Today’s top 5 news stories

Beyond Headlines brings together the five biggest news stories of the day in one concise news digest to keep readers informed about the developments that matter. Here’s the news digest for 15th September 2026.

Industrial gas supply to improve as LNG terminals resume operations

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Monday that gas and electricity supplies to industrial units will return to pre-August levels from Tuesday evening following increased liquefied natural gas flows.

He made the assurance during a three-hour long meeting with leaders of 21 trade bodies at the secretariat. The prime minister also presented a detailed roadmap on how the increased demand for gas and electricity for industrial development and new investments in the coming days would be met.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, FBCCI Administrator Md Fazlul Hoque said representatives of trade bodies accepted the government's energy roadmap. 

According to Petrobangla data, national regasified LNG supply reached 980 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) after the fire-damaged Excelerate Energy terminal resumed operations at 500 mmcfd alongside the Summit facility, lifting total gas supply to 2,582 mmcfd. To address broader generation shortfalls, the government also released Tk 6,000 crore of the Tk 14,000 crore owed to furnace oil-based power plants.

Source: The Daily Star, New Age, Dhaka Tribune, The Business Standard

Students tear Jinnah photos at DUCSU as administration launches probe

Student organisations on Monday protested the display of founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s photos in the renovated Ducsu photo gallery and tore up two photographs.

The protests came a day after the archive reopened without any prominent photograph of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but with photographs of Jinnah and former Chhatra Sangha leader Abdul Malek.

During the protest, Muhammad Abu Tayab (Habilder), a fourth-year Urdu student from the 2001-02 session and a candidate in the last Ducsu election, smashed a frame containing a photograph of Jinnah, removed the photograph, and tore it up.

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor ABM Obaidul Islam said the university will take strict administrative action against those responsible for displaying photographs of Jinnah and Malek at the DUCSU gallery. 

The university formed an inquiry committee led by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Mohammed Almujaddade Alfasane to examine the unauthorised exhibition alongside other regulatory breaches.

Following the incident, Bangladesh Chhatra Federation activists put up a photograph showing convicted 1971 war criminal and former Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Ghulam Azam being beaten with shoes outside Baitul Mukarram in 1981 at the same museum spot.

Chhatra Federation Dhaka University Organising Secretary Arko Barua said DUCSU was not personal property, adding that students had an equal right to display Azam's shoe-beating after union leaders installed Jinnah's portrait on personal impulse.

Source: Prothom Alo, Dhaka Tribune, The Daily Star, Business Times

EC to hold Union Parishad elections in seven phases starting from 12 November

The Election Commission has planned to hold countrywide Union Parishad elections across seven phases, with the first phase scheduled to commence on 12 November.

Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said on Monday the opening phase will cover roughly 80 upazilas across 63 districts out of 4,580 union parishads, with subsequent rounds continuing through 27 May. The staggered voting begins a broader electoral cycle across five local government tiers, including pourashavas, upazila parishads, zilla parishads and city corporations.

The schedule follows earlier delays, as the commission previously planned an October rollout after an initial government proposal to begin voting after the monsoon season was deferred.

Ahead of the polls, the EC will hold dialogues with registered political parties between 23 and 25 September, inviting two representatives from each party to consultations.

Source: New Age, Prothom Alo

Dengue and measles deaths reach 1,187 as 16 died in last 24 hours

Bangladesh recorded 16 deaths in 24 hours -- eight from measles‑like symptoms and eight from dengue -- bringing the combined toll to 1,187. 

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, the deaths from suspected measles were reported in Dhaka and Sylhet, taking the cumulative toll since 15 March to 1,030, including 930 suspected and 100 confirmed fatalities. 

Another 1,177 suspected cases and 55 confirmed infections were recorded within 24 hours, lifting cumulative suspected cases to 172,720 and confirmed infections to 20,124, with Dhaka Division reporting the highest daily count of 424 cases.

Meanwhile, dengue admissions reached a daily record of 1,733, pushing cumulative cases to 53,570 and total fatalities to 157. 

The eight deaths, comprising six women and two men, occurred across Dhaka, Chattogram and Mymensingh, while 4,038 patients remain hospitalised nationwide as monthly admissions climbed to 17,424 within 14 days.

The health directorate also reported that the national measles-rubella vaccination campaign administered 19.77 million doses, achieving 109.8 percent of its target, with Mymensingh Division recording 115.1 per cent coverage. 

Source: Prothom Alo, The Business Standard, Dhaka Tribune, Jago News

SC rejects stay on Tk 666 crore Grameen Kalyan verdict

The Supreme Court chamber judge on Monday refused to stay a High Court verdict requiring Grameen Kalyan to pay Tk 666 crore in reassessed income taxes.

Appellate Division Chamber Justice Farah Mahbub deleted the stay petitions from the cause list, advising the organisation to file a regular leave-to-appeal petition once the certified verdict is released. Grameen Kalyan counsel Barrister Abdullah-Al-Mamun and Deputy Attorney General Md Abdus Samad Azad said the National Board of Revenue cannot initiate tax collection until the full judgment is officially signed.

The chamber court ruling followed a 10 September judgment by a High Court bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Rezaul Karim, who dismissed Grameen Kalyan's petitions challenging tax reassessments spanning the 2012-13 to 2016-17 assessment years. Following that dismissal, the state counsel said the revenue authority would issue a formal demand notice for the Tk 666 crore upon receiving the certified verdict.

The dispute involving the non-profit organisation founded by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus was previously dismissed in August 2024 before the bench recalled its verdict because a judge had previously represented the government. Another member of that bench, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, was subsequently removed on recommendations from the Supreme Judicial Council before the litigation was reassigned to a new bench.

Source: Bangladesh Pratidin, The Daily Star

That concludes today’s briefing. Stay with Beyond Headlines for in-depth news and analysis, explainers, opinion pieces, long reads, and more.