Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday collected nomination form for Dhaka-15 constituency to participate in the 13th national parliamentary election and referendum scheduled for February 12 next year.

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has strongly condemned the recent violence, vandalism and arson targeting media houses in Bangladesh.

Leaders of different political parties yesterday welcomed BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, expressing hope that his return would put the country back on the path of democracy and elections and usher in a culture of political coexistence.

A Dhaka court yesterday sent two men to jail in connection with the vandalism, arson, and looting at the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo in Dhaka.

A newly constructed kitchen market in the Gohira area of Raozan municipality in Chattogram has remained unused for nearly a year despite shops being handed over to the vendors.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia met her elder son Tarique Rahma at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka yesterday after a separation of more than seven and a half months as the party’s acting chairman returned home, ending a 17-year exile.

BNP leaders and activists are energised by the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s speech, which has brought new hope and clear direction ahead of the upcoming election.

The National Citizen Party is increasingly tilting toward a seat-sharing arrangement with Jamaat-e-Islami, as party leaders fear that a deal with the BNP would yield too few seats and create cracks within their newly formed alliance.

Six thousand, three hundred and fourteen days.

Just 17 days ago, 18-year-old Salma Akter Smriti got married over the phone to an expatriate living in Oman. The couple had planned for a formal wedding reception in Bangladesh during Ramadan, once he returned.

Over the past year, the judiciary has seen several key reforms, including the establishment of the Supreme Court Secretariat aimed at safeguarding its autonomy, but no progress has been made in reducing the case backlog.

The government’s family planning programme has been hit by a fund crunch and manpower shortage, with the supply of contraceptives dwindling steadily over the last few years, say officials.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman has called for calm and cooperation to implement his plan for the nation, in his first speech on Bangladeshi soil in close to two decades.

Police arrested six more persons early yesterday in connection with the killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila on December 18.

Christmas, the biggest religious festival of the Christian community, was celebrated yesterday across the country with religious fervour and festivity. ​Churches were illuminated and special prayers were offered at mission centres and homes to mark the birth of Jesus Christ.

A man was beaten to death by a mob in Rajbari’s Pangsha upazila on Wednesday night over an extortion allegation, police said.

National Citizen Party’s nominee for the Chattogram-16 (Banshkhali) constituency, Mir Arshadul Haque, has resigned from the party ahead of the upcoming election.

Say officials

Three people were killed after being run over by a train while walking along the railway tracks near Arikhola railway station in Kaliganj, Gazipur yesterday.

A shivering cold coupled with dense fog yesterday disrupted daily life across the country, particularly for people from low-income groups.