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Citizens insecure, judgments galore
Sadeq Khan
Metropolitan Dhaka and its suburbs are witnessing an incremental incidence of unaccountable murders, not to speak of hijackings, muggings and robberies. Many of the murders are suspected to be contract killings or exemplary executions for disobedience of gangland demands. As the time span of a year is closing after the Peelkhana massacre of military commanders in the BDR by mutinous men, apprehension is growing that our weakened border patrols have been unable to prevent massive influx of miscreants and criminal gangs from across the border...[ FULL STORY ]
GOOD OMEN FOR DHAKA
Delhi is trying to court
Islamabad and Tehran
M. Shahidul Islam
If a week is too long in politics, it's longer in diplomacy. India's over-ambitious plan to push Pakistan into a dark hole by turning Bangladesh and Afghanistan into strategic allies is seemingly failing to bear fruits.
Clouded from the outset with too many imponderables, and destined to be short-lived, the lingering global economic recession has adversely affected Delhi's vision for regional and global dominations, which bloomed in the wake of the US-led anti-terror war that helped the South Asian giant with new dreams once the US and its NATO allies tuned instantly into its friends and allies...[ FULL STORY ]
BCL-Shibir clashes flare up
throughout country
Abdur Rahman Khan
Violence has flared up throughout the country. In the first one year of Sheikh Hasina's government, it was mostly confined to the campuses involving the ruling party student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).
There had been innumerable incidents of campus unrest and violence due to the desire in establishing control on the campuses by ousting the opponents, infighting over sharing extortions, capturing tenders, interfering into admission process, and further more assaulting female students and the teachers. On many occasions, the authorities were forced to shut down the classes and examinations asking the students to vacate their dormitories...[ FULL STORY ]
10,500 Indian taxicabs won't solve Dhaka's traffic problem
Faisal Rahim
Indian taxicab service provider Meru Cab has taken a joint venture with Nitol Group here to put into service about 10,500 taxicabs as part of a move to remodel Dhaka city transport system.
Both companies have charted a business plan to invest Taka 700 crore under 50:50 partnership for the computerized cab service in the capital. Nitol Group chairman Matlub Ahmed confirmed the move to a local newspaper here saying once in place, city dwellers can get a taxicab from any location by making phone calls as the service will be guided by Global Positioning System (GPS)-based technology. The new service will be operative by the year-end, he said...[ FULL STORY ]
Opposition returns to a hostile House
Amanullah Kabir
Jatiya Sangsad, so far a monotonous ruling party monochord, went into session assuming full effective business on Thursday when the opposition participated retracting its long boycott decision over battle for reallocation of seats and other related issues. The main opposition BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami joined the parliament on yesterday afternoon after skipping the House for 64 consecutive sittings since last June. The opposition MPs had been boycotting the House proceedings in June last year.
In the face of repulsive and abusive language by ruling Awami League (AL) leaders including the prime minister, hurled particularly at Begum Khaleda Zia, the Opposition stayed determined to raise its voice in parliament on the issues of people's concerns...[ FULL STORY ]
RU clash gives govt. excuse
to crackdown on Shibir
Shahriar Noori
The bloody clash at the Rajshahi University (RU) has provided the government with an excuse to impose a bar on Islamic political parties after the Supreme Court verdict on the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution and the government's announcement to try war criminals, said political analysts.
The analysts also wonder what political gain the government wants to derive from the body of the slain member of the AL's student front Chatra League by keeping the goons under the safe umbrella of the ruling Awmi League (AL)...[ FULL STORY ]
Action against Indian Maoists opposed
Shamsuddin Ahmed
The impending anti-Maoist operation in India faces opposition from the intellectuals as well as the political leaders. Several hundred intellectuals held a rally in Kolkata on Feb 9 at a time when Union Home Minister P Chidambaram was meeting with Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Orissa and representatives of Jharkhand and Bihar for chalking out anti-Maoist operation. The rally led by Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi viewed the operation targeted the poor tribal population and low cast Hindus. They demanded halt of Operation Green Hunt. The effigies of Chidambaram and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddadev Bhattachariya were burnt to demonstrate their anger. Arrest of scores people – intellectuals and social activists, young and old – in Maoist infested states for their suspected involvement in the Maoist movement also drew strong protests...[ FULL STORY ]
Pakistan woos Taliban; India, Maoists
Fazle Rashid in New York
India and Pakistan facing Maoist and Taliban insurgency respectively have conceded a sort of "defeat" and now are dangling carrots to bring them to the negotiating table for rapprochement.
The government of India has offered to suspend contracts with mining companies in the central and eastern parts of the country in a move to persuade the Maoist rebels to lay down their arms. Home Minister Chidambaram said the government was seeking to bring the Maoist militants to the negotiating table by insisting that mining contracts be reviewed to provide royalty to local communities...[ FULL STORY ]
IDCOL intends to finance
large PPP projects
Shamsul Huda
The Infrastructural Development Company Limited (IDCOL), one of the largest financial institutions in the country, has been working over the last decade in infrastructural development projects. It intends to finance projects under public private partnership (PPP) to facilitate the government's development works for the people. PPP declared by the finance minister in the current budget was designed to work in the field of transport communication infrastructure, power generation and in renewable energy. The company wants to arrange money for the private partners in the PPP projects through adoption of international standard financing procedures funded by the multinational donor agencies like the World Bank, IDB, GTZ, ADB and others, said Islam Sharif, chief executive officer of the company in an interview with Holiday...[ FULL STORY ]
Bangladesh has promising
future in women sports
Abdur Rahman Khan
The 11th South Asian Games 2010 concluded in Dhaka last week with three cheers for female athletes of the host country Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's female athletes, most of whom come from low-income families, did an excellent job to win medals in the Games and made the nation proud even though they were less than half (101) in number compared to the male contingent (231).
This time the SA Games have created good opportunity for the Bangladeshi female athletes in badminton, table tennis, archery, kabaddi, karate, taekwondo and wushu, all these disciplines are less popular in Bangladesh compared to cricket, football and hockey...[ FULL STORY ]
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