Opinion The new parliament of Bangladesh should make it a priority to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (1997). The Government of Bangladesh should also encourage India and other relevant countries to use this UN Convention as the basis for negotiations aimed at resolving all transboundary river-related disputes.
Amid rumors of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's potential return to Bangladesh in December, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani questioned during an emergency secretaries' meeting whether any administrative officials are adopting a "go-slow policy" or waiting for December instead of accelerating work, Daily Ittefaq reported. During Thursday's meeting at the Secretariat, he strictly instructed all ministries to expedite administrative proposals and highlight government development initiatives to the public. The report also notes government statements confirming that Sheikh Hasina, a convicted fugitive sentenced to death, will not be issued an ordinary passport, and formal steps under the bilateral extradition treaty are underway to bring her back.
A low-pressure area has formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal, which may intensify into a depression and subsequently a cyclone, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast, bdnews24.com reported Friday. While its initial track points toward India's Andhra-Odisha coast, its exact trajectory will become clearer once it forms a depression.
Human rights organization HRSS on Thursday raised concerns that keeping defamation and misinformation as criminal offenses in the draft amended Cyber Security Act threatens freedom of expression and civil rights, Samakal reported. The group demanded amending controversial sections and removing criminal provisions for defamation.
An investigation committee found five technical faults, including issues in spoilers, flaps, and ram air fan systems, on the Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying Prime Minister Tarique Rahman from Japan, Daily Ittefaq reported. The probe report regarding the October 29 Narita Airport incident has now been submitted on Thursday.
A young man named Mobarak Islam was beaten to death with bamboo sticks and electric wires in Chattogram's Patenga area over suspected bicycle theft, Prothom Alo reported Friday. Following the incident, the victim's father filed a case accusing four people, and locals apprehended one suspect and handed him over to police.
A four-kilometer regional road renovated at a cost of Tk 4.18 crore in Lalpur, Natore, has become unfit for traffic within just two years, Samakal reported Friday. Substandard materials and irregularities caused over 100 potholes to form, causing severe daily suffering for around 20,000 commuters.
Bangladesh Bank has formed a Tk 1,500 crore refinancing fund to provide loans up to Tk 10 lakh at a 7 percent interest rate to marginalized communities and small entrepreneurs, Prothom Alo reported Friday. Under the scheme, loans up to Tk 5 lakh require no collateral, and banks will access funds at 1 percent interest.
Unseasonal hailstorms during the Aman harvesting season flattened ripe paddy and severely damaged potato and vegetable fields across various areas of Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts, Samakal reported Friday. Farmers expressed deep concern as the abrupt weather event inflicted heavy agricultural losses.
Police arrested Shamsur Rahman Tipu, maternal cousin of former minister Obaidul Quader, and his son Shihabur Rahman Shihab during a drive in Companiganj, Noakhali, Daily Ittefaq reported. Detained from a house in Basurhat municipality on Thursday afternoon, the father and son will be produced before court under anti-terrorism laws.
Police have filed a case under the Special Powers Act at Sadullapur Police Station in Gaibandha, naming 38 leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its associated bodies alongside 150 to 160 unidentified suspects, Samakal reported Friday. Filed by police station OC AKM Habibul Islam, the case has already led to four arrests.
The government has launched a special OMS program allowing garment workers to purchase up to 10 kg of rice monthly at Tk 30 per kg, Daily Ittefaq reported Friday. Operating in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Chattogram, the truck-sale initiative requires workers to show factory ID cards and sign master rolls.
A case has been filed against 38 individuals over the arson attack on the village home of reserved seat MP Nusrat Tabassum in Daulatpur, Kushtia, Samakal reported Thursday. Nusrat herself filed the case at Daulatpur Police Station, naming eight leaders from the banned Chhatra League and Juba League along with unidentified suspects.
The Home Department has dismissed seven high-ranking police officials, including Additional DIG Proloy Kumar Joarder, on charges of workplace absenteeism, misconduct, and fleeing, bdnews24.com reported Thursday. Separate gazette notifications confirmed the termination orders issued for the seven officers, including Md. Nazmul Islam and Sarwar Kabir Sohag.
The government has decided to increase retired government employees' pensions by 55 to 100 percent under the new national pay scale, Daily Ittefaq reported. According to a Finance Ministry circular issued on Thursday, the minimum net pension is set at Tk 10,000 and the maximum at Tk 70,200, effective from July 1, 2026.
The government has drafted 'The Press Council (Amendment) Act, 2026', proposing minimum educational qualifications, registration, and an online database for journalists, Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaleeb Rahman told Parliament on Thursday, Samakal reported. The proposed law aims to ensure professional standards, curb misinformation, and introduce penal measures for code violations.
Four children died from measles symptoms and three others from dengue over a 24-hour period, Samakal reported. According to daily report published on Thursday, the Directorate General of Health Services, total measles-related fatalities this year reached 1,299 with over 269,000 cases, while the death toll from dengue climbed to 481.
The government provided Tk 43,196 crore in power subsidies and Tk 14,600 crore for imported LNG in the 2025-26 fiscal year, Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud told Parliament on Thursday, bdnews24.com reported. He noted that gaps between production, import, and retail prices caused the subsidies alongside significant BPC fuel losses.
The High Court on Thursday ordered the immediate closure of all illegal brick kilns nationwide and directed authorities to submit a compliance report by December 14, Daily Ittefaq reported. Divisional commissioners and the Department of Environment must execute the directive without harassing licensed brick kiln owners.
A total of 137 fake Facebook accounts, pages, and groups using Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's name have been identified, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Chowdhury told Parliament on Thursday, Samakal reported. He added that PIB's 'BanglaFact' platform has published 1,172 fact-check reports to counter online misinformation and defamatory campaigns.
Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal on Thursday demanded establishing women's colleges in Kalmakanda, Dharmapasha, and Madhyanagar during a parliamentary session, Daily Ittefaq reported. In response, Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon assured consideration of the demand and reaffirmed the government's commitment to expanding female education.
The Appellate Division Chamber Judge Court on Thursday upheld the cancellation of governing bodies and ad-hoc committees of all Fazil and Kamil madrasahs affiliated with Islamic Arabic University, Daily Ittefaq reported. Following the suspension of a High Court stay order, madrasahs were directed to submit new ad-hoc committee proposals by November 30.
A fire on Thursday broke out on the sixth floor of Hotel Cox Ambassador in Cox's Bazar town, sending over a hundred panicked tourists onto the streets, bdnews24.com reported. Three fire service units quickly extinguished the evening blaze, suspected to have started from an electrical fault, with no casualties reported.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Thursday issued seven directives setting new conditions for garment workers' overtime, wages, and weekly holidays, Daily Ittefaq reported. Granting BKMEA members a six-month exemption from certain labor law provisions, the gazette prohibits over four hours of daily overtime without consent and mandates double pay.
Police recovered a severed left hand and bagged legs of an unidentified person beside a road in Bauphal upazila, Patuakhali, bdnews24.com reported. Following the recovery on Thursday afternoon in Ponahura village, authorities launched an investigation to find the rest of the body and identify the perpetrators.
India's Tata Projects, in a joint venture with Japan's Nishimatsu Construction and Toda Corporation, secured a DMTCL contract to build an underground section of Dhaka Metro Rail, reports on Thursday, confirmed. Funded by JICA under package CP06, the project includes a 5.2-kilometer mainline and three underground stations near Khilkhet and the airport.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen and Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday held a sudden meeting in Dhaka, Daily Ittefaq reported. The meeting took place at the Indian High Commission in Baridhara in the morning; while US Embassy sources confirmed the talks, official details remain undisclosed.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday detained six Bangladeshi nationals, including one woman, while they were attempting to illegally cross into India through the Maheshpur border in Jhenaidah, Daily Ittefaq reported. Following the afternoon detention in Solemanpur, BGB handed them over to police and seized 49 bottles of Indian liquor separately.
US lawmakers are criticizing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for failing to blacklist Chinese firms and properly oversee Nvidia's AI chip exports to China, Reuters reported Thursday. Scrutiny intensified following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation over an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, prompting bipartisan calls for investigations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to let European representatives join the next round of Ukraine peace talks, US envoy Steve Witkoff announced after Kremlin meetings, Reuters reported Thursday. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised alarm over renewed systemic restrictions disrupting US-made Starshield battlefield satellite communications across the front line.
World leaders on Wednesday and Thursday presented competing demands in their speeches at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, leaving negotiators with a difficult task to broker a consensus deal, Reuters reported. While vulnerable island nations urged rapid emission cuts, fossil fuel producers defended continued oil and gas use.
Amid rumors of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's potential return to Bangladesh in December, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani questioned during an emergency secretaries' meeting whether any administrative officials are adopting a "go-slow policy" or waiting for December instead of accelerating work, Daily Ittefaq reported. During Thursday's meeting at the Secretariat, he strictly instructed all ministries to expedite administrative proposals and highlight government development initiatives to the public. The report also notes government statements confirming that Sheikh Hasina, a convicted fugitive sentenced to death, will not be issued an ordinary passport, and formal steps under the bilateral extradition treaty are underway to bring her back.
A low-pressure area has formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal, which may intensify into a depression and subsequently a cyclone, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast, bdnews24.com reported Friday. While its initial track points toward India's Andhra-Odisha coast, its exact trajectory will become clearer once it forms a depression.
Human rights organization HRSS on Thursday raised concerns that keeping defamation and misinformation as criminal offenses in the draft amended Cyber Security Act threatens freedom of expression and civil rights, Samakal reported. The group demanded amending controversial sections and removing criminal provisions for defamation.
An investigation committee found five technical faults, including issues in spoilers, flaps, and ram air fan systems, on the Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying Prime Minister Tarique Rahman from Japan, Daily Ittefaq reported. The probe report regarding the October 29 Narita Airport incident has now been submitted on Thursday.
A young man named Mobarak Islam was beaten to death with bamboo sticks and electric wires in Chattogram's Patenga area over suspected bicycle theft, Prothom Alo reported Friday. Following the incident, the victim's father filed a case accusing four people, and locals apprehended one suspect and handed him over to police.
A four-kilometer regional road renovated at a cost of Tk 4.18 crore in Lalpur, Natore, has become unfit for traffic within just two years, Samakal reported Friday. Substandard materials and irregularities caused over 100 potholes to form, causing severe daily suffering for around 20,000 commuters.
Bangladesh Bank has formed a Tk 1,500 crore refinancing fund to provide loans up to Tk 10 lakh at a 7 percent interest rate to marginalized communities and small entrepreneurs, Prothom Alo reported Friday. Under the scheme, loans up to Tk 5 lakh require no collateral, and banks will access funds at 1 percent interest.
Unseasonal hailstorms during the Aman harvesting season flattened ripe paddy and severely damaged potato and vegetable fields across various areas of Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts, Samakal reported Friday. Farmers expressed deep concern as the abrupt weather event inflicted heavy agricultural losses.
Police arrested Shamsur Rahman Tipu, maternal cousin of former minister Obaidul Quader, and his son Shihabur Rahman Shihab during a drive in Companiganj, Noakhali, Daily Ittefaq reported. Detained from a house in Basurhat municipality on Thursday afternoon, the father and son will be produced before court under anti-terrorism laws.
Police have filed a case under the Special Powers Act at Sadullapur Police Station in Gaibandha, naming 38 leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its associated bodies alongside 150 to 160 unidentified suspects, Samakal reported Friday. Filed by police station OC AKM Habibul Islam, the case has already led to four arrests.
The government has launched a special OMS program allowing garment workers to purchase up to 10 kg of rice monthly at Tk 30 per kg, Daily Ittefaq reported Friday. Operating in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Chattogram, the truck-sale initiative requires workers to show factory ID cards and sign master rolls.
A case has been filed against 38 individuals over the arson attack on the village home of reserved seat MP Nusrat Tabassum in Daulatpur, Kushtia, Samakal reported Thursday. Nusrat herself filed the case at Daulatpur Police Station, naming eight leaders from the banned Chhatra League and Juba League along with unidentified suspects.
The Home Department has dismissed seven high-ranking police officials, including Additional DIG Proloy Kumar Joarder, on charges of workplace absenteeism, misconduct, and fleeing, bdnews24.com reported Thursday. Separate gazette notifications confirmed the termination orders issued for the seven officers, including Md. Nazmul Islam and Sarwar Kabir Sohag.
The government has decided to increase retired government employees' pensions by 55 to 100 percent under the new national pay scale, Daily Ittefaq reported. According to a Finance Ministry circular issued on Thursday, the minimum net pension is set at Tk 10,000 and the maximum at Tk 70,200, effective from July 1, 2026.
The government has drafted 'The Press Council (Amendment) Act, 2026', proposing minimum educational qualifications, registration, and an online database for journalists, Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaleeb Rahman told Parliament on Thursday, Samakal reported. The proposed law aims to ensure professional standards, curb misinformation, and introduce penal measures for code violations.
Four children died from measles symptoms and three others from dengue over a 24-hour period, Samakal reported. According to daily report published on Thursday, the Directorate General of Health Services, total measles-related fatalities this year reached 1,299 with over 269,000 cases, while the death toll from dengue climbed to 481.
The government provided Tk 43,196 crore in power subsidies and Tk 14,600 crore for imported LNG in the 2025-26 fiscal year, Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud told Parliament on Thursday, bdnews24.com reported. He noted that gaps between production, import, and retail prices caused the subsidies alongside significant BPC fuel losses.
The High Court on Thursday ordered the immediate closure of all illegal brick kilns nationwide and directed authorities to submit a compliance report by December 14, Daily Ittefaq reported. Divisional commissioners and the Department of Environment must execute the directive without harassing licensed brick kiln owners.
A total of 137 fake Facebook accounts, pages, and groups using Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's name have been identified, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Chowdhury told Parliament on Thursday, Samakal reported. He added that PIB's 'BanglaFact' platform has published 1,172 fact-check reports to counter online misinformation and defamatory campaigns.
Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal on Thursday demanded establishing women's colleges in Kalmakanda, Dharmapasha, and Madhyanagar during a parliamentary session, Daily Ittefaq reported. In response, Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon assured consideration of the demand and reaffirmed the government's commitment to expanding female education.
The Appellate Division Chamber Judge Court on Thursday upheld the cancellation of governing bodies and ad-hoc committees of all Fazil and Kamil madrasahs affiliated with Islamic Arabic University, Daily Ittefaq reported. Following the suspension of a High Court stay order, madrasahs were directed to submit new ad-hoc committee proposals by November 30.
A fire on Thursday broke out on the sixth floor of Hotel Cox Ambassador in Cox's Bazar town, sending over a hundred panicked tourists onto the streets, bdnews24.com reported. Three fire service units quickly extinguished the evening blaze, suspected to have started from an electrical fault, with no casualties reported.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Thursday issued seven directives setting new conditions for garment workers' overtime, wages, and weekly holidays, Daily Ittefaq reported. Granting BKMEA members a six-month exemption from certain labor law provisions, the gazette prohibits over four hours of daily overtime without consent and mandates double pay.
Police recovered a severed left hand and bagged legs of an unidentified person beside a road in Bauphal upazila, Patuakhali, bdnews24.com reported. Following the recovery on Thursday afternoon in Ponahura village, authorities launched an investigation to find the rest of the body and identify the perpetrators.
India's Tata Projects, in a joint venture with Japan's Nishimatsu Construction and Toda Corporation, secured a DMTCL contract to build an underground section of Dhaka Metro Rail, reports on Thursday, confirmed. Funded by JICA under package CP06, the project includes a 5.2-kilometer mainline and three underground stations near Khilkhet and the airport.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen and Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday held a sudden meeting in Dhaka, Daily Ittefaq reported. The meeting took place at the Indian High Commission in Baridhara in the morning; while US Embassy sources confirmed the talks, official details remain undisclosed.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday detained six Bangladeshi nationals, including one woman, while they were attempting to illegally cross into India through the Maheshpur border in Jhenaidah, Daily Ittefaq reported. Following the afternoon detention in Solemanpur, BGB handed them over to police and seized 49 bottles of Indian liquor separately.
US lawmakers are criticizing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for failing to blacklist Chinese firms and properly oversee Nvidia's AI chip exports to China, Reuters reported Thursday. Scrutiny intensified following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation over an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, prompting bipartisan calls for investigations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to let European representatives join the next round of Ukraine peace talks, US envoy Steve Witkoff announced after Kremlin meetings, Reuters reported Thursday. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised alarm over renewed systemic restrictions disrupting US-made Starshield battlefield satellite communications across the front line.
World leaders on Wednesday and Thursday presented competing demands in their speeches at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, leaving negotiators with a difficult task to broker a consensus deal, Reuters reported. While vulnerable island nations urged rapid emission cuts, fossil fuel producers defended continued oil and gas use.
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