LINE IN THE SAND

11 | OP-ED

THE TESTIMONYOF SIXTY

EMILY SEALS WIN, SERIES FOR BANGLADESH

7 | SPECIAL 13 | SPORT

8 | WorldTunisia’s Ennahda party, the � rst Islamist movement to secure power after the ‘Arab Spring’ revolts, conceded defeat in elec-tions that are set to make its main secular rival the strongest force in parliament.

3 | NewsAwami League General Secretary Syed Ashraf yesterday met parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to discuss ways to strip former minister Abdul Latif Sid-dique of his House seat after the ruling par-ty expelled him for derogatory comments on Hajj and the Prophet Muhammad.

12 | EntertainmentWarda Rihab will perform a Manipuri solo dance at a show dedicated to the Indian traditional dance form in the Chayanaut Auditorium today.

4 | NewsThe government has decided to export 50,000 tonnes of coarse rice to Sri Lanka with setting the export price at $450 per tonne. Food Minister Quamrul Islam, also chairman of the Food Planning and Mon-itoring Committee made the disclosure yesterday after a meeting of the commit-tee held at the ministry’s conference room.

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I N S I D E

Skipper Mush� qur Rahim embraces spin sensation Taijul Islam as Bangladesh beats Zimbabwe in the hard fought opening test in Mirpur yesterday. Taijul, who hit the match clinching boundary, was made the man of the match for his spin heroics MUMIT M

A good day at last for Bangladeshin cricket and footballn Reazur Rahman Rohan

Yesterday marked the end of an 18-month drought of victory in both football and cricket in the country.

In cricket, Taijul Islam’s all-round heroics steered the Bangladesh cricket team to an intense three-wicket win against Zimbabwe on the third day of their � rst Test at the Sher-e-Bangla Na-tional Stadium in Mirpur.

The 22-year-old earned a place in the record books with the best bowling � gure in an innings in Bangladesh’s his-tory – 8 for 39 runs – before he showed

excellent courage to help Mush� qur Rahim land the win, which broke their 14-match losing streak in all formats of cricket, and 18 months after Bangla-desh’s last Test win.

In the other popular sport in the country, the Bangladesh football team rode on the solitary penalty strike from veteran forward Jahid Hasan Emily to beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in their second and � nal game of the SS Steel Fifa interna-tional friendly series in Rajshahi.

The home side in the process clinched the two-match series 1-0 as the � rst match in Jessore ended in a

1-1 draw. The match also ended their 18-month winning drought at home.

However, in the Bangladesh Zimba-bwe Test, the achievement appeared to be slipping away at one point.

Zimbabwe resumed the day on 5 runs without loss and had no answer to the spinning deliveries of Taijul as they were bundled out for 114 in their second innings within � ve overs after lunch.

Taijul’s bowling should have her-alded a dominant victory, but familiar failings were exposed in the batting

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

JU appointssix teachers against four ‘vacant posts’n Mahadi Al Hasnat

The authorities at the Jahangirnagar University has recently appointed six teachers in a department despite ad-vertising for only four, reinforcing longstanding allegations of nepotism and politicisation in recruitment.

The latest recruitments have sparked protests among teachers and students since the biochemistry and molecular biology department already has 23 teachers against 22 posts. The agitating teachers said the appoint-ments had been made to get more sup-port in the upcoming Syndicate, Senate and dean elections.

The Syndicate meeting held on Saturday night approved the appoint-ments.

However, the vice-chancellor earlier assured teachers opposing the August 27 advertisement that the proposal would not be tabled in the Syndicate, dominated by teachers loyal to the VC.

Some of the appointees are close rel-atives of several in� uential teachers in-cluding former vice-chancellor Prof Dr Shari� Enamul Kabir, sources say.

Prof Shari� , now a member of the Public Service Commission, was forced to step down amid protests by teachers and students in May 2012 after allega-tions of backing the alleged killers of Zubair Ahmed and irregularities, main-ly over recruitment of teachers, mount-ed against him.

During his three-year tenure, the university recruited over 200 teachers, mostly under political consideration.

Incumbent VC Prof Dr Farzana Islam was elected as the country’s � rst wom-an VC in March this year from the pan-el backed by Prof Shari� ’s aides. Since then, some 40 teachers have been ap-pointed in di� erent departments, most of which were questioned by di� erent quarters.

The newly-appointed teachers are Kazi Russel Uddin, nephew of Prof Sha-ri� and husband of Assistant Proctor Selina Akter; Afroza Parveen, wife of

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

DB: JMB sleeper cell behind Faruqi and Gopibaghsix murdersn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Police claim to know who ordered the Gopibagh six murders and slaying of TV presenter Shaikh Nurul Islam Faru-qi, after interrogating an Islamist mil-itant arrested while on his way to kill two school teachers.

“Both of the murders were conduct-ed using ‘sleeper cells.’ A former stu-dent of North South University (NSU) and leader of banned militant out� t Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Redwanul Azad Rana, gave the instruction to carry out the killings,” a high o� cial of the Detective Branch of Police (DB), who is coordinating the investigation of the murder, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity.

Detectives believe he also gave the order to have two teachers, of Monipur High School in Dhaka, killed. One of the teachers’ would-be killers, arrested sleeper cell operative, Khorshed Alam Rubel, told police about Rana’s com-mand role in the murders.

Rubel was arrested during a gun� ght with law enforcers at the President Zil-lur Rahman Flyover on October 14.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

UAE labour market not to open nowGulf state PM says ‘complexities’ will be discussed in futuren Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The UAE remained closed to further re-cruitment of Bangladeshi workers, but the governments of the two countries agreed to cooperate on a raft of bilater-al concerns during the prime minister’s visit to the Gulf state.

Terming Bangladeshi workers very sincere and hard-working, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Mak-toum said there are some “complexi-ties” that could be solved through o� -cial-level talks.

“When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina raised the issue at the o� cial meeting, the UAE side said it could be sorted out through bilateral discussions at the of-� cial level,” Foreign Secretary M Sha-hidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune last night.

The UAE prime minister, however, did not elaborate on when or where discussions would take place nor what the time line for discussions might be.

Bangladesh and the United Arab Emir-ates said an agreement on opening up the oil-rich Gulf state’s economy to Bang-ladeshi labour had not been reached, after an o� cial meeting between the Bangladesh prime minister and her UAE counterpart in Dubai yesterday.

The prime minister left for the UAE on a three-day visit on Saturday at the invitation of Sheikh Rashid Al Mak-toum, the ruler of Dubai.

The foreign secretary said UAE au-thorities had decided to appoint a la-bour attaché to its embassy in Dhaka.

Three agreements were signed yes-terday dealing with security coopera-tion, the transfer of sentenced persons, and the hand over of a plot of land for the UAE embassy in Dhaka.

Under the security cooperation agreement, di� erent government agencies will share information on var-ious issues, the secretary said.

The Bureau of Manpower, Employ-ment and Training (BMET) on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding with Amala, a UAE-based company, to send domestic workers to the Gulf state.

During the preparation of the draft agreement, Amala verbally expressed a demand for 1,000 housemaids.

The foreign secretary said the re-cruiting process had been suspended for quite some time but the two coun-tries would now discuss opening up the UAE labour market to Bangladeshi workers, he said.

The Gulf country stopped recruiting Bangladeshis on a mass scale in August 2012 after allegations surfaced that some of them were engaged in criminal activities.

Over a million Bangladeshis work in the UAE, sending home billions of dol-lars in remittances every year.

SecurityBoth prime ministers expressed grave concerns over the growth of terrorism

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

The UAE wants Bangladesh on its side while � ghting against terrorist movementsin the region

Government cautioned about Hizb-ut Tawhid n Rabiul Islam and

Mohammad Jamil Khan

Based on an intelligence report, the Prime Minister’s O� ce has recent-ly cautioned the Home Ministry that blacklisted militant out� t Hizb-ut Tawhid may try to create chaos by tak-ing advantage of the public sentiment against dismissed minister Latif Sid-dique, who made controversial com-ments on Islam.

A state intelligence agency has made the deduction by analysing publicity materials that the out� t has been cir-culating ahead of the scheduled “all religion conference” in Sunamganj on October 29.

The agency fears that statements is-sued at that programme may instigate more anger among Muslims in the coun-try and destroy the government’s image.

In an “urgent and con� dential” letter that the Dhaka Tribune has ob-tained, the Home Ministry on Sunday cautioned the inspector general of police and the director general of RAB that the presence of government o� -cials and Awami League leaders in the programme might create “disagree-ment and division among Muslims.”

The ministry also cautioned about a possible attempt to tarnish the govern-ment’s image by cashing in on the dis-content that Latif Siddique’s unpleas-ant remarks on religion had created among pious Muslims.

Sources said a summary of the in-telligence report, which the Dhaka Tribune has also obtained, has been re-cently forwarded to the Ministry by the Prime Minister’s O� ce.

Photocopies of the Home Ministry PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Muhith: AIIB not set up to expand Chinese in� uence n Tribune Report

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said it was untrue that the Asian Infrastruc-ture Investment Bank (AIIB) had been set up to expand Chinese in� uence among Asian countries.

“We had seen the same situation prevail when the World Bank was set up in Washington; some people hint-ed it was an extension of imperialism of the United States of America,” the � nance minister said regarding Bang-ladesh’s decision to join the new Chi-na-led bank.

Muhith made the comments to re-porters after meeting with British Par-liamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development Lynne Featherstone at his secretariat o� ce yesterday.

The minister added: “We have to protect our interest after joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Invest-

ment Bank, because the country badly needs fund for building its huge infra-structures.”

Regarding confrontations between the AIIB and the World Bank, Muhith said: “We will see good cooperation be-tween two multilateral agencies in the course of time.

“Look at the situation when the Asian Development Bank was estab-lished in the early sixties, which had to face one kind of struggle because countries who are members of the new bank need to take their parliament’s consent.”

Muhith also said the World Bank was established in 1944, but needed four years before it could disburse loan to its member countries.

On Friday, Bangladesh formally signed a memorandum of understand-ing with the AIIB to become a part of the bank, which is slated to start opera-tions at the end of 2015. l

President o� to Dubai for Islamic economic summitn UNB

President Abdul Hamid left Dhaka for Dubai yesterday morning to attend the 10th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) summit.

A regular � ight of Emirates Airlines carrying the president took o� from Shahjalal International Airport at 9:55am.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, In-dustries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, the dean of diplomatic corps, the chiefs of three services, principal secretary to the prime minister, United Arab Emirate’s Charge de A� airs in Bangladesh Amer Al Alawi and other high civil and military o� cials saw him o� at the airport.

The WIEF summit will begin today. President Abdul Hamid will address the summit on the same day. l

Huji-B chief given monthly sum in jailHe even wrote a book from inside high-security jail on target killings, claims DB

n Mohammad Jamil Khan and Tazlina Zamila Khan

Members of banned Islamist out� t Harkat-ul Jihad Al-Islami Bangladesh (Huji-B) used to hand over a handsome amount of money every month to its chief for his better living inside Kashim-pur High Security Jail, detectives say.

Maulana Abu Sayed alias Abu Jafor has been staying in the jail since his ar-rest in 2009. He is a charge sheeted ac-cused in August 21 grenade attack case. Despite being in prison, Mufti Jafor gives his party men all kinds of instruc-tions and plans to become the coun-try’s most dreadful militant group.

“We have been sending Tk10,000 every month to our Hujur [Abu Jafor] for foods and other services, so that he can lead a regular and better life there,” Huji-B operation wing chief Maulana Mohammad Ra� q Ahmed told detec-

tives during remand.Ra� q along with bomb expert Md

Umar alias Foyzul alias Roby, and mem-bers Md Nadim Ahmed alias Sumon and Md Salahuddin Ahmed were arrested re-cently by the Detective Branch of Police during a special raid in the capital’s Ut-tara and Tikatuli, and Narayanganj areas.

A high o� cial of the DB police yes-terday told the Dhaka Tribune that the money had been handed over to Abu Jafor by Sumon who used to identify himself as his family member.

The o� cial further said Mufti Jafor also wrote a book named “Nirbhoye Hotyar Koushal” from inside the jail giving technical details of conducting murder, way of operating Jihad and targeting people.

Detectives are now looking for the book, a copy of which has already been sent to the USA. “The Huji-B members want its publication not only from

Bangladesh but also from the Middle East,” the o� cial added.

Mufti Jafor holds regular meeting with the members of his organisation while also sends instruction to the fol-lowers through mobile phone. The de-tectives are now trying to detect those number Mufti Jafor used to contact with.

Jahangir Hossain Matubbor, deputy commissioner of DB police, said: “We have learnt about a book written by Mufti Jafor. We are now assessing how he managed paper and pen inside the high security jail.”

Another high o� cial of DB police alleged that Mufti Jafor might bribed some dishonest jail sta� s from the money he used to get from outside.

The o� cial said the main plan of the Huji-B chief was to take his out� t to the highest position among all oth-er militant out� ts of the country and to head the newly-formed Bangladesh

Jiahdi Group. For this, he instructed the followers to carry out destructive activities across the country to prove their power. As a part of the plan, the Huji-B members with � nancial support from two people had planned to set up its base at Homra point of Satkhira, the o� cial added.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the arrestees had been disclosing much information to the interrogators. “We are analysing everything very careful-ly,” he added. When contacted, Super-intendent of Kashimpur High Secu-rity Jail Mizanur Rahman refuted the claims about bribing jail o� cials.

“So far we know, only his wife and son came to see him in jail in the last few months,” he said while terming it baseless that Mufti Jafor had written a book and sent it outside the jail fending o� security arrangements. l

DB: JMB sleeper cell PAGE 1 COLUMN 1Rana, from Feni’s Daganbhuiyan upazi-la, is listed as an accused in the charge sheet of the Blogger Rajib murder case.

Rubel told detectives that Rana, a former Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) leader, had recently joined the JMB.

Rana would contact Rubel via a se-cret IP address but never made contact using a cellphone, police said.

Rubel was also instructed to kill two Monipur High School teachers through a website called “Secure Text.” The site was shut down soon after his arrest, DB o� cials said.

Rana’s location remains a mystery because the operatives never contacted each other using cellphones, DB sourc-es said.

DB Additional Deputy Commis-sioner Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman said police had information about the mastermind behind the murders: “The

planner is an expert in computer sci-ence and the internet and never con-tacted anyone using a cellphone.”

“We are hopeful of a breakthrough when we arrest Rana,” ADC Ashiq added.

On August 27, unidenti� ed assail-ants killed Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi, host of TV talks shows “Kafela” and “Shantir Pothe,” at his residence in the capital’s Purbo Rajabazar area.

In a similar incident, assailants killed self-styled pir Lutfur Rahman and � ve others after entering his rented � at in the Gopibagh area of the capital on December 21, 2013.

Monirul Islam, DB joint commission-er, said the murders appeared to be a re-ligious statement by extremist groups. “We have get some con� rmation from arrested JMB members last month that at least one of their members is in-volved in the killings,” he said. l

UAE labour PAGE 1 COLUMN 2worldwide, including the rise of Islam-ic State in the Middle East region.

“In regard to the Middle East, the UAE underscored the need for peace and stability and stressed that security issues should be addressed,” the for-eign secretary said.

The UAE wants Bangladesh on its side while � ghting against terrorist movements in the region, he said.

Trade and investment Both countries agreed to cooperate

with each other in the � elds of trade, business and investment.

They highlighted higher education, culture, tourism, the blue economy, energy, especially renewable energy, as new areas of cooperation, the foreign secretary said.

Bangladesh and the UAE would work closely on undertaking di� erent UAE-� nanced projects, he said. l

A good day PAGE 1 COLUMN 5department as he found himself in the middle again, at No 9, striking the win-ning boundary to overhaul a target of 101.

With only 101 runs to score, the home side faltered at the beginning, losing three wickets without any run on the scorecard – an event that has happened only twice before in Tests. However, Mush� qur and Mahmudullah added 46 to revive the innings before they were reduced to 82 for seven wickets.

Mush� qur not only kept his head cool, but also ensured that Taijul re-mained calm as they eventually bagged their � rst win against an ICC full mem-ber in 2014 and also take a 1-0 lead in their three-match Test series. l

JU appoints six teachers against four ‘vacant posts’ PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Assistant Proctor Mahmudul Hasan; Mozammel Hossain, nephew of Prof Abdul Mannan Chowdhury of physics department; Subrata Banik; Md Mah-fuz Ali Khan; and Dr Mohammad Mor-shed from Rajshahi University.

To recruit the six, the selection board allegedly discounted two appli-cants who had secured � rst class � rst positions in honours and three having � rst class second positions. Moreover, four candidates having � rst class � rst and three having � rst class second po-sitions in masters were also left aside.

As many as 35 candidates submit-ted applications for the four posts. Of them, those who secured � rst and sec-ond positions, as per their academic re-sults, had been issued invitation cards but were not called for viva voce.

The agitating teachers said before and after publishing the advertisement,

the authorities and department Chair-man Prof Dr Muhammad Nazibur Rah-man had not discussed the matter with the other teachers of the department.

They allege that the authorities in-tentionally appointed the teachers with a view to taking privilege during the upcoming Syndicate, Senate and dean elections.

A lecturer of the department, seek-ing anonymity, told the Dhaka Trib-une yesterday that there were already 23 teachers in the department against 22 posts. At least 17 teachers of the department were against the new ap-pointments.

“The authorities’ decision went absolutely against the interests of the university and the students. It will encourage other departments in this ill-practice,” he said.

Teachers and students protested the new recruitments and expressed

discontent after the news spread. Pro-BNP teachers under the banner of JU Nationalist Teachers’ Forum met with the VC protesting the initiative.

Former general secretary of JU Teachers’ Association Prof Md Sha-rif Uddin, who teaches mathematics, termed the appointment of two teach-ers without advertisements “immoral action.”

Although the VC had shown some reasons, “we cannot accept those since there is no logic supporting immoral actions. This tradition will ruin the uni-versity in the future.”

When contacted, Prof Farzana said the board had selected “capable candi-dates” for the posts.

Asked about the recruitment of Prof Shari� ’s nephew Kazi Russel who se-cured second class � fth position in honours examination, the VC said: “We had a special consideration on this

particular applicant as he is a freedom � ghter’s son.”

She said the department chairman had asked the authorities for six to sev-en teachers. As we advertised for four posts, the selection board later chose to take six promising candidates.”

Left-leaning teachers under the ban-ner of “Shikkhok Moncho” also pro-tested the recruitments saying that the initiative would create obstacles to the academic activities.

Raihan Rhyne, an associate profes-sor of philosophy and spokesman of the platform, said a freedom � ghter’s son could get job in the administrative wing of the university. “The quota for freedom � ghters should not be consid-ered in the post of teachers.”

He said such a move would put the teaching profession in huge risk and lead the university towards a long-term damage. l

A garbage land� ll in Buriganga River has grown so thick that it is being used as a parking space for scores of rickshaws in the capital’s Islambagh area NASHIRUL ISLAM

Government cautioned about Hizb-ut Tawhid PAGE 1 COLUMN 3letter were also sent to the divisional commissioner of Sylhet and the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Sunamganj district.

Currently, the state minister and the senior and additional secretaries of the Home Ministry are all on a state visit to the UAE. As of 8pm yesterday, none of them could be reached over phone for comments.

However, a senior Home Ministry o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune yester-day that letters would be dispatched today asking the police and RAB head-quarters to take necessary measures.

Introducing the militant out� t, which may be banned anytime, the intelligence report said: “Hizb-ut Taw-hid has been publicising the various aspects of its ideology through coun-trywide rallies, seminars, documenta-ry screenings and civil society gather-ings.”

The report believes that the “all re-ligion conference” at the Shahid Abul

Hossain Auditorium in Sunamganj is a continuation of that process of pub-licity. It said the conference was going to be organised by the followers of Hizb-ut Tawhid founder Mohammad Bayezid Khan Ponni.

The agency described the out� t as a “preacher of confusing and orthodox beliefs about Islam.”

According to the report, the confer-ence will be presided over by Md Mot-aleb Khan, Sunamganj correspondent of daily Desher Patra. The report said Motaleb is the planner and coordinator of all of Hizb-ut Tawhid’s activities in Sunamganj district.

Citing the names of a number of noted local personalities from among Hindus, Muslims and Christians and Awami League leaders, the intelligence agency said their presence at the con-ference might turn out to be detrimen-tal to the government’s image.

When contacted, Sunamganj district police chief Md Harunur Rashid – a re-cipient of a copy of the ministry letter –

claimed that at present there was no ac-tivity of Hizb-ut Tawhid in the district.

“We have information that the fol-lowers of Bayezid Khan Ponni are or-ganising a conference; but Ponni has no connection with Hizb-ut Tawhid,” Harunur Rashid said.

Abul Kalam Azad, director of the in-telligence wing of RAB, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they were yet to receive any instruction in this regard.

Intelligence sources have said the government has already been recom-mended to take steps for banning the activities of Hizb-ut Tawhid.

In October 2009, the Awami League government banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a similar Islamist militant out� t. That very year, several out� ts including Hizb-ut-Tawhid, Islami Samaj, Ulema Anjuman al Baiyinaat, Islamic Demo-cratic Party, Tawhid Trust, Tamir ud-Deen and Allahr Dal were blacklisted by the government because of their suspected involvement in militant ac-tivities. l

Deposition against Babar deferred againn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday again deferred the recording of deposition against for-mer state minister for home Lutfozzam-an Babar in a case � led for evading in-come taxes amounting to Tk2.65 crore.

Judge Md Rezaul Islam of Dhaka Spe-cial Judge’s Court 5 deferred the record-ing of deposition for the second time until November 27 following a time peti-tion � led by the defence counsel.

The defence had prayed for time, say-ing they had � led a petition with the High Court against charge-framing in the case and the petition is pending for hearing.

Joint Tax Commissioner Syed Zakir Hossain and Additional Assistant Tax Commissioner Md Gulam Mostafa ap-peared before the court yesterday to submit their deposition in the case.

The court had deferred the previous hearing following a time petition on September 21. On August 6, the court indicted Babar and � xed September 21 for starting the trial of the case � led by the National Board of Revenue.

On February 14, 2010, NBR Deputy Tax Commissioner Syed Zakir Hossain � led the case against Babar for dodging taxes.

According to the case details, Babar, director of Master Electronics Indus-tries, evaded taxes worth Tk26,544,122 against his income of Tk80,680,122 from the � rm in 1999-2000 and 2008-2009.

Babar repeatedly provided false in-formation about his real income and expenditure, even though he was an in� uential person and a leading busi-nessman, the case statement alleged. l

Khaleda asks grassroots leaders to be unitedn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has asked the grassroots leaders to shun the path of division and get united for a strong movement.

In a meeting with the elected upazi-la chairmen and vice-chairmen from the Barisal and Khulna divisions, the former premier told the local leaders: “Those who will work in the [anti-gov-ernment] movement will get party nomination in the next election. Lob-bying will not work. You will have to work for the people and the party.”

Countering Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s comment that BNP had lost ground, she also said the ground under their feet was still solid. “A time will come when we will not need to touch them but people will lynch them.”

The BNP chief also called upon the other political parties to be united to form a national consensus for ousting the government.

Khaleda alleged that militancy � our-ished in the country whenever Awami League was in power because it patron-ised militancy.

She also alleged that the rank and � le of the ruling party had indulged in cor-ruption for which they would he held accountable one day. Regarding the Pad-ma bridge scam, Khaleda said a trial had been going on in Canada but the ACC had relieved ruling party men from the case.

Regarding the PM’s statement over a dialogue, Khaleda said: “They said ‘no di-alogue with killers.’ Who are on your right and left? [JaPa chief] Ershad is a killer and [information minister] Inu is also a killer; these are documented in books.” l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Meghna Group chair faces ACC interrogationn Tribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday questioned Meghna Group Chairman Mostafa Kamal, also the managing director at Tanveer Foods Limited, in connection with a tax eva-sion and money laundering inquiry.

ACC Senior Deputy Director Mir Jainal Abedin Shibly began questioning the businessman at 3.30pm.

The ACC was set to question him on October 23, but Kamal sought more time and appeared in the commission headquarters yesterday.

According to the inquiry, a number of full cream milk powder importers in connivance with some corrupt customs o� cials has evaded crores of taka in

taxes by under-invoicing import costs.The allegation also mentions a doc-

ument prepared by Ecoval Dairy Trade of Australia in July 2011, which men-tioned that the Tanvir Food Ltd used under-invoicing and hid $1,310 from each tonne of milk powder when it was being imported from Australia.

After analysing these documents, the ACC has suspected that the government might has lost around Tk1,500 crore in revenue due to under-invoicing. At the same time, the allegations also indicate that the understated amount per tonnes were paid to their Australian counter-part using illegal channels.

The ACC also plans to question Abul Khair Group o� cials and Arla Foods Bangladesh o� cial in this connection. l

Mosharraf indicted in defamation suit n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against BNP Standing Commit-tee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hos-sain in a defamation case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ataul Haque accepted the charges before in-dicting the BNP leader.

The court said the formal trial would begin on January 22 when witnesses would testify.

The prosecution read out the charges and asked Mosharraf whether he was guilty or not. The accused pleaded not guilty and called for justice.

AB Siddique, president of Bangla-desh Jananetri Parishad, � led the suit with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka on January 20 last year.

According to the case statement, Mosharraf, while addressing a pro-gramme outside National Press Club on December 31, 2012, said the gov-ernment was trying to cling to power through conspiracy and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would have to face the fate of 1975 if the government tried to stay in power by force.

The plainti� was also present in the court. l

Fakhrul: Government bars BNP from reorganisingn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP yesterday alleged that the government was obstructing the party’s reorganisation process by arresting the opposition leaders and activists, � ling false cases against them and vandalising the party o� ce using its agents.

“The process to reorganise the party is going on as part of intensifying the movement to restore people’s voting rights and democracy in the country. But the government is arresting our leaders and activists on false cases so that we cannot reorganise the party,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, party’s acting secretary general, said.

Placing wreaths at the grave of BNP founder and late president Ziaur Rahman, the spokesperson of the par-ty said, “The government is using its agents to vandalise the party o� ce and obstruct the reorganisation process

of the party. Jubo Dal President Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal was recently ar-rested on a false case.”

The BNP leader alleged that the gov-ernment was doing so as the BNP could not launch any movement. “But we want to say clearly that it would not be possible for the government to stop the movement through repression.”

Fakhrul placed wreaths at the Zia’s grave to mark the founding anniversa-ry of Jubo Dal, youth front of the BNP. Hundreds of Jubo Dal leaders and ac-tivists also placed wreaths at the grave and o� ered prayers.

Alal was arrested at his residence along with 60 leaders and activists. Later, he was placed on a three-day re-mand.

Fakhrul asked the government to see its face in the mirror. “Alal is a for-mer lawmaker. The government’s fas-cist image has been exposed through his arrest.” l

SC lawyer � ned Tk10,000 for distorting infon Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday � ned Tk10,000 to Supreme Court lawyer Eu-nus Ali Akond for distorting its order on taking steps to prevent Ebola virus spread in the country.

The HC bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Zahangir Hos-sain passed the order yesterday after hearing arguments from Akond.

Appearing before the bench yes-terday, Akond on October 20 claimed

that the court asked the government to monitor all incoming passengers at all international airports and border areas with the help of armed force to detect Ebola virus after hearing of a writ � led by him.

However, on that day, the High Court actually ordered to take a step for screening of air passengers coming from Ebola-a� ected African countries only.

At the same time, Akond gave dis-torted information to the media saying the court had directed the government

to provide humanitarian aid to United Nation’s health emergency fund and the Ebola a� ected countries.

The court summoned Akond at 10:30am on October, 22 before the court but Akond did not appear. On that day the court summoned him again to ap-pear before the court yesterday.

After the hearing court � ned him 10 thousand taka.

During the hearing, Deputy Attor-ney General Mokhlesur Rahman  were present at the court. l

WAR CRIMES TRIAL

Evidence found against Forkan, 2 othersn Udisa Islam

The investigation agency of the Inter-national Crimes Tribunal has � nalised two probe reports against three war crimes suspects including Forkan Mol-lik, a razakar commander from Mirza-ganj of Patuakhali.

The two other accused are Mahidur Rahman, 84, and Afsar Hossain alias Chhutu, 65, residents of Shibganj upa-zila of Chapainawabganj.

Forkan, 62, is now in jail in connec-tion with a war crimes case � led with Mirzaganj police while Mahidur and Afsar in a criminal case � led with Shib-ganj police station.

The trio had been members of raza-kar force during the 1971 Liberation War and committed genocide, rape, ar-son and loot. “Now they are supporters

of the BNP,” Investigation O� cer Sat-yaranjan Roy told reporters at the agen-cy’s Dhanmondi safe home yesterday.

The probe reports would be submit-ted to the prosecution today, Abdul Hannan Khan, chief coordinator of the agency, said.

Hannan said Forkan had allegedly killed eight people, raped four wom-en, converted nine people of other religions to Islam, deported 13 fami-lies, and looted and torched 64 houses during the war.

Satyaranjan said: “We have found proof against Forkan of looting, tor-ture, con� nement, killing, mass killing, rape and forced conversion.” He was a Muslim League leader during the war.

The IO said: “We have found 13 Bi-ranganas [rape victims of 1971] in Patu-akhali who agreed to appear before the

tribunal to testify against Forkan.” Hannan said they had got proof

against some other collaborators in Patuakhali. “Only at Mirzaganj, at least 700 razakars surrendered after the country’s independence.”

The agency is now investigating 19 more cases against at least 29 perpetra-tors.

Allegations against Mahidur and Af-sar

The investigators have brought three charges against Mahidur and Af-sar who had been involved in mass kill-ings, looting and arson committed be-tween October and November in 1971.

ZM Altafur Rahman, investigation o� cer of the case, said these perpe-trators had carried out atrocities at Chandsikari, Binodpur and Kobirajtola in Shibganj of Chapainawabganj. l

Municipality taxes increase, gazette published n Mohosinul Karim

The Local Government Division has published a gazette noti� cation of new tax schedule for the municipalities, increasing taxes in municipality areas across the country.

The gazette, signed by Local Gov-ernment Ministry’s Senior Secretary Monzur Hossain, was issued on Oc-tober 23 as per the provision of Local Government (Municipal) Act, 2009.

According to the new schedule, the taxes on land and buildings in munic-ipality areas might be � xed at up to 7% of the real prices of the properties. But freedom � ghters would enjoy tax exemption for maximum 1,000 square feet of their lands or buildings in the municipality areas.

The municipal authorities would have the authority to impose at least 2% tax on real price of properties for handing over the lands or properties in

the area.However, the taxes would not be

applicable for the lands used for plac-es of worship and government charity organisations.

The trade licence fees increased from existing Tk150 to Tk300.

The authorities concerned would have to pay certain fees for cutting roads for any repair work in munici-pality areas. The mayors would � x the taxes, considering the damages to be

assessed by engineers.It also keeps a provision of imposing

annual taxes for removing waste and using the drainage system.

Taxes, however, would be applica-ble for the lands of freedom � ghters or places of worship and charity public or-ganisations if the lands or buildings are used commercially.

The taxes would not be applicable for Waqf, charity or sports clubs and cultural organisation’s properties. l

Ashraf talks to speaker on dropping Latif as MPSheikh Hasina likely to send letter to Shirin Sharmin today to scrap Latif Siddique’s parliament membership

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Awami League general secretary, Syed Ashraful Islam, yesterday saw Speak-er of Jatiyo Sangsad Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to discuss ways to strip former minister Abdul Latif Siddique of his parliamentary seat after the party he belonged to expelled him for derogatory comments on Hajj and the Prophet Muhammad.

“I am going to the party o� ce now. If the party leader [Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina] signs the letter, I will send it to the Speaker for necessary action,” Syed Ashraf told the Dhaka Tribune yester-day in reply to a question on whether his party would write to the Speaker to strip Latif Siddique of his membership of parliament.

He said the Speaker had assured him that she would take action in line with the constitution and relevant laws.

Syed Ashraf earlier told a press con-ference that Latif Siddique would cease to be an MP if he lost his membership of the Awami League.

But precedents in previous parlia-ments show that two MPs — Abu Hena of the BNP in the 8th parliament and HM Golam Reza of the Jatiya Party in the 9th parliament — were expelled from their respective parties but re-tained their seats in the house.

Abu Hena was expelled from the party on November 23, 2005. The then speaker Barrister Muhammad Jamirud-din Sircar ruled in the House that Abu Hena neither resigned from the BNP nor voted against the party decision, as enshrined in article 70 of the constitu-tion. The ex-speaker declared that he

retain his seat as an independent law-maker until the end of the 8th parlia-ment on October 27, 2006.

Former speaker Abdul Hamid did not strip Golam Reza of his parliamen-tary membership either, despite his expulsion from the Jatiya Party. Golam retained his seat for the full tenure of the 9th parliament.

On Sunday, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury held a meeting with o� -cials of the parliament secretariat to discuss Latif Siddique’s parliament membership. The o� cials observed that a decision on his membership in this situation was the prerogative of the Speaker, not the election commission.

How Latif Siddique can lose mem-bership

According to Article 66 (2), an MP may cease to be a lawmaker if she or he is disquali� ed under any law.

The same article stipulates that any dispute regarding whether an elected MP has been disquali� ed from retain-ing parliament membership must be settled through the election commis-sion.

The Representation of the People Order, 1972 says an elected MP will have to have membership of a regis-tered political party in order to retain membership.

“I have examined the necessary provisions of the constitution and the relevant laws. I will certainly give my judgement according to the law after the Awami League letter comes,” the Speaker told the Dhaka Tribune.

She said an MP elected on a party ticket was unlikely to become an inde-pendent lawmaker. l

Two AL leaders murdered in Gazipur, Pabnan Tribune Report

Two local leaders of the ruling Awami League were murdered in Gazipur and Pabna yesterday.

In Gazipur, 45-year-old Rabiul Is-lam, AL general secretary of ward no 8 under Kamdia union,was hacked to death by a gang of assailants when he was returning home in Koilatikar area. He died later at the Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

In Pabna, some unidenti� ed miscre-ants on a motorcycle hacked to death Ekbal Sheikh, 45, president of ward no 4 unit AL under Bharara union, in Dublia area in Sadar upazila. He wasdeclared dead later at the district hospital. l

Technicians carry out an electronic core penetration test as part of a geographic survey for the proposed metro rail project at the capital’s Agargaon area yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Department of Nartcotics Control detained this man yesterday from Dhaka University’s TSC area for selling alchohol in the name of homeopathic medicine MEHEDI HASAN

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

FAKE FF CERTIFICATES

3 secretaries reply to notices n Mohosinul Karim

Three out of four senior o� cials yester-day replied to the show-cause notices issued by the Public Administration Ministry for taking freedom � ghter cer-ti� cates from the Liberation War A� airs Ministry by giving false information.

The three are Health Secretary Neaz Uddin Mia, former liberation war a� airs secretary KH Masud Siddiqui, now o� -cer on special duty and its former joint secretary Abul Kashem Talukder (OSD).

Public Service Commission’s Secre-tary AKM Amir Hossain is yet to submit his reply. He may submit today, the deadline for the submission of the re-ply.

Taking the decision on the replies of the four o� cials might be delayed as Senior Secretary of the Public Admin-istration Ministry Kamal Abdul Naser

Chowdhury is now abroad. “The secretary will attend the o� ce

from November 2. The decision will be taken after his return,” an o� cial said, seeking anonymity.

The Public Administration Ministry on October 13 served the show-cause notice on the o� cials and asked them to reply within 10 working days.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) found the four o� cials guilty of receiving the freedom � ghter certi� -cates apart from former senior secre-tary of the Prime Minister’s O� ce Mol-la Waheduzzaman, now the chairman of the Privatisation Commission.

The Ministry of Liberation War Af-fairs had already cancelled the certif-icates of the four o� cials. It also sus-pended the certi� cate of Molla Wahed and allowed him to appeal against the ministry’s decision. l

Mass signature programme begins to protest DU decisionn DU correspondent

Agitated admission seekers of 2014-15 ac-ademic sessions at Dhaka University (DU) have decided to submit memorandum to President Abdul Hamid on November 3.

They made the announcement at a press conference held at the Madhur Canteen in DU yesterday.

The students and their guardians in-augurated a mass signature programme yesterday in front of the Raju Memorial sculpture to build consensus over their demand for cancellation of DU’s deci-sion of not allowing second chance to appear in the admission tests.

“We will continue the mass sig-nature programme until November 3 and would submit a memorandum to the president on November 3. We can-celed our earlier decision of submitting memorandum on October 28 as he will be abroad then,” said Salman Khan, one of the protesting aspirants and a student of Kabi Nazrul College.

We look forward to gather support of educationalists and intellectuals as well, he said.

On October 14, the DU admission committee decided not to allow any admission seeker to appear in the ad-mission tests more than once. Pre-viously the admission seekers were allowed two chances to attend the DU admission tests. l

Supreme Court Museum inaugurated n Tribune Report

The Supreme Court Museum started its journey yesterday in a one-storey building in the administrative area of the Supreme Court yesterday.

Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hos-sain inaugurated the museum.

He said: “This museum aims to in-troduce the new generation with the history and heritage of the country’s judicial system.”

He urged the former judges and their family members to contribute antiques with historical values to the museum.

The museum was inaugurated with some furniture and other objects most of which did not include any label.

In contained some old furniture, dress and other objects used by ancient judges and also some historical documents.

After unveiling the foundation stone, an inauguration programme was held at the SC auditorium in pres-

ence of Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Justice

Md Imman Ali, Justice Hasan Foez Sid-dique, and Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury. l

EC plans NIDs for under-18 citizens n Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission has planned to provide the under-18-year-old citizens with National Identity Cards (NIDs) in the country.

EC Secretary Sirajul Islam said they recently asked the National

Identity Card Wing to prepare and present proposals before them about it. The � nal decision howev-er would be taken about this after vetting their proposals, he said.

Seeking anonymity, a few NID o� cials said they were planning to prepare two proposals – one for

collecting information of those who are more than 15 years old and those who participated in Junior School Certi� cate exams four years ago.

Parliament had passed a law law keeping the provision to provide NIDs to all citizens on October 6 last year. l

Police charge baton in Mymensingh Nursing College female dormsn Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

Police charged batons in the female students’ dormitories of Mymensingh Nursing College yesterday leaving at least 10 students injured.

Six of them were admitted to the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

The college authorities called the police around 4pm as the students did not vacate the halls by 2pm following an order.

Yesterday the Mymensingh Nursing College was closed down for unidenti-� ed period amid students’ movements demanding removal of the college’s principal and the hostel keeper.

The decision was taken at an emer-gency meeting called by the college academic council yesterday, said Prin-

cipal of the college Monoara Khatun. Around 10am students went on a

strike demanding removal of Principal Monoara Khatun and hostel keeper Nazmunnahar for their alleged involve-ment in irregularities in seat allocation in the hostels.

Following their demonstrations on campus, the college authorities an-nounced to close the college and di-rected the students to vacate the dor-mitories by 2pm.

The students of the college have been demonstrating in spates for last six months to press home their 13-point demands including removal of the duo for anomalies in hostel seat allocation.

Currently there are around 400 stu-dents residing in the two female dormi-tories of the college. l

Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain takes a tour of the Supreme Court Museum after inauguration in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

A long tailback created by motor vehicles clog the Bangla Motor area in the capital yesterday causing much su� erings to the commuters MEHEDI HASAN

IPHN to raise awareness through voice messagesn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The high o� cials at the In-stitute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) are search-ing for a high-pro� le per-sonality to record a voice message to be disseminat-ed via mobile phone service across the country.

The institute has already signed a Tk1.5-crore deal with mobile operator Tele-talk to send voice message.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Dr Shah Newaz, director of the IPHN and line director of National Nutrition Survey, said the request to voice the message � rst went to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“She has given her voice in a public awareness message before but this time she could not accept the o� er due to her busy schedule,” he said adding that President Abdul Hamid and Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury were also con-sidered in this regard.

The message is going to address key points in ma-ternal and child healthcare, such as breastfeeding new-born children within an hour of their birth, continu-ing exclusive breastfeeding to children upto six months of age, providing home-made complementary food, vegetables and fruits be-sides breastfeeding after six months, ensuring proper nutrition for pregnant wom-en and breastfeeding moth-ers, consulting the near-est community clinic and health facilities in case of complications, and more. l

Government to export rice to Sri Lanka at $450 per tonne n Rabiul Islam

For the � rst time, the government has decided to export 50,000 tonnes of coarse rice to Sri Lanka with setting the export price at $450 per tonne.

Food Minister Quamrul Islam, also chairman of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC), made the disclosure yesterday after a meet-ing of the committee held at the minis-try’s conference room.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury were, among others, present.

The food minister said the gov-

ernment had also decided to procure around 300,000 tonnes of rice (Aman) at a cost of Tk32 per kilogram this year.

“We wanted to export rice at a price more than $450 per tonne, but Sri Lan-ka did not agree on it. We later decided to export rice at the price they o� ered,” he said, adding that a Sri Lankan team would arrive here within 10-12 days and a contract would be signed in this regard.

“This coarse rice is being sold for Tk30 per kg in local market while Sri Lanka is buying it at a cost of Tk35 per kg,” he added.

The minister informed that 14 lakh tonnes of food grains (rice and wheat) are now in stock, up three lakh tonnes

than last year. He claimed, “The country under the

leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has become self-su� cient in food.”

Asked why the country imports rice from India even after being self-su� -cient in food, the minister said three to four lakh tonnes of � ne rice (Bashmoti) are imported for ceremonial purposes.

“You know that we need three to four crore tonnes of rice a year. In comparison with requirement, a small quantity of rice is imported from In-dia,” he clari� ed.

He said the government would pro-cure rice at a cost of Tk32 per kg while

the production cost was Tk28. Last year, the government procured rice at a cost of Tk30 per kg.

The minister informed that the food procurement drive would start from November 15 and continue till Febru-ary 28.

The government had set a target of producing around 1.30 crore tonnes of Aman this year. Last year, the govern-ment produced 1.30 tonnes of Aman against the target of 1.32 tonnes crore.

While brie� ng reporters, the food minister said, “We set a target of pro-ducing 11 lakh tonnes of Boro. But we have been able to produce 10.61 lakh tonnes.” l

WEATHER

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

PRAYER TIMES Fajr 4:46am Sunrise 6:01am Zohr 11:42am Asr 3:46pm Magrib 5:22pm Esha 6:38 pm

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:22PM SUN RISES 6:03AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW33.2ºC 20.1ºC

Cox's Bazar Chandpur

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A Y Dhaka 30 20Chittagong 28 22Rajshahi 29 18Rangpur 29 19Khulna 29 19Barisal 28 19Sylhet 29 18Cox’s Bazar 31 23

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

4 die in separate accidentsn Tribune Report

At least four persons, including a mi-nor girl and a woman, were killed and 10 others were injured in separate ac-cidents in Chittagong city’s Akbarshah, Chandgaon, Sitakunda and Hathazari uapzila yesterday.

The deceased were, Setu Akhter, 3, Abdul Motalib, 60, Sakina Khatun, 60 and Rupon Barua, 40.

Nayek Abdul Bashar of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Po-lice Outpost said Setu Akter, daughter of Md Sujon, was injured after being fall from a stair of her house while play-ing in Abbarshah Colony area under Akbarshah police station.

Family members rushed the kid to the CMCH where the on duty doctors declared her dead, said Nayek Bashar.

In another accident, Rupon Barua,

a motorbike rider, was killed in a head-on collision between an autorickshaw and a motorbike in Hathazari upazila’s Vanga Pul area.

The person was taken to the CMCH where the on duty physicians an-nounced him dead, said Nayek Bashar.

Earlier in Sitakunda upazila Sakina was killed when a Noakhali-bound bus knocked down her on the Dhaka-Chit-tagong Highway in Sitakunda upazila in the morning, said Sub-Inspector (SI) Rezaul Karim of Sitakunda police station.

At least ten persons were injured as the killer bus plunged into road-side ditch in Dakkhin Bypass area on the highway after over turning on the road while the driver trying to escape the accident, said SI. Meanwhile, Abdul Motalib was critically injured falling o� from a tree at Mohora area of Chand-gaon area in the city, said police. l

Patenga and Parki sea beaches to be modernised n FM Mizanur Rahaman,

Chittagong

In a bid to attract tourists, the Chit-tagong Beach Management Committee has decided to upgrade the Patenga and Parki sea beaches of the port city with modern facilities.

The decision came at the commit-tee’s meeting chaired by Chittagong District Commissioner Mezbah Uddin yesterday.

The new facilities would include In-formation centres and health centres for the tourists.

The committee also decided to evict illegal and � oating structures from the areas to restore the natural beauty.

An executive magistrate will be ap-pointed to ensure security of the tour-ists and control drug smuggling and unsocial activities on the spots.

Chittagong Additional Deputy Com-missioner Mohammed Abul Hossen, Anwara Upazila Nirbahi O� cer Sheikh Farid Uddin and representatives of police, Bangladesh Coast Guard were present at the meeting. l

BCL factional clash at Barisal polytechnic n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Five activists of the Bangladesh Chha-tra League, student front of the ruling Awami League, were injured in faction-al clash took place at Barisal Govern-ment Polytechnic Institute yesterday afternoon.

Campus sources said Fahim and Jasim groups of the BCL polytechnic unit had engaged in clash at hostel and campus area of the institute in the morn-ing over a tri� e matter. Later, activists of BCL from outside of the campus led by Munna supporting Jasim faction enter-ing inside the campus engaged in clash with Fahim group about 4:40 pm.

Police rushed to the spot controlled the situation and detained one Sohel from the spot. Shakhawat Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Kotwali police sta-tion, said detained Sohel later released after interrogation and negotiation be-tween guardians. l

SUICIDE FOLLOWING ARBITRATION’S DECISION

Accused still at largen Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Family members of Kakoli Akhter alleged that police were trying to save the people who instigated her to commit suicide after she was be-trayed by her boyfriend.

The victim Kakoli Akhter, daughter of Abdul Kaium, a resi-dent of Betjuri village under Sripur upazila, Gazipur, took poison when her boyfriend refused to marry her during an arbitration meeting on October 16. Later, she died in the capital on Thursday evening.

Family members said she was in a relationship for two years with Sha� qul Islam, 25, of the same vil-lage. With a promise of marriage, they recently got intimate and she became pregnant.

To solve the matter, a meeting was arranged between the fami-lies of Sha� q and Kakoli after Eid-ul-Azha, where Sha� q’s family

showed reluctance to accept Kakoli as well. As Sha� qul refused to mar-ry her, arbitrators then decided that Sha� qul would say that he was repentant for his misdeed and sor-ry for the wrong doing.

Hearing the arbitration’s deci-sion, Kakoli went to her room and consumed poison.

Afterwards, Kakoli was taken to Sreepur Upazila Health Complex in a critical condition, and later trans-ferred to Fortune Hospital in Uttara, Dhaka. When her condition remained the same, she was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Thursday afternoon, where she later died.

Police � led a case against Sha� qul, his mother Amena Khatun, his uncles Jamal Uddin and Al Akbar on Friday night 30 hours after Kakoli’s death. But, in the case police did not mention that she was pregnant and any name of arbitrators.

Family members of the victim told the Dhaka Tribune that it had been four days since they � led a case, but police could not arrest the culprit yet.

They also alleged that O� cer-in-Charge of Sripur police station Md Abul Kashem was reluctance to arrest the accused as they were in-� uential people in the locality.

Moreover, no one was assigned to investigate the case till Sunday afternoon, said the family mem-bers citing sources at the police station.

Md Abul Kashem said he had � led the case after hearing descrip-tion of victim’s father. Asked about the progress of the case he said they could not arrest them as they had gone into hiding after death.

Assistant Police Super of Sripur Model police station Akteruzzam-an told the Dhaka Tribune that he would look into the matter. l

ACC to grill 21 Ashuganj fertiliser factory o� cialsn Our Correspondent,

Brahmanbaria

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) will tomorrow interrogate 21 people over the alleged corruption and anom-alies centring their appointments at Ashuganj Fertiliser and Chemical Com-pany Ltd last year.

The anti-graft body sent a letter to the managing director of the company about this on October 20 saying that they will interrogate the sta� s during their spot investigation.

According to the letter, ACC Deputy Director Hrittik Saha and Deputy As-sistant Director Mahbubul Alam will arrive at the company at 10am.

Fifty nine persons were ap-pointed against 25 posts in Januaryof last year, when it was alleged thatmassive corruptions andirregularities were committed in the appointments.

Former general manager (Admin-istration) of the company Md Anwar Hossain was then transferred else-where after a corruption case was � led with a district court showing him as the main accused. l

Jessore Medical College not shifting soonn Touhid Zaman, Jessore

Jessore Medical College is about to complete the construction of its own building but it cannot shift there soon in the absence of an approach road.The college came into being in 2010. Since its did not have its own building, it started its opera-tions at the 250-bed general hos-pital. Students and teachers have ever since been su� ering from crises of class rooms and others.

The building, of which about-to-be-complete construction could have been a piece of happy news to the su� ering students, failed to lift their spirits as they have learnt that they could not shift there soon as the approach road has not been constructed yet.

Students said they could not study well at the library room be-cause it was very small and stu-dents had to sit huddled there. Besides, there were not enough class rooms here, which is a batch of students had to sit idle a long time when scheduled class-

es of other batches take place. Assistant Professor of orthopae-

dics deaprtment Abdur Rouf said they were failing to take adequate number of classes because there not enough class rooms here.

Public Works Department Sub-Divisional Engineer SM Go-lam Kader told the Dhaka Trib-une that the land on which the road was supposed to be con-structed falls under the jurisdic-tion of the deputy commissioner.

That is why, the Health Ministry would not have the road constructed by the pub-lic works department because they could have it constructed by the Local Government and Engineering Department free of cost, he said.

Sub-Divisional Engineer Kad-er however said the approach road could be constructed by the Public Works Department with-in six months next if the Health Ministry wanted it so, point-ing out that the LGED had been failed to have the approach road project for four years. l

Man kills brother for landn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A youth has been hacked to death by his brother at Jafarabad Jolodas Para under Chandanaish upazila in Chit-tagong yesterday morning, following a feud over land.

The deceased is Jhinuk Jolodas, 21. Jhinuk’s mother and sister also re-ceived injuries during the incident.

Badiuzzaman, o� cer-in-charge of Chandanaish police station, said: “Jhi-nuk’s elder brother Bitu Jolodas hacked him following a dispute over land, leaving Jhinuk critically injured. Three people, including Jhinuk’s mother and sister also sustained injuries while try-ing to rescue him.”

“Later, the youth died on his way to hospital. The police have arrested Bitu Jolodas, his wife Aroti Jolodas and one Mithu Jolodas from the spot,” he said.

The dead body was sent to Chit-tagong Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy and a case was lodged with Chandanaish police sta-tion in this connection, said the SI. l

Tahrir put up posters in dead of nightThe banned Islamist out� t is trying to reorganise in Chittagong cityn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

After a break of several months, activ-ists of the banned out� t Hizb-ut Tahrir have put up posters on the walls at im-portant points in the port city, protest-ing police action on the organisation’s protest rally in Mohammadpur, Dhaka on October 17.

A number of activists of the illegal out� t, divided into several groups, put up the posters in the dead of night yes-terday, taking advantage of poor vigi-lance by the law enforcement agencies.

No one was reported arrested in this connection.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s Additional Commissioner (Crime and

Operation) Banaz Kumar Majumdar ac-knowledged the incident, saying it was quite impossible to check all sorts of misdeeds as they were struggling with a poor number of forces against the large population in the city.

The commissioner said police were showing zero tolerance to the out� t, as part of which they had arrested two Tahrir activists along with many leaf-lets on Sunday evening.

The posters were seen on the walls of even media houses as well as on the compartments of Chittagong Universi-ty shuttle trains.

The posters read the October 17 ral-ly was protesting the controversial re-marks by sacked minister Abdul Latif

Siddique and the police dispersed it and severely beat up the organisa-tion’s Information A� airs Adviser Na� s Salam before arresting him.

It also stated that such type of po-lice action was against the religious sentiment of the Muslims. The out� t demanded immediate release of its leader.

In a poster, the out� t also re-proached Prime Minister Sheikh Hasi-na for releasing the former minister from blasphemy charges.

Currently, the banned Islamist or-ganisation has been trying to reor-ganise in Chittagong city and the hill tracts areas to disseminate their con-troversial ideologies among the people

in various ways secretly. They were even luring Rohingyas – with variousfacilities – into joining Hizb-utTahrir to strengthen activities of the or-ganisation.

Police sources said about 10,000 members of the organisation are work-ing actively across the country and most of them are students.

Law enforcers have arrested 250 ac-tivists of the out� t in the district but could not extract any signi� cant infor-mation.

On September 24, 2009, the Minis-try of Home A� airs banned activities of Hizb-ut Tahrir as its objectives arecontrary to the constitution of the country. l

Aspirant students of Chittagong University riding on a shuttle train go to the campus to appear in the admission test for the � rst year honours courses under Social Science Faculty of the university for the session 2014-15. A total of 30,861 candidates registered their names for the admission test for 877 seats under the unit this year DHAKA TRIBUNE

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

3 BRTA document forgery gang men held in Jessoren Our Correspondent, Jessore

Police in a drive arrested three mem-bers of a gang that forges the docu-ments of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) from the district town and Jhikhargachha upazila early yesterday. They arrested are Pobitra Bishwas Polash, Shakil and Jafor.

Being tipped-o� , police arrested the gang’s ringleader Polash from Ghop Jail road area of the town at dead hours and then the duo along with one pistol, 500gm of hemp, a piece of handcu� , a WikiToki and a computer from Krishnan-agar area of Jikhargacha upazila as per information extracted from the former.

The local SP Anisur Rahman said they had been on search of the gang for long, with which some BRTA o� cials from both Dhaka and Jessore o� ces were involved and necessary action would be taken against them as well. l

Sexagenarian hacked to deathn Our Correspondent, Jamalpur

A sexagenarian man was hacked to death allegedly by his neighbors in Mo-heshpur Kalibari area in Sadar upazila on yesterday.

The deceased was identi� ed as Tam-ijuddin Taji, 60. Witnesses said, the vic-tim’s neighbor Saju, 35, hacked him to death around 11am following previous enmity. On information, police recov-ered the body and sent it to Jamalpur General Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Police also arrested Saju in connec-tion with the killing. l

Auto-rickshaw parking causing tra� c jam, accidents in Kurigramn Our Correspondent, Kurigram

Unauthorised parking of battery-run auto-rickshaws in the district has in-creasingly become the causes of tra� c jams and road accidents.

Miznur Rahman Mintu, o� cer of the Municipality License Department, said there are more than 2,500 auto-rick-shaws plying in the locality violating tra� c rules and regulation.

The municipality authorities issued the license for 299 auto-rickshaws.

“The auto-rickshaws are parked at at least 60 points in the district caus-es of tra� c congestion and accidents,” said Mintu.

The important points named Shapla Chattar, Ghospara Intersection, Sadar Hospital Road, Dadamor Intersection, Zia Bazar, Poura Bazar, PTI Gate and

Court experience severe tailback al-most every day.

Most of the places where auto-rick-shaws are parked are either near edu-cational institutions, hospitals, o� ces or court area.

As the municipality authorities is-sued licenses of those auto-rickshaws police can not take legal action, said tra� c police o� cials

Police Superintendent Tabarak Ullah said: “Auto-rickshaw drivers do not go by the tra� c rules resulting in heavy tra� c congestion. Even no legal steps can be taken against them because mu-nicipality authorities handle the matter.”

Bus driver Suman said he found it di� cult to manoeuvre the bus through auto-rickshaws parked indiscriminate-ly on roads.

“Passengers too haggle with the au-

to-rickshaw drivers standing on the road that can lead to major accidents,” he said.

Recently � ve people including a bank o� cial have been killed in a road accident on the Kurigram-Rangpur Highway due to rampant parking.

Ashik, a motorcyclist said he could not drive his bike comfortably as the auto-rickshaws are haphazardly parked throughout the town.

According to the tra� c police there are only around 299 authorised au-to-rickshaws in the city.

“The others are unauthorised. But legally we cannot prevent them from parking the vehicles. We can only en-sure they don’t a� ect the tra� c � ow,” said a senior tra� c police o� cer.

The district Motor Owners Association Secretary said: “We have to face a lot of di� culties due to the unathorised park-

ing of auto-rickshaws in the district.”“We will go for a vigorous move-

ment if the government does not take proper action against them,” he said.

Auto-rickshaw driver Dulu said they need dedicated parking spaces in all localities where people gather in large numbers.

“We understand that a major part of the road is occupied due to unauthor-ised parking slowing down the tra� c movement. But, unless we are provid-ed designated pick-up points, this can-not be avoided,” he said.

When asked, Mayor Nur Islam Nuru said: “Around 2,500 auto-rickshaws ply in the locality violating tra� c rules and regulation and there are 60 unauthor-ised parking stations in the district.”

“The police should apply tra� c rules with strict hand,” he said. l

Businessman remains missingfor four daysn Our Correspondent,

Chapainawabganj

A drugstore owner named Tawhidul Islam Tusher, 30, from Dawlatpur Upartola Mohalla in the district town, has remained traceless four days after missing. The victim’s family members � led a general diary with Sadar police station alleging that some of his friends abducted Tusher for money. However, they did not state the names of them.

Sources said Tusher had been miss-ing since Friday while he was moving towards the town from his shop in Shibganj upazila headquarters for busi-ness purpose. l

One to die for killing schoolboy n Our Correspondent, Natore

A court in the district yesterday sen-tenced a man to death for killing a schoolboy in 2006.

The convict was identi� ed as Abdul Majid, a resident of Baro Satoil village in Singra upazila.

According to prosecution, Abdul Majid killed Asif, a Class IX student and son of his neighbour Mainul Islam, by slitting his throat over previous enmity at Budar Bazar in 2006.

A case was � led in this connection Singra police station and Majid was ar-rested. l

Ashwini pineapples poisoned for quick salesn Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

Unscrupulous farmers in Mymensin-gh’s Fulbari upazila are treating Ash-wini pineapples with chemicals par-ticularly ethopen, which are harmful for human health.

According to the district agriculture extension o� ce, the juicy fruits have been grown on around 1300 hectares of land.

Farmers said they could not make pro� ts by selling the fruits during win-ter and so they were using the chemical for quick ripening and then marketing before the cold season.

Ethopen is used for ripening the fruits three days before they are picked

from the � eld. Plant growth regulatory chemicals are also being used exten-sively to increase the size of the fruits.

Farmers Ra� qul Islam, Fazlul Haq, Ayub Ali said they knew such chemi-cals are very harmful to health but they could do nothing. Small sized fruits would not fetch them a fair price.

Upazila Sanitary Inspector Mahbub Hossain said: “Eating chemicals-treated food is risky and can give rise to cancer and dysfunction of the kidneys and liver.”

Upazila Agriculture Extension Of-� cer Ahsanul Bashar said they had more than once, held workshops and informed farmers why they should avoid using harmful chemicals the fruits, but of no vain.

Upazila Nirbahi O� cer Banani Biswas admitted treating fruits with chemicals and said they were regularly taking action against this.

She also said that she arrested two farmers and � ned them through a mo-bile court a few days ago. l

Students of Habiganj Shachindara College form a human yesterday on Habiganj-Nabiganj Highway protesting conspiracy against the college by local in� uential DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ethopen is used for ripening the fruits three days before they are picked from the � eld

7Special Tuesday, October 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Julian Francis

October 21, marked the 43rd anniversary of the publi-cation of the “Testimony of Sixty,” a collection of eye-witness accounts of

the tragic situation in Bengal (East and West) at that time, in 1971.

In addition, today marks the 43rd anniversary of the publication in the United States Congressional Record of the “Testimony of Sixty.”

As I am the only person, currently living and working in Bangladesh, who was personally involved, in 1971, with the collection of many of these eye-witness accounts, I thought that you will be interested to learn how and why we decided, in 1971, to publish this document.

In 1971, I had the responsibility of coordinating the relief e� orts of OX-FAM-UK which was assisting approx-imately six lac Bangladeshi in many refugee camps in the border areas of Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Cooch Be-har, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, West Dinajpur, Barasat, and Bongaon.

As we were unsure how long the tragic situation would last, at any one time we were always planning six months ahead, and in September 1971 we were assessing the future cost of assisting the refugees through the winter which, in many areas, would be severely cold. We needed regular and large sums of money each month.

This campaign meant that the fundraising e� ort and publicity had to be second to none. To raise funds for a crisis which appeared to be never-end-ing needed a sustained fundraising strategy using advertisements which would both inform but also shock people into giving.

As the winter of 1971 approached, and with it the need for blankets and warm clothing, OXFAM ran campaigns to “Take a Blanket O� Your Bed,” “Buy a new sweater for Christmas and Throw Your Old Ones to OXFAM,” “You know what a lot of people are praying for this Christmas? A swift and merciful death.”

The British Post O� ce, at the time, charged nothing for sending blankets and warm clothing by parcel postage if addressed to OXFAM and the Royal Air Force air-freighted the blankets to Kolkata.

For those of us who have forgotten or are too young to remember, there were an estimated 10 million Bangla-deshis existing in about 900 refugee camps. The logistics of feeding and caring for such a large number of people even now, after so many years, are di� cult to comprehend. How was it done? It was done through the her-oism of so many, and these men and women never sought fame or credit but insisted that they were just doing what had to be done. Most of them were refugees themselves.

To those who, in 2014, still question if genocide, by the Pakistan Army and their collaborators, took place, I can only say that on numerous occasions,

over a period of seven months, when I visited the refugees, I saw traumatised families who had witnessed the mur-der of their loved ones. On my visits to the refugee camps, I became used to seeing dead bodies, mostly children, lines of people queuing up to use la-trines and some, with acute diarrhea, not making it in time.

In the camps where there was no supplementary support to the aid being given by the Indian government, the situation was much worse. I saw many refugees dying, mostly the very young and the very old. They did not die in peace or with dignity. They died of hunger, in the mud. They died of cholera and they died of cold.

It was di� cult to keep the crisis on the front pages of the world’s news-papers. The news of the genocide of March 25, 1971 put it on the front pages, and with outbreak of cholera in May and June, the humanitari-an crisis was front page news once more. Again, when the camps got � ooded that year, it was front page news. By September 1971, the British newspapers had headlines of “Carry on dying,” “Can the refugees ever go home?” and “Pakistani famine is worse than Biafra.”

However, OXFAM, at its Oxford based Head O� ce, decided that it must � nd a way to shock the world’s leaders to an even greater extent, to make them open their eyes and wake

up. In a surprisingly short space of time eye-witness accounts of the trag-edy were collected and published as “The Testimony of Sixty on the Crisis in Bengal.”

This carried statements and articles written by famous persons such as Mother Teresa and Senator Edward Kennedy and well-known journalists such as Anthony Mascarenhas, John Pilger, Nicolas Tomalin, Clare Holling-worth and Martin Woollacott.

I personally collected many of the statements from people in Kolkata and I remember one day sending a telex full of statements which took 75 minutes to send over the wires! Copies of “The Testimony of Sixty” were handed over to many heads of governments and its publication coincided with the opening of that year’s General Assembly of the United Nations where it was distribut-ed to all ambassadors to the UN.

The day before the o� cial publica-tion date, October 21, 1971, the British Post O� ce assisted with telephone directories from all over the UK to pile up 49 million names on the pavement outside an OXFAM shop which was situated at 49, Parliament Street, London. Nine million represented the number of Bangladeshi refugees at that time in India and the other 40 million names represented the number of people displaced inside (then) East Pakistan who were facing extreme hunger.

It is interesting to record that although the USA was � rmly supporting Paki-stan in 1971, Senator Edward Kennedy, who had visited India and the refugee camps in August 1971, brought “The Testimony of Sixty” to the attention of the US. Senate and it was pub-lished in full on October 28, 1971 in the “Congressional Record,” only one week after it was published by OXFAM in UK. Introducing the “Testimony of Sixty” to the United States’ Senate, the Congressional Record states the following:

“Mr Kennedy: Mr President, the crisis in East Bengal is a story of human misery on a scale unequaled in modern times. It is a story of systematic terror and military repression, of indis-criminate killing and the killing and dislocation of millions of civilians. It is a story of death and disease, of too little food and water, of fetid refugee camps without hope and a countryside stalked by famine.

And throughout it all the world has barely murmured a word.

Perhaps this is because we are con-ditioned in the world we have created to accept such su� ering and injustice. To many the plight of the Bengali people is just another link in the chain of war-ravaged populations stretching around the world in recent years.

But perhaps, Mr. President, the pub-lic is silent because it does not know.

To bring the facts more forcibly to the public’s attention, the noted British charity, OXFAM, has recently published an impressive brochure entitled ‘The Testimony of 60 on the Crisis in Bengal.’ No one who reads this document can remain unmoved or uninformed as the plight of the Bengali people.

To share this eloquent statement with Members of the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it be printed at this point in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the testi-mony was ordered to be printed in the RECORD.”

It is important to place on record that, although the US government supported Pakistan at that time, there was a huge outpouring of generosity and concern by the American people. In addition, over half a million dollars of medical supplies were donated by American companies for use in the refugee camps, and later, after Libera-tion, in Bangladesh.

In 2007, the Liberation War Muse-um brought out an English facsimile edition so that more people could learn more about the history of how this nation was formed and the pain and su� ering that was involved, and on December 16, 2009, The Daily Pro-thom Alo published a Bangla facsimile edition which has reached many more readers.

This, then, is the story of how this

historical document was prepared and why it was prepared. As someone who witnessed the very painful birth of Bangladesh, I am astonished that there are many who deny that geno-cide took place in Bangladesh in 1971. I strongly recommend that they read “The Testimony of Sixty” wherein the eye-witness accounts will bring tears to their eyes. l

Julian Francis, who was OXFAM’s Special Representative in Kolkata in 1971, was awarded the ‘Friends of Liberation War Honour’ in March 2012 by the Government of Bangladesh.

On the 43rd anniversary of the publication we publish why and how it was produced in 1971 and how Senator Edward Kennedy had it adopted by the United States Congress

The Testimony of Sixty

‘This stark tragedy is not yet understood by the world. I can tell you that not until you see it � rst-hand can you begin to understand its immensity. For only by being there can you sense the feelings and understand the plight of the people, and the forces of violence which continue to create refugee and increase the toll of civilian casualties’ – Senator Edward Kennedy, Testimony of Sixty

Romano Cagnoni gave the use of this photograph for the Testimony of Sixty. He was loath to give others of the medical and horror aspects of su� ering. “At least this picture leaves the people with some kind of dignity. Whenever I am in this sort of situation I try not to isolate the person in the photograph.” The photograph should, he says, try to show something of the culture, the sense of community that he thinks is captured here THE TESTIMONY OF SIXTY

In the camps where there was no supplementary support to the aid being given by the Indian government, the situation was much worse GENOCIDEBANGLADESH.ORG

Israel plans 1,000 settler homes in Jerusalemn Agencies

The Israeli government has said that it is advancing construction plans to build about 1,000 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem that Pal-estinians want to be part of their future state.

A government o� cial said yester-day that plans include building infra-

structure in the occupied West Bank that will be used by Palestinians as well as Israelis. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not au-thorised to talk to the media.

Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from West Jerusalem, said that about 600 additional houses will be built in Ramat Shlomo and 400 in Har Homa districts of East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians seek East Je-rusalem, home to the city’s most sensitive holy sites for Jews, Mus-lims and Christians, as their fu-ture capital and oppose any Israeli construction there.

Israel has said all of Jerusalem will forever be its capital, citing historical, religious and security reasons. But the international community, including

the US, does not recognise Israel’s an-nexation of the eastern sector of the contested city.

The housing announcement could greatly escalate tensions in East Jeru-salem, which has been the scene of vi-olent unrest for months.

According to sources, Benjamin Ne-tanyahu, Israeli prime minister, was under pressure by his right-wing co-alition partners, who are pressing for the building of the new settlements and have threatened to withdraw their support from his government.

Tensions have been high since June, when the body of three three Israeli teenage settlers were found weeks af-ter they were abducted by unidenti� ed group. Israeli groups retaliated by ab-ducting and killing a Palestinian teen-ager in East Jerusalem, spurring riots.

The abductions set o� a series of events that led to the 50-day Gaza war.

Yair Lapid, Israeli � nance minister, of the centrist Yesh Atid party issued a statement late on Sunday night oppos-ing the timing of the housing plan.

“This plan will lead to a serious cri-sis in Israel-US relations and will harm Israel’s standing in the world,” he said.

The US has condemned similar Is-raeli construction in the past.

Last week US o� cials said the Barack Obama administration reject-ed the Israeli defence minister’s re-quests to meet several top national security aides. l

Tuesday, October 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

Tunisian Islamists concede election defeat to secular partyn Reuters, Tunis

Tunisia’s Ennahda party, the � rst Isla-mist movement to secure power after the 2011 “Arab Spring” revolts, conced-ed defeat yesterday in elections that are set to make its main secular rival the strongest force in parliament.

O� cial results from Sunday’s elec-tions - the second parliamentary vote since Tunisians set o� uprisings across much of the Arab World by overthrow-ing autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali - were still to be announced.

But a senior o� cial at Ennahda, which ruled in a coalition until it was forced to make way for a caretaker gov-ernment during a political crisis at the start of this year, acknowledged defeat by the secular Nidaa Tounes party.

“We have accepted this result, and congratulate the winner Nidaa Tounes,” the o� cial, Lot� Zitoun, told Reuters. However, he repeated the par-ty’s call for a new coalition including Ennahda. “We are calling once again for the formation of a unity govern-ment in the interest of the country.”

Earlier, a party source said prelim-inary tallies showed the secular party had won 80 seats in the 217-member assembly, ahead of 67 secured by En-nahda.

One of the most secular Arab coun-tries, Tunisia has been hailed as an example of political compromise after overcoming a crisis between the sec-ular and Islamist movements and ap-proving a new constitution this year that allowed the elections. l

Brazil’s Rousse� re-elected by grateful working-classn Reuters, Sao Paulo

Despite opposition from nearly half of Brazil’s voters, leftist President Dilma Rousse� won re-election on Sunday and will have another four years to try to revive growth in a once-booming economy gone stagnant.

The 66-year-old Rousse� , who was a Marxist guerrilla in her youth, over-came growing dissatisfaction with the economy, poor public services and corruption to narrowly clinch a second term for herself and the fourth in a row for her Workers’ Party.

After a bitter, unpredictable cam-paign that pitted poorer Brazilians grateful for government anti-poverty programs against those exasperated with a stalled economy, Rousse� must now seek to continue � agship social services even as she tweaks economic policies to restore growth.

Most investors are skeptical that Rousse� can turn around the slumping economy after four years of ine� ec-tive industrial policies. Futures con-tracts for Brazil’s Bovespa stock index expiring in December fell more than 6% on Monday before the Sao Paulo stock exchange opened, while Bra-

zil’s currency slipped 3% to a nearly six-year low.

Still, Rousse� and aides consistent-ly shrug o� market pessimism as little more than tantrums by speculators. As her camp celebrated victory late on Sunday, longtime foreign policy advi-sor Marco Aurelio Garcia told reporters that investors should relax and “take tranquilizers.”

Speaking to a relieved crowd of supporters in Brasilia, the capital, Rousse� acknowledged the close race and the call for change expressed by many voters.

“I know that I am being sent back to the presidency to make the big chang-es that Brazilian society demands,” she said after winning the runo� election with 51.6% support.

Her slim, three-point margin over centrist candidate Aecio Neves came largely thanks to gains against inequal-ity and poverty since the Workers’ Par-ty � rst came to power in 2003.

Using the fruits of a commodity-fu-eled economic boom in the last decade, Brazil’s government expanded welfare programs that helped lift more than 40 million people from poverty despite the current economic woes. l

Human Rights Watch: Nigeria’s Boko Haram forces kidnapped girls into marriagen Agencies

Boko Haram has kidnapped more than 500 women and girls in recent years and is increasing the use of abduc-tions, rape, forced labor, and marriage as weapons of war, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.

New York-based HRW criticized the Nigerian government for what it called the “horri� c vulnerability” of all females in the northeast, where the extremist group operates. The report, released today, came as 30 more boys and girls in the state of Borno were kid-napped by Boko Haram, allegedly to be used as child soldiers, according to a CNN report.

The Borno abductions are the second mass kidnapping since the government announced Oct. 17 that it was negotiat-ing a cease-� re with Boko Haram that would involve the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted last spring in the town of Chibok. Yet just days after the announcement, Boko Haram insur-gents took at least 25 women and girls, dashing hopes of a deal with the gov-ernment. Talks took place secretly in Chad, according to Reuters.

The 63-page report by HRW is based on interviews with 46 victims and witnesses of Boko Haram abduc-tions, including several young women from Chibok who escaped after being grabbed at their dormitory in April. The

incident shocked the world and led to the Bring Back our Girls movement.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed more than 7,000 civilians, according to HRW. And the pace has quickened: Some 4,000 of those killings have tak-en place in the past year, and more than 2,000 resulted from 95 attacks in the � rst six months of 2014.

Last year, President Goodluck Jon-athan declared an emergency in three northeast states. The Nigerian Army went into the main cities with consider-able force at the outset of the emergen-cy, but has made little headway against the group’s guerrilla tactics and its ruth-less and indiscriminate killing sprees against civilians of every age and stripe

– young students, moderate Muslims, Christians, elderly, and females.

HRW and other watchdogs have previously documented many cases where villagers were warned by Boko Haram insurgents they were coming. When villagers informed the Army or police, the soldiers or police would of-ten disappear.

Despite the doctrinal incoherency of Boko Haram, whose members range from local thugs and unemployed gang members to madrassa students, it has repeated two clear statements of its intent in the past several years: The � rst is to create an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria’s northeast. The second is to undermine the existing government. l

Suicide bomber kills 27 militiamen in Iraq, all eyes on Kobanen Reuters, Baghdad

A suicide bomber killed at least 27 Shi’ite militiamen on the outskirts of the Iraqi town of Jurf al-Sakhar yester-day after security forces pushed Islamic State militants out of the area over the weekend, army and police sources said.

The attacker, driving a Humvee ve-hicle packed with explosives and like-ly stolen from defeated government troops, also wounded 60 Shi’ite mili-tiamen, who had helped government forces retake the town just south of the capital.

Holding Jurf al-Sakhar is critical for Iraqi security forces who � nally man-aged to drive out the Sunni insurgents after months of � ghting.

It could allow Iraqi forces to prevent the Sunni insurgents from edging closer to the capital Baghdad, sever connec-tions to their strongholds in western Anbar province, and stop them in� ltrat-ing the mainly Shi’ite Muslim south.

The group has threatened to march on Baghdad, home to special forces and thousands of Shi’ite militias ex-pected to put up � erce resistance if the capital comes under threat.

Gains against Islamic State, an al Qaeda o� shoot made up of Arab and foreign � ghters, are often fragile even with the support of US airstrikes on militant targets in Iraq and neighbour-ing Syria.

As Iraqi government soldiers and militias savored their victory and were taking photographs of Islamic State corpses on Sunday, mortar rounds � red by Islamic State � ghters who had � ed to orchards to the west rained down on Jurf al-Sakhar.

The blast hit the militiamen, killing dozens and scattering body parts, ac-cording to a Reuters witness.

The next signi� cant � ghting near Baghdad is expected to take place just to the west in the Sunni heartland An-bar province.

The town of Amriyat al-Falluja has been surrounded by Islamic State mil-itants on three sides for weeks. Secu-

rity o� cials say government forces are gearing up for an operation designed to break the siege.

Gains in the Islamic State strong-hold of Anbar could raise the morale of Iraqi troops after they collapsed in the face of a lighting advance by the insur-gents in the north in June.

No letup to the violenceIslamic State kept up the pressure on security forces on Monday, attacking soldiers, policemen and Shi’ite mili-tiamen in the town of al-Mansuriyah, northeast of Baghdad. Six members of the Iraqi security forces were killed, police said.

Kurdish peshmerga � ghters also made advances over the weekend against Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East and is determined to redraw the map of the oil-producing region.

Much attention is focused on the planned deployment of peshmerga to the besieged Syrian border town of Kobane, where fellow Kurds have been fending o� an attack by Islamic State for 40 days.

Iraqi Kurdish o� cials and a member of the Kurdish administration in Syria said the peshmerga had been due to head to Kobane via Turkey on Sunday but their departure had been post-poned.

“Until now they have not gone,” said Sinam Mohammed, the Syrian Kurdish administration’s representa-tive in Europe. “They were supposed to go yesterday. They (KRG) says we are ready to send them but I don’t know what happened. I think the problem is Turkey.”

Iraqi Kurdish forces will not engage in ground � ghting in the Syrian town of Kobane but provide artillery sup-port for fellow Kurds there, a Kurdish spokesman has said.

Islamic State � ghters have been trying to capture Kobane for over a month, pressing on despite US-led air strikes on their positions and the deaths of hundreds of their � ghters. l

Tunisian Islamists concede defeat to secular partyCompromise and coalition government still likely outcome

n Reuters, Tunis

Tunisia’s Ennahda party, the � rst Isla-mist movement to secure power after the 2011 “Arab Spring” revolts, conced-ed defeat yesterday in elections that are set to make its main secular rival the strongest force in parliament.

O� cial results from Sunday’s elec-tions - the second parliamentary vote since Tunisians set o� uprisings across much of the Arab World by overthrow-ing autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali - were still to be announced.

But a senior o� cial at Ennahda, which ruled in a coalition until it was forced to make way for a caretaker gov-ernment during a political crisis at the start of this year, acknowledged defeat by the secular Nidaa Tounes party.

“We have accepted this result, and congratulate the winner Nidaa Tounes,” the o� cial, Lot� Zitoun, told

Reuters. However, he repeated the par-ty’s call for a new coalition including Ennahda. “We are calling once again for the formation of a unity govern-ment in the interest of the country.”

Earlier, a party source said prelim-inary tallies showed the secular party had won 80 seats in the 217-mem-ber assembly, ahead of 67 secured by Ennahda.

“According to the preliminary re-sults, we are in the lead and in a com-fortable position,” one Nidaa Tounes o� cial said, without con� rming � g-ures given by the � rst source.

One of the most secular Arab coun-tries, Tunisia has been hailed as an example of political compromise after overcoming a crisis between the sec-ular and Islamist movements and ap-proving a new constitution this year that allowed the elections.

Electoral authorities were due to

give preliminary results later on Mon-day, but larger parties had observers at polling stations to oversee the initial counts, allowing them to tally results uno� cially.

Ennahda, which espouses a prag-matic form of political Islam, won Tu-nisia’s � rst free election in 2011 after Ben Ali � ed protests against corruption and repression, and went into exile in Saudi Arabia.

The party formed a coalition gov-ernment with two secular partners but had to stand aside in the crisis that erupted over the murder of two oppo-sition leaders by Islamist militants.

During campaigning Ennahda cast itself as a party that learned from its mistakes, but Nidaa Tounes appeared to have capitalised on criticism that it had mismanaged the economy and had been lax in tackling hardline Islamists. l

Ukraine leader wins pro-West mandate but wary of Russian Reuters, Kiev

Pro-Western parties will dominate Ukraine’s parliament after an election handed President Petro Poroshenko a mandate to end a separatist con� ict and steer the country further out of Russia’s orbit into Europe’s mainstream.

Poroshenko planned to start coa-lition talks yesterday after exit polls and partial results showed most of the groups that were holding up democrat-ic and legal reforms demanded by the European Union had been swept out of parliament on Sunday.

He still faces huge problems: Rus-sia is resisting moves by Kiev to one day join the European Union, a cease-� re is barely holding in the east where government forces have been � ghting pro-Russian separatists, and the econ-omy is in dire straits.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin can still in� uence events, not least as the main backer of the rebels in the east and through Moscow’s role as natural gas supplier to Ukraine and the EU.

But with his own bloc and a party led by his ally, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, running neck and neck on more than 21% support after more than a quarter of votes on party lists were counted, Poroshenko is assured of dominating parliament.

“The majority of voters were in fa-vour of the political forces that support the president’s peace plan and seek a political solution to the situation in the Donbass,” Poroshenko said soon after polls closed, referring to the region where � ghting has been heaviest in the industrialised east.

Final results from voting on par-ty lists and single-seat constituencies will not be known for days. But with a third like-minded party, Sel� elp, on 11% with 38% of votes counted, Po-roshenko can forge a strong coalition government.

The 49-year-old confectionery mag-nate is likely to continue working in close tandem with Yatseniuk, with the latter possibly staying on as prime minister to handle sensitive talks with the West on aid for the war-shattered economy. l

Rached Ghannouchi (C), leader of the Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda, gestures with his wife and two daughters at a polling station during an election in Tunisia on October 26. The party yesterday conceded defeat to its secular rival REUTERS

East Jerusalem, home to sensitive holy sites, has been the scene of violent unrest for months AFP

Tuesday, October 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World 9

T H A I L A N D ’ S F E S T I V A L O F L A N T E R N S

At least seven killed in attack on Afghanistan courtn Reuters, Kunduz

At least seven people were killed in Afghanistan yesterday when a group of Taliban militants attacked a court in the northern city of Kunduz, o� cials and police said.

Kunduz has long been a relatively peaceful city compared to other Af-ghan towns but in recent months the Taliban have been gaining ground across the province, taking advantage of a security gap left by the withdraw-

ing Nato-led forces.A suicide bomber detonated his car

loaded with explosives at the main gate of an appeals court and three more � ghters entered the building, en-gaging in a protracted gun battle with security forces, one local o� cial said.

Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, a spokes-man for the Kunduz police chief, said seven people had been killed and 10 wounded in the attack. “Six prosecu-tors and a policeman were killed and nine prosecutors and a policeman

were wounded,” Hussaini said.“Now the � ght is over. One Taliban

� ghter detonated his car loaded with explosives and three were killed by se-curity forces.”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Muja-hid claimed responsibility for the attack. It was not immediately clear why the Taliban had targeted the appeals court.

The atmosphere is tense in Afghan-istan as foreign troops leave the coun-try after more than a decade of � ghting against the Taliban. l

BJP to contest all 87 seats in Jammu & Kashmir, no pre-poll alliancen Agencies

Ruling out any pre-poll alliance in Jam-mu & Kashmir, India’s ruling party BJP yesterday said it will contest in all the 87 constituencies in the upcoming as-sembly elections.

“We won’t be entering into any pre-poll alliance with any political party as we are considering to � eld our candi-dates on all the 87 assembly constitu-encies in the state,” BJP MP and party in charge for Jammu & Kashmir Avi-

nash Rai Khanna told PTI.He said the party would soon come

out with its � rst list of candidates, as the Election Commission has an-nounced the dates for the elections.

“Focus would be on the candidates who are capable to win, those who have a clean image and who can de-liver. The party’s election committee will hold a meeting today to decide the names of the candidates,” he said.

Exuding con� dence that BJP would replicate its recent performance in

Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir, Khanna said the party will win more than 44 seats.

“We will go beyond 44 seats and form the next government in Jammu & Kashmir,” said Khanna, who presided over a function at party o� ce here.

The BJP leader said the party wants to strengthen democracy in the state and its main poll plank would be to provide corruption free governance to the people. l

Indian tribes people duped into leaving forest homes for tigersn Reuters, Bhubaneswar, India

Hundreds of tribal people in eastern In-dia have been duped out of their ances-tral forest homes by authorities in a bid to conserve the country’s endangered tiger population, the rights group Sur-vival International said yesterday.

Ninety-four families, mostly from the Khadia and Ho tribes, have been re-located from their homes deep inside the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha state, and another 124 families are due to be resettled in the coming months.

The London-based charity said there was no evidence that tribes people were causing harm to wildlife, and said many of them desperately wanted to stay in the reserve’s forests where their families have lived for generations.

Members of the Munda tribe living in what is designated as a “core area” of the reserve met with o� cials from India’s Forest Department in Septem-ber, Survival International said, having received assurances their rights would be respected.

“But the villagers reported to Sur-vival International ... that they felt ‘threatened’ and ‘cheated’ into signing an eviction document drawn up by the foresters,” the group said, adding that many tribes people did not understand the document, as it was in the Oriya

language which they could not read.The statement added that some 32

families from the Khadia tribe who were relocated in December 2013 did not have proper housing or access to forest produce which they rely on for their livelihoods, and were instead de-pendent on government handouts.

Local authorities denied the accu-sation, saying resettlement had been voluntary and that land, � nancial com-pensation and other bene� ts have been provided to a� ected communities in the reserve, which is home to 25 tigers.

“The allegation is absolutely false. Nobody can evict people forcibly. We have o� ered compensation and a host of facilities. People are coming on their own to our o� ce and express-ing their willingness to be relocated,” Anup Nayak, director of Similipal Ti-ger Reserve, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“For the conservation of tigers, the core area is to be inviolate. The core area is absolutely necessary for wildlife and for the survival of tigers.”

Despite a slew of “pro-poor” poli-cies, India’s economic boom has large-ly bypassed India’s tribes, who make up more than 8% of its 1.2 billion pop-ulation, living in remote villages and eking out a living from farming, cattle rearing and collecting and selling fruit and leaves from the forests. l

Japanese in North Korea for talks on abductionsn AP, Pyongyang, North Korea

A high-ranking Japanese delegation arrived in Pyongyang yesterday to assess the progress of a North Ko-rean investigation into the fates of Japanese citizens who were abduct-ed by North Korean agents in the 1970s and ‘80s.

The abduction issue has long been a major obstacle in the frosty ties be-tween North Korea and Japan, which have no formal diplomatic relations.

The delegation, led by Junichi Iha-ra, head of the Asia and Oceania a� airs bureau at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, is to stay in North Korea for four days. O� -cials are to discuss the issue on Tues-day and Wednesday.

In what was seen as a signi� cant breakthrough after years of stalemate, North Korea agreed in May to launch a new probe into the abductions. In exchange, Japan agreed to ease some unilateral sanctions on North Korea, though it continues to enforce sanc-tions backed by the United Nations over North Korea’s nuclear and long-range missile programs.

After initial optimism in Japan, progress in North Korea’s re-investi-gation has been slower than Tokyo had hoped.

In September, Ihara and his North Korean counterpart, Song Il Ho, held a meeting in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. Japan was hoping then to receive a preliminary report on the investigation, but none was presented.

In 2002, North Korea admitted it kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens to train spies in Japanese language and culture. Five were allowed to return to Japan the same year but North Korea said others had died or never entered the North. Japan believes hundreds more may have been abducted and some may still be alive.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the delegation is being sent to convey that the resolution of the is-sue is a high priority for Japan. He has promised not to relent until all of the abductees are returned to Japan or ac-counted for.

That could prove to be a very com-plicated and sensitive matter. l

Last international forces airlifted from key base in AfghanistanWithdrawal operation passed o� peacefully as part of a planned drawdown n Reuters, Afghanistan

A � eet of planes and helicopters airlift-ed the last US and British forces from a key base in southern Afghanistan yes-terday, a day after the international co-alition closed the massive facility and handed it over to the Afghan military.

The troops’ withdrawal and base closure in the province of Helmand is one of the largest operations in the winding down of the international combat mission in Afghanistan, 13 years after the toppling of the radical, Islamist Taliban regime.

Monday’s withdrawal operation passed o� peacefully as part of a planned drawdown, though there was a sense of deja vu among some soldiers.

“It was surreal,” said Marine com-munications o� cer Captain Anthony Nguyen, 33, of Houston, Texas.

“We’re not refugees or anything, but it kind of reminding me of scenes of Vietnam, of people running to the helicopters ... just this mad dash to the aircraft,” added Nguyen, who is Viet-namese-American.

The Nato-led international force is now shifting to a reduced role of sup-port as Afghanistan’s newly trained army and police take over the � ght against a resurgent Taliban.

Casualties among both civilians

and Afghan security forces are near all-time highs this year, with hundreds killed and wounded each month in the con� ict.

The withdrawal of the remaining US and British troops from the combined base of Camp Leatherneck and Camp Bastion was carried out over 24 hours of near-continuous � ights back and forth between Helmand and Kandahar Air Field, the aviation hub for southern Afghanistan.

For the Marines’ HMH 366 Hammer-heads helicopter squadron, which � ew on the � nal wave of the airlift Monday, there was a sense of pride in that the same unit also participated in the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq.

“It’s de� nitely a sense of history,” said Sta� Sergeant Ryan Hoover, of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Going homeFor the US Marines and British forces leaving Helmand, the airlift was the � rst stop on the way home - all of them will be � own out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, and some within days.

“It’s been a long time away - I’m looking forward to getting back to normal life ... kiss the wife and kiss the kids,” said Major Raymond Mitchell, a Marine from Rocky Moun-tain, North Carolina, who deployed

to Afghanistan in January.Helmand was a major focus of a

2010 troops surge to wrest control back from the Taliban. At its height, the Na-to-led force had some 140,000 military personnel from nearly 50 nations.

Camp Bastion and Camp Leather-neck alone once had some 40,000 mili-tary personnel and civilian contractors as the regional headquarters for the US-led international military coalition.

The Marine Expeditionary Force-Af-ghanistan is the last Marines unit in the country, while the British forces at Hel-mand were the Britain’s � nal combat troops.

By Jan. 1, there will be only 12,500 foreign forces in the country - 9,800 of them Americans - to advise and train the Afghan security forces that have been built up almost from scratch in recent years. l

Clockwise from top left: Young Buddhist monks hold candles during the festival of Yee Peng in the northern capital of Chiang Mai on October 25. People release � oating lanterns during the festival. A Buddhist monk prepares candles for the main event of the Yee Peng festival at a temple. Buddhist monks prepare candles for the main event of the festival at their temple REUTERS

British troops prepare to depart upon the end of operations for US Marines and British combat troops in Helmand REUTERS

Give the ACC more powerSunday’s acquittal of all the seven accused in the Padma Bridge

Project corruption case has been expected ever since the Anti Corruption Commission submitted its � nal report on September

14, stating that it had insu� cient evidence to prove that a conspiracy to obtain bribes had taken place.

Questions have been raised about the extent to which the ACC was able to interview suspects and use reports provided by the external panel of experts convened by the World Bank.

With three of the seven accused still facing trial on the matter in a Canadian court, debate will continue about the e� ectiveness of the ACC in following up the accusations which caused the World Bank to cancel its $1.2 billion funding for the project.

This case reiterates the importance of giving the ACC more authority, as the World Bank’s withdrawal led to a delay in this important project and cast a shadow over relations.

We believe there are two essential steps which the government must take to give the ACC the authority it needs to do its job e� ectively.

Firstly, it should be freed from political pressures. Dropping the change made last year making it mandatory for the ACC to obtain government approval for � ling cases against judges, magistrates, and public servants is vital.

Secondly, the government should act on the recommendation made by the ACC itself and supported by Transparency International that its powers should be independently set out under the constitution.

Acting quickly to empower the ACC is imperative to reduce the stigma of corruption that holds the country back.

Progress on deep sea port essential

We welcome the announcement that Dubai Port World, one of the world’s largest marine terminal operators, has responded positively to Bangladesh’s request to conduct a

feasibility study on constructing a deep sea port at Paira, Patuakhali.

Last year’s political unrest was a factor delaying talks by this company and others, including the Rotterdam Port Authority, on the government’s plans for a port at Sonadia.

If the study goes ahead, its boost for e� orts to construct a new deep sea port in Bangladesh will be the most important outcome from the prime minister’s three-day visit to the UAE.

The Dubai-based DP World which is majority-owned on behalf of the UAE government, is responsible for operating and developing many of the world’s busiest ports. Its expertise and interest is highly welcome.

Bangladesh sorely needs new deep sea port facilities to develop the economy.

Increasing the capacity and e� ciency of our ports is essential to sustain competitiveness. It should be a national priority to build a new deep sea port to meet the growing needs of our own exporters.

It is also imperative if we are to take advantage of initiatives to improve regional connectivity such as BIMSTEC and the BCIM corridor.

As things stand, competitor nations, notably Myanmar and Sri Lanka, are pushing ahead much faster with e� orts to develop their own port facilities. Bangladesh needs to catch up quickly to take better advantage of our key location between the markets of South and South East Asia.

Justice for Zubair requires respect for due processOctober 18Raisa Faiz Let’s hope the killer gets punished for the sins he committed.

SRLet us hope and pray that Zubair gets proper justice, and the investigation of this case is done thoroughly and sincerely.

Piash’s family: Shaheed Minar was not our choiceOctober 19Hasina Azam“As there have been people doing politics over his body, Piash’s family � rmly decided not to take him to the Shaheed Minar.”

I totally agree and support the decision of the family. The past is haunting us. He was an outspoken and courageous man and if we believe in freedom of speech, he is not guilty of a crime. May Allah rest his soul in peace.

‘Jamaat building militant network in South Asia’October 19JisanIt’s impossible unless Shahriar Kabir himself is now running Jamaat as its new Ameer. All Jamaat leaders are either in the dock or on the run while activists are inactive. So it might be Mr Kabir himself. No kidding.

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Strong and healthy (6)4 Mineral spring (3)7 Bury (5)8 Kind (6)11 Drink (3)12 Of the ear (4)13 Pastry item (4)15 Hooked claw (5)16 Roo� ng items (5)20 Require (4)23 Lofty (4)24 Ventilate (3)25 Wise utterance (6)26 Dialect (5)27 Was ahead (3)28 Lace hole (6)

DOWN1 Mechanical man (5)2 Mythical animal (7)3 Pale colour (4)4 Main actor (4)5 Raw hide (4)6 Land measure (3)9 Greek letter (3)10 No score (3)14 Stir violently (7)17 Resinous substance (3)18 Old cloth measure (3)19 Frozen shower (5)20 Broad (4)21 Dry (4)22 Large volume (4)24 A� ict (3)

CROSSWORD

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.

SUDOKU

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 3 represents Y so � ll Y every time the � gure 3 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appro-priate 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.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

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Getting on the listOctober 18

Snr Citizen“Every year, the university ranking is announced, and every year, frustration grips us as none of our universities get a place among the top 500.”

This is because our priorities are wrong! We have never paid any grave importance to education, and how, in the medium-term and long-term, it can help boost our economy and

society. And not even being on the subcontinent list has made us cry or try harder to be on it.

In fact, monetary allocation for R&D and other areas of scholarship has dwindled in the recent past. The recruitment of teachers, VCs, and student politics has, over the decades, created wholesale disturbance in academic pursuits. So, we shall never be on the list. It will remain a mirage for Bangladeshi universities.

De-politicisation and meritocracy, along with higher budgetary allocation, are the only recipe to be on the “list.”

ekram kabirYou should write more of these than directing a newsroom. Your newsroom actions won’t remain when you’re not here, but your writings would. Have a great one, my friend.

DP World’s interest is welcome as a new deep sea port is a national priority

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZThe Padma Bridge case reiterates the need to empower the ACC

Dreams that keep us awakeOctober 18

Mahmudul Hoque Khan DulalNice write up. It helps us to be optimistic about the future of Bangladesh. Really, we are going to be a middle-income nation very shortly under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. And, at the same time, the business- people who are working hard to make Bangladesh a leading nation in the world. Thanks to the author of this write-up, and expect more articles like this in the days to come.roseIt is indeed good news to know that Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are really making relentless e� orts to do well in their businesses, and also spending sleepless nights, and this truly shows how patriotic they are in reality.

Evil People PoliticsBangladeshi entrepreneurs are slowly transforming our country for the better.

Farewell to an inspirationOctober 18

vhs“Brac University lost one of their foremost champions with the passing away of Prof Karim.”

Excellent remembrance piece. May he RIP.

Mahboob HossainExcellent ! Every sentence is very true. I am a faculty of the Microbiology programme. Still, I often attended his classes, and each class enriched me to such an extent as if I read 10 books in an hour. He had God-gifted talent. May Allah bless him with Jannat.

Gay and (un)marriedOctober 17

Zeba BushraIt saddens me deeply to see how homophobic

most Bangladeshis are.

Bangladesh Against HomophobiaHow do lesbian women in Bangladesh deal with

the pressure to get married?

Hasan Ul MokaddesI believe we have come a long way from being

termed as brown people, and given a second-class buggy on the trains. We have established the right to education for both boys and girls. We are at the

frontier of women’s empowerment; our own prime minister is a testimony to this. So why do we think it

is okay and acceptable to deny basic rights to people, especially the right to live and be happy? How long

will we pretend to be ignorant, knowing everything? I know most people who read this comment will

disagree with me but I couldn’t care less! I am straight and I believe that if I can express my love to a person (in my case, a lady) and can be with her, it should be

applicable to one and all! It is 2014, and there are other things that society should be concerned with,

other than a person’s sexual orientation. I’ve been asked if my son comes home one day and tells me he is gay, what would I reply? Well

here is the answer: “I love him regardless. I would take a bullet for him any day, and would bring the

world at his feet if it makes him happy. So his being gay is nothing compared to that!”

To sum it up, I believe it is high time that we educate ourselves and be more accepting! I

support #equality, I believe #loveislove, I support #humanity. We don’t need an incident like

#tombridegroom to make us realise the value of love, but we do need people like Shane Britney

Crone (#shanebitneycrone) in our society.

n Alyson Hayes

On August 29, 2014, the United Nations issued a press release informing the appointment

of the Independent Expert Adviso-ry Group on the data revolution for sustainable development. According to the press release, these advisory group members will guide the sec-retary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, for closing data gaps and strengthening national statistical capacities.

As we near the end of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era, we see that identifying progress and assessing further needs rely on information. It is this data that will allow for adequate tracking, monitoring, and implementation of the goals for development. Data will provide evidence-based outlook for planning, revision, and action. Information is intrinsically linked to empowerment. Data is the foundation for informed decision making at all levels – grassroots to policy level.

It is apparent in the 15 years of MDGs that monitoring and tracking achievement has been burdened by a lack of information and knowledge. This lack of information and knowl-edge is a result of insu� cient indi-cators, inadequate methodologies, and limited data sharing and storing strategies.

The data revolution is, in fact, a true revolution. It is a transformative people-driven upheaval of traditional practices for rapid change. It is the critical need for creating momentum for the next development era movement.

There are many familiar technolo-gy-based trends in development, some formal and some informal, that source and share data, information and com-munication technology for develop-ment, mobile technology for develop-ment, innovative uses of geographic information system (GIS), social media campaigns and hacktivism, and more. The challenge lies in the e� ective collection, use, dissemination, and validation of data for real progress and real support for sustainable develop-ment initiatives.

The MDGs were directed towards the global community to galvanise and motivate positive change in various social sectors including health, educa-tion, gender equity, and food secu-rity. It was expected that developing countries would, and do, struggle in these areas. However, the MDGs also shed light on an unexpected disparity between developed and developing countries. Data and information is

insu� cient for adequate use for mon-itoring, implementation, and policy development or reform.

In response, the United Nations is developing a strategy to combat this data scarcity and gaps in data and information. They are promoting implementation and improvement of national-level statistical systems by increasing capacity, funding, and multilateral buy-in. Notably, the UN has also shared the importance of civil society engagement in this revolution for ensuring inclusive and rights-based approaches.

On World Development Information Day, we re� ected on the achievements and progress that this developing country has made to improve in-formation and communication for development and the anticipated en-gagement in the data revolution. As a nation, Bangladesh is proactive in this revolution. With the establishment of the access to information program, the prime minister’s o� ce, and the promotion of the Digital Bangladesh campaign, Bangladesh has committed to improved use of technology and information for national development.

Moreover, the Centre for Policy Dialogue has identi� ed core strategies for participation in the data revolution and mainstreaming national infor-mation and knowledge management through data generation. Basic statisti-cal concepts of availability, reliability, and accessibility are key pillars to the data revolution for Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has been tasked with the challenge for identifying the type of data to be generated for the post-2015 develop-ment goals.

It is this key assignment that will shape the ability for goal monitoring and national progress. But, it should not be the sole responsibility of this public agency. Participation in the data revolution and identifying indicators for assessing development goal pro-gress must be a collaborative initiative, with participation from all sectors.

Bangladesh, as a nation, is ready to move into the post-2015 era and has made the commitment to increase the information and knowledge capacities for improved development e� orts. Through guided and deliberate data management, evidence-based actions can be applied for the improvement of the population and result in sustaina-ble social development. l

Alyson Hayes is Associate Coordinator, Eminence Associates for Social Development, and Conference Organiser, Bangladesh Summit on Sustainable Development.

n Fahmida Zaman

If you are a politically aware citizen of the world, there are so many is-sues for you to be concerned about,

from IS to Palestine, Kobani to Hong Kong, Obama to Putin. Yet, there is one more that I would like to point out, an issue much closer to home. Perhaps you were apprehensive once, yet have forgotten all about it.

The rise of Hefazat-e-Islam last year shocked you, me, and the moderate middle class Muslims of Bangladesh, as this previously little-known organ-isation threatened to take over Dhaka and turn our country into a medie-val Islamic republic. Their 13-point demand included the enactment of an anti-blasphemy law with provision for the death penalty, exemplary punish-ment for all bloggers and others who “insult Islam,” the cancellation of the country’s women development policy, a ban on erecting sculptures in public places, and a ban on the mixing of men and women in public.

Yes, the issue was quite imperative until another “important” one took over. But this is why I would like you to take this more seriously; the rise of Hefazat has put some of Bangladesh’s unresolved issues right in our faces,

each one of them vital. Very few of them have seen any positive changes, if not been made worse.

Firstly, the majority participants of Hefazat’s activists are from madrasas, particularly from a Qawmi madra-sa background. According to many

scholars, this medium of education is signi� cantly di� erent from the mainstream Bengali and English ones. Moreover, the lack of recognition of their degrees from the state makes it harder for students coming from a Qawmi background to ensure social and economic security.

This results in rejection from better employment opportunities and the state’s negligence towards groups that

are already economically marginal-ised. This disadvantaged education system, and the negligence of the state, may therefore have provided Hefazat with the motivation to express their frustration, anger, and discontent through mobilisation.

Secondly, Hefazat rose to its current position when Bangladesh was su� er-ing from a lack of an institutionalised political system, where the ruling par-ty could manipulate state institutions in line with their interests.

For example, according to a 2013 study, along with the constitution – which has been modi� ed 15 times in 42 years – other institutions also went through extensive distortion and degeneration.

Thirdly, there is the dreadful relationship between our two major political parties, because of which, and a lack of trust between them, the main parties have appeared as elite allies of Islamists. For example, despite AL and BNP acting like enemies, they both need the support of Islamists to secure parliamentary dominance. Moreover, the ruling parties in Bangladesh have usually unleashed violence against the opposition.

For example, consecutive party governments have controlled the

administration, the judicial system, and law enforcement agencies with their party loyalists. When in o� ce, both parties have marginalised and harassed the opposition.

Fourthly, there was the manipu-lation of religion. Religion has been historically manipulated since our very independence, which has incited instability in politics, and has provid-ed Islamist groups with the prospect to emerge as prominent alternatives. They have failed to provide moral leadership, and have left space within the ideological spectrum, paving the way for Hefazat to emerge in the social and political arena. They have pro-vided Islamist groups with signi� cant political opportunities to mobilise, as well as challenge the social and politi-cal order.

Finally, we have seen the rise of ultraconservative groups around the world. The recent rise of ultraconser-vative Islamist groups, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, has caught the attention of many observ-ers. In countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Kuwait, ultraconservative groups have gained signi� cant traction and in� uence.

Following the rise and growth of these ultraconservative groups, Hefaz-

at has been provided with yet another incentive to mobilise people in order to “save Islam” from “anti-Islamic” forces.

Hefazat’s rise and growth was sudden, but not unforeseen. The hostile relationship between our two main political parties had long ago left the ideological spectrum available for Islamist political parties such as Hefazat-e-Islam to take advantage of. As the institutional weaknesses of the state prevail, and gain national and international political opportunities,

groups like Hefazat may re-emerge, with even more power.

As a politically aware person, you know that Hefazat is not just a domes-tic issue for Bangladesh, rather it is a part of the global phenomenon; and unless our political leaders come to their senses, Bangladesh’s weak institu-tions and acrimonious political culture combined with political opportunities will reinforce the forceful materialisa-tion of alternative ideologies. l

Fahmida Zaman is a freelance contributor.

11Op-Ed Tuesday, October 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Ikhtisad Ahmed

Human beings have an unwavering fondness for all things free. Businesses big and small, and the ad-vertising industry, have

used this to their bene� t for decades. This proclivity has been extended by the species to build an existence that relies heavily on freedom.

Inherent to the very being of humans, freedom is an inalienable existential right and universal moral obligation. Yet, there is evidently a school of thought that asserts that there are certain freedoms that people cannot handle, cannot be trusted with.

The chief victims of this ploy, iden-ti� ed as culprits that have no place in civilised societies, are the freedoms of speech, thought, and expression. It is expected that autocratic tendencies of governments may lead them to make and impose this baseless, unlawful claim.

For members of the populace from whom freedoms are wrestled away to put forward nonsensical arguments condescendingly to endorse this view, however, is preposterous. For anyone to suggest that he or she knows better than others, and therefore wishes to regulate speech and thought accord-ing to his or her own beliefs is a level of arrogance that has no place in the civilised world.

Freedoms of speech, thought, and expression do not promulgate lacks of respect and sensitivity. Making that correlation is an unforgivable error of

judgement on part of whosoever uses that stance to justify containment of these rights.

Freedoms cannot be conditional, for then they are not freedoms at all. Coun-tries and people either have them or they do not. In the event of the latter – and an argument can certainly be made that the legal instruments that enshrine these rights across the globe favour this – it is the duty of conscientious citizens to � ght for them, not defend the indefensible, for that contributes to the paving of the road to revisionism, extremism, and authoritarianism.

If everyone has a right to believe in what he or she pleases, everyone equally has a right not to believe in that of which he or she opts out. Exercising this right, particularly ful� lling the latter crucial element of it, is a prima facie denouncement of the rejected beliefs, and, by virtue, im-plied criticisms of them. At times the criticism can be expressed, and a small minority amongst this can range from vulgar to insensitive and o� ensive.

The solution lies not in putting constraints on thoughts, beliefs, and speech, for that entails arbitrary lines that can be shifted to suppress neces-sary dissent and oppress the populace, but in intelligent, coherent and artic-ulate rebuttals. Said lines are seldom moved to be more accommodating or tolerant, because the very reason for setting restrictions is to command and control, not promote freedom.

The world may have been a better place if everyone was respectful to a fault, if everyone agreed and lived in harmony to the end of days. This

world, however, is beautifully imper-fect. Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking cohabit with the Westboro Baptist Church and the Islamic State, and Salman Rushdie still breathes. Who does more damage to faith is a discussion that the believers prefer not to have, the same believers who all too easily forget that their higher powers do not need to be defended by mere mortals, but their righteousness can cause greater damage to mankind by

calling for the imposition of limits. Criminalising freedom of

thought, speech, and expression, and responding to disagreements with pretentious condemnation and violent acts that are criminal, are tantamount to juvenile delinquency that forsakes millennia of societal and anthropological development and evolution. Respecting all human beings, contrary to selective respect, demands a de facto respect of alternative faiths and perspectives. Homo sapiens are said to be capable of logic and reason. It behoves them, therefore, not to irrationally refuse that which makes them human.

The world went through a long, bloody struggle to overcome the Dark Ages. It would be foolishly masochistic to usher them in again by criminalising or restricting speech, thought, and enlightenment. Civilisation cannot be said to have progressed if the intolerantly barbaric nature of man is excused and exalted, rather than being curbed and corrected.

Big Brother is not needed. Gracious-ly allowing Messrs Dawkins, Hawking, and Rushdie to express themselves is a small price to pay for the people to be free. In so being, they can be expect-ed to exercise the greatest freedoms of them all: Free choice and freewill. Someone is sure to decree those being beyond the ability of man to handle soon enough. l

Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @Ikhtisad.

BIGSTOCK

Line in the sandF R O M T H E M A R G I N S

Ready for data

Freedoms of speech, thought, and expression do not promulgate lacks of respect and sensitivity. Making that correlation is an unforgivable error

There are many familiar technology-based trends in development, some formal and some informal

The data revolution is, in fact, a true revolution. It is a transformative people-driven upheaval

Hefazat’s rise and growth was sudden, but not unforeseen

For a medieval republic

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

How to Train Your DragonZee Studio, 11:40pm

Ages ago, the young Viking Hiccup lived in a village on the island of Berk. Now the town faces a prob-lem of dragons coming and de-stroying their town.

The Gods Must Be CrazyStar Movies, 7:30pm

A man from the Sho tribe in the Kala-hari Desert comes across a coke bot-tle that appears to fall from the sky.

The Big Bang Theory s7Zee Cafe, 11:30pm

Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists. But none of that genius helps them interact with people, es-pecially women.

DHAKA TRIBUNE Entertainment Tuesday, October 28, 201412

Exhibition Stones By Hamiduzzaman KhanTime: 11pm to 8pmGallery Kaya, House 20,Road 16, Sector 4

Film AnnabelleKistimaat , Amra Korbo JoyInto The StormHercules 3DTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3D, ValkyrieMost Welcome 2’Blockbuster CinemasJamuna Future Park

Welcome Back Kotter actress Marcia Strassman dies

n Entertainment Desk

US actress Marcia Strassman, best known for her roles in 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter” and 1989 � lm “Honey I Shrunk the Kids,” has died aged 66.

Strassman, who played Julie, the wife of Gabe Kaplan’s character in “Welcome Back Kotter,” had been bat-tling breast cancer for seven years.

Her sister Julie said she died at home in Sherman Oaks, California, on Friday.

Singer and actress Cher paid trib-ute to Strassman, her “funny, talented friend.” Strassman began acting as a teen in New York and in 1966 replaced Liza Minnelli in the o� -Broadway mu-sical “Best Foot Forward.”

She moved to Hollywood at 18 and her � ve-decade career encompassed numerous � lm and TV roles including nurse Margie Cutler on the � rst series of “Mash.”

She found fame with “Welcome Back Kotter,” which also gave a big break to fellow cast member John Travolta.

She also starred alongside Rick Mo-ranis in “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” and the sequel “Honey I Blew Up The Kid.” l

MILON with hands full of � lmsn Hasan Mansoor Chatak

Anisur Rahaman Milon, who is pass-ing a busy time after his leap from television to celluloid, has paired up with Moushumi for a � lm titled “Ratrir Jatri” – days before his � ick “Onek Sadher Moyna” hits the cine-mas on November 7.

Though the two actors had worked in a tele� lm called “Love Bird” be-fore, this will mark their � rst pairing on the big screen. About his expe-rience of working with Moushumi, Milon said: “De� nitely, I was excit-ed. I was enthralled by her on-screen chemistry with Salman Shah. She is such a nice person, and I’m looking forward to working with her.”

The � lm “Ratrir Jatri” centres around a woman who sets out on a journey one night. Her past life, in-cluding her struggles and escapades with her romantic interest, are shown through � ashbacks. The shooting of the � lm will start sometime in the

next month. “Onek Sadher Moina” is a remake

of “Moynamoti,” a 1969 � lm starring Kabori and Razzak. The modern ver-sion, which only borrowed its theme from the original, depicts a love trian-gle and stars Mahiya Mahi and Bappy along with Milon. It was directed by Zakir Hossain Raju.

Milon said his character in the re-make is striking in that he had to play two “antithetic” roles in it. In the � rst part of the movie, he plays a docile village boy, while in the second, he is a completely changed person.

With nine � lms in hands, four of

which awaiting release including “Onek Sadher Moyna,” “Bhalobasa Simahin,” “Prem Korbo Tomar Sathe” and � ve in production including “One Way,” “Target,” “Blackmail,” “Ratrir Jatri” and “Friendship” – Mi-lon says he wants to establish himself as an “actor-hero” capable of playing diverse roles in mainstream � lms.

The actor will � y to Nepal with the “Blackmail” team on the � rst week of November to shoot for two songs. In the � lm, he will be seem as a boxer along with Bobby and Moushumi Hamid. About the � lm, Milon said, “The story of this � lm is a contemporary one.” l

Theatre production Johny Got His Gun, adapted from American novelist and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s novel with the same title, was staged at the EMK Centre on Sunday evening. A production of Stage One Dhaka, the play is directed by Dominic Gomes KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

New TV series Tin Goyenda begins todayn Entertainment Desk

A television serial based on “Tin Goyenda” – the popular juvenile detective series books of Sheba Prokashoni – is set to begin on Maasranga TV starting today.

Featuring three friends, Kishore Pasha, Musa Aman and Robin Milford, who form a teenage detective team, the serial will be telecast at 8pm every Tuesday and Wednesday.

The key three roles will be played by Ayan, Kabya, and Badhon, who were selected from more than 3,000 teens auditioned. The top ten performers in the selection

round were shortlisted for a grooming session. The novels were adapted for television by Mazaharul

haque Pintu. Abul Hossain Khokon directed the serial which was � lmed in various locations in Cox’s Bazaar and Bandarban.

“Tin Goyenda,” as the name suggests, is the tale of three teenage detectives based in Rocky Beach, a small coastal town of California, USA. It is actually the Bengali translation of the famous English series “The Three In-vestigators” by Robert Arthur.

Rakib Hassan started this famous series and later Shamsuddin Nawab took over from him. l

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

Warda Rihab will perform a Manipuri solo dance at a show dedicated to the Indian traditional dance form in the Chayanaut Auditorium today.

The event, evocatively titled “Nupur Beje Jai,” will also feature several other performers from Dhaka and Sylhet. It will be organised by Sadhona.

Warda will perform a 25-min-ute-long dance piece titled Dashavatar, re-enacting the mythical incarnations of Lord Krishna who appeared on the earth in ten di� erent forms to save it from being destroyed.

The forms include matsya (� sh), kurma (turtle), varaha (wild boar), narashima (half man and half lion), vaman (dwarf), parshuram (man

with an axe), ram (rational man with a bow and arrow), balaram (man with a plough), buddha (enlightened man) and kalki (young man on a horse with a dagger who is yet to appear).

These eventually re� ect the evolu-tionary nature of mankind.

While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Warda said: “A performer needs to acquire adequate skills to perform this classical piece. I prepared myself for this through long hours of rehearsal.”

The two-time gold medallist from the Rabindra Bharati University further said: “Manipuri dance is part of my life, my career and obsession.”

Warda is currently involved with Chayanaut as a dance trainer as wellas with the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre. l

WARDA RIHAB on

incarnations of Lord Krishna

CAMERON DIAZ planning her weddingn Entertainment Desk

Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz has reportedly asked her boyfriend Benji Madden’s sister-in-law, Nicole Richie, to help her plan her wedding.

The 42-year-old “Other Woman” ac-tress, who recently sparked rumours she is engaged to former Good Char-lotte rocker after being spotted show-ing o� a new diamond ring at various events in Los Angeles, has turned to his stylist sister-in-law for advice, reported OK! Magazine. “Cam has never been a big fan of weddings, so she has no idea where to start,” a source said.

Diaz and Richie, who have been friends for years, have been scouting Napa Valley in northern California for the perfect venue, as she hopes to tie the knot next spring. Richie, 33, who is mar-ried to Benji’s twin brother Joel Madden, approves of the couple’s relation-ship and was the one who got them to-gether. l

‘It’s like Ocean’s Eleven meetsThe Full Monty’SHAH RUKH KHAN talks about Happy New Yearn Entertainment Desk

Shah Rukh Khan’s “Happy New Year” has shattered the re-cords of Aamir Khan’s “Dhoom 3” at the Indian box o� ce.

The musical heist drama directed by Farah Khan be-came the fastest � lm to earn Rs108.86 crore in just three days of its release while “Dhoom 3” had earned Rs107.61 crore in its opening weekend.

About the dance based � lm, SRK said: “I haven’t worked for a � lm about dance other than ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai,’ but it was interesting to add the heist angle. It’s like Ocean’s Elev-en meets The Full Monty. As a producer, making di� cult � lms is my thing, so I did it.”

The Bollywood superstar has been working relent-lessly for the few weeks to promote the “Happy New Year” whichalso features Deepika Padukone as the lead-ing lady. SRK said: “I’m the happiest while working. We have been travelling like crazy for ‘Happy New Year’; some days, I don’t even know which city I’m in or where I am going next. I’ve decided this is the best way to be. I don’t need to know much. I just want to be on the set and act. That’s my job.”

He recently agreed to do Maneesh Sharma’s “Fan” be-cause he wanted to do a cosy � lm which is intense yet commercially viable.

“As an actor, I feel that having done a big � lm, ‘Hap-py New Year,’ I wanted to do a cosy � lm which is intense and yet commercially viable. Maneesh came out of the

blue and he reminded me of a subject he had narrated eight years ago.” Shah Rukh also said that he is not sure if “Fan” will become a blockbuster hit but he would be happy to do the � lm.

“I don’t know whether the � lm (Fan) will do Rs 200 crores business or not, but I have to be in a similar state of mind as the director who wants to cast me.” l

A scene from the series ‘Tin Goyenda’

13DHAKA TRIBUNE

All-round Taijul stays modest n Mazhar Uddin

Alongside Bangladesh captain Mush-� qur Rahim, the record-breaking Taijul Islam guided the struggling Tigers to only their � fth win in Test matches as they registered a narrow three-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the third day of the � rst Test at Mirpur yesterday.

Mush� q was undefeated on 23 while the youngster was unbeaten on 15 as the hosts stuttered before eventually chasing down their target of 101 in the post-tea session. The winning runs came from Taijul’s willow, a pull shot � nding the square-leg boundary.

Taijul had a day to remember as his record haul of 8/39, the best bowling � gure in an innings by a Bangladeshi bowler and also the third best bowling � gure by a left-arm spinner, helped to dismiss Zimbabwe in their second in-nings for a paltry 114 thus paving the way for the Tigers’ � rst Test win in 18 months. This was also the second best bowling � gure in a Test match by a Ban-gladeshi bowler, just behind Enamul Haque Jr’s 12-wicket haul against the same opponents nearly a decade ago.

Typically a shy person, the 22-year old cricketer from Natore was not quite

over the moon in the post-day press conference although he had every right to be given his heroics.

“For me, winning for the team felt really good,” quipped Taijul. “Obvi-ously it feels really good. I could not do well in the last innings. I thought a lot about it and I thought that I had to do well because there is a lot of � ght in this team,” he added.

Though the bowling-friendly pitch played a vital role behind his success, Taijul informed that no matter what the wicket’s condition is, he always look to bowl in the right areas.

“No matter what kind of a wicket I am bowling on, I have to bowl in the right ar-

eas which is my main goal,” he said.Taijul surpassed the previous best

bowling � gure belonging to Shakib al Hasan who took 7/36 against New Zea-land back in 2008. The youngster stat-ed that he only came to know about the record later.

Tigers skipper Mush� q also praised Taijul’s all-round performance.

“The way Taijul has been working in the last four months, his hunger and eagerness, these are the reasons behind his success and that is why he deserves this. The support which Shakib, Jubair [Hossain] and Shahadat [Hossain] gave him also mattered. That made it easier for him,” said Mush� q. l

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

SportDid you know?

Only two other left-arm spinners have better

� gures than Taijul Islam in Tests. Rangana Herath and Johnny Briggs have returned � gures of 9 for 127 and 8 for 11, making

Taijul’s performance the third-best by a left-arm spinner in a Test innings

Zimbabwe 1st innings 240 (Sikandar Raza 51; Shakib Al Hasan 6-59)Bangladesh 1st innings 254 (Mominul Haque 53, M. Mahmudullah 63, Mush� qur Rahim 64; T. Panyangara 5-59)Zimbabwe 2nd innings:V. Sibanda c Rahim b Taijul                             14R. Chakabva c Shamsur b Taijul 10H. Masakadza b Shahadat 5S. Raza c Shakib b Taijul                               25B. Taylor not out                                       45E. Chigumbura c Shuvagata b Taijul 0C. Ervine lbw b Taijul                                  10J. Nyumbu c Rahim b Shakib                      1T. Panyangara c Shamsur b Taijul                 0T. Chatara lbw b Taijul                              4T. Kamungozi c Rahim b Taijul                     0Extras                                           0Total (all out; 35.5 overs) 114Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Sibanda), 2-24 (Ma-sakadza), 3-53(Raza), 4-58 (Chakabva), 5-58 (Chigumbura), 6-92 (Ervine), 7-93 (Nyumbu), 8-104 (Panyangara), 9-114 (Chatara), 10-114 (Kamungozi)Bowling: Shahadat 8-2-25-1, Shakib 10-2-44-1, Taijul 16.5-7-39-8, Jubair 1-0-6-0.Bangladesh 2nd innings:Tamim Iqbal c Taylor b Chigumbura 0Shamsur Rahman b Panyangara                    0Mominul Haque c and b Chigumbura    0M. Mahmudullah b Chigumbura              28Shakib Al Hasan c Nyumbu b Chatara        15Mush� qur Rahim not out                          23Shuvagata Hom c Chakabva b Chigumbura 0Shahadat Hossain c Taylor b Panyangara 11Taijul Islam not out                 15Extras (b4, w5)                                     9Total (for seven wickets; 33.3 overs) 101Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Tamim), 2-0 (Sham-sur), 0-3 (Mominul), 4-46 (Shakib), 5-62 (Mahmudullah), 6-62 (Shuvagata), 7-82 (Shahadat)Bowling: Chigumbura 10.3-4-21-4, Pa-nyangara 8-2-30-2, Chatara 8-2-34-1 (w5), Kamungozi 5-1-7-0, Raza 1-0-1-0, Nyumbu 1-0-4-0

Bangladesh won by three wickets.Toss: ZimbabweUmpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), S. Ravi (IND)TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL)Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

BD v ZIM, DAY 3

Emily seals win, series for Bangladesh n Shishir Hoque from Rajshahi

The Bangladesh football team gave the country double cause for celebration as following the cricket team’s Test vic-tory after 18 months, the footballers also bagged their � rst home win after the same duration as they defeated Sri Lanka 1-0 at the Muktijuddho Smrity Stadium in Rajshahi yesterday.

Experienced forward Jahid Hasan Emily struck the all-important goal from the spot in the second and � nal game as the hosts claimed the SS Steel Fifa international friendly series after the � rst game in Jessore ended in a 1-1 draw.

The last time Bangladesh won an international game was back in March, 2013 against the Northern Mariana Is-lands. Thanks to Emily who scored his 18th international goal in his 55th match,

the hosts recorded a much-awaited victory in front of a jam-packed crowd of nearly 30,000. The stadium in the north-western region of the country has a capacity of around 20,000 and the spectators in the overcrowded ven-ue barely settled on their seats as Emi-ly gave Bangladesh the lead in just the third minute.

The Lankans had no reply to the hosts’ dominative display as the fans present in the venue, hosting its � rst international game after 22 years, went home content after witnessing an im-pressive performance from the home side.

Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Titu replaced Mithun Chowdhury and Ariful from their previous XI and put in expatriate footballer Jamal Bhuiyan and Sohel Rana, but the best player on the pitch was without any

doubt right winger Zahid Hossain who entertained the crowd with his wide array of skills and created a couple of chances.

It took Emily less than a minute to register his � rst shot on target but his header following a Mamunul corner was cleared by Sri Lanka defender Ku-mara at the goal-line.

A minute later, Roshan brought down skipper Mamunul Islam as Emily sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to get the early lead.

The hosts’ rhythm though was slightly disrupted when talismanic mid� elder Mamunul was substituted due to a back muscle injury.

Emily had two glorious opportuni-ties to double the lead 10 minutes into the second half, but the score remained unchanged which was enough reasons for a wild celebration. l

Don’t make Taijul feel like a big player: Mush� qurn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The result was all that mattered to Ban-gladesh captain Mush� qur Rahim as he kept the three-wicket win ahead of their disastrous e� ort to chase the me-diocre target set by Zimbabwe in Mir-pur yesterday.

“If you see this from both aspects, I think this Test match win is a big deal because for a team like us, we don’t get too many wins,” said Mush� qur at the post-match conference before adding, “We lost a number of matches this year despite going so close. So we are happy that we managed to hold the nerve in this match, right till the end. We want-ed to win and overcome and that has happened.

The 26-year-old, however, looked at their scary time as a positive and said, “In the end a win is a win and we feel con� dent. Had we won this game eas-ily then there would have been a num-ber of areas regarding which we would have forgotten about. So at least now we know that we have a number of ar-eas to work on.”

The Bangladesh captain expressed

his faith in Taijul Islam, the hero be-hind their win, and urged the media not to take the 22-year-old to seventh heaven as he still has a long way to go.

“Many cricketers have performed like this in the past and he (Taijul) will perform like this in the future as well. I have one request for you all as the Bangladesh captain that when a young cricketer performs this way, please don’t do anything that makes him think that he is a big player and thinks big of himself. This is a normal thing, because he gets paid and so do I and it is our job,” said Mush� qur.

Prior to the game, Mush� qur had stated taking 20 Zimbabwean wickets will be key to a win and though his demands were met, he wasn’t happy about the batting e� ort they have been putting in.

“No doubt batting is a point we are concerned of. We were saying that we needed 20 wickets to win a Test, but I think what was more important for us was to put the runs on the board. The partnership in the top order is very im-portant, hopefully it will take place in the next match,” he said. l

Taylor proud of the e� ortn Mazhar Uddin

Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor was not upset or sad over the narrow three-wicket defeat in their � rst Test, but hailed his team’s � ghting spirit against the home side in Mirpur yes-terday. The visitors, despite setting a small target of 101 for Bangladesh, liter-ally pulled a rabbit out of the hat before the heroics from Taijul Islam saved the blushes for the hosts.

Taylor, unbeaten on 45, admitted they batted poorly and felt they were around 50 runs short in their second innings.

“We have been saying 150 would have been very interesting. But at the end of the day, we batted badly and did not deserve to win the game,” said the 28-year-old.

“Losing the match always hurts. We can be proud of the way we fought and tried to defend 100 runs but being bowled out for 114, that’s what hurts the most. We were very disappointing. The way we got out, we didn’t really show any � ght. At the end of the day, if we are not going to put runs on the board and put a prize on our wick-ets, we are not going to win too many games,” Taylor added. l

Hemanta Vincent Biswas (2L), the Bangladesh mid� elder invades the Sri Lankan territory in the second match of the SS Steel Fifa International Friendly at Rajshahi yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Record-breaking Taijul saves TigersBreak 14-match losing streak to take 1-0 lead in the series

BEST BOWLING FIGURE IN AN INNINGS FOR BANGLADESHPlayer Figure Opponent Venue YearTaijul Islam 8/39 Zimbabwe SBNS 2014Shakib al Hasan 7/36 New Zealand ZACS 2008Enamul Haque Jr 7/95 Zimbabwe BNS 2005Shahadat Hossain 6/27 South Africa SBNS 2008Enamul Haque Jr 6/45 Zimbabwe MAAS 2005Shakib al Hasan 6/59 Zimbabwe SBNS 2014 Robiul Islam 6/71 Zimbabwe Harare 2013 Sohag Gazi 6/74 West Indies SBNS 2012Mohammad Ra� que 6/77 South Africa SBNS 2003 Sohag Gazi 6/77 New Zealand ZACS 2013

n Hosts Bangladesh, who only boasted a slender 14-run � rst innings lead that was later frit-tered down to nine by Zimba-bwe following the conclusion of the second day’s play, could

not have asked for a better start in the third day of the � rst Test at Mirpur yesterday.

The home side, riding high on the heroic e� orts of young 22-year old spinner Taijul Islam, restricted the visitors to 114-all out giving Bangladesh an uncompli-cated target of 101 runs.

The Bangladesh batsmen, however, made a meal of the relatively easy target as they found themselves stuttering at 82/7, still 19 runs shy of victory with three wickets in hand.

Taijul (15 not out) though came up trumps once again as he, alongside skipper Mush� qur Rahim (23 not out), guided the Tigers to a rare three-wicket win, their � rst Test triumph in 18 months. The winning runs – a boundary through the square-leg region – came o� Taijul’s bat who earlier recorded the best bowling � g-ure in an innings by a Bangladeshi bowler. The crowd at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium started celebrating

but the Bangladesh players though will be more re-lieved than joyous as they broke the 14-match los-ing streak across all formats of cricket.

Several more feats were created and broken on an eventful day for Bangladesh cricket. Through

this victory, Bangladesh registered their � rst Test win at home after almost a decade. Other

than two victories over Nepal and Afghan-istan in the � fth edition of the ICC World Twenty20 earlier this year, this was only

Bangladesh’s third win in 2014 across all the three formats. Most of the plaudits will no

doubt be reserved for Taijul who took 8/39 to skittle Zimbabwe out in their second innings for

a lowly 114.

Resuming the third day’s play on � ve without loss, Bangladesh required early breakthroughs and Taijul pro-vided just that as the left-arm spinner dismissed both the Zimbabwe openers – Vusi Sibanda (14) and Regis Chak-abva (10).

The lad from Natore continued his demolition act throughout Zimbabwe’s second innings, maintaining a tight line and accuracy and picking up wickets just when the opposition batsmen were settling in. Zimbabwe never recovered from the carnage caused by Taijul as a hapless Brendan Taylor was unbeaten at the end on 45. The Zim-babwean skipper was the only batsman who put up any sort of assistance.

Prior to the start of the � rst of three Test matches be-tween the two teams, Taylor had said Bangladesh’s spin attack would be the main threat. His worst nightmare was realised as the Bangladesh spinners accounted for 18 of the 20 wickets.

However, with 17 wickets falling on the third day, the chase was never going to be easy for the home side. And they began their reply in the worst manner possible. The top-order – Tamim Iqbal, Shamsur Rah-man and Mominul Haque – perished without trou-bling the scorers. This was only the third instance in the 137-year of Test history that the top-order departed without a single run on the board.

The fourth-wicket pair of Shakib al Hasan (15) and Mahmudullah (28), however, calmed things down adding 46 runs. The duo though were living dangerously as both were dropped by John Nyumbu.

Bangladesh were soon in trouble, reel-ing at 62/6 after Shakib, Mahmudullah and Shuvagata Hom (nought) made their way to the dressing room.

Alongside paceman Shahadat Hossain (11) and Taijul, Mush� q en-sured that there was to be no more jitters as Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead going into the second Test in Khulna starting from November 3. lMUMIT M

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14 Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Hat-trick for Higuain, stormy win for Intern Reuters, Milan

Gonzalo Higuain burst into life by scor-ing a hat-trick in the � nal half hour, his � rst league goals of the season, to help Rafael Benitez’s erratic Napoli thrash Verona 6-2 in Serie A on Sunday.

Troubled Inter Milan scrambled a 1-0 win at Cesena thanks to a controversial � rst-half penalty and sending-o� and leaders Juventus put their European problems behind them with a comfort-able 2-0 win at home to a tame Palermo.

Elsewhere, thirty-seven-year old Antonio Di Natale scored his � fth goal of the season, an exquisite curled ef-fort, and Cyril Thereau was also on tar-get in Udinese’s 2-0 home win over At-alanta which left them joint third with Sampdoria on 16 points.

Chile forward Mauricio Pinilla missed

a second-half penalty but then scored an 84th-minute winner as Genoa beat Chievo 2-1, handing the home team’s new coach Rolando Maran a losing start.

Ex-Germany forward Miroslav Klose gave Lazio a 2-1 win over Torino in Rome, his � rst goal of the season, and Fernando Torres started on the bench,

coming on in the 80th minute, in AC Milan’s 1-1 draw at home to Fiorentina.

Seventh-placed Napoli could not have made a worse start when Emil Hallfreds-son volleyed Verona ahead in the � rst minute but Napoli responded well, took

control and were rewarded when Marek Hamsik equalised just before halftime.

The Slovakian pounced again to give Napoli a 57th-minute lead and, although Nicolas Lopez levelled, it was the cue for Higuain to spring into action. l

Nikola erupts like a volcano, Titu hails his chargesn Shishir Hoque from Rajshahi

Sri Lanka head coach Nikola Kavazovic erupted like a volcano during the post-match conference following their 1-0 defeat in the second Fifa international friendly to hosts Bangladesh in Rajshahi yesterday.

The Serbian’s one minute and 45 sec-onds stay at the press conference start-ed with good wishes for the Bangladesh side and the warm welcome for their team before Kavazovic burst in emo-tions and said, “It’s my message to all boys and girls in the world, they should stop playing football because in football, there are many corrupted evil, bad peo-ple and if they continue to play football, they will su� er in prime, like my kids.”

“So my message will be to stop to play football tomorrow immediately. Kids, go and play some other sports where you are depending your own destiny. Because in football, bad and evil and ugly and stupid people are de-ciding your destiny and you cannot do anything,” he continued,

It was assumed that a controver-sial decision from the match referee was the reason behind the fuming Sri Lankan coach. In the 27th minute of the game, Bangladesh goalkeeper Rasel

Mahmud brought down the opponent captain Sanjeewa just outside the box which looked like a straight red card, but the referee only cautioned Rasel.

The journalists present did not get any opportunity to ask any further ques-tions as Kavazovic left immediately. The Sri Lanka manager EB Anthony, howev-er, apologised for his coach’s speech and said the coach was “upset” after the loss and thus exploded in anger.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Saiful Bari Titu was a pleased coach and was hap-py with the “entertaining” performance that his charges staged. He refused to comment on his counterpart and rather credited his players for the result.

However, he also said, “Coaches are never satis� ed (with the result). I would have been happier had the result been 2-0 or 3-0, but I respect the e� ort of the players.”

“We didn’t get as many open scoring chances as we got in Jessore. The goal came from a penalty, one of Emily’s headers went just wide o� the target. Sohel’s kick was blocked. We played according to plans, the end result, the goals were not many,” he added.

He hailed his winger Zahid and striker Emily and at the same time expressed of grooming more strikers for the future. l

Bayern drop points at plucky Gladbachn AFP, Berlin

Leaders Bayern Munich dropped their � rst Bundesliga points for over a month after being held to a goalless draw at second-placed Borussia Moenchengla-dbach in Sunday’s high-tempo clash.

Gladbach threatened to in� ict a � rst defeat of the season on Pep Guardiola’s Bavarians despite less than 30 percent possession.

The hosts’ tactics were to soak up Bayern’s pressure and hit the league leaders on the counter in an intense game and it nearly paid o� .

Earlier, VfL Wolfsburg moved up to third after in� icting Mainz’s � rst defeat of the season on their guests with a 3-0 win. Goals by Naldo, Ivan Perisic and Daniel Caliguri gave the hosts the three points. l

South Africa captain Meyiwa shot deadn AFP, Johannesburg

South Africa and Orlando Pirates cap-tain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead late Sunday near Johannes-burg, a police spokesman told AFP, with club o� cials describing his slay-ing as a “loss to the nation”.

Lieutenant-General Solomon Mak-gale said Meyiwa, 27, was gunned down at a house in Vosloorus, a township about 30 kilometres south of the city, and de-clared dead on admission to hospital.

Police later said there were seven people inside the house, including Meyiwa, when two suspects entered and another remained outside.

Makgale said that the motive behind the attack remained unclear

The incident happened at around 2000 SA time (1800 GMT) in Vosloorus township, added police who did not comment on some media reports that the shooting was sparked by a row over a mobile phone.

Pirates, one of the most popular and successful South African football clubs, also con� rmed that the player had been killed.

“@Orlando_Pirates family has learned with sadness of the untimely death of our number 1 keeper & captain Senzo Meyiwa,” the club tweeted. l

Van Gaal unhappy with ‘stupid’ Van Persien AFP, Manchester

Louis van Gaal labelled compatriot Robin van Persie “stupid” after his celebrations in scoring a dramatic late equaliser for Manchester United in their 1-1 draw at home to Premier League leaders Chelsea saw the experi-enced Dutch striker booked. 

Van Gaal looked on course to fall to a defeat against Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who worked under him for three years at Barcelona, until van Persie struck in the 94th minute at Old Tra� ord on Sunday.

But while van Gaal was obviously re-lieved to have secured what he felt was a deserved point, he was not so impressed with his star forward’s response in cele-brating the dramatic goal.

“You have seen a stupid reaction after the goal,” said van Gaal. “You can be ex-cited but you don’t have to pull your shirt o� . Then you have a yellow card, that is not so smart. But yes, we deserved a point. Mourinho knows that also. 

“I said to the boys, it wasn’t our best performance and that’s a pity because in

these moments you have to show your-self against the better teams,” the veter-an Dutch manager added of a result that left his side 10 points behind Chelsea.

Van Persie was one of nine players booked during the match, a surpris-ingly high � gure given the non-violent nature of the contest, to go with Bran-islav Ivanovic’s red card, for a second yellow, after his foul on Angel di Maria led to the free-kick that presented van Persie with his chance to equalise.

And the performance of referee Phil Dowd certainly irritated Mourinho, al-though the Chelsea manager was care-ful not to make direct criticism for fear of falling foul of Football Association disciplinary procedures.

 “I did � ve interviews and in all � ve, the � rst question was my comments on the referee,” he explained. “I told them, my comment is that when � ve ask me the same thing, I don’t need to answer.

“I prefer not to speak about the (Iva-novic) second yellow card because if I have to speak about the second yel-low card then I have to start in the � rst half,” the Portuguese manager added.

“I have to go through many things that happened in the � rst half -- the penalty on Ivanovic, the accumulation of yellow cards, the fouls he (Dowd) was not giving, the throw-ins just in front of me and he and the linesman kept giving them in the other direction.

“Chelsea was fantastic and even in these circumstances then even more credit for my players. The result is not the result we came for. We came to win and we showed that from the � rst minute. The performance is always fantastic, the result not so good, but acceptable,” said Mourinho, whose team now lead sec-ond-placed Southampton by four points.

United will not have long to rest on their laurels with a visit to Eastlands for the Manchester derby against reigning English champions City next weekend and van Gaal does not know how his team will respond to a creditable per-formance against Chelsea.

“You cannot predict,” he said. “But I am a crazy coach and I said to the play-ers after the match, normally you have to play your best against the best teams but we did not do that today. l

A big section of crowd watch the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match while many witness from the adjacent rooftop at Rajshahi’s Muktijuddho Smrity Stadium yesterday SHISHIR HOQUE

Lyon end Marseille win streakn AFP, Paris

Lyon snapped Marseille’s eight-game winning streak on Sunday thanks to a second half goal from Yoann Gourcu� which threw the Ligue 1 title race wide open. 

The hard-fought 1-0 win at the Stade Gerland was harsh on Marcelo Bielsa’s men, who dominated for large periods of the second half but were caught out by a counter-attack with 25 minutes left. 

Marseille saw their lead at the top reduced to four points over defend-ing champions Paris Saint-Germain, who brushed aside Bordeaux 3-0 on Saturday, while Lyon move ahead of Saint-Etienne into third on goal di� er-ence with both sides � ve points adrift. 

Nantes are alone in � fth, and six back, after the Canaries won 2-0 at sec-ond-from-bottom Evian on Saturday. 

The last time Marseille reached eight victories in a row, it was Lyon

who broke their streak back in 1998. Gourcu� scored the crucial goal on

65 minutes, against the run of the play, when Lyon completely split open the Marseille rearguard. Alexandre Laca-zette picked up the ball on the left � ank and found Gourcu� in acres of space just outside the box and the former Bordeaux playmaker was able to tee up his shot before � ring past Steve Man-danda into the roof of the goal. l

Sevilla go top, Atletico win n AFP, Madrid

Sevilla moved joint top of La Liga alongside Barcelona as two late goals from Denis Suarez and Carlos Bacca gave them a 2-1 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

Champions Atletico Madrid also moved to within two pointes of the leaders as they were 1-0 victors at 10-man Getafe thanks to Mario Mandzu-kic’s � rst-half goal.

Villarreal seemed set to take all three points when substitute Luciano Vietto clipped home Cani’s pass to open the scoring 11 minutes from time.

However, Suarez slotted home a loose ball inside the area two minutes from time and Bacca converted from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time after Giovani Dos Santos had up-

ended Benoit Tremoulinas.Atletico made it three wins and

three clean sheets in a week as they won a bad-tempered Madrid derby at Getafe.

The visitors were the better side in the opening 45 minutes but had been largely restricted to shots from dis-tance as Vicente Guaita saved from An-toine Griezmann and Raul Garcia. l

Mystery over Villa’s Australian stint n AFP, Sydney

Spanish star David Villa is leaving Australia this week just four matches into an expected 10-game loan stint with Melbourne City.

While the club has not revealed the reasons for Villa’s early departure back to New York City, a combination of football, family and marketing reasons are thought to be behind his exit.

Villa’s family has been settling in the United States while he plays in Mel-bourne. New York City FC, who like Mel-bourne City are owned by English cham-pions Manchester City, are meanwhile expecting him to ful� l promotional obli-gations before the start in March of the US Major League Soccer season.

John Aloisi, who preceded John van`t Schip as coach of Melbourne City, said the reasons for the World Cup win-ner’s departure remained unclear. l

BUNDESLIGAVfL Wolfsburg 3-0 Mainz 05Naldo 15, Perisic 59,Caligiuri 87

M’gladbach 0-0 Bayern Munich

LIGUE 1Rennes 2-0 Lille Habibou 46, Doucoure 54

Saint-Etienne 1-0 MetzGradel 74

Guingamp 2-7 Nice Beauvue 8, Carlos Eduardo 12,Schwartz 70 26, 43, 50, 64, Plea 45+1, Bautheac 72

Lyon 1-0 MarseilleGourcu� 65

LA LIGAMalaga 4-0 Rayo VallecanoSamuel 6 Darder 21,Juanmi 45, Amrabat 49-P

Espanyol 0-0 DeportivoSevilla 2-1 Villarreal Suarez 88, Bacca 93-P Vietto 79

Getafe 0-1 Atletico Madrid Mandzukic 40

SERIE ACesena 0-1 Inter Milan Icardi 32-pen

Lazio 2-1 Torino Biglia 15, Klose 60 Farnerud 53

Napoli 6-2 Verona Hamsik 44, 58, Halfredsson 1, Higuain 68, 84, 90+1-pen, Lopez 66Callejon 76

AC Milan 1-1 Fiorentina De Jong 25 Ilicic 64

Olympique Lyon mid� elder Yoann Gourcu� (R) shoots to score against Olympique Marseille during their French Ligue 1 match at the Gerland stadium in Lyon on Sunday REUTERS

Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain celebrates his third goal against Verona on Sunday

Senzo Meyiwa

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 15

Murray outlasts Robredo in tense � nal to win Valencia titlen AFP, Valencia

Andy Murray saved � ve match points to win his third title in the past month by beating Tommy Robredo 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (10/8) in a marathon Valencia Open � nal on Sunday.

Murray had also saved � ve match points to beat Robredo in the � nal in Shenzhen last month, but appeared to be su� ering from the exertions of play-ing his 20th match in 28 days when he dropped the � rst set.

However, the Scot somehow ground out the victory as he saved match points in both tie-breaks in the second and third sets to seal his 31st career title in the longest ATP � nal of the year after three hours and 19 minutes.

Victory is also a huge boost to Mur-ray’s hopes of making the ATP World Tour � nals as he moves up to � fth in the Race to London standings with just the Paris Masters next week to come.

“Unbelievable match, (he’s a) great � ghter,” said an exhausted Murray.

“He’s 32 now and in unbelievable shape, he’s still improving. I don’t know what else to say, but I have a lot

of respect for you and I’m sorry about today.”

Robredo, meanwhile, paid tribute to Murray’s never say die attitude.

“He is so tough, he has more lives than a cat. Players like him don’t gift you anything, to beat them you have to play a spectacular match,” said the

world number 21. Robredo seemed on course for his � rst title in 15 months as he broke a seemingly shattered Murray twice to take the � rst set.

Murray responded by breaking at the start of the second, but Robredo broke back to level at 4-4 and take it into a tie-break. l

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Star Sports 27:30PMIndian Super LeagueChennai v Mumbai1:45AMItalian Serie ASassuolo v Empoli

DAY’S WATCH

BD v ZIM, 1ST TEST IN NUMBERS

8/39 Taijul Islam’s � gures during Zimbabwe’s

second innings, the best ever for a Bangladesh bowler in Tests. The previous record, which stood for six years, was held by Shakib Al Hasan, who had taken 7 for 36 against New Zealand in Chittagong.

1 Number of international games that Bangladesh have won against

any Full Member in 2014. Their only other victories in 2014 have come in T20Is against Nepal and Afghanistan.

6 2 Number of years since the top three batsmen have all scored

ducks in a Test innings. Tamim Iqbal, Shamsur Rahman and Mominul Haque scored ducks during Ban-gladesh’s second innings. The only other teams to have su� ered this fate are Australia and India, in 1888 and 1952 respectively.

5 Number of times that a team has lost three wickets without

scoring a run in a Test innings. Apart from Bangladesh today, India, Pakistan, Australia and Zimbabwe have also found themselves in such a situation.

2 Number of left-arm spinners who have better � gures than Taijul

Islam in Tests. Rangana Herath and Johnny Briggs have returned � gures of 9 for 127 and 8 for 11, making Tai-jul’s performance the third-best by a left-arm spinner in a Test innings.

4 Number of wickets taken by Elton Chigumbura during the

fourth innings. His � gures of 4 for 21 are the second-best by a pacer in the fourth innings of a Test in Bangla-desh. Only Tino Best has taken � ve wickets.

17 Number of wickets to fall on the third day - seven Bangla-

desh wickets and ten Zimbabwe wickets. The most wickets to fall in a single day during a Test match played in Bangladesh is 18 - on the third day of the Test between South Africa and Bangladesh, at Dhaka, in 2003.

2 Number of Tests Bangladesh have won in the last � ve years,

the fewest for any team. Bangladesh have played 25 Tests in this period. Zimbabwe, who have won the next fewest, have won three of their 12 Tests in this period.

16 Number of wickets taken by Bangladesh’s left-arm

spinners - seven by Shakib and nine by Taijul. This is the second-most wickets taken by left-arm spinners from one team in a Test. The most wickets by left-arm spin is 17, by England, against India, in 1934.

3 Number of wickets by which Bangladesh won. This is the

joint-smallest margin of victory, in terms of wickets, for a Test match in Bangladesh. Bangladesh have pre-viously lost at home to New Zealand and Australia by three wickets.

5 Number of double-wicket maidens bowled by Zimbabwe

bowlers in 2013 and 2014, in eight Tests. Elton Chigumbura bowled one today, dismissing Mahmudullah and Shuvagata Hom. From 2001 to 2012 Zimbabwe played 39 Tests, and their bowlers only bowled four dou-ble-wicket maidens in that period.

Rain ends NZ-SA third ODIn AFP, Hamilton

The third one-day international be-tween New Zealand and South Africa was abandoned on Monday after heavy rain forced the players from the � eld.

South Africa, batting � rst, were 157-3 in the 31st over when the rain began in Hamilton and the match was o� cially called o� three hours later with no sign of the weather clearing. Quinton de Kock was not out 80 with captain AB de Villiers on 33 while Matt Henry took two for 40 o� eight overs for New Zealand. l

BHF clears Rana, Bansal set to be new coachn Raihan Mahmood

The Bangladesh Hockey Federation withdrew the suspension of mid� elder Quamruzzaman Rana in a governing body meeting yesterday. The meeting also decided to appoint Indian coach Ajay Kumar Bansal as the new Bangla-desh coach for three months provided he accepts all the terms and conditions.

The hockey federation last year in November suspended Russel Mahmud Jimmy, Zahid Hossain and Imran Hasan Pintu from the national side for three years and banned the trio from hock-ey activities for two seasons. Rana was suspended for two years from the na-tional team and banned from the local arena for a season. All the four players appealed to the federatiom for clemency and the federation responded by with-drawing their bans gradually. Rana was the � rst player to see his ban withdrawn.

Hockey federation general secretary Khwaja Rahamatullah con� rmed the development. “We accepted the work-ing committee’s recommendation,” said Rahamatullah. As far as Bansal is concerned, Rahmatullah said the Indi-an coach’s � rst assignment will be the World Hockey League Round 2.

It is mentionable that Bansal last year asked for a salary worth $3500 per month when the federation was look-ing for a coach.

Bansal guided the Indian youth team to the Junior Asia Cup title in 2008 and was at the helm of the national team during the 2008 Azlan Shah Cup where India � nished runners-up. Many of the current Indian hockey players includ-ing Dilip Tirkey and Deepak Thakur are his disciples. He also won the title of the Premier Hockey League with Orissa Steelers. l

Federer targets number one spotn AFP, Paris

Roger Federer is taking his battle with Novak Djokovic for the world number one spot down to the wire as he arrives at the Paris Masters, which begins on Monday as the hottest player on Tour. 

While the � ght for the top place go-ing to the � nal tournaments of the sea-son, there is also a sub-plot set to un-ravel with the newly refurbished Bercy Arena set to determine the � nal eight places for London. 

The Swiss 17-time Grand Slam win-ner won his 82nd career tournament and sixth title at Basel on Sunday, ex-tending his winning streak to 12 match-es and record for the year to a Tour best of 66 wins against 10 defeats. 

Djokovic has been absent in recent weeks after his wife gave birth to their � rst child, a boy named Stefan last week, while his lead over Federer has

been slashed to fewer than 500 points with 2,500 up for grabs at Paris and the season-ending World Tour Finals in London. 

On top of that, the 33-year-old can also pick up further points when he plays the Davis Cup � nal for Switzer-land against France which begins on November 21 in Lille. 

“It would be very special to reclaim number one,” said Federer.

“World No. 1 is what it’s all about in our game and with the year I have had and the amount of � nals I have played, the level of tennis I have played, I am pleased to see that I have a shot.

“But having a shot and being there are two separate things. I am sure that Novak is going to come in very motivat-ed, just after having become a father. I am very happy for him. There are clear-ly interesting weeks ahead.”

World number three Rafael Nadal is

out for the season as he gets set to have an appendix operation while Swiss number two Stan Wawrinka is guar-anteed his place in London and Croat Marin Cilic, ranked seven, quali� es au-tomatically as US Open champion. 

British two-time Grand Slam win-ner Andy Murray has also hit top form coming to Paris and outlasted Spaniard Tommy Robredo on Sunday, saving � ve match points on the way to his third win of the season in 3 hours 20 min-utes, the longest ATP � nal of the year. 

The victory for the 27-year-old Scot was his 20th match in � ve weeks, but lifted him into � fth in the race to Lon-don, ahead of Japan’s Kei Nishiko-ri,  Czech Republic’s Thomas Berdych and David Ferrer of Spain.

Canada’s Milos Raonic, a beaten quarter-� nalist against rising Belgian star David Go� n at Basel, and the play-er Federer defeated in straight sets in

the � nal, needs a strong showing com-ing in at ten, while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov is also in the running, starting the week at number 11.

Federer has had a superb season and will now be looking to get his extended family installed in the French capital as well as recovering from his e� orts in Basel where he won a sixth title. 

“That’s actually the goal for the next day or two,” said the father of two sets of twins. “It’s not a small job,” said Fed-erer who has won three of his past four tournaments.

“I’m looking forward to Paris, I en-joy playing there,” added 2011 winner Federer who lost a year ago to Djokovic in the semi-� nals.

“I played well last year so let’s see how it’s gonna go. I play probably on Wednesday (after a bye). I might be a little tired but there’s still an opportu-nity to recover once we get in the city. l

British’s Andy Murray celebrates spraying champagne after beating Spain’s Tommy Robredo at the ATP Valencia tennis Open on Sunday AFP

Switzerland tennis player Roger Federer poses together with the tournament’s ball boys and girls as they eat pizza, after he won his � nal match against Belgium’s David Go� n at the Swiss Indoors ATP tennis tournament in Basel on Sunday REUTERS

Pakistan defeat puts � re in Australian belliesn Reuters

Australia captain Michael Clarke said his team would be � red up by defeat in the � rst test against Pakistan but clear-ly needed to improve in all facets of the game to square the series later this week.

The defeat by 221 runs in Dubai on Sunday was Australia’s second in � ve tests this year, a run which included the last victory in their 5-0 home Ashes tri-umph and their 2-1 series win in South Africa.

“Any time we lose a game it breeds � re in your belly, you don’t like losing,” Clarke told reporters in Dubai.

“Australians in general don’t like losing so we’ve got a couple of days to prepare as well as we can and we’ll look forward to that second test match.

“Pakistan deserve a lot of credit for the way they played over the full � ve days. But we know we can play a lot better and we look forward to showing that in the second test match.”

Clarke said he had been proud of the de� ance Steve Smith (55) and Mitchell Johnson (61) showed on the � nal day, which Australia started on 59 for four

chasing 438 for an improbable victory.“I’m obviously very disappointed

with the result but really impressed by the way Steve Smith and Mitchell John-son in particular showed a lot of grit to-day,” he added.

“They fought their backsides o� and that’s part of the Australian way, I guess, we weren’t going to turn up here and throw our wickets away. We were going to � ght really hard and I think those two played really well in tough conditions.”

That said, Clarke was clear that a big improvement was required if Australia were to get back to winning ways in the second test, which starts in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

“We were outplayed in all three fac-ets of the game, our � elding wasn’t as good as it needs to be,” he said.

“I think we’ve got to keep trying to � nd a way to take wickets, keep looking at footage of Pakistan players.

“I think we can know their players a little bit better. But it’s about execu-tion, it doesn’t matter how much infor-mation you have, if you don’t execute, you are not going to get the rewards.” l

EWU Intra Soccer � nal todayn Tribune Desk

The quarter-� nal line-up of the East West University Intra Soccer Championship was sealed yesterday. Department of So-cial Relations, Department of Electron-ics and Communications Engineering, Department of Pharmacy, Department of Economics, Department of Comput-er Science & Engineering, MBA and two teams from the Department of Business Administration con� rmed their prog-ress in the nine-a-side tournament at the Army Museum Field in Bijoy Sharani.

Hat-trick hero Joy Clive of Depart-ment of Business Administration was the stand out performer on the penulti-mate day that saw 24 goals scored from seven matches. l

Channel 24 exult with the Pepsi-Dru Cricket title with ICC President AHM Mustafa Kamal after beating Jamuna TV yesterday COURTESY

Anamul in, Al Amin out for 2nd Testn Tribune Desk

Top-order batsman Anamul Haque Bijoy was included while paceman Al Amin Hossain was omitted from the Bangladesh squad announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday for the second Test against Zimbabwe scheduled for November 3 in Khulna.

Squad: Mush� qur Rahim (captain, wk),Tamim Iqbal (vice captain), Shakib al Hasan, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Rubel Hossain, Shuvagata Hom, Mahmudullah, Sha� ul Islam, Jubair Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Marshal Ayub, Taijul Islam, Anamul Haque. l

An action from the match between ECE and Dept of Pharmacy in the EWU Intra Soccer Championship at the Army Museum Field yesterday COURTESY

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Confusion over child disappearance n Manik Miazee

The grandmother of a 13-year-old boy facing ransom demands for him is not sure whether he had been abducted or had gone missing.

Su� a Begum, Biplob’s grandmoth-er, said Biplop had gone missing from Dhaka Medical College and Hospital on October 23.

On October 24, Su� a � led a general diary with Shahbagh police station.

“For the last two days, I have been receiving anonymous calls, with the caller asking for a ransom of Tk20,000 for my grandson’s release,” she said.

Sub-Inspector of Shahbagh police station Anwarul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune he was not aware of Su� a get-ting calls to pay ransom.

“She only � led a general diary, claim-ing that her grandson was missing. The information was sent to every police station across the country,” he added. l

Prototype paper test can detect Ebola strainsn BBC

A DNA-programmed blot-ting paper could soon be giving doctors a simple dis-ease test that will reveal an infection in 30 minutes for just a few pence.

Researchers have proved the technique works by de-veloping a prototype Ebola test in just 12 hours, and us-ing just $20 of materials.

The smart diagnostics use a soup of biological in-gredients including the ge-netic material RNA.

The researchers say this can be freeze-dried and pre-served on ordinary paper.

Team leader Jim Collins, who has joint appointments at Boston and Harvard Uni-versities, says the biological powder can be reactivated by simply adding water, like living powdered soup.

“We were surprised at how well these materials worked after being freeze dried,” he told the BBC.

“Once they’re rehydrat-ed, these biological circuits function in these small pa-per disks as if they were in-side a living cell.”

The genetic test kit gives a simple colour output, turn-ing the paper from yellow to purple, with the change vis-ible within half an hour. By changing the input trigger, variants of the test could be used to reveal antibiotic re-sistance genes in bacterial infections or biomarkers of other disease conditions.

Their Ebola test is not suitable for use in the epi-demic areas at the moment, Collins emphasises, but it would be simple to devise one that is.

The arrays of pro-grammed paper dots would be easy to mass produce. Lingchong You envisions an “entire fabrication pro-cess carried out by com-puter-aided circuit design, robotics-mediated assem-bly of circuits, and printing onto paper.”

And price is not the only consideration. Collins points out the freeze-dried circuits are stable at room temperature. In large parts of the world where electric-ity is unreliable, or there are no refrigerators, this would be a particular advantage. l

‘Restraining child marriage still a challenge’Draft of law to restrain child marriage to be � nalised soon, state minister saysn Abid Azad

A 13-year-old girl from Char Kharua vil-lage in Lalmonirhat, a northern Bangla-desh district, came to attend the Bang-ladesh Girl Summit 2014 in the capital yesterday, where she recounted her bit-ter experience of being forced to marry.

Sharing her story during a session of life story telling at the event, she said she was forced to sign a paper by Abdur Rahim, a 35-year-old man.

“He threatened to harm my family if I refused,” she said.

Later, she learnt that it was a mar-riage contract, and after a month she was freed from the marriage with the help a local journalist and police.

“I want to continue my education and become a lawyer, so that I can help people and also prevent child mar-riage,” she said while addressing the event.

“Child marriage is still a big chal-lenge for our country, as di� erent sta-tistics indicate. Most importantly, child marriage is one of the barriers against women empowerment,” said Meher Afroz Chumki, state minister for wom-en and children a� airs, while address-ing the summit as chief guest.

According to data on child marriage collected by Brac, Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia at 65% and ranks fourth in the world for the prevalence of the prac-tice.

“Here, we all know about the ill ef-fects of child marriage, but the message has yet to reach everyone in the coun-try,” she said.

The state minister also said the draft of Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 was soon to be � nalised.

“As per the new law, adult persons, both male or female, who will marry a minor boy or girl, the persons who will register child marriage, the parents or

guardians who will force their children or fail to prevent child marriage, and the o� cials who will issue false certif-icates will be brought to justice,” she said.

Any kinds of a� davits to prove the age would not be acceptable for mar-riage registration, she added.

“The act will not only ensure pun-ishment, but will help us take all nec-essary steps to prevent child marriage,” she said.

Lynne Featherstone, MP, UK parlia-mentary under secretary of state for

international development and special guest at the event, said: “Many people a� ected by child, early and forced mar-riage, by domestic violence, sexual vio-lence and other forms of violence, stay silent about what is happening to them out of fear or shame.”

To the victims of such violence, she said: “You do not deserve this, you are not to blame, and you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

She further said: “Actions must speak louder than words. Our commit-ments to eliminate child marriage and

all forms of violence must become a re-ality, in Bangladesh, in the UK and in all other countries.

“The future is not � xed. Together, if we raise our voices loud enough, we can build a better world for girls and a better world for everyone.” she said.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of Brac, said: “Many fe-male children drop out of secondary and higher secondary education due to child marriage. In many countries, peo-ple still believe that women are burden on their families. We need to come out

of such mindsets.”The day-long event, organised by

the Ministry of Women and Children A� airs, Brac and the UKAID, was also adressed by Hasina Newaaz, senior vice-president of Bangladesh Women Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Milee Biswas, deputy inspector general of Bangladesh Police, Golam Sarwar, editor of the Daily Samakal, and Ayesha Khanam, president of Bangladesh Ma-hila Parishad, all of whom declared their pledge against child marriage in the country. l

Muhith: Landlord rules relaxed under political pressuren Tribune Report

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the government had relaxed the house-rent collection guidelines because of political pressure, relieving landlords of added book-keeping requirements.

“They [political people] unitedly opposed my earlier stance. So I have shifted a little from my stance; but I will de� nitely implement the provi-sion from next year,” the minister told reporters yesterday at his secretariat o� ce after a meeting with British Par-liamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development Lynne Featherstone.

Featherstone arrived in Dhaka yes-terday on a three-day visit.

Muhith said the British o� cial em-phasised expanding the tax net; but it did not mean the UK would reduce aid to Bangladesh.

“A survey on the taxpayers across the country is already complete and it shows that the number has come down from 2 million to 1.3 million. As a result, the revenue-GDP ratio may be signi� -cantly less than the previous year,” the minister said.

Featherstone said: “Without money, the government will not be able to sup-port people in di� erent sectors such as education, health and other services and the country’s development. As a result, the number of the taxpayers in country must be increased to raise gov-ernment income.”

On July 22, the National Board of Revenue issued guidelines making it mandatory for householders, including individuals, companies, � rms or other organisations, to maintain a register and a separate bank account for house rent collection.

With e� ect from July 1, the measure was supposed to apply to house-own-ers having monthly aggregate income above Tk25,000 from house rents. l

Man critically injured after ex-wife pours hot water on him n Tazlina Zamila Khan

A woman allegedly poured boiled wa-ter on her former husband’s body while he was asleep in bed early yesterday.

The victim was Moktar Hossain, 38, who lives with his two children – Ratri and Bijoy - at Rupnagar in Mirpur of the capital.

Moktar, a garment waste trader who hails from Narayanganj, rented the drawing room of the � at to anoth-er family, who � rst heard his screams. He was taken to the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Mysterious entry to flatThe victim’s brother Amir Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune Josna, who Moktar divorced 10 years ago in the wake of family con� icts, often visits her former husband and get into quarrels.

“My brother did not like Josna’s vis-its and told her many times not to come but she kept doing so,” said Amir.

“Josna came to the house around 10pm on Sunday and asked my brother to let her stay the night with the chil-dren. However, my brother did not let her in and slammed the door in her face,” he said.

It was not clear how Josna got in but Amir claimed the 30-year-old woman poured boiling water on Moktar when he was in deep sleep around 5:30am yesterday and left the scene at once.

Moktar’s son Bijoy said Josna stayed with him at night but could not say who allowed her inside.

45% burntMoktar sustained severe burn injuries in the upper part of his body and also in the face.

Partha Shankar Paul, resident doctor of the DMCH burn unit, said his condi-tion was critical.

“Around 45% of the body was burnt badly. His eyes are also in serious con-dition,” he said.

Murder threatsAmir told the Dhaka Tribune that Jos-na threatened four days ago that she would kill Moktar within the next � ve days.

“She demanded Tk5 lakh from my brother many times but he refused to pay. She also got into disputes with my brother on the road many times in the past,” he said.

Moktar’s sister Shahida said Josna pulled the collar of her brother in broad daylight on the street � ve months ago.

“She said many times that she would keep visiting my brother to see the children until she was paid a large sum,” she added.

O� cer-in-Charge of Rupnagar po-lice station Shikdar Mohammad Sham-im Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune a case was lodged against Josna.

“We sent a team to the hospital to collect all the necessary information. We are also trying to detain the accused but she is on the run,” added Shamim. l

Guests and speakers at the closing ceremony of Bangladesh Girl Summit 2014 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Moktar Hossain receives treatment at the Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

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

www.dhakatribune.com/business TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

B3 Sri Lanka businessmen keen to invest in Bangladesh

B4 Rousse� will struggle to restore Brazil’s economic good times

Bangladesh wins ITU electionPalak: The victory will help the country attract investment

Massive reshu� e in � eld level tax o� ces n Tribune Report

The National Board of Reve-nue yesterday brought about a massive change to its in-come tax � eld o� ces across the country in a bid to bring administrative dynamism for achieving its revenue target set for the current � scal year.

In separate three orders, the board has transferred 27 of its o� cials, including pro-moting three from addition-al tax commissioners to tax commissioners, o� cials said.

Of those o� cials trans-fered, twenty four were com-missioners of di� erent � eld

o� ces and three additional commissioners of income tax administration, according to the orders signed by the NBR second secretary (tax admin-istration 1) Selina Khatun.

An NBR high o� cial said the change in revenue ad-ministration was a part of regular process to bring new-ness to administration to boost revenue collection.

“The NBR does not want tax o� cials to work in a same o� ce for long period and so many of them were trans-ferred so that they can make plans for new sectors for

B3 COLUMN 5

12 LDCs begin talks on fund de� cit in Dhaka today n Tribune Report

Twelve least developed countries (LDCs) will start a three-day regional meeting in Dhaka from today to recommend a strat-egy to deal with fund de� cit.

Proper utilisation and mobilisation of � nancial resources both from domes-tic and foreign countries, and source of funding will come up for discussion.

Some 55 policymakers and senior o� cials from Afghanistan, Bangla-desh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Solomon Is-lands, Timore-leste (East Timor), Tu-valu and Vanuatu and relevant stake-holders will participate in the meeting titled “Financing Graduation Gaps of the Asia-Paci� c Least Development Countries.”

Finance minister AMA Muhith is expected to inaugurate the meeting at Sonargoan Hotel, jointly arranged by Economic Relations Division (ERD), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Paci� c (UN ESCAP) and United Nations De-partment of Economic and Social Af-fairs (UN DESA).

“The meeting will � nd out a strate-gy on estimating and identifying � nan-cial resources, concrete technical as-sistance and � nancing requirements,” said ERD Secretary Mohammad Me-jbahuddin while brie� ng about details of the meeting to the press at the ERD yesterday.

He said it will discuss on setting a criteria for graduation including the re-view and reporting process conducted by Committee for Development Policy of the UNDESA, identifying the concrete measures and institutional mechanisms for proper utilisation of the resources and recommend key policy measures to support resource mobilisation.

B3 COLUMN 6

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak (third from right) and delegate members pose with V sign for photograph after winning International Telecommunication council election in Busan, South Korea yesterday

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Bangladesh has retained membership of In-ternational Telecommunication Union coun-cil in an election held in Busan, South Korea yesterday.

The country secured 115 votes and ap-peared seventh in 13 seats of Asia and Aus-tralasia region, State Minister for ICT Zunaid

Ahmed Palak told the Dhaka Tribune from Busan.

From the region, China won the highest number of votes (142), followed by South Ko-rea (140), Japan (139), Indonesia (121), Kuwait (121), United Arab Emirates (120), Australia (116), Bangladesh (115), Saudi Arabia (115), Philippines (115), India (108), Thailand (103) and Pakistan (101).

ITU, a specialised agency of the United Na-tions, has 193 member states and out of them 167 voted to elect the 48-member council for a four-year term.

The council works to formulate policy and regulation on global telecommunication sector.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak is leading a 50-mem-ber delegation to Busan.

B3 COLUMN 5

B2 Stock Tuesday, October 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

News, analysis and recent disclosersPTL: 15% stock, AGM: 07.12.2014, Record Date: 09.11.2014. EPS of Tk. 2.23, NAV per share of Tk. 23.15.MIRACLEIND: 5% stock, AGM: 20.12.2014, Record Date: 16.11.2014. EPS of Tk. 0.24, NAV per share of Tk. 14.65.SPCL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of Petromax Re� nery Ltd., (a subsidiary of Shahjibazar Power Co. Ltd.) has decided by a resolution that, a Tanker Vessel (Name: M.T SEA WORLD-2, Registra-tion No. C-1765) at the cost of Tk. 8.00 crore from Masum Trade International, 19, Strand Road, Bangla Bazar (SRB), Chittagong shall be purchased to meet the requirement of � oating stock and distribution of � nished oil. Of the total cost 70% amounting to Tk. 5.60 crore only shall be � nanced from Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. and the rest of the amount Tk. 2.40 crore only shall be � nanced from the Company's own source.Unaudited Financials:MERCANBANK: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 943.23 million with consolidated EPS of Tk. 1.28 as against Tk. 791.95 million and Tk. 1.07 respectively.SPPCL: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 524.64 million with EPS of Tk. 3.45 as against Tk. 513.49 million and Tk. 3.38 respectively.MJLBD: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 913.50 million with consolidated EPS of Tk. 3.83.

SUMITPOWER: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 1,614.84 million with consolidated EPS of Tk. 2.37 as against Tk. 1,591.32 million and Tk. 2.34 respectively.BATASHOE: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 543.43 million with EPS of Tk. 39.72 as against Tk. 541.14 million and Tk. 39.56 respectively.FLEASEINT: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 105.15 million with EPS of Tk. 0.95 as against Tk. 155.64 million and Tk. 1.41 (restated) respectively.NLI1STMF: (Q1): NP= Tk. 26.91 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.53 as against Tk. 12.08 million and Tk. 0.24 respectively.SEBL1STMF: (Q1): NP= Tk. 34.40 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.34 as against Tk. 20.48 million and Tk. 0.21 respectively.FAREASTLIF: (H/Y): Increase in life insurance fund of Tk. 914.80 million with total life insurance fund of Tk. 26,162.83 million as against Tk. 837.25 million and Tk. 21,641.47 million respectively for the same period of the previous year. IPO Subscription: National Feed Mill Lim-ited subscription date 26 -30 October 2014, NRB upto 08 November 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.Right Share: MIDASFIN: Subscrip-tion period for rights issue will be from

01.09.2014 to 30.09.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 03.08.2014.ICB: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 30.12.2014. Re-cord date for entitlement of rights share: 09.09.2014. BIFC: subscription period for rights issue of the Company will be from 09.11.2014 to 30.11.2014. Record Date for entitlement of rights share: 19.10.2014.Dividend/AGMFUWANGCER: 10% stock, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 10.11.2014. MODERNDYE: 8% cash, AGM: 11.12.2014, Record Date: 13.11.2014. FEKDIL: 5% cash and 15% stock, AGM: 29.11.2014, Record Date: 06.11.2014. ANLIMAYARN: 10% cash, AGM: 23.12.2014, Record Date: 10.11.2014. MICEMENT: 30% cash, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 13.11.2014. ZAHINTEX: 10% stock, AGM: 29.12.2014, Record Date: 05.11.2014. HAKKANIPUL: 5% cash dividend on oth-er than Sponsors share (Public share) and 3% on Sponsors share, AGM: 07.12.2014, Record Date: 10.11.2014. TITASGAS: 38% cash, AGM: 23.12.2014, Record Date: 06.11.2014. STANCERAM: 10% cash dividend for the Public Shareholders only, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 05.11.2014.

Stocks recover after 3-day losses n Tribune Report

Stocks turned around with initial volatility yesterday, breaking their three-day losing streak.

The market opened in red but started picking up from mid-ses-sion, pulling up by mainly telecom-munication and � nancial stocks ahead of their third quarter earnings results.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, has gained 45 points or 0.8% to close at 5,157, hitting highest 5,168 in the � nal minutes and lowest 5,098 in the morning.

The Shariah DSES index rose mar-ginally 8 points or 0.7% to 1,213. The DS30 index comprising blue chip is-sues was up 20 points or 1% to 1,946.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, settled at 9,675 with a rally of 104 points.

Trading activities, however, re-mained bearish as DSE turnover in value stood at Tk500 crore, down 4.6% over the previous session’s value. Telecommunication sector gained highest more than 2%, fol-lowed by bank that rallied 1.4%,

non-banking � nancial institution 1.3%, cement 0.5% and textile 0.4%.

Pharmaceuticals and, food and allied also edged up.

Shahjibazar Power Company Ltd (SPCL) was the biggest gainer, posting a rise of 10% after the com-pany saying Petromax Re� nery, a subsidiary of SPCL, has decided to purchase a tanker vessel at a cost of Tk8 crore from Masum Trade Inter-national to meet the requirement of � oating stock and distribution of � nished oil.

Of the total cost, 70% or Tk5.6 crore will be � nanced by the Islami Bank and the rest Tk2.4 crore by the company’s own source.

The SPCL resumed its share trad-ing last week after remaining sus-pended for more than two months because of unusual price rise of the stock.

Lanka Bangla Securities said the strength that has emerged on Moti-jheel Street partly re� ected a posi-tive reaction to earnings news from sector-speci� c stocks.

Bank and power stocks rose after DSE reported third quarter results that embedded expectations and is-sued above consensus revenue guid-ance for the fourth quarter, it said.

Out of 303 issues traded, 184 gained, 86 declined and 33 re-mained unchanged.

Grameenphone Ltd topped the liquidity chart with turnover worth over Tk39 crore.

It was followed by Mobil Jamu-na Limited Bangladesh, Square Pharmaceuticals, BRAC Bank and Lafarge Surma Cement and Khulna Power Company Limited. l

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Eastern InsurA -9.69 -9.69 35.40 35.40 35.40 35.40 0.014 2.42 14.6First Lease- A -8.26 -8.27 19.97 20.00 20.50 19.70 0.615 1.27 15.77th ICB M F-A -7.37 -7.37 88.00 88.00 88.00 88.00 0.044 12.01 7.3Sa� o Spinning-A -7.25 -7.25 25.60 25.60 25.60 25.60 0.102 1.06 24.2Apex Foods -A -5.11 -4.26 100.20 100.20 100.20 100.20 0.005 3.64 27.5Da� odil Computers -Z -4.83 -4.83 13.80 13.80 13.80 13.80 0.083 0.68 20.3Rahima Food -Z -4.65 -4.22 47.41 47.20 48.50 47.10 0.166 -1.01 -vePrime Bank 1st MF-A -4.00 -3.21 4.83 4.80 4.90 4.80 0.010 0.73 6.6DBH 1st MF-A -4.00 -1.81 4.89 4.80 5.00 4.80 0.029 0.56 8.7Apex Footwear-A -3.73 -3.73 496.00 496.00 496.00 496.00 0.198 20.48 24.2

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

First Lease- A -7.51 -8.41 19.92 19.70 21.00 19.50 18.022 1.27 15.7Eastern InsurA -4.81 -2.14 37.50 37.60 38.90 36.30 0.030 2.42 15.5Modern Dyeing -Z -4.65 -5.03 80.00 80.00 80.10 79.90 0.040 1.56 51.3Da� odil Computers -Z -3.57 -4.61 13.67 13.50 14.00 13.30 0.916 0.68 20.1Libra Infusions-A -3.53 -3.53 410.00 410.20 412.00 409.60 0.492 4.20 97.6United Insur -A -3.49 -3.43 35.99 36.00 36.10 35.90 1.472 2.91 12.4Aziz PipesZ -3.42 -3.54 14.17 14.10 14.50 14.00 0.085 -0.37 -veICB AMCL 1st NRB -A -3.28 -3.44 23.60 23.60 23.60 23.60 0.012 4.57 5.2Miracle Industries -B -3.18 -3.83 15.33 15.20 17.00 14.00 1.801 0.24 63.9Pragati Gen. I -A -2.93 -2.89 43.00 43.00 43.20 40.00 0.172 2.44 17.6

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change % ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

MJL BD Ltd.-A 171,281 25.07 7.52 146.10 -2.01 149.10 151.00 143.70 146.36BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 554,672 22.04 6.61 40.60 2.78 39.50 41.00 37.00 39.73LafargeS Cement-Z 137,000 17.38 5.22 129.30 1.02 128.00 129.90 125.00 126.89Grameenphone-A 36,000 13.81 4.14 385.90 2.36 377.00 387.00 380.00 383.73Khulna Power-A 185,454 11.85 3.55 63.70 -2.90 65.60 66.30 62.10 63.88Square Pharma -A 30,053 8.35 2.50 278.10 1.16 274.90 279.50 274.50 277.69SAIF Powertec-N 126,600 8.16 2.45 63.90 -0.16 64.00 65.80 63.50 64.42BSRM Steels-A 73,990 7.68 2.30 104.70 3.97 100.70 105.00 100.00 103.79The Peninsula CTG.-N 240,400 7.58 2.27 31.40 -0.32 31.50 31.90 31.20 31.54Ratanpur Steel -N 87,600 6.85 2.05 78.10 -0.64 78.60 79.80 75.20 78.15Titas Gas TDCLA 74,755 6.59 1.98 87.70 -2.01 89.50 89.50 87.00 88.18Summit Power -A 149,630 6.40 1.92 42.80 -0.47 43.00 43.10 40.00 42.76ACI Formulations-A 37,350 6.20 1.86 164.80 -1.20 166.80 171.00 163.40 166.11Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 248,000 5.99 1.80 24.40 0.00 24.40 24.60 23.80 24.15UNITED AIR-A 580,440 5.82 1.75 10.00 0.00 10.00 10.20 9.90 10.03

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

Grameenphone-A 1,023,281 391.95 7.76 385.70 2.12 377.70 389.00 360.00 383.04MJL BD Ltd.-A 1,871,903 272.95 5.40 146.90 -1.34 148.90 150.00 134.20 145.81Square Pharma -A 957,441 266.68 5.28 280.20 1.19 276.90 282.00 253.00 278.53Brac Bank -A 4,446,026 154.20 3.05 34.90 3.25 33.80 35.30 30.50 34.68LafargeS Cement-Z 1,104,000 139.98 2.77 128.90 0.94 127.70 130.80 125.20 126.79Khulna Power-A 2,116,011 135.52 2.68 63.70 -2.75 65.50 66.40 59.00 64.04Titas Gas TDCLA 1,518,671 133.02 2.63 87.10 -1.69 88.60 88.80 80.00 87.59Jamuna Oil -A 525,723 132.59 2.63 253.20 0.32 252.40 260.00 240.00 252.20BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 3,051,453 120.86 2.39 40.50 3.32 39.20 40.80 35.30 39.61Summit Power -A 2,560,690 109.78 2.17 42.80 -0.70 43.10 43.20 39.00 42.87HeidelbergCement -A 210,450 107.88 2.14 517.20 -0.92 522.00 519.90 505.00 512.62IDLC Finance -A 1,382,701 106.17 2.10 77.60 0.39 77.30 78.20 71.00 76.79Ratanpur Steel -N 1,173,200 91.88 1.82 78.10 -1.14 79.00 79.50 77.30 78.31S Purbanchol Power-N 1,383,033 76.00 1.50 55.10 2.23 53.90 57.80 49.00 54.95Apex Footwear-A 147,800 73.60 1.46 490.50 -2.54 503.30 508.00 486.10 497.97

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 525.15 10.40 30.16 7.65 555.30 10.20NBFI 396.19 7.84 16.36 4.15 412.56 7.58Investment 35.70 0.71 1.12 0.28 36.83 0.68Engineering 454.96 9.01 37.79 9.59 492.76 9.05Food & Allied 116.95 2.32 13.11 3.33 130.06 2.39Fuel & Power 1122.24 22.22 78.63 19.95 1200.87 22.06Jute 1.73 0.03 0.00 1.73 0.03Textile 300.83 5.96 33.81 8.58 334.64 6.15Pharma & Chemical 645.12 12.77 36.94 9.37 682.05 12.53Paper & Packaging 50.57 21.58 5.48 72.15 1.33Service 99.75 1.97 11.07 2.81 110.81 2.04Leather 103.47 2.05 16.85 4.27 120.32 2.21Ceramic 51.97 1.03 4.03 1.02 56.00 1.03Cement 303.62 6.01 23.09 5.86 326.71 6.00Information Technology 31.55 0.62 8.53 2.16 40.08 0.74General Insurance 29.57 0.59 1.26 0.32 30.83 0.57Life Insurance 124.79 2.47 3.01 0.76 127.80 2.35Telecom 418.95 8.30 18.21 4.62 437.15 8.03Travel & Leisure 86.09 1.70 14.07 3.57 100.16 1.84Miscellaneous 149.87 2.97 24.53 6.22 174.40 3.20Debenture 1.46 0.03 0.00 0.00 1.46 0.03

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 5157.24311 (+) 0.89% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1946.52365 (+) 1.02% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 15884.10590 (+) 0.66% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 13146.65710 (+) 0.42% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 9675.71710 (+) 0.63% ▲

DSE key features October 27, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

5,050.52

Turnover (Volume)

100,921,013

Number of Contract 96,239

Traded Issues 304

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

111

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

190

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,761.88

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

33.48

CSE key features October 27, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 341.17

Turnover (Volume) 8,498,107

Number of Contract 11,900

Traded Issues 219

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

62

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

152

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,661.06

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.26

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

The strength that has emerged on Motijheel Street partly re� ected a positive reaction to earnings news from sector-speci� c stocks

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Popular Life Insu. -A 66.59 66.59 229.90 229.90 229.90 229.90 0.115 4.13 55.7Quasem Drycells -A 7.26 8.26 47.32 47.30 48.50 45.00 1.065 1.55 30.5Alltex Industries -Z 7.23 8.96 9.00 8.90 9.10 8.50 1.346 -1.24 -veBeacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 7.19 1.90 14.46 14.90 15.20 13.30 2.862 0.04 361.5Aziz PipesZ 5.63 5.63 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 0.011 -0.37 -veICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A 5.62 5.62 9.40 9.40 9.40 9.40 0.009 1.40 6.7Envoy Textiles Ltd-N 5.57 2.75 57.44 58.80 59.00 56.60 0.770 2.04 28.2Bangladesh Lamps -A 4.03 4.56 129.66 129.00 134.00 126.00 0.454 1.13 114.7GSP Finance-A 3.98 2.74 23.23 23.50 23.50 22.00 0.070 1.56 14.9BSRM Steels-A 3.97 1.54 103.79 104.70 105.00 100.00 7.679 4.80 21.6

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Shahjibazar Power-N 9.97 9.97 157.70 157.70 157.70 157.70 9.147 3.00 52.6Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z 6.67 6.67 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 0.001 -30.63 -veProgressive Life-A 6.33 5.06 104.56 105.80 108.00 102.20 2.614 2.30 45.5Quasem Drycells -A 6.32 5.89 46.37 47.10 48.00 44.30 50.215 1.55 29.9Alltex Industries -Z 5.88 8.70 9.00 9.00 9.30 8.70 6.555 -1.24 -veBeacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 5.84 3.79 14.52 14.50 15.00 12.40 11.014 0.04 363.0BD. Autocars -Z 5.83 5.41 25.33 25.40 26.00 24.00 0.038 0.08 316.6Islamic Finance-A 5.42 1.65 20.94 21.40 21.70 18.40 34.863 1.21 17.3Khulna Printing-N 5.36 0.11 26.97 27.50 27.80 26.10 50.206 1.31 20.6Bangladesh Lamps -A 5.21 3.21 129.12 129.30 132.70 118.00 12.412 1.13 114.3

ANALYST

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, settled at 9,675 with a rally of 104 points

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

GD Assist Limited, a subsidiary of Green Delta Insurance, recently signed a deal with KPJ Healthcare Berhad, the leading healthcare provider in Malaysia, on being KPJ healthcare’s agent in Bangladesh. Farzana Chowdhury, director of GD Assist, and Rafeah Ari� n, senior general manager of KPJ, signed the deal in Kuala Lumpur Mala ysia

United Commercial Bank Limited recently opened its 141st branch at Ullapara in Sirajganj. The bank’s director Md Jahangir Alam Khan inaugurated the branch

NCC Bank’s training institute recently organised a two-week training on branch management for its mid-level o� cers. The bank’s chairperson Md Nurun Newaz Salim inaugurated the training as chief guest

Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited recently held 206th board meeting at its boardroom. The meeting was presided over by the bank’s chairperson AK Azad

Mithun Knitting and Dyeing Limited recently held an extra ordinary general meeting at Kaltapara Bazar, Gouripur in Mymensingh. The meeting was presided over by the company’s managing director Md Mahbub-Ul Haque

Euro rises on relief over ECB health test n AFP, Tokyo

The euro � rmed against other major currencies in Asia yesterday after the European Central Bank gave a large majority of banks in the region a clean bill of health.

The common currency rose to $1.2704 and 137.14 yen in Tokyo after-noon trade from $1.2666 and 136.97 yen in New York Friday afternoon.

The dollar slipped against the yen ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday.

The dollar was at 107.94 yen from 108.14 yen in US trade Friday afternoon.

In the most in-depth and stringent audit of eurozone banks ever under-taken -- aimed at preventing a repeat of the crisis that nearly led to the eu-ro’s collapse -- the ECB said Sunday it found that 25 out of a total 130 banks had a combined capital shortfall of 25bn euros ($31bn) at the end of 2013.

It was “positive” that the capital shortage was within expectations and all major banks cleared the stress tests, said Junichi Makino, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

“Risks that the European crisis will occur again are extremely low,” he said in a note, adding the ECB has been sup-plying ample funds.

The Bank of Japan policymakers are to meet on Friday but Nomura Securi-

ties expects the bank to hold o� further easing measures, said Yujiro Goto, se-nior forex strategist at Nomura.

“Economic data released since the previous meeting have been mixed, and we doubt the BoJ will rush into addition-al easing at this point,” he said in a note.

Japanese consumer spending has been slack since the government raised the sales tax in April.

Public broadcaster NHK reported Monday that the BoJ is expected to lower its growth forecast for the cur-rent � scal year to March due to a dull

recovery in personal consumption as well as a slow recovery in exports.

Releasing a twice-a-year outlook report on prices and economic growth to be released after Friday’s policy meeting, the bank is expected to lower its growth estimate from 1% to some-where above 0.5% , it said.

The dollar was lower against other Asia-Paci� c currencies.

It edged down to 32.38 Thai baht from 32.41 baht on Friday, to Sg$1.2746 from Sg$1.2762 and to Tw$30.38 from Tw$30.40. l

Samsung scales down LED lighting as outlook dimsn Reuters, Seoul

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said yes-terday that it will cease its light emit-ting diode (LED) lighting business out-side of South Korea, scaling back what was identi� ed as a key growth business just four years ago.

The pullback comes on the heels of Dutch rival Philips’ recent decision to spin o� its century-old lighting busi-ness. Price wars have slashed pro� tabil-ity to levels deemed too unattractive in the long run, despite an LED boom that has upended the global incandescent lighting industry.

Analysts say Samsung Electronics’ retreat re� ects the growing competi-tion from Chinese manufacturers even as demand for LED lighting remains strong. LED lamps last 10 times longer than � uorescent bulbs and 100 times longer than traditional incandescent tungsten � lament bulbs.

“It appears that Samsung decided to fold the business because price compe-tition was so � erce and there was not a lot of room for growth going forward,” said Seoul-based IM Investment ana-lyst Lee Min-hee.

Philips said in September that it will

spin o� its lighting business to expand its higher-margin healthcare and con-sumer divisions. Two month earlier, Germany’s Osram Licht AG, which also makes LED lights, announced a cost-cutting plan that included nearly 8,000 job cuts.

A spokeswoman at Samsung Elec-tronics said revenue contribution from the business was small but did not comment on speci� cs, including how much Samsung had invested.

“We will remain active in the LED industry through our LED component business,” Samsung Electronics said in an emailed statement, adding that it will focus on areas such as backlighting for displays of consumer products like televisions.

Samsung’s decision also under-scores the challenges faced by the com-pany and the wider Samsung Group in nurturing new growth drivers. Samsung Electronics is battling fall-ing pro� ts in its smartphone business, the world’s largest, and group patriarch Lee Kun-hee has been hospitalized since a May heart attack.

In 2010, Samsung Group identi-� ed LED, rechargeable cells for hybrid electric cars, solar cells, medical de-

vices and biopharmaceuticals as new growth drivers for the conglomerate and tipped them to generate 50 trillion won ($47.5bn) in annual revenues by 2020 for its a� liates.

But the conglomerate has yet gain traction in most of these businesses. Though Samsung SDI Co Ltd is supply-ing German premium automaker BMW with electric vehicle battery cells, other businesses have yet to show signi� cant revenue growth.

Search for growth Identifying and developing new growth drivers will be a key test for Jay Y Lee when he takes the reins at the group from his father.

Some media reports have specu-lated that Samsung may also pull back from the solar business. A Samsung SDI spokesman said the � rm continues re-search and development in the sector, but analysts say the recent decline in oil prices and the entry of Chinese play-ers have hurt the outlook.

“These moves also give us a small glimpse of Jay Y. Lee’s management style, with him now at the helm for � ve months,” said Park Ju-gun, head of cor-porate watchdog CEO Score. l

A machine counts and sorts out euro notes at the Belgian Central Bank in Brussels REUTERS

Constancio: ECB worried about euro zone’s lack of real growth n Reuters, Frankfurt

The European Central Bank is con-cerned about a lack of real growth in the euro zone economy, ECB Vice Presi-dent Vitor Constancio said on Sunday.

“We are worried that there is not enough real growth and as a result there is a big slack in the economy,” he told reporters after the ECB published

the results of its health check of the euro zone’s 130 biggest banks.

Banks with a capital shortfall will have to say within two weeks how they intend to close the gap and will then be given up to nine months to do so.

Daniele Nouy, the head of the new banking watchdog at the ECB, said the banks’ shortfalls would be � xed within the timeframe speci� ed. l

Bangladesh wins ITU election B1 COLUMN 4“We have taken the election as our challenge and the victory is an inter-national recognition of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision of Digital Ban-gladesh,” he said.

Members of Parliament, senior gov-ernment o� cials and senior executives from mobile phone operators in Ban-gladesh attended a campaign last week in favour of the election. In the ITU election manifesto and position paper, Bangladesh announced its commitment to play a positive role in formulating rules and regulations for global telecommunication sector.

It also vowed to expand internet facility to 70% and broadband connec-tion to 35% of the population by 2018.

Bangladesh recently won the ITU’s WSIS award and the WITSA award for bringing technology to the people’s doorsteps. In 1973 the country was given primary membership of the ITU.

It will help attract investment As Bangladesh retained membership of the International Telecommunication Union council, it re� ected the continu-ous support for Bangladesh’s e� orts to

build a digitally developed nation, said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

He said the win has opened window to work together with the digitally de-veloped nations like Chian, Japan and South Korea on a same platform as they are also ITU council members.

“We can brand ‘digital Bangladesh’ globally with the victory, which can help the country attract foreign invest-ment,” Palak told the Dhaka Tribune over phone from Busan yesterday.

He said the last week campaign helped Bangladesh get 115 votes. “When we arrived in Busan on 19 October, there were supports from only 47 countries. But we � nally received 115 votes.”

About the campaign, he said they arranged a “Bangladesh Night” where delegates from more than 50 countries were present. ITU Secretary General Dr Hamadoun Touré also joined the event.

Bangladesh’s achievements in the telecommunication sector played a signi� cant role in the win, said the state minister. “After winning the (ITU) election, it will now be easier to launch our own satellite with the help of the global organisation,” he said. l

12 LDCs begin talks B1 COLUMN 1On behalf of Bangladesh, Mejbahuddin will led the 31-memebr delegation com-prising representatives from di� erent ministries and divisions having func-tional relevance with the LDC issues.

Besides the o� cial delegates, policy makers and senior government o� cials, experts and think tanks from Bangladesh and other LDCs and also from UNESCAP, UNDESA and other UN o� ces, agencies and organisations will participate in the meeting.

The meeting has been divided in seven working sessions each having a speci� c topic. l

Sri Lanka businessmen keen to invest in Bangladesh n Tribune Report

Sri Lankan businessmen are keen to invest in printed packaging products, RMG accessories, IT, education, food processing and electric cables sectors of Bangladesh.

They expressed the interest at two separate Business Match-Making ses-sions held with the Federation of Ban-gladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Dhaka Chamber of commerce and Industry (DCCI) in the capital yesterday.

A 12-member delegation under the leadership of acting High Commis-sioner of SriLanka A G Abeysekra met FBCCI leaders and DCCI leaders along with Bangladeshi businessmen to share business ideas of their respective sectors.

A G Abeysekra said: “A good number of investors are willing to invest in Ban-gladesh especially in RMG accessories, education, IT, electric cables and food processing.”

It would not only help develop trade and investment in Bangladesh but also address the bilateral issues, said Abey-sekra.

He also urged the Bangladeshi pri-vate sector entrepreneurs to export more pharmaceutical products to Sri Lankan market and also to invest in pharmaceutical sector in Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed urged the Sri Lankan investors to invest in textile, leather, food, chemical, light engineer-

ing, ceramics, electronics, footwear and steel sector in Bangladesh as the government has o� ered all kind of fa-cilities for attracting foreign direct in-vestment.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Ha-sina has undertaken several fast track projects to attract FDI and Bangladesh with its eight Export Processing Zones (EPZs) is trying hard to establish � ve Special Economic Zones under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative to promote foreign investment.

“We want to be competitive instead

of competitors and would like to grow up reciprocally,” said Akram.

DCCI President Mohammad Shahja-han Khan urged Sri Lankan business-men to import more products including pharmaceuticals, jute gods, and handi-crafts and to provide duty-free access.

He also stressed on the develop-ment of sea port connectivity between the two countries as Bangladesh is cur-rently handling around 12% of its trans-shipment cargo through Colombo deep sea port.

In the � scal year 2013-14, Bangla-

desh exported products worth around US$27m while imported products of over $66m.

Currently, 44 Sri Lankan compa-nies are doing business in Bangladesh with an investment of $300m, while 6 Bangladeshi companies are doing busi-ness in Sri Lanka with an investment of $20m.

Chandani Ratnayake, deputy direc-tor of Sri Lankan Export Development Board, presented a power-point pre-sentation on trade and investment op-portunities in Sri Lanka. l

Sri Lankan trade delegation at a business match-making session in Dhaka yesterday, organsied by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry. FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed (third from left) chaired the event DHAKA TRIBUNE

Massive reshu� e in � eld level B1 COLUMN 6revenue collection to achieve target for FY14-15,” said the o� cial.

Recently, the post of two taxmen fell vacant in NBR as the two retired. Following their retirement, the NBR made a shu� e in the income tax ad-ministration to � ll up the vacant posts.

The NBR is set to collect Tk1,49,720 crore as revenue in the current � scal year, while its income tax wings have to collect Tk57,500crore as tax.

New postings are as follows:Chinmoy Prashun Biswash (Central Tax Survey Circle), M Nurul Alam (Large Taxpayers Unit), Begum Rawshan Ara Akhter (Tax Appeal Circle 1, Dhaka), Kazi Emdadul Haque (Tax Appeal Circle 2, Dhaka), M Dabir Uddin (current charge, Tax Zone 2, Chittagong), AK Borhan Ud-din (Barishal Tax Zone), Apurba Kanti Das (Chittagong Tax Circle 1), Mahbub Hossain (Gazipur Tax Zone), Prashanta Kumer Roy (current charge, Tax Appeal Zone, Khulna), M Selim Afzal (Tax Circle 13, Dhaka), M Nazrul Islam (Tax Circle 4, Chittagong), Begum Shahin Akhter (Tax Circle 9, Dhaka), M Golam Mostafa (cur-rent charge, Tax Cirlce 12, Dhaka), Prad-dyut Kumer Sarker (current charge, Tax Circle 3, Chittagong), Romendra Chan-dra Boshak (Tax Circle 2, Dhaka), Sanjit Kumer Bishwash (member, Tax Appel-late Tribunal, Dhaka), Syed M Mahbu-bur Rahman (member of Tax Appellate Tribunal, Dhaka), Kanon Kumer Roy (Tax Circle 7, Dhaka), Radhesyam Ray

(Khulna Tax Zone), M Alamgir Hossain (member of Tax Appellate Tribunal, Dhaka), Mohammad Golam Nabi (mem-ber of Tax Appellate Tribunal, Dhaka), M Belal Uddin (Director General at Cen-tral Intelligence Cell), Shoyeb Ahmed (current charge Tax Appeal Zone, Chit-tagong), and Madhab Chandra Dash (member at Chittagong Bench of Tax Appellate Tribunal, Dhaka).

The NBR promoted three additional tax commissioners as tax commission-ers (current charge). Their new post-ings are - M Abdul Baten (member of Chittagong Bench at Tax Appelate Tribunal, Dhaka), Mahmudur Rahman (Sylhet Taz Zone), and M Motaher Hos-sain (Comilla Taz Zone). l

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, October 28, 2014

DILBERT

Rousse� will struggle to restore Brazil’s economic good times n Reuters, Brasilia

President Dilma Rousse� narrowly won re-election by spending heav-ily and promising to extend the � ght against poverty but she will need to restore order to public � nances in her second term to get Brazil’s stalled econ-omy back in gear.

Rousse� edged out opposition can-didate Aecio Neves in Sunday’s elec-tion runo� , helped by strong support from the poor despite her struggles to tame high in� ation, attract investment and revive an economy in its fourth year of lackluster growth.

With the bruising re-election cam-paign behind her, Rousse� now faces the daunting task of returning the shine to an economy that was once a Wall Street darling but has been hit by policy missteps and global economic headwinds that hurt demand for Bra-zilian exports.

To do so, she needs to move swiftly to staunch the bleeding in Brazil’s � s-cal accounts, which has added pressure to in� ation and eroded investor con� -dence in Latin America’s largest econo-my. Failure to clean up public � nances could lead to a credit rating downgrade next year.

Rousse� struck a conciliatory tone in her victory speech on Sunday night, pledging to work with political adver-saries and business leaders alike to usher in a new era of economic growth.

“We’re going to give new impetus to all sectors of the economy, especially industry,” she said. “I want a partner-ship with all sectors, both productive and � nancial, to take on the challenges ahead.”

She also extended an olive branch to investors worried about Brazil’s dete-riorating � nances, saying she was com-mitted to � scal discipline and to keep-ing in� ation in check.

But the jury is out on whether Rous-se� , a leftist who believes in state-led economic growth, is committed enough to � scal discipline to take on politically di� cult tax and pension re-forms or cut spending on popular wel-fare programs.

“Everything will hinge on � scal poli-cy, but there is not much scope to make a very drastic adjustment in the short term given the rigidity of the budget,” said Otaviano Canuto, a World Bank of-� cial who some government o� cials say is a contender to be � nance minis-ter in Rousse� ’s new term.

About 90 percent of Brazil’s budget spending is mandated by law, meaning the government does not have much wiggle room to signi� cantly cut expen-ditures without reducing public invest-

ment or social programs. “Any � scal action should be accom-

panied by some medium- to long-term framework to reinforce con� dence,” added Canuto, who declined to com-ment on the � nance ministry specula-tion. Brazil’s budget de� cit has wid-ened sharply under Rousse� , who increased public spending and granted dozens of tax cuts to struggling indus-tries to bolster the economy.

Despite those measures, industrial output failed to pick up and her gov-ernment was harshly criticized for us-ing � scal maneuvers to arti� cially in-crease public savings.

The budget hole disguised by those “� scal tricks,” which include delaying payments from social programs and dipping into Brazil’s sovereign wealth fund, could be as large as 2% of gross domestic product, BNP Paribas esti-mated in a recent research report.

‘Ideological baggage’ Rousse� ’s headaches won’t be limited to the � scal realm. After keeping fuel and electricity rates arti� cially low in recent years to help keep contain in� a-tion, the president is under pressure to � nally let those prices rise.

An increase would be good news for state-run oil company Petrobras and power distributors, but it would also complicate Rousse� ’s anti-in� ation ef-forts and could end up eroding her pop-

ularity with working-class Brazilians. A slump in commodity prices due to

a slow global economy and higher U.S. interest rates could also weigh on e� orts to boost the pace of economic growth.

Investors are far from convinced that Rousse� will act decisively to tack-le Brazil’s many economic challenges head on in her second term, which starts on New Year’s Day.

Still, some hold out hope that the threat of a credit downgrade could force Rousse� to take a more market-friendly tack.

Local stock and currency markets slumped whenever Rousse� advanced in opinion polls during the campaign, and could be headed for another sello� on Monday.

“She didn’t make any changes dur-ing her � rst term so I don’t think she will change her ways in a second term,” said Raul Velloso, a Brasilia-based eco-nomic consultant. “She has heavy ide-ological baggage and that won’t change overnight.”

Although Rousse� has promised to replace widely-criticized Finance Min-ister Guido Mantega, markets remain skeptical that she will change course drastically and be less interventionist.

Local businesses have long lobbied for bold reforms to cut Brazil’s red tape, simplify its Byzantine tax code and overhaul a pension system that is piling pressure on public � nances.

Rousse� agrees that many of those reforms are needed, but so far has shown little desire to engage in the po-litical give-and-take required to push initiatives through Congress.

Even with a clear majority in Con-gress, Rousse� has struggled to pass legislation to unify minor taxes and slightly lower the pension burden. An even more fragmented Congress in a second term will further complicate any e� orts to lower the staggering cost of doing business in Brazil.

Brazilian companies on average spend 2,600 hours a year calculating what they owe in taxes, according to the World Bank’s annual Doing Busi-ness study, which compares business practices around the world. That is almost 15 times the amount of time needed to do taxes in the United States.

Mexico and Colombia, which have embarked on more ambitious reforms to open their economies, are growing at a rate more than two times that of Brazil.

The Brazilian economy is expected to barely grow at all this year and ex-pand just 1% in 2015 - a far cry from the 7.5% growth rate in 2010, just before Rousse� took o� ce.

“I don’t think Brazil can a� ord to stay far away from the global trend for reforms” said Jorge Mariscal, chief in-vestment o� cer for emerging markets at UBS Wealth Management, which oversees about $1tn in investments. l

Brazil's President and Workers' Party presidential candidate Rousse� celebrates after the disclosure of election results, in Brasilia REUTERS

Europe’s bank test celebrations mask mounting challenges n Reuters, Frankfurt

Investors were spared immediate pain on Sunday after the European Central Bank’s landmark banking health check did not force massive capital hikes amongst the euro zone’s top lenders.

But the sector’s long-term attrac-tiveness has been damaged by rev-elations of extra non-performing loans and hidden losses that will dent future pro� ts.

The ECB said on Sunday the region’s 130 most important lenders were just 25bn euros (31.69bn US dollar) short of capital at the end of last year, based on an assessment of how accurately they had valued their assets and whether they could withstand another three years of crisis.

The amount of new money needed falls to less than 7bn euros after factor-ing in developments in 2014, well shy of the 50bn euros of extra cash investors surveyed by Goldman Sachs in August were expecting. That means existing in-vestors will only be asked for a fraction of the demand they expected in order to maintain their shareholdings.

But, those who read the details of the ECB’s proclamation on the health of the euro zone banking sector would have seen more ominous signs too, as the ECB pointed to the amount of work that remains to be done to restore the region’s lenders.

Challenges ahead The review said an extra 136bn euros of loans should be classed as non-per-forming - increasing the tally of non-performing loans by 18% - and that an extra 47.5bn euros of losses should be taken to re� ect assets’ true value.

“Banks face a signi� cant challenge as the sector remains chronically un-pro� table and must address their 879bn euros exposure to non-perform-ing loans as this will tie-up signi� cant amounts of capital,” accountancy � rm KPMG noted.

Others took a bleaker view. “One-� fth of European banks are at risk of insolvency,” said Jan Dehn, head of re-search at Ashmore, referencing the fact that one-� fth of banks fell shy of the ECB’s pass mark at the end of last year.

He added that the ECB’s e� orts to boost the euro zone’s sluggish growth through pumping money into the economy would not work if banks were too poorly capitalised to lend.

After the ECB adjusted banks’ capi-tal ratios to re� ect supervisors’ as-sessments of banks’ asset values, 31 had core capital below the 10% mark viewed by investors as a safety thresh-old, while a further 28 had ratios just 1

percentage point above. “(The results were) positive for eq-

uity, fundamentally disappointing on credit due to limited capital raising,” Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes noted.

Banks need to lend more to boost their earnings, since they pro� t from the di� erence between the ultra-low rate they can borrow money at and the higher rate they charge to custom-ers. Lending can also boost economic growth, which helps banks.

Analysts from Citi remarked that the scale of the asset quality review adjust-ments “matter in terms of future po-tential regulatory constraints”. Banks with big hits to capital ratios as a result of the ECB’s adjustments will have less capacity to expand, lend more, or pay dividends.

Others found a silver lining in the bad news delivered by the ECB. “We were positively surprised at the severity of the asset quality review, the scale of the additional non-performing loans for example,” said Roberto Henriques European credit analyst at JPMorgan. “That additional information showed that they are going to be much more stringent.”

Several also welcomed the fact that investors at least now had transpar-ent � gures they could rely on. “This should ease any concerns about more skeletons the banks’ closets,” said Geir Lode, head of Hermes Global Equities. “(It’s) positive for the markets.”

That extra information gives inves-tors some protection if the ECB’s rela-tively modest capital demand proves not to be the � nal word in how much the banks really need. “Everyone will be looking hard to decide whether the ... is too little to shore up the banks that are at risk,” said Salman Ahmed, global � xed income strategist at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

“The good news is that the review process is fully transparent. Investors have been handed plenty of data on the banks’ assets and are now in a position to judge for themselves.” l

Subsidy shake-up to undercut Asian diesel demand n Reuters, Singapore

A recovery in Asia’s diesel demand growth is likely to be pushed back as governments of major oil consumers in the region take advantage of a tumble in oil prices to cut fuel subsidies and bolster their budgets.

A prolonged period of weak demand is expected to reduce margins for re-� neries that produce the transport and industrial fuel, traders and analysts said. The Asian gasoil margin is already set for its worst quarter in October-December since late 2010, according to Reuters data, hurt by slower economic growth and a supply glut from new re-� ning capacity.

“Diesel demand will continue to be weak in 2015 and we see a slight rebound in 2016 overall in Asia, but we are not positive on diesel growth next year and price deregulation is not going to im-prove matters,” said Sri Paravaikkarasu, an analyst at energy consultancy FGE.

India’s government removed diesel price controls this month, following a 25% fall in global oil prices since June, while Indonesia’s new President Joko Widodo plans to order the steepest rise in subsidised fuel prices in nine years.

Cutting subsidies would normally increase prices, lowering demand. Giv-en current low prices, cutting subsidies may not have immediate impact on demand - Indian diesel prices will ac-tually be about 6% lower - but demand could turn south once oil prices rise, analysts said.

Indonesia is Asia’s third-largest im-porter of diesel, while India is one of the region’s top diesel exporters.

Indonesia price hike Widodo aims to raise the gasoline price in Indonesia by 46%, and diesel by 55% in a move that will save the govern-ment nearly $13bn a year, an adviser told Reuters.

Diesel demand has been falling in

Indonesia since the country � rst hiked diesel prices by more than 20% in 2013, and has been hurt also by a mining slowdown and the mandated use of biodiesel.

Although Widodo’s minority coalition may face some di� culties on subsidies, sentiment will be a� ected by the pro-posal, JBC Energy said in a market note.

“The news will certainly prolong the current weakness in the middle distil-lates market for much longer, even if Indian price cuts boost short-term consumer sentiment and the Indone-sian government fails to raise domestic prices,” it said.

Indonesia’s diesel demand is ex-pected at about 270,000 bpd in 2014, according to JBC Energy, and about half

of that is currently subsidised. Diesel demand in Southeast Asia’s

biggest economy is expected to decline by 3.5% in 2015 and 3.3% in 2016, after falling 6.9% this year, FGE’s Sri said.

Despite moves to further raise pric-es, full deregulation may not happen in Indonesia until 2020, said Sushant Gupta, an analyst at energy consultan-cy Wood Mackenzie.

He estimated full deregulation would cut road demand for diesel and gasoline by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd).

India demand cuts In India, where diesel use makes up nearly half of fuel consumption, about 40,000 to 50,000 bpd of diesel demand growth has been cut since September,

2012, Gupta said. The growth rate for diesel vehicles had slowed because die-sel’s price advantage over gasoline had narrowed, he said.

Since late 2012, India has imple-mented various reforms to its fuel sub-sidy programme, including allowing oil companies to increase diesel prices incrementally and withdrawing subsi-dies on diesel sold in bulk.

India’s diesel demand could still grow by 2.4 to 2.8% next year from 1.1 to 1.5% growth this year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to boost the manufacturing sector to generate growth and jobs, analysts said.

However, this was still well down on growth of more than 8% as recently as 2012. l

Xiaomi to set up India customer data centre to de� ect privacy concerns n Reuters, Mumbai

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc said yesterday it plans to set up a data centre in India next year to store local user data, as the fast-growing company seeks to de� ect concerns about privacy that could hamper its e� orts to expand overseas.

The move by privately owned Xiaomi comes after it said last week it was mi-grating some data on non-Chinese cus-tomers away from its servers in Beijing due to performance and privacy con-siderations.

Xiaomi, whose low-priced but fea-ture-rich smartphones have made it the biggest smartphone vendor in Chi-

na, entered India this year with plans to invest heavily to secure rapid growth in the world’s third-largest smartphone market.

It sells its phones in India via Flip-kart.com, the country’s biggest online retailer, and said last month it planned to sell 100,000 phones a week in the country in October.

On Monday, Xiaomi said it had been moving Indian users’ data from its Bei-jing data centre to data centres of Ama-zon Web Services, the cloud computing platform of the online retailer Amazon.com Inc, in Singapore and the United States since early 2014. It said that pro-cess would be completed by the end of the year.

Xiaomi has faced several privacy con-troversies, including accusations from international security researchers and a government agency in Taiwan that it funnels unauthorized user data back to its servers in Beijing. Indian media re-ported last week that the country’s air force had issued alerts to its personnel and their families against using Xiaomi phones on security concerns.

The Chinese company said yesterday it was attempting to contact Indian au-thorities for more details on local media reports, adding that it did not collect user data without permission. l

Cars are seen at a parking lot in Gurgaon REUTERS

Indian media reported last week that the country’s air force had issued alerts to its personnel and their families against using Xiaomi phones on security concerns

We were positively surprised at the severity of the asset quality review, the scale of the additional non-performing loans for example