India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after widespread protests over irregularities in national-level examinations and an alleged leak of the medical admission test question paper. According to a report published on July 25, he submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Protesters at Jantar Mantar in Delhi erupted in celebration as news of the resignation emerged.

The protests began over the NEET question-paper leak and spread to several cities across India in recent days. The issue became one of the most discussed matters in national politics, the report said. Cockroach Janata Party, or CJP, posted on social media in support of the students, saying, “Long live the strength of students.”

CJP founder Abhijit Dip said from the Jantar Mantar stage that the protesters had succeeded. He said many people had believed nobody resigned under the current government, but the movement had made it possible. The report cited NDTV as its source.

Prime Minister’s political adviser and BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said he had not expected the president to resign. He made the remarks on Saturday after paying tribute at the graves of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia with 12 BNP leaders appointed to important positions in government, semi-government and autonomous institutions. Rizvi said media discussion and coverage of the issue had ultimately been followed by the resignation.

According to Rizvi, the president wrote in his resignation letter that his health had deteriorated and that he had become seriously ill. He said BNP knew only this information and would remain within those limits. Asked who would become the next president, Rizvi said the matter would be decided by the party’s top policymaking forum and executive committee, adding that he had no personal knowledge of it. He also said BNP had no official information regarding media discussions about the president.

Rizvi said the newly assigned BNP leaders had long been involved in party politics and were qualified for their posts. He expressed hope they would work with honesty, dedication and efficiency. He also referred to commitments on family, farmer and health cards, as well as programmes aimed at expanding employment opportunities for young people.

A total of 160 students from private universities, described as leaders of the July uprising and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, formally joined the National Citizen Party (NCP). The joining took place at a National Youth Power convention at 4 pm on Friday, July 24. The students, including conveners, member secretaries and other leaders of the July movement at different private universities, joined together under the leadership of Omar Faruk Jubo Raj.

National Youth Power president Tarikul, general secretary Farhad Sohel and organising secretary Rifat welcomed the new members with flowers. NCP central leaders present included Akhtar Hossain, Nusrat Tabassum, Hannan Masud, Gazi Salahuddin Tanvir, Mahin Sarkar and Nasir Uddin Patwary, along with other party leaders.

Speaking for the joining students were Omar Faruk Jubo Raj, Rabiul Alam Akamin, Badsha, Tajrian Mahmud and Mahmud Hasan Tuhin. They said they had begun a new political journey through the NCP to build a non-discriminatory, democratic and accountable state while carrying the spirit of the July uprising. A press release claimed Jubo Raj played an important role in organising private university students, leading the July movement and coordinating among universities.

Allegations of irregularities have emerged over the procurement and supply of answer sheets for the 2026 HSC examinations at the Cumilla Education Board. A report published on July 25 said answer sheets were made with cheaper, lower-quality paper than specified in the tender. Visits to several examination centres reportedly found 55-gram sheets being issued instead of the required 65-gram paper.

The Dhaka-based firm Gonolipi reportedly received a contract to supply 65-gram answer sheets but supplied sheets made with 52-gram paper. The allocation for purchasing the sheets was Tk 12.9 million, while the supplied quantity was valued at Tk 8 million to Tk 8.5 million, according to the report. It alleged that roughly Tk 4 million to Tk 4.5 million was misappropriated. Teachers at several centres said this year’s answer sheets were markedly poorer in quality than in previous years.

Gonolipi owner Mohammad Jasim Uddin and several committee members did not respond to contact attempts. Deputy Director Md Shahjahan said his responsibility was to receive sheets from the contractor. Board chairman Professor Ahsan Parvez said he had joined only days earlier and that the matter would need to be investigated.

Khelafat Majlis has decided to leave the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance. The decision was taken on Saturday at the third general session of the party’s central Majlis-e-Shura at the Diploma Engineers Institute auditorium. The decision was announced in a statement signed by central publicity secretary Engineer Abdul Hafiz Khasru after the meeting.

The party said the 11-party alliance was primarily an electoral understanding and that its effectiveness had effectively ended after the election. Khelafat Majlis nevertheless participated in some alliance programmes after the election. It has now decided to refrain from all programmes of the 11-party alliance.

After the 11-party divisional rally in Chattogram on June 13, Khelafat Majlis formally told the alliance not to use the party’s name or its leaders’ names on banners or promotional materials for future rallies. When its name was used at a rally in Rangpur, it was withdrawn following objections. The party said it would continue efforts to build a broader unity if needed for the country, nation and Islam.

The Coast Guard detained Hafiz Ullah, a former vice president of Teknaf Upazila Awami League, with 4,500 yaba pills in the Inani area of Cox’s Bazar. The operation was conducted at 10am on Friday near the Inani Marine Drive after the Coast Guard Station Inani received secret information. Hafiz Ullah, 66, was identified as a resident of Dailpara in ward No. 3 of Teknaf Sadar Union.

According to Lieutenant Commander BN Suman Al Mukit, media officer for the Coast Guard East Zone, personnel searched a passenger bus travelling from Teknaf to Cox’s Bazar during the special operation. They detained Hafiz Ullah and recovered the yaba pills. The seized pills were estimated to be worth about Tk22.5 lakh.

Hafiz Ullah is the son of the late Toiyom Golal and previously served as vice president of the Teknaf Upazila Awami League. The Coast Guard said procedures for further legal action regarding the seized drugs and the detained alleged drug dealer were under process.

Bangladesh’s e-commerce sector is facing a deep crisis as businesses scale back, consumer confidence weakens, investment declines and operating costs rise, a report published on July 25, 2026 said. Market contraction has pushed many companies toward layoffs, reduced operations or closure, while interest among new entrepreneurs has also waned. Daraz and several other platforms have reportedly reduced operations and closed delivery hubs amid continuing losses.

Analysts cited a high dollar rate, higher fuel prices and prolonged inflation as factors raising delivery and logistics expenses while reducing purchases of luxury and discretionary goods. Policy uncertainty, falling international investment, digital fraud and distrust among customers were also identified as pressures. A merchant said Daraz decided to permanently close 16 of more than 100 hubs from June 14, while alternatives were not retained for several hubs outside Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers Association said customers are owed Tk531 crore by 32 e-commerce companies, with 18 yet to return money. Experts called for transparent transactions, stronger consumer protection, policy support, easier loans and digital technology to lower logistics costs, saying businesses should prioritize sustainability over expansion.

Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee may join an ongoing protest in Delhi alongside the Kokroach Janata Party, according to a report citing Hindustan Times. She is expected to travel to Delhi next Monday to express solidarity with protesting students. The report also says her Trinamool Congress is set to join the demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

In a post on X, Banerjee said she had stood firmly with students and their movement from the beginning. She described their struggle as one not only for justice over the NEET scandal, but also for protecting the future of every young person in the country. She added that the entire opposition camp and the country's people were standing with students and youth.

The report describes the Delhi action as one of the biggest student movements in recent times. Congress marched toward the prime minister's residence in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest police baton charges and water cannon use against students. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior Congress leaders participated. Political analysts said Banerjee's participation could also highlight Trinamool Congress's political position.

The murder trial of Mahbub Alam Shaheen, a Bogura BNP leader, lawyer and transport businessman, is nearing completion seven years after his killing, according to the report published July 25, 2026. Shaheen was attacked and killed in the Nishindara suburb area of Bogura city on the night of April 14, 2019. His wife, Akhtar Jahan Shilpi, filed the murder case at Bogura Sadar police station two days later.

Case records say a group of eight or nine people attacked Shaheen with sharp weapons around 11 p.m. in the Upashahar Bazar area. The prosecution alleges the killing was premeditated and linked to a dispute over control and dominance of a transport owners’ organisation. His wife said he had received death threats for several days over conflict involving the district motor owners group.

Police submitted charges against principal accused Aminul Islam and 14 others on January 30, 2020. Charges were framed against 14 accused in 2024, while testimony from 23 of 24 witnesses has been completed. Public Prosecutor Advocate Abdul Bached said the case awaits testimony from investigating officer Ambar Hossain, who is serving on a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after widespread protests over irregularities in national-level examinations and an alleged leak of the NEET medical entrance examination paper. He submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, July 25, according to the report. Pradhan announced the decision in a social media post hours before a third round of talks.

Students led by the Kokroch Janata Party, or CJP, had protested for more than a month at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Pradhan’s resignation was among their key demands. On Saturday morning, the group said it would not take part in any discussions unless the government agreed to remove the education minister.

The protesters also demanded that no legal action be taken against participating students and that compensation be provided to families of students who died by suicide in connection with the NEET paper leak. The central government had reportedly assured protesters on Friday that it would accept the latter two demands, but had not stated a position on Pradhan’s resignation. Protesters celebrated at Jantar Mantar after the announcement.

A severe wildfire spreading across Europe damaged NASA’s Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Robledo, Spain, prompting the evacuation of all staff on Friday. The facility, about 65 kilometres west of central Madrid, is one of NASA’s three global deep-space communications centres. The incident raised concerns that communications with distant spacecraft could be disrupted.

NASA said the fire passed through the MDSCC area and that the extent of possible damage will be assessed once conditions are safe. A NASA spokesperson confirmed the location of the complex and the safe evacuation of personnel in a statement to AFP. The agency said the safety and wellbeing of its employees remain its highest priority.

The MDSCC is part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, which communicates with spacecraft exploring distant regions of the galaxy. Its other two centres are located in Canberra, Australia, and Goldstone, California, in the United States. NASA said support for space missions is continuing without disruption through those facilities. The agency also expressed sympathy for families and residents affected by the wildfire in surrounding areas.

A 48-year-old man, Babul Mia, died after being electrocuted while attempting to take an illegal electricity connection in Baroruhi village of Bishkakuni ইউনিয়ন, Purbadhala upazila, Netrokona. The incident occurred at about 10 p.m. on Friday. Babul Mia was the son of Jaher Ali of the same village.

Local sources said the rural electricity authority disconnected electricity at his home around three months earlier because he had not paid an outstanding bill of Tk6,000. He allegedly tried to reconnect the supply himself on Friday night and became entangled in an electric wire, sustaining serious injuries.

Family members took him to Purbadhala উপজেলা Health Complex, where the duty doctor declared him dead. Union Parishad member Anwar Hossain confirmed the incident. Police prepared an inquest report after visiting the scene. The body was handed to relatives after legal procedures, following a written application from the family and in the absence of any complaint.

Cockroach Janata Party spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media reels would not halt the student movement. In remarks reported on July 25, Ranka called for concrete action to meet students’ demands before making videos. He also demanded the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and said the government had begun talking with students.

Ranka alleged that Delhi Police were preventing protesters from reaching the demonstration site at Jantar Mantar. Sharing screenshots of several messages on social media, he said authorities could not stop people from coming to Jantar Mantar, delivering food to protesters or assisting them. He further alleged that police were visiting restaurants and intimidating them to prevent food orders from reaching the site.

In a Saturday statement, CJP said Delhi Police’s authoritarian actions were increasing in and around Jantar Mantar. The party urged the administration to stop illegally detaining, harassing or obstructing citizens who wished to go there and to avoid creating an intimidating environment. Security was tightened in several parts of Delhi as participation grew in the CJP-led protest.

US President Donald Trump said China and Russia have pledged not to provide weapons to Iran, warning that any such supply would be “very bad.” In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping gave him the assurance during a recent meeting in Beijing, stating that China would neither provide nor sell weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran under any circumstances. Trump said the commitment also covered Chinese companies.

Trump also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a similar assurance that Russia would not sell weapons to Iran, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. He said China and Russia were the major countries most often discussed in connection with Iran, but that he did not believe either was involved. Trump said supplying Iran with weapons would not be in their interests.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he believed Xi and Putin would keep their promises. Asked about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s earlier statement that Russia and China were “helping” Iran, Trump said he was not sure they were doing so. He added that both leaders had sufficient reasons to honor their commitments and would not want him to be disappointed in them.

India’s Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi met students fasting for 23 consecutive days at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday and criticised the central government. The students, protesting under the leadership of the “Cockroach Janata Party,” are demanding the dismissal of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Gandhi told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that students want action rather than video messages or assurances.

Gandhi described Pradhan as a symbol of corruption and destruction in India’s education system. He said reports of a plan to move the minister from the education portfolio to another ministry would not be acceptable, arguing that protesters want him removed from the government altogether. Gandhi said the students would not be satisfied with any outcome short of the education minister’s removal.

Referring to alleged police attacks, pellet firing and baton charges against protesters, Gandhi demanded punishment for those responsible and said the prime minister should apologise to students allegedly abused at Jantar Mantar. AISA leader Neha Bora said discussions with Gandhi on India’s education system were productive. Bora, who has fasted with fellow activists for 23 days, also called for Pradhan’s immediate resignation.