Bangladesh has set airfare for Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims at Tk130,000 for the current Hajj season, following a further reduction of Tk25,000, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat said. He announced the decision on Thursday morning at the opening of the three-day National Hajj and Umrah Fair 2026, organised by the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.

Millat said Hajj ticket prices had been reduced by Tk12,000 last year. The government is prioritising Hajj packages at reasonable cost and in an environment free from harassment, he said. He added that the 2026 Hajj had been completed smoothly and that the government aims to improve the process further in 2027. He warned that corruption and fraud would not be tolerated.

The ministry has asked the Saudi government to reduce construction tax imposed by Saudi airports on air tickets, Millat said. It has also discussed special facilities with the Saudi ambassador to lower accommodation costs for Bangladeshi pilgrims. Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad said 5 percent of pilgrims travel under government arrangements, while 95 percent use private agencies, urging agencies to prevent fraud.

Bangladesh Bank has withdrawn the administrator from EXIM Bank, one of five banks merged into Sammilito Islami Bank. The move means EXIM Bank’s operations will now be run through Sammilito Islami Bank’s board of directors and managing director. Administrator Shawkatul Alam and his representatives were withdrawn on Thursday, according to a report published on July 30.

During the interim government period, EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank and Global Islami Bank were merged to form Sammilito Islami Bank. The boards of the banks were dissolved and their managing directors were removed. Bangladesh Bank subsequently appointed administrators to oversee the banks’ operations.

In June, the government appointed Kazi Shayrul Hasan as chairman of Sammilito Islami Bank’s board and Abedur Rahman Shikdar as managing director. After the new board and management assumed responsibility, Bangladesh Bank decided to withdraw administrators in stages. Relevant central bank officials said administrators would also be withdrawn from the remaining four merged banks by August.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan urged people to prevent anyone from using the spirit and achievements of the July mass uprising for personal or political gain. He made the appeal on Thursday while chairing a publication launch, photography exhibition and discussion marking July Martyrs’ Day 2026 at the DFP auditorium.

Swapan said people have historically been inspired by the spirit of independence to resist injustice and oppression when those forces have increased in society. He called for collective work to establish justice, democracy and human values while carrying the ideals of July. He also urged that the July spirit not be “sold” in the way he alleged the Awami League had sold the spirit of the Liberation War.

The minister said the enduring spirit of the independence war lies within the spirit of sacrifice of July, and that the Liberation War’s contribution to Bangladesh’s political process cannot be forgotten. He said the public had succeeded in an anti-fascist movement with the anti-discrimination student movement at its forefront and that work to build the country was now under way. Guests inaugurated a July Martyrs’ Day publication and visited the photography exhibition.

Residents of Panishwar union in Sarail, Brahmanbaria, say recurring Meghna River erosion has destroyed homes, rice mills, mosques, businesses and farmland for more than three decades without a permanent riverbank protection embankment. The report, published July 30, said erosion is continuing along roughly three kilometres in Palpara, Sakhaiti, Dewbaria and Layarhati, with hundreds of people facing renewed losses during each monsoon.

Local residents said the river takes more land every year and warned that remaining villages could disappear without durable protection. Acting union chairman Md Touhid Mia said several hundred families in Palpara, Sakhaiti, Sholabari and Dewbaria are directly at risk. He said about 20 rice mills and more than 100 homes have already been lost to the river.

Bangladesh Water Development Board official Mohsin Kabir Shihab said a proposal for 1,350 metres of riverbank protection work in Panishwar has been sent to the Water Resources Ministry under an integrated water resources management project. Geobags have been placed at several locations as an emergency measure. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiful Islam said the situation is highly concerning and that alleged illegal sand extraction is being examined; legal action will follow if allegations are verified.

National Citizen Party (NCP) northern region chief organiser Sarzis Alam alleged that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s silence over repeated attacks on NCP demonstrates its direct or indirect support for those incidents. He made the allegation at a discussion with family members of July uprising martyrs at Golapganj municipality auditorium in Sylhet on July 30. Alam said BNP wanted to silence NCP and called on BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman to clearly state whether NCP would be allowed to speak politically.

Alam said NCP would determine its political strategy if no clear position was given. He urged an end to what he described as a political culture of attacking from behind, saying NCP would strongly resist BNP if it followed the authoritarian political culture he attributed to the Awami League in the past. Referring to a past remark by former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, he also warned against creating militants through Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.

Alam called for ensuring the rights, dignity and government benefits of families of seven July uprising martyrs from Golapganj. He alleged that such families were not properly included in government martyr day events and often failed to receive effective solutions when approaching district commissioners or superintendents of police.

Authorities tightened security in six upazilas of Sylhet over the National Citizen Party’s pre-announced “July March” programme on July 30. District Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun said five platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh personnel had been deployed, while additional police were also on duty to maintain control of the situation.

Security was reinforced in Kanaighat, Golapganj, Osmaninagar, Companiganj, Gowainghat and Jaintapur, six of Sylhet’s 13 upazilas. The measures follow allegations that Chhatra Dal activists attacked an NCP march in Habiganj on Tuesday. NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, northern region chief organiser Sarjis Alam and several other party activists were injured, according to the report.

After NCP called a protest rally on Wednesday, Chhatra Dal announced a rally at the same venue. The administration imposed Section 144 over concerns of deteriorating law and order, and police stopped NCP convener Nahid Islam and central leaders from travelling to Habiganj; they later returned from Bahubal to Moulvibazar. NCP filed a complaint naming 11 people and accusing another 100 unidentified individuals. It plans marches in three more upazilas on Friday.

Prime Minister’s political adviser Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi called for rule of law, expanded education and grassroots cultural awareness to combat human trafficking in Bangladesh. He made the remarks on July 30, 2026, at a national seminar at Dhaka University’s R C Majumdar Arts Auditorium marking World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The Dhaka University Journalists’ Association and Bangladesh Art Criticism Trust jointly organized the seminar, titled “Role of Media and Culture in Preventing Human Trafficking.”

Rizvi said declining cultural activities have reduced public awareness and increased criminal tendencies. He said education should enable even illiterate people at the grassroots to contact local authorities and avoid fraud, exploitation, violence and trafficking. State Minister for Social Welfare Barrister Farzana Sharmin said journalists can play an important role through evidence- and data-based investigative reporting, while stressing coordinated work with domestic and foreign organizations for survivor protection and rehabilitation.

Professor Rezaul Karim Sohag said forced labour, and the exploitation of children and women, remain concerning alongside cross-border trafficking. He urged effective implementation of the re-enacted Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2026. This year’s theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” focused on awareness of trafficking, cyber slavery and digital exploitation concealed behind online fraud.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that four people were newly killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the previous 24 hours. At least six bodies arrived at hospitals during that period, according to the ministry’s report. The report said Israel has continued regular attacks in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

Of the six bodies received by hospitals, four were newly killed people, one person died from injuries while receiving treatment, and one body was recovered from beneath rubble. The ministry reported that since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, at least 1,214 people have been killed and 3,977 wounded.

Since the war began on October 7, 2023, the number of people killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks has risen to at least 73,341, the ministry said. It reported that 174,086 people have been injured over the same period. The report did not provide further details on immediate measures or reactions beyond the casualty figures.

Eleven police officers were killed and 28 others injured in an armed attack on a security outpost in Hangu district, northwestern Pakistan, according to a provincial police headquarters statement issued Thursday. The attack took place Wednesday night in the district near the Afghan border. City police chief Tariq Habib told journalists that one of those killed was a deputy superintendent of police.

Police said members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, carried out the attack. The Pakistani government refers to the group as “Fitna al-Khawarij.” Police said 15 attackers were also killed during a counter-operation.

The TTP has long targeted security forces and government installations in northwestern and southwestern Pakistan, the report said. Attacks targeting security forces have increased notably in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in recent times. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed deep condolences to the families of the police personnel who were killed.

Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman said Bangladesh is working to strengthen alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, to reduce court case backlogs. He spoke on July 30 at the Secretariat during the signing of two separate memorandums of understanding between the Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Directorate and the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, or BLAST, and BRAC’s Social Empowerment and Legal Protection programme. He said the partnerships would curb new case filings and provide faster, effective services to justice seekers.

The minister said legal aid activities began in Bangladesh through an administrative order in 1994 and gained an institutional basis through legislation in 2000. He said the government alone cannot resolve case backlogs and needs the experience of organisations working with marginalised communities and mediation. A recent review found that new cases under certain laws in 20 districts fell by more than 62 percent from March to May 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Under the BLAST agreement, court paralegals will be appointed on a pilot basis in Dhaka, Gazipur and Chattogram to provide legal support to workers. The BRAC agreement covers mediator training, certification, legal recognition of successful mediations, reports for failed mediations and joint monitoring. The government is also considering amendments to the Transfer of Property Act.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, arrived in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, July 30, for a three-day visit. The report said this is Gor’s first visit to Bangladesh. Diplomatic circles view the trip as an important step in assessing the direction of Bangladesh’s foreign policy.

Gor is scheduled to meet Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman in the evening at the state guest house Padma. The planned meeting is among the formal engagements listed for the envoy’s visit to Dhaka.

Later that night, Gor is expected to meet the finance minister at the US ambassador’s residence. The report provided no further details on the agenda of the meetings, additional visit programmes, or any expected outcomes from the discussions.

Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon said the government is prioritising sports to keep students away from drugs, terrorism and other forms of social decline. He announced that the Prime Minister’s Gold Cup National Football Competition 2026 will open in September rather than August because of adverse weather. He made the remarks at a Thursday afternoon press conference at the Chattogram Press Club.

Milon said the prime minister will inaugurate the tournament as chief guest at Chattogram District Stadium on September 9 or 10. The event had been scheduled to begin in the second week of August but was delayed by one month. Land and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain and two members of parliament attended the briefing.

According to the minister, more than 16 million students from 40,231 educational institutions will take part. Competition will begin at upazila and thana levels, with champion teams advancing nationally. Thirty-two teams from eight regions will compete nationally across boys’ and girls’ secondary and higher-secondary divisions, with four divisional champions. The final and closing ceremony are scheduled for Dhaka in the last week of October.

Bangladesh’s Land Ministry has issued 10 directives to strengthen cybersecurity and improve the performance of computers, networks and other ICT devices used in upazila land offices, revenue circle offices and union land offices. The measures are intended to keep automated land-service operations secure, uninterrupted and effective. The ministry has instructed the Land Reform Board to take necessary steps to implement the directives, according to a report published on July 30, 2026.

The ministry recently sent a letter on the matter to the chairman of the Land Reform Board. It called for licensed, up-to-date antivirus software on all computers and the use of designated secure browsers, including current versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Offices were also asked to avoid outdated or insecure browsers and review hardware capacity, including RAM, storage and processors, for possible upgrades.

Other requirements include updated network-device firmware, strong passwords and replacement of default usernames and passwords. The directives also cover software updates, removal of unnecessary programs, data backups, multi-factor authentication where needed, physical security for ICT devices and virus scanning of portable storage devices. Staff awareness must be improved, while technical or security problems in digital land-service systems should be reported promptly to relevant technical authorities.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal ordered former textiles and jute minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui sent to jail in a case alleging murder and crimes against humanity linked to a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel, Dhaka. Tribunal-2 issued the order on Thursday afternoon, July 30, after he was produced before the court.

Detective Branch police of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Siddiqui from Gulshan in the capital on Wednesday. Before the arrest, he had said he would surrender to the International Crimes Tribunal in the crimes against humanity case over the killings connected to the Shapla Chattar gathering. He made the statement to journalists after appearing before the court of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana.

Siddiqui, who was expelled from the Awami League, was arrested from an event at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in August last year following the July uprising. Police later named him as an accused in a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act. He was released on bail after several months, but that case remains pending and he is required to appear in court.

A video allegedly showing bargaining over money for a land mutation service at the Mirsharai Sadar Union Land Office in Chattogram has gone viral on social media. The video began circulating on Facebook and other platforms from Wednesday afternoon, prompting discussion and criticism locally. The upazila administration has issued a show-cause notice to assistant land officer Shamsunnahar, requiring a written explanation within three working days.

The footage is alleged to show a conversation between Shamsunnahar and a service recipient about payment linked to a mutation process. A statement referring to “some expenses” is heard, followed by discussion over the amount of money. However, it has not been confirmed who recorded the video or when it was recorded, meaning its full context could not immediately be verified.

Assistant Commissioner (Land) Alauddin Kader said legal action would be taken if an investigation finds the allegation true. Shamsunnahar said the video was about a year old and alleged that a cleaner had secretly recorded videos and later demanded money. Local residents have called for an impartial investigation and action against those responsible if the allegations are proven.