Tigresses impress at Asia Cup

Salma Khatun, Bangladesh women's T20 captain, could not contain her emotions and began shedding tears of joy after her troops won a nerve-wracking last-ball thriller, displaying great temperament to clinch their maiden Asia Cup title by dethroning India on June 10 in Kuala Lumpur. The Tigresses erupted into wild celebrations at the Kinrara Academy Oval as soon as Jahanara Alam whipped Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to deep midwicket to secure the two runs needed from the last ball to seal a three-wicket victory over the six-time champions. Scoring the nine runs needed from the last six balls to chase down 112, Salama Khatun's side ensured that that heartrending picture of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim crying after the 2012 Asia Cup final loss to Pakistan in Mirpur will not be revisited and instead Bangladesh fans would be able to boast their first success in the regional tournament.

Khaleda's blood sugar dipped: Ministers

Three ministers have claimed BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia did not suffer a mild stroke, rather her blood sugar level dropped a few days ago. Khaleda's personal doctors met her at the Old Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road on June 9 and told reporters that the former premier might have suffered a mild stroke on June 5. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam claimed on June 10 that she is a diabetic patient and her sugar level fell on June 5 but she did not collapse. Obaidul Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said it is not true that Khaleda had suffered a mild stroke.

Implement Paris accord in full: PM in G7 Summit

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stressed the need for full implementation of the Paris Agreement as Bangladesh needs greater support for climate change adaptation. "Full implementation of the Paris Agreement is crucial for Bangladesh. We need greater support for climate change adaptation," she said at an intervention on climate issues at the G7 Outreach Leaders' Summit at Manoir Richelieu Hotel in La Malbaie. The prime minister said available climate financing has to be augmented and facilitated for Bangladesh. The countries like Bangladesh also need support to capacity building, technology development and transfer in areas like agriculture, public health and disaster management.

Budget 2018-19 challenging but achievable: Muhith

With the budget implementation rate falling consistently for the last seven fiscal years, Finance Minister AMA Muhith on June 8 said the government would achieve the targets in the proposed budget even though its execution starts in an election year. "The budget [for fiscal 2018-19] is achievable ... Even though this is an election year, the implementation will not be bad," he said at a post-budget press briefing. "We will achieve the targets we have aimed for. When we fix a target, we hope that it is achievable." On June 7, the finance minister placed Tk 464,573-crore budget in parliament for fiscal 2018-19, which is 25 percent higher than the revised budget of the outgoing fiscal year. Over the last few years, the increase in the size of budget was 17-18%.