Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has congratulated Joe Biden, the 46th president of the US, who took oath of office on Wednesday, especially for his country’s return to the Paris Climate Agreement.

US President Joe Biden signed 15 executive actions shortly after being sworn on Wednesday, undoing policies put in place by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and making his first moves on the pandemic, immigration, climate change, US census and regulatory changes.

The High Court yesterday summoned 280 loan defaulters of People’s Leasing and Financial Services (PLFS) to appear before it on February 23 to give their explanations on defaulting the loans and repayment.

The High Court yesterday observed that the superintendent of police in Kushita committed serious contempt of court and made a severe attack on the administration of justice.

Rajshahi University Vice-Chancellor Prof M Abdus Sobhan has “assured” Chhatra League men that they would get the “highest priorities” in getting jobs at the university.

Bangladesh were hardly tested upon their return to international cricket after more than 10 months as Tamim Iqbal’s side registered a comfortable six-wicket win against an inexperienced West Indies side in the first of three ODIs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

In 2019, the government took up a project to construct the first terminal of the Payra Sea Port and its related infrastructure.

Mentioning that the employment situation in different countries, especially in the oil-dependent Middle Eastern states, might not remain the same as before due to the pandemic, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government was working to explore alternative labour markets and send workers there.

India’s gift of 20 lakh doses of Covishield is likely to arrive in Bangladesh today.

Experts have stressed the need for including all aged 50 and above in the priority list for the first phase of Covid-19 vaccination to maximise the effectiveness of the inoculation campaign.

Joe Biden yesterday became the 46th president of the United States with a call to unity, vowing to bridge deep divides and defeat domestic extremism two weeks after a mob attack tried to undo his election victory.

Residents of many areas in the capital have been facing an acute gas crisis for the last few weeks due to an inadequate supply of piped gas.

Distance learning programmes through television, radio and internet, adopted after the school closure due to Covid-19, remain by and large ineffective, finds a study.

March 11, 2020 was when Bangladesh last played an international match -- the second and final match of the T20I series against Zimbabwe at home.

Dhaka is expecting that the repatriation of Rohingyas will begin in the second quarter of this year as Bangladesh, Myanmar and China held a tripartite meeting on the issue yesterday.

President Donald Trump spent his last full day in the White House yesterday mulling pardons and President-elect Joe Biden was set to arrive in Washington ahead of an inauguration that his predecessor, in a final break with tradition, will snub.

The government is likely to start piloting the Covid-19 vaccination from next week with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines obtained from the Indian government, doses of which are expected to arrive in Dhaka tomorrow.

Police said they will keep an eye on waz mahfils to identify those delivering indecent speeches in the name of sermons.

Bogura district Swechchasebak League President Sajedur Rahman Shaheen has said voters who would not cast their ballots for the Awami league mayoral candidate in the Gabtali municipality polls need not go to polling centres.

The world is on the “brink of a catastrophic moral failure” if rich countries hog Covid-19 vaccine doses while the poorest suffer, the head of the WHO said yesterday.