Bird flu virus has killed 8,600 chickens in a farm in Rajshahi.

Some 8,600 infected chickens were culled of 'Shahi poultry farm' at Dingadoba Ghoshpara in Rajshahi city on Wednesday night.

The owner of the farm Abul Kashem said that the chickens started dying a few days ago. He later informed the livestock officers about the incident.

WORLD CUP 2011

The cricket World Cup extravaganza is set to open with all razzmatazz in the Bangladesh capital city of Dhaka on Thursday.

Promising to be a grand gala event, the opening ceremony begins at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here at 5:50pm. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina will declare open the biggest cricket event, co-hosted by Bangladesh for the first time.

WORLD CUP 2011

The opening programme starts at 5:45pm. However, Kazi Shahrin Haque, an enthusiastic cricket lover, has set out around 9am from the city's Tejgaon.

Like Haque, an employee of a private company, all the city dwellers have set their destination to the Bangabandhu National Stadium at Gulistan, where the dazzling opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup commences on Thursday evening.

Egypt's generals are asserting their command over the country following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, preparing on Monday to ban strikes and to warn they will act against "chaos and disorder."

Having suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament on Sunday, moves welcomed by those who saw both institutions as perverted to Mubarak's personal ends, the armed forces council was planning, a military source said, to issue orders intended to stifle further disruption and get the country back to work.

WORLD CUP 2011

Keen on presenting a pretty face to the world, the capitals' keepers are busy with restoration, decoration and clean up across Dhaka.

The world will be watching this city from Feb 17 when the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 opens at Bangabandhu National Stadium. Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is busy revamping major areas in preparation of the event.

The government has postponed its decision to offload the shares of state owned enterprises (SOEs) in the stock market.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sources informed bdnews24.com about the decision on Monday.

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website says: "SEC has informed that the government has decided to stop offloading all the government shares."

Angry investors have taken to the streets once again halting traffic from the city's Motijheel Shapla Chattar to Ittefaq Intersection as the share market continued to plunge.

The general index at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) lost 7.20 percent within 30 minutes of the start of the trading on Monday.

Around 11:54am, the general index stood at 5644.54 point.

New cases of Nipah infection have been detected in more northern districts apart from Lalmonirhat, where it killed 17 so far.

The results of lab tests at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) confirmed five new infections in five districts -– Kurigram, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and Dinajpur — on Monday.

There has been no report of any fresh case since Feb 5 at Hatiabandha, jolted by Nipah scare. However, experts cannot rule out person-to-person transmission as the incubation period is not over.

England striker Wayne Rooney conjured a breathtaking overhead kick to earn Premier League leaders Manchester United a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in a memorable derby on Saturday.

With his back to goal, Rooney struck with an acrobatic volley that flew into the top corner in the 78th minute to virtually end City's title hopes.

PRICE HIKE

The prime minister has said it has become difficult to keep the prices under control even after providing subsidies due to global price hike.

"After the global economic meltdown, there has been an unprecedented price spiral," Sheikh Hasina told Awami League's executive council on Saturday at her official residence Ganabhaban.

AIRCRAFT GLITCH

Bangladesh and Canada cricket teams have left Chittagong for Dhaka after remaining stranded at the Shah Amanat International Airport for about three hours because of a technical glitch in a Biman flight.

Bangladesh team manager Tanjeeb Ahsan Saad told bdnews24.com that they were scheduled to leave Chittagong on board the flight, BG-0022, around 11:30am on Sunday.

Egypt's new military rulers, who have promised to hand power to civilians, are facing impatient protesters who want swift steps to prove their nation is set for democracy after Hosni Mubarak's overthrow.

The nation wakes up to its first working day on Sunday since Mubarak was toppled during the Egyptian weekend, and protest organizers have threatened more rallies if the military fails to meet their demands.

Alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, the World Health Organization warned on Friday.

Rising incomes have triggered more drinking in heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and binge drinking is a problem in many developed countries, the United Nations agency said.

Traffic on Shapla Chattar- RK Mission Road has come to a halt when small investors took to the streets after steep fall in share prices.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) general index lost 468.52 points and stood at 6058.66 around 2:25pm on Sunday.

Of the 237 traded issues, 247 declined, six gained and one remained unchanged.

Fewer than 1.3 million people will die from cancer in Europe this year as death rates from the disease fall, researchers said Wednesday, except that more women are dying of lung cancer in every country except Britain.

The downward trend in cancer death rates in the region is being driven mainly by falls in breast cancer mortality in women, and lung and colorectal cancer in men.

The government has signed an agreement with a Japanese company for setting up a 360 MW power plant and two electric substations.

The agreement was signed with Marubeni Corporation at Bidyut Bhaban in the city on Wednesday.

Secretary of state-run Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) Ltd Kazi Nazrul Islam signed the agreement on behalf of the government and Marubeni Corporation general manager Hidekatsu Mizushima on his company's behalf.

The national cricket team has reached Chittagong to play a warm-up match ahead of the World Cup. They arrived in the port city airport around 8:10pm on Wednesday, Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir, chairman of the Chittagong venue told bdnews24.com.

Bangladesh on Saturday will play Canada in their first practice match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and on Pakistan on Feb 15 in Dhaka.

The High Court has granted bail to former ruling party MP Shamim Osman, who was convicted in two cases and has been under jail custody.

The bench of justices Mohammad Shamsul Huda and Abu Bakar Siddiquee on Thursday gave the order.

On Feb 6, a Narayanganj court sent him to jail in the cases.

A last-minute penalty from Lionel Messi broke Portuguese resistance and ensured a 2-1 victory for Argentina, in a game where both teams had ample chances to win.

Messi's goal added to an exquisite first-half assist as Angel di Maria gave the Albiceleste an early lead, before Cristiano Ronaldo had pegged them back with an opportunistic finish from close range.

The government of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hit back on Wednesday at what it called US attempts to "impose" American will on a loyal Middle East ally, saying rapid reforms would be too risky.

But as pro-democracy protesters consolidated a new encampment around Cairo's parliament building, the White House again said that Egyptian ministers must do more to meet the demands of demonstrators, who want an immediate end to Mubarak's 30 years of one-man rule and sweeping legislative changes.