In a dramatic turn of events, the Chief Justice dissolved a High Court bench on Tuesday after allegations of 'misconduct' were brought by a senior lawyer against one of its members. The incident has sparked widespread controversy and raised questions about the state of the judiciary under the current government. Court sources said that Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed replaced a judge from a High Court bench following allegations of 'discourteous' behaviour towards a lawyer during court proceedings. Justice Ataur Rahman Khan, who was part of the vacation bench along with Justice KM Hafizul Alam, has been removed from the bench. Following this, Justice Hafizul was paired with Justice Kazi Zeenat Haque for the bench duties. The allegations arose during a hearing where the lawyer accused the bench of displaying bias and unprofessional behaviour, compromising the fairness of the judicial process. In response, the Chief Justice took immediate action, dissolving the bench and announcing that an investigation would be conducted to determine the validity of the claims. Amidst the uproar over allegations of corruption in case listings, the High Court bench experienced significant disruption. A group of lawyers later approached the chief justice with complaints. They accused the senior judge of being ‘discourteous’ towards a lawyer. Following this, a decision was made in the afternoon to remove the judge from the bench. A lawyers protest rally held recently The judicial system in Bangladesh has faced increasing scrutiny over allegations of politicization, particularly under the Awami League government. Critics argue that the ruling party has exerted influence over judicial appointments and decisions, compromising the independence of the judiciary. Several high-profile cases have previously raised concerns, with opposition leaders and activists alleging that the courts have been used as tools for political suppression. The dissolution of the High Court bench comes amidst a climate where the judiciary’s credibility is being questioned, and this latest incident only adds fuel to the fire. Legal experts warn that if the judiciary continues to be perceived as an extension of the political apparatus, public trust in the system will further erode. The Chief Justice’s swift decision to dissolve the bench may be seen as a step to restore confidence, but it also highlights the underlying tensions within the legal framework of Bangladesh. Opposition parties have seized upon the incident, demanding greater transparency and reforms to ensure the judiciary remains free from political interference. As the investigation unfolds, all eyes will be on whether the judicial system can maintain its integrity or if further steps will be necessary to safeguard its independence.

  A total of 2,064 candidates who passed the 43rd Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations are finally set to become government cadres after waiting for over ten and a half months for their appointments. The interim government issued the gazette for the 43rd BCS on Tuesday, recommending their appointments across various cadres nearly four years after the recruitment notice was initially published. The BCS notification, published on Nov 30, 2020, during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government, received a total of 435,190 applications, the second-highest on record. Around 321,650 applicants participated in the preliminary tests during the COVID-19 pandemic on Oct 29, 2021. The Public Service Commission, or PSC, later published the final results of this BCS on Dec 26, 2023, and recommended the appointment of 2,805 candidates, including cadre and non-cadre. Of them, 2,163 were waiting for appointment to cadre posts. However, the Ministry of Public Administration announced the appointment of 2,064 candidates as cadre officers; as such, 99 did not make it to the list of PSC recommendations. The appointments to the entry posts of different cadres have been made at a salary of Tk 22,000-53,060 per the National Pay Scale 2015, according to the gazette. The interim administration started the rest of the recruitment process according to the final results of this BCS after the previous government’s fall in the civil uprising. The recommended candidates expressed frustration at different times as the ministry did not issue the final notice despite the results last December. They had been demanding recruitment by releasing the gazette. In the final result in 2023, the PSC had recommended the aspirants against 2,218 vacant posts of various cadres and 642 candidates against 1,342 vacant non-cadre positions. In the final result in 2023, the PSC had recommended 2,163 aspirants against 2,218 vacant posts of various cadres and 642 candidates against 1,342 vacant non-cadre positions. The commission could not make any recommendation for a total of 645 posts, including 55 posts of technical or professional cadre, 57 of non-cadre 9th grade and 589 posts of 10th grade.

  Israel expanded its targets in its conflict with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon on Monday, carrying out an airstrike in the north that killed at least 21 people, according to health officials. Meanwhile, millions of Israelis took shelter from projectiles launched across the border. Until now, Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have primarily focused on the south, the Bekaa Valley in the east, and the suburbs of Beirut. The strike in the Christian-majority town of Aitou hit a house that had been rented to displaced families, the town's mayor Joseph Trad told Reuters. In addition to the deaths, eight people were injured, the Lebanese health ministry said. Rescue workers at the site of the strike searched through piles of rubble on Monday, where burned vehicles and trees could be seen strewn across the ground. Israel ordered residents of 25 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows some 60 km (35 miles) north of the Israeli frontier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting a military base in central Israel where four soldiers were killed on Sunday by a Hezbollah drone strike, vowed that Israel would continue its attacks on the Iran-backed group “without mercy, everywhere in Lebanon – including Beirut.” At the Masnaa border crossing with Syria, Jalal Ferhat, his wife Amal Tefayeli, and their five children were among those unloading belongings from buses as they prepared to leave Lebanon. “There are strikes in our neighbourhood, and they’ve hit near my house,” said Ferhat, 40, from Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon. “I have children; you can’t just stay where you are.” In central Israel, residents scrambled to shelters as sirens blared. The military reported that three projectiles crossing from Lebanon were intercepted, with no injuries reported. According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah fired approximately 115 projectiles into Israel from Lebanon on Monday. Lebanese army soldier stands near destroyed vehicles at a site damaged by an Israeli air strike in the Christian-majority region of Aitou in north Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said, October 14, 2024. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which resumed a year ago when Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Palestinian group Hamas during the Gaza war, has intensified significantly in recent weeks. Lebanese government reports indicate that Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,309 people in Lebanon over the past year, most of whom have died since late September when Israel escalated its military campaign. The figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel maintains that its operations in Lebanon aim to secure the return of the tens of thousands displaced from northern Israel. ISRAEL AT ODDS WITH UN PEACEKEEPERS The Israeli military announced that it had killed Muhammad Kamel Naim, commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force anti-tank missile unit, in a strike in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has not yet commented. As Israel intensifies its efforts to eliminate Hezbollah's presence and military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, tensions have escalated with the UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL. The UN reported that Israeli tanks breached its base on Sunday. On Monday, Netanyahu dismissed allegations that Israeli troops had intentionally targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers as “completely false” and reiterated a call for them to vacate combat zones near the Israeli border. He claimed that Hezbollah uses UNIFIL sites as cover for its attacks, including a drone strike on Sunday that killed four Israeli soldiers. “Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah and will continue to do so,” Netanyahu said in a statement. He expressed regret for any harm to UNIFIL personnel but stated that the best way to ensure their safety was “to heed Israel's request and temporarily relocate out of harm's way.” UNIFIL’s spokesperson, Andrea Tenenti, posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, affirming that the peacekeeping mission would remain in place. “We are staying ... we are in the south of Lebanon under a Security Council mandate. So it’s important to maintain an international presence and keep the UN flag flying in the area,” Tenenti said. The Israeli military took foreign journalists into southern Lebanon on Sunday, showing them a Hezbollah tunnel less than 200 meters (650 feet) from a UNIFIL position, as well as weapons caches discovered by Israeli troops. “We are standing in a Hezbollah military base very close to the UN,” Brigadier General Yiftach Norkin said, pointing to a tunnel trapdoor in an area covered by undergrowth and overlooked by a UN observation post. Since initiating its ground operations near the border, the Israeli military claims to have destroyed dozens of Hezbollah tunnel entrances, rocket launchers, and command posts. UNIFIL has said that previous Israeli strikes have hindered its ability to monitor the situation, and UN sources express concern that monitoring for violations of international law in the conflict may become impossible. Meanwhile, the Middle East remains on high alert for a potential Israeli retaliation against Iran following an October 1 missile barrage launched in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. On Sunday, the Pentagon announced it would deploy US troops to Israel along with an advanced anti-missile defense system. The US embassy in Lebanon on Monday urged American citizens to leave immediately, warning that additional government-organized evacuation flights, which have been in operation since September 27, would not continue indefinitely.