A report in this daily revealed that over a hundred women migrant workers returned from Saudi Arabia because of horrific abuse at the hands of their employers. Out of the 110 migrant workers, one had died in Saudi Arabia after having committed suicide there. In fact this

A picture published on the front-page of The Daily Star on Monday caught our attention as a symbol of the sorry state of our healthcare system.

The issue of non-compliance by tanners is costing the industry and export earnings heavily.

Noise pollution has become a health hazard for Dhaka dwellers. According to studies, the sound level around Shahbag, a busy locale of Dhaka accommodating two big hospitals, is between 80 and 150 decibels (dB); the acceptable sound level for silent zones (areas that include hospitals and schools), according to Noise Pollution (Control) Rules-2006, is 50 dB for daytime and 40 dB for night.

The prime minister’s words regarding the need to protect migrant workers from middlemen, who often cheat them, hit the nail on the head.

Eight people were killed and 18 others injured when a bus plunged into a roadside ditch after smashing through a railing of a bridge in Faridpur Sadar Upazila on Saturday. Among those killed were six passengers, the bus supervisor, and the rider of a motorcycle which the bus collided with before swerving off the road.

We are deeply concerned at the tensions prevailing in Teknaf’s Hnila union, between locals and Rohingyas, following the murder of a Jubo League leader at a refugee camp in the area on Thursday, August 22.

It is simply astounding to learn that none of the 12 city corporations have entomologists on their payroll with the posts for such specialists in Dhaka city corporations lying vacant.

Despite all the preparations for the second repatriation attempt, not a single Rohingya turned up on August 22 to be voluntarily returned to Rakhine.

We are perplexed as to the red-carpet treatment being given by Janata Bank to one if it’s more prominent defaulters, Root Group, which ranks 49 out of the top 300 defaulters with the bank.

It is disheartening to learn from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) secretary that three out of four projects undertaken under the annual development programme (ADP) fail to materialise within project deadlines!

The dilapidated condition of the Khulna bypass road has become a major concern for not only the local residents but also the commuters who take this route to travel to and from Dhaka, Barishal, Bagerhat, Satkhira and other important districts in southern Bangladesh.

We are surprised to learn that eight of the Anti-Corruption Commission officials whose faulty investigations led to Jaha Alam, a jute mill worker, being wrongfully implicated in cases filed over misappropriation of Tk 18.5 crore from Sonali Bank, were promoted and given more serious responsibilities.

The Indian external affairs minister’s maiden visit to Dhaka, was not one that garnered high expectations as it is considered to serve the protocol of formally bringing an invitation to our prime minister from her Indian counterpart and completing the preparatory work for it. Even so, we cannot help but feel disappointed by Mr S Jaishankar’s visit if not by what was said but more so by what remained unsaid.

Agriculture and food security, both of which have been cornerstones of government policy, have resulted in robust crop production in the country. Yet, we find that farmers in Sunamganj’s haor areas have not been getting the benefit of the various procurement policies that the state has in place. Allegedly, middlemen have been making use of fake farmer cards to buy paddy. This malpractice, along with others, is apparently depriving genuine farmers of the benefit of selling paddy as listed farmers and getting the government-fixed price of Tk 1,040 per maund.

It has been six months since the devastating fire that ripped through Chawkbazar.

We condemn the attack on Ducsu Vice President Nurul Haque Nur by the ruling party men during Eid vacation.

The Dhaka University’s decision to re-affiliate seven Dhaka-based government colleges from the National University in 2017 has had the unfortunate effect of aggravating the very problems that they had hoped to address.

It is very unfortunate that the flood victims of Sirajganj have yet to receive any assistance from the government to rebuild their houses washed away by the devastating flood.

The fire that burned through an entire slum at Mirpur’s Chalantika area on Friday was reportedly exacerbated by plastic pipes facilitating illegal gas connections. The plastic pipes melted in the heat, releasing gas from within and making the blaze spread much faster than it would have otherwise. Locals have alleged that syndicates run by some ruling party men in cahoots with employees of Titas Gas stole gas from the main transmission and distribution lines and diverted it to the slum in exchange for money from slum dwellers. Thanks to these illegal gas pipes, it was an accident waiting to happen.