Residents of flood-affected Banshkhali are calling for durable rehabilitation and permanent housing rather than relief alone after losing their belongings in severe flooding. The director general of the Prime Minister’s Office NGO Bureau, Dr Mohammad Zakaria, is scheduled to visit Banshkhali on Monday, 31 August, to formulate plans for rehabilitation. He will also inspect activities by several NGOs and distribute relief supplies to at least 1,500 affected families.

Thousands of affected people in Khan Khanabad, Gunagari, Baharchhara, Chhanua, Puichhari, Shekherkhil, Chambal, Gandamara, Jaldi, Saral, Sadhanpur, Pukuria and Bailchhari have sought permanent resettlement and house construction alongside temporary aid. Volunteer organisations, individuals and institutions have begun initiatives to distribute relief, build homes for those left homeless and pursue longer-term rehabilitation.

Upazila Executive Officer Md Ruhul Amin said authorities are prioritising rehabilitation as well as relief distribution, including repairing damaged homes, roads and culverts to restore normal life. Administrative sources said flooding inundated about 54 wards in 12 unions, damaging an initial estimated 11,110 homes.

Six months after the war began, Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly in photographs, videos or direct audio messages, according to the report. He was appointed supreme leader during the first week of the war after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in Israeli and US air strikes on 28 February. Mojtaba was seriously injured in the same attack and has remained out of public view.

Iranian officials say his location is being withheld for security reasons, citing fears of further attacks. They maintain that he receives major reports, meets senior officials and gives final approval on major decisions. President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 10 August that he held a seven-hour meeting with him, while a source close to Mojtaba said his health has improved.

Doubts persist among hardline supporters and reformists, who seek visible proof of his leadership. Sources said the Revolutionary Guard’s influence has increased, with decision-making centered more on the Supreme National Security Council. The report also cites mounting economic pressure from disrupted oil exports and war costs, alongside warnings that prolonged uncertainty could deepen leadership questions.

Nepal’s police have confirmed 552 deaths after sudden flooding on Wednesday, as authorities struggle to store the growing number of bodies. Strong currents carried many bodies into distant districts, and local hospital morgues no longer have enough space. Officials have designated a government building as a temporary location for keeping bodies.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 221 bodies were recovered in Chitwan, about 186 kilometres south of Kathmandu. Another 134 bodies were found in the Nawalparasi East area, about 200 kilometres south of the capital. The continued recovery of bodies has added pressure to local authorities and hospitals.

Chitwan Chief District Officer Ganesh Aryal told the BBC that many bodies were not in good condition, making their preservation and management difficult. The shortage of morgue capacity could also make identifying victims and handing over bodies to relatives more challenging, according to the report.

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has ordered the withdrawal of 10 products, including Bombay Sweets spices and Baghbari ghee, after laboratory tests found they failed to meet Bangladesh Standards. BSTI also issued show-cause notices asking why the licences granted for the products should not be cancelled and advised consumers not to buy the items.

Five Bombay Sweets & Co. Limited spice products failed tests because total ash and salt levels exceeded prescribed limits. They include duck meat spice, tehari spice, kala bhuna spice, beef spice and fish spice. BSTI said Baghbari-branded ghee was marketed as ghee although testing found no milk fat and indicated it was made with palm olein and vanaspati.

Other failed products included Arunn Baghbari, New Radhuni and City branded ghee, as well as Elders butter oil. BSTI said refractive index, iodine value, saponification value and Polenske value were outside limits in these products. Director General Kazi Imdadul Haque said licensed companies have legal and ethical duties to maintain quality, while consumers should check BSTI marks, licence numbers, dates and ingredients before buying.

Tehran-based analyst Ali Akbar Dareini said the war has changed the Middle East’s strategic situation and taught Iran that making concessions to US President Donald Trump would be a mistake. Dareini, an analyst at Tehran’s Center for Strategic Studies, made the comments to Al Jazeera.

He said Iran sought to raise the cost for the United States of pursuing conflict, while Washington is now trying to economically suffocate Iran. According to Dareini, Trump believed displays of force and threats of military action would make Iran retreat, but Iran did not do so. He added that US envoy Steve Witkoff had acknowledged Trump’s frustration.

Dareini said Iran would not surrender under secondary sanctions because it believes Washington cannot fully isolate the country. He argued that Iran’s connections with the outside world cannot be cut off, citing its land and maritime borders with 15 countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held an emergency meeting with relevant officials on rescue and relief operations after severe flooding and landslides in Nepal, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. The report did not specify when or where the meeting took place.

Several people remain unaccounted for after the disaster, including citizens of China and other countries. Xi instructed authorities to give the highest priority to a broad search operation for missing people. He also stressed that rescue work should be conducted in a planned and scientific manner.

Xi emphasized the need to ensure safety and coordination while carrying out operations in remote and hazardous areas. China has decided to provide emergency assistance to flood-affected Nepal, Xinhua said. Beijing also indicated that it would coordinate with other countries in rescue and relief efforts.

An email from India’s presidential office early this month said a Change of Guard ceremony would be cancelled to rehearse a formal welcome for Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, before any visit had been announced. The email was withdrawn within hours, intensifying speculation over a possible Delhi trip. Rahman has not yet agreed to travel, and his press secretary AAM Saleh told the BBC that no decision has been made.

India formally invited Rahman after his BNP won February’s parliamentary election and formed the government. Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said Rahman would receive the “highest honour” and a “memorable welcome” if he visited. Delhi sees the new government as an opportunity to rebuild bilateral ties, but Sheikh Hasina’s presence in India remains a major complication.

Bangladesh has formally requested Hasina’s return after a special tribunal sentenced her to death over allegations related to lethal force during the 2024 uprising; she denies the allegations. India says it is considering the request. India will host a BRICS summit in mid-September and has invited Bangladesh as a special guest, potentially providing a platform for rebuilding relations.

Five children drowned while bathing in the Moranadi river in Charchakla village of Debinagar Union, Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila, on Friday afternoon, August 28, during Friday prayers. The incident occurred after the children entered the river together to bathe.

The deceased were Sumaiya, 9, and Abida, 7, daughters of Masud Rana; Sumaiya, 12, and Suraiya, 9, daughters of Nezam Uddin; and Sharifa, 8, daughter of Shariful Islam. Local residents and eyewitnesses said one child began drowning and the others went forward to rescue her.

All five children subsequently drowned one after another, according to local accounts. Residents later recovered them from the water. The deaths have cast a shadow of grief over the area. Additional Superintendent of Police ANM Wasim Firoz confirmed the incident and said a police team was heading to the scene, where necessary measures would be taken after its arrival.

Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, located in Tibet, a Chinese autonomous region near the borders of Nepal and India, remain major pilgrimage destinations for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and followers of Tibet’s ancient Bon religion. The high-altitude region is difficult to reach because of severe cold, changing weather, rugged mountain routes and limited oxygen. Recent flash flooding during a pilgrimage left several people missing, including foreign nationals, bringing renewed attention to the site.

Kailash stands about 6,638 metres above sea level, while the freshwater Lake Manasarovar lies to its south at roughly 4,600 metres. UNESCO identifies Kailash, Manasarovar and nearby Rakshastal as part of a wider sacred mountains and lakes area, and says the headwaters of the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra and Karnali rivers are in the region. Religious worship there has a history of about 3,000 years, according to UNESCO.

Pilgrims do not climb Kailash but circle it on a roughly 52-kilometre route, generally completed in three days. Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists usually travel clockwise, while Bon and Jain followers travel counterclockwise. Foreign pilgrims, including Bangladeshis, generally enter Tibet through Nepal and require Chinese visas, Tibet travel permits and approved tour operators.

Iran is using the strategically important Strait of Hormuz as a bargaining tool in discussions with the United States, according to an Al Jazeera report. The waterway has moved beyond being an issue between the two sides and has become a global concern, as attention increasingly focuses on reopening the strait.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem said the opening of the Strait of Hormuz is now dominating discussions. He contrasted this with the start of the war, when the main issues were Iran’s nuclear file, missile programme, and Iranian proxies or allies in the region.

Hashem said conditions after the war will not be the same as before it and described the conflict as having reached another level. In his view, Iran has found an advantageous position through the strait. He said some analysts describe Hormuz as Iran’s “geographical nuclear bomb,” because its effective use means it can no longer be ignored.

South Korea said it will conduct a joint military exercise with the United States and Japan from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of Jeju Island. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Freedom Edge exercise is aimed at responding to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats while maintaining regional peace and stability.

Yonhap reported that the multi-domain drill may include maritime missile defense, air and air-defense exercises, anti-submarine operations and cyber defense activities. Freedom Edge was first held in June 2024 after an agreement among the three countries’ leaders at the 2023 Camp David summit.

The announcement follows US moves to reduce or cancel other joint exercises with South Korea. President Donald Trump ordered the regular Ulchi Freedom Shield drill shortened from 11 days to five days, while another biennial exercise, Ssangyong, was canceled amid pressure on US deployment capacity due to the war with Iran. North Korea has launched missiles and criticized the reduced drills and other US-related measures.

A US federal court has ruled that the Trump administration’s February restrictions against AI company Anthropic were unlawful. In a 59-page ruling issued Thursday, Judge Rita Lin said Anthropic had been publicly punished for criticizing the Pentagon. She ordered federal agencies named as defendants not to enforce President Donald Trump’s order barring use of Anthropic’s Claude AI model.

The judge also invalidated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk.” Lin said invoking national security did not give the government unrestricted power to punish or retaliate against critics. The dispute began after Anthropic refused to permit the US military to use Claude for fully autonomous lethal weapons or mass surveillance of American citizens.

Thursday’s ruling makes permanent a temporary injunction issued in March and takes effect immediately, though the US government may appeal. Anthropic welcomed the decision and said it remained focused on working constructively with the government on AI and national security. A separate Pentagon restriction issued under federal procurement rules remains in force and is being challenged in another Washington court.

Australia plans to remove 24 technical staff, scientists and support personnel from its research station on remote Macquarie Island because of psychosocial risks linked to a possible H5N1 bird flu outbreak. The island lies between Tasmania and Antarctica and is home to thousands of elephant seals. The evacuation is scheduled for September or early October aboard the RSV Nuyina icebreaker.

No H5N1 infections have yet been detected on Macquarie Island. However, officials say many elephant seals could die during the breeding season from September to November, as the mammals are highly vulnerable to the virus. Sean Sullivan, deputy secretary at Canberra’s climate change, energy, environment and water department, said the human risk from H5 bird flu is considered low.

Sullivan said authorities could not ignore the psychosocial effects of living near potentially large numbers of infected animals, particularly for expedition members working in an isolated and difficult environment. In June, officials reported that thousands of elephant seal pups had died from bird flu on the remote Heard and McDonald Islands. Authorities have reported 341 confirmed or probable H5 positive infections in Australia, with none detected in poultry or the agricultural production sector.

Two young men died following a clash involving intoxicated youths at the bar of Renaissance Hotel in Cox’s Bazar city’s Jhautala area at about 10:30pm on Thursday. Najibul Haque Rashed was declared dead after suffering a neck injury from a broken glass. Solaiman, also known as Salman, later died while being taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital after a mob beating.

Police said Rashed and several others had been drinking when an argument and fight began, with some youths calling additional people to the scene. Sources said the initial argument involved a youth named Ansar, who called Radi and Salman. Witnesses said Rashed’s throat was cut by broken glass during the fight, while Salman was beaten by people below the hotel and handed to police.

Cox’s Bazar police and the district hospital’s resident medical officer confirmed both deaths. Additional Superintendent of Police Ahidul Islam said police had begun operations to detain those involved and said one person taken into custody had also died. He described the bar as unlicensed, while hotel manager Faizul Haque said it held a valid licence renewed until June 2027. Police also reported attacks and vandalism at homes of people linked to the incident.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing that Lake Ontario be renamed “Lake America,” amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada. Speaking at the White House, Trump said the change would take effect immediately. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the move, saying the lake’s name would always remain Lake Ontario.

The lake, the smallest of the five Great Lakes by area, lies along the US-Canada border and is connected to Ontario province and New York state. Carney said the nearly 400-year-old name predates both countries and comes from an Indigenous word meaning “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.” He said on X that America was changing.

Trump’s order instructs the US Interior Department to update all entries for the lake in the federal geographic naming system within 30 days. It also directs all federal agencies to use “Lake America.” The order argues that the lake’s deepest point is on the US side and that the United States therefore claims most of its water volume.