Europe surged past five million cases of the new coronavirus yesterday as France and Spain prepared tighter restrictions in an attempt to curb rising levels of infections in their capital cities.

When nations around the globe are taking cost-saving measures to tackle the economic fallout of Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh has increased travel expenses for ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers by Tk 93 lakh.

Days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cautioned against a second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, Health Minister Zahid Maleque yesterday said the government was ready to tackle the probable second wave of the disease.

The Saudi government has agreed to extend visas for the Bangladeshis who returned home on holiday but could not go back to the kingdom due to the pandemic.

Bidders need to give bribes in the form of financial benefits, arrange trips and host dinners for government officials to win public procurement contracts, says a World Bank report.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for not allowing geopolitical rivalries to weaken the United Nations as the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that both developed and developing nations need the global body more than ever.

Thirty-two-year-old SM Sharmin, a marketing executive at a private organisation, was cooking while also speaking to one of her clients over the phone, and helping her eight-year-old daughter with her online classes.

The number of Covid-19 deaths crossed the 5,000 mark yesterday, as Bangladesh stepped into the 198th day since the first detection of coronavirus in the country.

Chilly or not, the coming winter is set to be an ominous one.

A coalition of 156 nations, including Bangladesh, has joined a global scheme for fair distribution of future vaccines against Covid-19, an alliance led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced, but superpowers China and the United States did not sign up.

The central bank has become an ineffective entity in containing defaulted loans due to immense political pressure and illegal intervention by some large business groups, finds a research by Transparency International Bangladesh.

Former Ducsu vice-president Nurul Haque Nur and five leaders of Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad were sued in another rape case on Monday evening when its leaders and activists were taking to the streets to protest a previous case.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said a positive progress was made in discussions on sharing the water of common rivers, including the Teesta.

The High Court yesterday issued a rule asking the government to show causes in two weeks why it should not be directed to release 83 migrant workers, who returned home from Vietnam and Qatar, from jail.

With Vietnam returnee Rubel languishing in jail, his wife and three children are struggling to make ends meet as he is the sole wage-earner of his family.

Former Ducsu vice-president Nurul Haque Nur and six members of Bangladesh Sadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad were detained last night for protesting the filing of a rape case against six people, including Nur, and later released.

After months of bureaucratic tangle, the government has permitted antigen-based rapid testing for Covid-19 at the public healthcare centres.

It is the tale of Abdul Malek alias Badal, a driver of Directorate General of Health Services, who has raked in millions allegedly by being involved in illegal recruitments, manipulating transfers and promotions, and trading in “fake currencies”.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually deliver her key speech at the 75th UN General Assembly on Saturday highlighting global issues, including Rohingya crisis and vaccine, with a call for ensuring vaccine for all at an affordable cost.

Since the prime minister “praises” Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan, the majority of its board members support extending his tenure.