Bangladesh began importing green chilies from India through the Hili land port in Dinajpur on the afternoon of August 3 to help control domestic prices. Trucks carrying Indian chilies started entering the country after import procedures were completed. Eleven importers received permission to bring in about 3,400 tonnes through Hili, and traders said news of the imports had already lowered prices by Tk80 to Tk90 per kilogram.

Importer Shahabul Islam said continuous rain and adverse weather had damaged chili fields in several parts of the country, reducing production and creating a supply shortage. He said prices had climbed to Tk300 to Tk400 per kilogram. Importers had sought permission because green chilies were comparatively cheaper in India, and they opened letters of credit and completed other required formalities after approval.

Anwar Hossain, deputy director of the Hili Land Port Plant Quarantine Centre, said the government granted the import permission to control market prices. He said Indian green chilies were last imported through the port on November 20 of last year. Traders expect supplies to increase and prices to decline further if imports continue regularly.

Jatiya Chhatra Shakti’s Dhaka University unit staged a protest at the foot of the Raju Sculpture near TSC on August 3, denouncing gas and electricity shortages, higher fuel prices and rising costs of essential goods. Participants carried hurricane lamps and empty cooking pots as symbols of the crisis and accused the government of failing to control energy supply and commodity prices.

Unit president Tahmid Al Muddassir Chowdhury alleged that power shortages, unusually high electricity bills and gas disruptions were affecting households as well as industry and production. Organizing secretary Mohammad Sakib described the gas, power and commodity-price problems as artificial and emphasized controlling inflation. Protesters also chanted slogans during the gathering.

Vice-president Mohammad Abu Sayeed alleged renewed syndicate influence in the power sector and said prolonged gas shortages in Dhaka were causing wider disruption. The group demanded swift resolution of gas and electricity shortages, an end to abnormal power bills, controls on fuel prices, and essential-goods prices within public purchasing capacity. Chowdhury warned of lockouts and blockades at institutions under the Energy Ministry, including Titas, if the gas crisis was not resolved.

Prashant Kishor of the Jan Suraaj Party defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by more than 19,000 votes in Bihar’s Bankipur assembly by-election held on July 30. Kishor received more than 63,000 votes, while Kumar secured about 45,000. RJD candidate Rekha Kumari received about 15,000 votes. The result marked a setback for the BJP in a constituency described as one of its strongholds.

Bankipur had been held by BJP national president Nitin Nabin before he moved to the Rajya Sabha, triggering the by-election after his resignation as legislator. Following the 2008 delimitation, Nabin won the seat four consecutive times from 2010 to 2025. His father, Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha, had won the constituency four straight times between 1995 and 2005.

Political analysts said the contest was BJP’s first major electoral test after protests against alleged NEET exam paper leaks. The BJP’s state leadership acknowledged defeat and said recent anti-paper leak and anti-corruption protests affected the result. Kishor called the victory a win for Bihar’s people and said it conveyed their demand for capable and acceptable leadership.

Bangladesh has asked India to ensure that deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and members of the banned Awami League cannot use Indian territory to make political statements or conduct activities intended to destabilize Bangladesh. Humayun Kabir, foreign affairs adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, conveyed the request to India’s newly appointed high commissioner, Dinesh Trivedi. The issue arose during their courtesy meeting on Monday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tejgaon, Dhaka.

The two sides discussed Bangladesh-India bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest. Reports circulating on social media that Hasina, who has taken refuge in India, may speak publicly on August 5 were also raised at the meeting. Against that backdrop, Kabir warned that such activities could harm positive progress in bilateral relations.

According to a Foreign Ministry press release, the Indian high commissioner assured Bangladesh that he would give the matter due consideration, make necessary inquiries and remain attentive to it. Both sides expressed hope for strengthening and advancing bilateral relations based on mutual respect, trust, dialogue and shared interests. They also stressed continuing regular dialogue and constructive engagement.

Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) has received international recognition for using space technology to address climate change. The company has gained membership in the Space for Climate Observatory (SCO) and formal recognition for imaging and space-based data as Bangladesh’s national focal point. BSCL announced the development in a press release on Monday.

BSCL applied to join the international alliance on December 8, 2025, with approval from the Department of Posts and Telecommunications. The SCO Steering Committee subsequently approved Bangladesh as an associate country and national focal point. The alliance is led by the French space agency CNES and was established in 2019 at the initiative of the French government.

SCO uses satellite and local socioeconomic data to support observation, forecasting and decision-making on local climate-change impacts. In Bangladesh, its funded BanD-SOS project provides real-time forecasts for cyclones and storm surges. BSCL said the membership will create opportunities for space technology use in disaster-risk reduction, environmental monitoring and SDG implementation. A formal signing ceremony is planned at the Space Summit in Paris on September 9, 2026.

The government has given policy and final approval to the draft Prevention and Remedies for Enforced Disappearance Act, 2026, at the 15th Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat. The Home Ministry presented the draft, and the decision was announced in a press release on Monday evening. The law defines enforced disappearance as a distinct cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable criminal offence.

According to the release, the legislation aims to uphold human rights, human dignity, personal liberty and the rule of law. It establishes a legal framework for preventing disappearances, prosecuting those responsible, locating disappeared people, and ensuring victims’ and families’ rights to compensation and rehabilitation. It includes court-issued search warrants, trials in an accused person’s absence, admissibility of digital evidence, and confidentiality and security protections for witnesses, complainants, information providers and victims.

The draft requires investigations to be completed within a maximum of 120 days and trials within another maximum of 120 days. Disappearance offences carry up to life imprisonment and fines. If a disappearance results in death, a body is found, or a person cannot be recovered alive or dead after five years, penalties may include death or life imprisonment and fines up to Tk1 crore. It also provides for compensation funds, state compensation, a central database and international cooperation.

Mohammad Selim Uddin, ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Dhaka North unit and a Dhaka North City Corporation mayoral candidate, warned that Petrobangla would be surrounded if gas prices are not reduced. He made the statement on Monday afternoon at a rally before a protest march outside Uttara Rajuk College in the capital. The event, organized by Jamaat-e-Islami’s Uttara region, protested the gas crisis, rising commodity prices and called for implementation of the referendum’s public verdict.

Selim Uddin also demanded lower electricity prices and an end to hidden charges in electricity bills, saying these measures would bring relief to people’s lives. He said eliminating corruption completely could produce positive changes in the economy and public life. He reiterated calls for lower gas and electricity costs and withdrawal of additional charges to reduce hardship for city residents.

He urged the BNP government to fully implement the July Charter rather than keeping it confined to words, warning of consequences otherwise. He alleged the government was not taking effective steps to implement the spirit of July. He called on party leaders and activists to gather at Paltan at 10 a.m. on August 5, which he described as 36 July and the “Victory Day of Second Independence.” The march ended on Jasimuddin Road.

BNP National Executive Committee Vice Chairman and former home minister Air Vice Marshal (retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury alleged that the previous government damaged the country’s education system. He made the remarks as chief guest at a discussion with teachers and officials at the Professors’ Lounge of Patuakhali Government College at 11am on Monday, August 3.

Chowdhury said a nation does not need rockets or bombs to be destroyed, arguing that destroying its education system is sufficient. He said everyone would need to work hard to recover from what he described as the ruins of the education system. He also said an institution becomes better through an ideal relationship between teachers and students.

He said students should recognize that teachers hold a position after parents. Chowdhury also said a letter had already been sent to the education minister seeking infrastructure development for Patuakhali Government College. The meeting was chaired by college principal Professor Mohammad Jasim Uddin and attended by teachers, student representatives and several BNP and Jubo Dal leaders.

Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir met a two-member FBI delegation led by Riley Palmtree at Police Headquarters on Monday. The courtesy meeting focused on potential assistance to strengthen Bangladesh Police’s cyber capabilities and address cyber scams, social media monitoring, financial crime and technology-based investigations.

The delegation leader discussed providing support in the identified areas during the meeting, which was held in a cordial atmosphere. The discussions covered cyber-related fraud, oversight of social media activity, efforts against financial offences and the use of technology in investigations.

The IGP stressed the need to further strengthen mutual cooperation and relations between the FBI and several Bangladesh Police units, including PBI, CID, ATU and CTTC. He also emphasized expanding FBI support to stop rumors and fraud on social media. Senior Bangladesh Police officials were present at the meeting.

Islami Chhatra Shibir central president Nurul Islam Saddam said that since July, Bangladesh has seen only a transfer of power rather than meaningful reform or structural change. He made the remarks on Monday morning while inaugurating the “July Uprising Run 2026,” a mini-marathon organised by the group at Jahangirnagar University. The event was held under the theme “Run Against Fascism” and invoked the memory and spirit of the July mass uprising.

Saddam said Shibir wanted to rebuild Bangladesh and use every organ of the country for a new Bangladesh. He alleged that the current ruling government was betraying its own stated commitments after coming to power. He said the government should value the bloodshed and sacrifices on which it was formed, warning that young people would again stand against it otherwise.

Teachers, students, officers, employees and students from Jahangirnagar University School and College joined the run. University teachers, JAKSU leaders, central and university-unit Shibir leaders, and representatives of several student organisations were also present. Unit president Md Mostafizur Rahman said the event sought to preserve the memory of martyrs and sacrifices and convey a message to those aspiring to become fascists.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman invited South Korea’s president to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time during a courtesy meeting with South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo. The meeting took place at 2:30 p.m. on Monday at the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat. The invitation came as Bangladesh and South Korea move toward signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, aimed at strengthening trade, investment and economic cooperation.

According to Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Swadhin, Yeo briefed the prime minister on the proposed agreement at the start of the meeting. The South Korean minister said the deal, once effective, would expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation and significantly increase South Korean investment in Bangladesh. He said many Korean companies already operate successfully in Bangladesh and that more are interested in investing there.

Rahman invited Korean companies to invest in toys, electronics, telecommunications, automobiles, semiconductors and shipbuilding. He said South Korea could establish training centres in Bangladesh to provide training and language education for Bangladeshi workers for its shipbuilding industry. The government would take necessary measures if Korean companies seek to invest in Bangladesh’s shipbuilding sector, he said. Plans for a Bangladesh seminar involving Korean companies were also discussed.

Prime Minister’s Finance and Planning Adviser Professor Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said completion of the Padma Barrage project could add between 0.5% and 1% to Bangladesh’s gross domestic product. He made the remarks on Monday at a National Press Club roundtable titled “Padma Barrage: Prospects and Challenges,” organised by the Institute for Global Co-operation Foundation.

Titumir said the project could store about 2,900 million cubic metres of water for agriculture, irrigation and hydropower generation. It is expected to produce an estimated 113 megawatts of environmentally friendly hydropower. Plans also include developing seven modern townships along riverbanks as part of sustainable urbanisation.

The barrage is intended to maintain dry-season flows in the Hisna, Mathabhanga, Gorai, Madhumati, Chanda, Barashia, Baral and Ichamati rivers. Regular irrigation could be ensured for about 4.69 million hectares of farmland across the greater Kushtia, Faridpur, Jashore, Khulna, Barishal, Pabna and Rajshahi regions. The first phase is targeted for completion by 2029, with the full project planned by 2033.

Nahid Islam, opposition chief whip and convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), said the Awami League would not be given an opportunity to be rehabilitated. He made the remarks on Monday afternoon at a discussion titled “One Point of the People in the Voices of Martyrs’ Families and the Injured” at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh, in the capital. He challenged those seeking to pursue the Awami League’s rehabilitation to demonstrate their ability in the political field.

Islam said discussions were under way about rehabilitating the Awami League. Addressing those who want to take such an initiative, he said they should implement a plan to rehabilitate the party and conduct politics in Bangladesh if they have the courage. He said the extent of each side’s capability would be proven once they entered the field.

He also said that if Sheikh Hasina returns to the country in December, she would be taken directly from the airport to the gallows, with no concessions. Islam claimed that members of the public, martyrs’ families, injured people and students would remain on Dhaka’s streets that day and would not leave until a death sentence was carried out.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will visit three flood-affected upazilas in Chattogram—Hathazari, Fatikchhari and Banshkhali—on August 9, according to Press Secretary Saleh Shibli. Shibli said the Chattogram visit has been finalized so far. It will be Rahman’s first visit to Chattogram after assuming office as prime minister. During the trip, he will distribute relief among flood victims and hand over newly built homes to families left homeless by flooding.

Chattogram’s administration has begun preparations for the visit, while party organizers are also preparing to welcome the prime minister. Local authorities in the upazilas have nearly completed construction of new homes for flood-displaced families, the report said. Chattogram South District BNP convener Idris Mia said he and the member secretary had been summoned to the prime minister’s Gulshan office in connection with the visit and that party preparations were already under way.

A helipad is being prepared at a suitable landing site for the prime minister. From there, he will attend a gathering and distribute relief in western Banshkhali. He will also hand over 100 homes rebuilt with government assistance in the same area. Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Sharif Uddin said detailed official instructions had not yet been issued, but preparations would be completed once the final itinerary was communicated.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani expressed concern over allegations that India exports arms and military equipment to Israel, calling such supplies a stain on humanity and India’s values. In a Jamiat statement posted on X on Sunday and reported on August 3, he urged the central government to immediately stop the exports through both public- and private-sector defence institutions.

Madani said supplying weapons despite knowing they are used in indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians, women and children is criminal and equivalent to assisting genocide. He described it as a blatant violation of international law and a betrayal of humanity and India’s core values. He also said military supplies to Israel conflict with India’s historical support for the rights and just demands of the Palestinian people.

An Amnesty International investigative report said several Indian government and private entities supplied significant arms, ammunition and military equipment to Israel between October 2023 and November 2025. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said dual-use goods are approved under strict legal and regulatory mechanisms, and maintained that all exports comply with national law, export-control policy and international obligations.