A clash between two groups of transport workers during an organisational election in Halishahar, Chattogram, injured 10 people, including the officer-in-charge of Halishahar Police Station and three other police personnel. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in front of the Dulhan Community Centre in the area’s Boubazar neighbourhood.

Police and local sources said an argument began between the two groups over late casting of votes while polling was under way. The dispute escalated into a physical confrontation. Police intervened and positioned themselves between the groups to bring the situation under control, but officers were pelted with bricks and stones, according to police.

Officer-in-Charge Kazi Muhammad Sultan Ahsan Uddin said he and three police colleagues were injured and received primary treatment. Six workers were also hurt in the clash. Police said the situation has been brought under control and an investigation is under way to determine how the incident began and who was involved. Details on polling, the identities of participants and injured workers were not immediately available, while legal action remains under process.

Amdaṅga legislator Kasem Siddiqui has returned to the camp of All India Trinamool Congress chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, months after joining a rebel faction. At a Monday press conference alongside Beleghata legislator Kunal Ghosh, Siddiqui said he had been misled into taking the earlier decision and would remain with Banerjee in future.

Siddiqui said he had believed Banerjee was the leader of the faction led by rebel legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. After joining it, he said, he realised the group had no connection with her. He said voters had supported Banerjee and that he had campaigned in Amdaṅga using her posters. Siddiqui also alleged that legislators were called to only one meeting and signed a letter amid confusion after being told Banerjee would remain their leader.

Ghosh similarly alleged that signatures had been obtained through confusion and misinformation, saying the stated reason for signing did not match the actual situation. On the same day, former Amdaṅga legislator Rafikur Rahman met Ritabrata Banerjee, prompting fresh political speculation around the two developments.

Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie said Bangladesh would remain more vigilant to prevent its people from facing any form of Indian water aggression. He made the remarks on Tuesday, August 25, after inspecting the flood-control embankment area of the Muhuri River in Parshuram, Feni. He said India should consider how to maintain a positive relationship with neighbouring Bangladesh as a friendly country.

The minister said the government would confront corruption, while noting that corruption and misrule had been a trend in the country for 17 years. He said he had a personal responsibility, as a son of greater Noakhali, to ensure the project and other national projects are completed properly and without corruption or undue influence.

He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to inaugurate the project next month, with completion targeted by 2030. The ECNEC-approved first phase is valued at Tk1,542.16 crore and has not yet begun. It includes embankment rehabilitation, riverbank protection, dredging, irrigation infrastructure rehabilitation and inlet construction. The minister said compensation would be provided if land acquisition is needed in the second phase.

The Sylhet Development Authority, known as SIUK, has formally begun operations to pursue planned, coordinated and sustainable development in Sylhet city. Its temporary office at Hotel Fortune Garden in the Nayorpool area was inaugurated on Tuesday afternoon by Commerce, Textiles and Jute and Industries Minister Khandkar Abdul Muktadir MP and Housing and Public Works Minister Zakaria Taher MP.

SIUK said it will work on a master plan and implement short-, medium- and long-term plans to address prolonged unplanned urbanisation, weak coordination among development agencies and challenges linked to future city expansion. Khandkar Abdul Muktadir described the launch of the new government institution as welcome news for Sylhet residents and said it must play an effective role in the city’s future development and urban management.

The minister stressed that government and service-providing agencies need coordination while implementing development projects, warning that a lack of coordination can create new problems after work is completed. Earlier, SIUK Chairman Rezaul Hasan Kays Lodi said proposals had been sent to the Housing and Public Works Ministry to create 714 posts in 67 revenue-sector categories, along with staffing needs, pay structures, recruitment qualifications and regulations.

A Dhaka court has taken cognizance of a case against Dhaka Club president Shamim Hossain and three other officials over allegations of fraudulent misappropriation of money and threats to kill a former employee. Former attendant Ashik Molla filed the application before Metropolitan Magistrate Arifur Rahman’s court on Tuesday, August 25. The court recorded his statement and issued summons requiring the accused to appear on September 29.

The other accused are Director Finance Tuhin Reza, CEO and Secretary Lt Col Sabbir Ahmed (Retd), and Chief Finance Officer Iqbal Hossain. According to the case allegations, Molla joined Dhaka Club on November 23, 2017, became a permanent employee on August 19, 2018, and was temporarily suspended on January 26 this year before being released from employment on July 27.

Molla claims he is owed Tk490,000 in service benefits, provident fund, gratuity, notice pay and salary. After a labour mediation process did not proceed because the accused allegedly did not attend, he received a Tk116,981 cheque on August 15. The case alleges that the remaining Tk373,019 was refused and that he was threatened with death over his demand for dues.

Rajib Das Purkayastha has been appointed as the new upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Satkania in Chattogram, replacing Khondkar Mahmudul Hasan. A notification issued by the Chattogram divisional commissioner’s office on 24 August announced the posting of Rajib Das Purkayastha, who had been serving as UNO of Naniarchar in Rangamati.

The notification said the BCS administration cadre officer was transferred from Naniarchar to Satkania, described in the report as an important and populous upazila. He had taken charge in Naniarchar about two months earlier. In a separate notification dated 23 August, the Ministry of Public Administration attached Mahmudul Hasan to the Dhaka division for his next posting, ending his assignment in Satkania.

Sources said Mahmudul Hasan had previously received transfer orders to the Rangpur division and Mahalchhari upazila in Khagrachhari, but remained in Satkania amid allegations of lobbying. The report said Satkania faces issues including flood and waterlogging damage, transport development, implementation of government projects, law and order, and other administrative work. Rajib Das Purkayastha’s joining will mark new leadership for the upazila administration.

A report alleges that three Bangladesh-India agreements signed or revised during the Awami League period gave India broad access to Bangladesh’s ports, waterways and land routes. The agreements are the Agreement on the Use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for Movement of Goods to and from India, the Coastal Shipping Agreement, and the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade. The report says Chattogram, Mongla, Payra and Pangaon can be used under these arrangements, while concerns remain about Bangladesh’s economic, security and strategic gains.

The Chattogram-Mongla port agreement was signed on October 25, 2018, after a June 6, 2015 memorandum, with an implementation procedure signed on October 5, 2019. A trial container shipment travelled from Kolkata to Agartala via Chattogram in 2020. Critics cited in the report say provisions on port priority, charges, customs inspections and unclear cargo-sharing terms disproportionately favour India.

The water transit protocol, first concluded in 1972 and amended in 2015, renews automatically every five years. The report says it was renewed in 2020 and 2025 without fresh negotiations. Commentators called for the agreements to be made public, reviewed in parliament and reassessed according to Bangladesh’s national interests.

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said the 11-party alliance will begin a Dhaka-Chattogram long march on September 5, describing it as the opposition bloc’s first and largest programme. Speaking at a news conference at the party’s central office in Maghbazar, Dhaka, he said the march would press six main demands, including implementation of the referendum verdict.

Participants are scheduled to gather at Shapla Chattar at 7am before travelling towards Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram. Parwar said top leaders of the 11 parties would hold roadside meetings at six or seven points, and that the convoy would include more than 1,000 vehicles. He said preparations have included district, upazila and metropolitan programmes, rallies, demonstrations, roundtable discussions and publicity campaigns.

Organisers have formed reception, medical, transport, publicity, IT, volunteer, cultural, security and administrative liaison units. They submitted routes and rally schedules for four planned long marches to the inspector general of police, Parwar said. He added that one side of the Dhaka-Chattogram double road would remain open for public travel, while apologising in advance for possible temporary congestion.

Israel has created an artificial fuel shortage in the occupied West Bank through border controls, restrictions on currency transfers and barriers to geographic movement, the report says. All fuel used in the West Bank is imported from Israel, giving Israeli authorities full control over the supply system.

Palestinians mainly use the Israeli shekel because they have no currency of their own. Under the stated arrangement, Israel’s central bank is required to take back excess cash held by Palestinians, but Israeli authorities have recently refused to accept cash deposits from Palestinian banks. As a result, businesses cannot use banking channels to pay for essential goods such as fuel despite having sufficient money.

The report says new roads linking illegal Israeli settlements have cut Palestinian cities off from main roads. Palestinians are forced to take longer routes, while hundreds of vehicles face severe congestion at Israeli military checkpoints. Longer journeys and extended engine use have sharply increased fuel consumption. Analysts cited in the report link the measures to Israel’s upcoming election and say right-wing politicians use checkpoint scenes to appeal to voters while worsening Palestinian hardship.

Former Union Parishad member Ilias Hossain died while receiving treatment at Kushtia General Hospital after an alleged attack by rivals in Shailkupa, Jhenaidah. Police said he died on Monday evening after being seriously injured in an assault in the Haji Market area of the town.

The incident followed an argument and scuffle on August 20 between Ilias Hossain’s son, Risalat Hossain, and Majedul Islam of Chatura village. The dispute occurred at Malipara village in Shailkupa municipality, police said. Later that afternoon, opponents allegedly beat Ilias Hossain, a resident of Khondokbaria village, leaving him seriously injured.

He was first taken to Shailkupa উপজেলা Health Complex and was later admitted to Kushtia General Hospital, where he died during treatment. Shailkupa police station Officer-in-Charge Humayun Kabir Molla said legal procedures were underway. Multiple police teams are working to identify those involved in the incident.

The United States Navy faces pressure meeting global military demands despite operating 11 aircraft carriers, compared with China’s three, retired US Navy Vice Admiral John Miller said in an interview with Al Jazeera. Miller said that only a small number of carriers are operational or ready for deployment at any particular time, limiting the apparent advantage of the larger US fleet.

He identified routine maintenance, repairs and training as key reasons why carriers are unavailable. Nuclear-powered carriers also require extended refuelling and overhaul work, with at least one carrier undergoing the multiyear process at all times. Miller said fleet readiness can be understood by dividing the total number of carriers by three.

Using an example of nine available carriers, Miller said three would be deployed in combat zones, three would have recently returned from operations and three would be preparing for their next mission. He said this helps explain Washington’s decision to remove USS George Washington from the Asia-Pacific to join USS George H.W. Bush in the Middle East and replace USS Abraham Lincoln. Miller warned that deploying two carrier strike groups in the Middle East imposes security costs on other regions.

Thirty-nine of 41 government Chandina Vhita plots beside the Water Development Board in Shashiganj Bazar, Tazumuddin, are reportedly still occupied by Awami League leaders and supporters. The plots were intended for genuine traders, but the report says political figures, pro-Awami League teachers and government employees are retaining them and collecting rent. Government rules reportedly do not permit renting out the houses or constructing buildings, yet some occupants have built two-storey structures and rented them out.

According to the Tazumuddin Upazila Land Office, the 41 plots in the upazila headquarters were last allocated for one year in 2014. No new allocation has been made since then, and the names of previous allottees continue to be renewed annually. The office said it could not provide information about renting or construction. A review of the allocation list named several Awami League leaders, affiliated figures and public employees among the 2014 allottees.

Traders in Tazumuddin Bazar have expressed anger and demanded that the plots be reallocated to genuine businesses. They submitted an application to the upazila executive officer on April 2 seeking reallocation. Executive Officer Bani Amin said the allegations had been received and the assistant commissioner for land and a union surveyor were directed to investigate and submit a report.

Khulna Metropolitan BNP has demanded that Khulna be declared a pandemic area and that emergency health services be launched immediately amid a severe rise in dengue infections. From January 1 to August 24 this year, 4,604 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across Khulna division and 16 died, according to the report. A further 215 patients were admitted in the past 24 hours, while public and private hospitals, including Khulna Medical College Hospital, struggle with overcrowding.

At an emergency meeting at the party office on KD Ghosh Road on Monday afternoon, BNP leaders said authorities had failed to take effective action in time. They alleged that government hospitals lack the infrastructure to handle the patient load and that bed shortages are forcing patients to stay on dirty floors, verandas and in other wards. They also criticised what they described as showpiece fogging, saying action against mosquito larvae has been inadequate.

The leaders called for regular larvicide application in alleys, drains, water bodies and breeding sites in every city ward, alongside stronger cleanup drives to remove stagnant water. They also demanded free dengue tests, platelet arrangements and necessary treatment at government and private hospitals. The meeting praised volunteer wing activists for conducting mosquito-control work with their own funding.

The government is investigating allegations that nearly 19,000 police personnel were recruited from Gopalganj, Faridpur, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Kishoreganj during the Awami League’s 15-year rule. The report says the recruitment included about 15,000 constables, sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, 3,700 inspectors, and 300 assistant and additional superintendents of police. Allegations emerged after the 2024 mass uprising that applicants used land purchases and altered permanent addresses to qualify under district quotas.

Police sources alleged that political affiliation, district considerations, recommendation letters and financial transactions influenced recruitment, with priority given to Chhatra League leaders and activists. The investigation is examining false addresses, manipulation of written and oral examination marks, question-paper leaks and political influence. It is also reviewing whether recruits or their families were connected to Awami League politics.

Two investigation committees have been formed in each district, with DIGs serving as chief coordinators and local additional superintendents and Special Branch personnel assisting. The committees have collected relevant records and are verifying field-level information. Their final reports will go through range offices and police headquarters to the Home Ministry, which will take legal action. Police headquarters spokesperson Shahadat Hossain said proven illegal appointments would face departmental and legal measures.

The Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) has called for government intervention to ensure life-saving medicines reach people at affordable prices. At a discussion in Tejgaon, Dhaka, on Monday, the association also urged the government-owned Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) to take responsibility for producing essential medicines.

BAPI leaders said domestic companies supply 98 percent of the country’s medicine demand but face challenges from gas shortages and rising prices of raw materials and packaging materials. They warned that if medicine prices are fixed, many companies could lose interest in production, causing necessary drugs to disappear from the market and creating treatment difficulties.

The association said private companies find it difficult to remain viable while producing many essential medicines, and EDCL should therefore play a larger role in their production and supply. Speakers also called for keeping adequate stocks of essential medicines in markets and health facilities, updating the essential-medicines list according to current needs, and ensuring quality medicines remain within public reach.