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Shwapno data breach: A wake‑up call for businesses
Shwapno data breach: A wake‑up call for businesses

Article

by Sharful Alam

Shwapno data breach: A wake‑up call for businesses

The recent disclosure of a massive data breach at Shwapno, Bangladesh’s largest supermarket chain, raises serious questions about corporate responsibility, regulatory oversight, and the adequacy of current cybersecurity practices in the country’s private sector. With over 4 million registered customers and 812 outlets across 63 districts, Shwapno holds one of the largest consumer datasets in the country. Such scale inherently carries a duty of care.

44 small coffins and a locked file: Who is responsible for structural murder?
44 small coffins and a locked file: Who is responsible for structural murder?

Politics and Bureaucracy

by Shamiul Alim

44 small coffins and a locked file: Who is responsible for structural murder?

When two-and-a-half-year-old Nusayba from Chatmohar in Pabna passed away on March 12, her father received a call from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital exactly four days later. He was informed that a bed had been allocated for Nusayba. This ‘posthumous call’ regarding a bed for a deceased child is a significant indictment of our governance in the 21st century. The same unfortunate situation has occurred with Nahid from Terokhadia and 10-month-old Jihad from Durgapur, who have been denied access to a mechanical ventilator despite waiting endlessly. The disheartening admission from the medical team indicates that there have been 53 deaths in the past two and a half months; of these, 44 young lives were lost prematurely in the two weeks from March 10 to 24 due to insufficient intensive monitoring. The greatest irony of progress is that just a few kilometers away from where children are dying daily due to inadequate treatment, a modern specialized children's hospital with 200 beds, constructed at a cost of approximately Tk35 crore in the Ghora Chattar (Behrampur) area of the metropolis, has been fully operational since 2023. Despite having state-of-the-art facilities, including 56 intensive monitoring beds and a central oxygen system, the hospital is awaiting approval for its manpower structure (organogram) due to bureaucratic delays. This official inaction has become more significant than the lives of children today. It is particularly astonishing that the 12-bed child intensive monitoring center currently functioning in the main hospital lacks official approval; it is being operated under its own special management. Is a file concerning a manpower structure on the administrative desk of a state capable of executing large-scale projects worth thousands of crores of taka more important than the lives of 44 children?

Youths tried to stop tanks by cutting down trees, placing dustbins on the roads : Kamal Lohani
Youths tried to stop tanks by cutting down trees, placing dustbins on the roads : Kamal Lohani

Interview

by Rahat Minhaz

Youths tried to stop tanks by cutting down trees, placing dustbins on the roads : Kamal Lohani

Kamal Lohani’s full name was Abu Nayeem Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Khan Lohani. He was a renowned journalist, cultural activist, and political figure in Bangladesh. Lohani began his career in journalism with the newspaper Dainik Millat. Later he joined Sangbad, where he initially worked as a senior sub-editor and was later promoted to shift-in-charge.

Bangladesh's Museum of Independence still remains sealed
Bangladesh's Museum of Independence still remains sealed

Report

by Misbah Jamil

Bangladesh's Museum of Independence still remains sealed

The Independence Museum, which suffered extensive damage and was reduced to rubble due to an attack by miscreants, remains locked. On August 5, 2024, a group of enraged individuals assaulted this first and only underground museum in Bangladesh, engaging in widespread vandalism and looting. Nearly 19 months have elapsed since that incident, yet this traditional museum continues to be 'abandoned' and closed.

March 25 genocide: In memory of Shaheed Chisti
March 25 genocide: In memory of Shaheed Chisti

Article

by Kazi Ferdousi Haque Linu

March 25 genocide: In memory of Shaheed Chisti

The sovereign nation of Bangladesh emerged from the remnants of East Pakistan, resulting from one of the most tragic, sorrowful, and heart-wrenching events in global history. The narrative surrounding the establishment of this state is deeply connected to a significant amount of violent history.

The call of independence: Ziaur Rahman, a defining moment in Bangladesh’s struggle
The call of independence: Ziaur Rahman, a defining moment in Bangladesh’s struggle

Article

by Hira Talukder

The call of independence: Ziaur Rahman, a defining moment in Bangladesh’s struggle

In the history of Bangladesh’s struggle for independence, March 1971 stands as a symbol of profound sorrow, resistance, and sacrifice. During this period, the Bengali nation entered a decisive battle to protect its very existence. On the night of March 25, the Pakistani military launched Operation Searchlight, unleashing a brutal massacre on unarmed Bengalis. The entire country plunged into darkness and uncertainty. At this critical moment, on March 27, 1971, Ziaur Rahman delivered the proclamation of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the Kalurghat Radio Station.

Daily life slows down amid growing fuel crisis
Daily life slows down amid growing fuel crisis

Report

by Masum Hossain

Daily life slows down amid growing fuel crisis

Ahsan Habib, who works in a private company in Dhaka, came to his home in Bogra for Eid vacation. He was having a happy time with his family. But suddenly, that joy was overshadowed by a shadow of uncertainty. He left for Dhaka a day before the scheduled time. The only fear was that if the petrol pump was closed, there would be suffering on the way.

Regulate digital platforms with strategy, not reflex
Regulate digital platforms with strategy, not reflex

ICT

by Abu Nazam M Tanveer Hossain

Regulate digital platforms with strategy, not reflex

Bangladesh needs stronger data governance and OTT regulation, but not through disruption or disproportionate compliance burdens. A sequenced, market-aware approach combining digital literacy, smarter enforcement, and competitive local infrastructure can protect citizens while preserving exports, entrepreneurship and economic resilience.

Three mobile operators make Tk4,000crore hitting pockets of customers!
Three mobile operators make Tk4,000crore hitting pockets of customers!

Telecom

by Rased Mehedi

Three mobile operators make Tk4,000crore hitting pockets of customers!

During the preceding interim government, on January 12, 2025, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission made a decision that permitted mobile operators to offer data packages. This implies that mobile operators will have the autonomy to design their own packages and market them to consumers. As a result of this decision, mobile operators are enabled to provide data packages of varying durations and volumes, ranging from one hour to unlimited access. An investigation by Views Bangladesh has revealed that, by leveraging this opportunity, three foreign-owned mobile operators have accrued an additional approximate revenue of Tk4,000 crore from customers throughout 2025 by strategically pricing their packages. In contrast, the domestic operator Teletalk has refrained from employing this strategy for generating extra income. Furthermore, mobile operators are also seizing the chance to charge a minimum of 45 paisa and a maximum of Tk2 per minute for voice calls. While no other country in the world has a floor price for voice calls, Bangladesh stands out as the only nation where the regulatory authority has permitted mobile operators to impose higher charges for voice calls on customers rather than fostering competition.

War, hegemony, and its global cost
War, hegemony, and its global cost

State and Politics

by Afsana Rahman

War, hegemony, and its global cost

The recent tensions surrounding the United States, Israel, and Iran have brought to the fore an old problem in international politics—the reliance of powerful states on military power in world politics. While the governments involved justify their actions in the name of security and deterrence, the larger reality paints a different picture. This conflict once again demonstrates how the politics of geopolitical hegemony profoundly affects the lives of ordinary people, regional stability, and the global economy.

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