The leadership of the National Pension Authority, the agency implementing the Universal Pension Scheme, has changed. Dr. Md. Suratuzzaman has taken charge as the new Executive Chairman, while Sheikh Kamrul Hasan has joined as a member. The appointments were made through a notification from the Finance Division under the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Suratuzzaman, from the 15th batch of the BCS (Administration) cadre, has been appointed on a two-year contractual basis.

According to the announcement, Dr. Suratuzzaman previously served in several key administrative roles, including as Assistant Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. He has also been involved in social activities and writing. Sheikh Kamrul Hasan, from the 15th batch of the BCS (Audit and Accounts) cadre, has been appointed as a member for one year on a contractual basis.

Hasan has held leadership positions in various financial institutions and served as Chief Accounts Officer, Finance Controller (Army), and Divisional Controller of Accounts. He also worked in senior roles in the Board of Investment, Ministry of Shipping, and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and served as First Secretary (Commercial) at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata.

A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of income tax records belonging to former Chief Whip and ex-MP of Madaripur-1 constituency, Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury, in connection with a corruption case. The order was issued on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz following a petition from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Court bench assistant Md Riaz Hossain confirmed the decision.

Earlier, ACC Assistant Director A.K.M. Murtuza Ali Sagar, the investigating officer, submitted a petition seeking the seizure of Chowdhury’s tax documents up to the 2024–25 fiscal year, citing the necessity for a fair investigation. After a hearing, the judge approved the request.

The ACC had filed the case on March 25, 2025, accusing Chowdhury of amassing Tk 57.49 crore in unexplained wealth and conducting suspicious transactions totaling Tk 232.11 crore through eight bank accounts.

In Bhanga upazila of Faridpur district, miscreants allegedly poisoned the fish farm of Jamaat leader Anwar Matubbar, causing the death of fish worth about half a million taka. The incident occurred around midnight on Wednesday. Anwar, a member of the union-level Jamaat, discovered hundreds of dead fish floating in the water early in the morning after Fajr prayers and broke down in tears at the sight.

According to local Jamaat president Delwar Hossain, the attack was carried out out of enmity under the cover of darkness. He described the incident as deeply tragic and demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible. Anwar Matubbar stated that he had no known disputes with anyone and was unaware of who might have committed the act. He claimed the loss amounted to nearly half a million taka.

The report did not mention whether any official complaint had been filed or if authorities had begun an investigation into the poisoning.

Police in Kolmakanda, Netrokona recovered the body of a six-year-old girl named Jannatul Akter from a paddy field, 39 hours after she went missing. The child, daughter of Arshad Mia from Jasiura village under Kailati Union, had been missing since Monday afternoon. Her body was found on Wednesday morning, and police took it to the station for further procedures.

According to local residents and family members, extensive searches were conducted in nearby areas after the child went missing. The fire service also searched ponds and water bodies but found no trace. A missing person report was filed at Kolmakanda Police Station on Tuesday.

Officer-in-Charge Md Siddiq Hossain said police are investigating to uncover the cause of death. The exact reason will be determined after the autopsy report is received.

RAB-11 conducted a combing operation in Deobhog Nur Mosque area of Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Tuesday evening, detaining 13 individuals with firearms, ammunition, drugs, and cash. The raid began around 6:30 p.m. and continued until midnight. Among the seized items were six rounds of pistol bullets, knives, Chinese axes, machetes, CCTV cameras, a drone, 1.164 million taka in cash, 235 kilograms of cannabis, and 11,000 yaba tablets. The detainees include men aged between 22 and 48.

RAB-11 Commander Lt. Col. H. M. Sajjad Hossain confirmed the operation at a press briefing on Wednesday morning. According to RAB, the raid followed complaints from locals and intelligence reports about criminal and drug-related activities in the area. Legal action will be taken against the detainees on charges of possessing illegal arms, narcotics, and obstructing government duties.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, three RAB-11 members were injured in a machete attack by criminals in the Masdair Boalia canal area of Fatullah, prompting heightened security operations in the region.

A Bangladeshi expatriate named Rubel Mondal, aged 21, from Dighalkandi area of Jorkhali Union in Madarganj, Jamalpur, has been missing in Saudi Arabia for 21 days. He went to Saudi Arabia on January 27 this year through a local broker and was employed at a private clinic in Mecca. His family last spoke with him on April 16 at around 4 p.m., after which all communication through Imo, Facebook, and Messenger stopped.

Rubel’s mother, Monowara Begum, expressed deep anguish, saying she had sent her youngest son abroad with great hopes and now has no idea of his whereabouts. She appealed to the government to help locate him. Madarganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Suman Chowdhury said he learned about the incident through social media and would inform higher authorities to ensure necessary assistance for the family.

The family remains in distress as the search continues, with local authorities pledging to escalate the matter for further action.

A 23-member Pay Commission led by former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan has submitted a comprehensive report recommending significant salary and allowance increases for Bangladesh’s government employees. The proposal, if implemented, could more than double current pay levels. The commission suggested raising the minimum basic salary from 8,250 taka to 20,000 taka and the maximum from 78,000 taka to 160,000 taka, with overall increases ranging from 100 to 140 percent.

The government currently spends 1.31 trillion taka annually on 1.4 million employees and 900,000 pensioners. Implementing the new structure could require an additional 1.06 trillion taka. Separate reports have also been prepared for the Judicial Service Pay Commission and the Armed Forces. A 10-member high-level committee led by the Cabinet Secretary has been formed to analyze all three reports and finalize a phased implementation plan.

The proposed pay scale aims to reduce the salary ratio between the highest and lowest grades from 1:9.4 to 1:8 while keeping the existing 20-grade structure. Special pay steps have been recommended for top administrative positions, to be announced later by official notification.

Political discussions have intensified across Bogura over who will be appointed as the administrator of the newly formed Bogura City Corporation. Supporters of various Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders have put up posters and banners in the city, while party offices are abuzz with speculation. Several senior and youth leaders of the BNP are reportedly lobbying for the position, though no official announcement has yet been made.

Names under discussion include city BNP president Hamidul Haque Chowdhury Hiru, former mayor and lawyer Mahbubur Rahman, organizational secretary KM Khairul Bashar, and district Jubo Dal president Jahangir Alam. Former district BNP president VP Saiful Islam, former general secretary Zainal Abedin Chan, and Sadar upazila BNP president Maftun Ahmed Khan Rubel are also being mentioned. Social media discussions highlight candidates with long-standing grassroots involvement and leadership qualities.

Local residents have expressed hopes for a competent and honest administrator to ensure better civic services, infrastructure development, and good governance. Observers note that the appointment carries significant political weight and could shape the district’s political landscape in the coming days.

Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir organized a human chain in Patiya, Chattogram, demanding justice for the killings at Shapla Chattar. The demonstration took place on Tuesday afternoon at the Patiya Thana intersection, where leaders and activists from different levels of the organization participated.

Speakers at the event called for a proper investigation and exemplary punishment for those responsible for the Shapla Chattar killings. They expressed frustration that even after 13 years, no judicial process had begun regarding the incident, which they said had caused public resentment. The president of the Patiya Thana branch, Mahbub Ullah, delivered a speech at the event, while branch secretary Abu Siddiq and other members were also present.

The program reflected the organization’s continued demand for accountability and justice related to the Shapla Chattar incident.

The Bangladesh government spent Tk 71,253 crore on interest payments for domestic and foreign loans during the first six months of the current fiscal year (July–December), marking a 22 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Finance Ministry’s latest quarterly debt bulletin. In the previous fiscal year’s first half, interest payments totaled Tk 58,392 crore.

The bulletin shows that domestic debt accounted for the largest share, with Tk 61,866 crore paid in interest—25 percent higher than the previous year—while foreign loan interest rose by 5 percent to Tk 9,387 crore. The report attributes the rising debt servicing burden to lower-than-targeted revenue collection, which has forced the government to rely more heavily on borrowing, particularly from domestic banks. Revenue shortfall in the first nine months reached nearly Tk 1 trillion, a record level.

The bulletin notes a strategic shift toward domestic borrowing to reduce currency risk and stabilize liquidity. As of December, total government debt stood at Tk 22.06 trillion, up from Tk 21.44 trillion in June 2025.

A man named Mohammad Anis allegedly set fire to his own house in Puthia, Rajshahi, on Monday night after his wife refused to give him money for drugs. The fire quickly spread to nearby houses, destroying a total of five dwellings and causing losses estimated at over one million taka. The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m., and by the time the fire service arrived, all the houses had been reduced to ashes. Local residents became agitated, prompting police intervention to restore order.

Puthia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Faridul Islam said an investigation is underway and legal action will follow if the affected families file complaints. On Tuesday morning, local Member of Parliament Professor Nazrul Islam Mondal, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Liakat Salman, and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Shibu Das visited the site and provided initial assistance to the victims. Anis’s wife, Sohagi Khatun, stated that her husband had wasted money on drugs and mobile gambling and set the fire out of anger when she refused to give him more.

Authorities are continuing the investigation to determine the full extent of the damage and responsibility.

Detectives from Chattogram Metropolitan Police recovered a large consignment of stolen fabrics from Hatiya and Subarnachar in Noakhali. Former joint convener of Charbata Union’s volunteer wing, Abul Bashar, was arrested in connection with the recovery. The operation took place on Monday afternoon at Charmajid Bhuiyanhat market in Hatiya, according to Sub-Inspector Mohiuddin Raju of the Detective Branch.

Police sources said the fabrics, imported by Columbia Apparels Limited, were loaded into a covered van at Chattogram Port on April 24 and later kept at a filling station in Halishahar. The van was reportedly hijacked early on April 25 with the driver’s assistance. A case was filed at Halishahar Police Station on April 27, leading detectives to conduct raids in Noakhali.

Authorities estimated the recovered fabrics to be worth around six million taka. A total of 67 bundles were seized from Harani Union and 96 bundles from Charmajid Bhuiyanhat market. Bashar has been presented before court, and police said efforts are ongoing to arrest other suspects.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) of Bangladesh has set a target to bring 2 million new business entities under VAT registration in the 2026–27 fiscal year. The plan includes expanding VAT coverage to all upazilas, particularly in rapidly growing business areas, and incorporating temporary shops in Dhaka with high sales volumes. Businesses with annual transactions up to 3 million taka will remain exempt from mandatory VAT registration. Currently, about 795,000 businesses are registered for VAT.

NBR data shows that during a special campaign in December of the previous year, 131,000 new businesses registered for VAT, surpassing the monthly average of 8,000–10,000. Since VAT was introduced in 1991, only around 800,000 businesses have registered. Business groups have urged the government to expand VAT coverage instead of raising rates, arguing that compliant taxpayers face disproportionate burdens.

The NBR also plans to simplify and digitalize the VAT system, including mandatory online return filing, simple software for small businesses, and a possible minimum monthly VAT of 500–1,000 taka payable semiannually or annually.

Bangladesh will participate for the first time in the Esports Nations Cup, often called the World Cup of esports, scheduled for November 2026 in Saudi Arabia. The announcement came at a press conference organized by the Bangladesh Youth Development and Electronic Sports Association (BYDESA) in Dhaka, where its president, Dr. Brigadier General (Retd.) Md. Munirul Islam, confirmed the country’s debut. Bangladesh will compete in 15 different esports titles, with a total prize pool exceeding Tk 2.2 billion, one of the largest among global esports events.

Around 150 countries are expected to take part in the tournament. Bangladesh’s 50-member team will first face Asian nations in the qualifiers, aiming to finish among the top two or three to reach the main round. Team manager Aga Rafsan said preparations are underway with that goal in mind. Coaches Farhan Islam, Md. Abid Hossain, and Nazmus Sakib stated that the national team was selected through a transparent process after 1,500 gamers registered nationwide.

The debut is being viewed as a major milestone for Bangladesh’s growing esports community.

Depositors from five banks staged a protest in Chattogram on Wednesday morning demanding the return of their deposits. The demonstration took place around 10 a.m. at the city’s New Market intersection under the banner of the ‘Combined Islamic Bank Depositors Association’—Chattogram Division.

Participants expressed anger over remarks by a Bangladesh Bank spokesperson, calling for the withdrawal of what they described as defamatory comments. One depositor said they were becoming destitute while being unfairly labeled as wrongdoers. The association’s president, Abul Kalam Azad, warned that the movement could expand if their demands were not met, emphasizing that depositors’ money sustains bank operations.

Kotwali Police Station’s officer-in-charge Aftab Uddin said the area is a VIP zone with key installations, so protesters were asked to gather at New Market intersection but later moved to Alkaran intersection. He confirmed that adequate police were deployed to maintain security.