Widespread allegations have emerged in Sitakunda, Chattogram, that large areas of farmland are being filled with sand extracted from the sea under the pretext of establishing factories. Locals claim that during the national election on February 12, when the administration was occupied, a group destroyed hundreds of acres of arable land. Residents accuse individuals linked to industrial interests of cutting soil from croplands and using excavators to raise the land by 40–50 feet. Despite repeated media reports, locals say no visible administrative action has been taken, fueling anger in the community.

In Syedpur Union’s Paschim Syedpur area, locals allege that sea sand is being used to fill farmland for future industrial projects. Advocate Hossain Ashraf warned that such activities are disrupting agricultural production and threatening environmental balance. Similar complaints have surfaced in Bashbaria Union’s Magpukur area, where a company named Automation Engineering has reportedly begun filling about 100 acres, raising concerns about waterlogging and risks to nearby institutions. The Upazila Nirbahi Officer stated that the matter will be investigated and legal action taken if violations are found.

Residents are demanding immediate measures to stop illegal land filling and protect the coastal environment, warning of severe long-term impacts on agriculture and biodiversity.

French-inspired artisan bakery and café brand La Delicia has launched a new outlet in Dhaka’s Aftabnagar. The opening ceremony took place on Tuesday with the participation of the company’s Chief Executive Director Mannujan Nargis, representatives from the marketing and sales departments, invited guests, loyal customers, and media personnel.

According to Mannujan Nargis, customers in the Aftabnagar area had long requested a local outlet, prompting the company to open this new branch to strengthen its connection with the community. The outlet will offer La Delicia’s signature products, including classic and customized cakes, fresh pastries, handcrafted donuts, artisan cookies, premium desserts, and a variety of savory items.

To mark the opening, the Aftabnagar outlet is offering a 10 percent savings promotion on February 17 and 18. Customers can shop directly at the outlet or place online orders through the brand’s website and Facebook page for home delivery of cakes and other baked goods.

Mongla Port, Bangladesh’s second-largest seaport, has achieved record container handling in the first seven months of the 2025–26 fiscal year. Between July 2025 and January 2026, the port handled 21,651 TEUs of containers through 31 foreign container ships, marking a 79.19% increase compared to the entire previous fiscal year. During the same period, 515 foreign commercial vessels arrived, 6,404 reconditioned cars were imported, and cargo handling reached 8.266 million metric tons, up 25.03% from the same period last year.

According to Deputy Director Md. Makruzzaman, the port authority congratulated the newly elected BNP-led alliance government formed after the 13th national election. He expressed optimism that under the new administration, ship arrivals and trade through Mongla Port would continue to grow, strengthening the national economy.

To improve operational capacity, three new anchor berths—HP-1, HP-2, and HP-3—have been declared operational at Hiron Point. Sixteen commercial ships with a 9.00-meter draft have already completed trial operations there, allowing vessels up to 200 meters in length to conduct cargo operations at these berths.

In Chandpur’s Faridganj municipality, grocery shop owner Shah Alam from Madhya Charkumira village has decided to sell eight essential food items at their purchase price during the holy month of Ramadan. The items include chickpeas, khesari lentils, gram flour, puffed rice, flattened rice, sugar, dates, and soybean oil. He has displayed a price list in his shop, and customers have been buying with satisfaction. Shah Alam previously sold these items with only one taka profit but has now continued his cost-price initiative for the second consecutive year.

Local residents have praised Shah Alam’s generosity, noting that while many traders across Bangladesh raise prices during Ramadan, he has chosen to support fasting and low-income families. The initiative has drawn commendation from the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate’s Chandpur office, whose assistant director Abdullah Al Imran said other traders could learn from this example.

Shah Alam explained that he usually keeps his profit margins low throughout the year to attract more customers and that his Ramadan initiative aims to ease the burden on poor and working-class people affected by price hikes.

Bangladesh’s Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin announced that the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has saved nearly Tk 1,000 crore in the current fiscal year due to improved transparency and accountability. Speaking at the inauguration of TCB’s Ramadan truck sale program in Dhaka on Tuesday, he said that if this trend continues, the government may no longer need to provide subsidies to TCB within the next four to five years. He also mentioned plans to add essential items such as soap and tea to TCB’s product list to further benefit consumers.

The Ramadan truck sale program will run from February 17 to March 12, excluding Fridays and holidays, offering affordable goods to low-income citizens. Each truck will serve about 400 people daily, reaching around 3.5 million beneficiaries nationwide with 23,000 tons of products. Items include edible oil, sugar, lentils, chickpeas, and dates at prices below market rates. The program will operate 450 mobile trucks across the country, with separate provisions for family cardholders.

If the savings trend continues, TCB’s operations could become self-sustaining, reducing the government’s fiscal burden in the coming years.

Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall, celebrated for his performances in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has died at the age of 95, his wife Luciana Duvall announced in a Facebook post on Monday. She said Duvall gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. Tributes from across Hollywood followed, with Adam Sandler calling him one of the greatest actors ever and Michael Imperioli describing him as an actor’s actor.

Duvall’s career spanned nearly 100 films, including acclaimed roles as Tom Hagen in The Godfather, Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meechum in The Great Santini, and the title character in Stalin. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Tender Mercies in 1983 and received six additional Oscar nominations, including for Apocalypse Now. He also wrote, directed, and starred in The Apostle, earning another Oscar nomination.

Born in Annapolis, Maryland, Duvall was the son of a US Navy admiral and an amateur actress. He studied at Principia College, served in the US Army, and later moved to New York City, where he shared an apartment with Dustin Hoffman and befriended Gene Hackman during their early acting years.

A leak has developed in the rubber dam built on the Chilai River in Boglabazar Union of Doarabazar upazila, Sunamganj. The rupture in the dam’s rubber bag has caused water to escape, preventing water retention upstream. As a result, irrigation across about 1,200 hectares of Boro farmland has been severely disrupted, leaving hundreds of farming families in Bogla and Banglabazar unions deeply concerned about their crops.

Local farmers reported that falling water levels have rendered irrigation pumps ineffective, causing farmland to crack due to lack of moisture. They have urged authorities to urgently repair the damaged rubber bag to restore normal irrigation. Boglabazar Union Parishad Chairman Mohammad Milon Khan said the leakage has put 1,200 hectares of farmland at risk and that he has contacted the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) for immediate repair. BADC’s Assistant Engineer for irrigation, Kazi Hosne Ar Rafi, confirmed that the issue is under their attention and that repair work will begin soon.

The damaged dam poses a serious threat to the ongoing Boro season, with potential impacts on local food production and farmers’ livelihoods if repairs are delayed.

Female tea workers in Sylhet continue to face deprivation and hardship despite their crucial role in Bangladesh’s tea industry. According to a report from Nabiganj, these women work long hours plucking tea leaves but earn only Tk 75 a day, far below their demand for Tk 250–300. Many live in poverty, lacking access to education, healthcare, housing, clean water, and sanitation. Their daily meals are meager, and they often struggle to feed their families.

The report highlights that tea workers’ wages have increased only marginally over the years—from Tk 32 in 2007 to Tk 75 at present. Elderly workers receive limited annual food aid worth Tk 5,000 from the Ministry of Social Welfare, achieved after repeated protests. Workers like Onika Rani, who has labored in the Bhaban Tea Garden since age 15, describe severe financial strain and limited educational opportunities for their children.

Bhaban Tea Garden manager Binoy Chandra Barma acknowledged the lack of schools, hospitals, and safe water but said the authorities plan to build such facilities. Despite these assurances, the workers’ living conditions remain dire.

Unregulated brick kilns continue to operate across Netrakona district, posing serious threats to agricultural land, public health and the environment. According to local sources, 32 brick kilns are currently active this year, but only four have environmental clearance. Despite mobile court fines imposed on six kilns earlier in the season, no closures have been enforced, allowing illegal operations to persist.

Officials from the Department of Environment and the district administration confirmed that Netrakona has 40 kilns across nine upazilas, with 28 running without permits. Each kiln employs 300 to 400 workers, providing jobs for 10,000 to 12,000 people and producing up to 10 million bricks per site. Environmental activists have expressed concern over pollution and the lack of compliance with regulations. Department officials cited legal complications as a reason for delays in shutting down illegal kilns but said enforcement drives would continue.

District authorities stated that joint mobile courts are regularly fining violators and that further action will be taken if specific complaints about illegal soil extraction from government or river lands are received.

Bangladesh’s financial sector is showing signs of recovery from a prolonged crisis as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) forms a new government after winning two-thirds of parliamentary seats. The interim administration led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, which took charge in August 2024, is credited with restoring stability through reforms that curbed irregularities, corruption, and capital flight. Economists note that the sector’s stabilization, rather than investment growth, was the interim government’s key achievement.

According to data cited in the report, foreign exchange reserves rose from 20 billion to over 34 billion US dollars, while inflation fell from 11.6% to 8.58%. The banking sector saw consolidation, including the merger of five weak Shariah-based banks into a new entity, and stricter loan recovery measures improved transparency. The trade balance turned from a 6.6 billion dollar deficit to a 3.29 billion dollar surplus, supported by higher remittances and export growth.

Experts warn that the incoming BNP government faces challenges including weak revenue collection, rising domestic and foreign debt, and the upcoming graduation from LDC status, which may test the sustainability of recent economic stabilization.

Agriculture and Home Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury stated that Bangladesh’s agriculture sector is now in a stable condition due to the combined efforts of all stakeholders. He made the remarks on Monday at a farewell reception organized by departments and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council auditorium in Dhaka.

The adviser highlighted that during his one and a half years in charge of the ministry, several initiatives were taken to ensure food security and make the sector sustainable and farmer-friendly. He said the fertilizer crisis had been resolved, flood damages in several regions were managed, and the sector was now performing better than before. Fertilizer stocks were at a strong level, and agricultural product prices remained within a tolerable range.

In his farewell speech, he urged proper distribution of agricultural incentives, careful selection of beneficiaries, and strict monitoring of fertilizer sales at government-fixed prices. He also thanked all officials and agencies under the ministry for their cooperation.

The government of Bangladesh has reduced the value-added tax (VAT) on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), according to a statement issued on February 16. National Board of Revenue (NBR) public relations officer Md. Al Amin Sheikh confirmed that the decision was made to keep LPG prices stable and affordable for both industrial and household users. Previously, LPG was subject to a 7.5 percent VAT at the local production and trading stages and a 2 percent advance tax at import.

Following recommendations from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and a request from the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh, the government issued two separate notifications withdrawing the 7.5 percent VAT on local production and trading and the 2 percent advance tax on imports. Instead, a 7.5 percent VAT will now apply only at the import stage until June 30.

According to the NBR, this adjustment will remove VAT from the value added during local production and sales, reducing the overall tax burden on consumers by approximately 20 percent compared to previous levels.

The Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government announced on February 16 that the administration has worked with the United States, China, and Japan to strengthen the country’s economy, employment, industrialization, and international diplomatic position. In a televised address at 9:15 p.m., he said a new bilateral trade and tariff agreement with the United States has been completed, reducing reciprocal tariffs from 37% to 19%. The agreement is described as a strategic foundation for long-term economic and diplomatic growth.

He added that cooperation with Japan will enable Bangladesh to gradually enter sectors such as automobile parts, electronics, railway equipment, green technology, and high-value industrial products. This partnership is expected to reduce risks and attract investment from industrialized nations seeking duty-free export benefits to Japan.

The Chief Adviser also stated that development cooperation with China has deepened, highlighting progress on the Teesta River management and resettlement project and an agreement to build a 1,000-bed international-standard hospital in Nilphamari. He emphasized that education, training, and integrity are essential to transforming Bangladesh into a skill- and technology-based economy.

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Bay of Bengal, about 222 kilometers southeast of Cox’s Bazar, on Monday, February 16, 2026, at 5:55 p.m. Bangladesh time. The event was reported by the volcano and earthquake monitoring website Volcano Discovery, which described it as a shallow quake occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers beneath the seabed.

According to the report, no information has yet been received about anyone feeling the tremor. The earthquake’s location in the Bay of Bengal places it offshore, away from major population centers, which may explain the lack of felt reports. The incident was noted by local media as part of routine seismic monitoring in the region.

Authorities or monitoring agencies have not issued any further statements or warnings related to the event, and no damage or casualties were reported at the time of publication.

Local residents of Saint Martin Island in Cox’s Bazar have alleged that rows of keya trees were cut down along the southern beach area of Ward 9, apparently to facilitate illegal land occupation. The incident, reported on February 16, 2026, has triggered anger and concern among locals, though no one has publicly identified those responsible.

Union Parishad Chairman Foyezul Islam confirmed hearing about the tree cutting and said a beach worker was sent to inspect the site, with further action to follow after investigation. Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) district president H.M. Ershad condemned the act as alarming, emphasizing that keya trees serve as a natural coastal defense protecting sand dunes, homes, and marine biodiversity. Local residents described the destruction as unacceptable and urged authorities to act swiftly to protect the island’s forest cover.

The Department of Environment’s Cox’s Bazar office director, Jamir Uddin, stated that an initial investigation has begun and the matter is being treated with high importance.