Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party and chief whip of the opposition in parliament, urged the head of government to ensure genuine employment rather than relying on card-based assistance. He made the remarks as chief guest at a July March roadside meeting in Tengapara Station Field in Mohanganj municipal town, Netrokona, at 7pm on Friday. The meeting was organised by Mohanganj উপজেলা NCP.

He questioned whether assistance cards would reach genuinely distressed people or party affiliates, saying social security programmes and government benefits had previously gone to partisan beneficiaries while poor people were excluded. He called for administrative oversight to ensure eligible people receive cards. Referring to 30 kilograms of rice provided to fishers during seasonal fishing restrictions, he said such support was insufficient to sustain livelihoods.

Islam called for a special government plan for the haor areas of Netrokona, Sunamganj and Kishoreganj, including development of fisheries and tourism. He also demanded implementation of the July Charter and reforms to police, courts and the constitution. He said his party would oppose the government on reasonable grounds while assisting it when national interests required, but warned that cooperation would not be possible if reforms were not implemented.

Indian educator and social activist Sonam Wangchuk has rejected allegations that he ended his hunger strike under a deal with the central government. In a 24-minute, 22-second video message posted on social media on Friday night, he said his focus was on securing justice for students and meeting their demands. He was receiving treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

Wangchuk had begun the fast in support of ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar over question-paper leaks. He ended the 26-day strike at midnight on Thursday in the presence of central ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. He said he withdrew the fast after receiving assurances from the government and members of various political parties, but critics alleged that he had reached an agreement with the government.

Questioning the criticism, Wangchuk said that after fasting in Delhi's heat after coming from Ladakh's cold, he was being asked to prove his integrity and the sanctity of his protest. He said many people called him on Friday morning asking about his work and any possible agreement. He thanked supporters and said he would try to answer questions raised outside politics.

US President Donald Trump said Washington is holding talks with Iran while warning that Tehran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. He made the comments on Friday local time at the White House Oval Office, where he had convened a special meeting on nuclear innovation. Asked by reporters about recent remarks suggesting a possible major attack on Iran, Trump said the United States was currently in discussions with Tehran and remained militarily prepared.

Trump did not provide details of the talks, but said Iran was taking the matter seriously and should do so. The report said his comments conflicted with messages from other US officials this week, as the administration had previously indicated that diplomatic opportunities were nearly exhausted and that attention was focused on military action.

Trump said senior members of his cabinet were involved in the discussions, specifically naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. Asked about a strategy or exit path from the ongoing conflict, he said he saw several possible routes but gave no details. He also said he was in no hurry to make a deal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the country’s young people for their positive response to discussions on reforming the examination system and preventing question-paper leaks. In a video message posted on Instagram late Friday night, Modi expressed gratitude to students for watching his earlier video and offering feedback and suggestions. He said he hoped their love and support would continue and strengthen the relationship.

In the caption accompanying the video, Modi thanked all young people who sent valuable suggestions after viewing the previous day’s message. On Thursday, he had announced stricter central government action against question-paper leaks, amid allegations of irregularities in the recent NEET examination and protests across the country.

Modi said fast-track courts would be established to ensure swift trials for those involved in such offences. He also said a draft bill containing tougher punishment provisions would be presented to the cabinet soon, with an effort to pass it in parliament next week. According to his statement, legal action had been taken against accused people over the past two and a half months, and about 2.2 million students were given a chance to retake examinations, with results released on July 19.

BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu has resigned as India’s minister of state for railways and food processing industries, according to an NDTV report citing sources published on July 25. His term as a Rajya Sabha member had ended in June.

The report said Bittu may contest Punjab’s assembly election scheduled for next year. He had been closely overseeing efforts to build the BJP’s political space and establish a stronger position in the border state, which is governed by the Aam Aadmi Party.

In a post on X, Bittu thanked President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the opportunity to serve the country as a minister of state. He said serving the people of India, especially Punjab, had been a great privilege and pledged to continue his public-service journey with renewed energy. Bittu, grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, formally joined the BJP in 2024. He lost the Lok Sabha election and was later nominated for the remainder of a Rajya Sabha term from Rajasthan vacated by Congress leader K C Venugopal.

Mohammed Shahabuddin Chuppu resigned as Bangladesh’s president on Friday afternoon after serving for three years and eight months, citing serious health problems. His military secretary delivered the signed resignation letter to Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram at 5 pm. Under Article 54 of the constitution, the speaker immediately assumed the duties of acting president.

In his resignation letter, Shahabuddin cited heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney complications and autonomic neuropathy. He said he had undergone bypass surgery and sometimes briefly lost consciousness because of his illnesses. Sources said specialists at the Combined Military Hospital advised him to take complete rest and receive advanced treatment.

The parliamentary secretariat said the resignation was submitted under Article 50(3) of the constitution. The speaker will perform presidential duties until a new president is elected and takes office. Some political leaders and student leaders associated with the July movement described the resignation as positive, while Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party, among others, demanded Shahabuddin’s arrest and trial. Officials said he is scheduled to meet Bangabhaban staff on Saturday and move to his Gulshan residence on Sunday.

Water Resources Minister and BNP joint secretary general Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie said Bangladesh has fallen far behind because of a lack of leadership. He made the remarks on Friday night as chief guest at a discussion marking three decades of Lakshmipur Club Limited, held in the club hallroom at the municipal super market in Lakshmipur town.

Annie said Bangladesh should not have remained in its present condition after so many years since independence. He said there was no lack of sincerity from the prime minister, who had accepted a challenge. He described supporting the government as a moral responsibility for citizens.

The minister said people should think consciously about how to support the government and Tarique Rahman for the country, its people and Bangladesh. He also called for improving the country's image through development and bringing it to a stable position. The meeting was chaired by club president Moin Uddin Chowdhury Kamru and attended by educator Nani Gopal, Bangladesh Football Federation vice-president Md Wahid Uddin Chowdhury Happy, sports organizer Abdul Rab Shamim and club general secretary Humayun Kabir Jewel.

Times Now reporter Dev Kotak was assaulted while covering protests in India demanding action over question-paper leaks and the education minister’s resignation, according to a report published July 25. Protesters allegedly called his channel “Godi Media,” a term used by critics for pro-government outlets, before striking him and throwing a water bottle. Videos of the incident were recorded on mobile phones and circulated on social media.

Kotak, 36, said the crowd believed the media had not presented its views, though he said his reporting included injuries on both sides. Tensions intensified after police action against a protest march toward Parliament on Monday, in which many students were injured. The Editors Guild of India condemned hostility and attacks against journalists while warning that flawed and biased reporting can worsen the situation and weaken the media’s democratic role.

Separate allegations of attacks on journalists emerged during a march from Sealdah to Esplanade in Kolkata. One television journalist was hospitalized at SSKM Hospital, alongside other injured journalists and camera operators. West Bengal Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari condemned the incidents and promised action against identified attackers. The Kolkata Press Club called for accountability, while some protesters denied that those responsible were part of the movement.

National Parliament opposition chief whip Nahid Islam called for the immediate arrest and trial of Chuppu, saying he should not be allowed to leave the country. Speaking at Netrokona’s old DC office field at 9pm on Friday, after a march in Khaliajuri and Mohanganj upazilas, Islam alleged that BNP had enabled Chuppu to resign citing illness rather than removing and arresting him.

Islam accused BNP of abandoning its pre-election 31-point programme after taking power. He alleged that party members had engaged in land grabbing, tender manipulation and business involving false cases in districts, and said the party’s priorities had become power, extortion, occupation and plunder.

He also demanded implementation of the July Charter, justice for the killing of Osman Hadi, action to compel India to stop border killings, and an end to push-ins. Islam said his group would continue campaigning for fairness inside and outside parliament despite having six members. At the meeting, NCP northern region chief coordinator Sarjis Alam also criticised BNP over alleged capture of educational institution chairmanships and drug trade.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said the Election Commission will quickly announce a schedule for a presidential election after President Md Sahabuddin resigned, leaving the post vacant. Speaking to the media on Friday, Masud said Article 123 of the constitution requires a new president to be elected within 90 days of a vacancy. He said the election would be held within that period under the Presidential Election Act, 1991.

Masud said the chief election commissioner would serve as the returning officer. The schedule would be announced in the manner used for reserved women’s seat elections. If voting is required, it will take place; if there is only one candidate, that candidate will be declared elected unopposed. Election Commission activities will remain closed on Saturday because of the weekly holiday, with a decision on the schedule expected on Sunday or later.

Under the existing constitution, the 350 members of parliament are voters in the presidential election, and the commission will prepare the voter list before announcing the schedule. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said Sahabuddin’s signed resignation letter was submitted to him around 5pm Friday. He accepted it and assumed presidential responsibilities under Article 54, citing Sahabuddin’s serious illness and inability to continue performing the role.

Three former leaders of Jagannath University Chhatra Dal have received contract-based appointments to senior posts at three state institutions. The appointees are Kazi Rawnakul Islam Tipu, Shamsuzzaman Suruz and Kamruzzaman Dulal. The Contract and Foreign Appointment Branch of the Ministry of Public Administration announced the appointments in separate notifications on Thursday, July 23. The report was published on July 24, 2026.

Kazi Rawnakul Islam Tipu has been appointed managing director of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust. He is an assistant secretary for forests and environment affairs of the BNP executive committee and a former president of Jagannath University Chhatra Dal. Shamsuzzaman Suruz was appointed chairman of the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation. He is a BNP executive committee member and former senior joint convener of the university unit.

Kamruzzaman Dulal, a former vice-president of Jubo Dal and former student leader at Jagannath University, has been appointed executive secretary of the Bangladesh National Social Welfare Council. The notifications, signed by Deputy Secretary Md Golam Rabbani, state that the Grade-2 appointments are for one year from the date of joining. Appointees must relinquish involvement in other professions, businesses, or government, semi-government, private institutions or organisations before taking up their duties.

The National Citizen Party, or NCP, has called for the swift arrest and prosecution of recently resigned former president Md Shahabuddin. The demand was made by party member secretary Akhtar Hossain at a press conference held on Friday evening at the party’s temporary central office. The report was published on July 24, 2026.

Hossain said Shahabuddin’s resignation letter cited illness, but also contained statements that appeared intended to secure a “safe exit” for him. According to Hossain, the explanations in the letter did not align with reality and could create an opportunity to evade responsibility. The NCP said he should not be allowed to leave safely and that allegations against him should be properly investigated and tried.

The party described Shahabuddin as a “collaborator of fascism.” Hossain said justice for those killed in the 2024 mass uprising would remain incomplete without judicial proceedings against him. He urged the government to act, arguing that constitutional limitations may have existed while Shahabuddin was president, but that no such immunity remains after his resignation.

Mohammed Shahabuddin has resigned as president of Bangladesh before completing his constitutional term, marking a new chapter at the country’s highest constitutional office amid post-uprising political change. Shahabuddin was sworn in as Bangladesh’s 22nd president on April 24, 2023, after being elected unopposed on the Awami League’s nomination. His term was constitutionally due to continue until April 2028.

The resignation creates an opportunity for the BNP to nominate a preferred candidate for the presidency under the current political reality, the report said. During his tenure, Shahabuddin set a rare constitutional record by administering the oath of office to three different heads of government within a single presidential term.

After the fall of the Awami League government in a student-public uprising on August 5, 2024, political parties and social organisations increasingly demanded his resignation. Groups linked to the July movement held programmes including a siege of Bangabhaban. He nevertheless remained in office through parliament’s dissolution, the formation of an interim government and the political transition, while the interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus did not move to remove him.

Tareq Rahman Square in the Shibganj Upazila complex of Bogura has been renamed Mir Mugdha Square. State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shah Alam announced the change on Friday afternoon at an event launching renovation work on the square.

Speaking as chief guest, Mir Shah Alam said the new name represented the sacrifice, courage and public aspirations of July, rather than merely the name of a structure. He said the prime minister had not named a square after himself and that Prime Minister Tareq Rahman gave the name Mir Mugdha Square. He also said the BNP government was working sincerely to build the Bangladesh envisioned by martyrs through implementation of the July Charter.

The state minister described the July mass uprising as a symbol of the struggle for democracy, rights and people’s liberation. He said the sacrifices of July’s martyrs and injured fighters should be remembered and stressed teaching correct history to younger generations. After inaugurating the work, he urged those concerned to preserve the square’s beauty and dignity. Local officials, BNP leaders, police, representatives, July movement fighters and martyrs’ family members attended.

President Md Sahabuddin Chuppu resigned on Friday, July 24, according to the report. Amid several days of political speculation, he submitted his resignation letter in the afternoon, citing personal reasons and illness. Following the vacancy, the speaker of the National Parliament assumed duties as acting president under constitutional provisions.

The report said Chuppu’s continued presence at Bangabhaban after the political change of August 5, 2024 had drawn strong anger from political parties and student movement leaders. Calls for his removal became a major political issue in media and on social platforms. It also cited allegations that his contradictory statements regarding Sheikh Hasina’s resignation letter and perceived indirect sympathy for the fallen administration had damaged public trust.

Political analysts quoted in the report described his presence as a major remaining administrative element of the previous government. Movement groups said the resignation was a logical outcome of the aspirations of the mass uprising. Attention in political circles has now turned to the election of a new president and the next phase of constitutional continuity, while the news generated widespread reactions online.