India, Bangladesh sign water-sharing deal, in boost to ties

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Bangladesh have signed a water-sharing agreement and six other pacts, including ones on space technology and scientific collaboration, aimed at boosting ties between the two countries. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making a four-day visit to India that is seen as politically significant in her home country, which is scheduled to hold a general election next year. The two leaders agreed to share the waters of the Kushiyara, a common river, in the first such arrangement between the countries since 1996. The agreement will benefit southern parts of Assam state in India and the Sylhet region in Bangladesh. But a much-anticipated agreement on another river remained at an impasse.