Bangladesh’s latest attempt to move its T20 World Cup games from India to Sri Lanka has failed at the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), the Press Trust of India reports. On Jan 21, Bangladesh lost by a 14–2 margin in a vote at the ICC, leaving them with no option but to travel to India to play in next month’s showcase event. PTI said Bangladesh then approached the DRC to overturn that decision.

However, under clause 1.3 of its own rules, the DRC has no authority to act as an appellate body against decisions taken by the ICC or any ICC-approved committee. As a result, the DRC rejected Bangladesh’s application, saying ICC regulations placed the matter outside its jurisdiction.

PTI added that an announcement on which country will get the slot instead of Bangladesh could come on Saturday.

Sheikh Hasina has launched a stinging political broadside against the interim government, accusing Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus of replacing constitutional rule with what she calls “authoritarianism dressed up as transition” by sidelining her party Awami League ahead of the Feb 12 general elections.

In a wide-ranging written interview with ThePrint, the former prime minister said the suspension of the Awami League from political activity has hollowed out the electoral process, leaving tens of millions of voters effectively “disenfranchised”.

“You cannot ban the country’s oldest and most popular political party and then claim democratic legitimacy. That is not reform; it is authoritarianism dressed up as transition,” Hasina told ThePrint.

Although Yunus has insisted the Awami League has not been banned but merely “suspended from political activities”, Hasina dismissed the distinction as hollow.

“That is a distinction without meaning,” she said, arguing that a party that “can not campaign, organise or contest elections” is, in effect, barred from political life.

Bangladesh is scheduled to vote on Feb 12, but Hasina said the exclusion of her party has already poisoned the process.

“Elections held under such conditions cannot be considered free, fair or legitimate,” she wrote to ThePrint.

“Voters must be free to elect the party of their choosing and not be excluded from participating or coerced by door-to-door activists into voting for the BNP or [Jamaat-e-Islami] under threats of violence or destruction,” ThePrint quoted her as adding. She accused the interim government of deliberately clearing the field because it feared defeat.

“The interim government knows that if we were allowed to contest these elections, we would command overwhelming support. That is why we have been banned,” Hasina said.

“Let us not forget that Yunus himself has never received a single vote from the people of Bangladesh, and yet he has rewritten our country’s legal framework to legitimise his unlawful actions,” she was quoted in the report. The Awami League governed Bangladesh from 2009 until Hasina’s removal in August 2024, shaping nearly a decade and a half of the country’s political life. Now, as the February vote approaches, Bangladesh is heading into an election without the party that led the 1971 independence struggle and dominated post-independence politics.

Violence engulfed Bangladesh in mid-2024, when student-led protests over public sector job quotas spiralled into a nationwide revolt against her government. According to the interim authorities, roughly 1,400 people were killed as unrest spread across the country. Hasina told ThePrint she “regrets” every life lost but rejected claims that her government had provoked the bloodshed.

“We welcomed the legitimate protests led by the students and allowed them to proceed peacefully. We listened to their demands, and we addressed these, overturning the public sector job quotas that were the source of their frustration,” she wrote. She claimed the turning point came when the demonstrations were overtaken by forces working to bring her down.

“What we could not have foreseen was the turning point when extremist elements hijacked the protests. This was no longer a spontaneous and peaceful student movement, but a violent mob organised and directed by Yunus that sought violence, attacked police stations and destroyed state infrastructure,” Hasina told ThePrint.

“Like any legitimate government, our actions were guided by the instinct to protect our country’s institutions and prevent any loss of life,” she added.

On Aug 5, 2024, as violence intensified in Dhaka, Hasina fled her official residence, Ganabhaban, ending her 15 years in power. She has remained in India since then, a fact that has become a sensitive fault line in India-Bangladesh relations.

ThePrint reported that one of Hasina’s sharpest accusations against Yunus centres on the judicial inquiry she had set up to investigate the deaths during the protests — and which was scrapped almost immediately after the interim government took power.

“My principal frustration is that Yunus dissolved that inquiry immediately upon taking power, no doubt because he knew that it would expose the meticulous plan he orchestrated,” she wrote to ThePrint.

“That decision alone raises serious questions as to the motivations behind the protests and his seizure of power, including the matter of foreign involvement. Those questions deserve impartial investigation.”

Since her removal, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has sentenced Hasina and her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity, citing her government’s attempts to suppress the 2024 unrest. Under Yunus, the Awami League’s organisational backbone has also been dismantled. Its student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, was banned under anti-terrorism legislation — a law originally enacted under Hasina’s government in 2009 and amended in 2025 before being used against her party.

Hasina told ThePrint that Bangladesh is now sliding into chaos under an unelected administration that lacks the authority or will to control violence.

“Law and order cannot be maintained through fear or selective enforcement,” she wrote, calling for a swift return to “constitutional governance” and elections “held with the participation of all parties”.

Her warning comes after two days of unrest in December, triggered by the killing of Sharif Osman bin Hadi, a prospective candidate for parliament who was shot in Dhaka on Dec 12 and later died on Dec 18 while under treatment in Singapore. Protests spiralled into riots that saw the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star set ablaze.

“The violence we are witnessing is the direct result of an unelected administration that lacks any popular mandate and has allowed our politics to be usurped by extremist factions,” Hasina told ThePrint.

“Instead of delivering ‘reform’, the interim government has elevated radical groups to positions of power, established rule by mob justice, and suppressed legitimate political voices,” she was quoted as saying.

“In Bangladesh today, there is no semblance of law and order,” she added.

“The Yunus government has routinely failed to act decisively against violence. Indeed, it has actively emboldened extremists who seek to spread their hardline ideology through daily acts of brutality, repressing any trace of pluralism in our society and dismissing any diversity of thought by labelling any dissenting voice as a political enemy,” she said according to ThePrint.

The December unrest included the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man in Mymensingh, sparking protests in India and renewed concern over the safety of Bangladesh’s minorities. Hindus account for about 8 percent of the population. India has repeatedly urged Dhaka to do more to protect minorities since Hasina’s fall.

Yunus has argued the violence is largely political or criminal rather than communal, saying only 71 of 645 incidents against minorities in 2025 had communal elements, according to ThePrint. Hasina, however, sees a deeper ideological shift.

“Bangladesh was founded on secularism, pluralism and democratic values. The rehabilitation of Jamaat-e-Islami and other extremist factions threatens the very fabric of our nation,” she wrote to ThePrint.

“When radical groups are allowed back into mainstream politics, they do not moderate the state. They seek to reshape it in their own image and remove any trace of pluralism,” she added. Jamaat has re-entered mainstream politics since Yunus lifted the ban on its activities, while its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir has won university elections across several campuses.

Hasina also accused the interim government of tolerating what she called a systematic attempt to rewrite Bangladesh’s past — including the vandalism and demolition of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic home at Dhanmondi 32.

“What we are seeing today is the deliberate erosion of historical truth,” she wrote to ThePrint. “Extremist and revisionist forces have tried hard to dilute the reality of our hard-won independence from Pakistan in 1971, blurring the distinction between victim and aggressor.”

“This truth may be inconvenient to the interim government, which wishes to paint the Awami League as enemies of the state, but it is a truth nonetheless,” she added.

“A nation that forgets the price of its freedom becomes vulnerable to those who once denied it. Preserving the truth of our Liberation War is not about politics. It is about safeguarding our identity and sovereignty.”

As Bangladesh moves towards its most uncertain election in decades, February now looms as a reckoning — not only over who governs, but over what kind of state the country is becoming.

A total of 891 candidates contesting the upcoming 13th national election have movable and immovable assets worth crores of taka, according to Transparency International Bangladesh. The findings, found through TIB’s analysis of the profiles of valid candidates based on their election affidavits, were presented at a press conference at TIB office in Dhaka on Thursday.

More than 28 per cent of candidates reported an annual income of up to Tk 3.75 lakh while 124 candidates declared annual incomes of Tk 1 crore or more. The analysis shows that 58.84 per cent of candidates have declared assets worth less than Tk 1 crore, while 27 candidates declared assets exceeding Tk 100 crore. Regarding citizenship and overseas links, 21 candidates previously held dual citizenship but have since renounced it.

A total of 31 candidates reported income from foreign sources, while 17 candidates declared owning assets abroad, according to their affidavits. TIB analysis showed Islamic parties have fielded the highest number of candidates in terms of party affiliation this time. Of the total, 4.02 per cent are women, while 95.98 per cent are men. Among female candidates, six are from the Jamaat alliance and 24 from the BNP alliance.

Out of total candidates, 48.48 per cent candidates showed their profession as business, 12.61 per cent lawyer, 11.56 per cent teaching and only 1.56 per cent as politics. This election will see 1,696 first-time candidates contesting for parliamentary seats.

In terms of education, about 76.42 per cent of candidates hold undergraduate or postgraduate degrees, marking the highest proportion of such candidates in any election to date, according to TIB analysis. In addition, 68.05 per cent of candidates reported having bank loans.

The TIB analysis also found that BNP candidates are the most indebted among all parties. According to the data, 59.41 per cent of BNP candidates have bank loans. In terms of legal cases, 530 candidates currently face criminal cases, while 740 candidates had cases against them in the past. Candidates declared a total election expenditure of Tk 463.7 crore for the upcoming polls, with the average spending per candidate standing at Tk 22.5 lakh.

The analysis further shows that 259 candidates declared expenditures below the average amount. Around 2000 candidates are contesting in the upcoming election scheduled for February 12.

India, China and Brazil are expected to come under scrutiny under the proposed legislation, echoing Trump’s earlier warnings to BRICS nations over their economic ties with Russia. US President Donald Trump has “greenlit” a sweeping bipartisan sanctions bill targeting Russia and its trade partners, including India, as part of renewed efforts to end the Ukraine war through intensified economic pressure on Moscow.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Trump has approved the proposed legislation, which would significantly expand sanctions not only on Russia but also on countries continuing trade with Moscow, particularly those purchasing Russian oil.

“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill,” Graham told reporters. “I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote, hopefully as early as next week.”

Graham said the bill would empower Trump to “punish countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin’s war machine.”

India, China and Brazil are expected to come under scrutiny under the proposed legislation, echoing Trump’s earlier warnings to BRICS nations over their economic ties with Russia.

What does the bill propose?
The proposed legislation, titled the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, aims to impose sanctions on individuals and countries deemed by the US president to be acting on Russia’s behalf or obstructing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

• The bill outlines four conditions under which sanctions may be imposed:
• Refusing to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine
• Violating a negotiated peace agreement
• Initiating another invasion of Ukraine
• Overthrowing, dismantling or attempting to subvert the Ukrainian government
• If triggered, the bill mandates the president to impose a range of penalties, including visa restrictions and tariffs of up to 500%.

It also directs the US Treasury Department to impose property-blocking sanctions and instructs the Commerce Department to ban the export, re-export or in-country transfer of US-produced energy or energy products to or within Russia.

India is already facing elevated US tariffs. In August 2025, Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil as “fueling the war in Ukraine.” This came on top of an earlier 25% tariff announced during Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” trade measures, bringing the total tariff on Indian goods to 50%, placing India alongside Brazil among the countries facing the highest US tariffs.

With the start of 2026, Trump has hinted at the possibility of further tariff hikes on India due to its continued imports of Russian oil.

“Modi is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. He added that India continues to trade with Russia and that the US “can raise tariffs very quickly.”

If the proposed bill is passed, Trump would be required to raise tariffs to at least 500% on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the trade of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products.

The advisory committee on government purchase at a meeting on Tuesday approved a proposal to purchase fuel oils at a cost of Tk 1,462 crore from India amid tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi over a series of incidents. The latest was Dhaka’s decision to shut down the broadcasting of the Indian Premier League after Bangladesh pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, also known as Fizz, was released by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, following directives by the Indian Cricket Board.

Dhaka has also asked India to sift Bangladesh matches in the forthcoming T20 World Cup to Sri Lanka from India on ground of security of national cricketers. Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, who presided over the meeting of the advisory committee on government purchase, called the rows over Mustafizur disappointing.

The release of the pace bowler all of a sudden was unfortunate, he said, adding that the fallout of the incident was also unexpected. There have been diplomatic rows between Bangladesh and India since New Delhi gave shelter to deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled there amid a mass uprising on August 5, 2024. Salehuddin, however, said that the Mustafizur issue had not put any impact on the procurement of goods from India under the government purchase.

At Tuesday’s meeting, a Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation proposal to import 1.8 lakh tonnes of refined diesel from India’s Numaligarh Refinery Limited for the January-December period at a cost of Tk 1,462 crore was approved.

The import price of a litre of diesel from Numaligarh Refinery in Assam has been estimated at Tk 88 while the average price of a litre of diesel on the international market recently was about $1.24, equivalent to Tk 175.

Responding to questions from reporters about diesel imports from India amid the tensions, energy adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the diesel import was being carried out under an agreement signed previously.

‘This is a 15-year contract signed long ago,’ he said, adding that the latest import was part of the contract. The day’s meeting also approved three more proposals on imports of fuel oils with the overall amount standing at 30.6 lakh tonnes at an estimate cost of Tk 24,150.84 crore. The imports are to meet the country’s fuel oil demand until June.

The BPC will import 15 lakh tonnes of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for state-run Eastern Refinery Limited at a cost Tk 11,863 crore. It will import 13.80 lakh tonnes of refined fuel oils from seven companies from six countries under government-to-government arrangements at an estimated cost of Tk 10,826 crore. The six countries are India, China, Malaysia, the UAE, Thailand and Indonesia.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party has announced a seven-day mourning period following the death of the party’s chairperson and Bangladesh’s three-time former prime minister Khaleda Zia. The announcement was made at a press conference held at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday morning by BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Rizvi said that during the seven-day period, party leaders and activists would wear black badges. Quran recitations and prayer gatherings will be held in all offices. Condolence books will be opened at the BNP headquarters in Paltan and Gulshan. The schedule for her burial and final rites will be announced later. Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, passed away at 6:00am on Tuesday.

Florida, USA: The 40th FOBANA (Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America) Conference will be held from September 4-6, 2026, at Holiday Inn Resort, 3011 Maingate Ln, Kissimmee, Florida 34747, Orlando, USA. The event is organized by the Bangladesh Somity of Central Florida.

The conference will be supported by the Bangladesh Society of Central Florida, Association of World Fair and Fest USA Inc, and Central Florida Sports Club Inc. This year’s conference will feature a gathering of the Bangladeshi diaspora, cultural programs, educational and business discussions, as well as various community development activities. The event is open to all expatriates and interested participants, and everyone is warmly invited to attend.

The Office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) has issued a directive making it mandatory to deduct income tax at source from the monthly salaries of government officers and employees whose basic pay exceeds the specified threshold. The circular was released on Monday.

According to the letter from the CGA’s Additional Accounts and Procedures Division, under the Income Tax Act, 2023, male government officials and employees with a monthly basic salary of Tk26,785 or more, and female officials and employees earning Tk30,357 or more, have crossed the tax-free income limit. As a result, income tax must be deducted at source when preparing their salary bills.

The circular also stated that, under Treasury Rules S R 125, the responsibility for deducting income tax and other applicable charges from salary bills rests with the respective drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs).

All Chief Accounts and Finance Officers, Divisional and District Accounts Controllers, Upazila Accounts Officers, and other relevant offices nationwide have been instructed to take the necessary steps to implement this directive.

The instruction was sent to the Finance Division through the secretary, with specific attention to the joint secretary (budget-1).

The directive refers to a semi-official letter issued by the Internal Resources Division and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on October 7, which provided clear guidelines on deducting income tax at source from government salaries.

Three Bangladeshi nationals were beaten to death, reportedly by Indian nationals in Tripura state of India, on Thursday. The deceased were identified as Pandit Mia, son of Kana Mia; Sajal Mia, son of Kuddus Mia; and Jewel Mia, son of Asrab Ullah, all residents of Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj district.

Lt Col Tanjinul Rahman, commanding officer of BGB-55, said the incident occurred at Karangichhara in Tripura state, about 4–5 kilometres inside India from the zero point of the border. The exact time of the incident, however, could not be confirmed.

According to BGB sources, the three Bangladeshis had allegedly crossed into India two to three days ago when local Indian residents attacked them, suspecting them to be cattle lifters. The attackers allegedly beat and stabbed the men indiscriminately, leaving them dead on the spot.

The bodies were later kept at Sampahar police station. Quoting Pandit Mia’s son, BGB officials said the victims had gone to the hilly area to collect betel leaves on Tuesday morning and had been missing since then.

“On Wednesday, we came to know that the bodies of all three were in India,” said Zahir Mia, son of Pandit. BGB personnel have contacted the Border Security Force (BSF) regarding the incident, said Lt Col Tanjinul.

“Efforts are ongoing to verify the authenticity of the incident and to gather detailed information. All necessary measures are being taken to maintain peace and harmony in the border area and to prevent the recurrence of such unwanted incidents in the future,” he added.

Reiterating that India firmly supports “free, fair, inclusive, and participatory elections” in Bangladesh at the earliest possible time, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday said that India will work with any government that emerges through the mandate of the people of Bangladesh. The Indian foreign secretary said they are ready to work with the democratically elected government following the results of an “inclusive and participatory” election.“We remain ready to engage with any government that emerges from these elections with a popular mandate,” he said while responding to a question during an interaction with members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, joint secretary (Bangladesh & Myanmar) B Shyam, DCAB President AKM Moinuddin, and General Secretary Md Arifuzzaman Mamun were also present.

During the nearly hour-long discussion, the Indian foreign secretary responded to questions on bilateral relations, border management, water-sharing issues, and matters concerning former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently staying in India.

The foreign secretary acknowledged that some issues exist, which is natural in any bilateral relationship. A 23-member DCAB delegation is currently visiting India at the invitation of the government of India. The foreign secretary said one important issue being closely watched not only in the region but also globally is the next steps in Bangladesh’s internal political process.

“We have all seen the announcements and statements regarding the next elections in Bangladesh. I understand that a time frame around February has been indicated in this regard,” he said.

He added that India is encouraged by the fact that Bangladeshi authorities themselves have spoken about a timeline for the elections and that India looks forward to their successful conduct.

“It will be a government elected with a popular mandate, and we will work with whichever government the people of Bangladesh choose to represent them,” Foreign Secretary Misri said.

Referring to India’s role in the region, the foreign secretary said that India has a significant stake in the peace, progress, stability, and development of Bangladesh.

“All of these issues are linked to regional stability, and we attach the highest importance to that — not just for ourselves but also because it serves our mutual interests,” he said.

When asked about the possibility of elections excluding a major political party, Misri said: “I obviously cannot get into the middle of decisions made by authorities in Bangladesh. The authorities, the people, and civil society in Bangladesh will have to make their own assessment of how these elections are viewed both domestically and internationally.”

He added that it is not only a matter of internal legitimacy but also one of external perception.

“These decisions will not just affect the present but will have implications in the medium to long term. Ultimately, it is for the people of Bangladesh to decide,” Misri said.

He noted that the elections will undoubtedly express a certain mandate.

“When it comes to the conditions shaping that mandate, India will not interfere. That is something for the people of Bangladesh to determine,” he said.

He also mentioned that even after the events of July and August last year, India has continued to work with the authorities in Dhaka, despite the unusual nature of the current political arrangement.

“That hasn’t prevented us from working with or engaging the authorities,” he said.

Misri noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first leaders to congratulate Professor Muhammad when he assumed charge as the head of the interim government, followed by a series of subsequent engagements. When asked about Pakistan–Bangladesh relations, the foreign secretary said he would not comment on Bangladesh’s relations with a third country.

“I can only say that we value our relationship with Bangladesh. We have a stake in its peace, progress, stability, and development. All of these have a bearing on regional security and stability,” he said.

“We have had close discussions with the authorities in Bangladesh on these matters in the past, and I am sure we will continue to do so,” he added, expressing confidence that Bangladesh recognizes the importance of regional stability and security for all. The foreign secretary said the India–Bangladesh relationship is rooted in strong cultural, linguistic, religious, and historical ties.

“These are factors that continue to underpin our relationship. We have always approached it with a people-first mindset,” he said.

“This is a time-tested relationship — more than five decades old — and I am confident it will continue to flourish,” Misri added. He said India’s approach toward Bangladesh has always been pragmatic.

“We are no strangers to the momentous developments that have taken place in the region, the world, and in Bangladesh. Our pragmatic approach has guided our engagement with the authorities, including the interim government,” he said.

“The only point I would make is that for this engagement to be sustained and to serve as the basis for even stronger ties in the future, both sides need to work toward creating a conducive environment,” he noted. The foreign secretary concluded by emphasizing the importance of avoiding statements or actions that could harm the bilateral atmosphere.