Abdullah Shibli

The world observed World Population Day on July 11. The theme for this year—“Family Planning is a Human Right”—was selected in recognition of the perils that women, regardless of age, face if their right to choose when and how often to get pregnant is taken away from them. It also was an occasion to recognise that both men and women have the right to choose when and how often to embrace parenthood—if at all.

Turkey's strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is crisscrossing the globe to muster the support of the electorate in the forthcoming presidential and general elections on June 24.

Germany has emerged as a clear leader of the European nations not only for its economic strength but also for its diplomatic acumen. At the beginning of the G-7 summit in Quebec, there was a talk about inviting Russia back to the group.

Global oil market has been jittery the last few weeks in anticipation of two major events: the presidential elections in Venezuela and the withdrawal of USA from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) also known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement.

The photograph accom-panying an editorial in The Daily Star on April 21 spoke eloquently of the hazards facing the average citizen in Dhaka.

An array of recent accidents in the country, as well as another one outside, point to the need for improved regulations and stricter enforcement and oversight in transportation, energy, and aviation sectors. The plane crash in Kathmandu, a train derailment near Tongi, and the sinking of a coal-carrying barge in Khulna were all preventable. Fortunately, there were no human casualties in the latest accident, in which MV Bilash carrying 775 tonnes of coal capsized on April 14 in the Harbaria Channel near the Mongla River Port.

Economists are taking quite a beating these days. Politicians, most of who feel they understand economics, have either maligned

As a Bangladeshi with a keen interest in the Rohingya issue, I frequently scan the Internet to get a sense of how the foreign media is treating the evolving Rohingya crisis as we approach the monsoon season. When the Rohingyas started fleeing Myanmar last August, the international community, particularly the Western press, mobilised quickly around the Rohingya cause. From September to December, newspapers, magazines, online media,

Bangladesh newspapers bring me good news and sometimes not so good ones too. In the latter category, I include accounts of tailbacks, road accidents, power failures, and factory fires.

Since March, when President Trump announced his plan to slap tariffs on USD 50 billion Chinese imports to the USA, the world has been anxiously waiting to find out about the nature and extent of China's response.

The recent announcement by a German foundation that Bangladesh is no longer a democracy has caused a stir in national and international media. The Bertelsmann Foundation, which tracks democracy around the globe, published its latest report showing that Bangladesh has slipped in its “democracy Index” measurement and has joined four other countries, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Uganda in the category of “new” autocracies.

Some of my readers might ask: Why bring up this issue once again since it has always been an implicit goal of the development plans and governmental efforts? Because, we have not been getting the bang for our buck.

Happenings in China always make the headlines around the globe. Two recent events, one in the political arena and the other in the economic policy domain, will have profound, long-term impacts not only in China but also geopolitically. The first event happened in Beijing. President Xi Jinping secured a lifetime job by having the National People's Congress endorse his desire to continue ruling beyond the two-term limit set by the Constitution.

European Union (EU) President Jean-Clause Juncker warned the United States (US) on March 2 that EU will retaliate in kind if President Trump follows through with his plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Europe.

Reduction of gender inequality is a goal embraced by nations across the globe.

Just as the United States is in the process of pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, US government data revealed that the need for action to stem global warming is as urgent as ever.

The Rohingya repatriation programme, agreed upon by Bangladesh and Myanmar, is off to a rocky start.

It is well known that President Trump's much-ballyhooed recent tax cuts will have a major negative impact on the US federal budget, and according to some estimates, will lead to a USD 1.5 trillion increase in national debt.

I have been a voracious consumer of news trivia since my Dhaka University days when I was quite a BBC World News addict.

We were in Cambridge, Massachusetts, waiting for a table at a popular restaurant. There were only two benches and a chair arranged