Column

Rohan Samarajiva I was surprised, during my last stay in Dhaka, to read a magazine article about Bangladesh’s “population problem” that made no reference to demographic structure. Modern scholarship no longer sees population solely as a burden, understanding that the relevant question is not about the size of the population as such, but about its ... Read more

Habibullah N Karim Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 4 inaugurated the first-ever government sponsored ICT fair of the country at Bangabandhu Novo Theatre complex in Dhaka. The country has had many ICT fairs since the late eighties but those are all sponsored and organised by the private sector. The Digital Innovation Fair is the ... Read more

From The Daily Star Bangladesh IT industry going global Habibullah N Karim The information technology industry in Bangladesh has gradually come of age and today accounts for more than Taka 25 billion or USD350 million in annual revenues. It is still a tiny blip compared to a GDP nearing USD100 billion but it’s a noticeable ... Read more

From WeeklyHoliday Abdur Rahman Khan A nation cannot progress without having a clear conviction and pride in her past glories. A citizen develops the feeling of esteem for his or her heritage through learning about the country’s historical and cultural legacy. This is why the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (ASB) have planned a three-year programme ... Read more

Ma Taslim The governor of Bangladesh Bank seems to have come out of the early euphoria over the central bank’s rapidly increasing international reserves caused largely by remittances. Like most other people he was convinced of the virtues of an ever-increasing flow of remittances and large reserves. But the balance sheet of his bank, and ... Read more

Shamsuddin Ahmed Are the Maoists returning to power or taking over power in Nepal? UCPN Maoist supreme leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has claimed Tuesday his party will soon form a national government. He did not elaborate how UCPN (Maoist) will form the national government. Will he succeed to rally support of the majority ... Read more

Md. Shairul Mashreque AT the beginning of the new millennium the world has been beset by an insurmountable challenge in the wake of global recession. Economic downhill-slide in major capitalist countries in the north, which boast of having strong economies, threatens to affect countries in the south — especially the least developed countries (LDCs). The ... Read more

Hassanuzzaman DR. Manmohan Singh has indeed proven himself to be the king of South Asian leaders by repeating history after nearly five decades. The Indian National Congress (INC) won a landslide victory in which it, along with its allies, now holds 262 seats in the parliament. Singh’s entry in 1991 as the finance minister of ... Read more

Sadeq Khan The representative government of Sheikh Hasina, brought to power by a landslide election victory of its grand alliance at the end of two years of emergency rule, is not yet faced with any serious civic challenge to its lackadaisical style of governance. The Prime Minister enjoys blind loyalty of a countrywide network of ... Read more

RED ALERT IN GARMENT SECTOR Ruling party members blamed for the trouble Abdur Rahman Khan County’s export oriented garments industries have been facing grave uncertainty posing a threat to the vital foreign currency earnings and job opportunity of the huge female workers. It is the law and order situation that has been causing concern for ... Read more

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 ... Read more

Mohammad Shahidul Islam Every year February 14th is celebrated as a day for love, exchange of gifts, promises of eternal passion, and more. True lovers pen poems inspired by their love and admiration for the women of their dreams while others just go to shops and buy cards with verses. Students of universities enjoy the ... Read more

Sadeq Khan By classical military definition, the winner in a battle is the army that remains on the battlefield when the battle is over. The Hamas leadership in the Gaza strip still stands, suffering and resisting over three weeks of savage attacks, carnage and ruination by the mighty Israeli war machine. Israeli writer and peace ... Read more

Shamsuddin Ahmed Nepal is undergoing significant changes. Maoists, who came to power through an election last year, have recently adopted a political declaration to turn the country unto a people’s republic in line with China. They have started unification of left parties. Communist (Unity Centre) merged with the Maoist on Tuesday (January 13) and Masal ... Read more

Commentary Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet: Gutsy but risky Mahfuz Anam She promised to surprise us with her choice of the cabinet, and she did. Though the media was able to get some predictions right but generally speaking she outwitted us all. Not only in choosing the individuals but equally in giving them portfolios, Prime Minister (PM) ... Read more

COMMENTARY Why the AL won and the BNP lost the election-2008 Mahmud ur Rahman Choudhury God forbid that I be considered pro or anti anyone. I have to start on this apologetic tone because things are so polarized in Bangladesh that people tend to see everything in black and white ignoring the shades in between ... Read more

Commentary Mahmud ur Rahman Choudhury All eyes and minds are riveted on the politics of the Country with the major political combines of BNP and AL in a tizzy over the upcoming polls. BNP and AL have issued their manifestos on 12 and 13 December respectively, promising everyone every conceivable and some inconceivable things too. ... Read more

TURNING RECESSION INTO REWARD Strategic investment can cure economic ailment M. Shahidul Islam. A hybrid brand of ‘National Socialism’ is back in disguise as the governments everywhere is stepping into economic management of matters that have hitherto been under the purview of the private sector. That does not mean the Hitlerism is back, but it ... Read more