April 09, 2017

While speaking at the inauguration of the 136th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Dhaka, Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for a united fight against terrorism, terming it a new global vice. Moreover the assembly, one of the largest international conferences in Bangladesh's history, has ended last week with the adaptation of five-point Dhaka declaration. A total of 132 of 171 members of the parliamentary forum of the world took part in the assembly. During this five day conference, speakers, deputy speakers of the national parliaments of 19 countries of the IPU member states and UN Assistant Secretary General Gerda Verburg paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, extoling her efforts in taking Bangladesh to a new height in terms of development and prosperity

During his recent visit to Bangladesh, India's Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi said Bangladesh is a place where miraculous happenings take place every day. Addressing a seminar in the capital, he said youths account for 30% population of Bangladesh and they together can spearhead any change. At a separate press conference, the Indian child rights activist lavished praise on Bangladesh's success in recent economic growth, education and reducing child mortality rate. According to this expert, Bangladesh has proven its ability to become a fast-growing economy from a poor country within several decades.

With an aim to give the country's dairy sector a major boost, the government has taken steps to formulate a law to set up a dairy development board. Dairy processors and analysts hailed the initiative and said formation of a separate board will encourage dairy farming, boost milk production and thus, cut import dependence to meet annual requirement. Bangladesh requires 1.46 crore tonnes of milk a year, while it can produce 52.75 lakh tonnes of milk, according to data from Department of Livestock (DLS).

A collection of over 250 paintings from children with autism and other neurodevelopment diseases has been launched at the assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Saima Wazed Hossain, who spearheads mental health issues, compiled and edited the book styled Unique Glimpses. Speaking about how she developed the concept of compilation, Saima Wazed said many of the artworks were collected by HPM Sheikh Hasina over the years and used in her formal greeting cards. Marking this year’s Global Autism Awareness Day, she came up with a write up describing how autism awareness has grown ‘immensely’ in the region since July 2011 when she brought regional leaders together in Dhaka in a first such conference.

Attending the 136th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Bangladesh, the participants said Bangladesh should feel proud of its capability for hosting such a big event which is attended by around 1,500 guests from across the globe like. Jean Milligan, the spokesperson for IPU Headquarters was quoted by media as saying the host country should be very proud of its capacity, given that the attendants have been welcomed with a big smile from everybody. Additional security measures in Parliament area and around Bangabandhu International Conference Centre have been taken for the assembly. The guests are being carried to and from the hotels by heavily guarded shuttle buses.

Bangladesh is the third-largest video gaming market in South Asia and 61st globally in a ranking of 100 countries thanks to robust growth of internet users and smartphone penetration, according to Newzoo, a leading provider of market intelligence of global games, e-sports, and mobile markets. The country's video gaming market is worth about $62.22 million. According to the report, there were 26.46 million internet users in Bangladesh in 2016, meaning every consumer spent Tk 188 for playing games in the same year on an average.