June 17 saw one of the deadliest attacks on a house of worship in recent decades.

Sports and politics have collided throughout history, but there are also examples of collaboration between them. South African president Nelson Mandela used rugby to heal the racial tension that divided the blacks and the whites in his country.

On her 21st death anniversary, we pay homage to Jahanara Imam, the iconic activitst who inspired the entire nation to unite in the efforts to bring those accused of committing war crimes in the Bangladesh Liberation War to trial. Shahriar Kabir and Shameem Akhtar talk to THE DAILY STAR about the Jahanara Imam they knew.

It seems that there was lack of coordination between the Myanmar government and its border police, as evident from the two different news items related to the fate of the BGB soldier abducted by the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) more than a week ago, emanating from the Myanmar side.

The majority of the Asian states rejected the International Law on Refugees, established under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, claiming it to be irrelevant to the Asian refugee experiences.

The commitment of the Government of Bangladesh to eliminate extreme poverty and to reduce incidence of poverty by 10 percent by 2021 is a laudable goal.

We are sure the present crisis will be solved in a day or two but what remains to be seen is Myanmar's total commitment to all bilateral and international rules of business when it comes to maintaining peace at the borders and solving other long-standing issues with Bangladesh.

Since 2008, after abolishing monarchy, Nepal has gone through a rapid and unprecedented transformation in its political history. For the first time, the Himalayan nation of about 28 million has turned into a secular democratic Republic.

The overall unease business people are experiencing is going to be hugely detrimental for the country. The expansion plans for industry are not happening and will not happen if we do not go after the root causes of capital flight.

On the morning of June 12, after just 63mm of rain, the vast areas in the city stretching from Mirpur to Gulistan to Motijheel to Hatkhola to Shantinogor to Rampura, on one side, and from Lalbagh to Karwan Bazaar to Farmgate and Tejgaon, on the other side, went under knee–deep water.

Citizen participation models are organic, emerging from a host of local variables, and the model is largely dependent on the police and the community and the history of the relationship between these two groups.

We urge the Bangladesh government to review its Rohingya refugee policy, to robustly engage with the international community to compel Mynamar to create enabling conditions for the refugees to return, to refrain from taking new measures that may further jeopardise the interests of registered Rohingya refugees.

Thousands of long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar are believed to be stuck at sea on people-smuggler boats, unable to land because of a crackdown on illegal trafficking networks in Thailand and Malaysia, officials and refugee activists say.

Unfortunately, the untimely, sudden demise of an innocent student did not seem to move the teachers, who were prompt to award punishment – not to the killers but to the students protesting non-violently.

Dhaka City Corpor-ation has been divided into two halves, but each one of its problems remain the same, if not worse.

If torturing one person saves a hundred lives, wouldn't that be justified? This argument may seem attractive, but it's dangerously wrong. It violates the right to life and often produces false results which might lead to yet more violence.

Take the name of New Delhi, Beijing comes along. If not in the same breath, by association of thoughts, for sure.

Forty years may seem to be a long period. But it is not long enough to efface the memory of a jungle raj which followed the imposition of the emergency in 1975.

A few days ago, during a discussion with a foreign delegation inside the Parliament building, an important personality stated that the Parliament is the symbol of our democracy.

It happens everywhere in the world. Our sons and daughters feel entitled to what we have earned in our lifetime.