Sylhet Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh, known as 48 BGB, seized smuggled goods estimated at Tk 22.5 million in separate operations in Sylhet’s border areas. The force disclosed the seizures in a press release on Sunday, saying the items were recovered during a two-day operation. The report was published on August 23, 2026.

Operations were conducted by the battalion headquarters and the Banglabazar, Sonalichela, Bichanakandi, Tamabil and Pratappur border outposts. Seized items included Indian cosmetics, various saris, cumin, tea leaves, mobile displays, marble, cattle, blankets, chocolate, fish, sugar, betel nut, fruit and yaba.

BGB also said it detained a Bangladeshi barge boat that was carrying sand and stones illegally, along with Bangladeshi mrigel fish. The force put the estimated market value of all confiscated goods at Tk 22.5 million. The source did not provide details on arrests, owners of the goods, or further legal action.

Domestic and foreign experts urged Bangladesh to cancel unfair energy agreements, reduce import dependence and make better use of domestic resources to address its energy crisis. The calls came at a policy roundtable in a Dhaka hotel on Sunday afternoon, organised by the Institute of Policy, Governance and Advocacy for Development (IPGAD). Speakers said technical measures must be accompanied by strong political will, transparency and accountability to build a sustainable energy system.

SOAS University of London economist Mushtaq Khan said short-term supply problems and longer-term structural and production weaknesses had created the current situation. He said that during the Awami League government, paper electricity-generation capacity rose fourfold while costs increased 11-fold and capacity charges rose 20-fold. He argued that disputes over sovereign contracts should focus on proving corruption and irregularities at the time agreements were made, rather than ordinary international arbitration over unpaid bills.

Participants also stressed renewable energy, domestic gas exploration and local manufacturing capacity. BIISS research fellow Lam-Ya Mostak said energy had become a strategic resource and warned against replacing one import dependency with another through solar-panel imports. Other speakers raised concerns about quick rentals, LNG imports, budget deficits, foreign strategic control of energy infrastructure, competition failures and the need for policy changes toward affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly energy production.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has divided responsibilities between two state ministers, assigning Humayun Kabir as State Minister for Foreign Affairs-1 and Shama Obaid Islam as State Minister for Foreign Affairs-2. The arrangement was announced in a circular issued by the ministry on Sunday and published on August 23, 2026. Both ministers will assist the foreign minister under the minister’s guidance and supervision.

Under the circular, Humayun Kabir will handle bilateral and multilateral matters, issues concerning non-resident Bangladeshis, and any other matters assigned by the foreign minister. The responsibilities place him in charge of areas involving Bangladesh’s external relations and concerns connected to Bangladeshis living outside the country.

Shama Obaid Islam, an MP, will oversee the parliamentary standing committee related to the Foreign Ministry, human rights, research and innovation, environment and climate change, the creative economy, LDC graduation, ICT, law of the sea and marine resources, global health diplomacy, and cultural and sports diplomacy. The circular said the prime minister had given approval for the division of responsibilities.

Police in Khanasama, Dinajpur, detained two men on allegations of defrauding people while posing as Detective Branch police officers. The arrests followed a raid at a house in Chairmanpara village of Tongua area on Saturday afternoon. Police sent the two detainees to jail through a court on Sunday afternoon.

The detainees were identified as Ashraful Islam Sarkar, 48, son of Md Nurul Islam of Goalpara Purba (Shantinagar), and Manik Hossain, 46, son of Md Sirajul Islam of Bangrot area. Both areas fall under Thakurgaon Sadar police station.

Police said they seized two black Baofeng BF-888S wireless sets, a Realme C67 Android phone and two button phones. Officers also confiscated a signed Premier Bank cheque mentioning Tk30,000, two Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC ATM cards, a black Max-brand schoolbag and an unregistered black-and-red Pulsar 150cc motorcycle. Khanasama police station Officer-in-Charge Md Abdul Bachet Sarkar said legal action had been taken.

A delegation from the US Embassy in Dhaka met Dhaka University Central Students’ Union Vice President Sadik Kayem at his office in the DUCSU building on Sunday. The meeting focused on higher education, skills development and expanding international opportunities for Dhaka University students. Political Officer James A. Steward and Public Diplomacy Officer Scott Hartman attended on behalf of the embassy.

Discussions gave particular attention to increasing scholarships and financial assistance for Bangladeshi students at US universities. The participants also discussed academic exchanges, research and fellowship opportunities, and broader participation in international educational activities. Kayem emphasized making scholarships and financial support at US higher education institutions more accessible for talented Bangladeshi students.

The meeting also considered workshops, seminars and counselling on study-abroad preparation, university applications, English-language skills, research and academic writing. Participants discussed creating links between Dhaka University students and US-based educational and professional institutions to strengthen career and professional skills. They further addressed greater student participation in embassy education and cultural programmes, public diplomacy initiatives, youth exchanges and joint leadership-development activities.

Tariqul Islam Tarik, a joint general secretary of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, provided full financial support for a Dhaka University student’s master’s examination form fill-up using income earned through bike ride-sharing. The assistance was given on Sunday afternoon to a master’s student in the university’s Department of Islamic History and Culture.

The student, from the 2020–21 academic session and a resident of Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall, had been facing severe financial hardship. After losing his father several years ago, he took on family responsibilities, while a lack of tutoring work limited his income opportunities. As a result, arranging the required form-fill-up fee had become nearly impossible.

Tarik, a former general secretary of Salimullah Muslim Hall Chhatra Dal, said he did not want a student’s dream to stop because of financial constraints. He said he had also experienced hardship and tries to support students within his means. People connected to the matter said he treated the student’s difficulty as a personal responsibility after learning about it.

Opposition Chief Whip and National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam accused the BNP government of severe mismanagement and poor planning during its first 180 days, saying public suffering had increased. He made the remarks at a press briefing on Sunday evening after an 11-party alliance meeting at the opposition leader’s official residence on Minto Road in the capital. The meeting, chaired by Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, discussed the planned Dhaka-Chattogram long march on September 5.

Islam alleged that the government had failed to maintain law and order and cited load-shedding, fuel and gas shortages, rising gas and cylinder prices, factory closures, extortion, fertilizer shortages and business concerns. He said the government should apologise and seek help from opposition parties and the public instead of presenting what he called misleading claims of success.

He called for implementation of the referendum verdict and a national policy on energy and law and order involving all parties. The alliance said its long march would demand implementation of the referendum verdict, justice for the July killings, and action on law and order, commodity prices and energy shortages.

Ten families of workers killed in the Sitakunda shipbreaking tragedy received a combined Tk1 crore in compensation at Ferdous Shipyard in Bhatiari, Chattogram, on Sunday afternoon. Each family received a final cheque of Tk7 lakh after previously receiving Tk3 lakh, bringing total compensation to Tk10 lakh per family. The deaths followed a toxic-gas incident on 14 August while an old LNG carrier was being dismantled at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries.

Nine workers initially died after exposure to toxic gas and another later died while receiving treatment. Hydrogen sulfide was detected in the vessel's tanks, and investigators collected samples from several tanks for testing. Chattogram Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia acknowledged a lack of technology to remove hydrogen sulfide and called for maximum caution when dismantling LNG carriers and other hazardous ships.

The vessel owner said he bought the ship from a Dubai company after it received a clean certificate and planned legal action. The shipbreakers' association president blamed its sale before full cleaning, though investigators have not conclusively established that the certificate was false. The yard's environmental clearance expired on 12 August; after the accident, authorities fined it and ordered shipbreaking suspended until renewal.

The Netherlands’ data protection authority has fined ride-sharing company Uber €825 million, about $960 million, for failing to properly notify drivers before deactivating their accounts. A spokesperson for the authority confirmed the penalty on Friday, saying the decision had been made the previous Monday.

The action was taken under European data protection law, which says decisions made solely through automated processes must not have significant effects on individuals. The case was based on several incidents in Europe between 2020 and 2022 and began with a complaint filed against Uber in France. It was heard in the Netherlands because Uber’s European headquarters is in Amsterdam.

The central allegation was that Uber deactivated some drivers’ accounts without adequately informing them of the decision. Uber has rejected the Dutch ruling and said it will appeal. The company described the size of the fine as disproportionate and said it would challenge the decision.

Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department issued warnings for four seaports and river ports after a low-pressure system formed over the northwestern Bay of Bengal and adjacent coastal areas. Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra seaports were told to repeatedly display local cautionary signal number three. The report was published on August 23, 2026, as rough sea conditions were reported.

Meteorologist Abdul Hamid said the low pressure was unlikely to have a major impact over Bangladesh. However, he said rainfall tendencies in coastal areas could increase from two days after the system dissipates and continue for two to three days. The department said the monsoon trough extended from Rajasthan through several Indian regions, central Bangladesh and Assam, with monsoon activity moderate over Bangladesh and strong over the northern Bay.

For the following 24 hours from 6pm Sunday, light to moderate rain or thunderstorms with gusty winds were forecast in many places across Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions. Temperatures could fall slightly. Rainfall had remained low, while humidity caused oppressive heat; Ishwardi recorded 35.5°C and Dhaka 34.8°C.

Bangladesh Safe Food Authority (BFSA) intensified enforcement and monitoring nationwide to protect public health and ensure food safety, fining 25 establishments a total of Tk67 lakh and filing 25 cases from August 16 to 22. The operations covered Dhaka and several districts across the country.

In the Dhaka metropolitan area, inspections were conducted at seven establishments, with three fined Tk3 lakh and three cases filed for legal violations. In Chattogram metropolitan area, a special summary trial targeted four establishments last Saturday, resulting in Tk40 lakh in fines and four cases. Operations in multiple districts covered 15 establishments, producing Tk24 lakh in fines and 15 cases.

A summary trial in Brahmanbaria on August 17 filed three regular cases without imposing fines. BFSA also monitored 220 food establishments, including markets, hotels, restaurants, bakeries and food-processing facilities. The authority held a consultation with the World Health Organization's RE-CAP mission on healthy food policy and non-communicable disease prevention, while continuing food-safety awareness messages through television, radio and social media.

A video showing a child making meowing sounds after being scratched by a pet cat has spread on social media in Bahirchar, Bheramara upazila of Kushtia. Doctors said they found no signs of rabies in the child, Mustarin Adrita, according to Kushtia Sadar Hospital Residential Medical Officer Dr Iqbal Hossain. The report was published on August 23, 2026.

Adrita, the daughter of banker Sabbir Hossain from Bahirchar 16 Dag area, was taken to Kushtia Sadar Hospital on August 17 after the cat scratch and was given a rabies preventive vaccine. She was sent to Dhaka on Sunday morning for advanced treatment.

The viral video showed the child behaving unusually and making cat-like sounds, prompting discussion and curiosity locally. Sources said the family kept the cat as a pet and that it scratched the child about six months earlier, when she was also vaccinated. It could not be confirmed whether the cat had rabies. Dr Hossain said fear, anxiety or excessive mental stress could also lead to such behaviour.

Chhatra Dal’s Chattogram North district unit has permanently expelled Sandwip upazila member secretary Shahidul Islam over allegations of extortion and breaching party discipline. The action followed reported disruption of speedboat services on the Kumira-Guptachhara river route, where freedom fighter Siraj Uddin, 72, allegedly died at the terminal on Wednesday while trying to travel to Chattogram for advanced treatment.

A district Chhatra Dal notice said the expulsion was approved by president Takibul Hasan Chowdhury Toki and general secretary Sarwar Hossain Rubel, and instructed party members not to maintain organisational ties with Shahidul. The party said it acted directly under its constitution because of specific evidence and a severe breach of discipline.

Shahidul said he was a victim of conspiracy and had not received an expulsion letter or an opportunity to defend himself. Local residents alleged that other influential figures behind terminal-centred extortion remain beyond reach. Sandwip’s executive officer Amzad Hossain said speedboat operators were ordered to keep passenger services normal and authorities were examining allegations involving extortion and a fugitive syndicate.

Daily purchases through Bangla QR in Bangladesh have crossed Tk 100 crore for the first time, following mandatory adoption of the system from July 1. During the past week, Bangla QR recorded an average of 303,000 transactions a day, with average daily purchases worth Tk 110.38 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank assistant spokesperson Shahriar Siddiqui.

In early July, Bangla QR handled an average of 178,000 transactions daily, with purchases averaging Tk 37.33 crore a day. Within several weeks, the number of transactions nearly doubled while their financial value rose by nearly three times.

The requirement replaced conventional QR codes with Bangla QR at establishments of all types of ownership. Merchant acceptance has also expanded rapidly: the number of merchants accepting Bangla QR rose from about 1.6 million on July 1 to more than 3 million currently.

Iran has discovered more than 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in a gas field in the southern province of Fars, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said. Speaking to state television IRIB on Sunday, he said the field contains about 5.7 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, calculated on a recovery rate of 72 to 73 percent. The announcement came as Iran remains in an ongoing war with the United States.

The discovery could add to Iran’s already substantial gas reserves, though its commercial value will depend on whether the country can secure the investment and technology needed to develop the field. War, sanctions and the US blockade have placed Iran’s energy sector under pressure. According to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, Iran has around 34 trillion cubic metres of proven gas reserves, ranking second globally after Russia.

Despite its large reserves, Iran has faced regular gas shortages, power outages and disruptions to industrial production. After Israel and the United States began joint attacks against Iran on February 28, conditions became more difficult. Tehran said in July that attacks on energy infrastructure had reduced daily gas production by about 230 million cubic metres.