Bangladesh’s export earnings have fallen for four consecutive months, though the cumulative total for the first five months of the fiscal year remains marginally above last year. Compared with October, however, earnings rose 1.77 percent, following $3.82 billion in exports the previous month. The ready-made garment sector, a key contributor, generated $3.14 billion in November, down from $3.30 billion a year earlier, marking a roughly 5 percent decline. The export target for FY2026 has been set at $63.50 billion. In the previous fiscal year, total export earnings reached $48.28 billion, up 8.58 percent from $44.28 billion in FY24.

DHAKA: A medical board looking after critically ill former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia on Thursday decided to send her to London for advanced treatment, her personal physician AZM Zahid Hossain said. Zia, the 80-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, will be flown in an air ambulance late after midnight or early Friday to London, where her elder son and acting BNP chief Tarique Rahman lives. "The medical board has unanimously decided that she will be taken to London via the Qatar Royal Air Ambulance, either after midnight tonight or early tomorrow morning," Hossain told reporters during a briefing outside the hospital. During the last such briefing on Tuesday, he said Zia was responding to the treatment. The BNP also issued a list saying 14 people, one of them being Syeda Shameela Rahman, wife of Zia's deceased younger son Arafat Rahman and six being doctors, who will accompany Zia to London.

Critically ill former Bangladesh PM Zia to be taken to London: Reports“If madam's (Zia) health is suitable for travel, we plan to take her to London tomorrow morning. It all depends on her health,” Zia’s adviser Enamul Haque Chowdhury told.

Ahead of the national election, the list of new officers-in-charge (OCs) for 50 police stations under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has been published after a lottery-based selection process involving 527 stations nationwide. In an order signed on Thursday by DMP Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali, 50 police inspectors were transferred and appointed as OCs to different police stations in the capital. Earlier, superintendents of police in all 64 districts were transferred through a lottery. As a continuation of that process, the lottery for OC postings was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday.

The doctors have joined a UK specialist group that arrived earlier to help chart an advanced treatment plan for 80-year-old BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. Dhaka: A four-member Chinese medical team has arrived in Bangladesh to assist in the treatment of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who remains in a critical condition at a private hospital. This marks the second batch of Chinese doctors to arrive in Dhaka. The foreign specialists will assess whether Zia can be transferred abroad for further treatment, The Daily Star reported, citing medical board sources. He told reporters that while Zia is “maintaining the treatment” being administered, her critical condition currently rules out transfer abroad.

Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah says Dhaka is trying to “articulate a new canvas” regarding the relationship with its next-door neighbour, the Times of India reports. "The effort is to articulate a new canvas where we can look at as a shared future,” he was quoted as saying. The high commissioner called the relationship between the neighbours “organic”, noting that both countries are growing fast. The “economic engagement” between them also amounts to over Tk 25 billion if sectors like tourism are taken into consideration. “We have not constrained the mobility of Indians into Bangladesh.

# News DeskDhaka: The family of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who remains in critical condition, is reportedly preparing to transfer her to London, where her son and BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman resides, media reports said on Thursday. “After arriving in Bangladesh, Zubaida Rahman will take her to London (after) assessing Zia's physical condition,” at the Dhaka hospital, the BBC Bangla reported saying, several BNP leaders confirmed the decision without mentioning their names. "If everything goes well, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be taken to London after midnight today, Thursday or early tomorrow, Friday. The decision to take her to London has been made on the advice of specialist doctors," AZM Zahid Hossain, Khaleda Zia's doctor, told the reporters. “If madam's (Zia) health is suitable for travel, we plan to take her to London tomorrow morning.

The families of more than 50 Bangladeshi fishermen claim that the Indian Coast Guard has arrested and sent them to jail for crossing into the country’s territorial waters while fishing in the Bay of Bengal. Others have come to know “through their contacts” that their family members have been arrested by the Indian Coast Guard. The families say 13 fishermen from Lalmohan Upazila in Bhola were arrested by the Indian Coast Guard on Nov 10. Another 28 fishermen from Kutubdia were detained on Nov 19, alongside 26 more fishermen from Kutubdia and Banshkhali that same day. Reports have also been published in the Indian media about the arrest and imprisonment of Bangladeshi fishermen.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met the specialists upon their arrival and discussed Zia's treatment with them, according to news portal bdnews24.com. The Chinese doctors joined a four-member UK specialist group led by Dr Richard Buell that had arrived earlier in the day to help chart an advanced treatment plan. The team's arrival marked the second batch of Chinese doctors, who had arrived earlier this week. A five-member advance team from China had arrived in Dhaka on December 1 to provide preliminary assistance. Hossain told reporters on Tuesday that Zia is “maintaining the treatment” being administered despite her critical state.

A Dhaka court has set Jan 8 for the submission of the reinvestigation report in the case over the suicide of Aritry Adhikary, a ninth grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. Aritry, 15, died by suicide at home on Dec 3, 2018, a day after the school removed her from an exam over alleged cheating. According to the case dossier, the school authorities “insulted” her parents in her presence and threatened to expel her. The document said the suspect’s “cruel behaviour and unprofessional conduct” instigated Aritry to commit suicide. After closing arguments on Nov 27, 2023, the court first fixed Jan 21, 2024, for the verdict.

Many moved directly into deputy managing director or managing director positions immediately after retirement.Some even headed commercial banks' training academies, drawing criticism within the central bank and the broader banking sector. Bangladesh Bank has now formally opened that path.The criteria for MD appointments have also changed. "MD salaries in private banks range from Tk 1 million to 1.8 million, creating potential incentives.Prof Zahid said, "This is a complete conflict of interest. Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan defended the decision, saying it addresses staff shortages at top levels and demand for experienced personnel. This allows officers with long regulatory experience to contribute their expertise.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman has paid a visit to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at Evercare Hospital. Shafiqur arrived at the hospital around 10pm on Tuesday, bdnews24.com. “He can take away the living and give life to those close to death. Since she is, Alhamdulillah, still surviving, we hope and pray that she will recover, In Sha Allah. Please, all of you, pray for her.”He added that even being able to see the former prime minister “with both eyes” for a moment gave him comfort.

With Bangladesh set to hold parliamentary elections alongside the referendum, the Election Commission (EC) is considering extending polling time by one hour and doubling the number of voting booths in each centre in an effort to ensure smooth voting and prevent delays in counting. On Tuesday, Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam said a decision would be taken at the commission meeting scheduled for Sunday. “The commission will decide on steps to ensure that both the referendum and parliamentary votes are cast correctly and counted on time,” he said.

The government has reassigned the officers-in-charge (OCs) of 527 police stations across the country through a lottery in the latest shake-up of key law-enforcement positions ahead of the 13th national election. The draw was held on Tuesday at the home ministry as part of preparations before the announcement of the election schedule, according to Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam. The government had earlier used the same method to reshuffle superintendents of police (SPs), according to bdnews24.com. Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury had previously said that both SPs and OCs would be assigned through lottery ahead of the polls. The Election Commission is expected to announce the election schedule in December, with the polls expected to take place in early February next year.

The government has suspended a workshop concerning law and order surrounding the upcoming parliamentary election and the referendum. The workshop titled “Integrated Role in Maintaining Law and Order for Fair Election” was scheduled to be held on December 3 at 9:30 am at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre, but has been postponed "due to unavoidable reasons", the ministry said. The 13th parliamentary election and the referendum are scheduled to be held in the first half of February. The Election Commission said the schedule for the polls will be released in the second week of December. The ministry postponed the workshop ahead of the announcement.