Edible oil prices will not be increased now, as the government yesterday decided to review the refiners’ proposal to hike prices of vegetable oil by Tk eight per litre from January 8, said a senior commerce ministry official yesterday.

Independents winning the post of union parishad chairman have outnumbered those who won with an Awami League nomination.

The Gono Front yesterday recommended former chief justice Fazlul Karim Chowdhury for the post of chief election commissioner of the next Election Commission.

The more infectious Omicron variant of Covid-19 appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but it should not be categorised as “mild”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.   

Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), popularly known as “tulsi”, is one of the most used medicinal herbs in Bangladesh.

The Supreme Court yesterday formed a two-member committee to look into allegations of corruption and irregularities in its Appellate and High Court divisions.

Myanmar has proposed to form a new joint committee with Bangladesh to settle the Rohingya verification issues, nearly three years after the two countries held a bilateral meeting on Rohingya repatriation.

A preliminary study in the Bangladesh part of the Bay of Bengal has found a potential reserve of gas hydrate worth 17 to 103 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

As Covid-19 transmissions are rising due to the Omicron variant, no new national events like the UP polls should be held, Prof Dr Ahmedul Kabir, the additional director general (Administration) of the health directorate, said yesterday.

Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) has permanently expelled four students, including Sadman Nahiyan Sejan, general secretary of Kuet BCL, over the death of Professor Selim Hossain.

No one will be allowed to play with the fate of the people of Bangladesh anymore, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday.

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against actress Pori Moni and her two associates in a case filed under the Narcotics Control Act.

The government is considering the formation of an inter-ministerial committee to deal with the UN queries on enforced disappearances.

Crime and violence have become an integral part of the Union Parishad elections, said Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder in a statement to the media.

Bangladesh Islami Front and Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam yesterday called upon President Abdul Hamid to take measures to enact a law in line with the constitution on formation of the Election Commission.

Independent candidate Taimur Alam Khandakar said he wants to make Narayanganj a pro-people city by reducing the tax burden on residents and freeing the city corporation office from the “grip of contractors”.

Tension is running high in many unions across the country over the possibility of violence during today’s fifth phase elections to 707 union parishads.

Chhatra League General Secretary Lekhak Bhattacharya was injured in infighting between its two factions yesterday at a programme on the Dhaka University campus marking the student front’s 74th birth anniversary.

Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal during its dialogue with President Abdul Hamid yesterday joined the chorus of political parties recommending that a law be enacted to form the Election Commission.

After dismal showings in the longest format of the game over the years, Bangladesh started to show glimpses of heading in the right direction as they maintained an upper hand over New Zealand for the fourth consecutive day in the first Test at Mount Maunganui.