Is involvement in politics a crime? Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon posed that question while defending the government’s decision to appoint vice-chancellors to seven universities and a new chairman of the University Grants Commission on Monday.

A war thousands of kilometres away suddenly shows up in the prices of groceries, the cost of running a factory, government subsidies or import bills, and the anxious arithmetic of a family budget as the people navigate the long lines outside refuelling stations.

This piece is a rebuttal critically examining the article titled “We need education reforms that actually work,” published in The Daily Star on March 15, 2026. Dr Manzoor Ahmed’s evaluation of recent education reforms in Bangladesh contains assumptions and analyses without adequate research evidence.

The environment remains a priority concern in Bangladesh given its status as one of the most vulnerable countries in terms of environmental degradation and climate change impacts.

The first and most pressing concern that arises from this programme is the fiscal sustainability that it requires.

Amid the prevailing Middle East crisis and economic lull, Bangladesh is heading into a prolonged holiday period around Eid-ul-Fitr.

Germany had a Jürgen Habermas, who died on March 14, 2026. He was not just a philosopher writing for academics; he was a public intellectual, someone who used ideas to help society understand itself, confront its own mistakes, and imagine a better future.

The flight from the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram to Dhaka was scheduled to depart at 8:30 pm on March 12.

I do not think the contemporary public mood in Bangladesh can be explained only through the old argument between secularism and religion.

The global energy market is again in turmoil, this time because of the US-Israel war in Iran.

For Bangladesh, the latest tensions in the Middle East highlight how intricately national energy systems—and domestic economic stability—are now intertwined with global political developments.

It is estimated that closing the gender gap will add nearly $7 trillion to the global economy.

For decades, the international image of Bangladesh has been shaped by a narrow and increasingly outdated narrative.

The oppression of citizens under the Sheikh Hasina regime resulted in the July uprising.

It is the burqa again—the piece of cloth that many Muslim women choose to wear for religious reasons. Yet this garment has been burdened with some of the harshest and most dehumanising representations imaginable.

The Bangladesh Bank’s recent decision to raise the threshold for approval-free repatriation of foreign investment—from Tk 10 crore to Tk 100 crore—marks a significant step towards liberalising capital flows.

There is a difference between constructive criticism and internalised stereotypes resulting in reflexive self-denigration.

After the first cabinet meeting of the new BNP government on February 18, a 180-day priority plan was announced focusing on controlling commodity prices, maintaining law and order, stabilising supply chains, and ensuring uninterrupted gas and electricity supply.

It is worth recalling that at his first press conference following BNP’s election victory, Bangladesh’s new prime minister, Tarique Rahman, was asked the following question:

Targeting young children to gain future smokers is a longstanding tactic of tobacco producers globally.