Jordan Intercepts Iranian Missiles Following Joint U.S. and Saudi Strikes in Iraq
Jordanian air defenses shot down five Iranian ballistic missiles following joint U.S. and Saudi air operations against militia positions in Iraq. The renewed clashes disrupt a short-lived pause in hostilities, putting global energy transit through the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea at further risk.
Trending Analysis
LIVERed Sea shipping slows after Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia, data shows
Technology cannot compensate for the missing trust in land offices
When the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
Bengal's forgotten slave trade: Portuguese, Arakanese and Dutch trafficking networks
National & Politics
View All →
BRAC Bank's Q2 profit jumps 73% on higher investment income
BRAC Bank reported a 73 percent year-on-year surge in consolidated net profit for the April-June quarter, driven by higher investment income.
Bengal's forgotten slave trade: Portuguese, Arakanese and Dutch trafficking networks
We tend to equate economic growth with social and political vitality in conventional history-writing, but this was not the case in southeast Bengal. Environmental pressures led to a social crisis in the seventeenth century, manifested through slave raids by a Portuguese-Arakanese combine (Magh). Subsequent slave trading by Arakan and Portugal, and later by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), unveiled the paradox of social breakdown during a period of economic growth, as the active delta generated new rice-producing lands.
Why are we still struggling to make health insurance work?
Bangladesh has committed itself to achieving universal health coverage (UHC), ensuring that everyone can access necessary health services without suffering financial hardship. Yet, out-of-pocket payments continue to finance most healthcare, forcing families to borrow money, sell assets, or forego treatment altogether. Recognising this challenge, the government’s Health Care Financing Strategy identified health insurance as a key instrument to reduce out-of-pocket spending and accelerate progress towards UHC. More than a decade later, however, the country remains at the pilot stage.
Rain, floods damaged crops worth Tk 478cr
Hanif Chowkidar, a farmer in Patuakhali’s Galachipa upazila, had planned to cultivate Aman paddy on 5.26 hectares this season. He spent around Tk 22,000 on four maunds (1 maund = 37.32kg) of seed and prepared a seedbed.
Capital markets gain momentum following the central bank's updated monetary policy guidelines and targeted export incentives.
Business & Economy
View All →
Madhupur pineapple prices crash as rain, flood dampen demand
3 months ago
S&P revises Bangladesh outlook to negative
3 months ago
Gazipur Agricultural University wins patent for jackfruit seed nutrition technology
3 months ago
BMD forecasts five days of rain, heavy downpours
3 months ago
Lifestyle & Perspective
View All →
3 months ago
Salinity’s silent intrusion
The alarming rate of salinity intrusion in southwestern coastal Bangladesh has emerged as a serious threat to nearly 4.4 crores people living in the coastal region. According to a report published in this newspaper, the speed and extent of salinity expansion across 18 of the country's 19 coastal districts demonstrate that the crisis demands urgent attention. The findings of the government-run Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers to take effective measures to address this evolving crisis.
3 months ago
3 held over alleged attempted rape on moving bus in Ashulia
Police have arrested three people, including a bus driver and his helper, in connection with the attempted rape of a woman on a moving bus in Ashulia.
3 months ago
Reports of Tk 120cr VAT evasion by Transcom unsubstantiated
Reports claiming Transcom Group evaded Tk 120 crore in VAT remain unverified as NBR continues its regulatory review without issuing any official demand notice.
Education & Career
View All →
3 months ago
Salinity’s silent intrusion
The alarming rate of salinity intrusion in southwestern coastal Bangladesh has emerged as a serious threat to nearly 4.4 crores people living in the coastal region. According to a report published in this newspaper, the speed and extent of salinity expansion across 18 of the country's 19 coastal districts demonstrate that the crisis demands urgent attention. The findings of the government-run Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers to take effective measures to address this evolving crisis.
3 months ago
Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury and the idea of Bangladesh
This 22nd of July marked the birth centenary of my father, Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury. I harbour no illusions that he would have lived this long in the normal course of events, however. The men on my father’s side of the family tend to be notoriously short-lived; his father died when he was nine, both his brothers passed away in their fifties, and even my only brother, his older son, left us when he was 47. But my father did not die a natural death. He was abducted on 14 December 1971, just two days before his country’s victory in one of the bloodiest liberation wars of the twentieth century, and tortured, bayoneted and shot to death in the early hours of 15 December, along with many other pre-eminent intellectuals of the land.
3 months ago
BMD forecasts five days of rain, heavy downpours
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecast widespread rainfall across the country over the next five days, with moderate to very heavy downpours expected in places due to an active monsoon and a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.
3 months ago
Who writes the history of the July Uprising?
Every mass uprising has two histories. One is written in the language of power; the other is preserved in the memories of the people who lived it. The first is established quickly, as states, governments, or newly empowered political actors construct a narrative that legitimises their authority. The second emerges more gradually—from eyewitness accounts, organisational records, news reports, and the lived experiences of those who occupied the streets. For that reason, the struggle that follows a popular uprising is never confined to control of the state. It is also a struggle over political memory. Those who seek to consolidate power often attempt to monopolise that memory, reducing a complex collective experience to a single official story.
Tech & Innovation
View All →
3 months ago
The strange grief of seeing our parents age
It was an ordinary night, like countless others before it. I went to bed expecting nothing more than another routine morning. But before dawn, a knock on my bedroom door pulled me from a deep sleep. In the haze between sleep and wakefulness, I heard my mother calling my name. My first instinct was almost embarrassingly mundane.
Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury and the idea of Bangladesh
25th The Daily Star Prime Bank O&A Level Awards 2026
How violence against women is normalised in Bangladesh's chars
Salinity creeps deeper into southwest
Onion growers breathe easier as prices rebound
Culture & Entertainment
View All →
BRAC Bank's Q2 profit jumps 73% on higher investment income
Madhupur pineapple prices crash as rain, flood dampen demand
Bengal's forgotten slave trade: Portuguese, Arakanese and Dutch trafficking networks
Presidential election: EC to meet acting Speaker tomorrow
Health & Wellbeing
View All →
Chattogram port’s empty-container problem needs more than quick fixes
A recent dispute over empty containers at Chattogram port has brought to renewed focus a deeper problem in Bangladesh’s trade logistics system: when legitimate interests collide, there is no neutral, technically competent authority to resolve the situation.
I spent two years learning AI, then another year unlearning it
I spent two years learning about artificial intelligence-based tools. I read the papers, tested out the models, attended the workshops, built prompts, compared outputs, and watched each new release with the excitement of someone witnessing the future unfold in real time. Like many people working close to technology, I believed AI would become the defining aspect for our generation.
BRAC Bank's Q2 profit jumps 73% on higher investment income
BRAC Bank reported a 73 percent year-on-year surge in consolidated net profit for the April-June quarter, driven by higher investment income.