A distinction must be made between habitual defaulters and general defaulters—the latter group may default on loans due to systemic problems or circumstances beyond their control. But the former are people who have made it a habit of not meeting their obligations to the bank.

For weeks, speculation over whether a gun could or did pass through airport security in the case of the attempted plane hijack last month was foremost in the minds of people.

The headline of a report by this daily marking the sixth anniversary of the murder of 17-year-old Tanwir Muhammad Taqi succinctly captured the absurdity of the investigation that ensued in its wake, calling it “a never-ending probe”.

A jointly-prepared report by Greenpeace and Airvisual recently unveiled the 2018 Air Quality Report on March 5 and in it, Dhaka has featured as the second most polluted capital city in the world.

It was no secret that these two premier public corporations do not have the best of track records insofar as transparency, honesty and straight dealings are concerned.

As this daily reported yesterday, 23 workers of a garment factory in Ashulia were suspended on charges of vandalism and theft, which the workers claim are false.

In a recent statement, the country director of Asian Development Bank stressed the need to complete mega projects like the metro rail on time because, ultimately, it is the tax-payers who have to pay back the money taken as loan.

The government crackdown on illegal chemical warehouses in Old Dhaka has already invited severe backlash and protests by local traders as drives against these establishments—prompted by the deadly Chawkbazar fire last month—have continued.

Despite the law prohibiting the employment of children, many brick kiln owners across Cumilla's Chauddagram upazila employ minors to do hazardous work.

We are humbled and honoured to have co-hosted with IPDC Finance Limited an event yesterday that is unique in its spirit and message to the world.

The terrifying Chawkbazar fire that cut short the lives of around 70 people was a disaster waiting to happen.

With the return of the Indian pilot so soon after his capture—a gesture by Pakistan that was prudent, timely and diplomatic, and for which the Pakistani PM deserves credit—the heightened state of tension between the two countries has begun to de-escalate, for the time being at least.

The recent incident of fire at Suhrawardy hospital has once again exposed the fact that our hospitals are not at all prepared to handle any emergency and post-emergency situation such as fire or earthquake.

The extraordinarily low turn-out of voters during the Dhaka North City Corporation election speaks volumes about the general apathy that has developed in people regarding the electoral process.

The World Bank recently unveiled a report titled “Learning to Realise Education's Promise” and in it we find that Bangladesh spends less than the South Asian average on education. Quality education remains a major concern and graduates from the schooling system are lacking in skills to read, write and do basic mathematics.

A report published in this daily on February 27 lays bare the miserable conditions that indigenous communities living in and around Jogendra Tangchangya Para of Bandarban's Alikadam upazila are grappling with.

This is for the first time since 1971 that the air force of one of the two neighbours—India and Pakistan—has crossed the international border and launched strikes on the other's territory.

A roundtable organised by The Daily Star titled “Chawkbazar Tragedy: Way Forward” on February 26 brought together experts, chemical importers and traders, and other stakeholders to discuss the imperatives in the aftermath of the Chawkbazar fire.

It is very unfortunate that the hospital staff are extorting poor patients at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor), popularly known as Pangu Hospital, for getting a plaster or dressing.

A joint publication brought out by Oxfam, Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and Institute for Workers and Trade Unions in Vietnam paints a dismal picture of workers in Bangladeshi factories where Australian fashion brands source their apparels from.