We are shocked at the latest incident of road crash that occurred last Wednesday in Rajshahi. A bus ran over three people including a schoolgirl killing them all on the spot and also injuring several others.

We are concerned by the arrest of at least 22 students of various universities who have been accused of different offences under some laws including the controversial Section 57 of the ICT Act. The accused university students (including female students) have been repeatedly denied bail.

We are perplexed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairman's comment made at a discussion recently that the anti-graft body is keeping a close watch on the corrupt practices that are rampant amongst officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

That Myanmar takes offence at the usage of the term, “forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals,” by Bangladesh is unacceptable. Myanmar's claims that neither do Rohingyas have a legitimate citizenship claim in the country nor were they forcibly displaced are simply blatant lies.

We appreciate the government's plans to provide 20,000 urban ultra-poor families with housing and loans.

According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual “Global Liveability Index 2018”, Dhaka has slipped two places from last year to become the second worst city to live in the world, only topping war-ravaged Damascus in Syria.

August 15 marks a black chapter in the history of this country—a day when the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with almost his entire family, was killed by a despicable group of people.

It has been one year since the controversial Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 has been enacted. At a recent discussion among rights groups it was revealed that as rules under the Act have not been formulated, there has been a rise in misuse of the law.

We are baffled and disappointed to know that the much-hyped Bus Rapid Transit route that was supposed to cover 22 km of road and relieve much of the traffic congestion of Dhaka city will actually cover only a 10 km stretch. What's more, even this much curtailed goal will not be accomplished before 2024. And the reason why we are getting only half our dreams come true (if they do at all) is that a number of arbitrarily built flyovers are blocking the BRT proposed routes.

We are deeply disturbed by the insensitive behavoiur of two nurses of a government health complex who, reportedly, refused to admit an expectant mother, who was in labour, for reasons unknown. Having been driven away from the hospital, the unfortunate woman had to give birth in the hospital compound under a tree without any medical assistance.

We appreciate the initiatives taken by Bojromushthi, a voluntary organisation, which has been working to set up emergency sanitary pad

There is no good news for onion lovers in the city these days. According to what has been reported in the press lately, local onion is trading at Tk 60 per kilo,

The government's plan of action apparent in the recently launched anti-narcotics drive is not likely to deliver the expected results, it being not an integrated approach which a problem like drugs and narcotics merits.

Dhaka's insufferable traffic system, a major problem for the city, remains in a shambles—as detailed in a report published by this paper yesterday—in spite of several steps taken by the government.

Thirty-eight government and private sector agencies signed an agreement with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to be connected with the National Single Window (NSW) system.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has managed to apprehend a sophisticated gang that specialised in leaking question papers for both public examinations and recruitment tests.

It is very disappointing to learn from a joint statement by UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, and UN Development Programme that Myanmar has not granted their staff independent and effective access to the Rakhine State.

We welcome the move by the Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association which declared on August 7 that contractual driving of city buses would end and that drivers will receive monthly salaries.

We do not know what to make of the CEC's comments that the election commission cannot guarantee irregularity-free national elections.

It is extremely disconcerting to witness that 22 university students have been placed on two-day remands in cases filed over “vandalism and attacks on police.”