A former commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) remains missing since he was allegedly picked up on Wednesday night from his home near the capital's Mirpur DOHS area by some men claiming to be detectives.

In the wake of the student agitation for safe roads, some efforts have been made to correct the ills in the otherwise disorderly public transport system though the situation remains mostly as usual in the capital.

A strike on a bus in rebel-held northern Yemen killed at least 29 children yesterday, the Red Cross said, as the Saudi-led coalition faced a growing outcry over the attack.

Vice-chancellors of several private universities yesterday urged the government to grant amnesty to students arrested in cases filed in connection with violence during the student movement for safe roads.

Renowned photographer Shahidul Alam was taken back to the office of the Detective Branch of police yesterday after doctors at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) said they found no health issues requiring his hospitalisation.

Law enforcers have arrested seven more people allegedly for trying to create anarchy in the country by spreading rumours on social media over the student agitation for road safety.

To stop buses racing on city streets, Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association yesterday decided to abolish the system of daily contracts with drivers and their helpers.

Private university teacher Abul Hasnat Reza Karim is set to be freed after two years in custody as a Dhaka court yesterday ordered his release in connection with the Gulshan café attack case.

On July 28, fourth-grader Kirtika Tripura Chakma left her school premises to have a quick lunch at her home nearby. When her classes began after the midday break, she had not returned.

Masum Billah, the driver of one Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan bus, confessed to a magistrate yesterday that he ran his vehicle over the students on July 29 in the capital, leaving two students dead and at least nine others injured.

Who is this man whose arrest has sparked outrage and condemnation from global bodies and media, including Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), PEN International, SAMDEN (South Asia Media Defenders Network) and publications such as the Guardian, The Washington Post and many South Asian media?

The proposed Road Transport Act-2018 is rather soft on transport owners, as it holds drivers solely responsible for deaths and casualties in road crashes.

The European Union has called for an immediate end to “disproportionate violence” against peaceful student protesters and journalists. It also demanded an investigation for holding the perpetrators accountable.

Journalists of different print and electronic media yesterday gave a 72-hour ultimatum to the government to arrest those who attacked their colleagues during the students' movement for road safety.

The High Court yesterday directed the authorities concerned of the government and police to immediately send detained photographer Shahidul Alam to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) for his treatment.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu yesterday rejected statements issued by the US embassy in Dhaka and the United Nations, Bangladesh, over the safety of student protesters during road safety campaign, terming those “unexpected and unwanted”.

Leaving out the alleged ruling party men involved in attacks on road safety demonstrators and journalists, police have made students accused in cases filed over the last few days' violence in the capital.

Noted photographer Shahidul Alam seemed to be walking with difficulty as policemen held his arms and helped him go in and out of a Dhaka court yesterday. He told his lawyers and family members at the court that he had been tortured in custody.

A draft law approved by the cabinet yesterday proposes a maximum punishment of five years' imprisonment for causing death to a person by reckless driving, drawing strong criticism from road safety campaigners who termed the sentence insufficient to end anarchy on roads.

Police did not attempt to drive away the armed youths; rather, they charged teargas canisters into the campus, witnesses and students said.