Three people were shot and wounded in New York’s Times Square, the New York Police Department said on Saturday (9 August). The people – an 18-year-old female, 19 19-year-old male, and a 65-year-old male – are in a stable condition in hospital, an NYPD spokesperson said. A 17-year-old male is in custody, the NYPD added. The police also recovered a firearm.

The shooting took place at around 1:20am ET (0520 GMT) and followed a verbal altercation with one of the victims, the NYPD added. It said it was not known at this time whether the shooter or the victims knew each other. Mass shootings are relatively common in the United States, where guns are widely available.

The incident at one of New York’s most iconic tourist spots comes after July’s high-profile shooting in a Manhattan office tower, which left four people dead, including a senior Blackstone executive and an NYPD officer.

New York experienced record-low shooting incidents and victims in the first seven months of this year, and in July, according to a statement published by the city’s police department on 4 August. Crime is a key electoral issue for America’s largest city, which is set to hold mayoral elections in November.

In just a year and a half, the Jatiya Party (JaPa) has split again, this time from GM Quader’s leadership. The new faction has elected Anisul Islam Mahmud as chairman, ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader as secretary general, and Kazi Firoz Rashid as senior co-chairman. They were chosen at the party’s 10th National Council, held today (9 August) at the Emmanuel Party Centre in Dhaka. Former JaPa secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu was elected executive chairman of the council. Leaders said a full committee would be announced within 15 days.

Speaking to The Business Standard, JaPa (Quader) secretary general Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary insisted that GM Quader remains the leader of the main party and that grassroots activists are united under him. “Those who arranged Saturday’s council are expelled leaders,” he said.

“The council is illegal,” Shamim added.

However, the breakaway faction claims it represents the majority. Of JaPa’s 42 praesidium members, 22 have joined the new group led by Anisul and Ruhul Amin. This is the sixth major split in JaPa’s history, with previous breakaways often creating parties under the same name but with different leaders in brackets. Currently, four registered parties bear the “Jatiya Party” name, with another unregistered faction aligned with the BNP.

The most recent split before this came in February last year, when Raushan Ershad declared herself chairperson and “dismissed” GM Quader and Chunnu from their posts.

The latest division also follows a legal setback for Quader’s leadership. On 30 July , a Dhaka court temporarily barred him and joint office secretary Mahmud Alam from carrying out party activities, reinstating Anisul, Ruhul Amin, Chunnu, and several praesidium members. The order came after Chunnu and nine others filed a civil suit on 27 July, challenging their removal.

At Saturday’s council, Chunnu publicly apologised for JaPa’s role in what he called “illegal elections” under the Awami League’s rule. “If there was any moral mistake, we unconditionally apologise to the people of the country,” he said.

He also admitted that the party may not have always made the right political decisions, but urged supporters to forgive past mistakes. Former co-chairman Syed Abu Hossain Babla, now part of the Anisul-Ruhul faction, told TBS that theirs is “the legitimate Jatiya Party,” adding that they have the support of 22 praesidium members, three of the party’s five co-chairmen, and communication with Raushan Ershad.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary expressed his hope that the party will play a positive role in Bangladeshi politics under GM Quader’s leadership.

“Under the leadership of party chairman GM Quader, grassroots leaders and activists remain united. The party will be the place of trust for all the people of this country,” Shamim said.

He made these remarks while addressing a views exchange meeting with the Jatiya Tarun Party at the party’s central office auditorium in Dhaka’s Kakrail yesterday. Patwary also urged party leaders and activists to remain united, avoiding being misled by conspiracies.

JaPa’s first split occurred in 1996 when Anwar Hossain Manju broke away to contest elections with Awami League support. Subsequent divisions took place in 1999, 2003, 2013, and during internal disputes after the death of founder Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 2019. The party’s last split before this year was in February 2024, amid tensions between GM Quader and Raushan Ershad.

Bangladesh-born British minister for dealing with homelessness, Rushanara Ali, resigned from the government late Thursday after it was revealed that she had considerably hiked the rent at a property she owns.

“It is with a heavy heart that I offer you my resignation as a minister,” said Ali, under-secretary of state for homelessness in the Labour government, in her letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Her resignation came a day after the I-Paper daily reported she had given four tenants four months to leave a London house she owned and then leased it again a few weeks later with the rent more than 700 pounds higher. Several associations campaigning against homelessness and opposition lawmakers said the 50-year-old had to resign.

“Further to recent reporting, I wanted to make it clear that at all times I have followed all relevant legal requirements. I believe I took my responsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts demonstrate this,” Ali said in her letter, released by the prime minister’s office.

“However, it is clear that continuing in my role will be a distraction from the ambitious work of the government,” she added.

In response, Starmer thanked Ali for her “diligent work” at the housing ministry, adding: “Your efforts to put in measures to repeal the Vagrancy Act will have a significant impact.”

Ali’s early life began in Sylhet before she moved to the UK with her family at the age of 7. She pursued higher education at St John’s College, Oxford, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

A one-on-one meeting was held between BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and US Chargé d’Affaires to Bangladesh Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson in July last in London. Tarique Rahman’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir and the US Embassy in Dhaka confirmed the meeting, according to a private television channel.

Humayun Kabir described the meeting as “very good” and said it lasted for a couple of hours.

“The ambassador exchanged pleasantries with Tarique Rahman and got to know him personally,” he added.

The discussion focused on BNP’s views regarding the upcoming national election, the party’s vision for future governance and its international outlook. They discussed fundamental issues—what kind of country the BNP wants to build if it wins the next election, what the party’s position is on the electoral framework and how it sees its role internationally, Kabir said.

He emphasised that the discussions were fully aligned with the interests of Bangladesh’s people. “There is nothing that conflicts with the interest of the people of this country,” he noted.

Kabir said Tarique Rahman’s approach to foreign policy will be shaped by the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh and the spirit of the July Uprising.

“His foreign policy will prioritise the people’s interest and be rooted in what they have fought for,” he said.

According to Kabir, the meeting took place in two phases. In the first phase, Ambassador Jacobson enquired about Tarique Rahman’s well-being and discussed how he has been guiding his party over the past 17 years while living abroad.

The police arrested former Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur vice-chancellor Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah at Mohammadpur in Dhaka on Thursday. A team of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Kalimullah at about 12:15pm in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, the metropolitan police’s DB joint commissioner for south and administration, Mohammad Nasirul Islam, said.

‘The case is connected with corruption in the university during his tenure as a vice-chancellor,’ he added.

Kalimullah was later produced before the court of Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib, who sent him to jail, court officials said. Kalimullah, a professor in the Department of Public Administration of Dhaka University, served as BRUR vice-chancellor between June 1, 2017 and June 9, 2021.

The Anti-Corruption Commission on June 18 filed the case against five people including two BRUR vice-chancellors, Kalimullah and Professor Dr AKM Nur-un-Nabi, for their alleged involvement in embezzling Tk 4 crore from a development project of the university in Rangpur.

A journalist was hacked to death by between six and seven people at Eidgah market in the Gazipur city’s Chandana chowrasta under Bason police station area on Thursday night, reportedly for sharing a video report on extortion. Md Asaduzzaman Tuhin, a district correspondent of a Bangla daily Dainik Pratidiner Kagoj, was killed at about 8:00pm on Thursday.

Gazipur Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Rabiul Islam said that the police had recovered the body from the spot on information and sent it to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital for autopsy. He, however, claimed that he could not know the cause of the murder immediately, but the process for taking legal actions was under way.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09) today announced that she has been named co-chair of Congress’s Bangladesh Caucus. She will join longtime co-chair Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC-02).

“I am blessed to represent one of the largest Bangladeshi American communities in the United States, a key segment of our vibrant district,” said Congresswoman Pou. “Bangladeshi Americans make immeasurable contributions to our state and nation’s mosaics and I will use this new position to build public awareness of the richness of Bangladeshi culture and history. Congressman Wilson is a voice of great moral authority for international freedom and I look forward to working with my friend to advocate for our Bangladeshi neighbors.”

“The Bangladesh caucus is an important initiative in Congress to show support for Bangaladeshi-Americans, and work productively on the U.S.-Bangladesh bilateral relationship. I am grateful to relaunch this initiative as Co-Chair,” said Congressman Joe Wilson.

“Congratulations to my Congresswoman Nellie Pou on becoming Co-Chair of the Congressional Bangladesh Caucus excited to work together to strengthen U.S.-Bangladesh ties!” said Paterson Second Ward Councilman Shahin Khalique.

“As a proud Councilmember of Bangladeshi descent in the City of Paterson, I am honored to witness that Congresswoman Nellie Pou – who represents New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District and the largest Bangladeshi community in the state – has become the Co-Chair of the Congressional Bangladeshi Caucus. This milestone reflects not only her deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, but also her steadfast support for our community as we strive for greater representation and equity. I am hopeful that, under her leadership, critical issues such as immigration reform, support for small businesses, educational equity, and cultural recognition will receive the attention they deserve. As we continue to build bridges between communities and government, I look forward to working alongside her to uplift the voices and aspirations of Bangladeshi Americans throughout the district,” said Paterson Councilman-at-Large MD Forid Uddin.

The police recovered the body of former Bangladesh army chief M Harun-Ar-Rashid from the guest house in Chittagong Club in Chattogram city on Monday. Harun-Ar-Rashid went to Chattogram on Sunday to appear before a court in a case and stayed at the guest house, said the police quoting his family.

Getting no response from the room of the guest house for a long time on Monday morning, the club authorities informed the matter to the police, said assistant commissioner of Chattagram Metropolitan Police (Kotwali zone) Mohammad Mahfuz.

The Election Commission (EC) will publish the final voter list for the upcoming national elections on 31 August. Prior to that, a draft version will be released on 10 August, said a press release issued today (4 August) signed by EC Secretariat Director (Public Relations) Md Shariful Alam.

According to the release, the supplementary voter list — comprising newly registered voters born on or before 1 January 2007 and added to the database by 30 June 2025 — will also be made public on 10 August. This list will include updates such as the removal of deceased voters.

Following the release of the supplementary list, applications for the inclusion of eligible voters, deletion of names of deceased or ineligible individuals, transfer of voter records, and correction of any errors must be submitted by 21 August. The final voter list, incorporating all verified changes, will then be published on 31 August, said the Election Commission.

Thousands of police officers from across the New York metropolitan area and beyond gathered at the Parkchester Jame Masjid on Virginia Avenue on Thursday, July 31, to pay their respects and say goodbye to slain Police Officer Didarul Islam, 36, a Bangladeshi American immigrant, father of two, with another baby on the way, who was promoted to detective first grade by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during the service.

As reported, police said Islam was one of four people killed by gunman, Shane Tamura, 27, from Las Vegas who carried out the killings using an assault rifle which he carried inside 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, July 28, and who reportedly had mental health issues. Police said Tamura later turned the gun on himself and also died. Islam’s body had been transferred from Midtown to Parkchester on Tuesday, July 29, as reported, as New Yorkers reacted to the shocking events and Gov. Kathy Hochul and others called again for a nationwide ban on assault rifles.

On Thursday, members of the Bangladeshi community from Parkchester, Norwood, and elsewhere joined thousands of other residents as police officers flooded the surrounding streets of Islam’s local mosque, and several NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) trucks blocked nearby intersections. Tisch had previously served as DSNY Commissioner.

In addition to Tisch, elected officials in attendance included Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who represents parts of the West Bronx and northern Manhattan, and Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), who represents a large section of The Bronx stretching from the northwest to the south.

Also seen were Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and City Councilman Dr. Yousef Salaam (C.D 9) who represents parts of Harlem and is one of the Exonerated Five having spent between several years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

Addressing the congregation, Hochul said in part, “Today our hearts are broken. The dam is searing.” Referring to Islam’s relatives, she said, “They’re a family that expected to see their beloved son, husband, father for many more dinners, birthdays and life celebrations, but because of a madman who traveled a thousand miles with such evil in his heart to come and destroy all that is good about New York City.”

For his part, the mayor, a former police officer, said in part, “This murder and the murder of others who were in the building, it cut me to my core. I spent my entire life defending and fighting for innocent people of this city, and each death I take personal because as a mayor, I am responsible for the safety of New Yorkers.”

For her part, Tisch said of Islam, “He stepped into a new land and chose to become part of its promise to believe in its dream, and he did believe in the American dream, not as something handed down, but as something built with your own hands.”

She continued, “Didarul Islam came to this country as an immigrant with no guarantees, only the hope that hard work, that humility, that purpose might lead him somewhere meaningful and it did. He earned the respect of his peers. He believed in this department. With only four years on the job, he did the work of a cop with twice that time, and in a command where the work never slowed.”

The commissioner said in addition to his work assignment in Midtown Manhattan on the day he was killed, Islam had been on duty the previous day at the Bronx Dominican Day Parade, a day which proved very challenging for the NYPD due to several shootings reported after the parade. Such was the number of violent incidents on the day, when contacted by Norwood News on Monday, the NYPD press office said they had to be provided with a specific time and location before they could share details of each incident.

At times sounding almost defiant on Islam’s behalf in the wake of Monday’s tragedy, Tisch added, “But no matter what this job threw at him, you could count on Didar to get it done, and to get it done right, and though his journey was cut too short, the way he lived his job, with steadiness, with heart, with conviction, it reflected everything this title represents. So, today, it is my honor and my great privilege to promote Police Officer Didarul Islam to Detective First Grade.”

The congregation applauded as NYPD personnel rose to their feet. Tisch was later seen embracing one of Islam’s mourning family members. Islam’s brother-in-law, Police Officer Kamrul Hasan, who called Islam his “protector” and “best friend,” shared some memories to demonstrate their solidarity and Islam’s strength of character. “Anything, everything anybody needed, anything, they come to us,” he said. “He was helping everybody.” Hasan concluded, “On behalf of our whole family, I would like to thank everybody for coming here and staying with us and being here for us.”

In addition to public statements already made by a number of elected officials including the mayor and governor, other elected officials had also shared their reaction to the tragedy. Clark lamented what she called “yet another act of senseless gun violence with a high-powered weapon brought to the city by an allegedly mentally disturbed man.”

The district attorney added in part of Islam, “My heart goes out to his pregnant wife, sons, the members of the NYPD, and the families of all the victims. This incident is a reason I urge and advocate for mental health services in our city!”

On Tuesday, Gibson had offered her condolences and paid tribute to Islam, writing, “On behalf of our Borough, we extend our deepest condolences and prayers to the four victims of yesterday’s horrific shooting in Midtown, including one of our own, decorated Police Officer Didarul Islam of the 47th Precinct.”