UNICEF has warned that malnutrition in Afghanistan has reached alarming levels, with 3.7 million children suffering from acute malnutrition and nearly one million facing life-threatening severe conditions. The agency said the rise in child malnutrition in 2026 began several months earlier than in other years, raising concern that Afghanistan is heading toward one of its most serious recent nutrition crises.

Children aged six months to two years are particularly affected by a lack of dietary diversity. UNICEF research found that these children receive food from only two of the required main food groups, putting their normal physical and mental development at risk. Long-standing poverty, food and water shortages, climate impacts, displacement and reduced international humanitarian assistance are cited as major drivers.

More than six million people have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan since 2023, adding pressure to weak health and social services. Droughts and floods have damaged farmland, while falling groundwater levels have worsened access to safe water and contributed to disease. Afghanistan's 2026 nutrition programme needs about $180 million, but only 22 percent has been funded, forcing some nutrition centres to close or limit operations.

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan has called on current and former Pakistani cricketers to raise their voices in support of imprisoned former prime minister and World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan. In a video posted on his X account, Moin urged the Pakistani government to ensure Imran receives proper medical treatment and his rights as a former prime minister and Pakistani citizen.

Imran is being held in a prison in Rawalpindi, and concerns have been raised over his health. Several former Pakistan captains have sought improved treatment for him and sent letters on the matter, according to the report. Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has also expressed concern. Javed Miandad was the first Pakistani cricketer mentioned as speaking publicly on the issue and has demanded Imran’s release.

Moin said players who played alongside Imran learned much from him and that he gave a great deal to Pakistan cricket. The issue also drew attention during a Pakistan-England Test at Lord’s after Sky Sports aired an interview with Imran’s two sons. The Pakistan Cricket Board objected and threatened not to resume after the break, but the broadcast continued and Pakistan remained in the match.

Eleven Jamaat-e-Islami members of parliament have filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of assigning ministers, state ministers and whips responsibility for specific districts. The petition names the cabinet secretary as a respondent, according to petitioners’ lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir, who confirmed the matter on Sunday morning.

Monir said a similar allocation of district-based responsibilities to ministers, state ministers and whips was made in 2001. When that decision was challenged through a writ petition, the High Court Division declared the responsibility-allocation decision unconstitutional, he said.

A Cabinet Division notification issued on August 27 assigned 30 ruling-party lawmakers, ministers and state ministers to the country’s 64 districts. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani signed the notification by order of the president. It said those assigned would oversee and coordinate overall government activities without undermining the legal authority of local government bodies and other constitutional and statutory institutions. The notification cited sustainable development, good governance, transparency, accountability, anti-corruption efforts, law and order, and national security among government priorities.

Mohammad Selim Uddin inaugurated a canal-cleaning activity beside Rupayan City at Khidir Khal in Uttara Sector 12, Dhaka, on Sunday morning, August 30, 2026. The event was held under the “Clean Dhaka” programme. Selim Uddin, chairman of the Urban Development Forum and a Jamaat-nominated DNCC mayoral candidate, said waste had been removed from hundreds of locations across 54 wards of Dhaka.

He questioned why garbage could not be removed despite the city corporation having necessary resources and said the initiative was driven by responsibility to solve public problems. He alleged that a leader of the ruling party objected to his group cleaning a canal bank in Uttara. Selim Uddin said the country belongs to everyone and called on political groups to work together on public problems.

Addressing the city administration, he said an unelected urban administration may struggle to understand public suffering. He called for city elections to be held before village elections and demanded swift implementation of the public verdict and referendum. The programme also installed a smart bin for separating three types of waste, which he said would be recycled into pens for distribution to schools on Literacy Day.

Moroccan lawyers have refused to end a strike over a dispute with the government regarding judicial reform. Lawyers’ associations said they will continue withholding professional services in courts until their demands are met. The strike, organized by Morocco’s lawyers’ associations, has been under way since June 15 and is affecting litigants seeking legal assistance in court.

The lawyers argue that the government’s proposed reform law would undermine their independence and professional autonomy. The reforms, initiated by Justice Minister Abdellatif Wahbi, envisage major changes to lawyers’ training, financial management and the internal administration of professional organizations. After a lengthy meeting on Thursday, the associations said they would continue their campaign demanding repeal of the law.

Lawyers said repealing the legislation was necessary to protect the independence of the legal profession, the right to defense and autonomy in running their organizations. They had previously held intermittent strikes and nationwide protests in February. Tensions eased after the government decided to form a joint commission to review the proposal, but rose again after a parliamentary committee approved it in mid-May. The law was ultimately passed by parliament, while the continuing strike is disrupting court users.

Bangladesh’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed tabled the Prevention and Remedies for Enforced Disappearance Bill, 2026, in parliament on August 27. If passed, the bill would establish enforced disappearance as an offence and provide punishment, rights, compensation and rehabilitation for victims and their families. The proposal gives a legal definition of disappearance for the first time, covering detention or abduction by state employees, disciplined-force members or those acting with government approval, followed by denial or concealment of a person’s whereabouts.

The bill provides for life imprisonment and a Tk50 lakh fine if an allegation is proven. If a victim dies or remains missing after five years, the maximum penalty would be death or life imprisonment, along with a Tk1 crore fine. It also allows planned disappearances to be tried as crimes against humanity at the International Crimes Tribunal and includes provisions on legal aid, medical care, digital evidence, trials in absentia, and witness and informant protection.

Rights advocates and legal experts question the proposal to assign investigations to law-enforcement agencies rather than an independent body. They argue that allegations involving security personnel require a separate commission or civilian authority with dedicated staff, funding and access to secret detention sites. Experts also raised concerns about victim support, witness protection and the feasibility of completing complex cases within 120 days.

Nepal’s local administration issued alerts in four districts on Sunday morning as water levels in the Bhotekoshi River began rising again. The government also instructed rescue personnel to remain vigilant. The special warnings cover Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan, districts near Nepal’s border.

Nepal’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said Sunday morning that the river’s water level was increasing. In a statement, it requested all concerned parties to take precautionary measures. The four districts under special alert were among those most severely affected by Wednesday’s flooding.

The death toll from flooding in Nepal has exceeded 730, while 2,498 people remain missing, according to the report. Many Indian citizens are among those missing. They were caught in the disaster while travelling on a pilgrimage to Kailash Manasarovar. The source did not provide further details on the renewed rise in river water or additional measures beyond the warning and rescue instructions.

Archaeologists have uncovered columns and foundation remains of an ancient Roman temple in Maasser al-Shouf, a mountainous area southeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Researchers believe the temple was built between the first century BC and the second century AD, and that a large complex once developed around it. The discovery is adding new information about Lebanon’s long and diverse historical record despite war and instability.

Miriam Ziad, a regional archaeology official at Lebanon’s Culture Ministry, said Crusaders later built a fortress on the temple site between the 12th and 13th centuries. The location therefore contains evidence from both the Roman and medieval periods. Local municipal authorities found large stone blocks on the mountain in 2017, and an archaeology team from an Italian university began excavations there five years later.

Archaeologists say they will soon resume work at the Maasser al-Shouf site. Lebanon also has major archaeological remains in Baalbek, including a largely preserved Roman-era temple complex near the mountainous border. However, the recent Israel-Hezbollah war has suspended excavation work at several important sites in southern Lebanon and disrupted conservation efforts, increasing risks to the country’s heritage.

Armed groups opposing the Taliban have increased activity in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, creating a new security challenge for the country’s de facto rulers. Analysts warn that failure to contain the situation could push Afghanistan back toward prolonged armed conflict and political division. In recent months, the National Resistance Front and Afghanistan Freedom Front have attacked Taliban positions, while several smaller local resistance groups have also become active.

The situation was further complicated for a time by a rebellion led by former Taliban commander Juma Khan Fateh. Attacks have reportedly increased around Zebak and in the Kuran wa Munjan district. The National Resistance Front has also claimed responsibility for killing the Taliban mayor of Faizabad, the provincial capital. Zebak is strategically important because it lies near the entrance to the Wakhan Corridor.

Badakhshan’s remote mountains, limited transport links, mineral resources and borders with Tajikistan, Pakistan and China add to its importance. A recent United Nations report said terrorist threats originating from Afghanistan have not declined significantly. Anti-Taliban political and armed groups continue to demand an inclusive political settlement, while the Taliban has shown limited interest, according to the report.

North Korea dismissed Defense Minister No Kwang Chol and carried out a broad reshuffle of its military and ruling party leadership after approving a structural reorganization plan. The changes were approved at a Saturday meeting chaired by Kim Jong Un and reported by state media KCNA on Sunday. No Kwang Chol was reassigned as first deputy director of the ruling party’s munitions industry department.

Kim Song Gi, director of the Korean People’s Army General Political Bureau, was appointed the new defense minister. Senior official and defense adviser Pak Jong Chon was named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and made a member of the ruling party’s Political Bureau. KCNA also said several other military and party officials were promoted.

The reshuffle coincided with Pyongyang’s claims of progress in defense technology. Kim praised scientists, researchers and officials at a Saturday ceremony and awarded them the country’s highest state honor for contributions to new weapons systems, though no details were provided. South Korea, the United States and Japan are scheduled to hold the Freedom Edge trilateral exercise from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of Jeju Island.

State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said battery-powered autorickshaws will not be allowed to operate on the capital’s main roads. Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Sunday morning, he said a law has been enacted and regulations will be prepared soon.

He said two-seat and four-seat e-rickshaws will be brought under registration for operation in Dhaka. Six-seat rickshaws will not receive registration, according to the minister. The announcement sets out distinctions among vehicle types for registration in the capital.

The minister also said Malaysia will begin taking 200,000 workers within six months from September, including 10,000 workers free of charge. He added that Malaysia will invest $2 million in Bangladesh across various sectors.

Allegations of irregularities in development work have created a deadlock at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College in Bogura. The dispute centres on claims that low-quality equipment was supplied under government tenders and that a proposed new substation, estimated to cost nearly Tk 70 million, was advanced without adequate capacity assessment. The college principal, Professor Dr Md Wadudul Haque Tarfadar, has raised objections through letters to the Public Works Department.

In a complaint sent to the department’s chief engineer on July 15, the principal said 24 five-ton air coolers were installed at a cost of about Tk 7.3 million without ensuring sufficient electricity capacity. He said a proposal was later sent for a 3,000-kilowatt substation costing about Tk 67.5 million. He also alleged that a planned 250 KVA generator from the United States, Japan or Europe was replaced by a Chinese-made 120 KVA generator.

The principal said the college already has a substation and a 500-kilowatt transformer, arguing that an additional 500 kilowatts would meet demand. Bogura Public Works executive engineer Md Al Mamun Haque denied any irregularities, saying work was being implemented according to rules. An unnamed electrical engineer said adding transformers could meet the institution’s needs.

Police detained and later released Saifullah Jaman Sarkar, organising secretary of the Banagram Union Awami League, and his younger brother Sohag Sarkar in Bhitipara village of Banagram Union, Katiadi, Kishoreganj. The incident occurred at about 3am on Friday night. Local sources and the two men said police took them into custody without a case or arrest warrant.

After news of the detention spread, local residents gathered outside the brothers’ home during the night, sought an explanation and demanded their release. Saifullah said police could not provide a reasonable answer when residents asked why the two had been detained, and subsequently released them. The incident prompted discussion in the area and questions on social media over the reasons for the detention and release.

Katiadi Model Police Station officer-in-charge Md Rafiqul Islam said police had gone to the house by mistake while attempting to arrest another accused person. He said the brothers were released after their correct information and identities were verified. Local sources identified Saifullah as the Banagram Union Awami League’s organising secretary.

Bangladesh plans to begin sending 200,000 workers to Malaysia in phases by the end of September, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shah Alam said. He said the overall worker deployment process is expected to be completed within the following six months.

The announcement followed a meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday between Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Mohammad Suhada Osman and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moin Khan. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Shah Alam said the workers would be sent through enlisted companies.

The state minister also said Malaysia would recruit an additional 10,000 Bangladeshi workers at zero cost to the workers. He said this separate process would also begin in phases toward the end of September. Asked whether there had been discussion about a Bangladeshi government letter concerning LNG imports from Malaysia, Shah Alam said the matter was not discussed.

Former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador Prince Turki Al-Faisal said the Mecca joint defense agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan could reshape regional security calculations. In an analysis published by Arab News, he described the arrangement as a defensive pact and said the three countries’ military and strategic capabilities could complement one another, potentially making the alliance an important regional force.

Prince Turki said the agreement should not be viewed as targeting any particular country. He placed the cooperation in the context of ongoing wars in the Middle East, possible strategic vacuums, shifting balances of power and weaknesses in older regional security arrangements. He said states commonly form defense alliances to protect their security and stability, and suggested that other countries sharing similar objectives could join in the future.

The analysis also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s geographic position, oil resources, financial capacity, military strength and diplomatic influence. It cited the importance of Red Sea access and Saudi ports and infrastructure as alternative energy transport routes to the Strait of Hormuz. Prince Turki said the alliance’s eventual impact would depend on military coordination, political trust and its ability to include additional countries.