That the police is gathering background information about potential polling officials, who would oversee the forthcoming election, and their families, is surprising.

It is unfortunate that some of the worst incidents of communal violence that erupted in Ramu of Cox's Bazar in 2012 are yet to be brought to the notice of the High Court (HC) for hearing.

At a time when the government is continuously propagating its achievements in terms of the development works they have done, it is frustrating to learn that there are still villages in the country where there are no primary schools.

It is very demoralising for all citizens to see the apparent foot-dragging on implementing the Road Transport Act 2018 (RTA 2018),

The sudden clash between BNP activists and the police on Wednesday in front of the BNP office was both surprising and distressing.

Some 150 female politicians belonging to Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party voiced a demand for political parties to nominate at least 30 percent seats for women at a conference on “Advancing women's leadership in the national elections” on November 13.

In the past several months, it seemed increasingly likely that Bangladesh would face an odd situation over the impending repatriation of the Rohingya refugees—returning them to an incorrigibly hostile Myanmar or letting them stay on at the expense of an already overburdened host country.

After a delay of six years from original project completion date, the Dhaka-Chattogram expanded highway was inaugurated in June, 2017 at a final cost of Tk 3,439 crore which was a markup of 58 percent (due to repeated revisions in design).

We are appalled by the news of around 300 Bangladeshi migrant workers living in dire conditions in a Qatar labour camp as they have not been paid by their employer for the last six months.

We are quite puzzled by the Election Commission's decision to defer the general election by a week.

The truth of the statement that justice delayed is justice denied cannot be overstated. Quick disposal of cases is undoubtedly crucial for effective dispensation of justice, and no accused should have to be in custody a minute longer than justice states.

We are taken aback by the public works secretary's recent remark that the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for Dhaka has been altered because no one wanted to comply with its original version.

What we have witnessed in a recent incident where a woman was blindfolded, beaten and murdered in a moving bus after her father was thrown off it is a manifestation of humanity at its worst.

The EC has formally asked all the political parties and candidate hopefuls to remove their posters, banners and other campaign materials within the next seven days since it is against the law to campaign and bring out processions and stage showdowns until candidates have been allotted electoral symbols. We hope the EC will be able to ensure that its orders are implemented.

Is there no alternative to constructing a road through a government-declared wildlife sanctuary? The very idea of the R&H Department building a road through one of the largest secondary forests in the country—a sanctuary for a variety of flora and fauna—is extremely illogical and incongruous considering the relevant government policy.

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.