The picture of forlorn children holding pictures of their fathers forcibly disappeared for six or eight years or more, as was published yesterday, are heart-breaking reminders of this abhorrent practice that has only resulted in unease and lack of public trust towards the government.

According to a report published by The Daily Star on May 27, even after six years the Bangladesh Railway (BR) still has not been able to decide on introducing an electric train service in the country which could make this mode of transport both more efficient and environment friendly.

Bangladesh is no stranger to cyclones. The people of this land have had to live with such extreme weather events since as far back as modern history goes, with increasing frequency in recent years.

Once again, the dreaded Digital Security Act is being used against journalists and media officials, this time to sue two journalists and one official of Somoy TV over airing a report on corruption allegations against a Noakhali court official. In addition to these three members of the press, three other individuals have also been made accused in the case.

It is quite frustrating to see most industries operating in a business-as-usual manner even amidst a still-dangerous Covid-19 situation while students of all levels have been suffering from varying degrees of learning loss since March of last year,

We commend the government’s quick action in securing more vaccines for the citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially since we have recently seen a spike in cases, prompting another round of lockdown across the country.

It is extremely disturbing to learn of the plight of Bangladeshi expats in South Africa, as over 400 Bangladeshi-owned shops have been vandalised and looted in Free State’s capital, Bloemfontein, since May 16.

We would like to join the call for an impartial investigation into the death of Hafizur Rahman—a Dhaka University student—whose death remains shrouded in mystery.

Expatriate workers are among the worst affected by the pandemic. They have had to suffer the consequences since the start of the pandemic and they continue to suffer.

Amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, a new infection has surfaced—black fungus or Mucormycosis. Although the infection has mostly spread in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat states of India, as a neighbouring country, we must also start taking preventive measures as it can have severe consequences, such as blindness, stroke and death.

We are relieved that journalist Rozina Islam has been finally granted bail by the court after six days of imprisonment.

We are relieved that journalist Rozina Islam has been finally granted bail by the court after six days of imprisonment. We thank the court and congratulate the wider journalist community and all those who came out in support of Rozina and the freedom of the press. The bail brings only temporary relief, however, as the court has set a July 15 date for the next hearing in the case. While we are encouraged by the news of the bail, the circumstances under which this case was initiated leading to her detention raise several questions.

In a country where the prime minister, the speaker of the parliament and also, the leader of the opposition political party are all women, the fact that none of the 39 registered political parties (to the Election Commission) have been able to make room for the required minimum 33 percent women members in all of their committees in the last 49 years is a very disappointing phenomenon.

By any definition the killing of Shahinuddin was a most gruesome and well-planned murder motivated by unashamed greed and business considerations.

While the most recent “lockdown” had helped bring down the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the country, it is now disappointing to see both members of the public and the authorities reverting to ways which led to the worst surge in the number of cases last month.

At a time when the country’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts are grinding to a halt due to shortage of doses, the foreign minister has remarked about delays in the procurement process caused by the health ministry’s mismanagement.

We applaud the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) for its Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumti 2nd Bridge Construction and Existing Bridges Rehabilitation Project, which won the Technology Award of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers Award 2021.

After 11 days of violence, we are relieved that an Egypt-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect on Friday. However, to call the violence perpetrated over the last 11 days lopsided would be an understatement,

The UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi has called for making livelihood options more available for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and we agree that it would indeed be “risky” to make them into a dependent group for so long.

According to experts, should we see any significant surge in Covid-19—or anything close to the situation in India—our healthcare sector will not be able to cope with it.