A Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami delegation met the Election Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin on Wednesday, July 29. The meeting began at about 11:30am in the meeting room of the Election Building.

The delegation was led by Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General and former member of parliament Mia Golam Porwar. Election commissioners and other Election Commission officials also attended the meeting.

The report did not provide details on the meeting’s agenda, discussions, decisions or statements from either side. It said the meeting between the commission and the Jamaat delegation was under way.

Hundreds of people protested in Washington, United States, demanding the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the country. Demonstrators called for enforcement of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu. The report was published and updated on July 29, 2026.

Verified Al Jazeera video showed protesters moving toward the White House despite heavy rain and tight security. Demonstrators chanted slogans describing Netanyahu as a genocidaire while calling for action against him.

Some protesters entered the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown, where Netanyahu was having dinner. Security officials forcibly removed them from the site. The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to seek an explanation from the Dhaka Stock Exchange over the renewal of stock broker and stock dealer registration certificates for Monarch Holdings, owned by former national cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan. The decision was taken at a commission meeting chaired by BSEC Chairman Masud Khan on July 29, according to a notice signed by BSEC spokesperson Abul Kalam.

The notice said DSE had earlier made a positive recommendation for renewal without properly completing required information in prescribed Form “Cha” under the relevant 2000 regulations. BSEC described this as contrary to the rules and a clear failure in DSE’s regulatory responsibilities. After BSEC sought an explanation, DSE submitted the form and necessary information but did not provide a specific regulatory recommendation either for or against renewal.

BSEC also decided to instruct DSE to send a definite recommendation on Monarch Holdings’ renewal within five working days of receiving the letter, along with necessary information, analysis and regulatory assessment. DSE said the earlier omission resulted from unavailable necessary information. The report says Monarch Holdings began operations on October 20, 2020.

The death toll from a major landslide in Pengshui County, Chongqing municipality in southwestern China, has risen to 41, authorities said Tuesday night. The landslide struck on July 17, burying several residential buildings at the foot of a mountain and along a riverbank. Officials identified 30 additional victims after DNA testing and confirmation of identities from bodies and remains recovered at the site.

The reported death toll had stood at 11 as of last Friday. State media footage showed large amounts of rock and earth covering a residential and commercial road. Hundreds of rescue workers carried out operations at the scene, according to the report.

Rescuers had previously said there were no signs of survivors while searching for 50 people missing under the debris. Two weeks earlier, another landslide in the northwestern province of Gansu buried 33 people, with at least 21 deaths reported in that incident.

Iran is expected to receive its first shipment of 300 to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile systems within the next few weeks, Reuters reported, citing three sources. The report, published on July 29, 2026, said the deal is valued at about $60 million to $70 million and includes QW-12 and FN-16 portable air-defense systems.

According to Reuters, the agreement was concluded with a Hong Kong-based company named Zhongqing Baoshang International Investment. China’s Foreign Ministry called the report “completely groundless.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to the matter.

Reuters said Iran has moved to strengthen its short-range defensive capabilities after its air-defense system was weakened during recent conflict with the United States and Israel. The mobile missile systems can be deployed quickly and are capable of countering drones, helicopters and low-flying aircraft. Reuters also reported that Iran is discussing the acquisition of other Chinese military equipment, particularly anti-ship missiles.

In an opinion article published by Amar Desh on July 29, 2026, Md. Rahel Islam argues that the July movement was not limited to changing a government or holding elections. He describes it as an expression of public expectations over the state system, politics and citizens’ rights, shaped by sacrifice, courage and participation. The article says its central aspiration was a just, accountable and unequality-free state.

Islam argues that an electoral change of government cannot by itself make a state genuinely democratic if impunity, corruption, partisan administration, human-rights violations, economic inequality and accountability crises remain. Under the existing system, the candidate receiving the most votes wins a seat even without more than half of all votes, he writes. Therefore, parliamentary majorities do not necessarily equal full political consent from the public.

The article calls for an independent judiciary, an administration free from political influence, law-enforcement bodies that protect citizens’ rights, and effective action against corruption. It also identifies employment, price control, banking governance, energy-sector transparency, workers’ and farmers’ rights, and social security as key concerns. Islam says elections should be viewed as the beginning of democracy, not its conclusion.

Delhi Police have sent notices to multiple X account holders and some news portals over allegedly objectionable posts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and security forces during protests by the Kokroach Janata Party in Delhi and other parts of India. The report, published on July 29, 2026, said the notices sought the identities and information of those who made the posts. Police did not disclose how many accounts received notices.

Police said they were reviewing social-media posts, videos and comments published during and after the protests to examine possible legal violations and potential effects on public order. They alleged that more than 450 accounts circulated false information, rumours and artificial-intelligence-generated deepfake videos during the movement.

Two days earlier, Delhi Police directed various social-media platforms to remove posts and videos containing objectionable comments about Modi. Police said their cyber and social-media monitoring teams regularly track online activity and are taking necessary action against content deemed unlawful. Several objectionable posts and videos have already been removed, according to police.

India’s chief justice Surya Kant reportedly called unemployed young people “cockroaches” in May, prompting widespread anger and the formation that month of the youth-led Cockroach Janata Party, or CJP. The group has gained online popularity among young Indians while protesting exam paper leaks, weak accountability in competitive examinations, and alleged irregularities and corruption in education. The article says the movement has created significant pressure on Narendra Modi’s government.

From June 6, CJP and several nationwide student organisations held a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Environmentalist and social activist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike in support; police took him to hospital on the 21st day. Protesters demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation marched toward Parliament, breached police barricades and entered the Parliament complex, where violence occurred.

According to the article, pressure from CJP forced the education minister to resign, while the prime minister promised to meet several additional youth demands. It links the protest to unemployment, rising living costs, exam disruptions and frustration among educated young people. The article also says more than 800 million Indians depend on state food assistance and describes sharp concentration of income and wealth among the top 1%.

The murder case of retired Major Sinha Md Rashed Khan remains unresolved six years after his death, despite lower court and High Court verdicts upholding death sentences for two defendants and life terms for six others. The case is now before the Appellate Division of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court. As of early July 2026, leave-to-appeal applications filed by the six life-term convicts had not been listed for hearing.

Sinha was killed by police gunfire at the Shamlapur checkpoint on the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive on the night of July 31, 2020. His sister, Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous, filed the murder case five days later. RAB submitted a charge sheet against 15 people, describing the killing as planned. On January 31, 2022, the Cox’s Bazar District and Sessions Judge’s Court sentenced former OC Pradeep Kumar Das and inspector Liaqat Ali to death.

The High Court upheld the lower court ruling on June 2, 2025, with its full judgment published on November 20. The state has supported retaining both verdicts, while Pradeep’s lawyer said he would challenge the High Court ruling. Sharmin said justice would be fully established only after an Appellate Division ruling and its implementation, and called for a swift final hearing.

According to the report, Bangladesh’s Anti-Discrimination Student Movement rejected a government decision to observe state mourning on July 30, 2024. The decision was made at a cabinet meeting on July 29, amid the quota reform movement and reported killings nationwide. The movement called the mourning declaration a “cruel mockery” and announced a July 30 programme asking people to wear red cloth over their faces and eyes, photograph themselves and circulate the images online.

The report said Facebook turned visibly red from midnight on July 29 as students, teachers, intellectuals and some celebrities changed profile images in solidarity. During a writ hearing that day, a High Court bench questioned the state side and said, “Do not make a mockery of the nation.” Transparency International Bangladesh was reported to have condemned the detention of coordinators in DB custody as “unethical” and “illegal.”

The report also described obstruction and attacks against student protesters in Dhaka and elsewhere, saying at least 50 students were detained in Dhaka. Teachers described the violence of the preceding month as the “July killings” and demanded an end to disappearances, arrests and harassment. It said a National People’s Investigation Commission was formed by prominent citizens to seek independent investigations into reported deaths.

More than 223,000 cubic feet of government-seized sand has been found missing from 170 sand piles in Joypur, Shuvapur Union of Chhagalnaiya upazila along the Feni River. A court-ordered remeasurement identified a shortfall of 223,830 cubic feet, with an estimated value of Tk 6,714,900 at Tk 30 per cubic foot. A theft case has been filed at Chhagalnaiya police station under Penal Code sections 379/34.

On February 18, upazila engineer Touhidul Islam measured the 170 piles and reported 3,898,697 cubic feet of sand. A later on-site remeasurement, ordered by the court, found a major discrepancy. The case statement says unknown individuals removed the seized sand sometime between 8pm on February 18 and 5:20pm on July 20. Police also seized trucks carrying allegedly stolen sand and jailed three truck drivers in separate cases.

Investigating officer SI Tanvir Mehdi said preliminary findings indicate theft of more than 200,000 cubic feet, while the investigation continues to establish the actual quantity and identify those involved. Police said detained drivers gave no information about the sand’s owner or destination. The report also describes disputes among several BNP groups over control of seized sand and sales proceeds, alongside allegations of clashes and attacks.

Patients at Goalanda উপজেলা Health Complex in Rajbari are facing disrupted care after its X-ray machine remained out of service for about a year and a half. The 50-bed facility receives an average of more than 400 patients daily, hospital sources said. The machine has been completely unusable since March 25 last year.

The Japanese-made Ekoma-100 analog X-ray machine was installed in 1985. Although it initially operated, it later suffered repeated mechanical faults and was kept running through repairs. The medical technologist (radiology) post has also been vacant since the same period, leaving X-ray services closed.

Patients needing tests advised by doctors must visit private clinics and diagnostic centres, resulting in added expense and hardship, according to affected patients. Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Maruf Hasan said the complex has no modern digital X-ray machine, while the older unit is unusable. He said higher authorities have been informed and efforts are underway to take necessary action.

A Chattogram metropolitan sessions judge court has ordered the withdrawal of a “shown arrest” against Ismail Hossain, also known as Tempur, and directed his release from jail. The order followed an application by his lawyer after an interim High Court order. The report, published on July 29, said the process for Tempur Ismail’s release has begun.

Court-related sources said a High Court bench comprising Justice Rajik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury issued a rule after hearing Writ Petition No. 7948/2026 on July 8. The bench also said Ismail Hossain should not be harassed if there was no specific case or legal ground against him, and asked respondents to reply within four weeks.

Lawyer Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said his client was shown arrested in a case while the interim order remained in force, which he said conflicted with the court order. Police records say more than 30 cases, including murder, robbery, abduction, arms, narcotics and extortion allegations, are pending against Tempur in Chattogram and Cumilla.

Businessman S M Shahidullah Roni, 46, narrowly escaped after gunmen fired at his moving private car in Hathazari, Chattogram. The attack occurred around 11:30pm on Tuesday night in the Ichapur Charabot Tala area of the Chattogram-Rangamati highway, as Roni was driving himself from Chattogram city toward his home in Raozan.

Police and the victim said assailants first threw bricks in front of the vehicle in an apparent attempt to stop it. Roni switched off the car lights and stopped after sensing danger. Two armed men arriving on a motorcycle then fired four rounds at the rear of the vehicle before fleeing. Roni said the bullets passed through one side of the car and exited through the other.

Roni said he survived because he ducked in the driver's seat. He believed the attackers may have assumed he was seated in the rear and therefore targeted that part of the car. Hathazari police and Assistant Superintendent of Police Kazi Md Tarek Aziz visited the scene. Police said preliminary information suggests Roni may have disputes with individuals and groups in Raozan, while the planning, perpetrators and motive are under investigation.

Australian airline Qantas has set a new record for the world’s longest commercial flight after one of its Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft flew nonstop from Melbourne to Toulouse, France. The aircraft covered 23,075 kilometres in 24 hours and 24 minutes. It departed Melbourne Airport at 5:27 p.m. local time on July 27 and landed successfully in Toulouse on July 28.

The journey was conducted as part of Qantas’ Project Sunrise program. Equipped with additional fuel tanks, the aircraft reached its destination without stopping while flying over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. According to Airbus, the flight surpassed the previous record of 22 hours and 42 minutes, set by a Boeing 777-200LR in 2005.

The flight generated substantial attention online. FlightRadar24 data showed that more than 3.6 million people tracked its route. Under Project Sunrise, Qantas plans to begin regular nonstop commercial flights between Sydney and London from October 2027.