French President Emmanuel Macron begins a two-day visit to Britain on Wednesday. On the first day, he will attend the formal opening of a special exhibition of the historic Bayeux Tapestry. On Thursday, Macron is scheduled to hold bilateral talks at Downing Street with Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, becoming the first European Union leader to meet Burnham there.

Macron played an important role in recent years in efforts to lend the nearly 950-year-old tapestry from France for display at the British Museum. The work will remain on show at the museum until July next year. The visit also carries symbolic importance as Burnham seeks to build closer relations between Britain and the European Union after Brexit.

Burnham is hoping for practical outcomes from the meeting, including French cooperation to curb migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and support efforts to improve slow British economic growth. King’s College London professor Anand Menon cautioned that the visit could be more ceremonial than substantive, citing continuing economic differences. A French presidential official said coordination with Burnham on Ukraine and the Middle East was expected to be equally important and regular.

An Indian Army soldier remains missing after a military boat met with an accident during training and drills at the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district on Tuesday. Four soldiers were initially swept away by the strong current after the incident. Three of them managed to swim safely to the riverbank.

The Army and district administration began a joint search operation after the accident. The submerged motorboat has since been recovered, while the identity of the missing soldier has not been disclosed.

Police said the soldiers were wearing life jackets. As the boat began to sink, they jumped into the water and were carried away by the current. Search efforts to locate and rescue the missing soldier were continuing.

The US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln anchored near Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday after months at sea, Reuters reported. The nuclear-powered vessel is scheduled to remain for five days so that its roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines can rest. AFP journalists saw the carrier preparing to enter Laem Chabang port near the coastal city.

The carrier left California in November 2025 for duty, initially assigned to the South China Sea before being redirected toward the Middle East. The change came before US and Israeli attacks on Iran began about six months ago. Reports in the United States have criticised living conditions and mental health concerns aboard the ship during its extended deployment, including reports that some members attempted suicide.

Pattaya has increased security for the visiting personnel. Mayor Poramase Ngampiches said buses would transport sailors between the ship and the city until its planned departure on Sunday. He denied that a recent operation against sex workers was linked to the visit. Personnel have been told to avoid water sports such as jet skis and cannabis use, while being encouraged to visit malls, religious sites and other attractions.

Four people were killed and 10 injured when a speeding car drove into a gathering of government and armed forces supporters in Mashhad, a city in northeastern Iran. The incident occurred after the vehicle struck another car, lost control and broke through a security barrier into the crowd, according to Nour News citing Razavi Khorasan traffic police chief Mohsen Mousa-Abadi.

Mousa-Abadi said the driver was arrested and preliminary investigations found that he was not in a normal condition. He did not provide further details about the driver’s physical condition. Authorities have not indicated that the crash was politically motivated.

Officials described the incident as a road accident. The report did not provide further information about the identities of those killed or injured, the condition of the injured people, or any additional details from the investigation.

A passenger was killed and two others were injured after an autorickshaw overturned while trying to avoid two dogs in Tongi, Gazipur. The crash occurred around 5:30am on Wednesday in front of the A One Polymer factory near the T&T intersection on the Tongi-Kaliganj regional road. The deceased was identified as 45-year-old Zainal Abedin, a resident of Morkun Madhyapara in Tongi.

Witnesses said Zainal boarded an easy-bike from Tongi T&T Bazar while heading to work. As the vehicle was travelling at high speed, two dogs suddenly came onto the road. The driver applied the brakes abruptly to avoid them, causing the autorickshaw to overturn. Zainal, who was seated in front, was trapped beneath the vehicle and seriously injured.

Local people took him to Tongi Government Hospital, where the attending doctor declared him dead. Resident medical officer Dr Mahmud Iqbal Hafiz said Zainal died from excessive bleeding. Two injured passengers, including 60-year-old Jalal Uddin, received primary treatment. Tongi East police said the body was handed to relatives without an autopsy following a written request, while further legal action is under process.

Bihar’s Fisheries and Animal Resources Ministry has issued an advisory urging people not to eat or handle unfamiliar or unusual fish found in floodwaters flowing into the state’s rivers from Nepal. The warning follows reports that several residents in Champaran, Gopalganj and nearby areas fell ill after catching, cooking and eating large, unidentified fish in recent days.

The ministry said people should avoid catching, consuming, buying or selling such fish to prevent possible contamination or poisoning. Bihar Dairy, Fisheries and Animal Resources Minister Nandkishore Ram said the alert was issued over concerns about any form of pollution or toxic exposure linked to the unfamiliar fish.

The state government’s directive specifically says unidentified or abnormal fish arriving with Nepal’s floodwaters should not be eaten and should not be traded in markets. Authorities said they had received information that some people became ill after consuming these fish, prompting the public warning.

An 18-year-old volunteer party worker, Mehedi Hasan Akib, died after an alleged beating in Ishwardi, Pabna. Police and his family said they had not yet established who assaulted him or why. Akib died on Wednesday morning in the Lalpur area while being taken from Ishwardi উপজেলা Health Complex to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

Family and local sources said Akib left home on Tuesday evening and did not return. Before dawn on Wednesday, unidentified people reportedly left him injured at Ishwardi উপজেলা Health Complex in an autorickshaw. His father, Anisur Rahman, went to the hospital after receiving the news.

After initial treatment, the attending doctor advised that Akib be taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Police said no sharp-weapon injuries were found, but there were signs that he had been beaten, and the death may have resulted from the assault. Local sources said Akib supported a former Ishwardi volunteer party member secretary, amid a longstanding dispute over sand quarry control in the Sara and Islampara ghat areas.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it killed US military personnel in a coordinated missile and drone attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. In a statement, the IRGC said its ground forces targeted the headquarters and residential facilities of a US commander stationed at the base, and that several US service members were killed.

The IRGC also said the attack set fire to a drone hangar and a drone deployment ramp, and destroyed several drones it said had participated in attacks against Iran. It said the Kuwait strike was launched simultaneously with attacks on US bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Erbil.

Iran described the operation as retaliation for a US attack on a wedding ceremony in Sirik on Tuesday, which it said killed four people and injured more than 50, including a child among the dead. The IRGC told Kuwaitis that its operation targeted the US military presence rather than Kuwait’s people, and called for US forces to withdraw from the country. Earlier Tuesday night, US Central Command said it had struck multiple IRGC targets in Iran.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said aggression against Iran and the violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity earlier this year created a major crisis in the Middle East. Speaking on Tuesday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, he said diplomacy was the only sustainable route out of the crisis.

Sharif said the regional turmoil had closed or disrupted transport routes, severely affecting global livelihoods and economic activity. Pakistan and many other countries were facing negative consequences, he added. He said Pakistan firmly supported peace and would continue its role in mediation and in sincerely facilitating reconciliation.

The prime minister said implementation of the Islamabad memorandum would make an important contribution to peace and stability. Addressing a joint defence agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, he said it was defensive in nature and was not directed against any country or intended to cause conflict or division. Sharif also voiced deep concern over worsening conditions in Gaza and the West Bank, calling for an end to the war against Palestinians and for international commitments to support them to be fulfilled.

A mobile court fined two traders a total of Tk405,000 for allegedly illegally stockpiling fertilizer in Paikerchhara ইউনিয়ন of Bhurungamari upazila, Kurigram. The separate late-night raids took place on Tuesday and were led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Executive Magistrate Amrit Deb Nath.

Officials said the operation followed information that a group had been storing fertilizer illegally for a long time in an effort to sell it to farmers at higher prices. At two rooms of Messrs Khokon Bricks, owned by Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Khokon, the court found 16 sacks of urea and seven sacks of DAP fertilizer. The owner was fined Tk400,000.

In a separate raid at Messrs Rafiq Traders in Kurarpar Bazar of the same union, authorities found nine sacks of MOP fertilizer and fined trader Rafiqur Islam Tk5,000. Amrit Deb Nath said such drives would continue to prevent artificial shortages and black marketing. The seized fertilizer will be sold to farmers at government-set prices.

A group linked to Hindu nationalist organisations protested outside the Anandabazar Patrika office after the newspaper used the phrase “saffron hooliganism” in a report on clashes at Jadavpur University on August 20. Protesters applied saffron-coloured paint to the walls of the newspaper’s white building and raised slogans, according to videos widely circulated on social media.

The report concerned a clash between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members and members of Left-backed student organisations during a general meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University. The confrontation continued until dawn on Thursday, with both sides blaming each other and alleging that outsiders had been brought onto the campus.

Police personnel were standing nearby while the protesters painted the building’s walls, the source said. Anandabazar Patrika restored the wall to its earlier appearance within hours. The Hindu reported that those who applied paint to the building had not yet been identified and that no written complaint had been filed in connection with the incident.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels expressed solidarity with Iran over US attacks on locations in the country and warned states hosting American forces that they could face severe consequences. In a statement published by the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency, the group said the US strikes would not weaken Tehran’s resolve.

The Houthi foreign ministry said Iran has the right under international law to respond to the attacks. It accused the United States of pushing the wider region toward a more tense situation and said Washington and countries supporting it would bear responsibility for the consequences.

The statement specifically cautioned countries that allow US forces to be stationed on their territory. It said ruling authorities that permit their land to be used as a platform for what the Houthis called US aggression would have to pay the price and face the outcome.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has proposed opening about 9,000 public water bodies to local beneficiaries, sending the plan to the Ministry of Land’s Sairat wing in June. The two ministries are working to free government water bodies from influential groups and ensure genuine fishers can catch fish under the stated “those who own nets own waters” policy. The proposal covers water bodies including haors, baors, canals, beels and rivers.

The Land Ministry has sought reports from all deputy commissioners, according to Deputy Secretary Rahula Amin. Water bodies in several districts whose leases have expired have already been opened, while those nearing lease expiry will be reviewed for opening to local beneficiaries. In fiscal year 2024-25, Bangladesh had 39,190 public water bodies, of which 15,420 were leased.

Lease income from public water bodies totalled about Tk130.77 crore in 2024-25. Fishers’ representatives say revenue priorities can exclude genuine fishers and reduce natural fish production. A 2026 draft law emphasizes preventing encroachment and pollution, conserving biodiversity and protecting genuine fishers’ rights. Stakeholders say transparent leasing, fisher identification and oversight remain necessary.

Families of six Bangladeshis killed in a supermarket fire in Queenstown, South Africa, on July 28 say they are facing deep grief and financial hardship. Five of the victims were from Narayanganj Sadar upazila. Their bodies could not be brought back to Bangladesh because of a lengthy process and high costs, and the families agreed to burial in South Africa.

Relatives say they have received no significant assistance from local representatives, government institutions or the employer more than a month after the fire. They allege some victims had been taken to South Africa through irregular routes and that several had unpaid wages, including claims of six to seven months of arrears. The relatives also allege pressure not to speak publicly about the fire or outstanding payments.

Narayanganj Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Foyez Uddin said authorities remain in contact with the families and would assist applications to the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry for government grants. He said the shop owner, Rowshan Member, would be called and efforts made to recover any verified wage dues. Attempts to contact Rowshan Ali for comment were unsuccessful.

A field review in Mymensingh found that citizen charters were available in only five of at least 40 government offices, leaving many residents without clear information on public services. The offices surveyed included the district administration, police superintendent’s office, public works, roads, agriculture, social services, passport, BRTA, land offices and hospitals. Where charters were present, they were often not displayed prominently, covered in dust, incomplete or outdated.

The absence of accessible charters means citizens often do not know required documents, official fees, service timelines or responsible officers. Residents said this forces them to visit multiple officials and increases dependence on staff, acquaintances or brokers. Ferdousi Begum, seeking service at the district administration’s land acquisition branch, said she had no way to know beforehand where to apply, what documents were required or how much she would need to pay.

The 2017 cabinet division guideline requires service details, payment methods, timelines and responsible officers’ contact information. It also provides complaint channels and specified resolution periods. District Commissioner Md Saifur Rahman said every office should have a charter and that offices lacking one would be monitored and face action.