Editorial

Written By Mir Mosharref Hossain MNA Editorial Desk: Bangladesh is surrounded by India from three sides and obviously our relationship with our greatest neighbor is of much importance as our development and welfare is much dependent on that. Good relationship with the neighboring countries can drive the economic and social welfare of a country. Our honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her three terms as the head of the government has been successful in establishing a good relationship with the influential neighbor. In spite of our achievement in gaining economic and demographic benefit, there are still several issues to be ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Film is not only a way of entertainment but also a great and very effective medium of education which many books cannot do. Our industry is stepping towards a dark phase and it will definitely fall into some deep crisis. After the independence the decades of seventies and eighties witnessed the golden time of film industry. Currently, Bengali cinema is passing through a threatening and critical period. Cinema halls in the country have been reduced to half. Releasing new cinemas has also come down to half. After all the quality of films are not satisfactory to the ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Road crash has become a nightmare to the travellers of Bangladesh as eighteen people were killed in three road accidents in Chuadanga, Khulna and Sirajganj districts on Sunday. In Chuadanga, a fatal road crash at Joyrampur Battala on Chuadanga-Jessore road in Damurhuda upazila in the early hours left 13 day-labourers and 10 others injured. The accident took place when a human hauler carrying 23-24 day-laborers collided with a sand-laden truck around 6:30am, killing eight of them on the spot and the rest injured. In Khulna, four Hindu pilgrims were killed and 20 others injured as a Satkhira-bound ...

MNA Editorial Desk: While the amount of freshwater on the planet has remained impartially constant over time—continually recycled through the atmosphere and back into our cups—the population has exploded. Every year competition for a clean, copious supply of water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and sustaining life intensifies. About 36 countries are currently facing extremely high levels of water stress, which occurs when demand for water far exceeds the renewable supply available. Some 600 million children will be living in areas with extremely limited water resources by 2040, according to a UNICEF report released on ‘World Water Day’. The poorest children ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The government has identified some mega projects as fast track projects and directed the authorities concerned to implement them with highest priority. Over the past 40 years since independence, Bangladesh has increased its real per capita income more than 130 percent, cut poverty by sixth percent, and is well set to achieve sustainable development goals. In recognition of long term development, the government under t6he leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina adopted the Vision 2021. The vision 2021 and the associated Perspective Plan 2010-2021 have set solid development targets for Bangladesh by the end of 2021. Bangladesh ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Housing is the prime need of human being for livelihood and shelter. Demographic pressure especially the unplanned expansion of housing in urban areas is contributing to a great extent decreasing the cultivating land, which considered as a great threat to environment. Bangladesh has been experiencing quite rapid urbanization during the last few decades. Bangladesh is well aware of these challenges and over the last two decades it has tried to address it through multi-sectoral development along with polices on specific themes. Providing improved living condition and better urban service to this increased population and generating employment for ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The aim of International Women’s Day is to reflect on progress made, to call for changing and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. This year theme of the day is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030.” The idea of this theme is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number. International Women’s Day is being observed on March 8 ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The misery of a girl child laborers knows no bound. Though child labor is harmful for both boy and girl without any doubt, the situation is difficult for especially girl child labor. In Bangladesh it is not possible to ban or remove child labor from this country as the harshly necessity of child labor in our country is unavoidable. As cheap labor is one of the main assets for this country’s development and who else can be chipper than a child here! In most of the garments factories girl child laborers work whole day and night, but ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The BERC announced the 22.7 percent average hike in gas prices on Thursday. It will be effective in two phases in March and June. The decision of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to hike gas prices has triggered discomfort among different sections of consumers. A nearly 23% increase in tariff will be made effective in two phases from the first day of the next month, in a situation where gas supplies are also constrained by disruptions at many places. The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) President Golam Rahman has said the organization is thinking about a ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The much-awaited month-long book fair “Amar Ekushey Granthamela” begins on the Bangla Academy premises and extending into the Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair and a four-day international literature conference which was attended by prominent litterateurs from Austria, Germany, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, Russia, China and India. The fair will remain open for 30 more minutes daily than the previous years. It will remain open for all from 3:00pm to 8:30pm on workdays, 11:00am to 8:30pm on holidays, and 8:00am to 8:30pm on February 21. This year, Bangla Academy and 409 publishing houses ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Air pollution is one of a variety of man made environmental disasters that are currently taking place all over the world. Air pollution may be defined as an atmospheric condition in which various substances are present at concentrations high enough above their normal ambient levels. Dhaka city is more than 400 years old. Over these years the population has increased many folds. Dhaka city is expanding in all direction east to west, north to south, population is increasing in geometric progression but the civic amenities cannot keep pace with the growing demand. The capacity of various utilities ...

MNA Editorial Desk: This paper covers the effectiveness of International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN system’s highest judicial body. The ICJ settles legal disputes between states, who must agree to abide by the Court’s jurisdiction before their case will be heard. The ICJ also gives advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by UN bodies and agencies. Here, particular emphasis is given to the efficiency of ICJ. I  will  do  my  best  to  be  as  crisp  as  possible  and  to  communicate  my  thoughts  about  the  International  Court  of  Justice  and  its  capability regarding use of power.  I intend ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Sundarbans, a magnificent and unique ecosystem of the world, faces an existential question today with a coal power plant to be set up at Rampal. It has been a content of discord between environmentalists and those who are pushing the plant. Both sides are giving out their own arguments in favour of and against the plant to be set up within 14km of the mangrove forest. The recent capsizing of a coal carrying ship in the Sundarbans has raised the stakes on the assessment being carried out by UNESCO on the Rampal power plant. Located on the ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Interest groups, also called special interest group or pressure group, any association of individuals or organizations, usually formally organized, that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, attempts to influence public policy in its favour. All interest groups share a desire to affect government policy to benefit themselves or their causes. Public policy in Bangladesh is shaped by a wide variety of forces, from polls and election results to interest groups and institutions, both formal and informal. In addition to political parties, the influence of diverse and sometimes antagonistic political forces has been widely acknowledged ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2017. Referring to the attacks on Holey Artisan Bakery and Solakia eid prayers, the report reads: “Although Islamist extremist groups, including the Islamic State or ISIS, claimed responsibility for most of these killings, the government blamed domestic groups, and said some had links to the main opposition political parties. “Thousands of people were arrested, and dozens of alleged members or supporters of extremist groups are said to ...

MNA Editorial Desk: In 2016, the world is facing the prospect of more strategic competition between strong nations with conflicting interests on the one hand, and an increase in fragility and disintegration of states on the other. When these two trends merge, as they have done in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, for example, conflicts become more likely to take on regional and global dimensions. Pulling together a list of the wars most in need of international attention and support in 2016 is challenging for all the wrong reasons. For 20 years after the end of the Cold War, deadly conflict ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Last Monday, 24-year-old, Tunisian national Anis Amri plowed a truck into a Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 56 in Germany’s deadliest attack in over three decades. Amri was killed during a shootout with police in the suburbs of Milan. But it left authorities facing threatening questions about how an armed suspected terrorist had been able to travel hundreds of miles on public transport before being caught. No attack has claimed so many lives in Germany since 1980, when a bomb killed 13 people and injured hundreds at Munich’s Oktoberfest. No police cameras were monitoring the ...

MNA Editorial Desk: International Migrants Day: All immigrants, irrespective of their legal status, have human rights. While states have the right to regulate the entry and stay of non-nationals in their territory, they can only do so within the limits of their human rights obligations. International Migrants Day is an international day observed on 18 December as International Migrants Day appointed by the General Assembly of United Nations on 4 December 2000 taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world. On 18 December 1990, the General Assembly adopted the international convention on the protection of ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Human Rights Day is observed by the international community every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day calls on everyone to stand up for someone’s rights! Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be wide-spread in all parts of the globe. Extremist movements subject people to horrific violence. Messages of intolerance and hatred prey on our fears. Humane values are under attack. The formal inception of Human Rights Day dates from 1950, after the Assembly passed resolution ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Assuming power with three-fourths majority in 2008 general elections, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government revived secularism as one of the state principle in 2011, following a Supreme Court ruling in 2009. But it kept the provision of state religion untouched, due to sensitivity of the issue and out of fear of losing votes. Minorities have opposed this decision ever since. In addition to the attacks on secularism from the usual suspects that is, those who want Bangladesh to be an Islamic theocracy and believe that it is the secular character of the state that is ...

MNA Editorial Desk: It is November 7, a day which some of us celebrate as National Revolution and Solidarity Day but for many, this is a day of memoirs of great grief. After brutal killing of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975 along with many of his family members, four national leaders; Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M. Monsur Ali and Quamruzzaman were killed in the safety of Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975. It was done under the supervision of Major Faruque, Major Rashid and Khandokar Mostaq Ahmed. Following that massacre, Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttam, who was a sector ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The Jail Killing Day, considered as a chapter of brutality of the nation’s history, commemorating the assassinations of four national leaders is being observed mournfully across the country today. On this day the four Liberation War heroes of Bangladesh – Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzaman were killed in captivity by some Army officers. They were assassinated inside the Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975 — 79 days after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed on August 15, 1975. In separate messages, President Abdul Hamid ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Every year, many Bangladeshis are going to abroad for work but this derived from some unemployment dilemma has turned to huge tragedy for us. Bangladesh is a small developing country of Southeast Asia and a major problem for this country is its huge population which drives scarcity of resources and opportunities for its people. The country is densely populated and it is said that, there is very low opportunity of work for the work-eligible people of the country. For last two-three decades millions of Bangladeshis went abroad for work. Many settled there and many kept earning their ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Though Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has frequently warned that, severe action will be taken if irregularities are found in distribution of low-cost rice among the ultra-poor, but within few days of the programme, there have been reports that chairmen and members of different union councils issued cards against well-off families. While many card-holders come up with the allegations that they haven’t get the amount of rice allocated by the government. Reports are also there that the rice allocated for the ultra-poor has been sold on the black market in many areas. Evan though PM warned that the ...

এলাকার মানুষজনের কাছে ওরা ’খরগোশ শিশু’ রুপা একটু গম্ভীর হলেও মিম চঞ্চল বেশি টেলিভিশন যেমন প্রিয় তেমনি অবসর পেলেই রুপা মিম লুড খেলতে বসে যায় খরগোস শিশু হিসেবেই চিনছে এলাকার মানুষজন ওদের । দু বোনের বয়সের দুরত্ব ৯ বছর হলেও দুজন দুজনার । ঘুম থেকে উঠে ঘুমোতে যাওয়া অবধি খেলার সাথি …রুপা খাতুন বয়স ২৬ বছর । আর মিম খাতুন – এর বয়স ১৭ বছর । তারা দুই বোন । দেখলে যে কেউ মনে করতে পারে হয়তো টুইন বেবি ।রুপার উচ্চতা ৩১ ইঞ্চি এবং মিম এর উচ্চতা ২৬ ইঞ্চি । ওরা বাস করে বাংলাদেশের চুয়াডাঙ্গা জেলার আলমডাঙ্গা উপজেলায় । বাপ ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Congratulations to Sheikh Hasina for being reelected as President and Obaidul Quader for being elected as the new General Secretary of Awami League. Mir Mosharref Hossain, Chairman of Mohammadi Group of Companies and Chief Editor & MD of Mohammadi News Agency (MNA) has expressed his delight in this new leadership of the ruling party. He has congratulated the new General Secretary of Obaidul Quader for stepping up as a bright leadership for the country’s oldest political party and wished him to perform with excellence under the supreme guidance of our honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Mir Mosharref ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Bangladesh-China relations has come out as a strategic movement in South Asia in recent days. For centuries, we have seen power shifting from one end of the world to the other and for the last two decades, the United States has positioned itself as the biggest super power. After the contravention of USSR, no countries could actually challenge that mighty giant. But in recent years, China appears to have posed a difficult challenge to America both as an economic and an emerging military super power. This does not come on account of its huge size or its ...