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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LIVEWhen the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
Tigers and the empire: A history of hunting, power and resistance
Chattogram port’s empty-container problem needs more than quick fixes
Gazipur Agricultural University wins patent for jackfruit seed nutrition technology
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.
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.
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.
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.
Capital markets gain momentum following the central bank's updated monetary policy guidelines and targeted export incentives.
Business & Economy
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BRAC Bank's Q2 profit jumps 73% on higher investment income
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When the river takes everything, even a girl's childhood
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How violence against women is normalised in Bangladesh's chars
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25th The Daily Star Prime Bank O&A Level Awards 2026
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Lifestyle & Perspective
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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.
2 months ago
Reports of Tk 120cr VAT evasion by Transcom unsubstantiated
Reports claiming Transcom Group evaded Tk 120 crore in VAT remain unverified as NBR continues its regulatory review without issuing any official demand notice.
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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.
Education & Career
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2 months ago
The narcotics trail: Traffickers tap 105 border points across 18 districts
Bangladesh faces a growing drug crisis, with an estimated 8.2 million users. As the country does not produce narcotics, most are smuggled in from abroad. In a four-part series, The Daily Star explores the trafficking routes, the threats and the impacts of drug abuse. The first instalment looks at the key entry points.
2 months ago
Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury and the idea of Bangladesh
This 22nd of July marked the birth centenary of my father, Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury. I harbour no illusions that he would have lived this long in the normal course of events, however. The men on my father’s side of the family tend to be notoriously short-lived; his father died when he was nine, both his brothers passed away in their fifties, and even my only brother, his older son, left us when he was 47. But my father did not die a natural death. He was abducted on 14 December 1971, just two days before his country’s victory in one of the bloodiest liberation wars of the twentieth century, and tortured, bayoneted and shot to death in the early hours of 15 December, along with many other pre-eminent intellectuals of the land.
2 months ago
I spent two years learning AI, then another year unlearning it
I spent two years learning about artificial intelligence-based tools. I read the papers, tested out the models, attended the workshops, built prompts, compared outputs, and watched each new release with the excitement of someone witnessing the future unfold in real time. Like many people working close to technology, I believed AI would become the defining aspect for our generation.
2 months ago
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.
Tech & Innovation
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2 months ago
Onion growers breathe easier as prices rebound
Onion farmers in several major producing districts have been grappling with low prices and mounting losses for months. But wholesale prices have risen by as much as twofold in some areas over the past two weeks, bringing much-needed relief to growers.
Reading Dhaka's waterlogging through the life of commodities
Unlocking the full potential of Bangladesh's national laboratory institute
The strange grief of seeing our parents age
Technology cannot compensate for the missing trust in land offices
Chattogram's listed 'top criminal' David Emon arrested in Jashore
Culture & Entertainment
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Citizens have already answered the ‘amendment or reform’ question
Who writes the history of the July Uprising?
Gas crisis strikes paracetamol API, other industries
Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury and the idea of Bangladesh
Health & Wellbeing
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Chattogram's listed 'top criminal' David Emon arrested in Jashore
Law enforcers have arrested Mobarak Hossain alias David Emon, a listed "top criminal" in Chattogram.
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.
BB issues guidelines to link local banks with foreign payment providers
Bangladesh Bank has introduced a bank-intermediated framework to link local banks with foreign payment providers, modernising the payment ecosystem, boosting digital financial inclusion, and supporting the growing trade in services.