The announcement by the Election Commission that the 11th parliamentary election will be held on December 23 has brought to the fore the uphill task ahead of the Election Commission.

During the two-day transport strike, from October 29 to October 30, at least three critically ill children died on their way to hospital. The transport workers did not let the ambulances or, in one particular case, a rickshaw, which were carrying sick kids, to proceed to the hospital.

Thousands of people, said to be linked to the opposition parties, have been detained before and after the Oikyafront's rally at Suhrawardy Uddyan on Tuesday.

In the span of two days, reports in this paper have covered instances of multi-storey buildings being constructed in Rajshahi city. In both cases, the under-construction buildings subsided and in one instance caused damage to a neighbouring building.

Experts voiced concerns over the souring of relations between China and the US as the trade war between these two global economic powerhouses heats up.

It was good to see the second round of talks between the ruling coalition and Oikyafront held in an amicable atmosphere.

It is shocking that even after two years, around 1,200 Santal families evicted from their homes in Gaibandha are still living a life of destitution, uncertainty and fear. An eviction drive led by local influentials resulted in the death of three Santal men with many others injured, some with life-long physical impairment. Some Santals are still missing.

The Kurigram General Hospital was upgraded to 250 beds in 2010. Eight years down the line there is a crisis in service delivery because physicians and staff have accommodation problems.

There is simply no excuse as to why healthcare workers of four City Health Centres and one Maternity Centre in Barishal have not been paid their wages for 10 months.

There is no doubt that Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in economic growth in the last few decades. But there is also the inescapable fact that income inequality in the country has gone up sharply.

Through this statement of his, the finance minister just confirmed what was already known, and the reason this was known is because it couldn't have been based on any logical reasoning.

Khulna, the third largest city in terms of population in the country, is home to over a million people. And these million people of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) are at severe threat of health risks and the effects of environmental hazards due to the wretched conditions of waste management in the city.

A family of five including an infant suffered varying degrees of burns when their illegal gas connection caused fires in the Ashulia area. The fact that there is a plethora of such illegal gas connections is hardly news. We hope the critically injured will pull through.

Media freedom is under attack the world over. Governments in countries worldwide, with a few exceptions, are doing everything in their power to throttle the media and silence journalists.

The result of the 14-pary Oikyafront talks was an anti-climax, and the only positive that one could take away was the understanding between the two that the opposition would be allowed to conduct political activities without being hindered, although that is guaranteed by the constitution and a given in any democratic setup, but not in ours.

Forty-three years ago, on this day, the nation lost four great leaders, who as trusted lieutenants of Bangabandhu had steered the Liberation War in 1971 to its successful conclusion.

It should not be lost on anyone that just 12 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds for the entirety of Noakhali, Feni, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Cox's Bazar, and Chattogram are nowhere close to being adequate.

Bangladesh ranked 176th in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index (EDBI)—an index that measures the performance of some 190 countries in the world.

The fact that Myanmar has agreed to start taking back Rohingyas beginning mid-November could mark a turning point for Bangladesh whose past experience with the neighbouring country has been far from pleasant.

Ecnec has met twice last month which is a record unto itself, to approve some 58 projects worth Tk 64,042 crore in the run-up to the general elections.