NICAR meeting was held at the State Guest House Jamuna here on Tuesday with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair. This was the first NICAR meeting held during the tenure of the interim government. The meeting was informed that the Revenue Policy and Revenue Management Ordinance, 2025, has already been promulgated regarding formation of the two divisions under the Finance Ministry. Additionally, a proposal was approved to establish another new police station by splitting Raipura in Narsingdi district. The meeting further approved a proposal to correct the spelling of the name of 'Bhulli' police station in Thakurgaon district.

DHAKA, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS) - A career-best 4-15 by pacer Syed Khaled Ahmed helped Sylhet Titan restrict Rangpur Riders to a meager 111-9 in the Eliminator game of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today. Former England all-rounder Chris Woakes, who is playing his first match today and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed claimed two wickets apiece to further damage Rangpur. In between Woakes sent back his compatriot Dawid Malan for 4, leaving Rangpur reeling to a miserable 11-3. Khushdil Shah and Mahmudullah Riyad tried to repair but Nasum struck with the wicket of Khushdil, ending the 34-run fourth wicket partnership. Nurul Hasan Sohan was the only other batter apart from the duo to reach double digits by making 18, which eventually helped Rangpur go past 100 runs, which looked unlikely.

TOKYO, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A record number of tourists flocked to Japan last year, the transport ministry said Tuesday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on. The country logged 42.7 million tourist arrivals in 2025, topping 2024's record of nearly 37 million. But the number of tourists from China last month dropped about 45 percent from a year earlier to around 330,000. China has been the biggest source of tourists to the Japanese archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 -- a quarter of all foreign tourists, according to official figures. However, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said it was a "significant achievement" that overall visitors numbers had topped 40 million people for the first time.

MELBOURNE, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Roger Federer said before the Australian Open that the "sky's the limit" for exciting Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, but he was brought back to earth Tuesday with a first-round exit. "I wasn't playing 100 percent, but at the same time it gives me maturity to keep going, to understand my body, to understand my limits. "Hopefully I'm still young and I'm still getting experience from that." Fonseca made his big breakthrough at Melbourne Park last year as a qualifier when he beat top-10 player Andrey Rublev. "I think this season is going to be great for me," he added.

SEOUL, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea's women's football team threatened to boycott matches ahead of March's Asian Cup over "discriminatory conditions" provided by their country's football association, documents revealed Tuesday. The Korea Professional Footballers' Association made public a joint statement that they sent with national team players to the Korea Football Association (KFA) in September last year, complaining of "poor conditions" on national team duty. It also said that players were required to personally pay for items including airport transfers and training kit. The players' statement said that "for many years, women's national team players have silently endured poor and unreasonable conditions, sustained solely by their pride as 'national representatives'". It said there were "clear and undeniable differences" from the conditions enjoyed by the men's national team.

Macron sent message to Trump offering to host G7 meeting in Paris Thursday: entouragePARIS, France, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Emmanuel Macron has sent a "private message" to Donald Trump offering to organise a G7 summit in Paris on Thursday in which Russia could be invited on the sidelines, the French president's entourage confirmed. Trump posted this message on his Truth Social network in which Macron also proposes inviting Ukraine to the meeting as well as Denmark to discuss disagreements over Greenland. The offer comes as Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland. "I can organise a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon after Davos," Macron wrote, referring to the gathering of global elites in Switzerland where the US president is set to be in attendance. "I can invite the Ukrainians, the Danes, the Syrians and the Russians on the sidelines" of the meeting, he added.

BEIJING, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that China had been invited to join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace". "China has received the United States' invitation," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing, without specifying whether Beijing would accept the invitation. Guo said China-US relations had achieved overall stability in the past year, despite a trade war that saw both countries impose tit-for-tat tariffs on each others' products. "Over the past year, China-US relations have experienced ups and downs, but have maintained overall dynamic stability," Guo told reporters. "Cooperation between China and the US benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both," he added.

DHAKA, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS)-Sylhet Titans skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz won the toss and sent Rangpur Riders into bat first in the Eliminator game of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today. The winner of the match will move to the Qualifier-2 game for a spot in the BPL final while the loser will be eliminated from the race straightaway. Rangpur was the third-placed team, having won six matches in the group phase. Sylhet won five matches to sit in fourth place. The two teams met twice in the group phase with Rangpur winning the first-leg encounter by six wickets while Sylhet sealing same margin victory in the second-leg match.

DUBAI, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday denied running secret prisons in southern Yemen following claims from Saudi-backed Yemeni officials that widened a rift between the Gulf powers. Monday's claims from Hadramawt province followed clashes between UAE- and Saudi-backed forces that prompted Abu Dhabi to withdraw its remaining troops from Yemen. On Monday, Hadramawt's governor told foreign media invited by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, including AFP, that "a number of secret prisons used by Emirati forces" had been uncovered. The UAE defence ministry said the "facilities referred to are merely military accommodation, operations rooms and fortified shelters, some of which are located underground". Saudi Arabia is now attempting to shore up control in government-controlled southern Yemen.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned European nations on Monday against retaliatory tariffs over President Donald Trump's threatened levies to obtain control of Greenland. "I think it would be very unwise," Bessent told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. He added, however, that "I think it's a complete canard that the president will be doing this because of the Nobel Prize". Asked later Monday on the chances for a deal that would not involve acquiring Greenland, Bessent said "I would just take President Trump at his word for now". Referring to Denmark, he said: "What if one day they were worried about antagonising the Chinese?

The Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to hold a discussion meeting with registered political parties on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the upcoming 13th national election and referendum, 2026. The Commission said the meeting will primarily focus on the “Postal Vote BD” app, its functions, and related issues. According to the Commission, representatives of all 63 registered political parties will join the discussion along with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MM Nasir Uddin, election commissioners, the senior secretary of the EC Secretariat, and other officials. In addition, Swedish Ambassador Nicolas Weeks will pay a courtesy call on the CEC at 3pm on Tuesday at the EC headquarters. The Commission said it will discuss various important matters regarding the upcoming national election.

WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump on Monday threatened 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne over France's intentions to decline the US leader's invitation to join his "Board of Peace." But he doesn't have to join," Trump said, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron. The board's charter "goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza", the source close to the French president said. Trump confirmed he had invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to join his Board of Peace, after the Moscow earlier Monday reported the invite. "Yes, he's been invited," Trump told a reporter in Florida who asked if he had asked Putin to join the body.

DHAKA, Jan 20, 2026 (BSS) – The Election Commission (EC) is scheduled to hold a discussion meeting with registered political parties this afternoon ahead of the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad election and referendum, 2026. The Commission said the meeting will primarily focus on the “Postal Vote BD” app, its functions, and related issues. It will be held at 4:00 pm today at the EC headquarters in Agargaon here. According to the Commission, representatives of all 63 registered political parties will join the discussion along with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) M M Nasir Uddin, election Commissioners, the Senior Secretary of the EC Secretariat, and other officials. In addition, Swedish Ambassador Nicolas Weeks will pay a courtesy call on the CEC at 3:00 pm today at the EC headquarters.

The recent distribution of free cigarettes near Dhaka University is disappointing to say the least. Smoking has famously been linked to respiratory disease, heart problems, cancer, and premature death, and an enabling of something so clearly unhealthy undermines ongoing public health efforts to reduce tobacco consumption. Discouraging tobacco use is not about moral policing; it is about protecting public health, especially the health of young adults who are most susceptible to marketing ploys and peer pressure. Free cigarettes near an educational institution may generate momentary excitement, but it does nothing to advance the long-term wellbeing of our youth or our nation. Let us instead push in the direction of healthier choices, clearer public health messaging, and environments that support rather than undermine public well-being.

The recurring incidents of mob violence in Bangladesh -- especially against our minority groups -- are a deeply troubling reminder of a persistent and corrosive mentality that insists on retaliation over reason, and instant judgement over justice. Such outbreaks of collective rage do not just threaten individuals -- they undermine the very idea of law, order, and social harmony. Mob violence thrives on fear and rumour, replacing accountability with collective anger. There is no place in a mature society for violence in the name of justice. If Bangladesh is to live up to its principles, mob violence must be confronted not just with punitive action, but with a collective reaffirmation of law, dignity, and mutual respect.