Bangladesh Bank has eased loan facilities for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) importers, allowing them to import gas on credit for up to 270 days. The central bank issued a circular on Monday, stating that LPG, usually imported in bulk and later bottled for retail, will now be treated as an industrial raw material for trade credit purposes. This classification enables importers to access the same deferred payment terms available for other industrial raw materials under existing foreign exchange regulations.

According to the circular, banks have been instructed to assist importers in obtaining buyer’s credit from foreign banks and financial institutions. Additionally, offshore banking units have been authorized to provide bill discounting facilities to support the sector. The move aims to address the time-intensive nature of LPG storage, bottling, and distribution processes.

The decision comes amid a supply shortage that has pushed the price of a 12-kilogram LPG cylinder up to 2,500 taka, significantly above the government-fixed rate, causing hardship for consumers and businesses.

A seven-year-old Bangladeshi girl named Afnan has been placed on life support after being critically injured by gunfire that crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar’s ongoing internal conflict. The incident occurred in the Hwaikyang border area of Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, on Sunday afternoon. She was brought to Chittagong Medical College Hospital around 4:30 p.m. in critical condition, where doctors performed emergency surgery on her head that night.

Hospital Director Brigadier General Taslim Uddin confirmed that the bullet struck Afnan’s head, leaving her in a highly critical state. A CT scan and emergency operation were conducted, and she was later placed on life support due to deterioration. Earlier in the day, rumors of her death spread in the area, prompting local unrest.

The shooting followed intense clashes between the Arakan Army and Rohingya armed groups in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which escalated Saturday night. A stray bullet from the Myanmar side hit Afnan’s home in the Techchibridge area. Local residents staged protests after hearing of her supposed death, but law enforcement and community leaders later restored calm.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced plans to make Mumbai free of alleged illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants. The declaration came as the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance released its manifesto for the upcoming Mumbai municipal elections. Fadnavis stated that with assistance from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), an artificial intelligence tool will be developed to identify Bangladeshi migrants.

The source notes that there is no concrete data showing any negative economic or social impact from such alleged infiltration. In recent years, the issue of so-called illegal Bangladeshis has become a recurring political theme in India, raised by the ruling BJP and its allies during various state and local elections, including in Bihar and West Bengal.

According to the report, several Indian migrant workers have been beaten to death on suspicion of being Bangladeshis in states such as Kerala, Odisha, and Bihar. Analysts believe that reckless political rhetoric has endangered the lives of poor and migrant communities, particularly Muslims and Bengali-speaking citizens.

A joint operation by the army and the local administration was carried out in Ward 6 of Bajalia Union under Satkania upazila in South Chattogram to prevent illegal hill cutting. According to the upazila administration, the raid took place around 1 a.m. on Sunday, January 11, led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) Shamsuzzaman, following a tip-off. Clear evidence of hill cutting was found at the site, but no suspects were apprehended. The perpetrators fled, leaving behind an excavator, which was later disabled with army assistance to prevent future misuse.

The upazila administration stated that operations against environmentally destructive activities such as hill and farmland soil cutting will continue. It also warned that strict legal action will be taken against those responsible for environmental damage and threats to public safety. Local residents reported that illegal hill cutting and soil sales had been ongoing in the Bajalia area for a long time, and the recent operation has brought relief to the community.

Japan has launched a deep-sea expedition to extract rare minerals in an effort to reduce its dependence on China. On Monday, the scientific drilling vessel Chikyu departed from Shimizu Port in Shizuoka at 9 a.m. local time, heading toward the remote Pacific island of Minami Torishima. The area is believed to contain vast reserves of rare minerals. The mission, led by JAMSTEC, involves experimental drilling at a depth of 6,000 meters, marking a world first, and will continue until February 14.

The initiative comes as China, the world’s largest supplier of rare minerals, exerts pressure on Japan amid heightened political tensions following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to Taiwan in November. Cabinet Office program director Shoichi Ishii stated that Japan aims to diversify supply sources and build domestic production capacity to avoid overreliance on any single country. Researcher Takahiro Kamisuna noted that regular extraction near Minami Torishima could secure a stable domestic supply chain for Japan’s industries.

Reports indicate that China has recently delayed imports of Japanese goods and slowed rare mineral exports, further motivating Japan’s push for resource independence.

A Bangladeshi fisherman was seriously injured in a landmine explosion on Monday morning near the Hwaikyang border area of Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar. The victim, Mohammad Hanif, 22, from Lombabil area of Hwaikyang Union, lost his right leg in the blast that occurred between Shahjahan’s Island and Hansher Island on the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River.

According to family and local sources, Hanif was fishing with nets and a boat when the landmine exploded, leaving him critically wounded. His father, Fazal Karim, confirmed the incident and claimed the mine had been planted by the Arakan Army. Locals rescued Hanif and took him to the MSF hospital in Kutupalong, Ukhiya, for initial treatment before he was referred to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for advanced care.

Following the incident, agitated locals blocked the Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf highway for about half an hour before traffic resumed. No official statement was available from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) regarding the explosion.

A Dhaka court has acquitted actress Mehazabien Chowdhury and her brother Alishan Chowdhury in a case filed by a businessman alleging threats and intimidation. The order was issued on Monday by Dhaka District Executive Magistrate Md Adnan Zulfikar after a hearing. Earlier, the siblings had surrendered and secured bail on November 16 of the previous year. The court had set January 12 for submission of their written response, which was found satisfactory, leading to their release from the case.

According to the complainant’s lawyer Raihan Gazi Noyon, the actress and her brother submitted a written undertaking promising not to issue further threats, which the court accepted before granting acquittal. Defense lawyer Tuhin Howlader stated that the court found their explanation satisfactory. The case was filed under sections 107 and 117(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code after the complainant, businessman Amirul Islam, alleged that Mehazabien and her brother had taken 2.7 million taka under a business pretext and later threatened him when he demanded repayment.

The court’s decision effectively ends the proceedings, contingent on the defendants’ compliance with their written undertaking.

A Dhaka court has granted two additional days to Abdullah Al Jaber, member secretary of Inqilab Moncho, to review the Detective Branch (DB) police charge sheet in the murder case of the platform’s spokesperson, Shahid Sharif Osman Bin Hadi. The plaintiff appeared before the court on January 12 and sought more time, after which Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam set January 15 for the hearing on the charge sheet’s acceptability. Three state-appointed lawyers—Abdus Sobhan Torofdar, Barrister S.M. Moinul Karim, and Assistant Attorney General Mostafizur Rahman Mukul—have been assigned to represent the plaintiff.

According to the case, DB Inspector Faisal Ahmed submitted the charge sheet on January 6 against 17 accused. The main accused, Faisal Karim Masud alias Dawood, and five others remain absconding, while 11 are in custody. The case stems from the December 12 shooting of Hadi in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area, after which he was treated in Dhaka and later in Singapore, where he died on December 18.

The court will decide on January 15 whether to accept the charge sheet or raise objections.

A mobile court led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) Tania Akter Lubna fined two excavator operators a total of one lakh taka for illegally cutting and selling soil from farmland and government land in Bhitikandi Union of Titas upazila, Cumilla. The operation took place on Sunday in the Dorikandi area, where excavators were found removing soil from the banks of the Gomti River near local brickfields.

According to local residents, a powerful group has long been involved in illegal soil extraction due to weak administrative monitoring. The activity has reportedly damaged the fertility of agricultural land, weakened riverbanks, and increased the risk of embankment collapse. Heavy vehicle movement has also deteriorated local roads and caused severe dust pollution, disrupting normal farming and daily life.

Following the mobile court’s action, the excavators were removed from the site. The administrative move came after local journalists drew attention to the ongoing illegal activities, prompting authorities to intervene.

Police in Tongibari upazila of Munshiganj arrested a man for operating a secret yaba manufacturing factory inside a rented house. The raid took place around 10 p.m. on Sunday in Dakshin Betka village under the leadership of Officer-in-Charge Monirul Haque Dablur. The arrested man, identified as Md. Firoz, aged between 35 and 37, is the son of Abu Taher from Dhaka’s Basabo area. Police recovered 800 yaba tablets, 25 grams of crystal meth, modern production machines, and a large quantity of chemicals from the site.

Investigations revealed that Firoz had been involved in drug trafficking in Dhaka for nearly a decade and had several drug-related cases filed against him. About five years ago, he moved to Tongibari to hide and secretly set up the factory inside a concrete building. Police said Firoz brought modern yaba-making equipment from Hong Kong six to seven months ago and imported hazardous chemicals via courier to start production.

According to police, Firoz admitted during interrogation that he had recently begun producing and attempting to distribute yaba. Authorities are now working to identify and arrest other members of the network based on his information.

Two unidentified bodies were recovered from the Atrai River at the border of Dinajpur Sadar and Chirirbandar upazilas on Monday morning. Local residents discovered the floating bodies around 7 a.m. while heading to work and informed the Chirirbandar police after pulling them ashore. Police officials, including the officer-in-charge (investigation) Ahsan Habib, arrived at the scene and began preparations to send the bodies for autopsy.

According to police, the cause of death and the identities of the deceased remain unknown. No family members have yet come forward to claim the bodies. Local residents suspect that the victims may have been killed elsewhere and dumped in the river, as the waterway has little current, making it unlikely for bodies to drift naturally.

Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the victims’ identities and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has fallen by 40 percent due to ongoing tensions and border clashes, according to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The closure of key border crossings has disrupted the movement of goods, severely affecting bilateral trade. Official Afghan data show that total trade between the two countries declined from 2.461 billion dollars in 2024 to 1.766 billion dollars in 2025, a decrease of 695 million dollars.

During the same period, Afghanistan’s exports to Pakistan dropped from 817 million dollars to 505 million dollars, while imports fell from 1.644 billion dollars to 1.261 billion dollars. Economic analysts have emphasized that Afghanistan should not rely on a single trade partner or transit route. They suggest developing alternative corridors through Iran, Central Asia, and air routes to reduce dependence on Pakistan and achieve long-term economic stability.

Major trade crossings such as Torkham and Spin Boldak have remained completely closed for about three months, halting cargo transport and causing financial losses for traders on both sides.

The Habiganj Battalion (55 BGB) seized Indian goods worth Tk 15.5 million during an operation in Jagdishpur, Madhabpur upazila of Habiganj, along the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. The operation took place on Sunday evening following a tip-off, according to a BGB press release issued at night. The seized items included various cosmetics, sarees, and cumin seeds hidden inside a truck loaded with old paper cartons.

The BGB patrol team conducted the raid around 5 p.m. at the Jagdishpur Muktijoddha Chattar area, uncovering the smuggled goods concealed in an unusual manner. The seized products are currently being processed for handover to the customs authorities for further action.

The operation highlights ongoing efforts by border security forces to curb illegal cross-border trade and smuggling activities along key transport routes in the region.

Two unexploded hand grenades were recovered on Sunday, January 11, from the yard of a house under construction in Bara Gariyala village of Jhenaidah Sadar upazila. Construction workers discovered the grenades while digging soil and immediately informed the local police camp. A joint security team later arrived at the scene and safely recovered the grenades, which are now kept at Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station.

House owner Babu Mia said the workers found two round metallic objects while digging and reported them to the police. Officer-in-Charge Md. Samsul Arefin of Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station stated that the grenades are believed to have remained buried since the 1971 Liberation War. He added that the grenades will be neutralized later by the bomb disposal unit of the joint forces.

Authorities have secured the area and are preparing for the safe disposal of the explosives to prevent any potential danger to local residents.

At least eight people were injured in a violent clash between residents of Palgaon and Naljuri villages in Mohanganj upazila of Netrokona on Sunday morning. The conflict erupted over a dispute regarding tractor plowing of farmland. Several houses were reportedly attacked and vandalized during the incident. Police arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control, according to Mohanganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Hafizul Islam Harun.

Local sources said the dispute began three to four days earlier when farmers from the two villages argued over the use of a tractor for cultivation. Attempts at local arbitration failed to resolve the tension. On Sunday morning, more than a hundred villagers from both sides engaged in a confrontation using local weapons, leaving eight people injured. The injured were taken to the upazila health complex for treatment.

Police confirmed that the situation is now under control and normal. No formal complaint has yet been filed, but authorities stated that an investigation and necessary action will follow if a complaint is received.