In 2023, Bangladesh will surpass neighboring countries India-Pakistan in terms of prosperity, but it is far behind the countries in terms of freedom. Two foreign organizations based in Dhaka have published a report highlighting the position of Bangladesh in the index of freedom and prosperity.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Asia Foundation jointly organized the Prosperity and Good Governance Conference at the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday (April 16) to share the findings of the Atlantic Council's new Global Freedom and Prosperity Report.

The report lists Bangladesh as 'mostly poor' on the Prosperity Index and 'mostly subjugated' on the Freedom Index.

In this list made for 2023, Bangladesh ranks 99th among 164 countries in the prosperity index among South Asian countries. India ranks 146th and Pakistan ranks 150th in the list. But Bangladesh ranks 141st on the Freedom Index, while India ranks 104th and Pakistan ranks 113th.

Various factors such as GDP per capita including health, inequality, environmental conditions, minority rights and education are taken into account to list the prosperity index. On the other hand, political, economic and legal conditions are measured to list the freedom index.

Strengthening fundamental freedoms accelerates long-term economic prosperity, according to research by a US-based think tank.

According to the report, the January 7 parliamentary elections marked a strong shift towards an authoritarian party system. By boycotting the opposition party and using it as capital, Awami League has sustained its 15-year rule. Besides, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is going to be the longest serving woman head of government in the world. Although this indicates stability, authoritarian party systems often face various risks that can undermine good governance. To mitigate these risks, healthy competition in politics, governance and the economy must be ensured.

Speaking at the conference, US Ambassador Peter Haas said that among the 164 countries listed by the Atlantic Council (in the Freedom Index), countries listed as 'mostly subjugated' were not listed as 'prosperous' (in the Prosperity Index). This suggests that Bangladesh needs to take bold steps to increase the economic, political and legal freedom of its people in order to become prosperous.

He further said that every country is facing problems in securing economic and political rights besides corruption. Rather than avoiding problems, the real objective should be to accept problems and actively try to solve them.

Conference keynote speaker Joseph Lemoine, director of the Atlantic Council's Center for Freedom and Prosperity, outlined the key findings of the report. The report assesses a nation's economic standing using democracy and governance indicators based on the Freedom Index and the Prosperity Index.

According to Joseph Lemoine, the data shows that countries with more freedom enjoy higher prosperity and countries with less freedom enjoy lower prosperity. A country can be more welcoming to foreign investors by improving political and economic freedom and creating a strong legal environment.

He also said that more independent countries receive significantly more foreign direct investment than less independent countries. As the overall freedom index suggests, a strong commitment to freedom is key to attracting foreign investment.

Government representatives, representatives of civil society, businessmen, donors and people from various fields were present in the conference.

Mother Sugandha Das struggled to save 50 thousand taka for her daughter Arpita's surgery. But she had nothing to do but watching it go up in flames along with their belongings in a devastating fire at Tek Para in Firingibazar Ward of Chattogram city.

With her daughter in need of medical treatment, and the money lost, Sugandha was left in despair. The heartbreaking story was published in Barta24.com, prompting an outpouring of support from the community.

Upon learning of the situation, many individuals reached out to offer assistance to Arpita.

However, the Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram, Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman, intervened, personally delivering the burnt 50,000 taka to Sugandha. He assured her that he would take steps to ensure her daughter Arpita's treatment.

Explaining the decision to Barta24.com, the Deputy Commissioner shared, "Sugandha Das had saved 50,000 taka for her daughter's surgery, but it was lost in the fire. In response to the media coverage, we provided 50,000 taka on behalf of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for Arpita's treatment.

“Additionally, I will liaise with the Port Hospital authorities to arrange affordable treatment for Arpita,” said the Deputy Commissioner.

On Tuesday, the Deputy Commissioner visited the fire-affected areas of Tek Para and Ayakub Nagar in Firingibazar Ward, where he provided humanitarian aid to Sugandha and others affected by the fire.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Sugandha Das couldn't hold back her tears as the District Commissioner presented her with financial aid. She tearfully expressed her thanks to the Prime Minister through the Commissioner, acknowledging the hardship she endured to save money for her daughter's surgery, only to see it vanish in the fire. With the Commissioner's assistance of 50 thousand taka, Sugandha expressed her profound appreciation to both the Prime Minister and the Commissioner. She also expressed her indebtedness to the journalists who shed light on her plight, recognizing that she could never fully repay them for their support.

13 people were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a pickup van in the suburbs of Faridpur town. Two others were injured in this accident.

The accident took place on Tuesday (April 16) around 8:30 a.m. in the Deepnagar area of ​​Kanaipur, a suburb of the Dhaka-Khulna highway. However, the casualty was not immediately identified.

Eyewitnesses said that a Uttara Unique Paribahan bus was going to Magura with passengers from Dhaka in the morning. On the way, the bus collided head-on with a pickup van coming from the opposite direction when it reached Deepnagar area of ​​Kanaipur in Faridpur. The pickup van was twisted. 13 passengers including the driver of the pickup van were killed on the spot. Two people were injured at this time. They have been admitted to a local hospital.

They said that the pickup van was carrying passengers instead of goods. This information was confirmed by Highway Police Superintendent Mohammad Shahinul Alam.

He said that the passengers were going to Faridpur town from Alfadanga by renting the pickup van. On the way, the pickup van collided head-on with the Magura-bound bus. Thirteen people died on the spot. The police and fire service recovered the bodies of the victims after receiving information.

1431 Bangla new year started with good news. On the first morning of the Bengali year, the countrymen learned that 23 Bangladeshi sailors who were held hostage in the sea had been freed. The Somali pirates had to leave them behind. Bangladeshis will now travel by sea to the United Arab Emirates and return to the country by air from there.

A big milestone was cut in the release of these 23 Bangladeshi citizens. People's lives were saved; the honor of the country was saved. Diplomatic efforts, foresight have all won. Instead of resorting to the use of force through a third party, Bangladesh has chosen the path of bringing people's lives back to safety with utmost importance. Ransom was discussed here from the beginning. After the beautiful resolution of this incident, there is a discussion about whether anything ransom has happened at all, and if so, how much it is in terms of money, although I consider this discussion to be inconclusive. Because there is no question of national interest, there is nothing to increase honor. There is only a great interest of a large class of audience-viewers-readers; but this interest is not important in national interest or otherwise.

If the families of the affected sailors would have suffered financially in the process of releasing the Bangladeshis, then it would have been logical to discuss it. If public funding was involved, it would have been necessary to discuss that, but there is none of that in the process. So why this discussion, so much discussion?

It is a matter of common sense that insurance companies have various involvements in such transportation or journeys. There should be no exception here. If the insurance company is involved in the release, it is their business side. I don't see the need for fancy story trappings on this business side.

Bangladesh had to spend 50 lakh dollars to release 23 Bangladeshis. Several media outlets in the country have published reports citing the two pirates. The Reuters report claims that a pirate told them the ransom money arrived two days ago. Then they checked them for fakes. After confirming the original currency, they divided it among themselves. Some media reported that three sacks of money were thrown into the water by helicopter. The subject is very cinematic. In the report, the description of the scene of the movie is delusional! However, several movies have already been made about Somali pirates. Maybe some people are saying that in accordance with a scene of all those movies. Because the owner of the ship, KSRM, did not say on their own that they paid the ransom.

Bangladesh State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury denied the ransom payment. The state minister's position is logical. From his position, the issue of ransom cannot be accepted or denied. He said, "The government has no information about paying ransom for the rescue of ships and sailors."

After the release of the sailors in a press conference on Sunday, Chief Executive Officer of KSRM Group Mehrul Karim said, 'Somalia, Kenya, United Kingdom and the United States have agreed to release the sailors according to the rules of these four countries. Everything has ended legally. But according to the terms of the agreement, we cannot disclose many things. There is nothing to disclose all the terms of the agreement. There may be things here that may affect future trades. It is also unreasonable to argue about it.

The state minister did not say that the KSRM authorities did not say that they paid a ransom of 50 lakh dollars. So we should refrain from trying to establish this amount of the alleged ransom because if the issue of ransom is established, the cost of such a sum by sea will be established. Being attacked by pirates in the deep sea and being rescued with money will become the norm. In the future, someone here will want to take a new opportunity. Can we not get out of here?

To give an example, a few years ago another ship of the same company was hijacked by Somali pirates. After one hundred days, the ship and sailors were rescued. There was still such a ransom issue. This hostage incident has been followed by an over-discussion of the previous incident, and it is doubtful whether that over-discussion was influential here.

A state minister, the officials of an organization cannot say that they freed the Bangladeshi hostages with ransom. The position they are in is a responsible position, their speech is institutionally responsible speech; If we understand that, if they were to accept the issue of ransom, what would be the effect, if we understand that, then we should also understand that it is improper to establish ransom. Attempting this is undesirable. Let us try to practice the same responsibility that we expect from others without dragging the matter unnecessarily.

Eight pirates have been arrested after leaving the Bangladeshi hostages - just try to understand this news, Bangladesh did not talk about it. It continued maximum diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety of its citizens. These diplomatic efforts resulted in the arrest of the pirates. This successful attempt of Bangladesh to call the life and injustice of the Bangladeshi hostage is commendable.

It took 100 days to rescue Jahanmani; it took only 32 days to free MV Abdullah. Congratulations to the free Bangladeshis, thanks to all parties including the government.