Hefazat-e-Islam Amir Allama Muhibullah Babunagari stated that the organization is united and free from internal division. He made the remark during a meeting with Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Amir Maulana Muhammad Mamunul Haque at Jamia Islamia Azizul Ulum Babunagar Madrasa on Sunday morning. During the meeting, a commemorative book titled 'Shahidnama', published by Shapla Smriti Sangsad, was presented as a gift.

Following the meeting, Maulana Mamunul Haque told reporters that an eleven-party electoral alliance has been formed to address the current national situation and pursue the goals of the July Revolution. He explained that the alliance includes parties with differing views on establishing Islam in state power, emphasizing that it is a strategic political unity rather than an ideological one. He reaffirmed that differences in belief and thought with groups like Jamaat-e-Islami remain.

Mamunul Haque added that Hefazat-e-Islam remains a united force guided by Quran and Sunnah and will continue to defend Islam and national interests against any domestic or international threats.

Residents of Goaland in Rajbari district formed a human chain on Sunday morning demanding the construction of a second Padma Bridge on the Daulatdia-Paturia river route. The demonstration, organized by the group 'Goaland Protirodh Moncho', took place around 10:30 a.m. at the Goaland bus stand area along the Dhaka-Khulna highway. Participants from various professions joined the event to voice their demand for improved connectivity.

Speakers at the human chain, including local political leaders from BNP, Jubo Dal, and Chhatra Dal, said that the Daulatdia-Paturia route is a vital communication link for the country’s southwestern region. They highlighted that travelers have long suffered from severe traffic congestion, long waiting hours, and mismanagement, especially during major festivals such as Eid.

The speakers emphasized that while they support the government’s Padma Barrage project, they believe the construction of the second Padma Bridge should take priority. They urged the authorities to take immediate and effective steps to implement this demand.

Train movement on the Nilphamari-Saidpur railway line returned to normal after being suspended for about five and a half hours on Sunday. The disruption began around 8:15 a.m. when the 'Khulna Mail' train derailed near Khayrat Nagar railway station in Nilphamari due to tree branches falling onto the track. A relief train from Parbatipur arrived and recovered the derailed train around 1:00 p.m.

According to Nilphamari railway station master Mithun Roy, the train departed for Khulna at around 1:30 p.m. after being re-railed. No damage was reported in the incident, though two front wheels of the engine had come off the track because of the fallen branches.

The restoration of service allowed normal train operations to resume on the Nilphamari-Saidpur route later in the afternoon.

A court in Sirajganj has ordered the publication of a newspaper notice against Kushtia-3 Member of Parliament Mufti Amir Hamza. The order was issued on Sunday at 11 a.m. by Judge Suman Karmakar of the Chauhali Amli Court after Hamza failed to appear in court as scheduled. The case was filed by Advocate Humayun Kabir Colonel, general secretary of the Sirajganj District Lawyers Association, who confirmed that the notice will initiate the trial process.

According to case details, on March 27, Hamza allegedly made defamatory remarks against the Minister of Power and Energy and BNP Standing Committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku during a discussion at the Hatsh Haripur Boro Jame Mosque in Kushtia. Advocate Humayun Kabir filed a defamation case on April 2, leading the court to summon Hamza to appear on April 21. When he failed to attend, an arrest warrant was issued.

As Hamza again did not appear on Sunday, the court directed that a public notice be published in newspapers to proceed with the case.

Two activists of the banned Chhatra League were handed over to police by BNP members in the Kashipur Hatkhola area of Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Saturday night. The detainees, identified as Sani (20) and Siam (21) from Bandar area, were caught around 11 p.m. after a sudden procession. They were later turned over to police by local BNP leaders.

According to local sources, the two detainees had long been active in Chhatra League politics and were known associates of former Bandar Thana Jubo League president and identified criminal Khan Masud. Witnesses said the banned group began chanting slogans such as “Joy Bangla” and “Joy Bangabandhu” before BNP leaders and activists chased and detained them. Kashipur Union BNP general secretary Arif Mondal confirmed the handover to police.

Fatullah Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mahbub Alam stated that BNP activists detained the two during the procession and informed the police, who then took them into custody. Authorities are checking with Bandar police to determine if the detainees have prior cases against them.

Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia, established on November 22, 1979, has seen 14 vice-chancellors since its founding, but only one has completed a full term. The university, the first public institution founded in independent Bangladesh, has faced frequent leadership changes due to allegations of irregularities, corruption, and political influence. Most vice-chancellors were removed or forced to resign before completing their tenure.

The only vice-chancellor to serve a full term was Professor Md. Harun-ur-Rashid Askari, who led from August 21, 2016, to August 20, 2020, and introduced nine new departments including Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy. The latest appointee, Professor Dr. Nakib Mohammad Nasrullah from Dhaka University, took office on September 24, 2024, following the resignation of Professor Sheikh Abdus Salam after the July 2024 political upheaval.

Teachers from Rajshahi University and Dhaka University have been appointed most frequently as IU vice-chancellors, while only three have come from IU itself. With the BNP now in power, speculation has arisen about another leadership change, and IU students are demanding that the next vice-chancellor be selected from within the university.

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 80 people, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it an international public health emergency. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 88 deaths and 336 suspected infections have been reported so far. The WHO said the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and has been classified under the second-highest alert level, though it has not yet been declared a pandemic emergency.

Health authorities confirmed the outbreak in Ituri province near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan. The first identified patient was a nurse who showed Ebola-like symptoms on April 24 in Bunia, the provincial capital. The Congolese health minister stated that there is no vaccine or specific treatment for this strain, and the fatality rate could reach 50 percent. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders described the situation as extremely concerning and is preparing a large-scale emergency response.

The WHO warned that the true number of infections and the geographic spread remain uncertain, raising fears that the situation could be more severe than currently known.

Several historic estates in Bogura, including the Nawab Palace, Rajabari, and part of the Sattani Bari, have reportedly been sold at nominal prices through questionable transactions. The latest sale occurred on April 14, when 57 decimals of land from the Sattani Zamindar Bari were sold for Tk 43 crore, though registered at Tk 35 crore. The deal was conducted secretly during a public holiday, allegedly to avoid scrutiny. A 224-member business syndicate, including politicians and officials, is said to have purchased the land for a multi-storey project.

Investigations reveal that these properties, once owned by prominent families and historical figures, have gradually passed into the hands of politically connected businessmen over the past decade. The Nawab Palace, built in 1884 and once part of a Waqf estate, was sold in 2016 despite being declared a protected heritage site by the Ministry of Culture. Legal experts and local historians argue that such properties are not legally saleable.

Observers and civic groups blame administrative negligence for the loss of Bogura’s cultural heritage, as historic landmarks continue to fall under private control through opaque transactions.

Former Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sabbir Bin Shams, has been sent to jail in connection with a murder case filed over the deaths of six people during a fire amid the 2024 mass uprising in Lalmonirhat. He was detained while allegedly attempting to cross the border through Patgram and was produced before the Lalmonirhat Magistrate Court on Sunday. Judge Md. Alauddin rejected his bail plea and ordered his imprisonment, confirmed by defense lawyer Rafiqul Islam.

Police said the case stems from an attack, vandalism, and arson at the multistory residence of Suman Khan, Joint Secretary of the Lalmonirhat District Awami League, during the uprising. The incident led to six deaths, and a case was filed on May 27, 2025. Sabbir Bin Shams was shown arrested in that case following investigation. Authorities also noted that he faces a separate Anti-Corruption Commission case.

Sabbir Bin Shams told reporters he resigned from the Awami League’s research wing CRI in August 2020 and later served as a contractual DG at the Foreign Ministry and as Minister (Public Diplomacy) at the Bangladesh High Commission in the UK before resigning in 2023.

Professor Dr. Md. Nuruzzaman Khan (Khosru) has been appointed as the new director of the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital (NINS). The appointment was announced on May 17, 2026. Before this role, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery and Intern Coordinator at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.

Dr. Khan currently holds several professional positions, including Treasurer of the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC), Member Secretary of the Bangladesh Society of Neurosurgeons, and Joint Secretary General of the central committee of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB). He completed his SSC and HSC from Comilla Cadet College and earned his MBBS in 1997 and MS in Neurosurgery from Dhaka Medical College.

He has received fellowship training in Singapore, South Korea, and India, and is recognized for introducing endoscopic spine surgery in Bangladesh. Dr. Khan also serves as an international trainer in this field and has published numerous scientific papers in international journals.

Police recovered the body of a Bangladeshi man from the Charbagdanga border area in Shibganj, Chapainawabganj, a week after he went missing. The deceased, identified as Shawkat Ali, 35, from Tarapur Thuthapara in Monaksha Union, was found late Saturday night on a sandbar of the Padma River. His family said he had gone to India on May 9 with others to bring cattle but did not return. When relatives attempted to bury the body secretly, police intervened and sent it to the district hospital morgue.

Local residents alleged that Shawkat was killed by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) while returning with cattle and that his body was dumped in the river. Shibganj Police Station’s officer-in-charge said the body was decomposed, making it difficult to determine the cause of death, and that a case would be filed for investigation. Godagari River Police reported multiple sharp weapon injuries on the body, suggesting a planned killing. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) commander stated that the cause of death would be confirmed only after autopsy and that an investigation was underway.

A group of students at Jahangirnagar University locked the main gate of the administrative building on Sunday morning, demanding the resignation of the proctorial body and the immediate arrest of a suspect in an attempted rape case involving a female student. The protest followed an earlier program at the proctor’s office, as students expressed frustration that the accused remained at large five days after the incident.

Students said the failure to arrest the suspect demonstrated the inaction of both law enforcement and the university administration. Protesters, including students from the Drama and Dramatics and Urban and Regional Planning departments, reiterated their six-point demand, with the first and most urgent being the suspect’s arrest. They stated that the lock on the registrar’s office would remain until authorities confirmed progress in the case.

The incident occurred last Tuesday night near the old Fazilatunnesa Hall, where a female student was reportedly dragged into a nearby forest and assaulted. The university authorities filed a case with Ashulia Police Station the following day, and students had given a 48-hour ultimatum for the arrest, which expired without result.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan has emphasized the need to build an accountable and institutional framework for managing the media sector, moving beyond a control-oriented approach. He made the remarks on Sunday during a meeting at the Secretariat with leaders of the Television Editors Council, which includes editors and news heads of private television channels. The minister highlighted the importance of forming an independent, efficient, and credible media commission.

Swapan noted that Bangladesh’s media management has long suffered from a conceptual gap, with a lack of coordinated thinking among owners, entrepreneurs, journalists, and the government. This has led to the sector being influenced by personal power and investment interests. He said the government is both a stakeholder and a regulator, and must ensure equal opportunity for all parties.

The minister further stated that past governments viewed media mainly through a lens of control, resulting in irregularities and misuse. He proposed establishing a quasi-judicial commission to ensure media freedom and accountability, cautioning that it must not become a political instrument of any government.

Three people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack near Moscow, Russia, according to the region’s governor. The incident occurred early Sunday, and Governor Andrei Vorobyov described it as a large-scale assault targeting areas surrounding the capital. He reported that one woman died when a drone struck a house, while another person was trapped under debris.

Vorobyov added that two men were also killed during the early-morning attack. The information was shared through his Telegram post and cited by AFP. No further details on the extent of the damage or response measures were provided in the report.

The attack marks another escalation in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with drone strikes increasingly reaching deeper into Russian territory, according to the governor’s statement.

A father and son were killed when their motorcycle crashed into the back of a parked truck on the Habiganj-Shaistaganj bypass road on Saturday night. The accident occurred around 11 p.m. in the Poddarbari area. The victims were identified as Abdul Kaiyum, 55, and his son Zakir Hossain, 20, from Sultan Mahmudpur village in Sadar upazila. Police recovered the bodies and sent them to Sadar Modern Hospital.

According to police and local sources, Abdul Kaiyum was traveling with his son toward Dhuliakhal by motorcycle when they lost control and hit the stationary truck. Both sustained severe injuries. Locals rescued them and took them to Sadar Modern Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

The report did not mention the cause of the truck being parked on the road or whether any legal action followed the incident.