Police detained 23-year-old Tamim with a pistol at a roadside rally of Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam Rita outside Uttara Ganabhaban in Natore on Friday, 7 August. Tamim was identified as the son of late BNP leader and fertilizer dealer Shamsul Alam. Police took him into custody during the afternoon event.

Police and witnesses said Tamim, wearing brown clothing, was moving around the gathering suspiciously with the pistol. Government parliamentary whip Advocate M Ruhul Quddus Talukdar Dulu, district council administrator Rahim Nawaz, and leaders of the district BNP and affiliated organisations were present. Tamim lives with his family in Natore municipality’s Kanaikhali area and oversees his late father’s fertilizer dealership.

Natore Sadar police station officer-in-charge Md Mansur Alam said the minister bumped into Tamim twice while leaving the stage, prompting police to question him and recover the pistol. Tamim said the weapon was licensed in his father’s name and that he carried it for personal protection. He also described himself as a student. Police said further details would be provided later.

Baul artist Peheli Bhairabi was among at least nine people killed when two passenger buses collided head-on in Kashikapan, Osmaninagar, Sylhet. The crash involving Unique Paribahan and Bengal Paribahan occurred on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at about 7:30am on Friday, August 7. Eight people, including Bhairabi, died at the scene, while a child later died during treatment at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Bhairabi, described as a popular Baul artist from Kishoreganj, was returning to Bhairab on a Unique Paribahan bus after performing at a Baul music event at Chhabal Shah shrine in Rampasha Bairagibazar, Bishwanath. A day before her death, she had invited people through a Facebook post to attend that event. Saiful Islam, one of five friends from Kuliarchar returning after visiting Sylhet shrines, was also killed; Farukul Islam and Abdul Latif were injured.

Other identified victims included Saptam Ray Pritam, 22, of Sylhet city, and three-year-old Jaifa of Bikrampur, Dhaka. All the dead and injured were Unique Paribahan passengers. Osmaninagar police said rescue operations began after officers reached the site, injured people were sent to hospital, and bodies were being identified for handover to relatives.

RAB has arrested Mustakim, an accused in the high-profile murder case of Md Abdullah in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj, from Narayanganj. He was detained in a joint operation by RAB-9 CPC-3 Shaistaganj and RAB-11 early Friday. Mustakim is the son of Abdul Ahad from Atghar village in Mirzapur union of neighbouring Sreemangal upazila. He had been living at his maternal uncle’s home in Khojargaon village, Bhadeshwar union of Bahubal.

According to RAB and local sources, Abdullah was allegedly killed in a planned attack in Khojargaon on the evening of July 4 over disputes involving women and land. His brothers, Abdul Kadir and Abdus Salam, were seriously injured with sharp weapons when they tried to protect him. Abdul Kadir filed a murder case at Bahubal Model Police Station against 12 people, naming neighbour Husn Ali as the main accused.

RAB had previously arrested two other accused, Abdul Malek and Billal Mia, during the investigation. RAB said Mustakim was arrested in a special operation after remaining absconding for a long time. Following initial questioning, he was handed over to Bahubal Model Police Station for further legal action. Officer-in-Charge Md Ruhul Amin Talukdar said he was sent to court after legal procedures.

Rapid Action Battalion-10 arrested a woman with 1,300 yaba pills during an operation near the Daulatdia ferry terminal in Goalanda upazila of Rajbari, the force said. The operation was conducted around midnight on Thursday in the area adjacent to the ferry terminal. RAB-10 Assistant Director for Media, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Tapan Sarkar, confirmed the matter on Friday afternoon, August 7.

The detainee was identified as 40-year-old Najma Begum, daughter of Amir Hossain of Istanpur Bhatapara in Darshana police station area of Chuadanga. Sarkar said RAB conducted the operation based on secret information and arrested her with the yaba pills. RAB also said she is a named accused in a narcotics case filed at Kushtia Sadar police station.

According to RAB, preliminary questioning indicated that Najma Begum had long collected yaba and other narcotics from border areas and supplied them to Rajbari and other parts of the country. She and the recovered drugs were handed over to Goalanda Ghat police station for a case under the Narcotics Control Act.

Sri Lankan authorities are investigating unrest and violence at five prisons after at least three inmates were killed. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told parliament on Friday that incidents had recently occurred at Negombo, Mahara, Magazine, Kuruwita and Pallansena prisons, raising suspicions of coordinated action, possible sabotage and a broader conspiracy.

Wijepala said the incidents, considered together, appeared to be planned sabotage and part of a conspiracy. Preliminary investigations indicated that activities by drug and criminal networks could be the immediate cause of the unrest. Authorities said they were examining whether the incidents shared the same planning or coordinated operation.

At Pallansena prison on Friday, inmates climbed onto a roof and began protesting before police used tear gas to restore control; the reason for the protest was not immediately known. Tensions also spread at Kuruwita, where at least two people were killed and more than a dozen injured. On Thursday night, about 40 inmates left a ward at Magazine prison, where one inmate was killed and 10 others were hospitalized.

A 20-year-old local man, Yasin Arafat, died after entering the sea to swim at Sugandha Point on Cox’s Bazar beach on Friday morning, August 7. The incident occurred at about 10 a.m. Arafat was the son of Alim Hossain of Peshkar Para in ward 3 of Cox’s Bazar municipality.

Mahbub Alam, supervisor of the district administration’s beach workers, said Arafat and several local friends had entered the sea in the morning. He was swept away by strong waves, and lifeguards at the site responded after hearing his friends shout. They recovered him in critical condition.

Arafat was taken to Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital, where the emergency-duty doctor declared him dead. Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model Police Station officer-in-charge Sheikh Mohammad Ali said a police team inspected the site after receiving the report. The body has been kept at the district hospital morgue, and legal action is being taken. A tourist from Khulna, Helal Uddin, remains missing after being swept away at the same beach on July 24.

An 11-year-old madrasa student, Farhad Hossain Ashraf, died after being electrocuted while trying to retrieve a cricket ball from a tin roof in Lohagara, Chattogram. The incident occurred around 8am on Friday at Talimul Quran International Madrasa and Masuma Foundation Orphanage near Neyajertek in Amirabad Sadar Union.

Farhad was a student in the hifz department of the institution and the son of Omar Faruk of Miajipara in Kalaoujan Ward No. 8. Local sources said he had been playing cricket with friends when the ball landed on the tin roof. He climbed onto the roof to collect it.

According to local accounts, the tin and electricity came into contact, electrocuting the boy. Residents rescued him and took him to the উপজেলা Health Complex, where the attending doctor declared him dead. Lohagara police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdullah said the student’s body was recovered and handed to his family after legal procedures were completed.

A parked passenger bus operated by Capital Transport Service caught fire at the bus stand in Kaliakair, Gazipur, on Friday afternoon. No casualties were reported, but the blaze caused extensive damage to the vehicle’s engine, electrical equipment and interior decoration. The bus, owned by Anwar Member and registered as Dhaka Metro-B-15-5123, was parked at the Kaliakair bus stand on the Dhaka-Tangail highway.

Witnesses said smoke was seen coming from the stationary bus before the fire quickly spread across its front section. Local residents and transport workers tried to control the flames by pouring water on the vehicle. Their swift response prevented the fire from spreading further, although the bus sustained major damage before it was brought under control.

Transport worker Rahim Mia said he could not understand how the fire started while the vehicle was parked. Dewan Jasim Uddin, joint general secretary of the Gazipur District Road Transport Workers Union, said the incident could have involved hostile activity and that workers were considering filing a general diary with police. Kaliakair police station officer-in-charge Shahidul Islam said an engine short circuit was initially suspected, while the actual cause remains under investigation.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General and former MP Mia Golam Parwar expressed deep grief over two separate road crashes in Bogura and Osmaninagar, Sylhet, that killed at least 15 people and seriously injured 34. In a condolence message sent to the media on August 7, he offered sympathy to bereaved families and prayed for the quick recovery of those receiving hospital treatment.

Parwar said seven people died after a bus lost control on the Bogura-Naogaon highway on Friday morning and ran over workers waiting for employment. Another eight people were killed when two passenger buses collided head-on at Kashikapan on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. He described the deaths as heartbreaking and painful, saying such repeated loss of life on the roads was unacceptable.

He attributed recurring road accidents to uncontrolled speed, poor road conditions and a lack of effective oversight. Parwar called on the authorities to conduct proper investigations into both crashes, take strict legal action against those responsible, provide appropriate compensation to affected families, and ensure proper medical treatment for the injured.

The Chhattisgarh High Court has denied bail to retired IAS officer Jivankishore Dhruv in an alleged examination paper leak case involving the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission. The court said leaking, or attempting to leak, questions for competitive examinations is an offence more serious than murder because it jeopardises the futures and careers of millions of job seekers. Dhruv was serving as CGPSC secretary during the period covered by the allegations.

Irregularities have been alleged in CGPSC examinations held between 2020 and 2022, and the CBI is investigating the matter. The agency arrested Dhruv in September 2025 on allegations of involvement in the leak. Investigators allege that he gave examination questions to his son, who subsequently succeeded in the PSC process and was appointed an additional district magistrate.

Dhruv denied the allegations, arguing that he was being targeted because he was the PSC secretary at the time. Justice Bibhu Datta Guru reserved the order after a hearing on July 31 and announced the decision on Wednesday. The court said the allegations against the retired officer could not be treated as ordinary, citing the wider social impact of ruined careers.

At least nine people were killed and several others injured after two passenger buses collided head-on on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Kashikapon, Osmaninagar upazila of Sylhet. The crash occurred at about 7am on Friday between a Unique Paribahan bus travelling from Sylhet to Dhaka and a Bengal sleeper coach travelling from Dhaka to Sylhet. Several injured passengers were reported to be in critical condition.

Among those killed at the scene were Unique Paribahan passenger Saiful Islam, 50, from Goborina Lakshmipur village in Kuliarchar, Kishoreganj, and Safi Mia of Kuliarchar. Jaifa Islam, 3, daughter of Jahangir Sheikh of Dhaka’s Bikrampur, and Saptam Ray Pritom, 22, son of Uttam Ray from Sobhanighat in Sylhet city, were declared dead after being taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Fire service personnel, police and highway police conducted rescue operations and sent injured people to hospitals. The bodies were handed over to Sherpur Highway Police custody. Police said traffic on the highway was later restored, both buses were seized, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

At least six people were killed and 15 injured in a shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai district, on Bangkok’s northwestern outskirts, Thailand. National police spokesperson Trairong Piwphan said the incident occurred on Friday. The suspected gunman was also killed in the incident.

Police identified the suspected attacker as a student, but provided no further details. State broadcaster Thai PBS reported that the dead included three teachers and three students. The source did not provide further information about the suspected attacker or the circumstances of the shooting.

An 18-year-old student told Reuters that he initially thought the sounds were fireworks or someone striking an object. He said he did not first realize they were gunshots, describing multiple shots that stopped and then began again. The report cited Al Jazeera as its source.

A report published by Amar Desh on August 7, 2026 said extortion has spread across Dhaka's footpaths, markets, transport, auto-rickshaws, river terminals, waste management and large businesses. It alleged that people who refuse to pay face assault, threats and harassment. The report identified Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Pallabi, Bhashantek, Keraniganj and Jatrabari among areas where the situation has generated public fear.

Police Headquarters data showed 696 extortion cases nationwide and 823 arrests from January through May this year. Dhaka Metropolitan Police recorded 236 extortion cases in the capital between February and May. DMP sources said 122 killings occurred in Dhaka through June. According to the report, investigations have pointed to political dominance, internal disputes, land-grabbing businesses and extortion as factors behind killings.

Citing information from agencies and local sources, the report said names of 329 influential figures emerged as alleged patrons of about 1,200 extortionists. Experts called for dismantling illegal economic structures, ensuring transparency and accountability in urban management, strengthening the rule of law, and conducting impartial investigations and trials in every killing.

Pakistan’s military media wing said 10 militants were killed in two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Inter-Services Public Relations, or ISPR, issued the statement on Friday, reporting on two clashes that occurred a day earlier. The report was published on August 7, 2026.

ISPR described those killed as India-backed “Fitna al-Khawarij,” a term Pakistan uses for members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It said a group of militants attempted to attack a security forces checkpoint in the Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan.

According to the military statement, troops foiled the attempted attack and killed eight militants in the ensuing exchange of fire. ISPR said two more militants were killed in another clash in Dir district. It also said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the dead, whom it alleged had been actively involved in numerous militant activities.

A Sylhet court has sentenced Zakir Hossain, the main accused in the murder case of four-year-old Fahima Akhtar, to death and fined him Tk 500,000. Judge Abu Ubaida of the Sylhet Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. Two other accused, Zainal Abedin and Md Abul Kalam, were acquitted after the allegations against them were not proven.

Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court Public Prosecutor Advocate Badrul Islam Chowdhury confirmed the verdict. He said the court ordered that Zakir be executed by hanging. The judgment stated that the death sentence would be carried out subject to approval by the High Court.

According to case records, on May 7 Zakir, a neighbour, allegedly took Fahima from Sonatola village in Sylhet Sadar upazila to his home on the pretext of bringing cigarettes. The allegation says she was raped and strangled after losing consciousness. Her body was allegedly hidden in a suitcase for two days and later dumped in a pond in the Badaghat area. A murder case was filed at Jalalabad police station on May 8, and police submitted charges against Zakir and his two brothers 33 days later.