SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015 | Kartik 6, 1422, Moharram 7, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 185 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

SEVENTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN APPROVED PAGE 32

‘DEGRADED LAND AND CONFLICTS ARE LINKED’ PAGE 5

CANADA’S TRUDEAU DETHRONES HARPER PAGE 7

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Former Dhaka mayor and senior BNP Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment in a case � led for amassing wealth illegally and concealing information.

After examining records and evidences of the case, Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of the Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court 3 pronounced the verdict in absence of Khoka, now staying in the USA.

The court sentenced him to 10 years’ jail under section 27 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 for making wealth through unfair means and three years’ jail under section 26 (2) of the same law for con-cealing information in his wealth statement.

The punishment will be e� ective from

the day of his surrender or arrest, the judge said after issuing arrest warrant against the fugitive.

The judge in his observation said: “Kho-ka, who was a former lawmaker, minister and Dhaka city mayor, amassed wealth ille-gally and did not surrender before the trial court despite facing High Court directives for surrender in the case.

“Khoka did not show respect to the high-er court order, which the court do not expect from such a person.”

The court also � ned Khoka Tk10 lakh, in default, to serve six months more imprison-ment and Tk1 lakh, in default, to server one month more imprisonment.

During the delivery of the judgement, the court also asked the government to

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

BD travel alerts exaggeratingthe risk? n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The recent hue and cry over travel alerts is-sued since Eid-ul-Azha by several countries for their citizens staying in Bangladesh have caused panic among the people.

Many local media houses published news on the alerts on their front pages while politi-cians of both the ruling party and the opposi-tion BNP blasted those governments.

Some ministers said they smell a conspira-cy in issuing such alerts following which two foreigners were killed – one in Gulshan of Dhaka and another in Rangpur.

But no one described the meaning of the travel alerts or warnings, and when and why

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Khoka jailed in graft case

Sadeque Hossain Khoka

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015News2DT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BD travel alertsthese are published, and the global context.

French Ambassador Sophie Aubert after a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon on Monday said that her coun-try did not issue any travel alert for Bangla-desh.

“If I did not feel safe, I would not be here ... I am working like everybody else,” she said.

“If I am in Paris, I will be careful and when I am in Bangladesh, it’s the same. We know that we are not in a peaceful world, there are terrorist everywhere. We adopt our way of living to this risk which is not speci� c to any country,” she added.

She said this because her country’s terror threat level had been raised to the highest level.

According to the Australian travel alert: “The French domestic terror threat level was raised to the highest level “Alerte – Attentat.”

The Australian government issued an in-struction that the Australians should “exer-cise common sense and look out for suspi-cious behaviour, as you would in Australia” in France.

For Bangladesh, the Australian travel alert says: “There is a high threat of terrorist at-tack in Bangladesh and the Australian gov-ernment issued “exercise a high degree of caution” alert for its citizens in Bangladesh.

According to the British MI5 website, the terror threat is severe when it is level four out of � ve for the United Kingdom.

“The current threat level for international terrorism for the UK is assessed to be severe,” the website says.

Bangladesh Foreign Ministry o� cials con-� rmed that the terror threat for Bangladesh is “moderate, means an attack is possible, but not likely.”

What is travel alertThe United States issues a travel alert for short-term events like an election season that usually sees strikes, demonstrations, or disturbances; a health alert; or evidence of an elevated risk of terrorist attacks.

It also issues travel warnings for countries where it � nds any government unstable, civil war, ongoing intense crimes or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks.

When contacted, the US embassy spokes-person in Dhaka said: “The US embassy has a legal obligation to look after the safety of its citizens in Bangladesh, which includes en-couraging them to remain vigilant.”

According to the Canadian government website, “Country travel advice and advi-sories pages provide Canadians with o� cial information and advice from the government of Canada on situations that may a� ect their safety and well-being abroad. They may in-clude an advisory for a country or region

where security conditions put Canadians at heightened risk,” but no such Advisory issued for Bangladesh. More or less all the western countries follow the same pattern.

Travel alert by USThe United States has not issued the travel alert for Bangladesh only. It issued the alert or warning for over 40 countries including Nepal, Myanmar, Mexico, Pakistan and even its key ally Saudi Arabia.

The US embassy in Dhaka issued several security messages for its citizens to remain vigilant.

“With respect to the security notices is-sued this weekend, the intent was to en-courage US citizens to continue to exercise caution. These notices were based on the original existing threat information and do not indicate a new threat,” said the US em-bassy spokesperson.

“The notices were also aimed at informing our citizens about the government of Bang-ladesh’s e� orts to identify foreigners in the country in order to be better prepared to pro-tect them. The US embassy has a legal obliga-tion to look after the safety of US citizens in Bangladesh, which includes encouraging US citizens to remain vigilant,” the o� cial said.

Travel alert by UKThe British government has issued travel alert saying: “There is a high threat from ter-rorism. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Le-vant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the recent murders of two foreign nationals [in Dhaka]. Further attacks targeting westerners may occur and could be indiscriminate.”

The UK also issued “high threat from ter-rorism” alert for many countries including Australia, Belgium, Myanmar, France, India, Pakistan, Russia and Thailand.

Travel alert by AustraliaThe Australian government has advised its citizen to “exercise a high degree of caution” during their stay in Bangladesh. This advice was last issued on October 4.

“A Japanese national was shot and killed in Rangpur on 3 October. There are reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility for this at-tack, although this is yet to be con� rmed,” the Australian advice said.

Australia also issued “exercise a high de-gree of caution” advice for Myanmar, India, Russia, Thailand and other countries. For Pakistan and some other countries, it issued “reconsider your need to travel.”

ControversyThe controversy surfaced recently not for is-

suing the travel alerts but regarding the tim-ing of the issuance.

Australia issued the � rst travel alert in the afternoon of September 25, the Eid day, say-ing that it had “reliable information” about possible attacks on Australian interests.

Many diplomats and relevant stakehold-ers said that the reliable information was not gathered by the Australian intelligence, rather it was supplied to them by another country.

But, most interestingly, that country did not issue travel alert until the murder of the two foreigners.

When Australian High Commissioner Greg Wilcock went to Bangabhaban to greet Pres-ident Abdul Hamid on the Eid day morning, he did not give any hint to the Bangladesh o� cials present there.

One government o� cial, who was present at the event, said: “He [the Australian envoy] did not give any indication to Bangladeshi of-� cials that something will happen after cou-ple of hours. Apparently, he was not aware of it [issuance of travel alert].”

The o� cial said had it not been issued by Australia, it would not have any impact on Bangladesh.

“The travel alert got importance only be-cause of the visit of the Australian cricket team to Dhaka,” he said.

The Australian cricketers were supposed to come to Dhaka to play Test matches on September 28.

Similarly, a day after the killing of Italian citizen Cesare Tavella on September 28, Eu-ropean Union Ambassador Pierre Mayaudon issued a press release terming it a “terrorist crime.”

“Ambassador Mayaudon condemns this terrorist crime in the strongest possible terms and urges the law enforcement agencies to promptly investigate this barbaric aggression and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said in the statement.

But, interestingly, the European Union Headquarters issued another press release the same day but did not mention anything about “terrorism.”

“We are deeply saddened by the news of the murder yesterday in Dhaka of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella, employed by the Netherlands-based NGO ICCO. Our thoughts are with Tavella’s family, friends and col-leagues as well as with the Italian authori-ties, to all of whom we convey our deepest condolences.

“Those responsible for this act must be brought to justice. Tavella was working in Bangladesh to improve the lives of local cit-izens. We will stand � rm in upholding the values of solidarity and life,” it concluded. l

Khoka jailed for 13 yearscon� scate Tk10 crore and a building in Gul-shan which Khoka had acquired illegally. The government will also attach three-fourths of his around 54 hectares of immovable proper-ty, the judge added.

Khoka was indicted in the case in absentia on October 31 last year. A total of 40 prose-cution witnesses out of 43 gave depositions before the court.

He is facing several other cases � led over instigating violence and sedition.

On April 2, 2008, the ACC � led the case against Khoka, his wife Ismat Ara, son Ishrak

Hossain and daughter Sarika Sadeque for allegedly accumulating wealth worth over Tk17.57 crore, which does not match with his actual income, and concealing the informa-tion about his wealth.

The charge sheet was submitted against Khoka and his wife on July 1, 2008. The in-vestigator dropped the names of Khoka’s son and daughter as their involvement was not proven during the investigation.

After the submission of the charge sheet, Kho-ka challenged its legality with the High Court. The court then stayed the trial proceedings. On

May 20, 2012, the High Court vacated the stay or-der and ordered the lower court to continue the trial. However, the High Court stayed the case proceedings against Khoka’s wife.

Expressing disappointment over the ver-dict, Mohsin Miah, a counsel of Khoka, said that freedom � ghter Khoka had gone to the USA for treatment after taking permission from the High Court. But the trial court con-ducted the trial in his absence.

“It is not a good practice. We will � le a pe-tition against the judgement with the higher court,” he added. l

Activists stop dog culling in Monglan Tribune Report

The Mongla municipality authorities have stopped culling stray dogs after activists cam-paigned on Facebook expressing concerns over the unlawful act.

The dog culling began in Mongla on Oc-tober 13, and according to locals, around 110 dogs were killed by injecting poison on the � rst day. The authorities then said that they would continue the drive until all the stray dogs in the area are killed, to prevent rabies.

Locals said that the number rose to 150 on October 16.

Dog lovers from across the country reacted sharply at the barbaric act and campaigned on Facebook to stop the Mongla authorities from culling all the stray dogs.

The High Court banned dog culling, and bull/cock/goat � ghting anywhere in Bangla-desh through an order issued on December 14 last year.

Obhoyaronno, an animal welfare group based in Dhaka, talked to the Mongla munic-ipality authorities and informed them about the High Court order.

“Many of you reached out to us about dog culling in Mongla municipality and we thank you for that. We are happy to inform you that we have spoken to the Mayor of Mongla and he has reassured us that he will stop the cull-ing immediately,” Obhoyaronno said in a post yesterday.

“Please let us know if you see or hear of any further culling in the area. Most of the time, the authorities are not aware of the High Court’s ruling and once they come to know about it, they immediately cooperate,” the statement adds. l

ACC summons 8 o� cials of Prime Bankn Tribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has summoned eight o� cials from the head of-� ce of Prime Bank Ltd for questioning over alleged embezzlement of around Tk4 crore.

The commission sent a notice signed by Assistant Director Gulshan Anwar to the bank’s managing director yesterday, asking the o� cials to appear before the commission on November 1 as witness, an ACC o� cial to the Dhaka Tribune, requesting anonymity.

The eight o� cials are Deputy Managing Di-rector Habibur Rahman, former deputy man-aging director SM Anisul Kabir, Vice-Presi-dent Mojahid Kabir, Executive Vice-President Moshiur Rahman, Assistant Vice-President Gias Uddin Ahmed, Senior Executive O� cer Fazlur Rahman Patwari, Executive O� cer Lutfun Nahar and Senior O� cer Abdus Sabur.

Among these o� cials, Fazlur Rahman � led a case with Motijheel police station on March 9 accusing former senior executive o� cers Mir Saiful Islam and Shahjahan Ali Sarker, and former sta� Salman F Rahman and Jul� kar Ali of embezzling Tk3,92,19,014 from the bank through cheating and tampering with vouchers.

The case was later transferred to the ACC. It has already collected all documents of the investigation conducted by police, the ACC o� cial said. l

News 3D

TWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Heavy slabs are being lifted during the ongoing construction work of Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover while commuters and vehicles are in motion underneath. Such ignorance of the authorities concerned can lead to fatal accidents any time. The photo was taken yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Trial biometric SIM registration begins todayn Tribune Report

A trial SIM registration with biometric iden-ti� cation begins in the capital from today. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT adviser to the prime minister, is expected to inaugurate the new SIM registration process at the Posts and Tel-ecommunications Division at the Secretariat.

Tarana Halim, state minister for Post and Telecommunications Ministry, made these statements while speaking at a press confer-ence at her ministry yesterday.

Marking three months in o� ce, the state minister organised the conference to ac-quaint the press with the achievements of the di� erent organisations under the Tele-communication Division.

She spoke about various issues, from illegal VoIPs, the performance of the state-run mo-bile operator Teletalk, Telephone Shilpa Sang-stha, and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Com-

pany Limited to the regulatory body BTRC. The report says most organisations ful-

� lled 100% of their targets, while those that are a bit behind received reprobation from the junior minister during the press conference.

“The target-oriented tasks will continue, which were earlier � xed by the organisation. As a minister, this time I will � x their own targets after consulting with the prime min-ister,” she said.

Terming performance as the key for re-ward, the state minister said without perfor-mance, no one would get a promotion.

She also said that after completion of the trial SIM registration, the original SIM regis-tration with biometric identi� cation would begin on December 16 this year.

Earlier, the trial SIM registration was ex-pected to start on November 1.

“All biometric SIM registration process-es are to be completed by March next year;

otherwise, mobile operators must face a $50 penalty for each unveri� ed SIM,” the junior minister also said.

“Recti� cation and development of the sector is my main challenge as a state minis-ter,” she added.

After meeting with all mobile operator CEOs on September 10, Tarana Halim issued directives to all mobile phone operators to start the process of SIM re-registration from September 13.

The state minister added that users would get three months’ time to re-register their SIM cards, after which all unregistered SIMs would be blocked.

She said the Telecommunications Divi-sion is monitoring the update of the SIM reg-istration process every day.

According to the latest BTRC statistics, there are 13.14 crore active mobile phone subscribers in Bangladesh. l

HC: Explain inaction against ex-MP’s nephewn Kamrul Hasan

The High Court has asked the government and police to explain their inaction against a 16-year-old boy who injured four people by hitting them with an SUV he was driving on October 12.

The vacation bench of Justice Sheikh Has-san Arif and Justice Iqbal Kabir gave them two weeks time to answer to the ruling, and asked why the respondents’ inaction should not be considered unlawful.

The bench also warned the respondents to take legal action against the o� enders – the driver and the owner of the car; otherwise the court will order to initiate action against the police o� cials.

The court made the ruling after hearing a public interest litigation writ � led by six Su-

preme Court lawyers on Monday. The petitioners are Omar Farouq, KH

Bahar Rumy, Mahfuz-Bin-Yousuf, Shamim Ara, Najmul Khondaker Nazmul Ahsan, SM Aslam. All except Farouq are Supreme Court advocates. They were represented by lawyer Anik R Rahman at the court yesterday.

The secretary of Home Ministry, the in-spector general of police, Dhaka Metropol-itan Police commissioner, DMP addition-al commissioner (tra� c), DMP additional commissioner (investigation) and o� cer-in-charge of Gulshan police have been made re-spondents in the petition.

The court further sought explanation on why departmental actions should not be tak-en against the Gulshan OC for his inaction after the incident. It also ordered to explain why an investigation would not be carried

out into the October 12 accident. Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, who also stood

for the petitioners, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had prayed for two rulings and a di-rectives from the court. They court gave both the rulings but did not give any directive.

He, however, pointed out that technically it could be said that the directive had already been given as according to Motor Vehicle Or-dinance 1983, a case for any accident includ-ing racing can be � led within 21 days of the accident. As seven days had already passed, the case could still be � led within the next 14 days, Jyotirmoy added.

On October 12, the teenager – whose name is being withheld for his status as a minor – rammed the SUV he was driving into two rickshaws, injuring four people on Gulshan Road 74. The teen, a nephew of former Awa-

mi League lawmaker HBM Iqbal, was alleg-edly drunk at the time.

The boy was handed to his family with-out any case being � led against him. Police said the victims have provided written doc-uments saying they would not press charges.

But one of the victims, Lisa Dibra, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that she did not sign any such document. Dibra added that she had left hospital as soon as her post-acci-dent primary treatment was over.

However, other victims of the accident earlier told the Dhaka Tribune that they were unwilling to pursue any case as the o� end-er’s family has already compensated them along with paying their medical bills.

As of � ling this report at 9pm, no case has been � led with Gulshan police station in this regard. l

Mujahid, SQChy reviewplea hearingin full benchn Tribune Report

A chamber judge of the Appellate Division has set November 2 for holding hearing on the petitions submitted by Jamaat-e-Isla-mi leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowd-hury seeking review of an order that upheld their death sentences for committing crimes against humanity in 1971.

Chamber Judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain set the date yesterday to hold the hearing of the pleas before the full bench of the Appellate Division, reports BSS.

The Appellate Division passed the order fol-lowing two petitions submitted by the state on October 15 to set the date for holding hearing.

Both Mujahid and Salauddin � led their re-view pleas on October 14.

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 sen-tenced Mujahid to death on July 17, 2013 while Salauddin was awarded death penalty on October 1 the same year.

Mujahid � led an appeal with the Appellate Division on August 12, 2013, and Salauddin on October 29.

On June 16, the Appellate Division deliv-ered its judgement, upholding death for the Jamaat secretary general, who had acted as a top leader of notorious al-Badr force. Former MP from Chittagong’s Raozan Salauddin too could not escape as the Appellate Division upheld maximum punishment for him on July 29, 2015.

The Apex Court on September 30 released the full verdict and the tribunal on October 1 issued death warrants against them.

If the review pleas are rejected, the con-victs will get the scope to seek presidential clemency admitting the crimes.

Earlier, Jamaat leaders Abdul Quader Mol-la and Mohammad Kamaruzzaman were ex-ecuted by the government after completing the legal proceedings. Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam died in prison following conviction while senior leader AKM Yusuf died during the trial period. l

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015News4DT

Farida seeks � nancial helpn Tribune Report

Farida Begum, resident of Sarder Kandi vil-lage in Matlab upazila, Chandpur has been su� ering from cancer for two years. It has become increasingly di� cult for Farida’s family to bear the mounting expense of her treatment; she is now in dire need of � nan-

cial assistance to continue her treatment.Shaon Hossain, Farida’s son and a student

at Dhaka University, has sought help from the nation to save his mother. Donations can be made via his bank Islami Bank Ltd, Head O� ce Complex branch, account No 22390, or by contacting him on his mobile No 01786433813. l

DB gets Tavella ballistics reportn Kamrul Hasan

Investigators yesterday said they had re-ceived the ballistics report of the Tavella murder case but were yet to receive the re-port of the Hoshi case.

Police said the report con� rmed that Ce-sare Tavella, 51, was shot by a single shooter on the evening of September 28. Witnesses said they had seen two assailants carrying � rearms that evening.

Detective Branch Inspector Zeahad Hos-sain of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, who is the investigating o� cer of the Tavella mur-der case, con� rmed that the DB had received the ballistics report from the Criminal Inves-tigation Department.

Investigators said they were con� dent of unmasking the killers and masterminds of the murders. They said they suspected the involvement of an anti-ruling party group in the murders, saying they had obtained some evidence of this.

DB Additional Deputy Commissioner Mahfuzul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the investigation had reached a critical stage and all of the evidence was being looked into.

A CID source said forensic experts had not completed the ballistics report in the Hoshi murder case because the CID had not yet re-ceived all of the crime scene evidence. Some bullets connected to the crime were report-edly retrieved only recently.

Kawnia police station Sub-Inspector Ma-munur Rashid, the investigating o� cer in the Hoshi Kunio murder case, reportedly claimed that police recovered the last bullet after a confessional statement by Humayun Kabir Hira, brother-in-law of Hoshi’s land-lord Zakaria Bala. Hira is currently on re-mand in another case.

Japanese national Hoshi Kunio was shot to death in Rangpur on October 3 by three assail-ants riding a motorcycle. Five days earlier, Ital-ian citizen Cesare Tavella was killed in a similar manner by gunmen in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone.

No arrests have been made in the Tavella murder case.

Two have been arrested in the Hoshi mur-der case. One of them, Humayun Kabir Hira, is on remand in another case. The other, Nurunnabi Khan Sohel, was sent to jail by a Rangpur court two days after the same court sent him on a ten-day remand. l

40% quota for locals in primary schools n Tribune Report

Forty percent of the seats would be reserved for locals at both public and private schools in the country, said Education Ministry o� cials.

The declaration came after the concerned o� cials reached a consensus over the pro-posal for reserving 40% seats for locals in government primary schools yesterday.

Joint Secretary of the ministry Ruhi Rah-

man said they would meet today to decide about private schools.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently or-dered authorities to ensure admission of chil-dren to grade one in schools in their localities.

Rahman said: “We agreed to this decision [area-based quota] but it will be � nalised af-ter holding meeting with o� cials concerned.”

However, they are yet to decide on ways to identify locals, ministry o� cials said. l

Govt to � x maximum number of private vehicles n Shohel Mamun

The government will decide to limit the num-ber of vehicles a family, non-government or government organisation can use, and will impose taxes on each extra vehicle they want to use beyond the government’s approval.

The government has already drafted the Bangladesh Road Transport Act-2015 in this regard. The Act will replace the existing Mo-tor Vehicle Act-1983.

This initiative was taken for the purpose of controlling the number of extra vehicles to ensure smooth tra� c.

The Road Transport and Highways Divi-sion (RTHD) has already gotten the views of

di� erent ministries regarding the draft act.The RTHD is now working with transport

owners and workers to get their views. “Before � nalising the act, we will meet

with other stakeholders, including repre-sentatives of civil society, journalists, en-gineers, businesspersons, and police,” said Obaidul Quader yesterday at a press confer-ence at the Bangladesh Road Transport Au-thority (BRTA) o� ce in the capital.

He said: “We found that a single family uses 12 private vehicles for its family mem-bers, which leads to tra� c congestion. So the number should be controlled.”

When the draft act is � nalised by the RTHD, it will be sent to the cabinet for approval.

According to the draft, a family will re-ceive permission for only two cars. If they want to get more cars, the family will need permission for the extra vehicles and also pay compound Vat-tax for approval.

Other nations have regulations to control the number of cars on the roads. They � x the number of cars for families, companies and organisations. However, no such act exists yet for Bangladesh to support the govern-ment in its e� orts to manage the number of vehicles on the roads.

Every day, the BRTA registers an average of 100 vehicles. Road capacity, however, doesn’t increase. As a result, tra� c conges-tion increases and is now out of control. In

the last � ve years, around 85,000 new cars were registered.

According to the draft, permission will be needed to manufacture cars, recondition them, as well as for repair and to showcase them in showrooms.

Bus helpers and supervisors must be ap-pointed by transport companies, and these workers should also get permission from BRTA, which will also � x the age limit of the drivers.

BRTA secretary Sawkat Ali told the Dha-ka Tribune: “The government has thought deeply about how it can establish discipline in the transport sector. In this regard, we have proposed the Road Transport Act that could help us to control tra� c congestion.” l

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015News 5

DT

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:28PM SUN RISES 5:59AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.8ºC 20.7ºC

Jessore Srimangol

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 33 23Chittagong 32 24Rajshahi 32 22Rangpur 32 21Khulna 33 22Barisal 32 21Sylhet 32 19Cox’s Bazar 31 24

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:41am

Sunrise 5:58amZohr 11:43am

Asr 3:50pmMagrib 5:28pm

Esha 6:58pm

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

SUNNY

11 to testify in Rajon murder casen Our Correspondent, Sylhet

A Sylhet court will retake the depositions of 11 witnesses in the murder case of 13-year-old Rajon, who was beaten to death in the district in July.

Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge Akbar Hossain Mridha passed the order yesterday after Ali Haider Faruq, the counsel for one of the key accused Kamrul Islam, pleaded the court to retake the depositions of 15 witness-es as his client was not present during the in-itial testimonies.

The court later decided to start retaking the depositions of 11 witnesses, including

Rajon’s parents and the two investigation of-� cers of the case, from Wednesday.

Public Prosecutor Misbah Uddin Siraj said the court has also � xed October 25 for cross-examining witnesses and hearing ar-guments from defence and prosecution.

On Sunday, the court concluded hearing depositions from 36 witnesses in the case.

Kamrul, who � ed to Saudi Arabia soon after Rajon’s death, was brought back to the country by police on Thursday.

On July 8, Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon, 13, was beaten to death in Sylhet’s Kumargaon by some men who falsely accused him of stealing a rickshaw van. l

‘There is a link between degraded land and ongoing con� icts’n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

from Ankara, Turkey

There is a strong link between land degrada-tion and con� ict, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday said in a mes-sage sent to the United Nations deserti� cation conference taking place in Ankara, Turkey.

“Just as there is an intrinsic connection between hunger and unproductive land, there is also a link between degraded, deser-ti� ed land and ongoing con� icts and politi-cal instability,” UN Under-Secretary General Gyan Chandra Acharya said, reading out the secretary general’s statement to the confer-ence on his behalf.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the inaugural speech yesterday at the high-level session of the 12th Conference of Parties (COP12) of the United Nations Con-vention to Combat Deserti� cation (UNCCD), chaired by conference president Veysel Eroglu.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable De-velopment, adopted by world leaders last month, is a universal, integrated and trans-formative vision for a better world. It is an agenda to end poverty, leave no one behind and make the essential connections between

building peace, advancing development and securing a healthy planet. The landmark measures include the target of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030,” Ban said in his statement.

“Without adaptation strategies and resil-ience-building to responsibly manage and restore our natural capital, land degradation, deserti� cation and drought will continue to trigger forced migration and aggravate con-� icts over limited resources,” the secretary general continued.

The UN chief said investments in land re-habilitation will help advance a number of sustainable development goals, including poverty eradication, food and water security, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

He said sustainable land management practices create decent employment oppor-tunities, raise productivity through greater e� ciency of inputs and boost the income of the rural poor.

“As we look ahead to the climate change conference in Paris, let us carry the call for land degradation neutrality as a powerful tool for adaptation. This will help strengthen resilience to climate impacts, with a focus on

the poorest and most vulnerable and shape a meaningful agreement for shared prosperity, peace and partnership,” Ban said.

Erdogan said global warming, climate change, land deserti� cation and drought are the most important issues in the world at this time.

“This is not a regional problem but a glob-al problem. There is not a single country exempt from this problem. We have to ac-knowledge reality. The main reason for this problem is humanity becoming alienated from normal living conditions. We are like foreigners on our planet. We are disregarding nature, the environment, soil and animals.”

The Turkish president said: “We perceive that the best way to live in the world is to dominate nature, dominate the forest … but the approach has to be di� erent. We should not be alienated. We are living in a world un-der threat. This problem has to be solved. We have to give this land to the next generation.”

“I think the outcome of COP12 will be high-lighted at the upcoming COP21 [climate confer-ence in Paris]. I hope that we will achieve the SDG targets we have set in New York hand in hand. This conference will be very bene� cial for the region and certainly for the world,” he said.

Monique Barbut, executive secretary of

UNCCD, said driven by population growth and a growing consumer class, global demand for food will increase by 35% by 2030, water demand by 40% and energy demand by 50%.

By 2045, agriculture will require 19% more water and global demand for fresh water is likely to grow by 55%.

“All this is happening at a same time when at least 25% of the earth’s usable land is al-ready degraded. And the rate of serious deg-radation continues to a� ect 10-12 million hec-tares a year … we are demanding more from the planet at a time when there will be less available. How do we become more e� cient in the use of limited resources?” she asked.

Barbut said Land Degradation Neutrality is designed to help everybody make the shift from sustainable practices to the sustaina-ble management of land resources. “It is the long-term political commitment to address-ing land degradation and getting land use in balance. It is a combination of good manage-ment and planning and a massive scaling up of rehabilitation e� orts.”

“We can change the way the world under-stands land and land resources – soil, water and biodiversity – they are one indivisible package,” she said. l

Defence argument begins in Oishee casen Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday has begun hearing the argument in defence of Oishee Rahman, prime accused in the 2013 murder of her par-ents Police Special Branch Inspector Mah-fuzur Rahman and Swapna Rahman, and her two friends.

Police produced Oishee and her friend Asaduzzaman Jony before the court yester-day, while another accused, her other friend Mizanur Rahman Rony who is out on bail, at-tended the trial proceedings.

Judge Sayeed Ahmed of Speedy Trial Tri-bunal 3 heard Oishee’s defence counsel Fa-ruk Ahmed present his argument. The court set the next hearing date on October 27 to hear the rest of the argument.

Referring to Mahfuzur’s brother Mashiur Rahman’s testimony, Faruk argued that since Oishee was a minor when the murders took place, her trial must be held at a juvenile court instead of a general court, as per the law.

Mashiur, who is the plainti� in the case, said during his testimony that his brother had gotten married in 1994 and Oishee was born after two years, so she was not an adult at the time of the murders and therefore should be tried under a juvenile court.

Earlier on October 13, Oishee claimed that she had not killed her parents.

In her written statement, she said the male police members who had interrogated her during her remand had tortured her into giving a confessional statement.

The tribunal concluded recording testi-monies of prosecution witnesses in the case on October 7; a total of 39 out of 57 witnesses testi� ed in the case.l

An o� cial of a mobile court of BRTA inquires passengers of a bus if they were charged extra fare during a drive in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015News6DT

RAMPAL PLANT

BIFPCL issues statement protesting propagandan Aminur Rahman Rasel

Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Compa-ny (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL) yesterday issued a statement protesting against the groups and organisations spreading misleading and baseless propaganda about the 1,320MW coal-based Rampal power plant.

The statement was issued by Anwarul Azim Manager (Public Relations) of BIFP-CL amidst protests by leftist parties against building it near the Sundarbans.

“We are aware that some groups and or-ganisations are spreading misleading and baseless propaganda against the largest coal-based 1,320MW power plant to be built at Rampal upazila of Bagerhat district, as a joint venture of the Bangladeshi and Indian gov-ernments,” the statement said.

“The present government has been relent-lessly working to make Bangladesh a middle-in-come country by 2041. Consequently, unin-terrupted and sustainable electricity is highly essential for its economic and social uplift. Thus,

the government has begun using coal as an alter-native fuel to produce electricity,” it said.

“Many countries have been pushing the use of coal as an alternative fuel source to generate electricity. In the USA, 40% of elec-tricity is generated from coal while in Germa-ny it is 41%; in Japan it is 27%, and in India it is 68%,” the statement said.

“However, Bangladesh produces only 2.26% electricity from coal. Thus, to ensure rapid economic growth, we need to empha-sise coal-based power plants,” it added.

“The plant is 69km from the Unesco World Heritage site, and 14km from the outer boundary of the Sundarbans. Hence, there is no scope for confusion regarding the location of the power plant and the Sundarbans,” the statement said.

“Modern ultra-super thermal technology will be used in the plant to prevent the emis-sion of harmful dark smoke and ash,” it added.

“The company will build it in the most en-vironment-friendly manner with the latest technological applications,” it also said. l

Canada’s Trudeau topples PM Harper in shock election winn Reuters, Montreal/Calgary

Canada’s Liberal leader Justin Trudeau rode a late surge to a stunning majority election victory on Monday, toppling Prime Minis-ter Stephen Harper’s Conservatives with a promise of change and returning a touch of glamour, youth and charisma to Ottawa.

Harper conceded defeat and the Con-servative party announced his resignation, ending a nine-year run in power and the 56-year-old’s brand of � scal and cultural con-servatism that voters appeared to sour on.

The Liberals seized a Parliamentary majority, a turn in political fortunes that smashed the record for the number of seats gained from one election to the next. The centre-left Liberals had been a distant third place party before this election.

“My friends, we beat fear with hope. We beat cynicism with hard work. We beat neg-ative, divisive politics with a positive vision that brings Canadians together,” Trudeau told a crowd of cheering supporters in Montreal.

“This is what positive politics can do.”This rattled � nancial markets ahead of

the vote and the Canadian dollar weakened on news of his victory.

Trudeau thanked his two closest friends and advisers for shaping his campaign to show “that you can appeal to the better an-gels of our nature. And you can win doing it.”

Trudeau has said he will repair Canada’s cool relations with the Obama administra-tion, withdraw Canada from the combat mission against Islamic State militants in fa-vour of humanitarian aid and training, and tackle climate change.

Trudeau vaulted from third place to lead the polls in the � nal days of the campaign, and will now return to the Prime Minister’s resi-dence in Ottawa where he grew up as a child.

“When the time for change strikes, it’s lethal,” former Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said in a television inter-view. “I ran and was successful because I wasn’t Pierre Trudeau. Justin is successful because he isn’t Stephen Harper.”

Liberal supporters at the party’s cam-paign headquarters broke into cheers and whistles when television projected that Trudeau would be the next prime minister.

The Conservatives become the o� cial opposition in Parliament, with the left-lean-ing New Democratic Party in third.

The NDP’s fall was highlighted in Quebec, where it had the majority of its seats, while the separatist Bloc Quebecois won 10 seats, up from just two previously. BQ leader Gilles Duceppe, however, failed to win a seat.

The Liberals’ win marks a swing toward a more multilateral approach in global poli-tics by the Canadian government, which has distanced itself from the United Nations in recent years.

The former teacher took charge of the party just two years ago and guided it out of the political wilderness with a pledge of economic stimulus and stirring appeals for a return to social liberalism. l

INSIDE

7D

TWorldWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

French far-right leader goes on trial for inciting hatredn AFP, Lyon

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front, went on trial Tuesday on charges of inciting hatred after com-paring Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation. PAGE 8

Delhi court � nds Uber driver guilty of rapeAn Indian Uber taxi driver was convicted Tuesday of raping a young female passenger in the capital last year, a case that sparked fresh fears in a city plagued by sexual vio-lence. Uber was banned from operating in New Delhi in the aftermath of the December 5 attack, which sparked accusations it failed to conduct adequate background checks, al-though the ban has never been fully enforced. PAGE 9

UN: Women worldwide face rampant violenceWomen worldwide live longer lives and are more educated than at any time in the past 20 years, but more than a third have been victims of violence, a UN report said Tuesday. The � ndings are contained in “The World’s Wom-en,” a � ve-year study providing an up-to-date, global picture of the progress of women and girls on critical issues in their lives. PAGE 10

BQ Bloc Quebecois (separatist)PLC Liberal Party

NDP New Democratic PartyPV Green Party

Outgoing chamber

PCC Conservative Party

Vacant

The Liberals have won an absolute majorityCanada: the new parliament

Source: Canadian Parliament

44

184

99

308seats

338seats

Independents

Forces et Democratie

15995

36

Voter turnout68.5%

1

10

2

8 4

22

Liberal Party led by Justin Trudeau, 43 years old.

Son of former Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau(1968-1979, 1980-1984)Elected leader two years ago

Pledged to:

- Lower rates for middle-income earners

- Spend billions on new infrastructure

- Raise taxes on richest

Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie wave on stage in Montreal on October 20 after winning the general elections AFP

UN: Over 500,000 migrants reach Greece this year, arrival rate risingn Reuters, Geneva

Over half a million refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in Greece this year and the rate of arrivals is rising with over 8,000 coming on Monday alone, in a rush to beat the onset of freezing winter, the United Na-tions said on Tuesday.

UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melis-sa Fleming said 27,500 people remained in transit on Greek islands near Turkey, many voicing fears that borders ahead of them in northern Europe will close again, although migrants were passing from Croatia into Slo-venia after Hungary sealed its frontier with Croatia.

“We have reached another dramatic milestone, with the arrival yesterday (Mon-day) of 8,000 people, bringing the total to 502,500. Obviously we knew this was coming, but we do see a spike in arrivals in Greece,” Fleming told a news brie� ng.

In all, more than 643,000 refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia have crossed the Mediterranean to Eu-rope this year and at least 3,135 have died en route, according to the UN High Commis-sioner for Refugees.

“We are reporting 25 deaths in the Aege-an (Sea) this week, many of them children,” said Joel Millman of the International Or-

ganization for Migration (IOM).People smugglers are o� ering “discount

rates” to some passengers leaving Turkey but are packing ever more people onto each boat, making conditions even more danger-ous, Fleming said.

Migrants continue to stream north through the Balkans from Greece but Hun-gary shut its border with Croatia on Friday and Slovenia imposed daily limits on mi-

grants entering from Croatia, holding up thousands on cold, rain-sodden frontiers.

Slovenia said on Tuesday it would deploy the army to help guard its border and ap-pealed for help from fellow members of the European Union.

By late morning on Tuesday, 5,000 mi-grants had entered Slovenia from Croatia, after some 8,000 on Monday, Slovenia’s In-terior Ministry said. l

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015World8DT

SOUTH ASIA Sri Lankan judge says war crimes claims ‘credible’Allegations that Sri Lankan troops committed war crimes are “credible”, a judge appointed by the island’s former president has concluded in a report presented to parliament on Tuesday. The � ndings mark the � rst time a domestic inquiry has said there is evidence the army committed war crimes, and are all the more remarkable given that the report was commissioned by Mahinda Rajapakse. “There are credible allegations which, if proved to the required standard, may show that some members of the armed forces committed acts during the � nal phase of the war that amounted to war crimes giving rise to individual criminal responsibility,” said the 178-page report presented to parliament on Tuesday. -AFP

ASIA PACIFICFlood misery in Philippines after typhoon kills 22Head-high � oodwaters churned across vast farming regions of the northern Philippines on Tuesday as heavy rain compounded the misery of a typhoon that killed at least 22 people and displaced thou-sands. Koppu weakened into a tropical storm and moved into the South China Sea by Tuesday morn-ing, but its huge rain band ensured more down-pours while � ooding swept within 40 kilometres of Manila, the capital. Koppu forced 70,000 people from their homes and impacted about 230,000 others across the main island of Luzon, the govern-ment’s disaster management agency said. -AFP

MIDDLE EASTTurkey ready to accept six-month transition period for Syria’s AssadTurkey is ready to accept a political transition in Syria in which President Bashar al-Assad stays in symbolic power for six months before leaving office, and is discussing the plan with Western allies, two senior government officials said on Tuesday. Nato member Turkey has long been one of Assad’s fiercest critics, insisting that no lasting peace can be achieved in Syria without his removal from power. -REUTERS

INDIASoldier kills four in shooting in north IndiaPolice gunned down an Indian army soldier Tues-day after he opened � re indiscriminately, killing four people and injuring four others following a suspected family feud, an o� cial said. The soldier, identi� ed as Jagdip Singh, climbed onto the roof of his home in Sangrur district in northern India where he was on vacation and started shooting at a house below, the o� cial said. The dead include a child and Singh’s aunt and sister-in-law, the o� cial said, adding two of the injured are in a critical condition following the shooting in Punjab state -AFP

CHINAChina says South China Sea lighthouses not meant to alter ‘status quo’China does not seek to change the existing status of territorial claims in the South China Sea with its newly built lighthouses, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, arguing that Beijing already had “indisputa-ble sovereignty” in the contested waters. China says its lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South Reef in the Spratly islands will assist navigational se-curity, but experts and diplomats call them a shrewd move to buttress Beijing’s territorial claims. -REUTERS

French far-right leader goes on trial for inciting hatredn AFP, Lyon

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front, went on trial Tuesday on charges of inciting hatred after comparing Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation.

The 47-year-old appeared in a court in the central city of Lyon over the comments she made while campaigning to take over the leadership of the party from her father � ve years ago.

“I have committed no crime,” said a smil-ing Le Pen as she entered the court. If con-victed, she faces up to a year in prison or a � ne of up to 45,000 euros ($51,000).

While on the campaign trail in Decem-ber 2010, Le Pen complained about places in France where Muslims worshipped in the streets outside mosques when they were full.

“I’m sorry, but for those who like talking a lot about World War II, if it comes to talking about the occupation, we can talk about it, because that (Muslims praying on the street) is the occupation of territory,” she told a crowd in the southeastern city of Lyon.

“It is an occupation of part of the territo-ry, suburbs where religious law is applied. Sure, there are no armoured vehicles, no soldiers, but it is an occupation nonetheless and it weighs on residents.”

After the comments, which provoked outrage in France, Le Pen was investigat-

ed but the probe was later closed without further action. However, a complaint by an association led to the launch of a judicial enquiry in January 2012.

Le Pen was charged in July 2014 after her immunity as a member of the Europe-an Parliament was lifted following a vote requested by French authorities. She is ac-cused of “inciting discrimination, violence or hatred toward a group of people based on their religious beliefs.”

The French Muslim Council’s secre-tary general Abdallah Zekri said that it was “such comments often made by politicians that feed the climate of islamophobia we currently live in.” l

Japan acknowledges possible radiation casualty at Fukushima nuclear plantn Reuters, Tokyo

Japan on Tuesday acknowledged the � rst possible casualty from radiation at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, a worker who was diagnosed with cancer after the crisis broke out in 2011.

The male worker in his 30s, who was em-ployed by a construction contractor, worked at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi plant and other nuclear facilities, a health ministry o� cial said.

Of total radiation exposure of 19.8 millisiev-erts (mSv), the worker received a dose of 15.7 (mSv) between October 2012 and December 2013 working at Fukushima, said the o� cial.

The health ministry’s recognition of radia-tion as a possible cause may set back e� orts to recover from the disaster, as the government and the nuclear industry have been at pains to say that the health e� ects from radiation have been minimal. It may also add to compensa-tion payments that had reached more than 7 trillion yen ($59 billion) by July this year.

More than 160,000 people were forced from their homes after the meltdowns at the Fuku-shima Daiichi plant following an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier.

Hundreds of deaths have been attributed to the chaos of evacuations during the crisis and because of the hardship and mental trau-ma refugees have experienced since then, but the government had said that radiation was not a cause. l

French National Front political party leader Marine Le Pen arrives in court on October 20 to face charges of making anti-Muslim remarks REUTERS

A Syrian refugee cries while disembarking from a � ooded raft at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast on an overcrowded raft, October 20 REUTERS

Delhi court � nds Uber driver guilty of rapen AFP, New Delhi

An Indian Uber taxi driver was convicted Tuesday of raping a young female passenger in the capital last year, a case that sparked fresh fears in a city plagued by sexual vio-lence.

Uber was banned from operating in New Delhi in the aftermath of the December 5 attack, which sparked accusations it failed to conduct adequate background checks, although the ban has never been fully en-forced.

The Delhi court found Shiv Kumar Yadav guilty of raping the 25-year-old woman as she returned home from dinner with friends in the Indian capital.

“Shiv Kumar Yadav is convicted of all charges (against him),” Judge Kaveri Baweja said.

Yadav will be sentenced on October 23 af-ter being convicted on four charges – rape, abduction, intimidation and causing harm.

Defence lawyer Dharmender Kumar Mishra said his client would appeal the ver-dict at a higher court, calling the investiga-tion “� awed.”

Shortly after the attack it emerged that Yadav had been accused of assaulting other women, although he had no previous con-victions.

Yadav was tried by one of the fast-track courts introduced in 2013 following the fa-tal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi, a crime that sparked nationwide protests about India’s treatment of women.

The Uber rape occurred days before the

second anniversary of the attack on the bus, which shone a harsh spotlight on the issue of violence against women.

The victim in the December 5 attack, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had dozed o� in a taxi while returning home from dinner.

She told police she woke to � nd the taxi parked in a secluded place where the driv-er raped her, before dumping her near her home in north Delhi.

The woman also hired a lawyer in New York in January to sue Uber in US courts but later dropped the lawsuit.

“I think it (the verdict) is extremely im-

portant in times when we are getting more and more incidents of sexual violence,” Ranjana Kumari, head of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research, told AFP.

Tuesday’s judgement comes days after a toddler and a � ve-year-old girl were raped in separate attacks in New Delhi.

Uber, which resumed operations in the capital earlier this year despite the ban, said it had learnt lessons from the case and made improvements for better safety.

“Sexual assault is a terrible crime and we’re pleased he has now been brought to justice,” Amit Jain, Uber India president, said in a statement on the verdict. l

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015World 9

DT

USAClinton, Trump extend leads in US presidential raceFrontrunner Hillary Clinton has extended her lead over fellow White House hopeful Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic nomination race, while her leading Republican rival Donald Trump has done the same, polls showed Tuesday. Clinton impressed in her party’s � rst televised debate last week in Las Vegas, while Trump keeps rising as the billionaire real estate tycoon taps into nationwide anti-Wash-ington sentiment. -AFP

THE AMERICASTwo Germans, ex-o� cial sentenced in ChileA Chilean court on Monday sentenced an ex-in-telligence o� cial and two residents of a secretive German community in southern Chile of kidnapping 50 people in 1975. Each of the three -- Fernando Gomez Segovia, formerly with the feared National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), and Germans Kurt Schenellemkamp Nelaimischkies and Gerhard Mucke Koschitze -- were given � ve years prison for their role in the April-June 1975 kidnappings, a court statement said. -AFP

UKPageantry and protests welcome China leader to BritainChinese President Xi Jinping rode in a gilded car-riage to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after a royal salute began a pomp-laden visit Britain hopes will secure investment but which has drawn criticism over human rights. With a few dozen protesters outnumbered by the thousands of China supporters thronging The Mall, Xi and Queen Elizabeth rode by in a closed carriage to the palace for a private lunch. It was a welcome steeped in pageantry, underlin-ing the importance of Xi’s visit to London, which Prime Minister David Cameron hopes will cement a lucrative place for Britain as China’s closest friend in the West. -REUTERS

EUROPETeen jailed for killing teacher in EstoniaAn Estonian court on Tuesday sentenced a 16-year-old to nine years in jail for killing his German lan-guage teacher in the small EU member’s � rst-ever school shooting, court sources said. The youth -- identi� ed only as Vahur -- admitted during the closed-door trial to gunning down 56-year-old Ene Sarap last year in the southern town of Viljandi. He used his father’s handgun to shoot Sarap several times during class at the Paalalinna school on Octo-ber 27, 2014 in front of four other students, none of whom were harmed. -AFP

AFRICAAlgerian troops kill three Islamist gunmenAlgerian soldiers killed three Islamist gunmen on Tuesday during a sweep of a region east of the capital where Al-Qaeda has a presence, the defence ministry said. They were killed during the search op-eration in Baghlia, near Boumerdes, where militants from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have positions, a statement said. During the operation, the army seized three Kalashnikov assault ri� es as well as ammunition and nine cellphones, the defence ministry added. Armed Islamist groups operate in Algeria despite the adoption in 2005 of a peace and reconciliation charter to turn the page on a war in the 1990s between the government and Islamists that killed 200,000 people. -AFP

REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS

China is unreliable new best friend for Britainn Reuters

Britain is giving a superpower welcome to Chi-nese President Xi Jinping as he starts his � ve-day state visit. A failure to reciprocate on the things of any substance is virtually guaranteed. That doesn’t matter too much, so long as the United Kingdom is realistic about what court-ing China can achieve, and knows where its real friends are.

David Cameron’s government has sailed a � ne line between openness and subservience when it comes to dealing with the People’s Republic. Tough questions on human rights are routinely pushed aside in the quest to win investment. The catch is that such investment is � ckle at best. A plan for China to part-fund the 25 billion pound construction of the Hinkley Point nuclear plant still hasn’t actually received signo� . Chinese money has poured into London property but delivered no useful new invest-ment in construction.

There have been some tangible wins. Chi-nese companies are building hotels, buying o� ce buildings – including the headquarters of Breakingviews parent Thomson Reuters – and

constructing automotive plants. The People’s Republic has picked London as the host city for its � rst foreign-issued, yuan-denominated bond. Chinese tourists are each spending twice as much while on British soil than they did � ve years ago. Craft beer from Yorkshire has even made its way east, albeit in small quantities.

But perspective is needed. Lofty goals to increase trade with China show that the coun-try has options outside the European Union, ahead of a future negotiation over the terms of Britain’s membership. But Britain’s exports to the bloc were 91 billion pounds in the � rst six months of 2015 – almost 11 times the amount the country sold to China. Vehicle exports to China, one of the main areas of trade, fell by 33 percent between June and August, compared with the same period a year earlier.

While Xi gets the red-carpet treatment, the UK’s trade routes with Europe are more impor-tant. Or at least they should be. Britain’s popula-tion will be Europe’s biggest by 2050, according to Eurostat – but still just 6 percent of China’s. If trading scale and the ability to exert in� uence counts, it’s clear where Cameron and his peers would do best to focus. l

Myanmar to allow EU election observers into military basesn AFP, Yangon

European Union observers will be given access to voting on military bases for next month’s Myanmar election, an o� cial said Tuesday, a move to bolster oversight of a poll billed as the country’s fairest in decades.

The former-junta ruled nation boasts one of the world’s largest armies and a quarter of legislative seats are reserved for the military, giving them a de facto parliamentary veto.

Tens of thousands of soldiers are expected to take part in voting at military bases before the November 8 general election, because they are stationed far from their home con-stituencies.

Observers from a 150-strong delegation will be allowed at polling stations in those highly-restricted bases after EU representa-tives met powerful army chief General Min Aung Hlaing.

“It was a constructive meeting. This was an area of concern for us,” Alexander Graf Lambsdor� , the EU’s chief observer, told AFP. The decision “is going to make the vote more transparent and our report more accu-rate,” he added. l

In this photograph taken on December 8, 2014, Indian police escort Uber taxi driver and accused rapist Shiv Kumar Yadav (C) following his court appearance in New Delhi AFP

World10DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

UN: Women worldwide face rampant violencen AFP, United Nations

Women worldwide live longer lives and are more educated than at any time in the past 20 years, but more than a third have been victims of violence, a UN report said Tuesday.

The � ndings are contained in “The World’s Women,” a � ve-year study providing an up-to-date, global picture of the progress of women and girls on critical issues in their lives.

The sweeping study, the sixth to be re-leased by the United Nations, includes new data on women’s unpaid work and on vio-lence against women, an issue that was not even monitored 20 years ago, said researcher Francesca Grum.

Figures from 102 countries, the highest number surveyed thus far, showed that more than a third of women have been victim of physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.

“Violence against women is present everywhere. It’s really a global concern,” said Grum.

Worldwide, two out of three family-re-lated homicides target women, the study showed.

The high prevalence of violence is matched by an equally pervasive silence, with victims still reluctant to con� de to an-yone about their ordeal.

The UN research team looked at indicators

in 70 countries and found that fewer than 40 percent of victims will break the silence but they will talk to friends or family, instead of police or social services.

Fewer than 10 percent will go to the police.On a brighter note, the report found that

attitudes toward violence were starting to change in nearly all countries where infor-mation on the problem was available.

The level of acceptance of “wife-beating” decreases over time as public awareness ris-es, the report said. At least 119 countries have passed laws on domestic violence, 125 have laws addressing sexual harassment and 52 have laws on marital rape.

Women work more Women worldwide remain in low-paying jobs, earning on average between 70 and 90 percent of what men earn, the study found.

In developing countries, they spend on average three hours more per day than men on household chores and caring for family members – a � gure that drops to two hours a day for women in wealthier countries.

The number of countries adopting legisla-tion providing maternity and family bene� ts has grown.

Over half of all countries currently o� er at least 14 weeks of maternity leave but these measures often exclude workers in such sec-tors as agriculture or domestic work. l

INSIDE

This weekend’s innovative light show and video installations in Puran Dhaka provided an inspiring way to draw attention to the capital’s rich heritage and historical architecture.

It is welcome to see the Ministry of Cultural A� airs and Dhaka South city corporation support the Franco-German funded art project attended by the French and German ambassadors, to spotlight the importance of preserving and celebrating signi� cant historical buildings and landmarks.

We hope the event will lead to more frequent heritage open days to attract and inspire more visitors in Bangladesh’s heritage and culture.

Creatively spotlighting sites can not only make visitors’ experience more appealing, but also help to stimulate new interest and bring more funds and visitors to often neglected sites.

As hoteliers and tour operators report an upturn in bookings arising out of the Durga Puja festival, it is a good time to re� ect on new ways to further develop and enhance the country’s tourism sector, which supports many hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The government’s sponsorship of a conference later this month to promote Buddhist historical sites in the country is a very good idea. It helps to highlight often overlooked parts of Bangladesh’s heritage and o� ers a means of attracting more overseas visitors, as part of the “Visit Bangladesh Year-2016” initiative.

Archaeological sites and Old Dhaka’s historical buildings are an important feature of the diverse array of attractions contained in our nation’s small land area, from tea gardens to the natural wonders of the Sundarbans and Cox’s Bazar’s sandy beach.

It is important that we all do more to celebrate and protect the nation’s heritage and history as part of programs to help our country’s tourism sector.

Inspiring new interest in hertiage is a good way to highlight Bangladesh’s diverse array of attractions

These dirty streets

TV or not TV?Flying in the face of generally received wisdom that Bangladesh has neither the infrastructure nor the facilities to both support such visitors and send them away to speak well, and even return, it has proved comparatively easy to satisfy such demanding visitors and secure return visits

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207

Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:opinion.dt@dhakatribune.

com www.dhakatribune.com

Join our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

PAGE 12

PAGE 13

PAGE 14

‘Climate, deserti� cation, and the struggle against poverty are inseperable’The world can’t wait while more and more people must be fed with less and less arable land. We have to move forward

Footpaths are uneven, the slabs used to make the walkway have long partially collapsed. During tra� c jams, this scant allotment to pedestrians is invaded by ‘marauding’ motorbikes who pay little (read: No) respect to the law banning them from ‘saddling the footpath’

Highlight Bangladesh’s rich heritage to aid tourism

11D

TEditorialWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Interview12DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Why is it that everyone is concerned about climate change but so few are concerned about land degradation?

The issue of climate change is now very much on the front burner, and for good reason. The success of the 21st conference of parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December is hugely important for the future of mankind, for the survival of our children, and for future generations. Time is pressing and it will be increasingly di� cult to control global climate if the Paris conference ends in failure or with partial success.

Attention is primarily focused on mitigation, on the need to emit less greenhouse gases. This is indeed a matter of great urgency, but land degradation is also a vital issue, with billions of lives at stake. The two go hand in hand. We won’t succeed if we do not tackle both greenhouse gas emissions and land degradation.

But where does desertification stand among the UN's priorities?

The UN is treating deserti� cation as a very important issue. The United Nations Convention to Combat Deserti� cation

(UNCCD) Executive Secretary Monique Barbut is doing a splendid job raising awareness and promoting real solutions. The 12th conference of parties (COP12) to the deserti� cation convention, which is taking place right now in Turkey, is the right place to achieve progress weeks before COP21 convenes in Paris.

But world leaders -- at least those from countries not directly a� ected -- may not give enough attention to deserti� cation. This must be addressed, since deserti� cation has severe consequences, including on the security situation of a� ected regions, particularly in Africa.

Could you explain what Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is, and why it is significant?

Neutrality means that you should rehabilitate one acre of land for every acre you degrade or divert for other ends.

In simple terms, it means we humans have degraded far too much land. This is not sustainable with a growing world population.

At the very minimum, this has to stop. In my view, though, neutrality is not quite enough.

With the world’s population increasing, we should rehabilitate more land than we use or degrade. That’s why I urge economic actors which consume land or divert it for building to rehabilitate more land than they use, for farming. By doing so, they’ll have a positive impact.

There seems to be some debate over the definition of LDN. Why is that?

There are indeed complex issues regarding the scope of LDN, which areas should be covered, and how it would work. This is understandable, but I hope these discussions won’t end in a stalemate.

The world can’t wait while more and more people must be fed with less and less arable land. We have to move forward.

The Sahara, Atacama, and Gobi are natural deserts: Are they part of the threat too? And do your efforts address them?

I am not a scientist but deserts do change over time. Some present-day deserts were fertile areas in the past. With a changing climate and a lack of water in vast regions, deserts are poised to expand and to further reduce arable land. Even Europe, which used to have a temperate climate, is now a� ected. That is why climate action and action against deserti� cation must be pursued urgently.

What would be the defining achievement of COP12 in your opinion? What would make

you really proud to have been part of this conference?

I hope the UNCCD COP12 in Ankara will see progress, real progress, on the LDN objective and on concrete instruments to fund it. Both matter: We need to set a clear target and we need the tools, and the money, to achieve it.

The world's leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) barely a month ago. How will they be reflected in the outcome of COP12?

I was in New York with the French president last month when the SDGs were adopted. They are of great importance and it is particularly appropriate that the SDGs were adopted weeks before the deserti� cation COP in Turkey and the climate COP in France.

Sustainable development, climate action, and action against soil degradation are very closely linked. SDG 13 focuses on climate, SDG 15 focuses on ecosystems, forests, and deserti� cation.

I travel a lot. Wherever I go in the developing world, I am constantly reminded that climate, deserti� cation, and the struggle against poverty are inseparable. 2015 has to be the historic year that we make key progress on these three fronts.

How will the land degradation issue be treated at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris?

I very much hope that degradation will be given due prominence during COP21 -- both as a problem and as a solution.

Land degradation is a major threat but action to restore soils may be the most e� cient and cost-e� ective way to tackle climate change. France is very active on this with the “Four per Thousand” initiative [a carbon sequestration program for French agriculture] to improve the quality of soils and restore their performance.

What outcome do you hope to see at COP21?

I could give you a long, detailed answer but it would probably be missing the point. We need ambitious commitments backed by credible � nancial instruments. A commitment may remain an empty promise if it is not backed by concrete ways to fund it.

Con� dence, particularly the con� dence of developing countries, will be there only if targets and commitments are backed by concrete solutions and the � nancial instruments to fund them.

This is, in my view, essential. l

Nicolas Hulot is Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for the Protection of the Planet.

‘Climate, deserti� cation, and the struggle against poverty are inseperable’Nicolas Hulot, special envoy of the president of the French Republic for the protection of the planet, speaks to Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Al-Masum Molla about how the big environmental meetings being held this year will a� ect the fate of the planet

The world can’t wait while more and more people must be fed with less and less arable land. We have to move forward

REU

TER

S

Opinion 13D

TWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

n Tim Steel

It was whilst � nishing one of the regular Heritage pieces for the Dhaka Tribune, noting the intertwining of two literary dynasties, that of William Shakespeare,

and of William Makepeace Thackeray, in Dha-ka, in about 1771, that the title of this piece sprang to mind.

It illustrates, perhaps, where exploration of heritage can o� er linkages, often so fasci-nating, to modern life.

It also perfectly describes the “clash of cultures” between internal and inbound ex-patriate tourists in Bangladesh as in so many other countries, that those engaged with both have, often daily, to deal with.

The Cox’s Bazar Surf Club, opened by the sadly soon-to-depart UK High Commission-er Robert W Gibson CMG, amidst cyclonic � oods, in June 2014, is an expression of a marketing and communications strategy designed to meet the express intentions of two Bangladeshi investors “to create a sustainable tourism facility in Bangladesh to encourage expatriates working in Bangla-desh, together with their families and visiting friends, to explore and enjoy Bangladesh itself, rather than use Dhaka as a base to explore South and South East Asia.”

Achieving such a narrow aim, clearly, could well open a door to the development, in general, of socially, environmentally, and � nancially sustainable tourism in Bangla-desh, with the potential to make a major economic contribution to meeting develop-ment goals. In fact, we may well regard this development in Cox’s Bazar, itself hungry for growth, and for more inbound tourists, as the quintessence of tourism development in Bangladesh.

Years of researching, and developing such strategies to realise commercial objectives through e� ective programs of marketing and communications, in the all-important private sector, and, especially leisure, travel and tourism, have convinced me that, so far, such endeavours in Bangladesh lacked profession-al focus.

The international tourism market, one of the few markets in the world that has sur-vived the worldwide economic di� culties, continues to grow. In approximate terms, it is an industry that, on average, contributes around 9% to national GDP, and around the same percentage to employment in every country within WTO. There is, naturally, a wide variation around the world, from virtu-ally nil, to well-established giants as China, UK and Thailand.

Contributions to employment tend to include, particularly, opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled sta� , especially those with some linguistic skills, as well as skills in service delivery. Clearly, this o� ers, also, a realistic prospect of improving commitments to broader education.

In general terms, internal tourism creates, on average, around the world, a third of such � nancial and employment opportunity. How-ever, of course, it is the � nancial contribution

of inbound travellers that, properly managed, contributes always much-needed foreign exchange; indeed, many countries regard such tourism as, e� ectively, an export trade, though requiring to be far more e� ectively service supported than most, since the cus-tomer arrives in the country to collect!

Like all target markets, both local and in-ternational, tourists can never be regarded, in strategic marketing terms, as a homogeneous body. They come with almost in� nite varie-ties of social, cultural and � nancial expecta-tions and capacity. Market segmentation is, therefore, the � rst prerequisite of e� ectively enticing any customers. Perhaps, in terms of both understanding the market and prior-itising engagement, it might be reasonable to regard segments as a sport target.

The “bullseye” represents, as it does in sport, the greatest winning score; the pros-pects who both add greatest value, without putting o� prospects in outer circles, or damaging the game.

Worldwide, that bullseye is represented, for the most part, for obvious reasons, by ma-ture, educated, wealthier prospects who tend to be, importantly, especially in markets like Bangladesh, socially and environmentally sensitive. They also o� er the bene� t of often including in their number those engaged in more serious media, who are usually ready to share their experiences, opening the destina-tion to considerable further opportunities.

And, again as a bene� t of this core po-tential market, they tend to be both “early adopters,” more adventurous, and better connected through what we might call “Club culture,” such as golf clubs and women’s groups with like-minded people.

The past decade of involvement of Bang-ladesh has taught me that the well-estab-lished nostrum of Dbase Marketing, “the best customer prospect is the satis� ed customer you already have, or someone just like them,” holds as true in tourism development in Bangladesh as anywhere else.

Realising achievement in reaching this tar-get, in order to entice, satisfy, and send away,

not just wanting more, but more than ready to tell friends, family and associates, and an even wider world, of their great experience necessitates developing an intimacy and appreciation of them. This is true customer appreciation, the diametric opposite of busi-ness practices common around the world, and, regrettably, especially so in Bangladesh, of company orientation.

In the past decade, I have, personally, pur-suing my own convictions, been able to reach out, or simply encounter, and introduce a number of members of this, “bullseye” group to both Bangladesh in general, and, latterly, Cox’s Bazar in particular.

Flying in the face of what appears to be generally received wisdom that Bangladesh has neither the infrastructure nor the facil-ities to both support such visitors and send them away to speak well, and even return, it has proved comparatively easy to satisfy such demanding visitors and, often, secure return visits.

The investors in the Cox’s Bazar Surf Club are, naturally, impatient for � nancially viable returns, as they should be. However, unfortunately, the club not only opened in one of the worst cyclonic seasons for years, but then, like all facilities in Cox’s Bazar, laboured for nearly six months under the e� ects of blockades, with only a brief respite at the New Year.

Nevertheless, there has, in fact, been a steady build up of the core target market, including, as expected, return parties of diplomatic and other such expatriates, as well as the wealthier, better educated of Bangladeshis.

Which brings me back to that “clash of cultures.”

Any such facility as the Surf Club inevita-bly, by virtue of its beach front position, its evidently di� erent design and ambience, and its ability to o� er facilities for water, beach and heritage pleasures, attracts the attention of passing tourists already arrived in Cox’s Bazar, and not a few, including visitors of Bangladeshi origin, have checked out of ho-

tels in which they were already booked, and not only moved in but also later returned.

A recent arrival, a young Spaniard, plan-ning just a couple of days in Cox’s Bazar, was so surprised to � nd a facility such as he had only before encountered in India and Thailand, that he extended his stay for nearly three weeks.

There is a very ancient British saying, traceable to at least the 14th century, and probably far further back: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

The work that, over the past � ve years, has been done to plan, and deliver, cultural and heritage tours, with side dishes of shopping and cuisine, all three identi� able through research as the prime requirements of our “bullseye” group, to small groups and indi-viduals, for whom expense, and even luxury are not high on their list, but certainly part of their expectations, has resulted in a small, but steady, and growing, group of converts to Bangladesh, in countries as far apart as Nor-way, Denmark, UK, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand.

From such small beginnings, based on the simple discipline of researching oppor-tunities, interrogating the product to ensure it can deliver against expectations, focus on delivery, constant evaluation, and plans for further development, the Surf Club has grown, even through such troubled, and troubling times.

Given the lengthy period of the service of descendants of the Bard in these lands that are now Bangladesh, it is, surely, not much of a stretch to suggest that, within the gene pool of the nation today, lie those of that Bard himself. Inbound tourism, of high value and quality, in Bangladesh?

“To be, or not to be?” But, in the delivery of services to meet expectations, it could well be that “TV, or not TV?” may yet prove the more relevant question. What is certain is that, whilst stories about declining inbound tourism in Cox’s Bazar regularly appear in the media -- and the reasons are familiar to us all -- the Surf Club is bucking that trend, proving that a sound, marketing based approach can o� er real opportunity to a market so rich in heritage, and diversity of cultures, with millennia of experience in o� ering shopping opportunities to the world, and a cuisine, world famous, and unquestionably popular around the globe.

Indeed, were we to succeed, where we can, those “Indian” restaurants around the world may, � nally, � nd the courage to admit to their Bangladeshi management!

“To be,” but, “No TV,” perhaps? l

Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

TV or not TV?

Flying in the face of generally received wisdom that Bangladesh has neither the infrastructure nor the facilities to both support such visitors and send them away to speak well, and even return, it has proved comparatively easy to satisfy such demanding visitors and secure return visits

Cox’s Bazar has a lot of untapped potential for international tourism DHAKA TRIBUNE

Can we turn around our trend of declining inbound tourism?

Opinion14DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

n SM Shahrukh

The streets of Dhaka are bustling with all kinds of activity. It’s a metropolis after all, of over 15 million people. Add to that: Hundreds of thousands

of cars, autos, some buses (not nearly enough), motorbikes, pedal-bikes, and the ubiquitous rickshaws. Only about 20% of people own motorised vehicles, but they use almost 90% of the plying space available on the roads.

About 40% people use public transport and rickshaws, but 40 or more percent people walk, unless they have to go great distances. Very little space is allowed to these people commuting on foot.

The footpaths are uneven, the slabs used to make the walkway have long partially collapsed, making walking an exercise of paying due diligence in not only looking ahead, but constantly checking where one is about to land one’s next step.

During tra� c jams, this scant allotment to pedestrians is invaded by “marauding” motorbikes who pay little (read: No) respect to the law banning them from “saddling the footpath.” I have had many a fracas with

these errant bikers, but to no avail, and I get no help from others in my lone battle against them.

Then there are construction material dumps that take up footpaths as if the land were given to them by their forefathers (baaper shompotti). Footpaths are also a preferred place for parking cars of various sizes, from the mini Maruti to the latest American/Japanese/European monstrosities. The end result is the inevitable descent of the hapless pedestrian to the main street, who get into an uneven battle with the “millions”

of cars with ear-splitting horns and arti� cially a� xed bumpers, which not only save the cars but try and give nasty bumps to a person trying his damnedest to keep himself in one piece.

There is also the over� owing of goods from shops onto the pavement, another baaper shompotti type a� air. The pavement in front of a car workshop is an established part of the shop itself, as mechanics are deep in concentration dealing with a faulty engine part, with his head under the hood and his upraised bum giving the pedestrian the message: “Mind where you walk, men at work.”

I have no qualms about roadside tea-stalls or the sellers of various stu� , from shirts to raw-� sh to mobile phone chargers, they are of great utility to the weary pedestrians walking home after a day of slave-like labour. However, whenever there is a swoop by the police, these small traders fall victim to the suddenly awakened “monster’s eye” of the law. These traders have to pay regular tolls to those “monsters” and also to the local “mastaans.”

I often write sitting, standing, squatting on footpaths -- walking helps me think and write. The ambience of � owing sewers and sure signs of open air defecation, the incessant noise, the ever-awaiting open man-hole, the chitchats at the tea-stalls, and the garment workers walking to and from work, give me the inspiration to write.

It’s the city I live in, and I have to make do with what’s at hand. I still love Dhaka, with its heat, the chotpoti of the streets, the condensed milk tea, its street-turned-river situation after a heavy downpour, its never ending tra� c jams, VIPs making their own rules and routes, 5 million people running-screaming-scrounging for 500 seats on buses, the air � lled with Bengali swear words that are hard to visualise, let alone translate,

its dead night life, and not to mention the boring conversations at most of the social gatherings.

So, Dhaka is the one of the worst places to live in this world? It provides terrible end of life care (again one of the worst).

So be it. I would much rather live in a vibrant city than some safe and secure not-to-mention pristine city like Christchurch (no aspersion to my friends living in New Zealand). l

SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

These dirty streetsDhaka is chaotic, but we still call it home

Footpaths are uneven, the slabs used to make the walkway have long partially collapsed. During tra� c jams, this scant allotment to pedestrians is invaded by ‘marauding’ motorbikes who pay little (read: No) respect to the law banning them from ‘saddling the footpath’

A usual day in the busy streets of Dhaka SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

15D

TBusinessINSIDE

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

India to buy more cotton from farmers as China trims importsIndia will be forced to make large-scale gov-ernment cotton purchases from farmers for a second straight year, following a cut in im-ports by top buyer China that has depressed prices, industry o� cials said. PAGE 17

Cabinet committee okays French � rm’s tender proposalThe cabinet committee on public purchase yesterday approved a French company’s tender proposal for the implementation of Bangabandhu Satellite project-1 involving TK2,967 crore. PAGE 16

Renewed global economy fears hit Asia marketsNervous investors dumped high-yielding, risky assets yesterday on fears about the global economy, with the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit taking a hit and most Asian stock markets retreating. Comments from a top Federal Reserve o� cial suggest-ing a US rate hike could come this year also dented con� dence. PAGE 18

Capital Market Snapshot: MondayDSE

Broad Index 4,644.6 0.8% ▲

Index 1,108.5 1.3% ▲

30 Index 1,763.4 1.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 3,358.0 8.0% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume 89.8 5.3% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 14,156.9 0.5% ▲

30 Index 12,526.6 0.2% ▲

Selected Index 8,614.1 0.5% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 293.4 -2.0% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume 7.8 -7.9% ▼

WB warns of downside risks

n Tribune Report

The World Bank has remained stick to its growth outlook for Bangladesh at 6.5% this � scal year, driven by stronger consumption and export growth.

However, it warned that several down-side risks both from external and inter-nal still loom large, which might dent the growth prospect.

“All evidence suggest Bangladesh’s po-tential GDP growth rate is no more than 6.5% given its demographics, feeble state of physical infrastructure and lingering politi-cal uncertainties,” says in its latest develop-ment update report on Bangladesh released yesterday.

In its report on South Asia in October last year, the world’s top lender had projected Bangladesh’s economic growth at 6.5% for FY16.

The bank’s latest projection is lower than the government’s 7% forecast for FY16, made in its � scal policy.

The ADB’s forecast is, however, higher than the WB’s and International Monetary Fund’s 6.5% for FY16.

WB lead economist Zahid Hussain paint-ed present situation of Bangladesh econo-my saying, “Bangladesh’s economy is like a morning sky of the Bengali month Posh when its problem is in the dense fog.”

He said: “Macro economy is in the pro-

cess of being stable but political uncertainty still persists.”

“Unresolved political uncertainty can hurt growth prospects by hindering con� -dence re-building, leading to a stagnation of private investment.”

On the government’s 7% growth target, the report said it would be challenging to reach the target.

“Private investments need to increase signi� cantly to achieve the government’s growth target for FY16.”

Hussain said the private investment out-look was clouded by the political uncertainty. “Though, the public investment increases, but its growth was not re� ected in the � eld.”

“Bangladesh is yet to make any signif-icant progress in infrastructure develop-ment.”

The report said the unresolved political uncertainty, prolonged slower growth in ad-vanced and emerging markets could hinder export and private investment recoveries while creating pressures on the balance of payment.

“The 8% growth target by the end of the seventh � ve year plan is attainable, provid-ed necessary supportive reforms and poli-cies are put in place,” it said.

With some domestic risks, especially the weak competitiveness, the external risks like China’s lower than expected economic growth, fall in commodity price in the in-ternational markets and elusive increase in the US interest rate could a� ect the Bangla-desh’s target growth, WB report said.

It said Bangladeshi RMG exports were facing � erce competition in both the US and EU markets with competitors that have received or may receive preferential treat-ment.

Referring to the Trans-Pa-ci� c Partnership ( TPP), Dr. Hussain cautioned that Bang-ladesh would face huge com-petition in the US market once the TPP is passed.

About the government’s in� ation target, the report said reducing in� ation to 6.2% during FY16 will be chal-lenging but achievable given a cautious 15.6% broad money growth and stable interna-tional prices.

The WB tried to � nd a quantitative analy-sis relationship between global and domes-tic prices on sugar, edible oil and wheat.

“There is evidence of asymmetric in� a-tion inertia in Bangladesh. Domestic price response to international price decrease is much slower than the response to interna-tional price increase,” it said.

The budget de� cit may rise in FY16, but debt is currently at a low risk of distress, the report said.

It said the size of ADP in FY16 is envis-aged to increase by 29.3% relative to the FY15 revised ADP.

Improving the quality of ADP implemen-tation is di� cult when the number of pro-jects remains unmanageably large, WB said.

It also said usual problems of “too many projects with too little allocation” had not been addressed.

The lender recommended that Bangla-desh needs to sustain GDP and remittances growth, create jobs, contain in� ation, and improve the quality of public service de-livery to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.

Meanwhile, the WB Country Director in Bangladesh Mr Johannes Zutt in the func-tion said Bangladesh’s major strength is “re-silience” capacity.

“The country passed through many har-tals, blocked and political violence. But its more than 6% GDP growth over the last one decade has proved the resilience capacity,” he said.

An impressive improvement on the so-cial sector, the WB CD said the country is now required to do structural reforms to become competitive in the global market, he said. l

Unresolved political uncertainty can hurt growth prospects by hindering con� dence re-building, leading to a stagnation of private investment

Business16DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

BANGABANDHU SATELLITE PROJECT

Cabinet committee okays French � rm’s tender proposaln Tribune Report

The cabinet committee on public purchase yesterday approved a French company’s tender proposal for the implementation of Bangabandhu Satellite project-1 involving TK2,967 crore.

Thales Alenia Space, a Franco-Italian aer-ospace manufacturer, will install the satellite – the � rst ever in Bangladesh.

Once the satellite is launched into orbit, it is expected to eventually help the country save $14m annually. The government can also earn by renting the satellite.

A three-member evaluation committee has reportedly � nalised the winner after evaluating bidding documents for the imple-mentation of Bangabandhu satellite project, according to sources in Bangladesh Telecom-munication Regulatory Commission.

In June, four international companies – Great Wall Industry Corporation of Chi-na, MDA Corporation, Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK from USA – participated in the tender process of the installation and post-installation support services for launch-

ing the satellite. On condition of anonymity, a high-up of

the BTRC told the Dhaka Tribune that even though MDA Corporation of Canada had the lowest bid of $222.75m, it did not win the ten-der because of some inconsistencies in the price quoted in the tender.

The o� cial said MDA mentioned addi-tional equipment that were not included in the price, meaning the government would have to pay for those equipment later. So if the government selected MDA, it would be a costlier move than picking the second-low-est bidder.

Considering all facts, the committee re-portedly selected Thales Alenia Space, who had the second-lowest bid of $248m.

Bangladesh has already signed a deal with Russia-based Intersputnik for taking lease of an orbital slot. The government is hoping to launch the satellite by the end of 2017, but of-� cials say the deadline is likely to be missed.

The estimated cost of the project is Tk2,967 crore, out of which around Tk1,652 crore will be provided by the winning bidder, while the rest will be paid by the government. l

ILO for upgrading labour courtn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Visiting International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Direct Contacts Mission (DCM) has rec-ommended for the upgradation of the exist-ing labour court by modernising, digitalising and increasing the number of the court to ensure quick disposal of cases.

The IMF delegation came up with the rec-ommendation at meeting with the State Min-ister for Labour and Employment Md Mujibul Haque Chunnu held at his o� ce in the city yesterday.

A team of International Labour Organisa-tion’s Direct Contacts Mission (DCM) led by Karon Moanghan held a meeting with the state minister. The other members of the team are Coen Kompier, Al-Wreidat Amin and Siska Dubbert.

The meeting was organised to inform the delegation about the country’s progress on the ongoing safety assessment that were tak-en by the Bangladesh, global retailers’ plat-forms and ILO to ensure workers’ rights and

improvement of safety standards. “The ILO team recommended Bangladesh

government to increase number of labour court and to modernise and digitalise its op-erational system for improving the overall environment of the court,” Mujibul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune.

As the delegation members wanted to know about the trade union activities in Ex-port Processing Zones (EPZ), the minister in-formed them that EPZs were run by a special act under which there was a contract with the foreign investors for not allowing trade unionism in those factories.

“But, we’ve allowed Workers Welfare As-sociation (WWA) to ensure workers’ rights in EPZs,’’ said the minister.

The team also urged the government to increase the number of punishments for vi-olating labour rules.

In this regard, the minister replied: “It is be-ing done as per the laws of the land, which can-not be changedonly for one especial sector.”

Currently, a factory has topay Tk25,000, if

it fails to comply all the compliance issues. The penalty was Tk5000, which has been raised recently in the new law.

“After being informed about the progress, the delegation members stated that lots of works have been done in the � eld of safety security and trade union but still it needs to be continued further,” said Mujibul.

The safety and worker’s rights issues came under spotlight after the Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed over 1,135 workers and in-jured over 2,500 people on April 24, 2013

Senior Secretary of Labour and Em-ployment Ministry Mikail Shipar and Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments were present at the meeting.

The ILO delegation arrived in Dhaka on October 17 to see the improvement of work-ing conditions and labour rights issue in the RMG sector. The delegation held meetings with the stakeholders including the Bangla-desh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and union leaders. l

Stocks edge higher amid persistent volatilityn Tribune Report

Stocks closed marginally higher with volatil-ity yesterday, extending the gaining streak to a second consecutive session.

The market moved between positive and negative heavily in early trading, making in-tra-day volatility around 47 points.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark in-dex DSEX rose 13 points or 0.3% to 4,657.

The Shariah index DSES gained marginally 7 points or 0.7% to 1,115. The blue chip com-prising index DS30 was up 3 points or 0.2% to 1,766.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX closed at 8,655, rising 41 points.

The targeted buying in particular large caps like Grameenphone and UPGDCL, which rallied 2.4% and 4.7% respectively, balanced out selling pressure in other large caps like BATBC and Lafarge Surma Cemen.

BATBC and Lafarge Surma stocks were down 1% and 0.6% respectively.

The better performance of Grameenphone drove the telecommunications sector to gain the highest 2.3%, followed by textile 1.7% and power 1.4%.

Pharmaceuticals and non-bank � nancial institutions rose marginally while banks, food and allied, and cement lost a skimpy.

The activities of the session were tim-id amassing a DSE total turnover of Tk340 crore, up just 1% over the previous session.

Out of 319 issues traded, 166 advanced, 104 declined and 49 remained unchanged.

LankaBangla Securities said the market remained in a positive terrain at the mid-day trading, supported by index heavyweights.

The earning season sparked buying inter-est among the investors.

Investors had a mixed reaction to news that the country’s banking sector had dis-played a mixed performance in the second quarter of this calendar year with a fall in their pro� tability that drew the regulator’s note of caution.

Lafarge Surma Cement topped the liquid-ity chart with a turnover worth Tk26.6 crore changing hands.

It was followed by Muzzafer Hussain Spin-ning Mills Limited, Beximco Pharmaceuti-cals, Aman Feed, Shajibazar Power Company Limited and Grameenphone. l

BBS blamed for its failure in providing latest data n Tribune Report

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has blamed Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) for not being able to provide the gov-ernment with the up-to-date data.

“It is not possible for us to take an e� ec-tive plan without adequate data in due time,” said the minister while addressing a seminar on the occasion of World Statistics Day 2015 in the city yesterday.

BBS, Statistics and Informatics Division (SID) and Bangladesh Statistical Association (BSA) jointly organised the seminar at BBS Au-ditorium. State Minister for Finance MA Man-nan attended the seminar as special guest.

Speaking as chief guest, Mustafa Kamal said, “We could not o� er any fruitful policy just because of having no up-to- date data in hand.”

The minister feared that all the planning would go in vain if the available data weren’t correct.

“If BBS provide me correct and accurate data I can assure you to deliver an e� ective policy”, he said.

The minister asked the BBS authorities to take necessary measures for providing quali-ty data on time.

In reply, Secretary of the Statistics and In-formatics Division (SID) Kaniz Fatema stated that her division was working hard with BBS for providing quality data as early as possible.

“We are trying our level best to publish census or survey reports in a short span of time. And again, we are also careful about collecting quality data,” she added.

FAO Bangladesh Representative Mike Robson said meaningful statistics worked as a storyteller. “We can tackle all the odd situa-tion using quality data.”

UNFPA Bangladesh Representative Ar-gentina Matavel stressed on continuity and availability of data as she said, “It is not pos-sible to measure a country’s overall activities without getting regular data.” l

US softens stance on China’s undervalued yuann AFP, Washington

The US Treasury early yesterday softened its longstanding position that the Chinese cur-rency is “signi� cantly” undervalued, saying it wants to see how market forces move the newly � exible yuan.

In its semi-annual report to Congress on whether trading partners arti� cially hold down their currencies, the Treasury Depart-ment said that the yuan “remains below its appropriate medium-term valuation,” a less critical view than that of the past several years. l

Business 17D

TWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

India to buy more cotton from farmers as China trims importsn Reuters. Mumbai

India will be forced to make large-scale gov-ernment cotton purchases from farmers for a second straight year, following a cut in im-ports by top buyer China that has depressed prices, industry o� cials said.

India spent 160bn rupees ($2.5bn) to buy 8.7 million bales of cotton at a govern-ment-set minimum support price (MSP) in the marketing year that ended on Sept 30, up from just 400,000 bales in the previous year.

“During the peak supply season, prices will drop below the MSP (minimum support price) level since demand is negligible from China,” said Dhiren Sheth, president of the Cotton Association of India (CAI).

Government buying, aimed at supporting farmers, will prevent the dumping of cotton in overseas markets by the world’s biggest

producer at a time when global prices are near six-year lows. China has in recent years taken more than half of India’s cotton ex-ports, propping up prices despite record out-put, but last year began cutting import quo-tas to stimulate demand for domestic cotton after it halted a state stockpiling programme.

China’s imports fell 42% in the � rst nine months of the year to 1.16 million tonnes.

Indian farmers have begun the cotton har-vest, but prices are already running below the MSP in some southern spot markets, forcing the state-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to start buying at the support price of 4,100 Indian rupees ($63.15) per 100 kg.

“So far we have opened 50 procurement centres. We could open 300 centres across the country like last year,” said B.K. Mishra Chairman and Managing Director of the CCI.

“We haven’t � xed any procurement target

for the current year, but we will buy as much as farmers want to sell.”

CAI’s Sheth said he expected the CCI would have to make aggressive purchases again this year as export demand was sub-dued and carry forward stocks were at record highs at an estimated 7.9 million bales.

Mishra said this year’s procurement was still likely to be lower than last year since pro-duction was set to drop 1.5% to 37.7 million bales and consumption by local textile units has been rising.

Demand from other Asian buyers like Vi-etnam and Bangladesh is also expected to improve this year, although it is unlikely to make up for China’s lost buying.

“The Chinese market is huge. No other country can make such large purchases,” said Dharmesh Lakhani, an exporter based in western Gujarat state. l

Dollar strengthens on China worriesn AFP, Tokyo

The dollar rose against emerging currencies yesterday on renewed fears about a slowdown in the global economy and following comments from a top Federal Reserve o� cial suggesting a US interest rate hike could still come this year.

O� cial Chinese � gures Monday showed the world’s number two economy grew at its slowest pace in six years in July-September, although slightly quicker than expected.

While not as bad as forecast, the � gures helped sow doubt on trading � oors, sapping con� dence that has helped higher-risk assets such as the Indo-

nesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit rally this month.Analysts warned the recent gains - fuelled by

hopes of fresh Chinese stimulus and a delay to a US rate rise - may have run their course.

Matthew Sherwood, head of investment strat-egy at Perpetual Ltd. in Sydney, said in an email to clients: “The three-week recovery is approaching an exhaustion point.”

“The key question for investors is how much can growth accelerate in the December quarter and will there be more policy stimulus. The answer to both questions is - not a lot,” he said.

The renewed concerns about the global out-look have pushed investors into lower-yielding and

less risky currencies such as the dollar and the yen.The greenback got extra support after Federal

Reserve Bank of San Francisco president John Williams said the central bank is close to achieving its mandate of stable prices and maximum em-ployment and should increase borrowing costs “in the near future”.

The rupiah shed 0.93% yesterday and the ring-git lost 0.76% while the won fell 0.64%. The Taiwan and Singapore dollars were also marginally lower.

The dollar traded at 119.46 yen compared with 119.50 yen Monday in New York.

With a European Central Bank policy meeting this week, attention will be on whether it an-

nounces any further easing of monetary policy to kickstart the stuttering eurozone economy.

With expectations it will soon widen its already vast bond-buying scheme, the euro has fallen against the dollar for most of the past week.

However, it ticked up to $1.1334 from $1.1322 yesterday, while it also gained to 135.45 yen from 135.30 yen.

“The ECB will certainly keep talking about the prospect as well as readiness and willingness to ease further if necessary,” said Raiko Shareef, a markets strategist in Wellington at Bank of New Zealand.

“That’s been quite an e� ective tactic of keeping euro capped.” l

S&P unlikely to change India’s rating till at least 2016n Reuters, Mumbai

Standard & Poor’s kept India’s sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of “BBB-mi-nus” and a “stable” outlook, saying factors such as its sound external position were o� set by low income and weak public � nances.

The agency added it does not expect to change its rating this year or in 2016 based on its current set of forecasts.

The decision is bound to disappoint Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s govern-ment, which has argued that India deserves a stronger rating after e� orts to keep histor-ically high � scal de� cits in check and to im-prove economic fundamentals.

Rival agency Moody’s Investors Service in April also kept India at its lowest investment grade rating but raised its outlook to “posi-tive” from “stable”, citing policymakers’ ef-forts to lift economic growth.

Like Moody’s, S&P welcomed measures to improve the business climate, labour � exibil-ity and the energy sector. But it noted � scal challenges, such as in generating revenue and controlling spending on subsidies.

“Although we expect the new administra-tion to pursue its stated � scal consolidation programme, we foresee that planned reve-nues may not fully materialise and subsidy cuts may be delayed,” S&P said in a statement on Monday.

“Overall, we believe public � nances are set to remain key rating constraints for some time.”

Fitch Ratings also rates India at “BBB-mi-nus” with a “stable” outlook.

India is seen as having better economic fun-damentals than many of its emerging market peers, thanks to foreign exchange reserves of around $350bn and e� orts to keep its current account and budget de� cits in check.

Brazil, for example, was downgraded to “junk” by S&P in September, underscoring the deterioration of its economy and public � nances.

S&P said India’s rating re� ected its “sound” external pro� le and improved mon-etary credibility, including the adoption of in� ation targetting and the move to set up a monetary policy committee to decide on in-terest rates.

The agency expects India’s economy to grow 7.4% this year and average “just under” 8 percent from 2015 to 2018, but sees ratings constrained by low per capita income, of $1,700 this year. l

A trader checks stacked boxes of cotton before loading onto a truck inside a cotton processing unit at Kadi town, about 56 km (35 miles) north from Ahmedabad REUTERS

Business18DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

CORPORATE NEWS

Renewed global economy fears hit Asia markets

n AFP, Hong Kong

Nervous investors dumped high-yielding, risky assets yesterday on fears about the global economy, with the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit taking a hit and most Asian stock markets retreating.

Comments from a top Federal Reserve of-� cial suggesting a US rate hike could come this year also dented con� dence.

While data Monday showing China’s econ-

omy growing at its slowest rate in six years did not have an overly negative impact on markets, there are fears a rally across equi-ties, currencies and commodities this month may have run its course.

After su� ered their worst quarter in four years during July-September, global traders have been on a buying spree in October as expectations of a US interest rate hike this year recede and hopes rise for a fresh batch of Chinese stimulus.

However, con� dence has taken a knock this week following the Chinese � gures and Matthew Sherwood, head of investment strategy at Perpetual Ltd in Sydney, said in an email to clients: “The three-week recovery is approaching an exhaustion point.

“The key question for investors is how much can growth accelerate in the December quarter and will there be more policy stimu-lus. The answer to both questions is - not a lot,” he said.

Also weighing on buying sentiment were comments from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president John Williams who said the central bank is close to achieving its man-date of stable prices and maximum employ-ment and should increase borrowing costs in the near future.

“We always have to be looking through the front window” in setting monetary pol-icy since it works on the economy with a lag, he told Bloomberg Television Monday. “My own view is that the economy is still on a good trajectory.”

While they said in early 2015 that a rise was expected as the US economy picked up pace, bank policymakers have gradually lowered their expectations, with turmoil un-leashed by China’s yuan depreciation in Au-gust playing a major role.

A recent run of weak data out of Washing-ton - including below par jobs growth and re-tail sales - have also muddied the Fed’s waters.

The ringgit tumbled more than one per-cent in morning exchanges while the rupiah shed 0.9%. The Taiwan dollar slipped 0.14% and South Korea’s won lost 0.76%.

Emerging market economies have been hammered this year by talk of the Fed rate rise as investors withdraw cash to the United States looking for better and safer returns.

The Fed holds its next policy meeting next week although economists say if the bank does lift rates it is likely to do so only at its December gathering.

The trepidation on trading � oors also saw most bourses fall. Hong Kong lost 0.7%, Shanghai shed 0.48% and Sydney was 0.46% o� . However, Tokyo edged up 0.29% by lunch as analysts said Monday’s sell-o� was overdone. l

Goldman: Chances of a Fed rate hike this year just 60%n Siddharth Iyer

Dudley shields his eyes as he looks into the audience at the Bretton Woods Committee International Council conference in Wash-ingtonAfter months of speculation and de-lay, the chances the US Federal Reserve rais-es interest rates this year are only 60 percent, according to Goldman Sachs chief US econo-mist Jan Hatzius.

The latest comments by his predecessor in the job, William Dudley, now President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, added further to doubts an interest rate rise in the world’s largest economy would come by De-cember this year.

Dudley said in an interview last week that was published by a newspaper today it was “too early to think about raising interest rates” given global market turbulence since August and widespread concerns over the world economy.

Declining optimism is now apparent across economists. The latest Reuters poll last week showed just a 55% chance of a hike this year compared with 60% in a September poll.

Among the biggest concerns is that � nan-cial markets have only assigned a roughly 30% chance of a hike this year. Some argue

that alone is enough to delay.Goldman explained it this way in its note:Q: Is the low market-implied probability

of a hike in itself a reason not to hike?A: If we are still around 30 percent on the

day of the announcement, then the answer would be yes. We recently showed that the FOMC has a strong revealed preference for seeing rate hike decisions well discounted by the time of the meeting; since 1990, about 90% of all hikes were at least 70% discount-ed, and at least the last two “� rst hikes”, in June 1999 and June 2004, were practically 100% discounted.

At the moment, Goldman says their base-line scenario for the US economy is very simi-lar to Fed’s and thus, they, like the Fed, expect a hike in December, “but uncertainty around that forecast still argues for waiting longer.”

If this all smacks of a sense of déjà vu, it’s because we really have seen this before.

The Fed was initially expected to raise rates in June, but Reuters polls in the build-up to that month found economists steadily lower-ing their conviction rate. The same happened in September. Stay tuned for December. l

Siddharth Iyer is a polling correspondent at the Reuters Polls team.

Dhaka Bank Limited has recently inaugurated its new ATM booth at Banani in Dhaka. The booth was inaugurated by the bank’s managing director, Niaz Habib

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd has recently opened its 127th branch at Jhaudanga in Satkhira. The bank’s director, Al-Haj Abdul Malek Mollah inaugurated the branch as chief guest while the bank’s MD, Habibur Rahman presided over the inaugural ceremony

A businessman passes before a share prices board in Tokyo AFP

News 19D

TWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

41 pirates killed in gun battles in Sundarbans in one year n Our Correspondent, Khulna

At least 41 forest robbers were killed in gun � ghts with members of law enforcement agencies in Sundarbans in the last one year.

During the period, 18 robbers were sent to jailed and 161 � rearms were seized from the possession of robbers.

Acting o� cer-in-charge of Khulna district Special branch of police Abdur Rashid said po-lice had conducted eight drives in Sundarbans and recovered 43 � rearms and 295 rounds of bullet since August 2014. At least 24 forest rob-bers were killed in gun � ghts with police.

M Mahfuzul Islam, lieutenant colonel of RAB 6, told the Dhaka Tribune that conduct-ing drives in Sundarbans, RAB personnel had stopped activities of nine robber gangs since September 2014. During the drives, three robbers were killed in gun battles.

Apart from this, 14 pirate leaders, includ-ing Zia, Sumon, Khoka Babu, were sent to jail. All of them were listed criminals in Min-istry of Home A� airs.

Major Hasibul Haque said RAB 8 had con-ducted 14 successful operations since Sep-tember 2014. In this operations, 14 forest robbers were killed and four arrested.

During the drives, 89 � rearms were seized. Apart from � rearms, 652 rounds of bullet, four tiger skins, 30 mobile phone sets, 14 sim cards and one wrist watch were seized.

Major Hasibul Haque said people living in Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Barguna and Pirojpur districts are becoming victims of forest robbers while going to Sundarbans which is not only a land of beauty but also a great source of livelihood for the people of the south-western part of the country.

Thousands of � shermen are living in hard-

ship as robbers continue abducting despite frequent drives conducted law enforcement agencies, inclining RAB and police.

Frequent attacks by pirates have put both lives and livelihood of � shermen in grave peril in the Bay and Sundarbans.

Fishermen, honey collectors and wood-cutters have to pay a � xed amount of money to pirate to enter into Sundarbans.

But those � shermen fail to pay the amount pirates kidnap them and torture them immense-ly. Later, they release � shermen in exchange of ransom. Sometimes, forest robbers kill � sher-men if their families fail to pay the amount.

On Monday, six � shermen were kid-napped by forest robbers from three canals in Satkhira range of Sundarbans.

Law enforcement agencies are conducting drives in Sundarbans to stop activities of pirates. l

Seven BCL men held for vandalising idols n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Seven activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, student front of the ruling Awami League, were arrested on charges of damag-ing idols at Harta, Wazirpur upazila, Barisal.

The arrested seven are Mehedi Hasan, Shamim Mridha, Badiul Islam, Masud Sheikh, Miraj Hoaoladar, Miraj Fakir, Sukdev Sarkar. All of them were members of BCL of

Syedkathi union parishad unit. Uttam Biswas, president of Purba Har-

ta Chairman Bari Sarbojanin Puja Udjapon Committee, said some youths were roaming around Puja Mandap on Monday afternoon.

The youths engaged in altercation with the volunteers of Puja mandop over collect-ing donation for development of mandop.

Following altercation, the BCL men from Syedkathi union led by Mehedi came to the

spot on motocycle attacked volunteers and puja mandop on Monday night. Four persons were injured while they tried to resist attackers.

Then, agitated local people caught seven of them with three motorcycles and handed over them to police, Uttam added. Uttam Biswas lodged a case with Wazirpur police station yesterday. The arrested seven were sent to jail after producing before a court, Sub- Inspector of Waziripur police Nizamuddin. l

RMG workers block road for arrears in Ctgn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Workers of a readymade apparel factory have put a blockade on a road in the port city’s Colo-nel Hat area demanding one month arrears.

The stalemate lasted for one hour starting from yesterday afternoon saw the end in the face of action by local industrial police action.

When asked, Akbar Shah police station

O� cer-in-Charge (OC) Sadip Kumar Das con-� rmed the incident, telling about 150 work-ers of Maskan Jeans and Fashion Ltd started demanding their arrears through a gathering around 2pm in front of their factory on Bad-amtal intersection in the area halting the traf-� c movement on the entry point of the city.

Industrial Police Detective Branch Inspector Arifur Rahman said though the factory author-

ities promised to pay the arrears to the protest-ing workers yesterday, but they � nally missed the deadline and the workers being infuriated by the move created a blockade on the road.

Being informed, police rushed to the spot and lifted the barricade on assurance of meeting their demand, said Inspector Arif adding that the company o� cials informed them of paying the arrears today. l

NARAYANGANJ 7 MURDER

Hearing on Selina's no con� dence plea heldn Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

A court in Narayanganj yesterday held a hearing on the cancellation of a no con� -dence plea submitted by Selina Islam, wife of Narayanganj City Corporation council-lor Nazrul Islam who was one of the victims of sensational Narayanganj seven-murder case.

Judge Syed Enayet Hossain � xed November 9 to pass an order on the petition � led against the charge sheet submitted by the detectives dropping the names of � ve accused in the case.

Earlier on May 11, Selina � led the no con� -dence plea with the same court. The judicial magistrate court cancelled the application against the chargesheet on July 8. On Jule 21, Selina � led a petition for revision of the cancellation.

According to the petition, the charge sheet in Narayanganj seven murder was submitted by the detectives dropping names of � ve peo-ple mentioned in the complaint. Many other names were also dropped although their in-volvement was found with the killings dur-ing the investigations, Nazrul’s wife claimed.

Earlier on April 8, detectives submitted the charge sheet of the seven-murder case against 35 naming local Awami League leader Nur Hossain as the prime accused.

The 35 include 25 members of Rapid Ac-tion Battalion (RAB) including ex-top o� -cials Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Arif Hos-sain and SM Masud Rana.

In April last year, seven people including Narayanganj city panel mayor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Sarker were ab-ducted.

Their bodies were later found � oating on the Shitalakkhya river.

Selina Islam told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are frightened because Nur Hossain’s associ-ates are again trying to establish supremacy in the area. Police have withdrawn their se-curity measures for us.” l

Youth held for attack on schoolgirl n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

Police arrested a youth in the district yester-day on charge of attack a schoolgirl on Sunday.

Sources said Towhid Mian,22, son of Hu-mayun Mian of Pan Kalima village in Sadar upazila had been trying to tease the girl, stu-dent of Class X for three years.

On the day, the girl was going to school as usual. Towhid and his associates tried to took her anywhere forcefully. At one stage, they hacked her leaving critically injured while they failed to kidnap her.

On information, locals rescued her and admitted to Kishoreganj General Hospital.

Later, Abdul Kayum, uncle of the girl, � led a case accusing Towhid and his nine associates.

Students, teachers and locals brought out human procession on the day protesting the attack.

Mir Mosarraf Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Kishoreganj police station , con� rmed the incident. l

A section of � sherfolk seen busy yesterday catching � sh in a canal near the roadside of Sonadaga village under Godagari upazila of Rajshahi AZAHAR UDDIN

News20DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Khulna ACC faces sta� shortage n Our Correspondent, Khulna

The activites of Anti-Corruption Comission in Khula is being hampered seriously due to shortage of sta� s.

According to sources, there are one director, three assistant dirctor and four deputy directors in Khulna o� ce who have to handle the three districts in the region.

ACC Director Abdul Hai said that it was very di� cult to inve-stigate the cases for eight o� cials.

At present there are 315 cases with the o� ce and the number is increasing day to day.

On other hand, the ACC o� cials have to go Bgerhat and Satkhira from Khula to operate the cases. It is very di� cult for them due to bad shape of roads.

He said at least two more o� cials were essential to operate the activites smoothly. l

Blaze guts carton factory in Chittagongn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

A � re has broken out at a carton factory in Halishahar area of the port city yesterday morning.

However, no casualty was reported in the blaze, con� rmed � re service sources.

Chittagong Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters Senior Station O� cer Abdur Razzak said the � re ignited from an electric short circuit around 11:20am in the tin-shed factory named AMG Paper and Poultry Farm on Fakir colony in Mad-dham Rampura of the area and soon engulfed the whole factory.

Being informed, local � re � ghters rushed to the spot and doused the blaze after two hours of frantic e� orts, Abdur Razzak contin-ued. The volume of loss in the � re would be above Tk8 lakh. l

Man kills wife over family feud in Ashulian Our Correspondent, Savar

A man has allegedly strangulated his wife to death centring family feud in Kurgaon area of Ashulia early Tuesday.

Soon after the incident, the killer husband went into hiding to shun arrest.

The victim, Abina Begum, wife of Rashedul, was worker of a local factory

and the couple had long been living in a rented house in the area.

The family members and police said Rashedul, from Gardharmopal village in Jaldanga area of Nilphamari district, married Abina several years ago and started living in the rented house.

The couple used to engage in altercation over conjugal disparity for last couple of months and Rashedul killed her in the dead of night.

In the morning, the neighbours spotted the body and informed police.

Ashulia police station O� cer-in-Charge (OC) Mahsin Kadir said they sent the body to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy and a case was registered there in this connection.

They primarily suspected the murder might have been centring family feud, the OC continued. l

Help desk for justice seekersn Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari

Superintendent of Police in Khagrachhari opened a help desk for justice seekers in the district.

“As a part duty of law enforcement agency, we have opened the help desk to work for the people,” said Abdul Majid, the Su-perintendent of Police, in a view exchange meeting with UNDP representatives, held at the conference hall at his o� ce.

Additional Superintendent of Police Enayet Hossain Man-nan, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mohammad Habibul-lah, ASP (Sadar circle) Roichh Uddin, Team leader of Gender and Local con� dence building, UNDP-CHTDF Jhuma Dewan, UNDP-CHTDF’s Khagrachhari district manager Priyator Chak-ma and CHT Trust Builders Alliance President Nomita Chakma spoke the function among others.

A team of police led by a women police o� cer had been de-ployed to work with the desk, said Majid. l

2 bikers killed in road accidentn Tribune Report

Two motor bike riders were killed in a road accident on Rohon-pur-Hatahara road in Charaldanga area in Gomostapur upazila yesterday afternoon.

The deceased were identi� ed as Momin, 27, son of Tofazzal and Mojlis, 30, son of Kayes Uddin, both hailing from Begpur vil-lage of the upazila.

Golam Mostafa, o� cer-in-charge of Gomostapur police sta-tion, said the accident had taken place in the area around 4pm as the bike slipped into a roadside ditch after it dashed against a roadside tree, leaving the duo critically injured.

Later, they were taken to the upazila health complex where doctors declared them dead. l

Feature 21D

T

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

n Syeda Samira Sadeque

In their latest quest to explore various issues through the lens of art, Longitude Latitude 6 (LL6) is hosting a week in the spirit of heal-ing, supported by the iCan Foundation.

“We can all use art to heal those around us. We can use art, poetry, music - or just a smile,” Shehzad Chowdhury, founder and curator of LL6, said on Saturday following a session on healing through yoga that kicked o� the week.

Saturday’s session was hosted by Linda Germanis, founder of Yoga Fusion and au-thor of Heals Over Head, who specialises in yoga for post-traumatic healing.

“Yoga for healing is new concept – and is just beginning to become commonly known in the US. The Global Trauma Centre has a leadership on that,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Yoga, in general, is therapy, but there’s been more scienti� c research to identify which speci� c technique works for which trauma or struggle,” she added.

Beyond stretching your blues away, LL6 is further hosting two exhibitions, an art work-shop and a storytelling workshop under the umbrella of healing.

The exhibition by Pretty Shitty Art, by Saria Saguaro, was inaugurated on Sun-day evening and continued till yesterday evening. The exhibition featured the artist’s creative and multiple personalities on her paintings, illustrations, art prints, under-wear, coasters and shoes.

Following this, Shehzad Chowdhury’s own exhibition will go up on Wednesday

evening, which will be formally inaugurated on Thursday evening.

Healing is not just about the art, but also the empowerment. To this, LL6 and iCan Foundation, an organisation that works with survivors of child abuse, will be hosting an art workshop on Friday from 10:30am till 1pm.

“The idea is to express yourself and heal yourself using any tool you want. Creative writing, music, painting - you can use art as a very good tool to let the negative bit out of your system,” Ayreen Khan, founder of iCan Foundation who is also one of the organisers of LL6, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Ayreen adds that they decided to focus on healing as it often remains unaddressed in our society.

“There will be two segments of the workshop: paining with poster colours, and claymaking - to instill in them the sense of empowerment that they can create some-thing,” she says. The workshop will be conducted by Salbhi Sumaiya and Nazmul Haque.

Continuing the spirit of creation, week will end with a motivational storytelling workshop conducted by musician Shaik Sal-ekin Shaon, who will use personal anecdotes and stories from around him to present them in a motivational wrap.

“Storytelling is one of the most ancient ways of communicating. Over time, human-kind experienced industrial revolution, with the rise of mass media and the internet, and a lot of people now have information at their � ngertips.  Yet, storytelling remains as popular and e� ective as it was in the past,” says Shaik.

“What makes it so powerful and e� ec-tive? Because the process itself is so human,” he adds. “The main idea of storytelling is to connect with the listeners, and I’ll be doing just that – with a twist.”

This is part of a four-month long event LL6 which has been featuring artworks of di� erent genres since July, with the core philosophy: “any space is a good space to interact with art.” It is curated by Shehzad Chowdhury, who, with his team, has been organising the series since 2003. It is open everyday from 2pm – 9pm. For further in-formation, visit their page: www.facebook.com/LaitudeLongitude6. l

LL6: Bringing together hearts that heal

We can all use art to heal those around us. We can use art, poetry, music - or just a smile,” Shehzad Chowdhury, founder and curator of LL6

Features22DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 201522D

T

BRAC Bank launched Smart Opener, a faster and smoother account opening service, and opened an account for cricketer Taskin Ahmed.

BRAC Bank also launched BRAC Bank Mobile Application for banking services. BRAC Bank launched these two state-of-the-art technology-based services in line with Bangladesh Bank’s digital � nancial inclusion strategy.

Powered with an advanced technology and tablet, any individual can enjoy faster and smoother account opening experience with BRAC Bank. With BRAC Bank Mobile a state-of-the-art mobile banking application (apps), customers of BRAC Bank can avail banking services from their smartphone anytime, anywhere. Both the digital � nancial inclusion initiatives were launched aiming to bring more people into the � nancial system using the latest technologies.

Smart Opener is the � rst of its kind account opening service where bank o� cials will visit customer’s home or o� ce to open accounts. Equipped with a tablet, bank o� cials will click customer photograph and necessary documents to open a BRAC Bank account and complete other regulatory requirements. Interested individuals can set an appointment for this service by calling BRAC Bank’s 24-Hour Call Center 16221 or by typing “SO” and sending

an sms to 16221 or by sending an email to smart.opener@bracbank.com. Initially the account opening facility will be available for Dhaka City Corporation area. Soon BRAC Bank will start the facility in other regions of the country.

With BRAC Bank Mobile, BRAC Bank customers can do transactions like Fund Transfer, Bill Payments, Mobile Top-up, Credit Card bill payment and can also view their account information, mini statement, detail statement, transaction history and many other services. BRAC Bank Mobile is fully secured with Bangladesh Bank instructed Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). The apps can be downloaded from Google Play. Customers can login to BRAC Bank Mobile with their BRAC Bank Internet Banking User ID, Password and One-Time-Password (OTP). Soon it will be available in the App Store.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO, BRAC Bank Limited, and Taskin Ahmed, brand ambassador of the bank, formally launched the two IT-based services at a press conference at the bank’s Head O� ce in Dhaka. Firoz Ahmed Khan, head of Retail Banking, Zara Jabeen Mahbub, head of Communication and Service Quality, Mosleh Saad Mahmud, head of Customer Experience and Retail Products and Collections and other senior o� cials of the bank were also present. l

Mousumi Industries Limited, the man-ufacturer of Cute, a popular cosmetic brand, recently received an International Europe Award for Quality 2015. On Octo-ber 19, secretary general of Spain’s Globe Trade Leaders Club Ricardo Roso Lopez handed over the award to Kazi Main

Uddin Ahmed Tipu, managing director of Mousumi Industries Limited through an award giving ceremony held in Paris. High o� cials from di� erent establishments from 30 di� erent countries were present at the event, amongst many others. l

The vice chancellor of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Professor Dr Omar Rahman is now in the USA for an o� cial trip. Professor Rahman is invited to give lectures at some of the renowned universities and also to discuss and explore possibilities for future collaboration with the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).

The universities Professor Rahman will be visiting are Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University South Asia Institute, Brown University, Boston University, University of Delaware, Rutgers University, Wagner College, Columbia University, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Diego, University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University.

Prior to joining IUB in 2003, Prof Rahman was the associate professor of Epidemiology and Demography at Harvard University, and a research fellow in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He continues to serve as a visiting faculty member at Harvard University, USA.

Prof Rahman is an internationally

renowned demographer and psychiatrist with extensive experience in International public health. l

The Voice of Business (VoB), the largest student-run publication of the country arranged a seminar named “Readying Your Game Plan: Insights from HRs.” on October 18, 2015 at the Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka. Dhaka Tribune, Dhaka FM, RTV and dutimz.com were the media partners of this event.

VoB is a business magazine published by the students of Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka.

HR Kites, the fastest growing HR solution provider in Bangladesh, conducted a session to provide insight on how to prepare and polish the essential skills to get into the competitive corporate world. The keynote speaker at the event was Saood Bin Masood, founder and managing director of HR Kites. The HR expert encouraged the participants to polish themselves for their career ahead. His “Think global, act local” formula persuaded the students to prepare themselves for the

global job market.Munira Tabassum, assistant manager of

the HR kites emphasised on the importance of � nding your passion and building your career around it.

Nazmul Hasan, assistant professor, Department of Banking and Insurance discussed the current job market scenario in Bangladesh and the importance of career game plan.

The corporate advisor of the VoB and CIMA course leader, Hasan Shams Ahmed focused on the long term career road ahead of the students to make the right career choices.

The most common mistakes that candidates make in CVs, the dos and don’ts in the CVs were demonstrated in an interactive session conducted by Muid Sultan, talent sourcing o� cer of HR Kites.

A mock interview session was conducted by the HR Kites o� cials after the seminar. l

BRAC Bank launches Smart Opener and BRAC Bank Mobile

Cute receives the International Europe Award

IUB VC visits USA

Seminar by Voice of Business

Features 23D

T

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

“We will have a lot of products but with the huge discounts we’re o� ering, there will be a huge demand too. And of course, buyers need to be extremely fast to get these deals. We are sure that Thursday, at midnight, many will be sitting on their computers or with their phones (if they’re using the Daraz app), ready to get their hands on the biggest deals before anyone else does. If there’s one thing we know, you have to have the fastest � ngers to be able to bag the best deals,” - Dr Jonathan Doerr, Co-CEO of Daraz Asia.

Daraz to introduce Bangladesh’s � rst Black Friday

nN Anita Amreen

E commerce giant Daraz recently announced that they will be introducing the � rst ever online “Black Friday” sales on November 27 this year, o� ering astronomical

discounts and price cuts for bargain hunters around Bangladesh. Set to be the � rst and largest event of its kind in the history of Bangladesh’s e-commerce industry, this decision has come soon after they received a $56 million funding, one they mean to inject into Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan - three emerging markets where they already operate.

“Black Friday is a concept that comes from Europe. It’s one of the biggest sales event in the US alone. Last year, on one day, 40 billion dollars revenue was gathered in the US through online sales alone. We don’t have any sales event like that here. That’s when we thought, let’s bring that event to Bangladesh and introduce this amazing event to shoppers around the country. We intend to make this the biggest e-commerce sales event in the country,” said Dr Jonathan Doerr, Co-CEO of Daraz Asia.

An online e-commerce giant modelled on Amazon, Daraz has quickly secured a top place in Bangladesh’s booming e-commerce sector, having around two million people visit their website last month alone. With barely over a year in operation, they have around 200 people working for Daraz Bangladesh, equally split between their warehouse and their central Banani o� ce. Essentially a marketplace for high-end brands, Daraz has everything from local fashion brands such as Yellow, Ecstasy and Noir to mobile brands such as Samsung, HTC and Sony under their umbrella.

For their upcoming event, they are currently in talks with several top brands, trying to secure deals and discounts that go up to 70%. Usually considered to be a favoured website for tech geeks looking for discounts on laptops, TVs and phones, their Black Friday sale will have a lot more than just large discounts on electronics. “Most people think Black Friday is an event that focuses on electronics only, but many fashion brands play a substantial role in Black Friday sales. Our fashion team is currently working very very hard to get huge discounts from fashion brands so there’s

de� nitely a lot for people to look out for,” he added.

Currently, local fashion brands on Daraz include Bata, Apex, Wood & Pecker, Noir, Texmart, Dorjibari, Doors, O2 among others. Interestingly, they also have a range of international brands such as Tommy Hil� ger, Dockers, Bershka, Wrangler and even Calvin Klein. They also have an impressive spread of brands for make-up a� cionados: Mac, MUA, The Body Shop and Tilat Khayer are just a few brands part of the make-up brigade. While electronics and fashion items take the lead when it comes to sales, home appliances, sports and � tness accessories and even children’s toys are part of the large spread of goods Daraz has on o� er.

With Black Friday a little over a month away, the hype for the event is already reaching fever pitch as company executives hint at discounts and the possibility of “breaking the Internet” with their o� ers. To ensure that the Friday deals run smoothly without any breaks or interruptions, they are preparing their teams as well as their servers to deal with the onslaught of frenzied shoppers.

Feature24DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

“Besides making our IT section ready for this event and preparing ourselves for the huge amount of people coming to our website, we also want to make sure we have enough customer service agents who can receive our calls because some of our customers place their orders via phone calls.”

Anticipating a staggeringly large turnout of shoppers, it seems like those who can ace the game of “fastest � nger � rst” will be the ones who can snag the biggest deals. “We will have a lot of products but with the huge discounts we’re o� ering, there will be a huge demand too. And of course, buyers need to be extremely fast to get these deals. We are sure that Thursday, at midnight, many will be sitting on their computers or with their phones (if they’re using the Daraz app), ready to get their hands on the biggest deals before anyone else does. If there’s one thing we know, you have to have the fastest � ngers to be able to bag the best deals,” Doerr excitedly added.

Meant to be a one day event, some of the special deals and discounts may extend over to Saturday and Sunday, giving shoppers another reason to brace themselves for the last weekend in November. To purchase an item, the same buying format will be followed with buyers selecting a product, placing it in their carts, � lling in their contact details and having it delivered to them. Usually Daraz takes two to four days to deliver within Dhaka and seven days outside the capital. Their customer service team will also be prepared to accommodate buyers who order via calls rather than through their website or app.

The Daraz team are anticipating partnerships with some of the most popular brands in the industry, but have refused to

mention names or discount percentages. “Let’s just say, this will be one of the biggest e-commerce sales, with discount o� ers that are hard to resist. We want to create an exciting event so we aren’t going to let everyone in on our deals that quickly. The deals or discounts won’t be released until midnight, Thursday. Even our vendors won’t know what other vendors are o� ering. These deals are so exciting we won’t release them until the day itself,” Doerr concluded.

Meanwhile, other than Black Friday, Daraz also intends to work with their � rst round of investment they received from CDC Group, the UK government’s Development Finance Institution and Asia Paci� c Internet Group, a joint venture of German e-commerce company Rocket Internet. Unable to name numbers, they are going to be investing a part of the $56 million into Bangladesh. “A

“We intend to make this the biggest e-commerce sales event in the country,” - Dr Jonathan Doerr, Co-CEO of Daraz Asia.

good portion of that investment is coming to Bangladesh. We can’t share the exact numbers but it was the investors decision to work on this business in markets such as Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. We need substantial funding to grow the e-commerce sector since there is no e-commerce or the sector is just beginning to pick up. We have to build new industries and we have to educate the people. Internet penetration is picking up already, but it’s all about educating our buyers on e-commerce and how online shopping works. For this, of course, we need money and we also need money to invest in our operations. We need money to grow our marketing and customer service teams too. Overall, we just want to be able to provide the best customer experience.” l

With Black Friday a little over a month away, the hype for the event is already reaching fever pitch as company executives hint at discounts and the possibility of “breaking the Internet” with their o� ers. To ensure that the Friday deals run smoothly without any breaks or interruptions, they are preparing their teams as well as their servers to deal with the onslaught of frenzied shoppers.

Save the date!

Black Friday:Friday, November 27

Log on to:https://www.daraz.

com.bd/

Top 5 items to look out for:· Phone

· Laptops· TVs

· Fridge· Fashion

25D

TSportINSIDE

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Barisal post maiden victory in day of drawsBarisal registered their maiden win of the 17th edition as they thumped Sylhet by a comprehensive margin of 150 runs in Tier 2, riding on the back of a brilliant � ve-wicket haul by Sohag Gazi. At the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra, Sylhet began the � nal day on 54/2 chasing a huge target of 448. PAGE 26

PSG host Real in top clash, Sevilla in City’s wayUndoubtedly the clash of the night between the big-spending Parisians and the record 10-time European champions. Both have been in � ne form at home and abroad this season and are top of their respective domestic leagues, although in Real’s case, only by goal di� erence. PAGE 27

Record-breaking Sehwag retiresSwashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag, the only Indian batsman ever to score a triple century in Test match cricket, announced his international retirement yesterday. Sehwag accepted that there would be no emotional comeback. PAGE 28

Ponting was present during Cairns approachFormer Australia captain Ricky Ponting was present when NZ skipper Brendon McCul-lum received a “business proposition” from ex-Black Caps star Chris Cairns, he told a London court yesterday. Ponting said he had been in a hotel room with McCullum in India in 2008 when the New Zealander received a phone-call from Cairns. PAGE 29

Abahani’s Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba runs for the ball during their Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup match against Karachi Electric at the MA Aziz Stadium yesterday BFF

Bangladesh's very best miss out n Shishir Hoque

Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup is, without a doubt, one of the best things that could have happened to Bangladesh foot-ball this season but it is very unfortunate not to see the country's best players com-peting in the eight-club event.

Although champions from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are in the port-city to play in the tournament, the champions of Bangladesh, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, decided not to participate and as a re-sult some of the top booters are missing out on some valuable experience.

The tournament itself will miss the spar-kling runs of Bangladesh skipper Mamunul Islam and the splitting through balls from mid� elder Jamal Bhuiyan. But more than that, Sheikh Jamal's awful decision de-prived at least 13 national footballers from playing in the international tournament.

The Dhanmondi-based club are � lled with top quality footballers and some of them are national team goalkeeper Sha-hidul Alam Sohel, Nasiruddin Chowdhury, Yeamin Munna, Rayhan Hasan, Yeasin Khan, Mohammad Linkon, Sohel Rana,

Shakhawat Rony, Monaem Khan Raju and Toklis Ahmed.

Chittagong's own boy Mamunul was heavily missed and it re� ected on a placard among the thousands present at the MA Aziz Stadium yesterday during Chittagong Aba-hani and East Bengal's match in the evening which said “We Miss You Mamunul”.

Earlier, the organisers claimed that Sheikh Jamal were the � rst club who they invited and although the club president Manjur Kader did not deny the claim, he said they weren't invited appropriately. Whoever's fault it was, it is the players and the game in Bangladesh that's su� ering. l

The tournament itself will miss the sparkling runs of Bangladesh skipper Mamunul Islam and the splitting through balls from mid� elder Jamal Bhuiyan

FIFA leaves door open for Platini presidential bidn Reuters, Zurich

Suspended European soccer chief Michel Plat-ini may be able to run for president of FIFA if he wins an appeal against his 90-day ban, the world governing body said on Tuesday.

Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Platini were both suspended earlier this month, plunging FIFA into even deeper tur-moil as authorities in the United States and Switzerland pursue corruption investigations in which 14 people have so far been indicted.

Meeting for the � rst time since the sus-pensions of the two most powerful men in soccer, FIFA’s executive committee con-� rmed that the election to replace Blatter would take place at an extraordinary Con-gress in Zurich on Feb. 26, when members would also vote on reforming the organisa-tion’s statutes.

That initially looked like a blow for former French mid� eld star Platini: a delay in the election would have given him more time to appeal, as candidates have to register by Oct. 26 and undergo an integrity test in the following 10 days.

Domenico Scala told the committee that candidates’ bids would not be processed if they were banned, FIFA said in a statement.l

Sport26DT

Dhaka division’s Saif Hasan (C) backs away and cuts to pierce the o� side � eld to relax the pressure put in by the closing Khulna � elders in the last hour of their match in Fatullah yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Barisal Bulls unveiled their logo yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

NCL, ROUND 4, DAY 4TIER 1

Khulna v Dhaka, KSOASKhulna: 117-allout & 506/7 decDhaka: 154-allout & 233/7 in 124 overs(Saif 64*, Mazid 60, Miraz 3/70)

Match drawnRangpur v Dhaka Metropolis, SANSMetro: 242-allout & 352/7 dec in 120 overs(Mehrab Jr 109, Asif 77*, Mahmudullah 52, Tanveer 3/73)Rangpur: 299-allout & 72/3 in 24 overs

Match drawnTIER 2

Barisal v Sylhet, SCSBarisal: 155-allout & 464/7 decSylhet: 172-allout & 297-allout in 114.2 overs(Zakir 137*, Kapali 56, Gazi 5/112, Monir 3/71)

Barisal won by 150 runsChittagong v Rajshahi, ZACSRajshahi: 208-allout & 273/6 in 112 overs(Nazmul 101, Mush� q 50*)Chittagong: 350-allout

Match drawn

Barisal post maiden victory in day of drawsn Mazhar Uddin

Barisal thrash SylhetBarisal registered their maiden win of the 17th edition as they thumped Sylhet by a comprehensive margin of 150 runs in Tier 2, riding on the back of a brilliant � ve-wicket haul by Sohag Gazi.

At the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra, Sylhet began the � nal day on 54/2 chasing a huge target of 448. Sylhet however, managed only 297 before losing all of their wickets as Zakir Hasan’s scintillating unbeaten hundred went in vain.

Young Zakir was undefeated on 137, fea-turing 20 fours, but the left-handed wicket-keeper-batsman got very little support from the other end.

National discard Gazi picked up 5/112 while former Barisal captain and left-arm spinner

Monir Hossain chipped in with three wickets to seal a much-needed victory for Barisal.

Khulna dominate in draw over DhakaKhulna remained at the top of the Tier 1 points table after their match against Dhaka ended in a draw at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah yesterday.

In pursuit of an improbable target of 470, Dhaka concluded the fourth and � nal day’s play of the fourth round on 233/7 with Saif Hasan top-scoring with a 191-ball 64.

Dhaka stayed at their previous position of second, � ve points behind table-toppers Khulna who have 39 points. Earlier, Dhaka managed a 37-run � rst-innings lead after bundling out Khulna for just 117.

Khulna, however, came back strong in their second innings, posting a mammoth 506/7 declared, courtesy centuries from

Nurul Hasan (182 not out), Mehedi Hasan (104) and Anamul Haque (100).

Metro-Rangpur tie ends in drawThe other Tier 1 match between Dhaka Me-tropolis and Rangpur also � nished in a draw after the latter stood at 72 for three chasing a target of 296 to win.

Resuming yesterday on 179/2, overnight batsman Mehrab Hossain Jr smashed 109 o� 197 deliveries with the help of seven fours and � ve sixes while Asif Ahmed remained unbeaten on 77 as Dhaka declared their sec-ond innings on 352/7.

Rangpur captain Nasir Hossain intro-duced all 11 players in the bowling attack with Tanveer Haider impressing the most with a three-wicket haul. Tanveer had taken four scalps in the � rst essay.

Metro earlier posted 242-allout in their

� rst innings. In reply, Rangpur took a 57-run lead after being dismissed for 299.

With 31 points, Metro are third while Rangpur are languishing at the bottom with 22 points after four rounds of action.

Nazmul shines in ChittagongNazmul Hossain Shanto blasted a century to steer Rajshahi to a draw in their Tier 2 en-counter against Chittagong at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Following the draw, Chittagong remained at second position behind table-toppers Ba-risal with 34 points. Resuming the � nal day on 97/2 in their second innings, Rajshahi’s over-night batsman Nazmul went on to make 101 o� 258 balls, his knock studded with 15 fours. Bangladesh Test skipper Mush� qur Rahim was undefeated at the other end on 50 as Ra-jshahi ended their second innings on 273/6.l

Calypso Gayle to ride for Bullsn Minhaz Uddin Khan

West Indian Twenty20 superstar Chris Gay-le will wear the jersey of Barisal Bulls in the upcoming third Bangladesh Premier League. The franchise unveiled its logo and theme song at a city hotel yesterday where man-aging director Rezwan Bin Faruk also con-� rmed the service of three other foreigners.

Former Zimbabwe captain Brandon Tay-lor, West Indies bowling all-rounder Kevon Cooper and Caribbean opening batsman Evin Louis have been secured while the side ap-pointed former Sri Lanka and current Surrey

coach Graham Ford.Gayle featured for Barisal in the inaugural

edition of the cash-rich tournament before switching to Dhaka Gladiators for the second season. Taylor and Cooper also have previ-ous experience of playing in BPL as they were teammates in Chittagong Kings in 2013.

Meanwhile, the date for the BPL-3 players’ draft has been rescheduled. The draft which initially was supposed to be held on October 26, will now be held tomorrow at a city hotel. BPL member secretary IH Mallick informed that the decision to reschedule was taken following requests from the franchises. l

Sport 27D

T

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Bangladesh U17s make good start in � nal 3-dayerA patient, unbeaten 92-run knock by skipper Aminul Islam guided Bangladesh Under-17 to a solid start on the opening day of their fourth and � nal three-day match against Cricket Association of Bengal U-17 at Sheikh Kamal In-ternational Stadium in Cox’s Bazar yesterday. Electing to bat � rst, the home side posted 273 for the loss of six wickets from their stipulated 90 overs with Aminul leading the way with his undefeated inning. Middle-order batsman Aminul faced 209 balls in his knock and struck nine fours and a solitary six. One-drop batsman Mahmudul Hasan provided valuable support as he made 81 from 101 deliveries with the help of a dozen boundaries and three maximums. Sayantan Manna was the most successful bowler for the visitors with 3/20. The hosts are leading the four-match three-day game series 1-0.

BD U17 V CAB U17, DAY 1Bangladesh U17 (1st innings):273/6 in 90 overs (Aminul 92*, Mahmudul 81, Manna 3/20)

–TRIBUNE DESK

Bangladesh A open campaign with lossBangladesh A began their month-long tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe with a four-wicket defeat against Irene Villagers Club in a 50-over match in Pretoria last Monday. Asked to bat � rst, the second-string Bangladesh side registered 272 for seven wickets from their allotted 50 overs with opening batsman Rony Talukdar scoring the highest 68 from 61 balls. Useful contributions from Mahmudul Hasan (43), Liton Kumar Das (39), Shadman Islam (38) and Mithun Ali (33) ensured the visitors would have a competitive total to defend. In reply however, the home side cantered home with four wickets and nine balls remaining. R Moonsamy top-scored with a quick� re 75-ball 84 while captain S Naidoo provided valuable support, making 65. The tourists will now turn their attention to a three-day game against the same side, scheduled to get underway today in Pretoria at 2:30pm.

–TRIBUNE DESK

McClean warned over celebrationWest Bromwich Albion mid� elder James McClean was given a formal warning on Mon-day after his celebration against Sunderland. Former Sunderland star McClean appeared to taunt the travelling fans at the end of Albion’s 1-0 win in the Premier League on Saturday and his antics sparked an angry reaction from the Black Cats’ players.

–AFP

Nigeria’s Emenike quits international footballNigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike yesterday announced his retirement from international football, after a barren spell in front of goal. The 28-year-old said on his Instagram account he was calling time on his � ve-year career for the national side, telling fans he was “no longer a Super Eagles player”.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES PSG host Real in top clash, Sevilla in Man City’s wayn AFP, Paris

PSG (FRA) v Real Madrid (ESP)Undoubtedly the clash of the night between the big-spending Parisians and the record 10-time European champions. Both have been in � ne form at home and abroad this season and are top of their respective domestic leagues, although in Real’s case, only by goal di� er-ence. This match, and the Madrid � xture two weeks later, will likely decide who wins the group and who � nishes second. One man will probably be more � red up than all others - Ar-gentina winger Angel Di Maria. He scored in Real’s 4-1 extra-time victory over neighbours Atletico Madrid to lift the 2014 Champions League but was promptly sold to Manches-ter United to make way for the likes of James Rodriguez. An unsuccessful year in the Pre-mier League was ended with a move to Ligue 1, where Di Maria is � ourishing. PSG will need him and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to � re on all cylin-ders against Cristiano Ronaldo and co.

Malmo (SWE) v Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)Already this clash has the feel of a battle to qualify for the Europa League knock-out stages. With third-placed � nishers in the Champions League group stage being par-achuted down into the Europa League, re-alistically that is what is at stake for Malmo and Shakhtar. Both sides lost their opening two games against the group’s heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. Mal-mo have been in marginally better form in the Champions League but will be without suspended Peru winger Yoshimar Yotun. Shakhtar, though, come into the game on an eight-match winning domestic streak, in-cluding a 3-0 success against champions Dy-namo Kiev on Friday.

CSKA Moscow (RUS) v Man United (ENG)It’s six years since these two last met in the group stages of this competition and the omens are good as both progressed to the knockout rounds. United actually won 1-0 on their last visit to CSKA but only goalscor-er Antonio Valencia, who is unlikely to play, remains from that starting XI - although Mi-chael Carrick did come o� the bench. United have not been convincing on their return to Europe this season, losing at PSV Eindhoven and struggling to see o� Wolfsburg at home. The group is neck-and-neck with all four teams level on points and goal di� erence. Russian leaders CSKA are unbeaten since losing in Wolfsburg while United are also in relatively good form, sitting third in the Pre-mier League and just two points o� the top following a 3-0 success at Everton.

Wolfsburg (GER) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)History is against the Dutch team as they pre-pare to travel to Wolfsburg - PSV have not won in Germany in almost 40 years. PSV’s only ever win away to a German team came back in 1977 against Eintracht Braunschweig and they have lost 12 of their 17 trips. Their away form in the Champions League also leaves a lot to be desired with one win and eight defeats from their last 10 trips. Add to that, Wolfsburg are unbeaten in 27 Bundesliga � xtures at home and all points to a likely German success.

Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Astana (KAZ)The Kazakh debutants have acquitted themselves very well so far but getting anything from a trip to the Vicente Calderon will be a tall order. Atletico lost their last European home match against group leaders Ben� ca but they have won 21 out of their last 24 at the Calderon in continental action. Astana did hold Galatasaray to a 2-2 home draw last time out but they were trounced 7-0 on aggregate in their only other clash with Spanish opposition against Villarreal in last season’s Europa League. Fernando Torres will be bidding for his 100th goal in Atletico colours tonight. “On paper we are the favourites, but not really knowing them can be a real danger,” Torres told UEFA.com.

Galatasaray (TUR) v Benfica (POR)Turkish champions Gala face a must-win game if they are to harbour hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the third time in four years. However, they come into the match on the back of a 10-game winless run in Europe and having � nished bottom of their group last season. Ben� ca got o� to a � ying start in this year’s competition thanks notably to a 2-1 win at Atletico last time out. With max-imum points from their two games so far, the Portuguese giants are well placed to earn only their second jaunt into the knock-out stages in their last eight Champions League campaigns.

Juventus (ITA) v Moenchengladbach (GER)It is last chance saloon for Gladbach as they travel to Turin where Juve are sitting pret-ty after winning their opening two group games. Borussia have lost their � rst two games but have turned the corner since a disastrous start to their season also saw them lose their � rst � ve Bundesliga matches. Four league wins in a row have restored con� -dence and propelled Gladbach to just three points o� the Champions League quali� ca-tion places in their domestic championship.

Manchester City (ENG) v Sevilla (ESP)Europe’s big under-achievers City have a great opportunity to set themselves on the path to knockout stage quali� cation against struggling Sevilla. The Europa League hold-ers have had a tough start to their season, like Juve winning just two from eight league matches. Although they beat Gladbach at home, they were defeated 2-0 in Turin last time out in European competition and have been anything but impressive this season. City’s European woes appeared to be contin-uing when they lost at home to Juve in their opening pool match and followed it up with some inconsistent Premier League form that saw them lose successive league games and drop, brie� y, o� top spot. But City have re-bounded spectacularly since, winning 2-1 at Gladbach and plundering 11 goals in their last two Premier League matches. l

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (L) and Memphis Depay have some fun during their � nal training session at the Carrington training ground before � ying out to Moscow yesterday afternoon

28DT Sport

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

WHAT THEY SAID

CAREER STATISTICSBATTING

Mat Inns Runs HS Ave SR 100 50

Tests 104 180 8586 319 49.34 82.23 23 32

ODIs 251 245 8273 219 35.05 104.33 15 38

T20Is 19 18 394 68 21.88 145.38 0 2

T20 156 154 4048 122 27.35 148.11 2 24

BOWLING

Mat Inns Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 5w

Tests 104 91 40 5/104 47.35 3.04 93.2 1

ODIs 251 146 96 4/6 40.13 5.26 45.7 0

T20Is 19 1 0 - - - 20.00 0

T20 156 28 22 3/14 22.54 8.31 16.2 0

Born on Oct. 20, 1978 at Najafgarh, Delhi.

Made one-day International debut against Pakistan in 1999 as an all-rounder batting at No .7.

Scored maiden ODI century from 69 balls against New Zealand in 2001.

Scored a century on test debut against South Africa in 2001.

In 2008 Sehwag scored the quickest triple-hundred in a test match, taking 278 deliveries against South Africa in Chennai.

He scored the quickest ODI century by an Indian against New Zealand in 2009, taking just 60 balls, a record which was broken by Virat Kohli four years later.

In 2011 against West Indies, Sehwag became only the second batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, to score 200 in an ODI.

He has 23 centuries in test Cricket, including the only two triple centuries by any Indian batsman.

Sehwag is one of the four batsmen in the test history to score two triple centuries, alongside Don Bradman, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle.

He was a member of India’s victorious squads in the 2007 World Twen-ty20 and the 2011 World Cup.

Sehwag played 104 tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is, scoring over 17,000 international runs.

Didn’t see Viv Richards bat in person but I can proudly say I have witnessed Virender Sehwag tearing apart the best bowling attacks — MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI (@MSDHONI)

.@virendersehwag leaves his signature on the game with his tremendous achieve-ments. Loved his instinctive approach to batting & life. 1/2

— SACHIN TENDULKAR (@SACHIN_RT)

Had the best seat during most of his super-lative performances on � eld. Am sure Viru’ll do much more to bring joy & smiles to our faces 2/2

— SACHIN TENDULKAR (@SACHIN_RT)

Pleasure to have played with you @viren-dersehwag bhai. What an amazing career. Thanks for the guidance and the memories. Modern day legend!

— VIRAT KOHLI (@IMVKOHLI)

@virendersehwag Partnerships will never be the same without you bro! Will miss you...In-dia’s greatest and the best opening batsman.

— GGF (@GAUTAMGAMBHIR)

@virendersehwag who forced manufactur-ers to come up with crowd helmets...and still never missed the singles. Will miss you from d other end.

— GGF (@GAUTAMGAMBHIR)

Congrats bratha @virendersehwag on a fabulous career.A pure entertainer who gave us sooo much joy . Thanks for all the gr8 memories.#LEGEND

— VVS LAXMAN (@VVSLAXMAN281)

The original opener; the dare devil. Con-gratulations @virendersehwag paaji on a wonderful journey & all the best for the future. Rab Raakha

— SHIKHAR DHAWAN (@SDHAWAN25)

Clear thinking n attacking stroke play is been hallmark of ur batting! thank u @viren-dersehwag for grt memories & wonderful friendship!!

— ZAHEER KHAN (@IMZAHEER)

Modern era s Viv Richards @virendersehwag a top player.enjoyed playing and watching u bat and making fun of bowlers pic.twitter.com/VZtXP7lgHu

— HARBHAJAN SINGH (@HARBHAJAN_SINGH)

Clear thinking and entertainment were things he used as his weapon.A thorough entertainer,congrats on a wonderful career @virendersehwag .

— ASHWIN RAVICHANDRAN (@ASHWINRA-VI99)

Well played @virendersehwag. You embel-lished our game, you played with a smile but you made us smile too. That is cricket as it should be.

— HARSHA BHOGLE (@BHOGLEHARSHA)

VSehwag played all his uncomplicated Crkt on his terms & he leaves the scene too on his terms..on Twitter!He’d be Victor Trumper of India!!

— BISHAN BEDI (@BISHANBEDI)

Record-breaking Sehwag retiresn AFP, New Delhi

Swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag, the only Indian batsman ever to score a triple century in Test match cricket, announced his international retirement yesterday.

More than two years after last appearing for his country, Sehwag accepted that there would be no emotional comeback as he be-came the latest member of India’s World Cup-winning team to call it a day.

“God has been kind and I have done what I wanted to do,” he said in a statement on his 37th birthday after again being overlooked by the selectors for the ongoing series against South Africa.

“Cricket has been my life and continues to be so. Playing for India was a memorable journey and I tried to make it more memora-ble for my team mates and the Indian cricket fans.”

The right-handed batsman also con� rmed he was retiring from the Indian Premier League, an annual Twenty20 tournament that takes place in April and May.

Reports however said Sehwag would con-

tinue to play � rst-class cricket for his state side Haryana in the domestic Ranji Tropy competition.

After making his debut against South Af-rica in 2001, Sehwag became one of the most feared batsmen in world cricket, forming part of a formidable line-up that also included Sa-chin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.

Sehwag is widely credited with transform-ing the role of opening batsman in Test crick-et with a hard-hitting style that brought him a top score in Test matches of 319, against South Africa in Chennai in 2008.

While his sometimes unorthodox style often infuriated the purists, he resisted pres-sure to temper his aggression at the top of the order.

“I also want to thank everyone for all the cricketing advice given to me over the years and apologise for not accepting most of it,” he joked on Tuesday. “I had a reason for not following it, I did it my way!”

The Delhi-born batsman was twice named the world’s leading player by the Wisden cricketers’ almanack. He played a total of

104 Tests, scoring 8,586 runs at an average of 49.34.

He also played 251 ODIs, scoring 8,273 runs at an average of 35.05. He at one stage held the record for the highest score in 50-over in-ternationals after plundering 219 against the West Indies.

Although he had not played for his coun-try since a Test against Australia in 2013, many fans yearned for his return to the na-tional side, with which he also won the 2011 50-over World Cup on home soil.

Sehwag was dropped from the national side after a string of poor performances with the bat. He continued to hold out hope of a comeback but only � red intermittently on the domestic circuit.

His announcement came just � ve days after his World Cup teammate and bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan said he was quitting international cricket.

Sehwag has already signed up for a veter-ans’ Twenty20 competition due to be held in the United Arab Emirates next year alongside the likes of former West Indies captain Brian Lara and Australia’s Adam Gilchrist. l

Sport 29D

T

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

Star Sports 27:30PM Indian Super League 2015Mumbai v Delhi Ten Sports12:45AM UEFA Champions League CSKA Moskva v Man United Ten Action6:00PM UEFA Youth League PSG v Real Madrid 12:45AMUEFA Champions League Paris SG v Real Madrid Ten Cricket4:00PM FFA Cup 2015SF1: Perth Glory v Melbourne City FC 7:00PM ATP World Tour 500 2015Erste Bank Open, Round 2, Day 3 12:45AM UEFA Champions League Juventus v Borussia Mgladbach

DAY’S WATCH

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland and Swansea’s Andre Ayew vie for the ball during their Barclays Premier League match at Liberty Stadium on Monday. Stoke City won the match 1-0 REUTERS

Barcelona top FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlistn AFP, Paris

Spanish giants Barcelona top the FIFA short-list for the Ballon d’Or world player of the year award with six players named in a sec-ond 23-strong selection.

They include the favourite for the prestig-ious award, Argentinian Lionel Messi, as well as Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Neymar (Brazil), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia) and Luis Suarez (Uruguay).

They will be up against last year’s winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, and his Real Madrid team-mates Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema as well as � ve players from German giants Bay-ern Munich. The winner will be announced in a ceremony at Zurich on January 11.

Shortlist for FIFA World Player of the Year award:Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manches-ter City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Ger-main), Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Javi-er Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona), Arjen Rob-ben (Netherlands/ Bayern Munich), James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uru-guay/Barcelona), Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juven-tus/Bayern Munich). l

Aguero out for a month: Pellegrinin AFP, London

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini con� rmed yesterday that star striker Sergio Aguero will be out for a month with a ham-string injury sustained on international duty.

Aguero, 27, scored � ve goals against New-castle United on his last City appearance, but was stretchered o� during the � rst half of Argentina’s 2-0 loss to Ecuador in World Cup qualifying on October 8.

In Aguero’s absence, City thrashed Bournemouth 5-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Pellegrini also played down an interview that mid� elder Yaya Toure gave to French sports daily L’Equipe in which the Ivorian said he was “not happy” due to a perceived lack of recognition in the English media.

“He says he is not happy about (not being) recognised, (so people say) he is not happy here. But he is happy,” the City manager said.l

Legends to renew cricket rivalry in Gulfn AFP, Dubai

Former cricket greats Brian Lara of the West Indies, Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, Pakistan’s Wasim Akram and India’s Virendar Sehwag on Monday showed excitement at renewing their rivalry in a Twenty20 league next year.

The Masters Champions League (MCL), the � rst of its kind in the United Arab Emir-ates, is aimed at giving retired players a chance to take the � eld again.

Lara said he was excited at the prospect.“I am thrilled and honoured to be taking

part in what promises to be an exceptional

display of competitive cricket. The UAE is a great location for a tournament, with a big fan base in the country,” said Lara, who holds the records for the highest Test score of 400 not out and an unbeaten 501 in � rst class.

Sehwag said the league would give the re-tired players a chance to renew their rivalries.

“It’s so exciting. It will be great to renew the rivalries,” said Sehwag, part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup.

“It’s good to have all of us playing this tournament. The facilities in the UAE have always been world class. I think it’s great for cricket to show what we can o� er to develop

the sport at the grassroots.”Ashes-winning England captain Michael

Vaughan, popular former South African cap-tain Graeme Smith, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, recently retitred Sri Lankan duo of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jay-awardene, and former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood are also among those who have signed up for the league.

League chairman Zafar Shah hoped the league would give fans another chance to see the greats. The tournament will be formed of six teams in its � rst year, with a total of 90 players taking part. l

Ponting present when Cairns approached McCullumn AFP, London

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was present when New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum received a “business proposition” from ex-Black Caps star Chris Cairns, he told a London court yesterday.

Appearing at Cairns’ perjury trial via video link from Australia, Ponting, 40, said that he had been in a hotel room with McCullum in In-dia in 2008 when the New Zealander received a phone-call from Cairns. Ponting said that when McCullum told him it was a “business” matter, he “didn’t ask any more questions”. McCullum had previously told the court that Cairns’ proposition concerned spot-� xing.

Former all-rounder Cairns, one of New Zealand’s greatest ever players, denies one charge of perjury and one charge of pervert-ing the court of justice. Ponting told South-wark Crown Court: “I was staying with Bren-don in the (Kolkata Knight Riders) team hotel in Calcutta in 2008 on the eve of the � rst IPL (Indian Premier League) tournament.

“We were just sitting, sharing a drink, when he received a phone call - his phone rang. It was a very brief phone conversation, probably less than � ve minutes.

“He put the phone down, hung up and said it was Cairnsy and he ‘just made me a business proposition’.”

Ponting added: “I didn’t ask any more questions. We stayed together for a short time. I didn’t ask any more questions ... As soon as I heard it was about business, I wasn’t interested any more.”

Lawyer Orlando Pownall, defending Cairns, asked Ponting if the “business prop-osition” that McCullum had received had ap-peared “unremarkable”.

Ponting replied: “Yes, because I had no idea what the proposal or proposition was, so it wasn’t a remarkable thing.”l

ICC withdraws Pakistani umpire Dar from India gamesn AFP, Dubai

The International Cricket Council (ICC) an-nounced on Monday that it has withdrawn Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar from the one-day games in India following activists’ at-tacks to disrupt talks between o� cials of the two countries.

O� cials from Pakistan and India were due to talk on a proposed series between the arch-rivals in December-January in the United Arab Emirates, when activists stormed into Indian Cricket’s Mumbai o� ce.

They shouted anti-Pakistan slogans and asked the Indian o� cials not to resume cricketing ties stalled in 2008 following at-tacks on Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based across the border.

“The ICC announced that it has with-drawn Dar from the remaining matches in the ongoing India versus South Africa series,” an ICC release said.

Dar, a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, had o� ciated in the � rst three one-day internationals and was also sched-uled to umpire in the fourth and � fth ODIs in Chennai and Mumbai on 22 and 25 October, respectively.l

Downtime30DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

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.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents D so � ll D every time the � gure 15 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . 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, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Uncooked (3)3 Employer (4)6 Anon (4)7 Pigs enclosure (3)9 Agreement (4)10 Sheltered side (3)11 Gem (4)13 Saloon car (5)16 Combine (5)18 Fine sediment (4)19 Ship’s record (3)20 Annoying child (4)21 Mineral spring (3)23 Single occasion (4)24 Region (4)25 Help (3)

DOWN1 Flowers (5)2 Insect (3)4 Spoken (4)5 Drunkard (3)6 Artillery salute (5)8 Sing like the Swiss (5)9 Painful emotion (4)12 Separates (5)14 Send out (4)15 Scoundrel (5)17 Large antelope (5)18 Wise man (4)20 Serpent (3)22 Hawaiian dish (3)

SUDOKU

Showtime 31D

TWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

WHAT TO WATCHThe Incredible HulkStar Movies 9:30pmBruce Banner, a scientist on the run from the U.S. Government must � nd a cure for the monster he emerges whenever he loses his temper. However, Banner then must � ght a soldier whom unleashes himself as a threat stronger than he.Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth

When a Stranger CallsHBO 7:40pm During a babysitting gig, a high-school student is harassed by an increasingly threatening prank caller.Cast: Camilla Belle, Tommy Flanagan, Katie Cassidy

Mission: Impossible IIIHBO 9:30pm Agent Ethan Hunt comes into con� ict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his � ancé in response.Cast: Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames

Bigg Boss Double TroubleHBO 11:00pm And as the doubly exuberant host Salman Khan joins hands with the double minded Bigg Boss, one question prevails…In the battle of the trouble and the double, will Salman Khan be the peacemaker or the provocateur?Cast: Salman Khan, Rimi Sen, Yuvika Chaudhary,

LOTR: The Return of the KingWB 12:01am Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron’s army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.Cast: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen

Whiplash – A titanic battle of wills

Dhaka Folk Fest to kick-o� on November 12

n Sadia Khalid

When a bunch of promising new musical talents of the esteemed Sha� er Conservatory is chosen to play in the cut-throat studio band, their spirits are put to the test by their tyrannical instructor, Terrance Fletcher, barking at them at the slightest slip-up. A particularly ambitious drummer, Andrew Neiman, dreams of becoming the next Charlie Parker and yet cannot gain the approval of his own music teacher. Completely detaching himself from society, he practices all day through blood, sweat and tears – literally – to achieve true greatness.

Whiplash is inspired by director Damien Chazelle’s own experience of playing in his high school jazz band. He was an aspiring drummer, much like the lead character. Akin to Andrew, he too had to bear with an intense instructor – who, most likely, was the reason for Chazelle’s realisation that he wasn’t a musical genius after all.

In Fletcher’s words, “there are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’.” But the � nesse of this � lm compels us to use those very words to describe it. The editing of the � lm feels as though it has been set to a steady metronome. The cinematography strikes a major chord with the viewers successfully overthrowing the risk of looking monotonous with repeated shots of drums and classrooms. J K Simmons portrayed the demonic Fletcher in an Oscar-winning performance, while Miles Teller (Andrew) depicted the excruciating hard work all starry-eyed young adults must go through in order to become an

all-time great in their pertinent crafts.How the movie came into being is quite a story in itself. The script made the prestigious “Black List” (the most “liked” unreleased � lms) in 2012. This inspired Chazelle to make an 18 minute short � lm in the hopes of attracting producers to materialise it in feature length. The � lm was well received at the Sundance Film Festival and the rest is history. On top of its stupendous critical acclaim, the movie scooped up over $13 million in the US box o� ce alone with only $3.3 million in production cost, which is very economical even in the realm of independent � lms. However, the most momentous accomplishment of the � lm is perhaps its capacity to inspire young artists who are at the brink of bowing out for the wrong reasons. l

n Showtime Desk

For the � rst time in the country, an extensive international folk music festival will feature more than hundreds of folk artists from six di� erent countries. Titled Dhaka Folk Fest 2015, the music festival will take place at the Army Stadium from November 12 to 14, holding almost eight hours of performances daily.

Registration for the audience to begin from October 23, while for the link of online registration interested have to eye on the event’s Facebook page named Dhaka International Folk Fest.

Sun Events and Maasranga Television is jointly organising the programme with a view to introducing the world to the thousand-year-old folk music of the country.

The three-day festival will feature a number of local musicians like Farida Parveen, Momtaz Begum, Bari Siddiqui, Rab Fakir, Kiron Chandra Ray, Chandona Majumdar, Sha� Mondol, Nashid Kamal, Sadananda Sarkar, Nishikanto Sarkar, Kajol Dewan, Minu Billah, Lubna Marium, Labik Kamal Gaurob and Magic Bauliana, among others. On the other hand, international musicians like renowned Pakistani singer Abida Parveen and Saieen Zahoor are expected to perform at the event, along with Indian musicians and bands: Papon, Indian Ocean, Nooran Sisters, Rajasthan Folk Group, Arko Mukherjee, Paban Das Baul, Parvathy Baul.

Also, there will be Niamh Ní Charra from Ireland, Yunnan Art Troupe from China, and Alexandria Dance Troupe from Egypt to perform at the festival. l

Whiplash will be screened tonight at Red Shift at 7pm as part of their movie evening programme. Dhaka Tribune is a media partner for this event.(Originally printed: www.dhakatribune.com/entertainment/2015/mar/29/whiplash-2014)

5 essential Chinese-language � lms of the decaden Showtime Desk

With dazzling new � lms from modern masters Jia Zhangke to Wong Kar-wai have been praising around the world, we got to wondering: what are the essential � lms from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan this decade?

Three Times (2005)By Hou Hsiao-hsienHistory repeats itself in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s dazzling triptych Three Times, which illustrates how social-political conditions keep people apart (regardless of the era’s level of personal freedom) by casting Shu Qi and Chang Chen, as almost-lovers in stories that take place in 1966, 1911 and 2005.

These tentative relationships are strikingly linked through motifs rather than explicit narrative connectedness.

Still Life (2006)By Jia ZhangkeThe construction of the Three Gorges Dam, which necessitated the relocation of 1.3 million people, serves as a metaphor for a transitioning China in Jia Zhangke’s record of a rapidly changing landscape. He � lters these seismic developments through the personal quests of two people who arrive in a town on the Yangtze river, which is about to be � ooded. Coal miner Han Sanming (Han Sanming) is hoping to � nd the wife who ran away 16 years ago, while the comparatively middle-class Shen Hong (Zhao Tao) aims to make contact with her husband.

City of Life and Death (2009)By Lu ChuanCity of Life and Death depicts the 1937 decimation of Nanking, then the capital of China, by Japanese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Following characters from both sides, Lu Chuan orchestrates a harrowing mosaic wherein large-scale battle recreations give way to more individual struggles that result in acts of barbarism, desperation, panic and heroism.

The Grandmaster (2013)By Wong Kar-waiWong Kar-wai’s martial arts saga may be one of many cinematic accounts of the trials and triumphs of the legendary Wing Chun practitioner Ip Man (here played by Tony Leung), but it’s certainly the most resplendent. In elliptical fashion, Wong covers Ip Man’s rise to prominence and the spread of his style against the tumultuous backdrop of 20th-century China.

Stray Dogs (2013)By Tsai Ming-liangIn keeping with the threadbare existence depicted in his portrait of homelessness in Taipei, Tsai Ming-liang strips his already minimalist style down to its bare essentials. l

Back Page32DT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015

DHAKA FOLK FEST TO KICK-OFF ON NOVEMBER 12 PAGE 31

WB WARNS OF DOWNSIDE RISKS PAGE 15

BANGLADESH’S VERY BEST MISS OUT PAGE 25

Seventh � ve-year plan approved n Tribune Report

The government has approved the country’s Seventh Five Year Plan, aiming to empower people with more employment and skill de-velopment opportunities, supply credit for SME development, and introduce ways to make people more productive.

Along with growth, the plan will empha-sise social protection, urban transition and a sustainable development pathway resilient to disaster and climate change.

The approval came at a National Econom-ic Council (NEC) meeting, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – also the NEC Chair-person, at the Planning Commission’s con-ference room yesterday.

The theme of the seventh FYP is “Accel-erating Growth, Empowering Citizens.” The implementation of the plan will begin from next year and will go on until 2020.

Under the plan, the average growth rate is projected at 7.4% over the seventh plan pe-riod. The FYP seeks to raise the GDP growth rate progressively from 6.5% in FY2015 to 8% by FY2020.

It is estimated that some 12.9 million ad-ditional jobs will be available during the � ve years of the seventh FYP, including 2 million jobs abroad for migrant workers. Again, the FYP seeks to reduce poverty rate from 24.8% to 18.6% and extreme poverty to around 8.9% by FY2020.

After the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said: “This � agship docu-ment will make a bridge between present and future for developing inclusive growth all over the country. Before preparing it, we made open conversation with every repre-sentative of our society.”

The key challenge for implementing sev-enth FYP will be to increase the rate of invest-ment from 28.9% of GDP in FY2015 to 34.4% of GDP by the end of the plan in FY2020. For

this, it requires balanced e� orts to further re-duce in� ation to 5.5% by FY2020.

The minister said foreign direct invest-ment is expected to play a bigger role under the seventh plan. In� ow of FDI needs to be increased from about 1% of GDP to 3% to achieve the � nancing of the seventh FYP’s investment target.

Total investment over the � ve years will amount to Tk31.9 trillion. Private sector will continue to play its dominant role, account-ing for 77.3% of total planned investment.

“For the � rst time, we are paying utmost importance to research,” said the minister.

“During the period of seventh plan, re-search expenditure would be increased from 0.6% of GDP to 1% of GDP. Again, public spending on social protection will be made to increase from 2.02% of GDP to 2.3% of GDP by FY2020.”

Planning minister also informed that the prime minister has given directives to prepare a 20-year-long (2021-2040) perspective plan. This plan will be achieved under four FYPs. l

Russian air strike on Syrian rebel group kills leadern Reuters

Russian air strikes in Syria's Latakia prov-ince killed a rebel commander and four oth-er � ghters from a group armed by President Bashar al-Assad's foreign enemies, a spokes-man for the group said yesterday.

The attack on Monday evening marked the third time Russian war planes have tar-geted the First Coastal Division group since Moscow began its air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad on Sept. 30, the group's spokesman Fadi Ahmad said.

He said a further 15 civilians had been killed in the air strike in Jabal Akrad, a rural, mountainous area in the province. The Syri-an Observatory for Human Rights earlier put the death toll at 45 rebels and civilians.

The First Coastal Division is one of sever-al groups that have received foreign military support including US-made anti-tank missiles.

The group, which � ghts under the um-brella of the "Free Syrian Army", con� rmed the death of its chief of sta� , Basil Zamo, for-merly a captain in the Syrian military.

Ahmad said a � ghter trained in the use of the anti-tank TOW missiles had also been killed. The Russian jets had struck one of the group's headquarters, and then struck the same target again after rescue workers had arrived on the scene.

"They have hit us three times now. They are hitting us on the grounds of Daesh, but they are hitting the ones who do them most damage - the Free Syrian Army," said Ahmad, speaking from the area via an internet messaging sys-tem. Daesh is an Arabic name for Islamic State.

Russia's air strike campaign in Syria has killed 370 people, one third of them civilians, since it started three weeks ago, the Observa-tory said yesterday. l

Abahani begin with win, heartbreak for hostsn Tribune Report

Abahani Limited kicked o� their Sheikh Ka-mal International Club Cup campaign with a thrilling 3-2 win over Pakistan Premier League champions Karachi Electric in front of around 10,000 passionate spectators at MA Aziz Stadium yesterday.

The traditional Sky Blues went 2-0 ahead in the opening half after brilliant goals from Waly Faisal and Sunday Chizoba.

Even though the visitors pulled one back in the second half, an own-goal restored Aba-hani's two-goal lead.

Nigerian striker Abayomi Sunday scored from the spot in the dying stages but it was too little, too late.

Four-time professional league champi-ons Abahani appeared comfortable as they controlled proceedings right from the onset.

Emon Babu pulled the strings in mid� eld while the attacking line comprised of Sunday Chizoba and Chester Akon.

Abahani could have easily taken the lead in the 20th minute but Karachi goalkeeper Nobi made a diving save to deny Akon's ef-fort from inside the box.

Four minutes later, Waly put the Sky Blues ahead from an eye-catching free-kick after defender Noor Mohammad brought down Sunday just outside the box. The veteran na-tional defender's powerful left-footer from 25 yards out sailed past the diving Karachi custodian and into the top-left corner.

Sunday doubled the lead at the half-hour mark, heading home a clever Babu cross from the right � ank. Karachi net-minder Nobi did touch the ball but was unable to prevent it entering the net.

Abahani continued to pile more pressure

on their opponents in the second half as Sun-day saw one of his headers from the centre of the box just miss the target in the 54th minute.

Karachi forward Mohammad Rosul re-duced the arrears in the 75th minute when his left-footed volley from outside the left corner of the box curled into the top-right corner.

The visitors' delight however, lasted only two minutes.

Waly was also involved in Abahani's third goal as the loanee full-back from Sheikh Russel took a � ne free-kick which Karachi defender Omor Faruq sent into his won net while trying in vain to clear it.

Karachi earned a penalty in the 90th min-ute of the tie and it was duly converted by a calm Aboyami.

Abahani will contest their second match against Chittagong Abahani tomorrow and

a victory will be enough to send the former to the semi-� nals in the eight-club tourna-ment's inaugural edition.

Meanwhile in the day's other match, hosts Chittagong Abahani lost to Kolkata's King-� sher East Bengal 2-1 at the same venue.

East Bengal mid� elder Mohammed Ra� que put the visitors ahead in the 32nd minute of the game after a blunder from Chit-tagong keeper Rasel Mahmud Liton. Prohlad Roy doubled the lead in the 72nd minute.

The port-city out� t managed to pull one back six minutes later when national mid-� elder Hemanta Vincent Biswas scored from the right � ank.

The home side had at least chances to score more than just once especially in the 23rd and 57th minutes. They went all out for the equaliser in the last quarter hour of the game but all their e� orts went in vein. l

Total revenue to be raised from 10.7% of GDP to 16.1% by FY2020

Government spending to be increased to 21.1% of GDP by FY2020REVENUE AND

SPENDING

Increasing the sector's contribution to 21% of GDP by 2020MANUFACTURING

TRADE ANDINVESTMENT

Achieving a trade-GDP ratio of 50% by FY2020

Substantial improvement of exports to $54 billion

FDI to be increased to $9.6 billion by FY2020

ENERGYCapacity of electricity to be increased to 23,000MW by 2020

Electricity coverage to be increased to 96%Increasing per capita energy consumption from 371kw to 514kw

ENVIRONMENTIncreasing productive forest coverage to 20%500 metre wide permanent green belt along the coast

Eco-tourism promoted in 20 protected and Ecologically Critical Areas

KEY SEVENTH FYP TARGETS

ASMAUL HOQUE MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com