Election draws spotlight as Barca host Sevilla
The temporary capacity has been raised to nearly 63,000, with the end goal to host 105,000 once the top tier is finally completed. Sevilla's visit comes in between Champions League last 16 ties against Newcastle, with Barca looking to build on this week's 1-1 away draw. The Catalan giants have not won the Champions League since 2015. Flick's team will also be out for revenge after Sevilla inflicted a heavy 4-1 defeat on them in October, their first of the league season. FixturesFriday (all times GMT)Alaves v Villarreal (2000)SaturdayGirona v Athletic Bilbao (1300), Atletico Madrid v Getafe (1515), Real Oviedo v Valencia (1730), Real Madrid v Elche (2000)SundayMallorca v Espanyol (1300), Barcelona v Sevilla (1515), Real Betis v Celta Vigo (1730), Real Sociedad v Osasuna (2000)MondayRayo Vallecano v Levante (2000)
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 05:30 UTC
Trump pushes 'SAVE America' voting bill ahead of midterms
-The bill would require Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and present identification when casting a ballot. Under the legislation, voters would have to provide documents such as a passport or birth certificate, along with a valid photo ID, to demonstrate they are US citizens. -The president has repeatedly argued that tighter voting rules are needed to protect elections from fraud. Studies of US elections have repeatedly found that fraud occurs at very low levels, particularly when it comes to non-citizens voting. They also criticize Trump's attempts to add unrelated provisions to the legislation, including restrictions on mail voting and policies targeting transgender issues.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 05:24 UTC
In Iran, shut shops, joblessness and a dash for cash
Each time, he tells us that in this competition, he supports Iran." - Employers 'weren't paying' -A 24-year-old Afghan who worked at a factory in Tehran:"I saw a bomb drop on a military base. The market would be open for an hour or two, people would buy what they needed and leave quickly. The war is not only in Tehran, it is in other cities as well, but the situation in Tehran is very bad." Almost every family here is hosting at least one family from Tehran.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:55 UTC
Alcaraz battles past Norrie into Indian Wells semi-finals
INDIAN WELLS, United States, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz held off 29th-ranked Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to book an Indian Wells semi-final against Russian Daniil Medvedev. The world number one from Spain improved his unbeaten 2026 record to 16-0 as he reached the Indian Wells final four for the fifth straight year. He arrived in Indian Wells seeking a third title in the elite ATP and WTA Masters 1000 having followed up his Australian Open triumph with a title in Qatar. Alcaraz avenged a loss to Norrie in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 last year. Next up is Medvedev, a two-time Indian Wells finalist who beat defending champion Jack Draper 6-1, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals for a fourth straight year.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:52 UTC
Afghan govt says Pakistan strikes Kabul and border provinces
KABUL, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Afghan authorities said on Friday that Pakistan had carried out new strikes on Kabul and border provinces, killing four people in the capital. A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pakistan struck overnight, adding their forces targeted the Pakistani Taliban militant group, known as TTP. Islamabad last month launched a wave of air strikes on its neighbour, an operation it says is targeting militancy following growing attacks in Pakistan. In Kandahar, which is home to the administration's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, air strikes hit a fuel depot for airline Kam Air, near the airport. Pakistan then declared "open war" against the Taliban authorities, bombing the capital, Kabul, on February 27.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:50 UTC
World in 'new dark age' of abuse: UN rights expert
GENEVA, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The world has entered a "new dark age of abuses", with the United States "raining death" on Iran and Venezuela, a UN special rapporteur said Thursday. "We have entered a new dark age of abuses in the name of countering terrorism," he told a press conference in Geneva. "But the more the international community remains silent... the more it emboldens bullies like the United States and Israel." Saul wants countries to urgently adopt an international definition of terrorism to protect human rights from terrorism and excessive state responses to it. He said vague and overbroad definitions had led to countless rights violations, with the abuse of counter-terror laws becoming the tool of choice to suppress critics.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:44 UTC
US says 47,000 Americans returned from Middle East since Iran war
US says 47,000 Americans returned from Middle East since Iran warWASHINGTON, United States, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Around 47,000 Americans have returned home from the Middle East since February 28, when the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran, a State Department official told AFP on Thursday. Countries worldwide have urged citizens to avoid the Middle East during the ongoing war against Iran, which has seen violence erupt across much of the region. US officials in particular came under fire for allegedly not giving citizens sufficient warning to avoid the Middle East in the days before launching the attacks on Iran. "We have offered departure options to nearly every American in the region who has asked us for assistance," the state department official said. Separately on Thursday, the state department raised its terror advisory alert on Azerbaijan to Level 3 (Reconsider Travel), citing "terrorism, armed conflict, and risk of landmines."
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:44 UTC
Australia minister warns against 'dangerous' price gouging of fuel
SYDNEY, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Australia's energy minister warned on Friday against "dangerous" price gouging of petrol as he relaxed rules on how much fuel companies needed to hold in stock in a bid to boost supply. The country -- reliant on oil imports for fuel -- has seen petrol prices spike due to panic buying since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East. Australia's government has blamed price gouging by retailers for rising domestic costs of fuel. He said people selling fuel at inflated prices were engaging in actions that were "un-Australian" and "dangerous". Meanwhile, the government has insisted the country's fuel supply is secure.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:42 UTC
Moscow piles pressure on US over oil sanctions
WASHINGTON, United States, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Moscow said on Friday that the global energy market "cannot remain stable" without its oil, piling pressure on Washington to lift more sanctions as the Middle East war strangles supplies. The United States has eased some oil sanctions on Russia imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, prompting backlash from Western allies who urged Washington to keep up restrictions as the Ukraine conflict drags into its fifth year. "The United States is effectively acknowledging the obvious: without Russian oil, the global energy market cannot remain stable," Dmitriev posted on Telegram. "Amid the growing energy crisis, further easing of restrictions on Russian energy sources appears increasingly inevitable, despite resistance from some in the Brussels bureaucracy," he added. The move came after Washington last week temporarily allowed Russian oil that was stranded at sea to be sold to India.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:40 UTC
Strikes kill 11 Iran-backed fighters near Iraq-Syria border, capital: officials
BAGHDAD, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Air strikes killed at least 11 Iran-backed fighters in Iraq on Thursday near the Iraqi-Syrian border and in the capital Baghdad, senior security and armed faction officials told AFP. Nine fighters were killed and another 10 wounded in strikes that targeted a base housing the US-blacklisted Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, two security officials said. "The base was destroyed, and the rescue teams who arrived at the site were also targeted," one of the officials said on condition of anonymity. The PMF added that "all fighters killed were carrying out their official duties, and some were stationed near the borders". The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of several Iran-backed groups, has been claiming daily attacks against US bases in Iraq.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:34 UTC
Oil holds above $100 and stocks fall as Khamenei targets Hormuz
In his first public comments since succeeding his father four days ago, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes -- must remain effectively shut. "The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used," Khamenei said in a message read by an anchor on state television. The IEA said Thursday that the war "is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market". The US president struck a defiant tone in a social media post Thursday, writing that the United States "is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money". "For now, however, the dominant features are higher energy prices and extremely elevated volatility markets."
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:28 UTC
Iran says will make US regret war as oil prices soar
Iran says will make US regret war as oil prices soarTEHRAN, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iran vowed Thursday to make the United States regret attacking the Islamic republic and said it would keep up a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz that has sent oil prices soaring. - 'War of attrition' -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint US-Israeli campaign was "crushing" Iran and the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. With Gulf states slashing production and oil tankers stuck in the Gulf, benchmark oil prices have risen 40 to 50 percent since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, threatening to crimp growth and stoke inflation. Three million people have been displaced by the war in Iran, according to figures issued Thursday by the UN's refugee agency. Officials said 14 people had been killed in Israel since the start of the Iran war, while attacks in the Gulf have killed 24, including 11 civilians and seven US military personnel.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:26 UTC
US refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq: US military
WASHINGTON, United States, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - An American KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while a second plane involved in the incident landed safely, the US military said Thursday. "One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. Iran's military however claimed in a statement carried by state TV that an allied group in Iraq had downed the aircraft with a missile, killing all its crew. The KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war in the Middle East, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait. That incident occurred during combat including "attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones," the military command said at the time.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:26 UTC
Saudi Arabian forces down drones, French soldier killed in Iraq
TEHRAN, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Saudi Arabian forces intercepted more than two dozen drones on Friday after renewed Iranian threats against oil facilities, as the regional conflict killed a French soldier in Iraqi Kurdistan. The conflict that began February 28 with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has quickly spread across the region. A French soldier was killed in an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday, adding that several other soldiers were wounded. The French military said earlier that drones hit a base where troops were taking part in counter-terrorism training with Iraqi counterparts. - 'We won't leave' -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war war "crushing" Iran and Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:24 UTC
Earthquake hits north-east Turkey: disaster agency
ANKARA, March 13, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A magnitude 5.5 earthquake rattled north-east Turkey on Friday, the country's disaster management agency said. The Turkish disaster and emergency management authority said the tremor had hit around 3:35 am (0035 GMT) in Tokat province, with no reports of damage.
Source:Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
March 13, 2026 04:24 UTC