United News of Bangladesh

The death toll from a fire that broke out at a residential building in the capital’s Uttara has risen to six, police said on Friday. Among the deceased, three were members of the same family, Sub-Inspector Nazmul Sakib of Uttara West Police Station told UNB. The victims have been identified as Rodela, 14, daughter of Shahidul of Ishwarganj, Mymensingh; Fazle Rabbi Rizvi, 38, son of Kazi Khushedul Alam of Cumilla Sadar, Md Rashed, Two-month-old, son of Fazle Rabbi Rizvi of Cumilla Sadar; Raha, 17, daughter of Hafiz Uddin of Ishwarganj, Mymensingh; Harez, 52, son of Hafiz Uddin of Ishwarganj; and Afsana. Mosque, police station set on fire as Iran protests turn deadly The fire broke out at around 7:50am on the second floor of a seven-storey building located on Road No. 18 in Sector 11 of Uttara. Two firefighting units rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control by 8:25am, said Talha Bin Zasim, station officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters’ media cell. Cumilla crash: Four killed as bus catches fire after three-vehicle collision At least ten people were injured and are currently receiving treatment at several hospitals in Uttara, including Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Despite the government’s declaration of Savar upazila as a ‘degraded airshed’, brick kilns in the area continue operating openly, raising serious concerns over air pollution in Dhaka. The move, intended to protect the capital’s northern entry points, appears to have little effect on kiln owners, who are finding ways to circumvent official orders. On August 17, 2025, the government formally designated the entire Savar upazila as a ‘degraded air shed’ under the Air Pollution (Control) Rules, 2022, explicitly banning all brick-burning and brick-manufacturing activities. The decision followed mounting evidence that emissions from kilns in Savar significantly worsened air quality in Dhaka, especially during the dry season, posing grave health risks to the city’s densely populated residents. Read more: Illegal brick kilns in Khulna: A silent peril to environment and public health Yet, local residents and environmental activists report that many brick kiln owners treat the government’s circular as mere paperwork. Although authorities demolished chimneys of several kilns late last year, many have been rebuilt and resumed operations. According to the latest data up to June 2025, Savar hosts 86 brick kilns, including 59 licensed and 27 unlicensed facilities. In the Turag River area near Ashulia Bazar, brick burning remains widespread. Ashulia Bricks and MCB Bricks, in particular, have continued production since the start of the season. During a recent visit to Ashulia Bricks, hundreds of workers were observed manufacturing raw bricks, transporting them, and stacking finished products near the kiln. On the opposite side, others were removing fired bricks from the furnace. Read more: Tk 20 crore fines imposed in nationwide anti-pollution drives When contacted, Ashulia Bricks manager Md Madhu Mia defended the operation, saying, “The government has done its job and we are doing ours. We have already spent a lot of money on labour and other sectors. If we shut down the kiln, recovering that investment would be impossible. That’s why we were compelled to continue. We have communicated with various parties and they assured us.”

The Election Commission on Thursday (January 15, 2026) announced a fresh election schedule for Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies to hold polls on February 12 next in line with the order of the Appellate Division. The election schedule was declared cancelling the previous schedule announced on December 11 last as per the court order passed on Thursday, said a notification issued by the EC. According to the new schedule, the deadline for the submission of nomination papers is January 18, while the scrutiny of the nomination papers is on January 19 and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is January 26. 60 more candidates reinstated on day 6 of appeals process The appeals can be submitted with the Election Commission from January 20 to 24, challenging the decisions of the returning officers over acceptance or cancellation of nomination papers. The EC will hear and dispose of the appeal petitions, if any, on January 25. The symbols will be allocated on January 27. The voting will be held from 7:30am to 4:30pm on February 12, simultaneously with the election to the country’s rest 298 constituencies and referendum. The Election Commission recently suspended the election in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies until further directives from the court. Jamaat-led Alliance: NCP holds on to 30 seats, but IAB absent from press conference An EC circular was issued on January 6 but made public on January 10, suspending the election to the two constituencies in line with an order issued by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on January 5 over a dispute regarding the demarcation of the two constituencies, the national parliamentary constituencies No 68 (Pabna-1) and No 69 (Pabna-2). On January 15, the Appellate Division cleared the way for holding the elections in Pabna-1 and Pabna-2 constituencies on February 12 in accordance with the boundaries specified in the Election Commission’s September 4 gazette. An Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury passed the order. As per the order, Sathia upazila will constitute Pabna-1 constituency while Sujanagar and Bera upazilas will form Pabna-2. Read more: No evidence of postal ballot irregularities found: EC Sanaullah

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is set to resume on Friday (January 16, 2026) after a successful late-night negotiation between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players, ending the boycott that stalled the tournament on Thursday. The breakthrough was announced by BPL Governing Council Member Secretary Iftekhar Rahman and CWAB President Mohammad Mithun following a meeting at the BCB office in Gulshan. Read more: BCB removes Nazmul from finance chair in bid to end player boycott Cricketers joined the discussions with board officials and franchise representatives around 10:30 PM to finalize the agreement. To accommodate the lost day, the tournament schedule has been revised. Thursday’s abandoned matches—Noakhali Express vs. Chattogram Royals and Rajshahi Warriors vs. Sylhet Titans—will now be played on Friday at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM respectively. Consequently, Friday’s originally scheduled games have been shifted to Saturday, while Saturday’s fixtures move to January 18. The Eliminator and Qualifier-1 have also been pushed back to January 20, though the date for the final remains unchanged. The standoff was triggered by offensive remarks from BCB Director M Nazmul Islam regarding player funding. While the players initially demanded his resignation and a public apology, the resumption follows the board’s decision to strip him of his Finance Committee chairmanship. Read more: BPL halted as players boycott match despite BCB’s show-cause notice

A bus of Dhaka University was vandalised at the Science Lab intersection in the capital on Thursday during a blockade enforced by students of seven government colleges, leaving at least two students injured. The incident occurred around 2:30 pm (January 15, 2026) when a Dhaka University bus was halted due to the blockade, said witnesses. Read More: Affiliation of 7 colleges with Dhaka University officially terminated They said an argument broke out between students travelling on the bus and the protesting students of the seven colleges. When members of the university’s proctorial team arrived and were escorting the bus away from the area, bricks were thrown from behind, shattering the bus windows and damaging its exterior.

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Thursday (January 15, 2026) stepped out onto the street in front of the party’s Gulshan office to personally hear the grievances of Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) registered job seekers. The NTRCA-registered aspirants had been waiting outside the BNP chairman’s political office in Gulshan when Tarique Rahman arrived there around 3:30pm from his residence. Read more: Civic condolence over Khaleda’s passing on Friday After entering the office premises, he immediately came back out, crossed the road on foot and exchanged greetings with the demonstrators. Standing on the street, Tarique Rahman listened attentively as the job seekers outlined their demands and concerns regarding the recruitment process in non-government educational institutions. The aspirants complained of alleged secret recruitment of unregistered teachers against vacant posts, as well as a range of structural problems in the appointment process of head teachers. They said these irregularities have created widespread dissatisfaction among NTRCA-registered candidates. Read more: BNP seeks candidates’ names, symbols on postal ballots

In a frantic effort to salvage the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and quell a full-scale player mutiny, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has removed Director M Nazmul Islam from his post as Chairman of the Finance Committee with immediate effect. The decision, announced in a media release on Thursday evening (January 15, 2026), comes hours after cricketers followed through on their threat to boycott the day's BPL fixtures. The first match between Chattogram Royals and Noakhali Express was abandoned after players refused to take the field, adhering to an ultimatum issued by the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). Read More: BCB to continue ‘constructive engagement’ with ICC for T20 World Cup solution The BCB President exercised his authority under Article 31 of the constitution to strip Nazmul of his committee responsibilities, assuming the role of Acting Chairman himself. “The BCB reiterates that the interests of the cricketers remain its highest priority,” the board stated, adding that the move was aimed at ensuring the “smooth and effective functioning” of affairs. The release explicitly appealed to players to return to the field, hoping they would “display the highest standards of professionalism” to ensure the continuation of the BPL during this “challenging period”. The crisis erupted after Nazmul made a series of remarks, that cricketers found inflammatory, first labeling former captain Tamim Iqbal an “Indian agent” and later mocking players by asking if the board should demand a refund of their salaries if they failed to perform at the World Cup. While the players demanded his resignation as a board director, it remains to be seen if his removal solely from the Finance Committee chairmanship will be enough to bring them back to the stadium. Read more: BPL halted as players boycott match despite BCB’s show-cause notice

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to meet Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday evening. A BNP Standing Committee member and a source at the Chief Adviser’s Office said that the meeting will be held in the evening at the Chief Adviser’s official residence Jamuna. They said Tarique will be accompanied by several BNP Standing Committee members and they are expected to discuss issues relating to the election atmosphere. This will be the second formal meeting between the Chief Adviser and the BNP Chairman. Tarique and Prof Yunus previously held their first one-to-one meeting in London on 13 June last year, when Tarique was serving as the party’s acting chairman. Following that meeting at the Dorchester Hotel, both sides issued a joint statement. After spending 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom, Tarique returned home on December 25. Upon landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he spoke to Prof Yunus over the phone from the VIP lounge and thanked him for the interim government’s initiatives to ensure the security of him and his family members. The two briefly met again on December 31 during the namaz-e-janaza of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on the Parliament premises. But Thursday’s meeting will mark their first formal talks since Tarique’s return. Indian envoy meets Tarique Rahman BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia passed away on December 30. As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the 13th National Parliamentary Election will be held on February 12.  A referendum on reforms and implementation of the July National Charter will also be held the same day.

A mild cold wave is sweeping over parts of the country and it may continue in some places, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said on Thursday. According to the regular Met office bulletin, “Mild cold wave is sweeping over the districts of Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Kurigram and Chuadanga and it may continue and spread. Light to moderate fog may occur at a few places over the country during late night to morning. Panchagarh’s Tetulia recorded the country’s lowest temperature at 7.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning. Night and day temperatures may fall slightly over the country. Mild cold wave sweeps parts of Bangladesh: BMD Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country.

Bangladesh’s private sector risks a tightening credit environment as government borrowing from the banking system has surged to nearly Tk 60,000 crore in the first half of the current fiscal year, raising concerns about reduced lending capacity for businesses. According to Bangladesh Bank data, the government’s net borrowing from banks reached Tk 59,756 crore between July 1 and January 4 of FY2025–26. The amount accounts for more than 57 percent of the full-year borrowing target of Tk 1.04 lakh crore, surpassing the halfway mark well before the fiscal year’s midpoint. The pace of borrowing marks a sharp escalation from a year earlier. In the same period of FY2024–25, the government’s net bank borrowing stood at Tk 8,312 crore, meaning the current figure represents an increase of 619 percent. Read more: Govt exceeds IMF-set limit on external borrowing: Dr Salehuddin Although the government initially repaid a small portion of its bank liabilities at the start of the fiscal year, borrowing accelerated rapidly amid mounting fiscal pressures. Economists cite a combination of revenue shortfalls, declining foreign aid and rising expenditure commitments as key drivers behind the shift. “The government is not meeting its revenue targets, and expected foreign loans are not arriving on time,” said Towfiqul Islam Khan, economist and additional research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). "Consequently, the government is forced to lean on the domestic banking sector to cover the deficit," he said. Bangladesh Bank data show the government’s total outstanding debt to the banking system has climbed to Tk 6.10 lakh crore. Of the borrowing undertaken so far this fiscal year, Tk 35,750 crore has come from commercial banks, while Tk 24,006 crore has been taken from the central bank. Read more: IMF limits Bangladesh’s foreign borrowing Business leaders warn that heavy public-sector borrowing risks crowding out private investment by absorbing a significant share of available bank liquidity. Reduced access to credit could delay investment decisions, constrain production capacity and slow job creation, they say. Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer of Mutual Trust Bank Limited, said the banking sector has been navigating a difficult period amid a broader erosion of confidence. He noted that while the economy and banking system have stabilised, growth has slowed due to the impact of “severe mismanagement of the macroeconomic situation”. “Excessive government borrowing reduces the capacity of banks to support the private sector,” said Abdul Haque, a prominent business leader and former director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). “This hampers employment and has a negative ripple effect across the entire economy," he said. Read more: NPL crisis chokes private credit growth, endangers Bangladesh's economic recovery: Experts Analysts caution that unless revenue collection improves and public spending is managed more effectively, continued reliance on bank financing could undermine private-sector activity and weigh on Bangladesh’s longer-term economic growth.