The death of Begum Khaleda Zia yesterday, December 30, is an irreparable loss to the nation at a moment when it is at a critical juncture. In fact, this is no eulogy to her memory to say that Khaleda Zia was the first elected female prime minister of the country or that she was elected prime minist
Bangladesh has been in the grip of persistently high inflation for years with consequent severe hardship for low- and middle-income families. Although the interim government managed to bring the inflation rate down to an average 8.9 per cent in 2025 from the double-digit levels in 2024, the prices
The long awaited national election, held 17 years after the last genuinely contested vote, has brought with it a wave of public expectation. For many residents of Dhaka, some of those expectations are surprisingly simple, though no less reasonable for it. People in the megacity want a clean and ord
The people of Bangladesh, who practically remained disenfranchised for more than one and a half decades under the ruthlessly autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina, could finally cast their ballots last Thursday (February 12, 2026) to elect the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (legislature). Notably, Sheikh Hasina
The signing of a trade deal with the United States at the fag-end of the interim government's tenure has understandably raised many eyebrows, particularly because of its non-disclosure clauses. The limited information released so far suggests a mixed picture-one that promises new opportunities but
As the country goes to the world's first Generation Z or Gen Z-influenced polls today, the people are both hopeful and apprehensive of the tidings of the day. The nation is not at peace with itself and the interim government has not particularly helped the cause. There have been a number of politic
Despite some positive forecasts made by the multilateral lender, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in April last that inflation rate in Bangladesh might decline to 8.0 per cent in the fiscal year, 2025-26, things did not turn out that way. The ADB's positive outlook might have emerged from the fact
The report that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the Petrobangla, two government-owned statutory corporations, have defaulted on payment of import duty and taxes to the tune of Tk 330 billion is highly disconcerting. Responsible for the bulk of the energy import, the Petrobangla has a
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Bangladesh and Japan is significant not only because it marks Dhaka's first such deal with any country, but also because it offers a blueprint for trade diplomacy in the run-up to the LDC graduation. It appears that Bangladesh has managed to negotiat
The temporary break in the Chattogram port strike that came after six full days of disruption did little to ease tensions. Port workers have flat-out warned that operations may be shut down again as early as tomorrow unless the government scraps the deal with DP World for the New Mooring Container
