Avoiding a major outbreak will require timely govt interventions
Govt must take action against this injustice
Govt must reduce air pollution, bring order in transport sector
Another tragedy has struck us. This time a motorboat carrying almost 100 people capsized after being hit by an empty cargo boat in the River Dhanu in Sunamganj. 35 bodies have been recovered, as of last report; most of the victims are women and children. Regrettably, accidents involving river crafts have been on the rise in recent times.
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The recently concluded visit of the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India has opened up the potential for deeper interaction between the two in terms of trade and commerce among other things, while agreeing on the need to give more time to iron out the border question. It has once again established the predominance of economics over politics.
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Some days ago we expressed our concern that the distribution of textbooks to primary school students would miss the deadline because of the all too obvious lethargy which seemed to be working among the printers. We did raise questions about such a pace of work and we did wonder why, before they embarked on the task of entrusting the printing job to the relevant firms, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) authorities did not make a proper, well-planned schedule regarding the distribution of the books. In such critical areas as education, it is expected that all the probable difficulties and loopholes will be handled before activities like book printing and distribution are undertaken. Indeed, the fact that in the past too such difficulties arose in the school textbook...
Against a background of reports on the entry of potentially hazardous ships into Bangladesh, the High Court directive regarding a framing of rules relating to import of ships for purposes of scrapping is surely welcome. It is regrettable, though, that where the authorities should on their own have ensured that measures of safety relating to the entry of foreign ships were in place, it has now taken the higher judiciary to make it obligatory for the government to make certain that everything is in order. Be that as it may, we are happy to note that the High Court has clearly spelt out the details on the measures that must be taken about the entry of ships, especially in light of reports that vessels with clear toxic content have been making their way into the country.
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The devastating fire at the Ha-meem Group's sportswear factory at Ashulia of Savar has added yet another sad episode to the unending series of miseries and tragedies in the star-crossed garment industry. The blaze, the cause of which is still under probe, has taken its huge toll of 26 lives and injuries to at least 100 people.
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Today is the 40th anniversary of our victory in the 1971 War of Liberation against the Pakistani occupation army. After the Independence Day on 26th March, this day marks the culmination and the ultimate victory of the Bengali people's protracted struggle for emancipation from subjugation and oppression by foreign occupation forces.
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When development of indigenous capability in the telecom sector had been the avowed objective of the Telecom Act and accordingly local initiative was allowed to flourish with generous licensing and supportive facilities, it became a shiny sheen to the growth of an expanding, cutting-edge sector. But then came a shock as five locally owned PSTN (Public switched telephone network) operators like Dhaka Phone, National Telecom, People's Tel, RanksTel and WorldTel were delicensed by BTRC in May this year.
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The Rapid Action Battalion busted a hilltop training camp of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami in Chittagong on Monday. Obviously it is good news, for it demonstrates the state of alert in which the security forces remain where handling militancy is concerned. There is little question that despite all the operations against them, large numbers of religious militants remain active and could yet pose a grave threat to the security of the state. A heightened and constant state of alert is, therefore, a clear necessity. Unless these disruptive elements are tackled firmly and militancy is firmly put to an end, the future of democratic politics in Bangladesh will remain something of a question mark.
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The government has, at long last, decided to honour the nation's friends of 1971. Four decades into independence, in a long overdue show of gratitude, the close to 500 individuals and organisations which helped the nation achieve freedom are to be accorded a reception and awarded something significant in recognition of their support, next Independence Day. They range from individuals and institutions in India and Russia to the United Kingdom and Canada; from media organisations such as Akashbani of India and the BBC to different United Nations bodies.
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We are constrained to comment on the ongoing violence in the garments sector, for the second day in a row, as we are aghast at the scale of violence and lawlessness breaking out even after months since the resolution of the minimum salary issue. This was to take effect in November, 2010.
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