Tasneem Tayeb

A CLOSER LOOK

A closer look

Why are we failing to curb inflation?

With Ramadan coming up, people’s woes will increase.

1w ago

Biman: A cesspool of corruption

It’s high time Biman was overhauled and corporate governance and a stringent code of conduct was introduced.

2w ago

Samrat-Khaled-Mominul should be behind bars

Criminals like Samrat, Khaled and Mominul should be miles away from the political scene.

3w ago

The Rohingya feel pangs of hunger too

The international community cannot turn their backs on the Rohingya refugees.

Caught in the politics of aid, Syria is suffering

Death toll in Syria currently stands over 5,800 (as of 3:30 pm Bangladesh time, February 15). With every passing hour, chances of finding survivors are becoming slimmer.

Lack of banking sector reforms will further choke the economy

Like every year, our banking sector had been in the news in 2022, and mostly for the wrong reasons.

The world mustn't fail Turkey-Syria earthquake victims

Aid agencies, both the Turkish and Syrian governments, and the rebel groups must all work together.

Israel’s military capability should be neutralised

Israel spares neither children nor the elderly in its thirst for aggression and bloodshed.

The Cambodian nightmare

The recent surge in human trafficking to Cambodia from Bangladesh raises questions about the intentions and capability of the relevant authorities in addressing the situation.

Conflict with Israel: Iran should tread with caution

Iran's response to Israel's provocations should be non-violent and measured.

When health(care) comes at a high price

It is high time authorities looked into the situation and made healthcare affordable for all. While increased budgetary allocation would be an essential component, its effective and exhaustive utilisation is also key.

Economic pitfalls: Can South Asia turn itself around in 2023?

We need to open up to possibilities available outside the ones offered by the West

Fardin Noor death: An investigation drowning in contradictory findings

How wise is it to come to a conclusion about a possible murder case based on loosely connected pieces of evidence, that do not even fully align with previous statements made by law enforcers earlier on in the investigation?

The treacherous banking journey of women entrepreneurs

Women's access to finance remains difficult and often riddled with pitfalls. 

Bad debts going worse

Misgovernance, corruption, nepotism and subsequent bad debts keep plaguing our banking landscape.

Incompetence, complacence and freed militants

The escape of these militants poses serious risks for national security.

Ayat and beyond: Where are our children’s rights?

This tragic incident with Ayat sparked off certain questions about the rights of our children and our ability to address them.

Bangladesh caught in a narco triangle

While Bangladesh is not a significant narcotics producer, geography puts it at the heart of three major Asian drug trade routes

Who will flinch first: Putin, Zelensky or the West?

While the loss of Kharkiv in the northeast and Lyman in the Donetsk region, and now the pull-out from Kherson, are portraying Russia as a frail aggressor, security analysts suggest the war is far from over in Ukraine.

Could ARSA be behind the recent violence in Rohingya camps?

We cannot just allow criminal elements to violate our territorial integrity and flout our law and order system.

Why are we letting dengue get the better of us?

Dengue cases are on the rise again, with fatalities recorded almost on a daily basis.

How do we help our girl children take the big leap?

How many women or girls in our country get the opportunity to chase their dreams?

Covid-19: We can’t let our guard down yet

With fatalities declining and people getting used to living with the virus, adherence to social distancing protocols has been mostly absent from public life.

Bangladesh should revisit its Myanmar policy

What does the repeated violation of Bangladesh’s land and airspace by the troublesome neighbour signify?

Plastic waste mismanagement is killing our environment

Private sector companies who daily contribute to plastic pollution must come up with ways to manage it.

Protect Rohingya women, children from sexual exploitation

Many Rohingya women and children who managed to flee rape and genocide in Myanmar end up in the trap of sex trade and trafficking inside the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

What does the media’s framing of the Rohingya tell us?

We have to understand that these are displaced people living in a perpetual state of uncertainty.

Why Bilkis Bano’s rapists should be behind bars

Men who raped Bilkis Bano during 2002 Gujarat riots allowed to walk free on the same day that PM Modi promised to make the nation a better place for women.

Bangladesh’s sour-debt conundrum

Is the central bank enabling loan defaulters with its policies?

Israel’s latest attack on Palestine: Who is the real terrorist?

The ongoing attacks seem premeditated as they come as part of a well-coordinated package.

What to make of Biden’s Middle East visit?

It seems Joe Biden has gone back home with very little to show for gains, and a lot of bad headlines that will haunt his media team.

Time for all-out preparations to tackle the fourth wave of Covid

We are still in the midst of a pandemic, although at times – especially when Covid is less active – we seem to lose sight of it and take on a more complacent approach in our fight against the pandemic. 

Smugglers should not be rewarded

Bangladesh’s struggle with smuggling is not a new phenomenon.

India should think beyond the Hindutva agenda

Over the last few years – under the BJP government – India’s religious polarisation has increased in degree and intensity.

Why are we still rewarding money launderers?

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has placed a controversial suggestion in his budgetary proposal: money launderers – read financial criminals – will be allowed to legalise their laundered money without having to face any questions, if they pay a meagre 7-15 percent tax.

Ctg depot fire: Lives engulfed by apathy

The Chattogram depot fire has once again exposed the severe negligence in the handling of hazardous chemicals in Bangladesh.

Pollution in Bangladesh: The invisible tango with death

More than 215,000 people in Bangladesh succumbed to pollution in 2019. The ever lurking, at times invisible, killer—air pollution—alone claimed about 175,000 lives.

Biman’s misadventures continue

Biman is once again making the headlines and, as usual, for all the wrong reasons.

The murder of Shireen Abu Akleh: Another voice for Palestine muted

Occupation forces storm Jenin and besiege a house in the Jabriyat neighbourhood. On the way there, I will bring you news as soon as the picture becomes clear,” emailed Shireen Abu Akleh to Al Jazeera at 6:13 on Wednesday morning.

A not-so-smart proposal for an offshore smart city

In an unprecedented move, the parliamentary standing committee on housing and public works ministry has directly recommended a major development project—to build an offshore smart city claiming land from the Bay of Bengal—directly to the prime minister.

Who are the helmet bahini?

They come wearing helmets, brandishing machetes and sticks; they vandalise, they kill, and then they are gone, even beyond the long arms of the law.

Did police do enough to quell the New Market clashes?

Three pedestrians were critically injured in the violence. Nahid Mia and Morsalin were among them.

We can’t let our guard down against Covid

With Covid-19 cases receding worldwide, our lives are entering a new phase, where the “normal” perhaps means a strategic co-existence with an ever-present, maleficent viral disease.

Palestine continues to bleed

Since the beginning of 2022, 36 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, as revealed by the Palestinian health ministry. 

A reckoning is due for Dhaka Wasa

Dhaka is witnessing an early diarrhoea outbreak this year. The hospitals in the city, including the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), are treating hundreds of new patients every day.

Let no one remain outside electricity coverage

Bangladesh has recently achieved a unique milestone: it has become the first country in South Asia to have 100 percent electricity coverage.

Why does development equal wastage of public money?

Recently, Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam made some comments with regard to traffic management in the city, some of which are not without inherent logic.

Not licensed to kill

Fifty-six-year-old Babul Sardar of Debhata upazila in Satkhira was arrested with 50 bottles of phensedyl on December 11, 2021 by the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

January 11, 2022
January 11, 2022

How do we keep Omicron at bay? Together.

With Omicron spreading rapidly across the world, Bangladesh is bracing itself for the battle against a potential third wave of the pandemic.

January 5, 2022
January 5, 2022

Making the most of our e-commerce sector

The e-commerce sector of Bangladesh witnessed significant growth since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020.

December 31, 2021
December 31, 2021

In the shadows of violence

South Asia is home to about a quarter of the world’s population. Sprawling over eight countries, the region is a vibrant mosaic of various ethnicities, religions, cultures and languages.

December 26, 2021
December 26, 2021

As Myanmar is shred into pieces, can its people unite to stop the Tatmadaw?

We couldn’t stand to watch it so we kept our heads down, crying . . . We begged them not to do it. They didn’t care.

December 23, 2021
December 23, 2021

Supporting the hands that feed our forex reserves

Bangladesh and Malaysia have recently signed an MoU paving the way for Bangladeshi migrant workers to reap the benefits of employment opportunities in Malaysia.

December 7, 2021
December 7, 2021

Why are Rohingya women and girls so unsafe in refugee camps?

One in four Rohingya women and girls in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, has suffered gender-based violence (GBV), according to data gathered by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in their centres between July and December 2019.

November 29, 2021
November 29, 2021

The time for the world to act in Palestine’s favour is now

Displaced, colonised, marginalised, terrorised, tortured, victimised, killed; these are just some of the many forms of dispossession and ethnic cleansing the Palestinian people have had to endure at the hands of the Zionists and Israelis since the turn of the 20th century.

November 25, 2021
November 25, 2021

To be free from gender-based violence, we need empowerment

Gender-based violence has historically permeated across our social mosaic.

November 16, 2021
November 16, 2021

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.

November 10, 2021
November 10, 2021

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.”