After six days of closure due to the devastating floods, Sylhet's Osmani International Airport resumed flight operations on Thursday. Two flights -- one on the Sylhet-London route and another on the Sylhet-Manchester route -- took off in the early hours, said Hafiz Ahmed, director of Osmani International Airport. Airport authorities had suspended flight operations after flood waters inundated the runway on June 17. Meanwhile, 1.25 lakh people, who took shelter at different temporary homes, returned to their respective areas following the improvement in the flood situation, said local administration authorities. As the flood waters have started receding, people are heading towards their respective houses on Thursday. Also Read: Brahmaputra, Dharla keep swelling; More areas submerged in Kurigram, Gaibandha Kabir Ahmed, a member of No 5 ward of Paschim Islampur union in Companyganj upazila, said many thatched houses have been damaged. “All paddy stored in the houses have been destroyed. Currently, people are facing financial problems,” he said. Local administration sources said that 614 shelter homes have been opened in 13 upazilas and the city, where 2, 52,878 people have taken refuge. Currently, 1,27,653 people are living in 599 temporary shelters, while 1,25,131 left for their homes. Besides, many areas in the district are still inundated due to the rise in the water level of the Kushiara river. Additional commissioner of Sylhet division, Debjit Sing, said, "We are monitoring relief distribution to ensure the same reaches all the flood-affected people in phases."  

A Bangladeshi national was detained with a gold bar weighing 1.16 kg at Sylhet's Osmani International Airport on Thursday morning, Customs officials said. The detainee has been identified as Mainul Islam Shakil, a resident of Jaintapur upazila of Sylhet. Also read: Man detained with 11 gold bars at Sylhet airport Md Al Amin, deputy commissioner of Customs at Osmani International Airport, said Mainul arrived from Dubai this morning and was stopped for frisking as he was passing through the green channel. "We found the gold bar hidden in his bag. Legal steps are underway against the detainee,” said the official.

A Bangladeshi national has been detained with 11 gold bars worth Tk 80 lakh at Sylhet's Osmani International Airport on Friday morning, Customs officials said. The detainee has been identified as Md Ali Ahmed, 35, a resident of Ujan Meherpur Dorgarbazar in Gopalganj upazila of Sylhet. His flight from Dubai landed at the airport around 7am.  Also Read: Gold worth Tk6.5 crore seized at Dhaka airport Md Al Amin, deputy commissioner of Customs at Osmani International Airport, said Ahmed was stopped for frisking as he was passing through the green channel.  "We found the gold bars hidden in a nebuliser kept in his bag. A case will be filed against the detainee," he added.     

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday said it is the American politics to keep countries under pressure with different issues like democracy, good governance and terrorism. "If there's any weakness (in our democracy), we'll try to address it. Let's think how we can do that," he told reporters, noting that there is nothing to worry about for not being invited by the United States for its Summit for Democracy. After visiting the under construction export cargo complex of Osmani International Airport in Sylhet, Dr Momen said the US wants to keep countries under pressure while talking about democracy, good governance and terrorism. "That's their politics. So, nothing to be worried about whether you’re being invited or not." Read:‘We've a very transparent democracy’: FM Momen On Thursday, Dr Momen said Bangladesh maintains a "very stable and transparent" democracy and the US might have invited those countries with weak democracies for its Summit for Democracy. "We've had a stable democracy over the last several years, a very clear and transparent democracy. Free and fair voting is happening," he said. Dr Momen said there is nothing to be worried as the people of Bangladesh will work for further strengthening the democracy, if required. He said the US itself faced problems in the recent past despite being an old democracy. Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has made it clear that renewing democracy in the United States and around the world is essential to meet the unprecedented challenges of time. President Joe Biden stated on the International Day of Democracy, “No democracy is perfect, and no democracy is ever final. Every gain made, every barrier broken, is the result of determined, unceasing work.” On December 9-10, President Biden will host the first of two Summits for Democracy, which will bring together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.

Another 48 UK returnees arrived at Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport on Monday amid the detection of a new strain of Covid-19 in the European country.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) on Sunday signed an agreement with a Chinese company for constructing a new terminal building at Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.