A novice was allegedly at the helm moving the Moyur-2 astern when the vessel slammed into a smaller launch, causing it to sink and drown at least 32 people in the Buriganga at the capital's Shyambazar yesterday.

Barishal division’s only RT-PCR lab, set up at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, is struggling to examine samples, as the demand for Covid-19 tests rises.

Officials yesterday reported an all-time daily high of 4,014 coronavirus infections.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not even close to being over, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing yesterday.

Hundreds of jute mill workers yesterday took to the streets in Dhaka, Khulna and Chattogram, protesting the government decision to shut all state-run jute mills and lay off 25,000 workers.

Mohammad Noman, a former Jatiya Party MP of Laxmipur-2 who was also an adviser to the party’s Chairman GM Quader, has been expelled from the party, read a press release yesterday.

Global infections from the novel coronavirus have surpassed 10 million as the rate of new cases surges.

As the official coronavirus death toll in the country surged past 1,700 yesterday, experts said the actual figure of death would be much higher had those died with Covid-19 symptoms been taken into account.

A unified appeal, signed by 105 world leaders, including 18 Nobel laureates, 32 former heads of state and government, political leaders, artistes, international NGOs and institutions, has urged governments, foundations, philanthropists and social businesses to come forward and produce and distribute Covid-19 vaccines all over the world for free.

The government will authorise the use of rapid testing kits for measuring antibodies in patients infected with the coronavirus.

Migrant labour sending countries should strongly oppose forced deportation of workers during the pandemic and there should be a transitional justice mechanism for those facing job loss and wage theft, experts said.

Though the scientific community is mulling over whether the Covid-19 reinfection cases are possible, Bangladeshi scientist Dr Bijon Kumar Shil rules out the chances.

The government has put the last nail on the coffin of the country’s state-run jute industry by closing all the 22 jute mills and laying off 24,886 workers.

Hoping to build confidence among the engineers and workers, the metro rail project authorities are setting up two field hospitals for their employees infected with the coronavirus.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) is looking for a path to overcome the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic in implementation of its funded projects in Bangladesh.

In the first 17 days of this month, the country’s two private airlines operated 552 domestic flights with 16,334 passengers, and the state-owned Biman operated just two carrying 24.

Education Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said the government was considering to cut short the exam days and number of subjects of Higher Secondary Certificate and its equivalent exams which were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 10 districts of Khulna division have only two ICUs for coronavirus patients -- that too are plagued with faulty equipment and inadequate medical supplies.

South Point School and College in Dhaka held its admission tests yesterday, disregarding the government directives on keeping all educational institutions shut to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Marking areas into red, yellow or green zones is a continuous process.