National University is set to introduce Language Clubs at all its affiliated colleges and educational institutions nationwide to strengthen students’ language and communication skills. The initiative, announced through the university’s public relations office on July 30, is intended to help students prepare for the international labour market and the modern information technology era. Students will be able to develop skills in their mother tongue as well as international languages, particularly English, Mandarin, Japanese and others.

Each club will hold regular language practice and speaking sessions alongside public speaking, debates, presentations, reading, literary and cultural activities, seminars, workshops and language-based competitions. The clubs will also provide access to technology-based language-learning tools in addition to direct instruction. University authorities said the programme was adopted because students needed an integrated platform to improve language proficiency, with expected benefits for employment, higher education and international communication.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr A. S. M. Amanullah said the clubs aim to remove students’ hesitation and fear so they can speak and express themselves fluently in English or another third language. Teachers, guardians and education stakeholders welcomed the plan, especially for students in remote colleges. A workshop involving Dhaka metropolitan colleges is planned soon, while guidelines are being prepared for distribution to relevant institutions.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it shot down a hostile drone over the strategic southwestern port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini early Thursday. The incident was reported in a statement cited by Tasnim News Agency, according to Al Jazeera.

The IRGC’s local unit said the unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted and destroyed in the city’s airspace immediately after it was detected. The statement did not identify the drone’s operator, origin, or intended purpose.

Debris from the destroyed drone fell onto a residential house in the Bandar Imam Khomeini area, but no casualties were reported. Tasnim said an IRGC bomb-disposal team arrived at the site shortly after the incident, neutralized all hazardous materials in the wreckage, and moved them to a safe location.

About 100 soldiers from the Tzabar Battalion of Israel's Givati Brigade reportedly rebelled against their commanders and left the Sde Teiman base in the Negev desert. The incident was reported on July 30, 2026, with Ynet describing it as a protest driven by anger at commanders. The soldiers reportedly left their weapons behind when departing the base.

An Israeli army spokesperson said the dispute began after the battalion commander ordered the removal of certain unusual signs or symbols associated with the traditions of older and newer soldiers. According to Ynet, the soldiers said the removed symbols had accompanied them during fighting in Gaza and Lebanon and had been passed down to successive groups of recruits. They viewed the mementos as symbols of a deep spiritual connection to the battalion and its traditions.

Maariv, citing an unnamed military source, reported that the battalion had become unfit to take part in a planned combat operation in Gaza because of the incident. Israel Hayom reported that the soldiers and commanders left military equipment and weapons at the base, taking only their personal bags as they headed home.

Representatives of leading Bangladeshi industries called for private research findings on microplastics or harmful substances in toothpaste and other products to be shared with regulators before publication. At a public hearing held Thursday at the BSTI headquarters in Tejgaon, Dhaka, they also urged the development of a clear law or policy governing publication of such research reports.

BSTI Director General Kazi Imdadul Haque said the agency values research and wants high-quality studies in the country, but cautioned against creating public panic or instability. He said it would have been better if BSTI had been informed before publication of the toothpaste research. He added that no global standard currently specifies permissible levels of microplastics in toothpaste.

Haque said a relevant BSTI expert committee will examine ISO and other international standards before taking necessary action. Industry representatives argued that unverified or incomplete findings can confuse consumers and trigger negative media and social-media campaigns that damage companies’ markets and reputations. The hearing also discussed online payments, online submission of applications and documents, online licence renewals, standards for growing-up milk for children aged three to five, and updates to packaging-product laws and regulations.

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shah Alam said the current government’s achievements and public welfare activities during its first 180 days must be presented to the public in a factual, concise and objective manner. He made the remarks as chief guest at a meeting on Thursday, July 30, at the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division conference room in the Secretariat. The meeting reviewed progress in implementing the ministry and division’s 180-day action plan under the government’s election manifesto.

At the start of the meeting, offices and agencies under the division presented implementation progress, achievements, existing challenges and proposed responses. The state minister directed each office to provide brief, data-based accounts of its work and results. He said reports should include specific information on tree planting and environmental protection, employment creation, women’s empowerment, new projects, agricultural development, loan distribution, beneficiary numbers, cooperative membership growth, training programmes and public-awareness activities.

He also called for stronger coordination with NGOs, volunteer groups and social organisations to make government activities more effective and public-oriented. Mir Shah Alam stressed skills training, third-language education and needs-based technical training to expand overseas employment opportunities. He said an initiative would be taken to conduct a national survey collecting population, socioeconomic and other important data to support future planning and targeted service delivery.

Bangladesh aims to begin sending workers to Malaysia from the final week of August, Prime Minister’s adviser and office spokesperson Mahdi Amin said at a Thursday 3 p.m. press conference at the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. Labour and Employment, and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury attended the briefing.

Amin said bilateral discussions had produced consensus between the two countries, creating an opportunity for workers from all sectors to travel to Malaysia. He described the target as realistic and said beginning departures within the next month could play a major long-term role in Bangladesh’s economy. He also urged the public to remain alert to fraud by brokers and dishonest groups.

Malaysia will determine the final number of recruiting agencies through its own screening process and framework, based on a list of 423 agencies Bangladesh submitted during the interim government’s tenure. The current memorandum of understanding remains valid until December this year. Amin said licences of people linked to past fascism, corruption or unethical activities had been cancelled, and that those involved in such conduct or syndicate-related corruption would not be included on the new list. Malaysian authorities are expected to confirm the matter soon.

Mobarok Hossain Iman, also known as David Iman, was sent to jail after being shown arrested in four cases in Chattogram. The listed top criminal from Chattogram was produced before a Chattogram court at about 4pm on Thursday, July 30, after his arrest near the Jhikargachha border in Jashore while allegedly attempting to flee to India.

Judge Sayma Afrin Hima of Chattogram Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-1 ordered that he be sent to jail. The application sought to show him arrested in one murder case and two arms cases filed with Fatikchhari police station, as well as one case filed with Bayezid police station.

Court Inspector Md Habibur Rahman confirmed the development. Earlier on Thursday morning, David Iman was brought to Chattogram from Jashore under tight security. He and four associates were arrested from the Jhumjhumpur area near the Jhikargachha border in Jashore.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has announced a Tk8.71 per litre cut in the price of furnace oil in Bangladesh. Under the new rate, furnace oil supplied by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will cost Tk100.39 per litre, down from Tk109.10. BERC issued the related notification on Thursday, with the revised price taking effect from midnight on July 30.

BERC said the new price was set based on international furnace oil prices and the free-on-board, or FOB, price of imported crude oil. The notification did not provide further details on fuel supply, demand, or other factors behind the adjustment beyond those pricing references.

The revised rate will apply to the Bangladesh Power Development Board, public and private power plants, industrial factories, and other customers. BERC said the new price will remain in force until further instructions are issued. The announcement specifies the BPC-supplied furnace oil rate and identifies the customer groups covered by the change.

Sheikh Azizur Rahman, who was seriously injured during the July movement, met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at the Prime Minister’s Office under the Cabinet Division at the Bangladesh Secretariat. Azizur presented the national flag he had tied around his head to stop bleeding from a gunshot wound. The flag had become stained with blood, and he said handing it to the prime minister fulfilled a long-held wish.

The meeting followed a media report saying Azizur had not received recognition as a July warrior despite being shot, allegedly because of his involvement with Chhatra Dal. After the report came to the prime minister’s attention, Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon was instructed to look into the matter and Azizur was brought to the office. The prime minister asked about his injuries, education, treatment, living conditions and his work driving a CNG vehicle to cover education costs.

Azizur is a second-year social work honours student at Government Bangla College and a member of its Chhatra Dal convening committee. He is from Lohagara upazila in Narail. The report says he was injured during the July 2024 mass movement at Mirpur-10 flyover, arrested on July 19, remanded for two days and released on July 21. It says he has yet to receive July warrior recognition.

Two armed robberies were reported at separate homes in Islamabad and Pokkhali unions of Eidgaon upazila, Cox’s Bazar, late Wednesday night. Victims said gold jewellery, cash and other valuables were taken, while several people were injured in attacks. At former union parishad member Nuruchhafa’s home in Tekpara, Islamabad, robbers allegedly cut through a grille and entered at about 3am.

Nuruchhafa said he was away working at a shrimp enclosure and only women, including guests, were at the house. He alleged that the group assaulted his wife Amena, 50, and a child grandson, held them at gunpoint, and took Tk2.1 million, 50 bhori of gold jewellery and four Android phones. He estimated his losses at nearly Tk15 million.

At Md Hossain’s home in west Pokkhali, victims alleged that robbers took 16 bhori of gold, Tk350,000, three Android phones, an Tk8 million cheque and other valuables after cutting a grille. Police visited both sites and collected information and evidence. Officer-in-Charge ATM Sifatullah Majdar said efforts were under way to identify an organised robbery gang.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, claimed it launched a ballistic missile strike against US F-35 fighter jets at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan. The report, published on July 30, 2026, said advanced US F-35 aircraft are deployed at the base.

According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the attack was carried out in response to a recent US strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island that killed parents and a child from the same family. The IRGC said the missile strike targeted a runway and a maintenance hangar at the air base.

The IRGC claimed that three US F-35 aircraft were completely destroyed and another three were seriously damaged. It also said several US officials and members of the base’s technical and maintenance teams were killed. The organization described the strike as part of a struggle to expel the last US occupier from Islamic lands.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three of its members were killed in a US missile strike on July 30. The information was carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, citing an IRGC statement, according to Al Jazeera. The statement said the deaths resulted from a US attack.

The IRGC’s Ansar al-Mahdi branch in Zanjan province identified the three men as Mahmoud Mollajabari, Mohammadreza Cheraghi and Jamal Amiri. The corps said they died while defending Iran’s borders and its people. No further details about the location or circumstances of the reported missile strike were provided in the source.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard condemned the attack, calling it a brutal assault by what it described as the United States’ criminal terrorist regime. The IRGC also expressed condolences to Iran’s supreme leader, the families of those killed and the Iranian people. There was no immediate response from the United States regarding the reported attack.

France and Germany provided military-aircraft assistance to the United States in intercepting Iranian missiles aimed at a US military base in Jordan, according to Iran's Fars News Agency as cited by Al Mayadeen. The report was published on July 30, 2026.

Fars News Agency said aviation tracking-system data showed at least two German and French aircraft in Jordanian airspace. It said the aircraft were observed supporting US forces, presenting the navigation data as confirmation that such an operation took place.

According to the report, the aircraft helped Washington destroy or intercept missiles arriving from Iran before they reached the US base in Jordan. It further claimed that German and French military aircraft entered the operation after the United States failed to intercept the Iranian missiles on its own.

Bangladesh Bank has updated its consolidated foreign-exchange management instructions to better align the country’s export trade with international standards. The circular, issued on Thursday, adds provisions to promote paperless trade, digital trade documents, alternative trade finance, and service- and e-commerce-based exports. It will apply to export-related foreign-exchange transactions for the next year.

The central bank said the revisions reflect changes in international trade systems, the expansion of digital commerce, and the development of new export sectors. It has also brought all instructions on export-related foreign-exchange management under a consolidated framework. The circular allows export documents to be presented electronically under documentary collection arrangements.

Bangladesh Bank has directed the launch of a pilot framework for processing digital trade documents in documentary collection and letter-of-credit systems through approved trade corridors. A separate framework has been included for alternative trade finance, including supply chain finance. For the first time, the instructions contain a dedicated chapter on foreign-exchange transactions for freelancers and individual service exporters, which the central bank says will help them bring export earnings earned through digital payment channels into the country more quickly and easily.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said medicines alone cannot protect a nation from disease and urged greater focus on prevention alongside treatment. He made the remarks on Thursday at the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine in Mohakhali, Dhaka, during an event releasing results of research activities funded under the 2025-26 revenue budget. He called for innovative preventive measures beginning from birth.

Addressing doctors, the minister said a physician’s smile and compassionate conduct can help patients recover, adding that care involves more than tablets or medicines. He said kind words and appropriate advice are also important for patients. He expressed concern over what he described as a sharp increase in kidney and cancer patients in the country and noted the severe suffering faced by people with those illnesses.

The minister said the government has pledged to ensure healthcare for all and that no citizen should remain outside health services. He urged research and awareness work focused on rural health. Prime Minister’s health affairs special assistant Dr. M. M. Ziauddin Haider advised researchers to visit upazila hospitals and consult staff before presenting data, so actual problems and areas of conflict can be identified and addressed.