Tension has flared between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir near Chittagong University arts building as vote counting continues in the CUCSU polls. Their activists confronted each other occurred on Wednesday afternoon, following a dispute over an LED screen installed outside a polling centre that suddenly went dark. According to bdnews24.com’s correspondent Uttam Sen Gupta, who was at the scene, the screen had been broadcasting live CCTV footage from inside the polling centre as part of voting process. Chhatra Dal alleged that the screen was deliberately turned off to allow vote rigging, while Shibir claimed Chhatra Dal activists had cut the screen’s cables in an attempt to sabotage the election. “We are demanding that vote counting be halted at these two centres until these allegations are resolved.”Voting was held from 9:30am to 4:00pm on Wednesday.

A tribunal has indicted top criminal Subrata Bain aka Md Fateh Ali and three of his accomplices in a weapons case filed at Hatirjheel Police Station in Dhaka. Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal Judge Fahmida Jahangir made the decision on Wednesday after scrapping the petitions by the suspects to drop them from the case. The three others accused alongside Subrata are Abu Rasel Masud aka Molla Masud, MAS Shareef, and Arafat Ibne Nasir. Following the arms seizure, Hatirjheel police Sub-Inspector Asaduzzaman filed the case on May 28 under the Arms Act. According to the case, Subrata returned to Bangladesh after Aug 5, 2024, following the ousting of the Awami League government, and resumed criminal activities.

An Afghan Taliban fighter sits on a tank near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, Oct 15, 2025. REUTERS/StringerAn Afghan Taliban fighter sits on a tank near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, Oct 15, 2025. REUTERS/StringerPakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a "temporary ceasefire" on Wednesday, Islamabad said, after an airstrike and ground fighting sent tensions between the South Asian neighbours soaring, killing more than a dozen civilians. A Pakistani foreign ministry statement said that the two countries had decided to implement a "temporary ceasefire" for 48 hours starting 1300 GMT on Wednesday. Afghan Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the ceasefire agreement was a result of the "request and insistence of the Pakistani side".

International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam says he has presented detailed information about shootings from helicopters during last year’s protests in July and August. Tajul said that Hasina confirmed in conversations with three individuals that she instructed law-enforcing agencies to use lethal weapons to kill the protestors. The court previously played audio recordings on Tuesday of conversations between Hasina and Inu, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, and SM Maksud Kamal. On the helicopter shootings, he said: "We have collected detailed flight charts from the relevant forces over the helicopter shootings. Video footage, the wounds of those who suffered bullet injuries, and the bullets recovered from the bodies of those killed and injured were also presented in court as evidence.

Though it is past time for polling centres to close in the Chittagong University Central Students’ Union election, officials are still allowing those in line to cast their ballots. Agency correspondent Masum Kamal said that students are still voting at 18 halls in five university buildings and one hostel. Two voters joined the line just before the 4pm cutoff at one centre. Chief Election Commissioner Monir Uddin said the rules about allowing anyone on the polling centre premises to cast their vote had been clear ahead of time. However, polls opened around 9:30am and it took until 11:30am for those with visual disabilities to be able to vote.

The National Consensus Commission is holding an emergency meeting with political parties and alliances. The meeting is scheduled at 6pm at Dhaka’s Foreign Service Academy on Wednesday, a day after it sent a draft of the National July Charter-2025 to the different parties. A letter signed by the panel’s Vice Chairman Ali Riaz requested the parties and alliances to send the name of a representative to the commission by email, WhatsApp or SMS by 4pm to take part in the meeting. “Only the representatives whose names have been received by the scheduled time will have the opportunity to take part in the meeting,” it said. Bangladesh Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran said, “We have received a letter on the urgent meeting.”

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, Nov 21, 2024. REUTERSThe logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, Nov 21, 2024. "This is the first time the government was specifically putting a blanket exemption on all such missile parts from customs duty, but that decision appears to have been reversed." Adani Group did not respond to Reuters queries on the Oct 9 notice. Since January 2024, it has imported $70 million worth of defence parts from countries such as Canada, Israel and Russia.

Teachers and employees under the MPO scheme have continued their sit-in programme for a fourth consecutive day at the Central Shaheed Minar, demanding 20 percent of their basic salary as housing allowance. The sit-in at Shaheed Minar, he said, would continue until the government accepted their demands. After staying there until 8pm, the teachers and employees returned to Shaheed Minar and spent the night there. On Sunday morning, teachers and employees began a continuous sit-in programme in front of the National Press Club to push for these demands. On Sept 30, the government increased the house rent allowance for MPO-registered teachers and employees by Tk 500.

After a gap of 35 years, the long-awaited Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU), hall council and hostel council elections have begun. After Aug 5 last year, things have changed, and I am getting the opportunity to vote in the CUCSU election. This is the first CUCSU election since February 8, 1990. AKM Ariful Haque Siddique, member secretary of the CUCSU Election Commission, told bdnews24.com on Monday: “The overall situation is good. The last CUCSU election in 1981 saw Jasim Uddin Sarkar and Abdul Gaffar of Chhatra Shibir win VP and GS positions.

Thousands of MPO-enlisted teachers from schools and colleges throng the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital on Tuesday to press home their demands. By 8:15pm on Tuesday, the group was seen moving in organised ranks towards Shaheed Minar, where they announced their night-long sit-in. He said, "Since Shaheed Minar is the central hub of our movement, we have decided to stage a sit-in here overnight. In the afternoon, police diverted marchers from the Press Club to Shaheed Minar. On Tuesday, the third consecutive day of the coalition's continuous sit-in, teachers marched from Shaheed Minar towards the Secretariat at 4pm.

REUTERSAsian stocks staged a tentative rebound on Wednesday, helped by dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and upbeat bank earnings on Wall Street, though simmering US-China trade tensions kept a lid on risk appetite. "We expect the Fed to cut by 25bp at both the October and December FOMC meetings." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.45%, while the Nikkei rose 0.8% after sliding 2.6% in the previous session. In the broader currency market, the dollar was weighed down by the Fed cut bets, falling 0.25% against the yen to 151.42 and 0.06% against the Swiss franc to 0.8009. Oil prices slipped, with Brent crude futures down 0.1% to $62.33 a barrel, while US crude eased 0.07% to $58.66 per barrel.

On Tuesday evening, a letter signed by the commission’s Vice-Chairman Ali Riaz delivered the final July National Charter to 33 political parties and alliances. It specifies the commitments of participating political parties and allocates space for signatures. These issues, with some dissenting opinions, are incorporated into this National Charter. We hereby declare this Charter the ‘July National Charter 2025’.”Key constitutional reforms include recognition of Bengali and other languages, Bangladesh citizenship, constitutional amendment procedures, repeal of criminal provisions related to nullification and suspension of the Constitution, and modifications to emergency powers. The Charter calls for audit independence, separation of the audit department from the accounts division, and legislation to enhance audit quality.

At least 19 dead after bus catches fire in India's Rajasthan, NDTV reportsAt least 19 people died on Tuesday afternoon when a private bus in the western Indian state of Rajasthan caught fire, Indian broadcaster NDTV said, citing the police. The bus was travelling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur with 57 passengers on board when smoke emerged from the rear of the vehicle. The driver stopped the bus along the side of the road but flames engulfed the vehicle within moments, NDTV reported. "Distressed by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an X post.

The Shaheed Minar at Sunamganj Government College, intertwined with the Language Movement and Liberation War, has been demolished to make way for a new “Meritorious Students’ Plaque” under the direction of the college authorities. The student wing of the BNP, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, has submitted a written appeal to the college administration, urging restoration of the Shaheed Minar to its original form. College Principal Mahbubur Rahman claimed, “We were unaware of the historical significance of the Shaheed Minar. It was destroyed by the Pakistani forces in 1971, and those of us who joined the Liberation War rebuilt it after independence.”“It symbolises our Language Movement and Liberation War. Our Shaheed Minar must be preserved immediately.”

Mirpur washing facility where fire broke out ‘not part of BGMEA’The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has said the factory in Mirpur’s Rupnagar, where a deadly fire broke out, is not a member of the organisation. According to a statement from the trade body on Tuesday, the facility in Shiallbari is a washing plant, not a registered garment manufacturing unit under the association. Around 11:45am, flames swept through Shah Ali Washing Limited and a nearby chemical warehouse. By the evening, 16 burnt bodies had been recovered from the site. The BGMEA said it deeply regrets the loss of life in the fire and offered prayers for the victims, also wishing a quick recovery for those injured.