Trump rejects resuming Canada trade talks
US President Donald Trump on Friday flatly rejected any resumption of trade negotiations with Canada, one week after interrupting talks amid a dispute over an anti-tariff advertisement.
Tags : politics
The politics of renaming in post-uprising Bangladesh
IN BANGLADESH, mainstream political parties have long used the naming of institutions as a way to stake their claim to history and assert ownership over the country. As a result, major public institutions often undergo cycles of naming and renaming with each change of government. In the past, this practice has also reflected acts of sycophancy 鈥� for example, when...
From power shift to system shift
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...
White House warns of chaos at US airports as shutdown drags
US president Donald Trump鈥檚 administration sounded the alarm Thursday over potential turmoil at airports as the government shutdown threatens to drag into November, warning of ruined holiday plans for millions of Americans.
Toxic culture drives women, youths away from politics: discussion
Political leaders and rights activists on Saturday said that a toxic political culture, dominated by corruption, patriarchy and exclusionary practices, was driving women and young people away from active politics in the country...
Khaleda Zia and the enduring paradox of Bangladeshi politics 鈥� III
THE years following Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 return to power in 2009 marked not merely a political shift but the construction of an entirely new order. What appeared at first as a democratic mandate soon revealed itself as a project of consolidation 鈥� an appropriation of state institutions into the service of dynastic authority. Bureaucracy and the armed forces, traditionally...
Khaleda Zia and the enduring paradox of Bangladeshi politics-I
THERE are storms you sail into. And there are storms you spend a lifetime watching from the shore 鈥� knowing full well that the sea doesn鈥檛 care whether you鈥檙e a sailor or a spectator. I chose the Navy in 1986, not because I was drawn to the romance of ships or the poetry of the horizon, but because I needed order. Discipline. A world where loyalty was not a transaction...
BNP alleges plot聽to replace liberal politics with extremism
Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday alleged that a conspiracy was going on to replace liberal politics with extremist politics in the country.
Cyberbullying rampant ahead of JUCSU elections
Cyber-bullying and smear campaigns targeting candidates, particularly females, have emerged as a disturbing trend in the run-up to the Jahangirnagar University Central Students鈥� Union elections, raising concerns about inclusivity and the safety of female participants in campus politics...
The geopolitics of the 鈥榞reat man鈥�
THE Trump administration is currently attempting to rewrite American history by whitewashing the country鈥檚 negative legacy and scrubbing out references to anything connected to multiculturalism or diversity...
Law to ban 鈥榗landestine politics鈥� at edn instts demanded
The Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, on Monday demanded a law to ban 鈥榗landestine politics鈥� in all educational institutions across the country...
Proposition to ban student politics ahistorical, reactionary
THE proposition to ban student politics in universities is ahistorical and not only disregards the glorious contributions of student politics in the country鈥檚 history but also seeks to rob students of their democratic voice. While such a proposition has long been put forward by a section of people, the controversy surrounding student politics appears to have resurfaced...
Student bodies oppose Shibir鈥檚 鈥榗landestine politics鈥� at DU
Most of the student organisations on Sunday opposed the 鈥榗landestine politics鈥� of Islami Chhatra Shibir on the Dhaka University campus...
Trump says big US banks shunned him
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that major US banks had turned down his business as part of an alleged pattern of political discrimination against conservatives that right-wing figures have long claimed...
DU students, organisations at loggerheads
A section of general students of Dhaka University and student organisations are now at loggerheads over hall-based politics as the university authorities on early Saturday reiterated that both open and covert political activities would remain banned in the residential halls.
Ban on dormitory-level politics to remain in force: DU VC
Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan on Saturday said that the decision taken last year to keep halls free from student politics would remain in force...
Protests erupt on Dhaka University campus against politics in dormitories
Dhaka University students staged demonstrations on early Saturday demanding ban on politics in dormitories...
Tarique for qualitative change in politics
Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chair Tarique Rahman on Sunday called for a qualitative shift in national politics and student activism, saying that the people of Bangladesh demanded change beyond the era of fugitive autocrat...
Parties fail to ensure women鈥檚 role in politics: politicians
Chattogram-based politicians observed on Saturday that the country鈥檚 political parties had yet to formally adopt a gender equality charter to ensure women鈥檚 meaningful participation in politics and economy, despite women having historically played a central role in Bangladesh鈥檚 social and political movements...
Emerging right-wing politics a threat to democracy
WHILE the youth leaders of the victorious July uprising against the autocratic regime of Awami League, a year ago, announced that the spirit of their struggle was to establish a democratic polity and, that too, in the light of Bangladesh鈥檚 historic promise to establish equality, human dignity and social justice, the Jamaat-e-Islami and its political allies at a huge gathering on July...
Realities and politics
IN THE political history of Bangladesh, election periods have always been of paramount importance. From the Pakistan Movement to the birth of Bangladesh, the mass uprising of the 1990s, or the aftermath of the 2024 鈥楯uly Uprising鈥�, the right to vote has consistently been at the centre of political discourse. Although the three elections after 1990 were considered free...
How Delhi can turn page in Dhaka?
WHEN Sheikh聽Hasina鈥檚 16-year hold on Bangladeshi politics snapped during the student-led uprising in July-August, 2024, few in South Block were prepared for the geopolitical whiplash that followed. After she escaped to India, the interim government of Bangladesh demanded the extradition of Hasina, which India has so far rejected. This, along with hundreds of other...
Democratic practice on campuses
COLLEGES and universities are caught in a moral and political dilemma. Students are encouraged, on the one hand, to engage in party-affiliated or factional campus politics. And, on the other hand, that very political involvement becomes a black mark when they apply for government jobs. Many of us advocate student politics on campus, yet the same political affiliations...
Politics of justice
HISTORY, for all its weight, often sits uneasily in the present. In Bangladesh, that tension has resurfaced with the recent revival of the International Crimes Tribunal and the sweeping amendments passed on May 11. On paper, the goal remains the same: justice for grave crimes. But peel back the legalese, and what emerges is a murky debate...
Politics, elections, and protocol of dignitaries
THE politicisation of police and the exertion of political control over law enforcement undermine the integrity and impartiality of policing. When police forces become subject to political influence, their priorities may shift from enforcing the law equitably to serving the interests of particular political groups or individuals. This erosion of neutrality can lead to selective...
Terror, communal politics and India鈥檚 existential crisis
THE picturesque town of Pahalgam, once fondly dubbed the 鈥楽witzerland of India,鈥� now bears the weight of a tragedy that marks a troubling shift in India鈥檚 socio-political landscape. The deadly gun attack in this Himalayan resort town, which claimed the lives of at least 26 people, including foreign nationals and a naval officer, is not merely another terror incident. It is a...
Can truth ever reclaim its place from power?
In the dimly lit corridors of the developing world鈥檚 politics, truth often walks with a limp 鈥� scarred, bent, and barely audible 鈥� while power parades in a blinding spotlight, gilded with slogans, spectacles, and silence. The question 鈥� what holds more value in political culture, 鈥榩ower鈥� or 鈥榯ruth鈥�?鈥攎ay appear philosophical, but its answer, as Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman...
Bangladesh politics, military and roadblocks to democratic transition
ANGLADESH is in urgent need of a democratic transition. It is pertinent to commence this discussion by examining global examples of democratic transitions in previously undemocratic states. Such transitions have typically been made possible through four key measures: prioritising national interests above political considerations, eliminating hegemonic influences from...
TRUMP-PUTIN PACT: A new axis to reshape global power
THE shifting tides of global politics have always been dictated by the convergence of interests among great powers. Recently, a new strategic alignment has emerged 鈥� one that promises to redefine the balance of power and reshape international relations. The growing understanding between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin...
TRUMP鈥橲 鈥楴IXON REVERSAL MOMENT鈥�: Game changer in international politics?
SINCE the Communist Revolution in 1949 till February 1972, the United States has not recognised Mao Zedong鈥檚 China. It has accepted the People鈥檚 Republic of China (Taiwan) as the legitimate Chinese government. In 1953, the Soviet Union and China together fought a war on the Korean peninsula against the US-led coalition. The Soviet Union and China fell apart...
