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GOVERNANCE AT ITS NADIR
Economy performing but
government faltering
Sadeq Khan
The state of governance in Bangladesh, in four months of a representative government that was overwhelmingly voted to power, is at its nadir again. The ruling party is not faced with any serious civil unrest. Nor there is any economic difficulty of insurmountable proportions. The parliamentary opposition is weak and immersed in its own troubles of dysfunction. Yet the ruling coterie appears unable to pull its act together. At every turn it is creating crisis of confidence for its own image...[ FULL STORY ]
Selective 'zero tolerance' can boomerang
Faisal Rahim
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) forces arrested a gang of culprits at a hotel two weeks ago with equipment and special papers used to manufacture counterfeit currencies. The hotel belonged to a close relative of home minister Sahara Khatun.
Acting on a tip-off from a gang member arrested in another part of the city, RAB mounted the raid and carried out the arrests and seizure of articles from a hotel room used in currency frauds. Along with it, they also arrested a boy who initially tried to resist the raid. The boy later disclosed his identity as the nephew of the home minister and the message was passed to her to verify the claim.
It was a sensational operation and the RAB forces were on high alert on being resisted from the hotel management. But they became 'calm and obedient' suddenly when the home minister asked the forces to release the boy and treat the other culprits as per law...[ FULL STORY ]
GLOBAL US POLICY
Pragmatism, respect and change
Mumtaz Iqbal
The US superpower is like a supertanker. Both require space to change course to avoid and evade obstacles.
The difference is that a supertanker will continue in the new course set by the captain and bypass the dangers. US superpower may find that charting a new direction won't necessarily skirt the obstacles since new ones of varying degrees of complexity crop up. International relations require continuous skilful navigation of the ship of state between ever-present and changing risks.
US President Obama just completing 100 days in office has found this out, to no great surprise, from the results of his diplomatic undertakings...[ FULL STORY ]
ILO observes its 90th anniversary
Holiday desk
Amid the worst financial and jobs crisis, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is marking its 90th anniversary with a series of events across the world.
The week-long programme (21-28 April) of celebration was a global convergence on the common theme of social dialogue on decent work for a fair globalization in commemorative events in more than 100 countries in the world...[ FULL STORY ]
CHINA SHOWS OFF NAVAL POWER
South Asian nations under
crippling turbulence
Fazle Rashid in New York
South Asian nations are in disarray. The nations face both economic gale of crippling enormity and political turbulence simultaneously. An Asian Development Bank study reveals that Southeast Asia, a relative affluent region, will lay in ruins due to global warming with diminished rice harvests, seawater seeping into aquifers and islands vanishing into rising oceans.
The ADB report said that the sea levels will rise up to 28 inches forcing relocation of many millions. The Southeast Asia's combined population will be close to 563 million now. This warning could become true by 2045. The ADB report focuses on Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam Some 93 million people in the region live on less than $1.25 a day and are "more vulnerable to the projected increase in typhoons, drought and floods," the New York Times quoted the ADB report as saying. ..[ FULL STORY ]
Country reels under heat
wave, power outage
Special Correspondent
The country has been passing through a period of sufferings following water crisis and power outage coupled with heat wave in this dry summer.
Deaths due to heat stroke, diarrhea, chicken pox, virus fever, phenomena, typhoid, jaundice and various other waterborne diseases have been reported from both urban and rural areas in recent weeks. Hospitals, especially the ICCDRB had to make extra arrangements to handled huge number of patients mostly the children.
Alarmed by the situation, many city schools were forced to suspend their classes considering the possible health hazards...[ FULL STORY ]
BNP on street, revamping efforts delayed
Abdur Rahman Khan
The opposition BNP has opted for a strategy to activate party workers by announcing a month-long programme with the aim of mobilising public opinion on various issues including the price of essentials, frequent load shedding failure and scarcity of water...[ FULL STORY ]
HIGHLY VOLATILE SOUTH ASIA
PM leaves home amidst fear of instability
M. Shahidul Islam in Toronto
When India stands at the crossroads of an uncertain transition through a staggered general election; Taliban forces anchor only 60 miles off the gateway of Pakistan's capital Islamabad; Sri Lankan armed forces and Tamil Tiger guerrillas battle die hard to bring an end to over two decades of civil war- and an economic tsunami rocks the world and our own wallets - our Prime Minister (PM) looks for an escaping vacation in the soothing sunshine, away from the scorching heat that traumatises 140 million people of the nation amidst incessant power disruptions...[ FULL STORY ]
GLIMPSES OF THE GREAT
R P Saha
K. Z. Islam
Ranada Prasad Saha (1896-1971) one of the most extra ordinary personalities of the 20th century of the Indian subcontinent proved how it is possible to rise from the humblest origin to the highest levels of wealth, social, educational and welfare activities.
Born in Tangail in a humble home RP lost his mother at the age of seven and because of his step mother was sent away to his maternal uncle where the maltreatment was no better. His mother Kumudini Debi had passed away because of lack of any medical attention. The tragic experience of seeing his mother's corpse haunted RP all his life which motivated him for all the social work that he did later...[ FULL STORY ]
GLOBAL AVERAGE 2 TONS PER ACRE; OURS 0.7
Bangladesh needs three-fold increase of food grain production
Abdur Rahman Khan
Bangladesh has got the lowest productivity among the world's rice producing countries. She can produce a maximum of 0.7 metric tons of paddy (not rice) per acre, against the global average of two tons per acre.
In this situation, there is no other alternative but to increase the yield of food grain to ensure food security for the nation, says Dr Abdul Khaleque, an agricultural scientists...[ FULL STORY ]
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