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.

3w 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.

4m 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

We must embrace diversity for inclusive prosperity

The space for tolerance is shrinking in most parts of the world. From major conflicts to the more subtle acts of discrimination, minority groups, refugees and marginalised communities are facing persecution and suppression in many forms, shapes and scales.

3y ago

Why the lax attitude in bringing traffickers to justice?

Human trafficking continues to plague Bangladesh. As recently as October this year, the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested 11 traffickers belonging to two rackets—one of them being “Dance Club.”

3y ago

Where to draw the line between free speech and hate speech?

On a cold winter day in February 2020, BJP leader and turncoat politician Kapil Mishra tweeted a video, asking his followers to “prevent another Shaheen Bagh,” referring to the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 demonstrations that were being held in Shaheen Bagh of Delhi since December 15, 2019.

3y ago

To understand communal violence, we must dig deeper

Communal tensions in Bangladesh have recently escalated to an alarming level.

3y ago

Regional efforts needed to end Afghanistan’s woes

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K) is emerging as a major threat to peace in Afghanistan, proving the Taliban’s previous judgement of their capabilities wrong.

3y ago

Pandora Papers: What does it reveal about the shadow economy?

The biggest journalistic partnership in history—consisting of more than 600 journalists from 150 media outlets, including the BBC, the Washington Post, the Guardian, Radio France and Indian Express, among others—has recently exposed the financial misadventures of 35 prominent world leaders, more than 330 politicians and influential public office holders, from 91 countries and territories.

3y ago

Covered drains and safe walkways: Is that too much to ask for?

Sehrin Mahbub Sadia, 19, was returning home with her grandfather and uncle on the night of September 27. A first-year Honours student at a local university of Chattogram,

3y ago

Who will speak for the Rohingya refugees now?

Mohib Ullah and his family walked for eight days before they could reach Bangladesh. The former Rakhine state schoolteacher lived, lived amidst constant death threats for a week, when the Tatmadaw unleashed their scorched-earth campaign to wipe out the existence of the Rohingya from Myanmar in 2017.

3y ago

When development is force-fed

A city corporation taking measures to widen roads and footpaths and improve the drainage system should ideally be good news for the locals.

3y ago

Where has all the money gone?

Evaly was known for its mega discounts and 150 percent cashback offers. The company—once the second-largest e-commerce platform in Bangladesh—is now recognised as a front for a massive Ponzi scheme, which lured unsuspecting customers in with promises that were impossible to keep.

3y ago