An album on the poet of politics
My first impression of Bangabandhu dates back to around the mid-sixties. A helicopter service had been in operation between Dhaka
16 March 2019, 18:00 PM
An avoidable mayhem
Last Tuesday, from the northerly Himalayas, a blustery wind cascaded down to Haripur area of Thakurgaon leaving a patch of ruins in
14 February 2019, 18:00 PM
Uprooting corruption: We can do better
The seasonal discussion on corruption is back in full swing following the release of Berlin-based Transparency International's global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), 2018.
31 January 2019, 18:00 PM
Which way is pluralistic democracy headed?
We have known democratic pluralism, pluralistic democracy and multi-party system to be synonymous terminologies. But is it as simplistic as that? Conceptually and ideally, it is; but in practice and real-world situations, it may not be so!
17 January 2019, 18:00 PM
Change of style or substance?
With at least 27 new faces and only a few septuagenarians around, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was greeted on her re-election to a record fourth term at Gono Bhaban on Tuesday.
10 January 2019, 18:00 PM
Sheikh Hasina's fourth term
It is the huge gaps in the numbers of votes polled by the winners and the losers in the 11th national election that apparently unveiled a “controlled and patterned” nature of the process of polls.
3 January 2019, 18:00 PM
Wintry mist from a non-level playing field!
If almost every past election in Bangladesh had been a test case for democracy, the one the nation is going to in two days' time is a veritable litmus test for the country's democratic future.
27 December 2018, 18:00 PM
Nomination cauldron bubbling away, electioneering heat awaited
It was for the BNP leaders “a strategy” of filing multiple sets of nomination papers to cover the contingency of rejections. This came in the way of 141 party nominees out of 696 who had applied to the EC for a go-ahead.
6 December 2018, 18:00 PM
Embargo, Islamophobia and neo-fascist retreat
Abolt from the blue has hit Bangladesh as if we didn't have a plateful on our hands already: SMS threats to some Christian bishops as
24 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Help is around the corner, court it and benefit
There's a sigh of relief breezing through the country's 18 million internet users over the unblocking of the social media sites the
17 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Missiles, politics and cascading effects
If there is a generic confusion at the top in terms of decision-making to fight fundamentalism of all hues and stripes this will have a cascading effect on to the bottom.
3 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Mini national polls, mighty excitement in store
The schedules for polls to the 234 municipalities are upon us, as if tip-toeing on a slippery wicket to a sudden grand curtain raiser about to happen.
26 November 2015, 18:00 PM
Who's taking the brunt of the backlash?
The IS nicknamed Daesh, an Arabic word meaning a group of bigots imposing their will on others not only killed innocents but also put majority of Muslims on the harm's way by giving Islam a bad name.
19 November 2015, 18:00 PM
The answer is with us
Frankly, who is not mentally carrying a travel advisory of his or her own seems to be the question today.
5 November 2015, 18:00 PM
Arguments you cannot brush aside
The operative words are extremism and terrorism; so what's in a name, terrorism is terrorism. The threats have always been there and to be fair to ourselves some of the major terrorist acts have not seen handing out of convictions to the perpetrators.
29 October 2015, 18:00 PM
LET THERE BE LIGHT
The see-saw between the government of Bangladesh and the Western diplomatic community over threats to foreigners' lives shows no sign of remission...
22 October 2015, 18:00 PM
Take a break from the chemistry of fear
In spite of the screaming travel advisories to the contrary, there's been an increase in the number of foreign arrivals at Hazrat Shahjalal
15 October 2015, 18:00 PM
AFTER THE KISS OF DEATH
The redeeming feature in these bleak circumstances though, is the Zimbabwe national cricket team's firm indication that they are visiting us next year.
8 October 2015, 18:00 PM
Italian citizen's murder, a rude awakening
The antennae of some Western diplomatic missions in Dhaka had received a signal that 'Western interests' might be targeted in a terrorist attack.
1 October 2015, 18:00 PM
Is Bangladesh on the right track?
A quest for inclusive democracy, once timed-out, needs to be undertaken in good time.
17 September 2015, 18:00 PM
New pay scales
When an author of Oscar Wilde's stature could say, "A cheque is the only argument I recognise," he merely switched from his loyalty to philosophy over to the practicality of being money-wise. What would other mortals then do except follow in his footsteps!
10 September 2015, 18:00 PM
Mother earth, wailing humanity, sacrificial lambs
Slovakia, the tiny republic in the middle of Europe has imparted a lesson that the high and mighty in a disordered world would do well
3 September 2015, 18:00 PM
Japanese therapy and British diplomatic savvy
Last week, a group of Japanese university students swept clean some busy dirt-filled street corners around Farmgate.
27 August 2015, 18:00 PM
STORY INSIDE THE STORY
Sometimes, a most obvious question of history remains unasked and unanswered through a lack of pursuit of or targeted research into an overwhelming event.
21 August 2015, 18:00 PM
US' 'No' to GSP: One-sided love affair!
Though US-Bangla interactions have evolved on a love-hate trajectory, an exception is made in relation to the GSP facility for Bangladesh. Dhaka's obsession with it has not been reciprocated by Washington.
13 August 2015, 18:00 PM
Cruelty beyond measure and transferred trauma
The social compass misdirected as it is, clearly needs readjustment to meet the contemporary challenges in the mental world.
6 August 2015, 18:00 PM
A ceasefire between the battling Begums!
Another twist in the tale is that where previously Sheikh Hasina wanted to draw Khaleda Zia into elections on her terms, now it is the latter who is trying to draw the Prime Minister into calling a snap election.
30 July 2015, 18:00 PM
Petty causes, demonic crimes, a way out
The surge in sadistic crimes before and after the Eid has given us some bone-chilling realisations about where our society is headed.
23 July 2015, 18:00 PM