Govt must provide more clarity regarding election, reform, and trial.
Urgent measures needed to prevent a deadly outbreak
The HSIA situation is clearly concerning, and must be addressed before a major accident occurs
The good news is that the nation is now focused on the need for reform of the electoral process. The Election Commission has recently invited all political parties to a dialogue to share their views (admittedly with indifferent results) and in the past few months there have been any number of round-tables discussions and seminars and conferences held on the subject....
Dear Tom: You have forced me to come out of my hiatus and are making me do things I hate: being rude to and showing someone up, even in print. But, you have been impossibly difficult these past few months. Your pen is dripping poison. In the guise of the so-called "war of ideas" (your euphemism for "war on Muslims), you are systematically attempting to destroy the credibility of the Muslims, their culture, their holy book and their religion. You have such a stranglehold over the American media that one has to seek avenues abroad to refute your lies....
Whenever there is a spate of terrorist bombings around the world, this sparks a renewed flurry of activity on the part of political leaders, academics and international civil servants to devise ways and means to grapple with the phenomenon. It is, therefore, not surprising, given the rise of incidents of terrorist activities, particularly after the so-called war on terror, to see the UN Secretary General not only implore the heads of states due to meet shortly at the UN to arrive at an acceptable definition of the phenomenon, he has also gone so far as to call for formulating a "good definition of terrorism."...
More and more appalling things are coming out of the government's drive against adulteration. A test conducted by the BSTI has shown that the fruit juices that are sold under different popular brand names do not actually have the slightest trace of the substance that could justify their names. Rather, chemical and non-food grade toxic colours are used as ingredients for the "fruitless juice". People drinking such juice on a regular basis expose themselves to all kinds of ailments....
The somewhat comical spectacle of 114 political parties, the vast majority of which very few members of the general public had ever heard of, being invited by the EC to discuss reforms to the voter list, has had the unintended effect of bringing the issue of the proliferation of such political parties to the fore-front.
...THE finance minister's comment that the media is responsible for the country's negative image abroad is the most outlandish, outrageous, incoherent, illogical and far-from-the-truth statement that one has had the misfortune to hear recently....
Does anyone know why many male Muslim Bangladeshis start their names with Mohammad or Muhammad or Md? It is commonplace in Bangladesh, perhaps less so in India and Pakistan, and even less in other Muslim countries. While it is worth researching how this practice came to be a trend in the first place (this writer would appreciate any clue), this piece is limited to some reflections concerning such common usage in our country. The pervasive use of the Prophet's name at the beginning of a Muslim name demands explanation, but it is more so about the use of Md. as an abbreviation of Muhammad, which is really perplexing....
The recent visit of India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to US has been a turning point of relations between the US and India. Gone are those days when both countries mistrusted each other during the Cold War. While Pakistan was in the US camp, India had aligned with Moscow and in 1971 August signed a Treaty of Friendship with the Soviet Union (though India is a Non-Aligned nation)....
THIS is the stuff of a break-neck speed in which as serious a matter as an amnesty petition was processed and a positive result obtained that should perhaps enter the Guinness Book of World Records....
The South Asian island state of Sri Lanka seems heading towards twin problems at a time when a ray hope had emerged for a better time both for a settlement of the bloody conflict over the Tamil issue and reconciliation of the government with the opposition....
