In the latest edition of Geneva-based World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitive Index (GCI), Bangladesh has slipped a notch and has been ranked 103rd out of 140 economies covered. This year the GCI was prepared using a new methodology and applied globally. Last year, the country ranked 99 out of 137 countries (using the old method). This year three new countries have been added to the Index. We have scored badly in nine out of the 12 indicators and the two poorest scores were in business dynamism and product market development.

Abdul Gani road is a very important road in Dhaka. It leads to the Secretariat, the seat of the bureaucracy (along with a number of other important government buildings) and also heads to a very busy junction of the city.

The prevalence of the dowry system continues to baffle rights activists and policymakers.

As per a report published in a leading Bangla daily, we find that the financial burden of education and healthcare is increasingly becoming unsustainable.

We are dismayed that one of the election commissioners was forced to walk out of an election preparatory meeting because he was not allowed to voice his proposals regarding how to hold a free,

The news of question paper leak of Dhaka University's “Gha” unit admission exam is very disappointing. According to newspaper reports, some admission seekers got the question paper of the said unit via WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps prior to the exam, which was held on October 12, 2018.

The lack of recognition of women's unpaid work in Bangladesh is something that has fortunately begun to be discussed. This was highlighted yet again at a press conference on Sunday marking the International Day of Rural Women.

That most chiefs of utility service-providing organisations choose not to attend coordination meetings called by the Mayor of South City Corporation is just shameful. Not only have they defied a direct order from the Prime Minister's Office, but their repeated refusals to attend the meetings are an insult to the mayor and the public.

There is a general perception among our people, especially our young generation, that higher education is the only way to become a member of the skilled work force.

The fire department's recent report paints a grim picture of fire safety in the capital's public and private establishments. A year-long

The World Bank unveiled a report titled “Promising Progress: A Diagnostic of Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Poverty in

We are happy to learn that Bangladesh has outperformed its largest South Asian neighbours, India and Pakistan, in the World Bank's Human Capital Index.

In a report published recently, a UN special rapporteur—who has been barred from entering Myanmar since last December—said that the Myanmar government is “unable and unwilling” to investigate its abuses against Rohingyas.

The verdict on the August 21 grenade attack case reveals some very dark features of politics in Bangladesh. It is indeed frightening to think that politics would degenerate to such a level where the psyche of the ruling party would be pervaded by such pathological animosity towards the opposition, so as to instigate it to eliminate the entire leadership of the...

This sort of highly irresponsible behaviour can be expected only from callous and careless government functionaries. Without any prior notice, ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route were inexplicably suspended for a period of 12 hours on October 10 at midnight.

As per Oxfam's latest “Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index”, Bangladesh ranked 148 among 157 (where a lower number means better performance) countries surveyed.

There is no denying the importance of the awareness of mental illness as a growing health concern in Bangladesh.

We really do not know what to say about the manner in which an innocent man, who passed 13 long years in Khulna jail on death row, died without seeing his family. The High Court declared Obaid innocent six months ago, by which time he was fighting a losing battle against colon cancer.

The just-released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report should serve as a clear warning to world leaders that time is fast running out in the fight against global warming.

We thank the prime minister for highlighting a major concern in the healthcare sector at a physicians' conference recently: absence of