The High Court has granted bail to former Narayanganj City Corporation mayor Selina Hayat Ivy in five separate cases. The order was issued by a bench comprising Justice K M Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher. Among the five cases, four were filed with Fatullah Police Station over the killings of bus driver Abul Hossain Miji, Abdur Rahman, Md Yasin, and Parvez. The fifth case, lodged with Sadar Model Police Station, involves allegations of assault and obstruction of government duties.

According to the case history, Ivy was arrested on May 9 of the previous year from Chunka Kutir in Deovogh, Narayanganj. She was subsequently shown arrested in multiple cases. Although the High Court had earlier granted her bail in five cases, the Appellate Division later stayed that order. On November 18, she was again shown arrested in five additional cases.

The defense team in the bail hearing included senior advocates Sara Hossain and Motahar Hossain Saju.

Shipping Minister Sheikh Robiul Alam stated that collecting fees through mutual agreement among bus owners and associations is lawful, but extortion through illegal means will not be permitted. He made the remarks on Thursday after a preparatory meeting at the ministry aimed at ensuring smooth waterway travel ahead of Eid.

The minister noted that last year’s Eid journeys by road and river went well and expressed the government’s intention to make this year’s travel experience even better. He added that special monitoring will be in place for five days before and after Eid to maintain normal movement of passengers on both road and water routes.

The comments came as part of broader preparations to manage increased passenger traffic during the holiday period and to prevent irregularities in fare collection and transport operations.

A legal notice has been issued demanding the removal of current President Md. Shahabuddin and the appointment of a new president. The notice was sent on Thursday, February 26, 2026, by Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Shahriar. It alleges that President Shahabuddin made remarks that disrespected July and violated his constitutional oath. The notice was addressed to the Parliament Secretariat and the Law Secretary.

According to the notice, the lawyer claims that the president’s recent comments breached his oath of office, warranting his removal. It further requests that a new president be appointed to inaugurate the first session of the 13th Parliament. The notice warns that if no action is taken within 24 hours, further legal steps will follow.

The development adds a new legal dimension to political discussions surrounding the presidency, though no official response from the concerned offices was mentioned in the report.

Lawyers in Barishal began a court boycott on Thursday morning to protest the arrest of Barishal District Lawyers Association president and former BNP city convening committee member Sadikur Rahman Linkon. The protesting lawyers demanded his immediate release and withdrawal of cases filed against other lawyers. Although some lawyers initially joined court hearings, they later left under pressure from BNP-leaning colleagues, causing severe disruption for hundreds of litigants.

To restore normalcy, the Metropolitan Sessions Judge held a meeting with three neutral lawyers at noon, but the outcome was not disclosed. Security forces were deployed in large numbers around the court premises from the morning to maintain order. Members of the Nationalist Lawyers Forum and other BNP-affiliated lawyers gathered in front of the Bar Association building to demonstrate.

The ongoing discussions between the judge and selected lawyers aimed to resolve the deadlock, but as of the latest report, no resolution had been reached.

Islami Chhatra Shibir has announced its new central committee, including the Secretariat and Executive Council, for the 2026 session. The formation was completed on February 24 at the Al-Falah Auditorium in Dhaka during the organization’s first general session of the central executive council. The announcement was made to the media on Wednesday night. The new structure includes 62 members in the central executive council and 30 in the secretariat, with several new inclusions and reshuffles from the previous committee.

Earlier in December, Nurul Islam was elected as the central president and Sibgatullah as the secretary general for the 2026 session through member voting. The newly appointed secretariat members include Azizur Rahman Azad as office secretary, Mu. Mutasim Billah Shahedi as media secretary, and several others overseeing departments such as education, research, information technology, and student welfare.

The committee also includes representatives from major universities and city units across Bangladesh, such as Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Rajshahi University, and others, reflecting a nationwide organizational structure.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended the Ekushey Padak award ceremony at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Thursday morning, walking there from the Secretariat. He left the Cabinet Division office through Gate No. 5 after presiding over the first cabinet meeting of the new government. The event recognized individuals and an institution for their outstanding contributions in various fields.

According to the report, the Prime Minister entered the Secretariat at 9:04 a.m. and chaired the cabinet meeting at 9:30 a.m. He began walking toward the Osmani Memorial Auditorium at 10:47 a.m. to attend the ceremony, where he presented the country’s second-highest civilian honor.

This year, the government decided to confer the Ekushey Padak on nine distinguished individuals and one institution. The ceremony was attended by award recipients or their representatives, cabinet members, senior military and civil officials, and invited guests.

National Citizen Party (NCP) convener and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam has accused the BNP government of enabling large-scale financial mismanagement by removing Ahsan H. Mansur from the position of Bangladesh Bank governor. In a statement issued Wednesday night, he said Mansur’s reform initiatives had begun restoring discipline in the banking sector and curbing money laundering, but his dismissal disrupted that progress and undermined the central bank’s autonomy.

Nahid Islam claimed that Mansur had coordinated with international financial institutions to recover laundered funds and had taken steps to prevent illicit transfers through trade. He also said Mansur sought to make Bangladesh Bank a constitutional body to ensure independence from political interference. According to Islam, BNP- and Awami League-aligned officials later created instability inside the central bank, even assaulting the governor’s adviser.

He further alleged that the government replaced Mansur with a controversial businessman who had previously defaulted on a large bank loan, calling the move undemocratic and dangerous for the financial sector. The NCP condemned the decision and demanded that an honest and experienced economist lead the central bank.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for two Muslim members of Congress, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, to be expelled from the country. The demand came after both lawmakers shouted in protest during Trump’s State of the Union address at a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening. Trump later reiterated his stance on his social media platform Truth Social, writing that people who act in such a way and are known to be corrupt politicians harmful to the country should be sent back to where they came from.

According to the report, Ilhan Omar was born in Somalia but has been a U.S. citizen for nearly three decades, while Rashida Tlaib, of Palestinian descent, was born in Detroit, Michigan, making her a citizen by birth. The report notes that there is no legal basis to deport either of them to their ancestral countries.

As Trump left the House chamber, the two congresswomen shouted, accusing him of causing the deaths of Americans, further intensifying the confrontation during the high-profile event.

At least 15 people were injured in a clash between two factions of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Magura municipality on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. in the Shibrampur and Bhatikadanga areas, reportedly over the distribution of government-allocated rice ahead of Eid. Police detained three individuals for questioning following the violence.

According to local sources, the dispute began between Ward No. 8 BNP president Tarikul Sheikh and local BNP leader Abu Mia over the rice distribution process. Their supporters engaged in a chase and counter-chase that escalated into a violent confrontation. Several injured individuals were admitted to Magura 250-bed hospital for treatment, and the office of the ward president was reportedly vandalized during the incident.

Additional police have been deployed in the area to maintain order, and authorities reported that the situation is now under control, though tension remains high in the locality.

Rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah, the 35-year-old mayor of Kathmandu, has become a leading contender for Nepal’s next prime minister ahead of the general election scheduled for March 5. Shah, popularly known as Balen, rose to prominence after a youth-led uprising in September last year toppled the government of then–Prime Minister K. P. Oli, an event in which 77 people were killed. Through a social media post, Shah urged young voters to prepare to lead the country, declaring that the time of their oppressors was over.

Constitutional law expert Bipin Adhikari noted Shah’s immense popularity, saying that buses entering Kathmandu often display stickers reading “Heading to Balen’s city.” Shah’s National Independent Party (RSP), a new centrist force, has pledged to maintain balanced foreign relations with Nepal’s two large neighbors. Reuters reported that Shah, who first entered politics as mayor in 2022, is now seen as the most likely candidate for prime minister.

As mayor, Shah earned praise for improving infrastructure, waste management, and health services in Kathmandu, though groups such as Human Rights Watch criticized him for using police to evict street vendors and the homeless. He resigned as mayor in January to contest the election.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has described the recent situation at Bangladesh Bank as the formal beginning of a government-backed 'mob culture'. In a verified Facebook post on Thursday morning, he expressed concern over the reported humiliation of the central bank’s governor and adviser, calling the incident unfortunate and unacceptable. He urged people from all political backgrounds to speak out against such disorder.

In his post, Dr. Rahman said that the country’s economy is already under severe strain due to corruption, extortion, and syndicates, and that continued misconduct at top state institutions like Bangladesh Bank could destroy what remains of the economy. He alleged that mobs are being created within state institutions to harass competent and patriotic officials.

He called on the government to immediately stop such activities and to ensure that appointments to key positions are made based on merit and patriotism rather than party loyalty.

Khan Akram Hossain of Bagerhat, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War, has been acquitted. The verdict was delivered on Thursday morning by a five-member appellate bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury.

Previously, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 had sentenced Sheikh Sirajul Haque alias Siraj Master to death and Khan Akram Hossain to life imprisonment on August 11, 2015. The tribunal found Siraj guilty on five of six charges and Akram guilty on one of three charges. Following the tribunal’s decision, Akram appealed to the higher court seeking acquittal.

According to official records, Akram was born in 1955 in Morrelganj, Bagerhat, and later worked in the agriculture department until his retirement in 2011. The acquittal marks a significant development in the ongoing judicial review of war crimes cases from Bangladesh’s 1971 conflict.

The first session of Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliament is scheduled to begin on March 12, when President Md. Shahabuddin will deliver his address. According to cabinet sources cited by Amar Desh, the speech will emphasize alleged corruption, irregularities, and misrule during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-and-a-half-year tenure. It will also include descriptions of human rights violations and the July movement that led to the fall of Hasina’s government. The address will reflect the current BNP-led government’s election manifesto.

As per the constitution, the president delivers an address at the first session of a new parliament and at the first session each year. The Cabinet Division prepares the draft speech based on information from ministries, which is then approved by the cabinet. Officials confirmed that the draft for this session has been finalized and is under review. The speech is expected to be about 150 pages long, though the president will read only selected portions.

The address will also recount the context of the February 12 parliamentary election and the interim government’s assumption of power after Hasina’s ouster on August 5, 2024. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Law Minister Asaduzzaman declined to comment on the upcoming speech.

Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been quietly developing military options for potential strikes on Iran while seeking to avoid direct conflict with President Donald Trump. According to multiple officials, Caine has expressed concerns about the scale and risks of a major operation against Iran, even as Trump has pressed for aggressive plans ranging from targeting missile sites to regime change. Caine has convened secret meetings with senior military leaders outside the Pentagon’s usual secure rooms to prevent leaks and maintain discretion.

Caine’s approach contrasts with that of his predecessor, Gen. Mark Milley, who often clashed with Trump. Determined to maintain influence, Caine has adopted a reserved posture, offering professional advice without overtly challenging the president. Despite his caution, he has overseen the largest US military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq invasion. Pentagon and White House spokespeople have defended Caine’s conduct, describing him as a disciplined officer who provides unbiased military counsel.

Caine’s balancing act reflects his effort to preserve military nonpartisanship while navigating Trump’s politicized leadership style. His discretion has earned him Trump’s trust but also raised questions among officers about his assertiveness.

Iran and the United States are set to begin a third round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, with Oman acting as mediator. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived on Wednesday and met Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi ahead of Thursday’s session. Both sides have expressed a preference for diplomacy, though Washington has imposed sweeping new sanctions targeting more than 30 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to Iran’s oil sales and weapons programs. The talks come as the US expands its military presence in the Middle East, deploying additional aircraft carriers, destroyers, and fighter jets.

The negotiations follow earlier rounds in Oman and Geneva, where only a tentative understanding on broad principles was reached. US officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have accused Tehran of rebuilding its nuclear program and developing long-range missiles, while Iran insists on its right to peaceful nuclear technology and rejects US allegations. Iranian officials have warned that any US attack would trigger retaliation across the region.

Analysts note that major gaps remain over uranium enrichment and sanctions relief, leaving uncertainty about whether diplomacy can prevent further escalation between Washington and Tehran.