Martin Swapan Pandey

Months-long investigation by The Daily Star indicates state forces increased deployment of lethal weapons after the ousted PM authorised their use

A significant share of Bangladesh’s illegal cigarette market is controlled by two companies where Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Councillor Abdus Sabur Liton and his brother have the majority stakes, an investigation by The Daily Star has found.

Bangladesh's tobacco production per hectare has grown by nearly 21 percent over the last five years, indicating a hard push by big tobacco companies for more profit from a product known to be a serious health and environmental concern.

The dead are thought to be free from mortal matters. But are they? Consider Amin Uddin Mollah. The Gazipur man has long since died, on January 25, 2021, to be precise, and yet he “took part” in attacking police personnel with a bomb on the night of October 28, 2023

On September 7, 2015, the cabinet approved the eighth national pay scale effective from July that year, and it has been implemented in al-most all government offices and corporations.

An elderly man has been rotting in prison for nine years even after getting presidential general amnesty.

Almost every time any government agency tried to ensure accountability and transparency of the duty-free liquor trade, it found itself in a legal limbo. Over the last two decades, diplomatic bonded warehouses, who import duty-free liquor for diplomats and foreigners, filed writ after writ with the High Court challenging the legality of the government action.

Officially, most bars and social clubs neither import nor purchase alcohol yet they log huge sales; restrictive law, high import tariff, bureaucratic nightmare encouraging smuggling; govt loses big, earning almost nothing out of this trade.

Every time he extends his hands to seek alms, Sohrab Hossain, 63, looks embarrassed. Begging has never been his livelihood; it is now.

When much of the camp around her is still fast asleep, Radia, 12, wakes up at 5:00am and quickly buries herself in her Quran study. Throughout the day, she spends as much time as she can -- eight to ten hours daily -- memorising the Arabic texts.

The Canadian police investigation in the Padma bridge corruption conspiracy case was essentially flawed and the allegations were based on nothing more than “gossip, speculation and rumour”.

Slamming the door shut on innocent people fleeing murderous men and machines from parts of the world which, in President Trump’s own words, is “in a horrible mess” defies everything America stands for.

Even a decade ago, child mortality rate in the WHO South-East Asia region was the highest and maternal mortality rate second highest among the six regions of the world health body.

In its fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTD), Bangladesh remains on track in terms of treatment and elimination of Kala-azar and lymphatic filariasis, but it remains a potentially risk country for leprosy in the 11 nations of WHO South-East Asia region.

For over a decade now, there have been class boycotts, exam cancellations, cases and counter cases, and even violence on the streets, but none of these has solved the accommodation problem of Jagannath University students.

Panna Akter remembers only one date of her life. She can't recall the date of her birth or marriage, and she isn't sure on which dates her two sons aged around five and six were born. “These dates are written in a diary,” she says, and springs from her seat to bring it.

Successes are many. But Bangladesh still struggles in its fight against tobacco with at least 156 people dying and another 1,095 becoming disabled due to smoking in the country every day. Tax increase and other government interventions to cut tobacco consumption seem fruitless, as production, export, import and consumption of cigarette and smokeless tobacco are on the rise.

"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionise all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer,” Sir Alexander Fleming would later say famously, “But I suppose that was exactly what I did.”

Health services are not always as safe as they could and should be. Patient safety has become a great concern of today's healthcare, because as interventions are becoming complex with time, patients are more at risks of medical errors.

Ananta Das is dead and cold alright. Yet because man is what he stands for and believes in, something tells me it's not him that is dead. Rather, those of us who have failed to save his life are.