Some 341 Bangladeshis stranded in the Coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan would be brought back home in a special flight tonight.

An all-round performance by the Bangladesh Under-19s helped the young Tigers secure the semifinal spot in the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup as they thrashed hosts South Africa by 104 runs in Potchefstroom yesterday.

Infection from China’s coronavirus spread to more than 8,100 people globally yesterday, surpassing the total from the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic in a fast-spreading health crisis forecast to deal a heavy blow to the world’s second-largest economy.

On the last day of polls campaign, mayor candidates of both the Awami League and the BNP yesterday accused each other of attempting to harm the election atmosphere.

The Awami League yesterday urged the Election Commission to keep an eye on the observers and prevent them from exerting influence.

On January 29, about 36 hours before campaigning stopped, and two days before the election itself, the ruling party mayoral candidate for Dhaka south, Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, made public his election manifesto.

Only a few voters turned out at polling centres for mock voting using electronic voting machines (EVMs) yesterday.

A mess only five years ago, the sidewalks in Gulshan-2 residential area now make for a streamlined jogging track, with dips in front of the gates of people’s homes.

Diplomats from various western countries in Dhaka said they wanted to see democracy in action in tomorrow’s city polls.

Vehicle restrictions during polls

The United States and Japan evacuated their nationals from a quarantined city while a number of airlines suspended flights to mainland China as deaths from a new virus leapt to 132 and a government economist predicted a huge hit to the economy.

Awami League presidium member Abdur Rahman yesterday asked Chhatra League leaders and activists to “occupy and control” the polling centres on election-day morning.

With the Dhaka city corporation election just two days away, many fear law and order in the capital may deteriorate.

Awami League mayoral nominee Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh plans to turn Dhaka south into a tourist destination.

Some 42 former top civil servants have decided to form a think tank to assist the government in formulating and implementing various policies.

A 21-year-old DU student was raped and tortured in a notoriously dark stretch of the Airport Road in Kurmitola on the evening of January 5. The lone suspect, who was arrested a few days later, had allegedly raped and mugged other women near the spot in the past.

Five members of a family, including a three-year-old girl, were burnt to death at their home in Moulvibazar town yesterday morning.

Little Tasmin Mahira Tuba often wakes up in her sleep in the middle of the night and frantically starts looking for her mother, Taslima Begum Renu, who was beaten to death by a mob in July last year.

Rohingya children living in refugee camps will be allowed to receive a formal education after a change of heart by government in a move welcomed by right activists and UN.

BNP mayoral nominee Ishraque Hossain yesterday pledged to turn Dhaka south into a modern and world-class metropolis.