Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said a state becomes stronger when its people are economically empowered, describing the government’s goal as moving the country toward greater economic and social strength. He made the remarks on Tuesday, August 11, at Bangladesh Secretariat during a contract-signing ceremony to lease three closed state-owned jute mills to two private institutions.

Rahman said political rights must be accompanied by economic capacity for citizens. He argued that no state can become strong by leaving ordinary people in deprivation or silencing them. Pledging support for genuine domestic entrepreneurs, he said the government would provide necessary policy assistance to encourage investment and job creation.

The prime minister stressed the importance of domestic investment alongside foreign investment, saying the government wants foreign investment while also encouraging local investors and entrepreneurs. He thanked the two business groups taking responsibility for the three mills and expressed hope that the new investment would make the institutions successful, create jobs and contribute to the economy. Ministers, officials and business representatives attended the event.

Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department said rainfall is likely to increase across the country from August 13 to 19 as a new low-pressure area may form over the northwestern Bay of Bengal by Wednesday. Meteorologist AKM Nazmul Haque said Wednesday may be relatively dry, though rain will continue in varying amounts during the monsoon season. Heavy rain is possible in some areas.

Coastal areas are expected to receive more rainfall during the period. Haque said heavy to very heavy rain may occur, but the likelihood of prolonged very heavy rainfall similar to earlier episodes is lower. In the 24 hours ending at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dhaka recorded 35 millimetres of rain, while Gopalganj recorded the highest total, 61 millimetres.

Lower rainfall contributed to warmer, humid conditions nationwide on Tuesday. Rajarhat in Kurigram recorded the highest temperature at 36.4 degrees Celsius, while Dhaka recorded 35.5 degrees. Forecasts said several divisions could receive rain or thunderstorms with gusty winds on Wednesday and Thursday, with moderate heavy rainfall possible in isolated places. The department also said rainfall tendency may rise over the following five days.

Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin has called a meeting of members of Parliament for Bangladesh’s presidential election. An Election Commission Secretariat notification said the meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on August 20 in the Parliament chamber at the National Parliament Building, the day set for voting in the election.

The notification said the chief election commissioner convened the meeting after consultation with the speaker of Parliament, using powers provided under Section 5(3) of the Presidential Election Act, 1991. Earlier, Election Commission Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said voting would continue without interruption from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the assembly chamber of the National Parliament Building.

Vote counting will begin immediately after polling ends at 5 p.m., in front of ballot boxes kept inside the assembly chamber. The deadline for submitting nominations is August 13, scrutiny is scheduled for August 16, and the final date for withdrawing candidacy is August 18. The Election Commission began preparations for the 23rd presidential election after Bangladesh’s 22nd president, Md Shahabuddin, resigned on July 24.

India says it has invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on two separate occasions: for a bilateral visit and to attend a BRICS summit in Delhi. Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the statement at a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, saying letters had been sent to the prime minister for the separate invitations.

Responding to a journalist’s question about an invitation for Rahman to visit India, Jaiswal said India’s high commissioner met Bangladesh’s prime minister on Monday. The meeting covered matters of bilateral interest, he said. Jaiswal added that Rahman had been invited both for a bilateral visit and to join the BRICS summit in Delhi, and that further information would be provided later.

Bangladesh has not yet made a decision on whether its prime minister will attend the BRICS summit, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said. After Indian envoy Dinesh Trivedi met the prime minister, the minister said the BRICS invitation was not issued to the “prime minister” but to the “chairperson of BIMSTEC.” He also said Narendra Modi had previously sent an invitation letter, which the government would consider.

India has described the possible transfer to Bangladesh of two suspects in the murder case of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi as a legal matter. At a regular briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said an investigation was under way when asked about the suspects, who are in Indian custody.

Jaiswal provided no further details on the transfer process, the status of the investigation, or a possible timeline for handing over the two accused. The issue was raised by journalists during the briefing in connection with the Hadi murder case.

The spokesperson also referred to an invitation for Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to visit India. He said a formal invitation for a bilateral visit was extended soon after Bangladesh’s new government took office. Jaiswal further mentioned an invitation for Rahman to attend the outreach session of the 18th BRICS summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi in September.

At least two crew members were killed in an attack on a cargo ship near the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen’s southern coast, British maritime security agency Vanguard said. The report, published on August 11, 2026, identified the dead as one Pakistani and one Indonesian national. Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.

AFP, citing a Yemeni coast guard source, reported that Iran-backed Houthis attacked the vessel at the entrance to the Red Sea. The source said the remaining crew members were rescued. A second source confirmed the incident to AFP and said the ship was targeted again while the rescue operation was under way.

Vanguard said Yemeni naval forces moved to assist the vessel after the attack, but they were also fired upon, resulting in casualties. The report did not provide the ship’s name, its ownership, the timing of the attack, or the extent of damage to the vessel.

Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon alleged that nearly Tk 7,000 crore from teachers’ retirement allowances and the welfare trust was misappropriated during the previous Awami League government. He made the allegation on Tuesday while speaking as chief guest at a session on rebuilding a fragile economy and achieving sustainable development goals at Windy Town Hall of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.

Milon said the financial crisis had left teachers unable to receive their dues and allowances for a long time. He also alleged that the previous government spent thousands of crores in the name of observing August 15 and misappropriated money from various sectors. The minister urged political parties to work together rather than only criticising.

He said the government was working to improve the education system on the prime minister’s instructions and stressed that education must receive the highest priority for sustainable development. Planning State Minister Md Jonaed Abdur Rahim Saki said reliable data were essential for public welfare, sound policymaking and effective planning. Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Abdul Khaleque presented detailed ministry matters related to the SDGs.

Sahida Fakir, a 40-year-old resident of Swarupnagar in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, was allegedly detained in Mumbai on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi infiltrator and pushed into Bangladesh. Her family says police detained her on July 19 while she was shopping for dinner in Sanpada, then took her to a detention centre in Chembur. They were later told she had been sent to Bangladesh. Indian media reported that she is now staying with a family in the Satkhira area.

Her family and the rights group MASUM say she holds a birth registration, voter identity card, PAN card and a land deed in her name in Swarupnagar block. Fakir, a domestic worker, had lived in Mumbai with her husband Jumman Fakir for nearly 20 years. She told The Indian Express that she was pushed across the Assam border at night and received food, clothing and shelter from local residents after reaching a road.

MASUM told the Calcutta High Court that Fakir was not produced before a magistrate for about 90 hours after detention and was denied contact with family members or a lawyer. The group sought her immediate court appearance, release if illegally detained, an independent investigation and action against officials concerned.

Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu said the Teesta Master Plan is closely linked to the prosperity of Bangladesh’s northern region and could eliminate disasters such as floods and drought if implemented. He made the remarks on August 11 at a progress briefing workshop in the capital’s BIAM auditorium, saying the current patriotic democratic government is committed to implementing the plan.

Dulu said people in the six-season country have grown up alongside disasters, which strike in various forms regularly. He said the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry stands beside people who lose everything during such crises. The minister described the Teesta plan as important to the fortune and development of the northern population.

The workshop concerned a project to improve flood early-warning and communication systems at the local level, implemented by the Department of Disaster Management under the Prabhati project. It is being carried out in 19 flood-prone upazilas of Gaibandha, Kurigram and Jamalpur in the northwest. According to Dulu, the initiative helps local communities address flood risks through improved seasonal flood forecasting and the dissemination of advance warnings.

Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon issued an emotional message for students who did not pass the SSC and equivalent examinations, urging parents and teachers to stand by them. In a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, he addressed students, guardians and educators. The report was published on August 11, 2026.

Milon told unsuccessful students that their result does not define their identity, describing it as an account of what they wrote during a few hours on a particular examination day. He acknowledged that friends’ celebrations, family silence, personal discomfort, neighbours’ curiosity, relatives’ comparisons and classmates’ neglect can deepen their disappointment. However, he stressed that nothing has come to an end because of one result.

The minister urged parents to offer affection and kind words instead of harsh remarks, neglect or rebuke, saying the home should be a refuge rather than a courtroom. He also called on teachers to pay special attention to students who failed and identify why they fell behind. According to Milon, responsibility for a student’s failure does not rest solely with the child.

Bangladesh’s Election Commission Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said voting in the presidential election will take place from 2pm to 5pm on August 20 in the session chamber of the National Parliament Building. Speaking to journalists at the Election Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, he said voting would continue without interruption. Members of parliament will remain in their assigned seats while Election Commission-appointed officials deliver ballot papers to them.

Each ballot paper will have a counterfoil and a main ballot. The counterfoil will include the candidate’s serial number, the voter’s name, division number and a signature field. On the main ballot, candidates’ names will be listed, and voters will write their full name beside their preferred candidate and sign. Three transparent ballot boxes will be placed in the chamber for members to use.

Counting will begin immediately after voting closes at 5pm, in front of the ballot boxes inside the session chamber. A team of four or five ballot counters will sort and count the papers. The chief election commissioner will announce the valid and invalid ballots and votes received by each candidate from 349 ballots. The commission will later publish the final official gazette, while live coverage and designated seating for journalists will be available.

AI-based digital surveillance has been deployed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and two other international airports in Bangladesh to help prevent suspects in serious crimes from fleeing abroad. The system, operational since August 5, 2024, combines AI-powered CCTV cameras, facial-recognition technology and highly sensitive gold-detection equipment. Security sources said authorities can provide a suspect’s photograph to airport agencies, allowing the system to match the face and alert security officers when the person enters an airport.

The facial-recognition system covers sensitive locations including arrival and departure terminals, boarding bridges, immigration counters and the cargo village. It is intended to identify people attempting to leave without passports or using different identity documents. The AI system can also issue automatic alerts when a person behaves unusually for an extended period or when an abandoned object is detected.

Authorities said modern gold-detection machines can identify small metal objects and gold concealed in clothing or inside the body, including material hidden as liquid or paste. Civil Aviation Authority member for security Air Commodore Asif Iqbal said government agencies use advanced equipment with their own funding and have achieved notable success over the past two to two-and-a-half years. Airport Executive Director Group Captain S M Ragib Samad said agencies maintain round-the-clock monitoring with high-tech equipment.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government will safeguard public interests, business opportunities and the national economy regardless of whether Chittagong Port is managed by domestic or foreign operators. He made the remarks on Tuesday at a news briefing after meeting Chittagong port and customs officials. He said the identity of the operator was less important than compliance with state interests and established policies.

The minister said the elected government has focused on stabilising a fragile economy after taking office so it can rapidly “take off.” He said the government aims to turn Bangladesh into a $1 trillion economy by 2034 through greater industrialisation, exports and employment, alongside measures to improve the ease of doing business.

He announced a decision to form a joint port-customs committee for the first time to identify and resolve longstanding importer and exporter problems within set timelines. The minister said this should speed cargo clearance, improve supply systems and ultimately help control prices or inflation. Business representatives called for simpler customs procedures and deregulation to reduce industrial costs, and he promised implementation. He also warned against political patronage and illegal influence over customs clearance.

Bangladesh will conduct its first nationwide “Vessel Census 2026” from August 20 to 29 to support safer, orderly and more effective water transport. The Ministry of Shipping will carry out the census with assistance from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, State Minister for Shipping Md. Rajib Ahsan said on August 11. He spoke while opening a three-day training programme for coordinators responsible for data collection at Bangladesh Statistics Bhaban in the capital.

Ahsan said Bangladesh’s rivers and waterways are deeply connected to the economy, commerce and daily life, but their potential has not yet been fully used. He said pressure on road transport for passengers and freight is increasing, and the government has taken initiatives to ensure the maximum and effective use of waterways. He said greater waterway use could support trade, cargo and passenger transport, tourism and economic activity.

The census is expected to provide reliable information on the actual number, type, use and ownership of vessels, helping future planning, policymaking and measures for safer navigation. Planning State Minister Jonaed Saki called for professionalism, transparency and neutrality in data collection, warning that legal action would be taken over any discrepancies, irregularities or inconsistencies.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized smuggled goods worth Tk202 crore 63 lakh 49 thousand during operations in border areas and other locations across the country in July, according to a report published on August 11. The confiscated items included gold, diamond nose pins, silver, sarees, garments, fabric, imitation jewellery, cosmetics, fireworks, timber, coal, tea leaves, mobile phones, displays and mobile components.

BGB also seized medical equipment, razor blades, glasses, cumin, garlic, sugar, fertiliser, current nets, fuel, pesticides, medicines, snake venom and stone items. Vehicles allegedly used for smuggling included 12 trucks or covered vans, eight pickups, three private cars, six trolleys, 55 CNG vehicles, e-bikes or autorickshaws, 59 motorcycles, 47 bicycles or vans and 127 boats.

The force recovered nine local and foreign pistols, one rifle, five magazines, 60 rounds of ammunition and seven other weapons. Drug seizures included 2,110,258 yaba tablets, crystal meth, heroin, Phensedyl, foreign liquor, cannabis and narcotic tablets. Authorities detained 191 alleged smugglers linked to drug trafficking and other smuggling. Another 31 Bangladeshi, three Indian and 81 Myanmar nationals were detained for illegally crossing the border, and legal action was taken against them.