The Iraqi parliament has unanimously approved reforms aimed at stamping out corruption, reducing government waste and easing sectarian tensions. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s programme was pushed through without debate, according to parliamentary speaker Salim al-Juburi. Under the plan, Mr Abadi will cut spending and eliminate senior posts. It follows recent anti-government protests over an unreliable electricity supply amid a major ...

Ukraine has banned 38 books published in Russia, alleging that they spread “hate ideology” and “separatism”. The ban includes works by Russian nationalists Alexander Dugin, Eduard Limonov and Sergei Glazyev. The blacklist was published by the Ukrainian State Television and Radio Committee. It accused Russia of waging “information warfare” against Ukraine. Ukraine and Western leaders say Russia is fomenting separatism ...

Emdad Rahman The Scintilla Seniors returned to winning ways after a 157 run victory over Bow Green. At West Ham sports ground Scintilla opted to bat after winning the toss. With the English national team regaining The Ashes at Trent Bridge, the inspired ECCL champions rediscovered their devastating staying power at the crease to reach 320/10 from 42.1 overs. Too ...

The venue for the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup, to be held in Bangladesh in January next year, was finalised with 48 matches being played at different venues across the country. The BCB chose four districts – Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar as the venue for the event. Dhaka got the highest number of matches. Two venues of Dhaka- ...

Nepal made a flying start in the six-nation SAFF U-16 Championship crushing the Maldives by 5-0 goals in the Group B opener at the Sylhet Stadium on Monday. The winning side led the first half by 3-0 goals. Prezen Tamang and Suman Aryal struck two goals each while Laxman Pariyar netted the other goal for the earthquake-hit Himalayan country. Laxman ...

Australia’s cricket board has promised a review of the Ashes debacle after the dead rubber Test at The Oval and will seek answers to the team’s continued flops on foreign pitches, according to cricket.com.au. Cricket Australia (CA) promised to look into the matter ahead of their series in Bangladesh in October. Australia cricket team is due to arrive in Dhaka ...

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Bangladesh ODI and T-20 skipper, reportedly will fly to Singapore for the treatment of his baby boy. Sahel Mortaza, Mashrafe’s 10-month-old boy has been sick since 2015 World Cup. Since then the baby’s sickness is not coming round that made Mashrafe forced to take this decision. Meanwhile, local doctors repeatedly have failed to diagnose his disease. Mashrafe ...

Locals who helped to champion residents’ health and wellbeing in Bethnal Green were celebrated at an event this weekend. The volunteers who worked on the Well London Old Bethnal Green programme were presented with certificates by Dr Somen Banerjee, the Director of Public Health, at Tower Hamlets Council. Dr Banerjee said: “It was a fantastic opportunity to congratulate the local ...

The three-day Bangladesh Apparel and Safety Expo in Chittagong that ended yesterday received spot orders for garment export worth $15 million. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) organised the expo in the port city for the first time with an aim to showcase the garment products to the international buyers and familiarise the entrepreneurs with the latest safety equipments ...

The Bangladesh government must apprehend the killers of blogger Niloy Neel, who was hacked to death recently in his own home in Dhaka, said Shahriar Kabir, Acting President of Nirmul Committee at round table discussion on 8 August in Cafe Grill restaurant, Banglatown, East London. The discussion was chaired by UK Nirmul Committee’s Acting President Ishaque Kajol and conducted by ...