BNP Acting Chairperson, Tarique Rahman, is set to visit Thakurgaon, drawing excitement from party leaders, workers, supporters, and a large section of the local population. The district BNP said Tarique Rahman will arrive on Monday night and stay at the guest house of the Bureau Bangladesh Training Centre in Thakurgaon. At 11am, he will attend a memorial and prayer session for Khaleda Zia at Thakurgaon Government Boys’ High School field, where he will address party leaders and activists. We wish him a long life.”Tarique Rahman has participated in several key Thakurgaon programs virtually in the past. Most recently, on September 7, 2025, he delivered a guideline-oriented speech as chief guest at the BNP Thakurgaon district biennial conference.

The government has taken initiatives to revise VAT and taxes on imported and locally produced liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to address the ongoing supply crisis. During the winter, international supply typically drops, and domestic pipeline gas availability also decreases, causing a significant surge in LPG demand. For this purpose, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, Ministry of Commerce, and Internal Resources Division were instructed to review the proposal jointly. The advisory council’s decision was later presented at a LOAB meeting, where the EMRD agreed. The letter urged that loan and LC applications be processed quickly and on a priority basis to stabilize the LPG market.

Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul on Thursday said a draft of the Indemnity Ordinance will be placed in the next meeting of the Council of Advisers aiming to give impunity to July warriors. "Such laws are completely legal, he said, "Such indemnity laws were enacted in different countries after the fall of popular governments during the Arab Spring or in contemporary revolutions (or mass uprisings)." The law adviser said Article 46 of the Constitution of Bangladesh allows the law of impunity, and an indemnity law was enacted for freedom fighters in 1973 after the great Liberation War. "In the light of these precedents and laws, the Law Ministry has prepared a draft of the Indemnity Ordinance. "It is our sacred duty to keep the July safe," Dr Asif Nazrul added.

Human Rights Monitoring Cell of United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) has released its annual human rights report, alleging widespread violations in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) during the period between January and December in 2025. According to the report, violations included communal attacks, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, violence against girls and women, land grabbing, religious persecution, and suppression of democratic rights. At least 71 people were abducted, 249 houses were searched, and 89 operations were conducted, during which looting and disruption of religious and educational activities were also reported, the release added. UPDF has put forward seven key recommendations to the next government, including initiating a political dialogue to resolve the CHT issue, ensuring impartial investigations—preferably through the United Nations—into all reported violations, recognizing indigenous peoples’ identity and land rights, stopping repression of political parties, addressing the settler issue, and ending religious persecution. UPDF also calls for urgent national and international attention to halt ongoing human rights abuses in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

President Donald Trump is withdrawing the United States from a foundational climate treaty as part of a sweeping exit from collective global action, the White House announced Wednesday. Exiting the underlying treaty could introduce additional legal uncertainty around any future US effort to rejoin. “We are looking at legal options to pursue that line of argument.”“The US withdrawal from the UN climate framework is a heavy blow to global climate action, fracturing hard-won consensus,” Li Shuo of the Asia Society Policy Institute told AFP. As in his first term, Trump has also withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement and from Unesco -- the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization -- which Washington had rejoined under Biden. Speaking before the General Assembly in September, Trump delivered a scathing broadside against the world body founded in 1945 to promote global peace and cooperation in the wake of the Second World War.

Collected photoMOSCOW, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Russia said Thursday it had taken another village in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, where its troops have been advancing since summer despite Moscow not officially claiming the region. Russia's defence ministry said in a statement that Moscow's army took the village of Bratske, in the south of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Moscow announced the capture as Kyiv said Russian night-time attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk region left more than a million people without power. Russian troops entered the Dnipropetrovsk region -- which lies west of the Donetsk region -- in August last year. Moscow also occupies parts of Ukraine's north-western Kharkiv region as well as the pocket it controls in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

DHAKA, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS) - The Election Commission (EC) has dispatched postal ballots to 728,023 expatriate voters living in 104 countries to enable them to cast their votes in the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election and referendum. EC officials said the highest number of ballots was dispatched to expatriates in Saudi Arabia, where 223,943 voters received ballots. According to EC data, a total of 15,33,683 voters have registered through the "Postal Vote BD" App to cast their votes by postal ballot in this election. Of them, 761,141 voters registered from inside the country, while 772,542 registered from abroad. EC sources further said that on Wednesday evening, postal ballots were dispatched to 50,790 expatriate voters in different countries.

PHNOM PENH, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Cambodian bank founded by accused scam boss Chen Zhi, who has been indicted by the United States and extradited to China, was ordered liquidated Thursday, Cambodia's central bank said. Prince Bank "has been placed under liquidation in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia," the central bank said in a statement, adding that the it was "suspended from providing new banking services, including accepting deposits and providing credit".

Following information from the resort authorities, the Coast Guard launched a joint operation. Based on information obtained from the detainees, the Coast Guard later arrested the gang leader, Masum Mridha (23), from the Terokhada area of Khulna on January 7. Haq said that over the past year, Coast Guard operations in the Sundarbans resulted in the recovery of 38 firearms, two hand grenades, 74 domestic weapons, large quantities of ammunition-making equipment, and the rescue of 52 hostages. He added that several notorious gangs, including Achabur Bahini, Hannan Bahini, Anarul Bahini, Manju Bahini and Ranga Bahini, have been completely neutralized. To ensure long-term security in the Sundarbans, the Coast Guard emphasized the need to increase manpower, establish new stations at strategic locations, deploy faster speedboats, and enhance surveillance through modern drones.

Photo: BSSBAGERHAT, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS) - A two-day training programme for farmers was held in Chitalmari upazila of the district under the Family Nutrition Garden Project during the 2025-26 fiscal year. A total of 30 farmers participated in the training, which focused on utilizing uncultivated fallow land and household courtyards to establish nutrition gardens aimed at improving family nutrition and food security. The concluding session of the training was held today at 10:00 am at the Upazila Krishak Hall Room. Monir Hossain, conducted the training and provided practical guidance on nutrition gardening techniques. At the end of the programme, fruit saplings and seeds were distributed among the participating farmers to encourage the implementation of the knowledge gained during the training.

DHAKA, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS) - In light of recent reports of fraudulent activities misusing the World Bank’s name and logo in Bangladesh, the World Bank is alerting general public of scams offering loans from the World Bank in exchange of fees. The World Bank does not provide loans directly to individuals and does not ask for any personal financial information, said the World Bank in a statement. It said perpetrators have created Facebook pages, fake IDs and using other techniques to impersonate the World Bank and lure payments using mobile banking. “If individuals encounter such fraudulent schemes, they are encouraged to report to the local authorities immediately,” it said. The World Bank has no involvement in such schemes, and it cautioned all to be wary of these and other similar solicitations that falsely claim to be affiliated with the World Bank.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul. File PhotoDHAKA, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS) - Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul today said a draft of the Indemnity Ordinance will be placed in the next meeting of the Council of Advisers aiming to give impunity to July warriors. The law adviser said Article 46 of the Constitution of Bangladesh allows the law of impunity, and an indemnity law was enacted for freedom fighters in 1973 after the great Liberation War. "In the light of these precedents and laws, the Law Ministry has prepared a draft of the Indemnity Ordinance. "It is our sacred duty to keep the July safe," Dr Asif Nazrul added.

“This is the people’s expectation—the nation’s expectation—and it should be viewed from that perspective,” the BNP leader added. As a result, the BNP leader said, there is disappointment among those who were denied nominations. “Insha’Allah, with united efforts and the sincerity of all political parties, we will be able to cross the electoral hurdle smoothly. Although there were many demands earlier, all parties are now committed to the election,” the BNP leader said. I believe all political parties and the people are sincere about a fair election,” he observed.

A murder case has been filed over the shooting death of Musabbir, former general secretary of Dhaka North Swechhasebak Dal. The case was filed with Tejgaon Police Station by Musabbir’s wife, naming several unidentified individuals as accused, police said on Thursday. Confirming the matter, Tejgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Keshinyu Marma said three to four unknown persons have been mentioned in the case. Musabbir was shot dead by assailants at around 8:40pm on Wednesday in an alley behind Star Kabar in Kawran Bazar under Tejgaon area of the capital. During the attack, Md Abu Sufian Masud, general secretary of the Kawran Bazar Van Samity, was also shot.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday said the 13th parliamentary election won't be a "staged-managed" one election unlike the previous ones in the past. “Unlike before, there will be no staged election this time… A level playing field will be ensured for everyone,” he said. The CEC made the remarks after inspecting 10 booths installed on the premises of the Election Commission in the city's Agargaon area to receive appeals from aggrieved aspirants against the decisions of returning officers. He said the Election Commission believes in justice and fairness. The Election Commission on December 12 last declared the schedule to arrange the 13th national election and the referendum on July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12, 2026.