SECOND EDITION

WHO WILL LEAD ANTI-TERRORISM UNIT PAGE 3

FOREIGN PRESSURE MOUNTING FOR MID-TERM POLLS? PAGE 32

CLARKE TO QUIT AFTER ASHES PAGE 26

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015 | Shraban 25, 1422, Shawwal 23, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 115 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Niloy killers cleared guard dogs n Mohammad Jamil Khan

and Kamrul Hasan

Before carrying out the oper-ation to kill secular blogger Niladri Chatterjee at his Goran residence on Friday, the mur-derers might have killed the two faithful dogs living under the stairs on the ground � oor, detectives claim.

Neighbours yesterday said that the dogs had been living there for a long time and the residents of the building used to feed them. But they died for

mysterious reasons over the last two weeks.

Investigators and locals sus-pect that the dogs were killed so that the murderers faced no obstacles during their mission.

Family and neighbours said that Niloy had no direct attach-ments with the dogs. He rented the � at two years ago.

In primary investigation, de-tectives have also found that it was a planned murder coordi-nated by several small groups. They think that the killers kept

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

The GD that could have saved a lifeA verbatim translation of the general diary Niloy tried to � le, but not recordedMay 14, 2015

O� cer-in-ChargeKhilgaon Police StationDhaka Metropolitan Police, Dhaka.

Subject: About accepting a general diary

Dear Sir:I am Niladri Chaterjee; father – Tarapada Chaterjee; mother – Aparna Chat-erjee; present address – 167, East Goran, Khilgaon, Dhaka 1217; permanent address – village and post o� ce – Chalisha, police station and district – Pirojpur. I work as a senior research o� cer for a non-governmental organ-isation named Gobeshona O Unnayan Collective and I am also an active worker of the Gonojagoron Moncho, apart from these I have also been writing blogs for a long time on the Liberation War, free thinking, human rights, and other issues.

After o� ce, I came to Gulistan on a Raja City Bus around 7pm yesterday af-ter attending a rally of the Gonojagoron Moncho organised to protest the “murder of Ananta Bijoy Das” in the afternoon. Then I took a small laguna

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Niloy killers cleared guard dogsan eye on the house and Niloy’s movements for at least two weeks.

They think that the killers chose to kill Niloy during the Jum’a prayers since people’s move-ment remains thin in the area at that time.

“We have already got some clues and are investigating the murder taking those into consideration,” Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of police’s Motijheel division, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said that they were also checking whether Niloy had personal enmity with any-one or rivalry with any of his colleagues at the NGO he worked for.

DMP Joint Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy said: “It is clearly a preplanned murder. The killers observed the area and chose the time of Friday prayers.”

The investigators are now trying to locate the killers through mobile phone call records.

They are also looking for the person who sent emails to the media after the murder on behalf of Ansar Al Islam, presumably the same banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Ansar Al Islam said that they represent the Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Detectives are yet to con� rm the authenticity of the claim and the existence of the so-called AQIS that had earli-er claimed responsibilities for the murders of seven secularist activists since February 2013.

Known as Niloy Neel on blogging platforms and Facebook, the 27-year-old was killed with machetes by four unidenti� ed assailants at his � at around 1:30pm on Friday. The killers held Niloy’s wife and sister-in-law hostage in another room while hacking him.

The former Dhaka University student was a member of Bangladesh Rationalists’ Soci-ety. An active campaigner of Gonojagoron Moncho, Niloy was very critical of radical Is-lamists and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Wife files caseAshamoni, wife of the slain writer, � led a case with the Khilgaon police late Friday night against four unnamed persons.

“We have interrogated the locals and the residents of the house including its owner, but yet to arrest anyone,” Khilgaon OC Mo-sta� z Bhuiyan said.

“The Criminal Investigation Department, who are giving technical support in the probe, collected primary data from the crime scene. We are now analysing all the information we have got,” the OC added.

According to a source, the case is likely to be handed over to the Detective Branch (DB) of police, who have been investigating the similar murders.

The court of Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate accepted the case yesterday. The court set September 16 for � ling of report, SI Dipak Kumar told the Dhaka Tribune.

Probe body formedMeanwhile, a three-member committee was formed to look into why the o� cials at Kh-ilgaon and Shahjahanpur police stations re-fused to record the general diary Niloy had wanted to � le in May.

Motijheel DC Anowar said that they had noticed the media reports on Niloy’s Face-book post that made such an allegation. “Nec-essary actions will be taken if the probe body � nds negligence by any o� cials.”

Dhaka Tribune published a verbatim trans-lation of the GD today.

FBI wants to assist in probeMeanwhile, US agency Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who are assisting DB in solving Avijit Roy murder, has shown interest in Niloy murder probe as well.

The Bangladesh representative of FBI will hold a meeting with DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam today.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said: “We have not received any o� cial com-munication from the FBI yet. But as they are already assisting us in the Avijit murder case, we have no problem if they want to investi-gate Niloy murder too.”

14 stab injuriesForensic doctors have found marks of 14 stab injuries on Niloy’s body. The post-mortem ex-amination was conducted at the Dhaka Medi-cal College Hospital yesterday morning.

Prof Dr Habibuzzaman Chowdhury, head of the forensic medicine department of DMC, told the Dhaka Tribune that Niloy had died on the spot due to deep wounds on his throat. The killers hacked him repeatedly to con� rm death.

“Of the 14, eight are major injuries. The previous killings of bloggers were carried out in a similar fashion. All these incidents may be connected,” he added.

Family was concernedAfter post-mortem examination, Niloy’s body was handed over to the family at noon. He was cremated at his village home in Chollisha of Pirojpur sadar upazila around midnight.

Binoy Chatterjee, uncle of the deceased, said: “Niloy wanted to be cremated at his own village.

“He came to the village during Eid-ul-Fitr and expressed concerns saying that his name was on the hit list of radical Islamists. We asked him to stay at the village with his par-ents and sister if the problem turns serious,” Binoy told the Dhaka Tribune.

RAB, DB checking AQIS claimRAB o� cials said that they were investigating the case from every possible aspect and scru-tinising the clues. They are also trying to veri-fy the claims made by the AQIS.

Lt Col Abul Kalam Azad, director of RAB’s intelligence unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that the AQIS earlier claimed that they had killed the other bloggers. “This is nothing new. But since we do not have any evidence that they had committed the murders, it is considered a mere claim.”

On the other hand, DB said that they too were yet to con� rm the existence of AQIS.

DB Deputy Commissioner Muntasirul Islam said that they were checking whether any oth-er militant out� ts had been using the name of AQIS to dodge the eyes of the law enforcers.

The home minister yesterday told the Dha-ka Tribune that they had given instructions to the law enforces to take all necessary actions to arrest the killers. l

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

How can one be hacked alive?n Tribune Report

Secularist blogger and rights activist Niladri Chatterjee, also known as Niloy Neel who was hacked to death by four people on Friday, had himself never been able to slaughter a chick-en. He even always avoided watching those being slaughtered.

He wrote about this phobia of his in a Face-book post on April 19 this year to condemn the recent killing of secular activists and bloggers by suspected radical Islamists, all of them with machetes that are commonly used by butchers.

Niloy wrote that rats turned to be irritat-ing for him at his house. “Even I failed to kill a single rat with poison. Finally, I brought a trap where if I put food, the rat will get stuck eating it.

“But the problem is I will have to use a plas tool to kill that helpless rat stuck in the trap. The plas needs to be used to hold its neck and then I will have to make sure that it isdead.

“I thought about it for a long time wheth-

er I can do this and how. I am now preparing myself saying that I must kill the rat that is alive. Only the Almighty knows whether I will be able to do this. Oh God, please help me to kill the rats.”

Next, Niloy wrote about slaughtering chicken. “I always bring processed or sliced chicken from the kitchen market, and do not watch those being killed. Recently, I bought a live chicken but was confused about behead-ing it. No, I could not do it, I could not slaugh-ter it despite many attempts.

“I cannot kill a live rat or a chicken. I can-not understand how they can hack a live per-son to death!”

At least six secular writers and activists have been hacked to death by militants and radical Islamists since February 2013. Three others, who were hacked, narrowly escaped death. They were all labelled as atheists to justify the killings.

All the victims had a common identity: they were vocal against the religious bigots, the 1971 war criminals and all sorts of social injustice. l

PM: Politics with religious sentiment won’t be toleratedn Tribune Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned that the government will not allow anyone to do politics with religious sentiment.

“This cannot be done, not in Bangladesh at least,” she told a function yesterday, organ-ised by the Women and Child A� airs Ministry at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium marking the 85th birth anniversary of Begum Fazi-latunnesa Mujib, her mother.

She said various incidents are now occur-ring in the country and the government is tackling those. “At least our government is not sitting idle.”

Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the wave of terrorism and militancy that has spread to di� erent parts of the world are now hitting Bangladesh. “We are trying to check those with iron � sts.”

The prime minister said that 90% people in Bangladesh are Muslims and there were so

many attempts to unleash terrorism and mili-tant activities in this country.

“But, Bangladesh is a non-communal country. This is how the Father of the Nation brought the country’s independence…We are building the country in that way and we want to maintain that path,” she said.

Expressing her grief over the suicide bomb attack on a mosque after Jumma prayers in Saudi Arabia, she said: “Are they Muslims? Those who commit suicide and kill other Muslims, how can they be Muslims? Which religion are they protecting?”

“So where is the answer to this con� ict…Muslims are killing Muslims through suicide attacks, again killing people and bloggers for writing against religion, then which one is real, which one is true, which path will people follow,” she asked.

Terming Islam as the religion of peace, she said those who are polluting Islam cannot be believers of any religion. l

The GD(a human haulier) and started heading towards the Khilgaon rail crossing. I saw two people (both around 20 years old) with me on the bus and one of them got on the same laguna that I took. At � rst it seemed normal to me but af-ter I saw that he was continuously sending text messages on his mobile phone, I got suspicious.

From that suspicion, instead of my actual desti-nation, I got o� at the Amtola intersection which is located before the Khilgaon rail crossing. That young man got down following me and seeing that I immediately got inside a narrow alley on the left. Later I saw that the young man, instead of following me into the alley, was standing in the mouth and soon he was joined by his com-panion. From then on, I got sure that I was being followed because even though their destination was the same, they came by di� erent routes and were following me. Later, with help from a friend, I took a rickshaw and arrived home safely.

In the past, in connection with my writing and because of ideological con� icts, I have on di� er-ent occasions received threats on the internet from the followers and supporters of anti-Lib-eration War force Jamaat-e-Islami and other radical groups but I was never bothered. Now, I am concerned about my security in the wake of the back-to-back attacks on free thinkers over the last few months.

Under this circumstances, I would like to request you to please record this issue as a general diary.

Thanking youNiladri ChaterjeePhone - 01714551937

NEWS2DT

NEWS 3D

TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Ferdousi Priyabhashini threatened with death over phonen Kamrul Hasan

Sculptor Ferdousi Priyabhashini yesterday received death threat over phone from an unknown caller.

The threat to her life came just a day into the killing of blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy in Dhaka.

The veteran sculptor received the Independence award in 2010 for her sacri� ce in the Liberation War in 1971.

The war heroine (Birangona) said: “I got several calls from an unknown number but I could not take those calls. Later, my son got a call from the same number.”

When he answered the call, the caller said: “You will meet the same fate as Niladri,” she said adding: “Maybe they meant to threaten me.”

She said she would � le a general diary in this connection.

O� cer-in-Charge of Dhanmondi police station Nur-e-Azam said he had talked with her son over phone and he said he received the call around 5:07pm.

On last Friday, four unidenti� ed assailants hacked blogger Niloy Neel to death.

From his relatives and friends it was learned that he was � rst threatened by the anonymous person over phone and within three months he was murdered in his own house. l

Gonojagoron Moncho’s 7-day ultimatum for governmentn DU Correspondent

Demanding immediate arrest of blogger Niloy’s killers, Gonojagoron Moncho and sev-eral progressive students’ organisations have issued a seven-day ultimatum for the govern-ment and the enforcement agencies.

If the government fails to meet the dead-line, Moncho said they would observe tough-er programmes.

Imran H Sarkar, spokesperson of Gono-jagoron Moncho, yesterday announced a sev-en-day demonstration programme protesting the killing of Niladri Chatterjee alias Niloy, who was one of their members.

He also slammed the government for fail-ing to � nd out those who have killed sever-al bloggers and progressive writers in recent months.

“Due to negligence of the government and law enforcement agencies, bloggers are getting killed by militants...None of the killers have been brought to book although at least four writers have been killed ruthlessly in broad daylight in the last few months,” Imran said.

Later, the Moncho activists brought out a candle light vigil from Shahbagh in the evening in memory of Niloy.

Moncho’s seven-day programme includes paying � oral tribute to Niloy at Shahbagh to-day, processions on Tuesday across the coun-try and a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar on Dhaka University campus on Friday. l

Dilemma over who to lead the new counter terrorism unitn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Six years have passed since the current gov-ernment decided to form a specialised law en-forcement unit, particularly to combat militan-cy and terrorist activities in the country. But it is yet to be materialised due to various reasons.

Process of launching the unit is at � nal stage, said a senior Home Ministry o� cial. The government is now pondering on select-ing the leading agency and the unit’s o� cers.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that they were holding meetings to decide on the o� cials for the counter terrorism unit – whether to take o� cers from RAB or police or DB, or from the upcoming recruitment where some 50,000 posts would be � lled for the po-lice force.

“We have also taken some decisions that include improving skills of the law enforcers. It will be a continues process,” the minister told the Dhaka Tribune.

So far, it has been decided that the unit will be led by an o� cer of additional inspec-tor general rank, and that initially it may have around 800 members.

Presently, police’s Detective Branch and Rapid Action Battalion are working to combat militancy and organised crimes. Moreover, the government last year formed a task force with representatives of the ministries con-cerned and the law enforcement agencies.

The ministry o� cials fear that if the senior o� cials of DB or RAB are transferred to the new unit, those agencies would become weak.

The urgency for establishing the unit

looms as nearly a dozen of war crimes trial campaigners and secular activists have been hacked to death while over 40 noted person-alities threatened with death by the militants since 2013.

Moreover, the law enforcers have arrested a number of leaders and followers of banned militant groups that are trying to regroup and of new organisations that are coming into being across the country with an aim to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic state and establish Shariah law through armed jihad.

Militant activities were � rst seen in the country with the formal launching of Har-kat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) on April 30, 1992 through a press conference at National Press Club. Most of its founding leaders and activists are now in jail in various cases of murder and blasts. It was banned on October 17, 2005.

Five other militant organisations were banned between 2003 and 2015.

Rahamatul Monim, additional secretary of the Home Ministry, thinks that both the po-lice and the RAB are doing good in containing militant activities. So its o� cers should not be shifted to the anti-militancy unit.

The issue of forming the unit was � rst raised after the Twin Tower blasts on Sep-tember 11, 2001 in New York. After the blasts, the United Nations too recommended that Bangladesh government form a special unit as militant activities have spread across the country.

The formal decision of creating the unit was � nally taken in 2009. Then additional

inspector general of police, also the present IGP, AKM Shahidul Haque, at a discussion in 2011 � rst proposed to from the unit.

Later, the planing and research depart-ment of the Police Headquarters, after com-pleting research, submitted a proposal to the Home Ministry on August 23, 2011.

The ministry revised the proposal a num-ber of times. It reduced the number of posts from 962 to 793, and approved 440 vehicles.

But there has been no update on the mat-ter since 2012.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said that it would be easier for the law enforcers to tackle militant activities if the specialised unit was formed.

“The militants are now using sleeper cells for which they cannot be traced and arrested easily. Moreover, they are using fake names and forming new groups with members from the banned organisations and fresh recruits through online. They are planning attacks following the styles of international terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State,” he added.

Security expert Maj Gen (retd) Abdur Rashid has observed that Bangladesh is in need for such a unit with expertise in IT, bomb-making technology and militant activi-ties. There must be a research team too.

Militants change their locations, and plan-ning and execution style very frequently, he said. “Because of absence of such a force and lack of experience of the o� cials concerned, the police force could not solve many cases involving militants,” he observed. l

Gonojagoron Moncho brings out a torch procession in Shahbagh area of the capital yesterday in protest against the murder of blogger Niloy Chatterjee RAJIB DHAR

NEWS4DTSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed poses for a photo with BSF sub-inspectors after taking salute at the march past at the closing session of the BSF sub-inspectors’ training on Friday at New Delhi. This is the � rst time that a BGB chief has attended the function as the chief guest DHAKA TRIBUNE

Suraiya breastfed every two hours at NICUn Kamrul Hasan

Doctors yesterday said bullet-hit baby Surai-ya Begum was still in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and her mother was breastfeeding her at intervals of two hours.

The infant was transferred to the NICU on Friday, the same day her mother was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Ward 212.

Doctors said Suriaya was taken to the NICU for better treatment as her chance of develop-ing infections increased after operation.

Dr Kaniz Hasina, paediatrics department’s associate professor who had been oversee-ing Suraiya’s treatment since she arrived at the hospital, said doctors had regularly held meetings to discuss the best treatment the baby could be given.

“Her condition improved after she met her mother. The mother was allowed to breast-feed her in every two hours.

“When the child was born, she weighed a little over 2kg. A newborn baby’s weight can decrease for up to two weeks after the birth

but Suraiya is losing weight even 17 days after she came into the world,” the doctor said.

She said the weight loss could be explained by Suraiya’s premature birth.

The infant su� ered injuries when her eight-month pregnant mother was shot in the abdomen during a Jubo League factional clash on July 23 in Magura.

The bullet pierced through the unborn ba-by’s right shoulder and damaged her right eye.

She was born after a three-hour operation at Magura General Hospital. l

PM: Bangamata still an example for the womenfolkn Tribune Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Banga-mata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib would remain as an example amongst not only the womenfolk also an inspiration � gure and dedicated lady for the sake of the nation.

“I have learned many things of politics from the great lady,” said the PM whose moth-er is Fazilatunnesa Mujib.

The premier made the statement while ad-dressing a function marking the 85th birth an-niversary of her mother in Osmani Memorial Hall in the capital yesterday.

State Minister for Women and Children Af-fairs Meher Afroz Chumki presided over the function organised by her ministry.

“Begum Mujib has sacri� ced her whole life for the people. I am saying this not only

as she is my mother. My father [Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman] could face so much sacri� ces as he had got immense support from my grandparents as well as his spouse. Bangabandhu’s lifelong goal was to achieve the freedom of the people of Bangladesh and their economic emancipation. My mother’s inspiration had played a catalytic role to this end,” Hasina who is eldest daughter of Bang-abandhu continued.

The PM went on Bangamata as a woman and wife had no demand in her life and she led a very simple life. She even was used to serve the families of the others detained leaders in their economic hardship, children’s education and illness when Bangabandhu was in prison.

Meanwhile, the ruling Awami League, its associate bodies and other socio-cultur-al bodies yesterday arranged various pro-

grammes across the country to mark Banga-mata’s birthday.

AL leaders placed wreaths on her grave at Banani Graveyard around 8:30am and ar-ranged Milad and Doa Mah� l seeking eternal peace of the departed soul.

Dhaka City unit AL, Swechchhasebak League, Jubo League, Chhatra League, Mahila Awami League and others have also laid wreaths on the grave. Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote also hosted cultural programmes on the day.

Besides, BCL has organised a discussion at the TSC of Dhaka University at 4pm today.

On August 8 in 1930, Fazilatunnesa Mujib was born in a respectable Muslim family at Tungipara of Gopalganj.

She was assassinated along with her hus-band and most of the family members in Dh-anmondi 32 residence on August 15, 1975. l

International Indigenous day todayn Tribune Report

Though the government has no arrangement to observe the day o� cially, some social, po-litical and cultural organisations as usual this year have chalked out many programmes to mark the International Day of World’s Indige-nous Peoples today.

With the slogan of “Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples’ health and well-being” declared by the United Nations, Bangladesh Adibashi Forum will hold a rally, a procession and cultural programmes from 10am on Central Shaheed Minar premises.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman, Transport and Tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon were due to attend the event alongside some foreign delegates.

Manuser Jonno Foundation will hold a two-day-long indigenous fair and seminars on Bangla Academy premises to mark the day.

Besides, many programmes have been scheduled to be held on di� erent parts of the country by the community on the day. l

India Educates o� cially launchedn Tribune Desk

India Educates, a private organisation to pro-vide credible services to Indian education was o� cially launched yesterday in Dhaka.

Jishnu Prasanna Mukherjee, � rst secretary (education) of the Indian High Commission, launched the latest avatar of its website www.indiaeducates.com.

India Educates (IE), headquartered in Kol-kata, commits to produce quality knowledge provider, admission facilitator and a holistic education counselling organisation for the students intending to study in India. l

Sultana Kamal calls upon all to resist human tra� ckingn Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

Former advisor to the caretaker government and Executive Director of Ain-o Shalish Ken-dra Sultana Kamal yesterday called upon all to resist human tra� cking, and urged the government to bring the tra� ckers to book.

She came up with the speech while ad-dressing a human chain at Kotbazar Station Chattar of Ukhia on Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf high-way yesterday morning.

Human Rights Defenders’ Forum in asso-ciation with Cox’s Bazar Relief International organised the road march and human chain to protest the human tra� cking.

Speaking as the chief guest, Sultana Ka-mal demanded the government to bring back those who were earlier tra� cked to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The road show was attended by rights activ-ists, lawyers, teachers and youths, said HRDF Member Secretary Mizanur Rahman Bahadur.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, 88,000 people from the coasts of Bangladesh and Myanmar took the sea journeys to Malay-sia through Thailand, and 300 of them died at the sea. l

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The Real Estate Development, a guideline for developersn Tribune Report

Tou� q M Seraj encapsulates all that is there related to the real estate sector in his book ti-tled “ The Real Estate Development.”

Contrary to what the title suggests, the book is less about chronicling growth and more about producing a guideline for the fast growing sector.

This recent Pathak Shamabesh publication includes every possible sub-sector and how to go about regulating them, said speakers at the launching ceremony held at Sheltech Lounge in the capital yesterday.

They said the book was a guideline for the developers, buyers and students, and all

those involved with the booming sector.Nazrul Islam, honorary chairman of the

Centre for Urban Studies, said: “The book ad-dresses all important issues of the sector such as the concept and administration of real es-tate, urban planning, real estate management, land and legal matters, real estate projects, eco-nomics, � nance, and real estate construction.”

Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus at Brac University, said: “Those who face problems in the sector, rarely write about the problems. This book is like a manual and a Bible for the professionals.”

“The book is a compilation of my daily ex-periences of the last 25 years. I started writ-ing the book four years ago but could not get

enough time to complete the book. As my business was not going well for the last cou-ple of years, I got time and completed the book,” said the author Tou� q M Seraj.

Bishwa Sahitya Kendra Chairman Abdul-lah Abu Sayeed said: “If Tau� q's business was good, we could not get such a wonderful book. Tau� q's experience is re� ected in the book and it will bene� t millions. It is a com-pilation of his lessons and an important doc-ument for researchers.”

Tou� q M Seraj is the founder managing di-rector of Sheltech Pvt ltd. He is an engineer by profession and has extensive professional ex-perience in real estate development, construc-tion, management and planning consultancy. l

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Nasim urges Khaleda to participate in the next pollsn DU Correspondent

Health and Family Welfare Minister Moham-med Nasim yesterday urged BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to participate in the next national election.

“The next national election will be held in 2019 as per the constitution. You (Khaleda) should prepare your party to participate in the next national election” he said.

The Minister said this while addressing a discussion at the Bangabandhu the Hall au-ditorium of Dhaka University (DU) in the af-ternoon.

The discussion was organised by the hall unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) marking the 15 August, the national mourn-ing day.

“Law enforcement agencies should ar-rest those who torture and torment children, abuse them and engage them in inhuman work.”

The Awami League presidium member urged the Chhatra League leaders and activ-ists to be aware of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s conspiracy to destroy the country.

He also urged Chhatra League men not to involve in any corruption.

He advised them to study more on father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Begum Fazilatunne-sa Mujib and follow their ideology.

With DU Bangabandhu Hall Unit BCL Pres-ident Darus-Salam Shakil in the chair the dis-cussion was also addressed, among others, by DU Arts Faculty Dean Professor Akhteru-zzaman Khan, DU Teacher Sabur Khan, BCL Central President Saifur Rahman Sohag, Gen-eral Secretary SM Jakir Hossain, DU unit Pres-ident Abid Al Hasan and General Secretary Motahar Hossian Prince. l

Guests unveil the book titled ‘Real Estate Development’ written by Dr Tou� q M Siraj at a ceremony held at the o� ce of Sheltech Ltd in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

HSC results todayn Tribune Desk

Results of the Higher Secondary Certi� cate ( HSC) and equivalent examinations will be published today.

As per tradition, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid along with chairmen of all the education boards will hand over copies of the result to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Around 10am, the PM will publish the results through video conferencing with two colleges in separate districts from her o� cial residence Ganabhaban. In the afternoon, minister Nahid will o� cially announce the results at a press conference at the Secretariat.

Results will be also available on the website www.educationboard.gov.bd and at the respective college campuses.

For knowing grades on mobile phones, one will have to type HSC, space, � rst three letters of the education board, space roll number, space 2015, and send the SMS to 16222.

Madrasa students can know their results by typing Alim, space Mad, space roll number, space 2015, and send the SMS to 16222.

Vocational students can access their results by typing HSC, space Tec, space roll number, space 2015, and sending the SMS to 16222. l

POLICE DRIVE ON HIGHWAYS

Accused drivers to lose licensesn Mohammad Jamil Khan

The police have decided to destroy the licenses of those drivers who have been accused in cases � led in connection with highway accidents.

Also on the cards is another decision to cancel the licenses or route permits of drivers whose vehicles would be involved in three accidents on the highways, o� cials of highway police told this to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Stressing that many accidents take place because of reckless driving, o� cials said such rules are in place in many developed countries.

Police data shows that a total of 26,665 cases have been � led in the last six months in connection with accidents and other occurrences on the highways. During the same period, individuals and organisations have been � ned Tk1.25 crore on the highways.

In the � rst � ve days of the ongoing drive to stop three-wheeled vehicles plying the highways, law enforcers have � led 5,850 lawsuits. The drivers of 1,511 vehicles have

been sued for reckless driving and the remaining 4,338 cases relate with other crimes.

“Cases were been � led and sometimes � nes were imposed for breaking rules or creating nuisance on the highways. The situation is improving now,” said Mollic Fakhrul Islam, deputy inspector general of highway police.

According to highway police, the Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Mawa, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-

Mymensingh Highways are most prone to accidents. The frequency rises sharply before and after the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha vacations when millions of people travel out and back into Dhaka.

In most of the major accidents, bigger vehicles such as buses and trucks collide with smaller and slower vehicles like microbuses and CNG-run three-wheelers. Because of this, the government has recently banned three-wheelers on highways.

Highway police claimed that accidents have declined signi� cantly since the drive against three-wheelers began. They have been continuously patrolling the highways to keep the small vehicles o� the highways and suing or � ning the reckless drivers of bigger vehicles.

When contacted, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, a deputy inspector general of police, said: “All o� cials are putting in all-out e� orts to prevent accidents and the plying of three-wheelers on the highways. The drive will be strengthened before the upcoming Eid-ul Azha. We are also taking actions against un� t vehicles.” l

FILE PHOTO

NEWS6DTSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Thousands su� er as bridge subsides in Kishoreganjn Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

A paved bridge on Ekrampur-Marichkhali road in Kishoreganj’s Baruk Bazar has been announced o� -limits to tra� c after it subsid-ed two feet on Tuesday.

The bridge also developed cracks and was closed as the local authorities considered it risky, heightening the woes of more than 0.1 million people in three nearby upazilas – Nikli, Mithamoin and Karimganj. They are now forced to make boat journeys that are costing them extra money.

A pillar of the bridge, built more than 25 years ago on the Narsunda River in Gund-har union, subsided on Tuesday afternoon, prompting its closure.

The bridge is an important trade route in Kishoreganj, with transports carrying � sh to di� erent districts across the country and bringing fuel to Marichkhali Bazar.

Many transports on both sides of the river were stuck after the bridge subsided.

Nazmul Haque, a trader at Marichkhali Ba-zar, told the Dhaka Tribune local traders were counting heavy losses after the bridge was closed to tra� c.

“The bridge has to be repaired as early as possible. Otherwise, traders will continue to incur losses. Many � sh wholesalers, and fertiliser and fuel dealers have businesses at Marichkhali Bazar,” he said.

Sharif Uddin, who lives in Bhari Nanasri area, said the bridge is a one-way path and its

closure had caused commuters as well as pas-sengers to su� er a lot.

Kishoreganj LGED Executive Engineer Md Golam Mawla told the Dhaka Tribune the sub-sidence of the pillar on the west side of the bridge might have been caused by recent tor-rential rains.

“Strong current in the river may have dis-placed the soil beneath the pillar. We will soon begin repairing the bridge,” he said.

The engineer said tra� c was not being allowed on the bridge to ward o� possibleaccidents. “We have also put up a warning sign.”

Locals meanwhile have demanded quick repair of the bridge, and also called for an in-vestigation into why the structure subsided. l

Adivasi Chhatra Parishad and Parbatya Chattagram Pahari Chhatra Parishad Rajshahi chapter organise a human chain yesterday at Rajshahi University gate ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples today demanding constitutional recognition of them AZAHAR UDDIN

11 fugitives arrested in Munshiganjn Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Police in drives arrested a total of 11 fugitives from Betkabazar and Chanderbazar areas in Tongibazar upazila here early yesterday.

During the drives, the law enforcers recov-ered � rearms, bullet and wine.

When contacted, Tongibari police station OC Alamgir Hossain said they on a tip-o� made the arrest of Ekbal Hossain Bepari, Abul Dali, Milton Talukder, Suman Dali, Ramjan Dali, Omar Faruk and Akkas Mollah from a house in Chanderbazar area around 1am and recovered a foreign-made pistol, bullets and some liquor.

Of them, Ekbal is main accomplice of Ram-pal top terror Khasrur and he is accused in seven cases.

In another drive, police arrested four fugi-tives named Kamal Hossain, Manik Mandol, Uttam Mandol and Kadir Sheikh who are ac-cused in Kabir Hossain killing case. l

Two schoolboys, Jubo League leader killed n Tribune Report

At least two schoolboys and a Jubo League leader were killed in Noakhali, Habiganj and Sherpur districts yesterday.

Our Noakhali correspondent reports: A Jubo League leader was killed at Deoti village under Sonaimuri upazila. Deceased Milon Sarker, 36, son of Md Naderuzzaman was the o� ce secretary of Deoti Union Jubo League.

Joydeb, o� cer-in-charge of Sonaimuri po-lice station, quoting locals said Milon went out home at night for catching � sh beside his house. At one stage, some miscreants hacked him indiscriminately with sharp weapons, leaving him dead on the spot.

On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Noakhali Abdul Malek Ukil Med-

ical College and Hospital for autopsy.Abdul Motaleb, elder brother of the victim

said that Milon had a business of decoration.A case was � led with the police station in

this connection.In Habiganj, a college student was stabbed

to death allegedly by some of his classmates on the campus of Shachindra Degree College in Baniachang upazila, said our correspondent.

The victim Sumon Miah, 18, was a Class XII student of the college and son of Mukhlesur Rahman of Bitangal village in the upazila.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Saz-zat Ibne Raihan said Sumon had enmity with some of his classmates over his love a� air with a girl of the class.

As a sequel to the enmity, a group of his 7-8 classmates chased Sumon while he was

waiting for bus in front of the college to return home at noon.

At one stage, when Sumon entered the college campus for saving himself, the attackers stabbed him with a knife, leaving him injured critically.

Sumon was rushed to Sadar hospital where doctors declared him dead

Our Sherpur correspondent said the body of an 8-year old schoolboy who was kid-napped six days ago was recovered from Mad-hutila Eco Park area in Nalitabari upazila.

The victim Arafat Islam Rahat, was a Class I student of Biplap-Lopa Memorial School and son of Shahidul Islam Khokon of Grida-narayanpur area of Sherpur district town.

Superintendent of Police M Shahjahan Miah said Rahat’s maternal uncle Abdul Latif and his associates abducted Rahat from in

front of his house on August 2.The kidnappers later demanded Tk2 lakh

from his family as ransom over mobile phone.On a tip-o� , a police team arrested three

kidnapers Rahat’s maternal uncle (husband of aunt ) Abdul Latif, and two other people- Rob-in Miah, 21, and Imran Hasan ,21, from di� er-ent places of the upazila on August 4.

According to their statement the police arrested another kidnapper, Aslam Miah, 22, from the district town in the morning.

On the basis of the information given by Aslam, the police recovered Rahat’s decom-posed body from the area at noon.

Aslam confessed to the police as per the directive of Latif, he along with his associates kidnapped Rahat for ransom and strangled him to death. l

Dhaka-Ctg Highway blockaded; 100 vehicles vandalisedn Our Correspondent, Feni

Being infuriated by police bar to enter local roads crossing highway, local CNG-run au-torickshaw drives barricaded the busy Dha-ka-Chittagong highway in Lalpole and Silunia areas in Sadar upazila yesterday.

Sources said the stalemate continued for about one and a half hours starting from 11am created long tailback on both sides of the road causing immense su� ering to the commuters.

The blockaders vandalised above 100 ve-hicles forcing the local police to take action leaving ten people including three policemen injured.

Police � red about 90 rounds of rubber bullet as the autorickshaw drives engaged in clash with them during bringing the situation under control and they detained three clash-ers from the spot.

Feni model police station OC Mahbub Morshed admitted the incident, saying they managed to restore normalcy on the highway � nally and injured ASI Ra� qul Islam, Sepoy Raju Majumdar and Nirandra Kumar received � rst aid treatment from the district hospital. l

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:37PM SUN RISES 5:32AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.7ºC 25.0ºC

Chuadanga Khepupara

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 32 26Chittagong 32 26Rajshahi 33 26Rangpur 33 26Khulna 33 26Barisal 32 26Sylhet 30 25Cox’s Bazar 31 26

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:08am

Sunrise 5:30amZohr 12:04am

Asr 4:41pmMagrib 6:37pm

Esha 8:07pm

WEATHER

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9

DRY WEATHER LIKELY

Tea factory shut down following extortion threatsn Our Correspondent, Panchagarh

More than 500 tea growers and 250 workers of North Bengal Central Tea Industries in Panchagarh district are frustrated as the fac-tory closed down following extortion threats on Friday.

A complaint was � led in this connection, said workers of the factory.

According to the written complaint and locals, a local man named Abdul Hamid had been trying to extort money out of the facto-ry owners for the last couple of months. On Thursday, Hamid and his 10/12 associates came to the factory and demanded huge amount of money as extortion. When the au-thorities refused to pay, they locked the main gate of the factory. They also tried to intim-idate the owners and workers of the factory.

Following the incident, the factory owners shut down the factory on Friday.

Hundreds of small tea growers in the dis-trict became distressed for not being able to sell tea leaves to the factory in due time.

Yesterday the farmers gathered in front of factory and demanded the factory be opened right away.

Manager of North Bengal Tea Industries Md Abdur Razzaque told the Dhaka Tribune: “Abdul Hamid put a lock on the main gate of the factory as we refused to pay extortion money. Police came and removed the lock af-ter we informed them, however, Hamid con-tinued to threaten us. So to ensure security, we closed down the factory.”

Hamid said: “I own a piece of land beside the factory on which the employees of the factory used to dump wastes. I told them several times for not to do so, but my words fell on deaf ears. On Thursday I went to tell them the same thing but they did not listen to me. So I put a lock on the main gate from outside. Now, they are � ling a case of extortion just to grab my land.” l

15 hurt in cops-CNG drivers clashn Our Correspondent, Feni

CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers clashed with police in Lalpole area on the Dhaka-Chit-tagong Highway yesterday in protest against the highway ban, leaving 15 including cops injured.

The protesters also vandalized some 20 vehicles, disrupting communications on the highway for about one-and-a-half hours.

Inspector Saleh Ahmed of Highway Mohi-pal police station said the auto-rickshaw driv-ers blockaded the highway in the area around 11am placing stones.

As the police went to bring back normalcy, the protesters had an altercation with them, said inspector Saleh, adding that at one stage, they threw brickbats at the law enforcers and broke glasses of over 25 vehicles.

Vehicular movement on the highway be-came normal around 12:30pm.

Feni Model police station O� cer-in-Charge Mahbub Morshed said the law enforcers � red over 50 gunshots and lobbed teargas shells to take control over the situation.

Fifteen people including police members were injuring during the melee, he added.

Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further violence. Rapid Ac-tion Battalion also strengthened patrol. l Adulterated dried � sh

� oods Ctg Shutki Polli1,000kg chemical mixed dried � sh seized; six shops � ned, one sealedn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

The age-old Chittagong Shutki Polli in the port city’s Asadganj and Chaktai areas has been � ooded with dried � shes mixed with poisonous chemicals and arti� cial colours.

Some unscrupulous traders are doing this for preserving the product for long and also to boost sales that will lead to bigger pro� ts, said Asadganj Shutki Wholesale Traders As-sociation and Asadganj Shutki Polli Traders Association leaders.

Shutki Polli is one of the busiest dried � sh markets and products from here are shipped to di� erent parts of the country.

Local sources said the use of toxic chemicals and colours is an open secret at Shutki Polli while buyers and consumers of other districts are not aware of the adulteration practice.

During a three-and-a-half-hour mobile court drive at the dried � sh trade hub yes-terday, about 1,000 kilogrammes of dried ilish adulterated with poisonous chemicals and colours, and several sacks of expired col-our-mixed salt were seized.

The mobile court, led by Chittagong District Administration’s Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Md Ruhul Amin, later destroyed the � sh and salt. The magistrate said six traders were � ned a total of Tk95,000 during the drive and a shop was sealed.

Most of the wholesalers preserved chem-ical-mixed dried � shes in unhygienic ware-houses and retailers were selling those after mixing colours to attract buyers.

Magistrate Ruhul said some traders were also found to have used formalin in order to

preserve � sh for longer than usual.“Many traders shut their shops in fear

when the mobile court arrived there. Adul-terating � sh this way is illegal and consuming such � shes is certainly detrimental for health.

“Besides, traders and workers can contract various diseases as they work in this unhy-gienic environment,” he added.

Asadganj Shutki Polli Traders Association’s General Secretary Farid Ahmed said 250 re-tailers operate businesses at Shutki Polli and they have buyers from across the country.

“This is why they will not involve them-selves in this unscrupulous act because they will lose customers if they sell adulterated � sh. The wholesalers who preserve � sh in ware-houses should be mostly blamed for this nefar-ious act,” he said. Farid said the mobile court drive was the � rst of its kind at Shutki Polli.

“We consider adulteration of � sh a serious issue and will look into it. All traders have al-ready been warned and we will take stern action against any of them if he is found guilty of mixing chemicals and colours with � sh in the future.”

Asadganj Shutki Wholesale Traders Associ-ation’s General Secretary Md Nazer said there are 50 wholesalers at Shutki Polli but only a few of them might be involved in � sh adulteration.

“Chemicals can be applied in dried ilish while some traders use colours to attract buy-ers but they have no intention to sell expired items,” he said.

“The National Board of Revenue from Au-gust 1 has raised import duty on dried � sh from Tk61 to Tk147 per kg. This may be a reason why traders will be inclined to apply chemicals in their products,” he added. l

Medical students form a human chain in front of the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital yesterday demanding classes before they sit for supplementary examination MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

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Pro-government forces launch o� ensive in Yemenn AFP, Aden

Pro-government forces in Yemen strength-ened by tanks newly supplied by a Saudi-led coalition launched an o� ensive yesterday to retake the rebel-held capital of Abyan prov-ince, military sources said.

A two-pronged drive on the southern prov-ince’s capital of Zinjibar was launched from the north and south, the sources said.

It came two days after tribal and military sources said Saudi Arabia, leading an Arab coalition air war on the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, had sent new military equipment in-cluding tanks to Yemen.

The tanks were part of a package of rein-forcements including armoured vehicles and personnel carriers as well as hundreds of Yemeni soldiers trained in kingdom, a mili-tary source said. This week has seen heavy � ghting in Zinjibar and heavy coalition air strikes against positions of the 15th Army Bri-gade allied to the Huthis.

Military sources said at least 22 people, most-ly returning civilians, have been killed since Thursday by explosions of mines planted by retreating Huthis in Aden and Lahj provinces. l

51 dead, hundreds wounded in Kabul bombingsn AFP, Kabul

Fifteen more fatalities were con� rmed yes-terday from a barrage of bombings in Kabul, taking the toll to 51 in the deadliest day for the city in years as Afghanistan battles an escalat-ing Taliban insurgency.

The explosions on Friday, which devastat-ed buildings and overwhelmed hospitals with hundreds of casualties, were the � rst major militant assaults on Kabul since the announce-ment of Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s death.

The attacks underscored the country’s vol-atile security situation amid a faltering peace process and the potency of the Taliban insur-gency, despite it being riven by growing inter-nal divisions.

In the � rst attack, a powerful truck bomb tore through the centre of Kabul just after midnight on Friday, killing 15 civilians and wounding 240 others.

Less than 24 hours later, 27 cadets and civilians were killed when a suicide bomber dressed in police uniform blew himself up at the entrance of Kabul Police Academy.

Explosions and gun� re also erupted when Camp Integrity, a US special forces base in Kabul, came under attack late Fri-day, killing nine people, including a NATO service member.

The Taliban distanced themselves from the truck bombing which struck near a Kabul military base – as they usually do in attacks that result in mass civilian casualties.

But they claimed responsibility for both other attacks, which marked a serious breach of security at a premier training institute for Afghan forces and a foreign coalition facility.

The three assaults made Friday the deadliest 24 hours in Kabul since De-cember 2011, when more than 50 people were killed in a suicide attack during the

Shiite holy day of Ashura.Friday’s bombings were the � rst major

attacks since Mullah Akhtar Mansour was named as the new Taliban chief last week in an acrimonious power transition after the insurgents con� rmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar.

Experts say the escalating violence demonstrates Mullah Mansour’s attempt to boost his image among Taliban cadres and drive attention away from internal rifts over his leadership.

“The new wave of attacks is a tactic by the Taliban’s new leadership to show they are ca-pable, potent and operational,” said security analyst Abdul Hadi Khaled.

“The demise of Mullah Omar divided the movement and a� ected the morale of their ground � ghters. Hitting Kabul with a wave of powerful attacks is a way of showcasing their strength.” l

Pro-Kurdish party leader calls for steps to halt Turkey violencen Reuters, Diyarbakir

The leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP urged the militant Kurdistan Workers Party yesterday to “remove its � nger from the trig-ger” and said the government should launch talks to halt a surge in violence.

The militant PKK announced it was step-ping up attacks in mid-July, saying Turkish forces were violating a 2013 cease� re. Turkey began an air campaign against PKK camps in northern Iraq on July 24.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas told reporters: “Today

we call to both sides: the PKK must immedi-ately remove its � nger from the trigger and declare it will observe the cease� re.”

Speaking in the southeastern city of Van, a day after six people were killed in clashes between security forces and militants in the mainly Kurdish southeast, he said the gov-ernment must halt security operations and revive a peace process launched with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 2012.

Demirtas’ HDP won 13 percent of the vote in a June 7 election which has yet to produce a coalition government. He had regularly vis-ited Ocalan in his Imrali island jail south of

Istanbul. Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdo-gan said the state was continuing talks with Ocalan but the HDP could no longer visit him because it had “betrayed” the process.

In comments to Milliyet newspaper pub-lished yesterday, he said tactical PKK declara-tions on halting violence were unacceptable.

“Their withdrawal from Turkey and a complete halt to activities is now a pre-req-uisite,” he said.

On Friday evening militants � red a rocket at an armoured car in the town of Cizre, kill-ing a police o� cer and wounding another, se-curity sources said.

Earlier that day, three people were killed and seven wounded during clashes between police and PKK in the town of Silopi. Both towns are close to Turkey’s borders with Syr-ia and Iraq.

In Van and Agri provinces, militants killed two soldiers, bringing the death toll among Turkish security forces since July 20 to at least 21.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and European Un-ion, launched its insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the con� ict. l

A migrant dives into the water from an overloaded wooden boat during a rescue operation o� the coast of Libya on August 6. An estimated 600 migrants on the boat were rescued by the international non-governmental organisations Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Migrant O� shore Aid Station (MOAS) without loss of life on Thursday afternoon, according to MSF and MOAS, a day after more than 200 migrants are feared to have drowned in the latest Mediterranean boat tragedy after rescuers saved over 370 people from a capsized boat thought to be carrying 600 REUTERS

UN peacekeeper kills 4 colleagues in CARn Reuters, Abidjan

A Rwandan soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Central Afri-can Republic shot dead four Rwandan troops and wounded eight others yesterday before committing suicide, according to the Rwan-dan Defence Ministry.

The incident occurred around 5:45am (0445 GMT) at the Rwandan battalion’s head-quarters in the capital Bangui.

“Investigations have immediately com-menced to establish the motive behind this deplorable shooting,” spokesman Brigadier General Joseph Nzabamwita said. “We sus-pect terrorism, without ruling out mental illness as the cause.” The statement said the injured soldiers had immediately been trans-ported to a hospital in Bangui for treatment.

Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power, triggering reprisals by “anti-balaka” Christian militias who drove tens of thousands of Muslims from the south in a de facto partition. l

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Russia � nds helicopter that crashed 10 months ago with 14 peoplen AFP, Moscow

Russian investigators said yesterday they had found the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed last October with 14 people on board in a remote mountainous region of Siberia.

Rescuers “con� rmed information that the Mi-8 helicopter of TuvaAvia airline that went missing on October 10 was found in an isolat-ed mountainous area,” investigators said in a statement.

“According to provisional information, there were 11 passengers and 3 crew members on board.”

The helicopter was transporting workers who were returning from a hydroelectric pro-ject in the Siberian Buddhist region of Tuva, which borders Mongolia.

It crashed into a mountainside amid low cloud and falling snow and caught � re when it hit the ground, the spokesman for the re-gional emergencies ministry, Dmitry Kryzh, told TASS news agency. “There is a very steep slope – with a gradient of around 45 degrees,” he said of the crash scene.

He said the helicopter most likely went un-detected after the crash because it was quick-ly covered with snow.

The wreckage was initially spotted Friday from the air by military helicopter pilots.

Rescuers were still searching for the heli-copter’s black boxes which could have been swept downhill by rock falls, Kryzh said.

So far the remains of 10 people have been found.

“Unfortunately the crew and the passen-gers had no chance,” the leader of Tuva, Shol-ban Kara-ool, said in a statement.

It is not unknown for crashed aircraft to lie undetected for months in Russia’s sparsely populated countryside.

In 2013, a small plane was found in a marsh 11 months after it crashed in the Urals region of central Russia, killing all 13 on board. l

Twelve dead as Mali hotel siege endsn Reuters, Bamako

Malian security forces yesterday stormed a hotel used by United Nations sta� and freed four hostages held there by suspected Isla-mist militants during a nearly 24-hour siege in which 12 people died.

The gunmen had seized the Byblos Hotel in the town of Sevare, around 600 km (400 miles) northeast of the west African nation’s capital Bamako, early on Friday and held o� government troops who quickly surrounded the building.

The attack, far to the south of the Islamist militants’ traditional desert strongholds, was the latest in what appears to be a growing campaign against Malian soldiers and UN personnel by remnants of an al Qaeda-linked insurgency.

“(The siege) seems to be over and it has ended well,” said a Malian defence ministry spokesman, Colonel Diaran Koné. “We freed the four hostages. But unfortunately we also found three bodies at the site.”

A spokeswoman for Mali’s UN peacekeep-ing mission, MINUSMA, said four UN contrac-tors - two from South Africa along with a Rus-sian and a Ukrainian - had been freed in the pre-dawn raid by security forces.

“At no point were they discovered by the terrorists in the hotel. They were hiding,” Ra-dhia Achouri said, adding that the mission was verifying whether any other MINUSMA personnel were present inside the hotel.

Three hostages died during the ordeal, Ma-lian government spokesman Choguel Kokala Maiga said. A Malian military spokesman said they were from South Africa, Russia and Ukraine.

South Africa’s foreign ministry con� rmed that two of its citizens were safe while a 38-year-old Pretoria resident working for an aviation company contracted with MINUSMA had died.

Five soldiers and four gunmen, including one who o� cials earlier said was strapped with explosives, were also killed, he said.

Ukraine and Russia had previously con-

� rmed that their citizens were among the hostages. Russian news agencies, citing a press attache at Moscow’s embassy in Mali, said a Russian hostage employed by the air-line UTair was among those freed yesterday.

Seven suspects have been arrested in con-nection with the attack, according to a gov-ernment statement released late on Friday.

Small Arms FireA 2013 French-led military operation

drove back Islamist � ghters, who had taken advantage of an ethnic Tuareg rebellion and a military coup to seize territory in the north a year earlier.

While the United Nations has managed to broker a tenuous peace agreement between the government and Tuareg separatists, Isla-mist � ghters left out of the negotiations have mounted an insurgency.

Former colonial ruler France and other Western and regional nations fear Islamist � ghters could turn the remote region into a launch pad for attacks further a� eld if they regain power there.

Describing the security forces’ operation early yesterday, a Sevare resident living near the hotel told Reuters: “The assault ... took place between 4 and 5 o’clock this morning (0400-0500 GMT). We didn’t hear heavy weapons this time. There was just some small arms � re.”

On Friday Malian forces had used heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled gre-nades, in a failed attempt to dislodge the gunmen that then gave way to the prolonged stand-o� .

The resident and a Malian military source said a special unit of the Malian gendarmes had carried out yesterday’s pre-dawn raid.

Koné, the defence ministry spokesman, said that French forces had backed the op-eration. But a French army spokesman said French soldiers had not been directly in-volved in the assault on the hotel.

“We played a coordination role with MI-NUSMA and the Malian armed forces, but this is a normal role that we play all the time,” the o� cial said. l

Typhoon Soudelor hits Taiwan, six deadn Reuters, Taipei/Yilan

A powerful typhoon battered Taiwan yester-day with strong wind and torrential rain, cut-ting power to 3.62 million households as the death toll rose to six.

Four people were missing and 101 were injured, authorities said. Hundreds of � ights were delayed or cancelled and more than 9,900 people were evacuated from their homes.

Television footage trees uprooted and power poles toppled over, a moped being swept into the air by wind and shipping con-tainers piled on top of each other at a port.

“The storm will weaken but we expect

more rain, particularly in southern Taiwan,” said Wang Shih-chien, an o� cial with the is-land’s Central Weather Bureau.

The storm made landfall early on the is-land’s east-coast counties of Yilan and Hual-ien, bringing more than 1,000 mm of rain in mountainous areas and wind gusting up to 200 kph (124 mph).

Although the eye of Typhoon Soudelor passed Taiwan, and was heading towards mainland China, rain was expected to lash the island until Sunday morning.

In Taipei, large steel sheets and rods were blown o� a half-constructed stadium and city authorities shut down much public transport.

“The metal roof of the house next door to mine was completely blown away,” said res-ident Jack Lin. “I saw a car crushed to bits.”

Authorities issued � ood and mudslide alerts and television showed mud trapping people and murky water nearly covering the roofs of cars in some areas.

Among the dead was one person who drowned in his � ooded home and another who was killed by a falling tree.

Earlier, authorities said one adult and one child had drowned at sea, while a foreign worker was killed by a falling sign and a res-cue worker was hit by a car and killed while clearing downed branches from a road. l

A man looks at a car damaged by fallen roof near a bent tra� c light caused by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor in Taipei, Taiwan yesterday REUTERS

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Colorado gunman gets life term for killing 12 in movie rampagen Reuters, Centennial

A Colorado jury sentenced movie rampage gunman James Holmes to life without parole on Friday, rejecting the death penalty for the 27-year-old who entered a midnight screen-ing of a Batman � lm wielding a semi-auto-matic ri� e, shotgun and pistol and killed a dozen people.

After less than a day of deliberations, and in a surprise to many legal experts and those in the packed courtroom, the jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous decision condemning Holmes to execution. They found him guilty last month on all counts for his July 20, 2012 massacre. Seventy people were also wounded.

Holmes showed no reaction. The for-mer neuroscience graduate student stared straight ahead with his hands in his pockets as the judge announced the decision.

The verdict brings to an end an often-de-layed, lengthy, and high-pro� le trial just a lit-tle more than three years after his rampage in a suburban Denver multiplex put a spotlight on gun control, mental illness and security in public spaces.

Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Gha-wi was murdered by Holmes, commiserated outside the courtroom after the verdict with a wheelchair-bound survivor, Caleb Medley.

“Justice is not served. Sorry, Caleb,” she told him. As two members of Holmes’ court-appointed defense team walked past, Phillips said: “I wonder how it feels to save the life of a mass murderer? Good job.”

Nine jurors were in favor of the death pen-alty, a member of the panel said later. One was

against execution, and the other two were on the fence, she said, without giving her name.

“I think primarily it was the mental illness,” Juror 17 told reporters, referring to the reasoning given by the hold-out.

Because the jurors could not agree, Holm-

es serves a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. They would have had to be unanimous for a death penalty to be im-posed. The defense had said Holmes su� ers from schizophrenia and was not in control of his actions. l

Fugitive Cambodian ex-governor hands self in over shootingn AFP, Phnom Penh

A former Cambodian governor who has evaded arrest since he shot and wounded three garment workers during a protest in 2012 handed himself to police yesterday, o� cials said.

Chhuk Bundith’s submission follows a call for justice from Prime Minister Hun Sen, in a country where the rich and well-connected are often seen to be beyond the reach of a cor-rupt judicial system.

“He showed up this afternoon by himself,” Phnom Penh police chief Chuon Sovann told AFP, adding that Bundith would be taken to a court and then prison, where he would “serve his jail term.”

Authorities said they had been unaware of Bundith’s whereabouts since he was sen-tenced after shooting into a crowd of protest-ers demanding better working conditions in eastern Svay Rieng province in February 2012, wounding three women.

Police did not arrest the o� cial at the time and he was handed the 18-month jail term in absentia in June 2013 for causing uninten-tional injuries through shooting.

During sentencing, Bundith – removed as

governor of Bavet City in Svay Rieng after the incident – was also ordered to pay a total of $9,500 in compensation to the three victims who were employed at a factory supplying sportswear giant Puma.

His decision to hand himself in comes weeks after a similar call from Cambodia’s premier led to the detention of a fugitive property tycoon whose vicious assault on a TV star, captured on a widely circulated vid-eo, sparked a public outcry.

Wealthy businessman Sok Bun was only arrested in July after CCTV footage of the attack on popular actress Ek Socheata, better known as SaSa, went viral on social media.

Bundith’s victims had in recent weeks again urged Hun Sen for justice in their case following the success of his call for the return of the property magnate. It was not possible to reach them for comment.

At the time of Bundith’s sentencing rights groups had criticised the jail term as overly lenient and said he should have been charged with attempted murder.

It was not immediately clear if the for-mer governor would face further charges for avoiding detention. l

Myanmar activists open museum to mark student uprisingn AFP, Yangon

More than 200 democracy activists gathered in Yangon yesterday to launch a museum marking a 1988 uprising against military rule that ended in a bloody crackdown as Myan-mar prepares for its freest elections in de-cades.

Dozens of members of the 88 Generation activist group attended the opening to com-memorate the start of mass student-led pro-tests 27 years ago which were brutally crushed by the then-junta, leaving thousands dead.

The 8888 Memorial Hall, set across two storeys in a building in the eastern outskirts of Yangon, showcased archive photographs from the period as well as a documentary about the students involved.

‘’This is the � rst museum to remember the democracy movement,” Ant Bwe Kyaw, a key � gure in the 1988 protests and a leader of the 88 Generation, told AFP, adding that the group aimed to open a larger venue in the future.

The 88 Generation also released a state-ment calling for the ‘’unconditional release” of political prisoners still languishing in jails before November’s polls as well as of the dozens of activists detained over recent stu-dent-led protests over education reform.

On August 8, 1988 Myanmar saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets across the coun-try in a call for democracy, protests that came to a violent end the following month in an army crackdown that killed more than 3,000.

The demonstrations also heralded the rise to prominence of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) oppo-sition party. l

James Holmes sits in court for an advisement hearing at the Arapahoe County Justice Center in Centennial, Colorado in this � le photo from June 4, 2013. A Colorado jury sentenced Holmes to life in prison on August 7 REUTERS

11D

TEDITORIALSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

INSIDE

It is disgraceful that police refused to o� er help to Niladri Chatterjee, the blogger who was brutally stabbed to death on Friday.

On May 15, writing under his Facebook name of Niloy Neel, he catalogued the events which led him to repeatedly seek

police protection. It is shameful that after reporting how he had been suspiciously followed by two potentially identi� able people, while returning from an event commemorating the murdered writer Ananta Bijoy Das, he was told by police o� cers that his complaint was not under their jurisdiction, and advised to “leave the country as soon as possible.”

He was subsequently also turned away when he tried to � le a general diary at several police stations. One police o� cer even reportedly told him that the police do not usually register such GDs since the o� cer who registers it will be accountable for ensuring the complaint’s security, and they do not want to risk their jobs if found negligent in this duty.

Clearly, it was a far greater dereliction of duty for police stations to have refused to act upon Niloy’s concerns. Had the police made inquiries to follow up death threats and o� ered guidance and credible security measures to protect him, it is possible that the murder plot might have been prevented or disrupted.

There is no excuse for them not to have taken his requests seriously. The country has witnessed a series of murders of academics and writers

about religion and related matters, who have been killed after personal death threats were made against them by Islamist groups. With three such killings occurring this year, it is inexcusable that no practical help was o� ered to Niloy.

The government has to end the inaction and indi� erence which emboldens those who incite and carry out such murder plots.

It must hold the police to account for failing to register Niloy’s concerns, and ensure meaningful measures are implemented to protect people who have been threatened by extremist groups.

Only by demonstrating that it takes death threats seriously can the government deter and prevent these cynically targeted murders and properly ful� ll its duty to protect citizens.

Take death threats seriously. Indi� erence only emboldens those who incite targeted killings

Hold police to account for failing to protect bloggers

Can we � nd a common ground with Chinese culture?

If people ran the countrySome people live in peace, knowing very well that they will not be punished, no matter how big their crimes. When a society has developed a culture of impunity, keeping crime in check is impossible

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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PAGE 14

Kalam: A people’s president Even though Kalam became the president of India, he was more famous as a scientist and the principal architect of India’s missile and space programs

What part of Chinese culture can be accepted by Bangladesh? Of course, we do have a lot in common. Food, family lifestyles, and values -- these common grounds need to be harnessed as a base for cultural fusion

OPINION12DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

n Mushfi que Wadud

One thing I love about Bangladeshi people is this: Everyone knows the causes of all the major problems and their solutions. This will be

clear to you if you ride public buses or you have the habit of frequenting roadside tea-stalls.

Every day, as I ride the bus, I � nd people talking about problems that are still out-standing in society, and they also discuss their solutions. As a silent observer, I enjoy listening to them, and try to get to the root of their problems. You might not believe me, but to me, the discussions on the public buses are far more interesting and inform-ative than our late-night talk-shows. The masses know the root of all problems, and they know how to solve them. The problem is that they don’t have the executive power to do anything about it.

I was impressed yesterday as I listened to a few passengers inside a human-hauler on the Mirpur-Farmgate route discussing the recent incidents of inhumane violence against children. It is worth noting that most conduc-tors of these “temps” are 10 to 15-year-old children.

While one passenger scolded the conduc-tor of this human-hauler for a trivial matter, a woman (probably in her 30s) protested. She said: “These scolding tendencies later develop into violence against children.” Most of the passengers, I saw, supported her.

One passenger asked: “Do you know why these killings happen?” He did not wait for the answer. “Because there is no rule of law … because the abusers are not punished.”

“You are right,” another passenger concurred. “If you have money or you are in-� uential in society, no one can touch you, no matter how big your crime.” Before he could � nish his point, however, another passenger had taken the � oor: “Were the killers of Rajon punished? It seems we forget everything.

And so it goes.”I got o� from the hauler at Pirerbagh. As

I was getting o� , the discussions contin-ued. This is a common occurrence. I regret missing the rest of the conversation, as I do almost every day, and sometimes, I think that I should go to the end of the route only to lis-ten to people’s discussions on the bus. They really are quite interesting and insightful.

Right about the time the Rajon video had gone viral on social media, and people were

talking about it, I listened to another inter-esting conversation inside an Alif Paribahan bus that runs from Mirpur 1 to Banasree. One passenger said: “I saw a person carrying a placard saying ‘stop child-killing’ and posted it on Facebook. You will see these kinds of reactions for only two or three days, and then no one will remember the incident.”

We have, indeed, all forgotten the Rajon killing. Another passenger said: “Do you know why people are so brutal these days?

It’s because we live in a society where money is everything. We don’t love people. We are in a competition, and everyone wants to win the competition. That is why children are being killed for stealing the most insigni� -cant of things.” Another passenger chimed in: “Proper punishment of the culprits could check these tendencies, but who knows if they’ll ever be punished?”

Can we disagree with these people? Isn’t brutality increasing as the days go by? Isn’t it true that culprits are not punished, but, in fact, sometimes they are rewarded?

One cannot help but agree with them -- the rule of law must be implemented to prevent not only child-killings but all other crimes. The reasoning is obvious: When people know that they will be punished, they will refrain. That is why these “reactions” to violence against children are useless if we cannot restore rule of law.

This is not something that is di� cult to un-derstand. Everyone knows this, but it seems our policy-makers are reluctant in ensuring rule of law. One passenger pointed out the

reason: Some of the criminals are in� uential, either for their money, or because of their po-litical backing. It is undeniable that a culture of impunity has developed in our society.

Some people live in peace, knowing very well that they will not be punished, no matter how big their crimes. When a society has developed a culture of impunity, keeping crime in check is impossible.

The conversations on these public buses provide me with a sliver of hope. The prob-lem of this country is that politicians do not hail from the masses. When the common people rule the country, only then will there be a better ruler. They will understand our problems as their own, and � nd solutions which cater to the masses.

All we have to do is make sure we have politicians from the common people, as in the case of our neighbouring country. Naren-dra Modi has gone from tea-seller to prime minister. l

Mush� que Wadud is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

If people ran the country

Some people live in peace, knowing very well that they will not be punished, no matter how big their crimes. When a society has developed a culture of impunity, keeping crime in check is impossible

What can we learn from over-hearing conversations on buses? NASHIRUL ISLAM

Is the government listening to what the citizens have to say?

OPINION 13D

TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

n Abdul Matin

It is a rare occasion when a president of a country is known as the “people’s pres-ident.” It is none other than APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, who

was bestowed with this honour and became popularly known as such.

It is sad that he died on July 27, after su� ering a massive heart attack in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya. He collapsed while delivering a lecture to the students of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management in Shillong.

After leaving the o� ce as president, it became his passion to inspire the young gen-eration. He travelled all over India, and last year, while addressing a gathering of youth in Dhaka, quoted the great Persian poet Rumi: “I am born with potential. I am born with goodness and trust. I am born with ideas and dreams. I am born with greatness. I am born with wings. I am not meant for crawling, because I have wings. I will learn to use them and � y.”

Even though Kalam became the president of India, he was more famous as a scientist and the principal architect of India’s missile and space programs. As the chief scienti� c adviser to the then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he made signi� cant contributions to India’s nuclear weapons program during the late 90s.

Abdul Kalam was born in a small town, Rameswaram, in Tamil Nadu, on October 15, 1931. He came from a poor background, and sold newspapers at an early age to supple-ment his family's income. His grades at school were average, but he was a bright and hard-working student with a strong desire to learn.

He spent hours on his studies, especially mathematics. After � nishing school, he � rst graduated in physics from St Joseph’s Col-lege, Tiruchirappalli, but did not � nd interest in the subject. Later, he studied aerospace engineering at Madras Institute of Technolo-gy and graduated in 1960.

Having initially worked for the Defence Research and Development Organisation, he joined the Indian Space Research Organisation, and became chief of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Under his leadership, India developed Agni, an intermediate range ballistic missile, and Prithvi, the tactical surface-to-surface missile.

While developing the missile technology, Abdul Kalam was greatly inspired by Tipu Sultan of Mysore, who made innovations in the military use of rockets against the British East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

Rockets developed by Tipu Sultan led to

a renaissance of interest in the technology in Britain. Abdul Kalam wrote: “Rocket technology engulfed me for two decades since my visit to Srirangapatna in 1960. The question continued to haunt me. How could Tipu Sultan have led to the world’s � rst war rocket?”

Referring to an article by Frank H Winter of National Air and Space Museum, Wash-ington, USA, titled “The rocket in India from ancient times to the 19th century,” he wrote: “Soon, I learnt that two of the war rockets captured by the British at Srirangapatana have been displayed in the Museum of Artillery at Woolwich in London. One of my missions during my visit to Europe in 1980 was to study this rocket. Dr VR Gowarikar and I visited the museum. It was a great thrill, especially for rocket technologists like us, to see an Indian innovation in foreign soil well-preserved, and with facts not distorted.”

Abdul Kalam served as the 11th president of India. His term lasted from July 25, 2002 to July 25, 2007. After leaving o� ce, he became a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Shillong, where he delivered his last lecture, and at other IIMs at Ahmedabad and Indore. He was an honou-rary fellow of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.

In May 2012, Kalam launched a program for the youth of India called the “What Can I Give Movement,” with the theme of � ghting corruption. He inspired the young generation through his speeches and writings. One of his famous quotes is: “Let us sacri� ce our today, so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”

Kalam sacri� ced not just one or two days, but his life, for a better future for the younger generations.

Abul Kalam received numerous awards from home and abroad. His 79th birthday was recognised as World Student Day by the UN. Kalam received India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his contribu-tion to the scienti� c research and modernisa-tion of defence technology in India.

Abdul Kalam had no property to his name -- his scienti� c adviser V Ponraj said that after his death. He added that Kalam’s only properties were his books and 640 million youths in the country. Upon his death, India lost a great scientist and a great teacher.

The government declared a seven-day national mourning as a mark of respect for the man known and loved across the country as the “people’s president.” Kalam was laid to rest in his hometown Rameswaram, with full military honours and in the presence of the country’s top leaders, family members, and a chanting crowd. Even after his death, his contributions in science and technology, and his speeches and writings, will inspire the youth in his country and abroad for a long time. l

Abdul Matin is a retired nuclear engineer and currently Dr Rashid Professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

Kalam: A people’s president

Even though Kalam became the president of India, he was more famous as a scientist and the principal architect of India’s missile and space programs

The Missile Man was loved all across India REUTERS

May his achievements in science and government continue to inspire us

OPINION14DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

n Li Zhifei

In today’s increasingly globalised world, while cultural exchanges become more and more frequent between China and Bangladesh, relationships between the

two have also become more complicated and profound. The two countries’ communica-tion hasn’t been interrupted since ancient times.

Chinese philosophers such as Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, and Bengali like Atisa and Tagore had witnessed the long history of exchanges between the two countries. Nev-ertheless, the cultural fusion between China and Bangladesh isn’t always smooth.

It was reported, in a piece titled “Padma

Bridge: Work starts in Chinese style” in The Daily Star on March 2, 2015 that “(the Chinese) sacri� ced two black bulls, two goats, and two chickens on the occasion of the test piling, and let the blood � ow in the water on the Mawa side of the project in Munshiganj.” Obviously, there were grievances from the Bangladeshi side, and the subsequent reaction is an example of cultural con� ict.

It is popular, in Chinese culture, in some opening ceremonies of large projects to slaughter bulls, goats, chickens, geese, etc to be sacri� ced to God, and wish the projects are successful. Without a doubt, this was in con� ict with local culture in this case. Local people’s reprimands included: “We told them not to do so. But they did not listen to us,” and “we also ensured that the animals were slaughtered according to Islamic laws.” The Bangladeshi people, it seemed, had their grievances.

What part of Chinese culture can be accepted by Bangladesh? Of course, we do have a lot in common. Food, family lifestyles, and values -- there is a lot that is the same between the two countries: A preference for rice and � sh, or the traditional family patterns of men managing external a� airs while women manage the internal. Both countries are developing countries now, and the culture of enterprise is needed at the same time.

These common grounds need to be har-nessed as a base for cultural fusion.

What we have in common is only one part of the cultural fusion; cultural di� erences are more important, especially cultural homo-geneity, which has become a serious matter under the increasing globalisation. Bangla-desh is a country that has particular national characteristics.

From eating rice (plain, polao, or other-wise) and curry, to dressing in lungis, saris and panjabis, to a wide range of Islamic ritu-als, these all combine to create Bangladesh’s unique identity. This is a colourful country, and is very di� erent from China. On the other hand, China’s spectacular rivers and mountains, the unique ethnic customs, the original arts, and so on, draw the attention of the Bengali people too.

“From the same to the di� erent” may be the main principle of culture fusion. Common areas ensure that the two cultures can understand and respect each other; di� erences can make the two cultures learn from each other and attempt mutual absorp-tion. Though this will be a long process, the outcome, if it comes to fruition, will be a rewarding one. l

Li Zhifei is Lecturer, Faculty of Chinese Language and Literature, Yunnan Normal University, China and visiting teacher, Faculty of Arts, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

Can we � nd a common ground with Chinese culture?

What part of Chinese culture can be accepted by Bangladesh? Of course, we do have a lot in common. Food, family lifestyles, and values -- these common grounds need to be harnessed as a base for cultural fusion

Our partnership with China is poised to go from strength to strength REUTERS

The relationship between our cultures goes back centuries

15D

TBusiness SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Bank of England signals early 2016 hike after sterling climb

17Stock markets marginally up in past week

19Asian gold demand picks up, but buyers in no rush

16Muhith calls for private sector investment in infrastructure

20

NBR to audit tax � les of big, medium enterprisesn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is set to begin auditing tax � les of the large and medi-um companies to dig out any possible attempt for dodging taxes.

The tax o� ces will scrutinise the tax � les and bring them into audit, considering the revenue risk factors, o� cials said.

Meanwhile, the NBR has asked its � eld of-� ces to do the task based on legal provisions, not on doubts, so the taxpayers don’t feel any sort of harassment.

As per the procedure, multinational and large businesses � rms can be selected con-sidering their imports, procurement, exports, sales, increase of assets and quantitative anal-ysis of manufacturing accounts.

Specialised and medium business houses may also be selected for � eld audit bearing in mindthe revenue potentials.

The NBR � eld o� ces of the three wings-in-come tax, custom duties and Value Added Tax

(VAT) will conduct joint audits for � nding out possible concealment to maximise the reve-nue collection.

Currently, these three wings conduct sep-arate audits although they are under a same umbrella.

The NBR has also asked its three wings to mutually share information among them for determining the actual tax payable by large and medium businesses and detect tax eva-sion incidences by the businesses.

“If the three wings mutually share infor-mation between themselves, it can help � nd out possible tax concealment attempts,” said an o� cial of NBR.

The risk factors include cumulative in-crease of income compared to that of previ-ous year, declaration of loss in business, gift, personal loan more than Tk5 lakh, tax-ex-empted income, and tax refund demanded in the tax � les for the current � scal year.

The income tax returns, abnormal di� er-ences in import and export data, purchase,

depreciation, bank balance, gross-pro� t rates and net pro� t compared to the � gures for the previous corresponding year will also be brought into consideration for bringing the tax � les under audit.

The government set the collection target at Tk1,76,370 core for the revenue board for the current � scal year.

To meet the gigantic target, which is around 30% higher than the just concluded � scal, the NBR is looking for potential sectors to maximise the revenue collection.

As part of the latest drive, the NBR has al-

ready decided to conduct intensive audit of tax � les of all mobile operators in the country.

The Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) of NBR has recently asked the commercial banks to submit detail bank account information of Grameenphone, Robi, and Airtel for the cal-endar year of 2013.

The tax authorities require the bank trans-action statement to assess the tax � le of the three operators for the � scal year 2014-15, mainly for audit purposes.

The NBR will also seek the tax � les of the rest three companies- Banglalink, Citycell and Teletalk in phases.

Usually, the Large Taxpayers Unit (income tax) and large taxpayers unit (VAT) jointly col-lects around 65% of the total revenue in every � scal year. These two wings collect income tax and VAT from the large business � rms.

“The tax authorities is considering to bring the � les of large companies as these � les can generate higher amount of revenue, if any con-cealment is found,” the NBR o� cial said. l

500

1000

1500

2000

2

4

6

8

10

12

2009-10

2.10

1,500

1,757

944

1,1551,340

3.07 3.60

10.1910.93

2010-11

Net income of DSE in Tk million

Net asset value per share in Tk

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

DSE EARNINGS PERFORMANCE

DSE set to go for alternatives to boost reveues

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) – the country’s prime bourse – is set to o� er space on its web-page for commercial advertisements in an ef-fort to boost income.

After � xing the advertisement rates within the next three months, interested companies will be able to advertise on the DSE website.

These ads might particularly be aimed at companies in the � nancial sector – an initia-

tive that will increase its pro� ts and also help attract strategic partners.

According to the Demutualisation Act 2013, stock exchanges have to pick up strategic part-ners within three years from the date of demu-tualisation. Failing to do so, they can apply to Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commis-sion (BSEC) that can extend time for one year, considering reasons behind the delay.

“We are going to post commercial adver-tisement on the DSE website within two-three

months,” said MD Shakil Rizvi, director of Dhaka Stock Exchange.

“Currently, DSE is working on � xing adver-tisement rate. Hopefully, it will be done soon.”

Since July 1, the prime bourse already has posted commercial ads provided by Google AdSense, a programme run by Google, which allows publishers in the Google Network of content sites to serve automatic text, image, video, or interactive media advertisements.These adds generate revenues for the website.

“We have applied to the Google for open-ing accounts to display ads, and as part of that process, some ads provided by the Google management have already been displayed on the website,” a DSE o� cial, said, asking not to be named.

He said displaying more ads will start after getting nod from the Google authority.

“Strong � nancial footing is required of a demutualised stock exchange to woo strate-gic partners. Otherwise, they will not be interested to in-vest,” Khwaja Ghulam Rasul, director of DSE, told the Dhaka Tribune.

As part of making the stock exchange pro� table, DSE de-cided to o� er commercial ads to maximise its annual pro� ts as higher EPS would help draw strategic investors, he said.

According to the latest � -nancial statement of 2013-14, DSE’s income stood nearly at Tk134 crore. In 2012-13, it was

Tk1,15.5 crore.The earnings per share (EPS) were record-

ed at Tk0.74 against Tk0.64 a year ago. While the Net Asset Value (NAV) per share stood at Tk10.93 at the end of June 2014, up from Tk10.19 a year ago.

According to a DSE high o� cial, the bourse did not declare dividends for its share holders in the � scal year 2014 – the � rst � nancial year after demutualisation.

On November 22, 2013, DSE and Chittagong Stock Exchange had turned into demutual-ised exchanges as the country’s twin bours-es get certi� cates from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC).

In line with the demutualisation scheme, 60% share of Dhaka Stock Exchange have been kept in a block account for strategic and institutional investors and the general pub-lic while the rest 40% are allotted to existing shareholders. l

BUSINESS16DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

CORPORATE NEWS

Jamuna Bank and Sayeman Beach Resort have recently signed an agreement for providing the bank’s credit card holders with coporate facilities with discounts from the beach report in Cox’s Bazar. The bank’s DMD, AKM Saifuddin Ahamed and senior manager (sales and marketing) of the resort, Afra Illham Binyta signed the agreement

Heidelberg Cement holds Bajimat 2015n Tribune Business Desk

Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh has recently arranged a get-together programme titled Ba-jimat 2015 with its brands’ (Scan Cement and Ruby Cement) channel partners in Dhaka.

Director (marketing and sales) of Heidel-berg Cement, Syed Abu Abed Saher along with  its brands’ ambassador, cricketer Mahmudullah Riyad was present at the event, said a press release.

More than 2000 retailers were also prenset at the event, added the press release. l

Asian gold demand picks up, but buyers in no rushn Reuters, Mumbai

Gold demand in Asia picked up modestly this week as global prices wallowed near mul-ti-year lows, but buyers in the world’s biggest consuming region for the precious metal were in no hurry as they waited for the market to weaken further.

Spot gold has languished mostly below $1,100 an ounce since breaching that support level in a July 20 rout, sinking as far as $1,077 on July 24, its weakest since February 2010.

Bullion is en route to fall for a seventh straight week, its longest retreat since 1999, with inves-tors looking ahead to Friday’s US nonfarm pay-rolls data that may help determine how soon the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.

Premiums in India, the world’s second-big-gest gold consumer after China, hovered be-tween $1.30 to $2.10 an ounce over the global spot benchmark, up from $1.50-$2 last week, with ample supply o� setting an improvement in demand.

“Jewellers have increased buying for the peak festive season. They are replenishing inventory,” said Pradeep Nagori, senior vice president at Edelweiss Metals Ltd in Mumbai.

Nagori said jewellers are expecting increased retail demand during the last quarter of the year amid lower prices. Demand for gold jewellery is usually strong in India during that time, when it celebrates festivals such as Diwali and Dussehra and gold buying is considered auspicious.

India’s gold imports in � scal 2015/16 are likely to be between 900 and 1,000 tonnes as

lower prices will boost demand during the fes-tive season, said Rajesh Khosla, managing di-rector of MMTC-PAMP India, the country’s big-gest gold re� ner. Still, “retail demand is not as robust as it should be as consumers are think-ing prices will go down further,” Khosla added.

In Hong Kong, premiums inched up to $1-$1.20 an ounce from 90 cents to $1.10. On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, premiums were steady at $3-$4 an ounce.

“There’s no rush to buy. People are not

sure if the price is low enough,” said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Deal-ers in Hong Kong.

Buying interest in China, where the econo-my is facing headwinds from weaker exports and slow demand, is unlikely to be robust even if the gold price falls further, said Dick Poon, general manager at Heraeus Precious Metals, also in Hong Kong.

“I don’t think it’s a really good time to buy,” said Poon. l

A sales woman displays a gold bracelet as she poses for pictures at a jewellery shop in Lin’an, Zhejiang province REUTERS

Italy in favour of a European Monetary Fundn AFP, Rome

Italy is in favour of tighter European integra-tion and the creation of a European Monetary Fund, its � nance minister said Tuesday.

“The monetary union will sooner or later have to be based on common elements... in my opinion a European monetary fund, an insurance mechanism against the shocks of the labour markets, shared budget resources,” Pier Carlo Padoan said.

“If this does not happen, the monetary un-ion will remain stuck in the middle of the riv-er... and risks being hit by a more violent wave and being washed away,” he said in the wake of the economic crisis which left several mem-bers at risk of crashing out of the eurozone.

“It is what economists call ‘risk-sharing’, the sharing of risks which has made the mon-etary union stronger over the years... sharing resources, both � nancial and political,” he said at a press conference.

Padoan’s comments followed calls earlier this year from Portugal for the creation of an EMF to take over the role played by the Wash-ington-based International Monetary Fund during the economic crisis.

Portugal, which had a full EU-IMF bailout in 2011, says an EMF would mean countries in trouble - like Greece - would only have to deal with one institution rather than relying on the approval of national parliaments.

The idea for an EMF was � rst put forward in 2010 and initially endorsed by Germany and France as a potential rescue fund to help member countries cope with future � nancial troubles, but critics said it risked undermin-ing rather than enhancing EU stability. l

Facebook launches feature to allow businesses to privately message usersn Reuters, San Francisco

Facebook Inc rolled out features Wednesday that enable businesses to privately commu-nicate with customers through messages as part of the social networking company’s push to make its Messenger app a stand-alone plat-form.

Businesses can now include a “send mes-

sage” button in ads that appear in Newsfeed that allow Facebook users to click a button and send messages, which are private. If users post a comment on a business’ Facebook page, then the business can privately message that person

The features are part of Facebook’s e� orts to convince more small and medium-sized businesses - especially those in emerging markets, such as India, Brazil and Indonesia

- to advertise on its platform.By giving them direct access to customers,

the world’s largest social network hopes to show that advertising on Facebook directly leads to increased sales.

To encourage quick responses, Facebook will award “very responsive to messages” badges on business pages that respond to 90 percent of messages and respond on average

within � ve minutes. People will, however, still be able to block private messages from businesses.

The features will be especially valuable in southeast Asia, Facebook wrote in a blog post. About twice as many Thai and Singaporean users use Facebook messages to communicate with businesses each month and most South-east Asia users follow some company pages. l

BUSINESS 17D

TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Bank of England signals early 2016 hike after sterling climbn Reuters, London

The Bank of England pointed to a possible rise in interest rates early next year as just one of its top policymakers backed an imme-diate move and it said the strength of sterling meant in� ation would only pick up slowly.

The pound fell sharply and investors brief-ly pushed back their bets on a � rst rate hike until June next year, before BoE Governor Mark Carney said the Bank was getting closer to beginning to undo its stimulus for Britain’s economy.

“The likely timing of the � rst Bank Rate increase is drawing closer,” he told reporters.

“However the exact timing of the � rst move cannot be predicted in advance ... in short, it will be data-dependent,” he said after the BoE for the � rst time published its quar-terly economic forecasts and details of its lat-est policy discussions on the same day.

The BoE slashed interest rates to 0.5% in the depths of the � nancial crisis in 2009 and has kept them there since.

With the economy now recovering strong-ly and wages � nally rising more quickly, spec-ulation is growing about when it might start to wean Britain o� low rates, mirroring the debate at the US Federal Reserve.

Carney warned investors that they might be too relaxed about the path, or ‘curve’, that they are predicting for rates.

He pointed out that the Bank was forecast-ing that in� ation would start to overshoot its 2% target in just over two years’ time, based on predictions in the market for a � rst BoE rate hike in the second quarter of next year.

“The market curve does not deliver a sus-tainable return of in� ation to target, because

there is an overshoot,” he said.In an interview with the Mirror newspa-

per, Carney declined to say there was now no chance of a rate hike in 2015. “I would be crazy to rule anything out or to rule anything in,” he said.

Three weeks ago, Carney said the decision when to hike interest rates would likely come into “sharper relief” around the end of the year. He emphasized on Thursday that this was his own view and that it had not changed.

Several economists said they continued to predict a rise in the � rst three months of 2016.

Vote surpriseInvestors were taken by surprise earlier on Thursday when the Bank said just one of its nine policymakers - Ian McCa� erty - had voted for a rate hike at their August meeting, which ended on Wednesday.

Most economists in a Reuters poll had ex-pected two or even three members of the Monetary Policy Committee to vote for a rate hike. The 8-1 result prompted markets to push out their bets on a � rst rate hike into mid-2016.

McCa� erty, a non-sta� member of the MPC, backed rate hikes last year along with his

colleague Martin Weale. They both rejoined the fold in January as oil prices tumbled.

As Carney spoke on Thursday, the bets on a June 2016 rate hike were quickly reined back in. Jason Simpson, a Societe Generale rate strategist, said: “The message is clear: rates need to rise. Not yet, but they need to go up and every in� ation report is one step closer to that.”

Few economists think the BoE is likely to move before the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise rates this year, in large part because it would further push up the value of sterling. On Wednesday the pound hit its highest level against a basket of currencies in more than seven years =GBP.

Focus on sterlingThe Bank stressed how a recent strengthening of the pound and a renewed fall in oil prices would push down in� ation until at least the middle of next year and said the impact of the rise in sterling could persist even longer.

Carney made it clear, however, that a strong currency was no replacement for even-tual rate hikes.

In a sign of how the debate on the MPC may develop, some of its members saw a risk that in� ation could pick up more strongly than the central forecast, the BoE said.

But the Bank’s array of forecasts and poli-cy debate details suggested it was largely fo-cused on how the stronger pound could keep a lid on in� ation.

The BoE also noted that Britain’s weak productivity growth was � nally on the rise, which would help mute in� ation even after wages grew surprisingly strongly in recent months. l

A bus passes the Bank of England in London, Britain REUTERS

German industrial output, exports fall in Junen AFP, Berlin

Germany’s industrial output fell 1.4% and ex-ports from Europe’s top economy dropped by one percent in June from the previous month, data showed Friday.

Many German companies are struggling with China’s slowdown and recent volatility over the Greece crisis, despite the bene� ts of a low euro, cheap oil and rock-bottom interest rates.

“Overall, today’s data is a setback for the German economy and bodes ill for sec-ond-quarter real GDP growth,” said Natixis bank, which revised down slightly its forecast to 0.4 percent GDP growth quarter-on-quarter.

UniCredit also lowered its forecast for the second quarter GDP � gure to be released next Friday to 0.4%, from 0.5%, although it called the output drop “a statistical � uke.”

Industrial production, adjusted for sea-sonal swings and in� ation, unexpectedly fell 1.4% over the month, with a particularly se-vere 4.5% drop in construction output, said the economy ministry.

Analysts polled by � nancial services provid-er FactSet had forecast a small increase of 0.4%.

Economists at BayernLB blamed the Greece crisis and the e� ects of an earlier ma-jor train strike for the disappointing � gure and predicted a recovery, given a recent rise in factory orders. l

Pound falls as BoE keeps rates lown AFP, New York

The British pound fell Thursday as the Bank of England kept interest rates low, while the dollar fell against the euro ahead of the July US jobs report.

Pound on Friday was steady in Asian trad-ing. It fetched $1.5516 in Tokyo against $1.5513 in US trade. While dollar rose Friday as traders focused on key US jobs data later in the day. In Tokyo, the greenback ticked up to 124.79 yen from 124.73 yen in New York. The euro edged down to $1.0917 and 136.22 yen from $1.0923 and 136.25 yen.

The Bank of England, as expected, kept its main interest rate at a record-low 0.5%. The BoE raised its forecast for British economic growth this year to 2.8% from a previous es-timate of 2.5%.

However, the central bank also said the near-term outlook for in� ation is “muted,” according to BoE minutes.

“The falls in energy prices of the past few months will continue to bear down on in� a-tion at least until the middle of next year,” the minutes said.

The weak in� ation outlook means traders pushed back their time frame for the � rst Brit-ish rate hike “into later 2015,” said Omer Es-iner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.

The BoE’s statement “failed to impress,” said Kathy Lien, analyst at BK Asset Manage-ment.

“Investors were looking for a clear sign that the central bank is moving closer to rais-ing interest rates but instead what they got were changes in their economic forecasts that suggests the central bank is still in no rush to tighten,” Lien said. l

‘In a sign of how the debate on the MPC may develop, some of its members saw a risk that in� ation could pick up more strongly than the central forecast’

BUSINESS18DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 3463.13 8.37 231.47 7.15 3694.60 8.28NBFI 1446.11 3.50 123.36 3.81 1569.47 3.52Investment 657.87 1.59 28.70 0.89 686.58 1.54Engineering 7647.88 18.48 675.39 20.86 8323.27 18.66Food & Allied 1835.03 4.44 91.33 2.82 1926.36 4.32Fuel & Power 7684.07 18.57 685.17 21.16 8369.24 18.76Jute 46.57 0.11 0.00 0.00 46.57 0.10Textile 4451.51 10.76 302.72 9.35 4754.23 10.66Pharma & Chemical 5877.89 14.21 400.79 12.38 6278.68 14.07Paper & Packaging 170.03 0.41 13.62 0.42 183.64 0.41Service 870.02 2.10 60.00 1.85 930.02 2.08Leather 231.03 0.56 12.87 0.40 243.90 0.55Ceramic 419.77 1.01 28.19 0.87 447.96 1.00Cement 1775.38 4.29 139.57 4.31 1914.95 4.29Information Technology 362.51 0.88 37.65 1.16 400.15 0.90General Insurance 188.95 0.46 5.11 0.16 194.06 0.43Life Insurance 399.17 0.96 29.57 0.91 428.74 0.96Telecom 937.23 2.27 70.16 2.17 1007.39 2.26Travel & Leisure 1211.64 2.93 152.69 4.72 1364.32 3.06Miscellaneous 1696.84 4.10 149.39 4.61 1846.22 4.14Debenture 1.76 0.00 0.37 0.01 2.13 0.00

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

News, analysis and recent disclosuresAGM/Dividend8THICB: 140% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 17.26. NAV of Tk. 43.89 at cost price and Tk. 71.89 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.7THICB: 150% cash Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 20.76. NAV of Tk. 51.72 at cost price and Tk. 109.18 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.6THICB: 120% cash Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS = Tk. 13.93. NAV of Tk. 34.87 at cost price and Tk. 59.48 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015..5THICB: 250% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 35.67. NAV of Tk. 78.19 at cost price and Tk. 246.54 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015..4THICB: 300% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 36.29. NAV of Tk. 97.70 at cost price and Tk. 289.06 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.3RDICB: 300% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 35.57. NAV of Tk. 86.61 at cost price and Tk. 364.91 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.2NDICB: 450% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 55.89. NAV of Tk. 129.14 at cost price and Tk. 300.28 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.1STICB: 1,000% cash. Record date: 12.08.2015. EPS= Tk. 142. NAV of Tk. 268.33 at cost price and Tk. 1,521.50 at market price basis as on 30.06.2015.BERGERPBL: 100% interim cash dividend. Record date for entitle-ment of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.Audited/unaudited Financial Reports:SAPORTL (H/Y Audited): The Company has further informed that they have audited their half yearly � nancial statements for the period ended on 30th June, 2015. Consolidated EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.46 as against Tk. 0.41 for Jan-June, 2014. Consoli-dated NOCFPS was Tk. 0.57 for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. 1.28 for Jan-June, 2014. Consolidated NAV per share was Tk. 28.00 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 40.00 as of December 31, 2014.TUNGHAI (Q2 Un-audited): EPS for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.32 as against Tk. 0.47 for April-June, 2014, EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.57 as against Tk. 0.72 for Jan-June, 2014. NOCFPS was Tk. (0.93) for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. 1.38 for Jan-June, 2014. NAV per share was Tk. 13.36 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 12.79 as of December 31, 2014.GHCL (Q2 Un-audited): EPS for April-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.37 as against Tk. 0.61 for April-June, 2014, EPS for Jan-June, 2015 was Tk. 0.89 as against Tk. 1.22 for Jan-June, 2014. NOCFPS was Tk. 1.75 for Jan-June, 2015 as against Tk. 1.70 for Jan-June, 2014. NAV per share was Tk. 52.71 as of June 30, 2015 and Tk. 51.82 as of December 31, 2014. 04-08-2015

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Libra Infusions-A 40.89 40.89 410.00 410.00 410.00 410.00 0.082 3.38 121.31st ICB M F -A 31.61 31.60 1498.96 1499.00 1609.00 1300.00 0.271 142.00 10.6Beach Hatchery -A 27.78 27.32 22.93 23.00 24.50 17.70 34.256 1.29 17.8Islami Bank BD - A 26.82 26.95 27.93 27.90 29.10 21.70 62.820 4.22 6.6Aramit -A 24.37 24.35 281.66 281.70 281.90 246.30 0.259 14.86 19.0National Polymer -A 21.00 21.67 119.63 118.70 120.50 100.00 11.586 3.36 35.6Anwar Galvanizing-B 20.09 19.79 50.67 50.80 50.80 41.00 1.480 0.68 74.58th ICB M F-A 19.52 22.73 76.09 74.10 80.00 74.10 0.532 17.26 4.4Bangladesh Welding -B 18.26 21.25 26.19 25.90 27.40 22.20 27.078 -0.80 -ve7th ICB M F-A 17.78 17.78 106.00 106.00 106.00 105.00 0.004 20.76 5.1

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

GeminiSeaFood-B 37.21 33.78 389.06 403.00 403.00 314.30 40.863 11.77 33.1Islami Bank BD - A 26.48 27.89 27.97 27.70 29.30 21.80 1104.580 4.22 6.6Beach Hatchery -A 25.97 26.69 22.93 22.80 23.80 17.80 236.009 1.29 17.81st ICB M F -A 21.25 22.33 1,467.99 1,455.00 1,590.00 1,285.00 11.097 142.00 10.3Libra Infusions-A 20.53 19.91 415.33 417.50 418.00 338.30 5.897 3.38 122.9Berger Paints-A 19.90 20.84 2,126.95 2,123.50 2,150.00 1,815.00 40.743 69.64 30.5Anwar Galvanizing-B 19.72 16.88 50.48 51.60 52.20 42.40 45.203 0.68 74.2Bangladesh Welding -B 19.27 22.50 26.19 26.00 27.50 22.00 384.928 -0.80 -veAl-Haj Textile -A 18.20 14.35 123.45 127.30 129.30 108.00 353.990 1.07 115.4Premier Cement-A 18.08 17.19 74.73 75.10 76.90 63.10 37.048 1.55 48.2

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

PragatiLife Insu. -Z -26.67 -26.67 110.00 110.00 110.00 108.00 0.000 2.38 46.2EXIM Bank 1 MF-A -21.25 -21.25 6.30 6.30 7.00 6.30 0.001 0.56 11.3BD Fixed Income MF-A -20.20 -20.20 7.90 7.90 10.00 7.60 0.021 0.51 15.5Meghna Life Ins. -A -16.23 -18.04 62.12 64.00 68.00 59.00 2.218 6.45 9.6ISN Ltd. -Z -13.49 -14.84 10.90 10.90 12.10 10.60 0.023 -0.20 -veICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A -10.99 -10.50 8.10 8.10 8.30 8.10 0.162 0.87 9.3Rupali Bank - A -9.63 -9.63 46.00 46.00 46.10 45.00 0.175 2.20 20.9People`s Leasing-A -9.41 -10.92 15.33 15.40 16.70 15.20 32.220 0.20 76.7H.R. Textile -A -7.27 -7.41 20.37 20.40 22.50 20.00 0.033 0.85 24.0Popular Life 1st M.F.-A -7.02 -6.70 5.29 5.30 5.90 5.20 4.120 0.63 8.4

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Meghna Life Ins. -A -14.75 -16.00 62.43 63.60 64.00 59.00 27.144 6.45 9.7EXIM Bank 1 MF-A -10.77 -9.80 5.80 5.80 6.50 5.80 0.068 0.56 10.4ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A -10.11 -9.47 8.03 8.00 8.80 8.00 6.922 0.87 9.2ISN Ltd. -Z -10.00 -15.13 10.88 10.80 11.90 10.40 1.486 -0.20 -vePeople`s Leasing-A -9.47 -8.16 15.30 15.30 18.00 15.10 341.622 0.20 76.5Phoenix Finance-A -8.63 -8.09 18.07 18.00 19.20 17.60 25.730 1.54 11.7Popular Life 1st M.F.-A -7.27 -7.83 5.18 5.10 5.60 5.10 34.632 0.63 8.2Aziz PipesZ -7.21 -7.36 19.27 19.30 21.80 19.00 1.160 -2.12 -veDulamia CottonZ -6.10 -5.12 7.78 7.70 8.30 7.60 0.233 -3.15 -vePragatiLife Insu. -Z -5.77 -8.39 100.66 102.90 111.00 96.50 11.012 2.38 42.3

DSE key features August 2-6, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

41,374.36

Turnover (Volume)

1,076,859,993

Number of Contract

842,789

Traded Issues 325

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

218

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

103

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,738.35

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

33.19

CSE key features August 2-6, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

3,238.12

Turnover (Volume)

95,108,299

Number of Contract

123,465

Traded Issues 283

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

175

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

102

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,626.54

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.84

BUSINESS 19D

TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Stock markets marginally up in past week with buoyant tradingn Tribune Report

Stock markets witnessed a moderate rise in the past week with sharp increase in turnover after previous week’s pro� t booking mar-ginal fall.

The week’s rally was pulled up by mainly � nan-cials, particularly heav-yweight banks, whose half-yearly earnings results began to pour in the market. The market was dominated by choppy trading.

The blue-chip comprising index DS30 gained nearly 3 points or 0.2% to 1,886. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, rose 7 points or 0.7% to end at 1,197.

The Chittagong Stock Ex-change Selective Categories Index, CSCX, rose 120 points or 1.4% to 9,040.

The week’s daily average turnover on DSE was Tk827 crore, an increase of more than 22% over the previous week. Engineering, power and pharmaceuticals ac-counted for more than 50% of the week’s total trade volume.

Banks showed robust performance in the week, jumping over 5%, driven by sector’s heavyweight Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, which

gave over 26% return.IDLC Investments said,

“Investors remained cau-tious about price levels and kept on looking for under-valued issues with growth opportunities that were not priced yet.”

The search led to banks in the middle of the week as they were trading at drasti-cally low P/Es, it said.

It, however, said the ex-citement could not be pro-longed as investors’ con� -dence on the sector is yet to � nd a solid ground. Later on, investors scattered over sectors in search of under-valued stocks, it said.

Lock in on stocks of the large-cap United Power Generation and Distribution Company (UPGDCL) for in-stitutional investors expired in the past week. Market had anticipated some correction to the stock price due to institutional sell pressure. But, the stock kept on gain-ing 4.3% in the past week.

Among other well performing companies, non-banking � nancial insti-tution rose 1.6%, and food and allied 0.8% and power 0.6%. Telecommunication, cement and pharmaceuti-cals declined. l

Investors remained cautious about price levels and kept on looking for undervalued issues with growth opportunities that were not priced yet

ANALYST

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4864.45045 (+) 1.51% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1886.83329 (+) 0.16% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 14909.7816 (+) 1.32% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 12436.4344 (+) 1.75% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 9079.9638 (+) 1.34% ▲

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

United Power-N 1,922,821 318.01 9.82 170.50 3.33 165.00 179.00 156.50 173.89UNITED AIR-A 12,059,136 136.18 4.21 11.20 2.75 10.90 12.00 10.70 11.37Olympic Accessories -N 2,068,038 133.12 4.11 63.00 -4.40 65.90 67.40 62.90 63.45Beximco Pharma -A 1,533,285 109.63 3.39 68.90 -1.43 69.90 73.00 68.60 69.36BSRM Ltd. -A 1,040,849 109.31 3.38 108.50 11.86 97.00 112.00 100.00 106.97LafargeS Cement-A 838,234 105.14 3.25 123.00 -2.77 126.50 129.40 122.70 123.39BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 2,672,418 91.48 2.83 33.80 0.00 33.80 34.90 33.70 33.85Khulna Power-A 1,034,353 78.71 2.43 73.60 -5.03 77.50 78.60 73.30 74.47BSRM Steels-A 780,720 70.06 2.16 89.80 6.15 84.60 94.00 85.00 89.52Appollo Ispat CL -N 3,103,569 69.96 2.16 22.80 9.62 20.80 23.40 20.90 22.80Square Pharma -A 239,119 64.31 1.99 265.20 -2.71 272.60 272.10 264.50 265.55Islami Bank BD - A 2,326,067 62.82 1.94 27.90 26.82 22.00 29.10 21.70 27.93Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 4,339,220 62.60 1.93 14.40 3.60 13.90 14.80 13.60 14.50Keya Cosmetics -A 2,701,985 54.34 1.68 20.00 1.52 19.70 20.80 19.40 20.06Shasha Denims -N 1,075,475 50.12 1.55 44.60 0.22 44.50 48.80 44.00 44.85

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

United Power-N 11,431,425 1887.21 4.56 172.10 4.30 165.00 179.50 156.50 175.01LafargeS Cement-A 10,180,739 1279.46 3.09 123.30 -2.91 127.00 129.60 122.60 123.70Islami Bank BD - A 40,559,190 1104.58 2.67 27.70 26.48 21.90 29.30 21.80 27.97Square Pharma -A 3,726,786 1003.22 2.42 265.80 -2.53 272.70 273.00 264.80 265.75Beximco Pharma -A 13,953,337 993.11 2.40 68.90 -1.15 69.70 73.10 68.60 69.24UNITED AIR-A 87,016,840 987.72 2.39 11.20 2.75 10.90 12.00 10.70 11.40BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 26,289,587 900.53 2.18 33.90 0.30 33.80 34.80 33.70 33.91Khulna Power-A 11,285,258 857.65 2.07 73.80 -4.53 77.30 78.90 73.40 74.28Appollo Ispat CL -N 34,912,331 789.51 1.91 22.80 9.62 20.80 23.70 21.00 22.83Shasha Denims -N 15,363,672 712.51 1.72 44.70 0.68 44.40 48.60 44.40 44.86FAR Chemical-N 13,354,339 709.98 1.72 52.30 -1.69 53.20 55.50 50.00 51.79BSRM Ltd. -A 6,629,529 698.40 1.69 108.90 12.04 97.20 113.00 97.50 106.83Grameenphone-A 2,127,492 693.89 1.68 323.80 -2.03 330.50 330.50 323.00 324.01BSRM Steels-A 7,621,146 685.81 1.66 89.70 5.90 84.70 94.20 83.00 89.57DESCO Ltd. -A 8,965,224 680.11 1.64 73.10 -2.01 74.60 77.90 72.70 73.19Ifad Autos -N 5,696,805 669.83 1.79 114.30 1.06 113.10 124.50 110.10 116.84

BUSINESS20DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Muhith calls for private sector investment in infrastructure n Tribune Report

Finance Minister AMA Muhith emphasised that private sector should also invest in Bang-ladesh’s infrastructure development, a pre-requisite to regional connectivity and expan-sion of trading activities with neighbours.

“About the infrastructure, the onus also lies on you (businesspeople),” he said at the opening session of an event titled “India–Bangladesh Business Conclave: The Way For-ward” in Dhaka yesterday.

“This is an area (infrastructure) where least importance has so far been given by both the private sector and the government. But the government simply cannot do it alone.”

Muhith called on the businesses to develop big infrastructures including roads, railways and waterways under public-private partner-ship.

“In most places, we � nd PPP a wonderful model and we also should begin utilising it right now.”

This is for the � rst time � nance minister at-tached such an importance to the PPP model since being launched in Bangladesh six years ago. The model has appeared unsuccessful so far.

The minister in his budget speech admit-ted the fact that PPP was yet to take o� due to lack of institutional framework.

In the current � scal year, the government lowered the allocation for PPP initiative to Tk2,000 crore from Tk3,000 crore last � scal.

“Connectivity is needed for regional coop-eration, trade and investment. Most impor-tant thing at this moment is connectivity. This is very very urgent,” Muhith stressed.

Assuring of give necessary supports to pri-vate sector in infrastructure development, � nance minister said, “The government is there to assist you and I think the Indian gov-ernment will also do the same.”

He said the infrastructure was also needed to facilitate transit, as Bangladesh was de-clared a transit country by the former Khaleda

Zia government. He said the present govern-ment “fully support the concept.”

Muhith added: “Perhaps, this is the � rst wholesale political decision taken by the country that Bangladesh wants to be a transit country.

“But its bene� t is yet to be ripped mainly because of transportation di� culties—the easiest means of transportation.”

Indian envoy in Dhaka Pankaj Saran said role of business bodies were critical to improve infrastructure between the two sides and boost bilateral trade and invest-ment.

“India is committed to move Bangladesh forward in all areas, particularly trade and in-vestment,” Pankaj Saran said.

He suggested paying visits by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to India, exploring business opportunities and holding road shows and di-alogues there.

FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed invited Indian private sector investment in development of infrastructural facilities like power and gas.

He emphasised that Bangladesh needed an investment of about US$10bn in energy sector alone in next � ve years.

“We de� nitely need FDI in this area (ener-gy sector), and Indian investors can avail the opportunity.”

FBCCI chief urged the Indian entrepre-neurs to make joint-venture investment in manufacturing sector, particularly elec-tronics, electrical machinery, � nished jute products, diversi� ed leather products and agro-processed goods, service sector, IT, tour-ism and health care.

ICC Director General Rajeev Sing said In-dian entrepreneurs were very keen to invest in Bangladesh’s energy, education, IT, health and service sectors. l

Industries Ministry decides to pay $1.05cr Pakistani supplier’s credit n Asif Showkat Kallol

Industries Ministry has asked the � nance di-vision to arrange the remaining payment of $1.05 crore Pakistani supplier’s credit in 26 installments.

The credit had been taken 25 years ago for setting up Pabna Sugar Mills during the then BNP regime, o� cial sources said.

Industries Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan in a letter sent to Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed requested disbursement of the fund from the current � scal year budget.

The letter reads: “Due to � nancial loss, the

state-run Pabna Sugar Mills failed to pay the remaining installments of the credit after pay-ing 15 such installments in 2014.”

Last month Pakistani authorities asked the Industries Ministry to pay the rest amount of money to Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The credit interest rate was only 2% per an-num while the penal interest rate 1% plus Lon-don Inter Bank O� ered Rate, added the letter.

Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Cor-poration conducted an audit through the local chartered accountant � rm AB SAHA & company regarding payment of the Pakistani supplier’s credit which now stands at $1.05 crore in 2015. l

Oil prices set to continue multi-week declinen AFP, Hong Kong

Oil prices looked set to continue a multi-week decline in Asian trade on Friday on concerns over a global oversupply of crude and mixed prospects for energy demand.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery was at $44.81, down from $47.12 a week ago, and on course for its eighth consecutive week of declines.

Brent crude for September, meanwhile, was trading at $49.73 compared to $52.21 last week, and set for a sixth straight weekly fall.

In Asian trade through the day, both con-tracts were up slightly, with WTI rising 15 cents from $44.66 in New York and Brent

gaining 21 cents from $49.52. A glut of crude oil supply is seen as the main driver for a sharp decline in oil prices that has seen crude fall about 50 percent from mid-2014 levels.

“The rebalancing of supply and demand will likely prove to be far more di� cult than what was previously priced into the market,” US investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report, according to Bloomberg News.

“The risks remain substantially skewed to the downside.”

The United States is producing crude at high levels and output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continues to exceed the cartel’s quota of 30 million barrels per day. l

Finance Minister AMA Muhith addresses the India-Bangladesh Business Conclave in the city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

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TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015T

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22newsULAB Charity Cultural Show

23style sessionSari, not sorrytrend alert Bag in business

24wardrobe checkPanjabi power

Photo: Shoilpik

Donned right

INSIDE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015T-JUNCTION News22D

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ULAB Social welfare Club believes in helping and supporting the needy and underprivileged community of all age groups for a healthy and peaceful society. The Social Welfare Club of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) arranged the “ Cultural Charity Show” on August 5, at ULAB auditorium with the objective of sharing happiness with underprivileged street children.

The program started at 2.30pm with an

inaugural speech by Prof H M Jahirul Haque, pro-vice chancellor, and continued with the performances given by highly motivated young students of ULAB and faculty members.

The show was organised by SWC’s advisor and associate professor of ULAB School of Business, Dr Pinki Shah. With a vote of thanks by SWC’s advisor, the activites successfully concluded. l

The book “GOVERNANCE in South, Southeast, and East Asia: Trends, Issues and Challenges”, collaboratively written by Prof Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman and Prof Syeda Lasna Kabir, and edited by Ishtiaq Jamil, Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman and Sk Taw� que M Haque, was launched by the Public Policy and Governance (PPG) Programme under the Department of Political Science and Sociology (PSS) of North South University (NSU).

The book launching ceremony took place at the Faculty Lounge of the university. Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser of the caretaker government of Bangladesh,

innaugaurated the book as the chief guest while M A Kashem, chairman, board of trustees of NSU, was present at the event as the special guest. Dr SK Taw� que M Haque, director of PPG Programme opened the � oor with a welcome speech. Among the speakers were Dr Akbar Ali Khan and M Ha� zuddin Khan, former advisers, of the caretaker government of Bangladesh; Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh and Prof M Emdadul Haq and Prof Abdur Rob Khan from the department of Political Science and Sociology of NSU, to name a few. l

To create awareness on autism and introduce the latent talents of special children, students’ association HANS, in partnership with Surf Excel, organised an 8-day art exhibition for the seventh time, starting on August 7 at DRIK Gallery, Dhanmondi, under the title “ EMERGED FROM UNKNOWN VII.” The exhibition held around 120 paintings of special children from various special schools and will continue till August 14 every day from 3pm to 8pm.

The inauguration ceremony started with a press conference with Meer Sohrabul Hossain, chairman of HANS, Abul Barq Alvi, Professor, faculty of � ne arts, University of Dhaka and Zaved Akhter, brand building director, Unilever Bangladesh Limited were present. Followed by the press conference, Abul Barq Alvi along with the other guests cut the ribbon and the 8-day art exhibition began.

Meer Sohrabul Hossain said, “This exhibition is organised to spread the sphere of diversity among the autistic children. I invite everyone to be conscious about the exposure of their hidden talent

and come forward to help them.” Abul Barq Alvi said, “The diversity in

autistic children is not an impediment. Rather, it’s a virtue that surpasses the creativity in many people. We should let this specialty bloom and not think di� erently about them and also should create such an environment where they can express their potential within the society.”

Zaved Akhter said, “I am amazed by the talent of the children taking part in this exhibition. I think it is fundamental to understand their colorful world.”

In Bangladesh there is a common perception among general people that Autistic people are disabled and incompetent. Through this event, the organisers wanted to enlighten the mass about the latent talent of the special children with autism. The pictures in the art exhibition are the re� ection of their feelings and emotions. They express their unique thinking and take on life, culture, freedom � ghting etc through painting.All the pictures of this exhibition are for sale and the proceeds will be awarded to the painter’s family. l

ULAB Charity Cultural Show

Book launch ceremony at North South University

Shoilpik’s monsoon collection

Shoilpik highlights the colours of monsoon with a new collection of saris, kameezes, tops, panjabis, fotuwas and T-shirts, all made to be stylish and comfortable.

EMERGED FROM UNKNOWN VII

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

Is there any garment that � atters the curvy Bengali body the way a sari does? Even in this day of cultural fusion and the Middle East madness that has overtaken the city, with those elaborate long dresses and palazzos and aachkans, a sari stands out in its unbeatable elegance. Here’s a quick guide to help you pick the right one for you.

Curve contouringIf you’re a whole lotta woman, you want to go for fabrics that hug your assets and drape well, disguising parts you want to downplay. Opt for � owy chi� ons, georgettes, and crepes that drape well. Silk katan also has a visually slimming e� ect. Avoid organzas, kora, and tissue silks, since they � are out and can make you look bulky.

TrendingT-JUNCTION 23D

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

style session

trend alert

Sari, not sorry

Bag in business

A beginner’s guide to saris

Meet the It bags of the season

Photos: Zia Uddin

VolumisingIf you’re a slender, willowy belle looking to add a little more curve to your shape, reach for organza, sti� -starched cotton, jamdani, � u� y tissue and tussar saris. These billow out beautifully, and draped in the mermaid style, is a head-turning look.

Vertical horizonsPetite ladies need to skip the wide borders and go for saris with thin, or even no borders. A monochromatic chi� on or crepe is a great choice. The full wash of colour draws the eye vertically, adding inches to your frame. Pair with a pair of nude pumps to maximise on the heightening e� ect. l

n T-Junction Desk

Shoes are the answer, whatever the question, but if you’re buying for a fashionista, bags make for a better, less personal, and overall more comfortable shopping experience. To make it even easier, here are this season’s trending bags.

The quilted classicCoco Chanel’s personal favourite, nothing screams “elegance” the way the classic quilted coach-style bag does. This season, get yours in a bright colour, and you’ll turn heads.

Beachy toteHoliday season may be over for now, but there’s no reason not to retain those beachy fantasies, if only in the bag you carry. This season’s hottest totes have nau-tical stripes and come in a bright, clean colours.

The HoboWith the 70’s fever running high, the hobo bag has the perfect Bohemian � air. Roomy and comfortable and oh so casual, these are a highly versatile choice for both work and play. The old reliable has received a contemporary update with fun prints and eco-friendly materials. l

BackpackAs we head back to school, backpacks are enjoying their month of popularity. Choose a light, breezy fabric and a bright colour to make yours stand out.

Cross-body envelopesParty purses need not be limited to itty-bitty clutches. Look for edgy envelope bags on chains. The Art Deco trend continues to be popular through this season.

Photo: La Mode

Photo: Jutemart

Photo: La Mode

Photo: JutemartPhoto: Apex

T-JUNCTION Tailored24DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

n Mahmood Hossain

We know what you’re thinking; who in the right mind would be walking around in white trousers? Well, it’s not common, but why limit yourself, especially when white jeans are the champions of this summer, the number one item to support your derriere in the suavest way.

If you ever � nd yourself with what looks like a catastrophic stain (perhaps pasta sauce) on your white jeans, there’s a simple procedure to � x it all. There’s no reason to panic if you think the party is over, as everyone stares at your eye-sore of a stain.

First thing is � rst, take your pants o� . No, seriously. This isn’t your round about rub away stain process. When using the following cleaning supplies, you don’t want any part of them touching your skin. It will bleed through, so take those pants o� . And please don’t immediately start rubbing at the stain either. Believe it or not, it makes it more di� cult to get the stain out. Any excess globs of matter should be removed before you get to the nitty gritty.

Sparkling water isn’t just great for those glassed concoctions. You can easily head o� to your nearest Meena Bazaar and grab a bottle or can. Club soda has a better e� ect than the regular tap, while carbonated water makes for some fun bubbly action. The high sodium level helps dig in deep of the � rst state of the cleaning process.

Salt, gentlemen. This next element in your cleaning arsenal is used for its abrasive qualities. It gets straight into the stain and grinds out the harder parts of the stain. Pour whatever the required amount may be or depending on the size.

Scrub like you have never scrubbed before. You can either get a paper towel or smaller towel to scrub out the stain. This is going to take a few minutes, so you can skip the forearm workout at the gym for the day. And when we say scrub hard, we don’t mean burn a hole in the denim; just give it a go without digging into it.

You didn’t think you could get rid of this without soap, did you? After the initial scrub, reach for the dish soap in your kitchen.

You know what to do. Scrub the crap out of it, again. Just don’t burn a hole.Now, for the drying bit. You can either lock yourself in your friend’s room for 20 minutes for it to dry or head out to the shining sun. Okay, sure, it may look like you leaked in your pants but only for a little while, but it’s still better than having that stain bleed into your denim, that’s for damn sure.l

wardrobe check his style

Fade to whitePanjabi powerBecause, what’s cooler than a kurta?

Stain alive: the white denim edition

n Baizid Haque Joarder

It’s already disheartening to see some people complain about not having the “perfect attire.” Especially guys, who tend to complain about the lack of comfort, but would only think about wearing shirts and trousers EVERYTIME they’re going out. Well technically, there’s nothing wrong about that, but why settle for less when the options are endless?

This might seem like a rant to you but we simply do not give panjabis and kurtas the respect they truly deserve. Keeping that in mind, we decided to list all the marvellous reasons why you should go ethnic more often.

You look amazing!Solid colours hardly ever miss when it comes to panjabis and you don’t have to think much about contrasting halves. Whichever colour you are donning, pair it up with a white or black pajama and it won’t be a miss. Some kurtas even have quirky prints that are ready to bring out the hipster in you.It makes you look stunningly regal, that too e� ortlessly, if you don it right. The best part is, they’re � attering on almost all body types.

It’s a symbolPanjabis and kurtas are often seen as a “South Asian revolutionary” out� t. A complimenting coat with your panjabi is all you need to get some of that political swag going on in your out� t. Politicians may not all have the most rational minds, but they sure do know how to keep things classy.

Looking � y, comfortably Doesn’t matter if your clothes are worth millions, if you aren’t comfortable in them, you’ll probably look like a dime. When it comes to panjabis and kurtas, they are so comfortable that you can sleep in them.

Bear in mind that you’ll look good while you’re snoozing too. Imagine tackling the Dhaka heat wearing cotton pajamas instead of trousers that cling on to your waist like a baby koala; that’s the dream.

All in all, panjabis and kurtas have been a staple for mens wardrobe in this region for ages and have become an integral part of our culture. There are no credible reasons as to why said out� ts shouldn’t be made mainstream.

#PanjabiBackinVogue l

Wearing a panjabi takes much less e� ort to dress. Team a � tted panjabi with a Nehru coat and you’re sophisticated enough for any formal event, day or night. It’s work-appropriate, place-of-worship appropriate, just-chilling-with-friends appropriate and last but de� nitely not the least, it’s perfect for festivities. With a pair of suitable shades, chances are you’re rocking your kurta already! Opt for loafers to give things a modern twist or go traditional all the way with chappals or kolapuris; the end result would have you looking elegant and digni� ed.

“Fashion has two purposes: comfort and love. Beauty comes when fashion succeeds.” - Coco Chanel

Photo: Sailor

Sweet dreams are made of these

S W A G

25D

TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

RUTHLESS ENGLAND REGAIN THE ASHES

BANGLADESH U12s BEGIN CAMPAIGN WITH WIN

26 2827

Joe Root has moved to the top of the Test batting rankings following his � ne showing in this Ashes. Former

No 3 Root replaced Steven Smith as AB de Villiers remains at No 2

NUMBER 1

SportCLARKE TO RETIRE AFTER ASHES FINALE

Manchester United’s Dutch winger Memphis Depay (2R) celebrates with English striker Wayne Rooney after United took the lead due to an own goal from Tottenham Hotspur’s English defender Kyle Walker (L) during their English Premier League football match at Old Tra� ord yesterday AFP

Swansea thwart Chelsea, United open with winn AFP, London

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent o� as Chelsea began their Premier League title de-fence with an engrossing 2-2 draw at home to an excellent Swansea City side on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho’s men were leading 2-1 at Stamford Bridge when Courtois was sent o� for fouling Bafetimbi Gomis right on the edge of his area in the 52nd minute and the French striker scored the equaliser from the spot.

It was another impressive opening-day dis-play by Garry Monk’s Swansea, who won 2-1 at Manchester United a year ago, and added weight to Mourinho’s prediction that Chelsea will face a � ght to retain their title.

Diego Costa overcame hamstring trouble to start up front for Chelsea and after a bright start by Swansea, the home side went ahead in the 23rd minute when Oscar’s free-kick from wide on the left curled straight in.

Swansea debutant Andre Ayew equalised six minutes later, � nishing smartly after an initial attempt had been blocked, only for Chelsea to regain the lead when Willian’s cross de� ected o� Federico Fernandez and looped over visiting goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for a cruel own goal. But after Swansea mid� elder Jonjo Shelvey had hit the post from a corner, Courtois was sent o� for felling Gomis and the former Saint-Etienne frontman beat Asmir Be-govic from the spot to equalise. The dangerous Je� erson Montero twice tested Begovic and Gomis had a goal disallowed for o� side, while Fabianski saved at his near post from Eden Hazard as a pulsating contest drew to a close.

Earlier, Kyle Walker’s own goal gave Man-chester United a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Tra� ord, but Louis van Gaal’s recon� gured team showed plenty of ring rust.

Walker put through his own net in the 22nd minute, rushing back in an attempt to prevent England team-mate Wayne Rooney taking aim from Ashley Young’s cross and succeed-ing only in scu� ng the ball into his own net.

United handed competitive debuts to Ser-gio Romero, Matteo Darmian, Morgan Sch-neiderlin and Memphis Depay, while Bastian Schweinsteiger came on in the second half to become the club’s � rst German player.

Leicester City � nished the day on top of the table after Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez inspired them to a 4-2 home win over Sunder-land at the King Power Stadium in Claudio Ra-nieri’s � rst game at the Foxes helm.

After Marc Albrighton teed up Jamie Vardy for an 11th-minute header, Mahrez scored with a header from another Albrighton cross and then added a penalty to put Leicester 3-0 up with only 25 minutes gone. l

EPL RESULTSBournemouth 0-1 Aston Villa Gestede 72

Chelsea 2-2 Swansea Oscar 23, Fernandez 30-og Ayew 29, Gomis 55-pen

Everton 2-2 Watford Barkley 76, Kone 86 Layun 14, Ighalo 83

Leicester 4-2 Sunderland Vardy 11, Mahrez 18, 25-P, Defoe 60, Fletcher 71Albrighton 66

Man United 1-0 TottenhamWalker 22-og

Norwich 1-3 Crystal Palace Redmond 69 Zaha 39, Delaney 49, Cabaye 90

Sport26DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Not thinking about cricket at the moment, says Shakibn Tribune Desk

Maverick Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan yesterday informed that he is enjoying the well-deserved break and is not thinking at all about cricket right now. The 28-year old said this to the media during the o� cial inauguration of his restaurant “Shakib's Diner” in the capital's Banani yesterday.

“Cricket is not in mind right now. I will leave for the United States tomorrow along with my wife for a vacation. I want to enjoy my holidays. Upon my return, I will join the � tness camp [on August 22],” Shakib told the media.

Soon-to-be-father Shakib is the world's premier all-rounder in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals. l

Salma and Co reluctant to visit Pakistann Mazhar Uddin

Bangladesh women’s captain Salma Khatun expressed her concern over the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s willingness to send the team to tour terror-stricken Pakistan this October.

The women’s team are currently preparing for the home series against South Africa, slated for next month, while the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 quali� ers is also in their schedule later this year. However, in recent times the BCB has said it would send a two-member security team to Pakistan in order to assess the playing conditions and security arrangements before � nalising the tour.

“We still do not know whether the tour is going to take place or not and it is too tough to say anything at the moment, but if BCB wants us to visit Pakistan we have to go,” said all-rounder Salma before admitting, “Yes,

there are fears and concerns among us.“There has been turmoil in Pakistan

and the recent attack on former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram raised more concerns among us and I hope the BCB will take a deci-sion after taking all of these factors into con-sideration.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has been doing their best to try and convince the BCB to send its men’s team for a bilateral tour. Although that wish remains unful� lled, PCB chairman Shahryar Khan’s visit to the country late last year helped revive the relationship as Pakistan toured Bangladesh in April-May this year.

“The cricketers are not interested in tour-ing Pakistan after knowing about the attacks on the Sri Lankan team (in 2009) and Wasim Akram (recently). If the former captain (Akram) of their country is not safe there, how will we feel safe in Pakistan?” said Panna

Ghosh, a senior member of the Bangladesh women’s team.

BCB chief executive o� cer Nizamuddin Chowdhury, when contacted, said, “PCB proposed the tour as our women’s team have not played outside the country for a long time and they are looking forward to play overseas. We will send a security team to Pakistan to assess the current situation of the country and we do not have much time left in our hands as the tour is likely to take place this October.”

It should be mentioned, a security team from the BCB had earlier visited Pakistan in 2012, but two such proposed tours were called o� by Bangladesh owing to security concerns. In response, Pakistan pulled its players out from participating in the Bangladesh Premier League T20 in 2013 and the Dhaka Premier League, making the relation bitter between the two countries.l

n AFP, Nottingham

Australia captain Michael Clarke said Saturday he would retire from international cricket after the � fth Ashes Test against England at The Oval later this month.

The 34-year-old Clarke made his announce-ment after England completed a crushing innings and 78 run victory over Australia in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the � ve-match Ashes series.

“I will have one more Test and that is the end of my career,” said Clarke during the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I am retiring from international cricket. I don’t want to jump ship now so I will have one more go at The Oval,” he added after reports in Australian media earlier Saturday that he was about to end his Australia career.

The � fth Test starts at The Oval, in south Lon-don, on August 20.

The 34-year-old Clarke, one of the best bats-men of his generation but plagued by a longstand-ing back problem and more recent hamstring trou-ble, is in a desperate run of form, having reached 25 just six times in his last 30 Test innings.

Clarke has made 28 Test centuries, one short of Australia batting great Donald Bradman’s tally, in his 114-match career.

England captain Alastair Cook paid tribute to

his opposite number by saying: “To Michael from the England team you were a fantastic player, fantastic leader. You should be remembered as a great captain.”

Saturday’s defeat saw Clarke become the � rst Australian in more than a century to lose four successive Ashes series in England.

Clarke averages just 16.71 in eight innings this Ashes, with a top score of 38 and, as a consequence, his career Test average has dropped below 50.

He retired from one-day international cricket after leading Australia to World Cup glory on home soil earlier this year, with Clarke saying he had made the decision in order to prolong his Test career.

One of the few major targets left for Clarke would have been to win a Test series in England, having previously been on the losing side during Australia’s tours in 2005, 2009 and 2013.

But this is one achievement that will now elude him.

“There’s no doubt I’ll always hold myself accountable, my performances haven’t been anywhere they need to be,” said Clarke.

“I don’t blame anyone in the changing room, but I haven’t led from the front.

“I started this great game at six years of age and I think it’s the right time to walk away now to give Australia the time to prepare for the next Ashes series. l

Clarke to retire after Ashes finale

Sport 27D

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

FINA WORLD SWIMMING C’SHIPSagor � nishes 68th, Jewel 58th, Tumpa 98th Mah� zur Rahman Sagor � nished 68th among 113 participants in the 100-metre freestyle event of the 16th Fina World Championship in Kazan, Russia last Friday. The Bangladesh swimmer clocked 24.43 seconds to � nish � rst in his respective heat but failed to better his personal record of 24.39 seconds that he set in the 2013 Fina World Championship in Barcelona, Spain. Sagor also � nished � rst in the 100m freestyle heat three days ago. Another Bangladeshi swimmer Jewel Rana � nished eighth among 10 swimmers in the 50m backstroke heat. Jewel required 29.10 seconds and � nished 58th among 68 swimmers. Sonia Akter Tumpa, Bangladesh’s only female representative in Kazan, � nished 98th among 113 participants in the 50m freestyle, taking 30.89 seconds to � nish third in her respective heat.

–SHISHIR HOQUE

Cambiasso joins Olympiakos after Leicester exitArgentine mid� elder Esteban Cambiasso, who played a crucial role in helping Leicester escape relegation from the Premier League last season, signed for Greek champions Olympiakos on Fri-day. Greek media reported that the 35-year-old signed a two-year contract and will be receiving two million euros annually for his services. Cambiasso played 31 matches for Leicester last season, scored � ve goals and was voted the club’s player of the year.

–AFP

Lyon boost as star striker Lacazette extends contractLyon received a massive boost on Saturday when star striker Alexandre Lacazette signed a new contract up to 2019, the Ligue 1 club announced. The deal appears to end any danger that last season’s top scorer in France with 27 goals would be lured away from the Stade de Gerland despite interest from some of Europe’s superpowers.

–AFP

McIlroy scheduled to play PGA ChampionshipWorld number one Rory McIlroy is set to return from injury at next week’s PGA Championship after being scheduled to tee o� in the � rst round, the PGA of America said Friday. The PGA said on Twitter that defending champion McIlroy had been grouped with US Open and Masters champion Jordan Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson for the opening round next Thursday at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

–AFP

Mourinho signs new four-year Chelsea dealChelsea manager Jose Mourinho on Friday signed a new four-year contract to stay in charge of the English champions until 2019, the club announced. The new deal for the 52-year-old was penned just a day before Chelsea begin the defence of their Premier League title at home to Swansea.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

Sa� U-16 Championship kicks o� today n Shishir Hoque

The third edition of the Sa� Under-16 Cham-pionship will get underway today when reign-ing champions India and Sri Lanka take on each other at Sylhet District Stadium at 5pm.

India assistant coach Bibiano Fernandes ut-tered words of con� dence while facing the me-dia in the pre-match press conference yesterday.

“We have a good team that I can expect to play positive football. Our target is to win the ti-tle,” said Bibiano before adding, “It’s true that we are the defending champions but that is in the past and what we now have is a di� erent side. They are talented and ready to take the � eld.”

While the Indians are targeting the title, the Lankans are eyeing a semi-� nal spot. If the islanders are to achieve their target, they must oust either the title holders or hosts Bangladesh from the group stage.

“We have been taking preparation for a month. India are favourites but we want to do something di� erent. It’s a tough group where we face India and Bangladesh but I hope we can make into the semi-� nal,” Sri Lanka head coach Mohammad Roomy told the media yesterday.

The home side will begin their campaign against Sri Lanka this Tuesday before facing India two days later. All the matches will kick o� at 5pm and will be held at SDS. l

BD U12s begin campaign with winn Shishir Hoque

The Bangladesh boys kicked o� their Asian Youth Under-12 Football Fiesta campaign with a 1-0 victory over home side Ansan Jun-ior FC at Anseong Sports Complex in South Korea yesterday.

Meraj scored the all-important goal in the eighth minute of the game. The game dura-tion is 20 minutes.

The budding Bangladesh booters howev-er, were held to a goalless draw in their other match of yesterday against INFC FC U-13 of South Korea at the same venue.

Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their third match today before facing East Timor later on the same day. A total of 15 Asian nations, split into two groups, are taking part in the event. l

The Bangladesh Under-12 football team are all smiles following their victory over Ansan Junior FC in the Asian Youth Football Fiesta at Anseong Sports Complex in South Korea yesterday

BFF

England captain Alastair Cook“I said I wouldn’t cry but maybe I might at some stage. Someone told us to watch the Ashes from behind the sofa. From where we’ve been as a

side over the last 18 months, we’ve stuck to what we believe was the right thing to do. The way the lads stepped up has been unbelievable.”

England fast bowler Mark Wood“I can’t quite believe it. The summer couldn’t have gone any better for me. To miss out at Edgbaston and then to be back here and take the

winning wicket is an incredible feeling, one I’ll nev-er forget. I was still shaking in the dressing room half an hour later.”

England fast bowler Stuart Broad“Alastair Cook has stood up as a man and led from the

front - he’s a pleasure to play with, he’s got such hunger for England to do well.”

Australia captain Michael Clarke“It’s obviously a tough time. I’m extremely disappoint-ed with losing the Ashes and how I’ve performed. England deserve so much

credit - they outclassed us in this series and we need to learn from the way we performed.”

Former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne“Congratulations to Alastair Cook & the England team on the Ashes victory. Played fearless & entertaining crick-et, was nice to watch !!”

England batsman Ian Bell“It’s amazing. Performances from the whole group have been incredible. This win is right up there.”

Former England captain Sir Ian Botham“Great day England win the ASHES! It doesn’t get any better !! Well played boys !!”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan“Alastair Cook has led England with a real style in this series. He has put England in the right frame of mind to deliver their skills. This feels

so much better than 2013. Australia were clear favourites, so this is an amazing achievement.”

Former Aussie fast bowler Glenn McGrath“Australia will make changes for The Oval. There will be a few guys left out and a few careers � nished. You live and die by your

performances.”

REACTION TO ENGLAND’S ASHES WIN

Sport28DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

SCORECARDAUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS60 (S Broad 8-15)ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS391-9 dec (J Root 130, J Bairstow 74; M Starc 6-111)AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS R B(overnight: 241-7)C. Rogers c Root b Stokes 52 83D. Warner c Broad b Stokes 64 74S. Smith c Stokes b Broad 5 9S. Marsh c Root b Stokes 2 6M. Clarke c Bell b Wood 13 37A. Voges not out 51 118P. Nevill lbw b Stokes 17 57M. Johnson c Cook b Stokes 5 16M. Starc c Bell b Stokes 0 17J. Hazlewood b Wood 0 10N. Lyon b Wood 4 12Extras (b20, lb16, w1, nb3) 40Total (all out, 72.4 overs, 319 mins) 253

Fall of wickets1-113 (Rogers), 2-130 (Warner), 3-136 (Marsh), 4-136 (Smith), 5-174 (Clarke), 6-224 (Nevill), 7-236 (Johnson), 8-242 (Starc), 9-243 (Hazle-wood), 10-253 (Lyon)BowlingBroad 16-5-36-1; Wood 17.4-3-69-3 (2nb, 1w); Finn 12-4-42-0 (1nb); Stokes 21-8-36-6; Ali 6-0-34-0;ResultEngland won by an innings and 78 runsSeriesEngland lead � ve-match series 3-1

IN NUMBERS

4 Number of away Ashes Australia have now lost in a row; this is the longest

such sequence for them since 1896-97 when they had lost the � rst-six Ashes series consecutively.

6 Ashes Tests won by Alastair Cook; among England captains only Mike

Brearly (11) and WG Grace (8) have won more Ashes Tests than Cook. Percy Chapman also won six Ashes Tests.

5 Number of Ashes series wins Ian Bell has now been part of, which equals the most

Ashes series wins for any England player since 1950. Ian Botham too featured in � ve Ashes wins, from seven series. This is Bell’s seventh Ashes series as well.

2 Number of England captains to win two or more home Ashes series before

Alastair Cook. WG Grace had captained England in four Ashes wins at home and two of Mike Brearly’s three Ashes wins had come at home.

3 Man-of-the-match awards won by Stuart Broad in the Ashes - equals the sec-

ond-most won by any England player since such awards started being given away. Ian Botham won � ve such awards during his career. Andrew Flinto� too won three such awards in the Ashes.

7 Ashes Tests lost by Michael Clarke - the most by any Australian as a captain.

Overall, only three other captains have lost more Ashes Tests than Clarke. Archie McLaren lost 11 Ashes Tests, Mike Atherton lost nine and Johnny Douglas lost eight Ashes matches.

1986 Last time in the Ashes a team made a � rst-innings

total lower than England’s 391 in this Test and still went on to win by an innings. On that occasion too, England beat Australia, by an innings and 14 runs at the MCG, after posting a total of 349 in their � rst innings. Overall, there have been 12 such instances in the Ashes including this Test and only � ve have happened since the 1900s.

1921 Last time before this series a team lost back-to-back Tests in

the Ashes, each within three days. On that oc-casion though, Australia were on the winning side, beating England inthree consecutive Tests, each within three days.

6/36 Ben Stokes’ bowling � gures in Australia’s second innings

- his best in Tests. This was also his second 5-for in Tests. His � rst � ve-for had also come against Australia, at the SCG in 2014. On that too, Stokes took six Australian wickets. Stokes has taken 23 of his 37 Test wickets in the Ashes.

5 Number of times two England bowlers have taken six-wicket hauls (or better) in

an Ashes Test including Stuart Broad and Stokes in this match. This is the second time in this series that two England bowlers have taken such hauls in a match. At Edgbaston, James Anderson and Steven Finn had taken six-wicket hauls.

England captain Alastair Cook (L) and Ian Bell (2R) react as England’s Mark Wood (unseen) bowls Australia’s Josh Hazlewood during the third day of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, England yesterday. England are leading 3-1 ahead of the � fth and � nal Test at The Oval AFP

Ruthless England regain the Ashesn Reuters, Nottingham

England ripped out the last three Australia wickets for 12 runs to win the fourth Test by a crushing innings and 78 runs and regain the Ashes at a euphoric Trent Bridge on Saturday.

Ben Stokes had Mitchell Starc caught by Ian Bell at second slip for nought and Mark Wood bowled Josh Hazlewood for a duck.

Wood produced another ferocious full-pitched delivery to shatter Nathan Lyon’s stumps for four and complete the rout, spark-ing wild celebrations on the pitch and around the ground.

The England players celebrated in a huddle before going on a lap of honour to strains of “Rule Britannia” and “Land of Hope and Glo-ry” as the crowd basked in the sunshine.

“It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t be happier,” England captain Alastair Cook told reporters.

England were whitewashed 5-0 in the last Ashes series in Australia in 2013-14 and the touring side had been strong favourites to re-tain the famous urn.

Adam Voges was left unbeaten on 51 in Australia’s total of 253 and Stokes � nished with Test-best � gures of 6-36.

England won the � rst Test in Cardi� by 169 runs but Australia bounced back to level the series with a crushing victory by 405 runs at Lord’s.

The hosts dominated the third Test at Edg-baston and won by eight wickets inside three days before dismissing Australia for 60 on the � rst day at Trent Bridge to set up another overwhelming victory.

“When you lose 5-0 there’s a big turna-round and a new side develops pretty quick-ly,” Cook said. “There’s a lot of talent and the guys have come in and done incredibly well.

“It all comes down to hard work. A lot of that work has been done over the last 18 months,” Cook said.

“I had to take a big step forward as captain. I am quite stubborn and it took a while. But ultimately you are only as good as the other 10 players.”

England lead the series 3-1 with one match to play at the Oval starting on Aug. 20. l

ENGLAND 3AUSTRALIA 1

Sport 29D

T

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

Ten Sports 8:00PM Moto GP 2015: RaceRed Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix 3:00AM WTA: Bank of West Classic Final Ten Cricket5:00PM New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe 1st T20I 9:00PM French Ligue 1 2015/16Toulouse FC v AS Saint-Etienne Ten Action5:00PM Sky Bet Championship 2015/16Preston North End v Middlesbrough 8:00PM DFB Pokal (German Cup) 2015/16Chemnitzer FC v Borussia Dortmund 1:00AM French Ligue 1 2015/16Olympique Lyonnais v FC Lorient Star Sports 208:50AM Tri Series India A v South Africa A Pro Kabaddi League 2015 8:20PM Mumbai v Kolkata 9:30PM Delhi v Patna Star Sports 4English Premier League 6:30PM Arsenal v West Ham United 9:00PM Stoke City v Liverpool 12:30AM ATP: Citi Open Washington DC Final

DAY’S WATCH

Wenger talks up Arsenal’s title chancesn AFP, London

Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal’s title ri-vals that his resurgent side are � nally strong enough to end the club’s 12-year wait to win the Premier League.

Wenger’s team kick o� the new campaign against West Ham on Sunday and the mood at the Emirates Stadium will be one of un-bridled optimism in the aftermath of a pair of Wembley victories that are being hailed around north London as the foundations of a sustained title challenge.

Despite � nishing 12 points behind Chelsea in third place last term, Arsenal have the feel of a team on the rise and Wenger is so con-� dent in his squad that the signing of Petr Cech, the veteran goalkeeper lured across London from Stamford Bridge, was his only major pre-season signing.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers be-lieves Stoke will face a much di� erent team than the one they humiliated at the end of last season when the Reds return to the Bri-tannia Stadium for their Premier League opener on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Steve McClaren returns to the Premier League on Sunday when New-castle United take on Southampton, who represent the ideal blueprint for his attempt to transform a team who were only 90 min-utes away from starting this season in the Championship.l

Japanese teen Watanabe wins world breaststroke goldn AFP, Kazan

Japanese teenager Kanako Watanabe won the women’s 200m breaststroke gold at the world swimming championships on Friday to claim her second medal in Kazan.

Watanabe, 18, clocked two minutes, 21.15 seconds with Micah Lawrence of the United States taking silver at 1.29 back. It was the second gold for Japanese women in the Ka-zan pool in as many days after Natsumi Hoshi claimed a surprise victory in the 200m butter-� y on Thursday. It was the � ve foot, � ve inch Watanabe’s second medal in Kazan after silver in the 200m individual medley on Monday. l

Lucas lifts 10-man PSG to rare season-opening winn AFP, Paris

A second half goal from Brazilian winger Lu-cas Moura gave ten-man Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win, their � rst in a Ligue 1 opener since their new Qatari owners took over in 2011, at Lille on Friday.

The three-time Ligue 1 champions were a player down after half an hour after mid� eld-er Adrien Rabiot was given his marching or-ders for two yellow cards in the space of � ve minutes.

Rabiot picked up the � rst on 22 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Lille mid� elder Florent Balmont, and minutes later was sent o� by referee Fredy Fautrel for a foul on defender Sebastian Corchia.

The 20-year-old Rabiot, who had a spat with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during a friendly against Chelsea in July, had been favoured by Laurent Blanc over Thiago Motta despite sev-eral run-ins with the coach at the end of last season.

The Parisians had been struggling to con-tain Lille who � nished eighth last season and were playing their � rst competitive match un-der new coach Herve Renard.

Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore � lled in for injured Swede Ibrahimovic while await-ing the availability of new Argentinian recruit Angel Di Maria.l

Brazilian Lucas Moura of Paris St Germain is about to score the winning goal during their French Ligue 1 match against Lille at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascqon last Friday REUTERS

FIXTURES Arsenal v West Ham United Newcastle United v Southampton Stoke City v Liverpool

Juventus’ Argentinian forward Paulo Dybala (L) scores his team’s second goal during the Italian Super Cup � nal against Lazio in Shanghai yesterday. Juventus won 2-0

AFP

DOWNTIME30DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents N so � ll N every time the � gure 15 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Tribal symbols (6)5 Poor actor (3)7 Metal-bearing rock (3)8 Sea robber (6)11 Armed con� ict (3)12 Closes up (5)14 Bill of fare (4)16 Staggers (5)18 Embellish (5)20 Part of the eye (4)21 Brings up (5)23 Doctrine (3)24 Temporary stops (6)27 Choler (3)29 Drowsy (6)

DOWN 1 Helpful hint (3)2 Hill (3)3 E� acement (7)4 Limiting mark (4)5 Small cable (6)6 Marsh (6)9 Decorated a cake (4)10 Corn spike (3)13 Freedom from occupa-tion (7)14 Evil intent (6)15 Regular (6)17 Citrus fruit (4)19 Short sleep (3)22 Sco� (4)25 Bishop’s territory (3)26 Secret agent (3)

SUDOKU

n Showtime Desk

Castaway Man | Kesang Tseten | 82 mins | 2015Dor Bahadur Bista, Nepal’s most controver-

sial intellectual of modern times, disap-peared without a trace in 1996. He became an anthropologist by assisting well-known anthropologist Fuerer Haimendorf, but was mostly self-trained. He controversially argued that Nepal didn’t develop because of Brahminism, values of fatalism and hierar-chy of the caste system. Stirring acrimony, he moved to remote Jumla to put his ideas into practice. Speculation over his disap-pearance include his upper-caste enemies; his alleged a� air with a young woman under his mentor-ship; and becoming a renunciate on the banks of the Ganges in North India.Kesang Tseten is a Nepali writer-turned � lm maker of Tibetan origin. His � lms have been screened internationally and have won prestigious awards there.

A Walnut Tree | Ammar Aziz | 92 mins | 2015An old man reminisces about a distant homeland he wants to return to. The son and daughter-in-law argue with him. The grand children watch the tension rise. Inter-nally displaced and forced to live in a camp, the family is caught between memories of what life used to be, insecurity of the pres-ent and the bleakness of future. The sadness and tension is unbearable, something is

about to happen.Ammar Aziz is a Lahore-based inde-

pendent documentary � lm maker and a left-wing activist. Featured in the Christian Science Monitor’s ‘30 under 30’ from all over the world for his art and activism, he was the only Pakistani � lm maker to be selected for the Talent Campus of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012. Am-mar is the founding director of SAMAAJ, a newly formed non-government, non-pro� t organisation for creating rights awareness among the marginalised communities of Pakistan. l

SHOWTIME 31D

TSUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

Becky G.@iambeckygMake-up can’t cov-er everything....

Carly Rae Jepsen@carlyraejepsenI am heart broken that our trip to Taiwan is post-poned bc of the typhoon- but we hope to be there soon to party with you all! Xoxo

Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol Zee Studio 6:45pmBlamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates “Ghost Protocol”. Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must � nd a way to clear his agency’s name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.Cast: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg

Thor 2: The Dark WorldStar Movies 9:30pm When Dr Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful object, Thor must protect it before an army and its ruthless leader try to get their hands on it to take over the remains of Earth.Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

300: Rise of an EmpireHBO 7:36pmGreek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.Cast: Eva Green, Hans Matheson, Lena Headey

WHAT TO WATCH

Film screening at Shilpakala Academy

End of an era

n Showtime Desk

America's number one satirist Jon Stewart leaves the hit program The Daily Show, which never held back in their comments on current political a� airs and media.

Being restless for months, Steward wanted to move on despite the disappointment of his fans. After 16 years on the show, he � nally does.

Joined by the sidekicks of the show, videos were shown of the most hilarious moments of Stewart over the years on the last show. "Guess what?" Stewart said as the � nal show began,

"I've got big news. This is it." l

Stewart bids farewell from The Daily Show

n Showtime Desk

Known best as Rachel from the hit TV series Friends, Jennifer Aniston reportedly got married to her � ance Justin Theroux at their Bel Ait mansion recently. This is her second marriage, the � rst being with Brad Pitt which ended in 2005, following relationships with Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.

Aniston has been a victim of controversy and media ever since her divorce, and it is hoped that will end after the last ten years.

Aniston, 46, and Theroux, 43, got engaged when Theroux popped the question on his birthday in August 2012.

No o� cial con� rmation of the wedding were given but Aniston’s representatives were reached out to by Sky News for a comment. l

The wedding much waited for

Anna Kendrick@AnnaKendrick47Sometimes I just open Twitter, hit the home icon, and close it again. #GottaClearThatBlueDot

BACK PAGE32DT

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015

RUSTY MAN UNITED BENEFIT FROM WALKER CHARITY PAGE 25

FILM SHOW AT SHILPAKALA PAGE 31

NBR TO AUDIT TAX FILES OF BIG, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES PAGE 15

Foreign pressure mounting for mid-term polls?n Emran Hossain Shaikh and

Pavel Haider Chowdhury

The government is facing fresh foreign pres-sure for holding mid-term polls, several pol-icy-makers of the Awami League government have suggested, according to an exclusive re-port by Bangla Tribune.

Seeking anonymity, a number of in� uen-tial ruling party leaders have reportedly told Bangla Tribune that internal discussions are going on in closed forums about this.

However, the government is unlikely to cave to the pressure, and is con� dent that it will be able to complete its full tenure up to 2019. The government has been using the militancy issue as a shield against the interna-tional pressure, and feels that this is a persua-sive argument to not disrupt the status quo.

In addition, the government has also made it a point to communicate and broadcast its economic and development achievements to project a positive image among the interna-tional community.

US taking leadBangla Tribune reports that it has learned that the development partner apparently showing the most enthusiasm for a mid-term national election in Bangladesh is the US. And for this, the country is banking on India, which has very good relations with Bangladesh.

Sources also said that the Obama govern-ment wants to highlight the agenda of the meetings that special UN envoy Oscar Fernan-dez-Taranco had with the AL and BNP before the January 5 election last year.

One of the resolutions of those meetings was that the January 5 election was just a con-stitutional formality and there was a pledge for a mid-term election in the quickest pos-sible time. However, because the BNP is now not in a strong position in the political arena, the government sees no need to show any � exibility in this regard.

India the conduitAgainst this backdrop, a number of people

from the policy-making level of the AL have admitted that several western countries have been trying to put pressure on the govern-ment through India.

At the same time, they have also communi-cated with conviction that there will not be any elections before 2017 at the very earliest, and that too only under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership.

India however has still not shown any inter-ests about enforcing a mid-term election in Bangladesh.

All of the above has been con� rmed to Bangla Tribune by two ministers and two secretaries of the ruling party, all of whom re-quested anonymity, but were willing to speak extensively o� the record.

Senior leaders’ denialBut several senior leaders of the ruling party have rubbished all talk of international pres-sure as nothing more than rumour and gossip.

Suranjit Sengupta, a member of the Awami League advisory council, told Bangla Tribune: “What pressure are you talking about? It is true that there is pressure, but the BNP will have to � x its politics � rst. They will have to shun the path of militancy and extremism. If they can do that, then we will see. I do not think the US and the European countries will make the mistake of bringing a pro-militan-cy force to Bangladesh’s state power through election. There might be meetings here and

there between people, but there is no way that an election can be squeezed out from somewhere.”

According to insiders, sensing the foreign-ers’ attitude, the BNP has recently started giving statements demanding mid-term elec-tion. This is a turnaround for the BNP after a break of about three months following a failed movement staged during the previous three months for the same demand.

The ruling party is also hopeful about com-pleting its full tenure in light of the fact that the BNP organisational structure has been left in tatters due to its failed movement to agitate for mid-term polls.

The government has also assumed that the BNP would come to election in 2019, even if it is held under Sheikh Hasina. This is because two consecutive national election boycotts would result in cancellation of the party’s reg-istration with the Election Commission and the BNP would not take that risk.

Suranjit admitted that during their meeting with Taranco, there was a pledge for holding a fresh election soon after the January 5 elec-tions. The veteran leader was a member of the Awami League delegation in that meeting.

“It was said at that time ‘Let this election be held; then we will have another election.’ But BNP did not act in that line. They broke that condition by boycotting and trying to prevent that election. So, that issue was set-tled there,” Suranjit pointed out.

Awami League presidium council member Kazi Zafarullah said: “There is a rumour that there is international pressure on the govern-ment for a mid-term election. But I think this rumour is baseless.”

Another presidium member and also Health Minister Md Nasim said: “There might be dif-ferent pressures at times. We also felt pressure when we executed the verdict against the war criminals. But Sheikh Hasina is not the kind of leader to bow to such pressures.”

Joint General Secretary Mahub-ul Alam Hanif said: “There is no possibility of any mid-term elections. Talk of international pressure is nothing but rumours.”

Word from New DelhiMeanwhile, several South Bloc leaders have re-portedly admitted that the US has been trying to implement its agenda in Bangladesh using India, but India’s stance regarding Bangladesh is very clear cut: “India believes that there is a democratically elected government in Bangla-desh. India has never interfered with Bangla-desh’s internal matters, and it never will.”

However, no matter what they say in front of television cameras, Indian o� cials have said o� the record that it is true that the US wants to see a mid-term election in Bangladesh.

Washington has already requested New Delhi to talk to Sheikh Hasina about holding an election (that will have to be held long be-fore 2019) in which parties including BNP will participate. This request has been forwarded through diplomatic and other channels.

The problem is, India itself is not convinced that Bangladesh now needs a mid-term election.

A source from the Indian foreign ministry said: “How would we try to convince some-one about something that we ourselves are not convinced about? Moreover, we do not have anything to gain from a mid-term elec-tion in Bangladesh. In fact, Sheikh Hasina has managed to bring things under control to a great extent. Now there is nothing to lose if an election is held at the designated time.”

When contacted, the US embassy in Dhaka said in an e-mail message: “We continue to support an inclusive, participatory electoral process; however, the people of Bangladesh must decide the timing of any future elections. We continue to call on all parties in Bangla-desh to work within the political space.”

Ann B. McConnell, public a� airs o� cer of the embassy, also wrote: “The United States enjoys strong bilateral relations with both Bangladesh and India and continues to work together to ad-vance our shared regional and global objectives, including cooperation on democracy and gov-ernance, trade, and security cooperation.

“We also support democracy as a key el-ement in promoting stability, security, and prosperity in South Asia and throughout the global arena.” l

‘We continue to support an inclusive, participatory electoral process; however, the people of Bangladesh must decide the timing of any future elections. We continue to call on all parties in Bangladesh to work within the political space’

Police seek no remand for Mufti Izharn Tribune Report

A Chittagong court yesterday sent senior Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury to jail in a case � led over grenade blasts at his Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa that killed three students in 2013.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abdul Quader passed the order when Izhar was produced be-fore the court, said CMP Detective Branch’s Ad-ditional Deputy Commissioner SM Tanvir Arafat.

Police did not submit any remand petition as decided earlier.

Izhar, 70, the ameer of an Islami Oikya Jote faction and also the chairman of a Nezam-e-Islam faction was arrested on Friday by the DB

police after two years of hiding. He was facing arrest warrants in three cases � led over the blast that took place on October 7, 2013.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police on Friday also formed a 10-member committee to in-terrogate Izhar to know whether he had any connection with the recent killing of bloggers, and any local or international militant group.

He was supposed to be placed at the court with a 10-day remand prayer, CMP DB o� cials had said.

Sources said the detectives on Friday night scrutinised Izhar’s case records and found that he had no other cases than the three. So they decided not to interrogate him.

Izhar’s Jamiyatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa

has long been known as a den of Islamist mili-tant out� t Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB), banned in 2005. Izhar played a signi� -cant role in spreading the network of the radi-cal out� t across the country since early 1990s with the ultimate goal of launching a jihad.

Sources said Izhar had very close links with Osama Bin Laden of al-Qaeda and Mullah Omar of Taliban. He travelled to Afghanistan on sev-eral occasions and met Laden, Omar and many other Taliban leaders, as described in di� erent publications circulated within the Huji network.

After the 2013 blasts, the law enforcers recovered hand grenades, grenade-making materials and 18 bottles of picric acid used to amplify the magnitude of explosions.

Izhar, his son Harun Izhar and seven others were indicted last year in the three cases � led with Khulshi police. Izhar � rst secured bail last year for eight weeks, but did not surren-dered after the term expired.

Sources said that he had been hiding in a madrasa in the city’s Bakalia area. Locals said that Izhar had been leading the Jum’a prayers at Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa mosque for the past few months.

Police’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion arrested him in December 2010 in connection with two criminal cases � led in Chittagong. Later the Criminal Investigation Department showed him arrested in a case to investigate his HujiB links. l

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