Category: 2. World

Tayaba Khanam Ira, a graduate from the Architecture Department of Khulna Mohila Polytechnic Institute, struggled to find employment after completing her studies. In 2021, she took a short course in IT and began working as a freelancer. While this gave her a foothold in the job market, she now faces new challenges — upgrading her digital skills and navigating an evolving career landscape.

Rozen Patro, a young man from an ethnic minority community, completed his training in Electrical Installation and Maintenance from Sylhet Technical School and College. He now works at Pran Group, but dreams of becoming a floor manager. The question is: how can he upgrade his skills and acquire support to make that leap?

Bangladesh stands at a critical crossroads — one of tremendous potential and significant risk. Every year, nearly two million young people enter the labour market. The urgent question isn’t whether we need to invest in skills development, but how quickly we can deliver it — and how effectively we can connect training to employment.

We must also ask: How can we equip those who are already in the workforce with the skills to adapt to emerging technologies and remain competitive?

Too often, our response to these challenges is buried in long-term strategies and five-year plans. But our young people can’t afford to wait. We need practical, immediate actions — solutions that help youth, workers, and entrepreneurs build skills for the jobs of today, not just the distant future.

We don’t need every skill programme to be a two-year diploma. Short, market-driven, focused courses — three months or less — can prepare learners for real-world jobs in areas like machine operation, basic coding, food processing, sales, caregiving, and solar energy. These fast-track training programmes can make people job-ready in a matter of weeks, not years.

Imagine where we’ll be a year from now. By mid-2026, who will be earning the most? It won’t be just programmers or tech professionals. To stay competitive, Bangladeshi youth should adopt a “co-pilot mindset” — viewing AI (Artificial Intelligence) as a partner in work, not a replacement. This does not require advanced programming knowledge but basic AI fluency and tool mastery. It won’t matter whether you’re just starting out or already running a business. What will matter is your ability to adapt and apply AI tools effectively.

Those equipped with AI skills—such as prompt engineering, software development, video editing, graphic design, no-code AI automation, content creation, and digital marketing—will be among the top earners. 

Bangladesh is currently the world’s second-largest provider of online labour (Oxford Internet Institute, 2022) market, but global competition is intensifying. Today’s international clients expect freelancers — whether virtual assistants, designers, or content creators — to be adept at using AI tools.

It’s not too late. If you’re tech-savvy, managing a business, or looking to future-proof your career, now is the time to learn these in-demand skills. The window of opportunity is open—but it won’t stay that way forever.

Over the past 15 years, Bangladesh has built a robust technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. Initiatives like skills-based training under the NTVQF, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship programmes have helped thousands of individuals gain employment and become self-reliant. These systems, backed by capable institutions, offer a solid foundation. Now is the time to integrate AI and digital literacy into that foundation.

We must seize this moment to fully unleash the potential of Bangladesh’s human capital for both domestic and international labour markets. That means supporting not only new entrants to the job market, but also reskilling and upskilling existing workers.

Many workers hesitate to pursue training because they fear income loss. But this is where employers and the government can make a difference by implementing workplace-based learning, such as an Apprenticeship, following the existing labour law. This approach could be especially life-changing for women, youth from low-income families, and returnee migrants.

At the same time, many youth remain unaware of which skills are in demand. Investing in career counselling and employment support — both in educational institutions and through digital platforms — can guide students toward smart, informed choices and reduce the mismatch between skills and jobs.

Millions of workers in the informal economy already have valuable hands-on experience, yet lack formal recognition. A national initiative to certify their skills — through assessments or demonstrations — can help them access better-paying jobs or launch their own businesses.

Time is not on our side. As the global job market rapidly evolves and automation accelerates, Bangladesh’s youth must be ready to adapt — or risk being left behind.

We don’t have to wait for massive reforms or big budgets. The solutions — short courses, digital training, micro-grants, and basic career guidance — are already within our reach. What we need now is bold initiative, faster delivery, and coordinated action.

Let’s stop framing skills development as tomorrow’s challenge. Let’s make it today’s top priority.

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Pedro Jr Bellen is the Officer-in-Charge at ILO Bangladesh

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard

ARBIL: A drone packed with explosives was shot down on Monday near Arbil airport, which hosts US troops from the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Kurdish security forces said.

“At 02:20 an explosive-laden drone was downed near Arbil International Airport, without causing casualties or damage,” said the counterterrorism services of the Kurdistan region.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the drone, the second intercepted near the airport this month.

Arbil airport, which includes a base for the US-led international anti-terrorist coalition, was frequently targeted by rocket and drone attacks in previous years.

On July 3, authorities said a drone was downed near the airport, with the regional interior ministry blaming the Popular Mobilisation Forces for the attack.

The PMF — Hashed al-Shaabi in Arabic — is a coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitary forces now integrated into the regular forces.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM: At least 89 people were killed in the southern Syrian province of Sweida as clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters raged for a second day on Monday, a monitor said.

As the violence escalated, Israel — which had previously warned that it would intervene in Syria to protect the Druze — said it struck “several tanks” in Sweida.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to Damascus after the military struck several tanks in southern Syria to prevent them from reaching a Druze village near the scene of sectarian clashes.

The Israeli strikes were “a message and a clear warning to the Syrian regime — we will not allow harm to be done to the Druze in Syria. Israel will not stand idly by,” he wrote on X.

Israel says strikes a clear warning to Damascus

The fighting underscores the challenges facing interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose forces ousted president Bashar al-Assad in December, in a country reeling from 14 years of war.

The Syrian military and interior ministries announced troop deployments, safe corridors for civilians and a pledge to end the fighting “quickly and decisively”.

The violence began when Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable vendor on the highway to Damascus, prompting retaliatory kidnappings.

Though hostages were later released, the fighting carried on Monday outside Sweida city, with mortar fire hitting villages and dozens wounded, said the Suwayda 24 news outlet.

The streets of Sweida were deserted, with a photographer reporting gunfire during funerals.

“We lived in a state of extreme terror — the shells were falling randomly,” said Abu Taym, a 51-year-old father in Sweida.

“Traffic on the streets is paralysed, and most shops are closed.” Suwayda 24 reported the arrival of “dozens of victims” at hospitals as a result of clashes in the province’s western countryside and shelling of villages.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, raised its death toll to 89, including 46 Druze, four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters and seven unidentified people in military uniforms. A defence ministry source told Al-Ekhbariya state television six security forces personnel were killed “during disengagement operations in Sweida”.

A correspondent on the outskirts of Sweida city saw vehicles carrying fighters, large interior ministry military convoys, civilian vehicles and motorcycles carrying armed men towards the front lines, as well as ambulances transporting the wounded to hospitals in Damascus.

While Druze spiritual leaders called for calm and urged Damascus to intervene.

Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the three Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida, expressed his “rejection of the entry” of general security forces into the province, demanding “international protection”.

Lack of state institutions’

In a Sunday post on X, Interior Minister Anas Khattab said: “The lack of state, military and security institutions is a major reason for the ongoing tensions in Sweida, “The only solution is to reactivate these institutions to ensure civil peace,” he added.

The latest bloodshed follows deadly violence in April and May, when clashes between Druze fighters and security forces in Druze-populated areas near Damascus and Sweida killed more than 100 people.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025

Israel’s army has said it struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes have clashed with Druze militias in the latest escalation in the Middle East country’s struggle for stability after a 13-year civil war.

Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria’s Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order on Monday also clashed with local armed groups.

Syria’s interior ministry has said more than 30 people have died and nearly 100 others have been injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported at least 99 dead, including two children, two women and 14 members of the security forces.

As the violence escalated, Israel – which has previously attacked Syria in purported defence of the Druze – said it had struck “several tanks” in the area as a “warning” to Damascus.

The clashes in Syria initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory said, with some members of the government security forces “actively participating” in support of the Bedouins.

Syrian interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said government forces entered Sweida early on Monday to restore order.

“Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,” he told the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.

Al-Baba told the Associated Press that the “clashes are fundamentally not sectarian in nature.”

“The real conflict is between the state and bandits and criminals, not between the state and any Syrian community,” he said. “On the contrary, the state views the Druze community in Sweida as a partner in advancing the national unity project.”

Bassem Fakhr, spokesperson for the Men of Dignity movement, one of the largest Druze factions in Sweida, told AFP talks were “under way between the notables of the city of Sweida and representatives of the general security [forces] and the defence ministry to reach a solution”.

Druze religious authorities had called on Monday evening for a ceasefire in the area, saying they were not opposed to the Syrian central government.

But Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the three Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida, expressed his “rejection of the entry” of general security forces into the province, demanding “international protection”.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller by members of a Bedouin tribe who set up a checkpoint, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.

Syria’s interior ministry described the situation as a dangerous escalation that “comes in the absence of the relevant official institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos, the deterioration of the security situation, and the inability of the local community to contain the situation.”

UN deputy special envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi expressed “deep concern” over the violence and urged the government and local groups to “take immediate steps to protect civilians, restore calm, and prevent incitement.”

She said in a statement the clashes underscored the “urgent need for genuine inclusion, trust-building, and meaningful dialogue to advance a credible and inclusive political transition in Syria.”

Israel – which also has a Druze population – reported hitting several tanks heading towards Sweida on Monday.

The strikes were “a clear warning to the Syrian regime – we will not allow harm to be done to the Druze in Syria”, defence minister Israel Katz posted on X.

Israeli forces in December seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and have launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.

While many Druze in Syria have said they do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf, factions from the Druze minority have also been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus after former president Bashar Assad fled the country in December during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions.

In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.

Syria’s foreign ministry called for “all countries and organizations to respect the authority of the Syrian Arab Republic and refrain from supporting any separatist rebel movements.” In a statement, it called for Syrians to “cease acts of violence, surrender illegal weapons and thwart those seeking to dismantle the Syrian social fabric and sow discord and division.”

With Associated Press and Agence France-Presse

BRUSSELS: EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said the United States should “share the burden” of arming Ukraine, after President Donald Trump said Europe could buy American weaponry for Kyiv.

“We welcome President Trump’s announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see US share the burden,” Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

“If you promise to give the weapons, but say that it’s somebody else who is going to pay for it, it is not really given by you.”

Trump announced a tougher line on Moscow over its war in Ukraine on Monday as he gave the Kremlin 50 days to end the fighting or face massive new economic sanctions.

With NATO chief Mark Rutte, Trump also unveiled a deal under which European members of the alliance would buy billions of dollars of arms from the United States – including Patriot anti-missile batteries – and send them to Ukraine.

Trump has long railed against what he sees as the outsized role the United States has played in arming Ukraine, even though NATO says Europe is now responsible for the bulk of the weaponry going to Kyiv.

European nations Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands have already said they will or are looking to participate in the new US scheme.

Donald Trump has said he sealed an agreement with Nato allies that will deliver Patriot missiles and other key arms to Ukraine – and warned Russia it would face severe sanctions if the war did not end within 50 days.

Unveiling the military assistance deal, the US president expressed increased frustration with Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of giving the impression of pursuing peace while intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities. He gave the Russian president a new deadline of 50 days to make peace or face 100% tariffs on Russian goods, and more importantly, sweeping “secondary tariffs”, suggesting trade sanctions would be imposed on countries that continue to pay for Russian oil and other commodities.

Here is more on this and other key Trump stories of the day:

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Trump hails US-Nato deal to arm Ukraine

After a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump said they had agreed “a very big deal” in which “billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment is going to be bought from the United States, going to Nato … And that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield”.

Speaking in the White House alongside a clearly delighted Rutte, the US president said the arms deliveries would be comprehensive and would include the Patriot missile batteries that Ukraine desperately needs for its air defences against the daily Russian aerial onslaught.

_{Read the full story}

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Epstein files plunge Trump’s Maga base into turmoil

The Department of Justice’s announcement that it did not have a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged clients, and that the convicted sex offender was not murdered, has plunged the rightwing world into turmoil.

Conservative commentators and media figures, some of whom spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death, have accused the government of covering up the hedge fund manager’s crimes, with calls growing for Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to resign. The FBI deputy director, Dan Bongino, is reportedly considering quitting over the controversy.

The saga has pitted Trump – who was friends with Epstein for many years before later disowning the financier – against his base, with the president pleading over the weekend for his supporters to “not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein”.

_{Here is how we got here}

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Trump keeps Club World Cup trophy

The president has claimed that the Club World Cup trophy that has featured prominently in the Oval Office will stay there, and that Fifa made a copy of the trophy that was awarded to Chelsea after their win in the tournament’s final on Sunday.

Trump attended the final along with numerous members of his cabinet and Fifa president Gianni Infantino. The pair of presidents jointly presented the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, with Trump staying front-and-center despite the apparent confusion of Chelsea players and the pleading of Infantino.

_{Read the full story}

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Supreme court allows Trump to gut education department

The US supreme court on Monday cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education as part of his bid to shrink the federal government’s role in education in favor of more control by the states.

In the latest high court win for the president, the justices lifted a federal judge’s order that had reinstated nearly 1,400 workers affected by mass layoffs at the department and blocked the administration from transferring key functions to other federal agencies. A legal challenge is continuing to play out in lower courts.

_{Read the full story}

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US dairy industry to remove synthetic dyes from ice-cream, RFK Jr says

In what Trump administration officials dubbed a “major announcement”, health and agriculture department leaders said the US dairy industry agreed to voluntarily remove synthetic dyes from ice-cream.

_{Read the full story}

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Catching up? Here’s what happened 13 July.