Author: Asian Bangla

 Recently, David Pilling had a write-up entitled “Do we need to say RIP (Rest in Peace) to GDP?” The write-up draws on his latest book The Growth Delusion on which he recently spoke at the Oxford Literary Festival. In the write-up, the author has made five important observations. I am in total agreement with all of them, except for the last one. His five observations are as follows: First, GDP (gross domestic product) was a World War II phenomenon, since planners needed to know how much of the GDP could be diverted to military efforts. Absolutely true. Second, we should…

In addition to visit to United Kingdom and Australia, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to visit two more countries, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and New Zealand, for bilateral talks as well as to attend important international events. Sources at the prime minister’s office said Hasina is likely to begin the four-nation tour with Saudi Arabia on April 15. They said the PM’s first visit to the Kingdom is at the invitation of Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to join a 23-country joint military exercise styled “Gulf Shield 1” in Dammam on April 16 which aims to upgrade…

It was a time when politics played havoc with the economy. The BNP-led opposition called a series of hartals in 2013 ahead of the general elections demanding restoration of the caretaker government system. The whole year was practically wasted and violence of the worst kind spread, bringing the economy to a grinding halt. The election was held in spite of that. The violence turned even worse as blockade continued until April 2015, giving businesses a hard knock. Production was hampered, distribution even more. So in 2015, 11 big business groups, each of them having loans of over Tk 500 crore…

Over 55,000 vehicles, including 3,740 belonging to different ministries and government agencies, have not had their fitness certificates renewed for more than a decade in breach of rules, official data showed. As per the law, it is mandatory for a vehicle to go through fitness check-up every year and have its fitness certificate renewed to ply the roads legally. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on March 29 published two lists of “fitness defaulters” on its website — one of government vehicles and the other of non-government ones. The authority asked the owners to renew the fitness certificates by April 30.…

 A section of Dhaka University students and other job seekers who have been protesting against the quota system  blocked the Shahbagh intersection this afternoon. Around 2,000 protesters brought out a procession from in front of the Dhaka University Central Library around 2:00pm and gathered at the Shahbagh intersection to stage a sit-in, our DU correspondent reports from the spot. Traffic movement has been disrupted following the agitation since around 2:30pm, causing immense public sufferings. As the part of central anti-quota’s programme, students of Jahangirnagar and Rajshahi universities have also brought out protest processions on the campuses demanding the same. The…

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the dissolution of parliament yesterday, paving the way for a general election showdown with his old mentor and the country’s most seasoned campaigner, Mahathir Mohamad. Najib is under pressure to deliver an emphatic win for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, as he struggles to appease Malaysians unhappy with rising costs and a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund he founded. The 64-year-old leader is expected to retain power due to a rift in opposition ranks between Mahathir’s bloc and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. But analysts predict a tough fight from Mahathir, who transformed…

Fifteen people were killed on Thursday when a gang of armed men attacked two banks and a police station in the Nigerian town of Offa, police told AFP yesterday. The brazen assault happened in part of Nigeria’s volatile central region, where criminal gangs and cattle rustlers regularly attack security forces. “They attacked the police station and at the same time attacked two banks,” said Kwara state police spokesman Ajayi Okasanmi, adding that nine police and six civilians died in the violence. The gang invaded a busy commercial area where several banks and the police station are located in broad daylight…

The United States struck at the heart of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle yesterday, imposing sanctions on seven of Russia’s most influential oligarchs and stoking a diplomatic crisis that some have dubbed a new Cold War. Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction could now be frozen. Also on the list are tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, under investigation in France over allegations he brought in millions of euros in suitcases full of cash, and…

Facebook yesterday apologised to Myanmar civil society groups who took issue with Mark Zuckerberg’s defence of the platform’s record on curbing hate speech roiling the country. Facebook has been battered by allegations that posts on its site have helped fuel communal bloodshed in Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. On Thursday six Myanmar organisations published an open letter criticising an interview Zuckerberg gave with news site Vox this week. In it he cited examples of both Myanmar Buddhists and Muslims spreading “sensational” messages on Facebook Messenger that warned of imminent violence…

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday invited UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Bangladesh to see for himself the plight of Rohingyas who have taken shelter here amid persecution in Myanmar. She made the invitation when the UN chief phoned her at night. During their conversation, Hasina also sought UN cooperation in implementing the agreement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya repatriation, said PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim. He said the UN chief highly appreciated Bangladesh for its steps over the Rohingya issue. Karim said the UN secretary general phoned the PM at 9:25pm and talked to her for…