The government today raised the retail prices of all four major petroleum products by Tk 20 per litre. Under the new rates, diesel will cost Tk 135 per litre, up from Tk 115; octane Tk 165, from Tk 145; petrol Tk 160, from Tk 140; and kerosene Tk 155, up from Tk 135. The latest prices were announced by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. The previous major adjustment came in April, when diesel was raised by Tk 15 per litre and octane, petrol, and kerosene by Tk 20, Tk 19 and Tk 18, respectively.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit on Wednesday said fuel prices in Bangladesh will be reduced once the international market stabilises and the Middle East crisis eases. "The fuel price hike is an unavoidable consequence of the global situation. It was not a deliberate decision by the government, but a necessary step taken amid the global economic crisis and in the interest of border security," he said.

The Awami League, whose activities as a political party remain banned in Bangladesh, held what observers billed as its first Central Working Committee meeting since being ousted from government through the July Uprising of 2024. With most of the party's top leaders having fled to India in the aftermath, Friday's meeting was initially planned to be an in-person event, at the Lutyens Delhi address where Sheikh Hasina has been residing. Those plans had to be shelved however, after word got out and the Indian government possibly intervened in the matter. And so in the event, the much touted meeting had to be held on a virtual platform.

The party's Presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim presided over the meeting, which was moderated by the party's Liberation War Affairs Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das. Hasina delivered the keynote address, painting a picture of impending doom for the country, and saying the situation was declining in every sector while calling for AL to "rescue" it.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved a proposal to award a Tk 1,946.22 crore contract to Indonesia's PT Pertamina Trans Kontinental for operating and maintaining Bangladesh's Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility at Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division placed the proposal before the committee. Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presided over the meeting. The operation and maintenance (O and M) contract covers the SPM's offshore and onshore facilities, marine services and associated equipment.

The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation floated an international tender to appoint an operator for the SPM and its double pipeline system. The tender covered the SPM facilities at Kutubdia-Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar and the pipeline facilities extending towards Anwara-North Patenga in Chattogram. According to the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority, the tender sought O and M and marine services for the complete SPM installation, including all auxiliary and ancillary facilities both offshore and onshore, for a 64-month service period.

The death toll from dengue in September surpassed the total number of deaths from the Aedes mosquito-borne disease during the first eight months of the year (January to August). Six more deaths were reported on Wednesday (Sep. 23), while 1,868 patients were admitted to hospitals with the disease. That raised the total number of deaths in September to 104. The figures were provided in a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

With the latest deaths, the total number of dengue fatalities this year has reached 201. The number of hospitalised patients has risen to 67,367. The number of hospitalised patients has risen to 67,367. Of them, 62,117 patients have been discharged. Before September, the highest monthly dengue death toll this year was recorded in August, when 43 people died. The previous month, July, saw 36 deaths.