Due to dense fog, ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat river routes in Shivalaya upazila of Manikganj have been suspended. A total of five ferries carrying passengers and vehicles are stranded in the middle of the Padma.

The authorities have suspended ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat and Paturia-Daulatdia river routes from 2 am on Tuesday and 3:30 am on Paturia-Daulatdia.

Confirming the matter, Nasir Hossain Chowdhury, DGM of the Commerce Department of the Aricha office of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation, said that fog started falling on the Shivalaya section of the Padma and Jamuna rivers since Tuesday evening. Around midnight, the Aricha-Kazirhat and Paturia-Daulatdia river routes were shrouded in fog. Due to which ferry traffic on the river route has become quite risky, ferry traffic on the Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat routes has been temporarily closed.

At this time, three ferries named Birshreshtha Jahangir, Banalata and Baigar are anchored in the Padma in the middle of the Paturia-Daulatdia river route and two ferries named Shah Ali and Krishani are anchored in the Jamuna in the middle of the Aricha-Kazirhat river route with passengers and vehicles. When the fog in the river area decreases, all those ferries will be brought to the safe ghat pontoon.

In addition, ferry traffic will resume when the fog in the river area decreases. Since ferry traffic has been closed for a long time, several vehicles are waiting to cross the river route in the ghat pontoon area of both ferry ghats.

Nasir Hossain Chowdhury said that if the ferry traffic returns to normal, relatively large vehicles will be allowed to cross the river route on priority basis.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has cancelled the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) licenses of seven expired telecom companies.

This information was given in a notification signed by BTRC's Licensing Branch Director MA Taleb Hossain on Monday (January 20).

The seven companies whose licenses were cancelled are - Telebarta Limited, Rangs Telecom Limited, National Telecom Limited, Bangla Phone Limited, Westek Limited, Onetel Communication Limited and Integrated Service Limited.

The notification said that the licenses were cancelled as expired since the license period had expired and the companies did not apply for renewal.

'Therefore, any activity carried out under the cancelled license will be illegal and a punishable offense under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001. In addition, instructions have been issued to submit the original certificate of the canceled license to the commission and pay all outstanding dues (if any) to the commission within the next 30 days. 

Supreme Court judges will be appointed through an independent counsel. The Supreme Court Judge Appointment Ordinance has been issued with such a provision.

Law Adviser Professor Asif Nazrul gave this information at a press conference at the Secretariat on Tuesday (January 21) afternoon.

Announcing the gazette issuance of the Supreme Court Judge Appointment Ordinance, 2025, Asif Nazrul said that it has made a provision for a council to appoint judges in the high court. This six-member council will be formed under the leadership of the Chief Justice, two judges of the Appellate Division (one retired and one working), two judges of the High Court and the Attorney General.

He said that this council will collect the names of potential candidates on its own initiative. At the same time, there is a system so that any person, any lawyer can apply or propose someone's name of his own accord. This council will conduct interviews after conducting preliminary scrutiny. This council will be named the Supreme Judicial Appointment Council.

The law adviser said that the High Court was a major platform for the injustices, extreme human rights violations, and oppression that occurred during the previous government. People did not get redress there. The reason for this was that political governments appointed judges to the High Court based entirely on party considerations, in many cases incompetent people. A former judge made such comments about the appointment of the High Court, saying, "A catastrophe has occurred."

If qualified and impartial people are not appointed as judges in the High Court through a transparent process, then the issue of human rights of 17 crore people in the country will remain unresolved and at risk. There has been a demand in society for many years that experienced, skilled, non-partisan, and truly qualified people be appointed as judges in the High Court through a transparent process. Now a law has been passed in this regard. He expressed hope that judges will be appointed to the High Court through a transparent and accountable process.

The law adviser said that the demand for the establishment of a separate judicial secretariat of the Supreme Court has been in society for a long time. This has become a national consensus. This initiative is being taken. It takes some time for detailed examination.

Earlier, last month, a notification by the Supreme Court administration said that the Chief Justice has taken steps to bring about necessary legal and structural reforms to establish a separate judicial secretariat to implement the verdict in the Masdar Hossain case to ensure the independence of the judiciary.

Asif Nazrul spoke about the initiative to launch a permanent attorney service. He said that there are some complaints that since government prosecutors are appointed by parties, they often cannot play a neutral role. Instead of playing a role for the state, they play a role for the ruling party. The solution to this is to establish a permanent attorney service. Work has been started to draft a law for that purpose. He expressed hope that this can be done within a month.

Advisor Asif Nazrul said that the Ministry of Law verifies 36 types of documents. These are being done online since December 13. 

Even though there is an extradition treaty with India, if India does not return Sheikh Hasina, it will be a violation of that agreement, said Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr. Asif Nazrul.

He said, ‘Even though there is an extradition agreement, if India does not return Sheikh Hasina, it will be a violation of that agreement.’

He said these things at a view-exchange meeting with journalists on contemporary issues at the Law Ministry meeting room at the Secretariat on Tuesday (January 21).

Stating that a letter has already been sent to India to bring Sheikh Hasina back, Asif Nazrul said, ‘The Foreign Ministry is also making efforts. We are doing whatever we have to do. If there is anything more to be done, we will think about it on a case-by-case basis. The government will continue all efforts to bring Sheikh Hasina back. We will seek international assistance if necessary.’

The trial of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has begun at the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a letter to send Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh in accordance with the extradition agreement.

Stating that political harassment cases and cases filed under the Cyber Security Act will be withdrawn, he said, "Around 2,500 political harassment or disappearance cases have been identified in 25 districts of the country.

Lakhs of people are accused in these cases. These cases are being withdrawn within the next seven days to February."