Saudi Ambassador to Dhaka Dr Abdullah Jafar H. bin Abiyah met President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at Bangabhaban on Monday, according to the president’s press secretary Md Sarwar Alam. The ambassador conveyed congratulations from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Alamgir assuming the presidency. The president called for Saudi cooperation with Bangladesh amid the global energy crisis.

Alamgir urged expanded trade and investment between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia in both public and private sectors. He also asked for Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims’ travel to be made easier and for their hardships to be reduced, particularly through improved bathroom and toilet facilities in Mina. The Saudi ambassador assured him that appropriate steps would be taken.

The president thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting more than 3.5 million Bangladeshi workers and requested priority recruitment of manpower from Bangladesh in the future. He invited the Saudi king and crown prince to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time. The ambassador pledged continued energy, assistance and investment support. The meeting was Alamgir’s first with a foreign diplomat after taking office as president.

Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin said the Election Commission expects to conduct local government elections better than previous polls despite challenges. Speaking on Monday at the Electoral Training Institute in Agargaon, Dhaka, after an IFES leadership dialogue, he said the commission had no shortcomings in its preparations and would seek cooperation from all parties.

Nasir Uddin said the commission would not allow election standards to fall below those established in earlier elections and would improve them where possible. He said local election dates could not yet be announced, as the commission would decide them after discussions and consultation with the government. Necessary amendments to laws and rules are being prepared and have been sent to the ministry for vetting.

The CEC said election arrangements also depend on preparations by law enforcement agencies and other relevant bodies. He noted that local government polls have historically seen comparatively more violence than national elections, making security responsibilities especially important. Scheduling will consider Durga Puja, monsoon and flood risks, annual examinations, and the deployment of teachers and officials. He said the Thakurgaon-1 by-election would be held within the legally required 90 days.

Bangladesh implemented only 0.69 percent of its Annual Development Programme (ADP) in July, the first month of fiscal year 2026-27. Ministries and divisions spent Tk 2,121.18 crore during the month, according to a report published Monday by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED). The ADP spending target, including own financing by public agencies, is Tk 308,924.86 crore for the fiscal year.

The July implementation rate matched the rate recorded in the same month of the previous fiscal year, while it was 1.05 percent in July of fiscal year 2024-25. Ten ministries and divisions recorded no expenditure, including the Health Services Division, Health Education and Family Welfare Division, Bridges Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Religious Affairs. Another 43 ministries and divisions remained below 1 percent implementation.

The Public Service Commission posted the highest July implementation rate at 7.52 percent, followed by the Parliament Secretariat at 6.69 percent and the Cabinet Division at 5.57 percent. Planning Commission and IMED officials said agencies usually spend the start of the fiscal year on project preparation and work plans. IMED plans regular review meetings to address implementation obstacles quickly.

Iran will not accept an end to war dictated by pressure or conditions from any aggressive party, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said at a Monday news conference. He said Tehran did not initiate the war and has adopted a defensive position to protect its territorial sovereignty and security. Iran will not allow the terms for ending the conflict to be determined by an aggressor, he added.

Baghaei said there was no room for compromise with aggressors. Addressing US officials’ claims that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, he described the statements as part of psychological and media-based propaganda by the opposing side, saying conditions on the ground do not match those claims.

He also called Iran’s maritime blockade a direct act of aggression, warning that Iran’s hands were not tied and that the consequences would not be good. Baghaei said other countries have no right under international law to cooperate with the United States in such actions. He added that Iran and Pakistan are interested in expanding bilateral cooperation, describing relations as currently at a very good level following Pakistani army chief Asim Munir’s visit to Tehran.

Police in Rupsa, Khulna, said they uncovered a group allegedly slaughtering dead and severely sick cattle, freezing the meat and supplying it to hotels and meat sellers. Members of the group were detained during a special late-night operation on August 23, and harmful meat was recovered from the site.

According to the report, the operation took place at a location in front of Fresh Sea Food and Southern Sea Food in the Ilaipur area of Rupsa upazila. The group had allegedly operated there for a long time, collecting sick and dying cattle at low prices before slaughtering and storing the meat in freezers for sale.

The raid was conducted on the basis of confidential information by the Rupsa Bus Stand Camp in-charge, Newton Roy, along with police personnel. Roy said operations against activities posing a serious threat to public health would continue. Legal action against those detained is under process, while local residents expressed anger and demanded severe punishment for those involved.

A Faridpur women and children repression prevention tribunal on Monday sentenced Hanif Sheikh, described in the case as a fraudulent traditional healer, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a young woman under the pretext of treatment. Judge Shamima Parvin, also district and sessions judge, delivered the verdict. The court also fined him Tk 20,000 and ordered an additional six months in jail if the fine is not paid. Sheikh was absconding when the judgment was announced.

According to the case complaint and court sources, Sheikh had long been involved in improper treatment through spiritual rituals and in abusing women. On March 22, 2025, the survivor went to his home with her younger sister seeking treatment. The accused allegedly took her to a tin-roofed room on the promise of providing treatment and forcibly sexually assaulted her.

The sources said Sheikh threatened and intimidated the survivor after she protested, telling her not to disclose the incident. Public Prosecutor Advocate Golam Rabbani Bhuiyan Ratan said the prosecution proved the allegation beyond reasonable doubt after extensive testimony and hearings. He said the verdict sends a strong message against malpractice and deception and has delivered justice to the survivor's family.

Retired Israeli General Itzhak Brick has warned that Israeli society is nearing a deep crisis from which preventing decline is becoming increasingly difficult. In an article published by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Brick said society is losing its ability to understand reality as political divisions and narrow partisan interests make people increasingly intolerant of one another.

According to Iranian media reports citing the article, Brick said Israel has become a conflict-ridden society in which different groups place their own interests above all else. He said this has led to incorrect decisions and actions being justified in the name of partisan interests. Brick said critics are attacked according to political identity rather than the substance of their views.

Brick said some left-wing figures labelled him a Netanyahu-supporting right-winger after he criticized recent army chiefs, while right-wing figures called him left-wing after he blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other political leaders for the current situation. He also said members of the Haredi community insulted him after he criticized their group. Brick warned that continued internal conflict could further weaken social stability and increase the risk of national decline.

The High Court will not deliver its verdict today on the death reference and appeal of Hitu Sheikh, the main accused in the widely discussed rape and murder case involving child Achia in Magura. On Tuesday morning, the court postponed the verdict to August 31 following an application by the prosecution.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice K M Rasheduzzaman Raja had set the matter for judgment after a hearing on Monday, August 24. State-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan represented the accused, while Deputy Attorney General Imam Hossain Tarek appeared for the state.

The eight-year-old child was allegedly raped after visiting her sister’s home in the Nijnanduali area of Magura town on the night of March 5 last year. The sister’s father-in-law, Hitu Sheikh, was accused of rape and an attempted killing. The child later died while receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka. Her mother filed a case against Hitu Sheikh and three others, and police later arrested all four accused.

National Citizen Party convenor and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam on Monday accused the BNP government of turning state institutions into “party clubs” within six months of taking power. Speaking at the party’s temporary central office in Banglamotor, Dhaka, he presented what the NCP described as failures in 13 sectors during the government’s first 180 days.

The NCP’s list included alleged economic mismanagement and an energy crisis, power shortages and record load-shedding, banking capture and market syndicates, pressure on opposition parties, interference with freedom of expression, and worsening law and order. It also cited alleged failures in medicine pricing policy, measles management, education, treatment and rehabilitation of people injured in July, as well as what it called a divided foreign policy.

Nahid said 19 to 20 universities had received party-aligned vice-chancellor appointments in the past six months. He also alleged that party-affiliated people were appointed administrators in 11 city corporations and 63 district councils, turning positions into rehabilitation centres for unsuccessful nominees and defeated candidates. He said 830 incidents of political violence occurred in the period, alleging BNP involvement in 670, and said NCP activists were attacked in several locations.

A Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on Monday granted bail to Salman F Rahman, former private industry and investment adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in a case alleging assault, death threats and forced resignation of a Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited official. Magistrate Mahbub Alam ordered bail on a Tk500 bond, according to defence lawyer Md Sajibul Islam.

Former BIFFL chief executive SM Formanul Islam filed the case at a metropolitan magistrate’s court on September 15, 2024. The Police Bureau of Investigation investigated the matter and accused six people, including former Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder and former National Board of Revenue chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem. The source also says 12 people were named in the case.

The complaint alleges pressure on Formanul Islam to approve loans and investments for entities linked to Salman F Rahman, including about $185 million for the Teesta Solar project and Tk200 crore in zero-coupon bonds. It alleges he was assaulted during BIFFL’s 80th board meeting on July 28, 2019, and forced to sign a resignation letter. Five accused are on bail, while Sajjad Hossain is absconding.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered a review of the possibility of relaunching a universal stipend programme for girls from class six through undergraduate level. The directive was issued at a Monday meeting on the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division Secretariat. He called for a clear proposal assessing likely costs, beneficiary numbers, implementation methods, and expected social and educational effects.

Officials briefed the prime minister on the trust’s ongoing work, goals and role in preventing student dropouts through financial assistance. The meeting also discussed the impact of a universal stipend programme for girls introduced during former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia’s tenure. Participants noted its positive role in increasing girls’ school attendance, helping them continue education and discouraging child marriage.

The meeting also considered merit- and eligibility-based stipends to encourage boys’ education. Participants discussed student nutrition and health protection, including school mid-day meal management, nutritional value and safe food preparation and delivery. The prime minister directed that food supplied to students be nutritious, safe and of good quality, with no compromise on standards. He also ordered pilot projects for two alternative mid-day meal approaches in separate districts.

Police detained 12 suspected drug users during separate raids in Eidgaon, Cox’s Bazar, on Sunday night. Officers said the detainees were found with equipment used for consuming yaba, a synthetic drug. The operations were conducted at different locations in the upazila.

According to police sources, three people were first detained at around 8:30pm while allegedly preparing to use drugs on the western side of Bottoli Transport Field. In another operation at about 9pm, police detained nine more people allegedly using drugs in two rooms on the ground floor of Chenowara Plaza Hotel near Bottoli Bazar.

The detainees are residents of different areas in Islamapur and Islamabad unions of the upazila. Eidgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge ATM Sifat-ul-Majdar said cases had been filed against the detained individuals under the Narcotics Control Act. He said they were sent to court following the filing of the cases.

A delegation from the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) said it was attacked while visiting a government school allegedly operating in a cowshed in Rampura Kanwarpura village, Jaipur, Rajasthan, on August 21. Led by joint convenor Ashutosh Ranka, the group was conducting an inspection under its “Fix Schools” campaign, which examines conditions and shortages at government schools across India.

CJP alleged that its vehicle was stopped before entering the village and that residents later blocked members walking toward the school. The party said stones and bricks were thrown and sticks were used during clashes, leaving several people injured. It alleged that representative Sanju Verma suffered a broken hand, Salman was seriously injured and hospitalised, and Rekha Sharma was attacked with dust thrown into her eyes.

Police registered a case against CJP representatives following a complaint by villager Bhagwan Sahay Dhanka. He alleged that Ranka arrived with 50 to 60 people on Friday morning, abused residents and women, initiated violence, and made casteist remarks. CJP also filed a counter-complaint, on which police registered another FIR.

Bangladesh has brought halal product standard-setting, halal standards and certification under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, with the Islamic Foundation responsible for the work. The Cabinet Division issued a notification amending the Rules of Business, 1996, the Islamic Foundation said in a press release on Monday.

Under the amended rules, a new responsibility has been added under “Ministry of Religious Affairs” in Schedule 1, which distributes duties among ministries and divisions. The new item, placed after existing item 22 as item 23, covers matters relating to halal standards and certification. Relevant government agencies and institutions will provide necessary coordination and support.

The Islamic Foundation will handle the formulation and implementation of halal standards, product standards and certification matters under the ministry’s mandate. The foundation has long been involved in halal certification for domestic producers and export-oriented firms. The release said the decision is expected to strengthen policy coordination, improve institutional capacity, support transparency in certification, build consumer confidence and facilitate wider Bangladeshi participation in the international halal market.

A newborn died during a normal delivery attempt at Daulatkhan উপজেলা Hospital in Bhola on Sunday night, with the family alleging that senior staff nurse Nusrat pulled the baby during delivery. The mother, Tanzila Begum, wife of Rubel from Basaruddin Bari in Char Khalifa Union, was admitted after developing labour pains on Sunday afternoon.

Relatives said part of the baby’s body emerged but the remaining part could not be delivered, and the child died shortly after being pulled out. They alleged the mother was sent to the delivery room without proper examination or a new ultrasonography test, and they protested at the hospital demanding a fair investigation and justice.

Residential Medical Officer Dr Ariful Islam said an ultrasound report from three weeks earlier indicated that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the newborn’s neck during delivery. He said an ultrasound during labour could have clarified the baby’s condition. Emergency doctor Dr Imtiaz said he did not order another ultrasound because the mother had a report from three to four weeks earlier. Health official Dr Anisur Rahman said action would follow an investigation if the family submits a written complaint.