DHAKA, March 9, 2026 (BSS) - The match officials for the upcoming three-match ODI series between Bangladesh and Pakistan were confirmed today. On-field duties will be shared by elite umpire Kumar Dharmasena along with his local and international counterparts. The first match of the series is on March 11, while the second and third game is on March 13 and 15 respectively. Kumar Dharmasena and Gazi Sohel will stand in the as umpire in the first match, while Adrian Holdstock takes the TV umpire role. Adrian Holdstock and Tanvir Ahmed will on-field umpires in the second match, with Kumar Dharmasena on TV duties and Masudur Rahman Mukul as fourth umpire.

HANOI, Vietnam, March 9, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Vietnam is considering a plan to scrap tariffs on fuel imports, the government said, as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupts oil supplies and pushes prices to their highest level since 2022. Since the war began more than a week ago with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, prices of fuel in Vietnam have risen sharply and the government has implemented emergency pricing protocols. The cost of the most widely used grade of gasoline has risen 21 percent to 27,040 Vietnamese dong ($1.03) per litre -- the highest since July 2022, state media reported. According to the finance ministry's proposal, which must be approved by the government, the tariff decree would be effective until the end of April. The crisis in the Middle East has seen crude prices soar to nearly $120 a barrel, the highest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

IFAD Country Director Dr Valantine Achancho met with Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today at his office at the Secretariat. Photo: PIDDHAKA, Mar 9, 2026 (BSS) – Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today sought effective cooperation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the development of the rural population of Bangladesh. He particularly emphasized the need for the agency’s support in improving safe water management in rural areas. In this regard, IFAD’s cooperation in ensuring and improving the management of safe water supply can play an important role, he added. During the meeting, the IFAD Country Director reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to working jointly with the Bangladesh government to address the impacts of climate change and support communities affected by natural disasters.

The four-day annual conference of deputy commissioners (DCs) will begin in Dhaka from May 3. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the conference at 10:30am on May 3 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium. On Monday, the Field Administration Coordination Wing of the Cabinet Division sent letters to all secretaries as well as the private secretaries of ministers and state ministers, asking them to take preparatory steps ahead of the conference. According to the letter, ministers, state ministers, senior secretaries and secretaries from various ministries and divisions will attend different sessions to provide guidance and directives to deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners. The conference is usually organised annually to facilitate face-to-face discussions between government policymakers and deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners, and to provide necessary policy directions.

RAJSHAHI, March 9, 2026 (BSS)- Three people were killed and two othersinjured in a head-on collision between an unauthorized vehicle [locally knownas "Bhutbhuti"] and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Bagha upazila of the districttoday. Among the deceased are the CNG driver and another passenger who died on thespot, while a woman died on the way to hospital. Locals rushed the remaining three passengers-- Rukena Begum, Sajahan Ali, andSeema Begum-- to the emergency department of Bagha Health Complex. However, Rukena Begum died on theway to RMCH. The Bhutbhuti driver fled the scene, and police are trying to arrest him.

File PhotoDHAKA, March 9, 2026 (BSS)- SSPL Int'l FIDE Rating Chess tournament begins atthe hall-room of the Bangladesh Chess Federation tomorrow (Tuesday). The tournament, which will be held under the patronage of Swapno ShohorProperties Limited in association with the Bangladesh Chess Federation, isopen to all chess players. The tournament will feature a total prize fund of Taka four lakh. Thechampion will receive Taka one lakh, the runner-up will have Taka 60 thousandand the Third-place winner will get Taka 40 thousand. This event has 16 main prizes as well as eight different category prizes forthe eligible participants.

IGP Md Ali Hossain Fakir spoke at a press briefing at the Police Headquarters Media Centre today. “Measures will be taken against terrorists, extortionists, criminals and teenage gangs after conducting block raids,” he said. The IGP identified maintaining law and order, combating drugs, terrorism, and extortion as the major challenges for Bangladesh Police. The IGP also stressed that effective measures will be taken against all forms of violence against women, including rape. Among those present at the briefing were Additional IGP AKM Awlad Hossain, Additional IGP Md Akram Hossain, Additional IGP Khondoker Rafiqul Islam, Additional IGP Moslehuddin Ahmed, and Additional IGP Sarder Nurul Amin.

Photo : CollectedDHAKA, Mar 09, 2026 (BSS) – Four Bangladeshis have been killed since the outbreak of the Iran–Israel conflict, State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Md Nurul Haque told media here today. Of the four, one each was killed in Bahrain and Dubai and two in Saudi Arabia. “We have contacted the families of the Bangladeshis killed in Saudi Arabia and conveyed condolences and assurances of support on behalf of the honorable prime minister,” he said. According to available information, several injured Bangladeshis are receiving necessary support and assistance from Bangladeshi missions in the respective countries. Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, Director General of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board Barrister Md Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan and other officials were present.

Gold prices have declined again in the domestic market, with the price of the highest quality 22-carat gold reduced by Tk3,266 per bhori. The revised price list was later announced in a notification signed by the committee’s chairman, Dr Dewan Aminul Islam Shaheen. Bajus said the adjustment was made following a decrease in the price of pure (acid) gold in the local market. Earlier, on March 4, Bajus cut the price of 22-carat gold by Tk9,214 per bhori to Tk268,214. The revised prices came into effect at jewellery shops across the country from 10am on Monday.

A fire that broke out on the third floor of an 11-storey commercial building in Mirpur‑2 was brought under control on Monday afternoon, with 23 people rescued by firefighters. According to the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, one woman among those rescued was sent to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital for treatment. Five firefighting units rushed to the scene and brought the fire under control at about 3:30pm. Duty officer Lima Khanam at the fire service control room said the fire broke out at around 1:52pm on the third floor of the commercial building in Mirpur-2. Fire Service media cell official Anwarul Islam Dolon said 23 people were rescued from the rooftop of the building.

Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of “unlawfully” using white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town last week. “The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor,” the New York-based rights group said in a report. The Israeli army has since repeatedly called on people living south of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers north of the Israeli border, to leave. “Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas,” he added. Lebanese authorities and HRW have over the past years accused Israel of using controversial white phosphorus rounds, in attacks that authorities say have harmed civilians and the environment.

Iranian authorities will confiscate the properties and impose penalties of members of the Iranian diaspora who “cooperate” with Israel and the United States, the judiciary said on Monday. “Iranians abroad who align, accompany and cooperate with the American-Zionist aggressor enemy will face confiscation of all their property and other legal penalties in accordance with the law,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said, quoting the prosecutor general’s office. Mizan cited a law adopted after the 12-day war in June with Israel, which saw the United States briefly joining with strikes.

Police recovered the body of a teenage house help in the Banani area of the capital. Sub-Inspector Md Alamgir Hossain of Banani Police Station said the body was sent to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) early Monday for an autopsy. Pinki was the daughter of Md Fomin Noor and Nasrin Begum from Nijgaon village in Shalla Upazila. Police suspect that the teenager may have died after falling from the roof of the building where she worked. He added that investigators would also examine whether any other factors, including possible sexual assault, were involved.

The government has sent the River Police Chief Kusum Dewan and four additional Inspector Generals of Police (IGPs) into mandatory retirement, according to notifications issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The other four additional IGPs are Abu Hasan Muhammad Tariq, Mohd. Abdul Alim Mahmud, Md Masudur Rahman, and Md. Md Masudur Rahman was stationed at Police Headquarters in a training capacity, while Md Tofiq Mahbub Chowdhury was serving as Additional IGP at the Rajshahi Police Academy. The notifications also confirm that all retirement benefits will be provided as per existing rules.

A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft made an emergency landing on the runway on Thursday due to a mechanical fault, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The aircrew were reported safe, and no damage was sustained by the aircraft, the ISPR added.