Bangladesh’s Election Commission has warned that overseas Bangladeshis applying to become voters will have their applications cancelled if they do not follow the process or respond to commission messages. A directive cited on August 4, 2026 said the commission will wait one week, or seven days, for a relevant person’s text-message response or return call. The information came from a directive associated with Mohammad Al-Mamun, deputy director of the National Identity Registration Wing.

After biometric information is collected, the relevant upazila or police-station election officer may call an applicant’s mobile number multiple times if necessary. If contact cannot be made by phone, the officer will send an SMS. Applicants have seven days to respond after the SMS is sent.

If no response is received within that period, the election officer will independently send an application-cancellation message through the CMS account, automatically cancelling the application. Overseas voter registration and NID distribution are currently operating at 24 missions in 14 countries. NID activities are also awaiting launch in Sweden, Bahrain, Singapore, Norway and Finland.

The 11-party alliance plans nationwide sit-in demonstrations on Thursday to protest oil and gas shortages, alleged ghost electricity bills, deteriorating law and order, and steep rises in essential commodity prices. In all metropolitan areas and districts, the alliance will hold demonstrations outside district administration offices and submit memorandums to the prime minister.

In Dhaka, the alliance will stage a sit-in at Muktangan at 11 a.m. on the same day before proceeding toward the Secretariat of the relevant ministry. The program was announced following a meeting of senior leaders of the 11-party alliance on Monday.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar called on people across the country to implement the announced program. He made the appeal in a statement sent to the media on Tuesday. Hamidur Rahman Azad, the alliance coordinator and Jamaat assistant secretary general, informed the media about the statement.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed officials to prepare a complete, accurate and transparent list of farmers across the country by December. He issued the instruction at a farmer card-related meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division at the Secretariat on Tuesday, according to Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu. The list is to be compiled through verification and scrutiny to safeguard farmers’ rights.

The prime minister said farmer cards, carrying photographs and QR codes, should store information on each farmer’s identity, agricultural production, government assistance and agricultural markets. He instructed officials to design the cards with these requirements in mind. The meeting was told that work to open bank accounts for farmers has already begun.

The farmer card programme was introduced to help subsidies, easy-term loans, incentives and other government benefits reach genuine farmers quickly and easily. After necessary preparations are completed, cards will be distributed to farmers in phases. The scheme is set to benefit 4.3 million farmers in the current fiscal year, with plans to bring about 20 million farmers under the programme within the next three years.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said bilateral relations between Iran and Iraq are currently at their highest level. He made the remarks on Monday night in Najaf, Iraq’s holy city, according to comments published by Iran’s state news agency IRNA.

Araghchi said Tehran’s relationship with the Iraqi government was in its best condition. He also said recent discussions during the Iraqi prime minister’s visit to Tehran had been highly productive.

The foreign minister said cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad is not limited to politics. He cited coordinated positions on various shared issues as well as close cooperation in the economic and security sectors. Against a changing geopolitical situation in the Middle East, the close Iran-Iraq relationship is viewed as an important part of regional diplomatic and security cooperation.

Two journalists were injured during clashes between activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir outside Government Madrasa-e-Alia in Bakshibazar, Dhaka. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, August 4, when a reciprocal chase between the two sides on the road in front of Dhaka Alia Madrasa escalated into violence. The injured were Samakal multimedia journalist Nazmul Islam and Bangladesh Bulletin journalist Abdullah Al Mamun.

The report said activists from both sides threw bricks and stones as the clash spread, and journalists working at the scene were also attacked. Witness journalists said Nazmul was collecting news when a thrown brick struck his ankle, seriously injuring him. Abdullah was also injured in the same incident. Colleagues rescued both journalists and took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Doctors gave Nazmul seven stitches for his foot wound and put his leg in a plaster cast. After initial treatment, he returned home and remains under medical advice. Abdullah left the hospital after receiving treatment. Nazmul said he had been taking photographs and video from behind an electricity pole when the brick hit his ankle, tearing the skin and causing bleeding.

Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman said the government is not under any geopolitical pressure or tension. He made the remarks on Tuesday during a regular briefing at the Information Department conference room in the Secretariat, responding to journalists’ questions about recent developments involving a US special envoy, India’s high commissioner and reports concerning former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Rahman said he had met the Indian high commissioner, who then returned to India. Addressing claims that the US special envoy had travelled directly from Bangladesh to India, he said the official is the ambassador posted in India and also has additional responsibilities. He said the government was not officially informed about whom the envoy met privately and therefore would not comment.

On a possible August 5 statement by Sheikh Hasina, Rahman referred to the home minister’s previous assertion that the banned party has no capacity. He said some people still support the Awami League and that its beneficiaries remain in various places, including the administration. However, he said the party lacks the moral strength needed to run an organisation.

A report published on August 4, 2026 recounts August 4, 2024 as a day of intense anti-fascist student-public resistance in Eidgaon Upazila, Cox’s Bazar, during the July Revolution. It says Awami League members and their allies fled the upazila that day in the face of resistance, describing the event as a significant moment in the anti-discrimination student-public movement.

According to the report, the then Hasina government had announced the closure of colleges and universities nationwide to suppress the movement. Students who had returned to the area tried to march in support of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement at Eidgaon bus station on the afternoon of August 3. The report alleges that Awami League attackers, who had been waiting there, publicly beat the students, prompting anger among students, including the upazila Shibir and wider student community.

The following afternoon, students announced resistance while armed Awami League attackers reportedly took positions at the bus station in the presence of police and other administration officials. Clashes followed after a procession reached the station from Eidgaon market. The report says more than 50 vehicles, including then UNO Subal Chakma’s official vehicle, were damaged or burned.

The Guchchhagram Land Protection Committee alleged attempts to forcibly seize recorded land belonging to Bengali residents in Batnashibir, Taisagara Thanachandra Para and Lalchhari areas of Ramgarh in Khagrachhari. At a press conference at Khagrachhari Press Club on Tuesday, the committee protested the allegations and demanded measures to ensure residents' security.

In a written statement, Md Yunus alleged that outsiders from indigenous communities were attempting the land grabs with direct support from armed UPDF members. Committee leaders said Bengali families who have lived in the areas for a long time were facing attempts to take their recorded land. They said more than 400 families feared losing their homesteads and agricultural land and were unable to visit the areas because of fear of armed people.

The committee called for immediate army camps in Batnashibir, Taisagara Thanachandra Para and Lalchhari. It also sought an investigation into the allegations, necessary legal action, an end to alleged land-grab attempts and effective administrative intervention. Earlier, affected Guchchhagram residents held a human chain and protest march in Ramgarh over the same demands.

Pakistan has launched a new diplomatic initiative aimed at restarting stalled talks between the United States and Iran, inviting senior Iranian negotiators to visit Islamabad. On Monday night, Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar called Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and asked him to travel to Pakistan as soon as possible, according to the report published on August 4.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq also invited Iran’s chief negotiator, Baqer Ghalibaf, to visit Pakistan this week. An Anadolu News government source provided the information. Iran has not yet issued an official response to the invitations, and no details were available on when a possible meeting could take place.

Iran has repeatedly said it is not holding direct talks with the United States, while US President Donald Trump has maintained that discussions between the two countries are continuing. The source said mediators from Pakistan and Qatar are working with both sides to determine a date and venue for possible talks. Pakistan previously helped establish a fragile ceasefire in April and mediated a memorandum of understanding signed in June, though that agreement was not implemented.

Former Disappearance Commission member Nabila Idris has criticized provisions in a new draft law on enforced disappearances approved by the cabinet on Monday. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, she said the proposed measures could block families of disappearance victims from obtaining justice and instead expose them to legal harassment and punishment.

Idris focused on two provisions of the draft. Under Article 14, when a family files a disappearance complaint against a security force, the relevant security force would investigate the complaint itself. She argued that this would allow police or other law-enforcement agencies to investigate allegations against themselves and clear themselves of responsibility, undermining impartiality.

Article 21 states that if a disappearance allegation is found false in court after an investigation, the complainant or victim’s family could face up to five years of rigorous imprisonment. Idris said such a penalty could make families afraid to speak out. Human rights activists and others cited in the report also said an independent structure has long been sought to investigate allegations against state or law-enforcement bodies, and called for revisions to the draft.

Md. Tarikul Islam Tarik, joint general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, recounts his experience of the August 5, 2024 march toward Shahbagh in Dhaka. He wrote that he tried to reach the Shaheed Minar around 8:30 a.m., when the area was effectively blocked and security forces were using sound grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and pellet shots to disperse protesters. He said an attempt was made to detain him near TSC before members of the Dhaka University Journalists’ Association helped him move toward Palashi Bazar.

At Palashi, Tarik said students and local traders began gathering in small groups before deciding to head to Shahbagh. The group offered voluntary prayers on the road. He recalled that an army patrol advised them to wait until 2:30, but they proceeded despite Section 144 restrictions. Near the Raju Sculpture, he said several teachers led by Professor Dr. ABM Obaidul Islam were present in support of the movement.

A further army patrol near Charukola and the Central Library dispersed much of the march, he wrote, leaving eight to 10 people to continue. According to his account, they reached Shahbagh and took position at about 11:30 a.m., after which crowds rapidly gathered. He described the events as a collective effort involving students, traders, teachers, journalists and other people.

Captain Ibrahim Traore, the 38-year-old military officer who took power in Burkina Faso through a 2022 coup, faces growing scrutiny despite his popularity beyond the country. Supporters portray him as a symbol of national sovereignty and resistance to foreign influence, while questions persist over restrictions on political activity, an ongoing security crisis and the delivery of his national renewal promises. In April, Traore told Burkinabe people to “forget democracy,” arguing the country was in a revolutionary period rather than a democratic phase.

His government has withdrawn French troops, strengthened ties with Russia and prioritised local industry and agriculture. It says it has increased investment in rice and maize production, promoted local manufacturing and processing, and expanded state participation in infrastructure and strategic economic sectors. The government has also expanded the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, a civilian force supporting the army.

Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and IS continue to threaten the country, according to security expert Mustafa Bature Sallama. More than two million people have been displaced and millions need humanitarian assistance, he said. Independent verification of official security claims is difficult because journalists, researchers and humanitarian organisations face limited access. Authorities dissolved political parties and suspended political activities in January, while an extended military transition has delayed a return to civilian rule.

Bangladesh’s State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmud Khaiyam called for removing vulgar and indecent practices from politics and culture at Jagannath University’s sixth Recitation Festival 2026. The daylong event was held on the university campus on August 3 and included an interdepartmental Nazrul recitation competition, honours, prize distribution, a discussion meeting and cultural performances. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Reza Uddin inaugurated the programme.

The minister said crises in recent years had created institutional capacity gaps across politics, culture, the economy and other sectors. He said the current government was working to build a secular, non-discriminatory and democratic state regardless of nation, religion or group. He stressed maintaining civility in political culture and avoiding indecent language, warning that otherwise the country’s image and future could be harmed.

The minister pledged government support for Jagannath University’s overall development and cultural activities. Poet Abdul Hai Shikder and recitation artist Munshi Md. Rezaul Hossain Tito received honours. H M Fahim won the interdepartmental competition, while Khizir Fayaz received a prize as champion of the inter-university recitation competition.

Twenty-five US states have sued to challenge the legality of President Donald Trump’s decision to impose new additional tariffs on 60 trading partners. The case was filed Monday in the US Court of International Trade. The Trump administration imposed duties ranging from 10% to 12.5%, alleging that the targeted partners produce goods through forced labor or import such goods.

The plaintiff states include New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with 17 other states joining the case. In July, the administration imposed the tariffs on 59 countries, including India, Canada, Japan, Norway, Taiwan and China, as well as the European Union. The measure was taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said imports from the 60 partners account for 99.4% of total US imports. Governor Kathy Hochul said the tariffs raise costs for consumers and small businesses. White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended the policy, saying action was needed to stop imports of goods made with forced labor and that Section 301 tariffs remain a legally effective tool.

A tense situation prevailed at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur on Tuesday as Chhatra Dal held a sit-in programme. University-unit Chhatra Dal members, along with leaders and activists from Rangpur metropolitan Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal, staged the programme at 4pm. Activists were seen positioned at several points on campus, while the university unit also held a protest march. Students reported anxiety amid fears of further clashes.

The programme followed repeated clashes on Monday night between Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists, in which five people were injured. Tensions have persisted across the campus since then. Chhatra Dal activists raised slogans referring to Chhatra Shibir. Chhatra Dal university president Yamin said the organisation would protest and resist anyone who mocked 1971 or diminished July.

Rangpur Metropolitan Police deployed additional personnel to prevent clashes. The university barred entry of all outsiders, including guests and visitors, until further notice, and also restricted several types of vehicles. Vice-Chancellor Md Shawkat Ali said the programme was organised by Rangpur metropolitan Chhatra Dal and was being held peacefully outside the campus. Police said the situation was calm and under control.