Minouche Shafik :“Why did nobody notice it?” Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II famously asked the faculty at the London School of Economics in November 2008, just after the financial crisis erupted. Almost a decade later, the same question is being asked of “experts” following the extraordinary and unforeseen events of the past 12 months – from the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum to Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States.Experts in general, not just pollsters and economists, have been the...
THE FR Tower in the city’s posh Banani area where fire incident killed at least 25 people on Thursday and injured 100 others had no permission for its top four floors. The additional floors were constructed breaching the building code. The deaths have exposed the RAJUK’s anomalies in constructing high-rise buildings in the aristocratic area. Defiantly, there are hundreds of tall buildings in the city those were constructed violating all rules and regulations. After Nimtali and Chawkbazar infernos, we came...
ONE Josna Begum is in deep trouble as a duplicate passport is also in use in the same name and same information only changing the photo. Media report says, she is a migrant worker who returned from Jordan last year. She is now facing difficulties in getting her Machine Readable Passport (MRP), because some one else is possessing a passport bearing the same number. How another woman could secure a duplicate of her passport is a mystery since she was...
POWERFUL syndicates of black marketers are stealing grains from the government’s storage depots in the capital and elsewhere with support from some food department officials. They are so powerful that even MPs cannot take their rice or wheat supplies for emergency relief distribution from the food department’s storage depots unless parts of the shipments were left behind for these groups. It happens with all the supplies for Open Market Sale as well as the ration supplies for the Bangladesh Ansar...
Finding peace Degradation of morality is, in my opinion, destabilising world peace and harmony. Rising inequality is crippling people’s ability to make good decisions. On the other hand, a wrong application of religious philosophy is weakening the human condition. The question is how to overcome this critical situation? We need an open discussion to find a solution. Professor M Zahidul HaqueSAU, Dhaka...
Monirul Islam :Hazrat Adam (Pbuh) had two sons. One killed the other. Jesus Christ’s (Pbuh) close associates were involved in his crucifixion. Three of the four Caliphs of Islam were murdered. Nabab Sirajuddoula was defeated and murdered as a result of conspiracy of his own army chief, courtiers and relatives. President Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and President Kennedy were assassinated. So were India’s father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajeeb Gandhi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister...
Syed Emran Hossain :Ramzan is the most blessed and endearing month among the Muslims. Muslims fast for the whole day from sunrise to sunset for the entire month and devout themselves in different sorts of worships. There are so many things to say about this month e.g., inter alia, its virtues, Quran, worships, dua, zakat-ut-fitr and Eid. Scholars of Islam have written numerous books, treatises, articles and given lectures on the virtues of Ramzan and associated issues and anyone can...
NEWS report in a national daily on Friday said that the law and order situation in the capital is reported to have nosedived as more than 60 killings and thousands of other crimes took place in the city over the past three months sending panic signals to the city dwellers. But the most alarming point is that as the news report said the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) even does not regularly hold its monthly crime review meeting to discuss the...
THE earthquake that struck Myanmar on Wednesday shaking the entire region is no doubt a reminder that such disaster may hit Bangladesh any time and what precautionary measures we have in place to handle the danger. Needless to say the event passed off without major causalities, except over 100 people injured and dents and tilts around half a dozens building leaving Bangladesh almost safe from what catastrophes it could otherwise wrought. It appears that frequent earthquakes in the region are...
NEWS about the six world powers led by the USA and Iran have agreed to a framework agreement on Iran nuclear issue on Thursday has come as a relief to the international community. The breakthrough has put an end to the fear that Iran may use its nuclear capacity to make bombs and this in turn has reduced the spectre of an Israeli induced war on Iran in the region, which is already profoundly bleeding from long drawn wars in...
Sarantis Michalopoulos :The use of space technologies could play a crucial role in optimising potable water processing operations in order to achieve higher quality, according to the results of an EU-funded project.Water has a multifunctional role in the economy, environment and society in general. It is used by households, for power generation, for irrigation in agriculture as well as manufacturing.According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), 40.4% of water is used by agriculture, 27.8% for energy generation, 17.7% for mining...
A GROUP of guardians and other citizens on Friday accused the government of playing a dubious role on the quota issue. They slammed police inaction in this regard as the law enforcers could not arrest any of the attackers – despite the availability of clear evidence gathered through, photos, video clips and firsthand eye-witnesses. Furthermore, the participants at the rally also called for launching a judicial probe into the attacks on quota reform activists to punish the culprits.The protesting students...