SECOND EDITION

BGP TO RELEASE BGB NAIK UNCONDITIONALLY PAGE 3

TALIBAN ATTACK ON AFGHAN PARLIAMENT KILLS TWO PAGE 32

NBR TARGETS TK5,600 CRORE PAGE 15

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015 | Ashar 9, 1422, Ramadan 5, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 71 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

SEHRI & IFTAR TIME

For Barisal, deduct one minute, and for Sylhet and Chittagong deduct six minutes; for Khulna add four minutes, for Rangpur � ve minutes, and for Rajshahi seven minutes.

Day Sehri Iftar

Ramadan 5/June 23 – 6.53pm

Ramadan 6/June 24 3.39am 6.53pm

Ramadan 7/June 25 3.39am 6.53pm

Ramadan 8/June 26 3.40am 6.53pm

Ramadan 9/June 27 3.40am 6.53pm

Ramadan 10/June 28 3.41am 6.53pm

A morning like never beforen Minhaz Uddin Khan

The morning yesterday was something the Bangladesh cricketers had never witnessed before. Almost all the members had gone to bed late Sunday night only to wake up with a feeling of making the impossible, possible.

Bangladesh won their � rst bilateral one-day interna-tional series against India with a match to spare. They had won the series by dominating the number-two-ranked ODI side in the world to make it their 10th straight win at home.

So the hangover from one of the most famous victo-ries in their cricket history was not going to leave themthat easily.

Most players who are settled in Dhaka had left for their residences right from Sher-e-Bangla stadium following the emphatic win. The few who did not, including won-der boy Musta� zur Rahman, Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman, were left to absorb all the attention in the team hotel both from media and the fans.

Nineteen-year-old Musta� zur, who is the centre of all the buzz for his record 11 wickets in just two ODIs, was seen strolling in the hotel lobby. He was posing for sel� es with some photojournalists who managed to sneak in.

However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s restrictions PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

BASIC now banks on political in� uenceScam-hit bank now desperately trying to getpublic funds to resume international traden Asif Showkat Kallol and

Jebun Nesa Alo

BASIC Bank is allegedly using political in� u-ence to get funds from the national exchequer by the outgoing � scal year ending on June 30 to meet the capital shortfall of the scam-hit state-owned bank.

The desperate bid is to get around Tk2,000 crore – the remaining part of a recapitalisation fund of around Tk5,000 crore for state banks kept in the budget for the outgoing 2014-15 � scal. O� cials said around Tk3,000 crore was released in the last 11 months of the current � scal.

The high-ups in the government have in-structed the authorities to release the remain-ing fund, said a senior o� cial of the Finance Division, requesting anonymity.

The Finance Division has so far released Tk1,290 crore in favour of BASIC Bank which having a capital shortfall of around Tk3,600 crore at the end of 2014.

The o� cials alleged that they are under in-tense pressure to release the funds before the new � scal year beginning in July. “We’ve been threatened even to lose our posts if we fail to release the fund,” said an o� cial.

As a result, he said, the Banking Division already requested the budget wing of the Fi-nance Division twice to release the fund amid persistent political pressure.

Two weeks earlier, the Finance Division released Tk900 crore for di� erent � nancial in-stitutions from the recapitalisation allocation. Of the total amount, BASIC Bank received Tk400 crore.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

A morning like never beforeon media activity had kept him from making an appearance in the true sense.

Bangladesh had never fully relied on their pace attack until the ongoing ODI series against India. Even in the lone test match of the series earlier this month, the Tigers were shy of relying on their pacers which had re-sulted in playing with just one pacer.

However, in the ODIs, the side took all by surprise which included their opponents In-dia when they came to play with four pacers in the eleven. The decision was a challenge taken by skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who always believed that bowlers win matches. And looking into the two scorecards, one can

say what Mashrafe believes is right.However, more than for his strategies, what

veteran Mashrafe is fetching appreciation for is his leadership quality. The 31-year-old has es-tablished himself as a � ghter with an indomi-table spirit given that he is still marching strong despite more than six surgeries on his leg. Many believe Mashrafe along with the coaching sta� is injecting into the cricketers an aggressive IV of cricket which is resulting into con� dence and fearless approach in all departments.

Middle order batsman Nasir Hossain is an example of that. The right-hander hardly got a platform to display with the willow in the � rst two ODIs. When he had gone to bat in the � rst

ODI, Bangladesh were in the slog overs which did not allow him to settle down, rather get some quick runs on the board. And in the sec-ond match, he did not need to go out to bat at all.

“You see I am currently in a position where I need to prove myself given I have been on and o� the team recently. The top orders are doing great at the moment making my role with the bat slim,” said Nasir yesterday.

“But before the match yesterday [Sunday], Mashrafe Bhai told me that I would need to bowl 10 overs. Bowling 10 overs is never my role being an occasional bowler but since I was asked to bowl the full quota, it gave me con� dence and a � oor to prove myself if not

with the bat,” he added.Nasir went onto bowl 10 overs, only the

second time in his career, and picked up the vital wickets of Shikar Dhawan and Virat Kohli conceding just 33 runs.

“Fortune favours the brave” is Mashrafe’s simple explanation for taking challenges face on and executing them to near perfection.

Given all the parameters are in favour of Mashrafe and his team, the national will not be asking too much if they expect the Tigers to hammer the last nail in the Indian co� n by winning the third and � nal tie of the series and whitewash them for the � rst time to add a new lead to the history. l

Arrest warrants issued against 33 BNP leaders and activists n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday issued warrants for the arrest of 33 BNP leaders and activists.

The warrants include the names of BNP Standing Committee Member Ra� qul Islam Miah and Joint General Secretary Amanullah Aman in a case � led with Mirpur Model police station for torching bus on January 25.

Dhaka Metropolitan Special Court 1 Judge

Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah issued the arrest warrants after accepting the charges levelled against 33 BNP leaders and activists.

The court issued the arrest warrant as they did not appear before the court during yes-terday’s hearing on the case � led with Mirpur police station under the Special Powers Act and the Explosive Substance Act.

The court also directed the o� cer-in-charge of Mirpur police station to submit his

reports by August 3 on execution of the arrest warrants in the cases.

Those against whom the warrants were issued are Khaleda’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel, her Special Assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Jubo Dal General Secretary Saiful Islam Nirob, former Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JSD) secretary Sul-tan Salauddin Tuku, former JSD president Azizul Bari Helal, Swechchhasebak Dal Pres-

ident Habib-un- Nabi Khan Sohel and others.Twelve BNP-led 20-party alliance leaders,

including Rizvi, are now in jail while the oth-ers including barrister Ra� qul Islam Miah, Amanullah Aman and Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas are absconding.

On March 19, Sub-Inspector Md Ra� qul Islam of Mirpur Model police station, also investigation o� cer of the cases, pressed charge-sheet against those 36. l

BASIC now banks on political in� uence“We have always set strict conditions in disbursement of public money to scam-hit banks,” Senior Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

If the bank authorities did not meet the conditions, he said the Finance Division would inform that to the authorities.

Mahbub Ahmed, however, declined to talk about any political pressure.

“BASIC Bank has been thrown out of in-ternational business since 2012 as the large irregularities were unearthed,” said M Aslam Alam, Secretary of Bank and Financial Institu-tions Division. He added that the bank badly needed Tk3,500 crore to gain the capacity to engage in international trade and become a fully functional institution.

He said Sonali Bank UK Ltd had already blacklisted BASIC Bank after such moves tak-en by international banks.

According to him, if BASIC Bank is given Tk2,000 crore, it will have a positive impact on its balance sheet and help the new manage-ment resume links with the international trade.

In 2012, the central bank had unearthed that the bank disbursed more than Tk4,500 crore in loans in the previous years, violating rules and regulations.

Meanwhile, the scam-hit bank has once again been entangled in a fresh row by conceal-ing a net loss of over Tk4,000 crore in 2014.

Transferring a large portion of default loans to the “blocked” accounts and taking exemp-tion from maintaining provision against the total default loans for next 10 years.

The real � nancial picture was concealed in the bank’s latest � nancial statements pub-lished recently.

“The � nancial statements of the bank do not give a true and fair view of the � nancial position as on December 31, 2014. Its � nancial performance for the year then ended in ac-cordance with Bangladesh Financial Reporting Standards,” the bank opined in its statement.

The bank had a total classi� ed loan

amounting to Tk8,108 crore at the end of 2014, which was around 91% of total loans and advances of Tk8,939 crore.

Of the total defaulted amount, around Tk3,000 crore has been transferred to “classi-� ed block assets” as per permission of Bang-ladesh Bank.

“This amount has actually been transferred from classi� ed loans considering the uncer-tainty of recovery thereof,” said the statement.

The required provision against the classi� ed amount has been calculated at Tk1,933 crore. Bangladesh Bank also allowed the bank to main-tain the provision shortfall in 10 years from 2015.

As a result, the default loan amount to the � nancial statement stood at Tk5,109 crore or 57.15% of total loans and advances.

The required provision of the classi� ed loan amount has stood at Tk2,364 crore at the end of 2014, of which the bank kept only Tk430.64 crore.

Bangladesh Bank has given the bank exemp-tion from meeting the rest of the shortfall of over Tk1,933 crore during � ve years since 2015.

The actual provision shortfall of the bank stood at around Tk4,000 crore at the end of 2014. If the bank had to meet up the shortfall amount then the net loss of the bank would have been Tk4,099 crore at the end of the year.

But the � nancial statement showed that the net loss of the bank was over Tk110 crore in the last year, which was over Tk53 crore in the previous year. The required capital of the bank was Tk923.64 crore as of December 31, 2014, against which the bank had already neg-ative capital of Tk2,686 crore.

Thus, the bank’s capital shortfall stood at over Tk3,609 crore as per the balance sheet.

But if the bank had to meet up the provision shortfall, then the actual capital shortfall would have been Tk3,922 crore at the end of the year.

“We have blocked a portion of the default loans to regain the image as the banks are rat-ed in the international markets on the basis of default loan rates,” explained a senior manag-

er of BASIC Bank. On condition of anonymity, he also said,

“We had to hide the real situation of the bank just to bring a little bit positive look in the bal-ance sheet.”

The bank took privilege from Bangladesh Bank to maintain the provision shortfall, as it is impossible for the bank to meet up the huge amount of shortfall overnight, he added.

“The bank would have been closed down if it had to meet up the shortfalls,” said Khond-kar Ibrahim Khaled, former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank and former chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank.

He, however, accused the government of destroying the bank by appointing a corrupt chairman.

“Bangladesh Bank is now busy justifying the government’s misdeeds by allowing the

bank to hide its real � nancial situation.”The � nancial statement said most of the re-

ported loans were sanctioned and disbursed during the period from 2010 to 2014.

In relation to these loans there were signi� -cant weaknesses in the bank’s internal control regarding loans and advances management. Speci� cally, loans were renewed having ex-cess limit and poor or nil turnover, tempo-rary overdraft was given on current deposit accounts, loans were approved before getting credit line proposals from branches, grace periods were extended frequently to avoid classi� cation of loan accounts, incomplete sanction advice of loans were issued by the head o� ce, loans were given without security or having security shortfalls, the utilisation of loan facilities was not ensured by the bank, said the statement. l

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2012 2013 2014

GROWTH OF BASIC BANK’S CLASSIFIED LOANSClassi�ed loans (Tk in Cr) Unclassi�ed loans (Tk in Cr)

8,517 10,850 8,939

8% 12%

91%

Figu

re s

how

s to

tal l

oans

NEWS2DT

NEWS 3D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Myanmar BGP to release BGB naik Razzak unconditionallyn Tribune Report

The director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has con� rmed that My-anmar’s border security force will uncondi-tionally release the BGB member they had abducted six days ago.

This comes hours after the Myanmar Bor-der Guard Police (BGP) told the BGB that they would release Naik Abdur Razzak on condi-tion that Bangladesh took in the 554 boatpeo-ple rescued o� Myanmar coast last month.

While talking to the Dhaka Tribune over phone last night, BGB DG Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed said: “I talked with our defence atta-che in Myanmar, Brig Gen Mahbub, around 7pm today [Monday]. He told me that he had had a successful meeting with the Myanmar home ministry today.

“The Myanmar home ministry has con-� rmed that BGB Naik Razzak will be returned honuorably along with his personal weapon, ammunition, etc unconditionally,” the BGB boss told the Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Ja-mil Khan over phone.

Maj Gen Aziz is now in China on a state tourn.

Earlier, BGP said that they would release BGB Naik Abdur Razzak if Bangladesh accept-

ed the 554 migrants.Thi Han, Border Guard Police (BGP) Bat-

talion 2 commander in Maungdaw, put the condition forward during a telephone con-versations on Monday, said Teknaf BGB 42 Commander Lt Col Abjar Al-Jahid, reports our Cox’s Bazar correspondent.

Myanmar has claimed that the 554 people res-cued in a boat o� their coast last month are all Bangladeshis. On the other hand, Bangladesh has said that they would bring those migrants back if it was proved that they were indeed Bangladeshi nationals.

Meanwhile, our diplomatic correspond-ent Sheikh Shahariar Zaman reports that the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry is going to hold an inter-ministerial meeting today about the abduction of BGB member Razzak.

The initiative came after the BGP set the condition for releasing Razzak.

“The ministry has sent the second note verbale to the Myanmar authorities today [Monday] to release Razzak immediately,” said a senior Foreign Ministry o� cial.

The government has kept its pressure dip-lomatically on the Myanmar to free the BGB soldier.

“We expect to have � ag meetings at sector commander level by this week to complete the formalities for releasing Razzak,” he said.

The BGB Naik, along with his SMG, was abducted by Myanmar’s BGP in the Naf River near Jadimura area of Teknaf border in Cox’s Bazar on June 17. In the skirmish that preced-ed the abduction, a BGB member named Bi-plob was shot my the members of the Myan-mar force.

Protesting Razzak’s captivity, BGB on Fri-day sent an e-mail and several fax messages to Myanmar. On Thursday, the Foreign Min-istry of Bangladesh summoned the Myanmar ambassador to Dhaka to protest the border shooting and abduction.

This is the second such incident since the Myanmar authorities abolished its Nasaka force in July 2013 and deployed the Border Guard Police. l

Fee to be charged for NID card renewals, correctionsn Tribune Report

The Election Commission has imposed a fee system for the re-issuance and renewal of Na-tional Identi� cation Card (NID), which will be e� ective from September 1.

The commission published a gazette noti� -cation in this regard yesterday. At present, peo-ple are receiving the NID services free of cost.

According to the gazette noti� cation signed by EC Secretary Sirazul Islam, Tk100 has been � xed as service fee for renewing an NID card, while Tk150 for renewing it on urgent basis.

In case of losing or damaging the NID card for the � rst time, Tk200 has been � xed as service fee to collect it again normally and Tk 300 on urgent basis, it says. For losing or damaging NID card for the second time, Tk300 and Tk500 will be charged as service fees for collecting it through normal process and emergency process respectively.

However, in case of losing or damaging the NID card for more than two times, the service receivers will have to count Tk500 for getting the card through normal process and Tk1,000 for getting it on urgent basis.

Besides, Tk100 has been � xed as fee to make data of NID card corrected for the � rst time, Tk200 for the second time and Tk300 for more than two times.

According to the EC, about 96 million vot-ers are supposed to receive the “Smart Cards” replacing the current NIDs from August. The EC will update the voter list next year.

Every citizen will get the NID card for free the � rst time, which will be valid for 15 years. l

Muggers kill RMG worker for Tk1,600 n Tribune Report

An RMG worker was stabbed to death by a group of muggers in the early hours yesterday in the capital’s Sayedabad area.

Nurul Alam, 24, was waiting for a bus on the road when three muggers stabbed him in his chest and abdomen before snatching away Tk1,600 from his possession, said Mahbub Alam, sub-inspector of Jatrabari police station.

Nurul died on the spot, while the police lat-er recovered his body from in front of the Ori-on Group o� ce near Jonopod intersection of Sayedabad. His body was later sent to Sir Sal-imullah Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

Abani Sankar Kar, o� cer-in-charge of Jatrabari police station, said two muggers – with knives in their possession – were ar-rested soon after the incident. During initial questioning, the suspects – Alamgir and Babu – admitted of being involved with the killing of Nurul, the OC added.

The police were now looking for another mugger who was also present at the time of the murder, but had since managed to evade arrest.

Jatrabari SI Mahbub said Nurul hailed from Chittagong’s Fatikchhari area and worked at a garment factory of the Partex Group in Gazipur.

Nurul’s elder brother, Mamunul Islam, lat-er collected his brother’s body from the hospi-tal. He told the Dhaka Tribune that Nurul got married only two years ago. l

Car owners and drivers hog the footpaths to park their vehicles around the capital, leaving little space for pedestrians for whom the footpaths were built in the � rst place. The photo was taken yesterday at Green Road SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

‘We expect to have � ag meetings at sector commander level by this week to complete the formalities for releasing Razzak’

NEWS4DTTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Quader: No dream solution in sight for Eid tra� c congestionn Tribune Report

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said there could be no dream solu-tions to the pre-Eid tra� c congestion that pa-ralyses the country every year, but things can be kept under control if everyone cooperates.

The minister made the remark at a discussion at the National Press Club in Dhaka yesterday.

“Controlling tra� c congestion depends on three variables. First is engineering. I would say the highways in the country are in batter

condition than ever before. So, the highways will not be the reason for congestion [this year].”

“Second is enforcement. Usually, highway and tra� c police have roles to play in con-trolling congestion. If they fail, people fall into immense of su� erings.

“Third is awareness. Road users – including drivers, passengers and pedestrians – every-body try to be the � rst. If they were not con-scious, if they overtake, if they do not main-tain the roadside parking system, it will not he

possible to control tra� c jam,” he explained.The minister also criticised the law enforc-

ers saying they sometimes break law them-selves by moving on the wrong side of roads and highways, creating problems.

“I have taken many initiatives. I conducted several eviction drives across the country to remove illegal occupiers from the roadsides and footpaths. But those initiatives could not be more successful because leaders of the rul-ing party and other in� uential people might have been involved,” he said. l

HC grants AK Khandker anticipatory bailn Tribune Report

The High Court granted six weeks’ bail to Air Vice-Marshal (retd) AK Khandker, a former planning minister, in a defamation case yes-terday.

The HC bench of Justice Nizamul Huq and Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli granted the antici-patory bail in the presence of AK Khandker in response to a bail petition submitted by him on Wednesday.

MA Ihshaq Bhuiyan, a Mujib bahini mem-ber and former joint secretary of the gov-ernment, � led the defamation case with the Court of Senior Judicial Magistrate in Brah-manbaria on September 10 last year for what the former planning minister wrote in one of his widely sold books titled “Bhetore Baire.”

In the book, Khandker said that the Mujib Bahini was involved in looting during the Lib-eration War. Most of the Bahini members were not found in the battle � eld, although the spe-cial force was formed by the Awami League to � ght against the Pakistan occupation forces.

On March 23 this year, the additional chief judicial magistrate of Brahmanbaria sum-moned Khandker.

As per the HC order, the accused will now appear before the Brahmanbaria court after six weeks, his lawyer Shubroto Chowdhury said. l

Papiya denied bailn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday denied bail to former BNP lawmaker Syeda Asifa Ashra� Papiya in nine cases launched with di� erent police sta-tions in the capital on charge of violence.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order following hearing on her bail plea in the cases.

On June 16, three Dhaka courts sent the BNP leader to jail rejecting her bail petitions after her surrender on expiry of her earlier sanc-tioned bail by the High Court in the cases. l

British Council reopens teaching centre n Tribune Report

British Council has re-launched their teaching centre yesterday with e-learning facilities at Satmasjid Road of Dhanmondi in the capital, says a media release.

British High Commissioner Robert W Gib-son inaugurated the centre that o� ers courses on general and professional English language skills as well as new IELTS o� cial preparation course.

In the statement, Gibson said:“I think this teaching centre will showcase the best practice and innovation in ‘English language teaching’. I hope the students will enjoy the cutting-edge classroom learning technology and develop their professional skills through this centre of excellence.”

Education Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan and Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed were special guests in the programme where British Coun-cil Country Director Barbara Wikhham was also present among others.

British Council works in more than 100 countries, as the UK’s international charitable organisation for cultural relations and educa-tional opportunities.

Besides the three centres in Dhaka, the or-ganisation also functions at Chittagong and Sylhet. l

Speakers talk about road safety at a discussion on the role of government and non-government organisations in ensuring safe streets at National Press Club yesterday. The event was organised by Traumalink MEHEDI HASAN

Mobile courts can now punish based on witness accountsn Tribune Report

The cabinet has approved the � nal draft of the Mobile Court (Amendment) Act 2015, where the provision of punishment on the basis of witness accounts and evidence even if an ac-cused does not plead guilty has been included.

The previous law did not allow mobile courts to punish an accused if he did not plead guilty. The amendment was approved at the weekly meeting of the cabinet held yes-terday at the parliament with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the amendment to the act would enable mobile court magistrates to sentence someone based on accounts of wit-nesses as well as evidence even if he refuses to admit guilt. “Magistrates will also be able to take help of technology and seek expert ad-vice while making judgements,” he said.

The cabinet secretary also said there was no scope for any clash between the roles of ju-dicial and executive magistrates when mobile courts would carry out operations. l

NEWS 5D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Haji Salim: Country’s border guard not strong enough

n Tribune Report

Independent lawmaker Hazi Mohammad Sal-im yesterday questioned the e� ciency of Bor-der Guard Bangladesh, referring to the recent detainment of a BGB member by Myanmar Border Guard Police.

“We have seen a picture that the abduct-ed BGB member Razzak was handcu� ed [by Myanmar forces]; it means 16 crore people are handcu� ed,” he told the parliament.

The BGB naik was abducted by Myanmar’s

BGP forces on Wednesday morning from the Naf River near Jadimura area of Teknaf bor-der. During the incident, another BGB mem-ber, Biplob, was shot.

Following the detainment, a picture of handcu� ed BGB Naik Abdur Razzak was post-ed on the BGP Facebook page.

“What did they [BGB] do? They are not strong enough. If they were strong enough, this incident could not have taken place. What are they doing? Crores of taka have been spent behind them. It is tarnishing the gov-ernment’s image,” Salim said.

On Friday, the BGB protested Razzak’s captivity and sent an e-mail and fax message to Myanmar, saying no international law al-lowed the detainment or torture of a neigh-bouring country’s border force member and this was an insult not only for the BGB but for the 16 crore people of Bangladesh.

The Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh also summoned Myanmar Ambassador to Dha-ka Myo Mint Than on Thursday to protest Wednesday’s gun� re exchange and the ab-duction of Razzak.

This was the second time the ambassador was summoned this month. Earlier, on June 5 he was summoned to protest against Myanmar propaganda about Rohingya and Bangladesh.

In an unscheduled discussion, MP Salim said: “Without returning Razzak, without holding any diplomatic talk and without hold-ing any � ag meeting, BGP uploaded a picture of Razzak in Facebook … Myanmar BGP is a name of stigma before the world. They are involved with drug peddling and smuggling.”

The nearly 271km border between Bangla-desh and Myanmar is divided into two parts – 64km zero line boundary on the Naf River and a 208km land boundary. l

Minister: 61 private jute mills under BJMA and BJSA shutn Tribune Report

A total of 61 private jute mills under Bangla-desh Jute Mills Association and Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association were closed, ren-dering 56,157 workers unemployed, said Tex-tiles and Jute Minister Emaz Uddin Pramanik.

But no state-owned jute mills under Bang-ladesh Jute Mills Corporation is shut, he said in response to a query in parliament yesterday.

“Of the 61 private mills that are closed now, 35 are under the BJMA while the remaining 26

are under the BJSA. The number of jute work-ers without job is 56,157; of them, 47,682 un-der the BJMA and 8,475 under the BJSA,” said the minister.

Jute, once known as the golden � bre, was also one of the top exports of the country but is no longer so.

At present, there are 104 private jute mills under the BJMA and 80 mills under the BJSA are in operation.

Pramanik said the country produced 7.5 million bales of jute in � scal year 2013-14. l

New project to reduce Dhaka-Chittagong rail distance n Tribune Report

Railways Minister Mazibul Hoque yesterday told parliament that the government had tak-en initiative to implement a project to reduce the length of Dhaka-Chittagong rail track by 90km and shorten the journey between the two cities.

“An initiative has been taken to implement the project, titled “Construction of Double Track Standard-Gauge Railway Line” between Dhaka and Chittagong via Laksham, Comilla, with Chinese funding on government-to-gov-ernment basis, instead of setting up the Dha-ka-Comilla elevated railway,” the minister said in reply to a question.

If the project is implemented, the rail dis-tance between Dhaka and Chittagong will de-crease by around 90km and it will take only three hours to travel from one city to another via train.

He said a Memorandum of Understanding has already been signed with a Chinese � rm in this regard and a Preliminary Development Project Proforma was approved in principle for the project by the Planning Minister.

If the project is � nally approved after get-ting the Chinese fund, it will take some three years to complete physical works of the pro-ject, Mazibul said. l

Lawmakers looking forward to Banglawashn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The speaker of Jatiya Sangsad and some MPs hailed the Bangladesh cricket team yesterday for their historic series win over India.

Before yesterday’s session commenced, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury hailed the cricket team amid thumping of desks by MPs.

Taking part in an unscheduled discussion, independent MP Haji M Selim said the world was now feeling the strength of Bangladesh.

“Our bad days are gone. We have now

stepped into good days. Our leader [the prime minister] is very much lucky [for us] as our cricket team has been the champion in her tenure,” he said.

Awami League MP Sheikh Fazle Noor Ta-posh said: “In Sha Allah, the winning streak will continue on June 24.”

Fazilatun Nesa Bappy said Bangladesh’s golden boys have shaken the world with their roars. “There was a conspiracy against us in the World Cup quarter� nals; our Tigers have given a be� tting reply to it. l

Over 150 BRTC buses out of ordern Tribune Report

More than 150 buses of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) are out of or-der, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday.

“Now, 158 BRTC buses are out of order. Those buses are waiting to be declared be-yond repair, as the � xing work would not be economically viable,” he said in reply to a question in parliament.

The minister also said 205 BRTC buses were either torched or vandalised during the polit-ical violence. “Currently, 295 BRTC buses in-cluding the 205 damaged ones remain under repair,” he said.

Obaidul said the procurement of 300 dou-ble-decker buses, 100 articulated buses and 500 trucks was under way. The minister said that at present, there are 1,670 vehicles in the BRTC convoy; of these, 1,532 were buses and 138 were trucks. l

PA R L I A M E N T S E S S I O N

Water crisis erupts in many areas of Dhaka every year, but in the government sta� quarters in Ramna, it is commonplace round the year. Now frustrated, the residents seek respite from the seemingly never-ending crisis from the authorities concerned, even if for Ramadan only MEHEDI HASAN

NEWS6DTTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Slum dwellers protest eviction drive, demand rehabilitation n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Residents of Rasulpur slum, locally known as Rasulpur Colony formed a human chain yes-terday in front of Ashwini Kumar Hall in Ba-risal city protesting notice of eviction drive.

Kazi Wahid Murad, president of Rasulpur Bastuhara League, presided over the pro-gramme where Khalilur Rahman, Naresh Chandra Das, leaders of Bastohara League, Dr Manisha Chakraborty, the district uni pres-ident of Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal spoke.

They said more than 100 families, mostly day labourers, marginal poor and landless people, live at slum.

The notice made the poor dwellers totally helpless, they also said. They demanded re-habilitation before eviction.

On 17 June, assistant commissioner of land at Sadar upazila land o� ce, serving an evic-tion notice asked the dwellers to vacant the colony within 72-hour. The dwellers had been living at the colony occupying the govern-ment land illegally, the notice said. l

Suspected robber killed in shootoutn Our Correspondent, Magura

An alleged ringleader of a robber gang was killed and four police members were injured during a ‘gun� ght’ with police in Rautara area under Sadar upazila early yesterday.

The deceased was identi� ed as Alfu Biswash, ringleader of ‘Alfu Bahini’.

Assistant Police super Sudarshan Kumar Roy said, on a tip-o� , a joint team of detec-tives and law enforcers conducted a drive around 4am when the robber gang was taking preparation to commit robbery.

As the team reached the spot, the gang opened � re on them forcing the team to � re back that triggered a gun� ght.

“Alfu was caught in the line of � re,” Sudar-shan Kumar said. He was rushed to Sadar hos-pital where on-duty doctors declared him dead.

Four police men were also injured during the gun� ght. A shooter-gun, two bullets and a machete were recovered from the spot. l

Rajshahi Wasa o� cal’s wife commits suiciden Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Wife of Rajshahi Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) managing director committed suicide yesterday by hanging herself from the ceiling fan at her residence in the city’s collectorate � eld area.

The deceased was identi� ed as Chandana Rani Sarkar, 45.

Dhirendranath Sarker, the managing director, said the incident took place around 10am when went out home.

Quoting Sarker, Rajpara police station o� cer-in-charge Mehedi Hasan said: “Sarker went out home for physical exercise around 9am. When he returned home, he found the door of his bedroom locked from inside.”

With the help of his two sons and daughter, Sarkar broke o� the door when he did not get any response from inside the room, the OC said.

Breaking the door, Sarker found his wife hanging from the ceiling fan and informed police about the incident, the OC also said.

“Primarily we are assuming that the incident might have been occurred following family feud,” he added. l

60,000 yaba pills seized in Teknafn Our correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police have recovered 60,000 pieces of yaba pills and Tk1.89 lakh in separate drives in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. Three women were also arrested in this regard.

O� cer-in-Charge of Teknaf police station Mohammad Ataur Rahman Khandkar said acting on a tip-o� they conducted an op-eration at Nazirpara area of Teknaf around 5:30am on Monday.

They recovered 50,000 yaba pills and the cash money from the house of Abdur Rah-man. Nasima Akter, 20, Ra� ta Begum, 22, and Taslima Begum, 18, were also arrested at the time.

Meanwhile, chief of Teknaf 42 BGB Lieu-tenant Colonel Abu Zar Al Zahid said they seized 10,000 pieces of yaba tablets, worth Tk30 lakh, after raiding the Naittang area of Teknaf upon information. l

Mango traders incur huge loss due to restriction on harvestingn Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj

Mango growers and traders of Chapainawab-ganj, the major mango producing region of the country, are incurring huge loss in the peak season despite a bumper and chemi-cal-free production.

Many traders, orchard owners and people associated with mango business are not even able to recover the investment let alone make any pro� t.

They blamed government restriction on harvesting period, weak marketing system and lack of interest from the big buyers as the main reasons for the loss.

To ensure chemical-free mangoes this sea-son, the vigilant Chapainawabganj administra-tion put a ban on harvesting mangoes before June 1. However, because of the heat spells the mangoes began to ripe early this year. But the growers could not harvest them due to the ban. This caused mangoes from others districts, es-pecially Meherpur, Satkhira and Dinajpur, to take over the markets in the big cities of Dhaka, Chittagong and Comilla.

Moreover, due to the heat major varieties of mangoes – Nengra, Gopalbhog and Khirshapat – matured at the same time and had to be har-vested quickly causing the supply to be greater

than the demand. As such mangoes in the mar-kets of Chapainawabganj are selling at a lower price than that of the previous year.

The price, though appreciated by the cus-tomers, has become a headache for the traders.

President of Nobabganj Mango Traders’ Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Sirajul Islam, said: “Last year we sold Lengra and Khirshapat varieties for Tk2,000 to Tk2,500 per maund. But this year it has come down to Tk1,200 to Tk1,800.”

Claiming that the current price was the lowest in the last couple of years, he said the delayed harvesting due to the government ban had resulted in the loss.

“Besides, the wholesale buyers from Dhaka and other big cities are not coming to our mar-kets because our mangoes are chemical-free. Since these are perishable goods, they need to be sold quickly in bulk and the bumper pro-duction is not helping,” he said.

Kazi Emdadul Haque, general secretary of the Kansat Mango Wholesale Traders’ Coordi-nation Committee, said the market in Kansat usually saw mango business worth Tk21 crore a day. But this year the business was very slow.

Nasir Hossain of Sadar upazila said the gov-ernment put a ban on the harvest but it did not provide adequate support for marketing.

“If we are expected to produce chemical-free mangoes, we need support from the adminis-tration. More than 20% mangoes of our area was already destroyed by the storms.”

President of Chapainawabganj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Wahed � gured the loss this year to be about Tk500 crore. “Last year we had to struggle because of a smear campaign against us. We were accused of using formalin. But this year we did not use any for-malin and now buyers don’t want to buy from us. If such conspiracies are not dealt with by the government, we will go for tougher movement.”

He urged the government to provide inter-est-free loan to the a� ected mango traders and growers to recover the loss.

Meanwhile, Chapainawabganj Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Kabir said the decision to ban harvesting till June 1 was a unanimous decision. “Everyone including the farmers and traders agreed to abide by this to ensure fresh and healthy mangoes for the consumers. But we have no control over the weather. We will investigate the reasons behind the loss and take necessary measures.”

He further added that the e� ort to ensure chemical-free mangoes for the consumers would continue in future keeping in mind the interest of the traders as well. l

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:49PM SUN RISES 5:12AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

33.0ºC 24.8ºC

Sayedpur Sandwip

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 32 27Chittagong 30 26Rajshahi 30 26Rangpur 30 26Khulna 30 26Barisal 30 26Sylhet 29 26Cox’s Bazar 29 27

PRAYER TIMESFajr 3:45am

Sunrise 5:12amZohr 12:01am

Asr 4:41pmMagrib 6:49pm

Esha 8:17pm

WEATHER

TUESDAY, JUNE 23

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

KCC’s waste water disposal ensues ecological disaster at Khuder canaln Our Correspondent, Khulna

A local canal in the district has reportedly lost its ecosystem variation as Khunla City Corpo-ration (KCC) has been draining its waste water into it for long.

Besides, the people living on the Khuder canal vastly known as Khuder Khal have been victim of immense su� ering because of com-ing out stinky odour from it.

The local � shermen are barely found � shes in the canal as its water already went into out of living for the species. Particularly people living in Lota-Khamarbari area su� er more to be very near to the canal.

It was learnt there are seven wards under the KCC and the wastewater from Moidda-danga, Krishi College, Daulatpur, Pabla, Gai-kur, Aronghata, Dewana, Boira, Kartikkul and

Bastohara has been drained into the Khuder canal for long. And there is no way to drain the water into elsewhere from the canal and that is why it turned into black and stinky.

The cattle those take its water has been vic-tim of fatal diseases.

A local shrimp enclosure owner named Omal Mandol said he has been incurring loss as the � lthy water is killing his � shes entering into his closure.

Local quack named Chautoinna Mandal said diarrhoea, dysentery as well as skin dis-eases are common phenomenon among the people living in Lota-Khamarbari area owing to the excessively contaminated water.

A social worker namely Sukriti Mandal said just a two-hour rain inundate the area making easy entrance for the stinky water from the Khuder Khal.

When contacted, Dumuria Upazila Nirbahi O� cer Shamsudduja said the wastewater-en-sued problem would be raised in their next development committee meeting.

Dumuria upazila Chairman Khan Ali Man-sur said: “The KCC should urgently manage an alternative way for the wastewater man-agement so that the dwellers get a relief the su� ocating su� ering.”

KCC ward no 4 Commissioner Kabir Hos-sain said a link canal project from Aronghata to the Mayur river via Khuder Khal has already been taken for the wastewater management and the tender also would be � oated soon.

KCC Mayor Md Maniruzzaman Moni said a master plan for the drainage system was in the pipeline. Besides, a drainage line would be set up as well to mitigate the su� ering of the city dwellers, the mayor went on. l

11 shops � ned for selling adulterated food n Kamrul Hasan

At least 11 shop owners were � ned Tk4,88,000 in the capital yesterday for selling adulterated food.

A mobile court led by Executive Megistrate Md Abdus Kuddus � ned six shops for making food in unhealthy environment at Chwakba-zar.

The court � ned Tk1 lakh to Alauddin Sweetmeat, Tk10,000 to Bombay Sweets owner Abdul Khaleque, Tk20,000 to iftar item seller Jakir Hossain, Tk50,000 to Abdus Salam, Tk20,000 to Abdul Jalil and Tk10,000 to Sukkur Ali.

Another mobile court led by Executive Megistrate Md Sarowar � ned Tk8,000 to Kutub Miah, Tk10,000 to Salauddin and Tk10,000 to Yusuf Ali in the area for selling adulterated ifter items.

In the meantime, Executive Magistrate Md Anisur Rahman conducted a drive in Kalindi area of Keraniganj and � ned Tk1,50,000 to Jajal Uddin Ahmed, owner of the J Ahmed Chemical and Food, Tk1,00,000 to Dipak Pan-dit for selling adulterated food.

The court also destroyed huge amount of food items for making it in unhealthy conditions. l

SUST VC con� ned, police deployed on campus n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

A section of teachers of teachers of ShShah-jalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) con� ned Vice-Chancellor Prof Aminul Haque Bhuiyan at his o� ce since yesterday morning demanding his removal.

Campus sources said Prof Aminul Haque had come to join o� ce around 8:30am after a two-month leave.

As soon as the news of his arrival spreads, a group of teachers under the banner of ‘Mo-han Muktijuddher Chetonay Udbhuddo Sik-khak Forum’ gathered on the campus.

At one stage, the teachers led by forum’s convenor Dr Syed Shamsul Alam went to the VC’s o� ce and put his o� ce under lock and lock. The VC was con� ned at his o� ce till � ll-ing of the report around 7am.

The agitating teachers said they would continue their protest until the VC step down.

O� cer-in-charge of Jalalabad police station told the Dhaka tribune that they were on alter to avoid any untoward incident on the campus.

Leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League said they would protect the VC appointed by the government at any cost.

Joint Secretary of BCL Sajidul Islam Sabuj at a press conference said they would support the VC as he had been appointed by the government.

Meanwhile, member secretary of Mohan Muktijuddher Chetonay and Mukta Chintay Oikkaboddho Shikkhok Forum Dr Rashed Ta-lukdar said they would provide Aminul Haque Bhuiyan all-out supports.

Teachers of Shahjalal Science and Technol-ogy University have divided into two groups over resignation of vice-chancellor.

The tension was erupted on the SUST cam-pus on April 13 when 19 teachers from the physics department and geography and envi-ronment department of the university went to hold a talk with the VC over space allocation between the departments on April 15.

Prof Dr Syed Badiuzzaman Faruque, head of the physics department, and Prof Dr Sharif Md Sharafuddin, head of the geography and environment science department, resigned on

the same day following an altercation with the VC on April 13. On April 20, thirty-� ve teach-ers resigned from di� erent administrative posts demanding the removal of university Vice-Chancellor Prof Aminul Haque Bhuiyan.

The teachers include Institute of Information Technology Director Prof Dr Muhammad Jafar Iqbal, Centre for Excellence Director Prof Dr Mu-hammad Yunus, Public Administration Depart-ment Head Prof Dr Abdul Awal Biswas, Students Guidance and Council Director Prof Dr Anwarul Islam and acting proctor Emdadul Hoque.

On April 23, Vice-Chancellor Prof Aminul Haque Bhuiyan went on a two-month leave amid protest in the university in demand of his resignation. The decision was taken in a syndicate meeting.

SUST gets new proctor Authorities of the SUST yesterday appointed Dr Kamaruzzaman Chowdhury, professor of forestry and environmental department as proctor of the university. He took charges yes-terday morning. l

Dhaka North Mayor Annisul Huq visits a kitchen market in the capital’s Karwan Bazar area yesterday to inspect commodity prices and market situation during Ramadan RAJIB DHAR

NEWS 7D

T

WORLD8DTTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

EU launches Mediterranean migrant military missionn AFP, Luxembourg

EU foreign ministers formally approved yes-terday the launch of the � rst phase of a mil-itary operation to target people smugglers in the Mediterranean, o� cials said.

The initial ships and aircraft to conduct in-telligence gathering missions should be avail-able within a week, o� cials said.

EU foreign a� airs head Federica Mogher-ini said the 28-nation bloc had responded quickly to the crisis washing up on its south-ern shores. The decision comes after serious di� erences among member states over how to handle the thousands of migrants cross-ing the Mediterranean, with Italy, Greece and Malta bearing the brunt of the burden.

EU leaders agreed at an emergency summit

overshadowed by the disaster to formulate a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem at source, including a military option to go after the people tra� ckers working out of Libya.

The � rst phase of intelligence gathering is meant to be followed by active intervention to board and disable smuggler vessels and arrest the tra� ckers. A third phase would extend these actions into Libyan territorial waters and possibly inside the country itself – a major and potentially dangerous commitment that some member states are reluctant to take on.

To meet their reservations, the April sum-mit agreed that advancing to Phases 2 and 3 would require a UN Security Council Resolu-tion and agreement from Libya where rival factions are � ghting for control and the inter-nationally-recognised government has � ed

Tripoli to take up residence in Benghazi.The mission, dubbed “EU NAVFOR Med,”

will initially be based on � ve warships, two submarines, three maritime patrol aircraft with drones and helicopters, o� cials said.

A senior EU o� cial who asked not to be named said that commanders were aware of the dangers in the operation, noting the pres-ence of the radical Islamic State jihadi group in Libya and recent attacks on merchant ship-ping by the rival factions.

Mogherini said the mission would target the “business model of those who bene� t from the misery of the migrants.”

She stressed, however, that the military option should be seen as only part of a broad-er strategy to deal with a problem taking on Biblical proportions. l

Arab warplanes continue Houthi strikesn Reuters, Sanaa

More than 20 air strikes by Arab forces hit tar-gets controlled by Houthi rebels across Yemen late on Sunday, residents said.

Aden residents reported three raids on the Houthi-controled international airport while another bombing destroyed parts of the Otto-man-era Seera castle.

Along Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia, residents in Hajja province reported � ve air raids on buildings housing Houthi forces, who have clashed with Saudi forces in recent weeks.

Mainly drawn from the Shi’ite Zaydi sect, the Houthis are allied to Yemen’s former pres-ident Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still has the loyalty of much of the army. They are � ght-ing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is exiled in Riyadh, and southern separatists, tribal factions and other political groups.l

Hundreds of refugees cross back into Syria n Reuters, Akcakale, Turkey

Hundreds of Syrian refugees who had � ed into Turkey crossed back yesterday, witness-es said, as a border gate reopened a few days after Islamic State militants were ousted from the frontier town of Tel Abyad forces by Syr-ian Kurds.

Amid tight security on the Turkish side, hundreds of refugees - mostly women and children carrying bags of belongings - crossed the border from the Turkish town of Akcakale to Tel Abyad.

Syrian Kurdish-led forces captured Tel Abyad from Islamic State last week, driving the militants away from the frontier in an ad-vance backed by US-led air strikes.

Security sources told Reuters that the bor-der gate was subsequently kept closed for four days for security reasons. l

Tripoli hits IS in Libya with air strikesn Reuters, Tripoli

The self-declared government in control of the Libyan capital Tripoli has launched air strikes on Islamic State � ghters in the city of Sirte, o� cials and witnesses said yesterday.

“Warplanes of the air force of the National Salvation government conducted air strikes last night on an internal security building in Sirte,” ministry of defense spokesman Mo-hamed Abdulka� said by phone, referring to the Tripoli government.

“The strikes targeted a gathering of mili-tants of Islamic State. No � gures of casualties from the strikes have been reported so far,” he said.

“Many wounded Islamic State militants were taken to the local hospital,” a witness said, asking not to be identi� ed.

Fighters allied to Islamic State command-ers in Iraq and Syria have been gaining ground in Libya, where two rival governments are battling for control and militants have taken advantage of the security vacuum. l

Cooked dogs are displayed at a vendor’s stall in Yulin, in southern China’s Guangxi province early yesterday. The city holds an annual festival devoted to the animal’s meat on the summer solstice which has provoked an increasing backlash from animal protection activists AFP

Anger over China beer fest in Muslim countyn Reuters, Beijing

A county in the heavily Muslim southern part of China’s unruly region of Xinjiang has held a beer festival in the run-up to the holy month of Ramadan, the government said, in what an exiled group called an open provocation.

Ramadan is a sensitive time in Xinjiang in China’s far west after an uptick in attacks over the past three years, in which hundreds have died, blamed by Beijing on Islamist militants.

State media and Xinjiang government websites have published stories and o� -

cial notices again this year demanding that Communist Party members, civil servants, students and teachers in particular do not ob-serve Ramadan and do not fast.

The beer festival happened in a village in Niya County in the deep south of Xinjiang, which is overwhelmingly populated by the Muslim Uighur people who call Xinjiang home. Muslims are not meant to consume al-cohol, according to the Koran.

The Niya government website said the “beer competition,” which happened last yesterday just before the start of Ramadan, was attended

by more than 60 young farmers and herders.It showed pictures of women dancing in

front of a stage and a line of men downing as much beer as they could in one minute. “This beer competition was varied and entertain-ing,” the government said, noting that there were cash awards of up to 1,000 yuan ($161) for competition winners.

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exiled group the World Uyghur Congress, con-demned the event.

“This is an open provocation to the Islamic faith,” he said in an emailed statement. l

WORLD 9D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Gun battle in Indian Kashmir kills threen AFP, Srinagar

Two suspected rebels and a civilian were killed in a gun battle in Indian Kashmir that lasted over 15 hours, police said yesterday.

The shooting began Sunday when govern-ment forces cordoned o� a village on a tip-o� that armed militants were hiding there.

“Both the militants were local residents, one of them had recently joined LeT,” said in-spector general of police Javid Gillani, referring to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned Pakistani group.

Gillani said a stray bullet killed the civilian in Redwani village, 65 kilometres south of Srinagar.

A police o� cer on the scene said hundreds of residents from nearby villages came out to protest as troops cordoned o� the village, throwing rocks at the them and shouting “we want freedom.” l

Pakistan heatwave death toll nears 200n AFP, Karachi

Nearly 200 people have died in a heatwave in southern Pakistan, o� cials said yesterday, as the government called in the army to help tackle widespread heatstroke in the worst-hit city Karachi.

The death toll in Karachi, the country’s largest city, where temperatures hit 45 de-grees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) at the weekend, is at least 180 and a further 11 deaths were reported in southern parts of central Punjab province.

An AFP tally based on information from � ve hospitals around Karachi suggested the toll there could be as high as 249.

The deaths come a month after neighbouring India su� ered the second deadliest heatwave in its history, with more than 2,000 deaths.

The Sindh provincial government has im-posed a state of emergency at all hospitals, cancelling leave for doctors and other medi-cal sta� and increasing stocks of supplies.

Doctors say most of those who have died succumbed to heatstroke. l

US evangelicals draw battle lines against same-sex marriagen Reuters, San Antonio

With the US Supreme Court expected to rule by the end of the month on whether same-sex marriage is legal, many Christian evangelicals say they would refuse to obey a decision al-lowing gay unions.

The Defend Marriage pledge, signed by more than 50,000 people, is one of a series of measures launched by social conservatives to

push back against same-sex unions.“The justices are not always right, and this

is clearly a case that � nds a right that is not in the Constitution, and we will not be able to respect that ruling,” said Rick Scarborough, a prominent Baptist pastor in Texas and one of the authors of the pledge.

Scarborough says those who signed the peti-tion will resist all government e� orts to require them to accept gay marriage. He says some, in-

cluding himself, will accept any � ne, arrest or even jail time to protect their religious freedom.

“We respectfully warn the Supreme Court not to cross this line,” Scarborough said.

Republican state lawmakers in recent months have introduced a raft of bills target-ing gay marriage and gay rights amid expecta-tions that the top US court will � nd a consti-tutional right to same-sex marriage. It is now legal in 36 of the 50 US states. l

Syrian Kurds, on the o� ensive, push deeper into Islamic State territoryn Reuters, Beirut

Kurdish-led forces yesterday advanced deep into territory in Syria held by Islamic State, showing new momentum after they unex-pectedly swiftly seized a border crossing from the jihadists last week.

The Kurds, aided by US-led air strikes and smaller Syrian rebel groups, have pushed to within 7 km of Ain Issa, a town 50 km north of Islamic State’s de facto capital Raqqa city, said Redur Xelil, spokesman for the Kurdish forces.

The rapid advance into Raqqa province has de� ed expectations of a protracted battle between the Kurdish YPG group and Islamic State � ghters, who waged a four-month bat-tle for the border town of Kobani, where the Kurds � nally defeated the jihadists in January.

Raqqa is the main seat of power in Syria for

Islamic State, commonly known as IS, which has proclaimed a caliphate from territory it controls in both Syria and Iraq.

The United States has been leading an air campaign against the group in both countries since last year. The Kurds have been the most important partner so far for the US-led cam-paign in Syria, where Washington has fewer allies on the ground than in Iraq.

The Kurdish front in northern Syria has been one of the few sources of good news for the global campaign against IS since the jihadists made major advances last month in western Iraq and central Syria.

A spokesman for the Pentagon said last week IS forces had appeared to “crack” at the Turkish border town of Tel Abyad, which fell to the YPG in less than two days, cutting IS’ supply route from Turkey.

The YPG-led forces were now battling

IS on the outskirts of a military base to the southwest of Ain Issa, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Some refugees from the Tel Abyad area had accused the YPG of driving Arabs and Turkmen from territory seized from IS. Kurd-ish o� cials deny forcing people out and say such accusations are being made to stir up ethnic strife, with the Observatory saying no evidence of systematic abuse by YPG had been documented.

The Kurdish advance alarms the Turkish government, which is worried battle� eld suc-cesses in� aming ethnic unrest among its own Kurdish population. The Kurdish administra-tion’s growing strength has led to friction with the Damascus government, which has tended to avoid direct con� ict with the Kurds during the four-year war while maintaining a foot-hold in areas where the Kurds hold sway. l

Germany frees Al Jazeera journalist n Reuters, Berlin

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist was re-leased in Germany yesterday, two days after he was detained at Berlin airport at Egypt’s request.

Ahmed Mansour, one of Jazeera’s best known journalists, was released without charge, an o� cial at the Berlin state prosecu-tor’s o� ce con� rmed.

A Cairo court sentenced Mansour to 15 years in prison in absentia last year on a charge of torturing a lawyer in 2011 in Tahrir Square. Mansour and Al Jazeera deny the charge.

Earlier on Monday the German govern-ment played down the chances of him being extradited to Egypt, citing concerns about the Egyptian legal process, including group sen-tencings and doubts about due process.

Egypt accuses Al Jazeera of being a mouth-piece of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Qa-tar-backed Islamist movement that President Sisi removed from power in 2013 when he was army chief and denounces as a terrorist group. l

Fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) stand with children near a sign in Tel Abyad town, Raqqa governorate, June 16. Aided by US-led air strikes, the Kurdish-led YPG militia may have dealt Islamic State its worst defeat to date in Syria by seizing the town of Tel Abyad at the Turkish border, cutting a supply route to the jihadists’ de facto capital of Raqqa city REUTERS

WORLD10DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Philippines, US, Japan step up drills in South China Sean Reuters, Puerto Princesa, Philippines

The Philippines will hold separate naval exercises with US and Japanese forces this week on a Philippine island that is not far from the disputed Spratly archipelago, where China’s rapid cre-ation of seven island outposts is stoking regional tensions.

Manila, which has one of the weakest navies in Asia, has stepped up its security cooperation this year in the wake of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, not just with ally Washington, but also with Japan and Vietnam.

A Philippine military o� cial said there was no plan for the Philippine, US and Japanese navies to hold combined exercises on Palawan island, 160 km (100 miles) from the Spratlys, although the drills could intersect because Manila had limited naval assets.

“At some point all three forces could merge in one activity be-cause we only have two ships and limited aircraft to take part in these exercises,” said the o� cial, who declined to be identi� ed.

Late on Sunday, reporters could see two P3C-Orion maritime surveillance planes, one belonging to the United States and the other Japan, parked on a military air� eld in Puerto Princesa City, the Palawan capital.

The two-week exercises with the United States began late last week. The two-day drills with Japan start on Tuesday, o� cials said. Both will take place in Philippine territorial waters, not part of the contested South China Sea.

China’s o� cial Xinhua news agency condemned what it said was Japan’s “meddling.”

“By muddying the waters in the South China Sea, Tokyo also aims to divert increasingly intensive global attention on Japan’s lack of remorse over its atrocities during World War Two,” Xinhua said in an English-language commentary.

While the Philippine military trains regularly with US forces, it only held its � rst joint naval drills with Japan in May.

Tokyo has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, but it worries about becoming isolated should China dominate a water-way through which much of Japan’s ship-borne trade passes. l

UN report: War crimes likely by both sides in 2014 Gaza warn AFP, Geneva

Both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during last year’s Gaza war, a widely anticipated United Nations report said yesterday, decrying the “unprece-dented” devastation and human su� ering.

The Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza con� ict announced it had gathered “substantial

information” and “credible allegations” that both sides had committed war crimes during the con� ict, which killed more than 2,140 Pal-estinians, most of them civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.

“The extent of the devastation and hu-man su� ering in Gaza was unprecedented and will impact generations to come,” the chair of the commission, New York judge

Mary McGowan Davis, said.The report decried the “huge � repower”

used in Gaza, with Israel launching more than 6,000 airstrikes and � ring 50,000 artillery shells during the 51-day operation. A third of the civilians killed were children.

Palestinian armed groups � red 4,881 rock-ets and 1,753 mortars towards Israel, killing six civilians and injuring at least 1,600 others.

The commission voiced concern that a sense of “impunity prevails across the board for violations ... allegedly committed by Is-raeli forces, whether it be in the context of ac-tive hostilities in Gaza or killings, torture and ill-treatment in the West Bank.”

The investigators urged Israel to “break with its recent lamentable track record in holding wrongdoers accountable.” l

US Navy o� cer walks on the deck of a US naval vessel docked at Puerto Princesa city, Philippines yesterday. Manila, which has one of the weakest navies in Asia, has stepped up security cooperation in the wake of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, not just with ally Washington, but also with Japan and Vietnam REUTERS

11D

TEDITORIALTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

INSIDE

We are delighted by the convincing way the Bangladesh cricket team achieved its win over India in Sunday’s ODI in Dhaka.

Musta� zur Rahman’s accomplishment in becoming the � rst cricketer in history to pick up 11 wickets in his � rst two 50 over matches stands out among many memorable achievements.

The exhilarating win not only ensures a victory in the three match ODI series, but cements a place for the 2017ICC Champions Trophy.

It is thrilling to see the Tigers reward the faith of fans with a combination of great individual performances and teamwork. All the players and management deserve the plaudits they are earning for the hard work and preparation that lies behind their recent lift in form.

We hope the team will continue in the same vein during Wednesday’s remaining match.

The strength in depth showed in batting and the way bowlers and � elders were able to raise their game together to dominate India’s hugely experienced players, bodes well for the future.

Everyone involved with the team, from selectors to support sta� needs to keep up the raised aspirations and solid teamwork that are now paying dividends in results on the � eld.

The Tigers’ success provides an important lesson for people in all walks of life. United teamwork and a positive attitude can combine with hard work and preparation to provide a platform for success.

A positive attitude and hard work lies behind the Tigers’ well-earned success

Teamwork wins the day

Who will save the children?

Keeping tourists safeTourism is a very fragile industry. Once a bad thing happens at a destination, it sweeps very quickly to other destina-tions and tourists

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For the love of GodFreedom of speech would be an un-impeachable tenet, the users of which will not be persecuted, no matter how “o� ensive” their rhetoric

Save the Children has evidently been operating in Pakistan for 35 years with-out arousing any suspicion

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

OPINION12DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

n SN Rasul

When it comes to integrating religion into a society that is simultaneously moving in two opposite directions -- the

rise of liberal, democratic views versus the resurgence (or insurgence?) of Islamic funda-mentalism -- is it possible to have a middle ground? Can we say “na tor, na amar” and happily be done with it?

If so, what would that country look like? Questions aside, what we can personally do is perhaps put forth a few hypothetical situ-ations. We would be a nation where people were allowed to practice their own religion, be it Islam or otherwise, without fear of in-tervention from the government or any other powerful entity. We would be brothers and sisters, under the auspices of a benevolent motherland.

Our rights, no matter who we were, despite race and ethnicity, would be upheld. Similarly, our government would be made up of a diverse range of people, each boasting a di� erent background, all working together to improve the country as a whole.

As idealistic as that sounds, there is a � ip-side. People without religion -- the atheists, the agnostics, the blasphemers, individuals lacking any o� cial moral compass, as they are often referred to in society -- would be treated equally as well. The azaan would, of course, blast out of the speakers of our mosques � ve times a day, but so would ring the mighty bells of the nearest church, or the incantations from the closest temple.

Freedom of speech would be an unim-

peachable tenet, the users of which will not be persecuted, no matter how “o� ensive” their rhetoric. And the state would need to be separate from all religious dialogue, with laws passed for the betterment of all concerned, not the majority. Gender would be a non-issue, and men, women, and others would be equal under the law, and allowed to move freely in society, without fear of reprimand for the way they dress, what they do, and who they cohort with.

That is what it might mean for us to secular. Are we willing to live with that anymore? Because this is a lot like Bangladesh is now, if we can forget its recent history. And a lot like Bangladesh was, before the steady in� ux of extremism and western liberalism into the mix.

Either side of the great religious divide might not be okay with that. There will be some, if not most, who will say that they are, that these two extremes are perfectly com-patible, but they are not, not truly.

The fundamentalists (the ones who take the word of God literally) would not be pleased. The absence of a governmen-tally sponsored religious law would be an issue. If not, then, at least, the way women are dressed perhaps, or the role of minori-ties in the government (“how can a Hindu know what we want?”), or being okay with Islam-bashing bloggers.

But the so-called liberals -- those godless heathens -- would have to be okay with

mixing with the likes of mollahs, who would be preaching the “right” thing every chance they get, who they can only describe as being backward. Getting an Arabic wake-up call at four in the morning would be an annoyance from something they deem a redundant feature in the current century. Having dis-cussions on pre-marital sex (with their minds already made up) would be problematic. And it would become increasingly di� cult to be part of the same group of people who might be o� ended at what they have to say.

And therein lies the problem. We are trying to � nd a middle-ground solution to a problem that doesn't have one. With two opposing forces pulling vehemently in their respective directions, the rope must either break, leading to a stalemate, or one side must overpower the other. The situation as we have it now can, it seems, never be how it remains, when there are people together whose views remain so starkly in contrast with their fellow citizens.

Religion, in the end, is not compatible with liberal ideologies. And vice versa. It is, � rstly, inherent in religion, to discriminate, and to believe in a singular moral logic. And whether we deem it to be a Western in� u-ence or not (and thereby see ourselves as being only “Eastern”), these beliefs, which constitute things like freedom of speech and individual rights, have indubitably become an inherent part of many of our lives, though granted, it’s a smaller portion of the popula-tion.

We can’t, as a nation, pine for the love of God and simultaneously mingle with His en-emies. Nor can we stand up for the empow-erment of women and be friends with people who believe that a rape victim needs four male witnesses (double that if the witnesses are female) to prove her case.

Whatever side we choose (and I can only already hear the cries of “why must there be sides?”), the fact that we, as individuals, and then, as a country, have to choose one, be-comes more and more evident. The butcher will not live peacefully with the cattle. l

SN Rasul works at the Dhaka Tribune.

For the love of God

Freedom of speech would be an unimpeachable tenet, the users of which will not be persecuted, no matter how ‘o� ensive’ their rhetoric

Can religions co-exist with liberal ideologies? BIGSTOCK

OPINION 13D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

n Ziaul Haque Howlader

A unit of the Bangladesh Police, the “Tourist Police,” has recently been formed in the country. The Tourist Police has already been deployed

at Cox’s Bazaar and Chittagong, while a few police vehicles have already been seen plying the streets of Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka.

This newly created unit of the police has been entrusted with the responsibility of pro-viding security to the tourists and protecting all the tourist spots in our country. One of its foremost objectives is to improve the image of Bangladesh as a country of peace-loving people, to the world, and help develop our tourism industry to live up to its potential.

The Tourist Police Unit primarily em-barked upon its journey with two divisions -- Chittagong and Dhaka -- under a DIG. The areas that come under Chittagong divisions are Chittagong district, the Hill Tracts, and Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh’s prime tourist destinations.

Under the Dhaka division, the areas are Dhaka, Sylhet, and Kuakata. Each division is supervised by an additional DIG. Each division is then, again, divided into three zones. Each zone will work with an additional SP as its head. The sanctioned manpower strength of the Tourist Police unit is 699 in total so far.

The formation of the Tourist Police, as far as it seems, has been good for the tourism industry. However, to carry out the task,

the Tourist Police needs proper training and orientation. As the tourism industry is a spe-cialised sector -- it is, in fact, a service-orient-ed industry -- they need to be made knowl-edgable of some basic concepts of tourism in addition to some service-oriented customs and rules.

Tourist Police members will need to work in concordant collaboration with service providers and all other related stakeholders to be e� ective. Their job is to ensure safe and smooth movement of both individual and grouped tourists, and their vehicles, to and from major destinations. The Tourist Police may also provide the service of removing all the obstacles that tourists tend to face, such as purse-snatchers, goons, nuisances, and other such monkey business. Additionally, they also have to extend support to the elder-ly and physically challenged.

But su� ce it to say, they have many challenges ahead to ensure that services are provided smoothly. On the one hand, they will provide safety and security to tour-ists. And on the other, they have to ensure the privacy of tourists. Tourists tend to be much more sensitive about their privacy. Honeymooners, couples, and families may visit a destination and we all should take the utmost care to ensure that their privacy is not violated. Otherwise, it will tarnish the image of country as a whole.

It is also crucial that the Tourist Police are plainclothes o� cers, donning raiments that let them blend among the tourists. This will

prevent tourists from being anxious about something dangerous.

It is important to remember that the peo-ple who come to visit our nation are valuable guests. As a result, we should treat as we do people we invite into our homes, to make them feel welcome. They are, after all, here to spend their leisure time, which results in our economic gain.

It is, therefore, imperative that the mem-bers of the team are properly trained, such as through courses o� ered by various institutes, including the BPC-run NHTTI. When neces-sary, the Tourist Police may need to work as a guide, an interpreter, a rescuer, or a primary aid provider. Hence, there is no alternative to tourism training for the newborn Tourist Police unit.

Tourism, in e� ect, is a very fragile indus-try. Once a place acquires a bad reputation,

it spreads like wild� re among other destina-tions and tourists. This will, no doubt, result in economic loss.

Tourism is also a vastly multi-dimensional industry. A Chinese study has shown that there are 80 sectors involved in this industry alone.

There are various segments of tourists. All segments and ages of tourists may visit a destination together. With this in mind, the Tourist Police should be trained to cater to the needs of all kinds of individuals, as tourists will, of course, boast a vast range of cultural backgrounds and special needs.

Apart from the above, the Tourist Police may work on the following issues of the industry: (1) Safeguarding tourism resources from theft and destruction; (2) protecting archaeological relics; (3) escorting vehicles carrying foreign tourists during hartal and strikes; (3) rescue tourists when and if in danger; (4) ensure safety and security in the rural areas; (5) evict illegal occupants from protected areas.

The task ahead for this new branch of the police will be a monumental one, and should not be underestimated. According to BPC statistics, more than 800 tourist attractions have already been identi� ed. At present, around 25 are landmark tourist attractions, where around 6 million tourists visit every year. In Cox’s Bazar alone, around 1.5 million tourists, of which 5% are foreign, visit every year, and more than 500,000 foreign tourists visited in 2013.

The volume of domestic tourism is gradually increasing and it is expected that

the magnitude of foreign tourists’ arrivals in Bangladesh will be higher in the future. And with their tastes changing every day, the Tourist Police's services will eventually need to be expanded.

To reach a satisfactory level for our tour-ism industry, the role of the Tourist Police is signi� cant. The road ahead is long, but it is one worth taking. They will play a vital role in enhancing the country’s image, building con� dence of the potential domestic and for-eign tourists, and ensuring a smooth journey for senior citizens and physically-challenged tourists. One cannot help but hope that the Tourist Police overcomes all challenges and contributes to the socio-economic develop-ment of Bangladesh. l

Ziaul Haque Howlader works for the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.

Keeping tourists safe

Tourism is a very fragile industry. Once a bad thing happens at a destination, it sweeps very quickly to other destinations and tourists. Then tourists may avoid visiting the country, which results in economic loss

The Tourist Police can be a bene� cial addition to Bangladesh’s booming tourism industry DHAKA TRIBUNE

OPINION14DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

n William Milam

The headlines have rushed in over the past few days, headlines that, if I be-lieved them, I could only explain as another manifestation of a suicidal

national mind-set among the political class of Pakistan. But while these headlines give me something to write about in a week when nothing else strikes my fancy, they neither strike me as scary nor as any kind of game changer. The headlines convey the sudden drama of a well-known and highly regarded international NGO being thrown out of Pa-kistan, and an apparent new-found govern-ment desire to bring the many international NGOs in Pakistan to heel.

Now, if I thought that these organisations which are the most common vehicles for delivering others’ money and expertise to the humanitarian and development tasks that confront and challenge (and for the most part overwhelm) the national, provincial, and local governments of Pakistan, I would be worried. I think it safe to say that I would conclude that Pakistan’s future would be in even more doubt than it is at present.

But as soon as I write a paragraph about the decision to throw out the Save the Chil-dren NGO, the news comes that the decision has been rescinded. And one wonders how a committee to examine International NGOs could avoid examining the religious charities as well as the madrasas. It all sounds a little over-ambitious to me.

One might think that there would be some merit in knowing more about the many inter-national NGOs that operate in Pakistan to en-sure that these organisations’ operations are doing generally what they are supposed to do -- that is to alleviate the poverty, enhance education, and generally support the govern-ment’s general objective of providing social services to the Pakistani people. After all, it is clear from some Pakistani’s recently-demon-strated world class capabilities in scamming, that some oversight would be useful to avoid repeats of such embarrassing tales as the Axact phony degree scandal, and (going back a few years) the equally world class BCCI bank scam. If, for no other reason than those memories, Pakistani governments should want to know what is going on, in general, in the society they (sort of) govern.

But really, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, Oxfam, World Vision? These International NGOs which, according to the newspapers, are on the government’s target list, work around the world with no scandal, and, to my knowledge, have created no proven scandal in Pakistan in the many years they have been operating there.

I say “proven” because the media’s allu-sions to the expulsion of Save the Children were because of allegations that it was an o� cial in that organisation that recruited Dr Afridi for the infamous CIA fake vaccination program in Abbottabad. But Save the Chil-dren stoutly denies this. Has that o� cial or the organisation actually been tried in a court of law for this infraction? I suppose, among other conundrums the government would face in bringing this matter to court would be

that it would have to produce Dr Afridi.Well, that is one issue, but I think the

more telling point is that Save the Children has evidently been operating in Pakistan for 35 years without arousing any suspicion that it was “working against Pakistan,” words the interior minister used to describe its trans-gression. So without the foggiest idea of what that might mean, it seems fair to ask that it be given a fair chance to answer whatever charges against it that there are, and if the news stories are correct, none has so far been given.

In fact, the commission that was recently set up to investigate the activities of some of the international NGOs appears just to have only started its investigation when Save the Children was ordered to shut down its oper-ations and leave the country. Now, of course, it is all moot -- unless, of course, the decision to rescind is rescinded.

Among the 20 international NGOs alleged to be targets of this investigation are some

of the best known and most highly regarded international NGOs who have provided aid and comfort and/or training and expertise to the people of Pakistan and much of the rest of the world for many years. No reason was given for any of these organisations to be investigated except for the very vague admonition by the interior minister that “some NGOs should be investigated for per-forming outside their domains,” and that the government wants to compel (these NGOs) to work under their charter.” The minister was also quoted as saying that “no NGO work-ing against the country’s interest would be allowed to continue its work in Pakistan.”

Well, I was under the impression that the political, economic, and social uplift of Pakistani society, its populace, and the country, is central to the interests of Paki-stan. The international NGOs are at the core of this e� ort -- they have assisted successive Pakistani governments over many years in fostering programs ranging from those that

feed and support the poor generally, such as Catholic relief services and Oxfam, to those which provide emergency relief to regions stricken by natural disasters like Merci Corps or World Vision, to those which target vul-nerable groups such as Save the Children, to those who o� er technical assistance to foster democracy such as the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute. To accuse them of working against Pakistan’s national interest is absurd.

Is this the usual tempest in a teapot, or does it re� ect a deeper trend? According to analysts I respect, the immediate cause of the uproar is anger on some government minis-ters’ part that a couple of the international NGOs became too intimately involved in the campaign led by the EU against the execution of two convicts who were underage when convicted. If so, a speci� c warning instead of a broad brush attack might seem to be in order.

In general, however, NGOs have eschewed distinctly political matters and devoted their e� orts to improving human welfare, and most work through promoting the interests and the rights of the weaker segments of so-ciety. Most international and bilateral donors work closely with NGOs in their support of the foreign assistance programs.

Once again the � re bell clangs in the night, bringing with it frightening visions of a dys-functional future. Once again we awaken and hope it was a bad dream. l

William B Milam is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC, and former US Ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh. This article was � rst published in The Friday Times.

Who will save the children?

The more telling point is that Save the Children has evidently been operating in Pakistan for 35 years without arousing any suspicion that it was ‘working against Pakistan,’ words the minister used to describe its transgression

Pakistan’s crackdown against Save the Children begs reasoning REUTERS

15D

TBusiness TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

ANTI-TOBACCO GROUP FOR MORE TAX ON HIGH-END CIGARETTE 19STOCKS CONTINUE TO CLOSE FLAT

WITH VOLATILITY16

BGMEA to raise concerns over Accord activities today n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Ex-porters Association (BGMEA) will raise its concerns over Accord activities, which are alleged to be beyond of its jurisdiction, dur-ing a scheduled meeting between the steering committee of Accord and BGMEA to be held in the city today.

During the meeting, the RMG manufac-turers platform also will discuss viability of investment for the remediation of apparel factories and implementation of Corrective Action Plans (CAP) prescribed by Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

BGMEA and Accord Steering Committee will hold a meeting today where both par-ties will broadly discus the issues and placed their arguments on behalf of their respective organisation, a BGMEA source con� rmed the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

According to the BGMEA o� cials, installa-tion of sprinklers in the RMG factories is not required as per the law of land, which the Ac-

cord is prescribing for installation. Formation of trade union in the RMG factory would be as per the country’s laws and it is not a matter of Accord.

On the other hand, the Accord is pressuris-ing the factory owners to make immediate de-tailed engineering assessment (DEA), which has been labeled as yellow in the inspection but it’s not required immediately as the situa-tion is not so grave, claimed the BGMEA.

The Accord also noses on the workers ben-e� ts issues in case of factory closure due to safety concern and relocation, which is sup-posed to be settled as per country’s laws.

“We will seek assurance of viability of our investments to be done for the remediation work in the days ahead,” BGMEA Vice Presi-dent Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Trib-une.

A factory owner has to investment a huge amount of money to implement the correc-tive action plans as per the prescription of the Accord, said Azim expressing his doubt over the investment return.

The buyers have to ensure their stances about their future work orders and continua-tion of business relations, he added.

Azim also said: “The BGMEA will also raise the � nancing issues in the meeting as the re-tailer platform did not provide any fund for remediation as yet.”

The issues of concerns came under spot-lights following the recent comments of Fi-nance Minister AMA Muhith and BGMEA leader’s allegation against Accord’s activities’ be-yond its jurisdiction.

In a letter, Industriall and UNI, two global trade unions urged the BGMEA to bring all concerns about the operations of the Accord directly to this dialogue rather than airing them � rst in the press.

“We urge you to bring all concerns about the operations of the Accord directly to this dialogue rather than airing

them � rst in the press,” said Industriall and UNI Global Union in a letter sent to BGMEA president Atiqul Islam on June 18.

The letter also reads: Rest assured that we remain committed to working towards the sustainability and success of the Bangladesh garment industry and will continue to imple-ment the Accord, without fear or favor, in fur-therance of that goal. l

NBR targets Tk5,600cr through monitoring, automation initiatives n Tribune Report

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans to collect around Tk5,600 crore income taxes by introducing a number of initiatives including automation, increased surveillance and monitoring.

Along with the automation, the board has also decided to focus on collection of the un-paid tax, which remains pending for years creating backlog in government’s revenue mobilisation, NBR o� cials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

If properly enforced, the plan can help the NBR to collect around Tk5,596 crore from the income tax wing, they added, citing NBR es-timation.

According to the NBR plan, from now on, the authority will work for improving its ser-vice delivery system, and emphasise auto-mation, auditing of tax � les, transfer pricing cell, forensic intelligence and in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

O� cials said the NBR modernisation plan aims to reach a tax-GDP ratio of 13% and to reduce the tax cases in the courts by 80% by 2016.

It also expects to provide exemplary cus-tomer service to all taxpayers through web en-abled tax administration from e-registration, e-� ling of tax returns to e-payments by 2016.

The current manual paper-based work en-

vironment is not adequate to deliver the am-bitious service and compliance improvement goals, which creates hindrances for the tax authority to ful� ll its revenue outcome, add-ed o� cials.

Under its automation plan, the NBR will in-stall integrated revenue management program which will include setting up of an NBR data center, centralised processing center for income tax returns, tax information network and will install an integrated tax administration soft-ware that would help tax o� cials perform their functions in a computerised environment.

With its enforcement improvement pro-

grammes, the board will focus on improving its tax compliance through better audits, better in-vestigation including combating international tax evasion, improving collection of tax arrears and addressing taxpayer grievances through quick disposal of tax appeals including alterna-tive dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism.

The forensic lab will detect tax evasions and other � nancial crimes by corporate hous-es that may hide and manipulate � nancial records maintained electronically during the Transfer Pricing Cell of the body, will unearth the tax evasion and money laundering by Multinational Companies. l

BB serves show-cause notice to 20 protesting o� cials n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank has served show-cause notice to its 20 o� cials for joining demonstration held on Sunday in front of the governor’s building.

The demonstration was staged to thwart the contractual appointment of general man-ager that the central bank decided to pick up for its � nancial intelligence unit from outside its high-ranking o� cials.

The central bank in its letter asked the BB o� cials to explain within three days as to why punitive action will not be taken against them.

The letter said the o� cers gathered at the main building gate without permission of ap-propriate authority and created obstacle to the board members to gain entrance.

It added that the protesting bankers also forced the central bank board members to take letter containing illogical statements.

Moreover, the o� cers exchanged views with journalists without the authority’s permission.

As a result, the board members expressed anger and advised the central bank manage-ment to take administrative measures against the demonstrating o� cials.

The letter also mentioned that such activ-ity is against the o� cial code of conduct and the violation of section 19 (1) and 42 of bank company act as well as punishable o� ence as per the section 44.

Bangladesh Bank served the show-cause notice to its 11 deputy general managers, six joint-directors and three deputy directors. l

BUSINESS18DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 247.51 6.50 10.00 3.74 257.50 6.32NBFI 97.26 2.56 3.83 1.43 101.09 2.48Investment 29.26 0.77 0.94 0.35 30.20 0.74Engineering 366.53 9.63 27.33 10.23 393.86 9.67Food & Allied 186.16 4.89 6.08 2.28 192.24 4.72Fuel & Power 667.91 17.55 39.69 14.85 707.60 17.38Jute 2.27 0.06 0.00 2.27 0.06Textile 474.81 12.48 57.04 21.35 531.85 13.06Pharma & Chemical 828.10 21.76 31.54 11.80 859.64 21.11Paper & Packaging 21.49 0.56 2.67 1.00 24.15 0.59Service 133.73 3.51 11.94 4.47 145.67 3.58Leather 14.75 0.39 3.53 1.32 18.28 0.45Ceramic 73.17 1.92 4.59 1.72 77.76 1.91Cement 124.49 3.27 8.41 3.15 132.89 3.26Information Technology 33.99 0.89 2.78 1.04 36.77 0.90General Insurance 12.90 0.34 0.78 0.29 13.68 0.34Life Insurance 35.02 0.92 7.21 2.70 42.23 1.04Telecom 136.06 3.58 8.64 3.23 144.70 3.55Travel & Leisure 146.38 3.85 19.76 7.39 166.14 4.08Miscellaneous 173.31 4.55 20.48 7.66 193.79 4.76Debenture 0.03 0.00 0.00 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 disclosuresZAHEENSPIN: The Company has informed that as per deci-sion of the Board of Directors they have already opened three L/Cs on June 17, 2015 to import a set of Capital Machineries valuing Tk. 158.50 million (approx) for installing 15,480 spindles. After successful installation of Machineries, the Company’s production capacity will increase 4,240 Kg (approx) yarn per day and their expected net pro� t after tax will go up by Tk. 40.00 million (55.55% expected).IBNSINA: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2014 to the respective shareholders’ BO Account on June 21, 2015. Cash dividend will be distributed immediately to the respective shareholders through EFT, Banking Channel and Regis-tered courier.Dividend/AGMNATLIFEINS: 45% cash , AGM: 09.08.2015, Record Date: 30.06.2015.RUPALILIFE: 10% stock, AGM: 10.08.2015, Record Date: 09.07.2015.ASIAINS: 10% cash, AGM: 11.07.2015, Record Date: 23.06.2015.LAFSURCEML: 5% interim cash. Record date for enti-tlement of interim dividend: 02.07.2015.FAMILYTEX: 10% stock divi-dend, EGM & AGM: 07.08.2015, Record Date: 09.07.2015.KPCL: 40% cash, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 31.05.2015.

BDWELDING: 5% stock divi-dend AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 09.06.2015.NBL: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 14.09.2015, Record date: 30.08.2015.ORIONPHARM: 15% cash divi-dend, AGM: 28.06.2015, Record Date: 21.05.2015.ISNLTD: No dividend, AGM: 28.06.2015, Record date: 16.06.2015.PURABIGEN: 15% stock divi-dend, AGM: 30.07.2015, Record date: 07.06.2015. JANATAINS: 10% stock divi-dend, AGM: 25.07.2015, Record Date: 21.05.2015. NCCBANK: 10% stock divi-dend, AGM: 24.06.2015, Record Date: 18.05.2015.PEOPLESINS: 13% cash dividend, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 18.05.2015.UNIQUEHRL: 20% cash divi-dend, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 24.05.2015. WATACHEM: 5% cash and 25% stock dividend, AGM: 20.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015. GOLDENSON: 12.50% cash dividend, AGM: 27.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015. GQBALLPEN: 10% cash divi-dend, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015. SUMITPOWER: 10% cash and 5% stock dividend, AGM: 28.06.2014, Record Date: 17.05.2015. SPPCL: 25% cash dividend, AGM: 28.06.2015. Record Date: 17.05.2015. TAKAFULINS: 12% stock divi-dend, AGM: 25.07.2015, Record Date: 21.05.2015.

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EPSLatest

PE

Hakkani P& Paper -B 9.89 9.73 38.90 38.90 38.90 38.90 0.775 0.29 134.1Prime Insur -A 9.63 9.87 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 0.000 1.12 13.2Dacca Dyeing-A 9.38 11.30 17.33 17.50 17.60 16.00 5.476 0.84 20.6Shurwid Ind. -N 8.02 7.14 22.82 22.90 23.30 21.50 3.464 0.53 43.1Janata Insur -A 7.44 4.15 12.56 13.00 13.00 12.30 0.018 0.96 13.1Dhaka Ins. Ltd.-A 7.14 6.96 17.97 18.00 18.00 17.70 0.010 1.76 10.2Fine Foods A 6.52 4.80 9.61 9.80 9.80 9.40 0.006 -0.27 -veSonarBangla Insu. -A 5.96 5.96 16.00 16.00 16.00 16.00 0.003 1.52 10.5BATBCL -A 4.85 4.85 3135.00 3135.00 3135.00 3135.00 0.006 104.70 29.9Khan Brothers-N 4.80 3.44 26.16 26.20 26.70 25.70 4.047 1.52 17.2

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Hakkani P& Paper -B 10.00 10.54 38.48 38.50 38.50 37.70 2.382 0.29 132.7BD Fixed Income MF-A 9.84 12.01 6.81 6.70 6.70 6.50 0.016 0.51 13.4Dacca Dyeing-A 9.38 9.91 17.19 17.50 17.60 16.00 38.323 0.84 20.5ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A 7.18 7.30 22.34 22.40 22.60 21.30 0.563 2.61 8.6Dulamia CottonZ 7.04 13.94 7.60 7.60 7.60 7.60 0.057 -3.15 -veShurwid Ind. -N 7.01 7.59 22.69 22.90 23.40 21.50 20.441 0.53 42.8Paramount Insur-A 6.87 6.85 14.03 14.00 14.20 13.10 1.023 1.32 10.6Stylecraft -A 6.72 4.88 891.47 907.10 913.70 850.00 0.575 44.44 20.1Northern Jute -Z 5.83 5.23 205.00 205.00 205.00 205.00 0.002 1.75 117.1Fu-wang Ceramic-A 5.56 5.31 13.28 13.30 13.60 12.50 18.379 0.36 36.9

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Anwar Galvanizing-B -8.78 -4.82 37.94 37.40 39.00 37.30 0.163 0.68 55.8Bangladesh Lamps -A -7.22 -7.91 101.50 101.50 101.50 101.50 0.051 3.20 31.7Reckitt Benckiser -A -6.24 -6.24 1,594.00 1,594.00 1,594.00 1,594.00 0.008 68.56 23.2H.R. Textile -A -6.10 -6.10 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 0.046 0.86 23.3AIMS First -A -6.06 -6.06 24.80 24.80 24.80 24.80 0.037 1.70 14.6EBL First M F-A -5.88 -4.76 4.80 4.80 4.80 4.80 0.007 0.69 7.0Takaful Islami Insu-A -5.50 -5.50 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 0.019 1.40 13.5Sinobangla Indu.-A -5.41 -7.53 21.01 21.00 21.30 21.00 0.193 0.62 33.9ISN Ltd. -Z -5.26 -5.26 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 0.000 0.16 56.3Standard Ceramic -A -5.00 -5.58 34.15 34.20 34.30 34.00 0.014 0.49 69.7

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Modern Dyeing -Z -8.79 -8.52 60.38 60.20 60.50 59.50 0.032 0.76 79.4Jute SpinnersA -7.41 -7.96 45.00 45.00 45.00 45.00 0.010 -31.68 -veAnwar Galvanizing-B -6.16 -4.21 38.66 38.10 40.00 37.80 6.171 0.68 56.9Miracle Industries -B -5.30 -2.08 14.62 14.30 15.20 14.20 3.759 0.36 40.6Bank Asia -A -5.26 -0.96 14.45 14.40 14.70 14.20 0.470 1.44 10.0Rangpur Dairy-Z -5.04 -0.66 13.52 13.20 14.00 12.60 8.441 0.80 16.9National Tubes -A -5.00 -3.72 104.96 102.70 107.90 101.50 5.161 -1.36 -veBSRM Ltd. -N -4.61 -3.98 72.12 70.40 75.60 69.70 74.352 0.73 98.8Golden Harvest Agro-N -4.56 -0.29 27.77 27.20 28.70 27.00 20.588 1.32 21.0Desh Garments -A -4.53 -4.30 77.05 75.80 80.00 75.00 2.128 1.47 52.4

DSE key features June 22, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

3,805.15

Turnover (Volume)

104,738,648

Number of Contract

88,329

Traded Issues 312

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

162

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

142

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,529.98

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.67

CSE key features June 22, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

267.21

Turnover (Volume)

10,243,025

Number of Contract

13,850

Traded Issues 234

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

114

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

114

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,468.16

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.92

BUSINESS 19D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Stocks continue to close � at with volatilityn Tribune Report

Stocks continued to close � at for the � fth straight ses-sion yesterday, with lacklus-tre trading activity coupled with persistent volatility.

The benchmark of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, was down 7 points or 0.2% to close at 4,503, hitting highest 4,533 in the � rst session and 4,500 in the � nal session.

The Shariah index, DSES, shed 3 points or 0.4% to 1,099. However, the blue chip comprising index DS30 ended at 1,733, rising almost 2 points or 0.2%.

The Chittagong Stock Ex-change prime index, CSCX, rose more than 21 points to settle at 8,477.

Trading activities im-proved a bit but still re-mained low as the DSE turn-over that stood at Tk380 crore, up over 24% over the previous day. Out of 311 is-sues traded, 112 closed pos-itive, 144 negative and 55 remained unchanged.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market has not shown any sign of reversal yet. “In-vestors haven’t exhibited much exuberance as market direction remained unclear. Continual choppy trading sessions in Dhaka Stock Ex-change made investors cau-

tious and prompted to cash in on stock.”

Almost all the major sec-tors gained in market cap. Among major gainers, food and allied, non-banking � -nancial institutions and fuel and power sectors closed marginally higher while ce-ment, bank and telco were marginally down.

State-run gas distribution company Titas Gas was the most traded stocks with shares worth more than Tk17 crore changing hands, followed by United Airways, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Limited, Khulna Power Company and Square Pharmaceuticals.

Modern Dyeing was the worst loser, shedding nearly 9%. Other top losers include Jute Spinning, Anwar Galva-nizing, Miracle Industries, Bank Asia and RD Food.

Hakkani Pulp and Paper was the top gainer with a rise of 10%, followed by FBF First Fund, Dacca Dyeing, ICB First NRB, Shurwid In-dustries, Paramount Insur-ance and Style Craft. l

Investors haven’t exhibited much exuberance as market direction remained unclear. Continual choppy trading sessions in Dhaka Stock Exchange made investors cautious and prompted to cash in on stock

ANALYST

Daily capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 11174.58200 (-) 0.19% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1731.04500 (-) 0.66% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 13884.98160 (-) 0.03% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 11174.58200 (-) 0.03% ▼

CSE Selected Index : 8455.79760 (+) 0.04% ▼

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

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

Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 1,226,169 18.42 6.89 14.90 -1.32 15.10 15.40 14.80 15.02UNITED AIR-A 1,836,801 18.22 6.82 10.00 3.09 9.70 9.90 10.00 9.92BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 402,754 13.30 4.98 32.90 1.23 32.50 33.50 32.50 33.03Tosrifa Industries -N 344,945 11.84 4.43 33.80 -2.87 34.80 35.40 33.50 34.33SAIF Powertec-N 103,655 9.05 3.39 82.80 -3.94 86.20 88.90 82.00 87.33BSRM Ltd. -N 113,620 8.23 3.08 71.00 -3.92 73.90 75.50 70.00 72.44MJL BD Ltd.-A 74,667 8.17 3.06 108.90 0.55 108.30 110.70 107.60 109.40Keya Cosmetics -A 388,481 7.83 2.93 19.90 -1.49 20.20 20.50 19.80 20.15Summit Power -A 183,410 7.62 2.85 41.00 -1.20 41.50 42.40 40.70 41.56LafargeS Cement-Z 58,793 6.78 2.54 114.90 -0.17 115.10 117.00 114.20 115.36FAR Chemical-N 146,896 6.69 2.50 44.90 -3.02 46.30 46.70 44.70 45.56Khulna Power-A 83,196 6.07 2.27 71.70 -1.24 72.60 74.00 71.00 72.99United Power-N 37,939 6.05 2.26 157.60 -0.82 158.90 161.70 157.00 159.43Dacca Dyeing-A 316,061 5.48 2.05 17.50 9.38 16.00 17.60 16.00 17.33Grameenphone-A 16,422 5.37 2.01 326.50 -0.12 326.90 330.00 325.80 327.12

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

Titas Gas TDCLA 2,465,865 171.61 4.51 69.80 1.31 68.90 71.30 68.00 69.59UNITED AIR-A 12,827,341 127.18 3.34 10.00 3.09 9.70 10.20 9.30 9.91Grameenphone-A 329,088 107.44 2.82 325.50 -0.40 326.80 328.90 325.00 326.48Square Pharma -A 417,757 105.89 2.78 252.60 -0.67 254.30 255.00 252.20 253.48GlaxoSK (BD) -A 51,693 103.39 2.72 2002.60 0.16 1999.50 2015.00 2000.00 2000.06Beximco Pharma -A 1,774,017 102.58 2.70 58.00 2.47 56.60 58.30 56.40 57.82BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 2,996,824 99.12 2.60 32.90 1.54 32.40 33.50 32.40 33.08Khulna Power-A 1,347,916 98.17 2.58 71.80 -0.97 72.50 74.00 71.50 72.83LafargeS Cement-Z 731,936 84.87 2.23 115.20 -0.43 115.70 117.50 115.00 115.95BATBCL -A 26,513 78.74 2.07 2933.20 0.78 2910.50 2970.00 2917.00 2969.98Berger Paints-A 50,220 78.60 2.07 1568.60 0.06 1567.70 1570.00 1565.00 1565.01BSRM Ltd. -N 1,030,922 74.35 1.95 70.40 -4.61 73.80 75.60 69.70 72.12MJL BD Ltd.-A 669,622 73.39 1.93 108.70 0.09 108.60 111.40 108.20 109.60Summit Power -A 1,751,147 72.66 1.91 40.90 -1.68 41.60 42.40 40.70 41.50AFC AgroBiotech-A 1,182,474 69.31 1.82 57.20 -2.72 58.80 60.10 57.00 58.61

Market has not shown any sign of reversal yet

BUSINESS20DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

BB awards 23 best o� cers n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank has awarded its 23 best of-� cers selected for the year 2013.

The central bank Governor, Atiur Rahman, handed over the awards to the winners.

Atiur was present at the programme as the chief guest while Deputy Governor Nazneen Sultana chaired the function.

The best award giving was introduced in the year 2006. So far, Bangladesh Bank awarded a total of 30 o� cers with � ve each year till 2011.

Of the best award winners in the year of 2013 are Deputy General Manager Eazajul Is-lam from chief economists unit, Mohammad Amir Hossen from statistics department, Shan-ti Ranjon Shaha from o� -site supervision, Rup Ratan Pine from BRPD among others. l

Anti-tobacco group for more tax on high-end cigarettes n Tribune Report

Anti-tobacco ac-tivists yesterday expressed their grievances as the

government refrained from imposing more tax on premium range cigarette in the budget of 2015-16 � scal year.

They said the government did not pay heed to public health concern, rather its re-frainment from the tax imposition facilitated pro� t making by large tobacco companies.

The anti-tobacco group came up with their grievances at a press conference held in the National Press Club.

In his address, Prof Abul Barkat, chief executive of Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), said the � nance minister’s budget proposal is clearly an initiative to protect the interest of multinational tobacco companies.

He added that such type of initiative is clear-ly a violation of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) while Bangladesh is its signatory.

On June 04, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed reducing the price slab of premium range cigarette to Tk70 from Tk90 with only 2% increase in supplementary duty.

The activists, however, praised the gov-ernment for increasing the price slab of low end cigarette to Tk19 (per 10 sticks) with 48% supplementary duty from Tk15 and 43% sup-plementary duty.

Muhith said in his budget speech earlier considering the health-risk and harmful ef-fects of tobacco products, the government is committed to reducing the use of tobacco and maximise revenue collection from this sector and thus it intends to comply with global an-ti-smoking policy.

Considering the interest of local bidi in-

dustry workers, no notable reforms or chang-es to tax structures of bidi sector have been brought about over the last couple of years.

Currently, the price of 25 sticks of non-� l-ter and 20 sticks of � lter bidi stands at Tk6.14 and Tk6.92 respectively.

Due to its easy availability, a large number of people smoke this product and become vulnerable to health risk.

Taking all these factors into consideration, “I propose to rationalise the existing tari� val-ue of bidi by raising the price of 25 sticks of non-� lter and 20 sticks of � lter bidi to Tk7.06 and Tk7.98 respectively,” Muhith also added in his budget speech.

Criticising the � nance minister’s initiative, the anti-tobacco activists said increasing the price of bidi along with tax is not su� cient as it will not help reduce the use of tobacco.

The post-budget reaction programme was jointly organised by HDRC and Progga. l

Korean company snubbed for violation of securities rules n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Com-mission (BSEC) has warned a Korean compa-ny located in Savar of raising its paid-up capi-tal without regulator’s approval.

“Kormop Company Limited has raised its paid up capital three times without permis-sion from the commission. Besides, it men-tioned its paid up capital is Tk9.81 crore in-stead of Tk14.17 crore. This is a clear violation of securities rules,” said BSEC in a statement yesterday.

BSEC has decided to send warning notice in this regard to the company.

According to the securities rules, if any list-ed or non-listed company wants to increase paid up capital, it must take permission from the BSEC.

The statement also said the commission has approved some amendment of alterna-tive investment rules 2015 after taking public opinion. The details will be published soon. l

The best o� cers of central bank pose for a photograph with Governor Atiur Rahman after being awarded at a ceremony held in Bangladesh Bank head quarters yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Asia’s exporters struggle to cope with a changing global economyn Reuters, Jakarta

In the good old decades, many Asian govern-ments could stick to a simple economic strategy - ramp up exports, and reap solid growth rates.

Now, export-led growth no longer serves the region well and Asia is struggling to over-haul that economic model as it waits for world trade to recover.

And the rebound “is going to be capped”, says HSBC economist Fred Neumann, because of changes in the world economy, including how American consumers are “much more frugal” than a decade ago. Asian exports to the United States have risen this year, but Neumann says such growth now is more driven by invest-ment in software development and shale-oil drilling than by activity that pulls in imports.

Stalled global trade talks and the shrinkage of manufacturing supply chains that stretch from China, the world’s workshop, are mak-ing policymakers from Bangkok to Seoul con-sider new models as exports may never again grow rapidly as in the 2000s.

“The global trade pattern has changed,” Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, a deputy gover-nor at Thailand’s central bank, told Reuters last week. The patchy recovery in advanced economies isn’t producing the same import demand as before, he said.

South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has called for a “strategic change” by exporters to target Chinese consumers rather than factories. Indonesian Trade Minister Ra-chmat Gobel, pressed on what he’s doing to boost exports, says he will seek more access for local goods to Western markets

Missing a pick-upSo far this year, exports from East Asia - from Southeast Asia across to Japan - have fallen an average of around 5 percent in dollar terms. Poor performers include Indonesian coal, Ma-laysian palm oil, Singapore pharmaceuticals and Korean cars.

“Things are not looking up,” said Neumann of HSBC, citing persistently weak export orders and purchasing managers’ indexes.

“They all point towards no pick-up.”Economists had hoped temporary factors

such as Lunar New Year and U.S. winter weath-er might explain weakness. But Dan Martin at Capital Economics said these cannot explain the still-weak numbers, which are “something to worry about more than we did before”.

Some of the weakness re� ects strength of the dollar, which means earnings booked in local currencies are worth less when reported in the US currency.

However, concern is rising that rather than another cyclical slowdown from which de-mand will bounce back, Asian exporters face something structural - and there will be no re-turn to strong growth.

China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organisation “led to a burst of supply-chain integration and trade creation in the global economy,” said Neumann.

Shipments to china downAs China’s manufacturing centres boomed, shipping goods to the West’s spendthrift

shoppers, supply chains stretched out across the region as factories sucked in high-end components. This specialisation lifted Asia’s productivity growth, too. But these days, things are di� erent.

The dispersion of supply chains looks to be ending and “might even go into reverse as China starts to make more of those compo-nents,” said Martin.

The biggest falls in Asian exports this year have been in shipments to China and other emerging markets.

Today, there’s no prospect of another Chi-na-like opening to rescue struggling export-ers. The pace of world trade liberalisation has stalled. Talks over a US-led Trans-Paci� c Part-nership (TPP) seem to be going nowhere. And there is no sign of another WTO-sponsored Doha round to prise open new markets.

In the United States, a rule of thumb used to be that each percentage point of GDP growth produced two percentage points of import growth. But now the ratio is about one-to-one, said Neuman. l

INSIDE

21D

T

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015T-JU

NCTION

22newsAn iftar to remem-ber at Amari Dhaka

23reviewThe end game

24gadgetsFor your viewing pleasure

Turn it with comfort

Photos: Bigstock

n Bushra Humaira Sadaf

North South University Art and Photography Club (NSUAPC) has organised an exhibition titled “Honorable Eyes” from June 17 to 25. This exhibition, the � rst of its kind in the country, showcased the creativity and talent of faculty members.

The exhibition featured 60 photos selected from 500 entries by 26 faculty members of North South University (NSU). The exhibition was inaugurated by chief guest, Benajir Ahmed, chairman of NSU. Vice Chancellor, Amin U Sarker was the special

Honorable Eyes held at NSU

An iftar to remember at Amari Dhaka

NewsTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

T-JUNCTION22DT

to suit everyone and you don’t have to fast � rst to enjoy them.

Two of Amari’s restaurants, together with the hotel’s unique banquet halls, have geared up for the occasion to o� er the best of Ramadan delicacies. Celebrate a divine iftar spread at Amaya Food Gallery, now open at Amari Dhaka (level 13). Live cooking stations feature Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian cuisines under one roof which will create authentic � avours from around the region, all served with a local twist and a wonderful Arabian ambiance.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Amaya food gallery is o� ering endless choices to suit everybody’s taste with Asian and traditional iftar bu� et at Tk3,500. Alongside platters of Bangladeshi items such as chhola, piyaju, beguni, aloo dum, and shahi haleem, Amaya food gallery will also be highlighting the delicacies of Asia and Middle East, Arabic and Persian starters, assorted fresh juices and a selection of main courses. Guests can � nish their meal with Arabic and Continental desserts, assorted traditional cakes and fresh fruits.

For a tasty iftar meal, Cascade Lounge is o� ering a set menu at Tk1,499. Diners can enjoy a selection of traditional starters and desserts together with main course featuring mutton biriyani, chicken tandoori with naan. Alternatively take away traditional iftar box will be available at Cascade Lounge at Tk1,499.

Should you prefer to break your fast in

the privacy of your circle or loved ones, friends, colleagues, or business partners, ask about their special Ramadan banquet set menus tailored to meet your individual needs. Their banquet delights are waiting to give everyone a traditional iftar experience, which include four authentic Arabian delights – Bronze at Tk1,599, Silver at Tk1,999, Gold at Tk2,299, and Diamond at Tk3,599 BDT. You can also enjoy upto 50% discount on the space rent. All prices are exclusive of VAT and sevice charge.

To reserve or for more information dial: 88 02 55059620; 8801777796444, 8801777719319 or email: reservations.dhaka@amari.com; sales.dhaka@amari.com. l

Celebrate a divine Iftar spread at Amaya Food Gallery, now open at Amari Dhaka. Make the most of Ramadan by joining in the Asian and Middle East tradition of iftar, the

sunset meal for those who have been fasting throughout daylight hours. Whether you want things to do, a sumptuous repast or a budget feast, Amari Dhaka has got options

guest and Dr Emdadul Haq was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony. It was held at the university’s recreation centre.

NSUPC has been a pioneer in organising photography exhibitions, being the � rst organisers of international, student level exhibitions.l

The end game

‘Uni Futsal’ coming soon

Gaming T-JUNCTION 23D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

n Chisty Rahim

Is basketball really a dying sport? Lets assess the situation - the wooden court has unpredictable and deceitful holes, the funding of the federation is tight and never exceeds the limit enough to make way for betterment, they barely have enough to pay the sta� , so no fancy expenses. The colour on the code for the three pointer line markings are almost faded and let’s not get started on the ring! Few months back they issued a signi� cant amount of money to renovate the court, yet there are no signs of renovation. Question is, where did the money go?

We have a handful of basketball players in the country, most of them are just under-

aged enthusiasts and a very small number of them are actually dedicated players. Even though BKSP trains a bunch of students for the national team, only a few of them make it to the draft. Among civil basketball players, the majority of them only participate in private basketball tournaments. Lack of proper advertisement and communication simply gives the impression that the federation doesn’t really care. The not-so-ever growing crowd of fans took a halt after the last VH basketball tournament and the gallery is usually empty during most games. The indoor gallery has an insu� cient number of fans hanging from the ceilings, making the whole gallery unbearably hot during a full house. The lack of proper

Futsal, the shorter version of football, is quickly becoming more and more popular everywhere in the world today. The reason for futsal’s increasing popularity is because it creates a platform for amateur players to demonstrate their skills in a small playing ground. Even though us Bangladeshis are not very familiar with the idea of futsal, we are getting to know a lot more about the sport through mass media and sports news updates. A Futsal World Cup is very similar to the FIFA World Cup in a way. Similar to the FIFA World Cup, Futsal World Cup is held once every four years. However, unlike football, futsal is not very popular in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that the football superstars who we know today, did not start by playing in indoor stadiums. Rather, it was through

futsal that they climbed their way to the top. VIBGYOR Communication believes that in correlation with developed countries, Bangladesh could practice futsal and give rise to potential players. With a view to making this sport more popular here in our country, which is famous for its love for the game, VIBGYOR Communication is going to organise “Uni Futsal – 2015” in association with Headroom. A total of 16 universities have been selected to participate in this tournament. In the four day long tournament players from these 16 universities will participate to take home the title of “Uni Futsal 2015 Champions”. The event will take place at Mirpur Indoor Stadium. The tournament will begin on August 9 and will continue till the August 13 this year.

According to the CEO of VIBGYOR Communication, Mahfuzzaman stated, “For improvement of our football scene, we want to organise these types of event every year. We hope that both national and multinational companies will be with us by

partnering up as sponsors for this event, to make it more successful.”

Aumi and Protik plan to smoothly implement the entire event. Their online media partner is IMDHAKA.com.

basketball diaries

news

Are we fading with time?

lighting and constant power shortages lead to interruption in the middle of vital games.

On the other hand, we do get one or two basketball tournaments every month. If not in the federation, some other local court usually organises a basketball tournament. Needless to say that basketball is kept alive by the private sector when compared to the government’s e� orts or lack thereof. It makes us wonder, do we really need the basketball federation? Few months ago an initiative

was taken to break the whole complex and give it to the private sector to rebuild the whole Abohoni basketball community. The initiative, however, seemed like it was just a rumor.

Let’s not name the ones to blame, money always moves under the table weather we realise it or not-big teams get more support in and out of the court. If we go back to last year’s Premier Basketball League, Dhumketu fought hard during one of the group stage games against Dhaka Gladiator, the champion team. A huge � ght broke out when the foreign coach physically assaulted Dhumketu managers and the crowd went nuts. Backed up by a big shot businessman, the Gladiators hired foreign (professional NBA ballers to be exact) to play for their team. Even though this sel� ess act to spend a lot of money to hire foreign players inspired the players to watch NBA players ball, to some extent, it even drove out potential players. However, we must note that it makes it unfair for the other teams in the league. Let’s face it. a 6-feet tall Bangladeshi basketball player against a 7.5-feet tall professional NBA player is too great of a challenge. We’d all know who’d win that match nine times out of 10.

Truth be told, corruption is not really the problem here as it is the pollen of every government organisation. For the past few years we only see known faces holding the spirit of the court together. What happens when future generations cannot step into their shoes when they are done and dusted?

Lets cross our � ngers and hope for the best. l

Tech

For your viewing pleasure

Daraz.com.bd unveils eid fashion collection

T-JUNCTION24DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

n Mahmood Hossain

Televisions simply don’t get enough attention in our daily lives. As much as we watch TV in the comfort of our own homes, the priority seams to lean towards our mobile devices. The fact is, regardless of the incredible displays on our smartphones, bigger is simply better. At least when it comes to watching our shows and movies in high de� nition that is. We take a look at the top TVs of 2015.

LG EG9600 series

The � rst OLED TV of 2015 was a 65-inch, 4K resolution curved beauty. It’s a tad similar to last year’s 65EC9700, but with a huge price cut of $1,000 cheaper. Unfortunately, that’s not going to win any hearts, as this TVs price

tag is set at $8,999 USD. Yes, we know, this is not for the common folk. In fact, many of us who are able to a� ord it just won’t. Perhaps the 55-inch version of this TV, set at $4,500 USD, could draw a few people in. The truth is we’d hold out for the � at version instead. It’s just cheaper and you’re really not missing out on too much 4K material.

Samsung JS9500 seriesSamsung has been a winner for quite some time now, going head-to-head with the Japanese giants, Sony. This might come o� as a strange one because it seems their

answer to the OLED is, well, an LCD. The company is calling it SUHD. However, there are slight design di� erences, like the quantum dots, HDR, and curved screen. It might just be the best LCD ever created, although it will � nd it hard to defeat the OLDED black levels. The 65-inch will cost a cool $4,999 USD.

Sony XBR-75X940CThe � rst thing that pops into your head when you think Sony, you slightly cringe, knowing that it’s as overpriced as a Ming vase. True, the cost of making a Sony TV is a number you don’t want to get familiar with. This 75-inch giant has a price tag of $7,999 USD. With its Triluminous technology, similar to

that of quantum dots, it will be set apart from the rest because of its impressive speakers. Clearly visible, standing out like a sore thumb. Its 65-inch version isn’t losing much, apart from the LED backlighting. Both TVs

are HDR compatible, and it’s sure to never lack in quality.

Samsung JS8500 seriesThis 65-inch TV ($2,999 USD) could be an option you’d rather take, instead of the curved model mentioned earlier. It possesses the latest technology in the � at form. And let’s be honest, is having a curved TV in your room an absolutely necessity? Heck no. The truth is most of us are so used to having our thinned out, � at screens that it will feel plenty strange dealing with a curved one. If it’s the newest � at screen TV from Samsung, you can bet that you will be more than satis� ed with the picture quality of this model.

Sony XBR-X900C seriesThere is always a more a� ordable option, regardless the brand name. This model is fresh out the box new in its summer release. The company makes it very clear that this is the thinnest LCD TV ever made. The top half of the TV is 0.2-inch thin, which is 0.05-inch thinner than the LG’s 55-inch OLED TV. While the 75-inch XBR-75X910C is a bit thicker, the series is nearly identical. While the o� cial price tag isn’t quite clear, we can only go on rumours we’ve heard. The 65-inch might be around $3,999 USD, while the 55-inch may cost $2,499 USD. We can only assume the picture quality will be spot on, leaving you drooling for more. l

gadgets

news

In a bid to instigate the storm of Ramadan shopping online, Daraz.com.bd has unveiled the launch of the � rst online 7-day fashion week in Bangladesh starting on June 22 till June 28, 2015.

Daraz.com.bd aspires to represent the local fashion industry with Daraz Fashion Week, and provide the fraternity of high-fashion, as well as newcomer brands, an online platform to grow. Daraz Fashion Week is Bangladesh’s � rst ever shopping online event, gathering the best of fashion and footwear brands to launch their latest Eid collections to shoppers.

Daraz.com.bd has collaborated with the versatile young actor, Tawsif Mahbub and the vivacious model, Safa Kabir who will feature as the faces of Daraz Fashion Week. Both stars will showcase their ‘Shop The Look’ style picks everyday from top fashion and

footwear brands such as Ecstasy, Bata, Noir, O2 and Apex to name a few.

Speaking on the occasion, Sumeet Singh, the MD of Daraz.com.bd said, “We are extremely excited to launch the � rst ever online fashion week at daraz.com.bd, which means customers can view and shop the latest trends for Eid online. We are very happy to collaborate Tawsif Mahbub and Safa Kabir who will handpick daily looks for customers to shop from daraz.com.bd. The aim is to provide an interactive platform for brands and such personalities to come together and promote fashion to all parts of the country via an online portal. The best part of this online event is to provide shopping access to everyone nationwide - a shopper sitting in Sylhet will have access to the same fashion trends as a shopper in Dhaka.”

Expensive? Sure. But who wouldn’t want to have a big screen in the living room?

25D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

BRAZIL WILL NOT APPEAL NEYMAR BAN

26 2927

Las Palmas returned to the Spanish top � ight for the � rst time in 13 years on Sunday after beating Real Zaragoza in a promotionplay-o�

PROMOTION

SportHEATH ‘THE WINNING’ STREAK

NATIONAL U15 FOOTBALL C’SHIP FROM JUNE 27

Musta� zur shows he’s no one-trick ponyn Cricinfo

Musta� zur Rahman’s family watched him in-tently from all over Bangladesh - his sister and cousins watched him from the Shere Bangla Stadium, his father and a couple of his broth-ers watched from his Tetulia village, and his eldest brother and mother from Khulna. At a newspaper o� ce in Dhaka, one of his uncles watched with cheering colleagues. They cele-brated every time he picked up wickets, some times even calling each other and celebrating his wickets on the phone.

Musta� zur followed up his � ve-for on de-but with a six-wicket haul on Sunday, becom-ing only the second bowler after Zimbabwe’s Brian Vitori to take � ve-fors in their � rst two ODIs. He took one more wicket than Vitori when he dismissed Ravindra Jadeja just after the long rain break, giving himself a unique place in history by getting 11 wickets.

After Musta� zur had taken 5 for 50 in the � rst game, there were suggestions that India would read him better in the second. After

all, all � ve wickets fell to o� cutters. Bangla-desh coach Chandika Hathurusingha had said Musta� zur would have to be on his A-game now that the world has seen a bit of his var-iation.

On Sunday, however, Musta� zur brought out some of his other skills. Unlike in the � rst game, Musta� zur took a wicket in his � rst spell when he got Rohit Sharma with the an-gle he created. The second spell remained similar. He � rst got Raina to edge a cutter that

bounced to the wicketkeeper, and MS Dhoni, with whom he had collided in the � rst game, was also sucked in by his slower delivery. Dhoni got out in the last over of the batting Powerplay, giving Bangladesh the advantage heading into the last 10 overs.

What Musta� zur did next set his bowling in the second game apart from the � rst game. He surprised Axar Patel with a straight, quick delivery that struck him right in front. In the 42nd over, he got R Ashwin to edge behind with another o� cutter. After the two-hour rain break, he came back and stung Jade-ja with a full ball, quicker one again. He had completed a six-wicket haul, doing what he knows best, but the look of surprise on his face was the expression of someone who wasn’t expecting such results.

All this time, his family kept calling each other. They wished they could have been to-gether, watching him bowl in an international match against India, in front of a TV set with-out any power cuts. But they had to make do with wishing each other from long distances.

According to his uncle Shariful Islam, dep-uty chief reporter of the Daily Star, the fam-ily members tried their best to be in front of a TV. There was a power cut before the pres-entation ceremony in the � rst match, and his brother in Khulna called up Sharif to ask what Musta� zur was saying after winning the Man-of-the-match award.

“We were not sure whether he would be playing the � rst game but when we heard that he got selected in the XI, we were anx-ious how he would do,” Shariful said. “When he was selected in the 14-man ODI squad, my brother who lives in Ohio promised to gift him an iPhone if he took three wickets. After he took the � ve-for in the � rst game, he imme-diately bought the phone and is now trying to � nd someone to send it to Dhaka.”

When Musta� zur couldn’t get to play for a club in Dhaka, it was his brothers and uncles who communicated with the right people to get him a place or a trial in the pace founda-tion. Musta� zur, according to them, is grate-ful to have the full support of his family. l

When Musta� zur couldn’t get to play for a club in Dhaka, it was his brothers and uncles who communicated with the right people to get him a place or a trial in the pace foundation

Musta� zur Rahman’s life has taken a hike inside � ve days. An overnight celebrity, Musta� zur is also handling the sel� e requests calmly as he has been dealing the bowling in the middle. The record making 19-year old was caught on frame while ful� lling the wish of a sel� e from Hotel Sonargaon, where the team is staying, sta� s yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sport26DT

Maradona to stand forFifa presidencyn Reuters

Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona has de-cided to stand as a candidate for the FIFA pres-idency to replace Sepp Blatter, Uruguayan jour-nalist and author Victor Hugo Morales has said.

Morales said Maradona had told him of his intention when he called the former coach of the Argentina national team to check on the condition of his sick father on Sunday.

“He told me he was going to run for pres-ident of FIFA and authorised me to inform,” Morales posted in Spanish on his twitter feed (https://twitter.com/vh590).

“’I am a candidate’ were the two words Die-go Maradona used to answer me when I con-sulted him about the nomination for the presi-dency of FIFA,” he added in another tweet.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro ear-lier this month suggested Maradona become the next FIFA president.

Maradona, 54, has long been a trenchant critic of Blatter and last month said he was “enjoying” the corruption scandal that led the Swiss to announce he would stand down at an extraordinary congress of soccer’s world governing body.

Like Brazilian Zico, another great former player who has announced his candidacy, Maradona might struggle to get the support

of federations from � ve countries, as required under FIFA statutes.

Liberia Football Association Chairman Musa Bility is the other candidate announced so far for a ballot likely to take place later this year or in early 2016.

Morales is famous around Latin America for his passionate commentary of Maradona’s wonder goal against England at the 1986 World Cup. Maradona led Argentina to their second World Cup triumph in that tournament. l

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Full name Diego Armando Maradona

Date of birth 30 October 1960 (age 54)

Place of birth Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)

Position Attacking mid, Second striker

YOUTH CAREEREstrella Roja, Los Cebollitas, Argentinos Juniors

SENIOR CAREERArgentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona,Napoli, Sevilla, Newell’s Old Boys, Boca Juniors

INTERNATIONAL CAREERS Argentina U20, Argentina

CLUB MANAGED Mandiyú de Corrientes, Racing Club, Argentina, Al Wasl

Heath 'The Winning' Streak

n Mazhar Uddin

The face of the Bangladesh cricket team did not change overnight rather the make-over is the result of the right person's doing the right job. A spin dominated line-up since the last decade gradually picked up their pace and took the right opportunity to pounce as Bangladesh showed the depth in their attack by beating India twice in a row on the back of four fast bowlers.

Much of the credit goes to former Zimba-bwe captain and fast bowler Heath Streak whose dedication has � nally been realised. Streak, who has 216 Test and 239 one-day in-ternational wickets, arrived as the Tigers pace bowling coach only last June with the aim to decrease the dependency on the spinners and look to build a good set of fast bowlers. Did he succeed?

Bangladesh played three seamers regu-larly starting from the World Cup in Febru-ary-March as Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain duly did their job. However, the introduction of Musta� zur Rah-man against the world No 2 team India was a very big surprise. The way Musta� zur bowled and outfoxed the 11 Indian wickets in the � rst two matches shows how successfully the tal-ent was picked and utilised.

The 41-year old speaking to the media yesterday said, “I am very happy. Obviously

Musta� z was outstanding. To do that in two games and get a record like that was some-thing special. We are happy as a coaching unit but congratulations must go to the players. Since the Zimbabwe series and the World Cup, we have seen this team grow from strength to strength.”

“It wasn’t surprising. Since the World Cup we have seen a di� erent Tigers team. They are con� dent and now believing that they

can win more consistently. They have shown some really good � ght in this series. They are not just happy to win one game but the series as well, and 3-0 if possible,” he added.

Streak informed how they made way for Musta� z in the national team whom he had � rst seen last year.

“I saw Musta� z when I � rst came last year. He was going to tour West Indies with the A team. Even then I was very impressed with

him. We have been trying to keep him with-in the system. Now with the HP structure, all these fringe players will get the support they needed,” said Streak adding it's still early days for the 19-year old and he needs to be taken good care.

Streak also termed Taskin and Rubel as ma-tured fast bowlers and said if the wickets are prepared to suit the bowlers then Bangladesh will win more in future. l

Musta� zur needs good care, says the Tigers bowling coach

Sport 27D

T

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

National U15 footballC’ship from June 2761 district football teams from eight regions will participate in the Sailor-BFF National U15 Football Championship kicking o� on June 27. The logo unveiling, draw and jersey distri-bution ceremony was carried out through a press conference at the BFF House yesterday noon with the presence of national captain Mamunul Islam, veteran striker Enamul Haque and mid� elder Shahedul Alam Shahed. The 61 districts will be spread across eight zones and play in the knockout stages following which the zonal champions will progress to the national level. The � nal round will conclude in Dhaka. The best performers from the tournament will be selected for the squad that will play in the Sa� U16 Championship in August and most importantly the AFC U16 Championship which Bangladesh will host in September. The eight zones are – Chittagong, Thakurgaon, Jessore, Gopalganj, Chandpur, Rajshahi and Chuadanga.

Tribune Report

China rewards WC women with ‘highest ever’ bonus China will pay their women’s football team the “highest ever” bonus as a reward for reaching the quarter-� nals of the World Cup in Canada, state media reported Monday. The bonus of around one million yuan ($160,000) will be paid to the players who made it to the quarter-� nals by beat-ing Cameroon 1-0 on Sunday, the o� cial Xinhua news agency reported, citing Yu Hongchen, vice president of the Chinese Football Association.

AFP

Ferrari boss blasts‘stupid nuts’ Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene blamed his team’s “stupid” wheel nuts for undermining Sebastian Vettel’s bid for a podium position in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. The outspoken Italian said he did not blame fourth-placed Vettel or his mechanics when he had problems with the right rear wheel during his pit-stop in an eventful race won by Nico Rosberg for Mercedes.

AFP

Kondogbia completes Inter switch: club French international Geo� rey Kondogbia has completed his move from Monaco to Inter Milan, signing a � ve-year deal with the Serie A club after snubbing city rivals AC Milan at the 11th hour. Kondogbia completed his medical with Inter on Monday morning, after which a club o� cial told AFP: “He will be unveiled to fans after 5p.m. this evening in Milan.”

AFP

Hungarian supergranny goes on in world chess An 87-year-old Hungarian woman aims this weekend to set a world record by beating 1920s Cuban chess grandmaster Jose Raul Capablanca at his own game: simultaneous play. Since the 1950s, Brigitta Sinka, a former top amateur player, has played around 13,000 documented games of simultaneous chess across Hungary taking on all-comers, many of them schoolchildren.

AFP

QUICK BYTES

Clarke hits back at Gillespie’s ‘Dad’s Army’ jiben AFP

Australia captain Michael Clarke said he ex-pected to prove Jason Gillespie wrong after the former Ashes winner suggested the cur-rent squad were too old ahead of their latest clash with England.

Australia’s Ashes squad contains opening batsman Chris Rogers and wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, both 37, 35-year-old fast bowler Ryan Harris, whose career has been blighted by in-juries, and the 34-year-old Clarke, who has to battle a longstanding back complaint.

But Clarke, in his � rst formal press confer-ence since the squad arrived in England, in-sisted Gillespie was o� target. 

“Jason’s entitled to his opinion,” Clarke told reporters at Merchant Taylors’ School, north of London, on Sunday. “Join the queue. I’ve copped criticism my whole career.

“There’s a long list of people who’ve crit-icised this team. We might just add ‘Dizzy’

(Gillespie) to that list of people we continue to prove wrong.”

Gillespie, once the scourge of England batsmen as an Australia fast bowler, is now the coach of English county champions York-shire and was considered for the role of Eng-land coach before the job was given to compa-triot Trevor Bayliss.

“They’re Dad’s Army. I’d be thinking ‘let’s keep them out in the � eld,” said the 40-year-old Gillespie of the current Australia squad in an in-terview this week with Britain’s Daily Mirror.

“’Let’s get them tired, they’re old blokes. We (England) can put these guys under pres-sure’.”

Australia won the 2013/14 Ashes 5-0, al-though you have to go back to 2001 -- when Gillespie was partnering Glenn McGrath with the new ball -- for the last time the Australians won an Ashes series in Britain.

But Clarke believes Australia can end that run when this season’s Ashes get underway

with the � rst Test against England in Cardi� on July 8.

He said the squad had a mix of experi-ence and youth, pointing to the likes of Ste-ven Smith, at the age of 26 now ranked as the world’s leading Test batsman, 28-year-old opener David Warner and 27-year-old o� -spinner Nathan Lyon.  

“A lot of our young players have come a long way over the last few years,” said Clarke. 

“The senior players deserve a lot of cred-it for mentoring them and helping them through the tough times, and we’re seeing a lot of bene� t from that.

“They will play a big role in this series, their youth and enthusiasm is vital to our squad.

“The experience of the senior players is crucial too and hopefully we can � nd that perfect mix and we’re able to have success.”

Australia face county side Kent in their � rst o� cial match of the tour, a four-day � rst-class � xture in Canterbury starting on Thursday. l

Australia’s Michael Clarke (C) walks to a practic session at Old Merchant Taylorsí School, Northwood on Sunday REUTERS

Mercedes domination not good for F1: Wol� n AFP

Nico Rosberg had much to celebrate af-ter beating Lewis Hamilton to win Sun-day’s Austrian Grand Prix, but his Mercedesteam boss Toto Wol� admitted afterwards that his team’s domination was not good for the sport.

After a weekend of mounting speculation about Formula One’s problems, Wol� conced-ed that Mercedes’ comfortable supremacy at the front of the pack was not good for busi-ness.

“In terms of the spectacle, a team winning over a long period is de� nitely detrimental,” he said. “We have seen that with the six years at Ferrari in the early 2000s.

“We have seen that with Red Bull four years in a row. So it is the second year for us. It doesn’t help the show, that’s clear.” lNico Rosberg celebrates winning Austrain Grand Prix on Sunday

Sport28DT

Brazil will not appeal Neymar ban n AFP

Brazil said Monday it will not appeal against a four-match ban on captain Neymar which will rule him out of the rest of the Copa America tournament.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said the Barcelona superstar would leave the team base in Santiago on Monday.

“During a meeting on Sunday night between Neymar and the technical management it was decided that the CBF would respect CONME-BOL’s decision,” said a CBF statement.

Neymar was sent o� at the end of Brazil’s Copa game against Colombia last Wednesday when he appeared to headbutt an opposing player.

The South American confederation, CON-MEBOL, banned him for four matches on Friday. Brazil had indicated it wanted to appeal and protested at Neymar’s treatement by referees during the tournament.

“The coaching sta� and the player hope that the same rigour with which CONMEBOL pun-ished Neymar will be applied in all competitions organised by the entity,” the statement added.

“The coaching sta� of the Brazilian squad regret the loss of another important player for this tournament.”

The Brazilian squad said “Neymar is leaving the delegation which is based at the Sheraton hotel in Santiago on Monday.” l

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

RESULTSBrazil 0-1 Australia Simon 80

France 3-0 South Korea Delie 4, 48, Thomis 8

Canada 1-0 SwitzerlandBelanger 52

Dunga face to face with old friendn Reuters

Brazil coach Dunga says he is good friends with his Paraguay counterpart Ramon Diaz and has shared a bottle of wine or two with the Argentine, but only one of them will be in the mood to celebrate after their Copa Ameri-ca quarter-� nal this week.

“Ramon is an experienced coach, he’s en-joyed success at many di� erent places such at River Plate and Monaco,” Dunga said on Sun-day after his side’s 2-1 win over Venezuela in their � nal group game.

“He’s my friend, we’ve shared good din-ners together and good wine. He’s special. As a player he had a special talent and now as a coach he’s doing a very good job.

“It’ll be a � nely balanced match. It’ll be like a � nal.”

The two sides will meet in the southern Chilean city of Concepcion next Saturday in a repeat of the 2011 quarter-� nal, which Par-aguay won on penalties after holding Brazil to a goalless draw.

Dunga shrugged o� comparisons with that encounter and said he could not change the past.

“We can’t go back in time. What happened at the last Copa America happened. We wer-en’t there, we’re here now,” he said.

Brazil could not a� ord to take their oppo-nents lightly, particularly since they had proved themselves by � ghting back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Argentina in their group.

“Paraguay showed their strength against Argentina in their � rst match,” Dunga added.

The coach said he was pleased with the way his side had played against Venezuela despite the absence of striker Neymar, who has been suspended for the rest of the tournament for his role in a fracas at the end of Brazil’s second group game against Colombia.

Dunga � elded Robinho in Neymar’s place and, for much of the game, the Brazilians played with a � uidity they had lacked against Colombia.

“We always work on the basis that a team cannot be based around just one player,” Dun-ga said. “I think Brazil will play better as the tournament goes on - each time with more con� dence.” l

GROUP CTeam GP W D L GD PTS

Brazil 3 2 0 1 1 6Peru 3 1 1 1 0 4Colombia 3 1 1 1 0 4Venezuela 3 1 0 2 -1 3

RESULTSBrazil 2-1 VenezuelaSilva 9, Firmino 52 Fedor 84

Colombia 0-0 Peru

Marta of Brazil is consoled as she

walks o� the � eld after the loss to

Australia during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 round of 16

match at Moncton Stadium on Sunday

in Moncton, Canada.Australia defeated

Brazil 1-0

AFP

Marta’s Brazil sent packingn AFP

Canada kept their Women’s World Cup title dream alive with a 1-0 win over Switzerland on Sunday to reach the last eight along with France and Australia as star-studded Brazil were toppled.

A Josee Belanger second-half goal was enough to secure the hosts a quarter-� nal spot at the expense of newcomers Switzer-land.

The 29-year-old from Quebec scored the winner after 52 minutes to the delight of a passionate home crowd of 53,855 at Vancou-ver’s BC Place Stadium.

“Walking out onto the pitch with 50,000-plus people, who would have thought it for women’s football?” said coach John Herdman.

“It was one of those surreal things for sta� and players.”

Olympic bronze medallists Canada next play either England or Norway in BC Place Stadium for a place in the semi-� nal.

But Englishman Herdman said he didn’t have a preference. l

Brazil’s forward Roberto Firmino (L) celebrates with Willian after scoring against Venezuela during their Copa America match, in Santiago on Sunday AFP

Sport 29D

T

Sony Six4:00AMCaribbean Premier League T20 Tridents v Tallawahs Star Sports 211:30PM New Zealand Tour of England T20 International

DAY’S WATCH

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

Spieth’s major focus comes up trumps once moren Reuters

Blessed with a game � t to match his win-ning personality, American young gun Jordan Spieth’s meteoric rise to the up-per echelons of the golf world continued with a second successive major victory at the US Open on Sunday.

Aged just 21, Masters champion Spi-eth arrived at Chambers Bay at the start of the week with his sights set on a possi-ble calendar grand slam of all four majors and he now leaves the Paci� c Northwest halfway towards that unique target.

“It’s incredible to win a major cham-pionship,” Texan Spieth told reporters after bene� ting from a � nal hole three-putt by fellow American Dustin Johnson to triumph by one shot.

“You only get a few moments in your life like this and I recognise that. And to have two (majors) in one year and to still be early in the year, that’s hard to wrap my head around.

“But sitting here right now, I am un-derstanding that this is a special time for me after the conclusion of the round and onward until the next major starts.”

That next major is the July 16-19 Brit-ish Open at St Andrews, where Spieth hopes to replicate his recipe for success.

“The focus this year was on the ma-jors,” said the world number two, who completed a stunning wire-to-wire Mas-ters victory by four shots in April.

“They weren’t on winning a certain number of times or getting into conten-tion in a major. It was, ‘Let’s � nd a win-ning formula in a major.’

“To go to the home of golf in the next tournament, that is the sole focus. We’re going to go to St Andrews looking for the Claret Jug and I believe we’ll be able to get it done if we get the right prep there.”

The other half of the ‘we’ in Team Spi-eth is caddie Michael Greller, a former school teacher, who used to be a bag-man at Chambers Bay and was a calm-ing in� uence for Spieth on a punishing links-style layout where danger was ev-er-present.

“What a special place for Michael,” said Spieth, who has worked with Grel-ler since 2012. “He was married here. He shares arguably one of the best moments of his life here.

“I was able to add to that history that he has at Chambers Bay. That was proba-bly the best work Michael has ever done this week to get me through. At Augusta, I was on (form) and making everything and striking the ball fantastic.

“He was the one that got me through this week when I wanted to get down when things weren’t going well. Michael knew this course better than anybody this week and he made sure I was in the right spots without my best stu� , and that’s why I won.” (Editing by John O’Brien). l

LEADERBOARD

-5 J Spieth (US); -4 L Oosthuizen (SA), D Johnson (US); -3 A Scott (Aus), C Smith (Aus) B Grace (SA); -2 C Schwartzel (SA); -1 B Snedeker (US); Level R McIlroy (NI), S Lowry (Ire), J Day (Aus)

Murray vows to solve Djokovic riddle n AFP

Andy Murray set his sights on ending his barren run against Novak Djokovic after the world number three wrapped up his Wimble-don preparations with a sublime demolition of Kevin Anderson in the Queen’s Club � nal.

Murray clinched a record-equalling fourth Queen’s title in just 64 minutes as he deliv-ered a grass-court masterclass that left world number 17 Anderson utterly bewildered.

It has been a memorable year for Murray, with an Australian Open � nal appearance fol-lowed by his wedding to Kim Sears in April.

Murray also won his � rst clay-court titles in Munich and Madrid, and reached the French Open semi-� nals

The usually taciturn 28-year-old was so en-thused by his � ne week’s work in west Lon-don that he claimed he is playing even better than when he secured his historic Wimbledon triumph in 2013.

“You have to improve. If you don’t people will take your spot,” Murray said.

“Physically I’m de� nitely in a better place than I was then and I’m using my variety much better just now. That’s been good for me.”

But there is still one big issue looming for Murray as he heads to Wimbledon’s practice courts before the tournament gets underway on June 29.

For all his success over the last six months, he has failed to solve the problems posed by world number one Djokovic.

Murray has lost only six of his 41 matches in 2015 and four of those defeats have come against Djokovic, in the Australian Open and Miami � nals and the last four in Indian Wells and Roland Garros.

Yet Murray draws strength from his perfor-mances in several of those matches, as well as his Wimbledon and US Open � nal wins over the Serb, and insists he can close the gap if they meet again at the All England Club. l

N Korea boycotts World University Games in Southn AFP

North Korea has announced it will boycott next month’s World University Games in South Korea in protest at the opening in Seoul of a UN o� ce to monitor Pyongyang’s human rights record, organisers said Monday.

The North had o� ered to send 75 athletes and 33 o� cials to the games, also known as the Universiade, in the southern city of Gwangju from July 3-14. 

But the North last Friday emailed the Gwangju Universiade organising commit-tee  to announce it was pulling out, o� cials said. l

DOWNTIME30DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 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 18 represents G so � ll G every time the � gure 18 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

ACROSS 1 Quote (4)2 Ship’s lockup (2)7 Lyric poem (3)8 Not concealed (5)11 Judge (4)12 American elk (5)13 Over (5)15 Raw hide (4) 18 Traditional learning (4) 19 Code inventor (5)20 Lift up (5)21 Sibilate (4)23 Interior decoration (5)24 United (3)25 Ship’s � oor (4) 26 Consumer (4)

DOWN1 Of a choir (6)2 Vibration (6)4 Fish eggs (3)5 Standards of perfec-tion (6)6 Precious stone (3)9 Wanderers (6)10 Digit (3)11 Testify (6)14 Oxlike (6)16 Builds (6)17 Extreme fear (6) 19 Central (3)21 Bricks trough (3) 22 Dry, of champagne (3)

SUDOKU

n Showtime Desk

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s most illustrious romance novel has recently been adapted for the TV screen. The story is set in the contemporary milieu. Three major characters, Devdas, Parvati and Chandra-mukhi, will be played by Dip, Parul and

Chandni respectively, to do justice to the modern adaptation.

Directed by Imraul Rafat, the tele� lm titled Abar o Devdas is casting Afran Nisho, Mithila and Jannatul Ferdous Peya as Dip, Parul and Chandni respectively, while Tari-que Anam Khan, Ivana and Niloy have also secured place in the cast-credit.

Talking about the adaptation, the direc-tor said: “Paying attention to the contempo-rary audience, we changed the story and the characters of the most celebrated romantic story, hoping the audience would like it.”

They have recently wrapped up shooting at the outskirts of the capital. The show will be aired during Eid. l

SHOWTIME 31D

TTUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

CELEBS ON SOCIALDevdas reloaded

No peace in the Middle East

n Mahmood Hossain

Season two of FX’s Tyrant began a couple of weeks ago. For those foreign to this po-litical thriller, this is a show that goes into detail dramatic accounts of the Al-Fay-eeds. Backtracking to the � rst season, our main protagonist (if you want to call him that), Barry Al-Fayeed brings his American family back home to the � ctional land of Abbudin. This Californian pediatrician returns after 20 long years to attend his nephew’s wedding.

What we � nd out is that Barry, or Bassam as his homeland people like to call him, is the son of a dictator who took power of Abbudin by military force. Sound familiar? Just like any other real Middle Eastern nation with a turbulent past, the ruling Al-Fayeed family aren’t beloved by all the citizens. In a very short time, Bar-ry’s father passes away after the wedding, while his older brother Jamal becomes the

new president. In addition, the govern-ment is trying to keep a terrorist organisa-tion and uprising at bay. All of that drama in one pilot episode.

Slowly but surely, Barry realises his older brother is worse than his father - a true tyrant. The skeletons from every-one’s closest gradually reveal themselves, and boy do things get ugly. Barry (played by Adam Rayner) struggles to maintain composure and contemplates ful� lling his father’s dying wish to assist his older brother’s ascension to the thrown. Either he runs away, like he did 20 years ago, or sticks around long enough to broker a peace deal before a civil war errupts.

While this show might not win an Emmy or a Golden Globe, the cast puts on a convincing performance. Stereotypes aside, and there are plenty, the showrun-ners have put together a gripping presenta-tion of the inside workings of a tyrannical leadership. l

Jenny Johnson@JennyJohnsonHi5“Bolo tie. Exposed roots. Eye bags. Friday Night Lights guy’s � appy cheeks. Ginger boy.” - Matthew McConaughey watching True Detective

Justin Timberlake@jtimberlakeFLEXIN’ on Fathers Day... #HappyFathersDay to ALL of the dads out there from the newest member of the Daddy Fraternity!! --JT

Kylie Jenner@KylieJennerHappy Father’s Day my little light of sunshine. “You can still call me dad, Kylie. No matter what I’m always going to be your father. That’s never going to change.”

WHAT TO WATCH

Mr Bean’s HolidayStar Movies 7:30pmMr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two come back together. On the way he discovers France, bicycling, and true love, among other things.Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Richard Curtis

The IslandWB 6:56pmLincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly Utopian but contained facility in the year 2019. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the “The Island” - reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, Djimon Hounsou

A Bug’s LifeZee Studio 5:40pmA mis� t ant, looking for “warriors” to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.Voice: Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Indian fan Sudhir’s attack claim questioned n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Famous Indian cricket fan Sudhir Gautam’s claim of being attacked outside the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after the second one-day international on Sunday took the so-cial media by storm as the Tigers supporters were criticised heavily.

Sudhir, a devoted fan of Sachin Tendulkar who has been following the Indian team to most corners of the world, claimed he had been mobbed by people as soon as he had left the venue following India’s maiden ODI series defeat to Bangladesh.

“As soon as I left the stadium, people mobbed me and started snatching the Tricol-our, breaking the handle of the � ag. Two po-licemen who were on-duty outside the stadi-um came to my rescue and they escorted me to an autorickshaw.

“But the mob further attacked the auto and tried to break into it. They even hurled stones on the vehicle, but luckily the auto was cov-ered completely and I did not get hurt,” Sud-hir told the media yesterday.

The claim came however was turned down by a witness. Asif Mahmud Ovi, a photojour-

nalist who was leaving the stadium after the match, said: “I never saw Sudhir getting phsy-cially assaulted. It was about 11:45pm when Sudhir got out of the stadium to � nd him-self surrounded by Bangladesh supporters. He was being mocked as supporters chanted ‘Mauka, Mauka’ but he was never attacked by anyone.

“There was a big gathering around him

when he was trying to hire an autorickshaw. Two policemen came to help him so that he could leave the spot, but I never saw any stones being thrown at him,” said Asif.

Even if Sudhir’s claimed encounter was true, this was not the � rst time that a true fan had to experience such a situation.

Devout Tigers fan Shoaib Ali, also known as Tiger Shoaib for his customary Tiger body

paint, has faced similar situations in Sri Lan-ka and Zimbabwe in 2013. But Shoaib never made an issue out of it and thus it went unre-ported in media.

“Bangladesh were winning the second test in Harare and there was a decent crowd in the stands that day. Suddenly, all the people started pushing each other. For a moment, it seemed they were enjoying and having a good time but within moments I found myself sur-rounded by a big group. They were teasing me and hit me on the head,” said Shoaib.

“I went back to the hotel … a few Bangla-desh cricketers had noticed what had hap-pened and asked me to stay away from local crowd,” he added.

In Sri Lanka, a small piece of advice proba-bly saved him from facing a similar incident fol-lowing Bangladesh’s three-wicket win against the home side in the third ODI at Pallekale.

“Bangladesh won its � rst ever ODI against hosts Sri Lanka. The local crowd were frus-trated. Thankfully, there were a few who ad-vised me to stay back in the stadium and get out as late as possible, to let the crowd get calm outside the stadium. I think that was a good advice,” the Bangladesh fan said. l

BACK PAGE32DT

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

MUSTAFIZUR SHOWS HE’S NO ONE-TRICK PONY PAGE 25

DEVDAS RELOADED PAGE 31

SYRIAN KURDS PUSH DEEPER INTO ISLAMIC STATE TERRITORY PAGE 9

Taliban attack on Afghan parliament kills 2n AFP, Kabul

Two people, including a child, died when Tal-iban militants launched an assault on the Af-ghan parliament yesterday, triggering gun� re and explosions and sending lawmakers scur-rying for cover in chaotic scenes relayed live on television.

The attack came as the Afghan president’s nominee for the crucial post of defence min-ister was to be introduced in parliament and ended two hours later when all seven attack-ers, including a suicide car bomber, were dead.

The assault on such a high-pro� le target in downtown Kabul raises fresh questions about security as Afghan forces battle a resurgent Taliban for the � rst time without the aid of NATO forces, who ended their combat mis-sion in December.

“First a car bomb detonated on the main road near the parliament building, then a group of attackers entered a building in front of parliament,” Kabul police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi told AFP.

Police said two civilians, a woman and a child, were killed in the attack, which left a thick plume of smoke hanging over the par-liament complex and tore a huge crater in an adjoining street.

Deputy interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said there were seven attackers and the health ministry reported 31 people, in-cluding � ve women and a child, wounded.

Dramatic television footage of the moment the � rst explosion struck showed pandemo-nium and screams inside parliament, with Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi sitting in his

chair, calmly telling lawmakers “it’s an elec-trical issue”.

MP Mohammad Reza Khoshak, who was in the chamber at the time, described hearing “a loud explosion, followed by several other smaller explosions”.

“In a few seconds the hall was � lled with smoke and MPs began � eeing the building,” he told AFP.

The Taliban launched a countrywide of-

fensive in late April, stepping up attacks on government and foreign targets in what is ex-pected to be the bloodiest � ghting season in a decade.

The militants recently rebu� ed requests from senior Afghan clerics to halt attacks during the fasting month of Ramadan even as a surge in violence has sent civilian casualties soaring.

A group of suicide attackers last tried to storm parliament in 2012 as they launched co-

ordinated attacks in several parts of the capi-tal, including several diplomatic enclaves.

‘Affront to democracy’The Taliban, toppled from power in the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, swiftly claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

“Several mujahideen have entered the par-liament building,” Taliban spokesman Zabi-hullah Mujahid posted on Twitter.

“The attack happened at a time when the defence minister was being introduced.”

Police denied that Taliban � ghters had breached the high-security complex.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) strongly condemned the raid, saying it was a “clear and deliberate a� ront to democracy in Afghanistan”.

President Ashraf Ghani also criticised the raid, saying in a statement that “targeting innocent people in the holy month of Ramadan is a clear act of hostility against the religion of Islam”.

The recent surge in insurgent attacks has taken a heavy toll on ordinary Afghans, ac-cording to the UN mission in Afghanistan.

Almost 1,000 civilians were killed during the � rst four months of this year, a sharp jump from the same period last year, it said.

Afghan authorities have repeatedly tried to jumpstart talks with the Taliban in the hope of ending the 13-year con� ict, but the militants have set tough conditions, including the with-drawal of all foreign troops in Afghanistan.

NATO’s combat mission formally ended in December but a small follow-up foreign force of about 12,500 mainly US troops has stayed on to train and support local security personnel. l

Sudhir Gautam, left, is an ardent follower of Indian cricket team and Sachin Tendulkar who uses body paint to cheer for his team. Shoaib Ali, right, is known for donning a tiger-print out� t and face paint to lift up the spirit of Bangladesh cricket fans on the ground MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/ SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

A vehicle is seen on � re after a blast near the Afghan parliament in Kabul yesterday REUTERS

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