Dozens of countries yesterday took Russia to task at the UN over its imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and slammed numerous “arbitrary arrests” of his supporters.

Turkey and Egypt have had their first diplomatic contacts since breaking off relations in 2013, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday.

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only had devastating effects on humans, it has also heavily impacted efforts to safeguard natural ecosystems and habitats around the globe, conservationists warned yesterday.

Bangladesh is seeing a continuous rise in the number of daily Covid-19 infection cases as it recorded 1,051 fresh ones in the last 24 hours till yesterday morning.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government will set up community vision centres in all upazilas across the country in phases to provide better eyecare services to local people.

At least 12 protesters were shot dead in Myanmar yesterday as the junta reacted to international condemnation of its crackdown by claiming ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi had accepted hefty illegal payments.

Habiganj police yesterday arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the rape of a seventh-grader in the district’s Baniachang upazila.

Sylhet-3 lawmaker Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury died of coronavirus yesterday.

The High Court yesterday wanted to know what legal action was taken against a madrasa teacher for beating up an eight-year-old student mercilessly in Chattogram’s Hathazari upazila recently.

Forest Department in Cox’s Bazar rescued an elephant calf that is believed to have excluded from elephant herd in Shaplapur area of Teknaf.

BBC today reported that Pakistan President Yahya Khan would visit Dhaka soon with a “package deal” to resolve the ongoing crisis in East Pakistan. The report also indicated a handover of power to elected representatives before the commencement of the National Assembly session.

Former Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is among 10 leaders from South Asia named in Weforum’s Young Global Leaders list.

Two Chinese companies have expressed interest in forming a joint venture to construct, operate and manage funds for a proposed high-speed railway on the Dhaka-Chattogram route.

Two people were killed and 15 others injured as a bus caught fire on Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Cumilla’s Daudkandi yesterday evening.

A Bangladeshi woman whose husband died dismantling an oil tanker in a local shipyard was given the green light this week to keep pursuing a claim for compensation from a UK company linked to the vessel in a test case for the shipbreaking industry.

A Dhaka court yesterday once again issued non-bailable arrest warrants for four prosecution witnesses, including a brother of the army chief Gen Aziz Ahmed, for their failure to appear before it in a case filed over the murder of Sayeed Ahmed Tipu.

The United States suggested Wednesday it will oppose the release of billions of dollars in Iranian funds from South Korea until Tehran returns to full compliance with a nuclear deal.

One of former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration rules - barring people deemed likely to need government benefits from legal permanent residency - suffered what could be a mortal blow on Tuesday when the US Supreme Court dismissed litigation over it at the urging of President Joe Biden’s administration.

One in three women have already suffered physical violence or sexual abuse, the World Health Organization said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic was deepening the problem.

The UN Security Council failed to agree on a statement that would have condemned the coup in Myanmar, called for restraint by the military and threatened to consider “further measures.”