REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinUS President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to trim tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, resuming US soybean purchases and keeping rare earths exports flowing. "It was an amazing meeting," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after he left South Korea, ranking the talks a "12 out of 10". Trump said tariffs on Chinese imports would be cut to 47 percent from 57 percent, by halving to 10 percent the rate of tariffs related to trade in fentanyl precursor drugs. Trump said he would travel to China in April before he receives Xi in the United States. But minutes before starting the meeting, Trump ordered the US military to resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, pointing to the growing arsenals of Russia and China.

Indonesia investigates more free meal poisoning cases, after 700 students fall ill, official saysIndonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto's key free school meal programme, an official said. The school meal programme, rolled out in January, was a major election campaign promise from Prabowo, but some 15,000 children have fallen ill as of October 29, data from the non-governmental organisation known locally as JPPI showed. Improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals are often to blame for the poisoning, authorities have said. In the Indonesian region of Gunungkidul in Yogyakarta, some 660 students from two separate schools fell ill from poisoning after eating free school meals, regional head Endah Subekti Kuntariningsih said on her Instagram account on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Prabowo formed a team of ministers, including the health minister and the BGN chief, to better supervise the programme, BGN said.

Although the Election Commission has added four new symbols, including the Shapla Koli, water lily bud, the National Citizen Party says it wants only the Shapla polls logo. “The NCP wants the Shapla,” he said. Asked if the NCP would accept Shapla Koli as its symbol, NCP Joint Member Secretary and Media Cell Secretary Mushfiq Us Salehin told bdnews24.com: “The Election Commission must explain under what criteria Shapla Koli was added as a symbol. Failing to choose within the deadline, the NCP later demanded that the Shapla symbol be added through a rule amendment. With the latest additions -- Shapla bud, staircase, handshake, and sunflower -- the total number of election symbols now stands at 119.

The investigation report on the recent fire at Shahjalal International Airport’s Cargo Village will be released soon, Civil Aviation and Tourism Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin has said. Responding to a question, the adviser said, “We expect to receive their report within the next two to three days.”Clarifying the nature of that report, he added, “The report from the Turkish expert team will not be the final one. Our own report will be the main investigation report, which will be published soon.”When asked about the airport’s operations, Bashir said, “Imported goods are now being released through alternative measures. The fire, which erupted around noon on Oct 18 in the import cargo complex of Shahjalal airport, was contained around 9pm that night, allowing flight operations to resume. The Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) has estimated that the fire may have caused damages worth around Tk 120 billion.

Four police officials at the rank of superintendents of police have been promoted to the rank of additional deputy inspector general. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notice on Thursday instructing the joining letters for these promotions to be sent to the senior secretary of the ministry. The police officers who have been promoted to the post of additional DIG are Anti-Terrorism Unit Superintendent of Police Md Shahriar, Special Branch Superintendent of Police Mohammad Abdul Quader, Criminal Investigation Department Special Superintendent of Police Md Masum Billah Talukder, and the current acting additional DIG of the Police Directorate Md Jannatul Hasan.

High Court orders full enforcement of anti-air pollution directives for Dhaka in three weeksThe High Court has directed that the nine-point directives it issued five years ago to curb Dhaka’s air pollution be fully implemented within three weeks, with a progress report submitted to the court afterwards. Later, on Jan 13, 2020, the High Court issued nine specific directives to the authorities concerned. “Following today’s hearing, the court ordered full compliance with the nine directives within three weeks and submission of a progress report on the implementation. The senior lawyer noted that last year, the air quality in Dhaka had improved due to partial compliance with earlier court orders. Citing a research report published in the media, Murshid urged the court to issue urgent orders to save millions of Dhaka residents by enforcing all nine directives.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has rejected as “unacceptable” the set of recommendations submitted by the National Consensus Commission to the government on implementing the July National Charter. He said, “The Consensus Commission presented its proposals to the government to provide a legal basis for implementing the July Charter. Accepting any self-serving reform proposal may bring long-term misfortune to national life.”The recommendations of the Consensus Commission on how the July Charter will be implemented were handed over to the chief advisor on Tuesday. In that case, it is not possible to hold the proposed referendum before the (parliamentary) election. “It is desirable that the referendum be held on the day of the national election, using the same setup and incurring the same expense."

“Promotion-deprived” lecturers of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) General Education Cadre have demanded that those eligible be promoted by Nov 12. Sajal Ali, a lecturer appointed to the education cadre from the 34th BCS, presented a written statement at a briefing in the afternoon. However, in the education cadre, nearly 2,500 officers from the lecturer level (32nd to 37th batches) are not receiving promotions despite having achieved all the necessary qualifications. "Regular promotion has now become a ‘golden deer’ in the education cadre. He complained that many in the education cadre are not receiving promotions even after completing 12 years of service.

The Election Commission (EC) will exchange views with the senior officials of ministries, departments, directorates, agencies and authorities with connections to preparations for the 13th national parliamentary election. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will preside over the meeting at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Thursday afternoon. Four election commissioners and the EC secretary will also attend. The Election Commission is already carrying out preparatory work based on its announced roadmap. The letter sent to 31 ministries and departments for the inter-ministerial meeting said that the meeting for an exchange of views and pre-planning is being held with the goal of ensuring the general election can be held in a “free, participatory and fair” manner.

The interim government and the National Consensus Commission have deceived all parties except Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizens Party (NCP), said Gono Odhikar Parishad General Secretary Rashed Khan. Anyway, the interim government and the consensus commission have deceived all parties except Jamaat and the NCP. Rashed said, "Voting on the same day for the national election and the July Charter - yes. Since then, there has been news in the media that Jamaat and NCP have adopted the same stance." He claimed, "The NCP does not want the media to know that Jamaat has ties to it.

Six Pakistani soldiers killed ‘in clash with militants’ near Afghan borderSix Pakistani soldiers, including a captain, have been killed in a gun battle with militants near the Afghan border in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the military’s media wing. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Wednesday that the soldiers were killed during an operation on militant hideouts in Dogar, carried out based on intelligence reports. Seven militants were also killed, the ISPR claimed, according to Reuters. The Pakistani military often refers to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) by that term, according to the newspaper Dawn. In recent weeks, attacks on Pakistani troops have intensified in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border.

Bangladesh is set to introduce mandatory mobile phone registration from Dec 16, raising concerns among users and industry insiders about potential complications and inconveniences. A central issue is the “de-registration” process for existing handsets, as a SIM registered under one individual’s name cannot be used in another device without completing de-registration. Taiyeb said, “Until NEIR becomes operational on Dec 16, all phones on the country’s networks will automatically fall under registration. Illegal or cloned phones will not be deactivated; rather, they will be placed in a grey list category on the server.”Each handset, like a SIM card, will require registration. Selling or transferring such a phone, or using a different SIM, will require prior de-registration -- raising concerns about user inconvenience.

Scattered rain has returned to parts of Dhaka and northeastern Bangladesh midway into Kartik, the first Bengali month of late autumn, with meteorologists forecasting cooler weather within the next two days. A brief spell of rain drenched Dhaka after 9pm on Wednesday, following heavy showers the night before. “This spell of light rain may last two more days,” said Tariful Newaz Kabir of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, adding that a cooler feeling is likely from Saturday. “The light rain may continue for another two days,” he said. After turning severe on Monday night, Montha made landfall near the northwestern coast of Andhra Pradesh around 2:30am Tuesday.

The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs has revoked the gazette recognition of 105 people who were listed as July activists despite not being injured or involved in the anti-government movement that toppled the Awami League. In addition, 23 others were removed from the gazette for “duplication”, bringing the total number of cancellations to 128, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. According to the ministry, the highest number of cancellations came from the Chattogram Division, with 39 names struck off the list. In February, the interim government published a gazette recognising 1,401 individuals as “July activists” injured during the Uprising. Among them, 493 were categorised as “A-class” -- those unable to live independently despite treatment -- while 908 were categorised as “B-class” for sustaining serious injuries that left them partially dependent on others.

A delegation from Gono Odhikar Parishad has met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin as part of preparations for the 13th general election. A six-member team led by Gono Odhikar Parishad President Nurul Haque Nur joined the discussion with the CEC. The CEC has already attended meetings with several political parties like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party, and Amar Bangladesh Party (AB Party), discussing electoral matters including the proposed referendum and amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO). Gono Odhikar Parishad has now stepped into the dialogue to present its views regarding the overall election landscape. The EC is scheduled to sit with political parties again in November, marking the final phase of its ongoing series of consultations with election stakeholders.