The on-arrival mess
30-year-old Sharmin Akhter* holds dual citizenship. Born to a German father and a Bangladeshi mother, she possesses both countries' passports. She was nevertheless nearly deported from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport earlier this month.
5y ago
Will Bangladesh field its best ever team in the 2019 World Cup
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza celebrated his 200th ODI in style earlier this week, with a three-wicket haul that outfoxed a hard-hitting West Indian line-up and restricted the visitors to a below-par total, which the Tigers eventually cruised past with ease at Mirpur.
5y ago
Can bank alliances prevent human trafficking?
In early 2018, the Italian police intercepted a trafficking ring that dealt with workers from Bangladesh and India. Similar to almost every other trafficking story, the workers, in this case as well, were given false promises of jobs and brought to the country in exchange of exorbitant recruitment fees.
6y ago
The numbers that reflect the misery of our migrants
A recent report published by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) on the impact of migration on household income, expenditure and poverty, highlights a number of interesting trends.
6y ago
Bangladesh's innovation challenge
A physicist from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) dominated the headlines last month when she, and her team of 25, made a breakthrough discovery in cancer detection.
6y ago
The dangerous half degree
A new report published last week by the United Nation's Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an organisation consisting of leading climate scientists from all over the world, has warned that by 2030, the earth's temperature is expected to witness an increase by at least half a degree.
6y ago
From the shores of hell & back
“They thought I was dead,” Abdul tells Star Weekend. “I was stuck in a jail in Libya for over four months and I never had the chance to contact my family. They thought I had fallen from the boat [on the way to Italy from Libya] into the dangerous sea and disappeared forever,” he says.
6y ago
Is the future of Bangladesh cricket actually in danger?
Bangladesh's young cricketers came under immense criticism in the recently concluded Asia Cup. It did not take too long for people to dismiss the likes of Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das and Mosaddek Hossain.
6y ago
October 20, 2017
How effective will the anti-discrimination law be?
The right to equality and the principle of non-discrimination is recognised by the constitution of Bangladesh. While article 27 of the constitution states that the people of Bangladesh are equal in the eyes of the law, article 28 forbids any discrimination on the basis of race, caste, religion, sex or place of birth.
October 6, 2017
5 reasons why the post office is not obsolete… yet
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the Bangladesh Post Office (BPO)? 'Snail mail, stale mail, fail mail' was how a colleague of mine, who had lost a birthday gift or two sent from his friends outside the country some time ago, answers that question.
September 29, 2017
Calling in corruption
"How much money did you pay him in bribes for the papers?” asks an officer with his headphones on, while scribbling down the main points of the reply on a piece of paper. “BDT 1200… and now he wants more?” he further inquires as he briskly takes a sip of instant coffee from a disposable cup.
September 25, 2017
For those who wonder what prompted the Rohingya exodus…
Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi's speech last Tuesday had the potential to change the scenario of the ongoing Rohingya crisis and end the misery of the more than 400,000 refugees in Bangladesh.
September 22, 2017
Not relieved despite the relief
Barely three weeks ago, it would have taken someone a little more than 10 minutes to reach Kutupalong camp from the main station in Ukhia. Today, traffic jams on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Highway, arising from the increasing number of relief trucks arriving to help out the Rohingyas, has changed the scenario. But despite the admirable support of Bangladeshis for the four lakh-plus Rohingyas who entered Bangladesh in the last one month, many new refugees are still living on just muri and cha.
September 15, 2017
Against the odds
This year alone has witnessed the DMCH succesfully perform three rare surgeries.
September 8, 2017
An ominous trend
Statistics related to floods and cyclones display a dramatic increase in intensity in the last three decades in Bangladesh and experts fear that the trend is likely to get worse.
September 1, 2017
An Irish Monimul and the Sumaiya clause
In a move that seems to have garnered as much attention in Bangladesh as Neymar's record transfer to PSG and is the first of its kind, Bangladeshi cricketer Monimul Haqque has decided to apply for an Irish citizenship.
August 18, 2017
After Jamdani and Hilsa…
In the last one year, two Bangladeshi products—Jamdani and Hilsa—received Geographical Indications (GI) from the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT). The DPDT is currently working on analysing 24 more goods.
August 11, 2017
No Vote: Society's barometer
While members of the civil society admit that the reinstatement of the No Vote system may not make a huge difference, it will give the people of Bangladesh more freedom to express themselves in 2019.
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