Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has proposed extending the existing VAT exemption on metro rail travel for another two years. The proposal was made on Thursday during the presentation of the 2026–27 national budget in the Jatiya Sangsad. If approved, the exemption will remain in effect until June 30, 2028.

Under current VAT law, tickets for any air-conditioned rail service are subject to a 15 percent VAT. However, since the launch of the fully air-conditioned metro rail in December 2022, the tax has not been imposed. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) attempted to implement VAT in July 2024 but withdrew the plan following public opposition and government intervention. The NBR later issued notifications extending the exemption, most recently until June 30, 2026.

In addition to the VAT extension, citizens aged 65 and above will receive a 25 percent fare discount on metro rail travel and free rides on regular trains. The government also plans to build a modern public transport network integrating six metro rail lines and a monorail-based feeder system.

The proposed national budget for the 2026 fiscal year has reduced the allocation for Bangladesh’s Ministry of Shipping to Tk 9,080 crore, down from Tk 10,279 crore in the 2025–26 proposal. This marks a decrease of Tk 1,217 crore. The budget speech outlined ongoing efforts to expand dredging and excavation activities to maintain navigability on key waterways, particularly before the monsoon season. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is conducting emergency dredging to keep internal routes operational.

The speech further emphasized accelerating development at Payra and Mongla ports, expanding land ports, modernizing river ports and launch terminals, and strengthening safety on waterways to improve overall connectivity. It also highlighted plans to modernize vessel registration, enhance sailor training, create employment, and expand digital services to boost institutional capacity.

Major projects such as the Matarbari Deep Sea Port, Chattogram Bay Terminal, Patenga Container Terminal, and Laldia Container Terminal will continue to advance. The government aims to strengthen international trade and integrated water transport through increased port capacity, enhanced dredging, and expanded digital and automation systems.

Bangladesh’s proposed national budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year has reduced the allocation for the transport infrastructure sector to Tk 60,730 crore, down from Tk 69,196 crore in the 2025–26 fiscal year. Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury announced the figures during his budget speech in the National Parliament on Thursday.

According to the proposal, the Roads Division will receive Tk 36,918 crore, compared to Tk 38,496 crore in the previous year, marking a reduction of Tk 1,578 crore. The Bridges Division’s allocation has been set at Tk 2,908 crore, down from Tk 6,022 crore, a decrease of Tk 3,114 crore. The Railway sector will get Tk 9,940 crore, compared to Tk 11,944 crore last year, a reduction of Tk 2,004 crore. Other transport infrastructure sectors have been allocated Tk 10,964 crore, down from Tk 12,734 crore, a decrease of Tk 1,770 crore.

The proposed reductions indicate a broad contraction across all major transport infrastructure divisions in the upcoming fiscal year.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has presented Bangladesh’s largest-ever national budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year in the second session of the 13th National Parliament. The budget session, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, marks the first budget of the BNP-led government following its victory in the February 12 election.

A key proposal offers relief to the country’s garment industry, as the source tax on cash incentives from export earnings may be reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent. The move is expected to increase liquidity in the export sector, though the government anticipates a revenue loss of around Tk 500 crore. Currently, about 43 sectors, including ready-made garments, receive export incentives ranging from 0.30 percent to 10 percent, while the source tax on export income remains at 1 percent.

The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has welcomed the positive aspects of the budget but has called for additional policy support to strengthen the sector further.

Bangladesh’s Finance Ministry has set a target to increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves to 41.01 billion dollars by the 2026–27 fiscal year. The goal is outlined in the ministry’s Medium-Term Budget Framework (MTBF) for the upcoming fiscal year. According to the document, reserves stood at 46.39 billion dollars in 2020–21 but declined to 26.90 billion in 2023–24 before stabilizing at 31.17 billion dollars by the end of 2024–25.

The MTBF projects further growth in reserves over the medium term, forecasting 50.62 billion dollars in 2027–28 and 62.64 billion dollars in 2028–29. The document notes that by 2026–27, the reserves would be sufficient to cover about 5.4 months of import expenses, approaching the internationally accepted adequacy level of six months.

These projections are based on expectations of strong remittance inflows, export growth, and prudent management of external borrowing, according to the Finance Ministry’s framework.

At least five people were injured in a clash between two factions of the BNP in Tazumuddin upazila of Bhola on Thursday morning. The incident occurred in front of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer’s (UNO) office at the Upazila Parishad premises, centering on the distribution of government-allocated rice for fishermen. The injured were first taken to Tazumuddin Upazila Health Complex and later transferred to Bhola Sadar Hospital for advanced treatment.

According to the upazila administration, former Chhatra Dal leader Jasim Patwari had lodged a complaint with the UNO alleging irregularities in the rice distribution and demanded proper verification of genuine fishermen. At the same time, Malongchhara Union’s panel chairman Md Ibrahim visited the UNO regarding distribution permission, leading to an argument between the two groups that escalated into violence. Jasim Patwari’s side claimed he was assaulted for protesting irregularities, while Ibrahim denied the allegation and said he was attacked instead.

UNO Mohammad Bani Amin confirmed the incident and said police were instructed to investigate and take necessary action. Local authorities reported that the situation is now under control, though tension remains in the area.

Kuwait’s armed forces intercepted 24 hostile drones that entered the country’s airspace within a 48-hour period, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense spokesperson Major General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi. The official confirmed that the drones were of Iranian origin and caused only minor material damage, with no casualties reported.

Al-Otaibi stated that the Kuwaiti armed forces remain fully prepared and vigilant to safeguard national security and protect citizens and residents. He emphasized that the military continues to perform its duties with high efficiency and readiness.

The report, carried by Al Jazeera and local media, highlights Kuwait’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its air defense and maintain stability amid regional tensions.

Islami Andolan Bangladesh has criticized the Directorate General of Health Services for canceling the license of Ad-Din Hospital in Moghbazar following the deaths of six newborns before Eid-ul-Azha. In a statement issued on June 11, 2026, the party’s joint secretary general and spokesperson, Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman, said that while a proper investigation and punishment for those found negligent are necessary, revoking the hospital’s license is neither fair nor desirable.

Rahman emphasized that Ad-Din Hospital has been providing affordable, quality healthcare since 2000, serving around 20 million patients and performing over 150,000 surgeries. He noted that the hospital has maintained a strong record of service to low-income communities, with no major accidents in 26 years. The hospital has also offered to pay significant compensation to the affected families.

The statement urged the health authorities to withdraw the license cancellation decision, describing the recent incident as an unfortunate accident that should not overshadow the hospital’s long-standing contributions to public healthcare.

Bangladesh’s government has proposed allocating Tk 100 crore to the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust in the 2026–27 fiscal year budget, Finance Minister announced in Parliament on Thursday. The government also finalized a plan to plant one crore trees under the ‘One Child, One Tree’ initiative to combat the effects of climate change.

The Finance Minister said Bangladesh remains one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, facing challenges from rising temperatures, sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, cyclones, and floods. To ensure a livable future, the government has set a target of planting 25 crore trees nationwide over the next five years, which is expected to create about 350,000 green jobs. The budget also includes detailed targets for block, strip, mangrove, and homestead plantations.

Additional measures include bringing 50 percent of coastal mangrove forests under carbon trading, implementing a circular future model for waste management, establishing ten modern vehicle inspection centers to reduce pollution, introducing electric bus services, and issuing updated e-waste management guidelines to cut plastic waste by 30 percent within five years.

Four young men from Patgram in Lalmonirhat have allegedly been sold to the Russian army by two leaders of Jamaat’s youth wing and the party’s municipal chief. Families of the victims have filed four human trafficking cases at Patgram Police Station. The victims’ relatives said the accused took 950,000 taka per person, promising high-paying garment jobs, and sent them to Russia through an agency named RS International in Dhaka’s Uttara area.

According to the families, the four men—Nazmul Haque Sourav, Mehedi Hasan, Al Amin, and Abdullah Al Mamun—last contacted them via video call from Moscow airport on May 8. Later, Russian soldiers allegedly took their passports, visas, and phones, revealing they had been sold to the army. The victims later sent distress messages pleading for rescue. Following the allegations, two accused leaders were removed from their organizational posts.

Police confirmed that four trafficking cases have been filed and said efforts are underway to arrest the suspects. Jamaat officials stated the incident was personal and not linked to the organization.

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has proposed an allocation of Tk 69,409 crore for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the 2026–27 fiscal year. The proposal, presented in the national parliament on June 11, 2026, represents an increase of Tk 34,000 crore from the previous year’s revised budget, nearly doubling the allocation. The proposed amount equals 1.01 percent of GDP, compared to 0.58 percent in 2025–26.

The minister said that during the previous authoritarian period, unplanned infrastructure projects and equipment purchases in the health sector led to widespread corruption, preventing improvements in healthcare quality. As a result, hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients, citizens are deprived of quality treatment, and many seek medical care abroad, causing foreign currency outflow.

He added that the government aims to gradually raise public health investment to 5 percent of GDP. Plans include establishing modern primary healthcare units in every union and urban ward, launching a national nutrition program, building a sustainable medicine and vaccine supply network, and recruiting 5,000 MBBS doctors to fill long-vacant posts.

The life, work, martyrdom, and legacy of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi will be included in Bangladesh’s school textbooks starting from the 2028 academic year. The decision was made at a meeting of the National Curriculum and Textbook Revision Committee held at the Ministry of Education, attended by officials including Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Abdul Khalek.

According to meeting sources, several significant updates are planned for upcoming textbooks. As part of these changes, new lessons based on writings by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman titled “A Nation’s Birth” and “Memories of the Liberation War” will be added to the Bangla literature books for grades nine and ten. Additionally, Hadi’s heroism during the July uprising will be presented to students through his inclusion in the curriculum.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) stated that Hadi’s story will appear in the fifth-grade Bangla book’s chapter “We Will Not Forget You,” alongside national heroes such as Titumir, Pritilata Waddedar, Noor Hossain, Abu Sayeed, and Mir Mughda.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has now lasted longer than World War I, reaching its 1,569th day last Thursday, marking more than four years and three months of continuous fighting. The war, which began in February 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine expecting a quick victory, has instead turned into a prolonged and attritional conflict. Peace talks remain stalled, and public opinion surveys suggest nearly half of Ukrainians do not expect the war to end before next year.

Historians caution that direct comparisons with World War I are limited, as that war was global in scope. Yet, both conflicts have profoundly altered Europe’s geopolitical and military landscape, prompting defense budget increases and alliance restructuring. Analysts note that technological evolution has transformed warfare: where tanks and aircraft once dominated, drones now define the battlefield.

Drone warfare has rendered traditional trench systems obsolete, forcing soldiers into deeper, smaller bunkers. Despite these tactical shifts, destruction remains immense, with drone footage showing landscapes reminiscent of early 20th-century battlefields. Experts describe the current stalemate as a “drone-era version” of World War I, with Ukraine targeting Russia’s economic assets to break the deadlock.

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he canceled planned military strikes against Iran, claiming that Iran’s leadership had approved a draft agreement to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and begin 60 days of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump said the deal had been approved by all parties involved, including the U.S. and several regional countries, and that a naval blockade would remain until the agreement was finalized.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency denied that any agreement had been approved, though it acknowledged a possibility that Tehran might consider signing off later. Three sources briefed on the talks told Axios that key gaps were narrowed during discussions between Iranian officials and Qatari mediators in Tehran on Wednesday, focusing on frozen assets, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and the structure of nuclear negotiations.

According to those sources, Iranian officials informed several countries that an agreement in principle had been reached, pending final approval from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury announced that Bangladesh has begun developing sector-based courses and curricula aligned with global demand. Speaking during the budget session on Thursday, he said the government is strengthening market-oriented training, curriculum development, certification, accreditation, and quality control. He confirmed that the new government will continue the 2.5 percent incentive on remittances to encourage expatriate workers to send money through legal channels.

The minister stated that in the month following the new government’s assumption of office, monthly remittances reached 3.75 billion dollars, the highest in the country’s history. He emphasized that this reflects expatriates’ confidence in the democratic government. The government is also implementing plans to expand employment opportunities across sectors, establish employment exchanges at district and upazila levels, and enforce the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2026 to strengthen workers’ legal protection.

Highlighting priorities for expatriates, he said a special expatriate card will be introduced to link welfare, insurance, banking, and emergency services. Bangladesh is pursuing bilateral agreements with several countries to expand labor markets and reopening previously closed destinations such as Malaysia, Oman, the UAE, and Kuwait.