With Dhaka eagerly waiting for the signing of the Teesta water-sharing deal, Bangladesh and India yesterday signed an MoU allowing India to take 1.82 cusec water from the Feni river.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said top-listed criminal Zeesan Ahmed would be brought back to the country soon. “The process is underway to bring back Zeesan. We hope that he will be brought to the country soon,” he told journalists after visiting a Durga Puja pandal at the city’s Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh.

Aiming to reorganise Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islam Bangladesh, Afghan-war returnee Atikullah has been able to establish communication among 33 local leaders of the banned militant outfit in the last six months.

Though the number of dengue patients has been declining for the last one month, the rain for the last one week is increasing the risk of further dengue spread, experts say.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the South Asian countries should eliminate “misperceptions and false apprehensions” to strengthen regional cooperation and development.

With Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi set to hold talks in New Delhi today, India yesterday said the two countries were discussing steps to take the bilateral relations to the next level.

Anyone would balk at the idea of granting yet another rescheduling facility to a defaulter who has outstanding loans of Tk 1,168 crore since 1993 and has not shown any genuine interest or effort in paying back its loans. But the Rupali Bank board didn’t.

Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community, begins today with Maha Shashthi puja at temples across the country with due religious fervour.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the global investors, particularly the Indian entrepreneurs, to invest in Bangladesh’s potential non-conventional areas.

Top-listed fugitive criminal Zeesan Ahmed of Bangladesh was arrested Wednesday night in the UAE.

If you want to visit Sector-4 of the capital’s Uttara by your car, from next month you will have to have your vehicle registered with a local homeowners’ association by paying Tk 500 for one year.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit yesterday asked banks and non-bank financial institutions to provide it with information on all accounts of Jubo League Chairman Mohammad Omar Faruque Chowdhury.

Following failure to sign agreements on the Teesta and Feni rivers, Dhaka and Delhi are now stepping towards a new deal on six small rivers and optimum use of the Ganges water treaty.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the ongoing drive against corruption would continue and asked her party men to identify and expel those who infiltrated the party and its affiliated bodies.

The National Board of Revenue yesterday directed all customs houses to prevent entry of casino equipment into the country. The directive came amid law enforcement agencies’ ongoing drive against illegal casinos and gambling, and seizure of casino equipment from some renowned sporting clubs in the capital.

Mohammad Saju has been behind bars since March in a drugs-related case and he does not know when the court will resume hearing his case giving him an opportunity to seek bail.

Meetings between seven BNP lawmakers and Khaleda Zia over the last two days have brought to the fore the issue of whether the former prime minister would be released on bail or parole.

Dhaka wants to convey a strong message to Delhi that a prolonged Rohingya crisis could heighten instability and hamper peace and development in the region.

The government had announced a 20 percent incentive on rice export and a Tk 3,000 crore subsidy for farmers to buy agro tools. It had also doubled duties on rice import and nearly tripled its paddy procurement from farmers.

In a major reshuffle in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, seven out of 50 OCs were transferred yesterday.