The death toll from Covid-19 in Bangladesh crossed 14,000 yesterday as health authorities reported 77 fresh deaths.

A Ukrainian soldier was killed in the conflict-ridden east of the country in a mortar and grenade attack launched from territory held by pro-Russian separatists, the military said yesterday.

A mammoth trek across southern China by a herd of elephants that has captivated the world with their playful antics has thrown a spotlight on the loss of their habitat and conservation challenges.

Myanmar authorities torched over half a billion dollars worth of narcotics across the country yesterday, sending opium, heroin and methamphetamine up in smoke as experts warn smugglers have adapted to Covid-19 travel restrictions and are back in business.

A shootout between suspected drug cartels left 18 people dead Friday in Mexico, a government official said.

Bangladesh will soon receive a gift of 2.5 million doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from the US, said US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller.

One Spanish and two Ethiopian employees of the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have been “brutally murdered” in Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Tigray region, the organisation said Friday.

Rich countries are opening up societies and vaccinating young people who are not at great risk from Covid-19, while the poorest countries cruelly lack doses, the World Health Organization said on Friday, condemning a global failure.

The Myanmar military regime has organised a new legal team, led by its Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin, to present the defense in the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

A critically endangered giant barking deer has been spotted in Cambodia for the first time, in a boost for the country’s wildlife preservation efforts, officials said Friday.

Rescue workers scouring the debris of a collapsed condo building in a Miami suburb said they heard sounds in the rubble overnight, as officials yesterday raised the number of people unaccounted for to 159 and the confirmed death toll to four.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said Bangladesh should never worry about bad debt or the so-called debt trap.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) arrested a suspected member of an international organ smuggling racket in the Benapole check-post area on Thursday.

The government’s efforts to protect the proverbial heart of the country, its capital, from a worsening Covid-19 situation could be foiled by the influx of people from riskier districts to cattle markets in the lead-up to Eid-ul-Azha.

Pakistan, faced with the prospect of sharply reduced foreign aid during the coming year, announced a budget today that called for stringent national austerity but provided substantially more money for the military.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday stressed the need for creating stronger and inclusive international cooperation to mitigate water-related disasters for a resilient and sustainable post-Covid-19 world.

Damage to Sri Lanka’s marine environment from a sinking chemical ship is worse than feared, officials said yesterday, as more dead turtles, dolphins and whales washed up on the island’s beaches.

Turkey yesterday expressed disappointment after an EU summit ended with a critical statement about Ankara’s rights record and no clear progress on a customs treaty or committment on aid.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally announced Thursday that lawmakers will create a select committee to investigate the deadly US Capitol riot, weeks after Senate Republicans blocked formation of a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the nation should be prepared with skills, education and infrastructure as a major shift is taking place in the world economy.