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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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

The cabinet has given final approval to the proposed Road Transport Bill, 2018. There are some good measures in the proposed act like minimum educational qualification (Grade 8) and minimum age (18 years) to get a professional driver license, and introduction of a 12-point system which would lead to ultimately cancellation of license for violation of law.

We deplore the heavy-handed police actions on Monday on the students of several private universities who were protesting against attacks on their peers. Why did police, supplemented by armed goons, fire rubber bullets and tear gas into campuses filled with students leaving scores injured?

The Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Ltd. (MGMCL) is the second state-owned company to suffer from missing resources in so many weeks.

We are outraged at the attacks on journalists of different media outlets by the BCL over the last two days.

The PM has called upon the protesting students to return to their classes, to where they belong. We appreciate the appeal and reiterate her feelings because it is not desirable that students should be on the streets rather than where they ought to be.