Borrowing from the title of the second volume of Winston Churchill’s six-part history of the Second World War, I would like to term the completion of the Padma Bridge as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s “finest hour”.

This is a dream bridge which will not only establish the long-awaited direct road and rail communications between the capital and south-western parts of Bangladesh but also contribute to greater connectivity and trade among Asian countries.

Academic activities in several hundred educational institutions in the country’s north have been suspended for about a week as those have been inundated with floodwater.

Thousands of people in 93 unions -- one-third of the total 336 in Sylhet division -- suffer immensely as no humanitarian aid could reach them as yet.

How can BNP leader Tarique Rahman lead the party when he does not even dare to return home, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.

A Dhaka court yesterday recorded a case against Dhaka Wasa MD and eight others for embezzling Tk 132 crore and then hours later said it did not have jurisdiction over the matter and “restored the complaint to the complainant”.

The long-cherished Padma Bridge is now ready to be inaugurated as the contractor formally handed over the bridge to the project authorities.  

A ward-level BNP leader was attacked with explosives and then hacked to death by miscreants in Jashore’s Benapole on Tuesday night.

Unidentified armed criminals reportedly gunned down three people and injured three more, including a child, in a remote hilly area of Rangamati’s Bilaichari upazila on Tuesday evening.

At least 42 people have died in the devastating floods that have hit the country’s northern and northeastern districts, while lakhs are stranded as new areas are inundated every day.

Describing the Padma Bridge as the symbol of national pride, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said no one can raise questions about the quality of the bridge which opens on Saturday.

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Afghanistan yesterday hit 1,000, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as desperate rescuers dig through collapsed dwellings.

Large industries, SMEs and the flood-hit agriculture sector will enjoy a flexible loan repayment facility up to December this year as Bangladesh Bank yesterday revived the partial loan moratorium amid a deepening economic crisis.

Thousands of flood victims in the northern districts continue to fight for survival with little access to relief materials, and the situation is unlikely to improve today.  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday inspected the flood situation in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrakona and their adjacent areas.

Shamim Ahmed, a young resident of Eklimnagar village in Sunamganj’s Chhatak upazila, has been stranded with no relief since the flood hit his home six days ago.

The Press Council Act-1974 was being amended with a provision to fine a journalist up to Tk 10 lakh for offences under the law. Bangladesh Press Council Chairman Justice Nizamul Huq Nasim said the council’s senior journalist-representatives had been consulted with, and they gave their blessings. 

Household loss and damage due to natural disasters saw nearly tenfold increase in 2015-2020 compared to that in 2009-2014, says a report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal yesterday apparently changed his tune about the step the Election Commission took against ruling Awami League lawmaker AKM Bahauddin Bahar ahead of the Cumilla City Corporation polls.

The flood situation in the northern region and low-lying parts of Dhaka division is likely to worsen in the coming days, officials and experts said yesterday.