Tobacco consumption has been reduced in Bangladesh by 18.5 per cent in nine years from 2009 to 2017 but this is not enough to make the country tobacco-free by 2040, said anti-tobacco activists at a seminar at the National Press Club in the capital yesterday. The seminar was jointly organised by Progga…

A court yesterday cancelled the bail of Shafat Ahmed, prime accused in the sensational Banani double rape case. Judge Khademul Kayes of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 passed the order following a petition filed by the state. Later, the court sent him to jail. Besides, the…

The High Court (HC) yesterday ordered authorities concerned to prepare and submit list of loan defaulters and money launderers of last 20 years. A High Court division bench comprising Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice K M Kamrul Kader passed the order after holding hearing on a writ petition filed…

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is going to hold mass hearings on gas price hike from March 11. The energy regulator has already received proposals from all gas transmission and distribution companies about the hike. The mass hearing will take place at the auditorium of the Trading…

A suspected robber was killed in a reported clash between two factions at Rahmatpur Bhagar in Sadar upazila early yesterday. The identity of the deceased could not be known yet. Being tipped off that two gangs of robbers were exchanging bullets in the area, a team of police went to the spot in the dead…

India's government has quietly shelved a controversial amendment to its citizenship bill after violent protests in the north-east of the country. The bill was aimed at helping Hindus and other minorities move to India from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries. The legislation cleared parliament's…

President Donald Trump is ready to sign a border security funding deal, despite failing to get anywhere close to the money he sought for a US-Mexico border wall, US media reported yesterday. CNN and NBC television quoted sources close to the president saying that Trump has resigned himself to the deal…

Pakistani authorities yesterday vowed to carry out a "massive" crackdown targeting hate speech and extremism on social media, as a minister boasted arrests have already been made. Officials in Pakistan are frequently accused of muzzling the media and targeting individuals critical of the country's…