A hacker group has taken control of the verified Facebook page of Islami Bank amid mounting controversy over a recruitment evaluation test for employees. The bank confirmed the incident, saying its IT team was working to resolve the matter. As of 3pm on Friday, the bank's verified page remained inaccessible. IT experts are working to resolve it," said Nazrul Islam, the bank's head of public relations. During its tenure, tens of thousands of people were hired into the bank, often through verbal orders, without formal tests or vetting.

Unidentified assailants have reportedly set fire to a passenger bus in Dhaka's Mirpur. "Around 7:15am, two or three men arrived and asked all passengers to get off the bus. The Alif Paribahan bus had been travelling from Mirpur towards Agargaon. Meanwhile, the fire on the bus was extinguished within 15 minutes of the incident being reported, according to Rashed Bin Khalid, a Fire Service duty officer. “We were informed that a group of young men had set fire to a bus and quickly fled the scene,” he said.

Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File PhotoThe UN Security Council Committee has temporarily lifted a travel ban on the Afghan Taliban foreign minister, which would allow him to visit India between Oct 9 and 16, India's foreign ministry said on Friday. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is among Afghan Taliban members who are under UN sanctions including a travel ban and asset freeze. Indian and Afghan media have reported that Muttaqi would travel to Russia before visiting New Delhi. Hekmatullah Hekmat, an Afghan political analyst, said the visit to India was highly significant for the Taliban government. India closed its embassy in Kabul in 2021, but a year later opened a technical mission to coordinate humanitarian assistance.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has again demanded the “Shapla” as its electoral symbol, rejecting the Election Commission’s (EC) stance that the flower cannot be allocated due to its place in the national emblem. In a statement on Friday, NCP Convenor Nahid Islam explained why the party is set on having the Shapla as its symbol. However, on Jul 9 media reports said the EC had taken a policy decision against listing the symbol, citing its status as part of the national emblem. It cited the Constitution, the Bangladesh National Emblem Order 1972, and the Emblem Rules 1972, arguing that only the full emblem design is restricted, not individual components. The party continues to press for the inclusion of the Shapla in the EC’s official symbol list, claiming it has already gained acceptance among supporters nationwide.

Bangladesh slates Israeli interception of Gaza aid flotilla, demands release of all activistsBangladesh has condemned the Israeli forces’ interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, which was carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza. It urged Israel to end its illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, respect international humanitarian law, and immediately cease its “genocidal war and humanitarian blockade in Gaza”. The flotilla initiative, supported internationally, aims to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. Over the past two days, Israeli forces have taken control of nearly 40 ships in the flotilla and detained the activists, sending them to prison. Thunberg said in a video message that the Israeli forces had “kidnapped” her.

Language Movement activist Ahmed Rafiq will be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar on Saturday, where people from all walks of life can pay their last respects. A mourning procession will accompany the coffin from the Shaheed Minar to Ibrahim Medical College Hospital for the formal handover. 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.

India has rejected allegations that it instigated recent unrest in Bangladesh’s Khagrachhari district. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the claims were ‘false and baseless’, according to bdnews24.com. The comments follow remarks made in Dhaka by Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, who suggested that India or “fascist elements” were behind the surge in violence, arson, and land grabs in the region. Randhir Jaiswal claimed that Bangladesh’s interim government is ‘unable’ to maintain law and order and has a ‘habit of shifting blame onto others’. He said that Bangladesh should focus on addressing ‘local extremist violence’ targeting minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

India has rejected allegations that it instigated recent unrest in Bangladesh’s Khagrachhari district, saying the country’s interim government is “unable” to maintain law and order and has a “habit of shifting blame onto others”. On the night of Sept 23, tension erupted after allegations that a Marma teenage girl had been gang‑raped in Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila. The unrest, however, continued, and on Sept 29, speaking in Dhaka, Advisor Jahangir alleged that the violence had “foreign backing”. These incidents are being carried out at the instigation of India or fascist forces. I don’t want to name the country, but one of my journalist brothers has already mentioned it.”

‘Pakistan must stop backing terror or risk erasure from map’, says Indian Army chiefIndia’s Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi has issued a sharp warning to Pakistan, accusing the country of fuelling terrorism and threatening its existence on the map unless it ends state-backed militancy. New Delhi said four suspects were linked to the Pahalgam attack, two of whom were Pakistani nationals. Amid the tensions, on May 7 Indian fighter jets struck targets inside Pakistan, which New Delhi described as “terrorist infrastructure”. In July, India announced that three militants involved in the Pahalgam attack had been killed and insisted it had “detailed proof” of their Pakistani identity. Following the latest clashes, India suspended a key water-sharing treaty, which Pakistan described as an “act of war”.

Child’s body recovered from Turag River after boat capsize, another still missingRescuers have recovered the body of a child after a boat capsized in the Turag River at Kaliakair in Gazipur, leaving another child still missing. The child was identified as Ankita Moni Das, 5, daughter of Madan Moni Das. Tanmay Madan Das, 8, son of Taposh Moni Das, remains missing. According to the Fire Service, the two children were on a boat trip with relatives on Thursday evening. A diving team resumed operations on Friday morning and recovered Ankita’s body trapped with the boat.

Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have asked a New Delhi judge to remove and prohibit creation of AI videos infringing their intellectual property rights. One such popular YouTube channel sharing "AI-generated Bollywood love stories" has been removed. A message to the email address previously listed for YouTube channel @AIbollywoodishq bounced back on Friday. Some other videos similar to the examples cited in Abhishek's lawsuit papers on YouTube were still online as of Friday. Among them were a clip showing Abhishek posing but then suddenly kissing a film actress using AI manipulation, and an AI depiction of Aishwarya and Khan enjoying a meal together, while Abhishek Bachchan fumes.

India downed five F-16, JF-17 Pakistani jets in May conflict, says Indian air force chiefIndia downed five Pakistani fighter jets of the F-16 and JF-17 class during the intense fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May, Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh said on Friday. Although Singh had previously said that five Pakistani fighter jets and another military aircraft were shot down during the conflict, this is the first time New Delhi has mentioned the class of jets in public. Pakistan has said it shot down six Indian fighter jets during the conflict, including the French-made Rafale. On Friday, Singh declined to respond to questions on Pakistan's claim of downing Indian jets. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones during the four-day conflict, killing dozens of people, before agreeing to a ceasefire.

Two autorickshaw passengers have died after a dump truck crashed head-on into their three-wheeler in Gazipur’s Kaliganj Upazila. Three others were injured in the accident that occurred around 8:30am on Friday at Deopara on the Tongi-Dhorashal Bypass Road, according to Sub-Inspector Maksudul Kabir Nakib of Kaliganj Police Station. Police and locals say the passengers were travelling from Gazipur's Safipur to Narsingdi via Kaliganj in an autorickshaw. Three people were then rushed to the Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex in a critical condition. SI Maksudul Kabir said efforts are under way to uncover further details about the dead.

Source: CollectedUnidentified assailants have reportedly set fire to a passenger bus in Dhaka‍‍`s Mirpur. The Alif Paribahan bus had been travelling from Mirpur towards Agargaon. Citing the bus driver, his aide and sources linked to the bus owners, Mamun said there had been ongoing tensions over the recruitment of a "checker" -- a staff member responsible for ticketing. Meanwhile, the fire on the bus was extinguished within 15 minutes of the incident being reported, according to Rashed Bin Khalid, a Fire Service duty officer. “We were informed that a group of young men had set fire to a bus and quickly fled the scene,” he said.

'It seems impossible': Mother's hope for son's life dims after Indonesia school collapseMembers of the search and rescue operations carry a relative of the victim of a collapsed building, after a hall collapsed while students were praying at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school on Monday, in Sidoarjo, East Java province, Indonesia, Oct 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dipta WahyuThe anxiety gripped Jayanti Mandasari as soon as she got off the phone with her son M. Muhfi Alfian on Monday. Authorities said the school collapsed because its foundations could not support ongoing construction work on the upper floors. There are 42,000 such schools across Indonesia, known locally as a pesantren, serving about 7 million students, data from Indonesia's religious affairs ministry shows. Jayanti said she is so traumatised she will not be sending her other children to the school.