Nearly 2.5 billion people--half the world's adult population--lack one of the most basic amenities of modern life: a bank account. They are among the world's poorest, struggling to obtain the money they need to feed their families or start a business and create jobs.
Their exclusion from the modern financial system represents a significant obstacle in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. That's why World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has called for universal access to finance by 2020--an urgent reminder that this challenge can be overcome in this generation. Governments play a critical role but they can't do it alone. It will take a concentrated effort by the private sector, which now accounts for less than...
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about all the sanctions taken against the pro-Islamist newspaper Dainik Inqilab. In the space of a few hours last week, its print edition was suspended, all of its printing equipment was seized or sealed, and three of its journalists were arrested.
“It is wrong for a newspaper to publish false information but the sanctions must not be disproportionate,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The application of the Information and Communication Technology Act to this case and the measures taken against the newspaper are totally excessive”.
Migrant workers sent $6.77 billion home to Bangladesh in July-December, down 8.41% from the same time a year ago. For the first time in recent memory, Bangladesh has experienced a decline in remittances in the first half of the fiscal year.
There are four factors that can potentially account for the decline in remittances: the stock of Bangladeshi migrants abroad, earnings per migrant worker, their average propensity to save, and their average propensity to remit money home out of those savings.
Politically, Bangladesh has come full circle to the tipping point it faced almost 40 years ago. The election of January 5 brought one-party government back. History tells us that the next likely step is a consolidation of a one-party government into a one-party state. But history does not always determine politics. “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” and Bangladesh has a way of confounding pundits who predict its future. Remember, for example, that famous 1972 prediction that it would be (forever) ‘a basket case’.
The Awami ...
Bangladesh rarely registers in the minds of most Americans, but US policymakers would be well advised to devote some urgent attention. As things stand, general elections scheduled for Sunday look virtually guaranteed to leave a trail of bitter division, violence and chaos. That’s a surefire recipe for disaster—in the world’s third most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Born of civil war in 1971, Bangladesh’s early history was plagued by cycles of political violence and heavy...
Beijing’s recent efforts at improving strategic ties with Delhi may soon experience a hiccup. In an attempt to strengthen Dhaka’s military might, China has agreed to sell submarines to Bangladesh’s Navy sometime. Last month, the two countries sealed a $203 million deal that offers Bangladesh two Ming Class submarines. The move was scorned by India which could not help hide its dismay at the rising tide of Sino-Bangladeshi defense cooperation. Indeed a senior official recently took Beijing to task questioning the “necessity” of pact with Bangladesh. Delhi’s main concern is that these submarines may intrude into Indian waters. These events seem to raise alarm in India as the Indian Navy now plans to boost its presence in the Bay of Bengal...