Either one has to be stone deaf and hopelessly blind or be living in another world to utter what the CEC said regarding the playing field being absolutely level and that, to quote him, the candidates are being able to conduct campaigns and are not facing any obstacles.

Just last month, we wrote an editorial praising the Malaysian government for taking steps to bring foreign workers under its Social Security Organisation (Sosco) beginning next year.

Rohingyas living in Cox's Bazar and Rakhine State are increasingly at risk of becoming victims of trafficking following the Myanmar Army's brutal crackdown last year,

The Daily Star reported on December 15 how a 13-year-old domestic helper, Ruby, was frequently brutally tortured by her employers.

Today is a day that comes with a mixed feeling. The taste of victory and joy of independence was marred, for victory came at the cost of three million lives and the dignity of thousands of our mothers and sisters.

It is regrettable that the opposition candidates across the country continue to be targeted and their campaigns attacked by their political opponents—something that makes the EC's claim of a level playing field a laughing matter.

As this daily has reported on December 12, the families of 600 martyrs in Lalmonirhat town are yet to get recognition from the government. That we are getting to know this fact 47 years after independence is tragic. On April 5, 1971, around 600 Bangalees, including 84 railway officials and employees, school and college teachers, businessmen and cultural activists were brutally killed by the Pakistan army and their collaborators at the rickshaw stand beside Lalmonirhat Railway Station.

We are deeply concerned by the news reported in this daily yesterday (December 14) of the telecom regulators collecting sensitive personal data of about 7 crore users without their consent. What's more, they have shared this data with another government agency, apparently for a survey. That this should occur only a few weeks before the parliamentary elections raises questions regarding the intention of such activity.

The soaring amount of nonperforming loans (NPLs) jumped to 11.5 percent of outstanding loans by the end of September, a figure kept artificially low by rescheduling not justified by borrowers' performance. It is apparently nothing serious, we are now being told by top bankers who are highly esteemed in their profession. Is the public expected to take them seriously?

It would be misplaced to suggest that the large-scale elimination of our intellectuals on this day 47 years ago was a hurriedly drawn up idea by the Pakistanis when they realised that the end was inevitable.

It is disheartening to see violent clashes break out no sooner than the election symbols were allotted to candidates, resulting in the death of two Jubo League and Awami League leaders, which we strongly condemn.

We are shocked by the report of a fourth-grade girl raped under bizarre circumstances in the Chakaria Upazila of Cox's Bazar on

Fifteen-year-old Lucky Ghosh, a schoolgirl who is fighting for her life in hospital at the time of writing this, was brutally stabbed by a

The CEC has called on the judicial magistrates to act impartially while performing their electoral duties, and in the same vein the returning officers have urged the participants to maintain peace and follow the code.

It is regrettable that “crossfire” or “shootouts” have become a euphemism for extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh.

Despite repeated assurances by the finance minister himself that special measures would be taken to combat rampant corruption and mismanagement in banks, we are yet to see any concrete steps.

The Japanese government has pushed through legislation on December 8 that has opened up the labour market for up to 345,000 foreign workers in various sectors.

It is extremely disappointing that an important Bill drafted in 2006 has been sitting in the freezer for 12 years now. Speakers at a conference highlighted this

It was refreshing to see that the children of this city were given a chance to play in a car-free street on Manik Mia Avenue last Friday.

With the Election Commission's scrutiny of nomination papers coming to an end, electioneering is about to enter the next phase, in which eligible candidates will start campaigning in full gusto.