Six Bangladeshis were killed in a fire at a supermarket in the labour area of Queenstown, South Africa, early Tuesday local time, according to relatives citing Bangladeshis in the country. Five of the dead were from Narayanganj’s Alirtek and Baktabali unions, while another was from Munshiganj. Grief spread through the villages of Middle Krokarchar, Tailkhirarchar and Kanainagar as families appealed for the bodies or remains to be brought home.

The victims were identified as Apon Ahmed, Fahim, Nur Mohammad, Faisal, Shahin and Razzak. Supermarket owner and Alirtek Union Parishad member Rowshan Ali said seven people had been sleeping in the shop’s residential room when the fire spread during the night. Six died at the scene and one injured person is receiving hospital treatment. Relatives said most of those killed were their families’ main earners.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, and local police are investigating, Rowshan Ali said. Relatives sought assistance from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, the Bangladesh High Commission in South Africa and relevant authorities for repatriation. Narayanganj Deputy Commissioner Raihan Kabir said officials would quickly contact the affected families once formal information is received from the embassy.

Authorities have withdrawn Section 144 restrictions in Habiganj municipality after determining that the overall law-and-order situation had returned to normal. The order was signed on Thursday by District Commissioner and District Magistrate Dr. M A Sarfaraz. With the withdrawal, restrictions on public gatherings, including meetings and rallies, are no longer in force in the municipal area.

The restrictions were imposed on Wednesday morning following clashes in Habiganj town on July 28 between activists of the National Citizen Party, or NCP, and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal over the “July Jagaran Padayatra.” Several people from both sides were injured in the confrontation.

The district administration had imposed the order amid fears of further conflict after the NCP and the BNP, along with its affiliated organizations, announced programmes at the same time and venue. During the restrictions, meetings, rallies, processions, marches and public gatherings were prohibited. Additional police, army personnel and other law-enforcement forces were deployed to strengthen security in the municipal area.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said the United States has used about one-third of its Patriot missile-defense system interceptors and roughly half of its THAAD interceptor missiles since the war with Iran began. The assessment was reported on July 30, 2026.

CSIS estimated that the United States had about 2,330 Patriot interceptors before the war, with the current total falling to between 759 and 827. It said the US had approximately 452 THAAD interceptors before the conflict and now has between 234 and 278 remaining.

The institution said its estimates were based on US Department of Defense fiscal 2027 budget documents and publicly available information. CSIS warned that if conflict with Iran resumes, the United States would have to manage the situation with fewer interceptors. It said this could increase risks to air defense and compel the United States and its allies to take greater strategic risks in using interceptors.

A report published on July 30, 2026, World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, says Bangladeshis are being trafficked through dangerous Mediterranean crossings, cyber-scam compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar, and Russia-linked job fraud. Young people are reportedly lured through WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook with promises of overseas work, only to face exploitation, abuse or alleged deployment to war zones.

Frontex data cited in the report says Bangladeshis are the largest group attempting to enter Europe from Libya via the Central Mediterranean route, with about 110,000 entering Europe between 2009 and June 2026. At least 18 Bangladeshis died while travelling from Libya to Greece in March. BRAC research found that 75 percent of those seeking Italy or Greece did not get jobs, while 93 percent were confined in camps and 79 percent faced physical abuse.

The Home Ministry reported 5,284 pending trafficking cases, including older cases, by May 2026, while only 17 cases were resolved from January to May. The government has enacted a 2026 law covering trafficking and migrant smuggling. Migration expert Shariful Hasan called for enforcement, public awareness, asset seizure and special tribunals in trafficking-prone districts.

Seven people were killed when a helicopter crashed in Argentina’s western San Juan province on Wednesday morning while conducting a training exercise ahead of a wildfire response mission. The aircraft went down in Ischigualasto Natural Park after it was preparing to assist efforts against fires that had been burning for several days in a neighboring province.

Contact between the helicopter and the control room was lost at about 10:30 a.m. local time. San Juan Governor Marcelo Orrego said in a post on X that seven people had died in the provincial helicopter accident. He said the victims included firefighters, police officers and Civil Protection Department personnel.

Emergency services said the cause of the crash was under investigation and rescue teams had been deployed to the site. The San Juan provincial government declared three days of mourning. Since the start of the week, multiple wildfires have spread through mountainous areas of La Rioja, where local firefighters reported that hundreds of hectares of forest had burned in only three days.

The National Citizen Party, or NCP, filed a case against 11 people, including Habiganj district Chhatra Dal president Rajib Ahmed Ringon, over an alleged attack. District Jubo Shakti convener Tanmoy Taher filed the case at Kamaischhara Police Outpost in Bahubal upazila at about 8:45pm on Wednesday, naming Ringon as the principal accused.

Earlier, NCP convener Nahid Islam, chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, northern region chief organiser Sarjis Alam, Dr Mahmuda Mitu and other central leaders set out from Moulvibazar to join a protest rally in Habiganj. Their convoy was stopped by police in Musai and later by a joint police, RAB and DB barricade near Kamaischhara Rubber Garden.

A sand-laden truck and a passenger bus were positioned across the old Dhaka-Sylhet highway near Amtali Bridge, disrupting traffic from 5pm. After discussions, senior officials persuaded the leaders not to enter Habiganj. Patwary alleged that Sarjis Alam and other activists were injured and claimed losses of about Tk30 lakh. Traffic began returning to normal after 9pm.

The UN Security Council is holding an informal confidential vote on Thursday as part of the process to choose the next UN secretary-general. The straw poll will assess member states’ levels of support for seven candidates competing for the post. Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will leave office at the end of this year after completing two consecutive five-year terms.

Guterres, a Portuguese national, is due to be succeeded under the established process when his term ends. The seven candidates in contention are from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Senegal and Uganda. The initial informal Security Council vote is known as a straw poll.

Representatives of the Council’s 15 member states will register one of three views on each candidate: encourage, discourage or no opinion. Several rounds of straw polls are usually conducted before a final decision is reached. The process could conclude by late September or early October, although it may take longer if broad consensus cannot be reached around a single acceptable candidate.

Nine police officers were killed and 28 others injured in a militant attack on the Khajina Banda police checkpoint in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The report, published on July 30, said DSP Diyar Khan was among those killed during a prolonged and intense exchange of fire.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hamid said in a statement that members of the militant group Fitna Al Khawarij carried out the assault. He claimed that police counteraction killed 15 “Khawarij” and injured several others.

Separately, militants fired at another police checkpoint in the Adezai area under Mattani police station in Peshawar late Wednesday night. Police returned fire, after which the attackers fled; no police personnel were reported killed or injured there. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the Hangu attack and expressed deep condolences to the families of the officers killed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the United States will not allow Iran to hold global trade hostage. He issued the warning in a post on X on July 30, 2026, after Washington imposed new sanctions on Tehran.

Bessent said the United States would not permit Iran to use the international shipping system to finance terrorism, aggression and repression by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. His statement framed the sanctions as part of Washington’s opposition to Iran’s alleged use of maritime commerce for IRGC-related funding.

Earlier, the US Treasury Department said it had sanctioned two entities closely linked to an IRGC-backed extortion network. According to Washington, the network forced commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to purchase maritime “insurance.” The US alleged that money collected through the arrangement was used to fund various IRGC activities.

Border Guard Bangladesh seized 28 cattle allegedly brought from India through smuggling, along with a steel-body boat, in the Midhnagar border area of Sunamganj. Members of Bangalbhita BOP under BGB’s 28 Battalion conducted the operation before dawn on Wednesday in the Bakatala area of Banshikunda Uttar Union.

According to sources at Sunamganj 28 Battalion, the medium-sized cattle were being transported by the steel-body boat from India and were allegedly intended for trafficking into the country’s interior. BGB personnel acted on secret information to recover the cattle and seize the boat. No one was arrested because the alleged smugglers fled after detecting the presence of BGB members.

The estimated market value of the seized cattle is Tk 2.53 million. Lieutenant Colonel A K M Zakaria Kadir, commander of Sunamganj 28 BGB Battalion, said the recovered cattle were deposited with the Sunamganj customs office after completion of legal procedures. He said BGB has further strengthened patrols and surveillance to prevent smuggling at the border.

The United States struck a residential building on Iran’s Qeshm Island, where at least three people were feared trapped beneath rubble, according to the report published on July 30. Two injured people were admitted to hospital, while rescue operations were under way. Officials also said electricity supplies on the island were disrupted after the attack.

Semi-official Tasnim news agency said US warplanes launched multiple missile strikes at dawn on Qeshm and Kish islands and near the city of Kazerun in Fars province. Explosions were reported on Kish Island, but airport, ferry and port operations there remained normal, the report said.

Iranian officials said the latest attacks resembled the United States’ previous 13-day military campaign. Those strikes were mainly focused on southern Iran, particularly coastal areas around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The report did not provide further details on the people feared trapped or the progress of rescue efforts.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board wants to accelerate the Purbachal International Cricket Stadium project ahead of the 2031 ICC One Day International World Cup due to be held in Bangladesh. In a report published on July 30, 2026, the board said it plans to prepare the stadium as one of the tournament’s venues and provide modern facilities there. It also intends to revise the earlier design to align the project with a longer-term plan for modern infrastructure.

After a board meeting, BCB president Tamim Iqbal said government support would likely be needed to carry out such a large project. He described the 2031 ODI World Cup as cricket’s biggest tournament and a matter of pride for Bangladesh, saying he was confident the government would consider the issue. He added that Purbachal had been included in the planning when the World Cup bid was made.

The BCB also wants to begin work quickly on a modern cricket excellence centre at Purbachal. The board has already approved that project, Tamim said. Because a design prepared several years ago does not fully match the current plan, the BCB has decided to prepare a new one. The board hopes the stadium and centre will strengthen cricket infrastructure and World Cup preparations.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, said it will maintain military resistance as long as US threats continue. The force stated its position on Thursday while claiming attacks on several US military targets in Jordan. The IRGC said it had carried out what it described as successful operations against a US air base and a command center located in Jordan.

The IRGC urged US officials to refrain from using threatening language against Tehran. Its naval branch also said it attacked three oil tankers after they allegedly tried to move toward the strategic Strait of Hormuz using unauthorized routes. Separately, at least four IRGC members were reported killed in joint air strikes by the United States and Saudi Arabia, adding to the continuing regional crisis.

Tensions over the Strait of Hormuz have intensified as Iran formally rejected Oman’s proposal on international shipping routes through the waterway. Tehran is considering tolls for vessels using the chokepoint and insists that mine-clearance work must be carried out only through Iran. It also rejected a proposal for Oman to manage mine clearance and warned European countries that independently conducting such operations could make their military or civilian vessels legitimate targets.

US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran “very hard” in response to an Iranian attack targeting US military forces stationed in Jordan. In remarks reported on July 30, 2026, Trump reacted angrily after the attack and said, “Now it is our turn.”

Trump said missiles fired by Iran at a military base in Jordan had been successfully shot down by US air-defense systems. Although the attack was repelled, he said Washington would not leave it unanswered and was fully prepared to take retaliatory military action.

The president said Tehran would receive an appropriate response from US power despite the failure of the attack. The report said the decision to take tough action against Iran remained in place, while Trump reiterated that the United States was ready for a countermeasure in response to the incident.

US Central Command said Thursday that it carried out simultaneous “devastating strikes” inside Iran in response to an attempted Iranian missile attack on US military forces. The statement, reported on July 30, 2026, said more than 12 important targets of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, were successfully damaged.

According to CENTCOM, the affected sites included IRGC military command centers, missile and drone manufacturing factories, coastal surveillance and defense systems, and facilities linked to maritime military capabilities. The command did not provide further details in the source about the locations of the targets or the scale of damage.

The US military said the strikes were intended to reduce threats posed by Iran and groups it supports against US forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries. CENTCOM also said that more than 50,000 US service members deployed across the Middle East were at the highest level of alert and were fully prepared to respond to any situation.