Professor Muhammad Yunus, the recently departed Chief Adviser of the interim government, has handed over his diplomatic (red) passport. He returned the passport during his tenure, about a week before leaving office while he was still in power. In addition to the Chief Adviser, several advisers and individuals holding adviser-level rank have already returned their diplomatic passports. However, a few ...

Bangladesh marked a major political milestone on Tuesday as the interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, formally handed over power to a new administration under the leadership of Tarique Rahman. Accompanying this peaceful transition was a significant economic boost; the country’s foreign exchange reserves have crossed the $34.5 billion mark. Economic analysts view this surge as a ...

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said the government has adopted a 180-day plan to accelerate activities after a historic election, and make visible the implementation of election pledges. Salahuddin made the remark after the first meeting of the Cabinet held at the Secretariat. Details of the 180-day plan will be announced soon, he told reporters. Information Minister Jahid Uddin ...

A Dhaka court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against two people, including British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, niece of deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged flat fraud in the capital’s Gulshan area. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Sabbir Faiz passed the order after taking cognisance of the charge sheet submitted ...

UEFA said on Wednesday it would “investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour” after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a Champions League match in Lisbon. Tuesday’s first leg of the knockout phase play-off tie was stopped for more than 10 minutes after Vinicius complained to French referee Francois Letexier about the alleged abuse ...

It is 10.30am, and Zahra is sitting in a business centre in Preston, attaching marshmallows to sticks of uncooked spaghetti. There are 30 interview candidates in the grey-carpeted room, split into groups of five, competing to build food towers. Already today they have had to solve anagrams, complete quizzes and rank the importance of various kitchen items. Just to be ...

Illegal skin lightening products are being sold in an increasingly wide range of UK outlets, including butchers, specialist food shops and small grocery stores, trading standards officers have warned. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is warning that many of the products contain substances that are banned because of the serious risks they pose to health, including skin damage, infections ...

Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has said the government has begun working to seek a three-year extension of Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category. Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Wednesday, his first working day in office, the minister said the process to pursue the deferral had already been initiated. State ...

Newly appointed Education ANM Minister Ehsanul Hoque Milon has said that the country’s education sector requires ‘big leaps’ to ensure stability and dynamism. While talking to journalist on the first working day on Wednesday, the minister noted that after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to power in 2001, measures were taken to curb cheating in public examinations and stop ...

Shafiqul Alam, former press secretary, and Azad Majumder, former deputy press secretary to the former chief adviser, join a new English newspaper, The Daily Waadaa, as the chief adviser’s office ends its operation. They both announced separately through posts in their verified Facebook profiles today (18 February). According to their Facebook posts, Shafiqul Alam joined the daily as its Editor ...