Deprived leaders and activists of Jubo Dal in Dumki upazila of Patuakhali held a press conference on Saturday at 12pm, demanding cancellation of the party’s newly announced committee. The event took place at Zamzam Restaurant, following the committee’s announcement on social media on 26 August.

Former Jubo Dal convener Md Jasim Uddin alleged that the committee was formed by excluding dedicated and tested activists while including non-political and controversial individuals. He described it as a “pocket committee” and claimed its formation violated the party constitution. He said activists who had long remained active on the streets had been severely overlooked.

Speakers also alleged that the new committee president had remained outside politics for a long time and had not previously been active in party activities. They further raised allegations against the general secretary and several other office-bearers. The participants sought swift intervention from central leaders and warned that they would announce tougher programmes if their demand was not met.

Patiya lawmaker Enamul Haque Enam called on people to remain alert to propaganda and rumors allegedly spread by secret and banned organizations. Speaking as chief guest at a free seed and fertilizer distribution event in Patiya, Chattogram, on Saturday afternoon, he said such groups were using social media to spread misinformation about fertilizer, gas and electricity.

Enam said some members of banned organizations were attempting to provoke people by circulating rumors. He urged the public not to maintain any form of connection with those spreading such propaganda, adding that those who incite others would not be spared.

At the event, organized by the Mabila and Syed Foundation, 250 farmers received seeds of tomato, radish, pumpkin, red amaranth and chili, along with two kilograms of fertilizer each. Enam also said the prime minister was providing farmer cards for marginal farmers in villages and that people without land could cultivate vegetables on vacant roadside areas and uncultivated land, with government support available.

Barishal entrepreneur Jannatul Ferdous has developed natural food colors using extracts from local fruits, vegetables, tree bark and flowers, drawing praise as an alternative to chemical-based food coloring. Her products have been used to make items including pitha, laddoo, cakes and candy. The Barishal divisional Department of Agricultural Marketing supported the initiative, and officials discussed it with Divisional Commissioner Khalil Ahmed.

Ferdous, president of the Barishal district branch of a women entrepreneurs’ development organization, began block-batik work after Youth Development Department training in 2006. She later trained in food processing at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in Gazipur in 2024. In 2025, she opened a women’s training centre and established J Tasty Nest in Barishal’s Kaunia area, producing colors from ingredients such as dragon fruit, butterfly pea flowers, carrots, hibiscus, beetroot, spinach and Malabar spinach.

Her natural colors currently have a maximum shelf life of 10 days, after which their quality deteriorates. Ferdous said technology and research assistance are needed to extend preservation. Commissioner Ahmed promised administrative support, while agricultural marketing officials said local natural colors could support safer food and reduce spending on imported artificial colors.

A college in the remote Shambhupur Union of Tajumuddin upazila in Bhola has launched its own bus service to make travel easier and safer for more than 450 students. The institution, established in 2013 near Khaser Hat Bazar, said the initiative is intended to improve access to education for students travelling from distant areas.

Students previously depended on hired autorickshaws and other transport, often facing difficulty reaching the college on time and returning home safely. Twelfth-grade students Sravanti and Ikra said transport shortages had sometimes made them late for classes. They said the dedicated bus would help them attend lessons punctually and travel home more safely.

Lecturers Mizanur Rahman and Khaled Saifullah said the service could ease students’ longstanding travel difficulties, raise classroom attendance and encourage greater interest in higher education. Principal Md Muinuddin Howlader said the bus was provided by the Mohammad Shahe Alam Foundation and would reduce travel fatigue, allowing students to focus more on their studies.

Alliance Française de Dhaka will open “Untold Story,” a group art exhibition curated by artist Fariha Jeba, on Tuesday, 1 September, at La Galerie in Dhaka. The exhibition explores intimate and often unspoken human experiences through artists’ books and contemporary artworks.

Frederic Inza, deputy head of mission at the Embassy of France in Bangladesh, and Tanvir Ahmed, managing director of Sheltech Group and Envoy Legacy, will attend the opening as guests of honour. The works use painting, drawing, collage, stitching, textiles, collected materials and experimental book forms to address memory, identity, heritage, loss, desire and lived experience.

Participating artists are Esha Ahmed, Fauzia Mahin Chowdhury, Kazmin Samia, Sulekha Chowdhury, Sumona Akter and Surabhi Akter. Guest artists include Alia Kamal, Arpita Singh, Mahmuda Siddika, Rafia Mahzabin, Rituparna Saha and Venisa Kaiser. Seven group artists worked on the theme through artists’ books for a year, while guest artists explored it in their own visual languages over a shorter period.

Islami Andolan Bangladesh assistant secretary-general Sheikh Fazlul Karim Maruf alleged that the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum is presenting a partial account of the uprising as a complete history. He made the comments on Saturday after visiting the museum with leaders of the party’s Dhaka South unit, calling the display an attempt to distort history.

Maruf said the uprising sought a new national arrangement rather than a repackaging of the old system. He alleged that Islamist participants were being erased from its history and said the role of the party’s ameer, Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, had not been adequately presented. He also said museum displays omitted activities held after defying Section 144 on August 3, 4 and 5, as well as the slogan demanding Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.

Dhaka South city secretary KM Shariatullah questioned the museum’s management, citing what he described as poor ticketing and checking systems and selective historical presentation. He urged the government to protect the history from distortion and take effective action quickly. Several other Dhaka South leaders joined the visiting delegation.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has instructed its district units to form convening committees in every upazila across the country by September 28. The directive, signed on Friday by NCP northern region chief organiser Sarjis Alam, aims to increase organisational momentum and prepare for local elections. Where full committees cannot be established immediately, district units have been told to announce interim committees.

An interim upazila convening committee may have 11 to 15 members and must form a full 51-member committee within 15 days. Existing and newly formed upazila committees have also been directed to begin forming union-level convening committees. The party said upazila conveners must be over 40, while member secretaries should preferably be over 35 and cannot be below 30.

The guidance allows priority for people who have run, or are considered potential candidates, for upazila chairman posts. At least one of the convener and member secretary must live in or near a town. Committees must ensure at least 5% women’s representation and proportional representation of religious and ethnic groups. District conveners and member secretaries must submit written progress reports by September 29.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer and Bogura regional director ATM Azharul Islam MP said the party was compelled to take to the streets because the government was delaying implementation of the referendum verdict. He made the remarks on Saturday, August 29, at a meeting of the Dhaka-to-Rangpur long march implementation committee near Hatikumrul roundabout in Sirajganj.

Azhar cited electricity and gas shortages, other social crises, and what he described as a worsening law-and-order situation, saying these had created a crisis of public confidence in the government. He said voters had backed forming a government and constitutional reforms after the fall of an authoritarian fascist government, and that the referendum supported reforming provisions that could enable fascism.

He said two roadside meetings would be held in Sirajganj and Bogura, described as gateways to Rangpur, with leaders of the 11-party alliance expected to speak. He called on people from Bogura, Sirajganj, Pabna and nearby areas to attend by 11am on September 19, urged peaceful and orderly arrangements, and sought cooperation from law-enforcement agencies.

Qaumi Chhatra Oikya Parishad withdrew its planned programme in Brahmanbaria on Saturday after NCP leader and lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah expressed regret over remarks he made in parliament about the district. The group announced the withdrawal after talks with NCP leaders at about 2:30pm. Hasnat said in a Facebook post that a misunderstanding had arisen with Brahmanbaria residents and expressed sorrow for his parliamentary comments.

The NCP’s Brahmanbaria district committee had planned an organisational coordination meeting and political workshop at the district Shilpakala Academy auditorium at 4pm. Madrasa students, under the Qaumi Chhatra Oikya Parishad banner, demonstrated late Friday and said they would resist the NCP event unless Hasnat apologised.

The group had also called an Islamic cultural programme at the venue for 3pm Saturday. Committee member Abdul Khaleq said there would be no obstruction to the NCP programme following Hasnat’s expression of regret. However, District Commissioner Md Abusaid said the academy could not host the NCP event because political gatherings are not permitted there.

Construction of a new central library at Jahangirnagar University has been delayed by repeated work stoppages and complications in releasing funds. Built under the university’s further development project, the six-storey facility was initially expected to open in December 2024 but remains unfinished. Project officials say it could be completed within six months if funds are released in full, while the current pace could push inauguration to December 2027.

The approximately 250,000-square-foot building is estimated to cost Tk101.86 crore and is planned to accommodate 5,000 to 7,000 students at a time. Its design draws on the circular form and columns of Rome’s Colosseum. The university’s existing central library, opened in 1985, has only 447 seats for more than 14,000 students, leaving many unable to find a place daily.

The new library is planned to hold about 300,000 volumes and provide e-library access, international databases, research software, workstations, recording facilities, VR and GIS spaces. Officials cited delays in approving the revised development project proposal, while university authorities said funds have now arrived and contractors have been urged to speed up work.

A court in Habiganj has taken cognizance of an extortion case against Madhabpur Upazila BNP president Shamsul Islam Kamal and four others over allegations that they demanded Tk20 lakh from an expatriate family after disrupting house construction. Sunny Alam Srabon, son of US expatriate Shahin Mia, filed the case on Thursday before Senior Judicial Magistrate Shahidul Alam of the Habiganj Speedy Trial Court.

The complaint alleges that Kamal and others stopped construction on land owned through purchase in the Dattapara area of Dharmaghar Bazar on August 16. They are accused of assault, issuing death threats and demanding money. Shahin Mia said he had earlier paid Kamal Tk50,000 and later Tk100,000 to prevent obstruction, but alleged that construction was still blocked and Tk20 lakh was demanded.

Kamal denied the allegations, saying the land is disputed and has three heirs, while the entire 31 decimals were allegedly registered from one heir. He said he visited the site only to resolve the matter. The court ordered the CR 52/2026 case to be treated as an FIR at Madhabpur police station within three working days, and Officer-in-Charge Sohel Rana said it has been recorded.

Islami Andolon Bangladesh Ameer and Charmonai Pir Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim said the government had failed to show even minimal progress on its pre-election commitments after six months in office. Speaking on Saturday at the party’s district representatives conference at the BMA auditorium in the capital, he said the BNP leadership had pledged 10 million jobs, improved living standards and public security before the election.

Karim said conditions had instead become more fragile in several areas. He claimed that around 20,000 people had become unemployed in the RMG sector over the past six months, while an average of 10 people were being killed daily. He also cited excessive load-shedding and an energy crisis, arguing that these developments demonstrated the government’s failure.

He said arrests after killings were not followed by justice, and that even lower-court verdicts were not implemented. Addressing the government, he called for public safety, reduced load-shedding, solutions to the energy crisis and control of commodity prices. He also criticized the government’s position on reforms and said it had not followed a national consensus on presidential election issues in the July Charter.

National Citizen Party (NCP) northern chief organizer Sarjis Alam said NCP does not currently want to call the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) extortionist, but would describe its leaders and activists as such if they engage in extortion. He said those involved in land grabbing or drug trading using Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal would likewise be called land grabbers or drug traders. Alam made the remarks as chief guest at an organizational coordination meeting and political workshop in Cumilla on Saturday afternoon.

Addressing NCP activists from Cumilla metropolitan area and the district’s south and north units, Alam said people had begun comparing BNP with others before 180 days had passed. He said that if NCP could develop a leader in every household within the next year, people in Bangladesh would no longer think of BNP after one year.

Alam said NCP would not accept anyone under 30 in the future, arguing that recruiting workers aged 28 to 30 would remove the need for a separate Jubo Shakti organization. He also said NCP would remain uncompromising against wrongdoing and rejected what he described as past parliamentary practices of public opposition and private negotiations.

Bangladesh recorded two additional dengue deaths, raising this year’s reported death toll to 90, the Directorate General of Health Services said on Saturday, August 29. The agency’s Health Emergency Operation Center and Control Room also reported that 996 new patients were admitted to hospitals across the country. The number of patients currently receiving treatment stood at 2,101.

Both of the newly reported deaths were male. One victim was aged between 51 and 55, while the other was between 61 and 65. Of the 90 reported deaths, 51 were women, or 57.3 percent, and 38 were men, or 42.7 percent. The information for one case was later marked as false.

Hospitals under Dhaka South City Corporation recorded 31 deaths and those under Dhaka North City Corporation recorded 11, while three deaths occurred outside the city corporations in Dhaka division. Khulna reported 17 deaths, followed by Barishal with nine, Mymensingh with eight, Chattogram with five, Rajshahi with four, and Rangpur and Sylhet with one each. A total of 339,586 dengue patients have been hospitalized, while 31,395 have been discharged.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Agriculture says its PARTNER project has made about 47 percent overall progress by June this year toward modernising, commercialising and making agriculture technology-driven. The programme began in July 2023 and operates across 64 districts and 495 upazilas in 14 agricultural regions. It seeks to expand digital services for farmers, good agricultural practices, safe food, research, agricultural exports and climate-resilient technologies.

The project, costing about Tk 69.11 billion, is financed by the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Bangladesh government, with seven government agencies involved. Of a target 28,597 field schools, activities are underway at about 18,500. About 4,500 of 20,000 farmer-training batches on good agricultural practices have been completed, alongside 27 of 30 training batches for extension officers.

A major initiative is the farmer card, with plans to cover one million farmers in August and 4.7 million within the year. A pilot database for about 1.4 million farmers has been prepared. Officials say the cards could help deliver subsidies, loans, incentives and other public services, while plans include international debit cards through three state-linked banks. DPP revisions and some target resets are under discussion.