Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized a truck loaded with a large quantity of Indian cosmetics and medicines worth around Tk 20 million in Madhabpur, Habiganj. The operation was conducted early Friday by the 55 Habiganj Battalion following a tip-off. Acting on secret information, a special BGB team took strategic position near the Madhabpur Muktijoddha Chattar area on the Dhaka–Sylhet highway. Around 4 a.m., a suspicious truck arrived, but the driver fled after noticing the BGB patrol.

Upon searching the abandoned vehicle, BGB members discovered Indian cosmetics and a large quantity of Melanocyl medicine hidden under stones inside sacks. Lieutenant Colonel Tanzilur Rahman, commanding officer of the 55 Habiganj Battalion, confirmed that the truck and illegal goods brought for smuggling were immediately seized. The recovered items have been handed over to the customs authorities.

According to BGB, similar anti-smuggling operations will continue in the area to prevent illegal cross-border trade.

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order removing the 25 percent punitive tariff previously imposed on Indian goods. The order, which takes effect on February 7, was originally introduced as a penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil, according to the report. The decision follows recent announcements by Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Washington and New Delhi have reached a new trade agreement.

Under the new trade arrangement, tariffs on Indian goods are expected to drop from 50 percent to 18 percent. The executive order also reiterates Trump’s demand that India stop buying oil from Russia and increase its energy imports from the United States. Additionally, it outlines plans for the two countries to expand defense cooperation over the next decade.

India has not confirmed Trump’s claim that it will halt Russian energy purchases. Previously, New Delhi defended its decision to buy Russian oil, describing it as a matter of national interest.

In Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram, large-scale filling of farmland, ponds, and natural drainage channels is taking place under the guise of industrialization. Despite repeated incidents, local administration has yet to take effective action, leaving residents fearful of environmental damage and future flooding. In Bashbaria Union’s Magpukur area, a company named Automation Engineering has reportedly begun filling a one-acre waterbody, blocking a key drainage route and alarming hundreds of nearby families.

Locals allege that unplanned and illegal landfilling is threatening food production and causing waterlogging even after light rainfall, endangering homes, mosques, schools, and roads. A former union member said he filed a written complaint two weeks earlier but no action followed, while company representatives allegedly filed false police cases against protesters. Experts say changing land use or filling wetlands without permission is illegal and call for coordinated action by environmental and land authorities, though such oversight appears absent in Sitakunda.

Officials stated that unauthorized filling will be halted if proven, while the accused company owner claimed ignorance about the need for permission and promised to obtain it if required.

In Lalmonirhat’s Aditmari upazila, the fertilizer market has reportedly fallen under the control of a powerful syndicate. Government-allocated fertilizers are missing from authorized dealers’ warehouses but are being sold in retail shops at double the official price. Farmers allege that an artificial crisis has been created, forcing them to buy fertilizers such as TSP at inflated rates ranging from Tk 2,400 to Tk 3,200 per bag. The shortage has disrupted potato and other crop cultivation during the current Rabi season.

Farmers accuse local agriculture officials of negligence in monitoring the market. According to the report, sub-assistant agricultural officers often limit their duties to signing dealer registers without field inspections, allowing dishonest dealers to divert stock to the black market. Officials claim they cannot conduct raids without the assistant commissioner’s approval, leaving room for irregularities. Farmers describe the few raids conducted as superficial, with only minor fines imposed on small retailers.

The district’s Department of Agricultural Extension deputy director, Saikhul Arefin, denied any fertilizer shortage. However, locals question this claim, pointing to rising prices and the spread of adulterated fertilizers that threaten soil quality and future crop yields.

A suicide bombing at the Khadija Tul Kubra mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more during Friday prayers. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said security guards attempted to stop the suspect, who opened fire before detonating explosives among worshippers. Authorities reported that 169 people were taken to hospitals following the blast. The ISIL (ISIS) group later claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel, sharing an image of the alleged bomber.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the bombing as a “cowardly suicide attack on innocent worshippers,” while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief and called the assault a crime against humanity. Shia leader Raja Abbas Nasir criticized the authorities for failing to protect lives. The United Kingdom’s ambassador and the European Union delegation in Pakistan also condemned the violence.

The attack is among the deadliest in Islamabad in recent years, following previous suicide bombings in 2023 and 2008 that targeted the city’s judicial complex and Marriott hotel respectively.

As Bangladesh prepares for the February 12 national election, the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami alliances are competing intensely for power, with both parties offering varied promises to voters. The central question remains whether the incoming government will alter the 2025–26 fiscal budget announced by the interim administration led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus. So far, neither alliance has held formal discussions on revising the current budget structure.

A BNP policy adviser told Amader Desh that if the party forms the next government, it will prioritize market stability during Ramadan, possibly reducing import duties to keep prices within consumers’ reach. BNP also plans to adjust tariffs on education materials and introduce a “family card” to ensure household healthcare access. In contrast, Jamaat’s leadership said no internal review of the budget has yet taken place and that any decision will follow party-level discussions.

An NBR official noted that with less than five months left in the fiscal year, major structural changes would be difficult to implement. He added that the next government will likely focus on preparing the following year’s budget while managing inflation, revenue targets, and debt pressures.

At least nine people, including women and children, were injured after being bitten by a fox in Nikli upazila of Kishoreganj on Friday. The incidents occurred between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in separate locations at Badarpur and Jalalpur villages under Karapasha Union. The injured were taken to the upazila health complex, where they received primary treatment before returning home.

According to local accounts, a fox behaving abnormally attacked several residents in Badarpur village, biting them on their legs and lower bodies before fleeing. In a separate incident in Jalalpur village, a man named Jahangir Mia and his wife were attacked when the fox pounced on them. Jahangir later struck the animal with a stick, killing it on the spot.

Following the attacks, panic spread across the area, and residents urged the local administration to take immediate action to prevent further incidents.

Saudi Arabia has begun allowing wealthy non-Muslim foreign residents to buy alcohol, easing a 73-year-old ban. The change follows the 2024 opening of a liquor store in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter for foreign diplomats. By late 2025, new rules were quietly introduced permitting affluent non-Muslim expatriates to purchase beer, wine, and spirits from the same outlets.

To qualify, buyers must hold a premium residency permit costing 100,000 riyals annually or earn at least 50,000 riyals per month. Muslim expatriates remain barred from purchasing alcohol, and buyers must present their residency card and declare their religion at the store. The policy marks a significant shift in the kingdom’s long-standing restrictions on alcohol sales.

Saudi Arabia originally banned alcohol in 1952. The recent relaxation is part of broader social and economic reforms aimed at reshaping the country’s image as more moderate and investment-friendly.

The United States has seized more than 200 illegal online pharmacies connected to an India-based international criminal organization, according to a statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The agency said multiple nationwide operations led to the arrest of four individuals. The DEA described the pharmacies as spreading poison among Americans by selling counterfeit and unauthorized pills. The enforcement actions began on January 27 across the country.

Investigations into these online pharmacies had been ongoing since 2022. The DEA stated that the operations were conducted jointly with Indian law enforcement agencies to combat illegal drug traffickers. The agency emphasized that such joint actions aim to curb the flow of dangerous and unapproved drugs that threaten public health and safety in the United States.

During the investigation, the DEA identified thousands of customers who had purchased drugs from these websites and sent over 2,000 letters seeking public information. The agency also issued five immediate suspension orders and one show-cause notice as part of the crackdown.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has discovered a local firearm manufacturing factory in Sandwip, Chattogram, and arrested two craftsmen along with weapons and equipment. The detainees were identified as Md. Rashed, 40, from Amanullah Union, and Akbar, 43, from Rahmatpur Union. The operation was conducted jointly by the Coast Guard Station Sandwip and a Navy team on Wednesday night in the Amanullah embankment area. Officials recovered a single-barrel gun, two live cartridges, and various firearm-making tools during the raid.

According to Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq, the raid was carried out based on information about suspicious activities in the area. Legal proceedings are underway against the arrested individuals, and the seized weapons and tools have been taken into custody.

Reports indicate that due to the remote coastal nature of the region, small-scale workshops have long been used to conceal illegal firearm production. However, regular law enforcement operations have significantly reduced such activities in recent years.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) announced that from 9 a.m. today, the country will experience mainly dry weather with partly cloudy skies for the next 24 hours. Mild cold waves are currently sweeping across Moulvibazar, Panchagarh, Rajshahi, and Pabna districts, and these conditions may persist for a few more days. Light to moderate fog may form in river basin areas during early morning hours.

According to the BMD, both day and night temperatures across the country are expected to remain largely unchanged. The highest temperature recorded today was 31.6 degrees Celsius in Teknaf, while the lowest was 8.4 degrees Celsius in Sreemangal. In Dhaka, winds are blowing from the west-northwest at speeds of 8 to 12 kilometers per hour, with relative humidity measured at 68 percent at 6 a.m.

The department also reported that sunset in Dhaka will occur at 5:48 p.m. today, and sunrise tomorrow will be at 6:37 a.m.

Government employees have begun marching toward the Chief Adviser’s residence at Jamuna, demanding immediate publication and implementation of the gazette for the 9th pay scale based on the Ninth National Pay Commission’s report. The march started around 11 a.m. on Friday when participants broke through a police barricade near Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka. Protesters declared they would not return home unless the gazette was issued within the day.

Earlier in the morning, government workers gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka before setting out for Jamuna. Participants included members of the Government Officers and Employees Welfare Association, as well as staff from various government, semi-government, and pay-scale-covered offices. Demonstrators alleged that although a pay commission was formed during the interim government, the failure to publish the gazette constituted an injustice.

The protest reflects growing frustration among public servants over delays in formalizing the new pay scale, with demands centered on immediate government action.

At least 18 workers were killed and eight others seriously injured after an explosion ripped through an unauthorized coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, India, on Thursday morning, February 5. The blast occurred in the remote Thangsu area, and several workers are feared trapped inside. Police said the total number of miners present remains uncertain, and preliminary investigations suggest the explosion was triggered by dynamite used for illegal coal extraction.

Joint state and central rescue teams launched operations soon after the incident but were forced to suspend efforts Thursday evening due to difficult terrain and lack of equipment. Operations resumed Friday morning. Officials described the site as an illegal “rat-hole” mine with narrow tunnels, where toxic gas and smoke have reduced chances of survival for trapped workers. Most victims reportedly died from burns or suffocation caused by poisonous gases.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma expressed deep sorrow and promised strict action against illegal mining. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of 200,000 rupees for each victim’s family. Despite a 2014 ban on rat-hole mining, weak enforcement has allowed such dangerous operations to continue in remote areas.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Lucky Oberoi was shot dead on Friday morning, January 6, in Jalandhar, Punjab. The attack occurred in front of a gurdwara in the city’s Model Town area when unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened fire as Oberoi was parking his car. He was struck by five bullets and later died at a private hospital while receiving treatment. Police have launched an investigation and are reviewing nearby CCTV footage to identify the attackers.

The killing has triggered sharp political reactions over Punjab’s law and order situation. Opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa blamed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, saying law and order in the state had collapsed and questioned the safety of ordinary citizens if ruling party leaders were not secure. Leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal also criticized the government, alleging that Punjab was becoming a safe haven for gangsters.

Police have intensified operations to track down the culprits as fear spreads across the area following the daylight shooting.

Ahead of Ramadan, edible oil prices have unexpectedly increased in Bangladesh despite adequate imports. Retailers report that companies have reduced commissions, indirectly raising prices. Unscrupulous traders are accused of artificially inflating soybean and palm oil prices. In contrast, vegetable prices have declined due to increased supply, while chicken prices rose by Tk 10 per kilogram and egg prices fell by Tk 5 per dozen.

Industry sources indicate that Bangladesh’s annual edible oil demand is about 2.5 million tons, with imports exceeding seasonal needs. By December, over 2.4 million tons of palm oil had been imported, and additional shipments are awaiting unloading at Chattogram port. Refinery owners claim that global price hikes have not yet affected the domestic market, suggesting that local manipulation and weak monitoring may be driving the rise.

Despite the oil price surge, traders say the supply of essential goods such as lentils and sugar remains stable, and they expect no major price hikes during Ramadan if monitoring improves.