A woman and her two children were electrocuted in Niamati Union of Bakerganj Upazila of Barishal on Saturday. The deceased were Sonia (32), her daughter Sabrina (9), and Salman (4) of Dhalmara village of the upazila. Md Afzal Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bakerganj Police Station, confirmed the matter. Md Humayun Kabir, chairman of Niamati Union, said the incident happened when Salman was playing near the house around 11 this morning. At the time, the electrical connection broke, and he was electrocuted. Later, Sabrina and Sonia went to rescue Salman, and they also died on the spot. Sonia’s husband, Riaz Mollah, is an autorickshaw driver in Dhaka. Mohammad Saifur Rahman, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Bakerganj, and Farhad Sardar, circle assistant superintendent of Bakerganj Police, visited the spot after the incident, said the OC.

A 50-year-old rickshaw puller died from suspected heat stroke in Sylhet city’s Chauhatta area on Saturday morning. The deceased was identified as Abul Hashem, 50, of Sunamganj, said Md Moinuddin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station. Abul Hashem fainted and fell from the rickshaw all of a sudden, around 11 am, he said. Traffic police and locals moved his body to a nearby police box, where he died. The dead body was sent to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, added the OC.  

Two children drowned in a pond in Mohanpur upazila of Rajshahi on Saturday morning.  The deceased were identified as Rajab Ali, 5, son of Rubel Hossain of Karta village, and Keya Khatun, 5, daughter of Mukul Hossain from Lalpur of Natore. They were cousins.  Reckless driving by teen driver takes 3 lives in Bagerhat Mohanpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Haridas Mandal confirmed the matter. According to the family, the two children went missing while playing near their home. While searching for them, their shoes were discovered floating in a nearby pond. They were eventually recovered from the pond and taken to Mohanpur Health Complex, where doctors declared them dead. 1 killed, 5 injured in knife fight over football match in Brahmanbaria  An unnatural death case has been filed in this regard, said the OC. The bodies of the two children were handed over to their families, he added. 

Two people including a woman, died and four others were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a CNG-run autorickshaw in the Alalpur area of Mymensingh Sadar upazila on Saturday morning. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Main Uddin confirmed the matter. Reckless driving by teen driver takes 3 lives in Bagerhat According to police and locals, the accident happened about 11:00 am when a Nalitabari-bound bus collided with an autorickshaw in front of Alalpur Sabjipara Millers Auto Rice Mill on the Mymensingh-Sherpur road, killing two passengers and injuring four others. The injured were admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for treatment. The bus was seized, but the driver fled the scene, said the OC. Legal action is under process in this regard, he added.

During a business meeting in Bangkok, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud underscored the significance of a forthcoming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Thailand, aimed at enhancing bilateral trade and addressing the trade deficit.  The meeting, held on the sidelines of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's official visit to Thailand on April 26, was orchestrated by the Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok. In his address, Mahmud called upon the Thai private sector to leverage the diverse government incentives available for business and investment, which would contribute to Bangladesh's economic development and prosperity. He stressed the importance of an early commencement of the FTA, mentioning the recent signing of the Letter of Intent (LoI) that marked the initiation of negotiations. ‘Victory Dictation’ at Dhaka’s Russian House commemorates 79th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War. The meeting was attended by notable figures including the Minister of Finance Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, the Private Industry and Investment Advisor to the Prime Minister Salman Fazlur Rahman, Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister of Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu and Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen. Mahmud highlighted Thailand's role as a pivotal ASEAN trade partner and pointed to Bangladesh's socio-economic strides under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, including its transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) status. Salman Fazlur Rahman detailed incentives for foreign investors and encouraged Thai investment, particularly in the tourism sector, emphasizing potential technology transfers from Thailand to Bangladesh.  Additionally, in light of the newly enacted Offshore Banking Act 2024, Ahasanul Islam Titu, the State Minister of Commerce, urged Thai investors to consider Bangladesh as a regional investment hub. The event also featured discussions on enhancing people-to-people contacts to strengthen bilateral relationships and insights from Charles Frederick, Senior Executive Vice President of Sutec Co Ltd, who proposed collaborations to revitalize Bangladesh's sugar mills, potentially establishing a private investment-friendly policy framework in the sugarcane industry. The business meeting concluded with a presentation by a representative from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), highlighting sectors like Agribusiness, Digital Economy, Logistics, and Light Manufacturing as prime opportunities for Thai investors. Environment Minister holds bilateral meeting with Saudi climate negotiator in Berlin. The gathering, attended by prominent business figures from the Thai community, reinforced the longstanding diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and Thailand, enhancing cooperation across multiple sectors.  Abdul Hye, Bangladesh's Ambassador to Thailand, and Makawadi Sumitmor, the Thai Ambassador to Bangladesh, expressed their gratitude to all attendees for their participation and support in fostering a comprehensive partnership between the two nations.

Crisis of drinking water has turned acute in Khulna city amid the extreme heat, making its residents’ lives miserable. The entire country has been reeling under severe to moderate  heat wave since the first week of April and the shortage of drinking water has added to sufferings of Khuna city residents. Not only in homes, people are also suffering at offices, business institutions, educational institutions and even government and private hospitals due to the scarcity of pure water. Locals said shallow tubewells have become dysfunctional in most places of the city since the middle of this month and amount of water in deep tubewells has also decreased. Water can be lifted properly only with the submersible pump in deep tubewells but everyone can’t afford, they said. On the other hand, Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Kwasa) supplies water through pipeline, but it is not suitable for drinking, forcing residents to depend of tubewells. Chuadanga witnesses season’s highest temperature at 42.7°C Experts say that underground water has been extracted in the city for a long time with unplanned deep and shallow tubewells, general pumps and submersible pumps. The Asian Development Bank had advised not to extract more than 50 million liters of water from the ground per day but the water is being extracted much more, leading to depletion of ground water level. In the last nine years, the water level in 14 wards of the city has gone down from 1.98 meters to 4.04 meters (13.25 feet), resulting in inoperative tubewells and pumps. Kwasa conducts survey on the status of ground water level every year during summer. According to the survey, the groundwater level in wards 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the city has gone down from 1.98 meters to 4.04 meters compared to 2015. Sheikhpara, Goborchaka, Boro Mirzapur, Chhota Mirzapur, Baitpara, Tutpara are among the worst hit areas of the city. Earlier, there were two tubewells in Chhota Mirzapur area, two in Boro Mirzapur area, two in Baitpara area, one each in Deben Babu Road and TB Boundary Road but those have become inoperative . Prof Dr Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, head of the Department of Environmental Science at Khulna University, said, “The duration of rainfall and number of water bodies in the city and adjoining areas have decreased. Besides, the amount of water that is being extracted from the ground is not being stored. As a result, the ground water level is depleting continuously, causing the water crisis.” Kwasa Managing Director Engineer Md. Abdullah said, “It costs us Tk 11 to lift 1,000 litres of underground water and supply it. And the cost of supplying the water from the Madhumati River is Tk 17.50. However, we have not yet completely stopped extracting underground water to reduce costs. On the other hand, we charge Tk 9 for 1,000 liters of water from the customers.” "If we treat more water of the Madhumati River, production cost will increase we have to give more subsidy. Moreover, we do not want to impose the burden of additional costs on the customers at the moment. That is why the extraction of water from the underground has not been stopped.” Regarding the use of personal tubewells and submersible pumps, he said the number of WASA subscribers is about 41,800. But about 20 percent of the families have not yet received WASA water connections. They use tubewells and pumps to extract ground water. Elephant found dead on Gazipur roadside, suspected to be captive Slum dwellers and low-income people are the most affected by the water crisis. Rafiqullah, a teacher of Nirala area, said, "It is not possible for many like me to buy water to drink and cook."

Three people were killed and another was injured as a truck driven by a teenage driver hit a three-wheeler on Khulna-Mongla highway in Rampal upazila of Bagerhat on Saturday morning. The deceased were identified as Sayeed Morol, son of Razzak Morol of Jhanjhania area of Rampal upazila, Azad Morol, son of Ekhlas Morol of the same area and Mohammad Moni Mollik, son of Makbul Mollik of Gabbunia Kumlai village of the same upazila. Easy-bike driver dies from heat stroke in Lalmonirhat Mizanur Rahman Sheikh, officer-in-charge of Bagerhat's Katakhali highway police, said the Khulna-bound truck rammed the engineer-run three-wheeler from behind when it reached Rampal Chairman area, leaving one dead on the spot three injured. Two of the injured victims died on the way to a hospital. Sajek road crash: BRTA to provide families of deceased Tk 5 lakh each  After the accident, police seized the truck and arrested the truck driver, he added. The arrested driver is Safayet Hossain, 19, a resident of Chowgacha area of Jashore district.

Respite from the prevailing heat wave condition across the country is unlikely and it has turned very severe in three districts. Very Severe heat wave is sweeping Rajshahi, Chuadanga and Pabna, said a regular bulletin of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Saturday. Besides,  Tangail, Bogura, Bagerhat, Jashore and Kushtia are experiencing severe heat wave while parts of Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Barishal divisions, Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni and Bandarban districts are experiencing  a mild to moderate heat wave and it may continue, it said. The country’s highest temperature was recorded at 42.7 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga on Friday while today’s minimum temperature was recorded at 21.5 degrees Celsius in Srimangal. Chuadanga witnesses season’s highest temperature at 42.7°C Meanwhile, rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions with hails at isolated places. Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country. Day temperature may rise slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country. Due to increase of moisture incursion, the discomfort may persist.

As the country grapples with an intense heatwave, the government has announced the reopening of primary school academic activities starting Sunday, April 28.  The Primary and Mass Education Ministry, through a notification signed by Senior Information Officer Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, outlined the operational adjustments to accommodate the sweltering conditions. School hours will be limited to the cooler morning hours, from 8:00 am to 11:30 am. For schools operating in two shifts, the first shift will run from 8:00 am to 9:30 am and the second from 9:45 am to 11:30 am.  Cuet students’ road safety movement postponed, to resume classes Despite these changes, pre-primary level classes will remain closed until further notice, and daily school assemblies will be suspended to avoid prolonged exposure to the heat. The decision follows a similar action taken for secondary level schools and colleges, which are set to reopen on the same day, April 28.  The resumption comes after an extended closure initially planned until April 27 due to the prolonged hot weather following the Eid holidays. Outdoor activities and those requiring sun exposure at these institutions will continue to be limited. To make up for educational disruptions caused by the heatwave and other interruptions, classes will also be conducted on Saturdays until further notice, according to the ministry's notification. Secondary schools, colleges to reopen April 28 amid heat wave The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has forecasted that the current heatwave conditions, which recorded a high of 42.7 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga on Friday, may persist for another 72 hours starting Thursday morning. The government's proactive measures aim to balance educational needs with health and safety concerns during this challenging climate period.

Yesterday, the Russian House in Dhaka hosted the "Victory Dictation," an educational event marking the 79th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Pavel Dvoychenkov, the Director of Russian House, expressed in his opening remarks that the event was designed to engage the public in learning about the history of the Great Patriotic War and to enhance historical literacy. Bangladesh Embassy donates books to National Library of Myanmar The event attracted 40 participants, including school students and journalists. It was conducted as a 45-minute test where participants answered 25 questions related to the war. After completing the dictation, participants received memorial certificates in recognition of their involvement and effort to deepen their understanding of this significant historical period.