Column
Climate change ambitions at the end of 2020: Good news and bad
One of the major outcomes of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change—agreed by all countries at the end of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris, France in December 2015—was that every country would prepare and submit their respective plans to take action to tackle climate change every five years, with the expectation that the level of ambition would be enhanced at each five-year cycle.
12 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Distant climate actions are dooming global apparel industry
We are hearing a lot of businesses and brands make pledges about the climate at present. Along with pledges to cut climate emissions, there is talk of cutting water use, chemical use, and addressing a range of other supply chain issues. The overall goal is to improve sustainability.
10 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Counting planetary pressures for sustainable human development
Human civilisation has progressed steadily over the years. Several countries have advanced immensely.
10 January 2021, 18:00 PM
‘A tumultuous and triumphal homecoming’
On January 17, 1972, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
9 January 2021, 18:00 PM
The momentous return of the Father of the Nation
January 10, 1972, shall remain a historic milestone in the annals of Bangladesh’s political history because on this day the towering patriarch, fondly called Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal) by ever grateful Bangalis, came home to his people after suffering nine months of illegal incarceration in Pakistani prison.
9 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Brexit, the EU-UK agreement, and the economic impact
Some politicians promise an El Dorado if you vote them into power. Others tell stories, some true and some not so, to get the voters to believe them.
9 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Qatar Diplomatic Crisis: A warm embrace or just a photo op?
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warmly embracing Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar on January 5 at the Saudi Al Ula airport made for a picture-perfect scene of brotherhood.
8 January 2021, 18:00 PM
An assault on democracy: What’s next in the US?
Since the atrocious attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters on Wednesday, the Congress has formally certified the victory of Joe Biden, some Cabinet members of the Trump administration have resigned, and some are considering invoking the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution and removing Donald Trump from office.
8 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Column by Mahfuz Anam: Fearful public, vengeful police
Here is a story that should alert us all. On December 29, a law student named Rejaul Karim Reja, 30, was having tea with friends at a roadside tea stall around 8 pm near his home in Barisal town.
7 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Bangladesh-India border relations fifty years on
Two important Bangladesh-India meetings at the national level took place in the last month of 2020.
6 January 2021, 18:00 PM
A crucial decade for tackling climate change
As we welcome the new year of 2021, we also enter a new decade that will culminate with 2030, a year that marks an end point for some very important goals and milestones for the world.
5 January 2021, 18:00 PM
What we look forward to in 2021 for Bangladesh
Against all the odds 2021 ushers in with a lot of expectations. The Covid-19 pandemic which engulfed our economic and social lives in every possible manner in 2020 is expected to be brought under control as hopes are high with the approval of vaccinations developed by a number of companies.
3 January 2021, 18:00 PM
A year when poverty increased, and so did misery
The year 2020 has been like no other in recent history. Even the biggest doomsdayers could not have predicted what was to occur, and how the Covid-19 pandemic was to derail millions, if not billions, of dreams and aspirations.
1 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Reimagining the future of education
Getting the news of vaccine was a figurative shot in the arm for the human race plagued by an ever-evolving crown-shaped virus.
1 January 2021, 18:00 PM
Are we looking at a hug-less world?
I have to confess, one of the most frustrating things I have had to face during The Year of Covid-19 is having to restrain myself from hugging people.
31 December 2020, 18:00 PM
Can Bangladesh become a knowledge economy?
As we say goodbye to the terrible year of 2020 and enter not just a new year in 2021 but a new decade to 2030, it is time to look ahead with some sense of optimism for our country over the coming decade.
29 December 2020, 18:00 PM
Money without a trail
While Bangladesh’s economy has grown, the Swiss coffers of the super wealthy have easily outpaced and inevitably outgrown that growth.
29 December 2020, 18:00 PM
How the demolition of a train station changed America
At the heart of the ongoing debate on the potential demolition of TSC and Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka is an old philosophical dilemma—how to progress while retaining some loyalty to history, a key concern of many 20th century philosophers, such as Paul Ricoeur.
28 December 2020, 18:00 PM
The Hasina–Modi December summit
We are on the cusp of our 50th anniversary. Come March 26, 2021, it will be 50 years since Bangladesh had declared its Independence.
28 December 2020, 18:00 PM
The humility of the greats, and the pathetic flip side
Celebrated Pakistan national footballer and Bangladesh national coach Golam Sarwar aka Tipu, who famously played mostly for Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting, was one among the 23 Bengalis who represented Pakistan during the 24 years of East-West coexistence. He narrated the following anecdote.
27 December 2020, 18:00 PM