At a recent roundtable on business climate organised by The Financial Express, the vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau has posed a pertinent question: should the government be doing business at all? The question is as old as the state-owned enterprises themselves and is more relevant today
When out of 85 women contestants only seven are elected in the just concluded parliamentary polls, the message it gives is not at all savoury. Of the seven, six are from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the rest one contested as an independent candidate. Yet there is a twist to the tale b
The dust has finally settled on the 13th parliamentary elections, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) securing a landslide two-thirds majority in a 300-seat parliament. The election not only restored democracy but also paved the way for the formation of a government with a genuine popular m
Spring, Basanta, starts today in Bangladesh as winter recedes, leaving a modest touch of Nature, reminding poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay's famous stanzas: "Phool Phutuk, Na Phutuk/Aj Bosonto" ( It is spring today, no matter if flowers bloom or not). In the urban life, it requires calendar to know the c
Bangladesh voted in a national election without the familiar scene of posters plastered all over the wall, electric poles, footbridges, roadside trees, and public transports. This phenomenon is a first in the history of national elections in the country. The decision of the Election Commission in b
The Thirteenth Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Election is being held in Bangladesh today amid much expectation and apprehension. The political contenders have concluded their weeks-long campaign and are now eagerly waiting for the outcome of their labour. Some opinion surveys have also been conducted that pre
A woman aged between 40 and 50 died of Nipah Virus (NiV) infection in the northern district of Naogaon, according to WHO Disease Outbreak News. As reported, the woman developed symptoms of NiV infection which included fever, headache, muscle cramp, loss of appetite, weakness and vomitin
The Japan-Bangladesh Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the two countries on Friday last is likely to take the bilateral cooperation and collaboration to a new high. From duty-free access to several thousands of Bangladeshi products and the vice versa to technology transfer as ensh
The holy month of Ramadan will begin in less than two weeks. It is a time when people are expected not only to deepen their spiritual devotion but also to refrain from practices that are morally indefensible and harmful to others. Yet, year after year, Ramadan is marked by a familiar and troubling
After a decade and a half, the country is witnessing a positive atmosphere ahead of national elections and citizens have developed a feeling that they will have full freedom to elect their representatives. The candidates contesting in the 13th general elections are putting in their best effort to r
Why khunti, a metal cooking spatula, has become a preferred instrument of cruelty in the houses of a section of senior government officials needs serious psychological and social analysis. The latest example of the brutal torture of a teenage poor domestic worker allegedly by the wife of a now-sack
Following a consultation with Bangladesh at the end of January 2026, the global multilateral lender IMF in a press release made a rather cautious forecast about the economy under the post-election government. The IMF was somewhat positive about GDP's growth prospect amidst the recent economic slowd
Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the adviser in charge of the Ministries of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Roads and Bridges, and Railways was at his oratorical best when he was grilling bureaucracy during an inauguration of a programme held at the BRTC Training Institute in the city on January 27
