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Agrahayan 16, 1421Safar 6, 1436Regd No DA 6238Vol 2, No 233

15 | EntertainmentPandit Shivkumar Sharma’s name is sosynonymous with the Kashmiri folk instru-ment that even his o� cial website is called santoor.com.

14 | SportDanny Welbeck’s header eased the pressure on Arsene Wenger as Arsenal made it two victories in a week with a 1-0 success at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

8 | WorldPressure is building on Venezuela’s govern-ment to fully investigate a rising number of deaths at an overcrowded prison, with hu-man rights activists questioning authorities.

3 | NewsPM inaugurated the Bibiyana Gas Field Expan-sion Project and the newly constructed Bibiya-na-Dhanua Gas transmission pipeline, express-ing hope that these projects would reduce the gap of gas between demand and supply.

4 | NewsThe Unnayan Onneshan (UO) in its Bangla-desh Economic update cautions that limited access to available, a� ordable and reliable sources of energy puts energy security at risk.

5 | NewsA memorial to noted personalities Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier was opened to public at Dhaka University yesterday. It is part of the Road Accident Memorial Installation.

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Buthpara, a safe havenfor JamaatRajshahi University is no stranger to Jamaat-Shibir violence; they operate from a sanctuary cultivated for decadesn Mohammad Jamil Khan,

back from Rajshahi

Buthpara is like any other village of Bangladesh by day. By night, it turns into a guarded bastion, where even law enforcers do not dare to venture.

Sharing a common wall with the Ra-jshahi University (RU) campus, Buth-para is a safe haven for Jamaat-e-Isla-mi’s student cadres — Islami Chhatra Shibir members.

Rajshahi University has come to be known as a stronghold of Jamaat and Shibir for decades. But nowhere are

they more � rmly rooted than at Buth-para village. The head of the local Ja-maat unit runs the area as if it were his kingdom.

The fact that this used to be an ex-tremely poor community, made it easy for Jamaat-Shibir men to establish a strong following among the people there. The Islamist party, which active-ly opposed Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, have made the villagers economi-cally dependent on them.

Members of Jamaat-e-Islami and their student cadres have been giving away money to these poor and illiterate

people, most of whom have never had a decent job, for partaking in violent acts on or around the nearby university campus.

Jamaat men and their student cad-res had been instrumental in establish-ing vigilante militia groups during the Liberation War. These militia gangs were responsible for widespread atroc-ities, amounting to war crimes, across Bangladesh. A number of Jamaat leaders have already been sentenced to death for their part in perpetrating crimes against humanity.

The violent acts around campus are in fact a kind of popular “seasonal job” for many villagers. This “seasonal Shibir crew” is behind every major vio-lent incident at Rajshahi University.

This correspondent spoke to a Shibir cadre who lives in Buthpara and goes to Rajshahi University.

On the evening before any major po-litical demonstration or hartal, senior Jamaat-Shibir leaders hold meetings with the villagers and lay out their plans for the next day, he said. “They inspire us saying we are the protectors of Islam. And so we can do whatever is needed.”

“The following evening, after the day’s action is over, we are generally paid Tk5,000 for hitting a policeman, Tk500 - Tk1,000 for vandalising a car or a shop and Tk100 or so for setting o� crude bombs.”

Rabbel Hossain, president of the lo-cal Awami League unit and one of the

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

AL units run by RSO-trained Rohingyasn S Bashu Das, Bandarban

Banned Myanmarese insurgent group Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) has gradually placed their key � gures in the ruling Awami League’s Naikkhyangchhari unit in bordering Bandarban.

Their dominance has risen so high that the di� erent units of the Awami League (AL) including Chhatra League, Jubo League, Sechchasebak League and Krishak League are led by the Rohing-yas, who are allegedly involved in an-ti-state activities, locals and a number

of AL leaders told the Dhaka Tribune.The RSO, which reportedly has ties

with banned militant group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and key BNP-ally Jamaat-e-Islami, recently in-creased its activities by targeting poor Rohingyas in the remote hilly areas and tactfully providing them with food, shelter and training. Afghan instruc-tors were also reported to have been seen at the RSO camps.

According to credible sources, the RSO started regrouping in June 2012 after sectarian violence erupted in My-anmar’s Arakan province where the

Muslim Rohingya communities have been persecuted in the Buddhist-ma-jority country.

On June 8 the same year, the group declared Arakan as an independent Islamic state during Friday sermons at Kowarbeel Madrasa in Mongdu of Myanmar. Later they beefed up activi-ties in bordering Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar districts to lure the Rohingyas, staying illegally in Bangladesh, to join the out� t.

It is alleged that RSO leaders, among others, were behind the attacks on PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Without coordinating with the tra� c division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Po-lice (DMP), Dhaka North City Corpora-tion (DNCC) has marked a controversial zebra crossing just north of the Saarc Fountain at Karwan Bazar intersection in the capital.

The new zebra crossing, barely one hundred feet from an underpass, has caused pedestrian tra� c to increase at the busy intersection, making it dif-� cult for tra� c police to control jay-walkers who tend to cut a diagonal line through tra� c, a police o� cial, asking to remain anonymous, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Ironically, before it had been painted, a mobile court under Executive Magis-trate Md Sarwar Alam � ned around one hundred people for trying to cross the road at the new crossing point.

The new zebra crossing is also the site of a scu� e in which a female jaywalker

earned a month in jail for biting a police o� cer on the second day of the drive.

DNCC marked the new zebra cross-ing amid a week-long DMP drive against jaywalking at three key intersections in the capital - Farmgate, Karwan Bazar and Bangla Motor on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue.

Zebra crossings on all of Dhaka city’s roads have been worn down to invisi-bility because of lack of maintenance, increasing the chances for road acci-dents and jaywalking.

But Dhaka North and South City Corporation are intent on remarking existing zebra crossings only on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, showing little in-terest, so far, in other parts of the city.

Terming the new zebra crossing con-troversial and unnecessary, the DMP o� cial said: “This intersection is much busier than most other intersections in the city. The newly marked zebra cross-ing is risky.”

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Sha� ul murder: Police term Facebook page claims baselessn Mohammad Jamil Khan

O� cials at Rajshahi Metropolitan Po-lice now say that Facebook page “Ansar Al-Islam Bangladesh 2,” members of which claimed to have killed Rajshahi University teacher Prof AKM Sha� ul Is-lam Lilon, made a false announcement.

Police and Rapid Action Battalion

(RAB) have so far shown 17 people ar-rested for their suspected involvement in the murder.

Six others were detained from Bogra on November 23. Four of them – Amal Chandra Karmakar, Sadhon Chandra Karmakar, Vojon Chandra Sarker and Sudarshan Chandra Karmakar – were machete makers. Police released them

on Thursday.The two others were detained

for opening the Facebook page that claimed responsibility of the murder within � ve hours. Shariful Islam, a teacher of Mosta� zur Cadet College of Bogra, and Rayhanul Islam Shadhin, 17, a class VIII student of Gokul School, were produced before a court under

section 54. They are Jamaat-Shibir men, police say.

Just a few days earlier, RMP Deputy Commissioner Nahidul Islam agreed with RAB’s � ndings that Jubo Dal members had been behind the murder.

“Ansar Al-Islam Bangladesh 2 was not involved in the murder. We came to know from Shariful and Rayhan that

they opened the Facebook page on see-ing the news in the media to take the credit as an accomplishment of their organisation,” Alamgir Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Motihar police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

A case would be � led against the duo for opening the page, under the

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Egyptian court drops case against Mubarak over 2011 protest deathsn Reuters

An Egyptian court has dropped its case against former President Hosni Mubar-ak over the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule and symbolized hopes for a new era of political openness and accountability.

Mubarak, 86, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for conspiring to mur-der 239 demonstrators, sowing chaos and creating a security vacuum during the 18-day revolt, but an appeals court ordered a retrial.

His supporters erupted into celebra-tion when the verdicts of that retrial - which also cleared Mubarak’s former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six aides - were read out. The defendants had denied the charges.

Supporters outside court, carrying pictures of the ex-air force o� cer who dominated the most populous Arab nation for three decades, far outnum-bered families of protesters who died in the Tahrir Square revolt that had embodied the hopes of Arab Spring up-risings that spread through the region.

The judge said criminal charg-es should never have been brought against Mubarak in the case. The de-cision can be appealed, however, and the former leader was not freed as he is PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Journo Zaglul Ahmed Chy dies in road accidentn Tribune Report

Senior journalist Zaglul Ahmed Chow-dhury was killed in a road accident in the capital’s Karwan Bazar area last night. He was 69.

Police said the accident happened around 8:05pm. Zaglul was about to get o� a bus at Karwan Bazar intersection. The bus was heading towards Farmgate from Bangla Motor.

As he was getting o� the bus began to move and Zaglul hit his against the closing door and fell on to the road.

Three pedestrians took him to near-by Mohona Clinic. As there was no phy-sician in the emergency unit he was rushed to Comfort Hospital at Green Road where doctors declared him dead around 8:30pm

Bhorer Kagoj Editor Shyamal Datta said Zaglul was supposed attend a talk-show with him at 8:30pm at ATN Bangla.

His body has been kept at the Bang-abandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical Univer-sity (BSMMU) mortuary.

He leaves behind his wife, one son and one daughter to mourn his death.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury was the advisor editor of Financial Express un-til his death. He had been living in the capital’s Banani with family members. His daughter lives in the US while his son works at a private telecommunica-tion company.

This veteran journalist hailed from Piam village under Madhabpur upazila in Habiganj district. His father Nasirud-din Chowdhury was the law minister of Juktofront government.

Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ex-pressed deep shock at the sad demise of the noted journalist. l

Putting commuters’ lives into risk, public buses are dropping o� passengers in the middle of a busy road. Such short-sighted act can result into major accident anytime. The photo was taken from the Shahbagh area in the capital yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Pedestrians crossing over to the other side of the road by using a zebra crossing, which was non-existent day before yesterday, at Karwan Bazar intersection yesterday. The Dhaka North City Corporation did the job barely 100 feet away from an underpass. It was done without informing the tra� c division of the DMP SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

‘Controversial and unnecessary’ new zebra crossing

The � rst of a two-part Dhaka Tribune report reveals the ‘Jamaat-Shibir Cantonment’

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

Demo continues for Khilgaon stalking victim Ritu; key accused gets bail n Tribune Report

Despite continual demonstration from Umme Kulsum Ritu’s family members, her classmates and teachers of East Point Education School and College and neighbours in the capital’s Khil-gaon area, the main accused of three defendants in the case has secured bail from the High Court.

Hundreds of people including teachers and students staged a demon-stration in the national press club area yesterday and formed a human chain protesting bail of the main accused, namely Simul Chandra Mondal, in the case � led with Khilgaon police station.

Ritu killed herself with poison on September 6 being anguished in the face of continuous sexual harassment by a local stalkers named Simul and his friends Ra� q, Jiyad, Billal, Pintu Chan-dra Mondal, Joygopal Chandra Mondal, alleged Shathi Begum, Ritu’s mother.

“I have � led the case against Simul as well as, his father Ranjan Mondal, moth-er Maloti Rani Mondal, Pintu, Joygopal. Ritu’s teachers tried several times to save my daughter from the harassment by making complain to his parents. But they (Simul’s parents) never controlled

their son and they on the contrary as-saulted the teachers.” said Shathi.

After the case, Khilgaon police ar-rested Ra� q, Jiyad and Billal but not the main accused although they were seen in the area always, alleged a neighbour of Ritu named Minara Begum.

When contacted, Khilgaon police station SI and also Investigation O� cer of the case Shahjahan said: “We tried our best to arrest the prime accused but they went into hiding.”

Denying the allegation hurled by the neighbour, the o� cer said: “The criminal accused in the case are iden-ti� ed criminals of this area. After Ritu’s suicide they went into hiding. On No-vember 27 they got bail from the High Court. Before getting bail if we found them, we must arrest them.”

After the bail, the accused have been threatening Ritu’s family members con-tinuously to withdraw the case. Otherwise they will � le a false case against them. Shathi said tear on eyes with feeble voice: “Continuously they threat us to withdraw the case. I and my husband are poor and also work as garment worker. My other son and daughter live in house alone. Now I am tensed with my other children.”

Ritu’s teacher and principal of her

school Jahirul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune: “I wonder how those crim-inals get bail from the HC after being accused in a case � led for allegedly pro-voking a minor girl to suicide.”

During the two-hour demonstra-tion, school students, teachers and locals laid siege to the house of the alleged stalker in Nandipara area, also demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits cancelling the bail.

The victim Ritu used to live with her family at Nandipara in Khilgaon. She was the eldest among three broth-ers and sisters. Her father Mohammad Ashiq and mother Sathi Akther are garment workers. Like everyday, Ritu’s parents went to work and her grand-mother Fatema went to a neighbour’s house after lunch. Getting the chance, prime accused Shimul, along with Joy, stormed into Ritu’s house and tried to abuse her on September 6.

Hearing her screaming, Fatema rushed to the house but the stalkers left the spot promptly. At one stage, Fatema called on Ritu’s Bangla teacher Al-Amin, also their neighbour, for help.

Later, Ritu took poison to kill herself while Al-Amin and Fatema were discuss-ing the possible steps in this regard. l

Nazmul: Nobody matters except Hasina and past BCL bossesn Arif Ahmed

The general secretary of the Bangla-desh Chhatra League (BCL) yesterday rubbished the need to pay heed to any opinions other than those of AL chief Sheikh Hasina and former leaders of his organisation.

“Chhatra League is never embar-rassed by the remarks of anyone except those of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former BCL leaders,” BCL general secretary Siddiqui Nazmul Alam said at a press conference at Madhu’s canteen on the Dhaka University campus yesterday.

Speaking with this correspond-ent Nazmul con� rmed his statement: “There is no need to care for the advice or direction of anybody regarding our organization except those of Sheikh Hasina and the former leaders of our organisation.”

With regard to Awami League adviso-ry council member Suranjit Sengupta’s recent remarks on the BCL, Nazmul said: “He cannot say anything about us because he does not maintain his own duties prop-erly. So what can he say about us?”

At a programme on November 21, Suranjit cast doubts about the process of forming the BCL central committee and urged the prime minister to form a committee to investigate it.

Claiming Suranjit wished ill of the BCL, Nazmul said: “If he wanted our well being, he would not have com-mented negatively about us to the me-dia, he would have told us personally.”

Nazmul said: “The prime minister criticises us, but never publicly. How could Suranjit do this?”

The BCL also announced “Clean Cam-pus Save Campus,” a seven-day long programme at the press conference.

“We will start our programme from Dhaka University to build awareness about environmental pollution,” BCL president H M Bodiuzzaman Sohag said, adding that the programme would work to eradicate terrorism on campus.

Road Transport and Bridges Minis-ter Obaidul Quader is expected to inau-gurate the campaign on December 1 at Aparajeyo Bangla on the DU campus. l

Former Jamaat MP arrested n Asif Islam Shaon

Police yesterday arrested former Ja-maat-e-Islami lawmaker Shakhawat Hossain in connection with crimes against humanity he had allegedly com-mitted during the 1971 Liberation War.

Shakhawat was arrested at a house near Masterkhanpara Mosque area at Uttarkhan of the capital last evening, Uttarkhan police O� cer-in-Charge Yunus Ali told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Buthpara, a safe haven for Jamaat PAGE 1 COLUMN 2few who openly oppose Jamaat, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Every time there is a major political programme, Shibir men turn o� the streetlights the night before in order to give the place a scary look so that nobody dares to enter. They also block the roads with trees so that police vehicles cannot go in either.”

He remembered night before Jamaat leader and war criminal Abdul Quader Molla was sentenced to death. They had major demonstrations planned for the day. Police were conducting drives in the city. “They blocked the roads into Buthpara with trees and the police could not enter.”

Asked how they move around in the area evidently infested with Shibir men and loyalists, Rabbel said: “We [Awami League supporters] never move alone after dark. I always have at least 4-5 people with me.”

Rabbel said: “On the day of Quad-er Molla’s verdict, some other Awami League supporters and I stayed up the entire night and guarded our houses.”

He alleged that local police get hefty bribes from the Jamaat-Shibir men and turn a blind eye towards the village.

Another Awami League supporter said Shibir men use loudspeakers of the local mosque to gather people if

needed.He said: “You will not � nd too many

people on the streets at night. But, if someone announces ‘Naraye Takbir’ over the mosque loudspeaker, scores come on the streets ready to do what-ever they are told to within a matter of minutes.”

This correspondent was barred by a policeman on duty, when trying to en-ter Buthpara village on Friday evening. “Come back tomorrow during the day. Buthpara is not safe for strangers after dark.”

Contacted, Moktar Alam, a sub-in-spector of the Motihar police station, was only sterner in his warning. “The area you want to enter is not safe for outsiders. Most criminals of Shibir in Rajshahi live there. Attacking police vans is common for them,” he said. “If they somehow � nd out that you are a journalist, you may not be able to come out in one piece.”

Hasan, an Awami League supporter who lives in the nearby West Buthpa-ra village, described his experience to Dhaka Tribune.

He was walking back home around 10:30pm on October 26. He heard a chilling “Naraye Takbir” when he reached the New Buthpara mosque. There were stabs on his back. The

wounds still serve as warning. “They knew I am an Awami League support-er.”

“The Jamaat-Shibir people have their own mosque, which is o� limits for the supporters of Awami League or other parties.”

This correspondent went into Buth-para the following morning. There are writings on the walls: “We want pun-ishment for killer Hasina,” says one. “Everyone says Sayedee is a Razakar, but he is our pride,” says another. “Join Shibir and enrich your lives.” There are many more.

There was an eerie silence even in the middle of the day when villagers go about their business and markets are abuzz.

Suspecting that Jamaat-Shibir men were behind RU Professor Sha� ul Is-lam’s murder, Rajshahi police have conducted several drives in the Buth-para area as it is locally known as “Shibir Cantonment”.

The village got the name because Shibir members usually take shelter here after committing any kind of crime. One such incident dates back to August 2013, when, after stabbing RU unit Chhatra League leader Towhid Al Hossain Tuhin, Shibir criminals � ed the campus through the Buthpara gate

on a motorbike.The police were in hot pursuit, but

the young Shibir men literally vanished after going past the Buthpara gate, said Motihar OC Alamgir Hossain remem-bering his own experience. “When we asked locals, they just denied seeing anyone.”

According to police and locals who live nearby, the houses in Buthpara work as a sanctuary for Jamaat-Shibir criminals.

“The inhabitants of Buthpara are overprotective about them. They would rather die than let police arrest any of them,” said a local living near Buthpara village, strongly requesting anonymity.

“In return, the Shibir leaders and activists are also overprotective about the village. After sunset, they patrol every path of the village. Not even a � y with a di� erent political a� liation can get past them,” said the same man.

Mohammad Shamsuddin, the new Rajshahi police commissioner, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had already learned about some “risky issues and insecurity” centring the RU campus and adjacent areas.

“We have already ordered law en-forcers to increase patrolling and keep the area under watch,” he said. l

Egyptian court drops case against Mubarak over 2011 protest deaths PAGE 1 COLUMN 1serving a three-year jail term in a sepa-rate embezzlement case.

Many Egyptians who lived through Mubarak’s rule view it as a period of au-tocracy and crony capitalism and con-sidered it a victory to see him behind bars.

His overthrow led to Egypt’s � rst free election but the winner, Mohamed Mursi, was ousted last year by then-ar-my chief Abdelfattah al-Sisi, following protests against his rule.

Sisi, who went on to win a presi-dential election in May, launched a

crackdown on Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Authorities have jailed thousands of Brotherhood supporters and sentenced hundreds to death in mass trials that drew international crit-icism.

By contrast, Mubarak-era � gures are slowly being cleared of charges and a series of laws curtailing political free-doms have raised fears among activists that the old leadership was regaining in� uence. Saturday’s verdict was seen as the latest sign by activists the rights won in 2011 were being eroded.

“This is a political verdict. The judi-

ciary has been procrastinating for four years so they could clear him after hope had been lost,” the father of Ahmed Khaleefa, 19, who was killed in 2011, told Reuters outside the court.

“The verdict hit us like bullets. I consider that my son Ahmed died today.”

A few dozen young people gath-ered to protest the verdict in the city of Suez, site of the � rst death of the upris-ing, but they were quickly dispersed by police, security sources said.

By nightfall, a few hundred dem-onstrators had gathered in downtown

Cairo. They chanted slogans against Mubarak and against Sisi and Mursi, the two men who have served as pres-ident since him. An eyewitness said, based on the chants, both Mursi sup-porters and liberal secular protesters appeared to be present.

Armored vehicles and security per-sonnel blocked their entrance to Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the re-volt.

Hundreds of people died when se-curity forces clashed with protesters in the weeks before Mubarak was forced from power. l

AL units run by RSO-trained Rohingyas PAGE 1 COLUMN 5Buddhist localities and temples in Ramu in September 2012. The master-mind of the attacks, Naikkhyangchhari Upazila Chairman Tofail Ahmed, also a Jamaat leader, has allegedly been un-der the shelter of the RSO after the at-tacks, police said.

RSO operatives engaged in � erce bat-tles with the Myanmarese Lutin Force (riot police) in September last year and May this year in Naikkhyangchhari.

The Rohingya insurgent group re-portedly has training camps in the dis-trict’s remote areas where many JMB leaders took training. According to the police, the JMB has bought land in Bandarban to set up shelters and train militants.

Locals say RSO operatives have be-came populous in the district which has accommodated many Rohingyas since the birth of Bangladesh. At that time, the Rohingyas took shelter in the district with the help of Bangalee Mus-lims, and now they have become top leaders of di� erent political parties in-cluding the ruling Awami League.

Sources in Bandarban AL say Nai-kkhyangchhari union parishad Chair-

man Abu Syed, upazila unit Krishak League President Mostafa Kamal Lalu and its General Secretary Md Iqbal – all Rohingyas – were trained by the RSO.

Iqbal, now a fugitive, is a criminal listed by the Home Ministry who was arrested twice in Dhaka and Chittagong with huge quantities of contraband yaba tablets.

Among the other top Rohingya lead-ers, now leaders of the ruling party, are upazila unit Chhatra League Gen-eral Secretary Badarullah, upazila unit Sechchasebak League General Secre-tary Shahnewaz Shanu and its union unit General Secretary Abdur Rahim Monsur, and upazila unit Awami League President Habibullah and Joint General Secretary Abu Taher Bahadur.

When contacted, Mostafa outright rejected any link with the RSO. “Such allegations are raised only to malign our [Rohingyas involved with AL] im-age.”

RSO’s Shafiullah: Shibir turns ALLaw enforcers on Sunday arrested � ve people including two top RSO leaders – Salamatullah and Sha� ullah – at a hotel in Chittagong city for their alleged in-

volvement in militant activities. Salamatullah is a Jamaat leader who

is locally known as a chief organiser of the RSO in Cox’s Bazar, police said, adding that the detainees were distrib-uting money received from two Saudi � nanciers. He was also involved in the Ramu attacks.

Previously a leader of Jamaat’s stu-dent body Islami Chhatra Shibir, Sha� , is now a leader of the AL’s upazila unit. His father Saleh Ahmed was the found-ing president of RSO in Naikkhyangch-hari upazila.

Sha� contested in the union parish-ad election in 2001 as a Rohingya. At that time, he led the NGO a� airs unit of the RSO.

He joined the Awami League in 2010 backed by Bandarban district unit Gen-eral Secretary Kazi Mujibur Rahman. He became the member secretary of the upazila unit’s convening commit-tee the following year.

In 2012, Sha� was nominated as the human resources a� airs secretary of the upazila unit. He lost the upazila election the same year to Jamaat leader Tofail.

Naikkhyangchhari upazila unit AL’s

Senior Vice-President Abu Taher said: “We know since childhood that they are involved with the RSO. And now they lead the out� t.”

Seeking anonymity, another senior leader of the unit said Sha� presented a district unit leader a car as bribe to strengthen his position in the party.

During Eid-ul-Azha this year, Sha� distributed 200 cows among the Ro-hingyas living in di� erent upazilas of Bandarban from funds he had received from Turkish sources, sources said.

Regarding the involvement of AL leaders with the RSO, former conven-er of the AL Naikkhyangchhari upazila unit, Khairul Bashar said: “These peo-ple are dangerous for the party, the country’s independence and sover-eignty.”

Kazi Mozibur Rahman, AL’s district unit general secretary, said he was un-aware of the matter that Awami League leaders had RSO connections. “If we get any speci� c allegation against anyone, we will expel them from the party.”

The Naikkhyangchhari unit Awa-mi League on Friday formed a human chain in the area demanding Sha� ’s im-mediate release. l

‘Controversial and unnecessary’ new zebra crossing PAGE 1 COLUMN 5“I think the chances of accidents will rise because of it. Due to the new ze-bra crossing, pedestrians will not use the existing underpass 100 feet to the north of the intersection,” he ex-plained.

“The zebra crossings were painted very late on Friday night. We were not aware of it until the next morning,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts to con-tact DNCC Chief Engineer Brigadier General Md Gazi Firoz Rahman yester-day, he remained unavailable for com-ment.

DMP additional commissioner (traf-� c) Mili Biswas told reporters on the � rst day of the anti-jaywalking drive that the repainting of zebra crossings and renovation of footbridges were discussed with city corporation au-thorities.

Mili mentioned that the existing zebra crossing west of the Pan Pacif-ic Sonargaon Hotel and south of the Saarc Fountain would be repainted,

but did not mention that a new one would be painted to the north of the fountain.

DMP Joint Commissioner (tra� c) Mosleh Uddin, who said he had not yet seen the new crossing, told the Dhaka Tribune: “If the city corporation marked it at that point, tra� c police will � nd it di� cult to control jaywalking because most pedestrians will cross the road at the zebra crossing and avoid using the underpass.”

Two days after the weekend, two mobile courts will recommence drives against jaywalkers at the Farmgate, Karwan Bazar and Bangla Motor intersections of Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue.

Although the mobile courts did not operate during the last two days, most pedestrians used the footbridges to cross roads. The courts are operating as part of a week-long drive of the Dha-ka Metropolitan Police in coordination with the district administration to curb jaywalking. l

Sha� ul murder: Police term Facebook page claims baseless PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Information and Communication Technology Act, said the OC, also in-vestigation o� cer of the case.

Police are now looking for a Shibir leader, who is a former president of Bogra Azizul Haque College unit and resident of Shibganj area of the district, for directing the duo to open the page. “We believe that all things will be clear after his arrest,” Alamgir added.

Police claim that Ansar Al-Islam Bangladesh 2 is a wing of Jamaat.

Asked if it was already proved that the Jamaat-Shibir men were not in-volved in the murder, OC Alamgir avoided giving any direct answer.

About the machete makers, the OC said they were made witnesses in the case and would be brought to the court during the trial proceedings.

Asked why the six detainees were placed before the court four days after detention, the RMP deputy commis-sioner said: “We brought them from Bogra as witnesses of the case. We just interrogated them. We have the right to do so.”

However, according to the constitu-tion, a person should be produced in

the nearby court within 24 hours after being taken to the law enforcers’ cus-tody.

Since the murder on November 15, the RMP o� cials were claiming that local Jamaat-Shibir men, militants or professional killers had been behind it. They even arrested 11 active Ja-maat-Shibir members. On the other hand, elite force RAB arrested six Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal men and claimed that Sha� ul had been killed because of personal con� icts.

Iftekharul Alam, assistant com-missioner of the Detective Branch of Police, said: “The investigation is not completed yet. We are analysing the clues. Those responsible for the mur-der must be brought to book; no matter which group they belong to.”

Four of the 11 Jamaat-Shibir men, who were taken on a two-day remand on Thursday, were sent to jail yester-day after their remand ended.

Iftekhar, also the RMP commission-er’s spokesperson, told the Dhaka Trib-une that they had got some sensational information from the four people. “It is not safe to disclose it to media right now,” he added. l

Family members break into tears at a human chain formed by hundreds of locals, teachers and students of East Point Education School and College in the capital’s Khilgaon area yesterday protesting the suicide of a class IX student of the school because of sexual harassment MEHEDI HASAN

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

Prime minister opens Bibiyana expansion project1,200mmcf gas to be added to national gridn Tribune Report

Despite continual demonstrations from Umme Kulsum Ritu’s family members, her classmates, teachers of East Point Education School and College and neighbours in the capital’s Khilgaon area, the main accused of three defen-dants in the case has secured bail from High Court.

Hundreds of people including teachers and students staged a demon-stration in the national press club area yesterday and formed a human chain protesting bail of the main accused, namely Shimul Chandra Mondal, in the case � led with Khilgaon police station.

Ritu killed herself on September 6 be-ing in anguish in the face of continuous sexual harassment by a local stalker named Shimul and his friends Ra� q, Ziad, Billal, Pintu Chandra Mondal, Joy Gopal Chandra Mondal, alleged Shathi Begum, Ritu’s mother.

“I have � led the case against Shimul as well as his father Ranjan Mondal, mother Maloti Rani Mondal, Pintu, Joygopal. Ritu’s teachers tried sever-al times to save my daughter from the harassment by complaining to his par-ents. But they (Shimul’s parents) never controlled their son but on the contrary assaulted the teachers,” said Shathi.

After the case was � led, Khilgaon police arrested Ra� q, Jiyad and Billal but not the main accused although they were seen in the area always, alleged Mi-nara Begum , one of Ritu’s neighbours

When contacted, Khilgaon police station SI and also Investigation O� cer of the case Shahjahan said: “We tried our best to arrest the prime accused but they went into hiding.”

Denying the allegation hurled by the neighbour, the o� cer said: “The persons accused in the case are identi-� ed criminals of this area. After Ritu’s suicide they went into hiding. On No-vember 27 they got bail from the High Court. Before getting bail if we found them, we would have arrested them.”

After getting bail, the accused have been threatening Ritu’s family mem-bers continuously to withdraw the case, stating that they will � le a false case against them.

A tearful Shathi in a feeble voice said: “They are continuously threaten-ing us to withdraw the case. My hus-band and I are poor garment workers. My other daughter and son are alone in the house. I am worried about my oth-er children.”

Ritu’s teacher and principal of her school Jahirul Islam told the Dhaka Tri-bune: “I wonder how those criminals got bail from HC after being accused in a case � led for allegedly provoking a minor girl to suicide.”

During the two-hour demonstra-tion, school students, teachers and locals laid siege to the house of the alleged stalker in the Nandipara area, demanding the cancellation of the bail and immediate arrest of the culprits.

The victim Ritu lived with her fam-ily at Nandipara in Khilgaon. She was the eldest among three brothers and sisters. Her father Mohammad Ashiq and mother Shathi Akther are garment workers.

Like everyday, Ritu’s parents went to work and her grandmother Fate-ma went to a neighbour’s house af-ter lunch. Pouncing on the chance, prime accused Shimul, along with Joy, stormed into Ritu’s house and tried to abuse her on September 6.

Hearing her screams, Fatema rushed to the house but the stalkers left the spot promptly. Fatema then called Ri-tu’s Bangla teacher Al-Amin, also their neighbour, for help.

While Al-Amin and Fatema were discussing the possible safety measures in this regard, Ritu took poison to kill herself. l

US Asst Secy: Next election depends on ‘people’s decision’ n Syeda Samira Sadeque

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian A� airs Nisha Biswal yesterday said it is up to the people of Bangladesh to decide when the next elections would be held.

“We have continued to advocate on strong and inclusive democracy, and we will continue to work with Bangladesh. But in terms of elections – it is for the people of Bangladesh to determine the timetable,” she said during a press brief-ing held at the American Club yesterday.

Biswal was on a three-day visit to

Bangladesh after attending the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit in Kath-mundu, which ended on Thursday.

During her trip, Biswal met oppo-sition leader Rowshan Ershad, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, labour lead-ers and many others.

She however did not answer when asked about her meeting with the op-position leader Rowshan Ershad the day before, when Biswal had apparent-ly inquired about the next elections.

When asked about supposed alle-gations placed by BNP Chairperson

Khaleda Zia, Biswal said: “Wherever I go, I always meet with the government and with opposition – that is a hallmark of democracies. The discussions that we had focused on the fact that we do believe Bangladesh’s strength as a na-tion is its democracy and we’re com-mitted to working with and partnering with Bangladesh on that aspect.”

She expressed concerns about extra-judicial killings when asked about the human rights situation in the country, especially with regards to the recent Narayanganj killings. Biswal spoke little of the political sit-

uation of the country, eleven months since the January 5 elections. She fo-cused instead on her observation of the Saarc summit and the overall progress of the garments industry.

She said the revival of the Gener-alised System of Preference (GSP) was still subject to review by the US trade representative’s o� ce.

Citing the registration of over 200 unions, inspection of over 2,000 fac-tories, and shutting down of over 30 factories due to unsafe conditions, she said: “These are all very important mile-stones. But clearly there’s a road ahead

and much hard-work still needs to be done. Legislations that have been passed or amended need to be implemented, and regulations need to be issued.”

Regarding her recent observation of the Saarc summit, Biswal said Bangla-desh is a “key point of connectivity” be-tween south Asia and South-East Asia.

“The opportunity for the region as a whole very much depends on the con-nectivity that is established with and through Bangladesh,” she said.

However, she said more action is needed by the South-Asian member country leaders for better outcome. l

Chinese � rm to get the work for Kurigram 30MW solar power plantn Asif Showkat Kallol

A Chinese consortium is likely to get the job for building a solar energy-based 30 megawatt power plant in Kurigram as part of the government’s initiative to promote use of renewable energy.

Sources said the proposal for award-ing the contract to the ETERN-CCCE (Chi-na)-Hareon Consortium will be placed be-fore a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase today, to be chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.

According to a proposal of the gov-ernment’s Power Division, the Chinese consortium quoted the lowest tari� rate of $0.17/KWH or Tk13.18/KWH. The other bidders for the tender were Ger-many-based Beximco-Active Solar con-sortium and China-based Intraco-Juli Power Consortium. The government’s renewable energy policy says there is a plan to account for 5% of the total pow-er generation using renewable energy sources by 2015 and 10% by 2021.

For this, there is a plan to build six solar park projects with a combined capacity of 152MW power at a cost of Tk4,000 crore. Upon completion, these projects will supply their produce to the national grid. The Chinese consor-tium will build-own-operate (BOO) the power plant beside the Dhorola River in Kurigram for the next 20 years.

During the period, the Power De-velopment Board (PDB) will spend Tk1,046 crore to purchase electricity generated in the plant and supply it to the national grid.

The � ve other planned renewable energy-based power plants are the Ra-ngunia 60MW in Chittagong, Sarish-abari 3MW in Jamalpur, Irshadi 2MW in Pabna, Aricha 1.5MW in Manikganj, Sir-ajgang 1MW and Gonggachara 55MW in Rangpur. According PDB’s latest data, a total of 370MW power is now being generated from various renewable en-ergy sources across the country.

This includes 230MW from the Kap-tai Hydro Power Station in the hill dis-trict of Rangamati. l

Hasina: Khaleda Ziawanted to create Thailand-like situationn UNB

Renewing her party’s allegation that Khaleda Zia boycotted the January-5 election sensing defeat, Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the BNP chief had actu-ally wanted to create a Thailand-like sit-uation where martial law was declared amid the opposition’s movement.

“She (Khaleda) had actually wanted to create a situation in the country like the one in Thailand obstructing the Jan-uary-5 election,”she told a mammoth public rally at Habiganj New Field.

Hasina said the BNP leader had tried to foil the election. “What would have happened had the election been stalled …look at Thailand, martial law has been declared there, and there has been no election schedule.”

The prime minister also said Khale-da Zia did not participate in the elec-tion sensing defeat in the election. “But why did you (Khaleda) try to resist peo-ple, why did you kill the presiding o� -cer,” she asked.

Chaired by local MP Advocate Abu Jahir, the rally was addressed, among others, by AL advisory council member Suranjit Sengupta, Cultural A� airs Min-ister Asaduzzaman Noor, State Minis-ter for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder, former chief whip Abdus Shahid, Biren Sikder and local Awami League leaders.

Describing the positive side of BNP’s polls boycott, Hasina said now there is no incident of badmouthing in Parlia-ment. “BNP didn’t participate in the election…there’s a positive side, too…now we don’t have to hear spiteful and indecent remarks in Parliament.”

Mentioning that parliament is now op-erating decently and people found back their con� dence in it now. “Democracy is running uninterruptedly,” she added.

The prime minister also mentioned that BNP with the help of Jamaat-e-Is-lami set � re to Baitul Mukarram Na-tional Mosque and torched hundreds of copies of the holy Quran.

“They (BNP-Jamaat) do politics us-ing the name of Islam and protecting Islam. What’s their Islam? Is it setting � re to mosque and holy Quran? Let me ask her (Khaleda), your movement is to burn the holy Quran, Is this your way of protecting Islam?” she asked.

Talking about the patronising war criminals by BNP in the past, Hasina said that those who are facing the trial for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity in 1971 had been pa-tronised by Khaleda Zia. l

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia addresses a rally held on the Comilla Town Hall ground demanding election under a non-party neutral government yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Khaleda says Hasina should have faced corruption cases toon Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

from Comilla

Striking back against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s remark on facing cas-es in court, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has asked the Awami League pres-ident to face the corruption cases � led against her during the army-backed caretaker government.

“Eight thousand cases were � led against them [Awami League leaders and activists]; 15 against Hasina. Ha-sina bought Mig 29 [� ghter planes]. It was corruption...Hasina might have been convicted in those cases.

“I want to know why you have with-drawn those cases. You should have faced those through a neutral court. Then [we] will see how courageous you are,” former premier Khaleda said yesterday while addressing a rally at Comilla Town Hall ground.

The BNP chief alleged that Hasina had “compromised” with the Fakhrud-din-Moeen Uddin government to “dodge the court and come to power.”

Hasina at a meeting on Friday at Ga-nabhaban said: “She [Khaleda] terms others corrupt but she herself is living like a fugitive. She is not attending court hearings in the cases � led on charges of misappropriation of funds meant for orphans.”

Khaleda yesterday urged her sup-porters to prepare for a decisive move-ment as the ruling Awami League’s fall was “imminent.” She also challenged the government to test its popularity

by holding election under a non-parti-san administration.

“Awami League will fall very soon...there is no alternative to wage movement. You have to accept some pains before the good days come. Let us work together...I will be there on the streets along with you, on the same lines, this time, and will see how the police open � re at you,” she said.

The BNP-led 20-party alliance organ-ised the meeting to drum up public sup-port in favour of mid-term election under a non-partisan government and protest-ing the “killing, abduction and repression on the opposition leaders and activists.”

Central leaders of the alliance spoke at the meeting chaired by district BNP President Rabeya Chowdhury. Hun-dreds of archways were erected from the Meghna Bridge to welcome Khaleda in Comilla. However, it is alleged that some of the archways were damaged by miscreants in the Daudkandi area.

The presence of BNP-ally Ja-maat-e-Islami supporters at the rally and around the city was noticeable as they were carrying large banners and placards showing the portraits of its leaders convicted for 1971 war crimes.

“We want unity and cooperation of all. Boycott the Awami League. A wind of change has started blowing in the country.” Khaleda claimed that going to power was not a big issue for her. Her major concerns were to “re-store democracy, ensure development, creating employment and saving the country and its people.”

Khaleda also branded Hasina’s Polit-

ical Adviser HT Imam as an imam (cler-ic) whose “only responsibility is to give her bad advice and hatching conspira-cy to keep Hasina in power.”

The former premier claimed that the adviser had disclosed the January 5 election “forgery” before the nation. “After revealing such truth, HT Imam as well as the Awami League should not stay in power.”

‘Police, back off’Asking the police to stop � ring upon her supporters, Khaleda said it would not protect the Awami League government.

Khaleda also urged the UN not to recruit members of Bangladesh Police in its peacekeeping missions. “Stop supplying bullet and tear gas canisters. Stop training them because they are criminal and killers. They are killing the people of their own country.”

She reiterated her demand of dis-banding elite force Rapid Action Bat-talion – formed during the BNP-Jamaat government, and the immediate arrest of RAB high o� cial Col Zia “to stop kill-ing and abduction.”

Khaleda claimed that the Awami League was a “patron of militancy” and sometimes “staged drama” in the name of arresting militants to “frighten the people, especially the foreigners.”

The three-time former premier in her address also spoke on the govern-ment’s development projects terming those meant for “plundering public money.” She claimed that people were becoming unemployed every day. l

Acquaintance suspected in Bhatara minor girl killingn Ashif Islam Shaon

Investigators are suspecting that Farza-na Akhter Liza, who was found dead in a sack � oating in a pond in the capital on Tuesday, was raped and killed by someone known to her.

“We suspect that Liza was persuad-ed by that familiar person to go with him and it happened on the road near a shop where she went to buy a pen-cil on Monday afternoon. The shop is within 100 yards from her house and in the daytime, the road is used by many people. So, we can rule out that anyone unknown to her had tried to abduct her forcefully,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of the Detective Branch (DB) of police Mahfuzul Islam yesterday.

On Tuesday, the body of the nine-year-old was found in a sack � oating in a small pond in Sujantek area of Bhatara, some 400 yards from her house. She was the daughter of Faruk Hossain, a car driver, and studied at a local school.

Police on Thursday arrested Mahbub Hasan Sourav, 19, son of the owner of the victim’s rented house, and he was remanded in custody for three days. The six-storey building’s watchman Abdus Salam, 52, was also shown ar-rested yesterday and police petitioned

for a 10-day remand after producing him before a Dhaka court.

On Friday, locals, who believe that Sourav killed Liza and dumped her body with the help of Salam, got into a clash with police at Notun Bazar in the capital as they were prevented from blocking a road as part of the protest demanding immediate arrest of the killer. At least 20 people, including six policemen, were injured in the clash.

“We are considering the suspicion of locals as we carry out the probe. We have visited the place where she was picked up from and also the pond where the body was dumped,” the ADC said.

He said Sourav is an O-level student and is known as a spoilt youth in the locality.

“After talking to over 50 locals and neighbours, our suspicion that Sourav was involved in the crime has got stronger. We have seized his motorcy-cle which was perhaps used to dump the body. We interrogated him for only a day and we need more time before we reach any conclusion,” said Mahfuzul.

Police, however, found no concrete evidence in Salam’s room, where locals believe the girl was raped and killed. Mahfuzul said Salam would be quizzed thoroughly for any information about the crime.

“We are trying to � nd out if Liza was

abducted from the road or went miss-ing after returning home from the shop. We will talk to her parents who are now in Magura for her burial,” he said.

Hasibul, a maternal uncle of the vic-tim who lives with her family, told the Dhaka Tribune that the family had no enmity with anybody and they were counting on police to bring the killer to book.

Recalling what happened on the day Liza went missing, Hasibul said the girl’s private tutor gave her a writing task but she had lost her pencil and had to go to shop to buy a new one.

“She went out but did not come back in 20 minutes. So, we went to the shop to search for her. The shopkeeper said Liza had bought a pencil from him and headed towards home. Another nearby shopkeeper also said he had seen her on the road but that was it. She just vanished afterwards,” he said.

“I think someone already known to her took her away,” he added.

A general diary was lodged with Bhatara police station after Liza went missing and Hasibul said Sourav’s fa-ther Rezaul accompanied him to the police station to � le the GD.

Liza’s hands were found tied up when locals discovered the body in the sack. The body also contained numer-ous marks of injury. l

Members of the 13 families who charged expelled minister Adul Latif Siddique for grabbing their lands form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday seeking legal assistance from the Prime Minister MEHEDI HASAN

Initially, around 300 million cubic feet of gas will be supplied through this pipeline a day

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

‘Climbing in Chittagong needs patronage’ n CU Correspondent

Despite Chittagong being a hilly region, mountaineering will not get popu-lar unless climbers receive patronage here, said organisers of Chittagong’s � rst climbing club yesterday.

With the aim of popularising moun-taineering among local youths, organ-isers of the club “Vertical Dreams” held a press conference at Chittagong Press Club.

Addressing the conference, Pres-ident of the club Debashish said the club was formed considering the need of a platform for those who love to climb mountains.

He said: “After forming the club, I

scaled Tharpu Chuli in the Nepali Hi-malaya range twice. It has an elevation of 5,7oo metres.

“Besides, three other members of the club climbed three peaks and they self-� nanced the journey.”

Debashis urged big corporations and others to extend � nancial support to mountaineering.

He pointed out that renowned com-panies abroad sponsor the sport and bring good repute for the countries they are based in, and said the same thing may happen here if big compa-nies sponsor mountaineering.

Vertical Dreams began its journey on May 29 this year and currently has 30 members. l

Diarrhoea a� ects 50 in Natoren Our Correspondent, Natore

Diarrhoea has suddenly broken out in Natore district.

Some 50 persons were a� ected with diarrhoea for two days until Friday in Natore.

The Sadar hospital struggled to ac-commodate them.

Most of the patients received treat-ment lying on the � oor and so su� ered severely for the cold weather.

Residential Medical O� cer Abul Ka-lam Azad said the patients were from Borgachha and Station Bazar areas in the municipality. They might have been a� ected with this disease after drinking water.

Mayor Sheikh Emdadul Haq Al Ma-mun said there is no chance of the sup-ply water being polluted as it is drawn from underground directly.

Civil Surgeon Ferdous Nilufer said there were only 16 patients at the hospi-tal until 3pm yesterday. The rest had re-turned home after receiving treatment.

Replying to a query, she said there are only six beds for diarrhoea patients at the hospital and so the rest of the patients had to take treatment lying on the � oor.

“The sample of water will be collect-ed from the a� ected areas on Sunday and then sent to Dhaka for test. Only then will it be possible to know why diarrhoea spread there,” she added. l

Listed criminal heldn Our Correspondent, Jessore

The Rapid Action Battalion on Friday ar-rested a listed criminal in possession of four � rearms and 28 bullets in Jessore.

Criminal Abu Sayeed alias Sayeed Mir’s possession was captured from the airport area, RAB o� cials told re-porters.

Sayeed Mir faces 18 cases, including murders, abductions, extortion. He is jailed for life in a case and for 10 years in another case. l

Akhter Ahmed’s 5th death anniv todayn Tribune Desk

Today is the � fth death anniversary of Akhter Ahmed Khan, former press min-ister of Bangladesh Embassy in the USA and also a secretary general of Bangla-desh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ).

A Milad and Doa Mah� l will be held at Barra in Nawabganj upazila of Dhaka on December 5, where his well-wish-ers are requested to join to seek for the salvation of the departed soul, says a press release.

Akhter died in 2009 while serving the post of the press minister. l

Water-proof cement in Bangladesh n Tribune Report

The world’s � rst water-proof cement “Izonil” and environment friendly as claimed by the owner was launched in Bangladesh yesterday.

Ahmed Amin Group will market the product of Slovakia based Izonil Group across country.

The water-proof cement is made of sand, conventional cement and a certain amount of Izonil admixture that makes the walls, � oors and roofs of the buildings more durable by preventing water from entering inside, said Martin Liskovoski, chief executive o� cer of Izonil group ad-dressing the launching programme in the capital’s Lake Shore Hotel.

The company introduced ‘Izonil Hard’ which usually used as a com-ponent of cement mixture which will consist of 14% Izonil Hard and 84% conventional cement to make the plas-ter harder and extremely water-proof.

About the price, Engineer Harunur Rashid Bhuiyan, vice president of the Ahmed Amin Group said they are try-ing to � x the price within the people’s purchase limit. l

‘Limited access puts energy security at risk’ n UNB

The Unnayan Onneshan (UO) in its Bangladesh Economic update cautions that limited access to available, a� ord-able and reliable sources of energy puts energy security at risk.

According to the multidisciplinary think tank, shortage of power supply, depletion of gas reserve and frequent price hikes in energy are not only exert-ing pressure on current production, but also posing a threat to energy security.

According to the International En-ergy Agency, energy security is un-derstood as uninterrupted supply of energy from available sources at a rea-sonable price with even distribution.

Referring to the consumption per capita and supply and demand, the UO states that the per capita energy con-sumption is very low in the country compared to the neighbouring coun-tries and shortage of energy supply is demonstrated by the large mismatch between demand for supply of energy.

In 2013, the per capita consumption of electricity was 217 kwh in Bangla-desh, whereas the per capita consump-tion in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan was 529.1 kwh, 368.38 kwh, 431.44 kwh, and 1619.48 kwh respec-tively.

As regards price, the research organ-isation says that the retail price of elec-tricity in the country has undergone a seven-time hike during the period from 2010 to 2014.

Meanwhile, the Power Develop-ment Board has recently proposed an 18.12-percent increase in bulk electric-ity tari� to be e� ective from January 2015.

The UO observes that price of pow-er increased by 124.52 percent, 83.67 percent, 75.53 percent, and 71.68 per-cent in the heavy industries (132 KV), heavy industries (33 KV), medium in-dustries (11 KV), and commercial sec-tor respectively during 2010 - 2014. In case of small industry and agriculture, electricity price has increased by 70.57 percent and 105.18 percent respectively during the same period.

Underscoring the reliable sources of energy in terms of uninterrupted supply and stable price, the think tank states that an energy source is consid-ered reliable if it can be used to gener-ate a consistent electrical output and is available to meet predicted peaks in demand.

Reliability is, however, also related to the price � uctuation.

In May 2014, the maximum genera-tion was 6293 MW against the peak de-mand of 7050 MW, whereas in Septem-ber 2013, the maximum generation was 6844 MW against the peak demand of 6700 MW. The load shedding, there-fore, was 551 MW and 932 MW in May 2014 and September 2103 respectively.

Increasing gap between installed capacity and maximum generation has been o� setting the possible bene� ts of increased installed capacity, although both installed capacity and maximum generation of power have been in-creasing. This gap resulted due mainly to poor productivity in the old power plants, shortage of gas supply and lack of proper maintenance and renovation of the power plants, says the research organisation.

In FY2008-2009, the gap between installed capacity and maximum gen-eration was 1004 megawatts. The gap has nearly doubled within three years and become 2034 megawatts in FY2011-2012 (16.04 percent increase), 2175 megawatts (33.75 percent increase) in FY2012-2013,

and 3271 megawatts (9.86 percent increase) in FY2013-2014 (until March 25, 2014). However, the target of in-creasing the generation to 8500 MW by 2013 set by the government has not been achieved.

UO further � nds that the private sector comprised 49.99 percent of net power generation in FY 2013-14, where-as public sector comprised only 46.56 percent. The rest 3.45 percent of total generation is imported.

Referring to the energy poverty - lack of access to modern energy ser-vices such as electricity or gas - in the country, the think tank shows that

about 59.204 million people that con-stitute 38 percent of total population in Bangladesh do not have electricity con-nection and only 8-10 percent house-holds have access to piped gas.

Petrobangla has recently proposed to raise the prices of natural gas to Tk. 850 and Tk. 1000 for single burner and double burner respectively, whereas the present prices are Tk. 400 and Tk. 450 resulting 112.50 percent and 122.22 percent increase in price respectively. In industry, the proposed price will be increased to Tk. 220 from Tk. 165.91 - a 32.60 percent increase. Gas price will be increased by 102.94 percent to Tk. 240 from Tk. 118.26 in captive power.

System loss in both power and gas re� ects the e� ciency loss and in FY 2013-14, the transmission and distribu-tion loss in electricity and gas was 13.75 percent and 20 percent respectively, UO � nds.

Referring to the tiny contribution of the energy sector to gross domestic product (GDP), UO states that this is a sign of inconsequential development of power and energy infrastructure. From 1.51 percent in FY 2011-12, the contribution of power and energy to GDP stood at 1.55 percent in FY 2012-13, which remains the same for FY 2013-14.

The organisation also points out the falling rate of growth in power and gas production. In FY2010- 2011, the rate of growth in power was 15.82 percent which fell to 8.16 percent FY 2013-14; a decrease of 7.66 percentage points within three years. On the other hand, in FY 2011-12, the rate of growth in gas was 7.45 percent which fell to 1.71 percent in FY 2013-14; a 5.74-percent-age-point decrease in two years.

Calling for a thorough rexamina-tion of the current energy policies to address the structural bottlenecks, the UO draws attention of the authorities to encourage huge amount of investment in all sources of energy including in re-newable resources - solar power, nucle-ar energy, and hydropower - which are more reliable and sustainable. l

Chemists, druggists threaten to go on two-day striken Tribune Report

Chemists and druggists yesterday threatened to go on strike unless the government stops operations of un-registered medicine companies in the country.

Bangladesh Chemists and Druggists Samiti (BCDS) made the threat at a convention titled “In Protests against Fake and Adulterated Medicines” at Bashundhara Convention Centre 2 in the capital yesterday.

They said they would keep their pharmacies shut from December 16 to 17 if the government does not shut down all illegal medicine companies by December 15.

Around 2000 chemists from all over the country attended the convention yesterday.

BCDS Chairman Sadekur Rahman

claimed: There are 62 unregistered medicine companies in the country but the government has failed to take any action against them.”

Director General of the Drug Ad-ministration Jahangir Hossain Mollik, who was present at the programme, however said: “If you � nd any kind of fake drug factory, inform me, I will take action.”

He added that every dispensary should have the list of quali� ed med-icine companies so that people can choose the best for them.

BCDS Convention Committee Con-venor Md Abubakar Khan said the fac-tories did not have any licence from the government.

Bangladesh Pharmacist Society Chairman Naser Shahriar Zahedi, among others, was also present at the convention. l

Krishak Samity threatens road-railway blockaden UNB

Bangladesh Krishak Samity yesterday threatened to block road and railway in January next if its 12-point demand, in-cluding ensuring fair prices of the pro-duces, is not met.

Samity leaders issued the threat from a human chain programme formed in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city.

The other demands include procuring produces directly from farmers, estab-lishing government purchase centre at union level, reducing the prices of agri-cultural inputs and making BADC active.

Speakers at the human chain said the Krishak Samity has long been plac-ing the demands but the government has not paid any heed to this end.

They also alleged that many farm-ers became mere farm labourers losing their land due to the wrong policy of the government. l

BOU, IUBAT sign MoU on cooperation n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Open University (BOU) Registrar Prof Dr Abul Hossain Ahmed Bhuiyan and International Universi-ty of Business Agriculture and Tech-nology (IUBAT) Prof Registrar Dr MA Hannan Registrar have signed a mem-orandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral cooperation on the former’s campus recently.

The MoU is particularly aimed to fa-cilitate all exchanges and co-operative initiatives between the two universi-ties in the area of Educational Research Development, Instruction, Community Service Student and Sta� exchanges.

BOU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr MA Mannan and IUBAT Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr M Alimullah Miyan were pres-ent in the signing programme among others. l

Bangladesh Krishok Samity form a human chain the front of the National Press Club yesterday demanding fair price for agricultural produces MEHEDI HASAN

In a protest against the fundamentalist and imperialist forces, Bangladesh Workers’ Party holds a rally in the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Nazmul Huda again � oats new political partyn Tribune Report

Former minister Nazmul Huda, who was expelled from the BNP, has again launched a new political party, ‘Bangla-desh Manabadhikar Party’ or BMP.

The declaration came at a press brie� ng at his Topkhana road o� ce yesterday.

Nazmul had earlier formed a party named Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF) and been expelled from his own brain child.

He had also formed a political alli-ance named Bangladesh National Alli-ance (BNA). The BMP will use the logo of BNA and its symbol is Golden Fibre.

The BNP-expelled leader said there exist two strong political alliances in the country, while the third alliance is Bangladesh National Alliance.

The newly-formed party will work as the key force of the alliance as the Awami League has been playing its as the key force of 14-Party Alliance and BNP as the key force of 20-Party Alli-ance, he said.

“I will bring all the human rights movement groups working in the coun-

try under this umbrella,” he added. His wife Sigma Huda heads Bangladesh Manabadhikar Bastabayan Sangstha.

He was asked whether he felt the need of advance election as BNP does, the BMP chief said his party does not feel so.

One of the BNP founders, Nazmul has the record of returning to BNP after having been expelled several times.

The former minister expressed his wish to return to the BNP last year, but he harshly criticised its policy yester-day.

Apparently indicating that the BNP is now following a violent policy, he said: I was with the BNP with my heart and soul when they maintained non-vi-olent policy,”.

In the same breath, he again ex-pressed his soft corner for the BNP, say-ing: “They are currently going through a perilous condition. The BNP is not on the way to carry out their announced movements.”

Nazmul also claimed that the eligi-ble are refrained from the top positions of BNP, what made him to form this new political party. l

Menon seeks changes to all but governmentn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said he wants changes to everything but government in the country.

The condition of the people would not be changed only by bringing change of the government, he said.

Menon, also the minister for civil aviation and tourism, was addressing a meeting at the capital’s Suhrawardi Udyan arranged by the party for press-ing a twenty-point demand.

The demands include trial of the war criminals, banning of Jaamat as an organisation of war criminals, restoring the 72’s constitution, and stopping ex-tra judicial killing in the country. l

WEATHER

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PRAYER TIMES Fajr 5:04am Sunrise 6:22am Zohr 11:47am Asr 3:34pm Magrib 5:10pm Esha 6:30 pm

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW29.5ºC 11.5ºCKhulna Chuadanga

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 27 18Chittagong 29 18Rajshahi 28 13Rangpur 26 15Khulna 28 14Barisal 28 15Sylhet 28 15Cox’s Bazar 28 19

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

Public-private coordination suggested for minimising road crashn Tribune Report

Di� erent government bodies, NGOs and social organisations should make con-certed e� orts to bring down the number of road accidents in the country, said experts, civil society members and pro-fessionals working in a range of � elds.

While addressing a discussion, they also emphasised taking creative initia-tives to ensure safe journeys.

Trauma Link, a platform comprising the civil society, NGOs, social organisa-tions, and volunteers providing prima-ry healthcare services for those who re-ceived injuries in accidents, organised the discussion at the BIUM auditoriam in the capital yesterday.

Bidhan Chandra Paul, vice-presi-dent of Trauma Link, was the keynote speaker while John Moujall, an Amer-

ican doctor who sponsored a project of the organisation, and several others addressed the discussion.

“The � rst project of Trauma Link has already started. It is about provid-ing emergency assistance to anyone facing an accident anywhere between Daudkandi and Potia intersections on Dhaka-Chittagong highway. Anyone can contact us to get help right after an accident,” Bidhan said.

He said Trauma Link volunteers, after receiving an emergency call, will arrange � rst aid for the victim, contact the � re service, and will also take the person to hospital.

“We have college students working as volunteers,” he added.

Noted columnist Syed Abul Maksud said no e� ective step had been taken to reduce the prevalence of road crash.

“O� cials only focus on those sus-taining injuries in accidents while fam-ilies of the deceased are overlooked,” he said.

The essayist hailed Trauma Link’s activities, terming those important. He said the government, NGOs and other bodies should work together to help road accident victims.

Criticising the ongoing drive of Dha-ka Metropolitan Police against jaywalk-ing in the capital, Abul Maksud said even policemen do not duly comply with tra� c rules.

“How are pedestrians expected to fol-low the rules when law enforcers them-selves are not doing so?” he questioned.

He, however, urged all to abide by the tra� c rules, considering it a re-sponsibility.

Member of the Planning Commis-

sion Dr MA Sattar said Trauma Link’s activities should be turned into a public awareness campaign, and the govern-ment as well as NGOs should extend support to the initiative in order to spread it around the country.

He also came up with a number of recommendations to help Trauma Link improve and extend its operations to cover more areas in the country.

Professor Dr Mahbub Alam of the Accident Research Institute at Buet said no initiative in the country achieves sustainable result for the lack of supervision and coordination among the bodies concerned.

He said plans are initiated but are not implemented properly.

The professor also called on all to play a role in making initiatives, like the one taken by Trauma Link, successful. l

6th National Undergraduate Mathematics Olympiad beginsn Tribune Report

Mathematics, also known as the moth-er of Science, can be used as a key com-ponent for interpreting, analysing and solving daily life problems, speakers said at the inauguration of the 6th Na-tional Undergraduate Mathematics Ol-ympiad (NUMO) 2014 at the Jagannath University yesterday.

The event was organised by the De-partment of Mathematics of Jagannath University.

Jagannath University Vice-Chancel-lor Professor Mizanur Rahman said: “To face the contemporary world equipped with modern technology, mathematical knowledge is indispen-sable.”

Pragmatic and application oriented

research on mathematics can improve the quality of life in a poverty stricken society like ours, he said.

He added that it was impossible to materialise the vision of “Digital Bangladesh” without the knowledge of maths. Mathematics lies behind every creation of this world.

A total of 135 undergraduate stu-dents from 15 universities attended the competition of whom 10 selected students will compete with regional winners in the � nale to be held at the Dhaka University on December 12.

Founder Chairman of AF Mujibur Rahman Foundation Dr Mohammad Rezaul Karim was present at the ses-sion.

A procession was brought out around 9am on the campus. l

Dalit, Harijan people demand permanent housing facilitiesn Tribune Report

Although the country’s constitution promises equal rights for all citizens, people of the Dalit and Harijan com-munities have been experiencing im-mense su� erings to secure shelters or adequate housing facilities in the coun-try, a programme was told.

People of the communities are treat-ed as “untouchables” and are “ostra-cised” by the society, said speakers at a programme in the capital yesterday.

“We the Harijan people are leading our lives like animals. Because of our cast identity, we are neglected by the society,” said Beli Rani, a member Hari-jan community in the capital. “In most cases, house owners do not rent their houses out to us. They also neglect us assuming potty- born.” she said.

Beli Rani, 48, a resident of capital’s Gonoktuli areas sweeper colony, was speaking at a public hearing organ-ised by non-government organisations SHAREE and Human Rights Defender Forum at the National Press Club.

Some 600 families are living in the colony, with only 15 square feet spaces for each family, she said.

According to a survey by Bangladesh Harijan Unity Council, there are around

one crore people of the two communi-ties living in deprived and neglected situations in the country.

Of them, some 16 lakh people are from Harijan community, while 86 lakh are from Dalit community. Abu Saleh Mo-hammad Sayed, member of parliamenta-ry standing committee on the Ministry of Housing and Public works, attended the programme as the chief guest.

“People of the community com-plained me that they get only Tk300-600 as their monthly salaries. Its really a matter of sorrow that the people are not getting the opportunity to lead a decent life, although our constitution reads every people of this country should get equal opportunity whatever their sex, religion, cast is.”

He suggested the people of the com-munities to place their demands before prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

“Government will build up new buildings to ensure housing facilities for the people of the communities,” he said.

Barrister Taposh Kanti Ball, prose-cutor of International Crime Tribunal; Shyamol Datta, editor of the daily Bhor-er Kagoj; Anik Asad, country director of HEKS Bangladesh; Gul Hossain and Preo Bala Biswas from SHAREE, among others, were present on the occasion. l

BCL to carry out clean and safe campus campaignn Arif Ahmed

Bangladesh Chhatra League, the stu-dent wing of ruling Awami League, will conduct a seven-day-long campaign ti-tled “Clean Campus and Safe Campus” as part of their programme to create so-cial awareness.

The programme will be carried out from December 1 to December 7 in all educational institutions across the country.

“We will start our campaign from Dhaka University to build awareness among the people about environ-mental pollution,” said BCL PresidentHM Bodiuzzaman Sohag whilehe was addressing a press conference held at DU’s Madhur canteen around noon.

Shohag said local Chhatra League activists along with general students will participate in the campaign.

Road Transport and Bridges Min-ister Obaidul Quader is expected to inaugurate the campaign in front of Aparejeyo Bangla on the DU campus on December 1.

Shohag also said the programme will work to eradicate terrorism in the campus premises. “Miscreants who use the name of Chhatra League for their wrong doings must be stopped,” he said.

While answering queries of report-ers, Shohag claimed that there was no indi� erence about the council; rath-er they were now busy with holding councils in unit level. “Central council will also be held soon,” he added.

On November 13, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina`s Information and Com-munication Technology Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy had approved the planning of Chhatra League men to carry out the programme. l

Three held with 3,800 yaban FM Mizanur Rahman, Chittagong

A total of three persons, with posses-sion of 3,800 pieces of yaba tablets, were arrested by the police yesterday from Firingi Bazar and Pahartali areas in Chittagong city.

The arrestees were Sa� qul Islam Sa� , 25, Md Riaz, 24, from Bhola and Rasheduzzaman Rashed, 30, from Jes-sore district, said police sources.

Sub-Inspector Sanjay Kumar of Kotwa-li police station said a patrol police barred a CNG-run autorickshaw on Mariner Road at Firingi Bazar area around 5am. Police seized 800 pieces of yaba from Sa� qul and Riaz after searching them.

The duo had collected the yaba tab-lets from Shah Amanat Bridge area and were carrying the drugs for Bhola, said the SI adding that in primary investiga-tion they admitted that they had been peddling yaba from Chittagong to Bho-la for a long time.

O� cer-in-Charge KM Azizur Rah-man of Pahartali police station said act-ing on tip-o� police conducted another drive and stopped a CNG-run autorick-shaw at DT Road area of Pahartali which was carrying Rasheduzzaman Rashed.

Police seized 3,000 pieces of yaba from Rashed’s possession that was kept inside a biscuit’s packet, added the OC.

Two separate cases were � led in these connections with Kotwali and Pahartali police stations. l

Tareque-Mishukmemorial unveiledn DU Correspondent

A memorial to noted personalities Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier was opened to public at Dhaka Univer-sity yesterday. It is part of the Road Ac-cident Memorial Installation.

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor AAMS Are� n Siddique un-veiled the memorial, the white paint-ed art form of the wrecked micro bus with registration number – Dhaka Cha 13-0302.

Tareque, a famed � lmmaker, Mishuk, a media personality, and three others died in the afternoon of August 13, 2011, when a bus rammed into their micro-bus from the opposite direction.

Tareque Masud Memorial Trust estab-lished the sculpture in association with BRAC Bank near Shamsunnahar Hall.

Sculptor Dhali Al Mamun, who sur-vived the same road crash, was the de-signer and Salauddin Ahmad the engi-neer of the memorial.

While unveiling the memori-al around 4:30pm, Dhaka Universi-ty Vice-Chancellor Are� n said:“This sculpture is meant for creating mass awareness about road accidents.”

He urged the students and others to be cautious about the country’s tra� c rules and regulations to avoid road accidents.

Mishuk’s wife Munjoli Kazi said the vehicle owners were more responsible than the drivers behind road accidents. “You (owners) must appoint skilled and e� cient drivers with legal processes”.

Film actor Elias Kanchan, also chair-man of Nirapad Sarak Chai, said: “The drivers as well as the victims are re-sponsible for the accidents. Everyone has to be aware of road accidents.”

Cultural personality Nasir Uddin Yousuf Bacchu and noted journalist Munni Shaha, among others, were present during the memorial unveiling ceremony. l

Sylhet Region Math Olympiad heldn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Ten out of 71 students from 10 educa-tion institutions in the Sylhet region, were selected to participate at the 6th Bangladesh Undergraduate Mathemat-ics Olympiad.

The results were announced at the Shahjalal University of Science and Tech-nology (SUST) yesterday. The Bangladesh Mathematical Society and SUST Mathe-matics Society organised the olympiad where students from Sylhet, Moulviba-zar and Netrokona participated.

SUST Vice-Chancellor Professor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan inaugurated the session while Professor Dr Rashed Taluk-dar, Sylhet region convenor and chairman of the SUST Mathematics department, among others, addressed the gathering.

The participants took a written test after which the names of the 10 par-ticipants who were selected were an-nounced. SUST VC handed awards to the selected participants.

Md Rahad Hossain, a student of SUST, said: “I am delighted. I will try my best to make a position in the � nale.”

The � nal round of the olympiad will be held in Dhaka on December 12. l

The memorial built in memory of noted personalities Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier, which was unveiled at the Dhaka University campus yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Students selected from the Sylhet region to participate in the 6th National Undergraduate Math Olympiad, pose with SUST vice-chancellor at the end of their written test yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Man held with 875 yaba tabletsn UNB

Customs o� cials arrested a man along with 875 pieces of yaba tablet at Shah-jalal International Airport in the capital yesterday. The arrested was Jahir Ud-din, 39, hailing from Laxmipur.

Customs o� cial sources said Jahir Uddin came here for going to Shar-

jah by a � ight of Air Arabia which was scheduled to take o� around 9:30am.

The customs o� cials during scan-ning found an object wrapped with car-bon paper in his luggage and recovered 875 pieces of yaba tablet after unfold-ing it around 7:30am. Juela Khanam, assistant commissioner of customs at the airport, con� rmed the incident. l

'The drivers as well as the victims are responsible for the accidents'

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

5 hurt over AL factional clash; road blockade n Our Correspondent, Sherpur

A group of local Awmi League blocked the Sherpur- Jhenaigati road yesterday over an attack on the AL o� ce by position-deprived party men in Jhinaigati upazila leaving 5 injured.

Sources said � ve people, includ-

ing Jhinaigati upazila AL convener, Warez Nayeem, were injured in the attack on Friday night.

Police, quoting locals, said the central committee of AL had an-nounced holding of the party’s upazila council on 4 December.

On information, former Jhinai-gati upazila unit Jubo League presi-

dent Azad and another leader Taher, who were deprived of positions in the recently declared committee of the party, along with their follow-ers attacked Warez Nayeem and his supporters at AL o� ce in the area at about 8:30 pm, leaving � ve people, including Warez Nayeem critically injured.

The attackers also ransacked valua-bles at the o� ce. They declared Warez Nayeem ‘unwanted’ in Jhinaigati.

Of the injured, three people, in-cluding Warez Nayeem, were admit-ted to Sherpur Sadar Hospital.

On information, police rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control. l

Old man dies at Tongi Jor Ijtema An old man who came to the Biswa Ijtema ground in Tongi to attend Jor Ijtema died early yesterday. Shamsul Haque, 70, came from Comilla to attend the congregation. He was sent to Tongi Government Hospital as he suddenly fell ill late on Friday night but doctors declared him dead. His namaz-e-janaza was held at the Ijtema ground after Fajr prayers. Resident doctor of the hospital Mahbubur Rahman Chowdhury said Shamsul had died before he was brought to hospital. – Our Correspondent, Gazipur

847 bottles of phensidyl seized Members of Border Guard Bangladesh seized 847 bottles of Indian smuggled phesidyl from two separate places of the district yesterday. BGB sources said, a team of BGB members seized the phensidyl from Akondobaria and Rangia-rpota village under Chuadanga Sadar upazila.During the drive, some 345 bottles of phensidyl seized from Akondobaria village and 502 bottles were seized from Rangiarpota village.On information, BGB men rushed to the spot and seized the phensidyl in an abandoned condition. – Our Correspondent, Chuadanga

Thief lynched in GazipurA thief was lynched at Rain-ondo village under Kapasia upazila in Gazipur yesterday. The deceased was identi� ed as

Abdur Rahman, 25, son of late Kazim Uddin in the area.Locals and police said, Abdur Rahman was � eeing away after stealing a Van rickshaw, bicycle and other goods from a shop and a house of Rainonda village at around 3am.Locals went to the spot and chased after him. At one stage, he was caught and given a good beating by angry mob and injured seriously. On information, police rushed to the spot and rescued him. He was sent to Kapasia Upazila Health Complex where the duty doctor declared him dead. – Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Farmer’s body recoveredPolice yesterday recovered the body of a farmer from a remote haor area in Ostogram upazila.He was identi� ed as Malek Mia, 52, son of late Kalu Mia of Osmanpur village in Bangalpara union. Police sources said Malek went missing on Friday and his body was found at Kalipur haor area around 11:30am yesterday. Malek’s son Harun Mia alleged that their neighbour Tobarak Mia had strangled his father to death over a longstanding dispute involving land prop-erty. Kamrul Islam, o� cer-in-charge of Ostogram police station, said Malek might have been strangled but it could be con� rmed after getting the autopsy report. The body was sent to Kishoreganj Modern Hospital for autopsy, he said, adding that Harun � led a murder case in this connec-tion. – Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

NEWS IN BRIEF

Abducted schoolgirl rescued in Benapolen Our Correspondent, Jessore

Police rescued a school girl two days af-ter she was abducted from Boro Achra area of Benapole municipality in Jes-sore. A young man named Shagor was also arrested by the law enforcers in this connection.

The girl, 14 and a student of class eight, was rescued on Friday night from a house in Terminalpara of Benapole.

Police said, Shagor, 23, used to har-ass the girl on her way to school every-day. On November 26, he with the help of some miscreants forcefully picked her up while she was going to school. Later the girl’s father lodged a case with the police.

Apurbo Hasan, o� cer in-charge of Benapole port police station, acknowl-edged the incident and said the abduc-tor was sent to jail yesterday morning. l

66 vie for a seat at Mawlana Bhashani Universityn Our Correspondent, Tangail

Nearly 66 candidates will compete for each seat at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University as the un-dergraduate admission tests for aca-demic year 2014-15 began yesterday.

The university has a total of 772 seats in 15 departments under four units but as many as 50,457 students applied this year.

Tests for A and B units were held yesterday while those for C and D units would be held today.

Apart from the university buildings, the tests were held at di� erent educa-tional institutions in the district as a very large number of candidates took the tests.

Police were deployed at the test cen-tres to maintain the law and order.

Vice-chancellor of the university Professor Dr Md Alauddin visited a few test centres in the morning and said tests were held in a peaceful atmosphere. l

No headmasters in primary, 20 high schools and � ve madrasas in Natoren Our Correspondent, Natore

All the 52 primary schools, 20 high schools and � ve madrasas in Natore have been run by acting headmasters for at least two years. This has led to a stag-nant administration where teachers do not feel accountable and follow the guid-ance of the headmasters. Such informal approach has resulted in a poor perfor-mance of the educational institutions.

Appointment of headmasters in pri-mary schools has long been suspended following a case � led by the assistant teachers. In the high schools and the madrasas, tenure of almost all the man-aging committees have expired. For the lack of an elected body, the institutions are run by acting headmasters. Some schools’ managing committees also run their institutions because of personal clash with the acting head.

District primary education o� cer Na� za Begum said the assistant prima-ry teachers had lodged the case with the High Court seeking direction to

select a head from them. Recently, the court declared in its verdict that 65% posts for headmasters would be � lled up promoting the assistant teachers while the government can appoint the rest of 35% by publishing notice.

Maksedul Islam, secondary educa-tion o� cer of Natore district and sadar upazila secondary education o� cer Shah Alam said there were 20 acting headmasters and � ve acting superin-tendents in the district. Out of them seven acting headmasters and two acting superintendents are posted in Baraigram upazila, one acting head-master and one acting superintendent in Lalpur upazila, � ve acting headmas-ters in Gurudaspur upazila, three act-ing headmasters in sadar upazila, three acting headmasters and one acting su-per in Bagatipara upazila and one act-ing headmaster and one acting super are in Singra upazila of the district.

Karim Ali, guardian of a female stu-dent of Tegachhi Primary School of Dighapatia union of sadar upazila ex-

pressed concern that due to the lack of headmasters and a coordination among assistant teachers, PSC result of his daughter might not be satisfactory. The school could not complete all the books even after the middle of November.

When contacted, Ra� qul Islam, as-sistant teacher of the primary school acknowledged the problems and said they were facing a lot of troubles to complete the syllabus for the up com-ing PSC and school’s � nal examina-tions. Almost all the teachers did not want to follow the directions of the act-ing headmasters.

The concerned guardians and teach-ers urged the government to � ll all the acting heads’ post soon.

“We have already received the direc-tion by the primary education depart-ment to select the credible senior assis-tant teachers to � ll the post. So far we have received nominations from seven primary schools of the sadar upazila. After receiving all the names, we will send it to Dhaka for government ap-

proval. We hope to declare the names soon,” said the primary education of-� cer Na� za Begum.

About the acting head of the high school and madrasas, district’s sec-ondary education o� cer Maksedul said term of almost all the institutions’ managing committees had expired. The conveners of the committees could not appoint any headmaster in any in-stitutions making way for some com-mittee members to serve as the acting headmaster.

Acting headmaster of Nagar High School Ashraf Ali said the managing committee had promoted one assistant teacher in 2009 after suspending the then headmaster Bipen Bihari Sarker. However, a new managing committee has been formed recently and may � ll up post soon, he added.

“We have already directed the in-stitutions to form the managing com-mittee soon and deploy headmaster instead of the acting post for the bet-terment of their schools.”

Mother sues son for caren Our Correspondent,

Chapainawabganj

A mother yesterday sued her son for not taking care of her in Chapainawabganj.

This is the � rst time somebody � led such a case with a court in the district.

The case in details is that elderly woman Gulfun Nesa Gulu, wife of late Saidur Rahman, hails from Chouhoddi-tola Moholla in Chapainawabganj mu-nicipality.

She was abandoned by her husband when her son Masud Rana was a young child. She brought up her son with much di� culty and married him o� to a girl.

Nine years ago, she sent her son abroad on a labour visa. Ever since, he had been taking care of her and his wife and children. After returning home and marrying another girl two months ago, he stopped taking care of them.

On November 22, the elderly wom-an went to her son and sought � nancial support from him for her and his son’s � rst wife and children, but he shouted insults at her and threw her out.

The elderly woman believed that her son had stopped supporting her and her � rst wife and children after having been provoked by his second wife Duliara.

Under the Parents Care Act 2013, she � led this case with the chief judicial magistrate’s court against � ve persons, including her son and his second wife, on November 24.

Her lawyer Zakir Hossain said it is the � rst time somebody lodged such a case under the act passed last year. He hoped that the elderly woman would get justice in the case.

The law has the provision of Tk2 lakh as � ne and, in default, six months jail term for violation of the law. l

Security guard killed n Our Correspondent, Thakurgaon

A security guard was killed in Old Bus Stand area of Sadar upazila yesterday.

The deceased was identi� ed as Ak-bar Ali, 55, a security guard at Old Bus Stand Bazar and hailed from Teliapara village in the upazila.

Mehedi Hasan, OC said, on informa-tion, police recovered the body around 9:30 am and sent it to hospital morgue for an autopsy. l

2 jailed over checking JDC exam papersn Our Correspondent, Jessore

A mobile court jailed a madrasa teacher and a muezzin for three months over the checking of Junior Dakhil Certi� cate (JDC) examinations papers at Jhikargachha upazila in Jessore on Friday.

They were Abdul Kader, a teacher of Kariamali Dakhil Madrasa, and Rabiul Islam, muezzin of Navaran Puratan Ba-zar Jam-e Masjid.

The court, led by Upazila Nirbahi O� cer Azmul Haq, handed down the punishment orders. l

Bangladesh Krishok Samity of Gaibandha district unit form a human chain yesterday in the town demanding their rights DHAKA TRIBUNE

7CareerDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

A perfect managern Ahsan Sajid

A manager in the duration of a workday ful� lls ten di� erent roles, according to management expert and professor, Henry Mintzberg. These ten primary roles or behaviours may be used to cat-egorise a manager’s di� erent functions.

You may be a manager at a multina-tional company, or at a university club, but as a manager, you are possibly in charge of leading your team, resolving con� ict, ne-gotiating new directions and representing your team all in the space of an hour.

A manager is constantly switching roles according to the changing cir-cumstances around them. To be a good manager, you need to use an under-standing of all these key roles to per-form your day-to-day functions.

Mintzberg’s tenMintzberg published the ten di� erent management roles in his 1990 book Mintzberg on Management: Inside our Strange World of Organizations, which are � gurehead, leader, liaison, monitor, disseminator, spokesperson, entrepre-neur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. The ten roles are then subdivided into three catego-ries: interpersonal, informational and decisional.

Practical applicationYou can apply Mintzberg’s ten manage-ment roles model and better your skills as a manager by using it as a frame of ref-erence. It pays to work on the roles that one ful� lls most often as a priority, but you should also work to hone the roles you do not necessarily ful� ll every day.

The most e� ective way to become a better manager using the ten roles is by listing them in order of priority ac-cording to your current job and future plans, and working on improving the abilities in each role one by one.

Figurehead: As a � gurehead, you rep-resent your team. The obvious areas to start working on in this role are your image and reputation at work. Practice becoming more modest and empathic to others, a role model everyone looks

up to and setting an example for every-one by being the kind of worker you want others to be.

Leader: A leadership role is one that a manager plays for the greater part of the day. To be an e� ective leader, im-prove your emotional intelligence, be empathic and earn your team’s respect.

Liaison: To liaise e� ectively between internal and external stakeholders as all managers are wont to do, harness your professional networking skills.

Monitor: To be a good monitor, use fast and e� ective reading skills, keep up to date with not just industry news but current a� airs, and learn to gather and organise information.Disseminator: A good disseminator is

one with good writing and communi-cation skills, and one with the ability to tailor incoming information according to the need of the people it has to be disbursed among.

Spokesperson: Representing your team is challenging, be it in an internal meet-ing or in front of the media. Learn to represent your organisation e� ectively by honing your presentation and public speaking skills and learning better pro-fessional networking.

Entrepreneur: To improve your entre-preneurial skills, work on your tech-niques to manage changes in your team, perfect your ability to solve prob-lems and sharpen your creativity skills.

Disturbance handler: As a disturbance

handler, you are in an internal role where you must manage the emotions of your team, resolve any con� icts and make sure the team is functioning smoothly.

Resource allocator: This is a more tech-nical role where you have to learn to manage a budget, always look for ways to cut costs and get used to constantly prioritising and trimming the fat. As a resource allocator, you have to stretch the resources available to you under trying circumstances.

Negotiator: Some people have bargain-ing skills regardless of the position they have at work, but a manager must learn to acquire, or polish their bargaining skills because it is mandatory to the role. Learn more about win-win negotiations, and practice role-playing to be on your edge. l

MINTZBERG'S 10 MANAGERIAL ROLES FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT

Interpersonal

Figurehead: As a manager, you have social, o� cial and legal responsibilities. You are expected to be a source of inspiration – others look up to you as a person with authority, and as a � gurehead

Leader: You provide leadership for your team, your department or perhaps your entire organisation; it is also where you manage the performance and responsibilities of everyone in the group

Liaison – Managers must communicate with both internal and external stakeholders. You need to be able to net-work e� ectively on behalf of your organisation

Informational

Monitor – As a manager, you regularly seek out information related to your organisation and industry, looking for relevant changes in the environment and adapting accordingly. You also monitor your team in terms of both their productivity and well-being

Disseminator – You must be on the lookout for and be able to communicate potentially useful information to your colleagues and your team

Spokesperson – Managers represent and speak for their organisation. In this role you’re responsible for transmit-ting information about your organisation and its goals to the people outside it

Decisional

Entrepreneur – As a manager, you create and control change within the organisation. This means solving problems, generating new ideas, and implementing them

Disturbance handler – When an organisation or team hits an unexpected roadblock, the manager must take charge. You also need to help mediate disputes within it through con� ict resolution

Resource allocator – As a manager you will constantly determine where organisational resources are best applied. This involves allocating funding, as well as assigning sta� and other organisational resources

Negotiator – You may be needed to take part in and direct, important negotiations within your team, department, or organisation

Four time-management mistakes to avoidn Career Desk

Common time management mistakes are easily avoidable, and yet we contin-ue to make them because don’t identi-fy them. Once the mistakes have been identi� ed and overcome, we will not only have more time but also have less stress.

Following are a list of suggestions of common mistakes, which we have all been guilty of at some point.

Do not just store it in your headWe have all experience the sense of foreboding that we feel when the idea that we have forgotten something im-portant keeps nagging us at the back of our heads; it is frustrating and gets in the way of critical thinking. It is sur-prising that more often than not, this feeling arises from not maintaining a to-do list and just storing all our plans in our head. Signi� cant amounts of time may be saved with a simple to-do list, listed according to priority.

Plan a point A to point BSetting goals is essential to managing your time well; having a goal gives us a destination to work towards and a path to follow. When w e k n o w where we

would like to be at the end of the day, week, or year, we can manage our pri-orities accordingly and allocate our time and resources more e� ciently. Additionally, having long-term goals helps us realise what is worth spending time on and what is a distraction.

Avoid distractionsWe lose a few hours daily to distractions such as emails, Facebook, instant messag-ing, phone calls, helping out colleagues etc. This clearly prevents us from achiev-ing the ideal work� ow – the work we do when we are 100% engaged in a task.

So much as having a chat window open on another tab can distract our mind. To gain control of the day and do our best work, we need to minimise distractions and manage interruptions.

Know the load you can carry Some of us often enthusiastically take on too much on our plate; this hap-pens more often right after joining a new job. This may come from a desire to impress or an inability to say no to people. Either way, taking on too much can lead to poor performance, stress, and low morale.

Another reason you might have this problem is if you are a micromanager

and you insist on controlling every aspect of a project. What usu-

ally happens is taking on too much work results

in rushed, shoddy work. l

n SM Tahmid

Ever since the � rst few steps of our formal education, our parents and guardians con-tinuously reiterate that in order to succeed in life one

ought to work hard for a good result from a reputed institution, and at least study till graduation. We are promised that good grades along with some ex-tra-curricular certi� cates will ensure a good career in any � eld that we choose. However, there is one crucial thing that needs to be added to this—networking.

Getting to know the people in the � eld of your chosen profession sounds like a natural thing to do, yet most of the young graduates hardly take it se-riously. Things are even worse for the introverts, since they do not often communicate with total strangers at all. Without knowing anyone, it is very hard to get hired since most of the time institutions tend to hire the people they know to some extent instead of sifting through the myriad of resumes they receive for just one vacant post. It is human nature to have a proclivity for the people we already know.

So the question arises, how do you get to know the people who matter? Professional people are almost always busy and it is not easy to approach them cold and further, maintain a good relationship with them.

But, as with most communication needs of our time, the internet has made things easier for us here as well. Follow-ing and connecting via the social media is a great platform, but you need to be careful about where do you approach the person in question. Connecting on LinkedIn is a very good strategy, espe-cially since your pro� le is full of informa-tion about your skills. Twitter might also be a more informal approach, but trying to befriend on Facebook might not be a good idea since it is a more personal platform. Emailing might also help.

Although the internet may be an easy way to get in touch with people in the company you are interested in, it is much better if you do it yourself. Attending various workshops and job fairs is a good way of getting to know who are the people who matter in a par-ticular industry, and perhaps more im-portantly, you can even approach them quite easily in the interactive sessions.

However, all these will not mat-ter unless you can prove to them that you are someone they want to get in touch with, which means having some

achievements. Extra- curricular activi-ties are a start—being a part of important societies and taking part in campaigns are some of the things that can get you noticed. However, starting something of your own if possible is the best way to get noticed by the professionals.

Entrepreneurs, more than any other professionals or experts, must network pervasively with all sorts of di� erent people. Networking events often bring together entrepreneurs and prospec-tive investors looking for a great pitch, and therefore these occasions serve as excellent platforms for raising invest-ment and increasing the scope of their businesses. Likewise, in these events entrepreneurs can also � nd companies that actually have a need for the prod-uct or service they are delivering, and can thereby take orders. If all of these

do not transpire, in these events entre-preneurs can at least � nd people who are genuinely interested in what they can deliver, and will probably be able to give some great advice for free.

Making new connections is im-portant, but of equal importance is keeping in touch with the people you know already. Keeping up with the university alumni network, old faculty members and former colleagues are all vital to maintaining your network. It is through them that you will learn of new vacancies and they can also pro-vide valuable introductions to others. After all, approaching a total stranger is a thousand times harder than getting in touch through a mutual friend.

There is one more way of growing your network: internships. We tend to think that internship is something you do towards the end of your education, but nothing could be further from the truth. Try to apply to as many intern-ship programmes as possible because this will make you a former employee

of the institution you intern for and in their time of need, you might be their � rst choice (provided you performed as expected).

Even if this is not the case, the for-mer co-workers and your in charge o� -cer can provide you with the reference you need for future jobs.

Before we � nish, there is one more thing you need to keep in mind—most

of the times, you will need to approach the people you want to network with � rst. This is where many back away. People generally have a fear of being rejected. Remember, rejection might take place but at least some of those important people will eventually re-spond positively for sure. Having some connections is better than none at all.

Having the right connections and

experiences matter the most in today’s careers, often more than educational quali� cations. So instead of devoting all your time to blindly studying and following steps you have been told will land you that cushy job, take some time to get to know the people who will mat-ter in your career path. Maintaining a proper relationship with them might be the only thing that will get you to your

targets with ease and haste. Make networking with di� erent

people an important aspect in all parts of your life. If you have not already, start today. It is never too late. l

SM Tahmid is an Intern, Content Writing at GradInsights, the career intelligence service of GradConnect. More articles from the team can be found at www.grad-insights.com.

The key to a successful careerNavigating the unpredictable waters of networking

Instead of devoting all your time to blindly studying and following steps you have been told will land you that cushy job, take some time to get to know the people who will matter in your career path

Sunday, November 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

Demonstrations return to Fergusonn AP, Ferguson, Mo

Disrupting commerce, transit and tra� c became focal points for demon-strators across the country days after the announcement that a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri declined to in-dict the police o� cer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown.

As Small Business Saturday ap-proached, numerous storefronts in the Ferguson area had their windows cov-ered with plywood with messages paint-ed across many of them letting neigh-bors know that the shops are still open. Demonstrators temporarily shut down

three large malls in suburban St. Louis on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and then marched in front of the Ferguson police department to protest the grand jury’s decision.

Several stores lowered their securi-ty doors or locked entrances as at least 200 protesters sprawled onto the � oor while chanting, “Stop shopping and join the movement,” at the Galleria mall in Richmond Heights a few miles south of Ferguson, Missouri, where Of-� cer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, who was unarmed, in August.

The action prompted authorities to close the mall for about an hour Friday

afternoon, while a similar protest of about 50 people had the same e� ect at West County Mall in nearby Des Peres. And several dozen demonstrators led to a temporary closure of the Chester-� eld Mall.

Later Friday night, a group of about 100 protesters marched down West Florissant Avenue Florissant in front of the city’s police and � re departments chanting, blocking tra� c and stopping in front of some businesses.

“I served my country. I spent four years in the Army, and I feel like that’s not what I served my country for,” said Ebonie Tyse, 26. l

Death toll in Venezuelan prison overdose up to 35Venezuela’s prisons are among the world’s most violent, last year, 506 inmates died in the country’s jails

n AP, Venezuela

Pressure is building on Venezuela’s government to fully investigate a ris-ing number of deaths at an overcrowd-ed prison, with human rights activists questioning authorities’ claim of a mass drug overdose by dozens of in-mates who stormed an in� rmary.

After days of con� icting reports from the government and family mem-bers, the depth of the tragedy at David Viloria prison in western Venezuela became clearer Friday when author-ities con� rmed that 35 inmates had died and said 20 of an additional 100 still being treated for intoxication were in comas.

The government has said the troubles at the prison began Monday with a hunger strike for better con-ditions. A group of violent inmates raided the prison infirmary and then guzzled down a deadly mix of pure alcohol with drugs used to treat dia-betes, epilepsy and high blood pres-sure, officials say.

William Ojeda of the ruling socialist party said Friday after visiting the jail that many of the intoxicated inmates were drug users su� ering from with-

drawal symptoms due to the prison’s strict regimen of abstinence.

Prisoner rights activists have been skeptical of the o� cial version. They say that as deplorable as Venezuela’s jails are no inmates would voluntarily end their lives or poison themselves as a form of protest.

The lack of information and access to the prison has added to the mys-tery, with family members wondering whether loved ones could have been poisoned to restore order.

“Counting the deaths now requires going to the morgue” because govern-ment information is so incomplete, said Ligia Bolivar, a human rights ex-pert at Andres Bello Catholic Universi-ty in Caracas.

President Nicolas Maduro has yet to comment on the incident in frequent television appearances this week even as calls for a thorough investigation have come from Roman Catholic Church leaders in Venezuela and from the Unit-ed Nations human rights agency.

On Thursday, police arrested the jail’s warden, Julio Cesar Perez, who is expected to be charged in connection with the deaths.

The government says the situation

at the prison is under control after it called in the National Guard and trans-ferred hundreds of inmates to other facilities. All prisoners’ rights are being respected, said Ojeda, who is presi-dent of a congressional committee that oversees the penitentiary system.

Venezuela’s prisons are among the world’s most violent.

Overall, the country’s 32 correction facilities are the � fth most-crowded in the world, housing almost three times their intended capacity, accord-ing to the London-based International Centre for Prison Studies. The prison population has doubled since 2008 as a result of rampant crime and sti� er mandatory sentences.

The David Viloria prison is named for a guard who was one of 58 people killed at the facility last year during the second-deadliest prison riot in Vene-zuela’s history. The facility, previous-ly called La Uribana, was built to hold no more than 850 inmates but was believed to be holding around 3,000 when the latest disturbances broke out

Last year, 506 inmates died in the country’s jails, according to the Vene-zuelan Observatory of Prisons, a non-governmental watchdog group. l

Energy revolution spells doom for German villagen AP, Germany

Five days a week, a giant machine eats its way through soil at the Jaenschwalde open-cast mine in eastern Germany, ex-posing the brown coal buried beneath.

Lignite, as this form of compressed peat is known, is becoming an increas-ingly important part of Germany’s ef-fort to phase out nuclear energy. It’s also the reason why Atterwasch, a village that survived the Thirty Years’ War, a Soviet onslaught at the end of World War II and four hard decades of communist rule is slated to be razed.

The village, with its volunteer � re station and old brownstone church, is to make way for a strip mine in the next decade. Dozens of other villages have fallen victim to the same fate, as coal once again becomes king.

The plan has many of Atterwasch’s 250 inhabitants up in arms.

“This is an ancient village,” said long-time resident Monika Schulz-Ho-epfner. Historical records � rst mention Atterwasch in 1294, and the house that she and her husband raised their three children in was built in 1740.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, point out that Germany’s hunger for lignite � ies in the face of its green cre-dentials.

“Germany has a coal problem,” said Regina Guenther, Director Climate and Energy at WWF Germany. “Despite the expansion of renewable energy the carbon emissions are rising because the dirtiest coal power plants are run-ning at full steam.”

The low cost of coal-based energy means that the cleaner, but more ex-

pensive, gas power plants are not run-ning at full capacity, she said.

Vattenfall, one of Europe’s biggest energy companies, says the � ve open cast lignite mines and three lignite power stations it operates in the Lu-satia region a couple of hours drive southeast of Berlin provide over 33 000 jobs. Anti-mine campaigners put the � gure much lower, but still conceded that the jobs run into the thousands, in an area with high unemployment.

At least as important as the jobs is the energy that comes from the 60 mil-lion tons of lignite mined there each

year. That’s because Germany’s ambi-tious plan to shut down all its nucle-ar reactors by 2022 and dramatically ramp up the use of renewable sources — known as the “energy switchover” — requires coal as a stopgap.

“Lignite is part of the energy swi-tchover because it o� ers a bridge to the time when, as is the goal in Ger-many, 80 or more percent of energy is generated by renewable means,” said Thoralf Schirmer, a spokesperson for Vattenfall.

Even after 2050, when all nuclear plants have been closed for 28 years

and renewable sources should be high-ly developed, there will be a role for lignite, he said.

“If you have little wind or sun avail-able,” he said, “then you have to rely on one of the remaining conventional energy sources.”

Last year, about a quarter of the German gross electricity production came from lignite, according to the German Federal Statistics O� ce. More than a third of the lignite — up to 10 percent of Germany’s total energy sup-ply — comes from the region around Atterwasch. l

IS group attacks Kobane from Turkeyn AP, Beirut

The Islamic State group launched an attack Saturday on the Syrian border town of Kobane from Turkey — a � r st in the ongoing siege, a Kurdish o� cial and activists said.

The assault began with a suicide at-tack by a bomber in an armored vehicle on the border crossing between Kobane and Turkey, said the Britain-based Syr-ian Observatory for Human Rights and Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria’s powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party.

The Islamic State group “used to at-tack the town from three sides,” Khalil said. “Today, they are attacking from four sides.”

Turkey, while previously backing the Syrian rebels � ghting to topple President Bashar Assad in that coun-try’s civil war, has been hesitant to aid the Kobane � ght over its own fears about stoking Kurdish ambitions for an independent state. Ankara had no immediate comment Saturday about Islamic State group � ghters launching the assault from Turkish soil.

Associated Press journalists saw thick black smoke rise over Kobane amid the attack. The sound of heavy

gun� re echoed through the surround-ing hills as armored vehicles took up positions on the border. The Observa-tory said heavy � ghting also took place southwest of the town where the Is-lamic State group brought in tanks to reinforce their � ghters.

The Islamic State group began its Kobane o� ensive in mid-September, capturing parts of the town as well as dozens of nearby villages. The town later became the focus of airstrikes by the US-led coalition against the mili-tants.

Kurdish � ghters slowly have been advancing in Kobane since late Octo-ber, when dozens of Iraqi peshmerga � ghters joined fellow Syrian Kurds in the battles. The � ghting has killed hun-dreds of � ghters on both sides over the past two months.

The Observatory said Saturday the latest � ghting killed at least eight Kurdish � ghters and 17 jihadis.

The Islamic State group has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate in areas under its control in Iraq and Syria, gov-erning it according to its violent inter-pretation of Shariah law. The group has carried out mass killings targeting gov-ernment security forces, ethnic minori-ties and others against it. l

Syria says US – led strikes have not weakened ISn Reuters, Beirut

Syria’s foreign minister said US-led air strikes had failed to weaken Islamic State it in Syria and the jihadist group would not be tackled unless Turkey was forced to tighten border controls.

A US-led alliance started attacking Islamic State targets in Syria in Sep-tember as part of a wider e� ort to de-stroy the al Qaeda o� shoot that has seized large areas of the country and neighbouring Iraq.

“All the indications say that (Is-lamic State) today, after two months of coalition air strikes, is not weaker,” Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in an interview with the Bei-rut-based Al Mayadeen TV broadcast on Friday.

The Syrian government has said it was willing to join the � ght against Islamic State, but the United States refuses to deal with President Bashar al-Assad, who it says has lost legitima-cy and must leave power.

“If the Security Council and Wash-ington do not force Turkey to con-trol its borders then all of this action will not eliminate (Islamic State),” Moualem said, referring to foreign ji-hadists who have crossed into Syria from Turkey. l

Pope prays in Istanbul mosque in new outreachn AP, Istanbul

His head bowed and hands clasped in front of him, Pope Francis stood Sat-urday for two minutes of silent prayer facing east inside one of Istanbul’s most important mosques, as he shifted gears toward more religious a� airs on the second leg of his three-day visit to mainly Muslim Turkey.

Following in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI who visited Turkey in 2006, Francis prayed alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, who had his palms turned toward the sky in a Muslim prayer, inside the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet mosque.

“May God accept it,” Yaran told the pope at the conclusion of a poignant moment of Christian-Muslim under-standing.

The Vatican spokesman, Rev. Fed-erico Lombardi called it a moment of “silent adoration.” Lombardi, who was standing behind the pope, said Francis told the mufti two times that we must “adore” God and not just praise and glorify him.

It was a remarkably di� erent atmo-sphere from Francis’ � rst day in Turkey, when the simple and frugal pope was visibly uncomfortable with the pomp and protocol required of him for the state visit part of his trip. With President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s mega-palace, honor guard and horseback escort now behind him, Francis got down to the business of being pope, showing respect to Muslim leaders, greeting Istanbul’s tiny Catholic community. l

Wife awarded $530m in record British divorcen AFP, London

The estranged wife of a London � nan-cier was awarded £337m ($530m, 425m euros) on Thursday in one of the biggest divorce settlements seen in a British court.

Details of the payment to US-born Jamie Cooper-Hohn, 49, emerged after a draft judgement was given to lawyers ahead of a � nal ruling.

Cooper-Hohn’s lawyers were re-ported to be considering an appeal to get an ever bigger payout.

Cooper-Hohn had separated from hedge fund manager Chris Hohn, 48, after being married for 15 years and the two had fought over assets worth over £700m.

Hohn had o� ered his wife a quar-ter of the fortune, but she argued that their wealth was the result of a part-nership.

The two, who met while studying at Harvard University and have four chil-dren, founded charity the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to help the poor in developing countries.

The son of a legal secretary and a car mechanic, Hohn was reported to have given away almost £1bn between 2006 and 2011.

He was knighted this year for ser-vices to philanthropy and internation-al development.

“Over the long term I am an unbe-lievable money-maker,” Hohn told the court, but adding that he did not “re-ally care about money” and that it did not bring happiness. l

Up to 13,000 victims in UK modern slaveryn AP, London

Up to 13,000 people in Britain are victims of tra� cking, sexual exploitation or other forms of modern slavery, a government report said Saturday, putting the � gure at four times the previous estimate.

The Home O� ce � gures — the � rst o� -cial estimate of the scale of the problem in Britain — included women and girls forced into prostitution or sexually exploited for pro� t, domestic servants working for little or no pay, and laborers forced to work in farms, factories and � shing boats.

“The � rst step to eradicating the scourge of modern slavery is acknowledging and confronting its existence,” said Home Secretary Theresa May. “The estimated scale of the problem in modern Britain is shocking and these new � gures starkly reinforce the case for urgent action.”

The report, published as part of the British government’s strategy to tackle tra� cking and modern slavery, aimed to calculate what it called the “dark � gure” of unreported victims not included by the National Crime Agency, which had put the number of victims in 2013 to 2,744.

Authorities say the number of reported cases is on the rise in recent years, but the true scale of the problem is di� cult to pin down because victims are controlled, hidden, or fear reporting to police. Many the victims are brought in by tra� ckers from countries including Romania, Poland, Albania and Nigeria, but o� cials stress that vulnerable British adults and children are also being systematically preyed upon by tra� ckers. The National Crime Agency estimates that Britain was the third-most-common country of origin for victims identi� ed last year. l

Relative of inmates gather waiting for information outside the David Viloria prison in Barquisimeto, Venezuela AP

Vattenfall spokesperson Thoralf Schirmer walks in front of a bucket-wheel excavator after an AP interview at the Vattenfall lignite open-cast mine in Jaenschwalde, eastern Germany AP

Sunday, November 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World 9

15 killed in China ‘terrorist attack’Some Uighurs in the north west Chinese region are hostile to Beijing’s leadership

n AFP

Fifteen people have been killed and 14 others wounded in a “terrorist attack” in China’s mostly Muslim Xinjiang re-gion, the o� cial Chinese news agency said Saturday.

A group of “terrorists” launched an attack on civilians Friday in Shache county, leaving four people dead and 14 wounded. Eleven “terrorists” were also shot dead during the violence, accord-ing to CCTV, China’s state broadcaster.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua con� rmed the death toll, citing a state-ment from local authorities.

At around 1.30pm (0530 GMT) on Friday men armed with knives threw explosive devices and attacked crowds on commercial street, Xinhua reported.

Eleven of the attackers were killed by police who were patrolling in the area. Explosives, knives and axes were seized at the scene.

The wounded were evacuated and taken to hospital, the news agency said.

Situated 200 kilometres from the re-gional capital of Kashgar, the district of Shache – or Yarkand in the Uighur lan-guage – was the scene of violent clash-es in July, shortly before the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Police o� cers then killed dozens of attackers “who were attacking civil-ians and vehicles,” according to state media.

The fresh unrest underscores the de-terioration of the situation in Xinjiang, where Beijing has launched a severe crackdown in recent months with doz-ens of executions o� cially announced

and hundreds of arrests, followed by speedy mass trials and the public exhi-bition of so-called “terrorists.”

Friday’s attack comes � ve days af-ter students of the imprisoned Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti were brought before a Chinese court in a secret trial, accused – like their professor – of “sep-aratism.”

A Chinese judge Friday rejected Tohti’s appeal against the life sentence imposed in September.

Tohti, a respected economist, is considered a moderate voice who had long denounced the repression of Ui-ghurs in Xinjiang, without demanding complete independence for the region.

Experts say that the extremely se-vere verdict suggests that it is unlikely that tensions will ease in Xinjiang, a vast region where violence and repres-sion by security forces have left hun-dreds dead since last summer.

Xinjiang is frequently hit by unrest sparked by � erce tensions between China’s ethnic Han majority and the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs, with authorities regularly blaming Uighur militants for the violence.

Some Uighurs in the north west Chinese region are hostile to Beijing’s leadership.

They say they are victims of dis-crimination and left out of the bene� ts of development in Xinjiang, which has seen an in� ux of Han Chinese moving in from elsewhere in the country.

Experts and human rights activists say that repressive policies regarding religion and culture adopted by Beijing have fuelled con� ict in the region. l

Taiwan PM quits after election lossesn AP, Taiwan

Taiwan’s pro-China ruling Nationalist Party su� ered worse-than-expected losses in local island-wide elections Saturday, dealing a sti� blow to a pres-ident who has staked his reputation on closer ties with Beijing, and leading the premier to resign.

The Nationalists lost eight city and county elections, including in long-time strongholds Taipei, the capital, and the major central city of Taichung.

Pre-election polls had forecast defeats only in Taipei, Taichung and Keelung.

The heavy losses point to an elec-torate that is souring on President Ma Ying-jeou’s forging of closer ties with mainland China, and will make it tougher for the Nationalists to hold onto the presidency in 2016.

Premier Jiang Yi-huah — the head of the Cabinet — resigned Saturday night after the defeats, while Ma, who is also Nationalist Party chairman, said he would make changes.

“I must express apologies to the Nationalist Party and its supporters for making everyone disappointed,” Ma told a news conference. “I’ve received the message people have sent via these elections. It’s my responsibility and I will quickly o� er a party reform plan to address everyone’s demands. I won’t avoid responsibility.”

The election losses could jeopardize six years of landmark talks with China that have led to 21 agreements, helping to lift Taiwan’s half-trillion-dollar economy,

while raising Beijing’s hopes for political reuni� cation. Beijing has claimed sover-eignty over Taiwan since the Chinese civ-il war of the 1940s, but since taking o� ce in 2008, Ma has set aside the old disputes to ease tensions through talks.

Taiwanese have been watching closely as Beijing takes a hard-line stance on demands for democratic rule in Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese city that has been gripped by more two months of pro-democracy protests. l

Taliban � ghters raid Kabul guesthousen Agencies

Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen have attacked a foreign guesthouse near parliament in the Afghan capital, the latest assault targeting foreign-ers as Nato troops withdraw from the country, witnesses and police said.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, re-porting from Kabul, said the Taliban has con� rmed carrying out Saturday’s raid. The government’s passport o� ce and o� ces of non-government organ-isations located nearby also came un-der attack.

Stratford said the attack was on go-ing and one of the attackers was still inside the compound.

Witnesses also told Al Jazeera that they heard explosions and gun� re, but there was not immediate information about casualties.

Police and intelligence o� cers have surrounded the scene of the attack, a guesthouse home to Euro-peans working for the Afghan govern-ment, witness Samir Noorzai told AP news agency.

The Taliban have waged a series of large-scale attacks in Kabul and across the country in recent days.

Earlier on Saturday, Taliban � ght-ers also launched a separate attack in a major Afghan camp in southern Hel-mand province that killed eight sol-diers and 26 � ghters.

The base was once known as Camp Bastion until the British handed it over last month. Camp Bastion also once held Camp Leatherneck, a US Marine base in the volatile southern province.

“The Taliban has vowed to continue to step up their attacks on both foreign targets and the Afghan National Secu-rity Forces (ANSF) in the wake of the approval of the security agreement,” Al Jazeera’s Stratford said.

Under the agreement, recently ap-proved by Afghanistan’s upper house, foreign troops will remain in the coun-try to � ght the Taliban and train the Afghan army.

Also on Saturday, suicide bombers attacked another military base in the Snagin district, killing � ve soldiers and wounding seven.

The 13-year Nato combat mission � nishes at the end of this year, to be replaced by a 12,500-personnel fol-low-up mission to support the Afghan army and police who are now responsi-ble for defeating the Taliban. l

Volunteers of National Service Scheme (NSS) pose with HIV/AIDS awareness messages on their faces during a face painting competition ahead of the World AIDS Day in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh yesterday. World AIDS Day is observed on December 1 every year REUTERS

Street clashes erupt as Hong Kong police crack down on protestersn Reuters, Hong Kong

Thousands of pro-democracy activists clashed with police in running scu� es in the gritty district of Mong Kok ear-ly yesterday in a bid to reclaim part of one of the largest and most volatile protest sites in Hong Kong.

After hours of tense face-o� s, with police showing relative restraint at � rst, hundreds of riot police ba-ton-charged the crowds with shields, pepper spraying and wrestling a string of protesters to the ground in chaotic scenes.

Several bands comprised of hun-dreds of protesters, some of whom pelted police with eggs and bottled water, retreated but regrouped swiftly in other spots, stoked on rather than cowed by the clampdown.

Many rushed to lay fresh barricades across roads amid a wail of sirens and loud chants for “real full democracy.”

The fresh tensions will be a set-back for authorities who have strug-gled for months to find a resolution to the most serious governance crisis to be faced in the former British col-

ony since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The protests have simmered for three consecutive nights in Mong Kok since police staged a swift and surpris-ingly smooth clearance of the area’s protest encampment on Wednesday, arresting more than a hundred people including key student leaders Joshua Wong and Lester Shum.

Amnesty International on Friday, however, warned the police against the use of excessive force after Wong and Shum both said they were beaten during their arrests. Several reporters were also roughed up, prompting the Hong Kong Journalists Association to lodge a formal complaint and plan a protest.

“Is there a need to really use so much force to beat us,” said Wong Ching-san, a young protester wearing a black jacket and � ip � ops. “We’re not trying to cause violence but when they attack us we � ght back.”

A pro-democracy lawmaker on the ground during the chaos in Mong Kok, Leung Yiu-chung, was scathing at the lack of restraint and violence displayed

by some frontline o� cers.“Some of them were deliberately in-

citing people,” he said.Friday marks two months since

police � rst � red tear gas to disperse demonstrators from the main protest site in the Admiralty district next to government o� ces in the heart of the Asian � nancial centre.

The protests, which have lasted well beyond many people’s expecta-tions, drew more than 100,000 on to the streets of Hong Kong at the peak. While numbers have dwindled, they have swelled to several thousand at weekends and at key moments giv-en a deep-rooted frustration at Chi-na and Hong Kong’s refusal to in any way o� er to meet their democratic demands.

A police spokesman said on Friday officers were worried about reports of excessive force and they would in-vestigate.

Lined with jewellery and electron-ics shops, and grimy tenement blocks, bustling Mong Kok has been a key bat-tleground for protesters and mobs in-tent on disbanding them. l

‘India wary of assertive China, intrusive Pakistan’n Agencies

With the strategic gravity shifting from west to east, especially to Asia and Asia Paci� c, “India faces security challeng-es in the region due to an assertive Chi-na and an intrusive Pakistan,” the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, said yesterday.

“The situation is not good for the environment, as peaceful rise of Chi-na remains a distant dream. An as-sertive China is investing heavily in developing military power, especially aerospace power, laying claims on in-ternational waters, island territories and air space over South China Sea and East China Sea,” Raha said during the Eighth Annual Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture.

Noting that the situation in South Asia spawning Afghanistan and Paki-stan was going to be delicate, especially after the withdrawal of the US-led allied forces, the chief of air sta� said Pakistan was the fountainhead of terrorism, en-couraging terrorist activities despite be-ing a part of the global war on terror.

“Withdrawal of American and west-ern forces from Afghanistan will create a very delicate situation for India in terms of some conventional threats to us. Similarly, the IS (Islamic State) gain-ing strength in West Asia poses anoth-er challenge for us to deal with proper planning and induction of forces, espe-cially aerospace power,” he said.

Raha said China was developing ca-pabilities to � ght major con� icts over the next 35 years, as mentioned by a security analyst in Hong Kong in an ar-ticle recently.

“By 2050, China wants to annex Tai-wan, occupy the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, annex South Tibet and Arunachal from India, get hold of Senka-ku Islands of Japan and recover lost terri-tories in Russia and Mangolia,” Raha said.

Claiming that India had no territori-al ambition except to recover the land lost due to historical reasons, the In-dian Air Force chief said with a hostile border left behind as a legacy of the British rule, the situation in the neigh-bourhood, specially on the western border, was vulnerable.

“Our aim is not to occupy but deter our enemy from waging war against us with striking capability to penetrate into the enemy’s territory with air power and expose the vulnerability of the adversary,” he said.

Khatre was the chief of air sta� in 1984-85 and chairman of the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., which makes military aircraft for the IAF. The day-long event was organised by the Air Force Association of Karnataka branch in association with the Aero-nautical Society of India and HAL. l

Narendra Modi favours privatisation of railwayn Agencies

Meghalaya yesterday came on the coun-try’s rail map more than six decades af-ter Independence, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi � agging o� the � rst train to the northeastern state and favouring privatisation of railway stations.

“Railway facilities are the same as they were 100 years back ... Privatise the railway stations and modernise them,” he said after � agging o� the � rst train linking Meghalaya.

“I will make it in 10-12 places. Sta-tions should be better than airports as most travellers are poor people. We can easily have trains running be-low and commercial properties above (� oor),” Modi reasoned.

At a time when real estate is very expensive, railways should leverage its properties by allowing private parties to build luxury hotels, restaurants and other facilities, he added.

He said once this exercise is com-pleted in these places, the government will carry out modernisation of sta-tions across the country.

The Prime Minister yesterday in-augurated the Mendipathar-Guwahati

passenger train and laid the founda-tion stone of broad gauge conversion of Bhairabi-Sairang line in Mizoram.

Modi said the Indian Railways have the potential to become the backbone of the country’s economic activity.

“We will not be happy in just adding one coach or upgrading one station. We want both horizontal and vertical devel-opment of the railways. It can become the engine of Indian economy,” he added.

The government has already al-lowed 100 per cent foreign direct in-vestment to completely modernise the railway transportation in the country, he said.

Modi said the government has de-cided to open four railway universi-ties in the four corners of the country where all aspects of railway service will be taught.

He said railway can be a mode of eco-friendly mass transportation, which will be India’s contribution to contain global warming.

Talking about connectivity to northeast, Modi said: “Infrastructure is the most important factor to develop northeast. If we want to develop India, we have to develop northeast.” l

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou casts his votes in the local elections including Taipei mayor in Taipei, yesterday AP

Answer the real question, minister

The education minister has � oated the idea of blocking mobile phones and social media networks such as Facebook as a way to stop cheating in exams by blocking the

advance dissemination of questions.If this was merely a catchy way to

grab headlines and demonstrate the earnestness of the government in clamping down on exam cheats, it might have been tolerable.

However, the minister, who has formed a 25-member committee headed by an additional secretary to supervise public examinations, has reportedly asked the BTCL to determine if this proposal could actually be implemented legally.

This is an appalling waste of time and e� ort, as the idea is clearly both objectionable and unworkable.

It should go without saying that if sealed exam papers are being copied and stolen, then the priority has to be for the ministry and law enforcers to catch the culprits responsible and to implement more watertight security measures.

The very idea that blocking phone networks and Facebook might be an appropriate way to stop exam cheats is so outlandish that it raises doubts about the quality of the advice that the minister is receiving. It ignores the fact that stolen questions can be photocopied and that other even more technologically connected countries manage to keep papers secure perfectly well.

It is inconceivable that gross interference in basic means of communications would not do more harm than good, even if it were practical.

By espousing such a bad idea, the minister only gives comfort to perpetrators. F for fail, try again.

Jaywalking drive can only go so far

The ongoing police campaign against jaywalking is reportedly encouraging more pedestrians to use designated crossings and footbridges.

However, there are obvious limits to how much further bene� t can be derived from this process.

Jaywalking is a symptom of the city’s highly dysfunctional tra� c system, not the cause. Even if 100% of the public were now to desist from jaywalking in the future, our roads would still be congested.

It is the acceptance that bad and reckless driving is normal on the country’s roads which makes it hard for authorities to manage tra� c properly. Studies show that bad drivers, not pedestrians are the main reason for the many thousands of avoidable accidents and fatalities seen on the country’s roads every year.

It is willfully naive to suggest as some authorities have claimed, that this high pro� le drive against jaywalking will make much di� erence to improving public safety.

Millions of people on foot still have to be able to safely use designated tra� c crossings at intersections and tra� c lights, but are routinely prevented from doing so by the antisocial behaviour of many drivers who habitually breach tra� c rules.

Pedestrians are left to take unnecessary daily risks simply to get across roads where they should have right of way.

Clearly much action needs to be taken to improve public transport to get our cities moving. However, if we are to make any meaningful di� erence to reducing accidents and congestion, educating vehicle users and owners needs to be the top priority, not scapegoating pedestrians.

Families demand illegal migrants’ returnNovember 24

Sayeeda AhmadThere are a great number of such stories of many other families who are facing similar heartbreaks, of not seeing their families for years; of brothers, fathers, sons, and husbands who are unable to come back to Bangladesh. It’s heartbreaking for sure, but beyond that, when’s it going to stop? Makes me lose faith altogether in humanity, that we are so cruel and so pow-er-hungry that we can expect only to use and be used, and thrown away when needed.

Do not enterNovember 13

Zero-AgendaSegregation is a time-honoured tradition among us Bangladeshis … but it doesn’t have to be.

31 foreigners held in cityNovember 14

roseThe law enforcement agencies did the right thing by discovering those foreign nationals

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Dry, of champagne (3)3 Of a metre (6)8 Summit (4)9 Old cloth measure (3)10 Easy to understand (6)11 Call for help (6)14 Brilliance of success (5)17 Woo (5)20 Vent (6)24 Decisive stage (6)26 Large cask (3)27 Prophet (4)28 Worried (coll) (6)29 Opener (3)

DOWN1 Long, detailed story (4)2 Fish (4)3 Table-shaped hill (4)4 Banishment (5)5 Drive back (5)6 Unwell (3)7 Split (5)12 Mild explosion (3)13 Self (3)15 Incision (3)16 Monkey (3)17 Religious denominations (5)18 Sheeplike (5)19 Clamour (5)21 Employed (4)22 Bird (4)23 Neat (4)25 Groove (3)

CROSSWORD

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

SUDOKU

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 7 represents K so � ll K every time the � gure 7 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appro-priate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

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US should set up tari� s for RMG standards fundNovember 16

Momoaswan“The commerce minister has rightly criticised the US ambassador in Dhaka this week for saying Bangladesh pays zero tari� s for RMG export to the US market. From his remarks, it appears the envoy was noting that it was buyers and their cus-tomers in the US who ultimately pay this money, so arguably the dispute was only semantic.”

I’m amazed the ambassador said what he said. He should have heard of the tari� s for standards idea by now. If he meant to say American policy is not to listen to the idea, then the WTO should be asked in.

Lalon Shah Momoaswan: I have a great deal of respect for Ambassador Mozena as a person, but I suspect he is saying what he is saying wearing his o� cial hat. And on that he seems to be playing with words, because it does not matter who exactly pays the tari� .

The end result is that our exports are su� ering, and ditto for the millions of factory workers, the bulk of them women. Governments are � ckle, they come and go, but the friendship between our nations is a separate thing. It is, therefore, not very prudent for the US to slap a discriminatory tari� on an aspiring nation, because the current government of Bangladesh is not exactly to her liking (I ascribe this to the latter, because the fac-tory owners lifted their games in the workplace health and safety area).

People have long memories – the hurt caused by the US administration during and in the immediate aftermath of our war of liberation is still fresh in our minds. But we are a pragmatic, forward-looking people, and today both of our people can marvel at the healthy depth and breadth of our bilateral relationship. In this spirit, the US should lift the GSP suspension without further delay.

If exam papers are being stolen, the priority has to be improving security measures. F for fail, try again

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Educating vehicle users and owners needs to be the top priority

True lies of climate changeNovember 15

mahmudul karimBangladeshis do not care about climate change, and all that you guys are doing is copying the Western world. You want to have food in your bellies and want to live like human beings. Do you not see that people in Dhaka sleep at night on the footpaths? Why don’t you write about that?

You are saying that climate change is a complex phenomenon, then how do you suggest we, who are obtuse, break the code? While writing, if you cannot put yourself in the shoes of the reader, than you have failed to reach your reader.

Dreampie mahmudul karim: Actually, a lot of Bangladeshis care about climate change since most of us are aware of the fact that our country is one of the most vulnerable to its e� ects.

Meeting our potentialNovember 15

nina malikWhat world do you live in? Only Bangladeshi guys do not help their wives with any chores. A couple of months ago, when the Japanese PM was in BD, do you know what his wife said as soon as she stepped out of the airport?? She said her husband, the PM himself, helps with a lot of the kitchen and household duties, like throwing out the trash, washing dishes, and doing laundry etc.

Why don’t you Bangladeshi guys learn from the Japanese? Some of you still want to live like feudal lords, and want the wife to do everything without any help from you. Get o� your lazy bottoms and start helping. How about starting to slim down and work on your own health � rst. And then there are those of you who still want Aishwarya Rai as your wife? Dream on, for she is taken.

World’s largest sel� e taken in Bangladesh

November 25

PR Crazy #Bangladesh #sel� e #record

Ehtesham SazzadYep, the largest ever sel� e in the record books !

Neon Saidi Why are people so silly!?! They really have nothing

better to do!

Roberta CharltonAnd it will win a second record for easiest to beat record ever. A footballer with a 16MP could beat

this at any Premier League match.

Dr Ahsan HabibAll these useless wastage of resources for silly

records. The one on the top of the list is our gov-ernment’s madness to arrange the highest number

of people to sing our national anthem.

DU Chhatra League must be brought under control

November 13

Snr Citizen“The reputation of the ruling party is at stake. BCL

has been given too many free passes already.”The DU admin and DU VC seem to be thorough-

ly blinded and politicised, and ready to please the regime. In doing so, education and the much-need-

ed conducive environment are the last things on their minds. My feeling sorry is too weak and shameful a statement for the destruction of DU.

n Fahmida Zaman

I once dreamed about and took pride in being a student of the University of Dhaka, an institution that con-

tributed to the language movement, the liberation war, and the democracy movement of the country. However, reading the claims of a certain party of “owning” the campus, I can’t help but worry about my younger sister as she prepares to start her dream journey in the university which was once known as “Oxford of the East.”

Having drastically di� erent expe-riences in my own universities, both in Bangladesh and the US, I asked a professor in Bangladesh about the di� erences between “student politics” in Bangladesh and abroad. He said: “What students in Bangladesh are involved in, what is known as student politics, was never the real student politics.”

Moreover, he stated: “The political student body should be involved in that institution’s activities, and they should bargain with the (university) authority to protect the students’ in-terests. But unfortunately, our student politics is nothing but an extension of national politics. They are not student politics at all.”

So I did my own research about such a student body, popularly known as student government or union. Cambridge University Students’ Union “represents all 22,000 undergradu-ate and postgraduate students at the University of Cambridge; works by bringing together students from all colleges and departments to campaign for positive change.”

The Associated Students of Stan-ford University “works to represent the interests, needs, and perspectives of Stanford students at every level of decision-making within the universi-ty.”

The Asian University for Women Student Government “represents and acts on behalf of the AUW student body to build a better community by creating a bridge of collaboration between the university administration and the student body, ensuring trans-parency and e� ectiveness of policies, and advocating for student voices.”

In contrast, the student political bodies in public universities in Bangla-desh do not serve the interests of the students at all. The top three student political groups of Bangladesh are the student wings of the Awami League, BNP, and Jamaat-e-Islami. Thus, students who are involved in politics in public higher education institutions primarily serve the interests of Bangla-desh’s national political parties. These parties have been involved in exten-sive instances of violence frequently throughout large public intuitions.

A piece in The Daily Star by a professor stated: “Since independence, only the University of Dhaka has seen an average of two students murdered every year, prompting suggestions to de-link ‘student politics’ from national politics.”

A group of Chhatra League men wrongly identi� ed a 24-year-old tailor named Biswajit Das to be an opposi-tion activist, and beat him to death in 2012. It was reported that the very same day that the Biswajit murder verdict was given, students of the same political a� liation had beaten up a non-political student at Dhaka University, suspecting he was from the opposition.

Moreover, it is now common for institutes of higher education to be closed during strikes caused by stu-dent politics. In any academic year, a minimum of 20 days is usually lost due to student political unrest.

The aforementioned incidents are just a glimpse of how out of control our student politics is. Would banning

student politics rid universities in Bangladesh of this situation?

Many tend to suggest so. But what do we ban? These student political groups are not formal bodies of the in-stitutions. Moreover, there is no legal ground to ban student politics because it is one’s political right, given by the constitution, to be able to engage in politics as they wish. Instead, we need to have fundamental changes regard-ing our own mechanisms for nurturing young politicians. And this has to be multi-dimensional.

Cutting ties with national par-ties and institutionally encouraging students to form student bodies that serve the interests of the students are the two most signi� cant steps that need to be taken by the institutions and political parties.

Additionally, educational institu-tions should be held responsible for strictly enforcing academic rules and regulations regarding class attendance, examinations, and participation in other academic or extra-curricular activities.

At the same time, the national political parties must resist recruiting students in educational institutions and putting students’ lives in jeopardy in order to serve the parties’ interests. If students are practicing leader-ship through di� erent activities and � nishing up their formal education in a timely manner, they will automat-ically be ready to take on leadership positions outside the campus.

Students of Bangladesh have played an important role in the severest moments of national interest and democratisation, such as the language movement in 1952, the liberation war in 1971, and the democracy movement in 1990. Yet, today’s student-run poli-tics within universities or such institu-tions are dominated by outside forces that do not speak for the students’ bene� t at all.

I am proud that my sister is going to go the most prestigious university in the country. But I pray for her and the thousands of others like her, so that their dreams are not smashed by and inhuman political interests. l

Fahmida Zaman is a freelance contributor.

11Op-Ed Sunday, November 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Zeeshan Hasan

Many people have a false perception of an ongoing “debate” regarding the dangers of global warming and

climate change. In particular, elected politicians intent on avoiding unpopu-lar carbon taxes and higher fuel prices continue to assert that the relevant scienti� c issues are doubtful.

Unfortunately, until now, the non-scientist public has been de-ceived by a large number of books and newspaper articles by misinformed “sceptics” of climate science who themselves have no understanding of the science involved.

Fortunately, a glimpse into the real world of climate science is available through Global Warming: Understand-ing the Forecast (Wiley, 2007) by David Archer, an ocean chemistry professor at the University of Chicago. Arch-er’s book is an introductory climate science text which aims to make the basics of climate science comprehen-sible to anyone with a high school background in science.

The basic science of how carbon dioxide emissions raise global tem-peratures is outlined by Archer. On the one hand, the Earth is constantly being heated by sunlight. On the other hand, the Earth is also cooled by loss of heat into space as infrared radiation. These two continuous mechanisms of heat gain and heat loss by the Earth result in a thermal equilibrium at the average global temperatures which we experience.

Heat gain from the sun is relatively constant, varying only slowly over

time; however, heat loss into space has been reduced signi� cantly by humans over the last century. Atmospheric “greenhouse gases” such as carbon dioxide have the property of ab-sorbing the infrared radiation which carries heat from the Earth into space, and thus reduce the cooling of the Earth. This e� ect of carbon dioxide is called the greenhouse e� ect; it was discovered over a century ago and is undisputed.

Since the industrial revolution, humans have been continuously burn-ing fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, and thus adding huge amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This has resulted in an increase of the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere from 320 parts per million in 1960 to about 400 parts per million today, or about 20%. This additional carbon dioxide functions like a blanket or greenhouse around the planet, slowing down loss of heat into space.

If the same amount of solar heat comes into the Earth, while simultane-ously heat loss from the Earth to space is reduced by additional carbon diox-ide, then the Earth has to get warmer.

At a higher temperature, the Earth’s heat loss by radiation into space increases, because hotter objects lose more heat through infrared radiation than cooler ones; and the planet once more reaches a stable temperature.

A good analogy to the above is a pot of food simmering on an oven above a low � ame; putting the lid on the pot does not change heat gain from the oven, but reduces heat loss through evaporation from the open pot and thus makes the food cook at a higher temperature. Our carbon dioxide emis-

sions are e� ectively putting a lid on the earth, making heat from the sun “cook” the planet at a higher temperature.

The question is whether a hotter, stable temperature of the globe would be one capable of sustaining human life as we know it. Climate scientists have evidence from ancient ocean sediments that increasing the level of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere can cause temperatures to rise. Such an event took place 55 million years ago, when thousands of billions of tons of greenhouses gases were released into the atmosphere (probably because of a peak in volcanic activity). This event is known as the Permian Eocene

Thermal Maximum (PETM). During the PETM, global average temperature rose by about 5 degrees celsius and 90% of life on the planet perished.

Such an increase in global average temperature today would have terrible consequences, rendering much of tropi-cal and sub-tropical Asia, Africa, Central America, and southern Europe too hot and dry for agriculture. The consequenc-es would be famine on a scale never seen before, and billions of deaths.

Dangerous global heating events like the PETM may seem distant and irrelevant. But as a comparison, burn-ing all the world’s known reserves of coal would release about 5,000 billion

tons of carbon dioxide, comparable to the surge in greenhouse gases which caused the PETM. Our current course is to exploit not only existing coal reserves but also oil and gas. So it is entirely within our power to destroy our planet.

Continuing our current policies of exploiting all fossil fuels available will literally ensure the end of the Earth as we know it. The only way to stop it is to keep fossil fuels in the ground and switch to solar, wind, or nuclear power, none of which emit carbon dioxide. This will require worldwide imposition of carbon taxes to raise fuel prices and make investment in

alternative energy feasible. The leaders of all countries need to

make some hard decisions, which they have failed to do in 20 years of climate negotiations. They will only do so now if the public demands it of them. The public needs to make their voices heard. l

Zeeshan Hasan is a director of Kazi Farms Group (www.kazifarms.com), Dhaka Tribune, and Sysnova IT (www.sysnova.com), which provides technical support for open source software. His other writings on global warming and climate change can be found at his blog, www.goodbyebangladesh.blogspot.com.

The real threat of global warming

Continuing our current policies of exploiting all fossil fuels available will literally ensure the end of the Earth as we know it

Today’s student-run politics are dominated by outside forces that do not speak for the students’ bene� t at all

n Saleh Md Arman

On Novermber 22, Dhaka Metro-politan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed announced

stern actions against pedestrians who crossed the roads without using an underpass or foot over-bridge.

The DMP planned to place a mobile court, which ranges from the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel junction to the Farmgate police box, for seven days starting from November 25. In this regard, the DMP has been engaging in an awareness campaign. If a jaywalker crosses that zone by not opting for an underpass and/or foot over-bridge he/she will eventually be penalised and will be have to serve a jail term of six months, along with paying a � ne of Tk200.

To be honest, it is a pragmatic step towards prohibiting passersby from crossing busy roads by taking enor-mous risks. Now, it is crucial to � nd out the exact factors which trigger them to act in this way. In my opinion, there are several possible causes which can lead to such actions.

The � rst factor is that foot over-bridges are not always available. Additionally, only a few underpasses are available throughout our cities, which is well below the required number.

The second factor is that people are reluctant about climbing the steps of a

foot over-bridge, which are at a height of almost 30 feet from our roads. The height is okay, as it takes into consid-eration the numerous double-decker buses and cargo-haulers which ply our roads and streets; but people, especial-ly kids and seniors, face di� culties in walking up to that height.

The third factor is that the under-passes and foot over-bridges are often occupied by miscreants and junkies. For this speci� c reason, people tend to opt out of these means, especially after dusk.

To persuade jaywalkers into using foot over-bridges and underpasses, a two-fold method of motivation is re-quired. One positive way of motivation can include the construction of more underpasses and foot over-bridges on the busier parts of our cities, installing more escalators (like the Banani over-bridge) and making sure over-bridges and underpasses are free from the clutches of muggers and dope-heads.

These could provide some much needed motivation into getting rid of people’s habits of crossing roads through moving vehicles. The negative method of motivation is of course by way of punishment and penalties. A jail provision is supererogatory, but it gets people scared, which ultimately prevents them from obeying the rules of tra� c willingly.

Apart from the provision of jail-

time and a � ne, the DMP can borrow certain ideas from the army, who employed the “murga” punishment, or ear-holding punishment (which usually consists of doing 20 squats), for violating tra� c rules, during the army-led regime.

The ideal combination of both posi-tive and negative methods of motivat-ing jaywalkers into using foot-over-bridges and underpasses will most de� nitely improve our tra� c-control systems.

Finally, people should be aware that they should extend their hands to the authorities concerned in order to maintain proper tra� c rules in our cities. People from all sectors should be invested in developing our tra� c infrastructure.

The DMP commissioner has urged corporate houses to contrib-ute � nancially in constructing more underpasses and installing escalators into foot over-bridges. Additionally, a group of law enforcers should be made available in the foot over-bridges and underpasses in order to ensure the safety of people from any unwant-ed incidents. An all-out e� ort is the demand of the day in ensuring proper and well-planned tra� c management in the urban areas of Bangladesh. l

Saleh Md Arman is an independent researcher.

Bad educationWalk the walk

MEHEDI HASAN

BIGSTOCK

12 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

Sport1413 Welbeck sinks Albion to ease pressure

McCullum, Williamson lead run-feast

14 Real Madrid hit out at Platini for Ballon d’Or comments

Did you know?Wilfried Bony

has scored more goals (18) than any other player in the Premier League so

far in 2014

Rony, Darboe send Sheikh Jamal to King’s Cup � naln Shishir Hoque

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s nev-er-say-die attitude powered them to the King’s Cup � nal as the Bangladesh giants sealed a dramatic late win to knock defending champions Manang Marshyangdi Club out of the tourna-ment in Thimphu, Bhutan yesterday.

The Bangladesh Premier Football League champions came back from a goal down to go 2-1 up with national striker Shakhawat Hossain Rony and Gambian mid� elder Landing Darboe scoring timely goals to upset the Nepal A-Division League champions.

Jamal toiled hard against Manang, who took the lead just before the hour mark, and the hard work eventually paid o� as national striker Rony hand-ed the Bangladesh out� t a lifeline in the dying minutes of the � rst semi� -nal to take the game to extra period at Changlimithang Stadium.

The result ensured Sheikh Jamal their third � nal in as many internation-al tournaments they have participated in. In 2011 they lifted the Safal Pokha-ra Cup in Nepal while earlier this year they � nished runners up against Kolk-ata Mohammedan SC in the historical IFA Shield in India. Jamal will face the winners of the second semi� nal to be played between Indian giants FC Pune and Mohun Bagan today.

Jamal made a bright start having created � ve scoring chances in the opening quarter of the game, but could not � nd the back of the net as either the shots were saved or were o� target.

Vaniel Sirin, who was handed a place in the starting XI for the � rst time at the expense of Wedson Anselme, dazzled past the Manang defence and the goalkeeper but his strike went inch-

es wide while Darboe followed with a long distance shot that � ew inches over the crosspiece.

Sirin’s on target long range shot was easily gripped by Bishal Shrestha in the 40th minute. Emeka Darlington had a weak strike inside the box that made no impact while Nasir Uddin’s open head-er that went wide summed up Jamal’s domination in the � rst half.

However, against the run of play Manang made the Bangladeshis pay for their pro� igacy as Cedric Aba tapped home the lead in the 55th minute from

Anil Gurung’s rebounder o� Hemel.The Nepalese were almost sneaking

away with the solitary goal but Rony pushed the game towards extra time as he equalised in the 85th minute follow-ing a counter-attack.

An upbeat Jamal made the most of their momentum as Darboe slotted home the decider in the � rst minute of the 30-minute extra time. The Bangla-desh giants, however, received a set-back in the � nal minute of the game as Sohel Rana was sent o� for his second yellow card in the game. l

Malaysian Gobinathan new hockey coach n Raihan Mahmood

In an extraordinary turn of events the Bangladesh Hockey Federation yester-day con� rmed appointing former Ma-laysian assistant coach K Gobinathan as the chief coach for Bangladesh in the Hockey World League Round Two in Singapore on Jan 17-25.

The appointment of Gobinathan, who will arrive at the capital today, means Mamunur Rashid, who was named as the national coach just cou-ple days back, will work as the Malay-sian’s deputy for two months until the end of the international tournament.

“I was approached and agreed to coach Bangladesh for two months for the World League. This will be a good opportunity for me to further my coaching career,” Gobinathan, who has assisted K Dharmaraj in many tour-naments, was quoted at a Malaysian hockey website.

The BHF earlier failed to land a for-eign coach after several attempts were made following the departure of Pa-kistani Naveed Alam who ended his 15-month stint on September 30 on

the back of a poor result in the Asian Games. The federation was linked with Indian Ajay Bansal for more than a month while they also were in talks with an Argentine coach for the Hockey World League.

The competing teams of the Hock-ey World League round 2 are Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Bangladesh, Oman, Ukraine and Poland.

Meanwhile the Men’s Junior AHF Cup comprising hosts Bangladesh, Chi-nese Taipei, Oman, Sri Lanka and Thai-land starts at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium today.

Sri Lanka will take on Chinese Taipei in the opening match of the eight-day event. In a press conference held at the Bangladesh Olympic Association’s Dutch-Bangla Bank auditorium yester-day, BHF unveiled Islami Bank Bangla-desh as the o� cial sponsor of the tour-nament who agreed to pay Tk5m.

Khwaja Rahmatullah, the general secretary of the federation, expressed his desire to see the team do well and said, “We hope that our hockey team will emerge champions in this event and qualify for the � nal round of the U-21 Asian Cup that will be held in Ma-laysia next year, from that tournament the top four teams will qualify for the U-21 Hockey World Cup 2016 in India and we hope to qualify for that as well.”

Meanwhile, head coach of the U-21s Rashid said he worked on the set piec-es, quick links between the defence and the mid� eld and the penalty corners and expects for a positive outcome.

“The overall team work is the motto of the team, we don’t rely on individu-als, we will rely on the teamwork,” said the former national defender who also said that Oman and Sri Lanka will be a barrier to his aspirations.

Skipper Sarwar Hossain echoed his mentor and said, “We want to show the true teamwork based in hockey, we have practised hard to top the group and we are ready to put our best.” l

Soumya added to roster for � fth ODIn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board yester-day announced a 14-member squad for the � fth and � nal ODI against Zimba-bwe scheduled for tomorrow in Mirpur. Seamer-allrounder Soumya Sarker is the only addition to the previous 13-man squad.

Ever since the Tigers secured the series in the third ODI last Wednesday,

the national selection panel has been looking to experiment keeping the 2015 ICC World Cup in mind. Having previ-ously tinkered with the batting order, the selectors are now mulling playing a pacer-allrounder as the conditions and pitches in Australia and New Zealand, co-hosts of the World Cup, will largely favour the express fast bowlers.

That is why Soumya comes in to the equation. Abul Hasan, another seam-er-allrounder, played the fourth ODI last Friday and the selectors are now thinking about playing Soumya in the � fth ODI tomorrow.

National selector and former cap-tain Habibul Bashar con� rmed the de-velopment saying they are trying new things ahead of the global showpiece event next year down under.

“We are looking for a pacer-all-rounder that is why we are trying out Soumya. These are just try-outs to be honest. Inclusion in this series does not necessarily mean that they have sealed a spot in the World Cup squad,” Bashar told Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Soumya’s inclusion, however, has thrown up a few questions. In his last seven domestic games, Soumya has only bowled in four and picked up just one wicket. While, with the bat, he has hardly impressed scoring 169 runs.

On top of that, many consider Ziaur Rahman and Farhad Reza to be bet-ter equipped than Soumya. Ziaur has bowled in all of his last six domestic games and took eight wickets in the process while Farhad has scalped four in as many games.

Only time will tell if Soumya justi-� es his inclusion, if he is indeed picked in the XI. And if he fails in his endeav-our, Ziaur and Farhad will be patiently waiting in the wings. l

Indo-BD Bangla Games next year n Raihan Mahmood

The upcoming edition of the Indo-Ban-gladesh Bangla Games will commence on April 2 next year in Dhaka. The date was � nalised yesterday in a joint meet-ing between the Bangladesh Olym-pic Association (BOA) and the Bengal Olympic Association at BOA house. The last edition of the bilateral games was held in 2010.

This time there will be 10 disciplines as usual – athletics, shooting, swim-ming, volleyball, boxing, badminton, kabaddi, football, weightlifting and gymnastics. Among the 11 disciplines, football will only feature the women. The games conclude on April 12.

Bengal Olympic Association presi-dent Ajit Bannerjee welcomed the ini-tiative. “The games was disrupted in the past few years but we are eager to revive the process. We are happy to see that the date has been � nalised. The games of friendship between two neighbour-ing countries should be undisrupted.”

BOA deputy secterary general Ashi-kur Rahman Miku, treasurer Kazi Raziv Uddin Ahmed Chapal and other o� -cials were also present on the occasion.

Bangladesh clinched 27 gold, 31 silver and 24 bronze medals in the third In-do-Bangladesh Bangla Games four years ago in Kolkata. Hosts West Bengal had topped the medal-list with 34 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals in the four-day event. Back then there were 10 dis-ciplines – athletics, badminton, basket-ball, football, judo, kho kho, swimming, shooting, gymnastics and kabaddi.

In the � rst edition of the Indo-Ban-gladesh Bangla Games in Kolkata in 2007, Bangladesh garnered 30 gold, 34 silver and 18 bronze medals from eight disciplines. In the second edition of the event in Dhaka six years ago, Bangla-desh secured 45 gold, 29 silver and 18 bronze medals from nine disciplines.l

Courageous Jubair dreams bign Mazhar Uddin

Following an impressive debut in the Test matches, Bangladesh’s � rst specialist leg-spinner Jubair Hossain proved his mettle once again, this time in the limited-over format. Having taken 11 wickets in three Tests against Zimbabwe, the 19-year old picked up two more on his ODI debut against the Southern African nation in the fourth match last Friday.

On his ODI debut, Jubair scalped 2/42 from his six overs and even though he proved to be expensive, he clean bowled Timycen Maruma for six. Later on he took the important scalp of Sol-

omon Mire just when the Zimbabwe-an batsman alongside Brendan Taylor were threatening to run away with the game with a 106-run stand for the fourth wicket chasing 257.

Jubair’s dismissal of Maruma earli-er was a thing of beauty. The cricketer from Jamalpur outfoxed the Zimba-bwean No 3 with a classical leg-spin-ner’s delivery that went on to crash the timber.

“I was glad to break the big partner-ship and I felt great despite giving away some runs. I managed to break the im-portant partnership. I have done my part which was to give a breakthrough for my side and I will always try to do

the same thing. My job is to give less runs and keep putting pressure on the opponent with my deliveries,” said an elated Jubair yesterday.

The youngster was smashed around for 13 runs in his opening over in 50-over cricket. Jubair, however, credited his senior teammates for giving him con� dence that enabled him to come back to the game.

“When the Zimbabwean batsmen were attacking me, the senior cricket-ers advised me to remain cool and told me to bowl as I usually do in the Dhaka [Premier Division Cricket] League. Ac-tually, I was a bit nervous after watch-ing the huge crowd but later it was all

good,” he added.And with the 2015 ICC World Cup

knocking at the door, the juvenile spinner is eyeing a place in the Tigers’ squad for the global showpiece event in Australia-New Zealand.

“It is always a dream for a cricketer to play in the World Cup and I am no exception. My job is to play well for my country and if the selectors think I am able enough to play in the World Cup only then can I play. But I will only prepare myself for the mega event af-ter the ongoing series � nishes. I will try to give my best in the premier league ahead of the World Cup,” said Jubair yesterday. l

Bangladesh leg-spinner Jubair Hossain celebrates one of his two wickets against Zimbabwe in the fourth ODI in Mirpur last Friday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sk Jamal mid� elder Landing Darboe (R) races forward to grab possession against Manang Marshyangdi in the King’s Cup semi� nal in Thimphu, Bhutan yesterday GOALNEPAL.COM

Mashrafe bin Mortaza (captain), Shakib al Hasan (vice-captain), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Mush� qur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Rubel Hossain, Jubair Hossain, Abul Hasan, Taijul Islam, Soumya Sarker

5TH ODI SQUAD

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 13Sunday, November 30, 2014

Ten Cricket12:00PMPakistan v New Zealand3rd Test, Day 4Star Sports 2Spanish La Liga5:00PMAtletico Madrid v Deportivo 10:00PMSevilla v Granada12:00AMCordoba v Villarreal2:00AMValencia v Barcelona7:30PMIndian Super LeagueKerala v ChennaiStar Sports 4 English Premier League7:30PMSouthampton v Man City10:00PMTottenham v EvertonStar Sports 1Italian Serie A11:00PMJuventus v Torino1:45AMRoma v Inter MilanSony SixRam Slam T20 1:45PM Dolphins v Lions05:45PM Warriors v Titans09:45PM Knights v Cape CobrasTen ActionFrench Ligue 1 10:00PM Evian Thonon v De Guingamp 2:00AM Saint-Etienne v Olympic LyonNeo PrimeGerman Bundesliga8:30PM Wolfsburg v Moenchengladbach 10:30PM Eintracht Frankfurt v Dortmund

DAY’S WATCH

Roy Keane leaves Aston Villa postFormer Manchester United captain Roy Keane has left his role as assistant manager of Aston Villa with immediate e� ect, he announced in a statement released by the club on Friday. The 43-year-old is also currently employed as the assistant to Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill and he ex-plained that juggling the two roles was proving too di� cult. “Ultimately, my roles with Villa and Ireland and combin-ing my commitment to these have be-come too much,” said Keane, who was employed by Villa in July to provide assistance to manager Paul Lambert. “It isn’t fair to either Villa or Ireland, so I’ve made this decision. I’d like to thank Paul for giving me a great opportunity to come to a brilliant football club. “I’ve really enjoyed my experiences at Villa and I wish the management team, the players, the supporters and the club nothing but the best going forward.” Keane’s announcement follows a period when the outspoken former mid� elder has regularly appeared in the news headlines. He released an explosive autobiography in October and was reportedly involved in an altercation with a member of the public outside the Ireland team hotel earlier this month.

–AFP

McIlroy implodes in Australian OpenWorld number one Rory McIlroy imploded at the Australian Open on Saturday and lies six shots o� leaders Jordan Spieth, Brett Rumford and Greg Chalmers going into the � nal round. US Masters runner-up Spieth (67-72-69) joined Rumford (70-69-69) and overnight leader Chalmers (71-66-71) in front at � ve-under par as The Australian course bared its teeth in windy conditions. Only eight players were under par after 54 holes in the tournament on a challenging day around the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout. World number three Adam Scott was well placed to go after his second national open title, lurking one shot behind the leaders with Rod Pampling after a two-under 69 to be on four-under for the championship. But McIlroy dropped six shots o� the pace after a horror round of � ve-over 76 and has it all to do to defend his Australian Open crown in Sunday’s � nal round. “The course is on a razor’s edge as they are trying to create a golf course that’s as unplayable as they can get it without it being so and it’s right on that point,” Rumford said.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

Dominant Sri Lanka crush Englandn AFP, Colombo

Hosts Sri Lanka outplayed woeful En-gland by eight wickets in the second one-day international in Colombo on Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in the sev-en-match series.

Unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis grabbed three for 33 as England were skittled for 185 in 43 overs after electing to bat in a match reduced to 45-overs-a-side because of bad weather.

The veteran duo of Kumar Sangak-kara (67 not out) and Mahela Jayawar-dene (77 not out) then put on 149 for the unbroken third wicket as Sri Lanka romped home with 10.4 overs to spare at the Premadasa stadium.

Sri Lanka had won the � rst game by 25 runs at the same venue on Wednes-day. The third match will be played in Hambantota on December 3.

Both teams wore black arm-bands and observed a minute’s silence before the start to mourn Australian batsman Phil Hughes, who died in Sydney on Thursday of head injuries sustained by a rising ball.

Bats and caps were displayed out-side the dressing rooms as a mark of respect and � ags � ew at half-mast over the stadium.

Ravi Bopara top-scored with 51 and Joe Root made 42, but just eight bound-aries were hit in the entire England innings as none of the other batsmen settled in. Root appeared in good form when he was trapped leg-before by Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews after Eoin Morgan fell to Thisara Perera for 17.

Bopara was dismissed in the 42nd over, caught at mid-wicket o� Mendis, as he attempted to push the scoring in the company of tailenders.

Sri Lanka lost both openers, Dilshan and Kusal Perera, by the eighth over with the total at 37 before Sangakkara and Jayawardene steadied the innings for the hosts. Left-handed Sangakkara smashed eight boundaries, including

the winning hit o� Harry Gurney over the bowler’s head. Jayawardene hit eight fours and a six.

The series is a build-up to the World Cup that will be played in Australia and New Zealand in February-March. l

Hughes funeral set for Wednesday, 1st Test against India postponedn Reuters, Sydney

Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes will be buried in his home town on Wednes-day, Cricket Australia said on Saturday, forcing the inde� nite postponement of the Test match against India which was scheduled to begin the following day.

Hughes, 25, died on Thursday as the result of a catastrophic injury he sustained when struck on the head by a ball during a domestic match, trigger-ing a wave of mourning in Australia and around the world.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said it would have been unreasonable to expect the play-ers to get the four-Test series underway

less than 24 hours after Hughes was laid to rest in Macksville, New South Wales.

“Their welfare is our absolute priori-ty. They are grieving and to expect that they could play a high-pressured, � ve-day Test match the following day is out of the question,” he said in a statement.

“We appreciate the incredible un-derstanding and support of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It has been nothing short of outstanding during these di� cult times.”

Ticket sales for the match at the Gab-ba in Brisbane had been suspended and a new date would be set after consul-tation with the BCCI, broadcasters and stadium o� cials, Sutherland added.

Australia captain Michael Clarke

earlier gave a graphic illustration of the raw emotions of the players when he broke down repeatedly while paying tribute to his friend.

Battling to hold back tears, he read out a statement on behalf of the players at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where Hughes su� ered his fatal injury on Tuesday.

Tributes continued to � ood in from around the world for Hughes and an indication of how deeply his death has a� ected his fellow professionals came in Sharjah, where Pakistan are hosting New Zealand in a Test.

The second Test had been post-poned for a day after Hughes died and there was no celebration of wickets or centuries when it resumed on Friday.

“The game was irrelevant at that stage, that was just a natural reaction by a group of people whose mind was elsewhere,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson told reporters in Sharjah.

“We didn’t bowl any bouncers and that was to show respect.”

Back in Australia, Hughes was not forgotten as Saturday morning cricket was played across the country in blaz-ing sunshine, as it has been for more than a century. Cricket Australia has encouraged teams at all levels to re-member Hughes and both the score he had accumulated when the fatal blow struck him, 63 not out, and his Test number, 408, were much in evidence on pitches around the country.l

McCullum, Williamson lead Kiwis run-feastn AFP, Sharjah

Brendon McCullum smashed a dou-ble-hundred but Kane Williamson missed his by eight runs as New Zea-land posted their highest total against Pakistan in the third Test in Sharjah on Saturday.

McCullum hit 188-ball 202 while Williamson made 192 as New Zealand closed the third day at 637-8 with a world record of 19 sixes to pulversie a hapless Pakistan.

That gave New Zealand a mammoth lead of 286 runs over Pakistan’s � rst innings total of 351, setting them up strongly for a series-levelling win.

Pakistan lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the � rst Test in Abu Dhabi by 248 runs and drawing the sec-ond in Dubai.

New Zealand surpassed Australia’s record of 17 sixes in a Test innings against Zimbabwe at Perth in 2003.

This also becomes the highest to-tal by New Zealand against Pakistan, beating the 563 they made at Hobart in 2003.

Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson and Tim Southee all made 50 each to enjoy a dominating day for their team.

In the morning McCullum became one of only four batsmen to score three double-hundreds in a year.

The New Zealand skipper also creat-ed a new second-wicket record for New Zealand in all Test cricket of 297 with Williamson.

McCullum jumped out of his

crease to hit Shah over the stadium roof at long-on for his 11th six to com-plete his double-hundred o� just 186 deliveries.

Michael Clarke (four scores of over 200 in 2012) Ricky Ponting (three in 2003) and Don Bradman (three in 1930) - all from Australia - are the only other players to have achieved the feat. l

‘Our dressing room will never be the same’n Cricinfo

Australia’s distraught captain Michael Clarke has spoken about Phillip Hughes on behalf of the national team, reveal-ing that his No. 64 ODI shirt will be re-tired out of respect for their departed friend and teammate.

Clarke spoke for around two and a half minutes, promising “I’ll do my best” and � ghting back tears with almost ev-ery sentence. During these moments it was di� cult to imagine the Australian team turning out for a Test match in Brisbane as soon as Thursday next week - Clarke’s predecessor Ricky Ponting has stated he does not think they can.

“Words cannot express how we feel as a team right now. To Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan, we share in the deep pain that you’re feeling,” Clarke said. “Apart from when he was at home on

the farm with his beloved cattle, Hugh-esy was at his happiest playing cricket for his country with his mates. Things were all put into perspective when Hughesy said ‘where else would you

rather be boys, but playing cricket for your country’.

“We’re going to miss that cheeky grin and that twinkle in his eye. He epitomised what the baggy green is about and what it means to us all. the world lost one of its great blokes this

week, and we are all poorer for it. Our promise to Hughesy’s family is that we will do everything we can to honour his memory. Last night I asked Cricket Australia if Hughesy’s Australian one day international shirt No. 64, could be retired, to which they agreed. That means so much.

“His legacy of trying to improve each and every day will drive us for the rest of our lives. We’d like to thank ev-eryone both here and overseas for the touching tributes to Hughesy in recent days. Our dressing room will never be the same. We loved him and always will. Rest in peace, Bruzzy.”

Clarke paused longest before utter-ing the words “our dressing room will never be the same”. Knowing this, Ponting has expressed his belief that the � rst Test against India should not go ahead as scheduled.l

Pietersen wants Cook to resign as ODI skippern AFP, London

Exiled England star Kevin Pietersen has called for Alastair Cook to resign as captain of his country’s one-day side after Saturday’s thrashing against Sri Lanka.

Pietersen was dropped from the squad by the England and Wales Crick-et board in February and the controver-sial batsman subsequently released an autobiography claiming the England dressing room had been beset by a bul-lying culture.

He tweeted: “Dear Alastair, if you care about England’s chances this win-ter, pls resign and just concentrate on Test cricket...#getHalesin”

Cook managed only 22 runs before being bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan.l

Pakistan 1st innings351 (Hafeez 197; M Craig 7-94)New Zealand 1st innings(Overnight 249-1)T. Latham c Ahmed b Rahat 13B. McCullum b Shah 202K. Williamson c Younis b Rahat 192R. Taylor c Younis b Shah 50C. Anderson c Shah b Rahat 50D. Vettori lbw b Rahat 15BJ Watling lbw b Hafeez 8M. Craig not out 34T. Southee c Talha b Shah 50Extras: (b2, lb7, nb6, w8) 23Total: (for 8 wkts; 130 overs) 637

Fall of wicket1-51 (Latham), 2-348 (McCullum), 3-464 (Taylor), 4-488 (Williamson), 5-528 (Vettori), 6-537 (Anderson), 7-546 (Watling), 8-637 (Southee)BowlingTalha 22-2-136-0 (6nb, 1w), Rahat 25-0-89-4 (2w), Babar 23-1-135-0, Shah 38-4-169-3, Hafeez 20-2-91-1 (5w), Ali 2-0-8-0

SCORECARD, DAY 3

New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson goes for a pull as Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed and teammate Younis Khan look on during the third day of their third and � nal Test at the Sharjah cricket stadium in Sharjah yesterday AFP

EnglandA. Cook c K. Perera b Dilshan 22M. Ali b Dilshan 2 I. Bell c T. Perera b Herath 11J. Root lbw b Mathews 42E. Morgan c Thirimanne b T. Perera 17R. Bopara c Mathews b A. Mendis 51J. Buttler b Prasad 7C. Woakes st Sangakkara b A. Mendis 15J. Tredwell not out 9S. Finn b A. Mendis 0H. Gurney b Prasad 1 Extras: (lb3, w3, nb2) 8 Total (all out, 43 overs) 185

Fall of wickets1-7 (Ali), 2-36 (Bell), 3-37 (Cook), 4-75 (Morgan), 5-117 (Root), 6-132 (Buttler), 7-173 (Woakes), 8-180 (Bopara), 9-180 (Finn), 10-185 (Gurney).BowlingMathews 6-0-23-1 (w2), Dilshan 9-0-32-2, Herath 9-0-40-1, A. Mendis 7-1-33-3 (w1), T. Perera 3-0-16-1, J. Mendis 5-0-22-0 (nb1), Prasad 4-0-16-2 (nb1).Sri LankaT. Dilshan c Woakes b Ali 26K. Perera c Bopara b Finn 9K. Sangakkara not out 67M. Jayawardene not out 77Extras: (lb3, w4) 7 Total (for 2 wickets, 34.2 overs) 186

Fall of wickets1-27 (K. Perera), 2-37 (Dilshan).BowlingFinn 6-1-35-1 (w1), Woakes 5-0-23-0, Ali 7-0-38-1 (w2), Gurney 5.2-0-32-0 (w1), Tredwell 9-0-47-0, Bopara 2-0-8-0

Sri Lanka won by eight wickets;lead 2-0 in seven-match series.

ENGvSL, 2ND ODI

Maria Sharapova (R) and Andy Murray of the Manila Mavericks hit a return to Kristina Mladenovic and Nenad Zimonjic of the UAE Royals during their mixed doubles match in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) competition in Manila on Friday REUTERS

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14 Sunday, November 30, 2014

Hull City’s Allan McGregor saves a header from Manchester United’s Netherlands striker Robin van Persie during their English Premier League match at Old Tra� ord, Manchester yesterday REUTERS

Barca target Valencia scalpn AFP, Madrid

A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona van-quished some early season doubts with back-to-back thrashings of Sevilla and APOEL Nicosia in the past week thanks to two hat-tricks from the Argentine as he became the all-time leading scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League.

Luis Enrique’s men are expected to face a tougher test on Sunday, though, when they travel to a Valencia side that are unbeaten at home so far this season.

Messi’s treble in Nicosia on Tuesday overshadowed Luis Suarez’s � rst goal for the club in a comfortable 4-0 win as the Catalans remained on the tails of Paris Saint-Germain for top spot in Group F.

Enrique was delighted with his side’s display in the Cypriot capital, claiming

this was the Barca side he “wanted to see for the rest of the season.”

The former Spanish international will also have the luxury of recalling Claudio Bravo, Sergio Busquets and Neymar to his starting line-up as they

were rested in midweek in preparation for the trip to Mestalla.

Valencia’s title aspirations have faltered in recent weeks as they were beaten 2-1 by local rivals Levante last weekend and held to a 0-0 draw by Athletic Bilbao last time out at home.l

Juve set for Turin derby, Roma host Intern AFP, Milan

Champions Juventus host Torino in the ‘Derby della Mole’ on Sunday looking to reinforce their lead over title rivals Roma, who host Inter Milan in what will be Roberto Mancini’s second game in charge of the Nerazzurri.

Following a morale-boosting Cham-pions League win over Malmo, Ju-ventus returned to Turin on a high on Thursday with renewed hope of quali-fying for the last 16 of the competition for the � rst time in two years.

Having won all � ve home games in Serie A this season, Massimiliano Al-legri’s side are expected to claim three points against a Torino side that was whistled o� the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico following a 1-0 home defeat to Sassuolo last week.

Indeed Torino’s last victory over the Bianconeri goes back to the 1994-95 season, when they beat their city rivals home (3-2) and away (2-1), and they last

hit the back of the Juventus net in Feb-ruary 2002 when the sides drew 2-2.

Since then Juventus have won 12 and drawn four Turin derbies and are like-ly to again deploy the 4-3-1-2 formation

that outclassed Lazio 3-0 away last week.Defender Simone Padoin, sent o�

for the � nal 20 minutes in Rome, sits out a one-match ban for Sunday allow-ing Patrice Evra to return to the fray.

Central defender Leonardo Bonucci has applauded the move away from a 3-5-2 tactical system which he believes has allowed Juve to spread their wings in Europe.

Roma will host Inter without Vasilis Torosidis (calf), who has joined a casu-alty list already missing fellow defend-ers Maicon, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Leandro Castan.

Rudi Garcia’s side could welcome back Dutch mid� elder Kevin Stroot-man, who came on as a late substitute away to CSKA Moscow in midweek but copped some of the blame for the Rus-sians’ last-gasp leveller.l

Robben goal helps Bayern storm 10 points clearn Reuters, Berlin

Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 courtesy of an Arjen Robben goal to stretch their lead at the top of

the table to 10 points and extend their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 16 games over two seasons.

The champions never hit top form but hardly needed to against a tooth-less Hertha who rarely ventured out of their half.

Dutchman Robben � red the ball in from 18 metres after a � rst-half � ick from Thomas Mueller as the Bavarians cruised to their 10th win in 13 league matches to bounce back from the mid-week Champions League defeat at Manchester City.

Fellow Champions League com-batants Bayer Leverkusen crushed Cologne 5-1 in the Rhine derby to join Wolfsburg on 23 points.

Schalke 04 bounced back from their 5-0 Champions League demolition by Chelsea on Tuesday, winning 4-1 against Mainz 05 with a hat-trick from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. l

Real Madrid hit out at Platini for Ballon d’Or commentsn AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid on Friday released a state-ment expressing their “surprise” at UEFA president Michel Platini after he suggested that a member of Germany’s World Cup-winning team should win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or for world player of the year in 2013 and has been widely tipped to retain the title for this year after his proli� c record in front of goal helped Madrid win the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

However, the 29-year-old forward had a disappointing World Cup with Portugal as his country were eliminat-ed in the group stage.

In a statement, Madrid expressed “surprise” at (Platini’s) repeated re-marks regarding his personal prefer-ences for who should win the Ballon d’Or, especially when he is at the head of the leading body in European foot-ball, where we understand that strict neutrality should always prevail.

“Secondly, the Ballon d’Or is an indi-vidual prize and not a collective one that is given every year to the best player in the world and we believe that, to main-tain its prestige, those who vote should take into account only the individual professional merits of the players.

“And � nally, we believe without doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo has had the best year of his professional career from an individual point of view, as well as winning the Champions League, the Golden Boot, setting the record for the leading scorer in a Champions League season, winning the Copa del Rey and being top scorer in the Spanish league.”

They added that he would be “de-serving more than ever of winning the Ballon d’Or.”

On Wednesday, Madrid-based sports daily AS reported Platini as saying that a German should win the prize.l

Southampton face City in top-four auditionn AFP, London

Southampton’s nascent quest for Champions League quali� cation faces an acid test over the next 10 days, be-ginning with Sunday’s visit of Premier League champions Manchester City.

The south-coast club have belied pre-season fears of a relegation bat-

tle following the sales of several key players by making their best start to a Premier League season and soaring to second place in the table.

Ronald Koeman’s side have won eight of their last 10 matches, only dropping points in a 1-0 defeat at Tot-

tenham Hotspur and last Monday’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

Boasting a defence that has con-ceded just six goals in 12 games -- � ve fewer than any other team -- they have emerged as the closest rivals to leaders Chelsea, who have a six-point advan-tage over Koeman’s men.

But City are only two points back in third place and with Southampton scheduled to visit Arsenal on Wednes-day before hosting Manchester United on December 8, their top-four creden-tials face a thorough examination.

“On Sunday we are playing against one of the teams that can win the title and we know that we have to play bet-ter than we did last Monday against As-ton Villa,” Koeman told his pre-match press conference. “But Southampton is not an easy team to play against and we will show that again.” l

Gunners, Reds back to winning ways Van Persie scores as United cruise past Hull, QPR and Hammers post winsn AFP, London

Danny Welbeck returned from injury to maintain Arsenal’s recent revival as the England striker sealed a 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion, while struggling Liv-erpool got back on track with a 1-0 vic-tory over Stoke on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal had been under pressure after successive Pre-mier League defeats condemned them to their worst start for 30 years, but a midweek victory over Borussia Dort-mund, which booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League, had lifted spirits at the north London club.

Welbeck missed that win due to hamstring and knee problems, but he was back at the Hawthorns to net his sixth goal for Arsenal, ending a run of six club matches without a goal for the former Manchester United forward

and giving the Gunners only their � fth league win of the season.

Welbeck won it on the hour when he met Santi Cazorla’s cross with a power-ful close-range header that Ben Foster could only help into the net.

Liverpool ended their three-match losing streak as Glen Johnson’s late goal clinched a hard-fought success against Stoke at An� eld.

Reds captain Steven Gerrard was dropped to the bench on the 16th an-niversary of his Liverpool debut and Brendan Rodgers’ side were lacklustre without him.

Stoke’s Bojan Krkic hit the wood-work in the second half, but Liverpool improved after Gerrard came on for the � nal 16 minutes and England right-back Johnson popped up with the winner in the 85th minute after Rickie Lambert’s header had hit the bar.

Robin van Persie scored only his fourth goal for Manchester United this

season as the hosts cruised to a 3-0 win over Hull at Old Tra� ord.

United’s injury problems continued early in the � rst half when Argentina mid� elder Angel di Maria was forced to come o� .

But Louis van Gaal’s side took the lead in the 16th minute as video tech-nology showed Chris Smalling’s scram-bled e� ort had crossed the line to give the much-maligned defender his � rst goal since December 2013.

West Ham leapfrogged Newcastle into � fth place with a 1-0 win at Upton Park.

Newcastle had climbed into the top � ve on the back of � ve successive league victories, but they fell behind in the 56th minute when Hammers left-back Aaron Cresswell turned in Cheikhou Kouyate’s miscued shot. l

Schalke’s Netherlands forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar (R) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during their German Bundesliga match against FSV Mainz 05 in Gelsenkirchen yesterday AP

LA LIGA Atletico Madrid v Deportivo Sevilla v Granada Cordoba v Villarreal Valencia v Barcelona

SERIE A Cagliari v Fiorentina Cesena v Genoa Empoli v Atalanta Milan v Udinese Palermo v Parma Juventus v Torino Roma v Inter

PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton v Man City Tottenham v Everton

RESULTSBurnley 1-1 Aston VillaDanny Ings 87-P Joe Cole 38

Liverpool 1-0 Stoke CityGlen Johnson 85

Man United 3-0 Hull CitySmalling 16, Rooney 42, van Persie 66

QPR 3-2 Leicester CityWes Morgan 37og, Cambiasso 4, Leroy Fer 45, Je� rey Schlupp 67 Charlie Austin 73

Swansea City 1-1 Crystal PalaceWilfried Bony 15 Mile Jedinak 25-P

West Ham 1-0 Newcastle Aaron Cresswell 56

West Brom 0-1 Arsenal Danny Welbeck 60

BUNDESLIGASchalke 04 4-1 Mainz 05Huntelaar 9, 25, 61, Okazaki 44Barnetta 54

Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 Cologne Bellarabi 26, 90+1, Lehmann 4-PCalhanoglu 61, Drmic 79, 88

Augsburg 3-1 HamburgHalil Altintop 50, Van der Vaart 45+1Bobadilla 62, Verhaegh 70-P

Hertha Berlin 0-1 Bayern Munich Robben 27

Werder Bremen 4-0 PaderbornJunuzovic 10, Selke 48, Bartels 50, Aycicek 80

Pele responding to care, still on dialysis: hospitaln AFP, Sao Paulo

Hospitalized Brazilian football legend Pele is doing better and responding to an-tibiotics, but still receiving an intensive kidney treatment for a urinary infection, the hospital treating him said Friday.

The 74-year-old star is “in improving clinical condition and continues receiv-ing treatment in the intensive care unit,” said the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, in its second update of the day.

“He continues receiving kidney sup-port treatment,” it said.

Pele has been undergoing hemodial-ysis, a procedure that involves � ltering a patient’s blood through an arti� cial kidney that cleans it before returning it to the body.

“The only bacteria identi� ed so far is responding to the antibiotics being used. No systematic infection has been identi� ed,” said the hospital, adding that he was “lucid” and breathing and eating on his own.

Pele, whose real name is Edson Ar-antes do Nascimento, is widely regard-ed as the greatest player of all time.

He was admitted to hospital Mon-day, diagnosed with a urinary infection and given intravenous antibiotics.

On Thursday, the hospital said he had been placed in intensive care after his condition became “clinically unsta-ble,” causing widespread alarm. But Pele insisted on social media that he was � ne and had simply been moved to another room for more privacy. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE Entertainment Sunday, November 30, 2014 15

Performing todayPandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, fluteChaurasia is an internation-ally renowned exponent of the bansuri, or bamboo � ute. By age 15, he was studying classical vocal music, but changed his fo-cus to the � ute after hearing a recital by Pandit Bhola-nath. He has become one of India’s most respected classical musicians, earning several prestigious awards like the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the Padma Vibhushan and the Na-tional Eminence.

Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, sarod

Still in their 30s, these brothers are considered two of the � nest sarod players today. Disciples of their father Amjad Ali Khan, they represent the seventh generation of a musical lineage known as the Senia Bangash School. Amaan and Ayaan have been per-

forming with their father since the early 1980s. The trio’s album Moksha was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005, and the brothers’ 2006 album Truth received a letter of appreciation from the Indian president. Their list of accomplishments also in-cludes performing at Carnegie Hall and the Kenne-dy Center in the US.

Kaushiki Chakrabarty, vocalistDaughter of vo-calist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty (who played at the festival on Thursday), Kau-shiki was initi-ated into vocal music by her mother Chan-dana Chakrabarty, but was later groomed by her father and guru. Her performances have fetched her many awards including: the Jadu Bhatta Award, the BBC award, the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, and the Mirchi Music Award for best female vocalist and album of the year in 2012.

Also performing (in order of appearance): Amit Chowdhury, Bharatnatyam dance l Swarup Hossain, tabla l Sameehan Kashalkar, vocalist l Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, sarod l Ganesh Rajagopalan, violin l Pandit Bhawani Shankar, pakhawaj

PANDIT SHIVKUMAR SHARMA: What’s happening here is historicn Rumana Habib

Credited with bringing the santoor to the world stage, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma’s name is so synonymous

with the Kashmiri folk instrument that even his o� cial website is called santoor.com.

The virtuoso is in Dhaka for the Bengal Classical Music Festival, where he per-formed last night, and heard his son and disciple Rahul Sharma perform the night before.

He granted us this interview yesterday afternoon the same way he does every-thing: graciously. He removed his shoes before sitting down to discuss his art, which he considers holy, and began hum-bly: “I’m very happy to be here playing for such a wonderful audience.”

That’s lovely. How does Bengal’s audience compare to others? I have been performing for more than 60 years, on � ve continents, and have been coming to Bangladesh for more than 10 years.

Then this was started by Mr Abul Khair, and I’ve come all three years that the festi-val has been held.

The way this festival is organised – the venue they have selected, the kind of au-dience, and the number of people who come and stay all night – this in itself is a

historic thing happening here. I haven’t seen this number of listen-

ers: such appreciative listeners and such a large number of young listeners. This is an answer to people who ask: What is the future of Indian classical music?

When I meet people here, they are so loving, so kind and so hungry for cultural activities. There are those who think clas-sical music may be lost. But when I come and play here, I don’t feel that at all.

Does the audience’s response influence your performance? Of course if the audience is receptive, that inspires me. But also, I don’t change my music according to the audience.

I play music the way I enjoy it, that way that gives me peace, happiness and bliss. I am there to share that bliss with my listen-ers. I am very grateful to the Almighty and my guru that people have accepted the way I play, and connect with my music.

When you play, you seem to become one with your instrument.For me, music is like prayer. It’s elevating my soul. I am not thinking at that point I am there to entertain 40,000 people. If the audience also connects with my music, with their own point of view, they will ex-perience something di� erent.

How do you get to that place? I’ve read that you meditate before you go on. I do. That is how I have been taught music. My guru was my father, who was a versa-tile musician, and a very spiritual person. He taught me from childhood that music and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. They are not separate.

I was born and brought up in Jammu and Kashmir, and I am also very in� u-enced by nature.

Have you had a chance to visit the Bangladesh countryside? We’re known for our beautiful rivers. I have not been beyond Dhaka, but I would

love to see Brahmanbaria, where Ustad Ali Akbar is from. He is one of the all-time greats of music and sarod. He and Baba Allauddin Khan are from Bangladesh. I’d love to go to the places they are from.

You know, the santoor and water have some connection. Many people say it sounds like � owing water.

And you brought the santoor into Indian classical music. Another way to say it is: It was divine pow-er. And that power chose me as a medium to get it done through me. I’m just a ser-vant of that power.

How do you maintain your spirituality amid celebrity?After each concert I play, people may come up and praise me sky-high, but I’m always thinking about where I could have done something better. That is the real me.

Do you know what raga you’re playing tonight?I enjoy not planning. It depends, who’s playing before me, and which raga that person sings. If I am playing solo, I might have some selections already in mind.

Sometimes the raga is in my mind but the composition is not. When I sit in the car going towards the venue, some idea comes to mind, some new phrases or com-positions, and I try it out while perform-ing. It’s very risky, but it’s coming from somewhere else, so that is how I try it.

What would you like your audience to know?There is no need to understand Indian classical music. People think unless you understand it, you cannot enjoy it.

Music is a universal language. Music brings people closer. Music is one way of creating friendship, peace, love and har-mony.

I am so blessed. Again I would like to thank the Bengal Foundation and Mr Abul Khair. That is what they are bringing here. A nd I salute them. l

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

With glitz and glamour, the � fth edi-tion of the much anticipated fashion show Pond’s Presents The Lustrous Runway, � nally arrived, and enchanted audiences at Radisson Water Garden Hotel on Friday.

This time the event featured seven prominent designers and fashion hous-es, both local and international, whose products were unique and diverse.

Shishir Al Hasan, the wife of the world’s number one all-rounder crick-eter Shakib Al Hasan, dazzled the audi-ence along with Bollywood diva Malai-ka Arora Khan by walking on the ramp.

The fashion line-up showcased at the country’s most illustrious fash-ion extravaganza, and included Sar-ah Karim, Purvi Doshi and Nawshion Khair.

Eminent Indian designer Purvi

Doshi’s new designs were basically a fusion of the richness and softness of Indian and western, while Sarah Karim highlighted the essence of the Mughal era by blending it with contemporary looks and designs, presented by the brand Esque. Winter attire by Nawsh-ion Khair blended jute and cotton, pre-sented by the brand Paera, which was a treat for the eyes.

A number of glamorous models, in-cluding Bangladeshi supermodel Emi, captivated the audience with exotic make-up and vibrant attire.

Kaaruj Bangladesh, Studio Oma-na, Sasha Exclusives, Nova Genuine Swarovski, Nuzat Nawar and Kimaya Design Studio presented collections of bags, jewellery and clothing.

Ponds was the title sponsor Co-sponsors were MasterCard, Gitan-jali Lifestyle, Jet Airways, Oriental Real Estate Limited and BMW. l

THE LUSTROUS RUNWAY enchants fashion lovers once again

Benny Dayal comes to Dhakan Entertainment Desk

Famous for the song “Badtameez Dil,” Indian singer Benny Dayal will perform live in Dhaka on December 18 at the Grand Ballroom of Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel. Originally from Kerala, Benny has worked as a playback singer with many noted composers including AR Rahman.

His popularity has grown steadily in the last few years with Bollywood hits like “Tarkeebein” (Band Baaja Baarat), “Daru Desi” (Cocktail), “Disco Deewane” (Student of the Year) and “Lat Lag Gayi” (Race 2). The segment will start at 7pm and will be followed by a fashion show. Tickets are available at Tk3,000 and Tk5,000 at Gitanjali Jewellers, Nando’s and BRAC Bank in the capital until December 14. l The Classical Music Academy gives an orchestra performance at the 13th Annual Asian Spinal Cord Network

Conference, held recently at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed MD FAHIM KAMAL

ExhibitionLife is HereBy Kanak Chanpa ChakmaTime: 12pm – 8pm, Bengal Art Lounge

Film German Movie NightThe Edge of HeavenTime: 6pm – 8pmGoethe Institut Bangladesh

Interstellar, Gone Girl, AnnabelleOnek Sadher Moyna, Into The StormBlockbuster Cinemas,Jamuna Future Park

Malaika Arora Khan Shishir Al Hasan Emi

PHO

TOS:

MA

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SSA

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Clockwise from top left: Guru Karaikudi Mani and his fellow percussionists enchant the crowd with their rendition of Carnatic music, while Rahul Sharma performs unique compositions on the santoor, and brothers Pandit Rajan Sharma and Pundit Sajan Mishra perform bilambit, tarana and drut khayal within a raga bhairav

S E C O N D D A Y ’ S P E R F O R M A N C E S

B E N G A L C L A S S I C A L M U S I C F E S T I V A L 2 0 1 4

Indian vocal ist Manjusha Patil-Kulkarni takes the stage last night on the third day of the festival at Army Stadium KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

Nigeria unrest: President Jonathan condemns mosque attackn BBC

The president of Nigeria has vowed “to leave no stone unturned” in tracking down the perpetrators of a mosque at-tack that killed at least 81 people.

Goodluck Jonathan urged the nation “to confront the common enemy” after the gun and bomb attack during Friday’s prayers in the northern city of Kano.

Hundreds of people were injured in an attack which o� cials say bears the hallmarks of Boko Haram militant group.

No-one has so far said that they car-ried out Friday’s assault.

Kano’s Central Mosque, where the attack took place, is where the in� u-ential Muslim leader, the emir of Kano, usually leads prayers.

He recently called for people to arm themselves against Boko Haram, so it is possible that this attack was in re-sponse to that call, says the BBC’s Will Ross in Abuja.

Boko Haram, a Sunni Islamist group, has been waging an insurgency in Nige-ria since 2009 and has killed more than 2,000 people this year, human rights groups say.

‘Helter-skelter’President Jonathan ordered the coun-try’s security services “to launch a full-scale investigation and to leave no stone unturned until all agents of terror undermining the right of every citizen to life and dignity are tracked down and brought to justice”.

He said Nigerians should “remain united to confront the common enemy”.

The government, he said, would “continue to take every step to put an end to the reprehensible acts.”

Reuters news agency counted 81 bod-ies in two separate mortuaries following the attack on the Central Mosque.

An AFP reporter at counted 92 bod-ies at the Murtala Mohammed Spe-cialist Hospital mortuary alone. Most victims were men or boys with blast injuries and severe burns.

Three bomb explosions were report-ed in and around the mosque. The at-tackers also shot at worshippers.

Some reports say the � rst bomb was hidden in a car which was driven straight into the worshippers.

One eyewitness told the BBC’s Fo-cus on Africa: “The imam was about to start prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force himself into the mosque. But when people stopped him, he detonated the explosions. Peo-ple started running helter-skelter.”

Several men then opened � re on the crowd, killing more people. Three of the gunmen were caught and killed on the spot, the BBC’s Will Ross reports.

BBC Hausa editor Mansur Liman said one witness at a local hospital had described the scenes there as being the most horrible he had ever seen.

Boko Haram carries out almost dai-ly attacks mostly in the north-east of the country. Also on Friday, the se-curity forces said they had foiled an attempt to attack worshippers in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, defus-ing six bombs planted in a mosque and a nearby market.

The militants were also behind the kidnapping of more than 200 school-girls from Chibok in Borno state this year, an act that sparked international outrage. l

Lives and livelihoods at risk on railway tracksn Adil Sakhawat

Jurain Rail Gate is as prone to accidents as ever despite a directive from the prime minister on October 23 to clear railway corridors of illegal squatters.

The railway corridor in the Jurain area of the capital is illegally occupied by shops and hawkers, but the track-side entrepreneurs say they have a right to run their businesses there be-cause they have leased the land from the Bangladesh Railway.

Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Railway Tafazzal Hossain said people were always trying to claim ownership of government-owned land to run their businesses.

A prominent signboard that reads, “Land Leased from Bangladesh Rail-way,” greets visitors to Jurain Rail Gate New Supermarket and Jurain Rail Gate Bazar, two marketplaces located on ei-ther side of the tracks.

Not too far away, a large, o� cial signboard, in Bangla, reads: “A min-imum of 20 feet of land must be kept free of establishments on either side of the railway track. In this space no marketplace, temporary shop, slum or hawker is allowed. If any is found, it will be punishable under section 112, 124, 125, 126, 127 of the Railway Act.”

It goes on to o� er this warning: “If any accident occurs because of an il-legal establishment, the responsibility will lie with the transgressor and under section 131 of Act, the transgressor will be arrested without an arrest warrant.”

In the shadow of this stern warning, some 500 vendors hawk their wares on the track’s access paths.

The modus operandi for the hawkers and their customers is to run to safety when the signalman’s whistle warns of an oncoming train and then carry on with business when the danger has passed.

But running for cover is a risky busi-ness practice. On September 11 an acci-dent at Karwan Bazar left four people including two women dead and several injured. After the incident at Karwan

Bazar, hawkers quit the tracks for a week as railway authorities began an eviction drive.

But they are back in force and their businesses are in full swing.

On September 13 railway authorities drove hawkers from the railway corri-dor at Jurain Rail Gate, but three days later in� uential local leaders and mar-ket committee leaders told the evicted hawkers it was okay to return.

“All the hawkers are back on the railway tracks running their risky busi-nesses like before,” said shop owner Amzad Hossain who has owned a shop in the Jurain Rail Gate New Super Mar-ket for the last 15 years.

A customer named Iqbal Hossain, who came to the bazar to buy vegeta-

bles and fruits, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The hawkers run their businesses in a very risky manner. The railway author-ities should evict them permanently and give them a safe space elsewhere.”

The presidents of the cooperative societies of the two marketplaces, Ab-dur Rahim and Solaiman Hossain, both said they had leased their respective plots of land for commercial use from Bangladesh Railway in 1979.

When asked whether it is legal to do business within 20 feet of the railway tracks, something which is clearly pro-hibited on the o� cial signboard, nei-ther o� ered any answer.

Solaiman said hawkers increased the chance of accidents, not shops in the markets. He demanded hawkers be

evicted from the tracks and rehabilitat-ed in other places.

When asked about claims that the land alongside the Jurain railway track was leased out, the Bangladesh Railway DG said: “It is true that Bangladesh Rail-way leased out the land commercially but it never gave permission to use the land within 20 feet of the tracks.”

“We will drive illegal establishments o� the Jurain railway track just as sim-ilar drives are being conducted on the Dhaka – Narayanganj line,” the DG said.

“First, we will look into the claims of the market committee presidents. Shops on land that was leased from Bangla-desh Railway will not be destroyed. But I say again: No establishment can remain within 20 feet of the railway tracks.” l

Rokeya: An inspiration for the disabledn Mohammad Abu Bakar

Siddique

Born with a hand completely numb she has never submitted herself to the wheel of fate, rather accepted her physical disability as a bliss and went on with life.

Not only has she fought tooth and nail to overcome ordeals in her life, she has also stood by those like her, who are unable to face life’s hurdles by themselves.

Undaunted, Rokeya Begum de� ed her physical hurdle. She passed SSC exam-ination in 1993 from Baghata Noor Aftab Adarsha Bidyapeeth and HSC in 1995 from Narsingndi Mohila College, now Narsingdi Sarkari Mohila College.

“After that I have had to do nothing for the next � ve years. My parents became worried. They married me o� for which they had to spend over Tk2,00,000. I was married to a small businessman from a neighbouring village,” she described.

But within a very short time his business su� ered a huge loss. “My family came to his rescue and gave him money to go abroad. He took the money and never came back.”

Rokey felt broken but has never conceded defeat. She joined a non-govern-

ment organisation –Spandan Pratibandhi Unnoyan Sangstha – that opened a branch at her village Baghata in Narsingdi.

The organisation works for the disabled, she said boasting that it is she who now leads the organisation in her locality.

“It was a great pleasure that they hand-ed me the responsibility,” she says.

According to Rokeya Begum, the rights of physically challenged are being violated all over the country. She said they were trying to build resistance against the human rights violation.

“We enlist the cases of the victims and then provide support with the help of the local government. The funds we get from

the government is insu� cient.”The biggest challenge is to enrol persons

with physical disabilities in schools, to get them working opportunities and bring them into the development process, she said.

To this end “we arrange training sessions so that they can be prepared themselves for the job market. We recommend them for certain jobs”. The organisation also holds seminars and do advocacies at the national level so that the windows of op-portunities for the disabled open up.

There was a time when the school au-thorities used to refuse taking the disabled but with the passage of time “we have managed to persuade them into enrolling the disabled to the mainstream education”.

Through the years of her involvement and activities, Rokeya has achieved a lead role at national level by working for disabled people, She is now a councillor of National Grassroots Disability Organisation and later became the vice-president of National Council of Disabled Women.

Her connectivity with people earned her a reputation among people which made her an elected Local Government (Union Pori-shad) member of Shilmandi Union Porishad of Narsingdi district. l

Capsized trawler traced, 26 missingn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

The Bangladesh Navy yesterday morn-ing traced the capsized trawler, FV Bandhan, after about 31 hours of the in-cident while as many as 26 members of the trawler crew still remain missing.

Family members of the missing members were found waiting at the AK Khan Ghat on the bank of Karnaphu-li to get information about their near and dear ones, at least the dead bodies. They were seen holding ID cards and photographs of their missing relatives.

Navy and ISPR o� cials told the Dhaka Tribune that they had traced the trawler using side-scan sonar machine about 52km northwest o� the coast of the Saint Martin’s Island around 10:45am.

Divers of Navy joined the rescue operation while BNS Shaikat, a rescue vessel, equipped with modern rescue gear, went to the spot to salvage the sunken vessel, said Navy o� cials.

Salvage operation was called o� around 11pm due to bad weather.

Besides this, navy ships BNS Samudro Joy, BNS Adamya, BNS Atondra, a mar-itime patrol aircraft and a helicopter are continuing their e� orts since the incident

took place around 3:15am on Friday, the Navy media cell in Chittagong said. Bang-ladesh Coast Guard rescue vessel CGS Tanvir was assisting the Navy team.

FV Bandhan, owned by Bengal Fish-eries Limited – a joint venture of AK Khan Group and Japan’s Maruha Nichiro Corporation, turned turtle about 30 nau-tical miles northwest o� the Saint Mar-tin’s Island with 29 crewmen on board.

It was hit by Singapore-bound mer-chant vessel Bashundhara 8, leaving a one dead and 26 missing. Two crew-men were found alive.

The deceased is Nasir Uddin, 40, while the rescued are Junior O� cer Sazib Hossain, 25, and crew Lovelu, 30. The body of Nasir was taken to Chit-tagong Medical College morgue. The two others were taken to private clinics for treatment at the company’s cost.

Sazib said: “My vessel was catching shrimps in the � shing zone in the Bay. I was on duty at the time of the incident when most of the crew members were asleep. Suddenly I noticed another vessel heading towards mine. Joined by other � shermen on the trawler I sig-nalled the merchant vessel to change course, but got no response.”

The clash left him unconscious. “I discovered myself in another trawler of our company, FV Joauthaudyam, by which we reached the city,” he said.

Blaming negligence of Bashundhara 8 for the incident, Lovelu said the other crew mmbers of the vessel could have been rescued, if the merchant vessel had not � ed.

He said: “I was awake when the inci-dent took place. I just ended talking to my family over the phone around 3am on Friday. I saw a bright light of another vessel...Nasir and I jumped into the sea while the trawler capsized completely within 10-20 minutes with all the other members asleep.

“Nasir was sleeping when I called him; so he could not swim properly. I helped him but he died within 30 min-utes of swimming. But I did not leave him. I, holding Nasir’s head, tried to re-main a� oat holding a bamboo. We were picked up by a wooden boat Shatabdi around 5am. Later, we were handed over to FV Joauthaudyam.”

FV Bandhan, one of four � shing ves-sels of the company, left the port on November 19. FV Joauthaudyam was few miles away from the spot. l

CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS PEACE ACCORD

PCJSS warns of movement from May 1 next year The non-cooperative movement could be violent. It depends on the situation, says Santu Larman Ahmed Zayeef

The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sangha-ti Samiti (PCJSS - Santu Larma faction) has threatened to launch a non-cooper-ation movement from May 1, next year, if the government fails to take e� ective steps to implement the CHT Peace Ac-cord 1997 by this time.

PCJSS Chairman Jyotirindria Bodh-ipriya Larma, known as Santu Larma, came up with the warning while ad-dressing a press conference at a hotel in the capital yesterday.

The press conference was organised to mark the 17th anniversary of the CHT peace accord, which was signed on December 2, 1997.

Reading out a six page keynote pa-per, Santu Larma said the government was not taking proper initiative to im-plement the accord.

“We have decided to launch a non-cooperative movement against the government from May 1, 2015, if it fails to take concrete steps to ensure the full implementation of the CHT Peace Accord 1997 within April 30,

2015,” he said. Terming the government’s claims

regarding its success in implementing the clauses of the peace accord as a lie, he said: “The government’s claims over

the success of implementing the deal is nothing but a sheer lie. It is giving false and confusing statements on the issue.”

He claimed that the government was violating the agreement by taking

some anti-agreement initiatives and by enacting laws which are adversarial to the indigenous communities.

“Violating the agreement, the gov-ernment amended three hill tracts dis-trict parishad law; enacted hill tracts development board law and also took initiative to establish a science and technology university as well as medi-cal college in Rangamati upon their one sided decision,” Santu Larma said.

“Many administrators and minis-ters, including the Prime Minister, have been saying that some 48 clauses of to-tal 72 of the peace accord have been im-plemented. Fifteen clauses have partly been implemented and nine clauses are on the way to be implemented, which are also not true,” he claimed.

The PCJSS chairman said: “The main issues of the accord have not been im-plemented.” Some two-third of total clauses in the accord are still unimple-mented, he claimed.

The overall situation of the hill tracts are very poor as the accord have not been implemented fully, he said.

Santu Larma said: “Militant groups

have recently increased their activities to foil the accord. They are attacking indigenous people one after another.”

“The incidents of grabbing lands of the indigenous people (Jumma) and evicting them from their lands are in-creasing day by day,” he claimed.

The PCJSS leader said: “A lots of indigenous family either have been forced to take shelter in new place or they are facing warning of eviction.”

“The main target the attacks is to uproot the indigenous people, and con-verting the non-Muslim dominated hill tracts into a Muslim dominated area,” he claimed.

Replying to a question, he said: “The non-cooperative movement could be violent. It depends on the situation.”

Pankaj Bhattacharya, president of Oikko Nap; Ushaton Talukder, parlia-ment member and vice president of PCJSS; Noman Ahmed Khan, executive director of IEED; Robindronath Soren, president of Jatiyo Adibashi Porishod; and Advocate Nilufar Banu, a human rights activist, also were also present on the occasion. l

PCJSS Chairman Santu Larma addresses a press conference to mark the 17th anniversary of the CHT peace accord at a hotel in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

A train rumbles down the tracks between vegetable stalls and grocery shops that carry out a brisk trade in the o� -limits area inside the railway corridor in the Jurain area of the capital. The picture was taken yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Man arrested who sacri� ced daughter for treasuren Our Correspondent, Natore

Police yesterday arrested the father who killed his three-month-old daugh-ter for a hidden treasure.

Nazmul Islam, a carpenter by pro-fession was arrested from a private clinic of Pabna-Hemayetpur area early Saturday and was taken under Barai-gram police custody.

Monirul Islam, O� cer-in-Charge of Baraigram police station said on se-cret information, a team of Baraigram police led by Sub-Inspector Sukomol made a raid at Surma clinic of Hemay-etpur at 3am.

At one stage of searching, police arrest-ed Nazmul, who was under treatment at the clinic.

Police will send him before the court today, the police o� cial said.

“The investigation is underway and police are trying to identify the mem-bers of the fake spiritual gang,”Nazmul killed his three-month-old daughter and tore up a copy of Qur’an while perform-ing a ritual in order to get “treasures” at Baraigram upazila in Natore on Friday.

The deceased, Nusrat Rukaiya, was drowned in a pond as per the instruc-tion of a fake spiritual leader.

Monjuwara, Nusrat’s mother, said her husband, Nazmul Islam, was a car-penter by profession.

Recently, he started following a fake spiritual leader, who instigated him to sacri� ce their daughter for hidden treasure.

Afterwards, Monjuwara lodged a case at the police station against her husband. l

A fake spiritual leader instigated him to sacri� ce the daughter for hidden treasure

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

www.dhakatribune.com/business SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

B3 India eases gold import rule in surprise move

B4 Oil plunges to new multi-year lows on OPEC decision

Regent airline to � y 13 more international routes

Tk260 a day housing loan plan on cards The housing minister spoke of the 20-year � nancing programme for the low income groupn Tribune Report

The government is planning to create long-term funding options for making housing facilities a� ordable for the lower income group of people.

“The daily payment to own an apart-ment under the arrangement would be Tk260 for a period of 20 years,” Hous-ing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said yesterday.

He said the government is also plan-ning to establish new township in rural areas so the people are discouraged to come to the cities, urging all not to de-stroy agriculture lands for the sake of urbanisation.

The minister was speaking at a sem-inar on “Housing for Public Welfare” arranged by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in the city yesterday.

He said building and high rise apart-ments are being built haphazardly in the city for lack of foresight among the urban planners.

Putting importance on adopting long-term development plan for mak-ing the city beautiful and livable, he said: “We should map out a plan for urbanisation like USA, UK and France which has made plan for 600 years.”

Mentioning the double-digit interest rate of housing loans in the country, he said almost all the countries in the world o� er 3% interest rate in housing sector.

“It might not always be easy for low and mid-income group of people of the country to access to loan as conditions in most cases not possible to meet. They are not loan defaulters like big business groups such as Hallmark, Bis-millah, Jubok and Destiny, as they pay back loans in due time.”

The minister called upon the banks

to lower interest rate on housing � nance with easy conditions so the poor people could have a roof over their head.

He urged the real estate developers to keep the size of � ats within 1,200 square feet to bring it within the pur-chasing capacity of low and mid-in-come group of people.

DCCI President Mohammad Shah-jahan Khan, chairing the seminar, said around 4.2 crore people lives in the cities

as per 2011 population census and pop-ulation growth in the urban areas is 5%.

“In line with this fact, civic facilities and infrastructure are not being con-structed, making the cities unlivable,” he said.

Housing problems have increased manifold for the rapid growth of our population. He informed that contri-bution of the housing sector to the GDP is 12-15%.

He urged the government to take necessary steps for gas, water connec-tion and electricity supply as well as � -nancial assistance and easing approval procedures for this industry.

Professor of North South University and economist Dr Nurul Amin, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Md Abul Quasem and Chairman of Rajdhani Un-nayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) Engr GM Jainal Abedin Bhuiya also spoke. l

Separate pay scales for BB, state banks likely from July nextn Asif Showkat Kallol

Separate pay scales for the employees of Bangladesh Bank and the four state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) are expected to be implemented from the beginning of the next � scal year.

A high o� cial of the Bank and Fi-nancial Institutions Division said, “We will examine the facilities which are supposed to be incorporated by the national pay commission under the eighth national pay scale for the gov-ernment sta� s.’’

“Banking division will re-adjust the salary structure of the separate pay scales before executing it in July in the next � scal,” said an o� cial.

Attending the recently held � fth meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on ministry of � nance, “We have already recommended executing a separate pay scale for the central bank and four other state- owned banks,” Ab-dul Razzaque, chairman of the standing committee on � nance ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The separate pay scale for sta� s of the state banks is needed for their com-petitiveness against the private com-mercial banks, despite announcement of the new national pay scale expected

to be implemented also from July next � scal year, he added.

Meanwhile, after a meeting with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President Wencai Zhang, Finance Min-ister AMA Muhith on Wednesday last had rea� rmed that the pay scale for the government sta� would come into e� ect from July 1 next year.

Although the Pay and Services Com-mission is scheduled to submit its � nal report to the government by December 15, it is set to hand over the report on December 10 this year.

Upon receiving the report, a secretary-level committee will then review the proposed recommendations and place it in the cabinet meeting, he added.

Separate pay scale for BB and the four state-owned banks are yet to be executed because of legal complexities.

However, the central bank and the state-owned banks had already secured the separate pay-scale clearance from the law and parliamentary a� air minis-try in the � rst week of March this year.

On 24 November, the government constituted the eighth pay and service commission to formulate a new pay structure for public servants. Moham-mad Farashuddin, former Bangladesh Bank governor, led the 17-member

commission. The committee com-prised of three full-time members, 12 part-timers and a member secretary.

Bangladesh Bank and the four state-owned banks have a total of 61,000 sta� s. Bangladesh Bank has 4,958 sta� s while Sonali Bank 23,363, Janata Bank 15,146, Agrani Bank 13,558 and Rupali Bank 4,293.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed the recommendations of the secretar-ies’ committee on separate pay scale on November 12 last year. Under the new 11-grade pay scale, which will replace the existing 20-grade pay structure, the basic salary for those in the lowest grade will be Tk6,000 and for the high-est grade will be Tk55,000. l

International info-tech conference in December n Tribune Report

A two-day international conference on computer and information technology will be held on December 22 and 23.

Da� odil International University will organise the event on its Ashulia cam-pus, to be attended by experts from 14 countries, the university authority said at a press conference yesterday.

It will be the 17th ICCIT summit and experts from the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Fezi, China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have already con� rmed their attendance.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak is expected to present as chief guest in the opening ceremony.

The participants from 28 countries have already submitted a total of 337 research papers, but select 100 of them will be presented in the event, along with four keynote papers.

Robi’s MD and CEO Supun Weeras-inghe said they are very excited to part-ner 17th conference to promote inno-vation and talent, which is “crucial to the telecommunication industry and national development.”

DIU chairman M Sabur Khan, vice chancellor Prof M Lutfar Rahman, and pro-vice chancellor Prof Md Golam Rah-man, among others, were present. l

Study: Most city dwellers do not a� ord to buy apartments n Tribune Report

Over 56% dwellers in Dhaka and Chit-tagong cities cannot a� ord to buy � ats, � nds a survey.

Lamudi.com.bd, an online market-place of houses, conducted the study on 1,200 � at buyers or renters and 300 real estate � rms both of the cities of the country.

The survey � ndings were revealed yesterday at “Lamudi Real Estate Sum-mit 2014,” organised jointly by Lamudi and Cityscape, a real estate company.

The summit was to discuss how real estate has changed over last one year in the emerging markets like Bangladesh and look 2015.

The survey showed those who have a� ordability purchase � ats for di� er-ent reasons. Most of them buy to be so-cially secured. Their percentage is 73.

There were 8.1% respondents who buy � ats only because they can a� ord it while 13.5% answered they bought � ats as they had � nancial supports from family or friends. There were 5.4% who purchased for other reasons.

Property market of Bangladesh con-tributes 15% to GDP, Lamudi said.

In the survey, 45% participants showed positive attitude to the Bangla-desh property market, 45% were neutral and 10% expressed concerns for future.

The report said 9.4% would not buy � ats despite a� ordability as they are concerned about fraudulence, 12.5% are decided not to buy for no cited rea-son and 21% have other di� erent rea-sons to avoid buying.

In the survey, 72% respondents said they regularly browse internet to buy

or rent a house while 18% do that infre-quently and 10% rarely.

Security matters come � rst in choos-ing � ats to buy or rent, then proximity to family and friends, local environ-ment and climate, lifestyle and cultural matters.

“We are working here together to grow the sector. 70% growth (in the sector) is expected from in emerging market,” said Rajesh Grover, co-found-er and managing director of Lamudi Bangladesh.

He said outlook of Bangladesh’s real estate sector is positive as the country experiences a rapid urbanisation.

Rajesh laid emphasis on knowl-edge on the future of real estate in the emerging markets. “We need to have knowledge about not only current but future clients also.”

Aftab Mahmud Khurshid, chief mar-keting o� cer of Super Star Group, said: “In a broader sense the property sector in Bangladesh needs positive brand image, nurturing the corporate culture and property management services for non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).”

Challenges for customers of real es-tate sector are credibility, mis-selling and misrepresentation, which need to be addressed properly, he said.

He urged the developers to provide best services to the customers and make a brand value through introduction of after-sale services for customers.

Abu Sayeed M Ahmed, president of Institute of Architect Bangladesh, em-phasised the need to transform Dhaka into an environment-friendly city. “We still have opportunity to do that.” l

An aerial view of Dhaka’s housing facility, which is considered to be expensive SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

‘Banking division will re-adjust the salary structure of the separate pay scales before executing it in July in the next � scal’

Government urged to adopt CSR law n Tribune Report

The government has been urged to adopt a policy on corporate social re-sponsibility (CSR) to ensure participa-tion of all sectors, including bank and � nancial institutions, and widen cov-erage of the service.

Speakers at an international confer-ence in Dhaka yesterday said the CSR should be backed by legislation to en-sure participation of all organisations in the society.

The observation came at the 3rd Social Responsibility Asia (SR Asia) In-ternational Conference on Responsible Business Conduct in Poverty Allevia-tion and Financial Inclusion through Green Banking and CSR held yesterday at Bangladesh Bank Training Academy in the capital.

SR Asia in association with CIRDAP and GIZ organised the two-day confer-ence, inaugurated by Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman.

SR Asia International Director Biren-dra Raturi cited India’s role in promot-ing the CSR activities.

He said India has already CSR laws and total annual � nancing for CSR ac-tivities is around Tk40,000 crore.

Some 7.5 crore poor people opened bank accounts in last four months after

the new Modi government took power, he said, adding that of the bank clients, 75% opened accounts with zero amount and 25% opened with deposits.

Mahfuzul observed that Bangladesh Bank has CSR guideline which is only for banks and � nancial institutions, but there are many sectors where the government has to come up with a pol-icy to involve them in CSR activities.

He suggested the government to compel the organisations by law to � -nance CSR.

Governor Atiur Rahman said the Ministry of Planning already started formulating a CSR policy as it is hold-ing discussion with the central bank in this regard.

Bangladesh Bank is also trying to � nd a strategy on CSR � nancing based on its existing guidelines, he said.

“We are going to bring change to monetary policy by increasing � nanc-ing for productive sectors as well as ag-riculture sector and green product.

The central bank is also going to build a green factory by its own � nancing within a couple of months, which will supply only green products, said Atiur.

“Why will not bank and � nancial institutions respond to people’s call when they get deposits from people?” the governor posed a question. l

n Tribune Report

A private airline operator, Regent Air-ways, will incorporate � ve aircraft in its its � eet and introduce � ights to 13 more international routes in upcoming two years.

“We have plan to invest Tk800 crore in extending our services,” said Mashruf Habib, managing director of the airways, while addressing a press conference on the occasion of 4th founding anniversary of the company at a city hotel yesterday.

Sam Issac, chief adviser, Er� an Haque, head of sales and Shuvra Kan-ti Sen Sarma, deputy general manager (Sales and Marketing) were, among oth-ers, present at the programme.

Three Boeing 737-800, each having 166 seats, and two Boeing 767-200, each having 265 seats, would be incorporated in the � eet of the airways, which would increase its seat capacity by 93% while the number of � ights of the operator

would reach 700 in a month.The company will introduce � ights

to new routes, including Nepal, Doha, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, the o� cials said, adding that it was highly likely about introduction of � ight on Dha-ka-Nepal-Dhaka route by next month.

The company, which initiated its journey on November 10, 2010, has of-fered a special discount on ticket price to passengers of six international routes, marking Regent’s 4th founding anniver-sary.

Tickets for Dhaka-Singapore-Dhaka route will be priced at Tk23,444, Dha-ka-Bangkok-Dhaka at Tk16,444, Dha-ka-Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka at Tk18,444, Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka at 7,444, Chit-tagong-Bangkok-Chittagong at Tk17,444 and Chittagong-Kolkata-Chittagong at Tk9,444 under the o� er.

Passengers will have to collect tickets by December 10 and use them by October 25, 2015 to avail themselves of the o� er. l

Regent Airways Managing Director Mashruf Habib addresses a press conference at a Chittagong hotel yesterday marking the airline’s 4th founding anniversary. The company’s Chief Adviser Sam Issac and Head of Sales Er� an Haque are also seen on the photo DHAKA TRIBUNE

B2 Stock Sunday, November 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

News, analysis and recent disclosersAGM/DividendBATBC: The Board of Directors of the Company has declared 100% (i.e. Tk. 10.00 per share of Tk. 10.00 each) interim cash dividend for the year ending on 31st December 2014. Record date for entitle-ment of interim dividend: 03.12.2014.BENGALWTL: The Board of Directors has recommended 23% cash dividend (except Sponsor Directors) for the year ended on June 30, 2014. The Sponsors Directors hold 64.90%, i.e. 4,90,66,560 shares of the Company and Public shareholders will get cash dividend of Tk. 6,10,26,912. Date of AGM: 28.12.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Bengal Multimedia Studio, 95/A, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208. Record Date: 02.12.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 3.05, NAV per share of Tk. 26.89 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.14 for the year ended on June 30, 2014 as against Tk. 3.16, Tk. 26.24 and Tk. 0.494 respectively for the year ended on June 30, 2013.ICB: The Board of Directors has rec-ommended 45% cash dividend (i.e. Tk. 45.00 per share of Tk. 100.00 each) for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 20.12.2014, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: "Jalshaghar", Hotel Purbani International Ltd., 1 Dilkusha C/A, Dhaka-1000. Record Date: 03.12.2014. The Corporation has reported consolidated net pro� t after tax of Tk. 3,605.80 million, consolidated EPS of Tk. 85.47, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 730.76 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. 323.34 for the year ended on June 30, 2014 as against Tk. 3,288.60 million, Tk. 77.95,

Tk. 607.74 and Tk. 368.92 respectively for the year ended on June 30, 2013. The Cor-poration has also reported net pro� t after tax of Tk. 3,105.10 million, EPS of Tk. 73.60, NAV per share of Tk. 614.97 and NOCFPS of Tk. 288.15 for the year ended on June 30, 2014 as against Tk. 2,479.10 million, Tk. 58.76, Tk. 500.63 and Tk. 360.79 respec-tively for the year ended on June 30, 2013.BATASHOE: The Company has declared 175% interim cash dividend for the year ending on December 31, 2014 after con-sidering the performance of the Company from January 01, 2014 to September 30, 2014 and the retained earnings up to December 31, 2013. Record Date for enti-tlement of interim dividend: 04.12.2014.

Audited/unaudited Financial Reports:RAHIMAFOOD: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 30th September 2014 (July'14 to Sep'14), the Company has reported net pro� t/(loss) after tax of Tk. (2.08) million with EPS of Tk. (0.10) as against Tk. (4.81) million and Tk. (0.24) respectively for the same period of the previous year. Accumu-lated pro� t/(loss) of the Company was Tk. (139.59) million as on 30.09.2014.WMSHIPYARD: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 30th September 2014 (July'14 to Sep'14), the Company has reported net pro� t after tax of Tk. 54.19 million with basic EPS of Tk. 0.49 as against Tk. 32.75 million and Tk. 0.51 respectively for the

same period of the previous year. Howev-er, considering proposed bonus share @ 10% for the year 2014, restated basic EPS will be 0.45 as on 30.09.2014 and Tk. 0.43 as on 30.09.2013.MPETROLEUM: (Q1): As per un-audited quarterly accounts for the 1st quarter ended on 30th September 2014 (July'14 to Sep'14), the Company has reported net pro� t after tax of Tk. 634.16 million with basic EPS of Tk. 6.45 as against Tk. 616.74 million and Tk. 6.27 respectively for the same period of the previous year. However, considering pro-posed bonus share @ 10% for the year 2014, restated basic EPS will be Tk. 5.86 as on 30.09.2014 and Tk. 5.70 as on 30.09.2013.

Fixed Assets/Right/Investment:ACTIVEFINE: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Compa-ny has decided to purchase a land mea-suring area of 26.51 decimals at Shoilmary, Botiaghata, Khulna, total value amounting to Tk. 26,51,000/- excluding registration and other related expenses.

Credit Rating:RAHIMTEXT: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated the Company as "A" in the long term and "ST-3" in the short term along with a stable out-look based on audited � nancial statements of the Company up to June 30, 2014, unaudited � nancials up to September 30, 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

Stocks under selling pressure for 4th weekn Tribune Report

Stocks remained under selling pres-sure for the fourth consecutive week with both index and turnover falling to their lowest in recent months.

Dealers said investors, even in-stitutional and big individual play-ers, stayed on the sidelines in fear of further losses and also ahead of year-end closing when institutions realigned their portfolios.

In the past week that ended Thursday, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, closed at 4,772, plunging 127 points or 2.6%.

The comprising blue chips DS30 index lost 54 points or 3% to 1,761.

The DSE Shariah Index fell 39 points or 3.4% to 1,106.

The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also saw steep decline with its Selective Categories Index, CSCX, was down 301 points or 3% to settle at 8,952.

The market’s participation dropped sharply and the week’s to-tal turnover plummeted to Tk163 crore against previous week’s Tk313 crore.

The weeks’ daily average turn-over was Tk325 crore, registering a decline of 48% over the previous week’s average of Tk627 crore.

Investors gave concentration on mainly stocks like pharma, power and engineering hat that account-ed for 16.6% of the week’s total and 14.9% of the week’s daily average turnover.

IDLC Investments said investors tried to save whatever little gain

they had in the last rally and in the process further pulled down the in-dex.

It said fresh fund injection al-most came to a halt as investors fear further correction. The benchmark index broke 4,800 points support level as frustrated investors tried to escape the downfall, it said.

LankaBangla Securities said the benchmark index observed another week of correction as investors seem to be acting cautiously.

The steep decline in turnover last week showed lack of investors’ par-ticipation at this price level, it said, adding that market needs some con-solidation at this level for reversal. The next support level for the mar-ket is around 4,700-level.

All the major sectors yield nega-tive returns last week, except food and allied, which witnessed margin-al appreciation of 0.22%.

Fuel and power registered the week’s highest losses, shedding 7%, followed by telecommunication at 6%.

Non-banks, pharmaceuticals and banks also lost almost 4%, 2.6% and 0.8% respectively.

Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 316 issues traded, 244 declined, 48 advanced and 24 remained unchanged on the DSE.

Western Marine Shipyard dom-inated the week’s top turnoverchart, with shares worth Tk72 crore changing hands followed by Jamuna Oil, Lafarge Surma Cement, Beximco Pharma and Khan Brokers PP Woven Bag. l

CSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Mithun Knitting -A -25.69 -23.65 70.43 69.70 78.00 69.00 0.647 3.40 20.7Prime Islami Life -A -24.86 -23.93 65.01 65.00 68.30 65.00 0.026 4.95 13.1WesternMarine -N -22.25 -23.11 57.77 58.00 70.50 56.40 116.740 1.80 32.1Khulna Printing-N -18.62 -19.61 23.70 23.60 28.50 22.90 15.599 2.60 9.1Shurwid Ind. -N -17.72 -17.59 34.11 33.90 37.80 33.70 14.262 0.76 44.9Dacca Dyeing-A -17.03 -16.71 15.20 15.10 17.70 15.00 5.615 1.04 14.6Khan Brothers-N -16.21 -15.71 50.11 49.10 60.10 48.50 88.059 1.36 36.8Usmania Glass -A -15.73 -17.29 118.56 120.00 132.00 116.40 0.895 0.52 228.0LR Global BD MF1-A -12.73 -13.51 4.80 4.80 5.40 4.80 2.337 0.69 7.0Emerald Oil Ind. -N -12.47 -11.95 38.70 38.60 42.00 38.60 1.848 2.56 15.1

DSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Mithun Knitting -A -23.72 -23.72 70.46 70.10 79.90 69.00 15.489 3.40 20.7WesternMarine -N -21.91 -23.12 57.88 58.10 70.40 56.50 723.870 1.80 32.2Kohinoor Chem -A -21.56 -22.34 350.49 351.80 433.90 320.10 5.095 10.40 33.7National Tubes -A -20.71 -20.87 113.74 113.70 133.50 112.00 31.430 1.24 91.7Prime Islami Life -A -20.45 -20.37 67.78 67.70 74.10 66.00 2.731 4.95 13.7Khulna Printing-N -19.31 -20.29 23.69 23.40 30.00 23.00 123.656 2.60 9.1Shurwid Ind. -N -18.16 -18.08 33.98 33.80 37.30 33.70 79.791 0.76 44.7Shahjibazar Power-N -17.65 -8.51 258.19 232.40 276.00 214.60 121.581 9.00 28.7Khan Brothers-N -17.18 -16.49 49.95 48.70 60.00 48.30 501.365 1.36 36.7LR Global BD MF1-A -15.79 -16.46 4.77 4.80 5.70 4.70 14.195 0.69 6.9

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

WesternMarine -N 1,857,400 116.74 9.16 58.00 -22.25 74.60 70.50 56.40 57.77Khan Brothers-N 1,633,500 88.06 6.91 49.10 -16.21 58.60 60.10 48.50 50.11BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 1,772,525 70.27 5.51 39.90 2.05 39.10 40.90 37.50 39.77LafargeS Cement-Z 438,000 48.76 3.83 109.70 -4.53 114.90 120.00 106.00 109.97R. N. Spinning-Z 1,458,750 40.04 3.14 28.00 17.65 23.80 30.50 24.00 28.18SAIF Powertec-N 423,000 30.53 2.40 71.70 -0.55 72.10 77.80 67.10 71.22Grameenphone-A 91,800 29.70 2.33 312.70 -6.35 333.90 339.00 312.00 313.67Square Pharma -A 90,813 23.02 1.81 251.30 -3.64 260.80 260.00 250.00 251.37Jamuna Oil -A 88,848 22.29 1.75 249.50 -5.28 263.40 263.00 240.00 246.00MJL BD Ltd.-A 176,122 22.28 1.75 120.60 -8.84 132.30 132.00 112.60 121.56

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

WesternMarine -N 11,500,500 723.87 4.45 58.10 -21.91 74.40 70.40 56.50 57.88Jamuna Oil -A 2,399,086 608.65 3.74 249.30 -5.28 263.20 265.70 235.00 248.88LafargeS Cement-Z 4,817,000 532.37 3.27 109.50 -4.70 114.90 119.00 104.40 110.14Beximco Pharma -A 8,297,167 518.47 3.19 61.90 0.00 61.90 65.00 55.00 62.29Khan Brothers-N 9,282,000 501.37 3.08 48.70 -17.18 58.80 60.00 48.30 49.95BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 12,551,151 498.78 3.07 39.90 2.57 38.90 41.10 35.00 39.84Grameenphone-A 1,470,608 468.84 2.88 313.00 -6.29 334.00 340.00 310.00 313.35Square Pharma -A 1,731,693 439.26 2.70 250.90 -3.57 260.20 262.00 230.00 251.59Keya Cosmetics -A 13,401,243 376.88 2.32 29.10 5.82 27.50 29.50 25.00 28.75Barakatullah E. D.-A 9,588,896 355.18 2.18 35.30 -10.18 39.30 40.20 32.80 35.34

CSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

R. N. Spinning-Z 17.65 18.30 28.18 28.00 30.50 24.00 40.041 2.19 12.9Alltex Industries -Z 12.11 9.94 21.23 21.30 22.40 17.20 8.097 3.28 6.5Midas Financing-Z 9.63 9.63 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 0.007 -7.00 -veFareast Finance-Z 7.69 8.06 13.95 14.00 14.70 12.70 5.166 1.08 12.9SummitAlliancePort.-A 7.61 3.64 68.02 69.30 69.50 60.00 21.778 0.88 77.3Prime Insur -A 7.50 7.50 21.50 21.50 21.50 21.50 0.005 1.81 11.9Keya Cosmetics -A 5.45 4.92 28.79 29.00 29.30 25.00 20.619 1.93 14.9Nitol Insurance -A 4.46 4.63 32.80 32.80 32.80 29.50 0.487 2.79 11.8GSP Finance-A 3.74 4.60 30.47 30.50 31.40 26.80 4.110 1.59 19.2UCBL - A 2.84 3.10 28.92 29.00 29.30 26.00 17.468 3.77 7.7

DSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

R. N. Spinning-Z 18.14 19.54 28.45 28.00 30.80 22.00 253.106 2.19 13.0Midas Financing-Z 12.23 11.75 15.60 15.60 16.00 13.10 1.222 -7.00 -veMonno Sta� lers -A 11.02 11.87 334.05 330.40 342.00 286.10 17.211 1.17 285.5Alltex Industries -Z 10.05 8.07 21.15 20.80 22.10 17.20 61.676 3.28 6.4Fareast Finance-Z 8.53 8.40 14.06 14.00 14.50 12.90 30.079 1.08 13.01st ICB M F -A 7.52 7.53 1,027.69 1,027.60 1,040.00 951.00 2.545 45.56 22.6SummitAlliancePort.-A 6.80 5.17 68.17 69.10 69.70 58.00 210.762 0.88 77.5United Insur -A 6.40 6.48 36.67 36.60 40.00 33.00 0.628 2.91 12.6Keya Cosmetics -A 5.82 4.97 28.75 29.10 29.50 25.00 376.879 1.93 14.93rd ICB M F-A 5.18 4.78 237.50 237.60 238.00 226.00 1.597 65.28 3.6

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 1461.37 8.98 92.58 6.57 1553.96 8.79NBFI 946.03 5.81 45.61 3.24 991.64 5.61Investment 147.14 0.90 19.85 1.41 166.99 0.94Engineering 2426.85 14.91 242.34 17.20 2669.19 15.10Food & Allied 556.32 3.42 37.63 2.67 593.95 3.36Fuel & Power 2625.58 16.13 151.52 10.76 2777.10 15.71Jute 96.02 0.59 0.00 0.00 96.02 0.54Textile 1312.24 8.06 166.23 11.80 1478.47 8.36Pharma & Chemical 2720.55 16.72 155.31 11.03 2875.87 16.26Paper & Packaging 130.29 0.80 55.23 3.92 185.51 1.05Service 528.43 3.25 54.12 3.84 582.55 3.29Leather 76.90 0.47 41.67 2.96 118.57 0.67Ceramic 102.33 0.63 14.30 1.01 116.63 0.66Cement 815.27 5.01 60.46 4.29 875.73 4.95Information Technology 106.27 0.65 9.09 0.65 115.35 0.65General Insurance 127.14 0.78 4.28 0.30 131.42 0.74Life Insurance 209.27 1.29 7.86 0.56 217.13 1.23Telecom 521.29 3.20 40.13 2.85 561.43 3.18Travel & Leisure 214.43 1.32 38.29 2.72 252.71 1.43Miscellaneous 1146.20 7.04 169.67 12.05 1315.87 7.44Debenture 3.22 0.02 2.49 0.18 5.71 0.03

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4772.55574 (-) 2.59% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1760.89915 (-) 2.96% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 14657.5500 (-) 3.20% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 12093.7601 (-) 2.47% ▼

CSE Selected Index : 8952.6280 (-) 3.26% ▼

DSE key features November 23-27, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

16,273.14

Turnover (Volume)

374,147,168

Number of Contract 390,468

Traded Issues 316

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

52

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

256

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,522.36

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.57

CSE key features November 23-27, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 1,293.50

Turnover (Volume) 37,172,345

Number of Contract 53,554

Traded Issues 253

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

32

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

217

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,419.83

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.33

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

The market’s participation dropped sharply and the week’s total turnover plummeted to Tk163 crore against previous week’s Tk313 crore

ANALYST

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

Brazil exits recession with Q3 growth of 0.1% n AFP

Brazil’s economy exited recession with growth of 0.1% in the third quarter, the government said Friday, a tepid result that is nevertheless welcome news for struggling President Dilma Rousse� .

The data came a day after Rousse� , who has battled to reignite growth in the world’s seventh-largest economy, named a new economic team featuring market-friendly bank executive Joa-quim Levy as � nance minister.

The � nance ministry welcomed the news, underlining that the industrial sector had posted growth of 1.7%.

“The economy has begun the pro-cess of returning to growth, albeit at a still-modest pace,” it said.

The services sector has also started to expand again, said the government statistics institute.

However, compared with the same period last year, GDP was still down 0.2% in the third quarter. Brazil’s econ-omy contracted by 0.2% in the � rst quarter and 0.6 percent in the second, o� cially entering recession.

The malaise forced Rousse� onto the defensive as she waged a hard-fought re-election battle last month.

Fending o� opponents’ attacks of her economic record with promises to take a new policy direction, she nar-rowly won a new four-year term, which starts in January.

The president is deeply unpopular with the business community and mar-kets, not least owing to heavy govern-ment intervention in economic policy.

Her government is also mired in a huge corruption scandal at state-owned oil giant Petrobras, which has already led to the arrests of a clutch of top busi-

nessmen amid claims that dozens of politicians, chie� y Rousse� allies, re-ceived massive kickbacks on contracts.

Levy’s appointment as � nance min-ister was a clear e� ort to woo back the con� dence of the � nancial community.

Nicknamed “Scissorhands” for his steely budgetary management, he was previously chief executive o� cer of Bradesco Asset Management (Bram), part of Brazil’s second-largest private bank.

Rousse� also named former dep-uty � nance minister Nelson Barbosa

as planning minister. Central bank chief Alexandre Tombini kept his post through the shake-up.

Levy, 53, a University of Chicago-trained economist, vowed Thursday to rein in the government’s books, while Tombini vowed to tackle in� ation, which is stubbornly hovering above the o� cial target ceiling of 6.5%.

‘Wait and see’Analysts downplayed the signi� cance of Friday’s growth � gure, saying any

real change in direction would depend on the new economic team.

“This � gure is practically � at. We can’t say it’s recovering, but we also can’t say it’s falling,” said Leandro Mar-tins, a consultant at Walpires Corretora in Sao Paulo.

“We have to wait and see what the new economic team is going to do go-ing forward,” he added.

Alex Agostini, chief economist at Austin Rating, said the data showed the “fragility” of the Brazilian economy. l

Despite OPEC blow, Venezuela says to push until oil at $100 n Reuters

Venezuela will keep campaigning un-til oil prices rebound to $100 per bar-rel, president Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday night after OPEC refused to cut output as the cash-strapped South American country had aggressively pushed for.

Saudi Arabia blocked calls from poorer members of the OPEC oil ex-porter group for production cuts to arrest a slide in global prices, sending benchmark crude plunging to a fresh four-year low of around $71.25.

The decision is a blow to Venezu-ela’s � ailing economy, widely believed to be in recession, and also highlights the country’s diminished in� uence in OPEC, which it helped found.

But Maduro said the country with the world’s largest crude reserves is undeterred.

“We didn’t achieve it for now, but we will and we will keep trying until oil prices are where they’re meant to be, around $100 per barrel,” he said at a military event, estimating the oil price slump had curbed Venezuela’s rev-enues by up to 40% .

To be sure, the country has an up-ward battle to win over the wealthy Gulf states that have made clear they are ready to ride out the weak prices.

The prospect of continued low oil prices, however, is disastrous for Ven-ezuela, which is grappling to pay debt arrears to private companies ranging from airlines to oil partners, � nance expensive social programs, and make major bond payments.

Earlier on Thursday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister and top OPEC rep-

resentative Rafael Ramirez vowed to maintain contact with OPEC and non-OPEC countries to monitor markets.

“We have agreed to work toward (price) stability and work to maintain contact with non-OPEC countries, which is very important,” he said in an interview with Latin American regional television station Telesur from Vienna,

referring to conversations with oil pro-ducers Mexico and Russia that are not part of the group.

But Ramirez’s comments were a far cry from the interview he gave Telesur earlier this month from Iran, one of several stops on his unsuccessful glob-al tour to shore up support for an OPEC cut.

Then, a con� dent-looking Ramirez, until September the country’s oil min-ister and head of state oil company PD-VSA, told Venezuelans a consensus for an output cut was in the works.

“The issue isn’t even the reduction but rather how much,” he had said. l

India eases gold import rule in surprise move n Reuters, Mumbai

India has scrapped a rule mandating traders to export 20% of all gold im-ported into the country, in a surprise move that could cut smuggling and raise legal shipments into the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal after China.

Along with a record duty of 10% , In-dia introduced the so-called 80:20 im-port rule tying imports to exports of jew-ellery last year to bring down inbound shipments and narrow the current ac-count de� cit that had hit a record.

“It has been decided by the Govern-ment of India to withdraw the 20:80 scheme and restrictions placed on im-port of gold,” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday, without giving a reason for the change in the rule.

Only days ago there were talks be-tween o� cials of the Mumbai-based central bank and the � nance ministry in New Delhi to bring back curbs on some trading houses following a surge in imports over the past few months.

Traders said before the decision on Friday that India’s gold imports could climb to around 100 tonnes for a third straight month in November as deal-ers bought heavily on fears of curbs on overseas purchases, especially as the wedding season picks up.

But the government’s latest move came as a surprise even to some o� cials.

A policymaker associated with In-dia’s gold import policy said the gov-ernment instructed the RBI at 1830 lo-cal time on Friday to urgently change the rule. A noti� cation was posted on the central bank’s website two hours later.

“We were not informed about the reason for scrapping this rule. The re-strictions on who all can import who can’t are still valid,” said the policy-maker, declining to be named as he is not authorised to talk to media.

The rule change, however, was a relief to jewellers facing di� culties in sourcing gold during the key festival and wedding season that started in Oc-

tober. Bachhraj Bamalwa, director of the

All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, said the 80:20 rule was not only encouraging smuggling but was also misused by many traders.

From getting human mules to swal-low nuggets to hiding gold bars in dead cows, smugglers had raised their activ-ity since the middle of last year after

the import curbs. Following the disbanding of the

80:20 rule, the government may place a monthly or yearly quota for traders, said Sudheesh Nambiath, a senior ana-lyst at consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS.

“Quota is a more logical and simple way of monitoring and limiting gold imports,” Nambiath said. l

Lacklustre Japan data paints gloomy picture for Abenomics n AFP, Tokyo

Japan released a string of lacklustre economic data Friday, with in� ation hitting its lowest level in a year, deal-ing another blow to Tokyo’s attempts to conquer years of falling prices and tepid growth.

The � gures come after Prime Min-ister Shinzo Abe called a snap election for next month and delayed a sales tax hike after a previous levy increase hammered spending and pushed the world’s number three economy into recession.

Japanese consumer in� ation came in at 2.9% in October compared with a year earlier, o� cial data showed, matching market forecasts but slowing from 3% in September.

Prices mainly rose largely because Tokyo raised the sales tax from 5% to 8% on April 1.

Adjusted for the hike, nationwide core in� ation rate came in at 0.9%, against 1% in the previous month and its lowest level since October 2013.

The weak reading makes the Bank of Japan’s 2% in� ation target - which it initially aimed to hit next year - look increasingly out of reach.

The BoJ shocked markets last month by saying it would expand its asset-buying stimulus programme to about 80 trillion yen ($676bn) annually, as part of Tokyo’s bid to overcome de� a-tion and kickstart the economy.

“Even despite the BoJ’s surprise

move, we maintain our view that there is a very long way to go before achieving the +2% target,” Credit Agricole said.

The yen weakened further after the reading with the dollar at 118.21 yen against 117.74 yen in London on Thurs-day.

Also Friday, � gures showed fac-tory production in October edged up a better-than-expected 0.2% on-month, the second straight increase, as exports improved.

“It is a positive set of data that hints at hopes for future recovery in produc-tion,” SMBC Nikko Securities said in a note.

Mixed pictureSeparate � gures showed the coun-try’s unemployment rate slipped to 3.5% from 3.6%, while retail sales rose 1.4% in October. However, household spending fell 4% on-year, the seventh successive decline.

“Although real GDP growth continued to be negative into July-September and Japan was in technical recession, de-mand for labour among � rms is still ro-bust likely thanks to the waning impact of (the) consumption tax hike,” said Mar-cel Thieliant from Capital Economics.

But “despite the tight labour mar-ket, in� ation continues to moderate... Price pressure should moderate further in the near-term, as the recent plunge in crude oil prices has yet to be re� ect-ed in the cost of energy imports,” he added. l

Philippine economic growth slows in third quarter n AFP, Manila

Typhoon damage and falling public spending slowed the Philippines’ pre-viously red-hot economy to its weakest pace in nearly three years with growth expanding 5.3% in the third quarter, of-� cials said Thursday.

Fierce winds and destructive � oods generated by typhoons led to a 2.7% year-on-year contraction in farm out-put, Economic Planning Secretary Ar-senio Balisacan said.

“Given this quarter’s performance ... even meeting the low end of the target growth rate for the year could pose a big challenge,” he told a news conference.

Economic output had expanded by a red-hot 7% in the same quarter last year, before Super Typhoon Haiyan,

the strongest cyclone to ever hit land and the deadliest in the Philippines’ re-corded history, caused huge problems.

Even then, gross domestic product (GDP) growth rose 6% in the � rst half of 2014, making the Philippines one of Asia’s top performers.

This also gave the government opti-mism that it would achieve its full 2014 GDP growth target of 6.5-7.5%.

However, he said typhoon damage and weaker performances in other key sectors since then meant the economy only grew 5.3% in the past quarter and 5.8% through the � rst nine months of the year.

Interim deputy chief statistician Romeo Recide said the third-quarter growth was the lowest since the last quarter of 2011 when it hit 3.8% .

Typhoon Rammasun left 111 people dead or missing, caused a million peo-ple to � ee their homes and left millions of others without power for several days across the country’s economic heartland in mid-July. Balisacan said bad weather typical during the season also had a huge impact on farm output.

Apart from agriculture, Balisacan said government consumption and public construction activities slowed as President Benigno Aquino’s govern-ment adjusted to “new spending proto-cols”, some imposed to � ght corruption.

He also cited the “lingering negative impact” of Haiyan, as well as delays in the layout of the government’s mas-sive post-typhoon reconstruction pro-gramme across the devastated central Philippines. l

Yen weakens in Asia after poor Japan data n AFP, Tokyo

The yen weakened in Asia on Friday after a slate of tepid Japanese data that has dealt another blow to the govern-ment’s plans to end years of de� ation.

In Tokyo, the greenback rose to 118.31 yen from 117.74 yen in London, while the euro strengthened to 147.25 yen from 146.88 yen in European trade. US markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The European single currency slipped to $1.2446 from $1.2474 on speculation over fresh easing moves by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Japan published lacklustre econom-ic data Friday with October in� ation hitting a more than one-year low and household spending falling again.

The weak consumer price reading makes the Bank of Japan’s 2% in� ation target - which it initially aimed to hit in 2015 - look increasingly out of reach.

The BoJ shocked markets last month by saying it would expand its asset-buying stimulus programme to about 80 trillion yen annually, in a bid to overcome years of de� ation and kickstart the economy.

“Even despite the BoJ’s surprise move, we maintain our view that there is a very long way to go before achieving the +2% target,” Credit Agricole said.

The euro was mixed after dipping Thursday on signals by a senior Euro-pean Central Bank o� cial that it could begin major purchases of government bonds of eurozone countries as it tries to kickstart the sluggish economy.

The ECB’s deputy president Vitor Constancio signalled Wednesday it could begin purchasing government bonds as soon as next year.

Meanwhile European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi called for an “ad-justment of wages” in the eurozone to strengthen the viability of the single currency.

Cutting wages has been a key ele-ment in the international bailouts of eurozone members, as lowering sala-ries is one of the only options to in-crease competitiveness left open to euro countries as they can no longer devalue their currencies.

“Disappointing in� ation data from Germany and Spain do not bode well for today’s eurozone in� ation � gure,” Credit Agricole said. l

Gold biscuits are seen in this picture illustration taken inside a jewellery showroom in Mumbai REUTERS

A man works on the assembly line of the new 208 model at Peugeot's factory in Porto Real, 140kms south of Rio de Janeiro, Brazi AFP

'We didn’t achieve it for now, but we will and we will keep trying until oil prices are where they’re meant to be around $100 per barrel'

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, November 30, 2014

DILBERT

Oil dips to new multi-year lows on OPEC decisionn AFP, New York

Global oil prices plunged Friday to new multi-year lows after the OPEC oil-pro-ducing cartel decided to maintain crude output in an oversupplied market.

US benchmark West Texas Interme-diate for delivery in January closed at $66.15 a barrel on the New York Mer-cantile Exchange, down $7.54 from the closing price Wednesday. It was the low-est WTI close since September 2009.

The NYMEX was closed Thursday for a holiday.

As the New York market closed in an abbreviated session Friday, in London, Brent oil for January delivery sank be-low $70 for the � rst time in four and a half years, to $69.78 a barrel. Brent set-tled at $70.15 a barrel, down $2.43 from Thursday’s close.

The sello� s came after the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) opted Thursday to maintain its collective output ceiling at 30 million barrels per day, where it has stood for three years, sending prices plunging.

OPEC refused to cut production de-spite oversupply that has sent prices tumbling by more than a third since June, with analysts warning of further falls to come.

“OPEC con� rmed what many mar-ket participants had expected by leav-ing their o� cial production quota un-changed,” said Sucden analyst Kash Kamal.

“Many investors had hoped for some positive steps forward as the global supply glut continues to exert considerable downward pressure on futures prices,” he added.

At Thursday’s OPEC gathering in Vi-enna, the cartel came under pressure from its poorer members, including Venezuela and Ecuador, to trim pro-duction as tumbling prices were eating into revenues and raising fears over their economies.

However, the group’s powerful Gulf members led by kingpin Saudi Ara-bia resisted the calls to turn down the taps unless they are guaranteed market share, particularly in the United States, where shale gas has contributed to the global supply glut.

Another member, Kuwait, sup-

ported the move with the country’s oil minister Ali Omair saying: “We decided that price will adjust itself based on supply and demand and that OPEC is supposed to safeguard its market share in order not to lose its clients.”

He suggested the United States should also bear responsibility and lower its own output of shale oil.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Mad-uro declared Thursday that he would keep pushing OPEC to slash output.

The oil market has plunged in recent months, depressed by plentiful sup-plies, the stronger dollar and demand fears in a weakening global economy.

“OPEC’s decision to keep output is the main reason for prices to drop quite rapidly,” said Daniel Ang, an invest-ment analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

“Prices are likely to be going down for the rest of the year,” he told AFP.

Ang, who closely tracks the oil market, said he expects WTI to end 2014 in the “low 60s” and Brent in the “mid-60s”.

OPEC attacking US shale?This week’s OPEC decision was mean-while perceived by some analysts as an attack on the booming US shale energy sector.

“OPEC is dominated by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who also have the highest tolerance for low oil prices due to the economies of scale generated by their huge super � elds,” said analyst Nick Campbell at consultancy Inspired En-ergy.

“Therefore, in order to combat low demand and a new supply threat - both mainly in the United States - the trick is to drop your price.”

Technological innovations have un-locked shale resources in North Amer-ica and raised daily US oil output by more than 40 percent since 2006, but at a production cost which can be three

or four times that of extracting Middle Eastern oil.

“US shale producers costs are esti-mated to be much higher than most OPEC producers and, therefore, by pushing the oil price lower they are hoping to drive the higher cost current producing wells to the margin and, more importantly, stop new sites de-veloping,” added Campbell.

US oil output is soaring thanks to shale energy, which involves blasting a high-pressure blend of water, sand and chemicals deep underground in order to release hydrocarbons trapped between layers of rock. l

German in� ation hits � ve-year low n AFP

In� ation in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, slowed to its lowest level in nearly � ve years in November, data showed Thursday, turning up the heat on the European Central Bank to take more action to ward o� de� ation.

In a preliminary � ash estimate, the federal statistics o� ce Destatis calculated that German in� ation stood at just 0.6% year-on-year this month, down from 0.8% in October.

The last time in� ation in Germany was lower than 0.6% was in February 2010.

The � ash estimate is based on consumer price data for six key German states. Final data on the basis of all 16 Ger-man states are scheduled to be released on December 11.

Using the Harmonised Index of Con-sumer Prices (HICP) - the yardstick used by the European Central Bank - in� ation in Germany was even lower at 0.5% in November, way under the ECB’s annual in� ation target of just below 2%.

The chronically low level of in� ation across the 18-nation eurozone has fuelled concern the region could slip into de� a-tion - a sustained and widespread drop in prices that hampers economic activity and threatens job losses.

While falling prices may sound good for consumers, de� ation can trigger a vicious spiral where businesses and households delay purchases, throttling demand and causing companies to lay o� workers.

Such concerns persuaded the ECB to cut interest rates to a new all-time low and roll out other anti-de� ation measures such as a series of asset purchase programmes to inject cash into the economy.

More ECB actionThe new data will turn up the pressure on the ECB to do more, possibly at its next monthly policy meeting on December 5, analysts said.

ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski said the German in� ation data would

prompt the ECB to downgrade its eurozone-wide in� ation forecasts, herald-ing possible further action next year.

“With lower in� ation projections, one of the two lights needed to start quantita-tive easing could already be lit green next week,” he said.

Quantitative easing or QE is the pur-chase of sovereign bonds to stimulate the economy, a policy so far pursued by other central banks around the world, but which the ECB has so far shied away from.

In the clearest signal yet on the possible timing of such a programme, the ECB’s deputy president Vitor Constancio said on Wednesday that the central bank would be able to gauge early next year whether it needs to start buying sovereign bonds.

BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar felt that “while the pressure on the ECB to ease its monetary policy still further has abated somewhat on the economic side as a result of improved sentiment indicators, it remains high on the in� ation side.”

The publication on Friday of eurozone in� ation would be key here, Kipar said.

Commerzbank economist Marco Wagner said that “owing to the low in� ation pressure in Germany, eurozone consumer prices are likely to have increased by a mere 0.2%. We expect the ECB to start broad-based govern-ment bond purchases soon.” l

India growth slows less than fearedn Reuters, New Delhi

A slowdown in India’s economy in the last quarter will increase calls for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step up re-forms but was less severe than feared, giving the Reserve Bank ammunition to resist government pressure to cut interest rates.

Gross domestic product expanded 5.3% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, as a manufactur-ing slump took the bounce out of Asia’s third-largest economy. Growth in the previous quarter was at a 2-1/2 year high of 5.7%.

Thanks to growth in services and stronger-than-expected farming after a bad monsoon, the reading was higher than predicted by economists polled by Reuters, who on average forecast growth of 5.1%.

“Now the onus is on the government to boost growth by reviving the invest-ment climate and get reforms moving,” said Shivom Chakrabarti, Senior Econ-omist with HDFC bank. “That will have a more pronounced impact on growth in the next � scal year.”

Worried by the growth performance, and encouraged by low oil prices and falling in� ation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will reiterate his request that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Gover-nor Raghuram Rajan cut interest rates

when the central bank holds it policy review on Dec 2, ministry o� cials have told Reuters.

Rajan can be expected to argue that with the slowdown not as severe as some forecast, in� ation concerns carry

more weight.“If it was a very, very low number,

there would have been pressure on the governor to act immediately. The bet-ter than expected overall GDP growth gives him that cushion” to wait, said

Upasna Bhardwaj, Economist at ING Vysya Bank.

Economists polled by Reuters said a cut was unlikely, although markets have priced in a 25 basis point cut in the repo rate to 7.75%. l

ECB’s Draghi warns countries to reformn Reuters, Madrid

Failure to reform and shield weaker members threatens to divide the euro zone, the head of the European Central Bank warned on Thursday, amid fresh signs the currency bloc’s economy is losing speed.

Delivering a blunt message to politi-cal leaders, Mario Draghi urged the 18 countries that share the single currency to consider ways to support struggling members, warning of the perils should fears that some might quit the euro be revived.

“Lack of structural reforms raises the specter of permanent economic diver-gence between members,” Draghi told an audience at the University of Helsin-ki, choosing unusually frank language.

“And insofar as this threatens the es-sential cohesion of the Union, this has potentially damaging consequences for all.” l

Eurozone in� ation returns to 5-year lown AFP

In� ation in the eurozone returned to a � ve-year low, o� cial data showed on Friday, raising pressure on the Euro-pean Central Bank to unveil even more steps to � ght the threat of de� ation.

The o� cial data also showed that unemployment remained steady at 11.5% in October, unchanged amid a stagnating European economy.

The latest � gures from Eurostat came days after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker revealed a huge 315bn euro investment plan to “kickstart” the economy.

Eurostat, the European Union’s data agency, reported that in� ation fell to 0.3% in November, from 0.4% the previ-ous month, far o� the European Central Bank’s target of just under two percent.

Growing concerns about exception-ally low price rises in the 18-country eurozone, which could augur a long pe-riod of low growth and falling prosper-

ity, have prompted the ECB to take un-precedented action in recent months.

The new decrease in in� ation puts added pressure on ECB chairman Mario Draghi to take even further steps to re-vive the economy.

The ECB is due to hold its monthly meeting next week when it could an-nounce quantitative easing measures - a large-scale sovereign bond purchase scheme - a step that has not been taken until now. Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz said the ECB will have to lower its in� ation forecast of 1.1% for next year.

“A � rm statement of intent, potential-ly even action in the form of adding cor-porate bonds to the asset purchase tar-gets, is likely at the meeting next week,” Schulz said. “And as everything is on the table, even sovereign bond purchases are possible early 2015,” he added.

Recovery ‘still fragile’ Reacting to the latest � gures, Valdis

Dombrovskis, the European Commis-sion’s vice president for the euro, told a press conference “the recovery is still fragile.”

He added: “Unemployment is still persistently high.”

But at 11.5% the eurozone unem-ployment rate was still lower than the 11.9% registered in October last year, according to Eurostat.

Germany and Austria registered the lowest unemployment rates at 4.9% and 5.1% in October, with Spain the highest at 24 percent.

Greece registered a rate of 25.9% in August, when the last � gures were available. In the 28 European Union member states, unemployment stood at 10% in October this year, unchanged from September.

Eurostat estimated that in October 2014, 24.413 million people were un-employed in the 28 EU member states, including 18.395 million in the 18-coun-try eurozone. l

StanChart faces � rst S&P downgradein 20 yearsn Reuters, London

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut its credit rating on Standard Char-tered for the � rst time in 20 years on Friday, citing the “tough period” the Asia-focused bank was going through and its weaker credit-worthiness.

S&P cut its long-term issuer credit rating on Standard Chartered Plc to ‘A’ from ‘A+’, with a negative outlook - a move that could make it more expen-sive for the bank to borrow money.

It was S&P’s � rst downgrade since it assigned Standard Chartered a rating in 1994, which was followed by upgrades in 1995, 2006 and 2011.

It said the bank “is going through a tough period of late” after years of solid growth and strong � nancial per-formance.

“We lowered the ratings because we consider the Standard Chartered group’s creditworthiness to have weak-ened when compared with its peers,” said S&P credit analyst Joseph Leung.

At 1330 GMT (8.30 am ET), Stan-dard Chartered shares were down 0.2% at 938.12 pence, in line with Britain’s benchmark FTSE-100 index.

The bank has said it expects a sec-ond successive fall in annual pro� ts this year, halting a decade of record earnings. Last month it issued its third pro� t warning of the year after a jump in losses from bad debts.

Its problems have raised the heat on Chief Executive Peter Sands, who has set out a plan to cut costs and restruc-ture the business to kick-start growth.

S&P said it lowered the bank’s risk position assessment to ‘adequate’ from ‘strong’.

“This re� ects our view that the group is no longer materially less exposed to unexpected losses than peers,” it said.

S&P said weaknesses at the bank in-cluded its complex operations and the concentration of loans in single bor-rowers.

It said the bank was well funded and liquid, however, and was diversi� ed by region and asset class, and that as-set quality should “remain steady at worst” in 2015 versus 2014. l

Pump Jacks are seen at sunrise near Bakers� eld, California Reuters

Sun rays beam through two under construction residential buildings in Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi REUTERS

Such concerns persuaded the ECB to cut interest rates to a new all-time low and roll out other anti-de� ation measures such as a series of asset purchase programmes to inject cash into the economy