The Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS) has announced a reduction in gold prices following record highs in the domestic market. In a notice issued on Thursday night, January 1, 2026, the association said the price of 22-carat gold has been lowered by Tk 1,458 per bhori, setting the new rate at Tk 222,724 per bhori. The revised price will take effect from Friday, January 2.

According to the BAJUS statement, the adjustment was made due to a decline in the price of pure or 'tejaabi' gold in the local market. The association said the new rate reflects the overall market situation. This marks the third consecutive reduction in gold prices after a period of record highs in Bangladesh.

The latest price adjustment indicates a continued correction in the gold market, aligning domestic rates with recent changes in the underlying value of pure gold.

The government of Bangladesh has reduced the prices of all types of fuel by Tk 2 per liter. The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources announced the decision in a press release issued on Wednesday, December 31. The new prices will take effect from Thursday, January 1. According to the announcement, the retail price of diesel has been reduced from Tk 104 to Tk 102 per liter, octane from Tk 124 to Tk 122, petrol from Tk 120 to Tk 118, and kerosene from Tk 116 to Tk 114.

The ministry stated that fuel prices are adjusted monthly through an automated system to align with fluctuations in global oil markets. The revised pricing formula aims to ensure the supply of fuel at comparatively affordable rates for consumers in January.

The adjustment reflects the government’s ongoing policy of synchronizing domestic fuel prices with international market trends, maintaining stability in the energy sector and consumer costs.

Bangladesh has reduced taxes on mobile phones, according to Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam. He announced that the customs duty on imported mobile phones has been cut from 25 percent to 10 percent, while the tax on locally produced phones has been lowered from 10 percent to 5 percent. The announcement was made on Thursday afternoon at a briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy auditorium in Dhaka.

The press secretary said the government expects this move to expand the country’s mobile phone industry. He noted that many used phones are imported, refurbished, and sold domestically, which harms consumers and causes tax losses for the government. The new tax structure is expected to increase demand for locally produced phones and reduce their prices.

During the same briefing, officials also discussed textbook distribution for the new academic year, stating that 83 percent of books have already been delivered to students and the rest will be distributed by January 15 after correcting errors in 123 titles.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines reported a net profit of Tk 785.21 crore for the 2024–2025 fiscal year, marking a 178 percent increase from the previous year. The announcement was made at the airline’s annual general meeting held on December 30, chaired by Board Chairman Sheikh Bashir Uddin. The airline’s total revenue reached Tk 11,559 crore, up 9.46 percent year-on-year, while operational profit stood at Tk 1,602 crore.

According to Biman’s General Manager of Public Relations, Bosra Islam, the state-owned carrier has maintained profitability for five consecutive years and achieved net profit in nine of the past ten fiscal years. During the reporting period, Biman transported 3.383 million passengers across 30 domestic and international destinations using 21 owned and leased aircraft. It also earned Tk 925 crore from cargo operations, a 45.21 percent increase from the previous year.

Biman provided ground handling services to 31,112 foreign airline flights carrying about 6.1 million passengers and recorded its highest-ever ticket sales in January 2025. The airline attributed its success to efficient financial management, digital modernization, and improved passenger services, with future plans to expand routes and strengthen cargo operations.

The Bangladesh government has again reduced the profit rates on national savings certificates, effective from Thursday, January 1, 2026. The Internal Resources Division (IRD) announced the new rates, which will remain valid for the next six months. Under the revised structure, the maximum profit rate is set at 10.59 percent and the minimum at 8.74 percent. The previous adjustment took place in July 2025, as part of the government’s semiannual review process.

According to the new rates, the Family Savings Certificate now offers 10.54 percent profit for investments below Tk 7.5 lakh and 10.41 percent for higher amounts. Pensioner Savings Certificates will yield 10.59 percent and 10.41 percent respectively, while the five-year Bangladesh Savings Certificate will provide 10.44 percent and 10.41 percent. Quarterly profit-based certificates will offer 10.48 percent and 10.43 percent depending on investment size.

Savings certificates issued before July 1, 2025, will continue to earn the rates fixed at the time of issuance. However, reinvestments will follow the newly announced rates. The government will reassess and possibly revise the rates again after six months.

Dinajpur is experiencing severe cold as the temperature dropped to 9.9 degrees Celsius at 6 a.m. on Thursday, January 1, 2026, according to the local weather office. The temperature had been 12.1 degrees Celsius on December 31, 2025. The cold wave has affected both humans and animals, with dense fog and chilly winds intensifying the situation. The humidity level was recorded at 96 percent.

The cold has severely impacted the lives of the poor and day laborers, many of whom are struggling to find work and shelter. The absence of sunlight from December 27 to 30 worsened the conditions, and even when the sun appeared on December 31, the warmth was minimal. The biting cold has made life nearly stagnant across the district.

Hospitals, including Dinajpur Medical College Hospital and local health complexes, have reported an increase in patients suffering from cold-related illnesses. Children and the elderly are particularly affected, with many admitted due to respiratory and seasonal ailments.

Bangladesh Bank announced that customers of five recently merged Islamic banks will begin receiving refunds of their deposits starting Thursday, January 1. In the first phase, depositors will be able to withdraw up to two lakh taka. The banks involved in the merger are First Security Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, and EXIM Bank. These institutions have been consolidated under a newly formed entity named Sammilit Islami Bank.

According to Bangladesh Bank, all current, savings, and fixed deposits from the five banks have been transferred to the new bank. Depositors are assured that up to two lakh taka of their funds are protected and can be withdrawn initially. To facilitate this process, necessary funds have been allocated from the Deposit Protection Fund to the banks under resolution.

Customers who choose not to withdraw their money immediately will continue to earn market-based profit on their existing balances, as stated by Bangladesh Bank.

India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, according to the country’s annual economic review released on December 31, 2025. The review stated that India’s gross domestic product has reached approximately 4.18 trillion dollars and is projected to grow to 7.3 trillion dollars by 2030. Based on current trends, India could surpass Germany within the next three years to become the world’s third-largest economy, trailing only the United States and China.

The report highlighted that India’s real GDP grew by 8.2 percent in the second quarter of the 2025–26 fiscal year, up from 7.8 percent in the previous quarter. It also noted that merchandise exports rose to 38.13 billion dollars in November, compared to 36.43 billion dollars in January. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had earlier projected that India would overtake Japan next year, a milestone now confirmed by the review.

The findings underscore India’s accelerating economic expansion and its strengthening position among the world’s major economies.

Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange reserves have reached their highest level in three years, standing at 33 billion dollars, according to data released on Tuesday. The central bank has been purchasing dollars from local banks as remittance inflows rise and foreign loans arrive, pushing reserves up to 33.18 billion dollars. Under the IMF’s BPM6 accounting method, reserves are recorded at 28.51 billion dollars.

Bangladesh Bank bought 890 million dollars from seven banks through auction at a rate of 122.30 taka per dollar. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, total purchases reached 3.13 billion dollars, with more than 1 billion dollars bought in December alone. Governor Ahsan H. Mansur stated that reserves are expected to reach 34–35 billion dollars by the end of December, emphasizing that the increase is being achieved through domestic dollar purchases rather than external borrowing.

Remittance inflows have also strengthened, with 3.04 billion dollars arriving in the first 29 days of December. For the 2024–25 fiscal year, total remittances reached 30.33 billion dollars, up from 23.91 billion dollars in the previous year.

The government’s Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase has approved several major procurement proposals, including the purchase of 70,000 metric tons of fertilizer, 50,000 metric tons of non-basmati parboiled rice, and 10,000 metric tons of phosphoric acid. The approvals were given at the committee’s 52nd meeting of the year, held virtually on Tuesday and chaired by Economic Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed. The Food Ministry will buy the rice through international open tender at a cost of about Tk 220.05 crore for the 2025–26 fiscal year to strengthen national food reserves.

The Industry Ministry received approval for multiple proposals to ensure uninterrupted fertilizer supply for the agriculture sector. These include importing 10,000 metric tons of phosphoric acid for Triple Super Phosphate Complex Ltd, 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea from Bangladesh’s KAFCO, and 40,000 metric tons of bulk granular urea from Saudi Arabia’s SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company. The total estimated cost of these imports is several hundred crore taka.

In infrastructure, the committee recommended approval of a major project under the Ministry of Shipping to build an inland container and bulk terminal at Khanpur, Narayanganj, under BIWTA, costing about Tk 184.91 crore. Officials said these procurements will support food security, fertilizer supply, and inland transport development.

U.S. President Donald Trump, beginning his second term on January 20, tightened the country’s immigration policies, leading to widespread labor shortages within a year. Construction firms in Louisiana are struggling to find carpenters, hospitals in West Virginia face shortages of foreign doctors and nurses, and a neighborhood football league in Memphis cannot form enough teams as immigrant children have stopped arriving. The administration has raised visa fees, reduced legal entry routes, and deported over six hundred thousand people, while hundreds of thousands more face deportation after the withdrawal of temporary legal status granted under the previous administration.

Oxford Economics estimates that current policies have reduced net immigration to about 450,000 people annually, far below the 2–3 million per year under the Biden administration. Immigrants now make up 14.8 percent of the U.S. population, the lowest since 1890. Cities once vibrant with immigrant communities, such as Los Angeles and New York, have grown quieter, with fewer international students and diminished cultural activity.

Business owners fear the labor shortage will worsen, affecting industries like construction, nursing homes, and childcare, even as higher wages fail to attract enough workers.

A permanent structure is being built illegally on the Kumar River in Borodia area of Gatti Union, Saltha upazila, Faridpur. On Wednesday, December 31, a local resident named Zia Fakir was found constructing a concrete building by filling part of the river near the Swarupdia-Borodia Government Primary School. Around eight to ten workers were seen working at the site using bricks, sand, and cement. Locals fear the construction is obstructing the river’s natural flow and threatening the environment and public interest.

Residents said the Kumar River was once a vital water source that enriched farmland during monsoon seasons. However, years of illegal encroachment and landfilling have narrowed the river, causing waterlogging in the rainy season and drying it up in the dry months. Locals warned that continued encroachment could lead to severe ecological damage.

Saltha Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Saiful Islam stated he was unaware of the construction and has informed the assistant commissioner (land). Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Mamun Sarkar confirmed that building within the river is illegal and said legal action will be taken after investigation.

Nepal has decided to cancel the 'deposit scheme' introduced to keep Mount Everest free from pollution. The government made the decision after 11 years of implementation, citing a lack of expected results. Under the scheme, climbers were required to deposit a certain amount of money before their ascent, refundable only if they brought down at least eight kilograms of waste. Despite most climbers reclaiming their deposits, the overall pollution level on Everest showed little improvement, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

Himala Gautam, Director of Nepal’s Tourism Department, said the project failed to play an effective role in environmental protection and instead created administrative complications. Climbers often collected waste from lower camps, leaving the higher camps neglected. Shering Sherpa, Chief Executive of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, noted that the most severe pollution persists in the upper camps, where tents, plastic cans, food packets, and used oxygen cylinders are still abandoned.

Experts pointed out that each climber generates about 12 kilograms of waste per expedition, while the rule required only eight kilograms to be brought down. They emphasized the need for more practical and effective policies to protect Everest’s environment.

Ferry operations on the Daulatdia–Paturia route, one of Bangladesh’s key river crossings, returned to normal after being suspended for nearly five hours due to dense fog. The suspension began around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday when heavy fog over the Padma River drastically reduced visibility, prompting authorities to halt all ferry and vessel movement for safety reasons.

According to port sources, navigation became difficult as the fog obscured directions on the river, leading to the decision to stop operations to protect passengers and vehicles. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the river, causing severe inconvenience to travelers. Once the fog lifted and visibility improved around 9:30 a.m., ferry and vessel services resumed under the supervision of the Daulatdia and Paturia terminal authorities.

Officials from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) confirmed that such disruptions are common during winter when dense fog frequently affects ferry movement, impacting travel and goods transport to the country’s southern regions.

Bangladesh Bank has announced a special resolution scheme for depositors of five troubled Islamic banks being merged into a new entity named Combined Islamic Bank. According to the circular issued on Tuesday, depositors can initially withdraw up to two lakh taka, while those with higher balances may withdraw one lakh taka every three months for up to two years. Term deposits cannot be encashed before maturity, and specific timelines have been set for repayment after maturity.

The five banks being merged are First Security Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, and EXIM Bank. Bangladesh Bank stated that persistent irregularities, severe liquidity shortages, and high non-performing loans had crippled their operations. The merger and resolution scheme aim to safeguard depositors’ funds and restore financial stability. Institutional fixed deposits worth 15,000 crore taka will be converted into new bank shares, while depositors outside the financial sector may access loans or investments up to 20 percent of their deposit balance.

The central bank has set the new bank’s authorized capital at 40,000 crore taka and paid-up capital at 35,000 crore taka, with a seven-member board appointed to oversee operations.