Typhoon Dolphin left more than 50,000 buildings without electricity in Japan’s southern Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures and injured at least six people, according to a report published on August 8. Five elderly people were injured in Okinawa on Saturday, including three who fell in strong winds, while one other person was hurt in Kagoshima. Local authorities said none of the injuries was serious.

About 39,000 buildings lost power in Kagoshima and just over 12,000 in Okinawa. The typhoon’s maximum sustained winds reached 162 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 216 kilometres per hour. ANA and Japan Airlines cancelled several flights to and from Okinawa, while Okinawa and the Amami Islands in Kagoshima were expected to be among the areas most affected.

China issued its second-highest orange typhoon warning and raised its emergency response to Level 3 ahead of a possible landfall between Sunday night and Monday morning. Zhejiang closed port operations and suspended 162 passenger ferry routes, while Ningbo Lishe International Airport suspended all Sunday flights. Taiwan cancelled 78 international flights, and heavy rain and strong winds may affect eastern China through August 12.

Local residents in the Satmera border area of Panchagarh Sadar have detained Indian national Dipankar Gop after alleging that India’s Border Security Force, or BSF, took away Bangladeshi elderly resident Md Tamiz Uddin. On Saturday morning, residents brought Gop to the Birajot area after he crossed the barbed-wire fence and entered Bangladesh. They said he would not be released unless Tamiz Uddin was returned. Tension has been reported in the area.

Gop, 30, is identified as the son of Mishrilal Gop from Chaulhati Tashanpara in Rajganj police station area of Jalpaiguri district, India. According to local residents, he had come to work in a tea garden on the other side of the fence and entered the Bangladesh side. He is currently in the custody of Border Guard Bangladesh, police and local residents.

Locals said Tamiz Uddin, 78, a resident of Birajot, left home last Wednesday to look for cattle and was taken by BSF near the border fence. His son Azahar said his father has difficulty hearing and walking. No formal BGB statement was available, but a source said a BGB-BSF flag meeting is expected regarding Tamiz Uddin’s return and Gop’s situation.

Bangladesh’s Energy Division said a proposed policy allowing private-sector imports of refined fuel has not yet been finalized. The statement followed media reports alleging that control of the country’s energy sector was gradually being handed to an influential group. The clarification was issued on Saturday in a press release signed by Muhammad Arif Sadek, deputy chief information officer at the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

The government has begun preparing a draft titled the “Policy for Import, Storage, Transportation, Distribution and Marketing of Refined Fuel by the Private Sector, 2026,” the release said. Its stated purpose is to ensure energy security and maintain uninterrupted, safe fuel supplies across the country.

The proposed framework also aims to create a transparent and competitive system, enabling private-sector infrastructure and investment capacity to support national interests during emergencies or crises alongside existing government arrangements. The policy will be finalized after gathering views and recommendations from all relevant stakeholders. The division said it would be considered only if public interest, energy security, competition, transparency and accountability can be ensured, and said it offers no scope for special benefits to any individual, institution or group.

Two Bangladeshi and one Malaysian former students of the University of Malaya have launched Fresh Move, an AI-based agricultural supply-chain startup in Malaysia. Published on August 8, 2026, the report says the venture aims to connect local farmers and reliable importers directly with grocery stores, hotels and restaurants, making agricultural marketing more effective while reducing supply-chain inefficiency and food waste.

Fresh Move was co-founded by Farhad Hossain, Shaheen Alam and Nur Shafiqah Binti Roslan. Hossain serves as chief executive officer, Alam as chief technology officer, and Roslan as chief financial officer. The idea emerged after Hossain observed in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, that farmers producing high-quality vegetables and fruit were struggling to obtain desired prices because of limited market access, weak packaging and unreliable transport.

The platform analyzes supply and demand data in real time and provides training and technical support on product quality, packaging and commercial standards. Fresh Move also says it operates its own logistics network using smart routing and demand forecasting. Through its contract-farming program, farmers receive land arrangements and SOP training, while the startup handles marketing, transport, supply and sales.

Tarique Rahman is scheduled to make his first visit to Chattogram as prime minister on Sunday, August 9, on a one-day tour covering Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar and Banshkhali, Fatikchhari and Hathazari in Chattogram. He is due to arrive in Maheshkhali at 9am to inspect the Matarbari deep-sea port, coal-based power project and Maheshkhali Integrated Development Authority activities.

In Banshkhali, he is expected to distribute relief for flood-affected people and hand over new house keys to 100 homeless families at a rehabilitation event near Baharchhara beach. At Babunagar Madrasa in Fatikchhari, he will hold a courtesy meeting with Hefazat-e-Islam chief Allama Shah Muhibbullah Babunagari and exchange views with central and district leaders. Hefazat described the meeting as non-political.

In Hathazari, Rahman will visit the grave of late Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi and provide Tk100,000 each to 30 affected families for house construction, alongside Tk10,000 each for 15 people with disabilities. He will later attend a Chattogram BNP organisational meeting at Radisson Blu. Authorities said preparations at seven venues are complete, with police, RAB, BGB, SSF and intelligence agencies deployed. He is scheduled to depart for Dhaka at 9:20pm.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the former home minister of Bangladesh’s ousted Awami League government and a defendant sentenced to death by a court, said he is prepared to return to the country and face any situation. In a BBC Bangla report published Saturday, he described spending a year in trauma after leaving Bangladesh and said he reached India on September 9 following the government’s fall.

Kamal said he and others were unprepared for the course of events on August 5, 2024, attributing this to overconfidence and incorrect information. He said most people who could not leave are either in jail or displaced from their homes. He also said his son, who he said is not involved in politics, has been jailed for two years.

He claimed his business establishments were vandalised and set on fire, while security personnel have preserved what they can. Kamal said his household in India has mainly been supported by relatives and friends over the past two years. Responding to allegations against police and Ansar personnel under his ministry, he said he believed they performed their duties properly until noon on August 5.

Canada removed 3,323 Indian nationals between January and June 2026, making Indians the largest nationality group among removals in the first half of the year. Citing official Canada Border Services Agency data, the report said the six-month total was about 88 percent of the 3,779 Indians removed during all of 2025. If the current trend continues, removals of Indian nationals could surpass previous records by the end of 2026.

Mexico ranked second, with 1,573 citizens removed from Canada during the same period. Mexican nationals had been the largest group in removals for the previous five years, while India ranked second; Indians were last the largest group in 2020. CBSA data showed 603 Indian removals in 2021, 786 in 2022, 1,132 in 2023, 2,004 in 2024, and 3,779 in 2025.

Canada is tightening its immigration system and seeking to reduce the number of temporary residents, including international students and temporary foreign workers. Removals commonly involve non-compliance with immigration rules, rejected asylum or refugee applications, overstaying visas, or visa fraud, though CBSA does not publish country-specific reasons. A further 7,669 Indian nationals are listed in the removal-in-progress inventory.

Jute farmers in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur are facing difficulties retting their crop because of inadequate water, despite a good harvest in the current Kharif-1 season. The report, published on August 8, says many farmers have piled cut jute beside fields, roads, canals, wetlands and water bodies. Some are attempting retting in limited water, while others are transporting jute several kilometres to canals or rivers, increasing labour and transport expenses.

According to the upazila agriculture office, the jute cultivation target in Kaunia was 740 hectares, while actual cultivation reached 865 hectares. The production target for the season has been set at 10,101 bales. Farmer Al-Amin of Godai village said good yields have been offset by the added expense of taking jute to distant sites. Babu Haji of Rajib village said insufficient water during retting left fibres dark after washing, leading wholesalers to offer lower prices.

Farmers said the water shortage is affecting hundreds of growers and may prevent them from earning expected profits. Upazila Agriculture Officer Tania Akter said water receded early this year, creating some difficulty, but water remains in local canals and ponds where farmers can ret jute. Local growers called for fair jute prices that account for production and additional retting costs.

Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have signed a new bilateral Air Services Agreement to expand air connectivity and address longstanding operational complications. Published on August 8, 2026, the report said the agreement raises the permitted number of weekly flights between the two countries from 49 to 85. The deal was finalized after Saudi authorities agreed to Bangladesh’s proposal for 36 additional weekly flights.

Flights from Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah are expected to increase significantly. Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman Mostafa Mahmud Hasan Siddique, who was visiting Saudi Arabia, said the higher flight allocation would make travel easier for Bangladeshi expatriates and reduce ticket shortages and high fares. He also said it would resolve various long-running complications involving Hajj and Umrah flight operations.

Siddique said he led a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia on August 3, during which the agreement was finalized and signed. The delegation met Saudi Slot Management to raise operational issues faced by Bangladeshi carriers. Representatives of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and US-Bangla Airlines discussed securing practical schedules, while the new arrangement also emphasizes permanent and effective slot management.

Gonobiplobi Uddyog has declared August 8, the day the interim government formed after the student-worker-public uprising took its oath, as “Constitutional Counter-Revolution Day.” The group said it observed the programme to protest what it described as public aspirations being confined within the old constitutional framework and to pursue unfinished revolutionary transformation. The announcement was made in a Saturday press release signed by the organisation’s representative, Mohammad Majedur Rahman.

The organisation said the mass awakening achieved through blood and sacrifice had been limited to preserving continuity in the old state machinery rather than moving toward revolutionary transformation. It alleged that only the holders of power had changed while the character of state power remained unchanged. It also said recommendations from five of 11 reform commissions—on labour, women, health, local government and media—were excluded from discussions by the consensus commission.

Gonobiplobi Uddyog demanded that the omitted recommendations be brought to the discussion table and that an implementation outline be published. It also called for publication of repealed ordinances and reasons for their repeal, and for investigations into enforced disappearances and state torture to be assigned to an independent, neutral body rather than police. The group urged students, workers and the public to join a movement for a just, people-oriented state.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on Friday, August 7. The pact aims to ensure a collective response if any member faces an armed attack and to strengthen mutual defense capabilities. Under the agreement, an armed attack against one of the three countries will be treated as an attack against all three.

The agreement comes amid renewed questions over security and strategic stability in the Middle East following conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Baker Institute fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen said regional states had questioned the reliability of US partnership for nearly a decade. Center for International Policy analyst Sina Toossi said Riyadh was expanding regional security cooperation rather than relying only on Washington.

Ulrichsen said the pact is not intended to bypass the United States completely, but to provide additional strategic and policy options alongside US cooperation. International Crisis Group analyst Yasmin Farouk said it should not be seen as a direct replacement for the US-led security system. All three signatories remain US partners and have supported de-escalation and mediation since the war began.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded an immediate halt to all initiatives to place refined fuel oil imports, storage and marketing in private-sector hands. At an emergency press conference at Al-Falah auditorium in Maghbazar, Dhaka, on August 8, Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar presented the party’s six-point demands. The party called for publication of the draft policy and all related documents, followed by at least 60 days for public opinion.

Its demands include open hearings under a parliamentary standing committee involving opposition parties, CAB, CPD, university energy experts, labour federations and consumer representatives. Jamaat also sought reform of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, an independent audit, professional board appointments, mandatory e-GP in procurement and quarterly disclosure of import prices and volumes. It called for time-bound implementation of ERL-2 and expanded strategic storage capacity, as well as withdrawal of recommendations weakening legal protection for energy-sector workers.

Parwar said the party did not oppose a market economy or private investment, but opposed unaccountable transfers and expanded opportunities for corruption. He alleged the government was not publicly discussing the proposed policy. He also cited allegations by the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Workers Federation that plans were underway to transfer refined oil import, sales and marketing to the private sector.

The National Health Alliance (NHA) has expressed deep concern and strong opposition to the government’s decision to repeal the Essential Drugs List-2026 and the Drug Price Determination Method-2026. In a joint statement on Saturday, NHA convener Professor Shadrul Alam and member secretary Md Abdul Ahad called for a patient-friendly national medicine policy.

The leaders said health is not a luxury but a constitutional and fundamental right for every citizen. They warned that weakening or abolishing price controls on life-saving medicines would hurt lower- and middle-income people, patients with chronic illnesses and older people most severely. Leaving market-based pricing for 180 essential life-saving medicines could lead to abnormal price increases, they said.

The NHA noted that people with diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease require regular medication, and higher prices could deny treatment to many patients. It urged the government to reconsider the decision, maintain effective controls, strengthen market monitoring and prevent unjustified price rises. The alliance warned it would announce a broader public movement involving doctors, health workers, patients and citizens if the decision is not withdrawn promptly.

The government has announced a series of development plans for Bogura, including a 400-acre BSCIC industrial park, a multidisciplinary university, the Bogura-Sirajganj railway, and efforts to start flights from Bogura International Airport. The plans were presented on August 8, 2026, at an inauguration ceremony for Bogura Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s newly elected board at Moin Convention Centre.

Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said a survey found strong demand for industrial development in Bogura, while development had not matched that demand. State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said Bogura is a food-surplus district whose products create a market worth about Tk3,500 crore across Bangladesh and abroad.

Mir Shahe Alam said the prime minister is expected to lay the foundation stone for the Bogura-Sirajganj rail line in November or December. Authorities are trying to open the airport for domestic routes by January 2027, while work on a drone manufacturing factory is due to begin next month. Plans also include an overpass over the city rail line, Karatoya River restoration, and a sports village with an international-standard football stadium.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only if the United States fully accepts Iran’s specified conditions. IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi made the statement in a report published on August 8, 2026, citing Iran’s state news agency Tasnim. He said the decision to resume operations in the strait is not connected to ongoing talks with Oman.

Mohebi said Iran has a specific process and conditions for reopening the important waterway, and that it will reopen only after those requirements are met. He described the Strait of Hormuz as more than an economic shipping route, calling it an element of geographic and strategic power for Iran. He said Washington must fully accept Iran’s conditions.

The spokesperson also said the United States must stop intervening in regional discussions. He stated that the strait would certainly reopen once the United States accepts Iran’s terms. Iran’s position, as presented by Mohebi, separates the reopening decision from Omani-mediated discussions or any possible agreement and places it on fulfillment of Iran’s own conditions.