Hydrogen-powered trains are drawing growing global interest as countries seek cleaner rail transport amid climate change, air pollution and rising fossil-fuel use. The trains use hydrogen fuel cells rather than diesel or coal-based fuel to generate electricity for electric motors. The process produces mainly water and water vapour, with virtually no carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides or black smoke emissions, according to the source.

Hydrogen is stored in specialised high-pressure tanks and reacts with oxygen in fuel cells to generate power. Surplus energy is stored in batteries, while energy produced during braking can also be recovered, reducing waste. Germany tested the world’s first hydrogen passenger train in 2018 and commercially introduced the technology in 2022. France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, China, Japan and South Korea have also begun development and trial operations.

India inaugurated its first domestically built hydrogen-powered train on July 17. The technology can operate on existing non-electrified tracks without overhead electric lines, but green hydrogen costs, dedicated storage and supply infrastructure, safety systems, investment and skilled personnel remain challenges. For Bangladesh, it could become a long-term option on routes where electrification is costly.

Bangladesh’s Election Commission will meet the acting speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad at Parliament House at 11 a.m. Tuesday as part of preparations for a presidential election. Senior EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed announced the meeting at a briefing in the Election Building in the capital on Monday. The chief election commissioner will discuss the election schedule and overall arrangements for holding the presidential vote.

The commission has already sent a letter to the parliamentary secretary seeking a meeting with the speaker, following established practice. The letter, signed by Ahmed, says President Md. Sahabuddin resigned on July 24. Under Article 123(2) of the Constitution, the vacant presidential post must be filled through an election completed within 90 days.

Under sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Presidential Election Act, 1991, the election schedule must be announced through a notification in the official gazette. The EC will declare the schedule after consulting the acting speaker. Election commissioners and the EC secretariat’s senior secretary will attend with the chief election commissioner. The commission began the process after Sahabuddin resigned citing physical illness.

A National Citizen Party delegation led by convener and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam met French Ambassador Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet and German Chargé d’Affaires Anja Kersten in Dhaka. The meeting was held on Monday at NCP’s temporary central office in Banglamotor. Participants discussed the country’s post-election political situation, fundamental reforms, the overall economy and regional developments.

According to NCP, the talks also covered the party’s role in parliament and matters of mutual interest in Bangladesh’s relationship with the European Union. The delegation and the two diplomatic representatives exchanged views on Indo-Pacific cooperation, Bangladesh’s economic conditions and opportunities to expand economic partnerships.

NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, international affairs cell in-charge Alauddin Mohammad and cell member Navid Nowroz Shah joined the party delegation. NCP said both sides expressed a commitment to maintain regular communication and strengthen cooperation on issues of shared interest. The party said the aim was to further strengthen Bangladesh’s relations with the European Union, France and Germany.

Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police say they have uncovered the main plot behind the killing of Jubo Dal worker Md Yusuf in Mirpur. According to DB, four professional shooters from Magura and Jhenaidah were hired under a Tk 25 lakh contract to kill Kafrul thana Jubo Dal member secretary Hafizul Islam Babu, but Yusuf was killed after the attack missed its intended target. Yusuf was shot dead on July 23 on a link road south of Opex Garments in Kafrul, while vegetable sellers Nalam Sardar and Monir Hossain were injured.

At a press conference at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road, DB Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam said eight people have been arrested. DB identified Hafizur Rahman Hafiz, also known as CNG Hafiz and joint convener of Kafrul thana Swechchhasebak Dal, as the alleged planner. Investigators said a longstanding dispute over local waste tenders, pavement shops, businesses and possession of a tin-shed house had existed between him and Babu.

DB said an initial attempt was prepared on June 29 but failed because of a firearm misfire. The suspects allegedly arrived in Dhaka on July 22 and stayed at a hotel in Mirpur-2 before the following night's attack. One firearm has been recovered, while investigators are tracing the source of other weapons. Separate murder and Arms Act cases have been filed at Kafrul police station, and efforts to arrest other accused continue.

Police in Tongi, Gazipur, arrested a leader of the banned Chhatra League over allegations of attempting sabotage. Niamul Hasan Nahid, 16, was detained during an operation in the Dharpara area of Sataish Chowrasta early Monday. The report was published on July 27, 2026.

Nahid is the vice-president of the Chhatra League’s Ward No. 51 unit under the Gazipur City Corporation, police said. He is the son of Hakim Ali of the Sataish Chowrasta area in Tongi. Police said the operation began at about 4:30 a.m. after they received confidential information that he was in the Dharpara area.

Police said Nahid is accused of attempting sabotage recently in the Prottasha field area of Tongi. Tongi West Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Arifur Rahman said officers arrested him on the basis of the confidential information. After a case was filed and legal procedures were completed, Nahid was sent to the Gazipur court on Monday afternoon.

Bangladesh's High Court has directed the Supreme Court registrar general to form a committee within seven days to develop guidelines for the fastest possible transmission of bail orders from the High Court Division and Appellate Division. The order was issued by a bench of Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Syed Mohammad Tajrul Hossain, according to a report published on July 27, 2026.

During the hearing, several precedents from India's Supreme Court were presented. It was stated that India has introduced a system for sending high court bail orders online as quickly as possible after they are issued. Advocates Mohammad Shishir Monir, Mohammad Saddam Hossain and Zayed Bin Amjad appeared for the writ petitioners.

After the hearing, the court issued a rule nisi and an interim order directing the registrar general to establish the committee within the specified period. The committee must submit a report to the High Court Division by August 20 on measures needed to formulate guidelines for the rapid transmission of higher court orders.

A Khulna court sentenced three people to death in the murder case of Sheikh Rezaul, who was killed amid a land-related dispute in Batiaghata. Additional Sessions Judge Khurshid Alam delivered the verdict on Monday. The convicted men are Khurshid Alam, Abdus Salam and Khairul. Another accused, Ershad, was acquitted after the allegation against him was not proven.

According to the case complaint, Sheikh Rezaul was attacked at Jhalbunia Bazar in Batiaghata upazila on March 31, 2018. He died at the scene after being struck on the head with bamboo. Rezaul and the main accused, Khurshid Alam, were cousins. Case documents stated that they had long been involved in a dispute over ancestral land.

Rezaul's younger brother, Mesbah Uddin, filed the murder case at Batiaghata police station against the four accused on the day of the incident. Following a court order, the Police Bureau of Investigation took charge of the investigation and submitted its final report to the court in November 2019. State counsel Advocate ATM Moniruzzaman confirmed the verdict, saying it was based on witness testimony and evidence, and expressed satisfaction.

Police recovered the body of APBn-6 Sub-Inspector (Armed) B.M. Mahmudul Islam from a pond near his in-laws’ home in Paikandi Union of Gopalganj Sadar Upazila on Monday morning. The body was recovered at about 8:30am. Mahmudul Islam, 38, was the son of Haidar Ali Bhuiyan of Bijoypasha village and was posted in Mahalchhari, Khagrachhari.

Police detained his wife, Fatema Kaniz, and father-in-law, Kabirul Islam alias Jhunu Sheikh, for questioning. Local residents informed police after seeing a body floating in a pond near the in-laws’ house. Police later recovered the body and sent it to the morgue of Gopalganj 250-bed General Hospital for an autopsy.

Mahmudul Islam’s elder brother, B.M. Ashikuzzaman, alleged that a dispute had arisen with his wife and her family over money to send a brother-in-law abroad after the officer came home on leave. He said he suspected the in-laws had killed him and dumped his body in the pond, and demanded an investigation and justice. Officer-in-Charge Aminul Islam said Mahmudul Islam had returned on leave from his workplace last Friday and that the cause of death would be known after the autopsy report.

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladesh is now open to foreign investment as the China Economic and Industrial Zone formally began operations in Anwara, Chattogram, on Sunday. He described the inauguration as a milestone for the economies of Chattogram and the country.

The finance minister said investment in the zone could exceed $500 million and may reach $1 billion. He said the launch had fulfilled part of the prime minister’s stated $1 trillion investment target. Calling private investment necessary to meet the prime minister’s vision, he said existing laws had already been amended to make them more investment-friendly.

Chowdhury urged environmentally friendly factories and said housing should be provided for workers, alongside efforts to improve their welfare. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed Chowdhury stressed the need for stable law and order to expand investment and trade. BEZA and China Bridge signed an agreement after the event, followed by the formal opening through the unveiling of a plaque. BIDA Chairman Ashik Chowdhury said the prime minister had set a target to see the zone’s first factory operating within 18 months.

Bangladesh laid the foundation stone for the China Economic and Industrial Zone, or CEIZ, on the eastern bank of the Karnaphuli River in Anwara, Chattogram, on July 27, 2026. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the government-to-government Bangladesh-China project, developed under Belt and Road Initiative principles, marked a new phase for industrial transformation. Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury attended as chief guest.

The project will cover about 776 acres, or 314.39 hectares, and is expected to create more than 36,000 direct jobs in the Chattogram region. Planned industries include ready-made garments and textiles, biopharmaceuticals, food and beverage processing, and leather goods. The finance minister said policy support could help secure about $1 billion in investment for infrastructure and industrial facilities.

Officials said the site is 700 metres from the Karnaphuli Tunnel, six kilometres from Shah Amanat International Airport and 12 kilometres from Chattogram Port, with direct access to the N-1 highway. The government pledged investor security, streamlined approvals and utility services through BEZA's one-stop service. The zone is also planned to include environmentally friendly infrastructure and an international-standard central effluent treatment plant.

Imran Sheikh, an assistant officer at the Satair ‘Kha’ Union Land Office in Boalmari, Faridpur, was temporarily suspended after a video showing him taking Tk 5,000 spread on social media. The Faridpur deputy commissioner’s office issued the suspension order on Sunday, after the 2-minute-22-second video was released online in the evening and prompted widespread criticism.

The footage shows Sheikh counting money received from a service seeker. The conversation identifies the person as Baharul Alam of Satair, son of Syed Abu Hasan. Sheikh asks for the original deed to be submitted in the afternoon and says he would prepare the application that night, submit it the following week and complete the mutation work within two weeks.

The conversation suggests the payment was taken in connection with land mutation services. The suspension order cited allegations of misconduct and corruption under relevant provisions of the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018. It said Sheikh would receive subsistence allowance during suspension under the rules. Assistant Commissioner (Land) Shibbir Ahmed said the district commissioner was informed in writing and departmental action would be taken against him.

Jordan’s military said it downed two drones on Monday morning, according to a statement cited in a report published on July 27, 2026. The military said the incidents caused no casualties or material damage. The report did not specify where in Jordan the drones were brought down.

The Jordanian military did not identify who sent the drones. No country or group had claimed responsibility for launching them at the time of the report, leaving their origin and purpose unconfirmed.

The report noted that Iran had carried out ballistic missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Jordan during the previous two weeks. It also said attacks had occurred in Kuwait and Bahrain. However, it did not establish any connection between those earlier attacks and the two drones Jordan said it had downed on Monday.

The Upazila Fisheries Department seized a large quantity of banned fishing nets valued at about Tk 3 million during an operation at Dhamura Bazar in Uzirpur Upazila, Barishal. The operation was conducted on Monday from 11:40am to 1:50pm. After the seizure, officials burned the nets to destroy them.

According to the fisheries department, the seized items included 253 China duari nets, 65,000 metres of current nets and 67 boda nets. Upazila Fisheries Officer Prosen Majumdar led the operation. Upazila Rural Development Officer Md Moniruzzaman, Uzirpur Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Ripon Shikdar, fisheries staff, a representative of the National Fishermen’s Association and local dignitaries were present.

Majumdar said the use of banned nets is severely harmful to fish breeding and biodiversity in natural water bodies. He said regular operations are being conducted to stop the use of illegal nets, alongside awareness campaigns aimed at fishers. He added that such operations will continue to protect fisheries resources.

A source from Yemen’s Houthi movement, Ansarullah, claimed that Yemeni armed forces targeted three Saudi oil tankers in the Bab al-Mandab Strait over the past 48 hours. The report was published on July 27, 2026. The source did not provide details on damage, the identities of the vessels, or the precise timing of the alleged attacks.

According to the source, a maritime blockade that took effect on Monday has led at least 16 Saudi-linked ships to turn back without crossing the strait. It also said that no Saudi oil tanker has been able to pass through the strategic waterway since the blockade began. The source said restrictions on Saudi vessels remain in force and that no ship would be permitted to cross.

Separately, Ansarullah military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed that a Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci armed surveillance drone belonging to Saudi Arabia was shot down while operating over Yemen’s Al-Jawf province. He said any attempt to violate Yemen’s sovereignty would be countered. The claims were reported with Palestine Chronicles cited as the source.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is strengthening cooperation with Iran and expanding military coordination with North Korea and China. The claim was reported on July 27, 2026, citing an interview Zelenskyy gave to Sky News.

Zelenskyy said North Korea could send 30,000 troops to Russia, while Iran could provide additional missiles. Asked whether he was concerned about a possible Iranian attack on Ukraine, he said Tehran had already become involved in the war by supplying weapons to Russia.

He said Ukrainians could not trust Iran, arguing that Iranians had supplied weapons from the very beginning, even when Ukraine had not produced any weapons on its side. Zelenskyy said everything must be done to prevent another new battlefield from emerging, adding that Iranians and North Koreans had already attacked Ukraine.