.

Facebook’s market value was cut in half in the months following the IPO as concerns about issues ranging from slowing revenue to massive insider selling made the Internet company’s stock a Wall Street punch line.

“Most companies of that size don’t re-accelerate their growth rate. Facebook’s been an exception,” said Aaron Kessler, an analyst with Raymond James.

“I would say they’re in better shape today than they were at the IPO price and the stock is still below that,” he said.

Facebook options volume was frenzied on Tuesday, as overall turnover was 3.8 times the recent daily average, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert. Traders on Tuesday exchanged 694,000 calls and 300,000 puts on Facebook.

The most popular options were the weekly $38 and $37 strike calls expiring this Friday as most traders expected gains in coming

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder and chief executive introduces ‘Home’ a Facebook app suite that integrates with Android during a Facebook press event in California REUTERS days.

One player liked the weekly $32.50 strike puts expiring on August 9 which appeared to be bought 15,000 times for only a dime, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy.

Facebook’s recent success building a mobile advertising business - an area where many of its rivals have struggled - and the online service’s expanding number of daily users have won back investors’ respect and confidence in its prospects. That has fueled a rebound in the shares, which are up more

than 50% in July.

Facebook said last week its mobile advertising revenue grew 75% in a span of three months, trouncing analyst targets and delivering the company’s strongest revenue growth since the third quarter of 2011.

Many analysts raised their price targets above the $38 level following Facebook’s quarterly report last week.

The second quarter results “were really a game-changer in terms of how Facebook is perceived on the Street,” said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. “It was pret-

India’s central bank governor set to ‘move on’: report n AFP, Mumbai India’s central bank governor has decided to “move on” and a hunt for his successor is underway, the country’s finance minister was quoted saying Wednesday.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao’s five-year term ends on September 4, but there has been media speculation that he may receive an extension.

“Dr Subbarao had met me a few weeks ago and said he would like to move on and he would not like to be considered for another term,” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told the Economic Times newspaper.

“I accepted, so now we are in search mode,” Chidambaram said.

Subbarao had indicated that he wanted to leave on time in September, but media speculated the Congress-led government would prefer not to make changes until after

national elections due in May. The RBI has been in crisis management mode in recent weeks as it attempts to steady the ailing local currency, which hit a record low against the dollar this month.

An independent thinker, Subbarao, in recent years has faced criticism from business leaders and the government for not easing monetary policy to spur growth The bank is also under pressure from business to cut interest rates to spur economic growth, which is running at a decade low of five percent.

Subbarao issued his last monetary policy statement as governor on Tuesday, when he held interest rates steady as the bank focuses on trying to keep the rupee stable rather than pushing for growth.

The bank also lowered India’s growth

forecast from 5.7% to 5.5%, as the government struggles to kickstart the economy.

Subbarao, 63, an economist and civil official, was appointed RBI head in 2008 during the global financial crisis. He was given a two-year extension in September 2011.

Under his watch India’s economy has gone through a tough phase, hit by decadelow growth, high inflation, a record low for the Indian currency and a steep current account deficit.

An independent thinker, Subbarao, in recent years has faced criticism from business leaders and the government for not easing monetary policy to spur growth.

The government’s chief economic advisor, Raghuram Rajan, India’s economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram and Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhary are contenders to succeed Subbarao, the newspaper said. l

ty close to the perfect quarter.”

Facebook announced plans on Tuesday to help market and distribute mobile games on its social network in exchange for a cut of revenue that the games generate, raising hopes that the company could tap a new business.

And many investors expect Facebook to offer high-priced video ads in the coming months.

Created in a Harvard dorm room by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook become the first American technology company to debut on Wall Street valued at more than $100bn.

Facebook’s IPO was to have been the culmination of eight years of breakneck growth for a company that became a social and cultural phenomenon. Instead, it was marred by a series of trading glitches on its debut, and the company and its underwriters subsequently faced accusations of pumping up the price and inadequate disclosure.

Facebook shares opened 11% above the $38 offering price on May 18, 2012. But a series of problems that plagued the Nasdaq Stock Market where the shares debuted contributed to a sharp fall in the stock after it peaked that day at about $45. It closed at $38.23, and on the following Monday shares fell through the $38 price.

By early September, Facebook’s shares bottomed at $17.55.

The cool investor reception to Facebook and other consumer dotcom debutantes at the time, such as Groupon Inc to Zynga Inc, put a chill on the Silicon Valley IPO train.

“The question has never been do a lot of people go to Facebook. The question is how much revenue and profitability can Facebook derive from that activity,” said Pacific Crest’s Wilson. l

China-US talks yield ‘incremental progress’: US trade chief

n BSS

The United States and China made “incremental progress” on a number of issues in the recent high-level bilateral talks, US trade chief Michael Froman said yesterday.

In a conversation with Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, US Trade Representative (USTR) Froman said he saw encouraging signs for US-China relations as Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Barack Obama in California in June and the two sides concluded the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Washington earlier this month.

For example, during the recent round of S&ED, “China agreeing to start negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty based on the principles of national treatment and pre- establishment, and based on the ‘negative list,’ is a potentially very important development and could help drive reform in China,” said Froman, who took up the post of USTR last month. l