Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh would be run following the Medina Charter. There can be no statues in the country if it is governed based on the document.

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh chief Junaid Babunagari said this on Friday while speaking at a program in Chattogram's Hathazari.

"All statues will be toppled no matter who they represent. We will tear them down," Babunagari said.

"Many people are being arrested and tortured in Bangladesh for speaking the truth and spreading the message of Islam. But we will not stop telling the truth."

However, the Hefazat-e-Islam chief also said, "Honorable prime minister, we respect you and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We are not your enemies."

Four people were killed in road accidents in Cumilla and Magura on Friday.

Two youths were killed in Cumilla as a covered van hit a motorcycle in Kalakochua of Burichang upazila in the afternoon.

The deceased Md Nazmul Haque, 28, and Shariful Islam Sohag, 27, were volunteers of social organization Help for Human.

Officer-in-Charge of Moynamoti Highway Police Safayet Hossain said the duo were going to Chandina while a covered van hit their motorcycle, injuring them severely.

In Magura, another two youths – Baharul Islam, 26, and Sohag Bishwas, 30 – were killed in another road accident at Barakhari of Sadar upazila.

Officer-in-Charge of Magura Police Station Joynal Abedin said three people were on a motorcycle when a truck collided head-on with it and an auto-rickshaw.

"The accident killed Baharul on the spot and Sohag died later at the Sadar Hospital. Another motorcyclist is undergoing treatment." 

Sub-Inspector of Magura Highway Police Amiruzzaman said they seized the truck but its driver fled.

Meanwhile, the country witnessed 388 road accidents in August that left 459 people dead and 618 injured, according to passengers' welfare body Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.

The number of road accidents in the country rose 56% and fatalities 57% in June compared to May, it said.

During this time, 368 people were killed and 518 others injured in 358 road, railway, and waterway accidents.

In 2019, 8,543 people were killed and 14,318 injured in 6,210 road, railway, and waterway accidents.

Of them, 5,516 road accidents left 7,855 people dead and 13,330 injured.

Deaths in road crash rose 8.07% in 2019 compared to 2018.

Reckless driving, risky overtaking, dilapidated roads, unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, using mobile phones or headphones while driving, and lack of awareness among road users were cited as main reasons behind road crashes.

Also read: Road crash fatalities jumped 57pc in June: Jatri Kalyan Samity

A young man was arrested for allegedly raping a fifth-grader madrasa student in Mollahat of Bagerhat on Wednesday night.

The arrestee was identified as Sujon Hawladar, 23, son of Mostafa Hawladar of Ghoshgathi village in Mollahat upazila.

Bangladesh recently introduced death penalty as the highest punishment for rape but rape and sexual assaults continue to be reported from across the country.

Police said Sujon lured the victim to an abandoned house with promises of food on Wednesday evening and raped her there.

Locals rushed there after hearing the scream of the victim and caught Sujon, said officer-in-charge of Mollahat Police Station Kazi Golam Kabir.

Later, locals handed him over to police, said the OC.

The victim’s father filed a case over the matter.

Nearly a thousand rape incidents, including over 200 gang rapes, were reported between January and September this year, according to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).

Forty-five of the victims were killed after rape and 12 others took their own lives. Three women and nine men were killed for protesting against the incidents of sexual harassment, ASK said.

Bangladesh introduced death penalty for rape on Oct 13 through an ordinance amid waves of anti-rape demonstrations across in the country.

Parliament passed the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Bill 2020 on November 17 with death penalty as the highest punishment for rape.

Also read:Bangladesh introduces death penalty for rape

A woman and her minor son were killed and five others injured when a bus hit a human hauler on Burimari highway at Chowdhury intersection in Kaliganj upazila on Thursday.

The deceased were identified as Manjila Begum, 32, wife of Badiuzzaman and their  three-year-old son Sajedul Islam of Shoulmari village in the upazila.

The accident took place around 11:30 am when the bus hit the human hauler, leaving  seven people injured, said Arju Mohamamd Sazzad Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj Police Station.

The injured were taken to Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex from where the woman and her son  were shifted to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital following deterioration of their condition. Later they succumbed to their injuries.

Road accidents in Bangladesh are still a major reason behind many deaths, injuries and huge property damage every year.

At least 7,855 people were killed and 13,330 others injured in 5,516 road crashes across the country last year, according to Jatri Kalyan Samity, a platform working for the welfare of passengers.

Read Also: No respite from horrific road crashes; 8 dead in C’nawabganj

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom on Wednesday launched the National Quantum Laboratory, a federal project that aims to develop a quantum computer by the end of 2024.

The lab will learn from the best practices worldwide and unite efforts of universities, research centers, financial institutions and tech companies in the field of quantum computing, Rosatom said in a statement.

Seven leading research centers have already joined the consortium and more participants are expected, it said.

The lab will help Russian scientists in the creation of a 30-100 qubit quantum computer by the end of 2024 and potentially a universal computing machine with several hundred qubits, which could solve problems important for the economy, Ruslan Yunusov, head of the Project Office on Quantum Technologies at Rosatom, told Tass news agency.

"The experience of leading organizations in the field of quantum computing shows that significant results can only be achieved by creating national programs with the support at the highest state level," Yunusov said. 

Also read: Scientists ‘Reverse Time’ With Quantum Computer in Breakthrough Study