BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia returned home from Evercare Hospital after receiving treatment for her various health complications for over five months. The BNP chief left the hospital at 5pm and reached her Gulshan residence around an hour later, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan. Party standing committee members Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, and Selima Rahman received Khaleda as she reached her house.

On the same day, the BNP central office in Dhaka's Nayapaltan was reopened, nearly two-and-a-half months after closing following clashes with police during the party's grand rally on October 28, 2023. Meanwhile a Dhaka court granted BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir bail in nine cases filed over violence centring the October 28 BNP rally in Dhaka. However, Fakhrul will remain incarcerated as he is yet to secure bail in two other cases for which he has been in jail since October 29.

The World Bank said that Bangladesh's economic growth would slow to 5.6 percent in the current financial year of 2023-24. However, the country's economy is likely to pick up at 5.8 percent in the next financial year (FY25). "Inflation is likely to remain elevated, weighing on private consumption. As foreign exchange reserves are likely to stay low, import restrictions are expected to continue and impede private investment," the WB said. In contrast, public investment is envisaged to remain resilient.

The economic growth is expected to rise in the next financial year as inflationary pressure recedes, according to the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report. According to the report, growth is estimated to have slowed in the financial year 2022-23 (July 2022 to June 2023), as activity was hampered by import restrictions and rising material and energy costs, as well as mounting external and financial pressures.

Bangladeshi passport has been placed at 97th place in the 2024 edition of Henley Passport Index, the most widely-accepted rating of global travel documents. Bangladesh was ranked 98th in last year's ranking. Bangladesh shared 97th spot on the index with North Korea. The ranking is based on the number of destinations passport holders can access without a prior visa. According to the 2024 Henley Passport Index, a Bangladeshi passport entitles visa-free travel to 42 destinations.

In South Asia, the Bangladeshi passport fared better compared to that of Nepal (98), Pakistan (101) and Afghanistan (104). Ranked at 58, Maldives' passport has become the strongest in South Asia with visa-free access to 94 countries. India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka's passports ranked at 80th, 87th and 96th respectively. An unprecedented six countries share the top spot for the most desirable travel documents in 2024. Citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain now have access to visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to a remarkable 194 destinations worldwide.

The University Grants Commission formed a three-member probe committee to investigate allegations of irregularities, including in teacher recruitment, against Islamic University Vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam. A press release, signed by UGC Director Muhammad Jaminur Rahman, was issued in this regard on Thursday (Jan. 11) afternoon. UGC member Professor M Abu Taher has been appointed as the convener of the probe body, which is mandated to investigate various irregularities raised against Prof Salam and submit its report promptly.

The controversy gained traction after 14 audio clips, allegedly containing conversations between the vice-chancellor and various individuals, went viral on social media between February 16 and June 13 last year. IU acting registrar HM Ali Hasan filed a general diary with the Islamic University police station on February 17 after an audio clip involving the vice-chancellor and a jobseeker of IU's mass communication and journalism department surfaced online.