DHAKA: The office of State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraq Hossain has strongly rejected reports circulating in various media outlets and on social media claiming that he has resigned or been instructed to resign, describing the reports as “completely false, baseless, and politically motivated.”

In a press statement issued on Sunday and signed by the minister’s press officer, Mahfuz Kabir Mukta, the office condemned the reports and urged the public not to be misled by what it described as deliberate misinformation.

The statement said that Minister Ishraq Hossain has been performing his duties with dedication and integrity. It also clarified that no instructions had been issued by the government’s senior leadership for him to step down and that there was no basis for such rumors. According to the statement, an interest-driven group is allegedly spreading fabricated information to achieve political objectives and create confusion among the public.

The statement also addressed an incident that took place on October 17 in Gandaria, within the minister’s parliamentary constituency, during a social resistance campaign against drugs. According to the minister’s office, he displayed his personal firearm in a lawful act of self-defense amid the situation that arose during the program. The statement noted that the minister had already explained his position regarding the incident. It further criticized reports linking the incident to his alleged resignation, calling such coverage misleading and contrary to journalistic ethics.

The press statement called on all media outlets and members of the public not to be influenced by what it described as misinformation. It also demanded that media outlets that had published the alleged resignation news withdraw their reports immediately. Otherwise, the statement warned, appropriate legal action could be taken against those responsible for spreading the misinformation. The minister’s office reiterated that reports of Ishraq Hossain’s resignation or an order directing him to resign are unfounded, according to the official statement.

Dhaka: A political controversy has emerged in Bangladesh following reports that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman instructed State Minister Ishraque Hossain to resign from the cabinet. According to media reports, the reported directive came after controversy surrounding Ishraque Hossain’s participation in an anti-drug operation in Dhaka while carrying a firearm.

The issue reportedly came into focus following a cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday. However, an official government confirmation and confirmation that a formal resignation has been submitted are necessary to establish the latest status of the matter. The reports have sparked discussion in Bangladesh’s political circles. Further clarification is expected if the government or the individuals concerned issue an official statement.

New York Correspondent — The two-day Times Square Durga Utsav 2026 concluded successfully in the heart of New York City, bringing together members of the Bengali diaspora for a vibrant celebration of religious tradition, culture, music, and dance. The festival, held on October 10 and 11, drew enthusiastic participation from the Bengali community despite challenging weather conditions on the second day.

Following the conclusion of the event, the Times Square Durga Utsav Association expressed its heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended, volunteered, contributed, and supported the celebration.

On Saturday, October 10, thousands of Bengalis gathered at Times Square under bright, sunny skies to celebrate the spirit of Durga Puja. The event transformed the iconic Manhattan destination into a lively gathering place for Bengali culture, devotion, and community spirit. Participants from New York and surrounding areas came together to pay their respects to Goddess Durga and celebrate their cultural heritage far from their ancestral homeland.

The festival provided an opportunity for members of the Bengali diaspora to reconnect with their traditions while sharing their rich cultural identity with the wider public. Weather conditions changed on Sunday, October 11, as rain swept through the area. Despite the unfavorable weather, hundreds of people continued to visit the festival venue to offer their prayers and pay homage to Goddess Durga.

Their presence reflected the deep devotion, enthusiasm, and cultural bonds that unite Bengalis across geographical boundaries. The turnout demonstrated that adverse weather could not dampen the community’s spirit or its connection to one of its most cherished festivals.

The two-day celebration featured religious rituals, prayers, floral offerings, the distribution of prasad, music, dance, and other cultural activities. Through these programs, the organizers sought to showcase Bengali heritage and the traditions of Durga Puja on an international platform. The celebration also served as an opportunity for younger generations of Bengali Americans to connect with their cultural roots.

For many members of the diaspora, the gathering represented more than a religious celebration. It was a moment to strengthen community ties, preserve traditions, and share Bengali culture with people from different backgrounds.

One of the notable highlights of this year’s festival was the recognition of six organizations for their contributions to preserving Bengali culture and the tradition of Durga Puja in the United States. The organizations honored were Bay Area Probashi Incorporated, Bengali Association of Greater Chicago, Bengali Cultural Society, East Coast Durga Puja Association, Kallol, and Pragati.

Their work in maintaining Bengali cultural traditions, promoting community engagement, and passing heritage on to younger generations was recognized as an important contribution to the Bengali diaspora.

In a message following the conclusion of the festival, the Times Square Durga Utsav Association thanked everyone who contributed their time, effort, and support to make the event possible.

The organizers highlighted the enthusiastic participation on the first day and the determination of devotees who attended despite the rain on the second day. They said the community’s love, devotion, and cooperation would remain a source of inspiration for future events.

The association also emphasized that although this year’s celebration had come to an end, the spirit of unity, friendship, and cultural harmony would continue. Organizers expressed their hope of welcoming Goddess Durga again next year with renewed enthusiasm and fresh aspirations.

The Times Square Durga Utsav has become an important occasion for the Bengali community to celebrate its religious traditions and showcase its cultural identity in one of the world’s most recognizable public spaces.

Beyond the religious ceremonies, the event highlighted the importance of preserving Bengali language, heritage, and traditions among communities living abroad. As the 2026 celebration concludes, organizers and participants look forward to returning next year for another gathering centered on devotion, cultural pride, and community solidarity. The Times Square Durga Utsav Association concluded its message by wishing peace, prosperity, and well-being for all and thanking everyone who helped make the festival memorable.

Shibbir Ahmed, New York – Channel i and Impress Telefilm, two prominent names in Bangladesh’s television industry, celebrated their 28th anniversary with a colorful event in New York. The celebration brought together prominent members of the Bangladeshi diaspora for an evening of awards, musical performances and greetings.

The event was jointly hosted by Ekushey Padak-winning writer, filmmaker and singer Afzal Hossain and journalist and television presenter Mainul Islam. One of the highlights of the program was the presentation of awards recognizing contributions to journalism, environmental journalism, and the promotion and expansion of Channel i across North America.

Mainul Islam, special correspondent and presenter at Channel i, was honored for his contributions to journalism. Special correspondent Md. Soumik Ahmed received recognition for his work in environmental journalism, while General Manager Md. Mohiuddin Khan Moin was honored for his role in promoting and expanding Channel i’s presence in North America. The award ceremony was attended by Faridur Reza Sagar, managing director of Impress Telefilm Limited and Channel i, along with Afzal Hossain, entrepreneur Kona Reza and other distinguished guests.

Speakers emphasized the importance of the media in promoting the Bengali language and culture and showcasing Bangladesh’s heritage abroad. They noted that Bangla-language media serving expatriate communities can help strengthen the connection between younger generations and Bangladesh’s language, culture and traditions. The cultural segment was another major attraction of the evening. Popular actress Moushumi and singer Dinat Jahan Munni delighted the audience with a duet performance.

Other notable attendees included journalist Khalid Mohiuddin, Bangladesh’s Press Minister in Washington, Golam Mortuza, and Anisuzzaman, Bangladesh’s Deputy Consul General in New York. Leaders of the Bangladesh-American Police Association (BAPA), along with artists, businesspeople and guests from various professional backgrounds, also attended the celebration. The 28th anniversary celebration of Channel i and Impress Telefilm served as a gathering of the Bangladeshi diaspora, highlighting the enduring role of Bengali-language media in preserving cultural identity and strengthening community ties abroad.

ATLANTA: Lionel Messi scored twice and provided an assist as Inter Miami CF secured a convincing 3-1 victory over Atlanta United in Major League Soccer (MLS) action on Saturday night. The Argentine superstar delivered a decisive performance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, helping Miami strengthen its position in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Neither team managed to score in the opening stages, but Miami broke the deadlock just before halftime. Germán Berterame headed home a cross from Luis Suárez in the 45th minute, with Messi also contributing to the move. Messi then took control of the match after the break. He doubled Miami’s advantage in the 56th minute with a left-footed finish following a combination with Berterame.

Four minutes later, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner struck again. Messi raced through Atlanta’s defence and calmly finished to make it 3-0, completing his brace and further extending his lead in the MLS Golden Boot race. Berterame played a key role in both second-half goals, providing the assist for Messi’s first strike and helping create space for the second.

Atlanta continued to push for a response and finally found the net in the 89th minute. Fafà Picault converted a penalty to reduce the deficit, but the home side could not mount a late comeback.

The victory marked Inter Miami’s third consecutive win in the regular season. The result also highlighted Messi’s continued influence, as he combined goalscoring with creative play to guide his team to another important result.

Atlanta United, meanwhile, will look to recover in its next league fixture after suffering a home defeat. Inter Miami are scheduled to face the New York Red Bulls on October 24, while Atlanta United will host Chicago Fire on the same day.

NEW YORK: New York City FC and Los Angeles FC played out a 1-1 draw in their Major League Soccer (MLS) clash at Citi Field on Saturday night, leaving both teams with one point as the race for the playoffs intensifies.

LAFC took the lead through Finnish midfielder Leo Walta, who scored from a free kick from around 30 yards in first-half stoppage time. The goal was his first in MLS since joining the Los Angeles club on loan in late August.

NYCFC responded strongly after the break and found the equalizer in the 59th minute. Andrés Perea powered home a header from a corner delivered by Nicolás Fernández Mercau to bring the home side level.

Both teams pushed for a winner in the closing stages, creating a dramatic finish. LAFC forward Son Heung-min came particularly close to scoring in stoppage time, but his shot struck the inside of the post and bounced away.

The draw extended LAFC’s unbeaten run under interim head coach Xavi Tamarit to three matches. The club remained sixth in the Western Conference with 46 points, moving closer to securing a place in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs.

For NYCFC, however, the result was another setback in a difficult season. The team continued to struggle for consistency and remained under pressure to collect points in its remaining regular-season fixtures to keep its postseason hopes alive. LAFC will next host its city rival, the LA Galaxy, on October 25, while NYCFC is scheduled to visit Orlando City on October 24.

DHAKA – Bangladesh and Italy have expressed interest in strengthening defence cooperation, particularly in military modernisation, training, technical assistance and collaboration in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations. The interest was expressed at a courtesy meeting between Prime Minister’s Defence Adviser Brigadier General (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam and Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Antonio Alessandro at the adviser’s office at the Armed Forces Division (AFD) in Dhaka Cantonment today.

During the meeting, they held fruitful discussions on various aspects of the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries, according to an ISPR press release issued this evening. Both sides expressed interest in further strengthening and expanding cooperation between the armed forces of Bangladesh and Italy.

The discussion covered potential areas of cooperation, including defence capacity-building, military training and exchange of experience, technical and technological assistance, and the procurement of modern military equipment and defence materials.

They also held detailed discussion on the contributions of both countries to UN peacekeeping operations and explored opportunities for future cooperation and joint training in this field, the ISPR release said.

Highlighting the historic friendly relations between Bangladesh and Italy, the defence adviser stressed the importance of continued support from the Italian government for the development of the defence industry and enhancement of defence capabilities.

The Italian ambassador, meanwhile, reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to maintaining its partnership with Bangladesh and continuing cooperation in modernising the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Both sides expressed hope that high-level dialogue and continued engagement would further strengthen military ties and elevate the broader bilateral partnership between the two countries, the release added.

Shibbir Ahmed, New York – The United Nations’ 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) is set to begin on Monday, October 19, in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, bringing global attention to efforts to halt biodiversity loss and protect nature by 2030.

Running through October 30, the conference is expected to serve as a critical milestone in assessing global progress toward the ambitious targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. World leaders will face growing pressure to demonstrate how far their countries have progressed in translating environmental commitments into concrete action.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly warned against humanity’s destructive impact on nature and called for urgent action to reverse biodiversity loss. The Yerevan conference is expected to place accountability, implementation and international cooperation at the centre of discussions.

Adopted in 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provides a global roadmap for protecting and restoring nature. One of its most prominent goals is to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land, inland waters and marine areas by 2030, an objective widely known as the “30 by 30” target. The framework also calls for restoring degraded ecosystems, reducing pollution, reforming environmentally harmful subsidies and increasing financial resources for biodiversity conservation.

Under the agreement, countries have committed to mobilising at least $200 billion annually from public and private sources for biodiversity-related initiatives by 2030. It also sets a target of increasing international biodiversity finance for developing countries, which often face significant funding and technical constraints.

Despite growing international commitments, progress towards the 2030 biodiversity targets remains uneven, raising concerns about whether countries can meet their obligations within the remaining timeframe.

Assessments of conservation efforts indicate that current progress is insufficient to achieve the 30 by 30 target. Funding shortages, limited technical capacity, gaps in monitoring and data collection, and economic incentives that contribute to environmental damage continue to undermine conservation efforts.

According to a Reuters report, existing commitments and current progress could bring approximately 27 percent of the world’s land and inland waters under conservation by 2030. For marine areas, the projected figure is around 12 percent.

The gap between global commitments and implementation is expected to be a major focus of discussions in Yerevan, with delegates examining how governments can accelerate action and strengthen accountability.

Securing adequate funding for biodiversity protection is expected to be a key issue at COP17. The global target of mobilising $200 billion annually by 2030 will require stronger international cooperation, increased financial flows to developing countries and reforms to subsidies that harm nature.

Another important issue is the implementation of the Cali Fund, established to support the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the commercial use of digital sequence information on genetic resources.

The initiative aims to ensure that a portion of the benefits generated through the use of such information contributes to biodiversity conservation, including in countries and communities that play an important role in protecting natural resources. Developing effective mechanisms to distribute these benefits fairly will be important in building trust and ensuring that conservation efforts receive sustainable financial support.

Turning Commitments into ActionCOP17 is expected to provide an opportunity for countries to assess progress, identify implementation gaps and determine what additional measures are needed to achieve the 2030 targets.

Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, has stressed the importance of coordinated international action to address existing shortcomings and accelerate implementation.

The conference will also test the willingness of governments to move beyond declarations and establish practical measures that can deliver measurable results. The outcome of COP17 could help shape international cooperation, biodiversity financing and accountability in the years leading up to 2030.

Ultimately, however, achieving the global biodiversity targets will depend on political commitment, adequate funding, effective monitoring and the ability of governments to translate promises into action before the deadline.

DHAKA: Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have reaffirmed their support for the Rohingya genocide case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), expressing hope that the legal proceedings will help pave the way for a lasting solution to the prolonged crisis. The commitment was reiterated at a meeting of the OIC Ministerial Ad-Hoc Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations Against the Rohingya, held on the sidelines of the 52nd OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Baghdad, Iraq, according to a Foreign Ministry press release issued on Sunday.

Addressing the meeting as co-chair, Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir called on OIC member states to strengthen unity and take proactive steps to resolve the longstanding Rohingya crisis. Kobir, who is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the ministerial conference, stressed that justice and accountability through international legal mechanisms are essential to achieving a sustainable solution to the humanitarian crisis.

Describing the Rohingya crisis as a major challenge facing the Muslim Ummah, he urged OIC member states to pursue coordinated efforts to strengthen humanitarian assistance and support ongoing legal proceedings.

He also emphasised the need for sustained international engagement to keep the Rohingya crisis high on the global agenda. The state minister highlighted the five-point action plan presented by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Referring to the plan, Kobir called for urgent and decisive international action, particularly to ensure justice and accountability through established legal frameworks. He urged OIC member states to turn their solidarity with the Rohingya people into concrete initiatives to address the crisis and support efforts towards a durable solution.

At the meeting, OIC member states reiterated their commitment to supporting the case before the ICJ and expressed optimism that the judicial process could contribute to resolving the protracted crisis.

The discussions underscored the importance of collective international efforts to ensure accountability for human rights violations against the Rohingya and advance prospects for a lasting resolution. Bangladesh continues to host approximately 1.4 million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar while pursuing diplomatic efforts to secure their safe, voluntary and sustainable return.

DHAKA: Japanese investors have announced plans for an initial investment of $1.2 billion in Bangladesh’s tourism and hospitality sector, signaling potential new opportunities for foreign investment in the country’s tourism industry. The announcement was made during a meeting with Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M. Rashiduzzaman Millat at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday afternoon.

According to a ministry press release, the Japanese delegation expressed strong interest in investing in Bangladesh’s tourism industry and working with the government to develop tourism infrastructure and hospitality facilities. Welcoming the initiative, Minister Millat assured the investors of the government’s cooperation, saying necessary steps would be taken once formal investment proposals were submitted.

The minister said the government was keen to attract foreign investment through mutually beneficial public-private partnerships (PPPs), ensuring positive outcomes for both investors and Bangladesh. Highlighting the country’s tourism potential, Millat pointed to the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, Cox’s Bazar’s extensive natural sea beach and the scenic tea gardens of Sylhet. He said international investment, alongside improvements in tourism infrastructure and services, could help unlock the sector’s potential.

Describing Japan as a longstanding development partner, the minister highlighted its contributions to Bangladesh’s major infrastructure projects. He expressed optimism that Japanese investment and expertise could support the growth of the country’s tourism industry. Millat also instructed the relevant authorities to arrange visits for the Japanese delegation to potential tourism destinations so they could assess investment opportunities.

A delegation from the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) is expected to facilitate visits to prospective sites and help investors identify suitable projects. The Japanese representatives reaffirmed their interest in building a long-term partnership with Bangladesh in tourism and hospitality. The proposed $1.2 billion investment will move forward for consideration once the investors submit formal proposals to the government.