Human rights groups have called for halting the relocation of Rohingyas to Bhasan Char and ensuring full and meaningful participation of the refugees in the process.

The government yesterday began transferring Rohingyas to Bhasan Char from the congested camps in Ukhia and Teknaf where about a million of them have been living.

A small room made with corrugated iron sheets, for pigeon rearing, rests on a tree near the first floor of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute’s gymnasium

A border road along the three hilly districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban is being built to enable surveillance and prevent cross-border criminal activities.

Police yesterday pressed charges against eight persons in the case filed over the gang-rape of a woman at Murari Chand (MC) College hostel in Sylhet on September 25.

The hills have remained restive due to land disputes, extortion, killings and feuds between and within the region’s political parties 23 years into the peace accord in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Britain approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine yesterday, jumping ahead of the United States and Europe to become the West’s first country to formally endorse a jab it said should reach the most vulnerable people early next week.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs yesterday approved in principle a proposal of the Health Services Division to procure Covid-19 vaccine directly from any organisation through negotiations without following any bidding process.

However powerful the corrupt and money launders like Proshanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder are, they must be brought to book, and they cannot be spared under any circumstances, the High Court observed yesterday.

The High Court yesterday slammed two private companies owned by businessman Md Noor Ali for grabbing and filling up water bodies, wetlands and farmlands to set up a resort and an economic zone in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon upazila.

Uri grass is growing naturally along the shore of Bhasan Char. This type of grass provides protection to the shore and only grows in areas where there is no possibility of erosion, according to officials of the housing project there.

While the United Nations and other development partners still wait for an independent assessment of the Bhasan Char housing project, the government prepares for relocating some 2,500 Rohingyas to the isolated island within a couple of days.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has ruled that life imprisonment means a convict will remain behind bars for 30 years and will get remission and deduction benefits under relevant laws if it is not specifically mentioned in the verdict that the convict is sentenced to imprisonment until natural death.

Parao Mro, 65, karbari of remote Cha Hla Mro Para of Lama upazila in Bandarban had to leave his ancestral land around ten years ago following threats from a land grabber.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government was pledge-bound to ensure peace across the country, including in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT).

US engagement with Bangladesh on trade, economic and defence fronts has increased in recent months. In September, the countries signed an open sky deal and held comprehensive economic partnership dialogues.

Nineteen public universities will enrol students through a centralised admission test for the next academic session to reduce hassles of the admission seekers.

The anti-narcotics drive, particularly against yaba, has lost momentum since the killing of Maj (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan in police firing in Teknaf four months ago, resulting in an increase in the availability of the crazy pills in the capital and elsewhere.

Bangladesh will be able to export extra internet bandwidth after the installation of its third submarine cable as Bhutan and Saudi Arabia have already shown their interest in procuring bandwidth from the country, say top planning ministry officials.

An isolated island around 52 kilometres from Chattogram city has now been transformed into a planned, modern township with rows of white, multi-storey buildings.