Fighting the complex web of poverty
Bangladesh, long celebrated as a global success story in poverty reduction, now confronts one of its most daunting challenges in nearly a decade. A new World Bank assessment warns that as many as 62 million Bangladeshis are at risk of sliding back into poverty. The WB, through its projection that...
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Addressing biting poverty and moribund economy
When about 2.0 million people of a country fall below the poverty line in a year, it certainly points to that country's economic malaise. But if this follows the previous year's more than three million people's plunge into poverty with no projection of a turnaround in sight, the nation has...
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Tremors shake the nation, but not its conscience
Much has been written, discussed about and warned against the vulnerability of Dhaka to major earthquakes. Yet very little has changed in the way buildings are constructed here. Seismologists, who claim that Bangladesh sits on active fault lines, have long been warning that a strong earthquake could be catastrophic, particularly...
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Why young professionals are burning out
People entering the early phase of their careers are facing several challenges. The job market is stagnant, highly competitive and rising inflation has pushed salaries below real living wages. Many graduates also face strong social pressure to join traditional corporate jobs, even when they have the potential to pursue something...
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Development at what cost?
Bangladesh's impressive infrastructural expansion - expressways, economic zones, bridges and mega-projects - has reshaped the national landscape. Yet behind these achievements lies a pressing question: development for whom and at what human cost? Land acquisition remains one of the most sensitive aspects of state-led development, repeatedly generating debates over compensation,...
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