Bangladesh recorded trade deficits with 58 countries in fiscal year 2024-25, with China, India and Indonesia emerging as its top three deficit partners, said Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir in parliament yesterday.

Days after the harassment of PM’s Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman at New Delhi airport, India has finally spoken about the incident, in which he had to wait for two hours, but it did not elaborate on the matter.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad yesterday reiterated his demand that cabinet members attend parliamentary sessions regularly, saying no state work takes precedence over the chamber’s proceedings.

The trial of former ministers Rashed Khan Menon and Qamrul Islam began at International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of 23 people in Badda and neighbouring areas during the July uprising in 2024.

Opposition leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday said the government should step down if it fails to ensure justice for enforced disappearances, killings, and alleged massacres during the Awami League’s rule.

Police in Cyprus’s Larnaca have recovered the decomposed body of a Bangladeshi student, 10 days after he had gone missing, his family claimed.

Two people were killed and several injured in road accidents in two districts in the last two days, according to reports from our correspondents.

Bangladesh should carefully examine international experiences to ensure energy security, affordability and sustainability as it seeks to expand rooftop solar while managing rising electricity costs and power sector overcapacity, speakers said at a dialogue in Dhaka yesterday.

Two persons were sent to jail yesterday, and another was detained on Monday night over rape charges in three districts, according to reports from our correspondents.

In her maiden speech in parliament yesterday, reserved seat MP Rokeya Begum shared the pain of a mother who lost her son in the July uprising and called for visible justice for those killed during the movement.

A 30-year-old dilapidated bridge over a canal in Balidia village under Mohammadpur upazila of Magura has long been causing suffering to several thousand residents.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed placed the “Gambling Prevention Bill” in parliament yesterday to curb gambling and online betting -- including sports and casino betting.

The playground of a primary school in Mymensingh’s Phulpur upazila remains waterlogged for at least four months a year, depriving students of sports, assemblies and co-curricular activities.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday called upon the international community to prioritise three issues -- operationalising the Loss and Damage Fund, making climate finance more accessible, and advancing adaptation measures alongside mitigation efforts -- to offset the adverse impacts of climate change.

The Dhaka University authorities have suspended three teachers accused of supporting the Awami League and threatening students during the July uprising in 2024.

The government’s external debt servicing burden is projected to almost double to $7.6 billion in FY29 from $4.11 billion in FY25 as rising interest payments, shorter loan maturities, and repayments for several mega projects begin to weigh on public finances.

The water level of the Teesta in Lalmonirhat crossed the danger mark yesterday afternoon following a surge of upstream hill runoff over the past few days.

When China widened duty-free access to 97 percent of Bangladeshi products in 2020 and later extended the concession to almost all goods in 2024, it appeared to offer Bangladesh a rare opening.

Govt plans to modernise zoo facilities

Loss and Damage Fund must move from promise to delivery, he says