THE recent circular issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on loan restructuring does not seem to be equitable because it is giving a special facility only to a certain group of people.

Recently, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that the Taliban was an “armed insurgency” rather than a terrorist group.

THE 20-party alliance imposed an indefinite blockade from January 6. In an earlier article (DS January 9, 2014) I mentioned that blockades are imposed only during wars.

Back in 2001, France floated a proposal that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (P5) should voluntarily refrain from using their veto power when dealing with mass-atrocity crimes.

Socio-economic justice is one of the most significant characteristics for social, political, economic and other realms of human interaction. The goals of socio-economic justice and equitable distribution of income and wealth are integral parts of the moral philosophy of Islam.

Hartal in a political sense may be defined as a means of protest by the people at large or by a group of a particular class of a society. But, has it been truly the case ever since it was introduced in the political infrastructure of Bangladesh?

It is no wonder that the death of Saudi King Abdullah recently saw a seamless transition of power to King Salman his half brother. In a few hours it was 'business as usual' and the world heard no rumblings in the Saudi Arabia desert kingdom. This is how transitions are meant to be in that part of the world. But questions remain about the nature and policies of the new monarch -- the custodian of Islam's two holiest places.

The other day I had a rather unsettling encounter with two young women at a local café, which is popular for its outdoor ambiance. On a crisp and cool afternoon a few of us old friends decided to meet at the café for lunch. The general idea was to reminisce about the “good old days,” while enjoying the warmth of the mellow February sun and the lake view. Since it turned out to be a freak hot day we were on the look-out for a shady area… a table under the sole Pagoda in the garden. As soon as it got vacant my friends and I ambled towards the table but two young girls made a virtual dash for it. Rushing past us, they triumphantly occupied the space. One of them put on a Cheshire cat smile and mumbled a feeble “Sorry.” Although shocked by the discourteous behaviour, we retreated to our original place without protesting.

With the burning to death of its captive Jordanian pilot, the“Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) yet again increased the level of depravity and assault on universal norms and values, while debasing the religion it claims to embody. Through a track record of sadistic mass murders, enslavement, rape, beheadings and graphic amputations, ISIS seeks to maintain a“shock and awe” reality against the effect of normalisation of horror and trivialisation of human life. The price it is imposing on Islam in the process is immense.

Prof. Emajuddin Ahmed, in a letter, has requested Mr. Ban Ki-moon to take an initiative to resolve the political standoff prevailing in the country. I presume it is a personal letter to the secretary general. Such letters do not carry much importance as important personalities like the secretary general receive innumerable letters from different people around the world regularly.

The current conflict can be traced back to last year's elections, mainly because most of the political parties -- not only BNP and its allies but also CPB, Gono Forum -- boycotted the elections. They did not accept the formula of January 5 elections that AL tried to sell. AL felt that it might not do well in an all-party election under the caretaker system. Earlier, when BNP was in power, it realised it wasn't going to do well unless it manipulated the caretaker system, which it tried to do by raising the age limit of the chief justice, among other measures. Whichever party is in power -- whether AL or BNP -- is not interested in a free and fair election because it knows that the result won't go in its favour.

A euphoric Indian media highlighted a claimed “breakthrough” on the India's nuclear liability law as the greatest outcome of Barack Obama's Delhi visit. This would operationalise the 2008 US-India civilian nuclear cooperation deal, described by Narendra Modi as the “cornerstone” of the India-US “strategic partnership.”

Russia is suffering from an economic and financial crisis. The average growth rate of its GDP over 1995 to 2014 averaged 0.86%. The crisis in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions by the western world began to hurt its economy badly. Its energy sector constitutes 20%-25% of its GDP, 65% of its export and 30% of its annual budget. Naturally, the recent fall in the price of oil has dealt a severe blow to its economy. Crude oil was selling above $100 per bbl in last July. At present, crude is selling at $45/bbl. Russia prepared its current budget expecting a steady oil price around $100/bbl. The government has now decided to freeze spending.

Local government is one of most important but sensitive items in the policy and budget making arena in Bangladesh. Quite surprisingly, it has not been regarded as a core or building block for national development plans even though local development and service delivery are critically dependent on efficient and effective local government. As the local government institutions (LGI) remain at arm's length from the citizens, decentralised development planning and building administrative capacity of LGIs are essential not only for delivering services to the grassroots but also for improving effectiveness of the central government and ability of local administrative units.

The Red Dragon, as China is admiringly called, is conquering the world; but it is doing so by extending economic assistance and cooperation. Countries across the globe that need support to build their infrastructure and implement development projects as well as technology to exploit their own resources are welcoming it with outstretched hands. China is offering much needed support to them. While China is deriving its own benefits, it is also creating opportunities for those countries to also benefit from their cooperation and interaction with it.

The visit by Prime Minister Hasina to the Gulshan office of Khaleda Zia to express her condolence at the death of Khaleda's son Arafat Koko raised a glimmer of hope, however faint, of possible rapprochement and reconciliation of bitter rivalry and hatred between the ruling AL government and BNP. The hope was dashed to pieces when the prime minister returned to Gonobhaban after finding the gate of Khaleda Zia's office locked from inside.

MILLIONS of extremely poor Bangladeshis are living in our golden country seeking opportunities to participate in the economy to survive. They face barriers in attaining an education, job, health services, clean drinking water, or food.

The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists was declared by the UN to recognise the violence against journalists and media workers who are targeted for exercising their right of freedom of expression, and to provide a platform to collectively challenge the existing culture of impunity.

It seemed that after the death of Osama bin Laden, militant Islamist/Wahaabist groups had shrunk in size.

WHO would have guessed, that the world-wide-web would make it possible to empower a little extremely poor girl in Rampal, a remote corner of Bangladesh?