Are the new online laws designed for the 2023 polls?
The recent publication of the drafts of two long-awaited legislations on regulating the usage of internet in Bangladesh have stoked some debate on their likely impact on both the citizens and businesses.
18 April 2022, 18:00 PM
DSA took away Mushtaq
Writer Mushtaq Ahmed paid the ultimate price for his freedom of expression, and it’s a matter of shame for us all that it happened in the year of the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence.
25 February 2022, 18:00 PM
Democracy’s digital challenge
At the beginning of the current millennium, the world celebrated the visible empowerment of citizens through digital technology due to emergence of social media platforms and search engines.
14 February 2022, 18:00 PM
When politics is all about partying
The one issue dominating British politics for weeks is nothing other than the partying going on at the heart of the government, at 10 Downing Street, the office-cum-residence of the prime minister.
10 February 2022, 18:00 PM
The CEC’s pre-poll slumber and the question of ballot stuffing
Can anyone remember such degradation of a constitutional body like what our Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda has done?
31 January 2022, 18:00 PM
What can we expect from the Search Committee law?
The sudden approval of a draft Election Commission law by the cabinet certainly gives the government and the ruling party a powerful public relation tool, as they can claim they have done what no other party even attempted in the last 50 years.
21 January 2022, 18:00 PM
Journalists should be worried about DSA exceptionalism
The extraordinary assurance that no journalist will be arrested immediately under the Digital Security Act (DSA) without a summon seems to be an attractive solution to the concerns and fears created by its random abuse to suppress critical voices in the media.
3 January 2022, 18:00 PM
UP elections remind us why we need a political consensus
It seems that some of us are quite intrigued by the results of the Union Parishad (UP) elections that show official nominees of the ruling party, Awami League, having lost in a big way.
30 December 2021, 18:00 PM
Misleading analysis of US sanctions must be avoided
Bangladesh’s elite law enforcement force, the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), which has been subjected to a sanction by the US, has now been applauded by the same government for its role in tackling terrorism, according to some media reports.
20 December 2021, 18:00 PM
‘Bloodstained’ UP elections and the CEC’s alternative truth
Video footage and reports have been emerging daily on both traditional and social media exposing how violent and intimidating our elections have become.
27 November 2021, 18:00 PM
What the racism scandal of English cricket tells us
When Indian-born Muslim cricketer Nasser Hussain captained the England team, no one could have imagined that after nearly two decades, the game would be facing a storm of this magnitude and compel the wider society to confront one of the most sensitive issues: racism.
22 November 2021, 18:00 PM
What can we learn from London’s radical move to curb air pollution?
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has done something daring to tackle air pollution in his city. First, he experimented with an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), with an area designated as a congestion charging area about 25 years ago.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM
Buying of a football club, geopolitics and sportswashing
The takeover of Newcastle United, an ailing English club, by a consortium led by a Saudi-backed investment fund, has once again stoked a passionate debate on sportswashing.
13 October 2021, 18:00 PM
A Nobel boost for fearless and independent journalism
Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia have won the Nobel Peace Prize for their relentless struggle to protect freedom of expression.
10 October 2021, 18:00 PM
Looking back at the 1971 Concert in Sympathy
It was 50 years ago today when hundreds of Londoners flocked to Sadler’s Wells theatre to show their support and donate to the cause of Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
18 September 2021, 18:00 PM
A less merry Christmas awaits Britain
Imagine a scenario where a restaurant chain, famous for chicken dishes, is forced to shut down dozens of its outlets due to supply shortage.
6 September 2021, 18:00 PM
Shattered dreams of a UK degree and quest for justice
Years of campaigning and legal challenges have finally given some hope to thousands of international students, including Bangladeshis, subjected to historical injustices since 2014 over a wrongful allegation of cheating in English tests.
7 August 2021, 18:00 PM
Euro 2020 and social resistance against racism in UK
The ongoing Tokyo Olympics is the latest sporting event where the trend of taking the knee by players has made its way in.
29 July 2021, 18:00 PM
Second-hand garments staging a dramatic comeback
It was in the era of President Nixon when commercial import and selling of second-hand garments became an obvious alternative to millions of Bangladeshis who could not afford new outfits.
19 July 2021, 18:00 PM
On players ‘taking the knee’
Imagine a scenario where players are being booed for making gestures that contain a political statement, but when play resumes and the players clinch stunning successes, spectators in the same gallery go wild in celebrations.
21 June 2021, 18:00 PM