ISRAELIS do not see the images of skeletal corpses of Palestinian children who they have starved to death as a curse. They do not see the slain families they gun down at food hubs 鈥� designed not to deliver aid but lure starving Palestinians into a massive concentration camp in the south of Gaza in preparation for deportation 鈥� as a war crime. Israelis do not look at...
THIS is unfortunate that the interim government, which assumed office after the overthrow of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024 in an uprising that began on July 1 that year as student protests against civil service job reservations, has yet to comprehensively enlist all who died and became wounded at the hand of law enforcers who were aided by the...
THE bronze sculpture by Marie Uchytilov谩, Memorial to the Children Victims of the War, depicting the 82 children of Lidice murdered at Che艂mno in 1942, serves as a haunting reminder of the barbarity that defined the Nazi-led Lidice massacre. In reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazis razed the village of Lidice, executed its men, and deported its women and children to death camps...
WHEN a new episode begins in Bangladesh, it often ends not in reform but in distortion. The story of higher education is no different. Public and private universities are said to be growing in number every few years. Yet in a country where even the four major autonomous public universities struggle to recruit talented and committed teachers, there is little...
SMARTPHONES are now ubiquitous fixtures at emergencies and disasters. The moment something terrible happens, a bus crashes on a Dhaka highway, a school building erupts in flames, many bystanders reflexively raise their phones. Instead of rushing to help, some want to capture every horrifying detail for likes and shares...
BANGLADESH is known as one of the most vulnerable countries to the impact of global climate change, but the country is moving fast from the vulnerability to a become climate-resilient society through various policy responses and climate actions at various levels. The country has formulated a set of policies, plans and strategies to address climate change through...
THIS is deplorable that the authorities have failed to address the issues that have rendered Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation Industrial Estate 2 in Rajshahi unattractive to entrepreneurs. Launched in July 2022 as a Tk 1.5 billion project, the estate was meant to create 10,000 jobs and stimulate small and medium enterprises in the region. It, however, remains...
THE interim government鈥檚 instituting a national pay commission to decide on an increase in the salary of public servants in six months has come as a surprise to economists, especially amidst a chronic revenue shortfall, growing government borrowing and increased inflation. The pay commission has come in less than a month after the interim government introduced...
A NATION that maims, kills and starves men, women and children is unlikely to survive. Also, leaders of nations who have aided in those atrocities will likely face the same fate...
SUN Tzu鈥檚 The Art of War outlines three ways a ruler can bring misfortune upon the army (the word 鈥榓rmy鈥� in modern context implies the military forces...
BANGLADESH has made significant progress in reducing childhood stunting over the past decade, thanks to improvements in healthcare, nutrition and public health initiatives. However, a new and silent threat is emerging that could jeopardise these hard-won gains: climate change. Recent research has highlighted a troubling link between extreme heat and stunted...
