When I read in the Los Angeles Times (3/18/14) that scientists had found the first direct evidence of Alan Guth’s theory of early universe inflation, and Albert Einstein’s theory of gravitational waves, I immediately thought of the Hadith about the…
Category: Feature
Peace talks in India’s Northeast: The Bodo knot
By Rani P Das The Government of India’s approach to the prolonged insurgency and agitations in Assam’s Bodo heartland seems to have complicated the Bodo issue further. In the nearly three decades since the Bodoland movement began in 1987 under…
Burma military encourages civilian abuses
Burma’s seemingly unending cycle of internal conflict is perhaps closer to a resolution than at any other point in recent memory.
Region calls for diplomatic settlement of the Ukranian crisis
The European Union and non-member countries in the region are supporting diplomatic efforts to put an end to the Ukrainian crisis and ensure a peaceful settlement of what many say is the worst impasse since the fall of the Soviet…
ICDDR,B warning against rice-based ORS purchase
The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) has warned consumers against buying its rice-based oral saline outside its centre. ICDDR,B team in Sierra Leone: It says its Employees’ Multipurpose Cooperative Society sells this life-saving saline only through their…
Alcohol’s role in traffic deaths vastly underreported
It’s no secret that drinking and driving can be a deadly mix. But the role of alcohol in U.S. traffic deaths may be substantially underreported on death certificates, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of…
US ‘democracy promotion’ destroys democracy overseas
It was almost ten years ago when, before the House International Relations Committee, I objected to the US Government funding NGOs to meddle in the internal affairs of Ukraine.
‘Bring transgender people under HIV/AIDS prevention programme’
Speakers at a meeting here have called upon the media workers for bringing the transgender population, including hijra people under the HIV/AIDS prevention programme.
Nose can detect one trillion odours
Until now, the long-held belief was that we can sniff out about 10,000 smells.
Latest round of nuclear talks end with press conference
Iranian and EU foreign policy heads ended their two-day round of nuclear talks in Vienna on Wednesday March 19 with a press conference.
Turkish President dismisses foreign plot contradicts PM
President Abdullah Gul has dismissed suggestions that outside forces are conspiring against Turkey, openly contradicting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s assertions that a corruption scandal shaking the country is part of a foreign-backed plot, Reuters reported.
Dubai metro system to be turned into art gallery
The Dubai metro system is going to turn into an art gallery on the orders of the emirate’s ruler, it’s been reported.
Immune upgrade gives ‘HIV shielding’
By James Gallagher It raises the prospect of patients no longer needing to take daily medication to control their infection.
Law regulating practice of physicians would be updated
Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim on Sunday said the existing law under the BMDC regulating practicing physicians would be updated to make the doctors more accountable. “The government is thinking of incorporating a new provision of investigation and…
Where Is Flight 370?
Do you get the feeling that Flight 370 has literally fallen off the radar? Five days later except for the anguish and agony of the next of kin of the 239 on board and the ripple effect of that loss,…
Paris restricts car use after pollution hits high
Alternative driving days are being introduced in the French capital, Paris, in an attempt to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution.
Indian diplomat Devyani re-indicted in US
A US grand jury has re-indicted an Indian diplomat whose arrest strained US-India relations.
Berlin first German city with its own internet domain
Berlin is about to become the first city in the world with its own internet domain name, it appears.
Trapped by an avalanche, saved by an app
An app developed at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology makes it possible for skiers with smartphones to find people buried in the snow after an avalanche.
What is at stake in Crimea?
The speed at which events in Ukraine are unfolding is astounding.
Don’t legalise marriage for 9-year-olds: HRW tells IRAQ
Iraq’s Council of Ministers should withdraw a new draft Personal Status Law and ensure that Iraq’s legal framework protects women and girls in line with its international obligations. The pending legislation would restrict women’s rights in matters of inheritance and…
Parents punished for arranging child marriage
Shahneawz Khan Sumon Jhenaidah: Father get 15 days jailed and mother one thousand taka penalty for arranging their minor girl’s marriage, by mobile court led by upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) at Sundorpur village under Kaliganj upazila in Jhenaidah Thursday morning.
HIV protection gel for women ‘comes a step closer’
A gel that can be used by women after sex to protect against HIV is a step closer, according to researchers.
Sri Lankan hangman resigns in shock at sight of gallows
A newly recruited hangman in Sri Lanka has resigned in shock after being shown the gallows for the first time.
Confusion deepens over missing plane
Search teams are scouring waters off both sides of the Malaysian peninsula, amid confusion over a missing Malaysia Airlines plane’s last known location.
Abu Dhabi: Million-dollar phone number sells at auction
A VIP mobile number has sold for more than two million dollars at a charity auction in Abu Dhabi, it appears.
Surveillance is ‘setting fire’ to the Internet: Snowden
Global mass surveillance conducted by the US and other governments is “setting fire to the future of the internet”, Edward Snowden told a packed auditorium of technology innovators via video link in Austin at the South by Southwest Interactive conference…
First ever bone marrow transplantation done in BD successfully
Transplantation of bone marrow has been completed for the first time in Bangladesh. A group of physicians led by Prof MA Khan, head of hematology and oncology department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Dr Bimalangshu Dey of Massachusetts General…
Fresh deal to end Rio rubbish collection strike
Rio de Janeiro authorities and street cleaners say they have reached a new agreement to end an eight-day strike which has left tonnes of rubbish on the streets of the Brazilian city.
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in ‘unanimous poll win’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been elected to the country’s rubber-stamp parliament with a unanimous vote from his district, state media say.