The Bangladesh government has approved the purchase of new surveillance equipment worth about Tk 950 million for the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) to enhance content blocking and filtering capabilities. The decision was made on May 20 at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury. The equipment includes next-generation firewalls, hybrid packet brokers, switch management cards, and accessories for six partially connected data centers. Dhaka-based Global Brand PLC was selected as the lowest bidder.

The NTMC, originally formed in 2008 and renamed in 2013, has faced longstanding allegations of privacy violations and unauthorized surveillance. Following a UN fact-finding report and public criticism, the previous interim government dissolved the NTMC in December 2025 and created a new structure called the Center for Information Support under the Home Ministry. The current administration later amended laws to align surveillance practices with international standards.

Officials stated that the new system aims to strengthen internet security and enforce the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025, though public debate over surveillance practices continues.

During the Eid-ul-Azha holidays, many rural areas of Bangladesh faced severe power outages lasting up to 8–10 hours, causing widespread suffering among residents. Districts such as Bhola, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, Rangpur, Patuakhali, Munshiganj, Satkhira, and Jashore were among the worst affected. In some places, locals protested in front of electricity offices. Officials from the Power Division attributed the disruptions to damage caused by seasonal storms that toppled poles and severed transmission lines.

The Power Division stated that electricity demand was low during the holidays due to the closure of offices and factories, but storm damage limited supply to about 5,500 megawatts. Maintenance teams were deployed nationwide, and most transmission lines were repaired within two days. The Power Development Board reported that assessments of total damage were still underway.

Separately, the government reimposed its directive requiring all shopping malls, markets, and shops to close by 7 p.m. from June 1 to conserve electricity. The temporary extension to 10 p.m. for Eid shopping had expired, and the rule now also applies to billboards, fairs, and cultural events.

Nineteen district hospitals in Bangladesh currently have no functioning intensive care unit (ICU) services, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. The shortage has become critical as hospitals struggle to accommodate patients during a measles outbreak. Families are being forced to wait for hours or move between hospitals in search of ICU beds, with many patients dying before receiving care. The crisis is most acute in pediatric hospitals, where demand for ICU beds far exceeds availability.

The report reveals that Bangladesh has 1,620 ICU beds nationwide, about 10 percent of which are nonfunctional. Many ICU units built during the COVID-19 pandemic with World Bank funding are now idle due to corruption, mismanagement, and lack of trained personnel. Equipment worth millions of taka lies unused, and some hospitals have locked or incomplete ICU facilities. Experts say the shortage reflects deeper failures in planning, staffing, and health system management.

Health authorities say the government is working on long-term plans to reopen closed ICUs and recruit skilled staff. However, public health specialists warn that without urgent action, the country’s critical care capacity will remain dangerously inadequate.

Five people, all from the same family, were killed early Tuesday when a private car collided with a parked gas cylinder-laden truck on the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway in Faridpur’s Bhanga upazila. The accident occurred around 4:30 a.m. in the Maligram area. The deceased include Nurjahan Begum, her son Arif Hasan, Ayesha Begum, Rakib Hossain, and the car’s unidentified driver. The victims were residents of Jhikargacha upazila in Jashore district.

According to police and fire service sources, six family members were traveling from Dhaka to Jashore when the driver lost control and hit the stationary truck. The car was severely damaged, killing four people on the spot, including a child and the driver. Fire service and highway police from Bhanga and Shibchar rescued the victims and took the injured to the district medical college hospital. One of the injured, Rakib Hossain, later died at the hospital.

Police have seized both the private car and the gas truck involved in the accident, according to Shibchar Highway Police Sub-Inspector Nur Alam.

Aftab Shahriar Mahir, a 20-year-old college student, was killed in a head-on collision between his motorcycle and a microbus in Ishwarganj, Mymensingh. The accident occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Charhosenpur along the Mymensingh-Kishoreganj highway. Local residents and fire service personnel rescued Mahir and took him to Ishwarganj Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead.

Mahir, son of Abdul Kaiyum from Musalli village in Nandail, lived with his family in Dattapara of Ishwarganj municipality. He was a first-year political science student at Ishwarganj Government College. According to his family, Mahir had long requested a motorcycle like his friends, and his father finally bought one for Tk 2.75 lakh four months ago. The family is devastated by his sudden death.

Police said the cause of the collision is under investigation and legal procedures are underway. The incident has renewed concern over rising motorcycle accidents on highways and the need for greater road safety awareness.

Inqilab Mancha has announced a special absentee funeral prayer and doa in memory of those killed by the Rakkhi Bahini after Bangladesh’s independence. The event will also honor women who suffered brutal torture during that period. According to the announcement, the program will take place today, Tuesday, at 3 p.m. at Shaheed Osman Hadi Square in front of the National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka.

The organization issued a statement on Monday night inviting people across the country to join the event. The statement said the prayer will seek forgiveness for the souls of the freedom fighters and other citizens killed by the Rakkhi Bahini, and remembrance for the women who were victims of sexual violence during that time.

The event aims to commemorate the victims and raise public awareness of the suffering endured by many Bangladeshis in the post-independence period.

A Jubo Dal leader named Al-Amin Chayal has been expelled from all party positions in Lakshmipur following a rape allegation. The decision was announced Monday evening through the verified Facebook page of the central Jubo Dal. The expulsion letter was signed by district Jubo Dal president Abdul Alim Humayun and general secretary Syed Rashidul Hasan Linkon.

According to the case file, Al-Amin allegedly raped a migrant worker’s wife at knifepoint on the night of May 28. The victim filed a case at Sadar Model Police Station on May 30. Al-Amin, son of Abu Chayal from Uttar Char Ramani village, was a member of the Char Ramani Mohan Union Jubo Dal and assistant organizational secretary of its Ward No. 4 unit.

District Jubo Dal’s general secretary stated that Al-Amin was expelled for activities contrary to party principles and that the organization would not bear responsibility for his actions. Other leaders were instructed to avoid organizational contact with him.

The youth wing of the National Citizens Party (NCP), Jatiya Yuvashakti, organized a 'hurricane march' in Dhaka on Monday evening to protest what it called an unbearable increase in fuel prices. The procession began at Banglamotor and ended near the Paribagh petrol pump in Shahbagh. During a brief address after the march, Yuvashakti President Tarikul Islam accused the government of betraying its earlier promise not to raise fuel prices and criticized the timing of the latest hike during the Eid holidays.

Tarikul Islam alleged that the government’s decisions favor the wealthy areas of Gulshan and Banani while neglecting ordinary citizens. He further claimed that corruption in the energy sector continues under the current administration, similar to previous governments. Islam also criticized the Prime Minister for focusing on public relations rather than addressing citizens’ hardships.

Referring to the takeover of Islami Bank, he urged the post-July uprising government to engage with opposition parties on national issues and accused it of suppressing dissent. Other central and city leaders of Yuvashakti, including General Secretary Engineer Farhad Sohel, also spoke at the event.

Police recovered the body of a 75-year-old woman named Nurjahan Begum from an abandoned house in Pallabi, Dhaka. The discovery was made on Sunday after a call to the national emergency number 999. Officers reported that the body showed signs of decay and termite infestation. The residence was described as very dirty, and the woman had reportedly been living at her daughter’s house.

According to Pallabi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Hasan Basir, Nurjahan Begum’s family includes a son who is a joint secretary, another son who teaches at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and a son-in-law who is also a university teacher. Police have initiated questioning of family members to gather more information about the circumstances of her death.

Authorities stated that the exact cause of death will be determined after the autopsy report is received.

A seven-year-old girl named Fatema was reportedly dragged away by a crocodile at the main ghat of the pond near the shrine of Hazrat Khan Jahan Ali in Bagerhat on the night of June 1. The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. when Fatema went down to the water to wash her hands and feet. Witnesses said a crocodile suddenly attacked and pulled her into the pond, drawing a large crowd of onlookers to the site.

According to Fakir Tarikul Islam, the chief caretaker of the shrine, the matter was immediately reported to the authorities, and the Fire Service began rescue operations. Bagerhat-2 Member of Parliament Sheikh Monjurul Haque Rahad, Deputy Commissioner Golam Md. Baten, and Superintendent of Police Hasan Mohammad Naser Rikabdar visited the scene following the incident. As of the time of reporting, rescuers had not yet located the child.

Local residents and officials continued search efforts late into the night, but Fatema’s family identity remained unconfirmed.

Islami Bank Bangladesh held a virtual board meeting late Monday night under what reports described as pressure from Bangladesh Bank. The meeting, chaired by newly appointed chairman Khurshid Alam, lasted about 40 minutes and included five board members. During the session, the resignation of Managing Director Omar Faruk Khan was accepted, and Altaf Hossain was assigned as acting MD until a new appointment is made.

According to Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan, the meeting was held with the central bank’s permission, and no direct pressure was exerted. He clarified that online meetings can be conducted outside regular banking hours. The meeting was originally planned to be held in person but was shifted online due to protests by customers outside the bank’s head office in Dhaka.

Earlier in May, former chairman M. Zubaidur Rahman resigned, and Khurshid Alam, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, was appointed as the new chairman. His appointment has faced opposition from a political faction linked to the bank, leading to ongoing demonstrations, including Monday’s protest in Dhaka.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has commented on a proposal seeking approval for Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain and five officials to visit Florida, USA, to observe innovative mosquito control programs. The proposal, funded by foreign firm Valent BioSciences LLC, was submitted by the Local Government Division to the Prime Minister’s Office for approval.

In his written observation, the Prime Minister stated that there is no need to travel to Florida to learn mosquito control methods, suggesting that spending a few hours beside local ponds in the evening could yield innovative ideas. His remark has sparked wide discussion across social media and administrative circles, with many interpreting it as a call to reassess the necessity and public value of foreign trips by government officials.

According to relevant sources, the Local Government Division will take necessary steps regarding the final decision on the proposed visit.

A 22-year-old midwifery intern died on Monday while undergoing treatment for measles-like symptoms at the ICU of Sylhet Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Measles Dedicated Hospital. The hospital’s resident medical officer, Dr. Mizanur Rahman, confirmed the death, stating that the young nurse had been suffering from symptoms consistent with measles.

According to hospital sources, the intern had been receiving treatment for an extended period at a private facility, Ragib-Rabeya Hospital, but her condition did not improve. As her health deteriorated further, she was admitted to the Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital on Sunday, May 31, and passed away the following morning despite intensive medical efforts.

The deceased was a resident of Bishwambharpur upazila in Sunamganj and was completing her midwifery internship at the Companiganj Upazila Health Complex in Sylhet. Her untimely death has cast a shadow of grief over the local health department and her colleagues, who have expressed deep sorrow at the loss.

Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman returned to the country on Monday after performing the holy Hajj pilgrimage. The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) confirmed his return in an official statement issued on June 1, 2026.

According to the ISPR release, General Waker-Uz-Zaman had traveled to Saudi Arabia on May 22 to perform Hajj. His return marks the completion of his pilgrimage along with thousands of other Bangladeshi pilgrims who have also started arriving back in the country.

The report noted that a total of 11,613 Bangladeshi pilgrims have returned home so far after completing Hajj this year.

Independent Ibtedayi madrasa teachers, who have been staging a continuous sit-in protest in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, announced a new program on Monday, the twelfth day of their demonstration. They declared that if their demands are not met, they will begin a 'Long March to the Secretariat' on Wednesday at 11 a.m. to seek meetings with the Prime Minister and the Education Minister. The announcement was made through a press release signed by Hafiz Maulana Mufti Abdul Hannan Hossain, member secretary of the Independent Ibtedayi Madrasa Teachers Welfare Committee.

The teachers have been demanding the implementation of MPO (Monthly Pay Order) benefits for registered independent Ibtedayi madrasas verified under the 2025 policy, and the release of salaries for teachers approved by the Technical and Madrasa Education Division from January 2026. Their protest began on May 21 with a declaration of continuous sit-in and closure of related institutions.

Earlier, on May 28, police stopped a group of teachers during a march to meet the Prime Minister, detaining six representatives who were later released. The teachers continue to urge government intervention to resolve their demands.