A court in Cumilla has sent a local BNP leader to jail for allegedly assaulting his wife and college-going daughter. The accused, Moniruzzaman, serves as the general secretary of the Borkanda Union BNP in Meghna upazila. On Sunday, the judicial court rejected his bail petition in a case filed over charges of physical assault, sexual harassment, and snatching of gold ornaments.

According to the case statement, the incident occurred on February 20 around 3:30 p.m. in Borkanda village. Victim Lovely Begum was returning home from Rampur Bazar by autorickshaw when she and her daughter were attacked by Moniruzzaman and several others wielding local weapons. Both were injured and later received treatment at Meghna Upazila Health Complex. Lovely Begum alleged that the attack stemmed from a long-standing family and land dispute and that she had faced prior threats.

The court ordered Moniruzzaman’s detention after denying bail. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful, as he could not be contacted by phone.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan announced that the government has planned to excavate 20,000 kilometers of canals across Bangladesh. He made the statement on Sunday while inaugurating a canal re-excavation program at Sharikal Union in Gournadi upazila of Barishal. The initiative is part of the Barishal, Bhola, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur district irrigation development project. The minister said the program aims to ensure tidal water reaches farmers’ lands directly, improving agricultural productivity.

Swapan recalled that the canal excavation program initiated by Shaheed Ziaur Rahman had previously increased food production, but lack of maintenance later reduced its benefits. He said the new program, launched under the leadership of Tarique Rahman, seeks to restore those gains. Alongside canal re-excavation, a tree planting campaign has also begun as part of the broader environmental effort.

The minister emphasized that the government would not be partisan and that bureaucrats and police should be enabled to serve the public effectively. He added that the nationwide canal excavation program would be formally inaugurated soon, with local administration officials present at the Barishal event.

A Dhaka court has sentenced two men, Md Siddiq and Md Shanto Mia, to death for the planned murder of Tejgaon College student Ikram Hossain Molla. The verdict was delivered on Sunday by Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Sabbir Faiz. In addition to the death penalty, both convicts received seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 taka each for concealing the body, with an additional three months of simple imprisonment in case of non-payment. Siddiq was present in court during the verdict, while Shanto Mia remains absconding, prompting the court to issue arrest and sentencing warrants against him.

According to the case details, on May 4, 2023, the two convicts lured Ikram from his home under the pretext of returning borrowed money. They took him to the Bashundhara sand field area between Patira and Dumni under Khilkhet Police Station, where they attacked him with a hammer and sharp weapons before slitting his throat. The body was later dumped in a nearby pond and covered with water hyacinths. Police recovered the body on May 6, 2023.

Ikram’s father, Md Kabir Hossain Molla, filed the murder case with Khilkhet Police Station. Police submitted the charge sheet on November 26, 2023, and charges were framed on February 29, 2024. The court heard testimonies from 17 of 27 witnesses before delivering the verdict.

Libya’s Ramadan festivities, marked by fireworks and family gatherings, have been dampened by soaring inflation, currency devaluation, and deep political divisions. Fifteen years after the fall of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, the country remains split between eastern and western administrations. Despite vast oil and gas reserves, shortages of fuel and essential goods have disrupted daily life, with supermarkets rationing products and ATMs running out of cash in Tripoli.

Residents report worsening economic conditions, blaming currency traders for the dinar’s sharp decline. Prices of cooking oil have doubled, while meat and poultry costs have risen by about 50 percent. Gas cylinders, officially priced at 1.5 dinars, are selling for up to 75 dinars on the black market. The western central bank recently devalued the dinar by 15 percent for the second time in less than a year, a move Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah admitted has increased public hardship.

UN envoy Hanna Tetteh warned that rising poverty and social pressure could combine with fragile security to create new political and security challenges. Analysts say the lack of a unified budget and reduced oil revenues continue to strain Libya’s divided economy.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam (Rita) said the Prime Minister has given instructions to expedite the opening of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. She made the statement on Sunday afternoon after a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the terminal project. When asked about the possible opening date, the minister said no specific timeline could be given yet, as discussions and investigations are ongoing to determine how to accelerate the process.

The third terminal project was initiated in 2017 by the then Awami League government, with construction beginning on December 28, 2019, at an estimated cost of about Tk 21,398 crore. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina partially inaugurated the terminal on October 7, 2023, and the Civil Aviation Authority had expected full operations in 2024, which did not happen. The interim government also attempted to launch the terminal but failed due to unresolved issues over ground handling, operational decisions, and technical faults inside the building.

The Prime Minister’s latest directive aims to overcome these obstacles and ensure the terminal becomes operational soon, though no date has been confirmed.

Member of Parliament for Bagerhat-2, Manjurul Haque Rahad, led a large-scale cleanliness campaign across important areas of Bagerhat municipality on Sunday, February 22, 2026. The drive covered busy locations including the court premises, Bagerhat Sadar Hospital compound, and several municipal roads and public spaces. Local dignitaries, municipal workers, and residents participated, distributing leaflets and delivering short speeches to raise public awareness about cleanliness.

During the event, MP Rahad emphasized the importance of maintaining order and hygiene in society, stating that a clean city is a shared responsibility. He highlighted that keeping hospitals and public gathering places clean is vital for public health. Rahad announced plans to improve waste management, ensure regular cleaning, and enhance civic awareness to transform Bagerhat into a modern and healthy city.

Local residents welcomed the initiative, noting that the direct involvement of their elected representative had given new momentum to cleanliness efforts. They expressed hope that consistent monitoring and coordinated action would bring visible improvements to the municipal environment.

A Dhaka court has postponed the submission of the investigation report in the Salman Shah murder case against 11 accused, including his former wife Samira Haque and actor Don. Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana set the new date for April 9, 2026, after the investigating officer, Atiqul Islam Khandaker of Ramna Model Police Station, failed to submit the report on the scheduled day. The decision was made following a hearing on Sunday.

The case, originally filed as an unnatural death case after Salman Shah’s body was found at his Eskaton residence on September 6, 1996, has undergone multiple investigations and legal revisions. It was later reclassified as a murder case following a court directive on October 20. Over the years, CID and judicial inquiries have alternately described the death as suicide or unnatural, leading to repeated legal challenges by the actor’s family.

The case was revived in 2022 after a revision petition was filed against a previous court order that had accepted the Police Bureau of Investigation’s report. The next hearing is now scheduled for April 9, 2026.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Sunday ordered the start of trial proceedings against 11 accused in the murder of Imam Hasan Taim, son of a police officer, during the July uprising in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area. The tribunal also set March 29 for the presentation of opening statements and recording of the first witness testimony. Two arrested accused, former Jatrabari police officers Abul Hasan and Zakir Hossain, were produced before the court, while several others, including former senior DMP officials, remain absconding.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tazul Islam earlier presented arguments for framing charges, outlining the alleged involvement of each accused. He stated that on July 20, 2024, Taim was shot dead at close range under the direction of senior police officials, including the then DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman. The prosecution charged the accused with murder, incitement, and crimes against humanity.

The tribunal’s order marks the formal beginning of a high-profile case involving multiple former police officials, with further hearings scheduled for late March.

The International Crimes Tribunal on Sunday ordered the publication of a newspaper notice to summon former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and five other accused in a case over the alleged killing of nine youths in Dhaka’s Kalyanpur area. The case accuses the defendants of crimes against humanity for allegedly staging a ‘militant drama’ before the killings. The other accused are former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police A K M Shahidul Haque, former DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, Special Branch chief Monirul Islam, and former DMP Mirpur Division Deputy Commissioner Md Jasim Uddin Molla.

According to the case details, on July 26, 2016, law enforcement agencies conducted an operation at a building known as “Jahajbari” in Kalyanpur, where nine suspected militants were killed, one was arrested, and another escaped. Authorities at the time claimed the deceased were members of the neo-JMB group. A case under the Anti-Terrorism Act was filed the following day and remains under trial.

After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, alternative narratives about the incident emerged, leading to the filing of this new case on March 6 of the previous year.

At least 72 tigers have died from a viral infection at a zoo in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, according to a statement issued Friday by the provincial livestock department. Tests confirmed that the animals were infected with the highly contagious canine distemper virus and also suffered from bacterial respiratory infections. The zoo, known as Tigers Kingdom, has been temporarily closed following the mass deaths.

Somchuan Rattanamungklanon, director of Thailand’s national livestock department, told local media that detecting illness in tigers is more difficult than in domestic animals such as dogs or cats, and by the time symptoms become apparent, it is often too late. The zoo, a popular tourist attraction, allowed visitors to hug and take photos with tigers.

Animal rights group PETA said in a statement to AFP that the tigers lived and died in distressing, confined, and fearful conditions. The organization added that if tourists stayed away, such facilities would quickly become unprofitable and tragedies like this would not occur.

According to data from the Air Quality Index (IQAir) released on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 9:18 a.m., Lahore, Pakistan, recorded the highest level of air pollution in the world. The city’s air quality score reached 390, placing it in the hazardous category. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, ranked second with a score of 250, indicating very unhealthy air conditions. Kolkata, India, followed in third place with a score of 218, also classified as very unhealthy.

The IQAir index categorizes air quality based on numerical scores: 0–50 is considered good, 51–100 moderate, 101–150 unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy, and above 301 hazardous. The latest readings highlight severe air pollution across major South Asian cities, with Lahore’s air quality reaching a dangerous level and Dhaka’s remaining critically poor.

The report underscores persistent air quality challenges in the region, signaling ongoing health and environmental risks for urban populations if pollution levels remain high.

Two people were killed in a collision between a bus and a leguna at the Ghantighar area of Mir Hajirbagh in Dhaka’s Jatrabari on Sunday morning. Local residents and passersby rescued three seriously injured individuals and took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared two of them dead. One of the deceased was identified as Azizul Islam, aged 45, while the other victim, approximately 55 years old, has not yet been identified.

Inspector Md. Faruk, in charge of the Dhaka Medical Police Camp, confirmed the deaths and said the bodies have been kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy. The incident occurred in the capital’s busy Jatrabari area, which frequently experiences heavy traffic and road accidents.

Authorities have not yet provided further details about the cause of the collision or the condition of the remaining injured person.

A Dhaka court has sentenced four young men to life imprisonment for their involvement in a gang rape case in Kamrangirchar. The verdict was delivered on Sunday by Judge Munshi Md. Moshiyar Rahman of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4. Along with life imprisonment with hard labor, each convict was fined 100,000 taka.

The four convicts are Shahidul Islam (23), Saiful Islam (25), Nizam (24), and Monir Hossain alias Sentu (26). The court’s public prosecutor, Ershad Alam, confirmed the judgment and stated that failure to pay the fine would result in an additional one year of simple imprisonment for each convict.

The ruling marks the conclusion of the Kamrangirchar gang rape case, reinforcing the tribunal’s stance on strict punishment for crimes involving violence against women and children.

Sohel Rana, the owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza and a Jubo League leader, was temporarily released on parole from Kashimpur Jail on Saturday, February 21, to attend his mother’s funeral in Savar. The funeral took place at a madrasa mosque in the Savar municipal area, where police from Savar Model Police Station were present. During the event, Rana addressed those in attendance, asking for prayers for his late mother and forgiveness for his past mistakes.

According to his cousin Jahangir Alam, Rana’s mother, Marzina Begum, had been suffering from cancer for a long time and passed away on Friday night at a hospital in Dhaka. Following her death, a parole request was submitted, and Rana was brought to Savar by police around 6 p.m. He returned to prison around 7:30 p.m. after the funeral. The arrangement for his attendance at the funeral was kept confidential.

The brief parole release marked Rana’s first public appearance in nearly a decade, drawing attention due to his past involvement in the Rana Plaza tragedy.

The once-mighty Padma River in Rajbari has turned into a narrow channel as vast stretches have dried up, exposing numerous sandbars across nearly fifty kilometers. The shrinking river has reduced navigability and created acute water shortages for hundreds of families living in the char areas. Locals report that the river has become so shallow that crossing it on foot may soon be possible.

Residents recall that three decades ago, the river maintained strong flow even in dry seasons. Now, farmers struggle to transport crops and goods from the opposite bank, often resorting to walking or using animal carts. Livestock owners travel long distances to bathe and water their cattle as nearby ponds have dried up, and tube wells no longer yield water.

According to Subrata Kumar, Executive Engineer of the Water Development Board’s Rajbari Sadar Division, reduced upstream flow and lower surface-level capacity have caused the drying. He added that decreased water release from the Farakka Barrage is a major factor. A survey is underway to determine the full extent of the problem.