Army personnel put on high alert at the main entrance of the Supreme Court

Army personnel put on high alert at the main entrance of the Supreme Court in the capital on Sunday during the hearing on petitions against the High Court verdict that reinstated quota in the government jobs. — FE Photo

BNP leaders Khasru, Aman, others arrested

The law-enforcement agencies arrested several BNP leaders, including its standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, from different parts of the capital on Saturday night and Sunday, reports UNB.Detective Branch (DB) police arrested Khasru from his Banani residence at 10:00...

Vested group using students as shield: IGP

A vested group is involved in pushing the country backwards after joining the quota protesters and is using them as shield, Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun said on Sunday, reports UNB."Bangladesh is on its way to become...

Return to classrooms

Chief Justice (CJ) Obaidul Hasan has urged the students to return to their classrooms following the Supreme Court (SC) order on the issue of quota reservation in government jobs, reports UNB.The Chief Justice made the call in his reaction immediately...

Step down accepting justified demands

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has urged the government to step down by accepting the justified demands of the students to give people relief from the current violent situation, reports UNB.The BNP leader came up with the remarks...

Country’s situation to be normal soon

Amid a curfew, the government on Sunday assured the foreign nationals and students staying in Bangladesh that the ongoing situation would normalise within a "short time".At the State Guest House Jamuna, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Sunday briefed the...

Mahila Parishad demands 'women quota' in govt jobs

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) Sunday demanded inclusion of 'women quota' in the government jobs to bring equality between men and women.Earlier in the day, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in a verdict slashed quotas in the...

Bangladesh's foreign trade hit by internet outage

Bangladesh has become disconnected from international trade due to internet blackout caused by mob attack on its data centre during the quota-reform protests, reports UNB.The international trade and remittance flow are totally dependent on internet-based banking service. LC (Letter of...

Internet blackout sees over 50 int'l flights cancelled in Dhaka

More than 50 international air flights to and from Dhaka were cancelled until Saturday since the nationwide Internet blackout on Thursday night, according to control room. However, national flag-carrier Bangladesh Biman and other domestic flights operators claimed of facing no...

Internet services to be restored soon: Palak

Internet services in the country would be restored as soon as possible, State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Zunaid Ahmad Palak said on Sunday, reports UNB.The authorities concerned were trying their best to restore internet services across the country...

Lingering curfew panics stranded travellers

Tanmoy Roy from Panchagarh found himself trapped in the capital city after he arrived here on Thursday morning for a recruitment exam the following day. The exam for upazila-level posts under the Ministry of Agriculture was eventually cancelled as violence...

All kitchen market items get pricier

The kitchen markets in the city became volatile on Sunday, as prices of most essential commodities witnessed a significant jump amid the ongoing curfew imposed to contain violence across the country. All kinds of vegetables, green chilli, onion, potato, egg,...

Amid the curfew, a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) helicopter fires teargas canisters on protesters

Amid the curfew, a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) helicopter fires teargas canisters on protesters (inset) as an army convoy on ground confronts a blockade at Matuail area on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway on Sunday. — FE Photo by Asad-Uz-Zaman

Container handling at Ctg ICDs plunge 90pc amid curfew

Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Chittagong handled only a few hundred of containers on Sunday amid the curfew to control the nationwide deadly anti-quota protest and incidents of violence.On a regular day, the 19 ICDs in Chittagong handle around 4,000...

Move underway to raise emergency balance of prepaid power consumers

State-run power-distribution companies initiated a special arrangement to increase emergency balance of prepaid electricity consumers, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told newsmen Sunday.More time will be needed to implement the arrangement as the officials of...

Apparel exporters fear loss as factories also shut today

Leaders of Bangladesh's main export industry fear a wrong message going to overseas market following production disruptions all the export-oriented garment factories will also shut today (Monday) amid violence-taming curfew."All garment factories listed with BGMEA and BKMEA will be closed...

Healthcare stymied by lack of logistics amid curfew

Mugda General Hospital wore a deserted look on Saturday. One might mistake it for an abandoned place, seeing the empty ticket counters, outdoor units, and corridors. Inside, a handful of patients, their attendants and healthcare providers -- doctors, nurses and...

Chiefs of three services meet PM -

Chiefs of three services met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday to discuss the current situation in the country.The meeting started around 4 pm at Ganobha-ban, reports UNB.The Prime Minister gave necessary directives during the meeting , said PM's Deputy...

Tk 8.73 billion in revenue loss counted daily

State exchequer counts an estimated domestic revenue loss of Tk 8.73 billion daily as production, trade and services falter for the ongoing nationwide quota-protest shutdown coupled with internet blackout. And an indefinite countrywide curfew imposed by the government to come...

Quota cut to 7pc, merit wins most at 93pc

Quotas in government recruitment are slashed to 7.0 per cent while merits get the most at 93 per cent in apex-court verdict delivered Sunday amid nationwide curfew enforced to calm violence during quota protests. The 7.0 per cent in the...

Global & local contexts of monetary policy for H1FY25

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recent World Economic Outlook (April 2024), global GDP growth, which was 3.2 per cent in 2023, is projected to remain unchanged at 3.2 per cent in both 2024 and 2025. This growth rate...

Putin's visit to N Korea: source of a tripartite anxiety

The recent visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea has added new dimensions to the relationship that has been existing between Russia, China and North Korea. It has also given rise to an osmotic effect on South...

Growing soil pollution is a threat to biodiversity

We often discuss environmental pollution without giving due attention to soil contamination. Soil pollution poses a significant challenge today, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh, where our lives and livelihoods are intricately linked with the health of the soil. The...

Beware of self-medication

Medications play a crucial role in treating illnesses, offering both beneficial and harmful side effects. When used appropriately, they yield positive results, but misuse can lead to incalculable harms, sometimes even death. Unfortunately, this mistake is becoming increasingly common among...

Woes of the less fortunate

With the quota movement peaking to its pinnacle of 'complete shutdown' programme, students could more than draw the required attention of the government to their cause. By the time this happened, it was too late for either the government or...

How's life sans internet?

Disruptions of a hundred and one kinds are part of life in this part of the world. Some of these disruptive experiences could be quite shocking elsewhere, but not here. The traffic on the road may come to a screeching...

Restoring internet service brooks no delay

An unprecedented internet shutdown in the history of the country has caused its digital disconnection well-nigh complete. Initially, 4G mobile internet facility was disrupted, and then came the total blackout on mobile internet services. Finally, even the broadband internet connection...

Rural electrification is just on paper

To its credit, the government delivered on its promise of bringing 100 per cent of the population under electricity coverage in 2022 - a remarkable achievement by any yardstick. Electricity now reaches even the remotest rural backwaters and chars and...

A refuelling station in Dhaka's Mohakhali area

A refuelling station in Dhaka's Mohakhali area remains shut amid the curfew on Saturday. — FE Photo

Anti-quota unrest sweeps country

Tensions have flared up as the students' quota-reform movement consumed all districts on Saturday, report our correspondents from across the country.In Sylhet, the city wore a deserted look with almost no vehicular movement and shops shut since early morning.However, only...