If you are poor and in jail for some reason and you happen to be seriously ill, you are probably out of luck. But if you are a rich inmate or have political clout, you do not even need to be sick to have extended holidays at the country's leading government hospitals.

Bangladesh and Myanmar yesterday decided to form a joint working group by November 30 to start the repatriation of Rohingyas who fled violence in Rakhine State and took shelter in Bangladesh.

The gas field in Bhola has the potential to become the largest reserve of natural gas in the country, surpassing Titas in Brahmanbaria, geologists told The Daily Star yesterday.

When Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said during her Dhaka visit that Bangladesh-India relation “goes far beyond a strategic partnership”, that certainly created a ripple across many fronts – from global politics, to the Myanmar generals to the hapless Rohingyas.

The US is considering a range of steps including “targeted sanctions” against the Myanmar government over its "violent, traumatic abuses" of Rohingyas which triggered a massive exodus in the restive Rakhine State.

Three owners of Apan Jewellers were sent to jail after their surrender before Dhaka courts yesterday, a day after arrest warrants were issued for them in connection with three money laundering cases.

With the Rohingyas streaming into Bangladesh fleeing a brutal crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State, the UN rights body chief denounced the atrocities as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

The threat of infectious diseases looms large in Cox's Bazar Rohingya refugee camps as well as the local communities and beyond with hardly any sign of the Myanmar nationals going back anytime soon. Experts fear that the bordering district, where more than six lakh refugees are sheltered in overcrowded camps lacking pure water and sanitation facilities, is faced with a long-term public health challenge.

Bapex has found a large gas reserve at Shahbazpur of Bhola.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday said Bangladesh comes first among all of India's neighbours as part of a neighbourhood policy her government adopted.

The head of the UN agency that coordinates humanitarian aid says they have pledged roughly $340 million to help more than

UN Migration Agency IOM has urged world leaders to engage in a political process that will allow the Rohingya refugees to return home voluntarily, while appealing for additional funds for emergency life-saving assistance.

The government, the ruling Awami League and the BNP are happy over Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement on the Rohingya issue as they hope that India's stance on the crisis will expedite the process of achieving a solution.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Bangladesh seeks to resolve the Rohingya crisis diplomatically and peacefully and will not

Rohingyas who will return to Myanmar after fleeing to Bangladesh are unlikely to be able to reclaim their land, and may find their crops have been harvested and sold by the government, according to officials and plans seen by Reuters.

India has said Myanmar must take back its nationals who have fled their homes to escape violence and taken refuge in Bangladesh. "Myanmar must take back their nationals... this is a big burden for Bangladesh. How long will Bangladesh bear it? There should be a permanent solution to this crisis," visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was quoted as saying at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Gono Bhaban yesterday.

Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday told BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia that India hoped a free, fair, credible and inclusive election would be held in the country and the polls would be acceptable to all.

Rohingyas have been telling the world numerous stories of horror, loss, murder, rape and villages burned to the ground over the last two months. The world's media have been flooded with their harrowing tales.

A World Bank team is doing a need assessment to help Dhaka deal with the Rohingya crisis that is already putting a tremendous pressure on Bangladesh.

The Bengal Classical Music Festival for this year has been cancelled, due to the unavailability of its venue, the Army Stadium.