Chinese-made humanoid robot Lightning completed a 100-meter run in 9.32 seconds during a preparatory trial for the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, according to Chinese state media. The time was lower than Usain Bolt’s 2009 100-meter world-record time of 9.58 seconds. Lightning reached a top speed of 14.5 meters per second during the run.

The robot lost control during the high-speed run and crashed forcefully into a wall, an incident shown in a video published by CNN. While its speed has been presented as an example of advancing humanoid-robot capabilities, the crash raised questions about the machine’s stability and control at high speed.

Built by a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Lightning is viewed as an example of China’s progress in humanoid robotics. China is working to expand potential humanoid-robot use in logistics and other consumer-facing applications through advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. Lightning previously ran the Beijing Half Marathon in April, completing 21 kilometers in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Researchers later increased its leg length by 10 centimeters to 1.05 meters before the Games trial.

Mohsen Rezaei, the new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on social media that no oil would be exported through the Strait of Hormuz or from anywhere in the Persian Gulf if what he called an economic war continues. The warning was reported on August 24, 2026, by Amardesh Online, citing Press TV.

Rezaei said Iran would regard any country’s participation in or support for the United States’ economic war against the Iranian people as a war crime. His statement linked potential restrictions on oil exports directly to the continuation of the economic conflict described in his post.

Iran had previously said that regional security and management of the Strait of Hormuz must remain under the control of coastal countries. It also said countries that establish US bases or assist US activities would be held accountable. The source does not specify what measures Iran would take, or provide a timetable for any disruption to oil exports or shipping.

A fire at a residential hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market in central Kolkata killed nine people late on 19 August, including six Bangladeshi citizens and a child, according to the article. The victims had travelled to Kolkata seeking medical treatment. The article says the blaze has raised concerns over hotel fire safety, evacuation arrangements and conditions faced by Bangladeshi visitors.

It reports that smoke rapidly engulfed the building, while narrow access routes, insufficient exits, poor ventilation and alleged fire-safety shortcomings complicated rescue efforts. An air-conditioner explosion and an electrical short circuit are being considered in the preliminary inquiry, but the cause has not been conclusively determined. The five-storey building reportedly housed multiple hotels or guesthouses on different floors.

The article calls for an impartial investigation, examination of hotel licences and safety records, preservation of CCTV footage, and sharing of forensic and post-mortem information. It urges Bangladeshi authorities to provide legal and consular assistance to affected families, including support for compensation, insurance, medical costs and repatriation of bodies. It also calls for safety audits at hotels used by Bangladeshi medical travellers.

Iran is reviewing an invitation to join the Mecca defense agreement, according to Mehdi Rahimi, head of Iran’s parliamentary news agency Khaneh Mellat. Lebanon-based broadcaster Al Mayadeen reported his remarks on August 24, 2026. The reported invitation concerns a new security alliance involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.

Rahimi said Iran had received the invitation and that the matter remained under review. He said countries in the region were moving toward creating a regional security umbrella, describing this as a victory for Iran because it had long called for such an arrangement.

The report, citing a senior Iranian official, said Iran had been invited to join the new security alliance. However, neither Iran’s Foreign Ministry nor any of the three agreement parties had officially confirmed the invitation. The Mecca agreement was signed on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

China has postponed the uncrewed Chang’e-7 lunar mission, a research expedition linked to Beijing’s plan to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030. The China Manned Space Agency said after a comprehensive assessment that the Long March-5 rocket mission did not meet launch conditions and could not be launched within its scheduled window this year. The announcement was reported from Beijing on August 24, 2026.

The agency said the delay was based on principles of caution, reliability and ensuring mission success. It did not specify which launch requirements had not been met or announce a new launch date. Chang’e-7 had been intended to search for water at the Moon’s south pole, and media reports had said it could launch over the weekend or on Monday.

The spacecraft and rocket had been moved to the launch pad at Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Hainan province. The postponement came less than two weeks after a Long March-7A rocket carrying a Zhongxing-4B communications satellite experienced an abnormality during flight and exploded. Authorities said the cause of that failure was under investigation.

Nine workers died on 14 August 2026 at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries in Sitakunda, in an incident linked to the MT Rasi vessel. Subsequent inquiries found hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia gases at the site. The article questions why the deaths occurred despite the yard holding Hong Kong Convention compliance certification, ISO management certification and formal approval from the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Board.

According to NGO Shipbreaking Platform information cited in the article, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments had taken legal action against Ferdous Steel a month earlier for repeated occupational safety failures. The article says hazardous-gas risks in enclosed spaces require isolation, waste removal, forced ventilation, air testing at multiple levels, written entry permits, protective equipment, supervision and trained rescue teams.

It calls for an independent investigation and publication of the full report, including scrutiny of yard managers, regulators and certifying bodies. Proposed measures include unannounced inspections, an online database of yard certificates and violations, review of certificates after fatal accidents, specialist rescue teams, hospital preparedness and protections for workers refusing unsafe work.

Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaysar Kamal said development should not be limited to constructing brick-and-mortar buildings, stressing that better education and people with humane qualities are key measures of genuine progress. He made the remarks on Sunday afternoon as chief guest at a reception for outstanding students in Durgapur, Netrokona.

The Durgapur Upazila administration organized the event at the auditorium of the Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Academy in Birishiri. Students receiving Ebtedayee fifth-grade, eighth-grade or equivalent junior scholarships, and those who secured GPA-5 in the 2026 SSC or equivalent examinations, were honoured. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ahmed Sadat chaired the programme, while Additional Deputy Commissioner for Education and ICT Mun Mun Jahan Liza attended as special guest.

Kamal praised female students, saying 21 of 28 GPA-5 recipients in the general stream were girls. He urged students to listen attentively and emphasized technical education, saying graduates of technical schools and colleges do not remain unemployed. He also called for honesty and dedication in work, advised students in classes eight to ten to read with a dictionary, and apologized for joining the event late.

Bangladesh’s National Parliament has formed an eight-member committee to compile a list of Secretariat officers and employees allegedly involved in illegal, unethical or partisan activities during the previous “fascist and authoritarian” rule. The committee, chaired by ruling-party whip ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan, was established by a Secretariat order on August 16, 2026, following consultation with government and opposition whips.

The panel includes Chief Whip Nurul Islam, Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam and other whips. It may summon officers and employees and obtain documents, information, floor plans and reports. Secretariat officials said some staff have been attempting to label colleagues as “fascist” after the political transition, while some alleged beneficiaries of the former government have sought to present themselves as aligned with the current ruling party.

The committee will also examine the allocation and necessity of offices in Parliament’s main building, including space used by the Public Works Department. It will recommend relocations, consolidation or redistribution of rooms. Officials said the building was designed for 400 rooms but now has more than 500, with large rooms divided into smaller spaces.

In a commentary published by Amar Desh on August 24, 2026, journalist Khaja Main Uddin argues that the National Citizen Party, or NCP, risks missing a major political opportunity despite emerging from the 2024 uprising. The article says the party was formed by young activists before the first anniversary of the mass uprising and later won six seats in the 300-member parliament after contesting 30 seats in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami.

The writer says NCP has lost strength on campuses, citing poor results for anti-discrimination alliance candidates in student union elections at major public universities, while Jamaat-backed Islami Chhatra Shibir performed strongly. He also says NCP has not persuaded the ruling BNP to rapidly prioritize reforms agreed in the July National Charter, which was reached through mediation by Muhammad Yunus's interim government.

The commentary contends that NCP still has an opening among people, especially those under 35, who do not want to align with BNP, Jamaat or the banned Awami League. It urges the party to build a broader social base, explain the importance of the July Charter, involve experienced figures and develop transparent, sustainable fundraising practices.

Bangladesh’s Department of Narcotics Control has identified 12 alleged drug “godfathers” and 225 listed wholesale drug dealers across 10 districts of Khulna Division, according to its divisional intelligence office. The report, published on August 24, 2026, says recent operations have also recovered firearms and ammunition alongside narcotics, raising concerns about possible links between drug and weapons trafficking. Authorities say couriers and retail sellers are more frequently arrested than the alleged main controllers.

Five of the 12 identified figures are in Bagerhat, three in Satkhira, two in Narail, and one each in Khulna and Jhenaidah. Officials said the suspects face multiple cases and have been arrested at different times. Drug orders and deliveries have shifted from fixed locations to mobile phones, WhatsApp and messaging applications, with couriers delivering consignments at designated times and places.

Officials said yaba is now the most commonly seized drug, followed by cannabis and phensedyl. Investigators are examining more than 12 people allegedly involved in arms trading, as well as drug-finance sources and transactions. The amended Narcotics Control Act, 2026 includes technology-enabled drug transactions and digital-payment-related activities as offences.

Florida-based US startup PowerAs opened a factory in the United Arab Emirates last month to assemble low-cost drone interceptors designed to destroy Iranian drones in the air. Workers at a small UAE warehouse assemble 3D-printed parts into the Guardian interceptor, which can fly at 200 miles per hour. The company says this is its first Middle East entry as part of a wider arms-supply effort.

PowerAs and partner factories currently produce about 3,000 interceptors monthly and aim to raise global output to 15,000 a month by mid-2027. In the UAE facility, workers from the Philippines and China make roughly 30 interceptors daily, with production expected to rise to 100. The company did not identify its UAE customers or contract manufacturers.

Guardian costs $5,000 per unit and uses commercially available microchips and GPS technology. PowerAs recently signed a $22 million commercial agreement to protect Middle Eastern oil and gas infrastructure and is pursuing production with a defense company near Mumbai. Experts said low-cost interceptors can supplement, but not replace, major missile-defense systems.

Iran has reportedly received a formal invitation to join the newly formed Mecca Mutual Defense Pact, a security alliance initiated by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen reported the development on Saturday, citing a senior Iranian official, while Iran and the foreign ministries of the three member states had not officially confirmed the invitation as of August 24, 2026.

Mehdi Rahimi, head of Iran’s parliamentary news agency Khane Mellat, told Al Mayadeen that Tehran had received an invitation letter and was reviewing it. He described the regional movement toward a collective security arrangement as a strategic success for Iran, which he said had long called for an integrated regional security framework.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the pact on August 7. It treats an attack on one member as an attack on all three and includes plans for regular ministerial and military meetings, joint exercises and defense-industry cooperation. Turkey has said the alliance may be open to other countries in future.

Traditional bamboo chhai fish-trap making is declining in several villages of Nesarabad upazila in Pirojpur as modern fishing equipment gains use. Despite the pressure, residents of at least 18 villages, including Korfa, China-Bunia and Baldia, continue the century-old craft. About 15,000 men and women are directly or indirectly involved in making and selling the traps, which are linked to local aquatic culture, family tradition and livelihoods.

Artisans use thin strips from muli and moral bamboo along with thread. Bamboo is cut, soaked in water for several days, dried in the sun and turned into flexible strips. Men generally cut bamboo, prepare strips and make the framework, while women weave the strips into the finished traps using thread and specified designs.

Different chhai are made according to the type and size of fish, selling for about Tk300 to Tk400 depending on size and quality. Demand rises during the monsoon, when water increases in canals, wetlands and low-lying land. Craftspeople say use of current nets and other modern gear has reduced chhai use, while bamboo, thread and labour costs have risen without a comparable increase in trap prices.

A breach in the Khowai River embankment in Kaliganj, Habiganj Sadar, flooded at least 20 villages after heavy upstream rain and hill runoff raised water levels overnight. The breach began on Sunday morning at a repair site that the Water Development Board had not fully restored for about one and a half months. Water entered residential areas, submerging cropland and sweeping through ponds and fisheries.

The same embankment failed around 9pm on July 9, flooding at least 30 villages, with residents saying the damage then amounted to hundreds of crores of taka. Local people had alleged slow work and irregularities in the repair project, arguing that timely restoration and permanent protection measures could have prevented another breach. Resident Ershad Ali said people were still struggling after the previous flooding when the embankment broke again.

Residents, including children, elderly people, women and livestock owners, were seen seeking safer places as homes went underwater. Water reached the Dhuliakhal-Mirpur road at about 3pm, and traffic could stop if levels rise further. Water Development Board Executive Engineer Saidur Rahman said the Khowai at Balla point was flowing 130 centimetres above the danger level.

Thousands of people have converged on Cheporor village in Kenya’s West Pokot County after reports of gold found in river sand triggered a two-week rush. The surge followed a discovery by 33-year-old goat herder Manase Lomacha, who found a three-gram piece of gold while searching for lost goats and later sold it for 36,000 Kenyan shillings. The report was published on 24 August 2026.

Local authorities said the village’s population of prospectors peaked at about 10,000, including people from other parts of Kenya and neighbouring Uganda. Deputy Commissioner Samuel Kiari said a group of young people first found a significant amount of gold, followed by another large discovery by women the next day. Small gold traders reportedly receive about 100 sellers daily.

Authorities have not confirmed that the shiny material being recovered is gold, nor has the existence of a specific or large gold deposit in the area been proven. More than 200 temporary shops selling food, water and basic goods have opened, creating income opportunities. However, the influx has strained local infrastructure, causing severe drinking-water shortages and growing health risks due to inadequate sanitation.