A quarter of a century ago, the film 'No Man's Land' told the tale of soldiers trapped between opposing armies during the Yugoslav war. Stranded in a narrow strip of land, they found that every attempt to move carried the certainty of danger and the constant shadow of death. It was a classic case o

The budgetary decision to slash import duties on rooftop solar equipment is one of those rare fiscal moves that is simultaneously good economics and long overdue application of common sense. A total tax incidence of around 60 per cent on solar panels and associated equipment had long suffocated the

There is often a reluctance to discuss military matters in public. In mainstream discourse, far more attention is devoted to diplomacy, development and cooperation and there is nothing wrong with that preference as far as it goes. But when wars are raging on multiple fronts across the world includi

In most industries, an abundant supply of raw material is considered an advantage. In Bangladesh's leather trade, that same abundance has somehow turned into liability. Every Eid-ul-Azha, nearly 10 million animals are sacrificed across the country and an enormous volume of rawhide enters the market

The genie is out of the bottle and there is no putting it back. For a long time, the global rise of far-right and sectarian politics was something of a sideshow, visible but never potent enough to take over the political mainstream. But now these forces are seizing the centres of power everywhere.

It is the height of summer in Dhaka, so it doesn't rain very often. Even then, the city's residents know from experience that a single shower is all it takes to turn their streets and alleys into stagnant pools. That a city of over fifteen million people should flood from a moderate downpour is no

In the hotels of Ukraine, a female gatekeeper known as dezhurnaya is stationed on each floor. Her task is to patrol the corridor and hold guests' keys as if the receptionist downstairs could not be trusted with such a simple responsibility. At the base of every subway escalator, another guard sits

Complaints about donor conditionality are a staple of political conversation in Bangladesh. The common argument is that foreign lenders use their money to impose their preferences, attaching conditions to loan disbursements that do not always match the country's needs or ambitions.  This conce