The National Citizen Party (NCP) has dismissed media reports suggesting that the group was preparing to join forces with other political parties as part of a coordinated movement. “The party is disappointed after not getting the desired results in the DUCSU elections,” NCP Joint Convener Sarwar Tushar said. But he rejected reports that the NCP supported full proportional representation. “Rather, the NCP only agrees on the issue of PR in the upper house,” he said. He added that he had received no information suggesting that members were preparing to leave the party.

New pay scale will be finalised ahead of schedule, commission head tells chief advisorNational Pay Commission chief and former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan has said the new pay scale will be finalised before the six-month deadline. The chairman of the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation told this to chief advisor during a meeting at the State Guest house Jamuna on Sunday afternoon. Interim government head Muhammad Yunus held a meeting with the National Pay Commission delegation to instruct them to formulate a logical and timely pay scale that is consistent with the current economic reality. [More to follow]

AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, has said denying the nation's Liberation War is equivalent to denying the existence of Bangladesh itself. "The Liberation War is an achievement of our nation, and we’ve repeatedly said this. Accepting Bangladesh means accepting the Liberation War," Azad said, responding to questions about those who refuse to acknowledge the struggle for independence. He also discussed the need for reforms in the country’s constitutional order, referring to the possibility of implementing the “Constitutional Order 2025”. When questioned about those who do not accept the Liberation War, Azad said such individuals would find it difficult to participate in future elections.

Moderate earthquake in Assam shakes Bangladesh, with tremors felt in DhakaA moderate earthquake has struck Assam in northeastern India, sending tremors across several parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 5:11pm Bangladesh time on Sunday, with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was located 14.4km east of Udalguri, Assam. Rubayet Kabir, an official at the Met Office, said the epicentre was located 380km northeast of Dhaka, approximately 10km below the surface. A similar earthquake of magnitude 4.9 was felt in Bangladesh on Aug 22 from Myanmar.

A Sirajganj court has handed down the death penalty to a man for killing his father after he refused to transfer land to him. Idris Ali’s second wife, Renuka Begum, and Labu’s wife, Ismat Ara, were each sentenced to three months in prison. According to the case dossier, police recovered Idris Ali’s body from a pond in Salanga's Olidah village on Mar 4, 2020. He then gave a confessional statement under Section 164 in court, admitting that his father was killed on the night of Mar 3, 2020 after refusing to transfer land. The case also stated that Idris Ali’s body was dumped in a pond to cover up the crime.

Students of Rajshahi University have announced nine panels for the central students’ union (RUCSU) and hall union elections, but apart from the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir, none have presented a complete list of candidates. According to the election schedule, the RUCSU election will be held on Oct 12, after a gap of 35 years. The election schedule was officially announced on Aug 28, with the last RUCSU election held on Feb 8, 1990. Campaigning will start from the announcement of the final list and will continue until 24 hours before voting. RUCSU elections will include 23 positions, with 19 for vice-president, general secretary, and assistant general secretary, and five for Senate representatives.

Omera Renewable will generate 6MW of solar power within the next six months by using the unused spaces of the Padma Bridge service areas. An agreement on this was signed between Bangladesh Bridge Authority and Omera Renewable Energy Ltd on Sunday. According to a media statement, Bridge Authority Chief Engineer Quazi Ferdous and Omera Renewable Energy CEO Masudur Rahman signed the contract. At his instruction, an IDCOL team carried out a feasibility study on the potential for rooftop solar power generation at the Padma Bridge service areas. The contract with Omera Renewable is worth Tk 230 million.

Bangavax, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Globe Biotech, has received a US patent. Globe Biotech claims the US patent is the first in the history of the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. The ‘Covid-19 mRNA’ vaccine developed in that study was approved for clinical trial by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) and the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA). The World Health Organization (WHO) included the mRNA vaccine developed by Globe Biotech in the list of Covid-19 vaccines in 2020. According to the vaccine maker, Bangavax is an mRNA vaccine with its own proprietary basic technology and has been developed using nanotechnology and is the world's only single-dose effective Covid-19 vaccine against various variants.

The Chattogram University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU) and Hall Union elections have opened, and 28 candidates have collected nomination forms on the first day. Of them, 26 are opting for the CUCSU election and two for the Hall Union polls. On Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner Prof Monir Uddin said there was a “high level of enthusiasm” among students for the CUCSU election. He said the number of nomination forms sold on the first day was “unexpectedly high”. “We are seeing a positive election atmosphere,” he added.

Nearly 8.9 million children have registered for the typhoid vaccine in just a month and a half, as Bangladesh aims to vaccinate 50 million children aged 9 months to 15 years for the first time under a government initiative. The national vaccination campaign will begin on Oct 12, with registration still ongoing, the health directorate Director General Md Abu Jafor said on Sunday. To boost awareness, the health directorate has collaborated with the Islamic Foundation, asking imams to promote the vaccination campaign during Friday sermons. The DGHS chief reassured the public that the vaccine posed no side effects, emphasising that like any other vaccine, it is safe to take. The vaccination will be administered over 18 working days, with the first 10 days focusing on schools and the remaining eight days at vaccination centres.

Chief Advisor and National Consensus Commission Chairman Muhammad Yunus is attending a dialogue between the panel and political parties. The National Consensus Commission officially started its work on Feb 15. Printed copies of the six commission reports were sent to all political parties by Feb 28. In addition to receiving opinions, the National Consensus Commission held a total of 44 meetings with 32 parties and alliances in the first phase from Mar 20 to May 19. In this round, the commission held discussions with political parties on a total of 20 issues of priority and importance.

The government is considering legal reforms that would shorten the term of life imprisonment, according to Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. “There was a discussion about reducing the life term from 30 years to a reasonable one. WHAT 'LIFE IMPRISONMENT' MEANS IN BANGLDESHAlthough many assume that a “life term” means imprisonment until death, the law in Bangladesh is more nuanced. Section 57 of the Penal Code, 1860, provides that, for calculation purposes, life imprisonment is to be considered equivalent to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment. However, this does not automatically mean that a life sentence ends after 30 years.

Local residents have detained and turned a man over to the police over allegations of killing another man and then raping the victim’s wife in Cox's Bazar. The incident occurred around midnight on Sunday in the Kolatoli area of the beach town, according to Cox's Bazar Model Police Station chief Elias Khan. But as it was not enough to support their family, they came to Cox’s Bazar three days ago to work on the betel nut plantation. Describing the incident, the woman said: “After killing my husband, the man did bad things to me. The body has been sent to the morgue at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital.”Elias added that the rescued woman had been admitted to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, where medical exams were being carried out based on her initial complaint.

A low-pressure system has formed in the Bay of Bengal and is set to trigger heavy rain across Bangladesh, including Dhaka. The very heavy rain could also trigger landslides in the hilly parts of the Chattogram Division. The bulletin also warns of temporary waterlogging in parts of the Dhaka and Chattogram cities due to heavy rain. Parts of the Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet may see moderately heavy to very heavy rain. Rain is considered moderately heavy if 23-43mm is recorded over a 24-hour period, 44-88mm is considered heavy, while over 88mm is considered very heavy.

Bangladeshi-origin US citizen sent to jail after arrest over ‘suspicious movement’ in DhakaA Bangladeshi-origin US citizen arrested in Dhaka for “suspicious movement” has been sent to jail after police claimed to have gathered information on an alleged conspiracy against the interim government during initial questioning. Later, he was produced before a Dhaka court where Metropolitan Magistrate Dilruba Afroz Tithi ordered him into jail. According to the petition, Enayet travelled from New York to Dhaka on Sept 6, arriving at Shahjalal International Airport at 9:50am on a Qatar Airways flight. The plea claimed Enayet told investigators he was a “contracted agent of a foreign intelligence agency”. Police alleged Enayet held secret meetings with government policymakers, senior officials, political leaders, and influential business figures after arriving in Dhaka.