At the time of independence, there were only 6 public universities in Bangladesh. At present a total of 38 public universities have been established.

There has been no respite for the major world economies from weak economic growth, a pushback against globalisation in the form of trade pacts such as TTIP and TPP, and spiralling commodities prices.

ISIS, Islamic Caliphate

Last month, 18 people in the Gopalganj district of India's Bihar state died after consuming illicit alcohol, highlighting – once again – the peculiar relationship between morality and tragedy in India.

It's not rocket science that the theatre of confrontation is shifting to Asia. The crux of this confrontation is cross-directional. China is pivoting west with its ambition to expand its reach across the continent and towards Europe. The United States, on the other hand, is pivoting east. It's convinced that its future should be entwined with the Asian prosperity instead of being sucked further into the quagmires of the Middle East.

The United States and China won much world acclaim when they formally ratified the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions on Saturday.

Stalin, in the first decade of Soviet power, backed the idea of “socialism in one country,” meaning that, until conditions ripened, socialism was for the USSR alone.

Hussein Muhammad Ershad recently told his party men that he would live another hundred years if they were to put him back

Like language politics cannot be taught – it has to be learnt. And one thing that one must learn in politics, as much as in war, is that a weak front should not be invested in and vulnerabilities plugged.

These days it does not take much to get panicky. Any loud noise sounds like a bomb blast – it could be a blown out transformer from a crow's misstep, a tire bursting in the middle of the road or just some wedding revellers using firecrackers to celebrate the idea of marital bliss.

In 2008, Ecuador codified the principle of Rights of Nature in its Constitution, recognising that ecosystems have an inalienable right to exist and flourish.

In peacekeeping missions around the world, we are asking more of our peacekeepers than ever before. We expect them to protect not only civilians, but also to make credible elections possible, help states restore the rule of law and crucially, to enable the safe passage of life-saving humanitarian aid.

As the world is now well aware, Syria has been consumed by violence for years now. What people are less aware of, however, is why it has been raging for so long.

How is it that the Turkish government only chooses to see one side of the argument? Why does it not look at the atrocities committed in 1971 by a marauding Pakistani military in an attempt to stifle and eventually stamp out a nation's demand for independence?

The world economy is a more equal place for the average individual today than it was in 1980. This is partly thanks to a series of strong leaders, such as those in China since Deng Xiaoping, and in India since Rajiv Gandhi.

John Kerry's visit accomplished pitifully little. Popular wisdom suggests that it symbolised much. Lacking both popularity and wisdom, I am not entirely convinced of that judgment.

The Strategic Community in India is strongly wedded to the concept of strategic autonomy in India's foreign policy. However, signing of the LEMOA and various terms and condition enshrined in it only upholds India's emphasis on strategic autonomy.

Countries that have managed to keep corruption, embezzlement and fraud under control have done so by adopting a three-pronged approach: the lawyer's approach, the economist's approach and the businessman's approach. It is the first - tougher new laws and tougher enforcement of existing laws - that is usually the topic of discussion in the media and other circles.

John Kerry had listed the areas that the US government had aided Bangladesh in since its independence. But if it really wants Bangladesh to develop, the only policy that will make US' role as our development partner meaningful is a 'hand up' rather than 'handout' policy; handout is what foreign aid turns out to be in the long run.

If we would like to compare apples with oranges, we need to consider their individual characteristics because the two are different in nature. Marks and grades do not bear the same meaning.