Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) Brendan Lynch for South and Central Asia will visit Bangladesh soon, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen said today. The ambassador shared the information during a meeting with Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir at the commerce ministry's secretariat office in Dhaka. Trade experts believe the USTR may discuss various trade-related issues during the visit, as Bangladesh and the USA signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on February 9 this year.

The visit also comes in the wake of the USTR beginning investigations into production overcapacity in different sectors across 60 countries, including Bangladesh, and into forced labour practices. The US ambassador noted that expanding bilateral trade would be beneficial for both countries. The commerce minister said his ministry, along with other relevant ministries, is working on formulating the new Import Policy Order. He expressed hope that the draft of the Import Policy Order 2026 would soon be shared with the business community for feedback.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is running nearly Tk 98,000 crore behind its revised collection target for the current fiscal, even as it posted over 11 percent growth in revenue. The gap came into sharp focus Tuesday (Apr. 21) as business associations urged the tax authority to slash import duties ahead of the 2026-27 national budget. Business groups met NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan in the office for pre-budget consultations, presenting a raft of proposals aimed at nurturing domestic industry and reducing reliance on imports.

The NBR chairman said blanket exemptions create leakage in the tax system. According to data published by NBR's Research and Statistics Wing, the board collected Tk 2,87,862 crore in the nine months through March 26 against a revised target of Tk 3,85,852 crore - leaving a deficit of nearly Tk 97,990 crore. Despite the gap, year-on-year collection grew by 11.15 percent.

A court in Cumilla granted a three-day remand for retired army officer Hafizur Rahman in connection with the Tonu murder case, marking the first arrest in the case after ten years. Senior Judicial Magistrate Mominul Haque issued the remand order at Cumilla Sadar Cognisance Court-1 after the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) produced the suspect before the court. Investigating Officer Tarikul Islam of PBI Dhaka had earlier arrested Hafizur Rahman from his residence and presented him before the Cumilla Sadar court.

On April 6, the seventh investigating officer of the much-discussed case sought permission to cross-match DNA samples of three suspects: retired army personnel Sergeant Zahid, Warrant Officer Hafizur Rahman, and Soldier Jahangir Alam. According to court officials, the case has so far seen 80 hearing dates, with seven investigating officers from four agencies handling the probe over the years. Tonu's parents, along with her younger brother Rubal Hossain, appeared before the Cumilla court.

An audio recording in which a prosecutor allegedly demands Tk 10 million (one crore) from a family to secure bail for an accused in a crimes against humanity case related to the July mass uprising has been confirmed as "genuine" by a fact-finding committee, formed by the office of the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal. Md Aminul Islam, head of the committee and chief prosecutor of the tribunal, confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo on Tuesday evening. However, the five-member committee has not yet submitted its report and continues its investigation.

Following a joint investigative report published on 10 March by Prothom Alo and Netra News, the office of the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal established this fact-finding committee. The audio recording captures a conversation in which then prosecutor Md Saimum Reza Talukder allegedly asks a family member of former member of parliament ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury for Tk 10 million (one crore) in exchange for securing bail.