Iran coach Marziyeh Jafari said Wednesday her team had "so much concern" about their families at home as war rages with players "fully disconnected" from them during the Women's Asian Cup. The Iranian team are preparing to face host nation Australia on the Gold Coast Thursday after losing their opening game of the continental competition 3-0 to South Korea. "Obviously we have so much concern for our families and our loved ones and all other people inside our country, which we are fully disconnected with. "Obviously we're all concerned and we're sad because of what has happened to Iran and our families and our loved ones," the 21-year-old told reporters. Iran made their historic debut at the last Asian Cup in India in 2022, which made them national heroes in a country where women's rights are severely restricted.

Pakistan dropped batting great Babar Azam on Wednesday for next week's one-day international series in Bangladesh, bringing in six uncapped players with an eye on next year's World Cup. The shake-up follows Pakistan's failure to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup currently being played in India and Sri Lanka. Azam scored only 91 runs in the T20 World Cup, but has amassed 6,501 runs in 140 ODIs with 20 centuries. Batsman Fakhar Zaman was ruled out with a hamstring injury suffered at the World Cup. The 50-over World Cup will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October next year.

Of the total e-Returns submitted this year, 2,866,618 were filed by male taxpayers and 1,136,003 by female taxpayers. Among them, 1,610,750 male and 478,566 female taxpayers reported income under the salary head. Income between Tk 5 lakh and Tk 10 lakh was reported by 534,954 male and 193,837 female taxpayers. Income between Tk 10 lakh and Tk 20 lakh was reported by 164,983 male and 47,532 female taxpayers. Income between Tk 20 lakh and Tk 40 lakh was declared by 54,212 male and 11,455 female taxpayers, while 29,080 male and 5,117 female taxpayers reported income exceeding Tk 40 lakh.

Photo: BSSDHAKA, March 4, 2026 (BSS) - The prize distribution ceremony of the Spectrum Bangladesh Chess National Cup held at the Bangladesh Chess Federation (BCF) hall room today (Wednesday). Champion International Master (IM) Manon Reja Neer of Bangladesh Navy received Taka one lac while runner-up IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman of Sonargaon University got Taka fifty thousand. Minhaz Uddin of Bangladesh Navy and FIDE Master (FM) Tahsin Tajwar Zia of Bangladesh Ansar-each received Taka twenty five thousand each. FIDE Master Sakline Mostafa Sajid, FIDE Master Sheikh Nasir Ahmed, FIDE Master Khandaker Aminul Islam, Ananta Choudhury, Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan, Candidate Master (CM) Sohel Chowdhury,CM Avik Sarker and CM Md. Azmaeen Parvez Sayor, CM Zoar Haque Prodhan, Muhtady Tajwar Nasheed, Rayan Rashid Mugdo, WCM Kazi Zarin Tasnim, Jinnat Akter Shehnaz, CM Md.

Iranian Ambassador to Bangladesh Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi on Wednesday described the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei as a “cowardly murder,” dismissing any notion of intelligence failure. Speaking to reporters at the Iranian Embassy in Dhaka, the ambassador said Iran has the capability to sustain the conflict in the long term. The ambassador said that so far, 800 people have been martyred. “Supreme Leader Khamenei was by the people’s side until the end; he did not flee.”Rahimi Jahanabadi warned that Iran will continue the conflict with full strength until the United States pursues peace. He also cautioned that wherever Americans are present in neighboring countries, they will become targets.

Photo: BSSGOPALGANJ, March 4, 2026 (BSS) - Farmers in Tungipara upazila of the district have achieved unprecedented success in chili cultivation this season thanks to the adoption of modern agricultural technology and improved seed varieties. The event was organized by the Tungipara Upazila Agriculture Office to showcase the benefits of modern cultivation techniques. The right combination of modern technology and improved varieties can transform agriculture into a profitable profession. Special guests at the event included Sanjay Kumar Kundu, Additional Deputy Director (Crops) of the District Agriculture Office, Abul Bashar Mia, Additional Deputy Director (Horticulture), and Mithun Sarkar, Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer. This year, however, under the guidance of the Agriculture Office and with modern techniques, their production surpassed expectations.

Photo: BSSRANGPUR, March 4, 2026 (BSS) - A workshop titled ‘Bangladesh National Qualifications Framework (BNQF) for Higher Education’ was held at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur on Wednesday. The University’s Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) organised the event at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering virtual classroom with the aim of improving the quality of higher education and raising international standards. Vice-chancellor of the university Professor Dr Md Showkat Ali attended the workshop as the chief guest. Addressing the event, the Vice-chancellor said that it is essential to raise the quality of our higher education to global standards to meet the challenges of the 21st century. IQAC Additional Directors Dr Md Abdur Rakib and Dr Md Sajib Mia were also present at the event.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman -File photoDHAKA, Mar 4, 2026 (BSS) - Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will formally inaugurate the Family Card programme at 10 am on March 10 at the T&T ground adjacent to Korail slum. The inauguration of the programme will also be announced at 14 locations across the country, according to an official release of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has long been viewed as a potential successor to his father — even before an Israeli airstrike at the outset of last week’s war killed the 86-year-old cleric. Observers have likened Mojtaba’s behind-the-scenes role to that of Ahmad Khomeini, son of Iran’s first supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini — acting as confidant, gatekeeper and power broker. He has reportedly maintained close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, including its elite Quds Force and the Basij militia, which has suppressed domestic protests. The next supreme leader will take office amid heightened regional tensions following a 12-day conflict with Israel and broader US-Israeli efforts aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. As the highest authority in Iran’s Shiite theocratic system, the supreme leader holds ultimate decision-making power, serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and oversees the Revolutionary Guard.

Bangladesh must urgently modernise its Birth and Death Registration Act and make registration mandatory at health facilities to safeguard citizens’ rights and strengthen public health planning, speakers said at a journalists’ workshop in the capital. The two-day workshop, titled “Birth and Death Registration in Bangladesh: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward,” was held on March 3–4 at the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Bhaban. Speakers noted that Bangladesh’s birth registration rate currently stands at 50 percent, while the death registration rate is 47 percent, leaving nearly half of all life events unrecorded in official systems. Under the existing law, families bear primary responsibility for registering births and deaths, while health facilities are not legally obligated to ensure registration. However, nearly two-thirds of births in Bangladesh now take place in healthcare facilities, creating what speakers described as a critical opportunity to institutionalise facility-based registration.

The US said Wednesday it ordered non-emergency staff at two Pakistani consulates to leave the country, and granted permission for staff to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Oman as Iran retaliates to US-Israeli raids. The US State Department ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to “safety risks”, the US embassy in Pakistan said in a statement. It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in the capital Islamabad. The department also “authorized non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave” Saudi Arabia, Oman and Cyprus “due to safety risks.”On Tuesday, the department said that it was taking “historic action” to assist citizens, who wish to depart the Middle East and return to the United States. Since then, Iran has expanded its retaliatory missile and drone barrage across the Middle East, hitting on Tuesday a US consulate and base as the United States and Israel said they had pummeled key sites inside Tehran.

More than 4 million taxpayers have filed their e-returns online for the 2025-26 tax year so far. A month-wise analysis shows that 251,784 taxpayers filed e-returns in August 2025, 301,302 in September, 454,076 in October, 1,040,472 in November, 978,198 in December, 655,363 in January 2026, 294,987 in February, and 36,700 in the first four days of March. According to a special order by the NBR, online return filing is mandatory for all categories of taxpayers, except senior taxpayers above 65 years of age, physically disabled or special needs taxpayers, Bangladeshi taxpayers residing abroad, legal representatives of deceased taxpayers and foreign nationals working in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi taxpayers residing abroad can also easily file e-returns through the OTP and Registration Link received in the e-mail. The NBR said that all taxpayers are requested to file their income tax returns for the tax year 2025-26 by March 31, 2026.

Dr Asma Sadia Runa, chairperson and associate professor of the department of social welfare at Islamic University in Kushtia, was stabbed to death in her office on Wednesday by a university employee. The department employee, Fazlur Rahman, attempted to take his own life after the incident and has been admitted to hospital. The attack occurred around 4:00 pm at the Social Welfare Department under the Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies. A few days ago, after an altercation with the department chairman over this issue, he was recently transferred from the Department of Social Welfare to the Political Science Department. Mahmud, a student of the department of Social Welfare, stated that Fazlur was transferred nearly two months ago.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Tuesday underscored the need for continuing the reform measures initiated by the interim government, stressing that policy continuity would be crucial for restoring macroeconomic stability and sustaining growth momentum. “The current moment is a critical juncture for policy recalibration, where sustained macroeconomic discipline is essential to ensure stability and inclusive, resilient growth,” said Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD. Interest rate adjustments, exchange rate management and prudent public expenditure must complement each other to contain aggregate demand pressures and anchor inflation expectations, she added. Speaking at the event, Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said the effectiveness of any policy framework ultimately depends on implementation. In many instances, projects initially estimated at Tk 1,000 crore eventually escalate to Tk 1,500–2,000 crore due to delays, he added.

He said the Prime Minister instructed the Health Minister to start work on launching the e-Health card without delay. “The government’s policy is to ensure healthcare services reach the people’s doorsteps. The Prime Minister asked the ministry to be more proactive in this regard,” he said. Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain, State Minister MA Muhith and senior officials were present.