It had been heralded last month that Bangladesh has moved up two notches in FIFA ranking. Wow! You sit up to bask in the glory that we could be, say thirty-forty places behind Germany or Brazil, Spain if you fancy Flamenco, because in a classroom situation that's how at worse fares the untalented, inattentive and unruly student. They make great “politicians” though.

"If in the past India lacked capital, a developed manufacturing sector and skilled manufacturing workers, the foreign manufacturing inflow is now helping India address the problem, backing up the government's 'Make in India' initiative."

I‘m a frequent and solo flier without the privilege of pre-boarding as a business class passenger.

We hope that instead of a knee-jerk reaction, the present ruling leadership will see the merit of the criticisms made and do their own homework so that all the vital organs of our constitution can work together and establish a functional state under law.

The finance minister would have us believe that corruption has so pervaded the entire society that it has rendered all of us more or less corrupt. Our finance minister is known for his broadsides and interesting utterances at various times during his long tenure in the job, which sometimes have been a cause of embarrassment for him and his party. This may be one such comment.

A critical examination of our trade balance with Japan brings in a few interesting statistics. While the Japanese import of apparel had shrunk to JPY 2,910 billion in 2016, Bangladesh remained amongst the top four exporting countries.

This newspaper has very rightly commented that the government's decision to start a permanent prosecution service by employing professional lawyers is a welcome move. In every criminal prosecution, the State is the complainant on behalf of the aggrieved people and it is thus only proper that public interests do not go by default on account of extraneous factors.

Nawaz's detractors have been celebrating the court verdict. But is it really a triumph for the people of Pakistan? There are completely opposing viewpoints with some calling it independent judiciary in a democracy while others trashing judicial activism describing it as the death knell of democracy.

The truth is that taking a break from the routine activities frees our mind to perceive the sights and sounds that are often hidden by the noises in the system. Thank God that Rabindranath Tagore was not fixated on “doing”.

What do you do when someone infantilises you because you're a young(ish) woman? There were men in that room with the same credentials as I. Did anyone ask them if they were teaching assistants?

I was shocked to see Pablo. Well, if you know him as Picasso, that's your shortcoming, rather your admittance of not being on first names with perhaps the world's most multi-talented painter.

Democracy means much more than quinquennial elections to the parliament. For a country whose raison d'être has been democracy, the decay of democratic culture is alarming.

What remains a concern however is whether the local people living in the Bagda-growing areas have really benefited as they can no longer grow rice and even other vegetation is being decimated by salinity intrusion.

It has been a highly debated issue and the business community was unhappy from the beginning. They felt that it would be a pressure on them and reduce their profitability. Consumers were confused and apprehensive. They felt that any additional tax would be passed on to them as always and raise their cost of living.

Without delving into the mystery of the virtue we call courage, we may perhaps say that courage is ubiquitous and is widely talked about and universally held in high regard.

Tuesday's verdict by a special court in Dhaka, which sentenced Nawrin Jahan Nodi to life imprisonment for torturing an 11-year-old domestic help, Aduri, and dumping her into a dustbin assuming she was dead, should give us immense satisfaction.

The crisis that began in the Gulf on June 5, 2017 does not seem to be ebbing. In the meantime there have been some twists and turns in this sordid episode.

These days, one has to keep all the “right” answers ready for questions one has no answers to.

Recently, I watched a TV news clip of protesters in the United States demonstrating against the Health Care Bill that, if passed by the Senate, would deprive millions of basic medical benefits. What struck me most was the image of a young protester in a wheelchair struggling with the security guards trying to forcefully evict her.

When I “talk back” (bell hooks, 1989) at institutional and personal oppression I am labelled an angry woman. As if my anger is not just. Justified.