Sifat Afrin Shams

Sub-editor at The Daily Star

10 tips to fight off the winter blues

The days are short and the sun is playing hide and seek. It is a brand-new year and instead of feeling hopeful, you are feeling rather down.

Do mosquitoes prefer one blood type over others?

Mosquitoe-bites are a menace for everybody. Especially, during this season, due to the risk of dengue, chikungunya etc.

What does Elon Musk plan to do with Twitter?

Elon Musk has said that he wants to see Twitter fulfil its “extraordinary potential”. Is that why he has been so interested in owning the social media platform?

Top 5 Bangla cooking channels on YouTube

We Bangladeshis love to eat and cook. However, with the increasingly busy schedule of urban life, we have started to forget our traditional recipes and heritage of delicate cooking.

Leonard Cohen: ‘Our Shelley, our Byron’

Leonard Norman Cohen was born on this day in 1934 in Quebec, Canada. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships.

From Madrasa to English medium, Gurukul Online Learning Network reaching 23 lakh students

Sufi Faruq Ibne Abubakar, former IT head of a multinational company, started Gurukul Online Learning Network with a dream to minimize the quality gap between education available to city and rural students.

Dhaka enjoyed healthy air after Eid-ul-Azha

Dhaka’s air saw significant fall in pollution level during the three days following Eid-ul-Azha.

Chickenpox overview: Myths and realities

Let us try to dig deep into the myths and realities of chickenpox, the tropical disease of the season, with the help of experts.

Best Movies of 2017

As the New Year waits with new things in store, let’s take a tour back to the good movies the passing year presented us with.

Fish farming bogged down by losses

Inland fish producers are incurring heavy losses as the market price of fish remains stagnant amid spiralling costs of production.

RU 10th convocation, still a dream

The history of Rajshahi University (RU) convocation has not been an easy one. The 64-year old educational institute has had only nine convocation ceremonies for its graduates so far.

Not only joints, Chikungunya messes with your mind too

During the last two months, anticipations and suspense regarding the Chikungunya viral fever caused by Aedes Aegypti mosquito have gone viral. Half of the Dhakaites still are in physical pain left by the virus, half are half-relieved that they have been spared so far, and half-anxious about being the next victim.

Surprise loved ones with self-made gifts this Eid

Eid is a very special occasion to exchange gifts. We convey our feelings to our loved ones through the object we present. Ever thought of making those gifts on your own to make them more special?

Movie review: Wonder Woman

“I am the man who can”, says Diana aka Wonder Woman. DC Comics’ new movie “Wonder Woman” makes it huge for all the right reasons in theatres since it is released.

Why the cyclone is called ‘Mora’

Born in Sri Lanka, the cyclone got its name from Thailand. “Mora” is a Thai word, which means “star of the sea” or “sea star”.

Abandoned baby Anisha sees light of humanity

Remember Anisha, the two to three days’ old baby recovered from a dustbin in Dhaka last month? What grave mistake could she have made in such short life to deserve the punishment that shatters our faith in humanity and makes us question the sanctity of the parent-child bond?

Laughing in Bangla: Best deshi memes

We Bangalis have our own unique sense of humour and are very famous for it. Making jokes about almost everything and anything in subtlest to not-so-subtle and lamest ways is part of our characteristics.

Dhaka air pollution: Facts, measures and commandments

For the last three years, the air quality in Dhaka remains consistently unhealthy during the dry season according to the Department of Environment (DoE). DoE states that 58% of the particulate pollutants responsible for the smog in the air of Dhaka city comes from the orthodox brick kilns around and inside Dhaka.

Movies to look forward to in 2017

The long and arduous year, that is 2016, is finally over and now we can look forward to all the cinematic treats 2017 has in store for us.

Scars left by 2016

Let us look back at the passing year to remind ourselves why we should be glad that it’s over.

How to deal with parents’ unrealistic expectations in 20s

In Bangladesh we still live with our parents when we are in our twenties. We are either in the last years of our universities or looking for jobs after freshly graduating. But mostly wondering what we need to do or how far we need to go to fulfill the growing list of expectations of our parents and the society.

The thug life of a goat

We can see a goat drinking from a cup of tea with much flair standing on its two legs in the video captured at a road side tea stall in Mymensingh by a morning walker, Shamsul Alam.

Opinion: How can one kill a teacher?

When somebody dies, how many ways does s/he still remain alive in? People say the person remains alive in the memories of the near and dear ones. Some say they remain alive in the names of the descendants. Science says they remain on the surface of the world in another form of matter.

In remembrance of Shaheed Rumi

Shaheed Shafi Imam Rumi, a guerrilla fighter who fought valiantly in the Liberation War of Bangladesh will always remain 19 in the eyes of people of the country who know the history of sacrifices of a mere teenager and his family for this country.

Happy birthday, Mozart!

January 27, 2016 is the 260th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most prolific, influential and genius composers and pianists of all time.

bKash revolutionising banking for poor: Bill Gates

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest philanthropic organisation, has in the past given away money, much of it to fight infectious diseases. Now it has a new strategy of investing in technologies that can make goods and services affordable to the poor.

Why 2015 was a good year for Bangladesh

It’s a good time to be alive while history is being written. As we bid adieu to 2015 we realise the year was a roller coaster ride! It was a year of aggression and violence that carved the world for many new beginnings. Let us take a stroll and reminisce the achievements of the past year in various arenas that molded the nation to take on 2016.

Happy Birthday, Tareque Masud

With great reverence we remember Tareque Masud, the “Cinema Feriwalla”, a leading Bangladeshi independent filmmaker, film producer, screenwriter and lyricist who was born on this very day in the year of 1956.

In remembrance of Humayun Ahmed

Humayun Ahmed is the most celebrated writer of contemporary time and one of the best story tellers in the history of Bangla literature.

On ‘Revolt, Freedom and Passion’ of Camus

November 7 was the birthday of French Nobel Prize–winning philosopher and novelist Albert Camus, the great contributor to the rise of Absurdism.

The genius making sense with his 'nonsense'

In remembrance of Sukumar Ray, the great Bangalee poet, story writer and playwright Bangla literature will forever be indebted to.

January 5, 2023
January 5, 2023

10 tips to fight off the winter blues

The days are short and the sun is playing hide and seek. It is a brand-new year and instead of feeling hopeful, you are feeling rather down.

August 26, 2022
August 26, 2022

Do mosquitoes prefer one blood type over others?

Mosquitoe-bites are a menace for everybody. Especially, during this season, due to the risk of dengue, chikungunya etc.

April 26, 2022
April 26, 2022

What does Elon Musk plan to do with Twitter?

Elon Musk has said that he wants to see Twitter fulfil its “extraordinary potential”. Is that why he has been so interested in owning the social media platform?

April 11, 2022
April 11, 2022

Top 5 Bangla cooking channels on YouTube

We Bangladeshis love to eat and cook. However, with the increasingly busy schedule of urban life, we have started to forget our traditional recipes and heritage of delicate cooking.

September 21, 2021
September 21, 2021

Leonard Cohen: ‘Our Shelley, our Byron’

Leonard Norman Cohen was born on this day in 1934 in Quebec, Canada. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships.

August 23, 2021
August 23, 2021

From Madrasa to English medium, Gurukul Online Learning Network reaching 23 lakh students

Sufi Faruq Ibne Abubakar, former IT head of a multinational company, started Gurukul Online Learning Network with a dream to minimize the quality gap between education available to city and rural students.

July 27, 2021
July 27, 2021

Dhaka enjoyed healthy air after Eid-ul-Azha

Dhaka’s air saw significant fall in pollution level during the three days following Eid-ul-Azha.

May 31, 2018
May 31, 2018

Chickenpox overview: Myths and realities

Let us try to dig deep into the myths and realities of chickenpox, the tropical disease of the season, with the help of experts.

December 31, 2017
December 31, 2017

Best Movies of 2017

As the New Year waits with new things in store, let’s take a tour back to the good movies the passing year presented us with.

December 29, 2017
December 29, 2017

Fish farming bogged down by losses

Inland fish producers are incurring heavy losses as the market price of fish remains stagnant amid spiralling costs of production.