May 29, 2016

SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

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Jyoishtha 15, 1423, Shaban 21, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 36

7 killed in UP polls n Tribune Desk At least seven people were killed and scores of others sustained injuries in attacks and clashes centring the fifth phase of polls held at 717 union parishads across the country yesterday.

In Jamalpur, three campaigners were killed and at least 17 others including two policemen injured during a fierce clash between the supporters of three chairman candidates at Khutar Char Ebtedayee Madrasa polling centre under Bahadurabad Union.

The deceased are Nurul Islam, 50, Ziaur Rahman, 33, and eighth grader Majed Mia, 15. Additional Superintendent of Police of Jamalpur Shariful Haque confirmed the deaths to the Dhaka Tribune.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiful Islam postponed voting at the centre following the violence that took place around noon.

5 Singapore returnees’ involvement in militancy found n Arifur Rahman Rabbi Detectives have found involvement of five Bangladeshis deported from Singapore in Islamist militant terrorism.

They were organised in Singapore quite a long time back to carry out terrorist attacks, they said.

The five were arrested along with eight others on May 4 by Singapore’s Internal Security Department for their involvement in militant activities and plotting terror attacks.

They were sent back to Dhaka while the rest were kept in custody.

The five men were arrested by the DMP’s Transnational and Counter-Terrorism Unit in Dhaka.

They were found to be in possession of some extremist books and leaflets. A case was also filed against them with Rampura police.

They are all supporters of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team that has claimed the murder of several teachers and secular activists since 2013, DMP sources said.

Meanehile, on Friday formal charges were pressed against six  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

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Will your grandmother get a better deal?

BUDGET FY2017 n Jebun Nesa Alo

Supporters of rival candidates clash as voting is underway at Brahmanbaria yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Witnesses said the supporters of Awami League rebel candidate Shahjahan Miah and BNP candidate Chaimuddin locked in a clash with AL candidate Shakiruzzaman

Rakhal and his supporters over establishing supremacy.

Police charged batons and opened fire from rifles leaving at  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

If your grandmother derives a significant portion of her income from interest on deposit accounts, the last couple of years have been an unrelenting financial squeeze.

Income from interest on deposits has been nearly halved in the last year by a tax burden that has not budged despite falling interest rates.

Meagre earnings from fixed deposits has meant that retired people, the physically disabled and those between jobs have had to make do in straitened circumstances.

Income from deposits have

come down to almost half due to a rapid fall in interest rates on deposits in the last year. The tax burden imposed by the government three years ago has further eroded profit.

Some experts disagree with taxing interest income so highly and wonder whether the coming budget will bring relief for people like your granny.

“Income taxes on profit from deposits is illogical as interest rates fell almost half amid excess liquidity in the market,” Mohammed Nurul Amin, managing director and CEO of Meghna Bank, said.

“Banks will be losers in the long run as current excess liquidity will meet up the demand one year more.”

He said people now keep money at the bank just for security: it is presumably safer than storing it underneath the mattress.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

45 boat migrants die in shipwreck off Italy n Reuters, Rome At least 45 migrants died in a shipwreck and more than 2,000 were rescued from boats in the Mediterranean yesterday, the coastguard said, as the number of immigrants coming to Europe via Italy soared again.

Around 14,000 people were taken off often flimsy vessels over the whole week, the United Nations and the coastguard said, and hundreds may have drowned, survivors and boat crews added, though there are no official estimates of total casualties.

Italian Navy ship Vega plucked about 135 people off a “half-submerged” large rubber boat in one of 17 operations coordinated by the coastguard on Friday. The Vega

recovered 45 bodies and is still searching for the missing, the navy said, marking the third straight day of reports of migrant deaths at sea.

It is not known how many people had been on board the boat before it began to deflate.

The coastguard said the warmer weather and calmer seas had led to a surge in the number of people trying to cross from Libya, where people smugglers operate with relative impunity.

The numbers managing to reach Italy were comparable to the same period last year and the year before.

The migrants, many of whom do not know how to swim and do not have life jackets, pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to make the crossing.

The IOM said it estimates total Mediterranean deaths at sea to be 1,475 this year They are piled onto flimsy rubber boats or old fishing vessels, and as dramatic images from the crew of the Italian Navy ship Bettica showed on Wednesday, they can be tossed into the water in a matter of seconds.

The images show the moment a blue fishing boat capsized, sending hundreds of migrants tumbling into the sea. About 240 women and chil-

dren had already been rescued, but an unknown number were trapped in the hull. Only five bodies were recovered and 562 were saved.

Testimony from survivors suggests there were still many people below deck who were not able to escape, according to the U.N. refugee agency, while the Bettica captain estimated that “some 100” may have been lost.

On Thursday, when 4,000 were rescued in 22 separate operations, survivors from another overturned fishing boat say some 200 may have drowned, a sharp rise from the 20-30 originally estimated, according to an Italian Interior Ministry source. Some 15 bodies were recovered, he said.

“It’s obvious that no matter the great effort made by rescuers,

when the numbers are as high as we’re seeing this week, it’s very risky,” said Federico Fossi, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Rome.

“But in terms of numbers it’s the third year that this is ‘normal’,” Fossi said. “It’s the beginning of the high season and we’re still at slightly fewer arrivals as the same period last year.”

In 2014 and 2015, more than 320,000 boat migrants arrived on Italian shores, and an estimated 7,000 died in the Mediterranean as they sought to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Yesterday the IOM said it estimates total Mediterranean deaths at sea to be 1,475 this year. l

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Will granny get a better deal?

A depositor could make a monthly profit of around Tk1 lakh against a deposit of Tk1 crore in the year 2012 when interest rates were in the 10% to 11% range.

But monthly profits are now down to around Tk60,000 against the same amount of deposit, with interest rates hovering between 5% and 6%.

Depositors must pay 10% income tax on the interest income if they have a tax identification number, or TIN, or 15% if they do not.

Doubling your principal now takes eight years, but took just six

years a couple of years ago. Tripling your money takes 14 years, but earlier took just 11.

The government imposed a 10% tax on income from deposits for TIN holders and 15% for non TIN holders in the 2013-14 fiscal year budget. This was implemented from FY2014-15.

Currently around Tk8,00,000 crore in deposits exists in the market of which almost 50% is in fixed deposits.

“There is no alternative to investing money in the market as the share market has long been dull

and saving instruments have some difficulties.

“If depositors invest money in savings instruments they cannot convert it to cash until the maturity period has been reached. By contrast, bank deposits are always liquid,” Meghna Bank’s Nurul Amin said.

He said depositors were the main source of money supply in the financial market. “So they should not be deprived by imposing income tax.”

According to Bangladesh Bank data, the share of fixed deposits among total deposits was 50.93%

in the October-December quarter of last year, up from 52.33% in the same period of the previous year.

Fixed deposit growth dropped by 2.42% in the last quarter of 2015 compared to the preceding quarter, while growth was 3.61% in the last quarter of 2014.

The amount of total fixed deposits stood at Tk4,04,378 crore in December last year.

The weighted average interest rate on deposits came down to 5.92% in March this year which was 7.06% in the same period of last year, according to the central bank data. l

fierce clash.

Babul Shil, 57, got panicked and suffered a heart attack when a chase and a counter-chase took place between the followers of two rival candidates.

He was taken to the nearby health complex where the doctors declared him dead.

On the other hand, a presiding officer died of heart attack in Patiya. Manjur Ahmed Nuri, 55, was performing his duties at Kazipara Primary School polling centre under Haidgaon Union, UNO Md Abul Hashem told the Dhaka Tribune.

He was taken to the CMCH but only to be pronounced dead by the doctors.

School, and Feroza Begum, 38, assistant teacher of Kaleshawargaon Primary School, were posted at Borogram Primary School polling centre under Balia Union.

Thakurgaon Election Officer Shukur Ali confirmed the deaths to the Dhaka Tribune and said that new polling officers had been assigned to the centres.

7 killed in UP polls least 20 people injured. Later, three of them succumbed to their injuries. The injured were admitted to different hospitals.

Meanwhile, two people were killed during the polls at Begumganj upazila in Noakhali. The deceased are Soyad Ahmed, 65, and Shakil, 17. OC Sajedur Rahman Sajid of Companyganj police confirmed the deaths.

Police said that they went to Rajganj Senior Madrasa centre around 11am on information that a group of people had gathered there to establish supremacy, and charged batons to disperse them.

Soyad struck his head on a wall while fleeing the scene along with others. He died at Noakhali General Hospital.

On the other hand, Shakil was injured in a clash between two groups of supporters at KB Union High School. He was first taken to a local hospital, but died on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.

In Chittagong, a UP member

candidate was killed in an attack by his rivals at Boro Uthan under Patiya upazila.

Mohammad Yasin, 40, son of Syed Amin from Shah Mirpur area, was stabbed by the supporters of his rival candidate during a clash around 1pm outside the local primary school polling centre.

He succumbed to his injuries 30 minutes after being taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, police said.

Yasin’s political identity could not be ascertained.

Another person who received stab injuries during the same clash succumbed to his injuries at Chittagong Medical College Hospital in the evening.

Mohammad Hossain, 55, was a resident of Fakinnirhat area under Boro Uthan Union.

2 die in heart attacks

Meanwhile, a panic-stricken passerby died of heart attack at Ashiya Union of Patiya when supporters of two member aspirants engaged in a

2 polling officers killed in road accident

Two election officials were killed as a bus of Nabil Paribahan hit their motorcycle in Munshirhat area under Thakurgaon sadar upazila yesterday morning.

Bimal Chandra Roy, 45, assistant teacher of Darazgaon Primary

Voting suspended following violence

In Noakhali, voting was suspended at 55 polling centres at Begumganj and 26 at Senbagh following incidents of snatching ballot papers, breaking ballot boxes and vote rigging, Md Monir Hossain, senior district election officer, said.

Meanwhile, voting at three polling centres under Boalkhali and Patiya upazilas were suspended as the supporters of chairmen and member candidates snatched ballot papers.

Voting was also suspended at Baizkandi Primary School centre under Forazkandi Union of Matlab in Chandpur following a fierce clash. l

5 Singapore returnees’ others in Singapore for their involvement in militancy arrested in Singapore last April.

The five accused are Mizanur Rahman alias Galib Hasan (38) Raha Mia Pilot (29) Alamgir Hossain (29) Tanjimul Islam (24) and Masud Rana alias Sallu Khan (31) Mashrukur Rahman Khaled, deputy commissioner (South) of DB told the Dhaka Tribune that the five confessed to their involvement in militancy.

He also said a case had been filed under anti-terrorism law against the five militants with Rampura police station. Later they were put on a five-day remand.

During the interrogation they confessed that they had recruited members in the name of Ansar al-Islam in Singapore for a long time to carry out terrorist activities. They were planing acts of sabotage to destabilise the country, he added.

The case is still under investigation. More details can be unearthed after the end of the investigation.

However, their involvement was found in raising money for terrorist acts and militants campaign, said Mashrukur Rahman Khaled.

The Singapore government earlier arrested 27 Bangladeshis, who reportedly supported IS and al-Qaeda, between November 16 and December 1 last year.

All but one were deported to Bangladesh.

The DB police arrested them and investigated the allegations.

Later they claimed that 14 of them had supported Ansarullah’s activities. So the 12 others were released. l

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Wooing investors is job 1, discussants say BUDGET FY2017 n Tribune Desk The 2016 budget must be investment friendly in order to achieve the government's top job, creating employment, speakers at a discussion have said.

The recommendations came at a pre-budget discussion hosted by Bangla Tribune at its office in Dhaka yesterday.

The discussion was telecast live

by Ekattor TV. Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries President Syed Nasim Manzur, Association of Grassroots Women Entrepreneurs Bangladesh President Mousumi Islam, Exporters Association of Bangladesh President Abdus Salam Murshedy, Centre for Policy Dialogue Research Fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan, Dhaka Tribune Editor Zafar Sobhan, Bangla Tribune acting editor Zulfiqer Russell, journalist Syed Ishtiaque Reza and Dhaka University teacher Abu Ahmed took part in the discussion moderated by Mithila Farzana of Ekattor TV. Towfiqul Islam observed that the level of private investment in the country was not healthy. The statistics on the job sector, too, were not that impressive, he said.

Only 300,000 new jobs had been created between July 2013 and July 2015, he also said quoting half-yearly statistics.

Some 1.2 million jobs had been lost in the manufacturing sector, he added.

Ekattor TV director of news Syed Ishtiaque Reza noted it was not possible to create jobs without first wooing investment.

He further added that 50% of people in Bangladesh did not pay taxes. “If we brought them under

Economists, researchers, entrepreneurs and business leaders discuss during a round table on budget expectations organised by Bangla Tribune yesterday at it’s office in Dhaka RAJIB DHAR the tax net, then pressure on existing taxpayers would ease.”

MCCI president Nasim Manzur said: “The cost of doing business is gradually going up. Investment will not increase overnight as complexities in the business sector are rising. Only easing these complexities can attract more investment.”

He rued the government's lack of action in encouraging business.

“Investment will go down if profit declines. The government should pay attention to reducing business costs and other complexities,” he added.

Dhaka University professor Abu Ahmed emphasised equal opportunities for businessmen to strengthen the economy.

“Demand will increase and profit will rise if the price of goods is

reduced. But those involved in the petroleum trade do not understand this. The government is adamant about not cutting fuel oil prices despite strong arguments against it,” he said, calling for reduction of oil prices in line with the global market trends.

Salam Murshedy said: “Designated economic zones should come into operation according to a fixed timeline. No one knows when the zones will be ready for use. A deadline must be set for them.”

On the trade gap with India, he said: “Our exports have not increased, but our imports have.

There is no alternative. What I can export at $5 they can produce locally for $4: Why would they buy from me?”

Ekattor TV news director Syed Ishtiaque Reza said: “Remarkable

work has been done at the Mirsarai Economic Zone. I worry about whether the fate of these economic zones will end up like the BSCIC zones. There are problems with land acquisition as well. We have seen in other instances what happens when land is forcibly taken from local residents.”

Speakers at the discussion also called for more attention to the health and education sectors in the new budget.

They said the budget should emphasise alleviating discrimination in the education sector, recruiting skilled teachers and arranging proper training. Panelists also highlighted the negative effects of lower allocation for the health sector in the budget.

Abu Ahmed said: "Let us assume

the budget has been increased. But that will have to done efficiently.

The same can be said for the health sector. But no mechanism to ensure accountability is in place. Hence, there is no confidence about proper spending in these sectors."

Towfiqul Islam said the sectors did not get much allocation.

"We are ranked 189 out of 190 nations in the health index."

"The biggest problem in the education sector is the disparity between Dhaka and the other areas.

The quality of teaching has to be improved alongside infrastructural development," he added.

Mousumi Islam said there needs to be more importance given to social security in the new budget, given the current situation in the country. l

Another budget without World Bank budget support BUDGET FY2017 n Asif Showkat Kallol Bangladesh government is yet to succeed in getting the World Bank's Growth, Development Policy Credit (GDPS) Support due to lack of concrete reform actions in the policy matrix at major ministries.

The government has been trying to get the soft loan that could amount to $500 million for over seven years now. The Economic Relations Division started negotiating with World Bank for the loan

when this government came to power in 2009.

But the global lender has not approved the loan, citing the government's failure to carry out prescribed reform.

Officials from the Finance Division, where the budget is prepared, said there were no possibilities of the World Bank allocating a budget support in the next fiscal.

One official said ERD Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin had made a last minute request to allocate $100 million or around Tk80 crore in the upcoming budget towards reform.

But the Finance Division declined to make the allocation without any validated document or

articulated possible reform conditions and said it could be done in the revised budget instead.

The next fiscal year's budget will be tabled on June 2 at the Jatiya Sangsad.

Two days ago finance minister AMA Muhith told Dhaka Tribune the domestic investment situation had improved and he had spoken to development partners including World Bank about this. The minister said more funds would be coming in from development partners in the budget and as project aid.

Earlier, the World Bank said the Bangladesh government’s policy actions were not enough to approve the proposed loan, recommending incorporation of “concrete reform

actions” in the policy matrix.

It also said the World Bank budget support for Bangladesh was not passed by the board mainly because two government agencies had failed to fix the deadline on major legislative reforms – one the implementation of a proposed direct tax code and the other an amendment of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001.

One-and-a-half year ago, the Bank gave out some policy matrices on public sector reforms to the government to obtain budgetary credit support that will help offset budget deficits. The upcoming budget will have a deficit of around Tk955.5 billion.

Senior government executives believe the government should re-

iterate Bangladesh’s need for the budget support to the World Bank and request the lender to proceed with the loan soon.

The World Bank is the largest donor to Bangladesh in development funding. It usually makes commitment for disbursing $1.5 billion in assistance annually and disburses nearly $700 million.

The Bank disbursed a record high of $1 billion in assistance to Bangladesh in the last fiscal year. The Bank last provided Bangladesh with a budget support of $50 million in 2008 to help cyclone Sidr affected families.

The Asian Development Bank will be extending a budgetary support credit of $300 million this fiscal year. l

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32,000 volunteers to fight disasters n Kamrul Hasan Describing the role of volunteers as important, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said the government had already trained more than 30,000 volunteers to combat disasters.

He revealed the figure while addressing a seminar titled “Earthquake Vulnerability, Preparedness and Way Forward: Bangladesh Context”.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence arranged the seminar at Krishibid Institution auditorium in Dhaka in the morning.

Referring to measures taken by the government to mitigate earthquake losses, Kamal said involvement and participation of people to increase awareness is needed to better fight such disasters. “For this, regular training programmes are being conducted.”

The minster hailed the role volunteers play at the time of disasters and said: “Volunteers can work alongside firefighters during disasters and for this, the government is to train some 62,000 people as part of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme.

“32,000 volunteers have already been trained and the rest will be trained gradually. They will like be the helping hands of firefighters,” Kamal said the process of

purchasing equipment worth Tk200 crore was underway for the fire department to make it more efficient.

“Firefighters are receiving training in the country and abroad as part of the efficiency enhancement project. For instance, they successfully participated in the recent Disaster Response and Exchange programme. This programme is being arranged by Bangladesh Armed Police Division and US Army Pacific since 2012.”

The home boss urged citizens to follow the building code while building any structure, saying that this could mitigate losses from disasters.

He also expressed gratitude to China for providing 100 towing vehicles, 50 ambulances, 150 rescue motorbikes for firefighters and other equipment for the fire department recently.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Department Director Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said Bangladesh is at a high risk of experiencing earthquakes.

“We have seen such disasters in the recent past and those created panic among the general people.

“Since there is no way of knowing in advance that an earthquake is going to strike, raising awareness and publicising steps to be taken at the time of earthquake is the only way to fight this disaster,” he added. l

84 gold bars seized at Dhaka airport n Kamrul Hasan Customs Intelligence officials detained a man with 84 gold bars early yesterday at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

The detainee Abul Hossain, 35, landed at the airport around 6am in a flight coming from Qatar.

Director General of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department (CIID) Moinul Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that gold bars and some jewellery weighing 9.89kg were seized from Abul Hossain which had an estimated value of Tk4.5 crore.

The gold bars were strapped around his waist, hidden under the clothes, he added.

Meanwhile, in a media brief yesterday morning, CIID Assistant Director Tarek Mahmud said the detainee Abul had fixed

a deal with someone from a Baitul Mukarram shop to carry the gold for Tk50,000. He was supposed to keep the gold in one of the toilets at the airport.

In primary interrogation, Abul Hossain claimed that a cleaner working inside the airport was supposed to collect and take the gold bars outside the airport.

AD Tarek said: “During interrogation, we have found a mobile phone number of someone named Dulal who might be involved in the crime. We are also looking into other phone numbers in Abul’s mobile phone.”

He said the seized gold will be deposited to Bangladesh Bank soon, adding that Assistant Revenue Officer Azizul Islam has filed a case (no 248) with Airport police station in this regard and the detainee has been handed over to the police. l

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Looking at solutions instead of problems Bjorn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, talks to Dhaka Tribune’s Shegufta Hasnine Surur about how his organisation is working with local partners to promote a new way of looking at development programmes, simply by measuring their costs against their benefits So the Consensus Centre and Brac commissioned prominent researchers to do 76 papers on cost benefit analysis of various development goals, and then a panel that includes a Nobel laureate and business leaders and academics ranked those goals according to priority. Now that you’ve come up with this list of priorities, what’s the next step?

We’ve met with government officials and international donors, the finance minister, the state minister for finance, the chief economist at the Planning Commission, the chairman of National Board of Revenue and a number of other policymakers.

The aim is that if we can get people to think this way, it becomes easier to push for good ideas and harder to push bad ideas. If we could change even one percent of the budget from what it’s spent on today, which is sort of moderately good, to the best ideas, that would mean more than the entire budget over five years in benefits.

So by reallocating Tk30 billion (Tk3,000cr) from your Tk3 trillion (Tk300,000cr) budget we could gain Tk3.7 trillion (Tk370,000cr) extra benefits in five years.

A lot of development projects both in the west and here as well get attention because they are media worthy.

If there’s a shooting here, the US or UK government’s travel advisory says, “There’s risk of extremism, you should be very careful,” but the Swedish government’s travel advisory says, “There’s some extremism, but it’s much, much more dangerous with the traffic.” So you know, it’s important to keep a sense of proportion. Another man dying in traffic is not terribly exciting news. So we often forget the simple but crucial issues.

Our aim is to sort of give headwind to the good ideas and tailwind to the bad ideas.

I find it astounding that there isn’t more conversation about 81,000 people dying every year in Bangladesh from Tuberculosis. That’s probably the single biggest killer here.

That’s a lot of deaths.

Yes. Actually many people here have this feeling that the TB problem has been solved. We met a government official who actually

‘So global warming is a real problem and the only way we’re going to fix that is by eventually cutting carbon emissions.

The only way we can do that right now is by having nuclear power or renewables’

One of the reasons the panel was not entirely confident about this was that it was based off a study done in University of California at Berkley in 2012. We asked the researcher to update the study but we found that it would be too expensive. He did a Computable General Equilibrium model, basically a simulation of Bangladesh running inside a computer, and you change stuff to see what happens. But we thought 2012 was alright.

But what the study says is that if you increase your power production by 50% you will get $20 to $30 billion more per year. Remember your GDP is about $200 billion. So we’re talking 12 to 13% of GDP. This is if you import the coal.

But if you choose to also get coal domestically, which I understand is a big conversation here; the study finds that you would actually generate about 40% more GDP -

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

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$80 to $90 billion! Remember you will have to spend about $5 billion to get all the power infrastructure and the extraction industry up and running. So there will be a significant cost, but these are tremendous benefits.

So the paper author says if you are getting this much benefit from extracting the coal, surely there will be enough money to compensate for any problems it will cause.

Yes there is going to be pollution, and you’ll have to move some people and there will be other problems but you can pay these off.

In principle, from an economist’s point of view this is the very obvious choice. But reality of course is very different, it could very well be that the government forces people to move, it could licence the place to companies who don’t care that much about the environment.

Those are real considerations.

But I think it’s worthwhile to remember there’s potentially billions in benefits from coal power.

said: “That can’t be true! I want to see our own data.” Then he pulled out a government publication and looked it up and was surprised.

One of these studies says Bangladesh should be importing more coal and extracting coal domestically for power. This is a very controversial issue here.

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Are you pro-nuclear power?

So global warming is a real problem and the only way we’re going to fix that is by eventually cutting carbon emissions. The only way we can do that right now is by having nuclear power or renewables. Renewables 27

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have the dual big problems in that they’re expensive and they’re intermittent. So you can’t run an economy off them. They’re certainly not a replacement for fossil fuels.

Nuclear power of course does away with all of that. It can run almost all the time and with almost zero emissions. The problem is that it’s typically more expensive.

So my objection to nuclear is that it’s still is much more expensive in developed countries.

An economist’s point of view would be to say that because there is a lot of worry about nuclear power, it’s probably over-regulated and that’s one of the reasons why it’s too expensive. But it’s a totally impossible argument in the developed world to say that maybe nuclear should be a little less safe. If you look at the deaths from nuclear power it’s in the thousands, whereas for death from coal power we’re talking hundreds of millions of people.

There’s just no comparison.

I’m not quite sure where that would place Bangladesh. If you have less regulation possibly nuclear power could be a better bet.

My whole point with how to deal with global warming is that until you have found cost effective ways to do cheap green energy, we’ll only have these half-hearted efforts from many rich countries to put up solar panels with huge subsidies. That makes everyone feel good but quite frankly it cuts minimally into the CO2 emissions and nuclear in the rich countries does not seem to pay off.

We did a Copenhagen Consensus on just climate change, and our finding is that by far the best long term investment is R&D in green energy technologies. If you can make better batteries, if you can make green energy much cheaper, then everyone would buy them.

You wouldn’t need all these conferences where everybody promises stuff because you would just do it.

A great way to cut CO2 in the short run is fracking. We’ve seen a dramatic decline in US carbon emissions not because of greenhouse gas regulations, but because gas has become so much cheaper there has been a big shift from coal to gas there. Gas emits about half as much CO2 as coal.

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So is nuclear better than coal in terms of cost and benefits?

No, coal is much cheaper. It kills a lot more people, but you can regulate away from all of that and it still remains much cheaper than nuclear power. So yes there is a trade off. You’ll have much more air pollution from coal than from nuclear even if you regulate it. But it’s probably still a better outcome.

So is that your primary aim, to start these conversations?

Yes, but I acknowledge that importing and extracting coal is a hugely controversial issue. So that is not part of the top outcomes from the panel. But I’m not a stickler for saying it has to be the best, it just has to be really good.

Our goal is not to provoke people into thinking so much as make people aware that there are many good ideas. For example e-procurement, which is number 2 on the list.

We know from studies that e-procurement cuts the cost of procurement almost 12%. I love this solution because a lot of people point out that corruption is a big issue. But corruption is almost everywhere most of the time and it’s really hard to do anything about it. Rich nations are struggling with corruption as well.

But let’s say the real corruption rate for procurement is 35%. You pay 35% extra for corruption. If we have a solution for 12%, that’s 12 real percent. There’s still 23% left over, so we haven’t dealt with all corruption but we have dealt with some of it. My point is not to have a utopia, it’s just that if you have a solution that works some of the way, go for it.

That’s what really drives this whole idea. It’s not abut big problems, it’s about great solutions.

Tell us more about the work you’re doing with the A2I.

We met with them and we’ve signed an MoU, and they’re very excited about the benefit-cost ratio as a way to start thinking more generally about how to deal with issues in Bangladesh. They would like to help push this out, get more initiatives done this way, but also make sure we find smarter ways to implement all of this, maybe pilot projects. l Sylhet

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Fajr: 4:40am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:45pm Esha: 8:30pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Sunflower catches growers’ eyes in Pirojpur n Tribune Desk Farmers in Mathbaria upazila of the district are increasingly turning to cultivation of sunflower on fallow land considering the oilseed’s high profitability.

It is a profitable crop and he along with others has cultivated the same on their barren lands

A recent picture shows farmers cultivated Boro paddy in the Karatoya riverbed in Panchagarh as vast areas of the river run dry due to lack of water DHAKA TRIBUNE

Forest crimes on the rise in Sundarbans n Tribune Desk

Forest crimes are growing fast in the Sundarbans as over 3,000 suspects are currently involved in criminal activities in the mangrove forest, exploiting valuable forest resources and poaching the wildlife, say forest officials.

According to them, suspected criminals frequently enter the forest illegally and log Sundari trees, hunt tigers and deer through trapping and firing, and catch fish from its rivers and canals using pesticide.

Even they set fire to the forest to make it clean so that they can catch fish during monsoon, the officials said.

“We (Forest department) have already filed 4,838 cases against over 25,000 people for allegedly committing crimes in the forest and those cases are under trial,” divisional forest officer (Sundarbans East Zone) M Saidul Islam, reports UNB. Sundarbans West Zone of the Forest Department filed 4,511 cases against nearly 1,500 offenders under the existing forest and wildlife protection laws. These cases are under trial in different courts of Khulna and Satkhia.

A total of 327 cases filed against 1,000 offenders under the Sundarbans West Zone are under trial in courts of Khulna, Bagerhat and Pirojpur districts,

Saidul said.

Recently, the Sundarbans saw a number of fire incidents, with latest breaking out at Abdullah Shila in its Chandpai range in Sharankhola upazila on April 18, 2016.

According to the forest office data, about 22 fire incidents took place in Sharankhula and Chandpai Ranges of the Sundarbans East Zone in the last 14 years (2002-April 27, 2016) burning 80 acres of forest and causing damage to the unique ecosystem of the world heritage site.

But, an official probe found that the fires broke out in the Sunderbans were lit by a group of people to facilitate fishing in the area. Local saboteurs are allegedly setting fires to the Sunbarbans in a planned way to destroy the forest for their personal gains.

According to locals, villagers living nearby the Sundarbans often enter the forest and set fire to it to collect firewood and when the burnt area of the Sundarbans goes under water during monsoon and local fishermen use the area to catch fish.

They also use the fire-damaged area as cattle grazing land during dry season.

Sundarbans is the lone natural habitat to tigers and endangered dolphins. But, the wildlife is currently facing various troubles in the country due

to unchecked poaching and destruction of natural forests.

According to the Tiger Census 2015, tiger population also declined to 106 tigers in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans in 2015 while it was 440 in 2004.

The Forest Department data also show that at least 49 tigers were killed in the last 14 years (2001-2014) since the illegal poaching of wildlife and tiger-human conflict is on the rise in the Sundarbans, the country’s only natural tiger habitat with a range of 6,017 square kilometers. Besides, about 232 people were killed in tiger-human conflict during the period.

Prof Anwarul Islam, a zoology professor of Dhaka University, said the recurrent fire incidents are posing threat to wildlife and unique biodiversity of the Sundarbans.

“A mega plan must be announced to protect the mangrove forest and management of the Sundabans must be brought under the plan,” he said.

Prof Islam, also chief executive of WildTeam, said if forest offenders could not be brought to justice, forest crimes will go up in the Sundarbans in the days to come.

He stressed the need for bringing to the forest criminals to justice. l

Sources said while even two years ago the farmers had no interest about the crop they have cultivated the item on 250 hectares of fallow land in six unions of the upazila in the current season.

Sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension said over 300 farmers were engaged in growing the oilseed in Tikikata, Gulishakhali, Amragachia, Sapleza, Boromachua and Betmore unions of the upazila.

DAE supplied seeds and fertilisers to the farmers for free for eight experimental plots while the growers cultivated the crop on their land by their own cost.

The farmers in the upazila opted for growing sunflower mainly due to high profit from it and favourable climactic condition.

Besides, there is no harmful erosic acid in the oil produced from the sunflower.

In the country, only two varieties of sunflower-- Kirni (DS-1) and Bari Sunflower-2-are grown.

Farmers here also cultivate highbred variety sunflower Highson-33 in the upazila.

Jakir Hossain, a sunflower grower of Shapleza union, said it is a profitable crop and he along with others has cultivated the same on their barren lands, reports UNB. The process to cultivate sunflower on barren land is an easy one, he added.

Mohammad Maniruzzaman, agriculture officer of Mathbaria, said sunflower which meets the demand of edible oil substantially is a profitable crop and its production has increased in the upazila amazingly. l

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Security alert over visa for four countries Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Kamrul Hasan 21-year-old Md Ashiqur Rahman, a student of Military Institute of Science and Technology (MICT) got visa from Turkey Embassy in Bangladesh in a bid to join a conference in Istanbul.

Ashiq left country on February 21 last year in a flight of Turkish air and he was scheduled to come back to Bangladesh on February 27.

However, Ashiq would not come back and disappear.

Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs checked the documents which was submitted by Ashiq for visa and found it fake.

Later, the ministry informed the incident to the Ministry of Home Affairs and other intelligence agencies.

It was suspected that Ashiq might have joined the international militant outfit Islamic State (IS).

It might be a single incident reported that any Bangladeshi directly going from Bangladesh joined with IS activities but intelligence agency said they got information at least two dozens of people had joined the IS. “We have information Bangladeshi people joining with IS activities first go in other country and later they go to Syria,” Monirul Islam, chief of counter terrorism and trans national crime unit, told the Dhaka Tribune.

They first go different countries, like Malaysia, Italy, Canada or US, he added.

Of the people, who already have joined with IS from different countries went for different professions including Engineer, doctor, marine engineer and students. All of them are young.

As a part of such issues, Bangladesh immigration police have

declared alert for Bangladeshi people to go to four countries even in tourist purposes. These countries are Yemen, Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Those who are going to airport with tourist visa for these four countries are being sent back

by Immigration police. At least a thousand of Bangladeshies are sent back from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

Even the immigration police are checking the provided documents very carefully if anyone tries to go the four countries for other purposes like job or any other purposes.

It was learnt, militant outfit IS have a strong dominance in Syria, Turkey and some place of Iraq area.

Bangladesh government do not want that any Bangladeshi will fall in false situation after going to the four countries. Besides, there is no direct airline to Syria from Bangladesh. If anyone wants to go from Bangla-

desh, the person needs to go other country first and finally in Syria.

Even the law enforcers have kept an eye on those people who came back Bangladesh after staying in Iraq.

Regarding this, Monirul Islam, CT unit chief, said there was no IS activities in Bangladesh but we were taking information.

According to sources, a huge number of people went to Iraq directly from Bangladesh in last four months. A number of them were sent back from airport while some of them passports were also seized during they seek permission to go.

Police, specially keep eye on those people who are between 18 to 30.

Immigration police sent back at least 200 Bangladeshis who want to go Syria. Intelligence have information that maximum of them are scheduled to go there to join with IS. Besides, a number of Bang-

ladeshis have been brought back who were in Yemen for studies.

Of them, there was a young girl, who was a student of a Yemen university but joined with militant group later. She had been in the jail for a year in the country. Her father is the owner of a diagnostic center of Bangladesh.

Asked about not allowing Bangladesh for four country, Nirjhar Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Immigration police of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport told the Dhaka Tribune it was not like this that we were not allowing anyone to go to these countries.

“We take details from the people and if they able to provide us valid documents, we do not stop them,” he said.

“If anyone wants to go there, the person should have a valid reason behind it or else we will stop them,” he added. l

‘Journalists split over Sagor-Runi murder’ Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, media adviser to the prime minister, said yesterday the justice for Sagor Sorwar and Mehrun Runi murder had been delayed due to faction among the journalists.

“Due to the schism among the journalists and the professional bodies, we could not get justice,” he said while addressing a discussion.

Chittagong Union of Journalists (CUJ) organised the discussion meeting at Engineer Abdul Khalek auditorium of Chittagong Press Club the meeting styled ‘Dignity of Journalist, Labour Movement and March towards democracy’. l

Streets in Kajla, Jatrabari in Dhaka are flooded from intermittent rain since the morning yesterday

MEHEDI HASAN

AL men held for polls rigging, breaching codes n Tribune Desk

A ruling Awami League-backed chairman aspirant of Char Patharghata union under Patiya upazila in Chittagong was held in possession of several hundred ballot papers and seal during the polls yesterday.

Magistrate Mahbub Alam and members of Border Guard Bangladesh caught Saber Ahmed along with 200 ballot papers from his possession inside a toilet of Ichhanagar Primary School centre in the morning.

Another 200 ballot papers were seized from his personal microbus outside the centre during the election.

Abul Hashem, upazila nirbahi officer of Patiya, said that Saber was later handed over to the police.

Earlier a clash took place at the centre around 11am.

In another incident, Abdul Quader Sujon, the information and research secretary of Awami League’s Chittagong south district chapter, was detained by the BGB members for breaching electoral code of conduct.

He was held from a polling centre of Karaldenga union under Chittagong’s Boalkhali upazila allegedly for entering the polling centre to influence the election in favour of his brother who is a chairman candidate.

He was later handed over to

the on-duty magistrate, UNO Kazi Mahmudul Islam said.

In Bogra, the government vehicle of Kahalu municipality Mayor Helal Uddin Kabiraj, also the upazila Awami League president, was seized for violating electoral codes.

Witnesses said that Helal was going to different polling centres on the vehicle.

Executive Magistrate Shafiul Islam seized the vehicle in the morning for not having Election Commission’s sticker and kept it with the local police station.

In Gobindaganj of Gaibandha, Awami League’s chairman candidate Shahana Akter boycotted polls after failing to rig the votes at two polling centres.

Upazila Election Officer Ferdous Alam said that supporters of the candidate had snatched ballot papers from Jibongari Primary School centre under Shalmara Union around 11am, and tried to cast votes.

But the police members dispersed them by firing blank shots.

Later voting was suspended at the centre.

Her supporters tried to do the same thing at Hiyatpur Primary School polling centre around 1pm.

Later the voting was suspended by the officials concerned.

Shahana declared boycotting the polls around 2pm. Her husband Mohammad Hossain Foku, a district-level leader of the Awami

League, alleged that Shahana had boycotted the polls due to partiality by the administration.

Incidents of snatching ballot papers and boxes, and casting fake votes by the ruling party supporters were also reported from Majidpur Qawmi Madrasa polling centre, Sanyasgachha centre under Gourighona Union of Keshabpur Upazila; and Ziadanga Primary School centre at Abhaynagar in Jessore.

Similar allegations were reported at Hazipara Primary School centre of Ahmedabad of Kalai in Joypurhat; several centres in Manikganj’s Dighi Union; and Nukali Primary School centre at Potajia Union of Shahzadpur in Sirajganj. l

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

TOP STORIES

Modi preparing to shuffle cabinet to refresh image n Tribune International Desk

Protesters clash with police outside Trump rally in California Donald Trump brought his message of walls and deportations to the doorstep of America’s busiest border crossing on Friday as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee greeted supporters in San Diego, amid one of the largest counter-protests organised against him.

PAGE 9

Putin vows retaliation over US missile defence system President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Romania and Poland they could find themselves in the sights of Russian rockets because they are hosting elements of a US missile shield that Moscow considers a threat to its security.

PAGE 9

Saudi’s plan B to stop Iran’s rise Saudi Arabia couldn’t stop the Iran nuclear deal from being signed. Plan B is to limit Iran’s ability to reap its benefits.

PAGE 10

An urgently needed Cabinet reshuffle is being planned by Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) henchman, Amit Shah, as the Indian prime minister enters his third year in office.

He has not achieved nearly as much as he should have done in the two years since he was sworn in on May 26, 2014, and he needs to install more effective ministers and top bureaucrats in order to implement the many schemes he has announced and pledges he has made.

Reshuffles are often rumored, but the gossip is frequently spread by people trying to affect the outcome, and they often do not happen. This one, however, does seem to be in the works because Shah, the BJP president, said in a press conference at the party’s Delhi headquarters on Friday that the “Cabinet reshuffle will happen soon. The date is not yet fixed.”

Changes are needed because, till now, Modi and his government have failed to deliver his general election promise of introducing what he calls “achche din” or good times, which means providing jobs, security and a cleaner, more effective government. What has been achieved has too often been overshadowed by extreme anti-Muslim and intolerant Hindu nationalism that Modi has not done enough to curb.

There has been some speculation that Arun Jaitley, the minister of finance and company affairs (as well as information which makes him the main government spokesman), will be moved or at least shed some of his work. Along with Shah, he is the prime minister’s closest ally, but he clearly has too many jobs to be able to focus in depth, even though, as a top lawyer, he is well used to mastering a variety of briefs quickly.

Critics say that the country could do with a hands-on economics oriented finance minister able to override top finance ministry bureaucrats who seem to have led Jaitley into some traps, especially on taxation.

A stronger minister of commerce—Nirmala Sitharaman currently holds the job as a minister of state—would also help trade negotiations and implementation of industrial policy that is focused around Modi’s key Make in India jobs-oriented campaign.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Successful Ministers

Ministers regarded as being especially successful on economic subjects include Piyush Goyal in charge of coal, power and renewable energy, Nitin Gadkari on roads, highways, ports (though his hype often obscures real achievements) and Suresh Prabhu at railways (though his plans have yet to yield many results).

Some observers include Manohar Parrikar, the defense minister, in the successful list, though he has failed so far to cut through the deeply entrenched defense establishment and fully introduce new policies and place major contracts.

He sometimes seems distracted

by BJP politics in Goa, where he was previously chief minister.

Make in India has been amasingly successful as a brand since it was launched in September 2014. Scarcely any foreign government official or business delegation dares to come to India without paying it lip service, while in the media it generates easy instant headlines.

But it has failed so far to deliver in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing, and there is little evidence of jobs being created. Extravagant claims have been made by Modi and other leading ministers and officials about the campaign’s impact, some alleging it has generated FDI growth of over 40%.

Brand Image

In a way, the campaign symbolises both the success and shortcomings of Modi’s first two years.

He was also a strong brand when he was sworn as the leader that

AFP

India needed to revamp the way the country is run and revive the economy.

But neither he nor his pet campaign have delivered what was expected, both failing especially to revive India’s job market that needs to absorb 1 million new entrants every month—that’s more than the population of Belgium or Greece every year.

The question now is whether he can drive through change, with programs and reforms that could transform the way that India is run, by the time of the next general election in 2019. So far, there have been far too many high profile announcements with few tangible results, typified by the billions of dollars in unrealized projects that Modi has announced during high profile foreign trips to some 30 countries (the total last November was over $117bn).

The focus does not now need to be on conventional economic reforms like a long-delayed goods and services tax, nor land acquisition and labor laws that the government has failed to introduce and now says should be introduced by individual states.

The time for the services tax was in Modi’s first year in office, when he failed to move fast enough. He then ran into trouble in the Rajya Sabha upper house of parliament, where the BJP does not have a majority, and failed to manage the politics deftly enough to win support from other parties.

He has managed to have bills passed in areas like coal mining, insurance, real estate and bankruptcy and has adopted the previous government’s highly

successful Aadhaar electronic identity scheme that opens up a wide range of facilities, especially for the poor. He has also managed to reduce corruption, though mostly only at the top levels of the central government.

More important now are programs that could actually change the way that India works. In addition to Make in India, they include financial inclusion, Digital India for what is described as a “digitally empowered society and knowledge economy,” Swachh Bharat, which includes Clean India and provision of toilets, and Skill India and Start-up India, which are aimed at providing jobs and encouraging young entrepreneurs.

Others include a misnamed plan for Smart Cities that mostly involves providing basic services and amenities that are regarded as automatic in developed countries.

These schemes need far more drive than they have been getting to ensure that individual states take up the challenge and that, for example, there is water and chemicals for toilets, electricity and internet for computer installations and that financial inclusion involves active banking by the poor.

India is a slow-moving and complex society, and it is resistant to change. Modi said when he was elected that he needed 10 years to transform India, but the electorate will expect evidence of change in three years’ time—and that is why a ministerial reshuffle is needed. l

[This is an excerpt from a NEWSWEEK article which cn be found at http://bit. ly/1sUgmNE]

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Protesters clash with police outside Trump rally in California n Reuters, San Diego, California

Donald Trump brought his message of walls and deportations to the doorstep of America’s busiest border crossing on Friday as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee greeted supporters in San Diego, amid one of the largest counter-protests organised against him.

The scene inside the San Diego Convention Center during Trump’s speech was relatively placid, while outside demonstrators opposed to his controversy-ridden White House bid marched and chanted, carrying signs criticizing his rhetoric against illegal immigration.

Waving US and Mexican flags, more than 1,000 people turned out for anti-trump rallies in San Diego, a city on the US-Mexico border whose San Ysidro port of entry sees nearly 300,000 people a day cross legally between the countries.

San Diego is considered a binational city by many who live and work on opposite sides of the border, and about a third of the city’s population is Latino.

During Trump’s speech on Friday, some protesters outside the convention centre scaled a barrier and lobbed water bottles at police.

One man was pulled off the wall and arrested as others were surrounded by fellow protesters and backed away from the confrontation.

After the convention centre emptied, clusters of Trump supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators began to mix in the

Demonstrators protest outside of an arena where the Donald Trump is holding a rally in San Diego on Friday AFP streets, many exchanging shouted epithets and some throwing water bottles at one another.

Police in riot gear declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse, herding the crowd out of the city’s hotel and restaurant-filled Gaslamp Quarter.

San Diego police said on Twitter that 35 arrests were made during the protest. No property damage or injuries were reported, police said.

Trump has weathered months of blowback from all ends of the political spectrum for his immigration policy, which calls for the building of a wall along the US-Mexico border and deporting the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants who reside in the United States.

Critics have said his plan is needlessly cruel and impossible to implement. At Trump’s campaign stops, attendees often chant “build the wall.”

While Trump is running un-

opposed in the June 7 California Republican primary, his stance on border control and deportation seems unlikely to resonate with the electorate at large in a state where political fallout from a Republican-backed crackdown on illegal immigrants 20 years ago cost the party dearly.

Friday was not the first time Trump has been greeted by civil unrest in California, which is home to the largest Latino population in the country. Late last month, a visit to the California Republican convention set off days of protests in the area, leading to several arrests.

Waiting For “first place finisher”

Shortly before taking the stage in San Diego, Trump issued a statement ruling out a one-on-one debate with second-place Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, who was also in California, killing off a potentially high-ratings television spectacle.

The suggested debate, an idea

first raised during a talk show appearance by the New York billionaire, would have sidelined likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton but given Sanders a huge platform ahead of California Democratic primary.

A day after saying he would welcome a Sanders debate, Trump called the idea “inappropriate,” declaring that he should only face the Democrats’ final choice.

“I will wait to debate the firstplace finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton,” Trump said in a statement.

Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, expressed disappointment on Friday, and sought to goad Trump into reconsidering.

Trump suggested broadcast networks were unwilling to go along with his demand that at least $10m raised from the encounter be donated to charity.

“I’d love to debate Bernie,” he told a rally in Fresno, California.

“But the networks want to keep the money for themselves.”

Sanders is trailing Clinton in the race to secure their party’s nomination, but opinion polls show he is slicing into her lead in California.

Clinton has shown no interest in debating Sanders before the California primary, which will be part of a final slate of nominating contests. It is possible she will clinch the nomination by winning New Jersey earlier that day, making the outcome in California superfluous.

The former US secretary of state has said she is looking forward to debating Trump later this year ahead of the November 8 general election. l

Putin vows retaliation over US missile defence system n Reuters, Athens President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Romania and Poland they could find themselves in the sights of Russian rockets because they are hosting elements of a US missile shield that Moscow considers a threat to its security.

Putin issued his starkest warning yet over the missile shield, saying that Moscow had stated repeatedly that it would have to take retaliatory steps but that Washington and its allies had ignored the warnings.

Earlier this month the US military -- which says the shield is needed to protect from Iran, not threaten Russia -- switched on the Romanian part of the shield. Work is going ahead on another part of the shield, in Poland.

“If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security,” Putin told a joint news conference in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Putin did not specify what actions Russia would take, but he insisted that it was not making the first step, only responding to moves by Washington. “We won’t take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbour us.”

He said the argument that the project was needed to defend against Iran made no sense because an international deal had been reached to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme. The missiles

Vladimir Putin

REUTERS

that will form the shield can easily reach Russian cities, he said.

Crimea issue closed

Putin sounded a defiant note over Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Russia annexed in 2014.

Moscow said it was acting on the will of the Crimean people, who

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World

voted to join Russia, but Western governments say it was an illegal land grab.

“As far as Crimea is concerned, we consider this question is closed forever,” Putin said. “Russia will not conduct any discussions with anyone on this subject.”

The Russian leader also touched on relations with Turkey, which have been toxic since the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkish border last November.

Ankara said the plane strayed into Turkish airspace, an allegation Moscow denies.

Putin said he was ready to consider restoring relations with Ankara, but that would require a first step from Turkey, and so far there was no sign of that. l

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan bans contraceptive advertisements Pakistan has banned advertisements for contraceptive products on television and radio over concern that they expose inquisitive children to the subject of sex, local media reported on Saturday. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority said it was acting in response to complaints from parents and its ban covered all contraceptive, birth control and family planning products.

-REUTERS

INDIA

Uttarakhand highway blocked, school damaged in landslides Landslides triggered by torrential rains on Saturday blocked a crucial highway and damaged part of a school in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district, officials said, reviving memories of the 2013 cloudburst that killed 5,000 people in the Himalayan state.

-HT

CHINA

Pentagon: China risks ‘Great Wall of self-isolation’ China risks creating a “Great Wall of self-isolation” through its continued military expansion in the South China Sea and its hacks on US companies, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said Friday. Carter’s remarks came ahead of his trip next week to an Asian security summit in Singapore, where China’s actions in the contested waterway will likely dominate discussions.

-AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Nationalists clash with anti-racism protesters in Australia Violence erupted in Australia’s second biggest city on Saturday after two opposing immigration rallies clashed in the streets, with police arresting 7 people. Victoria state police condemned the behaviour of both anti-racism and anti-immigration demonstrators involved in the melees in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg. Hundreds of police attempted to keep the groups apart, and were quick to quell the clashes.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

IS commander in Falluja killed US-led coalition strikes supporting Iraqi forces in the recapture of Falluja have killed 70 Islamic State militants including the group’s commander in the city, a US Army Colonel Steve Warren said on Friday. Maher al-Bilawi, commander of Islamic State fighters in Falluja, was killed two days ago, Warren said. He said the killing of Bilawi and the other militants “won’t completely cause the enemy to stop fighting but it’s a blow.

-REUTERS

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

USA

Trump backs out of Sanders debate Days after having embraced a proposal for a televised debate against Democrat Bernie Sanders, Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump rejected the idea in a surprise move Friday.

In familiar combative language, the outspoken real estate billionaire attributed his decision to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s virtually insurmountable lead in her party’s primary race.

-AFP

THE AMERICAS

Argentine court convicts 15 ex-army for atrocities Argentina’s last dictator and 14 other former military officials were sentenced to prison for human rights crimes, marking the first time a court has ruled that Operation Condor was a criminal conspiracy to kidnap and forcibly disappear people across international borders. The covert operation was launched in the 1970s by six South American dictatorships.

-AP

UK

British MPs condemn lurid claims of Brexit debate A cross-party parliamentary committee on Friday condemned the arms race of ever more lurid claims on both sides of Britain’s EU referendum debate, saying it was confusing the public. Lawmakers on the Treasury committee highlighted the highly misleading claim by the “Vote Leave” campaign that UK could save £350m a week by leaving the bloc.

They also criticised the “Remain” camp for suggesting that three million jobs depended on continued membership of the EU. -AFP

EUROPE

EU: All scientific papers to be free by 2020 All publicly funded scientific papers published in Europe could be made free to access by 2020, under a life-changing reform ordered by the European Union’s science chief, Carlos Moedas. The Competitiveness Council, a gathering of ministers of science, innovation, trade and industry, agreed on the target following a two-day meeting in Brussels last week. -THE GUARDIAN

AFRICA

5 al-Shabab mastermind gets life term A judge has given life sentences to five men convicted of carrying out twin bombings which killed 76 people who were watching the 2010 World Cup final in the Ugandan capital Kampala. 2 others convicted of similar charges were given 50 years in jail.

One suspect convicted of being an accessory to terrorism was sentenced to a year of community service.

-AP

Saudi’s plan B to stop Iran’s rise n Tribune International Desk Saudi Arabia couldn’t stop the Iran nuclear deal from being signed. Plan B is to limit Iran’s ability to reap its benefits.

The kingdom is mobilising its Gulf allies to make sure that, more than four months after the lifting of sanctions on the Islamic Republic, Iran’s opening-up to the global economy doesn’t go smoothly. Last month the Saudis scuttled a bid to stabilise crude prices because it would have allowed their bitter foe to grab a larger share of oil markets. And in Dubai, once their main gateway to the world, Iranian businessmen privately complain of increasing restrictions.

It’s a rearguard action by the Saudis as the US reassesses its role in the Middle East and investors are drawn to the allure of Iran as the world’s last untapped major frontier market. Still, there are other drags on doing business with Iran that play into the Saudi effort: European banks are still reluctant to do business in the Islamic Republic for fear of possible US sanctions.

“The contest over Iran’s status in the region -- whether it is to be isolated or accepted as a normal regional player -- is likely to continue over the next few years,” said Paul Pillar, a professor at Georgetown University.

“The Saudis, in the pro-isolation camp, may not win this contest.

But they have allies in the person of hardliners in the US who opposed the nuclear agreement.”

Proxy wars

The Saudis and Iranians, leaders of the Sunni and Shia Muslim camps in the Middle East, are already clashing via proxies on the battlefields of Syria and Yemen. Their long-troubled relationship got worse when Saudi Arabia executed a top Saudi Shia cleric in January, and an Iranian mob responded by attacking the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran, leading the Saudis to cut all diplomatic ties.

Since the easing of sanctions early this year, a key Saudi concern has been that Iran will use the proceeds of a potential wave of investment to step up engagement in regional conflicts. That’s one reason the Saudis are doing their bit to ensure the investment never arrives.

“What has concerned people is some of the rhetoric that has been used by the Saudis around cutting trade with Iran, and what sort of formal and informal mechanisms and obstacles they can use to put pressure on businesses not to go into Iran,” said

Disputes between Saudi Arabia and Iran Sunni Muslim

AZERBAIJAN

SYRIA TURKEY Alawite (Shia sect)

400km 250 miles

minority government

LEBANON

Sunni-Shia-Christian coalition

Cairo EGYPT

SUDAN

5

Shia Muslim

Tehran

2

IRAN

IRAQ

Shia-led coalition government Persian Gulf Qatif governorate BAHRAIN Shia-majority population 3 QATAR 4 7 Riyadh UAE 1

SAUDI ARABIA

Mecca

ERITREA

6

Sanaa

Mecca result in deaths of 275 Iranian pilgrims. Protesters in Tehran occupy Saudi embassy.

Riyadh cuts diplomatic relations

2 2003: US-led invasion topples

Saddam Hussein and empowers Iraq’s Shia majority. Ousted Baath Party officers form alliance with Al Qaeda in Iraq which leads to rise of so called Islamic State (Daesh)

3 2011: Saudi Arabia and UAE send

2,000 troops to Bahrain to crush mass pro-democracy protests by Shia majority during Arab Spring

YEMEN

Iranian-aligned rebels seize capital, Sanaa, and topple Sunni government

ETHIOPIA 1 1987: Clashes in Muslim holy city of

OMAN

4 2011: Riyadh accuses its Shia

minority, including figurehead cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr of collaborating with Iran. Al-Nimr is charged with “instigating unrest” 5 2012: Saudi Arabia backs rebels fighting to topple Iran’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

6 2015: Saudi-led coalition launches

bombing campaign in Yemen against Shia Houthi rebels 2016: Execution of al-Nimr triggers

7 attack on Saudi embassy in Iran.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Kuwait and UAE cut diplomatic ties with Iran

Sources: United States Institute of Peace, Pew Research Center

Henry Smith, a director at Global Risk Analysis in Dubai.

Trade ties

Dubai is a city that’s always had close ties to Iran, but these days business licences for Iranian nationals aren’t being renewed easily. It’s also difficult for citizens to get residency, and bank accounts are coming under increased scrutiny, according to Iranian businessmen.

Times Aerospace, a UK-based company that organizes events in Dubai, cancelled its Aviation Iran gathering this year because of political tension. “There are a lot of sensitivities at the moment with Iran in the Gulf,” Mark Brown, director of the group, said in an interview. “We recognize that it’s inappropriate at this moment to hold an Iran-related event.”

Saudi Arabia is also using oil as a weapon against Iran. Ahead of a meeting in Doha last month,

where producers were planning to freeze production, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in two interviews with Bloomberg that the Saudis would only go along with the plan if Iran agreed to participate.

That effectively torpedoed the deal, since Iran has ruled out curbs on pumping because it’s trying to recover markets lost during the sanctions years.

No hesitation

“Oil policy was one of the instruments,” said Mustafa Alani, head of defence and security department at the Gulf Research Center. “The other thing is to counter Iranian investment in the region. Under King Salman it has become a clear-cut policy.

There is no hesitation.”

Also last month, Saudi Arabia banned Iran’s Mahan Airline from flying through Saudi airspace. Shipping insurers and brokers have been advising cli-

ents since February that ships carrying Iranian crude will not be permitted to enter Saudi or Bahraini waters, according to an April report by Control Risks. It said ships that have been to Iran as one of their last three points of entry must also receive special approval.

Saudi rulers are complementing those efforts with attempts to deepen Iran’s political isolation in the Middle East.

US Ties

Last month, Jordan recalled its ambassador to Iran shortly after a visit by the Saudi deputy crown prince. Ten days later, it signed an accord that could pave the way for multi-billion-dollar Saudi investments. In February, the kingdom scrapped a $3bn deal to supply much-needed weapons to the Lebanese military, citing the rising influence of Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Tehran.

The Saudi moves take place against the backdrop of cooler ties with the US, in part because of the Iranian nuclear deal. In interviews published by The Atlantic magazine, President Barack Obama said the Saudis must “share” their region with Iran, and was reported describing the US relationship with the kingdom as “complicated.”

The Saudi push is a “patchwork campaign,” Shashank Joshi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said by phone. The Saudis can’t do much to block Iran at the global level, he said, but they’re “applying pressure on Iran wherever they are able to do so, to limit its political and economic influence.”

But one hurdle for the Saudis is that the other Gulf Cooperation Council states, key to the effort, may not be totally on board.

Bahrain was the only other country in the six-member GCC to follow the Saudis in cutting diplomatic ties this year. Kuwait recalled its ambassador to Tehran in January and the United Arab Emirates reduced its diplomatic representation to the level of charge d’affaires.

The UAE has more at stake than the kingdom: Iran was its third largest trading partner in 2015, after India and China.

“We still see pretty substantial disagreements within the GCC,” Joshi said. “Iran is already integrated into the Gulf economic systems, and I don’t think anything Saudi Arabia can do can seriously disentangle that.” l

[This is an excerpt from a BLOOMBERG article which can be found at http:// bloom.bg/1OYCjEZ]

Unesco sees threat from cultural destruction n Reuters, Kabul The world community has yet to find an adequate response to cultural destruction as shown by the deliberate wrecking of ancient sites in Syria and Mali by Islamist radicals, the head of the UN’s cultural organisation said.

Irina Bokova, director general of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said it took some time for authorities to respond to the significance of what extremist groups were doing.

Fifteen years ago, the Afghan Taliban provided one of the most notorious recent examples when it blew up two giant ancient

statues of the Buddha in 2001, decreeing they were un-Islamic.

But the razing of medieval shrines in Timbuktu by Malian jihadists in 2012 and then the destruction by Islamic State militants in Syria of parts of the ancient city of Palmyra last year brought the danger home, said Bokova, among candidates to become UN Secretary General later this year.

Last year’s UN Security Council Resolution 2199, which specifically targets the illegal trade in antiquities alongside oil and hostages as a means of shutting off funding to groups like Islamic State and Al Qaeda, was one example, she said. l

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TOP STORIES ‘More focus needed on hospitality sector to boost tourism’ The government needs to focus more on hospitality sector to boost tourism business in Bangladesh.

PAGE 13

G7 vows growth efforts as Japan’s Abe warns of global crisis The Group of Seven industrial powers pledged on Friday to seek strong global growth, while papering over differences on currencies and stimulus policies and expressing concern over North Korea, Russia and maritime disputes involving China.

PAGE 14

Automakers, tech companies decide to make deals, not war A flurry of deals between big automakers and ride hailing and transportation startups is rewriting the playbook in the contest to control the future of personal transportation.

PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Past Week DSE Broad Index

4,388.0

-0.1% ▼

Index

1,076.6

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

1,708.0

-0.7% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

14,884.9

-8.9% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

439.6

-7.1% ▼

All Share Index 13,524.4

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

12,454.5

-0.2% ▼

CSE

Selected Index

8,225.7

-0.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

938.3

-2.5% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

36.6

-0.0% ▼

RMG manufacturing begins to turn sustainable n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh’s apparel manufacturers have entered into sustainable manufacturing practices by establishing eco-friendly factories and introducing energy-efficient latest technologies to give a cushion against carbon emission.

The issue of sustainable manufacturing came under the spotlight as global consumers are becoming more and more cautious on environment while the global retailers are looking for suppliers of apparel produced in eco-friendly factories.

Sustainable manufacturing refers to the creation of manufactured products through economically-sound processes that minimise negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.

Since 2011, a total of 28 Bangladeshi RMG factories have got certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) as green building.

Of them, six got certification on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum, 13 in Gold, 5 in silver and 4 certified as green.

Besides, there are 118 RMG units, which applied for the green certification in different categories.

“To make an industry sustainable, it has to consider environmental issues since the climate change is a big concern among the global consumers and buyers because of higher carbon emission,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, managing director of Envoy Textile, a LEED Platinum certified textile company told the Dhaka Tribune.

The process makes business more competitive as it consumes less water, chemical and electricity to give less pressure on natural resources, Salam said.

“That is why, we are going green and using energy-efficient technologies for sustainable manufacturing.”

Besides, textile and woven manufacturers have already introduced green technology that consume less water, chemical and electricity.

“Giant Textile Limited has installed “Water Saving Technology” (WST), an internationally acclaimed and certified Environmentally friendly dyeing machine, to reduce the use of water in dyeing process significantly,” Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group, told the Dhaka Tribune.

GTL has adopted such sustain-

INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING RMG units certified as green by USGBC – 28 RMG units registered as green – 118 Eco-friendly RMG units transformed – 300 LED & Clutch Motor save 40% energy Laser tech reduces water and chemical use WST installed in textile industry Loans offered at 9% rate for green industry

Tk465.9b disbursed for green financing Tk396.95b disbursed for green industry PHOTO: RAJIB DHAR

able and environmentally friendly technology supported by Green Project, which will not only save water, but also reduce carbon emission,” said Faruque.

GTL is equipped with a fullfledged biological Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) that can treat about 30 tonnes of discharged water per day, he added.

“Using laser technology instead of traditional ones in making a pair of jeans, you can reduce the use of water by 30%-40% while chemicals by 20%-30%,” Mustafiz Uddin, managing director of Denim Expert Limited, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mustafiz labelled the laser technology as very precise and more productive when the same number of workers are working at the same time.

It also poses a little health hazard since a less amount of chemicals are used in the process, he added.

Bangladesh RMG manufacturers introduced Clutch Motor replacing Servo Motor and LED lights instead of T-8 lights only to give a cushion to the earth.

“We are using Clutch Motor, which consumes about 50% less electricity while LED lights save around 30%-40% energy,” Rezaul Karim, GM of Rising Knit Textile told the Dhaka Tribune.

In traditional process, the Servo Motor consumes 80 to 100 litre of water for per kilogramme of fabrics, which came down to 40 to 50 litre due to installation of the new technology, he added.

According to a baseline study

conducted by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) over a period of more than six months over the same number of operating hours, LED lights consumed 57% and 33% less energy compared to T-8 and T-5 lights respectively.

The study was done on RMG factories. Besides the worker safety issues, the sector has to concentrate on environmental consequences as the industry is rapidly expanding.

It would be an opportunity if Bangladesh can enhance its capacity to attract higher shares of the global RMG market.

Currently, Bangladesh holds 6.4% of RMG market share, “It is the high time that the apparel sector invested in green manufacturing to take the lead in sustainable manufacturing, which would act as a catalyst to achieve $50 billion export target,” BGMEA Vice-President Mahmud Hossain khan Babu told the Dhaka Tribune.

It also will help the government in lowering carbon emission be-

low 5% as per its target, he said.

Meanwhile, the government is providing financial support for establishing green industry, especially in RMG sector.

As per the Bangladesh Bank directive, the owners are enjoying loans at 9% rate.

According to the central bank data, in the last fiscal year, banks and non-banking financial institutions disbursed Tk465.9 billion as part of green financing to encourage green industrialisation.

Of the total amount, nearly Tk396.95 billion were disbursed for green industry, of which RMG is a major stakeholder.

The big challenge in going sustainable manufacturing is financing as it is a costly investment.

Though the government is providing financial support, it is only for factory establishing, said the BGMEA vice-president.

“I think the support should also be for replacement of technologies to make existing factories eco-friendly.” l

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NHTTI: More focus needed on hospitality sector to boost tourism n Ishtiaq Husain The government needs to focus more on hospitality sector to boost tourism business in Bangladesh.

“More focus is needed on the hospitality sector as it is the key component for expanding tourism sector in the country,” said Parvez Ahmed Chowdhury, principal of the National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI), the country’s lone hospitality training institute.

The main objective of NHTTI is to fulfil the need of trained manpower required for Hotel and Tourism In a brief interview with the Dhaka Tribune, Parvez recently said: “Normally, around 30 people are employed in the country against a visitor. As we have a huge potentiality in the tourism industry, we need more trained manpower to attract more tourists in the country.”

“Unfortunately, we are yet to be successful in portraying the positive image of our country to the rest of the world in absence of proper plan-

ning in this regard,” said Parvez.

Stressing village tourism, he said: “Foreigners like to visit villages in our country to get different tastes which are rare in the developed nations. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation is now also giving priorities on village-based tourism and anyone can play a vital role in contributing to the newly-emerged village tourism concept.”

The efficient management of tourism products depends on professional training, and to develop professionalism and provide a cadre of skilled and trained manpower to meet the increasing demands for hotel and tourism industry at home and abroad, NHTTI offers various courses in the connection.

Tourism has become the highest income-generating activity across the globe and it holds great economic promise especially for the developing countries.

“The main objective of the NHTTI is to fulfil the need of trained manpower required for the development and promotion of Hotel and Tourism related sectors.

Besides, the institute is also producing trained personnel for the hotels, travel agencies and other related sectors,” added Parvez. l

NHTTI Principal Parvez Ahmed Chowdhury

ISHTIAQ HUSAIN

Stocks stay flat ahead Business to remain shut tomorrow of budget across country n Tribune Business Desk Stocks remained flat in the past week, as cautions investors opted for booking quick profit ahead of national budget announcement.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith is due to place budget for fiscal year 2016-17 on Thursday.

Profit booking took place mostly on large cap issues, which rallied in previous week.

During the past week that ended Thursday, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, lost marginally about 5 points or 0.2% to 4,388. The blue-chip comprising index DS30 edged 11 points or 0.7% down to 1,719.

The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, saw a fractional loss of 0.9 point to 1,077. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,240, falling 14 points or 0.2%.

Trading activities improved in the week with. The week’s DSE daily average turnover stood at Tk372 crore, registering an increase of 14% over the previous week’s average of Tk327 crore.

The week witnessed four trading sessions instead of five as the market remained closed on Monday due to Shab-e-Barat. Investors were cautious in taking position afresh ahead of national budget for FY2016-17, brokers say.

Among the major sectors, textile, cement and bank increased by 2.46%, 0.9%, and 0.57% respectively, while power and tannery sectors decreased by 2.78% and 1.87% respectively.

“The market faced some profit booking pressure last week after previous week’s gaining streak,” said IDLC Investments.

After previous week’s upbeat mood, the first session of the week started flat, as some investors went for profit booking, it said.

LankaBangla Securities said the market turnover value reduced which implies that investors remained cautious about business activities in economy.

It said the market will enter the budget week, which also kept investors vigilant about the policy changes and economic outlook in next fiscal year. l

n Tribune Report Business people will keep their business shut tomorrow across the country if the government does not continue the existing package Value Added Tax (VAT) provision in the new VAT act to be implemented from July next.

The leaders of a business organisation have also sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention into the matter.

Abu Motaleb, general secretary of Baboshayee Oikko Forum, a platform of various business associations, came up with the announcement at a press conference in the city yesterday. The forum is aimed at putting pressure on the government to realise their longstanding demand for keeping the package VAT in the new VAT act The parliament in 2012 passed the law to automate the overall VAT administration and increase revenue collection. The new law will be effective from July, 2016 and all levels of business have to pay a unique and single VAT rate at 15%.

The law will have no provisions

for package VAT or the truncated value-based VAT system. With the introduction of the law, “If the government wants to implement the VAT (Value Added Tax) Act-2012, it will have to include the package VAT as well,” said Abdus Salam, president of Baboshayee Oikko Forum.

‘If we could keep faith in Finance Minister AMA Muhith, we would not seek prime minister’s intervention’ Monjur Ahmed, a VAT expert and FBCCI adviser, said: “We have come to know that the government may delay the implementation of the new VAT law by one year because of huge protest by the business community. We do not want any temporary system on VAT and it would not be accepted by the

business community.”

“If we could keep faith in Finance Minister AMA Muhith, we would not seek prime minister’s intervention,” said Ahmed in response to a question.

“If we do not get any positive response from the government on our seven-point demand, we will form human chains in front of our own business enteritis on May 30, seeking intervention from the Prime Minister Seikh Hasina,” said Motaleb All the business people will keep their business activists shut and stay in front of their respective business organisations across the country, he added.

If the new VAT law is implemented, it will hurt the manufacturing sector, while the import dependency will also rise due to the price hikes, said the leaders of the organisation.

They also fared that harassment by the tax officials would be increased as it would not be possible for the small entrepreneurs to show their document to get rebate on theirs VAT. l

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G7 vows growth efforts as Japan’s Abe warns of global crisis n Reuters The Group of Seven industrial powers pledged on Friday to seek strong global growth, while papering over differences on currencies and stimulus policies and expressing concern over North Korea, Russia and maritime disputes involving China.

G7 leaders wrapped up a summit in central Japan vowing to use “all policy tools” to boost demand and ease supply constraints.

“Global growth remains moderate and below potential, while risks of weak growth persist,” they said in a declaration. “Global growth is our urgent priority.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, talking up what he calls parallels to the global financial crisis that followed the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, said the G7 “shares a strong sense of crisis” about the global outlook.

“The most worrisome risk is a contraction of the global economy,” led by a slowdown in emerging economies, Abe told a news conference after chairing the twoday summit. “There is a risk of the global economy falling into crisis if appropriate policy responses are not made.”

In the broad-ranging, 32-page declaration, the G7 committed to market-based exchange rates and to avoiding “competitive devaluation” of their currencies, while warning against wild exchange-rate moves.

This represents a compromise between the positions of Japan, which has threatened to intervene to block sharp yen rises, and the United States, which generally opposes market intervention.

The G7 vowed “a more forceful and balanced policy mix” to “achieve a strong, sustainable and

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference during the G7 Ise-Shima Summit in Shima, Japan REUTERS balanced growth pattern”, taking each country’s circumstances into account, while continuing efforts to put public debt on a sustainable path.

Abe has stressed the need for flexible fiscal policy to sustain economic recovery, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been sceptical about public spending to boost growth.

The G7 called global industrial overcapacity, especially in steel, a “pressing structural challenge with global implications”.

North korea, ‘brexit’ worries

The G7 demanded that North Korea fully comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and halt nuclear tests, missile launches and other “provocative actions”.

The group condemned Russia’s “illegal annexation” of the Crimean

peninsula from Ukraine. The declaration threatened “further restrictive measures” to raise the costs on Moscow but said sanctions could be rolled back if Russia implemented previous agreements and respected Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The G7 also expressed concern over the East and South China Seas, where China has been taking more assertive action amid territorial disputes with Japan and several Southeast Asian nations.

Without mentioning Beijing, the G7 reiterated its commitment to the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes and to respecting the freedom of navigation and overflight. The group called for countries to refrain from “unilateral actions which could increase tensions” and “to settle disputes by peaceful means”.

China was not pleased with the

G7 stance.

“This G7 summit organised by Japan’s hyping up of the South China Sea issue and exaggeration of tensions is not beneficial to stability in the South China Sea and does accord with the G7’s position as a platform for managing the economies of developed nations,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing. “China is extremely dissatisfied with what Japan and the G7 have done.”

The G7 also called large-scale immigration and migration a major challenge and vowed to increase global aid for the immediate and long-term needs of refugees and displaced people.

Referring to Britain’s referendum next month on whether to leave the European Union, the G7 said an exit “would be a serious risk to global growth”. l

Fed rate hike likely appropriate in coming months

n Reuters

The Federal Reserve should raise interest rates “in the coming months” if the economy picks up as expected and jobs continue to be generated, US central bank chief Janet Yellen said on Friday, bolstering the case for a rate increase in June or July.

“It’s appropriate ... for the Fed to gradually and cautiously increase our overnight interest rate over time, and probably in the coming months such a move would be appropriate,” Yellen said during an appearance at Harvard University.

Her comments, while balanced, suggested the powerful Fed chair is on board with several of her colleagues who in recent weeks have said the central bank is preparing to follow up on an initial policy tightening in December.

Although Yellen expressed caution about too steep a rise in US rates, she sounded more confident than she has in the past that the US economy has rebounded from a weak winter and that inflation would edge higher toward the Fed’s 2% target.

“The economy is continuing to improve ... growth looks to be picking up,” Yellen told a group of professors and alumni at the Ivy League college in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She expects the labor market to continue to improve despite much progress because “further gains are possible,” she said under an open-air tent on campus.

Prices for US Treasuries fell after Yellen’s remarks, while stocks rose.

The US dollar was trading higher against a basket of currencies.

The probability of a rate hike at the Federal Open Market Committee’s June 14-15 meeting rose to 34% from 30% before Yellen’s remarks, according to CME Group, where the futures contracts are traded.

Bets on a rate increase at the July 26-27 policy meeting edged up to 60 percent, more than double the estimate from a month ago. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Sonali Bank has recently held Dhaka Divisional Conference for the year 2016, said a press release. The bank’s acting chairperson, Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury was present at the conference as chief guest

GPH Ispat Limited has recently signed a syndicated term loan agreement of USD 154m with United Commercial Bank Limited (UCB) as lead arranger along with 11 other banks for an extended project of GPH, said a press release. Managing director of GPH Ispat Limited, Mohammed Jahangir Alam, managing director of UCB, Muhammed Ali and signatories of other financial institutions have signed the agreement

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Automakers, tech companies decide to make deals, not war n Reuters, Detroit

A flurry of deals between big automakers and ride hailing and transportation startups is rewriting the playbook in the contest to control the future of personal transportation.

Automakers now recognize they may turn ride-hailing services and car sharing companies into steady customers for all sorts of vehicles, particularly hybrid and electric cars, industry executives and analysts say.

Tie-ups with carpooling services or short-term rental companies help automakers expose consumers to brands they might otherwise ignore. Technology companies offer access to troves of consumer data, and sophisticated ways to analyze them.

From the automakers, the Silicon Valley mobility companies obtain fresh capital, access to auto industry engineers who know how cars work and discounts on vehicles for their drivers.

In the latest tie-up between an automaker and a transportation technology startup, German luxury car maker BMW AG said yesterday its BMW iVentures venture capital arm has invested an undisclosed amount in California-based Scoop Technologies, which offers a smartphone-powered carpooling service called Scoop.

On Tuesday, Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s No 1 automaker by vehicle sales, said it was investing an undisclosed amount of money in Uber. Germany’s Volkswagen

A driver displays Uber and Lyft ride sharing signs on his car windscreen in Santa Monica AG said on the same day it would invest $300m in Gett, a smaller ride-hailing company.

Earlier this year, General Motors Co acquired a stake in Uber rival Lyft, and the Detroit automaker is launching its own car-sharing and mobility ventures under the Maven brand. Ford Motor Co, Daimler AG and other major automakers have unveiled efforts to embrace ride-hailing and car-sharing services.

Automakers “want to make sure they are in the game,” as more con-

India Inc shows growth spreading by end of Modi’s sophomore year n Reuters, Mumbai Indian companies are posting their best earnings results since Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power two years ago, giving the clearest sign yet that India’s fast, but patchy, economic growth is becoming more broad-based.

Though headline growth figures make India one of the world’s fastest growing economies, weak private investment and low capacity utilisation rates have painted a less rosy picture.

Going by India Inc’s surge in profit growth in the first three months of the year,

however, the outlook really does seem to be brightening, as benefits feed through from lower interest rates and government spending in infrastructure and defence.

On Tuesday, India will release gross domestic product data for the January-March quarter. Year-on-year growth of 7.5% is forecast by a Reuters survey economists, slightly faster than the previous quarter’s 7.3%.

“Macro indicators are suggesting that at the ground level the economy is gaining momentum,” said Dhiraj Sachdev, a fund manager at HSBC Asset Management in Mumbai. l

sumers use ride sharing or carpooling, said Mark Short, an Ernst and Young partner who advises automakers on transactions. “To be in the game, you have to make investments in these companies.”

New sales channel

In the case of Uber and Toyota, both could benefit from an alliance.

Uber “actually knows very little from its own experience about cars - how they’re made, how they work,” said Jan Dawson, technology analyst with Jackdaw Research.

REUTERS

Uber has said it wants to develop self-driving cars - as does Toyota and the two indicated they will collaborate on research.

Toyota said it expects to offer new ways for Uber drivers to buy Toyota cars, and could market Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles to Uber in bulk fleet sales. Details of these programs have yet to be decided, a Toyota spokesman said on Wednesday.

Toyota and some rival automakers currently offer discounts to drivers for Uber and its ride-hail-

ing rival, Lyft. An Uber driver who wants to buy a Toyota Prius, for example, could receive a $750 discount. The Uber discount for a Ford Focus is $2,100, according to information on Uber’s website.

Uber said on Wednesday discounts from various automakers have saved its drivers more than $20m on vehicle purchases globally as of the end of last year. As of last December, more than 50,000 people around the world had used its car discount program, Uber Vehicle Solutions, to buy or lease vehicles worth over $1bn.

Ride hailing and car sharing companies could become outlets for automakers trying to sell more electric vehicles, or hybrid cars, to earn credits under US federal and state environmental rules. The high costs of an electric car battery are more rapidly offset by ferrying passengers around a city all day than by a routine round-trip commute.

GM executives say Lyft will be an important customer for the automaker’s Chevrolet Bolt electric car, due to launch late this year.

BMW’s investment in Scoop is also aimed at selling vehicles, Ulrich Quay, managing director of BMW iVentures, said on Wednesday. Ride sharing can help the automaker get to know customers who have never driven a BMW, he said.

The Scoop application connects people who live in the same neighborhoods and work near each other to arrange carpools. The company currently operates in the San Francisco Bay area. l

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Making your business legal:

Sole proprietorship and partnership n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal It is the nature of law to be direct and precise. Hence, paying our respect, we won’t either. The legal system in Bangladesh when it comes to registering your business can be confidently termed “shady” in many cases, but the basics remain upright as always.

In order to gain a comprehensive insight into the prerequisites of making your business legal, we spoke to a man who lives and breathes the law, yet with an eccentric flair of his own.

Arunav Das Shuvro is a Barrister of Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, an Advocate of Bangladesh Bar Council, Faculty Member of American International University of Bangladesh, Head of Laws and Partner of London College of Legal Studies (North), Legal Advisor of Ahmad and Akhter Chartered Accountants, and Joint Secretary of Showhardo Foundation. The forgotten yet equally interesting introduction was his younger days as a Rockstar.

If one thing remained consistent, it was the crowd, for Arunav Das Shuvro remained a great performer (by both definitions) in both worlds.

“Once I started studying law, I found it to be fascinating. Being a lawyer, you need to meet different people each day, with numerous cases all varied in nature. Some people lose their lands, others lose their husbands. You’re giving justice to these people and their circumstances,” he said. “Let’s be honest, in the densely populated country we live in, not every will follow the law. It would eventually fall upon the law makers to guide

Once I started studying law, I found it to be fascinating. Being a lawyer, you need to meet different people each day, with numerous cases all varied in nature

as sole trader, is a business entity owned by one single person; hence the name. It is never legally defined as a separate entity from the owner. Therefore, the owner of the business is solely responsible and held accountable for all liabilities the business incurs over time. The following are generic facts about sole proprietorships; a helpful tool for anyone looking forward to start their own businesses.

Key facts about sole proprietorships

those who do not abide by the rules. And hence, the first step would be education. Luckily, I love teaching; the true meaning of it.”

Subsequently, here are the facts Arunav Das Shuvro mentioned

to be vital when starting up, in terms of sole proprietorship and partnership.

Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship, also known

• Eligibility starts at the age of eighteen. Citizens from Bangladesh are eligible for a sole proprietorship only when they turn eighteen.

• For a sole proprietorship, a local commercial address must be provided as the business address.

• Profits from the business are treated as the income for the individual who owns the company, and is therefore subject to tax rate equal to that of personal income.

• As any profits from the business will be taxed as personal taxes, proprietors do not need to audit their accounts.

• The basic requirement for any proprietorship is a trade license.

• Annual renewals of the trade license is a necessity.

Required documents and registration procedures

The following documents and information are required in order to register a sole proprietorship in Bangladesh: • The proposed Bangla name of the business.

• Principal activities and their particulars.

• The local business address for the business in a commercial area.

• Providing the lease, the rental agreement, and the deed for the office space.

• A copy of the owner’s National Identification card.

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

Partnership

A partnership is generally a business agreement between two or more parties, where all agree to cooperate to develop their mutual interests. The partners in said agreements may be individuals, businesses, schools, governments, or any combination of the aforementioned partners.

A partnership must consist of a minimum of two partners and a maximum of twenty, according to Bangladeshi law. A partnership agreement is a mandatory requirement for procuring a trade license, and operating a bank account. All liabilities in a partnership venture must be shared by all partners.

In accordance to the law, the required licenses or permits, trade licenses and TIN certificates.

Based on the nature of the business, other documents may be provided upon request. For example, meeting minutes of partners is a necessity for opening bank accounts in most banks in Bangladesh.

General requirements to start a partnership:

• It is mandatory to have a partnership agreement.

• Minutes of partners’ meeting may be a requirement in many cases.

• Procurement of a trade license from the local governing body.

• Providing a TIN certificate immediately upon request.

• Where applicable, providing VAT registration, and IRC in case of any business related to imports.

• In case of businesses related to exports, providing an ERC is a must.

• It is vital to get proper permission from the authorities in accordance to the nature of the business.l Articles reprinted under special arrangement with www.startup-bd.com

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Things to keep in mind when you pitch to investors

F

or any business, especially a startup, raising money is a crucial part. Pitching to investors is clearly one of the trickiest things when it comes to raising funds for business.

With an amazing business idea and well-planned presentation, a pitching can go completely wrong.

So it’s very important to keep a few tips in mind while pitching.

Make your pitch a story

The first thing you need to do is engage your investors. Start with a story and don’t bore them!

Connect the story to the problem and how you want to solve that.

An investor hears lots of pitching, so it’s important to make yours unique. The pitch should be framed in a way so that it connects the story to all important points and statistics.

Explain clearly

The pitch should not miss out important points. What the product or idea is, its uniqueness, who the customers are, how to attract them, your competition, and most importantly, your revenue model should be very clearly explained.

Be precise in lesser time

The less time your pitch takes, the better. The focus should be to frame the points short and precise while letting the investors get the overall concept of the business plan. Do not make chunks of slides for the presentation, rather keep it short and simple. Explain all, but take less time.

Show the enthusiasm

Investors should sense your enthusiasm. While pitching you need to show the investors your passion for the business and future plans for it. It is also important to make the investors trust your team. The team should

be dynamic and it’s crucial to gain the confidence of the investors for the team.

Future potential

Investors would give money when they believe they would get sufficient return from it. You need

3 insights for attracting angel investors

A

ngel investors are wealthy individuals who are willing to invest in startups in return for equity and ownership. They can also be a great mentor for the entrepreneurs, since their own money is on the line and they are motivated by the success of the business itself.

Attracting angel investors for the business is not an easy thing.

They become part of the company, and it is important for the startup to find the perfect match of personalities and objectives.

Here are some key insights that will help you find the perfect match:

Create a perfect team

Angel investors tip their money in the ideas and people of the startup. It is very important that they perceive the management team as capable in delivering the company’s vision and goals.

The founders should know what they want for the company and should have a clear view of its future position. The team should have people with complementary skills.

Be transparent and prove your worth It is very important to be transparent to the angels. It is the only way to be on the same page with the investors. As they are going to be a part of the company, it is necessary to let them know

about the risks upfront.

The startup needs to evaluate their ideas before putting them in front of the angels. The angels will invest if they find the idea and model promising and can trust the founders.

Potential return on investment

Angels will invest when they see it will benefit them as well. Fortynine percent ranked potential ROI as their top motivator for making an investment decision. Besides financial returns, a lot of investors seek to solve the challenges of specific sectors with the business they fund. It is important to know and understand the investor and give a pitching likewise. l

to give some hints about the future potential of the business. Mention the exit strategy you have planned for the business. It’s important to let the investors know where the business will stand years down the line.l

Articles reprinted under special arrangement with www.sdasia.co

DT

18

Internship

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

The value of internships n Nakib ul Hoq I am sure you’ve heard at least one of your elder siblings or cousins whine about an internship. For all of you university students who are aspiring to enter the world of jobs and employment, internships are one of the best ways for you to gain exposure to life after academia.

Some internships are run through university programs while others are run through summer and winter breaks. For universities in Bangladesh, internships are usually part of one semester.

Grading is also done based on your internship report.

Typically, at the end of the semester, you have to submit a formal report on the internship experience to your course instructor. Some of the business schools also require formal presentations from students on their experience as a part of the course curriculum. It is worthwhile noting that even masters’ programs nowadays also emphasise on internships as part of their selection criteria.

North American business schools are adamant about work experience, while Asian graduate schools are also pursuing more experience. Remember, a great

Sometimes the application process can be quite rigorous and always quite competitive, so it’s essential that you do all that you can to make sure you are well prepared for any such opportunity The significance of internships has been growing. The trend is reflected in the increasing number of programs in which major international universities have made undergraduate internships compulsory and a part of at least one semester in the junior or senior year.

postgraduate application is not just about good grades and great recommendations; it is also about your resume, which highlights your work experience and details how you have made an impact on the society from your position.

Identifying internships is not a very hard task, there are many

opportunities out there. You only need to find the one that fits you best. You can go out individually and apply for internships on offer from various companies and NGOs. Sometimes the application process can be quite rigorous and always quite competitive, so it’s essential that you do all that you can to make sure you are well

prepared for any such opportunity.

Not only does internships enable you to build your resume for a postgrad application, but also put you in touch with great mentors and peers. In some cases, companies also hire highperformers from their brilliant internship pool; Goldman Sachs and Citi just to name a couple.

Once you complete an internship, you will come out more equipped for the outside world. The benefits are twofold.

When it comes to hiring, you can get short-listed for the best jobs at the best international companies, and when it comes to postgraduate applications you are at a distinct advantage. l

10 career traits of wildly successful people n Ahamed Naveed Hasan Success. We all want to grasp it. But if it were so easy, everyone who wanted success would get it; the elusiveness is what makes success so special. Success is exclusive to a handful of people who did extraordinary things. And it wasn’t because they got lucky or because it was just handed to them.

Success is more about working hard consistently over many years.

It’s not about putting in a lifetime of effort into one single night.

Every overnight success has 20 years of careful planning and hard work behind it. Being successful is all about how badly you want it and how much you’re willing to sacrifice for it. The foregone cost can be momentous.

Do you have what it takes?

The best way to find out is to look at the traits of highly successful people and see how you can begin adapting them into your life so that you can eventually end up just like them. l

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Articles reprinted under special arrangement with www.grad-insights.com

10.

Successful people work extremely hard They are incredibly curious and eager to learn Extremely successful people are on the lookout to grasp every fleeting moment They are always trying to connect- with people, with organizations, with the society They are always working to improve themselves – even if they’re already successful They are highly innovative They are confident and eager to take responsibility They are usually calm and hold on to their perspective Successful people always make a point to respond instantly Winners never quit, and quitters never win

| tournament |

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

| achievement |

NSU Sports Carnival kicks off

Olympic Nutty Biscuit presents NSU Sports Carnival begins from May 29. This event is the very first of its kind and is being held at the premises of North South University in Bashundhara R/A. Students will be participating in four different sporting events - cricket, football, badminton and table tennis. Badminton and table tennis has been divided in two different categories.

19

There will be singles and doubles for both male and female in table tennis.

In Badminton, there will be males and mixed doubles.

In total 64 teams are participating in badminton and table tennis events.

24 teams are participating in cricket and football in total.

Although the preliminary round of cricket and football

have begun on May 27 and 28, the knockout round of these categories are yet to be held.

The grand finale of the carnival will be held on June 2, followed by a grand closing ceremony on June 5 at the NSU Auditorium.

Music sensation Ornob will also be present to conclude the ceremony. l

Sonia Bashir Kabir to represent Bangladesh in Science and Technology sector at United Nations The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon has appointed Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing Director of Microsoft Bangladesh, to serve in the governing council of the technology bank for the Least Developed Countries (LDC).

The Secretary General has appointed 12 expert members from different countries (including non-LDC countries) to the technology bank. Sonia has been hand-picked to represent Bangladesh at the council.

Following the appointment, Sonia was informed that the UN believes her, “expertise would make an invaluable contribution to the work of the Council,” and they greatly appreciate her strong commitment and contribution to the promotion of science and technology.

A feasibility study by a panel of high-level experts, arranged by the UN Secretary General, earlier recommended a technology bank that would promote science, technology and innovation in the world’s poorest countries.

| food | | session |

Orientation Program Summer 2016 held at UIU

United International University (UIU) has been playing a significant role in building knowledge told by the society speakers at the orientation program of UIU, a two-day long program held for the newly admitted students of Summer 2016 trimester at the UIU Auditorium. Newly admitted students in the School of Business & Economics and School of Science and

DT

Biz Info

Engineering participated in the colourful orientation program.

UIU vice chancellor Prof Dr M Rezwan Khan, presided over the ceremony, while Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman, Dean of School of Business & Economics, Prof Dr Md Musa, Dean of School of Science and Engineering Prof Dr S M Lutful Kabir, Head of Dept of Economics, Prof Dr

Amirul Islam Chowdhury.

MBA Program Coordinator Dr Badruzza Miya, BBA Program Director Dr Joarder Md Hasanur Raihan, EEE Head Prof Dr Md Raqibul Mostafa, CSE Head Dr. Salekul Islam, Registrar Prof A S M Salahuddin, all spoke at the event. The treasurer, heads of different departments, teachers, guardians, students and the invited guests were also present. l

Tastebud’s Ramadan offer Tastebud brings you fascinating platters for iftar and seheri meals.

Book your table soon.

Cell:+8801615250005

The study suggested that the technology bank be comprised of two units—a Science, Technology and Innovation Support Mechanism, and an Intellectual Property Bank. Panel’s recommendations also highlighted that the technology bank, modelled on the United Nations University, has the potential to strengthen national capabilities and provide expertise to the world’s least developed countries, ensuring their proper participation in achieving internationally agreed development goals. l

DT

20 Editorial

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

TODAY

Along party lines It appears that the process of disenfranchising the electorates at all levels of the government has been completed, thus destroying the foundation of a nascent democracy PAGE 21

Because she’s a mother No doubt, a poor and illiterate mother loves her child as much as a rich and educated one. But the truth is, the rich and educated mother can teach and guide her children to be educated like herself PAGE 22

The power of regret The sheer horror of nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is inescapable.

For me, the amazing truth is not that reconciliation is complete now, but that it began in the early 1950s PAGE 23

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

BIGSTOCK

Insurers must increase transparency to root out corruption

T

he insurance company sector in Bangladesh is riddled with high levels of irregularities.

Despite corporate governance reforms made by the 2010 Insurance Act, lax enforcement and institutionalised corruption within companies are enabling large sums of customer and share-holder funds to be misappropriated.

Major concerns have been highlighted by the Dhaka Tribune’s survey of investigations and audits conducted by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority.

These include outright misuse and theft of company funds. For instance, IRDA’s auditors found that Meghna Life Insurance, one of the country’s leading insurers had been concealing excess management costs of around Tk100 crore from the regulators for three years in a row.

At Padma Life Insurance, audits uncovered repeated violations of the insurance act, including instances of senior officials of the company withdrawing money using fake bills and vouchers, helping to cause overspending of Tk124cr above the company’s approved limit.

Investigations by the regulator also found systematic use of unauthorised and fake agents in more than one company.

Nepotism also remains rampant across the sector. At Pragati Life Insurance Limited and National Life Insurance, auditors found several cases of contracts and investments being made with and in companies connected to the directors.

Even through the latter company had a duly constituted finance and investment committee to guard against such misuse, it did not hold a single meeting in 2014.

While the IRDA has issued show cause notices against the companies concerned, it is not enough.

The regulator must enforce stricter standards of corporate governance to help challenge and prevent nepotism and corruption from occurring in the first place.

Insurance companies should be required to be more transparent in their annual reports and submissions and to explain any cases of non-compliance with best practice.

Better corporate governance is essential to enable customers and share-holders to fully hold boards of directors to account.

Better corporate governance is essential to ensure boards of directors follow the rules in the first place

DT

21

Opinion

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Along party lines The inevitable consequence of partyism is democratic backsliding

n Abu Elias Sarker

I

n recent years, the phrase “partyism” has become quite popular -- it denotes a form of antagonism and predisposition that operates across political lines.

There is another phrase, “partyarchy” which bears the same connotation in that the party in power tends to monopolise key state institutions.

Recently, the country has witnessed massive violence in the political arena, though it has been endemic over the last decade.

Most of these violent acts have erupted around the intriguing political issues. The latest spate of political violence has flared up concerning the Union Parishad elections.

Two fundamental issues have to be raised here. One, the legitimacy of the government has been at stake since the parliamentary elections on January 5, 2014.

The elections took place without participation of the main opposition party. More importantly, the majority of parliamentarians won the elections without any contestants.

Second, the government unilaterally amended the Union Parishad Act and allowed the elections to be held along the party political affiliations.

These two issues are mingled, resulting in capturing the key state institutions and the shifting of the locus of political violence from the city to the village.

Because, historically, authoritarian regimes have always been susceptible to agitation politics of disgruntled urban middle classes.

The ultimate purpose of the government seems to have established partyism over all vital state institutions and neutralised any potential threats to the ruling coalitions of power.

According to the report of SUJON (Shu-shashoner Jonyo Nagorik), until May 26 this year, 101 people were killed, and thousands of people were injured because of UP polls violence. The BNP has been participating in these elections.

This kind of violence in UP elections is quite unusual insofar as the past records are concerned.

Moreover, the competitive atmosphere that the UP polls had enjoyed since 1919 the Local Self Government Act has disappeared.

The current UP polls under the party affiliations have discerned certain trends.

The union parishad elections this year were marred by violence

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

It appears that the process of disenfranchising the electorates at all levels of the government has been completed, thus destroying the foundation of a nascent democracy First, there were huge cash transactions for nominations.

In other words, in order to get nominations from the ruling party, the candidates had to “buy” nominations.

Second, in many constituencies, the candidates nominated by the ruling party have won without facing any contestants. In most cases, the candidates of the main opposition party BNP and other neutral candidates were threatened by the ruling party candidates to stay away from participation.

Third, even where there was participation of other candidates, the ruling party candidates got the upper hand in rigging the polls with active support from local administration.

Fourth, there were many rebel candidates of the ruling party.

Fifth, there is overwhelming victory of the ruling party candidates.

Sixth, passive and partisan role of the Election Commission has

further helped escalate violence.

Seventh, in most cases, violence took place between the ruling party-nominated and rebel candidates.

The implications of the UP polls and violence associated with these are far-reaching. Since the advent of power of the AL and its allies in early 2009, the government has been systematically acting to establish its hegemony over all vital state institutions.

There are both implicit and explicit agendas of this type of partyism.

Explicitly, the government has always come up with justifications behinds its partisan actions in different spheres of society and that it is acting to get rid of extremism and promote democracy, development, and peace.

The paraphernalia of the implicit agenda include: Weakening the opposition parties by filing cases against the leaders and putting them behind the bar,

establishing hegemony over key state institutions by controlling the key human resource management functions so that party loyalists remain in the forefront, weakening potential threats of violence by distributing patronage, denying forced disappearance, indiscriminate use of force against any group that has potential to threaten, patronising affiliated groups in violent activities in the name of keeping political control, and finally, cementing the hegemonic powerbase throughout the country, including the countryside.

Therefore, current violence in the UP polls has to be understood from a wider perspective. The nation witnessed how the elections of the city corporations and Pourasabha were held. The government coalitions were desperate to deny the opposition any positions in any local government offices.

With similar offences, the opposition party office-bearers are

dismissed by the Ministry of Local Government whereas the ruling party office-bearers are kept and provided full support.

The UP elections are no exception. The government wants to serve a dual purpose: To establish complete party hegemony (social and political control) over this oldest local government office, and to shift the focus of violence from the urban centres, particularly from the capital to the rural areas.

The inevitable consequence of this kind of partyism is democratic backsliding. The ruling alliance is not interested at all to open space for others to participate in different aspects of governance.

It’s an irony that there is a longest history of representativeness of the UP. Even when the whole state apparatus was completely under the darkness of authoritarianism, the UP maintained its representative character.

It appears that the process of disenfranchising the electorates at all levels of the government has been completed, thus destroying the foundation of a nascent democracy. l Abu Elias Sarker is Associate Professor of Public Management, University of Sharjah, UAE.

22

DT

Opinion

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Because she’s a mother A mother is a child’s first teacher

Empowered and educated mothers can help take the nation forward

n Manzur Shams

H

ome is the primary educational institution to any child, not school. As such, mothers are sure to be the idols for their children, in growing up, in learning, and in seeking knowledge.

We all learn to write the first letter in the alphabet under the caring guidance of our mothers.

So, mothers are our first teachers and guides in this rude world.

Abraham Lincoln sketches his mother quite well in this aspect: “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

The hands that rock the cradle, shape the world.

Thomas Alva Edison, the great American inventor, did not receive a proper education at a school. It was his mother who taught him, guided him, and inspired his interest in science.

Legendary basketball player Michael Jordan owes his mother quite a lot as well: “My mother

is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.”

BIGSTOCK

were to compensate for such unfortunate mothers’ deficiencies?

Thankfully, I discovered a few teachers within our rural areas who are doing exactly that. These

dropping out of primary school.

Visiting one such centre, I was overwhelmed by the sheer scope of their goal.

An NGO called CDIP had started

No doubt, a poor and illiterate mother loves her child as much as a rich and educated one. But the truth is, the rich and educated mother can teach and guide her children to be educated like herself

But, can every mother guide and protect their child the same way?

Unfortunately, no. There are many reasons, the most noticeable being education.

No doubt, a poor and illiterate mother loves her child as much as a rich and educated one.

But the truth is, the rich and educated mother can teach and guide her children to be educated like herself, unlike the poor and illiterate mother.

Wouldn’t it be great if someone

teachers are more like mothers to their students, and their students are well aware of that.

A mother is a teacher at home and a teacher is like a mother at school -- they harbour the same responsibilities in shaping the future of a nation.

Recently, in studying the rural primary education system in Bangladesh, I came to know about a few learning centres which are helping poor, illiterate parents to prevent their children from

this education support program.

The executive director of the organisation introduced this program himself.

During a visit to a rural area in Brahmanbaria, he observed students of a primary school loitering and playing outside the school premises during class-time.

When he questioned them, he came to know that they could not prepare their homework as their parents were poor and illiterate.

If they entered their classes,

the teachers would punish them and their classmates would laugh at them.

He realised that the predominant cause behind primary school drop-outs is the illiteracy of the parents.

The most innovative idea of the program described earlier is how they recruit teachers for the learning centres.

They turned village housewives into teachers, who help primary school students prepare for their school lessons as well as their homework.

They get a nominal honorarium, but it is nothing compared to the respect they get from the villagers.

They are instructed to especially concentrate on teaching children who are differently abled.

The teacher reminded me that the person who makes the greatest impression on a child is always the mother, since she is her child’s first teacher as well. l Manzur Shams is a freelance contributor.

DT

23

Opinion

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

The power of regret A simple apology goes a long way

Justin Trudeau understands how publicly expressing regret can help a people heal

REUTERS

n MJ Akbar

C

uba. Vietnam. Hiroshima.

Is Barack Obama trying to tell us something?

I think yes. In the last months of American history’s most unexpected presidency, he is trying to bury, as quietly as he can, the dilemmas and memories that have haunted his generation of Americans: Nuclear bombs that obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and the assault on Cuba and Vietnam in the 1960s.

As president he cannot apologise, for this would be toxic to those who fought, with courage and conviction, imperial Japan in the second world; and those who believed, with good reason, that they had saved the free world from communism by their vigourous challenge to the Soviet Union.

But to those who grew up in the 60s and 70s, Cuba was a folly and Vietnam a deadly mistake.

It is not entirely coincidental that Barack Obama was born in 1961, the year in which John Kennedy authorised the failed American invasion across the Bay of Pigs; and, a few months later, Washington and Moscow nearly blew up the world with a nuclear confrontation over missiles in Cuba.

The sheer horror of nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is inescapable. For me, the amazing truth is not that reconciliation is complete now, but that it began in the early 1950s President Obama knows that even regret can induce a bit of backlash; but he is also certain that he must pay this price. It may not be enough to fully exorcise such ghosts, but they must be laid to rest. We cannot erase tragedies of the past or deny their consequences, but there is substantial merit in public acknowledgement of a grievous error.

Compared to the unprecedented bloodbaths we have seen in the last century, the wars, racism, and genocide, the incident of 1914 in which Canada turned back hundreds of Sikhs on board the ship Komagata Maru hardly ranks among the worst atrocities within memory.

But it did leave deep scars on Sikhs, which continued to rankle.

Canada’s young Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognised the need for healing.

His statement was carefully

worded: “Canada does not bear alone the responsibility for every tragic mistake that occurred with the Komagata Maru and its passengers, but Canada’s government was without question responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers from immigrating peacefully and securely, for that, and for every regrettable consequence that followed, we are sorry.”

The important point is the regret, publicly expressed. The very fact that it took a hundred years to come indicates how difficult it is for establishments to recognise, or at least admit, any injustice.

It took 71 years for an American president to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

We should try and understand the complexity of the reason, rather than leap on to some moral podium and proclaim outrage.

By 1945, America and Japan had

been engaged in an epic war for three years, in which no quarter was asked and none given.

The American leadership had to consider the human cost of invading imperial Japan, given the latter’s fearsome kamikaze reputation.

And yet, the sheer horror of nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is inescapable. For me, the amazing truth is not that reconciliation is complete now, but that it began in the early 50s.

We must salute the generation, on both sides, that recognised, so quickly, that peace was infinitely preferable to havoc.

The world is, consequently, a much better place.

When does another chapter of history begin? Always difficult to say, except when victory or defeat changes everything radically. More often, continuity is too blurred for sharp clarity.

America did not open the door

to Cuba on the day that Obama landed in Havana to a warm, if occasionally awkward, reception.

That door was being nudged for years, which is the way that the diplomatic process works.

Doors open by imperceptible inches, not in a dramatic flourish.

What Obama’s visit ensured was that the gate would not be shut again.

But one decision taken by Obama in the equally slow manoeuvres of America-Vietnam relations is a game changer: America will sell weapons to Vietnam.

The Vietnam War may have ended decades ago, but the last trace of enmity, which is suspicion, is finally over. This at long last is a reversal to the 40s when the Communist legend Ho Chi Minh allied with America against Japan, confident that republican America would force Europe’s imperialists to decolonise once the war ended. Gandhi supported the British in the First World War for similar reasons.

But Roosevelt died and his successor Harry Truman chose France over Vietnam. The rest is familiar. l MJ Akbar is an Indian journalist. He is the founder of The Sunday Guardian.

DT

24 Sport

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

TOP STORIES

CHAMPIONS

Sunrisers sweat on Mustafiz fitness Mustafizur Rahman is confident of turning out for his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the grand finale of the Indian Premier League at M Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore today. PAGE 25

Cavs punch ticket to NBA Finals LeBron James scored 33 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 113-87 on Friday to win the Eastern Conference. It was the first game in the series won by the visiting team. PAGE 26

Woakes, Ali pile pressure on SL Lower-order batsman Moeen Ali capitalised on poor Sri Lanka fielding with an innings of 155 not out as England established a commanding position on the second day of the second Test at the Riverside yesterday. PAGE 27

Messi scare in Argentina win Barcelona starlet Lionel Andres Messi was taken to hospital after suffering an injury scare on Friday as Argentina defeated Honduras 1-0 in their only warmup game before next month’s Copa America Centenario in the United States. PAGE 28

Real Madrid clinched a record extending 11th European Cup when they prevailed against city rivals Atletico Madrid in the grand finale of the Champions League at San Siro, Milan yesterday. Real won 5-3 in the tie-breaker after the score was levelled at 1-1 following the conclusion of extra time. Sergio Ramos gave Real the lead in the 15th minute but substitute Yannick Ferreira Carrasco equalised in the 79th minute. In between all the action, Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty at the start of the second half. Later in the penalty shootout, Lucas Vazquez, Marcelo, Gareth Bale, Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored for Real while Griezmann, Gabi, Saul Niguez netted for Atletico. Juanfran’s miss though proved to be pivotal as Zinedine Zidane claimed his maiden silverware as a coach REUTERS

25

DT

Sport

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Sunrisers sweat on Mustafizur fitness on eve of IPL final n Tribune Report Mustafizur Rahman is confident of turning out for his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the grand finale of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore today.

The Bangladesh paceman missed out the do-or-die qualifier against Gujarat Lions last Friday due to a hamstring injury.

But according to Bangladesh physiotherapist Bayezid Islam Khan, the southpaw is all set to feature in today’s final in probably the world’s biggest Twenty20 league.

“I had a phone conversation with Mustafizur [yesterday afternoon]. He informed that he feels no pain and is doing fine. He had a good time with the team following their win against Gujarat. His team physio informed that there is no such trouble with his injury,” said Bayezid to the media yesterday.

“With that said, it is not possible for me to explain his injury in detail as I am not with him at the moment. But Mustafizur sounded confident about playing the game [today].

“Such injures (hamstring) doesn’t make cricketers suffer that bad. This is a new injury he has faced but I think there is nothing much to worry about,” he added.

Provided Mustafizur does take the field, he will need to be wary of Bangalore captain Virat Kohli, who has been in imperious form in the ongoing edition. Kohli has shattered the previous best aggregate in a season by scoring 919 runs, including four centuries and six fifties. He has also gained kudos for his captaincy during Bangalore’s rollercoaster ride to the final which is being played on their home ground.

Hyderabad skipper David Warner on the other hand is also enjoying a fine campaign. The Australian’s 58-ball blitz against Gujarat was his eighth fifty, putting him second in the scoring chart behind Kohli with 779 runs.

“The final is about not worrying about their players and executing our plans,” Warner said.l

BRIEF SCORES PRIME DOLESHWAR SC 191/7 in 28 overs (Nasir 72, Sanjamul 40, Taskin 2/53) lost to ABAHANI LTD 194/7 in 28 overs (Mosaddek 57*, Shakib 45, Shanto 39) by three wickets CCS 149 in 24.5 overs (Salman 58, Ariful 3/29, Habibur 2/23) v MOHAMMEDAN SC 13/0 in 2.2 overs – To be finished today KALABAGAN CA 89 in 21 overs (Miraz 19, Monir 3/12, Azim 3/23) v PRIME BANK CC – To be finished today

POINTS TABLE

Abahani Limited's Mosaddek Hossain flays one through the off side during their Dhaka Premier League match against Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club at BKSP yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

TEAMS

M

W

L

T

PTS

MSC

8

6

2

0

12

PDSC

9

6

3

0

12

LOR

8

5

2

1

11

AL

9

5

4

0

10

SJDC

8

5

3

0

10

VSC

8

4

3

1

9

GGC

8

4

4

0

8

PBCC

8

4

4

0

8

BU

8

4

4

0

8

KBKC

8

3

5

0

6

CCS

8

1

7

0

2

KBCA

8

1

7

0

2

Mosaddek guides Abahani in thriller n Minhaz Uddin Khan Mosaddek Hossain kept Abahani Limited well on track for a Super League berth in the Dhaka Premier League as they pipped Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in a nail-biter at BKSP yesterday.

The other two matches of the day between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Cricket Coaching School in Fatullah and Kalabagan Cricket Academy and Prime Bank Cricket Club in Mirpur were pushed back to the reserve day today due to overcast weather and wet outfield.

Abahani v Doleshwar

Heavy rainfall in Savar delayed the game by four hours, turning it into a 28-overs per side affair.

Fielding first, Abahani restricted Doleshwar to 191/7 with Nasir Hossain top-scoring with a 56-ball 72, featuring four fours and two sixes.

Sanjamul Islam chipped in with a valuable run-a-ball 40 to give second-placed Doleshwar a challenging total.

Abahani’s Taskin Ahmed picked up two wickets but he proved to be expensive, leaking 53 runs in his six overs while Shakib al Hasan, making his first appearance for the Sky Blues this season following his stint with the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, bagged one wicket.

In pursuit of 192, Abahani required to score at a little more than six runs per over. But their start to the innings was anything but pleasant.

Opening batsmen Tamim Iqbal (10) and Liton Kumar Das (11) departed with only 25 runs on the board from six overs.

However, a 74-run stand between Shakib (45) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto (39) for the third wicket helped Abahani get back on track.

The latter part of the chase was taken care of by Mosaddek, who blasted 57 unbeaten runs off just 35 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries and two sixes.

Abahani, needing 11 runs from the final over, were initially under the cosh as Farhad Reza conceded only one run from the first three balls, besides picking up the wicket of Mohammad Shahzada.

Mosaddek though had other ideas as he scored a two, six and four off the final three deliveries to take Abahani home. Courtesy the win, Abahani moved to fourth position in the points table.

Mohammedan v CCS

Just like the Abahani-Doleshwar tie, this encounter too was marred by rain.

Asked to bat first, Salman Hossain’s quickfire 52-ball 58 guided second-from-bottom CCS to 149.

Ariful Haque notched three wick-

ets while Habibur Rahman took two for Mohammedan.

In reply, table-toppers Mohammedan posted 13 without loss in 2.2 overs before rain intervened yet again, bringing an early end to proceedings. They require 136 more runs to win with 22.4 overs remaining.

Kalabagan CA v Prime Bank

Holders Prime Bank displayed their supremacy against bottom side Kalabagan CA, skittling out the novice outfit for a paltry 89 in 21 overs. In what was an extremely disappointing display by Kalabagan CA, none of the batsmen were able to cross 19.

Monir Hossain and Mohammad Azim were the wreckers in chief for Prime Bank, scalping three wickets each. Following the Kalabagan CA innings, the match officials decided to take the game to the reserve day. l

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EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 6, CLE WIN SERIES 4-2

CAVALIERS 113-87

RAPTORS

57-25, 24-17 Away

56-26, 32-9 Home

CLE TOR

1 31 25

2 24 16

3 31 33

4 27 13

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (R) goes up to dunk for a basket over Toronto Raptors centre Bismack Biyombo in the second quarter in game four of their Eastern conference finals at Air Canada Centre on Friday

T 113 87

CAVALIERS STARTERS K. LovePF L. JamesSF T. ThompsonC K. IrvingPG J.R. SmithSG

MIN 39 41 24 40 36

FG 3PT FT REB AST PTS 5-11 4-8 6-6 12 4 20 13-22 3-6 4-7 11 6 33 1-1 0-0 0-0 5 0 2 12-24 2-4 4-5 4 9 30 5-9 5-8 0-0 0 1 15

RAPTORS STARTERS L. ScolaPF D. CarrollSF B. BiyomboC K. LowryPG D. DeRozanSG

MIN 6 28 26 42 42

FG 3PT FT REB AST PTS 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3-9 1-2 0-0 6 1 7 1-4 0-0 2-4 9 0 4 11-22 6-12 7-7 3 3 35 9-18 0-1 2-2 3 3 20

REUTERS

Cavs punch ticket to NBA Finals n The Sports Xchange LeBron James scored 33 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 113-87 on Friday to win the Eastern Conference.

It was the first game in the series won by the visiting team and the Cavaliers will play in the NBA Finals for the second year in a row.

The Cavaliers led by as many as 14 points in the first half and had a 21-point lead during the third quarter. They led by 12 entering the fourth quarter.

The Raptors got the lead down to 10 before the Cavaliers took over and regained their 21-point lead on Kyrie Irving’s bank shot with 4:49 to play.

Irving scored again on a floating bank shot to increase the lead to 23 with 3:32 left.

Irving finished with 30 points for the Cavaliers and Kevin Love added 20 and J.R. Smith scored 15.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 35 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20. The Cavaliers led by as many as 11 points during the first quarter,

a lead the Raptors cut to four before James completed the scoring with a layup to give him 14 points.

Cleveland took a 31-25 lead into the second quarter.

Channing Frye opened the second quarter and increased the Cavaliers’ lead to 12 points. The Raptors cut that lead in half on DeRozan’s short jumper with 5:48 left in the half. James answered with a 3-pointer and a dunk.

James finished the first half with 21 points and the Cavaliers led 5541. Lowry led Toronto with 12 first-

half points.

Tristan Thompson opened the scoring in the second half and Cleveland’s lead was up to 16. Love bumped the lead to 18 before two minutes had elapsed.

The Raptors got back to within 13 points with 6:57 to play in the third but Smith made a 3-pointer and Irving followed with a pullup jumper with 4:58 to go and Cleveland led by 20.

The Cavs’ lead got up to 21 before Lowry hit a 3-pointer with 2:57 left in the quarter.

Lowry completed an 18-point third quarter when he converted three free throws in the final second and Cleveland led 86-74 entering the fourth quarter.

DeRozan opened the fourth-quarter scoring to cut the lead to 10 points. But James put Cleveland ahead by 16 points on a tip in with 8:38 to play.

Irving made successive bank shots and Cleveland led by 23 with 3:32 to play. James got the lead to 25 points with two free throws with 2:38 left.l

Rashford in record books as England win n Reuters

Marcus Rashford celebrates after scoring the first goal for England against Australia during their international friendly at Stadium of Light, Sunderland on Friday REUTERS

Marcus Rashford’s rapid progress continued as the 18-year-old took 138 seconds to become the youngest player to score on his England debut in a 2-1 friendly win over Australia on Friday.

The Manchester United striker probably booked his place in Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad and his Manchester United team mate Wayne Rooney added a second before substitute Eric Dier headed a late own goal.

But the night belonged to Rashford, who netted three minutes into what was only his 19th professional match, stroking the ball first time past goalkeeper Mat Ryan after creating space inside the area at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.

Rashford probably only started against Australia because of an injury to Sturridge, but Hodgson said he was hopeful the Liverpool strik-

er will recover sufficiently to train with the squad tomorrow. Rooney scored a record-extending 52nd goal for his country with a fine strike 10 minutes after the break. l

RESULTS 3-1

Slovakia Nemec 5, 57, Zrelak 70

Czech Republic

Georgia Kenija 71

6-0

Malta

Plasil 15, Skoda 21, Hubnik 40, Lafata 74, Necid 81, Schick 90+1

Croatia

1-0

Moldova

Kramaric 9

England

2-1

Rashford 3, Rooney 55

Australia Dier 75-og

Northern Ireland 3-0

Belarus

Lafferty 6, Grigg 86, Washington 44

Ireland Long 30

1-1

Netherlands De Jong 85

27

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

QUICK BYTES Farah finishes strong to win Prefontaine 10,000m British track star Mo Farah kept his long-distance winning streak alive by capturing the men’s 10,000 metre race at the 2016 Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field on Friday night. The 33-year-old Farah held off Kenya’s William Sitonik with a strong finishing kick on the last lap to win with a world-leading time of 26 minutes, 53.71 seconds.

–AFP

Sakho awaits decision after ban expires Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho’s provisional 30-day suspension for failing a drugs test expired yesterday with UEFA set to make a disciplinary decision in the coming days. The 26-year-old French international defender tested positive for a fat burner after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United on March 17.

–AFP

Diame fires Hull back to the Premier League Hull City’s Mohamed Diame struck an unstoppable long-range shot to beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in the Championship playoff final at Wembley yesterday and secure a return to the Premier League.

The game is billed as the richest in world football, with at least 170 million pounds ($248.59 million) in future earnings for the winners.

–REUTERS

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 4:00 PM Sri Lanka Tour of England 2nd Test, Day 3

SONY ESPN 8:30 PM Indian Premier League 2016 Final: Bangalore v Hyderabad

TENNIS TEN SPORTS 3:00 PM Roland Garros 2016 Day 8

FORMULA ONE 5:55 PM

STAR SPORTS 4 FIA F1 World Championship 2016 Main Race: Monaco

BASKETBALL SONY SIX 7:00 AM NBA season 2015/16 Oklahoma City v Golden State

Novak Djokovic returns against Aljaz Bedene during their third round match of the French Open tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France yesterday AP

Serena, Djokovic march on at French Open n AFP, Paris

Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams both swept into the last 16 at the French Open on a rainhit yesterday in Paris, while Dominic Thiem confirmed his status as an outsider to win the men’s title.

French hopes of a first home win in 33 years, meanwhile, were dealt a heavy blow when sixthseed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with a groin injury in the first set of his match with Ernests Gulbis.

Djokovic, who can become just the eighth man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments should be emerge triumphant next weekend, beat Britain’s Aljaz Bedene 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 just before the light became too

poor to play in.

The Serb, winner of the last three Grand Slam tournaments, has seen his chances of adding the French title considerably improved by the shock injury withdrawal of nine-time champion Rafael Nadal.

Williams, seeking an Openera, record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title, was a set up and about to tackle a second set tie-break against France’s Kristina Mladenovic when a thunderstorm sent everyone scurrying for cover.

On the resumption, more than two and a half hours later, the top seed and defending champion needed five match points to finish the job going through 6-4, 7-6 (12/10) with Ukraine 18th seed Eli-

na Svitolina next in her line of fire following her victory over former champion Ana Ivanovic.

Thiem was already done and dusted ahead of the rain, downing German teenager Alexander Zverev 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.

In what was a clash of two of the sport’s rising new stars, the Austrian dropped a tight first set, but then coasted away from his 19-year-old opponent.

He will next play Spain’s Marcel Granollers, who reached the fourth round without hitting a ball after Nadal’s withdrawal due to a wrist injury.

Also through to the last 16 was 2014 losing finalist David Ferrer,

who comfortably saw off the challenge of fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1.

He will next play seventh seed Tomas Berdych, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 winner over Pablo Cuevas.

Belgian 12th seed David Goffin beat Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 and next plays Gulbis.

In the women’s tournament, there were wins also for eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, who reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Venus then made it a daily double for the Williams sisters with a 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-0 win over Alize Cornet of France. l

Woakes, Ali pile pressure on SL n AFP, Chester-le-Street

Chris Woakes compounded Sri Lanka’s misery in the second Test following a hundred by Moeen Ali as England closed in on a series-clinching win at the Riverside yesterday.

At stumps on the second day, Sri Lanka had collapsed to 91 for eight, a huge deficit of 407 runs, after Ali’s Test-best 155 not out had propelled England to 498 for nine declared.

“It was perfect, especially the way we bowled,” Ali told Sky Sports.

“To have them eight down is a brilliant evening.”

He added: “I think it’s about time as I felt like I owe the team

BRIEF SCORE DAY TWO, AT STUMPS England 498/9 dec (Moeen 155, Hales 83, Root 80) v Sri Lanka 91/8 (K Mendis 35, Woakes 3/9, Broad 3/35) England lead by 407 runs some runs. To do it today was a great feeling.”

Woakes, only playing in this match because fellow seam-bowling all-rounder Ben Stokes was injured, took three wickets for five runs in 13 balls to reduce Sri Lanka to 67 for six.

Rangana Herath (12) gamely resisted for over an hour before fending Stuart Broad to gully.

Three balls later, Broad dismissed Shaminda Eranga when a

leaping James Vince at third slip parried the ball before second slip Joe Root clutched the rebound.

England were now looking at their second innings victory in as many matches after their innings and 88-run win in the first Test of this three-match series at Headingley last week.

Another dire day with the bat for Sri Lanka, shot out for 91 and 119 at Headingley, was made all the worse by a wretched fielding display that was in marked contrast to Friday’s brilliant catching.

The 27-year-old Woakes, in his seventh Test, needed just 12 balls to strike yesterday, with Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews caught behind off a good length ball that nipped away. l

England's Moeen Ali plays a shot during his century against Sri Lanka AFP

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Messi scare in Argentina friendly win n AFP, San Juan Kaka joins Brazil for Copa America Centenario n AFP, Los Angeles Former world footballer of the year Kaka has been added to the Brazilian roster for next month’s Copa America Centenario as an injury replacement for Bayern Munich midfielder Douglas Costa.

Brazil coach Dunga made the move for the 34-year-old striker of Orlando City after Costa was forced off the squad due to a left thigh injury, the team said late on Thursday.

Kaka, left off the final 23-man roster for the special US-staged edition of the South American championship, is the most capped player on the team with 91 international appearances and the top scorer with 29 goals.

FIFA’s 2007 World Player of the Year, has played in three World Cups, including Brazil’s triumphant 2002 trophy run, but the former AC Milan and Real Madrid star has never played in a Copa America. l

Lionel Messi was taken to hospital after suffering an injury scare on Friday as Argentina defeated Honduras 1-0 in their only warm-up game before next month’s Copa America Centenario in the United States.

A first-half goal from in-form Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain settled a low-key encounter in San Juan, with two-time world champions Argentina dominating possession and shots.

RESULT Argentina

1-0

Honduras

Higuain 31

But the result was overshadowed by an alarming incident involving Messi midway through the second half that forced the Barcelona superstar to leave the field clutching his lower back in pain.

The five-time FIFA World Player of the Year appeared to be hurt after a heavy aerial collision with an opposing player in the 59th minute. Messi grimaced and rubbed his lower back after the challenge and required treatment on the field for several minutes before he was swiftly substituted by Ever Banega.

Messi was taken to hospital to assess the nature of the injury, the Argentina Football Association said in a statement.

“Messi suffered trauma to his lower back on the left side and ribcage in the same area. He is being examined in a local hospital for a more thorough diagnosis,” the statement said.

He had suffered a “nasty blow to the lower back,” Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said.

“It’s too early for me to say anything more at this stage,” Martino told a post-match news conference. However, any injury to Messi will be a huge blow to Argentina as they prepare for their opening Copa America Centenario match against Chile in California on June 6. Messi is crucial to Argentina’s hopes of winning a first major tournament for 23 years, and was player of the tournament at last year’s Copa America and the 2014 World Cup. Messi is also due to return to Spain this weekend to attend a hearing in his tax fraud trial, before then jetting off to California to reunite with the Argentina squad.

Earlier in Friday’s match, Higuain’s goal in the 31st minute had settled the encounter for the hosts. l

Argentina forward Lionel Messi controls the ball during the international friendly against Honduras at Bicentenario Stadium in San Juan on Friday AFP

Mustafizur best in world, says former cricketers n The Times of India Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman might have missed the Indian Premier League Eliminator against Gujarat Lions due to an injury, but he is well on way to becoming the best pacer in the world in limited-overs cricket.

Since the time Australia’s Mitchell Starc went down with an injury, world cricket has seen the emergence of the lanky Mustafizur, who is making life difficult for batsmen in ODIs and T20s. Be it his yorkers, off-cutters or the subtle changes in pace, the Bangladesh boy has been extremely difficult to get away.

Even in the ongoing IPL, his performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad have proved that he has the ability to keep doing it, game after game.

Mustafizur, however, isn’t getting too excited about this newfound fame. “I am just doing what I love. My only aim is to get better,” Mustafizur told Times of India.

There have been many bowlers

who have been successful with their national teams but when it came to IPL, they found the going tough. The likes of Dale Steyn, Trent Boult or Tim Southee, who have done brilliantly across formats, struggled to get going on the unresponsive pitches in India during the IPL. “There are quite a lot of them like James Anderson or Steyn, who are very good in Tests. But right now, Mustafizur is the best pacer in limited-overs,” former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja, who is in the IPL commentary team, said.

“Our Wahab Riaz is also good, but he is generally in his elements in Tests,” Rameez added.

Afghanistan’s bowling coach and former Indian pacer Manoj Prabhakar too agreed with Rameez.

“There is no doubt that Mustafizur is the best bowler right now. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga was one who could bowl good yorkers. But right now, Mustafizur is at his peak.

He bowls the cutters really fast and has other variations, which he delivers with the same momentum,”

Prabhakar said.

Mustafizur’s economy rate of 6.74 in 15 IPL games underlines what Prabhakar is talking about.

Of the 16 wickets that he has taken, many have come at crucial junctures, changing the course of games. Prabhakar also explained how a quality bowler like Steyn often bowls yorkers with cross seam for better control.

“If you are struggling to control the swing, it becomes important to bowl cross seam. But Mustafizur doesn’t need to do that,” Prabhakar said.

Even former Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth feels Mustafizur is the best in limited-overs cricket.

“There aren’t too many better than him at the moment. But he needs to perform like this for some more time before we can say he is the best. For now, he looks ahead of the pack,” Srikkanth said.

It’s now for the unassuming youngster to stay fit and keep it going for Bangladesh in the days to come. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Interior decoration (5) 6 Wrath (3) 7 Disease of rye (5) 10 Quantities of paper (5) 12 Spoken (4) 13 Satisfied fully (5) 15 Superior English college (4) 16 Unwell (3) 18 S Australian river (3) 20 Rodents (4) 22 Insurgent (5) 23 Refuse (4) 25 English city (5) 27 Family member (5) 28 Digit (3) 29 Prescribed amounts (5)

DOWN 1 Straightforward (6) 2 Before (3) 3 Stopped (6) 4 Put back (7) 5 In favour of (3) 8 Deity (3) 9 Lofty (4) 11 Floor covering (3) 14 Made possible (7) 16 Tiny islands (6) 17 Becomes void (6) 19 Frank (4) 21 Golf mound (3) 22 Cereal (3) 24 No score (3) 26 Female deer (3)

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Downtime

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 18 represents L so fill L every time the figure 18 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

A B C DE FG H I J K L MN O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

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Showtime

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

Top fashion icons awarded at Sunsilk Fashion Fiesta

Shusmita Anis releases collection of Nazrulgeeti music videos

n Showtime Desk

n Showtime Desk

The gala event of the Sunsilk Fashion Fiesta was held at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital recently.

One of the reputed brands and a market leader in the hair care industry in Bangladesh, Sunsilk enjoys nationwide acceptance as a quality product from Unilever Bangladesh. Not only an integral part of hair care regimens, Sunsilk also regularly engages with its consumers through numerous events. By doing so, the brand continues to have an impact on the lives and confidence of young women across the country. The

Nazrul Sangeet artist Shusmita Anis has released Esho He Shojol Shyam Ghono Deya - a collection of six music videos on the occasion of the 116th birth anniversary of Kazi Nazrul Islam, which was celebrated on May 24.

The album has been released in both Bangladesh and India as a tribute to legendary Nazrul Sangeet singer Feroza Begum, and will be available in music stores from the first week of June.

Released by the New Music Paradigm Company, the DVD will be available at all Shwapno stores across Bangladesh.

The first two copies of the album was presented to Nazrul Institute Executive Director Ikram Ahmed and eminent Nazrul Sangeet musician Sudhin Das, according to a press release.

Shusmita Anis, niece and devoted disciple of Feroza Begum, will be participating in the Nazrul Jayanti celebration in Kolkata and Churulia, the birthplace of the great poet.

She has already performed in various stage shows organised by the State Government of West Bengal and one of the oldest cultural organisations based in Kolkata, Agniveena.

The artist will be on-air live tomorrow at 8am (Bangladesh Standard Time) on a program titled Aaj Shokaler Amontrone on Tara Music.

2016 Sunsilk Fashion Fiesta carries on in similar vein.

The showpiece of the event was the top 30 Fashion Icons from the regional rounds conducted in Mymensingh, Dhaka and

Chittagong. Popular singers Imran, Kona and Topu were also present to entertain the audience.

The judges of this year’s Sunsilk Fashion Fiesta were the famous models Nobel, Azra Mahmud

Me Before You in June n Farhan Shahriar Can anyone name the stars in this picture? Well yes, it’s Emilia Clarke from arguably the most popular TV series of all time, Game Of Thrones and Sam Claflin from The Hunger Games franchise. We will be able to see them together in the upcoming film Me Before You, releasing on June 3. Based on the critically acclaimed, bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes, New Line Cinema and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, the film stars under the production of Thea Sharrock, who’s making her feature film directorial debut.

Sometimes you find love where you least expect it. And sometimes, it takes you where you never expected to go. Me Before You charts the courtship between a suicidal quadriplegic (Claflin) who finds love with his caretaker

(Emilia Clarke). The film will feel familiar to those who have already watched Love Story or The Fault in Our Stars.

On the other hand, his stellar performance as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 has left fans craving more for actor Sam Claflin. So yes, this new romantic drama seeks to deliver exactly that.

Moreover, there’s a few exciting tracks which are performed by popular bands, such as Imagine Dragons. The band has come up with the track “Not Today,” which is basically the theme of the film. The amazing track already has a mass appeal and has been heard all over. The cast, story, soundtracks, as in the combination of everything together, will surely be a complete experience. l

and Bangladesh’s renowned hair expert Abida Sultana. After the end of the final round, the judges chose three fashion icons, one from each region and they are Tasnuva Noor from Mymensigh Zone, Tahsin Akter Ria from Chittagong zone and Samsunnahar Sumi from Dhaka zone.

The positive impact of such platforms on the lives of young women cannot be overstated.

The different segments of the gala event brought into light the numerous times Sunsilk has partnered as stepping stones in the journey to build confidence and a step forward for girls. The event ended on the hopeful note that in the near future, young women from every corner of the country can go ahead and write their own story.l

Born into a musical family, Shusmita Anis has specialised in Nazrul Sangeet and covers a wide range of musical genre with versatility and grandeur in her musical performances.

She was a child artist of Bangladesh Television (BTV) and won the first prize in the category of Nazrul Sangeet on Natun Kuri, a BTV-based performing arts competition in 1976.

Her first three music albums were directed by Feroza Begum.

Her first solo album of contemporary Bengali songs was released after that. Her fifth Nazrul Sangeet album, Shishirer Sporshe Gatha / Sound of Seasons was released in 2015. l

Indo-Bangla collab Badshah completes shooting

Dazzling Dhallywood beauty, Nusrat Faria will return to the country upon finishing an 18day tour in connection to the shooting of the India-Bangladesh joint production Badshah.

The film stars Kolkata’s own, Jeet opposite to Faria. The two actors have come together as a pair on screen for the first time

under the direction of Baba Jadob.

The shooting of the film was completed in two phases, in both India and Bangladesh and now is underway with editing and the post-production stage.

Faria flew to London on May 13 to wrap up shooting with Jeet.

She recently told reporters that the London phase of the shoot was over.

Jennifer Aniston loses her estranged mother

n SK Farhan Rahman Jennifer Aniston’s mom, Nancy Dow, recently passed away at the age of 79. The F.R.I.E.N.D.S. star confirmed it herself in a statement she gave to People magazine. She said, “It is with great sadness that

my brother John and I announce the passing of our mother Nancy Dow. She was 79 years old and passed peacefully surrounded by family and friends after enduring a long illness.”

It is still unclear how the former model passed away, but there have

“Two songs were shot in London and the remaining shoot of the film was finished at a stretch. It was nicely done at a great pace and I am facsinated by the way director Baba Jadab has done the job. He works in a very planned manner,” Faria said.

Kolkata’s SK Movies has produced the film jointly with Jazz Multimedia. l

been reports that Dow suffered a series of strokes, losing the ability to walk and talk as a result.

Aniston and her mother were quite estranged, and apparently the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. star visited her for the first time in 5 years earlier this May. The pair stopped speaking after Dow’s revelations about their relationship in her book From Mother and Daughter To Friends: A Memoir. Such was the intensity of the feud that Dow missed her own daughter’s wedding to Brad Pitt, and is also believed to have missed Aniston’s second wedding to actor Justin Theroux.

Despite their past problems, Aniston insisted last year that they were on good terms and whatever happened was water under the bridge.

Apart from being a model, Nancy Doe also appeared in shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, The Wild Wild West, and Pure. l Source: Sky News

SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016

The plot thickens

n SK Farhan Rahman n Showtime Desk

31

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Showtime

New information has emerged on the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard saga just days after Heard filed for a divorce from her husband. Citing irrevocable differences, Amber filed a case for divorce and demanded spousal support in return.

Johnny Depp responded to Amber’s divorce filing wanting the matter to be solved as soon as possible, and less than 24 hours later, Amber filed for a restraining order against the Pirates of the Caribbean actor citing domestic violence, claiming that Depp hit her.

As evidence, Heard submitted multiple photos for the claims she made, one of which shows the actress with what appears to be a bruise on her eye. TMZ reports that Depp allegedly “smashed” his iPhone into Heard’s face, which resulted in the bruise.

According to the claims Heard made, Depp offered her money to stay quiet after he supposedly hit her, but Heard opted for a different route. She chose to file for divorce immediately the morning after and also claimed to have one of the videos in her possession. Last Wednesday, Depp filed a response, asking the court “to terminate its ability to award support” to Heard.

Also, he politely asked Heard to start paying her own lawyer fees, instead of asking Depp to cover for her.

More light was shed on the matter when E!News reported on the court proceedings. Heard apparently asked for $50,000 every month as spousal support, but was later denied. She wrote,

“Concurrent with this filing I am providing an income and expense declaration. I am requesting $50,000 a month as and for pendente lite spousal support based on our marital lifestyle.”

The judge, however, denied her request at the time, because financial arrangements had still not been discussed with Depp.

His lawyer Laura Wasser basically stated the same response, saying, “The court has no financial information upon which to make the financial orders requested at this time.”

Wasser concluded by saying, “Moreover, as a successful actress with significant income of her own, there is no question that Amber can support herself until the parties have had a reasonable amount of time to assess their finances with the assistance of counsel and then negotiate a mutually agreeable resolution or seek regularly-noticed court orders.” l

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Back Page

RMG MANUFACTURING BEGINS MOSADDEK GUIDES TOP FASHION ICONS TO TURN SUSTAINABLE PAGE 12 ABAHANI IN THRILLER PAGE 25 AWARDED PAGE 30

New insurance companies under threat Corruption has long been endemic in the insurance sector of Bangladesh, and the lax enforcement of the new insurance act of 2010 has not helped. Shocking levels of irregularity were revealed recently when regulators audited several leading insurers. In the third of a series, Dhaka Tribune's Jebun Nesa Alo looks into what auditors found Thirteen life insurance companies in Bangladesh are under the threat of losing their licences as they are still struggling to get business in the competitive market.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has warned these insurance companies about taking strict measures if their performances do not improve, according to a letter issued to the each of the companies in April.

The IDRA renewed their licences for 2016 on special consideration.

The letter said the financial indicators of these 13 companies reflected the poor situation of their business. The policyholder’s inter-

est will not be protected even if the companies come under threat of existence.

The insurance companies are Alpha Islami Life, Best Life, Chartered Life, Diamond Life, Guardian Life, Jamuna Life, Mercantile Life, NRB Global, Protective Islami, Swadesh Life, Sonali Life, Trust Life and Zenith Islami Life Insurance.

The authority expressed disappointment over the business activities of the new insurance in their letter to the companies in April this year.

The insurance companies have been asked to submit business development plans for the year 2016 to the IDRA.

If business performances do not improve this year, their licences will be canceled, the letter warned.

Lack of efficient manpower in the insurance sector mostly accounts for poor performance in getting business, said MM Monirul Alam, chief executive officer of Guardian Life Insurance.

Despite this, the companies spent more than their earnings in the last year. The total premium earnings of the 13 life insurance companies were Tk126cr against total management cost at Tk129.21cr, according to the IDRA data.

Monirul said also said that new insurance companies got their li-

cences renewed at a time when the whole industry has already been suffering from inefficient manpower. As a result many companies run operations with unqualified CEOs. Insurance business depends on commission and it has been increasingly difficult for new companies to retain agents, the main player of bringing in business, he added.

According to the IDRA data, Jamuna Life earned a premium of Tk8.47cr in 2015 against a management cost of around Tk11.17cr; Mercantile Life earned Tk7.10cr against a cost of Tk9cr; Alpha Islami earned Tk3.40cr against management cost of Tk3.86cr; Best Life

earned a premium of Tk10.23cr while spending Tk12.54cr.

Chartered Life made a premium income of Tk5.3cr during last year against a management cost of Tk6.85cr; Diamond Life earned Tk9.75cr against a cost of Tk10.80cr; Swadesh Life earned Tk1.79cr while management cost was Tk4.48cr; Trust Life bagged a premium of Tk17.16cr against a cost of Tk17.48cr; Zenith Islami earned Tk19.51cr while spending Tk22.40cr; Protective Islami earned Tk5.44cr while management expenditure was around Tk8cr; NRB Global earned a premium income of Tk5.63cr while management cost incurred was Tk7.72cr. l

Japan pledges more development aid to Bangladesh Hayat Mahmud, n Abu from Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about increasing development assistance in Bangladesh.

The Japanese premier assured Hasina in a bilateral meeting of the G7 Ise-Shima Summit outreach meeting at a hotel in the Japanese city of Nagoya yesterday.

Abe also held bilateral meetings with leaders of Chad, Indonesia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and Vietnam at the same venue.

During the meetings, the Japanese prime minister assured the leaders of the developing countries about Japan’s increased contribution to development, helping finance an insurance fund for health emergencies in the developing world, and offering training to thousands of people in the developing world as part of its own contribution to bridging economic disparities.

He also acknowledged a push by the G7 advanced industrial nations to promote inclusive growth across the world in meetings with leaders of seven developing countries, officials said.

Later, Hasina met with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in Nagoya.

Earlier, the Bangladeshi premier

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of G7 Outreach Meeting. Photo: Prime minister’s Office held talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron at Shima Kanko Hotel, one of the venues of the Ise-Shima summit, on Friday. She also met with other global leaders, including US President Barack Obama, during the outreach meeting

on the second day of the summit.

After discussions with Abe and Sirisena, Hasina arrived at Tokyo yesterday afternoon.

Later, she launched the new Bangladesh Chancery Complex at the High Commission of Bangla-

desh in the Japanese capital.

Hasina today will hold a breakfast meeting with leading Japanese businessmen and witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between FBCCI and JETRO, the apex trade bodies of the two countries.

PMO

In the afternoon, she will attend a reception to be hosted by the Bangladeshi community, and later leave Haneda International Airport for Bangladesh on a Biman flight, which is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at 11:45pm local time. l

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