BNP plans to establish a separate department under the Liberation War affairs ministry to support the families of July martyrs and the injured if it comes to power, said party Chairman Tarique Rahman.

The interim government has explained why Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus’ support for the “Yes” vote in the referendum is consistent with democratic norms in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has approved licences for 252 new overseas recruiting agencies, bringing the total to a record 2,646, even as experts warn that the sector is already buckling under systemic corruption and inadequate oversight.

Just days before the formal launching of election campaigning, the BNP yesterday accused the Election Commission of questionable conduct on several issues, including its “bias towards a certain party”.

With campaigning set to begin on January 22, the Election Commission yesterday reinstated the candidacies of 421 aspirants who had appealed the cancellation of their nominations.

Barishal district Jamaat secretary Mahmudunnabi will withdraw candidature

As the government moves to approve a 25-year draft Energy and Power Sector Master Plan, civil society organisations have demanded that it be scrapped, alleging it was formulated without democratic processes or transparency.

With 97.4 percent of battery-powered rickshaws and 85.94 percent of pedal rickshaws operating outside formal registration systems, rickshaw services in Dhaka remain largely unregulated, according to a recent study.

Independent media is the only reliable source of truthful information for a democratic government when other state pillars fail, said Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, yesterday.

Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher yesterday said the party has informed the chief adviser that the conduct of some superintendents of police (SPs) and deputy commissioners (DCs) at the field level appears “biased”.

The government has launched campaigns in schools, colleges, universities and madrasas nationwide to encourage students to vote “Yes” in the upcoming referendum.

Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul yesterday said establishing the rule of law remains the country’s biggest challenge, although significant progress has been made in that direction.

Police recovered the body of a woman from her home in West Kalachandpur area of Dhaka’s Gulshan early yesterday.

At least 18 members of the Mro community were injured, eight of them critically, in an attack in Alikadam upazila of Bandarban on Saturday, police said.

Police recovered the body of a man from inside a drum floating in a canal in Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj area yesterday morning.

A special court yesterday set February 2 for delivering the verdict in a corruption case filed against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 17 others over alleged irregularities in plot allocation at Dhaka’s Purbachal.

Two people were killed in separate road accidents in Dhaka’s Jatrabari and Demra areas late on Saturday night, police said.

International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday took cognisance of three charges against ex-DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, former minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak and 26 others for crimes against humanity over the killing of nine people, including two students, at Mohammadpur during the July uprising.

The ordinance to establish Dhaka Central University has been finalised and sent to the Cabinet Division for approval.

Female students of Dhaka University organised a BBQ party at the university’s central field last evening to protest an order restricting their entry to the field after 5:00pm.