Ashfaque Swapan

In “The War of the Worlds,” HG Wells’ science fiction novel, the world is brought to its knees by a vastly more technologically advanced species. The tides are turned after the humble bacteria triumphs where man failed, felling the Martians.

In the long tortuous history of the battle for the emancipation of Blacks that continues to this day in the US, progress has sometimes been so slow, and recalcitrant racist biases have been so resistant to change, that the tardy progress or lack thereof has been a cause of bitter frustration.

Sometimes you wonder in bafflement.

A horrified world is watching as the US goes up in flames. An appalling racist murder by police has triggered protests in more than 140 US cities. Rioting, looting, cities ablaze, police brutality, night curfews in major cities—it’s all happening. The federal administration is ratcheting up tensions by unleashing the US military.

As the world reels from the biggest health crisis we have seen in our lifetime, some countries have dealt with the coronavirus pandemic better than others.

The voluntary organisation Bidyanondo is a stirring example of what amazing things goodwill can achieve. It’s youthful founder, Peru-based Kishore Kumar Das, has a richly deserved, devoted following of millions.

Here we are, in the middle of a global pandemic, desperately trying to figure out how to survive. The US now has the dubious distinction of being the world’s leading nation both in terms of number of deaths and identified cases.

After a spirited, valiant battle for the Democratic nomination for US presidential elections in November, Bernie Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, called it a day.

It is one of the less salubrious facts of life that at times of profound concern and insecurity, charlatans, cranks and confidence tricksters come out of the woodwork.

"You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” — Warren Buffett, US investor and business magnate

The primary process for choosing a presidential candidate in the US can be inordinately long drawn and unwieldy.

As citizens of Dhaka vote for Dhaka’s twin city corporation elections today, this is a good time to take stock of their significance. We underestimate the importance of these elections at our peril.

As the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump unfolds in the US Senate, something very strange is going on.

US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to assassinate top Iranian military leader Qassim Suleimani has brought the US back into the business of killing foreign leaders.

The results of the recent elections in the United Kingdom took me back to another ghastly political moment.

Here’s the awful truth in a nutshell.

It’s not exactly breaking news that another accomplice of US President Donald J Trump has been found guilty and is contemplating at jail time. This is something, alas, that has been occurring from time to time for a while.

it is fair to say that given the political mess, leading Anglophone countries are drawing a mixture of horror and derision from the rest of the world. Both are richly deserved. While you’re at it, throw into the mix a queasy, disquieting feeling about a disaster waiting to happen.

It is, when you think about it, a bit of a Faustian bargain for the Democrats. A few whiny Republican attempts notwithstanding, the Republican candidacy for the 2020 presidential elections is cast in stone, as it pretty much always is in the US when an incumbent is running for president.

The possible impeach-ment of US President Donald Trump is the talk of the town. However, many people, particularly those outside the US, have better things to do than delve into the minutiae of US politics and history. Here’s a brief primer on how the process of