France and Germany provided military-aircraft assistance to the United States in intercepting Iranian missiles aimed at a US military base in Jordan, according to Iran's Fars News Agency as cited by Al Mayadeen. The report was published on July 30, 2026.

Fars News Agency said aviation tracking-system data showed at least two German and French aircraft in Jordanian airspace. It said the aircraft were observed supporting US forces, presenting the navigation data as confirmation that such an operation took place.

According to the report, the aircraft helped Washington destroy or intercept missiles arriving from Iran before they reached the US base in Jordan. It further claimed that German and French military aircraft entered the operation after the United States failed to intercept the Iranian missiles on its own.

Bangladesh Bank has updated its consolidated foreign-exchange management instructions to better align the country’s export trade with international standards. The circular, issued on Thursday, adds provisions to promote paperless trade, digital trade documents, alternative trade finance, and service- and e-commerce-based exports. It will apply to export-related foreign-exchange transactions for the next year.

The central bank said the revisions reflect changes in international trade systems, the expansion of digital commerce, and the development of new export sectors. It has also brought all instructions on export-related foreign-exchange management under a consolidated framework. The circular allows export documents to be presented electronically under documentary collection arrangements.

Bangladesh Bank has directed the launch of a pilot framework for processing digital trade documents in documentary collection and letter-of-credit systems through approved trade corridors. A separate framework has been included for alternative trade finance, including supply chain finance. For the first time, the instructions contain a dedicated chapter on foreign-exchange transactions for freelancers and individual service exporters, which the central bank says will help them bring export earnings earned through digital payment channels into the country more quickly and easily.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said medicines alone cannot protect a nation from disease and urged greater focus on prevention alongside treatment. He made the remarks on Thursday at the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine in Mohakhali, Dhaka, during an event releasing results of research activities funded under the 2025-26 revenue budget. He called for innovative preventive measures beginning from birth.

Addressing doctors, the minister said a physician’s smile and compassionate conduct can help patients recover, adding that care involves more than tablets or medicines. He said kind words and appropriate advice are also important for patients. He expressed concern over what he described as a sharp increase in kidney and cancer patients in the country and noted the severe suffering faced by people with those illnesses.

The minister said the government has pledged to ensure healthcare for all and that no citizen should remain outside health services. He urged research and awareness work focused on rural health. Prime Minister’s health affairs special assistant Dr. M. M. Ziauddin Haider advised researchers to visit upazila hospitals and consult staff before presenting data, so actual problems and areas of conflict can be identified and addressed.

The United States has returned 23 more Bangladeshi nationals to Bangladesh, according to the report. They arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka early Thursday on a special Omni Air flight. The report was published on July 30, 2026. After completing immigration and other required formalities, the returnees left the airport at 1:30 pm.

Sources said the returnees had left Bangladesh at different times in 2014 on work-permit visas in search of better employment. They later stayed in countries including Dubai, Qatar, South Africa, Brazil and Peru before entering the United States illegally by crossing borders in stages. Although they worked at various institutions there, they reportedly failed to meet legal immigration requirements.

US immigration authorities took legal action against them over alleged violations of US immigration law, and they were sent back after required legal procedures were completed. At the airport, the non-governmental organization BRAC provided each deported passenger with Tk5,000 in financial assistance and light refreshments. The report said returns of Bangladeshi nationals from different countries over alleged immigration-law violations have continued recently, while experts stressed legal migration routes and compliance with destination-country immigration laws.

Chattogram district police said alleged criminal Mobarak Hossain, also known as David Imon, was planning to flee to India and remain in hiding. Police said he and his associates were detained in the Jhumjhumpur area of Jashore while attempting to enter India through the border. Officers said an Indian Aadhaar card was recovered from Imon, using the name “Azhar Khan.”

Superintendent of Police Masud Alam said the group left Chattogram for Dhaka, where they changed clothes, the vehicle they had been using and the driver. They then travelled through Khulna toward the Jashore border. Police said checkpoints had already been placed on possible routes, leading to their detention in Jhumjhumpur.

According to police, the recovered card contains a photograph, date of birth and identification number in the format of an Indian citizen identity document. Investigators are examining whether the card is genuine, fake or fraudulently created. Police said preliminary information indicated that Boro Sazzad gave Imon the card as part of preparations to live safely in India. Authorities are also investigating the card’s source, possible accomplices and the wider border-crossing network.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said renewed US airstrikes on Iran appear driven by retaliation rather than a clear strategy. In an interview with Al Jazeera cited in a report published on July 30, he said the strikes do not appear to be bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table. Parsi described restarting the war in Iran as a major mistake.

Parsi questioned what Trump ultimately seeks to achieve through the airstrikes, saying no purpose beyond retaliation is currently apparent. He said Trump’s military options are extremely weak and expressed surprise that the conflict was renewed without developing better alternatives. After 13 consecutive days of bombing, Parsi said, it has become apparent that there was no strong strategy behind the campaign.

According to Parsi, Iran’s own retaliatory response or escalation is a calculated strategy aimed at protecting itself. He said Iranians have concluded, whether rightly or wrongly, that Trump will not be serious about diplomacy until he fully recognizes that he has no military option. Parsi said the path to peace is therefore not proceeding directly through negotiations, but through removing the idea of a military option from Trump’s thinking.

Pakistan said Thursday it is making its utmost effort to bring the United States and Iran back to negotiations under a memorandum of understanding signed to stop the war between the two countries. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi made the statement to journalists in Islamabad, according to an AFP report.

Andrabi said Islamabad was trying to return all parties to talks within the framework of the MOU. The report described Pakistan as a mediator in the effort involving the United States and Iran.

Pakistan is also encouraging the countries concerned to fully honor their commitment to organize discussions at the strategic level under the agreement, Andrabi said. His remarks indicated that Islamabad’s stated focus is on restoring the negotiating process and securing participation by all parties under the memorandum.

Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that, in his experience over five months as a minister, nothing has changed in the country and people who took bribes continue to do so. Speaking as chief guest at a discussion meeting at the DFP auditorium in the Circuit House in the capital on Thursday, he called for change in the state and society in line with the spirit of July.

Fakhrul, also BNP secretary general, described change as a scientific and ongoing process, while saying that achieving it through movements and war under rules is different. He said Bangladesh gained independence through war in 1971 but has continued to call for change since then. He compared Bangladesh's position with the economic progress and livelihoods of China and Singapore.

He said lives have repeatedly been lost whenever change was demanded, and that young people joined the July 2024 movement, initially over their own demands before it developed into a demand for a change of government. He said the sacrifices made for change must be upheld, or the tears of mothers and bloodshed of July martyrs would be lost. Representatives of media, judicial and professional bodies also spoke at the event.

The Sreemangal Upazila administration in Moulvibazar returned Tk 12,290,301 in unspent funds to the state treasury after the Aliachhara canal re-excavation project in Bhunabir Union was not completed on time. The project had a total allocation of Tk 12,878,537, of which Tk 500,000 was spent. Moulvibazar-4 lawmaker Alhaj Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury inaugurated the project on April 17, and work began the following day.

The plan included re-excavating 2,750 metres of canal, reinforcing both banks, planting trees and installing RCC ring pipes. The work was scheduled to finish by June 30, but adverse weather and heavy rainfall allowed completion of only 640 metres, or 23.27 percent, within the deadline. The expenditure included Tk 58,824 in VAT and Tk 29,412 in income tax, along with costs for clearing vegetation, labour, excavator use and transport.

Local farmers said the canal has remained filled for about 40 years, leaving roughly 4,000 acres of farmland in five mouzas uncultivated because of waterlogging. PIO Plabon Pal said similar projects are planned for the dry season in the future. UNO Md Ziaur Rahman said the unused funds were returned to ensure transparent and accountable use of public money.

Charumati, born in Pabna before completing 26 weeks of gestation and weighing just 600 grams at birth, has returned home with her parents after nearly two months of intensive specialized treatment at Labaid Hospital in Dhaka. The older of twins, Charumati faced an uncertain start after her twin brother died at birth. She was then admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Her weight had risen to 760 grams when she was discharged. A dedicated team of neonatal specialists, nurses and other healthcare workers provided continuous care, the report said. Doctors described her recovery as an example of medical staff commitment, modern neonatal treatment, hospital support, and her parents’ love and patience.

Charumati was also the first child to receive treatment in Labaid Hospital’s Kangaroo Mother Care unit. The approach emphasizes prolonged mother-child contact, breastfeeding and close medical monitoring. The hospital held a celebratory event attended by senior consultants, pediatricians, nurses and officials, while her parents thanked the hospital for its care and support. She will require regular follow-up and specialized care in the coming days.

Leaders of Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union, or JAKSU, have rejected an administrative decision allowing elected JAKSU and hall union representatives to remain in university-assigned dormitories until their terms end, even after their student status expires. The decision was announced in a notice signed by acting registrar Dr A B M Azizur Rahman on July 29. JAKSU leaders and student organisation representatives criticised the move on social media.

The notice said students elected to posts in JAKSU and hall unions could stay in assigned halls for the duration of their respective terms. However, Clause 5(ta) of the university’s Student Discipline Ordinance-2018 requires students to leave halls within seven days after their academic life ends. JAKSU social service and human resource development secretary Ahsan Labib said JAKSU had not made such a demand and called for the office order to be withdrawn.

Executive member Nabila Binte Harun alleged the administration was using JAKSU to legitimise an opportunity for others to stay unlawfully and demanded rejection of the decision. Student Dal convenor Jahiruddin Mohammad Babar questioned differing treatment of expired students, while Student Shakti president Ziauddin Ayan asked whether separate rules were being created for ordinary students and JAKSU leaders.

Reports published on July 30, 2026 said multiple studies found concerning levels of microplastics in everyday soybean oil, milk and sugar in Bangladesh. Researchers attributed contamination to food processing, plastic packaging and environmental pollution. Loose soybean oil contained 45,000 to 70,000 particles per litre, while bottled soybean oil contained 44,000 to 54,000 particles per litre, according to the reported findings.

Processed milk contained an average 156.06 particles per 10 millilitres, compared with 93.39 in raw milk. Loose sugar contained about 403 particles per kilogram and branded packaged sugar about 322. A study led by Jashore University of Science and Technology professor Md Omar Faruk found polymers including PTFE, PET, nylon-6 and PVC in milk samples. Jahangirnagar University researcher Dr Shafi Muhammad Tareq described the levels reported in soybean oil as alarming.

BSTI urged people to remain aware rather than panic, saying no brand or product should be declared unsafe without complete scientific and legal verification. It said it was gathering information from research institutions, manufacturers and importers and would take legal action over violations of standards. Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman called the issue a global public-health crisis and said coordinated action would be taken quickly.

In an interview with Amar Desh published on July 30, 2026, Fatema Rahman Bithi said her decision to lead from the front during the July uprising in Tangail was driven by her desire for a Bangladesh founded on equality, justice and democracy. Politically active since 2018, she said restrictions on freedom of expression and repression of students’ and ordinary people’s demands made silence feel like surrender to injustice.

Bithi said she led marches despite threats and attacks she attributed to Chhatra League, police barricades and fears of arrest, and said she also faced legal cases. She described how, on July 18, she took about 50 female students into a diagnostic centre after police began baton charges, firing tear gas and bullets. After police moved away, she said arrangements were made to take the students home safely and send injured male colleagues to hospital.

She said women activists’ leadership, organising and sacrifices have not received full recognition after the uprising, citing cyberbullying and mental harassment. Bithi called for rule of law, democratic rights, freedom of expression, institutional accountability and equality of opportunity, urging younger people to remain active against injustice.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine believes current US ammunition stockpiles could affect military operations in Iran and has warned President Donald Trump, according to the report published and updated on July 30, 2026.

A recent analysis by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said the United States has used about one-third of its Patriot missile-defense system and roughly half of its THAAD interceptor missiles since the war with Iran began.

The organization estimated that the United States had about 2,330 Patriot interceptors before the war, with the current total falling to between 759 and 827. It also estimated that US THAAD interceptor stocks declined from about 452 before the war to between 234 and 278 remaining.

Amnesty International said India sent at least 2,596 shipments of weapons, ammunition and military equipment to Israel between October 7, 2023 and November 30, 2025, during Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The findings were published Thursday in a report titled “Made in India: The Supply of Weapons and Ammunition to Israel.” Amnesty said companies from both India’s public and private sectors were involved in the shipments.

The report cited machine-gun parts, high-explosive 155mm artillery shells supplied to Elbit Systems, explosive warheads for SkyStriker “kamikaze” drones, and vehicle parts for key Israeli military suppliers. It counted 564,970 explosive ordnance components, including drone warheads and artillery-shell casings; 390,516 small parts for military-grade firearms; and 298 military vehicle components.

Amnesty said it used a cautious, conservative methodology based on customs HS codes 9301-9307 and 8710, excluding items with unclear military or civilian use and anti-missile defence components. It said the actual volume of Indian-made military material could therefore be higher. Amnesty received no response before publication after writing to the Indian government and nine relevant companies. Secretary General Agnès Callamard said Indian authorities could not claim ignorance of the risk cited in International Court of Justice provisional orders.