The National Consensus Commission will not impose any decisions on its own as it works out an execution plan based on what political parties want, according to its Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz. He made the comments as the commission resumed talks at the Foreign Service Academy with political parties on implementing the July Charter. While some reforms would be undertaken by the interim government, others would be implemented later through elected representatives, said Prof Riaz.

The commission's options for implementation include a referendum on the charter or parts of it, implementation through a special constitutional order under the president's executive powers, forming a constituent assembly between elections to make necessary constitutional arrangements, or ratification by the elected representatives of the 13th parliament, parliament functioning as a constitutional reform assembly to incorporate the charter into the constitution or seeking the opinion of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court through the president under Article 106 on whether the interim government can implement the charter.

Chief election commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin, on an official visit to Canada, said that expatriate Bangladeshis who have National Identity Cards (smart cards) will be able to exercise their voting rights through postal ballots in the forthcoming Jatiya Sangsad elections. To facilitate this, an app titled "Postal Ballot BD" is currently under development, he added. The CEC made the remarks while exchanging views with expatriate Bangladeshis at a discussion, organised by the consulate general of Bangladesh in Toronto.

The meeting was held on the occasion of inaugurating the distribution of smart national identity cards abroad and encouraging expatriates to participate in the electoral process, according to a PID press release. As the chief guest, CEC Nasir Uddin formally inaugurated the smart card distribution programme and urged expatriates to cast their votes in the polls. He also presented an overview of the country's electoral landscape and the Election Commission's preparations, while elaborating on the voter registration process for Bangladeshis living abroad.

Health authorities reported six dengue patients' deaths on Thursday (Sep. 11) - the highest number of deaths reported in a single day this year. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), among the deaths, three were from Dhaka South City Corporation areas, and one each from Dhaka North City Corporation, Mymensingh division and Rajshahi division. A total of 586 new patients were hospitalised across the country during this period. With the new deaths and cases, the total number of deaths from dengue this year rose to 145, while total dengue cases rose to 36,662.

Currently, 1,792 patients are undergoing treatment at various hospitals across the country, with 1,046 of them outside Dhaka. This is in line with a trend of increasing infections outside the capital. From 2000, when dengue became endemic in Bangladesh, to 2019, the disease was restricted to Dhaka. Last year dengue claimed 575 lives and infected 101,214 people in the country.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) suspended the "Add Money" option from mobile financial services (MFS) apps due to security concerns amid users on social media platforms reporting alleged fraud using the feature recently. "Dear valued client, you may transfer funds to MFS bKash via the SC Mobile app at any time. Please note, the Add Money option from MFS apps is temporarily unavailable to ensure secure transactions," the foreign lender informed customers through text message.

The move comes as various users alleged that they were victims of fraud attacks which used the said option to transfer money from credit cards issued by the banks. "It has come to our attention that cardholders of several banks are falling prey to fraudsters who are initiating fund transfer from MFS channels (e.g. bKash, Nagad) and transferring funds from credit card," Luthful Habib, head of Wealth and Retail Banking at the bank, told The Daily Star.