United News of Bangladesh

Nagad, the mobile financial service of the Bangladesh Postal Department, and National Bank PLC have jointly introduced a new channel allowing expatriates’ families to receive remittances directly into Nagad mobile wallets. Under this initiative, customers sending remittances through National Bank can now have the money delivered directly to their beneficiaries’ Nagad mobile wallets, said a press release issued on Thursday. Remittances sent from abroad through the National Bank will be credited straight to beneficiaries’ Nagad wallets, it said. As a result, expatriates can remit money using international exchange houses, money transfer operators (MTOs), or banks. Beneficiaries, including those in remote areas of the country, will be able to receive and use the money 24 hours a day from anywhere, with minimal cash-out charges. Besides, the remittance recipients will also continue to enjoy the government’s 2.5 percent incentive. In addition, the service is available through more than 60 money transfer operators (MTOs) and over 300,000 Nagad Uddokta points nationwide. A remittance payment agreement was signed between National Bank PLC and Nagad at Nagad’s head office in Dhaka’s Banani area recently. Adil Chowdhury, Managing Director of National Bank and Md. Motasem Billah, administrator of Nagad signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. They also described the initiative as a groundbreaking step toward bringing remittance services to the country’s marginal and underserved communities. They also expressed optimism that the agreement would not only increase the flow of remittances into Bangladesh but also contribute positively to the national economy. National Bank’s Deputy Managing Director (In-Charge), Md. Meshkat-ul-Anwar Khan, Head of Remittance Division, Milton Roy, Nagad’s Senior Associate Administrators, Md. Habibur Rahman and Md. Abu Taleb, Associate Administrator, Anwar Ullah, Chief Commercial Officer, Muhammad Shaheen Sarwar Bhuiyan, Head of Remittance, Md. Ahsanul Haque Bashar, along with other officials from both institutions were present at the signing ceremony.  

Army Headquarters on Thursday said around 100,000 army personnel have been deployed across the country to ensure a free, fair and uninterrupted environment for the national election, with the key objective of restoring voters’ confidence. Director of the Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters Brig Gen Dewan Mohammad Monzur Hossain shared the information  at a press briefing on Thursday at the Roller Skating Complex in the capital. He focused on the activities of the Bangladesh Army deployed under In Aid to Civil Power. He said that in previous elections, a maximum of 40,000 to 42,000 army personnel were deployed, mainly as striking forces stationed in far from pooling centres' areas. This time, for the first time, army patrols have been allowed to operate up to the premises of the polling centres. Army Chief urges officers to perform election duties impartially Monzur Hossain said the expanded deployment aims to ensure voters can travel to polling centres safely and without hindrance. Keeping the need for voter security in mind, the Army Chief has retained only the minimum necessary personnel at barracks and deployed the rest to support the conduct of a credible election. Brig Gen Monzur said due to a shortage of required vehicles, the army has sought support from the civil administration. Where requisitioned vehicles are unavailable, vehicles are being hired to ensure uninterrupted patrols.  He added that army personnel have been working tirelessly and conducting round-the-clock patrols to help rebuild public confidence. He further said maintaining law and order well ahead of the election is crucial for holding a fair election. Accordingly, army deployment was increased from 35,000 to 50,000 on January 10, 2026, and later expanded to 100,000 on January 20, 2026, he added. Alongside the Army, the Navy has deployed 5,000 personnel while the Air Force has deployed 3,730 members. The Bangladesh Army is operating in 62 of the country’s 64 districts and 411 upazilas and has set up a total of 544 temporary camps. Through regular patrols, joint operations and the establishment of check posts, surveillance has been strengthened and weapons recovery operations are ongoing.  

Bangla Academy on Thursday reiterated that the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 will begin on February 20, ruling out the possibility of postponing the country’s largest literary event. The decision was announced at an emergency press conference organised by the Bangla Academy. Member Secretary of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 Organising Committee Selim Reza said the Academy had taken note of differing opinions and proposals regarding the fair’s schedule, including requests from a section of publishers to hold the fair after Eid. “By the time such requests were made, nearly 60 percent of the preparations had already been completed,” he said. Read More: Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 to begin on Feb 20 Reza explained that organising a month-long book fair after Eid would push the schedule into April, a period marked by extreme heat, dust, frequent storms and the risk of Kalbaishakhi nor’westers and rainfall. “Considering these realities, hosting the book fair in April is not practical.” He said unavoidable circumstances had made it impossible to inaugurate the fair on February 1 this year, as done traditionally. As a result, the fair will commence on February 20, following a unanimous decision by the organising committee, which has already held several meetings. In response to publishers’ demands, the Academy has reduced stall rents by 25 percent compared to last year, despite a significant rise in overall organisational costs, Selim Reza noted. He said all major preparations for the fair have been completed as planned. An event management firm has been appointed, he said, adding, Suhrawardy Udyan has been allocated by the government, stall construction is underway, and the schedules for discussions and cultural programmes have been finalised. Invitations have also been sent to prospective speakers and contributors. Read More: Amar Ekushey Book Fair to be held on time: Press Secretary According to Selim Reza, a total of 580 institutions applied for stalls this year, including 527 publishers who participated last year and 53 new applicants.  Due to space constraints, he said, stalls have so far been allocated to all 527 returning publishers and 24 new ones. Besides, 56 institutions have applied for larger stalls compared to last year, while more than a hundred government and private organisations have also sought stall allocation for the fair. The fair will remain open daily from 2:00pm to 9:00pm. As the book fair will be held during Ramadan, the Bangla Academy said special arrangements will be in place at the fair venue for iftar facilities for visitors and participants. The Amar Ekushey Book Fair is regarded as a cornerstone of Bangladesh’s literary and cultural calendar, commemorating the Language Movement and celebrating the country’s publishing industry. Read More:‘Sparsho Braille’ distributes free books for visually impaired at Ekushey Book Fair 

Abdullah Al Jaber, member secretary of Inqilab Moncho, on Thursday staged a sit-in in front of Jamuna, the residence of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, demanding justice for their leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi. The organisation shared the information on its official Facebook page on Thursday afternoon though it did not provide further details about the sit-in. Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, spokesperson of the platform and  a prospective candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency, was shot in the head on December 12 while travelling in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in Puratan Paltan. He was later airlifted to Singapore for advanced medical treatment where he succumbed to his injuries on the night of December 18. Since the incident, Inqilab Moncho has been holding protests and demanding justice.  

Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) will operate additional metro rail services on the election day to facilitate voters and ensure smooth movement of passengers. DMTCL Managing Director Faruk Ahmed said extra trains will be operated on the election day to prevent inconvenience to voters and regular commuters. Metro rail services would remain normal on both February 11 and 12, he added. He said the services would run following the regular working day schedule. To ensure uninterrupted metro rail operations during the election period all leaves of DMTCL officials and employees concerned have been cancelled, he added.

Thirty-six dwelling houses were gutted in a fire that broke out at a colony in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur district on Thursday. Md Nurul Karim, warehouse inspector of Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the fire originated from a gas cylinder at a house in Mawna Uttarpara in the morning and engulfed the adjoining houses. On information, two firefighting units rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze after nearly two hours. Valuables, including cash, televisions, refrigerators and furniture, were gutted in the fire. However, the extent of the damage could not be ascertained immediately.    

The government has decided to confer the Ekushey Padak 2026 on 9 distinguished citizens and a music band in recognition of their outstanding contributions in their respective fields. The proposal of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs was approved by the Council of Advisers on Thursday , according to the Chief Adviser’s press wing.  Those selected for the country’s second-highest civilian award are Farida Akhtar Babita (film), Prof Md Abdus Sattar (fine arts), Marina Tabassum (architecture), Ayub Bachchu (music), Warfaze (music band),Arthy Ahmed (dance), Islam Uddin Palakar (theatre), Shafik Rehman (journalism), Prof Dr Mahbubul Alam Majumdar (education) and Tejosh Halder Josh  (sculpture). The Ekushey Padak is awarded annually in recognition of contributions to various fields, including culture, education, music, fine arts, and social service.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul on Thursday said the government is thinking about two options for who will swear in the newly elected MPs. Talking to reporters at the Secretariat, he said the oath could either be administered by a person nominated by the President or by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), with the aim of ensuring a quick oath-taking process after the election. “This is a policy-level decision of the government, so I cannot say anything final at this moment. We have two options before us. The President may nominate someone to administer the oath — for example, the Chief Justice,” he said. Asif Nazrul, however, said if the oath is administered by the Chief Election Commissioner, there would be a mandatory three-day waiting period. “We do not want to wait. We want to arrange the oath-taking as soon as possible after the elections,” he said.      

A delegation of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Pay Commission met President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban on Thursday. Shabbir Ahmed Akunjee, Private Secretary to the Public Division Secretary at the President’s Office, shared the information with the media. Justice S M Emdadul Hoque, Chairman of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Pay Commission and a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court led the delegation. Read More: President Mohammed Shahabuddin returns home from Singapore During the meeting, the commission submitted its report to the President which includes recommendations on salaries, allowances, and other benefits for members of the Judicial Service. Senior officials of the President’s Office were present at the meeting.

Workers and employees at Chattogram Port blocked the convoy of Shipping Adviser (retd) Brigadier General M Sakhawat Hossain on Thursday when he reached there to assess the situation amid an ongoing strike. The strike continued for the 5th consecutive day on Thursday protesting the plans to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to global port operator DP World. As his convoy arrived in front of the port building around 10:45 am, hundreds of workers and employees surrounded the vehicles, chanted slogans and obstructed their movement. After about 15 minutes, police and port security personnel escorted the convoy into the port premises. The Shipping Adviser later entered the port building amid continued slogan by the protesters and was quickly taken to an upper floor by lift. Strike brings Chattogram Port to a standstill The indefinite strike enforced by the Chattogram Port Protection Movement Council, has brought all operational activities at the port to a halt. Container handling at all jetties, including General Cargo Berth (GCB), Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) and New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) remains suspended. Cargo-laden vessels are stranded at both the outer anchorage and jetties while cargo delivery from yards and the movement of goods-carrying vehicles in and out of the port have also remained stopped. The Shipping Adviser flew from Dhaka to Shah Amanat International Airport on Thursday morning and went straight to the port. Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Moniruzzaman was accompanying him. Port sources said after entering the port building, the Shipping Adviser sat in an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing strike and the overall deadlock situation with the stakeholders. The workers began the indefinite strike on Wednesday demanding the cancellation of the process to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal to foreign firm DP World and the withdrawal of alleged harassment and transfer orders against protesting workers. Chattogram Port workers plan 24-hour walkout as NCT leasing dispute deepens Earlier, following a three-day strike, the Ministry of Shipping issued transfer orders for at least 15 port officials to Mongla and Payra ports. In protest, the movement council first announced a 24-hour work stoppage and later intensified it into an indefinite strike.