OWSA Contributor

This was the first major disaster to strike since the Trump administration suspended US foreign aid to Afghanistan in January. While Washington released statements of sympathy, it has made no formal pledge of direct financial assistance to quake relief.

The joint study, led by Jahangirnagar University’s departments of Zoology and Environmental Science, documents the presence of microplastics not only in river water and sediments but also inside insect bodies.

One journalist interviewed by Amnesty said he believed his communications were under surveillance at all times.

The report’s broader poverty measure underscores how deeply structural pressures are squeezing households. The poverty rate – nearly 28 per cent – has jumped significantly in just three years.

The discovery of three transgender persons dead on a roadside in Karachi on the night of September 21 has sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s already vulnerable transgender community, igniting fear, anger, and renewed demands for protection and justice.

Dhaka is warming faster than the rest of the country, and the consequences for public health, productivity, and well-being are growing.

Large projects like the Mes Aynak copper deposit, the vast iron ore reserve at Hajigak, the Balkhab copper prospects, and rich gemstone deposits in Badakhshan have long drawn interest from potential foreign partners.

The United States has issued eight key recommendations to bolster financial transparency in Bangladesh, following critical findings in its 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report released by the US State Department.