WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The US military will prioritize protecting the homeland and deterring China while providing "more limited" support to allies in Europe and elsewhere, a Pentagon strategy document released on Friday said. "As US forces focus on homeland defense and the Indo-Pacific, our allies and partners elsewhere will take primary responsibility for their own defense with critical but more limited support from American forces," the strategy said. Both the Biden and Trump strategies say homeland defense is important, but their descriptions of the threats facing the US differ significantly. Like Trump's national security strategy, which was released last month, the NDS elevates Latin America to the top of the US agenda. We will use it to protect our Homeland and our access to key terrain throughout the region," the NDS said.

A show-cause notice has been issued to Sarjis Alam, the candidate of the 10-party alliance in the Panchagarh-1 constituency, over allegations of violating the electoral code of conduct. The notice was issued on Saturday afternoon by the office of the Panchagarh Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer, Kazi Md Sayemuzzaman. The matter was later confirmed to Dhaka Tribune by the Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer himself. According to the notice, on January 23, Sarjis Alam used banners, billboards and arches displaying photographs of a political party chief other than his own—specifically Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman—at an election rally organized by the 10-party alliance in Panchagarh. The notice further states that Sarjis Alam constructed three arches in defiance of restrictions, which violates Section 13(a) of the code of conduct.

Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma -File photoDHAKA, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS) - Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma today said India and Bangladesh, as fast-growing economies, are well positioned to act as catalysts for each other's sustainable growth and anchors of robust regional integration. "Bangladesh has been an important co-traveler in this journey of ours," he said at a reception marking India's Republic Day at a city hotel. Verma said Dhaka and Delhi seek "forward-looking and future-ready collaborations," describing a partnership "rooted in trust, driven by innovation and technology, and nurtured and sustained by mutual interest, mutual benefit and mutual sensitivity." Highlighting bilateral ties, Verma said, Bangaldesh and India share "a special relationship, along with an indelible history of shared sacrifices during Bangladesh's Liberation War of 1971." He said together India and Bangladesh can build "regional value chains, shared digital ecosystems, and energy corridors," ensure a "clean, affordable and secure" energy future and jointly address environmental sustainability and climate change.

We oppose any action that would undermine our country’s sovereignty,” Fakhrul said referring to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman’s statements while making the remarks. He spoke during an election outreach and street meeting at Jatibhanga, one of Thakurgaon’s bonded lands dating to 1971. Recalling the 1971 Liberation War, Fakhrul said: “Here in 1971, a brutal genocide took place, and these bonded lands bear witness to it. We cannot elect anyone who has not recognized our independence.”Fakhrul outlined several initiatives planned under Tarique Rahman’s leadership. Highlighting Thakurgaon’s agricultural profile, Fakhrul said: “This is an agriculture-dominated area, currently producing large quantities of vegetables, mangoes, lychees, oranges, and other fruits.

Irina Vaynerman, one of the family’s lawyers, told The Guardian late Friday that immigration authorities later flew both back to Minnesota. The two-year-old was released into the custody of her mother, while the father remains detained in the state. Agents refused to allow the father to bring the girl to her mother or to other family members “waiting terrified inside the home”. The father and daughter were then placed in an immigration agent’s vehicle, which, according to the filing, did not have a car seat. At around 8.10pm, a Minnesota-based federal judge issued an order prohibiting the government from transferring them outside the state.

PARIS, France, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - At least two European airlines suspended flights to cities in the Middle East on Friday, with Air France saying it will temporarily stop service to Dubai due to the geopolitical situation. Dutch airline KLM also halted flights until further notice to cities in the Middle East and would not fly through the airspace of several countries in the region, including Iraq and Iran, according to the Netherlands' state broadcaster. "Due to the current situation in the Middle East, the company has decided to temporarily suspend its service to Dubai," France's national carrier said in a statement to AFP. "Air France is monitoring the situation in real time and will provide further updates on its flight schedule," the French airline said. Trump has repeatedly threatened US strikes on Iran over the crackdown on the protest movement that recently erupted across the Islamic republic.

JAMALPUR, Jan 4, 2026 (BSS) – Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-14 arrested three drug peddlers along with a large quantity of Indian-made liquor in Sherpur district last night. RAB-14 in Jamalpur said in a press briefing, acting on a tip-off, a team of the elite force conducted a raid in the Mokchhedpur Nayapara area in Sherpur Sadar Upazila and detained a Jamalpur-bound truck at around 8: 30pmRAB members recovered 1301 bottle wine from the truck and arrested Md Minal Miah, 32, Md Riyad Hossain, 28 and Md Nurul Amin, 34, inhabitants of Jhinaigati upazila of Sherpur district. A case was registered with Sherpur Sadar Police Station in this connection.

Pirates operating in the Sundarbans abducted at least 18 fishermen on Thursday, sparking fear among local communities that rely on the forest for their livelihoods, officials and locals said. The fishermen were seized while fishing in canals and rivers deep inside the Sundarbans, including the Mamundo and Malancha rivers. Most of the abducted fishermen live in Harinagar, Kadamtala, Mathurapur, Mukhali, and Chhoto Bhetkhali areas of Munshiganj Union in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira. Fazlul Haque, forest ranger of the West Sundarbans Satkhira Range, said the Forest Department was alerted Friday and informed the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies. He noted that the Coast Guard had not yet received instructions from higher authorities to launch an operation, leaving families in distress.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today said Michael Madhusudan Dutt is a luminous name in the history of Bengali literature as his literary works and creative genius opened new horizons of modernity for the Bengali language and literature. He said this in a message on the eve of 202nd birth anniversary of great poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt to be celebrated tomorrow. “I am delighted to know that Madhusudan Birth Festival will be celebrated on January 25 at Sagardari village in Keshabpur upazila of Jashore district on the occasion of the 202nd birth anniversary of the great poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt, one of the stalwarts of Bengali literature,” he said. This initiative to remember such a great literary figure is undoubtedly commendable, he said. Prof Yunus said the great poet elevated the Bengali language to a position of honor on the global stage through the introduction of blank verse, epic-style composition, and new trends in dramatic literature.

French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: CollectedPARIS, France, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron onSaturday vowed to speed up the legislative process for a social media ban onunder-15s, with the goal of enacting it in September this year. He said he wanted it to be "applied from the start of the next school year",in September. Macron said that, on top of a ban on children under 15 accessing socialmedia, he also backed a ban on pupils having on mobile phones in schools. "The brains of our children and our adolescents are not for sale or formanipulating, not by US platforms, not by Chinese algorithms," the presidentsaid.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The Asian Winter Games, due tobe held in Saudi Arabia in 2029, have been postponed, the Olympic Council ofAsia (OCA) and the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee said in a joint statementon Saturday. "The Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the (OCA) have agreed on anupdated framework for future hosting of the Asian Winter Games, confirmingthe postponement of the 2029 edition to a later date to be announced in duecourse," the bodies said. These competitions are designed topromote winter sports... while providing additional preparation time tosupport wider regional representation at future Asian winter events," thestatement added. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that the OCA asked Korean Sport &Olympic Committee (KSOC) president Ryu Seung-min if the country would bewilling to replace Saudi Arabia. China also staged the Asian Winter Games in its northern city of Harbin inFebruary.

WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Donald Trump said a US "armada" was heading toward the Gulf and that Washington was watching Iran closely, even after downplaying the prospect of imminent military action and saying Tehran appeared interested in talks. Addressing the WEF on Thursday, Trump said the United States attacked Iranian uranium enrichment sites last year to prevent Tehran from making a nuclear weapon. The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards had also warned Washington Thursday that the force had its "finger on the trigger." The group is sanctioned as a terrorist entity by countries including Australia, Canada and the United States, and campaigners have long urged similar moves from the EU and Britain. -Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed.

Once the RO logs in the software developed for voting through postal ballots, they will be able to view and know the overall picture of the number of voters registered for voting by postal ballot and the votes cast through postal ballots for the respective parliamentary constituency, the circular said. Based on the number of voters registered for postal voting, the ROs of each constituency will use one box for every 400 ballots (ballot envelopes). Receipt and Preservation of Returned Postal Ballot Envelopes Received by Post:The RO will assign one officer to receive and preserve postal ballots received from the postal department. Postal Ballot counting activities:For counting postal ballots, a constituency-wise counting room must be prepared at the office of the RO or at another convenient location. Regarding expatriate voter registration, Salim Ahmad Khan, Team Leader of the ‘OCV-SDI’ project, told BSS that most postal ballots have already reached to expatriate voters, and expatriates are casting their votes and submitting postal ballots at post offices.

NCP Convener Nahid Islam today spoke to journalists while campaigning in the Shahjadpur area of the capital. Photo: BSSDHAKA, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS) - National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam today said voters have become more aware and no longer believe political promises that lack practical feasibility and accountability. Nahid, also Dhaka-11 constituency candidate, said people are increasingly skeptical of such claims because they have heard similar promises in the past that were never fulfilled. Referring to the upcoming election and the simultaneous referendum, Nahid described the vote as a historic opportunity to change the country's course. Nahid said if they elected to parliament, the alliance would implement reforms and address long-standing local problems.

NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Americans stripped supermarket shelves Friday ahead of potentially "catastrophic" winter weather that threatened at least 160 million people across the country with transportation chaos, blackouts and life-threatening cold. The massive storm system was set to drop a mix of freezing rain and heavy snow starting Friday evening on its days-long march across the continental US. State officials there vow the grid is in better shape than it was five years ago, when it failed during a deadly winter storm and left millions without power. The southern state's Republican Governor Greg Abbott told journalists the grid "has never been stronger, never been more prepared and is fully capable of handling this winter storm." New York's Zohran Mamdani was set to face his first major test as mayor -- the city famously makes early judgments of newly elected leaders based on winter storm response.