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Sad history of ‘changing the map’ of Middle East

OVER the past four decades, there have been at least three tectonic shifts in the geopolitics of the Middle East, often referred to as efforts at ‘changing the map’ of the Middle East.  In 1982, Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon invaded Lebanon in order to destroy the threat of Yasir Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation.  In 2003, the Bush administration created...

Potential impact on Bangladesh

THE government of China has formally embarked on constructing what is projected to become the world’s largest hydropower dam on the Yarlung Zangbo river, known downstream as the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh. This mega-dam will comprise a cascade of five hydropower stations situated in Nyingchi, southeastern Tibet and will be capable of generating...

A death-defying Maherin Chowdhury

THE most heart-rending accident of a BAF training fighter jet’s crashing into a city school and catching fire has caused irrecoverable losses to the nation as it has so far left dead 35 learners who had a long way to bloom in life as better human beings than us. It is a disaster beyond enduring limit for the parents bereaved of their most loved ones in life. It is not to...

Inhaling, eating, drinking plastic

Dhaka Univ should see to safety issues of hall residents

PLASTERS having flaked off the ceiling in several rooms of the Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall in the University of Dhaka has once again exposed the neglect of student safety. A large chunk of plaster came off the ceiling of a bathroom in an extension building of the hall early July 29. While no injuries were reported, resident students say that such incidents are far from...

Govt needs to put in work to stem decline in cultural activities

A SOMEWHAT decline in cultural activities by institutions has been apparent, especially in outdoor rather than indoor programmes, in a year of the interim government as many organisations say that they go slow because of security reasons. A reported incoordination among government agencies and an absence of an appropriate environment, which mostly..

US-Israel genocidal partnership

FOR decades, countless US officials have proclaimed that the bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable. Now, the ties that bind are laced with genocide. The two countries function as accomplices while methodical killing continues in Gaza, with both societies directly, and differently, making it all possible...

Smart water, secure food

IN A sunlit classroom at Bangladesh Agricultural University, final-year students gather around a miniature canal model, tracing the path of water as it flows towards a simulated paddy field. It may seem like a simple academic exercise, but for these young engineers-in-training, it symbolises a quiet revolution. This is where Bangladesh’s future is being engineered...

No VAT on food items

BANGLADESH may be far from achieving equality and its social stratification is so stark that a university student, a rickshaw puller, a street vendor and a day labourer are put in the same bracket on one count. They largely skip meals. They are forced to skip meals, especially breakfast...

Why it could hurt women

PROPORTIONAL representation is often praised for making electoral systems fairer. It can ensure more accurate vote-to-seat ratios, greater inclusion of small parties, better minority representation, and coalition-based governance that reflects diverse voices. However, it also comes with serious risks — policy gridlock, coalition instability, empowerment of extreme factions, and weakened accountability...