The Bangladesh Army has said a group with malicious intent is “misrepresenting” its chief’s remarks on legal immunity for troops in civil aid operations on social media. As part of the exchange, the Army chief explained the legal immunity under Section 132 and its possible conflict with the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 (Amended 2024), it added. It clarified that at no point during the discussion did the Army chief mention immunity for enforced disappearances, killings, or other crimes against humanity. Through these misleading posts, they are attempting to “create a rift” between the patriotic Bangladesh Army and the people, it said. It added that the Bangladesh Army has always carried out its duties with professionalism and discipline, remaining committed to the Constitution, the laws of the state, and the people, and will continue to do so.

Iconic political and influential leader of the Awami League Tofail Ahmed is showing signs of “improvement”, her family has said, though doctors report that his condition remains “critical”. On Monday, his niece, Shamima Akter, visited him at Dhaka's Square Hospital and shared an update with the press. Tofail has been under treatment at Square Hospital for nearly 10 days due to complications associated with old age. On Monday, CEO of Square Hospital Yousuf Siddique said Tofail Ahmed is still on life support, though different organs in his body are responding. As he became a political heavyweight, Tofail served the Awami League as the organising secretary for a long time before becoming a presidium member later.

The Ministry of Education has ordered private educational institutions to stop recruitment for the posts of principals and vice principals. Syed AZ Morshed Ali, deputy secretary of the department’s private secondary unit, told bdnews24.com on Monday: “An office order has been issued instructing a halt to recruitment for the posts of principal and vice principals of private educational institutions.”SHED published the order on Monday. The order, issued on Oct 5, announced the new procedure and also called a halt on recruitment to these posts. He said it was done to “establish leadership based on merit” in private educational institutions. Although the NTRCA is responsible for recommending candidates for the posts of entry-level teachers and lecturers in private educational institutions, the power to appoint principals and vice principals previously rested with the board of directors.

Yudhi Bramantyo, a search and rescue agency official, said at the same news conference that five other body parts were found, indicating the death toll is likely at least 54 people. Rescuers are continuing their search, with footage shared by the search and rescue agency showing recovery workers carrying orange body bags out of the ruins of the school. Authorities have said the cause of the collapse was construction work on the upper floorsthat the school's foundations could not support. Across Indonesia, there are about 42,000 Islamic school buildings, known locally as a pesantren, data from the country's religious affairs ministry shows. Only 50 pesantren have building permits, Dody Hanggodo, the country's public works minister, was quoted by local media as saying on Sunday.

As part of the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Commission's recommendations, the government is exploring the feasibility of hiring “specialist” individuals at the joint-secretary level. The Cabinet Division committee, formed to examine this proposal, has submitted its report. The committee, comprising three secretaries and one additional secretary, held several meetings before finalising the report. The initiative follows the reform commission's report on Feb 5, which recommended direct appointments to the positions of joint secretary and higher administrative roles. [More to follow]

Fresh ordinances have been promulgated introducing tougher penalties for election officials found guilty of negligence or irregularities, while also empowering the Election Commission to resolve disputes with the government. On Sunday, the law ministry published the gazette for both the Election Commission Secretariat (Amendment) Ordinance and the Election Officer Special Provisions (Amendment) Ordinance. The ordinance includes people from law-enforcing agencies and other relevant staff as election officers, such as presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, and polling officers, with law enforcers in charge of maintaining law and order. It also outlines the procedures for ensuring punishment for election officers who “fail to perform their duties or act negligently”. According to the new regulation, any election officer failing to execute election orders or instructions will be considered guilty of misconduct and liable for punishment.

Mountaineers and trekkers head towards the Everest base camp from Lobuche in the Solukhumbu district, also known as the Everest region, Nepal Apr 12, 2025. REUTERS/Purnima ShresthaMountaineers and trekkers head towards the Everest base camp from Lobuche in the Solukhumbu district, also known as the Everest region, Nepal Apr 12, 2025. As of Sunday, 350 trekkers had reached the small township of Qudang, while contact with the remaining 200-plus trekkers had been made, CCTV reported. It was also unclear if trekkers near the north face of Everest, also in Tibet, had been affected or not. To the south of Tibet in Nepal, heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods that have blocked roads, washed away bridges and killed at least 47 people since Friday.

Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, ending the champions' unbeaten start in LaLiga and denying them an opportunity to return to the top of the table. Sevilla took the lead in the 13th minute, after Isaac Romero went down while jostling for the ball with Ronald Araujo near Barcelona's six-yard box. Alexis Sanchez sent former Arsenal teammate Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to convert the spot kick. Romero doubled Sevilla's lead in the 37th minute, but Marcus Rashford scored from Pedri's lobbed pass to make it 2-1 just before halftime. Barcelona had a chance to equalise when Adnan Januzaj brought down Alejandro Balde, but Robert Lewandowski fired wide from the spot in the 76th minute before Jose Angel Carmona and Akor Adams scored two late goals, as the visitors remained two points behind leaders Real Madrid.

The CUCSU Election Commission has held a meeting with candidates and students to discuss polling centres and voting procedures for the upcoming CUCSU and hall council elections.The meeting, held on Sunday, outlined the possible polling process, including the use of OMR machines for vote counting.Commission Member Secretary AKM Ariful Haque Siddique told bdnews24.com that five faculty buildings: Social Sciences, Old Arts, New Arts, Business Administration, and Science, have been selected as polling venues.A total of 86 rooms, including 65 polling booths, 14 presiding rooms and seven sub-presiding rooms, are being prepared.Each room will house five ballot boxes: four for CUCSU and one for hall elections.Each booth will accommodate up to 500 voters, with a 10-minute time limit per voter. Following candidates' requests, the CUCSU polls have been rescheduled to Oct 15, three days later than planned.All departmental exams from Oct 12 to 18 have been postponed, and the day after the election will be a university holiday.�"bdnews24.com

Syed Manzoorul Islam, emeritus professor and eminent writer, has been placed on life support at Labaid Hospital in Dhaka.He has been undergoing treatment at the hospital since Friday, after suffering a heart attack.Quoting the doctor, Mazharul Islam, chief executive of publishing house Anyaprokash, told bdnews24.com that the author's condition became critical on Sunday evening, prompting physicians to place him on ventilation support around 6pm. "Sir (Manzoorul) has been put on life support. We will know more once the day passes," he added.Earlier, on Friday afternoon, the 73-year-old academic suffered a "massive heart attack" and underwent surgery, during which two stents were placed in his heart. He had been kept under 48-hour observation following the procedure.�"bdnews24.com

The Directorate General of Health Services has recommended that anyone who develops a fever immediately undergo an NS1 test for dengue to ensure timely detection. The health directorate made the request in a public notice issued on Sunday. The DGHS reassured the public that it remains highly vigilant about dengue treatment, with sufficient testing kits, saline solutions, and medications available at all hospitals. The health directorate also called for cooperation from all stakeholders. As of Sunday, 49,907 people have been hospitalised across the country due to dengue, with 212 deaths reported.

The page has been restored and is now under the bank's control. "It will take a bit more time before we officially announce full control. "The page was first hacked early on Friday, then recovered by the bank around 4pm. Then at 8:32pm, another post followed saying: "Hello dear Islami Bank so-called experts." Those who skipped the test were relieved of duty.Hackers later posted a message on the bank's page, demanding reinstatement of the dismissed employees before deleting it.Their message read: "Due to the unethical and unjust actions of the current authorities of Bangladesh Islami Bank, MS 470 X has taken control of their page.

Children are seen splashing in the clean water of Dhanmondi Lake, enjoying a swim in the recently risen water. Photo: Mahmud Zaman OviChildren are seen splashing in the clean water of Dhanmondi Lake, enjoying a swim in the recently risen water. Photo: Mahmud Zaman OviPolice have recovered the body of a man from Dhaka’s Dhanmondi Lake. On Sunday, Dhanmondi Police Inspector (Investigation) Abdul Alim said: “Upon receiving the information, we recovered the body from the lake. The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for post-mortem examination.

Secretariat to be fully plastic-free from the new year, says RizwanaThe government aims to make the Bangladesh Secretariat completely free of single-use plastic by Jan 1, Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said. Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Sunday, Rizwana said the initiative to phase out single-use plastic from government offices has begun with the Secretariat. “The use of water bottles and other single-use plastic items will be stopped by December,” she said. Farhina also inspected awareness posters, boards and standees inside the Secretariat, and visited the Parjatan Corporation cafeteria and the Home Ministry canteen. Police personnel stationed at all entrances conducted checks to prevent the entry of single-use plastic items into the Secretariat premises.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan counterpart Fatima Sana skipped the customary handshake before a women's cricket World Cup match on Sunday amid ongoing tensions between the rivals that plagued the men's Asia Cup last month. Sana won the toss and elected to field against India, who have never lost to Pakistan in a women's one day international. Now it's only about staying positive and playing good cricket." Bilateral cricket remains suspended between India and Pakistan, who play each other only in multi-team events at neutral venues. India are the hosts of the ongoing women's World Cup but Pakistan will be playing all their matches in Colombo under an agreement approved by the International Cricket Council.