Nutritional literacy can reduce healthcare costs in Bangladesh

The proverb “Health is wealth” is widely quoted but remains overlooked in practice in our society.
22 April 2026

How poor governance broke Bangladesh's immunisation model

Bangladesh’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has long been one of the country’s most celebrated public health successes.
22 April 2026

When a cartoon becomes a crime, again

In August 2024, shortly after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s regime, BNP’s then Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman made a statement that earned him rare political capital, particularly in progressive and liberal circles.
22 April 2026

Why Bangladesh is losing the innovation race

If you walk into a random classroom in Bangladesh and ask the students what they want to be when they grow up, there are some fairly common answers that might reach your ears.
21 April 2026

Fifty seats for women, but who will they really represent?

By mid-May, the parliament will have completed the process of filling the 50 reserved seats for women.
21 April 2026

West Bengal poll politics tests the limits of Dhaka-Delhi reset process

That three-word formulation has become the defining doctrine of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to West Bengal’s two-phase assembly elections scheduled for April 23 and 29.
21 April 2026

IMF-World Bank Spring meetings 2026 reveal limits of multilateralism in turbulent times

The 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group took place from April 13 to April 18 amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and slowing growth.
21 April 2026

The case for a National Security Council that is truly fit for purpose

In its election manifesto, BNP mentioned plans to establish a National Security Council alongside formulating a new national security strategy (page 21, under “Defence System”).
20 April 2026

When mobile journalism crosses the line into public shaming

Journalism is meant to hold power to account, and mobile journalism, using smartphones for reporting and storytelling, should have ideally taken that mission to new heights.
20 April 2026

We need a stronger lightning policy, and fast

In recent years, lightning has emerged as one of Bangladesh’s most fatal climate hazards, although policy responses have yet to evolve proportionately.
20 April 2026

Are teachers failing, or is the system failing them?

Recently, Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon told the parliament that 60,295 teaching posts are currently vacant in about 26,000 MPO-listed (government grant-receiving) secondary schools and colleges in the country.
20 April 2026

What's holding women back from riding bicycles?

Stand on any road in Dhaka. Men and boys cycle freely, weaving through traffic with ease. Now look for women—you will see very few. And when you do, they draw stares.
19 April 2026

Registration-based fuel rationing can ease long lines at filling stations

New crises! New vices! Stand in a fuel queue for an interminable 20 hours. Come back tomorrow and repeat the drill.
19 April 2026

Back, again, to the cycle of broken promises?

In Bangladesh’s political history, perhaps the most defining years are 1971, 1990, and 2024. Much has been said about the political, military, and social dimensions of these watershed moments.
19 April 2026

As mob violence persists, we must confront the roots of impunity

A new incident seems to shake the nation almost every week. Last Saturday (April 11) saw the shocking lynching of a Sufi pir, Shamim al-Jahangir, inside his shrine in Kushtia.
19 April 2026

The fiscal burden of interest-free car loans for bureaucrats

It is often the quietest policies that carry the loudest consequences.
18 April 2026

From degrees to jobs: Rethinking higher education in Bangladesh

Over the past decade, I have closely observed how leading universities around the world design their programmes to contribute to their national economies. My experiences have led me to one clear conclusion: Bangladesh urgently needs a paradigm shift in higher education. Keywords: , skills development, employability
18 April 2026

Cox’s Bazar at the crossroads of beauty without design

Nobody questions the potential of Cox’s Bazar. Clearly, it can compete with any of the top-class beaches elsewhere. For that, the administrators need to think beyond immediate, narrow interests. They need to plan access roads despite local pressures.
18 April 2026

‘We still hope a solution on the reforms will arise out of parliament’

Nahid Islam, founding convener of (NCP) and a first-time parliamentarian, sits down with Zyma Islam of The Daily Star.
18 April 2026

Even if dormant, the RTI Act’s promise remains powerful

As the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2009 remains effectively dormant in Bangladesh, RTI advocates must now rely on the new government’s resolve to operationalise it.
17 April 2026