March 22 (Saturday) was this year's World Water Day and the theme of the day is Glacier Preservation. But what has a tropical country, Bangladesh, to do with glacier, which is a big mass of dense ice very slowly sliding downhill under the pull of gravity over the millennia in the cold parts of the
Greek dramatist Aeschylus, who died in 456 BC, said, "In war, truth is the first casualty". Later, in 1917, U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, made the same observation by saying "The first casualty when war comes is truth." In a parallel universe, where sanity isn't lost to jingoism and anchors aren't
People of this part of the world have, since colonial times, been dreaming of seeing their country as a modern, corruption-free, developed nation. But what is a modern, developed nation? The model before them was the nation states of Europe. But after the colonial powers left, the national leaders
Climate change has become a grave concern worldwide as there is no way to prevent or avoid it. The consequences of climate change are the rise in temperature, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms, and declining biodivers
The recent decision by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) to revoke trade licences of restaurants operating in buildings not originally approved for restaurant use, especially rooftop establishments, has sparked controversy. Citing fire hazards and unauthorised construction, the city corporati
Internal armed conflicts, wars and proxy wars---some of those prolonged--- have been continuing in quite a few regions of the world. But none of those between two nuclear powers! The latest air strike codenamed "Operation Sindoor" launched on Pakistan by India on the early morning of Wednesday now
Air pollution in Dhaka has reached such an alarming level that it is now being dubbed a silent killer. The city's air is heavily polluted with fine particulate matter (PM2.5), contributing to a wide range of health issues, including respiratory problems, lung cancer, and heart disease. It has becom
Despite Bangladesh's impressive strides in agricultural production, its agro-food processing sector remains underdeveloped and far below its true potential. Successive governments have declared it a thrust sector, yet meaningful progress has been elusive. The enabling environment needed to drive gr
The concept of a humanitarian or aid corridor is something relatively new to most people in Bangladesh. Yet, it has emerged as a central topic of national discussion following a recent UN-initiated proposal to channel aid to the famine-stricken Rakhine State in Myanmar, using routes that would trav
After free and fair election, press freedom is the next most pressing issue that concerns the Western powers when it comes to evaluating the socio-political condition of their client nations in the South. Then come human rights, gender rights and equity and so on as a matter of course. However, on
Among the eight reform commissions formed by the Yunus-led interim government, the Labour Reform Commission, the last one to present its report, holds significant importance. This is the first time in Bangladesh's history that such a commission has been established to review the existing labour pol
During Donald Trump's first term as president, his then-senior adviser Kellyanne Conway famously introduced the term "alternative facts" to justify a false claim about the crowd size at Trump's inauguration. The phrase was condemned by the US media which saw it as a dangerous attempt to legitimise
May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, is a day of recognition and solidarity with the global labour movement. Celebrated annually on May 1st, it honours the enduring struggles and vital contributions of working people worldwide. It stands as a powerful call to continue the fight agains
