M Siraj Uddin Mia has been appointed as Cabinet Secretary (on a contractual basis), taking over as the chief secretary of Prime Minister’s Office on a contractual basis. He has been given additional responsibilities in this role. The Public Administration Ministry issued the official notification on Saturday confirming the appointment. Earlier on the same day, in a separate notification, the ...

At least 20 individuals were injured in a clash between two groups over a football dispute in Bamai village under Lakhai upazila in Habiganj district on Saturday afternoon. According to local sources, the conflict dates back 10-12 days, when a disagreement arose between Zobayer and Rakib over a football game. Initial efforts by local elders, including Bamai Union Parishad (UP) ...

SINGAPORE – In 2026, perhaps nothing says “I love you” more than receiving, gifting or sharing a Dubai chewy cookie for Valentine’s Day. Yes, the Dubai chocolate trend of crunchy pistachio kataifi (shredded filo dough) encased in a chocolate bar gets an extended shelf life in 2026 in the form of the Dubai chewy cookie. Created by pastry chef Kim ...

BHUBANESWAR, India – An Indian health worker who contracted the deadly Nipah virus in December has died, a senior health official from the eastern state of West Bengal said on Feb 12. The woman – a nurse – was one of two people in the state who were infected and was being treated at a local hospital, Reuters reported in ...

‘Nat’l unity is our strength, while division weakness’ Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday declared that “we are all free from today,” and called for unity stating that “national unity is our strength while division weakness’. Addressing the post-election press conference at Hotel InterContinental in the capital following his party’s decisive victory in the 13th parliamentary elections, ...

Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Shafiqul Alam, has said that members of parliament elected in the 13th National Parliamentary Election will be sworn in by 17 February at the latest. Speaking to journalists on Saturday at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, he said, “You asked about the oath-taking. It will be completed very soon. At the latest, ...

Former Ghanaian President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo said he felt honoured to chair the Commonwealth Observer Group for Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections and the referendum on the July Charter, describing the vote as a watershed moment in the country’s history. Delivering the interim statement in Dhaka on Saturday, Akufo-Addo said the group’s presence reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s support for the people and ...

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has strongly condemned the reported attacks on leaders and activists of the 11-party alliance, independent candidates, and their supporters following the 13th National Parliamentary Election. He expressed his protest in a post published on his verified Facebook page on Saturday. In the post, he stated, “We are committed to peaceful and responsible politics. However, ...

Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Bangladesh Ivars Ijabs on Saturday described the national election as ‘credible, hugely and genuinely competitive and pluralistic’ but observed that there were lack of proper women’s representation. Regarding the voter turnout, he said this is historically higher and lower and noted that it is shrinking everywhere and it ...

India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat – later reversed – nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture. With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbors lock horns in multi-team ...