OWSA Contributor

With mobile subscriber numbers near saturation and data consumption climbing, Bangladesh’s telecom industry has been viewed as a cornerstone of the government’s digital ambitions – but the current operating environment, he argues, undermines that potential.

What started as an informal attempt to ease congestion and reduce the physical toll on pedal rickshaw pullers has now evolved into a dominant transport mode across Dhaka’s North and South city corporations.

The EPA, which enforces federal environmental laws, said it would stop estimating the economic value of health benefits from reducing ozone and fine particulate matter, even though it acknowledges that they contribute to pulmonary disease, heart attacks, and premature deaths. 

Experts warn that slowing global growth and elevated price levels could combine in a scenario akin to stagflation, while debt vulnerabilities across public, corporate and household sectors could amplify financial instability.

The American Psychological Association also made it clear that social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to anyone, but each experience is affected by how one shapes their feed, who they choose to follow, etc.

This tradition spans generations: families arrive annually, relying on the Magh Mela as a vital source of income through boat services for pilgrims. Many carry licenses from previous years as proof of their long-standing participation. Yet this year, a bureaucratic hurdle has left them stranded.

Local communities, for their part, have begun to address some of these issues: they are forming their own trader groups to facilitate legal trade and negotiate better prices.

The UN report, issued on January 13, finds that sexual violence was “part of a deliberate, widespread, and systemic pattern of violations” by state security forces, and “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”