US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States is preparing what he described as the toughest sanctions in history against Iran, arguing that maximum economic pressure could reduce the need for another large-scale military operation. In an interview with CNBC, he said details of the new sanctions package would be presented at a Monday news conference.

Bessent said he was unsure why oil was receiving so much discussion and maintained that applying maximum economic pressure could avoid the need to restart broader military action. He said Iran is already under a blockade and referred to a US naval blockade imposed in April, which was suspended for one month in mid-June.

The Treasury chief said the measures would work in Iran and declared that the United States would bring about the fall of the current government. He said allies and the rest of the world now needed to decide their position. Asked whether China could also be targeted because of business ties with Iran, Bessent said many such discussions were better kept private.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has congratulated Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on being elected president of Bangladesh. In a Facebook post published in the report on August 21, 2026, Zardari also invited Fakhrul to visit Pakistan at a convenient time and expressed hope for stronger relations between the two countries.

Zardari said Bangladesh would progress further under Fakhrul’s leadership and expressed hope that development for the welfare of its people would continue. He described Bangladesh and Pakistan as having close ties based on shared history, religion and cultural links, and welcomed what he called recent positive progress in bilateral relations.

The Pakistani president said he hoped cooperation would expand in areas of mutual interest. He also said he was interested in working with Fakhrul to strengthen bilateral relations and increase contact and cooperation between the peoples of both countries. Zardari said a Pakistan visit by Fakhrul could create new opportunities to deepen ties and cooperation, while wishing him success and Bangladesh peace, progress and prosperity.

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir alleged that groups backed by India and other foreign actors are attempting to create divisions between the state and the public. Speaking at a consultative meeting with prominent figures and political leaders in Balochistan, he called for unity among citizens, the state and the armed forces. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations announced the remarks in a statement on Friday.

Munir said foreign-backed proxy groups, including “Fitna al-Khariji” and “Fitna al-Hindustan,” were seeking to create instability in Balochistan, obstruct development and widen divisions between the state and the people. He said the alleged plans would be defeated through the nation’s collective resolve and the state’s firm, strict and targeted measures.

The army chief also called for a coordinated and unwavering response to what he described as enemy propaganda and false narratives. The terms “Fitna al-Hindustan” and “Fitna al-Khariji” are used to refer to Balochistan-based separatist militant groups, which Pakistan alleges are supported by India and seek to undermine the country’s integrity and security.

Pakistan’s former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan was returned to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after undergoing medical examinations at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. He was taken to the hospital under tight security late Thursday following a Supreme Court order and was returned to prison at about 5 a.m. Friday, according to Information Minister Ataullah Tarar.

Tarar said a medical team comprising eye, cardiac and medicine specialists conducted a detailed examination and declared Khan medically fit. In a post on X, Tarar referred to the transfer of a prisoner under court instructions but did not name Khan or Shifa International Hospital. Khan’s sister Uzma Khan was present throughout the examination and treatment process.

Security personnel were deployed in large numbers around the hospital, located in Islamabad’s H-8 sector, and Khan entered through Gate No. 1 after being transported via Patras Bukhari Road. Khan has been in prison since August 5, 2023, over allegations of concealing Toshakhana gift information. He is serving a 14-year sentence at Adiala Jail in the Al-Qadir Trust case, known as the £190 million corruption case. PTI leaders and activists have alleged his health deteriorated in custody.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General and former lawmaker Dr AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said the government is assessing opposition participation in the presidential election through political narrowness rather than a liberal and democratic perspective. In a statement issued on Thursday, he described the participation as a symbolic protest against limitations in the government’s desired reform process and as a new democratic initiative.

Azad said a cabinet member had argued that the opposition’s oath in the constitutional reform council could no longer stand because it participated in the presidential election while Article 70 remained unchanged. He questioned how the oath taken as members of parliament could remain valid under that reasoning, saying no parliamentary election had been held through a constitutional process in 2026.

He said the opposition knew the election result in advance but took part to clarify its position before the public and strengthen demands for democracy. Azad urged the government not to interpret political opponents’ participation narrowly, and called for implementation of the referendum verdict and effective steps toward necessary constitutional reforms.

Afghan-American politician Ayesha Wahab won the special election for California’s 14th Congressional District, defeating Democratic candidate and transit official Melissa Hernandez. The result, reported on August 21, 2026, makes Wahab the successor to former congressman Eric Swalwell in the US House of Representatives.

Wahab, previously elected as the first Muslim woman in the California State Senate, is a vocal critic of Israel’s military operation and policies in Gaza. Her victory came despite heavy campaign spending aimed at defeating her during the final weeks of the election.

Super PACs associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent millions of dollars on campaigning against Wahab and advertisements supporting Hernandez. The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project alone spent $1.2 million in August to oppose Wahab, while another affiliated organization spent an additional $1.7 million. Despite that spending, Wahab retained her lead and secured the House seat.

Bangladesh is preparing amendments to local government election laws that would bar loan defaulters from contesting even after leaving positions as directors or chairpersons of indebted institutions. The proposals also seek to prohibit dual citizens from running at every local government level and increase penalties for breaches of election rules. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

Authorities are preparing local elections in at least seven phases, beginning with union council polls. Coastal districts including Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Barishal, Pirojpur, Barguna and Patuakhali are on the priority list for the first phase. Officials are considering December for voting after annual school examinations and aim to complete a major part before SSC examinations begin on January 7.

State Minister Mir Shah Alam said all local government elections are targeted for completion by June next year, with about Tk6,000 crore allocated. Proposed changes include up to six months’ imprisonment and fines of up to Tk50,000 for code violations, revised definitions of dependents and moral-turpitude offences, and rules on profitable posts and election dispute resolution.

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was taken from Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad under strict security for a health examination. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, confirmed the transfer of the 73-year-old, which took place around midnight on Thursday night. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered Khan’s transfer to Shifa International Hospital for medical tests on Tuesday, three days earlier. The government attempted to alter that instruction, but the court did not agree. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry had said hours before the transfer that the government would fully comply with the Supreme Court’s order. The government had not commented on the hospital transfer.

Tests conducted in early August found that Khan had high blood pressure and fluctuating readings, as well as restlessness and anxiety. His lawyers and family said these problems resulted from his solitary confinement, while relatives have said since last year that he also has eye problems. Hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed at the hospital. Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023.

The government has appointed Mosammat Sumoni Akter as Natore’s new deputy commissioner and district magistrate, a day after incumbent Asma Shahin was withdrawn. Separate Public Administration Ministry notifications issued Wednesday night also transferred Bagatipara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Debashish Basak to the ministry. Sumoni Akter, a 28th BCS officer and deputy secretary at the Posts and Telecommunications Division, was expected to join in Natore on Thursday afternoon.

The changes followed cases over attacks, vandalism and alleged harassment of public officials at the UNO offices in Lalpur and Bagatipara. The incidents occurred simultaneously on August 12 amid dissatisfaction over results for recruiting family card data collectors and supervisors. Complaints also alleged that seven journalists were harassed while recording photographs and videos.

Officials filed two cases on August 17 and 18, naming local-level BNP and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leaders over assault, vandalism and obstruction of official work. Lalpur’s UNO and Bagatipara police station’s officer-in-charge had previously been transferred. Some locals alleged the transfers followed legal action against ruling-party activists, while Shahin described her withdrawal as a normal government administrative process.

Eleven-party alliance coordinator and Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Hamidur Rahman Azad said a Dhaka-Chattogram long march will begin at 7am on September 5 with a gathering of more than 100,000 people at Shapla Chattar in the capital. He made the announcement after a preparatory meeting at the party’s central office in Moghbazar on Thursday.

The march is scheduled to travel through Madanpur in Narayanganj, Padua Bazar Bishwaroad in Cumilla and Mirsarai in Chattogram, where roadside meetings will be held before the programme concludes in Chattogram. Azad said local residents would welcome the procession at different points and join it after receptions at the relevant upazila level.

The meeting discussed organisational preparations, responsibilities and measures to make the programme successful. Azad described the march as part of a national series of programmes aimed at implementing the referendum verdict and building a discrimination-free Bangladesh. He alleged that the government seeks to erase the events of July and criticised the BNP. He also said farmers were not receiving fertiliser and that six of seven fertiliser factories were closed, while power shortages were disrupting industrial production.

Tamanna Chowdhury Priyanka, convener of Mymensingh metropolitan Jubo Mohila League, has drawn attention after applying to file a case against former interim government chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus and 26 others. The application alleges vandalism and arson at the Dhanmondi 32 residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the capital. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

Priyanka has been active in local Awami League politics for a long time and became more visible locally when she contested for a women’s councillor post in the 2019 Mymensingh City Corporation election. Her legal initiative seeks action against those allegedly involved in the Dhanmondi 32 incident, according to the report.

The report says Awami League and affiliated organisations’ political activities were banned after the 2024 political change, while many leaders and activists went into hiding, left the country or were arrested in different cases. Some observers have raised concerns about whether her public activity could create law-and-order complications, though no statement from law-enforcement agencies or relevant authorities was reported. Priyanka’s name has also been discussed locally in connection with the killing of Redwan Hossain Sagar in Mymensingh on July 19, 2024.

Qawmi-linked Sammilito Ulema Mashayekh Bangladesh has demanded that lawmaker Shamim Kaysar Lincoln not be appointed state minister for religious affairs. The group made the call at a press briefing on Thursday at Jamia Islamia Makhzanul Ulum in Khilgaon, Dhaka, according to the report published on August 21, 2026. It urged the government to appoint a qualified, experienced and acceptable person after consulting religious scholars.

Maulana Muhiuddin Rabbani, secretary general of International Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwat Bangladesh, read the written statement. He said news of Lincoln’s nomination was contrary to the expectations of religious scholars and ordinary Tawhidi people. Rabbani alleged that Lincoln’s religious views did not align with those of Bangladesh’s majority Muslim population.

The speakers said the views of the country’s religious scholars should be given importance in selecting a state minister for religious affairs. They warned that ignoring the demand could create distance and weaken mutual trust between the government and religious scholars. Leaders from Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Qawmi madrasas attended the briefing.

Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) held its fifth executive meeting at its meeting room at 5pm on Thursday, according to the report published on August 20, 2026. Chaired by Vice-Chancellor and DUCSU president Professor Dr A B M Obaidul Islam, the meeting adopted a broad set of decisions on student rights, welfare, infrastructure, security and administrative transparency.

DUCSU leaders urged the vice-chancellor to announce the schedule for the next DUCSU election by September 12. The vice-chancellor said an initial cell had been formed and that the schedule would be announced soon. The meeting also formed an audit committee led by treasurer Professor Dr H M Mosharraf Hossain, called for action over alleged attacks at Shahbagh police station, and pressed for disciplinary measures related to attacks on students during the July movement.

Other proposals covered food safety, harassment prevention, campus policing, solar panels, lift repairs, hall-seat allocation rules, disability support and student health insurance. The meeting approved a proposed ONE DU APP covering hall, department and administrative services, and decided to introduce a student-voted Best Teacher Award. It also sought residential halls’ inclusion in the first phase of development projects worth about Tk 2,841 crore.

M Abdullah, former managing director of the Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust and former president of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, said the freedom to speak openly and without fear is among the mass uprising’s major achievements. He made the remarks on Thursday afternoon at a Tongi Press Club discussion marking the uprising’s second anniversary in Tongi, Gazipur.

As the event’s chief discussant, Abdullah said journalists had previously faced pressure and interference over what could be published and who could appear on television talk shows. He claimed journalists can now criticize the government without threats or pressure. He called for an environment of independent journalism and for professional journalists to be valued and supported to counter what he described as improper journalism.

Gazipur City Corporation Administrator Md Shawkat Hossain Sarkar outlined initiatives on traffic congestion, road safety, foot overbridges, playgrounds, waste management and urban infrastructure. He said fencing is being installed on road dividers, incomplete BRT foot overbridges are to be activated, and one of four proposed new foot overbridges has already been tendered.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of former prime minister Imran Khan, 73, to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment, according to the source published on August 20, 2026. The court also said Khan’s personal physician should be included on a medical board and that he should be allowed regular contact with his family. The report frames the ruling as significant in a context where basic prisoner rights are presented as exceptional concessions.

The source says the government attempted to challenge part of the ruling. It argues that Khan’s imprisonment, alongside political cases and restrictions on his political activity, was intended to diminish him and weaken his party. Instead, the article contends that detention has increased his symbolic political importance and created a difficult situation for Pakistan’s power structure.

The article says Khan’s release could return him to public politics with greater symbolic strength, while his death in custody could create a broader political crisis. It also criticizes the roles of the Sharif and Bhutto-Zardari families in the political system, presenting the court order as an intervention concerning medical care and family access.