Rajshahi University unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir has presented five demands, including announcement of a specific schedule for the next Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union, or RAKSU, election. The demands were announced at a press conference at the university’s transport area at 11:30am on Tuesday.

The group called for a clear roadmap to ensure full residential accommodation, housing allowances for non-residential students, a complete modern medical centre, activation of the university Senate, and a definite RAKSU election timetable. Unit president Mujahid Faisal said many students face difficulties because of the accommodation shortage and urged swift implementation of a roadmap and allowances for those without seats in residential halls.

Faisal said the Senate should operate regularly under university laws and regulations, with regular sessions and a role in policymaking, accountability and administration. He described the RAKSU election as an important means of students’ democratic rights and representation, calling for a neutral, acceptable and participatory environment. The group said it had raised the demands previously but had not received the expected response from the administration.

The chiefs of Bangladesh’s army, navy and air force paid a courtesy call on President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at Bangabhaban on Tuesday afternoon. Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Khondkar Misbah Ul Azim and Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan attended the meeting and congratulated him on assuming the presidency.

The three service chiefs briefed the president on the activities of their respective forces. They also sought his guidance and cooperation in carrying out their duties in his capacity as supreme commander of the armed forces.

President Alamgir expressed satisfaction with the armed forces’ activities. He said the current government was working to develop the forces into a modern, multidimensional military. The president also assured continued maximum cooperation for the overall development of the armed forces and for improving the professional skills of their personnel during his tenure.

Artists from several countries gathered in San Francisco, United States, to express solidarity with Palestinians through art. The event aimed to bring Palestinian voices to a global audience and spread messages of peace and unity. Palestinian-origin rapper MC Abdul, comedian Anwar Jibawi and singer Anis took part in the programme.

The participants discussed their experiences as artists and the role of creative work in supporting Palestine. Organised by Mohammad Usman Hassam, the gathering was supported by Kubra Bayrambey and Buse Plan from Turkey in bringing internationally known artists together. Speakers stressed peace, solidarity and the power of creativity.

The event also included discussion of artificial intelligence and changing technology. Participants considered how rapid technological shifts are changing artistic forms and helping artists reach people across different parts of the world. Organisers said the programme sought to increase global awareness of Palestine by combining art, technology and public awareness, while encouraging dialogue, peace and solidarity through creative work.

Bangladesh Football Federation has dismissed English head coach Gerard Jones a day before the national Under-20 team was due to leave for Uzbekistan for the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers. A reliable BFF source confirmed the decision. Assistant coach Atikur Rahman Mishu will take charge of the team for the time being as Bangladesh travel under changed circumstances.

The team’s tour and camp had faced recent turmoil, including internal disputes in the dressing room and camp, incidents involving police, and controversy surrounding the coach’s role. The source said Jones’s relationship with the federation had deteriorated. During the camp in Jashore, Jones publicly complained on social media about unpaid wages and inadequate security.

Jones later became involved in a physical altercation with Mishu at the team hotel in Dhaka and called police through the emergency number 999. He also alleged in a Facebook Live broadcast that he had been physically attacked and faced serious security shortcomings. A scheduled 4pm press conference was postponed, with BFF saying a new time would be announced. The qualifiers will run in Uzbekistan from August 31 to September 6, involving Bangladesh, India, Uzbekistan and Syria.

Sixteen diplomatic missions in Dhaka, including the United Kingdom, European Union, Canada and Japan, pledged to keep the Rohingya issue on the global agenda. The joint statement marked the ninth anniversary of the large-scale Rohingya influx from Myanmar into Bangladesh, as the crisis enters its tenth year. The missions committed to supporting justice, accountability and continued international assistance.

The statement said nearly 1.2 million Rohingya remain in Bangladesh nine years after their arrival. It praised the community’s resilience, courage and dignity, while expressing gratitude to Bangladesh’s government and people for hosting them for almost a decade. The missions reaffirmed Rohingya rights to return to their homeland in Myanmar but said conditions in Rakhine State are currently unsuitable for repatriation.

They cited escalating conflict, growing humanitarian needs, air strikes on civilian infrastructure, and restrictions on aid and trade as worsening conditions. The missions said they would work with Bangladesh to create conditions for voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return, while continuing support for Rohingya refugees and host communities. They also backed stronger local leadership and greater roles for Bangladeshi and refugee-led organizations in humanitarian planning.

The government will quickly formulate a policy governing where and how far battery-powered rickshaws can operate on Dhaka’s main roads and highways, Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Jahed Ur Rahman said on Tuesday. He made the announcement at a Secretariat press conference on the progress of various government activities.

Rahman said battery-powered rickshaws began operating on Dhaka’s large and major roads after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. While their operation has created some convenience for people’s movement, it has also led to various difficulties, he said. Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaliv Rahman Partha and State Minister Yaser Khan Chowdhury were present at the press conference.

The planned policy will specify the areas and distances in which the rickshaws may operate. It will also address vehicle standards, technical capability and driver training. Rahman said the government expects the policy to establish an orderly system for these vehicles quickly.

A fishing trawler named FB Barkat sank in rough weather and high waves in the deep Bay of Bengal near the Patharghata coast of Barguna, leaving five fishers missing. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon about 60 kilometres from Kuakata. Eight of the 13 fishers aboard were rescued alive after the trawler capsized.

The vessel, owned by Patharghata’s Ashraf Company, had left Patharghata two days earlier for fishing. Rescued fisher and cook Yunus Mollah said several exhausted crew members had fallen asleep inside the trawler’s bridge while preparations were being made to cast nets. A large wave then struck the vessel, causing it to overturn.

Yunus Mollah said the eight survivors drifted at sea for about two hours before another fishing trawler passing near the site rescued them. One fisher trapped inside the bridge managed to get out after about 20 minutes. The missing fishers are Nur Alam, Kawser, Saikul, Ibrahim and Bellal, all from Patharghata Sadar Union. The district fishers’ trawler owners’ association has sent a trawler to search for them, and rescue efforts continue.

Turkey and Qatar have set a target to raise bilateral trade to $5 billion, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said after meeting Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed in Ankara. Bilateral trade reached $1.3 billion in 2025, representing a 53-fold increase over the past 21 years.

Trade between the two countries had previously climbed to $2.5 billion during construction activity ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Both countries expect their Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, which took effect last year, to support further growth. Turkish contractors have completed 206 projects in Qatar valued at about $21 billion, while around 1,116 Turkish companies operate there in construction, services and manufacturing.

Qatari companies have invested a total of $7.8 billion in Turkey across finance, banking, energy, logistics, media and agriculture. Bolat also stressed the need for alternative trade routes as disruptions to cargo transport through the Strait of Hormuz continue amid conflict in the Middle East. Turkey and Qatar plan to strengthen alternative transit and trade corridors, while Qatar Investment Authority has indicated interest in expanding investments in Turkey.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court order granting former prime minister Imran Khan medical-related arrangements has triggered debate over equality before the law for prisoners. On August 18, a three-member bench ordered his transfer from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, directed formation of a medical board and allowed weekly family visits. The next hearing is scheduled for September 16.

Khan’s family and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party say prison authorities have not properly implemented the court order, while the government has filed a review petition against it. The report says the central issue is not whether Khan should receive treatment, but whether other inmates with similar health conditions would receive comparable access to private hospitals, personal doctors and family support.

The report notes that the court did not have Khan’s complete medical records when it ordered the hospital transfer. Doctors recorded blood pressure readings of 140/100 on August 1 and 140/80 on August 10, with advice to lower blood pressure and walk daily. Pakistan’s information ministry says Khan has been examined nearly 30 times since his imprisonment in 2023.

A recent 11-member national committee, led by the prime minister, has been formed to develop a national strategy for rapid and sustainable Rohingya repatriation. The article questions whether the committee can produce an effective strategy because its membership is dominated by senior government, security and intelligence officials, with the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner described as the only member with direct field exposure to the crisis.

The committee was formed after the Brussels-based International Crisis Group published comments and recommendations in July. Those recommendations included engaging the Arakan Army while also talking to Myanmar’s military authorities, allowing Rohingya greater self-reliance and formal labour-market access, changing camp-management policy, and pursuing a refugee policy. The article argues that these ideas have long been raised by researchers, while verification for repatriation remains incomplete in 2026.

It says local administrators from Ukhia, Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar, as well as long-time Rohingya researchers, should have been included. The article also stresses that Bangladesh needs a clear refugee policy and stronger diplomacy as aid declines and prospects for repatriation remain difficult.

Current and former football stars have called for a change at the top of FIFA, placing its president Gianni Infantino under renewed pressure. In a statement issued on behalf of the FIFA Players Voice Panel, the players demanded leadership change after saying FIFA had lost the confidence of different confederations.

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre wrote “Enough is enough” on X, formerly Twitter. His message was shared by England women’s European champion Lucy Bronze and 1998 France World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit. The initiative, led by Petit and Silvestre, also includes Bixente Lizarazu, Robert Pires, Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Adebayor, Juan Sebastian Veron, Claudio Pizarro and Briana Scurry.

In their joint statement, the players said they were deeply concerned about football and argued that, under Infantino’s leadership, the sport was moving away from its traditions and ethical values. They accused FIFA of taking unilateral decisions without regard for players’ and supporters’ views. A plan to privatize partnerships for major FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, was dropped following strong opposition from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. The statement urged all stakeholders to help shape a new future framework for football.

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh plans to buy essential goods worth nearly Tk 8,000 crore in fiscal 2026-27 to help stabilize the market. The state marketing agency will procure edible oil, lentils, sugar, chickpeas and dates, according to TCB Chairman Brigadier General Mohammad Foysal Azad. TCB initially plans to source roughly half of the goods domestically and the rest from international markets.

Under its procurement plan, TCB will buy 220 million litres of edible oil, 220,000 metric tonnes of lentils, 110,000 metric tonnes of sugar, 14,000 metric tonnes of chickpeas and 4,400 metric tonnes of dates from local and foreign sources. It is regularly monitoring monthly demand, allocations, warehouse stocks and pipeline supplies to ensure uninterrupted distribution.

TCB currently has 40 warehouses with total capacity of about 48,370 metric tonnes and aims to add nearly 10,000 metric tonnes of storage capacity. About 8 million smart cards have been approved, with around 7.5 million distributed. The agency also plans point-of-sale machines and a mobile system for beneficiaries to access card information and make payments digitally.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman instructed the chairman and managing director of Sammilito Islami Bank PLC to protect depositors’ interests and normalize the bank’s operations. The instructions were issued on Tuesday morning during a meeting with Chairman Kazi Shairul Hasan and Managing Director Abedur Rahman Sikdar.

The governor said the finance minister had announced in parliament that there would be no “haircut” on depositors’ profits. He said some uncertainty remained among depositors and directed the bank to clearly inform all depositors that no haircut would apply to their profits.

According to the governor, depositors are already receiving funds under a policy announced on December 29, 2025. He also directed the bank to make necessary arrangements so individual depositors can withdraw principal amounts as needed from Al-Wadiah current accounts, Mudaraba savings accounts and Mudaraba term deposits from September 1. Deputy governors Dr Md Habibur Rahman, Dr Md Kabir Ahmed, Md Sarwar Hossain and Md Anisur Rahman were present at the meeting.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moeen Khan said Danish cooperation could play an effective role in addressing Dhaka’s growing demand for safe water and its water crisis. He made the remarks on Tuesday, August 25, during a meeting at the Secretariat with Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Christian Brix Moller. State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam also attended.

The meeting discussed strengthening Bangladesh-Denmark bilateral relations, expanding cooperation in water supply and waste management, and possible Danish investment in development projects. Khan said Denmark could be an important partner in water supply, waste management and development assistance, including opportunities to invest in producing energy from waste. The ambassador congratulated the minister on assuming his new responsibilities and expressed hope for broader cooperation.

Participants also discussed Danish financing and support for Phase 3 of the Saidabad Water Treatment Plant project. The Danish government will provide Tk 45 billion, including Tk 15 billion as a grant and Tk 30 billion in low-interest loans. Mir Shah Alam said the assistance was a major achievement and that implementation could substantially ease pressure from Dhaka’s increasing demand for safe water while reducing the government’s financial burden.

Singapore plans to create a new western island by reclaiming land from the sea and combining several existing islands to meet future industrial, energy and defence needs. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the plan at a recent National Day Rally. The project is expected to be developed over the coming decades south of Jurong Island, a major industrial and energy hub.

The proposed island would combine Pulau Semakau, Pulau Bukom, Pulau Sudong and several other islands. Analysts say it could provide substantial space for future industrial and energy infrastructure, including hydrogen, ammonia, advanced manufacturing and lower-carbon energy systems. The development could also strengthen industrial activities on Jurong Island.

Experts have also identified potential for nuclear power infrastructure on the new island, although Singapore has not made a final decision on using nuclear energy and further research and detailed studies are needed. Major costs are expected for reclamation, transport, power and utility infrastructure. Rising sea levels, emergency connectivity and environmental impacts may pose significant challenges. The plan is also intended to improve energy security through greater alternatives and resilience.