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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LIVETechnology cannot compensate for the missing trust in land offices
Study finds microplastics in 3 out of 4 toothpaste samples
High risk little readiness
Defeating digital violence against women requires a unified front
National & Politics
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A trillion-dollar ambition needs a stronger investment climate
The other day, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman reaffirmed his government’s commitment to transforming Bangladesh into a $1 trillion economy by 2034. While the ambition is welcome, there is a policy puzzle that needs to be encountered: how will the economy double in size when domestic private investment has weakened, foreign direct investment remains modest, and many existing businesses are reluctant to expand? Private investment fell to 22.03 percent of GDP in FY2024-25, its lowest level in 11 years. Net FDI recovered to $1.77 billion in 2025, but this was less than 0.4 percent of an economy estimated at around $510 billion. Even the recovery deserves to be viewed with caution, since it was driven mainly by reinvested earnings and intra-company loans, while new equity investment increased only marginally.
Tigers and the empire: A history of hunting, power and resistance
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.”
High risk little readiness
Dhaka has long expanded faster than it has planned. Wetlands have been filled, low-lying areas built over, and high-rises have been raised that may not withstand a major earthquake. In the final instalment of a six-part series, Star examines whether Bangladesh is ready to face a major quake despite years of studies, investments, and preparedness efforts.
SSC, equivalent results to be published on August 10
The results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations 2026 will be published simultaneously across Bangladesh on August 10, the Bangladesh Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee announced today.
Capital markets gain momentum following the central bank's updated monetary policy guidelines and targeted export incentives.
Business & Economy
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Citizens have already answered the ‘amendment or reform’ question
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3 held over alleged attempted rape on moving bus in Ashulia
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I spent two years learning AI, then another year unlearning it
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S&P revises Bangladesh outlook to negative
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Lifestyle & Perspective
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1 month ago
Reading Dhaka's waterlogging through the life of commodities
Every year, monsoon showers invariably turn stretches of Dhaka into shallow, stubborn lakes. You see rickshaw-pullers wading knee-deep through Green Road, office-goers abandoning footpaths for the middle of the street and, by evening, social media filling up with photographs of a submerged Bijoy Sarani, a stalled bus in Mirpur, or a child paddling a plastic tub past a tea stall. We call it a drainage problem, an engineering failure, a monsoon inevitability. It is all of these. But if we look a little closer—with the eyes of an anthropologist rather than an engineer—Dhaka’s waterlogging tells a different story about the strange, unfinished lives of the things we buy, use, and throw away.
1 month ago
S&P revises Bangladesh outlook to negative
S&P Global has revised its long-term outlook on Bangladesh to negative from stable amid persistent weakness in the banking sector, with additional risks stemming from volatile global energy markets and trade conditions.
1 month ago
When the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
I remember the first time I truly understood what displacement meant in the chars of northern Bangladesh. It was 2010, and I was travelling through the river islands of Gaibandha and Kurigram for a National Geographic assignment on migration. I had come with notebooks and questions, assumptions about poverty, and early marriage. The chars dismantled all of them.
Education & Career
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1 month ago
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.
1 month ago
Tigers and the empire: A history of hunting, power and resistance
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.”
1 month ago
Our forestry policy must be rooted in local evidence
The government ban on exotic tree species such as eucalyptus and acacia during the current planting season has sparked debate among the public, policymakers, and forestry professionals in both mainstream and social media platforms. Supporters argue that these fast-growing species are vital for timber production and rural livelihoods. Critics, however, see them as ecological risks that should be replaced with native alternatives.
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
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.
SC stays HC orders barring shown arrests without specific allegations
Red Sea shipping slows after Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia, data shows
Kafrul Swechchhasebak Dal leader hired hitmen to kill Jubo Dal rival: DB
How violence against women is normalised in Bangladesh's chars
Iran says no current negotiations with US
Culture & Entertainment
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Chattogram port’s empty-container problem needs more than quick fixes
Tigers and the empire: A history of hunting, power and resistance
Tottenham vs Sydney FC: How to Watch, Kick-off Time, and Streaming Details
When the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
Health & Wellbeing
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Tigers and the empire: A history of hunting, power and resistance
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.”
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.
When the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
I remember the first time I truly understood what displacement meant in the chars of northern Bangladesh. It was 2010, and I was travelling through the river islands of Gaibandha and Kurigram for a National Geographic assignment on migration. I had come with notebooks and questions, assumptions about poverty, and early marriage. The chars dismantled all of them.