Japan yesterday declared the name of its new imperial era when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes emperor on May 1, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying it emphasised traditional values at a turning point in the nation's history.

Rights groups yesterday condemned what they called a "massacre" of 14 farmers by police in the central Philippines as authorities defended the incident as a legitimate operation against suspected communist rebels.

Pope Francis and Morocco's King Mohammed VI called on Saturday for the protection of Jerusalem's multi-religious character, saying the city's sacred sites must be accessible to worshippers of all faiths.

Israel yesterday reopened its crossings with the blockaded Gaza Strip after having kept them closed for nearly a week following a rare long-distance rocket strike from the Palestinian enclave, an official said.

Members of the Saudi team that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi received training in the United States, the Washington Post has reported, revealing other new elements in the death of the newspaper's former contributor.

A Maldivian court yesterday ordered the authorities to lift a freeze on former strongman president Abdulla Yameen's bank accounts holding about $6.5 million but said a money laundering case against him would proceed.

At least six people, including a man and his three-year-old daughter, were killed in separate road accidents in Chattrogram, Satkhira, Faridpur and Sherpur yesterday.

Britain's exit from the European Union was in disarray after the implosion of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy left her under pressure from rival factions to leave without a deal, go for an election or forge a much softer divorce.

Police yesterday seized huge amount of medicines and held a man for storing those illegally in Bogura.

Milon Miah is probably the only shopkeeper at the now devastated Gulshan DNCC market, who could get himself to bring new supplies for his poultry shop and open the store yesterday.

There would have been no need to increase the gas price even if half of the corruption in Petrobangla and Titas was reduced, the High Court said yesterday.

A shed of Demra Fire Service and Civil Defence office in Dhaka was partially damaged by a fire originating from a gas line near its boundary wall last night.

The Surma river in Sylhet is on the verge of becoming another Buriganga, environmentalists fear.

Declaring that peace efforts in Mali had faltered, the United States on Friday called on the UN Security Council to consider a possible major drawdown of the peacekeeping mission in the West African country.

Five workers were killed and three injured in a factory explosion caused by a gas leak in eastern China, local authorities said yesterday.

A political meddling scandal threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's re-election bid was given fresh impetus Friday with the release of messages and a secret recording supplied by his former attorney general.

Alaska residents accustomed to subzero temperatures are experiencing a heat wave of sorts that is shattering records, with the thermometer jumping to more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit (16.7 Celsius) above normal in some regions.

At least six people, including a woman and her daughter, were killed in separate road accidents in Noakhali and Cumilla yesterday.

Facebook on Friday said it is tightening live video streaming rules in response to the service being used to broadcast deadly attacks on mosques in New Zealand.

An alleged drug dealer was killed in a “gunfight” between a drug gang and law enforcers near Habirchara union of Teknaf upazila in the early hours yesterday.