Six people were hurt and one suffered burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a chemical factory in Gazipur's Sreepur upazila. The fire broke out at the factory of ASM Chemical Industries Company Limited in the upazila's Mulaid area around 4:45pm. Eight unites of firefighters were still trying to douse the fire till last reported around 9:40pm, reports our Gazipur correspondent quoting Miya Raj Hossain, senior station officer at Sreepur Fire Service Station.

The whole of the seven-storey factory building has been used for producing and storing chemicals including hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, bleaching powder, caustic soda, etc. It is preliminary suspected that the fire broke out following an explosion in the storage facility for hydrogen peroxide, the fire service official said. According to witnesses and locals, there was a huge explosion at the factory this afternoon, causing spread of toxic gases in the area and shattering windows of around 50 adjacent buildings.

The High Court released the full text of its order seeking Bangladesh Bank's explanation on why its officials concerned have failed to detect and prevent irregularities, corruption and money laundering and what steps have been taken against them. Bangladesh Bank has been directed to provide the names, status and addresses of the officers who were functioning in the departments concerned at the central bank between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2020, and to submit a report as to why they failed to detect and prevent the irregularities, illegalities, corruption and money laundering offences for so long, the HC said in the full text order.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim also ordered the Bangladesh Bank to submit the report to the court by February 15. The bench made the order on January 21 while hearing on a suo moto (voluntary) rule issued earlier in this regard.

Fifty-nine eminent civil society members sent letters to the Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs minister and secretary, the chief of Bangladesh Army, and the defence and environment ministries demanding the authorities stop the construction of a five-star hotel on Mro land. They also wrote to Marriott International, an international hotel chain, to withdraw its all types of involvement in the project, said a press release.

The eminent personalities said as the army installations in the CHT should be reduced as per the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, carrying out such a massive construction work in the area is a clear violation of the terms of the deal. They claimed that obstacles have been placed forcibly in the way of earning Mro people's livelihoods, movement and communication in the interest of implementing the hotel project. They also urged the minister and secretary of the CHT affairs ministry, Army chief, and defence and environment ministries to hold views-exchange meetings in this regard.

The BNP announced a two-day demonstration program protesting what it said was an "evil effort" to repeal the party founder Ziaur Rahman's Bir Uttam gallantry title. Party veteran Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain came up with the announcement in a press conference at their Chairperson's Gulshan office on Thursday the Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) at a meeting on Tuesday discussed the ways to revoke the gallantry title of Ziaur Rahman for "violating" the constitution, "abetting" the self-proclaimed killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in escaping the country.

The meeting also agreed to repeal then state-given awards to Bangabandhu's four convicted killers Noor Chowdhury, Shariful Haque Dalim, Mosleh Uddin, and Rashed Chowdhury. According to the media reports, a probe body of Jamuka will meet soon to look into the legal aspects of removing the gallantry titles given to Ziaur Rahman and the four killers of Bangabandhu.