Employees of Islami Bank have staged a blockade on the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway at Faujdarhat, halting traffic for nearly an hour in protest against the bank's “special competency evaluation” programme. Witnesses said that around 12pm, over a thousand male and female Islami Bank employees sat down on the highway and began chanting slogans, bringing traffic on both sides of the highway to a standstill and causing long tailbacks. At Friday’s press conference, Islami Bank officials expressed fears of dismissal under the current management. Branding the current Islami Bank management board “illegal”, protest leader SM Emdad Hossain alleged that employees from Chattogram were being subjected to discrimination. Following a shift in the country’s political landscape, Islami Bank was freed from the control of the controversial S Alam Group.

The body of Ahmad Rafiq has been taken to the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, where people from all walks of life are paying their last respects to the Language Movement veteran. Due to residential issues at Fazlul Haque Hall, however, he transferred to Dhaka Medical College. Rafiq participated in the 1952 Language Movement, working closely with students from different campuses. He was the only student from Dhaka Medical College to have an arrest warrant issued against him in 1954. Rafiq received numerous accolades, including the Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award, and Rabindra Sahitya Award for his contributions to literature.

The BMD said normal rainfall is expected across the country in October. It also suggested that the south-west monsoon may gradually withdraw from Bangladesh during the first half of October. The Met Office noted that in September, rainfall across the country was 20.8 percent below normal. The Dhaka, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Chattogram, Khulna and Barishal divisions all recorded less rainfall than usual, while Sylhet Division received more. The highest temperature in the country during September was 38 degrees Celsius, recorded in Sylhet on Sept 1.

At least 417 people were killed and 682 injured in 446 road accidents across Bangladesh in September, according to the Road Safety Foundation. On Saturday, the foundation published its monthly report on road accidents, based on data collected from nine national dailies, seven online news portals, several electronic media outlets, and the organisation's own sources. Among the fatalities, 143 stemmed from 151 crashes involving motorcycles, making them the most lethal category of vehicles, according to the organisation. In percentage terms, motorcycles accounted for 33.87 percent of all accidents and 34.29 percent of fatalities last month. As many 112 pedestrians were killed in road accidents last month, representing 26.85 percent of the death toll, according to the report.

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings that some authorities have blamed on Russia. Authorities have yet to attribute Thursday's or Friday's drone sightings to a specific actor. "German air traffic control restricted flight operations at Munich Airport as a precautionary measure due to unconfirmed drone sightings and suspended them until further notice," a statement on the airport website read. In a later update, the airport said 23 flights were diverted, 12 flights to Munich and 48 departures cancelled or postponed. Munich airport was closed for several hours late on Thursday and in the small hours after unconfirmed drone sightings that disrupted dozens of flights.

India racked up 448 for five after opener KL Rahul and middle-order batters Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja struck hundreds to flatten West Indies and put the hosts in charge of the opening test in Ahmedabad on Friday. Jadeja, who hit five sixes in his fluent knock, will resume on 104 on Saturday with Washington Sundar on nine at the other end. India had bundled out West Indies for 162 on Thursday and hit the accelerator when Shubman Gill (50) and Rahul (100) resumed on day two. Jurel pulled Chase for a six to put the pressure back on the visitors and then Jadeja took over. Jadeja took a single off Warrican to bring up his sixth test hundred, which was followed by the India vice-captain's trademark bat-swirling celebration.

General Waker-uz-Zaman likely to visit New Delhi on..., Army Chief to meet...India-Bangladesh relations to improve? General Waker-uz-Zaman likely to visit New Delhi on…, Army Chief to meet…When asked about General Waker-Uz-Zaman’s visit to India, the Bangladesh Army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said it had no information as of now. Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said India-Bangladesh relations must be based on fairness. (File)New Delhi: In a major development, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman is likely to visit India this month. According to the reports, Waker-Uz-Zaman is expected to meet Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi.

Rains have dampened roads but lit a fire in the kitchen, with chilli prices in Dhaka’s markets jumping by over Tk 100 in a week and vegetables climbing fast behind. On Friday, its price rose to Tk 120. Among other vegetables, ladies’ finger, swamp gourd, pointed gourd, snake gourd, spiny gourd were selling between Tk 80–100 per kg. Thin-lentil price rose from Tk 140 to 150 per kg. For eggs, farm-fresh ones remain Tk 140 per dozen; broiler chicken price rose by Tk 10 per kg (from Tk 160–170 to Tk 180 per kg).

The Rastro Songskar Andolan has restructured its central committee and elected Hasnat Kaiyum, who previously served as chief coordinator, as its president. The organisation has also formally added “Bangladesh” to its name, becoming the Bangladesh Rastro Songskar Andolan. The names of the newly elected general secretary and other executive committee members will be disclosed later, the party added. Hasnat alleged that the previous election commission under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina had denied registration to the Rastro Songskar Andolan. He expressed hope that under the new government, the current election commission will complete the party’s registration at the earliest possible time.

Ahmed Rafiq will be forever remembered for his role in Language Movement, says FakhrulBNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said Ahmed Rafiq will be remembered by the people of Bangladesh for his lifelong contribution to protecting the dignity of the mother tongue. In a condolence message on Friday, Fakhrul described him as one of the brave soldiers of the historic Language Movement who made important contributions to both the recognition of Bangla and the development of literature and culture. He described Rafiq as a man of many talents, a physician by profession, who left a lasting impact across different sectors through his cultural and intellectual pursuits. Fakhrul said Rafiq’s life of purpose would always serve as a source of inspiration for the people of the country. The Language Movement activist and researcher died at BIRDEM Hospital in Dhaka on Thursday night at the age of 96.

The Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard have rescued 39 people, including women and children, from the deep hills of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, where they had been gathered for smuggling to Malaysia. Lt Commander M Mohaieminul Haque Mahim, contingent commander of the Navy, said the operation was carried out at Kachhapia hills in the early hours of Friday. Among those rescued were 18 Rohingya women, 11 Rohingya men, eight Rohingya children and two Bengali nationals. “At dawn, a commando unit from the Navy’s specialised force, supported by Coast Guard members, moved in on the site. Citing accounts from those rescued, Mahim said: “The organised traffickers lured them with false assurances, abducted them at gunpoint and kept them confined in the hills.

At least 20 people have been injured in a clash between leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami in Chandpur’s Hajiganj Upazila, triggered by a Facebook post containing “distorted” images of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and party leader Rumin Farhana. Hajiganj Police Station chief Md Mohiuddin Faruk said the incident occurred on Friday morning in Palishara village of the Upazila, reports bdnews24.com. The injured are receiving treatment at Hajiganj Upazila Health Complex and Chandpur General Hospital, he added. The clash erupted after Jamaat leader Ilias Hossain shared a photo of BNP leaders Tarique and Rumin on Facebook. Although the post was later deleted and an apology issued, tensions escalated when BNP activists confronted him the next morning, leading to a violent clash.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoThree cabinet colleagues of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are promoting use of apps by domestic rivals to Google Maps, WhatsApp and Microsoft, in the strongest backing yet for "Made in India" products amid trade tension with the United States. While many industry executives have made public calls to support Indian products, Modi made a direct appeal last month for Indians to scrap daily use of foreign goods. "The map is from MapmyIndia, not Google Maps," the minister said with a smile, referring to an Indian provider. In 2021, Indian ministers promoted X-like social media platform Koo amid compliance-related disagreements with the American platform. "Only state patronage will not be enough," warned Dilip Cherian, a co-founder of Indian public relations firm Perfect Relations.

Criminologists say people in crisis, when denied support by family, community or the state, sometimes choose to kill loved ones before themselves. Investigators believe Rubel Ahmed, 35, strangled his wife Sonia Akter, 28, and 6-year-old daughter "Jamila" before hanging himself amid “family conflict”. Whether the family member who committed the act had a prior mental health issue should also be taken into consideration. HOW EXPERTS VIEW THE TRENDAachol Foundation, which works on suicide prevention, has no statistics on family-wide suicides or killings followed by suicide. Prof Salahuddin Qusar of BSMMU conceded that most suicides stem from mental illness, but treatment access at the grassroots is scarce.

A BNP leader has been killed in Bagerhat town after assailants arrived on motorcycles and hacked him while he was sitting at a tea stall, police say. The incident occurred around 6:30pm on Friday at the three-road intersection in Uttar Harikhali, Bagerhat Sadar Model Police Station chief Md Mahmud-ul-Hasan said. Officers have claimed the murder may be linked to a previous dispute, but they have not clarified what the dispute was. Officer Mahmud, citing witnesses, said: “Around 6:30pm, Hayat was sitting at the tea stall. Mahmud said investigators are looking into a previous dispute as a possible motive, though a final conclusion will depend on the ongoing investigation.