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.

In addition, workers were sent outside contracts using political influence, bypassing the prescribed rules for recruiting workers in Malaysia. Earlier, in March, the ACC filed a case against 12 recruiting agencies on the same charges. Under the agreement between the two nations, 10 designated recruiting agencies used to send workers to the country until 2016. However, in 2021, the two countries signed a new Memorandum of Understanding, which increased the number of recruiting agencies to 100. Out of the 100 agencies, a syndicate of 20-25 agencies began to control the entire process of sending workers to Malaysia.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has urged the Supreme Court to give its opinion on the implementation of the July Charter, calling for legal guidance on the constitutional questions surrounding the process. The discussions took place at the National Consensus Commission on Sunday, which included representatives from 30 political parties. He stressed that if political parties fail to agree, the people should have the final say through a referendum. He urged legal clarity from the Supreme Court on the constitutional aspects of the Charter and reiterated that once the legal questions were addressed, the party was ready to move forward with the implementation. Muhammad Yunus, the head of the Consensus Commission, called for unity among the political parties and urged them to sign the July Charter.

A moderate earthquake has struck Assam in northeastern India, sending tremors across several parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, reports bdnews24.com. 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.

Illustrious Lalon singer Farida Parveen has been laid to rest beside her parents' graves in Kushtia, as per her final wishes. After her second Janaza, or funeral prayer, which took place at the Kushtia Municipal Cemetery, Farida was buried around 9:00pm. Born on Dec 31, 1954 in Singra, Natore, Farida spent much of her formative years in Kushtia, which became a place synonymous with her musical journey. Farida Parveen began her professional music career at the age of just 14, in 1968, and over the following 55 years, she became widely known as Lalon's “daughter”. Farida Parveen is survived by her husband and four children, and her death marks the end of an era in Bengali folk music.

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.