Tales of July began its journey on July 31, 2024, with the publication of a literary anthology. Initially conceived as a single publication, the initiative has since expanded into a multifaceted platform dedicated to research, archiving, publishing, and memory preservation related to the July Revolution. To date, it has published seven books exploring various aspects of the revolution, including personal stories, experiences, and historical narratives.

At the 2026 Amar Ekushey Book Fair, the platform released two major works: “Julaiyer Phool,” a 600-page volume chronicling the lives of 111 child martyrs, and a commemorative book on martyr Osman Hadi. Previous publications include collections of poems and memorial issues dedicated to other martyrs. Tales of July is run by a 13-member governing body led by founder and executive head poet Israfil Akand Rudra and executive director Tahsin Ahmed, with all members being university students.

The organization maintains contact with injured individuals and families of martyrs, documenting their memories and experiences. It also collaborates with researchers and institutions to collect and analyze data on the July uprising, aiming to keep history alive through continuous study and documentation.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid announced that Bangladesh has launched an initiative to revive extinct native fruit species by encouraging farmers to produce them. He made the statement on June 18, 2026, while briefing journalists at the inauguration of the three-day National Fruit Fair at the Bangladesh Agricultural Institute premises in Khamarbari. The minister toured the fair, met with entrepreneurs, and assured them of full government support.

Rashid said the annual fruit fair has sparked a revolution in fruit production across the country. He noted that the government is also introducing genetic material from imported fruit varieties to promote domestic cultivation and reduce import dependency. Using dragon fruit as an example, he said locally grown varieties are tastier and farmers are being encouraged to innovate in fruit production.

The minister further stated that the agriculture budget has increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year, while development and incentive allocations have risen by 59 percent, rejecting claims that the agriculture budget has been reduced.

For the first time in history, Bangladesh’s banking sector has collectively reported a net loss, amounting to Tk 1.36 trillion in 2025. The loss, revealed in Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Stability Report 2025, stemmed from record-high provisions against non-performing loans. Despite generating Tk 134,815 crore in interest income, banks faced higher interest expenses of Tk 147,352 crore, resulting in a negative interest margin. Operating profits before provisions stood at Tk 19,571 crore, but provisioning surged to Tk 143,855 crore, turning overall profits into deep losses.

The report shows that most banks suffered losses, including First Security Islami Bank, Exim Bank, and Social Islami Bank, while a few such as Standard Chartered, BRAC Bank, and City Bank managed to stay profitable. Sector-wide net profit dropped by Tk 148,824 crore compared to 2024, marking a 1,224 percent negative growth. Bank executives attributed the losses to long-accumulated bad loans and stressed assets totaling Tk 11 trillion.

Experts warned that with 60 percent of loans under stress and a 35 percent default rate, the sector’s financial stability remains at risk, and the crisis may deepen in the coming years.

The government of Bangladesh has planned to install underground fiber lines to deliver dynamic internet services to 87,000 villages and enhance digital access for marginalized communities. The initiative, originally launched as the ‘Tiger Project’ in 2022 and later renamed ‘D-Star’ or ‘Digital Star,’ received an initial allocation of 300 million US dollars. The Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission began groundwork to implement the project aimed at strengthening rural connectivity.

Progress has stalled due to disputes between mobile operators and fiber network businesses. Mobile operators have urged the government to expand spectrum coverage instead of direct fiber connections, while fiber providers argue that underground fiber connectivity at the union level would ensure better quality and resilience. The project remains pending at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council as both sides lobby for control.

Telecom experts have supported the underground approach, citing reduced risk of cable damage during natural disasters and less infrastructure clutter. The government has reportedly decided in principle to route fiber lines underground to improve reliability and minimize corruption risks.

A 24-year-old man named Rajib Mia died after being struck by lightning early Thursday morning in Ganesh Haor under Kaitail Union of Madan upazila, Netrakona. According to local and family sources, Rajib, a brick kiln worker from Joypasha village, had gone fishing near his home when the lightning strike occurred, killing him on the spot.

The incident has cast a shadow of grief over his family and the local community. Rajib’s wife is four months pregnant, and his family of eight has lost its only earning member, leaving them in a vulnerable situation. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nadir Hossain Shamim expressed condolences to the bereaved family and assured that the administration would provide possible government assistance.

Local authorities are expected to extend support to the affected family as part of standard disaster response measures following lightning-related fatalities.

Allegations have emerged that the recruitment process for new teachers in the law department of Dhaka University prioritized political affiliations over merit. According to the report, during a selection board meeting on May 5, six candidates were recommended from a pool of 24, allegedly ignoring established criteria such as academic results, research publications, and professional experience. The board included senior university officials and faculty members. Several top-ranked candidates were reportedly excluded, while others with lower academic scores and political connections were recommended.

Among the recommended candidates, Moniruzzaman and Maksuda Sarker faced accusations of publishing in predatory journals and maintaining close ties with politically influential figures. Moniruzzaman acknowledged publishing in such journals by mistake and later retracting the papers. Another candidate, Ali Mashraf, was accused of benefiting from political lobbying. University officials, including the pro-vice-chancellor (education), acknowledged the issue of predatory journals but declined to comment on the recruitment decisions.

Teachers, students, and applicants have called for an investigation to ensure transparency and merit-based recruitment, warning that failure to address the allegations could harm the university’s academic integrity and reputation.

Bangladesh’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has prepared a 150-page draft charge sheet in the country’s largest financial scandal, the Bangladesh Bank reserve theft case. After more than a decade of investigation, the draft has been submitted to the Attorney General’s Office for legal review. The document accuses 64 individuals and organizations, including former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr. Atiur Rahman, who is alleged to have attempted to conceal the incident and is currently absconding.

The accused include nine other Bangladeshi officials and citizens, as well as foreign nationals from India, North Korea, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Among them are former deputy governor Abul Kashem, former executive directors Shuvankar Saha and Mezbaul Haque, and several international hackers and institutions such as North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The CID found that the stolen funds were laundered through casinos and foreign entities.

The 2016 cyber theft involved $101 million stolen via fraudulent SWIFT messages from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Only $34.6 million has been recovered so far. Authorities expect the final charge sheet to be filed in court once legal clearance is received.

Olympic Cement Limited, a Barishal-based company under Khan Sons Group, has been abruptly shut down after allegations of large-scale money laundering and financial irregularities. Reports claim the company’s chairman, managing director, and directors siphoned off billions of taka to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Dubai, withdrawing all capital from company accounts and defaulting on bank loans. The closure has left over 350 workers without pay or benefits, while the company was allegedly sold secretly to Scan Cement.

Following complaints, Barishal Divisional Commissioner Khalil Ahmed summoned company officials and ordered immediate payment of workers’ dues. Authorities have frozen 90 company trucks and a lighter vessel and restricted the directors from leaving the country. The managing director has promised to pay Tk 9 crore in wages and benefits by June 19.

The National Board of Revenue’s customs and VAT intelligence units have launched investigations into alleged tax evasion, VAT fraud, and money laundering by the company. Officials indicated that the factory’s financial crisis deepened after years of irregularities and foreign fund transfers.

A devastating fire caused by a gas cylinder explosion in Alfadanga upazila of Faridpur killed one person and injured three others early Thursday morning. The incident occurred around 4 a.m. at Vennatola Bazar in Pachuria Union, where the blaze began at Nur Mia’s grocery shop before spreading to nearby stores. Local residents attempted to control the fire when a gas cylinder exploded, severely injuring several people. The injured were taken to Boalmari Upazila Health Complex, where 38-year-old Babul Molya was declared dead.

Two fire service units arrived and brought the fire under control after two hours. According to Boalmari Fire Service Station Officer Royel Ahmed, the fire likely originated from an electrical short circuit before the cylinder explosion intensified it. Five shops, including grocery, tea, fertilizer, and repair stores, were completely destroyed, with estimated losses reaching around one crore taka.

Authorities confirmed that all goods inside the affected shops were burned to ashes, and the area suffered extensive property damage.

More than 100 days after Tareq Rahman assumed office as Bangladesh’s prime minister, expectations of a reset in India-Bangladesh relations remain unmet. Despite early diplomatic gestures from New Delhi, including visits by India’s foreign minister and other officials, Dhaka sees little substantive progress. Key measures such as restoring transit facilities, normalizing visa services, and lifting trade restrictions have not been implemented, leaving bilateral ties largely unchanged since the interim government period.

Senior BNP leaders have tried to ease tensions, emphasizing that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India should not hinder relations. However, Dhaka feels its goodwill has not been reciprocated, citing India’s continued use of the term “illegal immigration” in official statements after BJP’s state election victories. A recent visit by Bangladesh’s foreign minister to Delhi failed to dispel mistrust, and Rahman is reportedly preparing visits to Malaysia and China as diplomatic alternatives.

Analysts warn that without renewal of the 1996 Ganges water treaty, Bangladesh’s irrigation projects and agriculture could face severe challenges. Combined with domestic health and law-and-order crises, the government faces mounting pressure to stabilize both internal and external fronts.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained three individuals on Wednesday morning while they were attempting to cross into India through the Madhabpur border in Habiganj. The arrest took place around 6:30 a.m. in the Mohanpur area under the Dharmaghar Border Outpost of the 25 BGB Sarail Battalion. The detainees were identified as Ujjal Chandra Dev, Mosharaf Hossain, and Rahul, all residents of nearby villages.

According to BGB sources, the trio was apprehended about 200 yards inside Bangladesh territory near border pillar 1994/4-S. During questioning, Ujjal Chandra Dev stated that he was trying to visit his ailing sister in Agartala, India, and had paid 10,000 taka for assistance from the other two men. BGB seized 500 Bangladeshi taka, 300 Indian rupees, and an Android mobile phone from them.

The detainees were handed over to Madhabpur Police Station, where a case has been filed. The 25 BGB Sarail Battalion said its operations to prevent illegal border crossings in the Madhabpur area will continue.

A recent comment in Bangladesh’s Parliament by BNP lawmaker Monirul Islam about Jamaat-e-Islami’s female members wearing hijab and niqab has triggered a nationwide debate that quickly expanded beyond politics into religious and cultural dimensions. Following the controversy, expatriate intellectual Faham Abdus Salam joined the discussion, arguing that niqab hinders normal social interaction and that public representatives should maintain visible identities.

Columnist Minar Rashid, writing in response, criticized Faham for presenting his personal preferences as universal standards and for misinterpreting niqab as social seclusion. He emphasized that modern biometric technologies can verify identity without requiring facial visibility and argued that niqab-wearing women deserve respect for their personal and religious choices. Rashid noted that earlier parliaments under Khaleda Zia included niqab-wearing members without ridicule.

The article concludes that political criticism of Jamaat-e-Islami should not blur into opposition to Islam itself. It calls for restraint and respect for religious diversity, warning that conflating political rivalry with religious antagonism could alienate devout citizens and harm democratic culture.

A Dhaka court on Thursday, June 18, 2026, ordered the imprisonment of Ahmed Zubair, former managing director of Somoy Television, in a fraud case. The order followed his failure to appear before the court in connection with a bank fraud and breach of trust case filed at Kalabagan Police Station.

On Wednesday, June 17, the court had issued arrest warrants against Zubair, his wife Shamima Sultana Chowdhury, their two children Saraf Nawar Joyita and Ahmed Rafid Kader Rivu, and two witnesses, Sheikh Mahmud Yasin and Sani Chowdhury, for not complying with a previous court summons. The summons, issued on May 10 by the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court, required them to appear and respond to the allegations.

Court sources said the accused were given the opportunity to submit legal explanations either in person or through lawyers. Their absence on the scheduled date led to the issuance of arrest warrants and Zubair’s subsequent imprisonment order.

A hearing on whether to accept the charge sheet against TikToker Toha Hossain and his wife Hur-E Jannat is scheduled for today at the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal. The case involves allegations of promoting gambling advertisements on Facebook and TikTok. The hearing will take place before Judge Mohammad Saidur Rahman Gazi. Police had earlier submitted the charge sheet to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on October 9 last year, and the case was later transferred to the Cyber Tribunal.

The case was filed on April 13, 2025, at Mirpur Model Police Station under the Cyber Security Act and fraud charges by several concerned citizens. The complaint alleged that Toha used his Facebook page and TikTok account to promote gambling sites, luring young people with promises of high profits from small investments. The promotions allegedly led many individuals to lose money and become involved in criminal activities.

The court’s decision on whether to accept the charge sheet will determine the next stage of the legal process against the couple.

Residents of Gauripur in Mymensingh staged a protest on Wednesday following the death of Masud Karim Babu, a private employee of the local power department. Demonstrators surrounded the Gauripur police station, power office, and upazila complex, demanding the arrest and execution of those they accused of being responsible for what they called a murder. Babu died late Tuesday night after being electrocuted while working on an 11,000-volt power line at Baluapara intersection.

According to local sources, Babu and several colleagues had gone to repair the line after confirming a feeder shutdown. However, he was electrocuted immediately upon touching the wire and later pronounced dead at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. The incident sparked anger among residents, who alleged negligence by the power department. Police and BNP leaders later arrived at the scene, assuring protesters of a fair investigation.

Authorities said no formal complaint had yet been filed, though police urged residents to submit one so that legal action could proceed.