鈥楤IG brother is watching you.鈥� What George Orwell wrote in聽1984聽as a work of dystopian fiction has, for many, come uncomfortably close to reality in Bangladesh. The sense of being watched, tracked and recorded is no longer just paranoia. It is institutionalised, systematised and, most alarmingly, legalised. Surveillance in Bangladesh has not only survived political...
THE government has set an ambitious target of administering typhoid vaccines to 50 million children and adolescents, aged between nine months and 15 years, under an Expanded Programme on Immunisation campaign that would begin on October 12. But the response to the campaign has so far been reserved. The Directorate General of Health Services says that..
THE earliest few steps that the environment adviser to the interim took were about reducing plastic pollution, but the pollution continued unabated. A photograph that 抖阴精品 published on August 23 shows how the original channel of the River Buriganga is clogged with plastic wastes at Islambagh in Dhaka. Most of the city canals, meanwhile, lost their water flow because...
A SIGNIFICANT shift is emerging in the political landscape of the United Kingdom, as former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana have announced the launch of a new left-wing political movement. In July this year, the duo unveiled Your Party, which...
TWENTY-TWO years ago, while I was returning from Portsmouth, UK on board the BNS Turag, the ship had three days鈥� stopover at Jeddah seaport. One afternoon, a large vehicle carrier vessel arrived and discharged hundreds of vehicles into the yard, which by evening was...
NOISE, dust, vehicle smoke, heat, mud and chaos; broken and blocked footpaths; being expected to climb stairs in the heat just to cross the road; madness and mayhem. No, walking in Dhaka is not often a joyful or rewarding experience, as the millions of people walking daily, whether...
PROPORTIONAL representation might appear to cure Bangladesh鈥檚 winner-take-all distortions, yet in a patronage-soaked, institutionally weak democracy, it would almost certainly splinter the parliament into quarrelling factions, paralyse policymaking and invite both foreign...
DHAKA stands at a precipice, with its rapid urbanisation and unchecked growth threatening to render it uninhabitable. A report presented at the dialogue, 鈥楥omplexities of the Detailed Area Plan: towards sustainable urbanisation鈥�, highlights the pressing need for both...
IN THE context of an unstable onion market, the government has recently started importing onions. The increased supply has, however, failed to contain the price. After months of suspension, about 2,280 tonnes of onions have entered Bangladesh through the land port of...
IT WAS astonishing to read about the death of Ahmad Saeed Tazazaa at 20 years old on Aug 3, 2025 inside Israel鈥檚 Magiddo prison...
THE world is going through a major crisis, with more than 120 million people forced to leave their homes because of war, violence, climate change and poverty. According to the UNHCR鈥檚 latest report, over 43 million of them are refugees who have crossed into other countries looking for safety and a better life. From Syria and Sudan to Venezuela and Myanmar...
THE word 鈥榩edestrian鈥� refers to all sections of people who walk, sit, stand in public spaces or use a mobility aid like walking stick, crutches or wheelchairs, be they children, teenagers, adults, elderly citizens, people with disabilities, workers, residents, shoppers or sightseers. But, they are the least bothered for in cities such as Dhaka, Chottogram, Khulna and others...
NEW Age鈥檚 August 16 editorial, 鈥楪ovt must not put ACC reform on the back burner,鈥� is particularly timely as the tenure of the interim government approaches. The Anti-Corruption Reform Commission, formed by that government, submitted 47 recommendations on January 15 to strengthen the Anti-Corruption Commission and insulate it from political and bureaucratic...
THE Indian authorities allegedly allowing activities of the Awami League, fallen in Bangladesh in the July uprising, on Indian soil poses a serious threat to the already strained bilateral relations. Reports published by Bangladeshi and Indian media outlets suggest that leaders and activists of the Awami League are carrying out anti-Bangladesh political activities from India...
THIS is unfortunate that the Bangladesh Bank needs to show Tk 1,631.5 billion that is, in fact, defaulted loans, as of June, as regular loans and classify 1,086 borrowers, averagely owing Tk 1.5 billion, from being defaulters because of court orders. A central bank report says that such a high number of borrowers have filed writ petitions with the court to secure protection...