Latest Daily Star News & Updates

Dhaka, April 11 (IANS) Rumeen Farhana, a Bangladeshi independent lawmaker, has slammed the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government over the appointment of party-linked figures to key positions, including the Governor of Bangladesh Bank and Vice Chancellors of several public universities, local media reported this week.Speaking during a parliamentary session, Farhana said, “In every country, the Central Bank is the regulatory authority for financial institutions and acts as the gov…

New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Bangladesh’s launch of the Family Card programme, promising 2,500 (in local currency) monthly allowance for vulnerable families risks serious fiscal strain and may doom its overburdened social‑welfare system, a new report has said.Bangladesh’s tax‑to‑GDP ratio, one of the lowest in the world and inflexible commitments in its national budget, including debt interest and power subsidies, leave little room for a new recurring commitment, said a report from Banglad…

Dhaka, March 19 (IANS) Several rights groups have written to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, urging him to take concrete steps to protect human rights and uphold press freedom in the country.In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other human rights organisations called on the Bangladeshi government to publicly affirm its commitment to press freedom and media independence, release detained journalists, and review cases filed against journalists under the c…

New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) Overall inflation in Bangladesh rose to 9.13 per cent in February from 8.58 per cent in January, touching the highest level in 10 months, a report has said.The surge in inflation was driven by rising food prices ahead of Ramadan and election‑related spending, the report from Daily Star said.The Consumer Price Index rose above 9 per cent for the first time since May last year, marking the fourth consecutive monthly surge, since inflation touched a 39‑month low of 8….

Dhaka, Feb 20 (IANS) As many as 43 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected in the 13th National Parliamentary Election held in Bangladesh last week face murder charges under Section 302, the local media reported citing data released by a leading civic organisation of the country. According to Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, also known as Shujan, 42 MPs faced such cases previously and 12 have both past and present cases, Bangladesh’s ‘Daily Star’ reported on Friday.It mentioned that among major parties, …

New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly rejected accreditation applications from Bangladeshi journalists to cover the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, set to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.The development came after Bangladesh refused to participate under the tournament’s published schedule, which would have required them to play their league-stage games in India, and was subsequently replaced by Scotland in the tournament.Bangladesh had sough…

New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) Lamenting the minuscule representation by women candidates in Bangladesh’s upcoming elections, a Dhaka daily on Monday flagged “systemic design and failure” as the main reasons, echoing the voice of writer and activist Taslima Nasreen without naming her. “The lack of women candidates has nothing to do with women’s competence or willingness to lead, but everything to do with systemic design and failure,” opined the article in the Daily Star.“Many women in Ba…

Dhaka, Jan 5 (IANS) The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced that its acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, would take over as the party’s chairman within the next few days, local media reported.BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement while addressing journalists during a programme at Sylhet district on Sunday evening.Fakhrul stated that the post of BNP chairperson has remained vacant following the death of party chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda …