Masum Billah A literature circle is an activity in which members meet to discuss and respond to a book that they are all reading.( Daniels 2002). As Cameron et al (2012) explains, literature circles are led mostly by students, while…
Category: Columns
The case against democracy
If most voters are uninformed, who should make decisions about the public’s welfare? By Caleb Crain Roughly a third of American voters think that the Marxist slogan “From each according to his ability to each according to his need” appears…
Interference of business groups in the UNFCCC
Shaila Mahmud With the Paris Agreement coming into full effect just before the next meeting of the Conference of Parties’ (COP) is all set to kick off has opened the floor for implementation talk in this year’s UN Climate Conference…
Jalebi Uncoiled: The unmaking of human emotions!
Sudhirendar Sharma Festive season reminds me about the transformation the world of sharing seasons’ greetings has gone through. From those days when as teenagers we were made to ferry plateful of sweets across neighboring households to later years when we…
National animal Royal Bengal Tiger in grave danger
by Raquib Siddiqi The global wild tiger population has increased for the first time since conservation efforts began in the 1960s. But the number of Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)—the national animal and major tourist attraction, has nose-dived in Bangladesh. The…
Punishment is violent and counterproductive
Robert J. Burrowes Punishment is a popular pastime for humans. Parents punish children. Teachers punish students. Employers punish workers. Courts punish lawbreakers. People punish each other. Governments punish ‘enemies’. And, according to some, God punishes evildoers. What is ‘punishment’? Punishment…
Character education to grow learners as well-mannered people
Masum Billah Gaining academic success does not necessarily mean overall success in life. Only bookish knowledge and academic works don’t ensure that a learner will grow up into well-mannered individual in the family and society. In another word we can…
Magazines that can help us make better food decisions
Danielle Nierenberg When it comes to deciding what is for dinner, eaters’ decisions can be determined by more than taste alone. Food choices affect the environment, the economy, health, social justice, politics, and more. Luckily, there are a number of…
Earth-centric education systems: School days in 2040
Erik Assadourian What might education look like in 2040 if it were to be truly Earth-centric? That is to say, teaching a deep connection to—and obligation to care for—the planet that sustains us? Over the course of the summer, as…
Global tourist arrivals record 1.2 billion in 2015
-By Raquib Siddiqi International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 per cent in 2015 to reach a total of 1,184 million in 2015, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Some 50 million more tourists (overnight visitors) travelled to international…
International Day of the Girl Child and Bangladesh
Masum Billah With a view to addressing the challenges girls face and promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated every yea on 11 October globally. Education is essential for…
Momentous negotiations to address global health, climate change
Shaila Mahmud The year 2016 may become a milestone in the history for safeguarding the interest of the earth and its people as the two most important UN conferences – COP22 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and COP7…
A nonviolent strategy to end the climate catastrophe
Robert J. Burrowes As the evidence mounts that we are fast approaching the final point-of-no-return beyond which it will be impossible to take sufficient effective action to prevent climate catastrophe – see ‘The World Passes 400 PPM Threshold. Permanently’ http://www.climatecentral.org/news/world-passes-400-ppm-threshold-permanently-20738…
Home is where the market is!
Sudhirendar Sharma The universal market places, automotive teller machines and chain coffee shops give a false sense of home, and an unrealistic identity. The universal market places, automotive teller machines and chain coffee shops give a false sense of home,…
16 orgs celebrating World Food Day
Danielle Nierenberg October 16th is World Food Day and this year’s theme is “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too,” and highlights the impact of a changing environment on agriculture and food security. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on…
Bangladesh visa offices, immigration driving tourists away
Raquib Siddiqi Dhaka: The government of Bangladesh has declared current 2016 as visit Bangladesh year, to kick start development of tourism in the country and attract one million tourists. But two key government agencies—visa offices aboard and immigration at land…
Jalebi Uncoiled: You do yours, and mine too!
Sudhirendar Sharma Times may have changed but not for today’s parents whose collective frustration spills out in the open when it comes to discussing their offspring. Unceremonious adages like ‘highly irresponsible’, ‘grossly careless’, ‘poorly empathetic’ and ‘increasingly narcissistic’ are pressed…
A virtuous cycle for conservation
Arancha González and John E. Scanlon New York – Poor and rural people around the world rely on plants and animals for shelter, food, income, and medicine. In fact, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 15) on sustainable ecosystems…
He may likely lose, but Trump is the final warning to elites
John Ibbitson Donald Trump will probably lose the election. But he is a final warning. Unless political elites of both the left and the right become more humble, unless they once again ask themselves how their agendas will play in…
The horrors of a hurricane, doubled by statelessness
Skye Wheeler Hurricane “Matthew” is set to hit Haiti and Jamaica. Southern Haiti will likely be hit hard, including Anse-a-Pitres, one of the poorest and most remote areas of the island. My thoughts tonight are with Haitians, but also with…
Celebrate US National Farm to School Month
Danielle Nierenberg October is US National Farm to School Month and communities across the United States are celebrating the importance of farm to school programs. These programs, implemented in more than 42,500 schools in the United States, can help…
SAARC countries: Rich in tourist attractions, poor in arrivals
-By Raquib Siddiqi The eight SAARC (South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation) countries- Afghanistan, Bangladesh. Bhutan. India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka —are undoubtedly one of the richest in the world in terms of tourist attractions but unfortunately remained…
Keeping track of US Special Ops in Africa
By Nick Turse Sometimes the real news is in the details — or even in the discrepancies. Take, for instance, missions by America’s most elite troops in Africa. It was September 2014. The sky was bright and clear and ice blue…
Gandhi: My life is my message
Robert J. Burrowes As most of the world ignores or hypocritically celebrates the 147th birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on the International Day of Nonviolence on 2 October, some of us will quietly acknowledge his life by continuing to build…
James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards
Danielle Nierenberg The James Beard Foundation (JBF) recently announced the recipients of the sixth annual James Beard Foundation Leadership Awards. The 2016 honorees will be recognized at the annual awards dinner on October 17 at Hearst Tower as part of…
English medium schools again come to the fore of debate
Masum Billah Following the sad and terrorist incident in the Holy Artisan Hotel at Gulshan a widespread discussion concentrating on English Medium School and Private University education has been in the fore. It is also observed that some quarters have…
‘The UN is helpless in the new world order’
The fight over who bombed an aid convoy in Syria shows that the UN doesn’t have an effective strategy for helping people in war-torn areas. Germany may be able to play an increasingly important role, writes Ines Pohl. The United…
Save tourist spots before damages becomes irreversible
-By Raquib Siddiqi Tourism in Bangladesh is having a rudderless existence. The government has failed not only to build a workable tourism infrastructure but also to provide proper guidance to private sector which in recent years has come up in…
Mathematics may be akin to cooking
Sudhirendar Sharma Cooking and math may have begun as simple and useful crafts but these have evolved into complex and pleasurable arts today. Could there be any similarity between mathematics and cookery? Neither do cooks deal in numbers nor do…
This is progress: President Barack Obama
News Desk US President Barack H Obama has depicted the achievement of his presidency in increasing household income and reducing poverty. The next few paragraphs show how briefly he has craftily depicted a great success. — Editor …