We welcome with cautious optimism the news of the removal of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister after a new coalition

Health experts had warned earlier that if the Indian variant of Covid-19 (also known as Delta variant) can make its way into areas other than the bordering ones, Bangladesh will likely witness more than 20,000 covid-19 cases a day in early July.

Going back on its plan to reopen schools and colleges partially, the government has once again extended the closure of schools and colleges to June 30. Earlier the education minister had announced that all educational institutions would open from June 12.

We are appalled by the cruelty of an employer’s daughter towards 18-year-old Miyasa, a house staff. The 27-year-old woman scalded Miyasa by pouring boiling rice foam on her causing severe burns. It is by sheer fluke that Miyasa was rescued by police after a 999 call they received.

We are dismayed at the sluggard progress of a government project (taken up over three years ago) aimed at taking children out of hazardous labour by 2020.

It is disheartening to know that despite the government’s stimulus packages for SMEs owned by women, the funds are not reaching them. Instead, many entrepreneurs are taking loans from microfinance institutions where interest rates are around three times higher than the banks.

In a gross violation of service rules, a huge number of civil servants are owning and running businesses on the side, according to a letter by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

We are befuddled at the finance minister’s refusal to accept data on the new poor, released earlier through surveys conducted by private research organisations to measure the effects of the pandemic-induced income losses.

The latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking of liveable cities has placed Dhaka as the fourth least liveable city in the world. While we already know the challenges brought about by the pandemic that has affected every city in the globe, Dhaka included, there is little reason for us to hide behind the “pandemic” excuse.

What was supposed to be an “ideal town” to take some of the population burden off Dhaka city has so far been revised five times since its initiation in 1995, with its progress still a far cry from completion.

A police investigation into the rape and torture of a Bangladeshi woman in India has revealed a sinister network of human trafficking operating within the country.

Incidences of fire in the slums of Dhaka have taken frighteningly endemic proportions. In the last six months, fires have engulfed several large slums in the city, creating greater suffering for already marginalised and distressed populations.

It was encouraging to see our dysfunctional parliament be enlivened for once with the type of challenging questions that ought to be asked in the great parliamentary hall.

We applaud the initiative taken by four corporate houses based in Chattogram, who have been supplying oxygen to hospitals and patients for free in several districts, like Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Feni, Cumilla, and Sylhet, since the middle of last year.

It’s deeply worrying that Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), the central hospital in the division, is struggling with a growing crisis of ventilators and ICU beds amidst a surge in Covid-19 infections.

It’s quite disheartening to know that in the national budget for fiscal year 2021-22, only Tk 1,221 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of

We are apprehensive of what is to come as Covid-19 infection and death rates continue to rise to dangerous numbers in many districts across the

While generally the FY21-22 budget is business friendly, the same regrettably cannot be said about its provisions for the poor, particularly those who have been newly thrust below the poverty line due to reasons induced by the pandemic.

It is heart-breaking to learn of the near death of three rivers and one canal in Tangail due to the dumping of polluted elements by some mills and factories in the given area, according to a DS report yesterday which was World Environment Day.

A report in The Daily Star on June 3 highlighted the harrowing experiences of three trafficked victims who were lured to India under false promises of getting well-paying decent jobs.