At least six people were killed after being struck by lightning in three upazilas of Kishoreganj on Friday. The deceased were identified as Sumon Mia, 7, son of Ebad Mia of Kurarkandi village of Mithamain upazila; Moinuddin, 22, son of Md Golap Mia of Biramchar village; Asad Mia, 45, son of Ali; Nururnahar, 30, daughter of Halim Uddin; Muzibur Rahman, 45, son of Inchan of Pakundiya upazila; and Rubel Das, 26, son of Rakesh Das of Kathuir village of Itna upazila. Md Jakir Rabbni, officer-in-charge of Mithamain Police Station, said a thunderbolt hit Sumon when he was returning home with cows from the field, killing him on the spot. Farmer Mohiuddin was struck by lightning when harvesting paddy in the field. He, too, died on the spot, the OC added. Md Elias, officer-in-charge of Pakundiya Police Station, said a thunderbolt hit Asad when he was cutting grass around noon, killing him instantly. Besides, Nururnahar, and Muzibur were struck by thunderbolts when they were going to their neighbors’ house in the afternoon, the OC added. Md Murshed Jaman, officer-in-charge of Itna Police Station, said Rubel was struck by a thunderbolt while returning home from filed around 12:20pm, leaving him critically injured. Later, he was taken to the Upazila Health Complex where doctors pronounced him dead, the OC added. Source: UNB AH

The first session of the 11th parliament will begin at 3 pm on Wednesday. Sources at Parliament Secretariat said President Md Abdul Hamid will deliver speech on the first day of the session. Earlier on January 9, President called the session exercising the power bestowed upon him as per clause (1) of article 72 of the constitution. According to parliament’s rules of procedure, the speaker and deputy speaker will be elected on the first session of the parliament. On January 3, a total of 289 elected parliament members, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, took oath at Bangabhaban. MHK    

President M Abdul Hamid has mourned the death of Awami League presidium member and Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam. The President, in a condolence message, expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Syed Asharf. “His death is an irreparable loss to the country’s political arena . . . People will remember his contributions with due respect for long,” he said. Hamid also conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul. Syed Ashraf breathed his last at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok around 9:45pm after battling against fatal disease lung cancer. He was 68. He was elected MP from Kishoreganj-1 constituency in the 11th Jatiya Sangsad election on December 30. Syed Ashraful Islam was born on January 1, 1950 in Mymensingh. His father was the acting president of Mujibnagar government Syed Nazrul Islam. Ashraful Islam was a member of freedom fighters for the liberation war 1971. In 1996 he was elected Member of Parliament after getting nomination from Awami League and performed his duty as the state minister for civil aviation and tourism ministry. He was also elected MP in 2001. From 2001 to 2005 he was the member of parliamentary standing committee for ministry of foreign affairs. He was also elected MP in the general election of 2008 and in 2009 he was given the charge of LGRD and cooperatives ministry as the minister. He was even elected MP in the election of 2014 and again was given the charge of LGRD and cooperatives ministry. On July 16, 2015 Syed Ashraful Islam was given the responsibility of Public Administration ministry as the Minister. He served the post till the death. Syed Ashraful Islam played his role as the general secretary of Awami League from 2009 to 2016. MHK

British Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Bangladesh Rushanara Ali, MP, arrives in the capital on Saturday night to discuss how trade and investment ties between the two countries can be strengthened further. Reports UNB. Confirming the visit, a Foreign Ministry official said that her visit will start officially on Sunday. A trade delegation of nine UK railway companies, led by Rushanara Ali, visited Bangladesh in September last, showcasing UK expertise in the railway sector. The cross-party Trade Envoy program was established in 2012 to build bilateral trade relationships and help drive economic growth in countries identified as key markets for the UK.  The two-way trade between Bangladesh and the UK stands at 2.3b pound, officials said adding that the UK has strong business interests in Bangladesh as it remains the largest foreign investor.  Over 100 British companies are operating in sectors like retail, banking, energy, infrastructure, consultancy and education with main centers of operation in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.  The UK is also the third single largest destination for exports from Bangladesh.   AH

Belgium beat England 2-0 in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday to secure their best ever finish at a World Cup and send Gareth Southgate’s side home with a second straight loss. France will face Croatia in Sunday’s final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. A fourth-minute goal from Thomas Meunier and an 82nd minute Eden Hazard strike earned Belgium the victory and the third-place, which improves on their previous best performance of a fourth-place finish in 1986.   England were on top for most of the second half but with captain Harry Kane looking tired, Belgium’s greater sharpness in the final third proved decisive. Meunier’s goal came after Romelu Lukaku swung the ball out left to Nacer Chadli who burst down the wing and slipped the ball across the face of the goal and the midfielder confidently slotted past Jordan Pickford. The goal means Belgium have had 10 different goalscorers at this World Cup — equaling the record set by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006. While England manager Gareth Southgate made five changes to the side which lost to Croatia, Belgium boss Roberto Martinez made just two switches. Meunier returned from suspension and Youri Tielemans given a start ahead of Maroune Fellaini in midfield with the Belgians fielding their strong front three of Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. De Bruyne should have made it 2-0 in the 12th minute when the ball found him at the back post after a slip-up from John Stones, but his poorly struck shot was easily dealt with by Pickford. Kane, the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, had an opportunity when set up by Raheem Sterling in the 24th minute but was off-balance as he screwed his shot wide. Southgate brought on Marcus Rashford for Sterling and Jesse Lingard for Danny Rose at the break and the change worked well, with England well on top in the second half. Toby Alderweireld was forced to clear an Eric Dier effort off his line at full stretch after a neat exchange between the Tottenham midfielder and Rashford ended with a chip over Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois. Dier and then Harry Maguire both headed wide from promising positions, while at the other end Meunier went close to a second with a powerful volley that Pickford did well to save. If you are looking to make a living out of sports betting you to try WhaleBets best betting tips. But the game was wrapped up when De Bruyne burst from midfield and slipped the ball through to Hazard, who glided past Phil Jones and fired into the bottom corner. Read More: France lift second World Cup after winning classic final 4-2 Source: Reuters. AH

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, to solve the quota problem government is on the exact right track. For this purpose a committee was formed led by the Cabinet Secretary. He said this to the newsmen after holding meeting with United States Ambassador appointed in Dhaka Marcia Bloom Bernicat at the Bridges Authority Office- Setu Bhaban in the capital on Saturday. Obaidul Quader said, the committee is gathering information, also colleting evidences from other overseas countries. I think the matter is going on rapidly. He said, I would request the students associated with quota reform movement to keep patience. I would request them to keep patience having confidence upon the steps taken by the Prime Minister. Upholding different speeches of the BNP leaders, the Awami League General Secretary said, BNP will take part in the national election. To bring BNP back in the election Awami League will not take any step in advance. AH 

Law Minister Anisul Huq said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inform when the election time government to be declared. Law Minister said this while responding to the newsmen after taking part at a program held at the Tejgaon district registrar office in the capital on Monday. When asked about the size of election time government he said, this is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. So she (PM) knows about the size of the election time government. It is her constitutional responsibility. The last session of this parliament will be held in October. Then when the parliament will be dissolved? In response to this question the minister said, first thing is that parliament will not be dissolved. This parliament will continue according to its tenure. According to the constitution the President has convened the parliament session on 9th September and that will be the last session of this parliament. In response to another question regarding RPO amendment Anisul Huq said, for vetting and legal suggestions about RPO amendment the file has reached in the legislative department in my ministry. It is yet to reach at me. Legislative department will see this and then they will send it to me. It is mentionable, Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed recently told newsmen that the eleventh national parliament election will be held in the last week of next December. But he did not mention any specific date. AH