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El Niño may return, raising concerns over rising heat in Bangladesh
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BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Shamsad Mortuza

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Dr Shamsad Mortuza is the vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).

Cox’s Bazar Tourism Problems

Cox’s Bazar at the crossroads of beauty without design

18 April 2026, 11:00 AM
Nobody questions the potential of Cox’s Bazar. Clearly, it can compete with any of the top-class beaches elsewhere. For that, the administrators need to think beyond immediate, narrow interests. They need to plan access roads despite local pressures.
18 April 2026, 11:00 AM
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Blended learning in an energy crisis: Innovation or institutional amnesia?

11 April 2026, 08:00 AM
“My classroom has four ceiling fans, but if we are to attend online classes from home, we will need 50 fans.”
11 April 2026, 08:00 AM
Long_queues_ED_1.jpg

Austerity and the crisis of fuel, confidence and coordination

4 April 2026, 09:00 AM
Last week, while buying vegetables from an open market, I could not help feeling dissatisfied over the hiked price of every item. “It seems you are still in a moon-sighting mode,” I said, to which the seller responded nonchalantly, “What can I do?
4 April 2026, 09:00 AM
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The surcharge of Eid-time tragedies

28 March 2026, 08:00 AM
In Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, a character with supposed authority intensifies the absurdity by quantifying emotion.
28 March 2026, 08:00 AM
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The unfinished promise to Bangladesh’s women

14 March 2026, 02:15 AM
Given the election results, one could assume that the female voters have registered a clear electoral message. They do not want to retreat into the margins of civic life. And why should they?
14 March 2026, 02:15 AM
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When our indifference breaks our children

7 March 2026, 01:16 AM
The posthumous Swadhinata Padak for Maherin Chowdhury, a teacher who died saving at least 20 students from the burning remains of Milestone School and College after it was hit by a fighter jet last year, brought back sad memories of losing children and teachers in a single tragic blow.
7 March 2026, 01:16 AM
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Depoliticise institutions, not ideas

28 February 2026, 01:06 AM
Not often do you hear a politician saying that “politicising education, research, and the practice of arts and literature is never a mark of a civilised society.”
28 February 2026, 01:06 AM
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What the scheduling fiasco of Ekushey book fair tells us

21 February 2026, 02:05 AM
Ekushey February (February 21) is a date that reminds the Bangladeshi people of their culture as well as their originary moments.
21 February 2026, 02:05 AM
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When the protector becomes the predator

“Money can open every DoE door”—I read out the news heading in this daily only to trip over the last two words. The stuttering tongue-twister made me chuckle.
7 January 2022, 18:00 PM
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When the masks come off

Will the Covid-19 masks finally come off in 2022? The ever-evolving nature of our little big enemy makes it difficult to say if the mask mandates will remain effective in this new year.
31 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Lifting the trophy of Bangladesh’s rise

In October 2019, The Guardian featured an article titled “The rise and rise of Bangladesh” with a string attached in its title, asking, “But is life getting any better?”
24 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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The trophies and atrophies of the Covid-19 pandemic

Covid-19 deserves a trophy for virtually connecting many of us during these atrophy-ridden times.
17 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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From Disgrace to Grace

The recent announce-ment and endorsement of the resignation of two high-profile figures have rocked the political boat. A mayor and a state minister have given up their offices—or should I say, they have fallen out of grace to fall on their own swords.
10 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Prof Rafiqul Islam: A great chronicler

There was a 10mm glass wall at ULAB that separated Prof Rafiqul Islam’s office room from mine for more than three years.
3 December 2021, 18:00 PM
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Protecting our Students from the Wrath of the Titans

Every time I pass by the Banani flyover area, I look at the worms that have come out of the deep to rear their heads to announce the underpass underneath, and ask myself why the much-hyped pedestrian tunnel has not been opened to the public yet.
26 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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The digitalisation of our birth

“Do you know that you cannot die without being born first?”
19 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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Our development and the middle-class dilemma

The planning minister recently used an onomatope—a word that imitates the things signified. He referred to the economic growth of the country with the sound image of “shonoi, shonoi,” which can be literally translated to “by and by.”
12 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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A lemonade for the illusion of confidence

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
5 November 2021, 18:00 PM
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The Untranslatable Porosrikatorota

Is the Bangla word “porosrikatorota” really untranslatable? Does “envy” or “jealousy” fall short of denoting the condition of feeling down after seeing the success of others?
29 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Our Shrunken Mentality

The sudden onrush of floodwater flowing into the country through the Teesta at a measured dangerous level—soon after the equally sudden disruption of peace and vandalism of temples and altars in different parts of the country—reminded me of the 1974 movie
22 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Death is inevitable, but we must not get used to it

I wrote this short poem a long time ago, inspired by a cemetery headstone. I was ruminating over the plight of a man who had transformed into a corpse, then reduced to a sign marked by dates. In the eternal existence of mankind,
15 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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A momentary lapse of reason

Recently, while I was driving to my office, an SUV full of security men whooshed past me on the wrong side. I slowed down and let the car come to my lane near Ganabhaban.
8 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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The Rape of the Lock: A Mock Epic Revisited

“How do I cultivate freedom alongside discipline?” German philosopher Immanuel Kant asked in 1899. The question still remains valid in many sectors of life, especially in teaching.
1 October 2021, 18:00 PM
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Let’s not be the fox without a tail

You must have heard of the story of a fox who accidentally lost his tail to a trap, and later decreed that all foxes must lose their tails too.
24 September 2021, 18:00 PM
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With Covid, there’s no easing back into campus

It is as refreshing as watching flowers of urban forestry in bloom or the roadside plants glisten after a bout of rain.
17 September 2021, 18:00 PM
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9/11: The Turning Point

In September 2001, soon after the attack on the Twin Towers, the Bangladesh government issued a public announcement to contact the America & Pacific wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the whereabouts of Bangladeshi residents.
10 September 2021, 18:00 PM
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Human and elephant lives both matter

Two news reports caught my attention on Friday: one was about a wild elephant being electrocuted, and the other was about the dwindling international funds for the Rohingya refugees.
3 September 2021, 18:00 PM
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The Hills Have Eyes

I don’t remember the last time I went to Chattogram. My knowledge of the port city can be summed up by the memorable quote from the epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones, where the main protagonist is told: “You know nothing, Jon Snow.”
27 August 2021, 18:00 PM

Pagination

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