A 20-year-old was stabbed to death during a clash between two “gangs” in Bayezid Bostami area of Chattogram city last night.

The Iraq meeting of Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of Shia Islam’s top clerics, was front-page news in Iran yesterday, with some media declaring it a chance for peace in the neighbouring country.

The government has picked nine individuals and one institution for “Swadhinata Padak 2021” (Independence Award), the highest civilian award in Bangladesh, for their outstanding contributions to the country.

Twin earthquakes in Greece last week have left around 900 houses uninhabitable, media reported yesterday, while strong aftershocks continue to strike fear into people made homeless and looking for shelter.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday warned that the pandemic risked rolling back progress made on gender equality, as women take on the lion’s share of childcare in lockdown and are more likely to work in at-risk jobs.

Bangladesh recorded 10 more coronavirus-related deaths and 540 new cases in 24 hours till yesterday morning, showing a slight fall in daily infection rate.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military and police forces to “finish off” and “kill” all communist rebels in the country, prompting fears that it could unleash a new wave of bloodshed similar to his deadly war on drugs.

Missile strikes on makeshift oil refineries in northern Syria killed four people and injured more than 20 others, a war monitor said yesterday.

A murder accused inmate in Chattogram Central Jail is missing since yesterday morning.

Covax will distribute 14.4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to 31 more countries next week, the WHO said as it warned people not to waste, through complacency, the hope that vaccines bring.

Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday said the Digital Security Act (DSA) should be abolished, adding that it is one of those “black laws” which was enacted “to extend the tenure of this isolated government”.

A garment factory employee died, 20 workers were injured and another 22 fell sick in a fire at the chemical warehouse of the factory in Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila yesterday morning.

Myanmar security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to break up a protest in Yangon yesterday, a day after a United Nations envoy urged the Security Council to hear the nation’s “desperate pleas” and take swift action to restore democracy.

Cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, now on bail in a case filed under the Digital Security Act, yesterday said he did not do anything wrong or commit any offense by drawing cartoons but he still became a “victim of the situation”.

Nine rights organisations on Friday urged the Bangladesh government to respect and protect people’s rights to freedom of expression and to end what they said was an escalating crackdown on human rights.

The two-lane Dhaka-Tangail-Rangpur highway that is being turned into a four-lane one has been selected for charging toll from those plying it.

The US pledged continued support to the Rohingyas and their host communities in Bangladesh and called for the Myanmar military to restore power to the democratically elected government and refrain from further violence.

A railway wagon along with 22 carriages derailed and fell on the line in Milpara area of Kushtia yesterday.

At least 20 people were injured in Brahmanbaria’s Kasba yesterday as two groups of ruling Awami League activists clashed in a programme where Law Minister Anisul Huq was present.

Former US president Donald Trump will be allowed back on YouTube but only when the threat of his inciting violence abates, the head of the popular online video sharing platform said Thursday.