The United States has designated UK-based pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action as a foreign terrorist organization. Washington also imposed sanctions on Italy-based Autistici/Inventati and the pro-Palestinian group Masar Badil. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott described the groups as violent far-left terrorist organizations, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States would use its full economic power to halt their financial activities.

Palestine Action says it seeks to end global cooperation with Israel and what it describes as Israel’s genocide and apartheid system. The group gained greater prominence after Israel’s military operation in Gaza began following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. It has faced allegations of attacking Israeli arms companies and related facilities and damaging property. The organization has also been banned in the United Kingdom.

A Palestine Action co-founder criticized the US decision, saying it raised concerns about free expression and protest rights and sought to intensify pressure on anti-Israel movements. Human rights activists similarly warned that equating political activism and protest with terrorism could restrict peaceful protest. The US Treasury alleged Masar Badil acts as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, already designated by Washington.

A farmer, Azahar Mondal, 50, died after being electrocuted while connecting electricity to an irrigation pump in Madarganj upazila of Jamalpur on Thursday morning. The incident occurred in the Charshubhagachha area of Balijuri union. Mondal, the son of Tofil Mondal, had gone to irrigate his aman paddy field near his home using an electric pump.

He was seriously injured after accidentally coming into contact with electricity, according to the account of the incident. Local residents rescued him and took him to Madarganj Upazila Health Complex. As his condition worsened, the attending doctors referred him to Jamalpur General Hospital for advanced treatment.

Dr Shamim Iftekhar, resident medical officer at Jamalpur General Hospital, said Mondal had died before he was brought to the hospital and was declared dead after examination. Balijuri union parishad member Habibur Rahman Mister confirmed the incident and said the death had brought grief to the family and local area. Madarganj Model Police Station officer-in-charge Snehasish Ray said police were sent to the scene and legal action is under process.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Muslim countries to expand economic cooperation, saying their economic scale is small compared with their population and geostrategic position. He made the appeal in a speech at the 40th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Iran’s capital.

Pezeshkian stressed unity among Muslim countries despite differences of opinion. He said the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, spanning Southeast Asia to Africa, are situated around key maritime and land routes and possess energy resources, young populations and a large market.

He said only 19 percent of member states’ exports remain within the group, while the rest go to countries outside the OIC. The Iranian president urged Muslim countries to increase trade among themselves.

Tensions are rising across the Middle East amid the Iran-Israel war, with disputes over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, new US sanctions, Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Iranian warnings. An oil tanker caught fire after being struck by an unidentified object in the strait, though the source of the incident and those responsible were not immediately known. British maritime authorities said the fire was later brought under control.

Shipping traffic through Hormuz has declined sharply. Kpler said only five vessels transited the strait on Wednesday, down 28.6 percent from the previous day, while traffic also fell in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab. Iran and Oman are discussing a temporary shipping route and mine clearance, but have not agreed on conditions for fully reopening the strait. Qatar’s prime minister is due in Tehran on Thursday for talks on reducing tensions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected the effectiveness of new US sanctions, while President Donald Trump said economic pressure and military action were working. Israel carried out airstrikes and shelling in southern Lebanon, and two drone attacks were reported in Iraq’s Erbil province. Asia’s August crude imports fell by about four million barrels, or 14 percent, compared with before the war began.

Devastating flash floods in Nepal’s Rasuwa region have killed 160 people and destroyed towns and villages, Nepalese Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said in Kathmandu on Thursday. Thousands remain missing after powerful flows of mud and water swept through settlements, while many families were left homeless within hours, he said at the NDTV World Anvixha Summit.

Khanal said at least 500 foreign nationals could not be contacted, including at least 300 Indian citizens. Many of the missing Indians were using the route toward Tibet for the Manas Sarovar pilgrimage. Nepal’s government is maintaining round-the-clock contact with embassies of different countries and says it is committed to the safety and welfare of foreign citizens.

The minister said rescuing stranded people and delivering emergency relief were the government’s immediate priorities. He thanked India for sending assistance and said many countries had stood beside Nepal. Khanal also called for global support for reconstruction, while saying much of Nepal remained safe and unaffected. Pokhara and the Mount Everest region remain open to tourists, he said, urging international visitors to continue travelling to support the economy.

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and opposition leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman said Bangladesh’s possible accession to the Mecca Pact is solely the country’s own matter. In a Facebook post published at about 11:45am on Thursday, he said no one else needs to feel discomfort if Bangladesh makes a decision based on the needs and interests of the country and nation.

Discussion has recently emerged over whether Bangladesh may join the Mecca joint defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Opinions have already been expressed both in favour of and against Bangladesh joining the arrangement.

The joint defence agreement was signed in Mecca on August 7 by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Under the agreement, a military attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three countries.

Pakistan’s security forces said 11 people were killed in separate counterterrorism operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Two militants were killed in an operation in the Bannu area, while five were killed in Ladha, South Waziristan. Security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition during the operations.

In Balochistan, four more militants were killed during an operation in the Sasul area of Khuzdar district that used a quadcopter. Authorities claimed those killed were members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and Balochistan-based armed groups.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the security forces for the operations. Zardari said security forces’ activities to eliminate terrorism would continue. Earlier, on August 21, the military’s media wing had reported that 49 militants were killed in separate operations.

Police in Raiganj, Sirajganj, have arrested the main suspect, Titon, about one and a half months after the killing of HSC examinee Abdur Rahman. Raiganj police detained him during an operation in Gazipur on Wednesday. Rahman was a student of Raiganj Business Management and Technical College.

Police said an argument began on the night of July 14 after Rahman objected to drug use. Titon allegedly became enraged and attacked Rahman and his elder brother, Hasan, with a Burmese knife and a machete. Both brothers were indiscriminately hacked and injured in the attack.

Local residents rescued the injured brothers and admitted them to hospital. Abdur Rahman died while receiving treatment on July 17. Additional Superintendent of Police Saiful Islam Khan of the Raiganj Circle said Titon, identified as the main accused in the killing, had been arrested from Gazipur. Police said the incident is under investigation and necessary legal action is being taken.

A series of killings and domestic violence incidents in Egypt during August has heightened public concern, with dozens of people reported killed in a single month. Victims included spouses, parents, children and other close relatives. In Alexandria’s El-Agami area, a 27-year-old woman named Renia was killed by a beach worker after a dispute over seating; she had been vacationing with her husband and two children.

Other reported cases included the stabbing deaths of three people, including a wife, in Sohag Governorate over suspected infidelity. In 15 May City south of Cairo, an engineer allegedly shot dead four people, including his daughter, during a reconciliation meeting with his former wife’s family. Police cases cited in the report also involved disputes over loans, family conflicts and alleged killings of parents and children.

The Idrak Foundation for Development and Equality recorded 598 violent crimes against women and girls in the first six months of 2026, up from 495 a year earlier, a 20.81% rise. About 41% were domestic violence cases. Experts cited economic pressure, rising prices, inequality, weakened family ties, drug addiction and social tension, urging swift justice, counseling, social support and early identification of at-risk families.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States would achieve nothing through newly announced sanctions against Iran. Speaking to Iran’s ISNA news agency in response to the measures, he said Washington could not accomplish anything through economic pressure at this stage, just as it had not achieved anything through war.

Pezeshkian said Iran would firmly resist economic pressure, as it has done so far, and would continue to do so in the future. His remarks followed the announcement of a new round of US sanctions targeting Iran.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the sanctions campaign, which Washington has called “Operation Economic Outcast.” Bessent said the operation would target Iran’s financial network worldwide. He also warned that countries and institutions maintaining commercial ties with Tehran could face secondary sanctions.

The United States is preparing to deploy the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt to the Middle East amid its continuing war against Iran. The carrier is expected to remain deployed in the region for more than seven months, according to the US Naval Institute.

US Navy chief Admiral Daryl Caudle and Master Chief Petty Officer John Perryman told reporters on Wednesday that the Theodore Roosevelt would deploy with its accompanying warships and Carrier Air Wing 11. The announcement outlines a planned shift in the US naval presence in the region.

The Theodore Roosevelt and its accompanying forces will replace the Japan-based USS George Washington, which is currently deployed in the Middle East. The George Washington entered the area under the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet last week, according to the report.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei sharply criticized Washington’s measures to implement newly imposed sanctions against Iran, saying US policy toward Tehran had become “a farce.” In a post on X on Wednesday, made two days after the United States announced the new sanctions, Baghaei condemned the steps as further pressure on a country already under sanctions.

Baghaei said Washington was now focusing on Bahrain, which he said has virtually no significant economic transactions with Iran. He argued that this showed the effectiveness of what he described as the US “coalition.” He also said the United States was seeking to halt sporting and educational exchange activities with Iran that, according to him, had already been effectively suspended for years.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the new round of sanctions against Iran. Washington has named the campaign “Operation Economic Outcast.” Bessent said the operation would target Iran’s financial networks worldwide and warned that countries and institutions maintaining commercial ties with Tehran could face secondary sanctions.

A new study by Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa says Israel led the world in arms exports per capita in 2025. The study estimated Israeli arms exports at about $263 per person, compared with $41 in the United States and $14 in Russia. Calculated using only Israel’s Jewish population, the figure rose to about $340 per person.

By total arms exports between 2020 and 2025, Israel ranked seventh globally, behind the United States, France, Russia, Germany, China and Italy. The study said Norway was Israel’s closest competitor on a per-capita basis, but Israel’s level was roughly two and a half times higher. Over the 1960-2025 period, Israel also ranked first in average annual per-capita arms exports, at about $56.

Israel’s Defence Ministry said defence exports reached a record $19.2 billion in 2025, nearly 30 percent above $14.8 billion the previous year and the fifth consecutive annual record. SIPRI said Israel’s share of global arms exports rose to 4.4 percent in 2021-25 from 3.1 percent in the prior five-year period.

Ten former ministers, lawmakers and officials of the Awami League government were brought before the International Crimes Tribunal in a case over alleged crimes against humanity linked to killings during the July uprising. They were transported from prison to the tribunal in prison vans under tight security on Thursday.

Those presented included former textile and jute minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, former industries minister Amir Hossain Amu, former agriculture minister Abdur Razzaque, former shipping minister Shajahan Khan and former social welfare minister Dipu Moni. Former lawmaker Faruk Khan, former justice A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, former home secretary Jahangir Alam and former lawmaker Solaiman Selim were also brought to the tribunal.

The group also included Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, former adviser on power, energy and mineral resources to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The prosecution said Thursday had been set for submission of the investigation report in the case. The 10 accused, who are in custody, were produced before the tribunal in connection with that scheduled proceeding.

Police have confirmed that a skeleton recovered from a sugarcane field near Jitarpur intersection in Joypurhat Sadar belonged to missing e-rickshaw driver Farid Hossain, 41. Rapid Action Battalion and police arrested the main accused, Sagar Hossain, from the Atrai railway station area of Naogaon on Wednesday afternoon. He is due to be sent to court after questioning on Thursday.

Farid left his home in Hopirhat village of Khetlal upazila with his e-rickshaw at 10am on August 20 and did not return. His father, Abdul Quddus, filed a general diary the following day. Using information technology, police recovered Farid's e-rickshaw from a garage in the Pakar Matha area on Monday and arrested two people, Robiul and Jakir Hossain.

Farid's father then filed a murder case naming Sagar as the main accused and three or four unidentified people. Locals found the skeleton after jackals dragged human bones onto a road from the sugarcane field. Relatives identified Farid through clothing found with the remains. Police collected DNA samples, and the family buried the remains Tuesday night.