Initiatives to be taken to develop city markets with modern facilities: ManjuKHULNA, March 18, 2026 (BSS) - Khulna City Corporation Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju today said initiatives will be taken to develop all city markets with modern facilities in phases. He made the remarks after conducting daylong visits to several markets across Khulna. Senior KCC officials and market leaders were present during the inspections. He said all markets would be brought under a phased inspection programme and necessary steps would be taken to transform them into modern markets. During the visit, the KCC administrator inspected Sheikhpara Market, Mistripara Market, Chandmari Market and Moylapota Meat Market.

State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Mohammad Nurul Haque. File PhotoDHAKA, Mar 18, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Mohammad Nurul Haque and Senior Secretary of the ministry Dr. Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan today expressed profound shock and sorrow over the death of a Bangladeshi expatriate in Saudi Arabia. Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, an expatriate, has died after sustaining severe injuries from a recent missile strike in Saudi Arabia amid the Iran-Israel conflict. According to a statement, Al Mamun was seriously burned when a missile, launched from Iran, struck the Al-Kharj area in Saudi Arabia on March 8. Al Mamun hailed from Rasulpur village under Gafargaon Upazila in Mymensingh district.

DHAKA, Mar 18, 2026 (BSS)- A four-member investigation committee has been formed by the railway authorities to probe the cause of derailment of the Nil Sagar Express traveling from Dhaka to Chilahati in Nilphamari. Chief transport officer will lead the committee while other members are a mechanical engineer, chief engineer, and chief signal engineer. While passing Santahar station and heading toward Tilakpur station, nine coaches derailed in Bagmari area of Adamdighi Upazila in Bogura district. The Chilahati Express, Drutojan Express, and Kurigram Express can depart Dhaka on time. If the recovery work is not finished, the Kurigram Express may be rerouted via an alternate path from Santahar.

MOSCOW, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Russia on Wednesday condemned the killing of Iranian security chief Ali Larijani, after ally Tehran vowed retaliation for his death in an Israeli airstrike. "We firmly condemn actions aimed at harming the health and, even more, the killing of the leadership of sovereign and independent Iran. We condemn such actions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing. Since the outbreak of the war, Russia has sent humanitarian aid, but otherwise declined to comment publicly on what support it has offered Iran, if any. The Kremlin last week denied a Washington Post report that Russia had passed sensitive intelligence to Iran, including the locations of US warships and aircraft in the region.

Iran to target energy facilities in Gulf after attack on its gas field: state TVTEHRAN, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iran's military said it would target energy infrastructure across the Gulf following a US-Israeli attack on its facilities at a major gas field, state television reported on Wednesday. The military's operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement that it would "severely strike the source of the aggression and consider targeting the fuel, energy and gas infrastructure" of countries from which the attacks were launched. Iran accuses Gulf states of allowing US forces to conduct attacks from their territory, and Iranian state television published a list of "legitimate targets" including oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, saying they "will be targeted in the coming hours".

MADRID, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged the European Union to overcome a veto by Hungary on a 90-billion-euro ($103-billion) loan vital for his country. Zelensky, during a visit to Madrid to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, said he considered that the "main issue" of an EU summit that will be held Thursday and Friday in Brussels. "Nothing and nobody can make us forget what is happening in Ukraine," Sanchez told a news briefing alongside Zelensky after the two met. "We will continue to be by your side, as we always have been," the prime minister said. The Ukrainian president was expected to meet with Spain's King Felipe VI later Wednesday.

STOCKHOLM, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Sweden's intelligence service said Wednesday that the war in the Middle East has led to increased threats to US and Israeli interests, but stressed that Russia remained the main threat to the country. "Going back several years, we have had a serious security situation in Sweden. Sapo has previously pointed to Iran, along with Russia and China, as a principal threat to the country. Sapo has previously accused Iran in particular of recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit "acts of violence" against Israeli and other interests in Sweden -- a claim Iran denied. Von Essen stressed that the agency still considered the "main threat" against Sweden to be from Russia.

A week-long public holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr has triggered a massive rush of tourists to the Chattorgram Hill Tracts, with resorts in Sajek Valley and Rangamati town reporting full bookings. All 111 resorts and cottages in Sajek Valley are 100 percent booked from Mar 22 to 28, according to the Sajek Resort and Cottage Owners' Association. In Rangamati town, popular spots such as the Hanging Bridge, Polwel Park, and various lakefront resorts are also nearing capacity. Our member resorts are fully booked until 28 March," he said. Inspector Md Tarikul Alam Jewel of the Rangamati Zone said a control room has been established, and patrol teams will be stationed at key tourist spots and boat ghats to ensure safety.

Photo: BSSDHAKA, March 18, 2026 (BSS) - Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is sending Eid gifts to families affected by enforced disappearances, killings and repression, as well as to the families of those martyred during the July mass uprising. Like the previous years, he said, BNP Chairman and Chief Patron of “Amra BNP Poribar” Tarique Rahman is giving the Eid gifts this year too. This year, families who have suffered from enforced disappearances, killings and repression over the past 17 years and members of the July 2024 movement martyrs’ families will get the Eid gifts. Ruman said, “Every year, Mr Tarique Rahman provides ‘Eid gifts’ to families of victims of enforced disappearances, killings and repression. Tarique Rahman has been providing 'Eid gifts' to oppressed families during the month of Ramadan since 2016.

MOSCOW, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Russia on Wednesday strongly condemned what it said was a "missile strike" on Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which the UN's nuclear watchdog announced earlier was hit by a projectile. "We strongly condemn the irresponsible, completely unacceptable missile strike launched against the inner perimeter of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, just metres from an operating reactor," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing. She added that Russia had warned the United States and Israel against "threatening the lives" of Russian citizens still working at the plant, which Moscow helped build.

WASHINGTON, United States, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Donald Trump angrily suggested Wednesday that he could leave US allies to secure the Hormuz strait on their own since they have refused to fight alongside US forces against Iran in the crucial shipping lane. Saying the United States doesn't need the strait -- a major global oil shipping pathway -- Trump wrote on his Truth Social site that he could "let the Countries that use it" find a solution. Trump has responded to the Hormuz crisis with a series of contradictory statements, saying both that allies must help the United States and then on Tuesday saying "we don't need any help." His latest statement on Truth Social suggested the United States could abandon the situation altogether, leaving other countries to deal with the aftermath. The US military announced late Tuesday that it was using huge bunker-buster bombs to attack Iranian missile sites near the coast along Hormuz.

Afghan minister says 'we do not want war' after Kabul bombingKABUL, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani indicated on Wednesday that Afghanistan preferred diplomacy to resolve a conflict with neighbouring Pakistan that saw hundreds killed in a strike on Kabul this week. "We do not want war," he told mourners at a mass burial of some of the victims of Monday night's strike on a drug rehabilitation centre. "But the situation has come to this, so we are trying to solve the problems through diplomacy."

Jamuna Bridge authorities have collected Tk 33.9 million in tolls as 46,943 vehicles have crossed the bridge in 24 hours amid the Eid rush. The crossings took place between Monday and Tuesday midnights, said Executive Engineer Syed Riaz UddinAs many as 19,445 Dhaka-bound vehicles used the bridge, paying a toll of more than Tk 16.6 million, he said. A total of 27,498 vehicles headed towards North Bengal, generating Tk 17.3 million, he added. A total of 18 toll booths -- nine on each side -- are currently in operation to manage the Eid rush. Separate arrangements have also been made for motorcycles, with two dedicated booths on each side.

Relief and Disaster Management Minister Asadul Habib Dulu inaugurates the re-excavation work of the Borua Canal at Kulaghat Union under Sadar Upazila today. He said this while inaugurating the re-excavation work of the Borua Canal at Kulaghat union under Sadar Upazila here today. For the current year, the government has set a target to excavate at least 5,000 kilometers of canals, of which his ministry will implement about 1,500 kilometers, the minister said. Dulu said that restoring long-neglected and silted canals would improve irrigation for farmland, facilitate drainage system during monsoon and reduce flood risks. He further noted that the canals would create opportunities for pisciculture helping generate employment for local communities.

TOKYO, March 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down more than four percent in Asian trading late Wednesday, as Iraq plans to restart exports via Turkey. Around 0630 GMT, a barrel of WTI was down 4.26 percent at $92.11, retreating after an almost three percent jump the previous day. Brent crude, the global market benchmark, was down 2.82 percent at $100.50 a barrel.