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Education for climate action

How reasonable is demand for polls before reform?

AFTER the July-August 2024 mass uprising, the nature and framework of the interim government have sparked fresh debates in political and intellectual circles. Some argue that failing to establish a ‘revolutionary government’ following such a massive uprising was a mistake. This has led to disagreements on how best to address the ongoing crisis in the country. While some, including the BNP and many...

Georgia parliament convenes amid legitimacy crisis

Georgia’s new parliament met for the first time Monday, with the chamber facing serious questions over its legitimacy amid a boycott by opposition parties and the president declaring it unconstitutional...

Adaptation to combat climate change

COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, brought the world’s attention once again to strategies to address the climate crisis. While reducing emissions (mitigation) remains essential, it has become increasingly clear that even with significant global efforts, the consequences of climate change are here to stay. Rising sea levels, erratic weather patterns, and...

Touhid urges national unity on Rohingya crisis

Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Saturday underlined the need for a national consensus to address the Rohingya crisis, which has been further complicated by the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State...

Fight demands more than funds, policies

AS THE world came together for COP29 in Baku, the need to tackle climate change has never been more urgent. The Conference of the Parties, or COP, is a UN initiative that began in 1995 to address the growing climate crisis. The foundation for global climate action was laid much earlier at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro...

No artificial crisis be allowed in food supply chain: adviser

Commerce adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin on Thursday said that no artificial crisis would be allowed in the supply chain of food and other essentials...

Water crisis along the coast

SAFE drinking water insecurity is a global issue, particularly severe in Bangladesh’s coastal regions. Frequent cyclones, storm surges, breached embankments, coastal flooding, and rising salinity levels contribute to the contamination of both groundwater and surface water sources. According to the Bangladesh Environment and Development Society...

Bangladesh president seeks support of Canada to solve Rohingya crisis

Bangladesh president Mohammed Shahabuddin on Wednesday called upon the international community, including Canada to take pragmatic measures to solve the long-standing Rohingya crisis.

Interim govt needs to secure ‘quick wins’: ICG

With international support, professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government should look to score some ‘quick wins’ to keep the public on side, said the International Crisis Group in its report released on Friday.

Iran stages rallies to mark 1979 hostage crisis

Iranian demonstrators gathered on Sunday outside the former US embassy in Tehran to mark the anniversary of the 1979 hostage crisis that has for decades shaped relations between...

National Bank’s Shibganj branch locked down over cash crisis

Angry customers of National Bank’s Shibganj branch in Sylhet locked the main entrance of the bank on Wednesday in protest after being unable to withdraw their deposits, a situation that has reportedly persisted for several days...

Finance adviser assures of steps for solution to capital market crisis

Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said that initiatives were being taken to provide immediate solutions to the existing crises on the country’s stock market...

Role of youth in fight against air pollution

AMID the lingering haze over Bangladesh’s cities, air pollution has become an escalating public health crisis. From brick kilns to traffic congestion, harmful pollutants seep into every aspect of urban life, making this not just a climate issue but a matter of human survival. These fine particulate matters — dust, soot, and smoke — can penetrate the lungs...

Power cuts, austerity reveal energy crisis

Intermittent power outages despite substantial drop in the electricity demand together with the new austerity instruction issued on Monday underscore the country’s declining energy capacity...

UN proposal for a ‘safe zone’

THE war and conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, and others —Bangladesh’s own political situation for the last couple of months, as it appears — turned the Rohingya refugee crisis a ‘less important’ concern. But the situation of the Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar is dire. On the one hand, the number of Rohingya has been increasing...

No respite yet from banking sector woes

A crisis of confidence has gripped the country’s banking sector amid little action taken to resolve the deep-rooted challenges facing the sector and hold those accountable for years of malfeasance and mismanagement.

Cash-strapped Maldives mulls pay cut amid debt crisis

The president of cash-strapped Maldives will take a 50-percent pay cut as part of an austerity drive that will see public sector salaries reduced to prevent a debt crisis in the tourist hotspot, his office said Thursday.

USAID grants $121m to support WFP’s Rohingya efforts in Bangladesh

The United Nations’ World Food Programme has received new contribution of $121 million from USAID’s bureau for humanitarian assistance to support ongoing humanitarian efforts in the...

Water crisis threatening world food production

Inaction on the water crisis could put more than half of the world’s food production at risk by 2050, experts warned in a major report published Thursday.

Rohingya crisis and regional powers

THE Rohingya crisis, which began in 2017 with the forced migration of over 700,000 Rohingya individuals from Myanmar to Bangladesh, continues to represent one of the most intricate humanitarian and geopolitical dilemmas in South and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh has been pivotal in offering sanctuary and addressing the challenges posed by this...

BB will not print any fresh money to solve financial crisis: governor

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur on Tuesday said that the central bank would not print any fresh money to lend to the government for solving financial crisis...

Sri Lanka’s new leader says no magic solution to crisis

Sri Lanka’s first leftist president was sworn in to office Monday and vowed to restore public faith in politics, but said he had no magic solution to the hardships suffered following an unprecedented economic crisis...

Political crisis must be solved by political leadership: dialogue

Politicians and rights activists on Saturday said that ongoing political crisis in the country must be solved by political leadership and the interim government should engage politicians in the process of the nation rebuilding...

Sri Lanka votes in presidential election

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka voted for its next president Saturday in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation’s unprecedented financial crisis...

Addiction crisis: saving the youth

DRUG addiction has emerged as one of the most critical public health and social issues in Bangladesh, particularly among the younger population. The increasing accessibility and use of harmful substances such as yaba, phenedyl and heroin have led to a widespread crisis, threatening not only individuals but the future of the entire nation. The youth, who...

University authorities should address seat crisis in halls

SEAT crisis in residential halls in public universities has been a persistent problem, with 60 per cent of students having no access to residential facilities. The halls of residence had, moreover, been under the control of ruling party student organisation that used to run seat trade and allocate them in exchange for partisan loyalty. Leaders and activists of the...

AI is accelerating climate crisis: expert

If you care about the environment, think twice about using AI...

Greek PM announces plans to boost tackle crises

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a new set of policies aimed at boosting citizens’ purchasing power and tackling the country’s housing crisis...

Women ride Pakistan’s economic crisis into the workplace

Amina Sohail veers through heavy traffic to pick up her next passenger — the sight of a woman riding a motorcycle drawing stares in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi...