ELECTRONIC waste, or e-waste, is fast becoming one of the most pressing environmental and social challenges of our time. It encompasses discarded electrical and electronic equipment, from refrigerators and microwaves to computers, mobile phones, televisions, and cameras. Some components, especially computer CPUs, contain toxic substances such as lead, cadmium...
WHEN the July Uprising swept across Bangladesh, it was the workers, the invisible pillars of the nation鈥檚 economy, who paid the highest price. They marched for justice, raised their voices for dignity and faced tear gas and bullets in the hope of change...
THE nature of the United States鈥� relationship with Israel defies logic and reason. It is a parasitic one-sided benefit, entangled in the tentacles of organised influence, manipulation, financial power, and media control. Israel contributes next to nothing of tangible benefit to America鈥檚 security, strategic value, or economy, yet Washington continues to design its foreign policy...
A FEW experiences shape South Asian childhood as profoundly as the examinations season. Whether it is the SSC and HSC exams in Bangladesh, the CBSE board exams in India, or the O Levels and A Levels that dominate elite schooling across the region, education has long been synonymous with the test. These exams are supposed to measure knowledge but in practice...
SECTION 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has for long remained both one of the most discussed and most criticised provisions. The section, on the one hand, has served as a powerful legal instrument in the hands of the police while, on the other, it has cast a long shadow of uncertainty over the fundamental rights and personal liberties of citizens. Over time...
ON A bright monsoon morning, the rainwater fills the clay pots and tanks of many homesteads in the southwest coastal belt of Bangladesh. For a few months, the trouble seems to ease, enabling the coastal community to cultivate a single crop of paddy. But when Chaitra and Baishakh arrive and the sun burns harder, the stored water runs out, and the old problems return: saline taps, failing tube wells and...
AS POORER nations spend about 6.5 per cent of export revenues servicing external debt, while world military and police spending skyrockets, it鈥檚 unlikely most countries will have the political will to shift priorities from social destruction to social care...
THE field of rehabilitation is undergoing a revolution. According to the World Health Organisation, rehabilitation is 鈥榓 set of interventions designed to optimise functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment.鈥� Therefore, it is not only about medical treatment; it focuses on improving functioning, participation...
A CAREFREE swim at the world鈥檚 longest sea beach should never end in tragedy. Yet for too many families visiting Cox鈥檚 Bazar, waves of joy have turned swiftly into waves of grief. A father and son drowned while enjoying the sea. A group of students lost a friend within minutes to the current. A tourist, laughing with friends, was swept away and never returned. Each of...
QUALITATIVE change in the political system is a reflection of the long-term hopes and dreams of a nation. But this change does not happen automatically or suddenly; it requires a path of continuous, well-thought-out and structural reforms. Recently, a wave of major change has been seen in Bangladeshi politics, which is an expression of the accumulated anger of the...
PUBLIC procurement is essential for governments to convert budget funds into public services and infrastructure. In Bangladesh, where public procurement constitutes a large share of government expenditure, inefficiency, politicisation, and institutional weakness often result in cost overruns, project delays, and corruption risks鈥攗ltimately eroding public trust and...
THE recently concluded Gaza peace summit, sponsored by US president Donald J Trump before a US-Israel-imposed 20-point Gaza peace plan championed by the fragile peace initiative, was signed by the United States, Egypt, Qatar and T眉rkiye, with a couple of other world leaders acting as 鈥榗heerleaders.鈥� This presents a look of an international consensus. However, this...
THE hills of south-eastern Bangladesh are famed for their breathtaking beauty. Yet beneath the lush greenery and terraced slopes lies a history steeped in marginalisation, militarisation and impunity. In late September 2025, the Chittagong Hill Tracts once again descended into turmoil, revealing the deep structural vulnerabilities that continue to define life for Indigenous...
DEMOCRACY is not only about elections, parliaments or written constitutions. Its strength lies in truth, trust and accountability. But in today鈥檚 digital world, the values are under a serious threat. The fast spread of false information, driven by social media, online echo chambers and artificial intelligence, has made it hard to know what true is. This raises an urgent question: can truth survive in a world ruled by algorithms?..
THE global discourse, as highlighted by the International Labour Organisation, has rightly recognised the 鈥榗are economy鈥� as a vital pillar for the future of decent work. This economy, spanning both paid and unpaid labour, from a nurse in a hospital ward to a family member tending to an elder, is facing a worldwide crisis of recognition, resources and rights. For...
