Friday, January 16, 2026

BNP plans showdown tomorrow

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in its first mass rally of the year, plans to put-up a showdown at Suhrawardi Udyan in the capital tomorrow. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will address the rally and thank people for ‘boycotting’ the 10th general election in support of the BNP stance.

Resist violence against minorities: US

The United States has called upon the political leadership in Bangladesh to ensure law and order and refrain from supporting violence, particularly against minority communities. Washington also urged the Bangladesh leadership to avoid inflaming rhetoric and intimidation. “We certainly are disappointed by recent incidents of violence. We condemn the violence in the

Two more verdicts likely in Feb

The prosecution in the war crimes trials expects verdicts against at least two more accused by the end of next month. Earlier, two International Crimes Tribunals delivered nine verdicts against 10 accused persons last year. The trial against former Awami League leader Mobarak Hossain is nearing its end, while almost 70 per cent of the proceedings ... Read more

Zia’s 78th birth anniv today

BNP and its associate bodies is set to celebrate the 78th birth anniversary of party founder late President Ziaur Rahman across the country today. Born on January 19, 1936 at Bagbari in Bogra, Zia had become the country’s 7th president and formed Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). BNP has

AL to bolster grassroots ahead of upazila polls

Top leaders of the ruling Awami League will start organisational tour across the country after the end of the first session of the 10th parliament later this month in a bid to rejuvenate the party rank and file for the upcoming Upazila Parishad elections. “Workers’ meetings will be held in every Upazila to reinforce the ... Read more

AL out to reinstate BKSAL rule: BNP

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP’s) standing committee member, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, has described the government as “illegal”, saying that no opposition party exists in the 10th Parliament, if one considers the Constitution’s guidelines. “According to the country’s charter, the existence of an opposition party in Parliament is a must, but

Upazila polls in mid-Feb, says CEC

Poll schedule announcement today The Election Commission will hold upazila election in the middle of next month, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said yesterday. The election to 113 upazilas will be held in the first phase, the CEC told journalists after a meeting with senior officials of different ministries at the

JU sees fewer migratory birds this winter

This year, only two out of 20 species of migratory birds have come to one of their regular winter transit points in Bangladesh, the lake at Jahangirnagar University, bird watchers and ornithologists said. They blamed the decline on an alarming trend witnessed for the past five years. At least 61 species of birds used to ... Read more

Man of ‘no surrender’ dies at 91

A Japanese soldier, who hunkered down in the jungles of the Philippines for nearly three decades, refusing to believe that World War II had ended, has died in Tokyo. Hiroo Onoda was 91 years old. In 1944, Onoda was sent to the small island of Lubang in the western Philippines to spy on US forces ... Read more

Japanese fishermen capture dolphins ahead of slaughter

Fishermen and divers caught at least 25 dolphins in a controversial Japanese fishing village yesterday, according to environmentalists, who said the process was captive selection ahead of a mass slaughter. Activists from the militant environmental group Sea Shepherd streamed live footage of the dolphin capture in the village of Taiji, which drew worldwide

Private univs turn deaf ear to law

Majority of private universities seem to have turned a deaf ear to the Private University Act provision which requires them to move to their own campus in seven years after establishment as only 11 of the 52 private universities have done so. There are now 77 private universities running in the country and 52 of them ... Read more

N Korea, IOM greet Hasina

North Korea and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have congratulated Sheikh Hasina on her assumption of the office of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the third time. According to a foreign ministry release issued yesterday, Pak Pong Ju, premier of the Cabinet, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, greeted the new government headed by ... Read more

EU asks parties to consider early elections

Asks BNP to sever ties with Jamaat-Hefazat The European Union on Thursday called on the government and opposition to consider early elections to ‘give the Bangladeshi people a chance to express their democratic choice in a representative way’. In a resolution adopted on the ‘recent elections’ in Bangladesh, the EU also urged the Bangladesh Nationalist Party ... Read more

Cut Jamaat ties for talks, AL tells BNP

Awami League joint general secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanok yesterday alleged that BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was engaged in spreading lies to mislead the people after her blunder for boycotting January 5 parliamentary elections. Addressing a press conference at the party chief Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office, Nanok said Khaleda Zia is now engaged

Suchitra Sen no more

An enigma even in her final journey; president, PM, BNP chief condole Iconic Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, often described as India’s Greta Garbo after she quit acting at the height of her career to lead a hermit-like existence, died on Friday aged 82, reports AFP. The star had been ill in hospital in the eastern ... Read more

Ershad, Rawshan divide widens

The tussle between Jatiya Party (JP) chairman HM Ershad and his wife, also the senior member of the JP’s presidium and leader of opposition in Parliament, Rawshan Ershad, is worsening day by day. The schism relates to control over the party and its functioning, inside Parliament. The conflict between HM Ershad and Rawshan Ershad worsened further ... Read more

Biswa Ijtema to see unprecedented security

In the wake of widespread violence across the country, authorities have taken strong security measures for the upcoming Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslims after the holy Hajj, reports UNB. This year, the three-day first phase of the Biswa Ijtema will begin on January 24 on the bank of the Turag River at ... Read more

10,000-MW power generation still a far cry

Though the country’s power generation capacity reached 10,000 megawatts in November last year, actual generation of such a quantum of electricity was not possible because of the dearth of energy supplies and mismanagement in power distribution, a report by the Planning Commission (PC) said on Wednesday. It prepared the report on January 15 so that the