New data reveals alarming lead exposure levels among children in Bangladesh. Experts discuss the hidden sources and the urgent need for systemic policy change.

Since joining the club in 2019, the 25-year-old made 278 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions, scoring 62 goals, helping them win the Premier League last season, the FA Cup in 2020 and the FA Community Shield in 2023.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against Asencio and reduced their sentencing requests for three other former Real Madrid youth players after the victims told the court they had forgiven the defendants.

The 13th seed has spent years taming her own tendency toward self-recrimination, and showed the best evidence of her new career outlook as she reclaimed her composure with a bathroom break before the third set at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

UEFA has made no secret of its desire to remove Infantino, who had hoped to be re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term next March after a highly successful World Cup.

The Atletico Madrid defender, 31, made his senior team debut for Spain in 2020 and was part of the squad that beat Argentina 1-0 to win the World Cup in July, although he remained on the bench in the final.

Mandhana scored a fiery 124 runs off 64 deliveries, a knock that included 14 fours and seven maximums, as she overtook Mithali Raj to become the all-time leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket.

Beyond 1947 is a personal essay by Sunita Chowdhurie about the two grandmothers who shaped her, women who never called it Independence, only Partition. Through memory, food, and quiet endurance, it traces what was lost and rebuilt when a border cut through Bengal.

Agrivoltaics offers Bangladesh a sustainable method to expand solar energy whilst protecting vital agricultural land and food security.

Cross-border rivers present complex management challenges, requiring legal frameworks and regional cooperation to mitigate disasters and share resources.

For years, BTV’s more serious problems have had little to do with graphic design. They concern editorial credibility, political dependence, bureaucratic culture, ageing production practices, weak audience engagement and the difficulty of persuading younger Bangladeshis that the national broadcaster has something distinctive to offer them.

A US federal judge on Wednesday refused to force Google to sell a division of its digital advertising business, rejecting the government’s push to break up part of the company’s ad empire.

Around 5,000 people in at least five villages of Mathbaria upazila in Pirojpur have been suffering for years as construction of a 37-metre bridge, which began six years ago, remains incomplete.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury yesterday placed the Bank Resolution (Amendment) Bill 2026, seeking to abolish a controversial provision allowing former owners of weakened banks to regain ownership.

Uber and British start-up Wayve launched their commercial robotaxi service in London on Thursday, although passengers will still have a human supervisor behind the wheel.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved a case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and former Exim Bank chairman Mohammad Nazrul Islam Mazumder over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 276.30 crore in corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds in the name of the Bangabandhu Memorial Trust.

A local court yesterday sent a teacher of a residential madrasa to jail on charge of sexual abuse of a 17-year-old student in Fatullah, Narayanganj.

“No” is not merely a word. It is a management philosophy and, occasionally, a retirement plan.

The proposed National Human Rights Commission Bill 2026 and Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Bill 2026 still fail to ensure independent investigations into serious human rights violations, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said yesterday.

Iran’s army yesterday said it targeted US bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, despite threats of further strikes by US President Donald Trump.

The Anti-Corruption Commission is set to seek information from the UAE government about properties allegedly acquired in Dubai through money laundering by 73 Bangladeshis, including former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, former Premier Bank chairman HBM Iqbal and former Padma Bank chairman Chowdhury Nafis Sarafat.

The escalating conflict in the Middle East threatens to nearly triple Bangladesh’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) subsidy bill to Tk 40,000 crore ($3.3 billion) this fiscal year, forcing the government to turn to multilateral lenders for additional assistance.

A man was hacked and shot dead by unidentified assailants in Keranihat Bazar area of Raozan upazila, Chattogram yesterday night.

Energy trade routes that optimize distance and costs may no longer be suitable for the fractured and fractious modern world, especially for major importers.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday urged people to remain vigilant against rumours and attempts to provoke people through social media, saying no communal provocation or hatred should be allowed to create instability in society.

Police yesterday filed two cases over a minister’s vehicle being driven on the wrong side of Circuit House Road in the capital.

Mitsuru Izumo was 18 when he first came to Bangladesh in 1998. A biology student at the University of Tokyo, he chose this country for an internship because he wanted to see poverty and nutrition problems for himself.

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday called upon police officials to discharge their duties with honesty, dedication and professionalism to maintain law and order and curb crimes in the country.

The government yesterday signed a $1 billion loan agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to build the second unit of the Eastern Refinery project, the country’s lone crude oil refinery.

Young entrepreneurs will soon be able to get up to Tk 20 lakh in loans and grants combined to start businesses, without providing any collateral, under a new Bangladesh Bank programme.

At least 249 women and children were subjected to violence across the country in August this year, with 79 of them being raped, according to a report by the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS).

A bill was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday to abolish the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and establish a new elite force called the Special Response Battalion (SRB).

The government has connected more than 12,000 institutions to broadband internet across the country during the first 180 days of its tenure, according to progress reports prepared by the Posts and Telecommunications Division and the ICT Division.

El Nino could be the strongest since records began four decades ago, the United Nations’ climate agency warned yesterday, with the UN chief warning the world is in the “danger zone of extreme weather”.

At least 402 garment factories closed between July 2023 and June this year, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir told parliament yesterday.

What are the lessons of July charter that need to be implemented?

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has allowed industrial enterprises operating in hi-tech parks to make certain foreign payments from their taka accounts, easing the process of settling royalty, technical know-how and technical assistance fees.

A US federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new executive order limiting who qualifies for birthright citizenship. Immigrant rights groups cheered the decision.

Myanmar yesterday pledged “safe and dignified” returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after the United Nations and rights groups raised concerns about the upcoming repatriation of 1,500 people from Malaysia.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) yesterday handed over insurance claim cheques worth Tk 14.51 crore to 2,549 policyholders, as part of its efforts to speed up claim payments and rebuild public trust in the insurance sector.

Bangladesh’s plan to turn its leather and footwear industry into a $5 billion export sector by 2030 could remain out of reach unless long-standing environmental and compliance problems at the Savar tannery estate are fixed, industry leaders said yesterday.

Five African migrants died on the perilous Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, Spanish rescuers said yesterday, but an NGO warned dozens more may have perished.

Janmashtami, one of the major religious festivals of the Hindu community, commemorating the birth of Lord Sri Krishna, will be celebrated across the country today with due religious fervour and gaiety.

Pubali Bank PLC has signed a participation agreement with Bangladesh Bank to join the BB’s Tk 3,000 crore refinance fund aimed at developing agriculture-based specialised economic hubs in the country’s northern region and accelerating agricultural and rural economic activities.

Local apparel exporters are fearing expensive airfreight and discounts from international clothing retailers and brands because of delays in production and timely shipment of goods due to the current energy crisis.

The Israeli army killed two teenagers in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday night, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The deadline for starting electricity supply to the national grid from the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is being pushed back due to faults in two valves, said Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam.

The 2026 edition of the three-day Bangladesh Travel Mart began yesterday at InterContinental Dhaka, bringing together tourism stakeholders from home and abroad to promote Bangladesh as a key destination and strengthen ties within the global travel industry.

A total of 15,717 children were reported missing across Bangladesh between January and July this year, of whom 2,038 remain untraced, Police Headquarters (PHQ) said yesterday.

In June, a secretive unmanned Chinese spaceplane closely monitored by US military analysts released a small satellite hundreds of miles above Earth in an orbital region crowded with commercial and military satellites. The object then looped around another Chinese satellite before returning towards the spaceplane, according to US space-tracking firm LeoLabs.

The vice chancellors of at least three public universities have recently used their institutions’ official platforms to congratulate BNP leaders on appointments to party posts amid ongoing controversies over politically influenced appointments to top university positions.

Trust Bank PLC has signed a participation agreement with Bangladesh Bank to support priority sectors under the central bank’s Tk 41,000 crore refinancing package.

Locals in Netrokona’s Mohanganj have begun returning concrete blocks stolen from a crop-protection embankment after the administration urged them to do so.

Nepal will have to rebuild around 20,000 houses in flood-ravaged areas, authorities said yesterday, as rescuers continued to search for workers trapped in tunnels linked to hydropower projects and thousands remain missing after last week’s catastrophe.

The government has decided to take a series of measures to expand cancer and kidney care nationwide amid the growing burden of these diseases.

Prime Bank PLC has signed an agreement with Beg Autos Ltd, a Dhaka-based automobile company, to provide service offers to the bank’s customers.

More journalists could face legal action if investigators find evidence of their involvement in crimes against humanity, incitement or abetment of atrocities, said International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam yesterday.

Two weeks have passed, and police still cannot explain the motive behind the gruesome killing of four members of a family in Rangpur city.

Pubali Bank PLC has signed a participation agreement with Bangladesh Bank to join its Tk 3,000 crore Export Diversification Refinance Scheme, aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on the readymade garment (RMG) sector and promoting export diversification.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sought records on the recruitment, promotion and transfer of officials and employees under the Ministry of Youth and Sports during the tenure of former adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan.

American journalist, activist and feminist icon Gloria Steinem has died, her foundation said yesterday. She was 92.

Up to £2 billion in UK-backed financing is available to eligible Bangladeshi buyers for development projects involving British goods and services across key sectors, according to Mark Birrell, trade counsellor for South Asia at UK Export Finance (UKEF).

A homoeopathic practitioner was hacked to death in his chamber at Chandpur Bazar in Natore Sadar upazila on Wednesday night.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER… Two black-crested bulbuls pause in shallow water at Hazarikhil Wildlife Sanctuary in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari.