While the world's focus is now squarely on the United States' (US) spat with Iran and North Korea, there may be trouble brewing elsewhere and that is northern Iraq.

Bangladesh has formally joined the China-led One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative a day after the Trump administration joined India in its opposition to OBOR.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has declared its intention to go after both the companies hiring foreign nationals and individual foreign nationals working in the country on the issue of tax evasion.

To put all this in perspective, when we talk about building roads, how viable is it to seek prior permission for each purchase of raw materials involving bricks, sand, rods, cement or other construction material?

The general trend has been to pass on “losses” sustained by state-owned entities to retail and bulk consumers alike without so much as reducing a part of their profit or efficiency. Does the government care for rewarding efficient management and cost saving enterprises?

The issue of non-performing loans (NPLs) have now reached a phenomenal amount. As of June, defaulted loans amounted to Tk 63,365 crore, which is 10 percent of total outstanding loans (as per Bangladesh Bank data).

It was dogged by mismanagement from inception and has seen 11 project directors come and go, and now we know from media reports that lawyers in the most adversely affected district of Sunamganj sued 140 people, including BWDB officials and contractors for negligence and “irregularities” in construction of embankments that collapsed back in April.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) stated at the end of July that an international tender will soon be floated for privatising port operations. This is a move in the right direction.

One doesn't know what will become of the estimated four million raw hides and skins that will require to be preserved. The Ministry of Commerce has apparently paved the way for 0.5 million metric tonnes of salt to be imported but there is concern that it may not arrive in time.

Methamphetamine, commonly known as “yaba,” has over the last decade taken a hold on our society as it went from a trendy, synthetic drug for the elite to mass consumption.

Arecent survey carried out by Prothom Alo on the youth's perception about the country and their future brought out some interesting facts about job prospects in Bangladesh. Although 74 percent of the respondents expressed overall satisfaction with the economic situation, 82 percent are unsure about securing a job in today's economy.

Will we ever see criminal proceedings against those who bear responsibility for not replacing faulty equipment or not hiring professionals to run critical machinery like boilers?

We need multi-stakeholder involvement that includes the government, the business community, and bi-lateral and multi-lateral development agencies to undertake modelling studies on probable impact of climate-induced changes. It is not just about making commitments in the budget for maintenance work.

We are in love with numbers. The government loves to show off the billions of dollars it has received in investment commitment from India and China.

As the mercury itches upwards in the closing week of May and metrological bulletin informs us gleefully that the temperature will be

OBOR promises to plug some of the gaps in infrastructure financing that developing countries need in Asia. For Bangladesh, the appeal is obvious.

President Trump's policy towards North Korea is a major departure from his predecessor who preferred direct talks with Pyongyang when the country was undergoing rocket, missile and nuclear tests.

While many of us lament on how our cities are increasingly overpopulated and how run down services are, the global trend points to

Contaminated drinking water is a major cause of deaths globally. Last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) unveiled the report “UN Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) 2017” which charts out the water and sanitation situation in 75 countries, and the news is not good.

The internet has become an indispensible part of our lives. It's not just about sending an email. We surf it for banking transactions, online shopping, booking accommodation, entertainment, sharing our holiday pictures on social media sites like Facebook, etc.