Britain yesterday announced plans to accelerate its relocation of Afghan staff who worked with the military and their families ahead of a planned withdrawal of US-led Nato forces.

US President Joe Biden pledged Sunday to press Russian leader Vladimir Putin to uphold human rights when they meet in Geneva next month for their first summit.

Students of public and private universities will get Covid-19 vaccines on priority once they are available, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque said yesterday.

Myanmar’s National Unity Government has pledged to comply with the directives of the International Court of Justice, which last year ordered the country to prevent any acts of genocide against the Rohingyas in Rakhine State.

Scientists said there are signs the UK is in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus infections, casting doubt on plans in England to lift all lockdown restrictions in three weeks’ time.

A woman, devastated, is sitting on a bed with two others. There are bruises and injury marks on her legs, face and other parts of her body. Bloodstains can be seen on the bed sheet.

Controversial Islamic speaker Mufti Amir Hamza yesterday confessed to a magistrate that he used to misinterpret religion and spread extremism in his sermons.

Prof Farid-ul-Alam, former head of paediatrics department of Chattogram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College, died from post-Covid-19 complications at a port city hospital early yesterday.

Centre for Policy Dialogue yesterday said the slow implementation of development programmes and depressed private investment were concerning for the economy still recovering from the pandemic fallout.

The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected women more than men in terms of monetary and other losses, economists and women rights activists say.

The Provisional Government of Bangladesh today ruled out any political settlement with the West Pakistanis. Home Minister AM Kamaruzzaman issued a statement to the press which categorically rejected President Yahya Khan’s offer of an amnesty. It’s a fight to the finish, he said.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh which was supposed to expire yesterday was extended by a further three months as only two out of over 190 clothing retailers had agreed to renew their contract.

Rejecting straightway the proposals for a political settlement of the issues involved in the present revolt against Yahya Khan in Bangladesh.

From providing India with Covid relief materials to extending financial help to Sri Lanka in its hour of crisis, Bangladesh has started to showcase its economic rise and use it to forge deeper ties with neighbours.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday put forward three suggestions before the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G), including strengthening campaign about its action-oriented approach by engaging more financiers, innovators, policymakers and creative entrepreneurs in its focus areas.

Iranian prosecutors have confirmed a French man detained in the Islamic republic will be tried for espionage and “propaganda against the system”, his lawyer told AFP yesterday.

Amid the closure of Indo-Bangla land borders, Bangladeshi nationals are trespassing using several illegal points in six districts of the south.

The meteoric rise of Covid-19 cases during the second wave that overwhelmed the health infrastructure in India is now being matched by an equally steep decline in infections.

The majority of Hefajat-e-Islam’s funds came from the Middle East through Bangladeshi expatriates, said police.

After four mild tremors and several aftershocks between Saturday morning and afternoon, Sylhet experienced another light tremor of magnitude 2.8 at 4:35am yesterday, which panicked people again.