Prime minister meets senior Communist Party leader in Beijing, discusses bilateral cooperation and investment

Key deals include Chinese Economic Zone, Mongla Port expansion and modernisation, and green energy

PM's Foreign Affairs Adviser and BNP Joint Secretary General (International Affairs) Humaiun Kobir signed the agreement on behalf BNP

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament yesterday that Bangladesh’s total external debt stood at US$ 78.22 billion as of March this year.

Leader of the Opposition and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday alleged that some “wrong and shortsighted” decisions of the government have put the country’s economy at risk of collapse.

Climate change could have significant economic consequences for Bangladesh by 2050, with projections indicating a potential annual GDP loss of 2-9 percent, according to a paper presented at a programme yesterday.

Even at 83, Razia Samad Dahlia, a veteran social worker who has spent decades serving the poor, the sick and the vulnerable, shows little sign of slowing down.

The playground of BMM Uttar Gagan Government Primary School in Pirojpur’s Nesarabad upazila has remained occupied by construction materials for a nearby bridge project for around three years, leaving students without space to play.

A debate erupted in parliament yesterday over the interpretation of a verse from the Holy Quran during a discussion on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

A coalition of United Nations human rights mandates has raised alarm over Bangladesh’s draft law on the criminalisation of enforced disappearances, saying it does not go far enough to prevent and prosecute the violation.

The government plans to bring several business sectors, including grocery stores and beauty parlours, under Value-Added Tax coverage in the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s national teleconsultation service, Shastho Batayan, is stumbling as the government’s contract with its private service provider expired nearly two months ago, and many phone calls are going unanswered.

A red carpet was rolled out as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman reached Beijing yesterday by a bullet train after joining the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Dalian city.

The World Bank has warned that Bangladesh’s distressed banking sector remains the biggest obstacle to the government’s ambition of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.

Australia has pledged $11.4 million (AUD 16 million) in multi-year funding to Unicef to sustain health, education, protection and other essential services for Rohingya children and host communities in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has termed India’s explanation regarding the Delhi airport incident involving Prime Minister’s Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman unsatisfactory, describing it as “unfortunate and regrettable”.

Police have submitted a chargesheet into the case over the murder and rape of a five-year-old in Mymensingh’s Dhobaura upazila within nine days of the incident.

Police arrested a 65-year-old man yesterday for allegedly attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl at Telipara village in Kurigram’s Rajarhat upazila.

Millions of people from marginalised communities in Bangladesh continue to face exclusion due to the absence of specific legislation prohibiting discrimination and untouchability, said rights groups at a seminar yesterday.

The country’s four mobile operators owe a total of Tk 13,144 crore in outstanding revenue, Post and Telecommunications Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam told parliament yesterday.