This time, BASIC Bank will merge with City Bank. This decision was taken in a meeting held at Bangladesh Bank on Monday. The decision was taken at a meeting held at Bangladesh Bank on Monday (April 8). The meeting was held between Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar and City Bank Chairman Aziz Al Kaiser along with Managing Director (MD) Mashrur Arefin. Earlier on March 19, City Bank's board was advised to merge BASIC Bank. Then the matter was discussed between the boards of City and BASIC Bank. According to some sources, even if the two banks are merged, they will report separate financials for the next three years.  

A fire has broken out in a super-board manufacturing factory of City Group in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj. At least, 10 units of fire service are working to control the fire. The fire broke out on Sunday (March 24) at noon. No casualties have been reported so far. Fire Service Control Room Duty Officer Faruk confirmed the matter. Gazaria Upazila Fire Service Station Officer Rifat Mallik said that the factory produces various variants of hardboards. On receiving the news of the fire, we reached the spot immediately and started the work of controlling the fire. At present, 10 units of fire service are working.

Former mayor Ekramul Haque Titu has been re-elected as the mayor of Mymensingh City Corporation (MCC) by a significant margin. . He got 1 lakh 35 thousand 959 votes in this election. Returning Officer Belayet Hossain Chowdhury announced the results after counting the votes at Tarek Memorial Auditorium in the city at around 9:30 pm on Saturday (March 9). The total number of voters in this election was 336, 496. Of these, 163,872 were male and 172,615 are female were female voters. In addition, there were third gender voters.

Voting in 231 local government elections, including Cumilla and Mymensingh city corporations ended amid sporadic violence. The vote counting is underway. The polling began at 8:00 am and continued till 4:00 pm. The Additional Secretary of the Election Commission (EC), Ashok Kumar Debnath said that the voting was held from 8.00am to 4.00pm without any break. In this case, those who will be within the boundaries of the polling centers, their votes will be taken even after 4 pm. The total voter turnout will be known once the counting is over. The total number of voters in Comilla city corporation is 2 lakh 42 thousand 458. On the  There are 3 lakh 36 thousand 496 voters in Mymensingh city corporation.  

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested a fugitive militant of an outlawed militant outfit "Hijbut Tahrir" from the city's Kotwali area.   The arrested was identified as Ahmmed Nizam, 35, who was a top cadre of the banned militant outfit and was a fugitive while he was convicted for two-year in five cases.   Acting on a tip-off, a team of the elite forces arrested him around 3:30 pm on Monday from Kotwali Police Station area in the capital, Senior ASP Shihab Karim, also a senior assistant director (Media) of the RAB, disclosed the matter today (Jan 17).   A total of five cases---four had been under the Anti-Terrorist Act and the rest other was filed under Police Assault Case-- filed with Khilgaon Police Station against Nizam in 2013, he said.   Nizam also had been working in the dawati department of the banned outfit and carrying out militant activities while keeping himself in a hiding place for a long. He had completed diploma in Civil Engineering from a Polytechnic Institute in 2010, the sources said.

Awami League (AL) President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cast her vote at the Dhaka City College centre here this morning in the 12th Jatiya Sangsad election. She cast her franchise just after starting the balloting at 8 in the morning.   Dhaka City College centre falls under Dhaka-10 constituency comprising Dhanmondi, Hazaribagh, New Market and Kalabagan thanas. The prime minister arrived at the polling centre with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, daughter Saima Wazed and Sheikh Rehana's son Radwan Mujib Siddiq at 7:55 in the morning.   Dhalywood actor Ferdous Ahmed who is contesting the polls on the Awami League ticket from Dhaka-10 constituency welcomed the premier at the centre. The balloting will continue till 4pm without any break as the EC has taken all-out preparations to hold the elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner across the country.

Seventeen bus companies are accused of illegally transporting more than 33,000 migrants at the behest of Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the $708 million lawsuit. New York City on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing 17 bus companies of illegally transporting more than 33,000 migrants to the city from the state of Texas. The transport firms are being sued for more than $700 million (€639 million), accusing them of illegally transporting tens of thousands of migrants from the southern border to New York under the guidance of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The bus firms are accused of taking part in a "bad faith" relocation measure that violates state restrictions on abandoning "needy persons" in New York. The suit seeks economical damages to cover the cost of caring for an estimated 33,000 migrants that have arrived in the United States' largest city on the buses since the spring of 2022. New York had sought to curb the arrival of buses carrying migrants by limiting where they could drop passengers off, as well as introducing prior notification requirements. But those requirements have been circumvented. Migration remains a thorny issue across the political divide ahead of a presidential election set to take place later this year. Adams says Abbot's scheme is 'reckless' Some buses carrying migrants have dropped off passengers in neighboring New Jersey state from where they make the last leg of their journey to New York by railway. "(The city) announced a lawsuit against 17 charter bus and transportation companies that seeks to recoup all costs New York City has incurred providing emergency shelter and services to migrants transported by the charter bus companies, totaling at least approximately $708 million in the last 20 months," the city said in a statement. "New York City has and will always do our part to manage this humanitarian crisis, but we cannot bear the costs of reckless political ploys from the state of Texas alone," New York Mayor Eric Adams in a statement. "Today, we are taking legal action against 17 companies that have taken part in Texas Governor Abbott's scheme to transport tens of thousands of migrants to New York City in an attempt to overwhelm our social services system." Abbot hits back over 'baseless' accusations Abbot has responded by saying the allegations are "baseless." He also took a sideswipe at Adams, posting on X that the New York Mayor "knows nothing about the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, or about the constitutional right to travel." In July of 2023, the US Justice Department sued the state of Texas over the installment of floating barriers in the Rio Grande River to stop migrants crossing from Mexico. The Rio Grande is 1,896 miles (3,051 kilometers) long, running from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. Every day, hundreds of migrants attempt to cross the river to try to enter the US. Republican Texas Governor Abbott has taken several steps in recent years to block migrants. Those included razor-wire fencing, arresting migrants and charging them with trespassing, and bussing asylum-seekers to other states led by the Democratic party.

Hong Kong should end its ban on Japanese seafood imports as the Fukushima nuclear waste water discharge had not caused contamination and doing so will show it can make decisions separately from mainland China under “one country, two systems”, Japan’s top diplomat in the city has said. In an exclusive interview with the Post, Japanese Consul General Kenichi Okada said the city had already taken a different approach from the mainland by applying a more narrow ban on only 10 prefectures. “Mainland China banned all seafood imports from Japan, while Hong Kong banned imports from only 10 prefectures,” he said. “[This] already shows a stark contrast between the mainland and Hong Kong.” Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The consul general said he believed the city could “continue to show one country, two systems in various manners”. “For example, if Hong Kong can lift the ban earlier than mainland China, Hong Kong can showcase the beautiful merits of one country, two systems in front of Japan,” he said. The governing principle guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years after reunification, and is stipulated in the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution. The consul general said he believed the city could “continue to show one country, two systems in various manners”. “For example, if Hong Kong can lift the ban earlier than mainland China, Hong Kong can showcase the beautiful merits of one country, two systems in front of Japan,” he said. The governing principle guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years after reunification, and is stipulated in the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

Tens of thousands of people in New York's Times Square cheered as they were showered with confetti marking the arrival of New Year's Day at midnight. As the colorful, lighted ball dropped heralding the coming of 2024, people in the New York City square and up and down the US East Coast hugged and kissed, exchanging hope and optimism for the year ahead. Revelers counted the hours and then the minutes until midnight at Times Square witnessing performances by musicians including Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J before the ceremonial ball drop. "It's beautiful," Corin Christian of North Carolina, said a little after midnight as Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" played from speakers in the square. "It's definitely a must-see," said Sarah Crayton from New Orleans surrounded by hordes of people in tall hats and blowing noisemakers. "At least go once, you know, just to experience the magic."

Colombian superstar Shakira's Caribbean home city of Barranquilla unveiled a 6.5-meter hip-swaying statue in her honor. The towering bronze and aluminum creation depicts the singer in a bikini top in one of her characteristic dance moves. On the platform X, the singer thanked sculptor Yino Marquez and his art student collaborators for "this example of the enormous artistic talent of the people of my country." Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, an icon of Latina girl power, has sold some 80 million albums worldwide and won three Grammy awards.