31 May, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Jyoishtha 17, 1423, Shaban 23, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 38

www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

BANGLADESH BANK HEIST PROBE

against unidentified people with Motijheel police

However, sources at the ministry said the report recommended action against five officials: Joint Director of Accounts and Budgeting Department Jubair-bin Huda and deputy directors Mizanur Rahman Bhuyian, GM Abdullah Sala-

that he withheld the heist information from the government

hin, Sheikh Riazuddin and Rafiq Ahmed Majumdar. Hackers hacked into the central bank's SWIFT account using the IDs and passwords of these officials, the report says. It suggests that the capacity of

Probe body submits interim report to Muhith

BUDGET FY2017 n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Thousands of businessmen, especially small entrepreneurs, took to the street across the country yesterday demanding reinstatement of package VAT instead of unified 15% VAT (Value Added Tax) on all products and services. The businessmen were demonstrating against the new VAT act. They said it would lead their business activity to falter. Small and medium enterprises staged their protest under the banner – Baboshayee Oikkya Forum

INSIDE

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Business owners of small and medium enterprises under the banner of Baboshayee Oikkya Forum stage demonstrations in Old Dhaka's Chawk Bazar yesterday demanding the reinstatement of package VAT SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

no Bangladeshi was involved in the heist

Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes tells Philippine Senate that a BB official's computer was hacked

Bangladesh Bank should be enhanced through reforms to prevent similar incidents. Altogether the report presents seven key recommendations. It says the team has confirmed that during the incident the hackers

Small entrepreneurs: Keep package VAT

MAY 27

MAY 15

MARCH 18

Governor Atiur Rahman resigns on grounds

CID claims

MAY 30

files case

Finance Minister AMA Muhith says the government will file case in the international court against the Federal Reserve Bank

Former BB governor Farashuddin, who led the probe, accuses SWIFT of responsibility for the heist

MAY 19

Bangladesh Bank

Muhith says BB officials involved in heist

APRIL 20

The government committee on Bangladesh Bank reserve heist has asked the central bank to take administrative action and file criminal cases against six of its employees for negligence and carelessness. In a 27-page final investigation report submitted yesterday, the team has also recommended that the bank's holiday be changed to Sunday only instead of Friday and Saturday. Former central bank governor Mohammad Farashuddin, head of the probe team, handed over the report to Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his secretariat office. He refused to reveal the contents of the report to the media.

successfully stolen

Probe committee formed

MARCH 15

n Asif Showkat Kallol

$81m

MARCH 14

Major reform to prevent hacking in the future

Philippine press breaks BB heist story, revealing

MARCH 8



Hackers attempt to steal $101m from Bangladesh Bank’s accounts in Federal Reserve Bank of New York and transfer it to banks in Sri Lanka and the Philippines

FEBRUARY 29

Make Sunday bank holiday

FEBRUARY 15



FEBRUARY 4

OTHER KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

BANGLADESH BANK HEIST

Criminal case against six recommended

Final probe report says they could not identify the foreign hackers

were using the IDs and passwords of Bangladesh Bank official Mainul Islam, who works at the Governor's Secretariat, and Deputy Director Sheikh Riazuddin of the Accounts and Budgeting Department.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

'Time to end black money whitening amnesty' n Kayes Sohel The government should abolish its black money whitening amnesty, economists have said, pointing out that the facility was only breeding corruption and had made no significant impact on the economy so far. Even as Bangladesh is in dire need to broaden its tax base, tax evaders manage to whiten billions of taka each year as Bangladesh government allows people to legalise money earned through illegal means. On an average, a whopping  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Defence budget to rise by 20.34%

Calls for mercury-free dentistry

Iraqi army storms to edge of IS-held Falluja

Now five expat bloggers get threats

The government is all set to allocate Tk22,115 crore for the next fiscal year’s defence budget, 20.34% more than the current fiscal year’s Tk18,377 crore.

The Iraqi army stormed to the southern edge of Falluja under US air support on Monday and captured a police station inside the city limits, launching a direct assault to retake one of the main strongholds of IS militants.  PAGE 8

A Facebook page run by extremists supporting secularist murders carried out by banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team has named five bloggers and activists now living abroad as their next targets.  PAGE 32

 PAGE 3

News

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Biman yet to lease additional aircrafts for Hajj pilgrims

HC questions strikes at hospitals

n Ishtiaq Husain

n Ashif Islam Shaon

The national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines did not manage yet the additional aircraft for Hajj pilgrims’ transportation ahead of upcoming Hajj in September. Biman used to lease additional aircraft each year before three months of Hajj to manage a slot (approval of any aircraft to any country) in Saudi Arabia. Seeking anonymity, a Biman official said Saudi Arabia generally allots slot to applicant country three months before Hajj.

Hajj will begin on September 10 based on moon sighting. According to that calculation, Biman has only 100 days in hand to lease aircraft. While talking on the uncertainty of Hajj flight, Biman Chairman Air Marshal Enamul Bari (retd) told the Dhaka Tribune that they are discussing the matter with Malaysian Airlines to lease a Boeing 747 jumbo jet aircraft for Hajj operation. Many companies do not show their interest to submit tender documents considering lengthy leasing process by Biman. Meanwhile, a written proposal

was sent to Civil Aviation Ministry in this regard. According to that proposal, national carrier will begin Hajj operation in August of this year. Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon is optimistic to arrange all necessary aircrafts as he has already talked with two countries on the issue, said sources at the ministry. Around 51,000 pilgrims will be transported by Biman while the rest 50,000 by Saudia Airlines. Now, Biman has only 10 aircrafts in its fleet to operate international flights. l

The High Court yesterday issued a rule upon the authorities concerned to explain why they should not be directed to stop the strikes enforced by hospital doctors and nurses. It also asked to show cause as to why their inaction to stop such strikes should not be declared illegal and why they should not be directed to stop unpleasant incidents among doctors, nurses, and the relatives of patients, which caused the strikes. The respondents – the health sec-

retary, director general of health services directorate, inspector general of police and 20 other government officials – will have to come up with explanations within two weeks. The HC bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Hussain and Justice AKM Shahidul Haque issued the rule holding a primary hearing into a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB). The petitioner’s lawyer Manzill Murshid said they filed the petition on Sunday, which was heard by the court yesterday. l

“We will find out how it happened and see what can be done about the recommendations,” he said. The minister said the government would make the probe committee’s report public within 15 to 20 days. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s (Buet) Prof Dr Mohammad Kaikobad and Banking Division Additional Secretary Gokul Chand Das were the other members of the committee

formed on March 14. They submitted an interim report on April 20. After this the committee added three more Buet teachers to the team. Farashuddin said these new members had helped the team delve deeper into the heist. As a result, about 90% of the findings in the final report had changed compared to the interim one, he said. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Criminal case against six recommended On February 4, a Thursday, hackers stole $81 million from the central bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and wired it to the Philippines’ Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, from where the money was moved to local casinos. The hackers took advantage of the fact that the central bank was closed on February 4 and 5 and the Philippine banks were closed on February

7 and 8, a Sunday and the holiday of the Chinese New Year respectively. Meanwhile, the investigation into the cyber theft appears to have hit a wall in the Philippines since the country’s parliament closed its probe committee. The heist prompted governor Atiur Rahman to resign and the government reshuffled key posts at the central bank. Police investigators have said

they suspect the involvement of 20 foreigners in the heist. Farashuddin yesterday told reporters the probe team could not trace the identities of the foreign hackers involved in the crime but added that it was not a task that had been assigned to them. Finance Minister Muhith said the government would gradually implement the committee’s recommendations.

‘Time to end black money whitening amnesty’ Small entrepreneurs $5.6bn was siphoned out of Bangladesh every year between 2004 and 2013 through illicit financial outflows, which mainly stemmed from tax evasion, crime and corruption, according to Global Financial Integrity, a USbased think-tank. This is around 15% of the country’s national budget and almost 3% of the gross domestic product. Former finance adviser to caretaker government ABM Mirza Azizul Islam said scope for whitening black money should be banned forever, as such facility encouraged the dishonest taxpayers and discouraged the honest ones. “As we have seen in the past, this facility given every year is yet to bring any benefit to the economy. “We all know sources of black money that need to be blocked, and stern action should be taken against the existing black money holders for the greater interest of the nation,” Mirza Aziz said. The budget for FY2015-16 gives people the chance to whiten their black money by paying 10% tax – if invested in real estate. A regular tax payer has to pay 10% tax on Tk2.5 lakh. “The [whitening] facility was misused or lost its significance due to flawed fiscal treatment of black money,” said former NBR chairman

MA Mazid. To bring black money into the mainstream economy, he said the facility can be given for a certain period. But once the time expires, the government should go for strict action against the holders of undisclosed money. Mazid said a rule should be made to prevent earnings through illegal means as money transfer was on the rise – meaning that black money was being generated even after repeated chances of whitening. According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the underground economy or black money economy was quite entrenched and of significant amount for a developing country of Bangladesh’s size. “The number of taxpayers is rather small and tax avoidance is widespread. These of course hurt the economy particularly through lower revenue generation. A large part of the money which flows out of the country is through various forms of illicit financial flows, aided by high level of corruption,” the CPD observes. In view of past records there was no justification to continue with such practices, the CPD found, recommending the introduction of a Benami Bill to bring undeclared assets within the purview of tax authorities.

A similar law has been enforced in the India, which may be considered by Bangladeshi policymakers to follow. But a source in the Finance Ministry told the Dhaka Tribune that powerful lobbyists have not allowed the enactment of such a law. The money-whitening opportunity, given in the eleventh hour before the budget each year, has never brought the government any substantial revenue. Instead, such dealings provide an opportunity to tax evaders and black-money holders to whiten their money by investing more – but showing much less – on real estate. But on Sunday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, in a meeting with realtors, ruled out money whitening opportunity for the next fiscal year. He said the opportunity that had been offered in the current year’s budget would cease to continue. According to available data, only 205 people whitened undisclosed money through voluntary disclosure of income in FY 2013-14. Through this, the NBR earned only Tk18 crore. The history of this controversial privilege provides an even bleaker picture. Between 1972 and 2013, around Tk13,808 crore was whitened, with the NBR receiving taxes worth Tk1,455 crore. l

in Chawk Bazar and other areas across Dhaka at midday. The newly formed forum is a platform of several associations that aim at putting pressure on the government to realise their demand for the package VAT. “We agree to pay VAT even if it is increased, but do not want to be harassed. It is quite impossible to pay a unified 15% VAT,” said the Forum president Abdus Salam. He was addressing the protest rally at Chawk Bazar in Dhaka. It is also quite tough for small entrepreneurs to install Electronic Cash Register (ECR) and so package VAT should remain an option for them, said Salam. Business people are not against the government, they are against the VAT act as it would hit small enterprises hard, said Salam. Business activity will falter if the new law is implemented as people have to pay 15% uniform VAT on electricity and other products like steel, cement and consumers products, said Abu Motaleb, general secretary of the Forum. The ultimate losers and sufferers would be the 160 million people. The import cost of consumer goods and other products will rise in line with production cost, Motaleb argued. “No percentage in VAT, we just want a package for the sake of small industry,” said Hafez Harun,

the Forum leader. “We will not follow the new law if it is forcibly imposed on us,” he said, demanding permanent package VAT along with the new one. Planning, Commerce and Industry ministers have been in favour of the demand. Even Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked not to take any decision that would hurt business, added Harun. The parliament in 2012 passed the law to automate the VAT administration and increase revenue collection. The act will come into effect from July 1, 2016 after unveiling it in the House during the announcement of the budget for the fiscal year 2016-17 on June 2. Following the initiative, the National Board of Revenue in 2013 undertook the VAT Online Project to ensure a taxpayer-friendly and service-oriented automated system. But the law has already drawn widespread criticism from different quarters, mostly from leading business associations, as it will impose a uniform 15% VAT on all products and services, removing existing multiple rates. The law will have no provisions for package VAT or the truncated value-based VAT system. With the introduction of the new law, all levels of business will have to pay a unique and single VAT rate at 15%. l

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Economists: It’s not the size of the budget, it’s what you do with it

Firefighters try to break through concrete on a rebar mesh that collapsed yesterday at an underconstruction site of a tannery building in Savar’s Hemayetpur. At least 15 workers were injured when the roof of the underconstruction Anjuman Tannery suddenly crashed down

BUDGET FY2017 n Kayes Sohel To reap the benefits of the national budget – irrespective of its size – the government should focus on how to properly implement it, several prominent economists have said. They were speaking at a round table discussion titled “National Budget 2016-17: Last Minute Thinking” held at the Policy Research Institute (PRI) in Dhaka on Monday. Economist and former Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Mustafa K Mujeri said: “The size of the budget gradually increases every year; that is not the question, the question is whether it is implemented properly or not. “Budget size is small compared to our demand for development. People will not benefit if it is not implemented properly.” Putting emphasis on proper budget implementation, he said: “So, a budget implementation plan should get importance in the budget.” He said budget size was revised down every year in Bangladesh because of the implementation problem, which is not good for the budget or the country. The speakers called for addressing some major issues, including stagnant private investment, weak performance of the banking sector, poor annual development programme (ADP) implementation, growing income inequality and lower tax to GDP ratio in the upcoming national budget. The next budget is scheduled to be unveiled on the coming Thursday. The economists at the roundtable further made some recommendations for increasing revenue income, quality expenditure and implementation, more allocation in social safety net scheme, and making PPP effective for achieving a sustainable economy. Echoing Mujeri, PRI Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur said our national budget is relatively small in proportion to public expenditure and GDP. “Our development demands increased the budget size, and it must be increased because the government has moral and political responsibilities to the people.” l

News

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Defence budget to rise by 20.34% n Asif Showkat Kallol BUDGET FY2017

The government is all set to allocate Tk22,115 crore for the next fiscal year’s defence budget, 20.34% more than the current fiscal year’s Tk18,377 crore. Of the amount, Tk21,709 crore will be non-development expenditure and Tk405 crore development expenditure. The rest of the money will be taken out as loan but details of the loan will not be disclosed in the budget. The amount will be spent

for development of the army, navy and air force. In addition, a loan of Tk200 crore will be taken out from China and Russia to purchase military instruments for the defence, Finance Ministry officials involved in budget preparation said. The government will buy a range of equipment, including helicopter, in addition to military instruments, to modernise the defence and help the military combat natural disasters more effectively. The government has begun communicating with China and Russia to get long-term loans from

the countries in order to purchase the materials. Ineffective utilisation of funds allocated in budget is quite common in the country but the situation is different in the defence as it spends more than its allocation every year. Although the revised budget makes cut in allocation for other ministries, the amount goes up for the defence sector every year. In the last six years, expenditure in the sector has increased by Tk8,436 crore from the original allocation in budget, according to an analysis by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Of the amount,

the year 2014 saw an increase of Tk3,873 crore. While unveiling the report, CPD distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya demanded transparency in the defence budget, saying that reporting mechanism for defence spending is non-transparent in the country. In 2010, the government allocated Tk7,051 crore for the defence, which was later increased to Tk7,875 crore in the revised budget. But the original expense stood at Tk8,471 crore, which was Tk1,420 crore more than the original allocation, the CPD report said. l

The money’s there, so why no solution? Dhaka city authorities fall short in utilising their road repair budgets

n Shohel Mamun BUDGET FY2017

Ask any Dhaka resident what the biggest problem of the city is, and potholed roads would be one of the top – if not the top – answers they would give. The government has thrown a lot of money at improving the conditions of the capital’s roads, but there has so far been little progress in making the lives of Dhaka dwellers better. One of the reasons is that only

a little amount of what is actually allocated gets spent on improving the existing roads. Under the budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year, the two city corporations in Dhaka along with the LGED and Rajuk were allocated Tk6,000 crore to carry out development work like repairing and constructing the city’s streets, bridges and flyovers. For the outgoing fiscal year, Dhaka South City Corporation received Tk1,635.48 crore for development purposes, but set aside only Tk181.50 crore – or a little over 11% – for maintenance of the exist-

ing streets in its area. Dhaka North City Corporation, meanwhile, assigned around Tk228.8 crore – or 20% - of its allocated Tk1,144.01 development funds to repair streets under its jurisdiction. But in a disappointing reality, as the fiscal year comes to an end, only around half of the total repair funds of both city corporations have been spent so far. Sources said lack of planning and monitoring, bureaucratic complications, corruption, and delay by constructors were behind the failure to utilise the budget allocations.

Dhaka South Mayor Sayeed Khokon, however, promised that better days were ahead. “Fund is available, so we hope all the potholed roads will be repaired this year,” Khokon said, adding that the DSCC was currently repairing 169km of 277 roads. Local Government Minister Engineer Mosarraf Hossain also expressed hopes about the situation improving soon. “Now, two mayors are working hard; but they would need more time to change the city’s scenario,” he added. l

News

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Dhaka, Bangkok keen on boosting trade n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Policymakers of Dhaka and Bangkok believe political will is needed to boost bilateral trade and attract investment from Thailand. The issue was discussed at a ministerial level panel discussion held at the sideline of the first-ever Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo 2016 in Bangkok. The three-day gala event was inaugurated at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre yesterday. In the panel discussion, telecom, energy and tourism were identified as prospective sector for Thai investment. Industries Minister Atchaka Sibunruang in the discussion said

there is room to improve bilateral trade relations, as the two-way trade figure is less than $1 billion. The Thai government has encouraged investors to invest in neighbouring countries and Bangladesh could be one of them, she said. Citing her experience, she said she visited Dhaka five years back and she came to know that a large Thai company wanted to set up a factory in Bangladesh but could not do so due to a land issue. She was of the view that if the land problem is removed, more Thai investors would show interest in Bangladesh. Chairman of Federation of Thai Industries Chen Namchaisiri said Thailand should recognise the im-

portance of improving relations with its neighbours in the west. He said Thailand has invested in countries located east of it, but it should give more focus on its neighbours to the west. He felt the energy sector is a prospective investment area in Bangladesh. Besides, pharmaceuticals, construction, automobile, textile, raw material and food industry are the other prospective areas, he added. The chief the Thai federation said they have no intention of capturing the market of Japan or of other countries; rather they want to operate in a niche market. Chairman of Standing Committee on Energy Kurujit Nakornthap said Thailand has expertise in re-

newable energy and can help Bangladesh in this regard. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Thailand is investing in Asean countries, but they have less investment in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is developing 100 special economic zones within the nation and if Thai investors are interested, they can get one of them, he said. He urged Thai investors to invest in Bangladesh and requested Thai authorities to provide duty- and quota-free market access for Bangladeshi products. Bangladesh currently enjoys duty-free access of nearly 7,000 products in the Thai market. State Minister for Energy Nasrul Hamid Bipu said his sector needs

$40 billion in the next two years, and Thai investors can help Bangladesh in this regard. Post and Telecommunications minister Begum Tarana Halim said the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objective is to have 100% phone penetration, and Thai investors can take an interest in it. Thai commerce minister Apiradi Tantraporn said at the end of 2016, a Bangladesh-Thai joint trade committee meeting would be held where she would take part. Tofail Ahmed, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, Tarana Halim, and Women and Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Affairs State Minister Meher Afroz Chumki are attending the event. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Shahriar Alam will join them today. l

News

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Calls for mercury-free dentistry Al-Masum Molla n Mohammad from Bangkok, Thailand

There needs to be a regional strategy to mount pressure on governments and dentists for phasing down the use of amalgam and ensure mercury-free dentistry, environmental activists have said. They also urged all nations to ratify the Minamata Convention immediately to bring an end to mercury in dentistry. Specialists said government initiatives alone were inadequate to banish mercury and urged physicians, civil society, media and stakeholders to come forward. Environmentalists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, China, South Africa, Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines made the observations in the Asian NGO summit “Successful Strategies to End Use of Dental Amalgam in Asia” at the UNEP office in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday. Activists suggested sensitising dentists about the harmful impact of mercury on environment and health, and to encourage them to opt for sustainable and environment-friendly alternatives. Amalgam is a mixture of half mercury and the other half of

Environmentalists from different countries attend a summit on ending use of dental amalgam at the UNEP office in Bangkok yesterday lic health concern that WHO prioritises. The representatives at the summit decided to work closely with academicians and dental associations to bring changes to the dental curriculum so that young practitioners can start their careers with environment-friendly alternatives in dental amalgam instead of mercury. Experts also stressed on formulating mercury-based legislation and specific legislation can be updated

heavy metals such as silver, tin, zinc and copper. Because it is known as the cheapest solution for dental cavity, amalgam is the most widely used tooth filling. The silver-coloured amalgam, used for filling up cavities caused by tooth decay, has been in use for more than 150 years around the world, making it one of the oldest materials used in oral health care. Alarmingly, mercury is also one of the ten chemicals of major pub-

High Court halts govt’s order to move civil suits to district courts n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court has issued a stay order against the government’s decision to move civil suits to district courts within three months in line with the amended Civil Courts Act. Responding to a writ petition filed by four lawyers, the High Court bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir instructed the Supreme Court’s registrar general and High Court’s registrar to act upon the order yesterday. The court also issued a ruling asking why Section 4 (3) of the amended act will not be declared illegal. It directed law secretary, Supreme Court’s registrar general and High Court’s registrar to come up with explanations within four months. Through a gazette notification published on May 12, the government amended the 1887 Civil Courts Act that raised fiduciary jurisdiction of lower courts to dis-

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN TUESDAY, MAY 31

n Kamrul Hasan

Section 4 (3) of the amended act asked the High Court to transfer all pending cases involving assets worth Tk5 lakh to Tk5 crore to district court within 90 days of the gazette notification High Court if they can be resolved at the Appellate Division. But because of the amendment, many law suits will go back to the trial court and it will take the trials longer. When contacted in this regard, Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Sazu said the government is considering it decision. “The act can be amended in the future,” he said. l

Previously, the High Court dealt with the suits involving disputes over assets worth more than Tk5 lakh. Section 4 (3) of the amended act asked the High Court to transfer all pending cases involving assets worth Tk5 lakh to Tk5 crore to district court within 90 days of the gazette notification. The lawyers challenged the govDhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:41PM

Rangpur

Rapid Action Battalion yesterday rescued three internally trafficked young women from Tongi and Mymensingh areas early yesterday. RAB also arrested six people, including a female member of the gang, for their alleged involvement in trafficking. The arrestees are Liton Miah, 30, Shamim Miah, 28, Masud, 38, Rabiul Islam, 40, Rafiqul Islam alias Mahbub alias Shahin, 24, and Juyena Akhter Sapna, 22. Deputy Director (legal and media wing) Maj Hussain Roisul Azom Moni told the Dhaka Tribune that, acting on a tip off, RAB arrested Liton and Shamim from a rented house at Tongi. They had been bargaining to settle on the value of a 20-year old woman. Later, in accordance with their confession, RAB rescued the two other young women from Mymensingh Ganginapar area and arrested the four other gang members. Deputy Director Lt Commander Kazi Mohammad Shoaib told the Dhaka Tribune that Liton appears Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:11AM

36.6ºC Jessore

cury consumption in products or approximately 8% of global mercury consumption. The UNEP also estimates that the cost of health and environmental damage caused by exposure to mercury is $22 billion. For example, mercury from dental amalgam is released into the air when people are cremated. It also enters soil and waterways, where it becomes a major contaminant of food supply. l

3 trafficked girls rescued

ernment decision at court on Sunday, saying the amended section violates Articles 31, 109, 101 and 149 of the constitution. Saidul Alam Khan, one of the writ petitioners, said currently people can move to the Appellate Division if the cases pending at the

pose of civil suits. Now an assistant judge will be able to handle civil cases involving assets worth Tk15 lakh instead of Tk2 lakh, senior assistant judges Tk25 lakh instead of Tk4 lakh, and district judges Tk5 crore instead of Tk5 lakh.

through stakeholders meetings. They pointed out that media campaigns should be used to create better awareness on the issue. Discussions were also held about the knowledge and information gap in phasing out mercury from dental amalgam, and how to address those gaps in an effective way. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), amalgam represents more than one-fourth of the total global mer-

MOHAMMAD AL-MASUM MOLLA

22.0ºC Sirajganj

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

to be the mastermind of the gang, for whom some 25-30 members worked in Dhaka. “They would usually persuade the young women to flee with them from their families by trapping them into love affairs, and assuring them of better futures in the city. They also promised to provide them with garment industry jobs in the city,” he said. Shoaib said the gang not only trafficked young women but also looted newcomers as malam parties do. In another method of looting, the gang would target a newcomer to the city by taking him into their vehicle, whether minivan or CNG, as a general passenger. Members of the gang who rode along would then convince the newcomer to safeguard his money by putting all of it into an envelope. This envelope they would switch out at a later time with an already-prepared envelope, Shoaib added. They dubbed this method of looting a “cartoon.” The RAB official said the arrested would be handed over to Tongi police, and they were in search for the other gang members. l Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

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

News

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Subscribers suffer as broadband internet lies inoperative n Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra ADSL broadband internet connection, a digital subscriber line and data communication technology under Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) lies in dire state. Local sources said the broadband connection had been launched in the district on April 22, 2010 with a view to giving service to 980 people in the district. At present a total of 680 subscribers get services from the broadband. They alleged that the company was doing business in the name of

service. Maximum time there is no connection. When there is connection, the speed is very low. Taking the opportunity of this situation, many private organisations are operating their business in the district. The subscribers alleged that some officials of the BTCL are involved with the brisk business of private organisations to sabotage the company. Some subscribers said the BTCL authorities lured them to get good services and for it they had taken a good amount of money. But after a few days, they be-

came frustrated as the line was found in sorry state. Ruhul Amin Kabir, junior assistant manager ADSL said the speed might be low as the construction work of the Dhaka-Tangail Highway was going on. The optical fibre of the broadband is cut off sometimes for the interest of the developing work of the highway. Beside, recently Bangladesh has sold bandwidth to India. It might be another reason for slow internet service, he added. Dream of Digital Bangladesh cannot be achieved if this situation is going on, the subscribers alleged.

Ruhul said he had asked the subscribers to submit their allegations in written paper. He said he already informed the concern authorities about the incident verbally. The subscribers also urged the government to take steps in this regard. When contacted, BTCL Engineer Tajul Islam said the internet line of the subscribers should be disconnected in favour of the construction work of the highway. He also urged the subscribers to submit their written allegations to the concern authorities. l

1 electrocuted while dousing factory fire Raihanul Islam Akand, n Md Gazipur

A man died from electrocution while he was trying to douse fire in a Jhut industry under the district yesterday. The deceased was Lal Chan Mian, 22. According to local sources, the fire broke out in the factory near Tongi Mill Gate area in the morning leaving a huge of jhut burnt to ashes. Firefighters from Tongi Fire Station went to the spot and trying to douse the fire with the help of locals. At one stage, Lal Chan was electrocuted while he was dousing fire with the firefighters. Later, he was sent to Tongi Hospital where on duty doctors declared him dead. l

Six testify in sevenmurder cases Hossain, n Tanveer Narayanganj A Naraynganj court yesterday recorded deposition from six witnesses in the sensational seven-murder cases in presence of the 23 arrested suspects. Narayanganj District and Sessions Judge Syed Enayet Hossain recorded the deposition of of former Chief Judicial Magistrate Zabid Hossain, eye witnesses college-girl Rabea Akter Akhi and her father Shahidul Islam, Moazzen Hossain, shopkeeper Motin Haoladar and bag-seller Shahjahan. Public Prosecutor Wazed Ali

Khokon said the court fixed June 6 for the next hearing. Earlier in the day, 23 accused in the cases including prime suspect Nur Hossain and three former RAB officials were brought to the Narayanganj court from Kashimpur Prison under tight security. On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his three associates and driver were abducted from Fatullah area in the city. At the same time, senior lawyer of the Narayanganj District Judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Court Chandan Kumar Sarker and his driver were abducted on their way to Dhaka. l

Locals form a human chain at Mohimaganj Bazar, Gaibandha yesterday demanding exemplary punishment of the killers of Debesh Chandar Promanik, a trader of Mohimaganj Bazar who has recently been killed by unidentified assailants DHAKA TRIBUNE

Man commits suicide in police custody n Bishwajit, Jamalpur A man allegedly committed suicide at the custody of Sorishabari police, Jamalpur yesterday morning. The deceased was identified as Abul Hasem, 40, son of Jinnat Ali, a resident of Tariapara village. Police said Hasem was an accused in a murder case. Police arrested him from Dhaka on Sunday night in connection with the case. He tried to commit suicide in the early hours of the day. Later, he was taken to Sorishabari Upzila Health Complex where on duty doctor declared him dead.

But police could not say anything about how the youth committed suicide. Hachu Bewa, uncle of the deceased, alleged that his nephew died due to torture of police. Officer-in-Charge of Sorishabari police station Md Belal Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune that they had not tortured Hashem. He tried to commit suicide in the police station after he was brought the police station and later on police took him to upazila health complex. Local people staged demonstration in front of the police station demanding proper investigation into the death. l

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

TONU KILLING

CID ordered to provide DNA report to medical board TONU MURDER CASE

n Mohiuddin Molla, Comilla A court yesterday ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to provide the DNA report of Sohagi Jahan Tonu, a second year student of history department of Comilla Victoria College, to medical board formed for her 2nd autopsy. Judge of Comilla Senior Judicial

Magistrate Court Mostahin Billah passed the order on Sunday, said Sub-Court Inspector Badal Chandra Roy. Head of the medical board and also head of forensic department of Comilla Medical College Hospital Dr Kamda Prasad Saha told the Dhaka Tribune that they were informed about the matter. The copy of the order was sent to the CID office, Comilla on Sunday night. The medical board had earlier requested the CID to provide them the DNA report, but the CID refused to provide the report saying that the medical board would

have to get the DND report through court’s directive, he said. On May 20, the CID said they had found rape evidence on the body of the Comilla Victoria College student in its DNA test. They Criminal Investigation Department said they had found profile of semen of three men in the dresses and underwear of Tonu in the DNA test conducted at the CID Dhaka laboratory. But the first post-mortem examination did not find the evidence of rape, and also could not ascertain the reason behind Tonu’s death. Later, her body was exhumed on

March 30 for DNA tests following a court order. On May 10, Tonu’s parents blamed Army Sergeant Jahid, his wife and soldier Jahid for the murder, saying that Tonu had turned down a request made by the Sergeant Jahid to sing at an army programme. The CID has so far interrogated more than a dozen suspects including two army officers in connection with the sensational case. Tonu, a member of Victoria College Theatre, was found dead in a bush beside a culvert inside the Comilla Cantonment area on March 20. l

Man jailed for smuggling gold

About 20,000 people have remained marooned at Bhuksimail union parishad under Kulaora due to rise in water level in the Hakaluki haor, one of largest marsh wetland resource in Bangladesh. Local people cannot do their regular activities since roads, compound of schools and madrasas have been submerged for the last several days. Farmers are fearing that crops

n Tribune Desk

Three members of a forest robber gang based in the Sundarbans surrendered to Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) over the last 10-12 hours since Sunday evening. Earlier In the wake of escalating crackdown by the law enforcement agencies, infamous forest robber gang “Master Bahini” based in the Sundarbans surrendered to Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) early Sunday. They also deposited 51 firearms and 5,000 rounds of bullets, said RAB sources. They used to attack trawlers of fishermen, Bawali (golpata and wood cutters) and Mawali (honey collectors) and abduct fishermen for ransom in the deep forests of the Sundarbans. RAB officials said they will continue the drive in the Sundarbans, taking surrenders with them. l

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

A mobile court of Chittagong district administration conducting a drive at a cold storage in the port city yesterday seized a large amount of sub-standard dates RABIN CHOWDHURY

Flash flood hits Kulaora, 20,000 left marooned n Saiful Islam, Moulvibazar

Three more of Master Bahini surrender

‘Do not set up makeshift shops on footpaths’

Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong

A Chittagong court yesterday sentenced a man to life-term imprisonment for gold smuggling. Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Shahenur passed the order against Al Amin, son of Kabir Ahmed of Raozan upazila in Chittagong, said Public Prosecutor Md Fakhruddin. The court also fined the convict with Tk10,000, in default, to suffer three months more in jail. According to the case statement, Al Amin, a Dubai expatriate, was detained by Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation in possession of 54 gold bars worth Tk3 crore in Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport after he landed in Chittagong by a flight of Bangladesh Biman on September 21, 2014. Later, a case was filed against him with Patenga police station. Police pressed charge against Al Amin on 31 January, 2015. l

News

might rotten within a few days as a vast tract of land with Aus paddy land and other crops at Borodal, Kanehat, Jalalpur, Karera, Chilarkandi, Muktajipur, Kurbanpur, Nobipur, Modongaori, Shosharkandi and Jabda villages has been inundated due to the sudden increased of water in the wetland. Reshma Begum, an employee at Bhuksimail health centre, said everyday she had to suffer a lot due to non-availabiity of transport as most roads had remained under

water for the last week. She said road links to the district headquarters had been cut off after Kulaora-Moulvibazar Sadar road was flooded three days ago. “Sometimes I have to get on boat and sometimes I can manage bus and for the last one week I have been traveling in this way,” she said. Members of Bhuksimail union parishad Hossain Khan said he was elected on April 23 and he could not take charges of office yet.

He said they were yet to get any government assistance. People were living sub-human lives. Fazlul Karim, a resident of the union parishad, said children could not go to schools as their educational institutions had remained under water. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tahsina Begum said they had prepared a list of affected people and relief materials would be sent soon. l

Commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Md Iqbal Bahar yesterday urged shopkeepers not to set up makeshift shops on footpaths during the month of Ramadan. “Makeshift shops cause traffic gridlock during Ramadan. So, please do not set up any makeshift shop and keep the pavements free for smooth vehicular movement,” said Iqbal Bahar. The CMP commissioner made the request while addressing a view-exchange meeting with trade body leaders, importers, wholesalers, leaders of shop owners associations and hawkers. The CMP organised the meeting at its headquarters aimed at curbing price hike and maintaining law and order during the month of Ramadan. “We will ramp up vigilance in front of all big markets in the city during Ramadan. We will also deploy women police to check mugging by female muggers,” said the CMP boss. With the CMP commissioner in the chair, the meeting was addressed by Debdas Bhattacharya, CMP additional commissioner (crime and operation), Masud-Ul-Hasan, additional commissioner (traffic), Harunur Rashid Hazari, deputy commissioner (port), Faruk Ahmed, deputy commissioner (headquarters), Mahfuzul Haque Shah, director of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Syed Sagir Ahmed, general secretary of Khatunganj Trade and Industries Association. l

8 World

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

TOP STORIES

Motor cycle sales drop as prices soar Motor cycle sale to dealers in Bangladesh has dropped by 16% over the last one year as prices soared, according to National Board of Revenue data. PAGE 13

China fixes yuan at over five-year low against dollar China’s central bank yesterday set the value of the yuan currency at a more than five-year low against the US dollar, according to the national foreign exchange market, in a pattern of weakness in anticipation of higher US interest rates. PAGE 14

Qatar’s debt bonanza stores up problems for future Qatar is making hay while the sun shines. Taking advantage of investors’ hunger for yield, the Gulf state has just raised $9bn in the debt markets, the region’s biggest ever bond offering and far more than expected. While this will help Doha cope with lower energy prices, trouble is being stored up for the future. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Monday DSE Broad Index

4,423.0

Index

1,089.7

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,733.8

-0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,637.0

8.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

148.8

-0.4% ▼

All Share Index 13,612.1

-0.1% ▼

CSE 30 Index Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Vol

12,476.0

0.4% ▲

8,279.6

-0.1% ▼

289.5

-2.9% ▼

11.8 -19.2% ▼

Duty on import of luxury hotel equipment likely to be doubled Showkat Kallol and n Asif Syed Samiul Basher Anik Duty on import of luxury hotel construction materials and equipment will be increased to 10% from 5% now in the next fiscal year. The government is also likely to increase duty on import of textile machinery and equipment for referral hospitals. However, prices of hybrid cars and security software for the financial sector may see a decline as the duty cut is likely. The taxfree ceiling for the individual taxpayers may remain unchanged at Tk2.50 lakh. Announcement of all these decisions are expected as Finance Minister AMA Muhith will place budget in Parliament on Thursday for the next financial year. Investments into tourism and hospitality sector may face setback if customs duty on import of luxury hotel equipment is doubled, said industry people. The hotel equipment include plastic, wood and steel-made materials. Currently, the investors import different materials like exterior-interior decorations, kitchen and cooking equipment, building security equipment, fire-safety tools, electricity substation machinery, lighting and health club

Duty on textile machinery to be 5% Referral hospitals may need to pay 1% duty on equipment import Duty cut on hybrid car import likely Tax-free ceiling for individual taxpayers may remain unchanged Tax on cheap cigarettes to rise materials, by paying 5% duty. The price of eco-friendly hybrid vehicles is likely to fall as the government is planning special duty benefits for import of hybrid cars. Now, there is no special duty treatment for import of used, reconditioned, or old hybrid cars that are more environment-friendly. Despite the eco-friendliness and fuel efficiency, traders are not importing hybrid cars as prices increased. Consumers have to pay about 21%-25% higher to get a hy-

brid car compared to one of same model reconditioned vehicles. Officials said the government may raise duty on textile machinery import to 5% from 3% now. They said price of cheap cigarettes will see a rise due to new duty structure. On the other hand, the government will introduce 1% duty on import of medical equipment and machinery from existing zero duty for the referral hospitals in the upcoming budget.

Currently, 24 referral hospitals are enjoying zero duty facility on import of medical and diagnostic equipment with a prior condition that they will keep at least 5% bed for free treatment and other services to poor patients. The benefit on import of 229 types of medical machinery and equipment has been being enjoyed by the hospitals since 2005, which aims to advance healthcare facility in the country’s referral hospitals. l

BUILD: Set attainable revenue collection target for FY’17 n Tribune Business Desk A public-private dialogue platform on Sunday called upon the government to set an attainable revenue collection target to avoid obstacles and also meet the target comfortably in implementing the budget for the next fiscal year 2016-17. The next year’s fiscal budget target for collecting revenue is roughly 36% higher, which is nearly impossible for the tax authority to collect, said Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) in a recent statement which also expressed concerns over the budget implementation. In 2015-16 budget, the revenue target was reduced significantly (Import Tax 8.6%, VAT 15.42%, Income Tax 18.95% and overall about 15%, still there is a deficit of revenue collection 6.28%. “To finance the budget, the government has set its revenue earning target most likely at

Tk249,000 crore, with the NBR (National Board of Revenue) shouldering the biggest burden and it is a daydream for us,” according to a BUILD statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ferdaus Ara Begum. The upcoming budget, which is set to be the largest one, is about 29% higher than the current year. With this budget, the government is looking forward to increasing the direct tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed at domestic level while reducing the income from custom duty, VAT at the import stage. In this regard, the platform has called upon the government to give enough importance on the supplementary budget to be prepared with an aim to giving a crystal clear picture of the actual budgetary action of the government. The budget for fiscal year 201617 is very important in the context

of 7th Five Years Plan and Sustainable Development Goal 2030 agenda for the government, reads the statement. In view of that, the budget should have a long-term target for investment and employment creation, it said. In the 7th FYP, there is a target to create 12.9 million in employment. So, the government can think to back young people’s busi-

ness ideas in the 2017 budget that will largely contribute to self-employment, added the statement. Tax collection policy based on VAT imposed at the local level, as planned with implementation of new Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act from July 2016, would impact on cost of doing business significantly, said BUILD, expressing its concern over the matter. l

Business

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Motorcycle sales drop as prices soar n Abu Bakar Siddique

Profit booking pulls stocks down n Tribune Business Desk

Motorcycle sale to dealers in Bangladesh has dropped by 16% over the last one year as prices soared, according to National Board of Revenue data. Import of the vehicle also slumped to 186,808 pieces in 2012 from 249,464 pieces in 2009. The companies sold 170,00 motorcycles to dealers in fiscal year 2015-16 compared to 202,000 in the previous year. Industry insiders blamed high prices of the vehicle for the drop in sale. They said the prices increased as a result of higher import tax. The motorcycle prices in Bangladesh are some of the highest in South Asia. Besides, local low-quality products and poor post-sale service to customers by local companies could also contribute to lowering the users’ interest in the purchase of motorcycles, said market analysts. According to motorcycle importers association in Bangladesh, the price of a 100cc motorcycle in the country is around $1,815, although price of the same product is $940 in India, $800 in Pakistan, $1,396 in Nepal and $1,452 in Sri Lanka. The higher import tax in Bangladesh is making the difference in price, industry people said. “A total of 129% tax has been imposed on imported motorcycle. This is a big obstacle for the

Stocks closed marginally lower amid volatility yesterday as investors booked profits from previous two-day rally. The benchmark index DSEX inched about 3 points down to close at 4,423. It gained over 60 points in the last two sessions. The Shariah index DSES edged about 2 points lower to 1,089. The blue chip comprising index DS30 witnessed fractional loss of 0.9 points 1,733. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX ended at 8,279, slumping around 12 points. Trading activities continued to improve as the DSE turnover stood at over Tk463 crore, an increase of more than 8% over previous session. Power sector was the highest gainer with a rise of nearly 2%, led by state-owned natural gas distribution company Titas Gas that soared 6.6%. Most other sectors ended flat with banks gaining marginally 0.3%, engineering 0.2% and telecommunication 0.06%. Non-banking financial institutions sector declined 0.4%, followed by food and allied 0.3% and pharmaceuticals 0.2%. LankaBangla Securities said after having a quick jump of more than 60 points in benchmark index in last two trading days, stocks saw some natural correction. l

Bykes line up for sale at a showroom in the city business to be expanded,” said Md Atiqur Rahman, general manager (sale) of TVS Motorcycle import company in Bangladesh. According to the data, 86% of the total motorcycles sold in the country are imported, and the rest of demand is met by local brands Walton and Runner. In terms of popularity, Bajaj is the market leader in Bangladesh, followed by TVS, Dayang, Hero,

Suzuki, Honda, Walton, Yamaha, Mahindro and Runner. Rickshaw ride costs a passenger Tk20 a kilometre, CNG-run auto rickshaw Tk14, bus Tk2, but motorcycle costs only Tk1.10. MD Shamsul Alam, executive director of Karnaphuli Industries Limited, said in every 1,000 people there are one motorcycle user in Bangladesh compared to 5-7 the neighbouring countries.

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

“But we believe that our motorcycle market can flourish easily.” He said to change the scenario, the government should introduce more business-friendly initiatives like ensuring quality of local products and changing import duty. “These changes can increase the sale of motorcycles from 200,000 to 500,000 a year,” Shamsul Alam said. l

Analysts: Clarify VAT rate to settle dispute n Tribune Business Desk

Govt to issue new Tk5 note n Tribune Business Desk The government will issue newly introduced Tk5 note as the government currency note from June 5, said Finance Division of Finance Ministry in a statement yesterday. Senior Secretary of Finance Division Mahbub Ahmed will sign the note which will be available at Bangladesh Bank headquarters from June 5 and other offices of the central bank later, it said, reports BSS. President Abdul Hamid gave consent on November 21, 2015 on the issuance of Tk5 note as the government currency note. l

The government should come up with the clarification on VAT (Value Added Tax) rate to settle dispute, analysts said yesterday. They expressed their opinion at a roundtable discussion on “National Budget 2016-17: Last Minute Thinking” arranged by the Policy Research Institute (PRI) at its conference room in the city. In his address, former NBR (National Board of Revenue) chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid said the ongoing hue and cry of business individuals regarding implementation of the new VAT law created because of improper negotiation with the stakeholders. “Most people still think that 15% VAT has been imposed on all goods. It should be clarified for defusing dispute,” he said. PRI Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur said the country needs a flat rate of VAT as most countries in the world have such practice to check dodging of revenues in the form of misquotation of the prod-

uct by multiple VAT rate. Traders with the annual turnover of Tk0.36 lakh are exempted from all kinds of VAT or tax, businesses with turnover in between Tk0.36 lakh to Tk0.72 lakh will have to pay 3% turnover tax quarterly and turnover more than Tk0.72 lakh needs to pay 15% VAT, he said. The Parliament in 2012 passed a law to automate VAT administration and increase revenue collection. Under this law, all levels of business will pay a unique and single VAT rate at 15% from July 1. Debate over budget size small or big To have the countrymen reap the benefit of national budget, the government should attach importance to its proper implementation, whether its size is big or small, economists say. In the upcoming national budget to be unveiled on Thursday next, they also called for steps to address some concerning issues, including stagnant private investment, weak performance of banking sector,

poor ADP (Annual Development Programme) implementation, growing income inequality and lower tax to GDP ratio. For a sustainable economy, some recommendations they made included raising revenue income, quality expenditure and implementation, more allocation in social safety net scheme and making PPP effective. Economist and former director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Mustafa K Mujeri said budget size increases gradually every year, which is not the question, but the question is if it is implemented properly. “Budget size is small compared to our demand for development. People will not be benefited once the budget, if it is small or big, is not implemented appropriately,” he said. Putting emphasis on budget implementation properly, he said: “So, budget implementation plan should get importance in the budget.” Echoing Mujeri, Mansur said the national budget is relatively small in proportion to public expenditure

and GDP. “Our development demands increased budget size and it must be increased because the government has moral and political responsibilities to the countrymen.” While moderating the discussion, PRI Vice-Chairman Sadiq Ahmed said the budget is going to be unveiled amid positive macroeconomic stability and some unresolved issues like stagnant private investment, weak performance of banking sector as NPL is rising and causing income inequality between the rich and the poor. Emphasising quality improvement of development expenditure for the welfare of citizens, he said ADP size is growing substantially since FY’12, but implementation remained below plan, which bodes ill for the country’s development. Recommending budgetary allocation enhancement on health, education and social sector, former commerce secretary Suhel A Choudhury said quality of education has been deteriorating while health care has become costly. l

Business

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

China fixes yuan at over five-year low against dollar n AFP, Shanghai China’s central bank yesterday set the value of the yuan currency at a more than five-year low against the

US dollar, according to the national foreign exchange market, in a pattern of weakness in anticipation of higher US interest rates. The People’s Bank of China

CORPORATE NEWS

Cumulative home loan disbursement of Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DBH) has recently crossed Tk 7,000 crore, said a press release. The company’s MD and CEO, QM Shariful Ala spoke about the milestone at a loan disbursement event held recently

Prime Bank has recently signed an agreement with The Westin Dhaka for providing Prime Bank World MasterCard holders with special offer (buy one and get one free buffet) at the hotel’s restaurant, Seasonal Tastes. The bank’s deputy managing director, Md Tabarak Hossain Bhuiyan and Dilip Madhok, general manager of The Westin Dhaka have signed the agreement, said a press release

Social Islami Bank Limited has recently opened its 117th branch at Poddarbazar in Laxmipur, said a press release. The bank’s director, Hakim Md Yousuf Harun Bhuiyan inaugurated the branch as chief guest

NCC Bank has recently received ‘Best Performing Bank’ award from ICIC Bank, Hong Kong for its remarkable achievements in US Dollar Clearing, said a press release. MD and CEO of NCC Bank, Golam Hafiz Ahmed received the award from Smruti Shanu Singh, regional head (Europe and Bangladesh) of ICIC Bank, Hong Kong at a ceremony held in Dhaka

(PBoC) put the yuan - also known as the renminbi (RMB) - at 6.5784 to $1, down 0.45% from its fix on Friday, according to data from the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The level was the lowest level since February 2011. China only allows the yuan to rise or fall two percent on either side of the daily fix, one of the

ways it maintains control over the currency. At 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) yesterday, the yuan stood at 6.5825 to $1, down 0.35% from Friday’s close. l

Business

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Qatar’s debt bonanza stores up problems for future n Andy Critchlow Qatar is making hay while the sun shines. Taking advantage of investors’ hunger for yield, the Gulf state has just raised $9bn in the debt markets, the region’s biggest ever bond offering and far more than expected. While this will help Doha cope with lower energy prices, trouble is being stored up for the future. The emirate could easily get by without borrowing. Even in a region known for its prosperity, Qatar is wealthy. Its gross domestic product per capita is four times that of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter. And even if the country really needed the money, it could have opted to sell a tiny portion of the assets held by its $334bn sov-

Qatar’s Central Bank is seen in Doha in this general view ereign wealth fund. After all, such war chests were originally created

to act as financial buffers against fluctuations in energy prices.

New credit card scrutiny sends Indonesians back to cash n Reuters, Jakarta Indonesia’s plan to track all credit card transactions in a bid to crack down on rampant tax evasion is pushing people back to cash, stifling government efforts to track illicit money flows. A new government decree requiring credit card providers to submit transaction details - including customer and merchant identities - to the tax office as of May 31 appears to be spooking consumers with card activity falling in April. The return to paper currency in the already heavily cash-based economy is a temporary setback not only for the government’s drive to boost tax revenues but also its fight against money laundering, corruption and terrorism finance. And for consumers wary of increasing scrutiny on their transactions, a preference for paper means carrying around envelopes full of hundreds of bank notes in a country where the largest currency denomination is 100,000 rupiah. Erwin Karya, a Jakarta-based associate director with real estate agent Ray White, said clients were now starting to use cash instead of card to pay property booking fees - non-refundable deposits used to book properties before home downpayments. “People don’t want to risk swiping credit cards for booking fees,” he said. “For 10-25m (rupiah), they

just pay in cash for the booking fee.” Indonesian central bank data showed credit card transaction values dropped 4% in April from the same month a year ago, the first onyear decline in the six years of public data records. The number of credit card transactions, meanwhile, fell by two million in April from a month before, to 23.7 million transactions. Bank Central Asia, one of the largest credit card providers, saw its transactions fall 15% and card cancellations more than double in April, head of the bank’s consumer card business Santoso told Reuters. “I don’t think they’re all avoiding taxes, but some did say they feel their privacy disturbed - they’re not comfortable,” Santoso said, noting most of the cancellations came from self-employed individuals. Other providers face the same problem, said Steve Martha, chairman of Indonesia’s credit card issuers association. “People should be incentivized to use cards, not penalized,” he said. Cash, which in Indonesia is already used for 85% of transactions, is difficult to track, making it challenging for governments to fight money laundering, corruption and terrorism financing. About 7-8 million Indonesians own credit cards, some using more than one, for a total of 16.9 million credit card, catered by 22 banks and one

REUTERS

non-bank issuer. These include the country’s biggest banks Bank Mandiri, Bank Central Asia, and foreign players like HSBC, Citibank and Standard Chartered. Under pressure from falling exports, Jakarta launched last year measures to boost tax revenues, including a tax amnesty for those willing to relocate back home money hidden in offshore accounts. Only 10% of Indonesia’s 250 million population are registered with tax authorities and annual tax revenues amount to 11% of gross domestic product, $30bn less than what it should be, President Joko Widodo has said. Credit card bills and other electronic payments can be effectively used to track down corruption cases, said Agus Santoso, deputy head of Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. It will be harder to prove cases if people go back to cash, he said, but he didn’t expect the trend to last in the long run. “There’s no way people choose to carry millions of rupiah in cash in a bulging wallet to pay for high-end stuff,” he said. Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro stood by his decree. “If there are things that they are afraid to declare, it means their income is more than what they say to the tax office,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta earlier this month. l

Even better, Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, could have cut back on the lavish spending for which his country is renowned. Despite expecting to post its first budget deficit in 15 years, Doha is pressing on with projects such as its troubled plan to host the World Cup in 2022, which will use up a chunk of the $200 billion infrastructure spending planned through to 2030. Sheikh Tamim, who took office after his father’s abdication in 2013, has warned Qataris that the days of government handouts are coming to an end. However, he has made few substantive savings. This year’s budget forecasts spending of 202.5bn riyals ($55.6bn), compared with 211bn riyals in the 2013 fiscal

year. Granted, this is not a pressing worry. Moody’s left Qatar’s Aa2 credit rating unchanged earlier in May even as it cut ratings for Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain. Still, borrowing allows Qatar’s rulers to defer the economic and social reforms that are really required. Gradually embarking on the privatisation of the stateowned oil company, Qatar Petroleum, would help improve efficiency. And an overhaul of the labour market, not least to improve conditions for low-paid foreign workers, is long overdue. These are problems which will have to be addressed, later if not sooner. l Andy Critchlow is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.

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Gaming

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Most anticipated games of 2016 Video games galore, can’t blame us for wanting more 4K TV. No matter how you see this game’s magnificence, GT aims to bring the best in its long-lasting driving simulation franchise.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (PC)

Another rich franchise will be making its latest debut. Civilization is an all-time classic PC strategy game. Aimed for an October 21 release date, fans of this series will appreciate its huge leap in upgrades. The new tweaks will allow players to experience a more colourful aesthetics, alongside the enhancements in multiplayer. They’ve assured multi-tile city layouts and new tweaks to making your home base the way you like it in the local terrain. Plenty of sleepless nights ahead, we’re sure. Don’t be silly, you’ve got work or classes in the morning!

Final Fantasy XV (PS4 and Xbox One)

n Mahmood Hossain With the one of the greatest video games to have been released recently, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End leaves plenty of hope for the future. The current gen consoles and PC gamers will have plenty to look forward to before we take a sharp turn into 2017. Almost half way through the year, we take a look at some upcoming releases in the gaming world of 2016.

Battlefield 1 (PS4, Xbox One and PC)

Like many successful franchises, each sequel is released in numerical order. Naturally, everyone assumed the next instalment would have been Battlefield 5. To everyone’s surprise, the folks at EA decided to send things back into a turbulent and bloody past. The new Battefield 1 takes place in World War I. The fact that it takes place in the past, players should expect a completely different set of tools at the disposal. We’re talking about flamethrowers, clubs, riding horses and biplanes. While the multiplayer mode gathers a total of 64 players, get ready to battle in story mode as well, battling through the Italian Alps, deserts in Northern Africa and through the fields of France. EA has assured there will be a significantly enhanced solo campaign this time around. The

game is scheduled to release in late October.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (PS4, Xbox One and PC)

Just like Battlefield 1, another one of EA and DICE’s underrated first-person free running game has been given somewhat of a re-birth. You could call it a reboot or even a prequel with better gameplay and overall upgrade in the game’s engine. Similar to its predecessor, it will focus on sprinting to one rooftop after another, facing challenges along the way that makes has players jumping, sliding and vaulting across each level.

One thing is for sure, with the newly updated PlayStation console, you’ll be able to experience the game in 4K display

However, this time around players will be introduced into a more open world filled with obstacles. To top things off, players won’t be able to use guns any more either. Here’s to raising your glasses towards your parkour skills and close-quarter combat techniques. Look out for Catalyst on June 9.

Gran Turismo Sport (PS4)

Racing die-hards rejoice! The critically acclaimed franchise is back with a full-fledged, all content ready release this November. Gran Turismo has been the most realistic racing

simulation for the past PlayStation generations. The new generation of GT promises the same and more through its online championship competition that is actually governed by the real life FIA racing body. Here’s another doozy. Sources have also revealed the game will have PlayStation VR support. Whether it’ll be available at launch is till up for debate, and it may not even matter at the end. One thing is for sure, with the newly updated PlayStation console, you’ll be able to experience the game in 4K display. Well, that’s if you’ve shelled out your entire bank account for a new

Oh, boy, we simply cannot get enough of these long-tested franchises can we? The latest Final Fantasy instalment is possibly the most ambitious one yet. This time around, the world is even larger, it’s beautifully rendered and as always, has another engaging and intriguing storyline. While the diehard gamers will argue which FF is the best, this legendary RPG series will introduce a new and improved game mechanic. There’s a fusion of traditional RPG and open world combat that makes the gameplay smoother than ever. With the main character’s entourage, there’s plenty of fluid distribution in the fighting sequences and animation. Fourway tag-team anyone? Get ready to be lost in a fantastical world in late September. l

Feature

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Simplicity of the past: Air cooling

n ASM Foysal For over 100 years, internalcombustion-engine cooling has been water based. By means of convection, and radiation, and on the principle of simple thermodynamics, unwanted heat is transferred away. The cold incoming air would cool down the hot water taking away its heat from your powertrain. However, there was a time then when simple airflow was the preferred method for cooling down the engine. Air based cooling engines were designed differently than water based ones, prominent differences were the fins covering the outside of the cylinder head and cylinders. Nowadays, we see that design being only used on motor or quad bikes since air based cooling can no longer be trusted on vehicles churning out 500BHP or more. The primary thing to consider on air-cooling, to some extent on all cooling system, is the surface area. A greater surface area would provide more room for the energy to dissipate and effectively distribute the heat to the surroundings. If the heat is concentrated on a small area, its intensity would build up and eventually lead to overheating.

This is where the fins, covering most of the engine block, comes to play. Their presence provides a much larger surface area for the heat to be released over giving the powertrain a greater probability of staying cool under stress. The aesthetics and design of the cars were done strategically to channel the airflow through these fins from the air inlets, exemplary among them were the rear grill on old Porsche 911s and VW Beetles. Following the laws of thermodynamics, convection would take place making the cold fast moving air to take away the fiery warmth produced by the internalcombustion-engine. In the past, a lot of car manufacturers would use the aircooling system on their cars. Porsche and Volkswagen implemented air-cooling, with great success, on their flat-four and flat-six engines for many years. However, with time, the hunger for more power grew amongst the

petrol-heads, the horsepower requirement went from two digits to three digits and the usability and reliability of the simple air cooling system slowly diminished.

A closed loop cooling system is used by water-cooled engines, what this means is the coolant, in most cases water, can be constantly kept in motion, allowing it to course through the

engine and taking its heat away. Fans drag cool air in against the coolant chamber keeping the water cool even if the car is stationary. On the other hand, air-cooling is an open system; it requires constant flow of air into the engine bay which isn’t possible and practical all the time. Even using large fans to suck up air for cooling isn’t sufficient, large capacity engines generate massive amounts of heat, enough to overcome the cooling system. This is especially the case when idling in traffic or driving at low speeds, which doesn’t allow enough air to flow through. A restricting of heat transference from the engine to the surrounding transpires as a result of little to no air passing through the cooling fins. Despite its lack of sophistication, air-cooling did have its advantages: the designs were such that it would require zero maintenance, unless the fins were damaged somehow. Another desirable quality was the lack of weight; closed loop cooling

system requires heat exchangers, different chambers and channels not to mention the coolant itself. All these substantially add to the heft of the vehicle. These days, the old-school cooling method is reserved for bikes and small engine vehicles since they produce a lot less heat compared to their larger counterparts. In most of these cases, the engine is generally not covered allowing it exposure to the elements. This means there is no need for clever designs to maintain airflow and of course full exposure means more efficient cooling. Air-cooling now seems like the thing that existed in the land before time. Closed looped cooling system has taken over the market and completely unpaved the route for air-cooling system to come back into the car manufacturing industry. There will always be some who prefer the simplicity of the old days, but the idea of air-cooling on a high performance car is unfathomable. Necessity for reliability and the hunger for power in the automotive world means there is no point adhering to the old school methods. Unless there is a substantial change in the air-cooled engine designs, its days are over. l

Heal the squeals n ASM Foysal There could be a number of reasons that your car is making a squeaking or a squealing noise when you turn the steering wheel. One common cause, and most probable of them is low power-steering fluid. When the level of this liquid gets low in your power steering system, the unrelenting squeal will not stop as long as the steering wheel is off-centre. Checking the fluid level and replacing it if necessary might be enough to eliminate the problem. Accumulation of dirt and debris could also be at the

root of the problem; this could lead to a failing power-steering pump. To best avoid the headache and heartache for the wad of cash leaving your wallet to replace the pump, it would be advisable to drain out the fluid and swap it entirely. If changing the fluid doesn’t solve the problem, a visit to the technician is due, he should be able to identify the cause and recommend a repair. When the steering wheel is rotated, a suspension or steering component that has lost lubrication could also lead to a squeak. Tie-rod ends, seals, ball joints and universal joints all need

to be moving in as little friction as possible, and if the lubrication dries out, noises are inevitable. Again, a technician should be able to identify the problem and recommend a repair. Occasionally, in a new car, the steering wheel housing will rub against the interior trim, usually in hot weather when materials expand and gaps close up. In these cases, a trip to the dealer or body shop might be in order. Finally, tire noise could be also the cause of the squeal that you’re hearing. If you have had your tires recently changed, they would cause the occasional

squeal on certain surfaces this is normal and nothing to worry about. However, if the replacement tires you bought are too wide, they would rub against the car’s body when it is in motion and you are taking a turn. If that happens to be the case, get them replaced with thinner ones as soon as possible.

If your vehicle is making a squealing sound when the steering wheel is being turned, the best place to start is by examining the power-steering fluid level and replacing/adding as necessary and if that doesn’t eradicate the noise, take your car to a workshop; not taking any action could end up costing you an arm and a half. l

Tech

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Gmail life hacks It’s time to reveal a few new things you never knew you could do with Gmail

n Mahmood Hossain It’s safe to say that the majority of us use Gmail for either business or personal use, or even both. What most people don’t know about are all the add-ons or extensions for your Google Chrome that go handin-hand with your Gmail.

Sortd

Some of us can’t always deal with to-do apps on our smartphones, and it can get difficult to sync everything in with our Gmail content. Sortd is a smart-skin for Gmail that transforms your inbox into a set of lists that you can customise to your liking. The workflow is now smoother for the e-mail heavy users out there. You can add as many lists as you want, reorder them by dragging and dropping, and keep things organised.

Mailburn

Only limited to the iPhone, this is an app that lets users treat their Gmail conversations in a WhatsApp format. Never thought you needed this app did you? This comes really in handy for those folks always on the go, and focusing on e-mails are a huge part of what they do. Now, important e-mails from important people will come directly to you in a conversation window. You won’t have to switch between apps to get work done with real people.

MailTrack.io

This should be an obvious app in the spotlight. This is a Chrome extension that notifies you the status of each e-mail. With one check next to an e-mail, you’ll know that it has been successfully sent. With two checks, it’ll let you know that the recipient has read your e-mail. Sound familiar? All the popular chat applications have the same function so there shouldn’t be any confusion. But MailTrack.io takes a step further. If you’ve sent an e-mail to multiple contacts, it’ll let you know who exactly has read the e-mail and who hasn’t. You’ll even get a pop-up alert on your desktop once someone opens your e-mail.

Gmail Offline

This may not be a biggie, but it’s really convenient for, well, all of us. Gmail Offline lets you work on Gmail without internet connection. It’s pretty plain and simple, if your internet is acting up, you won’t have to wait to work on your next e-mail draft.

Dropbox for Gmail

Seems like more and more folks are relying on Dropbox for their in-the-cloud storage services. This addition to Gmail lets you directly safe attachments to your Dropbox account. Now you have the option to back your files up into your preferred folder on Dropbox and

take it with you wherever you go.

Boomerang

Here’s another productivity plugin for your Chrome, as well as Firefox and Safari. There’s plenty of features to this plug-in but the “send later” ability is possibly the one that stands out the most. After you have written a message, choose the calendar picker or text box to schedule when exactly you want the e-mail to send. There’s also a nifty feature that allows you to remind yourself of the message sent if you haven’t heard anything in return. The follow-up feature allows the user to keep track of important e-mails in a reminder notification option.

WiseStamp

This Chrome extension is a pretty cool addition to your web arsenal. It lets you customise your signature in your e-mails. You’ll get to play around with fonts, size, colours and images to make the most unique signature online. Another advantage to this extension is the ability to add your social media accounts on your signature, so that receivers of your messages can directly be linked to your pages by clicking on the small icons. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn should take the top spots on your signature card. Just make sure to keep things professional. l

| ceremony |

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

| meals |

MoU signing between EFL and Sanjog to run CSR program

Leading freight forwarding and logistics solution provider company, Expo Freight Ltd (EFL) has recently renewed their fourth year MoU with Sanjog Bangladesh for their partnering CSR project in Bangladesh. Under the agreement, EFL will be providing funds and all other

necessary support for those two schools which are situated at two big slums in Dhaka metropolitan. Jan Van Der Poorten, CEO of EFL; and Sadia Nasrin, CEO of Sanjog Bangladesh; both signed the new agreement. Shariful Islam, head of human resources department; Md Razib, head

of marketing and branding; and Edwina Panioty, business coordinator to the CEO were present in the signing ceremony which took place at the corporate head office of EFL Bangladesh. l

| education |

Labamba’s special dishes

Labamba is offering a new range of dishes which include the following • Chinese chop suey priced at Tk300 (made with fried noodles cooked with cabbage, carrot, capsicum, chicken and prawn to finally be topped with an egg). • Spaghetti bolognese chicken/beef priced at

Tk320 (spaghetti cooked with meat sauce topped with mozzarella cheese). • American chop suey priced at Tk400. For more information contact House 54, Road 20, Sector 3, Rabindra Sarani, Uttara or log onto http://labambabd.com/.l

Workshop on preparing moduler based study materials at BOU A two-day long workshop on creating study material in the HSC program in moduler form was organised by Open School yesterday at its Dhaka Regional Center of Bangladesh Open University. Pro-vice chancellor Prof Dr Khondokar Mokaddem Hossain formally inaugurated the workshop as chief guest. He said that ODL learners get their education through different modes and modular based study materials happens to be one of them. Learners study the books as if their teachers are present in front of them. Open University is expanding rapidly through educational media ICT. E-book is one of its references. Prof Dr Sadia Afroze Sultana

Biz Info

| offers |

Iftar offers at Florentine

gave the welcome address in the workshop. Abdur Rahim and Associate Professor Md Anwarul Islam also spoke on the occassion. A total of 110 teachers

from different universities, colleges and the faculties of open schools took part in the workshop. l

| meals |

Sabroso’s buy 1 get 1 free fest Sabroso is holding a “wonder week” where they will be giving foodies a special buy one get one free offer. The fest will be held over a three day period where customers will have to check-in at the restaurant and post a review with a picture on any food group on Facebook to avail the offer. The offer is only applicable for select items on the menu:

• Chicken BBQ (1/4 BBQ chicken, rice and saute vegetables) Tk380 • Bukhari rice (whole chicken, rice, bukhari sauce) Tk1,499 • Grilled Chicken Pizza 14” (grilled chicken, cheese, onions) Tk999 The offer is valid from May 30 - June 1. All prices are exclusive of 15% VAT. For more details call 0-1708031363 or visit fb/Sabroso. live. l

Cafe Florentine is offering a special iftar cum dinner offer priced at Tk760++. They have also introduced a sehri offer priced at Tk550++ where they will be screening the Euro Cup 2016 on a large screen projector. They also have unlimited car parking facilities. For more information or reservation contact 191, Gulshan Link Road or call 028878195.l

20 Editorial

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

TODAY

The water divide I tremble in fear and helplessness when I read these lines from the Guardian report: ‘India’s plans will affect 100 million people in Bangladesh, who live downstream of the Ganges and Brahmaputra and rely on the rivers for their livelihoods’ PAGE 21

Somebody save me What is the real issue, though? A recent article in this very newspaper discussed the effects of post-partum depression and why mothers go on to sometimes hurt their own children. Depression is taken as lightly in our culture as corruption and violence PAGE 22

Pakistan’s role in war crimes will always haunt them All public opinion polls carried out by independent organisations have shown consistently the overwhelming majority support enjoyed by the war crimes trials in Bangladesh 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

VAT is regressive, tax collection needs to be fairer

ost experts agree with the FBCCI that the planned 15% uniform value added tax will be very difficult to implement and hit businesses hard. While it is desirable the NBR heed public concerns and make the VAT adjustments sought by business bodies, the government also needs to rethink its revenue collection strategy. By definition, VAT and other indirect sales taxes, are regressive and unfair, as they place a relatively far bigger burden on poorer customers. In principle, the tax system would be fairer if more progressively gradated taxes were levied on earned and unearned income. The main reason why dependence on VAT and indirect taxes is growing is the failure of successive governments to clamp down on tax evasion and broaden the tax base. Official figures indicate less than 2% of the population pays income tax. Although, in part, this reflects the low level of typical incomes, it is clear there is a huge amount of tax evasion. This has increased reliance on regressive taxes such as VAT as a source of revenue, because the transactions on which these are levied are harder to hide and easier to collect. As incomes rise with the country moving to middle income status, it is absolutely essential the government clamps down on evasion. While VAT forms a necessary part of government income, it is desirable the government move its focus away from indirect taxes to reduce the unfair burden on citizens with lower incomes. The government must speed up progress on initiatives to reform the tax system so that it is made fairer and the country’s tax base can become more inclusive and self-reliant. It must do more to root out evasion and simplify and encourage collection of income taxes to help broaden the tax base in a fairer manner.

Clamp down on income tax evasion to reduce reliance on indirect taxes that impact unfairly on poorer citizens

Opinion

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

The water divide Let us fight together to save life and protect humanity

n Irfanur Rahman Rafin

y dear friends, I have something terrible to tell you. According to a Guardian report which was published in May 2016, “India is set to start work on a massive, unprecedented river diversion program, which will channel water away from the north and west of the country to droughtprone areas in the east and south. The plan could be disastrous for the local ecology, environmental activists -- both in India and Bangladesh -- warn. The project involves rerouting water from major rivers including the Ganges and Brahmaputra and creating canals to link the Ken and Batwa rivers in central India and Damanganga-Pinjal in the west.” The idea of river diversion is old. But the current BJP government, backed by RSS, has a reputation of reviving old ideas. As the report continues: “In the first few months of his premiership, Modi’s cabinet revived the idea of linking 30 rivers across India.” The plan may seem harmless and benevolent, but it is definitely not. River diversion is not a geographically sustainable solution to the problem of India’s drought. It will certainly create long-term crisis for the people of India. I back up this argument quoting from Dr Latha Anantha of the River Research Centre: “The government is trying to redraw the entire geography of the country … they will have to dig canals everywhere and defy the ecology of the country. It is a waste of money and they have overestimated how much water there is in the rivers they want to divert.” But I have another reason for concern. I tremble in fear and helplessness when I read these lines from the Guardian report: “India’s plans will affect 100 million people in Bangladesh, who live downstream of the Ganges and Brahmaputra and rely on the rivers for their livelihoods.” In brief: India’s plans will wreak havoc in Bangladesh. If you are a citizen of Bangladesh, your blood should be frozen reading this. The Indian state is not launching a war. But they are planning what amounts to a cold-blooded, silent genocide. There will not be a media-friendly bloodshed. The cut will be too deep to show if the plan gets materialised. These so-called development

India’s plan to reroute its major rivers would be disastrous for all involved projects are actually neo-liberal life and ecology destruction projects for the profit of a few. The people of India are not our enemy; we share common interests on natural resources like water. So I ask my Indian brothers and sisters, who I deeply respect for their heritage of democratic struggles, to boldly raise their voices against this diabolical project. This is a question of our existence. This is a question of our common future. To my Bangladeshi brothers and sisters, wherever you live on this earth, if you care about your nation, then please don’t keep silent. This is about your future generations’ existence. Our current government will not save your children’s future. They are sacrificing it to stay in office. Our only hope is international

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

I tremble in fear and helplessness when I read these lines from the Guardian report: ‘India’s plans will affect 100 million people in Bangladesh, who live downstream of the Ganges and Brahmaputra and rely on the rivers for their livelihoods’

support. Not from any powerful state, of course. As WikiLeaks and the Panama Papers made it clear, powerful states are run by greedy elites, anti-people politicians. When I write “international,” I mean an inter-communication of all the peoples of nations of the world today. Capitalism is exploitative as a global system, but it has created a global space of internationalist solidarity of people against its own

mechanism, in an unprecedented way. It has created endless possibilities of resistance. This is our only hope for survival. If millions of people from all over the world take a position against this heartless project of India, that state will be bound to stop the plan. That will be, in the long run, beneficial to the People of India as well as Bangladesh.

Let us fight together against our common enemies who use our resources like water to divide us and rule us. Let us fight together to save life and ecology in both India and Bangladesh. Let us refuse neoliberalism and protect humanity. l Irfanur Rahman Rafin (erfanrafen@ gmail.com) is a member of Gana Sanghati Andolon, which is led by Zonayed Saki.

Opinion

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Somebody save me What is a suicide attempt if not a call for help?

n SN Rasul

he suicide of Sabira Hossain took social media by storm. From the first instance I heard of it to the time I actually got around to seeing the now infamous video of her suicide attempt, at least a dozen people had knocked me, sending me the link or asking me if I’d seen it and if the girl had killed herself in the video and telling me “no, no, no, I couldn’t watch it.” I confess: I watched it. From start to finish. Sources tell me that the girl had gone Live on Facebook to carry out the act, in which she speaks in a mixture of English and Bangla to tell us -- in what sounded as if she was inebriated or under the influence of some other substance -- a story of heartbreak and love and rejection. From the video, it wasn’t clear to me, exactly, what had happened. Something about a younger brother, something about just “sex” and being used as a prostitute, a lot of hurt. Throughout the video, I watched, cringing, wondering why Facebook hadn’t already taken it down considering the fact that someone had just killed themselves on camera, as she, rather comically, attempted to at first drive the knife into her stomach and then slit her own throat. The caption the video came with, which was quoted verbatim in many news outlets, became something of a joke as well, as it was full of grammatical errors and

arguments for the girl and against the boy in question who was, according to many in my own profile who personally knew him, a person of ill-repute. It is not sick per se, but rather telling of our inherent human nature that we find this so fascinating. No one is at fault here for this. It is new, it is exciting, it provokes our urge to take in and consume as entertainment the weird, the fallen, the broken down. The real issue, perhaps, lost under piles of futile arguments discussing the merits of suicide and sex and relationships. What is the real issue, though? A recent article in this very newspaper discussed the effects of post-partum depression and why mothers go on to sometimes hurt their own children. Depression, a mostly psychological issue, is taken as lightly in our culture (and, perhaps, everywhere else to various degrees) as corruption and violence. It is easier to just consider these people evil or demented in some way, somehow “other” from us, with no hope for rehabilitation. “Suck it up,” they’ll say, “this is not a ‘real’ problem.” Stop complaining and moaning when you’ve got a roof over your head and food on your plate.What’ve you, the privileged youth of the middle and upper classes, have to complain about when you’re being given everything you need, things the generation before had to actually struggle for? I don’t know. Perhaps you have a point. Perhaps when someone

Our culture pays no importance to the slow killer that is depression

What is the real issue, though? A recent article in this very newspaper discussed the effects of post-partum depression and why mothers go on to sometimes hurt their own children. Depression is taken as lightly in our culture as corruption and violence

spelling mistakes. I say these not out to be insensitive, but because that’s what it became: A show. A mockery of a video that people consumed as entertainment. Comments littered below, discussing how the girl would either be granted hell because she had made the grievous religious error of having taken her own life, how she was a “slut” and a “whore” and that’s what she had coming to her, how she was weak, that no guy was worth it,

is emotionally tortured and psychologically taken advantage of, it’s not a big deal. Definitely not adequate enough, grievous enough, to warrant someone taking their own life, surely? Welcome to the real world, chump, where life’s not fair and people don’t always get what they want, or what’s coming to them. Nirjhar Sinha Rounaq -- the “boyfriend” -- and his brother Prayay have since been arrested. Whether or not one can blame others for someone taking their

own life is another issue, but closely related. Where do you stop the buck when it comes to the giant causal chain that has led up to the actions you commit today? Do we go back to when we were teenagers, when our friends peer-pressured us into trying drugs for the first time? To when we were children and our parents didn’t give us the love we deserved? Or do we go further back to blame our genes for giving us the biological make-up that made us

so susceptible to psychological trauma and emotional dependence? What Sabira was doing was a cry for attention. It was an attempt at asking for help. I don’t know if anyone took it seriously; most just mocked. Most of us don’t have the patience for self-pity and self-indulgence, most of us do not want to get involved when someone has hit rock bottom, fearful of being taken down with them. Most of us, selfishly, choose to stay out of the mess, so that our hands remain unbloodied by someone who, it seems, doesn’t value their own lives enough anymore within the cesspool of misery and sorrow they have created for themselves. Most of us, though, have been at a similar stage at some point or other in our lives. Maybe it wasn’t this bad. Maybe we just felt lonely and scared and wanted someone

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to come and take our hands and say that everything was going to be alright. Or maybe it had to be that one specific person from whom we wanted something they couldn’t give. Maybe we needed friends to come and tell us we mattered. Maybe that would’ve been enough, maybe not. Maybe it wouldn’t have changed anything. But talking about whether she’ll go to hell because your personal God has forbidden it or that she shouldn’t have been engaging in premarital sex isn’t going to prevent this sort of thing in the future. When a person is alone and broken inside the confines of the walls they themselves have put up, wouldn’t it be nice if someone cared enough to break the walls down to lay a hand on their heads and say “I’m with you”? l SN Rasul is a Sub-Editor at the Dhaka Tribune. Follow him @snrasul.

Opinion

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Pakistan’s role in Bangladesh war crimes will always haunt them Peace and stability would be ensured if Pakistan stopped interfering in Bangladesh’s internal legal and political matters. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long form

Holding trials for war crimes is definitely not a mockery of justice

n Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury

o retrospective legislation was enacted hurriedly. In February 2013, the Bangladesh government moved to the Parliament to amend the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 as the right of appeal was unequal for the prosecution and defence. While the defence could appeal against both conviction and sentence, the prosecution could only appeal against acquittal and not against sentence which it considers lenient. This is a standard appeals format followed almost everywhere in the world. Therefore, the amendment in question simply brought the appeals entitlements of both prosecution and the defence on an equal footing, and did not give any undue advantages to the prosecution. Soofi makes an issue out of the fact that defence witnesses has been restricted by the ICT-BD. This is an over simplification of a legal issue. The judge in any case has to adjudicate the relevance of any witness or evidence before admitting it in proceedings. Take the case against Salauddin

Quader Chowdhury for example. The convicted war criminal attempted to make a mockery of the process by submitting a voluminous list of 1,153 witnesses. The tribunal had restricted their number of witnesses to five only based on their relevance. In any event, the defence in that case subsequently could only examine four of the allotted five witnesses and failed to produce the fifth witness. Soofi then argues that the restriction on constitutional protection for war crimes accused under Article 47(A) of the Bangladesh Constitution “essentially strips the accused before the ICT of certain fundamental rights, including the right to an expeditious trial by an independent, impartial tribunal, and the right to move the courts to enforce fundamental rights.” It should be noted that this constitutional restriction has not been imposed by the current government but was added in 1973 via Section 3 of the Constitution (First Amendment) Act. Does this restriction deter any war crimes accused from the right to an expeditious trial by an independent and impartial tribunal? No, as these are specifically addressed in the

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the general rules of procedure and evidence as being somehow detrimental to the interests of the accused. Soofi then goes on to make the fictitious claim that the government forces abducted a key witness in the Sayeedee trial. The name of that particular witness is Sukharanjan Bali, who was not abducted, but rather went off voluntarily to India to meet his relatives. This is not the version of the government but was reported by BBC. Soofi particularly points out the alibi defence of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, which he claims failed as a result of the obstruction of the government. It is widely documented that Chowdhury’s plea of alibi was full of holes which did not stand the test of veracity not only by the ICT-BD but also in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. In any event, his trial strategy was based more on causing

that Bangladesh honours its international legal obligations by immediately halting these flawed trials as well as quashing all outstanding sentences pronounced by the war crimes tribunal.” The demands, due to its sheer outrageousness, demand no further response. Pakistan has enough on its plate as far as breach of international legal obligations are concerned, and they would do better to address them then shed for convicted war criminals in Bangladesh. What he calls a mockery of justice is one of the most popular legal processes in the history of Bangladesh. All public opinion polls carried out by independent organisations have shown consistently the overwhelming majority support enjoyed by the war crimes trials in Bangladesh. The current government in Bangladesh came to power in

What he calls a mockery of justice is one of the most popular legal processes in the history of Bangladesh. All public opinion polls carried out by independent organisations have shown consistently the overwhelming majority support enjoyed by the war crimes trials in Bangladesh

International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. It provides that the trial has to be held in a fair, impartial, and independent tribunal [Section 6(2)] and the accused has the right to an expeditious [Section 11(3)(a)] and public hearing [Section 10(4)]. While the normal rules and procedures under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 and the Evidence Act, 1872 indeed do not apply in any proceedings under the 1973 Act, as referenced above, the government formulated the equally exhaustive International Crimes Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2010. The rules provide equally efficacious rules as the general rules of procedure and evidence in Bangladesh. Hence, it is dishonest to highlight the inapplicability of

obstruction, delay, and offence as opposed to any meaningful defence in the real sense. While Soofi points out the comments made by the chief justice regarding quality of investigation and prosecution during the appeal proceedings of Mir Quasem Ali, he fails to mention that the same bench of the Supreme Court headed by the same chief justice found that there was sufficient evidence to uphold the convictions and/or sentence of Mir Quasem Ali. This can only mean that in the eyes of the judges in question, the shortcomings were not adequate enough to render Mir Quasem Ali’s conviction and sentence unsafe. Soofi concludes by saying that “Pakistan must raise this issue at bilateral, regional, and international levels to ensure

2009 with the popular mandate of holding criminals to account for their misdeeds in 1971, and it would continue to do so without fear or favour. Soofi feels that stopping the trials would uphold international law and enhance peace and stability in South Asia, whereas in reality international norms, peace, and stability would be ensured if Pakistan stops interfering in the internal legal and political matters of its neighbours and upholds its commitment to regional agreements, such as holding the trials of the 195 Pakistani war criminals as per the 1974 Tripartite Agreement. l Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury is the Assistant Editor (Foreign Affairs) of The Economic Times. This article was first published in The Economic Times.

24 Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

TOP STORIES

Ronaldo rests to show who’s best Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Portugal’s pre-European Championship friendly against England on Thursday as he rests from his third UCL triumph but he insists those who doubt his talents are “jealous”. PAGE 25

DPL BRIEF SCORES RUPGANJ 191 in 49 overs (Sajjadul Haque 48, Mashrafe bin Mortaza 6/42) lost to KALABAGAN KC 127/4 in 35.4 overs Jashimuddin 33) by ten runs (D/L method)

Bayern will fight to keep Lewandowski Real Madrid have held talks with Poland’s star striker Robert Lewandowski, his agent has confirmed, while Bayern Munich insist they will pay whatever it takes to keep him against Real Madrid’s approache. PAGE 26

Cook hits 10,000 Test runs Captain Alastair Cook became the first England cricketer to reach 10,000 test runs on the fourth day of the second test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Monday. The opener is also the 12th batsman to reach the landmark. PAGE 27

Hingis and Mirza miss ‘Santina Slam’ Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza lost their cool as their hopes of holding all four grand slam titles were dashed following a 6-3 6-2 defeat by Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the third round of the French Open on Sunday. PAGE 28

GAZI GROUP 167 in 35.2 overs (Anamul Haque 46, Tushar Imran 4/27) beat BROTHERS UNION 124 in 40.1 overs (Tushar Imran 41, Mahedi Hasan 4/16) by 43 runs

Kalabagan KC captain Mashrafe Mortaza in action as he leads from the front and picked up a match winning bowling figure of 6/42 against Legends of Rupganj yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mash 6-for sinks Rupganj Victoria jump to third spot called off, they were eventually n Mazhar Uddin declared winners. Mashrafe bin Mortaza’s six-wicket haul helped Kalabagan Krira Chakra register their third win in the Dhaka Premier League, when they beat Legends of Rupganj by ten runs on Duckworth/Lewis method yesterday. Victoria Sporting Club jumped to the third position from seventh after defeating Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by 28 runs while Gazi Group Cricketers also sealed a low-scoring encounter against Brothers Union by 43 runs.

Kalabagan v Rupganj

It was a one-man show in Fatullah as Rupganj were bundled out for 191 runs in 49 overs after being asked to bat. Mashrafe took two early wickets before taking the last four wickets to fall in his second 6-wicket haul in List-A cricket. Sajjadul Haque was Rupganj’s highest scorer with 48 runs and Asif Ahmed added 40 . Soumya Sarkar once again failed to make a substantial score. Kalabagan replied well after opener Jashim Uddin and Indian cricketer Rohan Prem made 33 each. When rain stopped play at 4.14pm, Kalabagan were ten runs ahead of the D/L par score, on 127/4 in 35.4 overs, and with play

And it was a costly defeat for Rupganj to reach the Super League stage as they are now fourth in the points table with five wins from nine games.

Gazi Group vs Brothers Union

At the BKSP-3 ground where the wicket apparently turned square assisting the spinners, Gazi Group were all out for 167 runsin 35.2 overs. Anamul Haque made 48 runs while the others hardly could put together a good enough partnership. Tushar Imran picked up 4/27 from his four overs while Iftekhar Sajjad took three wickets for the bowling side, as they triggered a collapse from 70 for no loss to 102 for eight in the space of ten oevrs. But chasing the small target wasn’t easy for Brothers Unon. Apart from Tushar’s 41, none of their batsmen was able to go near the target and eventually were dismissed for 124 in 40.1 overs. Offspinner Mahedi Hasan picked up 4/16 while Indian off-spinner Gurkeerat Singh, Alok Kapali and Salehin Shad took two wickets each for the bowling side. With five wins from nine attempts, Gazi are now in fifth position while Brothers are struggling

VICTORIA 247 in 49.4 overs ( Mominul Haque 50, Mahmudullah 3/40) beat SHEIKH JAMAL (219 in 48.3 overs (Sohag Gazi 59, Kamrul Islam Rabbi 4/38) by 28 runsy

DPL POINTS TABLE TEAMS

MAT

WON

LOST

TIED

PTS

Mohammedan Sporting Club

Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club

Victoria Sporting Club

Legends of Rupganj

Gazi Group Cricketers

Abahani Limited

Prime Bank Cricket Club

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club

Brothers Union

Kalabagan Krira Chakra

Cricket Coaching School

Kalabagan Cricket Academy

with eight points.

Victoria vs Sheikh Jamal

Taking first guard, Victoria posted 247 runs in 49.4 overs. Almost all their batsman got starts but failed to convert those into big ones. Mominul Haque made 50 off 51 balls while Fazle Mahmud (37), Nadif Chowdhury (36) and Chaturanga de Silva (39) were guilty of throwing it away when hitting it well enough. Mahmudullah bagged three wickets while Muktar Ali and Abdur Rahman took two wickets each. Sheikh Jamal replied well and

at one stage were 89/2 where opener Mahbubul Karim scored 45 but things started to go wrong after losing few quick wickets. Captain Mahmudullah tried to rebuild the innings and scored 32 runs but after his dismissal there were no real chance for Jamal to reach the target. Sohag Gazi made 59 at the end but they were bowled out for 219 runs in 48.3 overs. With eleven points from nine games Victoria are now in third place behind Mohammedan Sporting Club and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club while Sheikh Jamal dropped to eighth place. l

Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Ronaldo rests to show haters who’s best n AFP, Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Portugal’s pre-European Championship friendly against England on Thursday as he rests from his third Champions League triumph but he insists those who doubt his talents are “jealous”. The 31-year-old, who looked jaded in Real Madrid’s win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday even though he scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out, believes he is still “number one” and has nothing to prove. After a sixth straight season with more than 50 goals, Ronaldo has been given extra time off and will miss Portugal’s friendly game at Wembley on Thursday. “Come on, let me rest my legs. Now is the time to rest and enjoy this moment. I have six days to be prepared to play a good competi-

tion,” Ronaldo told reporters after Saturday’s triumph in Milan. Portugal coach Fernando Santos said Ronaldo’s performance in the Champions League final for Real Madrid was not a concern for his campaign. The star forward has struggled with fitness problems in recent weeks but should be ready to play Estonia in a final friendly on June 8, two days before the tournament starts. “I am not worried. What interests me is that he will be with us next weekend and he really wants to help us and to win,” Santos said after Portugal’s 3-0 friendly win against Norway on Sunday. Ronaldo said he was also not worried and that he had every reason to feel proud and happy after helping Real win their 11th European Cup. “Only the jealous don’t feel

that,” he said. “But I don’t care about that. I always keep the people who love me. So this Champions League is for them, the guys who support me all the time, my fans in Portugal and around the world.” Ronaldo highlighted that he was the Champions League’s top scorer for the fifth time with 16 goals while also reaching 50 goals altogether for the campaign once again. “But I am asking more,” he declared. “I am always in the top level. I just want to maintain. I still feel good, I still feel fresh ... and I want to carry on like that. “I feel good and I love to play for Real Madrid. I want to carry on. I have more than 4,000 minutes (playing time this season). I was the number one in the team, again, for most minutes. That means a lot

to me. “It means I am still good, I still feel good physically, mentally.” However, Ronaldo did acknowledge feeling fatigued at the end of a long season. “I have a lot of minutes in the legs. But I am still there. I am always there. I showed the team I am there for the good moments and bad moments. This is what makes me feel proud. “My performance (in the final) was maybe not the best one but who played unbelievable? No one.” Ronaldo’s performance in Madrid’s celebrations, however, was firmly in the limelight. The Portuguese took centre stage at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday night. “I am so proud to wear this white shirt, it suits me and I am very happy,” he told the crowd. l

Nazmul: Selection will keep coach busy Gamage quits as coach n Minhaz Uddin Khan The Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan said yesterday that the national team’s head coach will be integrated in the selection process to make get him more involved. The BCB working committee following a meeting last week had proposed to increase the numebr of members in the national selection committee. It was also proposed that the head coach and the national team manager (who will also be a director of the board) should be a part of the selection process. Though questions were raised on the proposal and the chief selector Faruk Ahmed said that he was not keen to stay in the enlarged committee, Nazmul said that a decision will come in the next board meeting. He believes the idea is a good one given this will keep the head coach involved.

Chandika Hathurusingha is contracted by the BCB on a ‘number of days’ basis, thus he remains away from Bangladesh when there is no

I want the coach to observe domestic matches. I do not want him to sit idle when he has time in hand. It is better for him to see the matches as he will also be part of the selection process international cricket. But the latest move by the BCB will mean that he will be available during domestic tournaments. “I want the coach to observe do-

mestic matches. I do not want him to sit idle when he has time in hand. It is better for him to see the matches as he will also be part of the selection process. Actually I want someone or the other to follow the matches so that their job becomes easier. The coach being part of it will mean he won’t be surprised if there is selection of an emerging player,” Nazmul said to the media yesterday following a meeting with the BCB technical committee. Nazmul said that they also discussed the quality of umpiring in domestic cricket, which has been criticised during this season’s Dhaka Premier League. “We are looking for fair play in the matches but it is not possible for us to change it overnight. The technical committee has made some suggestions. They are highly experienced. I believe we will be able to do some good for Bangladesh cricket with their suggestions,” he said. l

n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh women’s coach Janak Gamage resigned from his job yesterday after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) did not offer an extension to his contract. Gamage who took the Bangladesh job in August 2014, said that he will now work with the Thai women’s team. “I am leaving (Dhaka) tomorrow (today). I will work with the Thailand women’s team from now,” Gamage said at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. “I did not get any offer for extension from the BCB. There is a tournament coming up in Thailand and they have called me. I have resigned because the BCB has not shown any interest in retaining me.” The former Sri Lankan paceman Gamage played four ODIs. He had taken the Bangladesh job with aim to improve the team’s international ranking. But since his joining there

has hardly anything notable. During Gamage’s tenure Bangladesh women’s played only one bilateral series, against visitors Zimbabwe and had won 2-0. Gamage’s last assignment was in the ICC World Twenty20 2016 the team had qualified as runners-up in the final of the qualifiers against Ireland. But in India, they lost all their group stage games to England, West Indies, Pakistan and hosts India. Gamage said the Bangladesh women’s team has the talent but it needs to be nurtured better. “I enjoyed working here. Always felt like home. The team have come a long way and can go further if they can overcome few things. The other teams practice throughout the year but the Bangladesh team does not get that chance. They need to overcome this issue. I believe this team has a good time ahead,” he said. l

I don’t know what I sign, Messi told judge in fraud case n AFP, Barcelona Argentina star Lionel Messi, who is due to go on trial in Barcelona for alleged tax fraud, told a judge that he never looks at the contracts he signs, the El Periodico daily said Monday. The newspaper got access to Messi’s September 2013 statement to a judge and published extracts just a day before Messi and his father stand trial. “I signed things, but I never look at the contracts. I don’t know what

I sign,” he allegedly said. Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, are accused of using a chain of fake companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4.16 million euros ($4.7 million) of Messi’s income earned through the sale of his image rights from 2007-09. They have been charged with three counts of tax fraud. According to the alleged statement published by the Barcelona daily, the judge showed him several sponsorship contracts that he signed, but he did not remember them. l

Titas Club players and officials pose with the National Bank Dhaka Metropolis Premier Volleyball Laegue trophy at their headquarters in Dhaka yesterday COURTECY

Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Bayern will fight to keep Real-target Lewandowski n AFP, Berlin

Panama defender Harold Cummings (L) blocks an attempt on goal by Brazil forward Hulk in the second half of their international friendly match at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, USA on Sunday REUTERS

Gabriel scores on debut as Brazil beat Panama n Reuters Teenage striker Gabriel lived up to his nickname ‘Gabigol’ on Sunday when he came off the bench to score on his debut in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Panama. The 19-year-old replaced Jonas after 62 minutes of the friendly match in Colorado and slotted home Brazil’s second with his left foot 10 minutes later. Jonas had opened the scoring in the second minute for a compact and solid Brazil. “I am very happy with the debut

INT'L FRIENDLIES 3-1

Albania

Qatar

Ajeti 23, Lenjani 40, Sadiku 64

Hassan 2

3-1

Bosnia

Nolito 11, 18, Pedro 90+4

Spahic 29

Spain Germany

1-3

Gomez 13-pen

Lithuania

Slovakia Hamsik 41, Duris 44, Kucka 52

2-0

Estonia

Valskis 30, Cernych 45

Azerbaijan Ismayilov 72-pen

Romania

1-3 3-4

Torje 23, Alibec 74, Stanciu 84

Turkey

FYR Macedonia

Radeski 20, Pandev 33, Nestorovski 90+2

Ukraine Zozulya 43, Zinchenko 48, Konoplyanka 54, Yarmolenko 59

1-0

Montenegro

1-0

Scotland

3-0

Norway

Topal 90+4

Italy Pelle 57

Portugal

Quaresma 13, Guerreiro 65, Eder 71

Brazil

RESULT 2-0

Panama

Jonas 2, Gabriel 73

and the goal,” Gabriel said in a televised interview after Brazil’s final warmup ahead of next week’s Centenary Copa America in the United States. “It was a dream come true for me to play alongside players like Kaka and Dani Alves.” Brazil open their Copa America campaign against Ecuador and also

face Haiti and Peru in Group B of the 16-team tournament. In another friendly on Sunday, Colombia beat Haiti 3-1. Colombia were without Radamel Falcao, who will miss the Copa America through injury, and James Rodriguez, who was with Real Madrid for Saturday’s Champions League win over Atletico. Coach Jose Pekerman looked to youth for the game in Miami, handing a start to 19-year-old Marlos Moreno and introduced Roger Martinez, 21, as a second-

half substitute. Dayro Moreno put Colombia ahead after 14 minutes with an acrobatic volley but Haiti leveled 20 minutes later when Wilde-Donald Guerrier bulleted home a header. Haiti’s hopes of a win faded when Max Hilaire picked up a second yellow card six minutes before half time. Juan Guillermo Cuadrado chipped home Colombia’s second after 54 minutes and Martinez marked his debut with the third with 20 minutes remaining. l

Real Madrid have held talks with Poland’s star striker Robert Lewandowski, his agent has confirmed, while Bayern Munich insist they will pay whatever it takes to keep him. “Real Madrid approached us a few weeks ago, we have listened to everything and informed Bayern that we have held talks,” Lewandowski’s agent Cezary Kucharski told the latest edition of German Magazine Der Spiegel. According to reports in the German media, Real is prepared to pay the Poland striker 25 million euros ($27.78m) per season. Lewandowski finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer, when he became the first foreigner to score 30 league goals plus nine in the Champions League, in a tally of 42 in all competitions. It was the first time a player has scored 30 goals in a single German league season in nearly 40 years. But Bayern’s chairman KarlHeinz Rummenigge has said the Bavarian giants have ‘no pain barrier’ when it comes to what they will pay to keep their hot-shot in Munich. In-form striker Lewandowski has so far avoided joining Bayern stars Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba and Javier Martinez who have all extended their Munich contracts until 2021. l

Slovakia stun green Germany in friendly n AFP, Berlin An inexperienced Germany team suffered a self-confidence sapping 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in Sunday’s storm-affected friendly as the world champions fielded four new caps ahead of Euro 2016. Slovakia, who will make their European championships debut in Group B alongside Wales, England and Russia next month, deserved their win in Augsburg as Germany coach Joachim Loew blooded a youthful quartet. A heavy storm in Bavaria at halftime meant the break was extended to 39 minutes and it was Slovakia who profited from the soggy second-half conditions by adding their third goal. Loew was more relieved that none of his players picked up injuries rather than bothered by the result.

“I have never experienced such a long half-time break. The pitch wasn’t undangerous and, thank god, nothing happened (injury wise),” said Loew. “Combinations were impossible at the start of the second half. “We did well in the first half hour, but we had a few problems in defence. “You can’t expect everything from the young players, but all four have the necessary quality.” Germany took an early lead when Mario Gomez converted a penalty, while goals from Marek Hamsik and Michal Duris just before half-time put Slovakia 2-1 up at the break. A calamitous error by Germany’s replacement goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen then gifted Slovakia’s Juraj Kucka the only goal of the second half. l

Germany forward Leroy Sane (top) jumps over Slovakia defender Jan Durica during their friendly match in Augsburg, southern Germany on Sunday AFP

Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Women’s Super League line-up confirmed

SCORECARD

n Tribune Report

ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS 498-9 dec (M Ali 155 no, A Hales 83, J Root 80; N Pradeep 4-107)

Mohammedan Sporting Club, Rupali Bank, Khelaghar and Abahani Limited emerged as the four teams to qualify for the Super League of this season’s Dhaka Premier Division Women’s Cricket League. Mohammedan topped the table with 10 points followed by Rupali Bank and Khelaghar who have nine each. Abahani were

SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 101 (S Broad 4-40, C Woakes 3-9, J Anderson 3-36) SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS (following-on, overnight 309-5) A. Mathews c Bairstow b Anderson D. Chandimal b Broad M. Siriwardana c Hales b Anderson R. Herath lbw b Anderson S. Eranga b Anderson S. Lakmal c Broad b Woakes N. Pradeep not out Extras (b5, lb11, w1, nb6)

80 126 35 61 1 11 13 23

Total (all out, 128.2 overs, 576 mins)

475

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS A. Cook not out A. Hales b Siriwardana N. Compton not out Extras

47 11 22 0

Total (1 wkt, 23.2 overs, 73 mins) 80 Result: England won by nine wickets Series: England lead three-match series 2-0

England's Alastair Cook plays a shot against Sri Lanka during their Second Test in Durham yesterday REUTERS

Cook milestone as England win to clinch series n Reuters, London Alastair Cook became the first Englishman to reach 10,000 test runs before leading his team to an emphatic nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second test at Durham on Monday that wrapped up the series. Cook scored 47 not out as England eased to their target

of 79 after Dinesh Chandimal made a fine century to lift Sri Lanka to 475 in their second innings on the fourth day. Having been bowled out for 101 first time round, however, the touring side only delayed the inevitable and England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with a day to spare. Cook, needing five runs to get to 10,000,

clipped Nuwan Pradeep to the mid-wicket boundary to reach the milestone before raising hit bat to all corners of a sparsely-populated ground. Hales was bowled by spinner Milinda Siriwardana for 11 but Cook calmly completed the job with Nick Compton who finished unbeaten on 22 as he battles to retain his place at number three in the order. l

fourth with eight points. Meanwhile on Sunday, Mohammedan picked a three-run win in a nail-biting finish against Rupali Bank at the BKSP-4 ground. Batting first, Mohammedan posted 129 runs in 24 overs losing five wickets. Farzana Haque remained unbeaten on a 58-ball 54. Rupali Bank captain Shathira Zakir took two wickets. Later, Rupali Bank reached 126/7 in 24 overs. Offspinner Khadijatul Kubra bagged three wickets. l

Sport

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Richard Gasquet of France playes a forehand against Kei Nishikori of Japan during their French Open match at Roland Garros in Paris, France on Sunday REUTERS

Murray, Gasquet into French Oopen last-eight n AFP, Paris World number two Andy Murray reached the French Open quarter-finals Sunday as Richard Gasquet kept alive hopes of a first home triumph in 33 years by knocking out Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Murray made the last-eight for the sixth time with a 7-6 (11/9), 6-4, 6-3 win over John Isner of the United States. The 29-year-old, a threetime semi-finalist, will face Gasquet, the last French player standing, in the last-eight. Murray has a 7-3 career lead over the 29-year-old Gasquet, including wins at Roland Garros in 2010 and 2012.

Gasquet outplayed fifth seed Nishikori 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. The ninth seed had trailed Nishikori 2-4 early in the first set, but after an hour-long rain delay, he won nine out of the next 10 games to turn the match on its head. The last French winner of the men’s singles title at Roland Garros was Yannick Noah in 1983. Wawrinka, the third seed, will next face a Spanish left-hander who isn’t named Rafael Nadal after unheralded Albert Ramos-Vinolas reached his first Grand Slam last-eight with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic. l

Hingis and Mirza lose chance to complete ‘Santina Slam’ n Reuters, Paris Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza lost their cool as their hopes of holding all four grand slam titles were dashed following a 6-3 6-2 defeat by Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the third round of the French Open on Sunday. The Indo-Swiss team dubbed “Santina” were hoping to win four majors in a row after following up last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open triumphs with victory in January’s Australian Open. But the top seeds appeared all at sea on a gloomy day at Roland Garros and their bid to complete the ‘Santina Slam’

ended after the Czechs blasted a service return winner to break Hingis in the final game. Hingis and Mirza were left fuming at the umpire after a call went against them as they trailed 4-1 in the second set. Mirza tossed the ball in anger but the duo failed to win the argument, or the match, leaving Krejcikova and Siniakova to celebrate a memorable victory. It proved to be a bad day for the big names in doubles as Venus and Serena Williams, who were the last women’s team to hold all four majors in 2010, also perished in the third round, beaten 6-3 6-3 by the Dutch-Swedish pairing of Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson. l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Vigilant person (5) 4 Young horse (4) 7 Saltworks (6) 8 Blackboard support (5) 10 Impression left by blow (4) 11 Pancake (5) 12 Mineral spring (3) 14 Stalk of tall grass (4) 17 Vast ages (4) 19 Consumed (3) 20 Snares (5) 23 Quote (4) 25 Tenth part (5) 26 Time of the year (6) 27 Cast off (4) 28 Worth (5)

DOWN 1 Reluctant (6) 2 Consumer (4) 3 Auction (4) 4 Apple drink (5) 5 United (3) 6 Surgical instrument (6) 9 Scrutinise (4) 13 Language (6) 15 Direction (4) 16 Fault (6) 18 Place (5) 21 Minute particle (4) 22 Tree (4) 24 Golfing aid (3)

Downtime

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 21 represents K so fill K every time the figure 21 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

Showtime

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

Loki is the next Bond

n Rupkotha Chowdhury

Pierce Brosnan held on long enough to make a mark, and Daniel Craig has done a terrific job of defining the character his own way. Strong rumour just has become the question of Hollywood, over who is going to be the next Bond, James Bond! Sources are saying that the jealous brother of Thor, Loki, Tom Hiddleston is in “advanced talks” to take over the role from Daniel Craig. Right now, Daniel Craig is still under contract to the series, and the last film set several things into motion, that would be very strange if they were resolved with a different actor in the role. Maybe they have started talking to Hiddleston about the role with an eye on what they will do a few films down the road. Maybe they are making it clear to Craig that they are willing to consider other options. According to some bookmakers, Hiddleston is the frontrunner to replace Daniel Craig as Ian Fleming’s master spy. He’s a conservative but solid choice. Anyone who’s

seen High-Rise, knows he looks great in (or out of) a sharply tailored suit, and anyone who’s seen his various Marvel movie appearances as Loki, would buy his ability to seduce a supervillain of any gender when the fate of the world hangs in the balance. If there’s a knock against Hiddleston, it’s that he hasn’t had much experience with the kind of intense, practical action people expect from a Bond film. That’s not to say he couldn’t do it, just that he hasn’t

Sunny signs Khan film n Showtime Desk Sunny Leone will soon be paired opposite Salman Khan’s brother Arbaaz Khan. Leone who is currently in Pondicherry shooting for the reality show, Splitsvilla, has signed a musical romance titled Tera Intezaar with Arbaaz. After bagging a song in Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, Leone will star opposite Arbaaz Khan. As per reports in a leading daily, “Arbaaz will be seen as Leone’s love interest in the film. The film which marks the directorial debut of Raajeev Walia, will also have an international shoot apart from the 25 day Kutch schedule. Sunny and Arbaaz will meet for their first recording together at a Suburban studio soon.” Other reports add that the makers have been chasing the Ragini 2 MMS actress for the past three months. The actress currently has three films lined up this year. When Sunny heard the first narration, she signed for the film immediately. This is the first time she will be seen in a film of this genre. l Source: Bollywood Gossips

done it yet. Before the upcoming Kong: Skull Island, where he plays a former British SAS officer. The drumbeats are building. Tidings are on the wind. It may well be time once again to pass the torch and anoint the new. There are other reports that are saying Craig is definitely out, or possibly out, and Deadline suggested that Jamie Bell has also had conversations about the role.l

eKO campaign comes to an end

n Farhan Shahriar Everjobs Bangladesh, a leading global jobs portal in the country, backed by Rocket internet launched a campaign “ekO”. “ekO” stands for education, knowledge and opportunities - the three very strong pillars that help you excel in your career. The aim of the campaign was to provide the proper education, knowledge and opportunities that would help potential job seekers enrich their careers. “ekO” began its journey with the divisional tour on April 7 at the auditorium of Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban at the University of Dhaka and moved on to Chittagong University and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University on the April 19 and May 9 respectively. Another aspect of the campaign was the TV show on

Boishakhi channel that went on air at 11pm, every Saturday from April 9 onwards. The TV show consisted of eight episodes that focused on eight emerging industries of Bangladesh. The show was hosted by Sabirul Islam and every episode had an industry expert as the guest. The guest list included Rasheda K Chowdhury, Alam Ishraq Chowdhury, Zishan Hasib, Tahsin Saeed, Faisul A Chowdhury, Shaibal Ghosh, Sharmin Sultan and the State Minister of ICT division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak. Every show had students from different universities, allowing them to put forth questions for guest speakers. Another element of the campaign was the radio show called “ekO’d Voice” on Radio Next 93.2 FM that went live from 10am on April 10. The show was basically a spin-off on the TV show and focused on the same industrial aspects discussed the previous night on ekO. l

Today in Dhaka

Open Mic Evening vol. II Following the success of the first edition of the event, GoetheInstitut Bangladesh has arranged an event titled Open Mic Evening vol II. It aims to provide a stage for all performers including poets and writers, comedians, musicians, singers, songwriters and theatre artists, who ever wants to be heard. The event will take place today, at the Goethe-Institut’s auditorium in Dhanmondi, at 6:30pm. It will be open to all. Interested individuals are requested to contribute in Bangla, English or German, either to just enjoy and listen, or to perform. l

Showtime

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

ART WEEKEND 2016

What the Netherlands Embassy offered n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Like the previous year, which was the first one of its kind, the Ambassadors of Brazil, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the High Commissioner of Canada have organised an art exhibition, titled Art Weekend at their respective ambassador’s residence in unison. Run on May 27 and 28, the art

extravaganza highlighted and exhibited the works of mainly Bangladeshi artists with the aim to enhance the contact between the Bangladeshi art scene, the international community, and art connoisseur of the country. As part of the Art Weekend, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands put the works of four artists at her residence; Samsul Alam Helal’s documentary photography, Petra de Vree’s sculptures, the Bridge Foundation promoted differently able young deaf artists’ artworks, and Rajesh Ramakrishnan’s lifestyle photography. Petra de Vree, a Dutch sculptural artist who uses clay as her main medium, exhibited several arresting sculptures which are inspired by Bengali women’s way of living, which she discovered during her staying in Bangladesh. Vree’s extensive stays in some exotic countries including Bolivia, Guatemala, Ghana, and Nepal helped her to learn the sturdiness of the women in those countries, and how they tried to move forward no matter what. Those experiences are the artist’s primal source of inspiration. Being an avid fan of Camille Claudel, Vree uses vibrant colours in her sculpture which she found in those countries.

The artist, who has been living in Bangladesh for over one and half year when talking about the series of sculptures said, “I observe a lot of movements of going forward are taking place here with high hopes and fertility. I used these fertility in my sculptures. You see, I used some of the set-boxes in my sculptures that referred to the fertility and movements of going forward in Bangladesh.” Talking about the motive of the initiative, Leoni Cuelenaere, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Dhaka, said: “We arranged this art exhibition to give a platform to young Bangladeshi artists. We have other artists as well, a Dutch lady and an Indian photographer but they all have to do something with Bangladesh and I think it’s a very good way of showing-off potential in Bangladesh on the issues in the field of art.” Cuelenaere hints a bigger platform next year by saying, “Before hosting the Art Weekend next year, we have to do something in between. We have to meet with another embassies so we can feature more Bangladeshi artists in our house and which can be seen by more people.” Through his work, the Joop Swart Masterclass 2016 winner,

Samsul Alam Helal tells the stories of the minority people living in a sweeper colony in Old Dhaka, where people seem to hide themselves as they are ashamed of their professions. Using a red backdrop in his every picture, Helal tried to zoom into the lives of the members of the community. Bridge Foundation engaged some people in the different spheres of art since their establishment in 2013. The

Foundation has brought some astounding artworks painted by different artists. Rajesh Ramakrishnan, the managing director of Perfetti van Melle Bangladesh, has showcased some intriguing lifestyle photos that depict the life in a city in a different manner. Ramakrishnan has been responsible for creating a yearly desktop calender to raise money for charity for the last five years. l

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016

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TV report shows abysmal state of education in Bangladesh n Tribune Desk A TV report on the qualitative aspect of students who obtained GPA 5 – the highest score in a public school exam – in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam has revealed a horrific picture of how much knowledge the students are gaining in reality. The report, made by a correspondent of private TV channel Maasranga Television, was aired recently where the reporter talked to random students from schools around Bangladesh. The reporter asked the students basic questions both from their SSC curriculum and on general knowledge. The answers that came were nothing short of shocking. The first question that was posed before the students was: What do GPA and SSC stand for?

None of the students could answer the question. When they were asked where Central Shaheed Minar is, or when the International Mother Language Day is, they said they did not know. One student was asked where the capital of Nepal was. His answer was Neptune. One of the students tried to explain why they had little to no grasp on general knowledge. “I passed the SSC from science group. So I did not pay much attention to Bangla, history or social science; I only worked hard for the science subjects. I also do not read newspaper or books other than the text books,” he told Maasranga. Which theory of Isaac Newton is taught in SSC, he could not answer. Another science student was asked who Pythagoras was. His answer was: “A novelist.”

Educationists blamed students’ tendency of rote-learning instead of understanding what is written in the text books and their dependency on private coaching classes. “We have seen how GPA 5 scorers have failed to pass the university admission tests,” said Dr Zafar Iqbal, educationist and professor at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. “It does not matter if the number of students obtaining GPA 5 increases every year, when the quality of that education is not ensured.” Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman said: “Every Bangladeshi national should have the basic idea of their country’s history, regardless of which group they belong to – science, business or humanities.”

Mixed reaction on social media

The report, which went viral on

social media, generated quite a mixed reaction among people, reported UNB. While one side is blaming all this on the rote-learning mentality of students, some even calling them “undeserving” and “empty-headed,” another side blames the country’s education system. Another group is criticising Maasranga for showing the students’ faces on national TV. One such viewer, named Razibul Huq, blamed the reporter for not blurring the students’ faces. “It was an amateur mistake on his part, because he blatantly vilified the students on national television, with motif [sic]. In a country where teenagers commit suicide over trivial matters, this would force them to be the brunt of all the jokes and humiliations of their friends and peers.” l

Aslam’s remand hearing Tuesday n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court has fixed Tuesday for hearing a petition filed for taking BNP leader Aslam Chowdhury on remand in a sedition case. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Maruf Hossain fixed the date on Monday. Earlier in the day, police produced Aslam before the court with a 10-day remand plea to question him in the case filed with Gulshan police on May 26. It accuses the BNP leader of conspiring with Israel’s Likud Party and its intelligence agency Mossad to oust the government. Investigators also sought court permission to interrogate Aslam in two arson cases for 10 days each. The cases were filed at Motijheel and Lalbagh police stations. Metropolitan magistrates Golam Nabi and Md Mazharul Islam separately fixed June 6 to hear the remand pleas. l

Now five expat bloggers get threats n Tribune Desk A Facebook page run by extremists supporting secularist murders carried out by banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team has named five bloggers and activists now living abroad as their next targets. The page named “Salauddiner Ghora” in separate posts on May 26 and 27 urged its followers in those countries to behead the targets. Two of them – blogger Asif Mohiuddin and cartoonist Sunnyur Rahman – had survived machete attacks in 2013. The others are Shantanu Adib, Ananya Azad and Shammi Haque. The same page recently issued death threats against Narayanganj school teacher Shyamal Kanti Bhakta and Dhaka University teacher Prof Azizur Rahman labelling them as anti-Islam. When contacted, most of the activists said that they had been in a safer condition at the moment than in Bangladesh, but did not take the threat lightly since Ansarullah has supporters among Bangladeshi expats in different countries, especially in Europe, too. Asked, law enforcement agencies said they had heard about the

page but had yet to retrieve any information about its admins. According to detectives, Ansarullah has been working as the Bangladesh wing of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) which has claimed the responsibility for over a dozen murders since 2013.

The bloggers are Asif Mohiuddin, Sunnyur Rahman, Shantanu Adib, Ananya Azad and Shammi Haque The group of extremists also supports the activities of outlawed militant group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) – members of which had attacked Ananya’s father Prof Humayun Azad among others. DU Bangla department teacher Prof Azad died in Germany several months after the attack conducted on the campus on February 27, 2004. Earlier, a Facebook page of Ansarullah published the names of 14 secular bloggers and writers living abroad on November 1 last year. Asif Mohiuddin and Shantanu Adib were among the targets. l

Mustafizur Rahman gets a hero’s welcome at Dhaka airport yesterday as he returns from a successful IPL journey that saw his team Sunrisers Hyderabad winning the trophy and him winning the Emerging Player of IPL 2016 MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

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