Shuvagata Hom first Bangladeshi to reach 7,000 first-class runs and 300 wickets

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman left Tejgaon airport by military aircraft at 9am on Tuesday for Saidpur, beginning a day-long tour of Durga Puja pavilions in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Chattogram on Maha Navami.

He is due at the Radha Gobinda Temple in Rangpur at 10am, then the Dharmasabha temple in Rajshahi at 1:15pm, before addressing a public rally at the Haji Muhammad Mohsin Government High School ground at 3pm. In the evening he will visit the JM Sen Hall pavilion in Chattogram's Rahmatganj at 5:30pm and return to Dhaka at 9:15pm.

Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Ruman told the state news agency BSS that it was the first time a head of government in Bangladesh would visit Durga Puja mandaps outside the capital during the festival. The prime minister would exchange greetings with devotees, he said.

Press Secretary Saleh Shibli said the government had taken all necessary measures for the smooth celebration of the festival. "The government's policy is that religion belongs to each individual, but everyone has the right to security," The Daily Star quoted him as saying. He said allocations had been increased, holidays extended and support provided to puja mandaps.

Cabinet ministers and senior BNP leaders are travelling with the prime minister, including Women and Children Affairs Minister AZM Zahid Hossain, Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Local Government State Minister Mir Shahe Alam and BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

On Sunday night, he visited puja pavilions in Dhaka's Mohakhali and Banani areas with his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman.

Tuesday is Maha Navami, the ninth day of Sharadiya Durga Puja. The festival ends on Wednesday with the immersion of the idols.

France has imposed overnight curfews in parts of Paris and several other cities after a weekend of rioting and looting that led to more than 2,500 arrests.

In Paris, police ordered an 11pm to 6am curfew in Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district, and banned gatherings from 8pm. Both areas saw clashes and looting at the weekend.

Local curfews for under-18s took effect in several northern cities including Lille, running from 8pm to 6am for two days, while Nice imposed a night curfew for minors from 9pm, the Associated Press reported.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the measures would be "very limited" and "localised", and that mayors would be empowered to impose curfews where needed. He did not rule out a state of emergency.

The unrest began with student demands for better school conditions and widened into protests over fuel prices, living costs and public services. About 550,000 people joined demonstrations across the country on Saturday, according to the BBC.

Masked groups attacked police, set cars and bicycles alight and broke into public buildings. A fire largely destroyed the 19th-century town hall in Limoges. The chambers of commerce said more than 2,000 businesses were directly affected, with damage estimated in the tens of millions of euros.

Nearly 1,000 police officers were injured, and one protester lost a hand to a police grenade, AFP reported.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered to resign after acknowledging that police had lost control in some cities. President Emmanuel Macron refused the resignation, and blamed "insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals" for the violence.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 67 people had been jailed and dozens of criminal cases opened. About 200 investigators are examining CCTV footage to identify organisers, the BBC reported.

Lecornu said the government would fund the restoration of damaged areas and introduce a law to recover the cost from those responsible. He also announced partial unemployment payments for people unable to work because of the unrest.

The United States, China and Germany advised their citizens to avoid affected areas. Looted goods appeared on resale platforms; Vinted said listings of stolen items were banned and that its teams were removing them.