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 14th September 2026.

PM to leave on Sep 21 for US to attend UNGA session

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will leave for the United States on September 21 to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The global session officially opened at the UN Headquarters on September 8.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said the prime minister will present Bangladesh's new vision and priorities on the global stage while participating in a special sideline meeting addressing the Rohingya crisis.

Replying to a query over a potential meeting with US President Donald Trump, Humaiun Kobir said the American president had expressed interest in holding talks. The state minister said the official sideline schedule would be finalised at the last moment before the prime minister returns on September 26.

Source: New Age, Bonik Barta

HC declares strikes against court verdicts illegal

The High Court on Sunday declared any strike or hartal called in protest against a court verdict or order illegal.

The bench of Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Faysal Hasan Arif directed the authorities to take legal action, including criminal proceedings, against those involved.

It said decisions of the court remain binding under Article 112 of the Constitution, adding that calling strikes against verdicts is unconstitutional despite available appeal options.

The rule followed a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh following a 2017 transport strike over the conviction of a bus driver for the crash that killed filmmaker Tareque Masud and journalist Mishuk Munier.

The HC also directed the home secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) to initiate criminal proceedings against transport organisations enforcing such programmes.

Source: UNB

ACC investigates Tk 11,000 crore laundering allegations against Asif Mahmud

The Anti-Corruption Commission decided on Sunday to investigate fresh allegations that former interim government adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain laundered Tk 11,000 crore abroad.

ACC Assistant Director Md Tanzir Ahmed said the inquiry will examine the alleged transfer of illicit funds to Dubai, Singapore, Australia and Switzerland. The complaints also allege Tk 187 crore in administrative appointment bribes, 10 to 30 per cent commissions on municipal tenders and inflated project costs, including Tk 1,200 crore from Sheikh Russel Mini Stadium development project.

Asif denied the claims during a press conference, describing the inquiry as a politically motivated media trial intended to defame him adding that he was prepared to face the commission on his Facebook Page Post. 

The National Citizen Party spokesperson sarcastically requested 10 per cent of any discovered overseas funds in a Facebook post.

Source: The Daily Star, New Age

Adani restores 800MW unit supply as Rampal power plant trips

Electricity supply from Adani Power resumed from its 800MW unit on Sunday noon, while one generating unit at the Rampal power plant simultaneously went offline following a technical malfunction.

The synchronisation of the Adani Godda unit after an 84-hour boiler outage increased the plant's total supply to 1,452MW by Sunday evening, according to Bangladesh Power Development Board data. However, the subsequent malfunction at the 1,320MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant at Rampal halved its electricity generation to below 600MW, offsetting the national grid's supply gains as load shedding exceeded 2,800MW.

BPDB Member Md Jahurul Islam said the offline generating machines require rotational maintenance every three to four months. He also said recent heavy downpours disrupted coal unloading operations at Rampal and other regional power facilities.

Explaining earlier supply shortfalls, Adani said the 1,600MW Jharkhand facility reduced generation from 7 August after a storm severely disrupted coal supplies to the plant.

Source: Prothom Alo, New Age

Tech CEOs urge AI slowdown as Trump rejects curbs

Leading technology executives called for a voluntary slowdown in artificial intelligence development to establish essential safety guardrails amid mounting public concern.

Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei proposed a three-pillar framework requiring independent safety evaluators, democratic governance standards and security coordination with nations such as China. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, Google DeepMind head Demis Hassabis and xAI owner Elon Musk endorsed the initiative, with Altman pledging to grant external evaluators employee-level access.

Critics and former regulatory officials said the proposal was designed to preempt formal government regulation and preserve industry dominance through antitrust exemptions. Following recent researcher resignations over catastrophic risks, US lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent artificial intelligence models from operating without human oversight.

US President Donald Trump dismissed calls to halt development, saying Washington must maintain its competitive advantage because winning artificial intelligence determines global supremacy over China. Speaking during a visit to Ireland, Trump said critics were exaggerating risks that would not happen, reaffirming his administration's commitment to advancing the technology without federal constraints.

Source: Al Jazeera, The Guardian

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