Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku accused the banned Awami League of being the only party that distorts history at a seminar in Bogura on Saturday morning. Speaking as chief guest at the Momin Convention Centre event organised by the Bogura History Practice and Research Welfare Association, he said the Hasina government had deprived the northern region of development. He also said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was working to pull the country out of a fragile economic situation left behind by the Awami League.

Tuku said the 1971 Liberation War began against inequality, but alleged that the Awami League created greater inequality after taking power. He said Jamaat could not win people over with what he called false promises of heaven, and that voters had brought the BNP to power. He said the government would pursue balanced development across the country, including in the lagging northern region.

The minister said 10,000 megawatts of electricity would be generated over the next five years to address power shortages, while work had begun to spread solar panels nationwide. State ministers Mir Shahe Alam and Md Abdul Bari also said the government was planning development to address the northern region's long-standing deprivation.

Border Guard Bangladesh rescued six of seven people after a tourist boat capsized in the Sangu River at Boro Pathor in Thanchi upazila, Bandarban. The boat sank at about 5:21 pm on July 24 because of a strong current. A coordinated operation led by BGB remains under way to find one missing tourist.

The incident occurred in the area under the responsibility of Tendumukh BGB Camp, part of Boli Para Battalion 38 BGB. A BGB patrol travelling from Remakri to Thanchi immediately launched a rescue operation and saved four tourists, the boatman and a tourist guide. The missing tourist was identified as 24-year-old Md Jawad Ul Islam Mahian, son of Md Helal Uddin and Mosammat Delowara Akter of Maskanda village in Mymensingh.

Four special BGB patrol teams have continued searching the Sangu River. Local public representatives, boatmen, tourist guides and residents are taking part in the effort. BGB has also involved Thanchi Fire Service, but its local unit has no divers, preventing a search of the riverbed. A special Fire Service diving team has left Chattogram and will conduct detailed underwater searches after arriving.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested 442 people during regular operations across police station areas of the capital over the past 24 hours, according to a report published on July 25, 2026. Police also filed 29 cases during the same period. The arrests were made alongside the recovery of narcotics and other items.

Mirpur Division recorded the highest number of arrests, with 119 people detained, followed by Tejgaon with 67, Uttara with 56, Motijheel with 54 and Wari with 49. Police arrested 31 people in Ramna, 30 in Lalbagh, 29 in Gulshan, six through the Detective Branch and one through CTTC.

Items recovered included burnt brown umbrella fabric, umbrella handles and rod fragments, battery parts, bearing balls and GI pipe fragments. Police also reported recovering 46 yaba tablets, 216 grams of cannabis, yaba-use equipment, 16 mobile phones, 21 credit and debit cards, 10 cheque books and 443 SIM cards. One victim was rescued. Legal action against those arrested is under process.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said the health system had been collapsing under the previous government because of widespread irregularities, corruption and looting of funds. He made the remarks on Saturday after an unannounced inspection of the 50-bed উপজেলা Health Complex in Morelganj, Bagerhat, at 11 a.m. He said the current government was working to improve care quality and ensure transparency and accountability.

During the visit, the minister toured several hospital departments and expressed anger after observing shortcomings. He said poor people do not receive medicines while medicines worth lakhs of taka had expired at the hospital. Government medicines were also found scattered in bathrooms, according to the report. At the site, he issued necessary instructions to the civil surgeon, DDC and other relevant officials over the irregularities.

The minister said the 50-bed hospital had been upgraded to 101 beds to bring health services closer to people, and urgent measures would be taken to improve services. He said tender-related activities for the 101-bed Morelganj health complex would begin within a few days. He also visited a nearby private clinic. District and local administration officials, police, health officials and the local health and family planning officer attended the inspection.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami central executive council member Mohammad Selim Uddin called on the government to implement the July Charter “letter by letter” without delay. He made the demand on Saturday, July 25, at an art competition titled “Tulite July” commemorating July martyrs at the IES School and College field in Uttara, Dhaka. The event was organized by the July Mass Uprising Celebration Committee, Uttara.

Selim Uddin, also the ameer of Jamaat’s Dhaka North unit and the party’s nominated DNCC mayoral candidate, said the country and its national identity would be endangered if July were allowed to be undermined. He described July as a historic victory achieved through a student-public movement against autocracy and fascism. He alleged that political failure, lack of goodwill and the ruling side’s excessive desire for power had put those achievements at risk.

He accused the government of ignoring the July Charter and trying to bypass it through what he called a misinterpretation of the constitution. He also alleged that confusion was being created by describing the charter as a presidential order. Calling for an end to delays, he urged the government to return to positive politics and warned that it would pay a high price otherwise.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Bangladesh could advance by putting agriculture and young people to work. He made the remarks as chief guest at an annual planning conference at the Rural Development Academy in Bogura on July 25. He said the government was trying to move the country forward and that the prime minister was working for development, including in Bogura.

Fakhrul said interest in producing agricultural products was declining and needed to be revived. He called for expanded activities around products invented by agricultural scientists. Saying young people now seek jobs, he argued that encouraging them to enter agriculture could transform the country. He also said creating a business-friendly environment was a responsibility and referred to increasing allocations for agricultural and other research.

The minister toured an exhibition of green technologies developed at the academy and received briefings from officials. The exhibition featured environmentally friendly technologies, agriculture and rural development innovations, and initiatives supporting sustainable development. Two Bogura members of parliament, ministry secretaries, officials, government representatives, agricultural experts and researchers attended the daylong conference.

Prime Minister’s Defence Adviser Brigadier General (Retd.) A K M Shamsul Islam said Bangladesh cannot move forward without the spirit of July. He made the remarks on Saturday afternoon at a discussion titled “Looking Back at the July Revolution-2024,” organised by RAWA at the RAWA Club in Mohakhali, Dhaka.

He defined the July spirit as eliminating discrimination in all sectors and establishing good governance. He also warned that the spirit should not be used for political purposes. Describing Bangladesh as a victorious nation, he said the country would not bow to any hegemonic power.

The adviser said the lesson of July was to build a justice-based social system. He stated that those involved in enforced disappearances and killings would not receive promotions under any circumstances. He also said the verdict in the Major Sinha murder case would be implemented quickly. The discussion was chaired by RAWA Chairman Brigadier General Abdul Haque.

Israel has set aside about $750 million for international information campaigns and public relations in 2026, a sharp increase aimed at improving its image and shaping public opinion internationally. The figure was reported by the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in a recent report cited by Al Jazeera. The article was published on July 25, 2026.

According to the report, Israel spent about $190 million in the same area in 2025. The 2026 allocation therefore represents an almost fourfold increase over one year. The budget is designated for international communications and public-relations activity, according to the reported findings.

The Quincy Institute also said Israel has spent more than $100 million since 2023 on global information efforts under the United States' Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. It added that at least 17 new organizations registered under FARA between 2024 and 2025 and began working for Israel to protect its interests and conduct promotional activities.

Meta is introducing a free verified badge on Facebook to curb the spread of AI-generated fake content, impersonation profiles and low-quality posts. Facebook chief Tom Alison announced the system on July 24. The badge is intended to confirm that a real person is behind an account, and users will not have to pay for the verification.

Under the new process, users must submit a selfie video. Facial-recognition technology will compare the video with an existing profile picture to verify identity, a process Meta said may take only a few minutes. Applicants must be at least 18 and their accounts must comply with Facebook’s Community Standards. Once verified, the badge will appear across areas including Facebook Marketplace and Dating.

Meta said the badge does not signify endorsement of a celebrity, organization or content, and it is not a replacement for its paid Meta Verified service. Pages and promoted accounts will not qualify. The feature will begin rolling out gradually from Monday in a limited number of markets before expanding elsewhere. Meta also announced testing of a TikTok-style full-screen immersive video experience for selected Facebook users.

Bangladesh Border Guard personnel and local villagers foiled an alleged attempt to push nine Indian women into Bangladesh through the Bhaigarh border in Birampur, Dinajpur. The incident occurred around 4:30am on Saturday near area 20-S of border pillar 291, under the Ghasuria BOP. Officials said the Border Security Force took the group back into Indian territory after they were stopped.

Ghasuria BOP Company Commander T. Alam said the BSF attempted to bring one hijra and eight women into Bangladesh from India’s Srirampur area. Local residents said they woke after hearing BGB whistles and went to the site, where they saw nine women attempting to enter Bangladesh. They said villagers and BGB members then prevented their entry.

BSF presence increased on the other side of the border around 7:30am, creating temporary tension in the area, though the situation is now under control. Katla Union Parishad member Shukur Ali also said the attempt failed because of resistance from BGB personnel and residents. Alam said BGB patrols have been further strengthened to prevent any Indian citizen from entering Bangladesh illegally.

Pakistan is seeking a way to restart stalled talks aimed at ending the nearly five-month conflict between the United States and Iran, according to three Pakistani sources. The new diplomatic effort was launched at China’s initiative, the sources said. Preliminary discussions took place during Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni’s visit to Islamabad this week, when he met senior Pakistani officials and army chief Asim Munir.

Momeni’s trip was his second visit to Pakistan within 10 days, but major complications remain before negotiations can begin. Pakistan faces difficult diplomatic calculations after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. Pakistan, which signed a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia last year and relies on Saudi financial support, strongly condemned recent Houthi attacks.

China said it supports mediation initiatives by Pakistan and other countries and pledged an active role in restoring peace in the Gulf. A Pakistani official said China’s interests were being severely harmed by the continuing war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, while disruption in the Red Sea could endanger other trade routes. Islamabad has told Tehran that halting attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states is now a key precondition for new talks.

Bangladesh Coast Guard has launched a special operation to prevent petty theft, ship robberies and piracy at the outer anchorage of Chattogram port. The operation began at 12 noon on Saturday, July 25, with intensified patrols around domestic and foreign commercial vessels anchored offshore and along nearby waterways.

Coast Guard sources said the operation was initiated in view of risks from organised groups involved in theft, attempted robbery and piracy targeting anchored ships. Multiple patrol vessels and high-speed boats are participating. Personnel are searching suspicious watercraft, monitoring vessel security and maintaining continuous surveillance on maritime routes.

Officials said ships at the outer anchorage are important to the country’s import-export trade, and criminal incidents could cause financial losses and raise concerns about maritime trade security. Suspicious trawlers, fishing boats and small vessels are being closely monitored and searched when necessary. The Coast Guard is also coordinating with ship captains and shipping agents. It said patrols and special operations will continue until such crimes are fully controlled, alongside coordination with other law-enforcement agencies.

India’s Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said moving Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to another ministry would not be acceptable to protesting students, demanding his complete removal from the cabinet. Speaking to journalists in New Delhi on Saturday alongside three representatives of the All India Students’ Association, Gandhi highlighted students’ three-point demands linked to the exam question-paper leak issue.

Gandhi described Pradhan as corrupt, incompetent and unable to fulfil his responsibilities. He said information from within the government indicated discussions about shifting the minister to another portfolio, but argued that students did not want advice or a transfer and instead sought Pradhan’s removal. Gandhi accused the government of failing to give proper attention to students’ actual demands.

He also called for accountability for people and officials involved in police action, including baton charges, during the students’ July 20 protest march toward Parliament. Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said Modi should publicly apologise for what he described as the government’s lack of accountability to students and police “abuse” against them. He urged the government to take prompt and effective action in support of the protesters’ demands.

An article by Ahmad Sabbir, published in Amar Desh on July 25, 2026, portrays Syed Ali Ahsan as a multidisciplinary figure in Bengali literature. It says literature and teaching remained his central interests despite administrative and institutional responsibilities. His first printed work was the English poem “The Rose,” published in a school magazine while he was in class ten. He later developed a literary profile through poetry, fiction, essays and criticism.

In 1938, Azad published his essays “Hindu-Muslim Problem” and “Democracy and Dictatorship.” Mohammadi later published “On the Way to Mecca Muazzama” and the long poem “Chahar Darbesh.” As editor of Purbo Pakistan Sahitya Sangsad in 1943, he advocated Bengali as the literary language of East Pakistan and opposed the imposition of Urdu. After moving to Dhaka in 1947, he wrote “Our Heritage” and the “Steps to English” textbooks while working at radio.

The article highlights his teaching, literary history, translation and research, including “Bangla Sahityer Itibritta,” “Kabi Madhusudan,” “Madhumalati,” and “Rabindranath: Kabya Bicharer Bhumika.” He also taught art history, wrote books on art, and later produced “He Prabhu Ami Upasthit” and “Mahanabi.”

A programme to plant 100,000 tree saplings within a year has been launched in Sreemangal upazila of Moulvibazar. Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury, MP, inaugurated the initiative on Saturday morning at the Sreemangal Victoria High School field. He said the saplings would be planted across the upazila over the coming year.

Chowdhury said the initiative is part of the prime minister's announced programme to plant 250 million saplings over five years. The programme will be implemented through coordination among the upazila administration, elected representatives and political leaders. The launch was attended by Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ziaur Rahman, municipal executive engineer Md Zahurul Islam, officer-in-charge Abdullah Al Mamun and representatives of political and social organisations.

Under the plan, 10,000 saplings will be planted gradually in each of the upazila's nine unions. The programme will also be expanded to every ward, while saplings will be distributed free among members of the public. A similar initiative is planned for Kamalganj upazila. Chowdhury sought overall cooperation from Sreemangal residents and urged them to plant more trees.