The United States has imposed sanctions on former chief of Bangladesh Army Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family members due to his involvement in significant corruption. The US Department of State made the announcement saying that his actions have contributed to the undermining of Bangladesh's democratic institutions and the public's faith in public institutions and processes.

Aziz Ahmed engaged in significant corruption by interfering in public processes while helping his brother evade accountability for criminal activity in Bangladesh, the state department said in a release. He also worked closely with his brother to ensure the improper awarding of military contracts and accepted bribes in exchange for government appointments for his personal benefit, it said. The retired general dismissed the allegations as "untrue", and said if any contracts or corrupt activities involving his brothers could be proven, he would accept the consequences for his actions, whether as the chief of the Border Security Force or the army chief.

As many as 708 people died and 2,426 were injured in 683 road accidents across Bangladesh in the month of April, according to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity. Besides, 47 people were killed and 36 were injured in 44 railway accidents while eight people were killed, 10 injured, and one remained missing in six waterway accidents, it said. The report was published analysing accident reports in the country's national and regional dailies and online media during the period.

Of the total, 274 people died and 328 others were injured in some 305 motorbike accidents across the country - which is 44.7 percent of the total accidents and 38.7 percent of the total fatalities. Dhaka division witnessed the highest 155 road accidents with 179 fatalities and 305 injuries, while Barishal witnessed the lowest 35 road accidents with as many deaths. The report said 34.7 percent of the vehicles involved in the accidents were motorbikes, while 15.5 percent were buses.

Kyrgyzstan Deputy Minister of Education Rasul Abazbek on Wednesday assured the safety of Bangladeshi students in the country, following a night of mob violence targeting students' living quarters housing South Asians in the capital Bishkek on Friday (May 17). The Kyrgyz government said four foreign citizens were arrested in the wake of the violence in Bishkek, home to thousands of medical students from the Subcontinent, that injured at least 28 people, including several foreigners.

The violence prompted diplomatic reactions from Pakistan and India, who warned their students in Bishkek to remain indoors. The Bangladesh Embassy in Uzbekistan, concurrently accredited to the Kyrgyz Republic, wasn't far behind in issuing the same instructions, although there were no reports of Bangladeshis being injured. The violence broke out after a video purportedly showing Kyrgyz students fighting medical students from Egypt on May 13 was widely shared online. Mobs gathered in several spots in Bishkek on Friday night after users on social media claimed those who were beaten were Kyrgyz youths.

Twenty-one life insurance companies in Bangladesh have failed to comply with the rule that makes it mandatory for them to invest 30 percent of their assets in government securities, the regulator has found. The companies are Akij Takaful, Alpha Islami, Baira, Bengal Islami, Best Life, Chartered Life, Diamond Life, Fareast Islami, Golden Life, Meghna Life, Mercantile Islami, NRB Islamic Life, Padma Islami, Popular Life, Prime Islami, Protective Islami Life, Sonali Life, Sunflower Life, Sunlife, Trust Islami Life, and Zenith Islami Life Insurance.

The findings are based on the companies' unaudited financial reports for 2023, said an official of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra), which conducted a probe. The Life Insurer's Asset Investment and Preservation Regulations 2019 state that insurance companies must invest at least 30 percent of their assets in treasury bills and bonds. The Idra probe said the companies had been violating the law "for a long time". It did not specify any period.