Author: Desk Report

The Election Commission has decided to prohibit the use of posters in the next national election as part of efforts to make campaigns more environment-friendly and disciplined. Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah made the announcement following the EC’s seventh meeting held around 3:00pm at its headquarters in Dhaka. “Billboards were not used in the past, but they are being introduced now. The proposal to ban the use of posters also came from the reform commission, and we have agreed with it. We are in consensus on eliminating the use of posters,” he told reporters. He said banners,…

The government has decided to declare 5 August as a public holiday to mark the Student-People Uprising Day. The day will be officially celebrated every year. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Council of Advisers at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Thursday. After the meeting, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki revealed this information at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy. Farooqui said a preliminary decision has been taken today to celebrate 5 August as the Student-People Uprising Day. He said it will be passed in the cabinet…

The BNP and like-minded parties are at odds with other political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party, and Islami Andolon Bangladesh, over the proposal for forming a National Constitutional Council (NCC). According to reform proposals, the constitutional council would be an independent authority that will appoint key constitutional officeholders, including the chief election commissioner, Anti-Corruption Commission chairman, and members of the Public Service Commission. The goal is to reduce the executive’s unchecked authority and introduce institutional checks and balances. The issue dominated yesterday’s session of the second phase of the National Consensus Commission’s talks at the Foreign Service Academy…

Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East. Here are the latest developments: Trump on strikes, negotiations President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was considering whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran and said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations on ending the conflict. “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters. “I can tell…

Rain is likely across most parts of Bangladesh over the next four to five days, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). Senior meteorologist Bazlur Rashid said this afternoon that the monsoon has now spread throughout the country. He also mentioned that a low-pressure area had formed in the southwestern regions, especially around Khulna and Satkhira, and has since moved toward Kolkata. Because of this, many parts of the country are already experiencing rain. “This rain could continue for four to five days,” Rashid said. “In some areas, heavy rain may fall for two to three…

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted a raid at the Chattogram Regional Election Commission office on Tuesday amid allegations of irregularities in the correction of National Identity Cards (NIDs). A four-member ACC team, led by Assistant Director Emran Hossain from the ACC’s Chattogram Metro office, carried out the operation around noon. During the raid, ACC officials spoke with senior officers from both the regional and district election offices and examined various alleged irregularities. According to sources, the ACC has been investigating four unresolved NID correction cases that had remained pending for an extended period. During their inquiry, the team…

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today asked Special Security Force (SSF) to work with professionalism staying above political ideologies. “In providing security to state-declared VIPs, the issues of characteristic strength, improved discipline, honesty, responsibility and human values must be seriously considered along with professional skills, and you should work with professionalism above all political ideologies,” he told SSF personnel at a function here. The event was arranged at the Chief Adviser’s Office (CAO) on the occasion of the SSF’s 39th founding anniversary as SSF Director General Major General Mahbubus Samad Chowdhury spoke, among others. Home Adviser Lieutenant…

Ten films were initially scheduled to be released in cinemas during Eid-ul-Azha. However, four of them—”Nadan”, “Sardar Barir Khela”, “Shironaam”, and “Pinik”—withdrew from the lineup at the last moment. Now, the majority of these films are preparing to make their theatrical debut during Durga Puja this September. Director Farhad Hossain had announced an Eid release for “Nadan” on May 13 with the launch of its first-look poster. However, just a week before Eid, the filmmaker revealed that technical complications had forced a delay. “Although we had initially planned for Eid, some technical issues held us back,” he told The…

The National Sports Council (NSC) has dissolved three sports associations: the Kite Association, the Para Archery Association, and the Kyokushin Karate Association. This decision, enacted under the authority of the National Sports Council Act 2018, reduces the number of federations and associations under the NSC from 55 to 52. The dissolved bodies have not been entirely abandoned; rather, their functions and responsibilities have been merged with existing federations. The Para Archery Association has been integrated into the Bangladesh Archery Federation, the Kyokushin Karate Association into the Bangladesh Karate Federation, and the Kite Association into the Bangladesh Country Games Association.…

The government will not immediately increase fuel prices, even if oil prices rise in the international market due to the Israel-Iran conflict, said Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed today. “We bought at the previous price, so there will be no impact on fuel prices,” he told reporters when asked whether the Iran-Israel conflict could drive up fuel prices in Bangladesh. He said the government is observing the situation. “Although global prices have risen slightly, our current orders remain unaffected,” he told journalists following meetings of the Advisory Council Committee on Economic Affairs and the Advisory Council Committee on Government…