BRICS shows it’s little more than a meaningless acronym

The 15th summit of BRICS countries, which just concluded in South Africa, received unprecedented international attention. Some commentators even invoked the Bandung conference of 1955, where leaders of India, China, Indonesia, Egypt, and Yugoslavia launched the non-aligned movement. It seemed as though another generation of leaders, this time from Brazil,

Challenges of implementing Universal Pension Scheme

No sooner had Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Universal Pension Scheme than the bloggers and online critics began frantically criticizing such a maiden initiative. Their arguments and screaming are meant to make citizens believe that the money being paid to the Scheme would be plundered. Against the backdrop of

Private military contractors Wagner Group and blackwater roll in foreign policy

The head of Wagner Group died in a “plane crash.” Everyone saw this coming after the June 2023 march on Moscow, we just didn’t expect him to last this long. The Russian government scrambled war planes against the Wagner insurgency which were, reportedly, shot down. A Private Military Company (PMC)

Bangladesh to produce lithium batteries, electric vehicles to cut emissions

In order to fulfill its promise of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as part of the country’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, Bangladesh is on the way to setting up a lithium battery production plant with an annual capacity of 1 gigawatt. Simultaneously, several electric vehicle manufacturing

Two years of Taliban take over: More should be done to rescue Afghanistan

His name is Matiullah Wesa, a girls education campaigner who now symbolises the “war” waged by the Taliban against the education and empowerment of women and girls. Exactly two years since the Taliban took over, Afghanistan is on a downward trajectory and unfortunately, global attention that was drawn by families

Strong research skills help students to get scholarships from top universities

To begin with, strong research skills can significantly enhance a student's chances of receiving a scholarship from an international university. Scholarships are highly competitive, and universities are often looking for candidates who not only excel academically but also demonstrate a passion for research and a commitment to contributing to their

Is Belarus the next serious threat to the West?

Belarus would be willing to use nuclear weapons in the face of foreign “aggression”, said the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. Europe’s longest-serving leader warned that if he felt provoked by neighbouring Nato nations like Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, he would “immediately respond with everything we have”, including the nuclear weapons Moscow