India announced the resumption of tourist visas for Bangladeshi nationals as the two countries attempt to normalise bilateral relations. India's new High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said the process of issuing tourist visas for Bangladeshis will resume from Jun 28. He made the announcement at a press conference at the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) after assuming charge of the Dhaka mission by presenting his identity card to President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Thursday (Jun. 25).

He said India would continue to facilitate medical visas in urgent cases on humanitarian considerations and grounds. Visas will continue to be issued through the five visa centres in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chattogram, Sylhet, and Khulna. "We will further scale up our operation in other cities gradually," Trivedi said. "We hope that this will further strengthen the people to people ties between our two sovereign nations."

Nine more children died with symptoms consistent with measles in 24 hours until 8:00am on Thursday (25 June), bringing Bangladesh's combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 698. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has classified the latest deaths as suspected measles fatalities. With the latest update, the number of suspected measles deaths has risen to 605, while the number of laboratory-confirmed measles deaths remained unchanged at 93, it said.

A total of 893 new suspected measles cases were reported during the 24-hour period, bringing the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 96,653. Meanwhile, 52 new confirmed measles cases were recorded, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 11,442. Since 10 April, a total of 80,497 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalised across the country, of whom 76,788 have recovered, according to DGHS data.

A total of 172 irregular Bangladeshi migrants detained at the Ganfuda Detention Centre in Benghazi, Libya, were repatriated to Bangladesh early Thursday on a special flight operated by Buraq Air. The repatriation was carried out with the support of the Libyan government and the International Organization for Migration, through the coordinated efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.

According to officials, most of the returnees had entered Libya illegally with the intention of reaching Europe by sea after being lured and assisted by human traffickers. Many of them reportedly fell victim to abduction and torture at different times during their stay in Libya. Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other relevant ministries and the IOM received the returnees at the airport. The Foreign Ministry urged the repatriated migrants to share their harrowing experiences with others to raise public awareness about the dangers of irregular migration and human trafficking.

The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance announced a 36-day programme, beginning on July 1, to mark the second anniversary of the July Uprising. The programme was unveiled at a press conference at Jamaat's central office in Dhaka by Hamidur Rahman Azad, assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami and coordinator of the alliance's liaison committee. According to the schedule, seminars calling for the implementation of the referendum verdict will be held in districts and metropolitan cities across the country between July 1 and 15.

Family members of those martyred during the uprising are due to form a human chain outside the National Parliament on July 6 and submit a memorandum to the speaker. Other planned events include a national seminar in Dhaka on July 8, a discussion programme involving women on July 20, and an art exhibition from July 23 to 25. The alliance also plans special prayers at mosques and places of worship of other faiths on July 31.