August 30, 2013

Metro

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Another deadline for Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover

Bhadra 15, 1420 Shawwal 22, 1434 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 158

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International

A week on after ‘chemical attack,’ world debates on Syria

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com

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Sports

Valdes holds off Atletico as Barca claim Super Cup

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US, UK make cases for Syria attack Damascus vows to use all possible measures to repel it

EC backtracks on scrapping its power

n Agencies

n Mohammad Zakaria

US President Obama makes case for punishing Syria while British Prime Minister David Cameron faces an uphill struggle to secure his parliament’s approval to join the US for military intervention.

The United States, Britain and France say they can act with or without a U.N. Security Council resolution, which is likely to be vetoed by Russia, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, says Reuters.

However, some countries are raising qualms: Italy said it would not join any military operation without Security Council authorisation.

France and Germany urged the world body to pass its report on to the decision-making Security Council as soon as possible.

The United Nations said its team of chemical weapons inspectors investigating the attacks, which killed hundreds of people in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus, will leave Syria on Saturday and then report to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

President Barack Obama told Americans a military strike against Syria is in their interest following a gas attack last, added Reuters.

Senior Obama administration officials are expected to brief congres-

INSIDE Law

5 There were numerous cases of corporal punishment in various educational institutions. While there is no law that allows corporal punishment, it is widely imposed in schools and there is a systemic failure of the State to take action to investigate allegations.

Nation

6 The people living in Narsingdi are experiencing nine to 10 hours of load shedding each day because two of six units at Ghorashal Power Plant have been inoperative for the past two years, making residents’ lives miserable.

International

9 Indian police have arrested the alleged co-founder of top home-grown militant group the Indian Mujahideen, which is suspected of killing hundreds in multiple attacks across the country, a minister said Thursday.

Op-Ed

11 As a nation-state, Bangladesh has come a long way. We have graduated to be the second-largest garmentexporting country in the world and businesses around the world now depend on ‘Made-in-Bangladesh’ tags.

POSSIBLE AIR STRIKE TARGETS IN SYRIA

sional leaders later on Thursday, with lawmakers complaining they have not been properly consulted about plans to respond to what Washington says was the gassing of civilians.

Western diplomats say they are seek-

ing a vote in the 15-member Council to isolate Moscow and demonstrate that other countries are behind air strikes.

The International Committee of the Red Cross joined a chorus of international voices urging caution.

Oishee to go to jail as ‘she is above 18’ n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday ordered to send Oishee Rahman, the alleged murderer of her parents, to jail from the National Juvenile Development and Correction Centre.

Muhammad Anwar Sadat, magistrate of Dhaka’s juvenile court, passed the order following separate petitions.

Detective Branch Inspector Md Abual-Khayer Matubbar, also investigation officer of the case, and social welfare department Probation Officer Siddiqur Rahman filed the petitions before the court along with birth certificate of Oishee.

The petitioners sought court order for send Oishee to prison from National Juvenile Development and Correction Centre at Konabari, Gazipur. Oishee had been staying at the correction centre since August 24.

According to the birth certificate, Oishee is above 18 years of age. It also says she was born in Khulna.

However, relatives of Oishee and her school records say she is below 18.

Another Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ashaduzzaman Nur yesterday recorded statements of three prosecution witnesses in the murder case.

They are CNG driver Iman Ali, owner of Chamely Mansion Taslima Aktar and Oishee’s aunt Kulsum Begum.

Oishee had been staying at the National Juvenile Development and Correction Centre at Konabari, Gazipur since August 24 On August 18, a Dhaka court granted five-day remand for Oishee, her friend Rony and domestic help Sumi in connection with the case. Later, on August 24, a metropolitan magistrate recorded confessional statements of Oishee and Sumi.

Oishee’s father DB Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman, 48, and his wife Swapna Rahman, 40, were found dead at their Chamelibagh flat on August 16.

Oishee, an O-level student of Oxford International School, and Sumi went into hiding after the murder. l

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an early U.N. report “so that it can fulfil its responsibility with regards to this monstrous crime”.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

After a month-long drama centring the proposal on scrapping article 91E of the RPO, the Election Commission yesterday decided to keep the provision that gives it the authority to cancel candidature for violating electoral laws.

But one election commissioner told the Dhaka Tribune that he had no idea about the latest decision and that his opinion in this regard had not been sought.

The EC informed the law ministry about its decision immediately. It had earlier decided to send its proposal for scrapping article 91E from the Representation of the People Order to the ministry for vetting.

In a press statement yesterday, SM Asaduzzaman, director of public relations at the EC Secretariat, said the commission had decided not to send the proposal to the law ministry for scrapping article 91E as respect to the reactions and opinions against it.

Commissioner Md Shah Newaz yesterday told reporters that they had decided not to proceed with the proposal because of reactions and oppositions from different sectors.

“We have all agreed on retaining article 91E in the RPO, respecting the reactions and objections of the political parties and all,” he said.

Asked about the decisions of two commissioners who have been away, Newaz said Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hafiz had already given his consent to retaining the article in writing before going abroad and confirmed it again over telephone yesterday.

Commissioner Abdul Mobarak had also given his consent over phone, Newaz said.

A commissioner says he is unaware of the ‘unanimous’ decision However, when contacted Mobarak told the Dhaka Tribune that he had been unaware of the decision. He also denied having received any phone call asking for his opinion on the matter yesterday.

Sources at the EC Secretariat said the commission had held several meetings before making the decision to retain article 91E in the RPO. Election commissioners had different opinions over scrapping the article: Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, and commissioners Md Shah Newaz and Mohammad Abu Hafiz wanted to keep the article while commissioners Abdul Mobarak and Zabed Ali were against it.

The EC had been facing widespread  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Ex-policeman gunned down at home n Ashif Islam Shaon

A retired police official was gunned down by a group of unidentified youths inside his own apartment at the capital’s West Rampura area yesterday.

Fazlul Karim, 65, who retired six years ago as an additional superintendent of police from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), was the first investigation officer of the August 21 grenade attack case.

The motive behind the murder couldn’t be known immediately, al-

though the victim’s daughter claimed it could be linked to a family feud over ownership of properties at their home village.

Md Azad Hossain, a domestic help who witnessed the attack, told the Dhaka Tribune how the incident took place.

Around 9:30am, Swapna Karim, the deceased’s wife, was about to go out to visit their daughter at Gulshan and asked driver Liton to get her car ready.

“The main door was opened and madam (Swapna) was about to step out

when a gaunt, tall, dark-skinned youth appeared and tried to snatch the gold necklace off her neck. She tried to resist and cried for help,” Azad said.

“Two other youths quickly appeared and pushed her inside, brandishing their guns.

“Sir (Karim) was in his study room then. He came out hearing the scream, but the miscreants threatened to kill him. They confined madam to a room and me to the veranda.”

Azad said he then peeped through  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

4 operators to vie for four 3G licences n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Four mobile phone operators will contest in the 3G spectrum auction for four licences with Citycell backing out of the race as it did not deposit the earnest money for the bidding because of “fund shortage.”

Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel each deposited $20m of earnest money yesterday afternoon for taking part in the auction scheduled for September 8.

Yesterday was the last date for depositing the amount.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary standing committee on post and telecommunication ministry yesterday termed the auction “closed door,” asking the BTRC it would not allow journalists to attend the auction.

“We asked the BTRC chairman about it, but his explanation was not satisfactory,” a member of the committee told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Citycell, the only CDMA technology

provider in the country, did not deposit the earnest money, saying it could not manage the fund as the company was facing financial crisis.

In a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), it requested the commission either to extend the time for depositing the money or, if that was not possible, to keep the spectrum Citycell had wished to buy for a future time.

BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, August 30, 2013

VOIP EMBEZZLEMENT

ACC files cases against 23, including BTCL’s MD n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed four cases against 23 persons, including SOM Kalim Ullah, managing director (MD) of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited’s (BTCL) and four former MDs, for embezzling over Tk6bn from illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.

Out of the cases filed with Banani police station, two were filed by ACC Deputy Director SM Shahidur Rahman and the others were filed by Deputy Director Mahmud Hasan and Deputy Assistant Director Rafi Mohammad Nazmus Sadat.

Among the accused are Kalim Ullah, his predecessor Azizul Islam, former MDs SM Khairuzzaman, Afsarul Alam and M Abu Sayed Khan, former member (maintenance and operation)

Mohammad Towfiq, former general managers Anwarul Mamun and AHM Bakhtiarul Alam, former divisional engineers Zahir Uddin M Babar, M Khurshed Hasan and Habibur Rahman Pramanik, divisional engineers Anwarul Hossin Masud and M Sajjad Hossain, former assistant divisional engineers Khan M Kawsar, M Moktar Ahmed and Romel Chakma, and assistant divisional engineers Saifur Rahman Bhuiyan, Samsad Mahmud, M Abdus Salam and Munira Begum.

Also accused are officials of Ericsson Bangladesh Ltd’s Contract Manager Asif Jahid, Relations Manager Nazrul Islam and engineer Masrurul Hakim.

On August 25, the ACC filing four separate cases after a commission inquiry revealed over the last four years over Tk6bn had been swindled through illegal VoIP businesses and erasing information from call detail records.

The probe report said telecommunication officials in connection with Ericsson Bangladesh Ltd had erased incoming international call minutes from the call detail record of ITX-5 and ITX-7.

Investigations found that the number of international incoming calls per day had declined by 15m from nearly 45m recorded in early 2010, leading to revenue loss worth Tk100m per day. As a result, BTCL now owes over Tk10bn to various foreign carriers.

In October last year, cases were filed against three top BTCL officials and owner of an IT company on charges of swindling around Tk32.7m through illegal VoIP business. And in November, the commission filed five cases against 14 persons, including six BTCL officials for misappropriation of government revenue worth Tk2.05bn through the same means. l

Members of Sex Workers’ Network form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, protesting the recent attacks on sex workers in Madaripur MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Fakhrul’s remarks tantamount to contempt: AG n Nazmus Sakib

Khaleda went to Singapore twice to Government to promote ‘3-dimensional’ Navy: PM protect Koko’s money: Hasina

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam yesterday said labelling the recovery of Arafat Rahman Koko’s laundered money as a drama was tantamount to contempt of court as all legal processes were maintained to bring back the money.

At a press conference on Wednesday, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the recovery had been a “drama aimed at insulting the Zia family.”

The attorney general said Tk70.4m had been brought back from a Singapore bank maintaining all legal processes on the basis of court verdicts in Bangladesh and Singapore.

He said the ACC could sue Fakhrul for his comment, which he termed “a flattery to the Zia Family.” l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that despite being in Singapore twice, main opposition BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia failed to protect the money that her son Koko laundered.

“When we come to power we work for people and think about their welfare; but when BNP assumes office, they resort to corruption, looting and terrorism and siphon off public money abroad,” Hasina told a public rally at the C&B ground in Fatikchhari.

“You surely have not forgotten that the BNP chief went to Saudi Arabia with suitcases when she was in power. And this time when we were trying to bring her son’s siphoned-off money from Singapore, she rushed there twice to protect it. But the Singapore court

n Tribune Report

did not give in and the Singapore government returned it to Bangladesh,” Hasina said.

Local units of the ruling Awami League organised the rally.

Hasina criticised the BNP for terming the handover of the “token cheque” of the laundered money a “drama.” She said the opposition was trying to confuse people.

“Who plays drama… We handed over the people’s money to the people. Do not confuse the people. We have brought back the laundered money of one of her sons. An FBI member testified against her other son in a money-laundering case. How could you call it a drama?”

Hasina floated the rhetoric question to the crowd gathered at the rally.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Mabubey Alam in a programme at a

city hotel handed over an Overseas Bank of Singapore “token cheque” for $956,387.4 to the Anti Corruption Commission. The amount was the second tranche of the money siphoned off by Khaleda’s youngest son Arafat Rahman Koko.

The BNP on Wednesday termed the handover a “drama” and said it was staged to demean the Zia family.

Claiming that all the polls held under her government were free and fair, Sheikh Hasina reiterated that the next parliamentary elections would be held as per the constitution and people would freely exercise their right to vote.

Listing her government’s various development activities and successes, the Awami League chief called upon the people to vote for her party to maintain peace and the pace of development. l

n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said despite financial limitations her government was firm about providing a skilled, modern and balanced “three-dimensional” Navy for the nation.

Hasina expressed her hope of procuring a submarine for Bangladesh Navy (BN) in the future, and said: “Most people of Bangladesh are not aware enough of the importance of the sea and marine resources.

The Navy and Coastguard safeguard our seas and face various adversities now and then.”

The premier was addressing a function to confer the National Standard on BNS Bangabandhu and handed over the commissioning orders to captains

Hasina-Manmohan UNGA sideline RMG workers, guards lock in a clash meeting likely in September n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to have a sideline meeting with her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to be held in the last week of September.

“We have sent a letter to the Indian government seeking the sideline meeting during the UNGA,” an official of the foreign ministry told the Dhaka Tribune.

Dhaka is yet to get any response from New Delhi but during the last couple of UNGAs, they had sideline meetings, he said.

When asked what would be dis-

cussed in the meeting, the official said Bangladesh would table issues including the Teesta Water Sharing Agreement, ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), border killings, sub-regional cooperation and other issues of priority.

Bangladesh and India could not sign the Teesta agreement during Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in 2011 amid strong resistance from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Dhaka ratified the LBA in 1974 but New Delhi is yet to reciprocate.

Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who tried to place the constitution amendment bill for rati-

fying the LBA twice this year, failed in the face of strong resistance from the opposition parties.

“It is unfortunate that India has failed to reciprocate the good gesture extended by Bangladesh to have a sustainable relationship,” the foreign ministry official said.

Dhaka has moved forward “extra miles” to have a sustained relationship but New Delhi was caught in the web of domestic politics, he added.

When asked whether Hasina would visit India during her current tenure, the official said: “So far there is no such indication; but if she desires to go, a visit is possible with short notice.” l

At least 10 people were injured in a clash between the workers of a readymade garments factory and its security guards in Gazipur.

The authorities later closed the factory for the day.

The clash broke out yesterday morning when workers of the Southern Knitwear Factory, based in Hijolhati under Kaliakoir upazila, were barred by security guards from entering their workplace with mobile phones, witnesses said.

At one stage, as the security guards tried to forcibly take away the phones, the workers locked in a clash with them.

Outraged by the skirmish, around 1,200 workers of the factory stormed

the factory building and vandalised window panes, furniture and a pick-up truck parked outside.

Among the injured were workers Saiful, 24, and Khaleque, 25, and security guards Sulaiman, 45, Bipul, 22, Razzaq, 30 and Proshad, 31. They were all taken to a nearby clinic for treatment.

Some workers alleged that for the last few months they had been verbally abused and even beaten up by the factory supervisors and linemen without any reason. Workers who dared to stand up to them were forced out of the factory, they said.

When contacted, Managing Director of the factory, engineer MA Bachhed, said the incident was nothing but a trifling matter. l

of Bangladesh Navy’s ships.

At the ceremony, two Dornier marine patrol aircrafts procured from Germany, plus two large patrol crafts, “Durjoy” and “Nirmul” that were built in China and another patrol craft, “Surma” that was built in Khulna Shipyard were also commissioned into the navy.

Hasina also handed over induction orders to the captains of the marine patrol aircrafts.

After the ceremony the Prime Minister boarded BNS Bangabandhu and BNS Nirmul to inspect them.

The ceremony was attended by cabinet members, members of parliament, acting army chief, and chiefs of BN and the air force, as well as diplomats, high civil and military officials, and special advisors to the PM. l

1 killed, 30 injured n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj A man was killed and at least 30 others injured yesterday in clashes between two villagers of Bhairab upazila in Kishoreganj.

The deceased was Dulal Mia, 55, of Noyahati village of Bhairab.

According to the police and locals around three hundred villagers from Noyahati and Porikharpar armed with sharp weapons attacked each other; they also ransacked and looted shops in Manikdi village around 12:30pm.

Dulal Mia died at a local hospital of his injuries, among the injured Ruhul Amin, 50, and Md Shamim, 27, were sent to Dhaka in a critical condition, while the others were sent to health complexes in Bhairab and Kuliarchar, and some admitted to Bazitpur Jahurul Islam Medical College Hospital. l

US, UK make cases for Syria attack Ex-policeman gunned down at home  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

Merkel, facing overwhelming public opposition to intervention in Syria and an election in just four weeks’ time, also called Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek his support for a quick, unanimous international response.

Syria denies blame for the gas attacks and says they were perpetrated by rebels. Washington and its allies say the denial is not credible.

A report from Moscow that Russia plans to send two warships to the eastern Mediterranean underscored the complications surrounding even a limited military strike.

Western leaders are expected in Russia next Thursday for a meeting of the Group of 20 big economies, an event that could influence the timing of any strikes.

Host Putin has made clear his view that Western leaders are using human rights as a pretext to impose their will on other sovereign states.

In Damascus, residents and opposition forces said Assad’s forces appeared to have evacuated most personnel from army and security command headquarters in the centre in preparation for Western military action.

Despite opinion polls showing most Americans oppose deeper involvement in the Syrian conflict, Obama has been under pressure to enforce a “red line” against chemical weapons use, which he declared just over a year ago.

British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted that taking action against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons

capability was “not about taking sides in the Syrian conflict”, says AFP. Under growing pressure from MPs who feared Britain was rushing into action, the government was forced to agree late Wednesday that Britain would not take part in any military strikes before United Nations inspectors report back on the gas attacks believed to have killed hundreds near Damascus.

Cameron’s government was said to be outraged by the decision of Labour leader Ed Miliband to change his stance on Wednesday -- having previously offered the government conditional backing for military action.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Thursday the investigators would leave Syria

by Saturday and report to him immediately.

Cameron does not have a clear majority in parliament and his Conservative party is forced to rely on the far smaller Liberal Democrats to rule in a coalition.

British prime minister will try to convince MPs that targeted strikes would punish the Assad regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons and deter any further attacks.

In 2003, parliament gave then prime minister Tony Blair a mandate to join the US-led offensive in Iraq on the basis of allegations that dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

The weapons never materialised and Britain became embroiled in the war for years. l

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

the window only to see the tall boy pointing a pistol at Karim’s forehead and shooting him at point-blank range.

He got too frightened to take a second look.

“I heard two more gunshot sounds but didn’t know who they were aimed for. Later, madam somehow managed to free herself and tried to call the police using a landline telephone.”

Hearing the sound of gunshots,

tenants from other apartments and the driver rushed in to see what happened, but the miscreants had already escaped, he added.

However, Swapna said she did not see the youths shoot her husband.

After Karim was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, doctors declared him dead.

SI Md Julhash of Rampura police station said the victim died from a single gunshot wound, on the right side of his forehead.

Farzana, the couple’s daughter who lives with her husband in Gulshan, told reporters that they had a longstanding feud with her “uncles” and “cousins” over ownership of properties. “I think they are involved with my father’s murder,” she said.

Karim’s home village was Ram Krisnadea, located in the Sirajdikhan upazila of Munshiganj.

Senior police officials visited the crime spot after the incident.

Deputy Commissioner of Matijheel

Ashrafuzzaman said, “We are yet to know how the criminals entered the apartment, but investigation is going on.”

Karim lived on the second floor of a five-storey building at the Wapda road in West Rampura. The building, with a total of 11 apartments, had no security guard but the main entrance was kept locked for security.

He and his wife, together with their two domestic workers Azad and Sumi, lived in the apartment. l

4 operators to vie for four 3G licences

EC backtracks

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

however, said it would not be possible for them to extend the time for Citycell.

When contacted, Citycell CEO Mehboob Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune: “As we could not organise funds our investors preferred not to invest in 3G now. But, irrespective of technology, our initiatives will continue to offer broadband connection at an affordable price.”

Grameenphone Chief Corporate Affair Officer Mahmud Hussain, Banglalink Senior Director Zakiul Islam and Robi and Airtel representatives submitted the earnest money for their companies.

Ziad Shatara, CEO of Banglalink, said: “We are proud to be a part of the 3G landmark journey. Banglalink reaffirms the determination and commitment to its customers and to the people of Bangladesh, of resolutely moving

forward towards the implementation of 3G technology in the country.”

On August 12, the five private operators had applied for taking part in the auction and were declared qualified by the BTRC on August 18.

But the operators disagreed to submit the earnest money, demanding resolution to a few unresolved issues, including that of SIM replacement tax.

The BTRC had charged the operators Tk31bn as SIM replacement tax.

“We are very close to resolving the issues and we will wait until September 8, the auction date,” Mahmud Hussain of Grameenphone told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mahmudur Rahman, executive vice-president of Robi, said: “We have submitted the bid earnest money with the earnest hope that the issues of tax on SIM replacement and amortisation will be addressed and resolved before

the auction date.”

The commission will issue five Cellular Mobile Phone Services (3G/4G/ LTE) Operator Licences and assign spectrum through the open auction.

Of the five licences, one has been kept for a new entrant. The state-run operator Teletalk, which has been providing 3G services on a test basis for some time, will not have to participate in the auction.

Since no new operator applied for the licence, the licence will be awarded to the existing ones. So, the private operators are vying for four 3G licences.

The BTRC has so far deferred the auction date for three times: the 3G auction was originally set for June 24.

On February 12, the telecommunication ministry finalised the licensing policy for 3G services by fixing the value of spectrum at $20m per megahertz. l

criticism for a month from political parties, civil society and media for deciding to scrap article 91E. On July 30, the CEC clarified that the article had been self-contradictory, meaningless and inapplicable.

If cancelling candidatures left just one candidate, the EC should re-fix the polls schedule as per article 17 of the RPO, which is discriminating against the lone candidate, he explained.

He said if the EC re-announced the schedule, the disqualified candidates would once again get the chance to participate in the election as per the law, which again contradicted with the other articles of the RPO. The EC had decided to scrap article 91E from the RPO on July 28 after three days of sending the draft RPO to the law ministry. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Alim’s petition on adding more witnesses rejected n Muktasree Chakma Sathi The International Crimes Tribunal 2 yesterday rejected a petition filed by war crimes suspect Abdul Alim, a former state minister in Ziaur Rahman’s government, seeking more defence witnesses to testify for him.

On August 21, the tribunal passed an order allowing three witnesses to give deposition for Alim from a list of 3,328 people submitted by the defence. Alim, who was allegedly the chairman of Joypurhat district’s Peace Committee during the Liberation War, in the petition said they needed to more witnesses to prove his innocence.

Defence lawyer Tajul Islam said: “The tribunal’s order passed on August 21 limiting the defence witnesses to only three is not enough since the accused was facing 17 charges and the prosecution enjoyed producing 35 witnesses to prove the charges.” He prayed to increase the number to 17. Prosecutor Rana Das Gupta opposed the petition saying that there was no provision to allow such an application. l

News

3

Friday, August 30, 2013

More suggestions to reform Grameen Bank Industries ministry suggests three member quorum in GB board n Asif Showkat Kallol Industries ministry has recommended that in the new law for the Grameen Bank, three members should make a quorum in the board of directors of the micro-credit institution and the chairman of the board should arrange board meetings every three months.

In the existing Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, the government, being a 25% stakeholder, appoints three members to the Grameen Bank board of directors. However, in the ordinance, four members make a quorum. Under the ordinance, Grameen Bank has 12 members, nine of whom are elected from the bank’s female stakeholders.

On August 14, an inter-ministerial meeting at the finance ministry decided to finalise the procedures to turn the 1983 ordinance that now governs the organisation into a law. Bangladesh Bank, industries ministry and NGO bureau submitted their recommendations on the issue to the banking division this week.

After the meeting, Banking Secretary Md Aslam Alam had told reporters that after receiving suggestions from different stakeholders, a summary would be submitted to the finance minister for approval and then to the cabinet.

Industries ministry also recommended that the educational qualification of the three government officials who would be selected as board members should be set in the new law.

Bangladesh Bank has opined that there should be no bar on transaction of securities and money for persons and organisations by the Nobel Prize winning microcredit pioneer Grameen Bank, since many financial institutions that are not scheduled banks also hold similar transactions.

The central bank has submitted its recommendations to the finance ministry’s banking division, following the division’s request to all stakeholders of Grameen Bank to give their opinions on a new Grameen Bank

law within August 25.

Officials in the banking division said they did not want Grameen Bank to operate as a scheduled bank because it operates now under the ordinance as a financial organisation with NGO motives.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday that the government would try to protect the “originality” of the microcredit organisation Grameen Bank.

The central bank recommended that any person and organisation should be allowed to open accounts in Grameen Bank and any person and organisation as mediators for opening of accounts should be encouraged.

The central bank also advised that city corporations, municipalities and cantonments, which do not have any Grameen Bank operations at present, should be included in the new law.

It also suggested that the new law should exclude the Bangladesh Bank Order which is included in the existing ordinance and the Banking Companies

Act 1991 should replace the existing Bank Companies Ordinance 1962.

Grameen Bank should follow the Bangladesh Accounting Standard to prepare its financial reports and Bangladesh Bank directives should be strictly maintained, as per the recommendations.

The profits of Grameen Bank should be used to off-set its bad loan and doubtful debts, the central bank suggested.

Industries ministry opined that the definition of a landless person should be changed to owner of 20 decimal land or less instead of 50 decimal or less, and also someone who may inherit land should not be classified as landless. The ministry also said the new law should have clarifications on what conditions would constitute the easy loan conditions for the landless.

The industries ministry recommendations were signed by Assistant Secretary Anwar Hossain of the ministry of industries. The Bangladesh Bank recommendations

were signed by General Manager of Banking Regulation and Policy Department Chowdhury Md. Feroz Bin Alam.

The ministry recommended that Grameen Bank could be allowed to operate businesses under the new law but not outside its scope.

The banking division three months ago formed a committee comprising of Supreme Court’s Additional Attorney General Murad Raza and IFIC Bank Managing Director M Shah Alam Sarwar to make recommendations on the Grameen Bank Law 2013 which will replace the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983.

The committee submitted its recommendations to the division on June 16, suggesting increasing Grameen Bank’s capital to Tk3.5bn from the existing Tk30m and its paid-up capital to Tk3bn from the existing Tk59m.

They suggested that nine directors should be elected after being scrutinised by two electorates appointed by the Grameen Bank management. l

Hearing on charge framing against Azharul begins n Udisa Islam The prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal yesterday began hearing the formal charge framing against Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam.

At the beginning of the proceedings yesterday, the defence pleaded for time as Shishir Monir, the lawyer for the accused, was out of the country. The tribunal 1 heard the plea, but ordered the prosecution to start hearing from their side. “We will give an adjournment but let us start first.”

Then prosecutor, Saiful Islam, began the hearing. He discussed the background of the case and the Liberation War. The tribunal asked him to skip the historical part since it was heard earlier in other cases. The prosecutor then spoke about Islami Chhatra Sangha and the fortnightly reports of the 1971 Liberation War. After half an hour of submissions, the tribunal, headed by ATM Fazle Kabir, adjourned the proceedings until September 3.

Earlier, August 18 was the fixed date for hearing of the charge framing, but

this was deferred as the defence pleaded for an adjournment seeking permission to meet with their client for discussions on the case. The petition was approved.

On July 25, the tribunal took into cognisance the formal charges against the Jamaat assistant secretary general.

On July 18, the prosecution submitted the formal charges against Azhar on six counts of crimes against humanity he allegedly committed in Rangpur during the war.

Azhar faces charges of abduction, torture and the killing of 11 people, including Liberation War organiser AY Mahfuz Ali. He also faces the charge of genocide for a mass killing in Rangpur where around 1,225 people were murdered. Besides these, he was also involved in killing four other people, abducting 17, raping one, confining 12, torturing 13 and looting and torching numerous houses in the district, the charges say. He also allegedly killed six lecturers of Carmichael College.

The Jamaat leader was detained from his residence at Maghbazar on August 22 last year. Since then, he has been kept at the Dhaka Central Jail. l

Daughter of retired ASP Fazlur Karim, who was shot dead by miscreants at Rampura yesterday, waits for his dead body at the DMCH morgue with relatives

Bangla Academy librarian testifies against Mueen-Ashraf n

Muktasree Chakma Sathi

A prosecution witness yesterday testified against war crimes accused fugitive Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Md Ashrafuzzaman Khan at the International Crimes Tribunal 2.

Bangla Academy Assistant Librarian Md Ezabuddin Mia, the 19th prosecution witness, said: “Investigation Officer Ataur Rahman on May 15 last year seized 127 copies of daily newspapers published in 1971 and 1972.”

Ataur scanned the necessary news items needed for investigation against.

Those were published in different Bangla and English newspapers including the Daily Observer, the daily Pakistan, the daily Purbadesh, the Azad and the Sangram, the witness said.

Forty-year-old Ezabuddin also submitted in the tribunal that on October 24, 2011, another investigator Md Abdur Razzaq Khan had seized two copies of the daily Sangram and the

Ittefaq published in 1971.

He mentioned about some news items carrying documents on the killings and conspiracy during the war.

Ezabuddin also produced main copies of all these newspapers at the tribunal of Justice Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Shahinur Islam.

Later, state defence counsels Salma Hye and Abdus Shukkur Khan cross examined him.

The tribunal set September 1 for further procedure of the case. l

Mir Kashem indictment order deferred again n Udisa Islam The war crimes tribunal has set September 5 for passing an order on whether Jamaat-e-Islami executive council member, and key financier, Mir Kashem Ali will have to face trial or not.

Yesterday was set for passing order on the formal charges. Hearing on both the sides has been complete, but the defence placed time petition so that their senior counsel could place arguments on the charge framing.

Moreover, tribunal Chairman ATM Fazle Kabir was not present.

Earlier on May 26, the Internation-

400 people killed on order of Nizami: Witness n Udisa Islam A new prosecution witness in the case against Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami yesterday told the tribunal that some Pakistani army personnel along with local razakars and al-Badr members had committed massacre in Ruposhi Bausgari village of Pabna’s Santhia during the Liberation War. Freedom fighter Zahurul Huq said upon Nizami’s order, at least 400 people, mostly from the Hindu communities, had been killed in an operation at that village.

He described more incidents which he claimed to have heard from the villagers.

The 18th prosecution witness told the International Crimes Tribunal 1 that he had been the headmaster of Rajnarayanpur Girls’ School in 1971.

After his deposition, the defence began cross examining him.

The tribunal then adjourned the proceedings till Sunday.

Tribunal Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir was not present at the court yesterday.

On May 28 last year, Nizami was

indicted on 16 counts of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed by him in Pabna and Dhaka during the 1971 Liberation War. Charges include genocide, rape, torture, abduction, confinement and conspiracy.

At the time of inauguration of a razakar camp at the school, Nizami had asked the collaborators to kill the freedom fighters and also the pro-liberation people During the proceedings, the defence raised objection in recording the statement claiming that the prosecution was training the witness in the court room.

When Zahurul said he heard that Nizamuddin was closely related with the Pakistani army in Pabna area, the prosecutor told him it would be Nizami not Nizamuddin. Then the defence demanded that both the names be recorded.

At that time, prosecutor Mohammad Ali denied the allegation and said:

“The witness pronounced the name Nizamuddin but it is his slip of tongue.”

Defence counsel Tajul Islam prayed again to the tribunal to record as it was and indicating Ali, he said: “Do not be clever.” The prosecutor protested and said it was not the court language.

Then Tajul said: “What you did is a fraud practice.”

Seeking intervention of the tribunal, Ali then apologised for his conduct. But he said he would not conduct the trial if the defence did not say sorry.

As the courtroom turned silent, the tribunal said: “Everything became calm and quiet; I thought it will continue.”

The tribunal asked both the parties to behave in a decent way.

The witness said on May 14, 1971, firing had begun at the time of morning prayers. “I took position on the road side and saw Nizami with some collaborators going to the south part of the village.

“Then I went to the east part and hid myself with other villagers. After six to seven hours when we came back to the village, I saw at least 400 men and women mostly from the Hindu community were killed. I heard from the villagers present there that

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

in presence of Nizami some Pakistani army killed those people. I identified at least 50 dead bodies including Abdul Zabbar, Azhar Ali, Boloram Das and Jitendranath.”

The previous day, the witness said Ainul Huq, a teacher of Ruposhi Primary School, “told me that Motiur Rahman Nizami along with 10-12 collaborators came to the school to meet the teachers. Nizami told them ‘Pakistani army will come within a few days, you have to help them.’”

Quoting Tofajjal Hossain, a teacher of Pilot High School, the witness said at the time of inauguration of a razakar camp at the school, Nizami had asked the collaborators to kill the freedom fighters and also the pro-liberation people.

After his deposition, defence counsel Mizanul Islam asked him one question. He wanted to know the distance between Rajnarayanpur Girls’ School and Rajnarayanpur Primary School.

The witness replied that there had been no other schools in Rajnarayanpur except for one giving free education during the Liberation War. l

al Crimes Tribunal 1 took the formal charges against the Jamaat leader into cognisance and scheduled June 27 for the indictment hearing. Following a plea

According to the government, the Jamaat leader paid a US lobbyist firm $25m to make the trials controversial seeking time, the hearing was deferred to July 18. The date was later rescheduled for August 7 and finally August 18.

The prosecution brought 14 charges of crimes against humanity against Kashem, who is the chairman of the

Diganta Media Corporation. He is also a director of Islami Bank.

Kashem was the general secretary of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat, and also the Chittagong district commander of paramilitary force al-Badr. He had set up makeshift camps at different locations of the port city where the pro-liberation supporters were brought and tortured. Other allegations against him include involvement in mass killings in Asadnagar and Panchlaish areas. According to the government, the Jamaat leader paid a US lobbyist firm $25m to make the trials controversial. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

JS body warns of militancy push among children Warns that ‘extremists’ can easily distort Islam’s peaceful message

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury A parliamentary watchdog yesterday suggested that Islamic Foundation Bangladesh take up measures against the “evil design” of Jamaat-Shibir forces, which are out to divert children from taking pre-school education under the mosque-based education system.

Since 1992, the Islamic Foundation has been carrying out the Mosquebased Child and Mass Literacy Programme mainly to educate the children from low-income families aged four to five. It has helped Bangladesh counter dropout rates at the primary level.

The project is considered as one of the most successful projects of the government since thousands of students learn about religion as well as Bangla, English and mathematics. The students are also eligible to undertake general education.

The parliamentary standing committee on religious affairs at its meeting observed that the “extremist party”

could easily distort the peaceful message of Islam, pushing the children towards violence and militant activities.

Sources from the meeting said committee member and Awami League lawmaker Shamsur Rahman Sharif first raised the issue of “misinterpretation” of religion, observing that the common people had attacked the police and vandalised vehicles just because of Jamaat-Shibir’s “misuse of Islam.”

They had spread a rumour that war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee would give a sermon from the moon, he added.

In the recent attacks on police and during other subversive activities and demonstrations across the country, JamaatShibir and Hefazat-e-Islam leaders and activists had many children with them.

“The learners and children could easily be misguided through misinterpretation of Islam, which is a religion of peace and harmony. The Islamic Foundation must have mechanisms to stop such misinterpretation of Islam,” Sharif

told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building.

Majibar Rahman, a Jatiya Party MP, presided over the meeting attended by the State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Shahjahan Mia, AKMA Awal and Sadhan Chandra Mazumder.

“We must be careful about the misinterpretation of Islam- this must stop,” Majibar Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the ministry officials informed the watchdog that the Islamic Foundation trained the imams and religious leaders about the peaceful message of Islam.

The meeting resulted in a decision to hold a detailed discussion on the issue at the next meeting, the date of which is yet to be fixed.

The Islamic Foundation has also been running an anti-militancy project titled “Terrorism, Zangibad and Solving Social Problems in the Light of Islam” since the Awami League came to power in January 2009. l

Friday, August 30, 2013

Education Expo 2013 cancelled n Tribune Report The Ministry of Education yesterday cancelled permission to hold Education Expo 2013, which was scheduled to take place next month.

The organisers Aims Worldwide tried to extort money from private universities and medical colleges using the ministry’s name.

The decision was taken at a meeting yesterday attended by Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and senior ministry officials.

Two orders issued on April 23 and July 23 granting permission for the event was cancelled.

The minister said due to allegations against Aims Worldwide for using the education ministry’s logo and demanding money from private universities and medical colleges to join the expo, it was cancelled. Ministry officials who sent letters to educational institutions telling them to participate in the expo have also been identified and charged.

At the meeting related documents were scrutinised, which revealed the officials had violated rules by issuing the letters, and the ministry will issue show cause notices to the responsible officials for their involvement. l

Bangladesh cannot entertain any more Myanmar refugees: FM n UNB Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said Bangladesh did not have the capacity to take in any more Myanmar refugees or illegal entrances.

She made the remark at a meeting with the newly-appointed Country Representative of UNHCR Stina E Ljungdell in her office.

She also thanked the UNHCR for its continued financial and institutional support for the maintenance of two refugee camps at Kutupalong and Noyapara.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative presented her credentials at the meeting.

Recalling her recent visit to a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Dipu Moni voiced concern over the socioeconomic environmental impacts because of the presence of a large number of Myanmar nationals.

The minister thinks a durable solution to the problem lies in their voluntary repatriation to Myanmar and establishing their rights in their own motherland.

Case against jute minister dismissed n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday dismissed a case against Jute and Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, which was also lodged yesterday by a lawyer from the Dhaka Bar Association.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka yesterday heard advocate Gazi Quamrul Islam Sajal as he accused the minister of “issuing death threats to whoever calls a hartal” in a National Mourning Day speech.

Sajal himself was the plaintiff in this case.

According to Sajal, Minister Siddiqui, at an Awami League condolence meeting on August 16, warned that anyone calling a hartal in the future would be killed in their own homes. He also alleged that Siddiqui had ordered Awami League leaders and activists to be ready for these killings.

The plaintiff filed the case under section 506 (II) of the Penal Code.

“As a senior political leader of Awami League, his order may create panic in the opposition. So he should be punished for these death threats,” Sajal said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Hasibul Haque dismissed the case, saying the minister’s speech was a political speech, and the threat was not applicable for the plaintiff as he was not a politician.

The court also said that after scrutiny of the records, it had found insufficient evidence for the charges. l

WEATHER

Slight rise in temperature likely n UNB Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at many places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna and Sylhet divisions until 6pm today.

Moderately heavy falls were also likely at places over the country, Met Office said.

Day and night temperature may rise slightly over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 6:18pm today and rises at 5:40am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 35.0 degree Celsius was recorded at Rajshahi and lowest 23.5 degrees at Hatiya yesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures recorded in some major cities yesterday were: City

High

Low

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

31.6 30.0 35.0 32.6 31.3 29.5 29.2 32.0

26.3 25.2 25.2 25.2 24.8 26.3 25.7 26.0

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

4:22am 5:38am 12:00pm 4:32pm 6:20pm 7:37pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Ljungdell thanked Bangladesh for hosting large number of international refugees from Myanmar for the last 30 years with a highly satisfactory protection regime compared to many places in the world.

She also underlined that quite after Bangladesh’s good work and best practices in hosting refugees from Myanmar go unappreciated when Bangladesh should, in fact, receive commendations for maintaining peaceful refugee camps and voluntary repatriation of most of them prior to 2005.

Dipu Moni briefed the UNHCR representative about various best practices, including free education up to class VI, vocational skill training, computer training, primary and secondary healthcare introduced by the government for preparing the refugees for a productive life.

The newly-appointed country representative of the UNFPA to Bangladesh, Argentina Piccin, also presented her credentials to foreign minister. l

Country facing political crisis: Dr Kamal n Manik Miazee

Workers dry damp chalk powder in an open field adjacent to the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. They will pack the powder in sacks to sell in the markets

22 activists of Jamaat’s female student front jailed n Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal Twenty-two activists of Jamaat-eIslami’s female student wing, Islami Chhatri Sangstha, who were arrested on Wednesday, were sent to jail yesterday for suspected militancy.

Court sources said Muladi police had sent the arrestees to the Barisal Judicial Magistrate Court under section 54 of the penal code for engaging in suspicious activities.

After hearing arguments from both prosecution and defence, Senior Judicial Magistrate Shahinur Akhtar deferred the hearing of the bail pleas till Sunday.

Officer-in-Charge of Muladi police station Shah Alam Hawladar said police had detained the women by raiding the house of Gachhuya union unit Jamaate-Islami Secretary Ataur Rahman in Poikkha-Hosnabad village on Wednesday.

He said the 22 activists were involved in holding meetings and workshops and also helped Ataur and his family members to escape during the raid.

The arrestees were Swarnali Hamida, Marjana, Renu, Rafsana, Rokeya, Razia, Afroza, Sumi, Karuna, Runa, Afsana, Niru, Afia, Nupur, Jahanara, Simu, Elisa, Kaniz, Tania, Tahmina, Subarna and Ayesha.

The OC said 36 books and other literature written by Jamaat leaders Ghulam Azam, Matiur Rahman Nizami, and Delawar Hossain Sayedee were recovered.

Police said Swarnali was a student of philosophy at Barisal BM College and the others were students of different local schools and colleges.

However, the arrestees and their guardians claimed that they had assembled as a group to participate in a picnic and Eid-reunion.

Following the arrests, local Jamaat leaders issued statements condemning the alleged harassment by police of the followers of the Islamic ideology and accused them of severely violating their human rights. They also demanded the immediate release of the arrestees. l

Bangabandhu’s killers will be brought back: FM n DU Correspondent Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said the government is determined to bring back the six fugitive killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

She said: “The government will bring them back and execute their punishments at any cost.”

She was addressing a discussion and prize distribution ceremony at Dhaka University’s Fine Arts Institute yesterday. The discussion was organised to mark the 38th death anniversary of the Bangabandhu. The minister said: “We will prevent all the conspiracies together, as we are determined not to let August 15 happen again.”

She urged everyone to vote for the Awami League in the upcoming elections to continue the development process started by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She also advised to be conscious and be united against the fanatics who try to make Bangladesh a communal country. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Gonoforum president Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday said the country was facing a political crisis over the issue of the poll-time government, under which the next general elections will be held.

Addressing a discussion at the Engineers Institute of Bangladesh auditorium, marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the party, Dr Kamal called for a united movement to save democracy in the country.

He said, “We want peaceful handing over of power through an acceptable national election, and for the election to be held under a non-political government and independent election commission.”

“All progressive parties should unite for a movement to resolve the political crisis,” he added.

Chaired by Dr Kamal Hossain, the programme was also attended by Communist Party of Bangladesh General Secretary Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, convener of Nagarik Oikkyo, Abdul Kader Siddiqui, president of Krisak Sramik Janata League, ASM Abdur Rab, president of a Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) faction, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal General Secretary Khalequzzaman, Workers’ Party General Secretary Anisur Rahman Mollick, and journalists Syed Abul Maksud and Abu Syed Khan. l

Government’s daydreams will become nightmares: Moudud n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Main opposition BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed yesterday warned the government that the consequences of considering any alternative to a polls-time non-partisan government would be dire.

“The next election should be held under a non-partisan government. If the government is thinking of any alternatives, it will become the worst victim of their misdeeds and misrule over the last five years,” he said.

He was addressing a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital organised in protest of shutting down the private television channels Diganta Television and Islamic Television.

Regarding the prevailing political standoff, Moudud said many are concerned over the future of the next polls.

“We think that the government has no other option except holding polls and that election should not be held under partisan government.”

Moudud criticised the government

for 15th amendment to the constitution saying: “The government is daydreaming to stay in power by holding elections under its arrangement as it has become detached from the people of the country. We want to say clearly, this daydreams will become nightmares. The government will have to accept our demand in the face of a tough movement.”

Criticising the government for “imposing censorship” on the media, Moudud, also a former law minister, said: “The government has shut down the Daily Amar Desh and two private television channels in its four and half years in the office.”

The BNP leader claimed the people of the country want to see change in the office and it became clear in the last five city corporation polls.

Krishak Sramik Janata League president Kader Siddique, Kallayan Party chairman Syed Muhammad Ibrahim and other leaders of the BNP-led 18-party alliance expressed solidarity with the protest programme. l

‘Ensure participation of disabled people in development’ n Tazlina Zamila Khan

Every political party contesting the next general elections should include the issue of bringing physically challenged people into the mainstream of the development, ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir said yesterday.

Physically challenged people have different demands and realities, and the commitment to unite them for de-

velopment cannot be made without considering their demands, she said.

The call came at the inauguration programme of the country’s first online database of persons with disabilities in Shahrasti upazila, Chandpur.

The programme was held at the National Press Club, jointly organised by ActionAid and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA).

Farah Kabir cited “absence of correct statistics” as the main barrier to

bring people with disabilities in the mainstream of development.

She said, “Statistics is the main element for implementing development projects and allocating money to improve the lives of psychically challenged people. The government has started a National Physically Challenged Census 2013-16. The field work will be completed in two months.

“Through this census we are hoping to get accurate statistics of physically

challenged persons to implement development activities,” she added.

Awami League lawmaker Rafiqul Islam Bir Uttam said: “Poverty is the cause and effect of disability. Most of the psychically challenged people are poor or extremely poor.”

In 2010, he, along with AAB and YPSA, took the initiatives for creating an online database on disabled people.

The MP suggested that the government should change school syllabi to

make students aware of disabilities.

“They can get their rights if every citizen becomes aware of them,” he added.

Vashkar Bhattcharia, program manager of YPSA, said: “We are working with the government in conducting the census.”

On August 19, government sent a letter to all NGOs asking for help in conducting the survey.

The website for the database (www. survey.ypsa.org) is open for all. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Law

5

Friday, August 30, 2013

Know your right to defend yourself Nothing is an offence which is done in the exercise of the right of self-defence, or private defence as is termed in the Penal Code

ASK YOUR ADVOCATE Question: I am a Muslim man living in Chittagong. I am 35 years old and have been married for the last three years.

However, our conjugal life has become very knotty lately.

Now I want to split up with my wife but I do not know the legal steps to be followed to obtain a divorce. Please help.

Sajjad, Dewanhat, Chittagong Answer: Thank you for your question. As Muslim marriage is more like a civil contract, the process of getting divorce for Muslims is not very complicated.

The process of getting divorce is usually guided by the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961.

As per the provisions of the Muslim Family law Ordinance, the procedure to obtain a divorce is as follows:

BIGSTOCK

n Abdullah Al Arif

against any of the assaults mentioned below: (i) such an assault as may reasonably cause the apprehension that death will otherwise be the consequence of such assault (ii) such an assault as may reasonably cause the apprehension that grievous hurt will otherwise be the consequence of such assault (iii) an assault with the intention of committing rape (iv) an assault with the intention of gratifying unnatural lust (v) an assault with the intention of kidnapping or abducting (vi) an assault with the intention of wrongfully confining a person, under circumstances which may reasonably cause him to apprehend that he will be unable to have recourse to the public authorities for his release.

If anyone comes and hurts you intentionally, what would you do at that moment? Will you wait for the police to come and rescue you?

Will you go to the court next morning and sue that offender?

Under the law of our country, you need not to endure the harm and redress it afterwards.

You may resist and hurt the offender back right away with a view to defending yourself. You are legally entitled to do so without breaking any law because the law is on your side.

One thing to note is that the Penal Code terms the action private defence, not self defence. Here is a brief explanation of the laws relating to private defence.

LEGAL TIPS

l

Nothing is an offence which is done in the exercise of the right of private defence, says Section 96 of the Penal Code.

l

Section 97 of the same code further clarifies the provision and says, every person has a right to defend (i) his own body, and the body of any other person against any offence affecting the human body and (ii) the property, whether moveable or immovable, of himself or of any other person, against any act of theft, robbery, mischief or criminal trespass. The right to self defence remains the same aganist an attempt to commit theft, robbery, mischief or criminal trespass.

l

Section 100 of the Penal Code further broadens the right and maintains that one may actually go to the extent of killing someone in exercising his/her private defence. The section says, the right of private defence of the body extends to the voluntary causing of death or of any other harm to the assailant, if the offence which gives rise the exercise of the right

LAW HUMOUR

The right of private defence of the body commences as soon as a reasonable apprehension of danger to the body arises from an attempt or threat to commit the offence though the offence may not have been committed

l

Section 103 talks of right to defend one's property.

According to this section, the right of private defence of property extends to the voluntary causing of death or of any other harm to the wrongdoer, if the offence, the committing of which, or the attempting to commit which gives rise the exercise of the right, be an offence of any of the descriptions given below:

(i) robbery (ii) house-breaking by night (iii) mischief by fire committed on any building, tent or vessel, which building, tent or vessel is used as a human dwelling or as a place for the custody of property (iv) theft, mischief or house-trespass, under such circumstances as may reasonably cause apprehension that death or grievous hurt will be the consequence, if such right of private defence is not exercised. l

Finally, section 102 talks of the commencement and continuation of the right of private defence. It says, the right of private defence of the body commences as soon as a reasonable apprehension of danger to the body arises from an attempt or threat to commit the offence though the offence may not have been committed and it continues as long as such apprehension of danger to the body continues.

Conditions

Section 99 of the Penal Code deals with conditions to be fulfilled while exercising one's right of private defence. l

There is no right of private defence against an act which does not reasonably cause the apprehension of death or of grievous hurt, if done, or attempted to be done by a public servant acting in good faith under colour of his office, though that act may not be strictly justifiable by law.

l

There is no right of private defence in cases in which there is time to have recourse to the protection of the public authorities.

l

The right of private defence in no case extends to the inflicting of more harm than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defence. l

l

Any man who wishes to divorce his wife shall give the Chairman of the Union Parishad or to other appointed official notice in writing and shall supply a copy thereof to the wife. Whoever contravenes this provision shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to five thousand taka or with both. However, the divorce shall not be effective until the expiration of 90 days from the day on which notice is delivered to the chairman.

l

The chairman/concerned official, within thirty days of the receipt of the notice, shall constitute an arbitration council for the purpose of bringing about a reconciliation between the parties and the arbitration council shall take all steps necessary to bring about such reconciliation.

l

If any such reconciliation does not come about, one may take a divorce registration certificate from a registered marriage registrar (Kazi) after expiry of 90 days. If the wife be pregnant at the time of notice of divorce, divorce shall not be effective until the expiration of 90 days or the duration of pregnancy, whichever happens later.

There are some other things one needs to keep in mind while getting divorce.

As the male counterpart, you have to pay the entire amount of mehar (dower) to your wife before giving the notice of divorce.

Another important thing at the time of initiating divorce process is to make arrangement for payment of maintenance for three months in favour of the wife and minor children (if any).

However, before starting such process one must make sure that getting divorce is the best possible solution of his problem.

Advised by: Md Yadnan Rafique Rossy, a practising advocate and an associate of Amir and Amir Law Associates. He can be reached at yadnan.rossy@gmail.com. l

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Banning corporal punishment: A giant legal step n Law Desk There were numerous cases of corporal punishment in various educational institutions. While there is no law that allows corporal punishment, it is widely imposed in schools and there is a systemic failure of the State to take action to investigate allegations.

Many of the children were subjected to corporal punishment for behaviour that does not constitute an offence under any law (eg, not doing homework, having long hair, etc). They were physically assaulted to the extent that they needed medical treatment, became depressed and some of them resorted to suicide. In many cases, the parents did not bring charges in connection with their children being subjected to corporal punishment against the teacher and the teacher simply paid the hospital bills.

Against this backdrop, an application was filed by public interest groups Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and Ain O Shalish Kendra under article 102 of the Constitution alleging abuse and failure of the government to comply with statutory and constitutional duties to investigate allegations of corporal punishment.

Pending the issuance of this decision, the court initially directed the Ministry of Education and the other defendants in the case to (i) submit reports with regards to the measures taken to investigate, prosecute and punish those involved in the incidents of corporal punishment, (ii) issue a circular to all to refrain from imposing corporal punishment, (iii) take actions to eliminate corporal punishment, and (iv) monitor (in order to prevent) the imposition of corporal punishment by randomly visiting schools unannounced.

In its judgment delivered on January 13, 2011, the High Court found that corporal punishment was a violation of children's rights, and ordered that the practice be prohibited not only in schools, but across all settings.

The court noted that Article 35, Clause 5 of our Constitution provides that “no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment” and reasoned that if any person is protected from such treatment after conviction of a criminal offence, then a child should not be subjected to such punishment for behaviour which does not even amount to a criminal offense.

CASE STORY

Looking in part to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the court emphasised that abuse has serious physical, psychological and emotional effects, causes truancy and children to drop out of school, and therefore “exacerbates the cycle of illiteracy and poverty.”

The court noted that corporal punishment was not in fact authorised as a form of discipline under the Penal Code and that regulations of schools did not provide for corporal punishment. In light of the CRC, the court then went on to hold that not only was corporal punishment not authorised in education, it must be prohibited in all settings including schools, homes and places.

The court directed the Ministry of Education to catego-

rise corporal punishment as “misconduct” for all teachers at public and private schools and make any teacher imposing this punishment subject to a disciplinary proceeding.

The court noted that a teacher imposing corporal punishment would also be liable under existing criminal law and directed the government to consider amending the Children Act, 1974 in order to make it an offence for parents and employers to impose corporal punishment upon children.

The court stated its view that any laws that allow corporal punishment of children or any other persons should be repealed immediately because they are in contravention of the fundamental rights set forth in the Constitution. l

WAHID ADNAN

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Friday, August 30, 2013

Arrestee flees from police custody in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Four stone throwers get punishment n Tribune Report

An alleged rape case accused fled from police custody at Rathkhola village in Agoiljhara upazila of Barisal yesterday.

The accused attacked the police and injured two officials.

Sub-Inspector Mustafizur Rahman of Agoiljhara police station said injured Sub-Inspector Akkas Ali was admitted to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital and the other injured, Constable Md Tuhin was receiving treatment at local health complex.

A mobile court has sentenced four people to various terms of imprisonment, after finding them guilty of throwing stones and injuring a train driver in Kushtia.

Mobile court judge Azad Jahan, who is also the Mirpur upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), gave the order on Wednesday evening.

Hussain Kabir, 20, son of Ramjan Ali of Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga, Naim Haq Plabon, 18, son of Anisur Haq of Ruppur under Issordi upazila of Pabna, Nazmul Rahman, son of Habibur Rahman of Damukdia village under Veramara upazila of Kushtia, were imprisonment for two years. The other, Ali Hossain, 23, son of Osman Goni of Pathachera village of Damurhuda of Chuadanga, was sentenced to six months in prison, according to banglanews24.

Poradaha stationmaster Shoriful Islam said, the stone throwing incident took place when a Goalondo-bound shuttle train was waiting at the Halsa station for the Rupsa Express to cross the station.

The passengers allegedly became agitated at the delay of Rupsa Express, while four to five youths threw stones at the driver and injured him. The convicts were passengers from the Goalondo-bound train. l

When the two-member police team was returning on a motorbike with the handcuffed arrestee seated in the middle of them AKM Ehsan Ullah, Barisal district superintendent of police, said SI Akkas and Constable Tuhin arrested Sohag Gazi from Baroitala village on Thursday as the prime accused of a rape case lodged on November 22, 2012. When the two-member police team was returning on a motorbike with the handcuffed arrestee seated in the middle of them, the arrestee hit SI Akkas and jumped of the bike. SI Akkas lost control of the vehicle and both the officials received serious injuries.

Police lodged a case in this connection and started drives to re-arrest the fled accused, the SP added. l

Bus owners, workers block roads in Satkhira n UNB, Satkhira Vehicular movement on SatkhiraKhulna and Satkhira-Jessore highways came to a halt for an hour yesterday as bus owners and workers blocked the roads demanding ban on light enginerun vehicles on the highway.

District bus, Minibus Owners’ Association President Saiful Karim said different types of light engine-run vehicles including Nasimon, Karimon and easy bikes have been operating on the highway illegally for long.

He said the local administration despite repeated complaints had not taken any actions.

The bus owners and workers jointly barricaded the roads at 11am, protesting the indifference of the administration. Later, vehicular movement on the roads returned to its usual state after the barricade was removed at 12pm.

“If the local administration does not take any immediate steps over the matter, we would announce bus strike for an indefinite period in future,” Saiful said. l

Traders of Kuakata kept their shops shutdown yesterday, demanding measures to set up police station in their locality

Narsingdi residents fed up with erratic power supply

Court asks IGP to suspend two police officers

n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi

n Our Correspondent, Chandpur

The people living in Narsingdi are experiencing nine to 10 hours of load shedding each day because two of six units at Ghorashal Power Plant have been inoperative for the past two years, making residents’ lives miserable.

Moreover, the frequent load shedding has been hampering industrial production in the district, forcing many owners of small enterprises to close their businesses.

A number of industrial units located in the Ghorashal and Madhabdi areas have been incurring huge loss due to power failures, local people said.

Erratic power supply also cripples a number of power looms in the district.

The industries’ owners said there were no benefits to running a business, as they are not able to supply products to buyers.

According to the Rural Electrification Board (REB) in Narsingdi, a total of

105MW is needed for 187,000 consumers in Narsingdi Sadar, Polash, Shibpur, Belabo, Monohardi and Raipura upazilas, but the REB can only supply 3536MW. Moreover, Narsingdi town requires 30MW, but the authorities only provide

REB sources said most of the businessmen and factory owners were asked by the district administration to shut down their factories and shops after dusk, causing tremendous financial losses for them 22MW, leaving townspeople to suffer through nine to 10 hours of load shedding per day.

Ibrahim Mia, a businessman from the Chowala area of Narsingdi town, said power loom factories, and spin-

ning and textile mills have been facing difficulties due to load shedding throughout the day and night.

Abdul Zabbar, a power loom factory owner from the Shaheprotab area of Narsingdi Sadar upazila, said: “I have 25 machines in my factory which have remained inoperative for the last few days.”

He said if the situation continued he would have to find an alternative to earn a living for his family.

General Manager of Narsingdi REB Rabiul Hasan said denied the closure of most of the power-loom businesses in the area.

He said most of the businessmen and factory owners were asked by the district administration to shut down their factories and shops after dusk, causing tremendous financial losses for them.

However, many traders are trying to adjust to the situation by setting up generators. l

Cucumber farming fetches profit for Jhalakathi farmers n UNB Farmers in the district are now showing more interest to cultivate cucumber than any other crops with the vegetable’s ‘Manpasha’ variety proving profitable.

The season has witnessed an excellent yield of cucumber in Jalakhathi, a district which has a name for good harvest of the variety. The growers have earned huge profit from the vegetable as it was grown well and also sold at

fair prices.

The cucumber variety was cultivated on about 1,000 acres of land in the district. The specialty of this type of cucumber is that it can be produced upto 8-9 kilogrammes.

The small size cucumbers are used in preparing salad while the big ones are mainly used in curry.

Cucumber has also a special use in cooking different fishes like shrimp and hilsa. Farmers preserve seeds from mature cucumbers.

During monsoon, cucumber is cultivated on vast tracts of land in Binoykathi, Basanda, Kritipasha and Nabagram union of Jhalakathi sadar upazila. Farmers earn Tk20,000 to Tk25,000 by cultivating cucumber on one bigha of land.

Those who cultivated cucumber earlier have already started to get the yield.

A few of the growers, after harvesting cucumber, have started cultivating other vegetables like sweet gourd, snake gourd and okra.

Despite heavy rainfall and tidal wa-

ter, the farmers got good production of cucumber as well as good profit from it.

The farmers sold cucumber at Tk800 per maund in the local markets.

For about two decades, the farmers have been cultivating ‘Manpasha’ variety because of its attractive size.

Farmer Ayub Ali of the sadar upazila cultivated cucumber on four bighas and have earned huge profit. He cultivated new crops on his land and was financially benefited by cultivating the vegetables. l

Farmers cultivating vegetables on the water n BSS

Wife of Tofazzal Hossain, a local BNP leader killed by unidentified miscreants yesterday, carying after his death FOCUS BANGLA

Dalits call strike in Magura n Our Corrspondent, Magura The Dalit community of Magura went on an indefinite strike from Wednesday. Magura municipality dwellers are now suffering due to the strike.

Dalit sources claimed drug traders attacked a member of their community named Turan and filed a false case against him.

They have called a strike demanding punishment of the attackers and with-

FOCUS BANGLA

drawal of the false case.

During the strike on Thursday, the group, who work as cleaners, placed corpses of dogs on MR road and Habibur Rahman road in the town.

The Magura municipality mayor requested that they call off the strike and remove the dead dogs, but they did not pay heed to his request. Finding no other alternative, the mayor, along with his councillors, removed the bodies of the dogs themselves. l

Growing vegetables beside shrimp gher (fields) on floating garden beds made from water hyacinth has turned out to be a beneficial for Nurul Islam Morol, a farmer in Paikgacha upazila, Khulna.

Nurul Islam also, a shrimp field owner residing in South Shrikanthapur villag under Raruli Union in the upazila, is now earning Tk1.4m a year by cultivating various kinds of vegetables, including beans, gourds, eggplants, pumpkins, beets, bitter gourd, tomatoes and pepper on the specially made beds that float on the marshland.

The floating beds are on 0.8 hectare of land and around 375 feet long, around 3 feet deep and 4 feet wide.

Nurul Islam told BSS that he is making a profit by selling the vegetables grown on the floating beds. On the other hand, he is also earning money by selling shrimp and other fish.

“I earned Tk500,000 from selling shrimp and other fish, Tk118,000 from rice paddies, Tk8,000 from bitter gourd, Tk15,000 from balsam apples,

Tk40,000 from gourds, Tk8,000 from pumpkins, Tk3,000 from eggplants and Tk 684,000 from others vegetables and by leasing land other farmers during the year,” said the farmer.

“To make ‘dhap’’, which are used to grow crops on marshland, Tk100,000 is paid for water hyacinth, Tk20,000 for fertilizers and around Tk280,000 for the labourers and other workers.

“My financial condition was worse five years ago as crops were not grown on my 0.8 hectares of land due to heavy rainfall, salinity, fertiliser crises and load shedding problems,” he added.

Agriculturist Bibhash Chandra Saha told BSS that more farmers are being trained under a government project arranged by the Department of Agriculture Extension office in Khulna and that a huge number of marshlands in the upazila will be cultivated in this fashion.

Around 50 farmers from the upazila have showed interest in cultivating winter vegetables on their marshland this year after visiting Nurul Islam’s property recently, he said. l

TORTURE UNDER POLICE CUSTODY

A Chandpur court yesterday asked Inspector General of police (IGP) to explain why the two police officers should not be suspended for torturing a suspect under police custody.

Chandpur Joint District Judge Toufique Aziz issued the notice in connection with the complaint filed by Rafiqul Islam alias Lalu, who alleged that two police officers tortured him at Kochua police station.

Lalu’s prosecution paper described that two police officers— Nurul Mottaqin, who is now officer-in-charge of Lalbagh police station under Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and Inspector Shohel Ahmed, who now serving in UN mission— picked him up from Chandpur Court premises on February 2, 2005.

The accused police officers were serving at Kochua police station then.

Lalu alleged that his enemies’

prompting, the police officers socially and politically humiliated Lalu.

The duo placed a gun upon Lalu’s hand and lodged a false case against him, described his statement.

“During police remand, they lit high-powered electric bulb before my eyes that severely damaged my eyesight. Needles were also shoved under my fingernails,” added his complaint paper.

Lalu was also put in a crossfire but survived luckily, the paper mentioned.

The plaintiff demanded Tk5m as compensation for the physical and mental torture and financial loss, while he also demanded divisional actions against the accused officers, including their dismissal from service.

Lawyer of the plaintiff Md Helal Uddin said the court took cognisance of the case and served a show-cause notice to IGP in this regard. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Housewife drowned by husband in Satkhira

A housewife was drowned allegedly by her husband at Madra village in Tala upazila on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Sandha Rani Mandal, 35, second wife of Nirapad Mandal, a resident of the village. Inamul Haque, officer-incharge of Tala police station, said Nirapad pushed down his wife Sandha into water of a pond next to his house. Hearing scream of Sandha, locals rushed to the spot and caught Nirapad, but by that time she died. They recovered her body and informed police. Police arrested Nirapad and sent the body to hospital morgue for autopsy. Pancharam Dhali, father of the victim, filed a case against Nirapad with Tala police station. – UNB

Rapist jailed for 14 years in Jessore A Benapole court yesterday sentenced a man to 14 years imprisonment for violating a girl. The court also fined the convict, Saban Ali Sardar, son of Chand Ali Sardar of Hajrakati village in Keshobpur upazila, Tk5,000, and in default, he will have to serve one more year in jail. According to the prosecution, Saban Ali had developed feelings of love for the victim, a resident of Barondali village in the upazila. On June 29, 2004, he took her to nearby Saroskati village to show her a dredging machine. In the evening, Saban Ali, along with another man, Abdul Quader Sardar, raped the girl in a field in the village.

Later, upon hearing the girl’s screams, villagers came to her aid and caught Saban Ali. The locals handed him over to police along with the victim. However, his associate managed to escape the scene. The girl filed a case with Jessore Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal accusing the two. The accomplice in the crime, Quader, was exonerated during charge framing in the case. After examining all the evidence and witnesses, SM

Abdus Salam, judge of the tribunal, pronounced the verdict against Saban Ali in absentia. The court also issued a warrant for his arrest. – UNB

Young girl found dead in Pirojpur Police yesterday morning recovered the body of a young girl at Dhanisafa village in Mathbaria upazila. Identity of the deceased could not be known immediately. Locals spotted the body of the girl, aged around 20, in a ditch at the village and informed police. Police recovered the body and sent it to Pirojpur hospital morgue for autopsy. Seeing the marks on the body and blood coming out from the mouth, police suspected that the girl was killed by strangulation. – UNB

Local AL leader’s body found The body of the village committee president of Awami League’s Alampur unit in Jhenaidah sadar upazila’s Ganna union was recovered yesterday morning from a local chili cultivation plot.

The deceased was identified as Monjer Mollah, 70, an alleged former activist of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP), and son of the late Iman Ali from Alampur. Kazi Jalal Uddin Ahmed, the officer-in-charge at Jhenaidah sadar police station, said police recovered Monjer’s slaughtered body from a chili cultivation plot and sent it to Jhenaidah sadar hospital for autopsy. The OC added that Monjer was involved with PBCP for a long time, as well as being known in the area as a ruling party leader. There are a number of cases against him filed with the local police, including cases of terrorism and extortion charges. Internal disputes within the PBCP might have lead to the killing, police sources said, adding that no case was filed in this regard until yesterday afternoon. – Our Correspondent

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Metro

7

Friday, August 30, 2013

Another deadline for Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover State Minister for Local Government Jahangir Kabir Nanak yesterday said flyover likely to be opened in October cantly with the opening of the Kuril n Tribune Report Flyover.

After failing to meet more than half a dozen deadlines, the date for opening the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover has once again been postponed till October.

State Minister for Local Government Jahangir Kabir Nanak yesterday said the Mayor Hanif Flyover will most likely be opened for traffic by the first week of October.

He said the 10km long flyover in the capital would help ease traffic congestion in Dhaka.

“The construction work of the Kutubkhali-Gulistan-Palashi portion will be completed soon and open for vehicular movement before Eid-ulAzha,” he told journalists during a visit to the site.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the flyover in June, 2010 and named it Mayor Hanif Flyover. During the inauguration, Chairman of the investor company Orion Group Mohammad Obaidul Karim the construction would be completed within two years (June, 2012) The state minister said having considered the extent of public suffering in the area the flyover would open as soon as possible. He said the concerned authorities have been asked to finish construction work quickly.

Earlier, the concerned authorities had said part of the flyover would be inaugurated in September.

Nanak said traffic jams on the Airport Road had been reduced signifi-

In response to a query about installation of toll booths and how they may affect vehicular movement, the state minister said: “There is no scope for traffic congestion or any other problems.”

Toll plazas are to be installed using the latest technology, he added.

“A system to apply for and supply vehicles with weekly, monthly and yearly tokens will be in place,” he said.

Nanak directed authorities to remove all the establishments along road within a week.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated construction of the Mayor Hanif Flyover in June, 2010. At the time, the chairman of the investor company, Orion Group, Md Obaidul Karim said construction would be completed within two years.

At a meeting with the ministry, officials of the Orion Group assured the LGRD state minister construction of the flyover could be completed by July, 2012.

In April, 2012 Nanak said the flyover would be inaugurated on December 16, 2012.

Last year M Ashiqur Rahman, project director and superintendent engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) said the flyover would be inaugurated on March 26, 2013, and in April this year he told the Dhaka Tribune that the flyover would be completed by June.

The minister was accompanied by various officials including Secretary of Local Government Division Abu Alam Mohammad Shahid Khan and Project Director M Ashiqur Rahman. l

Admission tests for 2013-14 first year honours courses at the University of Dhaka (DU) are scheduled to start from November 1.

DU Public Relation Officer Md Ashraf-Ali Khan said the decision was taken at a dean’s committee meeting yesterday.

The dates are as follows: Gha(combined) on November 1, Kha(humanities) on November 8,Ga(commerce) on November 15, , Ka(science) on November 22 and Cha (fine arts) on November 23.

Deadline for applications will be announced shortly.

Further details regarding the tests will be provided at a press briefing on September 6 by Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique. l

Pavel Rahman gets PIB-Sohel Samad Award n BSS, Dhaka

A view of under-construction Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover

Dhaka City Museum fails to live up to expectations n Abu Hayat Mahmud Dhaka City Museum or “Dhaka Nagar Jadughar” located at the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) building only has a handful of exhibits on display.

The museum, which started its journey to highlight Dhaka’s colourful history, has failed to live up to expectations and the sorry state of the museum is blamed on negligence by the authorities of the city corporation, which took charge of the museum 17 years ago.

Located in a large hall on the sixth floor of the DSCC building the museum’s exhibits include an ancient printing press, some old coins, various historical publications and newspaper cuttings, photographs of various nawabs of Dhaka, Language Movement martyrs, and a few notable persons of Dhaka.

The museum was set up in June, 1987 to preserve the city’s historical and cultural heritage by Professor Muntasir Mamun of the University of Dhaka’s history department.

Prof Mamun started the museum on his own initiative, and it was originally based in a residential building in old Dhaka.

When Mohammad Hanif was Dhaka’s mayor the city corporation was given responsibility for running the museum. In July, 1996 Sheikh Hasina, who was prime minister at the time, inaugurated the Dhaka City Museum.

Prof Mamun told the Dhaka Tribune: “We established the museum to display historical and artistic mementos of Dhaka. But it has not been a success because of the authority’s negligence, because no one at the city corporation

has taken any steps to further develop the museum.”

When Mohammad Hanif was Dhaka’s mayor the city corporation was given responsibility for running the museum. In July, 1996 Sheikh Hasina, who was prime minister at the time, inaugurated the Dhaka City Museum He said: “Eventually, a former administrator of the DSCC, Nazrul Islam did take steps to develop the museum and offered me the post of chairman of the trustee board. Later, we sent a budget proposal to help develop the museum but after we have heard nothing since then from the city corporation.”

Attack on a schoolgirl protested n Our Correspondent, Barisal Right activists, students, teachers and guardians formed human chain and held a rally in front of Barisal Ashwini Kumar Hall yesterday, protesting an attack on a school girl for denying love proposal.

The programme, organised by Sammilito Nari O Sachetan Nagorik Samaj, was presided over by cultural activist Akkas Hossain.

Among others, Mahila Parishad district unit Secretary Nurjahan Begum,

Mahila Awami League city unit President Fazilatunnesa Farid, Shahidul Islam, father of the victim and right activist Munwarul Islam Oli addressed the programme.

The speakers alleged that Rumman, a student of Barisal Government BM College, had been teasing Mariam Aktar Swarna, a class-ten student of Sagordi Union Secondary School since long.

Being refused, Rumman along with his group severely chopped Swarna on her way to tuition on August 7, the speakers alleged.

DU admission test dates fixed n DU Correspondent

A case was lodged by the father of the victim against 5 with Kotwali police station but prime accused Rumman was not arrested due to negligence of the police, the speakers alleged.

The participants demanded immediate arrest, exemplary punishment of the attackers, proper treatment and rehabilitation of the victim.

Runa Begum, mother of Rumman, was arrested after the incident and the police was trying to nab other accused, Investigation Officer of the case Sub-Inspector Sumon Haldar said. l

People formed human chain in front of Barisal Ashwini Kumar Hall yesterday, protesting attack on a school girl for denying love proposal DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prof Mamum said he was no longer involved in any of the museum’s activities.

Khandker Millatul Islam, chief social welfare and cultural officer of DSCC, and curator of the museum said: “We are trying to develop the museum to make it special and unique.”

He said sufficient funds are being allocated for its development, and added that they want the media and people to help in achieving their goal. “Otherwise it will not be possible to reach our goals,” said the curator.

When the Dhaka Tribune went to the museum, there were no visitors. A DSCC official seeking anonymity said on average up to seven to eight people visited every day.

The museum is open from 9am to 4:30pm and charges Tk2 entry fee he said. l

RAJIB DHAR

NEWS IN BRIEF Kuet to celebrate founding anniversary Sunday

Khulna University of Engineering Technology (Kuet) will celebrate its 10th founding anniversary on the campus on Sunday. The KUET authorities have chalked out different programmes to mark the anniversary a success. As a part of the programme, a colourful procession will be brought on the campus in the morning and a charity gathering will be held at the campus auditorium following the rally. Tree plantation, discussion, seminar, studentsteachers charity cricket match, film show, inaugurations of “Durbar Bangla, a sculptor on the War of Liberation and Bangabandhu and Bangladesh corner and cultural programmes will also be held on the occasion. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid is expected to attend the function as the

Experts for legal water connection to city slums n UNB, Dhaka Water experts at a seminar yesterday stressed the need for providing legal water connection to the city slums with a view to ensure access to safe water for the slum dwellers.

They said the slum dwellers are always keen to have legal water connection of WASA and pay for the water, but often they are denied legal connection as the musclemen occupy the slums and provide illegal water connections, forcing the slum dwellers to pay exorbitant price for water.

Dhaka Wasa, Population Services and Training Centre (PSTC), Dustha Shasthya Kendra (DSK), Unicef and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly organised the seminar titled, ‘Legal Water Connections to Korail Slum: Sharing Experience and What Next!’ at a city hotel.

State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Local Government Division secretary Abu Alam M Shahid Khan, Chief of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) Section of Unicef Charlie Hrachya Sargsyan and chairman of Dhaka Wasa Board Engr M Rahmatullah spoke at the seminar.

Dhaka WASA managing director Engr Taqsem A Khan presided.

Jahangir Kabir Nanak said legal and safe water is the fundamental right of every citizen, and the present government is committed to ensure that right.

He congratulated the Unicef and the Asian Development Bank for their initiative to bring the slum people of Dhaka city under the legal water connections.

Abu Alam M Shahid Khan praised

Eminent photojournalist Pavel Rahman has been nominated for the PIB-Sohel Samad Memorial Award-2013.

He has been selected for the award in recognition to his contribution to the country’s photojournalism, said a press release.

The award comprises of a crest, a certificate and cash of Tk50,000.

Paven Rahman was born in 1956 in Rangpur. His father’s name is Mujibur Rahman and mother’s name is Matija Rahman.

He started his career as a photojournalist with the weekly ‘Joyoddhani’ and later worked for the Dainik Bangla, weekly Ekata, Dainik Janapad, Sangbad and The New Nation. He worked for the news agency Associated Press (AP) since 1980. Currently, he works as the photo adviser of Prothom Alo. l

the success of Dhaka WASA in their ceaseless efforts to fulfill the city dwellers’ demand of safe water and also increase the revenue income.

Charlie Hrachya Sargsyan urged the Dhaka WASA to take steps to supply water to the city slums and assured of providing all out support in future.

Engr Taqsem A Khan said that for the first time in its history, Dhaka Wasa is now able to produce surplus .

“Dhaka WASA has great achievement in increasing the revenue income and lowering system loss with sustainable growth in the recent years.”

He informed that Dhaka WASA is currently providing safe water legally to 63,618 families of 300 slums through 977 connections, including 15,554 families of Korail through 226 connections.

Senior government officials, representatives from ADB, World Bank, AFD and different non-government organisations attended the seminar.

As a successful water management authority among four short-listed cities, Dhaka WASA recently won the Water Leaders’ Award-2013 at the Global Water Summit held in Seville, Spain on 22-23 April this year.

Engr Taqsem A Khan received the award and US$ 10,000 for its successes under the ‘Dhaka WASA Turnaround Programme’ and specially for its success in providing drinking water for the Low Income Community (LIC) of the capital city.

Dhaka WASA is spending the US$ 10,000 it received with the Water Leaders Award for supplying water to the low income people under its Lower Income Community Programme. l

chief guest. Located in City’s Phulbarigate area by the side of Dhaka- Khulna highway, 12 kilometers away from the city, KUET was established on September 1 in 2003 on 101 acres of land.– BSS

Tareque, Mishuk memorial lecture at DU

A memorial lecture on renowned filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer and broadcast media personality Mishuk Munier was held at Dhaka University (DU) RC Majumdar Arts auditorium yesterday. Mass Communication and Journalism Department masters students Sara Manami Hossain and Pranab Bhomik presented the keynote paper titled “ Mishuk Munier: Craftsman of Scenarios and Search for National Identity in Tereque Masud’s Movies”. – BSS

Hartal observed peacefully in Sylhet n UNB, Sylhet A dawn-to-dusk hartal called by local unit of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was observed without any major untoward incident in the district yesterday.

Earlier on August 25, the local BNP unit called the shutdown in the district for April 29 to press for tracing out its missing district president M Ilias Ali. Additional forces of police and Rab were deployed in different parts of the city to avoid any trouble.

Movement of small vehicles was seen as usual in the city during the hartal.

Educational institutions remained closed and most shops kept their shutters down.

Meanwhile, pickets vandalised a truck and two CNG-run autorickshaws at Dhopadighipara in the town at 9am. Police arrested a picket from Shibganj area in the town.

Chhatra Dal and Illias Mukti Sangram Parishad activists brought out a procession at Mirabazar around 7 am.

They held a meeting at Court Point area at 1 pm.

On April 17 last year, BNP central committee organising secretary and president of Sylhet unit BNP and exMP M Ilias Ali went missing along with his driver after going out of his residence at Banani Chairmanbari in the capital.

BNP has been blaming the security agencies for his mysterious disappearance, an allegation denied by the government. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Friday, August 30, 2013

A week on after ‘chemical attack,’ world debates on Syria n AGENCIES Obama, US: Blames Assad, yet to decide US President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has yet to make a decision on hitting Syria. Obama, who a year ago warned that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a “red line,” said Wednesday that Washington had definitively concluded that the Assad regime was to blame. He argued that it was vital to send a clear message not just to Syria, but around the world. The US Monday built a moral and legal case for military action against Syria, rooted in the proposition that its “undeniable” use of chemical warfare had shattered humanitarian norms. There was however a growing sense in Washington that operations against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are now inevitable: the only questions were when and how.

The administration made a dual case: that the use of such heinous arms against civilians, regarded by the world as taboo for decades, must not stand, and that US national interests are now at stake. Kerry was, in part, speaking to Russia, the Syrian ally disputing US claims that Assad’s regime was behind the attack. He said “common humanity” dictates the need to ensure the horrific scenes of last week are not repeated. Kerry’s appearance Monday was a sign Washington believes efforts by a UN team to probe the attack are no longer viable due to Syrian obfuscation.

The White House condemned Syria for destroying evidence of the assault with repeated bombardments and over sniper fire on the team’s vehicles.

It was unclear exactly which international law statutes the administration will use to build its case, but the 1925 Geneva Protocol was the original document that outlawed the use of poison gases in war. The administration is making clear this will not be a go-italone war. Allies Britain and France are already on board.

Cruise missiles ‘likely’

US bombardments of Syria would likely start with cruise missile strikes launched from US, and possibly allied, ships and submarines. Analysts said targets could include military units implicated in the attack last week. Any strike must be sufficiently punitive to deter further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.

But there is no appetite for prolonged involvement – the mantra is “no boots on the ground.” Senior officials say a “nofly” zone is a no go.The operation would be smaller and shorter than the monthslong Nato campaign over Libya, sources said. Obama will also make clear that any military action is purely a response to the use of chemical weapons and not an intervention into a wider civil war or attempt at regime change.

-AFP

Cameron, UK: Attempts to convince British Prime Minister David Cameron faced an uphill struggle on Thursday to secure parliament’s approval for military intervention in Syria after the main opposition party said it would vote against the motion.

Cameron said what was at stake was “one of the most abhorrent uses of chemical weapons in a century.”

He insisted that taking action against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability was “not about taking sides in the Syrian conflict.” But the outcome of the vote hung in the balance after a party source said the centre-left opposition Labour Party had been having “increasing doubts about the opaque nature of the government’s motion.”

-AFP

Hollande, France: Ready to commit forces The French military is ready to commit forces to an operation in Syria if President Francois Hollande decides to do so, the defence minister said Thursday.

But the chief of state, who met with the head of the Syrian opposition, stopped short of announcing military intervention over a suspected chemical weapons attack.

Hollande offered his political and

humanitarian support for the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, but said the group will only be a viable alternative to Syrian President Bashar Assad if it has military credibility — and if the international community can stop the spiral of violence.

Hollande’s government was the first to speak of the possible use of force against Syria over the gas attacks. -AFP

A man walks in front of a burning building after a Syrian Air force air strike in Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus

REUTERS

Assad, Syria: Will defend strikes

Putin/Rouhani, Russia/Iran: Chemical use ‘impermissible,’ but oppose intervention

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad himself declared: “Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression,” and said any attack would result in “victory” for the Syrian people.

On the ground, soldiers were being pulled back from their command posts and tougher security controls were in place at roadblocks and hospitals in case of possible air strikes.

Syria Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus would defend itself against any strikes.

Muallem said Syria had capabilities that would “surprise” the world, and warned that any military action against it would serve the interests of Israel and al-Qaeda.

-AFP/Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani agree that chemical weapon use is “impermissible” but oppose intervention in their ally Syria, the Kremlin said after the two held telephone talks.

“Both sides consider that the use of chemical weapons by anyone is impermissible,” said a statement posted on the Kremlin website late Wednesday.

“Considering the calls for outside military intervention in the Syrian conflict, they have also highlighted the need to seek ways to settle (the conflict) solely through political-diplomatic means,” it said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed Thursday on the need for the

UN Security Council to study a report

by UN experts on the alleged chemical attack outside Damascus, the Kremlin said.

“Both sides proceed from the fact that active work will be continued within the framework of the UN and other formats on issues of a political and diplomatic settlement of the current situation,” a Kremlin statement said.

Russia on Thursday sent two warships to the east Mediterranean, Interfax news agency, but Moscow denied this meant it was beefing up its naval force there as Western powers prepare for military action against Syria. Interfax quoted a source in the armed forces’ general staff as saying Russia.

-AFP

Rouhani, Iran: Any military action against Syria will have consequences beyond the region and leave Israel in flames, Iran’s army chief of staff General Hassan Firouzabadi said in remarks reported Thursday.

-AFP/Reuters

Xinhua, China: An attack on Syria would be dangerous and irresponsible, and the world should remember the Iraq war was started by US allegations of weapons of mass destruction which turned out to be false, China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. Xinhua commentaries do not carry the same weight as government statements, but they can be read as a reflection of official Chinese thinking.

-AFP/Reuters

Analysis: A solution for Syria?

Survivors describe horrors of attack

n Zeeshan Khan

n AP, Beirut

The escalating tensions, both in Syria and within the international community, are leading to multiple layers of brinkmanship that may spiral dangerously out of control within weeks, if not days, if unilateral action is taken by parties concerned.

Latest to threaten just that is the UK, which has said that it may carry out strikes against Syria without the approval of the UN Security Council, and has justified it by saying it is “permitted under international law to take exceptional measures in order to alleviate the scale of the overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.”

The US has expressed virtually the same sentiments, and France, while keener to work with the UN, is also willing to commit forces.

Egypt’s Brotherhood ramps up calls for protests n AP, Cairo Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is ramping up calls for nationwide protests, urging people to take to the streets against the new military-backed government.

In a pre-recorded message aired late Wednesday on one of Al-Jazeera’s Arabic news channels, top Brotherhood figure Essam el-Erian called on people to rise against the “failed, bloody military regime.”

The Interior Ministry says its police forces are on high alert in preparation for the protests, which have turned deadly.

How people respond to calls for Friday protests and sit-ins will test whether the Brotherhood can still mobilise its base amid a fierce security crackdown against the group.

Hundreds of Brotherhood members have been killed and arrested since the July 3 coup that ousted President Mohammed Morsi, a longtime leader in the Islamist group. l

Bashar al-Assad While this argument may be morally true, the complications it will create are not insignificant. Russia’s and China’s strong opposition to international military intervention means they will probably veto it in the Security Council, and military action taken in spite of that could very aggressively undermine the UN system.

Other complications include the need for proper evidence about the use

of chemical weapons. The Assad regime has repeatedly denied having used them, and the UN has requested that no action be taken until its investigations are complete. Even the UK’s own report claims that it is “highly likely” at best.

The US has expressed certainty but has offered no evidence as to how it came to its conclusions. Parallels to the “weapons of mass destruction” argument for invading Iraq are obvious, and it stands to reason that the destabilisation which ensued could also be mirrored in Syria, making a very bad situation much worse.

There’s no doubting that something must be done to stop the bloodshed in Syria. However, the way in which this occurs is of considerable importance and if done wrong, may leave rifts in the international system that can’t easily be mended. l

Taliban kill 15 police in western Afghanistan n AFP, Herat Taliban insurgents killed 15 police on the main highway in western Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, in the latest attack to highlight an escalation in rebel strikes as Nato-led troops withdraw.

“Highway One” is a 2,200km circular road connecting the key cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, but it has been a constant target for insurgent attacks, kidnappings and looting.

“A convoy of police who went to inspect a highway patrol unit were caught in a Taliban ambush on Wednesday,” Farah province spokesman Abdul Rahman Zhuwandi told AFP. “There was fighting between them in which 15 national police were killed and 10 wounded, while several Taliban were also killed.”

The attack occurred shortly before dusk on Wednesday in Bakwa district of Farah province, which borders Iran.

The ambush raised the death toll in Taliban attacks on Wednesday to more than 30, including an American soldier, four policemen and three civilians who died when insurgents tried to storm a joint Nato-Afghan military base in the east.

Nato-led troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan as local security forces take over responsibility for thwarting the Taliban, who have launched a spate of recent attacks across the south, east and west.

The ambush raised the death toll in Taliban attacks on Wednesday to more than 30, including an American soldier Afghan and international leaders are trying to open peace negotiations with the militants to halt the conflict before a presidential election in April and the departure of all Nato combat troops by the end of 2014. l

The early-morning barrage against rebel-held areas around the Syrian capital immediately seemed different this time: The rockets made a strange noise.

Seconds after one hit near his home west of Damascus, Qusai Zakarya says, he couldn’t breathe, and he desperately punched himself in the chest to get air.

Meanwhile, in rebel-held areas east of Damascus, hundreds of suffocating, twitching victims were flooding into makeshift hospitals following a similar rocket barrage. Others were later found dead in their homes, towels still on their faces from their last moments trying to protect themselves.

Witnesses interviewed by the AP say they can’t prove it but strongly believe government forces were responsible, saying that it is consistent with the na-

23 dead in China clash

n AFP, Beijing A Chinese policeman was killed in an “anti-terrorism” operation in the restive region of Xinjiang, state media reported Thursday – an incident last week in which overseas reports said 22 Uighurs were shot dead.

The Global Times said the policeman “died in action against a violent terrorist group.”

Xinjiang, a vast and sparsely populated region in China’s far west, is prone to sporadic outbreaks of violence. Its population is 46 percent Uighur – most of them Muslim – with 39% Han, China’s ethnic majority, who largely dominate the economy.

Uighur organisations accuse Beijing of suppressing their language, culture and religion, while China says development of the resource-rich region has raised living standards.

The Kashgar Daily named the policeman as Yan Xiaofei, 32, and said his funeral was held at the weekend in Kashgar, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, after he “heroically gave his life” on August 20.

No other casualties have been officially confirmed, the Global Times said. l

ture of Assad’s regime and that nobody else had the capability to fire such weapons.”To suggest that the rebels did it is simply ridiculous. ... Why would they hit themselves with chemicals?” asked Ammar, a resident who said he miraculously survived the barrage on Moadamiyeh, where 80 people were killed.

Ammar said he was awakened by shelling around 5am, just before dawn prayers, when he heard a screeching sound unlike anything he had heard before, followed by the sound of people screaming on Rawda street below his apartment. Once outside, he said, he saw a gas with a faint green color. It “stung my eyes like needles.” “I ran out to see what was going on and saw people in various stages of suffocation and convulsions. I tried to help, but then my legs buckled and I fell to the ground,” he said.

Ammar woke up at a makeshift

hospital, previously a Red Crescent centre, where he said he spent five days getting water, oxygen and injections of atropine, which can be used to counteract the effects of nerve gases.

To the east of Damascus, some 600 patients poured into a makeshift hospital, said Abu Akram, a doctor= at the facility.

He said the signs — twitching, foaming at the mouth and nose, constricted pupils — were all clear signs of a nerve gas.

Akram was told by several medics that many were found in their homes, with wet towels on their faces or hiding with their children in bathrooms.

Mergo Terzian, president of Doctors Without Borders, said chemical weapons specialists reviewed the photos and videos and said the symptoms — no sign of trauma, dark patches on the skin, problems breathing — were consistent with a poison gas attack l

WORLD WATCH Bulldozer kills girl in China amid land grab dispute

A bulldozer killed a four-year-old girl in southeastern China after her family resisted a land grab, a major cause of unrest in the country, Chinese media reported on Thursday, sparking online outrage. Hong Xiaorou was killed in Fujian province when the bulldozer hit her on Wednesday despite her grandmother screaming for the vehicle to stop, a provincial government-run news website said. Authorities said Hong’s death was an accident and that they had detained those responsible. Seizures of land across China have been fuelled by soaring prices and the government’s urban expansion drive, resulting in often violent clashes between officials and villagers.

Five held in largest Australian people-smuggling raids

Five men from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been arrested and accused of facilitating the passage of up to 132 boats carrying asylum-seekers, in Australia’s largest-ever people-smuggling sting, police said Thursday. The men – an Iranian, 21, a Pakistani national, 46, and three Afghans aged 40, 34 and 33 – were detained in a major nation-

wide operation, the culmination of 12 months of work and seven separate probes into the 132 voyages. Hundreds of asylum-seekers have died making the perilous voyage to Australia in recent years on rickety, overloaded boats, mostly from Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

The ring had allegedly been active in the recruitment of passengers and the collection and transfer of money.

Fast-food strikes set for cities nationwide

Organizers said thousands of fast-food workers were set to stage walkouts in dozens of cities around the US on Thursday, part of a push to get chains such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Wendy’s to pay workers higher wages. It is expected be the largest nationwide strike by fast-food workers, according to organizers. Thursday’s planned walkouts follow a series of strikes that began last November in New York City, then spread to cities including Chicago, Detroit and Seattle. Workers said they wanted $15 an hour, which would be about $31,000 a year for full-time employees. That is more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $15,000 a year, which is what many fast food workers earn.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

9

Friday, August 30, 2013

India arrests suspected top Panama says N Korea ship’s arms violated UN sanctions militant on border n Bhatkal was named co-conspirator in a 2010 attack on a bakery in Pune

n AFP, New Delhi Indian police have arrested the alleged co-founder of top home-grown militant group the Indian Mujahideen, which is suspected of killing hundreds in multiple attacks across the country, a minister said Thursday.

Yasin Bhatkal, believed to be in his 30s, was arrested near the border with Nepal and is in police custody in the northern state of Bihar, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters in the capital.

“He is being interrogated,” he said.

“I cannot disclose which intelligence agencies were involved.”

The banned Indian Mujahideen came to public attention in November 2007 following serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh state. It is accused of a string of attacks since then in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Pune among other locations.

The group is thought to head a network of home-grown Islamic militant groups, with some analysts believing it has links to the powerful Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed militant organisations.

Bhatkal was named as a co-con-

spirator over an attack on the German Bakery restaurant in the western city of Pune in 2010 when a bomb placed in a rucksack under a table exploded, killing 17 people including five foreigners.

Reports say he was captured on CCTV footage in the restaurant, planting the bomb shortly before the blast.

His arrest on Wednesday evening is another success for the Indian security forces following the detention earlier this month of another alleged top militant, Abdul Karim Tunda, who is thought to be a senior member of the LeT. It is not known if the two arrests are linked but Tunda, who was also arrested near the Nepal border, has been cooperating with police, according to newspaper reports.

Tunda is accused of helping mastermind serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 in which 250 people died, as well as more than 40 other deadly bomb attacks across the country.

The most recent deadly attack believed to have been mounted by the Indian Mujahideen came in February this year when twin bombs strapped to bicycles exploded in the city of Hyderabad, killing 16 people and wounding

more than one hundred.

It was also linked to bomb attacks on July 7 this year at Bodh Gaya, a Unesco world heritage site that is revered

by Buddhists. The blasts were suspected to have been staged in retaliation for violence against Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Bhatkal is from the southern state of Karnataka, where police confirmed that the National Intelligence Agency had communicated his arrest.

“The Karnataka police provided information and photographs of Bhatkal to the NIA,” state inspector general of police Bhaskar Rao told AFP. Home-grown Islamic militant groups are still a relatively new menace for India, which has traditionally been targeted by groups based in or directly supported by neighbouring Pakistan.

Young recruits are drawn to the group’s message of fighting for the rights of India’s economically disadvantaged Muslims and avenging religious riots such as those in Gujarat in 2002 in which more than 1,000 Muslims were killed, analysts say.

Nepal police spokesman Nawa Raj Silwal said that Nepalese police were not involved in the arrest of Bhatkal. l

AFP, Panama City

The undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons found on a North Korean ship are a violation of UN sanctions against arms transfers to Pyongyang, Panama said Wednesday, citing a UN report.

The public safety ministry said in a statement that according to a draft report by UN experts sent to Panama after the seizure of the ship in July, the cargo “undoubtedly violates UN sanctions, which supports the course of action Panama took.”

The ministry statement was the first information released about the mission of the experts, who completed their inspections two weeks ago.

They were led by Briton David Martin Uden, a former ambassador to South Korea.

A source in the public safety ministry said authorities had been given a first draft of the report compiled by UN sanctions panel experts.

North Korea is under UN sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme which bar the transport of all weapons to and from the isolated state apart from the import of small arms.

Pyongyang carried out a third nuclear weapons test in February, triggering even tighter UN sanctions.

The ship, the Chong Chon Gang, was

Pakistan overturns sentence of doctor who helped find Osama bin Laden n Reuters, Peshawar, Pakistan A Pakistani judicial official on Thursday overturned the 33-year jail sentence passed on Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped CIA agents hunting for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who was killed in 2011.

US officials have hailed Afridi as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden’s location before the secret May 2011 raid by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after more than a decade of searching.

Judicial official Sahibzada Mohammad Anees ordered a new trial on the grounds that another official had exceeded his authority when handing down last year’s sentence. Afridi remains in custody.

“The assistant political agent... did not have the authority to award 33 years’ imprisonment to Dr Shakil Afridi,” said the written judgment. “The assistant political agent played the role of a magistrate for which he was not authorised.”

A political agent and his assistant are representatives of the Pakistani government in the tribal areas, which are not covered by the country’s judicial system.

Samiullah Afridi (L), lawyer for Afridi hugs a man after the hearing in Peshawar Afridi’s sentence further damaged ties between Pakistan and the United States when they had already strained over the bin Laden raid. Angry US sena-

Kiwi bikers make rare Korea border crossing n AFP, Paju Five New Zealand motorcyclists made a rare crossing of the world’s last Cold War frontier Thursday, driving their bikes over the heavily militarised border from North to South Korea.

The crossing was part of a 9,000km journey that began in the Russian city of Magadan, and aimed to traverse the mountain “spine” of the Korean peninsula, from Mount Paektu in the North to Mount Halla in the South.

Permission is rarely granted by either of the Koreas – let alone both of them – for foreigners to pass through the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that has divided the peninsula for the 60 years since the 195053 Korean War. The exception made for the biking group seemed largely based on good timing, as it coincided with an easing of North-South tensions and efforts by both sides to resume elements of cross-border cooperation.

The mood jibed with the group’s stated intention of celebrating the “unifying” nature of the peninsula’s mountain range.

Jo Morgan, the only woman in the group, said people had welcomed them wherever they went in the two weeks they spent riding through the North on their 650cc Suzuki trail bikes.

“They were great, they waved out,” she told reporters after crossing the border into South Korea.

“Many people sent their love to their families in the South. They feel like one people,” Morgan, 60, said.

Pyongyang and Seoul have just agreed to resume – after a three-year hiatus –

reunions for families separated by the Korean War. Her husband, Gareth Morgan, said the trip had been “wonderful” so far.

“I won’t really feel it until I am on top of Mount Halla, then I will have the sense of achievement that we did what we came to do,” he said.

The border crossing would have been inconceivable just a few months ago, when both Koreas were on a virtual war-footing and threats of nuclear strikes were being thrown around.

But a subsequent easing of tensions saw Pyongyang approve the trip, followed by the authorities in Seoul.

The crossing was part of a 9,000km journey that began in the Russian city of Magadan, and aimed to traverse the mountain ‘spine’ of the Korean peninsula, from Mount Paektu in the North to Mount Halla in the South In a brief despatch on Wednesday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) had reported the group’s visit to Mangyongdae – the birthplace of North Korea’s founder leader Kim Il-Sung.

“Being briefed on the revolutionary life of Kim Il Sung and his family members... the members of the group looked round historic relics preserved at the old home with good care,” KCNA reported.

Foreigners wishing to travel between the two Koreas usually have no choice but to fly via Beijing. l

AFP

tors symbolically withheld $33m in aid from Pakistan in retaliation.

Relations since then have slowly improved but there remains plenty of

UN peacekeeper killed in Congo fighting; three others wounded n Reuters, Goma A UN peacekeeper from Tanzania was killed and three others were wounded on Wednesday in an operation with the Congolese army to drive back M23 rebels from the city of Goma in eastern Congo, a UN spokesman said.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s UN peacekeeping mission used helicopters, artillery and ground troops in support of government forces that launched the assault on rebel positions north of Goma, a city of 1 million people on the Rwandan border.

A 3,000-strong UN intervention brigade, with a tough new mandate to protect civilians and neutralise armed groups in the mineral-rich central African nation, sprang into action last week after the United Nations accused the rebels of shelling the city.

The M23 rebels, aware that their presence within striking distance of Goma is key to their leverage in stalled peace talks, have fiercely resisted Congolese army efforts to push them back.

Wednesday’s fighting focused on the high ground around the village of Kibati, 11km north of Goma.

“The M23 has been using these positions to shell populated areas. The objective of the operation is therefore to remove the threat against Goma,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Congo’s UN peacekeeping mission, known as Monusco, later said that the dead peacekeeper was a Tanzanian. l

residual distrust on both sides.

Lawyer Samiullah Afridi said Afridi plans to submit an application for an early hearing.

Afridi was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, in which he collected DNA samples, that is believed to have helped the American intelligence agency track down bin Laden.

Pakistani officials initially said Afridi would be tried for treason for helping the United States, but court documents showed he was jailed for being a member of a militant group, Lashkar-e-Islam.

Afridi denied the charges and a spokesman for the group said they had no ties with him.

“Shakil was himself kidnapped by militants,” Afridi’s lawyer told Reuters.

“He had to pay a lot of money for his release. There is no question that a person like him would treat militants or give them funds.”

Afridi’s new trial will be conducted under the auspices of the political agent of Khyber Agency, Anees said in his statement.

Anees is a commissioner with responsibility for law in Pakistan’s tribal areas. l

The North Korean container ship seen at the Manzanillo International container terminal dock in Colon City REUTERS intercepted on July 10 as it tried to enter the Panama Canal on suspicion it was carrying drugs.

Authorities instead uncovered 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet era MiG-21 fighter jets, air defense systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.

Both Havana and Pyongyang said they were “obsolete” Cuban arms being shipped to North Korea for refurbishment under a legitimate contract.

The communist allies did not ex-

plain why the items were buried under more than 200,000 sacks of sugar inside the ship.

The United Nations has not stated publicly yet how it will proceed.

The ministry statement was released after a group of North Korean diplomats visited the ship’s 35 crew members, who are being detained at a former military base on charges of arms trafficking.

The crew members face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. l

Egyptian soldiers will no longer swear loyalty to president n Reuters, Cairo Egyptian soldiers will no longer swear loyalty directly to the president of the republic, according to a published decree, a symbolic change analysts said underlined the military’s independence from any civilian control.

Officers will vow to “execute the orders of my leadership,” according to the amended oath of allegiance, that removes the phrase: “I will be loyal to the president of the republic.”

The decree was issued on Tuesday by interim head of state Adly Mansour, head of the army-backed administration installed by the military after it deposed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 3.

“The change is a positive one. It was meant in order not to make the oath personal. It already includes reference to the president, as he is one of the army’s leaders,” army spokesman Ahmed Ali told Reuters. “This way makes the loyalty to the leadership and not to a

person,” he said.

Analysts saw another symbolic aspect to the shift.

Nathan Brown, a professor at George Washington University and a leading Egypt expert, noted that the text of the decision showed that it was based on material presented to the president by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Sisi also serves as a vice president and as the defense minister in the interim government formed after the army overthrew Morsi last month.

“I don’t think anyone would believe that this is likely to be the president’s initiative,” he said.

“In short, this is a military-initiated step, rubber-stamped by an acting president,” he said. “It is clear from this who is calling the shots.”

Brown also noted that in contrast to other countries, where the army “might swear allegiance to the constitution and laws”, in Egypt, soldiers and officers will no longer be swearing allegiance to “any civilian official, law or procedure.” l

Sri Lanka minister accuses UN rights boss of ‘secret meetings’ n AFP, Colombo A senior Sri Lankan minister on Thursday accused the visiting UN human rights chief of holding “secret meetings” with activists during her ongoing fact-finding mission.

Housing minister Wimal Weerawansa said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay “gave the slip to her bodyguards,” appointed by the government, to hold unscheduled

meetings in the island’s former war zone in the east.

“She broke protocol, gave the slip to her security detail and went for secret meetings in Trincomalee to conspire against the country,” Weerawansa told reporters in Colombo. “She is already planning a very adverse report.”

Three years ago, the minister staged a hunger strike against UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s appointment of a panel of experts to advise on alleged

war crimes in Sri Lanka in the final months of a separatist war.

Pillay arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday for her first official visit after the government dropped its public hostility to her and promised access to the former war zones during the week-long mission.

Despite allowing the visit, President Mahinda Rajapakse this week criticised Pillay, accusing the UNHRC of treating his Indian Ocean nation unfairly. l

A Tamil woman cries as she holds up an image of her disappeared family member at a protest in Jaffna

REUTERS

10 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Friday, August 30, 2013

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Your editorial on UGC needs August 27

Making Dhaka more liveable must be a priority

Dear Editor, I read your report on this issue the previous day and the editorial today with keen interest.

You have brought out the substance of the issues involved on so-called foreign universities opening campuses in BD. As a senior academician, and currently working as the VC of a midsized private university with four campuses in Dhaka city, I am also concerned that the proposed policy will create more chaos in the field of higher education in BD. I quote from your editorial: “Not only does it undermine the national private sector, but by proposing a lighter touch oversight for foreign universities, the UGC does nothing to build confidence in educational standards and value for students.” The policy should be revised to create a level playing field as the VP of the Association of Private Universities said earlier in your report. Thanks.

Prof Dr M Shamsul Haque

D

haka has been ranked as the world’s second least liveable city by the Economist’s latest Global Livability Survey.

By its very nature, this type of survey is guaranteed to generate discussion. Many would question whether out of 140 cities in the survey, Dhaka is only more liveable than Damascus, which is ranked at the bottom. And clearly there may be other significant cities that are even less liveable, which were not included in the rankings.

Indeed, these kinds of rankings are, by their very nature, somewhat arbitrary and Rather than tendentious, and not hugely obsess about the meaningful. fairness of the However, rather than obsess methodology or about the fairness of the the accuracy of methodology or the accuracy the perception, we of the perception, we would do would do better better to focus on the undeniable to focus on the truth that our capital is not a very undeniable truth liveable city, by any standards.

Poor infrastructure, congestion, lack of public safety and transport chaos are plain for all to see.

The government must bring forward measures such as improving transport and relocating industries to make Dhaka more liveable. Strengthening governance and improving city government by holiding mayoral elections should also play a part.

Improving Dhaka’s liveability ranking is essential, not as a mere matter of national pride, but to stimulate investment, create jobs and improve the lives of millions.

We don’t need the Economist to tell us what we already know, but rather than focusing on the flaws of their survey, we would do better to focus on the very real problems faced by the residents of Dhaka.

August 23

Write to us at:

Raihan Jamil Your thesis sounds like once a right action makes always right actions. Odhikar did something right in 2001 and so it can do no wrong any more. Utter nonsense.

Dhaka Tribune

Zeeshan Raihan Jamil: Thank you for your comment. The question isn’t whether Odhikar did no wrong; it’s whether the government did. The purpose of demonstrating Odhikar’s track record was to give some context to the slurs that are being thrown at it lately, that’s all. Odhikar can indeed do wrong, but only an independent commission investigating their findings can prove it.

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

LETTER OF THE WEEK

Really feel sorry for the whole family. Not taking sides, but I just feel nowadays kids and parents are not connected. Parents are too busy with their social status related work, kids are busy with Facebook chatting, dance clubs, and partying with friends. Well, it’s good, as long as it doesn’t lead to this type of horrifying incident.

We are too concerned about making money, and keeping up with the social status. Parents are too concerned with what society says about them, but always ignore what their kids have to say. Parents are too busy with parties and business tours. Why can’t they find one day to take their kids for an outing? Take them to their village, show them the natural beauty of our country, show them the lifestyles of the village people? It will not give them any excitement but what it will give them is the feeling of belongingness.

This Oishee incident is the perfect reflection of the lack of bonding among us, between the children and their parents. We are too excited, and they are too concerned with social status.

The end result is Oishee.

Shamim Hasan

T

Mahbub Alam I have doubts about his decision. As in the past, he was better known as CMLA Ershad (Cancel My Last Announcement). :-/ Haji AB Mannan Howlad When this EC was formed, Ershad said Rakib Shaheb is a competent man. What is he telling now?

Ali Asgur Rakeeb Which of your statements do you expect the people to believe? Because you say one thing in the morning, and afterwards, you change your statement.

Shaquib Quoreshi Oh sure, and that is why a horrible person like you is still in politics.

Sujoy Barua This means, he will end up going into the elections.

Ahmed Jamil Farouque He’s raising his stakes! Wants to draw as much money as possible from AL. Impossible that he won’t join the elections. He does not contest to win, elections are an opportunity for him to do nomination business (Rowshan Ershad said so).

Habibul Alam Let’s see how his words and actions match up, or if there’s a difference.

August 25

August 21

he looting and vandalising of a 200 year old brothel in Madaripur, by members of a religious organisation, sets a dangerous precedence for how religion and authority can be used in tandem to illegally appropriate land in this country.

Allegations suggest the Islahi Qawmi Parishad is being used by political elites in the area to grab the lucrative land on which the brothel stands. Plans for commercial development of the area have prompted similar eviction efforts Though sheathed in the past and the brothel has in religious veneer, obtained a High Court ruling to this is in fact an stave them off. attempt to deprive Sex workers who live at the marginalised brothel own 75% of the land, members of and as they are licensed, are legally entitled to run their society of their operations from there. Unable to constitutional dislodge them legitimately, the rights convenient alternative, of using religiously motivated individuals to do it for them, gives unscrupulous people the sort of moral “cover” they need to go about their unsavoury business unopposed.

So much so, that law enforcers agencies did absolutely nothing to stop the criminal destruction of private property.

Though sheathed in religious veneer, this is in fact an attempt to deprive marginalised members of society of their constitutional rights, and is just as unconscionable - if not more so - as the more obvious ones that occur elsewhere.

Land grabbing cannot be condoned whatever the pretext. In fact, using religiosity as a cloak to justify such illegality is even more noxious.

August 24

Khaleda says BNP won’t go to polls under AL

Make administration more child-friendly

A land grab by any other name

Whatever is going on is nothing but a gimmick! Both AL and BNP will be there in the general elections, I bet!

Waliul Haque Khondker

Bogra militant suspects admit they are JMB men August 25

And who has promoted JMB in the past?

That would be Jamaat. So ban Jamaat right now or get ready for the consequences.

Alo Adhar

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Clock face (4) 4 Throws (5) 9 Sphere (3) 11 Part of the leg (4) 12 Farm birds (5) 13 Flatfish (4) 14 Notion (4) 15 Puts away (5) 19 Angry (5) 21 Grassy expanse (4) 25 Flower (4) 26 Impel (5) 28 African river (4) 29 Ignited (3) 30 Score (5) 31 Precious stones (4)

Be Heard

The right to remain silent

JP won’t take part in polls under current EC: Ershad

DOWN 1 Domestic animals (4) 2 Wrath (3) 3 Encourages in crime (5) 5 Aid (6) 6 Given shoes (4) 7 Roofing item (4) 8 Skulk (5) 10 Interior decoration (5) 16 Christmas showy substance (6) 17 Hospital rooms (5) 18 Glimmer (5) 20 Banishment (5) 22 Operatic air (4) 23 Testament (4) 24 Wagers (4) 27 Vigour (3)

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

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

Code-Cracker

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Op-Ed

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Friday, August 30, 2013

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Let’s get Bangladeshi universities into the top 500

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n Ekram Kabir s a nation-state, Bangladesh has come a long way. We have graduated to be the second-largest garment-exporting country in the world and businesses around the world now depend on “Made-in-Bangladesh” tags.

We’ve earned global fame with a Bangladeshi winning the Nobel Peace prize. We’ve confidently learnt to engage our womenfolk in our economy. We’ve started to expand our private sector in order to boost our businesses. The world cites our example in controlling population growth and withstanding and tackling disasters. We have even become the 24th arms-importing country in the world.

The full list of our success stories would be quite long. Unfortunately however, despite many indiviudal successes in research at home and abroad, our universities are not succeeding in making their presence felt in the international arena. Not a single Bangladeshi university was placed among the top 500 institutions around the world in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2013, also known as the Shanghai Rankings. American and European universities have topped and largely filled up the list.

Many may deem the idea of Bangladeshi universities being placed in the top 500 as “too ambitious” in a backdrop and methodology that features only one South Asian institution, the Indian Institute of Science in the 500. Well, I beg to differ, intensely, saying that securing a place in top 500 may be difficult, but it is certainly not impossible and not “too ambitious.” To my mind, we’re not there because we haven’t been ambitious and improving the state of affairs at our universities has been

neglected.

It is quite apparent that the quality of education at our universities has declined; no one would argue with that. So-called political activities by teachers and students have reached an unacceptable level and obstruct the way to improving the quality of education at our universities. The overall management at the universities is in such a sorry state that it’s not possible to make a mark in the international educational arena without raising our ambition and expectations.

An incident such as the recent holding captive of the vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University in his office for a few days, is rare in any other country in the world. Whatever the VC’s “acceptability” to some teachers and refusal to speak to them may

Not a single Bangladeshi university was placed among the top 500 institutions around the world in the Shanghai Rankings

have been, keeping him captive is unconscionable and should not be tolerated or expected from university teachers. When the majority of the university teachers are engaged in national politics, it does alas seem close to impossible to dream of achieving a place in global rankings.

Senior figures and VCs in Bangladeshi public universities were always chosen for tbased on political affiliations. Without any political links, preferably with the ruling party, it is almost impossible to become a VC.

An aerial view of Dhaka University area. With intent and effort, in can regain it’s glory. So can many other universities This practice raises several questions as far as seeking educational excellence at our universities. We haven’t seen any potential VC candidate refusing his/her position against this practice of “political appointment.”

I believe someone needs to stand up and say: “it’s time for the teachers to stop getting involved in party politics and start ‘education politics’.”

Teachers getting involved in party politics accrues from our long tradition of student politics in national life. Much has been said and discussed by a great many of analysts about our way of doing student politics in the last 42 years, but it is not justifiable to argue that the country needs the kind of politics by students that existed before 1971.

Negatives of long term unemployment n Adeyanju Pinheiro

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lose your eyes and picture the scariest thing you can think of.

Maybe it’s a giant spider or a giant stay puft marshmallow man or something that’s not even giant at all.

Well, whatever it is, I guarantee it’s not nearly as scary as the real scariest thing in the world: long-term unemployment.

There are two labour markets nowadays. There’s the market for people who have been out of work for less than six months, and the market for people who have been out of work longer. The former is working pretty normally, and the latter is horribly dysfunctional. That was the conclusion of recent research that looked at Beveridge curves for different ages, industries, and education levels to see who the recovery is leaving behind.

A Beveridge curve is a tool that shows the relationship between job openings and unemployment. There should be a pretty stable relationship between the two, assuming the labour market isn’t broken. The more openings there are, the less unemployment there should be.

If that isn’t true, if the Beveridge curve “shifts up” as more openings don’t translate into less unemployment, then this might be a sign of “structural” unemployment. That is,

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the unemployed just might not have the right skills or are being undercut by competition by new or overseas groups of workers.

Now, what can be found is that the Beveridge curves look normal across all ages, industries, and education levels, as long as you have not been out of work for more than six months.

But the curves shift up for everybody if you’ve been unemployed longer than six months.

In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old, a blue-collar or white-collar worker, or a high school or college graduate; all that matters is how long you’ve been out of work.

Help wanted – if you’ve been out of work for less than six months

Just how bad is it for the long-term unemployed? It turns out long-term unemployment is much scarier than you could possibly imagine. Employers prefer applicants who haven’t been out of work for very long, applicants who have industry experience, and applicants who haven’t moved between jobs that much. How long you’ve been out of work trumps those other factors.

Look at that again. As long as you’ve been out of work for less than six months, you can get called back even if you don’t have experience. But

The glorious chapter in our history of student politics was fulfilled by and actually ended with our liberation.

Post-independence politics by our university students can hardly be termed as “glorious.” Student wings of political parties at universities are now seen stripping off students from all forms of student-ship and not working for the improvement of students and education in the country.

We need to rethink whether this band of student-politicians could ever do any good for our education.

Another aspect that pops up when we talk about education and seek to achieve global recognition is the quality of research and publications. To our common minds, universities have a fundamental role in advancing research

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

for the benefit of our national life.

Our university teachers, when they were students, have all excelled in their academic feats as each and every one of them was a first-class student.

When they graduate as teachers, it must surely only be right for them to be allowed to spend their time on delivering high quality and world class research works. However, if our time is spent on party politics, our ambition for quality research may be a far cry.

And it is because of our “blunted” sense of ambition and expectations, that achieving excellent global rankings in education also remains a far cry. l Ekram Kabir is the executive editor of Natunbarta.com.

Syria, aided by Iran, could strike back at the US in cyberspace after you’ve been out of work for six months, it doesn’t matter what experience you have. The first thing employers look at is how long you’ve been out of work, and that’s the only thing they look at if it’s been six months or longer. This penalty for long-term unemployment is unlike any other.

Long-term unemployment is a terrifying trap. Once you’ve been out of work for six months, there’s little you can do to find work. Employers put you at the back of the jobs line, regardless of how strong the rest of your resume is. After all, they usually don’t even look at it.

The curves shift up for everybody if you’ve been unemployed longer than six months It’s time for the government to start hiring the long-term unemployed. Or, at the least, start giving employers tax incentives to hire the long-term unemployed. The worst possible outcome for all of us is if the long-term unemployed become unemployable.

That would permanently reduce our productive capacity. We can do better, and we need to start doing so now.

We can’t afford long-term thinking in either the short or the long-term.l Adeyanju Pinheiro is a journalist.

n Joseph Menn

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f the United States attacks Syria, it will be the first time it strikes a country that is capable of waging retaliatory cyberspace attacks on American targets.

The risk is heightened by Syria’s alliance with Iran, which has built up its cyber capability in the past three years, and already gives the country technical and other support. If Iran stood with Syria in any fray with the United States that would significantly increase the cyber threat, security experts said.

Organised cyber attacks have already been carried out by the Syrian Electronic Army (Sea), a hacking group loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. It has disrupted the websites of US media and Internet companies and is now threatening to step up such hacking if Washington bombs Damascus.

“It’s likely that the Syrian Electronic Army does something in response, perhaps with some assistance from Iranian-related groups,” said former White House cybersecurity and counter terror advisor Richard Clarke.

Little is known about the hackers behind the Syrian Electronic Army, and there is no evidence that the group is capable of destructive attacks on critical infrastructure.

However, former US National Security Agency director Michael Hayden told Reuters that the Sea “sounds like an Iranian proxy,” and it could have much greater ability than it has displayed.

Thus far, the Sea’s most disruptive act was in April when it broke into the Twitter account of the Associated Press and sent fictional tweets about explosions at the White House. The false messages sent the stock market into a downward spiral that, for a short time, erased more than $100bn in value.

In an email to Reuters on Wednesday, the Sea said if the US military moves against Syria “our targets will be different.”

“Everything will be possible if the US begins hostile military actions against Syria,” the group said in the note.

President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday that the Syrian government would face “international consequences” for last week’s deadly chemical attack in Syria, but he made

clear that any military action would be limited.

Asked about the threat of cyber retaliation, US Department of Homeland Security spokesman Peter Boogaard said the government “is closely following the situation and actively collaborates and shares information with public and private sector partners every day.”

A US Department of Defense spokesman said he could not discuss specific threats, while another source at the Pentagon said no unusual activity had been detected by late on Wednesday.

Iran sharpens its game

Cyber experts have said that Iran increased its cyber capabilities after the United States used the Stuxnet virus to attack Tehran’s nuclear program.

US intelligence officials have blamed hackers sponsored by Iran for a series of so-called distributed-denial-of-service attacks against many US banking sites. In DDoS (Definite Denial of Service) attacks, thousands of computers try to contact a target website at the same time, overwhelming it and rendering it inaccessible.

It could have done much worse with such access, experts said, underscoring the vulnerability of major companies that use outside providers In three waves of attacks since last September, consumers have reported inability to conduct online transactions at more than a dozen banks, including Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp. Banks have spent millions of dollars to fend off the hackers and restore service.

Researchers have said that Iran has also infiltrated Western oil companies, and it could try to destroy data, though that would increase the risk of retaliation by the United States.

Things in cyberspace would get more complicated if Russia, an ally of Iran and Syria, were to step in. Former Obama administration officials have said that Russia, which has supplied arms to Syria, has cyber capabilities nearly as powerful as the United States.

Even if the Russian government did not act directly, the country’s private hackers rank with those in China in their ability and willingness to conduct “patriotic” attacks. Cyber experts have said that Russian hackers have struck at government and other sites in Estonia and Georgia.

The Syrian Electronic Army’s servers are based in Russia, and that alliance could strengthen if matters in Syria became more dramatic, said Paul Ferguson of the Internet security company IID. “We already have a bad geopolitical situation,” Ferguson said. “This could play into the entire narrative I don’t want to see happen.”

It is unclear how much cyber damage Syria could or would want to inflict, said Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of security firm CrowdStrike.

“We haven’t seen significant intrusion capabilities from them or destructive capabilities,” he said.

Earlier this week, as the Obama administration pushed for more support for strikes on Syria, the New York Times, Twitter and the Huffington Post lost control of some of their websites. The Sea claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Security experts said electronic records showed that NYTimes.com, the only site with an hours-long outage, redirected visitors to a server controlled by the Syrian group.

The Sea had planned to post antiwar messages on the Times site but was overwhelmed by the traffic it received and its server crashed, the Sea said by email. Late on Wednesday, some users still could not access NYTimes.com.

The Sea managed to gain control of the New York Times web address by penetrating MelbourneIT, an Australian Internet service provider that sells and manages domain names.

It could have done much worse with such access, experts said, underscoring the vulnerability of major companies that use outside providers.

“Chief information officers need to realise that critical pieces of their online entities are controlled by vendors and that security policies should apply to them as well,” said Amichai Shulman, chief technology officer at security firm Imperva. l This article was first published by Reuters.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Art show Automated Subjectivity going on at Bengal Art Lounge n Shadma Malik A duet exhibition “Automated Subjectivity” by artists of two generations—seasoned artist Mustafa Zaman and young talent Rafiqul Shuvo—is on display at the Bengal Art Lounge till September 3. The unusual exhibit is a thought provoking display for the art lovers of the city to appreciate and ponder on. Five sculptures of Zaman and Shuvo are being showcased, along with four video installations, photos, prints and drawings. The artists used various mediums in the process of the portraying some burning issues of modern world.

When talking about the out of the box exhibition, curator and participant of the exhibition, internationally acclaimed artist Zaman, states: “The exhibition ‘Automated Subjectivity’ addresses the subjects or bodies that conform and also those that develops

behavioural patterns of human psychology and in a greater aspect, the social system.

In modern time, fast-paced communication and a drive towards a fabricated destiny make us all acting like agitated robots – as self-destructive automatas.”

Inspired by the book “Capitalism and Schizophrenia” a 1972 book by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze, Zaman developed the concept of the exhibition.

Zaman’s experimental artworks are done by working with photographs, placing tracing paper on top of it and drawing, sketching and installing with fairy lights in the canvas calls attention to the piece. The amazing innovative creations, done by incorporating concept and voice, interpret various social issues that are predominant in a society.

His series work “Full blown Entities” captures the portrayal of women

in a male dominated media. The sculpture “Candle Light Vigil” made out of wax and extruded polystyrene foam is of a man raising his hands up in the sky. Both hands of the innovative and fascinating sculpture is made out of wax and doubles as candles, the flame of which will be continuously alight during the twelve days of the exhibit.

Zaman’s co-artist, Shuvo is a young promising talent who emphasises medium as a language. His video installations are self reflective, as each medium has been used to convey a message.

The artist expresses his inner motivation by using hair as a symbol of body.

The editor of “Depart,” an English language art quarterly, Zaman obtained his degree in 1988from Department of Print Making, Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Shuvo gained his MFA from the Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka in 2012. l

Friday, August 30, 2013

An ongoing rumour about the sensational diva of Dhallywood, Anchol, leaving the silver screen was put to rest, when she signed up for a film named “Three Lover’s.” The film features two heroes of West Bengal and is a typical love triangle. Anchol is the female counterpart of the two male leads. The film’s shooting will start from next month and Monirul Islam is to direct the film.

Anchol has drawn in audience with her attractive acting skills and appealing appearance. She debuted as a film actress in 2010 through the movie “Bhul” and grabbed the audience’s attention trough acting in “Baily Road.”

She has already paired with many super hit actors and established good chemistry with them on screen. Her recent releases “Prem Prem Paglami” and “Jotil Prem,” this year did good business in the movie market. l

Radio Foorti rewards listeners with new campaign Radio Foorti, country’s one of the most popular radio stations, has come up with zestful campaign for their listeners named “Foortibaaj Reward Program.” With the slogan “Don’t stop the Foorti,” the radio station aims to reward its listeners with exciting gifts, vouchers and more all year round fun games at some of the prime shopping malls of Dhaka.

To participate in the games, listeners have to register their names

through sending Sms to 9840 by typing FBJ<space>Name or logging into facebook.com/radiofoorti.

Radio Foorti is ceaselessly bringing innovative springs of total entertainment for its nationwide listeners. Recently the station initiated an outdoor activation “Foortibaaj- On the Go” campaign in different shopping malls of Dhaka and CTG where there listeners took part in different fun games such as disc throwing, flip your lid, ball catching with glass, remote car racing and dart throwing. l

Station Master airs on NTV today n Entertainment Desk

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones taking time apart

A single episode drama “Station Master” airs tonight at 9pm on NTV. Written by Yusuf Ali Khokon and directed

by Tonmoy Tansen, the drama features Shojol, Mim, Tondra Rani, Kazi Raju and others.

Shimanto is an unemployed loner who lives with his sister and her husband and is dependent on them. His vagabond nature prompts him to spend a substantial amount of time at the rail

station and observe the behavioural patterns of people passing by.

Every day, there is always a new incident to observe and decipher. Shimanto believes himself to be a visionary with the skill of reading people and finding their weakness by looking into their eyes. His sister and her husband worries about his state of mind and consult a psychologist. After a thorough examination, the senior doctor refers him for further consultation with a young doctor named Shanta. l

TODAY IN DHAKA

Hollywood actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones “are taking time apart” after 13 years of marriage, it has been confirmed.

The actress’s publicist told the BBC the couple had taken the decision in order to “evaluate and work on their marriage”.

Douglas, 68, and Swansea-born Zeta Jones, 43, married in 2000 after meeting in France two years earlier.

They have two children - Dylan, 13, and Carys, 10.

The pair has both struggled with health problems in recent years.

Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2010, while Zeta Jones sought treatment for bipolar disorder in 2011 and again earlier this year.

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Douglas claimed his condition - which is now in remission - had been caused by oral sex.

The couple share the same birthday, 25 September, and met at the Deauville Film Festival in France in 1998.

They had their first child in August 2000, and married three months later in a lavish ceremony at New York’s Plaza hotel, where guests included Goldie Hawn, Christopher Reeve, Jack Nicholson and Brad Pitt.

OK! magazine paid £1m for exclusive access to photographs of the day, but rival magazine Hello! spoiled the scoop by publishing pictures taken by somebody pretending to be a guest or a waiter.

A long legal battle followed in the UK, with the couple arguing that Hello! had invaded their privacy.

The case was eventually resolved in 2007, when the House Of Lords ruled Hello! had breached OK!’s confidentiality.

Prior to the wedding, the couple reportedly signed a pre-nuptial agreement, which entitles Zeta Jones to £1m for every year of their marriage in the event of the relationship coming to an end.

Douglas insisted on the contract after his first wife, Diandra, was awarded £44m in their divorce. l

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Katrina and Deepika remains at odds n Entertainment Desk

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NEWS

Bokphul Konya Bodhon Theatre, Kushtia Time: 7:00pm Experimental Theatre Hall Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy,

This season tinsel town’s leading ladies, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone remain at loggerheads and the spat seems to be getting uglier. An obvious reason for their distaste for each other is a certain Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika’s ex and Katrina’s current flame.

And with Deepika’s rising star, professional rivalry too has become an important factor in their already fraught relationship.

Get Smart

Korta Kahini

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n Entertainment Desk

An installation displayed at the exhibition

ON TV

Anchol stars in Three Lovers n Entertainment Desk

Deepika has become the only actress to cross the Rs 5bn mark in a single year surpassing competitors, Katrina and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Katrina is a distant second with Rs 3.19bn in 2012 .

Add to this the fact that Katrina does not have any films lined up this year while Deepika has two biggies on the anvil- “Kochadiyan” and “Ram Leela.”

After pictures of Katrina’s beach holiday with Ranbir Kapoor were splashed across newspapers, Deepika decided to

give her rival some very public advice during a press conference.

“It has never happened to me. I believe if you are a celebrity or public figure, these things are bound to happen. And I don’t think you can accuse anybody of anything. If I am a public figure and if someone has captured me, then I feel I should have been a little careful,” said Deepika.

And now Katrina has been telling her friends and family that Deepika should learn to keep her “words of wisdom” to herself. l

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Did you know?

Three Scottish managers won the European Cup Winners’ Cup: William Waddell (Rangers, 1972), Alex Ferguson (Aberdeen, 1983 and Man United, 1991) and George Graham (Arsenal, 1994)

Sport

Friday, August 30, 2013

14 Valdes holds off Atletico as Barca claim Super Cup

14 Celtic join big guns in group stage

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Hafeez, Junaid wrap up big win for Pakistan

Big incentives offered to Nepalese team Mahmood, n Raihan from Kathmandu In a bid to motivate its team to win their first Saff Championship, All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) promised each of its players an apartment and a lifetime pension of Nepali Rupees 10,000 yesterday at a crowded press conference held at the Dashrath Stadium.

Ganesh Thapa, the president of Anfa announced, “We will left no stone unturned to see Nepal win the title of the Saff Championship. We have pledged to provide the same award in the last edition but it was not achieved. Now this time and in our own yard, I hope Nepal will win the Saff title and we will provide an apartment and rupees 10 thousand to each player’s lifetime.”

An enthusiastic Ganesh called on all Nepalese sports lovers to show their support for the national team. “I have read in Bangladesh media that Nepal is the favourite and it made me more confident, I request all the sections of the society to cheer the football team up and they present the title to the nation,” said Ganesh.

The president went on to talk about security and urged political forces to refrain from any activity that could disrupt the tournament. “I urge all the political parties to refrain from calling strikes during the SAFF Championship, which is a national pride for us, I expect all possible cooperation from the all the political parties.” He added that with the government’s assistance, pilfer proof security would surround the Dashrath Stadium and both uniformed and plain clothes security personnel would be on constant duty. l

Bangladesh national footballers attend practice session at the Police Headquarters ground in Nepal yesterday

A tale of two coaches n Raihan Mahmood Years ago, Lodewijk de Kruif was a student at a coaching course being taught

by Wim Koevermans. Years later, the two men stand ready to square off on the field with de Kruif coaching Bangladesh and Koevermans holding the reins of team India.

It is interesting to see the similarities between the “Guru” and his “Shishya”, the teams of both of whom are among the top contenders for the Saff Championship. They both favour a particular style of football.

“Both of us will be trying to win and playing in the Dutch way. It will be an entertaining one as the mode of Dutch football is to win playing attacking football,” said de Kruif.

The similarities do not end there.

Even the speaking patterns of the two men are not un-alike. When a Bangladeshi journalist asked Koevermans who were the favourites for the tournament, the Dutchman pointed to his stylish polo shirt which

had “India” written across the chest and asked was there any doubt about that? When de Kruif was asked whether the match against Nepal would be a tough one, he shot back, what do you think, it will be an easy one? – before going on to explain why the match would be tough.

There exists between the two men a deeply felt, mutual. “He was my teacher and he is senior to me. It will be an interesting one when we take the field,” said de Kruif, speaking of Koevermans.

“Yes, he was my student long ago and we have talked with each other,” said Koevermans, speaking of de Kruif.

Though confident that his side are the favourites, the Indian coach was not taking anything for granted. “We have to play five finals to win the title.

There is no easy way, every match is tough. Bangladesh and Nepal will be tough opponents and I don’t know, with five foreign based footballers Pakistan will create more challenges, so the group is a tough one. Everybody knows it’s a group of death,” he said. l

Bangladesh finalise Saff squad Monaem Khan Raju left out, Skipper Mamunul’s injury hampers coach Kruif’s game plan

n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh’s final squad of 20 players did not go as per the wishes of head coach Lodewijk de Kruif as midfielder Monaem Khan Raju had to be excluded because his date of registration expired earlier. With the non eligibility of Raju the squad automatically came down to 20, fulfilling the official quota of the Saff Championship.

Bangladesh team went through a full-fledged practice session at the Police Headquarters ground yesterday morning and all the players looked lively. India, the defending champions practiced at the same ground before Bangladesh’s spell.

It was interesting to see that the goalkeeping coach Kees Kalk shot into the business as quick as possible and

Jamal guarantees timely payments n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Dhaka Premier League’s Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club have assured its cricketers that there would not be any difficulty with their payments for the 201213 season. Many cricketers expressed concern over remuneration after a new system for players recruitment was introduced this season, but the Dhanmondi club insists there will be no problems on that front.

The new system, known as “player by choice”, includes a payment method reminiscent to that used in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which has seen many problems with regards to the players not being paid.

The cricketers participating in this season’s competition will be paid in three installments – 40% before the start of the tournament, 30% before the start of the Super League and the final 30% within a month of the tournament concluding.

Additionally, the national cricketers will be paid on prorate basis, i.e. based on the number of matches they play.

Mushfiqur Rahman Mohon, who was the chairman of the BPL team Duronto

kept the goalkeepers busy with long range free kicks. He was a good free

Squad Goalkeepers Mamun Khan, Biplob Bhattacharjee, Ziaur Rahman Zia. Defenders Waly Faisal, Ariful Islam, Nasiruddin Chowdhury, Md. Linkon, Atikur Rahman Mishu,Raihan Hasan.

Midfielders Mamunul Islam, Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan, Jamal Bhuiyan, Omar Faruk Babu, Sohel Rana Zahid Hossain.

Forwards Toklis Ahmed, Zahid Hasan Emily, Shakhwat Hossain Rony, Mithun Chowdhury, Wahed Ahmed.

Sk Jamal Cricket Committee Chairman Mr Mushfiqur Rahman Mohan with all the players and officials of the club at the Player Introducing Programme yesterday COURTESY also assured the players of making payments on time. “Our system is smooth and last season, the players just had to go to the accounts department to get their payment. We were never blamed for making any hassle with the payment. So the players can feel relaxed about it,” he said.

“We were number four in the point table last season. Personally that was good season for me but for the club, it wasn’t so good. We want to turn the tables this year and want to be the number one team,” said skipper Mushfiq. l

kick taker indeed as the Bangladesh keepers were made bound to stretch to their limits at the top corners of the posts.

The Dutch head coach expressed satisfaction over the response of the goalkeepers. “Kees Kalk had been doing a great job and the keepers have responded well, I am slowly integrating all the departments ahead of the first match,” said the Dutch.

However, he had to admit the reality. He was concerned over the injury of skipper and playmaker Mamunul Islam and said the injury problem has hampered his planning. “It was unfortunate, but I have to cope with the circumstances. Injury problems have hampered my planning more often, but I have to look forward with what I have,” said de Kruif.

DPL opens Sep 10 n Mazhar Uddin

Rajshahi – who were plagued with payment troubles – is the chairman of the club’s cricket committee.

Dhanmondi skipper Mushfiqur Rahim hoped that the club will be regular in making payments. “As far as I know, no players were unpaid last season. I played for this team last year and from what I have seen, their payment system was excellent. I hope they will maintain that trend this year,” Mushfiqur told reporters at the players’ introduction ceremony on the club premises yesterday.

Club president Monjur Quader has

MUMIT M

The chairman of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) Jalal Younus dismissed the possibility that the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) - which is scheduled to start on September 10 - players would not be paid in full at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) yesterday.

“The DPL tournament has been going on for a long time in Bangladesh and there is no history of payment problems so far and I am confident that there will be no such issues this time as well,” said Jalal.

The CCDM chairman explained how the players would be paid.“The players will receive 40% of their payment when they sign the contract and 30% will be given after the first round ends.

The remaining 30% will be cleared within a month of the league ending.”

In light of a new system for player recruitment being used for this year’s DPL, many cricketers expressed fears about possible payment problems. The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has

been plagued in recent times with such issues, thus increasing the cricketers’ concerns. Whereas the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are responsible for making payments for the BPL, DPL payments have typically been made by the clubs.

The BCB is planning to use five venues at the start of the league, with SBNS also becoming available after September 18. “The two grounds of Fatullah, the number two ground of BKSP, ShahidChandu Stadium in Bogra and the ShahidKamruzzaman Stadium of Rajshahi will be the probable venues, but so far the schedule is not ready,” informed Jalal.

After several postponements, the BCB finally held the players’ transfer on August 25. The start date for the league has also been pushed back multiple times. Jalal hoped that the league would begin on September 10, after the clubs objected to the earlier announced September 3 start date.

Jalal added that there would be a reserve day for all matches, keeping the rainy season in mind. l

“I think Mamunul is about 80 percent fit and if he is not 100 percent fit I will not put him in the field, the career of a player is far more important.

I hope Mamun and Sohel will be fit before the match, the medical team has been doing a hard work,” added the head coach.

Meanwhile, Mamunul Islam said the pain has reduced and he will run full-fledged in the practice session and observe whether it increases or not.

“I am trying my best to attain the full fitness and I am hopeful to make in the eleven. I am also not willing to play if I am not fit, the hundred percent fit players are the first priority,” said the skipper.

Bangladesh team had their practice sessions at the Police Headquarters, Naxal in the morning. l

Izumi gives India Japanese flavour Mahmood, n Raihan from Kathmandu

Japanese Arata Izumi, the first foreign national to represent the Indian national team, is eager to prove his worth on the field for his country.

The tough looking midfielder has an important role to play in Dutch coach Wim Koeverman’s strategy and was confident that he could carry out the job.

“I am ready to fight and uphold India’s flag. India is a good team and is focused upon winning the title,” said Izumi.

Arata’s father is Indian and his mother Japanese. He was born in India, but became a Japanese citizen after his parents separated.

Currently, he plays for Pune FC in the Indian Premier League and made his debut for India in a friendly match against Palestine in Kochi on February 6.

Arata was also registered as an Indian player in the Durand Cup last year and before that, has played for Japanese outfit Mitsubishi Migushima and East Bengal. He got his Indian passport a year ago and is married to an Indian. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Friday, August 30, 2013

Dortmund flying high on life after Goetze n Reuters, Berlin

Barcelona players celebrate their victory at the end of the Spanish Super Cup second leg football match against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Wednesday. The game ended in a draw 0-0

Valdes holds off Atletico as Barca claim Super Cup n

Reuters, Madrid

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes conjured two stunning saves to deny Atletico Madrid and help the La Liga champions secure a fourth Spanish Super Cup in five years on away goals after a scrappy 0-0 second leg draw at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.

After last week’s first leg at the Calderon ended 1-1, expectations of an entertaining spectacle were high when new signing Neymar, who came off the bench to head the equaliser in Madrid, was included in the starting lineup for the first time since joining from Santos.

World Player of the Year Lionel Messi was also back from injury but both struggled to cope with the visitors’ muscular tactics in what turned out to be a poor quality game littered with fouls including the 81st-minute dismissal of Atletico fullback Filipe Luis.

Messi smashed a penalty against the crossbar in the 89th minute after Miranda had bundled substitute Pedro over in the area but Atletico, constantly looking to catch Barca on the break, had the clearer chances from open play.

Arda Turan skipped into the area shortly before halftime and belted the ball toward goal but Valdes flung out an arm and diverted it to safety.

David Villa, playing against the club he left in the close season, drew another brilliant stop from his Spain team mate in the 56th minute, Valdes diving full length to tip his curling effort from just outside the box around the post.

Filipe Luis had been tangling with Brazilian compatriot Daniel Alves all night and another incident led to him being shown a straight red card before Messi saw his penalty ricochet back off the bar.

“This Atletico team is a team of winners, who fight and battle and are

a very tough opponent,” Barca centre back Javier Mascherano said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster TVE. “It was a very close match,” added the Argentine. “Atleti make things very difficult for you and we have to congratulate them. They compete very well.”

Barca’s triumph was the first time any club has claimed the Super Cup without winning either leg and a first trophy for Barca’s new coach Gerardo Martino, who replaced the ailing Tito Vilanova last month.

Martino got the better of his Atletico counterpart and Argentine compatriot Diego Simeone but Barca’s inability to create scoring opportunities will be of some concern as they bid for a fifth La Liga crown in six years.

They will find out their opponents in the Champions League group stage in Thursday’s draw before bidding for a fifth success in Europe’s elite club competition.

Atletico’s ability to nullify Messi and snuff out any attacking threat from elsewhere was worryingly reminiscent of last season’s semi-final against Bayern Munich, which Barca lost 7-0 on aggregate.

“When there is a title up for grabs the important thing is to win it,” Martino said at a news conference.

“We need more pace, more precision and we need to attack the space so that we avoid running into the opposition defence.

“But considering the season has only just begun I don’t think it’s too bad. Sometimes a team needs results like this to find its form.”

Simeone was proud of his players but lamented their inability to take their chances. Barca now have 11 Super Cups, winning four of the last five.

Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid defeated them last year to break their run of three trophies under Pep Guardiola from 2009-2011. l

AFP

Bayern and Chelsea all set for grudge match n AFP, Prague Champions League winners Bayern Munich and Europa League holders Chelsea meet in the European Super Cup today with the usually relaxed atmosphere surrounding the match spiced up as there are several scores to be settled.

Bayern still feel they should have won the Champions League a year earlier only to be beaten by Chelsea on penalties — even worse for the Germans was it came at their stadium, the Allianz Arena.

Chelsea’s manager at the time Roberto di Matteo is no longer there - he was sacked only a few months later and his replacement Rafael Benitez salvaged something from the season in landing the Europa League.

The present incumbent Jose Mourinho - Benitez’ spell as caretaker manager ended at the end of last season - will be eager to put one over Bayern’s coach Pep Guardiola, his nemesis from his days in Spain.

Celtic join big guns in group stage

Suarez could make Liverpool return against United n Reuters, London n AFP, Paris Banned Liverpool striker Luis Suarez could make his return to action against Manchester United after the two teams were drawn against each other in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.

Suarez, serving a 10-game suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic last season, will be eligible for the match at Old Trafford scheduled for Sept. 24 or 25.

The Uruguay striker is an unpopular figure at United after he was banned for eight games for racially abusing the club’s defender Patrice Evra in 2011 and he inflamed the situation by refusing to shake the Frenchman’s hand after making his return. The third round also features a repeat of last season’s FA Cup final as Manchester City take on Wigan Athletic, who were relegated from the Premier League after upsetting City to win at Wembley in May. There are four other all-Premier League clashes as Fulham play Everton, Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United take on Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion play Arsenal.

Holders Swansea City visit secondtier Birmingham City.

Premier League Southampton host third-tier Bristol City, Leeds, winners in 1968, visit Newcastle United and Norwich City play Watford.

Leicester face local rivals Derby, Premier League Hull City host Huddersfield and four-times winners Nottingham Forest will face Burnley. l

Celtic produced a superb comeback to beat Shakhter Karagandy and qualify for the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, while AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg and Real Sociedad also booked their place at European football’s top table.

Results Zenit (RUS)

4-2

Pacos (POR)

AC Milan (ITA)

3-0

PSV (NED)

Maribor (SLO)

0-1

Plzen (CZE)

Danny 29, 48, Manuel Jose 67, Bukharov 66, Carlao 83 Arshavin 78-pen Zenit win 8-3 on aggregate K-P Boateng 9, 77, Balotelli 55 AC Milan win 4-1 on aggregate

Viktoria Plzen win 4-1 on aggregate

Tecl 3

Celtic (SCO)

3-0

Karagandy (KAZ)

Sociedad (ESP)

2-0

Lyon (FRA)

Commons 45+1, Samaras 48, Forrest 90+2 Celtic win 3-2 on aggregate

Vela 67, 90+1 Real Sociedad win 4-0 on aggregate

The Scottish champions had given themselves everything to do after losing 2-0 to Shakhter in Kazakhstan in the first leg last week, but a terrific strike from Kris Commons gave them hope just before half-time in front of a typically raucous Parkhead crowd.

Giorgos Samaras then levelled the tie on aggregate three minutes into the second period, but it was not all plain sailing for Neil Lennon’s side.

Anthony Stokes hit the bar for the hosts before Sergei Khizhnichenko struck the woodwork at the other end.

But it was to be Celtic’s night, with Stokes doing brilliantly to set up James Forrest to make it 3-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate with virtually the last kick of the game.

Lennon was overcome with delight at the outcome rating it even above his side’s historic group stage win over then holders Barcelona last season.

“It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done in football,” said the Northern Irishman.

“The last three months have all been about preparation for this.

In contrast to Celtic, Lyon never really threatened to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit against Real Sociedad as the French club missed out on reaching the group stage for the second season running.

Remi Garde’s side were looking to do what no team had ever done before by overturning a 2-0 first-leg defeat at home to win a European Cup tie.

It proved too great a task as Mexican forward Carlos Vela scored a secondhalf brace to take the Liga club through 2-0 on the night, 4-0 on aggregate.

Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate said that the joyous celebrations at the end reflected the satisfaction at reaching the group stage. l

Borussia Dortmund appear to have shrugged off the departure of Mario Goetze as last season’s runners-up go into Sunday’s encounter against Eintracht Frankfurt full of confidence and in search of a fourth league win in as many matches.

Goetze, a product of Dortmund’s youth system and one of the most gifted youngsters in Germany, joined Bayern Munich for 37 million euros ($49.36 million) in the off-season but coach Juergen Klopp is convinced his team, dubbed “the young wild ones”, has lost none of its quality.

Dortmund’s perfect start to the new campaign represents a vindication of Klopp’s assessment with several youngsters stepping up to the plate as the Ruhr Valley club seeks to take the fight to Bayern for Bundesliga honours.

Teenager Marvin Ducksch and 21-year-old Jonas Hofmann have quickly made a name for themselves with scintillating appearances, supplemented by goals in the German Cup and league respectively.

Erik Durm, also 21, saw his contract extended to 2017 this week as Dortmund continues to build a solid foundation for the future.

“One can say that there is a chance the team will play even better,” Klopp told reporters earlier this week.

“Mario’s transfer has not had a negative impact on us. It would have been nice if it had not happened but from a sporting point of view, his loss is already irrelevant.” l

Barcelona under Guardiola outshone Mourinho’s Real Madrid, and the latter’s largely unhappy reign there came to an end at the end of last season.

That left the self-anointed ‘Special One’ needing to prove he has not lost his touch at delivering trophies, and where better to start than by beating his old rival in the process.

Guardiola for his part took a year out - stepping aside after Real ended Barcelona’s reign as champions in 2012 - and returned refreshed to take over a Bayern side that last season under Jupp Heynckes became the first German club to win the domestic double and the Champions League.

Guardiola, though, can deliver something that Bayern coaches have not managed and win the Super Cup after the club failed to do so on three previous occasions.

“It’s a unique chance for us players to win this trophy,” said Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

“It’s a final, and a match against the Europa League winners, and that’s Chelsea. l

Fellaini rescues Everton with extra-time winner n Reuters, London

Celtic's James Forrest (C) celebrates scoring the wining goal during their Champions League qualifying play-off second leg match against Shakhter Karagandy at Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday AP

Marouane Fellaini scored late in extra time to spare Everton’s blushes as they came from a goal down to beat League One (third division) Stevenage 2-1 and reach the League Cup third round on Wednesday.

The Belgian, at the centre of a transfer tussle with Manchester United, bundled in from close range after a goal-mouth scramble with 115 minutes on the clock.

A day after their Merseyside neighbours Liverpool were also taken to extra-time by third-tier Notts County, Everton found themselves in a similar spot of bother when they fell behind to a first-half Luke Freeman goal.

They drew level when Spanish teenager Gerard Deulofeu, on loan from Barcelona, netted following a mazy run on the stroke of halftime and Fellaini’s goal set up a third-round clash with Fulham.

Newcastle United were held for 80 minutes by fourth tier Morecambe before substitute Shola Ameobi found the net with a deflected shot and his younger brother Sammy completed a 2-0 win with a calm finish.

There were no such difficulties for Aston Villa and Stoke City who both scored three times to move into the next round.

Kenwyne Jones grabbed a hat-trick for Stoke as they beat Walsall 3-1 and Villa wrapped up a 3-0 win over Rotherham with goals from Andreas Weimann, Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Quick Bytes Andhra Pradesh emerge kabbadi champions Andhra Pradesh, a team from India, won the Walton International Women’s Kabaddi tournament by beating West Bengal 25-23 in a hard-fought final at the Kabaddi stadium yesterday. Earlier in the opening round, West Bengal had defeated Andhra Pradesh. Monika of Andhra Pradesh was adjudged the best player. Daiba Tropa, a member of the winning side, was ecstatic at the result.

“We only trained for 10 days. We never thought we could beat a giant team like West Bengal. It was an even contest.

I’m really happy,” said Tropa. She also praised the hospitality her team found in Bangladesh. President of Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation Hasan Mahmud, IG, distributed the prizes to the winners as chief guest. Kabaddi Federation general secretary Md. Nazrul Islam and additional director of Walton FM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn were also present on the occasion. In the third-place match, BJMC, the only Bangladeshi team in the tourney, defeated Assam 16-11.

– SH

Spurs to sign Lamela from Roma Tottenham Hotspur are set to sign 21-year-old Argentina forward Erik Lamela from AS Roma for 30 million euros ($40.02 million), the Italian club said on Wednesday. “AS Roma announce that they have signed a contract with Tottenham Hotspur for the definitive sale of Erik Lamela for 30 million euros,” the Serie A club said in a statement to the Italian Stock Exchange. The deal also includes five million euros linked to performance, the club added. Roma also announced they have signed 21-year-old Serbia attacking midfielder Adem Ljajic on a four-year deal from Fiorentina for 11 million euros plus four million linked to performance.

– Reuters

Anelka to resume training at West Brom West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka will resume training on Thursday after a week off on compassionate grounds and will be available for Sunday’s Premier League game against Swansea City, the club said on Wednesday. The former France international had been excused for a few days following the sudden death of his friend and agent Eric Manasse. He missed last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Everton and Tuesday’s League Cup second-round victory over Newport. West Brom manager Steve Clarke admitted last week that the 34-year-old Anelka had told him he was considering retirement.

– Reuters

Arsenal’s Podolski out for up to 10 weeks Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski could be ruled out for up to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury, manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday. The Germany international pulled a muscle during his side’s 2-0 Champions League playoff victory over Fenerbahce on Tuesday.

“It is bad news about Lukas Podolski as he will be out for eight to 10 weeks,” Wenger told the club’s website (www. arsenal.com) ahead of Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. “His hamstring is much more damaged than we thought at the start.

It is very disappointing and we have paid a very heavy price for that win. We have to be patient now.”

– Reuters

Aussie pacer Harris out for up to 8 weeks Australia paceman Ryan Harris faces a race to be fit for the return Ashes series opener against England after being ruled out for up to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, Cricket Australia said Thursday. Harris, Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the recent 3-0 Ashes series loss in England, had the injury assessed after arriving back home in Brisbane on Thursday.

– AFP

Day’s Watch Star Sports 1:00pm 2013 Asia Cup Men’s Hockey LIVE ESPN HD 8:20pm 2013 Indian Badminton League LIVE Ten Sports 9:00pm US Open 2013 LIVE Men’s 2nd rd, Women’s 3rd rd Ten Action 11:30pm Uefa Super Cup 2013 LIVE Bayern Munich v Chelsea

Sport

Friday, August 30, 2013

Hafeez, Junaid wrap up big win for Pakistan n AFP, Harare A commanding century by Mohammad Hafeez and a four-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Junaid Khan led Pakistan to a series-levelling victory over Zimbabwe in the second one-day international on Thursday.

After Hafeez had carried Pakistan to an imposing total of 299 for four with an unbeaten 136, Junaid stubbed out a promising run chase by the Zimbabweans to secure a a 90-run win and set up a series decider on Saturday.

Captain Brendan Taylor led Zimbabwe’s reply from the front with an assured 79, but his dismissal saw the hosts collapse from 200 for four in the 39th over to 209 all out in the 43rd as Junaid finished with figures of 4 for 15.

Taylor had shared partnerships with Hamilton Masakadza, Sean Williams and Malcolm Waller as Zimbabwe laid a platform for what would have been the highest successful run chase at Harare Sports Club, only for Junaid and Saeed Ajmal to snuff it out.

Ajmal induced a top-edge from Taylor that was taken one-handed by seven-foot Pakistan bowler Mohammad Irfan, and in the next over Junaid dismissed both Waller and Elton Chigumbura to end any hopes of victory for Zimbabwe.

Pakistan’s batsmen had struggled in the first ODI on Tuesday, which they lost by seven wickets, leading captain Misbah-ul-Haq to call on them to end a prolonged run of substandard performances in 50-over cricket.

Hafeez answered that call with a superb knock, hitting five sixes but also showing restraint after Pakistan had stuttered to 84 for three in the 22nd over.

The 32-year-old gained control of the innings in a 129-run stand with Umar Amin, who recorded his maiden half-century.

Although the pair added just 66 runs over their first 23 overs together, they cashed in on the batting powerplay when they hammered 43 runs in five overs.

Amin was brilliantly run out by Ten-

Tamim denies allegations by BPL franchise owner n Minhaz Uddin Khan

dai Chatara soon after, but Hafeez went to his century in the following over and was well supported by Shahid Afridi in the final stages of the innings.

“We were not thinking to score 300 to be honest, we were thinking of about 260, but the two partnerships with Umar Amin and Shahid Afridi really made the difference,” said Hafeez.

Afridi clubbed three sixes on his way to 39 not out as Pakistan took 64 runs from the final five overs of the innings, leaving Zimbabwe with a target that proved well beyond them. l

Score Card Pakistan Jamshed lbw b Utseya Shehzad c Maruma b Vitori Hafeez not out Misbah-ul-Haq c Williams b Vitori Umar Amin run out Afridi not out Extras (3lb, 20w, 2nb) Total (4 wkts, 50 overs)

32 5 136 3 59 39 25 299

Bowling Panyangara 10-1-71-0, Vitori 10-1-68-2, Chatara 10-2-50-0, Utseya 10-2-54-1, Masakadza 4-0-24-0, Chigumbura 1-010-0, Williams 3-0-12-0, Waller 2-0-7-0 Zimbabwe Masakadza b Junaid 24 Sibanda c Sarfraz b Irfan 2 Taylor c Irfan b Ajmal 79 Maruma run out 8 Williams st Sarfraz b Ajmal 37 Waller b Junaid 40 Chigumbura lbw b Junaid 0 Utseya b Junaid 3 Panyangara not out 3 Chatara c Sarfraz b Rehman 2 Vitori c Irfan b Rehman 0 Extras (6lb, 4w, 1nb) 11 Total (all out, 42.4 overs) 209 Bowling Irfan 8-1-45-1, Rehman 9.4-0-36-2, Junaid 7-2-15-4, Hafeez 6-0-35-0, Ajmal 7-0-40-2, Afridi 5-0-32-0 Result Pakistan won by 90 runs Series The three-match series is level at 1-1

15

Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez completes a run during the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare yesterday AP

National opener Tamim Iqbal has denied allegations made by his Bangladesh Premier League franchise Duronto Rajshahi chairman Mushfiqur Rahman Mohon’s statement.

It was recently published in the media that Mohon is having a bitter time with Tamim on payment for his service in the second edition of BPL. Mohan, who is also the chairman of the cricket committee of Dhaka Premier League club Sheikh Jamal, while facing the media during a club program yesterday alleged Tamim of leaving the Duronto Rajshahi camp in between the tournament.

“Tamim did not play some matches for Rajshahi in the second edition of BPL after our mutual understanding with the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board). But there is also another thing which I think all should be informed of. Tamim went abroad without informing us (the team management) during the tournament.

Now you decide whether I should pay him his full remuneration,” said Mohon to the media.

However, Tamim denied of any such occurrence and told Dhaka Tribune that he was injured. The left- handed opening batsman after playing 10 off the 12 group matches for Rajshahi sustained injury on the wrist and thus was ruled out from the rest of the tournament.

“I was injured and as it happened that time, the Board physiotherapist told me to take rest and not play any more cricket for the moment. I remember clearly of informing both Mohon bhai and our coach (Khaled Mashud Pilot) before leaving the team hotel,” told Tamim to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“I was injured and couldn’t play any game, so I thought better take permission and leave. I have no issue if I am not paid for the matches that I was not available for and to be honest I don’t see what the issue here is,” Tamim added.

Meanwhile, Duronto Rajshahi coach Khaled Mashud Pilot also echoed the same sentiment as Tamim.

“I remember of him informing us.

He was injured and thus left the camp.

Tamim was my helping hand during the tournament. He did anything and everything to help perform in the tournament, so to be honest I don’t remember of any issue taking place between him and the management,” said Pilot. l

Bailey backs Johnson for Ashes return Warm-up game ahead of n Kiwi series announced AFP, London

Australia Twenty20 captain George Bailey has backed Mitchell Johnson to return to Test duty when Ashes hostilities are resumed ‘Down Under’ in November.

Left-arm fast bowler Johnson did not feature in the Australia side that suffered a 3-0 Ashes series defeat in England but has been selected in the squad for the forthcoming limitedovers series, starting with the first Twenty20 international at Southampton on Thursday.

Johnson became a figure of fun among England fans in recent Ashes because of his often wayward deliveries but Bailey insisted the 31-year-old’s raw pace, which has helped him take 205 Test wickets, meant he could yet return to the five-day format.

“Absolutely. I’ve no doubt they (the selectors) would have Mitch in their

sights for a couple of those (Ashes) games particularly given the grounds and his record at some of those grounds,” Bailey said.

“I don’t think he’d ever be too far from the selectors’ minds.

“I don’t think he’s got anything to prove and his form has been really great.

“I thought he bowled really well in his last couple of one-day games for us. He’s not too much fun to face in the nets so hopefully he brings that aggression.

“There’s no doubt someone like him who can bowl as quick as he can and swing the ball at the top of the order can break a game open,” Bailey added.

“That’s what we are after with our Twenty20 cricket -- we want matchwinners.”

Johnson’s status as the man the England fans love to pick on has been usurped by batsman David Warner in

recent months following his Birmingham bar-room attack on England’s Joe Root in June.

“I don’t know (who will get more attention from the crowd), it will be a toss-up,” said a smiling Bailey.

“Talking to Mitch he’s grown with it.

He’s come to enjoy it.

“It’s part and parcel of cricket. I thought Davey handled it well and played up to the crowd nicely.

“That’s one of the great things about playing in England -- the interaction with the crowd. From all reports it’s going to be a bumper crowd.”

Australia have not won a competitive international fixture in any format since completing a one-day series whitewash of the West Indies in Melbourne on February 10 -- a run that will have lasted exactly 200 days when they meet England at Southampton.

“They say winning is a habit and I tend to agree with that,” said Bailey. l

n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh will play a three-day warm-up game ahead of the home series against New Zealand in October.

The two teams in the game, which will be held at Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, will be made up of players from the national squad, said Shariful Islam, assistant manager, cricket operations, BCB. “The warm-up game will be played on September 3 to 5 at Khulna. The players of the national squad will be divided into two teams,” Shariful informed.

Veteran paceman Masharfe Bin Mortaza, who has not played anything longer than a 50 over match since his last Test match in 2009, is expected to play in the game. The former national

Champion Murray races to late night win n AFP, New York Defending champion Andy Murray put on a US Open late Wednesday night special, taking out his frustrations with the chaos-causing rain and event schedulers but two-time winner Venus Williams slipped to defeat.

Third-seeded Murray, who snapped Britain’s 76-year wait for a men’s Grand Slam champion when he triumphed in New York last year, needed just 98 minutes to get past 33-year-old Frenchman Michael Llodra, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

But his match only got underway at 9:55 p.m. (0155GMT) -- the third-latest start for a US Open night session -- after a four-hour rain suspension earlier in the day.

That delay was compounded when 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez battled out a four-hour, 13-minute dogfight on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium, which the Argentine sixth seed won 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-6 (9/7).

“I think playing at that time for your first round is not ideal,” said Murray, who hit 34 winners against just five unforced

errors to book a match with Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer for a place in the last 32.

“It’s not whether it’s me, it’s anyone.

Just because I won last year, it’s nothing to do with that. It’s just more for the guys that have to play this evening, and you have guys that have two days off between matches.”

Wednesday's key results Men’s singles, 1st round 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) Del Potro bt Lopez Murray bt Llodra 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 Karlovic bt Blake 6-7 (2/7), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2) Women’s singles, 2nd round Zheng Jie bt Venus Radwanska bt Torro-Flor Robson bt Garcia Li Na bt Arvidsson

6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) 6-0, 7-5 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) 6-2, 6-2

Amongst Murray’s leading rivals for the title, Rafael Nadal completed his first round match on Monday, 48 hours earlier, while top seed Novak Djokovic and five-time winner Roger Federer both wrapped up their openers on Tuesday.

Del Potro and Garcia-Lopez had pro-

vided the earlier spice for the Murray headliner when they exchanged angry words over the number of injury timeouts that the Spaniard was taking.

“I just asked about the medical timeout because I didn’t know how many or how long. He explained to me then the chair umpire also, and that’s it,” said Del Potro diplomatically.

Del Potro, beaten by Djokovic in the longest Wimbledon semi-final of all time last month, goes on to face 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt, who saw off Brian Baker 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Williams, the US Open champion in 2000 and 2001 and a seven-time Grand Slam singles title winner, went down in a three-hour, second-round clash to tenacious Chinese player Zheng Jie. Two-time major semi-finalist Zheng advanced to a third round clash against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro by outlasting the American 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) in a victory she called “unbelievable.”

At three hours and two minutes, it was the joint fifth-longest women’s singles match in US Open history.

“I didn’t realize the clock was at three hours until the end. I was like,

Andy Murray reacts during his men's singles first round match on Wednesday AFP Wow, this is a marathon,” said 33-yearold Williams.

As a result of Wednesday’s downpours, organizers postponed eight women’s second-round singles matches and 20 doubles matches until Thursday. l

captain said that he has shed 11kgs and has been working hard at the national conditioning camp to prepare himself for a return to longer formats of cricket.

“I think my fitness at the moment is the best it’s been in the last few years.

However, I’ll need to play a few games to know if I can play in Test matches.

“I am looking forward to play a few games in the Dhaka Premier League and also the warm-up game ahead of the New Zealand series. This will help me assess my condition,” informed the right-arm seamer.

Bangladesh national coach Shane Jurgensen was hopeful that Masharfe could complete a successful return.

“He (Mashrafe) has worked hard in the past few weeks and has had improvement on daily basis. I am hopeful of his return,” said Jurgensen. l

Eto’o joins Chelsea on one-year deal n AFP, London Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o has joined Chelsea on a one-year contract, the Premier League giants announced on Thursday. The 32-year-old arrives from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala on a free transfer, in a move that may signal the end of Chelsea’s pursuit of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Chelsea have had two bids for Rooney rejected and manager Jose Mourinho recently admitted that he had a “Plan B” in case their pursuit of the England international did not come off.

“I am very happy to be here, but also anxious because I want to get playing as soon as possible,” Eto’o told the Chelsea website, www.chelseafc.com.

“It wasn’t a hard decision. I saw the qualities Chelsea have, and I was very happy with Jose Mourinho before, so when the opportunity came, I was very happy to take it.”

Eto’o previously worked under Mourinho at Inter Milan and was a member of the team that claimed an unprecedented treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles in 2010. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Teachers threaten movement against new law n Mushfique Wadud

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Friday, August 30, 2013

HARVESTING HEALTH

School teachers have opposed a provision of the proposed Education Law2013 by which a teacher can be handed down a three-month imprisonment or be fined Tk10,000 for imposing corporal punishment on students in schools.

With the introduction the provision, teachers said it would be difficult for them to discharge their duties and properly teach; they fear there are scopes for misuse. They said they have service rule and there should not be any other law for disciplinary action against teachers. “When we are scared we cannot teach children properly,” Salim Bhuiyan, a teachers’ leader said.

Salim, chairman of pro-BNP teachers’ organisation United Alliance of Teachers and Employees, said they would go for strict movement if the law with such a provision was to pass.

Both pro-Awami League and pro-BNP teachers’ organisations have opposed disciplinary action against teachers for corporal punishment.

Azizul Islam, convener of National Front of Teachers and Employees, a

pro-Awami Legaue teachers’ organisation, is also against the provision.

“There is a service rule for teachers and this is enough. Disciplinary action can be taken under the service rule. No new law is required,” he noted.

If the law was introduced teachers would be tried under summary trial, he said. “It is very unfortunate when teachers are tried like thieves or criminals.”

Mofazzal Hossain, president of Bangladesh Government Secondary Assistant Teachers Association, said they would start a movement against such a provision. The draft law was posted on the ministry’s website for public scrutiny.

Education Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury said they would proceed with the law after public scrutiny.

The government decision to pass a law against corporal punishment preceded several incidents of tortures on students.

The High Court on January 13, 2011 declared all kinds of corporal punishment illegal such as caning, beating, chaining, forced haircut and confinement in primary and secondary schools and madrasas. l

Bangladeshi monk dies in Sri Lankan n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Probe into Rana’s wealth gets stuck Jharna Begum refuses n temporary job

A Buddhist monk from Bangladesh was beaten and hospitalised for a week in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, before he succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday.

“I heard yesterday [Wednesday] that the monk had died Tuesday night at a hospital,” Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Md Sufiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune over telephone.

“As far as I know, he was beaten and was hospitalised a few days ago,” he said.

The High Commissioner was unable to provide any more detail because he said he was busy with the SAARC Finance Ministers’ meeting.

UNB, citing Sri Lankan media, reported that the victim was identified as Ven Tilton Barua, 28.

According to colombopage.com, the monk was admitted to Colombo National Hospital’s ICU with skull injuries.

Unidentified criminals attacked the monk and beat him with clubs on August 20 when he was at a temple in Rajagiriya.

Local police are investigating the incident. l

Syed Samiul Basher Anik

Anti-Corruption Commission investigation into the wealth of Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza at Savar, got stuck in legal complexities, ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman said on Wednesday.

ACC on April 28 formed a probe body headed by its Deputy Director M Mafidul Islam to this end.

The probe team on May 15 submitted the preliminary report to ACC recommending it serve separate notices to Sohel Rana and his father Abdul Khalek under the Section 26 (1) of the ACC Act-2004 asking them to submit their wealth statements.

“But we are facing some legal complexities for which notices for wealth statement cannot be served right now,” the ACC chairman said.

Referring to the High Court (HC) ruling, he said ACC could not serve notices to anyone in jail.

If notices are served to such people they can challenge legality of the notice and can file a writ with the HC causing more delay in the process.

Gita Rani and Nirmala Rani pick and clean water spinach (kolmi shak) they harvested near Keraniganj yesterday

“After the 1/11 changeover we served some notices against people in custody yielding no result at all because of legal complexity.

“We are conducting the inquiry into the wealth of Rana very smoothly,” Bodiuzzaman said.

He said: “There is no alternative to waiting for Sohel Rana and his father to get bail. Only then we can serve notices to them asking them to submit their wealth statements.”

The inquiry report of the committee submitted to the commission on May 23 revealed that Sohel Rana, owner of collapsed Rana Plaza at Savar, owns 23 bank accounts, two brick fields and two commercial towers and a lot of land at Savar.

The report said Rana built two commercial buildings at Savar over the last 10 to 12 years.

One was the collapsed Rana Plaza and the other is the eight-storey Rana Tower.

Rana also owns a five-storey residential building at Savar and a two-storey building at Joymandap village of Manikganj. Rana has two brick fields

– Rana Bricks and MAK Bricks at Dhamrai, said ACC sources.

The report read Rana’s sister Sumi owns a building at Savar bus stand while his other two sisters Sufia and Rawshan Ara own two residential buildings.

Rana also owns an oil mill named Rana Oil Mill at Savar bus stand.

Rana has more than 23 bank accounts with the Exim Bank, National Bank, Dutch Bangla Bank and BRAC Bank where he has five loan accounts and one Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) account worth Tk35 lakh, said the report.

During inquiry, the probe body members also found that Rana has one private car, one microbus and two trucks, said an official.

The inquiry team is expecting to have more findings on the wealth of Sohel Rana if notices for wealth statement are to be served to Rana and his father.

Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building, was collapsed at Savar on April 28 where at least 1131 people were killed and 2438 injured. l

OPEN MARKET SALE OF ONION

Consumers show little interest because of low quality n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Consumers have shown little interest in buying onion from the government’s open market sale because of the low quality.

The government yesterday began selling onions in OMS around the country at Tk47 per kilogram through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

TCB, the only state trading agency, has imported 100 tonnes of onions from India in a bid to curb the shooting prices in the retail market, especially to help the low income group people.

This correspondent, who visited a number kitchen markets in the capital yesterday, found out that imported onions were sold for Tk65-Tk70 per kg, while locally grown onions sold for Tk60.

‘There is no way that such low quality onions could be sold at Tk47 per kg. The government is totally playing games with us by importing rotten onion from India’

People stand in a queue on the road near the Secretariat in the capital yesterday as TCB starts open market sale of essentials at fair prices NASHIRUL ISLAM

The Indian onions available in the retail market are entirely imported by private traders. Consumers said the quality of the onions imported privately was far better than the onions that the government had imported through TCB. Many poor consumers – the group that the OMS is actually meant to serve – said they could not buy onions from the OMS outlets because the TCB appointed dealers were not selling less than 5kgs at a time.

This correspondent has found out that the electronic balance that the TCB dealers are using cannot weigh anything below 5kgs.

“I wanted to buy 2kg of onions. But the dealer told me that I would have to buy at least 5kg. I cannot afford that much,” said Ruhul Amin, a rickshaw puller.

“The onions that the government is selling in the OMS trucks are of very low quality. Compared to the quality, the price is too high,” said Md Jakir Hossain, a resident of Mirpur in the capital.

“At least 15% of the onions are nearly rotten,” said Tusher, a fourth class government employee.

“There is no way that such low quality onions could be sold at Tk47 per kg. The government is totally playing games with us by importing rotten onion from India,” said Enamul Haque, a consumer, who was disappointed with the quality of the OMS onion.

He also said if the government thought about people’s sufferings, it would supply good onions and reconsider the price.

Consumers also alleged that they had to wait for hours in long queues as the onion-laden trucks were late in reaching the designated OMS spots.

The dealers, on the other hand, blamed TCB for lingering with the delivery of the imported onions for the delay.

TCB Public Relations Officer Humayun Kabir said they did not know that the dealers were not selling less than 5kg at a time.

About the question regarding quality, Kabir said one or two sacks of onions might have got rotten due to rain.

He, however, asserted that the dealers had been given strict instructions to not sell any rotten onion.

The TCB appointed a total of 35 dealers for selling onions in OMS trucks in different parts of the capital and 184 other trucks in various parts of the country. l

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Jharna Begum, who got wide media coverage after rescuing injured police officer SI Jahangir Alam from the grip of Shibir activists during a hartal on April 1, yesterday refused to accept a temporary job offered by the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.

After refusing to accept the job, Jharna Begum expressed her resentment on the home minister and the police officials for not providing her a suitable government job as promised by the police.

However, local police officials said they were trying their best to show proper respect and gratefulness towards Jharna.

On April 1, Shibir activists attacked on the police at Shalbagan during hartal hours.

They dragged SI Jahangir Alam on the road and repeatedly hit his head with a helmet, leaving him critically injured and unconscious on the spot.

Following the incident, Jharna rushed to the spot and took him to the hospital.

For her courageous action in rescuing SI Jahangir and taking him to the hospital, the Inspector General of Police and Rajshahi Metropolitan Police awarded her with money and crests.

Rajshahi City Corporation offered her a job of MLSS under temporary basis as a recognition of her contribution.

Later, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police offered her a job of peon at Rajshahi Police Line School and College at a salary of Tk5,000, along with festival bonus and ration facilities.

Additional Police Commissioner Tamijuddin Sarder called Jharna at the RMP headquarters yesterday to join her new job, but she refused to join to any

non-government job on temporary basis.

The police was very sympathetic towards her and was trying to provide her with a good job, he added.

Golam Mawla, principal of Police Lines School and College said there was no vacant post for fourth class employee at the college, adding that she would get priority if any post became vacant.

Meanwhile, Jharna Begum expressed her disappointment over the incident, despite repeated visits to the home ministry and RMP headquarters.

She said she did not come forward to save an injured police for any return, rather it was her rational that drove her towards the helpless man.

However, Jharna Begum is currently residing at a police quarter of Rajpara police station. l

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Continue to the Business section...

Business

B2 India may bet on buying gold to ease rupee crisis

B3 Dhaka stocks end flat amid high volatility

friday, August 30, 2013

Business www.dhakatribune.com/business

State banks, FIs to go through financial health diagnosis n Asif Showkat Kallol Finance Minister AMA Muhith has asked the Banking and Financial Institutions Division to conduct a study on the state-owned banks and financial institutions to assess their financial health and identify the ones heavily rely on financial supports from the national exchequer.

His instruction followed a letter from Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) on Wednesday, seeking Tk5bn for the fiscal 2013-14 to continue their lending programmes, said a senior official of the banking division yesterday. He said the

division would conduct the survey.

Earlier, the finance minister had criticised the chairmen and managing directors of the state-owned banks due to poor management and wasting funds being provided by the government time to time.

The government, however, decided to inject Tk50bn into four state-owned commercial banks to make up for the significant capital shortfall.

As of June 30, the cumulative capital shortfall of Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali banks stood at around Tk90bn – an increase of 357% from December 31, 2012, according to Bangladesh Bank figures.

BHBFC has only supplied Tk700m to Tk800m from its own net fund, which it stated not to be enough for operations of the financial institution. So, they badly need the fund to continue with the operations.

“We have sought Tk5bn, which is not a big amount. However, we know the government will not be able to give that much,” BHBFC Chairman M Yeasin Ali told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said the government provided us with Tk3bn in the last fiscal year to help continue lending operations across the country.

“Without the government fund, we would not be able to continue our function.” l

Bringing EPZ under Labour Law

International working group to be formed n Asif Showkat Kallol An international working group will be formed to introduce Labour Law in the Export Processing Zones of Bangladesh under the US Action Plan, said official sources.

Earlier, the Plan asked to form a working group and now the word “international” has been included.

Introducing Labour Law in the EPZs is one of the main conditions set by the US government in its Action Plan to reinstate GSP. Of the 16-point US Action Plan, Bangladesh government is working now to implement 12 points first including the introduction of Labour Law in the Export Processing Zones, said official sources.

A Cabinet Committee on Readymade Garment will review progress of implementation works at its meeting on Sunday, sad the sources.

According to the official sources, the commerce ministry has already identified some lack of coordination among the government agencies in implementing the Action Plan.

The meeting will hold discussion to remove such lack of coordination.

There is still a shortage of inspectors for factories in the country. As per the Action, a number of 200 inspectors require to be appointed as one of the main conditions set by the US government to reinstate GSP by December. But only 35 inspectors have currently appointed by the Labour Ministry under a project.

In the Fire Services and Civil Defense Department, a number of 310 new inspectors will have to be recruited in addition to the existing 50. The Home Ministry is responsible to make these appointments.

As per the working paper for the meeting

The entrance of Dhaka Export Processing Zone of cabinet committee on RMG, the government will lift restriction on registration of two NGOs to be working in the field of implementing labour standards.

The NGOs are Bangladesh Center for Woman Solidarity and Social Activate for the Environment.

Besides, the registration of trade unions will begin soon, the paper says.

Under the Action Plan, the government recently withdrew all eight criminal cases against two workers’ leaders- Babul Aktar and Kalpona Aktar.

Further, the home ministry will advance a transparent investigation into the murder of labours’ leader Aminul islam.

The industrial police officers deployed in the RMG factories will be trained to ensure

Dhaka Tribune

workers’ freedom of association and assembly in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

In addition, the labour ministry will take an initiative to execute a time-based action plan on freedom of association as the US Action Plan has also asked for freedom of association and collective bargaining rights for workers in factories within EPZs, and amendment of the EPZ law in coordination with the ILO. And the government will have to open a hot line and open data base for trade unions and ensuring labour standard and safety, according to the ministry proposal.

Meanwhile, buyers, ILO and exporters have jointly taken projects to improve working condition and safety standard in the garment factories. l

31 NGOs lose licence for misuse of funds

n Kayes Sohel

Micro-credit Regulatory Authority has cancelled licences of 31 non-government organisations (NGOs) on charge of misuse of funds during a period from early 2012 to July 30 this year.

The rate of licence cancellation of NGOs or micro finance institutions (MFIs) has increased after formulating the Micro-credit Regulatory Authority Rules, 2010 in January 2011, said a senior executive of the authority.

“The activities of NGOs and MFIs have come under the regulator scanner thanks to the new rules,” said MRA Director Md Shazzad Hossain.

MRA scrapped the licences due to breaching rules – most of them misused funds, he said. The NGOs are not capable to run their operations.

Currently, 690 NGOs are operating in the country, serving around 40m of the country's 160m people.

The authority, however, considered issuing fresh licences of more foreign-funded NGOs and MFIs, said the executive.

Out of 1,212 applications, he said, MRA primarily selected 705 for awarding licences and asked 101 applicants to apply again with proper and necessary documents.

The regulator awarded 71 licences in 2010, 59 in 2011, 73 in 2012 and 48 as of yesterday for beginning operations.

Since its inception in 2006, MRA has been continuously making efforts for creating an enabling environment for the micro-finance industry for its sustainable development.

Bangladesh has become the first country in the world to establish a separate entity, MRA, under a separate act to licence, monitor and oversee MFIs, as microfinance had been a private sector initiative all along and flourished without any formal regulatory entity in most parts of the world.

Though Bangladesh has been the pioneer of micro-credit, it lagged behind some countries in enacting a regulatory framework for this sector. Over the years, it has brought a number of changes in its rules and regulations.

According to MRA statistics, the sector has created direct job opportunities for over 110,000 people – 82% of them are male and 18% female.

The country’s first micro-finance institution – Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) – was established in 1972 through which micro-finance activities had started in Bangladesh. l

Business India may bet on buying gold to ease rupee crisis

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

friday, August 30, 2013

$23bn can be raised by swapping gold for a payable currency

n Tribune Business Desk India is considering a radical plan to direct commercial banks to buy gold from ordinary citizens and divert it to precious metal refiners in an attempt to curb imports and take some heat off the plunging currency.

A pilot project will be launched soon, a source familiar with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans told Reuters. India has the world’s third-largest current account deficit, which is approaching nearly $90bn, driven in a large part by appetite for gold imports in the world’s biggest consumer of the metal.

“We will start a pilot project among some banks where we will allow them to buy back gold from individual households,” the source, an official familiar with the central bank’s gold policymaking, said. “This will start soon, we have discussed (it) with banks.”

The RBI will ask the banks to buy back jewelry, bars and coins for rupees. Lenders will have to offer better rates than pawn shops and jewelers to lure sellers.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament he was willing to make a statement on the state of economy on Friday, when the lawmakers asked him what steps the government was considering to take to deal with the falling rupee. “I cannot deny that the country is faced with a difficult situation,” Singh said, in brief remarks to the upper house of parliament yesterday.

On the same day, India’s Trade Minister Anand Sharma said the central bank should look into the possibility of monetizing gold holdings.

“I have not said there should be any mortgaging of the gold, or auction of the gold, that is incorrect. I have just said the RBI should look into...how they can benefit the people, particularly with regard to the bonds or the monetization,” Sharma said in response to a question in parliament.

Earlier this week in comments reported in the national media, Sharma said “even if 500 tonnes is monetized at today’s value it takes care of your CAD”, or current account deficit.

“It (pledging gold) will be a desperate measure, and it will send a very wrong signal to the entire country because all the time we’ve maintained that things are under control even though things are adverse,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings in Mumbai.

Kaspersky Lab launches internet security for Mac

n Tribune Business Desk

Kaspersky Lab has launched the latest Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac. The new edition includes protection against new and emerging threats; security for online shopping and surfing; identity protection, etc. l

SBL opens new branch at Uttara

n Tribune Business Desk

Standard Bank Ltd (SBL) has opened a new branch at Uttara in Dhaka.

FBCCI President and SBL Chairman Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the branch Tuesday, said a press release.

It is the bank’s 81st branch located at Muktijudha KS Tower, Uttara, Sector-12.

The bank’s directors Kamal Mostafa Chowdhury, Mohammed Abdul Aziz, Gulzar Ahmed, Ferdous Ali Khan and Managing Director SA Farooqui, among others, were also present. l

NRB gets BB refinancing

n Tribune Business Desk

Gold biscuits are seen in this picture illustration taken outside a jewellery showroom in Mumbai

REUTERS India has taken multiple steps this year to curb imports of gold, its second-biggest import after oil, including raising duty three times to 10%.

Despite that, India is unlikely to ban gold imports or increase import taxes on the metal further, as that may lead more gold smuggling, a senior finance ministry official said in the same press briefing.

The rupee, the worst-performing emerging market currency in Asia this year, re-

bounded from a record low yesterday after the RBI said it will provide dollars directly to state oil companies to shore up the currency.

In comments published by The Hindu newspaper last week, David Gornall, chairman of the London Bullion Market Association, said India could raise $23bn by swapping gold for a payable currency for a period of its choice, while remaining the long-term holder of the gold. l

Bangladesh Bank and NRB Commercial Bank signed an agreement recently for refinancing for agro-processing industries.

Under the agreement, Bangladesh Bank will refinance NRB Bank for agro processing industries in suburban and rural areas, said a press release.

Bangladesh Bank GM Sukamal Sinha Choudhury and NRB Bank’s MD and CEO Dewan Mujibur Rahman signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

Among others, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director AHM Kai-Khasru, DGM SM Ferdous Hossain and NRB Bank’s DMD Shoaib Ahmed were present.

Bangladesh Bank has meanwhile refinanced 23 banks and 17 Non-Banking Financial Institutions for about Tk3.42bn on revolving basis to setup 1,681 enterprises under 37 agricultural sectors. l

Radio Foorti begins reward offers

n Tribune Business Desk Radio Foorti has launched a campaign titled “Foortibaaj Reward Program.”

The programme will offer entertainment-loving people the exciting privileges, gifts, vouchers etc, said a press release.

The event will take place all year round coupled with the Foortibaaj Activation where there are many fun games at some of the prime shopping malls in Dhaka.

The registered Foortibaaj will be entitled to privileges, gifts, vouchers restaurants, fashion and lifestyle, among other things.

Radio Foorti has also initiated an outdoor activation “Foortibaaj-On the Go” campaign in different shopping malls in Dhaka and Chittagong. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

friday, August 30, 2013

Dhaka stocks end flat amid high volatility n Tribune Report Share prices at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended flat amid high volatility yesterday, as investors booked some profits with cautious positioning.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), ended at 4,127 points with a loss of 5 points.

The blue chip index, DS30, managed to end positive, gaining by 10 points to close at 1,540 points.

“Market ended on a relatively lower note after a volatile trading session on the last day of the week. With uncertainty around global economic prospect, Bangladesh economy is now resting on stable condition compared to other emerging frontier markets,” said Lanka Bangla Securities.

After moving marginally lower over the course of the previous session, day’s stock market registered lower amount of turnover as market faced wimpy sell pressures, it added.

However, in the week, market ended with higher turnover as against last week as the market was buoyant on allocation refinancing scheme, easing money market and incessant MNCS rally, it added.

“Volatile movement due to investors’ meticulous trading strategy stretched market’s sentiment to be flat for another trading session,” commented IDLC Investment in its regular market commentary.

As a result, the bourse ended with 4.65 points slide in DSEX. Natural correction as well as profit taking was vigilant throughout the day’s session.

As neither of the demand and supply forces could significantly dominate the session, market maintained a horizontal line.

Meanwhile, news on profit rise in cement sector in the national dailies assisted the sector to be the highest gainer by 4.09% in yesterday’s session.

Besides, International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s mobilisation of US$345m investment for expansion of Grameenphone pushed telecom sector up by 1.87%.

In the last trading session of the week, financial sectors performed worst as banks

‘Volatile movement due to investors’ meticulous trading strategy stretched market’s sentiment to be flat for another trading session’ and NBFIs retraced 0.66% and 1.44% respectively.

On the other side, food and allied declined by 3.52% followed by NBFIs 1.49% and non-

life insurance 1.38%. The total turnover at DSE came down to Tk5.4bn, a decline of 21.7% from the previous session’s value of Tk6.90bn.

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited up by 4.2% was the most traded stock of the day with shares worth Tk361.7m changing hands, closely followed by Grameenphone that accumulated turnover worth Tk345.3m.

Navana CNG, up by 9%, was the day’s highest gainer, while Seventh ICB Mutual Fund was the worst loser, shedding 9.88% value. l

3

Efforts on to increase revenue from indenting business n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has taken initiative to increase collection of income tax from indenting business, said official sources.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith recently sent letters to the Commerce Ministry and the National Board of Revenue asking for necessary steps in this regard.

According to him, given the expansion of indenting business in Bangladesh, more revenue was supposed to come from the sector.

He therefore asked the commerce ministry and the NBR to collect information from Bangladesh Bank.

According to him, the central bank could easily provide information on indenting business firms as they do business through local commercial banks.

Besides, the data on the firms’ foreign clients providing financial assistance and on those participating in international tenders in abroad are available in Bangladesh Bank, the letters said.

But Bangladesh Indenting Agents Association (BIAA) opposed the move and demanded reduction from the existing 30% taxes including VAT and income tax.

A three-member delegation of BIAA on 18th this month called on finance minister.

The delegation talked against tax imposition on their incomes from indenting business. They said such tax imposition is hurting their business.

In fiscal year 2009-2010, the NBR imposed 15% value added tax on indenting business.

“Indenting firms are earning foreign currencies through providing assistance to foreign investors in setting up industrial or business plants. The earnings come as commission.

But the imposition of 15% Vat is hurting our business,” Obidur Rahman, former chairman of BIAA, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He also demanded change of the NBR definition of indenting business as fo eign currencies are coming to the country through the business. l

Experts for ensuring quality fish seeds to enhance production n Tribune Business Desk Experts from home and abroad yesterday stressed on producing quality fish seeds and ensuring adequate supply through adopting latest technologies to increase annual fish production in the country.

They were addressing a daylong stakeholder workshop on “Formulation of Strategies for Quality Fish Seed Production in Hatcheries” in Rangpur, organised by WorldFish under the USAID funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD) Project, reports BSS. Chief of Party of CSISA-BD Project of In-

ternational Rice Research Institute for Bangladesh (IRRI-BD) Timothy Russel attended the workshop as the chief guest, with Project Coordinator Mokarrom Hossain in the chair.

Hatchery owners Arifur Rahman and Moksedul Alam narrated their experiences citing problems being faced by them in producing quality carp and tilapia varieties of fish seed and running business despite huge prospect.

Officials, experts and scientists of BAU, CSISA-BD, WorldFish Bangladesh, and Department of Fisheries and other departments, hatchery owners, representatives of partner NGOs and journalists participated.

The participants and experts indentified

prevailing problems like inadequacy of quality broods, quality hormone, breeding facilities, trained human resources, hatchery management knowledge etc and suggested the way-outs.

The experts said Bangladesh now produces 3.2m tonnes of fish annually against its annual demand of 3.5m tonnes though the annual production stood at only 1.5m tonnes during 1998- 1999 and 2.9m tonnes during 2009-2010.

Dr Benoy suggested various ways and technologies for supplying quality broods, inputs, improved Germ plasm of carp and tilapia, creating breeding nucleus, capacity

building on hatchery management, database development etc for producing quality fish seed and making the business profitable.

Dr Golam Hossain said the time befitting initiative of WorldFish plays important role in enhancing fish production in Bangladesh and delivered various technologies to resolve the prevailing problems for ensuring production of quality fish seed.

Bangladesh has achieved laudable success in fish farming sector to gain international reputation and the government now works with the NGOs and development partners to produce 3.5m tonnes by 2014-2015 and 3.9m tonnes by 2020-2021, he said. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

friday, August 30, 2013

BOJ policymaker warns emerging markets may see more outflows n Reuters, Morioka The global economy could be hurt if the withdrawal of funds from emerging markets picks up ahead of an expected reduction in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary stimulus, a Bank of Japan board member said on Thursday.

Yoshihisa Morimoto also signaled that Japan’s government needed to proceed with a planned two-stage hike in the sales tax as part of efforts to fix its tattered finances, or face a severe market backlash.

He shrugged off the need to loosen monetary policy again to ease the pain from the tax hikes.

The former utility executive stuck to the BOJ’s assessment that Japan’s economy was headed for a moderate recovery, but noted challenges such as geo-political risks in the Middle East and market volatility caused by expectations the Fed could start tapering its bond-buying program as soon as next month.

“Market participants are withdrawing funds from emerging and resource-rich nations on expectations (of Fed’s tapering) and may continue to do so,” Morimoto said in a speech to business leaders in Morioka, northeastern Japan.

“The global economic recovery remains fragile, so there’s huge uncertainty on how a sharp outflow of funds could affect financial markets and global growth,” he said, in the starkest warning to date by a BOJ official on the potential risk for a bigger capital withdrawal from emerging economies.

The Indian rupee and Turkish lira have both hit record lows against the dollar, the Indonesian rupiah has fallen to four-year lows, and other currencies have fallen sharply as

A pedestrian walks past the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo investor sentiment has soured on emerging markets. Exacerbating the move has been a rush to safe-haven currencies such as the yen as investors worry about the risk of United States launching air strikes on Syria.

“We expect the global economy to resume a moderate recovery. But with emerging economies struggling, the pace of recovery will be moderate,” Morimoto said.

The BOJ unleashed an intense burst of

REUTERS

monetary stimulus in April to end chronic deflation and achieve its 2% inflation target in roughly two years. Last month, its raised its assessment to say the economy was “starting to recover moderately.”

Morimoto, in his first public comments since the April easing, said exports, output and capital expenditure would increase moderately as overseas growth picks up.

But he said he wants to wait for more data

EU finalises China solar panel subsidy probe n AFP, Brussels The European Commission concluded Wednesday an anti-subsidy probe into imports of Chinese solar panels which a top EU energy group said showed Beijing made “massive illegal” payments to its companies.

The Commission declined to confirm the details, saying only that it had informed interested parties - including China - of its findings and they could now comment on them.

“The Commission will...consider these comments and determine what definitive action should be taken in the investigations,” EU trade spokesman John Clancy told AFP. Final remedies will go for approval to EU leaders by the end of the year.

Clancy stressed that the anti-subsidy probe was entirely separate from an anti-dumping investigation which led to punitive levies on imports of Chinese solar panels in June and which was settled in late July.

“Let me clarify that the disclosed findings in the anti-subsidy case do not undermine

the amicable solution with China...in the context of the anti-dumping proceeding,” he said.

The Commission previously said that in light of the anti-dumping accord, it would not impose punitive duties in the anti-subsidy case but that it would continue the probe through to a solution.

‘Chinese subsidies have led to a Chinese takeover of the European solar market, resulting in numerous closures of European companies and factories, as well as thousands of job losses’ EU ProSun, the main solar panel manufacturers’ lobby group, said the Commission’s anti-subsidy report showed that Chinese producers got government subsidies - from cheap raw materials to electricity and funding - of up to 11.5% of their sales.

“Chinese solar manufacturers which

should have been declared bankrupt long ago have been bankrolled by state subsidies,” EU ProSun head Milan Nitzschke said in a statement.

“Chinese subsidies have led to a Chinese takeover of the European solar market, resulting in numerous closures of European companies and factories, as well as thousands of job losses.”

Failing Chinese action, “we therefore call on the EU to impose countervailing duties to counter the effect of these illegal subsidies and motivate China to stop these trade distorting practices,” he said.

According to Chinese figures, China exported $35.8bn (26.9bn euros) worth of solar products in 2011, more than 60% to the EU, and imported $7.5bn worth of European solar equipment and raw materials.

The investigation of Chinese solar panel imports has been the EU’s biggest trade probe ever, covering a market worth some 21bn euros initially, but this has since fallen dramatically due to overcapacity and tumbling demand. l

showing that companies are indeed increasing wages and capital spending, before raising the BOJ’s assessment again to say convincingly the economy is recovering.

While more firms are increasing summer bonuses, they remain reluctant to raise monthly salaries. Data released earlier on Thursday showed retail sales fell 0.3% in the year to July, a sign consumer spending may be losing some momentum before household income rises sustainably.

Still, he shrugged off the need to offer additional monetary stimulus and reiterated the BOJ position that the sales tax rise was need to help improve its tattered finances.

“Japan’s fiscal condition is in a severe state. If trust in the country’s finances is lost, we may see a rise in long-term interest rates inconsistent with economic and price moves,” Morimoto said.

“The economy is moving in line with our forecasts,” he told reporters after the meeting, dismissing market speculation that if the government proceeds with the planned tax hike, the BOJ will ease again to cushion the damage to the economy. The BOJ is hoping global growth will pick up in time to make up for any downturn in domestic demand if the tax is increased as planned from April next year.

The government is holding hearings with economists, business leaders and consumer advocates this week that may help determine Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision on the tax rise.

Some lawmakers and Abe’s aides have called for delaying the tax hikes or seeking a more moderate increase, worried that the rising burden on taxpayers may hurt a budding economic recovery. The BOJ says the tax increase would not derail the recovery. l

‘UAE consumer confidence hits all-time high’

n BSS

A recent survey by MasterCard showed that consumer confidence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) climbed to 94.7 points, the highest level since the US credit card firm started the semi-annual survey in 1993.

“Over the past few years, the UAE has firmly positioned itself as an attractive global destination where business, leisure and cosmopolitan living merge,” said Eyad Al-Kourdi, UAE country manager for MasterCard, in an e-mailed statement.

The MasterCard findings also showed that women (95.4) were slightly more optimistic than men (93.9). In addition, consumers over the age of 30 years (95.4) were more optimistic than younger ones (92.2).

The survey on the MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence was conducted between April and May 2013, with 12,205 respondents aged from 18 to 64 in 27 countries within the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

friday, August 30, 2013

Euro zone, IMF to press Greece for foreign agency to sell assets n

Reuters, Brussels

Greece’s international lenders will press Athens next month to transfer state-owned real estate to a holding company managed by the euro zone to spur flagging privatization efforts, officials said on Thursday.

The plan, to be put to the Greek government by the troika of lenders - the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Commission - in September, will propose creating a Greek-owned holding company outside Greece and run by foreign experts.

The plan, first suggested two years ago, reflects growing frustration with Greece, which will probably need further aid and has made scant progress in reforming its public sector and selling assets.

Acting as a warehouse for property, it would seek to overcome Greek bureaucracy that has undermined the privatization program, agreed as part of a 240bn euro ($320bn) rescue. It will also ensure that the money raised will help pay off Greece’s debt.

“The main point is to maximize the value of state-owned real estate assets in Greece by making them more attractive for investors,” said a spokesman for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), stressing that the plan had not yet been discussed by euro zone finance ministers.

“The benefit of privatization is to generate resources for Greece to help overall development and pay back its own debt faster,” said the spokesman for the euro zone’s bailout fund.

The idea of transferring assets to a Luxembourg-based holding company was reported

by Reuters in 2011, when Finland supported it. Luxembourg attracts multi-nationals seeking lower corporation tax and is home to other special purpose vehicles

A Greek finance ministry official said the holding company would issue asset-backed bonds to pay down Greek debt.

“It is under discussion to base the holding company in Luxembourg because it would be easier to run it from there. It would be fully controlled by the Greek government,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Under Greece’s bailout agreement, the ESM was supposed to draw up a report on how to raise money from real estate assets currently not included Greece’s privatization plan.

Athens has screened for possible sale 81,000 real estate properties with an estimated value of up to 28bn euros. Athens will propose by the end of this year a plan to prepare those properties for securitization or direct

privatization.

But Greek officials have rejected moving control of its state property abroad, saying it would not solve the problems.

This time, Greece’s international creditors are eager to try to convince the centre-right government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as the country’s privatizations struggles.

Athens’ original plan to raise 50bn euros by 2016 was scaled back to 15bn euros. Only 5bn euros have been raised so far and the flagship sale of the country’s gas utility flopped this year when the only bidder pulled out.

The credibility of its privatization agency was eroded in August when the government dismissed its chairman for using the private plane of a businessman who had bought a

A shoe vendor talks with another man as others try to sell a tablecloth at a main street in Athens REUTERS

5

Dollar up as fears over impact of Syria strike ease

n AFP, Tokyo

The dollar firmed against major currencies in Asia on Thursday as anxiety about the impact of a possible Western military strike on Syria eased, analysts said.

The US currency was at 97.78 yen, compared with 97.72 in New York overnight and 97.13 yen in Tokyo Wednesday. The euro fetched $1.3315 and 130.21 yen, compared with $1.3341 and 130.36 yen in US trade.

The dollar may move in a 97.20-98.20 yen range and possibly rise further, as traders who bought the Japanese currency on expectations of military action in Syria reverse their positions, said Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities.

“Excessive risk aversion is unwinding,” he told Dow Jones Newswires, as the “initial shock of the news wears off”.

Anxiety about Syria initially caused the dollar to weaken earlier this week as investors bought other safe-haven currencies, including the Swiss franc and yen.

“I think the general feeling is that the United States won’t be as heavily involved in Syria as it was when it invaded Iraq back in 2003,” Suzuki said.

Traders were now focussed on the release later Thursday of US indicators, including revised second-quarter gross domestic product, he said.

The Indian rupee, which fell nearly four percent to a new record low of 69.22 to the dollar on Wednesday, was at 67.78 in afternoon trade. Other Asian currencies also recovered against the dollar.

The Indonesian rupiah was quoted at 11,077.00 to the dollar against 11,418, and the Philippine peso was up at 44.57 pesos from 44.79.

The dollar fell to 1,109.86 South Korean won from 1,117.55 won, to Sg$1.2753 from Sg$1.2842, to 32.17 Thai baht from 32.29 baht, and to Tw$29.92 from Tw$29.99. l

New York oil slips from two-year peak n AFP, London World oil prices fell on Thursday as traders eyed a possible delay to US-led military action against Syria, one day after New York crude hit a two-year high point.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October, sank $1.06 to $109.04 per barrel.

Brent North Sea crude oil for October dropped 91 cents to $115.70.

The oil market had surged in intra-day trading on Wednesday in anticipation of a western crackdown on Syria.

At one stage, New York crude hit $112.24 to reach the highest level since early May 2011, while Brent soared to $117.34, last seen in late February.

“Oil prices have slipped this morning, after surging yesterday on concern that the Syrian conflict could spread throughout the Middle East and threaten oil supplies,” said trader Matt Osborne at British-based energy

broker Inenco.

“The possibility of a delay in a US-led military strike on Syria has helped to clam concerns over disruptions to Middle East supply.

“WTI oil has dropped from a two-year high also helped by higher-than-expected US crude stockpiles, which rose the most in four months.”

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday his investigating team would report by the end of the week on suspected chemical weapons attacks in Syria as the US and its allies held back from immediate punitive military action against Damascus.

US President Barack Obama said he had yet to sign off on a plan to strike Damascus over the attacks which activists say killed hundreds of people and threatened to draw the West into the 29-month conflict in Syria.

A Western air bombardment had appeared imminent earlier this week, but US allies were increasingly reluctant to act before hearing the results of a UN probe into the al-

leged poisonous gas attacks last Wednesday.

“Concerns over an immediate Western military action in Syria has eased somewhat after the UK government, one of America’s closest allies, said it will wait for the results of a UN investigation into the suspected chemical weapons attack before deciding if it will take action,” noted GFT analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Although Syria is not a major oil producer, traders are nervous about a broader conflict in the crude-rich Middle East region.

Key Damascus allies Russia and Iran have warned against any Western intervention in the civil war, saying it could set off a wider regional conflict.

“The (oil) market remains nervous over an imminent US and UK led strike against Bashar al-Assad’s forces in retaliation for recent chemical attacks against innocent citizens,” said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

“However, the likes of Russia are urging

restraint, with the UN weapons inspectors yet to deliver their final verdict.

“Britain was already seeking a UN Security Council resolution against Syria, but we still believe it will not be essential for the anti-Assad allies, who are determined to pursue a military response at this point.”

Some commentators have warned that any US attack would mean that Washington was in effect fighting on the side of Al-Qaeda, whose fighters have joined rebels in the battle to oust Assad. Kryuchenkov predicted that any eventual military action against Syria would not last a long time.

“We believe that any strike would be a short-term air attack against military installations inside Syria, with precise missile hits, and that the operation is unlikely to last for more than a week,” he added.

“The Western-led coalition would seek to avoid any ground involvement or a protracted involvement into the raging civil war like it happened in Libya.” l

6

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

friday, August 30, 2013

DSEBroadIndex:4127.48⇓0.11%Turnover:5407.27M.Tk⇓21.66%,PE:13.16 Turnover 5,773.28 MTk.⇓21.61% August 29, 2013 MarketCap.2,038.95 BTk.⇓0.01% CSEAllShareIndex:12742⇑0.08%,Turnover:366.02MTk.⇓20.66%,PE:12.96 Combined Turnover Leader BD Submarine Cable-A Grameenphone-A

CompanyCode | EPS | BV | Volume Traded (Share) DSE/CSE: ClosePrice ⇓/⇑ Chn % | Avg.Price | Hi / Lo

BANK ABBANK | 2.95 | 32.60 | Vol. 278053 D: 24.10 ⇓ 0.41% | 24.22 | 25.00 / 22.00 C: 24.00 ⇑ 0.42% | 23.99 | 26.00 / 23.00 CITYBANK | 1.15 | 25.97 | Vol. 242782 D: 16.60 ⇓ 1.19% | 16.67 | 17.00 / 15.20 C: 16.70 ⇓ 0.60% | 16.72 | 17.00 / 16.50 IFIC | 1.10 | 18.34 | Vol. 348282 D: 20.00 ⇓ 0.50% | 20.23 | 20.60 / 19.00 C: 20.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 20.25 | 20.50 / 20.00 ISLAMIBANK | 3.78 | 27.16 | Vol. 500893 D: 37.20 ⇑ 0.27% | 37.12 | 38.20 / 35.00 C: 37.00 ⇑ 0.82% | 36.95 | 37.40 / 35.50 NBL | 1.05 | 15.76 | Vol. 1511415 D: 11.40 ⇓ 0.87% | 11.45 | 12.10 / 11.00 C: 11.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.50 | 11.70 / 11.40 PUBALIBANK | 1.92 | 21.18 | Vol. 260089 D: 29.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 29.51 | 30.00 / 27.00 C: 29.40 ⇑ 1.38% | 29.09 | 29.50 / 28.80 RUPALIBANK | 6.70 | 64.27 | Vol. 18900 D: 58.60 ⇓ 3.14% | 58.60 | 59.80 / 58.00 C: 58.60 ⇓ 2.33% | 58.60 | 58.60 / 58.60 UCBL | 1.90 | 21.72 | Vol. 1352705 D: 18.20 ⇑ 1.11% | 18.16 | 19.00 / 16.50 C: 18.00 ⇓ 0.55% | 18.08 | 18.20 / 18.00 UTTARABANK | 3.42 | 26.97 | Vol. 212171 D: 25.00 ⇑ 0.40% | 25.05 | 25.40 / 23.00 C: 24.90 ⇑ 0.40% | 24.95 | 25.00 / 24.70 ICBIBANK | -1.60 | -13.03 | Vol. 61500 D: 5.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.90 | 6.00 / 5.90 EBL | 3.91 | 28.22 | Vol. 647038 D: 25.90 ⇑ 0.78% | 25.97 | 26.10 / 25.70 C: 25.60 ⇑ 0.39% | 25.54 | 26.00 / 25.00 ALARABANK | 2.03 | 14.91 | Vol. 130463 D: 14.60 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.64 | 15.00 / 14.00 C: 14.50 ⇓ 2.03% | 14.50 | 15.00 / 14.00 PRIMEBANK | 2.89 | 22.40 | Vol. 497645 D: 21.30 ⇓ 1.39% | 21.29 | 21.60 / 19.50 C: 21.10 ⇓ 1.40% | 21.10 | 21.10 / 21.10 SOUTHEASTB | 1.89 | 22.66 | Vol. 312188 D: 15.80 ⇓ 0.63% | 15.85 | 16.00 / 14.50 C: 15.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.82 | 16.00 / 15.70 DHAKABANK | 1.46 | 18.08 | Vol. 90304 D: 19.40 ⇓ 3.48% | 19.60 | 20.00 / 19.00 C: 19.10 ⇓ 4.50% | 19.50 | 20.00 / 19.00 NCCBANK | 1.90 | 15.88 | Vol. 362606 D: 11.80 ⇓ 0.84% | 11.91 | 12.50 / 10.80 C: 11.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.91 | 12.00 / 11.00 SIBL | 2.05 | 14.47 | Vol. 201834 D: 11.90 ⇑ 0.85% | 11.94 | 12.00 / 10.80 C: 11.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.88 | 13.00 / 11.50 DUTCHBANGL | 11.57 | 54.27 | Vol. 23660 D: 97.50 ⇓ 0.71% | 97.73 | 98.90 / 97.00 C: 96.10 ⇓ 0.93% | 96.10 | 96.10 / 96.10 MTBL | 1.17 | 17.27 | Vol. 44540 D: 14.50 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.50 | 14.60 / 14.40 C: 14.30 ⇓ 1.38% | 14.32 | 14.40 / 14.30 STANDBANKL | 2.33 | 14.41 | Vol. 190231 D: 13.10 ⇓ 0.76% | 13.13 | 14.00 / 12.00 C: 13.00 ⇓ 1.52% | 13.05 | 13.20 / 12.00 ONEBANKLTD | 2.35 | 15.34 | Vol. 710866 D: 14.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 14.92 | 15.10 / 13.50 C: 14.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 14.74 | 15.00 / 14.60 BANKASIA | 1.35 | 20.80 | Vol. 219408 D: 19.10 ⇓ 3.54% | 19.13 | 19.80 / 18.00 C: 19.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 19.00 | 19.20 / 18.80 MERCANBANK | 2.07 | 16.59 | Vol. 663052 D: 11.50 ⇓ 0.86% | 11.53 | 12.50 / 10.50 C: 11.30 ⇓ 0.88% | 11.31 | 11.50 / 11.20 EXIMBANK | 1.80 | 14.31 | Vol. 568045 D: 11.40 ⇓ 0.87% | 11.49 | 12.00 / 11.00 C: 11.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.58 | 11.80 / 11.40 JAMUNABANK | 2.47 | 18.56 | Vol. 89232 D: 13.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 13.83 | 14.00 / 12.50 C: 13.60 ⇓ 1.45% | 13.61 | 14.50 / 13.30 BRACBANK | 1.51 | 24.87 | Vol. 88676 D: 28.00 ⇓ 2.10% | 28.10 | 29.00 / 26.00 C: 27.90 ⇓ 0.71% | 27.88 | 28.00 / 27.80 SHAHJABANK | 2.61 | 14.47 | Vol. 229875 D: 14.10 ⇓ 1.40% | 14.19 | 15.00 / 12.90 C: 14.20 ⇑ 0.71% | 14.17 | 14.30 / 14.10

Vol. 1467910 1702168

TO M. Tk. 392.05 365.30

HeidelbergCement -A

628260

Tallu Spinning -A

4506150

258.71 194.73

Apex Tannery -A

1277600

174.21

% of TTL 6.79 6.33

Avg. P 267.08 214.61

4.48

411.78

3.37

43.21

3.02

136.36

PREMIERBAN | 1.18 | 13.95 | Vol. 357630 D: 10.00 ⇑ 1.01% | 10.01 | 10.10 / 9.00 C: 10.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 10.01 | 9.90 / 10.00 TRUSTBANK | 0.50 | 18.00 | Vol. 53760 D: 17.10 ⇓ 0.58% | 17.14 | 18.00 / 16.00 C: 17.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.01 | 17.50 / 17.00 FIRSTSBANK | 1.85 | 13.89 | Vol. 173389 D: 11.80 ⇓ 1.67% | 11.90 | 13.00 / 10.90 C: 11.80 ⇓ 0.84% | 11.86 | 12.00 / 10.80 NON BANKING F I IDLC | 4.43 | 29.18 | Vol. 100910 D: 63.10 ⇓ 1.25% | 63.40 | 64.10 / 62.00 C: 63.40 ⇓ 0.94% | 63.54 | 64.70 / 63.00 ULC | 1.80 | 14.90 | Vol. 45241 D: 27.60 ⇓ 0.72% | 27.67 | 28.20 / 26.00 UTTARAFIN | 7.16 | 41.54 | Vol. 118292 D: 78.20 ⇓ 0.13% | 78.12 | 79.00 / 72.00 C: 77.30 ⇓ 1.65% | 77.27 | 78.90 / 76.00 MIDASFIN | 0.16 | 10.21 | Vol. 42000 D: 31.40 ⇓ 4.85% | 32.37 | 36.20 / 31.00 C: 30.20 ⇓ 8.48% | 30.20 | 30.20 / 30.20 FLEASEINT | 2.34 | 13.93 | Vol. 161500 D: 25.30 ⇓ 1.56% | 25.51 | 25.90 / 25.20 C: 25.00 ⇓ 1.96% | 25.30 | 25.50 / 25.00 PLFSL | 1.37 | 17.48 | Vol. 425394 D: 23.10 ⇓ 1.70% | 23.29 | 25.80 / 22.00 C: 23.20 ⇓ 1.69% | 23.27 | 24.00 / 22.50 PRIMEFIN | 0.87 | 17.88 | Vol. 195566 D: 25.10 ⇓ 1.95% | 25.34 | 25.90 / 24.00 C: 25.30 ⇓ 1.17% | 25.34 | 25.60 / 25.10 PREMIERLEA | 0.10 | 11.37 | Vol. 79250 D: 10.20 ⇑ 2.00% | 10.16 | 11.00 / 10.00 C: 10.30 ⇑ 0.98% | 10.23 | 10.30 / 10.20 ISLAMICFIN | 1.03 | 15.48 | Vol. 266389 D: 15.90 ⇓ 0.63% | 16.04 | 17.00 / 15.00 C: 15.90 ⇓ 1.24% | 15.93 | 16.00 / 15.80 LANKABAFIN | 1.61 | 31.07 | Vol. 679131 D: 56.90 ⇓ 0.87% | 57.14 | 59.00 / 52.00 C: 57.20 ⇓ 1.04% | 57.24 | 57.60 / 56.90 BIFC | 0.15 | 18.58 | Vol. 38721 D: 13.40 ⇓ 2.19% | 13.49 | 14.30 / 13.00 C: 13.50 ⇓ 3.57% | 13.50 | 13.50 / 13.50 IPDC | 1.23 | 19.43 | Vol. 64358 D: 16.60 ⇓ 1.78% | 16.61 | 17.20 / 16.00 C: 16.40 ⇓ 2.96% | 16.12 | 16.50 / 16.00 UNIONCAP | 0.54 | 17.85 | Vol. 25240 D: 27.60 ⇓ 1.78% | 27.75 | 28.90 / 27.00 C: 28.00 ⇓ 2.78% | 27.80 | 28.00 / 27.00 BDFINANCE | 0.57 | 14.77 | Vol. 43145 D: 18.20 ⇓ 2.15% | 18.26 | 19.60 / 17.00 C: 18.40 ⇓ 0.54% | 18.40 | 18.50 / 18.30 ILFSL | 0.35 | 12.19 | Vol. 182835 D: 12.30 ⇓ 1.60% | 12.38 | 12.50 / 11.50 C: 12.30 ⇓ 2.38% | 12.38 | 12.50 / 12.30 PHOENIXFIN | 2.46 | 19.39 | Vol. 339704 D: 30.90 ⇓ 4.92% | 31.31 | 33.00 / 29.50 C: 31.60 ⇓ 3.36% | 32.37 | 34.70 / 31.00 FASFIN | 0.19 | 13.56 | Vol. 444565 D: 13.40 ⇓ 2.19% | 13.47 | 13.80 / 13.00 C: 13.30 ⇓ 3.62% | 13.37 | 13.60 / 13.20 DBH | 3.40 | 16.80 | Vol. 84750 D: 63.80 ⇓ 2.45% | 63.97 | 65.30 / 59.00 C: 63.70 ⇓ 4.93% | 64.63 | 64.50 / 63.50 NHFIL | 0.57 | 12.70 | Vol. 251125 D: 28.40 ⇓ 2.74% | 28.73 | 29.90 / 28.00 C: 28.60 ⇓ 1.38% | 29.17 | 29.50 / 28.60 BAYLEASING | 0.72 | 25.55 | Vol. 96800 D: 29.20 ⇓ 2.34% | 29.34 | 30.00 / 27.00 C: 29.30 ⇓ 0.68% | 29.31 | 29.60 / 29.10 ICB | 109.65 | 769.98 | Vol. 11325 D: 2076 ⇓ 1.35% | 2083 | 2128 / 2050 GSPFINANCE | 1.63 | 22.23 | Vol. 112085 D: 26.80 ⇓ 3.25% | 27.01 | 28.20 / 25.00 C: 26.50 ⇓ 5.36% | 26.69 | 27.00 / 26.50 INVESTMENT 2NDICB | 44.10 | 253.11 | Vol. 400 D: 276.0 ⇓ 1.85% | 276.00 | 276.0 / 276.0 3RDICB | 26.16 | 235.16 | Vol. 300 D: 188.1 ⇓ 5.95% | 186.67 | 188.5 / 188.0 4THICB | 29.24 | 229.24 | Vol. 1300 D: 183.6 ⇓ 5.85% | 183.85 | 190.0 / 178.0

DSE Loser

C%

A%

CP

-10.00

-10.71

9.00

DSE Gainer

C%

A%

CP

Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N

9.87

8.60

34.50

BD Fixed Income MF-A

Navana CNG-A

9.03

5.79

70.00

7th ICB M F-A

-9.89

-9.63

81.10

Usmania Glass-A

8.67

4.57

170.40

-9.86

-9.86

51.20

8.02

5.19

416.10

ICB AMCL 1st M F-A Mithun Knitting-A

-7.86

-9.91

119.60

7.96

8.12

80.00

5th ICB M F-A

-7.51

-4.88

172.30

HeidelbergCement -A Apex Spinning-A

5THICB | 23.45 | 188.92 | Vol. 700 D: 172.3 ⇓ 7.51% | 172.86 | 175.0 / 170.1 6THICB | 10.99 | 60.14 | Vol. 16100 D: 49.90 ⇓ 1.58% | 49.81 | 50.50 / 49.00 7THICB | 13.53 | 98.60 | Vol. 1500 D: 81.10 ⇓ 9.89% | 81.33 | 81.30 / 81.00 8THICB | 12.47 | 70.07 | Vol. 19000 D: 52.90 ⇓ 1.12% | 52.95 | 53.50 / 52.50 PRIME1ICBA | 0.42 | 11.18 | Vol. 234000 D: 5.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.01 | 5.10 / 5.00 C: 5.00 ⇓ 1.96% | 5.02 | 5.10 / 5.00 DBH1STMF | -1.12 | 10.15 | Vol. 121500 D: 5.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.66 | 5.80 / 5.60 C: 5.60 ⇓ 1.75% | 5.57 | 5.70 / 5.50 IFIC1STMF | 0.83 | 11.88 | Vol. 730500 D: 7.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.12 | 7.30 / 7.10 C: 7.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.16 | 7.20 / 7.10 PF1STMF | 0.51 | 11.11 | Vol. 261500 D: 5.00 ⇓ 1.96% | 5.12 | 5.20 / 5.00 C: 5.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.09 | 5.10 / 5.00 ICB3RDNRB | 0.00 | 10.60 | Vol. 798000 D: 5.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.08 | 5.20 / 5.00 C: 5.00 ⇑ 2.04% | 5.00 | 5.00 / 4.90 1JANATAMF | 0.78 | 10.68 | Vol. 238500 D: 5.70 ⇓ 1.72% | 5.74 | 5.90 / 5.70 C: 5.70 ⇓ 3.39% | 5.73 | 5.90 / 5.60 GREENDELMF | -0.82 | 9.72 | Vol. 169500 D: 5.30 ⇓ 1.85% | 5.33 | 5.50 / 5.30 C: 5.30 ⇓ 5.36% | 5.30 | 5.30 / 5.30 POPULAR1MF | 0.77 | 11.38 | Vol. 1188500 D: 6.20 ⇑ 3.33% | 6.20 | 6.30 / 6.10 C: 6.10 ⇑ 1.67% | 6.11 | 6.20 / 6.00 IFILISLMF1 | 0.00 | 10.45 | Vol. 410500 D: 5.00 ⇓ 1.96% | 5.04 | 5.10 / 5.00 C: 5.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.01 | 5.10 / 5.00 PHPMF1 | 0.63 | 10.92 | Vol. 432000 D: 5.60 ⇓ 1.75% | 5.63 | 5.70 / 5.60 C: 5.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.60 | 5.60 / 5.50 AIBL1STIMF | -0.07 | 9.25 | Vol. 80000 D: 6.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.44 | 6.60 / 6.30 C: 6.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.67 | 6.90 / 6.50 MBL1STMF | -0.16 | 9.08 | Vol. 133500 D: 6.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.12 | 6.30 / 6.10 SEBL1STMF | 0.94 | 11.85 | Vol. 962500 D: 7.50 ⇓ 2.60% | 7.60 | 7.80 / 7.50 C: 7.40 ⇓ 1.33% | 7.47 | 7.70 / 7.30 RELIANCE1 | 1.05 | 11.36 | Vol. 555000 D: 9.60 ⇓ 2.04% | 9.73 | 9.80 / 9.50 C: 10.00 ⇑ 3.09% | 10.00 | 10.00 / 10.00 LRGLOBMF1 | 0.50 | 10.82 | Vol. 31000 D: 7.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.06 | 7.20 / 7.00 ABB1STMF | 0.92 | 10.63 | Vol. 26500 D: 7.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.32 | 7.80 / 7.20 NLI1STMF | 1.17 | 12.22 | Vol. 646500 D: 8.90 ⇑ 1.14% | 8.69 | 9.10 / 8.50 C: 8.60 ⇓ 1.15% | 8.60 | 8.70 / 8.30 FBFIF | 1.30 | 10.27 | Vol. 500 D: 9.00 ⇓ 10.00% | 9.00 | 9.00 / 9.00 NCCBLMF1 | 1.16 | 10.48 | Vol. 500 D: 8.70 ⇓ 2.25% | 8.70 | 8.70 / 8.70 ICBSONALI1 | 0.00 | 10.39 | Vol. 146500 D: 6.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.61 | 6.80 / 6.40 C: 6.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.58 | 6.70 / 6.50 EXIM1STMF | 0.00 | 10.91 | Vol. 26500 D: 7.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.47 | 7.50 / 7.40 ENGINEERING AFTABAUTO | 4.29 | 52.65 | Vol. 744686 D: 123.9 ⇑ 1.56% | 122.90 | 125.0 / 112.0 C: 124.0 ⇑ 1.56% | 122.64 | 124.9 / 119.3 AZIZPIPES | 0.39 | -42.04 | Vol. 1550 D: 15.70 ⇑ 0.64% | 15.00 | 16.00 / 15.70 C: 16.50 ⇑ 2.48% | 16.51 | 16.60 / 16.50 OLYMPIC | 5.94 | 14.91 | Vol. 552250 D: 221.8 ⇑ 0.36% | 223.02 | 226.8 / 211.0 C: 221.5 ⇑ 0.59% | 222.41 | 225.0 / 220.0 BDLAMPS | -5.31 | 37.07 | Vol. 30080 D: 146.9 ⇓ 0.94% | 148.95 | 152.5 / 145.0 ECABLES | 2.04 | 18.87 | Vol. 35000 D: 69.80 ⇑ 7.55% | 69.16 | 71.20 / 62.10 C: 70.50 ⇑ 8.29% | 69.83 | 71.60 / 63.00 MONNOSTAF | 5.31 | 44.78 | Vol. 650 D: 251.2 ⇓ 0.24% | 250.77 | 264.8 / 232.1

SINGERBD | 9.99 | 45.74 | Vol. 282237 D: 219.7 ⇓ 3.09% | 222.88 | 230.0 / 212.0 C: 220.7 ⇓ 2.90% | 224.30 | 230.0 / 219.0 ATLASBANG | 11.98 | 207.70 | Vol. 50000 D: 200.2 ⇓ 2.29% | 201.02 | 207.0 / 195.0 BDAUTOCA | 0.25 | 6.23 | Vol. 18000 D: 23.80 ⇓ 1.24% | 24.06 | 24.60 / 23.50 QSMDRYCELL | 1.65 | 58.49 | Vol. 192097 D: 38.90 ⇓ 2.51% | 39.19 | 40.20 / 37.20 C: 38.50 ⇓ 3.51% | 39.07 | 40.00 / 38.50 RENWICKJA | 5.62 | -90.00 | Vol. 18300 D: 178.4 ⇑ 2.71% | 178.85 | 183.2 / 168.6 NTLTUBES | -2.52 | 312.10 | Vol. 85800 D: 75.10 ⇑ 6.07% | 74.24 | 76.20 / 70.10 BDTHAI | 0.43 | 39.35 | Vol. 125244 D: 22.40 ⇓ 1.32% | 22.35 | 23.00 / 20.50 C: 22.40 ⇓ 0.88% | 22.40 | 22.60 / 22.30 ANWARGALV | 0.51 | 8.08 | Vol. 56000 D: 15.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.60 | 16.20 / 15.20 C: 15.90 ⇓ 9.14% | 15.90 | 16.00 / 15.80 KAY&QUE | -3.89 | 6.03 | Vol. 2740 D: 13.20 ⇑ 1.54% | 12.90 | 13.30 / 12.50 C: 13.70 ⇑ 3.01% | 13.70 | 13.80 / 13.60 RANFOUNDRY | 2.84 | 18.62 | Vol. 86003 D: 87.20 ⇓ 5.32% | 89.54 | 92.00 / 86.70 C: 88.10 ⇓ 5.27% | 89.31 | 90.00 / 88.00 SALAMCRST | 3.31 | 20.00 | Vol. 323950 D: 42.10 ⇑ 2.43% | 41.93 | 43.00 / 37.00 C: 41.60 ⇑ 0.73% | 41.65 | 42.00 / 40.50 GOLDENSON | 3.70 | 28.70 | Vol. 231678 D: 41.70 ⇓ 1.42% | 42.07 | 42.90 / 38.50 C: 42.20 ⇓ 0.47% | 42.22 | 42.90 / 42.00 BSRMSTEEL | 3.06 | 19.53 | Vol. 263875 D: 75.00 ⇓ 0.53% | 75.60 | 77.00 / 70.00 C: 75.10 ⇑ 0.54% | 75.57 | 76.50 / 74.20 NAVANACNG | 4.09 | 27.04 | Vol. 838466 D: 70.00 ⇑ 9.03% | 68.31 | 70.60 / 60.00 C: 69.50 ⇑ 9.62% | 68.45 | 69.70 / 65.00 DESHBANDHU | 1.16 | 12.02 | Vol. 223912 D: 21.10 ⇓ 3.21% | 21.36 | 21.90 / 20.20 C: 21.10 ⇓ 2.76% | 21.27 | 21.50 / 19.60 GPHISPAT | 2.32 | 16.80 | Vol. 247200 D: 51.20 ⇓ 0.19% | 51.74 | 52.10 / 47.00 C: 51.40 ⇑ 0.78% | 50.96 | 51.80 / 50.00 BENGALWTL | 2.42 | 20.72 | Vol. 302400 D: 43.30 ⇓ 4.42% | 43.87 | 45.50 / 43.10 C: 43.90 ⇓ 2.01% | 44.06 | 44.40 / 43.80 NPOLYMAR | 2.01 | 324.37 | Vol. 158294 D: 54.20 ⇓ 1.45% | 55.33 | 57.00 / 52.00 C: 54.20 ⇓ 4.07% | 54.91 | 57.00 / 54.00 FOOD & ALLIED APEXFOODS | 2.54 | 90.81 | Vol. 47500 D: 93.60 ⇓ 4.29% | 94.96 | 97.70 / 93.00 C: 97.00 ⇑ 4.64% | 97.00 | 97.00 / 97.00 BANGAS | 7.20 | 50.27 | Vol. 44260 D: 469.6 ⇓ 3.85% | 465.68 | 480.0 / 452.0 C: 464.1 ⇓ 5.65% | 464.58 | 478.0 / 459.8 BATBC | 65.69 | 117.22 | Vol. 8850 D: 1544 ⇓ 3.46% | 1573 | 1600 / 1530 GEMINISEA | 10.88 | 9.69 | Vol. 1700 D: 176.5 ⇑ 0.40% | 177.06 | 177.8 / 172.1 NTC | 29.88 | 110.05 | Vol. 700 D: 846.8 ⇓ 2.53% | 847.14 | 852.0 / 840.0 ZEALBANGLA | -23.01 | -193.09 | Vol. 800 D: 8.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.00 | 8.00 / 8.00 CVOPRL | 2.66 | 13.28 | Vol. 94630 D: 597.5 ⇓ 5.86% | 599.57 | 620.0 / 587.9 C: 591.5 ⇓ 6.73% | 598.00 | 610.0 / 587.0 AMCL(PRAN) | 6.53 | 53.37 | Vol. 178300 D: 254.1 ⇓ 1.55% | 253.38 | 262.9 / 242.1 C: 254.5 ⇓ 1.93% | 255.21 | 259.9 / 250.0 RAHIMAFOOD | 0.62 | 4.46 | Vol. 57500 D: 16.80 ⇓ 1.18% | 16.89 | 17.20 / 16.80 C: 16.60 ⇓ 1.78% | 16.67 | 16.80 / 16.10 FUWANGFOOD | 1.26 | 12.37 | Vol. 285647 D: 26.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 26.14 | 26.50 / 24.00 C: 25.90 ⇓ 0.77% | 26.02 | 26.40 / 25.00 MEGHNAPET | -0.58 | -1.02 | Vol. 1500 D: 5.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.40 | 5.40 / 5.40 MEGCONMILK | -6.68 | -16.22 | Vol. 12000 D: 6.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.92 | 7.00 / 6.80

BEACHHATCH | 1.01 | 12.48 | Vol. 198683 D: 18.40 ⇓ 1.60% | 18.50 | 19.00 / 17.00 C: 18.40 ⇓ 2.13% | 18.50 | 18.70 / 18.30 FINEFOODS | -0.11 | 10.58 | Vol. 107000 D: 18.30 ⇓ 1.61% | 18.32 | 18.70 / 18.10 C: 18.00 ⇓ 0.55% | 18.00 | 18.10 / 18.00 RDFOOD | 0.91 | 16.84 | Vol. 489176 D: 22.20 ⇓ 3.06% | 22.65 | 23.00 / 20.70 C: 22.20 ⇓ 3.06% | 22.50 | 23.80 / 22.00 GHAIL | 1.01 | 22.08 | Vol. 1321140 D: 47.20 ⇓ 1.05% | 47.52 | 48.50 / 43.00 C: 47.40 ⇓ 1.86% | 47.33 | 48.40 / 47.00 FUEL & POWER LINDEBD | 31.71 | 144.00 | Vol. 44700 D: 748.7 ⇑ 1.37% | 754.92 | 779.0 / 742.1 PADMAOIL | 16.38 | 43.67 | Vol. 405054 D: 375.4 ⇑ 2.40% | 373.53 | 382.0 / 360.0 C: 374.6 ⇑ 2.18% | 372.97 | 381.0 / 361.4 BDWELDING | 0.33 | 16.82 | Vol. 314227 D: 20.20 ⇓ 3.81% | 20.46 | 22.00 / 18.90 C: 20.40 ⇓ 1.92% | 20.44 | 21.00 / 20.30 SUMITPOWER | 3.17 | 19.26 | Vol. 370826 D: 35.70 ⇓ 1.11% | 35.85 | 37.00 / 33.00 C: 35.80 ⇓ 1.10% | 35.97 | 36.30 / 34.00 DESCO | 2.80 | 35.25 | Vol. 331290 D: 81.00 ⇓ 1.22% | 81.34 | 82.70 / 78.00 C: 80.50 ⇓ 0.25% | 80.40 | 81.00 / 80.00 POWERGRID | 2.56 | 48.08 | Vol. 51780 D: 55.60 ⇓ 1.24% | 56.18 | 57.40 / 55.00 JAMUNAOIL | 22.78 | 50.24 | Vol. 399352 D: 235.1 ⇑ 2.93% | 233.03 | 236.9 / 222.0 C: 233.1 ⇑ 2.06% | 232.97 | 236.0 / 228.0 MPETROLEUM | 16.98 | 40.41 | Vol. 525702 D: 283.0 ⇑ 5.24% | 278.02 | 288.0 / 257.0 C: 282.0 ⇑ 5.26% | 278.99 | 284.6 / 268.1 TITASGAS | 9.01 | 36.56 | Vol. 1093740 D: 85.30 ⇑ 0.12% | 85.16 | 93.70 / 80.00 C: 85.10 ⇑ 0.24% | 85.12 | 86.00 / 84.80 KPCL | 4.73 | 15.86 | Vol. 217101 D: 50.90 ⇑ 0.20% | 50.88 | 51.90 / 48.00 C: 50.90 ⇓ 0.20% | 50.79 | 51.00 / 50.20 BEDL | 1.57 | 17.89 | Vol. 648790 D: 36.60 ⇓ 0.27% | 36.80 | 38.00 / 33.10 C: 36.70 ⇑ 0.55% | 36.73 | 37.00 / 36.50 MJLBD | 2.73 | 30.24 | Vol. 136707 D: 74.40 ⇓ 0.40% | 74.49 | 76.80 / 67.30 C: 73.70 ⇓ 1.21% | 73.87 | 75.00 / 68.00 GBBPOWER | 1.86 | 22.63 | Vol. 485780 D: 26.80 ⇑ 1.13% | 26.81 | 29.00 / 24.00 C: 26.70 ⇑ 0.38% | 26.69 | 27.40 / 26.10 SPPCL | 3.81 | 23.34 | Vol. 616140 D: 60.60 ⇑ 1.00% | 60.78 | 61.90 / 56.00 C: 60.50 ⇑ 0.67% | 60.69 | 61.60 / 59.10 JUTE JUTESPINN | 2.06 | 17.42 | Vol. 2050 D: 82.60 ⇑ 4.29% | 82.44 | 84.90 / 79.10 SONALIANSH | 5.54 | 218.80 | Vol. 15000 D: 150.1 ⇑ 1.83% | 149.93 | 154.0 / 144.2 TEXTILE AL-HAJTEX | 1.35 | 15.64 | Vol. 96367 D: 72.40 ⇓ 2.43% | 71.97 | 74.70 / 67.50 STYLECRAFT | 20.00 | 287.30 | Vol. 100 D: 697.9 ⇑ 7.48% | 697.90 | 697.9 / 697.9 RAHIMTEXT | 0.51 | 73.88 | Vol. 6146 D: 237.5 ⇑ 2.68% | 240.32 | 249.0 / 219.0 SAIHAMTEX | 2.75 | 29.50 | Vol. 575100 D: 30.70 ⇑ 0.33% | 30.34 | 31.40 / 29.80 C: 30.60 ⇓ 0.33% | 30.21 | 30.90 / 30.00 MODERNDYE | 0.91 | 10.37 | Vol. 7550 D: 74.20 ⇑ 7.85% | 72.19 | 75.60 / 70.00 DSHGARME | 0.72 | 12.00 | Vol. 8000 D: 30.20 ⇓ 3.21% | 30.25 | 31.00 / 29.50 DULAMIACOT | -8.46 | -27.78 | Vol. 1700 D: 8.30 ⇓ 3.49% | 8.24 | 8.60 / 8.10 TALLUSPIN | 2.56 | 12.06 | Vol. 4506150 D: 44.10 ⇓ 4.13% | 43.22 | 45.40 / 41.50 C: 44.40 ⇓ 3.69% | 43.04 | 46.00 / 41.60 APEXSPINN | 2.01 | 49.32 | Vol. 39200 D: 80.00 ⇑ 7.96% | 79.27 | 80.60 / 76.00 C: 77.00 ⇑ 10.00% | 77.00 | 77.00 / 77.00

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August 29, 2013 Sectotal Index: BANK: 32,818.11 ⇓ 0.16% NBFI: 20,421.17 ⇓ 1.91% INVS: 4,889.60 ⇓ 0.74% ENGG: 6,310.31 ⇑ 0.80% FOOD: 8,591.45 ⇓ 3.23% F&P: 11,054.22 ⇑ 1.00% TEXT: 3,106.43 ⇓ 0.81% PHAR: 17,272.16 ⇓ 0.12% PAPR: 798.42 ⇓ 0.09% SERV: 3,138.27 ⇓ 0.88% LEAT: 5,712.29 ⇑ 0.50% CERA: 549.63 ⇑ 1.87% CMNT: 4,827.89 ⇑ 3.13% INFO: 7,474.27 ⇓ 0.82% GINS: 9,394.77 ⇓ 1.46% LINS: 115,281.70 ⇓ 1.27% TELC: 1,515.89 ⇑ 2.36% MISC: 6,473.95 ⇓ 0.50% MITHUNKNIT | 4.54 | 30.39 | Vol. 405520 D: 119.6 ⇓ 7.86% | 120.76 | 129.0 / 117.0 C: 120.5 ⇓ 4.37% | 121.38 | 128.0 / 118.0 DELTASPINN | 3.06 | 18.12 | Vol. 625700 D: 35.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 35.50 | 36.00 / 32.20 C: 35.40 ⇓ 1.12% | 35.68 | 37.50 / 35.20 SONARGAON | 0.27 | 34.50 | Vol. 93000 D: 15.50 ⇑ 0.65% | 15.64 | 16.90 / 14.50 C: 15.70 ⇑ 1.95% | 15.80 | 16.40 / 15.50 PRIMETEX | 1.01 | 63.54 | Vol. 426000 D: 26.20 ⇓ 1.50% | 26.39 | 26.80 / 25.60 C: 26.10 ⇓ 3.33% | 26.24 | 26.70 / 25.80 ALLTEX | -0.11 | 23.81 | Vol. 140500 D: 9.70 ⇓ 3.00% | 9.86 | 10.20 / 9.60 C: 9.70 ⇓ 2.02% | 9.73 | 10.00 / 9.50 ANLIMAYARN | 1.19 | 11.01 | Vol. 322500 D: 31.30 ⇑ 1.62% | 31.16 | 31.90 / 30.70 C: 30.70 ⇑ 2.33% | 30.67 | 31.30 / 30.50 HRTEX | 2.08 | 14.92 | Vol. 312050 D: 35.40 ⇓ 4.84% | 35.67 | 39.00 / 34.90 C: 35.50 ⇓ 7.31% | 35.67 | 38.00 / 35.00 CMCKAMAL | 1.37 | 19.31 | Vol. 706337 D: 26.10 ⇓ 1.88% | 26.26 | 28.00 / 25.00 SAFKOSPINN | 0.95 | 21.78 | Vol. 1221013 D: 25.50 ⇑ 5.37% | 25.22 | 26.40 / 22.20 C: 26.20 ⇑ 4.38% | 25.54 | 27.00 / 24.10 SQUARETEXT | 4.32 | 31.82 | Vol. 669623 D: 97.70 ⇑ 0.72% | 98.98 | 102.0 / 92.00 C: 98.00 ⇑ 1.14% | 99.41 | 99.90 / 100.0 METROSPIN | -1.00 | 19.59 | Vol. 129940 D: 15.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.92 | 17.00 / 14.60 C: 15.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.86 | 16.00 / 15.70 MAKSONSPIN | 0.16 | 20.55 | Vol. 1667110 D: 14.40 ⇓ 1.37% | 14.53 | 15.00 / 13.50 C: 14.40 ⇓ 1.37% | 14.46 | 14.70 / 14.20 DACCADYE | 1.21 | 31.13 | Vol. 453755 D: 27.60 ⇓ 2.13% | 27.92 | 29.00 / 27.00 C: 27.60 ⇓ 2.82% | 27.78 | 28.70 / 27.50 RNSPIN | 2.80 | 16.58 | Vol. 2248295 D: 28.90 ⇓ 0.34% | 28.98 | 29.30 / 26.50 C: 29.00 ⇓ 0.68% | 28.94 | 29.20 / 28.70 BXSYNTH | 0.93 | 25.42 | Vol. 221704 D: 14.50 ⇓ 0.68% | 14.63 | 16.00 / 13.50 C: 14.50 ⇓ 1.36% | 14.56 | 14.70 / 14.00 MALEKSPIN | -1.44 | 46.87 | Vol. 1214065 D: 27.30 ⇓ 2.15% | 27.38 | 28.60 / 25.50 C: 27.30 ⇓ 2.50% | 27.31 | 27.80 / 27.00 ZAHINTEX | 1.91 | 35.25 | Vol. 321200 D: 30.90 ⇓ 0.96% | 31.06 | 31.70 / 29.00 C: 31.00 ⇓ 1.59% | 31.08 | 31.30 / 31.00 SAIHAMCOT | 1.92 | 23.62 | Vol. 1689750 D: 26.80 ⇓ 4.29% | 26.96 | 27.80 / 26.40 C: 26.80 ⇓ 3.25% | 26.94 | 27.40 / 26.70 GENNEXT | 1.68 | 15.15 | Vol. 2147960 D: 22.30 ⇓ 1.33% | 22.63 | 23.40 / 20.40 C: 22.40 ⇓ 1.75% | 22.62 | 23.00 / 22.30 ENVOYTEX | 3.26 | 39.26 | Vol. 774515 D: 50.90 ⇓ 1.17% | 51.26 | 52.20 / 48.00 C: 51.00 ⇓ 1.35% | 51.40 | 52.00 / 50.90 ARGONDENIM | 1.89 | 38.86 | Vol. 1119560 D: 40.30 ⇓ 0.74% | 40.74 | 41.40 / 36.60 C: 40.20 ⇑ 0.50% | 40.27 | 40.80 / 39.50 FAMILYTEX | 3.72 | 14.68 | Vol. 2041500 D: 34.50 ⇑ 9.87% | 33.83 | 34.50 / 31.00 C: 33.70 ⇑ 9.06% | 33.43 | 33.90 / 31.60 Pharmaceutical & Chemical AMBEEPHA | 3.94 | 26.15 | Vol. 8800 D: 258.5 ⇓ 0.39% | 259.49 | 267.2 / 253.2 C: 251.6 ⇓ 2.74% | 251.65 | 260.0 / 251.0 BXPHARMA | 3.77 | 52.55 | Vol. 169504 D: 48.00 ⇓ 0.21% | 48.20 | 50.00 / 44.00 C: 48.70 ⇑ 1.46% | 48.74 | 49.00 / 48.30 GLAXOSMITH | 20.25 | 123.32 | Vol. 5050 D: 1050 ⇓ 0.57% | 1049 | 1088 / 1030 ACI | -5.82 | 126.42 | Vol. 62554 D: 181.7 ⇓ 2.89% | 184.82 | 195.0 / 181.0 C: 182.4 ⇓ 1.94% | 183.52 | 186.0 / 178.0 RENATA | 33.57 | 138.83 | Vol. 51626 D: 805.8 ⇑ 1.31% | 805.87 | 819.0 / 755.0 RECKITTBEN | 27.16 | 78.89 | Vol. 1150 D: 928.9 ⇓ 2.32% | 928.70 | 959.0 / 908.0 PHARMAID | 5.06 | 26.30 | Vol. 60800 D: 204.4 ⇓ 2.06% | 207.19 | 212.0 / 202.4 KOHINOOR | 9.52 | 10.49 | Vol. 680 D: 368.0 ⇑ 5.57% | 355.29 | 368.0 / 320.0

IBNSINA | 3.44 | 34.02 | Vol. 145050 D: 110.8 ⇓ 2.21% | 110.46 | 114.4 / 103.0 C: 114.6 ⇑ 6.31% | 115.39 | 118.5 / 109.0 LIBRAINFU | 4.64 | 1565.37 | Vol. 10400 D: 379.8 ⇑ 0.58% | 386.15 | 398.0 / 360.1 ORIONINFU | 8.72 | 1.73 | Vol. 267200 D: 46.50 ⇓ 3.73% | 47.29 | 48.10 / 46.00 C: 46.70 ⇓ 1.68% | 47.02 | 47.50 / 46.60 SQURPHARMA | 6.93 | 37.18 | Vol. 758591 D: 169.9 ⇓ 1.11% | 170.55 | 173.0 / 155.0 C: 170.1 ⇓ 0.70% | 170.07 | 174.0 / 169.0 IMAMBUTTON | -1.68 | 5.67 | Vol. 20500 D: 7.30 ⇓ 2.67% | 7.40 | 7.50 / 7.30 C: 8.20 ⇓ 1.20% | 8.20 | 8.20 / 8.20 KEYACOSMET | 1.55 | 21.54 | Vol. 745643 D: 26.30 ⇓ 1.50% | 26.46 | 27.40 / 25.00 C: 26.30 ⇓ 1.13% | 26.36 | 26.50 / 26.20 BERGERPBL | 32.46 | 100.20 | Vol. 3250 D: 894.9 ⇑ 0.30% | 900.00 | 910.0 / 890.0 C: 900.0 ⇓ 4.15% | 900.00 | 900.0 / 900.0 ACIFORMULA | 3.33 | 38.08 | Vol. 78600 D: 79.50 ⇓ 4.79% | 80.33 | 84.00 / 77.90 C: 81.90 ⇓ 1.68% | 81.89 | 82.00 / 80.00 MARICO | 27.53 | 62.47 | Vol. 44200 D: 804.7 ⇑ 2.89% | 809.89 | 824.9 / 790.0 C: 800.1 ⇑ 1.98% | 791.05 | 800.1 / 782.0 BEACONPHAR | 0.33 | 11.97 | Vol. 160050 D: 14.90 ⇓ 0.67% | 14.94 | 15.00 / 14.00 C: 14.80 ⇓ 0.67% | 14.85 | 15.00 / 14.00 ACTIVEFINE | 3.23 | 13.89 | Vol. 1006851 D: 93.10 ⇑ 1.53% | 93.12 | 100.0 / 83.00 C: 93.20 ⇑ 1.97% | 93.41 | 94.70 / 92.50 SALVOCHEM | 0.68 | 10.57 | Vol. 957280 D: 22.20 ⇑ 1.37% | 21.84 | 22.60 / 19.80 C: 22.10 ⇑ 0.91% | 21.83 | 22.70 / 21.30 GHCL | 2.14 | 57.31 | Vol. 415250 D: 50.90 ⇓ 1.36% | 51.27 | 52.00 / 50.50 C: 50.10 ⇓ 1.18% | 50.42 | 51.20 / 50.00 ORIONPHARM | 5.02 | 68.68 | Vol. 686990 D: 64.00 ⇓ 0.47% | 63.98 | 65.00 / 58.00 C: 64.10 ⇓ 0.77% | 64.14 | 66.30 / 63.70 JMISMDL | 1.12 | 12.83 | Vol. 218000 D: 134.0 ⇑ 2.21% | 132.20 | 138.0 / 121.0 C: 132.8 ⇑ 2.00% | 132.54 | 137.0 / 125.1 CENTRALPHL | 0.61 | 10.99 | Vol. 427000 D: 32.20 ⇓ 1.83% | 32.47 | 33.30 / 32.10 C: 32.00 ⇓ 2.44% | 32.29 | 33.30 / 31.90 PAPER & PACKAGING HAKKANIPUL | 0.64 | 11.02 | Vol. 9000 D: 17.60 ⇓ 0.56% | 17.67 | 17.70 / 17.60 SERVICE SAMORITA | 2.31 | 17.25 | Vol. 37684 D: 103.5 ⇑ 0.98% | 104.24 | 112.0 / 93.00 SAPORTL | 1.23 | 38.39 | Vol. 97080 D: 25.40 ⇓ 2.31% | 25.64 | 27.00 / 23.50 C: 25.50 ⇓ 1.54% | 25.73 | 26.10 / 25.40 EHL | 2.87 | 18.48 | Vol. 406055 D: 55.90 ⇓ 4.61% | 57.03 | 60.00 / 55.10 C: 56.20 ⇓ 3.10% | 57.15 | 58.30 / 56.00 LEATHER APEXTANRY | 6.57 | 69.38 | Vol. 1277600 D: 133.8 ⇑ 2.76% | 136.31 | 140.9 / 132.0 C: 134.0 ⇑ 3.63% | 137.07 | 140.9 / 131.1 BATASHOE | 49.12 | 135.53 | Vol. 24704 D: 806.1 ⇑ 0.15% | 808.31 | 830.0 / 760.0 C: 810.0 ⇑ 1.00% | 806.58 | 819.0 / 800.0

APEXADELFT | 23.01 | 203.26 | Vol. 173500 D: 420.0 ⇓ 4.02% | 433.19 | 441.0 / 416.0 C: 426.0 ⇓ 0.93% | 436.86 | 440.0 / 426.0 LEGACYFOOT | 0.63 | 17.19 | Vol. 39061 D: 14.60 ⇓ 3.95% | 14.80 | 15.30 / 14.50 C: 15.10 ⇓ 5.63% | 15.44 | 16.00 / 15.10 CERAMIC MONNOCERA | 0.71 | 96.33 | Vol. 54997 D: 31.70 ⇑ 2.26% | 32.05 | 33.00 / 29.00 C: 32.00 ⇑ 1.59% | 32.00 | 32.00 / 32.00 STANCERAM | 1.07 | 15.97 | Vol. 31500 D: 36.50 ⇓ 6.17% | 36.52 | 39.90 / 35.10 C: 37.50 ⇑ 7.14% | 37.50 | 37.50 / 37.50 FUWANGCER | 1.43 | 13.25 | Vol. 768350 D: 20.10 ⇑ 2.03% | 20.06 | 20.50 / 18.80 C: 20.20 ⇑ 2.02% | 20.08 | 20.50 / 19.60 SPCERAMICS | 0.62 | 30.92 | Vol. 373941 D: 15.60 ⇓ 2.50% | 15.75 | 16.40 / 14.50 C: 15.70 ⇓ 2.48% | 15.78 | 17.00 / 14.80 RAKCERAMIC | 1.98 | 16.76 | Vol. 1190530 D: 59.70 ⇑ 1.70% | 60.19 | 62.00 / 53.00 C: 60.40 ⇑ 2.90% | 59.92 | 61.70 / 57.70 CEMENT HEIDELBCEM | 22.85 | 111.50 | Vol. 628260 D: 416.1 ⇑ 8.02% | 411.79 | 418.9 / 390.0 C: 413.6 ⇑ 5.35% | 410.60 | 419.7 / 404.0 CONFIDCEM | 6.23 | 90.76 | Vol. 768319 D: 141.9 ⇑ 1.72% | 143.27 | 146.4 / 130.0 C: 142.1 ⇑ 1.43% | 143.07 | 146.4 / 140.0 MEGHNACEM | 6.28 | 33.81 | Vol. 479300 D: 171.7 ⇑ 3.81% | 167.81 | 173.9 / 162.9 C: 171.4 ⇑ 3.07% | 167.13 | 173.0 / 164.0 ARAMITCEM | 3.03 | 14.65 | Vol. 214755 D: 81.50 ⇑ 2.64% | 81.15 | 83.20 / 75.00 C: 82.20 ⇑ 2.11% | 81.81 | 82.50 / 80.00 LAFSURCEML | 1.60 | 7.22 | Vol. 4313500 D: 35.50 ⇑ 3.50% | 35.42 | 36.10 / 33.90 C: 35.50 ⇑ 3.80% | 35.29 | 36.00 / 34.00 MICEMENT | 4.14 | 40.00 | Vol. 289322 D: 97.10 ⇑ 0.31% | 96.93 | 100.0 / 87.20 C: 97.20 ⇑ 0.31% | 97.69 | 99.00 / 94.50 PREMIERCEM | 3.59 | 22.92 | Vol. 335800 D: 123.5 ⇓ 1.59% | 125.01 | 129.0 / 122.5 C: 123.7 ⇓ 0.72% | 125.61 | 129.5 / 123.0 IT IINDUSTRIES ISNLTD | 0.28 | 17.31 | Vol. 12650 D: 13.40 ⇑ 0.75% | 13.44 | 13.70 / 13.00 BDCOM | 1.00 | 14.91 | Vol. 277918 D: 22.80 ⇓ 0.87% | 22.87 | 23.10 / 22.00 C: 22.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 22.80 | 23.10 / 21.00 INTECH | 0.94 | 10.08 | Vol. 103794 D: 14.50 ⇑ 1.40% | 14.63 | 14.90 / 13.00 C: 14.70 ⇑ 2.08% | 14.62 | 14.80 / 14.50 AGNISYSL | 1.07 | 25.52 | Vol. 188671 D: 23.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 23.84 | 24.10 / 22.50 C: 23.90 ⇓ 1.24% | 23.89 | 24.00 / 23.70 DAFODILCOM | 1.12 | 11.14 | Vol. 260772 D: 17.90 ⇓ 3.76% | 18.01 | 18.80 / 17.00 C: 17.80 ⇓ 2.73% | 17.96 | 18.30 / 17.70 AAMRATECH | 1.17 | 20.44 | Vol. 942200 D: 40.90 ⇓ 1.45% | 41.19 | 41.90 / 37.50 C: 41.20 ⇓ 0.72% | 41.27 | 42.00 / 40.80 GENERAL INSURANCE BGIC | 1.65 | 20.33 | Vol. 44735 D: 29.60 ⇓ 1.00% | 29.73 | 30.30 / 29.50 C: 30.10 ⇑ 1.69% | 30.13 | 31.90 / 29.30

GREENDELT | 4.05 | 64.44 | Vol. 43340 D: 111.6 ⇑ 1.27% | 112.02 | 115.0 / 110.2 C: 110.5 ⇓ 2.81% | 110.50 | 111.0 / 110.0 UNITEDINS | 2.47 | 21.04 | Vol. 33100 D: 47.60 ⇓ 0.42% | 48.19 | 49.00 / 46.50 PEOPLESINS | 2.05 | 20.72 | Vol. 49620 D: 27.10 ⇑ 0.37% | 27.21 | 29.60 / 25.00 C: 26.40 ⇓ 1.49% | 26.36 | 26.80 / 25.80 EASTERNINS | 2.22 | 35.88 | Vol. 33156 D: 37.80 ⇓ 3.57% | 37.97 | 38.70 / 37.40 C: 38.90 ⇑ 4.01% | 38.90 | 38.90 / 38.90 JANATAINS | 7.84 | 170.69 | Vol. 3875 D: 242.0 ⇓ 2.71% | 244.41 | 248.0 / 240.0 C: 245.0 ⇓ 2.00% | 241.07 | 249.0 / 240.0 PHENIXINS | 2.70 | 20.96 | Vol. 34600 D: 40.10 ⇓ 2.67% | 40.23 | 41.00 / 40.00 C: 40.10 ⇓ 7.39% | 40.05 | 40.10 / 40.00 EASTLAND | 4.06 | 23.29 | Vol. 95120 D: 49.70 ⇑ 0.61% | 49.96 | 51.40 / 45.00 CENTRALINS | 1.54 | 19.04 | Vol. 8649 D: 28.90 ⇓ 1.37% | 29.02 | 30.00 / 28.80 KARNAPHULI | 1.56 | 19.42 | Vol. 71900 D: 22.60 ⇓ 5.44% | 22.93 | 23.50 / 22.60 RUPALIINS | 2.76 | 23.38 | Vol. 174344 D: 32.40 ⇓ 1.82% | 32.53 | 33.20 / 30.00 C: 32.70 ⇓ 2.10% | 32.72 | 34.00 / 32.60 FEDERALINS | 1.10 | 10.98 | Vol. 94937 D: 22.70 ⇓ 1.30% | 22.89 | 23.50 / 21.00 C: 23.00 ⇓ 0.43% | 23.00 | 23.20 / 20.80 RELIANCINS | 3.93 | 61.52 | Vol. 4500 D: 74.00 ⇓ 3.39% | 74.00 | 74.10 / 73.70 PURABIGEN | 1.05 | 18.71 | Vol. 226050 D: 21.50 ⇓ 3.15% | 21.93 | 23.00 / 20.00 PRAGATIINS | 2.01 | 50.30 | Vol. 39105 D: 59.20 ⇓ 1.50% | 60.72 | 61.80 / 58.30 PRIMEINSUR | 2.14 | 14.14 | Vol. 41026 D: 29.50 ⇓ 2.64% | 29.75 | 30.40 / 28.00 PIONEERINS | 3.11 | 23.84 | Vol. 131150 D: 74.10 ⇓ 1.20% | 74.65 | 76.20 / 71.00 C: 74.50 ⇓ 9.92% | 75.63 | 77.90 / 74.50 MERCINS | 1.53 | 14.50 | Vol. 136196 D: 26.80 ⇓ 3.60% | 27.19 | 28.90 / 25.60 C: 27.90 ⇓ 1.06% | 28.83 | 30.00 / 27.50 AGRANINS | 1.73 | 14.39 | Vol. 21500 D: 24.10 ⇓ 2.43% | 24.14 | 24.70 / 23.40 GLOBALINS | 1.09 | 11.78 | Vol. 60000 D: 29.40 ⇓ 0.34% | 29.42 | 30.00 / 29.10 NITOLINS | 2.59 | 15.41 | Vol. 4145 D: 34.70 ⇓ 0.57% | 34.65 | 35.50 / 32.00 ASIAPACINS | 1.84 | 13.76 | Vol. 33000 D: 28.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.45 | 29.00 / 26.90 SONARBAINS | 1.68 | 13.38 | Vol. 27700 D: 22.40 ⇓ 2.61% | 22.51 | 23.00 / 22.40 PARAMOUNT | 1.26 | 13.19 | Vol. 27500 D: 21.60 ⇓ 2.70% | 21.71 | 22.10 / 21.50 CITYGENINS | 1.65 | 14.26 | Vol. 60583 D: 25.70 ⇓ 1.91% | 25.76 | 26.20 / 24.00 C: 25.70 ⇓ 1.91% | 25.85 | 26.30 / 25.00 CONTININS | 1.41 | 15.68 | Vol. 43050 D: 29.30 ⇓ 2.33% | 29.49 | 30.00 / 28.00 C: 29.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.50 | 29.20 / 29.20 TAKAFULINS | 2.19 | 15.17 | Vol. 10700 D: 31.10 ⇓ 0.96% | 31.12 | 31.50 / 30.00 STANDARINS | 2.58 | 13.99 | Vol. 2000 D: 38.40 ⇓ 2.29% | 38.50 | 39.50 / 38.10 NORTHRNINS | 1.77 | 11.15 | Vol. 75073 D: 45.10 ⇓ 0.88% | 45.30 | 46.00 / 44.80 C: 44.70 ⇓ 4.89% | 44.70 | 44.70 / 44.70 REPUBLIC | 2.14 | 12.42 | Vol. 116205 D: 56.10 ⇓ 3.44% | 56.76 | 57.70 / 54.00 ASIAINS | 1.56 | 17.34 | Vol. 55505 D: 26.10 ⇓ 1.88% | 26.11 | 26.60 / 25.00 C: 26.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 25.91 | 26.00 / 25.00 ISLAMIINS | 1.29 | 11.96 | Vol. 6000 D: 27.50 ⇓ 2.14% | 27.50 | 28.00 / 26.70 C: 27.10 ⇑ 3.83% | 26.63 | 27.10 / 25.20 PROVATIINS | 1.90 | 14.30 | Vol. 6271 D: 27.40 ⇓ 1.08% | 27.21 | 27.90 / 25.50 C: 27.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.00 | 27.30 / 27.30 DHAKAINS | 2.84 | 18.02 | Vol. 27500 D: 39.70 ⇓ 1.73% | 39.87 | 40.50 / 37.00 C: 38.80 ⇓ 3.72% | 38.74 | 39.00 / 38.30

LIFE INSURANCE NATLIFEINS | 12.34 | 80.99 | Vol. 30316 D: 262.0 ⇓ 2.93% | 264.48 | 270.0 / 260.0 C: 261.8 ⇓ 3.39% | 265.06 | 268.0 / 260.0 DELTALIFE | 38.53 | 189.40 | Vol. 23455 D: 5968 ⇑ 3.75% | 5966 | 5968 / 5600 C: 5753 ⇑ 12.40% | 5635 | 5753 / 5400 SANDHANINS | 2.39 | 28.22 | Vol. 90263 D: 77.20 ⇓ 5.74% | 78.27 | 82.00 / 75.00 C: 77.30 ⇓ 6.19% | 79.06 | 80.50 / 76.10 POPULARLIF | 3.70 | 715.41 | Vol. 17695 D: 165.7 ⇓ 3.83% | 165.47 | 172.0 / 158.0 FAREASTLIF | 9.21 | 60.79 | Vol. 73362 D: 115.5 ⇓ 5.33% | 117.88 | 121.7 / 115.4 C: 117.0 ⇓ 6.55% | 116.44 | 117.0 / 113.0 MEGHNALIFE | 10.82 | 48.87 | Vol. 140300 D: 111.2 ⇓ 5.36% | 111.20 | 116.0 / 108.0 C: 112.0 ⇓ 3.61% | 110.03 | 112.2 / 107.7 PROGRESLIF | 2.30 | 31.45 | Vol. 9000 D: 105.7 ⇓ 5.46% | 105.78 | 110.0 / 102.0 PRAGATILIF | 0.60 | 30.15 | Vol. 52000 D: 120.2 ⇓ 2.91% | 119.40 | 124.9 / 115.2 PRIMELIFE | 5.51 | 27.10 | Vol. 24200 D: 99.70 ⇓ 6.12% | 100.41 | 105.9 / 98.00 RUPALILIFE | 3.75 | 31.25 | Vol. 23554 D: 94.40 ⇓ 6.35% | 95.53 | 100.8 / 93.00 C: 95.10 ⇑ 9.94% | 94.44 | 95.10 / 78.00 PADMALIFE | 1.63 | 25.76 | Vol. 58000 D: 59.00 ⇓ 2.48% | 59.35 | 60.50 / 58.60 C: 59.20 ⇓ 2.31% | 60.31 | 61.40 / 59.00 SUNLIFEINS | 0.00 | 0.00 | Vol. 757000 D: 64.10 ⇑ 3.22% | 61.68 | 64.80 / 56.00 C: 63.90 ⇑ 1.75% | 61.63 | 64.90 / 58.10 TELECOM GP | 12.96 | 26.26 | Vol. 1702168 D: 213.3 ⇑ 1.67% | 214.63 | 217.5 / 200.0 C: 213.2 ⇑ 1.72% | 214.26 | 216.9 / 212.0 BSCCL | 7.14 | 23.70 | Vol. 1467910 D: 275.7 ⇑ 4.23% | 266.90 | 284.0 / 242.0 C: 275.9 ⇑ 4.11% | 269.23 | 284.0 / 251.1 Travel & Leisure UNITEDAIR | 1.60 | 15.12 | Vol. 7398369 D: 19.90 ⇓ 1.00% | 19.98 | 21.00 / 18.10 C: 20.00 ⇓ 1.48% | 20.02 | 21.50 / 19.90 UNIQUEHRL | 4.02 | 86.29 | Vol. 630735 D: 89.80 ⇓ 0.11% | 90.21 | 91.90 / 81.50 C: 90.10 ⇑ 0.22% | 91.09 | 96.00 / 89.60 MISCELLANEOUS ARAMIT | 16.07 | 99.93 | Vol. 12350 D: 291.8 ⇑ 1.35% | 290.86 | 299.0 / 282.0 C: 300.0 ⇑ 2.95% | 295.00 | 300.0 / 290.0 BSC | 1.77 | 565.82 | Vol. 173925 D: 598.3 ⇓ 0.50% | 600.37 | 609.8 / 585.0 C: 599.0 ⇓ 0.25% | 601.16 | 614.0 / 589.0 GQBALLPEN | 6.55 | 250.45 | Vol. 91960 D: 156.9 ⇓ 0.13% | 158.04 | 161.8 / 151.0 C: 156.3 ⇓ 0.45% | 159.35 | 161.9 / 156.0 USMANIAGL | 0.50 | 26.03 | Vol. 236583 D: 170.4 ⇑ 8.67% | 166.20 | 172.4 / 150.0 C: 170.2 ⇑ 8.75% | 166.85 | 172.0 / 157.0 BEXIMCO | 3.24 | 86.74 | Vol. 1034675 D: 32.00 ⇓ 1.54% | 32.09 | 35.00 / 29.50 C: 32.10 ⇓ 1.53% | 32.16 | 32.50 / 31.90 SINOBANGLA | 1.75 | 21.01 | Vol. 89500 D: 19.30 ⇓ 1.53% | 19.36 | 19.90 / 19.20 C: 19.40 ⇑ 1.04% | 19.40 | 19.40 / 19.40 MIRACLEIND | 0.14 | 14.90 | Vol. 20578 D: 12.20 ⇓ 1.61% | 12.31 | 12.40 / 12.00 C: 12.20 ⇓ 2.40% | 12.12 | 12.20 / 12.10 TEXPICK | 8.79 | 128.69 | Vol. 0 C: 0.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 0.00 | 0.00 / 0.00 BOND IBBLPBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 120 D: 951.3 ⇓ 0.11% | 950.00 | 952.5 / 950.0 ACIZCBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 174 D: 859.0 ⇑ 0.06% | 859.76 | 860.0 / 855.5 C: 843.0 ⇑ 0.30% | 843.10 | 843.5 / 842.0 BRACSCBOND | 0.00 | 0.00 | Vol. 10 D: 1065 ⇑ 1.91% | 1065 | 1065 / 1065

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

friday, August 30, 2013

China to set up more private banks to help small firms n Reuters, Beijing China’s cabinet has unveiled plans to set up more private banks to boost financial support for cash-starved smaller firms, in the latest bid to bolster the slowing economy.

“We will actively develop small-sized financial institutions and open up the channel for private capital to enter the financial sector,” the cabinet said in a set of guidelines published on the central government’s website: www.gov.cn.

“We will promote trials by private capital to initiate the establishment of private banks responsible for their own risks, as well as financial leasing companies and consumer finance companies and other financial institutions.”

The government will support the establishment of more village banks and credit companies in areas where smaller firms are concentrated, according to the guidelines.

Beijing has been trying to open up the banking sector to private investors as state banks have channeled the bulk of their loans

to state firms and local government vehicles.

China Minsheng Banking Corp, is the only private bank among the country’s 10 largest commercial lenders.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 60% of China’s gross domestic product and some 75% of new jobs created in the country, but they are struggling to cope with weaker global demand and tight credit.

Under the guidelines, banks will be encouraged to widen credit securitization to help channel more credit to small firms and qualified banks will be allowed to issue special bonds and use the proceeds to support smaller firms, the cabinet said.

Banks are encouraged to tolerate higher non-performing loans when they lend to smaller firms, it added.

The government has announced a series of targeted measures to support the slowing economy, including scrapping taxes for small firms, offer more help for ailing exporters and boosting investment in urban infrastructure and railways. l

A news vendor walks with a bicycle at the Central Business District in Beijing

REUTERS

Rupee falls in front of slowing Indian economy n Reuters, New Delhi The sense of crisis building around the rupee’s precipitous fall is likely to deepen on Friday with the release of data expected to show India’s economy slowing to dangerously low levels.

A dearth of investment lies at the heart of India’s economic malaise. Little improvement is expected any time soon, with investors doubting whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s minority government can force through bold reforms with an election due within eight months.

Economic growth virtually halved in two

years to 5% in the fiscal year that ended in March - the lowest level in a decade - and most economists surveyed by Reuters in the past week expect 2013/14 to be worse.

“The economy appears to be entering a tailspin as business confidence collapses under the weight of rapid rupee depreciation, rising energy costs, sharply tightening financial conditions and policy confusion,” BNP Paribas said in a note on Wednesday.

The withdrawal of funds from emerging markets as investors re-adjust portfolios in anticipation of higher US interest rates has caused tremors from Brasilia to Jakarta. But the weight of India’s current account and

A labourer works inside an iron factory on the outskirts of Jammu REUTERS

fiscal deficits has seen the rupee sink faster than most currencies.

However much Finance Minister P. Chidambaram protests that the market’s move is overdone, investing in a currency that has lost around 20% since May would be a test of bravery that even India’s richer diaspora living abroad could flunk.

In the eight sessions through Tuesday, investors pulled out $1bn from India stocks.

Total net outflows from stocks and bonds have totaled $7.4bn since May. Thank heavens for a good monsoon, which should boost rural income and perk up flagging consumer demand, because without it the economy would be looking a lot worse than it already does. India’s statistics office is due to release GDP data for the June quarter at 1200 GMT on Friday, bringing down the curtain on what has probably been the worst week for the rupee in nearly 17 years. The GDP print is likely to be fittingly gloomy.

A Reuters poll of 36 economists showed India’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.7% year-on-year in the quarter to June, near decade lows on an annual basis and a tad under the 4.8% growth in the previous three months.

Raghuram Rajan, the much-vaunted former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund chief economist, is set to take over as governor of the Reserve Bank of India next Thursday, but so long as the rupee remains under attack he will find it hard to lower interest rates to encourage growth.

With inflation moving back above 5%, the upper limit of the central bank’s perceived comfort zone, its hands are even more tightly tied. “With RBI set to sustain, even extend, recent monetary tightening, we now expect

the palpable downside risks facing the Indian economy to largely crystallize over the next 6-9 months,” said BNP Paribas.

The French bank has cut India’s growth forecast to 3.7% for this fiscal year, which would be the lowest since 1991/92.

That is nowhere near good enough for a country with India’s demographics. It has a population of 1.2 billion and a per capita income of around $1,000.

Chidambaram warned on Tuesday that the economy needs to be averaging 8% growth to generate jobs for the increasing numbers of youth joining the workforce, but it is about far more than jobs. With nearly 270 million people living in poverty, India is a vastly different kind of economy.

On Tuesday, parliament approved a Food Security Bill that critics fear will push up a fiscal deficit that at nearly at 5% of GDP is among the highest among major economies.

With enough foreign exchange reserves to cover six months of imports and relatively low levels of sovereign foreign debt, India’s situation is less acute than it was in 1991 balance of payments crisis.

But, once lionized as the finance minister whose liberalization of the economy rescued it from that crisis, Prime Minister Singh is now widely criticized for having feet of clay during his nine years at the helm.

His government has loosened rules for foreign investors, but it has failed to introduce the tax and labour reforms that Singh has long advocated.

Instead, policy flip-flops, high-profile tax disputes and numerous regulatory hurdles have stymied investments to a point where many firms find it easier to invest overseas than at home. l