Home Affairs Adviser Lt. Col (retd) Jahangir Alam has said any intrusion into the country through borders won’t be tolerated. He said this while speaking to reporters after a meeting on law and order ahead of the celebration of 31st night and Christmas at the Secretariat on Sunday. Regarding tensions along the border, the adviser said, “We’ve been vigilant on the entire border, not only in Sylhet but also in Benapole and other borders the Border Guard Bangladesh members have been on alert. You (reporters) publish true news, those who spread false news will be shamed.”    The adviser said Indian secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs will visit to Bangladesh and the secretary-level talks will be held. Replying to another question, the home adviser expressed his optimism that the normalcy in bilateral relationship between the two countries will return through the forthcoming meeting. Read: Two ‘drunken’ Indians detained in Satkhira for intrusion with pickup van He said they will shut the normal bars on the 31st night. “On many occasions, nuisance is created on the 31st night celebrations. If you tell the youth in advance that such behavior is inappropriate, they will be more cautious.”

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Sunday expressed optimism that Bangladesh and India would be able to overcome the kind of stalemate that two neighbouring countries witnessed over the last few months. “We expect that we will be able to overcome this impasse. Establishing mutual communication and meeting each other are very important to overcome any such stalemate,” he said, adding that Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is coming to Bangladesh on Monday. Speaking at a seminar at the Jatiya Press Club, Hossain said the Bangladesh-India Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) is a standing mechanism and such a meeting at foreign secretary-level is nothing abnormal. “I hope they (foreign secretaries) will have a fruitful discussion,” said the Adviser, noting that it is important to acknowledge that there is a problem if they want to solve any problem. He said it is also important to note that the relations between Bangladesh and India witnessed changes after August 5 and both sides need to try and take forward the relations accepting this changed reality. The downturn that the two countries witnessed over the last few months in terms of bilateral business activities affected both Bangladesh and India, not just Bangladesh got affected, said the Adviser. He referred to the impacts that had on businesses in Kolkata and West Bengal. Bangladesh Chapter of the SAARC Journalists Forum hosted the seminar titled “The SAARC: People of South Asia Crave For” to commemorate the SAARC Day. SAARC Journalists Forum is a regional organisation of working journalists headquartered in Kathmandu. Former FBCCI President Abdul Awal Mintoo and strategic expert Brig Gen Hasan Nasir also spoke at the seminar.  Mostafa Kamal Majumder, former editor of The New Nation, delivered the keynote address. Govt warns of action against illegal foreigners in Bangladesh The Foreign Adviser said Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is very sincere to revitalise the SAARC and the efforts to that end can begin with foreign-secretary level standing committee meeting of the SAARC. It might take some time to see the SAARC Summit take place and noted that SAARC remains relevant, he said. The Adviser urged the foreign journalists to take this message from Bangladesh and the people of Bangladesh that they favour revitalising the SAARC, making it effective again. “Media have a big role to play.”  “SAARC is a forgotten word. If you can revitalise it, this will give dividends to the people of the whole region,” Chief Adviser Prof Yunus told Secretary General of SAARC Golam Sarwar recently. Amid strained ties and growing criticisms from both sides on post-August 5 issues, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is coming to Bangladesh on Monday to hold several meetings apart from attending the foreign secretary-level talks to address mutual concerns. This is going to be the first visit to be made by a senior Indian government official to Bangladesh since the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, came to power on August 8. Foreign Secretary Misri and his Bangladesh counterpart, Md Jashim Uddin, will lead their respective delegation at the Bangladesh-India Foreign Office Consultations (FOC). "The Foreign Secretary is scheduled to visit Bangladesh on the 9th of December. He will meet his counterpart, and there will be several other meetings during the visit," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday. The FOC led by the Foreign Secretaries is a structured engagement between Bangladesh-India. "We look forward to this meeting," said the MEA spokesperson. Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Mohammad Rafiqul Alam said there are always efforts to keep all the elements of the bilateral relations on agenda. "Discussion is underway." He, however, said there are some broad areas - trade, border management, connectivity, and water issues - and these will be discussed. "Maitri Diwas" a milestone, everlasting source of inspiration guiding Dhaka-Delhi ties: Pranay Verma Asked about the situation on the ground in Bangladesh and the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, the MEA reiterated its hope that the legal rights of the concerned individuals are respected and the trial is conducted in a "fair and transparent" manner. Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain on Wednesday said Bangladesh wants good relations with India on a reciprocal basis. “It is very clear that we want good relations, but it should be reciprocal. We need to work to that end,” he told reporters while responding to a question at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The FOC is likely to cover a range of bilateral issues, including the potential extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India and visa issues. The last FOC, an institutional dialogue mechanism between the two foreign secretaries to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, was held in New Delhi on 24 November 2023. Both sides held comprehensive discussions on a wide range of issues covering border and security, trade, commerce and connectivity, cooperation in water, power and energy sectors, people to people ties and development cooperation in Bangladesh. They also exchanged views on sub, regional, regional and multilateral issues.  

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Col (retd) Jahangir Alam has issued a warning that foreigners living illegally in Bangladesh will not be allowed to remain. He made the statement while speaking to reporters after a meeting on law and order in preparation for the 31st night (Dec 31) at the Secretariat on Sunday. Read: 11,000 illegal foreigners to be deported: Minister The home adviser said that a circular will be issued in this regarding. Asked about the number of illegal foreigners currently in the country, he said that he did not have any information on the exact figure.

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed assured on Sunday that the judiciary will stand beside people, stressing that strong steps have already been taken for institutional reforms at this crucial juncture. “Everyone will find a people-oriented and people-centric judiciary by your side in welfare and work,” he said while inaugurating the Citizen's Conference 2024 titled ‘People-centric Reform for Good Governance: Aspirations of Disadvantaged Communities’ in the capital. In recent years, the Chief Justice said that a sense of justice and the values associated with it have been eroded. “Dishonesty instead of honesty, deprivation instead of rights, oppression instead of justice, torture instead of shelter have been made normal matters (in the past years). But we did not want such a society and state,” he said. Read: Chief Justice calls for justice as a universal right at RULAA Council The Chief Justice stressed the need for starting a new journey of the judiciary and reestablishing the destroyed values standing on this pile of rubbles of this destruction. “At this critical juncture of the country, the judiciary is also not free from its broken state. However, at this stage, I want to assure you in a strong voice without any hesitation that a new journey has already started with some strong steps for institutional reforms to overcome this situation,” he added. The Chief Justice went on to say, “This historic moment of victory for the student-people movement has presented us with a golden opportunity to stand by the oppressed and oppressed. We must always be careful to make full use of this opportunity.” The two-day conference has been organised by Citizen's Platform for SDGs Bangladesh, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at BICC in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Read more:Chief Justice concerned over incidents on SC premises, reaffirms smooth justice delivery The opening session was chaired by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Convenor of the Citizen’s Platform and distinguished fellow at CPD, with speakers including Lamiya Morshed, Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs at the Chief Adviser’s Office, Corinne Henchoz Pignani, Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, and Stefan Liller, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh.

Dense fog has enveloped the northern district of Kurigram for the last four days, causing extensive hardship to residents and visitors alike. With the escalation of the cold spell, the number of patients, mostly children and elderly, is increasing on a daily basis at hospitals. Those living in char areas, on riverbanks and low-income people are the worst sufferers of the cold wave, coupled with dew-like drops of rain. The local meteorological office recorded a 13-degree Celsius temperature at 6 am on Sunday. Day-labourer Rafiqul Islam, a resident from Kedar Union of Nageshwari Upazila, said it is hard to endure the cold wind coupled with dense fog. "Hands and legs get iced while working," he added. Autorickshaw driver Ashraful Hossain said they have to operate vehicles with headlights or slowly as close distances cannot be seen due to the fog. Naogaon records country’s lowest temperature at 9.9°C Subal Chandra Sarkar, acting officer of the Kurigram weather office, said that the district may experience two to three more cold waves after falling temperatures this month.  

Nine Bangladeshis, who suffered jail terms in India for reportedly entering the neighbouring country illegally, returned home on Saturday night. The returnees are Sujan Fakir, 28, Abdul Monab, 30, Redwan, 25, Nur Alam , 30, Tajir Islam, 28, Shahjahan Gazi, 35, Md Khairul Islam, 29, Samad Mia, 23, Md Shahadat Hossain, 34. They all hail from Jashore, Narail, Sunamganj, Khulna, Chandpur and Cox's Bazar districts respectively, officer-in-charge of Benapole Immigration police Imtiaz Bhuiyan.

The Election Commission (EC) has urged all to correct any errors in their National Identity Cards (NIDs) by January 2. The directive comes as part of preparations for publishing the draft voter list on the same date. In a media release issued on Sunday, the Election Commission Secretariat urged all the citizens of the country to visit their respective Upazila or Thana election offices to get corrected any errors in their NIDs. The media release stressed the importance of accurate NID information, as the draft voter list will be based on the records provided. Any discrepancies left unresolved could lead to administrative and legal complications in the future, it added. To facilitate the correction process, all concerned are required to submit a duly filled-out form along with necessary documents. EC accelerates disposal of NID correction applicants The EC has assured that adequate measures have been taken to ensure a smooth and efficient correction process. The Election Commission says that having an accurate NID is not only crucial for voter registration but also for verifying personal identity and safeguarding citizens' rights.  

Two elderly women died, reportedly due to suffocation from smoke, in a fire that broke out in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila late Saturday, according to the Fire Service. The deceased were identified as Meherunnesa, 65, the mother of former local Union Parishad chairman Sheikh Rumel Ahmed, and his paternal aunt Phulennsa Begum, 60. Both were residents of Mostapur village in the upazila. Jishu Talukdar, station officer of Moulvibazar Fire Service and Civil Defence, said they were informed about the incident around 2am. Upon reaching the scene, they found the duo unconscious in a room, apparently suffocated by smoke. Read: Fire at agro-products warehouse in Mymensingh under control “They were rescued and rushed to the Sadar Hospital, but physicians declared them dead upon arrival,” he said. The fire is suspected to have originated from an electric short-circuit in one of the rooms of the duplex house, Talukdar added. Police personnel also visited the spot following the incident.

The Police Headquarters (PHQ) has urged candidates applying for the post of Sub-Inspector (SI Unarmed) to refrain from engaging in any form of financial transactions related to the recruitment process. In a directive issued on Sunday, the PHQ advised job aspirants to avoid financial irregularities and cautioned them against falling victim to fraudulent activities. Read: Online applications open for sub-inspector, constable positions: Police HQ The directive also encouraged candidates to report any instances of deception to the nearest police station or the office of the superintendent of police. Earlier, the government had released a circular inviting applications for the SI post, with the deadline set for October 20.

Police have been granted two days' remand for the father of a former union-level leader of the banned Chhatra League, in connection with the murder of his own wife in Boda upazila of Panchagarh. Abul Kalam Azad has been remanded over over the murder of his wife, Arina Begum (45). Arina, mother of Wahiduzzaman Amit, a former BCL leader, was killed after being struck on the head last Thursday (Dec. 5). Police arrested her husband as a suspect and produced him before the court on Saturday, seeking a seven-day remand. The court approved two days. Shahnaz Begum, a family member, said, “it is spreading on social media that she was killed for extortion. Nothing like that actually. We are not aware of any such incident.” Azim Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Boda Police Station, said, "Preliminary evidence suggests the incident may be linked to disputes over extramarital affairs. We will proceed based on the investigation and autopsy report."