In a striking act of political theatre that underscores the volatility of the current electoral season, S.M. Zilani, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) nominee for the Gopalganj-3 (Kotalipara-Tungipara) constituency, publicly unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest. The event took place on Wednesday afternoon, 7 January 2026, during a grassroots meeting with residents of […]

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has announced three core demands and a set of action programmes, including the unconditional release of Mahdi Hasan, Secretary of the Habiganj District branch, and ‘July Veteran’ Tahreema Jannat Suravi. The announcement was made at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon at the Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University by the organisation’s […]

The preservation of Saint Martin’s Island—Bangladesh’s only coral sanctuary—rests not on the complexity of its master plans, but on the strength of the nation’s political resolve. This was the definitive stance taken by Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, during a high-level workshop at Dhaka’s Hotel InterContinental on Tuesday, 6 January. […]

In a significant realignment of local political forces, more than 300 activists and coordinators from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement formally joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday. The mass induction ceremony was held during a press conference at the district BNP headquarters in Raghunath Bazar, Sherpur, marking a major transition for the youth leaders […]

The Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) has come under heavy fire for its controversial decision to fund the accommodation and subsistence of foreign election observers. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), the nation’s leading anti-corruption watchdog, issued a blistering statement on Tuesday, 6 January, labelling the move “reckless, discriminatory, and a direct threat to neutral monitoring.” Dr Iftekharuzzaman, […]