22 Dec, 2015 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Poush 8, 1422, Rabiul Awal 9, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 246

www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

NEW LUSTRE FOR BENGAL’S JAITLEY SUES KEJRIWAL HOUSE HELP PROTECTION OVER GRAFT CLAIMS PAGE 22 POLICY APPROVED PAGE 32 GOLDEN FIBRE PAGE 3

EC doing the bare minimum against breaches of polls code n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The Election Commission yesterday did the bare minimum, disposing off allegations of code of conduct breach against three ruling party lawmakers by only warning them after they apologised. This comes only a day after the Election Commission (EC) sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention in stopping Awami League ministers and lawmakers from taking part in campaigning ahead of the December 30 municipality elections. According to the electoral code of conduct for the upcoming elections, very important persons (VIPs) and public servants, who enjoy government benefits, are not allowed to participate in electioneering or any of the election activities. These persons are only allowed to go to their areas on the election day and cast votes. The code also says that if the commission, upon scrutiny of document evidence and investigation, finds allegations of misconduct true, then it can sentence the accused  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

This burning microbus was torched during a clash between the supporters of rival mayoral candidates in Chouddogram municipality of Comilla district yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Khaleda demands army deployment for municipal polls n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has demanded army deployment in the upcoming municipality polls scheduled for December 30 in 234 districts across the country. The former premier alleged that it is a conspiracy of the government to hold the local government election in partisan line. “Army should be deployed to hold a free, fair and credible election. We can hope the election would be fair if army was deployed. Sheikh Hasina does not want army deployment,” Khaleda told a rally of freedom fighters in the capital’s Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh yesterday. On December 19, after holding a meeting with the representatives of law enforcement agencies, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said army deployment ahead of municipality polls was not necessary as the law and order situation was under control. The BNP chief, who does not have any bar to participating in the municipality poll campaign, alleged that it would not be possible  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Warrants against 24 in Rana Plaza murder case

Blatter, Platini banned for eight years

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

n BBC Online

A Dhaka court yesterday accepted a charge sheet against 41 people accused in the murder case filed over the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, and also issued warrants for the arrest of 24 of them. Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed building who is now behind bars, was named the prime accused in the charge sheet while the 24 facing warrants are in hiding. The remaining 16 are out on bail. Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate Md AlAmin took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued the warrants.

The judge also asked Savar Model police to submit a report on compliance regarding the arrest warrants on January 27, 2016. On June 1, the Criminal Investigation Department pressed charges against 42 people, including Sohel Rana, in the two cases filed over the collapse of Rana Plaza. The other case was filed under the Building Construction Act. Of the accused appearing in the two charge sheets, 17 were named in both. Sohel Rana’s father Abdul Khalek, mother Marjina Begum and 12 government officials have also been named.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa boss Michel Platini have been suspended for eight years from all football-related activities following an ethics investigation. They were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” made to Platini in 2011. Both men denied any wrongdoing. The bans come into force immediately. Fifa boss since 1998, Blatter, 79, had al-

ready announced he was quitting ahead of February’s presidential election. Platini, 60, was tipped as a future leader of football’s world governing body and had hoped to succeed Blatter. A three-time European Footballer of the Year and former captain of France, he had been in charge of Uefa European football’s governing body - since 2007.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Khaleda sparks controversy Jubo League man killed in over number of 1971 martyrs AL infighting in N’ganj n Tribune Report

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday expressed her doubt over how many people were killed during the country’s Liberation War in 1971. “There is still a controversy about the exact number of people martyred in the Liberation War,” she said in her address at a rally of freedom fighters at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh. The BNP chief said different books and documents show different numbers in this regard. Referring to books written by Sector Commander AK Khandakar and Tajuddin Ahmed’s daughter Sharmeen Ahmed, Khaleda said like the freedom fighters several people have been harassed by the government

for writing the truth in their books. The BNP chief said the Awami League did not want the country’s independence in 1971. “Rather their leader wanted to be the prime minister of the united Pakistan,” she said. “You [freedom fighters] would not have become freedom fighters if Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman had not proclaimed the country’s independence in 1971,” said Khaleda. The former premier claimed that the Awami League gave the national flag in the hand of Razakar Maulana Nurul Islam. “And then we were blamed! Have they forgotten what they did? War criminals are in their house. Why actions were not taken against them?” Khaleda also alleged that the Awami League started the crossfire in the country. “They started crossfire with the killing of Siraj Sikder and it is still continuing.” l

n UNB

An activist of Jubo League was killed and 25 others including three with bullets were injured in a clash between two factions of Awami League over occupying a sand quarry at Char Hogla village in Sonargaon upazila yesterday. The deceased was identified as Jamal Hossain, 32, an activist of Jubo League and son of Abdul Khalek of the village. Manjur Kader, officer-in-charge of Sonargaon Police Station, said Nasir Uddin Member, president of no 9 ward unit Awami League and Harun-or-Rashid, a local unit Jubo League leader had been at loggerheads over the ownership of a sand quarry (sand mahal) near the bank of Meghna River. As a sequel to the enmity, both the Awami

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Khaleda demands army deployment to hold a free, fair and credible election under the incumbent government. Khaleda also alleged that the Awami League is using the police as a partisan force though there are some good people in the force who “want fair election but said they do not have anything to do as they have to carry out the instructions of their high-ups.” The BNP chief said if a fair election is held, 80% votes will be cast in favour of the sheaf of paddy, the election symbol of the BNP. Criticising the incumbent Election Commission as spineless, Khaleda Zia said: “We cannot expect anything good from it. The Awmai League ministers, lawmakers and leaders are breaching electoral codes of conduct but the commission is not taking any action.” She alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also breached the electoral code and

a complaint was lodged with the commission but it remained silent. Khaleda said holding the municipal election in partisan line is also a new conspiracy of the government. In the beginning of her speech addressed to freedom fighters, Khaleda said three million people were killed in the Liberation War but there is a controversy over the number. Pointing her finger to the civil and police administration, she said: “You did not do anything wrong – you just carried out the order of Sheikh Hasina. So Hasina will be punished, not others. Everything will happen as per law.” Urging people to raise voices against the government, Khaleda said all have to raise their voices to oust the government from office. On the trial of war criminals, Khaleda said: “We are in favour of the trial but that should be

transparent and of international standards.” She said Awami League targeted to destroy the BNP by putting BNP leaders behind bars. l

Warrants against Eight-storey Rana plaza that housed five garment factories, a shopping complex and a branch of Brac Bank, crumbled on April 24, 2013, killing over 1,135 people, mostly female workers, and injuring more than 2,500. The two charge sheets described the owner of the building and officials of the garment factories as cold-blooded murderers for allowing workers to work despite knowing that the building had developed cracks and there were significant risks involved. Police arrested Sohel Rana four days after the collapse. l

EC doing the bare minimum persons to a maximum of six months in jail or Tk50,000 fine or both. The three MPs in question are Shafiqul Islam Shimul from Natore, MA Maleque from Dhaka and Showkat Hasanur Rahman Rimon from Barguna. They did not appear before the commission in person; rather they sent letters to the commission seeking apology for breaching the code of conduct. Seeking anonymity, an EC official told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the commission pardoned the MPs on “humanitarian grounds” because they had acknowledged their mistakes and apologised. While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain said: “There is no reason to think that the Election Commission is helpless. They have been given enough power. Implementing that power is the commission’s duty. If they cannot do that, then it is their failure.” Asked about the EC seeking the PM’s intervention, Sakhawat said: “Why would the EC seek the PM’s intervention? PM never implements anything. The constitution clearly says what the EC’s duties are. “It appears that things are going out of the EC’s capacity [to control]. Violence and

breaching of electoral code of conduct are escalating everywhere. But the EC is not taking any drastic actions,” he said.

Violence

Violence among the supporters of rival candidates before elections – both national and local government – is very common in Bangladesh. As the municipality election day is drawing nearer, reports of violence from across the country are also increasing in number. Yesterday, at least 50 people were injured, shops and business houses vandalised and vehicles were torched as the supporters of rival mayoral candidates clashed in Chouddogram municipality of Comilla. Authorities had to deploy BGB and RAB members alongside policemen to keep things under control after the Monday evening clash took place between supporters of Awami League nominated candidate Mizanur Rahman and rebel Awami League candidate Imam Hossain at the Chouddogram Bazar area. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday requested the EC to deploy army for maintaining law and order before and during the municipality elections. Before every elections her party took part in

the recent years, she placed the same demand, which the government never entertained.

Other actions

Meanwhile, taking media reports into cognisance, the EC yesterday asked the returning officers concerned to take legal actions in connection with allegations of polls code violation against five Awami League lawmakers, including a minister and a whip, in different municipalities, an EC official said. The commission has also asked the relevant returning officers to take actions against three mayoral candidates – Awami League’s Abul Kalam Azad Mintu in Ishwardi of Pabna, BNP’s Prof Poritosh Chakrabharti and Jatiya Party’s Latiful Khabir in Badarganj of Rangpur – for breaking election rules. In addition, the commission is also launching an investigation against three police station officers-in-charge in Jagannathpur of Sunamganj, Hatia of Noakhali and Ishwarganj of Mymensingh municipalities for being biased in favour of certain candidates in their areas. Shamsul Alam, deputy secretary to the EC Secretariat, said that the local returning officers and the police superintendents would jointly conduct the investigations. l

League leader and Jubo League leader locked into an altercation over the issue on Monday. At one stage, the supporters of Nasir, equipped with sharp weapons and arms attacked the supporters of Harun, triggering a clash. Later both groups exchanged gunshots and attacked each other with the sharp weapons, leaving Jamal killed on the spot and 25 others injured. However, three people-Sumon Mia, Alamgir Hossain and Saiful Islam went missing, said OC. At least 10 houses and eight shops were vandalised during the clash. The injured were rushed to different hospitals and clinics. On information, police rushed in and brought the situation under control. Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further trouble. l

Blatter, Platini banned for eight years Blatter has also been fined 50,000 Swiss francs (£33,700) and Platini 80,000 Swiss francs (£54,000).

Why are they banned?

Blatter and Platini were found guilty of ethics code breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” made to the Frenchman in 2011. Both claimed the payment was honouring an agreement made in 1998 for work carried out between 1998 and 2002 when Platini worked as a technical adviser for Blatter. The payment was not part of Platini’s written contract but the pair insisted it was a verbal agreement, which is legal under Swiss law. German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, the chairman of Fifa’s adjudicatory chamber, held disciplinary hearings for the pair last week. Charges included conflict of interest, false accounting and non co-operation, with investigators submitting a file of more than 50 pages.

Statement - key points

“The proceedings against Mr Blatter primarily related to a payment of CHF 2,000,000 transferred in February 2011 from Fifa to Mr Platini. “Mr Blatter, in his position as president of Fifa, authorised the payment to Mr Platini which had no legal basis in the written agreement signed between both officials on 25 August 1999. “Neither in his written statement nor in his personal hearing was Mr Blatter able to demonstrate another legal basis for this payment. “His assertion of an oral agreement was determined as not convincing and was rejected by the chamber... “Mr Platini’s assertion of an oral agreement was determined as not convincing and was rejected by the chamber.” l

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

New lustre for Bengal’s golden fibre n Abu Bakar Siddique The country’s languishing jute sector is getting a boost from the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act which requires major agricultural commodities including rice, wheat, sugar and fertilisers to be packed in locally produced jute sacks. To promote the sector, the government began to implement the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 on November 30 this year. The creation of local demand by government fiat is expected to bolster the jute sector, which has taken a hit from competition from synthetic packing. Major agricultural commodities including paddy, rice, wheat, maze, fertilisers and sugar must now be packed in local jute packing. Violators face a maximum of one year in jail or a fine of Tk50,000, or both, for using non-biodegradable synthetics to pack commodities.

Rice millers, considered a key element in the success of the initiative, were initially unwilling to use jute for various reasons, including an alleged shortage of jute sacks. But since November 30, most millers have started using jute packing, following pressure from the government through the mobile courts. “We have had an 80% success rate in implementing the act now that most rice millers are using jute sacks,” said Mohammad Kefaetullah, director of the government’s jute department. Kefaetullah said rice millers alone use around 360 million jute sacks each year. “If just jute sacks were used instead of polythene in this sector alone, the whole situation would change,” he said. Nirod Baran Saha, convener of the Naogaon Rice Millers Association, said millers had started using jute sacks as per the law, but said the price of rice had increased slightly due to higher packing costs.

“Since November 30, we have been using locally produced jute sacks. I fear there could be a shortage of the material next month when the rice harvest arrives,” he said. But Humayun Khaled, chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) told the Dhaka Tribune that the government has the capacity to meet year-round and seasonal demand for jute sacks. “Rice millers have long claimed that shortages are likely – even inevitable – but the claim is totally baseless.” The BJMC appointed hundreds of dealers across the country a year ago to fulfil millers’ orders. But rice millers say they do not want to deal with the sack dealers because they are not willing to supply sacks on credit. “We millers have run our business on cash and credit for as long as I can remember, but sack dealers want cash in advance. This is totally unacceptable for us,” Nirod said. There are 24 government-owned jute mills in Bangladesh, of which 22 spin jute

while the remaining two produce machinery for the mills. Due to a shortage of funds, the BJMC has in the past been unable buy sufficient raw jute from farmers on time and on a regular basis, negatively impacting both farmers and mills. To address this, the government recently allocated Tk100 crore to procure raw jute from farmers. Around 7 million bales of raw jute are produced annually in Bangladesh. According to the International Jute Study Group under the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), some 3.5–4 million farm families are involved in the production of jute. BJMC Chairman Humayun Khaled said the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act, if implemented properly, will boost the jute sector, with mills running around the clock. He said it would help protect 66,000 BJMC labourers’ jobs. l

KSA resumes Umrah services for Bangladeshis n Abid Azad The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has lifted its ban on Umrah services for Bangladeshi citizens. The Saudi embassy in Dhaka sent a letter in this regard to the Ministy of Foreign Affairs on December 14. The Foreign Ministry then notified the Ministry of Religious Affairs about the matter yesterday, said the Religious Ministry’s Public Relations Officer Anwar Hussain. Primarily, 70 hajj agencies in the country will be permitted to provide the services, he said. There are 300 Hajj agencies in the country, out of which 204 have been allegedly involved in irregular activities, and there have been complaints against them, he added. Earlier on November 19, the Dhaka Tribune reported that Saudi Arabia has again opened its doors for Bangladeshis to perform Umrah, but from now on only six authorised travel agencies will be allowed to send people to the pilgrimage. Qasswa, the certified Umrah service provider agency of the Saudi government, reached an agreement with six travel agencies in Bangladesh to resume the Umrah services here, said Riaz Mahmud, director of Qasswa, at a press conference in the capital’s Banani area during his visit last month. The six travel agencies are Bicon Travel Agency, Jumar Travel and Tours, Panbright Travels, Priyanka Travels, Heritage Air Express and Ali Air Travels and Tourists. The Saudi government banned the issuing of visas to Bangladeshi nationals for performing Umrah on March 22 this year, based on allegations of human trafficking in the name of Umrah. The Saudi government said more than 1,000 Bangladeshis had been living in the KSA illegally since they went there to perform Umrah last year. Soon after noticing the matter, the Saudi government blacklisted Bangladesh and stopped issuing visas to Bangladeshis, the Dhaka Tribune reported earlier. l

Dhaka Wasa installed two water pumps near this blackwater ditch in the capital city's Syampur area, leaving local people with no other options but to collect water for drinking and household use from this unhygienic setting MEHEDI HASAN

Jamaat leader held at Naya Diganta MD’s house n Tribune Report Police early yesterday arrested a Jamaat-e-Islami leader from the residence of Daily Naya Diganta Managing Director Shibbir Mahmud’s house in Dhanmondi area of the city. Mezbah Uddin Bhuiyan, 55, was a former secretary of Noakhali Municipal Jamaat’s committee. He had been on the run for nearly three years. Mezbah was arrested around 12:30am from a raid conducted by a team led by Dhan-

mondi acting officer-in-charge and Inspector (Investigation) Mohammad Helal Uddin. “Shibbir claimed that Mezbah was one of his tenants,” Helal said. The arrestee was a warranted accused in at least 13 cases filed with Sudaram police station in Noakhali, he added. The OC said Sudaram police were informed and a team had already left for Dhaka. Meanwhile, the security of the building Mohammad Jamal and Mahfuj told the Dhaka Tribune that building owner Daily Naya

Diganta Managing Director Shibbir Mahmud was not present when the arrest was made. They said Mezbah and his wife took the flat on 7th floor garret of the building on rent three months back. Early yesterday around 12:10am two police vans came. Police locked the main gate before they went to the for 7th floor of Mazbah’s flat. Officer In-Charge of Sudaram Police Station Anwar Hossain said a total of 13 cases had been filed against Mezbah on charge of sabotage and violence under the speedy tribunal act. l

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Recording of deposition begins in the Zia Charitable Trust case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu The recording of deposition of Harun-ur-Rashid, the investigating officer of the Zia Charitable Trust Graft case against BP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and others began yesterday. The case was filed against the BNP Chairperson and three others. However, Khaleda Zia, also a three times former prime minister, skipped the court hearing due to her illness in the case filed by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC). Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of the Dhaka Special Judges Court 3 recorded the statement of Rashiduzzman, Senior Manager of Metro Makers Ltd. The court also partially recorded deposition of the investigation officer and ACC’s Deputy Director Harunur Rashid in the Zia Charitable Trust Graft case. The court adjourned the trial proceedings until December 31.

Before recording of depositions of the witnesses, defense counsels cross-examined Sonali Bank Deputy General Manager (DGM) Abdul Gafur, its Assistant General Manager (AGM) Harunur Rashid, Senior Principal Officer Harun-or-Rashid Fakir and General Manager Amin Uddin Ahamed. The four Sonali Bank officials gave depositions on December 10 in the case. They are now posted in different branches of Sonali Bank in the capital. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the hearing, defense counsel Md Sanaullah Miah submitted two petitions for non-appearance of Khaleda Zia mentioning that she could not appear before the court due to her illness. The court granted the pleas. A total of 31 prosecution witnesses gave depositions in Zia Charitable Trust Graft case. However, the trial proceeding has now been stopped in Zia Orphanage

Captive power plant owners urged to increase efficiency n Aminur Rahman Rasel Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Energy Adviser Tawfique-E-Elahi Chowdhury yesterday asked all captive power plants to increase their efficiency by 60%. He was speaking at a seminar titled Energy Efficiency and Textile: Lifeline of the Economy organised by Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) in a city hotel. The adviser said the production of gas had decreased gradually. The government, however, is trying to maintain continuous gas supply to all the industries and an initiative was taken to bring 500 million cubic feet of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar. He also said 10 new wells will be drilled next year to explore the potential of finding more gas. Presenting the key note paper at the seminar, M Tamim, professor of Mineral and Petroleum Engineering of BUET said the long-term objective is to establish market-based proper energy pricing to ensure reliable and quality energy supply. As an interim measure, gas usage must be prioritised by giving industry the highest

consideration. “Another very important interim measure is demand side management (DSM) through conservation and efficiency improvement”, said Dr Tamim. Co-generation of heat and power (CHP) has the highest thermal efficiency of all gas usage and textile being the major export contributor and the best candidate for CHP, the sector should be given captive power priority provided that the CHP is adopted in the sector, he said. BTMA President Tapon Chowdhury said Textile Mills are resorting to energy efficiency devices through co-generation process and other means to get maximum output from the use of gas. It is estimated that BTMA member mills produce 12001300 MW power to run their own production and thus save national grid power to that extent. Recently, a 100% increase in gas tariff for captive generators pushed up our cost of production enormously, he said. AK Azad, former president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry said gas production will be reduced from 2017. l

Graft case as a petition of Khaleda Zia is pending for disposal with the Appellate Division. The court on December 10, directed Khaleda’s counsel to submit the Appellate Division order on the case by January 14, or else the court will start recording deposition in the case. In 2011, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case, accusing four persons, including Khaleda Zia, on charge of abusing power to collect Tk6.19 crore for Zia Charitable Trust. The ACC filed Zia Orphanage Trust Graft case against Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others in 2009 on charges of embezzlement of over Tk2.1 crore by forming the trust. ACC’s public prosecutors Mosharraf Hossain Kajol, Mir Abdus Salam appeared before the court while AJ Mohammad Ali and Abdur Razzak Khan, Aminul Islam were present on behalf of defence. l

DMCH correspondent still missing, GD filed n Tribune Report The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) correspondent for several media outlets, Awrangjeb Sajib, has been missing since Sunday. His wife Morsheda Begum fined a general diary about her missing husband with Shahbagh police station yesterday morning, where she mentioned that Sajib left home for work around 7am on Sunday and went missing. She was then told by an alleged eyewitness named Shakil that Sajib had jumped into the Buriganga River from a launch near Munshiganj around 10:30am on Sunday, leaving his belongings behind. “As far as I knew, he had no job in Munshiganj that day, so there was no reason for him to go there or to jump into the river,” she told the Dhaka Tribune. Many of Sajib’s colleagues echoed Morsheda’s concerns. Sub-Inspector Ershad Alam of Chandpur Marine Police said he visited the spot described by Shakil. But locals were not able to verify Shakil’s account. Additional Superintendent of Marine Police Mokhlesur Rahman said Sajib’s mobile phone call list would be checked to determinine if he had traveled to Munshiganj. l

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Poison box helps people learn before mistakes n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Meena Begum from the Hasil village in Sirajganj district is the perfect example of the ancient proverb: “Learn from your mistakes.” Starting from lifesaving drugs to antiseptic liquids to insecticides, manufacturers put a label on almost every packet that says: “Keep away from children.” Meena, mother of two, probably did not take the warning too seriously and kept a bottle of Savlon, an antiseptic liquid, on the bedside table, until her toddler daughter Lamia drank it. After several hours of hospital anxiety and stomach-cleaning drills, she says: “Now I keep all hazardous things inside the ‘poison box’.” As part of a Australian government-funded project, the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), has recently distributed 2,400 “poison boxes” to the residents of the Hasil village. The local people have been advised to lock all drugs and poisonous materials, especially pesticides, in these boxes away from the reach of children. “In the village areas, women remain busy with household chores and hence cannot keep an eye on their children all the time. Now, if they start using these boxes, they will at least be relieved from the tension of keeping the children away from poisonous substances,” said Aminul Islam, a former secretary of the local union council. The project was based on a recent CIPRB baseline survey conducted in Bramagacha union in Sirajganj district. Covering a total of 5,048 households, the survey found that there were 2,469 children between zero and six years of age. The survey also found that a total of 367 of those children – 210 boys and 157 girls – have been into poison-related mishaps. And among them, those aged between one and two years are the most vulnerable. Sohagi Akter, mother of two sons and a resident of the same village, has also learned

Women and children of the Hasil village in Sirajganj pose for a photograph with the poison boxes recently

Akbar Ali Khan: Local govt not independent n UNB Local government now cannot work independently despite being an independent body, according to former caretaker government adviser Dr Akbar Ali Khan. “Local government is not directly a part of central government. It is an independent body. Despite being a small entity, it has huge tasks and responsibilities,” he said at a discussion in the capital yesterday. Brac’s Community Empowerment Programme and the Hunger Project jointly organised the discussion on Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at BRAC Centre Inn. Dr Akbar Ali, also a former bureaucrat, said Upazila Parishad has been weakened

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

Dhaka

LIGHT TO MODERATE FOG LIKELY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22

Hamid Aktar Sweety, a promoter of CIPRB, said she monitors the households every week for updates and to make sure that the households are using these boxes. “At first, people were not aware of the issue. Now people are conscious and are using these boxes,” Sweety said. Fazlur Rahman also said: “It is a smallscale programme. We conducted a baseline survey and we will do further surveys again. If we find people are benefitting from this then we will try to expand the project.” l

of CIPRB, said: “In rural areas, children have easy access to poisonous substances because parents keep fertilisers, pesticides and even detergent powders on the floor. “We found that it is one of the key causes of poison-related accidents.” Ikhtiar Ahmed, project coordinator of CIPRB, said that first they had given councelling to the parents about the dangers of keeping hazardous things in the open and then the boxes were supplied to those houses that have children between zero to six years of age.

from her mistake. “Two months ago, my younger son, two and a half years old, ate soap from the bathroom. He had to be hospitalised for this. The doctors advised us to keep such things out of the children’s reach,” Shohagi said. “But now I keep all the shampoo, soap, blades, drugs and other things inside the [poison] box and lock it. Now children cannot get their hands on any of these dangerous thing,” she said. AKM Fazlur Rahman, executive director

he said, it must come up with the right priorities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will begin in 2016. Former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Saleh Uddin Ahmed said despite having remarkable progress in achieving MDGs, Bangladesh did not achieve all goals, so it must formulate work plan in context of MDG reality to achieve the SDGs. The work plan should be a participatory one, he said. Goals could not be achieved with any one-sided plan, which comes from the central government. UNDP resident coordinator to Bangladesh Robert Watkins and global vice-president of the Hunger Project Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, among others, spoke at the discussion. l

through nomination of the members of parliament (MPs) as its adviser while local elites also always put pressure on the local government. Calling up the members of civil society to play their role as watchdog in this regard, he said representatives of the local government must place their demands to the central government and child marriage, which is one of the impediments to women’s empowerment, should be eradicated. Bangladesh has achieved marked progress in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly poverty elimination, but there is no remarkable progress in human development index, Akbar Ali said. Bangladesh lags behind in ensuring nutrition and access to safe drinking water to all, 25

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:17PM

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:38AM

27.0ºC Kutubdia & Teknaf

6.5ºC Badalgachhi

Source: Accuweather/UNB

MOHAMMAD AL-MASUM MOLLA

20th meeting of GOC held at parliament n UNB The 20th meeting of Jatiya Sangsad’s Government Organisation Committee (GOC) was held yesterday at the parliament building, moderated by Committee President Sawkat Ali. The meeting elaborately discussed the activities of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) controlled under the Ministry of Commerce. The meeting was informed that the TCB has received 662 audit objections, of which 172 have been settled and the rest will be disposed through bilateral and trilateral meetings. The committee recommends allocating the TCB with Tk24.85 crore to increase its storage capacity of 900 tonnes by building eight warehouses and three cold storages. l 26

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:16am | Zohr: 11:57am Asr: 3:39pm | Magrib: 5:17pm Esha: 6:38pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Japan seeks security for its development projects n Asif Showkat Kallol and Kamrul Hasan The Foreign Ministry has asked the Home and Finance ministries to ensure safety and security of Japanese citizens in Bangladesh engaged in 14 development corporation projects. Director of the East Asian and Pacific Region Wing of the Foreign Ministry Syed Muntasir Mamun yesterday sent a letter to the Home Ministry, finance secretary and inspector of police to take necessary measures in this regard, said an official. A police headquarters source said they had already provided security not only to Japanese expatriates who work in Bangladesh but

to all foreign citizens living in the country. According to the Foreign Ministry letter, the Japanese projects include the improvement of safety and security system in airports in Dhaka, Chittagong, Jessore and Saidpur; small-scale water resources development project in Sylhet; and the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit project. The other Japanese development activities in Bangladesh include the National Power Transmission Network Project, the Mataribari Ultra Super Critical Coal Project in Cox’s Bazar, Jica’s Livelihood Improvement projects in Kishoreganj, Netrakona and Brahmanbaria. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal

BGB honours Liberation War heroes

n Tribune Report On the occasion of BGB Day 2015, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) held a reception to honour the former members who had received gallantry awards for their contribution during the Liberation War in 1971. The families of two Bir Shreshtas, eight Bir Uttams, 32 Bir Bikrams and 15 Bir Protiks were invited to the reception, held at Bir Uttam Fazlur Rahman Khandakar auditorium in the capital’s Pilkhana area yesterday afternoon, for the reception. BGB Director General Aziz Ahmed presided over the event, where Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque was present as chief guest. At the reception, the honourees’ families were presented with gifts, according to a press note. Besides Dhaka, similar receptions were held across the country for the war heroes in different regions. l

BTCL to update Gulshan phone numbers today n Tribune Report Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL) is going to start updating telephone numbers under 881 and 882 groups in the capital’s Gulshan area today, according to press release. A total of 3,800 telephone numbers starting with 881 and 882 – from 8818000 to 8819999 and from 8820200 to 8829999 – will updated, and the subscribers will be notified and given their new numbers after the changes take place, said the press note, issued on Sunday. Once the process is complete, the list of new numbers will be available at the BTCL website. In case of emergencies, subscribers can contact the BTCL call centre at 16402, or the numbers 9853388, 9851000, 9850000 and 9887488. l

yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the government had already provided security to all foreigners in the country and will continue to do so. Last November, the Japanese ambassador in a letter requested the home minister to ensure safety of Japanese nationals and personnel engaged in Japanese development corporation projects. On October 05, Japanese national Kunio Hoshi was killed in Rangpur, five days after the killing of an Italian citizen in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone. Japan government’s top spokesman expressed outrage over the killing of the Japanese citizen. l

BNP candidate’s house attacked n UNB At least 15 people were injured as some miscreants attacked the house of a BNP-backed mayoral candidate at Bank Colony area here yesterday. Witnesses said 20/25 miscreants, riding motorbikes, swooped on the residence of BNP-backed mayoral candidate Badiuzzaman Bodi and fired blank shots when he was in a meeting with his party men in the afternoon. He returned to his house today after securing bail in a violence case. At one stage, the supporters of Bodi hurled brickbats towards the miscreants, triggering a clash that left 15 people injured. The miscreants also vandalised some furniture of the house and motorcycles during the incident. However, Badiuzzaman Bodi escaped unhurt. l

MUNICIPALIT Y POLLS 2015

News

MUNICIPALIT Y POLLS 2015

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

M UMUNICIPAL N I C I P A L I T Y POLLS POLLS 2015 SITAKUNDA

M U N I C I P A L I T battle Y P O L L S may 2015 AL triangular appear as boon for BNP

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong With eight days left for the forthcoming municipal polls, Awami League is going to face a three-pronged battle in Sitakunda municipality as two nomination-deprived mayoral candidates are contesting as rebel candidates after resigning from their respective posts of the party. The voters observe that the internal dispute in the ruling party might appear as a boon for the BNP-nominated mayoral candidate Syed Abul Mansur. The locals think that the triangular battle in the ruling party might help BNP-nominated mayoral candidate to reap benefit from the internal feud. Syed Abul Mansur, mayoral candidate who is contesting from Bangladesh Nationalist Party said there were a total of six mayoral candidates in Sitakunda municipality which is the highest in 10 municipalities in Chittagong.

This time a total of 34 mayor aspirants are vying for the upcoming municipal polls slated for December 30. The 10 municipalities where the polls are going to be held are Sandwip, Banshkhali, Chandanaish, Satkania, Mirsarai, Patiya, Raozan, Rangunia, Baryarhat and Sitakunda. Badiul Alam, vice-president of Awami League Sitakunda municipality managed to win party ticket for contesting as a mayoral candidate from the ruling party for the upcoming polls. On the other hand, Nayek Shafiul Alam, incumbent mayor of Sitakunda municipality is contesting as a rebel mayoral candidate. After failing to get party ticket, Shafiul Alam resigned from his post of acting president of Awami League Sitakunda upazila. Meanwhile, Mohammad Sirajuddowla also resigned from his post of the president of Awami Legue Sitakunda municipality and contending as a rebel candidate.

Badiul Alam who is contesting with electoral symbol ‘boat’ alleged that both Nayek Shafiul Alam and Mohammad Sirajuddowla are isolated from the people. “My party has chosen me considering my popularity in the locality. I am confident of winning the polls with a wide margin”, added Badiul. “I had served as the mayor of Sitakunda municipality for five times. This time I did not want to join the race. However, my party at first nominated me and as per my party’s desire, I made up my mind to contest the polls. However, a vested quarter with vested interest thwarted my nomination. Being deprived, I decided to vie as an independent candidate and resign from my party,” said Nayek Shafiul Alam. “I was involved with the politics of the AL for long 30 years. However, I regret to say that my party deprived me of the nomination. I have always been with the people

12 candidates fined n

Khulna BNP demands Paikgachha OC removal

Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

A mobile court fined three mayoral and nine councillor candidates in Moulvibazar yesterday for violating electoral code and conduct. The mobile court led by Kulaura upazila Assistant Commissioner (land) Alamgir Hussein conducted the drive in Kulaura municipal area in the afternoon. Moulvibazar district Election Officer Istafizul Haque Akand and Kulaura Upazila Election Officer Zillur Rahman accompanied the assistant commissioner. The court has fined BNP mayoral candidate Kamal Uddin Ahmed Tk5,000, Awami League candidate Shafi Ahmed Salman Tk2,000 and independent candidate Shafi Alam Younus Tk5,000. Besides, nine councillor candidates of different wards of the Kulaura municipality – Murad Ahmed, Harunur Rashid, Ruman Ahmed Rumel, Abdul Motlib Khukon, Shamim Ahmed Chawdhury, Md Mostaque, Almas Pervez Talukdar, Iqbal Ahmed Shamim, and Baby Begum Chowdhury – were fined Tk5,000 each for violation of the election rule. l

n Our Correspondent, Khulna

Supporters of Awami League backed mayoral candidate conduct campaign riding on a pick up van. The photo was taken from Tanore, Rajshahi yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Polls postponement gets mixed reaction n Our Correspondent, Thakurgaon

The voters and candidates of Ranisankail municipality have expressed mixed reaction after a bench of High Court postponed the upcoming election. Sources said the postponement of the election had become hot issue of discussion among the people everywhere-in tea stalls, markets and working places. The bench of the High Court consisting of Justice Jinat Ara and Justice AKM Shahidul Islam postponed the election on December 8, for six months after hearing a writ petition filed by a councillor candidate Md Shariful Islam, said the sources. Shariful filed the writ petition challenging the declaration of election schedule without solving the problem in delimitation of boundaries and without publishing it in the

in their well and woes and they insisted me on joining the fray. I will win with a landslide victory,” said Nayek Shafiul Alam. “Badiul does not belong to the ideology of the AL. It is Badiul Alam who was the head of Gram Sarkar during the regime of late president Ziaur Rahman,” alleged Shafiul Alam. Mohammad Sirajuddowla who is contesting with electoral symbol ‘jug’ said: “Though Awami League did not nominate me, the people will elect me.” “I have always been a bonafide and dedicated activists for the Awami League. However, AL did not evaluate me. That’s why I decided to quit the party and contest the polls,” added Sirajuddowla. “Awami Leauge high command nominated a candidate to vie for the race who is isolated from the people. The voters in Sitakunda will never vote for any isolated candidate,” added Sirajuddowla. l

gazette. The court also issued rule on the Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, chief election commissioner, deputy commissioner of Thakurgaon and others to show cause within two weeks why the election schedule without area demarcation should not be declared illegal. Shariful said: “I have done it for the interest of the voters. Many voters are living in the municipality area, and they were going to be deprived in casting votes.” The candidates are continuing the election campaign as they are not concerned over the issue. Regarding the postponement of election, Awami League mayoral candidate Alamgir Sarkar said due to the postponement of election, the atmosphere of election was hampered.

Mayoral candidate of Jatiya Party Shamsul Arafin said that if there was any legal problem that should have been solved earlier. After the filing of nomination papers and after scrutiny, the postponement of election is not proper. Mobarak Hossain, president of Ranisankail press club, said the people in the municipality were in confusion about the election. He also said he had heard the copy of writ petition had reached in the municipality. Returning officer of the municipality and UNO Md Nahid Hasan said he had also heard the news of the postponement of election through electronics and print medias. But yet he had not received any written order. “After getting written document from the court, only I can order to stop campaign,” said Nahid yesterday evening. l

Leaders of a committee formed by the BNP’s Khulna city and district units for coordination tasks of the upcoming municipal elections demanded the removal of the officerin-charge of Paikgachha police station on various allegations yesterday. They raised the demand in a memorandum submitted to the deputy commissioner at noon. The allegations mentioned in the memorandum inlcude the occupation of BNP’s election offices by Awami League members, police raids on BNP members’ houses in the name of operations to check militancy, extorting money from BNP members, and also threatening them not to join electioneering. A copy of the memorandum was also sent to the chief election commissioner via fax. The coordination committee leaders claimed that the officer-in-charge of Paikgachha police station, Ashrafuzzaman, had threatened several top BNP leaders of the district, including chief election agent of the mayor candidate Dr Abdul Majid and Paikgachha upazila BNP’s General Secretary advocate Abu Sayeed, to refrain from campaigning or face arrest. They alleged that local Jubo League members attacked and took over the election office of a BNP candidate in Paikgachha’s Saral Bazar area on December 19, while OC Ashrafuzzaman and Awami League leaders asked BNP members not to join campaigns a day earlier. The committee leaders also claimed that the Dakop upazila nirbahi officer had compared watching TV at BNP candidates’ office with violation of electoral code of conduct. They urged the authorities concerned to take legal actions against the irregularities. l

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Suspected robber beaten to death Correspondent, n Our Meherpur

A suspected robber was beaten to death at Chaltatla village under Sadar upazila yesterday. The deceased was Izarul Isalm, 41, of Bhavanipur village. Sources said a gang of robbers entered the house of Saudi Arabia expatriate Mintu Sheikh in the village around 4am. They looted gold ornaments, mobile phones, cash and valuables at gunpoint. Hearing screaming of the family members, the villagers went to the spot and tried to confined the robbers.

The robbers blasted several bombs and managed to flee the scene leaving Izarul as he was confined by the family members meanwhile. Later, the villagers beat up him leaving critically injured. On information, police went to the spot and rescued Izarul. Later, he was sent to Meherpur General Hospital where on duty doctor declared him dead. When contacted, Ahsan Habib, officer-in-charge of Meherpur police station, said Izarul was wanted in several cases including murder and robbery. l

180,000 yaba pills seized in Ctg, two drug traders held n Tribune Report Police on Sunday night arrested two suspected drug traders along with 1,80,000 pieces of contraband yaba pills worth around Tk1.4 crore from Oxygen Circle area under Bayezid police station in the city. The arrested were identified as Md Sirajuddin, 36, a resident of Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar district and Mohammad Arafat, 32, a resident of Satkania upazila of Chittagong. Mohammad Arafat is the car driver of Md Sirajuddin who lives in Khulshi area in the port city. Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge of Bayezid police station, said: “Acting on a tip-off, we conducted a drive

in Oxygen Circle area and searched a jeep carrying the duo that was going to Hathazari upazila to Anwara upazila in the district. “After searching the vehicle, we seized about 180,000 pieces of yaba tablets, wrapped inside plastic bags and arrested the duo,” added the OC. “During primary quizzing, the arrestees confessed that they belonged to an international drug smuggling syndicate”, the OC said. “Though Sirajuddin told us that he is a resident of Ukhiya, we suspect that he is a national of Myanmar. However, we are looking into the matter”, said the OC, adding that a case was lodged against the arrestees with Bayezid police station under Narcotic Control Act. l

Trader shot dead in Cox’s Bazar Correspondent, n Our Cox’s Bazar

A trader was allegedly shot dead by robbers at Adarsha vilage in Khurushkul area under Sadar upazila yesterday. The deceased was Nurul Absar, 25, son of Nurul Islam of Kaorapara village in the area. Sources said a gang of robbers tried to rob Absar’s gro-

cery shop in the area at night. The robbers shot him after he tried to resist them. He died on the spot. On information, police went to the spot and recovered the body. When contacted, Aslam Khan, officer-in-charge of Cox’s Bazar Sadar police station, said the police were trying to arrest the criminals. l

Bangladesh High Commission in London celebrates Victory Day

Celebrations of Bangladesh’s Victory Day began as the chants of “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangla, Joy Bangla,” could be heard in south London at an event organised by the Bangladesh High Commission on December 15, a day ahead of Victory Day.

It wasn’t only the Bangalis but mainstream English journalists and diplomats from various countries of the world, who were also part of the celebrations. The event, which is the first of its kind, was a reception hosted by Nadeem Qadir, minister (Press), Bangladesh High Commission, London at the Kiplings Restaurant in the city, amid drizzles. At the event, Nadeem Qadir said, “It is an effort to introduce the real Bangladesh, beautiful Bangladesh to the mainstream media and the world at large. We need to change the mind-set about Bangladesh as we are making great strides under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.” The venue was packed by 5pm as the guests were eager to know more about Bangladesh’s glorious history, celebrate its culture and enjoy traditional spicy food.

Classical Music Concert at IUB Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) hosted a Classical Music Concert on December 20 from 5pm to 8pm at IUB’s Auditorium. The concert was conducted centring around classical music where Maestro Alif Laila was on sitar with her expression of the ragas. On tabla there was Rupak Bhattacharjee. Sitar Maestro Alif Laila has always been an art lover and never failed to mesmerise the audience with her sitar. She has performed internationally and gained tremendous appreciation. Rupak Bhattacharjee on the other hand, being associated with teaching in the Department of Electronics at Srerampore College, holds a generous affection on Indian classical music, especially on tabla. Rashed Chowdhury,

chairman Board of Trustees of IUB, Towhid Samad, former chairman of Board of Trustee and Governing Council, IUB and Professor Omar Rahman, vice chancellor of IUB were present at the occasion among other distinguished personalities. Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) is proud to host the arrangement. This occasion was a real treat for the evergreen classical music lovers. l

IBA graduation 2015 Graduation of batches BBA 19th, MBA 48th, 49th, and EMBA 16th and 17th of IBA of University of Dhaka was held on December 19, 2015 at Bashundhara Convention Hall. Honourable vice chancellor, professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique of University of Dhaka was present as the chief guest of the programme. Renowned industrialist and the chairperson of Summit Group Md Ajij Ahmed Khan was present as the special guest. The director of IBA, professor Dr AKM Saiful Mojid presided over the programme. Professor Mojid encouraged the graduates to acquire knowledge and

improve their professional skills. Professor Dr Md Jahangir Alam, the chairperson of MBA, gave the welcome speech. In his speech, professor Dr Khair Jahan Sogra, the chairperson of EMBA, congratulated the graduates for their success. The chairperson of BBA, Professor Niaj Ahmed thanked everyone who were involved with the success of this programme. The vice chancellors from different universities, teachers of IBA, high ranking officers of different institutes were present at the graduation programme. The family members of the students were also present at the graduation ceremony.

News

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Holiday treats at Le Meridien City’s Newest Hotel gears up for Christmas and New Year’s Eve merry-making

Le Méridien Dhaka gears up to meet guest expectations for Christmas and New Year’s Eve with a host of great offers. Merry-making begins before Christmas Eve as the Chocolate Room at Latest Recipe expands to retail with the hotel’s latest product line “Chocolate by Le Méridien Dhaka,” available for sale at its lobby lounge bar Latitude 23 along with a delectable selection of Christmas cakes and cookies. Coming in chic boxes of six, 12 and 24 pieces of these decadent creations, the chocolates cost Tk600++, Tk1,000++ and Tk1,800++ respectively. On Christmas Eve (from 7pm till midnight), all three of the hotel’s major dining venues will be revved up with Christmas delicacies. While the popular all day dining restaurant Latest Recipe will be doling out a special Christmas Buffet Dinner (at Tk3,600++ per person) with over 100 dishes, including roast whole turkey with cranberry sauce in glazed chestnut, potato and carrot stew, roast duck with caramelised cinnamon pears, chocolate yule log cake, grissini stick, variety of pasta, walnut avocado blue cheese salad, etc. Its classic Italian restaurant Favola will be offering a Five-Course Christmas Dinner (at Tk3,800++ per person) with choices of three main courses such as chestnut stuffed turkey breasts with cranberry sauce and two desserts as mouth-watering as yoghurt panna cotta with strawberry sauce and Sicilian cassata with candied fruits and soft pistachio cream, the speciality Mediterranean restaurant Olea Three-Course Christmas Dinner (at Tk3,800++ per person) with assorted mezzeh platter of grills and kebabs

and choices of main course from Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Christmas Day will bring merriment in tenfold as the hotel hosts its first Children’s Christmas Party by the Skyline Infinity Pool (rooftop). Starting from 10:30am till 3:30pm, with magic show, ventriloquism, balloon show, table tricks, fortune-telling, face painting, bioscope, ball house, candy floss, popcorn, muffins and cupcakes, hot chocolate with marshmallows and milkshakes, it promises to be a memorable Christmas for the littlest guests. Not to mention that Santa will be attending the event with a bag full of goodies and gifts. December celebrations will continue till New Year’s Eve with the completely ingenious New Year’s Eve Buffet Fest (on December 31, from 7pm to 1am). With an entry fee of only Tk5,000++ for multiple access to floor 15 dining outlets including 15 Above (English pub), guests may eat all they can, anywhere they can, as many times they can and as long as they can within the six hours gastronomic exposition. The special one-night buffet at Favola and extended buffet at Latest Recipe present exotic cuisine such as smoked salmon cucumber salad, cucumber mint soup, Bloody-Mary mussels, sushi, sashimi and maki, assorted satays, almond-apple stuffed rabbit roll served with green almond sauce, beef braised in red wine, onion and gravy scented in truffle oil, green apple mint shooter, carrot cake with cream cheese icing, etc. For more information, call +8801723595463, +88028900089 or contact reservations.dhaka@lemeridien.com.

Tech

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Best of 2015 A list of smartphone winners of the year

n Mahmood Hossain When you think there’s not much these giant tech companies can do, they hit you with an incredible package of features you can hold in your hands.

Best phablet/big phone Samsung Galaxy Note 5 This is a beast of a phone. It is, by far, the best large smartphone option in the Android market. It’s also the best Note model Samsung has every created. The 5.7-inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED display lets you take advantage of all its features to the fullest. LG V10 We can consider this phone, which was released late in the year, a close runner-up to the Note. The extra real-estate on this phone, as you can see by its bezels, comes pretty

Smartphones are getting smarter, while people are getting, well, you know. In any case, we take a look at the best of the best in this year’s race to become the king of the hill in the smartphone world.

darn close to the winner. Again, the features in this phone are quite similar to that of the Note, alongside its powerful performances.

Best compact smartphone iPhone 6S The latest from Apple isn’t really a big surprise. And by compact standards, with a 4.7-inch display, it meets all expectations and more. This phone is blindingly fast with Apple’s new A9 chips. Even though it’s slightly more affordable than its larger sibling the 6S Plus, you aren’t missing out on much in performance or features. This phone is

still the best in the market of its size, and still remains the favourable flagship. Sony Xperia Z5 Compact After watching Sony crank out two phones a year, the Z5 Compact is a very close second to the 6S, if not the best of the Android bunch. What you’re getting here are some of the experiences of the larger Z5 and Z5 Premium in a much more compact body. For some, bigger isn’t always better. For some, this is the perfect size.

Best smartphone camera Samsung Galaxy Note 5 16-megapixles at its best. This barely tops the list of having the best camera on a smartphone. It’s almost as if you’ve invested in a genuine point-and-shoot camera. The colours are brilliant, and it produces very sharp and crisp images. Let’s not forget the 4K video recording either. LG V10 Déjà vu? Well, it’s not really a surprise because these two phones are really amazing at what they do and what they can provide. The V10 camera is absolutely amazing. LG knows how to create that point-and-shoot experience with added customisation abilities. This is a very close second to the Note 5. You could say it shares the number one spot because nowadays, the quality in smartphone cameras are only getting better.

Best bang for your buck One Plus X We can’t all head out and grab ourselves a flagship phone. Most of us like to stay within

our budget and make wise investments. This year’s best budget phone has to go to the One Plus X. The 5-inch AMOLED display is magnificent for a smartphone of this price range, which gels well with its build quality and overall experience. Moto X At the time of its release, it was the best phone Motorola had ever produced. With its pure Android experience, 20-megapixel camera and high-end specs, it packs a pretty punch.

Best overall smartphone This special award, which is safe to say, goes to the Nexus 6P by Huawei. Great battery life, performance and display, and it really isn’t that expensive compared to other flagship smartphones. Its beautiful design is nothing to skip over either. Google has a knack for picking up the right company to collaborate with on their Nexus phones. If this phone was a prize-fighter, the 6P would be, pound-for-pound, the best smartphone of the year. It’s been a good year for most smartphone brands, both at home and abroad. What waits for us in 2016 can surprise us in a very good way. There’s no real hitch on the pathway to supremacy for smartphones. We get so caught up on the latest features, and complaints alike, that we really don’t expect too much from the top companies of the world. We’ve seen the sexiest smartphone in the Samsung Galaxy Edge to the biggest let-down of the year in the HTC One A9. One thing is for sure, people learn from their mistakes and improve onto the next flagship or best budget buy. l

Editorial 11

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

Into the wild black yonder People like Donald Trump and groups like ISIS serve to highlight the fact that this divide is, in fact, very real and tangible. Heretics and extremists have been shoved together into a gladiator ring to fight to the death until only one victor remains, or none at all

PAGE 12

The future of digital finance What happens in India ought to be of great interest to many countries. In Bangladesh, regulatory changes are also under consideration by Bangladesh Bank for mobile financial services and it will be interesting to see how the pathways of India and Bangladesh unfold in the months and years ahead

BIGSTOCK

PAGE 13

Innovation can propel us forward No turning back In 1971, let me assure you, it was inconceivable that more than four decades down the line, the fault lines in our society would still be defined along the lines of ‘pro-liberation’ and ‘anti-liberation.’ How can we still accommodate that rhetoric?

PAGE 14

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he UNDP’s Human Development Report suggests that Bangladesh needs to innovate with respect to productivity and skill in order to get on a higher growth trajectory. Our improvements in the Human Development Index in the recent past have been admirable. Throughout the 90s and the 2000s, Bangladesh moved up in the HDI, but this growth has stagnated in the last four years. This year, the HDI remains the same as last year, suggesting that a new approach should be taken to break this plateau. Right now, Bangladesh ranks 142 out of 188 countries in the HDI. We can do better. Already, Bangladesh has been performing better than neighbours India and Pakistan. Globally, however, Bangladesh has been improving fast but not fast enough. We can do better. It is not enough to be driven solely by the replication model of growth. We agree with economist Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud’s assessment that it is time to switch to an innovation-based approach. That means investing in skills and technology as well as having more long-term vision. Furthermore, holistic policy interventions must ensure that the poor and the marginalised do not get left behind. Strategic interventions may be required to stimulate sectors such as education and health care. Even though great leaps forward have been made in the last 25 years, access to technology in the SAARC remains woefully inadequate -- in South Asia, 1.4 billion people lack access to the Internet. It will not suffice to simply stay on the same course -- Bangladesh is at a turning point in its growth path. The right investments will encourage innovation and stimulate the economy in new ways. As the world moves forward in the global digital economy, it is imperative Bangladesh does not get left behind.

It will not suffice to simply stay on the same course -- Bangladesh is at a turning point in its growth path. The right investments will encourage innovation and stimulate the economy in new ways

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Opinion

Into the wild black yonder It’s only a matter of time before jokers run the whole world

The world is a dichotomy of extremes

n SN Rasul

here is a photograph taken in Tehran in 1979 by Hengameh Golestan, one of Iran’s most well-known photographers. It depicts a large group of women, attired smartly in dresses and overcoats, some with smiles on their faces, some with their hands raised, made-up, elegant, distinguished, protesting the just-passed Hijab law. Another one of Kabul, taken by a certain Dr Podlich, shows a classroom full of half a dozen or so people. In the front, again, there are women, this time three of them, seated with their legs uncrossed, in thigh-length skirts, listening intently to what the teacher has to say. One of them betrays a dangerous seriousness; the other a patronising competence. Staying in Kabul, this time in black and white, two medical students are discussing fervently with their professor. They are looking at the photo; it looks like a limb, but one cannot be sure. They, too, are all female. They are perhaps discussing a new case, a patient, or the best way of going about carrying out their next assignment. All of them have short hair, tied up in exquisite buns and/or wavy pixie cuts. This one is taken in the 60s. These are snapshots before my time, taken out of context, when my parents were barely teenagers. These are photographs presented to us to show us how certain places were before fundamentalist Islam took over, before the influence of politics combined with religion wreaked havoc with the freeflowing nature of certain societies. Bangladesh, too, was like this at one time. It has, as I’ve grown older, been taken over by minute and irrelevant discussions on tiny details of Islam, by hijabs and niqabs,

REUTERS

by mandatory visits to the mosque for every single waqt of prayer. Our collective family albums could pay homage to a time before time, when the women stood straight on their wooden chairs and looked into the camera with daggers, and the men, always so straight while standing up, tastefully kept their ascetic faces stern and serious.

But it cannot be denied that we currently find ourselves at a very unique point in history. With the advent of the Internet and other, faster means of communication, we have been placed in an age where we know more about us and the world around us than ever before. We are able to, at once, know something instantly and let someone know instantly.

People like Donald Trump and groups like ISIS serve to highlight the fact that this divide is, in fact, very real and tangible. Heretics and extremists have been shoved together into a gladiator ring to fight to the death until only one victor remains, or none at all

This kind of tendency to romanticise an age that has left us is not uncommon. We speak of the golden age as if it was something established, something the people were very much aware of at the time. A time when everything was almost as it should be. Photographs such as these are shared with the thought that such an age we can never have back, but look, see how beautiful and lovely it was at that time. How people connected, and cared, and lived for each other; how life was simple and easy and all we were happy with was the life we had and the people we knew. In truth, however, such a time never existed. People of that time probably vied for a time before phones and televisions, and before that, for a time before radios perhaps.

Every one of us is a witness and a journalist, a victim and a criminal. Everything has, in short, become something. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, political scientist Francis Fukuyama had said that we had reached “the end of history,” that we had established the correct method by which the world needed to run, ie democracy, and civil liberties were seen to be apex of people’s psychological and socio-political evolution. But the story of radical Islam, especially post-9/11, has created a new history, a new wall that has created a divide, a dichotomy of extreme ideologies, between the East and the West, between liberalism and conservatism, between us and them. These divides had, perhaps, always

existed. But had they been so poignant in their implementation? Even the current idea of all-inclusive culture and society is a result of an acute awareness of the divisions which define us. People like Donald Trump and groups like ISIS serve to highlight the fact that this divide is, in fact, very real and tangible. Heretics and extremists have been shoved together into a gladiator ring to fight to the death until only one victor remains, or none at all. What some fail to realise is that there is no one true solution to any of these problems. Yes, it would be ideal if all of us were perfectly attuned to the needs of others, and respected each other’s cultures and religions, and wanted to live together in some perfect cocoon of self-actualisation without harming or oppressing our neighbours. But that will never happen, not as long as our respective cultures are actively incompatible with what the other side has to say and believe. So: Where are we headed? To bring up the issue of Trump and ISIS again, the fact that these people have a platform on which they stand, one which isn’t as shaky as we may want to believe, is troublesome, and could lead us everywhere and anywhere. When jokers can take over and pretend to run the world, it is only a matter of time before they start to do so for real. We know that we are at a precipice, and the coming few years will change our world as we know it. We are headed towards lands unknown, shores untouched, skies that have yet to see the light of day. When we reach there, though, will we come out the other side, our heads held high, or under the bleak, strange darkness of a wild and hostile empire? l SN Rasul is a writer. Follow him @snrasul.

Opinion

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

The future of digital finance Mobile financial services have a rocky road ahead of them

n Kabir Kumar

ndia’s central bank has long had a reputation for trailing many other countries, including Bangladesh, when it comes to creating the right environment for digital finance to flourish. Bangladesh and other countries had moved ahead of India on inclusive digital finance. That view, however, is changing, particularly after the Reserve Bank of India announced in August that 11 applicants had been approved to launch payments banks by early 2017. Nearly half of those approved to be payments banks -- five to be exact -- are sponsored by telecom operators. The payments bank is a new category of specialised bank that offers a variety of payment services as well as interest-bearing deposit accounts, a feature that extends beyond what a typical non-bank electronicmoney issuer is often allowed to do. From a regulatory perspective, payments banks have as much muscle as one can wish to offer the full range of payments and deposit services available in the bank business, though payments banks are prohibited from extending any credit themselves and must place their assets in safe and liquid investments. The sweeping announcement was a surprise to many in India who had anticipated that the RBI could only approve the Department of Post as a payments bank. A key question is whether India provided licenses to the right mix of players. Our initial assessment is that RBI got a lot right by approving a strong cast of institutions and partnerships with enough financial muscle to take risks and experiment with different business models. This is the first time RBI has awarded licenses or approvals to such a large number of applicants at one time. By doing so, they took a portfolio approach and stacked the batting order. Approvals were given to lead sponsors from one or more in each category: MNO (Airtel, Idea, Reliance, Vodafone, Uninor), prepaid issuer (Paytm, Tech Mahindra, and others), agent or business correspondent company (FINO), non-bank finance company (Cholamandalam), and government (Department of Post). Commercial banks are also participants in a number of the newly licensed entities. For instance, Kotak Mahindra has a 20% stake in the entity that will be set-up by Airtel; State Bank of India will have up to a 30% stake in the entity set-up with Reliance; multiple banks, including ICICI Bank, have a stake in FINO; and multiple banks have a stake in National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). Many expect that with banks involved, payments banks will quickly move to linking payment services with credit issued by these banks. RBI also seems to have struck the appropriate balance between innovation, stability, and customer protection. The payments bank requirements have capital requirements, promote stake dilution roadmaps, and deposit protection measures with the intent of protecting public deposits.

Can digital banking survive the upcoming regulatory changes?

What happens in India ought to be of great interest to many countries. In Bangladesh, regulatory changes are also under consideration by Bangladesh Bank for mobile financial services and it will be interesting to see how the pathways of India and Bangladesh unfold in the months and years ahead Moreover, included in the approvals were India’s largest corporate houses and high net worth individuals, not to mention Jack Ma, whose Alibaba has a 25% stake in Paytm, one of the awardees. By awarding the licenses to some of India’s strongest corporates, RBI is saying that it will back innovative models, but only if they have financial muscle behind them. The RBI also recognised that a payments bank must be financially sound from the outset if it is to weather anticipated challenges during the growth phase and survive long enough to make a profit. Specifically, payments banks will need to develop massive agent networks, a large share of the cost of the business, which will require upfront investments with only longterm returns on investment. Aside from the 11 payments banks, the RBI also recently approved two commercial banks and 10 small finance banks, increasing banking supply significantly for the first time in 15 years. RBI promises to issue more licenses “on tap” or with speedier approval

processes. These bold moves by the RBI will be a game changer for India’s financial system overall. These latest steps by the RBI along with significant interventions by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance provide an unprecedented opportunity to boost financial inclusion in India. The approved payments banks have hit the ground running. Paytm has over 120 million wallets with average transaction amounts of Rs10. The payments bank license will allow Paytm to extend to smaller cities and rural areas with a model that is all digital. Reliance will combine the roll out of its low cost smartphones and data coverage with banking services. Telenor has partnered with a newly-minted commercial bank to focus on some of the most challenging Indian geographies in the north. Almost every new payment is hiring data scientists to develop models that will allow lending to take place by checking data from cell phone use. It’s not all going to be smooth sailing. Some wonder if telecom operators setting

BIGSTOCK

up their own payments banks will behave in an anti-competitive way when it comes to communications access and data. One safety measure has been that the telecom regulator has already chosen to regulate USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, a communication protocol usable over any phone) with a pricing cap and also ensure that SMSes related to financial services are priced at the lowest tariff offered to any SMS. The RBI will also need to prepare itself to supervise a new class of financial institution, even though payments banks do not issue credit and are considered less risky in some ways. RBI will need to create appropriate regulations that enable innovation and encourage a level playing field. At a workshop recently, one of the payments banks wondered if they would be forced to issue passbooks or other documentation, fearing those costs would undermine their ability to scale up. The shake-up in India’s banking system could lead to a string of innovative products and services that we have not yet dreamed of. What happens in India ought to be of great interest to many countries. In Bangladesh, regulatory changes are also under consideration by Bangladesh Bank for mobile financial services and it will be interesting to see how the pathways of India and Bangladesh unfold in the months and years ahead. There is much to be learned by watching and learning from each other. l Kabir Kumar is a Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP, a global partnership of 34 leading organisations that seek to advance financial inclusion.

Opinion

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

No turning back Can we get back to the clarity of 1971?

Could we have imagined back in 1972 what Bangladesh would turn into in 2015?

In 1971, let me assure you, it was inconceivable that more than four decades down the line, the fault lines in our society would still be defined along the lines of ‘pro-liberation’ and ‘anti-liberation.’ How can we still accommodate that rhetoric?

n Enayetullah Khan

he concept of the good war may sound oxymoronic to some across the political spectrum, the kind of term peddled by some slick operative of the war industry of the West, or one of its couriers in the form of shady armsdealers who are the illegal beneficiaries when nations go to war. Maybe some misguided ideologue who wouldn’t know what to do with himself if all the wars suddenly wrapped up in the Middle East. In 1971 though, the war fought in these lands that would go on to form an independent Bangladesh for its 75 million residents, at least from their side on the ground and humanity’s point of view, was every bit the good fight. Our cause was just, and our hands were forced. Despite

all the post-war efforts at constructing an underlying theme of Bengali nationalism by tracing its origins right back to the Language Movement of 1952, over time all of these have unravelled. While it is true that some of the more radical student groups were pushing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to declare independence outright in the leadup to his historic March 7 address at the Racecourse Maidan, our leader clearly was not convinced by such urgency. Like a true democrat, he wanted the path of dialogue to exhaust itself before moving to such a course. No one knew better than their own “Mojibor” of old, the pulse of the Bengalis. It was the commencement of Operation Searchlight, and the serial atrocities committed by the Pakistani army in its first phase (till early May) that provoked a collective outrage on the part of the population that no army in the world could hope to suppress. They were destined to fail, and so they did, spectacularly. Today as a result 160 million Bangladeshis wake up every morning entitled to expect the same freedoms as others who belong to independent nations, that we believe to be democracies. But can they, or do they really? From its politicians (not including the rulers of the day obviously) to its journalists and human rights defenders, its hopelessly repressed minorities, and perhaps most

frustrating of all, the politicised bureaucracy, is it Bangladesh that is failing to live up to the promise of liberation, or Bangladeshis? “Beyond a certain point, there is no turning back,” wrote Franz Kafka, the celebrated Czech writer, in “Reflections on Sin, Suffering, Hope and the True Way,” before shattering any preconception from forming with the refrain: “That is the point that must be reached.” The generation of 71 who fought for and attained our vaunted independence, were undoubtedly pushed to that point. Yet once they were, the result was always inevitable. Overnight, throughout Bangladesh, the most ordinary, easygoing, peace-loving souls of the Bengalis were transformed into a ferocious form of indignation. And from that point onwards, there was going to be no turning back. It almost required a sense of certainty, for as one of the sub-sector commanders during the war said, “I left home to fight, and knowing I wasn’t seeing mother again without returning victorious.” This is one of the abiding feelings of what informed the original spirit or inspiration, today’s much-distorted concept of muktijuddher chetona, that one recalls from the period. There was also the sheer unacceptability across the entire population regarding Islamabad’s actions, which were grossly unjust. So there prevailed a degree of consistency among the population on what constituted right and wrong. Today, almost no such consensus exists across the population on almost any issue. In 1971, let me assure you, it was inconceivable that more than four decades down the line, the fault lines in our society would still be defined along the lines of “pro-liberation” and “anti-liberation.” How can we still accommodate that rhetoric? It is high time however, that we begin to display some of the maturity necessary to rise above the maelstrom of party politics, for there is nothing that seems to accentuate our differences more in this day and age than the AL-BNP divide. Today, under the leadership of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, we find ourselves at another critical juncture in the trajectory of our nation -- only this time in the field of developing our society while growing our economy for maximum benefits to the most number of people. Other nations find themselves similarly poised. Yet history (or is it biology?) teaches us that not everyone will make it. Whether or not we now proceed to advance in keeping with the times, or fall off and get relegated to the lower leagues in humanity’s great march creating history, will depend mainly on whether we can rise above some of the petty differences pulling us asunder, and summon some of that clarity we had in 71. There can be no more turning back on the dream of delivering the promise of Bangladesh. We have reached the point of no return. And therein lies our opportunity. l Enayetullah Khan is Editor-in-Chief of Dhaka Courier and UNB.

Business 15

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

Tofail: WTO decision to help LDCs make best use of duty-free access n Tribune Report Stocks jump on BB move Stocks posted a steep rise yesterday, clawing back losses over the last couple of weeks. The market finally manged to break the nine-day-long bearish spell after the central bank relaxed bank’s capital market exposure rules, sparking optimism among investors resulting in strong rally. PAGE 16

German investor sentiment robust at year-end Investor sentiment in Germany is still on the increase, amid confidence that Europe’s biggest economy is robust enough to withstand the refugee crisis and the economic slowdown in China, a leading survey said. PAGE 17

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said the decision of relaxing export rules of origin for the least developed countries would help to ensure maximum use of duty-free and quota-free market access. He was briefing media in Dhaka yesterday about the just concluded 10th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Tofail Ahmed led the delegation of LDCs to the conference which saw the WTO member countries agreed to ease the RoO for the LDCs to 25% value addition from the existing 30%. That means the total export value of an LDC export product can have up to 75% imported components and still enjoy duty-free and quota-free market access to the developed countries’ markets. “Effectiveness of preferential market access, especially the use of duty-free and quota-free market access, depends on the RoO,” said Tofail Ahmed. He said: “Due to rigid conditions of RoO, the LDCs cannot enjoy the benefits. The relaxation decision comes following a long-time negotiation of the LDCs including Bangladesh.” “In the conference, I focused on the LDCs’ concerns and fought to establish their rights.” Commenting on the capacity of grabing

service waiver facilities, the minister said: “We had been able to extend deadline and had to concentrate on capacity building and being well-equipped.” He added: “It is very tough to realise the demands from the developed countries.” The businesspeople said the decision to relax the rules would also open window of global outsourcing as Bangladesh would be able to export products manufactured using 75% imported raw materials. “It is an epic-making decision for the pharmaceutical industry and if the patent waiver facility was not extended, Bangladesh could not use its potentiality,” said Incepta Pharmaceutical Managing Director Abdul Muktadir. “Bangladesh now will be able to provide newly invented medicines to consumers,” he added. Muktadir said the decision would also

help Bangladesh develop medical tourism as “we will be able to provide medicines like Hepatitis C vaccines and some other rare products at cheap prices not only in Bangladesh but also in the global market.” Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Syed Nasim Manzur said it would open a new global window of outsourcing going beyond the leather and RMG exports sector. In the Nairobi declaration, the WTO member states made decision on four issues, which include relaxation of RoO for LDCs, extension of preferential market access waiver and patent waiver for pharmaceutical products until 2030 and subsidies for domestic transportation of export-oriented agricultural products until 2030. Currently, different countries impose separate RoOs for LDC exports; Bangladesh currently enjoys preferential treatment on products with 30% value addition. Bangladesh’s RMG products now add value locally by an average of 40%, but officials say exports would increase if the decision is adopted and implemented faithfully by preference granting countries. Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, International Chamber of Commerce President Mahbubur Rahman and BGMEA Vice President Mohammed Nasir were also present at the briefing. l

World’s automotive battery supplier giant to enter local market next month n Kayes Sohel Oil price hits 11-year low Brent crude prices fell to their lowest in more than 11 years yesterday, hounded by a relentless rise in global supply that looks set to outpace demand again next year. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Monday DSE Broad Index

4,578.9

1.5% ▲

Index

1,101.2

1.1% ▲

30 Index

1,734.1

1.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,888.7

40.5% ▲

96.9

22.8% ▲

All Share Index

13,979.8

1.5% ▲

30 Index

12,407.1

0.9% ▲

8,507.4

1.5% ▲

219.0

-4.3% ▼

7.6

6.5% ▲

Turnover in Mn Volume

CSE

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Volume

GS-Yuasa, one of the world’s largest Japanese automotive battery manufacturers, is set to enter next month into Bangladesh market, mainly dominated by local firms. For strengthening its foot from the very beginning, the company has already set up a $15 million battery assembly plant in Chittagong with an initial production capacity of 30,000 batteries per month. GS-Yuasa, which accounts for more than 8% share of the world market and around 30% share of the Asian market, has strategic alliances with all leading Japanese vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi to provide technologically advanced high quality batteries. “We have set up a unit in Bangladesh to assemble automotive battery. It will start commercial production in January 2016,” Riku Imai, manager, Market Development at GS Yuasa, told a group of journalists

recently. GS-Yuasa has teamed up with Eastern Lubricants Blenders Limited, a local firm and a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, to distribute its products across the country. “Bangladesh automotive battery market is very potential as its economy is growing,” said Imai. GS-Yuasa executive described how the idea came to him to penetrate into Bangladesh, saying: “When I visited here first time, I saw there are many Japanese brand cars driven across Bangladesh. However, I was afraid that there is no Japanese brand battery available here.” “On the other hands, it is a great opportunity to introduce our quality battery to the market. Now I am very glad to launch our Yuasa brand battery business in Bangladesh.” Moreover, Bangladesh automotive battery market is very potential as its economy is growing, he said. Imai said the number of automobiles produced across the world will in-

crease steadily in the future, many of which will be in Asia as well as in Bangladesh. “The Asian market is the most important one for us because GS Yuasa has number one market share here.” GS Yuasa had built foundation for batteries in Japan one century ago. As a top manufacturer of batteries, the company has continued developing more advanced batteries up until today based on its corporate policy of “Innovation and Growth”. At present, the company also produces batteries, power supply systems, lighting equipment, special equipment and other electrical devices. l

Business

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Stocks jump on BB move n Tribune Report Stocks posted a steep rise yesterday, clawing back losses over the last couple of weeks. The market finally manged to break the nine-day-long bearish spell after the central bank relaxed bank’s capital market exposure rules, sparking optimism among investors resulting in strong rally. The benchmark index DSEX rose more than 67 points or 1.5% to 4,578. The Shariah index DSES gained 12 points or 1.2% to 1,101. The blue chip comprising index DS30 settled at 1,734, rising almost 20 points or 1.2%. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective

Category Index CSCX was up 123 points to 8,507. On Sunday, Bangladesh Bank excluded banks’ equity investment in its stock market subsidiaries from the calculation of the banks’ capital market exposure. From January, banks’ capital given to their stock market subsidiaries will not be counted as stock market exposure. Lanka Bangla Securities said Dhaka stocks leaped up, fueled by relaxation of the central bank’s rule on bank’s capital market exposure. IDLC Investments said the market broke the nine-session-long bearish spell yesterday as optimism resurfaced, riding on the news of final resolution on the bank’s capital mar-

ket exposure adjustment. “Relief from the fear of anticipated selling pressure from institutional end as well as hope for fresh investments rejuvenated investment sentiment of the market participants. Moreover, availability of undervalued stocks due to recent negative momentum in the market attracted opportunistic investors.” With the positive development, Regent Textile Mills Limited escaped selling pressure as it rose over 8% for the first time since its debut on Tuesday last. Trading activities, however, also improved as the DSE turnover stood at Tk488 crore, which is more than about 23% over previous session. l

6-month replacement warranty on Walton LED TVs n Tribune Report Walton has expanded its facility for its valued customers through offering conditional six months replacement warranty for its produced LED (Light Emitting Diode) televisions started from December, 2015. Along with the replacement warranty, the customers will also enjoy two years warranty for panel, spare parts and services of LED television. Earlier, the replacement facility on Walton brand LED televisions was only three months, said a press release. As the local brand is committed towards their customers to provide best products with highest facilities at affordable rates, it has expanded the replacement warranty on its LED TVs by another three months. “Walton brand LED televisions are now the customers’ top choice as the company manufactures world-class televisions with latest technology, advanced machinery, highly skilled and experienced engineers,” said Md Abdul Bari, assistant director of Walton Group. The extension is aimed at enhancing the customers’ satisfaction, said Bari. To bring the technological advancement towards the people’s doorstep at affordable rates, they are offering high quality LED televisions at the prices of CRT TVs, he said. l

Prime Bank Ltd launches new corporate credit card on the World MasterCard platform

Prime Bank launches corporate credit card n Tribune Report Prime Bank has launched the new corporate credit on the World MasterCard platform. Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury, managing director of Prime bank, launched the new card at a ceremony held yesterday in the capital. “The card offers our clients a life of privilege and luxury globally as well as within the country,” said Kamal. The new offer is manly for corporate cli-

ents. The charge of the card will be free for the first year and annual charge will be Tk5,000 from the second year. Employees having a monthly income of over Tk50,000 will be eligible to apply for the card while the earning limit is Tk5lakh for businessmen. Foreigners will get the card subject to having foreign currency account above $5,000. The World MasterCard is a premium branded card with over 1,300 global offers covering travel, dining and golf experiences. l

Axiata sets foot in Nepal telecom market n Tribune Report Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) announced expansion of its regional footprint and entry into the Nepal market through acquisition of the Himalayan nation’s number one mobile operator, Ncell Private Limited (Ncell). Robi Axiata Dhaka office yesterday in a statement confirmed the news. Ncell is the number one operator in Nepal with a stronghold of close to 57.5% revenue market share and 48.8% subscriber market share. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Axiata Investments (UK) Limited, Axiata has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with TeliaSonera UTA Holdings BV and SEA Telecom Investments BV for the 100% acquisition of Reynolds Holdings Lim-

ited (Reynolds). According to the statement, the acquisition of Reynolds for the purchase price of $1.365 billion plus customary adjustments at closing effectively secures Axiata with an 80% equity interest, a controlling stake in Ncell. Industry insiders said Nepal is one of the emerging economies with steady GDP growth in Asia. With a mobile penetration of unique subscribers of 51%, the country has experienced a mobile subscriber growth at an average of 18% from 2012-2014. Following the acquisition, Axiata will have contiguous presence and reach five key countries across South Asia. Axiata’s combined footprint in South East Asia and South Asia will cover a total population of 1.77 billion and further solidify the Group as one of the leading mobile operators in the region

with over 280 million customers from 2682 million today. President & Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata, Jamaludin Ibrahim said: “As with all our investments, we see our entry into Nepal as a long-term strategic move for the Group. At the same time, Axiata is also committed to playing a major part in the development of the country by offering high-speed data connectivity and products on a par with its economic progress. Being a responsible corporate citizen and major contributor to the country’s economy is key to our long-term vision.” Axiata enters the Nepal market with a local partner holding 20% direct local shareholding in Ncell as per the local law. The partner is an independent party familiar to the Group and well-versed in telecommunications industry and regulatory environment in Nepal. l

ISP licences of ABSCO, Sea Beach reinstated n Ishtiaq Husain

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has reinstated the licences of two internet service provider companies – ABSCO and Sea Beach Online Limited. On September 6, the regulator canceled the licences on the grounds that they didn’t renew their business permits, paying all dues, within the stipulated time At a recent meeting, the regulatory body took the decision to restore the licences. Over the last six months, the commission has canceled 63 licences of ISPs as they failed to renew their documents. Earlier in June, BTRC canceled licences of 30 ISPs and in September 33 ISPs for the same reason. Following the cancelation of ABSCO and Sea Beach’s licences, the two companies applied to BTRC for reconsidering their licence cancellation one month and a half later. In its application, ABSCO apologised to the commission for not being able to pay the licence fee timely before 23 February, 2013. “Because of decreasing market situation during 2012-14 period, we couldn’t pay the licence fee in due time. Even it was tough for us to pay the salaries of our employees and to bear our daily operational and administrative expenses,” read the application. An official of BTRC told the Dhaka Tribune that as ABSCO and Sea Beach Online Limited cleared all their dues, the commission has decided to reinstate their licences for ensuring uninterrupted internet services for subscribers. Internet Service Providers, also known as Internet Access Providers, are business organisations offering users access to the internet and related services. The ISPs provide services such as internet access, internet transit, name registration and hosting, dial-up access and leased line access. The main objective of ISPs is to send the internet services to the doorsteps of people and strengthen data communication. l

Dollar weakens against yen in Asia n AFP, Tokyo

The dollar weakened against the yen yesterday as demand for the safe haven Japanese currency grew on declines in world equities and oil prices. The initial rally in the dollar against its major rivals that came after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike has faded as dealers focus back on the struggling global economy. “As global stocks are facing selling pressure again and oil prices remain stagnant, investors tend to buy the yen as a risk-off option,” said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of the FX sales team at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. The Japanese unit is often seen as a secure investment target in time of volatility and uncertainty. Japan’s central bank on Friday tweaked its stimulus but crucially left its vast 80 trillion yen annual asset-buying programme unchanged. The announcement saw an initial spike in the dollar against the yen but it soon retreated. l

Business

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

German investor sentiment robust at year-end n AFP Investor sentiment in Germany is still on the increase, amid confidence that Europe’s biggest economy is robust enough to withstand the refugee crisis and the economic slowdown in China, a leading survey said. The investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute rose for the second month in a row to 16.1 points in December, after a 10.4 points increase in November, the think tank said in a statement. “The large influx of refugees is above all a major challenge facing policy-makers and civil society in Germany ... (and) the economic slowdown in emerging markets is exerting pressure on the German export industry,” said ZEW president Clemens Fuest. “Overall, however, confidence is growing that the German economy is sufficiently robust to meet these challenges in the coming year,” Fuest said. For the survey, ZEW questions analysts and institutional investors about their current assessment of the economic situation in Germany, as well as their expectations for the coming months. The sub-index measuring financial market players’ view of the current economic situation in Germany was largely unchanged, edging up by 0.6 point to 55 points, ZEW said.

‘Solid rise’

Analysts said the headline index was slightly higher than they had expected. The “solid rise ... suggests that the economy is faring pretty well,” said Jennifer McKeown at Capital Economics. The data “support earlier survey evidence that neither the Volkswagen scandal nor the Paris attacks have taken a significant toll on the German economy,” she said. Nevertheless, the current level was still lower than that seen during the first half of the year, so it could point to a slowdown in growth, McKeown continued. “We maintain our forecast that German

The German investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute rose for the second month in a row to 16.1 points in December GDP (gross domestic product) growth will slow from 1.5% this year to about 1.2% in 2016,” she said. ING DiBa Carsten Brzeski said investors appeared to have “somehow overcome their disappointment after the European Central Bank meeting and have become more optimistic about the growth prospects of the German economy.” At its meeting earlier this month, the ECB trimmed back one of its key interest rates slightly and extended its bond purchase pro-

gramme for another six months, but investors had been expecting much more robust action to tackle the stubbornly low level of inflation in the euro area. Brzeski noted that the ZEW index had “a rather poor track record when it comes to predicting GDP growth.” However, “despite another very turbulent year with the Greek crisis, the Chinese slowdown, the refugee influx and increased geopolitical tensions, the German economy has continued its solid growth performance,” he said.

AFP

“Domestic demand, and in particular private consumption, has become an important growth driver. Looking ahead, the economy should continue its current positive, though not breathtakingly strong, momentum next year,” Brzeski added. BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar agreed. “Economic prospects aren’t going to cloud over in the next six months,” he said. “In fact, growth could even gain a bit of momentum, driven by strong consumer demand,” Kipar predicted. l

India introduces bill Battle for young customers heats up in banking sector for bankruptcy law n Reuters, Hong Kong in parliament n Reuters, New Delhi

The government yesterday introduced a bill in parliament aimed at bringing sweeping changes to an outdated and overburdened bankruptcy system, setting deadlines for the first time for processing insolvency cases. At present, Asia’s third-largest economy has competing laws with unclear jurisdictions to deal with the liquidation or revival of companies. This often results in the process dragging on for years, inflating costs for investors and taxpayers. The bill, introduced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the lower house, seeks to enact a single bankruptcy code. Under current rules, even deciding whether to save or liquidate an ailing company can take years, leaving it in the hands of managers who can - and do - strip assets with impunity. Foreign and domestic investors say the difficulty in exiting ventures is a deterrent in their investment decisions. l

Banks in Hong Kong are intensifying the battle for young customers key to their future retail profit, offering online perks and mobile banking products in a bid to erode the dominance of HSBC in its Asian stronghold. Like peers around the world, banks operating in Hong Kong including Bank of China Ltd and Citigroup Inc are trying to improve their online banking products to lure tech-savvy students and young professionals as they are about to open their first bank account. For HSBC the battle to win the hearts of young Hong Kongers is particularly important as retail banking activity in the Asian financial center helped drive its overall profit up 2% in the first half of this year. The London-based bank, which has put China at the center of its global strategy, is also in the process of deciding whether to move its global headquarters to Hong Kong. A survey of 2,500 people conducted in November by specialized research firm RFI, gave Bank of China a bigger market share among bank customers aged 18-24 than HSBC, which

dominates in all other categories. These customers loathe spending time at bank branches and seek a lender that can allow them to carry out multiple transactions from their smartphone. “I would rate both the online and mobile services offered by Bank of China as good as they allow me to pay my parking tickets instantly, and this is very important to me,” said Chun Hoi Lau, a 23-year-old student at the University of Hong Kong. Bank of China, which says the young generation is a key customer segment, allows clients to carry out cross-border payments through an app, uses the popular WeChat social media platform to handle customers’ queries and has introduced a popular virtual securities investment contest for students. “We have been developing a comprehensive strategy with a set of products and services delivered through their preferred channels to suit their life styles,” the bank told Reuters.

Bank for life

The jury however is still out on which lender is making effective inroads among the

young, a segment targeted because people often stick with a bank for life once they have made their choice, analysts said. In a detailed survey commissioned by HSBC, and conducted by Nielsen last year, the bank said its market share of 18-24 year olds was nearly double that of Bank of China. It said it was aware of the increasing need to offer more online services. “We are investing heavily in developing new capabilities to meet customers’ needs,” said Kevin Martin, HSBC’s head of retail banking and wealth management, Asia Pacific. HSBC will next year launch more products for smartphones and digital payments as well as new security features, Martin added. Citibank is also appealing to younger customers with 19 “smart” branches in Hong Kong that boast the sleek lines of Apple Inc’s retail stores, touch panels, video conferencing facilities and iPads to access a wide range of banking services. Hong Kong spokesman James Griffiths said Citibank was also offering customers discounted fees on stock and forex trading via digital platforms to encourage more transactions. l

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Business

Oil price hits 11-year low

Gold up on softer dollar n Reuters, London

n Reuters, London Brent crude prices fell to their lowest in more than 11 years yesterday, hounded by a relentless rise in global supply that looks set to outpace demand again next year. Oil production is running close to record highs and, with fresh barrels poised to enter the market from the likes of Iran, the United States and Libya, the price of crude is set for its largest monthly percentage decline in seven years. While consumers have enjoyed lower fuel prices, producers have hacked back spending and cut thousands of jobs, while exporting nations have suffered tumbling revenue. Brent futures fell by about 2% to as low as $36.05 per barrel yesterday, their weakest since July 2004, and were down 45 cents at $36.43 at 0905 GMT. Brent crude futures haven fallen more than 18.5% this month, their steepest fall since the collapse of failed US bank Lehman Brothers in October 2008. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures dropped 33 cents to $34.40 a barrel, their lowest since 2009. “Really, I wouldn’t like to be in the shoes of an oil exporter getting into 2016. It’s not exactly looking as if there is light at the end of the tunnel any time soon,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. “For every dollar we move lower, that brings forward increased stress in the system.” The price of oil has halved over the past year, shredding the finances of oil producers such as Nigeria, which faces its worst economic crisis in years, or Venezuela, which has been plunged into deep recession. Even wealthy Gulf Arab states have been hit. Last week top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain raised interest rates as they scrambled to protect their currencies. Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, said Brent could be testing its 11-year low because the United States lifted its export ban, which has been in place since the oil crisis of the mid-1970s. “This gives Brent more weakness than WTI, as seen from the narrowing WTI-Brent spread.”

A worker refuels a car at a petrol station “However, at the end of the day, I would think that prices would face strong support as they move lower, and I would think that we would not see prices below $30,” Ang added. Yesterday Iraq devalued its dinar currency to offset the impact of lower oil, while Azerbaijan ditched its currency peg after burning through more than half its foreign exchange reserves this year. Morgan Stanley said that “the hope for a rebalancing in 2016 continues to suffer serious setbacks”. It cited US output being “more resilient than most models originally indicated”. US oil supply will make its way to global

AFP

markets in the coming year after the government voted to lift a 40-year-old restriction on crude exports, but it will face stiff competition for market share. Russia now pumps more than 10 million barrels per day (bpd), the most since the collapse of the Soviet Union, while OPEC output is close to record levels above 31.5 million bpd and well above the cartel’s notional target of 30 million bpd. Iran will add to global supply when it resumes shipments next year after the lifting of international sanctions, while a peace deal in Libya could lead to higher exports. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Bonik Barta and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies accord a reception to former Bangladesh Bank governors Mohammed Farashuddin and Salehuddin Ahmed

Quazi ASM Anisul Kabir has joined Standard Bank Limited as its deputy managing director yesterday, said a press release. Prior to his joining, Kabir was the deputy managing director of Prime Bank Limited. He started his banking career as a probationary officer at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited in 1986

Gold rose yesterday, as uncertainty about how fast the Federal Reserve will tighten interest rates next year weighed on the dollar. Stronger European shares and a renewed slump in crude oil prices, which hit levels unseen since 2004, curbed gold’s ascent. The metal is usually seen as a hedge against oil-led inflation, while appetite for risk keeps demand for safer assets such as gold limited. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $1,071.31 an ounce by 1031 GMT, following a 1.4% gain on Friday. Liquidity is expected to drop as trading enters the last two weeks of the year. The metal saw bids on Friday after the dollar slipped against the yen on views the Bank of Japan may not ease policy as much as expected. However, the outlook for the dollar remains constructive on higher US rates. “The dollar will continue to be a drag for gold next year and more importantly the US real rates and equity risk premium will help drive gold lower,” Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Hsueh said. “We have a view that we’ll get 3 to 4 25 basis point US rate hikes in 2016, bringing the 10year real rate lower, although ... the yield curve is expected to ease a bit, but still not making it easy for gold,” he added. “We are targeting $980 for the fourth quarter next year.” The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield steadied at 2.2%. As gold pays no interest, the rise in returns from US bonds and other markets is seen as negative for the metal. Gold had fallen 2% on Thursday, the metal’s biggest single-day loss in five months, as the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. In the run up to the Fed move, speculators built a record bearish bet in COMEX gold, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday, a factor that could trigger some short-covering. “We believe the pace of US rate hikes will decide the fate of gold,” ANZ said in a note. The metal could revisit $1,000 for the first time in six years if it breaks below its early December low at $1,045, according to technical analysts. l

Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL in Bangladesh

more than ever from your phone whether you’re in the office, at home or on the road,” he adds.

Microsoft Bangladesh Limited on Tuesday announced retail availability of Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL throughout Bangladesh. The newest flagship devices to join the Lumia portfolio and the first to ship with Windows 10, the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL deliver a familiar and consistent experience that extends across your Windows devices, including innovative features like Windows Hello beta for Lumia and Continuum for phones. Combined with stunning HD displays, new PureView cameras with 20 megapixel sensors and triple LED natural flash that shoot 4K video, as well as the latest in processing power, Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL represent the best innovation from Microsoft. “We designed Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL for people who want the most productive smartphones running the most productive operating system,” said Sandeep Gupta, general manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales, Emerging Asia markets. “People like mobile professionals who want a premium phone that can work like a PC now have the perfect partner for their Windows 10 devices in Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. With full Windows 10 and features like Continuum for phone, it’s easy to do

Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL: Premium and Capable Handsets • Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL are the first Lumia phones to come pre-loaded with Windows 10 with built-in Office to access all your files via OneDrive and the cloud. • Both the devices feature Continuum for phones, enhanced by the optional Microsoft Display Dock accessory. This Windows 10 feature allows people to use their phone like a PC by connecting it to a monitor and transforming it for larger-screen entertainment, or adding a keyboard and mouse to work like a PC with Windows 10 apps like Microsoft Office, while simultaneously taking calls or performing other tasks. • Both devices feature a QuadHD AMOLED display featuring up to 564ppi. • Microsoft’s PureView technology is built into both Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL cameras, boasting a 20MP sensor and triple LED natural flash. • Integrated with Cortana, it’s easy to set news updates, calendar reminders, messages, appointments or even flight information. • To make this all possible, both phones also have the latest-generation Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processors to get these things done faster. Full device specs are available http:// www.microsoft.com/en/mobile/#

Biz Info

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Novo Nordisk organised a camp for children Novo Nordisk has supported to organise a camp for children living with diabetes to develop confidence and knowledge for better management of diabetes under the changing diabetes® in children (CDiC) Programme. CDiC Program in Bangladesh is a joint initiative of Novo Nordisk, Bangladesh Diabetic Somity (BADAS) and World Diabetes Foundation. Bangladesh has the world’s largest clinic for children living with diabetes under the CDiC programme to help improve quality of life, psychological well-being, self-esteem, and self-confidence, said Prof AK Azad Khan, president of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh. The purpose of the camp is to help children living with diabetes learn more about the disease, its control and optimal management, to provide counselling for parents in effectively dealing with their children’s diabetes and to share experiences about coping with diabetes, said Prof Kishwar Azad, director, CDiC and Perinatal care of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh. Changing Diabetes® in Children (CDiC) Program is part of Novo Nordisk’s strategy for access to care, and builds on four priorities within “the right to health:

availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of healthcare,” said A Rajan Kumar, managing director of Novo Nordisk. The success of Novo Nordisk’s longlasting partnership with DAB for years is rooted in shared fundamentals: focus, commitment, consistency and trust focusing on education, awareness, research, prevention and diagnosis, and seek to make these activities selfsustaining, Rajan explained. The two-day camp was organised at Brac CDM Savar. A total of 80 children living with diabetes have participated at the camp. The camp will feature a lot of inspirational activities: celebrating the national Victory Day, concerts, comedy shows, talent shows and dance shows for children to build their confidence. “We are doing business following triple bottom line philosophy that made us liable to society and environment. CDiC is a burning example of our business philosophy towards achieving long sustainable development goals,” said Dr Mohammad Saiful, head of Marketing of Novo Nordisk. Jakob Haugaard, deputy head of Mission, Embassy of Denmark also participated at the programme as the chief guest. l

Price and availability Lumia 950 is approximately priced at Tk56,000 and Lumia 950 XL at Tk64,000, available at all the Microsoft authorised resellers stores in Bangladesh. l

Elections Hackathon 2015 kicks off

The Municipal Elections 2015 are set to take place on December 30. HiFi Public, in collaboration with the Asia Foundation and supported by DANIDA, UK AID and Sida, organised the Elections Hackathon 2015 based on the upcoming elections. The two

day long hackathon is underway at the Six Seasons Hotel, Dhaka. The Hackathon is aimed to provide a platform from which young participants can compete to provide useful and exciting online/mobile applications that will assist voters in accessing information relating to the Municipal Elections. The objective of the event is to encourage the youth to be better informed regarding the upcoming election, and to develop online applications that provide free and transparent information to all voters. Over 100 enthusiastic participants joined the event, including students, faculty members of different universities, and

employees of various ICT professional organisations. The welcome speech was given by Kutub Uddin Kamal, editor, HiFi Public, who introduced the crowd to the event and explained the motive behind this initiative and what it aims to achieve. This was followed by an interactive briefing from Sara Taylor, deputy country representative of the Asia Foundation, who explained what concepts the participants could engage in with examples of such hackathons held in other nations across the world. Highlighting the importance of women participation in tech, she also lauded the female participants. Shahriar Rahman, COO of HiFi Public, spoke about the importance of the youth’s participation in the electoral processes and how technology can play a significant role in ensuring free and fair elections. Zahed Eshaque, chief software architect of ZeTeq, explained to the participants on the more technical aspects of the task they

have to undertake. The contestants will be judged on the basis of innovation, usability, impact and growth potential. Contestants began pitching their ideas from 4pm in front of the judging panel. A panel of seven expert mentors was present at the venue to help guide the participants and provide assistance as required. Mentors included, M M Mamunuzzaman, founder and CEO, Software Global Consultancy, Zahid Eshaque, chief software architect, ZeTeq Systems, Lutfi Chowdhury, head of Sales, G&R Ad Network, Md Nurul Islam, senior programmes officer, the Asia Foundation, Mir Junayed Jamal, project manager, EWG, the Asia Foundation, Mohammad Arif Iftekhar, senior software engineer, ZeTeq Systems and Shafkat Alam, CTO, HiFi Public. The programme will concluded yesterday at 6pm. The winning teams will receive laptops, smart phones, and other exciting prizes. l

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

CROSSWORD Across 1 Winner (6) 4 Faucet (3) 7 Combine (5) 8 Song bird (6) 11 Depressed (3) 12 Poet’s Ireland (4) 13 Steering Apparatus (4) 15 Wigwam (5) 16 Speak (5) 20 Skin eruption (4) 23 Hindu Queen (4) 24 Bees’ sound (3) 25 Carry too far (6) 27 Lair (3) 28 Surrenders (6)

Down 1 Manservant (5) 2 Underground passages (7) 3 Book of the Bible (4) 4 Money drawer (4) 5 Minute particle (4) 6 Church seat (3) 9 Anger (3) 10 Pinch (3) 14 Utmost (7) 17 Sailor (3) 18 Conclude (3) 19 Uprisings (5) 20 Ill-mannered (4) 21 So be it! (4) 22 Divine (4) 24 Concealed (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 18 represents C so fill C every time the figure 18 appears. You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. A B C DE FG H I J K L MN O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU 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.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

World 21

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

India finance minister sues Kejriwal over graft claims India’s finance minister on Monday filed a defamation suit against Delhi’s leader who had accused him of large-scale corruption in his former role as head of the capital’s cricket association. PAGE 22

US President Barack Obama speaks at the National Archives in Washington, DC, December 15, on the 224th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights

Obama’s final year to test presidential powers n AFP, Washington

Splintered Spanish vote points to fraught coalition talks Spain’s major parties, taking stock after the most fragmented national election result in the country’s history, embarked on Monday on potentially long and arduous talks to form a coalition government. PAGE 23

Court rejects plea to reverse Delhi gangrapist’s release India’s Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal against the release of the youngest convict in a fatal gang-rape, sparking fury from the victim’s parents who said the ruling was a betrayal of women. PAGE 24

Barack Obama has reveled in defying predictions that 2015 would make him a lameduck president, but securing his final year goals – from closing Guantanamo to enacting gun control – will test the limits of White House power. The last year of a US presidency can be a pitiful thing. Many a commander-in-chief who bestrode Washington like a political Colossus can struggle to command much at all. New crises erupt, and victories won in the spring of an administration unexpectedly provoke a winter of discontent. In their final years, George W. Bush watched the economy fall off a cliff, Ronald Reagan was ensnared by the Iran-Contra scandal, Bill Clinton was impeached and Woodrow Wilson had a stroke. For Obama, a long-avoided morass in Syria and a costly quagmire in Iraq may come to define 2016, as fears grow about the threat from the Islamic State group. But Obama has offered Americans an alternative vision for his own eighth and final year in the Oval Office. “I’ve never been more optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now,” he said before heading to Hawaii for an end of year family vacation. “In 2016, I’m going to leave it out all on the field.” Obama has proved himself remarkably adept at cauterizing the loss of power. In 2015, he thwarted a recalcitrant Republican-controlled Congress to reach a landmark nuclear deal with Iran and inked a global environmental accord that, in his words, can begin to “solve the climate crisis.” He watched the Supreme Court enshrine gay marriage into law and tentatively agreed a vast trans-Pacific trade deal that gives

teeth to his “pivot to Asia” and could shape geopolitics in the Pacific for generations. His approval ratings – although dented by fears about Islamic State terror after the San Bernardino attack – are around 45 percent, higher than Bush’s and roughly the same as Reagan’s at the same point. In 2016, Obama will try to keep momentum by deploying all the tools and trappings of office – from the bully pulpit to high-profile presidential visits. His voice will echo across the 2016 campaign, as he hits the road in support of expected nominee Hillary Clinton and a Democratic third term that would emboss his presidency. Before that, he is likely to become the first sitting president since Calvin Coolidge to visit Cuba. But even that short trip across the Strait of Florida illustrates how much Obama’s final year success is out of his hands. A trip to the land Fidel Castro would be rich in symbolism, an echo of Reagan’s first visit to the Soviet Union in 1988, or Richard Nixon’s visit to China. But without Congress’s willingness to end the embargo on Cuba, a visit would not thaw the last frosty remnants of the Cold War in the Americas. Equally, ratifying the landmark trans-Pacific trade deal still requires reluctant Democratic lawmakers to vote in favor. That may have to wait until after the November election.

Ready to deal

Publicly, at least, Obama is optimistic about dealing with the opposition-dominated Congress, even after being repeatedly burned – even if it is an election year, and even if disdain for the 44th president is a rare issue upon which Republicans can all agree. Yet recent agreements on taxes, the budget and early childhood education have

AFP

left the White House more hopeful that progress can be made on issues like criminal justice reform. It is a cruel irony that America’s first African-American president has struggled to improve race relations, or address sentencing laws that see a disproportionate number of young black and Hispanic men go to prison. “There is a confluence of interests, I believe the time is ripe for this issue,” said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There is a process and it is on track.” Obama is even holding out hope, however unlikely, that congressional Republicans will relent in their opposition to gun control and on closing Guantanamo. On both issues, the White House is already considering executive orders to bypass Congress and enact reforms, something that would ignite a political and legal firestorm. Obama’s efforts to bring a generation of immigrants out of the shadows offers a preview of what those fights could look like. Experts predict lengthy court battles and a possible political backlash, all of which could leave supporters in limbo and a key Obama policy goal in the hands of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the president’s perceived excessive use of executive orders could alter the delicate balance of power in Washington. As a presidential candidate, Obama criticized George W. Bush over executive overreach. “I taught the Constitution for 10 years, I believe in the Constitution, and I will obey the Constitution of the United States,” Obama once said on the campaign trail. “We don’t want to be like Bush,” said an official who recently left the Obama administration, discussing the problems of closing Guantanamo by executive order. But neither does Obama want to run out the clock on his presidency. l

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

World

Indian finance minister sues Kejriwal over graft claims n AFP, New Delhi

India’s finance minister on Monday filed a defamation suit against Delhi’s leader who had accused him of large-scale corruption in his former role as head of the capital’s cricket association. Arun Jaitley personally went to a Delhi court under tight security to sue Delhi Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other members of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for making “false and defamatory” statements against him and his family members. The minister sought 100 million rupees ($1.5 million) in damages over Kejriwal’s “baseless and wrong” allegations that he misused funds during his 13-year tenure as president of the Delhi and District Cricket Associa-

tion (DDCA) that ended in 2013. A bitter war of words erupted between the two last week when federal investigators raided Kejriwal’s Delhi office in connection with a corruption case involving his principal secretary. Kejriwal in turn accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of waging a political vendetta and branded him as “a coward and a psychopath,” alleging officers were sent to find files related to

“the DDCA scam that implicates Jaitley.” Jaitley has since rejected the claims repeatedly and has described them as the chief minister’s “propaganda technique to deflect attention when you yourselves are in the dock.” Kejriwal hit back at the minister on Twitter after the criminal and civil suits, asking Jaitley to prove his innocence to an independent enquiry committee. l

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Splintered Spanish vote points to fraught coalition talks n Reuters, Madrid

The new Spanish parliament Definitive results (numbers of seats)

Abs olu te

previous parlia The me n

185

109

11 Podemos Radical left Unidad Popular Ecologists-Communists

123

350

seats

The 4 main parties

28.7 m 6 17 ity or aj

Suicide bomber kills six in attack near Kabul

(as a % of the vote)

40 2

SOUTH ASIA

Socialist Party Ciudadanos Centre-right

26 Partido Popular Right Others

Source: Interior ministry natural fit for the PP. A tie-up between the PP and Ciudadanos would yield 163 seats, short of the 176 needed for a majority. Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera on Monday urged the main opposition Socialists, which finished second in the ballot, to support a minority PP government on a law-byway basis. “Spain can’t allow itself to become Greece. Spain can’t become a chaotic country,” he told broadcaster Telecinco. But the Socialists reiterated they would not back Rajoy, although they did not fully rule out supporting another PP candidate,

in what would be a de facto grand coalition. Overall, Podemos’ strong showing tipped the balance to the left of the political spectrum with five left-wing parties led by the Socialists and Podemos together winning 172 seats. Such a left-wing alliance will be hard to form, however, as groups differ on economic policy and the degree of autonomy that should be awarded to the wealthy northeastern region Catalonia, home to an entrenched independence movement. The Spanish constitution does not set a specific deadline to form a government after the election. l

US glossed over Oman’s human rights record during Iran talks n Reuters, Washington/Muscat As the United States negotiated this year’s nuclear pact with Iran, the State Department quietly agreed to spare the Gulf sultanate of Oman from an embarrassing public rebuke over its human rights record, rewarding a close Arab ally that helped broker the historic deal. In a highly unusual intervention, the department’s hierarchy overruled its own staff ’s assessments of Oman’s deteriorating record on forced labor and human trafficking and inflated its ranking in a congressionally mandated report, US officials told Reuters. The move, which followed protests by Oman, suggests the Obama administration placed diplomatic priorities over human rights to pacify an important Middle East partner. In the weeks leading up to publication of the State Department’s influential annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, top advisers to Secretary of State John Kerry disregarded findings by its Middle East diplomatic bureau and a US government office set up to independently grade global efforts to fight human trafficking, the officials said. In April, diplomats in the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs bureau and experts in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

agreed that Oman would be downgraded from “Tier 2” to a status known as “Tier 2 Watch List,” one notch above a level that can incur US sanctions, according to an internal department memo seen by Reuters. Oman, they agreed, had not done enough to improve the plight of migrant laborers and domestic workers who make up a large part of its expatriate community. In June, when the final report is usually published, the advisers to Kerry took an unusual step. They put the entire 382-page document on hold, two sources with knowledge of the process told Reuters. But the case of Oman illustrates how even a small country that is strategically significant to the United States can win concessions despite Washington’s public insistence that it bases its ranking system solely on human rights. In its protests over the possible downgrade, Oman stressed its broader strategic importance to the United States, according to US officials. While it is not unusual for a country’s ranking to be contested between the State Department’s human rights analysts and political bureaus such as Near Eastern Affairs, high-level intervention to change a ranking after those two parties have agreed is extremely rare.

A suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a joint NATO-Afghan patrol near Bagram air base in Afghanistan on Monday, killing six members of NATO’s Resolute Support mission and wounding six other soldiers and police, officials said. NATO headquarters in Kabul confirmed the deaths but did not confirm the nationalities of the casualties, in accordance with its normal practice. REUTERS

INDIA

20.6

Spain’s major parties, taking stock after the most fragmented national election result in the country’s history, embarked on Monday on potentially long and arduous talks to form a coalition government. With neither Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservatives nor left-wing parties winning a clear mandate to govern, the country faces weeks of uncertainty that has cast doubt on the durability of its flagship economic reforms and unnerved financial markets. Despite garnering the most votes, the center-right People’s Party (PP) had its worst result ever in a parliamentary election as Spaniards angered by high-level corruption cases and soaring unemployment turned away from the party in droves. The outcome was reminiscent of a similar situation in neighboring Portugal, where the incumbent conservatives won an October election but a socialist government backed by far left parties was sworn in. The inconclusive vote heralded a new era of pact-making, shattering a two-party system that has dominated Spain since the 1970s, with an unexpected surge from upstart anti-austerity party Podemos - the latest of several strong showings by populist parties in European elections - giving it a potential role as kingmaker. “We’re starting a period that will not be easy,” Rajoy told cheering PP supporters at party headquarters in central Madrid. “It will be necessary to reach pacts and agreements and I will try to do this.” However, the likelihood of a PP-led coalition faded with Podemos’ third place, outpacing fellow newcomer Ciudadanos whose market-friendly policies had been seen as a

World

By the time this year’s TIP report was published on July 27, five weeks later than usual, Oman’s ranking had been maintained at “Tier 2.” “I’m not aware of a case where something like this has happened before,” said Mark Lagon, the TIP office’s ambassador-at-large from 2007 to 2009 and now president of Freedom House, an advocacy group in Washington. The reprieve has important implications. Watch List countries are defined as those where the absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is “very significant or significantly increasing,” according to the State Department. A Western diplomatic source said he believes Kerry is “protecting Oman when it comes to this issue,” referring to human trafficking. Kerry’s press office declined to directly address whether he deliberately shielded Oman in the latest TIP report. A Reuters investigation published on Aug. 3 revealed a high degree of “grade inflation” in this year’s rankings. An unprecedented number of diplomatically sensitive countries such as Malaysia, China, Cuba, Uzbekistan and Mexico wound up with ratings higher than recommended by the State Department’s own human rights experts. l

India welcomes Nepal’s move to amend charter India welcomed the decision of the Nepal government to amend its new constitution to address key demands of agitating Madhesis regarding proportional representation and constituency delimitation. India’s foreign ministry said the accomodations offered a way out of the “current impasse in Nepal.” TOI

CHINA

China prosecutors sue environment department Chinese prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against a county-level environmental protection department, accusing it of “failing to fulfil its regulatory duties” in its supervision of a local sewage firm. China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate said the lawsuit filed by prosecutors in Shandong province last week marked the first time prosecutors had sued a government department in a public interest case. The suit comes after China’s leadership has vowed to crack down on severe levels of air, water and soil pollution, including the heavy smog that often blankets major cities. REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Philippine to spend $1.8bn on military modernisation Philippine President Benigno Aquino promised Monday that 83.9 billion pesos ($1.77 billion) allocated for military modernisation projects would be spent by 2017 as the country faces a territorial dispute with China. Aquino said his administration had already spent 56.79 billion pesos of the total scheduled for full disbursement by 2017 on “big-ticket” modernisation programmes. AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Israel to deploy mediumrange missile shield in 2016 Israel plans to deploy its new medium-range missile interceptor David’s Sling by mid2016 after the US-backed system passed final trials, defence officials said on Monday. David’s Sling is designed to shoot down rockets held by Israeli antagonists such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas with ranges of 100 to 200 km (63-125 miles), as well as cruise missiles and drones. Together with the Iron Dome short-range rocket interceptor and the Arrow ballistic missile interceptor, both operational, the measures form a multi-level shield that the Israelis are developing with Washington’s help as a bulwark against Iran and its allies on the Israeli border. REUTERS

World

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

USA

Senator Lindsey Graham ends US presidential bid Lindsey Graham, the hawkish Republican senator who has called for thousands of US troops in the Middle East and warned Americans against nominating Donald Trump for president, announced Monday he is exiting the White House race. He has expressed particular bitterness towards Trump, describing him as a xenophobic bigot for his comments about Muslims and at one point this month saying American voters should tell the bombastic billionaire to “go to hell.” AFP

THE AMERICAS

Dilma’s odds improve, but ally demands growth Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ’s key ally in Congress is certain it can head off an impeachment threat, but key ally Senator Eunicio Oliveira, senate leader of the fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, in return demanded a radical change of policy course to pull the economy out of its deepest downturn in 25 years. REUTERS

Conservatives split on EU after PM’s Brussels trip Prime Minister David Cameron’s trip to Brussels last week has exposed divisions in his party over Britain’s relationship with the EU, with one senior lawmaker saying on Sunday he wanted to quit the bloc and another hinting at a top-level rebellion. The comments came after Cameron met fellow European leaders on Thursday to discuss his demands for changes to Britain’s ties with Brussels. REUTERS

EUROPE

EU prolongs Russia sanctions over Ukraine The European Union agreed Monday to prolong damaging economic sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis for another six months amid sharp differences over relations with Moscow. Meanwhile, Russia confirmed it was imposing a food embargo against the Ukraine next month over Kiev’s trade deal with the EU. A free trade deal between Ukraine and the EU is set to enter into force from January 1. AFP

AFRICA

Two migrants drown, 108 rescued off Libya Two migrants trying to reach Europe by boat drowned off Libya on Monday, another 10 were missing and more than 100 were rescued, the Libyan coastguard said. “We saved 108 people but two drowned and 10 others were reported missing,” coastguard Colonel Ashraf al-Badri said. “The boat was almost completely under water” off Janzour town some 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Tripoli, he said. Libya has for years been a stepping stone for migrants seeking to reach Europe, but smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business since the 2011 fall of Moamer Kadhafi. AFP

Court rejects plea to reverse Delhi gang-rapist’s release n AFP, New Delhi India’s Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal against the release of the youngest convict in a fatal gang-rape, sparking fury from the victim’s parents who said the ruling was a betrayal of women. Amid growing outrage at the freeing of the 20-year-old, judges said there were no legal grounds to allow a petition by the Delhi Commission for Women, which wanted to reverse his release from a youth correctional facility. At a hearing presided over by Justice AK Goel and U.U. Lalit, the court said “there is nothing in the law” that would allow them to order him back behind bars and he therefore could not be detained any longer. The ruling was greeted with despair by the parents of the victim, 23-year-old Jyoti Singh, who has become the symbol of the plight of women in a country with frightening levels of sexual violence. Her rape and subsequent death from internal injuries three years ago sparked some of the biggest demonstrations in India’s recent history, which intensified after being broken up by heavy-handed police tactics. It also triggered deep soul-searching about the treatment of women in a country where rape victims are often stigmatised and frequently pressured by police and rela-

tives to drop allegations. “There are no words to describe our disappointment,” her father Badrinath Singh told AFP. “We don’t understand all these laws. We only know that the system has failed us.” The convict, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was one of a group of six who abducted the young physiotherapy student after she had spent an evening at the movies with a male friend. They lured her onto an off-duty bus and then took it in turns to rape her and violate her with a metal rod before throwing her onto the road. She died of her injuries nearly a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. One of the six committed suicide while on remand and the other four adult attackers were given the death penalty, although the sentence has yet to be carried out pending an appeal.

criminals a licence that says before the age of 18 you can rape girls, do whatever you want, because our laws do not have any provisions to punish you,” she told reporters. “They only care about men... women are only betrayed, like they always have been.” Both parents were briefly detained on Sunday after police broke up a protest against the release on security grounds. But they attended a fresh demonstration Monday near parliament that drew crowds from far and wide. “Modi is our prime minister and I have just one question for him: ‘If a case like my daughter’s is being ignored, then what kind of murder, what kind of a rape, will it take for the law to be changed?” the mother told AFP as she arrived at the rally. News that he had been freed from the correctional facility and was now being sheltered by a charity was only revealed on Sunday when the juvenile justice board signed his release papers. However police sources said he was in fact handed over to the charity – which has not been named over fears of an attack on its premises – on December 9. Under Indian law, the victim of a sex attack cannot be named but the parents last week called for people to use Jyoti’s name in a bid to end the stigma often attached to victims. l

‘Licence to rape’

The youngest of the convicts was sent to a juvenile correctional facility for a three-year term – the maximum allowed under Indian law. Jyoti’s mother, Asha Devi, said Monday’s ruling showed India had “not learned any lessons from this case” and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce laws with tougher sentences for sex attacks. “They have basically handed young

Homeless in Los Angeles brace for El Nino n Reuters, Los Angeles

As Los Angeles grapples with a huge homelessness problem, El Nino weather patterns are likely to bring torrential downpours in coming months and add to the misery of the thousands of people who sleep on the city’s streets. “It is a crisis in LA, and I don’t think people realize the magnitude of it,” said John Kump, an outreach program manager at the charity People Assisting the Homeless. Los Angeles’ homeless population is estimated at about 44,000, with many of them concentrated in a bleak and chaotic square-mile patch of downtown known as Skid Row. The number of makeshift tents and vehicles used by the homeless has shot up by 85 percent in just the last two years to 9,535, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, an independent agency set up by the city and the county. Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed in September spending $100 million to combat the problem. But he stopped short of declaring a state of emergency that would lift barriers to housing people, or calling on the governor and federal government for funding.

‘Very difficult’

The last two El Ninos, in the winters of 198283 and 1997-98, each walloped Los Angeles with more than 30 inches (76 cm) of rain double the amount that the city normally receives each year - according to William

El Nino will hit harder in 2016

This weather pattern has become increasingly powerful in the last 15 years

1997

December 7

Sea level in millimetres -180 -120 -60

120 180

2015

December 6

Warm equatorial current from Pacific

Satellite Topex-Poseidon

Has caused Satellite drought Jason-2 in Southeast Asia and Africa, Toll 1997-1998 Forecast for early 2016 (Oxfam) intensifies storms 21,700 killed in the east and 40 to 50 million people affected: central Pacific famine, epidemics, water scarcity 117.8m affected Countries at risk include: 4.8m isplaced people. $33bn Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, damage in 27 pays Malawi, Haiti, Honduras Peaks Heavy flooding in South America October to January but persists st Sources: NASA, WMO, Oxfam Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech into the 1 quarter Patzert, a climatologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena. Even as American cities grapple with a chronic shortage of affordable housing, as well as budget constraints on social programs, many municipalities across the United States have also been clamping down on homeless encampments. Retired trucker Samuel Cole, 85, has

lived in a camper for the past two years after his landlord raised the rent by $100. Vandals broke his generator, so he no longer has electricity. Like so many others, he said that a lack of running water is one of his biggest problems. “I just have to wash off best I can,” Cole said. “Very difficult.” l

Sport 25

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

Tigers trio picked at PSL draft on day one Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman were picked by different franchises on the first day of the Pakistan Super League Twenty20 Draft held at the Pakistan National Cricket Academy in Lahore yesterday. Shakib was the first Bangladesh cricketer to get picked in the draft. PAGE 26

Bolt thrives despite athletics’ annus horribilis Usain Bolt shone at the Beijing world championships, but athletics was later mired in a shocking doping-linked corruption scandal that plunged the Olympics’ number one sport into crisis. Bolt bagged an unprecedented fifth treble gold medal haul at a global championship in the Chinese capital in August. PAGE 27

Bale scores four as Real hit 10, Atletico beaten Gareth Bale scored four times as Real Madrid came from behind to beat nineman Rayo Vallecano 10-2 in a wild game at the Santiago Bernabeu to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to two points as Atletico missed the chance to move clear. PAGE 28

Blatter, Platini bans: Why and what next Why are they banned?

Blatter and Platini were found guilty of ethics code breaches over the "disloyal payment". Both claimed the payment was honouring an agreement made in 1998 for work carried out between 1998 and 2002 when Platini worked as a technical adviser for Blatter. The payment was not part of Platini's written contract but the pair insisted it was a verbal agreement, which is legal under Swiss law. German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, the chairman of Fifa's adjudicatory chamber, held disciplinary hearings for the pair last week. Charges included conflict of interest, false accounting and non co-operation, with investigators submitting a file of more than 50 pages.

Statement - key points

l The payment made in February 2011 had

‘King’ Williamson top of world after winning ton New Zealand phenomenon Kane Williamson shot to the top of the Test batting rankings yesterday following his match-winning century against Sri Lanka. He also ended the year with an astounding 90.15 Test average, well clear of the next best 76.83 by Australian Adam Voges. PAGE 29

"no legal basis" in the contract signed by both men when Platini started working for Blatter on 25 August, 1999. Both men's explanation that there was an "oral agreement" over the payment was rejected as "not convincing". Blatter's actions did not show "commitment to an ethical attitude", and both men were found to be in "a conflict of interest". Platini also failed to act with "complete credibility and integrity" and showed "unawareness of the importance of his duties". The committee said there was "not sufficient evidence" to establish the payment was a bribe, but both men demonstrated an "abusive execution" of their positions.

Blatter - 'I will fight'

Blatter was in defiant mood at a news conference he had called in advance of the punishments being made public. "I will fight," he said. "I will fight for me and for Fifa." He said he was "really sorry" that he is still "a punching ball" and that he has become tainted in the eyes of humanity. He added that he thought he had

What will Platini do?

He boycotted his hearing in Zurich on Friday in protest, claiming a decision already appeared to have been made. His lawyers attended, but it looks as though the Frenchman is preparing to take the matter to Cas. In the meantime, Uefa has issued a statement, revealing it is "extremely disappointed" with the decision.

Who will be the next Fifa boss? The presidential election is due to take place on 26 February. Voting will take place by secret ballot, with all Fifa’s 209 member states having a vote each. There are currently five candidates to take over: Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa - 50, Bahrain, president of Asian Football Confederation; Tokyo Sexwale - 62, South Africa, politician, businessman and former political prisoner; Prince Ali bin al-Hussein - 39, Jordan, a former Fifa vice-president and 2015 Fifa presidential candidate; Gianni Infantino - 45, Switzerland, Uefa general secretary and a member of Fifa's reform committee; Jerome Champagne - 57, France, a former Fifa assistant general secretary and former French diplomat. convinced the Fifa ethics tribunal that the payment from Fifa to Platini was legitimate. He plans to appeal, first to Fifa, then Cas. He may also take legal action under Swiss law if needed.

Reaction - 'A drowning man'

Fifa reform campaigner Damian Collins and former Football Association chairman David Bernstein believe it is the end for Blatter. "The fish rots from the head down and we know how rotten the head of Fifa was," said British MP Collins. Bernstein told BBC Radio 5 Live: "He's a drowning man really, there's no coming back from this. "He'll fight, I'm sure of that. He's not a soft touch. He will fight but he is doomed. He is yesterday's man."

It added: "Once again, Uefa supports Michel Platini's right to a due process and the opportunity to clear his name."

What now for Fifa?

World football's governing body has been in turmoil for several months, following numerous allegations of corruption. Seven Fifa officials were arrested at a Zurich hotel at the end of May. And US authorities have charged 39 football officials and sports business executives over more than £134m ($200m) in bribes for football television and marketing deals. Swiss prosecutors are also investigating Fifa's management as well as the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar. l

Sport

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Tigers trio picked at PSL draft

Mustafizur roped by Lahore, Shakib in Karachi while Tamim bagged by Peshawar on day one n Minhaz Uddin Khan Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman were picked by different franchises on the first day of the Pakistan Super League Twenty20 Draft held at the Pakistan National Cricket Academy in Lahore yesterday. Shakib was the first Bangladesh cricketer to get picked in the draft. The Bangladesh one-day international and Twenty20 vice-captain was roped by Karachi Kings from the Platinum category with a remuneration of USD 140,000. Shakib will play alongside Pakistan star Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Amir and Bilawal Bhatti while Ravi Bopara and Lendl Simmons are the other two foreigners in the side. Off-Cutter specialist Mustafizur was the second Tigers member to get picked as the 19-year-old left-arm pacer was the first cricketer from the Gold category (USD 50,000) to be roped by Lahore Qalandars. The tournament will be Mustafizur’s first international level Twenty20 tournament since his international in June this year. The young pacer will share the dressing room with West Indians Chris Gayle, Kevon Cooper and Dwayne Bravo alongside Pakistanis Umar Akmal and Yasir Shah. Meanwhile, Gold category’s Tamim was

Former cricketers (L-R) Ijaz Ahmed, Mohammad Akram, Rameez Raja, Dean Jones, Mushtaq Ahmed, Moin Khan and Wasim Akram pose for a photograph during the drafting of players for the Pakistan Super League yesterday AFP picked by Peshawar Zalmi, the same side where Shahid Afridi, Darren Sammy, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz will be playing.

The other Bangladeshis at the draft – Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar and Shahriar Nafees – remained unsold. On the first day of the players’ draft, the five teams

chose nine players each from the Platinum, Diamond and Gold categories. The sides will have to pick at least seven more on the second day today. l

PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE, PLAYER DRAFT (DAY 1) PESHAWAR ZALMI