The Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) has innovated a new type of salinity tolerant paddy species for the country's southern area, where percentage of salinity in soil and water is much higher than that of other parts of the country.

BINA officials hoped the salinity tolerant paddy will increase the production of rice per hector in the southern areas of the country.

A case has been filed against ruling Awami League MP of Bhola, Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shaon, over the murder of a close associate and Juba League leader, Ibrahim Ahmed.

Ibrahim's brother, Masum Ahmed filed the case with Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday reiterated her stance that the then ruling BNP-led four party alliance had a hand in the 2005 series of bomb attacks.

Speaking at the inauguration the first staff course of the National Academy for Education Management at its administrative building, Hasina sternly criticised the series of bomb explosions that took place at more than 500 spots in 63 districts on Aug 17, 2005.

A German pop singer accused of knowingly exposing three men to the risk of HIV has confessed to having unprotected sex after finding out she had the virus, authorities said on Monday.

Nadja Benaissa from German girl band No Angels is standing trial for causing grievous bodily harm in one instance and attempted grievous bodily harm on four other occasions when she had sex with the men between 2000 and 2004.

Two Bangladeshi citizens were shot dead by the Indian Border Security Force at Shingnagar border at Shibganj Upazila in Chapainawabganj.

The deceased are Fatik, 30, of Shibganj's Parchouka village in Monakasha union, and Ismail Hossain, 25, of Pialmari village.

Although five years has passed since the banned outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh organised a series of bomb explosions throughout the country, many of the trials of those responsible have yet to be completed.

JMB carried out a series bomb attacks in 63 districts on Aug 17, 2005 between 11am to 11.30am.

Court premises were the main target of the attacks.

The wife of Jubo League leader Ibrahim Ahmed, who died when he was shot by a bullet from the licensed pistol of a ruling party lawmaker, has claimed that the death was not accidental but a "planned killing".

Rina Islam told bdnews24.com: "The incident will be clear if Shaon's driver Kamal and bodyguard Delwar are arrested and grilled."

Two detained leaders of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami have petitioned the High Court to revoke the first amendment to the constitution that paved the way for war crimes trial.

In the writ petition, assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, suspected war criminals, also sought repeal of some sections of the International Crimes Tribunal Act, terming them inconsistent with the constitution.

The High Court has asked the government to continue the operation of the mobile court, for prevention of adulteration in food and price hike of commodities, for two months.

The government has also been asked to explain within three weeks why it should not be ordered to take effective steps towards the prevention of adulteration of food and illegal price hike of commodities.

Two airlines of Saudi Arabia have expressed their desire to carry 25,000 hajj pilgrims.

They have already asked for the permission of regular flights along with hajj flights, said civil aviation and tourism minister Ghulam Mohammed Quader while speaking to reporters at his office on Monday.

He said NAS Air wanted to carry 12,000 pilgrims and Alwafeer wanted 13,000.

A new study ranking the best Test batsmen of all time has placed Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid higher than Sachin Tendulkar, considered the god of Indian cricket.

Ironically, the number one Test side in the world do not feature any Indian batsman in the top five. Moreover, only five Indian batsmen figure in the list of 50, prepared by two economists - Prof Vani Borooah of the School of Economics and the Social Policy Research Institute and Prof John Mangan from the Department of Economics, University of Queensland, according to a report in India Today.

The constitution will be amended to declare Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Father of the Nation, co-chair of the special committee on constitution review Suranjit Sengupta has said.

"We will amend sections three and four and put 'Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman' in the constitution," he said in a meeting of the governing Awami League at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre on Monday

CNG filling stations across the country will remain closed for six hours everyday, from 3–9 pm, until further notice in an attempt to increase gas supply to the power stations.

Hossain Mansur Ahmed, chairman of the state-run gas agency Petrobangla, told bdnews24.com "This decision will be executed from Monday to increase gas supply to the power stations and to ensure sufficient gas supply to residences."

Workers of ACS Textile Limited, pressing for the implementation of the Tk 3000 minimum wage from August, removed their four and half hour blockade from the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at around 1pm on Saturday.

Rupganj police chief Forkan Shikder told bdnews24.com that the workers withdrew the blockade after fruitful discussions.

Manchester City, the world's wealthiest club thanks to the largesse of billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour, will be looking to transform financial might into silverware this season.

Coach Roberto Mancini is expected to have big-spending City challenging for a title they last won in 1968 when the Premier League kicks off on Saturday.

The Saudia Arabian government has issued a warning to Bangladesh's civil aviation authorities over operating old aircraft to fly hajj pilgrims to the country.

GM Quader, the civil aviation minister told bdnews24.com on Friday that the Saudi authorities had last week sent a letter to Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) saying they would physically inspect all aircraft over 20 years of age if Dhaka tried to operate such planes to carry hajj pilgrims.

President Barack Obama on Friday backed construction of a proposed mosque and Muslim cultural center near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York -- a project opposed by US conservatives and many New Yorkers.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," Obama said to applause at an event attended by diplomats from Islamic countries and members of the US Muslim community.

The Dhaka University Syndicate has withdrawn the expulsion order of the architect of independence Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the law department after 61 years.

The decision came at an emergency meeting of the syndicate on Saturday.

Mujib got enrolled in the department in 1948 and was expelled in 1949 for leading a movement in support of the demand for the increase of fourth grade employees' wages.

Nearly 30 percent of U.S. diabetics over the age of 40 may have a diabetes-related eye disorder, with 4 percent of this population affected severely enough that their vision is threatened, suggests a new study.

The condition, known as diabetic retinopathy, involves damage to the eye's retina and is the leading cause of new cases of legal blindness among U.S. adults between 20 and 74 years old. It also costs the U.S. approximately $500 million every year.

The government has decided to shut all schools and colleges and educational institutions of similar levels from Aug 14 on account of Ramadan and the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.

Education ministry senior information officer Subodh Dhali told bdnews24.com about the decision on Thursday.