Today’s top 5 news stories

Beyond Headlines brings together the five biggest news stories of the day in one concise news digest to keep readers informed about the developments that matter. Here’s the news digest for 25th October 2026.

Bangladesh Bank website to remain offline until cyber risk passes, spokesperson says

The Bangladesh Bank website remained offline for a third consecutive day on Saturday as a precautionary measure against a global cybersecurity threat. 

The bank planned to restore the platform on Sunday morning following a five-day holiday period.

Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said the central bank was fully prepared to bring the website back online but would keep it offline as long as the global vulnerability persists.

'The IT team remains on high alert,' he said, adding that the risk had not subsided as of Saturday night.

The website was taken offline on Thursday evening following warnings from the European Union's cybersecurity agency about two critical vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language.

The BGD e-GOV CIRT also issued an alert over the vulnerability, identified as 'PHP2Shell', which could allow unauthorised individuals to breach website security systems.

While several European government agencies adopted similar precautionary measures, other financial regulators in Bangladesh, including the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, kept their websites operational.

Source: bdnews24.com

Vice-president post proposed to head future caretaker government

A proposal to introduce the post of vice-president to head a future caretaker government was raised during a meeting of the parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendments, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Saturday.

After the committee's ninth meeting, he said participants suggested forming an upper house that would remain in place beyond the parliamentary term. The vice-president could serve as its speaker and lead the caretaker government.

Another proposal envisages a consensus speaker, supported by both the ruling party and the opposition, heading the interim administration.

'We'll lay out all the proposals when we sit in the committee, and then when we submit the report. More proposals will come on that basis, and our bill could follow from there,' Salahuddin Ahmed said.

Consultations with legal experts also covered relaxing Article 70 to allow lawmakers to vote freely on matters other than confidence and no-confidence votes. Participants additionally recommended expanding presidential powers to appoint heads of at least six statutory bodies and balancing executive authority.

The committee will compile its report despite an ongoing boycott by opposition representatives demanding the implementation of the July National Charter.

Source: bdnews24.com

HSC results for 1.27 million students scheduled for 29 October

The results of the Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent examinations 2026 will be published on 29 October, the Bangladesh Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee announced in a press release on Saturday.

A total of 1,270,583 regular and irregular candidates under 11 education boards had registered for this year's public examinations. The tests began on 2 July. However, a number of students did not sit for the examinations despite registering as the regular students.

Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee President and Dhaka Education Board Chairman Professor Syed Akhteruzzaman said the date was finalised after the committee proposed a publication window between 25 and 29 October to the education ministry.

To facilitate the process, the committee will issue another press release on 26 October, outlining the framework for publishing the results in detail.

Sources: Prothom Alo

Saudi airport attacks disrupt 144 Bangladesh flights as explosions rock Riyadh

Flight restrictions triggered by ongoing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian airports have disrupted 144 direct and transit flights linked to Bangladesh, affecting 22,021 passengers, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said late Saturday.

The aviation restrictions caused the cancellation or suspension of 67 direct and 77 transit flights. Consequently, Biman Bangladesh Airlines suspended all flights to Riyadh until 31 October and Dammam until 25 October, although operations to Jeddah and Medina continue normally.

The travel crisis escalated early Sunday when three explosions echoed across the Saudi capital as authorities attempted to resume operations at King Khalid International Airport. The Saudi-led military coalition confirmed that air defences intercepted a ballistic missile and two drones targeting Riyadh.

The Riyadh airport had remained closed since 10 October, following a deadly Houthi attack that killed 13 people and wounded over 300. Despite the Saudi announcement to designate two terminals for resuming flights, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree issued a renewed threat against the facility.

He warned international airlines, travellers and staff that the airport remains an unsafe military target. He said the Saudi regime would bear the consequences of any operations at the airport.

Source: Prothom Alo

Measles and dengue claim 14 lives in 24 hours

Fourteen people died from measles-like symptoms and dengue fever in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Saturday, as Bangladesh continued to grapple with simultaneous outbreaks of the two diseases.

The Directorate General of Health Services reported eight suspected measles deaths among children, raising the overall death toll from the ongoing outbreak to 1,222. 

The national figure comprises 1,118 suspected and 104 confirmed fatalities. The DGHS recorded 1,014 new suspected infections and 51 confirmed cases during the 24-hour period, with Dhaka registering the highest concentration of recent casualties.

Meanwhile, six dengue fatalities pushed the mosquito-borne disease's annual death toll to 377. The health directorate recorded 1,898 new hospital admissions nationwide, including 500 cases across the Dhaka North and South city corporations. 

Other significant regional caseloads emerged in Khulna with 359 admissions and Barishal with 252.

October alone has accounted for 132 dengue fatalities, following a peak of 148 deaths and 43,774 hospitalisations in September. Concurrently, 195,514 suspected measles patients have required hospitalisation across the country since 15 March, though 187,605 have successfully recovered and been discharged.

Sources: Dhaka Tribune, bdnews24.com

That concludes today’s briefing. Stay with Beyond Headlines for in-depth news and analysis, explainers, opinion pieces, long reads, and more.