Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) has shown former army officer Lieutenant General (Retd.) Masud Uddin Chowdhury arrested in a case filed with Paltan Police Station and sought a five-day remand for interrogation. The DB confirmed that more than eight cases are pending against him, including those filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission. He was arrested late Monday night from his residence in Baridhara DOHS, Dhaka.

DB Additional Commissioner Md. Shafiqul Islam told a press briefing at the DMP Media Center on Minto Road that investigations into multiple cases against Masud Uddin are ongoing. The retired general was a key figure during the 2007 military-backed caretaker government, serving as coordinator of the National Coordination Committee for Serious Crimes Suppression.

Masud Uddin, once close to former army chief General Moeen U Ahmed, later served as Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Australia and was elected a Member of Parliament from Feni-3 under the Jatiya Party ticket. He is also accused in cases related to the 2024 Feni shootings during the anti-government movement.

Jinia Sharmin Ria, spokesperson of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti’s Cox’s Bazar district unit, sharply criticized Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists, calling them 'spineless politicians' in a social media post on March 24, 2026. Her remarks came after several Jamaat leaders were seen presenting flowers to BNP lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury, who represents Cox’s Bazar-04 (Ukhia-Teknaf). Ria questioned their political consistency, pointing out that Jamaat had simultaneously filed a court petition challenging the same election result.

The post referenced a photo showing six Jamaat leaders, including Ukhia upazila chief Maulana Abul Fazal, greeting Shahjahan Chowdhury with flowers. Ria accused them of hypocrisy, noting that they were publicly disputing election irregularities while privately acknowledging the BNP MP. She argued that such behavior reflected a lack of political integrity.

Ria had previously campaigned for Jamaat’s candidate Maulana Nur Ahmed Anwari during the thirteenth national election as part of the 11-party alliance. During that campaign, BNP’s Shahjahan Chowdhury had reportedly made personal attacks against her, adding further context to her criticism.

Russia launched missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on Tuesday, prompting air raid alerts nationwide except in the Odesa region. According to Ukraine’s regional military administrations, the strikes killed three people—two in Poltava and one in Zaporizhzhia—and injured several others.

Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the Poltava regional military administration, said on Telegram that residential buildings and a hotel were damaged and caught fire in Poltava, leaving two dead and seven injured. In Zaporizhzhia, regional chief Ivan Fedorov reported a large-scale combined missile and drone assault that killed one person and wounded five, damaging multiple residential and industrial structures.

Ahead of the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in his daily televised address that intelligence indicated Russia might be preparing a major offensive.

A New Shuktara Paribahan bus traveling from Chattogram to Kishoreganj narrowly avoided a major accident on Tuesday morning at Alekharchar Bishwaroad in Cumilla. The incident occurred around 11 a.m. when the driver swerved to save an elderly man crossing the road, causing the bus to end up on the edge of a roadside ditch. More than fifty passengers escaped unharmed.

Passenger Sujon Mia said the bus went off the road while trying to avoid a private car and the elderly man. Helper Islam Uddin explained that despite repeated warnings, the man did not move, forcing the driver to steer left toward a pond. Driver Yusuf Ali stated that the vehicle’s low speed and his quick decision prevented a serious crash.

Cumilla Mainamati Highway Police Officer-in-Charge Abdul Momen confirmed that two wreckers were brought to recover the bus and that traffic on the highway remained normal. No casualties were reported.

Two people were killed and more than a hundred others injured in a violent clash between residents of ten villages in Nasirnagar upazila of Brahmanbaria on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. in Goalanagar Union, where two rival groups, known as the Choura and Honaro communities, confronted each other over a longstanding dispute.

According to local sources, the Choura group consists of seven villages—Geyalnagar Schoolpara, Laluartuku, Dakshindia, Shibpur, Jamarbali, Maizkhola, and Kadamtali—while the Honaro group includes three villages—Goalanagar, Machma, and Rampur. The deceased were identified as Mawlana Habibur Rahman, 40, from the Choura group, and Akhtar Hossain, 50, from the Honaro group.

Goalanagar Union Parishad Chairman Azharul Islam confirmed that villagers from both sides took part in the confrontation. Nasirnagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahinul Islam said the clash stemmed from a previous dispute and that police were working to bring the situation under control.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed that Bangladeshi students seeking higher education abroad receive loans of up to Tk 1 million as support for bank guarantees or solvency certificates. The announcement was made by State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque Nur after a meeting with the Prime Minister on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. The meeting was attended by senior officials, including the foreign secretary and advisers to the Prime Minister.

According to Nurul Haque Nur, the Prime Minister instructed that the Expatriates’ Welfare Bank be dedicated to providing these loans through the ministry. The meeting also discussed accelerating an existing memorandum of understanding to send 100,000 workers to Japan and expanding employment opportunities in Europe and other countries. Additionally, the Prime Minister directed the foreign ministry to encourage European nations to establish consular services in Bangladesh to ease visa processing.

The State Minister added that the Prime Minister emphasized better communication of government activities through social and mainstream media to highlight positive initiatives to the public.

Former Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Chowdhury, a key figure during the 2007 military-backed caretaker government, has been shown arrested in a human trafficking case. Police confirmed that he was shown arrested on Tuesday afternoon at Paltan Police Station, with the Detective Branch seeking a five-day remand. He had been detained the previous night from his residence in Baridhara DOHS, according to Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police chief DIG Shafiqul Islam, who stated that Masud faces at least five cases.

Masud Uddin previously served as the coordinator of the National Coordination Committee for Serious Crimes Suppression during the 2007 emergency rule, a period marked by the detention of senior politicians and business leaders. He was closely associated with then Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed and played a central role in the anti-corruption drive that followed the “One-Eleven” political crisis.

The former general later became a Member of Parliament from Feni-3 under the Jatiya Party and was accused in several cases, including a 2024 incident in Feni. His arrest marks the first major action against him in nearly two years.

State Minister for Health Dr. M A Muhit conducted a surprise inspection of the South Surma Upazila Health Complex in Sylhet on March 24, 2026, through a video call from the Secretariat in Dhaka. During the call, he spoke with patients about the quality of medical services and the availability of government medicines. He also reviewed the hospital’s attendance register live on video to verify which doctors were present on duty.

The minister praised the doctors and staff after learning about their presence and the patients’ satisfaction. He emphasized that under the direction of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the government is working tirelessly to ensure quality healthcare for every citizen. He urged doctors to maintain a service-oriented mindset and to build public trust to help create a “Healthy Bangladesh.”

A day earlier, on March 23, Dr. Muhit had similarly inspected the Zakiganj Upazila Hospital via video call, where he found one of four doctors absent and ordered an inquiry. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to providing world-class healthcare and reiterated plans to introduce a national health card for all citizens.

Iran launched a new round of ballistic missile attacks on Israel on Tuesday morning, according to Iranian state television. The strikes reportedly hit a building in northern Israel, while loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem, news agency AFP reported. Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), stated on Telegram that missiles were fired at what it called occupied territories.

Shortly afterward, IRIB claimed that Iranian missiles had penetrated several of Israel’s defense systems. Israel’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, released footage showing damage to a northern building but confirmed there were no casualties. The Israeli military issued multiple alerts, saying it had detected incoming Iranian missiles and was working to intercept them.

The renewed missile exchange marks another escalation in tensions between Iran and Israel, with both sides reporting defensive and retaliatory actions in recent weeks.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on the United States and Iran to return to the negotiating table and end the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking in Canberra, Australia, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, von der Leyen described Iran’s attempts to close the strategic waterway as “deplorable” and urged an immediate halt to hostilities to prevent further global economic instability.

She emphasized that threats to commercial shipping, the laying of mines, drone and missile attacks, and any blockade attempts must stop at once. Von der Leyen warned that the situation is already affecting global gas and oil prices, stressing that dialogue remains the only viable path to resolving the Middle East conflict.

Her remarks come amid rising regional tensions, including reports of missile strikes in Israel, air raids in Beirut, and casualties in Iraq and Ukraine, underscoring the broader instability affecting global security and trade.

The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has announced that Bangladesh will observe a symbolic one-minute blackout across the country on the night of March 25. According to the official directive, the blackout will take place from 10:30 p.m. to 10:31 p.m. on that day. The announcement was made through a government press release issued on March 24.

The directive specifies that key point installations, emergency service providers, and foreign missions in Bangladesh will remain exempt from the blackout program. The measure is described as symbolic, and no further operational details were provided in the announcement.

The ministry’s notice serves as a nationwide instruction for citizens and institutions to participate in the brief observance, while ensuring that essential and diplomatic services continue uninterrupted.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Beirut suburb of Bchamoun on Tuesday. The attack, part of a series of overnight strikes, targeted multiple districts in the capital’s southern suburbs, including areas such as Bir al-Abed, al-Ruwais, and Burj al-Barajneh.

According to Lebanon’s state news agency, Israeli warplanes carried out seven separate raids across the southern suburbs, areas known for Hezbollah influence. The Israeli military also reiterated its call for residents in southern Lebanon to evacuate. The strikes come amid intensified hostilities following Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on Israel that began on March 2, launched in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike.

Since the escalation, Israel has conducted widespread attacks across Lebanon, killing at least 1,039 people and deploying ground forces in the south. The United Nations has stated that nearly one in five Lebanese citizens has been displaced by the ongoing conflict.

On World Tuberculosis Day, observed on March 24, a report highlighted that 21 percent of tuberculosis (TB) patients in Bangladesh remain undiagnosed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country has an estimated 379,000 TB patients, while the National Tuberculosis Control Program identified 301,564 cases last year. Experts warn that untreated patients continue to spread the infection, increasing the risk of new cases.

Program data show that 56 percent of identified patients were men and 42 percent were women, with an average of 826 new cases and 19 deaths reported daily. WHO figures, however, suggest a higher daily death toll. The Global Tuberculosis Report 2023 ranks Bangladesh seventh worldwide for TB burden, with 42,000 deaths recorded in 2022.

Globally, around 10.6 million people have contracted TB in recent years, affecting men, women, and children across regions. World Tuberculosis Day commemorates Robert Koch’s 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for the disease.

A commander of Iraq’s former paramilitary coalition Hashd al-Shaabi and several fighters were killed in an airstrike in western Iraq’s Anbar province, the group said on Tuesday. The strike hit a base during a commanders’ meeting, and a group source blamed the United States for the attack. According to the source, seven members were killed and 13 others injured. The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), as the group is also known, confirmed the death of Anbar province commander and operations chief Saad Dawai al-Bayji and condemned the attack.

The PMF is part of Iraq’s regular armed forces but includes several Iran-backed brigades. Iraqi authorities have repeatedly condemned attacks on the group since the start of the ongoing conflict that began after Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran on February 28. Iran-aligned militias in Iraq and the region have claimed responsibility for attacks on U.S. interests, prompting retaliatory strikes.

Last week, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that U.S. helicopters had been used in operations against Iran-backed groups in Iraq during the current conflict.

Iranian officials have denied holding any discussions with the United States, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim that a 'very good and productive conversation' had taken place to end the ongoing conflict. The denial came just hours after Trump’s statement, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posting on social media on March 23 that no talks had occurred.

In his post on X, Ghalibaf said the United States and Israel were 'trapped in Iran’s quagmire' and accused Trump of using 'fake news' to escape it. He further alleged that Washington and Tel Aviv were spreading false information to manipulate financial and oil markets. Ghalibaf added that the Iranian people demanded full and remorseful punishment for aggressors and that all Iranian officials remained committed to their supreme leader until that goal was achieved.

The exchange highlights continuing tensions between Tehran and Washington, even as international actors such as the European Union have urged both sides to engage in dialogue.