A councillor and his illicit tobacco trade
A significant share of Bangladesh’s illegal cigarette market is controlled by two companies where Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Councillor Abdus Sabur Liton and his brother have the majority stakes, an investigation by The Daily Star has found.
6m ago
Big tobacco push drives up per hectare production
Bangladesh's tobacco production per hectare has grown by nearly 21 percent over the last five years, indicating a hard push by big tobacco companies for more profit from a product known to be a serious health and environmental concern.
6m ago
When the system develops rust, police can see even dead men running
The dead are thought to be free from mortal matters. But are they? Consider Amin Uddin Mollah. The Gazipur man has long since died, on January 25, 2021, to be precise, and yet he “took part” in attacking police personnel with a bomb on the night of October 28, 2023
11m ago
Jute Workers: No pay scale in 9 years, no pay for months
On September 7, 2015, the cabinet approved the eighth national pay scale effective from July that year, and it has been implemented in al-most all government offices and corporations.
5y ago
Serving time even after amnesty
An elderly man has been rotting in prison for nine years even after getting presidential general amnesty.
6y ago
Out of watch with legal shield
Almost every time any government agency tried to ensure accountability and transparency of the duty-free liquor trade, it found itself in a legal limbo. Over the last two decades, diplomatic bonded warehouses, who import duty-free liquor for diplomats and foreigners, filed writ after writ with the High Court challenging the legality of the government action.
6y ago
GIVEN BY GHOSTS
Officially, most bars and social clubs neither import nor purchase alcohol yet they log huge sales; restrictive law, high import tariff, bureaucratic nightmare encouraging smuggling; govt loses big, earning almost nothing out of this trade.
6y ago
JUTE DAY TODAY: Reality vs labour law
Every time he extends his hands to seek alms, Sohrab Hossain, 63, looks embarrassed. Begging has never been his livelihood; it is now.
6y ago
February 2, 2017
Opinion: The ‘horrible mess’ Trump created
Slamming the door shut on innocent people fleeing murderous men and machines from parts of the world which, in President Trump’s own words, is “in a horrible mess” defies everything America stands for.
September 8, 2016
Bangladesh gets UN recognition
Even a decade ago, child mortality rate in the WHO South-East Asia region was the highest and maternal mortality rate second highest among the six regions of the world health body.
September 5, 2016
Bangladesh on track
In its fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTD), Bangladesh remains on track in terms of treatment and elimination of Kala-azar and lymphatic filariasis, but it remains a potentially risk country for leprosy in the 11 nations of WHO South-East Asia region.
September 1, 2016
The strange case of JnU
For over a decade now, there have been class boycotts, exam cancellations, cases and counter cases, and even violence on the streets, but none of these has solved the accommodation problem of Jagannath University students.
August 24, 2016
Where are they now?
Panna Akter remembers only one date of her life. She can't recall the date of her birth or marriage, and she isn't sure on which dates her two sons aged around five and six were born. “These dates are written in a diary,” she says, and springs from her seat to bring it.
September 13, 2015
Still a long way to go before stubbing it out
Successes are many. But Bangladesh still struggles in its fight against tobacco with at least 156 people dying and another 1,095 becoming disabled due to smoking in the country every day. Tax increase and other government interventions to cut tobacco consumption seem fruitless, as production, export, import and consumption of cigarette and smokeless tobacco are on the rise.
September 7, 2015
How safe are your antibiotics?
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionise all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer,” Sir Alexander Fleming would later say famously, “But I suppose that was exactly what I did.”
September 6, 2015
Patients' horror from medical error
Health services are not always as safe as they could and should be. Patient safety has become a great concern of today's healthcare, because as interventions are becoming complex with time, patients are more at risks of medical errors.
May 15, 2015
Ananta isn't dead, we are
Ananta Das is dead and cold alright. Yet because man is what he stands for and believes in, something tells me it's not him that is dead. Rather, those of us who have failed to save his life are.
May 4, 2015
Slave Trade Booms In Dark Triangle
Promising jobs in Malaysia, transnational human traffickers held about 2.5 lakh Bangladeshis captive in Thailand...
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