The autonomous, legislative and local government bodies will need clearance from the Finance Division over financial expenditures as the Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of Public Service (Amendment) Act, 2022, incorporating such provisions. The approval came from the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office. “In the existing Public Service Act, 2018, now the Finance Division has authority over the financial matters of the government entities, officials and employees, but it was not clear what would be involvement of the Finance Division regarding the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies,” said Cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters at the Bangladesh secretariat. Read: Cabinet directs to verify news, information being shared about banking sector Explaining the provision, he said that the public universities, the Election Commission, or local bodies like city corporations and union parishads will have to take opinions of the Finance Division over their financial expenditures. “So, the Finance Division will have a say” he added. The Cabinet Secretary, however, said it had been mandatory too for the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies to take clearance from the Finance Division before, but the enactment of the existing law in 2018 made it unclear. The meeting also approved the proposal to sign an agreement between Bangladesh and Iran to avoid the double taxation and prevent dodges of revenue. The meeting approved the proposal to ratify the Minamata Convention on Mercury, an international treaty adopted in 2013 in Japan to protect humans and the environment from harmful effects of mercury pollution. The treaty came into full force in 2017 with 137 countries participating in the convention. The treaty banned the opening of new mercury mines. It also required existing mines to be phased out and the use of mercury in products to be restricted. The total mercury release in Bangladesh is approximately 32,660kg per year, which polluted the environment, said Anwarul Islam. Read: Cabinet approves amendment to let govt decide energy price without BERC The Cabinet also cleared another proposal to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The protocol, which is also known as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), was adopted in 2010 as a supplementary agreement to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Wednesday said that no inconsiderate decision will be taken about electoral irregularities in the suspended by- election of Gaibandha-5 constituency. The CEC told reporters in Dhaka that the commission will not take any decision on this as they are still examining the whole situation. Read more: Decision on Gaibandha-5 polls in 7 days: CEC Asked whether there will be a new voting in Gaibandha, he said, "I will not say anything now. You wait, wait a little." Read more: EC doing its job, not under any pressure: CEC The CEC had suspended the voting in the middle of the by-election due to widespread irregularities at 51 centres on October 12.  

A meeting will be held to reach a decision over Omar Sani’s allegation against fellow actor Zayed Khan, according to Elias Kanchan, the president of the Film Artists' Association. On Monday Ilias received a letter from Sani that alleged Zayed was trying to ruin Sani’s relationship with his wife, actress Moushumi. Elias told UNB, "Various complaints are submitted to the association. Those are solved through a process. We have discussed the issues in the association meeting. We will come up with a decision over the complaint through the process.” Elias Kanchan did not mention the exact date on which the issue would be resolved at the meeting. Omar Sani wrote in his letter, "I have been acting in films for 32 long years. But sadly, Zayed Khan, a member of the association, has been teasing and harassing my wife, actress Arifa Parveen Moushumi for the last four months. He is trying to humiliate her in various ways to ruin our happy relationship." However, Moushumi denied all Sani's allegations against Zayed, when the issue took a different turn.