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.

Shubman Gill was named India's 50-overs captain on Saturday in place of Rohit Sharma, who was named in the squad along with batting stalwart Virat Kohli for three one-day internationals in Australia this month. Both Rohit and Kohli have quit Test cricket and T20 Internationals and are only available for India only in the 50-over format. Gill took over as Test captain after Rohit quit the long format in May, and he is vice captain of India's T20 squad led by Suryakumar Yadav. Rohit and Kohli last played for India in the Champions Trophy final in March in which they beat New Zealand. India will play three ODIs in Australia followed by five T20 Internationals.

Astronomers have predicted that Ramadan will begin on Feb 19, a Thursday, in the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries. So, the start of Ramadan is expected to fall on Feb 19. Al Jarwan said the fasting period will begin at 12 hours and 46 minutes, gradually increasing to 13 hours and 25 minutes by the end of the month. He also mentioned that the daylight hours will start at 11 hours and 32 minutes, rising to 12 hours and 12 minutes by Ramadan’s conclusion. The start of Ramadan is annually determined by the moon sighting, which is officially confirmed after the 29th of Shaban in the Islamic lunar calendar.

BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed has insisted the party will not yield to pressure from any political party. Without naming any specific party, the BNP Standing Committee member said: “None of us has the right to change the Constitution without a lawful, valid, and constitutional process. Additionally, Islamist party Khelafat Majlis announced an 11-day programme, including a mass procession in Dhaka, on a five-point demand, including the legal basis of the July Charter. However, the BNP and a few other parties strongly oppose it and are calling for direct voting under the current system. The BNP has been demanding that the reforms mentioned in the July Charter that require constitutional amendments should be left to the next elected parliament.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mohammad Anwar Hossain was injured in the assault on Saturday and later transferred to Rajarbagh Police Hospital in Dhaka after receiving first aid at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital. On their way back, the team detained two men accused of extorting tolls from autorickshaw drivers. Dr Farida Gulshana Kabir, resident medical officer at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital, said: “Anwar Hossain received primary care. “No attack took place. “At one point, when they shoved Anwar Hossain.

The Jumma Chhatra-Janata has called off a blockade that had been enforced for four days in Khagrachhari following unrest triggered by the alleged rape of a Marma teenager. The decision was announced on Saturday in a statement issued by the group’s media cell. The group added that on Oct 1, a second round of discussions was held with the Khagrachhari district administration, police, and intelligence officials to address recent violence in Khagrachhari and Guimara. “In the meeting, we clearly presented our eight-point demand, which included the withdrawal of Section 144 and exemplary punishment for those responsible for the killings. The administration assured us that steps would be taken to implement our demands, and informed us that Tk 50,000 in cash would be provided to the families of the martyrs,” the statement said.

The Jumma Chhatra-Janata has called off a blockade that had been enforced for four days in Khagrachhari following unrest triggered by the alleged rape of a Marma teenager. The group added that on Oct 1, a second round of discussions was held with the Khagrachhari district administration, police, and intelligence officials to address recent violence in Khagrachhari and Guimara. Amid the unrest, a ban on gatherings under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was imposed on Sept 28 in Guimara. The district administration later formed a five-strong investigation team to probe the Guimara violence. Since then, the unrest in Khagrachhari has died down.

Another candidate has withdrawn from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election, deepening concerns about the credibility of the process amid mounting allegations of irregularities. On Saturday, he arrived at the BCB office and declared that he would no longer take part in the election, citing fears of rigging. “On the 2nd of October, I wrote to the Election Commission. “If things continue like this, the standard of the BCB election will deteriorate even further. I may contact him again soon for an update.”According to the Election Commission, 35 voters are due to cast ballots in Category 1 in the Oct 6 poll -- 19 through e-voting and 16 in person.

India cruised to victory over West Indies by an innings and 140 runs within three days of the opening Test in Ahmedabad on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The hosts were on the ascendancy after bundling out West Indies for 162 in the tourists' first innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium. For the second time in the match, the West Indies top order wilted almost on cue against India's incisive bowling backed by their sharp catching. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav uprooted rival captain Roston Chase's off-stump to reduce West Indies to 35-4. Jayden Seales (22) produced an entertaining cameo but it was not enough for West Indies to avoid an innings defeat.

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.