The shipping routes off the coast of Bangladesh are among the most important in the world, but they're also some of the most dangerous because of rampant piracy. Al Jazeera's Nicholas Haque reports from the Bay of Bengal on pirates, as well as the shaky administration, whose job it is to combat this growing problem.
India is having its moment. Having shed the bonds of colonialism, years of bitter civil strife and a stagnant economy, the country boasts nine percent growth a year with a capable middle class and world-beating industry. But just beneath the veneer lies an underclass that has been left behind.
>> Kashmir Activists Don't See Guns as the Answer
In a new series for Al Jazeera, Divya Gopalan attempts to understand the real Mumbai by taking a culinary journey through its vibrant streets.
> Streets of Mumbai - Part one
When Sourav Ganguly landed in Kolkata after the Test series against Australia, he was no longer an Indian player. For Bengal, which put him on a pedestal higher than any of its other sons, an era had ended.
Now, in the quiet confines of his house in Kolkata, it's time to reflect on an unique career. It's time for life after cricket for Sourav Ganguly.
>> Dada's full interview on IBN Live
In a new series for Al Jazeera, Divya Gopalan attempts to understand the real Mumbai by taking a culinary journey through its vibrant streets.
> Streets of Mumbai - Part two
Some felt he couldn't play the bouncer, some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly's ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India's most successful Test captain - forging a winning unit from a bunch of talented, but directionless individuals - and nobody can argue about him being one of the greatest batsmen of all time.
In 1995, scientists issued the first Global warming alert, but today, experts say that at least one fifth of Bangladesh will be swallowed up by rising sea levels within 50 years. AlJazeera report on the impact of policies.
Related Post: Care about Bangladesh?
Up to 900,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases in India. It is feared that the yearly toll could rise to one million people by 2010.
> Smoking curbs: The global picture
Faced with these startling figures, the government is instituting toughter smoking bans. But will it be enough? Al Jazeera's Matt McClure reports from Delhi.
Bihar in India is notorious for having the country's highest crime rate. But local police have found a novel way to fight it, building on the state's vibrant tradition of folk music, they have created a choir that sings to raise awareness of crime.
> Singing Policemen of Bihar: Part one
Bihar in India is notorious for having the country's highest crime rate. But local police have found a novel way to fight it, building on the state's vibrant tradition of folk music, they have created a choir that sings to raise awareness of crime.
> Singing Policemen of Bihar: Part two
Rahimafrooz Batteries has played a leading role in the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project (REREDP) - a large scale programme to provide solar home systems to rural households in Bangladesh.
"Taslima Nasreen survives under the constant threat of fatwas in India and Bangladesh. But, in France she is receiving the Simone de Beauvoir prize."
>> Taslima Nasreen: The France-24 Interview
What does a visitor from Bangladesh look forward to in Kolkata?
For many visitors from Bangladesh, Kolkata is the place that offers better medical care. Many are here on business. But for many visitors, it is also a pleasure trip.
“About 70% of my customers are from Bangladesh. They visit most during winter and before the Eids. Business is a little low when the tourists are not here,” says Bhupendra Saha, of Prince, a Bengali cuisine restaurant in Kolkata.
How does an average Bangladeshi tourist find the city?
“What I most enjoy about Kolkata, is the feeling that it’s a different country and a different place despite it being so close. Though my husband still says that the two Bengals should be one,” smiles Jasmine Sarkar, a Bangladeshi housewife.
> Insight from The Telegraph
Interview with Aamir Khan on CNN-IBN: Bollywood's most versatile performer.
> Aamir Khan Unplugged: Part one - Part two
Interview with Aamir Khan on CNN-IBN: Bollywood's most versatile performer.
> Aamir Khan Unplugged: Part one - Part three
Interview with Aamir Khan on CNN-IBN: Bollywood's most versatile performer.
> Aamir Khan Unplugged: Part two - Part three
It has been described as the Indian revolution, the tournament that will change the face of cricket forever. The Indian Premier League (IPL) introduced new levels of glamour and wealth to the game as soon as its first-auction was held.
Bangalore Royal Challengers will face Kolkata Knight Riders to kick off a six-week tournament featuring most of the finest talents in the world game.
IPL team-guide
Name: Bangalore Royal ChallengersOwner: Vijay Mallya
Ground: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Coach: Venkatesh Prasad
Captain: Rahul Dravid
Star player: Jacques Kallis
Most expensive player: Rahul Dravid, US$ 1.35 mln
Total cost of squad: US$ 5,795,000
Name: Chennai Super KingsOwner: India Cements
Ground: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Coach: Keppler Wessels
Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Star player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Most expensive player: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, US$ 1.5 mln
Total cost: US$ 6,225,000
Name: Deccan ChargersOwner: Deccan Chronicle
Ground: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Coach: Robin Singh
Captain: VVS Laxman
Star player: Andrew Symonds
Most expensive player: Andrew Symonds, US$ 1.35 mln
Total cost: US$ 6,105,000
Name: Delhi DaredevilsOwner: GMR Holdings
Ground: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Coach: Greg Shipperd
Captain: Virender Sehwag
Star player: Virender Sehwag
Most expensive player: Virender Sehwag, US$ 833,750
Total cost: US$ 6,372,500
Name: King's XI, PunjabOwner: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Mohit Burman
Ground: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
Coach: Tom Moody
Captain: Yuvraj Singh
Star player: Brett Lee
Most expensive player: Yuvraj Singh, US$ 1,063,750
Total cost: US$ 6,503,750
Name: Kolkata Knight RidersOwner: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta
Ground: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Coach: John Buchanan
Captain: Sourav Ganguly
Star player: Chris Gayle
Most expensive player: Sourav Ganguly, US$ 1,092,500
Total cost: US$ 6,222,500
Name: Mumbai IndiansOwner: Reliance Industries
Ground: Nerul, Mumbai
Coach: Lalchand Rajput
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Star player: Sachin Tendulkar
Most expensive player: Sachin Tendulkar, US$ 1,121,250
Total cost: US$ 5,496,250
Name: Rajasthan RoyalsOwner: Emerging Media
Ground: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Coach: Shane Warne
Captain: Shane Warne
Star player: Graeme Smith
Most expensive player: Mohammad Kaif, US$ 675,000
Total cost: US$ 3,610,000
Bangladesh has a number of organized & lavishly funded fundamentalist militias and a government that yields to their pressure on all matters.
Understandably, there has been growing concern over the possibility of Bangladesh becoming a country like Afghanistan under Taleban rule.
Addressing a press-conference in Dhaka on 5th September 2004, Joseph Cofer Black, the US State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism, who was visiting the country in wake of the attack on Awami League's rally on 21 August, affirmed that USA was looking at Bangladesh's role as a terrorist platform.
Many would, however, scoff at the suggestion that a shift might be under-way from Afghanistan to Bangladesh, arguing that the situation in Bangladesh today is very different from Afghanistan in 1994 when the Taleban emerged.
Bangladesh is a far more developed country than Afghanistan. It has a vocal and assertive civil society supported by an active and secular intelligentsia. More important, it is a Muslim country with a significant degree of religious tolerance, where women play important roles in the country's social and economic lives.
Related Link > Radicalism in Bangladesh
Via Bangladesh-Blogger
A model displays the new spring-summer collection from French fashion retailer 'Galeries Lafayette' during a French-Festival in Mumbai, India.
> Reuters Pictures
Colonization and natural disasters have wrought havoc upon Bangladesh, but Henry Kissinger and George Harrison, quips Iqbal Quadir of Lexington, did the most damage to the country of his birth.
The former US secretary of state's infamous description of the South Asian nation as an "international basket case" and the former Beatle's legendary Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 saddled the war- and flood-ravaged land with an unshakable reputation as hapless and dependent on handouts for survival.
"That has been very damaging to us," said Quadir, who is the executive director of MIT's Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship. "Because the country is a so-called basket case, investment never came to us."
Quadir, 49, doesn't dispute that Bangladesh has its troubles but rejects the notion that Bangladeshis need to be rescued by rich countries. On the contrary, said Quadir, Bangladeshis are as innovative and hard-working as anyone but until recently have lacked the means to unleash their entrepreneurial spirit.
He proved it with his own company, Grameenphone, which became the largest cellphone company in Bangladesh largely by selling its phones on credit to poor rural women who in turn rented phone minutes to neighbors, making money for themselves while providing a public service. "I happen to be Bangladeshi, which is why I had some emotional reason to think about it seriously." he said.
> A bottom-up plan to turn Bangladesh's economy upside-down
