Govt staff cannot campaign for 'Yes' or 'No' in referendum: EC SanaullahEC Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah spoke at a view-sharing meeting at the Patuakhali District Commissioner's conference room on Friday. Sanaullah today said government officials and employees will not be allowed to campaign in favor of 'Yes' or 'No' in the upcoming referendum. Section 21 of the Referendum Ordinance 2025 states that whatever is prohibited in the general election is also prohibited in the referendum," he said. Assistant Returning Officers, senior law enforcement officials, core officers, department representatives, election officials, and members of the media attended.

Photo: BSSPATUAKHALI, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS) - The European Union Election Observer team held a meeting with Dr. Zahir Uddin Ahmed, the parliamentary candidate of the 11-party alliance for Patuakhali-4, at Hotel De More in Kuakata this morning. The discussions focused on the upcoming national elections, ensuring a conducive environment during the election period, safeguarding free and fair elections, voter security, equal opportunities for all political parties, and the protection of democratic rights. Dr. Zahir Uddin Ahmed outlined the overall political situation in the constituency, shared public expectations, and stressed the importance of conducting a credible and transparent election. He called on all relevant parties to take responsible roles to ensure a participatory and trustworthy election process. Petar Bahchevanov, long-term observer for the EU Election Observation Mission Bangladesh 2026, reaffirmed the European Union's commitment to monitoring the democratic process in Bangladesh and expressed optimism about supporting peaceful and credible elections.

The use of modern technology has also been increased to suppress crime and keep the border situation normal. At the same time, discussions have been held with India's Border Security Force (BSF) to maintain stability along the border. He said that extensive security plans have been adopted in the areas under the responsibility of the Rajshahi Sector centering the election. Overall, plans have been made to deploy more than 4,000 BGB personnel in the Rajshahi Sector for election duties, he added. After the press conference, a BGB security drill was also conducted on the highway.

DHAKA, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS)- Over 20 lakh overseas job seekers have registered their names on Overseas Employment Platform (OEP) to go abroad since its inception. According to available official data a total of 20,65,399 job seekers have registered their names on the platform till January 29 (Thursday) against 11,97,943 overseas jobs so far recorded. On November 19, 2025, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment officially launched the OEP aiming to ensure safe and dignified labour migration. This digital platform marks a transformative step in the nation's journey towards facilitating safe, transparent, and efficient overseas employment opportunities for millions of hardworking Bangladeshis. The OEP has been designed as a one-stop solution by integrating diverse services related to overseas job migration into a single accessible, user-friendly online portal.

KOLKATA, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Indian police have arrested the owner andmanager of a warehouse in Kolkata where at least 25 people died in a blaze,officials said Friday. Sujit Bose, the state's fire services minister, said the owner of one of thewarehouses and its manager had been arrested, with an investigation underway. The incident comes barely a month after a fire ripped through a nightclub inthe popular tourist hub of Goa, killing 25 people. Fires are common in India due to poor construction standards, a lack offirefighting equipment and routine disregard of safety regulations. A month before that, a blaze broke out in a hotel in Kolkata, killing atleast 15 people.

GENEVA, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - At least 170 civilians were killed in morethan 400 military air strikes conducted in Myanmar during its recent two-month voting period, the United Nations said Friday. "Credible sources verified that 170 civilians were killed in some 408military aerial attacks reported by open sources during the voting period --between December 2025 and January 2026," the UN rights office said in astatement, adding the true figure was likely to be higher.

The 7th meeting of the Investment Coordination Committee was held at the Chief Adviser's office in Tejgaon area on Thursday. The updates were presented at the 7th meeting of the Investment Coordination Committee, where senior policymakers and regulators reviewed reforms aimed at reducing bottlenecks, digitising services, and accelerating investment execution. The committee reviewed several recent coordination successes. Automated truck entry systems at Chittagong Port have reduced entry times by at least 90 percent, while digital tracking and cashless payments have enhanced transparency and efficiency. The Chittagong Port Authority has introduced a similar “agent desk” to assist users transitioning to online platforms, according to Chairman Moniruzzaman.

DHAKA, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS)- The qualifying tournament of the SpectrumBangladesh National Cup Chess begins from tomorrow (Saturday) at theBangladesh Chess Federation hall room in the capital. The qualifying tournament is open to all participants, organised by theBangladesh Chess Federation under the patronage of Spectrum EngineeringConsortium Limited. The qualifying round will be held in a nine-round Swiss-league system and thetop 16 players will qualify for the final round. The final round will be played in a knockout format and will begin fromFebruary 16. All players in the final round will receive a cash prize of Takathree lakh twenty thousand.

Photo: BSSBy Md Monjur MorshedMUNSHIGANJ, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS) - Farmers in Munshiganj, one of the country's top potato-producing districts, are actively engaged in weeding and irrigating their fields as the potato season reaches its peak. The District Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said the target for potato cultivation this season was 34,655 hectares, but actual cultivation slightly exceeded the target, reaching 34,660 hectares. The target yield for the season has been set at 1,045,195 tons. Habibur Rahman, Deputy Director of DAE Munshiganj, told BSS that the current weather is conducive to potato cultivation. He said, "If there is no natural disaster, the target yield is achievable."

PANAMA CITY, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The Panamanian Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the concession allowing Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to operate ports at the Panama Canal, a year after US President Donald Trump threatened to seize the crucial passageway claiming China controlled it. The Supreme Court found the laws which allowed CK Hutchison Holdings to operate two of the five ports of the canal "unconstitutional," according to a court statement. Panama Ports Company -- a CK Hutchison Holdings subsidiary -- currently manages the ports of Cristobal on the canal's Atlantic side and Balboa on the Pacific side. CK Hutchison Holdings is one of Hong Kong's largest conglomerates, spanning finance, retail, infrastructure, telecoms and logistics. It has sought to sell the Panama Canal ports to a consortium led by US asset manager BlackRock.

The Council of Advisers approved the proposal at its weekly meeting on Thursday with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair. Later, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed the media about the outcomes of the meeting at the Foreign Service Academy here on Thursday afternoon. Explaining the government’s decision to withdraw the declaration, the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing today said that the convention was adopted in 1984 and has currently been ratified by 173 states. At the time of accession to the convention, Bangladesh along with the Bahamas, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United States made reservations to Article 14(1). The press wing said with the decision to withdraw the reservation, the path has now been cleared for victims of state torture to receive rehabilitation and compensation.

DHAKA, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS) - The Council of Advisers at its meeting has approved a proposal for Bangladesh to accede to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980, aimed at addressing legal complications faced by Bangladeshi diaspora. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus chaired the meeting at his Tejgaon office here on Thursday, the Chief Adviser's Press Wing said today. Explaining the ground of giving approval to the convention, the press wing said currently, approximately 15 million Bangladeshis live in different countries around the world. Many of them enter into marriages with foreign nationals. In the absence of clear legal provisions, difficulties often arise regarding child custody when such marriages end in separation for any reason, the press wing said, adding, with the approval of this proposal, complications related to child maintenance or visitation rights following separation are expected to be avoided.

DHAKA, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS) - The government has taken a decision to establish a new diplomatic mission at the level of Charge d'Affaires or First Secretary in Georgetown, the capital of the Caribbean country Guyana. The meeting was held at the Chief Adviser's Office (CAO) also approved drafts of six ordinances, three other proposals and draft of a policy. According to the decision, the required manpower for the mission in Georgetown will be appointed from existing Bangladeshi embassies and missions abroad. Guyana's labor market is expanding rapidly. The government has taken the decision with the aim of ensuring Bangladesh's entry into this promising labor market and strengthening economic and manpower cooperation.

ISTANBUL, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Turkey is willing to help "de-escalate" tensions between Tehran and Washington, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call on Friday, his office said. Erdogan "emphasised that Turkey is ready to assume a facilitating role between Iran and the United States to de-escalate the tensions and resolve the issues," it said, noting the pair had discussed the "escalating military tensions in the region". The call came as Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul for top-level talks on the matter.

WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 30, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Thursday he hoped to avoid military action against Iran, saying he planned to have further talks with Tehran on a possible nuclear deal. "I built (up) the military in my first term, and now we have a group headed out to a place called Iran, and hopefully we won't have to use it," Trump told reporters at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania. Asked if he would have talks with Iran, Trump added: "I have had and I am planning on it. Yes, we have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them."