01 June, 2016

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

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Jyoishtha 18, 1423, Shaban 24, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 39

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

Gas, power prices to soar BUDGET FY2017 n Aminur Rahman Rasel The government has planned to raise the prices of gas and electricity along with a cut in subsidy in both power and energy sectors in the next budget.

The power and gas distribution companies have already proposed Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) for a hike in electricity and gas prices.

At a recent meeting the BERC accepted the proposals of the four state-owned electricity distribution companies to increase the retail power tariffs.

Experts in this sector perceive that the further price hike will spell disaster for commoners.

“The proposal for raising the prices of power and gas is illogical. As power generation cost went down, its price should be lowered,” said Prof Shamsul Alam, energy adviser of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh.

Officials in the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said the ministry decided to slash the subsidy in the energy and pow-

er sectors following the drop in oil price on the international market.

Over the past few fiscal years, the government has been heavily subsidising the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB).

Subsidy for the PDB is spent on mainly purchasing electricity from private sector while the subsidy given to the BPC is spent on supplying fuel to private power plants at a lower cost.

In the current fiscal year, about Tk800cr was allocated in the budget as subsidy for the BPC but the petroleum corporation did not have to spend that entire amount

because of the reduced price of oil on the international market, and the BPC earned a profit this fiscal year.

About Tk8,000cr was allocated as subsidy for the PDB. But because of fall in the price the allocation will come down to Tk6,000 in the upcoming fiscal year.

BPC Chairman Mohammad Mahmud Reza Khan said no subsidy has been sought for the corporation in the upcoming fiscal year.

The profit the BPC made in the current fiscal year is being used to pay off the loans and later the profit will be used for the new projects.

The BPC chairman believes this  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Padma Bridge or primary education? n Abid Azad and Shadma Malik

INSIDE

The government is likely to allocate the entire amount needed for its priority project Padma Bridge in fiscal year 2016-17 and the amount is around Tk6,631 crore higher than the allocation proposed for the primary and mass education sector.

Noted educationalists and economists argue that the government is trying to produce a visible image of its development activities with the Padma bridge project disregarding the significance of primary and mass education which should have been given higher priority.

The government is providing Tk28,793cr for Bangladesh's largest infrastructure project in the next fiscal year while it keeps around Tk22,162cr for the primary and mass education sector.

Interestingly, although the budget for primary and mass education sector has been increasing over the past couple of years, the per capita allocation is decreasing.

The budget for primary and mass education in the outgoing fiscal year was Tk14,502cr while it was

Police intercept a procession of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front in front of the National Press Club yesterday. The activists of the student front were on their way to submitting a memorandum to the finance minister demanding an allocation of 25% in education sector in the upcoming budget MEHEDI HASAN Tk12,417cr in the revised FY2014-15 and Tk10,957cr in FY2013-14.

The per capita expenditure stood at Tk1,787 in 2013-14 and Tk1,574 in 2014-15. The exact number of students in primary schools

could not be found. But the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) provided 23.17 million books last year and 24.6m in 2016, which means the per capita amount was Tk1,597 in 2015-16 and

Delayed mega projects push up costs

BD, Thai businesses to help each other

The cost of many mega projects is rising due to delays caused by corruption, design problems, slow work by construction firms, a crisis of funds and a lack of expertise.

Bangladeshi businessmen will help Thai exporters to send duty-free textile products, while their Thai counterparts will help Bangladeshi businesses export duty-free ready-made garment products.

‘Govt to help Sundarbans robbers to bring them back to normal life’

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Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said the government would provide all legal assistance to forest robbers who want to return to normal life.  PAGE 7

it fell to Tk1,108 in 2016-17.

Meanwhile, the government has decided that primary education will cover up to class VIII from next year. In that case, the per  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

SINGAPORE TERROR FINANCING

4 Bangladeshis plead guilty n Tribune Desk Four radicalised Bangladeshi workers who were detained in Singapore last month under the Internal Security Act (ISA) have been found guilty of financing terrorism.

They pleaded guilty yesterday while another denied the charges brought against him, reports the Channel NewsAsia. The four are Rahman Mizanur, Miah Rubel, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Blocked SIMs to be reactivated upon registration n Ishtiaq Husain Unregistered SIMs cards were deactivated at midnight last night but subscribers will be able to reactivate SIM cards instantly after registering them from today.

However, they will lose ownership of their SIM cards if the cards are not registered through the biometric process within the next 540 days. Operators can then resell the deactivated mobile phone numbers.

Now, a subscriber has to pay Tk150 to Tk200 to reactive their SIM, as per the new directives of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued on Monday night.

When asked about the implementation of the deactivation process, officials of different mobile operators said it would be difficult to block all unregistered SIMs at once. The process will need three to five days to complete. An official of a mobile operator said they can easily block outgoing calls of all unregistered SIMs but blocking the incoming calls is not an easy task.

According to BTRC, as of Monday, over 30 million SIM cards remain unregistered. l

Over 2,000 people contract HIV after blood transfusions in India

Patients in India are going to think twice about accepting blood transfusions after a BBC report on Tuesday revealed that 2,234 people contracted HIV while undergoing treatment in hospitals.  PAGE 32

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6 get death for Ashulia bank robbery One to die for killing n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced six militants to death and another militant was awarded lifetime imprisonment in a case filed over a daring bank robbery. The private bank at Ashulia was robbed in April last year, and eight people were killed.

The six militants – Burhan Uddin, Saiful alias Al-Amin, Mintu Pradhan, Jasim Uddin, Md Mahfuzul Islam alias Sumon, and Md Palash alias

Sohel Rana – who got death penalty were also fined Tk10,000 each.

The court awarded life in jail to Ukil Hasan and fined him Tk5,000, in default of which he would suffer two months more in jail.

Militants Abdul Baten and Shahjahan Jamader got three years’ jail each and were also fined Tk3,000, with one more month in jail if they default. All nine convicts except Palash are now in jail.

Two other accused – Babul Sard-

er and Mozammel Haque – were acquitted from the charges.

All of the convicts are alleged members of banned Islamist outfits Ansarullah Bangla Team and JMB. Dhaka District and Sessions Judge SM Kuddus Zaman handed down the verdict.

The judge in his order said: “This is not only a case of a bank robbery ... but also a case of the planned, pre-meditated and cold-blooded murder of eight unarmed civilians.” l

child in Barguna n Md Tariqul Islam, Barguna A Barguna court has sentenced a man to death for the murder of a fourth grader.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Md Abu Taher also fined convict Miraz Tk20 lakh for the murder and another seven-year rigorous imprisonment and a Tk10,000 fine for concealing the body.

According to case details, Miraz beat Rabiul to death on August 3 last year for allegedly stealing fishing net at Amkhola in Taltali upazila.

Rabiul was a fourth-grader at a local madrasa. Miraz dumped his body into a canal which was discovered by locals on August 4. Miraz confessed to killing the child before a court on August 6. l

A sixth man – Mamun Leakot Ali, who took over as leader of the group after Mizanur was arrested in March – had denied the charges against him at a hearing last week.

If found guilty of financing terrorism, the men could be jailed up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000 per charge, or both.

The four men who pleaded guilty are expected to be sentenced on June 21. Another two men, Sohag Ibrahim and Islam Shariful, both 24, will be dealt with separately. They were listed as witnesses in the case against the five men yesterday.

The six were arrested along with seven others on May 4 by Singapore’s Internal Security Department. Of them, five were sent back

to Dhaka.

They were arrested by the DMP’s Transnational and Counter-Terrorism Unit in Dhaka. Detectives say they are all supporters of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team that has claimed the murder of several teachers and secular activists since 2013.

The Singapore government earlier arrested 27 Bangladeshis, who reportedly supported IS and al-Qaeda, between November 16 and December 1 last year. All but one were deported to Bangladesh.

The DB police arrested them and investigated the allegations. Later they claimed that 14 of them had supported Ansarullah’s activities.

So the 12 others were released. l

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4 Bangladeshis plead guilty Police pressed formal charges against six Bangladeshis on May 27.

The report said they pleaded guilty to between one and two counts each of providing or collecting hundreds of dollars to be put towards facilitating terror attacks in Bangladesh.

Mizanur had set up the group which claimed itself as Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) in March.

The 31-year-old ringleader admitted to two counts of the charge, including one for actively inviting members of ISB to give money to be used for carrying out a terrorist act in Bangladesh.

According to court documents, Mizanur had collected S$1,000 from March 20 to 25.

Besides, two similar charges will be taken into consideration in sentencing him.

Mizanur had tried to join ISIS thrice but was unable to obtain a visa that would allow him to travel to Turkey and Algeria. However, he travelled to Singapore to find work and recruited his five co-accused, four of whom pleaded guilty alongside him.

In January, Mizanur, Jabath, Rubel and Zaman Daulat had sworn an oath that they would follow ISIS leader Abu Bakar al-Bagdadi until their deaths.

On the other hand, Daulat has denied the charges against him. He was also part of the group charged last week.

Daulat told the court: “I contributed S$200 but I did not know how the money would be spent. I did not know the money would be spent for terrorism.”

The Home Affairs Ministry in Singapore said the had intended to join Islamic State as foreign fighters, but upon realising it would be difficult to travel to Syria, focused their plans closer to home.

Based on investigations, the group had identified several possible attack targets in Bangladesh, and possessed documents on weapons and bomb-making, as well as ISIS and al-Qaeda radical material. The group had also planned to recruit other Bangladeshi nationals working in Singapore.

Padma Bridge or primary education? capita amount will decrease further.

“The budgetary system has become a routine work. There is no demand, contextual or strategic planning in this system. The strategy used previously is being followed now. It is not a mechanism,” said Prof Dr Niaz Ahmed Khan, former chairman of Dhaka University’s development studies department.

“Education is a dynamic sector; it has to be reviewed and updated from time to time. The per capita amount has been decreasing because the primary and mass education sector needs to show tangible results. But the result in this sector is intangible and not visible,” he added.

On prioritisation of the Padma bridge project, he said: “It is being implemented for political interests. But education is not on the priority list … there is no concrete action about it by the government.”

According to academicians and economists, Bangladesh is lagging far behind countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam regarding education quality at primary level.

“In Sri Lanka, the educators have a social status while its government recognises the need of ed-

ucation. We are not in a position to compare our situation with these countries. Because, in Bangladesh, the education system is very much politicised,” Prof Niaz told the Dhaka Tribune.

“The major problem is that we see no problem in this sector. Rather we see high enrolment rate, high pass rate in SSC. So, since there is no problem, the policymakers do not feel the need for development.

The fundamental problem in the primary and mass education level is the lack of quality teachers, which needs more attention.”

Prof Quazi Afroz Jahanara of DU Institute of Education and Research thinks increasing primary education up to class VIII is really appreciative. “It will enhance the maturity level of children. However, the budget is inadequate.

“The main reason behind such allocation is that we do not really understand the value, necessity and quality of our primary and mass education,” she said.

Prof Jahanara thinks that the way students are studying these days will make them thinking about pursuing only corporate or desk jobs. “Had the state designed the primary and mass education level in an effective way incorporating general, vocational and tech-

nical education, Bangladesh would have had many productive and diverse qualified people. They could play productive roles in every sector with higher qualifications and skills,” she said.

“China has a big population but their population is their asset. On the other hand, our population has become a burden. This has happened only because we could not raise our children in a productive way,” she pointed out.

“Sri Lanka has 100% literacy rate and all their people can converse in English.

This language skill has given them access to the global market.

They use English language skills for their development, whereas ironically and ideologically we are still dominated by the English language,” she said, stressing the need for better language teaching from the primary level.

“The social status of the country’s teachers is poorer compared to those in these countries. A child can be made productive and worthy when improvement of education quality will get priority. All these can be ensured only if we prioritise our primary and mass education sector in the budget and policymaking level,” Prof Jahanara added. l

Gas, power prices to soar is high time Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation was made a profitable organisation.

The BPC is making 60% profit on average right now through sales of all sorts of fuel oil products following the drop in price of fuel on the international market.

On April 24 this year, the prices of octane and petrol were slumped

by Tk10 a litre and diesel and kerosene by Tk3.

A BPC official said the government is earning a profit of Tk24 a litre on average by selling diesel, Tk24 by selling kerosene, Tk14 for furnace oil, Tk31 for petrol and

Tk27 by selling octane.

The BPC adjusted oil prices upward in 2013 when the rate of oil per barrel rose to $122 in the international market. It fixed per litre octane price at Tk99, petrol at Tk96, diesel at Tk68 and kerosene Tk68 at that time.

The state-owned enterprise has maintained the same prices although oil prices dropped to less than $40 a barrel globally over the past two years.

On average, the country imports around 5.3 million tonnes of fuel oil. Six types of fuel oil are used in Bangladesh. l

BUDGET FY2017

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Fast-track projects on track

PADMA BRIDGE

METRO RAIL

PADMA RAIL LINK

PAYRA SEAPORT

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he construction of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge will be completed

by December 2018, as per government plan.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Tk28,793 crore.

Bridges Division has proposed to fix Tk6,026 crore for the next fiscal year to build Padma Bridge, compared to the outgoing year’s allocation of Tk7,400 crore.

Bridges Division Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam said: “We are hopeful about getting the proposed money to complete the Padma Bridge by December 2018.”

A Bridges Division official said already 30% work has been completed during the ongoing fiscal year and 64% would be done

by FY17. The construction will reach 89% by 2017-18 and completed by 2018-19 fiscal year.

The Bridges Division estimates that the Padma Bridge would increase the GDP by 1.2% while poverty may be reduced by 0.84%.

he Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, known as metro rail, is another big project which could to be completed by December 2019 for a cost of Tk21,985 crore.

An official with the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Company said: “The allocated Tk340 crore for the current year has been extended to Tk360 crore [for next year].

“The cost will increase in the upcoming year as the main construction work begins in early 2017. We will need to pay a large amount to the constructors at that point,” said Mofazzel Hossain, project director of MRT line 6.

The allocation for metro rail is proposed at Tk2,227crore for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

The metro rail will carry 60,000 passengers as well as help reduce existing traffic congestion in the capital.

he Padma Bridge rail link project will be implemented with a cost of Tk34,988.86 crore aiming to connect the southern parts of the country with Dhaka.

“However, the allocation for 2016-17 fiscal year is below Tk4,102 crore, because the main construction work will begin in 2017 as per the plan,” said Rail Minister Mujibul Haque.

Bangladesh Railway is expected to complete the project by June 2022.

According to the project summary, the total length of this new railway track will be 215.22 kilometers, including three kilometers double line on Dhaka-Gendaria section.

he government has begun construction work of the Payra Seaport with the aim of running its activities on a limited scale with an estimated cost of Tk1,128 crore.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan told the Dhaka Tribune: “The development works have been designed with 19 components, while capital dredging – one of the main components – will start at the beginning of 2017. So the allocation in the budget is too little.”

The proposed allocation for Payra Seaport is fixed at Tk200 crore.

Recently a deal was signed between the Shipping ministry and Jun De Nul, a developer of Belgium for capital dredging work. Port development work is to be completed by December 2018, as per the plan.

Report by Shohel Mamun

Delayed mega projects push up costs n Shohel Mamun The cost of many of the government’s mega construction projects are going up for repeated delays caused by corruption, faulty design, slow work by construction firms, crisis of funds and lack of expertise and experience.

The ripple effect of these cost overruns would be felt by the annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane upgrade project has missed several deadlines, pushing costs up to Tk3,817 crore from the initially approved figure of Tk2,168 crore.

Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary MAN Siddique said the construction work of the four-lane highway was almost complete and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would inaugurate the highway soon.

However, he refused to comment on the cost overruns.

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is another hyped project which has already missed two deadlines. The

design for a dedicated bus lane from Gazipur to Keraniganj has recently been finalised but the main construction work is yet to begin, even though the authorities have already spent Tk300 crore on the project.

The estimated cost of the BRT project is Tk2,040 crore, but it will be revised upwards in the next year, sources said.

Another project that has already missed two deadlines due to fund crisis and land acquisition problems is the 46km-long Dhaka Elevated Expressway, that would stretch from Dhaka Airport to

Jatrabari.

In January 2011, the government signed an agreement with Bangkok-based Ital-Thai to build the four-lane expressway at a cost of Tk8,703 crore under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

After continuous fund crisis, last year the Ital-Thai Development Corporation Limited entered into a $1.062 billion contract with China Railway Construction Corporation to build the expressway.

Meanwhile, the proposed Karnaphuli tunnel also missed its December 2015 deadline for starting construction work.

A Bridges Division official said the detailed design of the tunnel has been finalised, while the construction of the 3.4km tunnel will start immediately after the division signs a loan agreement with the Chinese government-owned EXIM Bank.

The 38km Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway is also plagued by delays, with authorities still carrying out a feasibility study that was supposed to be completed by June 2015.

The feasibility study by Bridges Division has a projected cost of Tk16,250 crore. l

‘Allocate more to buy rice directly from farmers’ Farmers’ losses will come down if the government buys their produce directly at the declared price

n Abu Bakar Siddique The government should ensure that the farmers get fair prices for their crops by procuring rice and paddy directly from them, experts say, suggesting more allocation in the budget for this purpose.

Farmers will incur huge losses otherwise, Quazi Shahabuddin, former director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) said.

“The government should procure rice directly from the farmers at a fair price. This is to ensure food security and well being of the farmers,” he added. “Otherwise,

they will lose enthusiasm, and shift from cereal production to cash crops.”

In the current season, Boro farmers are getting between Tk450 and Tk500 for each maund (38kgs) of rice against a production cost of Tk773. The price is the lowest in the last several years.

Last year, the government procured one million tonnes of rice at Tk32 per kg and 100,000 tonnes of paddy at Tk22 per kg from local markets in the Boro season. The production cost stood at Tk27.5 and Tk20 respectively for rice and paddy.

This year, the government plans to procure 700,000 tonnes of paddy and 600,000 tonnes of rice from the local market – the highest amount so far.

“Farmers’ loss will come down

if the government buys their produce directly at the declared price,” agricultural economist Shahabuddin said. “But this usually does not happen.”

Bangladesh produces around 347 lakh tonnes of rice annually against a demand of 324 lakh tonnes. Boro paddy dominates the production with around 195 lakh tonnes. Aman is the second largest paddy crop with an annual production of 130 lakh tonnes.

Agricultural economist Dr Asaduzzaman said the surplus food grains should be exported to the international market at higher prices. “It will remove the burden of surplus production.”

The government often fails to procure food grains from growers due to its inadequate storage

facilities. “This deprives the farmers of fair prices,” he said, adding that the government should increase its storage capacity.

Usually the farmers sell paddy just after harvest when the price is very low.

To avert the situation, Asaduzzaman suggests allocating funds in the budget to introduce ‘Consumer/ Marketing Loan’ for farmers so that they can hoard their production for at least three to four months.

This loan mechanism will help farmers get fair price and give the government time to ensure adequate storage facility, he said.

“If the government can provide this facility to small and medium range growers, they will be encouraged to continue cereal production,” he added. l

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War crimes verdict on two brothers of Habiganj any day n Ashif Islam Shaon

The International Crimes Tribunal will deliver its verdict in a war crimes case against two brothers from Habiganj and one of their cousins today.

The three-member tribunal led

by Justice Anwar Haque will deliv-

er the verdict in the morning. The matter was on yesterday’s cause list of the tribunal to fix the date, said Prosecutor Rezia Sultana Chaman.

On May 11, the tribunal kept the verdict waiting to be delivered any day against the three razakars – two brothers and their cousin – after recording closing

KK Tea takes part in BD Expo in Thailand n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Kazi and Kazi Tea is taking part in the Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The three-day event, first ever Bangladesh trade expo in Thailand, began on Monday.

Director of KK Tea Estate Kazi Inam Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune: “I think it will be interesting and good to see all of this interest and all of response.”

KK tea is being exported to six different countries worldwide and the company wants to explore the Thai market to expand its business, he added.

KK Tea Estate Ltd is the only internationally certified organic tea grower in

Bangladesh.

“We manufacture both orthodox and CTC organic teas for overseas and local markets,” Inam said.

After extensive research and consultation with the Bangladesh Tea Board, plantation began in the garden located in Tetulia in 2000.

KK Tea entered the local market in 2006 and from the beginning it is esteemed to be the highest valued tea in Chittagong tea auction.

The garden produces only organic tea, manufacturing bio-fertilisers and biopesticides on-site with only natural and organic means.

Over 50 companies are taking part in the Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo 2016. l

statements in the case.

Accused Mahibur Rahman alias Boromia, his brother Mujibur Rahman alias Angur Mia, and their cousin Abdur Razzak were present in the dock during the proceedings.

During their submission, the prosecution prayed for capital punishment of the accused while the

defence counsels sought acquittal.

The three young men are charged with the murder of two freedom fighters, rape of two women, confinement and torture of an unarmed civilian, and arson attack and looting of the house of Maj Gen (retd) MA Rob, the deputy commander-in-chief during the 1971

Liberation War. The trio hail from Baniachong upazila’s Khagaurha union. The siblings served as chairmen of the union parishad.

During the trial, the tribunal recorded testimonies of 12 prosecution witnesses and seven from the defence side. l

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BD, Thai businesses agree to help each other n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladeshi and Thai businessmen have agreed to help each other in doing business.

Bangladeshi businessmen agreed to help Thai exporters to get zero duty for their textile products, while Thai traders agreed to help their Bangladeshi counterparts to get the same facility for readymade garment (RMG) products, said Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangladesh ambassador to Thailand.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Saida said she had a talk with the Thai authorities and they assured that they would consider the tariff rate reduction for the RMG prod-

Bangladesh and Thailand are both members of the seven-member Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec).

The ambassador said State Minister for Energy Nasrul Hamid had a fruitful meeting with a number of Thai energy companies.

Post and Telecommunications State Minister Tarana Halim also had meeting with four or five Thai telecom companies to invest in Bangladesh, she added.

Meanhwile, several top Bangladeshi entrepreneurs made presentations to showcase the potential of lucrative business in Bangladesh on the second day of the expo.

ucts next year.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Matlub Ahmed led the Bangladeshi delegation in the talk, while top officials of three Thai chambers – Federation of Thai Industries, Thai Chamber of Commerce and Joint Foreign Chamber of Commerce of Thailand – attended the meeting held on the sideline on the second day of the three-day Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday.

The delegations also agreed to pursue direct coastal shipping link between the two countries and Bimstec visa arrangement for businessmen, the ambassador said.

The speakers highlighted the business environment in Bangladesh and urged the Thai businessmen and investors to engage with the country.

Western Marine Managing Director Saiful islam said he had a meeting with Unithai, a shipping company, which wants to buy fishing trawlers from Bangladesh.

They need to replace their old trawlers and are interested to work with Bangladeshi shipbuilders, he said.

Mohammadi Group Managing Director Rubana Huq, in her presentation, gave a vivid picture of the RMG sector of Bangladesh. “We want to trade with Thailand,” she

said at the presentation.

Kazi and Kazi Tea Estate Director Kazi Inam Ahmed, in his presentation, said his company exports organic tea to six countries including the US and the UK. Their products are now being sold at prestigious stores like the Harrods, Tree of Life, Holland and Barret, Whole Food, Korger and Target, he added.

Chen Namchaisiri, chairman of Federation of Thai industries, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had received a request from Thai textiles association yesterday morning to urge the authorities of both the countries to hold negotiation on textile trade. l

Asian govts must do more to phase out mercury use Al-Masum Molla, n Mohammad from Bangkok, Thailand Asian countries, who are in particular danger of bearing the health brunt of using mercury amalgam in dentistry, have made some progress in phasing out the use of mercury, but their governments still need to be more active in ending the mercury use, environmentalists and experts said at a forum in Thailand yesterday.

The event, a two-day workshop on successful strategies to promote mercury-free dentistry, began yesterday at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday.

The workshop is jointly organised by United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, in collaboration with Environment and Social Development Organisation (Esdo) and Asia Centre for Environment Health.

Addressing the workshop, Desiree Narvaez, programme officer of Unep Chemicals Division of Technology, said many governments are still resistant to this issue. “They should take the lead in phasing out the use of mercury,” she said.

“Around 25% of the global population live in Asia, so this region is very important as it is a major stakeholder. So Asian governments have to come forward in this regard.”

“Many of the countries in Asia have moved forward dramatically, but they still have a long way to go to phase out mercury use from dental practice,” said Charles G Brown of World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.

“Now it is high time to devise specific strategies for each country to implement the Minamata Convention and phase out mercury from dentistry,” he said.

Henk Verbeek of Unep Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific said goals have been set and it is time to achieve those goals.

“We have to promote clinically effective, affordable and environment-friendly alternatives of mercury to achieve the goal of mercury-free dentistry,” he said at the opening session of the event.

Tomoko Furusawa, programme specialist at United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Bangkok office, said the UNDP is helping Asian countries to undertake an initial assessment of mercury use to determine the national requirement for the ratification of Minamata Convention and establish a national foundation to undertake future work towards the implementation of the convention.

Kakuko Nagatani-Yoshida, regional sub-programme coordinator at Unep Bangkok office, stressed safe disposal of used dental amalgam as it is a big threat to both the environment and human health. l

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1

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A man and a woman is seen to wash numerous polythene bags, used for storage of chemicals, in the Buriganga River in Kamrangir Char area yesterday. Such a practice not only pollutes the river but also destroys the surrounding ecosystem SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Three sentenced to death for killing 12-year-old in Netrakona n Hanif Ullah Akash, Netrakona A Netrakona court has sentenced three men to death and fined them Tk50,000 each for abducting and killing a 12-year-old boy in the district’s Kendua upazila two years ago.

Netrakona Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge AKM Abul Kashem issued the death sentence yesterday around 1pm in the presence of two of the murder convicts.

The convicts are Shamim Khan 26

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and Md Sohag, from Chitua Naopara village in Kendua, and Humayun Miah, from Tarakandi Rajibpur village in the same upazila. Among the three, Humayun remains on the run.

According to the case, the trio abducted the victim, Shukkur Ali, from Chitua Naopara, at a local bazar when the boy went to purchase medicines for his mother on June 9, 2014.

Failing to trace Shukkur, his father Md Faruk Bhuiyan filed a case of missing person with Kendua poKhulna

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lice station on June 12.

On June 25, the abductors called Faruk on his mobile phone and demanded a ransom of Tk600,000 in exchange of Shukkur’s life.

As Faruk failed to pay the ransom, the abductors killed Shukkur, cut up his body into pieces and dumped them in the Suti River.

Later, police found the Shamim and Sohag by tracing their mobile phones and, following their confession, found Shukkur’s remains in the river. l Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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

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Smugglers desperate as Ramadan approaches Hedait Hossain Molla, n Md Khulna Smuggling through different border areas in Khulna is going unchecked as smugglers are desperate to bring in different items, including saris, three-piece sets and cosmetics, from neighbouring India as Ramadan will be here in a week.

According to local sources, members of the Coast Guard have so far seized smuggled items worth Tk5.25 crore at the check post set up in front of Khan Jahan Bridge, but law enforcers surprisingly could not arrest anyone in this regard.

Smuggling along border areas persists due to the collaboration between a section of dishonest officers in law enforcement agencies and smugglers, and for this reason the illegal traders remain at large.

Mehedi Masud, commander of the west zone of Mongla port, said at times they have been unable to arrest smugglers as they fled, leaving behind the smuggled items when they sensed the presence of law enforcers.

“It is hard sometimes for us to find the actual smugglers, as trans-

port workers help them and smuggled goods are often carried through passengers’ buses,” he said.

He also said Coast Guard officers are sincere in stopping smuggling along the border areas of Khulna and other part of country.

Locals alleged smugglers carry their goods across the border, mostly at night, after paying bribes to dishonest members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the police.

M Fariduzzaman Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that smuggling along different borders in Khulna recently increased since smugglers were desperate to bring in different illegal items such as saris, three-pieces and cosmetics from India to send to different parts of the country, including Dhaka.

They can do brisk business before Eid-ul-Fitr, considered to be the most crucial time for trade, he said.

“We have already beefed up vigilance along

Teacher suspended for insulting Prophet Muhammad Nazmul Huda Nasim, n Md Bogra A high school math teacher in Bogra’s Sherpur upazila was suspended for “liking” a Facebook post making derogatory comment about Prophet Muhammad (SM).

A three-member committee has been formed to look into the allegation brought against the teacher, and the committee has been asked to submit a report within seven working days.

According to local and school sources, the accused, Biplop Kumar, who is an assistant teacher at the mathematics department of Kalyani High School at Sirajnagar village in Sherpur, has a Facebook ID named Krishna Kumar.

Using that ID, he liked a comment posted by Bangladesh Hindu Bir Juba Sangha which insulted the Prophet.

Two of his students, ninth-graders at the school, noticed it on Sunday and informed the locals. The outraged locals gathered on the school compound on Monday around 10am and launched a protest demanding punish-

ment for Biplob.

Informed of the protest, Sherpur upazila Secondary Education Officer Mizanur Rahman and Sherpur police station OC Md Erfan visited the school as well.

Biplob confessed to having liked the derogatory comment against Prophet Muhammad too.

As the protest escalated quickly, the school management committee called for an emergency meeting, where it decided to suspend Biplob to placate the angry mob.

The school committee also formed the three-member probe body and directed it to submit a report within seven working days.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, school Headmaster Sudeb Kumar Pal said: “We have never received complaints such as this against Biplob. He does not have any dispute with other teachers at the school either.”

Secondary Education Officer Mizanur Rahman said the school committee will decide on further disciplinary action against Biplob once the probe report is submitted. l

border areas in Bagerhat, Khulna and Satkhira,” he added.

According to sources at the Coast Guard, law enforcers seized 96 pieces of three-piece sets, 188 panjabis and 4,070 metres of plain cloth from Khan Jahan Ali Toll Plaza check post on April 16.

On April 21, Coast Guard members seized Indian clothes worth about Tk1 crore and 200 pieces of yaba tablets at the check post. They also arrested a Shahidul Islam in this connection.

On April 30, members of the Coast Guard seized Indian goods

worth about Tk1.3 crore at the check post. On May 6, a human hauler loaded with 80 three-piece sets and over 2,000 metres of plain cloth were seized by members of the Coast Guard.

On May 15, law enforcers seized illegal goods worth over Tk2 crore. l

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‘Arresting Khaleda will be equal to commit suicide for AL’ n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Ten members of Master Bahini surrender to Rapid Action Battalion in presence of Home Minister Asaduzzamna Khan in Mongla yesterday

FOCUS BANGLA

‘Govt to help Sundarbans robbers to bring them back to normal life’ n Md Tariqul Islam, Barguna Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said the government would provide all legal assistance to forest robbers if they wanted to return normal life.

He also warned that if forest robbers continued their criminal activities in the mangrove forest, the law enforcement agencies would take stern action against them.

The minister made the remarks while addressing a programme arranged on the occasion of surrender of 10 members of an infamous gang of forest robbers Master Bahini and its chief along with 52 firearms and 5,000 rounds of bullet

yesterday at Mongla.

“Forest robbers as well as criminals have been identified as harmful people in the society. Today they surrendered realizing this perception. The Master Bahini realized that it was wrong, so they want to return in normal life,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.

He said other gangs those were still active in the Sundarbans would surrender for normal life like Master Bahini.

Asaduzzaman said the government enhanced capacity of the Coast Guard and brought four modern vessels so that fishermen, woodcutters and mauyala could freely work in the Sundarbans.

Master Bahini chief Mostafa Shaikh alias Master and his nine accomplices along with 50 foreign and two local firearms and five thousands ammunition surrendered.

Additional Director General of RAB Colonel Anwar Hossain, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) M Moniruzzaman, RAB 8 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Faridul Alam, RAB Officer M Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of Bagerhat M Jahangir Alam, Police Super M Nizamul Haque Mollah and officials concerned were present on the occasion.

Earlier, the robber gang was scheduled to surrender on Sunday.

However, the formal surrender was postponed as the home minister could not attend the programme due to inclement weather.

Mostafa hailing from Mongla upazila in Bagerhat district formed the gang ‘Master Bahini’ several years ago.

They used to attack trawlers of fishermen, golpata and wood cutters and honey collectors and abduct fishermen for ransom in deep forests of the Sundarbans.

The surrender of the bandits made local fishermen happy. They said they would be able to catch fish without fear if other bandits also decided to surrender like the ten. l

BNP chairperson’s adviser Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said it would be tantamount to committing suicide for the incumbent government if Khaleda Zia was arrested.

He made the remark while addressing as the chief guest at a discussion meeting organised as part of celebrating the 35th death anniversary of President Ziaur Rahman.

Chittagong city chapter of Jatiyatabadi Chhatradal organised the meeting at the city’s Theatre Institute yesterday.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and many other ministers were involved with Niko scam and Gatco graft. However, they were exempted from the grafts following a secret agreement with the then 1/11 government. Contrarily, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is being implicated in many cases,” said the former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Speaking at the discussion, Dr Shahadat Hossain said Khaleda was charge-sheeted when she demanded a probe into Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s graft of Tk2,500 crore.

With Chittagong city Chhatra Dal president Md Gazi Sirajullah in the chair, the discussion was addressed by Dr Shahadat Hossain, Chittagong divisional organising secretary and Chittagong city secretary of the BNP, Jahidul Karim Kachi, Chittagong bureau chief of daily Amar Desh and Kader Gani Chowdhury, joint secretary of National Press Club. l

Tobacco factories pose threat to workers’ health Khoda Sobuj, n Kudrote Kushtia Over 35,000 workers in 200 tobacco processing factories in six upazilas of the district are doing hazardous activities risking their lives.

According to local sources, the workers of BATB, Nasir Tobacco Industries, Abul Khaer Tobacco Limited, Dhaka Tobacco Limited of Akij Group, Perfect Tobacco Limited of BRB Group and Globe Tobacco of 200 factories are extremely sufferer.

The authorities of these industries run their business defying the industry law which is very harmful for the workers.

Meanwhile, thousands of workers in the industries have been suffering from tobacco related diseases including cancer, tuberculosis, asthma and ulcer.

According to industry law, if there are more than 10 workers in an industry, medical checkup should be done within three months. But no industry in the district maintains it.

A High Court verdict in 2011 said that no one under 12 years of age cannot be employed The environment of maximum industries is unhygienic. The workers have to work in shabby room where is no sufficient air.

The sources said of the total workers, there were 10,000 child workers, 15,000 female and 10,000

male workers.

A large number of children continue to be employed in these hazardous activities for a living During a recent visit to several factories, children were found working in farms producing raw tobacco and bidi factories Female and child workers are the worst sufferers in the industries.

Their salary and other benefits are very poor.

Alea Khatun, a worker in factory in Sadar upazila, said: “I am working in the industry to support the family. But my salary is very low. Only Tk50 is paid per day.”

Mir Abdur Razzak, member of Task Force on Tobacco Control, said the tobacco industries in the district did not obey the government rules.

The labour law prohibits anyone

under 14 years for employment. It also defined the tobacco industry as ‘highly risky’ and bars anyone under 18 years to work.

A 2013 government circular also prohibited minors from employing in the industry.

A High Court verdict in 2011 said that no one under 12 years of age cannot be employed.

But maximum factories in the district violated the rules. They employed the child workers in the name of salary.

“Tobacco dust is hazardous for children,” said Civil Surgeon Mustafizur Rahman.

Dr Shohel Reza Chowhury said due to Green Tobacco Sickness, a type of nicotine poisoning caused by the dermal absorption of nicotine from the surface of wet tobacco plants, the children might face

immature death.

Tyfur Rahman, a programmer of Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids, said increasing of tobacco cultivation in the country would be threat to the health for children.

He said with the registered workers, around 20,000 unregistered workers were engaged at the factories.

“We often see a brother come along with a worker or children come with their parents to work,” he added.

Kingkar Chandra Das, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension: “The tobacco companies are doing brisk business, violating the rules.”

“They motivate the farmers openly by offering incentives in cash and kind to cultivate tobacco,” he added. l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Taliban kill 16 passengers in Afghanistan The Taliban killed at least 16 people Tuesday and kidnapped dozens of others after pulling them off buses in northern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest assault since the insurgents named a new leader last week. Around 200 passengers were travelling in four buses towards Kabul when they were waylaid by Taliban gunmen, with some killed on the side of the road at point-blank range. -AFP

INDIA

17 killed in India army ammunition depot fire A huge fire swept through one of India’s biggest arms depots on Tuesday, triggering an explosion and killing as many as 17 people, the Defence Ministry said. Said. Firefighters battled during the night to bring the flames under control at the depot in Pulgaon, 600km from Mumbai. -AP

CHINA

China to pressure US on maritime issues China will pressure the US on maritime issues at key talks in Beijing next week because of Chinese concerns over the increased US military presence in the disputed South China Sea. China has been angered by what it views as provocative US military patrols close to islands China controls in the South China Sea. Washington says the patrols are to protect freedom of navigation in the region. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

North Korea fails with attempted missile launch North Korea apparently failed with an attempted missile launch Tuesday, the latest in a series of setbacks for a ballistic weapons programme that aspires to threaten the US mainland. South Korea’s defence ministry detected the dawn launch effort, which Japan condemned as an unacceptable and provocative act. However, North Korean state media did not mention any missile launch. -AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi intercepts missile from Yemen Saudi Arabia has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Yemen and a Saudi-led military coalition said in a statement late on Monday it may be forced to reconsider a truce that has been place since April. The missile was destroyed in mid-air without causing any casualties. The air force also destroyed the platform from which the missile was fired, it said. -REUTERS

Migrant crisis fuels sex trafficking of Nigerian girls to Europe Reuters n Thomson Foundation, Abuja/Dakar A promising student who dreamed of going to university, Mary was 16 when a woman approached her mother at their home and offered to take the Nigerian teenager to Italy to find work.

Pushed to go by her family who hoped she would lift them out of poverty, Mary ended up being trafficked into prostitution.

After being arrested by Italian police, Mary was repatriated to Nigeria in 2001, but she was rejected by her family and left feeling like a failure.

While Mary’s ordeal ended 15 years ago, a soaring number of Nigerian girls like her are being trafficked to Europe - mainly Italy and forced to sell sex by gangs taking advantage of the chaos caused by the migrant crisis, anti-slavery activists say.

Thousands of women and girls are lured to Europe each year with the promise of work, then trapped by huge debts and bound to their traffickers by a religious ritual - the curse of juju.

Bound by Juju

More than nine in 10 of the Nigerian women trafficked to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state with a population of about 3m, according to the United Nations.

While Edo is not among the country’s poorest states, its histo-

More than 5,600 Nigerian women and girls arrived in Italy by sea last year, up from 1,200 in 2014, and at least four in five were trafficked into sex work, the IOM said.

At least 1,250 Nigerian women have landed in Italy this year, up from 373 for the same period in 2015, IOM data shows. Traffickers also take victims to Europe by plane, using forged documents and flying via other West African countries to avoid suspicion, said Mikael Jensen of the UNODC. BIGSTOCK

ry of migration to Italy has fuelled locals’ hopes of easy money in Europe - leaving people vulnerable to traffickers, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says.

Before going to Europe, women and girls must sign a contract with traffickers to finance their move, racking up debts of up to $100,000.

They then must seal the pact with a juju ritual.

This belief in black magic means victims fear they or their family may fall ill or die if they do not pay off their debts.

Most of the women and girls know they will have to sell sex but are pressured by their families and deceived by traffickers, said Nigeria’s anti-human trafficking agency (NAPTIP).

Many have no idea they will live

under the control of older “madams” and be forced to work for several years to clear their debts, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Madams, who make up almost half of traffickers in Nigeria, are mostly former victims who target others in order to escape prostitution - perpetuating a cycle of exploitation, the UNODC said in its latest global report on human trafficking.

Migrant crisis

Traffickers and gangs in Nigeria are now exploiting Europe’s migration crisis - moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy on flimsy, overloaded boats, said Bryant from the Walk Free Foundation.

Re-trafficked

Human trafficking by Nigerian organised crime gangs is one of the greatest challenges facing police forces across Europe, according to the EU’s law enforcement agency Europol.

A lack of co-ordination between European states and Nigeria is allowing traffickers to act with impunity, said Kevin Hyland, who was appointed Britain’s first anti-slavery chief in 2014.

Nigerian anti-trafficking official Arinze Orakwe said more European nations should criminalise the purchase of sex to curb the number of Nigerians trafficked into prostitution in Europe.

The Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) clothes and feeds victims, provides counselling and attempts to reunite them with their families. l

India unveils first-ever comprehensive draft law on human trafficking Reuters n Thomson Foundation, New Delhi India’s minister for women and children unveiled a draft of the country’s first-ever comprehensive anti-human trafficking law, which would treat survivors as victims in need of assistance and protection rather than as criminals.

South Asia, with India at its centre, is the fastest-growing and second-largest region for human trafficking in the world, after East Asia, says the UN Office for Drugs and Crime.

There are no accurate figures on the number of people trafficked within South Asia, but activists say thousands of mostly women and children are trafficked within India

as well as from its poorer neighbours Nepal and Bangladesh.

Many are sold into forced marriage or bonded labour to work in middle class homes as domestic servants, in small shops and hotels or confined to brothels where they are repeatedly raped.

Women’s Minister Maneka Gandhi said the draft bill aims to unify existing anti-trafficking laws, prioritise survivors’ needs, and prevent victims such as those found in brothel raids from being arrested and jailed like traffickers.

“The bill shows far more compassion and makes a very clear distinction between the trafficked and the trafficker, which is a nuance that should have been made 60 years ago,” Gandhi said on Monday

as she unveiled the draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016.

The draft legislation provides for special courts to expedite trafficking cases, more shelters and a rehabilitation fund to help victims rebuild their lives.

It also provides for anti-trafficking committees - at district, state and central levels - that will oversee prevention, protection and victim rehabilitation.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, there were 5,466 human trafficking cases registered in 2014, an increase of 90% over the past five years, though activists say this is a gross underestimate.

Thousands of Indians - largely poor, rural women and children -

are lured to big cities each year by traffickers who promise good jobs but sell them into domestic or sex work or to industries such as textile workshops.

In many cases, they are unpaid or held in debt bondage. Some go missing, and their families cannot trace them.

Gandhi said the draft bill would strengthen prosecutions and boost the number of convictions by setting up a special investigative agency to coordinate work between states and collect intelligence on trafficking offences.

There is also a provision for the recovery of fines from the convicted in the draft bill, officials said, and victims who are not paid wages while in servitude will be reimbursed. l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

INSIGHT

USA

Trump draws reactions in China n Tribune International Desk China features prominently in the rhetoric of presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who accuses the country of stealing American jobs and cheating at global trade.

In China itself, though, he’s only now emerging as a public figure, despite fame elsewhere for his voluble utterances, high-profile businesses and reality TV show.

And although Chinese officials and state media have denounced Trump’s threats of economic retaliation, many Chinese observers see a silver lining in his focus on economic issues to the near-total exclusion of human rights and political freedoms. That appears to make him an attractive alternative to his likely rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, who is regarded as far more critical of China’s communist system.

Despite his frequent evocations of China, it’s not clear how familiar Trump actually is with the country. While he’s claimed to have made “billions of dollars dealing with China,” he has no known investments in the nation, and it isn’t clear what influential figures he knows in the Chinese political and business realms. Chinese are, however, customers for Trump’s hotel, golf course and real estate ventures, while Trump-branded clothing and accessories have

been made in China.

Trump mentions the country so often that a popular YouTube compilation video exists in which he says the word China more than 200 times in just over 3 minutes.

His various statements on China range from the blunt (“We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country”) to the anodyne (“I like China very much”).

Still, Trump was largely unknown in China until his campaign for the Republican nomination began gathering momentum last year.

Though China’s government rarely comments on American political campaigns, Trump’s advocacy of a 45% tariff on imports that would hit China hard has been lambasted by Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, who called Trump “one of those irrational types” and said enacting such a tariff would cost the US its global leadership.

Trump’s comments might’ve sparked a stronger response if Chinese hadn’t already grown accustomed to American candidates making strong statements about their country during elections, only to moderate their positions once in office, said Nanjing University foreign relations expert Zhu Feng.

Many Chinese may also be relieved that Trump is focused so relentlessly on China’s role in the US economy, rather on the country’s authoritarian political system, human rights record or policies toward Tibet and the north-western

Stephen Hawking: Trump is a demagogue Stephen Hawking, the world’s most famous living scientist, said he finds Donald Trump’s popularity inexplicable. “He’s a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator,” he told Britain’s ITV earlier today. Trump, meanwhile, is anticipating the court-ordered release of records relating to Trump University. -THE GUARDIAN

THE AMERICAS

Brazil’s anti-corruption minister quits over leaked recordings Chinese fan websites for Donald Trump are displayed on a computer with the words ‘Donald J Trump super fan nation, Full and unconditional support for Donald J Trump to be elected US president’ in Beijing AP region of Xinjiang.

Trump’s questioning of US foreign military commitments is also sweet music to the ears of Chinese nationalists who want China to dominate in Asia and challenge US dominance in the rest of the world.

His opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which excludes China and seeks to offset Chinese influence, also goes down well in Beijing, though he has also criticised China’s construction of man-made islands in the South China Sea. US politics is also a topic on which the tightly leashed state media is relatively free to report, so discussion of Trump, Clinton and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders rages on social media platforms and podcasts. Many have also noted that Trump’s

personality-driven, publicity-fed style is also a familiar archetype for Chinese known for their love of high-profile business moguls such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma. Although no polls have been taken, Chinese public sentiment toward Trump appears mixed.

Comparing him to a figure from folklore known for sowing chaos, the official Global Times newspaper proclaimed him a symptom of an “American disease.”

Trump, though, does seem to have won some Chinese supporters, particularly online. There, chat groups such as “Donald Trump Super Fans Club” and “God Emperor Trump” have popped up in recent months. One posting in a Weibo messaging service chat group was unrestrained in its enthusiasm. l

Brazil’s Transparency Minister Fabiano Silveira resigned on Monday after leaked recordings suggested he tried to derail a sprawling corruption probe, the latest cabinet casualty impacting interim President Michel Temer’s administration. Silveira, the man Temer tasked with fighting corruption since he took office on May 12, announced his plans to step down in a letter. -AFP

UK

Labour MP receives more than 600 rape threats Labour MP Jess Phillips has revealed she received 600 rape threats in just one night - days after launching a campaign to end online sexist bullying. The Birmingham Yardley MP hit out at Twitter for allowing mass bullying to take place and said their business model is totally flawed. She said this morning that many of the abusive messages she received told her she wasn’t worthy of being raped. -TELEGRAPH

EUROPE

INSIGHT

Stay or go? Brexit activists battle it out Peace and democracy

22 DAYS TO GO

But Clive Pool, 57, insisted Britain can flourish outside the EU -- and rejected attempts to suggest the country would risk its security by going it alone.

He said: “I’m voting out and I’m encouraging as many people as possible to get back to our democracy and get back to laws, made by elected representatives that we can get rid of.

n AFP, London Politicians and world leaders have dominated the headlines in the campaign for Britain’s EU referendum, but a passionate battle for the country’s future is also being fought by activists on the streets.

At a stall in the bohemian London district of Fitzrovia last week, Sheila Hawkins tried to persuade workers on their lunchbreak that leaving the bloc in the June 23 vote would be a “disaster”.

Standing on a street corner handing out leaflets, the pensioner volunteered with the “Britain Stronger In Europe” campaign to allay her own fears of what would happen in the event of a so-called Brexit.

“I was so worried, I thought -stop worrying and do something

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World

A campaigner wears a T-shirt bearing the slogan ‘I’m Turning My Back On The EU’ as he attends an UKIP pro-Brexit campaign event in Birmingham AFP about it,” she said.

Haran, a 19-year-old student who stopped by to pick up a campaign sticker, condemned those who wanted to “Leave” out of a desire to reassert British sovereignty.

They “think they’re going to find independence, but it’s all

bullshit,” he said bluntly.

He repeated warnings by Prime Minister David Cameron, the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund of the economic risks of leaving the EU. “Companies are going to suffer and we’re going to go into another deep recession,” he said.

‘Losing our identity’

The following day, a few miles away in the south London suburb of Croydon, activists from the “Vote Leave” campaign were out canvassing in the early evening sunshine.

“I’m leaving,” a 60-year-old lady said there, adding: “It’s about losing our identity as a country.

I don’t like that -- I want Britain back again,” she said, a small white dog barking at her heels. l

Internet giants back EU hate speech rules Internet giants Facebook, Twitter, Google’s YouTube and Microsoft on Tuesday agreed to an EU code of conduct to tackle online hate speech within 24 hours in Europe.

EU governments have been trying in recent months to get social platforms to crack down on rising online racism following the refugee crisis and terror attacks, with some even threatening action against the companies. -REUTERS

AFRICA

UN: Niger on alert for massive floods Some 100,000 people across the arid west African country of Niger will likely be hit by massive flooding this year. Heavy rains are set to hit multiple regions in the poor country and may affect about 105,000 people, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement. Climate change has wreaked havoc in Niger, bringing floods, droughts, spikes in temperature and food shortages. -AFP

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World

INSIGHT

Gulf economic slowdown sees foreign workers trapped by debts n Tribune International Desk The economic slowdown gripping countries across the Persian Gulf can be seen in layoffs, slowed construction projects and government cutbacks. For the millions of foreign workers drawn by brighter job prospects, it can have a far-darker side if they find themselves deep in debt, reports The Associated Press Gulf countries like Qatar largely don’t have bankruptcy laws, leaving laid-off workers on the hook for huge outstanding sums while often banned from traveling outside of the country. That leaves many unemployed begging friends and family for help while frantically selling off all their belongings. Others have killed themselves out of desperation.

“It was kind of scary for a while there,” said Robert Foster, an American from Beaufort, South Carolina, who found himself trapped for months in Qatar. “We sold everything we had.”

The Middle East has weathered several boom-and-bust cycles over the last decades, both buoyed and beaten by the global price of crude oil, as well as the recent recession.

In 2009, the financial meltdown in Dubai saw dusty luxury cars parked and abandoned at its international airport and across the city as foreigners fled their debts.

Recent collapse

This recent financial collapse began with oil prices falling from over $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014 to bottom out this January to under $30, a 12-year low. In the time since, oil has clawed back to $50 on supply disruptions and lowered reserves, but the damage already had been done in the Mideast.

Among those hard hit was Qatar, a small oil-and-gas-rich country on the Arabian Peninsula where construction accelerated with the announcement it would host the 2022 Fifa World Cup. As oil and gas prices sank,

so too did Qatar’s coffers, leading to layoffs across both private and public companies.

The state-run Qatar Petroleum fired at least 1,500 foreign workers in recent restructuring, said Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar’s energy and industry minister.

“We did not start with the idea of laying off people for the sake of laying off people,” he recently told The Associated Press. “Nationals were not affected whatsoever, and that was part of our solid policy.”

Maersk Oil said in October it would cut as much as 12% of its staff in Qatar. Vodafone’s Qatar subsidiary announced on May 17 it would cut about 10% of its workforce, while mobile phone competitor Ooredoo also made layoffs this year. Al-Jazeera, the peninsula nation’s satellite news broadcaster, also shut down its American channel in April.

Foster, 50, a former senior operation manager for the state-linked Hamad Medical Corp’s ambulance services, began work in March 2014 on a three-year contract, hoping to stay for at least six years to make enough to buy a house in the United States. However, he said he didn’t receive his first paycheck until three months into his job, which forced him to get a loan of $82,000 to cover his living expenses, debts and child support payments in the US. “A lot of us had to get loans to catch up,” Foster said. “And that’s where it started, right there.”

In January, Foster said his boss called him into his office and laid him off, along with other staffers. Four days later, Qatar National Bank closed his account, putting all he had toward his remaining loan, he said.

“There was no notification. It was just a text that said: ‘You’re now overdrawn,’” Foster said.

Under Qatari law, foreign workers must apply for an exit permit through their employer to leave the country. When Foster couldn’t

In this 2012 file photo, with the new high-rise buildings of downtown Doha, background, Qatari women and a man walk by the sea in Doha, the country's capital. The economic slowdown gripping countries across the Persian Gulf can be seen in layoffs, slowed construction projects and government cutbacks.

For the millions of foreign workers drawn by brighter job prospects, it can have a far-darker side if they find themselves deep in debt AP

leave for a cruise he planned before with his wife, he realized he was trapped.

Foster said he put his wife, Pepper, on a flight out, then sold all of his belongings, sleeping at night on the floor of his company-provided villa and hiding his remaining cash in the freezer, fearful he could be arrested as a debtor. He dodged phone calls and knocks at the door while trying to pull together the cash needed to pay off his debt.

“I had to give them my retirement and my dad’s retirement to leave,” he said.

Hamad Medical Corp, Qatar’s main health care provider, and Qatari officials did not respond to requests for comment.

But Foster said he knew others in far worse shape, including one colleague who even purchased a rope at one point to hang himself. Others have taken their own lives.

A British coroner investigating the suspected suicide of an engineer from Gloucestershire found hanging in his Doha home in

February 2015 ruled this March that “financial worries” may have played a part. The case remains open as Qatari authorities provided only “limited information,” according to the inquest report.

Suicides also affect those coming to Gulf countries for work as labourers, taxi drivers and other low-paying jobs. They often pay recruiters back home in Asia or Africa huge sums that take several years to pay off.

India, one of the main countries supplying low-paid workers to the Gulf, saw at least 541 of its citizens kill themselves in the United Arab Emirates in the last three years, according to government statistics offered to parliament in December. At least 337 Indians died in suspected suicides in Saudi Arabia during the same period, while other Gulf countries saw annual suicide numbers in the double digits.

In Qatar, 21 Indians alone killed themselves in 2015. The deaths continue into this year. l

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Suu Kyi to lead new effort on restive Rakhine State n Reuters, Yangon

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi will lead a new effort to bring peace and development to Rakhine State where violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in recent years has cast a cloud over progress on democratic reforms.

More than 100 people were killed in violence in the western state in 2012, and some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims, who are stateless, took refuge in camps where their movements are severely restricted.

Thousands have fled persecution and poverty in an exodus by boat to neighbouring South and Southeast

Asian countries.

Suu Kyi, who holds the office of state counsellor, will lead a new Central Committee for Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State, the President’s Office said in an online announcement on Tuesday. The group will consist of 27 officials, including all cabinet ministers.

The announcement, dated Monday, gave only the names of those in the committee and offered no details on how the group would go about addressing the state’s multitude of problems. The minister of border affairs, appointed by the commander-in-chief, and the state’s chief minister, a mem-

ber of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, will both be vice-chairmen of the committee.

Zaw Htay, spokesman at the state counsellor’s office, said the group would make a research trip to the state “very soon” but did not give a date or say if Suu Kyi be in the delegation. l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

TOP STORIES

Budget deficit to soar by 13%

Gulf Air resumes flights to Dhaka

Bahrain’s national flag carrier Gulf Air has resumed its flight from Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport after a four-year gap. The airline will operate five flights every week from Dhaka. PAGE 13

AIIB to fund over Tk700cr for rural electrification project Bangladesh will receive a loan of over Tk770 crore from the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) this year for rural electrification project. PAGE 14

India set to retain fastest growing economy tag

India probably gathered momentum to hold its ranking as the world’s fastest growing large economy in the quarter through March, giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi more to celebrate after completing two years in office last week. PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Tuesday DSE Broad Index

4,419.4

-0.1% ▼

Index

1,091.9

0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,745.8

0.7% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,262.4

-8.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

114.9 -22.7% ▼

CSE All Share Index 13,623.1

0.1% ▼

30 Index

12,503.5

0.2% ▲

8,287.4

0.1% ▼

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk

248.4 -14.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

9.3 -21.5% ▼

n Asif Showkat Kallol The budget deficit in next fiscal year is going to rise by 13% or Tk11,280 crore from the current fiscal’s figure due to increase in expenditures on development programmes and salaries and allowances of the government employees.

According to final budget outlay obtained by the Dhaka Tribune, the deficit is likely to stand at Tk97,853 crore in the FY2016-17

from Tk86,657 crore in the current fiscal year.

However, in comparison with the budget size, the deficit has fallen to 28.73% from 29.33% of the current fiscal year. The total budget outlay will be Tk3,40,635 crore in the next financial year, compared to Tk2,95,100 crore in the outgoing fiscal year.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith will announce budget for the FY2016-17 in the Parliament tomorrow with a GDP forecast of

7.2% and projected inflation rate of 5.8%.

In a recent interview with Dhaka Tribune, finance minister said the budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal could be around Tk1,00,000 crore.

He said the government has prepared the budget giving major focus on growth, development and equal distribution of growth, and this will be in line with the goal of achieving middle income status economy.

Infrastructure sector will get the highest allocation in the next budget, followed by education and health sectors, Muhith said.

“We started with a budget of Tk94,000 crore in 2009, and now it is going to be Tk3,40,000 crore in next fiscal,” finance minister said.

According to the budget documents, the next fiscal year’s deficit will be met with foreign loan of Tk39,665 crore while loan from local resources including banking system will be Tk37,467 crore and loan from saving instruments will be Tk22,510 crore.

The government has also set a revenue earning target for the next fiscal year at Tk2,48,000 crore, which is about 16% higher than the last year’s target of Tk2,08,000 crore, and 40.31% higher than the Tk1,76,000 crore which was actually earned this fiscal year.

The budget outline estimates a GDP of Tk19,50,000 crore for the FY2016-17, 13.6% higher than the current one.

The size of the Annual Development Programme will be about Tk1,12,526 crore in the upcoming fiscal year, up from the current Tk90,000 crore, and the interest payment will be Tk38,000 crore.

Payment for salaries and allowance will be Tk51,000 crore as per the new pay scale for public servants. l

Banks asked not to lend aggressively n Jebun Nesa Alo

Bangladesh Bank has asked the banks not to lend aggressively as consumer lending is on the rise which will pose risk for the banks.

The instruction came at a bankers’ meeting Bangladesh Bank hosted with top managers of all commercial banks yesterday at its headquarters.

This was the first bankers’ meeting since the governor, Fazle Kabir, took the helm of Bangladesh Bank in March.

The governor presided over the meeting which was also attended by the central bank top officials, among others. ‘’We suggested the top managers to ensure quality lending as credit growth is growing fast,’’ said SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, after the meeting.

Top managers are happy with the recent trend of credit growth after it remained sluggish over the last two years, he said.

He said credit is mainly flowing to retail clients, consumer sector and RMG sector.

Though Bangladesh Bank discourages consumer loans, its current stand is somewhat positive to accelerate credit growth at this moment, said the BB official.

He suggested ensuring quality loans to avoid loan rescheduling since the consumer loan is risky for banks.

Banks are still facing lack of power and energy supply which hinders credit growth, Sur said, quoting top managers of the banks at the meeting.

The private sector credit growth rose to 15.2% as of March against monetary ceiling of 14.1%, while the growth was 13.6% in the same period last year, according to the central bank data.

Lower lending rate and political stability were accounted for higher credit growth, Bangladesh Bank stated its monetary review report.

The state-owned banks are

now active in lending, which contributes to credit growth, said the report.

Sur said four of the eight banks that were overexposed have already come within the limit while the rest have been warned of punitive action if they fail to comply the rule by July 21. ‘’We have provided policy support for the banks to bring their exposure to the limit. So they would not get any more time to adjust over investment,’’ he said.

Bangladesh Bank will issue notice to the banks that remain overexposed on July 22, warned the deputy governor.

According to the amended bank company act, the capital market exposure of banks will be 25% of their capital by July 21, 2016.

The top managers urged the central bank to extend their expenditure limit for office decoration while the latter assured them to consider the proposal, said Sur. l

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Business

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AIIB to fund over Tk700cr for rural electrification project n Kayes Sohel Bangladesh will receive a loan of over Tk770 crore from the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) this year for rural electrification project.

The funding from the newly created lender is the second in kind following a loan of Tk517 crore approved by the Ecnec last week for two power distribution projects this month.

The total project cost is over Tk1,228 crore approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in Dhaka yesterday.

Of the total cost, the government will provide Tk456.86 crore from the public coffer.

The project was taken in line with the Bangladesh government Vision-2021 to bring all villages in the country under electricity coverage to upgrade the life-standard of rural people.

Currently, some 70% people are getting electricity connection.

The multilateral investment bank, which has an authorised capital of $100 billion, is expected to lend $10 billion to $15 billion a year for the first five or six years started operation in January 2016.

“Bangladesh is likely to place the

Ecnec-approved projects at a meeting with the bank’s board of directors scheduled next month,” said an official of the Planning Ministry.

Under the project, Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) under the Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources will implement the rural electrification project by June 2018.

The project will be implemented through 77 Palli Bidyut Samities under the BREB. According to Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, there are some 2.15 crore households with power connections across the country.

Of them, some 1.50 crore power connections are under the BREB till March, 2016, he said.

A planning commission official said the BREB has recently conducted an in-house feasibility study, the findings of which show that it is possible to provide power connections for some 25 lakh more clients through changing transformers without setting up any new line within the coverage of BREB. The main project operations include procurement of some 65,000 new distribution transformers, some 25 lakh one phase and three phase metres and some 75,651 kilometre conductors.

Marcel targets 40% sales in Ramadan n Tribune Business Desk

Stocks end flat ahead of budget n Tribune Business Desk Stocks closed flat amid volatility yesterday as investors were cautious ahead of national budget to be unveiled tomorrow.

The benchmark index DSEX inched over 3 points down to close at 4,419, extending its losing streak for the second straight session.

The Shariah index DSES edged 2 points higher to 1,091.

The blue chip comprising index DS30 rose 12 points or 0.7% to 1,745.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX ended at 8,287, rising about 11 points.

Investors preferred to remain on the sidelines before budget declaration, which pushed down trading activities at DSE to over Tk426 crore, down 8% over previous session.

Power and Pharmaceutical sectors accounted for more than 30% of the total trade value.

Selling in late hours wiped off early gains as investors continued to trade cautiously ahead of budget, brokers say.

Large cap sectors showed negative performances except food and allied and power, which witnessed a marginal rally.

Non-banking financial institutions continued to suffer, experiencing the highest loss of nearly 1%, followed by engineering 0.8% and telecommunication 0.7%.

Heavyweight banks and pharmaceuticals declined by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.

Cement returned to gaining track, soaring by 3.2%, led by Lafarge Surma Cement that continued see a robust rise in the last two consecutive sessions.

Shares of 316 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 89 stocks closed higher, 183 declined while 44 remained unchanged.

Lafarge Surma Cement continued to top turnover leader with shares worth Tk32.5 crore changing hands. l

The interest rate of AIIB loans might be less than 2% with a grace period of 8-9 years and repayment period of 8-20 years.

“The interest rate will be quite comparable to credit from other multinational lenders,” said Finance Minister AMA Muhith earlier at a function.

Currently, the ADB lends at less than 2% rate with 22-30 years of repayment period with 5-10 years of grace period.

The World Bank lends for the development projects at 0.75% interest rate with 50 years of repayment period, including a 10-year grace period. l

Gulf Air celebrates resumption of flights to Dhaka on Monday by cutting cake at Balaka lounge at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport COURTESY

Gulf Air resumes flights to Dhaka n Ishtiaq Husain

Bahrain’s national flag carrier Gulf Air has resumed its flight from Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport after a four-year gap. The airline will operate five flights every week from Dhaka.

The first flight of Gulf Air after four years landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday morning with 80% passengers on board.

To celebrate its flight resumption, Gulf Air organised an event at Balaka lounge at the Shahjalal Airport.

Wing Commander Chowdhury Md Zia-Ul Kabir, director, flight safety and regulations of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh; Md Atique Sobhan, director (custom-

er services) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines; Mehdi Jaffar, deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh embassy in Bahrain and Group Captain Zakir Hassan, director of Shahjalal Airport were present at the event as special guests.

Hussain Ghuloom, country manager of Gulf Air, and Jassim Ghareeb, airport manager of Gulf Air, were also present.

More than 150,000 Bangladeshis are currently working in Bahrain.

The diaspora has been facing difficulties while they travel from Dhaka to Bahrain as there was no direct flight, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Upon a bilateral agreement between the Bangladesh and Bahrain governments, Bahrain has decided to restart its flight operation in

Bangladesh.

Bahrain started operating flights to Bangladesh in 1984, which came to an end in 2012.

Mehdi Jaffar, deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh embassy in Bahrain, and 12 airline crews along with other passengers were on board the first flight after resumption on Monday.

Meanwhile, Gulf Air signed a long-term agreement with Hotel Le Meridian Dhaka.

Under the agreement, all the crew members and other officials of Gulf Air will reside at the hotel during their stay in Bangladesh.

The guests were welcomed at the hotel by Ashwani Nayar, general manager, and Anowar Hossain, director (sales and marketing) of Hotel Le Meridian. l

Marcel – a local manufacturer of electronics products – has set the target of 40% more sales over the previous year in the upcoming Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr.

The company has taken a series of initiatives to boost sales.

The initiatives include the launch of new products, raising production, creating sufficient stock of products to maintain smooth supply chain to achieve the target.

Every year in the lead up to Eid ul-Fitr, both the demand and the sale of electronics products like fridges, air conditioners, televisions and other home and kitchen appliances increase across the country, said Marcel in a statement.

“The quality of products has improved while their prices have been slashed marking the Eid ul-Fitr following the holy month of Ramadan,” said Mosharraf Hossain Razib, Marcel head of marketing (North).

He hopes that the company would be able to grab a significant portion of local market demand during the Ramadan.

Moreover, the sweltering summer heat may also lead the demands for various electronics goods like fridges and air conditioners to go up, Marcel said in its release.

Each month, the local brand is achieving about 35% growth in its turnover.

Recently, Marcel has marketed non-frost refrigerators with ‘intelligent inverter’ technology-based compressors, which consume about 35% to 40% lower electricity than those with induction technology compressors.

Marcel is now manufacturing and marketing a total of 25 products with about 150 models and designs, according to the release. l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Business

CORPORATE NEWS

ACI has recently launched a new product named Smart Supreme Washing Powder, said a press release. The company’s executive director, Syed Alamgir was present at the launching ceremony among other high officials of the company

Social Islami Bank Limited has recently opened its 118th branch at Burichong Bazar in Comilla, said a press release. The bank’s managing director and CEO, Md Shafiqur Rahman inaugurated the branch as chief guest

MoneyGram has recently parterned with Sonali Bank Limited in order to expand its reach in Bangladesh, said a press release.

Regional director (South Asia) of MoneyGram, Sheshagiri Malliah and DGM of Sonali Bank, Abu Bakar Md Noman spoke about the prospect of this partnership on the occasion

Labourers work at the site of metro railway flyover under construction in Ahmedabad, India REUTERS

India set to retain fastest growing economy tag n Reuters, New Delhi India probably gathered momentum to hold its ranking as the world’s fastest growing large economy in the quarter through March, giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi more to celebrate after completing two years in office last week.

Modi swept to power promising to revitalise Asia’s third-largest economy and, despite a dearth of private investment and shrinking exports, his policies are having some success as cooling inflation and lower interest rates have boosted consumer demand.

A Reuters survey of economists expected data out yesterday will show India’s gross domestic product grew 7.5% year-on-year between January and March, faster than the previous quarter’s 7.3%.

“This 7.5 percent growth, in a global slowdown environment, has a potential to pick up even more,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said last week in general comments about the trends.

India’s upbeat outlook contrasts with neighbouring China, where growth slipped to 6.7 in the first quarter - the slowest posted by the world’s second largest economy in seven years.

Given the dim prospects for a boost from exports, Moody’s Investors Service said a recovery in private investment would be needed if India’s upturn was going to last.

“Combined with the fact that external demand is likely to remain lacklustre, a sustained improvement in domestic private investment would be required for the growth momentum to be sustained,” the rating agency’s analysts wrote in a note.

Meantime, the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) is widely expected to keep its policy interest rate on hold at a scheduled policy review on June 7 as it waits for banks to fully pass on the previous the benefits of earlier cuts to borrowers.

Consumers, particularly in urban areas, have been encouraged by the lower rates.

Sales of passenger cars and two-wheelers are growing at a double-digit pace. Sales of new residential units recovered in the last quarter, snapping a falling trend.

‘This 7.5 percent growth, in a global slowdown environment, has a potential to pick up even more’ Personal loans that include loans for durable goods, housing and education are growing at a rate of 19% year-on-year, while credit card loans are growing at a 24% clip.

With good rains forecast this summer, the farm sector is set to get a fillip after two successive years of drought.

That bodes well for depressed rural demand.

Impending increases in wages and pensions of government employees are also expected to underpin consumer spending.

Challenges

As part of his strategy to boost business and generate jobs, Modi has accelerated public spending on road construction, laying new power lines and upgrading the rail network. l

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Interview

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

The buzz about Chowdhury through this saved electricity.

This should be part of the overall strategy. Instead of investing in new plants, we should focus on building an efficient distribution system.

Unfortunately, people do not focus on long term vision. In places like Rampal or Ruppur, controlling pollution is important.

Without taking the proper initiatives on time, we will have plenty of electricity generation capacity but there will be no human to use it.

n Saudia Afrin John Sakhawat Chowdhury, acknowledged two times as one of the top 20 smart grid experts in the world by Dallas Business Journal, has worked with leading global organisations like IBM, Pricewater House and Earnest and Young. He gathered 25 years of consulting experience in improving electric utility business performance before setting up his own software developing company Nksoft.

What does Nksoft do and what are you looking to do in Bangladesh?

Nksoft is an open source solution for the middle to small enterprise market. It combines collaborative communication software and enterprise resources planning (ERP).

Building a bridge between the international ICT sector and Bangladesh is one of the prime objectives of the organisation. We also operate in USA, Germany and Japan, among other countries.

Nksoft has expanded the business here in Bangladesh and currently, it is only focusing on research and development. Bangladeshi citizens will benefit from its services.

Although, they have to wait a few more years for Nksoft software and services.

In terms of technological advancement, what is the position of Bangladesh in the global market?

The very word 'technology’ is extremely challenging to explain.

If you see it more from the angle of industry, corporation or from the point of Bangladesh’s government usage of technology, then from my point of view, Bangladesh would get three out of 10.

However, the good news is, the possibility of a quantum leap in Bangladesh is high. Since several initiatives and promotion are already taken by ICT ministry and other alike organisations. Also the young generations are much more advanced now. If the progress continues the way it is then I hope Bangladesh will go from three to seven probably in the next two years.

As an energy expert, how do you think our power supply should function?

Previously, we had severe powercut problems. However, If we just look at supply and demand, our government has done a fantastic job by keeping the electricity flow on.

Government is now focusing on supply which is important, even though Bangladesh needs tremendous improvements and strategic changes in this sector.

On account of poor distribution system, improper metering system, unoptimised transmission distribution and outdated old generation, we are losing a significant amount of energy.

From what I understand from

However, the good news is, the possibility of a quantum leap in Bangladesh is high

my 25 years of experience in this field, a lot can be done to reduce the electricity loss by eliminating all barriers. My estimation is that by fixing all the above barriers, it is possible to save 2000-3000Mw electricity.

Attaining the demand, the transmission system can be optimised by prepaid metering, which has already started in some places. With technology, the entire distribution can be observed through the prepaid metering ranging from detecting stealing to technical loss of electricity.

Moreover, by implementing prepaid metering, money collection and services will improve.

However, it would be a challenge for the meter to function because the existing system is still mostly using old technology. It is not being understood that only by modernising the system can the proper usage of existing and

upcoming power plant’s electricity be secured.

Good news is, the government is willing to embrace new technology. Now it is high time to promote and create awareness as much as possible.

Do we really need more powerplants?

On the one hand our country is small, and lack of regulations in the industry are creating high pollution rates. Unfortunately there is an old saying that we are so much in need of energy, we can turn to everything we can to make it happen.

There is a technology called smart grid distribution automation network with meter. This is a sort of virtual power plant. Through this system, minimum 1000 megawatt can be saved efficiently.

In that case, there is no need of building a power pant in Rampal because offsetting is possible

Do you think providing incentives to use renewable energy is a good way to promote its efficient use?

At the moment, the government has the policy that if anybody builds a new building, he must have renewable energy. That’s kind of forceful but a good start indeed.

Providing incentives from the government for using solar energy is also a good strategy. Many countries, especially Germany, has followed this process. A user of solar panels can sell the energy at double cost when he doesn’t use it. Through this process, businesses are being developed. In that process, people will use less electricity in order to sell it. And by default, it is building awareness about usage of that energy. Even if the incentive closed down after three years, people will not go back to the old system.

Moreover, if you want improvement you have to explore other options. Lots of lands are not being used in villages where solar or biomass plant can be set up with natural resources, despite existing barriers.

Building a solar plant by the community investing their own money as a cooperative could also work. This may be done in the same format as in Germany, namely using the electricity and later on selling it to the government. There will be two benefits in producing your own electricity and earning money out of it. Thus, usage of renewable energy will increase.

Without providing incentives, people are not going to do this because renewable energy costs a lot to install.

What are your future plans?

Last year we took the initiatives to build a private ICT park in Gazipur.

After completing the necessary land procedures, we are now mostly focusing on the design of the park. The prime objective of this project is to create a place for Nksoft and other multinational companies to set up their campus in one place. l

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Feature

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Bangladesh represented at Women Deliver conference in Denmark Rakibul initiated a project called Peacempire that trains young people to be citizen journalists through the means of storytelling/ reporting/blogging on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights to break the taboo

n Features Desk Conferences organised by Women Deliver, a global advocacy organisation, are gaining recognition as one of the biggest global gatherings to focus on the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women.

Following three successful global conferences in London in 2007, in Washington in 2010, and in Kuala Lumpur in 2013, the 2016 Conference has brought together world leaders, advocates, policymakers, journalists, young people, researchers, and leaders of corporate companies and civil society. The conference in May this year has been one of the largest gathering on girls’ and woman’s health and rights in the last decade and one of the first major global conferences following the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As one of 200 Global Young Leaders, young Bangladeshi columnist Rakibul Hasan attended the prestigious 4th Global Women Deliver conference, held from May 14-20 at Bella Center, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The conference focused upon how to implement the SDGs so they matter most for girls and women, with a specific focus on health – in particular maternal,

sexual, and reproductive health and rights – and on gender equality, education, environment, and economic empowerment.

More than 5,000 people attended the conference, including 2,000 organisations, 1,200 young people, 500 journalists, NGOs, UN agencies and government representatives, ie ministers and parliamentarians from over 150 countries.

Rakibul successfully represented Bangladesh in a number of events, among others, regional caucus, country meeting, panel sessions and young dialogue in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

Being a fellow of Women Deliver in the United States, Rakibul has been working for a long period of time on the issues of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of young adolescents, especially mainstreaming SRHR issues in news media through training young reporters, writing columns and publishing researches in international conferences and journals.

Giving priorities, percentage of Early Forced Marriage (EFM) and Violence against Women (VAW) can give us a clear understanding of how much it costs to be girls and women in Bangladeshi society.

About 66% girls are married off before they are just 18 (second highest in the world), when 60% girls bear their first child at the age of 19 and 10% of them get pregnant at only 15 years of age (ICRW, 2013).

Moreover, violence against women is simply a culture and regarded as trifling family issues in Bangladesh. As statistics show, around 90% women suffer psychophysical violence in their lifetime which is prevalent everywhere in Bangladesh (WHO, 2014).

Rakibul initiated a project called Peacempire that trains young people to be citizen journalists through the means of storytelling/reporting/blogging on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights to break the taboo and create awareness against early forced marriage and violence against women involving young advocates, aged 15 to 25, from three colleges, 10 secondary schools and five madrasas in underprivileged areas of Rupganj.

Through workshops and campaigns, community reporters, peer educators, young advocates and campaigners advocate against early marriage and gender violence there.

This project also forms a coalition bringing together SRHR experts, traditional leaders,

political quarters, administrative bodies and victims in a quest to implement endurable practices dealing with it.

Thus, it tries to build the capacity of young advocates to effectively respond to EFM and VAW incidences with digital media, and other available social media outlets to ensure legal interventions and public engagements.

Besides, it educates young generations with information on the significance of comprehensive sexuality education and contraceptive usage.

Why is the project putting these two top priorities together? Child marriage and gender violence in Bangladesh are two negative social customs that mostly harm the well-being of girls and women.

The project aims at reducing the rate of child marriage to help

girls grow and simultaneously decrease the rate of violence against women to help them grow undisturbed in the particular area of responsibility.

These two notorious practices make girls feel inferior in society and paralyse their capacity to make decisions on their own, let alone the reproductive health rights.

Therefore, child marriage and gender violence are interlinked and identified as associated force in the project. Even though a bit ambitious for our society, the project has to be undertaken.

It will educate the young SRHR advocates on the significance of contraceptive usage and sexuality education to break the taboos, stereotyped gender violence and infested child marriage.

“However, the area I was born and now work in, Rupganj, is the worst zone with early marriage and gender violence among major industrial hub of the country, because largest number of working women live here and the place has a number of slums and underprivileged areas, which is also the hotbed of other social crimes,” he adds.

The stories of early marriage and gender violence remain unheard and later go forgotten.

Sometimes, other social crimes shade the gravity of gender violence.

Therefore, the youthled project titled Peacempire, literally referring to “safe haven” for girls and women, aims at creating a community journalism platform for storytelling, producing documentaries, short films, blogging and reporting on two burning issues - early forced marriage and gender violence against women in Rupganj area.l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

| fair |

| meet |

Summer Sault Revive 2016 held at BRAC

Career Café entrepreneurs meet Career café, a nonprofit platform for career mentoring and entrepreneurs in association with Eastern University are going to organise a session titled “Entrepreneurs Meet Up” on June 4 at Eastern University’s campus.

Dr Abdur Rab, vice-chancellor of Eastern University, Shawkat Hossain, managing director of Bdventure Ltd, G Sumdany Don, chief inspirational officer, Donsumdany Consultancy, M Murshed Haider, PPP Authority, Prime Minister’s Office, Lutfi Chowdhury, VP (sales and partnership) G&R will conduct different sessions in the meet up.

More than 150 entrepreneurs are

BRAC University Business Club (BIZ BEE) along with the office of Co-curricular Activities (OCA) organised the Club Fair of Summer 2016, titled “Summer Sault Revive 2016.” The fair portrayed the prime theme of the summer season. A variety of foods, desserts and drinks were available in relation to the theme of summer. The main purpose of the two-day event was to familiarise the freshers of summer 2016 semester with the clubs and to encourage them to join clubs of the university according to their interests.

Professor Dr Hafiz G A Siddiqui, professor emeritus, BRAC Business School inaugurated the event. After cutting the ribbon, he visited the booths of different clubs

accompanied by the special guest, Ivan Shafat Bari, director of Office of Co-Curricular Activities, as well as the advisor of BIZ BEE, Fairuz Chowdhury.

Dr Siddiqi delivered an inspirational speech where he acknowledged BRAC University for performing brilliantly in prioritising on extracurricular activities. Dr Siddiqi also expressed how these clubs are playing a key role in building students’ leadership and communication skills so that students can perform outstandingly and adapt to the practical world from the very beginning of their careers. He explicitly mentioned, “A-Grades are just the key to entering a career but the involvement in extracurricular activities is the

key to retaining a career and succeeding in it.” The president and the vice-president of BIZ BEE presented crests and floral bouquets to the guests.

Among other exciting programs a stand-up comedy

by BU Club Monon followed by performances by the Cultural Club was however, the most awaited program from day one was the concert by the renowned musician Arnob. On the second day, BU Film Club showed films, while Drama and Theatre Forum staged a drama performance.

This two-day event was powered by Youth Engagement partner The Daily Star, TV media partner Shomoy TV, Radio partner Dhaka FM 90.4, and online news partner Student BD24 and Purbo-Poshchim. l

set to attend. Dhaka Tribune is the media partner, Channelionline is the online partner, Eastern University Career Counseling Center, the career partner, Bdventure Ltd Venture the capital partner, G&R Digital the marketing partner and Shahin’s Helpline the legal partner. For Registration contact Shabbir Ahmad Tamim, founder, Career Cafe at 01974119996. l

| milestone |

Friendship International in Luxembourg celebrates 10th Anniversary

| education |

UK Education Open Day to be held in Dhaka The British Council Bangladesh is going to organise a UK Education Open Day on June 4 2016 at the British Council, 5 Fuller Road, Dhaka. Thirteen education agencies trained by the British Council will participate in the event to provide information to visitors on more than 100 higher education institutions in the UK. In addition to obtaining information on higher education in the UK, students visiting the event will be able to get their academic documents checked on the spot by the trained agents at the event. The participating agents include BSB Global Network, Center for Foreign Studies (CFS), Cubic

Education, Education Excellence, H&S Education Services, IECC: Bangladesh, Karim & Karim Consultants, MACES, MIM Study Abroad, N&N International Education Consultancy Ltd., Overseas Study Counselling Ltd, Pinnacle Counselling Centre and RSL Education Counselling.

Students interested to attend the event are encouraged to bring photocopies of academic documents. The event will be open for all from 11am to 4pm with options to pre-register or register on the spot. Preregistration can be done by visiting the link http://bit.ly/ eduukopendaydhaka2

UK courses give the skills, qualifications and connections the students need to succeed in their chosen career. Plus, UK degrees have a global reputation for quality and employers worldwide recognise a UK degree as a sign of high academic standards.

Every year, the British Council organises Open Days to inform interested students looking for a higher education experience in the UK. Two UK Open Days have been held recently at Sylhet and Chittagong. More information about the event is available at bit. ly/ukeduopendayjune16. l

Friendship celebrated 10 years presence of Friendship International in Luxembourg with the support of Banque de Luxembourg. From its humble beginnings, Friendship has been working to restore the dignity of marginalised communities in Bangladesh by delivering effective development solutions using a holistic value-based approach.

They have played a vital role in facilitating Friendship’s work in Bangladesh to raise funds for projects and most importantly build strong relationships with societies who have contributed so generously towards Friendship.

In this context, a partnership such as the one that has been built between Friendship Luxembourg and Friendship Bangladesh and the impact that it has, on a daily basis, on the lives of tens of thousands of people far from,

yet close to home, is indeed an element of hope.

The occasion was honored by the presence of Her Royal Highness, Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa. Marc Elvinger, chairman of Friendship Luxembourg, co-chairman of Friendship International delivered the welcome speech. While Runa Khan, founder and executive director of Friendship Bangladesh and co-chair of Friendship International presented the Friendship Model - Nurturing Dignity and Hope.

A short film titled ‘“The Voice Bangladesh” directed by Vito Labalestra was screened at the event. During the event, donors presented their testimonies and volunteering doctors shared their experiences at Friendship. More than 220 invitees were present at the event. l

| offer |

Experience Sylhet from Richmond Hotel and Apartments

Bbq Bangladesh introduces Ramadan set menus this season, with two set menus at BDT 599 for one person and BDT 999 for two persons. The meals will include Jamaican grilled whole leg, fish tofu, crispy bites, chicken fried rice and traditional Iftar tidbits.

The meal for two will also include a piece of Original BBQ. During the holy month of Ramadan bbq Bangladesh will open from 12:00 PM up to Sahri every day. The Iftar menu will be available at all three outlets at Gulshan, Bailey Road and Dhanmondi. All prices are exclusive of VAT. l

| service |

Jovago partners with SiteMinder to introduce seamless online distribution for hotels across all our markets in Africa and Asia. SiteMinder offers the right technology to grow our supply of real-time bookable inventory for our customers.”

As the No. 1 and fastestgrowing OTA in Africa, Jovago. com’s partnership with SiteMinder creates massive opportunity for its large client base of hotels to reach and attract guests, and increase both occupancy and revenue in return.

Lisa Horne, general manager – South Africa at SiteMinder, says, “We are very happy to partner with Jovago, providing our hotel customers yet another channel to market their inventory and availability through. We are particularly proud to provide the first channel management solution that integrates with this on-demand hotel booking platform in Africa. Each of Jovago’s hotel clients benefits

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

| meals |

Bbq Bangladesh Iftar Special

Africa’s No.1 hotel booking website, Jovago.com is now in Bangladesh and has announced its partnership with the global hotel industry’s leading cloud platform, SiteMinder, to mark its first time enabling seamless online distribution for hotel clients. The agreement enlists Jovago.com among the more than 300 channels integrated with SiteMinder’s Channel Manager and means mutual hotel clients can now seamlessly update their inventory and room rates to the booking portal.

“As the leading channel management provider for hotels globally, partnering with SiteMinder was an obvious decision,” says Eduard Posthumus Meyjes, global head of revenue management at Jovago.

“We aim to bring top-notch technology to our hotel partners

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Biz Info

from their local presence, and commitment to developing both the continental and global travel market.”

“This collaboration with SiteMinder will provide Jovago more coverage and offer us a state of the art mechanism to operate through. With Digital Bangladesh on our minds, we feel this is certainly the next big thing in the world of hotel bookings and are extremely pleased to offer this opportunity to our clients for hotel bookings in Bangladesh”, said Kaies Ali, Managing Director, Jovago, Bangladesh.

Jovago launched an extranet application for its hotel clients earlier this year, allowing them to reach operational excellence with the online channel by giving hotel managers real-time access to, and control over, their room rates and inventory. l

Richmond Hotel and Apartments is a distinct addition to Sylhet and a smart choice for travelers. Situated only 1 km from the city center, guests are well located to enjoy the town’s attractions and activities. With its convenient location, the hotel offers easy access to the city’s must-see destinations.

The famous Hazrat Shahjalal Mazar Sharif is less than one kilometre from the hotel, and Madhabkunda and Bichnakandi are both approximately 60 kilometres away.

At Richmond Hotel and Apartments, every effort is made to make guests feel comfortable. Hotel accommodations have been carefully appointed to the highest degree of comfort and convenience. In all of the rooms, guests can find 24/7 internet access, air conditioning, wakeup service etc.

Besides, the hotel’s host of

recreational offerings ensures you have plenty to do during your stay. Enjoy unparalleled services and a truly prestigious address at the Richmond Hotel and Apartments.

Some accommodations feature a sitting area for your convenience. Every room includes a private bathroom equipped with a bathtub or shower. Extras include slippers and free toiletries. A flat-screen TV with satellite channels is provided.

There is free airport shuttle service, a 24-hour front desk and shops at the property. The hotel also provides car rental services.

If you fancy some light snacks to refresh yourself, Goff Shop, a café of Richmond Hotel & Apartments is located on the 10th floor. Come join us to taste Goff Shop’s mouth-watering snacks!l

| hospitality |

Stay well Enjoy a 40% discount on room tariff during the holy month of Ramadan at Standard Well Park Residence in Chittagong. This new 4 star establishment and its newly installed hotel facilities include rooms, restaurants, conference hall, rooftop garden, SPA, lobby café etc.

The Residence’s Mohara Garden Restaurant offers exceptional Western, Indian, Chinese, Thai & local gastronomy and is known

for enticing guests with delectable Continental cuisine and its famous Shrimp Cocktail. They also have the only Rooftop BBQ in Chittagong, our newly opened Steak & Seafood Restaurant, where guests will have enjoy live cooking facilities with fresh fish from none other than the Bay of Bengal – their daily catch. The Residence will also celebrate Ramadan with iftar followed by buffet dinner for the whole month.l

DT

20 Editorial

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

TODAY

How ‘Merchants of Doubt’ convinced the US The political systems which have been established to govern democratic countries are not set up to make decisions based on science. Rather, they are set up to encourage politicians to make decisions based on the the strength of local lobby groups PAGE 21

The budget: A few key expectations The business fraternity and the investors are looking forward to various other pronouncements, such as clarity on the base amount for tax withholding wherein the invoice is inclusive of VAT PAGE 22

99 problems Whatever the case would have been, the reality remains as is: Silencing will take place at even the most negligible awareness of the mind, and people from bloggers to writers to bookstore owners and magazine editors have evidently paid the price to serve as examples 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.

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Gas subsidies are a waste of taxpayer money

T

he government should drop its plan to set aside Tk 5,000 crore for gas subsidies in next month’s budget. Reliance on fossil fuels needs to be discouraged by government policy, not subsidised.

It is also vital to improve efficiency and reliability of gas supplies for industry and business. Historically, low gas prices have encouraged high levels of waste and disincentivised suppliers from cutting illegal connections. Rational pricing of gas and use of metering is necessary to deter wasteful behaviour by the many households which habitually leave gas burners running all day.

Providing new subsidies will only encourage such waste and increase emissions.

Cutting subsidies is essential not only to cut waste, but to encourage the future investment Bangladesh needs in more reliable, secure, and sustainable power supplies. This is vital to allow industries to plan for growth without fear of interrupted connections. By enabling higher returns, rational pricing will help by creating more incentives for gas production companies to invest in new gas fields.

As well as directing cutting greenhouse emissions, discouraging fossil fuel use is also essential to stimulate more investment in cleaner renewable energy.

Reducing dependence on fossil fuels is important anyway, because as a finite resource, it can only get costlier to produce and import in the long run.

With the G7 nations recently setting for the first time a deadline for the ending of most fossil fuel subsidies for coal, oil, and gas by 2025, funders and lenders will become increasingly reluctant to back major fossil fuel projects.

Bangladesh needs to ensure energy policies take a long-term approach that supports and encourages investment in renewable energy production.

Tax-payer money presently used on fossil fuel subsidies can be better invested in education and health care.

Cut fossil fuel subsidies to reduce greenhouse emissions and incentivise investment in renewables

DT

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

How ‘Merchants of Doubt’ convinced the US to ignore climate change The media and the public need to wake up to the threat of global warming

n Zeeshan Hasan

I

n 1988, Dr James Hansen, senior climate scientist at NASA, testified to the US Senate that global warming caused by burning fossil fuels was a serious threat to humanity.

Yet, for 28 years, the world did practically nothing, and both greenhouse gas emissions and global warming continued.

Global inactivity was largely due to successive US governments pretending that the science of global warming was still uncertain and not worth the expense of reducing coal, oil, and gas use.

The willful ignorance of climate science on the part of the American politicians was encouraged by a small group of right-wing scientists who were not specialists in climate change, but were rather driven by ideological opposition to the increased government regulation that would obviously be required to tackle issues such as global warming.

Reluctance of US authorities to consider reducing fossil fuel use resulted in all other countries refusing to act as well. How this happened is the subject of Merchants of Doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway.

Oreskes, a professor of history of science at Harvard University, points out that a number of the prominent scientific advisors of the US government (recurring

inclined to oppose any scientific research that made a case for more government regulation; they saw such regulations as a sign of the socialism which they had opposed all their careers growing within the US. Hence, this small but influential group of senior scientific advisors continuously opposed emerging scientific findings that tobacco caused cancer, that industrial pollution caused acid rain, and finally, that dangerous climate change would be caused by burning coal, oil, and gas.

Unfortunately, these antiregulation/pro-market scientists found support in the fossil fuel industry, various pro-market media and think tanks, and various US politicians whose political campaigns received money from coal/oil/gas companies.

The result was that the science of global warming and climate change was perceived by the media, the government, and the public as uncertain for decades after a scientific consensus on these issues was, in fact, established.

Due to the manufacturing of doubt by right-wing senior scientific advisors, government policy was slow to accept the scientific evidence on the danger of man-made global warming.

Of the various scientific issues discussed by Oreskes, climate change has by far the biggest impact on humanity as a whole and thus, also created the most

Don’t leave the world in the hands of lobby groups

The political systems which have been established to govern democratic countries are not set up to make decisions based on science. Rather, they are set up to encourage politicians to make decisions based on the the strength of local lobby groups

names are Fred Seitz, Fred Singer, Robert Jastrow, and Bill Nierenberg) started their careers in nuclear weapons and missile research in the midst of Cold War conflicts with Russia.

Thus, these scientists were reflexively anti-communist and

resistance amongst anti-regulation scientists, corporate lobby groups, and politicians.

Reading Oreskes’ book, one sees how naïve it is to expect that worldwide government policies regarding global warming would simply be decided based on

scientific evidence.

The fact is that the political systems which have been established to govern democratic countries are not set up to make decisions based on science.

Rather, they are set up to encourage politicians to make

decisions based on the the strength of local lobby groups and the likelihood of winning the next election. Multinational coal, oil, and gas companies have more than enough money to make political donations big enough to legally “buy” political support for their industries in spite of dire scientific warnings.

The public has largely been deceived by fake science produced by non-specialists in climate change presenting themselves as “experts” and muddying up the waters with doubt.

The past 30 years has shown that voters around the world, and especially in the US, have not been sufficiently informed of the dangers of catastrophic global warming which could cause

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worldwide water shortage, crop failures, and famines resulting in hundreds of millions of deaths if left unchecked.

Fossil fuel companies and anti-regulation scientists and politicians have taken advantage of the lack of knowledge of climate science among the public to deceive and endanger us all.

Hopefully, this will change as the media and the public wake up to the threat of global warming.

Otherwise, the world will continue getting hotter, and our children might grow up to inherit a climate running amok. l Zeeshan Hasan is a director of Kazi Media, the company behind Deepto TV. He is also the managing director of Sysnova.

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

The budget: A few key expectations Hopes are high for the forthcoming budget

n Sushmita Basu

T

he Bangladesh National Budget for 2016-17 is likely to be laid before the parliament by the honourable finance minister tomorrow.

As Bangladesh marches ahead towards prosperity paving the way for higher growth and expectations, the hopes from this budget are high. Insofar as taxes are concerned, a number of initiatives may be anticipated to meet the expectations.

There has been foray of investments into Bangladesh by various multinational companies in the recent past, and the numbers are increasing day by day. Bangladesh has entered into tax treaties with many countries comprising of mutually beneficial provisions which rationalises the global business fraternity into a conducive and equal platform.

However, unlike many other developing nations, the application of treaty provisions in Bangladesh for tax withholding purposes is not automatic and requires specific prior approval of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

From a practical perspective, the process of applying and obtaining prior approval from the NBR on a case-by-case basis, besides being cumbersome, is also time consuming and more often than not acts as a deterrent for an otherwise investment friendly environment in Bangladesh.

Since tax withholding transactions occur on a regular basis and may not be preconceived in all cases, the need to obtain prior clearance from the NBR for each type of foreign payment transaction may be done away with.

No doubt, the implication of tax treaties would require appropriate analysis and considering that it would be time consuming and difficult for the NBR to review each transaction/application, a mechanism may be brought in place, like most other developing countries, wherein all foreign remittances would have to be supported by a chartered accountant’s certificate with complete details and reasons for deduction of tax at specified rates or non-deduction of tax.

The present law prescribes

All eyes are on the budget

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The business fraternity and the investors are looking forward to various other pronouncements, such as clarity on the base amount for tax withholding wherein the invoice is inclusive of VAT a disallowance on account of expenses incurred towards royalty, technical service fees, technical know-how fees, or technical assistance fees exceeding 8% of the net profit disclosed in the statement of accounts, which significantly increases the effective tax rate for companies that are dependent on technical assistance or technical know-how for their business operations.

A company with net profit of 20% on its turnover would have an allowable threshold of such expense of upto 1.6% of its turnover. The Board of Investment and foreign exchange regulations allow foreign remittances of up to 6% of net sales as technical assistance or technical know-how fees, which are higher than the tax threshold limit.

Corporates are hopeful that in this budget proposal, the finance minister may address this issue to make suitable amendments in order to enable organisations to avail of the technical assistance they require.

The definition of an income year was amended by the Finance Act, 2015 to be a 12 months period commencing on July 1 of the relevant year (except banks, insurance and financial institutions) with effect from July 1.

The paripatra clarified that companies following a different Income Year ending would now be required to file two separate returns of income (ROI), ie one for their current income year ending and a second ROI for the remainder period till June 30, 2016.

Therefore, such companies will now additionally have a separate interim (part year) tax filing and allied reporting requirements to align with the desired July-June period and start of appropriately from July 1 as a fresh and complete tax year. There would be a requirement to maintain two separate accounts, ie, one for the normal income year and a second for the fragmented period ending June 30.

Although the requirements have been prescribed, further clarity is expected on the expected mechanism of the transition to iron out various operational issues, such as credit of advance and withholding tax, reporting of previous year’s figures, carry forward of loss, tax audits, etc.

The business fraternity and the investors are looking forward to various other pronouncements, such as clarity on the base amount for tax withholding wherein the invoice is inclusive of VAT, dispute on whether or not taxes covered under section 82C should be final

tax, introduction of depreciation allowance/amortisation in respect of intangible assets, etc.

In the indirect taxes front, existing provisions of VAT is expected to be completely revamped by introducing new VAT Act. The key amendments as envisaged in the proposed law is given below: The existing system of VAT base will be widened by withdrawing exemptions presently available from around 1,900 goods and services to only 15 kinds of supply and six types of import.

In the present law, truncated rate of VAT payable on around 20 types of services at 2% to 10% will be abolished, thereby bringing all such services to the 15% VAT net.

Further, the supplementary duty provisions are expected to be restructured resulting in price variation of numerous items. A distributor/retailer selling goods at uniform printed price will also get covered in the VAT net. The threshold limit for VAT exemption limit is expected to be increased to Tk30 lakh, which should be a great relief for the small businessman/ retailers.

The present system of input credit is also expected to be rationalised to ensure that the business community will avail input credit at every stage, thereby

minimising the cascading effect.

The input credit system is proposed to be entirely automated and must have a robust IT infrastructure to support it. The preparedness and maintenance of such high scale IT infrastructure seems to be the biggest challenge in hand. This may have a bearing in the timing of introduction of the proposed revamped VAT Act. Further, welcome policy pronouncements, such as revision of VAT return, refund of excess input credit, withdrawal of price declaration system, etc are awaited from the budget proposals.

Due to withdrawal protection in the form of supplementary duty for majority of products, the competition in the market for local industries may get stiffer.

Furthermore, with the widening of the tax base and abolition of the truncated VAT rate, there may be increase on cost in various services, such as non-air conditioned restaurants, motor car garages and workshops, construction companies, electricity distribution companies, English medium schools, branded garment shops, etc. However, the effect of rationalisation of input credit may also come as a welcome relief to work on the tax cost reduction.

We have to wait a couple of days more to see the direction in which the reforms are heading and whether they meet the expectations. l Sushmita Basu is Director, Tax and Regulatory Services. This article was written with inputs from Dibyendu Das, Associate Director, Indirect Tax, PwC.

DT

23

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

99 problems But there isn’t one we can truly pinpoint

What is really wrong with this country of ours?

n Luba Khalili

D

haka is a city which never allows for one to evade the chaos within.

Whether it’s the roads and the traffic, the shops and the bargaining, the authorities and the bribes, or even the street children and their merchandise, there really isn’t anything that can be construed from just scratching the surface.

It feels almost as if an immense layer of everything hides beneath the mask of routine activities.

More importantly, if we’re especially talking of things we can’t evade, there is an ominous feeling that something is always brewing.

Over the course of the past year, a series of specific types of murders took place in the country.

Highly publicised and fairly controversial, these killings had more or less of a pattern, coupled with talks of certain extremist groups being involved.

Add to the pot some puzzling disappearances of people of various ages and backgrounds, and we have ourselves an aura of sinister presentiment throughout not only the city, but the country as a whole.

Conversations now subtly touch on the topic of the Islamic State and perhaps a video floating around the internet, or something someone had once said about a brutal beheading somewhere.

Tales from a faraway land, but one can easily sense in the tone, the discomfort that is laden in speech, as if the subjects of such tales could just as well be closer to home.

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sticks out, one may suppose, as everything, which doesn’t seem to fit strictly into the connotations of a certain regime (let’s call it that, for convenience’s sake), gets hacked. To death.

apprehension has permeated throughout the country’s workplaces, institutions, and homes, as conversation topics hover around the points of real concerns but never land and

Whatever the case would have been, the reality remains as is: Silencing will take place at even the most negligible awareness of the mind, and people from bloggers to writers to bookstore owners and magazine editors have evidently paid the price to serve as examples

There seems to be almost an air of conspiracy, scheming itself into the capillaries of the minds that even dare to think about the matter at hand.

For some, the issue dates itself back to the moment when Bangladesh ceased to be a purely secular nation. For some, it was the February which saw the bloody antic of the killing of an atheist blogger.

In the past year, in particular, we as a nation saw an incredible amount of strange and targeted crimes taking place; crimes which do not spare the minds who want to question, the minds who accommodate questioning, the minds which refuse to remain rigid and static.

It’s the problem of the nail that

We, as a nation, may have failed to speak, but absolutely nothing is apolitical and neither is our decision to have our thoughts heard.

Perhaps we ought to have spoken up years ago, when one religion had been prioritised over every other religion present in the country. Perhaps the lulling of the masses would have begun back then.

Whatever the case would have been, the reality remains as is: Silencing will take place at even the most negligible awareness of the mind, and people from bloggers to writers to bookstore owners and magazine editors have evidently paid the price to serve as examples.

The constant presence of still

conversers beat around the bush.

So, what really happens in the midst of the horrendous activities that take place every few months?

Are the masses to gather up in rallies day in and day out only to have the matter be long forgotten?

The answer is no.

The problem isn’t that there isn’t a problem in itself, the problem is of itself.

There is a lack of specificity in the matter and it is all around us.

How to pinpoint something when there isn’t a particular thing to distinguish?

The ominous aura gives rise to the uncertainty of coming back home when we go out, especially for those of us that have the audacity to write something online, or share something on

Facebook, or say something at a restaurant.

The unseen faces behind shadows prevent us from exercising our free speech, but perhaps a grim thought to ponder upon is, to what extent was our free speech unhindered in the first place?

One possible and seemingly inert reaction to the tacit suppression is building conscious mindsets of understanding. If we are to be quiet, we need to be quiet with wholesome awareness.

There is a persistent urgency when it comes to being able to manoeuvre around the unsafe territories of conversation topics, of unsolicited spaces and our ability to think beyond and through these categories that restrain our minds is possibly one of the only ways we can come into terms with such ambiguous silencing.

Perhaps we cannot entirely discard and shake off the feeling of foreboding that compels us to keep shut, but through the mindful actions we take, through realising the political connotations that entail everything that happens in the country, by being aware that something, truly, is brewing, and by not letting that hinder our thought process, we may perhaps find ourselves in a state of mindfulness amongst the chaos that surrounds us. l Luba Khalili is a freelance contributor.

DT

24 Sport

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

TOP STORIES

Thakur example for BD organisers Anurag Thakur has earned the highest position in world cricket with struggle, passion, hard work and extreme will power. In a matter of a decade, he showed how a man with ambition and dedication can climb far. PAGE 25

IPL 2016: Dhaka tribune’s Best XI The ninth edition of the Indian Premier League has witnessed some extraordinary performances, both from the local and the foreign players. Bangladesh’s young pace bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman led from the front. PAGE 25

Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman is embraced by Tigers’ limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Warriors KO Thunder in Game 7 The Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Monday to set up a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA Championship. PAGE 26

Baki aims at Games medal drought An Olympics triumph can make you a hero in any country but legendary status awaits Abdullah Hel Baki if he can finally rid Bangladesh of an unwanted distinction - the biggest nation (160 million people) never to win a medal. PAGE 28

Mustafizur, the talk of the town n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Mustafizur Rahman was at the centre of all attention at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

The left-arm paceman reached Dhaka on Monday night following a successful stint for the Indian Premier League champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. He enjoyed a stellar campaign, taking 17 wickets from 16 matches at a remarkable economy rate of 6.90 – the lowest among bowlers who have bowled at least 20 overs in the tournament. Consequently, the 20-year old was named the Emerging Player of the competition.

Upon his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he was accorded a grand reception.

Yesterday morning, Mustafizur reported to the national side’s physiotherapist Bayezid Islam Khan, the team doctor Debashish Roy and CEO Nizamuddin

Chowdhury.

The Satkhira lad also bumped into Tigers captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and teammates Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, who were practising at the Academy ground.

discussions with the BCB CEO about his impending stint with Sussex, the English county side who are expecting him to join them by June 10.

Nizamuddin said a final decision over Mustafizur’s stint at

The board will decide on this following discussions. The BCB is sympathetic towards him. We need to give his physical tolerance level more importance rather than his wishes Mustafizur is currently nursing a right hamstring injury while there is also a slight concern regarding the heel of the same leg.

According to experts, stress due to a packed schedule is the major reason behind his injuries.

Before Mustafizur departed for his beloved Tetulia village in Satkhira district, he held

Sussex will come from the board in “a day or two”. The board has agreed in principle to allow him to join the English county outfit but ultimately, his participation will depend on his fitness.

“The doctors and the physio have assessed him manually. We can only come to a final decision once we have his full report in one

or two days’ time,” said Nizamuddin yesterday.

The last time the BCB denied Mustafizur from participating in a foreign league was in the maiden edition of the Pakistan Super League in January this year. The board had made the decision in order to stop the bowler from getting exposed ahead of the 2016 World Twenty20, which was to be his first big tournament.

The BCB promised to compensate Mustafizur for not allowing him in the PSL but till date, he has not received the payment.

When queried if the BCB will once again think about compensation provided it does not allow Mustafizur to play for Sussex, Nizamuddin said, “The board will decide on this following discussions. The BCB is sympathetic towards him. We need to give his physical tolerance level more importance rather than his wishes.” l

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Sport

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Thakur example for Bangladeshi organisers n Mazhar Uddin Anurag Thakur, the new BCCI president, has earned the highest position in world cricket with struggle, passion, hard work and extreme will power. In a matter of a decade, he showed how a man with ambition and dedication can climb far despite his young age.

Sure he had a political background, which is a major advantage for sports organisers in the sub-continent. But Thakur is from Himachal Pradesh, essentially considered a backward state in India.

Reporters who covered the ICC World Twenty 20 earlier this year in Dharamsala, came across a most modern and beautiful cricket stadium.

It was Thakur’s project to bring international cricket to these parts and he was successful, mainly because of how the stadium stood out. He became president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association at the age of 26, and then rose fast in the BCCI. Thakur’s rise can be a great example for cricket administrators and organisers in Bangladesh, particularly the younger ones and those who are not from Dhaka or

Chittagong. While there have been interest shown by and towards these younger organisers, it is quite hard for those otuside the country’s two main cities to make it big in cricket or in the BCB. Among the young brigade are BCB directors Kazi Inam Ahmed and Tanjil Chowdhury and the Comilla Victorians owner Nafeesa Kamal. Inam said Thakur’s rise is encouraging for him and those hoping to be cricket organisers in Bangladesh.

“Obviously he (Anurag Thakur) is a very young and dynamic person and he has done some extraordinary work to develop cricket and undoubtedly he deserves what he has achieved,” Inam said.

“It’s also encouraging for us as we would want to work the way he did and I think we also have some young administrators who can follow his path. And I hope Bangladesh will be able to play more matches in India under Mr Anurag Thakur’s tenure in the coming days,” said Inam, who heads BCB’s marketing and commercial committee.

Kamal’s Victorians won the 2015 BPL and she was also co-owner of the Sylhet Royals in the 2013 BPL. She said the BCB needs to be more

welcoming but she was also encouraged by seeing younger people being more involved in cricket off the field.

“In our country there are many people who has money and inter-

est to develop cricket but the board needs to welcome them. As you know without the support from the board it’s quite impossible to develop cricket here.

“At the same there are some pol-

itics involved which makes things more difficult for the outsiders to take such initiatives. But I think we also have some young and dynamic people coming into cricket and if we can share our ideas together I think we definitely can develop as Mr Anurag Thakur did,” said Kamal.

Tanjil, another young organiser, is the general secretary of Dhaka Premier League side Prime Bank Cricket Club. He said business-related people should also be involved in cricket.

“With due respect to the former players I think if you want to develop cricket you also need businessmen who actually know how to run an organization and what is required to increase the development,” said Tanjil.

“Former players obviously have the technical knowledge but at the same time you must welcome young and dynamic personalities who will take it to the next level,” he added.

Tanjil said domestic cricket should be given a lot more priority.

“When you have a solid domestic cricket structure, it gives the strength to the local clubs more and more players and infrastructures will develop automatically,” he said.l

IPL 2016: DHAKA TRIBUNE'S BEST XI The ninth edition of the Indian Premier League has witnessed some extraordinary performances, both from the local and the foreign players. Bangladesh’s young pace bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman led from the front for Sunrisers Hyderabad and was instrumental behind their maiden IPL success. Not surprisingly, the left-arm paceman makes Dhaka Tribune’s IPL XI in which Australia’s David Warner has been chosen as the captain.

VIRAT KOHLI 973 runs, Ave: 81.08, HS: 113, SR: 152.03

DAVID WARNER (C) 848 runs, Ave: 60.57, HS: 93*, SR: 151.42

AB DE VILLIERS 687 runs, Ave: 52.87, HS: 129*, SR: 168.79

YOUSUF PATHAN 361 runs, Ave: 72.20, HS: 63*, SR: 145.56

The enterprising right-hander was phenomenal with the bat and took himself to a new height in the IPL this season. The 27-year old batsman almost singlehandedly guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to the final, smashing four centuries on the way.

The Australian led Sunrisers from the front and was rock solid throughout the tournament. His unbeaten 93 in the second qualifier against Gujarat Lions ranks as one of the best knocks of IPL 9.

Another sensational performer of IPL 2016, De Villiers displayed some outstanding batting for RCB as he, along with Kohli, added a new dimension to the limited over game. The South African was also electric on the field, grasping some brilliant catches.

Eight not outs in 13 innings this season, Kolkata Knight Riders’ Yusuf Pathan exhibited the role of a finisher to perfection. The righthander was coolness personified throughout the tournament.

CHRIS MORRIS 195 runs, Ave: 65.00, HS: 82*, SR: 178.89, 13 wickets, Econ: 7.00

KRUNAL PANDYA 237 runs, Ave: 39.50, HS: 86, SR: 191.12, 6 wickets, Econ: 7.57

One of the most consistent performers for Delhi Daredevils, South African Morris played out of his skin. The right-arm seamer also provided some vital breakthroughs with the leather.

One of the best local performers in IPL 9, Pandya used the long handle with great effect and possesses the ability to score some quick runs at the latter stages of an innings. He is also a handy medium-pacer.

YUZVENDRA CHAHAL

JASPRIT BUMRAH

BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR

LOKESH RAHUL (WK) 397 runs, Ave: 44.11, HS: 68* SR: 146.49, 5 catches, 4 stumpings The 24-year old stumper-batsman had a good outing for RCB this season and played a vital role in the middle-order. Rahul was also sharp behind the wickets, effecting brilliant catches and stumpings.

MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN

21 wickets, Econ: 8.15, BBI: 4/25

15 wickets, Econ: 7.80, BBI: 3/13

23 wickets, Econ: 7.42, BBI: 4/29

17 wickets, Econ: 6.90, BBI: 3/16

Another local cricketer who has been superb with the ball.

Leg-spinner Chahal ended the campaign as the second highest wicket taker.

Young paceman Bumrah leads the bowling attack for Mumbai Indians and enjoyed a decent campaign, having taken 15 wickets.

The purple cap winner of the IPL, Bhuvneshwar was fantastic with the ball and bowled some brilliant swinging deliveries with the new ball. He also bowled brilliantly in the death overs and was a bright positive for Sunrisers this season.

The best emerging player of IPL 2016, Mustafizur came, saw and conquered in his maiden season.

The left-arm pacer was the trump card of captain Warner in the bowling department and the pace sensation delivered in some style.

DT

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Sport

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 7, GS WIN SERIES 4-3

THUNDER 88–96 WARRIORS 55-27, 23-18 Away

73-9, 39-2 Home

OKC GS

1 24 19

2 24 23

3 12 29

4 28 25

T 88 96

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (2R) drives past Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams (L) during the second half in Game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals in Oakland on Monday

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER PLAYERS S. Ibaka K. Durant S. Adams R. Westbrook A. Roberson

MIN 43 46 26 45 39

FG 3PT FT REB AST PTS 5-11 2-5 4-5 4 1 16 10-19 3-7 4-4 7 3 27 4-11 0-0 1-2 9 1 9 7-21 2-6 3-4 7 13 19 2-11 0-4 0-0 12 0 4

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS PLAYERS D. Green A. Iguodala S. Curry K. Thompson H. Barnes

MIN 40 43 40 42 22

FG 3PT FT REB AST PTS 5-14 1-5 0-0 9 4 11 3-7 1-4 0-2 4 3 7 13-24 7-12 3-3 5 8 36 7-19 6-11 1-2 5 0 21 2-6 1-4 0-0 8 2 5

AP

Warriors cap comeback, KO Thunder in Game 7 n The Sports Xchange The Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Monday to set up a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA Championship.

Stephen Curry hit five second-half 3-pointers and scored 36 points in all for Golden State, who will host the opener of the bestof-seven NBA Finals tomorrow in Oakland.

The defending NBA champions,

who rallied from a 3-1 series deficits, were down by 13 in the first half and eight early in the third quarter before gunning their way to a shot at becoming the NBA’s first repeat winner since Miami in 2012 and ‘13.

Golden State, who made seven 3-pointers in the first half, got 10 over the final 24 minutes to catch and pass the Thunder, the third-seeded team in the Western playoffs.

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green bombed in consecutive

threes to give the Warriors an 88-77 lead with 4:44 to go, but the Thunder would not go quietly.

Russell Westbrook scored on a drive and Kevin Durant scored seven consecutive points, and all of a sudden Oklahoma City were back within 90-86 with 1:40 to play.

However, Curry, fouled on a desperation 3-point attempt, cashed in three free throws, then iced Golden State’s comeback with one final 3-pointer with 26.8 seconds left, opening a 10-point lead.

Curry finished 13-for-24 from

the field and 7-for-12 from 3-point range on a night when the Warriors shot better from beyond the arc (45.9 percent) than overall (43.5 percent). Curry also found time for eight assists.

Thompson hit six 3-pointers to account for almost all of his 21 points, helping Golden State outscore Oklahoma City 51-21 on long-distance shots.

Green added 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Warriors, who became just the 10th team in NBA history to overcome a

3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

Durant led the Thunder with 27 points, hitting 10 of his 19 shots and three of his seven 3-point attempts.

He also had seven rebounds.

Westbrook recorded a 19-point, 13-assist double-double, but he shot just 7-for-21. Oklahoma City shot just 38.2 percent from the field and made only seven of its 27 3-point attempts. Serge Ibaka added 16 points for the Thunder, who were seeking to become first team in NBA history to beat two 65-win teams in the same playoffs. l

Captain Cook completes special 10,000-run voyage n Reuters, Durham

BATSMEN WITH 10,000 RUNS IN TESTS Player

Span

Mat Inn

Runs

HS

Ave 100/50

Sachin Tendulkar (IND)

1989-2013

200 329 15921 248* 53.78

51/68

Ricky Ponting (AUS)

1995-2012

168 287 13378

41/62

Jacques Kallis (ICC/RSA)

1995-2013

166 280 13289 224

55.37 45/58

Rahul Dravid (ICC/IND)

1996-2012

164 286 13288 270

52.31

Kumar Sangakkara (SRI)

2000-2015

134

233 12400 319

57.40 38/52

Brian Lara (ICC/WIS)

1990-2006

131

232 11953 400* 52.88 34/48

Shiv Chanderpaul (WIS)

1994-2015

164 280 11867 203*

51.37

Mahela Jayawardene (SRI)

1997-2014

149 252

11814

374

49.84 34/50

Allan Border (AUS)

1978-1994

156 265

11174

205

50.56 27/63

Stephen Waugh (AUS)

1985-2004

168 260 10927 200

51.06 32/50

Sunil Gavaskar (IND)

1971-1987

Alastair Cook (ENG)

2006-

125

257

214 10122 236*

128 228 10042 294

51.85

51.12

36/63

30/66

34/45

46.49 28/47

Captain Alastair Cook savoured a special moment in his glittering career after becoming the first England cricketer to reach 10,000 Test runs during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Monday.

The left-handed opener was the youngest player and 12th overall to reach the landmark as he helped England secure a nine-wicket victory on the fourth day that gave the hosts an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Allan Border, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jacques Kallis are the other batsmen on the list.

“It’s a very special moment,” the 31-year-old told the presentation ceremony after making 47 not out to guide England to a meagre victo-

ry target of 79.

“The game is not about personal milestone...it’s about winning games for England and scoring runs to do that.

“Second to that there are little milestones along the way and certainly it’s been a little bit on my

The game is not about personal milestone...it’s about winning games for England and scoring runs to do that shoulders, I cannot lie, because everyone’s been telling me how many I need to get there.”

Cook, who took over as captain from Andrew Strauss in 2012, has a highest Test score of 294, against India in 2011.

He has played 128 Tests and

has a high-class average of 46.49, having accumulated an England record tally of 28 hundreds and 47 half-centuries.

“It’s a very special day because my family are here to see it,” said Cook, referring to his wife and young daughter.

“Unfortunately, my mum and dad went home last night but I’m sure they are watching on TV.” The fire in Cook’s belly seems to be burning as bright as ever and he looked forward with relish to the batting challenges ahead.

“There are always questions to be asked, no matter how many runs you’ve got behind you,” he said. “The next innings is always the most important one and you’re always going to be tested by the best bowlers.

“One thing I’m proud of is that to be at the top of the batting order, against the new ball, scoring those runs does mean a lot.” l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Rashford named in England squad n AFP, London Manchester United’s teenage striker Marcus Rashford was included in England’s final 23-man Euro 2016 squad, which was announced yesterday, as Danny Drinkwater and Andros Townsend dropped out.

Rashford, 18, scored within three minutes of his England debut in Friday’s 2-1 win over Australia, having netted eight times in 18 games since making his United debut in February.

His emergence was thought to have cast doubt on Daniel Sturridge’s place, but the Liverpool player was named as one of five strikers despite missing the Australia game with a calf problem.

Originally named in manager Roy Hodgson’s provisional 26-man squad, Leicester City midfielder Drinkwater and Newcastle United winger Townsend made way.l

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1 11:30PM Natwest T20 Blast 2016 Sussex v Somerset

Radwanska, Halep exit in French Open last 16 shocks

Messi absent as his tax fraud trial opens in Spain n AFP, Barcelona

n AFP, Paris Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska and former French Open finalist Simona Halep crashed out in the last 16 on another rain-hit day at Roland Garros yesterday.

Radwanska appeared to be cruising into the quarter-finals as she led unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 3-0 before play was suspended on Sunday, with the tournament then suffering its first washout in 16 years on Monday.

But the Pole, who was hampered by a right wrist injury, dropped 10 straight games either side of another rain delay yesterday as world number 102 Pironkova extended her best run in Paris.

“It feels unbelievably great. I have no words right now, I’m so happy,” said Pironkova, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist.

“It was very difficult with all the rain, we waited almost three days to finish the match. But I can’t complain, it turned out great for me.”

Sixth seed Halep, beaten in the 2014 final by Maria Sharapova, suf-

Samantha Stosur returns a shot against Simona Halep in Paris, France fered a 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 defeat to former US Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia.

The Romanian was 5-3 up when their contest, also held over from Sunday, resumed on Court One, but Stosur broke Halep as she tried to serve out the first set before racing through the tie-break to seize control.

REUTERS

Stosur, the 2010 French Open runner-up, again broke her opponent to begin the second set before clinching a quarter-final berth courtesy of a second break.

The 21st seed will face Pironkova next, with the winner of that tie playing Spain’s Garbine Muguruza or 108th-ranked American Shelby Rogers for a place in the final. l

The trial of Argentina star Lionel Messi on tax fraud charges opened yesterday in Spain in his absence just days before Argentina’s first match in the Copa America.

Messi, 28, 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.

The Barcelona court hearing the case adjourned the trial at around noon local time after considering preliminary legal questions because of the absence of witnesses who had been due to appear, including Messi’s mother Celia Cuccitini.

The trial will resume today at 10am (0800 GMT) with testimony from the witnesses and experts.

Messi had planned to be in Barcelona for the start of the trial but a lower back injury he suffered during a friendly against Honduras last week prevented him from doing so.l

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Baki takes aim at Games medal drought n AFP, Dhaka An Olympics triumph can make you a hero in any country but legendary status awaits Abdullah Hel Baki if he can finally rid Bangladesh of an unwanted distinction - the biggest nation never to win a medal.

Despite being home to nearly 160 million people, nobody from Bangladesh has ever even qualified for an Olympics - their competitors have all been wildcard entries - let alone reached the podium.

Athletes and administrators admit they face huge obstacles to win medals, including a lack of facilities and funding, along with an overriding obsession with the non-Olympic sport of cricket.

But after becoming the first Bangladeshi to gain a berth at Rio, Baki - a shooter who won 10 metre air rifle silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games - hopes to finally give his compatriots something to shout about.

“Every athlete dreams of taking part and doing well in the Olympics and that’s my aim as well,” he told AFP during a break in training at the national shooting federation.

“If I can perform the way I’m doing in training, I hope to reach the finals and then I’ll definitely be in the hunt for a medal.”

Baki just missed out on automatic qualification but his performance at the recent world cup in Munich, where he was on the leaderboard for much of the tourna-

This photograph taken last Wednesday shows Bangladeshi shooter Abdullah Hel Baki (L) talking with his coach Klavs Christensen during his practice at a shooting complex in Dhaka AFP ment before tailing off at the end, secured him an early wildcard.

Even if he is a long shot for a medal in Brazil, his Danish coach Klavs Christensen says the future looks bright for Baki and Bangladeshi shooting.

“There’s huge talent here,” said Christensen, describing Baki’s biggest challenge as replicating his impressive performances on the practice range at big events.

He also detailed how a lack of facilities, including an indoor 50-metre range to complement an existing 10-metre range, was holding his shooters back.

Unlucky Reus left out of Euro squad n Reuters, Ascona Winger Marco Reus was left out of Germany’s final Euro 2016 squad on his 27th birthday yesterday over injury concerns, missing out on his second consecutive major tournament.

Coach Joachim Loew also cut 20-year-old midfielder Julian Brandt along with his Bayer Leverkusen team mate Karim Bellarabi and defensive midfielder Sebastian Rudy.

GKs: Manuel Neuer, Bernd Leno, Marc-Andre ter Stegen Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Emre Can, Jonas Hector, Benedikt Hoewedes, Mats Hummels, Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Ruediger Midfielders: Julian Draxler, Sami Khedira , Joshua Kimmich, Toni Kroos, Thomas Mueller, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski, Andre Schuerrle, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Julian Weig Forwards: Mario Gomez, Mario Goetze, Leroy Sane l

“There’s a lot of things we can improve on... but I’m pretty sure that in the next four years, at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020, there could be a very strong Bangladeshi team.”

Determined to end the medal drought, Bangladesh’s Olympic association is dangling major incentives for its Games squad which is also expected to include swimmers, athletes and archers.

“Anyone who wins gold will get 10 million taka (around $125,0000), silver five million and bronze 2.5 million,” the association’s director general Fakhruddin Haider told AFP.

“Whoever wins the first medal will definitely become a national legend.”

Haider is particularly excited about the prospect of golfer Siddikur Rahman becoming the first Bangladeshi to qualify for an Olympics by right.

Siddikur nearly secured a spot at a recent tournament in Mauritius, before blowing his lead by double-bogeying two of the last three holes.

If he can cling on to his place in the top 60 of an Olympics rankings list, he will join the likes of Australia’s Jason Day and the American

Jordan Spieth on the Rio fairways.

But as a professional, Siddikur is an exception to the norm in Bangladesh as for him, funding is not really an issue.

“Professionalism hasn’t really come to Bangladesh,” said Haider.

“If I’m a sportsman then I can’t feed my family. It’s only in cricket where sportsmen can really earn money.”

Nazmun Nahar Beauty, who represented Bangladesh in the women’s 100 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, outlined the problems amateurs such as herself faced.

“There are only two astro-turf running tracks here which we don’t have easy access to and we can’t practice year-round as there are no indoor facilities,” she told AFP. “I remember running barefoot in my first national championships and there were times when I had to borrow shoes to take part in other meets.

“We also don’t have (an) electronic scoreboard which is vital to get an accurate picture of whether you’re improving or not.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given instructions for a Olympic-standard training village to be built close to Dhaka, but that is still at the planning stage.

For Baki, the focus is on the more immediate future in Rio as he sharpens his preparations for the 10-metre air rifle event.

“For me, it’s not really about stardom but trying to do something for my country.” l

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Church seat (3) 3 Dejected (4) 6 Marring feature (4) 7 Favourite (3) 9 Raw hide (4) 10 Fish eggs (3) 11 Love god (4) 13 Of the kidneys (5) 16 Interior decoration (5) 18 Destiny (4) 19 Possess (3) 20 Percussion instrument (4) 21 Weep convulsively (3) 23 Clock face (4) 24 Look narrowly (4) 25 Japanese currency unit (3)

DOWN 1 Document (5) 2 Female sheep (3) 4 Liquor dregs (4) 5 Pithy saying (3) 6 Ridiculous sham (5) 8 Held principle (5) 9 Sport (4) 12 Speed contests (5) 14 Dutch cheese (4) 15 Accessible to bribery (5) 17 Bird (5) 18 Electrical item (4) 20 Immerse (3) 22 Lyric poem (3)

29

DT

Downtime

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 22 represents M so fill M every time the figure 22 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

DT

30

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Showtime

Lucky 07 contenders for 007 Shahriar & Baizid n Farhan Haque Joarder

fans want The Wire actor to be the first black Bond, but that could be exactly what is putting him off. Although there is a lot of controversy and debate around this choice, Elba still hasn’t given up on the role. If he does manage to land the part, we know he’d make an amazing Bond with his devilish charm and good looks.

Every man, at some point in his life, has imagined himself as the classy, irresistibly hot and charming British Secret Service agent James Bond. With the news of Daniel Craig deciding not to play the Brit agent again, a list of actors may well start fantasising about playing the iconic role which has previously been portrayed by legendary actors.

Who will replace Craig? Here’s a list of the top seven contenders for the role of Bond.

Jason Statham A good driver? Handsome hunk?

Great fighter with impressive tactics? The Transporter and Furious 7 star has it all. Statham is known for performing his own stunts. So prepare for more crazy action packed scenes if he is offered the role. For some, he might be a bit too “butch” for the role, but hey, the man looks brilliant in suits. Would be great if he manages to land the role.

must-have for a Bond. Hardy’s exposure is quite impressive to the public too, with 22% of a 1000 Bond fans, aged between 18 and 65, telling leovegas.com that they fancy him for the job.

Tom Hardy The Mad Max: Fury Road star is pumped up with confidence following the success of the movie where he proved that he does look good in action stunts involving fast cars. His personality is also very appealing and oozes the right amount of coolness, which is a

Henry Cavill The famous director of Casino Royale, Martin Campbell fancied Man of Steel actor Cavill for the part back in 2005 but he was eventually considered too young for the role and it went to Craig instead. After a decade or so, he could exactly be what the makers are looking for. Besides, the guy played Superman, so we know that he can kick some back! Will Craig be replaced by Superman? We’ll have to wait to find out.

Tom Hiddleston Yes, you heard us right. Superman has competition from Loki from Thor. Tom would like to bring a certain British charm to the part, as the actor replied when he was asked why he should be Bond.

The Thor actor would be a unique choice, but he has recently been widely lauded for his role as a good-looking, smooth-talking spy in BBC series The Night Manager (sound familiar?), and we all know how good he looks in a suit.

also flattered by how people are making that link. Well why wouldn’t he? After all, Connery is regarded as the best Bond by some.

Michael Fassbender With the hype of his upcoming film Assassin’s Creed and recently released, X-men: Apocalypse, Michael Fassbender has now shown interest to play the Brit agent. He is fast becoming a studio favorite and has a certain “Sean Connery” aura about him. He’s

Russell Crowe Rumours are making rounds that the producers are looking for someone slightly different to play James Bond and they are looking into the chances of Russell Crowe playing the seventh James Bond. Crowe’s stardom has been rising in recent years thanks to critically acclaimed roles in Noah (2014), Man of Steel (2013) and Les Misérables (2013). His commercial appeal is growing, too. However, many worry that he might be a bit too old and not fit enough for the role. Only time can tell whether the Gladiator star has it in him. l

The East End Film Festival, one of the UK’s biggest film festivals, takes place in various venues across East London. This festival annually showcases hot new talent and homegrown films alongside larger independent releases and special events, informing and inspiring a new generation of filmmakers and audiences from across London and beyond.

Sharing the news on his Facebook page, Farooki said “I am glad to be a part of the international jury this year of East End Film Festival, London 2016. Looking at the electric line up of the competition films, I know the job is not going to be very easy.”

“Sadly though, I won’t be in London physically as I am busy with the post production of Doob

(No Bed of Roses). Will surely miss the debate, discussion, and warm company of my co-jurors. However I am looking forward to this new kind of e-jury thing. Let me see how I enjoy watching films online and sending the verdict via email (smile emoticon),” he added.

The festival will open with the world premiere of Ian Bonhote’s Alleycats, with a cast that includes Screen Stars of Tomorrow Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) and Sam Keeley (What Richard Did) alongside John Hannah (The Mummy), John Lynch (The Fall) and Rizzle Kicks singer Jordan Stephens. This year’s country focus will be Turkey, with screenings including the UK premiere of Emin Alper’s Turkey-France-Qatar coproduction Frenzy. l

Idris Elba With upcoming films like Star Trek Beyond and Finding Dory, Elba is on the deck to create history since quite a few of Ian Fleming

Farooki to be part of jury at London’s East End Film Festival n Showtime Desk

Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has been named as part of one of the juries at London’s East End Film Festival to be held from June 23 to July 3, 2016.

Farooki will join film writer and producer Kaleem Aftab in deciding the Best Feature Award as jury of the festival’s 15th edition, alongside Hellboy star Ron Perlman and Suffragette director Sarah Gavron.

Ivy director Tolga Karaçelik, who won best feature at last year’s festival, returns as jury chair and the 2016 director in residence.

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Showtime

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Atif Aslam casts spells of musical magic

PHOTOS: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n Promiti Prova Chowdhury The night of May 29 2016 came as a treat to Dhakaites as they enjoyed a night of Bollywood musical numbers with the arrival of seasoned Bollywood singer Atif Aslam in the city. The Pakistani born songbird who is currently wowing Bollywood

with his numerous chart-topping tracks performed a concert titled “Rhythm for All – with Atif Aslam Night Live in Dhaka 2016.”

Atif made an energetic entry at the last hour of the show with the song “A raha hoon main.”

The star of the evening then went on engaging the audience with his most popular tracks, such as “Tera hone taga hoon” and “Ba khuda tumhi ho.” His powerful yet melodious voice showed its amazing range through a range of songs, from romantic classics to Sufi tracks. At the end of the show, he thanked the audience and mentioned that most of his fans on Facebook were actually Bangladeshis.

The highlights of the night included his rendition of one of his most popular tracks “O jane ja,” with nothing but a piano in the background, while the entire hall sang along with him. His other performances included classics like “Jab koi baat bigar jaye,”

“Keya hua tera waada,” “Zindegi ke safar mein guzar jate hain jo makam,” and “Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein.”

The event was arranged

by ATN Entertainment Ltd, a sister concern of ATN Bangla.

The other guests of the night included Mamta Sharma, singer of celebrated Bollywood item numbers like “Munni badnam huyi” and “Fevicol Se.” Akriti Kakkar was the other attraction of the concert, who greeted the audience in Bangla and presented the audience with some soothing tracks like “Lag ja gale,” “Bade achhe lagte hain,” “Main tenu samjhawa ki,” “Chura liya hain tumne jo dil ko” and “Abhi abhi to mile ho.” The “Paglu” singer was a participant of India’s famous singing competition Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Debashish Biswas and Ambrin anchored the ceremony held at the Noboratri Hall of the International Convention City Bashundhara. l

Katy Perry’s Twitter account hacked n Showtime desk On Tuesday, singing sensation Katy Perry’s Twitter account was compromised by a Romanian hacker who sent racist and insulting messages from her account, including one to Perry’s bitter rival, Taylor Swift.

The account has since then been restored and the offending tweets were deleted, but they have been preserved online by other Twitter users. The person claiming responsibility for the attacks is another Twitter user who goes by the name “Sway,” based in Romania.

WHAT TO WATCH Kill Bill Vol . 1 HBO, 9:30pm The Bride used to be a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad headed by Bill who had been her lover. When she finds out that she is pregnant with his child, she decides to give up her life as a killer. The Bride flees to Texas and plans to get married to a young man. But on the wedding day, she’s shot at by Bill and his comrades. Four years later, the Bride wakes up from a

coma to find out that her baby is gone. The rest of the film shows how she seeks revenge on the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby.

Cast: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Michael Madsen Man of Steel Movies Now, 9:30pm A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not from this Earth. As a young man,

he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne Troy WB, 9:30pm The film is set in the year 1250

BC. Paris, the prince of Troy, falls in love with Helen, the Queen of Sparta and wife of King Menelaus. Paris persuades Helen to leave her husband and go with him to Troy. When Menelaus finds out, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Watch the terrible battle that ensues between the two kingdoms and see who gets Helen in the end.

Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Sean Bean l

The hacker’s first message on the compromised account said: “haha follow @sw4ylol #hackersgonnahack.” This was followed by a series of messages using foul and racist language. One of the most controversial tweets sent on the compromised account was: “Miss u baby @ taylorswift.” The popstars have been involved in a high profile dispute over the course of the last two years for various to accusations such as Perry stealing a few background dancers from Swift’s entourage. l

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Back Page

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

BUDGET DEFICIT TO SOAR BY 13% PAGE 12

MUSTAFIZUR, THE TALK OF THE TOWN PAGE 24

LUCKY 07 CONTENDERS FOR 007 PAGE 30

Over 2,000 people contract HIV after blood transfusions in India n Tribune Desk Patients in India are going to think twice about accepting blood transfusions after a BBC report on Tuesday revealed that 2,234 people contracted HIV while undergoing treatment in hospitals.

These large numbers relate to incidents in the past 17 months alone.

The data (from October 2014 to March 2016) was made public by the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) after one information activist, Chetan Kothari, applied for it via a Right to Information query and comes on the heels of a case in which a three-year-old boy from Assam reportedly contracted

HIV during a transfusion, while being treated for burn injuries. reports The Hindu.

The query revealed that the highest number of patients who had been infected with HIV as a result of contaminated blood in hospitals, were from Uttar Pradesh with 361 cases, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat with 292 cases and Maharashtra with 276 cases rank second and third respectively.

The Indian capital Delhi is at number four with 264 cases.

“This is the official data, provided by the government-run Naco. I believe the real numbers would be double or triple that,” Kothari said while talking to the BBC.

“The government has been slackening on raising Aids awareness due to budget cuts. Cases like these keep happening over and over again and no action is taken against erring hospitals and blood banks. This is an extremely serious issue, and the government needs to address it urgently,” The Hindu reports Kothari as saying.

Naco is responsible for screening all donors and blood for transmissible infections of HIV, HBV and hepatitis C, malaria and syphilis.

Quoting Naresh Goyal, deputy director general of the organisation, The Hindu reported that the “unfortunate cases” were probably caused by use of blood units procured from voluntary donations

that make up 84% of all donated blood.

“These are unfortunate cases and we are working towards the goal of zero transmission. Having said that, these numbers must be looked [at] in the context of the scale of our HIV programme. For example, 20 years ago, nearly 8% to 10% of total HIV infections were coming to transfusions. Currently, that figure is below 1%. We have conquered this route of infection.

It is now legally mandatory for every blood bank to screen the units before giving it to a patient.

“In some cases, the donor may be in a window period — before his HIV viral load can be detected — when he donates the blood.

In such cases, when screened, the blood sample shows a false negative,” Goyal explained.

Kothari also addressed the lack of HIV testing facilities issue in India.

“Each such test costs Rs1,200 and most hospitals in India do not have the testing facilities. Even in a big city like Mumbai, only three private hospitals have HIV testing facilities. Even the largest government hospitals do not have the technology to screen blood for HIV,” Kothari said.

“This is a very serious matter and must be addressed urgently,” he added.

Official estimation says India has around 2.09 million people living with HIV/Aids. l

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