BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - NATO chief Mark Rutte on Friday discussed efforts to bolster Arctic security with US top diplomat Marco Rubio, after President Donald Trump insisted he wants to take control of Greenland. Trump says controlling the mineral-rich island is crucial for US national security given the rising threat of Russia and China in the Arctic. NATO has sought to deflect Washington's interest in Greenland by emphasising steps it is taking to bolster security in the region. A NATO spokeswoman said Rutte spoke with Rubio "on the importance of the Arctic to our shared security and how NATO is working to enhance our capabilities in the High North." But the head of NATO's forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said Friday the alliance was far from being in "a crisis", following President Donald Trump's threats.

DHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS) – Md Motiur Rahman Talukdar of Dainik Janata and Md Khairul Islam of Dainik Tathya Dhara have been elected President and Secretary General respectively of Bangladesh Newspaper Employees Federation (BNEF) for the year 2026–2027. A press release, signed by Election Committee-2026 Chairman Md Alamgir Hossain Khan said. The release said 27 office bearers in the Central Executive Council were elected unopposed for the two-year term of 2026–2027.

Trump says US will deal with Greenland 'easy way' or 'hard way'WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump on Friday again suggested the use of force to seize Greenland as he brushed aside Denmark's sovereignty over the autonomous Arctic island. "I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," Trump said when asked of Greenland. So we're going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way." Trump made light of the concerns of Denmark, a steadfast US ally that joined the United States in the controversial 2003 invasion of Iraq.

DHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS)—New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Nisham arrived in Bangladesh to join Rajshahi Warriors for the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He will be available for the remaining matches of Rajshahi in the tournament. Rajshahi however will play two more matches in Sylhet—against Rangpur Riders tomorrow (Sunday) and Dhaka Capitals on Monday before heading to Dhaka. He however, failed to make the squad in the final after reaching in Bangladesh just a day before the crucial game. Earlier, he played for Rangpur Riders, making 291 runs with three half-centuries.

Venezuela says in talks with US to restore diplomatic tiesCARACAS, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Venezuela said Friday it had launched talks with the United States on restoring diplomatic ties, days after US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president. Rodriguez in a statement condemned "the serious, criminal, illegal and illegitimate attack" by the United States and vowed: "Venezuela will continue to confront this aggression through the diplomatic route." - Trump vows oil investments -Trump said earlier Friday that he had called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela due to the prisoner releases. Trump earlier said that oil companies promised to invest $100 billion in Venezuela, whose oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions. - Protests in Caracas -Maduro was seized in a US special forces raid accompanied by airstrikes, operations that left 100 people dead, according to Caracas.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed-File Photo. File PhotoDHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS) – Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today said that Bangladesh’s economy has demonstrated resilience and gradual stabilization despite inheriting a challenging macroeconomic environment from the previous regime. The Finance Adviser was addressing the publication ceremony of the 7t edition of the ‘Banking Almanac’ at the CIRDAP International Conference Centre (ground floor) in the capital today. Syed Ziauddin Ahmed, Executive Editor of the Banking Almanac gave the welcome address while Abdar Rahman, Project Director, gave an introduction of the book. The Finance Adviser underscored that Bangladesh’s development progress has been cumulative, achieved through sustained contributions over decades.

DHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS) - Hobart captain Nathan Ellis was full of praise for Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain who continued shinning in the Big Bash League (BBL) in his inaugural season. Ellis’ praise came after the match against Adelaide Strikers as Rishad took 3-26 to contribute in the side’s 37-run victory. “There was a short side here tonight and Rishad took it with both hands with a smile on his face. Citing Rishad ‘world class’, Ellis further said that he was also glad that the leg-spinner will be with the side for the entire season. “I have to give credit to our spinners again; they (Rishad and Rehan Ahmed) have been brilliant for us this year.

Apart from Umehla Marma's hat-trick with five goals in the match, Suchingma Marma and Mamoni Chakma supported her with a lone goal each for the winners in the one-sided affairs. Umehla Marma put Ansar ahead in the 18th minute while Suchingma Marma doubled the lead for Ansar in the 36th minute. After the breather, Mamoni Chakma scored the third goal for Ansar in the 52nd minute while Umehla made the score line 4-0 in the 67th minute of the match. She completed her hat-trick goal in the 72nd minute while Popi Rani reduced the margin for Nasrin in the 81st minute. The day's win saw Ansar open their tally to four from four matches while Nasrin is yet to secure any points playing the same number of matches.

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam-File photoDHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS)- National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam today said the party would announce within the next couple of days how many seats it will contest with Jamaat-e-Islami led alliance in the upcoming parliamentary election. He said the alliance is electorally prepared despite ongoing seat-sharing discussions, adding that no political party or alliance has yet been able to fully enter the competitive phase of campaigning. Describing Jamaat-e-Islami as a disciplined party, Nahid said the NCP has also nearly finalised internal decisions on candidates and constituencies. He said these concerns have already been conveyed to the Election Commission and would continue to be raised. Expressing concern over election security, Nahid said incidents of public shootings and killings have created fear among candidates and activists.

DHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS)-Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) will send men’s and women’s hockey teams in Oman and Indonesia respectively to compete in qualification tournament for the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya scheduled to be held from September 19 to October 4 this year. Talking to BSS today (Saturday), BHF general secretary Lt. Col. Riazul Hasan said the men’s qualification tournament will be held in Muscat, capital of Oman, from March 25 to April 5 while women’s qualification tournament will be in Jakarta, Indonesia, from April 20 to 30. The federation general secretary informed that the federation would call camp for the men’s and women’s teams soon for the qualification tournament. When asked about Bangladesh’s chance to qualify in the Asian Games, Riazul Hasan said the men’s team should qualify in the Asian Games, but as Bangladesh has never had a senior women’s team, so they have plan to form a senior team for the first time and planning to send them in the qualification tournament in Jakarta because this women’s hockey team need to gain experience from the international level.

Noakhali appeared to have tasted their seventh straight defeat in thetournament when they were bundled out for a meager 148 in 19.5 overs. Iftekhar Ahmed was the top-scorer for Rangpur with 37 runs while TowhidHridoy made 29. After being asked to bat first Noakhali batted well in the first 10 overs,having put up 80 plus runs. But Rangpur bowlers came back strongly to stiflethem, which proved to be decisive in bowling them out below 150. In the day's other match, Chattogram Royals earned a hard-fought two-wicketvictory over Rajshahi Warriors to go on top of the BPL point table.

Four killed in mine accident in northern AfghanistanFAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Four miners in northern Afghanistan were suffocated to death by fumes this week while digging for gemstones, a local official told AFP on Saturday. The miners were searching for precious stones underground and "died due to suffocation caused by fumes emitted from a stone-crushing machine", he added. Authorities did not respond to AFP's request for comment on whether the mine was operating officially or illegally. Afghanistan mines marble, minerals, gold, and precious stones as well as coal. In July 2025, six miners were killed and 18 injured in a coal mine collapse in the northern province of Baghlan.

'We don't want to be Americans': Greenland's political partiesNUUK, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - "We don't want to be Americans," Greenland's political parties said after US President Donald Trump again suggested the use of force to seize the mineral-rich Danish autonomous territory. "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders," the leaders of five parties in parliament said late Friday. "The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders," they said.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma on Saturday paid a courtesy call on BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman and discussed matters of bilateral interest between the two countries. The Indian envoy came to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman’s Gulshan office around 5pm and held a nearly hour-long meeting with him, BNP Media Cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan said. Several issues of bilateral interest were discussed during the meeting. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, and Joint Secretary General Humayun Kabir were also present. Earlier, Tarique Rahman had a meeting at the same office with Dr Ivars Ijabs, Member of the European Parliament and Chief Observer of the EU Election Observation Mission.

DHAKA, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS) - Chattogram Royals suffered a major setback in theongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after their in-form opener AdamRossington was ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury. The England recruit was instrumental in helping Chattogram top the pointstable after seven matches. He had featured in six games, amassing 258 runs ata remarkable average of 258, including three half-centuries. "Adam Rossington sustained the injury during our last match against RajshahiWarriors when Binura Fernando's delivery struck the little finger of his lefthand," Chattogram team manager Nafis Iqbal said in a video message onThursday. Chattogram Royals will play their next match on January 15 in Dhaka againstNoakhali Express in the return-leg fixture.