Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has claimed that Ukraine launched more than 6,000 drone attacks targeting the Russian capital during July. In a statement posted Saturday on the Russian social media platform Max, Sobyanin said aerial attacks directed at Moscow had increased significantly in recent months. The report, published by Amar Desh Online on August 1, 2026, cited Anadolu.

Sobyanin said that 6,225 drones approached the Moscow region between 12 a.m. on July 1 and 11:59 p.m. on July 31. Of those, Russian air defense systems shot down 780 drones in Moscow airspace, he said. He described the total as substantially higher than during the same period last year.

According to Sobyanin, the number of Ukrainian drones approaching the Moscow region in a month had previously ranged from several dozen to a few hundred at most. The report said Ukraine has recently intensified long-range drone attacks on Moscow and other regions inside Russia. Russian authorities regularly claim to intercept drones headed toward the capital, while such incidents often disrupt flight operations at Moscow airports.

At least seven Palestinians were killed and 76 injured in continued Israeli attacks across several areas of the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 48 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The report was published on August 1, 2026. The ministry also said one person previously wounded in an earlier attack died while receiving treatment.

The ministry said that since the ceasefire took effect, 1,222 Palestinians have been killed and 4,053 injured. It also reported that 8,004 bodies had been recovered from beneath rubble during the same period.

According to the Health Ministry’s figures, the overall conflict in Gaza since October 7, 2023 has killed 73,349 people and injured 174,162. The ministry further said that, following one additional death in a building collapse, the total number of deaths caused by collapsed buildings had risen to 33.

Road Safety Foundation said Dhaka recorded 1,849 road crashes between 2020 and July 2026, killing 1,384 people and injuring 2,488. The figures were released in the organization’s notice on August 1. Of those killed, 1,034 were men, 219 were women and 131 were children.

Pedestrians were the largest group among those killed, with 592 deaths, or 42.77 percent. Motorcycle riders accounted for 536 deaths, or 38.72 percent, while drivers and passengers of buses, rickshaws, CNG vehicles and other transport accounted for 256. Nighttime crashes caused the most deaths, 519 or 37.5 percent. Trucks, covered vans, pickups, tankers and garbage trucks were involved in 33.25 percent of crashes.

The analysis said crashes were comparatively more frequent at night and in the morning. It cited the lack of bypass roads, fast-moving heavy vehicles, persistent congestion, inadequate roads, occupied footpaths and insufficient or unusable footbridges as contributing factors. Jatrabari, Demra, Mohammadpur, Kuril Bishwaroad and Airport Road were identified as crash-prone hotspots. The foundation emphasized coordinated action and company-based bus services through route rationalization.

Bangladesh has decided to join the Shanghai-based World Artificial Intelligence Co-operation Organization, or WICO, initially as an observer. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the decision in a Facebook post on August 1. WICO is an intergovernmental organization that formally began operations on July 16. China established the new international alliance to strengthen global cooperation in artificial intelligence technology.

The organization aims to deepen international cooperation on innovation, reduce the global digital divide and encourage inclusive development. It also seeks to ensure an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for the development of AI technologies.

WICO will work on developing AI-related regulations with the objective of ensuring that AI technology is safe and beneficial for people. Twenty-nine countries joined as founding members when the organization was launched. They include several significant Global South countries, such as Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal, Russia and Pakistan.

Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, has urged regional countries to reconsider their cooperation and alliance with the United States. His remarks were reported by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB in a report published on August 1, 2026.

Abdollahi warned that US actions against Iran are increasingly raising the risk of a broad conflict across the region. He said regional countries should understand that Washington seeks to use their resources, infrastructure and capabilities as a defensive shield for what he described as its weak military.

The Iranian commander also warned that countries acting as a US defensive shield would inevitably be consumed by the fires of war. The report did not identify specific countries, provide reactions from regional governments, or outline any further measures connected to his call.

Chattogram Development Authority Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain said unplanned urbanisation has made Chattogram unsuitable for living, citing severe waterlogging and traffic congestion. He made the remarks on Saturday afternoon at a public opinion gathering on the city’s draft master plan, saying expanding the city’s boundaries was essential to address the problems.

Hossain said encroachment on canals and drains, private hospitals without parking, schools and universities, and unplanned construction had intensified urban pressures. He said private universities should conduct academic activities from their own campuses, while private schools and hospitals must ensure their own parking facilities to help reduce traffic congestion.

The proposed master plan would connect about 800 square kilometres from Anwara-Karnaphuli, Patiya municipality, Hathazari, Raozan, Boalkhali, Rangunia and Sitakunda to Chattogram city. It envisages improved housing for 800,000 to one million people. Proposals cover noise and air pollution control, landslide prevention, water supply, sanitation, waste management and climate-change impacts. Public hearings will begin soon; the plan is 87 percent physically and 59.67 percent financially complete and will be finalised after hearings.

Public health specialists and physicians in Bangladesh have urged people to focus on dengue awareness rather than anxiety, calling for action to stop Aedes mosquito breeding, prevent bites and seek medical care when fever develops. In government figures through July 28 this year, dengue caused 47 deaths and led to 14,156 hospital admissions, while 17,009 patients recovered.

Experts said there is no dengue vaccine or specifically effective medicine, making public awareness, active community participation and clean surroundings essential. They identified standing water inside and outside homes, on rooftops and in other locations as mosquito breeding sites. Usable containers including flowerpots, drums, buckets and water trays beneath air conditioners and refrigerators should not hold water for more than five consecutive days.

Public health expert Dr Mushtaq Hossain said dengue prevention must begin in homes, schools, workplaces and local communities, alongside rapid patient identification and protection for vulnerable people. Dhaka Medical College Hospital physician Dr Hasan Hafizur Rahman said fever can reach 102 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. He advised cooling measures, paracetamol according to fever intensity every six to eight hours, and adequate fluids including water, fruit juice, soup, oral saline, coconut water and sherbet.

Dr Abu Ali Sina, a researcher from Chandpur, has received Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant at Emerging Leadership Level 2. The grant, valued at about A$1.6 million, will fund cancer detection research at the Sina Lab under his leadership. Results were released by the NHMRC recently, according to information published on August 1, 2026. Sina is based in Brisbane with his family and leads the Sina Lab at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

The NHMRC awards the funding on the basis of significant research contributions, strong research leadership and clear plans for future work. The new funding will support efforts to identify next-generation blood-based biomarkers, develop nanotechnology-based diagnostic platforms and create technologies for detecting cancer at an early stage.

Sina said the achievement reflected the combined efforts and long-term support of his students, colleagues, research collaborators, mentors and family. The Sina Lab said former PhD researcher Dr Tanvir Ahmed’s work played an important role in establishing the scientific basis for the newly funded project. It added that the grant would expand research activity, create opportunities for students and researchers, and accelerate the translation of laboratory findings into practical medical technology.

A bomb-like object wrapped in a bag triggered alarm near Mirpur-10 Metro Station in the capital on Saturday afternoon. Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit sent its bomb disposal team to inspect the item near Gate B of the station, under Mirpur Model Police Station.

Police said MRT Police spotted the bag-wrapped, cocktail bomb-like object at about 12:45pm. Mirpur Model Police then reached the scene and informed the CTTC bomb disposal unit. The disposal team arrived at around 1:15pm and examined the bag.

The search found betel leaf, areca nut and a container of zarda inside the bag. No bomb, explosive or explosive-related material was recovered. Mostak Sarkar, deputy commissioner of police for the Mirpur division, said the bomb-like bag contained those items and that no explosive substance was found.

National Parliament Acting Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal said Bangladesh’s current parliament faces high public expectations, with 180 million people and “360 million eyes” focused on its work. In a special interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha published on August 1, 2026, he said citizens expect lawmakers to meet public aspirations through informed debate, constructive criticism and reasoned argument. He added that farmers, workers and labouring people in villages watch parliamentary proceedings daily through mobile phones.

Kamal described the legislature as a “parliament of the oppressed,” saying nearly 99 percent of its 350 members had experienced execution platforms, enforced disappearance, Aynaghar, torture, exile or imprisonment in the past. He said he would seek to maintain justice and maximum neutrality while overseeing parliament. He also called on both the government and opposition to act responsibly to institutionalise democracy.

The acting speaker said parliament should be the centre of national development and political and democratic practice, allowing the government to speak and the opposition to offer unrestricted constructive criticism. He said the February 12, 2026 parliamentary election was among Bangladesh’s most peaceful and fair elections and its most participatory, marking the beginning of a new democratic journey.

US Congressman Thomas Massie has called for the United States to immediately withdraw from the ongoing war or military conflict against Iran. In a report published on August 1, 2026, Massie, a long-standing critic of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, warned that delay could severely weaken US political and military influence.

In a message posted on X, Massie said Iran was waiting for at least three possible developments before winding down its position or reaching an agreement. He asked whether the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve would be depleted, missile defense systems in the Middle East would run out, or Republicans would lose their congressional majority.

Warning the US administration in advance, Massie said the United States should leave the negotiating table or withdraw from the conflict before any one of those three events occurs. The report did not provide details of the conflict, a response from the administration, or any subsequent US decision.

Alif Chowdhury, convener of Chhatra Shakti’s Nabiganj upazila branch, faces a serious risk of losing sight in his left eye after being badly injured during a clash near Court Mosque in Habiganj town on July 28. He was first admitted to Habiganj Sadar Modern Hospital, then taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital and later transferred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital in the capital. Surgery on his left eye was performed last Thursday.

Doctors said the eyeball in his left eye ruptured from the severe injury. Although surgery sought to repair the damaged area, the chance of restoring vision in that eye is extremely slim. He is also experiencing blurred vision in his right eye, increasing doctors’ concern. Physician Samia Nuzhat said Alif could not confirm what struck his eye, though doctors suspect a hard object such as a brick or stone.

Alif is a second-year higher secondary student at Homeland School and College and the only healthy, working member of his family, whose father, mother and elder brother live with physical and mental disabilities. NCP said it is covering his full treatment costs. Family members, relatives and well-wishers have called for justice, medical support and humanitarian assistance.

A group of Israeli settlers marched through the Palestinian villages of Tal and Sra near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on August 1, Al Jazeera reported. Israeli military personnel accompanied the group as settlers walked along roads inside the two villages under tight security. Local Palestinian residents said the march created renewed and severe tension in the area.

Local sources said settlers vandalized a cemetery near Tal village during the march, smashing memorial plaques and stone structures built over deceased Palestinians. Residents said Israeli forces directly protected the settlers and fired tear-gas canisters at Palestinians who tried to protest. Local human rights activists expressed deep concern about the growing settler presence and activity in the West Bank and its effect on community security.

The report also said Israel demolished a 120-year-old Palestinian house. In Gaza, Israeli air strikes were launched hours after Hamas agreed to surrender weapons under a “Gaza Board of Peace” plan, killing at least two Palestinians in separate attacks on Salah al-Din Road in central Gaza and the Sabra area of Gaza City. WAFA also reported that a 10-year-old Palestinian child was seriously wounded in a settler attack on al-Mughayyir village the previous day.

Saudi Arabia has announced a multinational maritime defence coalition involving 13 countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey, to protect navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The report, published on August 1, 2026, said Saudi Arabia's defence ministry described the alliance as entirely defensive and not aimed at any state.

The initiative comes as the Strait of Hormuz has become effectively inoperable following the Iran-United States conflict, while Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea and declared a naval blockade at Bab al-Mandab. The route carries an estimated 10 to 12 percent of global maritime trade and four to five million barrels of oil daily. Analysts said further disruption could raise oil-price volatility and pressure import-dependent Bangladesh through inflation and foreign-exchange costs.

Analysts cited Saudi Arabia's role as Bangladesh's largest labour market, with more than 2.5 million Bangladeshis working there, alongside economic ties and naval training opportunities. They also warned that participation could strain relations with Iran and challenge Bangladesh's neutral diplomatic posture. Questions remain over Bangladesh's operational role, responsibility for losses, and insurance and benefits for deployed personnel.

US President Donald Trump announced an agreement on disarming Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups based in Gaza. The understanding was reached by the Gaza Board of Peace as part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan. The United Arab Emirates welcomed the announcement in a report published on August 1, 2026, describing it as a major step toward ending the Gaza conflict.

Citing a UAE Foreign Ministry statement, state news agency WAM said the ministry viewed the agreement as important for resolving the conflict, strengthening regional security and stability, and creating conditions needed to begin a political process leading to lasting peace. The ministry said it hoped the deal would reinforce security and stability.

The proposed agreement outlines a phased curbing of weapons alongside the withdrawal of Israeli forces. It also details the establishment of a new Palestinian police force and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force, known as the ISF. The UAE said it expects the arrangement to help end the suffering of Palestinian civilians and create a favorable environment for rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip.