Source: Daily Star Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam has been handed 90-year jail for his role in the murder and genocide of the independence-seeking people of the land who were fighting occupation Pakistani army in 1971. All the five charges, which include murder and torture of unarmed people, conspiracy, planning, […]
Source: dhaka Tribune Bangladesh and the spirit of Ramadan Mahdin MahboobOp-Ed As a nation we are completely misguided about how we should lead our lives during Ramadan People purchasing various iftar itmes from Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka Photo- Focus Bangla Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar […]
By Abdur Rahim Harmachi Chief Economics Correspondent, bdnews24.com For the first time, the central bank’s foreign exchange reserve has remained above $15 billion-mark after paying dues of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). The reserve had come down to $14.78 billion after clearing ACU’s $718 million on Monday. Bangladesh Bank’s Forex […]
By Rahim M. Quazi A complex array of hurdles, compounded by political instability, is posing a formidable hurdle to Bangladesh’s achieving economic prosperity. The post-independence political frontier in the South Asian nation has been extremely turbulent. Two elected heads-of-state were killed by army coups, nearly 25 unsuccessful coups were staged, […]
Courtesy: NY Times U.S. to Suspend Trade Privileges With Bangladesh By STEVEN GREENHOUSE The Obama administration on Thursday will suspend trade privileges for Bangladesh over concerns about safety problems and labor rights violations in that country’s garment industry, according to administration and Congressional officials. The administration has come under intense […]
Source: BD News 24 By Abdur Rahim Harmachi, Bangladesh’s economy has achieved an average growth of over 6 percent over the past five years primarily due to the healthy flow of remittance and rising exports. Both exports and remittance flow from expatriate Bangladeshis have doubled over the last five years despite […]
Source: Huffington Post DHAKA, Bangladesh — Several hundred garment workers were sickened at their factory outside Bangladesh’s capital on Sunday, apparently after drinking water there. Police official Mohammad Jahid said many of the workers were treated at various hospitals after the incident at East West Factory in Gazipur district. Jahid […]
Source: forbes.com When Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus took the stage at the second annual Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy in New York Wednesday night, he described feeling “overwhelmed” by […]
Source: The Daily Star By SUSHMITA S PREETHA Workers of Outwear Fashions Ltd take to the streets in Sheorapara in the capital demanding better pay and longer maternity leave. They blocked Rokeya Sarani and called on garment workers of other factories to join them. The workers of other factories, however, refused. […]
Source: BD News 24 United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Rashida Manjoo has said the demands of Hifazat-e Islam over women’s’ rights in Bangladesh run counter to the constitution. She says it is the government that needs to act against the 13-point charter of demands the Islamic organisation […]
Source: Washington Post. By AP YANGON, Myanmar — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Islamic leaders expressed dismay over decisions by authorities in western Myanmar to restore a two-child limit on a Muslim minority group, a policy that does not apply to Buddhists and follows accusations of “ethnic cleansing.” […]
Source: NY Times. By STEVEN GREENHOUSE American retailers remain sharply opposed to joining an international plan to improve safety conditions at garment factories in Bangladesh as their European counterparts and consumer and labor groups dismiss the companies’ concerns about legal liability. A few shareholders at Gap’s annual meeting this week […]
Source: The Daily Star A top leader of Hefajat-e Islam has told a court in Dhaka that the group’s May 5 Dhaka siege programme was designed to oust the Awami League-led alliance government, according to court sources. The BNP-led 18-party opposition combine financed the programme, Hefajat Secretary General Junaid Babunagari […]
Source: NY Times By STEVEN LEE MYERS WASHINGTON — Countries around the world, including allies of the United States, have used laws on blasphemy and apostasy to suppress political opponents, the State Department said on Monday in an annual report chronicling a grim decline in religious freedom that has resulted in rising […]
Source: CNN Money By Emily Jane Fox NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Anu Mandavilli is joining a protest against Gap, at the clothing company’s annual meeting on Tuesday. Her beef: Gap doesn’t do enough to improve worker safety in Bangladesh. “I own Gap clothing and I don’t think it’s acceptable that this […]
Source: BDNews 24 A Dhaka court has remanded three Hifazat-e Islam activists for four days to police custody in two cases filed over the May 5 violence in capital Dhaka’s Motijheel. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Erfanullah also rejected bail petitions of the detainees on Monday. Police on Sunday detained Hifazat’s […]
Source: BDNews 24 DHAKA:Bangladesh registered a current account balance surplus of over $2.8 billion in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal (2012-13). This is seen as a comfortable zone for the country with no need to borrow money for regular transactions. In case of debts, a government […]
Source: NY Times. COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Cyclone Mahasan weakened Thursday afternoon into a tropical storm and then dissipated, causing far less damage than had been feared as it passed over Bangladesh and spared Myanmar almost entirely, meteorological officials said. At least 18 deaths related to Mahasen were reported in […]
Source: CNN Money H&M, the global fast fashion store, on Monday agreed to support a new plan to prevent fires and building collapses in Bangladesh apparel factories. The company’s announcement prompted a flood of international brands to also join in. Spanish brand Zara’s parent company Inditex, Calvin Klein and Tommy […]
Source: NY Times By ADAM DAVIDSON A couple of years ago, I was in an industrial park in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as a textiles executive pitched me on becoming a rich T-shirt manufacturer. It was easy, he said, to teach basic sewing to even the most poorly educated farmers. If I […]