DHAKA, March 8, 2026 (BSS) –The government has ordered to close all the public and private universities across the country from tomorrow (Monday) in an attempt to maintain austerity of power and energy at the national level facing the ongoing global crisis. The holiday will be effective in accordance to the scheduled date of the academic calendar of the Eid-ul Fitr. Some instructions also have been given in the office order on power saving. All the public and private universities across the country will remain close according to the university’s academic calendar marking the holy Ramadan and Eid-ul Fitr, said the order. At the same time, the ministry also has requested to implement the 11-point directives at the universities aiming to ensure power and energy saving and responsible attitude in the universities.

Tanzid Hasan Tamim. Photo: collectedDHAKA, March 8, 2026 (BSS) - Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim struck a brilliantcentury as BCB XI cruised to a 40-run victory over BCB All Stars in a warm-upgame at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Opting to bat first, BCB XI compiled a respectable 295-8 with Tanzid leadingthe way. Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain claimed 5-40 to rip through BCB All Stars whoeventually managed to put up 255-9. BCB All Stars made a solid start, thanks to opener Jishan Alam and NaimSheikh, who added 100 runs in 20 overs.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Sarah Cooke, met with Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the latter's office in the Bangladesh Secretariat today. Photo: MinistryDHAKA, Mar 08, 2026 (BSS)- British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke has reiterated that the United Kingdom will continue its support for Rohingya refugees displaced from Myanmar. During the meeting, the minister said four issues are particularly important for socio-economic development of Rohingyas. She added that the UK also supports the repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar, but stressed that the process must be safe and voluntary. The home minister thanked the British High Commissioner for congratulating him on assuming office of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).

Iran has appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to reports carried by Iranian state media. The development marks a significant political transition in Iran following the assassination of Ali Khamenei amid the ongoing regional conflict. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has long been regarded as a powerful figure within the country’s political and religious establishment, despite never holding elected office or publicly campaigning for leadership. Although he has remained largely out of the public spotlight, Mojtaba has spent decades operating within the inner circle of the former supreme leader. Throughout his father’s leadership, Mojtaba Khamenei was widely believed to wield considerable influence behind the scenes, particularly within the supreme leader’s office and among conservative political networks.

A Bangladeshi national has been killed in a missile strike on a residential building in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Kharj Governorate, as regional tensions continue to escalate amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense Agency confirmed in a statement posted on social media platform X that two people were killed and 12 others injured when a missile struck a residential compound in the central Saudi city. The missile strike comes as hostilities in the Middle East intensify following the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 and the subsequent escalation across the region. Earlier this week, drone attacks targeted the US embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US consulate in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports. The Al-Kharj strike is among the latest incidents affecting civilian areas as the broader confrontation between Iran and its adversaries continues to unfold across the region.

On Sunday, the first trading day of the week, the DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), tumbled 4.42 percent to settle at 5,008.99. The market witnessed a similar rout in February 2012, when the index lost 236 points on Feb 1 and 229 points on Feb 6. It's war, war, and more war news," Ahmed told bdnews24.com. Total turnover rose to Tk 5.31 billion from Tk 4.59 billion in the previous session, with the banking sector leading trading at Tk 1.15 billion, followed by pharmaceuticals and chemicals (Tk 0. Shock after shock, and yet growth is at 3.3%," Georgieva told Bloomberg.

A Dhaka court has sentenced three men to two and a half years in prison each for the brutal killing of 20 dogs in Dhalpur of the capital. Saim Uddin, the court’s bench assistant, confirmed that the defendants were sentenced under two separate sections of the law. As the sentences will run concurrently, the convicts will have to serve a total of two years behind bars. The case dates back to Jan 23, 2021, when the trio used iron rods, pincers, and lethal injections to kill 20 dogs in Dhalpur’s Lichubagan. After recording testimonies from three witnesses and concluding legal arguments, the court found the accused guilty of the animal slaughter.

Two people have died and 12 injured after a projectile fell on a residential location in Saudi Arabia's Al-Kharj city on Sunday, the Saudi Civil Defense said. The two people killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationalities, it added in a post on X.Iran's Revolutionary Guards said earlier on Sunday that they targeted radar systems in locations including Saudi's Al-Kharj, according to Reuters. The 12 injured in the incident were all Bangladeshi, CNN reports.

Two vermicelli factories were fined Tk 15,000 for producing products without BSTI license in Katakhali, Rajshahi on Sunday. A mobile court was conducted at around 12:00 noon in Paba upazila of Rajshahi district under the initiative of the divisional office of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Rajshahi. Additionally, Messrs Sumi Food Products, located in the same area, was fined Tk 5,000 for producing, selling and distributing lachcha semai in an unhygienic environment without obtaining BSTI’s quality certification. Engineer Junaid Ahmed, an official of the Certification Marks Wing of the BSTI Divisional Office in Rajshahi, served as the prosecutor during the operation. BSTI Rajshahi stated that such operations will continue regularly in the public interest to prevent food adulteration and ensure the supply of quality food products.

Photo : BSSDHAKA, Mar 8, 2026 (BSS) - Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam today said metro rail has already gained people's trust as a successful and commuter-friendly project. The minister made the remarks while exchanging views with officials and employees after visiting the Diabari metro rail depot after traveling by metro rail from the capital's Bangladesh Secretariat Station today. Considering the metro rail as the 'backbone' of the communication system, the possibility of launching monorail in populated areas in the future is also being considered, he said. Alam said the government is giving importance to developing an integrated modern public transport system in the capital by giving importance to these three sectors - monorail, metro rail and buses. The meeting was presided over by Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary Dr Mohammed Ziaul Haque.

International Women's Day was observed across the country on Sunday with a call for ensuring greater participation of women in all sectors to accelerate national development. Paba Upazila administration and the Upazila Women Affairs Office organized an event at the auditorium of Paba Upazila Parishad. Referring to reform proposals of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, he said the party’s 31-point state reform plan includes measures to promote women’s development and empowerment. In Rangpur, the district administration and the Department of Women Affairs jointly organized programmes to mark the day. Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Enamul Ahsan attended the discussion as chief guest, with Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Md Romiz Alam in the chair.

File PhotoDHAKA, Mar 8, 2026 (BSS) - Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate a government programme to provide monthly allowances to imams and muezzins of mosques across the country on March 14. In the first phase, he said, the government will launch the programme under a pilot scheme before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. Under the scheme, one mosque from each union and municipality has been selected, totaling 4,908 mosques while for other places of worship, two temples from each upazila have been selected, totaling 990 temples, the adviser added. The adviser also said that Imams, muezzins and khadems will receive Taka 1,000 each during Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha as festival allowance every year, while priests, sebayets, head monks, assistant monks, church priests and assistant priests will receive Taka 2,000 each during Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima and Christmas. Noting that the money will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts, he said, “This system leaves no scope for corruption”.

UNOPS Bangladesh commemorated International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 on Sunday by hosting an inspiring event with students of Holy Cross Girls’ High School and College in Dhaka, bringing together young girls, diplomats, government representatives and development partners to reflect on the global theme “Rights. Sudhir Muralidharan, Country Manager of UNOPS Bangladesh and Bhutan, and Navanita Sinha, Deputy Representative of UN Women Bangladesh, delivered special remarks highlighting the importance of empowering young women and girls as future leaders. In his remarks, Sudhir Muralidharan, Country Manager of UNOPS Bangladesh and Bhutan, highlighted the importance of engaging young women in conversations around rights and leadership. Through the Accelerate SDG Localization Project, UNOPS Bangladesh works to bring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) closer to communities by promoting locally driven action. The celebration reaffirmed UNOPS Bangladesh’s commitment to supporting initiatives that empower women and girls, amplify youth voices, and advance inclusive and sustainable development across the country.

Iran's players sang the national anthem and saluted before bowing out of the Women's Asian Cup with defeat in their last group match on Sunday in Australia. When Iran faced South Korea on Monday in their opening game the players stood motionless, two days after the US and Israel began a war against the country. But on Thursday in their second game, against hosts Australia, all the Iranian players saluted and sang the anthem on the Gold Coast. No public reason was given for the players' original stance over the pre-game national anthem. Iran lost 3-0 to South Korea and 4-0 to Australia to finish bottom of Group A with nine goals conceded and none scored.

Iran was preparing to name a successor to its slain supreme leader on Sunday, after US-backed Israeli strikes destroyed fuel depots in Tehran, sparking blazes that covered the city in acrid smoke. Air ‘unbreathable’Israel’s reach was underlined by two new operations overnight -- strikes against fuel dumps in and around Tehran, and an attack on a hotel in the heart of Lebanon’s capital Beirut that targeted suspected Iranian commanders. Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had been “temporarily interrupted” in the capital. Several blasts were heard over Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv after the Israeli military said it had detected a salvo of missiles from Iran. Trump has suggested Iran’s economy could be rebuilt if a leader “acceptable” to Washington replaces the late supreme leader.