CALLS from all quarters, both national and international, for dialogue between the government and the opposition has apparently fallen on deaf ears. As we approach the 50th day of the blockade coupled with near-continual hartals enforced by the 20-party alliance, the economy continues to bleed and the general populace suffer.

AT a time when no news in the country is good news, Bangladesh's first win in the World Cup against Afghanistan, though expected, has given the cricket-crazy people of Bangladesh a much-needed cause for celebration. In tune with the rest of the country, we wholeheartedly congratulate the Tigers for a solid performance, resulting in a whopping 105-run victory.

People of Satbaria union at Sujanagar in Pabna came under the wrath of the Pakistani army and their local collaborators as independence seekers had dominated the area during the Liberation War in 1971.

WE wholeheartedly welcome the first ever woman West Bengal Chief Minister, who is arriving in Dhaka today for a three-day visit. Her maiden visit to Bangladesh as the Chief Minister is undoubtedly good news for both the countries, as it revitalises the prospect of settling two long-standing unresolved issues, Teesta water sharing and Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).

THE joint UN-Bangladesh impact assessment team on the Sundarbans oil spill has submitted its report. The incident involving sinking of an oil tanker and subsequent spill of an estimated 300,000 litres of furnace oil into the ecosystem of the forest is claimed to have had a limited effect on the delicate ecological balance of Sundarbans in the short term.

Amid the mindless violence that has already killed at least 71 people and disrupted education and businesses, the High Court has asked the government to take all necessary steps to prevent deadly blockade and hartal.

THE self-proclaimed Islamic State also known as ISIS has upped the mercury by publicly beheading 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on February 11 in Libya. This gruesome and barbaric act comes only a few weeks after the execution of a captured Jordanian pilot who was burnt alive.

WE could not agree more with the Prime Minister that people of the capital are suffering from a chronic lack of public services. Reasons are not far to seek. There have been two debilitating spells in which a drastic deterioration in civic services occurred through unelected leadership. The first downslide happened when Sadeque Hossain Khoka, an elected Mayor for 2002-2007 continued after his tenure till the splitting of DCC into two on November 29, 2011. The second spell of void in elected leadership has been more pronounced with the city corporations having been placed in charge of government-appointed administrators in purely ad-hoc six-monthly stints.

WE are surprised that the Energy Fast Supply Enhancement (Special Provisions Act 2010) has been extended by another four years.

WE have already expressed our alarm through other columns regarding the home ministry order on CHT affairs which, among other things, requires all national-international individuals' and organisations' interaction ...

Video emerges shows beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) militants in Libya

“If you want to kill, kill us -- the ones who are in the administration or in the government politically. But please don't kill the innocents."