The government will vaccinate another 1.6 million children against measles after identifying gaps in immunisation coverage in parts of the country. A meeting of the Inter-Agency Coordination Committee on Immunisation at the Health Ministry this week. The number to be vaccinated corresponds to the number of vaccine shots currently in stock, following the emergency campaign that ran from April to May. The government meanwhile is moving to purchase another 2.5 million doses to guard against future shortages.

Meanwhile State Minister for Health MA Muhit this week said that even if the pace of vaccination were doubled, it could still take "another two to three months" for health authorities to bring the outbreak under control. He was speaking at a symposium where scientists from Bangladesh Shishu Hospital Institute and ICDDR, B presented research to link the intensity of the outbreak to the spread of the highly contagious B3 genotype, which is already circulating globally, alongside gaps in vaccination and maternal antibodies.

Four new faces - BNP Standing Committee member and Narsingdi-2 lawmaker Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, BJP chairman and Bhola-1 MP Andaleeve Rahman Partho, Bandarban MP Saching Prue and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Rashiduzzaman Millat-- were sworn in as new ministers on Friday (Aug. 21). Besides, Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir and Gaibandha-4 lawmaker Mohammad Shamim Kaiser Lincoln were sworn in as new state ministers.

They were administered their oath of office by President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who took his own oath as the country's 23rd head of state just prior to them. Earlier on Thursday, Mirza Fakhrul won the first presidential election to be held in the country in 35 years. He defeated Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmad, the candidate of the 11-party opposition alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami. Of the 349 eligible MPs, 343 cast valid votes. Mirza Fakhrul secured 255 votes, while Oli Ahmad received 88. Six MPs did not cast their votes.

Excelerate Energy's floating LNG terminal (FSRU) stopped supplying gas to the national grid on Wednesday, leading to a reduction in gas supply of at least 105 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). According to Petrobangla tracking data, the two FSRUs located off Moheshkhali island were supplying 666 mmcfd to the national grid at noon on Wednesday (Aug. 19). Yet by 8pm, that had fallen to 561 mmcfd, and it was further revealed that the entire amount was coming from the Summit Group's terminal.

It later emerged that the Excelerate FSRU had to stop supplying gas after running out of LNG cargoes to work with. This had even led them to phase out supply in the last day or two - it's why they were supplying only 105 mmcfd on the last day, against a much higher capacity. The two FSRUs have a combined supply capacity of around 1,100 mmcfd. It may be noted the same terminal had suffered an extended shutdown starting July 21 following a fire.

The government of Bangladesh decided to restructure the country's fiscal calendar, shifting it from the long-standing July 1-June 30 cycle to April 1-March 31. According to the minutes of the Cabinet meeting, FY2027-28 will serve as a 9-month transitional fiscal (July-March), making way for the new April-March cycle to fully comprehend into effect starting from FY2028-29. By changing the fiscal timeline, the government aims to eliminate the long-standing phenomenon known as the "June Rush"-a surge in rushed spending at the end of the fiscal year.

The central reason behind the timeline revision is aligning the government's development activities with Bangladesh's weather patterns. Under the July-June structure, the final months of the fiscal year-April, May, and June-are critical for project execution and spending. While appearing to be a simple three-month adjustment on paper, the decision aligns state budgeting, development projects, revenue collection, and tax administration with the country's seasonal and global realities.