Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works.”EX-LEADER HOPES AWAMI LEAGUE WILL BE ALLOWED TO CONTESTBangladesh has over 126 million registered voters. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have long dominated the country’s politics, and the BNP is widely expected to win the upcoming vote. Earlier, the Yunus-led government banned all party activities, citing national security threats and war crimes investigations into senior Awami League leaders. “We are not asking Awami League voters to support other parties,” Hasina said.

Air India's CEO vowed on Wednesday to improve internal practices after a plane crash in June killed 260 people, in his first public comments about the accident that he said would contribute to a "challenging" year for the airline. "This year will be quite challenging from a business perspective ... We're also working with the investigators," he added. Air India also faces delayed jet deliveries and airspace closures due to geopolitical tensions, which have weighed on its performance as it strives to recover from the crash. India and Pakistan fought their fiercest military conflict in decades in May, sparked by an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people. "Airspace constraints are a challenge to on-time performance," Wilson said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission has begun its visit to Dhaka to assess the use of funds from the fourth and fifth instalments before releasing the next tranche of the ongoing loan programme. This mission is being led by Chris Papageorgiou, the IMF’s Bangladesh mission chief who also headed the previous review team. Earlier, Bangladesh received the fourth and fifth tranches together in June. Bangladesh received $476.3 million in the first instalment on Feb 2, 2023, followed by $682 million in the second tranche in December of the same year. In June 2024, Bangladesh received the third instalment of $1.15 billion, and in June 2025, the fourth and fifth instalments combined, amounting to $1.34 billion.

Police have used force to disperse a march by teachers from Ebtedayee madrasas to demand the nationalisation of their educational institutions. Police used water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the protesters. Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman, chairman of the Independent Ebtedayee Madrasa Teachers' Union, an organisation of protesting teachers, said: "We have been protesting since Oct 13. • Issuance of a notice inviting applications for MPO enlistment from recognised but non-grant Ebtedayee madrasas. • Establishment of a separate directorate for Ebtedayee madrasas.

A Bangladesh Biman aircraft has collided with a boarding bridge at Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport. The accident occurred around 10:30am on Wednesday, according to Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, director of the airport. The flight was to carry 262 passengers to London. The passengers are now waiting at Osmani Airport.”The airport authorities said that flight BG-201, a Boeing-787 Dreamliner, hit the boarding bridge during passenger boarding. Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ engineering department said that necessary repairs will be made after examining the engine and structure of the damaged aircraft.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has called the recommendations made by the National Consensus Commission on the implementation of the July National Charter “deceptive” and demanded their immediate amendment. He made the call at a discussion on Thursday, while sharing the party’s reactions to the recommendations made by the National Consensus Commission, bdnews24.com reports. He said, "Our National Consensus Commission has given its recommendations to the chief adviser… it bears the signature of the chief advisor…. They (National Consensus Commission) had a commitment to record those notes of dissent." Therefore, I hope that they (National Consensus Commission) will come to this realisation.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has called on Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus to sign the July Charter implementation order in public at the Central Shaheed Minar to remove all uncertainty surrounding the issue. He said, “In continuation of the NCP’s uncompromising stance, the National Consensus Commission yesterday recommended the outline for the implementation of the July Charter to the government. The legal basis of the July Charter must be ensured by accepting the first draft of the July Charter Implementation Order (Proposal-1) recommended by the National Consensus Commission. The NCP believes that progress will be made in signing the charter if the government accepts the draft order with a legal basis for implementing the July Charter. That is why I will say the BNP was coming to the Consensus Commission during the day and then going to various embassies at night to try and to bring back the fascist forces.

Travel pass required to visit St Martin's Island, 12 directives must be followedSt Martin's Island will open to tourists on a limited scale for four months starting Nov 1 ahead of the tourist season after a nine-month closure. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), however, will not permit any vessel to operate to St Martin's without the approval of the environment ministry. This means that even if a ship leaves St Martin's by 5pm, it will be midnight by the time it reaches Cox's Bazar. The government issued 12 directives to preserve the environment, ecology, and biodiversity of this coral island. To protect biodiversity, the government declared a 590-hectare area of St Martin's an “ecologically critical zone” in 1999.

Rule amended: No recommendations for candidates already working in the same cadreThe government has brought about a major change to the public sector recruitment process as a provision has been added stating that any candidate previously selected for or currently working in a cadre or service will not be recommended for that same cadre again in future BCS examinations. The notice said the government made the decision based on Section 59 of the Public Service Act, 2018, and Article 140(2) of the Constitution, in consultation with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and that it will take effect immediately. The new rule states that the PSC will now select suitable candidates from among the successful examinees and recommend them to the government. It means if a candidate was recommended for a specific cadre in a previous BCS exam, they will not have the opportunity to be selected for the same cadre again. In this case, recommendations can be made from the newly successful candidates according to merit and preference order.

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has chaired the first coordination meeting for the upcoming parliamentary elections in February. The high-level meeting held at the State Guest House Jamuna on Wednesday discussed the overall progress of election preparations and the activities necessary for its organisation in detail, the Chief Advisor's Office said. The CAO has called a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy at 4pm to share details following the meeting. Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Cultural Affairs Advisor Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, National Security Advisor and High Representative for Rohingya Affairs Dr Khalilur Rahman attended the meeting, alongside Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief advisor on ICT. In addition, senior officials from the Army and law enforcing agencies were also present.

A man stands next to stranded cars, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, in Sedavi, Valencia, Spain, October 31, 2024. Almost 240 people died in Spain after torrential rains in October 2024 triggered floods that swept through eastern and southeastern Spain. REUTERSA man stands next to stranded cars, in the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains, in Sedavi, Valencia, Spain, October 31, 2024. Almost 240 people died in Spain after torrential rains in October 2024 triggered floods that swept through eastern and southeastern Spain. Flash floods caused by torrential rains swept away bridges, cars and people and swamped homes and underground car parks on Oct 29, 2024.

REUTERS/Aline MassucaAt least 64 people died on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro's most deadly police operation ever, which targeted a major gang days before the city hosts global events related to the United Nations climate summit known as COP30. Police have often conducted large-scale operations against criminal groups ahead of major events in Rio, which hosted the 2016 Olympics, the 2024 G20 summit and the BRICS summit in July. The programming is part of the run-up to COP30, the United Nations climate summit held in the Amazon city of Belem from Nov 10 to Nov 21. The death toll confirmed by Rio Governor Claudio Castro on Tuesday, which included four police officers, was more than twice Rio's most deadly previous police operation. After the most intense fighting subsided, a Reuters journalist saw police from a special operations unit rounding up dozens of shirtless men.

REUTERSThe Nepali and Chinese sides of the Everest region were closed to tourism on Wednesday due to unseasonably heavy snow, and a helicopter crashed in deep snowdrifts as it tried to rescue stranded trekkers. A small private helicopter flying to Lobuche near the Everest Base Camp to rescue stranded trekkers crashed when it tried to land, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul said. It was unclear if there were tourists trapped inside the Everest region in Tibet. In early October, a blizzard stranded hundreds of trekkers near the eastern face of Everest on the Tibetan side. In Nepal, more than 50 people had died due to floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains.

Floods triggered by record heavy rains have killed at least nine people and left five others missing in central Vietnam, the government said on Wednesday. The floods have also inundated more than 103,000 houses, mostly in the country's top tourist sites of Hue and Hoi An, the government's disaster agency said in a separate report. Vietnam is prone to often deadly storms and flooding that cause widespread property damage, especially during the storm season from June until October. In nearby Danang, water in most of its reservoirs has reached maximum depths, while water levels in its rivers also continued to rise, the government said. "Widespread flooding continues in low-lying areas along rivers and in urban areas, with high risks of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas of Danang," it said.

REUTERSThe US dollar hovered close to a one-week low versus major peers on Wednesday ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve later in the day. "The interest is in the guidance provided by (Fed) Chairperson Jerome Powell at his press conference," said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com. "A lot of dovishness is baked into the curve, with a cut in December almost fully discounted," he said. Takaichi, viewed as a fiscal and monetary dove, has asked the BOJ to maintain an easy monetary environment, but has said the conduct of monetary policy is up to the central bank. The European Central Bank also decides policy on Thursday, and is expected to leave rates unchanged.