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.
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LIVEPresidential election: EC to meet acting Speaker tomorrow
We need stronger digital systems to seize the China-plus-one opportunity
Madhupur pineapple prices crash as rain, flood dampen demand
Defeating digital violence against women requires a unified front
National & Politics
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Technology cannot compensate for the missing trust in land offices
Ask anyone in Dhaka who has tried to transfer a plot of inherited land what the hardest part was, and the answer will be: the paperwork. A family sells a parcel, signs the deed, pays the registration fee, and then discovers the real ordeal is still ahead: getting the khatian (record of rights) updated to reflect the new owner. This second step, called mutation, is where months disappear, where “processing fees” gradually turn into bribes, and where a legitimate transaction can stall for reasons no one will put in writing.
Politics and religion has now gotten mixed with support for WC team: Kazi Sabir
"We are ruining our relationships because of Ronaldo and Messi."
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.
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.
Capital markets gain momentum following the central bank's updated monetary policy guidelines and targeted export incentives.
Business & Economy
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SSC, equivalent results to be published on August 10
1 month ago
3 held over alleged attempted rape on moving bus in Ashulia
1 month ago
Presidential election: EC to meet acting Speaker tomorrow
1 month ago
Gazipur Agricultural University wins patent for jackfruit seed nutrition technology
1 month ago
Lifestyle & Perspective
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1 month ago
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.
1 month ago
Salinity creeps deeper into southwest
Saltwater is rapidly intruding into Bangladesh's southwestern region, with nearly 68 percent of cultivable land affected in 18 of 19 coastal districts, according to a new government study.
1 month 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.
Education & Career
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1 month ago
Will there be no end to this farce?
It is deeply concerning that illegal sand extraction continues unabated inside the Ramgarh-Sitakunda Reserve Forest despite repeated enforcement drives by the Forest Department. According to a report by this daily, authorities conducted at least 21 raids between June 2025 and May 2026, seizing excavators, dredgers, trucks, and more than 1,07,000 cubic feet of illegally extracted sand, while arresting six people. Unfortunately, these drives have failed to stop the illegal trade, as the miners return to the same areas soon after the raids. This shows that the authorities’ approach has failed to make any lasting impact.
1 month ago
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.
1 month ago
THE UNPUBLISHED INQUIRY
President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in the early hours of May 30, 1981, in Chattogram’s Circuit House, during an attempted military coup.
1 month ago
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.
Tech & Innovation
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1 month ago
Iran says no current negotiations with US
Iran's foreign ministry on Monday said it was not currently involved in negotiations with the United States, despite a halt in recent fighting between the two sides.
Women built the RMG might. Now they are losing ground
Onion growers breathe easier as prices rebound
Reports of Tk 120cr VAT evasion by Transcom unsubstantiated
Our digital evidence framework must evolve with AI
Who writes the history of the July Uprising?
Culture & Entertainment
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Technology cannot compensate for the missing trust in land offices
Politics and religion has now gotten mixed with support for WC team: Kazi Sabir
When the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
I spent two years learning AI, then another year unlearning it
Health & Wellbeing
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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.
25th The Daily Star Prime Bank O&A Level Awards 2026
A total of 2,545 students were recognised at the 25th The Daily Star-Prime Bank O and A Level Awards, themed “Saluting the Nation Builders of Tomorrow” on July 25, 2026 at at Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center, Purbachal.
Citizens have already answered the ‘amendment or reform’ question
In his column published on July 24, titled “July charter implementation: Growing distance between BNP and the opposition is worrisome,” The Daily Star’s Editor Mahfuz Anam voiced a concern every democrat shares: that the hard-won consensus of our post-uprising transition is fraying. He is right to worry. But his prescription—for the opposition to join the government’s special committee on constitutional amendment and hold its objections in reserve—rests on a premise I must respectfully contest: that the choice between “amendment” and “reform” remains open for negotiation. It does not. The people closed that question on February 12, 2026.