SECOND EDITION

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 | Ashwin 3, 1422, Zilhaj 3, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 155 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend | Price: Tk10

Students of English-medium schools and their guardians form a human chain on Dhanmondi Shat Masjid Road in the capital demanding withdrawal of VAT on fees and services in English medium schools yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

HC stays VAT on English medium schoolsn Ashif Islam Shaon and Shadma Malik

The High Court has imposed a freeze for six months on the 7.5% value-added tax (VAT) on the tuition fees at English medium schools.

The High Court bench of Justice Shamim Hasnain and Justice Mohammad Ullah issued the order yesterday after hearing a petition � led by two parents challenging the legality of the government decision.

The court also issued a ruling asking the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the education secretary to explain why the decision should not be declared illegal.

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Environmentalists vow to thwart Rampal plantn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The convener of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports yesterday said his group would join other environmentalists in preventing the government from building the Rampal power plant.

“We demand the cancellation of the deal to build the Rampal 1320MW coal-� red power plant. Such a plant can be built elsewhere in the country,” Sheikh Mohammad Shahidullah said at the National Press Club in Dhaka yes-terday at the launch of a fact-� nding mission report on the project.

“We will continue this movement because implementing the project, located just 14 kilo-metres from the Sundarbans, will destroy the ecological balance of the heritage site,” he said.

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a regional rights organisation, conducted the fact-� nding mission from April 5 to 11.

The probe mission visited the site of the power plant and met with key state and non-state stakeholders, including a� ected villag-ers, environmentalists, lawyers, academics, journalists, human rights activists and other members of civil society.

None of the stakeholders’ names were dis-closed in the report.

Names were not mentioned because dis-closure may put informants’ lives at risk, said Sharif Jamil, Bangladeshi member of the Wa-terkeeper Alliance council, who was involved

in preparing the report.Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Com-

pany Pvt Ltd (BIFPCL) is implementing the Maitree Super Coal-� red Thermal Power Pro-ject in Rampal, Bagerhat.

The report said due process was not fol-lowed in land acquisition and population relo-cation. A� ected people were not made aware of the facts of the project nor consulted about compensation by the government.

The current environmental impact assess-ment (EIA) is defective on numerous particu-lars, the report said.

The SAHR has called upon the government of Bangladesh to suspend all construction and other project activities until a comprehensive, scienti� c EIA is conducted by impartial and independent experts.

If it is found to be damaging to the Sund-arbans, the project must be cancelled imme-diately and relocated to an environmental-ly-sustainable site, the report said.

National Committee Member Secretary Prof Anu Mohammad said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should have received Champi-ons of the Earth award after the cancellation the Rampal project. “The award will become a burden because this project will harm the Sundarbans.”

Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed said that some people in the government want to implement the project at the cost of people, the Sunda-rbans, biodiversity and peoples’ livelihoods.

“The government should come out of this

mentality. We have to stage a tough move-ment against the project,” he said.

SAHR Bureau Member (Bangladesh) Sul-tana Kamal said that if the project is imple-mented, there will be a scarcity of water in the nearby river and the inhabitants of the Sunda-rbans would leave the area.

SAHR bureau member (Bangladesh) Khushi Kabir, Consumers Association of Bangladesh Adviser Prof Shamsul Alam, Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman and Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon General Secretary Abdul Motin also spoke at the programme.

When contacted, BIFPCL Managing Direc-tor UK Bhattacharya told the Dhaka Tribune that the report is baseless and the speakers are trying to create a negative impression among the people. l

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015NEWS2DT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

PM to � y to New York for attending UNGA on September 23n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will � y to New York to attend the 70th session of the UN Gen-eral Assembly on September 23.

She will lead a 60-member government delegation and a business delegation will also accompany her, said Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at a press conference yesterday.

The foreign minister, � nance minister, ex-patriate welfare minister, political, econom-ical and international a� airs advisers to the

prime minister, state minister for women and children a� airs, and State minister for foreign a� airs will accompany her.

She will leave New York on October 1.The foreign minister said this UNGA ses-

sion is very important as Sustainable Develop-ment Goals would be adopted in this session.

The prime minister is expected to give speech at the post-2015 development agenda summit, UNGA general debate, Women em-powerment summit and � ghting violent ex-tremism summit, he said.

She will also co-chair two events – peace-keeping summit orgainsed by US President Barack Obama and Fostering Sustainable Eco-nomic Growth hosted by Belgiun Prime Min-ister, he added.

“The prime minister will deliver speech in Bengali at the general debate on September 28,” Mahmood said.

She will receive Champion of the Earth Award on September 27.

She will also receive ICT’s Sustainable De-velopment Award. l

20 human smugglers arrested in fresh crackdownn AFP, Dhaka

Bangladesh police have arrested a human tra� cking “godfather” in a fresh crackdown on smugglers amid fears of a resumption of the racket that sparked a regional migrant cri-sis earlier this year, an o� cer said Thursday.

Police have arrested at least 20 tra� ckers in the past month including alleged kingpin Dil Mohammad on the weekend in the south-ern smuggling town of Teknaf.

Teknaf police Inspector Kabir Hossain said Mohammad, 45, was arrested after arriving back in Bangladesh from Malaysia.

“Mohammad has been wanted in Malaysia and Thailand for smuggling hundreds of poor Bangladeshis to Malaysia by using rickety boats in the Bay of Bengal,” Hossain told AFP.

Bangladesh targeted smugglers in May af-ter Rohingyas and Bangladeshi migrants were abandoned at sea en route to Southeast Asia.

A crackdown by Thailand led to the un-ravelling of people-smuggling networks that saw thousands stranded in open waters and dumped in jungle camps.

Bangladesh smugglers who went into hid-ing at the time “are returning home after the end of the monsoon anticipating the hit is gone,” the o� cer said.

With seas expected to be calmer in coming weeks, experts said smugglers were looking to restart voyages to Thailand and Malaysia.

“The smugglers have been accumulating strength for a fresh start to their business. We’ve reports their grassroots operations have become active,” said Shakirul Islam, a migration expert. l

VAT on English medium schoolsThe demand for withdrawing VAT on English medium schools became strong after the gov-ernment decided to remove VAT on tuition fees at private universities, medical colleges and engineering colleges on Monday, follow-ing a vigorous protest by the students on the streets in the capital.

Inspired by the success of the private uni-versity students, Bangladesh English Medi-um School Association started pushing for the withdrawal of VAT on English medium schools as well. A writ petition was � led by the parents of two students on Wednesday.

The government imposed a 4.5% VAT on fees and services at English medium schools in 2010, which was increased to 7.5% in 2014.

However, there is no VAT on Bangla medi-um schools and the English medium schools that follow NCTB-approved curricula.

<SUB-HEADER> No monitoring of English medium schools, fees out of control

Parents whose children study at some of the top English medium schools in the capital complained about unregulated hike in tuition fees in these schools because there is no gov-ernment agency monitoring them.

“I had to pay Tk117,000 as admission fees to admit my child in a school. The monthly tu-ition fee is Tk12,500 for pre-school kids!” said the parent of a student at a top English medi-um school in the city, requesting anonymity both for themselves and the school.

“There are other fees. Then we have to pay

VAT on all those fees. On top of that, there are other expenses such as books, stationeries, transportation and extra-curricular activi-ties.”

A mother of a fourth-grade student in an-other reputed school said: “School authori-ties increase tuition fees on a monthly basis, which is a burden for us.”

Another parent told the Dhaka Tribune: “These English medium schools follow the curriculum set by the British secondary school authorities, conducted by the board of British Council. But the schools here are not uni� ed – they do not follow a common sylla-bus for each subject, or the same set of text-books. These are privately run.

“And since these are private schools with-out any higher authority to govern them, they do whatever they please.”

The angry mother said education must not be divided into Bangla medium, English me-dium, English version or madrasa education. “And imposing tax on any form of education is completely unacceptable.”

Another guardian said: “Paying Tk8,000-10,000 in monthly school fees is a burden for most parents. We urge the government to put a set of regulations in place for the English medium schools. Fix the fee structure, and withdraw VAT on school education.”

All the parents above wished to remain un-named and requested the Dhaka Tribune not to mention the names of the schools, too. l

Rana Plaza screening stalled againn Tribune Report

The government yesterday suspended the screening of “Rana Plaza,” � lm based on the rescue of victim Reshma alive from the ruins of Rana Plaza building after 17 days of its collapse.

“In the light of the observation of the Ap-pellate Division of the Supreme Court, the screening of ‘Rana Plaza’ � lm has been sus-pended until the decision over the appeal by the Film Censor Appeal Committee comes,” said a PID handout, reports UNB.

Earlier in the day, the four-member Appel-late Division bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha rejected the review petition on its stay of the High Court’s six-month ban on the � lm.

On September 6, the Supreme Court stayed a High Court order that slapped a six-month ban on the screening of the � lm. Following a

review petition on September 10, the cham-ber judge issued a status quo on the release and screening of the � lm and sent the review petition to the full bench for its hearing.

On August 24, the High Court issued the ban on screening the � lm following a con-tempt of court petition � led by Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League chief Sirajul Islam on August 20.

The petitioner claimed that if screened, the � lm would make a negative impact on peo-ple both home and abroad. He said the RMG workers would be frightened by the � lm, and it could also damage the country’s RMG industry.

The 137-minute � lm, produced by Shamima Aktar and directed by Nazrul Islam Khan, was cleared for release by Bangladesh Film Censor Board on July 16, while the movie was earlier scheduled to be released on September 4. l

NEWS 3D

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Army truck hits police van killing two and injuring eight n Tribune Report

A cylinder blast aboard a police micro-bus hit by an army welfare truck left two people dead and eight injured in Chauddagram upazila, Comilla district late on Wednesday.

A policeman and an arrestee were killed when the army truck crashed into the mi-cro-bus causing the gas cylinder to explode, around 11:30pm Wednesday.

The police vehicle was carrying a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) team to the capital after arresting � ve criminals in Chittagong.

DB constable Abdul Aziz was killed instant-ly. An arrestee, who had sustained 87% burn injuries, died around 6pm yesterday while being treated at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Farhad Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Chauddagram police station, said: “We have seized the truck but the driver and helper have � ed.”

The four policemen being treated at the burn institute have been identi� ed as DB As-sistant Sub-Inspector Abdul Malek with 38% burn injuries, Constable Shariful with 4%, Constable Anowar with 5% and Constable Nurul Hasan with 8% burn injuries.

Four arrestees being transported in the mi-cro-bus also su� ered severe burns. They have been identi� ed as Saddam who sustained 18% burn injuries, Nazim 33%, Abdul Shukur 80% and Bashir 27% burn injuries.

Mokhlesur Rahman, additional inspector general of police, visited the injured police-men at the burn institute.

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah,

police high o� cials and burn institute doctors were present during the visit, according to a media release issued by Police Headquarters.

After the visit, Mokhlesur said: “The ac-

cident took place when the DB team, after conducting a successful drive, was on its way back to Dhaka. We will provide all possible support to the injured policemen.”

Mokhlesur added: “We are treating this as a regular accident, but are also looking into whether the weather played a role in the crash.” l

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Two plainclothes police o� cers try to � nd the identities of the policemen and prisoners who sustained burn injuries in a gas cylinder explosion when an army truck hits a police van in Comilla’s Chouddogram yesterday. Photo taken at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital RAJIB DHAR

BARAPUKURIA GRAFT CASE

HC clears way for Khaleda’s trialn Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday rejected a pe-tition clearing way for the trial of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Bara-pukuria coal mine graft case.

The petition � led in 2008 sought HC’s directives on scrapping the case.

Yesterday, the bench of Justices Md

Nuruzzaman and Abdur Rob passed the order, vacating a previous stay order.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) � led the case on February 26, 2008, accusing Khaleda and 10 of her for-mer cabinet colleagues of taking Tk159 crore in kickbacks on the Barapukuria coal mine deal awarded to the highest bidder instead of the lowest.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan yes-terday said that now there is no legal bar to continuing the trial. The former prime minister will remain on bail in the case.

Previously, the HC has also cleared way for lower courts to continue trial of Khaleda and others in four other graft cases – Gatco, Niko, Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust. l

Bangabandhu defamation inquiry report against Tarique Rahman due November 5n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday � xed November 5 for the submission of a probe report into BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, his party’s foreign a� airs envoy Jahid F Sar-dar Saadi and 500 others for remarks made against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his role in the Liberation War of 1971.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ataul Haque set the date after Paltan Model police station failed to submit the report before the court yesterday.

On March 23, a case was � led against Tarique and Jahid with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court by Bangladesh Muktijoddha Projonmo President Fazlul Karim Arif Patwari.

The complaint was � led under Sections 499 and 500 of the Penal Code and Sections 57(1) and 57(2) of the Information and Com-munication Technology Act.

After hearing the charges, Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Yunus Khan ordered Paltan Model police station to investigate and submit a report.

According to the petition, Tarique and Ja-hid demeaned Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by re-ferring to him as a friend of Pakistan.

While addressing a programme in London on December 15, 2014, Tarique called Bangab-andhu a “Razakar,” a term signifying collabo-ration with the Pakistani military during the Liberation War.

The complaint said Jahid, also special ad-visor to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, in a written statement on December 30, 2014, demanded the posthumous trial of Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman for establishing a dictator-ship by introducing the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League or BAKSAL and for cul-pability for killings that took place at the time.

In the complaint, Fazlul claimed Tarique and Jahid both made derogatory, false and fabricated statements against Bangabandhu, who was assassinated in 1975.

Tarique, the elder son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, stands accused of mur-der, sedition and defamation in several cases brought against him. l

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015NEWS4DT

DMP BOSS TO CATTLE TRADERS

Do not go beyond designated areas n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner (DMP) Asaduzzaman Miah yesterday warned the traders that if their cattle spill onto the places not designated by the government their cattle will be seized.

After that the mobile court concerned will take lawful action against the persons respon-sible, said the police commissioner.

Asaduzzaman was addressing reporters on Eid-ul-Azha security measures at the media and community center of the DMP.

The DMP boss said this year a total of 23 cattle markets would be set up. Of which sev-

en would be set up in Dhaka North City Cor-poration, 10 in Dhaka South City Corporation while six others in Dhaka district.

Metropolitan detective branch, Armed Police Battalion and Rapid Action Battalion would provide the security in cattle markets from today in coordination with regular po-lice force, he said.

There would also be police control rooms and close circuit television cameras in every cattle market to prevent mugging, theft and snatching.

The police commissioner also assured traders of talking with the authorities con-cerned to ensure evening banking in nearby bank branches so that cattle traders can safely

deposit their money under police escort. The DMP boss said police are ready to pro-

vide any kind of support to all those people who want to take escort. The commissioner also urged the traders to take the escort to en-sure security.

About taking extra tax in cattle markets he said a list of tax rate must be hung in every cattle market so that no one can take any ex-tra money.

Among others, Additional Commissioner of DMP Ibrahim Fatemi, Joint Commissioner Krishno Pada Roy, Meer Rezaul Alam (opera-tion) and Muntasirul Islam, deputy commis-sioner (media), were present. l

High Court orders Concord Group building’s handover to orphanagen Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday ruled that the 18-storey building of Concord Group built on the land of Sir Salimullah Muslim orphanage in the capital’s Azimpur had been built ille-gally, and also ordered its handover to the or-phanage authorities.

In the verdict of a writ petition � led by four students of the orphanage, the court directed Concord Group to arrange the property’s hando-ver to the orphanage authorities within 30 days.

The government, otherwise, will take over the multi-storey building on behalf of the orphanage to protect and develop it for facilitating accommodation of orphans, according to the verdict.

The High Court bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice AKM Zahirul Ho-que handed down the verdict.

Nawab Sir Salimullah set up the orphanage back in 1909 and its authorities later leased more land from the government for expan-sion.

But in 2003, President of the orphanage Shamsunnar and Secretary Khan Ahsanullah handed over two bighas of land to Concord.

After that, Human Rights and Peace, a rights organisation, � led the writ petition on behalf of the four students of the orphanage.

The court also invalidated two documents concerning the handover of the orphanage’s land to Concord Group - the July 2013 deed and the April 2014 power of attorney. l

British Council calls for entries to ELTons 2016n Tribune Report

The British Council is calling for English lan-guage teaching (ELT) professionals around the world to enter the ELTons 2016.

Now in their 14th year, the ELTons (British Council Innovation Awards), run annually by British Council and sponsored by Cambridge English Language Assessment and Macmillan Education, celebrate innovation and excel-lence in ELT worldwide.

ELT professionals can apply in any one of � ve categories: Excellence in course innova-tion, Innovation in learner resources, Innova-tion in teacher resources, Digital innovation, and Local innovation, as well as The Macmillan Education Award for New Talent in Writing.

Application packs can be downloaded from http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/eltons, and the submission deadline is No-vember 6, 2015.

Submissions for the writing award are wel-come from aspiring ELT authors who may have self-published or made their voices heard through media such as blogs, eBooks or within their own institutions. Applications will be judged by a panel of ELT experts and the winners will be announced at the ELTons awards ceremony in London in June 2016.

Anna Searle, Director of English Language at the British Council, said: “These awards are a great way to showcase the creativity in the sector.” l

2 more testify against Khaleda in Zia Charitable Trust graft casen Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Two more prosecution witnesses gave dep-osition yesterday against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others in the Zia Charita-ble Trust graft case.

The two witnesses are Amir Uddin and Pari-tush Chandra Dey, Sonali Bank’s assistant gen-eral manager and senior executive manager re-spectively, who were both previously o� cers

at the bank’s Prime Minister’s O� ce branch. With yesterday’s proceedings, the court has

so far recorded depositions of 10 witnesses.After recording the witness depositions,

Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of Dhaka Special Judge Court 3 adjourned the trial proceedings until October 15 in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust cases. He � xed the date fol-lowing time petitions from Khaleda’s counsel.

Two separate defence petitions were also

� led explaining Khaleda’s non-appearance at the court, mentioning that the BNP chief was ill and had gone abroad for treatment.

Both the cases are being tried by the same court in the makeshift courtroom at Central Jail Parade Ground amid tight security.

On July 3, 2008, the Anti-Corruption Com-mission � led the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against six, including Khaleda Zia and her eldest son Tarique Rahman. l

2005 Mymensingh bomb attack suspect arrestedn Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested a member of Jaamat-ul Mujahideen Bang-ladesh for his suspected involvement in the 2005 bomb attack in Mymensingh.

A team of RAB-14 apprehended the sus-pect, Mehdi Habib Md Ra� q, from a residen-tial building in Board Bazar area, Gazipur on Wednesday night. Ra� q is from Iqbalpur vil-lage in Jamalpur disrict, RAB sources said.

The arrestee was a close accomplice with

top leaders of the banned Islamist group, es-pecially Shaykh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai, said RAB 14 Commander Lt Col Enamul Arif Suman.

He had been in hiding for the last 10 years, he told the Dhaka Tribune.

The 2005 terror attack in Mymensingh was a series of bomb blasts that took place in the premises of Mymensingh Court, o� ce of the lawyers’ association, Mymensingh Press Club and on the campus of Bangladesh Agricultur-al University. l

NEWS 5D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Teachers’ movement may delay public uni entrance examinationsn Tribune Report

Public university teachers have said they will continue the movement until their demand for a separate pay scale is met, and in that case, the upcoming admission examinations may get hampered.

Yesterday, the teachers of all the public universities across the country jointly ob-served their scheduled work abstention pro-grammes on their respective campuses for the third day running.

In many universities, they also observed sit-ins, protesting what they say is discrimination between them and bureaucrats in the eighth pay scale that the cabinet approved last week.

Although they are not taking classes or attending their administrative duties, the teachers are carrying out their scheduled exam duties. Teachers of public universities get special allowances on top of their salaries for attending exam duties.

In the seventh pay scale, a senior profes-sor was equivalent to secretary, but in the new pay scale, a senior professor is treated as an additional secretary of a ministry, which teachers say is outright degradation.

The protesters were outraged by a recent comment by Finance Minister AMA Muhith who said teachers’ movement was a result of ignorance about the pay scale.

Although the minister had o� cially apolo-gised for his comment later, but the teachers have not stopped their demo and have also rejected a pay scale reform committee under Muhith’s leadership.

The committee was formed on Wednesday and tasked with sitting with the public univer-sity teachers to � nd a solution.

Addressing a sit-in on the Dhaka University campus yesterday, Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed, president of the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers’ Associations (FBUTA), said: “We will not come back from the move-ment until we get success.

He also said that if their demands were not met, the admission process of the public universities might get delayed, reports our DU correspondent Arif Ahmed.

Dhaka University’s undergrad entrance ex-

aminations are scheduled for the month of October. Most of the other public universities across the country will also hold their respective admission tests in the next couple of months.

Meanwhile, our Rajshahi Correspondent Nazim Mridha reports that teachers of the Ra-jshahi University (RU) and the Rajshahi Uni-versity of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) yesterday observed full-day work abstention. They only attended their exam duties.

Teachers of both the universities also ob-

served separate three-hour sit-ins on their campuses from 10am to 1pm.

Similar programmes were also observed on the campuses of the Chittagong University (CU) and the Chittagong University of Engi-neering and Technology (Cuet) yesterday.

However, the sit-in programme at CU was just two hours long because the universi-ty went into the Eid-ul-Azha vacations on Wednesday, reports our CU Correspondent FM Mizanur Rahman. l

Another Hamza Brigade member remandedn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court yesterday granted three-day remand for a member of militant out� t Shaheed Hamza Brigade in a case lodged with Banshkhali police under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Banshkhali’s Senior Judicial Magistrate Sazzad Hossain passed the order after a hear-ing. Accused Anwar Hossain was produced before the court by the members of Rapid Ac-tion Battalion 7 with a � ve-day remand plea.

The alleged bomb-explosives supplier, An-war, was arrested from the city’s Akbar Shah area on June 5.

He was previously shown arrested in a case lodged with Halishahar police.

RAB 7 Commanding O� ce Lt Col Mifta Ud-din Ahmed said that they had found involve-ment of Anwar in the Banshkhali incident.

On February 21, the RAB members busted a military training centre of the out� t, formed in 2013 with former Islami Chhatra Shibir members, in a remote area of Banshkhali.

So far, 29 members and four alleged � nan-ciers of the out� t have been arrested. l

Five ticket touts arrested, Tk2.3 lakh recovered n Tribune Report

A mobile court of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), while conducting a drive at Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital, arrested � ve ticket racketeers yesterday.

The elite force also recovered 27 train tick-ets and ticket sales earnings worth Tk2.3 lakh from their possession, said a press statement issued by RAB headquarters.

Based on information that a group of men were selling train tickets at double the price to the masses, Executive Magistrate Sarowar Alam of RAB headquarters conducted the drive at the railway terminal around 11am and arrested the � ve.

These � ve arrestees are Jahangir Mia, 25, Babul Sikder, 47, Abul Kalam, 36, Md Selim, 40 and Dulal Babu, 60. The mobile court later awarded Dulal three months’ imprisonment and the other four men were each awarded one month’s imprisonment.

RAB will continue such drives in the up-coming days, and the elite force’s intelligence wing will also look into this issue, added the RAB headquarters press release. l

IO testi� es in Viqarunnisa student rape casen Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

One more prosecution witness testi� ed yes-terday in connection with the rape of a female student of Viqarunnisa Noon School and Col-lege’s Bashundhara branch by her teacher.

Judge Saleh Uddin Ahmed of the Women and Children Repression (Prevention) Tribu-nal 4 recorded the deposition of SM Shahdat Hossain, inspector of Badda police, in pres-ence of accused Parimal Joydhar.

He was cross examined by defence coun-sel Mahfujur Rahman. After recording depo-sition, the court � xed September 20 for the witness in the case.

With this, the court recorded depositions of 27 witnesses out of 39, special public prose-cutor Forkan Miah said.

Inspector Shahdat was the � rst investiga-tion o� cer of the case.

According to the case, Parimal sexually as-saulted the girl at his private coaching centre on May 28, 2011 and recorded the incident on his mobile phone. He raped her again on June 17 while threatening her of posting the video on the internet.

Later, the girl made a written complaint to the school authorities, and Parimal was sacked on July 5 the same year following pro-tests. The victim’s father � led the case with Badda police the same day.

On August 14, 2011, the � rst IO submitted a charge sheet against Parimal in the case. On November 28 the same year, DB inspector

Mahbub-e-Khuda submitted a supplementa-ry charge sheet against Parimal dropping the name of two others.

On March 7, 2012, the court framed charges against the accused.

Parimal was arrested from a house in Keran-iganj area on July 6, 2011. He made a confes-sional statement before a court on July 11. l

Teachers’ rooms at the Faculty of Arts building of Dhaka University remain locked as teachers observe work abstention for the third day running yesterday, demanding a separate pay scale RAJIB DHAR

The girl made a written complaint to the school authorities, and Parimal was sacked on July 5, 2011 following protests

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015NEWS6DT

Students help adults learn their lettersn Our Correspondent, Jessore

Jessore Information Foundation has started an education programme for adults in Shang-karpara area of Jessore.

During a visit to its classroom, 24 women were found attentively engaged in learning English alphabets. Students of high schools and universities work here voluntarily to provide education to the illiterate people of the area.

A classroom of Golam Hossain Patel Govern-ment Primary School is used for the activities. Halima Begum, 50, a student of the adult educa-tion programme, said previously she used � nger

script while drawing money for loans. She read the Quran but could not read the Bangla transla-tions. Sometimes she could not take her medicine properly as she could not read the prescription. This programme had made her life much easier.

Under the programme, the students are taught Bangla, Mathematics, English and Ar-abic. People aged from 16 to 60 are taking the programme. Another student Jhorna Begum, 40, had a dream of becoming literate one day. She used to stare at her children’s books with wonder. Her husband is intellectually disabled.

“Now I can even read the labels on di� er-ent packets in the kitchen,” said Jhorna with a

toothy grin. Five girls and three boys provide education to males and females separately. They take the classes after 8pm on weekdays.

Taslima Akhter, a teacher of the pro-gramme, is studying in grade 12 at Jessore MSTP Collegiate School.

“Students who can identify alphabets are taught under category ‘A’, students with less-er knowledge are put under category ‘B’ and ‘C’ respectively,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.

All of the 60 students are eager to learn but they were irregular in classes, she added. “I have been associated with the programme for the last two years. I am not paid for it but the activity

gives me immense joy. Although some students drop out after attending classes for a few days,” said Brishti Akter, another teacher of the school and a student of Government MM College.

Both teachers and students are provided with copies, books, pencils and erasers free of cost.

The two-year old Jessore Information Foundation also provides medical facilities to the students and have plans to provide train-ing on computer to the volunteers.

Iqbal Hossain Siddiqui, chairman of Jes-sore Information Foundation, said: “We are working in a small scale for the betterment of the backward community of Jessore.” l

National Education Day observed across the countryn Tribune Report

The National Education Day was observed across the country yesterday with a call for ensuring fair education for all.

In Dhaka, student organisations began the day by placing wreaths at the Shikkha Odhikar Chattar where three students, Mostafa, Wazi-ullah and Babul, were shot dead while pro-testing the 1962 Education Commission re-port during the Ayub Khan regime.

In Barisal, teachers and students observed the day recalling the sacri� ce made by people during the education movement in 1962.

The National Front of Teachers and Em-ployees held a rally at the Barisal City College.

Mojibur Rahman, Aminul Islam Khasru, Aminiur rahman Khokan, joint convener, Dr Mizanur Rahman, Jiban Krishna Dey and Dr Habibur Rahman addressed the programme among others.

The Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, formed a human chain in front of Ashwini Kumar Hall and procession on city roads on the occasion.

It was presided over by Dr Manisha Chakraborty and addressed among others by Tushar, Fariha Alam, and Antu.

Participants and speakers of the pro-grammes said the mission of martyrs of 1962 and present visions of 2021 could never be re-alised without implementation of indiscrimi-nate education policy and system.

They said no nation could achieve sustain-able development with education as it was the backbone of the nation.

Education would never be standardised till the discrimination between  government and non-government educational institutions and systems would not be removed, they add-ed.

The speakers demanding indiscriminate education policy for the country said only nationalisation of education service and sep-arate commission for education could end injustice of the existing discriminatory edu-cation system. l

FIRDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015NEWS 7

DT

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:00PM SUN RISES 5:46AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.8ºC 25.6ºC

Sayedpur Rajshahi

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 37 28Chittagong 34 26Rajshahi 36 26Rangpur 35 26Khulna 34 25Barisal 33 27Sylhet 32 26Cox’s Bazar 31 27

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:28am

Sunrise 5:45amJumma 11:53am

Asr 4:17pmMagrib 6:00pm

Esha 7:30pm

WEATHER

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

This ragged structure at the High Court intersection is the ‘Education Rights Square’, built in memory of several school students killed in police � ring in 1962 while protesting against a Pakistan-era education commission. A few wreaths, placed by some rights groups at the pedestal of the plaque, remind feebly that yesterday was the National Education Day. Although located right in front of the Education Ministry’s o� ce, there is no evidence that the authorities ever take care of this RAJIB DHAR

Human chain protests killing child domestic workern Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

People of Kishoreganj and family members of Tahmina Akter, a 14-year-old girl, who was killed brutally at her master’s house in capital’s Mirpur, brought out a procession demanding exemplary punishment to the killers.

The procession was brought out from in front the house Tahmina, in Choina area under Sadar upazila led by advocate Enamul Haque.

The speakers said if the government did not take necessary steps to punish the killers, they would go in a tougher movement.

According to sources, Tahmina hailed from Kishoreganj, had been working at the house of advocate Mamun, near Monipuri High School in capital’s Mirpur. On September 1, she was found dead in the house.

Later, a case was � led by victim’s father in this connection with Mirpur Model police station. l

Inde� nite CNG-run auto rickshaw strike called o� n Tribune Report

The inde� nite strike enforced by a section of CNG-run auto rickshaw owners and drivers to press home their eight-point demands was called o� in Chittagong city yesterday after 36-hours.

The strike was called o� at 12 noon follow-ing a meeting between the demonstrating CNG-run auto rickshaw owners and drivers and Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) held at the police headquarters.

Haider Azam, president of Chhattagram Mohanagor Malik-Chalok Parishad which en-forced the strike demanding stoppage of “to-ken business” centring unregistered CNG-run rickshaw, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had called o� the strike following the assur-ance from the DMP authorities.

“After withdrawal of the strike, plying of CNG-run auto rickshaw started in the city” he added.

He also said during the meeting, police as-sured that law enforcer would not harass the drivers until arranging parking place, added Haidar Azam.

Md Shahidullah, additional commission-er (� nance, administration and tra� c) of the CMP, however, told the Dhaka Tribune that they told the leaders that they would look into the parking problems while the tra� c case’s � ne collection system would remain unchanged. l

Jute workers protest privatisation moven Tribune Report

The sta� of a state-owned jute mill in Atra in-dustrial area in the city have put up a block-ade on Khulna-Jessore highway protesting particularly the privatization move of their factory.

The untoward incident took place yester-day while the other demands include pay-ment of arrears as early as possible and the festival bonus before Eid-ul-Azha.

Sources said the workers of Alim Jute Mills, holding bamboo sticks, took position in A� l gate area of the highway since 10am disrupt-ing the vehicular movement and stayed there for four hours.

Later, they held a rally on the busy highway and Alam Jute Mill Rokkha CBA and non-CBA Somannoi Songram Committee Convenor Ab-dur Rashid presided over it.

During the stalemate, long tailbacks appeared on both sides of the highway forcing the com-muters to su� er a lot amid the hot atmosphere.

The speakers threaten of putting blockade on road and rail routes on the Eid day unless their arrears and salary as well as the bonus are paid before the festival.

In Chittagong, the workers of Amin Jute Mills set a blockade on Chittagong-Hathazari road and the rail track to Chittagong University from the city for three hours demanding their arrears.

However, the blockade started from 10am was withdrawn around 1pm on the assurance from the mill authorities following a meeting with the protesting workers.

When asked, Chittagong Industrial Police Inspector (Intelligence) Arifur Rahman Arif admitted it, telling the mill authorities prom-ised to pay a week’s wages by Sunday and the rest as soon as possible. l

WORLD8DTFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Croatia overwhelmed by � ood of migrantsn Reuters, Tovarnik

Amid chaotic scenes at its border with Serbia, Croatia said yesterday it could not cope with a � ood of migrants seeking a new route into the EU after Hungary kept them out by erecting a fence and using tear gas and water cannon against them.

The European Union’s newest member state said it may try to stop taking in mi-grants, just as the 28-nation bloc announced it leaders would hold an emergency summit on September 23 to try to resolve the migra-tion crisis, which has deeply divided it.

More than 7,300 people entered Croatia from Serbia in the 24 hours after Wednes-day’s clashes between Hungarian riot police and stone-throwing refugees at its Balkan neighbour’s frontier.

At the eastern border town of Tovarnik, Croatian riot police struggled to keep crowds of men, women and children back from rail tracks after long queues formed in baking heat for buses bound for reception centres elsewhere in Croatia.

Police were also deployed in a suburb of the capital Zagreb, taking up positions around a hotel housing hundreds of migrants, some of them on balconies shouting “Freedom! Freedom!.” Others threw rolls of toilet paper from the balconies and windows.

“Croatia will not be able to receive more people,” Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic told reporters in Tovarnik.

“When we said corridors are prepared (for migrants), we meant a corridor from Tovar-nik to Zagreb,” he added, suggesting Croatia would not simply let migrants head north to Slovenia, which is part of the EU’s Schengen zone of border-free travel.

The � ood of migrants into Croatia has ac-celerated since Hungary sealed its southern, external EU frontier with Serbia on Tuesday, to keep out the asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom hope eventually to reach wealthy Germany.

The EU is split over how to cope with the in� ux of people mostly � eeing war and pov-erty in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

European Council President Donald Tusk summoned EU leaders to an extraordinary summit next Wednesday to discuss migration and a proposed scheme to distribute 120,000 asylum seekers across the bloc.

The bloc’s interior ministers failed on

Monday to agree on a mandatory quota sys-tem designed to spread the burden of this year’s huge in� ux of migrants and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leader of the EU’s most powerful member state, had called for an emergency summit.

EU commissioner for migration Dimitris Avromopoulos rebuked Hungary over its ac-tions, telling a joint news conference with Hungary’s foreign and interior ministers that most of those arriving in Europe were Syrians “in need of our help.” “There is no wall you would not climb, no sea you would not cross if you are � eeing violence and terror,” he said, describing barriers of the kind Hungary has erected as temporary solutions that only di-verted migrants, increasing tensions.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjar-to hit back, saying that siding with rioting migrants, who pelted Hungarian police with rocks on Wednesday in clashes that injured 20 police, was encouraging violence.

“It is bizarre and shocking how some members of international political life and the international press interpreted yester-day’s events,” he said. “All these people will be responsible if these events are repeated today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

Undeterred by the problems faces by mi-grants at the gates of Europe, more have been arriving at the Greek port of Piraeus from Les-bos island, a route taken by many refugees.

“It would be very dangerous, but if you make it, the reward is great, the whole world will open up for you,” Yousef Hariri, a refugee from Deraa in Syria, said.

German police said the number of refugees arriving in Germany more than doubled on Wednesday to 7,266.

The head of Germany’s O� ce for Migration and Refugees quit for personal reasons after being criticised for slow processing of applica-tions from a record number of asylum seekers.

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban,

who has blamed Berlin for stoking the wave of migrants entering his country after Merkel rolled out the welcome mat for Syrian refugees, said Muslims would end up outnumbering Christians in Europe if the policy continued.

“I am speaking about culture and the everyday principles of life, such as sexual habits, freedom of expression, equality be-tween men and woman and all those kind of values which I call Christianity,” Orban said in an interview published in several European newspapers including The Times.

The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, in turn hit back by denouncing “cal-lous, xenophobic and anti-Muslim views that appear to lie at the heart of current Hungarian government policy.”

The European Parliament endorsed yes-terday the Commission proposal for the relo-cation of 120,000 migrants from Italy, Greece and Hungary, opposed by four central Euro-pean states including Hungary itself. l

FACTBOX (Part 2)

Asylum bene� ts in some European countries People seeking refugee status in European countries are generally entitled to food, or money to buy it, plus shelter and medical attention, schooling for their chil-dren and access to interpreters and lawyers.

Following are some of the rights and bene� ts they can claim across the continent, above and be-yond that basic package. ITALYn No right to work until asylum granted, or during

� rst six months, whichever comes � rst.n State pays 35 euros/day for each person housed,

but most of this goes to the centres providing the meals and shelter. Asylum seekers are entitled to 2.50 euros per day pocket money. Classes in Ital-ian provided in some centres.

n On approval: right to work; stay permit of one, three or � ve years; no cash or housing.

LUXEMBOURGn Monthly grant of up to 225 euros per adult, if ap-

plicant is not hosted in accommodation o� ering full board. If meals are provided, monthly allow-ance up to 25 euros per adult.n Can’t work for nine months after applying. If asy-

lum process takes longer, can work under strict conditions.

NETHERLANDSn Asylum seekers receive shelter at govern-

ment-funded reception centres. Each adult re-ceives weekly allowance of 20 to 45 euros for food and 13 euros for other expenses.

n Can earn up to 14 euros/week taking jobs within the asylum centre. Refugees are allowed to work 24 weeks a year outside the centre. A share of their salary goes to the asylum centre.

SWEDENn Asylum seekers living in state housing or reception

centres where food is provided receive 24 crowns ($3) per day for single adults. Those living in ac-commodation paid for by the state but who have to buy food for themselves get 71 crowns/day.n On approval: two-year integration plan including

Swedish classes and help with getting a job or work experience. Full-time programme partici-pants get around 6,700 crowns/month, more if they have children or for housing.

SWITZERLANDn Social assistance averaging 1,200 Swiss francs

($1,240) per person per month, 20 percent less than for Swiss recipients.n Recognised refugees may work with a permit.UNITED KINGDOMn Accommodation tends to be private, paid for by

the state.n Weekly allowance of 36.95 pounds ($57) per per-

son to cover basic needs including food. Small extra amounts available for pregnant women, babies and young children.n Not normally allowed to work.n If granted asylum: same bene� ts as British

nationals. l

An injured migrant carries a child during clashes with Hungarian riot police at the border crossing with Serbia in Roszke, Hungary September 16. Hungarian police � red tear gas and water cannon at protesting migrants demanding they be allowed to enter from Serbia on Wednesday on the second day of a border crackdown REUTERS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

American woman says she was raped in Indian AFP, New Delhi

An American tourist has accused two men of raping her in the popular Himalayan hill station of Dharamsala in northern India, police said yesterday, the latest sex attack on a foreigner.

The 46-year-old woman has told police she was walking through a crowded market area of the town, famed for its Tibetan communi-ty and home to the Dalai Lama, on Tuesday evening when the attack occurred.

The woman, who had been travelling in India for about a month and was alone in Dharamsala, said she passed out after being grabbed by the unidenti� ed men.

“She says that after waking up she realised that she had been assaulted...and decided to approach us a day later,” Abhishek Dhul-lar, police superintendent of Kangra district which includes Dharamsala, said.

“We have registered a case of rape and are investigating the matter. No one has yet been arrested,” Dhullar told AFP.

Police are awaiting detailed results of the woman’s medical examination, seeking wit-nesses to the incident and studying CCTV footage of the area which was crowded at the time with shoppers and families, he said.

There were no immediate details on how the woman passed out or where she was when she came to.

India introduced tougher laws against sex o� enders in the wake of the fatal gang-rape of a student in New Delhi in December 2012 that sparked mass street protests and internation-al outrage. l

Over 100 killed in South Sudan lorry explosionn Reuters, Juba

More than 100 people were killed in South Sudan when an oil lorry exploded as a crowd tried to gather fuel from the vehicle after it had veered o� the road, a regional o� cial said yesterday, a day after the incident.

In addition to those killed in Wednesday’s blast, Charles Kisagna, the minister of infor-mation in Western Equatoria, said about 50 people were seriously injured.

“We don’t have medical equipment and

these people may not survive because we do not have the facilities to treat the highly burnt people,” he told Reuters, adding the truck had been travelling from the capital Juba to the Western Equatoria area.

Such incidents have happened before in the east African region where fuel tank-ers often have to travel long distances along potholed roads and pass through poor communities.

There are almost no tarmac roads in South Sudan, one of Africa’s poorest nations, which

has been mired in con� ict since December 2013. Rebels and the government signed a peace deal in August, although the cease� re has already been violated.

Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek At-eny said Wednesday’s incident was not re-lated to the conflict. “This was an accident,” he said.

In June 2013, at least 30 people were killed and scores more injured when a broken-down fuel tanker exploded on a highway in Uganda while they were trying to siphon fuel. l

Blasts in central Baghdad leave 23 dead, 68 woundedn Reuters, Baghdad

At least 23 people were killed and 68 others wounded when three bombs went o� in main-ly Shi’ite neighborhoods in central Baghdad yesterday, security and medical sources said.

Two suicide blasts claimed by Islamic State killed at least 19 people in the commercial district of Bab al-Shargi, a demonstration that the Sunni insurgent group can still launch at-tacks in the heart of the capital despite gov-ernment e� orts to thwart them.

A third explosion in the nearby Bab al-Muadham district killed four people, the sources said. A hospital source said the bombs had wounded a total of 68 people.

Baghdad is trying to dislodge Islamic State from large swathes of the country’s north and west, but advances have been slow, particularly in the western province of Anbar, where Bagh-dad has been focusing its attention for months.

As part of a reform campaign aimed at com-bating corruption and improving people’s dai-ly lives, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has directed security commanders to ease civilian access to the Green Zone, just across the Ti-gris River from the site of yesterday’s attacks.

He also ordered the elimination of no-go zones set up by militias and political parties in response to more than a decade of bombings, but removal of the gray concrete blast walls and barriers that line many of Baghdad’s thor-oughfares has been slow. l

Chileans pick through debris after 8.3 quake; eight killedn Reuters, Santiago

Residents picked through the rubble of de-stroyed buildings in central Chile yesterday after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake killed eight people and sent powerful waves barreling into coastal areas, forcing more than 1 million people from their homes.

Violent aftershocks continued shaking the South American country yesterday morning and locals said they feared another big quake, although the government lifted its tsunami warning.

“Everything is a mess. It was a disaster, a total loss. Bottles and glasses shattered and the pipes in the bathroom and kitchen burst,” said restaurant owner Melisa Pinones in the city of Illapel, near the epicenter of Wednes-day’s quake.

In the coastal town of Los Vilos, residents tried to salvage belongings from dozens of beachfront homes that were destroyed or severely damaged when the strong waves swept in.

The government had ordered evacuations from coastal areas after the powerful quake

hit, seeking to avoid a repeat of a quake dis-aster in 2010 when authorities were slow to warn of a tsunami and hundreds were killed.

The latest quake and the heavy waves that followed caused � ooding in coastal towns and knocked out power in the worst hit are-as of central Chile, although most buildings held up well. The quake was felt as far away as Buenos Aires in Argentina.

The port of Coquimbo su� ered major damage, Interior Minister Jorge Burgos told reporters. Chile’s navy said the city was hit by waves of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet).

President Michelle Bachelet said her gov-ernment “learned a series of lessons” from previous disasters and that she would travel to the worst a� ected areas. It was the strong-est quake in the world this year and the big-gest to hit Chile since 2010.

Tsunami advisories were issued for parts of South America, Hawaii, California and French Polynesia, although waves were gen-erally expected to be small.

As far away as New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands, some residents left their homes after reporting repeated ebbing and

� owing of the tide, along with ocean noises associated with tide surge around midnight local time. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

Dozens of strong aftershocks continued to rattle central Chile, a largely agricultural re-gion south of the mining belt, yesterday.

In Illapel, a 26-year-old woman was killed by a wall that collapsed when the quake hit. Another person died from a heart attack in Santiago, according to media reports.

Quake-prone Chile has strict building regulations so newer buildings are able to withstand even strong quakes. Many homes in Illapel and surrounding areas are simple, adobe houses and are more prone to damage.

The brunt of the damage was borne by coastal areas such as Coquimbo where hous-es and � shing boats were smashed by waves.

The quake is the latest natural disaster to roil mining in Chile, which accounts for a third of global copper output.

Northern Chile was hit by severe � oods earlier this year, while a volcanic eruption caused problems for residents in the south. l

A woman recovers items from her destroyed house after an earthquake hit areas of central Chile yesterday REUTERS

WORLD 9D

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015WORLD10D

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Britain says it killed 330 IS � ghters in air strikesn Reuters, London

About 330 Islamic State � ghters have been killed in British air strikes since the Royal Air Force began carrying out raids against the group in September last year, Britain’s De-fence Secretary Michael Fallon has said.

“This � gure is highly approximate, not least given the absence of UK ground troops

in a position to observe the e� ects of strike activity,” Fallon said in a written parliamen-tary statement.

“We do not believe there have been any ci-vilian casualties as a result of UK strike activity.”

Britain has regularly conducted attacks on Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq as part of -led air strikes, but does not take part in raids in Syria after Prime Minister David Cameron lost a 2013

parliamentary vote to approve military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Cameron is keen to win parliamentary backing to extend raids against Islamic State into Syria with Fallon saying the current po-sition is illogical.

However, some members of Cameron’s Conservative party are opposed to expand-ing air strikes and newly elected opposition

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is a veteran an-ti-war campaigner meaning he could not be certain of winning a vote.

Earlier this month, Cameron said two Brit-ish nationals who had been � ghting for IS had been killed by an RAF drone strike in Syria, a move he justi� ed on the grounds of self-de-fence, saying one of the men had been plot-ting to carry out attacks on Britain. l

11D

TEDITORIALFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

INSIDE

We congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on winning the award, due to be given by the UN Environment Program at the Sustainable Development Goals summit this month in recognition of the innovative way in which environmental action programs in

Bangladesh have aided important social and economic goals.Bangladesh, under the PM’s astute guidance, has made huge strides in providing

millions of solar home power systems in rural communities through IDCOL and organisations such as Grameen Shakti.

These not only grow the use of renewable energy and provide more people with reliable electricity, but help to raise living standards and increase people’s resilience to the negative impacts of climate change.

The PM is well aware that our nation is on the frontline of climate change and no doubt she will use this prestigious award to take a lead in helping the world reduce dependence on fossil fuels by supporting proposals for globally co-ordinated taxes on the use of fossil fuels.

We believe that this award is indicative of more similar achievements to come. Economists and environmental scientists agree that taxes on fossil fuels would

make renewable energy more competitive in comparison to fossil fuels and stimulate investment in renewable energy to reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.

In a Bangladeshi context, this policy would also save much tax-payer money by cutting wasteful subsidies on power and gas. These funds could be freed for investment in education and development.

We can be proud of the fact that emissions from Bangladesh are negligible, and have not been a barrier to e� orts to industrialise our economy. It is important we keep this up.

Our government has been working hard to cut our own dependence on fossil fuels.

We are con� dent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina continues to use her moral authority and the legitimacy of this award to demand better from the rest of the world in � ghting climate change.

We are con� dent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina continues to use her moral authority and the legitimacy of this award to demand better from the rest of the world in � ghting climate change

World needs to follow PM’s lead on climate change

Well done, Labour

Migration and the mélange of mankindPolitical leaders in Bangladesh, who have recognised this elite transition and used it to their advantage, are thriving, while leaders who are stuck to the old order, watch helplessly as power slips away from their � sts like � ne sand

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Are we stuck in mediocrity?We know our youngsters are much more IT-savvy, articulate, and respectful of each others’ opinions. But most of them are unable to adjust with what is happening around them. Most of them also want to go abroad and not come back

The road to 10 Downing Street is fraught with many obstacles and open pits for Mr Corbyn, not in the least that the Tories would malign him as a Stalinistic communist while Labour itself would smear him

BIGSTOCK

LONG FORM12DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

n Shafi qur Rahman

Historical migration patterns also show us that, until a few hundred years ago, almost all of the large empires and kingdoms did not

su� er from over-population but, rather, under-population. Apart from agricultural lands near large, navigable rivers, most of the hinterlands and the periphery of even very populous civilisations, like India and China, were largely unpopulated until a few thousand years ago.

There were so few people to support large state systems that the elites of these political systems worried more about their own pop-ulation emigrating away, than foreign people coming in. In fact, the elites often welcomed energetic young people from beyond border-lands to settle within the empires -- the larger the population, the bigger the tax base.

Large empires, by virtue of their wealth concentration and stable centres of state pow-er, have historically always attracted migra-tion from people beyond the borders. But the very inequality of wealth and development between empire and its periphery eventually causes the downfall of the centre and di� u-sion of wealth across geographical expanses.

Peter Heather, a British historian, has writ-ten several books developing a model of fall of empires from political and economic causes. His books, particularly, focus on the fall of the Roman Empire at the hands of Germanic tribes in the middle of � rst millennium AD -- the clas-sic case of empires and barbarians in history.

According to Heather, an empire comes into being when a particular region enjoys a comparative advantage in development of a political, economic system that enables the region’s sustained domination of the relative-ly underdeveloped surrounding areas. But expanding empires eventually collide with an-other, similarly powerful, political entity, with which it engages in prolonged confrontation.

For the Roman Empire, it was the Sassanid Empire of Persia that provided a military rivalry that lasted centuries. The prolonged warfare forced expansion of state bureaucra-cy and demanded expansion of tax revenue. Meanwhile, gradual di� usion of better pro-duction technology, from the core of the em-pire to the lands beyond the border, meant that the formerly “barbarian” lands became more productive. Economic growth in the pe-riphery supported population growth which, in turn, facilitated growth of powerful elites and political consolidation.

This gradual development eroded the rel-ative advantage of the empire to its periph-ery. When the new peripheral political units faced pressure from “barbarians” beyond periphery, for the Germanic tribes, it was the Huns from East European plains -- they en-croached upon the empire both for safety and the riches. The elites of the empire did not al-ways resist the encroaching tribes, they even welcomed some of them for the increase in population, tax base, and addition to military power. But, gradually, encroachment from the periphery overwhelmed the empire and

the political order was overturned.From his study of The Fall of Roman Em-

pire, Peter Heather proposes a Third Law of Empires: Every imperial rise generates an op-posite and equal reaction among its originally dominated neighbours, which will eventually culminate in its own demise. According him, the net e� ect of the rise and fall of empires, over a long time, is growth, disappearance, and re-growth of inequality elsewhere.

Peter Heather’s theory of empires closely follows Ibn Khaldun’s theory of di� erence between community cohesion in the empire centre and barbarian periphery -- it also somewhat follows Gibbon’s theory on the fall of the Roman Empire.

But there is a vital di� erence: Unlike Khal-dun and Gibbon, Heather does not believe that the core of the empire was declining, either in economic vitality or social cohesion. In fact, he shows that, right until the fall of the empire in the � fth century, Roman soci-ety and economy were as vigorous as ever. It was the wealth of the empire that mainly attracted Germanic tribes, not the opportuni-ty for decadence.

In the modern era, three centuries of relative advantage in economic and political system helped Europe and the West enjoy an economic boom that created a “great diver-gence” with the rest of the world. The west used this economic disparity to maintain global empires and client states. But, as the economic systems, production technology, and political orders di� used all over the world, the relative advantage diminished and many parts of the world are catching up with the west in the “great convergence.”

But it does not mean that the West is declining in economy and society in absolute

terms. Its societies and economies remain attractive to most people living beyond. When faced with violent political instabil-ity at home countries, most of the rich and educated people beyond the periphery still prefer the West as the destination for reloca-tion. The elites in the West face an irresolv-able dilemma. They need supply of skilled and youthful infusion of cheaper workforce to keep their economy humming, but the en-suing demographic change creates social and cultural tensions that threaten to upset the political order in the destination countries.

Today, Germany is rightfully praised for it opening its doors to Syrian refugees � eeing from the horrors of war that is mostly the handiwork of Western powers and Syria’s powerful neighbours. But some cynical ob-servers also note that hundreds of thousands educated, middle-class Syrians, who are capable of � nancing the long underground trek to the West, are probably a boon rather than a burden to Germany, with its declining population but highly productive economy.

Just as Germans laud the European Monetary Union in terms of European unity, while under-playing how the EMU bene� ts the German economy disproportionately, the Germans also managed to � nd moral tones of humanity and solidarity about welcoming refugees while understating the bene� ts to the economy.

But many countries in Europe, whose economies are not as healthy and who de-pend upon economic opportunities provided by the integration with German economy, are rightfully apprehensive at the arrival of so many new people from di� erent cultures at the heart of Europe.

In history, sustained migration has nearly

always resulted in political change, and political change is always pregnant with the possibility of violence. The modern liberal democratic system, which originated in the West, will be sorely tested by an inevitable demographic change. The US, which went through several waves of big demographic changes during its 200 years of history, seems to be more robustly capable of coping with change while maintaining political order.

Lastly, I couldn’t resist drawing a fanciful comparison between the macro-historical patterns and an ongoing change in the eco-nomic and political elite of Bangladesh. The landed gentry who have dominated society in Bangladesh since 1947, also dominated economy and politics since 1971. The class remained closely-knit across political divides and used their relative advantage to perpe-trate dominance over the rest of society, in ways that were very thinly disguised.

But the growth of economy and state meant that the personalised and particularis-tic political order they helped develop could not stop economic and political power from di� using to a new class of more vigorous and risk-taking entrepreneurs of power who come from more plebian origins. In the more unconstrained and unstructured social order that democratic politics unleashed since the 1990s, it was the more adventurous power entrepreneurs who thrived and the relative power of the old elites diminished.

Today, the former elites are � nding them-selves more and more out of place in Bang-ladesh’s rough-and-tumble economy and society. Many of the old elites are resigned to their fates and they are de-camping to the genteel pastures of the West to meet oblivion in peaceful comfort.

Political leaders in Bangladesh, who have recognised this elite transition and used it to their advantage, are thriving, while leaders who are stuck to the old order watch helplessly as power slips away from their � sts like � ne sand. And like how sand piles in a windswept dune, economic and political inequalities are continuously diminished and shored up in the large canvas of history. l

Sha� qur Rahman is a freelance contributor.

Migration and the mélange of mankindMigration has always resulted in change, and change has often meant the possibility of violence. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long form

Political leaders in Bangladesh, who have recognised this elite transition and used it to their advantage, are thriving, while leaders who are stuck to the old order, watch helplessly as power slips away from their � sts like � ne sand

Migrants often bring great tangible bene� ts to a country’s economy REUTERS

OPINION 13D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

n Mamun Rashid

The cabinet has decided to withdraw the VAT from private university tui-tion fees. I am supposed to be happy and thankful towards our PM for

being very kind to students. I am sorry, but it doesn’t really make me all that happy.

In replying to a Facebook post by our state minister for foreign a� airs, I wrote: “This may pose serious threats to our future rev-enue planning.” Private university students applied the trick of blocking diplomatic enclaves, road junctions, and commercially important places to pressure the government into caving in to their demands. People have now started talking about the withdrawal of VAT on English-medium school tuition fees, computers, and maybe on other things con-sidered to be public good sectors as well.

Just the other day, some of my friends were sarcastically telling me: “Your friend Muhith can’t take out a single penny from the Hall-Mark owners, can’t tax the rich or

garment owners ... your PM can’t even think of withdrawing tax-free luxury car imports made by members of parliament, and now you guys are serious about imposing VAT on private university students?”

A few of our teachers, who have always championed the private sector-led growth and higher tax-GDP ratio, were quite dis-mayed with the Ministry of Finance and the NBR. They agree with me that the FM and the NBR goofed up big time. In the same way, ruling party stalwarts, who have always wanted to get the best out of Sheikh Hasina, sowed in her the fear of the opposition gain-ing from this � asco.

We want to make way for more taxes and VAT, but we want to keep everybody happy. Is this a joke? Bangladesh has one of the low-est, if not the lowest, tax-GDP ratios in the world. Our per capita income is rising, wealth is concentrated amongst new streams, and there are more houses, more cars, more bou-tique shops in every corner, and more people travelling abroad. There is more money in circulation, an increase in disposable income, and a higher rise in savings every day.

Bangladesh Bank is reporting drastic rises in millionaire deposits year on year. Our import is up to more than $41bn, our export is up to $32bn, our remittance is $15bn, and our foreign exchange reserve is $27bn -- who does all this money belong to? Are they sharing their successes with regular folk? No. None of the larger companies which are known to be driven by “successful business

leaders” are listed with the Dhaka or Chit-tagong stock exchanges.

Our cabinet, Finance Ministry, and NBR have yet to make any smart moves, from the very outset, no less. Why did they impose a VAT on private university education? Why they didn’t impose income tax on private universities, or, now that a 25% income tax has been imposed on them, why did the NBR not increase this? If they could impose an income tax on private universities through a statutory regulatory order, why not increase that, or enforce this everywhere?

Also, what are they going to do with VAT in English-medium schools? Reviews have revealed that most of these educational insti-tutions hide their pro� ts and show very little earnings or even a loss. Imposing VAT was, therefore, the best solution. Universities are established as trusts, therefore, their motives were supposed to be “public good.” I have been teaching in some private universities, if our teachers, who are now the decision-mak-ers, visit them, they might need to be rushed to the coronary care unit.

No investment on teacher training, no teaching assistants, no scholarships to the poor-but-meritorious students, and the lowest possible provision of books in libraries -- this is the usual scenario in most of our private universities. I asked a friend what his suggestion would be, and he immediately shot back: “Why did the government allow so many private universities in the � rst place?” Thank God he didn’t mention the accredita-tion council that we have been talking about for so long. Every university claims to be the best, as one simple success is blown up beyond proportion.

The reason behind my lamenting is not the withdrawal of the VAT. Our politicians are goo� ng up, our bureaucrats are goo� ng up, our law enforcers are goo� ng up, and our pol-icy-planners can’t show us much in the way of hope. We know our youngsters are much more IT-savvy, articulate, and respectful of each others’ opinions.

But most of them are unable to adjust with what is happening around them. We are not allowing them to join the government, public universities, or even politics. It is widely being discussed that most of them also want to go abroad and not come back.

A bad political environment, deteriorating standards of life, the breakdown of social values, and seniors stuck in mediocrity and ugly politics have signi� cantly contributed towards their rising distaste towards their own motherland.

Our policy formation, civil-military bu-reaucracy, and the government, are getting extraordinarily dependent on a couple of white-haired “intelligent” people, posing a serious business-continuity risk for an other-wise potentially bright future for Bangladesh. Investment on innovation is going down steadily, while hoodlums and apple-polishers are occupying the front-row seats. l

Mamun Rashid is a business professor and � nancial sector entrepreneur.

Are we stuck in mediocrity?The youth are quickly losing faith in their own nation, and it’s our fault

We know our youngsters are much more IT-savvy, articulate, and respectful of each others’ opinions. But most of them are unable to adjust with what is happening around them. Most of them also want to go abroad and not come back

Is Bangladesh crumbling at its cornerstones? MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

OPINION14DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

n Matthew Islam

Hip hip Jeremy Corbyn! A man long considered to be languishing in the dormant fringes of the Labour Par-ty in the UK, now � nds himself in

an enviable position in British politics, who’s authentic appeal and straightforward style of communication got his hat tossed into the ring for the Labour leadership by virtue of a tiny socialist campaign group of MPs within Labour. He scraped through to a nomination for the leadership battle with one extra vote over the requisite 35 MPs support needed to be put on the ballot.

Corbyn, an activism-based back-bencher in British parliament for long, has never been put in any position of real political authority. He has, despite his seniority, never held any ministerial post or equivalent. He has been constantly considered an old-guard socialist, with known friends in the world such as the Hamas and the IRA, with stated political positions which most mainstream European parties, including senior ranks of his own, consider an embarrassment.

If he had his way, Britain would not be � ghting in wars in the Middle East, would have scrapped the Trident Nuclear System altogether, made education free, national-ised large swaths of British industry, bring unions into larger play, and left the EU for good. Both his own party-leadership and the conservatives have gone to the extreme extent of calling him “a national security threat.” His positions are controversial for the mainstream. He has, as such, always been considered unelectable to high o� ce because of the political impracticality of his belief system.

Jeremy Corbyn was never considered a real threat for leadership within Labour. Always an outsider to manoeuvrings of main-stream politics, even the bookies had his

chances pegged at a poor 200-1 for winning the leadership battle. It’s been revealed, no one at the time of the nomination, in their wildest dreams, including Corbyn himself, ever imagined that he would win in the way he did. Very few, if any, could predict that La-bour national voting members, old and new, would rally behind Corbyn with such vigour, resulting in a surge of renewed grass-roots energy, � ght, and unity rivalling, or as some would say even, eclipsing, that of Corbyn’s nemesis Tony Blair.

The meteoric rise of Corbyn stems in part from Labour’s inability to distinguish itself from the Tories in many respects. As the Tories positioned themselves to a more centrist-looking agenda over the last few years, Labour members have found it hard to reconcile their leadership identity and look to have moved further left for de� nition as they did with Ed Miliband. It is, therefore, not a surprise that the Labour National Membership, in voting for a leader, chose an outspoken, charismatic, old Labour person-ality, in a historic mandate to lead them into the future. All other candidates on the ballot were centre-left, and not that distinct from Tory leaders today.

The Tories, post their incredible second term victory in parliament, had successfully cast Labour into the shadows for at least � ve more years -- leaderless and rudderless, or so

they thought, having dealt with the immedi-acy of the Miliband challenges by defeating one brother and causing the other to leave politics altogether. Ed Miliband himself retreated into a holding pattern post-election defeat to perhaps re-group for a future strike at the national leadership, choosing to stay away from what they deemed was a recon-ciliation period for Labour, and it is widely thought that reconciliation leaders within the party never actually make it to the general elections as party candidates.

This moratorium of silence was only broken a few weeks prior to the party leadership battle where the former leader, Ed Miliband, like Tony Blair, chimed in to urge party voters to refrain from voting for Corbyn or face sure defeat to the Tories in the next election.

It is a curious thing in a democracy, that, while Mr Corbyn has the unquestionable majority support of the party voting mem-bership, 90% of Labour parliament members do not support him at all. This is the bunch he will have to lead to ful� ll his vision. A lot of whom are reportedly having back-room conversations for a party coup, facilitating the return of David Miliband to parliament via election to a safe seat so as to set him up for leadership in the 2020 general elections.

So, the road to 10 Downing Street is fraught with many obstacles, and open pits for Mr Corbyn, not in the least that the Tories

would malign him as a Stalinistic communist while Labour itself would smear him with what they consider to be 80s politics that they abandoned decades ago, as it only leads to defeat. He has detractors on all sides, all vocal and a gunning for his head. So, where does this leave Jerry, as Corbyn is a� ection-ately called? Will he be able to hold onto the party post until 2020 and unite its leader-ship for national victory? Will he be able to moderate his beliefs without alienating his support base? Will he be able to mount a real challenge to the Tories? Will he be able to mould himself as a national leader and capture the national imagination?

A lot of these are very important ques-tions, the answers to which will play out in the coming months. Early indications are that, despite the opposition from his own party colleagues, he’s approaching his � rst few days with great care and dialogue. Choosing the best people amongst his practi-cal, but shallow, pool of MP supporters to � ll up the shadow cabinet posts. He is reportedly listening to all sides, but mostly reversing the top-down approach to a bottom-up method to leadership. This style of leadership could keep him in good stead, going forward.

What cannot be discounted, however, is the Corbyn mandate. It is historic. Built from the ground-up, the freshness in his rustic ap-proach left intact will only attract more sup-porters to his cause. His un-rehearsed style of politics and populist positions are magnets to fame. If he can continue to keep up the mo-mentum and keep beating the odds, and the Tories, the coming years could see a tectonic shift in the style of politics in Britain. I, for one, would love to see that happen. l

Matthew Islam is a writer, entrepreneur, barrister-at-law, and a Dhaka Tribune columnist. He can be contacted on twitter via @matthewislam or www.facebook.com/thematthewislam.

Well done, LabourThe rise and rise of Jeremy Corbyn

The road to 10 Downing Street is fraught with many obstacles and open pits for Mr Corbyn, not in the least that the Tories would malign him as a Stalinistic communist while Labour itself would smear him

Is Jeremy Corbyn right for Labour? REUTERS

15D

TBusiness FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Income Tax Fair draws young generation17 Stocks � nish week

with modest move 19Grameenphone brings internet safety guidebook for parents

16Volatility seen lingering no matter what the Fed does

20

BDF meeting likely in November n Asif Showkat Kallol

The government is set to place a multi-billion dollar development blueprint at the Bangla-desh Development Forum meeting expected to be held on November 15-16 in Dhaka after a procrastination of � ve and a half years.

The move focuses on obtaining � nancial assistance from the participating develop-ment partners to help the country graduate to the next higher status of a middle-income country by 2021.

Additional Secretary to Economic Relations Division Monawar Ahmed yesterday issued a letter to the Finance Division in this regard.

The ERD has already formed an organising committee comprising 25 secretaries headed by its senior Secretary Mohammad Mejba-huddin to hold the BDF meeting in Dhaka.

According to the circular, the committee will give directives to the authorities con-cerned to arrange the country’s biggest de-velopment partners’ meeting in which a local seventh � ve-year plan will be laid down.

The last BDF meeting was held in Dhaka on February 15-16, 2010, and various disturbanc-es held back the development meeting previ-ously known as Paris Consortium.

The BDF has been held up for such long years due to lukewarm relations of the gov-ernment with some development partners, especially with the World Bank over the al-leged Padma Bridge scam as well as political turmoil on the issue of the national elections in January 2014 and Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporation election in April 2015.

According to the circular, new members will be incorporated, according to the organ-ising committee of BDF.

The committee members are senior � nance and home secretary, secretaries of Prime Min-ister’s O� ce, power, education, foreign, bridg-es division, science and technology, environ-ment and forestry, information and culture.

An ERD o� cial said the approved seventh � ve-year plan will be presented before the meeting wherein development plans and re-quired investment will be elaborated.

“We are attempting to ensure participation of some senior ministers from some donor countries. Besides, senior executives of the headquarters from some bilateral and mul-tilateral development partners will also take part in the Dhaka BDF meeting,” the o� cial said, asking not to be named.

Earlier, the high-pro� le meeting on devel-opment funding was scheduled to be held in Dhaka on November 2-3 in 2011, but it was de-ferred following a request by the World Bank Country Director and then co-chair of the Lo-cal Consultative Group Ellen Goldstein.

The ERD later decided to hold the pending BDF in the � rst quarter of 2012. This meeting was also not held due to the Padma Bridge stando� with the World Bank, o� cials said. l

ICT entrepreneurs to get credit facilityn Tribune Report

BASIS and IDLC have o� cially launched a com-plete � nancial service programme called “IDLC Udbhabon” to provide funding support to the ICT sector entrepreneurs and companies.

A number of loan facilities will be o� ered under the programme, which include start-up loans, short-term loans and loans for buying domestic software or IT-enabled services and commercial space.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT Division, formally launched the programme yesterday at Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka.

Naznin Sultana, deputy governor of Bang-ladesh Bank, was also present as special guest. Shameem Ahsan, president of Bang-

ladesh Association of Software and Informa-tion Services (BASIS), and Selim RF Hussain, managing director of IDLC, and Mosta� zur Rahman Sohel, joint secretary general of BA-SIS, spoke on the occasion.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the new entrepreneurs to the IT sector were facing challeng-es relating to the capital or in-vestment. “To overcome these challenges, IDLC will facilitate to providing special interest loans to the BASIS member companies.”

Naznin Sultana hoped that this � nancial service would

surely contribute towards the development of the country’s economy. l

Concerted e� orts stressed to ensure business sustainablityn Tribune Report

The government and corporate sectors of any country should work collaboratively to en-sure sustainable business practices that bring good to the country, speakers said at a pro-gramme yesterday.

They said this at the seminar titled “Busi-ness sustainability – perspective on creating shared value” at the Westin Hotel in the capital.

Telenor Group, in association with the Norwegian Embassy, Dhaka, hosted the pro-gramme.

Katja Nordgaard, executive vice-president & head of Corporate A� airs at Telenor, deliv-ered her keynote speech on sustainable busi-ness practices and long term perspective of shared value creation for business and society across Asia.

The keynote was followed by a panel dis-cussion on recent developments in the areas of business and sustainability.

Merete Lundemo, Norwegian Ambassa-dor to Bangladesh; Matlub Ahmed, FBCCI president, Dr Debapriya Bhattachariya, dis-tinguished fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Nooruddin Chowdhury, country man-ager of DHL; and Hans Henrichsen, chief rep-resentative o� cer, Telenor Country O� ce, Bangladesh, were present as panellists.

The seminar provided insight into how the Norwegian company focuses on sustainable initiatives that create a long-term shared value for business, customers and society at large.

Today the telecommunication industry in Bangladesh accounts for almost 4% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), apart from creating over 1 million indirect

employment opportunities.Since its footing in Bangladesh 18 years

ago, Telenor has been interested in working closely with the government in developing the country.

In her address Katja Nordgaard said: “As the industry leader, GP is at an important position of in� uence in leading business sus-tainability in Bangladesh.”

The cellphone industry has been contrib-uting both by extending bene� ts of mobile communications to everyone as well as en-suring responsible business practices, added the Telenor high-up.

“With Grameenphone being the leading commercial player in Bangladesh, Telenor is aware of its responsibilities to lead by exam-ple and demonstrate business sustainability locally,” Katja said.

According to Norwegian Ambassador Merete Lundemo, the government and corpo-

rate sector should work together for introduc-ing the business sustainability.

“FBCCI, the apex body of business people in Bangladesh, is planning to introduce an award on business sustainability in four cat-egories,” said Matlub Ahmed.

“We will focus on small business entities for sustainability for the sake our own busi-ness interest,” he added.

CPD distinguished fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya suggested participatory coordi-nation management system necessary to in-troduce business sustainability in developing countries.

DHL’s Nooruddin Chowdhury said busi-ness sustainability is a part of strategy, and by introducing this, it is possible to increase employees’ skill.

Prof Dr Syed Ferhat Anwar of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka, moderated the panel discussion. l

Telenor Head of Corporate A� airs Katja Nordgaard speaks at a seminar on business sustainability at the Westin Hotel in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

BUSINESS16DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

CORPORATE NEWS

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently distributed prizes to the winner of its special remittance Eid campaign. The bank’s DMD, Abdus Sadeque Bhuiyan and country head of Transfast LLC (USA), Khairuzzaman have handed over the prizes

MD of Golden Harvest Group, Rajeeb Samdani has recently welcomed Zdzislaw Gawlik, state minister at ministry of treasury, Republic of Poland

Bank Asia has recently opened an ATM booth adjacent to Rangs Workshop Bhaban in Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka. MD of Rangs Group, Romo Rouf Chowdhury inaugurated the ATM

Dhaka Bank has recently launched a new credit card service named ‘Swipe It’. The bank’s MD, Niaz Habib announced the launching for this service

Parliament issues gazette noti� cation on PPP lawn Tribune Report

The Parliament issued a gazette noti� cation on the Public Private Partnership Act 2015 yesterday which has a provision of establish-ing an authority board.

Under the PPP law, the body will be neu-tral and independent, and will have prime minister as its chairman and � nance minister

vice-chairman. The PM will nominate a minister as its

member while another member will be picked from a ministry concerned for the respective project. The principal secretary to PM will be the member secretary.

The PPP law also keeps a provision to hold meeting of the board of governors at least six times a year. It has a provision which

will deal with resolving all barriers towards implementing projects under the PPP initiative.

The board’s head o� ce will be in Dhaka, but the board can open branch o� ces any-where in the country for its smooth operation.

The board can draw any project, apart from the Annual Development Programme, and implement that project under the PPP.

In Bangladesh the government introduced the PPP concept few years ago, which became popular in neighbouring India. The concept aimed to draw more foreign and private in-vestment in the service-oriented sector.

The government allocated Tk3,000 crore in the current � scal year’s budget. Presently, a total of 42 projects are being implemented under the PPP. l

BTRC cancels 33 ISP licencesn Tribune Report

Thirty three internet service providers lost their licences as they had failed to renew the documents within the stipulated time.

The regulator asked the ISPs to pay their dues within next 30 days. If failed to pay the dues by the time, the ISPs would have to face tough le-gal consequences, Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) warned.

“If the ISPs don’t pay the dues within the said time, legal actions will be taken as per Telecommunication Act 2001,” read a notice issued by the BTRC yesterday.

Earlier on June 12, the regulator also can-celled licences of another group of 30 ISPs for the same reason.

Internet Service Providers, also known as Internet Access Providers, are business organ-isations o� ering users access to the internet and related services.

They provide services such as internet ac-cess, internet transit, name registration and hosting, dial-up access, leased line access. l

Grameenphone brings internet safety guidebook for parentsn Tribune Report

Grameenphone launched a guidebook for parents so they could keep their children safe and ensure informed use of internet.

The guidebook, published by the Telenor Group, was launched at Agrani School and College in Azimpur, Dhaka yesterday.

The mobile phone operator said the pub-lishing of the guidebook was a part of its continuous endeavours to raise awareness among parents and children about the safe use of internet.

Grameenphone is the � rst mobile phone operator in Bangladesh to start promoting the concept of “Safe Internet.”

“This launch is a testimony of Grameen-phone’s tireless endeavours to conduct op-erations with utmost responsibility,” said Debashis Roy, head of corporate social re-sponsibility of the operator.

“We are aware that the children of today are tomorrow’s leaders, and consider it our duty to ensure their well-being through in-formed use of the resources around them,” he said at a panel discussion at the launching ceremony.

Dr Abdullah Abu Sayeed, chairman of Bish-wa Sahitya Kendra, Md Reaz Uz Zaman Bhu-iyan, principal of Agrani School and College, Jamila Akhter, child protection specialist of UNICEF and Ronnie Mirza, communications lead of BRAC, also spoke.

Md Hasan, deputy general manager (public relations) of Grameenphone, moderated the discussion.

Grameenphone said millions of people across Asia started using internet in recent years, but parents struggled to talk to their kids about many sensitive topics like the contents available on internet and needs to remain safe.

Grameenphone stated that spreading

awareness in low-information populations where the internet was still in its infancy could help mitigate risks posed to digitally in-experienced parents and their children.

The book is available both in English and Bangla and will be distributed by Grameen-phone among the target groups.

Grameenphone has an ambition to ensure “Internet for All.” The company said it was also working to build awareness among the users regarding safe use of internet.

It will hold workshops in 500 schools with the help of BRAC. Earlier this year, the op-erator organised a workshop and published awareness advertisement regarding safe in-ternet on national dailies on the occasion of Safer Internet Day.

Grameenphone, a subsidiary of the Tel-enor Group, is a leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with more than 53m subscribers. l

BUSINESS 17D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Income Tax Fair draws young generationn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

The National Income Tax Fair-2015 has be-come an area of interest for the younger gen-eration as they are spontaneously seeking di� erent tax related services, mainly for reg-istration with Electronic Taxpayers Identi� ca-tion Number (E-TIN).

On the second day of the fair, young peo-ple, mostly university graduates were seen roaming around the fair to inquire about dif-ferent services related to registration of e-TIN.

They were inquiring on how much bene-� ts they could obtain if they had an e-TIN and whether the payment of tax was mandatory if the people got an e-TIN.

Tax o� cials said there was a perception that people had to pay tax if they got an e-TIN registration, which is wrong.

“If a person has taxable income, which is over Tk2.50 lakh, he or she will have to pay tax, but submission of return is mandatory for all the e-TIN holders,” they said.

During a visit to the ongoing fair at Of-� cers’Club premises in Dhaka, many young people were seen receiving information from the booths about the tax payment procedure and � ling forms of E-TIN registration while others from di� erent age groups were ap-proaching to di� erent booths for registering their e-TIN and submitting their tax returns.

Though I am not yet eligible to pay my tax now, I am here to register with an e TIN, which can be used for obtaining services in future, said Chowdhury M Kamrul Hasan, who recently completed his MBA from a pri-vate university.

“I am � ling up the form with help of tax o� -cials, who are very supportive, so there is little chance of committing any mistakes,” he added.

Kamrul also opined that people were reluc-tant to get involved with the taxation process due to its lengthy procedures, so simpli� cation of the process was required to widen the tax net.

The taxes authorities yesterday registered a total of 3,228 people with e-TIN, which is 35% higher from 2383 on the same day of the last year.

Since its introduction in 2010, the income tax fair was able to draw huge crowd as tax o� cials here provides one-stop services in a client friendly manner.

“Being a small businessman, I pay tax every year. Since introduction of the fair, I becomes more interested to submit my return regularly as it is hassle-free comparing to the tax circle o� ces,” said Mohammad Mijanur

Raham, a SME entrepreneurs of Badda area of the capital.

Rahman alleged that he had to some extra money if he wanted to submit his return at his respective circle o� ce.

He also accused some tax o� cials of forc-ing the clients to pay them bribe just delaying or lingering the taxation process.

He urged the government to arrange such

fair in di� erent part of the capital, so rest of the people could take part and pay their taxes at a wide range.

NBR o� cials also praised the participation of young people and said the E-TIN would at-tract the young people more and would help contribute to the economy, which would ulti-mately boost the revenue collection.

Currently, around 17 lakh people in the country holds Taxpayers Identi� cation Num-ber (TIN), but only around 11lakh � le income tax returns in an average where the rest some-how managed to avoid the provisions.

Now it is mandatory for having a e-TIN for obtaining a number of services including registration and � tness renewal of vehicles, opening letters of credits, getting loans and credit cards, ISD telephone line and applica-tion for utility services including gas and elec-

tricity connection.The income tax fair was held yesterday

in seven divisional headquarters, 47 district headquarters and in 21 upazila’s across the country.

On the second day, the NBR bagged over Tk526 crore revenue, which is 11% higher from around Tk475 crore from the same day of last year. The taxes authorities have posted 4% growth in income tax returns collection with 17,218 returns across the country from 16,593 of last year.

A total of 1,05,357 people received di� erent services from the fair from 92,016 of the last year.

The income tax fair will remain open from 10:00am to 5pm today, however it will be re-mained closed from 1pm to 2pm because of Jumma prayer. l

Tax payers seen to submit their tax returns at Income Tax Fair in capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Experts: Joint chambers can play key role in wooing FDIn Tribune Report

Joint chambers can play a vital role to at-tract foreign direct investment (FDI), which is much needed for accelerating economic growth, experts said yesterday.

They also said, “Bangladesh has missed the opportunities to attract overseas investment due to its existing precarious condition in are-as like infrastructures, ports, energy and gas.”

They were speaking at an event titled “Joint Chambers’ Meet Up” which was jointly organised Board of Investment (BoI) and Can-ada Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CanCham) at the DCCI auditorium

in the city. Leaders from a number of joint chambers attended at the programme.

Addressing the meeting, BoI Executive Chairman S A Samad underscored the need for sustainable networking among the joint chambers operating in Bangladesh for attract-ing more FDI.

He also urged the joint chambers’ leaders to make investment in 27 locations identi� ed by the government for establishing special eco-nomic zones in the di� erent part of the country.

“Bangladesh needs investment of about US$7-8bn in infrastructure development to attain 8-9% GDP growth.”

CanCham Bangladesh President Masud

Rahman said, “The present investment re-gime in Bangladesh is quite attractive than many other countries in Asia but we are yet to reap maximum bene� t out of it because of precarious condition in areas like infrastruc-ture, port, energy and gas.”

He also sated that joint chambers could play pivotal role to promote trade and invest-ment between Bangladesh and di� erent for-eign countries.

Director of Nordic Chamber of Com-merce and Regional Head (Bangladesh and Pakistan) of H&M Roger Hubert, President of Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce Hasan Khaled, Senior Vice President of In-

donesia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce Muhammad Golam Mustafa, Director of France-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce Dr Rifat Rashid, CEO of India-Bangladesh Cham-ber of Commerce Jahangir Bin Alam, Senior Vice President of Bangladesh-Thai Chamber of Commerce Charles C R Patra, Advisor of Turkey-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce Halef Ozkurt, President of Italy-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce H M Hakim Ali, Pres-ident of Philippine-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce R Maksud Khan and Executive Member of Foreign Investors’ Chambers of Commerce and Industry Christopher Young attended the programme, among others. l

Taxes authorities yesterday registered a total of 3,228 people with e-TIN, which is 35% higher from 2383 on the same day of last year

BUSINESS18DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 452.80 8.80 22.89 6.15 475.69 8.62NBFI 161.02 3.13 8.29 2.23 169.31 3.07Investment 57.29 1.11 1.81 0.49 59.10 1.07Engineering 929.33 18.07 63.12 16.97 992.45 17.99Food & Allied 242.56 4.72 10.95 2.94 253.51 4.60Fuel & Power 636.45 12.37 61.84 16.63 698.29 12.66Jute 3.95 0.08 0.00 3.95 0.07Textile 417.73 8.12 32.34 8.70 450.07 8.16Pharma & Chemical 1098.50 21.35 68.45 18.41 1166.95 21.15Paper & Packaging 23.26 0.45 2.37 0.64 25.63 0.46Service 106.50 2.07 6.89 1.85 113.38 2.06Leather 45.59 0.89 3.28 0.88 48.87 0.89Ceramic 117.14 2.28 7.27 1.96 124.41 2.26Cement 121.09 2.35 10.40 2.80 131.49 2.38Information Technology 22.48 0.44 2.77 0.74 25.25 0.46General Insurance 33.88 0.66 4.61 1.24 38.48 0.70Life Insurance 36.87 0.72 1.58 0.43 38.45 0.70Telecom 176.93 3.44 12.49 3.36 189.42 3.43Travel & Leisure 110.11 2.14 7.98 2.15 118.09 2.14Miscellaneous 350.83 6.82 42.56 11.44 393.39 7.13Debenture 0.02 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.03 0.00

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

News, analysis and recent disclosuresKEYACOSMET: As per un-audit-ed consolidated � nancial state-ments of Keya Cosmetics Ltd. (Quarter 3), EPS was Tk. (0.14) for Jan-Mar, 2015 and Tk. 0.23 for July 2014-March 2015. NOCFPS was Tk. 0.22 for Jan-Mar, 2015. NAV per share was Tk. 19.77 as of March 31, 2015 and Tk. 19.80 as of February 28, 2015.UTTARAFIN: National Credit Ratings Limited (NCR) has assigned the surveillance rating of the Company as “AA-” in the long term and “ST-1” in the short term based on audited � nancial statements of the Company as on December 31, 2014.GREENDELT: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has rated the Company as “AAA” in the long term and “ST-1” in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited � nancial state-ments of the Company up to 31 December 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.IPO subscription schedule of Simtex Industries Ltd.: BSEC has permitted to re-open the subscription schedule of IPO of Simtex Industries Limited from September 6, 2015 to Septem-ber 14, 2015.Dividend/AGMMATINSPINN: 27% cash, AGM: 27.10.2015, Record date: 08.10.2015.BSCCL: 10% stock, AGM: 18.10.2015, Record Date: 28.09.2015.

MODERNDYE: 10% cash, AGM: 15.10.2015, Record Date: 23.09.2015.GPHISPAT: 17% cash, AGM: 08.11.2015, Record date: 20.09.2015.SAIHAMCOT: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 28.10.2015, Record date: 17.09.2015. BBS: 20% stock, EGM & AGM: 15.10.2015, Record date for EGM & AGM: 20.09.2015.APEXFOODS: 20% cash, AGM: 30.09.2015, Record date: 13.09.2015. APEXTANRY: 45% cash, AGM: 04.10.2015, Record date: 09.09.2015. BERGERPBL: 100% interim cash dividend. Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.PRAGATILIF: 17% cash and 5% stock dividend AGM: 29.09.2015,. Record Date: 20.08.2015.SHASHADNIM: 10% interim cash dividend for 2015, Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.NAVANACNG: 15% cash general shareholders (excluding Sponsors), AGM: 16.09.2015, Record Date: 18.08.2015. SUNLIFEINS: 6% stock, AGM: 15.09.2015, Record Date: 18.08.2015.APEXSPINN: 20% cash AGM: 30.09.2015, Record date: 18.08.2015.SQURPHARMA: 30% cash and 12.50% stock dividend, AGM: 16.09.2015, Record Date: 13.08.2015.

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

EBL NRB M.F.-A 9.30 8.55 4.70 4.70 4.70 4.70 0.000 0.41 11.5Aziz PipesZ 8.00 8.00 27.00 27.00 27.00 27.00 0.001 -2.12 -veHakkani P& Paper -B 7.55 2.64 52.19 52.70 53.50 50.00 1.933 0.29 180.0H.R. Textile -A 7.29 6.58 26.39 26.50 27.00 26.00 0.265 0.85 31.0Aman Feed-N 7.27 4.05 69.61 70.80 71.60 66.00 21.966 3.60 19.3United Power-A 5.54 3.21 150.63 152.40 153.00 145.90 30.581 9.14 16.5Bengal Windsor-A 5.16 4.72 73.23 73.40 73.40 72.90 0.123 3.35 21.9Golden Harvest Agro-A 5.15 4.14 28.42 28.60 28.90 27.90 1.110 1.32 21.5Berger Paints-A 4.98 4.98 2131.00 2131.00 2131.00 2131.00 0.004 69.64 30.6MeghnaCement -A 4.85 4.89 123.24 123.20 124.50 120.00 0.034 7.30 16.9

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

BD. Autocars -Z 8.64 9.62 38.76 39.00 39.40 38.00 1.251 0.19 204.0Aman Feed-N 8.03 3.92 69.48 71.30 71.80 66.30 173.139 3.60 19.3United Power-A 5.61 3.38 150.60 152.50 153.40 146.50 213.689 9.14 16.5Imam Button -Z 5.56 5.47 13.30 13.30 13.50 13.20 0.291 -1.21 -veHakkani P& Paper -B 5.41 2.40 52.50 52.60 54.00 49.30 18.281 0.29 181.0Golden Harvest Agro-A 5.13 3.88 28.36 28.70 28.80 27.70 27.264 1.32 21.5RAK Ceramics-A 4.94 3.12 73.09 74.30 74.80 71.40 100.984 2.50 29.2Meghna Con. Milk -B 4.88 4.09 8.65 8.60 8.80 8.40 0.112 -4.49 -veAziz PipesZ 4.50 4.41 23.20 23.20 23.20 23.20 0.021 -2.12 -veSonargaon Tex -Z 4.44 4.08 9.43 9.40 9.80 9.10 0.256 -2.26 -ve

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Bangladesh Lamps -A -8.46 -8.46 195.90 195.90 195.90 195.90 0.004 4.32 45.3Keya Cosmetics -A -5.59 -5.64 16.90 16.90 17.50 16.60 19.813 0.07 241.4Bata Shoe Ltd. -A -4.69 -4.69 1,342.00 1,342.00 1,342.00 1,342.00 0.013 40.26 33.3Prime Islami Life -A -3.93 -0.24 44.94 44.00 45.70 43.50 0.336 4.95 9.1Northern G Insur-A -3.61 -3.61 18.70 18.70 18.70 18.70 0.005 3.90 4.8Apex Foods -A -3.60 -3.12 145.51 144.80 146.10 143.70 0.169 12.60 11.5AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A -3.23 -4.98 5.92 6.00 6.00 5.90 0.039 4.76 1.2IFIL Islamic M.F.1-A -2.94 -1.04 6.68 6.60 6.80 6.60 0.017 0.95 7.0Fine Foods A -2.78 -2.59 10.52 10.50 11.30 10.50 0.029 -0.27 -veISN Ltd. -Z -2.68 -2.15 10.93 10.90 11.20 10.80 0.010 -0.20 -ve

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Keya Cosmetics -A -5.06 -5.27 16.90 16.90 17.60 16.60 81.351 0.07 241.4Agrani Insurance -A -4.64 -3.27 14.50 14.40 15.20 14.20 0.025 1.78 8.1National Tubes -A -3.89 -1.81 132.81 130.80 137.00 130.10 12.560 -1.36 -veDeshbandhu Polymer-A -3.70 -1.63 15.74 15.60 16.30 15.50 15.227 0.13 121.1United Finance - A -3.35 -2.43 20.44 20.20 20.90 19.80 6.627 1.80 11.4Purabi G Insu.A -3.31 -4.44 14.85 14.60 15.40 14.50 1.451 1.04 14.3Meghna PET Ind. -Z -3.28 -2.47 5.93 5.90 6.00 5.80 0.051 -0.53 -veContinental Insur. -A -3.18 -3.18 15.22 15.20 15.40 15.00 0.234 3.02 5.0Popular Life Insu. -A -3.09 -2.97 85.45 84.70 87.00 84.00 7.799 2.89 29.6GeminiSeaFood-B -2.62 -1.27 397.57 390.50 413.00 388.00 2.781 11.77 33.8

DSE key features September 17, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

5,144.33

Turnover (Volume)

120,860,357

Number of Contract

109,799

Traded Issues 328

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

167

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

148

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,707.35

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.82

CSE key features September 17, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

371.88

Turnover (Volume)

10,258,420

Number of Contract

16,059

Traded Issues 247

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

129

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

109

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

9

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,599.70

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.51

BUSINESS 19D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Stocks � nish week with modest move n Tribune Report

Stocks registered a modest rise yesterday with signi� -cant improvement in turn-over, lifted by buying spree mainly on power stocks.

The market started with a happy note and the momen-tum continued till close of the session with limited gain.

The Dhaka Stock Ex-change benchmark index DSEX rose over 22 points or 0.5% to 4,819.

The Shariah index DSES was slightly up 6 points or 0.6% to 1,186. The blue chip comprising index DS30 gained 11 points or 0.7% to 1,848. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Catego-ry Index CSCX was up over 47 points to 8,986.

The large cap sectors showed mixed performance. In the � nancial sector both banks and non-banking � nancial institutions ad-vanced by 0.8% and 1% re-spectively.

Fuel and power sector did well rising 1.6%, driven by mega cap United Power Generation and Distribution Company surging 5.6% on the news that the company has decided to merge with its sister concerns United Ashuganj Power Limited and

Shajahanullah Power Gener-ation Company Limited.

Food and allied, cement, pharmaceuticals and en-gineering closed margin-ally higher. Telecommu-nications experienced a correction of 1.3% and tex-tile edged lower.

The turnover saw a robust improvement of over 20% to Tk514 crore on the DSE.

Lanka Bangla Securities said the market came back with an upward movement allowing normalisation of the pre-festival sell-o� in the capital market.

It said a few banking stocks enticed the investors’ buying appetite in recent times which triggered “ ripple e� ect” across the � nancial sectors.

However, it said concern revolved around the textile sector as the central bank on Wednesday said the export-ers of apparel sector enjoy-ing all three types of incen-tives at an aggregate rate of 11% will get 10% on their ex-port earnings for FY’16.

From July 1 of the FY16, the government will reduce cash subsidy on all types of export-oriented RMG indus-tries to 4% from 5%, and in-centive for medium and small RMG units has also been re-duced to 4% from 5%. l

Market came back with an upward movement allowing normalisation of the pre-festival sell-o� in the capital market

ANALYST

Daily capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 12779.42150 (+) 0.47% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1848.12300 (+) 0.65% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 14765.68980 (+) 0.53% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 12779.42150 (+) 0.75% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8986.47610 (+) 0.53% ▲

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change % ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

United Power-A 203,023 30.58 8.22 152.40 5.54 144.40 153.00 145.90 150.63Beximco Pharma -A 408,043 29.12 7.83 72.20 2.85 70.20 72.80 70.50 71.37Aman Feed-N 315,556 21.97 5.91 70.80 7.27 66.00 71.60 66.00 69.61Keya Cosmetics -A 1,172,378 19.81 5.33 16.90 -5.59 17.90 17.50 16.60 16.90BSRM Ltd. -A 113,333 14.83 3.99 131.50 0.31 131.10 134.80 127.90 130.85BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 448,204 13.84 3.72 31.30 3.64 30.20 31.40 30.20 30.89Moza� ar H.Spinning-A 383,389 13.83 3.72 36.30 1.40 35.80 37.00 35.50 36.07Shahjibazar Power-A 53,376 9.40 2.53 177.60 3.74 171.20 178.50 172.20 176.03Islami Bank BD - A 277,408 8.28 2.23 30.10 1.35 29.70 30.30 29.20 29.86LafargeS Cement-A 71,029 7.63 2.05 108.10 0.65 107.40 108.80 106.80 107.38BSRM Steels-A 82,306 7.36 1.98 89.20 1.83 87.60 90.20 88.00 89.39UNITED AIR-A 658,473 7.01 1.89 10.60 -0.93 10.70 10.80 10.50 10.65Appollo Ispat CL -A 284,111 6.36 1.71 22.20 0.91 22.00 22.60 22.10 22.39BD Submarine Cable-A 51,361 6.31 1.70 122.90 2.16 120.30 123.50 121.60 122.77Grameenphone-A 20,369 6.18 1.66 303.60 -1.11 307.00 307.00 300.10 303.61SAIF Powertec-A 55,112 4.55 1.75 82.30 -1.56 83.60 84.90 81.90 82.55

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

Renata Ltd. -A 252,533 316.84 6.16 1245.90 -0.42 1251.10 1261.90 1241.30 1254.64Beximco Pharma -A 4,026,203 288.52 5.61 72.30 2.70 70.40 72.70 70.30 71.66Islami Bank BD - A 7,435,444 223.19 4.34 30.40 1.67 29.90 30.60 28.80 30.02United Power-A 1,418,873 213.69 4.15 152.50 5.61 144.40 153.40 146.50 150.60Aman Feed-N 2,491,754 173.14 3.37 71.30 8.03 66.00 71.80 66.30 69.48BSRM Steels-A 1,883,457 168.91 3.28 89.30 1.25 88.20 90.50 88.50 89.68Grameenphone-A 474,259 143.57 2.79 302.40 -1.43 306.80 306.10 300.10 302.71Ifad Autos -N 1,067,302 115.20 2.24 107.80 1.41 106.30 109.60 106.80 107.94BSRM Ltd. -A 778,408 101.14 1.97 131.80 1.00 130.50 133.80 127.00 129.93RAK Ceramics-A 1,381,721 100.98 1.96 74.30 4.94 70.80 74.80 71.40 73.09BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 3,179,167 98.29 1.91 31.30 3.64 30.20 31.50 30.10 30.92Square Pharma -A 389,132 97.81 1.90 251.10 -0.44 252.20 252.90 250.80 251.34Quasem Drycells -A 1,212,013 97.33 1.89 80.00 2.83 77.80 82.80 77.10 80.30Appollo Ispat CL -A 4,205,968 94.28 1.83 22.30 0.90 22.10 22.70 22.10 22.42UNITED AIR-A 8,596,905 91.61 1.78 10.60 -0.93 10.70 10.80 10.50 10.66Zaheen Spinning -A 1,875,054 57.90 1.38 31.10 0.65 30.90 31.80 28.80 30.88

BUSINESS20DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Volatility seen lingering no matter what the Fed doesn Reuters, New York

While investors, traders and forecasters may be on the fence as to whether the Fed pulls the trigger this week on the � rst US interest rate hike in nearly a decade, Wall Street’s “smart money” is decisive on one thing: mar-ket volatility will linger.

Heading into Thursday’s potentially mo-mentous decision on interest rates from the Federal Open Market Committee, the Feder-al Reserve’s monetary policy-setting panel, speculative positions in CBOE VIX index fu-tures are the most net long on record.

To this crowd of hedge funds and other big speculators, it really doesn’t matter what the Fed does. Raising rates for the � rst time since 2006 would almost certainly send waves through equity markets, and not moving will keep the guessing game - and accompanying market gyrations - alive for weeks to come.

“There is a general consensus in the market that the Fed meeting will continue the volatil-ity, and if they don’t do anything it may sus-tain the volatility at least for six more weeks till their next meeting,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.

The most recent weekly Commitments of Traders data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows speculative net long positions in VIX futures stood at 37,925 contracts as of Sept. 13. Not only is that a re-cord high, it is more than two standard devia-tions from the norm.

Since VIX futures, a forward-looking gauge of market risk, were introduced in 2004, specu-lative positions have been skewed toward lower volatility far more often than not. Long VIX fu-

tures positions bene� t from increased volatility and can be used to protect equity portfolios.

Moreover, positioning in VIX futures has � ipped like never before over the last month as the Fed guessing game has been com-pounded by worries over the health of China’s economy and its wobbly stock market.

In contrast to the latest positioning, specula-tors in early August were net short by 64,445 contracts - a reversal of more than 100,000 in � ve weeks - highlighting the strong convic-tion of hedge funds and other large specula-tors that market gyrations are far from over.

Longest vol bout in four yearsVolatility arrived in earnest for US stocks about four weeks ago as investors got rattled by a free fall in Chinese stocks and a series of unsuccessful measures by authorities there to stem the sell o� .

That helped push the Standard & Poor’s 500 index into its � rst formal correction in four years, and the U.S. benchmark remains more

than 7% o� its record-high close set back in May.Unlike the many � eeting instances of vola-

tility spikes seen in the last couple of years, the current run up has not been quick to recede.

On Tuesday the VIX, which measures the cost for protective downside positions on the S&P, closed above 22 for the 17th consecutive day, the longest it has lingered above that level in nearly four years. The index was last down 1.7 points at 22.54 on Tuesday.

Given the duration of the current bout of volatility and shocks of similar magnitude in 1998, 2010, and 2011, it is unlikely that calm will return to markets very quickly, MKM Partners derivatives strategist Jim Strugger said in a note.

Trading in the options market also points to caution as investors protect their positions and look to replace expiring hedges.

“Do I want to hedge for the next Fed meet-ing, or do I want to hedge for the end of year Fed meeting?” is a question some traders ap-pear to be asking, Kinahan said.

Another factor is that Friday is a “quadru-ple-witching” day, when options on stocks and indexes, and index and single-stock fu-tures all expire together. The expiry of ex-isting positions and the opening of new po-sitions, called rolling, could make for some heavy trading later this week and add to mar-ket volatility.

With the Fed decision due at 2 pm tomor-row, just hours before all those positions ex-pire, it could make for chaotic trading.

“Thursday afternoon has a potential to be really active because what the Fed says in the meeting may spell out to people where they need to hedge to,” Kinahan said. l

Workers toil at the construction site of a new pier at New Priok container terminal in north Jakarta REUTERS

‘There is a general consensus in the market that the Fed meeting will continue the volatility, and if they don’t do anything it may sustain the volatility at least for six more weeks till their next meeting’

116th Social Business Design Lab held in cityn UNB

The 116th Social Business Design Lab, organ-ised by Yunus Centre, was held on Thursday at Grameen Bank Auditorium in the capital.

Around 150 participants and observers from national and international organisations with diverse background attended the pro-gramme, said a release of the Yunus Centre.

Six young entrepreneurs presented as many innovative business plans at the pro-gramme held with Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair.

All the business plans have been approved and will be funded by several social business funds.

In his speech, Professor Yunus said some 1666 out of 1672 projects were approved through this programme since January 2013.

The next Social Business Design Lab will to be held on October 20, 2015, Yunus added. l

India considering allowing state pension funds to invest more in equitiesn Reuters, New Delhi

India is considering allowing state retirement funds to invest more in equities and opening them up to private-sector management to im-prove returns, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to expand the country’s tiny pensions net.

Hemant Contractor, head of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authori-ty (PFRDA), told Reuters he was pushing for state pension funds to be allowed to invest up to half of their funds in stocks, up from the current 15%.

“We have taken it up very strongly with the government,” Contractor said in an interview. “The moment the government accepts it, we will increase to 50 percent.”

The pension plans handle mostly state em-ployees’ funds.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who wants pension and insurance funds to invest more in equities and infrastructure, could make a decision soon, a ministry o� cial said.

The pension savings of about $15bn over-seen by Contractor’s agency are about just 1% of the Bombay Stock Exchange’s $1.5tn market value. But asset managers expect them to grow four-fold over � ve years, mainly driven by high-er deposits following tax exemptions this year.

Jaitley introduced a tax break this year on an-nual pension contributions of up to 50,000 ru-pees ($750), a step that could boost enrollments by 40-45% in this � scal year, Contractor said.

Modi has also urged the $100bn state-run Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to start buying stocks to lift its returns.

“There is a broad agreement that state employees should have an option on a par with private workers to invest in equity mar-kets,” said a � nance ministry o� cial, who is involved in the policy process and spoke on condition of anonymity.

But most of India’s workforce is employed in the cash economy and has no formal retire-ment cover at all. Only about 12% of those in work actually have a pension plan. l

22recipe reviesiram’s café:A delicious Journey

24decorColourFALL

newsAmari introduces traditional Indian gourmet thali and BBQ bu� et dinner

INSIDE

21D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015T

-JUN

CT

ION

DIU to host national conferenceThe English department of Da� odil International University is going to host a national conference on “The Machine in the Garden: Literature, Language and Technology in English Studies” on September 19, 2015 at DIU Auditorium. Professor Dr Yousuf M Islam, vice chancellor, DIU, will inaugurate the day long conference as the chief guest while Prof Dr M Golam Rahman, pro-vice chancellor of DIU will be present as special guest. Dr Fakrul Alam, professor, department of English, University of Dhaka will share his keynote speech during the day-long conference. l

news

TantaliseT-JUNCTION22DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

iram’s café:A delicious Journey

review

n Munira Fidai

Cafes are a booming business in Dhaka city. They pop up here, there and everywhere. Apart from creating soda water hypes momentarily, many of these eateries � zzle out after a while. However, one of these relatively new pop ups might just be here to stay. We are not just talking about a cozy, high pro set up. Cafes run on a little more than just good sel� e lighting. And that’s exactly what iram’s café, located in FR Tower, Banani (right above

Preetom burgers), feels too. Its life’s blood, true blue, feel good food, is a de� nite game changer. Good service, essentially provided not just by extremely supportive sta� , but by Iram, the owner herself, adds another feather to its cap. Ranging from salads, to pasta and dessert, and even Chinese set lunches for budget savvy eaters, iram’s has something for everyone. Give us a read for some dos and don’ts of this place before you go exploring. Here’s what we tried:

8 favourites from a secret haunt in Banani

T his one was as good as prawn on toast can be. They give you four,

good sized pieces of toast served with a sweet chili sauce. A healthy amount of

prawn, and the well toasted, golden brown bread - with the right balance of softness and crunch to signify that it was freshly made and not heated and re-heated prior to serving. This one sets a benchmark for the other dishes to come.

S ome may wonder why we went for a

common chicken meal which we could get

just about anywhere. While the name suggests

basic comfort food, this dish is a well-kept surprise!

What you have here is some well barbequed chicken (leg piece) with cream topping - not too spicy but with a very deliberate Indian touch. Think very creamy chicken kebabs and then some. Priced at Tk300 and served with sides of mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies, one may want the portion of chicken to be a teensy bit bigger, without regretting a single bite.

W hat can one say about mee gorey

that hasn’t already been said? Still, if we must comment, let’s just say this was a full, spicy plate of noodles with all the laces and trimmings of good pasta. No frills attached and none needed, this was a simple, yet classic dish, and it left no room for complaints. Priced at Tk320 and served on its own.

S erved with butter rice and sautéed vegetables, this one stole the show for us.

A full bowl of chicken and pepper gravy, we have yet to see a broth parallel to this one. Whether it was the red and yellow peppers in the dish, or the � avoursome, buttery rice, all analysis � ew out of our heads at that point of time and we enjoyed food at its basic, most primal level. If you want a meal to remember, this dish is your best bet.

A s iram’s isn’t a full out burger joint, they don’t boast fully loaded, designer burgers. Staying true to their image of serving a wide

variety of food, however, they o� er a mean plate of two chicken/beef cheeseburger sliders (mini burgers) for Tk300. Served with a side of french

fries and coleslaw, this could pass as a meal on its own, among lighter eaters. An appropriate amount of sauce and soft, small buns make up this baby of a burger. While we felt that the size of the patty inside could be a bit bigger, the wholesome taste of burgers didn’t let us dwell on that fact for too long. There were two to get through, after all!

Prawn on Toast

(Tk200) Rated: 9.5/10

Chicken Sliders (Tk300)

Rated: 7.5/10

Grilled Chicken with Cream Sauce

(Tk300)Rated: 8.5/10

Dragon Chicken (Tk320)

Rated: 10/10

Mee Gorey Noodles (Tk320)

Rated: 9/10

Tantalise T-JUNCTION 23D

T

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

B oth of these are killers. By now we knew iram’s was a better than safe stop for

foodoholics, but as we later realised, if there is anything it does better, it’s got to be their knockout desserts. The right amount of cream cheese and the right amount of cake, it puts the velvet in the red velvet slice. We’d have totally gone for a second piece but the cheesecake was waiting, and dear God, that one was by no means less! Their Oreo slice could give any dessert lover a ride to nirvana. You can smell the cookie in every bite and after the last morsel too! Priced at Tk180 and Tk230 respectively, none of these will disappoint!

I f you like your drinks a little tart, the strawberry Mojito is a

safe option. It goes a little further than just a mojito, with its mint topper and strong � avour, but then again, it’s only good for people who like it a little tangy.

For people with a sweet tooth, and possibly those without, this is a tall glass

of the stu� of little babies’ dreams. A creamy sweet drink, with a hint of vanilla, this will take you back to candy � oss and childhood. It’s quite a looker, too! l

Red Velvet

(Tk180) and Oreo Cheesecake

(Tk230) Both rated: 10/10

Strawberry Mojito (Tk250)Rated: 7.5/10

Blue Devil Smoothie (Tk250)

Rated: 10/10

Tucked inT-JUNCTION24DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Farzana Chowdhury speaks at Global Index Insurance Conference organised by World Bank Group in Paris

Amari introduces traditional Indian gourmet thali and BBQ bu� et dinner

Managing director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance Farzana Chowdhury ACII (UK) recently spoke at Global Index Insurance Conference organiSed by World Bank Group’s Global Index Insurance facility (GIIF) in Paris. The theme of the conference was “Building Innovative Solutions in Agriculture.”

Farzana Chowdhury spoke on the probable distribution channels that would

be engaged in crop insurance products ensuring one stop service to farmers. She also talked about the weather index based Agriculture Insurance Project initiated by Green Delta Insurance and IFC, World Bank.

The conference was convened by World Bank Groups’s Global Insurance Index Facility and funded by the European Union, Japan and the Netherlands. l

Amari Dhaka has added two new dining experiences - one is an addition of a traditional Indian thali for lunch while the other is the introduction of BBQ dishes.

The traditional Indian thali According to South Indian tradition, thali’s are a platter of a specially selected assortment of food. Usually consisting of everything from meat dishes to dips to rotis and rice, thali’s are a fun way to have a wholesome meal served on one dish. Amari Dhaka has introduced this special concept at Amaya and Cascade lounge. Diners can enjoy two di� erent thalis - one vegetable based and another non-veg. A vegetarian option is also available and a selection of main course is o� ered during lunch at Tk1,999++ per person. Lobby lounge cascade will only be serving veg and non veg thalis, without the

rest of the bu� et. The vegetarian thali is priced at Tk799++ per person and non-veg thali priced at Tk999++ per person.

BBQ dinnerFrom this September, Amaya will be transformed into a BBQ extravaganza as several new BBQ dishes are introduced along with it’s regular bu� et priced at Tk2,500++ for dinner. BBQ lovers will get the opportunity to enjoy the � avour of herb marinated lamb chops, lamb kofta, chili and lime chicken skewers and several condiments among others. All these dishes will be available with the regular bu� et priced at Tk2,500++ per person. This special o� er is open for dinner only. For reservation please dial- 01777796444 or email reservations.dhaka@amari.com; l

decor

The colours of falln Farhana Shahnaz

With summer gone everyone is now embracing the warm, cozy hug of fall. Cozying up in your blankets and watching movies while sipping on hot chocolate – sweater weather aka fall is indeed everyone’s favourite. And what better way to give your favourite season a welcome party than to deck your domicile in a fall-inspired colour palette? The best part is you can use these colours all year round. Even though our country is not big on seasonal décor, these gorgeous inspirations will surely awaken your inner Martha Stewart and get you redoing your home in no time.

Fall is all about being warm and cozy so incorporate colours that exude that feel. Earthy tones like dark red, yellow, orange

and green perfectly translate the laid back vibe of fall. For an accent colour choose copper because hasn’t gold become a tad bit old by now? Create a bold statement with copper decor or accent pieces to set the perfect ambiance for fall. To match, choose from the fall colours we have lined up for you.

Butternut orangeWhat can be a better colour for fall than this wondrous orange hue, reminiscent of maple leaves, the very embodiment of fall. This colour paired with minimalistic � nishes and fabric can help give your living room or

dining room a crisp modern feel. Make sure to steer away from glaring oranges, they will only give you eyesores.

Bottle greenAdorn your abode in intense bottle green for a woodland touch. However, this colour is a bit tricky to work with and tends to be overpowering very easily. Try to create a proper balance by incorporating with other complementary colours to create perfect harmony. What we love the most about this gorgeous colour is that it evokes the beauty of a lush forest, in the middle of fall. Can’t get more magical than that!

ColourFALL

Bold brown In sync with the demure feel of fall, browns are the perfect colour. What makes brown a better choice than black is that it packs the same punch as black minus the harshness. To cut the overwhelming feel of brown, style it with cream and orange accents that still adhere to the theme of fall.

Soft yellowsGive your home a fresh uplift by strewing it with a splash of yellow. Yellow brings a much needed freshness to your space this time of the year while still reminding you of the warmth of fall. The best part about yellow is it transcends seamlessly to any season unlike any other colour. So marvel in some vibrant yellow. l

news

25D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

LAMPARD BREAKS MLS DUCK IN NEW YORK CITY WIN

ZAGREB STUN ARSENAL AS ROMA HOLD BARCA

26 2927

South African Mzwanele Kompolo became the second boxer to pass

away this week after Australian David Browne. Kompolo died after

being knocked out in the � rst round against Siphenathi Qampi

TRAGEDY

SportLAW TRYING TO NURTURE ANOTHER MUSTAFIZUR

Bangladesh football entered a new era yesterday as newly-appointed Italian coach Fabio Lopez (CL) o� cially began his four-month tenure. Alongside assistant coach Costantino Zuccarini and � tness coach Angelo Pavia (unseen), Lopez conducted an hour-long training session at the arti� cial turf of the Bangladesh Football Federation. The Azzurri trio are preparing their charges for the upcoming challenge of the 2018 Fifa World Cup second round away quali� er against Kyrgyzstan next month MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Two-tier, new-look NCL begins todayn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The 17th edition of the country’s premier � rst-class tournament, the National Cricket League, is all set to begin today with a new format. Four � rst-round matches of tier one and two will be played across di� erent venues and the participation of the national cricketers will certainly make events more interesting.

Two members of the national selection panel – Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar - will witness the games from the venues. Minhajul will be present at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium to see Tigers’ Test vice-captain Tamim Iqbal in action for Chit-tagong while Bashar will grace his presence at Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium to ob-serve ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, new pace sensation Musta� zur Rahman and open-er Imrul Kayes. The national trio will feature for Khulna against Dhaka.

Bashar will be looking forward to seeing Shakib taking part in the NCL. The southpaw last played a NCL tie three years ago. Ever since his debut for Khulna in April, 2005, Shakib has only played in 13 matches for the south-western side.

Away at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi, the Mush� qur Rahim-led Rajshahi will face Barisal. National discards Sohag Gazi and Al Amin Hossain will don the Barisal colours.

Meanwhile at Bogra’s Shaheed Chandu Stadium, Rangpur will take on Dhaka Metrop-olis. Dhaka Metro will feature national crick-eters Mahmudullah and Mohammad Shahid.

Among the eight divisional teams, only Ra-jshahi have been known to hold a practice ses-sion on the eve of the � rst round. The training session however, was not organised by the management but the cricketers themselves.

Chittagong captain and former national opener Nafees Iqbal informed the media yes-

terday that persistent rain hampered their preparation and they are under-cooked at the moment while Sylhet spinner Enamul Haque Jr also echoed the same sentiment.

“You see it will be wrong to blame the divi-sion for not holding enough practice sessions. Rain has been the main source of trouble. The turf was never � ne to practise upon. But de-spite that, I think all the players are ready for the competition and looking forward to play-ing some good cricket,” Enamul Jr told Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Following the � rst round, the tournament will be suspended for the Eid-ul-Adha hol-idays. The second round of the competition will resume on October 1.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board brought forward the � rst-class tournament in order to give the national cricketers some much-needed practice ahead of the upcoming two Test matches against Australia, scheduled for next month. l

NCL FIXTURES Chittagong v Sylhet – KSOAS, Fatullah Khulna v Dhaka – SANS, Khulna Barisal v Rajshahi – SKS, Rajshahi Rangpur v Dhaka M – SCS, Bogra

TOP SEEDSDhaka Metro Mahmudullah,

Mohammad ShahidRajhshahi Mush� qur RahimChittagong Tamim IqbalSylhet Abul Hasan

Khulna Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Musta� zur Rahman

Barisal Sohag Gazi, Al Amin Hossain

Sport26DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Just when Bangladesh Ansar and VDP's Rasheda Khatun was about to celebrate her win in the 100-metre backstroke event (11-12 girls' age category) of the 31st National Age-Level Swimming and Diving Championship, she became unconscious and collapsed. If it were not for an immediate intervention by one of her team mates who took her to a doctor, she could have been in grave danger. Local coach Amirul Islam sympathised with young Rasheda and laid the blame at the door of the Bangladesh Swimming Federation. He said, 'All the swimmers come from rural backgrounds. As daily allowance, they only get Tk200 each, which is very insu� cient. The monthly remuneration that they get, they do not keep a single penny for themselves. They send the entire amount to their families who live in villages. The swimmers have their breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local hotels in Mirpur. During breakfast, an egg costs Tk25. Tell me, how can they reserve money for all three meals in a day? Rasheda became unconscious because, like other athletes, she too gets very little to eat. If they struggle like this, how can they conjure the energy to represent their country?’ MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Bangladesh A eye comeback win in second one-dayern Mazhar Uddin

The visiting Bangladesh A team will face India A today in the second and penultimate match of the one-day series at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Mominul Haque and his troop will be looking to bounce back after falling to a 96-run defeat in the � rst one-day at the same venue last Wednesday.

The tourists made a good start to their two-week tour of India, dismissing the top half of the home side’s batting order for 125 runs. The hosts however, rallied through half-centuries from Sanju Samson, Gurkeerat Singh and Ri-shi Dhawan.

In reply, the second-string Bangladesh side scored briskly but were eventually bundled out for 226 in 42.3 overs.

The entire top-order departed without making any headway to the chase as they were struggling at 87/5. Liton Kumar Das (75 from 75 balls) and vice-captain Nasir Hossain (52 from 71 balls) though ensured Bangladesh A would cross the 200-run mark.

Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed will be missing from the touring party today after he incurred a side-strain injury during the � rst one-dayer against their Indian counterparts. Right-arm paceman Kamrul Islam Rabbi will come in as his replacement.

The third and � nal one-dayer will be held at the same venue this Sunday. Bangladesh A will also play two three-dayers against Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka and India A respectively.l

Law trying to nurture another Musta� zurn Mazhar Uddin

Australian Stuart Law, the newly-appointed technical adviser of the Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team, has spent four weeks with his charges. Keeping the impending 2016 ICC

U-19 World Cup in mind, the former Tigers head coach supervised a training camp in Khulna recently.

Upon his return to the capital city, the for-mer Australian middle-order batsman spoke to the media yesterday at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium where he talked about his expectations and his role in the U-19 side, among other things.

Here are the excerpts of his press conference:

How was the camp in Khulna?It has been tough. It is a lot of cricket in short space of time. Boys really applied themselves. They have made steady progression each time they’ve gone out there. They have been trying to learn from any mistake that they make.

What are your expectations with your charges?Bangladesh are very strong in the U-19 and U-17 levels for some years now. Just trying to create that pathway from U-19 to the national team. We have seen a couple of players do it in recent times; Musta� zur [Rahman] jumped from U-19 to the senior role. The harder the cricket they play, the quicker they improve.

What do you think about the local coaches in the country?They may not be well known in the public but they are respected within the organisation. They have done everything possible to make my time here comfortable and safe. They have been outstanding with the boys to get the results, particularly against South Africa at home and away. It was a tremendous e� ort. They beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka after

going 2-0 down. They are doing their job and their part.

What is your role in the side?I am called the technical adviser. I am here to help both coach and players. To me it is a role that is all-encompassing, being asked to do di� erent things by the coach. I like it that way. I give my advice, and I take their advice.

Given the recent results against the South Africans and the Sri Lankans, do you think hosts Bangladesh will be under tremendous pressure to land the title when the upcoming U-19 World Cup rolls on the field?It is always nice to support the home team. I don’t think the pressure is coming from the public or the cricket board, it is coming from you guys (media). The press tend to jump on everyone’s bandwagon saying you should win. It is a tremendous amount of pressure to heap on these young kids. I am trying to get them away from talking to anyone about it. If you think your main role is to win the trophy, you won’t win it.

Your thoughts on the forthcoming Bangladesh-Australia Test series?You can’t have a favourite in a two-horse race. If you pick a favourite, you are mad. If Bang-ladesh play anywhere near what they have been in recent times, they will give Austral-ia a real fright. Bangladesh has to play good cricket. It will be tight. People who are ex-pecting Australia to come here and be the big bully and beat Bangladesh out of the stadium, don’t think that’s the case. Bangladesh will be ready for a � ght. l

It wasn’t however, all doom and gloom at Mirpur’s Syed Nazrul Islam Complex yesterday.

BKSP’s Anamul Haque broke a 20-year old national record when he swept to victory in the 100m freestyle event (10-11 boys’ age category)

RECORD BREAKERPATHETIC

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

U16 coach urges patience against EmiratisBangladesh will be eager to rectify their mis-takes in the 5-1 drubbing against Saudi Arabia when they face the United Arab Emirates in their second and � nal Group D quali� er of the 2016 AFC Under-16 Championship. The match will kick o� at 6pm and Bangladesh Television will telecast it live. Bangladesh U-16 head coach Syed Golam Jilani urged his charges to keep their cool when they take the � eld against the Emiratis. “I found them a little bit nervous and they were not ready to face the physical challenges. Moreover, the red card of regular goalkeeper Faysal [Ahmed] changed the whole scenario. I hope they will display a better performance [today],” Jilani told the media yes-terday. The UAE will round o� their qualifying campaign against Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia this Sunday at the same venue. Only the 11 group winners and four best runners-up sides will qualify for the � nal round, scheduled to be hosted by India next year. The semi-� nalists of the � nal round will progress to the 2017 Fifa U-17 World Cup, also slated for India.

–TRIBUNE DESK

Pistorius � les arguments � ghting state appealOscar Pistorius’ defence team on Wednesday submitted its argument � ghting a state bid to have the star athlete found guilty of murder in-stead of culpable homicide. Last year, 28-year-old Pistorius was found guilty of shooting his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and was sentenced to � ve years in prison.

–AFP

Rossi handed F1 debut by ManorAmerican Alexander Rossi will make his Formula One debut in Singapore this weekend after being handed a drive by Manor, the British team announced on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Californian, who will team up alongside Will Stevens, has served as test driver for Manor since September, 2014.

–AFP

Ex-Marseille president charged in transfer dealingsThe former president of French giants Marseille has been charged with various o� ences as part of an investigation into murky transfer dealings involving the Ligue 1 side, judicial sources said  Thursday. Jean-Claude Dassier, 74, a for-mer journalist who was president of Marseille between 2009 and 2011, has been charged with misuse of company assets, being part of a criminal association and forgery.

–AFP

New Malaysian body targets � xing, hooligansA new Malaysian football body will launch a drive to stamp out match-� xing and hooligan-ism when it takes over the running of domestic competitions next year, its chief executive told AFP. Malaysian soccer has been repeatedly hit by scandal, most recently last week when � are-throwing fans brought a World Cup quali� -er with Saudi Arabia to a halt.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

RESULTSGroup ELeverkusen (GER) 4-1 BATE Borisov (BLR)Mehmedi 4, Milunovic 13Calhanoglu 47, 75-P, Hernandez 58Roma (ITA) 1-1 Barcelona (ESP)Florenzi 31 Suarez 21

Group FDinamo Zagreb (CRO) 2-1 Arsenal (ENG)Oxlade-Chamberlain 24-og, Walcott 79Fernandes 58Olympiakos (GRE) 0-3 Bayern Munich (GER) Mueller 52, 90+2-P, Goetze 89

Group GChelsea (ENG) 4-0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)Willian 15, Oscar 45+4-P, Diego Costa 58, Fabregas 78Dynamo Kiev (UKR) 2-2 Porto (POR)Gusev 20, Buyalskiy 89 Aboubakar 23, 81

Group HGent (BEL) 1-1 Lyon (FRA)Milicevic 68 Jallet 58Valencia (ESP) 2-3 Zenit (RUS)Cancelo 54, Gomes 73 Hulk 9, 44, Witsel 76

Arsenal’s French striker Olivier Giroud (C) is shown a red card by referee Carlos Velasco Carballo during their Champions League Group F match against Dinamo Zagreb at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia on Wednesday REUTERS

Zagreb stun Arsenal as Roma hold Barcan AFP, Paris

European minnows Dinamo Zagreb shocked 10-man Arsenal 2-1 on Wednesday to win for the � rst time in 16 Champions League matches.

Reigning champions Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma while Chelsea thumped Maccabi Tel-Aviv 4-0.

An Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal and a header from Junior Fernandes gave Dinamo three points as France forward Olivier Giroud was dismissed for two � rst-half bookings for Arsenal.

“It is not the way we wanted to begin the competition,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told BT Sport.

“We have enough games to come back. We focus to win our next home game and I’m sure we can beat Zagreb at home.”

In Rome, Barcelona opened the scoring on 21 minutes as Uruguay forward Luis Suarez headed home at the back post from a yard out after he was found by Ivan Rakitic.

But 10 minutes later, full-back Alessandro Florenzi spotted Marc-Andre ter Stegen o� his line and lobbed him from more than 40 yards out and wide on the right.

“We played well, I think we deserved to win,” said Barca coach Luis Enrique.

“It’s Florenzi’s exceptional goal that got Roma back into the match.”

Chelsea � nally kick-started their season as

Jose Mourinho’s out� t cruised to victory.The Blues could even manage to miss a

� rst half penalty through Edin Hazard before Brazilians Willian and Oscar, and Spaniards Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas earnt the Lon-doners three Group G points.

“The same way I was not in hell with bad results, I am not in heaven when we won a game,” said Mourinho de� antly.

Thomas Mueller was a somewhat fortu-nate match-winner as Bayern Munich began their Group F campaign with a 3-0 success at Olympiakos in a match that was marred by crowd-trouble before kick-o� .

“I don’t know if I had a pact with the Greek goddess of luck, but it was certainly lucky that it slipped in the net,” Mueller told ZDF.

Late on Mario Goetze scored a second from a tight angle and Mueller rounded o� the scoring in injury time from the penalty spot.

Brazilian Hulk was the star as Zenit St Peters-burg came away from Valencia with a 3-2 win.

Hulk put Zenit two goals in front before Joao Cancelo pulled one back and Andre Gomes levelled only for Axel Witsel to crack home the winner for the Russians on 76 minutes.

Bayer Leverkusen started their Group E campaign with a � ne 4-1 victory over BATE Borisov with Haka Calhanoglu scoring a brace.

Javier Hernandez and Admir Mehmedi also found the net for the Germans while Nemanja Milunovic scored for the Belarussians. l

Borisov supporters show a banner which reads ‘Refugees Go Home’ during the Champions League Group E match against Bayer Leverkusen in Leverkusen on Wednesday AFP

28DT Sport

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Champions League

(Clockwise, from left) AS Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi shoots to score from the halfway line against Barcelona during their Champions League Group E match in Rome’s Olympic Stadium on Wednesday. A graphical illustration shows Florenzi’s goal while Barca’s German goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen was nothing but a bemused spectator AP

ROMA 1-1 BARCELONA: 5 THINGS WE LEARNED

Florenzi steals Messi’s nightROTATION PUZZLEIt was puzzling to see English teams like Ar-senal this week choosing to rotate their teams and then getting stung by their opponents.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona probably boast the � nest squads on the planet but none of them rested players in midweek, instead putting out their strongest-possible sides to secure the result. There’s one way this is all heading, and it’s going to punish the teams like Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, possibly Manchester United.

EDIN FOR THE SKIESRoma’s gameplan was no surprise, and they didn’t make any attempt to disguise it either.

With the � rst touch of the ball, it went back to the central defender Kostas Manolas who pumped it forward to � nd the chest of Edin Dzeko. Barcelona weren’t exactly caught un-awares by this strategy, and started Jeremy Mathieu ahead of the more vertically-chal-lenged Javier Mascherano in defence.

FLOR IN THE KEEPINGIn any goal like the absolutely undoubtable worldie from Alessandro Florenzi, there has be some element of goalkeeper blame.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen does have a ten-dency to go walkies. He’s conceded � ve of the last six Barca goals to go in from outside the

area - which suggests his positioning in these cases might not be so hot - and Mikel San Jose caught him out in similar fashion to Florenzi earlier this season in the Supercopa.

MO STOPPING HIMMohamed Salah is 23 but has already played for four big European clubs. At three of them he has been an unstoppable winger, “the Egyptian Messi”, dazzling with his searing pace and unbelievable footwork. The 23-year-old is lightning with the ball at his feet, and Chelsea’s loss is very much Roma’s gain.

RAK ‘EM UPIvan Rakitic has, in many ways, been the stand-ard bearer for the change between Guardio-la-era Barcelona and Luis Enrique’s new team.

Brought in essentially as Xavi’s replace-ment, albeit a year early so he could spend a season alongside the great man, Rakitic is a more direct and physical player than Xavi, and that is the sort of attacking that we saw from Luis Enrique’s Barca as they kicked on from their January troubles and won the treble.

Rakitic is a dynamic mid� elder who, in many ways, has quite a simple job in feeding the most fearsome frontline of all time. But he is a player of � ne touch and incredible tech-nique, and has established himself as a key part of this Barcelona side. l

Ra� nha set to miss rest of seasonn AFP, Madrid

Barcelona have con� rmed that mid� elder Ra� nha Alcantara may miss the rest of the season having ruptured a knee ligament in a nasty tackle against Roma on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old had been on the � eld a matter of minutes, after coming on as a sec-ond-half substitute in the 1-1 draw in Cham-pions League Group E, when he su� ered the injury in a challenge by Roma’s Radja Naing-golan.

“Tests this morning have revealed that FC Barcelona mid� elder Rafael Alcantara - also known as ‘Ra� nha’ - has su� ered a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right leg. He will undergo surgery in the coming days,” Barcelona said in a statement. l

Pique leads tributes to ‘crazy’ Roma goaln AFP, Rome

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique led the trib-utes to the “crazy” goal scored by Alessan-dro Florenzi that earned Roma a point from the sides’ 1-1 Champions League draw on Wednesday.

“It was crazy!” Pique wrote on Twitter in a reply to a fan who had asked the Spanish de-fender’s reaction to Florenzi’s long-distance strike that caught Barcelona ‘keeper Marc-An-dre ter Stegen o� guard.

“When I saw the goal, I didn’t believe it! One of the best goals I’ve received in my ca-reer.”

The 24-year-old Florenzi admitted to stun-ning himself.

“It was a great goal, you could see that by the reaction on my face after it went in,” he said, admitting he decided to take a pot shot after realising he had no other choices.

“I saw (Edin) Dzeko but couldn’t get the ball to him. So I said to myself, ‘shoot’. The worst thing that can happen is it goes out of play. Then I saw it go in the back of the net.”

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, meanwhile, said he was partly to blame and claimed Florenzi had been lucky.

“He (Florenzi) is a good player, but he was a little lucky,” said Luis Enrique, who spent a season as coach of Roma in 2011/12. “He took a chance and scored a great goal.” l

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Ten Sports 12:45AM Sky Bet Championship 2015/16Ipswich Town v Birmingham City Sony SixIRB Rugby World Cup 12:00AM Opening Ceremony 3:00AM England v Fiji Star Sports 412:15AM

German Bundesliga FSV Mainz v 1899 Ho� enheim

DAY’S WATCH

Lampard breaks MLS duck in New York City winn Reuters

Former Chelsea mid� elder Frank Lampard scored his � rst goal in Major League Soccer as New York City FC beat Toronto FC 2-0 at Yan-kee Stadium on Wednesday.

The former England international, in his � fth appearance with New York, scu� ed home a right-footed shot in the 20th minute to give his team the lead.

It hardly rated with the best of the 211 goals the 37-year-old mid� elder scored for Eng-lish Premier League side Chelsea, but it was enough to set up a New York victory.

After Toronto mid� elder Michael Bradley somehow missed a gift from six yards out, New York secured the three points when striker Patrick Mullins headed home a corner in the 77th minute.

The result kept New York in playo� con-tention in the Eastern Conference, two points behind sixth-placed Montreal (33 points), who drew 1-1 with San Jose.

Toronto are winless in their past seven away games, though they remain � fth in the East and likely to make the playo� s.

Meanwhile, the surging New England Revolution recorded their sixth straight win when they beat the New York Red Bulls 2-1 to take over top spot in the East.

With barely a minute on the clock, Uru-guay mid� elder Diego Fagundez beat Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles at the near post to give the Revolution the lead.

The Red Bulls took four minutes to equal-ise through mid� elder Mike Grella, before New England mid� elder Kelyn Rowe scored the winner in the 65th minute.l

Syrian refugee given coaching job in Spainn AFP, Madrid

A Spanish football coaching school said Wednesday it is giving a job to a Syrian refu-gee who made world headlines when a Hun-garian journalist tripped him over as he � ed.

Osama Abdul Mohsen, former manager of Syrian � rst division side Al-Fotuwa, was due to arrive late Wednesday in Madrid, where the CENAFE coaches’ training school in the suburb of Getafe has o� ered him a job.

“We are a national coaching school so we decided to help a fellow coach,” the school’s director Miguel Angel Galan said on the radio after hearing in the media of Mohsen’s profession.

Mohsen will come with two of his children and Galan  said CENAFE also aimed to bring over the Syrian coach’s wife and two other children later.

“They will get the most important things: housing, food, clothes and the job as a coach that we are going to give him.”

He said an Arab-speaking member of the

school had travelled to Germany to bring Mo-hsen back to Spain.

Video footage of journalist Petra Lasz-lo tripping Mohsen onto the grass as he ran with his son Zaid in his arms near the Hunga-ry-Serbia border sparked outrage this month. She was � red from the television channel she worked for.

European leaders have been scrambling to respond to the arrival on their soil of hun-dreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and elsewhere, while negotiating how many each country should receive.

Spain has agreed to take more than 17,000 overall this year. l

Osama Abdul Mohsen (C), a Syrian refugee who was � lmed being tripped up by a camerawoman as he � ed police in Hungary with his young son Zaid, and translator Mohamed Labrouzi (L) hold Zaid in front of his other son Mohammad al Ghadabe (R), as president of the Cenafe coaching school Miguel Angel Galan (2nd R) looks on after talking to reporters in front of their new home in Getafe yesterday REUTERS

They will get the most important things: housing, food, clothes and the job as a coach that we are going to give him

Al Ahli, Gamba advance to semisn AFP, Doha

The UAE’s Al Ahli advanced to the semi-� nals of the Asian Champions League after they beat Naft Tehran 2-1 in an entertaining match in Dubai on Wednesday.

The Red Knights were the favourites on their home turf following their 1-0 � rst leg win in August, and despite some sti� late re-sistance managed to book their slot in the last four where they meet Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.

Former Ben� ca player Rodrigo Lima put Al Ahli ahead in the 26th minute with a powerful low drive from 25 yards after Ahmed Khalil had done the spadework on the left � ank and crossed to him.

Khalil, who proved hard to contain, then scored from the spot in the 50th minute with a delicate chip over Naft goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand after he was brought down in the penalty area. l

British Prime Minister David Cameron (CL) poses with veterans and former international cricketers at a reception at Downing Street in London on Wednesday ahead of a Help for Heroes Twenty20 cricket match at the Kia Oval today. The match will see former international cricket stars taking part in the fundraiser

AFP

DOWNTIME30DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

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

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 14 represents M so � ll M every time the � gure 14 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Regions (6)5 Colour (3)7 Anger (3)8 Senior family member (6)11 Dry, of champagne (3)12 Raised platform (5)14 Male sheep (4)16 Foot lever (5)18 Zodiac sign (5)20 Back of the neck (4)21 Condition (5)23 Sick (3)24 Soft subdued shade (6)27 Filled pastry (3)28 Finish (3)29 Feel sense of injury (5)

DOWN1 Helpful hint (3)2 Melody (3)3 Beacon (7)4 Camping item (4)5 Garden mignonette (6)6 Teachable (6)9 Partly open (4)10 Faucet (3_13 Book of the bible (7)14 Plunder (6)15 Drawn into error (6)17 Church recess (4)19 Undermine (3)22 Ribbon (4)25 Golf mound (3)26 Fate (3)

SUDOKU

SHOWTIME 31D

TFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

WHAT TO WATCH

Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryWB 4:43pmA young boy wins a tour through the most magni� cent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world’s most unusual candy maker.Cast: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor

The Dark Knight RisesMovies Now 6pmEight years after the Joker’s reign of anarchy, the Dark Knight is forced to return from his imposed exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman.Cast: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway

Final Destination 4HBO 6:07pmAfter a young man’s premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.Cast: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Mykelti Williamson

The Big Bang TheoryZee Cafe 8:30pmA woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.Cast: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg

Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkStar Movies 9:30pmOne year after Kevin was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally � nds himself in New York City, and the same criminals are not far behind.Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara

‘We are all born with God’s creative expression’, says Ani Zonneveld, Founder of MPVn Monica Islam

In light of the recent murders of bloggers in Bangladesh, Ani Zonneveld, founder and president of the faith-based human rights organisation Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), gave an interview Dhaka Tribune. Ani talks about launching MPV and its #ImamsForShe initiative; being the � rst Malaysian woman to be awarded with a Grammy certi� cation; and starting the Bangladesh chapter of MPV.

For what purpose did MPV come into being? Why is there a need for organisations like MPV?I was born and raised as a Muslim in Malaysia. Being the child of a diplomat, I had the luxury of traveling; experiencing diverse cultures and religions; and in other words, reveling in the richness of God’s creations. For over sixteen years, I lived in Germany, Egypt, and India. I have met many dignitaries, including the Malaysian king and queen, and former Indian Prime Ministers Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi. I have seen the destruction of war in the Sinai Peninsula and the depressing state of a refugee camp. After the September 11 attacks in the US, many Muslims in America reassessed what it meant to be a Muslim. It was liberating when I discovered that the Islam I was raised on did not truly re� ect the Quran’s ideals. Going back to the traditional mosque with its unprincipled stances would have made me complicit in intolerance. That’s when I decided to start a progressive Muslim community, and in 2006, I realised my vision by forming MPV in Los Angeles. I also released an Islamic pop music album as a way to remind Muslims of our inherently progressive values and to show non-Muslims a di� erent face of Islam. Sadly, many American Muslim organisations deemed a woman’s voice as ‘awrah’ (nakedness). The fact that I used musical instruments in my album made it doubly ‘haraam’ (forbidden). These claims about the religion of Islam are insulting.

And how have you dealt with such hardline interpretations?All our principles are based on the Quran and traditions. We have built our foundation on thoughts of Muslim scholars of all types. Most hardliners are not interested in debate. Not all hardliners are violent, but their level of intolerance and supremacist ideology makes crossing the line into violence easier to justify.

MPV’s ongoing campaign #ImamsForShe has gained positive reactions. Tell us more about the campaign.For the longest time, we have been brainwashed by religious leaders who preach hate. We call them the “Hate Imams.” But we also recognise that there are imams who teach love, compassion, justice for all, including for women, and we call them #ImamsForShe. Our #ImamsForShe

initiative is a way to empower imams, religious leaders, and scholars of Islam with an inclusive worldview. Imams are respected members of the society; they have the (self-awarded) responsibility of leading the community onto the right path, one where everyone is treated with dignity and in a just manner.

The other identity of yours is that of a singer: the � rst woman to release an English Islamic pop music album in the US and the � rst Malaysian to win a Grammy certi� cation. How did this journey begin?I am a trained pianist since the age of � ve and I have picked up other instruments, such as the sitar, tabla, and bass and acoustic guitars. After graduating in Economics and Political Science from an American university, I decided to pursue my passion for music in Los Angeles as a songwriter. I felt like I was a � sh out of water because the music industry culture is scrupulous. What’s odd is that the higher up the chain you go, the nicer people are. In other words, those who are unkind usually amount to zero. Production is a male-dominated niche and it was rather di� cult breaking that glass ceiling. I don’t have piercings or a red-punky hairstyle, so I did not exactly � t the visual image of the tracks I was producing which were rock, funky, and “manly.” My Grammy certi� cation is the result of writing with a long-time friend Keb’ Mo’ on the project called “Keep it Simple.” The song we wrote is titled One Friend.

What messages do you have for aspiring singers, especially young Muslim women who are held back from the performing arts in conservative societies?Muslim women are often told that their voice is “awrah” or is to be covered, and Islam is used as a justi� cation. We’ve had centuries of Muslim women speakers, scholars, poets, singers, and even “imamah”

appointed by Prophet Muhammad himself. To all the Muslim women out there: Islam elevated our rights. Don’t let anyone take your rights away from you.

There was a renowned young musician in Bangladesh, who “left” music a year ago so that they could be a “better Muslim.” What do you have to say to that?Music is spirituality. God is the most creative entity, and God breathed soul into the fetus. We are all born with God’s creative expression. To kill that creative spirit is to kill o� God’s gift to you. What a sad thing to do to yourself.

Earlier this year, you initiated the Bangladesh chapter for MPV. What expectations do you have for MPV Bangladesh?We hope MPV-Bangladesh will remind the beauty of our faith’s traditions, encompassing peace, justice, compassion, and mercy; and will oppose injustice and oppression, just like Prophet Muhammad did. You cannot have an environment where an individual’s right to think or to express is censored or, even worse, punished with murder. How is that Islamic? Did Prophet Muhammad kill people for disagreeing with him? Absolutely not! I hope MPV along with like-minded Bangladeshis will take the country [Bangladesh] to Islam’s roots of inclusivity, love, and compassion. That is the way to prosperity. l

BACK PAGE32DT

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

NEW-LOOK NCL BEGINS TODAY PAGE 25

PUBLIC UNI ENTRANCE EXAMS MAY BE DELAYED PAGE 5

TAX FAIR DRAWS YOUNG GENERATION PAGE 17

This might look like a big cow practising circus tricks. But in reality, it is the cruel way traders unload sacri� cial cattle from trucks which are brought to Dhaka from faraway districts for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. The photo was taken at the Gabtoli cattle market in Dhaka yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

USTR begins GSP review tomorrowTofail: We have done our job, it is up to the US whether to restore GSPn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh is all set to demonstrate com-pliance with the conditions outlined by the United States to get back Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities. On June 27 last year, Bangladesh’s GSP status was suspended.

A delegation from the o� ce of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) is sched-uled to arrive in Dhaka tomorrow to review the implementation status of the conditions, Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon said yesterday.

“Through the publication of the gazette of the Labour Act, all of the conditions outlined by the US government for the restoration of GSP have been implemented,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told the Dhaka Trib-une by telephone from Geneva.

“We have done our job and it is now up to the US government whether or not they will restore the GSP,” he said.

Tofail said the country had completed the necessary inspection and identi� ed less than 2% of factories as vulnerable – a rate lower than that in developed countries.

Factory workers are now allowed to form trade unions which is being re� ected in the number of new trade union registrations, which stood at 464 as of last month.

Michael J Delaney, assistant trade repre-sentative for South and Central Asia, will lead the delegation from September 19 to 23 that will look for evidence of the transformation of Bangladesh’s RMG sector.

He will be accompanied by USTR director for labour a� airs Michael O’Donovan, Bruce Levine, o� ce director of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour at the US Department of State and Jennifer Goodyear, international re-lations o� cer at the International Labour Af-fairs Bureau at the US Department of Labour.

During the visit, the delegation is sched-uled to hold meetings with government of-� cials, employers, workers, trade unions, the International Labour Organisation, the Alliance on Bangladesh Worker Safety, the Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bang-ladesh and other organisations, according to the US Embassy in Dhaka.

They plan to travel to Chittagong to visit the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones’ Au-thority, representatives from the shrimp pro-cessing sector and other local organisations.

The delegation seeks to learn more regard-ing e� orts made by the Bangladeshi govern-ment and other Bangladeshi actors in support of the Sustainability Compact and the Gen-eralised System of Preferences (GSP) Action Plan, sources said.

During a recent meeting with the US am-bassador at the Commerce Ministry, Tofail told journalists that the US assistant trade representative would visit Bangladesh in mid-September to see � rst-hand the progress made by Bangladesh in the � eld of workers’ safety and rights.

Senior Labour and Employment Secre-tary Mikail Shipar yesterday said the Labour Ministry had attended to all of the issues, in-cluding a publicly accessible database, ensur-ing rights to organisation and publishing the rules of the Labour Act, 2013. The act is aimed at safeguarding workers’ rights.

“After implementing the conditions, the government is now monitoring progress,” said Shipar. “It is an ongoing process.”

US President Barack Obama earlier said the trade facility had been suspended because Bangladesh had not taken steps to a� ord inter-nationally-recognised worker rights to employ-ees, especially those working in the RMG sector.

Last month, the US government renewed GSP trade facilities for 122 nations but Bang-ladesh was excluded from the list.

The Bangladesh government has hastened to complete the work outlined by the Sustain-ability Compact and the GSP Action Plan so it can make a case for a review of its eligibility for GSP trade facilities. l

Obama invites boy arrested for homemade clockn Reuters

A Texas teenag-er taken away in handcu� s this week for bringing to his Dallas-area school a home-made clock that sta� mistook for a bomb won a per-sonal invitation from President Barack Obama on Wednesday to visit the White House.

Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was accused of mak-ing a hoax bomb, police in Irving said. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said he is Muslim and the case serves as an exam-ple of the climate of hate and manufactured fear around the religion.

The bespectacled Mohamed is a ninth grader who was led away in handcu� s and a NASA T-shirt from MacArthur High School on Monday for a project he put together to impress his new high school classmates and teachers.

On Wednesday, he became an Internet sen-sation.

“Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes Amer-ica great,” a message on Obama’s Twitter feed said.

The White House invited Mohamed to par-ticipate in its astronomy night next month with NASA astronauts and other young peo-ple, spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Mohamed told a news conference in front of his house that he was going to Washington for the White House Astronomy Night.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zucker-berg also invited the teenager to drop by his California-based company.

“Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

The incident has launched a social media campaign called #IStandWithAhmed, which was the top trending topic in the United States on Twitter for most of Wednesday with nearly one million tweets, many critical of the school district and police.

“I built the clock to impress my teacher but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her. It was really sad that she took the wrong impression of it and I got arrested for it later that day,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed was handcu� ed and taken to a detention centre where he was � ngerprinted and had mug shots taken. He was freed when his parents came for him.

No charges were � led and police said they considered the case closed. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com