Bangladesh’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced in Parliament that rape cases can now be filed online, including general diaries (GD) and first information reports (FIR). He said this change has reduced social and political interference that previously discouraged victims from reporting incidents. The minister made the statement on Tuesday during a discussion on the Home Ministry’s budget proposals.

Ahmed explained that the rise in recorded rape cases reflects improved reporting rather than an increase in crimes. He said the government has achieved significant progress in law and order, with police now acting promptly in rape and murder cases. He cited examples of quick trials and arrests based on DNA evidence. The minister emphasized that police are not making arrests based on political affiliation and that opposition parties are taking internal action when their members are involved in crimes.

He added that maintaining law and order is essential for national stability and development, calling for public cooperation and political awareness. The minister also mentioned new initiatives to strengthen the Department of Narcotics Control with armed units, training, and modern laboratories across districts.

Ali Akbar Dareini, a researcher at Iran’s Center for Strategic Studies, has accused the United States of not faithfully implementing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries. In an interview with Al Jazeera, he stated that the MoU required the U.S. to release Iran’s frozen assets without any conditions, but Washington has not fulfilled that obligation.

Dareini explained that the MoU was designed to be implemented in two phases: the first aimed at building mutual trust and the second focused on advancing toward a final agreement. He alleged that the U.S. had already failed to meet its responsibilities under the MoU, potentially hindering future negotiations. According to him, the first article of the MoU included a U.S. commitment to halt all military operations on behalf of itself and Israel, but the U.S. later made a separate deal with Israel and Lebanon, contradicting the MoU.

Dareini further claimed that the U.S. continues to hold Iran’s funds illegally as leverage. The report noted that the U.S. has not yet issued any response to these allegations.

A Tangail court has sentenced a man to death for abducting and killing a five-year-old child and concealing the body. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday by Judge A N M Iliyas of the Tangail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal. The convict, Md Nurunnabi, 27, from Nawdholutia village in Gopalpur upazila, also received a total of 20 years in prison and fines amounting to 50,000 taka.

According to the prosecution, Nurunnabi abducted Rayhanul Islam Araf, aged five, from Gangapara village in Gopalpur on October 8, 2024. Following the abduction, the child’s grandfather filed a case with Gopalpur Police Station. Police later arrested Nurunnabi, who confessed to kidnapping the child for ransom, killing him, and hiding the body. Based on his confession, the body was recovered from a ditch beside a railway line in Kaliakoir, Gazipur.

The court found Nurunnabi guilty of murder, abduction, and concealing the body, imposing separate sentences and fines for each charge. After the verdict, he was sent to prison.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Mostakur Rahman announced that Islami Bank has so far received Tk 13,000 crore in liquidity support. He disclosed this information on Tuesday during the presentation of the monetary policy for the first half of the 2026–27 fiscal year.

According to the governor, banks received Tk 17,000 crore in liquidity support during the Awami League government and Tk 51,000 crore during the interim government. He added that no funds were provided in the first four months after the current administration took office, but the liquidity assistance was extended to Islami Bank due to its financial crisis.

The announcement highlights the central bank’s intervention to stabilize Islami Bank’s liquidity position as part of broader monetary management efforts for the new fiscal year.

Bangladesh Bank has announced the monetary policy for the first half of the 2026–27 fiscal year, setting the private sector credit growth target at 6.8 percent through December. The policy was published on the central bank’s website on Tuesday afternoon, outlining the revised target as part of its updated monetary framework.

According to the information released, private sector credit growth stood at 5 percent in May of the previous fiscal year, while the full-year target for 2025–26 had been set at 8.5 percent. The new target represents a reduction compared to that earlier goal. Meanwhile, the target for domestic credit growth has been fixed at 10.5 percent.

The announcement reflects Bangladesh Bank’s continued efforts to manage credit expansion and align monetary policy with current economic conditions for the upcoming fiscal period.

At least 25 passengers were injured when a passenger bus lost control and fell into a roadside ditch in Gopalganj on Tuesday afternoon. The accident occurred near the Sonasur bus stand area on the Dhaka-Khulna highway. The bus, operated by Sebagreen Line, was traveling from Pirojpur to Dhaka when it lost control while overtaking a truck.

According to local sources, among the injured were women and children. Twenty of the injured passengers were taken to Gopalganj Medical College Hospital and Gopalganj 250-bed General Hospital for treatment. Bhatiapara Highway Police Sub-Inspector Nripen Chandra Das confirmed the incident, stating that police and fire service teams, with the help of local residents, rescued the injured and sent them to hospitals.

The report did not mention any fatalities or the condition of the injured passengers beyond their hospitalization.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry announced that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner are currently in Doha but will not hold any direct meetings with Iranian officials. A ministry spokesperson said the American representatives will meet with mediators to review ongoing discussions and diplomatic progress, but no direct talks with Iran are scheduled.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump had claimed that a meeting between the two countries would take place in Doha at Iran’s request. However, Iran has consistently denied plans for direct negotiations with the United States. Qatar’s statement aligns with Tehran’s position, reaffirming that no such meeting is planned.

Qatar also confirmed that Iran’s $6 billion in frozen assets held in South Korea have not yet been transferred to Tehran. As Qatar continues to play a key mediating role in easing tensions between Washington and Tehran, the absence of direct talks leaves uncertainty over the future of diplomatic progress.

Supporters of BNP candidate Aslam Chowdhury blocked the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway on Tuesday afternoon in protest against the cancellation of his nomination for the Chattogram-4 (Sitakunda) constituency. The blockade took place at several points in Sitakunda, where protesters felled large trees across the road, causing a severe traffic jam stretching about 40 kilometers. Thousands of passengers were stranded for hours as hundreds of vehicles became stuck on both sides of the highway.

Eyewitnesses reported that around 2:30 p.m., demonstrators used electric saws to cut roadside trees at Chhoto Darogarhat and placed the trunks across the highway. Similar blockades were later set up in Barabkunda and Kumira unions, where some truck drivers were forced to park their vehicles haphazardly on the road. The disruption completely halted traffic in both directions.

According to the officer-in-charge of Bar Aulia Highway Police Station, law enforcement personnel were deployed to the scene and were working to remove the blockades and restore normal traffic flow.

A Dhaka court has ordered television actor Md. Niamat Ullah Bhuiyan, known as Zaher Alvi, to be sent to jail after completion of his two-day remand in a case filed over allegedly inciting his wife’s suicide. The order was issued on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, by Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid following a hearing. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Abjal Hossain Mridha, confirmed that no bail petition was submitted on behalf of Alvi.

According to police, Alvi was interrogated from different angles during remand, and investigators claimed to have obtained important information relevant to the case. The investigating officer from the Mirpur Detective Branch requested that Alvi remain in custody until the investigation is completed. The case was filed by the deceased’s father, Kabir Hayat Khan, after his daughter Ikra was found dead at her Mirpur DOHS residence on February 28.

Earlier, Alvi had surrendered to the court on June 18, and his bail was denied. He was later placed on a two-day remand on June 24 following a request for ten days of interrogation.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has declared that the International Crimes Tribunal’s sentence against Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) president Hasanul Haq Inu does not meet the standards of justice. In a statement issued Tuesday night, the NCP said the tribunal sentenced Inu to ten years of rigorous imprisonment for crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising. The party argued that the punishment was inadequate given the proven charges, the suffering of victims, and the sacrifices of those killed and injured.

The NCP statement, signed by office cell member Sadia Farzana Dina, noted that three of eight charges against Inu were proven, including directing arrests and torture of protesters, political persecution, and conspiracy with Sheikh Hasina. The party criticized the tribunal for allowing the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in only ten years of imprisonment. It urged the state to appeal for a more exemplary punishment.

The NCP also expressed concern over delays in trials related to the July massacre and enforced disappearances, calling for timely investigations, adequate staffing, and improved efficiency in the prosecution and investigation agencies.

France will organize a spectacular light show at the Statue of Liberty in New York to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. The French Consulate announced the plan on Monday, saying the performance will be pre-recorded and broadcast at the start of ABC Network’s 25-hour special program on July 4, the US Independence Day. The event aims to present the monument in a way never seen before, highlighting its symbolic and emotional significance.

French Consul in New York, Cedric Foussigno, told AFP that the two nations share a 250-year friendship that remains strong and deep, motivating France to do something special for the occasion. France originally gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886, and it has since become one of the country’s most iconic landmarks.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, France also sent its air force aerobatics team to the US earlier in June. On June 9, eight Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France flew over Manhattan, painting the sky in the colors of the French flag and passing above the Statue of Liberty.

Bangladesh National Parliament Speaker and freedom fighter Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed will travel to Iran to attend the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is scheduled to depart from Dhaka on July 2 to represent the Bangladesh government and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the state ceremony in Tehran.

According to BNP media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan, the official mourning events for Ayatollah Khamenei will take place from July 4 to 9 across Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad. Several other members of the Bangladesh Parliament are also expected to attend the funeral on their own initiative. Iranian authorities anticipate that around 20 million people will gather for the funeral and burial ceremonies.

The formal proceedings are set to begin in Tehran and Qom on July 4, with the burial scheduled for July 9 in Mashhad, Khamenei’s birthplace in northeastern Iran, according to Mehr News Agency reports cited in the source.

Bangladesh Bank has announced the monetary policy for the first half of the next fiscal year (July–December 2026), keeping the policy interest rates unchanged due to inflation not yet reaching the desired level. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the central bank’s headquarters by Deputy Governor Habibur Rahman, in the presence of Governor Mostakur Rahman, Deputy Governor Nurun Nahar, and other senior officials.

According to the new policy, the central bank has maintained the repo rate at 10 percent, which is the rate at which banks borrow short-term funds from the central bank against government securities. The Standing Lending Facility (SLF) rate remains at 11.50 percent, while the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate stays at 7.50 percent, applicable when banks deposit funds with the central bank.

The monetary policy statement projects that inflation will decline to 7.5 percent in the upcoming fiscal year, reflecting the central bank’s expectation of gradual price stabilization.

In Madaripur’s Kalkini upazila, large-scale illegal sand extraction from farmland is being used to fill a government canal, according to local reports on June 30, 2026. The activity is taking place in Uttar Shikarmangal village under Shikarmangal Union, allegedly led by local influential figures Jalil Sardar, Alamgir Khan, and Jahangir Khan, with dredging operations managed by a known sand trader named Biman Munshi. Sand is being pumped directly into the canal without any administrative approval, and a major section has already been filled, putting nearby agricultural land at risk of collapse.

Local farmers claim their protests have been ignored and that they are facing threats from those involved. Residents allege that the filled canal area is being prepared for housing construction, undermining the government’s canal excavation program and raising fears of long-term waterlogging during the monsoon. They have urged immediate administrative and legal action to stop the illegal activity and protect public property.

Kalkini Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saif Ul Arefin stated that legal measures will be taken against anyone found filling government canals with sand.

More than 58,000 buildings in Venezuela were damaged or destroyed after two powerful earthquakes struck the country, according to preliminary satellite data released by NASA. The quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, killed about 1,700 people and left thousands missing. The events mark the strongest earthquakes to hit the South American nation in over a century.

Researchers Cory Sherr and Jamon van den Hecke from Oregon State University analyzed radar data collected on June 25 from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite. Their assessment estimated around 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or collapsed. They emphasized that the findings are an early, rapid assessment reflecting surface changes consistent with destruction and have not yet been verified on the ground.

NASA stated that its satellites are providing critical imagery and data to assist field teams in assessing damage and coordinating rescue operations.