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Khatunganj Trade Hub

MD. MOIN UDDIN MUSLIM | 2025-09-21 00:00:00

In the narrow, chaotic lanes of Khatunganj with the air thick with the scent of spices and the din of commerce, transactions worth over $250 million are sealed every day with little more than a handshake. In the heart of...

Addressing poverty & inequality after July uprising

Md Tanjil Hossain | 2025-09-21 00:00:00

The July 2024 uprising, while it raised hopes for political change, also had significant economic implications. The aftermath of the uprising has created new expectations in Bangladesh's political landscape. Ordinary citizens believed that political change would soon translate into improvements...

Denuding hills - a monstrous crime

Atiqul Kabir Tuhin | 2025-09-21 00:00:00

No fewer than 150 hills and hillocks are now at risk of being completely flattened. This time, the cause is not population pressure or the need to reclaim land for agriculture, but a grave error in survey records that borders...

Will WTO deal to curb fisheries subsidies work?

Asjadul Kibria | 2025-09-21 00:00:00

In its three decades of existence, the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have negotiated only two new trade deals. The latest one is the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS), which entered into force last week. At the 12th...

Regulator targets errant auditors over links to financial statement frauds

MOHAMMAD MUFAZZAL | 2025-09-21 00:00:00

Six audit firms are likely to be barred from auditing the financial statements of listed companies for what the market watchdog describes as their involvement in preparing fabricated balance sheets.According to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), auditors from...

Govt to construct 10-storey building for only 50-man BIMSTEC HQ

JAHIDUL ISLAM | 2025-09-20 00:00:00

The government plans to construct a 10-storey building at Gulshan in Dhaka for the headquarters of BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal regional bloc, comprising seven countries, formed to boost technical and economic cooperation.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed a project...

Govt moves to bring it under cabinet purview

SYFUL ISLAM | 2025-09-20 00:00:00

The Ministry of Finance has moved to bring the procurements made by all entities, which have public investments, under the purview of the cabinet committee/advisers' council on economic affairs "to ensure transparency and accountability", officials say.Also, the move is aimed...

Multifarious pollution in Dhaka: courting collective death from 'silent epidemic'

Munima Sultana | 2025-09-20 00:00:00

A single moment in the early morning shattered the trust Mohammad Tawrit had built over six decades. Despite a lifetime of disciplined lifestyle, he was blindsided when he was diagnosed with a blocked artery -- his first serious health scare....

Aristocracy, snobbery, elitism, egotism vs enlightenment

Nilratan Halder | 2025-09-20 00:00:00

The decline of aristocracy began in the late 18th century and continued throughout the 19th century with events like the French Revolution bringing an end to monarchy. It set into motion the process of decimation of aristocratic wealth and influence...

CUCSU: JCD declares panel

NAZIMUDDIN SHYAMOL | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

CHITTAGONG, Sept 18: Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) has announced its full panel for the Chittagong University Central Students' Union (CUCSU) elections, which will be held after 35 years. JCD Central Committee General Secretary Nasir Uddin announced the panel at a...

Tourism master plan stalled, job-creation potential untapped

GULAM RABBANI | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

More than five years after its launch, Bangladesh's first national tourism master plan remains unfinished, leaving the sector's significant job-creation potential largely untapped.Adopted in 2020 with promises of new infrastructure and services meeting international standards, the plan remains largely on...

BD becoming priority country to France in financing

MUNIMA SULTANA from Paris | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

Bangladesh gradually becomes a priority country to France under Indo- Pacific development policy but its assistance, as of other countries, may pass through challenges ahead due to US global pullback trendsThe next G7 summit where the United States' role is...

Govt plans to hold nat'l dialogue before reply to UN CDP’s letter

DOULOT AKTER MALA | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

The government is going to hold a national dialogue with the stakeholders to reach a national consensus on the issue of possible deferment of Bangladesh's graduation from the LDC bloc.Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus will convene the dialogue so that...

Govt moves to revise a2i project with steep cost hike

JAHIDUL ISLAM | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

The interim government is moving to extend the Aspire to Innovate (a2i) project by one year, a programme widely recognised as the Awami League government's flagship ICT initiative.Alongside the extension, the ICT Division has sent a proposal to the Planning...

Stocks' labels should reflect companies' strength: Listed firms' association

MOHAMMAD MUFAZZAL | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

The association of listed companies has demanded that the regulator forgo the existing categorisation of equity-based securities and instead consider features that reflect organisations' real business performance.Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) broached the matter at a meeting with...

The journey of scientific journals

Mohammed Abdul Basith | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

Scientific journals have long been central to the advancement of discovery, defining how knowledge is disseminated, scrutinised, and preserved. From 17th-century pamphlets to contemporary digital platforms, journals have transmitted insights across generations. They serve as channels for new findings, forums...

Badruddin Umar: an unwavering voice of the masses

Helal Uddin Ahmed | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

A legendary voice of the masses for over six decades – Badruddin Umar is no more. The 93-year-old veteran political activist, revered writer, patriotic researcher, and celebrated public intellectual who never compromised on the question of his ideals during his...

Life and livelihoods in Dhaka at risk of collapsing

Nilratan Halder | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

That Dhaka City has long become an overturned cauldron in months marked by high temperature is known to its inhabitants. It is because they experience the scorching heat at its merciless sizzling worst. Now the World Bank in its report...

Students keep redefining history

Serajul I. Bhuiyan | 2025-09-19 00:00:00

Across South Asia, few forces have profoundly shaped the course of national politics. Student activism is one such forces. From the Language Movement martyrs of Dhaka to the uprisings in Kathmandu and Colombo, students have played the role of political...

VAT automation stuck in foreign grip as local expertise lags

DOULOT AKTER MALA | 2025-09-18 00:00:00

The country's Value Added Tax (VAT) automation has remained monopolised by Vietnamese firm FPT, as the online platform was developed on software for which there is no local expertise.The contract with FPT, signed in 2015 at a value of US$33.6...

Now ship liners line up to adjust charges upward

SYFUL ISLAM | 2025-09-18 00:00:00

After the enhancement of tariffs and various charges by the Chittagong seaport authority, berth operators and container-depot owners come up now the ship liners for upward cost adjustments, foreshadowing domino effect on Bangladesh's foreign trade, sources say. "We are planning...

Govt reviews delayed BRT project after Tk 66b proposal rejected

MUNIMA SULTANA | 2025-09-18 00:00:00

The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRTB) has moved to reassess the much-delayed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project after the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) rejected its latest cost-escalation proposal in July this year. The project,...

Merger plan sends Islamic bank shareholders to dump shares

BABUL BARMAN | 2025-09-18 00:00:00

Investors in five troubled Islamic banks are in a tight spot, as their stock prices have been declining since the Bangladesh Bank announced four months ago its plan to merge the Shariah-compliant lenders.Jittery investors have been dumping their holdings to...

Reforming human rights commission

Atiqul Kabir Tuhin | 2025-09-18 00:00:00

An independent, strong and effective human rights commission is indispensable for the protection and promotion of human rights. For decades, Bangladesh has faced censure both within the country and abroad for violation of human rights, particularly in the form of...

Nine projects up for ECNEC nod today

JAHIDUL ISLAM | 2025-09-17 00:00:00

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) is set to consider approval of nine new development projects in its meeting today (Wednesday), to be held at the NEC auditorium in the capital, officials said.The new projects include establishment...

Yield on T-bond dips below 10pc after two years

SIDDIQUE ISLAM | 2025-09-17 00:00:00

The yield on treasury bonds fell below 10 per cent for the first time in two years on Tuesday, as banks parked surplus funds in government securities amid weak private credit demand before the national election.The cut off yield, generally...

OTT platforms urge BTRC action on illegal streaming sites

Ismail Hossain | 2025-09-17 00:00:00

In a move to protect the country's burgeoning digital entertainment sector, several over-the-top (OTT) platforms have sought urgent support from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to combat the rampant piracy of their contents on a host of illegal online...

Towards a STEM-first education system

Tareq Ahmed Robin and Mohammad Saiful Islam | 2025-09-17 00:00:00

Bangladesh's education system produces few STEM-trained graduates. The White Paper on the country's economic situation notes that about 60 per cent of university students study arts and social sciences, and only 12 per cent study science, technology, engineering, or math...

Silent epidemic of an 'always online' generation

Jannatul Faima | 2025-09-17 00:00:00

Do we fear that when we die, we won't see memories in front of our eyes, but thousands of reels instead? Surely, many of us don't. This is the harsh reality of our times. Drowning in endless scrolling, likes, comments,...

Now AI to take the job of minister!

Syed Fattahul Alim | 2025-09-16 00:00:00

AI is now the latest global craze. It appears to be the solution to everything. It is, no doubt, a good helping hand in every branch of scientific research. It is also replacing humans in doing many tasks that are...