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REACTIONS TO ZOELLICK'S VISIT
WB should clean its own house first before sermonising others
Faruque Ahmed
During his first visit to Bangladesh last week World Bank (WB) President Robert Bruce Zoellick remained highly occupied with comments on corruption and irregularities in the WB-funded projects. But, as he was told elsewhere, he was also advised here to reform the WB to free it from corruption and misuse of funds...[ FULL STORY ]
US wants interim govt to hold polls soon and resign
Moinuddin Naser in New York
United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs John Gastright said the US believed the caretaker government in Bangladesh would implement the roadmap to elections to restore democracy and then it would resign...[ FULL STORY ]
An HIV/AIDS epidemic looms large
Abdur Rahman Khan
Although the overall Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection rates are still low, Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to an HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic due to the prevalence of certain behavioural patterns and risk factors...[ FULL STORY ]
Long-standing plot to split BNP may make a killing
Shamsuddin Ahmed
The discreet attempt to annihilate the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) may be culminated at a split of the party in the absence of its chairperson Khaleda Zia, who is detained on corruption charge...[ FULL STORY ]
Hannan held for 'engineering' assault on ex-army chief
Special Correspondent
Adviser to the BNP chairperson Brigadier (rtd) Hannan Shah, a virulent critic of the party's reformist group, was arrested Wednesday midnight at his Old DOHS residence. The police took him straight to Cantonment Police Station...[ FULL STORY ]
WB needs to change its work method
Mohammad A. Sattar
The short visit that World Bank (WB) President Robert Zoellick paid to Dhaka last week deserves attention as the WB and Bangladesh has been working closely for many years now. Although the relation between the two sides may not have been smooth all the time, it still continued to grow...[ FULL STORY ]
THE NEW REPUBLIC SAYS
US needs to abandon Musharraf now
Joshua Kurlantzick
The declared state of emergency in Pakistan last weekend led to widespread chaos: Police and paramilitary forces swarmed to arrest opposition politicians, the government shut down all independent media, and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf fired the independent justices on the country's Supreme Court just as they were set to release rulings that most likely would've stripped him of his power. The Bush administration, as it had to, quickly condemned the situation. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Musharraf to make a "prompt return to constitutional course," though the White House just as quickly assured Musharraf it would not cut off his counterterrorism aid...[ FULL STORY ]
GLIMPSES OF THE GREAT
Mikhail Gorbachev
K. Z. Islam
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ) was quite a brilliant student as was Raisa his wife who Mikhail had met in college. Raisa being fluent in English translated many English books for the ambitious 'Misha' as she called him. In June 1955 they both graduated from college and got married. Returning to Stavrapol, Mikhail's native province in the Caucasus where he began working for the communist party as a youth organizer. The self confident Raisa began working on a doctoral degree in Psychology, which she completed in 1967. At the same time, Mikhail also took a second degree, this one in agricultural planning, his first degree being in law...[ FULL STORY ]
India's Myanmar policy sparks hitch
Nava Thakuria in Guwahati
The sudden spurt of conflicts in Myanmar has put New Delhi in a difficult phase of challenges. After inviting harsh criticism from the international community for insisting on engaging the brutal military junta, the Indian government finds it tricky to deal with the growing public resentment in its alienated northeast region, which has been a breeding ground of separatists since the days of India's independence...[ FULL STORY ]
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