AWAMI League (AL) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have met three times in the course of the last two weeks to try to see if they could arrive at a consensus on the election time government. At the moment, an…
Khaleda Zia is right. There can be no meaningful elections here if all political parties do not participate. Also, there must be level playing field for all parties. Hence her insistence on a neutral, caretaker government is understandable. Hence her…
There have been reports that Bangladesh is likely to exit the Least Development Country (LDC) status by 2021.We would then enter the Middle Income Country (MIC) status. However, there are many analysts who do not agree with this view. A…
Last week, the Third Plenary session of the 18th Central Committee was held in Beijing to discuss reform measures to be introduced in China in the coming days. There were lots of speculations as well as inputs provided by Chinese…
Last month, there was a new resolve to move towards changing the geo-political map of Asia, especially this part of South Asia and East Asia. This seismic development was little noticed elsewhere in the world. It did not even get…
When Prime Minister Hasina and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia agreed to talk over phone last week, there were great expectations amongst the people. Political leaders of all shades as well as ordinary folk hoped that at last a…
It is almost five years that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an avant garde, spirit turned to India to resolve some of the outstanding bilateral political and economic problems bedeviling the two countries. Her point was that India had…
So it took five years for our politicians to come up with a choice for our people. Either you support the concept of a caretaker government, which is controversial and, in our own country, has been discredited in the past.…
Last week, news reached us that Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, has been anointed as their prime ministerial candidate for the general elections in spring next year. The centre-right National Democratic Alliance also endorsed him. Normally, this…
The border between Bangladesh and India has been the scene of killing of innocent civilians. It was drawn by a British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe in 1947. He was tasked by the British colonial government to separate the Muslim areas…
Last week, President Obama was in St. Petersburg, Russia, to attend the G-20 Summit. The ostensible reason was to talk global economics, but the real reason was to see if could bring the top world leaders to support his attempt…
The next and the penultimate session of this parliament will begin on September 12. This could turn out to be an extraordinary session if the main opposition BNP participates. Pressing political issues relating to the next national elections could be…
In the past few weeks, there has been a shift in the ground realities in the Syrian civil war. Reports say that President Assad’s army has scored significant battlefield victories over the rebels. It has doggedly fought and won back…
Last week, a terrible accident happened in a naval dockyard in Mumbai. A fully armed conventional Indian submarine, INS Sindhurakshak, ‘exploded in flames’ and sank with 18 naval personnel which included 3 Navy officers. The incident has been reported to…
Headlines in Bangladesh newspapers screamed last week that our Foreign Minister Dipu Moni had returned from a three-day visit to New Delhi ‘empty handed.’ She had ‘failed’ to get firm assurances from relevant quarters that the Indian constitution would indeed…
Last week, a high powered delegation from the ruling Awami League and another one from the main opposition BNP travelled to London to sit with select members of the British House of Lords, the House of Commons as well with…
Now that the chief election commissioner has told the press that preparations are underway to hold the national elections, speculations are rife. Questions are again being asked as to whether the elections would take place under a caretaker government or…
Last week, when the Egyptian army ousted the duly elected government of President Morsi, who was just one year in office, the world was astounded. The army was careful not to join the political fray directly. It appointed the Chief…
The 21st century is known by many as the Age of Information. Millions of people around the world access information that helps keep them safe, healthy and prosperous. Bangladesh is also no exception. Our government has coined the slogan ‘Digital…
This morning, the residents of four key cities of Bangladesh — Khulna, Barisal, Rajshahi and Sylhet — are likely to know the results of their mayoral elections. By tomorrow if there is no mishap, the picture would be clear as…
In April 2012, India successfully tested a long range (5000 km ) ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai. The missile was launched from a small island off the coast…
A game like hadodo is being played out on our political turf for some time now. The 14 party coalitions, which is led by the Awami League (AL) and which is now the government, continue to huddle the players of…
THE collapse of Rana Plaza was a tragedy of historical proportions. The mainstay of our industrial base, the garment industry has been shaken to its roots. But a fresh tragedy is about to unfold. This time the international buyers of…
An interesting bit of news was flashed around the world last week. A senior adviser to the Russian President Putin announced that the Kremlin was “surprised” by an “extremely crude and clumsy” attempt by a CIA spy to recruit a…
LAST week was about running towards red lines. These are imaginary lines etched in our perception about the limits which our common wisdom will tolerate with regard to misdemeanour. Beyond the red line there is danger of public retaliation. Political…
Ready-made garment industries is one sector in Bangladesh that has flourished because of low labour costs, relatively less investment costs and poor compliance to international standards. When the pioneer ‘Desh Garments’ started, by a retired civil servant Nurul Quader in…
LAST week was traumatic for most of us in Bangladesh. The big story was the collapse of an eight story building in Savar, in which, so far, 315 garment workers died and thousands were injured. The building owner had been…
OF late, the word secularism is being used frequently in our public discourse. One of the main reasons is that secularism was one of the four state principles in our 1972 Constitution. But through a constitutional amendment the words “Pledging…
AS the first rays of the sun caress your face this morning, you can be sure that you have crossed into the year 1420 of the Bengali calendar. The green plant shoots are there for you to see, so are…
JUST as killing and mayhem continue on land, so are killing and rampage on at sea. Last week, 31 of our fishermen trawling close to Kutubdia island along the Bay of Bengal were brutally killed. 21 bodies were discovered drifting…
THE month of March this year has been especially distressing for the ordinary citizens. Given the historical significance of this month it was expected that political parties would not engage in any political agitation or counter-agitation. Nine days were lost…
PRESI-DENT Zillur Rahman, who passed away last week, was a respected politician. The litmus test of his greatness was when the main opposition party (BNP) on hearing the news of his demise immediately suspended all political programmes including hartals already…
It is a well known fact that six of the world’s most attractive destinations for immigrants lie in North America and Europe. Yet the four countries from where most immigrants come only to the US are Mexico, China, the Philippines …
SO now the 1.2 billion Catholic Christians around the world can say Hebemus Papam (Latin for ‘We have a Pope’). A 76 year old Argentinean of Italian descent was elected by a College of Cardinals in the Vatican last week.…
It is acknowled-ged that genocide took place in 1971 at the time of the creation of Bangladesh. However, there are a miniscule few who are still not ready to agree after 41 years that it did take place. They think…
