No plan to hand over Chittagong Port to foreign operator: Shipping Minister

Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam on Wednesday told Parliament that the government has no plan to hand over the Chittagong Port to any foreign operator.“There is no plan to hand over the Chittagong Port to any foreign operator,” he said, while replying to a tabled question from treasury bench member Shahadat Hossain (Lakshmipur-1) in the House.Earlier, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad tabled the question-and-answer session for the ministers on the completion of the question-and-answer session for the Prime Minister at the beginning of the Wednesday’s sitting of Parliament.The shipping minister clarified that operators are appointed only for operating terminals of a port in case of arrangements specified or approved by the Public-Private Partnership Authority or the government. “In such cases, both local and foreign operators are considered eligible,” he said.In line with ongoing modernisation and the growing volume of the country’s import-export trade, d...

Iran to facilitate safe passage of Bangladeshi vessels through Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday said it will continue its efforts to facilitate the safe passage of Bangladeshi vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and has also facilitated the safe evacuation of 186 Bangladeshi nationals from Iran via Azerbaijan.The Embassy, in a press statement, called upon all concerned to refrain from any actions or statements that may create misperceptions, and to uphold the spirit of mutual respect that governs the enduring ties between the two brotherly nations.I...

Transport fares to be rationally adjusted: PM’s Adviser Zahed

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Information and Broadcasting  Dr Zahed Ur Rahman on Tuesday said transport fares will be rationally fixed in line with the recent increase in fuel prices.He made the remarks at a pr...

Barrister Omar Sadat's full panel wins Gulshan Society election unopposed

The full panel of Barrister Omar Sadat-led 'Bhalobasar Gulshan' has been elected unopposed in the Gulshan Society election held on Tuesday.As a result, Barrister Omar Sadat has been re-elected as the President of Gulshan Society for next two years while Mujibur Rahman Mridha as the Secretary General.Barrister Omar Sadat is a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He has also been working as an urban rights activist for a long time. The newly elected Secretary General is Mujibur Rahman Mridha is renowned business by his profession.The election of the 12th Executive Committee of Gulshan Society was conducted fairly and peacefully under the overall supervision of Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Alam.Besides, valiant freedom fighters Captain (Retd) Abdul Majed Mia and Eva ...

54 nomination papers filed for 50 reserved women’s seats

Politicisation of cricket looks set to continue under new government

In Bangladesh, cricket is far more than a national obsession. Combined with its enormous commercial appeal, the game has been converted into the ultimate political currency.The recent dissolution of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the lightning-fast installation of a politically connected ad-hoc committee exposes a harsh reality: governments may change, but the state or ruling dispensation's suffocating grip on the country's most popular sport remains completely unbroken.For decades, ruling regimes have understood that controlling cricket is a way to control the masses. During Sheikh Hasina's long period of rule, which is often called an authoritarian regime by political analysts, the BCB functioned as little more than a direct wing of the state machinery.The partisan dominance was absolute. It spread into every level of the administration, from the high-level boardroom decisions down to the stadium gates. It reached a point where the national team was actually led by sitting members of parliament. This wasn't a coincidence; it was a strategy to use the sport as a populist tool, designed to unify a fractured public under the ruling party's banner while masking the government’s deeper failures.When the Awami League government collapsed in August 2024, the BCB naturally fell into chaos.The power vacuum led to the emergence of a new board headed by Aminul Islam Bulbul, formed under the watch of the interim government. It was sold to the public as a necessary transition to keep the sport stable. However, in the tough landscape of Bangladeshi spo...

Bridge the trade gap with India through urgent initiative

According to a statement by Commerce and Industries Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir in Parliament, Bangladesh’s widening trade deficit with India—now standing at a staggering $7.86 billi...

Alleviate plight of migrant workers

The Middle East is the largest destination for migrant workers from Bangladesh, but the overseas employment market is facing growing risks of shrinking amid the war there. If the war persists, economists fear, the domestic job market will also be und...

KFC's 'Eidi for Angels' Spreads Eid Joy to Underprivileged Kids

To stem the scourge of smoking, follow the science, not the dogma

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