How to rob a bank in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, we sometimes play We Also Have. This is a parlor game in which we can say, with pride, that we now have the things that could previously be found only in other countries.
In the 1990s, it was satellite television (we also have MTV!); in the 2000s, it was shopping malls and high-rise buildings and multiplex cinemas. This year, it was a Hollywood-style bank heist.
In January, a man going by the name of Sohel and his accomplice Idris successfully stole 169 million taka (about $2.2 million) from a branch of Sonali Bank in Kishoreganj, 70 miles north of the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh keeps LNG import options open
As it grows more desperate for foreign gas supplies to make up for its production shortfall, Bangladesh has put forward a number of intricate plans to import gas – sourcing it from neighbours such as Myanmar and India, as well as using LNG.
Among these is a plan to take some of China’s imports from Myanmar, in exchange for benefits to Chinese investors, Hussain Monsur, chairman of state-run Petrobangla, told Interfax.
Dhaka proposed taking some of the gas Myanmar currently pipes to China under a gas-for-fertiliser deal – under wh...
Dhaka proposed taking some of the gas Myanmar currently pipes to China under a gas-for-fertiliser deal – under wh...
Katalyst for development in Bangladesh
Much of the huge development success seen over the past decades has been achieved thanks to innovative solutions that have been scaled up.
Conditional cash transfer programs like Brazil’s Bolsa Família have proved effective in reducing poverty and ensuring that children attend school and are vaccinated. Innovative financing mechanisms supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others have contributed to the immunization of hundreds of millions of children. UNITAID has pioneered financial schemes such as the airlines ticket levy to fund lifesaving medicines. Muhammad Yunus and others made microcredit a worldwide tool for credits to those who in the past were considered too poor for a bank loan.
[caption id="attachment_9704" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Bangladesh accused of muzzling dissent following polls
Having ridden out the uproar over her walkover re-election, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now attempting to silence any further dissent with the crucial backing of the military, say observers.
The United States was among a host of countries to demand new polls that “credibly express the will” of the people after Hasina’s ruling Awami League romped to victory in a January ballot boycotted by the opposition.
[caption id="attachment_9668" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami Lea...
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami Lea...
Bangladesh and India cement ties
THE river delta that is Bangladesh has plenty of sand but few stones. As the country’s cities are yet to accommodate the majority of its 160m people, this is no small problem. The capital Dhaka, one of the world’s ten largest cities, has begun to rid itself of its one-buffalo town infrastructure. An estimated 35,000 people move to urban areas every week; an additional 53m people will be living in the cities by the middle of the century.
At one of Dhaka’s clubs for foreigners, a hangover from the days of aid-dependence, a man had told m...
At one of Dhaka’s clubs for foreigners, a hangover from the days of aid-dependence, a man had told m...
Resolving Indo-Bangladesh border complexities
The Modi government is making a push to settle India’s long-running border disputes with Bangladesh.
For decades, India has tried to curb illegal immigration and smuggling along its 4,000 kilometer border with Bangladesh. It has installed thousands of kilometers of barbed wire and floodlights, and its Border Security Force (BSF) even adopted a controversial “shoot-on-sight” policy to deter those who might cross illegally.
In 2001, the dispute acquired a new dimension when incursions by the border guards of both countries culminate...
In 2001, the dispute acquired a new dimension when incursions by the border guards of both countries culminate...
