State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam yesterday said there is no lack of diplomatic efforts to bring back ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh to face trial but acknowledged that it takes time.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday announced a government programme to plant 25 crore trees across Bangladesh over the next five years, with priority given to local and environment-friendly species.

Thousands of people in the Chattogram region continue to suffer for the fourth day due to floods triggered by torrential downpours and the onrush of water from the upstream hills.

Days of relentless monsoon rain have left hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar fearing more landslides and flooding after at least 13 people were killed in rain-related disasters in the camps this week.

Bangladesh and China have discussed ways to strengthen existing technological and military cooperation and further advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

At least 19 government doctors have been served show-cause notices for allegedly engaging in business without approval and holding ownership stakes in a private hospital in Chapainawabganj.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld a High Court verdict that scrapped parts of the 15th amendment to the constitution, which had abolished the caretaker government system, and restored the provision for holding referendums on certain constitutional amendments.

The upgrade of the 47.48km Jashore-Jhenaidah highway to a four-lane corridor under the Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement (WeCARE) Phase I project has made little progress, with officials attributing delays to land acquisition and compensation.

Renewable energy policies should go beyond setting power generation targets and explicitly address the needs, participation, and rights of women and marginalised communities, speakers said at a policy dialogue yesterday.

A joint venture drone manufacturing factory will be established in Bogura in collaboration with Turkiye, adjacent to the airport that is being upgraded to international standards and the planned Bangladesh Air Force base in the district, said State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam yesterday.

Intermittent rains over the last few days once again left parts of Dhaka submerged, exposing the chronic weaknesses of the city’s drainage system.

In the remote Laur village, under Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar upazila, Nazmin Akter has been waiting many months for a call from her husband, Kamrul Hasan, who left home for Russia in July last year in search of work but ended up in the Ukraine war.

The same old corrupt practices appear to be stalking the prospect of resuming labour recruitment from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

The United States said Wednesday it will delist Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a decades-old designation that severely impeded investment, in a new vote of confidence in leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The Election Commission yesterday sought information from the Local Government Division on the number of local government bodies eligible to go to polls.

Dhaka’s only designated playground for persons with disabilities has remained largely unused despite being restored and inaugurated two years ago with much fanfare.

The prosecution at the International Crimes Tribunal is set to file charges against around two dozen suspects, including several Awami League veterans, in eight cases over crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising in 2024.

The government has finalised a draft law to form a single authority by merging at least three investment-related institutions to improve Bangladesh’s position in attracting foreign direct investment.

Faulty transformer at the housing complex’s own substation blamed; DPDC says repairs must be completed internally

Five police personnel and at least six others injured as crowd storms Agailjhara Police Station