Speakers at a sit-in yesterday said the emergency fund of Tk 10.5 crore announced by the prime minister on Wednesday for the poor and daily wage-earners hit hard by the lockdown is not sufficient. They demanded allocation of Tk 35,000 crore to meet the people’s needs.

A total of around 24,600 migrant workers have left the country for their respective workplaces in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and UAE, in the last five days since April 17 via special flights.

The widespread cases of diarrhoea in Barishal division is due to the presence of cholera-causing germs in rivers and canals, from where water is being taken and used for household work, Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and Barishal Civil Surgeon Office have confirmed.

Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) yesterday filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking its directive on the authorities concerned to conduct a judicial inquiry into the killings of workers at SS Power I Plant at Chattogram’s Banshkhali upazila on April 17.

If one goes out in the streets of Dhaka, they might mistake the ongoing “strict lockdown” for a public transportation strike -- after all, all sorts of vehicles are plying the streets, save for buses. At some points of the city, there was enough congestion of vehicles and people to cause traffic jams.

The first set of metro trains reached Dhaka yesterday, registering a major development to the country’s first ever metro rail project.

Dhaka residents usually come across footpaths and roads being blocked by vendors and parked vehicles. As a result, they may have to jaywalk or manoeuvre their vehicles through the obstacles, hoping that one day authorities will clear the path.

The inauguration of the International Network for Outcome Based Education (IN4OBE) Bangladesh chapter was held virtually this Sunday.

Nearly two lakh metres of illegal fishing nets worth around Tk 65 lakh have been seized from different rivers in Barishal as the authorities started a joint drive to protect jatka yesterday.

A total of 12,258 under-trial prisoners got released from jails after they secured bail from virtual courts across the country in last six working days.

Yesterday was the first day of the resumption of regular domestic flight operation. After a 16-day recess, two private airlines -- US-Bangla and Novoair -- operated flights from the capital in the morning.

A case was filed against former vice president of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, Nurul Haque Nur under Digital Security Act.

Tonnes of rice get imported by the government from different countries to keep prices stable in Bangladesh’s market, but syndicates of unscrupulous Chattogram food officials, transport contractors, and local rice traders misappropriate the rice in different ways to later sell it at higher prices.

To get the voices of grassroots youth heard, a National Youth Council consisting of national and divisional representation needs to be formulated urgently, speakers stressed at a webinar yesterday.

The rising rate of Covid-19 infections in Barishal is alarming healthcare professionals and general citizens.

Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain yesterday constituted two more High Court benches for virtually hearing and disposing of urgent cases during the ongoing restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Five people were killed and at least 17 others injured in road accidents in three districts yesterday, according to reports from our correspondents.

In the week before the enforcement of the strict lockdown on April 14, Chattogram’s rate of infection was hovering around 12 percent to 20 percent. But in the days since then, the rate has jumped up.

In order to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients, five ICU beds are being installed at Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) in Chattogram.

The diarrhoea situation in Barishal division has become “severe”, with cases spreading to 18 out of 40 upazilas in six districts. On top of that, intravenous (IV) fluids like saline have suddenly gone out of stock in many places across the division.