Today marks Pahela Falgun, the first day of spring and the eleventh month of the Bangla calendar, a time that symbolises renewal, vibrancy and cultural pride for Bangladeshis. Spring, often described as the king of seasons, arrives with a message of fullness and new life. For many years, Bangladeshis marked Pahela Falgun on February 13. However, in 2020, Bangla Academy ...

Israeli authorities have planned to restrict Muslims’ access to al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers during the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a well-known Muslim scholar and former grand mufti of Jerusalem said in an interview with Anadolu. Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, former grand mufti of Jerusalem and head of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem, expressed regret for the Israeli administration’s ...

When the interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus assumed office following the July mass uprising, Bangladesh’s economy was widely described as being in a “fragile” state. High inflation, a dollar crisis, instability in the banking sector and stagnant investment combined to create a daunting reality. However, one and a half years on, business leaders and economists say that although ...

The Election Commission published the gazette of 297 newly-elected members of parliament on Friday night following the 13th national parliamentary election. Authorities held voting on Thursday from 7:30am to 4:30pm at 42,779 polling centres nationwide. Voters also took part in a nationwide referendum on the same day. Election Commission officials said a record number of political parties contested the polls. ...

A youth was killed and at least 20 others were injured when a passenger bus overturned in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district on Friday evening. The deceased was identified as Lokman Mia, 18, a resident of Batpara village in the upazila. According to sources, the incident occurred near Dubai Bazar on the Dhaka–Sylhet highway at around 6:30 PM, when a ...

The newly elected lawmakers are likely to take the oath of office on 16 February, with Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury administering the oath, according to the Parliament Secretariat. The chief justice will conduct the swearing-in ceremony as the president’s designated representative, sources at the Parliament Secretariat said on Friday. It is learnt that the gazette of the newly elected ...

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured an absolute majority in the 13th parliamentary election held on Thursday, winning 209 seats out of 297 constituencies for which results have been published. The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami emerged as the second-largest party with 68 seats. The National Citizen Party (NCP) won six seats, while independent candidates secured seven. Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish obtained two seats. ...

Shishir Manir, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in the Sunamganj-2 constituency (Dirai-Shalla), has admitted defeat in the 13th National Parliament election. At around 8:20pm on Thursday, Manir posted on his verified Facebook account acknowledging his defeat and extending his congratulations to his rival candidate Nasir Uddin Chowdhury. In the post, he wrote: “Congratulations to Mr. Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, the BNP candidate, for ...

The death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday. The slow rise in the number of dead from the demonstrations adds to the overall tensions facing Iran both inside the country and abroad as it tries to negotiate with the United ...

Six candidates from the National Citizen Party (NCP) have secured victory in the 13th National Parliamentary Election. The winning candidates are the party’s Convener and Dhaka-11 constituency candidate Nahid Islam; Member Secretary and Rangpur-4 seat candidate Akhtar Hossain; Chief Organizer for the southern region and Cumilla-4 constituency candidate Hasnat Abdullah; Joint Chief Coordinator and Noakhali-6 constituency candidate Hannan Masud; Atikur ...