There is, no doubt, an increasing focus these days on the social safety net programmes (SSNPs) --- not only within the scope of the government's poverty alleviation exercise but also in the public discourse. Despite the many odds stacked against smooth execution of the programmes, the government is
Savar is not light years away from Dhaka, just a little over 30 kilometers separate the satellite town from the Bangladesh capital. But the former normally has temperature 3.0 degree Celsius lower than in the megacity. Still more significant is the fact that in the commercial areas of Dhaka, the te
There was a time when the urban middle class ruled the state or was about to be born. Never mind if people were not sure what it meant or how they were defined. The urban middle class was basically understood as a socio-economic category who stood guard over the national "spirit" whatever that mean
In mid-November last year (2023), the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-3) convened its third meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Delegates from more than 160 countries attended. Earlier, two other similar meetings were held in Uruguay and France. The fourth me
The ongoing heat wave across the country has made the current summer unbearable due to global climate change. And that is caused mostly by human action in the name of development. Over the decades, nations worldwide have compromised the balance of nature and the environment. Forests have been
At a time when Bangladesh and India are gasping for breath under the searing sun, some desert nations in the Middle East are encountering deluge caused by heavy rains accompanied with thunder and sandstorms. The highest temperature recorded so far in Bangladesh was on Monday when it hit the 43 degr
The proposed substantial increase in indirect taxes, such as the value-added tax (VAT), for the next fiscal year is a cause for concern amid persistent inflation. Despite the implementation of contractionary monetary policy, there are no signs of inflation cooling down. Recent reports indicate that
Reports say that banks' corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending dropped by 38 per cent in July-December period of 2023 compared with that in the previous six months. For CSR purposes, 53 scheduled banks spent Tk 3.53 billion in July-December of 2023 against Tk 5.71 billion in January-June of
What motivates the mainstream newspapers in Bangladesh to choose newsmaking needs more scrutiny as they face greater challenges than ever to survive functionally. It's not just about being in the news but about being relevant as market pressure intensifies. This correlates with the structural chang
Not many people nowadays are deeply moved by the heart-rending reports of avoidable road accidents that make families happy and together seconds before devastated in the blink of an eye. The public have accepted it as though it is something normal as they do not expect anything better from the way
As global trade passed a sluggish year in 2023, a strong rebound is necessary to support world economic growth in the current year. However, the possibility of a strong recovery of global trade seems thin for various reasons, as predicted by two leading international organisations. The World
When things go awry at policy level, the state can choose from two courses of action. First it can begin to take proactive measures in an effort to rectify past mistakes, regardless of how much pain it causes to the economy in the short-term so that the medium- to long-term is smoother sailing; or,
Ever since the latest round of surprise Hamas incursion into Israel and killing and taking hostage of civilians in October last, the powder keg Middle East has been itching to burst into a conflagration. With the Israeli retaliation of brutal forces unleashed on the Palestinians in Gaza, human civi
