Pakistan beat England by 14 runs at Trent Bridge yesterday as the World Cup’s first centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler were not enough to help the hosts and pre-tournament favourites overhaul the huge target of 349 set for them.

The company secretary of Khan Brothers Slipways and Engineering Works in a rejoinder claimed that three news reports on the grabbing of Meghna river carried by this paper between May 19 and May 21 were “false, fabricated and malafide”.

Providing price support for farmers has always been a top policy goal of almost every government. In practice, however, successive governments procured very little paddy from growers in the last three decades.

At least 19 people, including a child, were killed and 12 others injured in road accidents in four districts yesterday.

Renowned theatre personality, language movement activist and Ekushey Padak recipient Momtazuddin Ahmed passed away at 3:48pm in the Intensive Care Unit of Apollo Hospital in the capital yesterday.

The required level of moisture content set by the authorities has become another big headache for Boro growers hit by falling prices, as it makes most of them ineligible to sell their produce to the government.

As Mustafizur Rahman ran up to bowl to South Africa number 10 Imran Tahir, with the Proteas needing an unlikely 44 runs from the last 16 balls, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s smile from his position at backward point told the story.

Two suspected drug peddlers, including a Rohingya, were killed in a “gunfight” with Border Guard Bangladesh members in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar early yesterday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday sought support from the OIC member states to launch the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice with voluntary funding and technical help to ensure legal rights of the Rohingyas and address the question of accountability and justice.

Early in his pre-match press conference, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza provided a guideline of what to expect by strongly asserting that South Africa were the favourites in the Tigers’ opening World Cup match at The Oval today.

David Warner scored an unbeaten 89 as champions Australia launched their World Cup defence with a seven-wicket thrashing of Afghanistan in Bristol yesterday after New Zealand pacer Matt Henry led an inspired bowling unit to run through Sri Lanka’s batting in the Black Caps’ 10-wicket win.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Saudi Arabia, the second destination of her tri-nation tour, yesterday afternoon after wrapping up her four-day visit to Japan.

Shumi Akhtar, a student of Jagannath University, reached the capital’s Kamalapur Railway Station around 8:30am yesterday. She was supposed to catch a train in half an hour to go to her home in Gaibandha to celebrate Eid with her loved ones.

Saiful Karim, a listed yaba kingpin, was shot and killed when police exchanged fire with his associates in Cox’s Bazar yesterday, police said.

The Bangladesh squad are now faced with a test at the eleventh hour before they open their World Cup campaign with a high-pressure match against South Africa at The Oval in London tomorrow. The test is a stern one as it involves perhaps the most important player in their batting line-up -- opener Tamim Iqbal. During practice at The Oval yesterday, Tamim sustained a painful blow to his left wrist while batting in the nets, but fortunately for the Tigers, an X-Ray later yesterday revealed no fracture.

Two government lists of farmers as Boro paddy suppliers are not what they look like. Many of them are anything but farmers. They include shopkeepers, a contractor and even a former city councillor engaged in a profession other than paddy cultivation.

West Indies crushed Pakistan by seven wickets in a one-sided World Cup match at Trent Bridge yesterday, with the two-time champions showing they are a resurgent force in the one-day game.

Muslims across the country are set to observe the holy Shab-e-Qadr or Lailatul Qadr tonight.

An inmate at Chattogram Central Jail died early yesterday following a fight inside a cell, authorities said. Amit Muhuri, 32, was accused in 15 criminal cases, including several for murder. He was also a Jubo League activist, said Jailor Nasir Ahmed.

The government is planning to provide exporters with up to 30 percent incentive to promote rice export, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said yesterday.