US Senate Republicans on Tuesday torpedoed a Democratic effort to protect voting rights and expand ballot access for all Americans, a flashpoint issue months after an election marred by Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of fraud.

Suspected Taliban fighters fired a rocket into a hospital in Afghanistan yesterday, sparking a blaze that caused extensive damage and destroyed Covid-19 vaccines though there were no reports of casualties, government officials said.

Awami League nominee Aga Khan Mintu is likely to be elected unopposed in Dhaka-14 by-polls, scheduled for July 28.

Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda yesterday said that more discussions will be needed regarding the shifting of services relating to National Identity (NID) cards from the Election Commission to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

India has declared a new coronavirus variant to be of concern, and said nearly two dozen cases had been detected in three states so far.

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily announced it will print its last edition today after a stormy year in which it was raided by police and its tycoon owner and other staff were arrested under a new national security law.

A Chinese engineer working in the Padma Bridge project went missing from Lauhajang upazila of Munshiganj on Tuesday night.

Police arrested a truck driver and his helper on Tuesday night over the rape of a 20-year-old woman on their moving truck on Dhaka-Sirajganj Highway.

Two employees of Kushtia Sub-Registrar’s Office demanded a bribe of Tk 30,000 from Deputy Attorney General (DAG) BM Abdur Rafel for preparing deeds of his family land.

Acting president of the Government of Bangladesh Syed Nazrul Islam strongly deprecated renewed US arms supply to Pakistan. In a telegram to US President Richard Nixon, Nazrul said the government and people of Bangladesh were most hurt and distressed to learn about the arms supply.

With the onset of monsoon in the country creating suitable breeding conditions for Aedes mosquito larvae, the month of June has so far accounted for 59.5 percent of the dengue cases recorded this year.

The WHO is setting up a hub in South Africa to give companies from poor and middle-income countries the know-how and licenses to produce Covid-19 vaccines, in what President Cyril Ramaphosa called an historic step to spread lifesaving technology.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday expressed disappointment over rich countries’ behaviour in terms of supplying Covid-19 vaccines, saying they are hoarding vaccines and stipulating conditions for supply to other countries.

Planning Minister MA Mannan and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday talked about resolving a spat between them over the route selection for a prospective railway in Sunamganj.

Awami League, the oldest and largest political party in Bangladesh, is celebrating its 72nd foundation day today in a restricted manner amid the pandemic.

BNP standing committee has demanded that the government immediately allow party Chairperson Khaleda Zia to go abroad for better treatment.

Bangladesh Home Minister AHM Kamaruzzaman welcomed today the decision of the Aid Pakistan Consortium to withhold further aid until there was a political settlement of the Bangladesh issue.

Some families living in a jungle may be fearful of things bumping at night, but for one household in Thailand, the sight of an elephant rummaging through their kitchen was not a total shock.

Once a victim of human trafficking, Nodi Akter became a trafficker herself and worked as a coordinator between traffickers in India, Malaysia and UAE.

Ten Supreme Court lawyers yesterday served a legal notice on the government in order to know what necessary steps have been taken to prevent the incidents of phone tapping and to ensure the right to privacy of telecommunication.