Malaysia’s ex-finance minister, now a key opposition figure, was charged with corruption yesterday over a $1.5 billion construction project, the latest government critic to be targeted since a scandal-plagued party returned to power.

Online armies of self-styled Saudi patriots riding a wave of state-led nationalism attack critics and what they call “traitors” of the kingdom -- but their growing clout has left the government uneasy.

Noted filmmakers and Stamford University students and teachers yesterday called for action to release Shahedul Islam Sifat and Shipra Debnath from jail.

Many Asian countries have seen a drop in coronavirus infection rate in the last couple of months but in Bangladesh’s case it remained over 20 percent.

India’s official coronavirus case tally hit two million yesterday, doubling in three weeks as the pandemic sweeps into smaller cities and rural areas, with experts warning the real toll could be much higher.

A union parishad chairman and a member landed in jail on Thursday following allegations of stealing large amounts of wheat from the government’s food for work programme in Natore.

The authorities have been forced to suspend operations of ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route at night for the last one month due to strong currents in the Padma.

The coronavirus crisis has weighed heavily on print newspapers already battling for survival around the world, with the number of copies sold tumbling while less profitable digital readerships surge.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has expressed his deep sympathy for the flood-affected people of Bangladesh and instructed the government to undertake relief work on an emergency basis.

China’s foreign ministry firmly opposes executive orders announced by US President Donald Trump banning US transactions with the Chinese owners of messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok, Beijing said yesterday.

Scientists said Tuesday they had discovered a way to detect space debris even in daylight hours, potentially helping satellites to avoid the ever-growing cloud of junk orbiting the planet.

A forester who was critically injured in an attack by land grabbers last week, died yesterday morning in Chattogram.

A Malaysian court has granted a 13-day remand for Rayhan Kabir, the Bangladeshi youth arrested for talking to the media about the Malaysian government’s treatment of migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic, after he was brought to a court yesterday morning.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman accepts an invitation of the Swiss government for convalescence in that country.

Another approach road to a ferry pontoon at Shimulia terminal in Munshiganj went into the Padma yesterday morning, severely disrupting ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route.

People in the flood-hit northern and northeastern region of the country are now suffering from different waterborne diseases.

US President Donald Trump yesterday said it was possible the United States would have a coronavirus vaccine before the Nov 3 election, a more optimistic forecast than timing put forth by his own White House health experts.

A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian national to death yesterday in a ruling that could further inflame tensions between China and Canada.

At least 10 people were killed and more than 3,300 homes ruined by flooding triggered by torrential rains across much of Sudan this week, the country’s civil defence organisation said yesterday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged UN members not to support Cuba’s bid to join the organization’s Human Rights Council.