United News of Bangladesh

FIFA has overhauled the 2026 World Cup draw format to ensure the four highest-ranked teams  like Spain, Argentina, France and England avoid each other until the semifinals, provided they top their groups. The draw, set for December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., will use a tennis-style bracket system for the first time. FIFA confirmed Tuesday that the new format rewards top-ranked sides by placing them in separate pathways for the 48-team tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. The change means defending champions Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, and European champions Spain, inspired by Lamine Yamal, can only meet in the final at MetLife Stadium near New York, if both win their respective groups. “To ensure competitive balance, two separate pathways to the semifinals have been established,” FIFA said in a statement, aiming to reward teams whose consistent good results have raised their world ranking. Unlike previous World Cups where knockout paths were tied to group allocation, the new approach fixes the bracket in advance. This year’s draw will place 48 teams into four pots before assigning them to 12 groups of four. A full, updated match schedule, with stadiums and kickoff times, will be released on December 6. The ceremony will last about 90 minutes, with the draw itself taking an estimated 45 minutes. As hosts, Canada, Mexico and the United States enter Pot 1, joined by the nine highest-ranked teams: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Forty-two teams have already qualified, including Iran and Haiti, which FIFA expects to play as drawn despite political sensitivities with the U.S. The tournament will span 16 venues across the three host nations, including 11 NFL stadiums in the U.S. The remaining six entrants will be decided in March through European and intercontinental playoffs. Those teams will enter Pot 4, the lowest-ranked tier, meaning four-time champions Italy could prove a dangerous wildcard next week when the final placing draw is made. Host nations will be marked with different colored balls: Mexico as A1 (green ball), Canada as B1 (red ball), and USA as D1 (blue ball). The other nine Pot 1 teams will automatically be assigned to position 1 in their respective groups. Pot 2 features the next 12 teams: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria and Australia. Pot 3 includes Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Pot 4 contains Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand and the six playoff winners. Teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn together, except for Europe, which will have 16 representatives, forcing four groups to include two UEFA nations. To maintain bracket balance, Spain (rank 1) and Argentina (rank 2) will be placed in opposite pathways. The same applies to France (rank 3) and England (rank 4), ensuring the top sides stay separated until late. For the host schedules, the USA, placed in Group D, will open on June 12 in Inglewood against a Pot 3 team, then face a Pot 2 opponent in Seattle on June 19, and finish against a Pot 4 side back in Inglewood. Mexico, in Group A, will kick off the tournament on June 11 at the Estadio Azteca against a Pot 3 team, then play a Pot 2 team on June 18 in Guadalajara, before returning to Mexico City for their final group match against a Pot 4 opponent. Canada starts on June 12 in Toronto against a Pot 4 team, then moves to Vancouver for matches against Pot 3 and Pot 2 sides. World Cup draw pots: Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa Pot 4: Jordan, Cabo Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Playoff A, B, C, D, FIFA Playoff Tournament 1 and 2 Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.  

Members of Coast Guard in a drive arrested a deer poacher along with two deer heads, 32 kgs of venison, eight deer legs and 2000 metres of deer-hunting traps from a house at Kanainagar in Mongla upazila of Bagerhat district early Wednesday. The arrestee was identified as Akter Biswas, 40, a member of deer hunting syndicate and son of Ibrahim Biswas of the village. Tipped off, a team of Coast Guard from Harbaria Station along with police raided the house of Akter early Wednesday and seized the deer venison, deer heads, deer legs and 2000 metres of deer-hunting traps from his possession, said Media officer of Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haque. The seized items were kept at his house for selling, said Lt. Commander Siam. Later, he was handed over to Mongla Police Station.  

Another student who suffered serious injuries in the Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara has been released from hospital after four months of treatment. The victim is identified as Sheikh Saiyeba Mehzabin, 11, a class IV student of the school. Resident Medical officer of National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery Dr Shaon Bin Rahman said Mehzabin received 22 percent injuries and was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday. So far, 35 people including students and teachers have been discharged from the hospital. The fatal crash occurred on July 21, shortly after an FT-7 BGI fighter jet took off from the Kurmitola Airbase, sparking a massive blaze that claimed 36 lives and left many injured.  

A new United Nations report shows that Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has become the world’s largest city with 41.9 million people while Bangladesh’s Dhaka ranks second with a population of 36.6 million.  According to the UN’s World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report, Japan’s Tokyo’s population has held fairly steady at 33.4 million, pushing it down to third place while Dhaka, one of the world’s most crowded capitals, climbed from ninth to second and is projected to become the world’s largest city by 2050. The report highlights Asia’s dominance in global urban growth, with nine of the world’s top 10 megacities located on the continent. No haat in densely populated areas: DNCC Mayor Cities joining Jakarta, Dhaka and Tokyo in the top 10 include New Delhi (30.2m), Shanghai (29.6m), Guangzhou (27.6m), Manila (24.7m), Kolkata (22.5m) and Seoul (22.5m). Egypt’s Cairo with 32 million people is the lone non-Asian city on the list. Dhaka’s rise has been driven largely by an influx of people fleeing rural areas due to flooding, erosion and other climate-change impacts, as well as those seeking better opportunities, said the report. Jakarta faces similar pressures, with rising sea levels putting up to one-fourth of the city at risk of submersion by 2050, reports AL Jazeera. How untrammelled expansion combined with poor civic sense turns Dhaka into a nightmare for traffic police The UN says the number of megacities — those with populations exceeding 10 million — has surged to 33, up from just eight in 1975. Although Indonesia is constructing a new capital, Nusantara, the UN estimates that Jakarta’s population will continue to grow, adding another 10 million people by mid-century. The swelling population has fuelled concern over inequality and affordability, issues that have already sparked public protests. The report also notes that Iran’s capital Tehran, now at nine million people, is struggling with severe water shortages, prompting rationing measures. In preparing its latest assessment, the UN adopted a new global definition of cities to reduce inconsistencies across countries. It now classifies a city as a contiguous area of grid cells with at least 1,500 people per square kilometre and a minimum total population of 50,000. Frequent Earthquakes: Can Dhaka prepare itself for the big one?

The western district of Chuadanga recorded the season’s lowest 13.8 degrees Celsius temperature on Wednesday morning, disrupting daily life. Tahmina Nasrin, an observer at the Chuadanga first-class weather observatory, said that night and early-morning temperatures may fall further in the coming days. At 9am, she said, the temperature along with 86 percent humidity in the air was recorded. As the temperature is falling, low-income people are suffering from the cold for lack of sufficient warm clothes. Although bright sunshine appeared after 9am, the chilly weather condition persisted as cold winds continued to sweep across the region. Due to the intensified cold, the presence of general people in Chuadanga town in the morning was thin compared to earlier, as most people refrained from coming out of homes, if not necessary. Low-income earners, particularly day-labourers, van- and rickshaw-pullers, were said to be the worst victims.

The low-pressure area over southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lanka coast intensified into a well-marked low over the same area at 06 am on Wednesday, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). It is likely to move north-northwesterly direction and intensify further, said the Met office. Besides, a deep depression over Strait of Malacca and adjoining area intensified into a deep depression first then into a cyclonic storm "Senyar’ over the same area and lay centered at near lat. 5.0°N & long. 98.0°E at 6 am on Wednesday. It is likely to move westwards direction. All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised not to venture into the deep sea till further notice.      

The government has appointed Superintendents of Police (SPs) for 64 districts across the country through a lottery system ahead of the national election slated for the first half of February next year.   According to a gazette notification, signed by Md Mahbubur Rahman, deputy secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, was issued on Wednesday (November 26). Earlier in the day, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the SPs have been appointed through the lottery after categorising the districts into three considering the law-and-order issue.   Talking to reporters after a review meeting of the Annual Development Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture at Secretariat, he claimed that no meritorious officers have been left out during the SP postings. Bangladesh sees crime spike ahead of polls; police stress preparedness Responding to a question on the lottery system, the adviser said, “Yes, the news is correct. The lottery was conducted exactly as planned. We established three categories—A, B, and C—not based on district size but on the law and order situation.” After categorising districts, the adviser said, officers were assigned accordingly. “Out of a total of 64 SPs, 18 were reassigned, while others remained unchanged. The lottery then decided which officer would go to which district, based on luck,” he asserted. Asked if the same system would apply to officer-in-charge postings, he replied saying ‘Insha’Allah,’ emphasizing that primarily the most capable officers were selected. New police commissioner for Gazipur Met Police; new SPs in 6 districts

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Wednesday said the law and order situation will continue to improve and everything will be in order before the voting day. “It will improve gradually. As the polling day approaches, you will see everything will fall in line. Everything will be fine,” he said, replying to a question if the election is possible amid the current law and order situation. He made the remarks while talking to reporters after inspecting an election-related training and mock exercise organised by the 5th Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Pilkhana in the capital. The CEC said, “I won’t say the law and order situation has reached a perfect level. You saw what the situation was on August 5, 2024. Now compare it with the current situation. Now you can sleep safely. You were able to come here safely. There was no difficulty on the way. So, it will improve further, gradually.” He said the Election Commission will sit again with law enforcement agencies on November 30 over specific proposals. “The development strategy will be finalised there." Nasir Uddin said law enforcement agencies are being deployed on the field with maximum preparedness to ensure a free, peaceful and neutral election. Don’t hire politically linked election observers: CEC Nasir “Today we saw a very well-conducted mock exercise here. It was fully designed considering our election culture. The training covered all conceivable dimensions of what usually happens during elections or how elections are conducted. I am very pleased,” he said. He said election duty does not come regularly — only once every four to five years — which is why the forces need special training. “BGB’s regular duties are in the border areas. We will provide election-related training to various law enforcement agencies,” he said, adding that Police are training their members at 130 centres based on election requirements. “We have earlier seen Ansar-VDP’s drills. They are undergoing training as well. This BGB exercise will play a very important role. They are preparing their members so they can perform their duties properly,” he said. The CEC said each law enforcement agency is responsibly preparing its members. “We expect this training will have a significant impact on maintaining election-time law and order. I hope all law enforcement agencies, journalists, and 130 million voters together will help us deliver a fair election.” About a political party’s announcement to resist the election, the CEC said, “All necessary steps will be taken against those who have announced resistance. Journalists, voters, and citizens — everyone must work together to prevent any unwanted situation.” Regarding the recent discussions about running the election by advisers of the interim government, he said it is a policy matter of the government. “The Election Commission will perform its duties according to the laws.” About risky polling stations, he said the EC has made a risk assessment. “Forces will be deployed according to three zones — red, yellow, and green,” he said. Commonwealth Secretary-General meets CEC, discusses election preparations Meanwhile, BGB informed that 1,210 platoons will be deployed nationwide during the upcoming 13th national election. BGB will carry out election duties in all upazilas across the country except Sandwip, Hatiya and Kutubdia. In 60 of the 115 border upazilas, BGB members will perform election duties independently. BGB Director General Major General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, senior BGB officers and EC officials were present at the mock exercise event.

A fire that broke out at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) at Shahbagh intersection of Dhaka, was brought under control within a short time on Wednesday morning. Rashed Bin Khalid, duty officer (media cell) at Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters, said the fire erupted on the fourth floor at A-block of the hospital around 11:14am. On information, seven firefighting units from multiple stations were dispatched while the blaze was brought under control around 11:32am, he said.   No reports of casualties or people trapped inside the fire-affected block were found, the duty official added.

Firefighters finally extinguished the devastating fire that broke out at Kurail Basti (slum) in Tejgaon area of Dhaka, nearly after 16 hours of efforts on Wednesday morning. Shahjahan Sikder, duty assistant director (media cell) at Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters, said they were completely able to put out the blaze around 9:30am on Wednesday.   He, however, said that no casualties were reported in the fire. The origin and extent to the damage caused by the fire will be determined upon investigation. Earlier, the fire originated from one of the shanties of the slum around 5:22pm on Tuesday. Responding to an emergency call, 20 firefighting units from multiple stations were dispatched to the scene in stages. The firefighters faced difficulties in controlling the flame due to shortage of water, leading to the delay to manage the situation.