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
The news that Iran had named Bangladesh among a handful of "friendly nations" whose vessels might be granted safe passage through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz had, for a brief moment, offered a significant relief. That prospect, however, has been swiftly overtaken by subsequent developments. Iran
As was the case during past Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, the incumbent BNP-led government, too, had no shortage of assurances, nor goodwill, to ensure a safe Eid travel home and back for Eid holidaymakers this year. True, security measures were apparently beefed up, strong monitoring was mounted, addition
The long-debated proposal for bifurcation of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) appears, at least for now, to be at a crossroads. What once seemed like a decisive reform initiative has slowed as policymakers pause to reconsider whether the groundwork has truly been laid. The finance ministry's rec
This year the nation observes its Independence Day against the backdrop of an insane war away from this country's shore in the Middle East. As the shockwaves of the Israeli-American war reverberates all across the world primarily because of the energy crisis made acuter by the near closure of the s
The idea of constructing the Padma Barrage was originally conceived in the 1960s as a strategic response to the Farakka Barrage built by India across the Ganges River (called Padma in Bangladesh) to divert its water into the Hooghly-Bhagirathi water system. The purpose of Farakka Barrage was to flu
Eid-ul-Fitr to be celebrated after a day or two depending on the sighting of the moon is a festival of breaking fast. But this apparently simple meaning has its essence ensconced in the month-long religious and spiritual cognition of self purification and enlightenment. Indeed, the observance of si
An importer of around 80 per cent of fertilizers, Bangladesh faces substantial shortfall of the items soon as the supply lines are now caught up in a war, jointly inflicted by the USA and Israel on Iran. The annual demand for various types of fertilizers in the country stands at between 6.2 and 6.5
A project approved in 2020, under which 329 technical schools and colleges were scheduled to be established by December 2024 is a classic case of biting off more than what bureaucracy can chew. A report carried in this newspaper on Sunday last shows the glaring gap between planning and implementati
With Eid-ul-Fitr around the corner, city dwellers have begun leaving the capital to celebrate the largest Muslim festival with their near and dear ones. According to an estimate of the Ministry of Road Transport & Bridges, around 15 to 20 million people will leave Dhaka before Eid. Usually, several
