Father’s fear came true

Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque feared for his son, Faisal Arefin Dipan, when he heard of the attack on Avijit Roy’s publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul. Photo: TV grab

Star Online Report

Prof Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque feared for his son when he heard of the attack on Avijit Roy’s publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul.
His heart was racing the next moment when he could not reach his son Faisal Arefin Dipan on phone. “I could not reach his phone,” he told reporters today. “I heard that a publisher who published Avijit’s books was attacked.”
“I called to know whether my son is okay. He also published some books of Avijit Roy. I could not reach him. Then I spoke to his wife. She told me to come here and see my son,” he said.
A former Bangla department professor at Dhaka University, Fazlul Haque was speaking to the media at the place where his son, proprietor of Jagriti publishing house, Faisal Arefin Dipan was knifed to death.
Dipan’s body was found lying in a pool of blood inside the office of Jagriti publishing house on the third floor of Aziz market.
The attack was similar in manner to attack on Shuddhwashawr owner Tutul and two bloggers Tareque Rahim and Ranadipam Basu in Lalmatia.

Publisher of slain Bangladesh blogger Avijit Roy attacked in his office

  Senior Correspondent,  bdnews24.com

Published: 2015-10-31 17:03:41.0 BdST Updated: 2015-10-31 18:58:48.0 BdST

• 

Unknown assailants have attacked a publisher in Bangladesh, whose publishing house had, among its authors, the slain writer-blogger Avijit Roy.

Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul and two others were taken to the hospital with severe injuries after they were hacked in the office of publishing house ‘Shuddhaswar’ in Dhaka on Saturday.
The publisher, who was a close friend of Roy, had filed a complaint with police after being threatened with death on Facebook after Avijit Roy was hacked to death in February this year.
Investigators said that Islamist radicals were behind the attack on Roy, which also left his wife blogger Rafida Ahmed Bonya severely injured.
Saturday’s attack left two others along with Tutul injured. All of them have been taken to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
Around 2:30pm, three men barged in to the publishing house’s office at Dhaka’s Lalmatia.
A witness told bdnews24.com that the assailants hacked Tutul and two others before locking up them and a few others in the office from outside.
“There were three people. I could not see anything as I was held in gunpoint,” he said.

Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul (File Photo)

Residents of the building said they had heard sounds of firing.Police rushed to spot and took the injured three to the hospital.
Besides Tutul, the two others injured in the attack were blogger Tarik Rahim and writer Ranadipam Basu.
Immediately after the attack Basu, wrote in his Facebook post that he along with Tutul and Tarik were hacked.
bdnews24.com’s Chief Crimes Correspondent Liton Haider reported from the scene around 30 minutes after the attack that the office was vandalised and had bloodstains all over.
Mohammadpur police OC Jamal Uddin Mir told bdnews24.com that they had to break into the office to rescue those injured.
 Related Stories

• ‘We’ve come to kill Tutul’
  
• Publisher attacked
  

Avijit Roy’s publisher Dipan hacked to death at Shahbagh hours after attack on another publisher

  Staff Correspondent,  bdnews24.com

Published: 2015-10-31 19:18:24.0 BdST Updated: 2015-10-31 19:18:24.0 BdST

• 

A publisher of slain writer-blogger Avijit Roy has been hacked to death hours after another publisher of Roy was attacked in Dhaka City

Faisal Arefin Dipan of Jagriti Prokahony was hacked on the 2nd floor of Aziz Supermarket at Shahbagh on Saturday evening, blogger and online activist Mahmudul Haque Munshi told bdnews24.com.

Dipan was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the doctors declared him dead, a police official confirmed.

Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul of publishing house ‘Shuddhaswar’ was hacked in his office at Lalmatia around 2:30pm along with blogger Tarik Rahim and writer Ranadipam Basu.

Tutul and Rahim are in critical condition.

Publisher killed in second attack in Dhaka

Star Online Report

The owner of Jagriti Prokashony Faisal Arefin Dipan was stabbed dead at Shahbagh in the capital hours after assailants knifed another publisher of books written by slain blogger Avijit Roy along with two bloggers at Lalmatia.
In the both the attacks – which are similar in nature, the perpetrators locked the victims inside their offices before leaving the scene.
Both the publishers published books of blogger and US citizen Avijit Roy who was killed in attack on February 26 near Teachers and Students Centre of Dhaka University.
“Dipan died of stab wounds found in the shoulder,” Muntasirul Islam, spokesperson of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told The Daily Star.

Avijit’s publisher, 2 bloggers hacked in Dhaka

Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, publisher of Shuddhwashawr, and bloggers Ranadipam Basu and Tareque Rahim are receiving treatments at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Unknown assailants stabbed them in Dhaka’s Lalmatia area Saturday afternoon. Photo: Palash Khan

Star Online Report

• Break in and attack under broad daylight
• Stabs to the head, “gunshots fired”
• Witness describes incident
• Condition of Publisher Tutul, Tareque grave

Unknown assailants stabbed the publisher of slain blogger Avijit Roy along with two bloggers in Dhaka’s Lalmatia area this afternoon.
Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, 43, publisher of Shuddhwashawr, and bloggers Ranadipam Basu, 50, and Tareque Rahim, 30, were attending treatments at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

They all were hacked on the head, said Sentu Das, an assistant sub-inspector of the hospital’s police camp. Among them, the condition of Tutul and Tareque was said to be grave.
The attack took place at the office of Shuddhwashawr in Lalmatia Block C between 2:30pm and 3:00pm, Shamim Runa, wife of Tutul, told The Daily Star.
Ranadipam Basu, the victim attending treatments at DMCH, told The Daily Star that a group of assailants stormed in the office and hacked everyone. “They fired gunshots.”
A youth, who claimed to be a witness to the incident, sought anonymity to tell The Daily Star that a group of men stormed into the office and pinned a gun on his head to begin the assault.
“Frozen in fear, I could not tell how many there were. They stabbed the trio in the office room and left in hurry,” he said. “I also heard gunshots.” The youth was left unharmed.

Police guard the building in Lalmatia (Block C) of Dhaka after unknown assailants stabbed a publisher of slain blogger Avijit Roy and two bloggers there Saturday afternoon. Photo: Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

CAME IN AS BOOK CUSTOMERS
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner Sheikh Maruf Hassan and Tejgaon zone Deputy Commissioner Biplab Kumar Sarker visited the hospital.
DC Biplab later briefed the media.
A short message was slipped to the police from the mobile phone of one of the victims – seeking help, he said. Police went and found the office locked from the outside.
“From what we have come to know, the assailants came in posing as book customers. Then they attacked with machetes and left leaving the office locked from outside.”
Dr Ishaq, a medical officer at DMCH, confirmed The Daily Star that the wounds inflicted were caused by machetes.
This is the fourth incident of grisly attacks this month after the murder of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur, murder attempt of a pastor in Pabna and bomb attack on Shia community during Ashura that left one dead.
The attack on free thinkers began with that of the killing of Rajib Haider in February 2013, followed by bloggers Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman and Ananta Bijoy Das this year.

Copyright:

Any unauthorised use or reproduction of The Daily Star content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.

Nepal's parliament elects nation's first female president

Presidential candidate and vice-chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) Bidhya Bhandari waves her hand after casting vote as lawmakers vote for a new president in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, October 28, 2015. Photo: AP

AP, Kathmandu

A Communist leader who has long campaigned for women's rights was elected Wednesday as Nepal's first female president.
Bidhya Devi Bhandari of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist received 327 votes against her opponent's 214 in parliament on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Onsari Gharti announced.
The president is the ceremonial head in Nepal while the prime minister is the nation's leader.
Bhandari, 54, is the deputy leader of the party led by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who was elected earlier this month and leads a coalition government. The new constitution adopted last month required Nepal to name a new president.
Bhandari is an active campaigner for women's rights in Nepal and was among the politicians who campaigned for ensuring women's rights in the new constitution. The document says one-third of the member in parliament have to be women and either the president or vice president must be a woman.
She has been a leading political figure since her husband Madan Bhandari, who was then leader of the party, was killed in a still unsolved car accident in 1993.
She also led many demonstrations against the then King Gyanendra in 2006 that finally ended his authoritarian rule and restored democracy.
Bhandari is Nepal's second president since the Himalayan nation was turned into a republic after abolishing the centuries-old monarchy. The first president, Ram Baran Yadav, was elected in 2008 and was supposed to be in office for two years. But preparing and adopting the constitution took seven years because of differences between political parties.

How Lionel Messi evolved at Barcelona this season

Something had to change and fortunately for Messi, that’s exactly what Luis Enrique had in mind when he took over at the Camp Nou for the following campaign. Photo: AFP

Goal.com

-Facing stiff competition from Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi evolved his game to stay ahead of the curve
-In the 2013-14 season, Messi suffered a few injury setbacks, went trophy-less with Barcelona and was beaten to the Ballon d’Or
-Luis Enrique envisaged a much quicker and direct style for Barcelona after he became the new coach
-Messi could no longer feature in his favoured role as the false nine in previous seasons
-With Xavi in the twilight of his career, Enrique recognized that Messi wouldn’t necessarily get the service he needs and preferred to play him as an attacking midfielder
-Messi’s ability as a playmaker came to the fore and he began creating a lot more chances for the team
-He was credited with more assists while retaining a good goal-scoring ratio
-Enrique chose to deploy Luiz Suarez as a centre forward with Neymar on the left and Messi on the right
-Together, the attacking triumvirate forged an unstoppable goal-scoring machine and brought the very best out of the four-time Ballon’Or winner

Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the best footballer on the planet. However, it’s not as if his title goes unthreatened.
Even a superstar like Messi needs to evolve to stay ahead of the curve especially when he faces stiff competition from Cristiano Ronaldo who relentlessly lays siege to his throne.
The 2013-14 season wasn’t a particularly good one for the Argentine. He suffered a few injury setbacks, went trophy-less with Barcelona and was beaten to the Ballon d’Or by the aforementioned Portuguese star.
Something had to change and fortunately for Messi, that’s exactly what Luis Enrique had in mind when he took over at the Camp Nou for the following campaign.
The Spanish coach envisaged a much quicker and direct style for Barcelona which inadvertently meant that their revered talisman could no longer feature in his favoured role as the false nine.
While that caused friction between the pair during the initial transition, it was a success in the long run.
With Xavi Hernandez in the twilight of his career, Enrique recognized that Messi wouldn’t necessarily get the service he needs and preferred to play him as an attacking midfielder from where he could be more involved.
As a result, Messi’s ability as a playmaker came to the fore and he began creating a lot more chances for the team.
He was credited with more assists while retaining a good goal-scoring ratio. However, the dynamic changed once Luis Suarez was properly integrated into the first team after serving his suspension.
Enrique chose to deploy the Uruguayan as a centre forward with Neymar on the left and Messi on the right.
Together, the attacking triumvirate forged an unstoppable goal-scoring machine and brought the very best out of the four-time Ballon’Or winner.
The team’s build-up play was a lot quicker as the idea was to get the ball forward quickly and allow the front three to do the damage.
Messi was instrumental as he adapted to his new role perfectly.

Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi celebrate after the UEFA Champions League Final. Photo: AFP

Playing from the right flank meant he was afforded more space and was able to cut inside and exploit pockets of space.
His pace and phenomenal dribbling would often get him into shooting positions on his stronger left foot, something he regularly took advantage of.
Just when critics began to announce his decline, an inevitable fate that is suffered by every player, Messi found an extra dimension to his game and his lengthy rein at the pinnacle of world football was given a new lease of life.
The little maestro finished the season having either scored or assisted a whopping 86 goals, 10 more than he managed in his record-breaking 2012-13 campaign.
What’s even more gratifying as far as he’s concerned is that Barcelona won the treble as well, humiliating the mighty Bayern Munich in the Champions League along the way.
It just goes to show the genius of Messi despite moving into different positions.

Not IS, offshoots of Jamaat-Shibir: Home minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan briefing reporters at his Dhanmondi residence on October 28, 2015, where he again denied existence of Islamic State in Bangladesh - hours after SITE Intelligence Group defended its report on IS activity here. Photo: TV grab

Star Online Report

There is no organisational structure of terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) in Bangladesh, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan reiterated today, hours after SITE reiterated its reports on IS claim of two foreigners’ murder and Shia headquarters bomb attack.
“Those who claim to be Islamic State here are offshoots of militant outfits Huji, al-Qaeda and JMB [Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh]. They all have their roots within Jamaat-Shibir,” he told reporters at his residence in Dhanmondi.
US-based for-profit SITE Intelligence Group attributed the murder of two foreign nationals and the bombings on Shia Muslim community in Old Dhaka to the IS.
But Bangladesh government has repeatedly denied any organisational form of the terrorist group inside the country.
SITE defended its claim in a press release yesterday, saying its IS reports were authentic and Bangladesh authorities would “do better to face the reality”.
Rebutting the claim, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said: “Claim of these militant activities were not found in the main website of the IS. They were done from somewhere else.”
There is a local and international conspiracy to stir up instability in the country, he said.
“We are arresting them (militants) all. They will be brought to face justice.”
Foreign countries issued and maintained security alert for their citizens in Bangladesh since the murders of Italian national Cesare Tavella on September 28 and Japanese Kunio Hoshi five days later. On October 24, three improvised bombs were blasted at Shia headquarters Hossaini Dalan in old Dhaka prior to Tazia procession, killing one teenager and injuring 87 others.

Business climate ranking: Bangladesh slips 2 notches

Star Online Report

Bangladesh went down two positions to 174 in the international ranking of World Bank’s (WB) Ease of Doing Business 2016 report released today.
The report titled “Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency”, ranked Bangladesh above Afghanistan (177th) in the South Asia region which comprises of eight nations. Bhutan topped the ranking (71st) among the South Asian economies.
Every year the WB’s Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations.
The report measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
These areas were compared across 189 countries -- from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – to rank the economies.
Doing Business 2016 finds that six of the South Asia region’s eight economies implemented nine reforms during the past year, compared with six reforms in four economies the previous year.

কোনাল

কোনালের ‘সুখ থামে না’

সম্প্রতি ‘সুখ থামে না’ শিরোনামের একটি গানের ভিডিওচিত্রে অংশ নিয়েছেন এ প্রজন্মের সংগীতশিল্পী কোনাল। এই ভিডিওচিত্রে নানা চরিত্রে দেখা যাবে তাঁকে। ছবিটি রাজধানীর উত্তরায় দিয়াবাড়ি এলাকা থেকে তোলা। ছবি: নাসিরউদ্দিন নাসিম

  ‘সুখ থামে না’ শিরোনামের একটি গানের ভিডিওচিত্রে ভলিবল হাতে কোনাল। ছবিটি আশুলিয়া বেড়িবাঁধ এলাকা থেকে তোলা। ছবি: নাসিরউদ্দিন নাসিম ‘সুখ থামে না’ গানটি কোনালের নতুন অ্যালবামে থাকবে। বাপ্পা মজুমদারের সুর ও সংগীতে গানটির কথা লিখেছেন শাহান কবন্ধ। ছবিটি আশুলিয়া বেড়িবাঁধ এলাকা থেকে তোলা। ছবি: নাসিরউদ্দিন নাসিম

ভলিবল হাতে কোনাল। ছবিটি আশুলিয়া বেড়িবাঁধ এলাকা থেকে তোলা। ছবি: নাসিরউদ্দিন নাসিম

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

World Bank Forecasts a Slowdown in Migrant Remittances in 2015

October 22, 2015

Amid global slowdown, economic migrants will send less money home

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2015--Weak economies in Europe, especially Russia, are slowing the growth of remittance flows in 2015. Weaker currencies vis-à-vis the US dollar, and lower oil prices are further restricting the ability of many migrants to send money back to family and friends, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief.  
Remittances to developing countries are expected to reach $435 billion in 2015, registering a modest growth rate of 2 percent from last year. This represents a significant slowing in the growth of remittances from the rise of 3.3 percent in 2014 and of 7.1 percent per year from 2010 -13. Global remittances, sent home from some 250 million migrants, are projected to grow by 1.3 percent to $588 billion.
Slowing remittances this year will affect most developing regions, in particular Europe and Central Asia where flows are expected to decline by 18.3 percent in 2015. A weakening of the Ruble against the US Dollar is the main cause of that decline.
Looking to 2016, the report says remittances to developing countries are expected to rise by about 4 percent, reaching an estimated $453 billion, buoyed by the continuing recovery in the United States and a modest acceleration of economic activity in Europe. Global flows of remittances are expected to recover in 2016 to reach $610 billion, and then rising to $635 billion in 2017.
The global average cost of sending $200 remained at about 7.7 percent in the second quarter of 2015. Remittance costs varied significantly by region, and within region by corridor. A major risk to the downward trajectory of remittance costs arises from the closure of accounts of money transfer operators by correspondent banks, due to concerns related to regulatory compliance.
In a major global policy shift, the recently-adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development endorsed improvements in migration policies, efforts to end human trafficking and promote decent labor conditions for migrant workers, reductions in the costs of remittances and recruitment, and the collection of statistics disaggregated according to migratory status.
“One out of seven people in the world is a migrant, and a quarter of them, international migrants. Migration is intimately linked to the development process,” said Dilip Ratha, head of KNOMAD and an author of the MD Brief. “The inclusion of migration and remittances in the SDGs is a welcome step forward.”
The report also provides details on remittance flows classified by region and income-levels as below.

The Migration and Development Brief and the latest migration and remittances data are available at http://www.worldbank.org/migration
Interact with migration experts at http://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/

India may ease terms for $2b credit

Rejaul Karim Byron

India has hinted that it would relax the terms and conditions tagged with its fresh $2-billion credit for Bangladesh, which will mostly be used to further enhance connectivity between the two countries.
When India sent the draft agreement to Bangladesh in August this year, it stipulated that at least 75 percent of the credit must be utilised to import goods and services from India. It even included consultancy services under the project.
But the neighbouring country now considers cutting the size of the import content of the credit line to 65-75 percent of overall procurement. For some cases, India is ready to bring it down further.
“Relaxation on the minimum Indian content may be done on a case-to-case basis and not for the entire line of credit. The same practice is being followed in the first line of credit,” said the Exim Bank of India, which is responsible for disbursing the loan.
The bank agreed to offer the flexibility while commenting on the opinions about the draft agreement from Bangladesh's side.
India also agreed to cede more control to Bangladesh over establishing joint ventures aimed at providing consultancy services. Now, a Bangladeshi firm can have 49 percent stake in a JV, with an Indian firm being the lead partner.
It came after the Economic Relations Division of Bangladesh took opinions from different ministries about the Indian government's plans and forwarded their opinions to Exim Bank.
When contacted, ERD Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin said the import content would remain flexible. It will also be possible to increase the use of local content to higher level on a case-to-case basis.
He said locally available goods such as sand and rocks would not be imported.
“The negotiation is almost complete. We hope we would be able to ink the deal this year,” Mejbahuddin said.
He said the projects that would get financing from the second Indian credit line have almost been finalised, with the preparation work for the projects already on way.
As a result, the implementation of the projects would get pace this time, he added.
Exim Bank sent the draft agreement following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in June this year.
During his visit a preliminary agreement was signed on the new credit.
Under the draft agreement, Bangladesh will have to pay 0.5 percent as commitment fee annually on the amount of the credit that remains undisbursed.
The unutilised portion of the credit will be cancelled at the end of 48 months after the scheduled completion date in case of project exports. It has been set at 72 months in case of other supply contracts.
The credit carries 1 percent interest rate with repayment period of 20 years and a grace period of five years.
Bangladesh has identified 13 projects to be financed by the second Indian loan, said an ERD official. It includes power, rail and port projects.
India lent a $1 billion line of credit in 2010, during Manmohan Singh's tenure as the prime minister. Of the amount, $200 million was later converted to grant and disbursed for the Padma bridge project.
Bangladesh sought $62 million more under the first loan as project costs increased and the Indian side agreed to it as well.

NBR starts drives to curb VAT evasion

Star Business Report

The National Board of Revenue launched drives early this month to rein in the evasion of value-added tax, now the second biggest revenue source for the state.
The audit, intelligence and investigation directorate for value-added has already detected VAT evasion by seven firms since it embarked on its drive on October 8.
The firms are engaged in manufacturing of cement, furniture, ice cream, electric fans, and bicycle parts, according to a statement yesterday.
The investigation team checked goods transport vehicles at Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Doyaganj, Postagola and in the Dhaka-Chittagong road's Signboard area and found that the firms were supplying goods without VAT invoice, said Margoob Ahmed, director general of the directorate.
He however declined to disclose the names of firms that were found evading VAT, an indirect tax that is ultimately paid by consumers.
As per rules, businesses must provide VAT invoice or payment receipts when delivering the goods from factories.
But the VAT intelligence and investigation office has detected eight vehicles transporting goods without VAT invoice, while one was using the same invoice for two different deliveries, said officials.
They recommended the relevant commissionerates to file cases against the firms for VAT evasion of Tk 4.66 lakh.
Ahmed said the firms were repeatedly instructed not to deliver goods without VAT invoice.
“We will continue such drives to prevent tax evasion. And we will go for legal action including filing of cases if we find any vehicle transporting goods without VAT invoice.”
He said the taxpayers are the driving force of the economy.
“We request firms to provide proper VAT invoice while delivering goods from factories. Otherwise, they will fall in an embarrassing situation, which we do not want.”
Other than that, the office also conducted a survey in large shopping malls in Dhaka and found that most of the shops do not have VAT registrations, according to the statement.
VAT compliance by shops in the malls is frustrating, according to Ahmed.
The VAT audit directorate started conducting field drives after the NBR framed the charter of functions for the office and reformed the law to empower the office to take measures to prevent VAT evasion.
Earlier, the directorate was mainly engaged in audit and investigation on the basis of complaints, said officials.
Through audit, the directorate detected Tk 135 crore VAT that was either evaded or avoided in 2014 and the January-July period of the current year, according to the statement.

At least 12 dead in Pakistan after strong quake in Afghanistan

People stand on a road after vacating buildings following an earthquake in Srinagar October 26, 2015. An earthquake measuring 7.6 magnitude struck in northeastern Afghanistan on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, sending tremors that were felt in India and Pakistan. Photo: Reuters

Reuters, Kabul/Peshawar

A powerful earthquake struck a remote area of northeastern Afghanistan on Monday, shaking the capital Kabul and killing at least eight people in neighbouring Pakistan, officials said.
Shockwaves were felt in northern India and in Pakistan's capital, where hundreds of people ran out of buildings as the ground rolled beneath them.
The quake was 213 km (132 miles) deep and centred 254 km (158 miles) northeast of Kabul in a remote area of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush mountain range.
The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake's intensity at 7.7 then revised it down to 7.6 and later to 7.5.
In northwestern Pakistan, at least 12 people were killed, including one in the city of Peshawar, according to government officials.
Injured people were pouring into Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, an official said.
"We received 50 injured and more are being shifted. The injured suffered multiple injuries due to building collapse," said hospital spokesman Syed Jamil Shah.
In the Afghan capital, Kabul, buildings shook violently but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
International aid agencies working in the northern areas of Afghanistan reported that cell phone coverage in the affected areas remained down in the hour after the initial quake.
India's northernmost region of Kashmir experienced intense and prolonged tremors that caused panic in areas that suffered severe flooding last year. Power supplies and most mobile networks were knocked out, and there was structural damage to roads and buildings.
No casualties were reported in Indian Kashmir, however.
The earthquake struck almost exactly six months after Nepal suffered its worst quake on record, on April 25. Including the toll from a major aftershock in May, 9,000 people lost their lives and 900,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The mountainous region is seismically active, with earthquakes the result of the Indian subcontinent driving into and under the Eurasian landmass. Sudden tectonic shifts can cause enormous and destructive releases of energy.
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck northern Pakistan just over a decade ago, on Oct. 8, 2005, killing about 75,000 people.

Copyright:

Any unauthorised use or reproduction of The Daily Star content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action.

China cuts key interest rate to 4.35%

China has cut its one-year benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.35%.Photo: Reuters

BBC Online

China has cut its one-year benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.35%.
European shares gained ground following the decision, particularly in the mining sector, and commodities rose.
The Chinese central bank also cut the ratio of Chinese currency that it expects its banks to hold.
China hopes that looser monetary policy, in the shape of cheaper money, will help it hit its growth target of 7% for 2015.
The changes will come into effect on Saturday.
The decision from the People's Bank of China suggests a concern that the slowdown in growth might be becoming too abrupt.
Official figures published earlier this week told a different story. They suggested a very moderate weakening in the third quarter of the year. But Beijing's data are widely regarded as unreliable.
Lower interest rates tend to stimulate borrowing by consumers and businesses and so could contain the slowdown, but there is a risk the move could lead to a build up of debt - and some economists say China is in danger of having a financial crisis.
In London, shares in the benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 1.3%, led by miners Glencore and Fresnillo, which added 7% and 4% respectively. The Dax in Frankfurt rose 3.0%.
Brent crude was up 0.8% to $48.46 per barrel.
China's economy has grow at an average annual rate of 10% for the past three decades, but has been cooling in the past few years.
Last year it grew by 7.4%, which is extraordinary by Western standards, but a definite slowdown for China.
There is little doubt that its economy is slowing to a more sustainable rate of growth, with the question being whether that transition can be made smoothly.

Bangladesh: a rising star in denim sector

Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Bangladesh has become a major sourcing hub for trendy denim products for international retailers for its competitive pricing.
“The response from international retailers has been so amazing that we are facing difficulties in getting hotel rooms for them during the denim fair next month,” said Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of Chittagong-based Denim Expert Ltd.
Hundreds of retailers, fashion designers, denim fabric makers will convene in Bangladesh to participate in the third edition of the Denim Expo, due to be held at Bashundhara International Convention City in Dhaka on November 11-12.
A total of 41 companies will showcase their products at the exposition, up from the previous edition's 25, according to Mostafiz Uddin, the founder of the Denim Expo.
Of the participants, 27 are from abroad, from countries such as China, India, Pakistan, the US, Turkey, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Germany.
He said even five to six years ago, the retailers did not know of Bangladesh's potential in denim.
“But now they know. The amazing response from the international retailors is testimony to the progress the country has made in the denim sector.”
One of the reasons for Bangladesh's rising popularity as a source for denim products is that China, the world's largest denim supplier, has became dearer for its higher costs of production, he said.
Bangladesh exports nearly $2 billion worth of denim products and fabrics a year, with the figure touted to hit the $5 billion-mark soon given the positive response from retailers, industry insiders said.
Apart from the international markets, the domestic market for the denim products is also growing fast with the changes in fashion, said Showkat Aziz Russell, managing director of Amber Denim, a leading denim producer.
The growing middle-class consumers are the main customers of denim products in Bangladesh, he said.
Usually, when people think of denim, they think of trousers and shirts, but now a lot of other items like bed sheets, pillow covers, home textiles, apron and table cloths are also made from denim fabrics, Russell said.
Given the higher demand, the mill owners have also increased the production capacity of denim, either through expanding their existing capacity or by establishing new mills, according to Russell.
A total of 30 mills produce 21 million yards of denim fabrics a month, he said.
The investment in the denim sector also increased for the higher demand: it will cross the Tk 7,500 crore-mark soon, he added. Russell, who has been in the denim business for many years, also said 20 percent of Bangladesh's denim exports go to the US and 80 percent to the European markets.
Currently, Bangladesh is the third largest denim exporter to the US, after Mexico and China, with an 11.3 percent market share, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Bangladesh exported denim products worth more than $529.53 million to Europe between January and June, up 23 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Recently, denim makers have also started shipping to some new destinations: China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Russia. Among the global players in the $60 billion denim market, Bangladesh stands behind China, the US, Italy and some other Latin American countries.
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs supply denim products to retailers such as H&M, Uniqlo, Levi's, Nike, Tesco, Wrangler, s.Oliver, Hugo Boss, Puma, Primark and JC Penney.

Bangladesh's GDP to grow 6.55pc, says Bloomberg

Star Business Report

Bangladesh's economy will grow 6.55 percent in the current fiscal year, according to a survey by Bloomberg News.
The growth forecast of the US-based media outlet is the same its previous prediction in February.
The estimate is the median of forecasts from four economists for Bangladesh's economic indicators. They were surveyed from October 16 to 20.
The economists, however, cut their GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast for the next fiscal year of 2016-17 to 6.6 percent from 6.65 percent earlier.
On Tuesday, the World Bank predicted that Bangladesh's economic growth will be 6.5 percent this fiscal year.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund upgraded Bangladesh's economic growth forecast to 6.8 percent from 6.5 percent in April. The Asian Development Bank said the country's GDP will grow 6.7 percent this year.
The country's economy grew 6.5 percent last fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The government has targeted 7 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year that will end in June next year.

South Asia's procurement officials to gather in Nov

Star Business Report

Senior public procurement officials from South Asia will assemble in Dhaka early next month to find ways to make their purchase performances sustainable and get better value out of taxpayers' money.
They will convene for the Third South Asia Regional Conference 2015, an annual learning and networking event for the heads of public procurement of South Asian countries.
The planning ministry's Central Procurement Technical Unit will organise the conference at the Westin on November 1-3. More than 120 participants from eight South Asian countries will attend the conference, which will deal with innovation for sustainable procurement performance.
Participants will discuss topics such as sound public procurement, workforce and professionalism, essential performance elements, electronic government procurement (e-GP), reforms in procurement environment and methods for performance enhancement.
Framework agreements, public-private partnership, open data, strategic procurement for improved performance and performance measurement are also on the three-day conference's agenda.
Speakers from France, the Netherlands, the US, Canada, South Korea and the Philippines will dwell on the latest developments and practices in the global public procurement landscape.
The conference will conclude with the adoption of a Dhaka Declaration. 
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will inaugurate the conference on November 1 and Finance Minister AMA Muhith will wrap up the event on November 3.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are co-sponsors of the conference.
Faruque Hossain, director general of the CPTU, said Bangladesh leads South Asia in introduction and implementation of comprehensive e-GP.
Nepal, Uganda and Zambia have already visited the e-GP system in Bangladesh, with Sri Lanka and Bhutan expected to visit in November, he said.
At the moment, 98 agencies of 24 ministries are operating the e-GP system for their procurement. Over 17,000 tenderers have registered with the digital platform. The number of registered government procuring entities is over 2,000.
By 2020, the CPTU will implement e-GP in all government procuring entities.

Twitter chief shares £128m of stock with employees

CEO and co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey annouces to give one third of his shares in the firm to the employees. Photo: BBC

BBC Online

Twitter chief executive and co-founder Jack Dorsey has said he will give a third of his shares in the firm to employees.
The total stock is worth about 1% of the company, or $197m (£128m).
The plan is to "reinvest directly in our people," said Dorsey, who was appointed as the company's permanent leader earlier this month. Twitter did not comment further on the decision.
Last week the company said it would lay off 336 workers, or 8% of staff.
Dorsey, who took over as temporary chief in July after Dick Costolo resigned, also tweeted "I'd rather have a smaller part of something big than a bigger part of something small."
Last week, former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said he bought a 4% stake in Twitter, making him the third-biggest individual shareholder. Ballmer now owns more of Twitter than Dorsey, who owns about 3%.
One Twitter employee told the BBC's New York business correspondent Michelle Fleury via Twitter that "folks are ready to run through walls for him and the company. Before...and even more now."

IMF concludes loan scheme

It gives last two instalments under ECF

Rejaul Karim Byron and Sarwar A Chowdhury

The International Monetary Fund is all set to successfully complete its Extended Credit Facility loan programme in Bangladesh this month, a first for the multilateral lender since 1990, as it approved the last two instalments totalling $258.3 million.
The approval for the loans came at a board meeting of the IMF, chaired by the donor agency's Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa, yesterday in Washington.
With this consent, the ECF loan programme will now end on October 31, three months after the scheduled deadline of July due to Bangladesh's failure to fulfil three of the conditions set by the lender.
The conditions include an international audit of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and implementation of the VAT law.
Prudent macroeconomic policies and structural reforms, with support from the ECF arrangement, have helped steer the Bangladesh economy through domestic and global challenges in the last three and a half years, Furusawa said in a statement after the board meeting.
Under the ECF loan programme, initiated by the IMF in April 2012, Bangladesh will get a total of $904.2 million, of which the country has already received $645.9 million through five instalments.
Prior to receiving the instalments, the government had to fulfil some of the conditions regarding the overall improvement of the macroeconomic and financial sectors.

ADVERTISEMENT

But the government failed to comply with some of the conditions in November last year to get the sixth instalment, which prompted the IMF to defer its release. The lender decided to release it together with the seventh instalment.
A finance ministry official said, since 1990 none of IMF programmes could be completed due to noncompliance with conditions set by the multilateral lender.
The IMF believes that Bangladesh has made significant progress in its economic field, but still there are opportunities to make progress.
Growth has been robust, inflation has eased, foreign exchange reserves have risen to a comfortable position, and public debt has remained stable as a share of GDP, Furusawa said.
Given the challenging and uncertain global landscape and an upside in inflation risks, the authorities should maintain prudent fiscal and monetary policies to underpin sustained high growth, build resilience to shocks and further reduce poverty.
Structural reforms will also play an important role in unleashing the full potential of the economy, he said, adding that many of the important reforms were adopted under the ECF arrangement.
He, however, said some key structural challenges still remain.
Bangladesh's already low tax-to-GDP ratio has declined steadily since fiscal 2012–13.
Boosting revenue is necessary to maintain fiscal sustainability and build fiscal space for public investment in critical infrastructure and stronger social safety nets.
To this end, the authorities should steadfastly implement the new value-added tax law for launch by July 2016.
The new VAT law will simplify the tax administration and lower the taxpayers' compliance costs, and it is designed to protect the poor and small businesses, Furusawa said.
Further reducing inefficient and regressive energy subsidies -- by aligning domestic fuel prices with international prices and strengthening financial management and reporting in state-owned enterprises -- would also open up space to increase well-targeted social spending.
He said another important priority is to continue to strengthen the resilience of the banking sector.
The state-owned banks, in particular, should be reformed and guided by good corporate governance practices, supported by complete branch automation by 2016.
To further boost inclusive growth, continued efforts are needed to remove infrastructure bottlenecks, particularly in power and transportation, improve business climate and ensure better labour rights and safer working conditions.
The government has taken a number of major reforms in the economic sector to fulfil the conditions of IMF under the ECF programme.
One of them was the amendment to the Banking Company Act to heighten the power of the central bank. For instance, the central bank governor now has the authority to remove managing directors of state-owned banks.
After the Awami League-led government came in power in 2009, political appointments had been made in the board of all state banks, which resulted in various financial scams such as the Hall-Mark one.
The scams were being unearthed from 2012, when the IMF started the ECF loan programme for Bangladesh.
Finance ministry and Bangladesh Bank officials said IMF teams were monitoring the financial sector every three months and pressurising the government to take steps to improve the situation.
Now the situation has improved much, the officials said. The amendment to Banking Company Act also put a ceiling on investment by banks in the stockmarket, a major cause for the crash in 2011.
As per the IMF's advice, the government also brought about stockmarket demutualisation, a process that separated the bourses' ownership from their management.
To deter the government from taking on too much high-cost external borrowing, the IMF set a ceiling for it.
And to increase the government's revenue earning potential, the IMF was insistent on implementing the VAT law, due to take effect from July next year.
Under the law, a 15 percent VAT will be imposed at any stage.
Besides, many other small reforms were carried out, including bringing the state-owned banks under a strict regulation.
The IMF did a mid-term review in 2013 and found that the reforms increased foreign currency reserves, decreased non-food inflation, raised tax revenue and curbed poorly-targeted energy subsidies.
The country achieved GDP growth of above 6 percent during the period.
The finance ministry official said the IMF programme played a positive role in maintaining macroeconomic stability.
He said they will now move forward to seek another IMF loan programme to continue with the reforms in the macroeconomic and financial sectors.
The finance minister also indicated at different times that they will start negotiating with the IMF on another loan programme.
An IMF high official had also told The Daily Star earlier that they will consider the loan programme if the Bangladesh government wants.