Japanese Emperor Akihito, in his final remarks as his three-decade reign drew to a close yesterday, thanked the people for their support and expressed hope for a peaceful future.

A pet pooch was detained for flouting India’s election rules after it was spotted parading slogans supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi outside polling stations -- but “let off with a warning”, authorities said yesterday.

Niranjan Chakraborty, the 98-year-old retired schoolteacher of Chattogram’s Anwara upazila, yesrteday got his ancestral land back from the grabbers, thanks to the intervention of local administration and law enforcers.

An alleged follower of Sri Lankan bombing mastermind Zahran Hashim was set to appear before an Indian court yesterday after admitting he wanted to carry out an attack in India, investigators said.

Two alleged criminals, including a drug peddler, were killed in “gunfights” with law enforcers in Chapainawabganj and Madaripur, while two suspected robbers were killed in what police claimed was a fighting between two groups of robbers in Cox’s Bazar yesterday.

Two minor girls have allegedly been raped in Habiganj and Moulvibazar since Monday evening.

If it were before 1983, people would be seen fishing at the exact same spot where children now play football, on Teesta’s sandy floor lying arid and barren. The river is no longer blessed with water, except for a few months of the year.

Photos of “Yeti footprints” posted online by the Indian army triggered a social media storm yesterday, with users ridiculing the military for propagating theories debunked by science.

The committee formed by the Police Headquarters to probe the killing of Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi has found four cops, including a top district police official and former Sonagazi OC Moazzem Hossain, guilty of negligence.

The High Court yesterday came down heavily on Bangladesh Bank, directing it to submit a compliance report on its previous orders within 15 days, including one seeking the list of those defaulting on loans of over Tk 1 crore for more than 20 years.

President Xi Jinping yesterday urged China’s youth to be loyal to the Communist Party as he sought to whip up patriotic sentiment in a nationalist speech marking the centennial of a student protest.

The Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (Noab) yesterday urged the government to exempt Value Added Tax on newsprint imports and reduce corporate tax to enable the newspaper industry to survive.

Europe’s top rights court yesterday said France could proceed with the expulsion of an Algerian convicted of terror charges, dismissing his claim he would face torture or inhumane treatment back home.

At least five Nigerian soldiers were killed and some 30 are missing three days after Boko Haram jihadis overran an army base, security sources said yesterday.

The French government yesterday opened a suicide prevention unit for police officers after a sharp rise in the number taking their own lives since the start of this year.

The cyclonic storm “Fani” over southeast Bay and adjoining areas has moved north-northwestwards further over the same area.

Sri Lankan security officials have warned that Islamist militants behind Easter Sunday’s suicide bombings are planning attacks and could be dressed in uniform, as the archbishop of Colombo complained about insufficient security around churches.

An alleged rapist of a schoolgirl was killed in a “shootout” with Rab in Chattogram’s Lohagara upazila early yesterday.

A 98-year-old retired schoolteacher has allegedly been driven out of his ancestral house by land grabbers in Anwara upazila of Chattogram.

Five policemen were rescued after locals confined them in Gouripur upazila for their alleged bid to frame a trader in a drug case early yesterday.