Former Turkish prime minister and foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has announced his withdrawal from politics, saying the opposition Future Party will cease political activities. In a report published on August 2, 2026, he described the move not as surrender but as a decision to distance himself from the country’s “polluted political environment.” Once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Davutoğlu later became a critic of the political system he helped build.

Davutoğlu, an academic, sought to introduce a new outlook to Turkish foreign policy through his “Strategic Depth” theory. He became foreign minister in 2009 and prime minister in 2014. During his tenure, Turkey expanded its diplomatic presence in Africa and the Middle East under a policy of “zero problems with neighbors.” However, his foreign policy faced challenges amid the Syrian war and changing regional conditions.

He left the premiership in 2016 after disagreements with Erdoğan over power and policy, then formed the Future Party in 2019. Analysts said the party failed to gain significant support because of limits on opposition politics and its inability to establish an independent organizational base. Running under the main opposition CHP’s symbol in 2023 further weakened its separate political identity.

Spain has announced plans to install a roughly 500-metre floating barrier along the Morocco-Ceuta coast after a recent influx of migrants into the autonomous city of Ceuta. Published on August 2, the report said the inflatable barrier will extend about one metre below the water. The Interior Ministry also plans an additional line of anchored naval buoys to strengthen border surveillance.

According to the ministry, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco within 24 hours. At least 48,300 were returned to Morocco by Friday afternoon, while several hundred others left Ceuta voluntarily. Authorities have not announced a specific decision concerning people who remain in the city. A Spanish government spokesperson in Ceuta said at least 67 people had died in recent days while trying to enter.

More than 20 European Union member states have called on the European Commission to convene an emergency meeting of interior ministers. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said traffickers had encouraged crossings by spreading a mistaken interpretation of a recent Supreme Court ruling. Human Rights Watch raised concerns about how security forces would respond if people tried to swim across the barrier.

Momen Mia, 55, was killed after being shot during an alleged surprise attack at his home in Soudagarkandi, Chandpur ইউনিয়ন of Raipura, Narsingdi, on Sunday, August 2. The incident involved the Momen group and the Purba Para Farid group and was reportedly linked to a longstanding dispute. Three other people were wounded by gunfire and are receiving treatment at Raipura উপজেলা Health Complex.

The injured were identified as Mobarak, 65, Nazmul Hossain, 30, and Ruhul Amin, 37. Relatives of the deceased and local residents said tensions had persisted between the Farid group and the Momen group, associated with a former union parishad chairman. They said the local member of parliament had made several attempts to settle the dispute, but tensions had recently resurfaced.

According to relatives and residents, members of the Farid group entered Momen Mia’s house carrying local weapons and attacked him, shooting him in the head and leg. Emergency physician Dr Binita said he had no pulse or blood pressure upon arrival at hospital, with preliminary indications that he died from excessive blood loss before reaching the facility. Police deployed additional personnel in the area.

Seven sanitation workers were injured after residents and cleaning staff clashed over waste removal in the Uttarkhan Rajabari STS area of Ward 46, Uttara Region 8, under Dhaka North City Corporation. The incident involved chase and counter-chase between the two sides, according to a report published on August 2, 2026.

The injured workers were taken to Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital. DNCC public relations officer Zakir Hossain confirmed the clash in a press release, identifying the location as the Uttarkhan Rajabari STS area in Ward 46 of Uttara Region 8.

DNCC Administrator Md Shafiqul Islam Khan, local MP Jahangir Hossain, a police deputy commissioner and other relevant officials went to the scene in an effort to bring the situation under control. It was also alleged that the administrator and the local MP were attacked during the incident.

A Dhaka court sentenced Regent Hospital chairman Mohammad Sahed Karim to one year in prison in a case over a dishonoured cheque worth Tk23 lakh 18 thousand 358. Third Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Ariful Islam delivered the verdict on Sunday afternoon, August 2. The court also imposed a fine equal to the cheque amount.

Defence lawyer Mohammad Dabir Uddin said the court had delivered the verdict in Sahed’s absence on May 3. On August 2, he was shown arrested in the case under a warrant of sentence. The judge rejected his bail petition and ordered him sent to jail. The lawyer said they knew of another case filed at the CMM court on July 16, 2020 over the same incident, but were unaware of the cheque-related case.

The case was filed on July 26, 2020 by Hafiz Uddin Bahar, proprietor of Bahar Traders International. It alleged that a cheque issued on December 10, 2019 for construction materials was returned on May 5, 2020 because of insufficient funds. The report said Sahed currently faces more than 35 cases.

Political controversy has intensified in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had “forgiven” students despite objectionable remarks made about him and his mother during protests. In an Instagram video released Friday night, Modi said it was time to guide young people onto the right path. The comments drew criticism from Congress and the Samajwadi Party.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said students harmed by question-paper leaks and cancelled examinations did not need forgiveness and that the prime minister should instead apologize to them. He accused the government of creating a corrupt examination system that had damaged many students’ futures, and said Modi had not met affected students or families. Congress leaders P. Chidambaram and Pawan Khera also questioned and criticized the prime minister’s remarks.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the public would not forgive the BJP. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray called on the prime minister and home minister to apologize for police force against protesting students. The central government said it had taken steps including legal amendments and a task force to reform examinations. BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi criticized opposition conduct.

Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government and politics at Georgetown University in Qatar, said the ongoing United States-Israel conflict with Iran is producing direct effects inside the United States. In an interview with Al Jazeera, he said it was not yet timely to expect a rapid end to the conflict, despite President Donald Trump’s announcement that a planned attack on Iran had been suspended.

Musgrave said petroleum and liquefied natural gas prices have risen as part of the conflict’s impact. He also cited speculation that Iran may have supported some recent cyberattacks in the United States, saying that, if true, the war’s effects would be reaching the country directly. However, he did not cite conclusive evidence to support that claim.

According to Musgrave, both sides are strongly presenting their positions, much of it through inflammatory rhetoric. He said the situation may be moving toward the beginning of the conflict’s end, but did not present that as certain. He added that Trump and Iran’s government are considering political timetables, and elections in the United States and Israel during October and November could influence political decisions.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Amin Ur Rashid Yasin said remnants of authoritarian rule remain in hiding and would “wreck” the country if given an opportunity. He made the remarks as chief guest at a “July Memoir” discussion at Cumilla Shilpakala Academy on Saturday night, August 2, 2026.

Yasin said he did not know whether he could have stood and spoken there without the 2024 mass uprising. He alleged that those in power at the time had not been elected by popular vote and had conducted a sham election with the public. He also said followers of fascists were still concealed around society and would engage in conspiracies to destabilize the country if they had the chance.

Remembering those killed in the July mass uprising, the minister prayed for forgiveness for their souls and said the government was taking necessary measures for treatment of the injured. Cumilla City Corporation administrator and metropolitan BNP leader Yusuf Molla Tipu spoke as the main speaker. Relatives of those killed, injured people, and representatives of the administration, health service and police attended the event.

Professor Shamima Sultana, chair of Jahangirnagar University’s Bangla department, said she removed then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s portrait from her office during the 2024 quota reform movement. In an interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha marking the second anniversary of the July mass uprising, she said the action was a personal expression of moral protest against attacks, arrests, shootings, killings and alleged torture of students.

Sultana said the decision was neither politically motivated nor impulsive, but reflected values she had held since student life. She cited her earlier support for the 2018 quota reform movement, the safe-road movement and anti-corruption protests on campus. She described the July 15, 2024 attack on students at the vice-chancellor’s residence, followed by reports of the killing of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayeed and civilian deaths, as pivotal events.

She said she kept her office and the department chair’s room open for students seeking shelter and allowed protesters to use office Wi-Fi for communication. After the photograph spread online, she said she received abusive calls, threatening messages and personal attacks. A proposed show-cause action was later cancelled after a change in university administration following August 5.

A farmer, Abu Bakkar Siddik, 50, died after being struck by lightning while planting transplanted rice in Dhamoirhat upazila of Naogaon. The incident occurred on Sunday morning in a cropland area of Mongolia locality under Alampur union. Siddik was the son of the late Abdur Gafur Mondal of the area.

According to local sources, Siddik went to a field beside his home in the morning to plant rice amid rain. He was seriously injured when lightning suddenly struck during the work. Local people rescued him and took him to Dhamoirhat উপজেলা Health Complex for treatment.

Siddik died while undergoing treatment at the health complex. Dhamoirhat police station duty officer ASI Raihan described the death as caused by a natural disaster. After completing necessary legal procedures, the body was handed over to his relatives.

Bahlul Majnu Biplab, a climber from Kalapania ইউনিয়ন in Sandwip, Chattogram, says he is preparing for an Everest expedition in April-May 2027 if conditions allow. A pharmacy businessman by profession, he took part in 14 climbing expeditions and one trekking expedition between 2009 and 2024, reaching summits successfully in nine climbing attempts. Biplab said he goes to the mountains to find himself and feels newly discovered after reaching a peak.

In 2010, he joined a seven-member Nepal-Bangladesh expedition to climb the previously unconquered 20,528-foot Chekigo peak in Nepal. While ascending without a rope, he began sliding down an almost 80-degree icy slope toward a deep gorge. He said his ice axe eventually caught in hard ice, stopping his fall, and he later reached the summit. The team had decided that, if jointly conquered, the peak would be named Nepal-Bangladesh Friendship Peak.

A regular member of the Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club, Biplab began climbing with India’s Stok Kangri in 2009. His major achievements include summiting Tibet’s 23,113-foot Lhakpa Ri in 2018. He said expeditions have been funded through sponsors, family and friends, and his own resources.

Major General (Retd.) Dr Md Sahedul Islam has formally assumed office as the new secretary general of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BGMEA. The announcement concerning the country’s leading trade body for the ready-made garment sector was published on August 2, 2026.

Dr Islam has more than 35 years of experience in military leadership, international diplomacy and academia. While serving as defence attaché in Washington, DC, he received the United States’ Legion of Merit. He earned PhD, MPhil and MBA degrees from the University of Dhaka, including doctoral work on reviewing and developing workers’ skills, and a Master of Management Studies from Osmania University in India.

He previously served as dean at Bangladesh University of Professionals and as treasurer and professor at Central University of Science and Technology, and also played a role in UN peacekeeping missions. BGMEA leaders said they expect his leadership to support industry growth, skilled workforce development and responses to global challenges. He pledged to work with the BGMEA board and entrepreneurs on economic conditions, product and market diversification, skills development and strengthening Bangladesh’s international market position.

A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman decided to revive waterways surrounding Dhaka and consider allowing interested private companies to operate water buses. The meeting began at 10:30am on Sunday, August 2, 2026, in the Cabinet Division’s special meeting room at the Bangladesh Secretariat. The decisions covered restoring the capital’s surrounding river routes and reviewing proposals from private operators.

The prime minister instructed relevant authorities to prevent pollution in Dhaka’s rivers, improve drainage systems, and maintain normal navigability and water flow. He also directed them to plant different species of trees beside walkways built along the rivers, with the stated aims of environmental protection and improving the appearance of riverbanks.

Those attending included Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam and State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Sheikh Faridul Islam. Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Md Shafiqul Islam Khan, Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md Abdus Salam, Additional Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Atikur Rahman Rumon, and senior officials from relevant ministries and agencies also attended the meeting.

An Al Jazeera-cited report says US President Donald Trump recently withdrew a threat of a final operation against Iran at the last moment. It lists five episodes from March 21 to June 11 in which Trump issued severe threats toward Iran before extending deadlines, pausing plans, or changing course. Political analysts have used the term “TACO,” short for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” in connection with this pattern.

On March 21, Trump threatened to destroy all Iranian power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz was fully opened, then extended his deadline by five days and later another week. On April 1, he warned that Iran could be bombed into the “Stone Age,” but Washington took no immediate military action. After his April 7 declaration that an entire civilization would be destroyed that night, a fragile ceasefire was signed the next day through Pakistani mediation.

Trump announced Operation Project Freedom on May 4 to help ships blocked by the Hormuz blockade pass safely, but paused it two days later to examine prospects for an agreement. On June 11, he threatened to seize Kharg Island and control Iran’s energy sector, then cited talks with Iranian leadership hours later. Analysts debate whether the pattern could diminish the weight of his military statements.

At least eight people have died and 13 were injured in floods and landslides triggered by persistent heavy rain in Kerala, India. Eight others remain missing, Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan said on Sunday. Waterlogging and extensive property damage were reported across different parts of the state as rain and flooding continued.

Satheesan said 27 houses were completely destroyed and 196 were partially damaged. Authorities moved 5,792 people to 209 relief camps established across the state. The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for 12 districts amid the severe weather conditions.

According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, some areas received up to 320 millimetres of rainfall on Saturday, flooding roads and low-lying areas. Ayyankunnu in Kannur district recorded the highest total of 320 millimetres. Many other places in northern Kerala received between 90 and 180 millimetres of rain from 3 a.m. until midnight on Saturday.