The government has directed all universities and other educational institutions in Bangladesh to observe Eid-e-Miladunnabi on August 26. The day will be marked with due dignity and religious solemnity, according to the announcement published on August 19, 2026.

Institutions have been instructed to arrange discussions on the life and works of Hazrat Muhammad (SM), as well as Islam’s messages of peace, progress, harmony, tolerance, global brotherhood, human rights and women’s dignity. The directive also calls for prayer gatherings, hamd and naat performances, recitations of original poetry, cultural competitions and quiz contests.

District Shilpakala Academies, Shishu Academies, other cultural institutions, the Islamic Foundation, the Office of the Waqf Administrator, and Hajj offices in Dhaka and Jeddah will follow the same programme. As part of the state programme, divisional, district and upazila administrations, city corporations, municipalities and the Armed Forces Division will organize discussion meetings and prayer gatherings within their respective jurisdictions.

Bangladesh Bank has authorized Rupali Bank to release the remaining $3,197,561 from an approved foreign-currency syndicated loan to S Alam Group affiliate SS Power-1 Limited and to open new letters of credit. The central bank issued the notification on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, after previously permitting the company to open LCs on Sunday.

The notification, signed by Deputy Governor Md Kabir Ahmad, invokes powers under Section 121 of the Bank Company Act, 1991. It says Section 27ka(3) of the law will not apply to the loan disbursement and LC opening for SS Power-1. That provision ordinarily prevents a group entity from receiving new credit or credit facilities when the group is a loan defaulter.

Bangladesh Bank said neither the government nor the central bank will assume liability for any loan or financing provided under the facility. Lending banks or financial institutions will not be able to seek future financial support from the government or Bangladesh Bank against such loans. The source also cites allegations that S Alam Group took control of seven banks and one financial institution and borrowed heavily under various names.

Police in Kolkata have identified two more people killed in a major fire at a residential hotel in the New Market area, bringing the reported death toll to nine. The newly identified victims were Indian nationals: 19-year-old Sandeep Paswan from Bihar and 68-year-old Yog Narayan Agarwal from Siliguri. The report was published on August 19, 2026.

Kolkata police had earlier identified five Bangladeshi nationals among those killed. They were Md Akram Ali, 74, from Kushtia; Debashis Dutta, 39; Afsana Sharmin, 27; Sharnashish Dutta, 3; and Babu Ahmed Babu, 37, a resident of Aminbazar in Savar, Dhaka.

The identity of one victim remains unconfirmed. Following the fire, observations at the five-storey building pointed to alleged irregularities and poor management, including cramped rooms, narrow passageways and an apparent lack of adequate fire-safety measures. Local residents alleged that several hotels operated on different floors, with small accommodation rooms and multiple air-conditioning units on each floor.

Sugarcane cultivation is declining in Muksudpur upazila of Gopalganj as farmers lose interest amid what they describe as a lack of government support. The crop was once widely grown across the area, meeting local demand and being supplied to Dhaka and other parts of the country. Although farmers report good yields and prices, only 35 farmers are now involved in cultivation.

The upazila agriculture department set a target of growing sugarcane on 22 hectares this year, but cultivation has reached only 19 hectares. Farmer Md Idris Molla, who has grown sugarcane for 40 years, said the crop carries lower risk and offers higher profit than other crops, but growers receive little follow-up from the agriculture office. He called for free pesticides and fertiliser similar to support provided for other crops.

Farmer Moktar Sheikh said he cultivated one acre this year at a cost of Tk60,000 and expects about Tk80,000 in profit. He said growers must sell in markets because there is no sugar mill in the area. Agriculture officer Md Mizanur Rahman said the region is outside sugar-mill coverage, so no government incentives are available for growers.

Iran issued a satirical response after US President Donald Trump again suggested declaring the Strait of Hormuz part of the United States. On August 19, 2026, Iran’s Hyderabad consulate in India posted a map of the United States on social media, coloring California blue and labeling it “the new territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Trump shared a Truth Social image on Tuesday showing the strategic waterway circled and described as “new US territory.” The White House later reposted the image on its official X account. The article said the Iranian map was intended to highlight what Tehran viewed as the absurdity of unilaterally declaring territory part of another country.

Speaking at a New York police academy on Friday, Trump said Iran was losing badly and that he would soon declare the strait US territory after fully defeating Iran. He also said a US naval blockade effectively made the waterway American. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected the claim, saying the strait could not be seized through posts, aircraft carriers, or orders.

Bangladesh will observe Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi on August 26, with the government announcing nationwide programmes to mark the occasion with religious solemnity and enthusiasm. The plans were finalized at an inter-ministerial meeting on August 13 chaired by Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad. The president and prime minister will issue separate messages, while national flags will be hoisted at public, semi-public, autonomous and private institutions and armed forces installations.

Dhaka’s major traffic islands, light posts, roads and other locations will be decorated with national and coloured flags and banners carrying Kalima Tayyiba. Prayer gatherings will be held at the Bangladesh Secretariat Mosque and mosques across the country. Divisional, district and upazila administrations, city corporations, municipalities and the Armed Forces Division will arrange discussions and prayer gatherings within their respective jurisdictions.

The Islamic Foundation will organize religious gatherings, seminars, talk shows, recitation and cultural competitions, a souvenir publication and a month-long Islamic book fair at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. Educational and cultural institutions have been directed to arrange programmes on Prophet Muhammad’s life and Islamic values. Authorities will provide improved meals at specified hospitals, prisons and care facilities, while missions abroad will also observe the day.

Bangladesh Coast Guard recovered two foreign firearms, magazines and ammunition during a special operation on the Naf River in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, on August 19. Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon said the operation was conducted by BCG Station Teknaf from 1am to 8am, following intelligence about an attempted weapons transfer from Myanmar to a terrorist group in a Rohingya camp.

During the operation, personnel signalled a suspicious wooden boat to stop. The boat ignored the signal, entered the Nayapara mangrove area and was abandoned by members of the alleged group, who fled. A search found the weapons and ammunition concealed inside fishing nets.

The seized items included an SVD Dragunov rifle with a magazine, a foreign 9mm pistol with a magazine, 229 rounds of rifle ammunition, two live pistol rounds, one blank pistol round and two MA-1 rifle magazines. Intelligence surveillance and patrols have been intensified to apprehend those involved. Legal procedures regarding the seized weapons, ammunition and boat are under way.

AI camera surveillance on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway detected traffic violations in 464 cases and imposed Tk 1.551 million in fines over 27 hours, according to monitoring officials. The violations were recorded from 11am on August 18 to 5pm on August 19. They included speeding, driving in the opposite direction and illegal parking.

Mohammad Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of the AI Camera Monitoring Data Center in the Meghnaghat area of Sonargaon, Narayanganj, confirmed the figures. On the first day, the approved speed limit was 80–85 kilometres per hour and was raised to 90 kilometres per hour on the second day. Of the 446 cases filed on Tuesday, most involved exceeding the speed limit; only 18 additional cases were recorded by 5pm Wednesday.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed inaugurated the AI-based auto fine system at Meghnaghat on Tuesday. The automated coverage extends about 250 kilometres from Jatrabari in Dhaka to Chattogram City Gate, using 1,427 AI cameras at 490 points. Vehicle owners will receive mobile messages on fines and can pay through mobile banking.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has instructed suspicious transaction reporting entities to immediately provide information on frozen bank accounts and any accounts linked to them. The directive was issued on Wednesday, according to a report published on 19 August 2026.

Under the instruction, when an entity receives an order to suspend an account after filing a suspicious transaction report on it, it must promptly inform BFIU of the account’s current status. It must also submit information about other accounts associated with the suspended account.

The measure expands reporting beyond the individual account subject to a freeze. It is intended to give BFIU a broader picture of the financial transactions and accounts of people or institutions connected to suspicious activity. Relevant stakeholders believe the information could make it easier for the unit to identify and investigate potential money-laundering networks.

More than 500,000 barrels of Venezuela’s daily oil output are being sent to refineries across the United States, according to US Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Housetveit. He disclosed the figure at an energy conference in Texas on August 19, 2026. Venezuela produces about 1.25 million barrels of oil per day, meaning exports to the United States account for a substantial share of its production.

Housetveit said the US refineries receiving the crude were largely designed to process Venezuela’s heavy crude oil. He also said the United States is assisting Venezuela in increasing oil production and that both countries are benefiting from the process.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest oil reserves, but long-running investment shortages and US sanctions had limited its contribution to global demand. Oil production and exports have begun rising again since recent political changes and the formation of an interim government. International groups and research organizations have raised concerns over transparency in the use of oil-sale revenue and the exclusion of the main opposition party from talks with the interim government.

Myanmar has again described Rohingya people displaced to Bangladesh as “Bengali,” prompting Bangladesh to say it is seeking international pressure on both Myanmar’s government and the Arakan Army for their repatriation. The statement, reported on August 19, 2026, has raised questions over whether Myanmar’s position could obstruct Bangladesh’s efforts to return Rohingya refugees and further complicate the crisis.

Myanmar says no group exists in the country under the ethnic name Rohingya and does not recognise them among its 135 ethnic minorities. Analysts cited in the report say the renewed terminology signals that Myanmar is not genuinely interested in taking Rohingya back, describing it as a longstanding tactic of the military authorities. Rohingya representative Nurul Islam said Rohingya suffered ethnic cleansing in Rakhine and that neither Myanmar’s government nor the Arakan Army wants their return.

About 750,000 Rohingya fled military persecution in Rakhine for Bangladesh in 2017, while another 400,000 to 500,000 arrived at different times before and after that exodus. Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman told parliament on April 28 that Bangladesh hosts about 1.189 million displaced Rohingya. Retired Major Emdadul Islam urged Bangladesh to focus on Myanmar’s duty to receive its citizens rather than engage in the identity dispute.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday reaffirmed his description of extremist Jewish settlers in the West Bank as “terrorists,” according to an interview with Channel 12 News. His comments followed the blockade of several homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, where settlers have surrounded residences for more than a week in what Huckabee said was an apparent effort to force residents to leave. One resident is a US citizen.

Huckabee said terrorism includes acts intended to alter people’s behavior and make them fear living their lives, whether directed at a nation, an individual, or a family. He described those involved as a minority group and said many live outside the West Bank. Calling them “displacers” rather than settlers, he said they had come to create disorder and were harming Israel and Jewish people.

The ambassador said Israeli authorities were already taking action over the Qusra incident, regardless of US Embassy involvement. He added that US involvement becomes nearly automatic and significant when an American citizen is involved. Asked about pressure for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn the incidents, Huckabee said the United States wanted responsible action and severe consequences for all involved in terrorist activity.

Journalist Debashish Dutta of Kushtia and three family members were killed in a fire in Kolkata, India, according to a report published on August 19, 2026. The other victims were his wife Afsana Sharmin, 25; their two-year-old child Sharnashish Dutta; and Dutta’s father-in-law Md Akram Ali, 64.

Akram Ali’s home was in Thanapara, Kushtia, while Debashish Dutta was the son of Dilip Dutta of Aroya Para in Kushtia town. Family members said Dutta had travelled to Narayana Hospital in Bengaluru on August 4 for his wife’s treatment, leaving behind their six-year-old daughter, Mahima Dutta.

After the treatment, the family had returned to Kolkata the previous day, relatives said. Debashish Dutta had worked with the national daily Ajker Patrika, private television channel Channel Nine, local Kushtia daily Ajker Alo as acting editor, and had formerly served as Kushtia district correspondent for Nagorik Television.

Prime Minister and Leader of the House Tarique Rahman chaired a meeting of ruling party members of parliament at the government members’ meeting room in the National Parliament Building on Wednesday. The meeting began at 4pm, according to Deputy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Zahidul Islam Roni.

The gathering was arranged to provide necessary guidance to ruling party lawmakers on the overall activities of the ongoing parliamentary session, the enactment of important laws, and various current political and national issues. Ruling party MPs were present at the meeting.

Discussions were expected to cover the government’s various activities in parliament, legislative work and nationally important matters. The source did not provide further details about any decisions, directives or outcomes from the meeting.

BNP Standing Committee member and the prime minister’s political adviser Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said Bangladesh seeks friendly relations with every country on the basis of equality. He made the remarks on Wednesday after paying tribute at the graves of martyred President Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia at Zia Udyan in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, marking the Volunteers’ Party anniversary.

Rizvi said friendship cannot be conditional and that relations must rest on respect for each country’s independence and sovereignty. He said the prime minister would maintain ties with all countries based on equality, mutual respect and respect for sovereignty, while Bangladesh would also invite others.

Referring to India, Rizvi said the government would welcome a friendly invitation if it came without interests attached. He said Bangladesh would not proceed if interests were involved and that relations with India must be based on equal dignity. Rizvi also expressed hope that the Volunteers’ Party would remain active in presenting the government’s welfare-oriented work to the public as part of implementing the BNP election manifesto.