Violence and extortion carried out by teen gangs are alarming.
Bangladesh had the highest NPL ratio in South Asia in 2024.
Rape threat at DU is a reminder of campus misogyny and impunity
IT'S all but certain the direction the Truth and Accountability Commission (TAC) is heading towards. It very nearly suffered a premature end when the High Court division declared its formation illegal and unconstitutional. It has been given a month's lease of life by the apex court of the land.
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THE world continues to expect a great deal from Barack Hussein Obama, the president-elect of America. His popularity abroad translates into unreasonably high hopes of Obama setting the world right. Others want various things and think he would be more reasonable.
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THE chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has served notice on the caretaker government that it must meet its four demands within 48 hours if it wants the party to participate in the elections. The notice, which is really an ultimatum, comes as an unfortunate surprise at a time when the country is in the mood for elections and other political parties are busy finalising their preparations for the elections. More importantly, when the government has been taking steps to accommodate the demands and desires of the political parties, especially of BNP, it makes little sense for any party now to issue ultimatum to have their way. The Election Commission, in order to ensure the participation of all parties, agreed to reschedule the date for submission of nomination papers. It...
THERE is hardly any need to stress the importance of the role played by the deputy commissioners and the superintendents of police in any election -- more so in the forthcoming one. The nation, having waited for the last two years, cannot afford to have the election tainted through any inability of the DCs to play their due role as returning officers, or due to lapse in law and order function of the police.
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THE nation's business leaders have appealed to the political parties for an end to hartals in the future. As citizens who remain aware of what has not been achieved in Bangladesh in the last thirty-seven years, and what must be done in order for us to come level with the rest of the world, we will tell these good men and women that we are with them.
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STANDING before 250,000 fans at the Grant Park, Chicago on November 4, when the sweet scent of victory was fresh in his nostrils, president-elect Barrack Obama, in his victory speech, underscored that it was important that everybody understood that the promises he has made during the campaign could not be fulfilled overnight. There has to be a realistic expectation of what can happen and how quickly.
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WHAT should Barack Obama do with the 250 men who are still locked up in the Guantánamo Bay prison camp? Of the many problems the new president will face, this is the most difficult, and one he must get right.
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The haul of a huge quantity of explosives and grenade cases in Mirpur and Shonir Akhra by the Rapid Action Battalion on Sunday only shows how much yet needs to be done by the nation to put religious extremism out of action. Altogether 70 kilograms of explosives and 150 cases of grenades have been seized from members of the outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh. Besides, other materials such as nitric acid, bomb producing materials and so-called jihadist literature have also been netted by RAB. The RAB action is commendable.
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Arun Nandi, the legendary swimmer died at 68, leaving behind the glorious saga of a man's unflinching determination to endure any ordeal to uphold the cause of his nation. We are proud of Nandi' incredible feat as a great swimmer which was but a powerful statement on patriotism made through the medium of a sport.
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A friend of mine recently expressed his sincere desire about returning to Bangladesh and asked for my advice on what he should do to join a political party. I asked him -- somewhat derisively -- if he had any criminal record in his profile. Specifically, I asked him if he had any police record from his university days in Bangladesh; if he had ever participated in hartal, burning police cars or public properties; if he was involved in extortion and/or forceful and illegal land grabbing, and so on.
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