When the sky isn’t looking clear anymore, to say you are watching the clouds go by with the hope of a better day is being cautiously optimistic.

Urban people have been affected more than rural people in terms of the health crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic. One reason for higher urban suffering is the high population density in urban areas and inadequate facilities for them.

The global apparel industry is broken and only urgent, drastic surgery can fix it. I am not talking about another initiative or another public relations exercise. I am talking about deep, systemic change to be agreed by all involved—by brands, by suppliers, governments, unions and NGOs.

The other day I was chatting with Abu, a long-time friend of mine who has been living in Bangladesh for the last one year.

A lot of whimpers and whines are coming out of the White House as the sun sets on the Trump presidency. The man in question is convinced that he has been cheated out of power.

Winston Churchill’s comment in November, 1947 that “democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried before” remains as pertinent today as it was when he stated it in the immediate post war period.

Occasionally an athlete transcends the boundaries of his sporting arena and attains a civil personality through his many socio-welfare activities, albeit woven intricately with the game.

President-Elect Joe Biden of the United States of America recently announced his national security and foreign policy team including a significant new position of a “climate envoy” who would sit on the National Security Council, choosing former Senator John Kerry for that position.

After a decade of ruthlessly pursuing the world’s dirtiest fuel, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MoPEMR) is contemplating closing down 13 of the 18 previously approved coal-based power projects around the country and apparently switching to “cleaner” alternatives.

The significance of this year’s “16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence” initiative of the United Nations is greater than ever before in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On a day like this, 33 years ago, I became a man. To be precise, on November 28, 1987 at 12:10 pm in the emergency ward of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), I became a man.

What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of the word “development”? I see an image of a signboard, and it’s about the Metro Rail (MRT Line-6) being constructed in Mirpur, connecting different parts of the metropolis.

Whether we have been able to build our Shonar Bangla (Golden Bengal) or not, Mr. Monir Hossain has certainly built his and earned himself the title of “Shona” (Gold) Monir in the process.

A Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (Banbeis) report from last year suggests that in 2018, girls formed 54 percent of the total number of students at the secondary level.

In this time of the pandemic and the resultant economic slowdown, one has to be mindful of the effects of these twin curses on the poor of Bangladesh.

On November 20, the editor of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam, in a column in this daily, urged for the transformation of the Bangladesh Police into a pro-people outfit.

Gokahle’s tribute, “What Bengal thinks today, India will think tomorrow”, reflected the leading role that Bengal was taking in the anti-British movement.

Mixed opinions followed after the signing of the new trade bloc—the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on November 15, 2020.

As the nation holds its breath in anticipation of a potential second wave of Covid-19, five countries including Bangladesh have decided to strengthen sharing of information and coordination of policies and actions to cope with its probable impacts.

One would think it to be the rantings of a madman had it not been the words of a parliamentarian—that feminists are to blame for the rape incidents across the country.