A video described as explicit and involving Chatkhil Upazila Chhatra Dal leader A H Saurav has gone viral on social media in Noakhali. The report, published on August 5, 2026, said the video’s circulation has prompted mixed reactions in the area.

Saurav has filed a complaint with Chatkhil police station, asserting that the video is fake and was created using artificial intelligence. He said a group was deliberately producing and circulating the material to damage his reputation.

The Chhatra Dal leader said he was seeking immediate legal action through his complaint to the police station. The source provides no further details about any police response, investigation, or action taken following the complaint.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said Bangladesh can achieve economic sovereignty by developing the capacity to understand, adapt and innovate technology rather than merely buying and using it. Speaking as chief guest at the Artec General Exhibition 2026 in Osaka, Japan, on Wednesday, he said Bangladesh is committed to building STEM-based skills from primary education onward, drawing inspiration from Japan’s historical investment in education, technology, discipline and innovation.

Hajjaj said the government’s aim is not limited to teaching science and technology. It seeks to help children ask questions, think critically, understand ideas deeply, analyse problems and create practical solutions instead of relying on memorisation. He noted that Bangladesh has a workforce of more than 70 million, yet its economy remains heavily dependent on the ready-made garment sector. A diversified, knowledge-based and higher-value economy requires a strong STEM foundation from the primary level, he said.

He said the government is prioritising literacy, numeracy and basic skills, while planning to expand maths labs, science clubs and basic robotics education alongside teacher training. He described exhibition models as simple, modular, practical and affordable, saying they could be adapted for Bangladesh.

Growing frustration among India’s young people over exam paper leaks and unemployment has emerged as a major political and social challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Following multiple entrance-exam paper leak cases last month, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned amid public anger. Modi announced special courts for swift trials of the accused and assigned technology entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani to reform the examination system.

Analysts say the issue extends beyond exam reform to a widening gap between education and employment. India has more than 360 million people aged 15 to 29, but many graduates struggle to enter the workforce. Azim Premji University’s State of Working India 2026 report said youth unemployment is nearly four times higher than among other age groups. In 2023, 67 percent of graduates aged 20 to 29 were not employed, while only 2.8 million of roughly five million new graduates entering annually between 2004-05 and 2023 found jobs.

Economist Santosh Mehrotra called for reviving small and medium enterprises and adopting a manufacturing-focused industrial policy. Manufacturing’s GDP share fell from 17 percent in 2015 to 14 percent, while AI could put 8 to 12 percent of non-agricultural jobs at risk, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen Bangladesh’s textile and ready-made garment sectors on the global stage. BTMA President Showkat Aziz Russell and BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan signed for their respective organizations at an event at Gulshan Club in the capital on Tuesday. The initiative is linked to Bangladesh’s goal of reaching $100 billion in exports.

The organizations plan to hold the Bangladesh International Textile and Apparel Machinery Exhibition, or BITMA, with support from an internationally reputed event organizer. The stated aims are to improve global competitiveness, advance technology-driven modernization and expand into new markets. Stakeholders said the effort would bring together automation, artificial intelligence, advanced technology and sustainable fashion.

A 10-member joint committee, with five representatives from each organization, will oversee exhibition management, strategic decisions and financial transparency. Its chairmanship will rotate annually between the two bodies; BTMA will appoint the chair and BGMEA the co-chair in the first year. Leaders said the platform could support technology transfer, foreign investment, skills development and new global commercial networks.

A concert titled “Barsha Biplober Gaan” has been arranged at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital on Wednesday afternoon to mark the Victory Day of the historic July mass uprising. Organizers said the event, arranged by the Monsoon Cultural Alliance, will begin at 3 p.m.

Performers listed for the concert include Parsa Mahjabeen, Sejan, Kureghor, Arbovirus, AvoidRafa, Asif Akbar, Shironamhin, Ark (Hasan) and Artcell. Hasnat Abdullah MP, chief organizer for the southern region of the National Citizen Party, is serving as convener of the event’s implementation committee.

Tahsin Riaz, joint member secretary of the NCP, is overseeing overall management. Acting Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal is expected to attend as chief guest, while Whip Nur-e-Alam and opposition chief whip Md Nahid Islam are listed as special guests.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called for increased Saudi investment in Bangladesh, with particular emphasis on the solar power sector. He made the appeal during a courtesy meeting with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Engineer Waleed El-Khereiji at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday. Rahman said Bangladesh has created a favourable investment environment and is implementing extensive programmes to expand the use of clean energy.

The prime minister said investment by Saudi companies in clean energy would benefit both countries. Both sides agreed to take Bangladesh-Saudi bilateral relations to new heights. El-Khereiji described Bangladesh’s current investment environment as positive under Rahman’s leadership and said Saudi Arabia was sincerely interested in strengthening relations and expanding cooperation and investment in promising sectors.

The Saudi deputy foreign minister said Saudi Arabia was interested in investing in processed food, seafood, tropical food, agro-based industries, information technology, artificial intelligence and renewable energy. He also praised the important contribution of Bangladeshi workers to Saudi development. El-Khereiji invited Rahman to visit Saudi Arabia, and the prime minister thanked him and expressed hope of making the trip at a convenient time.

District Detective Branch police arrested a named suspect in a cyber case over allegations that AI technology was used to create and circulate obscene videos featuring Moulvibazar-3 lawmaker and BNP national executive committee member M Nasir Rahman. Syed Tanvir Ahmed, 30, was arrested from Sreemangal at about 9pm on Monday, according to police. The report was published on August 4, 2026.

Ahmed is from Berirpar in Moulvibazar municipality, previously had a home in Juri upazila, and currently lives in Ashidron, Sreemangal. He identifies himself as an engineer at a firm, while he is also reported to have a business firm in the Berirpar area.

The complaint alleges that a group had long used Rahman’s images to make and disseminate AI-generated obscene videos on social media with the aim of damaging his reputation and political image. Advocate Niamul Haque submitted a written complaint to Moulvibazar Sadar Model Police Station on August 2. After the complaint was received, the case investigation was assigned to the district Detective Branch, police said.

The report says human trafficking is increasingly being enabled by technology rather than relying only on borders, brokers or irregular migration routes. Traffickers use social media, encrypted messaging apps, fake websites, online job advertisements and artificial intelligence to gain trust. They lure people abroad with promises of high-paying jobs, better lives, romance or marriage, then allegedly force some into cyber fraud, online scams, abuse and modern slavery. Bangladesh is identified as being exposed to this growing risk.

Fake overseas job offers are described as the most common technology-based trafficking method. A BRAC study found that 98 percent of people who travelled abroad after job promises did not receive the promised work, while 90 percent were forced into fraudulent activities. Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Messenger are cited as tools used with false identities and offers of employment, business or foreign settlement. Online romance and marriage proposals are also used, with women particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and forced labour.

According to BMET, 15,921 people travelled to Cambodia for employment over the past year and a half. In June, 583 Bangladeshis returned from Cambodia, with many reporting passport confiscation and forced involvement in online fraud. The report advises verifying recruiters and agencies, protecting personal information, avoiding suspicious links and using two-factor authentication.

Multimodal artificial synapses are being developed to process different kinds of sensory information in a way compared with the human brain. A report published on August 3, 2026 said the devices can respond not only to electrical signals but also to light, sound, temperature, gases and other external stimuli. The technology could play an important role in future intelligent robots capable of using multiple human-like senses.

A key feature is synaptic plasticity, in which a device’s electrical properties change after stimulation and retain that effect for some time after the stimulus stops. Connecting many artificial synapses could create neuromorphic networks that store and compute information within the same structure. This could reduce repeated data transfers between memory and processors and potentially save energy.

Memristors can change resistance through ion movement, electron trapping and phase changes. An h-BN-based artificial synapse was reported to use as little as about 600 picowatts during switching, with switching times below 10 nanoseconds. A MoTe₂-based device achieved about 90 millivolts of switching voltage and about 150 attojoules of switching energy. Potential applications include autonomous vehicles, smart cameras, industrial automation, medical-assistive robots, artificial vision, advanced sensors and human-machine communication.

The High Court has granted bail to television actor Zaher Alvi, also known as Md. Niamat Ullah Bhuiyan, in a case accusing him of abetting the suicide of his wife, Afra Ibnat Ikra. A bench of Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher issued the order on August 2. Relevant court sources confirmed the bail on August 3, removing any barrier to his release from jail.

Senior lawyer Zainul Abedin represented Alvi in the bail hearing. Earlier, on June 18, Alvi surrendered through a lawyer before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Kamal Uddin and sought bail. The court rejected his application and ordered him sent to jail.

The investigating officer later sought seven days of remand for a proper investigation. On June 24, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Albiruni Mir approved two days of remand, and Alvi was sent back to jail after the remand on June 30. The case alleges that Ikra was found hanging at their Mirpur DOHS home on February 28. Her father, Kabir Hayat Khan, filed the case at Pallabi police station the next day.

Bangladesh’s film history marks August 3 as the 70th anniversary of the 1956 release of ‘Mukh O Mukhosh,’ described as the country’s first full-length Bengali sound film. Directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan, the film is regarded as the starting point of the Dhaka film industry and a landmark in the country’s cultural history. It was released on August 3, 1956, with the anniversary falling on August 3, 2026.

The project emerged after a 1953 meeting on the prospects for filmmaking in East Pakistan, where a comment suggested films could not be made in the region’s humid climate. Theatre worker Abdul Jabbar Khan challenged that view and declared that Bengali-language films could be made there. Despite having no prior filmmaking experience, he adapted his own play, ‘Dakat,’ into a screenplay. Filming took place at locations in Dhaka amid limited technology and other difficulties, while editing and printing were completed at Shahnoor Studio in Lahore.

Samar Das directed the music, Abdul Alim and Mahbuba Hasnat provided vocals, and Gawhar Jamil directed dance. The film premiered at Rupmahal Cinema Hall in Dhaka and was also shown in Chittagong, Narayanganj and Khulna. Its strong audience response demonstrated the viability of Bengali filmmaking in the country.

Bangladesh’s Department of Youth Development has launched a nationwide artificial intelligence training programme under a project to improve the skills of information technology-literate youths through AI technology. Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque inaugurated the programme on Sunday at Mom Inn Auditorium in Bogura. The announcement was reported on August 2, 2026.

Aminul Haque said the government is working to prepare young people for technology-driven workplaces through AI-based skills. He said the training would create opportunities for employment and self-employment. The minister also mentioned plans to establish 10 international-standard sports villages in different parts of the country, including Bogura.

Officials said 1,600 trainees, 25 from each of the country’s 64 districts, were selected for the first phase. Training will be conducted in 448 batches, with 25 participants in each batch. Each course will run for two months and include 50 classes totaling 300 hours. State Minister Mir Shahe Alam said the initiative could expand local employment opportunities, while State Minister Abdul Bari stressed regular participation to build skills.

Bangladesh’s government is considering a decision on qualifications for journalism to curb malpractice in the profession, Chief Information Officer Syed Abdal Ahmad said at a daylong workshop in Gazipur on August 2. The workshop on basic journalism and ethical reporting was jointly organised by the Gazipur district administration and World Vision Bangladesh at the Bhawal Convention Hall in the deputy commissioner’s office. About 80 print, electronic and online media workers based in Gazipur attended.

Ahmad said providing information after distinguishing truth from falsehood has become a major challenge in the AI era, and journalists are carrying out their duties while confronting it. He sought cooperation from all concerned. Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury said journalism’s core role is to question the state and powerful people and hold them accountable, strengthening democracy, protecting public rights, and supporting transparency and justice.

The workshop discussed core journalistic principles, ethical reporting techniques, fact-checking, child protection, laws related to child labour and child marriage, and media’s social responsibility. Speakers called for sensitivity, verification and protection of victims’ dignity in reporting on children’s and women’s rights, while urging a stronger media role in building awareness against child labour and child marriage.

M Nasir Rahman, member of parliament for Moulvibazar-3 and a member of the BNP national executive committee, has alleged that fake, manipulated and obscene videos made using AI are being circulated on social media. In a Facebook post on August 2, he described the material as politically motivated propaganda and announced legal action against those involved.

Rahman said his facial image had allegedly been attached to another body to create the false video using AI technology. He alleged that the content was then spread online to demean him politically and to create controversy around both him and his political party.

He said necessary legal measures had already been taken, while digital evidence was being preserved and technical analysis and identification of those involved were under way. According to Rahman, a specialised government agency was also working to identify the accused and bring them under the law quickly. He urged the public not to share or circulate unverified AI-generated videos, images or information, warning that distributing or redistributing such content could be punishable under information technology laws.

Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming action thriller King is drawing attention before its planned worldwide release during the upcoming Christmas week. Bollywood reports suggest Zee Music may acquire the film’s music rights for about Rs 50 crore. If completed, the deal would be considered among the biggest music-rights agreements in Indian cinema.

No final decision has been made, however. Punit Goenka, managing director and chief executive officer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, told Variety India that he did not want to comment on the financial value of the proposed agreement. He confirmed that discussions with the production company were progressing positively.

Goenka said Zee Music prioritizes agreements in which producers also receive fair financial benefits. King is jointly produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Marflix Films. Sachin-Jigar are handling the film’s music, while Anirudh Ravichander is composing the background score. The cast also includes Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Rani Mukerji.