NBR registers 131,000 new VAT payers in December
NBR registers 131,000 new VAT payers in December
Trump says US will 'come to their rescue' if Iran kills protesters
Trump says US will 'come to their rescue' if Iran kills protesters
Sheikh Hasina responsible for Begum Khaleda Zia's death: Rizvi
Sheikh Hasina responsible for Begum Khaleda Zia's death: Rizvi
CA calls for mutual cooperation at 30th DITF 2026
CA calls for mutual cooperation at 30th DITF 2026
Sharmeen Murshid meets Tarique Rahman, signs Khaleda Zia’s condolence book
Sharmeen Murshid meets Tarique Rahman, signs Khaleda Zia’s condolence book
Special prayers held at Dhakeshwari Temple for Begum Khaleda Zia
Special prayers held at Dhakeshwari Temple for Begum Khaleda Zia
Students to receive textbooks on January 1: NCTB Chairman
Agricultural cluster admission test today
Agricultural cluster admission test today
DHAKA, Jan 3, 2026 (BSS) - The admission test for first-year undergraduate (honours) programmes of the 2025-26 academic session under the agricultural cluster of nine universities is set to take place this afternoon. The test will begin at 2:00 pm and continue until 3:00 pm and will be conducted under the multiple-choice question (MCQ) system. A total of 88,228 candidates are set to take part in the admission test against 3,701 seats available in the cluster universities. As a result, an average of 24 candidates will compete for each seat. The admission test will be held simultaneously at 20 sub-centres across the country, including the nine cluster universities. The universities under the agricultural cluster are Bangladesh Agricultural University, Gazipur Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Sylhet Agricultural University, Khulna Agricultural University, Habiganj Agricultural University and Kurigram Agricultural University.  
Chhatra Dal holds milad mahfil seeking eternal peace for Khaleda Zia
Chhatra Dal holds milad mahfil seeking eternal peace for Khaleda Zia
Symbol ‘scale’ must be victorious in next election to ensure development: Golam Parwar
Symbol ‘scale’ must be victorious in next election to ensure development: Golam Parwar
CA orders strengthening cyber security ahead of polls
CA orders strengthening cyber security ahead of polls
Govt to public names behind Hadi murder soon, complete trial within its tenure: Jahangir
Govt to public names behind Hadi murder soon, complete trial within its tenure: Jahangir
No scope for failure in holding free, fair elections: CEC
No scope for failure in holding free, fair elections: CEC
CA urges voters to choose honest, capable candidates
CA urges voters to choose honest, capable candidates
London stocks hit record as 2026 kicks off with global gains
London stocks hit record as 2026 kicks off with global gains
NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Stock markets mostly rose on Friday, the first trading day of 2026, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index reaching 10,000 points for the first time. After indices smashed records in 2025, ending with double-digit annual gains, London continued the trend in early new year deals. The capital's top-tier index -- featuring the likes of energy group BP, telecoms firm Vodafone and banking giant HSBC -- gained more than one percent to reach an all-time high of 10,046.25 points soon after the start of trading Friday. It gave up much of its gains but still ended the day up 0.2 percent to set a fresh closing record. "The FTSE 100 hit the 10,000 jackpot level immediately after rounding off a tremendous year for UK shares," noted Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell trading group. The index climbed more than 21 percent in 2025, the biggest rise for 16 years, helped in large part by cuts to British interest rates alongside reductions to borrowing costs by the US Federal Reserve as global inflation largely retreated. Helping the FTSE 100 to its new record Friday was another solid gain to the share price of gold miner Fresnillo, whose stock rocketed 436 percent last year as the precious metal's price struck multiple record highs. Paris and Frankfurt also rose on Friday after Hong Kong led Asian gains, closing up 2.8 percent. Wall Street's major indices mostly closed higher, with the broad-based S&P 500 up 0.2 percent and the Dow adding 0.7 percent. "AI-related names have been at the forefront of today's strength in international markets, drawing support from news that Baidu's chip unit filed for an IPO in Hong Kong," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. Also on Friday on the Hong Kong stock exchange, shares in Chinese chip designer Biren Technology soared as much as 119 percent in the exchange's first listing of the year. It closed at HK$34.46, off its intra-day high of HK$42.88 but well up on its offer price of HK$19.60. The Shanghai-based firm's listing raised more than $700 million, suggesting that investor appetite for anything related to AI remains insatiable. "The industry is in a flourishing stage, with many firms striving for breakthroughs and significant growth potential," said Kenny Ng, a strategist at China Everbright Securities. The surge in the tech sector on vast amounts of cash pumped into artificial intelligence helped push stock markets to record highs last year, and propelled AI chip juggernaut Nvidia to become the world's first $5 trillion company. Concerns that valuations of AI stocks are too high, however, gnawed at investors late in 2025. Briefing.com's O'Hare said Friday's "news should be encouraging to investors who are worried that overall AI investment could be on the verge of stalling or turning." Shares in Tesla dropped 2.6 percent on Wall Street after the company ceded the title of the world's biggest electric vehicle maker to Chinese auto giant BYD for 2025. Oil prices slid, having lost nearly 20 percent last year on an oversupplied market. - Key figures at around 2100 GMT - New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 48,382.39 points (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,858.47 (close) New York - Nasdaq Composite: FLAT at 23,235.63 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,951.14 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,195.21 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 24,539.34 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.8 percent at 26,338.47 (close) Shanghai - market closed for holiday Tokyo - market closed for holiday Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1720 from $1.1750 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3460 from $1.3478 Dollar/yen: UP at 156.85 yen from 156.66 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.07 pence from 87.18 pence Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $60.75 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $57.30 per barrel
Commercial court ordinance - a new era for trade justice and economic growth
Commercial court ordinance - a new era for trade justice and economic growth
NBR introduces new 'Shipping Agent Licensing Rules 2025' to simplify trade
NBR introduces new 'Shipping Agent Licensing Rules 2025' to simplify trade
Youth festival held in Rajbari thru various competitions 
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'Are they OK?': desperate search for the missing after Swiss fire
LA Galaxy midfielder Puig to have surgery after knee recovery 'setback'
'Chaotic mess' Kyrgios determined to enjoy himself after injuries
Ukraine hosts talks with security allies in Kyiv
NBR registers 131,000 new VAT payers in December
Agricultural cluster admission test today
Zverev admits 'a lot of catching up' to reel in Alcaraz, Sinner
England captain Stokes says no coasting in 'huge' final Ashes clash
Yemen separatists launch two-year independence transition as strikes kill 20
Zelensky says wants to replace Ukraine's defence minister
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Agricultural cluster admission test today
Agricultural cluster admission test today
Over 90.5 pc candidates attend CU 'A' Unit admission test
Over 90.5 pc candidates attend CU 'A' Unit admission test
Govt initiates doubling junior scholarship amounts
Govt initiates doubling junior scholarship amounts
Doa mahfil held at JU's Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall for Khaleda Zia
Doa mahfil held at JU's Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall for Khaleda Zia
Quran recitation, prayer meeting held in Bagerhat for Khaleda Zia
Quran recitation, prayer meeting held in Bagerhat for Khaleda Zia
BAGERHAT, Jan 2, 2026 (BSS) - A Quran recitation, discussion and prayer meeting were held in Bagerhat today, seeking forgiveness and eternal peace for the departed soul of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. The programmes were organised by BNP and its associate bodies, with Bagerhat Ward-6 BNP President Farukuzzaman presiding over the prayer meeting. Municipal BNP President Sheikh Shahed Ali Robi, Municipal Jubo Dal Convener Sumon Paik, Sadar Upazila Jubo Dal Convener Abul Hasan and Ward BNP General Secretary Haider Ali, among others, were present. Speakers said the nation had suffered an irreparable loss due to the death of Begum Khaleda Zia, adding that her contribution to establishing democracy, sovereignty and human rights would be remembered in history.  They prayed for the forgiveness and eternal peace of her departed soul and for strength for the nation to bear the loss.      
Coast Guard seizes illegal boat, detains 16 fishermen in Cox's Bazar
Coast Guard seizes illegal boat, detains 16 fishermen in Cox's Bazar
Special prayers in Khulna mosques for Khaleda Zia
Special prayers in Khulna mosques for Khaleda Zia
LA Galaxy midfielder Puig to have surgery after knee recovery 'setback'
LA Galaxy midfielder Puig to have surgery after knee recovery 'setback'
'Chaotic mess' Kyrgios determined to enjoy himself after injuries
'Chaotic mess' Kyrgios determined to enjoy himself after injuries
Zverev admits 'a lot of catching up' to reel in Alcaraz, Sinner
Zverev admits 'a lot of catching up' to reel in Alcaraz, Sinner
England captain Stokes says no coasting in 'huge' final Ashes clash
England captain Stokes says no coasting in 'huge' final Ashes clash
'Are they OK?': desperate search for the missing after Swiss fire
'Are they OK?': desperate search for the missing after Swiss fire
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland, Jan 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Teenagers Eleonore and Elisa started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since a deadly fire tore through a bar in a neighbouring Swiss town. "Are they OK? Are they just at the hospital?" one of the 17-year-olds says. They have not heard from them since a blaze tore through a New Year's celebration in the luxury resort town of Crans-Montana, turning what should have been a night of revelry into a globe-spanning tragedy. Police estimate around 40 people have been killed and about 115 injured, many of them young visitors to the Swiss Alps. Officials have started the arduous process of identifying the victims, but with some of the bodies badly burned, police warned the process could take days or even weeks. Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, with many circulating photos on social media. "We tried to reach them; some of their locations are still showing here," said one of the teenagers from Valais, nodding at the bar now shielded by opaque white tarpaulins and behind a wall of temporary barriers. "We took loads of photos (and) we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them," Eleonore said. "But there's nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don't know," she added. They managed to get news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in the city of Lausanne. More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Geneva, according to a Swiss news agency. There is no official estimate of the missing or headcount from Le Constellation bar that night. Italy's ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado told AFP that five of the injured have not yet been identified. A few hundred metres from the remnants of the burned bar, the nearby convention centre has been turned into a crisis unit. Away from the press and guarded by police, families of the victims are received and offered assistance by authorities, diplomats and chaplains. Swiss President Guy Parmelin said the support on offer would be "long-lasting". Nathan, a 19-year-old who was in the bar just before it caught fire, told AFP he keeps expecting to wake up from the "nightmare". "It feels like... I'm going to wake up tomorrow and get all my loved ones back who sadly died in this incident," he said. "Normally a new year is full of happiness, but unfortunately, this has happened."  
Mercury dips to 8 degree Celsius in Jashore
Mercury dips to 8 degree Celsius in Jashore
Dry weather, fog, slight temperature changes predicted
Dry weather, fog, slight temperature changes predicted
Lowest temperature at 9.7°C recorded in Dinajpur 
Lowest temperature at 9.7°C recorded in Dinajpur 
Dry weather, fog, changes of temperature forecast 
Dry weather, fog, changes of temperature forecast 
Dry weather, fog, slight fall of temperatures forecast
Dry weather, fog, slight fall of temperatures forecast
Light rain likely 
Light rain likely 
Nikli records country's lowest temperature for second day
Nikli records country's lowest temperature for second day

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Date : 03 Jan, 2026
123rd birth anniversary of poet Jasimuddin celebrated
123rd birth anniversary of poet Jasimuddin celebrated
Trump joins criticism of Clooney's French passport
Trump joins criticism of Clooney's French passport
Isiah Whitlock Jr., 'The Wire' actor, dies at 71
Isiah Whitlock Jr., 'The Wire' actor, dies at 71
Showbiz arena plunges into mourning over Khaleda Zia’s death
Showbiz arena plunges into mourning over Khaleda Zia’s death
63 more hospitalised in last 24 hours
63 more hospitalised in last 24 hours
One dengue patient dies, 120 fresh cases detected overnight
One dengue patient dies, 120 fresh cases detected overnight
114 fresh dengue cases detected overnight
114 fresh dengue cases detected overnight
Tourist influx peaks in Rangamati in winter season
Tourist influx peaks in Rangamati in winter season
Mustard fields depict eye-catching yellow look in Jhenaidah
Mustard fields depict eye-catching yellow look in Jhenaidah
Broccoli cultivation emerges as cash crop in Dumuria
Net-house potato farming boosts income, entrepreneurship in Rajshahi region
Regional temperature records broken across the world in 2025
Regional temperature records broken across the world in 2025
Regional temperature records broken across the world in 2025
2025 on target to be UK's hottest year on record: Met Office
Tourist influx peaks in Rangamati in winter season
Tourist influx peaks in Rangamati in winter season
Panchagarh's unique 'Rocks Museum' draws tourists with ancient artifacts
Idrakpur Fort of Mughal era stands as a witness to time