National Parliament Whip and Lakshmipur-4 (Ramgati and Komolnagar) MP ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan said that wealthy individuals and those under government protection contribute less revenue compared to ordinary and poor citizens. He made the remarks on Friday afternoon while addressing the 'Komolnagar Pride Award', meritorious student reception, and wheelchair distribution ceremony organized by Sunrise Club at the Surjomukhi Kindergarten field in Char Lawrence, Komolnagar.

Nizan emphasized that the fight against drugs requires collective action, not just words. He urged teachers to focus on their professional duties rather than politics, suggesting that political activities be limited to the pre-election period. Responding to organizers’ requests to make the awards government-recognized, he cautioned that transferring such initiatives to government control could limit community autonomy, though the government could provide support.

The event honored nine distinguished individuals, six meritorious students, and distributed wheelchairs to fourteen persons with disabilities, recognizing contributions in education, social work, and entrepreneurship.

More than half of the countries participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup are facing significant financial challenges due to unresolved tax issues. FIFA has not reached a universal tax exemption agreement with the United States government, and differences in bilateral tax treaties have created uneven conditions among the 48 participating nations. As a result, most national football federations will have to pay federal, state, and local taxes on their tournament earnings.

Experts note that smaller nations without double taxation agreements with the US will bear the heaviest burden. Only 18 countries, mostly European, have such treaties. While Canada and Mexico have granted tax exemptions for all teams, the US has not extended similar benefits. The operational budget per team is set at $1.5 million, but daily allowances have been reduced from $850 to $600 per member, even as travel and accommodation costs in the US have risen.

FIFA has stated it is working with participating nations to provide tax-related assistance. However, the lack of uniform tax relief has become a major concern for smaller and first-time participant countries preparing for the tournament.

A US official has confirmed that an American warplane was shot down in Iranian airspace, according to reports from Axios, Reuters, and The New York Times, as cited by BBC on April 3, 2026. The official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, stated that rescue operations are ongoing to locate the aircraft’s crew. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the United States is conducting an active mission to recover the crew members.

Earlier, Iranian media claimed that a US warplane had been downed and that the United States was attempting to rescue the pilot. Iran has since asserted that the American rescue attempt to recover the pilot has failed. The incident has drawn attention from multiple international outlets, highlighting rising tensions surrounding the event.

Rescue efforts continue as both sides maintain differing accounts of the situation, and no further details about the aircraft type or the number of crew members have been disclosed.

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam visited the dilapidated bridge over the Bairan River in Gopalpur, Tangail, on Friday. During the inspection, he announced an allocation of Tk 4.5 crore for the construction of a new bridge and directed officials to begin work immediately. The bridge, built in the 1980s at Hatbairan area, has long been in a dangerous condition, forcing thousands of people to cross it daily at great risk.

The issue gained attention after a report was published in the newspaper Amar Desh on January 19, prompting authorities to take notice. The inspection was attended by Tangail-2 Member of Parliament Abdus Salam Pintu, local administration officials, and political leaders. Local residents and community representatives expressed relief that the long-neglected infrastructure problem was finally being addressed.

Residents hope that once the new bridge is completed, it will ease long-standing suffering and improve local communication and economic activities in the region.

Former Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth has warned that any US attack on Iran’s civilian infrastructure, particularly power plants or water desalination facilities, would amount to a war crime. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Roth said that if former US President Donald Trump carried out his threats to strike such sites, it would clearly violate international humanitarian law.

Roth, now a visiting professor at Princeton University, explained that such attacks would lack legitimate military justification and cause disproportionate harm to civilians. He cited the International Criminal Court’s previous actions against Russian commanders for similar strikes in Ukraine as precedent.

Roth further noted that more than 100 international law experts share this assessment, emphasizing that any such move would undoubtedly be treated as a war crime under international standards.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Nayeb-e-Ameer and Rangpur-3 MP ATM Azharul Islam has accused the government of adopting fascist tendencies by questioning the legitimacy of a national referendum. Speaking as the chief guest at a ward-level leadership conference organized by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dhaka North on Friday in Vatara, Dhaka, he said the July Revolution was aimed at establishing good governance and justice, not merely changing power. He criticized the government for refusing to fully implement the July Charter and for opposing constitutional reforms promised in it.

Azharul claimed that the government’s stance on the referendum reflected ideological bankruptcy and a betrayal of the July spirit. He alleged that despite a major public mandate in the last election, election engineering prevented full reflection of the people’s will. He urged the government to act wisely and implement the July Charter immediately.

In his closing remarks, Dhaka North Ameer Mohammad Selim Uddin said the government’s denial of the July Charter contradicted the will of 48 million voters who supported constitutional reform, warning that the people would compel its implementation through mass movements.

The Bangladesh government has temporarily suspended interest-free car loans for officials as part of a broader initiative to reduce fuel consumption and administrative expenses. The decision was announced following the fourth cabinet meeting held on Thursday at the Cabinet Division conference room in the National Parliament Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. According to an official press release, the prime minister, ministers, and state ministers will also reduce their monthly fuel allocations for official vehicles by 30 percent.

The statement further detailed that all foreign training funded by the government will be halted until further notice, while domestic training expenses must be reduced by 50 percent. Additionally, hospitality costs for meetings and seminars are to be cut by 50 percent, conference expenses by 20 percent, and travel costs by 30 percent. These measures are aimed at curbing operational expenditures across government departments.

Under the existing 2020 policy, eligible officials such as deputy secretaries and above could previously access up to 3 million taka in interest-free loans to purchase vehicles, along with monthly allowances for maintenance and drivers. The suspension will remain in effect until new directives are issued.

Lieutenant General (Retd.) Dr. Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy Bir Bikram, convener of the National Committee for Implementation of the July Charter Movement, warned that people would return to the streets if the government failed to implement the July Charter in line with the referendum verdict. He made the statement on Friday during a human chain and rally organized by the committee in front of the National Press Club.

Speakers at the event accused the government of deceiving the people and urged immediate implementation of the referendum’s outcome. They asserted that the referendum represented the supreme will of the people, which all state institutions, including parliament and the judiciary, must uphold. The speakers warned that failure to do so would provoke a strong public response and severe consequences for the government.

Committee member secretary Ahmed Karim announced that a nationwide movement would soon be launched to build public opinion in favor of implementing the July Charter.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has described U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to send Iran “back to the Stone Age” as an indication of possible large-scale war crimes. According to Al Jazeera, Pezeshkian said such statements reveal an intent to cause massive destruction, which could be considered a serious violation of international law.

Referring to his discussion with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Pezeshkian noted that he had raised the issue with his Finnish counterpart, who is a legal expert. He added that history contains many examples where silence in the face of crimes has come at a great cost.

The remarks come amid heightened tensions following reports of a U.S. acknowledgment of an Iranian warplane being shot down and warnings that any attack on Iran’s power facilities would constitute a war crime.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that global food prices have begun to rise due to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel. According to FAO’s monthly Food Price Index, which tracks international food commodity prices, global food costs increased by 2.4 percent between February and March. This marks the second consecutive month of price growth.

FAO attributed the increase mainly to the Middle East conflict, which has driven up fuel prices and, in turn, raised production and transportation costs for food products. The organization noted that continued instability around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key oil supply routes, could further worsen conditions for food-importing nations.

The report suggests that if tensions persist, the global food market may face additional pressure in the coming months, particularly affecting countries dependent on imports for essential commodities.

Israeli airstrikes have damaged major water supply infrastructure in southern Lebanon, causing widespread disruption to emergency services, according to the South Lebanon Water Establishment. The organization, citing Lebanon’s National News Agency, reported that facilities in Ibl al-Saqi and al-Maysat were hit, leading to significant damage.

The attacks also affected solar-powered systems at the al-Zahiriya station and Eastern Well No. 1 in the Kanarit region. The South Lebanon Water Establishment strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a clear violation of international law and conventions that protect civilian infrastructure.

In its statement, the organization emphasized that targeting essential facilities such as water supply systems contravenes humanitarian principles, which require such infrastructure to remain outside the scope of armed conflict.

Pakistan has announced that all public transport in the capital, Islamabad, will be free for the next 30 days as the country faces a severe fuel crisis triggered by the ongoing war in Iran. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday, April 3, that the decision was made under the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and will take effect from Saturday, April 4. The Interior Ministry will allocate 350 million rupees to fund the initiative.

The government of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and economically significant province, has also introduced a similar free transport scheme to ease citizens’ financial burdens. The fuel shortage has intensified as oil prices have surged sharply, with diesel rising by about 55 percent to 520 rupees per liter and petrol by 42 percent to 458 rupees. The price hikes have directly affected the transport sector and the cost of essential goods.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also confirmed that two Pakistani ships successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz and that 20 more are preparing to sail under the national flag.

Iran has claimed that a United States rescue mission to recover the pilot of a downed American fighter jet has so far failed. According to Iranian media, the country’s air defense system shot down the US aircraft, and images of the wreckage were published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The report added that the pilot’s condition remains unclear.

Tasnim stated that the US operation involved Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 Hercules aircraft, but the effort did not succeed. The United States has not issued any official comment on the incident. Al Jazeera reported that the authenticity of Iran’s claims could not be independently verified.

The report also recalled that in March, a US F-35 fighter jet was damaged by an Iranian attack and forced to make an emergency landing, highlighting continuing military friction between the two nations.

Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported that 5,792 suspected measles cases and 94 deaths occurred nationwide over the past 19 days. The latest update, released Friday, stated that between April 2 and April 3 morning, 947 new suspected cases were identified. Of the total suspected cases, 771 have been confirmed as measles infections, and nine deaths have been officially verified as caused by the disease.

According to the DGHS, Cox’s Bazar district in Chattogram Division recorded the highest death rate. The agency also clarified that five previously reported deaths—three from Brahmanbaria, one from Lakshmipur, and one from Chandpur—were excluded from the national tally due to reporting errors. One death from Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital has now been included in the official count.

Dhaka Division has the highest number of confirmed infections. Since March 15, a total of 3,776 patients with measles symptoms have been hospitalized, of whom 2,527 have recovered and been discharged.

Bangladesh and Japan have completed a second round of high-level discussions on the operation and maintenance of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The meeting, held on Friday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focused on Japan’s revised proposal covering key issues such as embarkation fees, upfront payments, and revenue sharing. The session signaled renewed momentum toward finalizing a long-delayed agreement.

Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanom Rita, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam, and other senior officials attended the meeting. The Japanese delegation was led by Rieko Nakayama, Vice President of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Afroza Khanom emphasized that Bangladesh’s goal is to protect national interests while expediting the terminal’s launch. State Minister M. Rashiduzzaman Millat urged Japan to reconsider Bangladesh’s proposals and submit a further revised version.

The meeting followed an earlier round held on March 13 and reflected both sides’ intent to operationalize the nearly completed terminal through continued high-level engagement.