Police have "chased down" and detained a man after an "improvised explosive", colloquially known as cocktail bomb, was detonated in front of the Election Commission (EC) headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon.The blast occurred around 11:30pm on Saturday, according to Ibne Mizan, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon Division. "Some miscreants set off a cocktail bomb-like object outside the building. After we heard a loud noise, our patrol team was able to chase down and arrest one person," he said. Although the details of the arrest were not initially disclosed, Ibne Mizan said that the names of "many more" involved have been uncovered. We hope this is an isolated incident, so there is nothing to worry about."

The Bangladesh Army has recovered a cache of firearms and explosives from a train compartment during a raid at Dhaka’s Airport Railway Station. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the operation was carried out around 11:15am on Sunday with support from Railway Police, targeting a carriage of the Bonolota Express that left from Rajshahi. Army recovered eight foreign-made pistols, 16 magazines, 26 rounds of ammunition, about 2.5kg of gunpowder and more than 2kg of plastic explosives. Four suspects were detained at the scene and later handed over to police for preliminary questioning, according to the statement. However, around 10pm, Kamalapur Railway Police chief Zainal Abedin said, “Although [the Army] turned in the weapons and explosives, we have not received any detainees.”He added that a case is being filed over the incident.

A Barishal court has handed down the death penalty to four men for gangraping a housewife in 2016. Barishal Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Md Rakibul Islam delivered the verdict on Sunday. The incident took place on Nov 10, 2016, in Barishal city’s Dhan Gobeshona Road area, Special Public Prosecutor Abdul Mannan Mridha said, citing the case dossier. There, the four convicts and eight to 10 unidentified others gangraped her throughout the night, the prosecutor said. The next day, on Nov 11, 2016, she filed a case against four named suspects and 10 unidentified others.

Police have recovered the body of another person 12 days after a fire broke out at a garment factory and chemical warehouse in the Rupnagar area of Dhaka’s Mirpur. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mirpur Division Deputy Commissioner Md Makhsudur Rahman said the body was retrieved from the burnt factory on Sunday afternoon. “The body is burnt on one side and melted on the other. On Oct 14, a fire broke out at a chemical warehouse and an adjacent garment factory in Rupnagar. Sixteen bodies were retrieved from the second and third floors of the factory that day.

Sarjis Alam, the chief organiser of National Citizen Party (North), has warned that the party will take to the streets against the Election Commission if it does not receive the Shapla, or water lily, as its poll symbol. On Sunday, he said the party will simultaneously campaign for the reconstitution of this “arbitrary” Election Commission if the NCP is denied the symbol. Sarjis added that the NCP would not form alliances in the elections simply for a few seats, ignoring the aspirations of the people. “If NCP enters any alliance in line with public sentiment, it will contest using the Shapla symbol under its own name,” he said. NCP will endorse it if the chief advisor issues directives ensuring its full implementation.”

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Sunday they had captured the army headquarters in the city of al-Fashir, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in the Darfur region in the west of the country. A video posted by the RSF showed its soldiers cheering in front of a sign for the army's Sixth Infantry base. RSF BESIEGED CITY FOR 18 MONTHSYet some activists have long warned that an RSF takeover of the city would also lead to ethnic attacks, as seen after the capture of the Zamzam camp to the south. A UN-mandated mission said last month the RSF had committed multiple crimes against humanity in the al-Fashir siege. The Popular Resistance, local fighters allied with the army, said they were continuing to fight the RSF and that the takeover of the army base did not mean the takeover of the city.

REUTERS/Fayaz AzizFive Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants have died in clashes near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday, as delegations from both countries met to try to defuse tensions after the deadliest fighting in years. In Afghanistan, the Taliban government's chief spokesman and the defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported attacks. Officials from both countries are meeting in Istanbul to prevent a relapse into conflict after clashes between their armies earlier this month - the worst border fighting since the Taliban's 2021 takeover of Kabul. That fighting erupted after Pakistan demanded the Taliban rein in militants it says operate from Afghan sanctuaries, prompting heavy exchanges of fire and Pakistani airstrikes. Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, said on Saturday the truce was holding and he believed Afghanistan wanted peace.

A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal has intensified, with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) warning it may develop into a cyclone by Sunday. The system has remained over the same area while moving west-northwest on Saturday evening. He said the cyclone is unlikely to have a significant impact on Bangladesh. The system is moving west-northwest, gaining strength, and may intensify into a cyclone. A 13-country panel, including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UAE, and Yemen, decides the names sequentially.

A Rajshahi University student has drowned in the institution’s swimming pool. The incident occurred around 5:30pm on Sunday, said the university’s proctor Mahbubur Rahman. The victim, Sayma Hossain, was a Sociology student from the 2020-21 academic session and a resident of Mannujan Hall. Witness Toufiq Rahman said they were playing outside the gym when they noticed Sayma underwater. “By the time we reached the [swimming pool] and pulled her out, it was too late.

Another four people have died of dengue fever in Bangladesh over the past 24 hours, pushing the nationwide death toll this year to 263. They died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Patuakhali Medical College Hospital, and Barguna 250-bed Hospital, aged 58, 18, 80, and 23. In the same period, 1,143 new dengue patients were admitted to hospitals, taking the total number of hospitalisations in 2025 to 65,440. No dengue deaths were reported in March. At the moment, 2,733 dengue patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals across the country -- 930 in Dhaka and 1,803 elsewhere.

Brazil and US to meet 'immediately' in search of tariff solutions, Lula saysUS President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talk as they meet on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct 26, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinUS President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talk as they meet on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct 26, 2025. "We agreed that our teams will meet immediately to advance the search for solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities," Lula said in a message on X following the meeting. Lula previously described the tariff hike as a "mistake", citing a $410 billion US trade surplus with Brazil over 15 years. Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said negotiations will start immediately to work on solutions and a meeting with the US delegation was planned for Sunday.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has formed a five-strong committee to investigate the death of a pedestrian caused by a falling metro rail bearing pad. The committee, headed by Bridges Department Secretary Mohammad Abdur Rouf, includes technical and engineering experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). He died instantly when the heavy bearing pad fell from above. The new committee will also review the investigation report of a previous incident on Sept 18 at the same location, when another bearing pad fell, halting metro service for 11 hours. Elastomeric bearing pads, installed at pier and viaduct junctions to absorb vibration, are made of neoprene or natural rubber.

The Advisory Council of the interim government will wrap up its meetings within November, Information Advisor Mahfuj Alam has said. Now, Advisor Mahfuj has hinted at a change in the government’s approach. We are trying to bring online content under regulation. “I believe in strengthening the media by reducing the number of publications and raising advertisement rates, but circulation figures must be accurate. “Those who cannot compete in the market will eventually drop out.”Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said at the event, “The information advisor has consistently called for decent pay for journalists.

The atmosphere at Dhaka’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital has turned sombre with grief as relatives of Abul Kalam mourned his sudden death from a metro rail bearing pad. Inconsolable, Irin Akhter Pia, Kalam’s wife, collapsed several times outside the morgue on Sunday. Holding one of their young sons in her arms, she broke down saying: “I never wanted to bid him farewell today. He lived in Narayanganj with his wife and their two sons, aged 3 and 4. Earlier, on Sept 18, a bearing pad fell off at Khamarbari area on the same route, halting the service from Agargaon to Motijheel for 11 hours.

What are bearing pads and why are they installed on bridges and metro lines? The repeated fall of bearing pads from Dhaka’s metro line -- twice within five weeks -- has stirred widespread curiosity about what they are and how they function. On Sunday, a pedestrian died after being hit by a bearing pad that fell from the Dhaka Metro Rail line in Farmgate. Used in bridges and flyovers to absorb vibration, elastomeric bearing pads are made from neoprene or natural rubber and are installed between the pier and viaduct joints. Kamrul Hasan, an engineer at the Roads and Highways Department, explained: “These rubber pads are used to create elasticity between a bridge’s pier and girder.