Senior Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir said people will never receive the benefits of law unless justice and good governance are established in society. He made the remarks on Saturday as a special guest at a freshman reception organized by the Chittagong University branch of Islami Chhatra Shibir at the Faculty of Social Sciences auditorium.

Monir urged people to rise above personal and partisan narrowness and place national interests first, saying the central objective of any work should be the country’s welfare. He said Bangladesh needs talented and qualified young people who can spread the country’s reputation globally through their knowledge and work. He also described the executive, judiciary and legislature as the state’s three foundational pillars.

He said high office alone does not make a person respected; rather, a post gains respect through an individual’s competence, principles and work. The event was chaired by branch president and Chaksu vice president Ibrahim Hossain Roni, while central Shibir president Nurul Islam Saddam attended as chief guest. About 3,000 students joined the two-part programme and received items including copies of the Quran, stationery, books, T-shirts and framed photographs of the central library.

The family of Zakir Hossain, 35, is mourning at their home in Atkapara village of Kalikaprasad ইউনিয়ন, Bhairab, Kishoreganj, after he was killed in a gas-leak explosion at a company in Russia’s Amur area on August 25. Relatives and local residents have appealed to the government to bring his body back to Bangladesh.

Zakir, the eldest of four brothers and father of a daughter, had gone to Russia about one and a half years ago after borrowing money to improve his family’s financial condition. He joined SynaFex Company in the Amur area, and the money he sent home each month helped repay debts and support the household.

His relatives said he had recently received a promotion, raising hopes of greater financial stability for the family. The death news reached his village home yesterday, bringing grief across the area. Bhairab Upazila Nirbahi Officer K M Mamunur Rashid said he had been informed and that authorities would notify the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and seek to make every effort to return Zakir’s body.

Mohammad Selim Uddin, chairman of Nagar Unnayan Forum and a Dhaka North City Corporation mayoral candidate, said Quran memorizers must play an important role in building a future Bangladesh based on justice and fairness. He made the remarks on Saturday as chief guest at the Mohammadpur zone selection round of the Hifzul Quran Competition 2026, held at Badsha Faisal Institute in Shyamoli, Dhaka, to mark Siratun Nabi.

Selim Uddin called for Quranic law to operate from homes to parliament and said the country should be governed according to Quranic rules. He urged young Quran memorizers not to remain limited to mosques and madrasas, but to develop the qualifications to provide leadership across all levels of the state. He also discussed following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad.

He announced that all nine winners across the competition’s three groups would be sent for Umrah. Special guest Dr Muhammad Rezaul Karim said unity among Islamic scholars could help establish justice in Dhaka. Organizers said selected contestants would take part in subsequent stages leading to a final round.

Bangladesh University Grants Commission Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed said university budget allocations will be considered using both international rankings and a planned domestic ranking system. He made the remarks on Saturday while answering journalists’ questions at the 2025–26 academic year freshman reception at Kazi Nazrul Islam Auditorium of Rajshahi University.

Ahmed said the UGC is working to create domestic ranking criteria for universities alongside international rankings. The system would help determine which institutions should receive greater priority and support based on their standing. He said domestic rankings could assess universities’ capacity and quality, while fostering competition to improve standards in education and research.

The UGC chairman also emphasized second-language learning as a priority. He said language learning centres focusing on second languages have already been established at more than 30 universities. Rajshahi University already has a language institute, which he said will be further developed to improve language-learning opportunities and help students build skills and prepare more effectively for international settings.

The biennial conference and annual general meeting of the Banshkhali Puja Celebration Council was held on Friday night at the Upazila Parishad hallroom in Chattogram's Banshkhali. By unanimous decision, Lion Shekhar Dutta was elected president, Professor Pradip Chakraborty senior vice-president, and Engineer Sanchay Chakraborty Manik general secretary.

The newly announced committee will serve for the next two years. Pranab Kumar Das, the council's then president, chaired the first session of the biennial conference.

Mishkatul Islam Chowdhury Pappa, joint convener of Chattogram South District BNP, attended the first session as chief guest. Special guests included Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ruhul Amin, former Upazila BNP convener Master Lokman Ahmad, and Banshkhali police station inspector (investigation) Sudhangshu Haldar. In the second session, Chattogram-16 Member of Parliament Principal Maulana Zahirul Islam attended as chief guest.

The Bangladesh Jewellers Association, known as BAJUS, lowered prices for all categories of gold and silver in the domestic market after local acid gold prices declined. The revised rates took effect at 10am on Saturday, August 29. Under the decision, 22-carat gold now costs Tk240,636 per bhori, down Tk7,109 from the previous price of Tk247,745.

BAJUS’s Standing Committee on Pricing and Price Monitoring set the new prices at a meeting on Saturday morning, considering declines in acid gold and silver prices. The new per-gram gold rates are Tk20,630 for 22-carat, Tk19,700 for 21-carat, Tk16,920 for 18-carat, and Tk13,820 for traditional-method gold.

Silver prices were also reduced. Per gram, 22-carat silver is now Tk455, 21-carat Tk435, 18-carat Tk375 and traditional-method silver Tk285. The 22-carat silver rate fell Tk15 per gram from Tk470. VAT is included in the fixed selling prices, though labour charges may be added depending on jewellery design. The rates will remain effective at jewellery outlets nationwide until further notice.

The government has adopted a package of measures to address severe traffic congestion in Dhaka, modernise traffic management and restore order in public transport. Decisions were taken at a Saturday meeting at the Prime Minister’s Tejgaon office, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The plan includes introducing electronic toll collection at expressway and flyover toll plazas, relocating Fulbaria bus terminal to Keraniganj, and building a temporary bus terminal on 15 acres at the Jhilmil project within four months.

Authorities were instructed to develop an app for the electronic toll system and complete the work within four months. BUET has been asked to review its earlier report on congestion around the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover and submit a new report with recommendations within 15 days. The city corporation and traffic police will jointly implement this work.

The meeting also approved expanding the rear section of Gabtali bus terminal and moving Karwan Bazar’s kitchen market to Gabtali. Officials will examine parking facilities at Osmani Memorial Hall and seek alternatives near the Secretariat. A separate policy for autorickshaws will be prepared, while action was ordered against unauthorised double-decker sleeper buses.

Police arrested four leaders and activists of the activities-banned Awami League in a special operation across areas of Tongi in Gazipur on Friday night. The detainees were sent to the District and Sessions Judge Court on Saturday afternoon, according to the report.

Those arrested were Mohammad Zakir Hossain, 50, joint convener of Awami League’s Ward 46 unit; Zakir, 34, an Awami League worker from Keranirtek; Mala Uddin Prince, 30, an Awami League worker from the Pagar area; and Kiran Ahmed, 42, joint convener of Ward 47 Jubo League.

Police said leaders and activists of the activities-banned Awami League held a procession at Morkun Gudaraghat in Tongi on Friday afternoon and chanted various anti-government slogans. Tongi East Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Maksudul Alam said operations were continuing to arrest others involved in the incident.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh has begun investigations and judicial proceedings into every enforced disappearance case, while preparing a separate legal framework to prevent the crime in the future. In a message issued Saturday ahead of Sunday’s International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, he described enforced disappearance as among the world’s worst crimes and an extreme violation of human rights.

Rahman expressed sympathy for disappeared people and their families in Bangladesh and worldwide. He said such abuses occur particularly under authoritarian systems and in politically conflict-ridden regions, where security or law-enforcement agencies may target anti-government movements and dissenting political leaders. He alleged that Bangladesh’s former “fascist” government used abduction and disappearance to suppress democratic and political rights, with secret detention sites known publicly as Aynaghar.

Citing domestic and international human rights groups, he said at least 700 people were disappeared at different times. He said the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Bill, 2026, and the National Human Rights Commission Bill, 2026, have been introduced in parliament. Rahman called for global unity and accountability under this year’s theme, “Victims First, Actions Now.”

Actor Omar Sani has recalled completing the unfinished film Ke Aparadhi after Salman Shah’s death. In a recent social media post sharing the film’s official poster, Sani described how he later joined the project and finished its remaining work at the request of director Uttam Akash.

Sani said he had initially not acted in the film because he had another shooting schedule. Salman Shah subsequently joined the production and, according to Sani, completed about 60 percent of the shooting before his untimely death. Work on the film stopped following Shah’s death, Sani said.

The director later approached Sani again to complete the film, and he accepted the request. Sani described Ke Aparadhi as another important chapter in his on-screen history with Shabnur. He also offered prayers for Salman Shah, asking that he be granted paradise. The recollection has brought renewed attention to an unfinished-film episode associated with Salman Shah’s career.

Patuakhali-2 (Baufal) lawmaker Dr Shafiqul Islam Masud honored Hafiz Zakaria, described as a world-winning Quran hafiz and a son of Baufal, at a reception on Saturday afternoon. The event was held in the conference room of the Baufal উপজেলা পরিষদ. Masud welcomed Zakaria with flowers and presented him with a crest and a cash gift of Tk 50,000.

The reception was chaired by Baufal Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saleh Ahmed. Among those present were Assistant Commissioner (Land) Sohag Milu, Baufal Upazila BNP member secretary Appel Mahmud Firoz, and Baufal Upazila Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Maulana Rafiqul Islam, along with local figures from various professions.

In his address as chief guest, Masud said Zakaria had brought honor to his family, Baufal and Bangladesh through success in international Quran recitation and memorization competitions. He said the achievement among contestants from 133 countries showed that talented Bangladeshi children could earn recognition globally with opportunity and proper guidance. Masud also called for joint efforts by families, society and the state to encourage talented students and build a generation guided by the Quran.

Local residents and members of affected families held a human chain outside the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday, demanding an impartial investigation into allegations of land grabbing, extortion, assault, drug dealing, harassment through cases and illegal sand filling on agricultural land in Kaliganj, Gazipur. Speakers sought protection for complainants and victims and called for legal action if allegations are proven.

Participants raised allegations involving Kaliganj upazila BNP member secretary Khalekuzzaman Bablu, his brothers Anisur Rahman Ripon and Sohel, and several others. They alleged that political identity and local influence were being used to control markets, land, sand filling and construction work. They also claimed that people who protested or filed complaints faced cases and other forms of harassment.

The demonstrators cited Dubai expatriate Alamgir Kabir’s claim that nearly four bighas of his land had been occupied, while the family of Bayezid Hasan Shibli alleged he was beaten and handed to police after yaba was placed in his pocket. Their six demands included recovering occupied land, investigating the allegations, stopping illegal sand filling, examining claimed political influence and ensuring victims’ safety.

Agriculture and Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said Bangladesh faces no fertiliser shortage and warned that action will be taken against retailers found creating an artificial scarcity or charging higher prices. He made the remarks on Saturday as chief guest at a meeting with onion and jute growers in Faridpur district at the Faridpur Sadar উপজেলা পরিষদ auditorium.

The minister said the country imports about 1.5 million tonnes more fertiliser than total demand and also maintains an equivalent security stock, leaving no scope for a national shortage. He alleged that some wrongdoers and conspirators were deliberately attempting to keep fertiliser prices high. Some retailers, he said, claim fertiliser is unavailable but supply it when customers pay extra.

Rashid said the government is working to reduce agricultural import dependence, including by developing domestic sources of jute and onion seeds. He said the wider goal is to meet demand through local output and eventually export agricultural products rather than import them. The government is also pursuing self-sufficiency in essentials including green chillies, ginger and garlic.

Ronjina Parvin, 55, head teacher of Bagbari Girls Government Primary School in Bogura, died after falling from a rickshaw during an alleged bag snatching near the South Plaza of Bangladesh’s Parliament Building in Dhaka. The incident occurred at about 6:30am on Saturday while she was travelling toward an eye hospital in the Farmgate area.

Hospital and family sources said Parvin had arrived at Gabtali Bus Terminal at dawn after travelling overnight from Bogura to see a doctor at Islamia Eye Hospital. As her rickshaw reached the South Plaza, alleged snatchers on a motorcycle came from behind and pulled her bag. She fell from the rickshaw and sustained a head injury.

She was rescued from the scene and taken to Suhrawardy Hospital, where the duty doctor declared her dead. Tejgaon zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Ibn Mizan said police were working to identify the motorcycle and those involved in the incident.

Ahead of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on August 30, rights organisation Odhikar said the Sheikh Hasina-led government used enforced disappearances as a tool of state repression during its roughly 15-and-a-half years in power. It said opposition activists, dissenters and ordinary citizens faced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations. The Hasina government fell on August 5, 2024, amid a student-public uprising.

Bangladesh ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on August 29 after the interim government assumed office on August 8, 2024. Odhikar said ratification created an obligation to enact domestic legislation. The cabinet approved the Prevention and Remedies of Enforced Disappearance Act, 2026 on August 3, and an amended draft was introduced in parliament on August 27.

Odhikar objected to provisions allowing investigations by security forces other than the accused force, saying such probes could be biased. It also criticised a provision allowing up to five years’ rigorous imprisonment if a court finds a complaint false. The group demanded investigations be assigned to an independent National Human Rights Commission, protections for families’ property and bank-account access, and withdrawal of alleged false cases against returned victims.