Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon said no final decision has been made on returning teacher recruitment authority to managing committees at private schools and colleges. He conveyed the government’s position to the media on Monday, August 10, 2026.

The minister said there has been no conclusive decision to give managing committees the power to appoint teachers. The process for appointments will be determined after the selection of 77,000 teachers is completed.

His clarification followed recent reports in several media outlets that recruitment authority could be restored to the managing committees or governing boards of private educational institutions. The minister outlined the government’s position amid that discussion.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has demanded that the interim government reverse its decision to scrap the expanded Essential Drugs List-2026 and Drug Price Determination Method-2026. In a joint statement issued Monday by convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhtar Hossain, the party called the move contrary to public interest and warned of a broader public movement if it is not withdrawn. The report was published on August 10, 2026.

NCP said the list had contained 117 medicines before the July mass uprising, claiming that about 40 percent had become ineffective in practice. It said reforms expanded the list to 295 medicines and introduced strict price controls, and claimed those medicines could meet the primary treatment needs of about 80 percent of people. The party also said earlier policy required companies to produce and supply essential medicines equal to at least 25 percent of annual sales.

The party alleged that the government reduced the list back to 117 medicines and weakened price controls in the interests of drug companies. NCP said higher prices could particularly affect patients with chronic illnesses and raise treatment costs for middle- and lower-income families. It sought effective price controls for 295 medicines, government control over maximum retail prices, and a science-based, public-oriented national drug policy.

Bangladesh has formed a 22-member National Task Force on Deregulation and Ease of Doing Business to simplify the business and investment environment. Chaired by the finance and planning minister, the body was established through a Cabinet Division notification issued on August 9. The government says the initiative aims to identify and reform unnecessary rules, approvals and administrative complexities affecting businesses and investors.

The task force will approve sector-based reform road maps and review implementation progress. It will identify excessive licences, approvals, clearances and administrative steps in areas including taxes, duties, banking, capital markets, construction, environmental services and local services, and direct measures to reduce them. It will also provide policy guidance on introducing a single window, service level agreements, deemed or automatic approvals and online tracking systems.

The panel includes ministers, advisers, the Bangladesh Bank governor, the executive chairman of BIDA and senior officials from relevant ministries and agencies. Presidents of major business bodies, including FBCCI, FICCI, DCCI, MCCI, BGMEA and BKMEA, are also members. A dedicated website is planned through the Invest Bangladesh Authority to monitor complaints, irregularities and service delays. The task force will review reform progress every three months.

Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam has condemned a decision to hand managing committees authority to recruit teachers at MPO-listed schools and colleges, calling it a blueprint to destroy the country’s education system and impose extreme partisan control. In a post on his verified Facebook page on Monday, reported on August 10, 2026, he demanded the decision be withdrawn immediately.

Islam said the move would take away what he described as the last refuge for educated unemployed youth. He alleged that recruitment in schools and colleges would no longer be possible without bribery, nepotism and political considerations. According to him, qualified and talented young people would be deprived while unqualified people could be appointed through political influence and corruption.

He also warned that appointing unqualified teachers would seriously harm educational standards. Islam said the foundation for building the knowledge and skills of future generations would weaken, potentially bringing severe long-term consequences for the nation. The lawmaker urged the immediate withdrawal of what he called a plan pushing young people’s futures and the education system toward destruction.

Fire Service and Civil Defence’s Dhaka Division held a preparatory meeting with stakeholders for post-earthquake firefighting and coordinated rescue operations. The meeting took place at 11am on August 10 at the Fire Service EOC Centre conference room in Mirpur. Owners and representatives of public and private institutions with cranes, excavators and other heavy rescue equipment from six districts attended.

The meeting covered Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Narsingdi, as Dhaka was described as among the country’s most earthquake-vulnerable areas. Director of Operations and Maintenance Lt Col Md Mahmudul Hasan instructed zone commanders and district officials in the six districts to strengthen coordination and communication with stakeholders. He also offered views on planning firefighting and rescue operations and arranging training.

Participants in the open discussion expressed commitment to support rescue operations during national disasters. Heavy Equipment Association Bangladesh President Md Afzal Hossain said the association would work jointly with the Fire Service and proposed forming an “Emergency Equipment Support Team.” Dhaka Division Deputy Director Md Saleh Uddin called for greater coordination, training and drills after presenting images of the Rana Plaza collapse and recent earthquakes in Turkey and Myanmar. About 70 owners and representatives attended.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman urged every citizen to fulfil their responsibilities from their respective positions to build the Bangladesh envisioned by martyrs of the July mass uprising. He made the call on Monday at the Cabinet Division meeting room in the Secretariat during a ceremony honouring and providing financial assistance to family members of Bangladesh Scouts martyrs from the uprising. Deputy press secretary Sujauddoula conveyed the matter.

Rahman said those who sacrificed their lives for the country in 1971 and 2024 sought to establish people's rights. Their goal, he said, was a Bangladesh where basic needs are met and everyone can live in peace. He said no one can repay the debt owed for the martyrs' sacrifices, adding that honouring them requires more than remembrance and demands work for the country by those who remain alive.

The prime minister urged Bangladesh Scouts members to serve the country and its people, stand beside others and develop a sense of responsibility toward nature. Ten members of martyrs' families received special honours, financial grant cheques and medals. Bangladesh Scouts President Nasimul Gani called for the martyrs' contributions and sacrifices to be included in the national curriculum.

Leaders of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, or DUCSU, protested in the rain on Monday night, August 10, 2026, against a proposal to restore teacher recruitment through managing committees or local boards. DUCSU vice president Sadik Kayem attended the demonstration.

Protesters chanted slogans calling for education over commerce and merit over money. They also rejected committees in favour of merit, and used slogans demanding jobs rather than connections through uncles or maternal uncles, highlighting concerns over merit-based recruitment.

The proposal was raised at a Ministry of Education meeting and would replace the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority, or NTRCA, with managing committees or local boards in the recruitment process. The proposal to revive the previous system has triggered strong reactions among active student organisations and leaders of various political parties.

The High Court granted interim bail to former Awami League-aligned chief justice Khairul Haque in a case under the attempted murder and Explosives Control Act. The order was issued Monday by a bench of Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher. His lawyers said the latest bail means he has now secured bail in all cases filed against him.

The court also issued a rule asking why Haque should not be granted regular bail in the case. Senior lawyers Md Mansurul Haque Chowdhury and Motahar Hossain Saju, along with lawyer Munaem Nabi Shaheen, represented Haque. Deputy Attorney General Syeda Sajia Sharmin appeared for the state.

Lawyer Motahar Hossain Saju said there is no longer any legal obstacle to Haque's release from prison. After the July mass uprising, detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested him from his Dhanmondi residence on July 24, 2025. That night, he was shown arrested in the murder case of Jubo Dal worker Abdul Qaiyum Ahad in Jatrabari and sent to jail, where he has remained since then.

Myanmar has agreed to take back 5,000 refugees, including Rohingya, who are sheltering in Malaysia, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said. The matter was discussed during his recent meeting with Myanmar's new foreign minister, Than Mung Swe, according to a Bernama report published on August 10, 2026. Mohamad Hasan said Myanmar had indicated it was preparing to return the refugees by ship.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Mohamad Hasan said the central concern was the safety of the 5,000 people. He said Myanmar's refugee crisis should not be viewed solely as a Rohingya issue, noting that people from other ethnic groups, including Chin and Karen communities, have also become refugees because of conflict and violence.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in late July that Myanmar had agreed, after bilateral talks, to accept an initial group of 5,000 Rohingya refugees living in Malaysia. The report said Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority in Myanmar, have long faced discrimination, persecution and statelessness. More than 1.3 million Rohingya have taken refuge in Bangladesh, while others reached Indonesia and Malaysia through dangerous sea journeys.

A powerful earthquake struck several parts of Colombia at about 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday, August 10. The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake at magnitude 7.4. Its epicenter was about five kilometres east of San José del Palmar in Chocó department, with a depth of about 107 kilometres below the surface.

The US tsunami warning system listed the earthquake at magnitude 7.1, but no tsunami warning was issued. Initial reports said the tremor was felt across areas of Colombia as well as in regions near the Venezuelan border. Chocó Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi said several people were injured in the departmental capital, Quibdó, where several permanent structures were also damaged.

Authorities are working to determine the full extent of the damage, the governor said. Residents have also been urged to remain alert for possible further tremors or aftershocks. Colombia is considered vulnerable to earthquakes because of its location near multiple tectonic plate boundaries and active fault lines. The Colombian Geological Service records more than 100 major destructive earthquakes in the country.

Students at Jagannath University staged a protest march on Monday, August 10, demanding that the NTRCA’s central recommendation system for teacher recruitment in private educational institutions be retained. The protesters opposed a proposed decision to shift recruitment to committees. The march began from the university’s open library premises in the afternoon.

Students from different departments, registered job seekers and people seeking transparency in teacher recruitment joined the demonstration. The procession moved through different parts of the campus, passed the main gate and headed toward Johnson Road. Participants chanted slogans demanding recognition of merit, retention of NTRCA and an end to nepotism in teacher recruitment.

Protesters said NTRCA has long recommended teacher appointments on the basis of merit, qualifications and examinations. They argued that returning the process to managing committees or governing bodies could undermine transparency and accountability, while creating opportunities for irregularities, lobbying and bias. The gathering called for merit-based recruitment and consideration of students’ and job seekers’ concerns, warning of broader programmes if their demands are not met.

Oil from a damaged tanker has spread across about 390 square kilometres in Oman’s coastal waters, authorities said. Oman’s government said the sanctioned vessel, Caroline Bezengi, was carrying Russian crude oil. The environmental authority is working to contain the spill near the Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar Governorate, according to information published on August 10.

The authority said the oil slick had moved northeast from the islands toward the mainland. Its closest point to the coast was estimated at about seven kilometres offshore. The spill is within Omani waters near the southern Hallaniyat Islands, where officials said containment work was under way.

Two maritime security sources told Reuters that the ship’s crew first reported problems near Yemen’s Mukalla port on June 8. An initial assessment had suggested an explosion inside the vessel, but the cause of the damage remains unclear and Omani authorities have provided no explanation. Shipping data showed the tanker had loaded Russian crude before its voyage and last transmitted a public AIS tracking signal near Yemen’s coast on June 11.

Firnas, the son of Sharif Osman Hadi, can now say “Abba” and kisses photographs of his father, according to Abdullah Al Jaber, member secretary of Inqilab Mancha. A report published on August 10, 2026 said Firnas was only eight months old when a killer’s bullet struck Hadi in the head.

The report states that Osman Hadi died on December 18, 2025. He did not hear his son say “Abba” before his death. Speaking on a podcast, Abdullah Al Jaber said Firnas now speaks a little and calls out “Abba.”

Jaber said Firnas has grown and enjoys going outside. When they visit, he wants to go out with them, Jaber said. He added that Firnas kisses his father’s photograph and is accustomed to saying “Abba” rather than “Baba.” Jaber also recalled visiting Hadi’s home after Firnas’s birth and spending playful moments with the child.

A recent mutual defense agreement among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, known as the Mecca Pact, could strengthen India and Israel’s strategic partnership, according to a report published on August 10, 2026. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone last Thursday about recent developments in West Asia and reviewed progress in their “special strategic partnership,” Modi said in posts issued in English and Hebrew.

The day after the call, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a broad defense agreement in Mecca. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it includes a provision modeled on NATO’s Article 5, treating an attack on one member as an attack on all. Analysts cited in the report said the emerging alignment complicates expectations of drawing Saudi Arabia closer to Israel within a US-led regional security framework.

India’s Foreign Ministry rejected reports of an urgent new India-Israel mutual defense pact as false, while spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was closely monitoring the Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan arrangement. The report said cooperation between India and Israel could deepen on IMEC, defense technology, intelligence sharing and regional security.

All 10 students who sat this year’s Secondary School Certificate examinations from Urir Char Junior High School in Sandwip, Chattogram, failed, producing a zero pass rate. The report, published on August 10, 2026, said the school had recorded satisfactory pass rates in previous years. School-related sources cited acute financial hardship, teachers’ unpaid salaries, student disengagement and parents’ lack of awareness as reasons for the result.

All 10 candidates had failed the school’s selection examination before the SSC tests. Although they were not supposed to sit the final examination under the rules, the school authorities allowed all of them to take the board examination on “special consideration.” The institution, also known as Urir Char High School, has 60 students from grades six to 10, but not even 10 attend classes regularly.

Teachers said salaries were mainly paid from student fees, but many parents were reluctant to pay regularly. None of the school’s eight teachers has received a salary for two years, and three have stopped coming altogether. Acting Upazila Secondary Education Officer Ismat Ara Begum described the complete failure rate as unfortunate and said the matter was being examined.