The ruling Awami League, the Workers Party of Bangladesh and the BNP will formally meet the chief election commissioner to press home their respective demands on the upcoming municipality polls, leaders of the parties said.

The internet offers enormous benefits for users, but it also has bad sides. And children are alarmingly being exposed to it in a way that is threatening not only for their future but also the state.

Despite the heat of the midday autumn sun, a small crowd gathered in front of the first gate of a government college in Chandpur town's Nazirpara. People, old and young, were surrounding and intently watching a physically disabled boy, squatting on the ground.

The security and communal harmony in the country will be in jeopardy if the current spate of targeted attacks continues and if the government fails to catch the perpetrators and unearth their motive, say security experts. The threat will multiply in case the country gets caught up in the wave of international militant and terrorist activities, they fear.

At Dhaka Metropolitan Police's request, imams of different mosques in the capital yesterday gave sermons during Juma prayers,

“At government madrasas, it is being taught that the only leader among the Muslims is Moududi and the only institution of the Muslims is

The BNP yesterday announced that it would contest the December 30 municipality polls on certain conditions, including deferral of the polls by 15 days.

The Awami League may face more hassles than the BNP to pick single mayoral contenders in the upcoming municipality polls.

There were tears and sighs all around the small house as the family members and neighbours mourned Moazzem Hossain, the muezzin of the Shia mosque in Bogra, killed in Thursday's shooting.

The minority Shia Muslims in Bogra's Shibganj upazila have never felt threatened living in the Sunni-dominated area. On the contrary, they have always lived peacefully with their Sunni brothers and sisters for decades. But now a sense of fear has gripped them following Thursday's gun attack inside a Shia mosque by unknown assailants. The shooting killed the muezzin of the mosque and injured three more, including the imam.

Members of banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh killed a pir (spiritual leader), his son and four disciples in the

Noting that the path of terrorism and suicide bombing is not the right one for a true Muslim, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said some elements with a perverted mentality were engaged in such misdeeds.

In a second attack on Shia Muslims in just over a month, armed assailants yesterday stormed a Shia mosque in Shibganj upazila and opened fire on praying people, killing one and injuring three others. The dead is Moazzem Hossain, 70, of Haripur. He was a farmer and also muezzin of the mosque. It was not clear who carried out the attack or why. Police said they were looking into the incident.

The government yesterday dismissed the United Nations' claim of the war crimes trial in Bangladesh being unfair, saying its recent statement was highly disturbing.

A faction of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was involved in recent attacks on Hossaini Dalan and police checkpoints at Gabtoli and Ashulia, detectives claimed yesterday.

The European Parliament will have a debate today on a motion to adopt a resolution on freedom of expression and other rights issues in Bangladesh.

A “JMB leader” was killed in a “gunfight” with members of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police in Gabtoli area of the capital late last night.

The new electoral code of conduct makes no distinction between partisan and non-partisan municipality polls with regard to imposing restriction on electioneering by individuals enjoying government facilities.

Major political parties are trying to make sure that they do not have rebel candidates slicing away their precious votes in the polls to 236 municipalities on December 30.

Detectives have arrested a Jamaat-e-Islami activist who, they say, issued death threats to 153 eminent citizens, sometimes masquerading as the so-called Islamic State, over the last one and a half years.