Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a joint defense agreement, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry cited in a report published on August 7, 2026. The agreement aims to promote peace, security and stability in the region and beyond, with the stated goal of building a secure and prosperous future.

Before the signing, Turkish state media had reported that the agreement was expected to be signed by the leaders of the three countries in Saudi Arabia. The report did not specify the exact venue, timing of the signing ceremony, or the names of the leaders involved.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had previously signed a mutual defense agreement in September 2025. Under that agreement, Pakistan deployed fighter jets and military personnel to Saudi Arabia in April this year. The report said Pakistan has long provided military cooperation to Saudi Arabia, while Saudi Arabia has repeatedly offered Pakistan financial assistance during periods of economic crisis.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Karem Gharibabadi has indicated that Tehran is receiving some “positive” messages from the United States, according to a report published on August 7, 2026. He did not provide details on the nature of the messages or the level from which they were being conveyed.

Tehran-based journalist Wesam Bahrani told Al Jazeera that the status of talks with Iran had become a major question amid reports that the United States was running low on interceptors. Bahrani said Gharibabadi had stated that Iran was receiving some form of messages from Washington and had suggested they were positive, while declining to identify their type or origin.

Bahrani said progress in discussions would first require resolving the issue of bilateral talks with Oman. He added that an agreement would need to be completed there, alongside the establishment of new boundaries in the Strait of Hormuz and on Iran’s side. Gharibabadi did not disclose the specific content or source of the reported messages.

About Tk60 lakh in unspent funds from a 10-kilometre canal excavation project in Guthia ইউনিয়ন of Uzirpur upazila, Barishal, has been returned to the government treasury. The project was completed under the overall supervision of Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ali Suja, according to a report published on August 7, 2026.

The government had allocated Tk2.57 crore for the canal excavation, the upazila administration said. The work was implemented by Upazila Project Implementation Officer Md Mosharraf Hossain under Suja’s supervision. After the work was completed and accounts were settled, approximately Tk60 lakh remained unspent and was deposited in the treasury.

Suja said the allocation represented taxpayers’ money and that proper use and preservation of such funds were a moral duty for public officials. He said the returned money could be used by the government for other development work. Local informed groups described the return of unspent funds, following completion of the specified work, as a positive example of sound public financial management and accountability.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami condemned India’s government over its alleged role in allowing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to conduct anti-Bangladesh activities and conspiracies while in India. In a statement issued Friday, August 7, the party’s secretary general, Mia Golam Porwar, described India’s conduct as outside diplomatic norms and a serious violation of international diplomatic rules.

Porwar said Bangladesh is committed to respectful diplomatic relations with India and other countries on the basis of equality, while respecting all states’ independence and sovereignty. He alleged that India had not acted on Bangladesh’s diplomatic requests to stop Hasina’s activities in Delhi and had continued to provide her shelter. He said Bangladesh’s interim government had written to India several times requesting her return, while alleging that a bilateral prisoner-exchange agreement was being ignored.

Jamaat called on India to revise its position and hand Hasina over to Bangladesh. Porwar also urged the current government to take effective steps, seek an Interpol Red Notice and request United Nations assistance. He said the public should remain vigilant and united against what he described as fascist conspiracies.

Nurul Haque Nur, state minister for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment and president of Gono Odhikar Parishad, said lawmakers should receive a monthly salary of Tk5 lakh and ministers Tk10 lakh. He made the proposal on Friday at an event of the Bangladesh Government Officers and Employees Welfare Association at the National Press Club, arguing that higher pay could reduce corruption and strengthen representatives’ financial ability to perform their duties.

He said an MP’s basic salary is currently about Tk55,000, with total earnings of roughly Tk170,000, while a minister’s basic salary is about Tk105,000 and a state minister’s Tk92,000. According to Nur, representatives face requests in their constituencies for medical assistance, weddings and sports prizes that cannot be met from their current income.

Nur said representatives without substantial personal wealth may face temptation to collect money through undesirable means to meet social expectations. Citing Singapore and Malaysia, he called for respectable salaries and allowances for elected representatives. He also proposed that MPs use government vehicles during their terms and return them to the transport pool afterward, and stressed the need for effective implementation of labour law.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is considering spending tens of millions of dollars to support Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan, according to a report published on August 7, 2026. The move follows its unsuccessful effort to defeat pro-Palestinian Democratic candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary. El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination and will face Rogers next November.

AIPAC’s main super PAC, the United Democracy Project, spent about $32 million attacking El-Sayed and backing its preferred candidate, but did not prevent his nomination victory. The report described the result as AIPAC’s most expensive defeat in a direct federal election. Citing The New York Times, it said the United Democracy Project held more than $80 million in reserves at the end of June, giving it capacity for another major campaign.

Pre-election polling cited in the report found that 49 percent of Michigan Democratic voters viewed AIPAC negatively, while 12 percent viewed it positively. It also said 64 percent of voters were less likely to support candidates accepting AIPAC donations. Pew Research Center figures cited in the article showed 60 percent of Americans held unfavorable views of Israel, including 80 percent of Democrats.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said initiatives would be taken to establish army camps in necessary areas to curb kidnappings in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, and elsewhere in the country. He made the remarks on Friday while answering journalists' questions after laying the foundation stone for a new building at the 500-bed Cox's Bazar Medical College Hospital. He said the GOC would review the situation and that the government would ask the army to set up camps where needed.

Ahmed said he hoped the measure would effectively suppress or significantly reduce kidnapping, which he described as a heinous crime. He also alleged that efforts were being made from abroad to create instability in Bangladesh, referring to Sheikh Hasina, and said Bangladeshis would not accept such politics. He said those responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity had shown no remorse and had not sought forgiveness from the people.

Earlier, at 11 a.m., the minister inaugurated the Cox's Bazar Development Authority's Flat Development Project-01. He urged officials to plan tourism development while preserving nature, saying tourism should not be limited to constructing tall buildings. He called for tourism-friendly activities across Cox's Bazar's full 100-kilometre beach stretch and said some ecologically critical areas would be reviewed through surveys for tourism development.

Saudi Arabia has appointed Rear Admiral Abdullah bin Salem al-Shehri as commander of a multinational maritime defence alliance comprising 14 countries, including Bangladesh. The Saudi Defence Ministry announced the appointment on Thursday, saying the move aims to protect shipping security in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Al-Shehri will oversee joint naval defence, coordinate with member states and other maritime alliances, and lead missions under the alliance’s charter. Bangladesh, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen announced the alliance’s formation on July 30.

Saudi Arabia described the grouping as an open international alliance for countries that agree with its goals and principles. It said applications for membership are being received regularly, with some countries having signed the joint declaration and others preparing to sign the declaration and charter. A planning meeting on August 12 and 13 is set to finalize the alliance’s institutional structure and create a path for additional countries to join. Its stated objectives include protecting freedom of navigation, trade routes and energy supply routes.

Authorities in Tembilahan, in Indonesia’s Indragiri Hilir Regency of Riau province, captured a wild monkey accused of carrying out attacks over several weeks that injured at least 17 people. The animal was caught in a joint operation involving police, military personnel, firefighters and wildlife officials on Thursday. Authorities had set traps in the area after attacks began on July 25.

Indragiri Hilir police chief Doni Eko Listiyanto said Riau’s natural resources conservation agency, BKSDA, placed three traps at locations where the monkey was believed to hide. One of them caught the animal. Officials believe the detained monkey was responsible for the incidents, which began after a group of long-tailed macaques was seen in Tembilahan.

The reported victims include children and older people. Attacks occurred on roads, outside homes and inside several houses, and some injured people required stitches. Officials had suspected a large adult male monkey. They said the captured animal’s size, aggressive behavior and a distinctive facial mark matched descriptions provided by victims and witnesses. All schools in Tembilahan district had been ordered to suspend in-person classes for three days and begin online learning from Wednesday for safety reasons.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General and former MP Mia Golam Parwar expressed deep grief over two separate road crashes in Bogura and Osmaninagar, Sylhet, that killed at least 15 people and seriously injured 34. In a condolence message sent to the media on August 7, he offered sympathy to bereaved families and prayed for the quick recovery of those receiving hospital treatment.

Parwar said seven people died after a bus lost control on the Bogura-Naogaon highway on Friday morning and ran over workers waiting for employment. Another eight people were killed when two passenger buses collided head-on at Kashikapan on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. He described the deaths as heartbreaking and painful, saying such repeated loss of life on the roads was unacceptable.

He attributed recurring road accidents to uncontrolled speed, poor road conditions and a lack of effective oversight. Parwar called on the authorities to conduct proper investigations into both crashes, take strict legal action against those responsible, provide appropriate compensation to affected families, and ensure proper medical treatment for the injured.

Millions of camels now roam remote desert and grassland areas of Australia, far from their original Arab desert habitat. British colonizers brought camels to Australia for transport in the 19th century, but many were released when vehicles reduced their usefulness. Australia’s camel population is estimated at between 300,000 and one million, according to the report.

Many of the animals have become feral, and authorities say they create problems in desert areas. They compete with livestock for food, damage fences, contaminate water sources and harm cultural sites of Indigenous communities. At the same time, trained and domesticated camels have created a limited export market, with farmers selling camel milk and sometimes exporting live animals.

So far in 2026, Australia has exported 68 camels to Malaysia and Indonesia. Trade data showed Australian camel meat exports exceeded $3.9 million in 2024. Warwick Hill, owner of Humpalicious farm in Robe, South Australia, sells camel milk for 20 Australian dollars per litre but says high labour costs and relatively low milk output keep prices high. The annual Marree Camel Cup is held in the remote town of Marree, about 600 kilometres north of Adelaide.

BNP Secretary General and Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party faces a “ruin” whenever it comes to power, arguing that it repeatedly inherits a damaged situation. He made the remarks on Friday, August 7, at a seminar titled “The Role of Media in Sustainable Democracy,” organized by the Television Editors Council at Hotel Holiday Inn in the capital.

Fakhrul alleged that the previous government conducted no gas exploration and instead created an import-dependent system. He said the power sector had been damaged through quick-rental power plants and that banks had been exhausted, leaving the government with difficult challenges in repairing them.

Calling democracy a culture, Fakhrul said sustainable democracy cannot be established unless it is reflected in people’s thinking and conduct. He urged tolerance of differing views, criticism of the government alongside time for it to work, and stronger institutional foundations for media outlets. In the keynote paper, Independent Television Chief News Editor Mostafa Akmal said political pressure, enforcement of digital laws and surveillance had prevented media from operating independently over the past decade and a half.

Jinjira Pir Mohammad Pilot Girls’ High School in Keraniganj, Dhaka, faces allegations of prolonged leadership vacancies, teacher factionalism, financial irregularities and rule violations in appointments. The report published on August 7, 2026 said parents and local residents believe the situation is negatively affecting administration and educational activities at the school, which has about 2,600 students.

Local sources said the head teacher post has remained vacant since former head teacher Abu Raihan was suspended in 2023. The assistant head teacher post has reportedly been vacant for two years and the physical education teacher post for four years. Despite senior teachers being employed, dress-making teacher Tahmina Akter is serving as acting head teacher, while concerned parties claim she does not meet requirements under teacher appointment rules.

The report also cited allegations concerning school income and spending, management of its bank account, and development work conducted without tenders. Tahmina Akter denied that any work was done without tenders. She declined to disclose the amount in the school fund or spending details, saying she would not show income and expenditure accounts to anyone outside the school management committee.

Israel’s Mossad dismissed two senior officials after a plan to change Iran’s government reportedly failed, according to a Thursday report by Israel’s Channel 12. The report said Mossad chief Roman Gofman removed the intelligence division head and the agency’s Iran division chief from their posts. Their identities were not disclosed, and one had been appointed to the intelligence role only months earlier.

Channel 12 said the plan, developed in coordination with the United States, sought to intensify internal activity against Iran’s current government and support opposition groups. It was reportedly designed to activate anti-government efforts inside Iran under the cover of possible joint Israeli-US air strikes. The report also said the possibility of establishing alternative political leadership had been considered.

According to the report, the plan either failed in implementation or was suspended before becoming operational. It cited poor relations between Gofman and the dismissed officials, as well as disagreements over Iran-related strategy and priorities. A separate Mossad-CIA plan involving Kurdish fighters was reportedly halted at an early stage and later cancelled. The Israeli government made no immediate comment.

The Chhattisgarh High Court has denied bail to retired IAS officer Jivankishore Dhruv in an alleged examination paper leak case involving the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission. The court said leaking, or attempting to leak, questions for competitive examinations is an offence more serious than murder because it jeopardises the futures and careers of millions of job seekers. Dhruv was serving as CGPSC secretary during the period covered by the allegations.

Irregularities have been alleged in CGPSC examinations held between 2020 and 2022, and the CBI is investigating the matter. The agency arrested Dhruv in September 2025 on allegations of involvement in the leak. Investigators allege that he gave examination questions to his son, who subsequently succeeded in the PSC process and was appointed an additional district magistrate.

Dhruv denied the allegations, arguing that he was being targeted because he was the PSC secretary at the time. Justice Bibhu Datta Guru reserved the order after a hearing on July 31 and announced the decision on Wednesday. The court said the allegations against the retired officer could not be treated as ordinary, citing the wider social impact of ruined careers.