The much talked-about Road Transport Act 2018 came into effect with a much tougher punishment regime for violators, such as maximum five years of imprisonment or Tk 5 lakh fine or both, for causing serious injuries or death to any person by rash or negligent driving, with cases under the provision being made non-bailable. The platform of owners and workers of trucks and covered vans reacted by enforcing an indefinite strike across the country, demanding changes in some sections of the new act.

Many transport workers and other road users claimed that they were unaware of the new law, which was passed by parliament in September, 2018 replacing the Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983 in the wake of countrywide student protests after two students of the capital's Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College were killed by a recklessly-driven bus.

The High Court (HC) directed Department of Environment (DoE) to shut 27 dying factories and private hospitals, which have no environmental clearance certificates, near Shyampur and Postogola on the banks of the Buriganga river in 15 days. The court also issued a rule asking the Managing Director of Dhaka's Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to explain why legal action should not be taken against him for making false statement about sewerage line connecting the Wasa line.

The HC earlier sought reports from the DoE, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Wasa MD about the structures not having valid environmental clearance certificates, and sewerage lines and Wasa lines going into the river and polluting it. The Wasa MD responded by submitting a report saying that there are no sewerage lines connecting the Buriganga river. But BIWTA in a report said there are several such sewerage lines polluting the river and the city.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines announced that it will expand its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet with two additional airplanes, valued at a combined $585 million at list price, on the eve of the Dubai Airshow that was held this week. Boeing in a statement said the purchase - recorded in October as an unidentified order on its website - complements Biman's fleet of 787-8 jets with the larger and longer range 787-9 variant.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who attended this year's airshow, had revealed in September that Biman would be buying 2 more Boeing planes that the company was "looking to sell quickly" after some other buyer had ordered the aircraft but didn't want them anymore. The announcement marked a win for Boeing, yet its total of $5.6 billion in orders over the first three days of the Airshow paled in comparison to the tally of rival Airbus, which inked at least $30 billion in orders at list prices.

The verdict in the sensational Holey Artisan Bakery terror attack case will be delivered by a Dhaka court on November 27. Judge Md Majibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka set the date after conclusion of arguments from the prosecution and defence. Eight of the accused, now in jail, were produced before the tribunal during the last day's hearing.

On July 1, 2016, armed militants later shown to have links with international mothership of terrorism ISIS, stormed the upmarket Holey Artisan Bakery located in the posh diplomatic quarter of Gulshan in the capital and killed nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, one Indian and one Bangladesh-born US citizen. Two police officers were also killed during the 12-hour standoff.