Bangladesh’s fertilizer reserves have fallen close to minimum safety levels amid gas shortages, reduced domestic urea production and disruptions to imports, according to a ministry review held Thursday. Urea output has declined by an average 25 to 30 percent because factories are not receiving gas as required. The country has about 500,329 tonnes of urea in stock, only 329 tonnes above the stated five-lakh-tonne safety reserve target, during the Aman rice season.

War and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have increased uncertainty over supplies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has forced fertilizer shipments to travel via Egypt’s Yanbu port, adding about 1,200 miles, time and costs. Qatar has not concluded an export agreement with Bangladesh, leaving imports dependent on two countries rather than three.

The government has begun tender procedures to import urea from Russia, Malaysia and Brunei, though officials say completion could take two to three months. Stocks of DAP, TSP and MOP are below safety thresholds. Authorities also reported irregularities in distribution, while farmers alleged that fertilizers were being withheld and sold at higher prices.

Health Minister Sakhawat Hossain visited the home of Konika Mondol in Baghutia village of Baharpur union, Baliakandi upazila, Rajbari, on Friday morning after her death following a Caesarean procedure. Konika, 35, died at about 2:15am on Wednesday night while receiving treatment at Ibn Sina Hospital in Kallyanpur, Dhaka. Her family alleged that gauze was left inside her abdomen during surgery at Samarita Hospital in Faridpur.

According to her brother-in-law Samir Mondol, Konika was admitted to Samarita Hospital on June 29 for a Caesarean delivery. Doctor Lakkhi Rani Dutta conducted the operation that evening and delivered a baby girl. Her abdomen reportedly began swelling abnormally from the following day. She was admitted to Ibn Sina Hospital on July 3.

Her husband said tests under doctor Abdul Jalil on July 7 detected gauze in her abdomen, which was removed through surgery that day. After media reports on Thursday, the minister ordered formation of a five-member inquiry committee. During the visit, he offered condolences, gave the family Tk50,000 from his personal fund and pledged support.

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court Appellate Division upheld the High Court’s acquittal of all 38 accused in the 21 August grenade attack case, including Tarique Rahman and Lutfuzzaman Babar. The unanimous decision, issued on 4 September 2025 under Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, followed a state appeal against the High Court verdict. The High Court had on 1 December 2024 annulled the trial court judgment and fully acquitted the convicted defendants.

The attack occurred 22 years earlier at an Awami League anti-terrorism and anti-violence rally outside its central office on বঙ্গবন্ধু Avenue in Dhaka. Thirteen to 14 explosions struck as then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina was stepping down from a truck stage. Ivy Rahman was among 24 people killed, while more than 100 leaders and activists were injured. Two cases were filed at Motijheel police station under murder and explosives laws.

The report says courts identified major procedural and evidentiary defects. A second supplementary charge sheet was submitted directly to a sessions court rather than a judicial magistrate court. The main confession was found to have been obtained through coercion and torture and later withdrawn. Prosecutors also failed to provide strong direct evidence, while the investigation changed hands repeatedly.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States is preparing what he described as the toughest sanctions in history against Iran, arguing that maximum economic pressure could reduce the need for another large-scale military operation. In an interview with CNBC, he said details of the new sanctions package would be presented at a Monday news conference.

Bessent said he was unsure why oil was receiving so much discussion and maintained that applying maximum economic pressure could avoid the need to restart broader military action. He said Iran is already under a blockade and referred to a US naval blockade imposed in April, which was suspended for one month in mid-June.

The Treasury chief said the measures would work in Iran and declared that the United States would bring about the fall of the current government. He said allies and the rest of the world now needed to decide their position. Asked whether China could also be targeted because of business ties with Iran, Bessent said many such discussions were better kept private.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has congratulated Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on being elected president of Bangladesh. In a Facebook post published in the report on August 21, 2026, Zardari also invited Fakhrul to visit Pakistan at a convenient time and expressed hope for stronger relations between the two countries.

Zardari said Bangladesh would progress further under Fakhrul’s leadership and expressed hope that development for the welfare of its people would continue. He described Bangladesh and Pakistan as having close ties based on shared history, religion and cultural links, and welcomed what he called recent positive progress in bilateral relations.

The Pakistani president said he hoped cooperation would expand in areas of mutual interest. He also said he was interested in working with Fakhrul to strengthen bilateral relations and increase contact and cooperation between the peoples of both countries. Zardari said a Pakistan visit by Fakhrul could create new opportunities to deepen ties and cooperation, while wishing him success and Bangladesh peace, progress and prosperity.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran will not allow Western powers led by the United States to determine its future. In remarks reported on August 21, 2026, he said Tehran and Baghdad share a common determination to prevent foreign powers from deciding their destinies, a position he said has strengthened ties between Iran and Iraq.

Ghalibaf called on Iraq to turn the two countries’ longstanding political and security cooperation into tangible economic development and shared prosperity. He said the presence of large numbers of people reflected the depth of the brotherly relationship between the peoples of Iran and Iraq.

He described Iran-Iraq relations as rooted in geography, history and shared religious beliefs. Ghalibaf said the two nations would be remembered as countries that refused to become footnotes to another party’s narrative and whose futures were not written in Western capitals.

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation’s new pink bus service, operated entirely by women drivers, assistants and conductors, is seeing stronger passenger demand during morning and evening office hours but low occupancy at other times. The service was introduced to support safer travel for women, with buses operating in Dhaka and planned routes also covering Chattogram and Bogura. On the third day after inauguration, drivers said many buses were travelling with vacant seats outside peak periods.

Passengers said they lack reliable information about bus routes, schedules and stops, sometimes forcing them to wait for long periods. Women commuters and students welcomed the service, saying it could reduce fears of harassment, unwanted touching and overcrowding on regular public transport. Drivers attributed lower off-peak use to limited buses, route constraints and public unfamiliarity, while expressing hope that demand will grow.

BRTC plans to launch 50 pink buses within three months under the government’s 180-day work plan. Initially, 14 buses will run on 13 routes, including 10 in Dhaka. Fares are collected through POS machines, while e-ticketing, vehicle tracking and some CCTV coverage have been introduced. Transport stakeholders nevertheless cited previous unsuccessful women-only bus initiatives and questioned the new service’s long-term viability.

Israel has established a purported think tank aimed at influencing how artificial intelligence chatbots respond to users’ questions, according to a Responsible Statecraft report cited by Amar Desh Online on August 21, 2026. The organisation, called the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, presents itself as a US-style research body focused on Israel and Palestine. It was created by Piro Inc on behalf of an Israeli government advertising agency.

Since August 6, the institute has published more than 100 reports addressing politically and socially significant questions, including the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 and the current situation in the Gaza Strip. The reports use footnotes, tables of contents, specific statistics and neutral language in an effort to make their content acceptable to AI chatbots and large language models.

Although the institute says its research is peer-reviewed and academic, the reports give greater prominence to government sources, including the Israeli military and foreign ministry. Israel’s government paid Piro Inc $900,000 for the work. The subcontract was managed through the French public relations firm Havas Media.

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir alleged that groups backed by India and other foreign actors are attempting to create divisions between the state and the public. Speaking at a consultative meeting with prominent figures and political leaders in Balochistan, he called for unity among citizens, the state and the armed forces. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations announced the remarks in a statement on Friday.

Munir said foreign-backed proxy groups, including “Fitna al-Khariji” and “Fitna al-Hindustan,” were seeking to create instability in Balochistan, obstruct development and widen divisions between the state and the people. He said the alleged plans would be defeated through the nation’s collective resolve and the state’s firm, strict and targeted measures.

The army chief also called for a coordinated and unwavering response to what he described as enemy propaganda and false narratives. The terms “Fitna al-Hindustan” and “Fitna al-Khariji” are used to refer to Balochistan-based separatist militant groups, which Pakistan alleges are supported by India and seek to undermine the country’s integrity and security.

Pakistan’s former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan was returned to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after undergoing medical examinations at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. He was taken to the hospital under tight security late Thursday following a Supreme Court order and was returned to prison at about 5 a.m. Friday, according to Information Minister Ataullah Tarar.

Tarar said a medical team comprising eye, cardiac and medicine specialists conducted a detailed examination and declared Khan medically fit. In a post on X, Tarar referred to the transfer of a prisoner under court instructions but did not name Khan or Shifa International Hospital. Khan’s sister Uzma Khan was present throughout the examination and treatment process.

Security personnel were deployed in large numbers around the hospital, located in Islamabad’s H-8 sector, and Khan entered through Gate No. 1 after being transported via Patras Bukhari Road. Khan has been in prison since August 5, 2023, over allegations of concealing Toshakhana gift information. He is serving a 14-year sentence at Adiala Jail in the Al-Qadir Trust case, known as the £190 million corruption case. PTI leaders and activists have alleged his health deteriorated in custody.

Bangladesh has formally launched the Invest Bangladesh Authority by merging the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority and Public-Private Partnership Authority. The government published a notification on Thursday under the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026, stating that the law took effect on 20 August. The new investment promotion body has begun operations under the name Invest Bangladesh.

Former BIDA Executive Member and Business Development Head Nahian Rahman Rochi said the authority’s full organisational structure, wings and teams would be formed gradually. He said investors had long sought a single front desk for investment-related services, and that the initiative originated from this demand. The stated goal is to make Invest Bangladesh a single point for more coordinated, seamless and reliable investor services.

Under the law, Invest Bangladesh will operate as a statutory body headquartered in Dhaka. With government approval, it may establish branch offices across the country and liaison offices abroad. It will have a chairman and seven members, with the chairman serving as chief executive. Assets, records, contracts, liabilities and personnel of the three merged bodies will transfer to the new authority.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General and former lawmaker Dr AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said the government is assessing opposition participation in the presidential election through political narrowness rather than a liberal and democratic perspective. In a statement issued on Thursday, he described the participation as a symbolic protest against limitations in the government’s desired reform process and as a new democratic initiative.

Azad said a cabinet member had argued that the opposition’s oath in the constitutional reform council could no longer stand because it participated in the presidential election while Article 70 remained unchanged. He questioned how the oath taken as members of parliament could remain valid under that reasoning, saying no parliamentary election had been held through a constitutional process in 2026.

He said the opposition knew the election result in advance but took part to clarify its position before the public and strengthen demands for democracy. Azad urged the government not to interpret political opponents’ participation narrowly, and called for implementation of the referendum verdict and effective steps toward necessary constitutional reforms.

Afghan-American politician Ayesha Wahab won the special election for California’s 14th Congressional District, defeating Democratic candidate and transit official Melissa Hernandez. The result, reported on August 21, 2026, makes Wahab the successor to former congressman Eric Swalwell in the US House of Representatives.

Wahab, previously elected as the first Muslim woman in the California State Senate, is a vocal critic of Israel’s military operation and policies in Gaza. Her victory came despite heavy campaign spending aimed at defeating her during the final weeks of the election.

Super PACs associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent millions of dollars on campaigning against Wahab and advertisements supporting Hernandez. The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project alone spent $1.2 million in August to oppose Wahab, while another affiliated organization spent an additional $1.7 million. Despite that spending, Wahab retained her lead and secured the House seat.

Bangladesh is preparing amendments to local government election laws that would bar loan defaulters from contesting even after leaving positions as directors or chairpersons of indebted institutions. The proposals also seek to prohibit dual citizens from running at every local government level and increase penalties for breaches of election rules. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

Authorities are preparing local elections in at least seven phases, beginning with union council polls. Coastal districts including Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Barishal, Pirojpur, Barguna and Patuakhali are on the priority list for the first phase. Officials are considering December for voting after annual school examinations and aim to complete a major part before SSC examinations begin on January 7.

State Minister Mir Shah Alam said all local government elections are targeted for completion by June next year, with about Tk6,000 crore allocated. Proposed changes include up to six months’ imprisonment and fines of up to Tk50,000 for code violations, revised definitions of dependents and moral-turpitude offences, and rules on profitable posts and election dispute resolution.

Bangladesh’s government sees no shortcut to easing the country’s gas and electricity crisis, officials said after a special meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman met energy-sector ministers, junior ministers and oversight team members to discuss why the situation worsened suddenly and to consider short-, medium- and long-term responses. He expressed dissatisfaction over delays in repairs to floating terminals and the non-arrival of promised LNG cargoes.

Officials told the meeting that the crisis was not created in a day. They cited limited exploration of new gas fields over the past 18 years and growing import dependence. The government reported daily gas demand of 3,800 MMCFD, against supply of 2,195 MMCFD, leaving a 1,605 MMCFD deficit. Of the supply, 1,625 MMCFD came from domestic sources and 570 MMCFD from imported LNG.

The prime minister directed agencies to raise domestic gas output, remove barriers to fuel imports and strengthen power-plant maintenance. About 7,000 MW of gas-based generating capacity was idle because of fuel shortages, out of nearly 12,000 MW. Energy officials said reducing import dependence and achieving a lasting normalization could take three to five years.