DHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS)- Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today submitted charge sheets against 19 persons in separate cases filed for revenue evasion in self gain in the Chattogram Customs House. Total revenue loss of the government is about Taka 4.33 crore, Assistant Director (PR) of the ACC Md Tanzir Ahmed said. The charge sheets were submitted in the cases filed by the Special Inquiry and Investigation Wing as the allegations against the pesos were proved in the investigations. The accused persons include former and current revenue officials of Chattogram Customs House, importers and Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) agents. The ACC stated that the cases were filed in 2019 over allegations of revenue evasion at Chattogram Customs House.

Collected photoMOSCOW, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian-backed court in occupied Ukraine on Wednesday sentenced a Colombian man to 19 years in prison for fighting for Kyiv's army. Moscow has jailed several foreign fighters that its troops have captured in eastern Ukraine, prosecuting them as mercenaries, not as prisoners of war protected under the Geneva Convention. In a statement, Russia's Prosecutor General said the Supreme Court in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region had sentenced a man it named as Oscar Mauricio Blanco Lopez to 19 years in jail. The court published a video showing him standing behind metal bars, expressionless, as the verdict was read out. Last week, the same court sentenced a British man to 13 years in prison, also for fighting for Ukraine.

Photo: PIDDHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) – The revised budget for the current fiscal year 2025–26 has set the inflation target at 7 percent and the GDP growth rate at 5 percent. The revised budget was approved by the Council of Advisers today at its weekly meeting at the Chief Adviser’s Office (CAO) here with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair. The revised budget for the ongoing fiscal year 2025–26 will come into effect from February 1. Total government expenditure in the revised budget has been set at Taka 788,000 crore, he said, adding that in the original budget, the expenditure target was Taka 790,000 crore, which has been reduced by Taka 2,000 crore in the revised budget. The total budget deficit in the revised budget has been fixed at Taka 200,000 crore, which is 3.3 percent of GDP, Shafiqul Alam said.

DHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) - In a move to facilitate the nomination process for the 13th National Parliamentary Election, all branches of scheduled banks have been directed to remain open on Saturday. Bangladesh Bank (BB) today issued the directive to ensure that prospective candidates can smoothly deposit their security money and funds required to purchase voter list CDs. Candidates will be able to complete these financial requirements through bank drafts, pay orders, or treasury challans. This special measure follows a memorandum issued by the Bangladesh Election Commission Secretariat today. To ensure legal compliance and serve the general public interest, the order has been implemented under the authority granted by Section 45 of the Bank Company Act, 1991.

Photo: BSSKHULNA, Dec 24 (BSS) - Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and former lawmaker Mia Golam Parwar said today that a nation’s progress depends on the depth of its moral education. “Many countries that gained independence after us have become developed simply by prioritising moral education,” he said, adding that institutional education without moral guidance cannot produce a truly complete human being. Parwar was speaking as the chief guest at the annual examination results announcement and prize-giving ceremony organised by Al Hera Ideal Madrasa in Phultala Upazila, Khulna. Later, the chief guest and other dignitaries distributed prizes among meritorious students. Earlier in the morning, Parwar also addressed an assembly organised by Khan Jahan Ali Thana Jamaat as the chief guest.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus presides over Advisory Council meeting at CAO in Tejgaon, Dhaka today. Photo : PIDDHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) - A meeting of the Council of Advisers was held at the Chief Adviser's Office (CAO) in the city's Tejgaon area today. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus presided over the meeting, said a PID release.

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Photo: BSSCHATTOGRAM, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) – A fire broke out at a railway repair workshop in Pahartali here, causing damage to goods worth approximately Tk 2.5 lakh. The Fire Service and Civil Defence Chattogram control room reported that the fire started at around 9:30 pm on Tuesday in an area where scrap materials were stored. Two firefighting units rushed to the site and brought the blaze under control by approximately 10:30 pm. The Railway Eastern Zone Authority has formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident and asked the probe body to submit report within three days.

Photo: CollageISLAMIC UNIVERSITY, Kushtia, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS)- The Islamic University MootCourt Society (IUMCS) today formed a new executive committee for next oneyear. Raihan Biswas and Ummay Ashratun Tajrin of Law Department, both under 2019-20session, were made as president and secretary of IUMCS respectively. Research and Academic Secretary, Shadman Khan Naahe as Media and PublicRelation Secretary, Farhan Ishraq as Asst. Information and Technology Affairs Secretary, SolaimanHossain and Jannatul Karim Shuchi as Event Affairs Secretaries, Riyad HasanRabby as External Affairs Secretary and Arefin Sabbir as Asst. President Raihan said, "It is a profound honour to assume the presidency ofthe Islamic University Moot Court Society (IUMCS).

Photo: BSSBAGERHAT, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) – Members of the Coast Guard seized a large quantity of Indian liquor here in the early hours of today. Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Kaikhali Coast Guard conducted a raid at Chunkuri Canal under Shyamnagar Police Station at 3 am, and seized 50 bottles of foreign liquor, said Lieutenant Commander Md. Muntasir Ibne Mohsin, Media Officer of Coast Guard West Zone. However, the smugglers managed to flee the scene upon sensing the presence of the Coast Guard.

ALGIERS, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Algeria's parliament is set to vote on Wednesday on a law declaring France's colonisation of the country a "state crime", and demanding an apology and reparations. The proposed law "is a sovereign act", parliament speaker Brahim Boughali was quoted by the APS state news agency as saying. France's colonisation of Algeria from 1830 until 1962 remains a sore spot in relations between the two countries. Algeria says the war killed 1.5 million people, while French historians put the death toll lower at 500,000 in total, 400,000 of them Algerian. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously acknowledged the colonisation of Algeria as a "crime against humanity", but has stopped short of offering an apology.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farjana virtually addressed a training workshop. Photo: BSSRAJSHAHI, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) - Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farjana here today said the government employees should know the laws for consolidating the administrative foundations of the state. To clearly understand which demands are legitimate and which are not, one must know the laws, she said. Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farjana said the government employees should perform their duties under the legal framework. Secretary Mahbuba Farjana also urged the information officers to work as an innovative team.

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman. During this long absence of Tarique Rahman, the country's political landscape was extremely hostile and shrouded in darkness. Defying geographical distance, through his organizational wisdom, Tarique Rahman maintained direct connections from the party's central committee down to the marginal grassroots workers. The homecoming of Tarique Rahman will bring a positive change and a fresh breeze to the country's political culture. Bearing this sky-high expectation of the common people, Tarique Rahman today has taken his seat as a national leader of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh sets new global benchmark in green manufacturing with record LEED certifications in 2025DHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) - In 2025, Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry reached a historic milestone in sustainable manufacturing, securing 38 new LEED-certified green factories, the highest number achieved in any single year to date. This remarkable accomplishment further strengthens Bangladesh’s position as the undisputed global leader in environmentally responsible apparel production, said industry insiders. Of the 38 newly certified factories, 22 achieved the prestigious LEED Platinum rating, while 11 received Gold and 5 achieved Silver certification. With these additions, Bangladesh now hosts 270 LEED-certified green garment factories, including 114 Platinum and 137 Gold facilities, the highest concentration of top-tier LEED factories anywhere in the world. “The progress achieved in 2025 shows that Bangladesh is not only ready for this transition, but is already leading it,” he added.

DHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) - In a determined effort to familiarize tenderers and procuring entities with the newly enacted Public Procurement Rules, 2025 (PPR, 2025), the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) conducted two awareness workshops, first at Ukhiya Upazila and the second in Cox’s Bazar district sadar today. The workshops were held in a bid to comprehensively outlining the key provisions, innovations and compliance requirements of PPR, 2025. Elaborating on the importance of the PPR, 2025, he said the PPR, 2025 is very important to ensure transparency, efficiency and competition in the process of public procurement. M. A. Mannan, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate presided over the session in the conference room of his office in Cox’s Bazar. In both the workshops, Eyamin in his presentations highlighted various aspects of the newly enacted PPR, 2025.