Mahfuz Anam

Abed Bhai, as Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was lovingly called by almost all those who knew him, was well into his fatal illness when Cyclone Bulbul struck Bangladesh.

At 48 Bangladesh has much to celebrate on Victory Day which is a day that always brings with it mixed emotions.

We express our deepest sorrow at the loss of lives and regret the killings and injuries suffered by the people in Borhanuddin of Bhola. As a people we abhor violence and as such cannot but be sad at the loss of lives. However, we need to examine why this happened and if there is any lesson to learn for the government, the law enforcers and us as a society.

Whenever a gross violation of law occurs, such as Abrar’s killing, ruling party leaders sing in chorus “nobody is above the law” and that “law will take its own course.” The truth is there are people above the law in this country, and the law takes its due course only when there is a “green light”.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose 44th death anniversary we observe today, stands tall among many heroes of history whose individual contributions have made their country and people great. However, as we delve deeper into what he did for us as a

Press freedom was a fundamental pillar of modern civilisation. Nearly all countries, save the communist bloc and the dictatorial regimes, ensured special protection for the media in their constitutions.

The reason we say that this “request” couldn’t have come from our Supreme Court judges is that the implication of the “request” is nothing short of death for court reporting. It will lead to shrouding of the judicial process and whatever goes on in the courts into the darkness of night forever depriving it of the “light” of public scrutiny.

The attack on Twin Towers by Al Qaeda launched the so-called “war on terror”. The massacre of 50 innocent worshippers in Christchurch should now trigger a global “war on hatred”. If the jihadists needed to be reined in, and correctly so, the white supremacists need to be stopped with equal vigour and urgency.

"Ultimately, in the long run, whether we win or lose, we are not going to be on their side. So we might as well do what we have to do as well as we can."

February 21 or Ekushey stands out as a defining moment in our history. A day that changed the course of the Bengali nation when a

Like the previous years, we are celebrating our 28th anniversary with yet another colourful, well-illustrated 200-page special

Just as we need the most modern infrastructure for a fast-growing economy so also we need a robust “infrastructure of the mind” to build an advanced knowledge-based society whose fundamental features consists of the ability to differ on the basis of knowledge and think critically on the basis of reason.

Syed Shamsul Haq's presence in Bangla literature is so all-encompassing and his brilliance so overwhelming in all the branches of creative writing in which he is present that the accolade that he was a literary genius would not in any way overstate his extraordinary talent.

A federal judge on Friday ordered the White House to reinstate the press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta. His “pass” was revoked after a heated exchange with President Trump.

For us in The Daily Star, Kuldip Nayar was a guiding spirit and a symbol of the values of the best in the profession. His occasional visits would be occasions for us to learn from his long and vast experience, a learning that would be made easy by his generosity.

It was literally a magical moment when Kuldip Nayar (Kuldip Ji to all who loved and admired him) first stepped into the newsroom of

Who is this man whose arrest has sparked outrage and condemnation from global bodies and media, including Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), PEN International, SAMDEN (South Asia Media Defenders Network) and publications such as the Guardian, The Washington Post and many South Asian media?

Under what law, by what right, is the BCL beating up the students? Why are the police a mere spectator in all this? On Monday, police were seen leaving the Shaheed Minar just as they saw the BCL men coming to attack the protesters. Reportedly, a number of female students were also manhandled and even kicked. Was it a case of law enforcers leaving the ground so the law breakers could have their way?

The much-awaited Gazipur city election is over, the “we-knew-it-from-before” polls results are upon us, the “impartiality” of the police and the “neutrality” of the civil administration have once again been demonstrated, the never-too-late-to-follow “certificate” of the Election Commission has been delivered and, of course, our democracy now stands “strengthened”.

A new kind of robbery is wreaking havoc in some parts of our countryside. A robbery that forms a part of a far bigger picture of destruction of our ecology and thereby robbing our future generations of their chance to lead a healthy and prosperous life.