A Closer Look

A Closer Look

International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists / A moment for self-reflection

Journalists today must be both defenders of truth and advocates for change within the profession and in the wider society.

4w ago

Opinion / Unbridled corruption and a minister’s reckless comment

The ruling regime should focus less on talking and more on actions, to create a conducive environment that truly eliminates corruption.

5m ago

Civil war in Myanmar: Bangladesh should revisit its national security strategy

It is high time Bangladesh revised its national security strategy and worked in close collaboration with the other key regional players.

5m ago

Biman’s frustrating legacy of misadventures

That Biman is a highly corrupt institution that thrives on shameless plundering of public money is no secret.

5m ago

FY2024-25 Budget / Whitening black money, raising taxes won’t fix our economic ails

These measures are a slap in the face of honest taxpayers who diligently pay taxes on their legitimate income every year.

5m ago

Children must be protected from abuse and torture

We have become a society in which children have become a tool to satiate the filthy desires of the stronger

6m ago

How are electrolyte drinks regulated in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has recently sued the owners of seven companies for selling five popular brands of electrolyte drink without necessary approvals.

6m ago

Dhaka's toxic air: An invisible killer on the loose

Dhaka's air did not become unbreathable overnight, nor is there any instant solution to it.

6m ago

How the world is failing Palestine

May 21, 2021, Friday, 2 AM Israeli local time: an Egypt-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, ending the recent 11-day Israeli bombardment of Gaza. All told, the attack on the besieged Palestinian strip claimed the lives of 248 Palestinians, including 66 children.

3y ago

Political impasse, self-defence and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza

Israeli bombardment of the besieged Gaza strip continues.

3y ago

As Covid-19 relief starts rolling out, the urban poor find themselves in a grey area

As the government rolls out a financial assistance scheme in the country to support the poor in the face of the economic fallout of the pandemic, the urban poor are finding themselves in a tight spot.

3y ago

TMC sweeps West Bengal assembly polls, but BJP gains ground

The 2021 West Bengal assembly polls have been a tussle for power between the centre and the state government.

3y ago

How West Bengal is being won and what it means for Bangladesh

With the assembly polls ongoing in West Bengal, the state—currently being ruled by the strong matriarch Mamata Banerjee—has turned into a battleground for Banerjee’s party Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the power at the centre, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

3y ago

Bangladesh’s Covid lockdown conundrum

As Bangladesh started a new phase of lockdown on April 14, 2021—apparently a more stringent one—the country was faced with a grim milestone. On the first day of the Bengali New Year, the country recorded 96 deaths, the highest till then, since the pandemic hit the country.

3y ago

Bangladesh’s Covid emergency needs to be recognised as one

Bangladesh has been under lockdown since 6am April 5, 2021. This is the first time the nation is under lockdown to curb the spiralling spike in Covid-19 cases.

3y ago

Modi spreads neighbourly love, but key challenges rumble on

Narendra Modi’s recent visit to mark 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence has been dominated by his narratives of shared ties between the two friendly neighbours,

3y ago

10 years on, the birds of prey circle over Syria

Torture, forced disappearance, displacement, chemical attacks, butchery, loss of lives and limbs, death of family and friends, mass murder: the Syrian people have been through it all in the last 10 years.

3y ago

Are Afghan peace talks stoking the targeted killing of journalists?

Mursal Wahidi, Sadia Sadat and Shahnaz Roafi were aged between 18 and 21 when they died. They were journalists, working at the dubbing wing of a privately-owned TV station called Enikas, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

3y ago