The Durga Puja festival which began on Shashthi with the awakening of Anandamayi has drawn to a close on Dashami, as devotees bid farewell to the goddess with the solemn ritual of "mirror immersion". According to Hindu belief, after Nabami Puja, Goddess Durga leaves the mortal realm and returns to her divine abode. Even if it runs later, security will remain in place.”Nikhil Kumar Nath, general secretary of the Chattogram Metropolitan Puja Udjapan Parishad, said immersions began at 12:30pm. This year, the Puja committee said celebrations took place at 292 pavilions in Chattogram city and 1,508 in 16 Upazilas across the district, along with numerous smaller ghats. Scriptures note that this year Durga descended from Kailash with her family riding an elephant, symbolising peace, prosperity, abundant harvests and fortune.

Traffic on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway has been at a standstill for two consecutive days, leaving passengers stranded across a 34km stretch from Ashuganj roundabout in Brahmanbaria to Madhabpur in Habiganj. Highway Police said large potholes at the Bishwa Road roundabout in Sarail Upazila triggered the traffic bottleneck, forcing vehicles to slow down or stop. Police from Sarail and Khatihata highway stations have been deployed to keep traffic moving, said Jahangir Alam, chief of Khatihata Highway Police. An in-person visit showed countless potholes around the Bishwa Road roundabout, with three-quarters of the area rendered unusable. After waiting for two hours at Bishwa Road, I returned home.”By Thursday evening, police admitted they were struggling to clear the gridlock.

Veteran Language Movement activist and researcher Ahmed Rafiq has died in Dhaka at the age of 96. Due to residential issues at Fazlul Haque Hall, however, he transferred to Dhaka Medical College. Rafiq participated in the 1952 Language Movement, working closely with students from different campuses. He was the only student from Dhaka Medical College to have an arrest warrant issued against him in 1954. Rafiq received numerous accolades, including the Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award, and Rabindra Sahitya Award for his contributions to literature.

Afghanistan put up 151 for 8 against Bangladesh in their first T20, built on Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s gritty 40 and a blistering 38 from Mohammad Nabi at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Atal (10), Darwish Rasooli (0) and Mohammad Ishaq (1) followed quickly, reducing Afghanistan to 40 for 4 inside seven overs. Azmatullah Omarzai (18) offered brief resistance alongside Gurbaz, adding 33 for the fifth wicket, but miscued to long-on trying to up the tempo. Just as he threatened to push Afghanistan beyond reach, Taskin Ahmed deceived him with a knuckleball for a catch in the deep. Sharafuddin Ashraf’s unbeaten 17 carried the total past 150, giving Afghanistan a fighting score to defend.

The farewell to Durga Puja has carried a different emotion this year in Cox’s Bazar, as prayers for the freedom of Palestine mingled with the chants of immersion on the sandy beach. On Thursday, during Bijoya Dashami, crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands gathered on the shore to witness the immersion, where voices of solidarity with Palestine rang out. Standing on the main stage, Arup Sharma, a leader of the District Puja Celebration Council, said: “Today we bid farewell to Goddess Durga. Still, by afternoon, despite drizzle, the beach teemed with hundreds of thousands taking part in the rituals. According to the District Puja Celebration Council, Durga Puja was observed at 317 pavilions across Cox’s Bazar this year.

Three people have died and at least 12 others were injured after a passenger bus veered out of control and overturned in Feni’s Daganbhuiyan Upazila. The accident occurred around 11am on Thursday on the Feni-Noakhali Highway near Silonia, said Mohipal Highway Police Station chief Harunur Rashid. According to police and witnesses, a Sugandha Paribahan passenger bus heading from Feni to Noakhali struck several small vehicles on the roadside near the U-turn of Silonia Bridge before overturning. Daganbhuiyan Police Station OC Wahid Parvez said the highway police have recovered the bus, and the three bodies have been sent to the hospital morgue for post-mortem examinations. Mohipal OC Harunur added that the bus driver fled the scene immediately after the accident.

The Dashami rituals kicked off with Bihit Puja after 9am at the Dhakeshwari National Temple. The biggest festival for Bengali Hindus will end with the immersion of the idols in the evening. Today, I feel happy on one hand, and on the other, there’s a tinge of sorrow to bid the mother goddess farewell. The rituals end with Darpan Bisarjan or immersion of the goddess’s reflection. Dhakeshwari Temple authorities said a Shobhajatra or procession will be brought out at 3pm and the Durga Puja festival will end with immersion of idols.

Japanese citizens sit in the lobby of the AJU Imperial hotel in Vithalapur village, Gujarat, India, August 26, 2025. REUTERSJapanese citizens sit in the lobby of the AJU Imperial hotel in Vithalapur village, Gujarat, India, August 26, 2025. A bevy of auto-related suppliers and other industrial Japanese companies have also set up shop. But coming to Gujarat, Modi's home state, can pose a major cultural shock for many Japanese. The state is also one of a small number of Indian states that ban alcohol, making only a few tightly regulated exceptions for foreigners.

National Citizen Party (NCP) activists have been accused of harassing journalists at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. "At this point, the NCP supporters turned on the media workers and harassed them. In protest, the media workers boycotted the NCP press conference and left. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP Acting Chairman's Foreign Affairs Advisor Humayun, Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher, National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhter Hossen, and NCP Joint Convener Tasnim Jara joined the delegation from Dhaka. NCP Joint Member Secretary (Media) Mushfiq Us Salehin confirmed the matter to bdnews24.com.

Police have filed three cases over the recent violence in Khagrachhari’s Guimara and Sadar Upazilas, accusing over 1,000 unnamed suspects. Police authorities say that two cases, including a murder case, have been filed at Guimara Police Station, while the third case has been filed at Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station. Guimara Sub-Inspector Sohel Rana filed the case over the incident on Wednesday night as none of the families of the victims or those arrested had come forward themselves. The murder case accuses 100 unnamed suspects, while the case over violence, attacks, and arson accuses 250 unnamed suspects, OC Enamul said. Sub-Inspector Shaheen filed the case on Wednesday afternoon, accusing 700-800 unnamed suspects, Baten said.

'Maybe there's hope': Indonesian rescuers race against time to save students trapped under rubble of collapsed schoolSearch and rescue operations look for victims in the rubble of a collapsed building after a hall collapsed while students were praying at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school, in Sidoarjo, East Java province, Indonesia, Oct 1, 2025. REUTERSSearch and rescue operations look for victims in the rubble of a collapsed building after a hall collapsed while students were praying at the Al-Khoziny Islamic boarding school, in Sidoarjo, East Java province, Indonesia, Oct 1, 2025. Rescuers are still assessing on Thursday whether there are signs of life by calling out the names of the victims, having found no such signs late on Wednesday, search and rescue agency official Nanang Sigit told Reuters. In their signature orange uniform, rescuers crawled through narrow tunnels to find students trapped under rubble, according to photos distributed by the country's search and rescue agency. Al Khoziny is an Islamic school known locally as a pesantren.

Bangladesh Women’s World Cup campaign kicks off with key game against PakistanAfter a long absence from international competition, the Bangladesh Women’s national cricket team found a measure of relief in their dramatic win against Sri Lanka in the warm-up match to the World Cup. On paper, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka stand on nearly equal footing. Bangladesh’s lone victory in the previous World Cup came against Pakistan. At a press conference the day before the tournament, she stressed that Bangladesh’s victory in the last World Cup would not determine the outcome this time. Having already held the edge once in a World Cup, Nigar said, Bangladesh is eager to make it 2-0.

The depression that formed in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) says. Under its influence, a steep pressure gradient is persisting over the north Bay. The weather system is likely to lead to gusty or squally weather at the maritime ports, the north Bay, and the adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh. Fishing boats and trawlers in the north Bay are advised to remain close to the coast and stay cautious so that they can reach safe shelter at short notice. On Thursday, it developed into a deep depression.

A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia July 14, 2025. REUTERSA view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia July 14, 2025. REUTERSOil prices rose on Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak and rebounding from 16-week lows on prospects of tighter sanctions on Russian crude, though expectations of higher supply from an OPEC+ output boost next month capped gains. "Buying interest emerged as WTI neared its $60 support level, while heightened geopolitical risks and speculation about tighter sanctions on Russian crude also lent support," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that US crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week as refining activity and demand softened.

Dollar gains as Supreme Court allows Fed's Cook to stay in job for nowUS dollar banknotes are seen in this photo illustration taken Feb 12, 2018. Gold, which has surged to record highs as investors back away from the US dollar, slipped 0.2% in early trading to $3,857.09 per ounce. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 147.305 yen, up 0.2% from late US levels. Against the offshore yuan, the dollar fetched 7.13 yuan, up 0.1% in early Asian trade. The Australian dollar was 0.1% weaker at $0.6608, while the kiwi fetched $0.58145, little changed in early trading.