Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said Myanmar should let the international organizations to work in the Rakhine state to create a proper environment for the dignified return of the forcibly displaced Rohingya people. “Myanmar should allow international organizations to work in Rakhine state,” she said when UN Special Envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer met her at her official residence Ganobhaban, according to a press briefing by PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim. “We’re pursuing this with Myanmar and also discussed it with them. But no response has yet come. We want to solve it. How long can we host so many people?” the premier was quoted as saying. She said some Rohingya people are involved in drug, human trafficking and other social problems. In this regard, Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh had brought back the refugees of the Chittagong Hill Tracts area from India through signing the CHT peace accord in 1997. Also read: Redouble efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, deliver justice to Rohingyas: UN expert The UN special envoy said she visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and spoke with the Rohingyas. Now it is essential to create an atmosphere conducive to their dignified return to Myanmar, she said. She said all including the UN agencies and NGOs are working for Rohingyas in the camps. Appreciating Bangladesh for its Rohingya management, the UN envoy said Dhaka needs a lot of support in dealing with the Rohingya issue.  Heyzer said she also visited Myanmar and told its military government to find out a solution to the Rohingya crisis. Also read: UK announces new sanctions, legal action in support of Myanmar’s Rohingya community She called for an ASEAN-Bangladesh initiative to resolve the Rohingya crisis. She said the Rohingya issue should be an agenda in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' forum. PM’s ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin, PM’s Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus and PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim were present at the meeting.

Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Espen Rikter-Svendsen has said Norway will always stand beside Bangladesh over the resolution of the Rohingya crisis. Ambassador Espen expressed how the challenges are getting more complex for the host nation and the humanitarian actors to help the Rohingya people. He was addressing a function marking the opening of a certificate course on the Rohingya crisis held on Saturday. The Ambassador encouraged the participants of the course to explore new ideas that can help solve this complex issue. Also read: Resolution on Myanmar fails to recommend actions on Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka The course has jointly been organised by the Center for Peace Studies (CPS) of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University (NSU) and the Human Rights Practice Programme at the University of Arizona. Although it is a 12-week virtual course, a physical field trip to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar is included in the exercise. NSU Vice-Chancellor Prof Atiqul Islam, Prof John Paul Jones III, Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Arizona, and Prof Sk  Tawfique Haque, Director, SIPG and CPS of NSU, Ambassador Sufiur Rahman from Australia and former Ambassador Shahidul Haque, Professorial Fellow of NSU joined the event. Also read: Dhaka seeks UN SG’s intervention to resolve Rohingya crisis Prof Tawfique Haque said this course aims to discuss the dynamics of the national, bilateral, regional and global politics and policies, including economic and security issues related to the Rohingya crisis. Prof Jones mentioned that it is an honour for him to do a partnership with the NSU and he hopes together through the multifaceted topics of this course, both the participants and the resource persons can learn more about this crisis and find resolutions. He commended the people of Bangladesh for all the humanitarian assistance to the displaced people. Also read: FM seeks clear roadmap from UN for Rohingya repatriation Vice-Chancellor Atiqul Islam mentioned the various challenges like language barrier to education, cultural and psychological factors, should be considered while planning any short or long-term plans for the displaced community. He said the course is important for the people who are engaged, concerned, and related to the issues and hopes that, in the future, if necessary, this course can be upgraded to a diploma degree or even a master’s degree. A total of 38 participants with diverse backgrounds joined from eight countries, including Bangladesh.

At least 435 houses were gutted in a fire at Nayapara Registered Rohingya Camp in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar district early Thursday.   Abdul Hannan, in-charge of the camp, said the fire broke out at a house in the camp under E-block around 3 am and spread soon.   The fire spread fast as most of the residents use gas cylinders in the camp for cooking, he said.

As the humanitarian community scales up COVID-19 health response in the Cox’s Bazar, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) started visiting Isolation and Treatment Centre (ITC) to improve the Rohingyas' attitudes towards the disease.

Canada's Minister of International Development Karina Gould has recalled the excellent bilateral development cooperation between Bangladesh and Canada over the years and appreciated Bangladesh‘s contribution to this relationship.