A major inconsistency has emerged between the information presented by Home Minister Salauddin Ahmed in the National Parliament and Islami Bank’s official financial report regarding the bank’s Rural Development Scheme (RDS). The minister claimed that Tk 22,000 crore had been distributed under the project, with a significant portion unaccounted for. However, Islami Bank’s latest annual report shows that the total outstanding loans under the RDS project are less than one-third of the minister’s figure.

According to the 2025 annual report, the total outstanding RDS loans stood at Tk 6,789 crore at the end of 2025, compared to Tk 6,712 crore in 2024, marking an increase of only Tk 77 crore or 1.14 percent. The report also indicates that most of the loans are being repaid, with only Tk 232 crore classified as non-performing. The recovery rate was 97.50 percent at the end of 2025, slightly down from 98.49 percent in 2024.

Since its inception, the RDS project has provided loans to 1.775 million families across 35,352 villages in Bangladesh, according to the bank’s report.

The 10th China-South Asia Expo and the 30th China Kunming Import and Export Fair 2026 will begin tomorrow in Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, and continue until June 16. Bangladesh will participate as the theme country this year, marking its largest-ever representation with 101 companies and 175 delegates supported by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the Consulate General in Kunming. The event will host 2,300 exhibitors from 68 countries at the Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The opening day will feature the inauguration of both the Bangladesh Pavilion and the main fair, while the second day will be celebrated as “Bangladesh Day.” Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir MP will attend as chief guest, alongside the Governor of Yunnan and other international dignitaries. EPB Vice Chairman and CEO Mohammad Hasan Arif will deliver the keynote speech on Bangladesh Day.

Bangladesh’s pavilion will showcase products from textiles, ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, handicrafts, jute goods, and leather sectors. Participating companies expect that business-to-business networking will strengthen Bangladesh’s position in the Chinese market and open new export opportunities.

A 14-year-old school student named Minhaj died after being struck by lightning in Simarkanda area of Debidwar upazila, Cumilla, on Tuesday evening, June 9, 2026. Minhaj was an eighth-grade student at Elahabad High School. The incident occurred while he was returning home from agricultural fields after planting paddy.

According to local sources, the lightning strike hit suddenly, leaving Minhaj critically injured and causing his death on the spot. His unexpected death has plunged his family, relatives, and classmates into deep mourning, and the entire area is reported to be in grief.

Debidwar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Moniruzzaman confirmed the death and said the body has been handed over to the family.

Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) Vice President Sadiq Kayem has publicly questioned why the Home Ministry is intervening in the Islamic banking system instead of focusing on its official duties. In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, he described the move as an unwarranted interference and criticized the ministry for assuming authority over defining what qualifies as Islamic banking.

Kayem argued that the Islamic banking system is an internationally recognized and balanced economic model, supported by global Islamic scholars and economists. He accused the government of neglecting pressing national issues such as crime, rising fuel and gas prices, and extortion, while allegedly attempting to manipulate the banking sector and destabilize the economy.

The post reflects growing criticism from student leadership regarding government involvement in financial and religious economic matters, though no official response from the ministry was mentioned in the report.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested Md. Nazmul Huda Mintu, the prime accused in the killing of Hasan Sardar in Khulna’s Paikgacha upazila. The arrest took place on Tuesday afternoon at a motorcycle showroom on Khan Jahan Ali Road in Khulna city. According to RAB, a special team from RAB-6 conducted the operation based on secret information and detained Mintu, who had been listed as the first fugitive accused in the case.

The case stems from an incident on June 7 in Chandkhali cattle market area, where Hasan Sardar was beaten for several hours after a dispute over urinating near a shop. Following a call from Kudddus Gazi, Mintu—identified as a former student leader and leaseholder of the market—allegedly led the assault. Hasan lost consciousness and was declared dead upon arrival at Paikgacha Upazila Health Complex.

After the post-mortem at Khulna Medical College Hospital, Hasan was buried in his village. His father, Abdul Malek Sardar, filed a case naming ten individuals and several unidentified persons as accused.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has assured that the future of Islami Bank Bangladesh is completely safe under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Speaking on Tuesday afternoon during a general discussion under Rule 68 in the second (budget) session of the National Parliament, he said that previous BNP governments maintained strong macroeconomic stability and that the current administration is working to restore that financial discipline.

The discussion was initiated by Opposition Leader Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, who proposed ensuring the return of Islami Bank shares to their legitimate owners and ending undue interference in its management to protect the interests of millions of customers. The finance minister accused certain groups of deliberately destabilizing the bank for political gain, adding that no global precedent exists for depositors withdrawing funds simply because of a change in chairmanship.

He further noted that Bangladesh Bank’s investigation found no wrongdoing by the bank’s chairman and alleged that those withdrawing funds were attempting to create instability to exploit the situation politically.

A woman named Abuni Rajbhor, also known as Ruksi, aged 50, was killed by her son in Netrakona Sadar upazila on Tuesday afternoon. The incident occurred near the Challisha Union Parishad area when her son, Shyamal Rajbhor, 24, attacked her with a shovel after she asked him to wait for his meal. Locals detained the accused and handed him over to the police following the incident.

According to police and local sources, the family lived in a tin-shed house by the Magra River. Residents said Shyamal had long been addicted to drugs and was mentally unstable. When his mother delayed serving food, he became enraged and struck her on the head with a metal shovel. Abuni collapsed on the ground and died before she could be taken to the hospital.

Police officials, including the Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Sajal Kumar Sarkar and the Officer-in-Charge of Netrakona Model Police Station, visited the scene. The body was sent to Netrakona District Hospital morgue for autopsy, and legal proceedings are underway.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister’s Defense Adviser A.K.M. Shamsul Islam on Tuesday at the Armed Forces Division office in Dhaka Cantonment. The meeting was attended by a three-member delegation, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) release issued the same day.

During the discussion, both sides reviewed the existing strong bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States and exchanged views on issues of mutual interest. They focused particularly on enhancing military cooperation, sharing experiences, and expanding training programs between the two countries.

The Defense Adviser recalled the long-standing friendship between Bangladesh and the United States and expressed optimism that defense cooperation would further strengthen in the coming days. The US Ambassador praised the professionalism of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and their contributions to peacekeeping missions.

A laptop used by the personal secretary to Dr. Md. Shakirul Islam Khan Shakil, the Prime Minister’s special assistant for Asia-Pacific foreign employment affairs, was reported stolen from the 16th floor of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry building on Tuesday afternoon. The incident follows the earlier theft of the Prime Minister’s red telephone wire, prompting renewed scrutiny of government office security.

According to unnamed sources, the laptop disappeared shortly after the secretary entered his office during a power outage when several people were present. CCTV footage reportedly showed a man aged around 45–50, wearing a brown shirt and ash-colored pants, leaving the building with a black bag that may have contained the stolen device. Officials have not yet confirmed the suspect’s identity.

Ministry staff expressed concern over inadequate security, citing unrestricted visitor access and insufficient personnel. The building’s security in-charge, PC Ashraful Alam, said only 22 Ansar members are deployed, which is inadequate for the entire facility. He added that increasing manpower could strengthen security measures.

A Rohingya man named Abdul Khalek, aged 30, was killed in a landmine explosion on Tuesday morning near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Ghumdhum union of Naikhongchhari upazila, Bandarban. The incident occurred close to border pillar number 40 in the Reju Amtali area. Khalek, son of Md. Anu Mia from the C-block of Kutupalong-1 Rohingya camp in Ukhiya, sustained severe injuries when the explosion severed his left leg and badly damaged his right leg. Fellow workers rescued him and took him to the MSF hospital in Kutupalong, where he died during treatment.

Local residents said landmines have long been buried in areas near the Myanmar border, posing heightened risks during the monsoon season or when people approach the border inadvertently. Police from the Ghumdhum investigation center visited the site after receiving reports of the explosion. Naikhongchhari Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Mozammel Haque confirmed that a report on the incident has been prepared and legal procedures are underway.

The recurring landmine incidents along the border continue to raise safety concerns for residents and workers in the region.

A schoolgirl was reportedly attacked with acid inside Begum Fazilatunnesa High School in Titas upazila of Cumilla on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred around 8 a.m. when a youth allegedly threw a liquid substance at 14-year-old Hiramoni, an eighth-grade student from Raghunathpur village. The victim said she had been harassed by several young men for some time, and one of them had stabbed her hand the previous day. She stated that the liquid was aimed at her face, burning parts of her clothing and causing pain to her face and body.

Hiramoni’s family expressed relief that she escaped major injury due to her layered clothing and mask but voiced concern for her safety and uncertainty about sending her back to school. The school’s head teacher, Afaz Uddin Pathan, described the incident as tragic and said the administration was worried about student safety. Titas police chief Mominul Haque confirmed that a complaint had been filed and that authorities were investigating the matter seriously.

Police said they would take necessary legal action following the investigation.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has dismissed the home minister’s remarks about its recent report titled “100 Days of the 13th National Parliament: Monitoring the Government’s Commitments on Good Governance and Anti-Corruption.” In a press release issued on Tuesday, TIB said the minister’s claim that the report was based only on newspaper clippings was baseless. The organization clarified that it is not an investigative agency but a research-based body focused on governance and anti-corruption.

TIB explained that it collects data from both direct and indirect sources using recognized qualitative and quantitative research methods. For the section on law and order, the organization said its sources included the Bangladesh Police and three well-known human rights organizations, which were clearly cited in the report. TIB emphasized that while it uses media reports as part of its data collection, all information is verified through a multi-layered process before analysis.

The organization further argued that dismissing media-based information is unreasonable, noting that government institutions and public representatives also rely on media reports for decision-making and communication.

A man named Azizul Haque, also known as Jhoru Mastan, was killed in a clash over control of a sand trade site in the Padma river char area bordering Natore, Rajshahi, and Kushtia. Police recovered his bloodied body from a speedboat on the riverbank at Charjajira in Lalpur upazila on Monday afternoon. The incident occurred between midnight and early morning in Hobirchar, where two rival groups, known as the Belal group and the Kakon group, exchanged gunfire.

Police reported that Jhoru Mastan, aged 35, was from Pabnapara village in Doyarampur union of Bagatipara upazila. He had been working at a sand point controlled by the Kakon group in Charghat area. Investigators suspect that the killing resulted from the ongoing rivalry with the Belal group over dominance in the sand business. The body bore a gunshot wound above the left eye, and police believe the bullet exited through the top of his head.

Law enforcement agencies from Lalpur, Veramara, and Laxmikunda river police units visited the scene. No arrests have been made so far, and an investigation is underway to identify those involved.

Police in Dhamoirhat upazila of Naogaon have arrested a 32-year-old man named Alif Hossain for allegedly spreading obscene photos on social media. He was detained on Monday during a police operation in Gopalpur, Tangail district. According to police, Alif is the son of Azharul Islam from Ghatail police station area in Tangail. The arrest followed a complaint filed by the father of a female victim, leading to a district-level investigation and a technology-assisted operation.

Officer-in-Charge Mintu Rahman stated that preliminary interrogation revealed Alif used Facebook and other online platforms to befriend young women. He allegedly manipulated them into sharing or recording explicit photos and videos, which he later stored on his phone. Police said he used these materials to blackmail the victims for personal gain. Following his arrest, Alif was sent to court on Tuesday.

The case highlights the growing concern over online exploitation and the use of digital tools in criminal investigations in rural Bangladesh.

Police in Dewanganj, Jamalpur, arrested two suspended Awami League leaders early Tuesday in connection with an explosives case. The detainees were identified as Fazlul Haque Khan, 50, general secretary of the Awami League’s Sadar Union unit, and Mozzafar Ali, 29, information and research secretary of the Chukaibari Union unit. They were taken into custody from different areas of Dewanganj municipality.

According to Dewanganj Model Police Station officer-in-charge Anwar Hossain, both individuals were detained as suspected accused in a case filed under the Explosives Act. Later in the day, they were sent to court and subsequently placed in jail custody.

The report did not specify details about the case background or the alleged incident leading to the arrests.