Reports on hunger and food insecurity are unnerving. The 2025 state of food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI) report finds that 673 million people constituting 8.3 per cent of the global population faced acute hunger in 2024. The SOFI is an annual publication by five important United Natio
The first steps of any new government are often taken under the weight of expectation. As the administration under Tarique Rahman begins to implement its electoral promises, particularly through the rollout of family cards and the waiver of agricultural loans, it suggests an effort to respond quick
The American-Israeli attack on Iran has come at a time when the Muslims the world over observe siam or fasting for a month. Whether the choice of the time is deliberate or not, it is a heretical act. When Donald Trump boasts he has killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before the latter could kill him, thi
Geopolitical tensions have come to a tipping point following the ominous military aggression against Iran by the United States and Israel. Despite suffering heavy blows, Iran continues to retaliate, and there is no visible sign of de-escalation. Rather, the frontier of the conflict is widening, wit
That school dropout is a major hurdle undermining the foundations of education has long been recognised. Yet, when translated into economic terms, the loss assumes an even graver significance. A recent report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has quant
When American bombs fall in the Middle East, the world tends to interpret them through a familiar lens: nuclear brinkmanship, regional security, Israel's anxieties, Tehran's defiance. Yet geopolitics rarely unfolds in straight lines. In an era defined not by regional rivalries but by great-power co
The much-anticipated attack on Iran by the US finally took place last Saturday morning when people on the streets of Tehran, the country's capital, were on their way to work. But it was not only in Tehran, the attacks were carried out across the nation. As the air strike hit an elementary girls' sc
The appointment of a businessman as the governor of the country's central bank has come as a complete surprise to many. Surprise, because never before a businessman was chosen as head of the Bangladesh Bank. The departure, which many consider under humiliating circumstances, of Dr Ahsan H Mansur, t
The debate over artificial intelligence and the future of the job market has often swung between anxiety and excitement. Much of the excitement has come from the promise of a more efficient world where machines can produce code, analyse data and handle routine tasks with remarkable speed. At the sa
In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump of America presented an update of the United States, highlighting his successes in the first year of his second term. But amid the rising tension over the conflict between the USA and Iran, he stopped short of mentioning the exact time for a
The allegation of sponsoring extortion dogged the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as a whole, and many of its leaders in particular, throughout the 13th parliamentary election campaign. The charges were so persistent that the party leaders are supposed to think twice, or even thrice, before sayi
That the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is facing an existential crisis is no longer a matter of debate. What was once the cornerstone of global trade governance has been rendered largely ineffective, raising serious questions about its continued relevance. Much of this stems from the shifting post
Relations between Bangladesh and India, bound by geography and history, have entered one of their most fragile phases in decades. The strains are not merely the residue of 1971 or the by-products of neighbourhood asymmetry. They are rooted in recent political upheavals that have reshaped Dhaka's do
