Bangladesh’s Forest Department has filed two cases against 62 people, including leaders and activists of the BNP and affiliated organisations, over allegations of illegally cutting, stealing and selling trees from protected forests in Chunarughat, Habiganj. The cases concern Satchhari National Park and the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary. One case was filed on Tuesday by Satchhari Wildlife Range officer Mobarak Hossain at Chunarughat police station, naming 20 accused under the Forest Act of 1927, amended in 2000.

According to the complaint, trees were allegedly cut and traded from Satchhari’s protected forest at different times between January 12, 2025 and May 15, 2026. Confidential information from intelligence agencies indicated the involvement of 20 people. Chunarughat Upazila Chhatra Dal member secretary Maruf Mia was named as the main accused, while several BNP, Jubo Dal, Sramik Dal and Krishak League figures were also listed.

A separate case naming 42 people was filed the same day by forest officer H M Ershad over alleged tree cutting and sales in Rema-Kalenga. Forest officials said the cases followed directives from the Prime Minister’s Office and the environment ministry. Divisional Forest Officer Abul Kalam said the department had adopted zero tolerance against tree theft. Wildlife activist Biswajit Pal urged investigators to ensure innocent people are not harassed.

A report published by Amar Desh Online on August 20, 2026 examines the United States’ long record of attempts to influence or change governments abroad, focusing on Iran and interventions in the Middle East and Latin America. It says US-CIA and British action removed Iran’s elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 and restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, following conflict over oil-industry nationalisation.

The report says the Shah’s authoritarian rule later fuelled public anger and Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, turning Iran from a close US ally into a principal rival. It also cites tensions involving the Iran-Iraq war, sanctions, Iran’s nuclear programme and Iran-backed armed groups. The United States left the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, while Iran later began enriching uranium beyond the deal’s limits.

It describes mixed outcomes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and cites allegations of US-backed interventions in Guatemala, Brazil and Chile during the Cold War. Analysts say removing a government can be easier than controlling the political consequences, urging Washington to distinguish between addressing military or nuclear capabilities and seeking to alter a country’s political system.

Colombia’s death toll from a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has risen to 314, while 262 people remain missing, according to a Wednesday report from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD). Rescue teams are continuing searches for those unaccounted for. The earthquake struck on August 10 at 7:34 a.m. local time near San José del Palmar in the Pacific department of Chocó.

UNGRD said 4,437 people were injured and 364 survivors were pulled alive from the rubble. A total of 262,154 people have been affected. The quake, described as Colombia’s strongest of the century, originated about 110 kilometres below the surface but caused extensive damage in the western Coffee Axis region and major cities, particularly Cali and Pereira.

At least 30,664 homes were completely destroyed, 136,946 suffered structural damage and 302 buildings collapsed. Damage also affected schools, community centres, health facilities, roads, bridges, water systems and five regional airports. Remote areas of Chocó, Caldas and Quindío have been isolated by landslides, complicating aid deliveries. Authorities are marking unsafe buildings as uninhabitable, while displaced residents shelter in temporary sites or tents.

Bangladesh Student Union alleged that activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal attacked its members after they protested the alleged harassment of three female Fine Arts students at Dhaka University. The incident occurred near TSC and behind the Raju Sculpture on Wednesday night, August 19. The three students later submitted a written complaint to the university proctor, while Student Union members held a protest march toward the proctor’s office at about 11pm.

According to the students and the Student Union, several youths made offensive remarks as the women were getting into a rickshaw. Union members who came forward for their safety were allegedly assaulted after an argument. The group said its central general secretary Shimul Kumbhakar, private university unit president Ontu Orindom and Dhaka University unit general secretary Md Mustakim were injured. Kumbhakar was taken to the National Institute of Ophthalmology for treatment.

Assistant Proctor Israfil Ratan said the political identities of those present could not be confirmed. He said CCTV footage had been reviewed initially and legal and administrative procedures would be followed. Chhatra Dal leaders said they did not know details and would investigate whether the attackers were affiliated with the organisation.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested 506 people and filed 55 cases during regular operations across the capital over the previous 24 hours, police said on Thursday, August 20. DMP Media and Public Relations Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Mehdi disclosed the information, saying the arrests followed raids in areas under different Dhaka police stations.

Police said the operations recovered evidence, weapons and narcotics. The detainees included 25 people from Ramna Division, 45 from Lalbagh, 65 from Wari, 47 from Motijheel, 41 from Tejgaon, 120 from Mirpur, 93 from Gulshan, 63 from Uttara and seven from the Detective Branch.

Recovered items included two switch gears, 27 kilograms and 510 grams of cannabis, 231 yaba tablets and five grams of heroin. Police also recovered an Ena bus, a truck, 17 motorcycles, eight mobile phones, 597.73 grams of gold ornaments and Tk267,000 described as stolen money. Authorities also recovered 4 bhori, 15 ana and five roti of stolen gold ornaments and rescued two victims. Legal action against those arrested is under process, the DMP official said.

India’s central government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that several Bengali-speaking people previously sent from West Bengal to Bangladesh had been brought back to India. Following the submission, the court disposed of the related cases, saying there was no immediate need to continue them because the individuals had returned. The court, however, left unresolved broader legal questions concerning citizenship and deportation.

The Calcutta High Court had earlier ruled illegal the central government’s decision to label several people, including Sunali Khatun and Switi Bibi from Birbhum district, as “illegal immigrants” and send them to Bangladesh. It ordered their return within one month. Families alleged that Sunali, her husband and child were detained and sent to Bangladesh, while similar allegations concerned Switi and her children. Some were reportedly detained by local police after arriving in Bangladesh.

On May 22, the government said it would verify the returned individuals’ claims to Indian citizenship under special circumstances and said the move would not set a precedent. Their lawyer said all had returned following the solicitor general’s intervention. The Supreme Court said it could address the legal issues later.

At least 21 people were killed and four others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in Brazil’s southern Parana state. The crash occurred on the BR-372 highway, road operator Via Araucaria said in a post on X on Wednesday. All those killed were passengers on the bus, authorities said.

The injured people were taken to hospital for treatment, though no details about their conditions were immediately available. Local media reported that the bus involved in the crash operated under the health department of the municipality of Imbituva. Imbituva authorities did not immediately comment or confirm that information.

The cause of the collision was not immediately known, and relevant authorities are investigating. Imbituva has a population of about 30,000 people and is located roughly 180 kilometres west of Curitiba, the capital of Parana state. The report was published on August 20, 2026, and updated later the same day.

Fishers in Talatali, Barguna, say hilsa catches in the Payra River remain poor despite the peak fishing season, leaving about 8,000 coastal fishing families in severe hardship. The report, published on August 20, 2026, says the usual hilsa season spans Ashar, Shraban, Bhadra and Ashwin, when fishers typically earn enough to cover annual expenses. Yet little hilsa has been caught even after two months of the season.

Fishers blame submerged sandbars at the sea estuary and alleged discharge of warm water and chemical waste from the Isotec thermal power plant. The Baraia submerged shoal extends about 20 kilometres across the Payra-Bishkhali estuary, while Nalbunia, Padma and Kumirmara shoals also lie near the river entrance. They become walkable at low tide and create strong currents and rough waves during high tide.

Aquaculture specialist Mir Mohammad Ali said shallow water, navigability problems, warm water and waste could hinder hilsa movement and breeding. Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Victor Bain also cited reduced navigability and weaker tidal currents. Local fishers have demanded dredging of the submerged shoals and controls on power-plant waste.

Ahil Petroleum Limited in Kalipur, Bhairab town of Kishoreganj is producing diesel, petrol, octane and gas from discarded polythene and plastic. Entrepreneur Yusuf Ahmed Galib said work on the project began in August 2018, following a Thailand-based Sepco company pattern and guidance from Bangladesh’s Access to Information, or a2i. The facility currently processes 1,000 kilograms of waste polythene daily and collects about 500 litres of fuel oil.

The initiative has drawn support from local residents and the upazila administration because polythene waste is described as a major environmental threat. The report says discarded bags and packets do not decompose easily and can damage rivers, canals, wetlands, drainage systems and soil fertility. Visitors are reportedly gathering daily at the new factory to observe the fuel and gas production process.

Gas generated at the plant is currently used as factory fuel rather than collected separately. The facility also collects ash or black carbon, which is intended for making printer ink. Citing Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research testing, the report says the fuel has a quality rating of 93.56 and 1.56 percent higher fuel efficiency than normal fuel. Bhairab Upazila নির্বাহী Officer K M Mamunur Rashid welcomed the initiative and promised administrative support.

Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir said Tarique Rahman could visit India only after an appropriate environment is created through mutual trust, respect for sovereignty, diplomatic dialogue and a respectful invitation. In an August 17 interview at his official residence on Minto Road in Dhaka, Kabir said Bangladesh would not rush into a high-level visit before the BRICS summit scheduled in New Delhi on September 12-13.

Kabir described Indian media reports about the prime minister’s possible visit as speculative and unfounded. He said New Delhi needed to understand the reality of Bangladesh’s July uprising and clarify the basis on which it seeks relations with the elected government. He also objected to what he described as political or media space in India for Sheikh Hasina and other convicted or fugitive accused persons, saying Dhaka had lodged a diplomatic protest.

The adviser said Bangladesh is pursuing a “Bangladesh First” and balanced foreign policy. He cited possible engagement with a Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkey framework, planned progress on a Riyadh visit, stronger trade diplomacy with the United States and European Union, and deeper strategic ties with China. He also said efforts were under way to reopen Malaysia’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers.

Writer Fatima Bhutto has questioned the silence of influential Western feminist movements and figures as women’s health conditions worsen in Gaza amid war and a humanitarian crisis. In an article published Tuesday, she said miscarriages in Gaza nearly tripled during the first half of this year, while food shortages and malnutrition have left many Palestinian mothers unable to provide sufficient milk for their children.

Bhutto asked whether international women’s rights movements and Western feminists would have mounted widespread protests if comparable circumstances had emerged elsewhere. She contrasted the situation with solidarity shown by many Western women during protests against mandatory hijab rules in Iran, including social-media videos, petition signatures and hair-cutting demonstrations.

The writer also raised questions about the role of prominent women’s rights activists and media personalities in the West. She argued that their silence on increased miscarriages, malnutrition and maternal-health problems in Gaza has generated fresh debate about global feminism and women’s rights advocacy. The source says conditions for women and children are deteriorating amid prolonged war and shortages of food and medical supplies, with particular concern over risks to pregnant women and newborns.

Emigration from Israel is rising rapidly ahead of the next election, with studies indicating that many of those leaving are young, highly educated and relatively high-income citizens. An Israeli tax authority study found departures increased in 2023 and 2024 compared with previous years. Tel Aviv University estimated that about 270,000 Israelis left over the past three years, including 86,500 in 2023 and about 91,500 in 2024, with a similar figure in 2025.

Analysts link the trend to uncertainty over the future among educated and liberal Israelis, citing the right-wing policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, efforts to reduce judicial independence, political polarization and prolonged war. Large protests were held in 2023 against the government’s judicial reform initiative. Demographer Sergio Della Pergola said concerns about long-term insecurity and the country’s political direction appear to be the main drivers.

Experts warn that the loss of young and skilled citizens could pose economic risks, particularly for technology, research and development. Researcher Lilakh Lev Ari said the situation is worrying but not yet cause for panic. Opposition politician Gilad Kariv called it a “tsunami,” while analyst Shir Hever said attention should also include nurses and other essential workers leaving the country.

Traditional pottery is steadily disappearing in Cumilla as artisans struggle to sustain their livelihoods and move into other occupations, according to a report published on August 20, 2026. Potters in several areas, including Bijoypur, Kamarkhola, Aodhata, Kartala, Saitala, Atapur and Nuritala, once regularly produced earthen household goods but now only a handful of families continue the inherited work.

Clay pots, pitchers, plates, bowls, banks, dolls and stoves were once widely used in rural homes for cooking, serving food, storing water and decoration, as well as at weddings, religious festivals and social events. Their use has declined as aluminium, steel, plastic, melamine and ceramic products have become readily available, reducing both demand and the market space for traditional clayware.

Artisans say costs have risen at every stage, from collecting quality clay to making, drying, decorating and firing products, while sale prices do not match production costs. Nimay Pal said many workers have changed professions, while Sunil Pal said young people are unwilling to enter the trade and skilled labour is increasingly difficult to find. Gauri Rani Sharma said households now prefer plastic and steel products, making it hard to support families through pottery.

The family of five-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab has rejected an Israeli military investigation into her killing in Gaza and called for an independent international inquiry. Hind’s grandmother made the demand in comments to Anadolu after the Israeli military acknowledged for the first time that soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying the child. The article was published on August 20, 2026.

Her grandmother said the family has no trust in either the Israeli investigation or Israel’s judicial system. She said they seek justice not only for Hind as a child from Gaza, but also on behalf of all children killed in Gaza. The reported incident also killed six of Hind’s relatives and two Palestinian Red Crescent medical workers who tried to rescue her.

Hind was among seven family members traveling in a car in Gaza City in January 2024 while fleeing an Israeli attack on the devastated city. Her uncle, aunt and three cousins were killed in the vehicle, while Hind was trapped and made a phone call. The report says she was later killed by Israeli fire. Israel had previously said no soldiers were present at the location that day.

Bangladesh has set a $63.4 billion export earnings target for fiscal year 2026-27, but an intensifying gas and power shortage is casting doubt on whether it can be achieved. The target includes $55.2 billion from merchandise exports and $8.2 billion from services, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir recently announced. It is about 15 percent above earnings in the outgoing fiscal year, with readymade garments expected to contribute $44.5 billion.

Export earnings during February-July 2026 reached about $24.30 billion, compared with $24.08 billion in the same six months of 2025, a rise of only about 0.9 percent, according to the Export Promotion Bureau. Monthly results were volatile: earnings fell in February, March and May, but rose sharply in April and June. July earnings stood at $4.72 billion, down 0.9 percent year on year, while garment exports declined 1.92 percent.

BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem welcomed measures allowing certain exporters to import raw materials duty-free against bank guarantees and cited tax-policy changes. He said gas and electricity shortages, unresolved banking problems and a deterioration in overall law and order remain major challenges. Merchandise export earnings in 2025-26 were about $48 billion, down 0.58 percent from the previous fiscal year.