The Office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) has issued a directive making it mandatory to deduct income tax at source from the monthly salaries of government officers and employees whose basic pay exceeds the specified threshold. The circular was released on Monday.

According to the letter from the CGA’s Additional Accounts and Procedures Division, under the Income Tax Act, 2023, male government officials and employees with a monthly basic salary of Tk26,785 or more, and female officials and employees earning Tk30,357 or more, have crossed the tax-free income limit. As a result, income tax must be deducted at source when preparing their salary bills.

The circular also stated that, under Treasury Rules S R 125, the responsibility for deducting income tax and other applicable charges from salary bills rests with the respective drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs).

All Chief Accounts and Finance Officers, Divisional and District Accounts Controllers, Upazila Accounts Officers, and other relevant offices nationwide have been instructed to take the necessary steps to implement this directive.

The instruction was sent to the Finance Division through the secretary, with specific attention to the joint secretary (budget-1).

The directive refers to a semi-official letter issued by the Internal Resources Division and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on October 7, which provided clear guidelines on deducting income tax at source from government salaries.

The Jackson Heights Beautification Group (JHBG) hosted its annual Halloween parade on Friday, Oct. 31, along 37th Avenue, from 89th Street to 76th Street in Jackson Heights. This marked the 34th annual Jackson Heights Halloween parade. Attendees of the parade were also given bags of treats as a reward for their participation.

People of all ages took part in the parade. JHBG Co-Chairs John McCaffrey Jr. and Edwin O’Keefe-Westley sponsored this event. O’Keefe-Westley also serves as a member of Queens Community Board 3. Live music was performed during the parade.

Multiple local leaders were also on hand for the parade, including Council Member Shekar Krishnan, State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymembers Jessica González-Rojas, Catalina Cruz and Larinda Hooks.

NEW DELHI: Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that millions of Awami League supporters will boycott next year’s national election after the party was barred from contesting. Speaking to Reuters from exile in New Delhi on Wednesday, Hasina, 78, said she would not return to Bangladesh under any government formed after an election that excludes her party. She fled to India in August 2024 following a deadly student-led uprising that toppled her 15-year rule.

An interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been governing Bangladesh since her removal and has pledged to hold general elections in February 2025.

“The ban on the Awami League is not only unjust, it is self-defeating,” Hasina said in her first media comments since her ouster. “Millions of people support our party, and they will not vote if we are excluded. You cannot disenfranchise millions and expect a functioning democracy.”

Bangladesh has more than 126 million registered voters. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have long dominated the political landscape, and the BNP is widely expected to win the upcoming polls.

The Election Commission suspended the Awami League’s registration in May, while the Yunus-led government banned all political party activities, citing national security concerns and ongoing war crimes investigations into senior Awami League leaders.

“We are not asking our supporters to back other parties,” Hasina said. “We still hope reason will prevail and we will be allowed to contest.”

Hasina, credited with transforming Bangladesh’s economy but accused of human rights abuses and suppressing dissent, won a fourth consecutive term in 2024 in an election boycotted by the opposition.

She is now facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Crimes Tribunal over the violent crackdown on student protesters between July and August 2024. A verdict is expected on November 13.

A United Nations report estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured during those protests — the deadliest unrest since Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.

Prosecutors allege that Hasina oversaw abductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings through secret detention centres operated by security forces. Hasina has denied the accusations, calling the proceedings “politically motivated.”

“These are kangaroo courts, and the verdicts are predetermined,” she told Reuters. “I was denied any real opportunity to defend myself.”

Despite the turmoil, Hasina said the Awami League would eventually return to play a legitimate role in Bangladesh’s future — in government or in opposition — and that her family does not have to lead it.

“It’s not about me or my family,” she said. “For Bangladesh to move forward, there must be a return to constitutional rule and political stability.”

Hasina, whose father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and three brothers were killed in a 1975 military coup, said she lives freely in Delhi but remains cautious because of her family’s history.

A Reuters journalist recently spotted her walking quietly through Delhi’s Lodhi Garden, accompanied by two personal security guards.

“I would love to go home — if the government there is legitimate and the rule of law truly prevails,” she said.

Her departure initially triggered attacks on Awami League workers, though the streets have since remained calm. However, sporadic clashes erupted earlier this month during the signing of a state reform charter.

The High Court has issued a rule asking why former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque should not be granted bail in five cases, including the one filed over the killing of Jubo Dal activist Abdul Kaiyum Ahad in the capital’s Jatrabari during the anti-discrimination student movement. The respondents have been directed to submit their replies within two weeks.

The bench of Justice ASM Abdul Mobin and Justice Saghir Hossain issued the rule on Sunday. Earlier, on July 24, police arrested Khairul Haque from his residence in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi. He was later shown to be arrested in the case filed over the killing of Abdul Kaiyum Ahad in Jatrabari during the July movement.

He was also shown to be arrested in another case filed in Narayanganj over allegations of delivering unlawful verdicts and fabricating false judgments. On August 25, 2024, Abdul Bari Bhuiyan, former president of the District Bar Association and general secretary of Fatullah Thana BNP, filed the case. Khairul Haque was later shown to be arrested in several other cases as well.

On August 11 this year, during the hearing of Khairul Haque’s bail and case dismissal petitions in the same Jatrabari murder case, chaos erupted in the courtroom as pro-Awami League and state counsels engaged in heated arguments and scuffles.

NEW YORK, Oct. 26 — The New York City Board of Elections has reported strong turnout on the first day of early voting, as residents across the five boroughs begin selecting a successor to outgoing Mayor Eric Adams.

According to unofficial figures, 79,409 voters cast their ballots citywide on Saturday. Manhattan led the turnout with 24,046 votes, followed by Brooklyn with 22,105, Queens with 19,045, The Bronx with 7,793, and Staten Island with 6,420.

Adams, who withdrew from the race in September, endorsed independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last Thursday. Cuomo is now facing Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive race.

Early voting will continue daily through Sunday, November 2, with hours varying by location. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, when polling stations across New York City will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Dhaka – Sajeeb Wazed, son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has urged Bangladesh’s interim government to lift the ban on the Awami League, warning that elections held without the party would be illegitimate and could deepen political instability.

Speaking to The Associated Press from Washington D.C., Wazed said, “This ban has to be lifted. Elections must be inclusive, free, and fair.” He added that current restrictions are “political manipulation disguised as justice,” aimed at preventing his mother and party leaders from participating in the upcoming polls.

Bangladesh is scheduled to hold national elections in February 2026, the first since a student-led uprising last year ended Hasina’s 15-year rule and forced her into exile in India. Three days after her ouster, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed the role of interim head of government, promising to restore order and implement reforms. In May, his administration banned Awami League activities and arrested many of its senior leaders, while others fled the country.

Wazed stressed that if the Awami League is not given sufficient time to prepare for the election, the results “will not be recognized by the people or by international observers.”

The political landscape remains fragmented. While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) remains a key contender, the Jatiya Party continues to face suppression, including attacks on its headquarters and disrupted rallies. The Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami has also reemerged, expanding its presence and seeking alliances with other hardline groups. Wazed warned that ongoing instability could benefit Islamist parties and accused the Yunus-led government of facilitating their rise through a “rigged election.”

Wazed also highlighted human rights concerns, citing arrests, custodial deaths, and attacks on religious minorities. He criticized the interim government’s handling of last year’s uprising and questioned the impartiality of special tribunals prosecuting Hasina, including a recent call for the death penalty.

International rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists, have urged Yunus to lift the “broad ban” on Awami League activities, calling it an excessive restriction on freedom of association, assembly, and expression. The interim government has not commented on Wazed’s remarks.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday urged all political parties to take part in the upcoming national election, putting aside minor differences, to help restore the democratic process in the country.

“I call upon all political parties to join the coming election by putting aside small differences so that together we can bring back democracy in the country and return to the democratic system,” he said.

He made the call while speaking at a program marking the 21st founding anniversary of the Daily Naya Diganta at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital. Fakhrul said he believes the election will be held on time in February 2026. “We also think that through an acceptable election to all, we will get an opportunity to return to a democratic system.”

He said the student-led mass uprising in August 2024 created a new opportunity to establish a truly democratic state.On behalf of the BNP, Fakhrul paid deep tribute to all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in 2024 for freedom and democracy. He mentioned that the interim government has already announced that the election will be held by February next year.

The BNP leader expressed the hope that the reform issues had already been settled, as the political parties had agreed upon them and signed the National July Charter.

He alleged that around 6 million political leaders and activists faced false cases, about 20,000 were killed, and 1,700 others became victims of enforced disappearance during the past “fascist rule” of the Awami League.

Recalling the post-Liberation War period, Fakhrul said the media, particularly the press, faced severe repression. “After the establishment of Baksal in 1975, all newspapers were shut down. I remember that many journalists became unemployed, and some even worked as hawkers in front of Baitul Mukarram, as there were no newspapers left.”

After the political changeover in 1975, he said, BNP founder and late president Ziaur Rahman was the first to move away from the one-party system and introduce multi-party democracy, ensuring press freedom.

“We must not forget that the key reforms began during his (Zia’s) time and were later carried forward by former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia,” Fakhrul added.

Early in-person voting has begun in New York City for one of this year’s most closely watched mayoral elections. The main contenders are Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist poised to become the city’s first Muslim mayor; Curtis Sliwa, a Republican candidate; and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is not running this year and has recently thrown his support behind Cuomo.

Mamdani has gained popularity among progressive voters with proposals such as universal free childcare, free bus services, and a rent freeze for nearly one million rent-regulated apartments. During the campaign, he has faced anti-Muslim rhetoric and has criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Cuomo, on the other hand, has described Mamdani’s policies as “economically unrealistic” and has emphasized his experience as the state’s governor to appeal to voters.

New York has allowed early voting since 2019, and in the June mayoral primary, roughly 35 percent of ballots were cast early in person.

The results of the 2025 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations have been published. This year, the combined pass rate across nine general education boards, the Madrasah Education Board, and the Technical Education Board stands at 58.83%. Dhaka Education Board Chairman and Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee Chairman Prof Dr Khondokar Ehsanul Kabir announced the results on Thursday.

The pass rate has dropped by 18.95 percentage points compared to last year. A total of 39,097 students achieved a GPA 5 this year. In 2024, the average pass rate was 77.78%, while in 2023 it was 78.64%. This year the pass rates are 64.62% in the Dhaka Board, 59.40% in Rajshahi, 48.86% in Comilla, 50.20% in Jessore, 52.57% in Chittagong, 62.57% in Barisal, 51.86% in Sylhet, 57.49% in Dinajpur, 51.54% in Mymensingh, 75.61% in the Madrasah Education Board, and 62.67% in the Technical Education Board.

Of them, the Madrasah Board topped the pass rate with 75.61% while Comilla Board positioned at the bottom with 48.86%. Ehsanul Kabir informed that a total of 69,097 students secured GPA-5 this year, a cut by 76,814 than that of the past year.

Examinees will be able to get their results through the websites of the country’s education boards, all relevant examination centers, educational institutions, and via SMS. This time, 1,251,111 students participated in the examination under 11 education boards.

Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who served under Donald Trump, has been charged with storing and sharing classified documents from his time in government. According to the 18-count indictment filed in Maryland, Bolton kept top-secret materials at his home and shared over 1,000 pages of sensitive notes with family members. Prosecutors also allege Iranian-linked hackers accessed classified information from his hacked email in 2021.

Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said the charges relate to “personal diaries” long known to the FBI, denying any wrongdoing.

The case comes amid recent indictments of James Comey and Letitia James, both of whom deny separate charges. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Bolton indictment shows “no one is above the law.”

Bolton, a longtime Republican foreign policy figure, previously faced controversy over his 2020 memoir “The Room Where It Happened,” which the Trump administration claimed contained classified material.