The Election Commission (EC) will hold talks with 80 election observer organisations on Tuesday (November 25) as part of its preparations for the 13th national parliamentary polls. Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the EC, Md Ashadul Haque, confirmed the development, saying 80 domestic election-monitoring bodies have been invited to join the dialogue. The consultations will take place in two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The EC has already completed separate rounds of talks with civil society representatives, women leaders, experts and political...

Senior leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have held a meeting with Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay at a hotel in Dhaka during his ongoing three-day official visit. The talks took place on Sunday (November 23) at the InterContinental Dhaka. The NCP delegation was led by the partys convenor, Nahid Islam. Also on Sunday, Ashiq Chowdhury, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), met with the Bhutanese Prime Minister for discussions focused on bilateral issues between the two countries. Prime Minister Tobgay arrived in Dhaka on...

Home Affairs Adviser Lt. Gen. (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has stated that there is no concern that law and order will deteriorate in the run-up to the national election, insisting that the overall security situation is improving. He was speaking to reporters on Sunday (November 23), after a meeting of the core committee on law and order at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Secretariat. Asked about a recent remark by a security analyst that the current level of crime suggests the country is going through a critical internal security phase, the adviser replied that this was merely...

Thirteen Bangladesh Army officers have been produced before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) in Dhaka in two cases over enforced disappearances and torture at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell and the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) during the tenure of the previous Awami League government. The accused officers are: Md Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Md Qamrul Hasan, Md Mahabub Alam, KM Azad, Abdullah Al Momen, Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, Saiful Islam Suman, Md Sarwar Bin Qashem, Anwar Latif Khan, Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui and Ahmed Tanvir...

Bangladesh are on the verge of a commanding victory over Ireland, leaving the visitors eight down and still 246 runs short of an imposing target of 509 in the Mirpur Test. At lunch on the fifth day, Ireland had reached 263 for 8, with only two wickets in hand and survival looking highly unlikely. The contest now appears a matter of time, with Bangladesh firmly in control and closing in on a comprehensive win. Irelands batters struggled to make inroads against Bangladeshs spin trio of Taijul Islam, Hasan Murad and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who kept a tight grip on the scoring and struck at...