All leave for Metro Rail officials and employees has been cancelled. On Sunday, an office order signed by AKM Khairul Alam, Director (Administration) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), announced this decision. DMTCL is responsible for the construction and operation of the Metro Rail in Dhaka. According to the company's order, all officials and employees assigned to the DMTCL Metro Rail building, depot areas, Metro Rail stations, various DMTCL projects, and other related facilities are to forgo all types of leave until further notice. However, the order did not mention any reason for the cancellation of leave.

Sources at DMTCL say that this precautionary measure regarding the Metro Rail, a critical facility, has been taken due to fears of political unrest this month. In particular, the verdict for three accused, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in connection with crimes against humanity during the July mass uprising, scheduled for 13 November.

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has said that the decision on a new pay commission for government employees will be taken by the next government. He made this remark after the meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held at the Secretariat. On 27 July, the government formed a pay commission to determine a new pay structure for government officials and employees. The commission is headed by former finance secretary and PKSF chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan. The commission was instructed to submit its report within six months.

Currently, government officials and employees receive salaries and allowances based on the 2015 pay scale. The number of government employees is around 1.5 million. For more than two years, the country has been experiencing high inflation, which has eroded people's real income. Against this backdrop, the new pay commission has been formed to recommend a revised pay structure.

Bangladesh has been ranked 13th in the Long-Term Climate Risk Index (CRI), reflecting its continued vulnerability to climate-related hazards such as floods, heatwaves, cyclones and storms. The CRI was prepared by the global disaster watchdog Germanwatch by analysing data on casualties and property damage caused by extreme weather events in 20 countries, including Bangladesh, over the last 30 years. The index documents over 9,700 extreme weather events from 1995 to 2024, which resulted in more than 830,000 deaths and caused over $4.5 trillion in direct damages, adjusted for inflation.

Germanwatch praised Bangladesh for bringing down the number of deaths by effective risk management in CRI 2026, which was released at COP30 in Belém. Owing to effective risk prevention and adaptation, cyclone-related mortality in Bangladesh has fallen more than 100-fold in the last 40 years, from half a million deaths in 1970 to 4,234 in 2007, the report said.

The Election Commission has released the code of conduct for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, imposing a complete ban on the use of posters and prohibiting the misuse of social media and artificial intelligence during the election period. The code of conduct has introduced strict measures to ensure fair, transparent and environmentally responsible election campaigning. The updated guidelines, which were gazetted on Monday night, come before the 13th parliamentary elections planned for February 2026.

The revised code of conduct has brought about significant changes to the way election campaigns would be conducted, with notable restrictions on traditional and digital campaigning methods. In a bid to address environmental concerns, the use of non-biodegradable materials such as rexine, polythene and plastic for pamphlets and banners is now prohibited. Furthermore, the new rules ban the use of drones, helicopters and other flying devices for distributing campaign materials, as well as the use of artificial intelligence for manipulative or malicious purposes.