Fresh IMF funding instead of earlier package
Ever since his assumption of the office of the Ministry of Finance, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has been expressing his opposition to the $4.5 billion IMF (International Monetary Fund) loan negotiated in January 2023. During the IMF-World Bank (WB) Spring meetings in April last, the Bangladesh delegation led by the...
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First 100 days of BNP govt: MoFA's lacklustre performance
The first 100 days of a government are often treated as a symbolic milestone rather than a definitive measure of success or failure. No administration can be fairly judged on the basis of three months alone, particularly in a country where many of the most pressing challenges have accumulated over...
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Rigorous compliance checks in hospitals imperative
The tragedy on the day before the Eid-ul Azha that struck the parents whose six newborns died in the post-operative room of a private hospital in Dhaka is a rude awakening for us all, as hospitals, too, may not be a safe place for patients of all ages, let alone...
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Utilising idle slaughterhouses
Around seven years ago, the government of the time established two modern slaughterhouses in Dhaka's Kaptan Bazar and Hazaribagh areas at a combined cost of nearly Tk 1.33 billion. These facilities were equipped with modern machinery and designed to ensure hygienic slaughtering, veterinary inspection before slaughter, and meat inspection after...
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Taxes on cigarettes should be increased
Taxes on all tobacco products, including cigarettes, should be increased. All tobacco products cause immense harm to human health. Cigarettes contain more than 3,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and carcinogenic. Nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke constrict blood vessels, significantly increasing the risk of heart attacks and...
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