Former MP and ex-FBCCI chief AK Azad has come under attack during his campaign in Faridpur, allegedly by the Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal activists. The attackers reportedly vandalised two vehicles during the incident. Police later reported that Azad left the area with his motorcade following the scuffle. The district Jubo Dal, however, denied any involvement in the attack. Faridpur Sadar Kotowali Police Station chief Md Asaduzzaman said the incident occurred around 4:45pm on Sunday at Pomanandapur Bazar in Sadar Upazila’s Krishnanagar union.

At least 30 people have been injured when activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir and Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal clashed over a planned event at a mosque in Noakhali’s Sadar Upazila. After the clash, Jamaat-e-Islami’s student front Chhatra Shibir activists took position inside the mosque while BNP’s youth wing Juba Dal activists gathered outside. Police and witnesses said Chhatra Shibir activists organised a Quran learning programme at the mosque after Asr prayers on Saturday. Neazpur Union Jubo Dal President Jashim Uddin objected, triggering an exchange of words and scuffles. Many were injured, including the two brothers of union Jubo Dal convener Faruk.

The bloodied body of Zobayed Hossain, a leader of Jagannath University’s Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, has been recovered from the stairs of a building at Old Dhaka’s Armanitola. Around 6pm on Sunday, Banshal Police chief Rafiqul Islam said his body was found in the house on Panir Pump Lane where “he conducted tuition”. Zobayed, a 15th batch student, was a member of the university branch’s Chhatra Dal convening committee and also served as president of the Cumilla District Student Association. I am going to the scene.”Former and current students, along with Chhatra Dal leaders, gathered at the Armanitola building where Zobayed was found. JnU Chhatra Dal’s Joint Convenor Suman Sardar said, “When we received the news and arrived, we found his bloodied body on the staircase of a three-storey house...

Jamaat's push for PR system is a strategic masquerade, says NCP’s NahidThe National Citizen Party Convenor Nahid Islam has denounced the Jamaat-e-Islami’s demand for general elections under proportional representation (PR) system as a deliberate “political deception”. In a Facebook post on Sunday, Nahid sharply criticised the Jamaat’s recent political activities. Nahid did not comment on other parties pursuing PR or reforms alongside Jamaat. The NCP did not sign the July National Charter due to differences over implementation, but has remained firm on registration and symbol allocation. But Jamaat and its allies hijacked the agenda, reducing it to a PR issue to serve their narrow political interests.

Eight parties, including Jamaat, to stage protests for ‘order’ to implement July CharterEight like-minded political parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, have announced a three-day protest in the fourth phase of their ongoing movement to demand an official ‘order’ for the implementation of the July Charter and a referendum by November. At a media briefing on Sunday afternoon, Khelafat Majlis Secretary General Ahmed Abdul Kader announced the programme on behalf of the eight parties. As part of the plan, the alliance will hold rallies and marches in Dhaka on Oct 20, in all divisional cities on Oct 25, and in district towns on Oct 27. Abdul Kader said: “If our demands are not met by Oct 27, we will call for a broader nationwide movement, God willing.”Since Sept 30, Jamaat, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, Bangladesh Nezam-e-Islam Party, Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party–JAGPA and Bangladesh Development Party have been pressing five key demands:Issue an order to implement the July National Charter and hold a referendum on it by NovemberIntroduce proportional representation (PR) in both parliamentary houses in the next national electionEnsure a level-playing field for all to guarantee free, fair and acceptable pollsBring to justice all acts of oppression, genocide and corruption by the ‘fascist" governmentBan the activities of the “autocratic” regime’s ally, the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, and the 14-party coalition

Dhaka, Oct. 19 -- A fire has ravaged at least 17 shops at Boalmari upazila of Faridpur. The incident took place at Kadirdi market around 10:15 pm on Saturday, according to Khalek Sheikh, station leader at Boalmari Fire Service and Civil Defence. The affected shops include a beauty salon, medicine shop, tailor shop, seed store, shoe store, and a restaurant, situated across four markets, reports bdnews24.com. Firefighters from Madhukhali and Boalmari brought the blaze under control after an effort of one and a half hours. Monir Hossain, a retired Army member, said: "As the traders had closed their shops and left, there were not many people present in the market except for the guards.

The fire at the Cargo Village of Shahjalal International Airport has been completely extinguished 27 hours after it broke out. Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director of the operations and maintenance of the Fire Service, confirmed it at a media briefing on Sunday. He said, “Upon receiving news of the fire on Saturday, 37 units worked tirelessly, and by 9:18pm on Saturday, we contained the fire. At 4:55pm on Sunday, we officially declared it fully extinguished.”Tajul said the affected sections of the cargo village were divided into numerous compartments, many constructed of steel. Two separate investigation committees have been formed by the Internal Resources Division of the finance ministry and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

MPO-registered teachers and staff campaigning for a 20 percent basic salary increase, higher house rent allowances, and the nationalisation of all private educational institutions have been prevented from carrying out a “Hunger March” by law-enforcing agencies. On Sunday, as the march moved towards the education ministry, they were stopped at the High Court’s Mazaar gate. Earlier, at 3:30pm, teachers and staff took out a march towards the ministry from Shaheed Minar. Under the banner of the MPO Teachers and Staff Nationalisation Alliance, the protesters have been demanding since last Sunday:A 20 percent house rent allowance based on basic salary;Increase of MPO teachers’ medical allowance from Tk 500 to Tk 1,500;Festival allowance for MPO staff from 50 percent to 75 percent of basic salary;On Thursday, they added the demand for the nationalisation of all private educational institutions. While the government set house rent allowances at 5 percent of basic salary or a minimum of Tk 2,000, teachers remain adamant about the 20 percent demand and have vowed to continue their movement.

The Gono Forum, led by Kamal Hossain, has signed the July National Charter, two days after refusing to do so at a ceremony held in the Parliament complex due to disagreements over constitutional wording. Although Gono Forum representatives attended the signing event on Friday, they declined to sign at the time. “We are pleased that the Consensus Commission has decided not to abolish Article 150(2) entirely, but to retain the Seventh Schedule. That is why we are signing today.”Mizanur said the Gono Forum had worked in full cooperation with the consensus panel. After the signing, Ali Riaz, vice-chairman of the Consensus Commission, urged the parties yet to sign to do so.

Smoke is still rising from the cargo complex of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, 20 hours after a fire broke out there. The fire had started around 2:15pm on Saturday in a courier warehouse within the import complex of the airport’s cargo village. Flights bound for Dhaka were diverted to Sylhet and Chattogram. One passenger, Mahmudul Islam, who was travelling with US-Bangla Airlines from Chattogram to Dhaka, said: “I had a family event in Dhaka. Sheikh Bashiruddin, advisor to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, visited the site to inspect the damage on Saturday night.

As part of mandatory airport safety measures, Shahjalal airport conducts annual fire drills, using mock aircraft to simulate emergencies. They claim that by the time the Fire Service arrived, flames had already spread extensively. The import cargo warehouse is a large hall divided into smaller cages for various firms, with separate storage areas for different product types. But everyone agreed that the blaze had already spread significantly before Fire Service units arrived. Khairul Alam Vuiya Mithu, vice-president of the Shahjalal Airport C&F Agents Association, said:“At 2pm, when the fire started, many workers and Ansar personnel were present.

The interim government has formed a five-strong committee to assess the extent of damage caused by the fire at the Cargo Village of Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. The committee is headed by IRD Joint Secretary Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman Patwary, with Deputy Secretary Pankaj Barua serving as member secretary. The IRD statement added that the committee will prepare a detailed report and submit it to the government “as soon as possible”. The NBR has also taken special measures to ensure the continuation of import-export activities at Dhaka Custom House despite the incident. The fire broke out at Cargo Village around 2:15pm Saturday and was contained by 9:15pm, grounding flights at the country’s main airport.

Flights resume at Shahjalal International Airport six hours after major fireFlights have resumed at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport six hours after a fire forced operations to halt. The first flight departed at 9:06pm on Saturday, said Group Captain SM Ragib Samad, the airport’s executive director. Officials at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram said that with the runway in Dhaka reopening at 9pm, diverted flights would return to the capital as soon as possible. More to follow

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has formed a seven-strong committee to investigate the fire at the import cargo complex of Shahjalal International Airport. As the ground handler at Shahjalal, Biman has instructed the committee to file its report within five days, according to an office order issued on Saturday night. Headed by the director of flight safety, the panel includes a representative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Biman’s general manager (GM) (Corporate Safety & Quality), chief engineer (Quality Assurance), DGM (Security), DGM (Cargo- Export), and a DGM from the Insurance Department. As ground handler, Biman is responsible for loading and unloading import-export cargo and for overall cargo handling at the airport. The fire is believed to have started around 2:15pm on Saturday in the courier section of the import cargo complex, employees said.

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam has asked BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed to apologise for calling July activists -- who had gathered at the venue of the July Charter signing ceremony -- the “fascist army” of the Awami League. He made the call at a press conference on Saturday at the NCP’s temporary office in the capital’s Banglamotor. “A while ago, we saw that Salahuddin sir called July activists -- who were injured (Friday) – the followers of the ‘fascist’ Awami League,” Nahid said. During the event, several hundred July activists entered the venue, demanding official recognition, legal protection, and rehabilitation for those injured during the July Uprising. There cannot be anyone involved in any real July Uprising here.”Responding to the remarks, Nahid said Salahuddin had likely spoken “by mistake” due to a lack of information.