“Gender equality” has become a familiar slogan in corporate mission statements and annual reports across Bangladesh. While representation is important, a pressing question remains: Does increasing the number of women in an office automatically ensure gender equality? The male employee’s reason for leaving is linked to income generation or professional development and is therefore seen as legitimate. Women employees also need to engage critically with workplace structures and advocate for change. It is now urgent to incorporate certain feminine values that can provide a proper place for female employees in organizations and bring constructive change.

Manchester City shrugged off 10 changes to their starting line-up to crush Newcastle 3-1 and reach the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as Chelsea battled past 10-man Wrexham. - Chelsea scare -Chelsea are also into the last eight after a 4-2 win but only after a mighty scare against second-tier Wrexham, who twice took the lead at the Racecourse Ground. "That's the reason why the FA Cup is what it is," he said. In the first FA Cup match of the day, Eberechi Eze smashed home the winner as a much-changed Arsenal toughed out a win against Mansfield. Noni Madueke put the 14-time FA Cup winners ahead against the League One strugglers shortly before half-time, only for substitute Will Evans to level soon after the break.

Concerns intensified after news of escalating tensions in the Middle East raised fears of potential disruptions to global fuel supply chains. As a result, many motorists rushed to fill their tanks and even store additional fuel, quickly draining filling stations’ regular reserves. In Dhaka, lines of private cars and motorcycles were seen stretching far beyond fuel stations from Saturday morning through the evening. Pumps running out of daily reservesDespite the adequate national supply, filling stations are struggling to keep up with the sudden surge in demand. To prevent irregularities, the government plans to deploy mobile courts from Sunday to monitor fuel distribution at filling stations.

A case has been filed against Nasiruddin Patwary, chief coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP), for allegedly intimidating and defaming the Prime Minister’s political adviser Mirza Abbas Uddin Ahmed. According to the complaint, Patwary contested against Mirza Abbas in the 13th parliamentary election but lost by a large margin. The plaintiff alleged that since the election, the accused has repeatedly made false and defamatory statements against Mirza Abbas on social media platforms and in various online news outlets. It further claimed that millions of people in Bangladesh had seen the remarks and that the statements were intentionally made to harm the reputation and political career of Mirza Abbas. The plaintiff has also sought the issuance of an arrest warrant against Nasiruddin Patwary in connection with the case.

The Bangladesh Constitution’s guarantees of equality (Article 27) and non-discrimination (Article 28) explicitly obligate duty-bearers to uphold menstrual justice. To achieve "rights, justice, action," we must move beyond these paper promises. Give up silence to gain voice: We must move menstrual hygiene management (MHM) from a "women's issue" to a collective social responsibility. To sustain and expand these efforts, dedicated funding and resource allocation for menstrual justice within climate budgets are essential to ensure these initiatives are scalable and impactful. However, the path forward requires us to ensure that all climate-resilient infrastructure explicitly incorporates menstrual justice.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan’s call for a respectable wage board for journalists is a welcome recognition of the vital role the media plays in our democracy. Journalists who dedicate themselves to informing the public and holding power accountable have earned financial security and dignity in their profession. A respectable wage board is a necessity, but so is having the environment for a free and fearless press. A fair wage without freedom is hollow as it sustains livelihoods but not the integrity of the profession. Ensuring both fair wages and media freedom is about safeguarding our democratic ideals and not just the profession.

For Bangladesh, however, such a theme could not be more urgent. The recently concluded general elections revealed once again how far we remain from genuine empowerment for women, with every political party failing tremendously in assuring capable women candidates to represent them. It must also enforce workplace protections, ensure fair pay, and dismantle systemic barriers that keep women from thriving. Bangladesh has continued to struggle as a nation, and it is time to realize that when women are empowered, economies grow, communities strengthen, and nations thrive. Our future prosperity depends on whether we can move beyond token gestures and deliver real opportunities for women to lead, work, and live free from fear.

New Zealand cricketer sets record with five wickets in five ballsWELLINGTON, March 8, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - An unheralded New Zealand domestic bowler on Sunday became the first player in the 254-year history of first class cricket to take five wickets in five successive deliveries. Ireland international Curtis Campher took five wickets in five balls in a domestic Twenty20 match last year, becoming the first player to do so in a professional game. Three more wickets fell from successive balls, including the record-breaking delivery, when international all-rounder Kristian Clarke was bowled. Randell took two further wickets in his following over as ND were skittled for 82 in response to CD's 373. Randell claimed 7-25, his best figures in a 38-match first class career that spans nine years.

India face New Zealand on Sunday in Ahmedabad looking to become the first side to lift the T20 World Cup for a third time but under huge pressure with the weight of a nation on their shoulders. New Zealand believe, after Finn Allen's record 33-ball century in the semi-final in Kolkata, that they are capable of taking down the hosts to win their maiden T20 World Cup title. The world's top-ranked T20 team are attempting to become the first to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil. Mitchell Santner's New Zealand have blown hot and cold, having been beaten by South Africa and England earlier in the tournament. "He's in incredible form, he's an incredible player and I think he's just showing the world what he can do.

Lionel Messi moved to the brink of another goalscoring milestone as Inter Miami bagged their second win of the Major League Soccer season with a 2-1 victory over DC United on Saturday. The Argentine superstar's 80th goal for Miami takes his career tally to 899, leaving him just one away from reaching the 900-goal milestone. Saturday's win moved the reigning MLS champions up the Eastern Conference standings into third place with six points from three games. United rallied after half-time, and were given hope when Israeli forward Tai Baribo pulled a goal back in the 75th minute. Miami though were able to hold off United in the closing stages to seal victory.

A clash broke out near Shahbagh Police Station over the playing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's historic March 7th speech. During the incident, a person identified as a Chhatra League member was beaten by Jatiya Chhatra Shakti activists. Earlier, police detained a former DU student and a Chhatra League functionary at Chankharpul intersection for playing the March 7th speech. Eventually, both Emi and Al Mamun were handed over to Shahbagh Police Station. After the incident, Emi wrote on Facebook: "Al Mamun was attacked under the leadership of Zubayer and Mosaddeq.

"The good news is that High Commissioner Abida Islam has been withdrawn. She has been removed from her post," Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Humaiun Kobir, who is currently visiting London, told reporters. High Commissioner Abida Islam officially assumed office as High Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 27 January 2025. Abida Islam has held key diplomatic positions in several international postings, including in the Bangladesh Missions in London (2001-2004), Colombo (2004-2006), and Brussels (2009-2012), Deputy High Commissioner, Bangladesh High Commission, Kolkata, India (2012–2014). During her tenure as Ambassador to South Korea, Ambassador Islam worked to improve Bangladesh-South Korea relations, particularly in trade, investment, and cultural exchange.

Voters will head to the polls in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a prosperous hub of Germany's flagship auto sector with a population of 11.2 million. The CDU, a year after winning national elections, hopes to snatch first place in Baden-Wuerttemberg back from the Greens, who have won the last two state elections. Merz's party until recently enjoyed large poll leads in the state but these have shrunk in recent months. The Greens' lead candidate is Cem Ozdemir, 60, who, if he wins, would become Germany's first state premier of Turkish heritage. Such a result would be "sensational" for the party, he said, and the best it had ever scored in a western German state.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 8, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Lebanon's health ministry said Sunday that an Israeli strike on a hotel in central Beirut killed at least four people, with Israel saying it had targeted commanders from Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Israel, which has kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire, launched multiple waves of strikes this week across Lebanon and sent ground troops into border areas. Early Sunday, the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli air strike hit Beirut's city centre, targeting "a hotel room", killing four people and wounding 10 others. A separate statement later said Israeli forces carried out a "precise strike" in Beirut, targeting "key commanders" in the Quds Force, the Guards' foreign operations arm. Hezbollah also said its fighters were engaged in clashes with Israeli forces near the border town of Aitaroun.

Trump attends return of first US troops killed in Iran warDOVER, United States, March 8, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump attended the return Saturday of the bodies of the first six US soldiers killed during the escalating war with Iran. Trump, wearing a white "USA" baseball cap, saluted as troops carried each flag-draped case from a military transport plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the remains of US troops killed overseas are returned to American soil. The troops were killed last Sunday when a drone struck a key US command center in Kuwait, a day after the United States and Israel launched a sweeping military campaign against Iran. Trump traveled to Delaware for the transfer of the fallen troops after attending a summit of Latin American leaders Saturday morning in the southern state of Florida. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he warned the United States would hit Iran "very hard" and threatened to expand strikes to include new targets.