Polling set for April 9 as major parties step up campaigns amid muted public interest

The Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance, 2025 will be reintroduced at the parliament as one that is “more contemporary, more welfare-oriented and more effective in ensuring justice”, said Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman yesterday.

Bangladesh has no binding obligation regarding energy imports, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said yesterday, dismissing speculation about any secret agreement with the United States.

The special measles vaccination campaign will be launched in four city corporations on April 12, while the drive in the remaining districts and upazilas will begin on May 3, said Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain.

The Election Commission is weighing options for the fate of around 1.5 lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs), which are now lying idle amid rising storage costs, missing units, and growing uncertainty over their final disposal.

The government will take the next steps on implementing the new pay structure for its employees based on the recommendations of a review committee, Prof Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, PM’s finance and planning adviser, said yesterday.

Parliament yesterday passed two bills ratifying two ordinances -- one determining a maximum age limit of 32 years for entry into government service and the other introducing special provisions concerning the conduct and penalties of government employees.

Bangladesh’s readiness for graduation from least developed country status in November this year has been undermined by domestic and international crises, a UN assessment warns, with the US-Israel war on Iran adding a new threat.

Nearly three-fifths of Bangladesh’s trade deficit is now driven by fossil fuel imports, underscoring how the country’s growing reliance on imported energy has become a major structural burden on the economy, said the UK-based energy think-tank Ember.

BNP lawmakers yesterday said they are committed to implementing the July charter in its entirety, including clauses with notes of dissent, while the Jamaat-led opposition said the ruling party is attempting to distance itself from the charter under the pretext of constitutional complexities.

Some senior BNP leaders have expressed disappointment with the way the repeal of several key ordinances, issued during the interim government, was handled.

The prosecution yesterday pressed formal charges with the International Crimes Tribunal-2 accusing former ministers Hasan Mahmud and Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel, former lawmaker ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury and 19 others of crimes against humanity over killing six people and injuring over 100 others during the July 2024 uprising in Chattogram.

Bangladesh will not revert to a syndicate-based system that sends workers to Malaysia through a limited number of recruitment agencies, said Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury yesterday.

A pall of grief engulfed the courtroom of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday as two bereaved family members recounted how their loved ones were gunned down in Mirpur-10 during the July uprising, testifying in a crimes against humanity case filed against former adviser Salman F Rahman and former law minister Anisul Huq.

Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury yesterday said the government has decided to rename the Bangla New Year procession as “Baishakhi Shobhajatra”, forgoing the terms “Ananda Shobhajatra” and “Mangal Shobhajatra”.

National Citizen Party (NCP) spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain yesterday protested the government’s move to repeal several key ordinances issued by the interim government and warned of a larger movement.

At least 44 people were arrested, and around Tk 10 lakh was realised as fines during a five-day drive by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to reclaim encroached footpaths and roads in the capital.

Despite growing concerns over the fast-depleting groundwater table, Dhaka Wasa is set to seek Ecnec’s approval for a Tk 920.85 crore “emergency” water supply project that will rely on groundwater extraction.

A three-month-old elephant calf found dead in a reserve forest in Naikhyangchhari upazila was killed by stone blows, according to a post-mortem report.

Bangladesh currently has 19.2 lakh tonnes of food grains available, stored in government warehouses, including 15.79 lakh tonnes of rice and 3.39 lakh tonnes of wheat, State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari told parliament yesterday.