Column by Mahfuz Anam / The draft cyber law will restrict the media
25 September 2026
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THE THIRD VIEW
We tell women to speak up, but who defends them when they do?
25 September 2026
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A Closer Look
Oprotim's killing and the growing fear for our children’s safety
25 September 2026
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Views
A single digital ID can simplify life, but who will protect the data?
24 September 2026
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Views
We need reliable buyers to build more solar power
24 September 2026
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Views
Why burden citizens with higher fuel costs instead of cutting less urgent expenses?
24 September 2026
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Views
For women, ‘diversifying income’ can become another form of depletion
24 September 2026
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Views
Where old ideas meet a new generation: A morning at the UN with Prof Yunus
23 September 2026
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Views
Amid narrowing choices, we need a credible economic strategy
23 September 2026
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Views
Time to put warning labels on unhealthy packaged foods
23 September 2026
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Views
After decades of failure, can we finally fix our education system?
Arguably, the most consequential failure of political leadership in independent Bangladesh has been in the field of education.
22 January 2026
How AI can revolutionise healthcare in Global South
For decades, the global pharmaceutical industry has been impacted by a frustrating trend known as Eroom’s law.
22 January 2026
Why the next government must put power sector reform first
The power sector’s high reserve margin, capacity payment obligations, and reliance on imported fossil fuels have weakened the Bangladesh Power Development Board’s (BPDB) financial strength.
22 January 2026
After 2026 election, Dhaka must set out clear India, China, and US policies
Bangladesh often seems to treat foreign policy as subject to seasonal political moods.
21 January 2026
US visa suspension: Green card pending, hope expired
The United States has announced that it is suspending immigrant visa processing for Bangladeshis. Not forever, it insists.
21 January 2026
How Dhaka’s rental housing market marginalises Indigenous tenants
The first lesson for many young people arriving in Dhaka, after leaving the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), is not learnt in a university lecture hall.
21 January 2026
What Bangladesh and the Global South face
The Global Risks Report 2026, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), presents some of the stark realities of the world today.
21 January 2026
What voters expect when parties speak of a ‘New Bangladesh’
As the 13th national election approaches, calls for building a “New Bangladesh” have once again taken centre stage in political campaigning.
20 January 2026
Iran’s struggles under repression and foreign intervention
As protests in Iran show signs of waning under the weight of an increasingly brutal crackdown, Iranian officials have claimed that at least 5,000 people, including around 500 security personnel, have been killed nationwide.
20 January 2026
How patriarchy continues to limit women’s political role
Women were at the forefront of the July 2024 uprising, but in the subsequently formed political structures, insecurity and social backlash gradually pushed them aside.
20 January 2026
The paradox of Bangladesh’s climate progress
Bangladesh is once again featured prominently in the latest Climate Risk Index (CRI), a report widely cited by global media, policymakers, and international funders to assess countries’ exposure to climate impacts.
20 January 2026
How to address the root causes of disinformation sprees
The spread of disinformation, rumour and misleading content on social media has become a critical challenge thes days, particularly ahead of the national election.
19 January 2026
Rebutting again: The wrong lens for our interim economy
Economics is not a museum of immortal models. It is a diagnostic discipline whose tools must match the condition of the economy under examination.
19 January 2026
Yes vote, state neutrality, and fair process
On February 12, 2026, alongside the 13th parliamentary election, Bangladesh will also hold a referendum on the implementation of reforms proposed in the July National Charter.
19 January 2026
Party nominations and the systemic exclusion of women
Bangladesh is not unfamiliar with the image of women in power. In fact, two women have governed this country for nearly the entirety of its democratic era.
19 January 2026
Bangladesh’s renewed democratic chance
The road to Bangladesh’s next general election, due on February 12, could decide far more than who governs next. It could determine whether the country restores its democratic soul or slips further into polarisation.
18 January 2026
Proactive steps can future-proof jobs in the AI era
There is a widespread fear across US campuses, businesses, and industries that the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its rapid integration into all spheres of our lives will lead to job losses and a lifestyle where robots control our daily routines.
18 January 2026
'Even minor election allegations must be scrutinised and addressed'
As the country moves towards what could be the most consequential election in decades, Dr Md Abdul Alim, election specialist and former member of the Electoral Reform Commission, spoke with Monorom Polok of The Daily Star about the Election Commission’s readiness, the referendum process, and overall preparation for the poll.
18 January 2026
Time to open railway tracks to private freight operators
Bangladesh’s export economy now moves faster than its railways can carry it. Factories, ports and private logistics firms have modernised to meet global demand.
18 January 2026
Trump’s world vision: Honest, yet precariously primitive
US presidents are not known for telling the truth. From Thomas Jefferson’s denial of a relationship with the enslaved Sally Hemings onwards, there has been no shortage of political distortions emanating from the Oval Office.
17 January 2026