n Mohammad Jamil Khan

The body of four-year-old Jihad was found yesterday afternoon inside the nearly 500-foot abandoned well in the capital’s Shahjahanpur Railway Colony, around 23 hours after the boy had fall-en into it.

The body was found at a depth of around 258ft by the use of a handmade tool produced by � ve volunteers.

Local people were able to bring the child out just 10 minutes after the � re service had suspended its rescue op-eration formally around 2:50pm as it failed to trace and rescue the boy al-though they were using various meth-ods since Friday afternoon.

Jihad’s body was brought up by the improvised “catcher” when the � re service o� cials were wrapping up and the locals and media persons were al-most leaving the place.

His body was taken to the Dhaka Med-ical College Hospital immediately. Dr KM Riaz Morshed, residential surgeon of the hospital’s emergency ward, de-clared him dead around 3:45pm.

“At the primary examination, we suspect that the boy had died three to four hours back. It will be clear once we get the post mortem examination report,” the physician said.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted Mo� -zur Rahman, additional chief engineer of railway (east), to get a clear picture of the pipe’s depth.

Assessing the primary set up of the well, he said: “We assume that a 16-inch-wide pipe goes 350 feet down while another eight-inch one stretches more than 130 feet.”

The pump was built to supply fresh water to the colony with the help of a shallow machine, set up at a depth of nearly 246ft, through a two-inch-wide pipe inside the 16-inch one. Now aban-doned, the well was covered with a metal cap a year ago.

Jihad fell into the well accidentally PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

As if losing a son wasn’t enoughn Mohammad Jamil Khan, Abu

Hayat Mahmud and Asif Islam

Soon after State Minister for Home A� airs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal pooh-poohed claims, early yesterday morning, that a boy had fallen down a well in the capital and dismissed it as likely a rumour, police detained the stricken boy’s father and uncle.

Jihad’s father, Nasiruddin, and Man-zur, the boy’s maternal uncle, were tak-en to the police station around 4am by Shahjahanpur police. Nasiruddin was held for over eleven hours and claims he was accused by the police of kidnap-ping his own child.

He said in the course of the inter-rogation police threatened him saying that if he did not talk now, he would face further beatings by the Rapid Ac-tion Battalion.

Manzur was held for about eight hours and claims to have been slapped and hit by the police during question-ing.

They were being interrogated over the veracity of their claims that Jihad was trapped inside the well.

The police’s zeal to uncover the truth did not stop there. They detained three children who had told the media they had heard the child’s voice down the well, and took one of the � rst re-sponders to the accident site – a neigh-bour to help – in for questioning.

Four-year-old Siam was questioned at the police station for an hour, Fate-ma, 15, Pushpita, 8, and Jahid Mia, in his late 20s, Pushpita’s father and one of the � rst adults on the scene were questioned for four hours.

Jahid Mia, one of the locals who rushed to the pipeline after hearing about the accident who later heard Ji-had’s voice and communicated with him, later told the Dhaka Tribune that if the child had not been found, he and the others could have faced entrapment and police harassment for some time.

Jahid said around 3pm on Friday, he was watching TV at home.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

BNP backtracks from Gazipur because of January ‘big plans’n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

There have been a lot of speculation yesterday on why the BNP and its part-ners had backtracked after having an-nounced that they would hold a rally at Gazipur “at any cost.”

Considering how things have been unfolding, the BNP-led 20-party alli-ance’s countrywide hartal for Monday and leaving today free on the back of yesterday’s local shutdown in Gazipur, also comes as a bit of a surprise.

Insiders said the party does not want to cause any trouble for the vis-iting Chinese foreign minister who is scheduled to meet BNP chief Khaleda Zia on Sunday; that is why they called the hartal a day later.

Insiders also said the party did not want to waste any manpower before their “special plan” for January 3 and 5; hence the backtracking from Gazipur.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP

acting secretary general and alliance spokesperson, made the hartal an-nouncement after a secretary-gener-al-level meeting at the BNP chief’s Gul-shan o� ce yesterday.

Seeking anonymity, a senior BNP leader told the Dhaka Tribune: “If Madam [Khaleda] went to Gazipur

today [Saturday], then many leaders would have been arrested and many others would have been forced to go underground. So, the party [that has big plans for January 3 and 5] does not want to take any risk right now.”

The leader also said: “BNP’s organ-

isational strength in Gazipur is not very good. That is why the party back-tracked from its decision to hold the rally in Gazipur at any cost.”

During a meeting between senior party leaders and Khaleda Zia on Friday night, standing committee member Moudud Ahmad reportedly said gath-ering thousands of leaders and activists in Gazipur would not bring any result.

“It is the Gazipur district BNP who has to do everything. We have to think whether Gazipur BNP is ready for that or not,” a senior leader who attend-ed that meeting, quoted Moududas saying.

Moudud also advised that they should concentrate on the January 5 programme because Gazipur was only going to hurt. “Then came the decision to not move all-out into Gazipur and instead enforce a hartal there on Satur-day,” the meeting source said.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Slack hartal endsin Gazipurn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

with our Gazipur correspondent

Yesterday’s dawn-to-dusk hartal in Gazipur district called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance, protesting a ban on public gatherings, was observed peace-fully with no major incident of violence taking place in the area.

Local BNP alleged that the law en-forcers did not allow them to take to the streets and raided the houses of its

leaders. Police picked up nine picketers during hartal hours.

However, amid section 144, the rul-ing party activists brought out a pro-cession in Chandana intersection area of Gazipur protesting the shutdown. BNP has criticised the administration for not obstructing the procession.

In the evening, Gazipur district administration withdrew the ban im-posed in the district.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Study: Sundarbans food chain broken by oil spilln Abu Bakar Siddique

The food chain of aquatic species living in the world’s single largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, has been se-verely disrupted by the Sela River oil spill, a study report says.

The study report conducted by Khul-na University (KU) said the presence of primary food producers like phytoplank-ton and zooplankton had decreased sharply in the contaminated water.

Under normal conditions, 47 species of phytoplankton � ourish in the Sund-arbans. A typical litre of water normally contains 226–456 units of phytoplank-ton. According to the study, only 18 phytoplankton species were recorded in the oil slick with just 24–67 units per litre of contaminated water.

Furthermore, whereas 8 species of zooplankton with an abundance of 53–77 units per litre were recorded in the Sundarbans under normal conditions,

just 2 species were found in contami-nated areas. Their abundance was very poor at just 6-10 units per litre of con-taminated water.

Benthos species took a severe hit as well with the normal presence of 34 species whittled down to just seven species in oil contaminated areas.

“The diminished levels of phyto-plankton, zooplankton and benthos in the study area indicate a decrease in diversity and abundance due to oil con-tamination and has obviously a� ected the food chain,” the study’s team leader Prof Abdullah Harun Chowdhury said.

The December 9 Sela River oil spill was caused by a cargo ship slamming into an oil tanker while the two were plying a waterway route inside a dol-phin sanctuary.

It poured an estimated 350,000 li-tres [75,000 gallons] of furnace oil into waterways inside the forest reserve,

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Volunteers retrieve Jihad’s body from the wellHe was found at depth of 256ft after � re � ghters called o� operation; probe body to � le report in 24 hours

BUT WHOWILL WATCH THE ACC?

11 | OP-ED

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Paush 14, 1421Rabiul Awal 5, 1436Regd No DA 6238Vol 2, No 264

20 pages | Price: Tk12

GLOBAL CERTIFICATION FOR CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYSTS

7 | CAREER

RUSSIA FORECASTS SLUMP AS BAILED-OUT BANK GETS MORE FUNDS

B4 | BUSINESS

IPARK SNEAK AWAY WITH EARLY STRIKES

12 | SPORT

14 | SportSteve Smith put Australia in command of the third Test with a memorable innings to leave India with a massive task to stay alive in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Melbourne.

15 | EntertainmentBCJA a reputed organisation representing the journalists who cover Bangladeshi � lm news, has announced the award in � lm for the last � ve years, from 2009 to 2013.

8 | WorldNorth Korea called Barack Obama a “monkey” as it blamed Washington for Internet outages that it has experienced over the hacking of the � lm studio Sony Pictures.

3 | NewsThe international oil company Chevron has proposed the setting up of a centrifugal compressor at the Bibiyana gas � eld under PSC aiming to boost gas pressure from the � eld.

4 | NewsPhysicians at Kishoreganj Modern Sadar Hos-pital are struggling to treat the large number of child patients who were admitted after contracting pneumonia and other cold-relat-ed diseases.

5 | NewsNegligence and corruption of the concerned authority of the DU, has pushed back the construction of the DU Indoor Games Building by 34 years since the ground-breaking in 1980.

6 | NationThe much appreciated multimedia class-rooms in schools, colleges and madrasas, aimed for promoting modern method of teaching, is yet to be e� ective in Chapain-awabganj district due to a myriad of reasons.

I N S I D E

PHOTOSP16

Railway authorities say they will take action after getting the probe report

BNP-led 20-party alliance calls countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Monday

300ft

16”

254ft

50ft

130ft

Source:Additional Chief EngineerBangladesh Railway, East Zone

2” pipe andpump removed

Fire brigadesent cameradown to 254ft

The boy felldown furtherafter removalof inner pipeand pump

12

3

The boy isrescued fromunder debrisat 256ft

4

JIHAD TRAGEDY

SLH/DT INFOGRAPHIC

PUMP

6

PUM

2” INN

ER PIPE

From top: Without the help of � re� ghters, some local youths put an iron catcher with a camera attached to it down the pipe to lift Jihad out of the well l Jihad's mother bursts into tears after the boy’s body is recovered l Jihad is � nally lifted out from a depth of several hundred feet NASHIRUL ISLAM/ MEHEDI HASAN

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina places � oral wreath at the grave of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in Gopalganj yesterday FOCUS BANGLA

Slack hartal PAGE 1 COLUMN 1Defying hartal and braving cold, move-ment of buses, rickshaws and vans on the streets remained almost normal during the day; though the number was less than usual. Factories, business houses, and shops were open.

Meanwhile, a case was � led against 30 named including city Mayor MA Mannan and 40 unnamed people for violating section 144 and vandalism.

Gazipur Reporters’ Club General Secretary MA Farid � led the case with Joydebpur police in the evening alleg-ing that the hartal supporters had, in the morning, attacked the microbus in which he and several other journalists were travelling to Dhaka. Farid also alleged that the picketers had assaulted them.

On Thursday night, police raided the houses of BNP leaders Hasanud-din Sarkar and Salahuddin Sarkar, and seized banners, festoons and posters published ahead of the rally.

On Wednesday night, Chhatra League members vandalised the stage erected on the Bhawal Badr-e-Alam Government College grounds for the rally while miscreants set � re to the BNP o� ce in Tongi the following night.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was set to address the rally yesterday. But the local administration clamped down the ban as the ruling party’s student wing Chhatra League had also an-nounced a rally at the same venue pro-testing indecent remarks by BNP’s Sen-ior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

BNP alleges that the ban was im-posed as part of the government’s con-spiracy to foil the scheduled rally.

Yesterday, police deployed at the college did not allow anyone to enter its premises.

Witnesses say police dispersed BNP activists when they tried to bring out a procession in Sreepur area of Dha-ka-Mymensingh highway around 8am. Then the hartal supporters vandalised some vehicles parked in the area.

Rezaul Karim, acting OC of Joydeb-pur police, said: “Three people were detained for their involvement in van-dalising a human haulier carrying po-lice in Borobari area of Gazipur.”

Kaliakoir acting OC Omar Faruk said six hartal supporters had been picked up from di� erent areas and later sent to jail.

Gazipur Police Superintendent Ha-run-ur-Rashid said that a further � ve platoons of police had been deployed in the district to avoid any untoward incident.

District unit BNP General Secretary Sayeedul Islam Babul claimed that po-lice had raided houses of many of its leaders. “If the government continues such repression, then tougher move-ment will be announced,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Chhatra League leaders, however, denied brining out any procession.

When contacted, Delwar Hossain, convener of Gazipur district unit Chha-tra League, said: “We did not hold any procession where section 144 was im-posed. We brought out the procession against hartal.

“We want to say � rmly that Tarique Rahman has to apologise for his com-ment [on Bangabandhu]. Otherwise, we will not allow Khaleda Zia and Tari-que Rahman in Gazipur.”

He, however, said they would cer-tainly abide by decision of the central leaders. l

BNP backtracks PAGE 1 COLUMN 4Another senior leader said the party and its partners may also enforce non-stop 72-hour hartal starting January 5. “We have decided to hold a rally on January 5 even if there is section 144,” he said.

After announcing the Monday har-tal, Mirza Fakhrul yesterday alleged the local administration had adopted double standards in Gazipur.

“Although section 144 was imposed, ruling party men were allowed to bring out processions in the area, thanks to the local administration,” Fakhrul said.

Gazipur authorities imposed sec-tion 144 at the playground of a local college for an inde� nite period starting Friday 2pm, banning all kinds of gath-erings, after BNP and ruling Awami League’s student front Chhatra League announced separate rallies at the same venue for Saturday.

Yesterday, the BNP enforced a general shutdown in the district protesting what they said was a plan to foil their rally.

After a year of relative peace, the country’s political arena showed signs of heating up when the BNP and Chha-tra League men clashed in Old Dhaka centring Khaleda Zia’s court appear-ance in a graft case. l

MP’s nephew arrested with arms n Tribune Report

Police arrested a nephew of Tangail 3 constituency MP Amanur Rahman Khan Rana in possession with � rearms and ammunitions at Akur Takur Para area of the district town.

Rezowan Khan Punom, who is known as an Awami League cadre in the area, was arrested from his resi-dence around 2pm yesterday.

O� cer-in-Charge Golam Mah� zur Rahman of Detective Branch of Police in Tangail said: “Police conducted a raid at Punom’s house around 2pm and arrested him from his room.”

Police also recovered a foreign re-volver, two 7.65mm pistols, one 9mm pistol, 17 rounds of bullets, four mag-azines, nine chocolate bombs, four sharp weapons, three Chinese axes, 45 pieces of yaba tablets, foreign curren-cies and several other weapons from his house. l

Study: Sundarbans food chain broken by oil spill PAGE 1 COLUMN 6spreading across an area of several hundred square kilometres and con-taminating the land and water of the tidal mangrove forest.

Due to tidal systems, the oil spill has reached small creeks, canals and the forest � oor.

Thick black furnace oil has been de-posited on the soil of intertidal zones, forest � oors, plants, leaves, stems, � oating fruits, roots and pneumato-phores [the breathing roots of man-grove plants].

Much of the surface of the rivers, creeks and canals of the south-eastern part of the Sundarbans was covered by the thick oil slick.

A 10-member research team of the Environmental Science Department of Khulna University conducted the study in 15 di� erent oil contaminated areas of the Sundarbans from December 11 to 25.

The 1,200 square kilometre study area also collected samples from Ghari-lal, Jorshing and Kalagachia in the West Sundarbans, which were not a� ected by the oil spill.

The team found evidence of serious oil contamination in a� ected areas, ex-ceeding the international oil contami-nation standard limit of 10 milligrams per litre.

The study titled “Impact of Oil Spill-age on the Environment of Sundarbans in Bangladesh” noted a near total absence of eggs and hatchlings of common spe-cies of � sh, crabs and snails even though

they were common in the study area.Bird species like the Masked Fin-

foot, Ban Morog, and other local and migratory birds were also conspicuous by their absence in the a� ected areas, the study team noted.

Prof Harun, a faculty member of the KU environmental science department, said the status of � ora and fauna indi-cate that primary producers, consum-ers, some aquatic animals and some plants and their habitats had already been a� ected by the oil pollution.

Crocodiles were not able to prepare hatchling houses in these areas to lay and hatch their eggs, he added.

The study said the banks of the rivers, canals and creeks of the Sund-arbans are a natural habitat for croco-diles to prepare hatchling houses in the months of April and May.

But before the heavy rainy season in July and August there is little possibili-ty of reducing the oil pollution in croc-odile hatchling habitats.

As a result crocodiles may migrate and face territorial con� ict, ultimately a� ecting the crocodile population, the study said.

The tidal forest is rich in natural re-sources and boasts a � oral and faunal diversity of 66 species of plants, more than 200 species of � sh, 42 mammals, 234 birds, 51 reptiles, 8 amphibians and many invertebrates.

Around 500,000 people directly and indirectly depend on the Sundarbans for their livelihood. l

As if losing a son wasn’t enough PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Suddenly, his 8-year-old daughter Pushpita, shouted aloud that a child had fallen down the well. “I rushed in and shouted down to the child below, keeping my mouth close to the pipe in the well shaft.”

“The boy responded. I sent down a rope with a torch and told him to hold on to the rope. The boy again respond-ed. I tried to pull him out, but could not. Fire � ghters soon arrived and started their rescue operation but police o� -cials did not believe it,” said Jahid.

This correspondent spoke with Pushpita and Fatema who were playing badminton nearby and heard Jihad’s cries � rst. They both told the Dhaka Tribune that they saw three boys play-ing near the well on Friday afternoon.

“As I went to pick up my shuttlecock which landed near the well, I heard screaming from inside. I ran over and called my father and some others. They also heard the screaming,” Pushpita said.

Jihad’s father Nasiruddin, a security Guard of Mothijheel Ideal School and College, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had dressed his son in a yellow out-� t on Friday afternoon before the boy went out to play.

“A few moments later, two of Ji-had’s friends, Siam and Jasin, came to my house and told me he had fallen into the abandoned deep tube well. I ran over and neighbours said they had heard his screams,” Nasiruddin said.

The grieving father questioned the au-thorities’ morning statement saying: “If my boy is not there, then where is he?”

“Police, instead of helping us, kept me

locked up at the police station from last night until 3pm today, when my beloved son was � nally found. This is the law of the country? What kind of law is this? I want justice,” the grieving father said.

Asked about detaining Jihad’s fami-ly and several witnesses, Shahjahanpur police station inspector Abdul Mabud, said they were brought to the police station to clarify what had happened. “Just routine duty,” the policeman said.

A mother’s grief and bewilderment“So many people came and said all sorts of things. They delayed the rescue operation. Instead of making baseless comments, if they had done their jobs, he might be alive now,” Khadiza Ak-ther, mother of four-year-old boy, said.

The stricken mother waited nearly 22 harrowing hours amid a barrage of negative comments, police harassment, and doubt that her son was in fact trapped, in front of their house at A/41 at the Shahjahanpur Railway Colony.

The diabetic patient slipped in and out of consciousness and endured the police detention of her husband and brother as she awaited the result of the ultimately fruitless rescue operation.

Khadiza last spoke with her son on Friday evening, keeping her mouth close to pipeline in the well.

The panic stricken mother wept nearly the entire time she was con-scious until Jihad’s dead body was pulled out of his dark grave.

Finally, the recovery of the boy’s re-mains left her in grieving silence, and presumably silenced those who had claimed Jihad was not even in trouble. l

Volunteers retrieve Jihad’s body from the well PAGE 1 COLUMN 1around 3pm on Friday while playing with other children.

On receiving information, � re � ght-ers arrived at the spot and launched the rescue operation around 4pm. They talked to Jihad and sent him oxygen, water, juice and also a torch light. Lat-er, they tried repeatedly to bring him out with a rope, but failed.

After 7:30pm, they lowered a sack tied to the rope with the hope that Ji-had could get on it, but in vain. The � re � ghters brought a crane and removed the two-inch-wide pipe to make room for the boy to be brought out, and until 11pm, they were able to bring out and cut down nearly 246ft of the pipe along with the pump.

Rescuers say that the boy fell further down after the pipe was cut.

Around midnight, a volunteer named Bashir Ahmed, who also active-

ly took part after the Rana Plaza col-lapse, reached the spot and expressed his wish to go down and bring the child out. But the � re � ghters would not al-low him.

As per suggestions of Buet and LGRD experts, the � re � ghters, around 1am sent a high resolution borehole camera, provided by Wasa, inside the pipe to locate the child. At 2:30am, the camera could reach nearly 256ft but got stuck in the regiform sheets.

Around 3am, the Director General of � re service Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said they had failed to trace any human life inside the well. He also expressed doubt whether Jihad had really fallen into it.

A similar statement came out from State Minister for Home A� airs Asa-duzzaman Khan. He declared around 3:15am that there had been none trapped in the well and suggested that

the incident could be a rumour.The rescue operation almost stalled

following their statements. However, locals demanded that it continued.

At that time, � ve volunteers – Md Faruq, Shah Md Abdullah Al Moon, Sujon Dash Ruhul, Abu Bakar Siddique and Abdul Kader Chowdhury – came forward. They made the “catcher” with iron rods in association with a private company named “Icon.” It has a net, a CCTV camera and a torch light.

They sent the “catcher” down the pipe around 9am yesterday with the help of a crane, but failed repeatedly as the CCTV cable was creating problems. Until 2pm, they were able to send the tool nearly 300ft down and became successful around 3pm.

The � re service chief last night said the body was found just under the regi-form sheet, 258ft deep.

Volunteer Faruq, a small business-

man in the capital’s Bashundhara area, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We sent the ‘catcher’ with a 600-foot rope. After it went down nearly 300 feet, we felt something hard and through the CCTV camera we saw that the ‘catcher’ had hooked into something.”

Soon after the body was retrieved, angry locals of the colony brought out a procession demanding punishment to those responsible for the incident. They also chanted slogans demanding resignation of the home state minister for announcing that there had been no-body inside the well.

The angry mob also vandalised a police outpost near the spot and totally demolished a makeshift house made by the contractor company who built the pipeline.

Mehedi Hasan, o� cer-in-charge of Shahjahanpur police, and a number of police o� cials went to the spot and

brought the situation under control around 4:15pm. Additional law enforc-ers were deployed in the area and no one was hurt during the rampage, he said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Railway au-thorities formed a three-member probe body with the third Dhaka divisional engineer as its head. The committee has been asked to submit report within 24 hours, Ahmed Ullah Shia, chief engi-neer of railway, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Asked about taking action against those responsible, he said: “We have al-ready discussed the matter with our le-gal adviser. Primarily, we have decided to take action including � ling of a case soon after getting the report.”

On Friday, railway authorities sus-pended its senior sub-assistant engi-neer Jahangir Alam and blacklisted contractor � rm AR Traders for negli-gence. l

Promoting jute-based handloom industries stressed n BSS

Speakers at the inaugural ceremony of a training course yesterday stressed for promoting the jute-based handloom industries for enhancing exports of quality jute products to earn more for-eign exchange.

The Women Entrepreneurs Associ-ation of Bangladesh (WEAB) has been organising the � ve-day training course on “Methods for Production of Diversi-� ed Jute Products and Marketing Strat-egy” at Panchagarh Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (PCCI) auditorium in Panchagarh district town.

Small and Medium Industries Foun-dation (SMIF) from Dhaka has been extending technical cooperation in conducting the training course from yesterday to 31 and 25 female entrepre-neurs of Panchagarh district have been participating.

Deputy Commissioner of Panchagarh Mohammad Salah Uddin attended the inaugural ceremony and formally launched the training course as the chief guest with Panchagarh dis-trict unit President of WEAB Advocate Rina Parveen in the chair.

President of PCCI Iqbal Kaiser Min-

tu, Panchagarh Sadar upazila chairman Anwar Sadat Samrat and Executive Di-rector of non-governmental develop-ment organisation ‘Paraspor’ Akhterun Nahar Saki attended the ceremony as the special guests.

In their speeches, the speakers stressed the need for reviving the past glory of jute through increasing diver-si� ed production and use of jute qual-ity products and enhancing exports in the international markets.

The training course would de� nitely assist the local female entrepreneurs, especially the unemployed young women, in setting up of jute-based cot-tage and handloom ventures for expan-sion of the jute industries, they said.

They put emphasis on providing necessary capital, support and latest technologies for producing high valued, quality and diversi� ed jute products, en-hancing marketing facilities and a pack-age of services to the entrepreneurs.

The chief guest stressed for promot-ing jute-based handloom industries to create more employments of the rural women in accelerating national uplift by extending supports to the female entrepreneurs to revive the past glory of the golden � bre. l

Art critic Bartelik presents emerging trends in artworks at Asian Art Biennial n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique

Marek Bartelik, president of Interna-tional Association of Art Critics (AICA), discussed about the changing trend of the Asian arts at Shilpakala Academy in the capital yesterday.

He brought together the evolution of the Asian Biennials in a 20 minute presentation on “Emerging Paradigm Derived from Asian Biennials” at a sem-inar titled “Visiting Art Critic Talk”.

Liakot Ali Lucky, the director gener-

al of the Shilpakala Academy, delivered the welcome speech at the seminar.

In the presentation, Bartelik se-lected works of various biennials of di� erent countries, and discussed the theoretical aspects of the latest devel-opments in the � eld.

Art magazine, “Depart”, organized the programme as part of the 16th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2014 which begun on December 1 at the Na-tional Art Gallery. v The month-long exhibition will remain open for all from

11am to 8pm every day except Fridays (from 3 to 8pm) till December 31.

Works of artists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, China, Thailand, Korea, Pa-kistan, Egypt, Japan Chile, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Romania, Turkey, Fiji, Italy, and Saudi Arabia are being showcased at the event.

Of the two committees for the Asian Art Biennale, one panel will select the art works on display, and the other one will judge the works showcased for the competition.

In 1981, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy conceived the Asian Art Bi-ennale to locate the changes and the co-existence of modernity and the tra-ditions in the arts in Asian countries.

Since the beginning, Asian Art Bien-nale Bangladesh has been trying to dis-play the kaleidoscope of various artistic endeavours of artists of present time.

The geographical parameter is im-portant only in a generic sense and also for identi� cation of sponsorship in this pioneering venture. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

Chevron proposes to set up compressor in Bibiyana, Petrobangla yet to nodn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The international oil company Chevron has proposed the setting up of a cen-trifugal compressor at the Bibiyana gas � eld under Production Sharing Con-tract (PSC) aiming to boost gas pressure from the � eld.

“Chevron proposed to set up a com-pressor at the Bibiyana gas � eld. We have examined the proposal and trying to reach a decision,” Director (PSC) of Petrobangla, the state-run oil, gas and mineral corporation, Md Quamruz-zaman told the Dhaka Tribune.

A Pertobangla o� cial seeking ano-nymity said instead of the centrifugal compressor if a reciprocating compres-sor was set up, the cost would reduce signi� cantly.

He said Chevron had already placed a proposal involving over $500 million to set up a compressor at Bibiyana.

“Such a compressor has never been used in Bangladesh and it is also not con� rmed whether there is a need for it. Under the PSC, the cost will ulti-mately have to be borne by the govern-

ment,” he added. However, Energy and Mineral Re-

sources Division Secretary Abu Bakar Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune that the government was yet to make any decision on the proposal.

“We believe the proposal will help in-crease gas recovery from the Bibiyana � eld, playing a crucial role for Bangla-desh’s energy security,” said Sabrina Khan, media o� cer of Chevron.

Centrifugal compressors use a rotat-ing disk or impeller in a shaped housing to force the gas to the rim of the impel-

ler, increasing the velocity of the gas. On the other hand, reciprocating

compressors use pistons driven by a crankshaft. They can be either station-ary or portable, can be single or multi-staged, and can be driven by electric motors or internal combustion engines.

According to the PSC, a gas � eld is considered to have a 25-year lifespan. As the production started in March 2007, Bibiyana gas � eld is expected to be viable until 2032.

However, Chevron, in a recent pre-sentation to Petrobangla, said produc-tion from Bibiyana would start to de-cline after 2018.

According to the Bangladesh Eco-nomic Review 2014, the initial reserve of gas at Bibiyana was 7.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf), of which 5.7 tcf was proven and recoverable. At the beginning of 2014, the remaining reserve amount at Bibiyana gas � eld was 4.2 tcf.

This is bigger than the last assessed � gure of the country’s oldest produc-ing � eld, Titas, the reserves of which are currently being reassessed.

Bibiyana is now the largest gas pro-

ducing � eld of the country providing about 40% of Bangladesh’s total do-mestic supply of natural gas.

“The details of the compressor se-lection are based upon the optimal technical alternative for the Bibiyana reservoir conditions. As laid out in the PSC, as with any project, we have to discuss with Petrobangla to reach an alignment on speci� c technical aspects and scope,” Sabrina said.

“As the operator of the Bibiyana Bangladesh PSC gas � eld, Chevron works to identify the most cost-e� ec-tive method to ensure reliable gas pro-duction. Chevron already has a strong track record of increasing gas produc-tion in Bangladesh at a low cost,” she added.

Chevron Bangladesh has showed interest in two PSCs in Bangladesh, covering Block 12 (Bibiyana � eld) and Blocks 13 and 14 (Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar � elds) in the northeastern Sylhet region.

The company sells the gas it extracts to the government under long-term sales agreements. l

Gobinda Halder expresses gratitude to PMn UNB

Lyricist Gobinda Halder, who com-posed many immortal songs for the erstwhile Swadhin Bangla Betar Ken-dra, expressed his profound gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for ex-tending her support for his treatment.

PM’s Special Assistant Mahbubul Haque Shakil told UNB that he on be-half of the Prime Minister talked to Gobinda Halder and his daughter Gopa Halder over phone yesterday.

“I’m impressed with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s gesture and I always

pray for her wellbeing and long life,” PM’s special assistant quoted Gobinda Halder as saying.

The lyricist further said, “Sheikh Hasina is putting in her tireless e� orts for making true the dream of Bangab-andhu for which he called for libera-tion. My blessing will always remain with her.”

Gobinda Halder, su� ering from old age complications, on Saturday re-turned home from Jitendranath Roy Hospital, Kolkata after treatment.

President Abdul Hamid visited him at the hospital on December 22.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasi-na talked to Gobinda Halder on Decem-ber 20 and assured him of bearing all the expenses of his treatment.

Shakil informed Gobinda Halder that the Prime Minister is always in-quiring about his health condition and treatment.

Gobinda Halder’s wonderful songs include ‘mora ekti phul ke bachabo bole judda kori’, ek sagor rakter bin-imoye banglar swadhinata anlo jara,’ purbo digante surja uthechey’ and ‘padma meghna jamuna, tomar amar thikana’. l

NU forms committee to discuss decentralisation with PMn Tribune Report

A seven-member committee comprised of National University’s Senate mem-bers was formed yesterday to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to discuss her recent decision to decentralise the institution.

Former vice-chancellor of Jahangir-nagar University Dr Shari� Enamul Kabir was made the convener of the commit-tee, which is expected to be approved in the next senate meeting.

The committee, which will also dis-cuss with the prime minister the ways to remove session jam at National Uni-versity and to improve the quality of ed-ucation, was formed at a special senate session of National University at the in-stitution’s senate hall academy building in Gazipur.

Speaking at the meeting, National University Vice-chancellor Professor Harun-or-Rashid described the steps aimed at administrative decentralisation and computerising operations in order

to remove session jam and ensure over-all development of education.

“Our uno� cial declaration is that students of academic year 2013-14 will face no session jam even for a single day and results will be published within 80 days after the end of exams,” he said.

The vice-chancellor said some steps had already been initiated to accelerate operations, including reduced depen-dency on the postal department, cancel-lation of OMR system, creating database for teachers, online admission system, introduction of special master’s cours-es, and publication of newsletters and journals.

“Writing new textbooks, making an online library, introducing � bre optic network facilities and setting up “Bang-abandhu and Bangladesh Research In-stitute” are among our future plans,” he added.

Dr Shari� Enamul, also a Senate member of National University, termed the plans for reducing session jam ap-propriate.

“The prime minister might have de-cided to bring 181 colleges, which are af-� liated with National University, under the public university system without re-alising the overall picture but we have to make her understand that,” he said.

He also proposed six vice-chancellors for six regional centres of National Uni-versity, which were established as part of the decentralisation process.

Afroz Ara Begum, associate professor at Government Titumir College, said re-solving internal problems such as infra-structure and the shortage of teachers could be advantageous to get rid of other di� culties of National University.

“Many public university teachers are appointed directly and hence develop a superior mentality. I think many of them will not qualify for the BCS exam or any similar recruitment process. So why should the colleges having the Nation-al University a� liation go under public universities?” she said.

Other senate members were present at the session. l

BCL factions threaten to enforce nonstop strike n CU Correspondent

A tense situation prevails on the Chit-tagong University (CU) campus as two factions of the Bangladesh Chha-tra League (BCL) of the CU unit have threatened to enforce a nonstop strike demanding immediate arrest of the “main” accused and exemplary pun-ishment to the killers of Tapos Sarkar.

Members of Choose Friend with Care (CFC), a shuttle train based faction of BCL of CU unit, yesterday demanded that the authorities concerned form a judicial committee to probe the murder.

On December 14, Tapos, a � rst year student of the Sangskrit department and also a member of CFC group, was shot dead by the rival group Varsity Ex-press (VX), another shuttle train based BCL faction, over establishing suprem-acy on the campus.

The CFC men held a press confer-ence at the CU Journalists Association (CJUA) o� ce at CU Central Student’s Union (CUCSU) building to press home their six-point demand.

Their demands include the immedi-ate arrests of and capital punishment to the O� ce and Organising Secretar-

ies, Jalal Ahmed and SM Ariful Islam re-spectively of the CU BCL unit dissolved committee; permanent expulsion of all accused in the murder, cancellation of their certi� cates; and lifting the ban on politics on campus.

Nazmul Haque, a student of the communication and journalism de-partment, read out a written speech at the press conference, where CU BCL’s dissolved committee’s Assistant Secre-taries Kawsar Ferdous Fuad and Abdul-lah Al Mamun were present.

“We will enforce nonstop block-ade at the university if the VX men are allowed to return to the campus,” Nazmul said.

Meanwhile, the VX men also threat-ened to enforce a nonstop blockade at the campus from Monday demanding that the names of their leaders and ac-tivists be dropped from what they called a “false” case � led after Tapos’s murder.

They too demanded that their lead-ers and activists be allowed to return to the campus as well as to their dormito-ries.

Earlier, some VX men brought out a procession at the university’s rail cross-ing area around 1pm. l

This is bigger than the last assessed � gure of the country’s oldest producing � eld, Titas, the reserves of which are currently being reassessed

Rescue workers yesterday noon pull out Zihad, the three-and-a-half-year-old boy who fell inside a pipe nearly 500 feet deep at railway colony in the capital on Friday. Right, people gather near the scene to watch rescue operations NASHIRUL ISLAM/MEHEDI HASAN

Democracy triumphed thru’ Jan-5 polls, says Nasimn UNB

Health Minister Mohammad Nasim yesterday said the country’s democra-cy triumphed through the election on January 5.

“The country would have gone un-der martial law and its economy jeop-ardised had the election not been held on that day,” he said while addressing a discussion at the Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital (SOMCH).

The SOMCH and the Sylhet chap-ter of Bangladesh Medical Association jointly organised the programme.

Nasim, also an Awami League pre-sidium member, said no general elec-tion would be held in the country before 2019, urging all, including party activ-ists, to remain alert to any conspiracy of the evil forces to save democracy.

Claiming that the BNP-Jamaat alli-ance did not take part in the polls ‘to kill the democracy’, he said they would neither be allowed to take to streets on January 5 next. “The Awami League will keep the roads under its control to protect public life and property.”

He also came down hard on those trying to defame Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, saying, “Bangabandhu is as high as the Himalayas. If anyone tries to malign him, he or she will be belittled.”

The minister also urged the activists of the Chhatra League to keep themselves away from any activity that may harm the image of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Turning to various demands the SOMCH placed before him, Nasim as-sured the authorities of constructing a hostel for the medical students and providing high quality equipment to hospital for cancer patients.

The health minister also said he would recommend turning the medical college hospital into a university. l

Govt attaches importance to capacity of professionals: FMn UNB

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yes-terday said the government is putting adequate emphasis on improving local capacity of both the institutions and professionals involved in applied sta-tistics to rightly provide inputs in pro-grammes and policy formulation en-suring proper allocation of resources.

He was addressing as the chief guest the inaugural session of three-day the International Conference on Applied Statistics (ICAS) 2014 at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban at the DU.

The Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dha-ka arranged the event.

DU VC Prof AAMS Are� n Siddique, Director of Institute of Statistical Re-search and Training (ISRT) Prof Mu-hammad Shuaib and chairman of the conference organising committee Prof Dr M Sekander Hayat Khan also spoke on the occasion.

The foreign minister urged the stat-isticians to play the pioneering role to promote socioeconomic development in the country and meet the global challenges of 21st century.

He also urged the teachers and re-

searchers to provide useful contribu-tions to implement development plans for vision 2021.

Mahmood Ali said the conference is an excellent idea and would surely provide a platform for local and inter-national practitioners, researchers and faculty to discuss and explore the new developments of statistical theory as well as their applications to meet the challenges of contemporary and immi-nent issues.

The theme of the conference “Applied Statistics: Meeting the challenges of the 21st century” is therefore very much timely and appropriate, he added.

“I also expect, from this forum, spe-ci� c proposals may be generated that would be useful to the policymakers and planners in implementing nation-al plan of action in line with the ‘Vi-sion-2021’ of Prime Minister Sheikh Ha-sina in transforming Bangladesh into a Middle-income country by 2021 and into a developed one by 2041,” he said.

He hoped that the conference will also play a major role in sensitising sta-tistics within the non-governmental organisations, research institutions, media, and other stakeholders to have a shared view in development and eco-nomics of the country.

Speaking at the conference, the DU VC urged the students, teachers and researchers of ISRT to come forward with zeal and zest to provide beacon light to solve the problems that all are confronting today due to lack of ap-propriate data and information in the country.

“Students and researchers have to work hard to ful� ll the dream of our three million martyrs by making Ban-gladesh free from poverty, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, fundamental-ism and incivility,” he added. l

The foreign minister urged the statisticians to play the pioneering role to promote socioeconomic development in the country and meet the global challenges of 21st century

DUTA election on Wednesdayn DU Correspondent

The Dhaka University Teachers Associ-ation (DUTA) will elect its 15-member executive committee on Wednesday.

“The voting will start at the Teach-ers’ Club at 10am and will continue until 2pm,” DUTA President Professor Fariduddin Ahmad told the Dhaka Tri-bune yesterday.

The Awami League-backed Blue Panel and the BNP-Jamaat-backed White Panel will contest the election, he said, adding Prof Sha� kuzzaman, of the Department of Economics, will conduct the election.

The DUTA chief also expressed his hope that the election would bring a historical result for them and explained that they would be able to win all posts in the election.

BNP-Jamaat-backed teacher and former Dean of the Arts Fac-ulty Professor Dr Sadrul Amin said they hoped that all the conscious teachers would vote for them in the election in view of the pre-vailing situation across the coun-try.

This year, the candidates for the Duta presi-dent are the cur-rent Duta chief

from the Blue panel and Dr Akhter Hos-sain Khan from the White panel.

The Blue and White Panels candi-dates for the DUTA general secretary post are respectively Dean of the Earth and Environment Faculty Professor ASM Maksud Kamal and DU Syndicate Member Professor Md Lutfor Rahman.

Those who will vie for the vice-pres-ident post are Professor of manage-ment information system department Hasibur Rashid from the Blue Panel and Professor of physics department ABM Obidul Islam from the White pan-el.

The Awami League-backed panel of teachers bagged nine out of the exist-ing 15 posts, including those of presi-dent and general secretary, in the last Duta election. l

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

Baby patients cram Kishoreganj hospital n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

Physicians at Kishoreganj Modern Sa-dar Hospital are struggling to treat the large number of child patients who were admitted after contracting pneu-monia and other cold-related diseases.

Three to four patients are forced to share a bed in the children’s ward at the 250-bed hospital, which has four doc-tors and six nurses.

More and more child patients are ar-riving at the hospital from nearby dis-tricts every day, o� cials said.

Khadija Begum of Kodalia village in Pakundia upazila, who admitted her six-month-old son Arian to the hospi-tal on Friday, at � rst thought of leaving the stinky ward after seeing that it was crammed with patients. But she lat-er stayed as it was a matter of life and death for her baby.

Because of the shortage of beds in the children’s ward, some mothers sat on the edge of beds, sometimes keep-ing their babies on the laps, while many of them were compelled to stand on the � oor and breastfeed their children.

The hospital authorities said there are only 20 beds in the children’s ward, 10 for newborn baby patients and the remaining 10 for diarrhoea patients, but they have to admit 60-80 patients daily.

As many as 116 babies were admit-ted to the hospital yesterday while the

number was 100-150 both on Thursday and Friday.

Besides, 150-200 babies take treat-ment on an average every day in the outdoor section of the hospital.

Shamsunnahar, who hails from Jashudal, brought her three-month-old child Noha to the hospital yesterday af-ter the baby contracted pneumonia but could not � nd any empty bed.

She said it was di� cult for a patient to get proper treatment in the crowded ward and the only doctor of the ward visits her child once in a day.

There should be at least 10 doctors who will work in three shifts in the three wards, including the children’s ward, of the hospital, said Dr Sujit Das, a child specialist of the hospital.

“It is becoming increasingly di� cult for us to provide treatment as three to four patients are sharing a single bed. Besides, we have only six nurses but there should be at least 15 to look after all the patients,” he said.

The doctor said most of the children were pneumonia patients and many of them later contracted other diseases like bronchitis, asthma, jaundice, diar-rhoea and even kidney problems.

Dr Mrinal Kanti Pandit, civil surgeon of Kishoreganj, said the number of baby patients was on the rise but there re-mains an acute shortage of physicians in all the hospitals of the district. l

Withdrawal of cases against admission seekers and their release demandedn DU Correspondent

Dhaka University Progotishil Chhatra Jote, a platform for the leftist student bodies, yesterday demanded the re-lease of arrested admission seekers and withdrawal of all “false and fabricated” cases against them.

They made the demands at a press conference at Madhur Canteen of Dha-ka University (DU) at noon. DU unit Ch-hatra Union President Liton Nandi read out a written statement at the confer-ence.

They also threatened to stage a sit-in programme in front of the residence of Dhaka University Vice Chancellor AAMS Are� n Siddique on Monday if their demands were not ful� lled before that day.

On October 14, just after the 2014-15 admission test, the authorities decided to allow only freshly passed HSC stu-dents to appear in its admission tests from the 2015-16 academic sessions.

Some students, who attended this year admission test of the university, started staging demonstrations de-manding a reversal of the decision.

They staged a hunger strike, held rallies, and submitted a memorandum to President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the DU vice chancellor.

Despite repeated assaults by police they continued their programmes from October 17.

On December 21, several students gathered in front of Raju Sculpture on the campus before going to meet the vice chancellor as part of their schedule around 10am.

Shahbagh police, led by Proctor Amjad Ali, arrested eight of them from the al-tar of Raju Sculpture and four from the TSC area and seven from Suhrawardi Uddyan. They later released three, de-taining 16 others.

The university authority � led a case against the 16 students for causing a

loss of around Tk5 lakh by vandalising di� erent structures of the university.

The Dhaka Tribune ran a report ti-tled “16 admission seekers languishing in jail in ‘false case’” yesterday about the alleged vandalism caused by the ar-rested admission seekers, which made it clear that no act of vandalism by them took place on the day they were arrested.

Chhatra Union leader Liton told the press conference yesterday the authori-ty had � led the case against 16 innocent admission seekers who were arrested from the campus on December 21.

He said there was only a procession at the university on the day that the admission seekers were arrested and if any case should be � led, it should be against those involved in the proces-sion, not the admission seekers who are innocent.

The progressive students leader urged the authority to hold back their decision barring students from not taking part in the university admission tests for a second time.

Central unit Chhatra Union Vice President Maruf Billah Tonmoy, DU unit Somajtrantrik Chahtra Front Pres-ident Rashed Shariar and DU unit Ch-hatra Federation President Monowar Hossen Masud were also present at the conference. l

Head teacher post vacant in 47 Ramganj primary schools n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur

The post of head teacher in 47 primary schools in Ramganj upazila remains vacant for long.

There are 161 primary schools in the upazila but a total of 68 posts of assistant teacher have not been � lled for some time.

Even the post of upazila education o� cer is vacant while acting teachers have been employed in the vacant posts.

The lack of teachers has resulted in anomalies in the administrative and academic activities in the schools.

Guardians and members of the management committees of several schools said the learning of students had been a� ected by the shortage of teachers.

Parents of the students said they were concerned about results of this year’s Primary School Certi� cate tests.

Acting upazila primary education o� cer Md Minhaz Uddin conceded that there was no headmaster in 47 schools.

“A list of the vacant posts has been submitted to the higher authorities, who will decide about � lling the posts,” he said.

Minhaz also said no one can have a long career at the upazila primary education o� ce because of some “o� cial problems”. l

Son-in-law kills father-in-law over family feudn Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

A son-in-law reportedly stabbed his fa-ther-in-law to death as sequel to fami-ly feud in a village of the district early yesterday.

Abdul Jalil, 50, succumbed to his injuries following multiple stab in-juries in Raghrampur village under Puthiya upazila around 5:30 am, said Ha� zur Rahman, o� cer-in-charge (investigation) of Puthiya police station.

He said three persons Abdur Rashid, 45, his wife Mina Begum, 40, and their son Ripon, 20, were detained in con-nection with the killing.

However, the main accused son-in-law, Anwar Hossain, remained ab-sconding since the murder.

Quoting locals OC Ha� z said An-war Hossain accompanied by Ripon stabbed Abdul Jalil indiscriminately while he was working in crop � eld in the morning.

On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the body.

Previous enmity over marital rela-tion might have been reason behind the murder, the OC suspected.

A murder case was recorded with the police station in this connec-tion.

The body was sent to the hospital morgue. l

Day labourers huddle together in front of a � re made to keep them warm in the face of biting cold. The photo was taken yesterday from Panthapath area in the capital SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

HT Imam: AL never resorts to violence despite being repeatedly attackedn Tribune Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Political Adviser, HT Imam yesterday said the ruling Awami League had never resort-ed to violence out of vendetta though it was attacked many times by the Ja-maat-e-Islami.

“The owners of many business insti-tutions nowadays are anti-liberation. They collect money from people in the name of Islam and then they use it against us,” HT Imam alleged.

He said these while addressing the launching event of 1971 Genocide – Torture Index Granthamala as the chief guest. Organised by 1971 Genocide – Torture Archive and Museum Trust, the event was held at the Women’s Volun-tary Association (WVA) auditorium in the capital’s Dhanmondi area.

Criticising Dhaka-based British jour-nalist David Bergman, he said it was audacious for a foreign citizen to use

mobile phone to capture photos inside the court room.

He later praised the initiative of launching the book series on the liber-ation war of 1971 and emphasised on translating the book into English for in-ternational recognition.

Ten books under the Granthama-la were launched at the program. The writers are Satyajit Ray Majumder for Damerkhanda Ganahattya, Tapan Pal-ita for Lalmatia Jaynopur and Khajan-chibari Ganahattya, Chowdhury Shahid Kader for Mujafrabad Ganahattya and Pahartali Ganahattya, Mamun Siddique for Beltali Ganahattya, Ahammed Sharif for Golahat Ganahattya and Kaliganj Ga-nahattya, Shanta Patrnabaish for Binod-bari Mankon Ganahattya, Gouranga Nandi for Badamtala Ganahattya, and Himu Adhikari for Kathira Ganahattya.

President of the Trust historian Muntasir Mamun urged the new gen-eration to come forward to further the work of the Granthamala.

Also present in the event, Shahriar Kabir, the president of Ghatak Dalal Nir-mul Committee said the Granthamala would help the readers know the atroci-ties committed by the Pakistani occupa-tion force in 1971.

He also said this Granthamala would help prevent national and international conspiracy against the country. l

Shahbagh police, led by Proctor Amjad Ali, arrested eight of them from the altar of Raju Sculpture and four from the TSC area and seven from Suhrawardi Uddyan. They later released three, detaining 16 others

‘The owners of many business institutions nowadays are anti-liberation. They collect money from people in the name of Islam’

WEATHER

PRAYER TIMES Fajr 5:19am Sunrise 6:39am Zohr 12:00am Asr 3:44pm Magrib 5:20pm Esha 6:41 pm

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:20PM SUN RISES 6:40AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW27.5ºC 7.2ºCTeknaf Ishwardi

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 24 13Chittagong 27 16Rajshahi 20 11Rangpur 23 11Khulna 26 10Barisal 26 13Sylhet 26 13Cox’s Bazar 27 18

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

DRY WEATHER

LIKELY

Abducted businessman rescued, one held in Chittagongn FM Mizanur Rahaman,

Chittagong

Police rescued a businessman from Feni district early yesterday who was allegedly abducted by a group of mis-creants four days back on December 23 from Chittagong city’s Bakalia area.

The rescued person was identi� ed as Md Mizanur Rahman, 28, an owner of a Telecom shop in a market in Notun Bridge area. He was son of Abdul Khal-ek, hailing from Jorarganj area of Mir-sari upazila in Chittagong, police said.

Police arrested an alleged abductor Md Saiful Islam, 31, said O� cer-in-Charge Mohammed Mohsin of Bakalia police station.

OC Mohsin said Mizan was a Dubai expatriate and came back to the coun-try on September 2010 and started his business.

When Mizan was aboard, he alleg-edly embezzled around Tk6 lakh from three persons including Saiful and an-other man named Yusuf, luring them with an opportunity to go to Dubai us-

ing forged visa and documents, the OC said adding that Mizan however came back from Dubai without informing the aspirants of his return.

After coming back, Mizan, wanting to hide, changed his address and the Dubai aspirants failed to trace him,

Mohsin said. Later, Saiful unearthed Mizan’s address and cell number in the city and plotted a plan with his cousin to abduct Mizan in a bid to recover the embezzled money, the o� cial added.

The OC said Saiful using his female cousin staged an a� air drama with Mizan. On December 23, Mizan came to Dhaka after he received a call from a woman, asking him to meet her, he added. Later Saiful and the others kid-napped him.

Saiful then demanded Tk6 lakh from Mizan’s family as ransom after which Mizan’s cousin Belal � led a complaint with Bakalia police station on Decem-ber 24, said OC Mohsin.

Following the complaint, police started investigation and rescued him from a house beside Maya Clinic of Feni Sadar area.

A case was � led in this regard. l

Dense fog disrupts � ights in Chittagong airportn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Regular � ight operations at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chit-tagong were disrupted for aroundtwo and a half hours yesterday due to dense fog.

Schedule of two international � ights and at least four domestic � ights were delayed, said sources at the airport.

Shah Amanat International Airport Manager Wing Commander Noor-E-Alam said � ight operations was halted from 7am to 9:30am as it was too foggy for � ights to operate.

He said: “Two international � ights of the national � ag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines from Abu Dhabi was scheduled to land at the airport at 8:20am while another � ight of Air Ara-bia from Sharjah was scheduled to land forty minutes later.”

“The � ights were scheduled to stop

in Chittagong then go to Shahjalal In-ternational Airport in Dhaka,” he add-ed.

However, the two � ights later made a landing at the Chittagong airport around 11am after the weather im-proved.

Meanwhile, landing of four domes-tic � ights was delayed by one to two hours, he added.

Chittagong Met O� ce said the low-est temperature recorded in Chittagong was 15.1 degrees Celsius yesterday.

The weather situation suddenly deteriorated on Friday and the gaps between the maximum and minimum temperatures came down to only three degrees Celsius on an average.

The maximum and minimum tem-peratures recorded were 16.5 and 13.4 degrees respectively in the country yesterday. l

Quamrul: ‘BNP to face public wrath, if try to create anarchy’n Tribune Report

Food Minister Advocate Quamrul Islam yesterday said BNP would have to face public wrath if it tries to create anarchy in the country in the name of move-ment.

“BNP is hatching a new conspiracy to destabilise the country in the name of movement. We have witnessed their � rst rehearsal,” he said.

“Will people take to the streets re-sponding to the call of Khaleda Zia? No BNP workers took to the streets in the BNP enforced hartal in Gazipur,” he said.

Quamrul, also the AL Dhaka city unit joint general secretary, made the remarks when speaking as the chief

guest at a discussion in the capital. Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnessa

Mujib Parishad organised the discus-sion at the Dhaka Reporters Unity audi-torium in the capital.

Quamrul said BNP does not have the courage and ability to launch any movement on the streets.

“BNP leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy has been arrested. There will be no trace of any leader and worker of BNP if a couple of its other leaders are arrest-ed,” he said.

BNP’s so-called movement will go eventually be deep frozen.

Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnessa Mujib Parishad President Prof Abdul Mannan Chowdhury chaired the dis-cussion. l

Four drug peddlers jailedin Chittagong n FM Mizanur Rahaman

A mobile court sentenced four drug peddlers to jail for di� erent terms for selling drugs in the EPZ area of Chit-tagong yesterday.

The convicts are Afroza, Eron alias Kanaiya, Liton and Azmat, said police sources.

O� cer-in-Charge of EPZ police sta-tion Abul Mansur said the four were arrested in Cement Crossing area and Boro Bari Lane area while selling drugs early yesterday.

Executive Magistrate Sahadat Hos-sain sentenced Afroza and Liton to three months in prison each while Eron and Azmat were jailed for four months and two months respectively, Mansur added. l

Launch capsizes in Kirtankhola river, all 800 passengers rescuedn Our Correspondent, Barisal

A Dhaka-bound triple-decker launch with around 800 passengers on board has partially capsized after hitting the shore near Char Abdani in the Kirtank-hola River in Barisal on Friday night.

The vessel, MV Dwipraj plying on the Barisal-Dhaka route left Barisal around 8:50pm and got stuck in soft mud on the shore around 9:15pm.

The passengers were rescued by lo-cal trawlers and boats soon after the incident.

“Tra� c Inspector Aktar Hossain was sent to the spot along with BIWTA ves-sel, Agronee, to rescue the passengers,” said Abul Bashar Majumdar, deputy director (river safety and tra� c man-agement), Bangladesh Inland Water

Transport Authority (BIWTA). The launch however, could not be

salvaged till 2pm yesterday.Shahjalal Huq, joint director of BIW-

TA’s Barisal o� ce, said: “We were not able to send a salvage vessel to the spot as salvage tug Nirvik had been sent to Ghashiakhali channel and it would re-turn in two-days time.”

BIWTA may call another salvage vessel from Narayanganj base if Nir-vik’s return is delayed, he said. Talk-ing to the Dhaka Tribune, Md Riaz, the launch supervisor blamed Akhtar Hos-sain, the launch master for the mishap.

He [Akhtar] intentionally stuck the launch on the shoal as he was rebuked by o� cials of the launch company for negligence in his duty, he said.

Some passengers also blamed the

launch master for the incident. Hosenur Rahman, a passenger, said

the incident took place at a time when there was su� cient light and there was no visibility problem.

“It seemed that this was no accident, but an intentional motive to endanger the lives of hundreds of passengers,” he said. The sta� of the vessel � ed the spot soon after the incident, he added.

The launch’s engine room also dam-aged heavily in the incident.

Locals were found collecting oil on the river bed that had spilled from the vessel’s engine room.

Despite several attempts to contact the launch owners over cellphone, none could be reached for their com-ments. O� cials at the BIWTA said they will lodge a case in this connection. l

DU indoor games facility not ready in 34 years due to corruptionn DU Correspondent

Negligence and corruption of the con-cerned authority of the Dhaka Universi-ty (DU), has pushed back the construc-tion of the DU Indoor Games Building by 34 years since the ground-breaking in 1980.

The university authority allocated funds for the project three times but there is no trace of where the mon-ey had been used. There is also a case pending against the university engi-neers for being involved in corruption.

University are deprived of the facili-ties of indoor games because of the ab-sence of the building.

At present, the university uses the gymnasium where indoor games such as table tennis, basketball, volleyball, carrom and badminton are played.

On a visit to the gymnasium, it was seen that di� erent time slots were set aside for male and female students and various activities, because of the lack of space.

Tanzina Tanin, an athlete of the uni-versity expressed discontent over the present sports facilities. She said: “We face many obstacles when we need to practice for tournaments as we do not have a speci� c indoor games corridor.”

She urged the authority to resume the work and complete the construc-tion as early as possible.

Director of the Dhaka University Physical Training Centre, Mohammad Shoukot-ur-Raham acknowledged that the students were deprived of facilities.

He said that the gymnasium had to be kept open till late night putting ex-tra pressure on the sports o� cials and sta� due to the unavailability of the in-door games building.

According to university sources, the authority started the construction of an indoor sports building near the swim-ming complex in 1980 with � nancial aid from Japan International Cooper-ation Agency (JICA) where Tk6 crore was allocated at that time.

As the work progressed, allega-tions of corruption was raised against

the contractors for using low quality building material. No action was taken against the company, except for termi-nating the contract, after � nding irreg-ularities. As a result the work stopped.

In 1996, the then Vice-Chancellor Professor AK Azad Chowdhury at-tempted to resume the construction work. Tk2 crore was allotted this time but again the work got postponed for unknown reasons.

According to senior o� cials of DU engineering section, after 2001 the uni-versity did not take any further initia-tive to restart the work. On the contra-ry some university student leaders sold o� relevant construction materials.

During the last tenure of the Awami League government, Pro-VC (admin) Professor Harun-or-Rashid attempted to � nish the work. This time Golden JABL consortium was given the job.

When almost two-thirds of the work was done, allegations of corruption resurfaced. Some university o� cials were accused of taking bribes from the company. The work halted again and an investigation committee was formed.

The investigation report released in 2011 stated that the then Chief Engi-neer of the university Mohammad Amir Hossain, Deputy Chief Engineer Ghu-lam Mostafa Talukdar and an accounts o� cer were involved in the corruption.

For further investigation, the uni-versity syndicate formed a powerful committee, which submitted a report also accusing the same three persons. Later the three o� cials were sacked and a special tribunal was formed to try them.

With the tribunal yet to pass a ver-dict, the construction work of the in-door building has fallen into limbo.

When contacted, incumbent Vice-Chancellor Professor AAMS Are� n Siddique said: “The construction work has been halted as the former o� cials were involved in corruption and a case is awaiting trial.”

He hoped that the work would re-sume soon after the tribunal passed a verdict. l

Children take part in a painting competition at the Faculty of Fine Arts, marking the 100th birth anniversary of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

BNP’s women wing Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal bring out a procession at Shahebbazar in Rajshahi city yesterday protesting ban on the party rally in Gazipur AZAHAR UDDIN

50,000 pieces of yaba recoveredn UNB

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered 50,000 pieces of Yaba tablet from Shabrah area in Teknaf upazila on Friday night. Lieutenant Colonel Abu Jar Al Zahid, CO of BGB-42, said a patrol team of the BGB challenged a group of people while they were roaming in the area suspiciously around 10:30am. They managed to escape the scene leaving behind two bags. Later, they found the pills in the bags. l

On December 23, Mizan came to Dhaka after he received a call from a woman, asking him to meet her

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

NEWS IN BRIEFUnicef project spreading light of educationn Our Correspondent, Bandarban

The United Nations Fund for Children (Unicef) is spreading the light of educa-tion among children through a project in the Chittagong hill tracts.

Locals are spontaneously helping implement the project because they are � nding it quite useful.

Healthcare is also being provided to the children and their mothers under the Integrated Community Develop-ment Project.

The Unicef and the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board are jointly implementing the project para cen-tre-wise in the hill tracts.

There are 169 para centres in Nai-khangchhari upazila. Of them, there are 49 in Baishari Union, 42 in Sadar union, 41 in Ghumghum Union, 16 in Dousari Union and 21 in Sonachhari Union.

Selina Akhter, who works as a work-er under the project, hails from Holudi-

ashia village in the upazila’s Baishari union.

The project worker said she was enjoying her job under the project because “I like caring for the un-derprivileged children and teachingthem and even love to work for their mothers.”

Upazila ICDP Project Manager, who looks after the para centres, said Ruhul Amin Helali said locals were bene� ting much from this project because there were transparency and accountability in it.

Locals said it would help the dis-advantaged people in the inaccessible hill tracts if the project was expanded in the inaccessible hill tracts. It would greatly bene� t

State Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts A� airs Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing said the light of education was fast spreading in the hill tracts because the Awami League government had taken many initiatives for it. l

Multimedia classrooms yet to be popularn Our Correspondent,

Chapainawabganj

The much appreciated multimedia classrooms in schools, colleges and madrasas, aimed for promoting mod-ern method of teaching, is yet to be e� ective in Chapainawabganj district due to a myriad of reasons.

During the 2012-2013 � scal year, a total of 331 educational institutions of the district were given computers, projectors, modems and laptops to

hold multimedia classes. 202 schools, 97 madrasas and 32 colleges received these equipment. Some of the teachers of these institutions were also given trainings on how to conduct classes us-ing these multimedia devices.

However, a recent visit to schools revealed that some of the equipment are still intact in some schools while some schools had them on mere dis-play. Only few schools were holding multimedia classes but that too for one or two days in a week.

Lack of skilled manpower, inade-quate number of equipment against the number of students and an overall disinterest of teachers to use the mod-ern technology have been cited as the reasons behind the multimedia classes not being successful.

Head Master of Namoshangkarba-ti High School Aslam Kabir said: “The main obstacles to using multimedia for

classrooms is the shortage of equip-ment and manpower. We have about 1600 students studying in 19 sections. Compared to that, we have only one projector and 13 computers.”

“Moreover, we have three trained teachers, out of 28, to conduct the mul-timedia classrooms. Each teacher takes seven classes daily on an average. So it is not possible to provide multimedia classes to about 100 students of each section with such limited manpower and equipment,” he added.

Some students said the multimedia classrooms were no use to them as they could not practice the lessons later on. “Many of us do not have computers at home. So it is not possible to practice what we learn. We � nd the classes to be really boring,” said some students.

Dr Imran Hossain, principal of Shangkarbati Hefz-ul-Ulum FK Kamil Madrasa said: “Out of the 13 comput-ers, only four are working. We are not being able to repair the rest due to lack of money and manpower. Until an ICT expert is employed, such projects will not be successful.”

He urged the government to provide a proper computer lab, classrooms, mod-ern computers and trained teachers.

The same concerns were reiterated by the head masters of Noyagola High School, Charmohanpur High School, Mo-harajpur High School and many others.

They said the situation was worse in the upazila institutions. Added to the already existing issues, frequent loadshedding and slow internet speed are two major hurdles in the upazi-las. Moreover, senior teachers of the schools and madrasas are often not in-terested to use the digital technology.

When contacted, District Education O� cer Md Mokhlesur Rahman Akand said: “We are trying our best to make the project a success. It is true there is a lack of skilled manpower but we are also bolstering our monitoring mecha-nism. Such new technology will not be popular in a day.”

He further added that they had planned to train four teachers of each institutions instead of three. l

Miscreants shotin LakshmipurAn alleged terrorist was shot in an attack by miscreants at Bashikpur in Sadar upazila on Friday night.The victim was identi� ed as Riyad Hossain, member of ‘Ratan Bahini’ of the area and son of Ali Ahmed, a resident of the same area. Police said a group of miscreants opened � re on Riyad while he was gathering at a tea stall in the area at about 11:30pm, leaving him seriously injured.Informed, police rescued him and took him to Laxmipur Sadar Hos-pital under their custody. – Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur

Child marriage registrar caught red-handedA fake marriage registrar was held when he went to register a child marriage in Balir Ghat village under Sadar upazila. The detained was identi� ed as Mozaf-far Hossain,45. Sadar police station O� cer-in-Charge Zakirul Islam said the villagers caught Moza� ar when he went to the village to registry a marriage with fake book. Later, locals informed the police and the law enforcers arrested him.– Our Correspondent, Naogaon

bKash agent hackedto death An agent of bKash, mobile money transfer service provider, was hacked to death at Duari Bazar in Debidwar upazila yesterday morning. The deceased was identi� ed as Abul Kashem,26, a resident of Duari village. Parvez Sarkar, inspector (Investi-gation) of Debidwar police station, said a group of miscreants swooped on Kashem’s shop at a market at Duari Bazar in the area while he was inside the shop at about 1:30 am. They hacked Kashem indiscriminately, leaving him seriously injured. The miscre-ants also took the mobile phone and some amount of money from the shop and � ed the scene. – Our Correspondent, Comilla

BGB recovers Tk16 lakh smuggled goodsThe Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) re-covered di� erent types of smuggled goods worth Tk about Tk16 lakh in Chuadanga. Chuadanga 6 BGB Battalion Director SM Moniruzzaman said they recovered the goods, smuggled from India, from di� er-ent areas in the district from Friday night to yesterday morning.– Our Correspondent, Chuadanga

We have three trained teachers, out of 28, to conduct the multimedia classrooms. Each teacher takes seven classes daily on an average. So it is not possible to provide multimedia classes to about 100 students

Locals at Makhonerchar village in Dewanganj upazila of Jamalpur district, have long been waiting for a footbridge over the Zinziram River. Instead of waiting for the government to do the job, recently they build the Bamboo Bridge themselves DHAKA TRIBUNE

7CareerDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

Aim for success by goal setting in � ve steps

n Career Desk

What do you expect to get out of your work? What do you hope to accomplish today?

What would you like to have done by the end of this year? If you want any of these expectations and wishes to suc-ceed, you need to set yourself goals. Goal setting not only establishes focus and direction in your life, it also pro-vides you with a benchmark to deter-mine whether you are succeeding the way you want to or just wasting time.

Goal setting isn’t as simple as mak-ing a list of things you want to do. It starts with careful meditation on what it is that you want to achieve and is fol-lowed by a lot of hard work to actual-ly make it happen. Following are � ve golden rules of goal setting.

Motivate yourselfMotivation is crucial to achieving goals. When you are setting goals, make sure they are important to you and that

their achievement will give you value. When the outcome seems irrelevant to the bigger picture of your life from the get go, you will be less inclined to putting in the work required to make it happen. Goal achievement requires de-votion and commitment; in order to in-crease the chances of success you need to feel the urgency and necessity of the achievement.

A sure path to disappointment and frustration is setting yourself goals that are not related to the big priorities in your life – you are basically setting yourself up for failure because the like-lihood is that you will frequently put o� necessary work for day to day priorities.

Set SMART goalsIn order to give your goals the best chance at success, they need to be de-signed to be SMART. While there are a few di� erent versions of what SMART stands for, it is essentially what a good goal should be: speci� c, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Speci� c goals: Your goal has to be clear and well de� ned – vague goals lack in focus and direction, which is contrary to the point of goal setting. Goals need to re� ect the path you need to take, make sure you don’t end up getting lost along the way.

Measurable goals: One needs to mea-sure their goals to assess their degree of success. This is why you need to in-clude exact amounts and dates in your goals. For example: if you are planning to save more money this month, how will you know if you have achieved your goal unless you have a speci� c amount that you aim to save?

Attainable goals: If you set far-fetched unattainable goals, you will only de-moralise yourself and lose your con� -dence when you fail to achieve them. Set yourself realistic goals. However, setting goals that are easy is also not recommended. A 2006 study called New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory

suggests that ambitious goals lead to a higher level of performance than easy or general goals.

Relevant goals: Setting yourself lots of di� erent kinds of goals that have lit-tle to do with the direction you want your life and career to ultimately take will only derail you on your path. Keep your goals aligned with the direction you want to take, and you will develop focus along the way.

Time-bound goals: This is another benchmark to gauge the degree of suc-cess of your goal. Your goals should always have a deadline. Working un-der a deadline will help you develop a sense of urgency and accelerate a goal’s achievement.

Write it downPut your goals in writing – make it a tan-gible thing you see everyday instead of something in the back of your head. Write them in � rm and positive language such as “will” instead of “would like to”. A goal such as “I will meet all my dead-lines this week” is more motivating than “I will not miss deadlines this week.”

Have a planThis is a step often missed in goal set-ting – most people are prone to get-ting so obsessed with the ultimate goal that they miss planning a step by step process to achieving the goal. It’s not necessary for the small day to day goals, but it is especially important for demanding and long-term goals. If you have a step by step plan, you will be aware of your progress along the way to your ultimate goal.

Stay focusedGoal setting is an on-going process and not a onetime activity. For higher chances of success, review your goals regularly; ask yourself if you are happy with the progress and course that you are taking. The end game remains the same but the action plan to get there may have to adapt to circumstances or change entirely for de� nite chances of achieving the goal.

Goal setting entails a lot more than simply saying you want something to happen in your life. If you do not vis-ibly identify exactly what you want and understand why you want it in the � rst place, your likelihood of succeed-ing at achieving them are signi� cantly reduced. By following the � ve golden rules of goal setting you can set goals with conviction and ultimately enjoy the pleasure of knowing that you have successfully achieved what you set out to achieve. l

Using your break to further your career

n Career Desk

The lunch break is a sacred time of reprieve that many of us look forward to from the moment we

step into the o� ce. It’s a time to relax and gather momentum before the second half (often the busier half) of the day begins. The lunch hour is spent walking around the o� ce, meeting colleagues, chatting near the water cooler, yawning, stretching and with whatever time is left, eating.

In today’s increasingly fast-paced work-place, you can, with careful consideration, utilise your lunch break to work for you in furthering your career. Following are some suggestions.

HomeworkIn any line of work, you are bound to meet a number of people every day in a profes-sional capacity. Do your homework before you meet them. Research the people you hope to meet that day, or better yet, that week, be it at your o� ce, at their o� ce, or at work-related events; you will � nd that it will pay o� (a simple Google search goes a long way; looking up their LinkedIn page is always a good idea).

This way you are prepared for the meeting, and you have cues as to how to approach this particular person, how to address them, what to talk about etc. All for a successful meeting!

Follow-upNever underestimate the importance of following up; if practised properly and regularly, this single approach will put you ahead of fellow colleagues. Every time you meet a person professionally, send them an email, text message, or Facebook message within 24 hours to thank them for giving you their time, and a brief summary of all that has been discussed during the meeting and any following steps to be undertaken.

This solidi� es the working relationship, and makes sure that both parties are still

on the same page and minor details have not been overlooked.

NetworkingFailure of networking arises from the fact that people think of it as a series of epi-sodes, instead of a continuous, 24-hours-a-day-7-days-a-week thing.

Speedy success in your career comes from being needed, and not merely tolerated or accepted. The way to become somebody who is needed is by handing out important information, contacts and ideas to as many people as possible.

Utilise any free time during the lunch hour to participate in water cooler discus-sions; connect two people together you think can help each other out, and out of it, just for making introductions, you earn the goodwill of two people.

HelloA lot of people disregard how far a casual, friendly hello can take your professional career. Be it texts, emails, Facebook mes-sages (depending on what the recipient checks most often), use them to your advantage to make sure you are always on the top of people’s minds (too often, and you may become annoying). A simple hello reminds a person that you’re thinking of them and that your relationship with them means something to you. With your hello, add a line or two about something relevant (a personal goal that you’ve recently reached, important update on news that you may have unique insight on etc.)

These are suggestions that should be practised at any appropriate time for the continued success of your career. However, the lunch hour in particular is an ideal time because it is time out from work, but technically in the middle of work so you have the proper frame of mind. All of these suggestions seem very tedious, and results are not instantaneous. But as with anything else in life, you must give, and give again, before you get. l

Global certi� cation for chartered � nancial analysts

n Nakibul Hoq

Your university degree is not enough! There is a collec-tive e� ort in Bangladeshi families to ensure that their children get into one of the

more reputed universities in the coun-try. Be it a social gathering or right after your school-leaving and college-leav-ing examinations, everyone around you will make a point to remind you that enrolling into a reputed university and graduating out of that university with honours is a must for every suc-cessful individual.

While being at a renowned univer-sity de� nitely has its merits and future bene� ts, especially in case of universi-ties with famous alumnus in the soci-ety, the degree is simply not the end of the road. Rather, it is the start to greater things awaiting you in the coming days.

When complemented with an excel-lent university backing, a globally rec-ognised certi� cation like the chartered � nancial analyst programme adds a lot of value to the evaluation of the can-didates. People reviewing job applica-tions perceive these certi� cations to be an essential estimate of one’s abilities to achieve success in the future, and hence place a candidate in high pros-pects whenever they see this added quali� cation.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme is the strongest avail-able global certi� cation for young grad-uates and professionals considering a

career in � nance, especially in stock brokerage and market analysis. The curriculum is recognised worldwide, be it in Wall Street or in the Dhaka Stock Exchange, and being a CFA char-ter-holder means that your abilities in � nance can be standardised in compar-ison with the international standards.

A few weeks back I had an opportu-nity to speak to Asif Khan, the deputy head of research at BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd. As a CFA charter-holder in a highly sought-after stock broker-

age � rm, Asif emphasises on the exact same ideas: “From the students’ per-spective, I think graduates now realise that in the 21st century you really need to di� erentiate. You have to stand apart in whatever way possible. This is why people nowadays are automatically moving towards professional degrees. You will probably see more CFAs in the coming few days; more CIMAs, ACCAs as well.”

In the past few years, there has also been a huge amount of progress in

the � nancial market and the � nancial products industry of Bangladesh. This growth has been fuelled by Bangla-desh’s growing sense of globalisation in terms of trade and government regula-tion, and also the expansion of the cap-ital markets. CFAs are at the forefront in this new era, using their specialised skills and techniques to analyse stocks and � nancial performances of public limited companies.

At BRAC EPL for instance, Asif heads a research team of seven who look after

stocks, analyse them and present them to the clients. The group is composed mostly of CFAs and part-CFAs. They work as a team to continuously analyse the stock market and predict the fu-ture of stocks. With the technical skills of � nance the team provides concrete information about stocks to local and foreign clients.

The knowledge gained from appear-ing for the CFA exams is thus highly valuable in this profession. The cur-riculum for the three-tiered exams is

designed in a way such that candidates can get an in-depth insight into the world of � nance.

One of the most highly faced dilem-mas by � nance majors nowadays is the choice between MBA and the CFA pro-gramme. The merits and demerits of both the programmes are endless. But we � nd that the two paths are not simi-lar in any manner.

The CFA programme is highly tech-nical, providing you with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in the world of � nance; MBA on the other hand is more comprehensive and involves all the di� erent aspects of � nance. The latter provides an enormous oppor-tunity to explore the di� erent topics of business administration in an envi-ronment that fosters innovation and networking, while the former is a stan-dardised certi� cation that provides an accurate measure of one’s knowledge.

But when compared with the as-pects of branding, the CFA programme is always the clear winner unless you are at a well known MBA programme. The charter-holder is recognised glob-ally, and today’s Bangladeshi business-es are also becoming aware of this fact. This is why � nancial institutions now have a preference for CFAs.

Businesses today are becoming more technical than ever before. Be it � nance, marketing or operations man-agement, your core knowledge in the subject matter does hold a great deal of importance to your prospective em-ployers. Besides, the intense competi-tion of today’s corporate world means that only tried and tested professionals with acute technical skills will be able to survive. With a globally recognised degree like the CFA programme, you too can be a leading professional in the � eld of Finance. l

Nakibul Hoq is the Lead Manager, Content & Analytics for GradInsights, the career intelligence service of GradConnect. More articles and information about careers and business are available atwww.grad-insights.com

The importance of having an internationally recognised certi� cation for your skill

BIGSTOCK

BIGSTOCK

BIG

STO

CK

Sunday, December 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

Al-Shabab militant Zakariya Ahmed Ismail Hersi ‘surrenders’ n BBC

A top al-Shabab militant, Zakariya Ahmed Ismail Hersi, has given himself up, Somali o� cials say.

Mr Hersi, a leading � gure in the militant group’s intelligence wing, sur-rendered to police in the Gedo region, local media report. In June 2012, the US state department o� ered $3m (£1.9m, 2.5m euros) for information leading to his capture.

It comes three months after al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a US air strike.

A Somali intelligence o� cer, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, sug-gested Mr Hersi may have surrendered because of a dispute with al-Shabab members loyal to the former leader. l

Kiev, rebels exchange POWs trains, buses to Crimea suspendedn Reuters, Kiev

Ukraine’s government and pro-Russian separatists on Friday exchanged hun-dreds of prisoners of war while Kiev said it would suspend all train and bus service to Crimea, e� ectively creating a transportation blockade to and from the region.

The agreement to swap 150 Ukrainian servicemen for 222 rebels followed peace talks between envoys of Ukraine, Russia, the separatists and European security watchdog Organisa-tion for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Wednesday.

Ukrainian transportation chiefs said the reason for suspending train and bus service was the need to protect

passengers due to a “deteriorating” se-curity situation on the Black Sea penin-sula, annexed by Russia in March.

Crimea is controlled by Russia, but its only land link is with Ukraine and it has remained dependent on the Ukrainian mainland for most of its sup-plies, including much of its electricity and water. Ukraine already has banned sea and air tra� c with Crimea, which is still serviced by Russian airlines.

Other road transportation including passenger cars and trucks will still be allowed to travel into and out of Crimea.

State rail company Ukrzaliznytsia said cargo trains would be suspended beginning on Friday, while passenger routes would gradually cease running over the weekend and on Monday.

Prisoner Exchange“The head of the SBU (security service) reported the release of 146 Ukrainians to the President.

The SBU expects another four prisoners to be released tomorrow. They will all be able to celebrate New Year ... with their families,” Svyato-slav Tsegolko, a spokesman for Pres-ident Petro Poroshenko, said in a Facebook post.

Earlier, an SBU aide had said they would hand over 225 rebels for the Ukrainian servicemen.

It is not known exactly how many prisoners are held by the two sides, but Ukraine’s military said this month about 600 Ukrainians were in rebel hands. l

Mourners gather for slain New York policemann Reuters, New York

Police o� cers in d ress uniform and other mourners joined a somber, four-block line outside a New York City church on Friday for the wake of one of two o� cers shot by a man who said he was avenging the killing of unarmed black men by police.

Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were slain last Saturday afternoon while sit-ting in their patrol car in Brooklyn.

Singled out because of their uni-forms, their deaths have become a rallying point for police and their supporters around the country, belea-guered by months of street rallies by protesters who say police practices are marked by racism.

Stephen Davis, the police depart-ment’s chief spokesman, said Satur-day’s service may prove to be the larg-est funeral in the police department’s history, with tens of thousands of peo-ple, including US Vice President Joe Biden, expected to � ll the church and the streets outside.

Draped in the New York Police De-partment’s green, white and blue � ag, Ramos’s co� n was carried into a church in his Queens neighborhood by police o� cers as colleagues from his Brooklyn station house stood saluting.

Ramos, 40, had been on the force for two years and was raising two teen-age sons with his wife, Maritza.

“Dad, I’m forever grateful for the sacri� ces you made to provide for me and Jaden,” his son Justin said in an emotional voice during a me-morial service held after the wake, projected on a large screen in the streets outside. “He was my absolute best friend.”

Ramos’s funeral came at the end of a week during which heated rheto-ric and blame marked a city that had largely escaped some of the more vi-olent outbursts seen in six months of nationwide protests against police use of force.

In extraordinary scenes at the hos-pital where Liu and Ramos were taken on Saturday, police union leaders, an-gered by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s quali-� ed support of the protesters, said the mayor had “blood on his hands.” As the mayor arrived at the hospital, some o� cers turned their backs to him in a pointed display of disrespect.

Two days later, a visibly angered mayor chastised some journalists at a news conference for what he called “divisive” coverage, while urging ac-tivists to halt demonstrations until af-ter the police funerals. l

Russia says to supply coal, electricity to Ukrainen Reuters

Russia has agreed on a new deal to supply coal and electricity to Ukraine, which is struggling with a lack of raw fuel for power plants due to a separat-ist con� ict in the industrial east, Rus-sian o� cials said on Saturday.

The move comes a day after Kiev said it would suspend train and bus services to Crimea, e� ectively creat-ing a transportation blockade to and from the region annexed by Moscow in March this year. Kiev has brie� y cut o� electricity to Crimea before.

Russia will supply coal and electric-ity to Kiev without advance payment as a goodwill gesture from President Vladimir Putin, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency.

“Putin made a decision to start these supplies due to the critical situa-tion with energy supplies and despite a lack of prepayment,” Peskov said.

Russia plans to supply 500,000 tonnes of coal to Ukraine per month, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told Rossiya 24 television. It is ready to supply another 500,000 tonnes per month if an additional agreement is reached, he added.

Ukraine’s coal reserves stand at 1.5 million tonnes compared with normal winter stocks of 4-5 million tonnes, ac-cording to energy ministry data.

The country used to be self-suf-� cient in electricity, but months of � ghting a pro-Russian uprising has dis-rupted coal supplies to thermal power plants, which had generated around 40% of its power.

Last week Ukraine’s energy minis-ter, Voldymyr Demchyshyn, said he was holding talks with Russia’s energy ministry on coal and power supplies. Earlier attempts to import Russian coal have been hampered by supplies being held up at the border.

Supplies will come at Russian do-mestic prices, Kozak said, adding that he hoped the move would help ensure reliable energy supplies to Crimea.

He did not say whether the trans-portation hold-ups at the border had been resolved.

Russia will also supply electricity to Ukraine, Kozak said, without giving supply volumes.

Kiev’s pro-Western government has accused Russia of orchestrating the re-bellion in Ukraine’s east, a charge Mos-cow denies. l

Russia identi� es Nato as its biggest threatn AP

A new military doctrine signed by Pres-ident Vladimir Putin identi� ed Nato as Russia’s number one military threat and raised the possibility of a broader use of precision conventional weapons to deter foreign aggression.

The new doctrine was signed on Friday, and it maintains the provisions of the 2010 edition of the military doctrine regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

The doctrine, which came amid tensions over Ukraine, re� ected the Kremlin’s readiness to take a stronger posture in response to what it sees as US-led e� orts to isolate and weaken Russia.

Russia’s relations with the West have plummeted to their lowest lev-el since Cold War times, and Nato cut

o� ties to Moscow after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March.

The doctrine says Russia could em-ploy nuclear weapons in retaliation for the use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against the coun-try or its allies, and also in the case of aggression involving conventional weapons that “threatens the very exis-tence’’ of the Russian state.

For the � rst time, the new doctrine says Russia could use precision weap-ons “as part of strategic deterrent mea-sures,” the Associated Press reported.

Examples of precision convention-al weapons include ground-to-ground missiles, air- and submarine-launched cruise missiles, guided bombs and ar-tillery shells.

The document does not spell out when and how Moscow could resort to such weapons.

Nato ‘poses no threat’The doctrine places “a build-up of Nato military potential and its em-powerment with global functions implemented in violation of interna-tional law, the expansion of Nato’s military infrastructure to the Rus-sian borders’’ atop the list of military threats to Russia.

Nato spokeswoman Oana Lunges-cu responded by saying in a statement that the alliance “poses no threat to Russia or to any nation.”

“Any steps taken by Nato to ensure the security of its members are clearly defensive in nature, proportionate and in compliance with international law.

“In fact, it is Russia’s actions, in-cluding currently in Ukraine, which are breaking international law and undermining European security,” she said. l

North Korea blames US for Internet outages, calls Obama a ‘monkey’n Reuters, Seoul

North Korea called US President Barack Obama a “monkey” as it blamed Wash-ington Saturday for Internet outages that it has experienced amid a confron-tation with the United States over the hacking of the � lm studio Sony Pictures.

The National Defence Commission, the North’s ruling body, chaired by state leader Kim Jong Un, said Obama was responsible for Sony’s belated decision to release the action comedy “The Interview,” which depicts a plot to assassinate Kim.

“Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest,” an unnamed spokes-man for the commission said in a statement carried by the o� cial KCNA news agency, using a term seemingly designed to cause racial o� ence that North Korea has used before.

Sony cancelled the release of the � lm when large cinema chains refused to screen it following threats of violence from hackers, but then put it out on lim-ited release after Obama said Sony was caving in to North Korean pressure.

Obama promised retaliation against North Korea, but did not specify what form it would take.

North Korea’s main internet sites experienced intermittent disruptions

this week, including a complete outage of nearly nine hours, before links were largely restored on Tuesday.

In the statement on Saturday, the North again rejected an accusation

by the US Federal Bureau of Investi-gation that North Korea was behind the cyberattack on Sony Pictures, and demanded that United States produce evidence for its accusation. l

Swedish centre-left make deal with opposition, call o� snap voten Reuters

Sweden’s mainstream parties reached a deal on Saturday that will allow the minority centre-left government to remain in o� ce and sideline the anti-immigration Sweden Demo-crats, who hold the balance of power in parliament.

Sweden’s normally stable politics were thrown into turmoil in December when Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said he would call a snap election in March after his budget was voted down by the centre-right opposition and the Sweden Democrats.

“Sweden has a tradition of solv-ing di� cult questions,” Lofven

said. “I am happy we have reached a deal that means that Sweden can be governed.”

The deal between the centre-left Social Democrats and Green coalition and the four-party centre-right Alli-ance will mean Lofven will have to fol-low the opposition’s budget next year, although he can make some changes in spring.

The Alliance will abstain from vot-ing against the government’s budgets from spring onwards. The snap elec-tion, which had been due to take place on Mar. 22, has been cancelled.

Under the deal, which lasts until 2022, the two blocs have also agreed to coordinate policy on pensions,

defence and energy.“It means that Sweden can be gov-

erned by the parties that have the biggest support among voters,” cen-tre right Moderate Party acting leader Anna Kinberg Batra said.

Despite a tradition of minority gov-ernments, Sweden has not had a snap election since 1958, but the rise of the Sweden Democrats, re� ecting gains made by the far right across Europe in recent years, had led to parliamentary deadlock.

The party, the country’s third big-gest after September’s general elec-tion, had threatened to bring down any government that did not curb rising immigration. l

Syria says to discuss Russia peace plan talks n Reuters, Beirut/Cairo

Syria said on Saturday it is willing to participate in “preliminary consul-tations” in Moscow aimed at restart-ing peace talks next year to end its civil war.

But members of the Western-backed Syrian opposition dismissed the Rus-sian plan on Saturday, saying there was “no initiative.”

Syrian state television quoted a source at the foreign ministry saying “Syria is ready to participate in prelim-inary consultations in Moscow in order to meet the aspirations of Syrians to � nd a way out of crisis.”

Moscow, an ally of Syrian Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad, has pushed to

restart talks that collapsed in Geneva in February.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this month that he want-ed Syrian opposition groups to agree among themselves on a common ap-proach before setting up direct talks with the Damascus government.

But Lavrov did not specify which opposition groups should take part. Some opposition groups are tolerated by Damascus but shunned by the op-position in exile.

Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Tur-key-based opposition National Coali-tion, met with Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby in Cairo on Saturday and told a news conference that “there is no ini-tiative as rumoured.” l

This photo combination shows US President Barack Obama, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has compared Obama to a monkey and blamed the US for shutting down its Internet amid the hacking row over the movie ‘The Interview’ AP

Church sta� carry � owers before the funeral of slain New York City Police O� cer Rafael Ramos, one of two o� cers murdered while sitting in their patrol car in an ambush in Brooklyn last Saturday afternoon yesterday in New York City AFP

Sunday, December 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World 9

Xinhua: China to list legal places of worship, ‘root out’ illegal n Reuters, Shanghai

China is to publish online details of legal religious venues, the o� cial Xin-hua news agency reported on Saturday, apparently in an e� ort to identify un-sanctioned groups as part of an e� ort to “root out illegal religious activities.”

Names and addresses for “all Bud-dhist and Taoist venues” would be pub-lished within two years, Wang Zuoan, director of the State Administration for Religious A� airs, told a conference on Friday, according to the news agency.

Xinhua made no mention of oth-er religions but it quoted Wang as saying the information would help stop illegal religious activity in unauthorised locations.

The government’s attitude toward religion has softened signi� cantly in recent decades, and people are allowed to practice religion at sanctioned insti-tutions that are required to preach and practice loyalty to the government.

Despite the rules, unsanctioned religious movements, which the au-thorities call cults, have proliferated in recent years, and the government has grown increasingly active in trying to discourage their growth. l

Yangon votes for � rst time in 60 yearsn AFP

Residents of Myanmar’s commercial hub Yangon went to the polls today for the � rst municipal elections in six decades, with voters hoping for change as the city booms, despite knowing little about the candidates or their policies.

The election will be closely watched as a test of the country’s democratic credentials ahead of a landmark na-tionwide poll slated for November next year.

For many the ballot for the Yangon City Development Committee is the � rst chance to vote under the coun-try’s quasi-civilian government, which replaced outright military rule in 2011.

It is also a rare opportunity to have a say over the future of Myanmar’s biggest city, where residents grumble about runaway construction and soar-ing rents, worsening tra� c, poor sani-tation and weak pollution control.

“It’s very di� cult to have big expec-tations as this is the � rst YCDC election for 60 years,” Khin Maung Tun, 50, a

resident in Thaketa township told AFP. “But we came here to vote and show our spirit.”

But curbs on who can vote have en-franchised just 400,000 of the city’s several million residents, while other clauses have strictly controlled who can stand for the YCDC.

Just under 300 candidates, among them businessmen, retired civil ser-vants and activists, are competing for 115 positions on the committee — al-though the top posts will remain large-ly appointed. l

China tries to pacify Vietnam over the South China Sea disputen Reuters

Senior Chinese and Vietnamese o� -cials have agreed to settle their mar-itime disputes without resorting to “megaphone diplomacy,” the o� cial Xinhua news service said on Saturday.

The agency’s report follows a meet-ing in Hanoi on Friday between Chi-nese political advisor Yu Zhengsheng and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguy-en Tan Dung, and it comes as Beijing backs o� from aggressive attempts to

press its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

“Megaphone diplomacy can only trigger volatility in public opinion, which should be avoided by both sides,” the report quoted Yu as saying.

“The maritime issue is highly com-plicated and sensitive, which requires negotiations to manage and control di� erences,” he said.

Although major trading partners and sharing the same nominal com-mitment to communism, China and

Vietnam have a long history of distrust and con� ict, including a short war in 1978 when Chinese troops invade d Vietnam in response to Hanoi’s inva-sion of Cambodia, run at the time by the China-backed genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

Both governments, which lay claim to revolutionary credentials of resis-tance to foreign invaders, must also placate their respective nationalists demanding more aggressive defense of territory. l

PM Nawaz Sharif wants functional Nacta in anti-terror e� ortn Agencies

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sat-urday directed that the National Counter Terrorism Authority Paki-stan (Nacta) be made functional with immediate e� ect.

The prime minister chaired a meet-ing of the committee to oversee the implementation of the National Action Plan, which was worked out two days ago with the consensus of all political parties represented in parliament to

tackle terrorism and militancy.Following the premier’s directive,

an administrative meeting of the Nacta has been summoned for Wednesday. The meeting will be chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and it will review anti-terrorism measures adopted by the government.

The anti-terror body has large-ly remained dormant resulting in an absence of coordination among var-ious intelligence and law-enforce-ment agencies which is critical to

monitoring activities of extremist groups operating in di� erent parts of the country.

Nacta is an independent body an-swerable directly to the prime min-ister. Although its new chief, Hamid Ali Khan, took charge in November this year, Nacta is yet to become fully functional.

Nacta is expected to play a key role in the implementation of the NAP and which will be monitored by a commit-tee headed by the prime minister. l

Severe � ooding hits southeast Asian Agencies

Severe � ooding has killed 13 people and left at least 180,000 displaced in Malaysia and neighbouring Thailand, o� cials said.

In Malaysia, rescue teams on Satur-day were struggling to reach inundat-ed areas in the northeast as victims accused the government of being slow to provide aid and assistance after the country’s worst � ooding in decades.

Malaysians have vented their anger at Prime Minister Najib Razak after the release of photos which went viral on social media showing him playing golf with US President Barack Obama during the storms.

The number of people forced to � ee their homes climbed past 120,000 with weather forecasters warning of no re-spite for the northeastern states of Ke-lantan, Terengganu and Pahang.

The under-� re-Najib was expected to arrive in Kelantan on Saturday to lead the national � ood response after cutting short his vacation in Hawaii, his aide Tengku Sari� uddin Tengku Ahmad told the AFP news agency.

The government has allocated about $14m to manage relief centres. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin ad-mitted rescuers were facing challenges with power outages and roads being washed away by the � oods.

“I admit the situation is challenging to the rescue workers and we are try-

ing our best to make sure that the food arrives to the victims depending on the � ood situation,” he was quoted as say-ing by the Star newspaper.

Military helicopters and trucks were seen in Kota Bharu area, which is near the border with southern Thailand, but res-cue e� orts were being hampered by fast rising waters and strong currents while roads to hard-hit areas were impassable.

“The severity and scale of the � oods had taken the authorities completely by surprise as it was worse than antici-pated, overwhelming all disaster man-agement plans and preparations,” Lim Kit Siang, veteran opposition MP with the Democratic Action Party said in a statement on Saturday.

Kelantan, one of the worst-a� ected areas, is led by the opposition Pan-Ma-laysian Islamic Party (PAS) and is one of the poorest states in the country.

From the air, parts of the state capi-tal Kota Bharu resembled a vast, mud-dy lake, with row after row of rooftops peeking out of the murky waters.

Tempers � ared among people shel-tering at a crowded relief centre just outside Kota Bharu, with fears the sit-uation would worsen as it continued to rain in surrounding areas.

“I am angry with them [the gov-ernment]. We don’t care about their politics. We just want the government to do what they should do and help us,” 23-year-old Farhana Suhada, who works for a courier service, told AFP. l

UN urges Pakistan to h alt executionsn AFP

UN chief Ban Ki-moon is pressing Paki-stan to end capital punishment and re-store a moratorium on the death penal-ty the government lifted in terror cases following the Taliban school massacre in Peshawar.

Ban spoke with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday to express his condolences after the slaughter last week that left 150 people dead, includ-ing 134 children.

However, “while fully recognising the di� cult circumstances, the secre-tary general urged the government of Pakistan to stop the executions of con-victs and re-impose the moratorium on the death penalty,” Ban’s o� ce said in a statement.

Prime Minister Sharif promised that “all legal norms would be respected,” the statement added.

The prime minister ended the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cas-es, in the wake of the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history.

Pakistan plans to execute 500 mili-tants in the coming weeks.

‘Extraordinary circumstances de-mand extraordinary measure’

Pakistan, meanwhile, strongly re-acted to the UN chief’s statement say-ing the country was “cognizant of its obligations under UN Human Rights Conventions/Covenants.”

“Execution of terrorists violates no international law,” FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in a short state-ment issued in Islamabad. l

Pakistani cleric faces arrest over massacren Agencies

A Pakistani court has issued an arrest warrant for a hardline Islamic cleric who suggested the massacre of school children in the country’s worst ever terror attack was understandable.

Maulana Abdul Aziz also report-edly threatened people criticising him for leaping to the defence of the Taliban.

“Police have received the court or-der and we are trying our best to imple-ment it,” reported the AFP news agen-cy on Saturday, citing a police o� cial in the capital Islamabad.

The o� cial requested anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to media.

The arrest warrant came as Aziz, head of the Red Mosque in Islam-abad and seen as pro-Taliban, faced accusations that he was threatening civil society activists, who this week staged several demonstrations out-side the mosque, a police o� cial and a spokesman for the mosque told the AFP.

The protests were staged to de-nounce Aziz, who refused to condemn the massacre on a television talk-show.

Later Aziz told worshippers the at-tack in Peshawar, which left around 150 people dead - mainly children - was a justi� able reaction to the army’s “un-Islamic” operation against the � ghters in the North Waziristan tribal district.

“O rulers, O people in power, if you

will commit such acts, there will be a reaction,” he told worshippers in a ser-mon last week, prompting further pro-tests accusing him of being a Taliban sympathiser.

Pressure on police Ha� z Ihtesham Ahmed, a spokesman for the Red Mosque, accused civil so-ciety activists of pressurising police to register a case against Aziz.

“This case has no grounds, so we will resist any move to arrest Maulana Abdul Aziz,” Ahmed said.

Pakistan has described the bloody rampage in Peshawar as its own “mini 9/11,” calling it a game-changer in the � ght against extremism.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the assault as revenge for an ongoing military o� ensive against its strongholds in the tribal northwest.

News of the arrest warrant came as the army issued a statement saying its � ghter jets and ground forces had killed at least 39 suspected Taliban � ghters as part of an ongoing operation in a troubled tribal region near the Af-ghan border.

The statement said the airstrikes also destroyed an underground tunnel system and a large underground cache of weapons and ammunition on Friday evening in the Datta Khel area of the North Waziristan tribal region.

The army’s claims are hard to verify as journalists are barred from the region. l

Sydney New Year’s Eve: Extra 3,000 police n Agencies

An extra 3,000 police o� cers will be out on Sydney’s streets on New Year’s Eve to ensure revellers feel safe after this month’s deadly CBD siege.

NSW police Assistant Commissioner Mick Fuller said there would be more than “3,000 additional police out to ensure New Year’s Eve is a safe and family-friendly event.”

“We’ll see police in the air, on the waterways and of course, in uniform ... to make sure Sydneysiders feel ex-tremely safe coming out to enjoy New Year’s Eve.”

He said planning for New Year’s Eve so far had not been a� ected by the siege at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place earlier this month.

“We’re always looking for intelli-gence that may change the state of play, but at this stage the planning has gone ahead as it was the month before, and the month before that,” Fuller said on Saturday, adding that “nothing has changed other than the way we brief police.”

He said his message to those feel-ing worried about coming into the CBD was that “it’s safe to come into the city, police will be out in record

numbers to protect you.”Sydney lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38,

Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and 50-year-old gunman Man Haron Monis died in the siege that ended on 16 December when heavily armed po-lice stormed the Lindt cafe.

The hostage emergency came af-ter Australia’s terror threat level was raised to high in September following a string of counter terrorism raids across Sydney and Brisbane.

Fuller said police had ramped up in-telligence activities since the increased terror alert, and there was a new evac-uation plan for Sydney city this New Year’s Eve.

“I won’t discuss the information in relation to that but if there was an inci-dent we certainly have some informa-tion points and a strategy,” he said.

He said recent hoax emails outlining a potential terror threat in Sydney on NYE had been “put to bed as rubbish.”

He said there was no terror-related chatter police were aware of relating to New Year’s Eve.

Mounted police, riot squad, PolAir, tactical operations o� cers and count-er-terrorism police would all be de-ployed in Sydney on the night “to deal with anything that may arise.” l

An aerial view of � ooded streets of the National Park in Kuala Tahan, Pahang REUTERS

Pakistani soldiers patrol in Peshawar AFP

An inexcusable messWe are appalled that the four-year-old Ziad, who fell into

a narrow, uncovered well at least 600 feet deep on Saturday afternoon, could not be rescued alive after

almost a full day’s e� orts. This tragedy exposes the dire need for a close examination of our consistently sub-standard response during any crisis.

While rescue operations started within half an hour of the accident, the next several hours were wasted over many short-sighted attempts to recover the child. If the rescue team’s expectation that a frightened four-year-old would successfully hang on to a rope as it dragged him up 600 feet wasn’t unrealistic enough, that they repeatedly pursued the same method after the � rst failed attempt is indefensible.

The confusion at the scene over how best to deal with the situation, whether or not there was, in fact, a child stuck in the hole at all, and even the depth of the hole with estimates ranging from 400 to 700 feet, demonstrates how unprepared we are when it comes to handling emergencies.

There is no excuse for the lack of foresight displayed by the authorities under these circumstances, when a well-thought out and sensible plan might have saved a child’s life.

It is high time that the government seriously considers a thorough reworking of its rescue preparedness and take full-scale measures to guarantee a systematic and e� ective response to emergencies in the future.

A better partnership with KoreaWe believe that a Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Agreement (CEPA) between Bangladesh and South Korea is the kind of initiative the two nations ought to take

under serious consideration. CEPA can improve relations between the two nations, while enhancing economic cooperation via a Free Trade Agreement, investment opportunities, and other services.

Bangladesh right now gets duty-free market access in Korea under its GSP scheme. However, it has yet to reap many bene� ts due to strict rules of origin for Bangladeshi products. Under a CEPA, with more relaxed rules of origin, our traditional and non-traditional products would gain greater scope for export, and other products would gain preferential market access as well.

What is more, the regional value chain between East Asia and South Asia would be strengthened with increased opportunities for Korean investment in Bangladesh, as well as initiatives to train and send skilled migrant workers to Korea.

A Free Trade Agreement between the two nations would increase our competitiveness and gain us access to the same bene� ts enjoyed by other Southeast Asian countries. It would also attract Korean investment in the value chains that are operated between South Korea, India, China, and other ASEAN countries.

Bangladesh has a lot to learn from Korea, a nation that considers FTA, export-led industrialisation, heavyweight industry, and attracting FDI as the reasons behind its economic growth. Bangladesh is in need of new markets and new export items in order to ensure that our economic growth is sustainable. Signing a CEPA with Korea is an opportunity not to miss out on.

Khaleda now asks Hasina to watch her mouthDecember 19Nazmul Khair Does anyone know when they will stop blaming each other?

PBNo one can stop them. They have to change themselves.

CNG three-wheeler owners adamant to secure extensionDecember 17

Dr Ahsan HabibDear drivers, do not worry. The shipping min-ister is eager to help transport sector workers such as yourself. Go to him and your “illegal” wishes will be ful� lled.

Philanthropy for scienceDecember 18

RetiredBUET“It is good to see charitable organisations taking a greater interest in improving science education in our country.”

Yes, we must use private wealth more smartly. Too many wealthy people think they can salve/sooth their conscience by donating paltry sums to madrasas which are popular be-cause they provide welfare, but o� er very little education, even in Islamic studies; it’s often just mindless rote learning.

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com

www.dhakatribune.comJoin our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

There is no excuse for the lack of foresight displayed by the authorities under these circumstances

A Free Trade Agreement between the two nations would increase our competitiveness

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Long angry speech (6)4 Female swan (3)7 Nimble (5)8 Subjects of discourse (6)11 Jurisprudence (3)12 Dutch cheese (4)13 That time (4)15 Decoration (5)16 Indian title (5)20 Regrets (4)23 Storm (4)24 Devoted follower (3)25 Meal course (6)26 Constellation (5)27 Obtain (3)28 Sport (6)

DOWN1 Tribal symbol (5)2 Give life to (7)3 Direction (4)4 Heap (4)5 Dash (4)6 Fresh (3)9 Lyric poem (3)10 Cushion (3)14 Encourage (7)17 Container (3)18 Mature (3)19 Pays attention (5)20 Uncommon (4)21 Motel suite (4)22 Transmitted (4)24 Thick mist (3)

CROSSWORD

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

SUDOKU

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 16 represents I so � ll I every time the � gure 16 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appro-priate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZIndigenous houses vandalised, torched in Rangamati

December 17Abid MiahThis is utterly disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach to see how Bangladeshis are treating other Bangladeshis. Such Neanderthals. And look at the army, how narrow-minded of them to help their Bengali brothers, and not those who are the men, women, and children of Bangladesh. The army should help all and keep it neutral. This is no exception. Have we forgotten the peace treaty?

You know, now that I come to think of it, Bangladeshis are quick to judge Israelis for their crimes in the West Bank and Gaza, yet we are doing the same thing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Sickening.

Farhad FaisalNo one has the right to take the law into his/her own hand. There is no room in sovereign and civilised Bangladesh for an ethnic majority Bengali group to perpetrate violence/vandalism against an ethnic minority group. All Bangladeshis,

irrespective of what ethnic, religious, or language group we may belong to, ought to condemn such actions. The last redress for perceived wrongs lies in the rule of law and not in the law of the jungle.

It was further reported that the state authority was present at the site and had failed to act!

The government must conduct a thorough and impartial investigation immediately, and bring those responsible for the violence and vandalism, as well the allegedly inactive army patrol present there, under the due process of law. The government has both the responsibility and the power, given by law, to do so, and to prevent such occurrences in the future.

In the meantime, we Bengalis, the ethnic majority in Bangladesh, would do well to remember that the quality of a just society is measured more accurately by how well the minorities feel and � nd themselves within the majorities, rather than how the majority feels and � nds itself within the minorities.

Di� erently entrepreneur December 17

rose“Entrepreneurs who are disabled have the vision, leadership capacity, and the con� dence required.”

Disabled persons should be given more opportunities and the training to work and contribute to this society.

Abellard the Greek-Lover“ADD international has been supporting, both technically and � nancially, these emerging businesses led by disabled people.”

Now this is more like it! The ADD really is doing some good work here.

Equality is being humanDecember 17

Lisa“A man does not see anyone else as inferior, a man does not stand by and watch anyone else being humiliated, and a man stands up to injustices.”

A good piece. And the write-up reminded me of the recent short � lm by Vogue India – Boys Don’t Cry.

Zero-AgendaLet’s not beat around the bush here. There’s a lot of progress that still needs to be made in empowering women in our country.

Evil People PoliticsTrue equality is when you treat everyone around you the same way.

CHT violence has gone too farDecember 19

Renil Jumma Yes, true words.

Khin AungIt is really sad and a national disgrace in a secular

state like Bangladesh. The government has to look into this matter seriously, and protect the indige-

nous and minority Buddhist people.

‘Sex’ most searched word on Google in Bangladesh

December 19

SKYes, and we still never want to talk about it for sure.

The top 10 countries where sex is the most searched word on Google: Sri Lanka, India, Bang-ladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Papua New

Guinea, Vietnam, Pakistan, and the Solomon Islands.

Sarah-Jane Saltmarsh A disturbing � nding from the Saarc region. Perhaps

time to think about adding some form of basic sex education in the curriculum?

RAB busts a gang of currency forgers in the city

December 17aousaf

Masha’allah. RAB makes me proud.

11Op-Ed Sunday, December 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Abdullah Zobair

At last, anti-graft watch-dog Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has found corruption within its directors. Numerous

media outlets carried reports that two directors of the ACC resorted to forgery in obtaining freedom � ghter certi� cates to defer their retirement by a year, bewildering the citizens of the nation.

The commission has already lost its arms to � ght, and teeth to bite corrupt individuals in the regimes that have come since 2009, even though it was once powerful during the military-backed interim government. Now, it is gradually being turned into a signboard-holding commission, conducting investigations of opposition party men to harass them, and helping the ruling party men by providing them with clean chits.

This latest discovery within the sacred anti-corruption body signi� es the horrible spree of corruption being committed by the administration. Managing freedom � ghter certi� cates is not any mere modest crime, since forging such certi� cates is tantamount to maligning the sanctity of our free-dom � ghters.

The anti-graft body made the dis-covery while investigating its nine o� -cials, including a director general, who does have war hero certi� cates. The probe was launched on November 2 in the wake of government and media reports that some top bureaucrats had fraudulently secured freedom � ghter certi� cates.

The ACC has completed its investi-gations of its director, Golam Yahiya, while those of the eight others are still on-going. In the report submitted to the commission late last month, the probe committee recommended that the government revoke Yahiya’s certi� cate, and drop his name from the gazette.

According to the reports, when Yahiya joined the ACC, he declared that he was not a freedom � ghter. But he later secured the certi� cate without maintaining proper procedures. To evade departmental action, Yahiya resigned the very day the probe was launched. Another ACC director, Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, submitted a fake Muktijoddha Sangsad certi� cate to the commission, which bore a countersignature of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Serial numbered 49719, the certi� -cate did not bear an issue date. Sourc-es within the Ministry of Liberation War A� airs said the last certi� cate issued by the Muktijoddha Sangsad is serial numbered 47931.

Under the rules, Muktijoddha Sang-sad certi� cates must be signed by its

secretary general and countersigned by the incumbent prime minister. Interestingly, Hasina was not in the o� ce of the prime minister in 2001.

The ACC is supposed to work towards ensuring transparency and accountability of governance and development works by combating corruption without any intervention

from politics. But recent comments made by ACC acting chief Shahabud-din slammed Khaleda and Transparen-cy International Bangladesh (TIB) for speaking against the anti-graft body and he personally attacked Khaleda for “shelving corruption” during her last tenure. Earlier in February, the ACC chairmen inaugurated a number of bridges, which raised eyebrows since they also contrasted with the ACC act.

The action of the anti-graft body is seemingly a subservient body of the executive branch of the government, with the sole objective to tag pro-BNP men as corrupt. In the meantime, the ACC also made the controversial move of clearing former health minister Ru-hal Haque and AL lawmaker Aslamul Haque of amassing illegal wealth. The ACC also exonerated former commu-

nications minister Abul Hossain from the much-controversial Padma Bridge Graft Case with his 17 cohorts.

During the previous regime, the incumbent government had designed the ACC with its party men, aiming to evade any possible investigations made against them. There was an allegation that recruitments in the ACC were made in line with the govern-ment’s instruction of injecting ruling party loyalists only. The politicisation of the anti-graft body is sordid enough to sully its reputation, although its o� cials are also quite mired in corrup-tion.

The corruption revolving around freedom � ghter certi� cates in govern-ment jobs will not be suspended in the near future; rather, it is being taken further, as the certi� cate holders are subjected to undue favours, violating the principles of equality so clearly sketched out in our constitution.

The Father of the Nation Bang-abandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman struggled for nearly all his life against the quota provision in the Pakistani bureaucracy, as the quota was discrim-inatory.

The ACC should be run following the rules and regulations of the ACC Act, without any fear and favour, to combat the unchecked corruption. It is the ACC’s responsibility to provide a clean chit to that. The prime duty of the ACC is nothing but to ensure con-stitutional obligation of accountability and transparency. l

Abdullah Zobair is Executive Director, Bangladesh Initiative for Political Development.

n Hafeejul Alam

While Bangladesh was cel-ebrating the Victory Day on December 16, Pakistan

su� ered a dastardly terrorist attack in which about 140 people, mostly school-children, were killed. I have no words to express my shock at the carnage perpetrated by jihadist militants against school-children at a military-run public school in Pakistan. Being a former cadet of Pakistan mil-itary academy, Kakul, I feel the pangs even more.

It appears that Pakistan is being wiped out by its own politicians and opinionated generals with con� icting mindsets about terrorism. What a sharp contrast from what the founding father of Pakistan, MA Jinnah, envisaged and articulated on August 11, 1947, when he said: “In the course of time, Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims; not in the religious sense, because that is the per-sonal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.” Today’s Pakistan is thousands of miles away from what Mr Jinnah wanted it to be.

Terrorism in Pakistan thrives in vicious political, economic, religious, and psychological environments. It has been observed that the elites validated violence by both state and non-state actors. Obviously, before these powerful groups, the majority peace-loving people of Pakistan just become helpless.

Driven by Cold War goals, the West-ern countries, along with Pakistan, supported and glori� ed non-state violent groups � ghting in Afghanistan against the former USSR. They called their � ght a “jihad,” in stark contrast to the real meaning of the word. Thus, the perverse political strategies of these countries, rather than religion, have contributed to making terror-ism so common over there. Dumped subsequently by their state supporters, many of these rebels and their follow-ers still scout the subcontinent and beyond, searching for new causes.

Then again, the nexus between Arab charities promoting Wahabi and Sala� traditions and the extremist Islamic movements has emerged as one of the major threats to people and governments across the globe. It is reported that from Iraq, Syria, Af-

ghanistan, and Pakistan to Bangladesh and Indonesia in the east, a network of charities is funding militancy and mayhem to coerce Muslims of diverse traditions to conform to the Sala� and Wahabi traditions.

It may be worth noting that Pakistan’s military is alleged to still use many of the terrorist groups for furthering its “regional goals.” Having let the genie out, the generals are battling to simul-taneously put it back into the bottle in some places, while continuing to utilise it for other battles. The coun-tries of South Asia, and Bangladesh in particular, must be cautious about

these “regional goals.”Appeasing or arranging political

talks with the militants rarely succeed, because of their � awed ideologies, and core demands about applying their ideology countrywide to undermine democracy and modern governance. The only way to contain them is to go for mass awareness against religious bigotry and terrorism, and of course, a massive spread of modern education in schools and madrasas.

Bangladesh is still recognised in the world community as a moderate Muslim country, and rightly so, for the Muslims, the Hindus, and other communities have lived in this part of the subcontinent for centuries in peace and harmony. The extremist religious elements never got more than 5% votes in the previous national elections, and that too at the behest of the BNP. The tag “moderate Muslim country” has since started to wane fast, owing to the increasing muscle-� exing by the Islamist radicals all over the country.

It is said that there are groups among both the opposition and ruling political parties who are hell bent to appease the radical Islamists just to

gain political and material advantage. This signi� es that secular pro-liberation Bengali nationalist forces are on the verge of losing ground to those who are intent on turning the country into a haven for terrorist out� ts, as in Pakistan.

In this respect, the present govern-ment must do everything to reverse the situation by teaching the young generation the true spirit of our Lib-eration War. The sacri� ce of millions of lives for this country must not be jeopardised by a bunch of brutes who are out to destroy our country by ex-ploiting religious sentiments.

In the backdrop of such develop-ments, Bangladesh must rise to the occasion, maintain peace and harmo-ny among the populace irrespective of religious and social orientation. Bang-ladesh needs to conserve what it has achieved so far. According to interna-tional observers, Bangladesh has been one of the star performers of the global economy in the past decade.

Its GDP growth averaged 6.2% during 2003-2012. The economy has surpassed $100bn in real exchange rate terms. It is now a $320bn economy in terms of purchasing power parity. With

this rate of growth, an economy could double its GDP size every 11.6 years.

Bangladesh’s strides in the social sector is equally impressive. The life expectancy of its population has surpassed both India and Pakistan. The gender gap in Bangladesh is also fast closing. Despite all these, it is a fact that the bulk of our population is reeling under abject poverty.

Therefore, Bangladesh needs an economic agenda, not disruptive polit-ical ones. The people now desperately hope that both the government and the opposition political parties (both within the parliament and outside of it) shall refrain from committing any deeds that may plunge the country into darkness.

Let’s steer Bangladesh away from becoming a Pakistan or an Afghan-istan. Let Bangladesh continue to remain a moderate Muslim country, thanks to the great Su� saints who preached Islam in this part of the world, and taught our ancestors the true tenets of Islam: Peace, tolerance, love, and universal brotherhood. l

Hafeejul Alam is a freelancer and a former civil servant.

A moderate message

n Syeda Samara Mortada

Bangladesh Girl Summit, which was held in Dhaka on October 27, was organised by Brac in

partnership with the Ministry of Women and Children A� airs and DFID as a follow-up event to the Girl Summit held on July 21 hosted by the UK government with the partnership of Unicef.

The aim of the summit was to end child marriage and work towards achieving women’s empowerment col-lectively. One of the biggest highlights of Bangladesh Girl Summit 2014 was the pledges. Top o� cials from Bangla-desh Police Women’s Network - BPWN, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Bangla-desh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Daily Samakal, made pledges about their future actions towards ending child marriage and promoting women empowerment.

The pledges will function as a melting point to a highly crucial agenda which, although stressed upon, has hardly been addressed. One of the pro-posed solutions which came up often was ensuring that each child has a birth certi� cate with his/her real age – the idea being that this will diminish the chances of early marriage. Much work needs to be done both in the formal and informal sectors. It is up to the Bangla-desh government to ascertain that the approved policies are implemented.

At the same time, parents need to be counselled about the consequences of child marriage so that they do not think of it as a solution to all their hardships. Finally, strong legal action needs to be taken against those who continue to practice child marriage in order to set an example.

I have taken part in various discus-sions recently, where we tried to deter-mine the root cause of child marriage and what the ultimate solution might be. Here is a typical scenario in a rural setting: Boy harasses girl, then gradu-ally proceeds to threaten her. Parents feel obliged to get her married as soon as possible. Chairman of the village urges parents to get her married o� to the boy who harasses her. Girl marries boy at a very young age.

The ultimate question becomes: Is awareness raising and sensitisation to the issue of women’s empowerment going to work on these parents? Who will get them out of this overwhelming situation?

Perhaps, looking at the situation in a roundabout fashion might be a solution. One of the main ways of overcoming such problems is working

towards eliminating extreme poverty and hunger, that, consequently, is also one of the agendas in the Millennium Development Goals. This can be done through creating enough food supply and by making the rural population (where such problems are prominent) self-su� cient so that they can not only produce their own food but also create surplus, thereby earning a living in the process.

There are many organisations that work towards these goals. Brac has a large-scale program on agriculture and food security currently operating in Bangladesh, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Sudan, and Haiti.

It not only helps in the production of food but also helps farmers develop sustainable relationships with markets so that they can sell quality seeds at fair prices, conduct research to develop better varieties and practices for the agricultural sector, o� er credit support to poor farmers, and promote the use of e� cient farming techniques and proven technologies.

Using environmentally-sustainable practices, Brac is helping these countries become self-su� cient in food production and also in generating employment.

Another program titled “Targeting the Ultra-Poor” is for those who fall at the bottom of the social ladder. Despite progress in poverty-reduction and hu-man development in Bangladesh, there is still an urgent need for more e� ective safety nets and program targeted at the ultra poor, who constitute the poorest 17.5% of the population.

People in this category su� er from chronic hunger and malnutrition, have inadequate shelter, are highly prone to many types of diseases, are deprived of education, and are particularly vul-nerable to recurring natural disasters. Initiated in 2002, Brac’s challenging the frontiers of poverty-reduction targeting the ultra poor (CFPR-TUP) program is speci� cally designed to meet the needs of ultra-poor house-holds, who are too poor to access the bene� ts of micro� nance.

Eliminating child marriage is a massive task in a country like Bangla-desh, where a majority of the people go on without food for days. Creating employment and producing food are two issues that need to be dealt with beforehand in order to mitigate child marriage and work towards the em-powerment of women. l

Syeda Samara Mortada is working in the Communications Department of Brac International.

The ACC should be run following the rules and regulations of the ACC Act, without any fear and favour

Let’s steer Bangladesh away from becoming a Pakistan or an Afghanistan

But who will watch the ACC?

Tackle poverty � rst

SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

BIGSTOCK

12 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

Sport1413 Smith � reworks leave India reeling

Delwar dreams of playing for Bangladesh

14 Suarez still upbeat despite lack of goals

Did you know?Two Australian

batsmen (Smith and Warner) have

reached 1,000 Test runs in a year for the � rst time since 2009

(Clarke and Katich)

OUCH! IT HURTS!

Sheikh Jamal DC goalkeeper Mazharul Islam Hemel (R) tries to thwart an opposition header during their international friendly against Busan IPark at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Chung’s visit a beginning of great things to comen Raihan Mahmood

Korea Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu termed his arrival in Bangladesh as a “great beginning” and vowed to assist the development pro-cess of Bangladesh football.

The 52-year-old Chung was in a joyous mood during the o� cial press conference at the BFF House yesterday where he said, “I thank BFF president Kazi Salahuddin for inviting me to Ban-gladesh, this is my � rst visit here and I see many opportunities to strengthen the long relational ties between Ban-gladesh and Korea. We are very good football friends apart from being good business friends.”

He became the president of the KFA last year while he is also an Organising Committee member of the Fifa Club World Cup. Hailing from Seoul, Chung was pleased with his warm reception to Bangladesh and believes he has a lot to

learn from his BFF counterpart. “South Korea has been playing in

the World Cup football for the last eight consecutive editions and I hope Korea will continue to do so, and this is where we can share the experience of how we participate, how we prepare. We can also share the experience in the club level and national arena.

“We have discussed about sending a coach, also inviting Sheikh Jamal DC and arrange training for them, and also the possibility of bringing di� erent lev-el of Korean national team here, and we agreed to exchange our national calender and play each other, I think it’s a great be-ginning for both the countries,” informed the 52nd president to serve KFA.

Meanwhile, the BFF boss was also in a buoyant mood and said, “I am happy to sit beside the president of the Asian powerhouse who had played eight con-secutive World Cups.”

“Basically there were three topics,

I wanted a sustainable relationship, a coach for our football academy and assistance in the technical and tactical sides, you know we lag behind in those areas,” he added.

“At the moment we don’t have many things to o� er to Korea, I dream about watching Bangladesh club in the AFC Champions League and elevate the national team to the top level. The re-sult may matter today, I hope it will not matter tomorrow, as we elevate,” said Salahuddin.

Also the chairman of Korean top-� ight side Busan IPark, Chung later enjoyed his club’s 2-0 international friendly win against Sheikh Jamal DC in the evening.

The high-pro� le Korean business-man and football administrator is also running for a spot on Fifa’s powerful executive committee in a bid to help Asia increase its World Cup represen-tation and ful� ll its global potential. l

Doleshwar excel in the battle of Primes to open up title racen Reazur Rahman Rohan

Prime Doleshwar earned themselves a lifeline in the Dhaka Premier Divi-sion Cricket League as the title-chasers handed joint-table-toppers Prime Bank a seven-wicket drubbing in their Super League encounter yesterday. Legends of Rupganj on the other hand exacted sweet revenge upon Abahani by deny-ing the league leaders a solo lead.

On a day when all the three matches across the city had to be curtailed due to fog, Rupganj’s win over the Sky Blues arrived as good news for the other aspi-rant, Kalabagan Cricket Academy, who continued to live upto their “giant kill-ing” reputation by slaying Mohammed-an to bring a twist in the title race with three matches left in the season.

Tied on 20 points each, a win for either of the sides – Abahani or Prime Bank – would have seen them take a giant leap towards the title, but now, Doleshwar, who face Abahani this Tues-day, closed the point gap by two and also earned a shot at claiming top spot.

Kalabagan CA will take on Prime Bank on the same day and a continua-tion of their current form will lift them to third place.

Prime Bank v Prime Doleshwar, SBNSPaceman Delwar Hossain rattled the bankers with a magni� cent � ve-for as Doleshwar were left to chase a mere 153 in Mirpur. In reply, it was opener Rony Talukder’s 60-ball blitz that gave Prime Bank no hope of making a game out of it.

Rony clobbered seven fours and smote four sixes in his mesmerising 77 before veteran left-arm spinner Enam-ul Haque Jr cleaned him up in the 23rd over. However, the dismissal hardly changed the scenario as national skip-per Mush� qur Rahim (25*) and Dawid Malan (17*) sealed the win in the 29th over with seven wickets to spare.

Delwar, earlier, initiated the pro-ceedings in the 38-over-a-side match by removing Bank’s Soumya Sarker in the third over of the game before he re-turned in the 31st over for a devastating spell. He was miserly for his four cru-cial wickets in the space of three overs to end Bank’s hope on 153.

Abahani v Legends of Rupganj, FatullahShakib al Hasan and quickie Rubel Hos-sain bagged three wickets each to help bring Rupganj back to winning ways af-ter they beat Abahani by 76 runs. Chas-

ing a run-rate of almost six an over, Rakibul Hasan (45) and Ziaur Rahman (38) were the only notable scorers in Abahani’s 145 for nine.

Earlier, Jahurul Islam’s 93 was the pick of the Rupganj batting as the No 3’s 108-ball innings paved the way for the defending champions to post a challenging 221 for nine in 40 overs. The innings run-rate was also helped by opener Junaed Siddique’s 49-ball 42 as Shakib (18), Alok Kapali (13) and Abul Hasan (15) were the only others to reach double � gures. New-ball bowler Shuvashish Roy took four wickets and was well complimented by his partner Mosta� zur Rahman who took three.

Mohammedan v Kalabagan CA, BKSP-3Spinners Nabil Samad and Mahmudul Hasan shared seven wickets between them to help Kalabagan CA defend 200 runs in 45 overs with utmost ease. Only Naeem Islam put up a � ght with 56 runs, but with no real support from the other end, Mohammedan faltered to 137 runs with 22 balls to spare.

Naeem, earlier, picked up three wickets along with Rahatul Ferdous to restrict Kalabagan to a mediocre total despite Imtiaz Hossain’s 56 at the top.l

IPark sneak away with early strikes n Shishir Hoque

Two goals inside � ve minutes of the kick-o� cost Sheikh Jamal Dhanmon-di Club an irksome 2-0 defeat against visiting Korean top � ight club Busan IPark in their Fifa international friend-ly match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Korean mid� elder Kim Jingyu left the home crowd stunned by grabbing the lead in less than a minute before forward Yoon Dongmin doubled the visitors’ joy four minutes later to pour salt to the wound.

The home side took time to set-tle and absorb the early shock before attempting to stage a comeback. But their mis� ring e� orts did not help the cause while the cross bar and Busan goalkeeper Lee Changgeun also denied several golden chances.

Apart from the early hiccups, Sheikh Jamal dominated majority of the 90 minutes and looked to become bet-ter with every minutes passing by. A late surge in the last 10 minutes of the game saw the home side go close to scoring four times but the King’s Cup champions had to remain content with the e� orts only as they were unable to breach the organised Korean defence.

It took the visitors only 43 seconds to move ahead in the game after the Korean attackers showed a glimpse charisma of pace, passing and majestic � nishing. Defender Ku Hyun Jun cut a low cross from the left � ank for for-ward Park Yongi who � icked the ball onto the path of onrushing Kim Jingyu to slot past Jamal goalkeeper Mazharul Islam Hemel from the far post.

Forward Yoon Dongmin doubled the delight after taking control of a Ju Se Jong cross at the left edge of the box, dribbling past his marker before volley-ing the ball the second.

Sheikh Jamal piled pressure in the re-mainder of the opening half with no re-sult. They went close in the 22nd minute when star mid� elder Mamunul Islam chested down Wedson’s header to shoot from distance that went inches wide.

Five minutes later, Jamal Bhuiyan fed Wedson Anselme with a lovely lob but the Haitian forward’s powerful strike missed the target by a few yards before Gambian mid� elder Landing Darboe also squandered an opportuni-ty in the 41st minute.

Hemel was lucky to get away with a yellow card in the 52nd minute after the goalkeeper handed the ball outside the box in an attempt to clear another Korean attack.

Sheikh Jamal enjoyed their best in the last 10 mintues where they threat-ened to snatch away something from the match. Wedson started by hitting the woodwork from a 20-yard free-kick in the 84th minute before Sohel Rana delivered a cross o� the rebound only to see Jamal Bhuiyan fail to connect.

Changgeun produced a superb save in the 88th minute to deny Sohel Ra-na’s powerful strike from outside the box while Nasir squandered a great chance in the 90th minute to pull a consolation for the home side.

Changgeun made another outstand-ing save three minutes into the injury time tipping away a curled free-kick of Wedson from left side to keep his side from conceding. l

Maruf rues lack of clinical � nishersn Raihan Mahmood

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club head coach Maruful Haque yesterday ex-pressed his satisfaction with his charges’ performance against Busan IPark in the international friendly at Bangabandhu National Stadium, apart from the � rst � ve minutes when the home side shipped two goals. His coun-terpart, Yoon Sung-hyo on the other hand said although he is satis� ed with the 2-0 victory, the scoreline should have been more convincing.

Following the conclusion of the friendly, Maruf admitted that his plans of creating some early pressure back� red.

“We thought of putting all-out pressure in the opening minutes but it mis� red. They scored two goals in the span of � ve minutes. The positioning of my players were not right as the Koreans found the gaps and utilised it. Overall, they breached our backline thrice – scoring two and hitting the post once. We threatened them but lacked clinical � nishing. I needed clinical � nishers.”

Maruf also informed that his two at-tacking spearheads – Wedson Anselme and Emeka Darlington – lacked the ide-al understanding.

“I need to work more on the duo. In this match Emeka and Wedson lacked the required understanding. It (their understanding) was an eye-opener ahead of the domestic league.”

Maruf also believes that the K-League out� t and the Japan Under-21 team, who visited Dhaka two weeks ago, are almost on the same level.

“Both play in the same style and the Korean team are more convenient on the wings. They (Busan) are also e� cient in mid� eld. Busan IPark have some world-class players with quick movements and intelligence.”

Meanwhile, Yoon said he is quite elated with the outcome of the match. “We expected to score quick goals and we did that but we thought of adding more and could not do it. The team did not play as per my expec-tations.”

“Maybe the pitch appeared too hard for us. The team expected a better pitch. However, the weather was in our favour and we were not bothered by Ja-mal’s onslaughts.”

Yoon praised the opponents but thinks the Bangladesh Premier League champions require more im-provements. l

BRIEF SCORESAbahani v Legends of Rupganj

Rupganj 221/9 in 39.5 overs (max 40)Jahurul 93, Junaid 42; Shuvashish 4/42, Mosta� zur 3/51Abahani 145/9 in 34.4 oversRakibul 45; Shakib 3/25, Rubel 3/29, Mosharraf 2/27

Rupganj won by 76 runsMohammedan v Kalabagan CA

Kalabagan CA 200-allout in 43.4 overs (max 45)Imtiaz 56, Mehedi 41; Naeem 3/30, Rahatul 3/35, Rahmat 2/35Mohammedan 137-allout in 41.2 overs Naeem 56; Nabil 4/10, Mahmudul 3/21

Kalabagan CA won by 63 runsPrime Bank v Prime Doleshwar

Prime 153-allout in 35.4 overs (max 38)Delwar 5/26, Elias 3/34, Habibur 2/25Doleshwar 154/3 in 28.2 oversRony 77

Doleshwar won by 7 wickets

Legends of Rupganj batsman Abul Hasan writhes in pain after being hit on the groin during their DPL Super League match against Abahani in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BFF president Kazi Salahuddin (C) waves to the crowd in the presence of KFA supremo Chung Mong-gyu during the international friendly between Sheikh Jamal DC and Busan IPark at BNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

INT’L CLUB FRIENDLYSheikh Jamal DC 0-2 Busan IPark Kim Jingyu 1 Yoon Dongmin 5

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 13

Lankans in � ght to save 1st Test

n AFP, Christchurch

New Zealand had the scent of victory after only the second day of the � rst Test against Sri Lanka Saturday after a scintillating bowling spell forced the tourists to follow on 303 runs in arrears.

After New Zealand posted 441 in

their � rst innings at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, a four-pronged pace at-tack led by Trent Boult dismissed Sri Lanka for 138 inside 43 overs.

Sri Lanka made a more solid start to their second innings, reaching 84 with-out loss at stumps, but with three days remaining they were still 219 runs in ar-

rears and Boult believed the signs were good for New Zealand.

New Zealand had resumed the sec-ond day at 429-7 and lost their last three wickets for a cheap 12 runs in 32 balls as their innings folded for 441.

The quick end signalled that the bowlers had found how to exploit the

green-tinged surface and 13 wickets fell in two sessions after the batsmen led by New Zealand skipper Brendon McCul-lum’s 195 had dominated the � rst day.

In a pre-lunch onslaught Boult ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order starting with the removal of Dimuth Karunaratne for nought with his fourth delivery to bring up his 100th Test dismissal.

He followed with the wickets of Kaushal Silva for four and Sri Lanka dangerman Kumar Sangakarra for six.

Sangakkara was six runs short of becoming only the � fth player to reach 12,000 Test runs when he was beat-en by a late swinging Boult delivery that caught an outside edge and was snapped up by Tim Southee at third slip.

Southee split the webbing between the thumb and fore� nger of his left hand securing the catch and required � ve stitches.

Neil Wagner chimed in with the wickets of Prasanna Jayawardene, An-gelo Mathews and Tharindu Kaushal before Jimmy Neesham mopped up the tail with the wickets of Dhammika Prasad and Suranga Lakmal.

Amid the carnage, only Mathews car-ried the � ght to New Zealand as he raced from 40 to his 19th half-century with a four and six o� successive deliveries from Wagner. But his belligerence was to prove his downfall when he charged at Wagner a third time and skied a top edge to Tom Latham at third man.

In addition to Boult’s impressive � g-ures, Wagner took three for 60, South-ee two for 17 and Neesham two for 28.

In their second innings Karunaratne was not out 49 at stumps with Silva on 33, with Karunaratne receiving a life when he was dropped on 10 by substitute Cole McConchie o� Boult’s bowling.l

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Neuer cautious over Ballon d’Or prospectsGermany’s World Cup winning goal-keeper Manuel Neuer on Friday played down his prospects of securing the World Player of the Year award over holder Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “I’m certainly not favourite,” the Bayern Munich star told German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. “The other two are international ‘marques’, they’ve clearly got an advantage.” If Neuer does receive the Ballon d’Or he will be the � rst of his countrymen to do so since Lothar Matthaus in 1990 and only the second goalkeeper after Lev Yashin, of the then Soviet Union, in 1963. For Germany coach Joachim Loew, the 28-year-old would be a worthy recipient.

–AFP

Japan coach denies � xing allegationsJapan coach Javier Aguirre on Saturday denied allegations that he was part of a match-� xing scandal that has rocked world football. Prosecutors in Spain allege that Aguirre, 56, and 40 others were involved in rigging a league match that saw Real Zaragoza defeat Levante 2-1 to avoid relegation. The former Mexico coach is due to appear in a Valencia court in February following a probe into the allegations dating back to 2011, when he was manager of Real Zaragoza. “I spent 12 years with Spanish football. I have not been involved in anything that goes against ethics and professionalism,” Aguirre said through a Japanese translator at a press conference in Tokyo. “I have not received anything. I have not asked for anything,” he said, vowing to cooperate with authorities. Prosecutors allege that Zaragoza paid a total of 965,000 euros ($1.2million) into the bank accounts of certain of its coaches, sta� and players who then gave the money to Levante’s players as a “bribe”.

–AFP

Hammers rib Blues with tweetWest Ham United poked fun at Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho with a tongue-in-cheek Twitter message ahead of the teams’ Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Friday. Mourinho had accused West Ham of employing overly defensive tactics following the 0-0 draw between the sides in January, saying Sam Allardyce’s team had played “football from the 19th century”. In response, West Ham posted a sepia-coloured picture of a horse and cart on their Twitter page, accompanied by the caption: “The West Ham United team coach (and horse) has arrived at @chelseafc for today’s game #19thcenturyfootball”. Mourinho, whose side lead the table, backtracked on his comments on the eve of Friday’s game against fourth-place West Ham, saying his choice of words had been “silly”.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

Ten Cricket2:30PMSouth Africa v West Indies2nd Test, Day 3Star Sports 16:00AM (Monday)Australia v India 3rd Test, Day 4Star Sports 29:20AMRanji TrophyBengal v MumbaiTen Action12:00PM Australian A-league Wellington Phoenix v WS Wanderers Sky Bet Championship 6:00PM Nottingham Forest v Birmingham City 9:00PM Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough Star Sports 42:15PMT20 Big Bash LeagueBrisbane Heat v Melbourne StarsEnglish Premier League5:45PMTottenham v Man United8:00PMSouthampton v Chelsea10:00PMNewcastle v EvertonStar Sports HD1English Premier League9:00PMMan City v BurnleyStar Sports 2English Premier League9:00PMWest Ham v Arsenal

DAY’S WATCH

New Zealand 1st innings R B(Overnight 429-7)M. Craig not out 12 34T. Southee c Thirimanne b Mathews 0 8N. Wagner c Kaushal b Lakmal 4 8T. Boult c Jayawardene b Lakmal 0 2Extras (lb4, w2, nb7) 13Total (all out, 85.5 overs) 441

Fall of wickets1-37, 2-60, 3-88, 4-214, 5-367, 6-420, 7-429, 8-431, 9-440, 10-441BowlingLakmal 19.5-3-90-3 (2nb), Eranga 18-1-82-1, Mathews 12-2-39-3, Prasad 12-2-62-1 (2w), Kaushal 22-0-159-1 (5nb), Thirimanne 2-0-5-0Sri Lanka 1st innings R BD. Karunaratne lbw Boult 0 4K. Silva lbw Boult 4 9K. Sangakkara c Southee b Boult 6 27L. Thirimanne c Craig b Southee 24 59A. Mathews c Latham b Wagner 50 85N. Dickwella c McCullum b Southee 2 4P. Jayawardene c Williamson b Wagner 10 21D. Prasad c McCullum b Neesham 18 18T. Kaushal c Williamson b Wagner 6 6S. Eranga not out 10 17S Lakmal c McCullum b Neesham 2 7Extras (lb3, w2, nb1) 6Total (all out, 42.4 overs) 138

Fall of wickets1-0, 2-8, 3-15, 4-58, 5-60, 6-88, 7-105, 8-118, 9-128, 10-138BowlingBoult 11-4-25-3 (1w), Southee 12-4-17-2, Neesham 6.4-1-28-2 (1w), Wagner 11-0-60-3 (1nb), Craig 2-0-5-0Sri Lanka 2nd innings R BD. Karunaratne not out 49 109K. Silva not out 33 102Extras (1lb, 1nb) 2Total (0 wickets, 35 overs) 84

BowlingBoult 7-2-16-0, Southee 7-2-11-0, Wagner 11-1-37-0 (1nb), Craig 7-2-12-0, Neesham 2-1-4-0, McCullum 1-0-3-0

NZvSL, DAY 2

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum bowls during day two of their � rst Test against Sri Lanka at Hagley Park Oval in Christchurch yesterday AFP

Ajmal doubtful for World Cupn AFP, Karachi

Suspended o� -spinner Saeed Ajmal’s chances to feature for Pakistan in next year’s World Cup were further hit Sat-urday after authorities decided he needed more time to remodel his bowl-ing action.

The 37-year-old was suspended from all international cricket after his bowling action was found illegal in a bio-mechanical test in September.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier this month requested the International

Cricket Council (ICC) to have Ajmal’s action reassessed but had to delay that after his uno� cial tests revealed he still needed remodelling.

Ajmal has been remodelling his ac-tion with the help of former Pakistan o� -spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

Under the ICC rules all bowlers are allowed to � ex their elbow by 15 de-grees but Ajmal’s tests revealed his el-bow � exed by 43 degree.

Besides Ajmal Pakistan also faces race against time to get all-rounder Mo-hammad Hafeez cleared after his action

was reported as suspect last month.He was subsequently suspended

earlier this month. A PCB meeting on Saturday decided Hafeez will proceed to Chennai, India to have an uno� cial test while Ajmal will do more remodel-ling work in Lahore.

“The PCB committee discussed the future course of action to be adopted with regard to Ajmal and Hafeez and agreed that in the case of Ajmal, further remedial work should continue in col-laboration with Saqlain and a bio mech-anist in Lahore,” a PCB release said.l

Du Plessis reaches hundred before rainn AFP, Port Elizabeth

Faf du Plessis completed his fourth Test century and was dismissed imme-diately afterwards on a rain-hit second morning of the second Test between South Africa and the West Indies at St George’s Park on Saturday.

Play in Port Elizabeth delayed the start by 90 minutes and returned after six overs had been bowled in half an hour, causing lunch to be taken.

South Africa moved from their over-night 270 for two to 289 for three before the stoppage.

Du Plessis, on 99 overnight, � icked Je-rome Taylor’s � rst ball of the day for four runs to raise his century o� 229 balls.

He hit 13 fours and two sixes. But he was out to the next ball, a perfect out-swinger which found such a faint edge that umpire Paul Rei� el remained un-moved as wicketkeeper Denesh Ram-din and the bowler celebrated.l

Sweet Caroline interruption proves awkward for McIlroyn Reuters, Dublin

Rory McIlroy, the world’s number one golfer, experienced an awkward mo-ment when he went to watch Ulster take on Connacht in a rugby match on Friday.

The Ulster supporter was in the middle of a television interview with the BBC when the Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline” was played over the public address system at halftime.

McIlroy responded by smiling sheepishly, looking down at the ground

and exclaiming “Oh dear”.The Northern Irishman broke o� his

engagement to former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki in May, the same week as he won the BMW PGA Championship at Went-worth.

McIlroy went on to score a rare ti-tle hat-trick later in the season, reel-ing o� three straight victories in the British Open at Royal Liverpool, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio and the U.S. PGA Championship in Kentucky.l The six � nalists of the newcomers category of the Bay Emporium National Bodybuilding pose after they quali� ed for the � nals yesterday

National Butthan C’ship begins todayn Raihan Mahmood

The Rangers 6th National Butthan Championship comprising 150 partic-ipants starts at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium, Paltan today.

This is the � rst time that the na-tional event of Butthan will be held in Dhaka and the o� cials of the Butthan federation hopes to cash in from the occassion. “It is very unfortunate that Butthan, being the own martial art and

self defence form of the sub-continent is a forgotten aspect, we are trying to revive the tradition, we are also work-ing towards international recognition,” said MAK Yuree, the general secretary and the Super Human of Discovery Channel who broke three baseball bats with a kick.

Rangers Security and Training Ser-vices general manager Squadron Lead-er (retd) M Obaidur Rahman was also present during the programme.l

Super Human of Discovery Channel, MAK Yuree (C), speaks during the presser of the Rangers 6th National Butthan Championship yesterday COURTESY

Paceman Delwar dreams of playing for Bangladesh one day

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Riding on paceman Delwar Hossain’s � ve-wicket haul, Prime Doleshwar re-corded a seven-wicket victory over namesake Prime Bank in the Super League of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League in Mirpur yesterday. The convincing win elevated Prime Doleshwar to third in the standings with 18 points, just two behind joint table-toppers Abahani and Prime Bank.

Delwar, the star of the 13th round encounter between the two Primes, later onwards shared his thoughts on the milestone.

Do you get motivated while playing for a good side?One advantage you get while playing for a good team is that you are focused and it helps you to deal with the challenges. Surjo Torun was my � rst team in the Premier League and in my second season I played for Mohammedan. So yes, it helps when you play for a big team.

How do you keep yourself motivated?I always try to play well and I think I have been able to do that. My aim was to perform which will help the team

and also bene� t me. Everyone aims to play in the national team and I also harbour the same hopes.

Do you feel there is a healthy competition between all the pacemen now?Yes, that is a fact. Every player dreams of playing for the national side. I also dream the same as a paceman. However, my aim is to perform and attract the atten-tion of the selectors and the board (BCB).

How did the wickets behave in the Super League?There is a little bit of bounce but all are batting tracks to be honest. The change in the ball was troublesome. We started playing the league with the SG ball but later we bowled with Kookaburra. It was di� cult to generate pace with the SG ball and it used to wear o� after two or three overs which in turn helped the batsmen. Maybe the SG balls we played with did not have the cutting edge.

Did you get any assistance from the wicket today (yesterday)?It was a good track to bowl on. One of my wickets came from a speedy de-livery while the other four came from slower deliveries.l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14 Sunday, December 28, 2014

EPL FIXTURES Tottenham v Man United Southampton v Chelsea Aston Villa v Sunderland Hull City v Leicester City Man City v Burnley QPR v Crystal Palace Stoke City v West Brom West Ham v Arsenal Newcastle v Everton

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez (2L) heads to score against Queens Park Rangers during their English Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium in London on Friday REUTERS

Toure close to fourth straight African awardn AFP, Johannesburg

Ivory Coast mid� elder Yaya Toure moved closer to a record fourth con-secutive African Footballer of the Year title on Friday when he was included in a three-man shortlist.

Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Au-bameyang and Nigeria goalkeeper Vin-cent Enyeama are the other contenders for the most prestigious African foot-ball individual award.

Toure plays for reigning English Premier League champions Manches-ter City, Aubameyang for German club Borussia Dortmund and Enyeama for French out� t Lille.

The votes of the 56 national coaches in Africa decide the winner, who will be announced on January 8 in Lagos. Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o has won the award four times, but only three of his successes came in consec-utive years.

The Africa-based Footballer of the Year award rests between Entente Se-tif of Algeria team-mates El-Hedi Bel-ameiri and Akram Djahnit and Firmin Mubele from Democratic Republic of Congo side V Club.

Setif and V Club are among the club

award contenders after reaching the CAF Champions League � nal, which the Algerians won on away goals. l

Crystal Palace sack manager Warnock n Reuters, London

Premier League strugglers Crystal Pal-ace ended manager Neil Warnock’s sec-ond spell in charge on Saturday follow-ing a dismal run of one win in 12 games, the BBC reported.

A 3-1 home defeat by Southampton on Friday left Palace in the relegation zone, third from bottom on 15 points.

The London club have lost three and drawn three of their last six games, their last win coming against Liverpool on Nov. 23.

Warnock, 66, returned to Selhurst Park after Tony Pulis, who had steered

them to an 11th-place � nish against the odds last season, departed two days before the start of the current campaign.

Warnock left Palace in 2010 after they went into administration, joining Queens Park Rangers and taking them into the Premier League before being sacked eight months later, in January 2012.

The following month he was ap-pointed manager of Leeds United, only to be � red just over a year later.

Warnock has managed 13 clubs, starting in non-League football almost 35 years ago.l

Sanchez saves Arsenal as Giroud sees redn AFP, London

Alexis Sanchez helped maintain 10-man Arsenal’s Champions League push as his man-of-the-match display con-demned Queens Park Rangers to a 2-1 Premier League defeat on Friday.

The Chilean forward went from zero to hero after squandering an early pen-alty and then putting Arsenal ahead with a 37th-minute header.

Arsenal striker Oliver Giroud was sent o� for violent conduct before San-chez’s mazy run carved out a second goal for Tomas Rosicky.

Charlie Austin’s late penalty had nerves jangling at the Emirates Sta-dium, but it was too little, too late for QPR, who fell to a record-equalling ninth straight away defeat.

Giroud took exception after Nedum Onuoha pushed him from behind as he chased a through-ball and rose from the � oor to headbutt the QPR defender right in front of referee Martin Atkinson, who had no option but to send him o� . l

Suarez still upbeat despite lack of goalsn Reuters, Barcelona

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez is con� -dent his scoring form will return and he can put a slow start to his debut season in Spain behind him.

The Uruguay international plays in a three-man attack at Barca with Lio-nel Messi and Neymar and although he has not been as proli� c as he or coach Luis Enrique would like he has been contributing with assists and has made four in La Liga and one in Europe’s elite club competition.

“I am obviously a striker who likes to score a lot of goals and have done that in every team I have been with,” Suarez said on Barca’s website on Friday.

“I’m not scoring much at the mo-ment but I’m sure that with help from my team mates the goals will come,” added the 27-year-old, who made his return from a four-month ban for biting an opponent at the end of October.

“But as long as the team is winning important games as it is then I’ll be hap-py whether I score or not. A forward al-ways has to help the team, either with assists or goals. Sometimes making good assists or passes makes you feel better than scoring easy goals.”l

High-� ying United tackle Spurs threatSaints entertain table-toppers Chelsea, holders Man City up against Burnley at home, Gunners travel to West Ham n AFP

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has bemoaned the lack of time at his disposal as he attempts to nurse an injury-plagued squad through his � rst Christmas in English football.

United have just 43 hours between their 3-1 victory over Newcastle United on Boxing Day and their Sunday visit to Tottenham Hotspur, which kicks o� at lunchtime.

It is a piece of � xture scheduling that clearly has not impressed the for-mer Dutch national team manager, who said: “I can’t prepare my team like I have to prepare.

“We have unit meetings, we have team meetings, we have a training ses-sion, 11 against 11, simulating the oppo-nents. We can’t do that now. We have to

play within 48 hours.“In UEFA and in FIFA it is forbidden

to play within 48 hours, but it is En-gland, so it’s di� erent!

“I changed (Radamel) Falcao and I changed (Michael) Carrick for that reason, so we will have to wait and see how they recover because all the play-ers now have to go to recover and eat properly.

“Then your body can recover better. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, they have free time and rest because re-covery is much more important than a training session now.”

A new, if familiar, name on the Unit-ed injury list is Angel di Maria, who was meant to be in contention for the New-castle game but su� ered a pelvic injury in training on Christmas Eve that ruled him out.

Van Gaal is now awaiting tests that will reveal how long he will be without the Argentina international, but at least Unit-ed are showing no ill-e� ects on the � eld.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochet-tino eased fears over Hugo Lloris’s � tness by con� rming the France goalkeeper was unharmed after a collision with Leicester

striker Jamie Vardy.Lloris will be � t for Sunday’s home

match against Manchester United de-spite going down in an incident that brought back memories of the moment he was knocked out against Everton 13 months ago.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pel-legrini has downplayed the signi� cance of his side standing on the brink of a club-record 10-game winning run ahead of Sunday’s game against Burnley.

City’s 3-1 Boxing Day success at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League stretched their streak of victo-ries to nine in a row in all competitions, leaving them on the verge of history ahead of Burnley’ visit.

Pellegrini conceded that the statistic was news to him, but said that it was points, rather than records, that are

his primary focus as his second-placed side look to keep the pressure on lead-ers Chelsea. Jose Mourinho believes his Chelsea side have improved su� ciently in 2014 to justify their position as Premier League leaders.

A 2-0 victory over West Ham at Stam-ford Bridge on Boxing Day, courtesy of goals from John Terry and Diego Costa, kept Chelsea three points ahead of last season’s champions Manchester City.

The Blues, who � nished third last sea-son, will have their title credentials tested again against Southampton on December 28, but Mourinho is con� dent his players can rise to the occasion at St Mary’s and � nish the calendar year on top. Sunday’s trip to the south coast will see Mourinho renew his relationship with Southamp-ton manager Ronald Koeman.

The pair were colleagues at Barcelona

when Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was in charge at the Nou Camp.

Arsene Wenger admits losing Oliver Giroud once again is a body blow to Arse-nal’s Champions League push.

Giroud is facing three games out after his red card in the 2-1 Boxing Day win against QPR.

Having made a major impact since his return from ankle surgery that sidelined him for three months, Giroud’s absence is the last thing the Arsenal manager needs at this pivotal stage of the season.

Wenger might have celebrated his 400th Premier League win in charge of Arsenal but he won’t be raising a glass to Giroud.

The striker’s physicality will be missed at Upton Park, especially with the aerial bombardment West Ham put teams un-der with Andy Carroll in their ranks.l

Australia 1st innings R B(Overnight 259 for 5)C. Rogers c Dhoni b Shami 57 126D. Warner c Dhawan b Yadav 0 6S. Watson lbw b Ashwin 52 89S. Smith b Yadav 192 305S. Marsh c Dhoni b Shami 32 83J. Burns c Dhoni b Yadav 13 27B. Haddin c Dhoni b Shami 55 84M. Johnson stp Dhoni b Ashwin 28 37R. Harris lbw b Ashwin 74 88N. Lyon b Shami 11 15J. Hazlewood not out 0 0Extras (b1, lb9, w1, nb5) 16Total (all out, 142.3 overs) 530

Fall of wickets1-0, 2-115, 3-115, 4-184, 5-216, 6-326, 7-376, 8-482, 9-530, 10-530BowlingI. Sharma 32-7-104-0 (5nb), Yadav 32.3-3-130-3, Shami 29-4-138-4 (1w), Ashwin 44-9-134-3, Vijay 5-0-14-0India 1st innings R BM. Vijay not out 55 102S. Dhawan c Smith b Harris 28 51C. Pujara not out 25 69Extras 0Total (1 wicket; 37 overs) 108

Fall of wickets1-55 (Dhawan)BowlingJohnson 9-3-24-0, Harris 7-3-19-1, Hazle-wood 9-4-19-0, Watson 4-0-14-0, Lyon 8-0-32-0

AUSvIND, DAY 2

Smith � reworks leave India reelingn AFP, Melbourne

Steve Smith put Australia in command of the third Test with a memorable in-nings to leave India with a massive task to stay alive in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Melbourne on Satur-day.

Smith blasted an imperious 192 o� 305 balls with 15 fours and two sixes to spearhead Australia to a formidable 530 and then took a diving catch to have the tourists at 108 for one at the close on the second day and trailing by 422 runs.

India’s � rst task was to avoid the follow-on target of 331 while the Aus-tralians, leading the four-match series 2-0, will be pressing for victory over the � nal three days.

Murali Vijay passed � fty for the fourth time in the series and was un-beaten on 55 with Cheteshwar Pujara not out 25 after Smith swooped to take a catch low o� the ground at second slip to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan for 28 o� Ryan Harris.

It could have been better for Aus-tralia but wicketkeeper Brad Haddin dropped Pujara on 12 o� the bowling of Josh Hazlewood.

Smith dominated day two with his highest Test score and was the last wicket to fall when he went after a big shot with � elders on the boundary in pursuit of a double century.

It was his third century of the series, his � fth for the year and was replete with all his quirky shotmaking to leave India skipper M.S. Dhoni at a loss as to

how to contain him.“I feel pretty good at the crease. Ev-

erything is working for me at the mo-ment which is nice and the most pleas-ing thing is that we’ve got 530 runs on the board and that’s a very good � rst innings total for us,” Smith said.

“It was pretty fun to be honest. It was nice to be able to play a few shots there at the end and try and get the to-tal up as high as we could.”

Smith bettered his previous highest score of 162 not out in the � rst Adelaide Test by dancing down the wicket to plonk spinner Ravi Ashwin high into the stands with a mighty six.

The new skipper was aided by lusty knocks from Haddin (55), Mitchell Johnson (28) and Ryan Harris (74) as Australia took apart the Indian attack.l

Australia captain Steve Smith lofts the ball for a six as India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni watches on during the second day of their third Test at the MCG yesterday AFP

Footballer of the YearPierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB), Vin-cent Enyeama (NGR), Yaya Toure (CIV)Africa-based Footballer of the YearEl-Hedi Belameiri, Akram Djahnit (both Setif/ALG), Firmin Mubele (V Club/COD)Female footballerAnnette Ndom (CMR), Desire Oparanozie, Asisat Oshoala (both NGR)Best male/female youthFabrice Ondoa (CMR), Asisat Oshoala, Uchechi Sunday (both NGR)Most promisingVincent Aboubakar, Clinton N’jie (both CMR), Yacine Brahimi (ALG)Coach Vahid Halilhodzic (ALG), Florent Ibenge (V Club and COD), Kheireddine Madoui (Setif)National team Algeria, Libya, NigeriaFemale national team Cameroon, Nigeria, Nigeria U.20ClubAl-Ahly (EGY), Setif (ALG), V Club (COD)

CONTENDERS

RESULTArsenal 2-1 QPRSanchez 37, Rosicky 65 Austin 79-P

Film awards given n Entertainment Desk

Bangladesh Cine Journalist Associa-tion (BCJA), a reputed organisation representing the journalists who cover Bangladeshi � lm news, has an-nounced the award in � lm for the last � ve years, from 2009 to 2013.

The gala ceremony of the 38th edi-tion of the award was held yesterday at Bangladesh Film Development Corpo-ration where Hasanul Haque Inu, the in-formation minister, handed the awards over to the winners. Razzak, Kabori Sar-

war and Chashi Nazrul Islam, the three prominent � gures of Bangladeshi mov-ies, received the life-time achievement award for their contribution to cinema while � lmmaker Shahidul Islam Kha-kon received a special honorary award.

An autonomous jury board formed by the association selected the win-ners for 17 categories including best � lm, best director, best story-writer, best actor, best actress, best playback singer and best music director.

Some of the winners in di� erent categories are as follows:

Cloudy with a Chance of MeatballsHBO, 7:33pm

Inspired by the children’s book, the � lm focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

StardustHBO Hits, 9:55pm

A young man makes a promise to his beloved that he’ll retrieve a fall-en star by venturing into the mag-ical realm.

Troy WB, 9:30pm

The assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.

DHAKA TRIBUNE Entertainment Sunday, December 28, 2014 15

ExhibitionShifting SandsTime: 12pm – 8pmBengal Art Lounge60, Gulshan Avenue

FilmMeghmallar, OuijaInterstellar, Gone Girl

Ek Cup Cha, Into The StormBlockbuster CinemasJamuna Future Park

Meghmallar, Brick Man-sions, Big Hero 6 (3D)Pipra BiddaLavel 8, Star CineplexBashundhara City, Panthapath

2009Film: Priyotomeshu

Director: Morshedul Islam (Priyotomeshu)Actor: Ferdous(Ganga Jatra)

Actress: Poppy(Ganga Jatra)

2010Film: Gohiney Shabdo

Director: Khaled Mahmud Mith (Gohiney Shabdo)

Actor: Shakib Khan (Bhalobaslei Ghor Bandha Jay Na)

Actress: Moushumi (Golapi Ekhon Bilatey)

2011Film: Guerilla

Director: Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu (Guerilla)

Actor: Amin Khan (Goriber Mon Onek Boro)

Actress: Jaya Ahsan (Guerilla)

2012Film: Runway

Director: Tareque Masud (Runway)

Actor: Masud Akhando(Pita)

Actress: Bobita(Khodar Pore Maa)

2013Film: Mrittika Maya

Director: Gazi Rakayet (Mrittika Maya)

Actor: Titas Zia (Mrittika Maya)

Actress: Apu Biswas (My Name Is Khan)

Cherry Blossoms screens todayn Entertainment Desk

Every last Sunday of the month, the Goethe-Institut shows independent and experimental � lms as well as documentaries from Germany be-yond the mainstream at the Berlin Hall of the Goethe-Institut, and this month’s screening of “Kirschblüten – Hanami / Cherry Blossoms” will be held today at 6pm. Directed by Doris Dörrie, the � lm portrays Trudi An-

germeier, who learns that her hus-band Rudi is terminally ill and has a short life to live. She then decides to make a journey together with him.

But in the Baltic Sea, Trudi dies unexpectedly and Rudi � nds him-self at the end of his rope.

As he hears that his wife has giv-en up on her dreams to love him, he begins to see his dead wife di� er-ently and travels to Japan to live a new life. l

Fusion band Joler Gaan pays tribute on the occasion of Zainul Birth Centenary at the Bakultola, Charukola on Friday which will continue till December 29 KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

MILA back on screenn Entertainment Desk

After nine years, model Mila Hossain has made a comeback in the showbiz world with renewed enthusiasm.

Winner of Lux-Anandadhara 2000, Mila has been staying abroad for long and occasionally came back to visit Bangladesh.

After a year, she is back and is gearing up to shoot for the new TV play Punuschho Bhalobasha, where she will be pairing up with Abdul Nur Sajal.

The model-cum-actress will also be seen in a tele� lm named Otopor Nodi, which is expected to air in the second week of January next year.

She will co-star with well-known actor Nobel in the tele� lm.

“Once again, I am working with Nobel. The last time I worked with him was in the drama series Shesh Theke Shuru,” said Mila.

“I came to visit Bangladesh to celebrate the New Year. Apart from travelling to a number of places, it is a pleasure that I have found time to act in a few productions. I expect to perform my best in those,” she added. l

TRANSFORMERS: Age of Extinction highest-grossing � lm of 2014n Entertainment Desk

“Transformers: Age of Extinction” has been named the highest-grossing � lm of 2014, thanks largely to huge success in China.

The fourth instalment in Michael Bay’s divisive, sci-� saga took $1.087bn around the world. More than $300m came from China, where the � lm over-took “Avatar” in July to become the highest-grossing movie of all time. Bay shot “Age of Extinction” in Hong Kong and hired Chinese stars such as Li Bing-

bing for supporting roles, thereby help-ing to encourage local interest.

The second highest-grossing movie was Marvel superhero epic “Guardians of the Galaxy,” with $772m worldwide. Third spot went to Angelina Jolie fan-tasy vehicle “Male� cent,” with took $757m across the globe.

The top � ve was rounded out by two other superhero � lms, 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” with $746m, and Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” with $714m. l

ANUSHKA SHARMA: Working with Aamirwas surrealn Entertainment Desk

Fresh from the success of her recent blockbuster alongside Aamir Khan, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma says that she often had an “out-of- body-experience” working with the 49-year-old Bollywood star. “I would be sitting on the sets and Aamir would be around somewhere, and I’d prob-ably be thinking something in my own space and suddenly I would look at him and it would just hit me — it’s Aamir Khan, he was in ‘Pehla Nasha,’ he was in ‘Lagaan!’” says the 26-year-old army kid, adding that coming from a complete-ly non-� lmy -background, it’s like a surreal experience for her to be-working and hobnobbing with industry big stars.

“I’ve been here for six years but when you are not from the industry, and when you are suddenly working here, there are times when you feel like you’re having an out-of body-experience,” says the Bangalore-bred girl.

“I would have never thought 10 years ago that I would be here in my life! Or I see actor Amitabh Bachchan, or I would have never thought I would be going to his house for a Diwali party! I never thought that because I don’t come from ‘there’,” adds the actress, who is currently spending time with her boyfriend, cricketer Virat Kohli, in Melbourne.

Aamir and Anushka’s “PK” is surely blazing at the box of-� ce. The � lm is expected to stand at around Rs210 crore, there-by taking over Aamir’s previous Rajkumar Hirani � ick “3 Idiots,” Salman’s “Ek Tha Tiger” and SRK’s “Happy New Year.” l

JESSICA ALBA teaches daughters ‘real meaning’ of beautyn Entertainment Desk

Jessica Alba de� nitely exudes beauty, but teach-ing about beauty is another ball game. The famous mother of two daughters revealed that she’s taken a slightly di� erent approach than the one she grew up with when it comes to explaining the meaning of beauty to 6-year-old Honor and 3-year-old Ha-ven.

“Growing up, whenever I was bullied, my mom would say, ‘You’re a beautiful girl. They’re just jeal-ous,’” Alba, who looks gorgeous in a blue plunging jumpsuit as she covers the January-February 2015 issue of Natural Health magazine, explained. “It never helped. I want my girls to know that beauty is being kind...beauty is helping people…beauty is humility.”

The working mom has also been putting in a lot of time into The Honest Company, which she co-founded with Christopher Gavigan, Sean Kane and Brian Lee, in hopes of having something for her girls to take over in the future.

“I really am building The Honest Company for them,” she told Entertainment Tonight’s Nischelle Turner. “I’m really hoping that...The Honest Company is some place that they would like to work later, when they’re older.” l

Kabori Sarwar and Nayok Raj Razzak receive the Lifetime Achievement Award yesterday in the award ceremony at the BFDC from Minister Hasanul Haq Inu KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

Clockwise: An aerial view of Gazipur Chourasta during the BNP-led 20-party-sponsored slack hartal yesterday. Gazipur Awami League activists and leaders bring out an anti-hartal procession on the Tongi-Gazipur highway yesterday. BGB men patrolling the Gazipur-Joydebpur road during the shutdown. Bhawal Badre Alam Govt College, the declared venue for BNP’s rally, under lockdown by police who seem to be passing an idle time during the hartal RAJIB DHAR/DHAKA TRIBUNE

PAY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION

Administration should have been reformed 30 years agon Asif Showkat Kallol

The National Pay and Services Com-mission has recommended that slash-ing the number in public manpower is necessary in order to make the govern-ment fully operational.

They suggested that the government should reduce the number of sta� s and also train the remaining manpower.

Suggesting that the public adminis-tration is badly in need of reform con-sidering the international context, the commission said an “administrative re-constitution and reform commission” should be formed immediately.

The report, submitted to the � nance minister last week, says the issue should have been addressed 30 years ago. Because of the delay, there are now “intra- and inter-cadre imbalanc-es” in the public administration.

However, the commission did not recommend or suggest anything re-garding what should be done for re-habilitation in case the government

decides to implement the recommen-dation to cut down the government manpower to the right size.

Moreover, the report – a copy of which the Dhaka Tribune has accessed – does not say anything about politically sensi-tive issues such as the o� cers on special

duty (OSD). Traditionally, governments have used the OSD mechanism to pun-ish or corner bureaucrats who belong to di� erent political in� uences.

The last time the country’s admin-istration saw any kind of reform was back in 1984; it was based on a report by the then Enam Commission.

The Enam Commission had rec-

ommended that the o� cial-employee ratio in the administration should be 1:1, meaning: for every o� cial, there should not be more than one employee.

But at present, the ratio is 1:2.5, meaning that for every o� cial, there are now more than two employees on an average.

According to the Finance Division, there are currently 608,340 o� cials and 1,495,953 employees. The second count includes manpower from various development projects as well.

The report says: “In the last 30 years, the government has brought some un-planned reforms to the public adminis-tration which have created a deep crisis.”

The government created sever-al posts and put them under existing salary grades without much thought, triggering discontent, frustration and discrimination.

The report said: “The government needs to invent a new performance appraisal system for the reformation of the public administration.” l

Pakistan army kills 55 militants in fresh assault near Afghan border n AFP

At least 55 militants were killed in air-strikes and a gun battle with ground forces in Pakistan’s troubled north-west where the military launched a major o� ensive this year, o� cials said yesterday.

The army intensi� ed its o� ensive after the massacre of 150 people in a school in Peshawar this month, car-nage which Pakistan described as its own “mini 9/11” and a game-changer in the � ght against extremism.

Troops raided a militant hideout late Friday in an area adjoining the Orakzai and Khyber tribal districts – near the Afghan border – where insurgents had gathered for a meeting, the military said in a statement.

“An intense battle took place, in which 16 terrorists were killed and 20 injured,” it said.

“Fleeing terrorists left behind nine dead bodies of their accomplices,” the

statement added.Troops arrested two critically

wounded militants and four soldiers were also wounded in the battle, ac-cording to the statement.

Separately, 39 militants, including two rebel commanders, were killed in airstrikes in the north-west late Friday and an ammunition depot was also de-stroyed, according to military spokes-person Maj Gen Asim Bajwa.

It was not possible to independent-ly verify the casualties as media are banned from visiting the remote area.

In another incident, police said they arrested an important Taliban com-mander who was wanted for attacks on police and was also involved in the kill-ing of a local journalist in north-west-ern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The army has been waging a major o� ensive against long-standing Taliban and other militant strongholds in the restive tribal area s on the Afghan bor-der for the last six months.

The o� ensive gathered momentum after the December 16 attack on an army-run school in Peshawar which killed 150 people, 134 of them children.

The Pakistani military says it has killed more than 1,700 militants so far in its heavy o� ensive in the tribal zone, with 126 soldiers having lost their lives.

Peshawar conspirator killedForces have killed a Taliban command-er who allegedly facilitated the Pesha-war school massacre.

Named only as “Saddam,” the mili-tant was killed Thursday night in a gun-� ght with security forces in the restive Khyber tribal area, which borders the north-western city of Peshawar where last week’s horri� c school attack took place.

“Commander Saddam was a dread-ed terrorist, who was killed in an ex-change of � re with security forces in Jamrud town of Khyber tribal region,” top local administration o� cial Shahab

Ali Shah told a press conference in Pe-shawar.

He added that Saddam is believed to have facilitated the school attack, al-though the extent or capacity of his al-leged involvement was not yet known.

He described Saddam as an impor-tant commander in the Pakistani Tal-iban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and said he had masterminded several bomb attacks.

Saddam and his accomplices had been involved in several recent attacks on security forces that had resulted in heavy casualties, Shahab said.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has an-nounced the establishment of military courts for terror-related cases in order to accelerate trials, and he has also lift-ed a six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-re-lated cases.

O� cials said Pakistan plans to exe-cute around 500 militants in the com-ing weeks. l

Six die, 14 injuredin road accidentsin three districtsn Tribune Report

Six people were killed and 14 others in-jured in road accidents in Mymensingh, Naogaon, and Chittagong yesterday.

Our Mymensingh correspondent re-ports, three people were killed and four others injured as a bus and CNG-run auto-rickshaw collided head-on in the Dholibazar area of Phulfur in Mymens-ingh yesterday.

The victims could not identi� ed im-mediately. Police said all seven passen-gers of the auto-rickshaw were injured in the incident.

The injured were rushed to Phulpur Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared the three dead.

Our Naogaon correspondent re-ports, two people were killed and 10 others injured as bus plunged into a roadside ditch in the Porsha upazila of Naogaon.

The deceased are Toriqul Islam, 30, of the Chakpran area in the Noagaon sadar; and Seratul Islam,20 the bus driver’s assistant.

Police said the accident took place on Noaogaon-Porsha highway near the Doyar Intersection as the driver lost control of the wheel as the dense fog blocked visibility around 10am.

The injured are undergoing treat-ment at the Porsha Hospital.

Our CU Correspondent reports that an elderly man was killed in a road ac-cident on Dhaka-Chittagong highway at the Sitakunda upazila in Chittagong yes-terday. The deceased is Wahab Ali, 50.

Police said the vehicle hit the man while he was crossing the highway in the Kumira area around 1:00am.

Critically injured, Wahab was rushed to the Chittagong Medical College Hos-pital where the doctors declared him dead. l

PM talks tough against maligning Bangabandhun UNB

Issuing a stern warning, Prime Minis-ter Sheikh Hasina yesterday said those who are making disparaging remarks about Father of the Nation Bangaband-hu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will not be spared.

“People know the country’s history very well…..kulangars (black sheep) are uttering derogatory remarks about Bangabandhu. They won’t be spared. People will certainly bring them to jus-tice,” she said.

The prime minister said this while holding separate meetings with leaders of Gopalganj district, and Tungipara and Kotalipara upazila units of Awami League.

Sheikh Hasina held the meetings with the AL leaders at Bangabandhu’s house after placing wreaths and o� er-ing Fateha and munajat at the mazar of Bangabandhu here.

PM’s Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhuri briefed reporters after the meetings.

Shameem said the Prime Minis-ter enquired about the development

works of her constituency and talked to local public representatives apart from the AL leaders of di� erent levels.

Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League president, directed the grass roots leaders to hold the council of the party and its associate bodies as soon as possible.

She said organisational capacity of Awami League will have to be strength-ened further for maintaining the trend of democracy, constitution and devel-opment.

“Those who want to foil democra-cy, constitution and development will have to be resisted,” she said.

In this connection, the Prime Min-ister requested all, including Awami League leaders and activists, to remain vigilant so that the country’s ongoing development trend is not hindered.

“You’ll have to remain alert so that the anti-democratic elements who want to grab power in an unconstitu-tional way can’t create any unstable sit-uation in the country,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina also urged the grass roots leaders to maintain unity among them for strengthening the party. l

The govt needs to invent a new performance appraisal system for the reformation of the public administration

China wants follow-up actions on agreed issuesn UNB

China expects follow-up actions on the agreed important issues with Bangla-desh and mapping out commemorative activities to be held next year, said Chi-nese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

She said China also wants to extend bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, connectivity and people-to-peo-ple exchanges, and further boost Chi-na-Bangladesh relations, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Min-ister Wang Yi arrived here yesterday evening on a three-day visit to discuss the progress on the deals and MoUs signed between Bangladesh and China during Sheikh Hasina’s China visit.

The Chinese Foreign Minister has been here at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart and his visit is considered as another step towards boosting the bilat-eral ties between the two countries.

The bilateral talks between the two countries led by the two Foreign Min-isters will start at 10am at the Foreign Ministry. l

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

www.dhakatribune.com/business SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

B3 Japan in� ation slows and output slips, keep BOJ under pressure

B4 Russia forecasts economic slump as bailed-out bank gets more funds

First Dhaka apparel summit held to bag $50bn by 2021 n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh, for the � rst time, organised an apparel summit this year with a view to � nding better ways to reach $50bn export target of the sector by the year 2021.

Named as “Dhaka Ap-parel Summit-2014,” it also tried to brand Bangladesh to the global market.

On December 7, BGMEA organised the three-day event.

It outlined a road-map to meet the 2021 garment ex-port target as in that year the nation will celebrate golden jubilee of independence.

In a number of sessions,

the local and global ex-perts, economists, export-ers and buyers identi� ed key challenges. Ensuring better infrastructures, such as availability of power and gas, was found a major chal-lenge towards the target. By the year 2021, the govern-ment aims to make the coun-try a middle-income nation.

For this, the country will require having a large num-ber of skilled workers and managers, keeping politics stable, raising safety aware-ness among workers and managers and access to low cost � nance for remediation and relocation of factories for safety issue. l

450 RMG factories shut n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Since the collapse of Rana Plaza last year, which killed 1,135 workers, a total of 450 factories were shut due to com-pliance issues and relocation.

Lack of enough work orders, non-compliance with the rules, labour unrest, exit from business and factory relocation are resons for the closure of the factories. According to the BGMEA latest data, a total of 450 RMG factories were closed. Of the closed factories, 220 were the members of BGMEA, 170 belonged to BKMEA.

The rest are neither linked with the BGMEA nor the BKMEA that work on subcontract basis. The data also said

about 40 garment factories were closed due to labour unrest. At least 1.5 lakh workers, mostly women, were em-ployed in those factories.

“Most RMG units were shut due to safety issues while lack of enough work orders, shared building and la-bour unrest acted as a catalyst,” BG-MEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune.

To avert further unemployment, Azim urged the government to provide gas and electricity for the factories whose owners want to relocate them.

After Rana Plaza incident, Accord and Alliance completed inspection and found less than 2% factory risky to workers’ safety. l

Export earnings rise 14% in 11 months this year n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh’s export earning rose by 14% to $27.5bn in 11 months of the cal-ender year 2014 compared to the same period last year.

According to Export Promotion Bu-reau (EPB), Bangladesh earned $27.5bn from January to November, 2014, which was $24.17 for the same period in 2013.

Bangladesh has set $33.2bn export tar-get for the current � scal year 2014-15, up from $30.5bn in the previous � scal year when total earnings stood at $30.17bn.

“The 14% growth in 11 months is acceptable and mostly came from the � rst quarter,” said Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

“In the second quarter, the growth trend has slowed down and if we failed to retain the � rst quarter growth pace, it would be very tough to sustain the 14% growth,” said Moaazem.

It was also noticed that garment export to US market and EU countries has shown downward trend, which is a matter of concern, he said adding that this downtrend was also observed in some other sectors.

“The expected growth is not possi-ble due to conservative attitude of buy-ers towards Bangladesh over the safe-ty issues. To overcome the situation, Bangladesh has to resolve the prob-lems domestically and concentrate on the new market exploration and prod-uct diversi� cation.”

“To boost export volume, the gov-ernment has taken steps in di� erent sectors like agro-based industry, ship-building, leather and pharmaceutical,” Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mamoon said the government will provide cash incentives for non-tradi-tional products to encourage diversi� -cation of products. l

RMG owners, workers row over new wages implementation n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Apparel owners and workers have pro-vided con� icting � gures over imple-mentation of new wage structure and yearly increment in the country’s ap-parel industry.

A row over the wage implementa-tion between the two sides still contin-ues since the new wage announcement in December last year.

RMG workers’ leaders claimed that one year elapsed since the announce-ment was made, but around 30% fac-tories did not implement the wage structure.

They alleged that most garment factory owners are yet to take steps to o� er even 5% yearly increment, which is a must as per the wage board instruc-tion.

In sharp contrast, BGMEA claimed that 98% of its members have imple-mented the new wage structure and 5% yearly increment will be given as per the law.

On December 5 last year, the Mini-mum Wages Board declared the new wage structure for garment workers, � xing Tk5,300 as minimum wage with a yearly increment of 5% of their basic set as Tk3,000 for entry-level garment workers.

“We have surveyed over 100 RMG units in the capital and found that 40% of RMG owners started the process of paying increment while 60% are not paying any heed,” said Sirajul Islam Roni, president of Bangladesh Garment Workers Employees League.

In a survey over around 500 gar-ment factories in Mirpur and Kafrul in the capital and Narayanganj, it was found that over 20% of RMG units did not implement the new wage struc-ture, Rony added.

The garment workers claimed that wages for workers had been � xed at a lower grade in more than 40% factories before implementing the new wage structure.

Denying the allegation, BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune that about 98% factories implemented wages. He said the factories that did not implement wage structure are not the members of BGMEA.

“If there is any speci� c case, RMG workers can approach us and we will take action accordingly,” he added.

Following the Rana Plaza disaster, the issue of minimum wages for the workers came under spotlight while the international trade unions and rights groups pressed the authorities concerned to implement minimum wages.

The board on November 4 pro-posed Tk5,300 as minimum wage, of which Tk3,200 were recommended as basic.

As a result around 77% of the gross salary was hiked. The wages amounted to Tk5,300 that had been e� ective from December, 2013.

Though the RMG workers declined to accept the new o� er of wages, later they complied with it in prime minis-ter’s interference.

The board on November 4 proposed Tk5,300 as minimum wage, of which Tk3,200 was recommended as basic. The worker. l

2014: A year of RMG transformation n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

RMG owners have termed 2014 a trans-forming and learning year for apparel industry as the year has witnessed a lot of remedial works to turn the industri-al sector compliant to ensure workers’ rights and safety.

Following the Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed 1,135 workers, and Tazreen Fashions � re incident, people across the globe raised question about the RMG workers’ rights and safety, plus electrical and structural integrity.

Following the two deadliest inci-dents, global buyers focused on safety issues and formed Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and Al-liance for Bangladesh Worker Safety to promote safety standards in the coun-try’s RMG sector.

Accord and Alliance used to source products from those factories they completed inspection. The buyers’ platforms found less than 2% factory risky to labourers’ safety.

Garment factory owners claimed that they had done a lot of remedial works as per the recommendations of Accord and Alliance. The recommen-dations helped them transform the factories and acquire knowledge about the safety issues and requirements.

“The year 2014 was viewed as a

transformational year. It was also a challenging year for the RMG sector to revive from trouble it faced, and I think we have been able to turn around,” BG-MEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune.

There were a lot of challenges in-cluding propaganda over safety issues following the Rana Plaza disaster, said Azim.

“We have done a lot of remedial works. We have overcome a crucial time. In the past, RMG owners did not have proper knowledge about the remedies, which had been acquired through recommendations that came

after inspection of the factories by the buyers’ platforms,” Vidiya Amrit Khan, a BGMEA director, told the Dhaka Trib-une.

RMG people have to concentrate on advanced technology to boost pro-ductivity, renewable energy and green technology for sustainable develop-ment and infrastructure development to implement the upcoming big vol-ume production, added Amrit, also a director of Desh Garments Limited.

“We are very hopeful about a vi-brant RMG future since apprehensions as regards RMG have disappeared. RMG owners and the government have

to do everything in right earnest to meet the export target of $50 billion by 2021,” She added.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufactur-ers and Exporters Association (BK-MEA) former � rst vice-president Mo-hammad Hatem: “Challenges for the next year are to complete the remedial works and more concentration on new market exploration especially in China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.”

Special attention would be paid to negotiate with those potential coun-tries to ensure duty-free access of Bangladesh’s RMG products to their markets, said Hatem.

Since the world concentrates more on compliance issues, Bangladesh has to carry out the remedies as per the in-structions of Accord and Alliance, said Musta� zur Rahman, executive direc-tor, CPD.

If the remaining tasks are carried out as soon as possible, it would be an opportunity for Bangladesh and buyers would place orders, added Musta� zur.

Commenting on the RMG transfor-mation that the factory owners claim to have done, the CPD o� cial said: “It will take time to turn around but the process has started.”

To achieve the $50bn export target he urged the government and RMG fac-tory owners to focus on non-tradition-al market exploration.

Though the BGMEA claimed that it had made a lot of progress, the buyers’ platforms said a lot more still needs to be done.

The RMG sector witnessed trans-formation this year and had made a lot of progress in terms of workers’ safety but there are some challenges ahead, M Rabin, managing director of Alliance for Workers’ Safety in Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The challenges include implemen-tation of remedial works within the stipulated time frame, relocation of factories, fund management for reloca-tion of small and medium factories and the buy of genuine � re safety equip-ment as they are totally dependent on import, said Rabin.

Stressing the need for quick implementation of remedial works and relocation, he said: “If the implementation is delayed, it will hamper production.”

The Alliance managing director add-ed that gas, electricity and other utility services are mostly needed to facilitate production.

Bangladesh earned $24.49bn from RMG export in the last � scal, which is over 81% of the total export earnings and it contributes over 10% to GDP.

The ready-made garment sector has 4 million workers, of which 80 are women, mostly from rural areas. l

RMG Fact Sheet4 million workers employed80% female workers over 10% contribution to GDP3,500 active RMG units$24.49 earned in FY 2013-14Safety inspection found less than 2% RMG units riskyAccord and Alliance inspection shut 27 RMG unitsSet $50bn export target by 2021

Challenges being faced in 2014• Factory Inspection• Implementation of new

wage structure• Political unrest• Propaganda over factory

disaster• Tuba Group Crisis • Rana Plaza impact • Orders crises for shared

building factories • 450 factory closed

Challenges to be faced in 2015• Implementation of remediation• Relocation of RMG units from

shared building• Negotiation for duty free access • Introduction of production

engineering• Going to advanced technology • Lean Management • Sustainable development

through energy e� ciency • Infrastructural development to

tackle new volume of business• Uninterrupted utility service.• Exploration of non-traditional

market

Overall Export 2014RMG Export 2014Overall Export 2013

RMG Export 2013

NovOctSepAugJulJunMayAprMarFebJan

RMG AND OVERALL EXPORT TREND 2013 & 2014SOURCE: EPB

RMG export earnings grow 5% despite all odds in 2014

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Despite several challenges faced by the apparel industry, export earnings from the RMG sector rose by nearly 5% to US$22.25bn in January-November this year compared to the same period last year.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh fetched $22.25bn in 11 months of 2014, which was $21.22bn in the previous year.

The knitwear export during the pe-riod stood at $11bn with a rise of 6.723% from the previous year’s $10.4bn. Wo-ven products earned $11.15bn growing at 3.05% as the previous year’s � gure was $10.8bn, EPB data showed.

“The ready-made garment export has witnessed slow growth this year as it witnessed belated impacts of Accord

and Alliance’s inspection coupled with political unrest, but this growth was expected and realistic,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters As-sociation of Bangladesh (EAB), told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Bangladesh needs to wait two to three more years to get the robust growth as some of the factories are still facing the challenges,” said Salam, also former president of Bangladesh Gar-ment Manufacturers and Exporters As-sociation (BGMEA).

He said the next year will be a chal-lenging one as remediation work is still underway.

In 2013, Bangladesh’s RMG sector faced several accidents, including the deadliest Rana Plaza collapse, which killed over 1,135 workers, intensi� ed political violence and repeated labour

unrests. These incidents has also af-fected the sector in 2014.

According to the BGMEA, a good number of factories has faced music from the Accord and Alliance inspec-tion over non-compliance issues re-garding workers safety, causing ad-verse impact on the export earning.

After the Rana Plaza disaster, a to-tal of 220 small and medium factories faced shutdown while Accord and Alli-ance closed 29 factories following their inspection.

The RMG manufactures and export-ers, however, expected bright days for the apparel industry in the new year.

“Export earnings will start to grow in the � rst quarter of the next year, as a number of new factories will contrib-ute to the export basket from the next year,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidul-lah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune.

Azim, however, put importance on infrastructural development to cope up with the new production demand saying infrastructure de� cit, if not im-proved, might hamper the supply chain in the country, causing sluggish growth.

“Bangladesh is losing competitive-ness in the global market while our competitors are getting stronger due to the government’s extended support,” said Azim.

To be more competitive, Bangladeshi RMG sector also needs cash incentives and policy support from the govern-ment, he said. BGMEA has set an export target of $50bn by 2021 to mark the 50 years of Bangladesh Independence.

Bangladesh government has set an export target of $26.9bn from the RMG sector for the � scal year 2014-15.

As per BGMEA data, over 40 lakh workers are employed in the industry and 80% of them are women mostly from the rural area. l

B2 Stock Sunday, December 28, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

News, analysis and recent disclosuresAGM/DividendECABLES: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014. Date of AGM: 26.02.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Factory Premises of the Company, Paten-ga, Chittagong. Record Date: 05.01.2015. The Company has also reported NAV of Tk. 669.94 million, EPS of Tk. 4.95 and NOCFPS of Tk. 0.46 for the year ended on June 30, 2014.Fixed Assets/Right/Investment:ICBISLAMIC: ICB AMCL ISLAMIC Mutual Fund will be de-listed and trading of units of the fund will be discontinued with e� ect from December 29, 2014 (i.e. the next working day after record date 28 December, 2014).Credit Rating:SAIFPOWER: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has an-nounced the entity rating of the Company as BBB1 with negative outlook based on audited � nancial statements up to June 30, 2014 bank liability (December 18, 2014) and other relevant quantitative and qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.BDLAMPS: Emerging Credit Rating Lim-ited (ECRL) has assigned the surveillance rating of the Company as A- in the long

term and ECRL-2 in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited � nancials of the Company up to Decem-ber 31, 2013 and unaudited � nancials up to June 30, 2014 including other relevant qualitative information up to the date of rating.MiscellaneousDBH: The Company has informed that Cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2014 has been remitted to the respec-tive shareholders Bank Accounts through Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN) System. The dividend warrants of the NRB Shareholders and the Shareholders whose Bank details were in-complete, have been distributed through courier services.SHURWID: The Company has further informed that due to unavoidable cir-cumstances the 4th EGM and 10th AGM of the Company which was scheduled to be held on December 20, 2014, has been adjourned. The new date will be noti� ed later on.TUNGHAI: The Company will be placed in A category from existing N category with e� ect from December 22, 2014 as the Company reported disbursement of 10% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

TUNGHAI: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders BO Account on December 17, 2014.BATASHOE: The Company has informed that it has sent the interim dividend warrants for the year 2014 on December 21, 2014. The Company has also informed that the folio holders will get dividend warrants to their mailing address by Pad-ma Courier Service and the BO holders will get dividend through BEFTN to their bank account which is mentioned in their BO accounts.Conduction of IPO lottery: Ifad Autos Limited: All concerned are hereby informed that the IPO lottery program of Ifad Autos Limited will be conducted on 24 December 2014 at 10:30 am at Sem-inar Hall of the Institution of Engineers (IEB), Ramna, Dhaka.NORTHERN: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on June 30, 2014 to the respective shareholders BO Account.Zaheen Spinning Ltd.: Zaheen Spinning Ltd. has informed that the IPO subscrip-tion closing date of the Company has been changed from 4 January 2015 to 5 January 2015.

Political heat dampens investor sentiment n Tribune Report

Stock market continued to slip for the third straight session taking cue from the boiling political situation, year-end closing and adaptation to new trading system.

In the past week that ended Thurs-day, the benchmark index DSEX lost 33 points or 0.7% to end at 4,823.

The comprising blue chips DS30 index was down 6 points or 0.4% to 1,786. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, lost 6 points or 1% to 1,786.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange also lost with its Selective Categories In-dex, CSCX, was down 83 points or 0.5% to settle at 9,019.

Average daily turnover during the week was Tk224.7 crore, a very low � gure compared to that few weeks earlier.

The week witnessed four out of � ve trading sessions due to public holiday on the occasion of Christmas.

Turnover su� ered badly through the past week as the market saw lower number of participants. Con-sequently, the daily turnover hov-ered around Tk200-240 crore range in the last two consecutive weeks.

The average daily turnover val-

ue amounted to Tk220 crore in the week compared to previous week’s average value of Tk240 crore.

Among the major sectors, tele-communication and cement came out with strong gains of more than 2% respectively. jute dropped 1.7%, followed by mutual funds 1.6% and tannery 0.8%.

Food and allied declined 1.7%. Non-banking � nancial institutions and power retracted by nearly 1%. Pharmaceuticals and banks also counted losses in the past week.

The small cap ceramic sector got the most hit losing 6.7% of market cap. Small cap scrips dominated among weekly gainers as EXIM First Mutual Fund, Style Craft and Alltex rallied 11.9%, 9.1% and 7.9% respectively.

LankaBangla Seceurities said the market observed another week of bearish trading as political uncer-tainty looms over the country.

It said the institutional inactivity ahead of year-end might be the rea-son for this lacklustre participation. The week’s trading session was cut short by one day for Christmas.

IDLC Investments said ahead of the year-end, market remained weak while investors were meticu-lously re-assessing the market be-fore fresh investments.

Alongside the year-end closing, low turnover was caused by the ad-aptation to new trading software. In the political landscape, uncertainty remained high as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came up with an-nouncements of demonstration plans in the upcoming year. l

CSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Hamid Fabrics -N -14.22 -14.62 36.73 36.80 43.20 36.40 27.224 3.12 11.8Keya Cosmetics -A -13.36 -12.61 23.98 24.00 27.20 23.80 23.128 2.36 10.2Anwar Galvanizing-B -12.14 -13.41 36.92 36.90 41.90 36.80 0.463 0.84 44.0Miracle Industries -B -11.48 -9.18 16.42 16.20 18.30 16.20 0.911 0.40 41.1Sa� o Spinning-A -10.76 -8.16 31.16 30.70 35.30 30.50 0.868 1.24 25.1FarEast Knitting -N -9.89 -9.13 25.79 25.50 28.10 25.30 4.225 2.28 11.3R. N. Spinning-Z -9.67 -10.55 26.61 27.10 31.10 26.00 16.793 2.19 12.2Imam Button -Z -8.99 -8.47 8.10 8.10 8.60 8.10 0.093 -1.72 -ve7th ICB M F-A -8.98 -8.93 80.14 80.10 80.50 80.00 0.011 8.52 9.4Quasem Drycells -A -8.83 -8.05 73.74 73.30 82.50 73.00 2.679 2.24 32.9

DSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Jute SpinnersA -17.45 -16.34 54.36 54.40 70.00 53.10 0.525 -43.64 -veHamid Fabrics -N -14.62 -15.00 36.71 36.80 43.90 36.40 81.881 3.12 11.8Shampur Sugar -Z -14.04 -15.11 9.83 9.80 11.80 9.70 1.153 -52.72 -veKeya Cosmetics -A -13.67 -12.79 24.01 24.00 26.20 23.80 108.011 2.36 10.2Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z -13.54 -13.63 8.30 8.30 9.30 8.30 0.038 -47.80 -veSa� o Spinning-A -12.46 -10.61 30.68 30.20 35.00 29.80 35.837 1.24 24.7Anwar Galvanizing-B -11.56 -12.59 37.63 37.50 45.00 37.30 12.856 0.84 44.8Miracle Industries -B -11.35 -10.26 16.53 16.40 19.00 16.20 18.009 0.40 41.3R. N. Spinning-Z -9.83 -10.11 26.32 26.60 31.50 25.80 67.371 2.19 12.0GSP Finance-A -9.24 -7.09 32.74 32.40 36.30 32.00 123.120 1.59 20.6

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

HeidelbergCement -A 87,627 43.81 2.19 493.10 -1.91 502.70 510.00 485.00 499.93LafargeS Cement-Z 307,246 36.67 1.83 119.20 3.56 115.10 122.60 115.20 119.19SummitAlliancePort.-A 410,791 33.46 1.67 79.90 -5.11 84.20 85.70 79.20 79.94WesternMarine -N 583,026 31.40 1.57 52.40 -2.78 53.90 56.70 51.60 52.36Hamid Fabrics -N 700,799 27.22 1.36 36.80 -14.22 42.90 43.20 36.40 36.73BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 680,821 25.30 1.26 36.30 -4.22 37.90 38.40 36.20 36.45Keya Cosmetics -A 898,231 23.13 1.16 24.00 -13.36 27.70 27.20 23.80 23.98RAK Ceramics-A 379,098 23.09 1.15 57.10 -7.90 62.00 65.00 56.70 57.66Tung Hai Knitting -N 1,000,278 20.80 1.04 19.70 -6.64 21.10 21.80 19.60 20.05Jamuna Oil -A 95,832 19.65 0.98 203.80 -1.31 206.50 208.40 201.00 204.93SAIF Powertec-N 288,520 18.70 0.93 63.10 -7.61 68.30 71.50 62.00 63.89Agni Systems -A 552,142 18.52 0.93 33.00 0.00 33.00 34.90 31.60 32.98

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

LafargeS Cement-Z 3,193,796 382.67 4.26 119.50 3.91 115.00 122.20 115.00 119.54Olympic Ind. -A 1,534,226 356.01 3.96 228.00 -5.28 240.70 245.00 226.70 227.61Square Pharma -A 1,038,600 266.15 2.96 254.90 0.24 254.30 261.40 251.50 254.30Beximco Pharma -A 4,246,301 263.60 2.93 60.50 -3.82 62.90 63.30 59.90 60.74Grameenphone-A 696,428 248.30 2.76 360.20 2.68 350.80 360.90 350.30 359.33Agni Systems -A 7,076,482 235.49 2.62 32.70 -1.21 33.10 34.90 31.70 32.70Brac Bank -A 5,743,603 215.54 2.40 37.70 0.53 37.50 37.90 37.30 37.74SummitAlliancePort.-A 2,426,584 199.12 2.22 80.30 -4.86 84.40 85.20 79.40 80.24Tung Hai Knitting -N 8,524,555 183.22 2.04 19.90 -6.57 21.30 23.50 19.80 21.47DESCO Ltd. -A 2,600,454 176.78 1.97 67.70 3.68 65.30 69.90 65.10 67.62MJL BD Ltd.-A 1,448,437 171.25 1.91 120.20 5.07 114.40 121.70 113.60 119.26RAK Ceramics-A 2,709,588 165.84 1.85 57.10 -8.05 62.10 64.90 56.50 57.03

CSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

National Polymer -A 13.00 16.87 76.48 76.50 76.50 66.00 2.848 2.76 27.7Reliance1 M.F.-A 10.00 11.76 7.70 7.70 7.70 7.00 0.017 1.38 5.6Standard Ceramic -A 9.46 9.46 42.80 42.80 42.80 39.90 0.087 0.60 71.3AIMS First -A 9.41 9.61 27.95 27.90 28.30 26.00 3.690 4.71 5.9NCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A 8.93 8.93 6.10 6.10 6.10 6.10 0.015 0.43 14.2Emerald Oil Ind. -N 7.73 7.50 39.00 39.00 39.70 35.30 3.255 2.56 15.2Alltex Industries -Z 6.56 4.50 25.75 26.00 26.60 25.00 3.851 3.28 7.9Fu-wang Ceramic-A 5.76 6.38 14.85 14.70 16.40 14.20 8.984 0.40 37.1Kay & Que (BD) -Z 5.26 7.28 14.00 14.00 14.00 13.50 0.023 -1.41 -veBerger Paints-A 5.26 5.43 1340.00 1340.00 1340.00 1340.00 0.001 49.25 27.2

DSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

EXIM Bank 1 MF-A 11.86 11.86 6.60 6.60 6.60 6.00 0.008 0.64 10.3Stylecraft -A 9.07 17.98 1,000.00 928.30 950.00 884.90 0.014 44.98 22.2Alltex Industries -Z 7.88 5.95 25.99 26.00 26.90 24.60 20.112 3.28 7.9Emerald Oil Ind. -N 7.07 6.44 39.19 39.40 40.00 36.30 28.095 2.56 15.3EBL NRB M.F.-A 6.82 5.88 4.68 4.70 4.80 4.40 4.349 0.64 7.3Dutch Ban. Bnk- A 6.56 5.70 101.80 102.40 103.00 96.20 26.921 9.69 10.5BD Fixed Income MF-A 6.25 7.85 6.87 6.80 6.90 5.80 0.140 0.48 14.3AIMS First -A 6.11 7.22 27.91 27.80 28.60 26.20 80.313 4.71 5.9Sonargaon Tex -Z 5.61 4.85 11.25 11.30 11.60 10.50 1.106 -0.84 -veNorthern Jute -Z 5.35 5.35 315.00 315.00 364.00 315.00 0.026 1.00 315.0

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 857.41 9.69 65.30 3.18 922.71 8.46NBFI 692.70 7.83 54.93 2.67 747.63 6.86Investment 174.10 1.97 15.98 0.78 190.09 1.74Engineering 1109.71 12.54 105.25 5.12 1214.96 11.14Food & Allied 750.05 8.48 40.36 1.96 790.41 7.25Fuel & Power 1021.33 11.54 98.32 4.78 1119.66 10.27Jute 4.87 0.06 0.00 0.00 4.87 0.04Textile 848.63 9.59 123.86 6.02 972.50 8.92Pharma & Chemical 1191.12 13.46 658.79 32.04 1849.91 16.96Paper & Packaging 36.43 0.41 23.14 1.13 59.57 0.55Service 347.49 3.93 53.93 2.62 401.42 3.68Leather 37.35 0.42 23.18 1.13 60.53 0.56Ceramic 249.47 2.82 32.42 1.58 281.89 2.59Cement 344.67 3.90 89.40 4.35 434.07 3.98Information Technology 357.40 4.04 29.90 1.45 387.30 3.55General Insurance 100.47 1.14 6.16 0.30 106.63 0.98Life Insurance 129.27 1.46 5.70 0.28 134.97 1.24Telecom 273.80 3.09 569.83 27.72 843.62 7.74Travel & Leisure 86.24 0.97 17.76 0.86 104.00 0.95Miscellaneous 236.20 2.67 41.03 2.00 277.23 2.54Debenture 0.00 0.00 0.64 0.03 0.64 0.01

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4823.57214 (-) 0.68% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1786.87875 (-) 0.33% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 14825.5286 (-) 0.86% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 11999.9304 (-) 1.46% ▼

CSE Selected Index : 9012.3678 (-) 0.99% ▼

DSE key features December 21-24, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

8,986.84

Turnover (Volume)

232,174,910

Number of Contract 282,528

Traded Issues 314

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

99

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

208

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,590.07

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.39

CSE key features December 21-24, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 2,008.47

Turnover (Volume) 29,785,915

Number of Contract 50,757

Traded Issues 266

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

94

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

167

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,500.48

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.31

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

Ahead of the year-end, market remained weak while investors were meticulously re-assessing the market before fresh investments

ANALYST

Market observed another week of bearish trading as political uncertainty looms over the country

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

CORPORATE NEWS

Banglalink has recently organised Bangladesh Utshob to uphold Bangladeshi culture at a glance at Ramna Park in Shahbag, wrapping up the great year of 2014. Cultural A� airs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor inaugurated the event as chief guest among others

DHL Express Bangladesh has recently organised a training programme, 'Certi� ed International Manager Part 2' for its managers

Bay Emporium Ltd has recently re-opened its shop at 98 New Elephant Road in Dhaka. Chairperson of Bay Group, Shamsur Rahman and the company’s CEO, MA Quader have inaugurated the shop

PRAN has recently held the gala award ceremony of 15th PRAN National Pickle Competition-2014 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. State Minister of Women and Children A� airs, Meher Afroze Chumki handed over the awards at the presence of Maj Gen Amjad Khan Chowdhury (retd), CEO of PRAN-RFL Group

Japan in� ation slows and output slips, keep BOJ under pressure n Reuters. Tokyo

Japanese annual core consumer in� a-tion slowed for a fourth straight month in November due largely to sliding oil prices, highlighting the challenges the central bank faces in achieving its 2% in� ation target.

Factory output unexpectedly fell and real wages marked the steepest drop in � ve years, underscoring the fragility of the recovery and dealing a blow to premier Shinzo Abe’s stimulus policies aimed at pulling the economy out of stagnation.

The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil products, rose 2.7% in No-vember from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast, government data showed on Friday.

Stripping out the e� ects of a sales tax hike in April, core consumer in� a-tion was 0.7%, slowing from 0.9% in October and far below the Bank of Ja-pan’s 2% target.

“While the economy is recovering, falling oil prices and slowing in� ation will force the BOJ to ease policy further at some point next year,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

In a worrying sign for the cen-tral bank, in� ation-linked govern-ment bond prices JP00190083=MUFG slumped over the past several weeks as investors’ in� ation expectations hit their lowest since Haruhiko Kuroda be-came BOJ governor in March 2013.

Japan’s economy slipped into re-cession in the wake of April’s tax hike, though analysts expect growth to re-bound in the current quarter as exports and output pick up.

Factory output slid 0.6% in Novem-

ber after two straight months of gains, largely the e� ect of big-ticket items such as computer chip-making equip-ment and boilers boosting October out-

put and confounding market expecta-tions of a 0.8% rise.

In a glimmer of hope, however, man-ufacturers surveyed by the government expect output to rise 3.2% in December and increase 5.7% in January.

Economics Minister Akira Amari told reporters the drop in November was likely a temporary blip, given the sharp increase projected for coming months.

Kuroda stressed last week that Ja-pan was on track to hit the price goal, shrugging o� speculation that a recent plunge in oil prices would weigh on consumer prices and force him to ease

policy again early next year. But many analysts remain doubt-

ful that the BOJ can meet its pledge of accelerating in� ation to 2% in the next � scal year, beginning in April 2015.

Re� ecting the recovery, job avail-ability hit a 22-year high and the num-ber of part-time workers exceeded 20 million for the � rst time since relevant data became available in 1984.

But companies remained reluctant to increase wages, a bad sign for con-sumption. Household spending fell 2.5% in the year to November, against a market forecast for a 3.8% drop. l

A man puts the national � ag of Japan on street lights ahead of New year sales at Tokyo's Ginza shopping street REUTERS

'While the economy is recovering, falling oil prices and slowing in� ation will force the BOJ to ease policy further at some point next year'

China’s November industrial pro� ts su� er sharpest fall in 27 months n Reuters, Shanghai

Chinese industrial pro� ts dropped 4.2% in November to 676.12bn yuan ($108.85bn), o� cial data showed on Saturday, the biggest annual decline since August 2012 as the economy hit major unexpected headwinds in the second half.

Despite last month’s drop, pro� ts for January-November were 5.3% higher than in the � rst 11 months of 2013, ac-cording to the National Bureau of Sta-tistics (NBS) data.

The NBS attributed November’s pro� t drop to declining sales and a long-running slide in producer pricing power.

“Increasing price falls shrank the space for pro� t,” the agency said.

It said the impact of prices for coal, oil and basic materials falling to their lowest levels in years “was extremely clear”.

As the NBS analysis suggested, the net slide in industrial pro� ts was driven primarily by weakness in coal mining, and oil and gas industries, where November pro� ts tumbled from a year earlier by 44.4% and 13.2% respectively.

Upside for tech businesses Oil, coking coal and nuclear fuel pro-cessing industries saw their pro� ts slide by 34.2%, according to the data.

On the upside, Chinese technology in-dustries saw pro� ts grow sharply last month. Telecommunications � rms saw a 20.7% increase, electronics and machinery grew 15.1% and automobile manufacturers enjoyed a 16.7% gain.

“This suggests that on the one hand, in the context of weak investment de-mand, stable consumption demand provided a certain degree of support;

on the other hand, promoting industry restructuring is having a positive e� ect on e� ciency,” the NBS analysis said.

However, the unbalanced nature of the performance highlights a quandary regulators face. They want to restruc-ture the Chinese economy away from credit- and energy-intensive heavy industries toward lightweight technol-ogy products and services, yet they must also avoid causing a crisis in the � nancial system.

If Beijing allows mass closures among its sagging erstwhile industrial champions in the name of economic transformation, it also risks forcing a wave of bad loans onto bank balance sheets. That would make banks even more reluctant to lend to the next-gen-eration companies which authorities want them to support.

Economists are debating whether the monetary easing steps taken in recent months - including late No-vember’s surprise interest rate cut - can prove e� ective in a context where many companies are seeking fresh cap-ital primarily to roll over existing debt amid weak customer demand, while China’s most successful � rms remain reluctant to borrow. l

Spain PM promises economy will ‘take o� ’ in 2015 n AFP, Madrid

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy promised Friday the country’s econo-my would “take o� ” again in 2015 but opponents branded his optimism “in-decent” with many Spaniards still suf-fering from cutbacks.

After a gradual return to growth, “2014 has been the year of recovery and 2015 will be the year when our economy really takes o� ,” Rajoy told a news conference.

Spain technically exited recession in mid-2013 after � ve years of economic turbulence but the unemployment rate remains extremely high at 24%.

Rajoy attributes the recovery to tough budget cuts that he said were necessary to strengthen the public � -nances. But the measures have sparked � erce popular protests.

The new left-wing anti-austerity party Podemos has overtaken Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party in some opinion polls ahead of Spain’s next general election due in November. l

US retailers miss fewer Christmas deadlines n Reuters, San Francisco

Major US retailers missed fewer Christ-mas deliveries this year, according to two small, early surveys released on Friday, partly re� ecting a year’s worth of investments made to avoid 2013’s last-minute shipping debacle.

This year, 7% of packages ordered online did not arrive by their promised delivery date, compared with 12% in 2013, according to a survey of 160 or-ders placed by retail-intelligence � rm StellaService.

Separately, management consulting � rm Kurt Salmon said 13% of the nearly 100 e-commerce orders it surveyed did not make it in time for Christmas, down from 15% in 2013.

In 2013, some 2 million express packages were left stranded on Christ-mas Eve, according to shipment-track-ing software developer ShipMatrix Inc. The reasons given were, in part, a surge in demand triggered by last-minute on-line promotions and bad weather.

This year, retailers pushed back the cut-o� date for Christmas delivery by one day, but most were still able to hit the mark because of improve-ments to their logistics infrastructure, better weather and fewer last-minute deals.

“We saw a lot less of the 11th-hour promotions,” said Steve Osburn, direc-tor of supply chain for Kurt Salmon. “They may have extended their dead-line by about a day, but they were a lit-tle less aggressive about pushing those promotions.”

Retailers set a Christmas cut-o� delivery date between Dec.19 and Dec 20 this year, he said. The four retailers with the most aggressive cuto� date of Dec 23 - Apple Inc, Dell Inc, Nordstrom Inc and Zappos, a unit of Amazon.com Inc - all made their deadlines,

StellaService said. The better results also stemmed

from the heavy investments by United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp, the world’s two largest shipping compa-nies.

UPS allocated $500 million to ex-pand and improve its 2014 holiday operations. Both built new facilities, added more temporary workers and pushed retailers for clearer estimates and earlier deadlines to avoid last year’s missteps.

The level of communication be-tween carriers and retailers was “sig-ni� cantly higher” this year, Osburn said, pointing to a retail client who, in the run-up to Christmas, heard from one carrier two to three times a day.

But both surveys found that some retailers still fell short of their prom-ises, re� ecting the di� culty of accu-rately calculating holiday demand as e-commerce orders grow rapidly.

StellaService found nine of the top 40 retailers it tested missed delivery dates: Best Buy Co Inc, Costco Whole-sale Corp, Crate & Barrel, JC Penney Co Inc, Kohl’s Corp, Macy’s Inc, Staples Inc, Toys ‘R Us and Wayfair Inc.

Best Buy declined to comment. The other retailers were not immediately available for comment.

Both Staples and Toys ‘R Us missed deliveries in multiple regions in the United States, and in one case, Staples canceled an order without notifying the shopper, StellaService said.

Osburn found one case where a retailer fell behind on orders and at-tempted to upgrade shipping on pack-ages to make the Christmas deadline. But the volume was three to four times higher than its previous estimates, and the retailer missed the Christmas dead-line, Osburn said, declining to name the company. l

Volkswagen’s Audi to step up investments in 2015-19 on models, plants n Reuters, Berlin

Volkswagen’s � agship Audi division is to increase spending on new models, plants and technology through 2019 to push its goal of surpassing German ri-val BMW as the world’s largest luxury-car manufacturer.

Audi, which contributes 40% of oper-ating pro� t at Europe’s biggest automo-tive group, said on Saturday it will push up investment in car-making operations by 2bn euros ($2.44bn) to a record 24bn euros over the next � ve years.

Seventy percent of spending will be assigned to developing new models and technologies such as emission-cut-ting plug-in hybrid vehicles, Audi said. The brand is also working on purely electric cars to catch up with BMW and Tesla Motors.

More than half of the funds will be spent on Audi’s two German factories in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm which accounted for half the carmaker’s nine-month output of 1.34 million autos, Audi said, con� rming a Reuters story.

“We place top priority on sustain-able growth,” Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said. “That’s why we are mak-ing large investments in the innovative areas of electric mobility, connectivity and lightweight construction.” l

An employee welds the exterior of a vehicle along a production line at a factory in Qingdao, Shandong province REUTERS

'This suggests that on the one hand, in the context of weak investment demand, stable consumption demand provided a certain degree of support'

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 28, 2014

DILBERT

Russia forecasts economic slump as bailed-out bank gets more funds n Reuters, Moscow

Slumping oil prices have put Russia’s economy on course for a sharp reces-sion and double-digit in� ation next year, government ministers said on Friday, as authorities scaled up a bail-out for the � rst bank to succumb to this month’s ruble crisis.

The economy is slowing sharply as Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis deter foreign investment and spur capital � ight, and as a slump in oil prices severely reduces Russia’s export revenues and pummels the ruble.

The government has taken steps to support key banks and address the deepening currency crisis in the past week, including a sharp and unexpect-ed interest rate hike, but analysts are pessimistic on the outlook for both the economy and the ruble.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists on Friday the economy could shrink by 4% in 2015, its � rst con-traction since 2009, if oil prices aver-aged their current level of $60 a barrel.

Siluanov also said the country would run a budget de� cit of more than 3% next year if the oil price did not rise.

“Next year we will, without doubt, have to bring the Reserve Fund into play,” he said, referring to one of Rus-sia’s two rainy-day funds intended to support the economy at times of crisis.

Crude prices have almost halved from their June peak amid a global glut and a decision by producer group OPEC not to cut output. Saudi Arabia said on Friday it was prepared to withstand a prolonged period of low prices.

“We need to have our budget break even at $70 per barrel by 2017,” said Si-luanov.

Russia’s government imposed infor-mal capital controls this week, includ-ing orders to large state-controlled oil and gas exporters Gazprom and Ros-neft to sell some of their dollar rev-enues to shore up the ruble.

Russians have kept a wary eye on the exchange rate since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Hyper-in� ation wiped out their savings over several years in the early 1990s and the ruble collapsed again in 1998.

The ruble’s latest fall will inevita-bly lead to higher in� ation next year, which after years of stability threatens President Vladimir Putin’s reputation for ensuring Russia’s prosperity.

“The in� ation forecast is tough, high. We forecast the level of 10% at the end of the year (2015),” Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Friday.

In� ation would remain in double digits throughout 2015, peaking at the end of the � rst quarter or in the second quarter, he added.

Rouble trouble The Russian currency slipped on Friday after hitting its strongest levels in more than three weeks earlier in the day.

The ruble traded at 53.9 per dollar during the evening, a sharp rebound from its recent all-time lows of 80 but still far weaker than the 30-35 range it

was trading at in the � rst half of 2014. “If oil goes down to $50 (per barrel) ... I

don’t think our authorities will be able to arti� cially maintain the (ruble) rate even with higher sales by exporters,” said the head of treasury at a major Russian bank, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to media.

On Friday, Russian authorities also signi� cantly scaled up rescue funds for Trust Bank, saying they would provide up to $2.4bn in loans to bail out the mid-sized lender, the � rst bank to fall victim to the crisis.

The falling ruble has prompted pan-ic buying of foreign currency in Russia and a spike in deposit withdrawals, heaping pressure on a vulnerable bank-

ing sector whose access to interna-tional capital markets has already been restricted by Western sanctions.

Siluanov said on Friday that authori-ties would provide additional capital to the country’s second-largest bank, VTB, and fellow state lender Gazprombank.

VTB could receive 250bn rubles and Gazprombank 70bn rubles to help fund investment projects, including those planned by Russian Railways, he said.

It was not clear whether this support would be in addition to the 1 trillion ru-ble capital boost the banking sector is set to receive as part of legislation re-cently approved by parliament.

Credit agency Standard & Poor’s said this week it could downgrade Russia’s

rating to junk as soon as January due to a rapid deterioration in “monetary � ex-ibility” in the country.

“Practically this (a downgrade) may mean the increase of capital out� ow from Russia, which would be necessary to replace with instruments we have,” Ulyukayev said.

Russia may repurchase corporate bond issues, especially denominated in foreign currency, if needed, he added.

Meanwhile Russian gold and forex reserves have fallen to their lowest lev-els since 2009 as the central bank has spent billions to prop up the currency. Last week, reserves dropped by as much as $15.7bn to below $400bn, down from over $510bn at the start of the year. l

An employee counts Russian ruble banknotes at a small private shop selling home appliances in Krasnoyarsk REUTERS

Big questions for markets for 2015 n Reuters

Wall Street was generally calmer in 2014 than in previous years, but that doesn’t mean the stock market was devoid of drama.

Big sello� s in biotechnology and social media stocks had strategists predicting doom in the spring, and the plunge in oil prices has clouded the outlook for the com-ing year. It was a year when Cynk Technol-ogy, a development-stage company with no revenue, was brie� y worth $6 billion, and when a long-forgotten closed-end fund focused on Cuba - the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund - saw more trading in one day in December than it had in six years.

With that in mind, Reuters asked Wall Street strategists a few questions on odd things to watch for in 2015.

The big apple Shares of Apple Inc, the most valuable publicly traded US company, will � nish higher for a sixth straight year. With a cur-rent market value of about $663bn, if one were to pick a company that would be the � rst to hit $1 trillion in value, Apple’s a safe choice - but not next year, investors said. The iWatch, its latest product, may not be enough to propel the stock further.

“I don’t really see this company as hav-ing another blockbuster category of prod-ucts. The watch doesn’t feel like a great idea. I’m kind of out of the Apple mystique thing,” said Kim Forrest, vice president and senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

Nasdaq 5000 With its gains on Friday, the Nasdaq Com-posite Index sits just about 200 points shy of the vaunted 5,000 level, which it has not seen in nearly 15 years - and its all-time intraday high of 5,132.52 reached on March 10, 2000, isn’t far o� .

“I think Nasdaq will test and probably achieve higher highs than we did in 2000 because I think we’re in a secular bull market that has another eight to 10 years left to run,” said Je� rey Saut, managing director at Raymond James & Associates.

For the Nasdaq to hit 5,000, it would take a gain of 4%. And to get to that all-time high, it would take about a 7% increase. Whether that’s warranted is something over which investors disagree.

“What we need now is for fundamentals like revenue and earnings to catch up with current valuations,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment o� cer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.

More trading events expected After a series of market-crippling opera-tional glitches in recent years, found every-where from Nasdaq to options markets, investors are bracing for more such events.

This year, a gold-mining exchange-trad-ed fund, Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, dove 10% in the waning seconds of trading one day in early December. Earlier in the year, high-frequency trading � rm Virtu Financial canceled an initial public o� ering after the release of Michael Lewis’ book “Flash Boys” brought negative publicity to computerized trading.

None of these incidents were as damaging as the May 2010 “� ash crash.” The most notable in 2014 came out of the bond market in mid-October, when 10-year Treasuries yields crashed more than 0.3 percentage point without warning.

“There de� nitely will be an event. At least one, probably more,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. “Investors want a lower cost. In return for the lower costs they think they’re getting there are also risks, and the risks usually involve technol-ogy. Lots of times they leave black eyes.”

“Whenever you have all these systems talking to each other problems happen. They’re tested robustly but not for every boundary condition,” said Forrest of Fort Pitt Capital.

Biotech trouble? Investors worry that biotech stocks will have a tougher start to the year after phar-macy bene� ts manager Express Scripts dealt a blow to Gilead Sciences Inc on Dec 22 when it dropped coverage of Gilead’s hepatitis C treatment.

Biotechs were all over the place in 2014. They were at the forefront of the sello� in momentum favorites in the spring, and hit another rough patch in December on the Gilead news.

“I think biotech is pretty expensive as an asset class,” said Raymond James’ Saut. “But over the next three to � ve years the big break-throughs are going to come from the biotech complex. I don’t know about a pullback but I think there are better places to be.” l

Russian economy minister sees in� ation at 10% by end of 2015 n AFP, Moscow

Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyu-kayev sees in� ation at 10% by the end of next year, he told Rossiya 24 television on Friday, as the rouble crisis persists.

Russia has been forced to support banks and hike interest rates in recent weeks to try to arrest the currency’s slide and avoid spiraling in� ation after

years of stability, a situation that could threaten President Vladimir Putin’s popularity.

A slumping oil price and Western sanctions have sent the currency down 40% against the dollar this year.

“The in� ation forecast is tough, high. We forecast the level of 10% at the end of the year (2015),” Ulyukayev said, noting that in� ation would remain in

double digits throughout 2015, peaking at the end of the � rst quarter or in the second quarter.

Putin’s economic aide Andrei Be-lousov said on Thursday that annual in� ation was at 10.4% and could reach about 11% by the end of the month, hurdling the psychologically signi� -cant 10% mark for the � rst time since the 2008/09 global � nancial crisis. l

Dollar inches back vs yen, euro as markets slowly get back into gear n Reuters, Tokyo

The dollar edged up against the yen on Friday in light bargain-hunting follow-ing two sessions of losses, with some markets slowly getting into gear after the Christmas holiday.

Market participants expected it would still take a bit of time for busi-ness to resume in full swing, with key markets in the region such Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore closed on Friday. The U.K. market will remain closed on Friday although New York will be open.

After a dip to 120.005 yen the dol-lar was up 0.1% at 120.170 yen, crawl-ing back towards the week’s high of 120.800 hit on Tuesday.

A break above that peak would put the greenback in sight of a 7-1/2 year high of 121.860 scaled earlier in the month.

“That the recent drop by the dollar was contained shows that risk senti-ment continues to improve. There is no change to our view that the yen will continue to weaken as the recovery in U.S. economic fundamentals, which is at the root of risk appetite, continues to gather pace,” said Junichi Ishikawa, a

market analyst at IG Securities in Tokyo. The dollar also took back some

ground against the euro after two days on the retreat.

The euro inched down 0.1% to $1.2210, edging back towards a 28-month trough of $1.2165 reached on Tuesday in light of robust US GDP data that further boosted prospects for the world’s largest economy.

Recently upbeat U.S. economic data has provided evidence that the econo-my is steadily recovering, and height-ened expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is on track to eventually hike interest rates in 2015.

That outlook is in sharp contrast to Japan and Europe, where monetary policy is expected to remain loose to stimulate growth and ward o� de� a-tion.

Data released on Friday highlighted some of the struggle the Bank of Japan faces. The year-on-year rise in Japan’s core consumer prices slowed to 2.7% in November from 2.9% in October amid the recent decline in crude oil prices.

Widening di� erentials between U.S. and record-low Japanese yields should favour the dollar as more market par-ticipants return from holidays. l

Oil declines amid stronger dollar, crude oversupply in US n Reuters, New York

Oil prices fell Friday, tumbling as the dollar strengthened and as a supply glut in top consumer, the United States, trumped worries about falling produc-tion from Libya.

The market had come under pressure from Wednesday’s Energy Department report, which showed a 7.3 million-barrel rise in crude inventories to their highest December level on record. Ana-lysts had expected a seasonal decline.

The slide was exacerbated as oil prices reacted to a strengthening dollar index.

“There’s still signi� cant weakness in con� dence, and that means that we’re going to have occasional retests to the downside,” said Richard Hastings of Global Hunter Securities. The strength-ening dollar index triggered the slide on Friday, he said.

Additionally, the market continued to reel from bearish storage data just before the Christmas holiday.

“The numbers on Wednesday were really bearish, and it’s possible the market is still trying to digest them,” said Andrew Lebow, a Senior Vice Pres-ident of Je� eries in New York. “Maybe the path of least resistance is down here, given that we’ve been in a long down trend.”

Crude imports by Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest oil buyer, dropped 17.3 percent in November from a year ear-lier to 14.68 million kilolitres (3.08 mil-lion bpd), government data showed on Thursday.

Brent crude settled down 79 cents at $59.45, while U.S. crude fell $1.11 to $54.73 in thin trade as many countries were still on holiday.

“We tried to rally o� of the Libyan situation, but I think that the market is still reeling from larger-than-expected inventory data,” said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Fighting in Libya has cut output there to 352,000 barrels a day, or about half November’s average, state oil company spokesman said on Thursday. This coun-tered the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) report showing a big stockbuild.

In Libya, a rocket hit a storage tank at the country’s biggest export termi-nal, Es Sider, setting it on � re as armed factions allied to competing govern-ments fought for control, o� cials from both sides said on Thursday.

On Friday, o� cials said the blaze had spread to two more tanks. l

Russia’s FM sees economy shrinking 4% in 2015 n Reuters, Moscow

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday Russia’s economy could suf-fer a 4% contraction next year and see a budget de� cit of 3%.

Siluanov told Russian reporters that the economy would contract 4% with oil prices around $60 a barrel, adding that he expected the ruble’s exchange rate to be around 51 rubles per dollar.

“That’s the exchange rate which ac-cording to our estimates corresponds to the balance of payments,” he said.

He added that the government would have to further cut expenses or tap into reserves, noting that the planned 10% spending cut was not enough.

The central bank recently said the Russian contraction could be up to 4.8% at current oil prices, with a recovery not expected until 2017, but that was before it hiked interest rates by more than a third to 17% and which will also act as a drag on the economy.

The government had previously said it expected that the economy would slump by 0.8% next year.

Under the pressure of falling oil pric-es and Western sanctions over Ukraine, Russia is sliding into a full-blown eco-nomic crisis complete with the collapse of the ruble and growing in� ation. l