Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman, currently on an official visit to Ottawa, held a discussion with Canadian officials on strengthening defense cooperation and improving visa facilitation services for Bangladeshi nationals, particularly for students. The army chief engaged in discussions with the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada, Lieutenant-General Stephen R. Kelsey, and Salma Zahid MP, Vice-Chair of the Canada-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group. Upon his arrival on Wednesday, General Waker was received by Ajit Singh, Director of the Privy Council Office of Canada and Canada’s High Commissioner-designate to Bangladesh, according to a press release of the Bangladesh embassy in Ottawa received here today.   At their meeting, the two discussed enhancing bilateral ties, with an emphasis on resolving visa-related issues for Bangladeshi nationals, including students. In his meeting with Lt. Gen. Kelsey, General Waker stressed the importance of simplifying visa procedures for Bangladeshi military personnel, both serving and retired. He advocated for handling individual visa cases through bilateral consultations to avoid generalized restrictions.   Additionally, the discussions paved the way for expanded defense cooperation, particularly through increased training exchanges between military institutions of both countries. The Bangladesh Army Chief proposed enhanced collaboration through officer exchange programs at institutions like the National Defence College (NDC) and staff colleges to bolster the professional development of military personnel. In the meeting with Salma Zahid MP, General Waker addressed the challenges faced by Bangladeshi students seeking visas to study in Canada.   He urged for expedited visa processes, emphasizing the Bangladesh government’s commitment to youth development and highlighting the mutual benefits of facilitating educational opportunities for Bangladeshi students in Canada. Salma Zahid acknowledged the visa challenges, pointing to Canada’s housing shortages as a contributing factor. However, she encouraged students to apply to designated Canadian institutions to expedite the visa process and reaffirmed her commitment to finding solutions to the current limitations on foreign student admissions.   The potential for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Canadian and Bangladeshi universities to foster educational exchanges was also discussed. Besides, they discussed opportunities for cooperation in agriculture and infrastructure development. In addition, the Army Chief mentioned Bangladesh’s readiness to assist Canada in its healthcare sector, including through providing caregivers to Canada. Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada, Nahida Sobhan, was present during both meetings.

A court here today scraped a case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and three others over the death of 42 people across the country during BNP's blockade program and general strikes in 2015. News BSS.   Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ziadur Rahman passed the order, accepting a police report filed in this regard.   The three other accused in the case are BNP standing committee member Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah, former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University late Professor Emajuddin Ahamed and former adviser to BNP chairperson Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury.   One AB Siddique, president of Jananetri Parishad, filed the case with Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on February 2, 2015. The court later ordered Gulshan Police Station to file a report.   The investigation officer submitted his report on September 21, 2024, saying allegations brought against the accused under sections 302/34/109 of the penal code, were not found to be true.  

The government has decided to increase the age limit for entering government jobs by two years to 32.  However, the cabinet department said that a candidate cannot appear in the BCS exam more than three times.  This decision was taken in the advisory council meeting on Thursday (October 24). Later this information was revealed in Cabinet Department's press release. It is said that the ordinance has been approved through discussion in the advisory council meeting. The maximum age limit for entry into the service of all cadres of Bangladesh Civil Service and all government jobs outside the scope of Bangladesh Civil Service will be fixed at 32 years. 

The furniture industry is considered a promising sector in Bangladesh. However, it remains dependent on imported raw materials. Due to high import duties and a lack of quality raw materials, the country struggles to export furniture at competitive prices. As a result, the industry has not developed as expected. The Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association has called for the withdrawal of customs taxes and the introduction of bond facilities to make the sector export-oriented. These demands were raised at a meeting held at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) office on Wednesday (October 23) to discuss the opportunities and challenges of exporting Bangladeshi furniture. EPB Vice Chairman Md Anwar Hossain presided over the meeting, with EPB Director Abu Mukhles Alamgir Hossain also in attendance. Industry entrepreneurs noted that international demand for Bangladeshi furniture is rising, but the sector cannot meet quality expectations, limiting its growth. They emphasized that high customs duties are the biggest obstacle to furniture exports. With supportive government policies, the sector could generate more employment. Entrepreneurs further highlighted that since Bangladesh does not produce essential raw materials for furniture, these must be imported. While raw materials for other export-oriented industries enjoy zero-duty facilities, furniture manufacturers face full duties and taxes. This raises production costs and market prices, reducing competitiveness. The Furniture Exporters Association urged the government to remove or reduce supplementary and regulatory duties on raw material imports, offer bonded warehouse facilities, and ensure certified wood supplies. Prominent figures at the meeting included Kawsar Chowdhury, Director of the Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association; Salim H Rahman, MD of Hatil Furniture; KM Aktaruzzaman of Akter Furniture; A Karim Majumder of Nadia Furniture; and Elias Sarkar of Brothers Furniture.

The government has decided to increase the age limit for entering government jobs to 32 years. The deadline was approved at a meeting of the advisory council on Thursday (October 24). Earlier, a committee formed in this regard submitted a report to the government on October 14 recommending raising the age limit for entry into government service. In a notification issued by the Ministry of Public Administration, it is said that the ordinance has been approved through discussion at the advisory council meeting. According to the notification: The maximum age limit for entry into the service of all cadres of Bangladesh Civil Service will be fixed at 32 years. The maximum age limit for entering all government jobs outside the scope of Bangladesh Civil Service will be 32 years. In the case of autonomous, and semi-autonomous organizations, the respective recruitment rules will be applicable subject to necessary adaptations. The respective recruitment rules will remain in force in the case of Defense Services and Law and Order Forces.   Besides, in the light of this Ordinance, the Ministry of Public Administration, under the powers given in Section 59 of the 'Government Employment Act, 2018', restructured the 'Bangladesh Civil Service (Age, Qualification and Examination for Direct Recruitment) Rules, 2014'. Bar may descend – shall add such rules.

54 students were detained by police yesterday after entering the secretariat and staging a protest demanding a re-evaluation of their HSC and Equivalent results of the current year. Among them, 26 were arrested today, while 28 were released under the custody of their guardians. Deputy Police Commissioner of Media and Public Relations Department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Muhammad Talebur Rahman confirmed the information on Thursday (October 24). He said, among the 54 detained students, 28 have been released on bond. The rest have been arrested with regular cases. A case has been filed at Shahbagh police station in this regard. The protest, led by HSC students who failed or performed poorly in the exams, took place yesterday around 3:00 pm in front of the main gate of Building 6 at the Secretariat, where the Ministry of Education is located. A large contingent of police officers and army personnel were present at the scene. At one point, police chased and dispersed the students, detaining over 50 of them.

Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Interim Government, said that the Government will take the initiative to create an agricultural market to deliver farmers' products directly to consumers and break syndicates. He said this at the opening ceremony of the sale of TCB products at subsidized prices to common consumers in mobile trucks in Capital's Begunbari area on Thursday (October 24). Asif Mahmud said that due to some other reasons including flood, the price of goods is increasing in the market. Due to manipulation with syndicates or hoarding of Retailers, the price of goods in the market increases, and public suffering increases. The government will take a strict stand against it. He said that the work is going on to reach the products from the farmer to the consumer level. The government will help those who do it. Apart from this, alternative agricultural markets are also being considered. So that the farmer can sell the product directly. The advisor also said that private entrepreneurs should come forward to further spread the activities that have been started to deliver products from farmers to consumer level privately. It will help to break the syndicate. The government will work to solve this problem in the long term. Incidentally, in addition to family card holders, consumers can now stand in line in front of the truck at designated points of TCB and buy TCB's price products without the card. Arrangements have been made to sell oil, pulses, and rice supplied by TCB's Directorate of Food at subsidized prices through 50 trucks in Dhaka and 20 in Chattogram. This program will start on 24th October and will continue till 30th November. However, if inflation does not reach a tolerable level, the activities may be extended later, according to TCB sources. Beneficiaries can buy a maximum of 2 liters of edible oil, 2 kg of lentils, and 5 kg of rice under this program. In this case, they have to buy edible oil at Tk100 per liter, lentils at Tk60 per kg, and rice at Tk30 per kg.