Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Dr Hamidur Rahman Azad said no government has remained in power after ignoring the people’s legitimate demands. Speaking as chief guest at a conference of upazila and thana amirs and secretaries from five Faridpur-region districts on Saturday, he announced a nationwide long-march programme on four major routes beginning September 5. He said the party would seek to compel the government to meet public demands through peaceful and orderly action.

Azad cited what he described as a severe deterioration in law and order, unchecked price rises and public hardship. He said Jamaat-e-Islami was pursuing a constitutional movement both in parliament and on the streets to establish people’s rights. He added that an 11-party alliance movement led by opposition leader Dr Shafiqul Rahman would begin on September 5, and said stronger street protests would follow if the government failed to fulfil public demands.

The first march is scheduled to leave Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar in Dhaka for Chattogram at 7am on September 5 and end with a rally at Laldighi Maidan. A Dhaka-to-Kushtia march is planned for October 31, with further marches toward major divisional cities in September and October.

Bangladesh Coast Guard seized an Indian artisanal trawling boat and eight trawling nets during an operation in Char Fasson of Bhola district on Friday night. The raid was conducted at about 10pm in the Maya River area under Dularhat police station, following secret information, according to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard outposts at Lalmohan and Char Manika carried out the special operation. Officials said the seized boat was later confirmed as Indian through the upazila fisheries officer. Authorities initially suspect that some dishonest Bangladeshi individuals had illegally brought the boat into Bangladesh and were preparing to use it for fishing.

No one was arrested because the fishermen aboard fled after noticing the Coast Guard presence during the operation. Legal procedures concerning the seized Indian artisanal trawling boat and nets are under way. Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon confirmed the matter.

Kishoreganj-2 MP Advocate Md Jalal Uddin urged people to protest wrongdoing involving children rather than dismissing it as someone else’s problem. He made the remarks on Saturday morning as chief guest at the Medha Anneshan Scholarship-2026 award and reception programme at Shimulia Higher Secondary School field in Pakundia upazila, Kishoreganj.

The event was organised by the Md Junayet Bhuiyan Mohon Foundation, which distributed money and certificates to scholarship recipients and honoured meritorious students. Referring to social and cultural decline, Jalal Uddin said failing to stop children’s misconduct could eventually affect one’s own children. He said no wrongdoing should be supported, regardless of who is involved.

The MP said he wanted children to have opportunities to play in fields but return to their mothers before the Maghrib call to prayer. He also said gambling, drug gatherings and drug business should not be allowed on the field after evening, asking residents to guarantee this. School committee president Muhammad Baitullah chaired the programme, while foundation founder and chairman Md Junayet Bhuiyan Mohon delivered the welcome speech.

Maersk Line, a leading global shipping and logistics company, has expressed interest in direct investment in Bangladesh’s shipbuilding industry. The prospect was discussed at a meeting in Dhaka on Saturday at the residence of Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muqtadir. The discussion also covered potential investment in the ship recycling sector.

Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Christian Brix Moller said Maersk was interested in investing directly in shipbuilding. Rene Pile Pedersen, managing director of AP Moller Singapore Pte Ltd, attended the meeting alongside the ambassador. The minister invited Maersk to expand investment beyond shipbuilding into Bangladesh’s ship recycling industry.

Muqtadir said Bangladesh could become a promising hub both for constructing new vessels and for environmentally compliant, internationally standard recycling of Maersk’s older ships. Participants said Bangladesh has long-standing experience and potential in both sectors. They noted that large international investment could support industrialisation, blue-economy opportunities, employment, technology and skills transfer, and growth in related industries.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered necessary action against unauthorized double-decker sleeper buses operating in the capital. At a Saturday meeting chaired by the prime minister at his Tejgaon office, authorities also adopted measures aimed at easing severe congestion, modernizing traffic management and restoring order in public transport.

The decisions include introducing Electronic Toll Collection at expressway and flyover toll plazas, supported by an app to be developed within four months. BUET was asked to review its earlier report on congestion around the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover and submit a new report with recommendations within 15 days. City corporations and traffic police will coordinate implementation.

The Flowerbari bus terminal will be relocated to Keraniganj after land acquisition through the Local Government Ministry. An interim terminal will be built on 15 acres at the Jhilimili project within four months, while Gabtali terminal will be expanded. The Karwan Bazar kitchen market is to move to Gabtali, and parking options around the Secretariat, including at Osmani Memorial Hall, will be examined.

Two 19-year-old friends died in a road crash while returning home after buying a new motorcycle in Mirsarai, Chattogram, on Friday night. The accident occurred around 10:30pm on the Mirsarai National Special Economic Zone road, near the Boro Takia Gate area. The victims were identified as Talat Mahmud Shuvo and Abdullah Al Omar.

According to the report, the friends had purchased the motorcycle from Baraiyarhat Bazar and were travelling home when a truck struck them. Shuvo died at the scene. Omar was rescued in critical condition and died while being taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

Shuvo was the son of the late Aminul Islam of Miyapara village, while Omar was the son of expatriate Sheikh Farid from Fakirpara. Relatives said the two were friends who worked at a laboratory in the local Abutorab Bazar alongside their studies. Mirsarai police officer-in-charge Farida Yasmin said police received information about Shuvo's death and sent teams to both areas.

Dhaka University Central Students’ Union Vice President Sadik Kayem said the struggle for an equitable and discrimination-free Bangladesh would continue, in a message for “Barudmakha Kothamala,” a collection of speeches by Shaheed Sharif Osman Bin Hadi. Kayem said Hadi had taught people how to fight for justice, oppose domination and aggression, and stand against mafia rule to establish justice-based governance.

The collection was edited by DUCSU literature and cultural affairs secretary Musaddik Ali Ibn Mohammad. Kayem said those who killed Osman Hadi had believed that killing him would permanently halt young people’s struggle against hegemonic forces and their domestic fascist allies. He said that expectation would not be fulfilled.

Kayem said the movement would continue until a justice-based Bangladesh able to stand tall in the world is established. Calling Osman Bin Hadi a beacon of inspiration for the country’s people, he said Hadi’s ideals and thoughts had spread across Bangladesh’s 56,000 square miles and would endure among future generations through his work. He thanked those involved in publishing the book and prayed for Hadi’s forgiveness and the collection’s success.

Chittagong University’s Islami Chhatra Shibir unit held a reception for students newly admitted in the 2025–26 academic year on Saturday at the Faculty of Social Sciences auditorium. Organizers said nearly 3,000 students joined the event in two sessions, which cost about Tk 2.8 million. The first session included students from science, biological sciences, engineering, marine sciences and business administration, while the second involved social sciences, arts and humanities students.

Students registered online to attend, organizers said. Participants received copies of the Quran, pads, notebooks, pens, various books, T-shirts and framed photographs of the university’s central library. Branch president and Chaksu vice-president Ibrahim Hossain Rony chaired the programme, while branch finance secretary Ishaq Bhuiyan conducted it. Central Islami Chhatra Shibir president Nurul Islam Saddam attended as chief guest.

Speakers stressed improving campus education, resolving student housing shortages and creating a student-friendly environment. Saddam called for ensuring housing at existing universities before establishing new ones and said students should leave halls after completing honours and master’s degrees. Guests also urged new students to focus on studies and develop morality, patriotism and leadership qualities.

Food Minister Afrooza Khanam Rita said no one would be spared if irregularities are found at any food warehouse in Bangladesh. Speaking Saturday after visiting a free medical camp and attending a public reception at Dhankora Girish Chandra High School in Saturia, Manikganj, she said food warehouses in every district would be inspected in phases and those involved in wrongdoing would face immediate legal action.

The minister said the government considers food security and safe food among its major priorities, warning that unsafe food can harm public health. She said storage and management of food grains at warehouses would be closely monitored. An irregularity has already been identified at a food warehouse in Ghior upazila of Manikganj, and necessary legal action has been taken against those concerned.

Rita said the country has adequate food stocks to address disasters or crises, while authorities are also paying special attention to supply systems. She said there is no fertilizer shortage, although distribution coordination gaps may exist in some places, and farmers should not face fertilizer supply problems during the current transplanted aman season. She also said preliminary work, including a feasibility study, has begun for a second Padma Bridge project.

The government has decided to relocate Fulbaria Bus Terminal to Keraniganj as part of a broader plan to ease severe traffic congestion in Dhaka, modernise traffic management and restore order in public transport. The decisions were made at a Saturday meeting at the prime minister’s Tejgaon office, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The plan also includes electronic toll collection at expressway and flyover toll plazas, expansion of Gabtali Bus Terminal and moving Karwan Bazar’s kitchen market to Gabtali.

Because construction of the permanent Keraniganj terminal is a long-term project, an interim bus terminal will be built within four months on 15 acres at the Jhilmil project site. The meeting said moving Fulbaria would reduce pressure from buses and inter-district vehicles in central Dhaka. Necessary land will be acquired through the Local Government Ministry for the permanent project.

Authorities were directed to develop an electronic toll collection app and complete the system within four months. BUET was asked to submit, within 15 days, a new report with recommendations on easing congestion around the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover. The meeting also called for parking options near the Secretariat, a separate policy for autorickshaws and action against unauthorised double-decker sleeper buses.

International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam urged law students to develop deep knowledge of relevant laws, case facts, investigations and evidence to become effective lawyers. He made the remarks on Saturday as chief guest at a criminal trial advocacy workshop titled “The Art of Cross Examination,” organised by the Law Club of Manarat International University at its permanent campus in Ashulia Model Town.

Islam said there is no single fixed formula for effective cross-examination. He stressed that trial lawyers must identify what occurred during each stage of an investigation, locate errors and assess inconsistencies or gaps in evidence. He also advised students to build reasoning, curiosity, professional competence and ethical values, and to observe real court proceedings regularly alongside academic study.

Islam and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Abdur Rob jointly inaugurated the university’s newly built moot court. Students later took part in a mock trial, after which the chief prosecutor reviewed their legal arguments, witness questioning and trial management. The event also recognised students who passed a preparatory class examination for the Bangladesh Judicial Service, while workshop participants received certificates.

An armed robbery was reported at the home of Saudi expatriate businessman Faridul Alam, a member of Ramu Upazila BNP’s convening committee, in the Chailatali area of Ramu, Cox’s Bazar. Family members said a group of about 12 robbers arrived in a microbus around 2am on Friday, broke down the door and entered the house. They allegedly took gold jewellery, cash and Saudi riyals.

Faridul Alam alleged that the robbers carried guns, pistols, knives and other locally made weapons. He said they threatened family members while searching the home and stole about 18 bhori of gold jewellery, Tk500,000 in cash and 7,000 Saudi riyals. Several people, including a homemaker, were allegedly beaten and injured during the robbery.

Villagers reportedly approached after learning of the robbers’ presence, prompting the group to flee in the microbus. Ramu police visited the scene, and Officer-in-Charge Fazlul Haque said the incident would be investigated to identify those involved and take legal action. Faridul Alam said preparations were under way to file a case.

Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue said Saturday that Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate officers took control of 10 trucks carrying about 81 tonnes of duplex board imported duty-free under bond facilities. The cargo, imported from India’s Mehali Papers Private Limited in the name of Khulna-based Shree Flexopack Limited, was meant for the company’s Telighati facility in Khulna but was allegedly being prepared for sale in Nayabazar, Old Dhaka.

The trucks had been expected to follow the designated bypass route from Chattogram port through Kanchpur, Signboard, Postogola, the Mawa Expressway and Padma Bridge toward the southwest. Instead, the convoy entered Nayabazar. Customs officers, supported directly and indirectly by RAB-10 and Lalbagh police division, launched the operation following intelligence that bonded paper would be unloaded at a local warehouse.

One truck left the area after detecting officers, and authorities are trying to locate it. Officials are checking cargo quantities, ownership, import and transport records, bond licences and approvals. They will also investigate the intended warehouse recipient, possible wider involvement and potential revenue loss. Legal action may follow if misuse of bond facilities or tax evasion is established.

A former Mujib Killa in Alokdia, Shibaloy has allegedly become a gathering place for drug users and gamblers instead of serving its intended disaster-related purpose. The facility, now called a disaster shelter after a name change following the fall of the Awami League government, was built about five years ago at a cost of nearly Tk7 crore, according to the report.

District disaster and relief office sources said the facility was funded by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief to house livestock during floods and to be used for social events at other times. Local residents reportedly do not know the project’s purpose, while the building has remained largely unused and poorly maintained, with rubbish and damaged items inside.

Alokdia Union Parishad member Motaleb Hossain said he had heard of drug use, gambling and other alleged antisocial activity at the centre. The report said several people were seen using drugs inside. Manikganj district relief, rehabilitation and disaster management officer Lutfar Rahman said the site is no longer called Mujib Killa and is now named a disaster shelter.

Former High Court justice and former chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances Moinul Islam Chowdhury described enforced disappearance as more horrifying than death at a Saturday symposium in the capital. Speaking at the event titled “Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh: A Review,” he said families of disappeared people do not know where their relatives are and remain trapped in prolonged uncertainty.

Chowdhury said death allows families to grieve and complete burial rites, while disappearance leaves them suspended between hope and despair. He said affected families can face social stigma, financial hardship and isolation as they live with unanswered questions about their loved ones.

He said enforced disappearances became widespread during the previous Awami League government, when, in his view, state repression centered on the practice. He said the situation ended through the July movement of 2024. Chowdhury also alleged that the state apparatus often portrayed victims as criminals to justify such actions, while law-enforcement and intelligence officials were dehumanized under high-level instructions to facilitate them.