The death toll from a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake in eastern Indonesia rose to 47 after it struck early Saturday, injuring many others and damaging hundreds of homes and public facilities. The United States Geological Survey said the quake hit the Flores region at 5:58 a.m. local time on Saturday, with a depth of only 10 kilometers. Authorities reported that people in several areas fled their homes and took shelter on streets during the strong shaking.

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB, said 24 deaths were reported in Manggarai Regency, 17 in East Manggarai, three in Sikka, and one each in Ngada and Ende. The earthquake severely damaged 157 houses, moderately damaged 41 and lightly damaged 148. Damage was also reported at 87 educational institutions, 18 health centers, five places of worship and six government offices.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued tsunami warnings for several areas before later lifting them. Rescue teams continued recovering and treating injured people, while BNPB sent food and other essential relief supplies to affected areas. Nearly 2,000 people were moved to safer locations. Authorities recorded 111 aftershocks, including one measuring 6.1.

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said Bangladesh may need about two years to build the infrastructure required for a lasting exit from its ongoing gas crisis. Speaking to journalists after a workshop in Sylhet on Saturday afternoon, he acknowledged that gas shortages are disrupting production at industrial factories and said infrastructure development was essential for a permanent solution.

Muktadir said mills and factories across the country were suffering from the gas shortage and that the situation could not be denied. He said the current government had inherited the crisis rather than created it. According to the minister, the government is working beyond conventional approaches to address the energy shortage, while seeking time to establish the necessary infrastructure.

He said the government was also working on emergency measures alongside long-term construction. On possible LNG imports from Malaysia, Muktadir said Malaysia's smaller ships were currently deployed elsewhere, limiting the ability to bring gas quickly. He said the government was nevertheless trying to determine whether temporary steps could bring some improvement to the situation.

Five brick kiln owners in Lama upazila of Bandarban district were fined a total of Tk350,000 for cutting hills and endangering the environment. The penalties were imposed during inspections of brick kilns in different locations of the Raimyakhola area from Saturday afternoon to evening. Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Executive Magistrate Md Moin Uddin held a mobile court and issued the fines, according to a report published on August 15.

Sources said nearly 30 brick kilns had been established in various places in Faitong union without any permission. Their owners were allegedly cutting nearby hills and taking soil for brick production. The report identified this activity as causing environmental harm.

The mobile court fined the owners of DBM, MMB, MBI, UBM and ABC brick kilns. Md Moin Uddin said action would be taken in the future against anyone who damages the environment by establishing illegal brick kilns.

Prime Minister’s postal and telecommunications adviser Rehan Asif Asad said Bangladesh aims to bring 70 million people under mobile internet coverage within the next six to 12 months. He made the announcement on Saturday at a roundtable titled “Spectrum for a Connected Bangladesh: Enabling Internet for All,” organised by the Telecom and Technology Reporters Network Bangladesh at a hotel in the capital.

Asad said about half of the country’s roughly 140 million mobile phone users still use 2G or button phones. Moving those estimated 70 million users to smartphones overnight would not be possible, he said, but a gradual transition could be achieved through joint efforts. Work on the issue began two weeks before the budget, he added. Manufacturers said a phone could not be produced for Tk3,000, but could be made for Tk5,000 to Tk6,000.

He cited a roughly $39 Android phone sold by India’s Reliance, saying its combination of a smaller touchscreen and keypad reduced costs by about $6. Bangladeshi manufacturers have begun pursuing similarly low-cost smartphones. He urged mobile operators to work with manufacturers on co-branding and bundled voice and data packages.

Bangladesh’s SMW-5, one of the country’s main international submarine internet cables, resumed operation after being disconnected for about two and a half hours. Both eastern and western connections of the cable were fully cut at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 15, and service was restored at around 2 p.m. The restoration eased immediate fears of a major nationwide internet disruption.

During the outage, many customers experienced slower internet speeds, delays accessing foreign websites and servers, and temporary difficulties using online platforms. International server-based work, online meetings, gaming and file downloads were affected. Internet service providers had to divert traffic through alternative routes, while customers of providers able to move connections quickly to backup lines faced comparatively fewer problems.

Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC said it could not immediately provide an estimated repair time because it was awaiting information from the main consortium. An initial assessment suggested a possible problem with power supply or equipment at the landing station in Matara, Sri Lanka, but the final cause has not been confirmed. Bangladesh also has SMW-4 and multiple international terrestrial cable connections with India, which served as backup capacity. BSCPCL is awaiting the consortium’s final fault report.

The National Press Club held a qawwali evening on Friday, featuring performances by Bangladeshi qawwali and Sufi music artists Samir Qawwal and Syed Sajjad Hossain Arman with their teams. The programme began at 7pm and presented qawwalis in Urdu, Hindi and Bangla for the audience at the National Press Club.

The performers sang “Ali Ali Maula Ali,” “Parda Hai Parda,” “Amar Deho Mon Bole Nabi Nabi,” “Ishqe Nabi Dil Me Payda Karo,” “Damadum Mast Qalandar,” and “Khwaja Baba Khwaja Baba Marhaba Marhaba,” among other selections. The report said the performances captivated audience members.

Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan delivered the opening welcome address, while club President poet Hasan Hafiz declared the event open. Kader Gani Chowdhury, convenor of the special events and hospitality subcommittee, moderated the programme. Attendees included Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan MP, Professor Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain MP, former Dhaka University vice chancellor Professor Dr Anwarullah Chowdhury, and Manab Zamin editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, alongside several club management committee members.

Fish farmer Abul Kalam Kala of Bagmara village in Boxmahmud Union, Parshuram, Feni, has built a successful aquaculture operation by using feed he prepares himself. The report, published on August 15, 2026, says the locally made feed helps him control production costs while creating an opportunity to produce comparatively healthier fish.

Kalam began fish farming about 13 years ago after leasing a small pond in his village for Tk1,500. His farm now includes 19 small and large ponds covering about 5.66 hectares in Jamiargaon, Bagmara and Teteshwar villages. Rather than hybrid fish, he raises rohu, mrigal, kalibaush, catla, carpu, sarputi and grass carp. His feed includes oilcake, bran, husk, fishmeal and molasses.

Kalam says he sells fish fry of different species worth Tk3 million to Tk4 million each year. He said flooding in 2024 washed away fish from all his ponds, causing losses of about Tk6 million, but he resumed farming and recovered. Upazila fisheries officer Syed Mostafa Zaman said Kalam had set an example through skill, hard work and proper guidance.

The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BKMEA, has sought special payment relief for garment factories facing financial losses amid severe gas and power shortages. In a letter to Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem requested that gas and electricity bills for July and August be paid in 12 equal instalments instead of a lump sum.

BKMEA said production at most garment factories was seriously disrupted during July and August because of shortages of gas and electricity. It said the suspension of natural-gas supplies to industries through open cylinders or cascade cylinders prevented many factories from maintaining normal production. To keep operations running, factories had to rely on alternative fuels.

According to the association, many firms purchased diesel, LPG and other fuels at higher prices with cash, increasing production costs and straining cash flow. BKMEA said lower output and additional fuel expenses have caused significant financial losses, making one-time bill payments difficult. It urged relevant ministries and agencies to issue necessary instructions, saying instalment facilities could ease financial pressure and help maintain production and export operations.

Pineapple growers in Naogaon and Rangamatia unions of Fulbaria upazila in Mymensingh expect bumper production and sales this season. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, farmers may earn more than Tk125.64 crore by selling Jaldubi, Calendar and Honeyqueen pineapples. The area, adjacent to Madhupur upazila, relies heavily on pineapple cultivation as a source of farmers’ income.

The upazila agriculture office recorded pineapple cultivation on 750 hectares this season: 315 hectares of Jaldubi, 425 hectares of Calendar and 10 hectares of Honeyqueen. Jaldubi cultivation rose by 65 hectares from last year. Farmers are increasingly choosing Jaldubi because it requires less time, land and production cost while offering higher returns. It produces a full crop within one year, compared with about one and a half years for Calendar and Honeyqueen varieties.

Production from 315 hectares of Jaldubi is projected at about 25.2 million fruits, valued at Tk63 crore at an average Tk25 each. Calendar pineapple sales could generate Tk61.2 crore, while Honeyqueen and other varieties may bring Tk1.44 crore. Farmer Solman Sarker said he sold Tk11 lakh worth of fruit from three acres planted with 60,000 seedlings.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman said ensuring access to justice is part of guaranteeing human rights, and the state must enable citizens to exercise their inherent and universal rights. He made the remarks on Saturday morning at the opening of a two-day coordination meeting in Rajendrapur, Gazipur, for the “Accelerating Digital Legal Aid Services in Bangladesh” project, attended by judges, legal aid officers and other stakeholders.

The meeting discussed how to effectively deliver digital legal assistance to disadvantaged and marginalised communities. Participants focused on strengthening and coordinating 57 upazila legal aid committees and 413 union legal aid committees across nine districts. The effort aims to help poor people, women, persons with disabilities and other underserved groups obtain legal advice and assistance, including opportunities to resolve disputes through mediation before going to court.

The minister directed steps to recognise eight outstanding legal aid officers, one from each division, and 20 judicial officers nationwide. He said Bangladesh has about 4.5 million pending cases and aims to reduce the number significantly within a year through combined use of legal aid, mediation, digital technology and judicial work. The second day on August 16 will discuss training, records, reporting and areas for improving digital services.

Farmers and potato traders in Kalai upazila of Joypurhat are facing losses as weak demand and lower-than-expected prices discourage them from releasing potatoes stored in cold facilities. As of the second week of August, potatoes sold at cold-storage gates for Tk920 to Tk960 per 60-kilogram sack, against an estimated production, transport, sorting and storage cost of about Tk1,400. The average loss is about Tk460 per sack.

According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension, only about 22 percent of potatoes kept in cold storage had been released by the second week of August, while around 78 percent remained stored. At the same time last year, about 45 percent had been released. This year, potatoes were cultivated on 39,330 hectares in Joypurhat, producing about 930,000 tonnes. The district’s 22 cold storages hold about 215,982 tonnes.

Farmers need funds for land preparation, seedlings, fertiliser and labour during the aman rice season, but say their capital remains tied up in storage. Traders reported losses of Tk4,000 to Tk5,000 per truck and Tk50 to Tk55 per sack in some cases. Exporter Md Sujaul Islam said overseas demand was also weak. An agricultural official said higher-than-needed production had lowered prices and authorities were coordinating to improve the market.

Bangladesh Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said the country may take about two years to build the infrastructure needed to address its gas shortage. Speaking in Sylhet on August 15 after a workshop, he said conditions would become largely normal within the next two years once the required infrastructure is completed. He described the hardship facing industrial factories because of gas shortages as a long-standing inherited problem.

Muktadir said resolving the crisis requires increasing the capacity for gas imports and supply infrastructure. He said initiatives are being taken to raise liquefied natural gas imports. According to the minister, the coming two years are important for the industrial sector, and the government is also examining whether solutions beyond emergency and conventional arrangements can be used.

He cited a possible initiative involving Malaysia’s state energy company Petronas, under which LNG could be brought on large vessels and transferred at sea to smaller ships to increase supplies. The remarks followed a workshop on preparing district-level annual work plans for fiscal year 2026-27 and evaluating the previous year’s implementation under an agricultural development project using modern technology. Agricultural Department officials at different levels attended.

The death toll from a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday has risen to 38, according to an official from the country’s disaster management agency. The update was reported on August 15, 2026.

Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said at a news conference that 38 deaths had been confirmed. He said two people were seriously injured and 11 others sustained minor injuries in the earthquake.

Nearly 2,000 people moved to safer locations on their own after the quake, Suharyanto said. The reported death toll had previously been lower. Rescue and search operations remain under way, and authorities fear the number of fatalities could rise further.

France’s Constitutional Council on Friday blocked a bill that would have restricted social media use by children under 15. The court said the proposal interfered excessively with freedom of expression and communication and did not provide sufficient legal safeguards for personal privacy. The decision was seen as a political setback for President Emmanuel Macron, who had previously instructed the government to redraft the measure.

Under the parliamentary-approved bill, children under 15 would have been barred from opening new social media accounts from September 1. Platforms would also have been required to close existing accounts within four months. The proposal required age verification through methods approved by France’s data protection regulator.

The court said the bill did not clearly define the conditions or limits for collecting and storing information used to prove users’ ages. The Elysee Palace said the Macron government remains determined to introduce revised legislation on social media regulation ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok gave no immediate comment after the ruling.

Hackers breached computer systems used by France’s tax administration and land registry in two separate cyberattacks in June and July, authorities said Friday. The Directorate General of Public Finances, or DGFiP, said the first attack compromised data from at least 678,000 individual and professional accounts. A second attack in July stole information from 200,000 land registry accounts.

The stolen tax-related data included names, income-related information and tax rates paid. A hacking group called Zerobytes had previously claimed responsibility in a dark-web forum. The group said it gained access through a virtual private network used by tax officials. Zerobytes claimed it took data from 250,000 land registry accounts linked to about 2 million people who own land and property.

The authority’s figure for affected land registry accounts is lower than the group’s claim. Zerobytes has also been linked to several previous cyberattacks on French government computer systems. In April, a major attack on ANTS, the agency responsible for identity-document applications and management, affected data of about 12 million individuals and professionals. France’s Finance Ministry also reported in February that information from 1.2 million bank accounts had been stolen in a major security breach.