Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary asked West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to open all gates of the Farakka Barrage as Ganges water levels rise and flooding affects Bihar. Choudhary said he made the request during a telephone conversation with Adhikari on Sunday, according to a post on X.

Choudhary said opening the barrage gates would help normalize the Ganges flow and assist efforts to control Bihar’s flood situation. He said Adhikari assured him that prompt action would be taken, adding that Bihar’s safety was the state government’s highest priority.

Separately, JDU MP Sanjay Jha called for Bihar’s interests to be considered before renewal of the 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganges water-sharing treaty, which he said completes 30 years in December. The treaty governs dry-season water distribution at Farakka. India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, while negotiations over Teesta water sharing have yet to produce an agreement.

Dollar prices are declining in Bangladesh as supply exceeds demand, with the interbank rate falling by Tk1.24 over the past two weeks. On Monday, dollars traded at Tk122.56 in the interbank market, while banks sold cash dollars at Tk124. Money changers, however, said they want to buy each dollar at Tk125.50 and sell it at Tk126.50.

The Money Changers Association of Bangladesh made the request for this rate at a press conference on Monday. Association president MS Zaman said money changers mainly obtain dollars from returning expatriates and people bringing foreign currency from abroad. He said neither the central bank nor commercial banks supply foreign currency to money changers.

Zaman said money changers are blamed for market instability whenever the dollar rate rises, although they do not have the authority to control the foreign-exchange market. He also alleged that Bangladesh Bank treats them unfairly. According to him, Bangladeshis abroad can easily learn international dollar rates, making it unrealistic to expect them to sell their hard-earned foreign currency at lower prices.

Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department said rainfall is likely to increase somewhat across the country for two to three days from Wednesday as the monsoon becomes more active. The low-pressure system’s influence may clear from Bangladesh from Tuesday, while humid Bhadra-season heat is expected to continue despite intermittent rain.

On Monday, rainfall was most pronounced in Chattogram division, with 80 millimetres recorded at Maijdee Court in Noakhali and 73 millimetres at Kutubdia in Cox’s Bazar. Dhaka received 5 millimetres of rain, while scattered rainfall elsewhere was limited. Daytime temperatures fell compared with the previous day, reaching 34.4 degrees Celsius in Saidpur and 32 degrees in the capital.

The department said the low-pressure system had moved northwest to Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Jharkhand. For Tuesday and the following day, it forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers with gusty winds in many areas of Rangpur, Chattogram, Sylhet and other divisions, with moderately heavy rainfall possible in isolated places. No heavy to very heavy rain is forecast within the next week.

Prime Bank PLC organized a seminar at Central Women’s University (CWU) to raise student awareness of financial inclusion, financial literacy, responsible money management, career development and women’s financial empowerment. Held under the bank’s PrimeAcademia initiative, the event was titled “Financial Inclusion: Engaging and Inspiring Youth in Banking” and was arranged with support from the Central Women’s University Business Club.

Prime Bank Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Liability and Women Banking Shaila Abedin said women’s financial inclusion involves financial independence, confidence, decision-making ability and leadership development, not only access to banking services. She urged students to develop financial knowledge alongside academic and professional skills. Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Inclusion and School Banking M M Mahbub Hasan discussed balancing income and expenses, regular savings, informed decisions and long-term financial discipline.

Hasan also described the bank’s sign-language video-call service and Braille books and accessible banking materials for visually impaired customers. CWU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Parveen Hasan praised the initiative and stressed practical financial and career skills. The programme included student questions, group discussions and awards for participating high-achieving students.

Bangladesh’s State Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Sheikh Faridul Islam called for stronger regional cooperation among South Asian countries to confront climate-change risks and protect the environment. He made the appeal on Monday at the South Asia Regional Climate Cooperation meeting at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka, attended by climate experts, policymakers, researchers, development workers, journalists and youth representatives.

Sheikh Faridul Islam said climate impacts cross national borders and require coordinated policymaking with neighbouring countries. He cited government measures including planting 250 million trees and initiatives to control pollution. He also stressed cooperation on fair river-water shares and cross-border environmental challenges, saying rivers including the Buriganga, Shitalakkhya, Turag and Balu cannot be protected unless pollution sources are stopped.

Speakers urged stronger climate diplomacy, shared river management and action against transboundary air pollution. They also highlighted renewable energy, green connectivity, knowledge and technology exchange, and joint bargaining capacity for international climate finance. The prime minister’s special assistant on environment, forests and climate change, Dr Md Saimum Parvez, called for making SAARC and BIMSTEC more active, while participants said political will and dialogue are essential for resolving cross-border challenges.

The debate over whether Pluto should again be called a planet has resurfaced 20 years after the International Astronomical Union reclassified it as a dwarf planet in August 2006. The IAU decision followed growing questions about Pluto’s status, especially after discoveries of similar distant objects beyond Neptune and the July 2005 discovery of Eris, which is comparable in size to Pluto and farther from the Sun.

The IAU established three conditions for planet status: an object must be nearly round through its own gravity, orbit the Sun, and gravitationally clear its orbital neighbourhood. Pluto meets the first two but not the third, because it shares its region with many Kuiper Belt objects and has an orbit linked with Neptune. Critics argue that the clearing requirement contains ambiguities and has shifted public discussion away from Pluto’s scientific features.

Washington University in St. Louis planetary astronomer Paul Byrne says Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Makemake and Haumea should be considered planets. He favors classification based on an object’s physical and geological nature, while acknowledging that any reversal should rest on scientific grounds rather than nostalgia or nationalism.

A local union parishad member has been accused of extracting sand from the beach area of Char Heyar, a prospective tourist destination in Rangabali upazila of Patuakhali. The sand was allegedly used to build embankments for fish enclosures and for sale. A video obtained by Amar Desh reportedly shows workers loading sand from the coastal sandbar onto a trawler, with another trawler positioned nearby after one was loaded.

Local sources identified Saidul Pyada as the union parishad member for Ward No. 6 of Rangabali Union. Trawler staff member Manju Biswas said the sand was taken for an embankment at Saidul Member’s fish enclosure and claimed the extraction caused no problem because the site had since been filled. When asked again, he said the sand was for constructing a cowshed, while denying allegations that it was sold.

Char Montaj beat officer Nasir Uddin said he later collected Saidul’s phone number and spoke to him, and that Saidul admitted taking sand. He said legal proceedings were under way. Saidul said he would meet the reporter in the evening, but no detailed statement was obtained later. Rangabali Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Nazmul Hasan said he was on leave and would learn about the matter before commenting.

India’s High Commissioner to Dhaka, Dinesh Trivedi, said political tensions between Bangladesh and India would persist but would not affect the economy. He made the remarks to journalists after a meeting with Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir at about 11am on Monday. Trivedi said relations between the two countries would improve further in the future.

The high commissioner said politics would follow its own course, while Bangladesh and India must continue advancing their relationship. He described the people of both countries as highly talented and said young people in Bangladesh and India have many aspirations. He said it is everyone’s responsibility to do what is necessary to help fulfil those aspirations.

Trivedi said Bangladesh and India are two independent and sovereign countries, with neither being larger nor smaller than the other. He said both sides are equal and should continue working on the basis of that equality. The source did not provide details of the discussions held with the commerce minister or specify any economic initiatives arising from the meeting.

A rapidly spreading wildfire in western Nevada prompted officials on Sunday to order residents to leave homes near Reno as the Hawk Fire moved toward the city. Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told CNN that about 42,000 people had already moved to safety, while another 45,000 were told to prepare for rapid evacuation. Governor Joe Lombardo declared an emergency in Washoe County.

Within a day of igniting, the fire had burned about 15,040 acres, or 6,087 hectares. By Sunday afternoon, it was burning about 5 miles, or 8 kilometers, northwest of Reno. Local media reported that several homes on hilltops had burned. Six people were injured, including three emergency workers, while the federal InciWeb wildfire monitoring website described conditions as very severe.

Fire service chief Richard Edwards urged residents to be ready to leave as soon as evacuation instructions were issued, or earlier if possible. He said the fire was highly changeable and that wind was driving its rapid spread, potentially allowing flames to reach residential areas quickly. Images posted by the local fire service showed flames on hills near Reno and thick smoke across the sky.

Iran’s rial fell to a record low in the open market on Sunday, with the price of one US dollar surpassing two million rials for the first time. The rate was also described as exceeding 200,000 tomans per dollar. The report said the rial had lost more than 7 percent against the dollar in less than a week amid war and sanctions involving the United States.

Market concern has increased over the prospect of new US sanctions and the stalled state of diplomatic talks with Washington. Uncertainty has emerged around Iran’s oil exports, foreign-exchange reserves and international financial transactions. The open-market depreciation could raise prices for imported food, medicine, industrial raw materials and machinery.

As inflationary pressure grows, people are turning toward assets such as US dollars and gold, according to the report. The Iranian government is also considering raising fuel prices to address economic pressure. Such a move could further increase living costs and create renewed public dissatisfaction in the country.

China has postponed the uncrewed Chang’e-7 lunar mission, a research expedition linked to Beijing’s plan to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030. The China Manned Space Agency said after a comprehensive assessment that the Long March-5 rocket mission did not meet launch conditions and could not be launched within its scheduled window this year. The announcement was reported from Beijing on August 24, 2026.

The agency said the delay was based on principles of caution, reliability and ensuring mission success. It did not specify which launch requirements had not been met or announce a new launch date. Chang’e-7 had been intended to search for water at the Moon’s south pole, and media reports had said it could launch over the weekend or on Monday.

The spacecraft and rocket had been moved to the launch pad at Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Hainan province. The postponement came less than two weeks after a Long March-7A rocket carrying a Zhongxing-4B communications satellite experienced an abnormality during flight and exploded. Authorities said the cause of that failure was under investigation.

A breach in the Khowai River embankment in Kaliganj, Habiganj Sadar, flooded at least 20 villages after heavy upstream rain and hill runoff raised water levels overnight. The breach began on Sunday morning at a repair site that the Water Development Board had not fully restored for about one and a half months. Water entered residential areas, submerging cropland and sweeping through ponds and fisheries.

The same embankment failed around 9pm on July 9, flooding at least 30 villages, with residents saying the damage then amounted to hundreds of crores of taka. Local people had alleged slow work and irregularities in the repair project, arguing that timely restoration and permanent protection measures could have prevented another breach. Resident Ershad Ali said people were still struggling after the previous flooding when the embankment broke again.

Residents, including children, elderly people, women and livestock owners, were seen seeking safer places as homes went underwater. Water reached the Dhuliakhal-Mirpur road at about 3pm, and traffic could stop if levels rise further. Water Development Board Executive Engineer Saidur Rahman said the Khowai at Balla point was flowing 130 centimetres above the danger level.

Thousands of people have converged on Cheporor village in Kenya’s West Pokot County after reports of gold found in river sand triggered a two-week rush. The surge followed a discovery by 33-year-old goat herder Manase Lomacha, who found a three-gram piece of gold while searching for lost goats and later sold it for 36,000 Kenyan shillings. The report was published on 24 August 2026.

Local authorities said the village’s population of prospectors peaked at about 10,000, including people from other parts of Kenya and neighbouring Uganda. Deputy Commissioner Samuel Kiari said a group of young people first found a significant amount of gold, followed by another large discovery by women the next day. Small gold traders reportedly receive about 100 sellers daily.

Authorities have not confirmed that the shiny material being recovered is gold, nor has the existence of a specific or large gold deposit in the area been proven. More than 200 temporary shops selling food, water and basic goods have opened, creating income opportunities. However, the influx has strained local infrastructure, causing severe drinking-water shortages and growing health risks due to inadequate sanitation.

Six months after taking office, Bangladesh’s BNP government has yet to show visible progress toward its election pledge of creating 10 million jobs over five years, according to the report published on August 24, 2026. Government plans prioritize jobs in Chinese and Japanese economic zones, reopening jute mills, and a proposed nationwide Employment Exchange, but officials said these initiatives remain at discussion and planning stages.

No ministry could provide reliable, consolidated data on how many new jobs have been created during the government’s first six months. The report cites at least 20,000 garment-sector workers losing jobs in the first half of the year, while industrial police data show about 457 factories closed between June 2024 and June this year. The textile industry group BTMA said more than 900 textile mills had fully shut because of gas shortages.

Private-sector credit growth fell to 4.47 percent at the end of June, the lowest level in records maintained since 2003, Bangladesh Bank data showed. Officials said an Employment Exchange committee has held four stakeholder meetings and will initially launch the system on a small scale after preparing a concept paper.

Oil prices fell in Asian trading on Monday morning as investors awaited details of possible new US sanctions on Iran. Brent crude futures dropped by more than 1% to $93.45 a barrel, while US crude futures also declined by more than 1% to $86.14 a barrel. The report was published on August 24, 2026.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously said an “economic D-Day” was coming for Iran. He was scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday afternoon regarding the announcement of new sanctions against Iran. Investors were watching Washington’s expected announcement closely.

The scope and nature of the potential sanctions had not yet been fully clarified. Their possible effect on Iran’s oil exports and supplies to international markets has become an important issue for the oil market. Market participants were awaiting further information on whether the measures would affect Iranian crude flows and global supply.