PICTURE a tranquil afternoon in a Himalayan village. The mountains are draped in mist, the air feels crisp and the clouds seem to drift without purpose. Then, in an instant, the heavens rupture. Sheets of water cascade with an intensity that defies belief. Rivers rise like unleashed beasts, hillsides collapse, homes vanish and people flee for their lives. This is no ordinary...
BANGLADESH lives with the harsh reality of climate change every day. In recent years, the country has faced more intense floods, heatwaves, storms and droughts. Climate change is not some distant threat; it is already here, reshaping millions of lives. In rural communities, farmers are struggling to grow crops, coastal families are losing their homes, and children are...
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...
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...
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...
I SPENT the summer of 1965 arguing about the Vietnam War. I was 13, and my interlocutor was my 18-year-old camp counsellor in Vermont. She was headed for UC Berkeley in the fall, where she would, as she later described it, 鈥榤ajor in history and minor in rioting.鈥� Meanwhile, I was headed back to junior high school. I was already convinced that our government was...
A SECURE green future is not a slogan. It is a road map for any country that wants prosperity to last. As societies digitise everything from banking and energy to healthcare and education, two questions must be asked together, not separately. Does this system protect people鈥檚 data and livelihoods? And, does it minimise harm to the environment? If the answer to either...
BENEATH Bangladesh鈥檚 paddy fields, village homesteads and fish ponds, a quiet digital revolution is reshaping rural life. Real-time agricultural technology is providing timely insights into crop health, soil fertility and localised weather patterns. In a country where nearly half the workforce still depends on agriculture, these tools are changing the way farmers grow food and sustain their livelihoods...
THE year 2024 marked one of the most dramatic political shifts in Bangladesh鈥檚 recent history. The fall of Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 long-serving government, after more than a decade in power, was greeted with optimism among citizens, civil society, and particularly journalists who had long struggled under restrictive media laws. The Digital Security Act (2018), later repackaged...