Philip Gain, director of Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), has been researching tea workers for decades. He is the editor of the book “The Story of the Tea Workers in Bangladesh”. Md Shahnawaz Khan Chandan of The Daily Star has talked to him about the ongoing crisis.

Basanti Bauri, 40, of Moulvibazar works for a renowned tea estate as a “plucker”. Her day starts at 5:00am sharp. After paying homage to the family deity, she prepares food for her three children and husband.

From the innocent ‘Sonai’ of “Monpura” to the ruthless and barbaric ‘Chan Majhi’, the multifaceted Chanchal Chowdhury is able to mold himself into complex characters, the kind that takes the film industry by storm. Currently, the actor is basking in the glory of his performance in “Hawa”, and the release of Hoichoi series “Karagar”.

Recently, the trailer for Raihan Rafi’s “Damal” was released, much to the delight of cinema-goers who have been enjoying a steady stream of quality projects.

In an unprecedented feat of putting one’s money where one’s mouth is, the digital marketing guru formerly known as Golam Mostafa has changed his name to Golam Rocky Road Mostafa.  

The United Nations just declared Bangladesh the world’s healthiest country. The UN secretary general urged all to follow Bangladesh as a role model. 

A surprising new study published yesterday revealed that the purpose of development in any country is to improve the lives of its citizens.

Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain is an author, analyst and a former election commissioner. Recently he has talked to Mohiuddin Alamgir of The Daily Star on different issues including electoral reforms and proposals placed by political parties during the EC talks.

From a staggered national election to a proportional representation system -- the Election Commission has been flooded with a whopping number of proposals placed by 28 political parties on the electoral reforms during the recently concluded dialogue.

Wasfia Nazreen is mostly known for being the only Bangladeshi and the first Bengali to climb the Seven Summits or, the highest mountains of every continent.

Anyone following the extraordinary feats of our native mountaineer, activist, and social worker, Wasfia Nazreen, will know that she has very recently conquered one of the most treacherous mountains in the world, the fearsome K2.

Eminent academician Prof Dr Siddiqur Rahman was a former director of Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University, and one of the members of National Education Policy 2010 formulation committee. Recently he talked to Md Shahnawaz Khan Chandan of The Daily Star about the reforms required in English medium schools.

English medium schools have been charging exorbitant admission and tuition fees in the absence of any guidelines and monitoring, making it a constant struggle for guardians, especially those belonging to the middle-income bracket, to continue their children’s education.

Members of minority communities are coming under attacks frequently. About 20,000 criminal cases have been filed in connection with these attacks in the last two decades. 

Islam is a religion of peace which never supports any violent activities against people of other religions, said Maulana Mohiuddin Kasham, a pesh imam of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.

* Bigots vandalised and set fire to Buddhist temples and Buddhist households in Ramu and Ukhiya, after spreading rumour that the Facebook page of a local Buddhist youth was bearing a photo demeaning Islam.

The Narail mayhem is not an isolated incident. It is a part of series of attacks being carried out one after another across the country in the last few years with a goal to wipe out minorities from the country.

This is yet another disturbing headline that highlights a pattern of violence against minority communities.

Q. What is happening to our haors (the vast wetlands in the country’s north-eastern region) and how has that impacted the flood situation?

For around a month now, all four districts in the Sylhet division have been enduring floods with the water receding slowly from many areas and thousands left to suffer.