In a climate of exploitation, marginalised groups are easy pickings

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), speaks to Eresh Omar Jamal of The Daily Star about the discrimination faced by marginalised communities and the rise of fundamentalism in Bangladesh.
31 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Dhaka, Density and Liveability

Growing up in a small city in the southwest United States, I thought I didn’t like cities. I loved hiking in the nearby mountains, from the top of which a grey haze hung over the city, which itself offered a few charms.
31 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Tighten your purse strings, save the planet

This is my moment of truth. When last month I got to know that there was a day called World Thrift Day (that is, today), I immediately decided I had to write about it.
30 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Why I am going to COP26

On the edge of the largest mangrove forest in the world, home of the famous Royal Bengal Tiger, I met Krishna Rani.
30 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Dhaka needs new urban-forms

If the city is the new challenge of the time, the “edge” of the city is at the heart of it.
30 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Is Asia and the Pacific ready for the global climate stage?

As the leaders of Asia and the Pacific prepare to head to Glasgow for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), they can
29 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Bangladeshi delegates to COP26 have a tricky job on their hands

Tomorrow, on October 31, world leaders and top climate officials will come together to discuss climate change against the backdrop of Covid-19 and an already rapidly changing natural environment.
29 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Patriarchy, give me my country back

I was four years old when it first happened.
29 October 2021, 18:00 PM

A spectre is haunting Bangladesh, the spectre of communalism

Given the doubts, confusions and anxieties of the modern age, it is perhaps expected—and certainly obvious—that there is a resurgence of religiosity almost everywhere.
28 October 2021, 18:00 PM

South Asia needs a change of approach for agricultural progress

Regardless of the remarkable progress that some industries across South Asia have achieved, agriculture still remains the primary source of employment and income for a large segment of people in the region.
28 October 2021, 18:00 PM

What can we learn from London’s radical move to curb air pollution?

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has done something daring to tackle air pollution in his city. First, he experimented with an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), with an area designated as a congestion charging area about 25 years ago.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM

For development, democratisation of governance is a must

For development workers, especially those working for the rights and entitlements of the poor and vulnerable, a common question we face is how we should go about improving governance in Bangladesh.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Returnee female migrants need help to bounce back in life

There is hardly any positive news about our female migrant workers employed in the Middle East or those who have returned home from there.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM

A leader, NAM, some concerns and optimism

Josip Broz Tito was one of the founding leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
26 October 2021, 18:00 PM

No more violence in the name of religion

I grew up in a mixed family—my father was a practising Hindu and my mother was a practising Muslim.
26 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Bleak Prospects for Least Developed Countries

“The outlook for LDCs is grim.”—the latest United Nations (UN) assessment of the prospects for the least developed countries (LDCs) notes recent setbacks without finding any silver lining on the horizon.
26 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Fazlul Huq and the Bangalee Muslim question

The phrase “Bangalee Muslim” is generally regarded as a “living oxymoron,” and the Bangalee Muslims are considered to be perennially trapped in a dilemma of identity over their Bangaleeness and Muslimness.
25 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Why be ashamed, why not protest?

Till 1990, we lived mostly under military ruling, apart from a brief period of three and a half years at the beginning.
25 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Some lessons from the untimely Teesta flood

An untimely flood wreaked havoc on the Teesta basin in Bangladesh, beginning on the night of Wednesday, October 20. A sudden onrush of Teesta water flooded the area to a level that has not been witnessed since 1968.
25 October 2021, 18:00 PM

China’s 50 years in UN: Epitomising advocacy of multilateralism towards sustainable peace

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the United Nations, a historic event that will be solemnly commemorated by the PRC.
24 October 2021, 18:04 PM