A planning Commission report has revealed that once Bangladesh graduates from its least developed status to a developing country in 2027, it could lose USD 7 billion export earnings every year as it will no longer enjoy the trade benefits it currently is entitled to. One such benefit is zero duty on its shipments to the European Union, Canada, Australia and many more countries. In fact, the government’s impact assessment on LDC graduation report says the loss could be as much as USD 13 billion by 2031. So how can Bangladesh prepare to mitigate these shocks?

The dengue outbreak this year has badly exposed some of the undersides of our healthcare sector and has stretched our resources thin.

The news of 1.9 million people being excluded from India’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is certainly worrisome.

Investigative journalism carried out by this newspaper has unearthed the presence of powerful syndicates that are reaping huge monetary benefits by supplying illegal gas and electricity connections to three slums in Dhaka: Chalantika, Korail and Bhasantek.

It’s appalling that a crime as widespread as enforced disappearance continues to be denied by the government despite the severity of the crime and the well-documented sufferings of families who were separated from their loved ones.

We are dismayed by the poor state of affairs at the Kalia Upazila Health Complex in Narail where, according to a report by The Daily Star, 15 out of the 21 posts for medical staff are lying vacant.

It is evident that the repatriation process of Rohingya refugees has reached a stalemate not for any fault of Bangladesh, but because of Myanmar’s failure to convince them that it is safe to return.

Last Tuesday a BWTC official Krishna Roy Chowdhury was badly injured by a speeding bus as she was walking on a pavement in Bangla Motor.

It is outrageous that a much-needed programme like the vulnerable group feeding (VGF) be misused like this.

According to a test report on 16 samples of sugar, both brand and non-brand, by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), contraband sodium cyclamate has been found in all samples. The tests have been verified by internationally accredited Pacific Lab in

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.