The prompt response of the Chinese government to the strong earthquake in Yunnan Province and its effectiveness and openness were highly appreciated by Bangladesh experts and leaders including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Mahbuba Nasreen, director of Dhaka University’s Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies, said, “what was much impressive to me this time was the way China responded to the quake,” adding that Bangladesh should take some lessons from China, reports Xinhua.
She said, “They are well planned because they have ample re...
In rural Bangladesh, dozens of women on wheels are biking into remote villages and hooking up poverty-stricken families to the net. Thanks to ‘Infoladies’, tens of thousands of people are connecting with social media, chatting to loved ones, and getting government services.
The project is the brainchild of a local development company called D.Net and was formally launched in 2010. It grew out of a previous program that used ‘Mobile ladies’ to hook rural villages up to the wider world with mobile phones. Then along came the Infolady association: young, educated women from rural backgrounds who bike into isolated villages with a laptop, giving people the chance to get online. But that’s not the only service they provide. They also dish out advice on health – including taboo subjects li...
After the much-publicised Padma bridge episode, the World Bank (WB) has now realigned its approach to tackling corruption in projects.
Previously, the multilateral lender would wash its hands off projects as soon as allegations of corruption surfaced. But now, in essence, it will carry on with the projects but will work with local authorities to identify and snuff out the issues.
“When evidence of corruption comes to light, its response should not be to disengage, but to engage differently,” it said in its Country Assistance Strategy Progress Report.
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A rightwing Indian party has said rape charges have “become a fashion” in the country.
The hardline Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena made the comments in an article supporting a police officer who has been accused of rape. It questioned victims’ intentions for reporting crimes, saying rape allegations were “good weapons to seek personal revenge”.
It follows accusations that Sunil Paraskar, a senior police officer, raped and molested a model over a three-month period.
“After he has served for so many years in the police force, one model now charges DIG [deputy inspector general] Sunil Paraskar with rape and in one night he becomes a villain,” the party wrote. “Such accusations have become good weapons to seek personal revenge.
Questioning steps taken by West Bengal government for rehabilitation of Bangladeshi refugees, senior BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh today said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ‘welcomes’ illegal infiltrators but has no sympathy for the refugees.
“We welcome and congratulate Shivraj Singh Chauhan for settling and giving jobs to 5464 Bangladeshi refugees in Madhya Pradesh.
This is in line with a promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his election rallies that the refugees should be welcomed and the economic burden should be shared by all...
The Indian Jute Commissioner has warned the country’s jute industry of a ban on their getting a government quota for five years, citing unfair trade practices by some mills.
Certain jute mills are saddled with allegations of cheap but illegal imports of jute bags from Nepal and Bangladesh for profiteering.
The Jute Packaging Materials Act, 1987 provides for compulsory packaging of sugar and food grains in jute bags by government agencies up to 100 per cent.
Every year, the Food Corporation of India purchases 40-45 per cent of the jute bags produced by...
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