Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THE NUMBER OF people killed in clashes in Bangladesh over the conviction of Islamist leaders for war crimes rose to 53 today, as fresh outbursts of violence erupted.
Two people were killed after hundreds of pro-government supporters and followers of the rival Jamaat-e-Islami party fought with sticks in two northern districts of Gaibandha and Chapainawabganj, police chiefs told AFP.
Police also fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse Jamaat protesters in the capital Dhaka, after they tried to launch marches following weekly prayers, leaving several people injured, police said.
Yesterday, violence flared across the country after Jamaat’s vice president was sentenced to death for murder, religious persecution and rape during the 1971 independence war.
Firebrand preacher Delwar Hossain Sayedee, 73, was the third person to be convicted by a war crimes tribunal whose verdicts have been met by outrage from Islamists who say the process is more about settling scores than delivering justice.
At least 35 people were killed in yesterday’s unrest, according to an AFP toll compiled after talking to police in 15 districts where protests have turned deadly.
Twenty-three of those killed yesterday were shot dead after police opened fire on thousands of rampaging Jamaat supporters who attacked law-enforcers with sticks and stones.
According to Sultana Kamal, head of rights group Ain O Salish Kendra, it was the deadliest political day of violence since independence was won from Pakistan in 1971.
Today’s killings brought the total number killed since the tribunal delivered its first verdict on 21 January to 53, police said.
Advertisement
Jamaat, which has rejected the court’s verdicts as politically motivated, put the death toll from Thursday’s violence at 50, saying its “innocent” supporters were shot dead by police who “hunted them like birds”.
Security was tightened around thousands of mosques across the Muslim-majority nation ahead of weekly prayers today, with border guards posted in major cities.
Police have banned a number of planned demonstrations at several trouble spots while the country’s biggest mosque, Baitul Mokarram, locked some of its gates to limit numbers.
Vandalism
Security was stepped up in Hindu villages and temples after homes and places of worships were torched and vandalised by Islamists in the southern Noakhali and Chittagong districts, killing one Hindu man, police said.
The war crimes tribunal has been shaken by controversies and allegations that it is targeting only the opposition with trumped-up charges. Rights groups say its legal procedures fall short of international standards.
The government rejects the accusations, saying the tribunal is independent and the trials are fair and necessary to heal the wounds of the war it says claimed three million lives.
It accuses Jamaat leaders of being part of pro-Pakistani militias blamed for much of the 1971 carnage. Independent estimates put the war death toll much lower at between 300,000 and 500,000.
I’d take these statistics with a pinch of salt. There will never really be a “recovery” for average Joe bloggs- as long as we are annihilated with a long list of personal taxes. 50% on any income over €33k, 23% vat, high excise duties, TV license and so on.
@Mark Gaynor: Theres always the feel good option of mr.cheap credit, remember him, playing keep up with the Joneses with the pcp and personal loans will keep Joe happy until he finds himself out of a job again.
@Dave Sherman: I did and emigrated years ago. Watching my girlfriend paying €250k for a brand new house that had the construction quality of a Lego set was the final straw for me.
@Fred Jensen: Nope. Just highlighting the desperation people had when it came to buying a house. I’ve actually no gripe with the Irish building regulations at all. There was a time a house had to be built well in order to sell it. It just comes down to supply and demand. I’ll sit this boom out and, if finances allow, consider buying something after the next crash.
Strange article, yesterday our housing minister said that we were set to build 19,000 houses this year, where the minimum need year on year was 25,000 to meet demand. (And if we figure in the shortfall there we could do with 35,000 units next year in fact)
So how are we building beyond demand?
@Tony Gordon: We might not be building beyond demand at the moment, but the demand can drop very quickly, because of a recession caused by Brexit for example, or the bursting of the Australian, London or Canadian property bubble.
The main issue is that houses are overpriced, and the price of something that is too expensive will drop significantly.
@Tony Gordon: We are far from what we experienced during Celtic Tiger when investors used to come with 110% of money needed and everyone put everything in property like there was no tomorrow. Go to any site near you and ask about any vacancies you will be said NO. We are in fact better than 4-5 years ago but still not like before 2008.
You know what this type of article is? Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide
The construction sector is nowhere near overheating. We’re only building 15,000 homes a year, compared to 95,000 a year in the boom. We should be encouraging the construction sector to get bigger.
Plus, this time it’s not borrowed money. Banks are not lending anywhere near what they were. It’s mostly foreign investors who will lose out if the office boom in Dublin goes sour.
I think some people don’t understand the economics of what the ESRI is actually saying. They’re not saying the country doesn’t need more houses built. They’re saying the capacity of the economy to build all those houses without inflationary and cost pressures building up (and therefore overheating the economy) is nearing its limit. Ireland needs around 30,000 houses built a year. Probably more over the next few years to keep up with pent-up demand. The ESRI doesn’t deny that. But with commercial construction ramping up at high speed, unemployment falling, and skills shortages becoming an issue again, the ability to build all those houses without construction wages and prices spiralling out of control could be difficult.
But equally if we start adding more stock to the housing market it will put negative pressure on the price of houses as supply will increase. This will in turn keep pressure on cost control within the sector
Everyone agrees we have a severe housing shortage. Yet when house building is picking up there comes the cry “it will over heat the economy”. So what do they want? Houses don’t build themselves.
@John S: I would love to know where you got 100k houses from. It is estimated we would need 30k houses this and every year for the next decade just to keep up with demand never mind over supplying the market. And building is nowhere near 30k houses at present.
@Mick Jordan: Just picked the figure randomly…….I didn’t investigate, just using it as an example. We need sustained development over time, not a boom to bust in our construction industry and we have to be careful we don’t do it again.
We actually need to build more houses in the right areas currently. There is a chronic lack of supply which is seriously over inflating prices for FTBs.
Only 19k were built last year for example. It’s simple supply and demand economics.
So I wouldn’t be too worried about an increase in activity given the current base, in fact we need to incentivise the sector to build more.
@James Keane: we need to be careful when talking about incentives though. Not hard to predict where that could very easily lead. Perhaps the incentives should be about taxing unused land rather than tax giveaways for developers.
@Tony Canning: fair point Tony. Yes agreed it is important not to rush to decisions when it comes to incentives with construction.
The idea of taxing unused prime land is a good one, specifically targeting the commuter towns and land within the M50 also.
@Gerard Heery: The ERSI warned the government that there was an impending housing shortage 5 years ago. This was ignored. If it hadn’t there would be a more controlled expansion of construction in a sustainable way.
Opinion: The Phoenix Park deer need clear legal protection for stronger enforcement
2 mins ago
4
0
Transgender Rights
Trump signs executive order seeking to ban transgender troops from US military
8 mins ago
0
Wexford District Court
Assault case further adjourned against law professor and barrister Diarmuid Phelan in Wexford
19 hrs ago
42.3k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 140 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 96 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 125 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 95 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 71 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 70 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 35 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 31 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 117 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 58 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 69 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 76 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 36 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 40 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 23 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 78 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 88 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 65 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 46 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 75 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 55 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say