Bangladesh’s Agriculture Ministry says it has achieved three major commitments under the government’s first 180-day priority plan: farmer cards, canal excavation and re-excavation, and tree planting. The report, published on August 20, 2026, said about 1.25 million farmers have been added to a database, while 20,748 farmer cards have been issued during the pre-pilot phase. The ministry aims to bring about 25 million farmers under the programme over the next three years.

For canal works, the ministry had targeted 475 kilometres under the 180-day plan and says nearly 483 kilometres have been completed, exceeding the target by eight kilometres. The Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation is carrying out canal excavation and re-excavation in different areas to improve irrigation, drainage and reduce waterlogging. The ministry also says it met its six-month goal of planting 2.5 million saplings.

Agriculture Secretary Selim Khan said the ministry had achieved its assigned targets for farmer cards, tree planting and canal excavation. The ministry also highlighted expansion of BRRI dhan-118 in haor areas, revisions to fertiliser policy, and targets to reduce imported seed dependence, including jute seed self-sufficiency by 2029.

Bangladesh plans to launch a special Probashi Card for overseas workers as part of a government election pledge, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman expected to inaugurate distribution in the final week of August 2026. The ceremony is planned at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. Workers travelling to Jordan through BOESL are expected to receive the first cards, while travellers to Malaysia and Brunei may also be included.

The government aims to distribute 200,000 cards in three stages by June 2027. The first phase will cover 5,000 people, including 500 on the launch day; 50,000 are targeted by December, followed by 150,000 by June 2027. The Wage Earners’ Welfare Board will bear the card cost. The Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry and Janata Bank signed an agreement on August 10, and Tk10 crore was approved for training, software development and publicity.

Cardholders are promised 10% off Biman tickets, 41% hotel-booking discounts, health-service discounts and remittance incentives of 3% to 3.5%. Initially issued as five-year debit cards through Janata Bank, the cards are intended to later support credit, prepaid and virtual functions. Experts urged trial monitoring, user training and awareness campaigns.

India has approved construction of a fourth railway line through the strategically important “Chicken’s Neck,” or Siliguri Corridor, according to Northeast Frontier Railway General Manager Chetan Kumar Srivastava. The announcement was made at a press conference reported on August 20, 2026. The Malda–New Jalpaiguri route was described as a crucial rail corridor linking India’s northeast with the rest of the country.

Srivastava said approval for the fourth line follows an earlier proposal for a third line, reflecting the corridor’s strategic importance. He also highlighted a proposed double-line underground railway project of about 29 kilometres from Tinmai Ghat to Bagdogra as an important infrastructure initiative.

The Chicken’s Neck is described as a 20–22 kilometre-wide and 60-kilometre-long stretch in northern West Bengal on which transport to the entire northeast depends. Track doubling is under way in the Barsoi section, while rail infrastructure is being expanded across the Katihar division to handle rising passenger and freight demand. Plans also include local trains from Jogbani, Radhikapur and Balurghat, and Vande Bharat services to Tinsukia and Agartala. NFR said its network is fully electrified.

US government debt has exceeded $40 trillion for the first time, according to US Treasury Department data cited by the Associated Press. The milestone was reported on August 20, 2026, as federal spending continues to rise on defence, social programmes and interest payments tied to budget deficits.

The debt reached $39 trillion only five months earlier, in March, meaning it grew faster than forecasts had anticipated. The report said lower revenue from Trump administration tariffs that were cancelled was among the factors accelerating borrowing, as expected revenue worth several billion dollars did not materialise.

The increase highlights tensions among Trump administration priorities, including higher defence spending and efforts to reduce energy and food prices. Defence spending is also required for Trump’s continuing war against Iran, adding pressure on the government’s wider finances. AP said US government debt has more than doubled in less than a decade, during which Donald Trump and Joe Biden both served as president, and has quadrupled in less than 20 years.

A commentary published by Amar Desh on August 20, 2026, questioned the delayed commissioning and operations tender for Bangladesh’s Single Point Mooring (SPM) project off Maheshkhali-Matarbari. The article says the offshore facility is intended to transfer oil from large tankers through pipelines to storage at Maheshkhali and then to Chattogram’s Eastern Refinery. It argues that the project remains uncommissioned after unsuccessful testing and calls for government intervention.

According to the article, the project was contracted in 2015 for about Tk4,936 crore and was due for completion by 2018. After three extensions, its cost reportedly rose to about Tk8,341 crore. The writer says a June 24, 2024 test involving roughly 82,000 tonnes of Saudi crude encountered a pipeline leak, spilling oil at sea. The article states that successful testing, commissioning and the project completion report have not been finalized.

The commentary alleges that the December 2025 operations and maintenance tender was restrictive, leaving one technically responsive bidder from three submissions. It urges a full independent test run, defect assessment, determination of prior contractor liabilities, review under procurement rules and, if needed, an open international retender for an experienced operator.

A floating LNG terminal operated by US company Excelerate Energy in the Bay of Bengal has shut down after running out of LNG cargo, reducing gas supplies and power generation. The disruption has led to increased load-shedding as electricity demand rises after sunset, according to the report published on August 20, 2026.

Petrobangla sources said the terminal’s stored supply was completely exhausted at about 2:40 pm on Wednesday because of the lack of LNG cargo. With less gas available for electricity generation, the power system has faced greater pressure during evening demand periods.

Residents in different areas of the capital reported multiple electricity interruptions after evening. Conditions were described as worse in rural areas, where load-shedding has added to public hardship during intense heat. The report identified the halted floating storage and regasification unit, or FSRU, as a key factor behind the reduced gas supply.

Bangladesh’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given in-principle approval to import 14 additional liquefied natural gas cargoes to keep gas supplies normal in the country. The decision was made at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury on Wednesday. The initiative is intended to serve the public interest by maintaining regular gas availability.

Separately, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved a proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division to import one LNG cargo. Singapore-based Aramco Trading Singapore Pte Ltd is scheduled to deliver the cargo between September 1 and 2 at a price of $23.93 per MMBtu. It will be the country’s 44th LNG cargo of the year.

Under the broader approval, the government will purchase a total of 14 cargoes directly from seven companies for state emergency needs, with two cargoes from each supplier. LNG import dependence has increased as gas demand has risen in industry, power generation, fertilizer production and other sectors. The government is pursuing supply through spot-market purchases, long-term contracts and emergency direct procurement.

Excelerate Energy’s floating LNG terminal at Maheshkhali stopped supplying gas from Wednesday afternoon after its LNG inventory was exhausted, according to the report published on August 19, 2026. Gas is currently being supplied to the national grid from Summit’s LNG terminal, which remains operational.

Petrobangla data showed total national gas supply at 2,289 million cubic feet at noon on Wednesday, including 1,628 million cubic feet from domestic wells and 661 million cubic feet from LNG. By 6pm, LNG supply had fallen to 562 million cubic feet, while domestic gas supply was about 1,627 million cubic feet. Total gas flow into the national transmission line consequently declined to 2,189 million cubic feet.

An official of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited said the final LNG stock at Excelerate’s terminal ran out around 2:40pm Wednesday, after which supply stopped. Officials said the main cause was a shortage of LNG cargoes. Confusion had earlier arisen over boiler repairs: Excelerate initially said activation would take 72 hours, then said the boiler was operational, but insufficient LNG stocks prevented continued supply.

Bangladesh’s Commerce Ministry has formed a two-member committee to investigate allegations of irregularities against the current board of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh, or REHAB. The committee was formed on Wednesday and has been instructed to complete its investigation and submit a report within 15 working days. Deputy Secretary Abdul Malek will convene the committee, while Deputy Secretary Mohammad Abdus Sadeq of the Central Digital Commerce Cell will serve as a member.

REHAB Vice-President Mohammad Akhtar Biswas and 10 other board members submitted an application to the director general of the Trade Organisations Wing on July 26. The application made 12 allegations, including financial irregularities, against REHAB President Ali Afzal and Senior Vice-President Abdur Razzak.

Joint Secretary Mostafa Jamal Haider held a hearing at the Commerce Ministry on July 30. Following the hearing, REHAB’s annual general meeting was postponed for 30 days, and the president was advised to discuss the complaints with the complainants within 15 days. The AGM scheduled for August 1 at Radisson Hotel was not held, while the August 12-15 summer housing fair was also temporarily postponed.

Bangladesh may see rainfall increase again nationwide between August 21 and 24 as the monsoon remains active, the Meteorological Department said. A land depression has weakened into a well-marked low over Jharkhand and adjoining Bihar in India and may merge with the monsoon trough, limiting its direct impact on Bangladesh.

Rainfall may ease somewhat on Thursday as the low weakens, although parts of Chattogram and Sylhet divisions could receive comparatively heavier rain. Elsewhere, isolated light to moderate rain or thundershowers with gusty winds are forecast. Recent rain caused waterlogging in low-lying areas of Chattogram, where 189 millimetres was recorded in 24 hours up to the morning of August 17, including 109 millimetres in the final three hours.

Authorities have withdrawn local cautionary signal number 3 at Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra ports as Bay conditions have become calmer. Vessels have nevertheless been advised to operate cautiously. Forecasters said rain could lower daytime temperatures after a recent rise and warned people in Chattogram, Sylhet, Barishal and Khulna to remain alert for heavy rainfall.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission held an online public hearing on telecommunications services and regulatory activities on Wednesday at its Agargaon headquarters in Dhaka. The hearing brought together customers, service providers, stakeholders and media representatives to raise concerns over service quality, network coverage, call drops, internet speed and prices, mobile data and voice charges, and customer service. BTRC said it is working to reduce the floor price for voice calls, currently set between 45 paisa and Tk2.

A total of 2,990 customers registered online between July 17 and 27, including 1,047 professionals, 638 students and 172 women. The largest number of submissions concerned tariffs, data speed and validity, data carry-forward, network coverage, SIM registration, NEIR, licences and service quality. BTRC said Teletalk is continuing network expansion, including in remote and difficult areas, through various projects.

The regulator said regular measurements found mobile-tower electromagnetic radiation well below national and international safety limits. It has also created a platform to monitor whether mobile towers are operating during power outages and issue instructions to operators. From July 2025 to June 2026, BTRC received 13,009 complaints and resolved 11,279, or 86.70 percent.

Bangladesh Bank has authorized Rupali Bank to release the remaining $3,197,561 from an approved foreign-currency syndicated loan to S Alam Group affiliate SS Power-1 Limited and to open new letters of credit. The central bank issued the notification on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, after previously permitting the company to open LCs on Sunday.

The notification, signed by Deputy Governor Md Kabir Ahmad, invokes powers under Section 121 of the Bank Company Act, 1991. It says Section 27ka(3) of the law will not apply to the loan disbursement and LC opening for SS Power-1. That provision ordinarily prevents a group entity from receiving new credit or credit facilities when the group is a loan defaulter.

Bangladesh Bank said neither the government nor the central bank will assume liability for any loan or financing provided under the facility. Lending banks or financial institutions will not be able to seek future financial support from the government or Bangladesh Bank against such loans. The source also cites allegations that S Alam Group took control of seven banks and one financial institution and borrowed heavily under various names.

Sugarcane cultivation is declining in Muksudpur upazila of Gopalganj as farmers lose interest amid what they describe as a lack of government support. The crop was once widely grown across the area, meeting local demand and being supplied to Dhaka and other parts of the country. Although farmers report good yields and prices, only 35 farmers are now involved in cultivation.

The upazila agriculture department set a target of growing sugarcane on 22 hectares this year, but cultivation has reached only 19 hectares. Farmer Md Idris Molla, who has grown sugarcane for 40 years, said the crop carries lower risk and offers higher profit than other crops, but growers receive little follow-up from the agriculture office. He called for free pesticides and fertiliser similar to support provided for other crops.

Farmer Moktar Sheikh said he cultivated one acre this year at a cost of Tk60,000 and expects about Tk80,000 in profit. He said growers must sell in markets because there is no sugar mill in the area. Agriculture officer Md Mizanur Rahman said the region is outside sugar-mill coverage, so no government incentives are available for growers.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has instructed suspicious transaction reporting entities to immediately provide information on frozen bank accounts and any accounts linked to them. The directive was issued on Wednesday, according to a report published on 19 August 2026.

Under the instruction, when an entity receives an order to suspend an account after filing a suspicious transaction report on it, it must promptly inform BFIU of the account’s current status. It must also submit information about other accounts associated with the suspended account.

The measure expands reporting beyond the individual account subject to a freeze. It is intended to give BFIU a broader picture of the financial transactions and accounts of people or institutions connected to suspicious activity. Relevant stakeholders believe the information could make it easier for the unit to identify and investigate potential money-laundering networks.

More than 500,000 barrels of Venezuela’s daily oil output are being sent to refineries across the United States, according to US Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Housetveit. He disclosed the figure at an energy conference in Texas on August 19, 2026. Venezuela produces about 1.25 million barrels of oil per day, meaning exports to the United States account for a substantial share of its production.

Housetveit said the US refineries receiving the crude were largely designed to process Venezuela’s heavy crude oil. He also said the United States is assisting Venezuela in increasing oil production and that both countries are benefiting from the process.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest oil reserves, but long-running investment shortages and US sanctions had limited its contribution to global demand. Oil production and exports have begun rising again since recent political changes and the formation of an interim government. International groups and research organizations have raised concerns over transparency in the use of oil-sale revenue and the exclusion of the main opposition party from talks with the interim government.