United News of Bangladesh

The government on Tuesday approved a proposal in principle for the operations, development, maintenance, and civic service management of Digital Land Record Management System (DLRMS) through outsourcing method. The approval came from the 39th meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs in this year held today virtually with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. The Digital Land Record Management System (DLRMS) BD is a government initiative to digitiseland records for modernization and transparency. It provides an online platform, including the DLRMS app (formerly eKhatian), for citizens to search for land records, apply for certified copies, and track applications online, while also managing other services like online land tax payments. For authorized personnel, it offers a dashboard to monitor activities and reports.

The Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase on Tuesday approved import proposals of 80,000 metric tons of fertiliser to ensure uninterrupted supply of this essential agricultural input for the upcoming cultivation season. The approval came from a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase held virtually with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. The Committee endorsed the import of 40,000 metric tons of bulk granular urea fertiliser from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE at a price of US$409.50 per metric ton under the Ministry of Industries. The total contract value stands at Tk 201.14 crore. Besides, under a state-level agreement between Morocco’s OCP Nutricrops and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), the Committee recommended approval for importing 40,000 metric tons of DAP fertilizer under the 9th lot. Govt approves purchase of 65,000 MT of fertilizer The consignment will be purchased at US$682.67 per metric ton, with a total value of Tk 335.32 crore. Officials said the imports will help stabilize the fertilizer market and support agricultural production nationwide.

Two more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, raising the number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 386 this year. During the period, 565 more patients were hospitalised with viral fever, raising the total infected-case to 95, 577 this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Dengue: 5 more die, 636 hospitalised in 24 hours According to the DGHS, new cases were reported as follows: 51 in Barishal Division (Out of CC), 82 in Chattogram Division (Out of CC), 95 in Dhaka Division (Out of CC), 127 in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), 88 in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), 43 in Khulna Division (Out of CC), 45 in Myemnsingh Division (Out of CC), 30 in Rajshahi (out of CC), three in Rangpur Division (Out of CC), and one in Sylhet Division (Out of CC). Last year, dengue claimed the lives of 575 people. In 2023, 1,705 people lost their lives due to dengue, making it the deadliest year on record. The DGHS recorded 321,179 dengue cases and 3, 18,749 recoveries in the same year.

The process of collecting nomination forms for Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Central Students’ Union (SUSTCSU) and hall union elections has begun. Tazul Islam, joint general secretary of BNP’s student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) unit, collected the first nomination form for the central union polls around 11:30 am on Tuesday. According to the university authorities, candidates must bring the bank deposit slip, national ID card and university ID card to collect forms. The activity, which started at 10am, will continue until 3pm daily. After nearly 28 years, elections will be held for 23 central union posts and nine hall union posts. The last date for collecting nomination forms is set till December 9, while the election is scheduled for January 20.

The government of Bangladesh is ready to provide any support needed for BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s security, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said on Tuesday (December 02). Talking to reporters after a meeting of the core committee on law and order at the Secretariat, the adviser said there had been no discussion at the meeting on Tarique Rahman’s return. Read more: Govt declares Khaleda Zia a ‘very very important person’ Asked whether the Home Ministry has made preparations to ensure Tarique’s security, the adviser said, “We are ready for everyone. The Home Ministry is prepared for all, and for those who need special security… whatever special arrangements are required, we are ready to provide them.” No one in Bangladesh faces any security threat, he added. Read more: No specific information over Tarique’s return, says Foreign Adviser

The government has promulgated the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedies Ordinance, 2025 with the provisions of death penalty and life imprisonment for those to be found guilty of involvement in incidents of enforced disappearances. The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division under the Ministry of Law issued a gazette late on Monday (December 01). The Council of Advisers approved the draft of the ordinance on November 6. Jamaat Ameer appreciates move to try army officers linked to enforced disappearances, killings According to the ordinance, tribunals will be set up at district and divisional levels to deal with the cases of prevention and prosecution of enforced disappearances. Offences under the ordinance are non-bailable and non-compoundable. As per the ordinance, if the victim dies as a result of enforced disappearance or if the person cannot be found alive or dead even five years after the disappearance, the offender may be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. If any public servant or member of a law enforcement agency arrests, detains, abducts, or otherwise deprives a person of liberty and deny the act or concealing the fate or whereabouts of the person, thereby placing the individual outside the protection of the law may face life imprisonment or a prison term of up to 10 years, it says. Anyone found to have destroyed evidence of disappearance, or constructed, installed, or used secret detention centres for enforced disappearances may face up to seven years in prison. The ordinance also sets out penalties for senior officers or commanders of law enforcement agencies. It states that if a superior officer orders, authorises, approves, consents to or instigates the commission of such crimes by subordinates or participates in the crime he or she will face the same punishment prescribed for the offence. Warrants issued for arrest of Hasina, 29 others in 2 enforced disappearance cases A superior may also be punished if negligence, incompetence, or failure to maintain discipline or control enables subordinates to commit an enforced disappearance, the ordinance says. It further states that the location of an arrested person may be kept confidential ‘in the interest of state security’ until the person is produced before a magistrate. Trials may proceed in absentia if the accused is on the run.

A 25-year-old man was stabbed to death after being caught in the middle of a clash between two groups at Borogram Matbor Bazar in Kamrangirchar area of the capital early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Md Rocky, a worker of a factory at Borogram Chairman Intersection area. Md Faruk, In-Charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) police camp, said a clash ensued between two groups of people over a trifling matter in front of Hariken factory around 5 am. When Rocky was passing the area, some unnamed attackers stabbed him indiscriminately and fled away, leaving him injured. Later, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

The government has declared BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia a ‘very very important person’ (VVIP). The decision was taken at a special meeting of the Council of Advisers, held on Tuesday at the State Guest House Jamuna, chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus. Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud read out the statement at a media briefing after the meeting. He, however, did not take any question. He said the meeting decided to declare Khaleda Zia a VVIP of the State, considering her current physical condition, unhindered treatment in the hospital, making plan for her advanced medical care abroad, if necessary, her security and travel facilities and her high status. All relevant authorities were instructed to implement this decision immediately, said the Planning Adviser. He said Khaleda Zia's family and her party are aware of this matter. The meeting also offered prayers for the speedy recovery of three-time former Prime Minister BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. The meeting also urged the nation to pray for the speedy recovery of Khaleda Zia. Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul and Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam were also present at the media briefing. The BNP Chairperson is receiving her prescribed treatment properly and is expected to recover, her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said on Tuesday. “We firmly believe she will recover this time and return to us. She is properly receiving the treatment being administered to her,” he said. Talking to reporters during a briefing in front of Evercare Hospital at noon, Dr Zahid said Khaleda Zia is responding to the treatment provided by a medical board comprising local and foreign specialists. Tarique expresses gratitude, reiterates call for prayers for Khaleda

European Union (EU) Ambassador in Dhaka Michael Miller on Tuesday said the EU is preparing to send a very big election observer mission to Bangladesh to monitor what he described as the biggest democratic exercise anywhere in the world in 2026. "This is a time when the country [Bangladesh] can change the narrative, can reset its reputation with its international partners and demonstrate that it can hold these elections in a very correct and professional manner," he said after an hour-long meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin. Expat voters can register till Dec 25: EC Secretary "As you know, the European Union supports timely, smooth and participatory elections. And we see in such elections the great opportunity for Bangladesh to reset the narrative in terms of its own democratic path," the EU Ambassador said.  Miller said he had recently joined the Chief Election Commissioner during a mock exercise aimed at ensuring the Commission’s preparedness for holding elections that would include both the popular vote and the referendum on the July Charter. The EU Ambassador said he had been impressed by the level of advanced preparation of the Election Commission and the advanced consideration of the logistical challenges that holding an election and a referendum on the same day will imply.  "What I want to add is that the European Union recognises the commitment and the professionalism of the Bangladesh Election Commission and its capacity to run well-prepared elections.  This is a sign of our confidence in the election process and our support for elections in this wonderfully diverse country," he said. The EU Ambassador said the preparations are well in hand for these elections, and there will inevitably be challenges. "You have a huge country with a huge population and it is the first time for many of your citizens to go to the polls for a number of reasons. So there is a job now of civic voter education that has to be completed.  That will imply popular debate, it will imply the government, it will imply the Election Commission going and telling your ordinary voters what it means to take part in an election and perhaps with a little bit more complexity, what the referendum means, and what it implies, because that will be a very exciting moment for this country,” Miller said. Stating that there is a very significant consideration of the logistical challenges, also of potential security challenges, Miller said, "What we are discussing with all of the Bangladeshi stakeholders involved in this vote  is how do you mitigate the risks and how do you ensure that the elections are smooth and participatory. That's what we want to see.  Tarique not a voter, but could be if EC decides: EC Secretary The EU Ambassador also mentioned the challenge will be that you have a generation of citizens who did not take part in previous polls, either because they rejected the polls themselves because they knew they would not be free and fair, or they feared that the act of voting would be accompanied by violence.  "So, you have a whole generation of individuals, and maybe more, who have never cast their vote. That will be a challenge because people need to understand what they are doing. Logistically, on the day of the election, the day of the referendum itself, people will need to understand what they are doing before they turn up to vote, so that they will be able to vote on time," Miller said. Mentioning that there will be an extension of the voting time foreseen by the Election Commission, which I think is very wise, because you will have delays due to the political history of your country. "We see that the Election Commission is thinking ahead about all the possible complexities on the day itself, and they are taking all the mitigating measures that we can imagine," he said, adding, “So this work continues. We still don't have an election schedule, of course, but we are looking forward to that announcement, and then we will continue to support the holding of the first democratic elections that Bangladesh has seen in a very long time.” Miller said all stakeholders in this country should be very focused on the possibility of holding the first free and fair elections in many, many years. "What I want to pass as a message is it is a moment for this country to show that it is bucking the trend on democratic backsliding," he said.

Northern Bangladesh has begun to feel the first true grip of winter, with temperatures dipping to 13.5°C in Lalmonirhat on Tuesday, signalling a sharper seasonal shift for residents accustomed to early December’s milder chill. Between 6am and 9am, the Kurigram Weather Observatory recorded the day’s lowest temperature at 13.5°C. Locals described the morning cold as so piercing that it ‘felt as if it were falling like rain’, a poetic expression capturing just how suddenly and intensely winter appeared to descend. A dense blanket of fog settled across the district from dawn, draping Sadar, Aditmari, Kaliganj, Hatibandha and Patgram in milky greyness. Monday morning had already brought unusually heavy fog, but Tuesday’s visibility dropped even further. Motorists were forced to switch on their headlights well into daylight hours, navigating roads where silhouettes of trees and buildings faded into the mist. Chilly winds sweeping in from the early hours compounded the cold, creating an unmistakably wintry atmosphere across the region. For many, it was the first morning of the season that demanded extra layers, steaming cups of tea and slower, more cautious travel. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecast that the weather will remain mainly dry across the country, with a partly cloudy sky at times. Light fog may form in parts of the northeast by early morning. Night temperatures could fall by 1–2°C, though daytime temperatures are expected to remain largely unchanged. The lowest temperature recorded in the country on Monday was 11.7°C in Tetulia, Panchagarh—often the earliest and coldest point of winter in Bangladesh. As the season deepens, meteorologists say these early dips in temperature may signal the onset of a colder-than-usual December for the northern districts, where fogs, biting winds and slow-burning sunlight routinely shape the rhythm of winter life.