Russia yesterday said it was withdrawing from the Open Skies treaty, undermining a post-Cold War defence accord that allows its signatories to carry out unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territories.

President-elect Joe Biden unveiled plans Thursday for fighting Covid and injecting $1.9 trillion into a battered US economy, but already his ambitious first 100 days agenda is overshadowed by the looming Senate trial of his soon-to-be predecessor Donald Trump.

The northern part of the country is witnessing a sharp fall in temperature as the second spell of cold wave from the Himalayan sweeping through the region.

A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island yesterday, killing at least 42 people, levelling a hospital and severely damaging other buildings, authorities said, as they warned there were people still trapped beneath rubble.

A mobile court at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport fined Turkish Airlines Tk 3 lakh for carrying three passengers without Covid-19 negative certificates.

A 29-year-old man was shot dead yesterday morning by the Indian Border Security Force in Sreerampur area of Patgram, Lalmonirhat.

Police said the investigation into the rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Kalabagan has progressed well and they are trying to complete it soon.

Expatriate workers, including Bangladeshis, in Malaysia are facing concerns over their jobs and income after the country declared a nationwide state of emergency until August 1 to combat the rising Covid-19 cases with the daily case number recently crossing the 3,000-mark.

An original painting by Tintin creator Herge sold for a record 3.2 million euros ($3.9 million) at an online auction on Thursday, auction house Artcurial announced.

The UN refugees chief said Thursday he was “extremely troubled” by the humanitarian situation facing Eritrean refugees in northern Ethiopia, citing strong indications of “major violations” of international law.

Hundreds of asylum seekers are forming new migrant caravans in Honduras, planning to walk thousands of kilometers through Central America to the United States via Guatemala and Mexico, in search of a better life under the new administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

The Criminal Investigation Department has submitted a supplementary charge sheet in Maj Gen Abul Manzur murder case, stating that their further investigation found nothing new.

On January 13, 2021, Hugh Brammer breathed his last in a hospital in Brighton, England. He died at the ripe age of 95 years and thus conventionally speaking it was not an untimely death. But Hugh’s absence from this world saddens us because of what he was to the last.

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest known cave painting: a life-sized picture of a wild pig that was made at least 45,500 years ago in Indonesia.

Nine militants, who had previously severed ties with their families and the society, have decided to return to normal lives, thanks to counselling they received under Rab supervision for between two and six months.

A French court yesterday gave suspended jail terms to three soldiers convicted over the death by drowning of a trainee officer during an initiation ritual at the country’s most prestigious military academy.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged all to work from their respective positions alongside the government for the socio-economic development of the people to build the country as Golden Bengal.

A US Capitol rioter seen wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt taunting Jews over the Nazi death camp was arrested Wednesday, the FBI said.

Bangladesh’s Covid-19 fatalities soared to 7,849 as the health authorities confirmed 16 more deaths and 813 new cases in 24 hours till yesterday morning.

A tripartite meeting between Bangladesh, China and Myanmar will take place in the capital on January 19 with Dhaka seeking quick start of Rohingya repatriation that has not been possible in more than three years since the refugee influx.