Bot Opinion

Bot Opinion

At 50, Bangladesh is a land of opportunities and promise

I am delighted to be returning to Bangladesh in its Golden Jubilee year, and I look forward to celebrating the tremendous achievements of the past half century with friends old and new.

3y ago

Proposed revisions in the EU-GSP scheme: Implications for Bangladesh

As is known, the current provisions of the EU’s Generalised System of preferences (EU-GSP) scheme are being revised at present in anticipation of the new scheme to be put in place as of January 1, 2024.

3y ago

What does it say about our society when a child bride sets herself on fire?

Upon reading the news headline for the incident I am about to discuss, I only felt a momentary, dull pain in my gut or thereabouts. Because while it is a shocking incident that would rob you of hope, the elements of the story are all too familiar to us all.

3y ago

Can the Great Powers avoid war?

As tensions over the Taiwan Strait mount, everyone needs to think about whether war is inevitable. Ukrainian revolutionary Leon Trotsky once said: “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.” And if we slip into war by what World War I historian Barbara Tuchman called the March of Folly, can the Great Powers step back from mutual nuclear annihilation?

3y ago

Reinvigorate efforts to end TB

The year 2020 marked a watershed in global efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2030. First, it was because, by 2020, the TB-affected countries aimed to achieve the first set of “End TB” milestones: a 35 percent reduction in TB deaths, a 20 percent

3y ago

Lost home, abandoned nation: Fighting for a Bangladesh for all

I have been feeling unwell since October 13. After the mayhem in Cumilla, I knew it wouldn’t be the last. With a broken heart, my father-in-law and I, along with my son, decided to continue with our tradition of puja visits and mandap-hopping, yet we were all deeply disturbed, witnessing the carnage unravelling with a helpless rage.

3y ago

National Road Safety Day / A plea for safer travels

Today, on October 22, we celebrate National Road Safety Day. But why? Not why we care about safety—the devastating toll of accidents makes it clear why it is important—but why call it Road Safety Day? If we are using roads to travel from place to place, and we want to be able to do so safely, why not call it Safe Travels Day?

3y ago

Climate anxiety and the rights of future generations

I was around 10 when I first heard about the idea of, as it was then known, global warming and how Bangladesh will one day go underwater as sea levels rise.

3y ago

A budget is only as good as its implementation

As another proposed national budget (of Tk 603,681 crore) has been placed in the parliament amidst a global pandemic, the biggest concern for the government and all other stakeholders is how well it can be implemented, as there are many new challenges to tackle. The aspirations of the budget—especially the economic growth target of 7 percent—are already being viewed by many as ambitious, and we must keep in mind that the budget will not yield a positive result for the nation unless the government takes immediate measures to ensure its adequate and timely implementation.

3y ago

The idea of a university: Newman’s vision and our reality

The title of this article invokes the name of an important book by a 19th-century British thinker, John Henry Newman.

3y ago

Attempt to gag the press in Pakistan

You may not be aware, but a long-running effort to deny you access to independent information is culminating. The state’s attempts to control the media are blatant and blunt. If they succeed, Pakistan will be authoritarian in all but name.

3y ago

The Mountbatten factor in India’s partition

It can be said without any fear of contradiction that one of history’s most massive displacements of population with the attendant violence and misery took place when,

3y ago

How Bangladesh transformed from its challenging beginning into a middle-income country

On the occasion of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence and the 100th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,

3y ago

Sustain and scale up the response to control spread, save lives, and minimise impact

The WHO South-East Asia Region has in recent months witnessed a sharp and sustained surge of SARS-CoV2 infection. For consecutive weeks in April and May, the Region has reported more than two million new cases, with some areas reporting test positivity rates of upwards of 40 percent.

3y ago

Selection ‘errors’ are a major obstacle in the effectiveness of social security programmes

It is now well-recognised at national and international levels that a comprehensive social security system is imperative for addressing the problems and challenges of poverty and marginalisation.

3y ago

Can the G7 leaders rise to the occasion?

The leaders of the G7 countries—consisting of the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Italy, France and Germany—will be holding their annual meeting in the UK in the second week of June and have a number of major issues on their agenda, including how to roll out global vaccination against the coronavirus and how to tackle climate change.

3y ago

Protecting children online and in the real world

Accor-ding to a report published in March 2021 by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 30 percent of children have experienced various forms of online harassment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

3y ago

Can our engineering education prepare graduates for the industry?

How universities can better prepare graduates for the industry is a constant topic of debate. It will perhaps never end because the industry needs are changing rapidly, and the universities are constantly trying to adapt to such changes.

3y ago