American business person Steve Witkoff makes remarks next to US President-elect Donald Trump, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US Jan 7, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaAmerican business person Steve Witkoff makes remarks next to US President-elect Donald Trump, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US Jan 7, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaUS President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday amid a push to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu's office said. Families of Israeli hostages welcomed Netanyahu's decision to dispatch the officials, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters describing it as a "historic opportunity." One of the two strikes killed three people in a house near the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City.

Both sides agree to establish committees to provide supportLebanon says will work with Syria to strengthen bordersLebanon and Syria will work together to secure their land borders, as well as to delineate both land and sea borders, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday in Damascus. In the first trip by a Lebanese prime minister to neighboring Syria in 15 years, Mikati addressed a joint news conference in Damscus with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa said they had discussed issues including smuggling between the two countries, border challenges, and Syrian deposits in Lebanese banks. Both sides agreed to establish committees to address these matters and provide support.

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has dismissed calls for the so-called "Minus Two" formula and defended his party's resilience, asserting that it remains a dominant political force in Bangladesh. “The popular BNP cannot be wiped out with fabricated theories of depoliticisation,” Khosru said. “If someone is making fabricated statements about depoliticisation or Minus Two, then it is their problem. The most popular party is the BNP, the most popular leaders [are Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman].”"Bangladesh is waiting for them, and will keep doing so. The period was marked by heightened discussions of political reform, with proposals emerging to reshape the nation’s political landscape.

The committee also urged the government to resume the discontinued process of selling subsidised goods via trucks through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, or TCB. Speaking at a press conference at the committee's central office in Dhaka’s Banglamotor on Saturday, Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain announced the demands. On Jan 10, the interim government issued two ordinances raising VAT and supplementary duties on essential goods and services, including medicine, LPG, powdered milk, and mobile SIM use. Akhtar said, "Recently, the government issued two ordinances to increase VAT and supplementary duties on over a hundred goods and services to boost revenue. The National Citizens’ Committee made two demands - the immediate withdrawal of the VAT and supplementary duty ordinances and the resumption of TCB’s truck sales.

"When someone sees political uncertainty, they are not encouraged to come and invest,” he said. "That is why a difficult task lies ahead of us and we hope a roadmap will be released very soon. The advisor said: "There are foreign investors - including NRBs – who will invest their personal funds. Then the investment environment will improve further and investment will come in. We are trying to protect people from this kind of harassment as much as possible and to punish those responsible for it.

Dhaka has recorded the worst air quality of the winter season so far on Saturday, with the Air Quality Index, or the AQI, recorded by international air quality tech company IQAir at the “very unhealthy” level, even on the weekend. At 11am on Saturday, IQAir said Dhaka’s AQI stood at 198, ranking fourth worst in the world in terms of air pollution. Keeping Dhaka’s air quality score within 200 during winter is the biggest challenge, said Ziaul Haque, director (air quality management) of the Department of Environment. The agency's website has made an announcement regarding the “very unhealthy” air, saying that the air quality in Dhaka and its surrounding districts is occasionally going from “very unhealthy” to “hazardous”. The air quality in Dhaka and across the country deteriorates during the winter, which is also the dry season.

Two people have been killed and another person injured after a collision between a speedboat and a freight vessel on the Meghna River in Munshiganj’s Gajaria. The accident occurred around 9:30pm on Friday near Kalipura Dock, according to Anowar Alam Azad, chief of Gajaria Police Station. One of the dead has been identified as Wadud, who hailed from South Jamalpur village in Gajaria’s Guagachia union. Anowar said that a speeding speedboat rammed the freight vessel, which had been anchored in the river. Locals rescued the victims and brought them to the Gajaria Upazila Health Complex, where the doctor declared two dead.

Bangladeshi officials will not attend the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), authorities have said, citing restrictions on non-essential foreign travel at government expense. Mominul Islam, the acting director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), on Friday confirmed receiving the invitation from the IMD a month ago, saying: “The India Meteorological Department invited us to their 150th anniversary celebrations. We maintain good relations and continue to collaborate with them.”“However, we are not going to the event as there is an obligation to limit non-essential foreign trips funded by the government,” Islam told bdnews24.com. He emphasised the regular contact between the two agencies, noting his recent visit to India on 20 December 2024, for a separate meeting with Indian meteorologists.

"We started the year on the wrong foot," said Sam Stovall, market strategist at CFRA Research, commenting on the impact of a hotter-than-expected job data on equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 696.75 points, or 1.63%, to 41,938.45, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 91.21 points, or 1.54%, to 5,827.04 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 317.25 points, or 1.63%, to 19,161.63. Brokerages also revised their Fed rate cut forecasts, with BofA Global Research forecasting a potential rate hike. Most of the 11 S&P 500 sectors declined, except for the energy index .SPNY, which rose 0.34%. The S&P 500 posted 6 new 52-week highs and 32 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 39 new highs and 211 new lows.

REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/File PhotoThe International Monetary Fund will forecast steady global growth and continuing disinflation when it releases an updated World Economic Outlook on Jan. 17, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters on Friday. Overall, interest rates were expected to stay "somewhat higher for quite some time," she said. The IMF will release an update to its global outlook on Jan 17, just days before Trump takes office. At the time, it left its forecast for 2024 global growth unchanged at the 3.2% projected in July, and lowered its global forecast for 3.2% growth in 2025 by one-tenth of a percentage point, warning that global medium-term growth would fade to 3.1% in five years, well below its pre-pandemic trend. Georgieva said it was "very unusual" that this uncertainty was expressed in higher long-term interest rates even though short-term interest rates had gone down, a trend not seen in recent history.

They (Jamaat) also want democracy and elections, and they speak of human rights, as we do," the BNP leader said. The BNP leader hoped that no politician would make such remarks in the future. Asked whether BNP would hold any meeting with Jamaat, he said their party was not formally engaged in a simultaneous movement with Jamaat. "We hope in the coming days, we all will be three in the movement to restore democracy, and they (Jamaat) will also join the movement," Nazrul said. We urge the people of the country to pray for her swift recovery so that she can return to us after the treatment," the BNP leader said.

Editor : Iqbal Sobhan ChowdhuryPublished by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.E-mail: [email protected] , news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com

The Henley decision highlights allegations from 2012 involving a company named Prochhaya, which was accused of seizing valuable land in Dhaka. Shaheen listed her role as the chairperson of Prochhaya in her 2013 passport application, while her daughter Bushra held a director position in the company. In the next passport application, made jointly with her daughter two years later, Shaheen made no mention of Prochhaya. In the UK, allegations against Tulip and her sister involving properties linked to individuals associated with the Awami League have caused a stir. However, amid mounting calls for her resignation, Labour MP Tulip has already requested an independent investigation into the allegations.

The temperature has dropped to 7.3 degrees Celsius in Panchagarh's Tentulia, the lowest temperature recorded in Bangladesh this winter. This means the district, located in northern Bangladesh and near the Himalayan foothills, is experiencing a moderate cold wave. When the minimum temperature drops below 6 degrees Celsius over a significant area it is considered a severe cold wave. A moderate cold wave is when it falls between 6 to 8 degrees Celsius, and a mild cold wave is when it ranges from 8 to 10 degrees Celsius, reports bdnews24.com. The regular BMD bulletin says that the cold wave blowing in these areas may continue for a few more days.

The Supreme Judicial Council has submitted a report on Information Commissioner Masuda Bhatti to the president. The report was noted on the Supreme Court’s website on Thursday. It said, “The Supreme Judicial Council has sent a report to the Honourable President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh regarding an Information Commissioner.”Md Hasanuzzaman, registrar to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, confirmed that the report sent to the president was regarding Information Commissioner Masuda. When asked whether the investigation had any connection to the incident, Registrar Hasanuzzaman said: “I don’t know anything about the content. However, I am aware that the report sent this week was regarding Masuda Bhatti."