The limits of art in a climate of fear
Since 2013, Islamist assailants wielding machetes and knives have killed more than 30 people in Bangladesh. The targeted attacks on liberal bloggers, freethinkers and atheists have created a climate of repression.
"Life is beautiful, but it's also a curse," sighs Pervaj Hassan Rigan as he searches for his best cartoons in a cramped drawer. Almost in passing, the young man mentions that for months he would always wear a motorcycle helmet to go shopping because he, too, was terrified that the machete of a radical Islamist might come down on his head. There came a point, though, where he decided that he could no longer live in constant fear and put the helmet aside.
Blood on the boot
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Corporal punishment makes children aggressive
It’s a proven fact, the more caring that adults are in a child’s life; many times greater are the chances of the child achieving success and happiness. – You reap what you sow. It’s also a proven fact that the more corporal punishment experienced as a child, greater are the chances of the child becoming aggressive, becoming a wife-beater, a child beater, and mentally unstable. – You reap what you sow. From time to time people are known to shake their head in dismay, perhaps even in total disgust, yield a long big sigh and ask why there’s so much cruelty in the world. Don’t expect to find the answers here. I only know corporal punishment, whether administeredSir Frank Peters
Non-performing loans: Curse for sustainable growth
Now that Bangladesh has graduated to developing country all efforts should be made to strengthen the banking sector which is the backbone of the economy. The requirements and challenges of many to a developing country must not be ignored and the best way to do this is strengthening the capital & liquidity ratio of the banks, according to the editorial of the current News Bulletin (Jan-Mar’ 2018) of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) released on Wednesday.
Non-Performing Loans (NPL) is one of the issues that is impacting capital adequacy of the industry specially the eight state-owned commercial and specialized banks. For decades, state-owned banks have been the prime leader to the large corporate borrowers particularly in the industrial sector of the economy.
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Hope for a much better, more prosperous Bangladesh
Arun Kanti Chatterjee
I had the opportunity to visit my ancestral villages now in Bangladesh recently. When I landed at Dhaka airport after catching the morning flight on 15thMarch we were already late by over two hours. Bangladesh Biman had not alerted us officially anyway as the flight had been put off reportedly owing to fog. Again surprisingly when I returned on 20th the evening flight was again delayed by 30 minutes due to the reported belated arrival of a flight from Singapore. So punctuality appeared to be not their top priority. Further for a journey of only 30 minutes the fare appears to be much on the higher side considering the almost similar duration inland flights in our country. The airways might review the fare s...Carbon tax could boost green energy in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is weighing a World Bank proposal to introduce a carbon tax, the first of its kind in the South Asian nation, amid fears of a backlash from consumers.
In its proposal, the World Bank suggested that the government introduce the carbon tax initially only on petroleum products. Bank officials advised the government to keep the market price of fuel unchanged by slashing its own profits.
“The cost of a carbon tax should not be passed on to the consumers.”—Dr. Saleemul Huq
Fuel costs are generally much higher in Bangladesh compared to the international market,
Neglected strategic issues on the Indo-Bangla border
In the first week of November 2016, this writer, as part of a distinguished three-member fact-finding team of experts set up under UN-mandated program, undertook a rapid appraisal of the work of the voluntary agency Masum, which operates in four districts along the Indo-Bangladesh border in the Indian state of West Bengal.
The agency seeks to prevent or deal with torture and extrajudicial execution by central and state security forces deployed along the international border. The team found that far from posing a threat to national security, the organisation is actually working to defend the human 
