Abrar Hussain: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly written to US President Donald Trump, asking for a follow-up to their historic summit, the White House says. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration is already looking at scheduling a new meeting, as the letter showed Pyongyang’s “continued commitment to focus on denuclearization”. Negotiations…
Nahian Arefin: After last week’s summit between Iran, Russia and Turkey about Syria’s Idlib province, the bombardment of the last rebel bastion intensified significantly in the war ravaged coun try. Based on the military victory of President Bashar al-Assad and against a rebellion that began in 2010, Edilib became the last obstacle. Russia and Iran…
Muna Beatty, Anti-colourism advocate based in India/Aljazeera My name means “wish”, but over the years I have been called many other names that mean “black”. This is because I’m a dark-skinned woman from India. My father is dark-skinned, while my mother has fair skin. I took after my father. My skin tone is neither “wheatish”…
Abrar Hussain: More than 100 migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coastline earlier this month, according to aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). MSF said two rubber boats set off on 1 September, but one of the vessels deflated and sank. The 276 survivors were eventually taken to the Libyan port city of…
UNB: The government has directed all the news media, includingprint media and news agencies, to provide dearness allowance to their staff, including journalists and other employees, under the 9th wage board. The Information Ministry issued a notification on Tuesday directing the news media to pay 45 percent of the main salary of media staff and…
Desk Report: More than 10,000 people of 23 villages in the char areas of Teesta and Dharala rivers have been trapped in flood water following onrush of water from upstream hilly areas. The trans-boundary Teesta river was flowing 8 cm above the danger level at Doyani point on Tuesday morning, UNB reports. The officials of…
How stuff works: Don’t call a shy person an introvert. Both extroverts and introverts can be shy. Introverts aren’t necessarily quiet and sensitive, either, nor are they people-haters. What characterizes introverts — and how their brains function differently than those of extroverts — dominated a recent episode of the podcast Part-Time Genius, co-hosted by Will…
Kabir Humayun: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is facing “a direct existential threat” and must rapidly shift from dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 to prevent “runaway climate change.” The UN chief called the crisis urgent and decried the lack of global leadership to address global warming, Reports AP. “Climate change is…
Salamishah Tillet, Professor of African-American and African studies and creative writing at Rutgers University, Newark/The New York Times Rather than remain silent, she insisted on being heard. Rather than contain herself, she used her rage for the countless women silenced by sexism and racism. I’ve never booed so loudly in my life. I was standing…
Abrar Hussain: Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has seized around 1,600 kilograms of Khat – a psychoactive drug – at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. The contraband came from Ethiopia through Foreign Post Office and was recovered from the cargo unit, said Sharmin Jahan, assistant commissioner of CID. Tipped-off, a team of CID’s Serious Crime…