Bangladesh’s government plans to build and open 500 kilometres of expressways over the five years from July 2026 to June 2031, under a strategic framework prepared by the Planning Commission’s General Economics Division. The plan also includes initiatives to examine second bridges over the Padma and Jamuna rivers, improve rural roads, modernise public transport and strengthen road safety.

A national expressway network would link districts, ports, economic zones, border areas and the Asian Highway network through four-lane highways. About 3,000 kilometres of expressway corridors have been identified initially, with high-demand routes to receive priority. The government also plans feasibility studies for the second Jamuna and Padma bridges within one year, while listing bridges at Rajbari-Pabna, Meghna-Chandpur and Bhola-Barishal among proposed initiatives.

The framework calls for axle-load controls, road-safety legislation, driver training, vehicle fitness checks, tracking systems and CCTV monitoring at transport hubs. It also proposes electronic toll collection, shared parking, separate two-wheeler lanes, monorail feasibility work, bicycle sharing, pilot electric vehicles and regulated rickshaw zones and licensing.

Bangladesh’s Financial Institutions Division has ordered state-owned Janata Bank PLC to prepare a specific, measurable turnaround plan to address severe financial stress and irregularities. The instruction was issued at a high-level meeting with the bank’s board, managing director and other officials, chaired by Financial Institutions Division Secretary Nazma Mobarek. The bank was told to pursue priority targets over the next 12 to 24 months.

Officials said nearly 70 percent of Janata Bank’s total loans are now non-performing, while its capital base has become very weak and it is operating with a sharply negative net interest margin. A large share of bad loans is concentrated among a small number of influential clients. The bank was directed to identify these major accounts and create separate, time-bound resolution plans, with cash recovery treated as a distinct performance indicator.

The division also called for caution on new large loans, increased quality lending to SMEs, agriculture and productive sectors, and stronger internal controls, audits and compliance. Janata Bank must decide quickly whether to continue or orderly close its Dubai or UAE operation. Chairman M Fazlur Rahman said the bank had begun work under the division’s instructions.

Domestic and foreign experts urged Bangladesh to cancel unfair energy agreements, reduce import dependence and make better use of domestic resources to address its energy crisis. The calls came at a policy roundtable in a Dhaka hotel on Sunday afternoon, organised by the Institute of Policy, Governance and Advocacy for Development (IPGAD). Speakers said technical measures must be accompanied by strong political will, transparency and accountability to build a sustainable energy system.

SOAS University of London economist Mushtaq Khan said short-term supply problems and longer-term structural and production weaknesses had created the current situation. He said that during the Awami League government, paper electricity-generation capacity rose fourfold while costs increased 11-fold and capacity charges rose 20-fold. He argued that disputes over sovereign contracts should focus on proving corruption and irregularities at the time agreements were made, rather than ordinary international arbitration over unpaid bills.

Participants also stressed renewable energy, domestic gas exploration and local manufacturing capacity. BIISS research fellow Lam-Ya Mostak said energy had become a strategic resource and warned against replacing one import dependency with another through solar-panel imports. Other speakers raised concerns about quick rentals, LNG imports, budget deficits, foreign strategic control of energy infrastructure, competition failures and the need for policy changes toward affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly energy production.

Daily purchases through Bangla QR in Bangladesh have crossed Tk 100 crore for the first time, following mandatory adoption of the system from July 1. During the past week, Bangla QR recorded an average of 303,000 transactions a day, with average daily purchases worth Tk 110.38 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank assistant spokesperson Shahriar Siddiqui.

In early July, Bangla QR handled an average of 178,000 transactions daily, with purchases averaging Tk 37.33 crore a day. Within several weeks, the number of transactions nearly doubled while their financial value rose by nearly three times.

The requirement replaced conventional QR codes with Bangla QR at establishments of all types of ownership. Merchant acceptance has also expanded rapidly: the number of merchants accepting Bangla QR rose from about 1.6 million on July 1 to more than 3 million currently.

Iran has discovered more than 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in a gas field in the southern province of Fars, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said. Speaking to state television IRIB on Sunday, he said the field contains about 5.7 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, calculated on a recovery rate of 72 to 73 percent. The announcement came as Iran remains in an ongoing war with the United States.

The discovery could add to Iran’s already substantial gas reserves, though its commercial value will depend on whether the country can secure the investment and technology needed to develop the field. War, sanctions and the US blockade have placed Iran’s energy sector under pressure. According to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, Iran has around 34 trillion cubic metres of proven gas reserves, ranking second globally after Russia.

Despite its large reserves, Iran has faced regular gas shortages, power outages and disruptions to industrial production. After Israel and the United States began joint attacks against Iran on February 28, conditions became more difficult. Tehran said in July that attacks on energy infrastructure had reduced daily gas production by about 230 million cubic metres.

Bangladeshi expatriates sent $2.148 billion in remittances during the first 22 days of August, according to Bangladesh Bank data released on Sunday by Executive Director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan. At an exchange rate of Tk123 per dollar, the amount equals Tk264.204 billion in local currency.

The inflow was higher than the $1.711 billion received during the same August 1-22 period in 2025. Remittances increased by $437 million year on year, representing growth of about 25.52 percent, the central bank data showed.

From July 1 to August 22 of fiscal year 2026-27, total remittance receipts reached $5.006 billion, compared with $4.188 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. That marked an increase of $818 million, or 19.5 percent. Bankers attributed the rise to greater use of legal transfer channels, easier access to banking services and a simpler remittance process.

The Bangladesh government has appointed Md Abdur Rahman Khan on a contractual basis as alternate executive director for Bangladesh’s relevant constituency at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, United States. The appointment will run for three years from his date of joining, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Public Administration’s contract and foreign employment branch on Sunday.

The notification says Khan’s post-retirement leave and related benefits will remain suspended during the appointment. It also requires him to sever employment links with any other profession, business, government, semi-government, private institution or organisation before taking up the role.

The Ministry of Public Administration said the remaining terms of the appointment will be set through a contract agreement. The notification described the order as having been issued in the public interest. The report, published on August 23, 2026, did not specify Khan’s joining date or provide further details about the contractual conditions.

On August 23, 2026, onion growers in Salta upazila of Faridpur said they were facing mounting losses after a bumper harvest pushed market prices below production costs. Farmers reported production expenses of Tk1,500 to Tk2,000 per maund, while onions were selling for roughly Tk800 to Tk1,250. Many growers who stored onions for later sales said 40 to 50 percent of their stock was rotting on storage platforms.

The upazila agriculture office said more than 30,000 farmers cultivate onions on 90 to 95 percent of land during the season across eight unions. The onion cultivation target was 11,250 hectares, but cultivation reached about 11,500 hectares, alongside 200 hectares of murikata and 50 hectares for onion seed. Market visits found prices ranging from Tk800 to Tk1,300 per maund, with some farmers reportedly discarding onions in water after failing to secure fair prices.

Trader Md Masum Sardar attributed the weak market to high supply and low demand at wholesale hubs, although small onions sold for Tk1,600 to Tk1,800 per maund. Agriculture officer Ahsanul Habib Al Azad Jony said 800 farmers received free onion seed and fertiliser under an incentive programme. He said higher incentives and onion storage facilities would be raised with higher authorities.

Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said Bangladesh must increase fish production to meet public demand without compromising quality. He made the remarks on Sunday at Aquaculture Knowledge Day-2026, organised by Fishtech BD Limited at a hotel in the capital. He called for coordinated work by researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs to ensure safe food and improve the acceptance of Bangladeshi products in international markets.

The minister said Bangladesh does not currently face a major shortfall in food production, but producing high-quality food remains a major challenge. He said quality agricultural products are essential if the country wants to advance its economy through agricultural exports. About 75 percent of the population is directly or indirectly involved in agriculture, he said, adding that strengthening this group economically would help build a more stable national economy.

Amin Ur Rashid urged researchers to explore natural solutions that reduce dependence on antibiotics and vaccines, and warned against food-production methods that could harm long-term health. He said the government has begun research into rising heavy-metal contamination in soil, water and rice, including lead and arsenic. He also stressed reducing groundwater extraction for irrigation and considering the use of freshwater from rivers.

Bangladesh’s government is targeting a soft opening of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on December 16, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat said. Speaking to journalists at the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry at the Secretariat on Sunday, he said work on the terminal remains under way. He added that full operations could begin within a maximum of three months after the soft opening.

Millat said the Japanese side is expected to submit its bid by the 25th of this month. The bid will be evaluated in detail, and the government hopes to sign a contract by September. After that, he said, about three and a half months would remain to prepare for a possible soft opening.

The minister said the government would try to hold the soft opening within that period. However, if additional time is needed to complete the work properly, the deadline could be extended by one or two months. Despite that possibility, he said the government is still sticking to its December 16 target for the soft opening.

Operations at Ferdous Shipyard in Bhatiari, Sitakunda, Chattogram, have been halted across the entire yard following a worker’s death from toxic gas, raising fresh concerns about a severe crisis in the shipbreaking industry. The report, published on August 23, 2026, said business owners and entrepreneurs were concerned that investigations after the accident had brought all yard activities to a standstill.

Owners said several government investigation agencies had verbally instructed them to stop work throughout the yard, although it was unclear which authority had issued the instruction in writing. They said permits from agencies including the Department of Environment and the Department of Explosives for other vessels in the yard were nearing expiry, while renewal was not easy despite the shutdown.

Former Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recycling Association president Amjad Hossain Chowdhury said work on the vessel involved in the accident could remain suspended during the investigation, but questioned stopping work on other ships. He said active yards in Sitakunda had declined from 124 to 35-38 amid losses, bank debt and administrative complications. Owners also cited ongoing salary payments and accumulating bank interest as major financial pressures.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will soon impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods after tariff-related trade talks between Washington and Ottawa ended without an agreement. Carney said the measures, covering products including US steel, dairy and electronics, will take effect on September 8. He described the US proposal as economically irrational, unethical and unfair.

Carney said President Donald Trump had started a trade war and that Canada had come under attack. He said Canada could neither accept Washington’s proposed terms nor provide what the United States had demanded, arguing that the conditions would harm Canada’s overall interests.

The prime minister said the response would be based on a “dollar-for-dollar” approach against the United States. He presented the planned tariffs as a measure to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses following the failed negotiations.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said gas supply has begun returning to normal after repairs to the LNG terminal in Maheshkhali. He also said electricity load-shedding has started to decline. Rizvi made the remarks to journalists on Sunday morning after paying tribute at the graves of former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

Rizvi said the government was not responsible for the ongoing energy crisis, attributing the situation to war. He said a fault had developed at the Maheshkhali LNG terminal and that it had already been repaired. An LNG-filled cargo has also arrived, he said, increasing pressure in gas supply.

Addressing organisational matters, Rizvi said BNP would dissolve expired committees of its various affiliated organisations and form new ones. New leadership will be brought into responsibility in those bodies, he said. According to Rizvi, the process of restructuring the party’s affiliated organisations will continue.

Invest Bangladesh formally began operations on Sunday after the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority and Public-Private Partnership Authority were merged. The new body started its first working day following publication of the gazette under the Invest Bangladesh Act 2026. Operating under the Prime Minister’s Office, it was introduced as the country’s leading investment promotion agency and unveiled a new brand identity.

According to a press release, the authority brings investment facilitation, policy coordination, economic zone development and public-private partnership capacity under one institution. It said domestic and foreign investors will be able to receive assistance on investment opportunities and services across the country from a single point. The release noted that investors and partners had long sought a unified contact centre for coordinated engagement with the government on services, incentives and policies.

Chairman Ashik Chowdhury said the aim was not merely to merge three institutions, but to organise government work more effectively around investors. Invest Bangladesh will continue operating BanglaBiz, the single digital platform for investment services, and is working to implement a 14-day business licensing framework. It said a progress report on commitments announced in March will be released before the 180-day deadline expires.

Barishal’s Port Road hilsa wholesale market is receiving far less fish than expected during the peak season, according to a report published on August 23, 2026. While more than 1,000 maunds would normally arrive daily in peak season, current average arrivals are reported at no more than 100 maunds a day. Traders and workers at the market say the shortage has left the major hilsa trading centre largely empty.

Traders and fishers allege that increased tolls charged by leaseholders have encouraged sellers and wholesale buyers to bypass the market. Fishers are said to be selling catches at river mouths and other convenient locations, while buyers send hilsa to Chandpur, Jashore and northern districts. Leaseholder Kamal Hossain said the toll was raised from 280 to 380 taka per maund after a request to cover operating losses, denying that it was imposed forcibly or that anyone was assaulted over the issue.

Fish trader Nasir Uddin said up to 100 maunds arrived on Friday, with prices ranging from 800-900 taka per kilogram for jatka to 2,850 taka for 1.2-kilogram hilsa. District fisheries officer Md Hadiuzzaman said hilsa availability in rivers and estuaries is somewhat lower, citing submerged sandbars and banned nets as factors affecting fish movement, growth and production.