The Election Commission (EC) will collect updates on voter turnout, the overall election environment, and the law and order situation every two hours during the 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum scheduled for February 12. According to the circular, after vote counting is completed, primary unofficial results will be announced from designated collection and presentation centres based on reports received from presiding officers. Returning officers have been instructed to inform the designated officials at the “Initial Results Collection and Distribution Centre” before polling day. Officials assigned to send reports on law and order and polling station situations must be finalised on the morning of election day. Following polling, initial unofficial results must be transmitted through the EC Secretariat’s internal site using a prescribed message sheet format.

Supporters of seat-sharing claim that alliance coordination is merely a prudent strategy to consolidate electoral strength and avoid fragmentation. The Indian Supreme Court has warned that voting rights are rendered meaningless when voters are denied the choice of candidates. It also breaches the principle of voter autonomy, a cornerstone of democratic ethics. Bangladesh is bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires genuine periodic elections that reflect the free expression of the electorate. In this moment of democratic rediscovery, Bangladesh has a unique opportunity to rebuild its political system on firmer ethical and constitutional foundations.

Beyond political violence, a rise in muggings has intensified public concerns over personal safety. In the TIB report, researchers mentioned 600 incidents of political violence between August 2024 and December 2025, in which at least 158 political activists were killed. Moreover, the report revealed involvement of different political parties. Coordinated activities of EC with political parties would have been successful in preventing such loss if all parties were serious from the very beginning of the election campaign. Referring to its earlier findings, the TIB said that a record number of candidates from Islamic political parties are contesting, while women’s participation has declined.

The anticipated parliamentary election and referendum scheduled for February 12 have generated cautious hope among citizens weary of political dysfunction. Against this backdrop, the proposed election and referendum are significant not because of personalities, but because of process. A genuinely free, fair, and inclusive election could restore public trust in the ballot box as the primary instrument of political change. Its credibility derives not from traditional political power, but from public trust and international respect. If they fail, the cost will be yet another lost opportunity -- and a deeper erosion of hope.

The curtain fell on Bangladesh’s election campaign on Tuesday morning as political parties wrapped up weeks of intense electioneering. In the final hours, leaders made a series of promises and pledges, leaving voters to reflect on those ahead of the February-12 national election. In remote areas of 25 districts, a team of 16–18 police and Ansar members will be deployed at each polling station. A total of 1,528,131 voters, including 767,233 expatriates under the Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) programme and 760,898 government officials, polling personnel and prisoners under the In-Country Postal Voting (ICPV) programme, were registered for postal voting. Of them, 64,620,077 are male voters, 62,677,232 are female voters and 1,213 are third-gender voters.

The Election Commission (EC) has announced that polling in Sherpur-3 constituency will remain suspended following the death of a candidate. Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker told BSS that all preparations of the commission for smooth voting have already been completed. EC data showed that of the total voters, 6,48,25,154 are male and 6,28,85,525 female, while 1,220 belong to the third gender. The EC said 51 political parties are taking part in the election and the total number of candidates is 2,034, including 275 independent candidates. Nearly 800,000 election officials and about 900,000 law enforcement personnel will be deployed to conduct and secure the polls.

Philips posted a profit of 897 million euros last year, after three straight years of losses. The profit came in above the consensus forecast of analysts polled by the company of 775 million euros. Once famous for making lightbulbs and televisions among other products, Amsterdam-based Philips in recent years has sold off subsidiaries to focus on medical care technology. It posted overall sales of 17.8 billion euros in 2025, compared to the 18.0 billion euros it banked in 2024. Analysts' consensus forecast was for sales of 17.7 billion euros.

BANGKOK, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Thai authorities arrested a man for allegedly smuggling more than 11 kilograms of rhino horns inside wrapped meat, in a case officials linked on Tuesday to an international wildlife trafficking network. He was travelling from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Laos, transiting through Ethiopia and Thailand, according to the department. Airport authorities and police seized six pieces of rhinoceros horn and around 12 kilograms of unidentified meat used to conceal them inside a polystyrene icebox. All five rhino species are protected under international law and trade in their horns is banned. Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers who often sell highly prized endangered creatures on the lucrative black market in Asia.

HONG KONG, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Asian shares extended gains Tuesday following a Wall Street rally, with Tokyo's Nikkei jumping more than two percent to another record following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's stunning election triumph. Gains across world markets have brought some calm to trading floors after last week's asset-wide rollercoaster ride, with tech firms battered by AI spending fears finding their feet. There were also big gains in Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila and Wellington. Sentiment was given a lift by another strong day on Wall Street, where Magnificent Seven members Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia led the charge. "I think that you should expect slightly smaller job numbers that are consistent with high GDP growth right now," he told CNBC on Monday.

WASHINGTON, United States, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A US federal judge on Monday blocked a California law that would have prohibited federal immigration agents from covering their faces during operations, but upheld that they must display identification. US District Judge Christina Snyder found California's masking law known as the "No Secret Police Act" to be discriminatory as it did not apply to state law enforcement officers. The proposed ban "unlawfully discriminates against federal officers," she wrote. But the judge upheld a measure that requires agents to show identification and their badge numbers. "A federal court just upheld California's law REQUIRING federal agents to identify themselves.

AOMORI, Japan, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Almost three weeks of heavy snowfall has killed 46 people and injured 558 others in Japan, fresh data from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency showed Tuesday. Continued snowfall since late January has buried northern communities and caused traffic chaos, particularly along the coast facing the Sea of Japan. Many fatal accidents happened when mounds of snow fell on residents from roofs or people tumbled while trying to clear it, according to police and local officials. In the northern regional hub of Aomori, residents are having to deal with 1.3 metres (more than four feet) of snow on the ground, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

DHAKA, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS) - Election campaign by contesting candidates for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) elections and referendum scheduled for February 12 ended this morning. Election Commission (EC) Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said all kinds of election campaigns remained prohibited after 7:30am today. "We hope everyone will remain committed to performing the remaining election responsibilities properly after the end of campaigning," he said. The EC secretary added that no form of election campaigning would be allowed on social media. Election campaigns that began on January 22 ended today, 48 hours ahead of voting.

BAGHDAD, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A fire at a key oil refinery killed one worker and injured six others on Monday in northern Iraq, authorities said. The fire erupted at an upgrading unit in the Baiji refinery, once the country's largest oil refinery, in Salaheddin province. It added that "one worker was killed and six others were injured." The Baiji refinery, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of Baghdad, was heavily damaged in some of the fiercest battles with the Islamic State group after it swept across a third of Iraq in 2014. Iraq is one of the world's biggest oil producers and crude oil sales make up 90 percent of budget revenues.

Iran steps up arrests while remaining positive on US talksPARIS, France, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iran stepped up its crackdown on Monday after recent protests, making more arrests while holding the door open to Washington for further nuclear negotiations. The arrests -- including that of Javad Emam, the spokesperson for the main reformist coalition -- came after Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman that both sides painted as positive. On Saturday, Iran heaped more jail time on Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, and on Monday arrested Hossein Karoubi, the son of prominent dissident Mehdi Karoubi. - 'Frustrate the enemy' -On Monday, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the nation to show "resolve" against foreign pressure. The report did not specify whether such an agreement would include only nuclear sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States, or all international economic measures targeting the Islamic republic.

WASHINGTON, United States, Feb 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Donald Trump threatened Monday to stop the opening of a new bridge between the United States and Canada, in a fresh salvo against the country he has suggested should become the 51st US state. Trump said the United States should own "at least half" of the still under-construction Gordie Howe International Bridge that links the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan. The 79-year-old Republican complained that Canada owned both sides of the bridge and used "virtually" no US products to build it. Trump has clashed with Canada over trade since returning to office in January 2025. He previously called for the United States to annex Canada but has largely dropped that claim in recent months.