PALESTINIANS and international humanitarian groups were among those who denounced Friday鈥檚 (August 1) highly orchestrated tour of a Gaza aid distribution center run by a US-backed group condemned for its role in Israeli forces鈥� massacres of desperate people seeking food and other lifesaving aid...
MYANMAR is a complex geopolitical milieu in the Indo-Pacific region that directly affects the connectivity between South and Southeast Asia. During colonial time, it was one geopolitical unit, but it is now practically divided. There is tension brewing at the midpoint between these two sub-systems. The internal insurgency and national integration problems of Myanmar...
WATER has long been a source of both hardship and nourishment in Bangladesh鈥檚 coastal deltas and riverine plains. With more than 700 rivers, this low-lying country has long relied on its plentiful water supplies for human use, agriculture and fishing. However, the same water systems that formerly supported development are currently under attack from institutional...
IN RECENT decades, Bangladesh has made significant progress in promoting gender equality in areas such as education, health and employment. However, when it comes to politics 鈥� the sphere that defines who makes decisions and sets the direction of public life 鈥� women remain vastly underrepresented. While the country has been led by women prime ministers...
THE collision between a train and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw at Ramu in Cox鈥檚 Bazar is yet another harrowing reminder of how unsafe and unregulated level crossings are. At least four died in the accident on August 2 when the Cox鈥檚 Bazar Express, headed for Dhaka, hit the auto-rickshaw and dragged it for about a kilometre. Railway officials say that the level crossing was...
PUBLIC health experts have put out a call in an open letter for the chief adviser to the interim government, seeking early action for the implementation of the recommendations of the reforms commission on the health sector. What is special about the event is that the experts who have put out the call were mostly members of the reforms commission, which the interim...
A COALITION of cross-regional states met in Bogot谩, Colombia in mid-July to discuss measures to disrupt Israel鈥檚 genocide of Palestinians. The subsequent commitments by some of those governments to end all material support to Israel and to uphold international law is an important development not just to end the genocide, but to counter the relentless militarism...
IN A world where capital flows increasingly shape the fortunes of developing economies, the importance of transparent and comparable financial statements cannot be overstated. International accounting standards, when properly applied, can help countries attract foreign investment, bolster financial credibility and unlock economic potential. But while the global...
A SIGNIFICANT number of underprivileged children continue to suffer from what is now recognised as learning poverty 鈥� particularly in developing foundational literacy and numeracy skills 鈥� despite the government鈥檚 considerable annual investment in primary education through the Primary Education Development Programme and additional efforts by...
IN A world already fraying at the seams with endless wars, deepening divisions, and mounting anxieties, something far more ancient and ominous seems to be stirring 鈥� something that does not come draped in ideology or diplomacy. Nature, the most silent of all forces, seems to be shouting now. And her voice is one of flames, floods, quakes, and storms...
THE Film Development Corporation, once the heartbeat of cinematic culture, now stands as a hollowed-out relic of its past. Established in 1957 and revitalised after independence in 1971, the corporation had flourished for decades as the nation鈥檚 premier film production hub. Since the early 2000s, this state-run institution has, however, suffered gradual disuse, bureaucratic...
THE reciprocal tariff that the United States has finally, after three rounds of negotiations in July, imposed on goods import from Bangladesh at 20 per cent, lowered from 35 per cent that the United States on July 8 announced, is viewed as something that has brought about short-term relief. The tariff came into effect on August 1, making Bangladeshi exporters pay a 20 per cent...
A HORRIFYING statistic hovers over the poorer nations: 3.4 billion people now live in countries that spend more on interest payments for public debt than on education or health.
A FEW days ago, I tried to access DeepSeek on my mobile phone. I was taken to a verification page, which wanted to make sure I was a human, not a robot or a mindless automaton. This prompted some thoughts about AI, humanity, and their...
BENJAMIN Franklin once warned, 鈥楧on鈥檛 put off till tomorrow what you can do today.鈥� In Bangladesh, this wisdom is reversed, distorted and institutionalised within bureaucratic practice as a strategy for self-aggrandisement. Their unspoken motto seems...