Your evening brief- No counter of long haul buses in Dhaka city outside terminals from 1 April: Taposh

Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Tuesday said no counter of long-distance buses will be allowed inside Dhaka city outside of terminals from 1 April. The mayor said this Tuesday (13 December) after the 25th Bus Route Rationalisation Committee meeting at Buriganga Hall in the Capital's Nagar Bhaban. Read More

Among a number of incidents taking place on Tuesday (13 December), take a quick look at some of the most important news items The Business Standard has compiled for you… 

Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman arrested

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman. According to family members, plainclothes men identifying themselves as law enforcers picked up the Jamaat ameer during the early hours of Tuesday. Read More

BNP demands release of Fakhrul, Abbas and other leaders

Opposition BNP organised a protest rally in front of its Nayapaltan central office to press home their several demands on Tuesday afternoon. The demands include - the release of detained party leaders including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee member Mirza Abbas and the trial for Maqbul Hossain, who was killed during a clash with police on 7 December. Read More

Rice importers fear losses amid dollar crisis, demands full duty waiver

Private importers of rice, who are already unable to open Letters of Credit (LCs) amid a dollar shortage, have demanded that the government waive all custom duties on the commodity to ease some of the market pressure. They say they are not importing rice as banks are unable to open LCs amid the ongoing dollar crisis, while they are also making losses in the local market. Read More

Writ filed seeking division for Fakhrul, Abbas in jail

A writ petition has been filed seeking division facilities in jail for BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party's Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas. Law Affairs Secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Barrister Kayser Kamal on Tuesday filed the writ petition with the relevant branch of the Supreme Court. Read More

Quader urges BNP not to hold mass procession in Dhaka on 24 Dec 

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has urged BNP not to bring out any mass processions in Dhaka on 24 December. He made the call as the ruling party is scheduled to hold its 22nd national council on the same day at the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan. Read More

HC orders probe into money laundering allegations against Sikder family 

The High Court (HC) has ordered a probe into the allegations of money laundering via international credit cards against Sikder Group Managing Director (MD) and National Bank Director Ron Haque Sikder and his family members. The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order while hearing a writ plea submitted in this regard on Tuesday. Read More

Equally important to counter non-traditional threats: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday stressed the need for addressing traditional and non-traditional threats as the pattern of crimes has changed with the advent of new technologies. "The concept of security has changed. Digital devices have changed the pattern of terrorism, militancy and crimes aside from creating advantages for all," she said. Read More   

Food for plastic: Bidyanondo's unique attempt to save Saint Martin's from plastic pollution

Plastic waste products are no longer considered useless on Saint Martin's island. With a unique initiative of the Bidyanondo Foundation, plastic waste has become as valuable as banknotes for islanders. Read More

EU imposes new Iran sanctions, no deal yet on new Russia package

European Union foreign ministers on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iran over its crackdown of anti-government protests and its drone deliveries to Russia, but pushed the adoption of a new package of measures against Moscow to later this week. Read More

Russia could resume business with Germany if it ends Ukraine war -Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that economic cooperation between Germany and Russia could be possible again if the Kremlin ended its war in Ukraine. Scholz has said in previous speeches that the West would not lift sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine until Moscow withdrew its troops from Ukraine and reached a peace agreement with Kyiv. Read More

Can Messi's Argentina get revenge on Modric's Croatia?

It's the battle of the LM10's as Lionel Messi's Argentina face off against Luka Modric's Croatia in the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar on Tuesday. If there was one game to characterise the chaotic, feisty and unpredictable nature of the 2022 World Cup, Argentina's quarter-final with the Netherlands followed the script to a tee. Read More