The National Citizen Party (NCP) has protested the appointment of chairmen and members to interim councils in the three Chittagong Hill Tracts districts—Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban—formed on August 20. In a Wednesday statement signed by office cell member Sadia Farzana Dina on behalf of its central convening committee, the party demanded the dissolution of the current councils and immediate direct, free elections.

The NCP alleged that the councils effectively lack representation from political views, social forces and people outside political identities other than the BNP. It said such one-sided political representation raises questions about the councils’ neutrality, inclusiveness and public trust. The party argued that hill district councils are public institutions, not organisational bodies of any political party, and warned that excessive politicisation could obstruct development and deepen discrimination and distrust.

The statement said that although the Hill District Council Act was enacted in 1989 and an election was held that year, the institutions have long been run through government-appointed or interim councils rather than regular direct elections. Until elections are held, the NCP called for any interim arrangement to ensure competence, neutrality and participation by different ethnic groups instead of party loyalty.

RAB arrested Rabiu Islam, 36, vice president of Nandigram upazila Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, with 1,200 yaba tablets in Nandigram, Bogura, on Tuesday night. Officers also seized Tk 3,150 described as proceeds from drug sales. The arrest followed a RAB-12 operation based on information that a person was travelling by CNG auto-rickshaw carrying yaba toward Nundah village.

RAB personnel on patrol set up a checkpoint on the road in front of Mozammel’s house in Nundah village. At about 9pm, they stopped an unnumbered passenger auto-rickshaw. Rabiu, the vehicle’s only passenger, was questioned after arousing suspicion. He reportedly admitted that yaba was kept in a zipper bag in his left trouser pocket, from which the tablets were recovered.

Nandigram upazila Chhatra Dal general secretary Mostafizur Rahman Tarek said the party would not accept responsibility for an individual’s offence and that steps had already been taken to expel Rabiu. Nandigram police station officer-in-charge Tarikul Islam said a case was filed under the Narcotics Control Act and the accused was sent to Bogura court custody.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent statement describing Taiwan as part of China has renewed debate over whether Kuala Lumpur is moving closer to Beijing. In an Al Jazeera interview earlier this month, Anwar said the position was universally recognised. Asked about possible Chinese use of force, he compared it with Malaysia using force to preserve its own territorial integrity if a state sought secession. He later said Malaysia respects China’s position but wants a peaceful resolution of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

China welcomed the remarks, reiterating that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory. Taiwan’s government condemned them, warning that what it called Anwar’s one-sided support for China could undermine Taiwanese companies’ confidence in investing in Malaysia. Taiwan-linked firms have significant investments in Malaysia’s semiconductor industry, while China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner and a major investor.

Analysts say Malaysia’s recognition of Taiwan as part of China is not new, tracing it to a 1974 joint statement establishing diplomatic relations. They also point to Malaysia’s continuing defence and trade ties with Western countries, including the Five Powers Defence Arrangements. Anwar’s calls to strengthen Sabah’s defence amid concerns over military developments in the Philippines may reflect border-security concerns rather than a pro-China strategic shift.

National Parliament Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said parliamentary committees will receive top priority during the third session of parliament, due to begin Thursday. Speaking to reporters at the parliament building on Wednesday, he said relevant committees would be finalized as soon as opposition parties submit their nominees. He said the session could last five, seven or 10 days, with an extension possible if necessary.

Moni said about six important bills could be introduced during the session, including measures concerning property transfers, enforced disappearances and human rights protection. Under the proposed property-transfer law, parents who transfer property to children would retain rights to possess and use it while alive. He said the measure aims to prevent children from neglecting parents after receiving transferred property.

The chief whip also outlined a proposed 17-member committee for constitutional amendments, with seven members from BNP and five from Jamaat proposed. He said opposition parties should raise public concerns, identify government errors and seek solutions through parliamentary debate. Moni said major infrastructure problems, including power plants, require time to address, and criticized past power-sector contracts, including the Adani agreement, as creating long-term economic pressure.

Bangladesh and China discussed expanding higher education opportunities for talented Bangladeshi students and strengthening cooperation between universities and research institutions in the two countries. The discussions took place at the China-Bangladesh Education Cooperation Luncheon in Guangzhou, China, on Wednesday.

Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon attended the event as chief guest. Prime Minister’s Education Adviser Dr Mahdi Amin and Technical and Madrasa Education Division Secretary Md Daud Mia attended as special guests.

Senior representatives from several Chinese universities also joined the programme, including vice presidents of Anhui Normal University and Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University. Participants additionally discussed increasing China-Bangladesh cooperation in technical education to develop skilled manpower.

Bangladesh is developing a standardized, evidence-based national framework to assess climate change-related loss and damage, including both economic and non-economic impacts. An interim workshop on the initiative was held Tuesday at the Department of Environment auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka, under a project to formulate a National Framework for Loss and Damage of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund is financing the project, while the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services is providing technical support.

The proposed framework will measure losses affecting livelihoods, health, education, culture and displacement alongside financial damage. Officials said Bangladesh previously had no standardized national method for assessing climate-related losses, leaving major non-economic impacts outside formal calculations. The government will own the framework, which is being designed using existing knowledge, data and institutional capacity.

Speakers stressed reliable data, institutional coordination, local participation and a strategy for climate finance. They said the framework could support evidence-based national planning and budget allocations, as well as post-disaster recovery. It is also expected to provide a reliable basis for Bangladesh to seek its fair share of international climate funding, including the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Dhaka North unit has begun a weeklong cleanliness campaign in Ward 6, covering Rupnagar, Eastern Housing and extended Pallabi in Mirpur. The programme was inaugurated on Wednesday in Eastern Housing by Advocate Md Hasanul Banna Chapal, the party-nominated councillor candidate for Dhaka North City Corporation’s Ward 6.

Chapal said the initiative was taken under the direction of Selim Uddin, Jamaat’s nominated mayoral candidate for Dhaka city corporation and amir of the party’s Dhaka North unit. He urged the city corporation to perform its responsibilities properly, saying Jamaat had joined the effort despite not being in office out of civic, humanitarian and moral responsibility.

He called for participation from residents to build a clean, traffic-free and waterlogging-free ward, while stressing qualifications, competence, honesty and public-service commitment in choosing representatives. The campaign was attended by Rupnagar police station secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiya, executive council member Latiful Kabir, Eastern Housing organisational ward president Hafez Mahbub and local residents and party activists. The special campaign runs from August 25 to 31.

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said the government has initiated a plan to send 10,000 workers to Malaysia without any official cost. He made the announcement as chief guest at a discussion meeting on safe migration and preventing illegal overseas travel at the Sunamganj deputy commissioner’s conference room on Tuesday.

The information was published on the BNP media cell’s Facebook page. The minister stressed that workers need necessary training and language skills before going abroad, saying it is essential not only to send workers overseas but also to make them skilled.

He said there are plans to establish five training centres across Sunamganj’s five electoral areas. Elected representatives and the administration will need to work together to ensure trainers and trainees at those centres. He also called on prospective migrant workers to receive training in English, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and to travel abroad through legal channels after acquiring the required skills.

President Donald Trump has sent a proposed civil nuclear technology assistance agreement with Saudi Arabia to the US Congress for final review, while making its implementation conditional on Saudi normalization of relations with Israel. A senior US administration official, speaking anonymously to Reuters on Tuesday, said the agreement will not proceed unless Riyadh joins the US-mediated Abraham Accords and formally recognizes Israel.

The 30-year agreement was finalized in July and would allow US technology companies to help develop Saudi civilian nuclear infrastructure and export technology. Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management, is expected to benefit from a project worth tens of billions of dollars involving construction of US AP1000 nuclear reactors. The proposal was sent to lawmakers on Monday and is expected to reach the relevant committee on Wednesday.

Congress will have 90 session days to review the agreement. It will take effect automatically if Congress passes no objection or resolution, while Trump could veto a congressional rejection. Saudi Arabia says it will not recognize Israel until an irreversible and clear path toward an independent Palestinian state is ensured. Democratic lawmakers and non-proliferation analysts have raised concerns over the absence of a direct legal ban on uranium enrichment.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced a five-day programme to mark its 48th founding anniversary. Acting Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed announced the activities on Wednesday afternoon after a joint meeting at the party’s central office in Nayapaltan, Dhaka.

On September 1, the anniversary day, BNP leaders will offer Fateha and place floral wreaths at the grave of party founder Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman at 9am. Party chairman Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to attend. A special discussion meeting will be held on September 5 in connection with the anniversary.

The party will also organise nationwide tree-planting and fish-release programmes on convenient dates. BNP leader Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohel will inaugurate the fish-release programme, while Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie will lead the tree-planting initiative. Rizvi said Ziaur Rahman founded BNP with commitments to independence, sovereignty, security and democracy.

The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Bangladesh’s economic recovery process began in the April-June quarter of 2026, but warned that major pressures remain. In its report, “Bangladesh’s Economic Situation: April-June 2026,” MCCI said sustaining the recovery requires lower inflation, stronger private investment and credit flows, a healthier banking sector, and continued stability in the external sector.

MCCI identified inflation control, revival of export growth, increased private investment and lending, and addressing banking-sector weaknesses as the country’s principal challenges. Provisional GDP growth for fiscal year 2025-26 was 4.14%, up from 3.49% in the previous fiscal year, though the chamber said the rate remains below Bangladesh’s long-term potential. Overall inflation fell to 9.16% in June from 9.42% in May, while food inflation declined to 8.60%.

The report said remittances and foreign-exchange reserves provided notable relief, even as domestic strains persisted. Remittances reached $9.38 billion during April-June, and reserves rose to $37.58 billion at the end of June from $34.48 billion in May. June export earnings reached $4.19 billion, but total exports grew only 0.17% in the full fiscal year, reaching $48.38 billion.

Al Nassr came from two goals down to beat Al Ittifaq 3-2 in a Saudi Pro League match in Dammam, despite playing with 10 men from the 12th minute. Brazilian goalkeeper Bento was sent off directly for fouling an opposing player. Al Ittifaq then scored in the 31st minute and first-half stoppage time to take a 2-0 lead.

Cristiano Ronaldo, described as out of form, had a difficult first half, touching the ball only seven times and failing to register more than one shot on target. Coach Ange Postecoglou substituted the captain at the start of the second half, a decision the Portuguese star reportedly did not accept well.

The tactical change transformed Al Nassr's performance. Sadio Mane reduced the deficit in the 74th minute before Abdullah Al Amari equalised three minutes later. Mane scored again in stoppage time to secure the comeback. After the match, the coach said the team used a different second-half strategy and that players showed great courage. The result marked Al Nassr's third straight league win and strengthened their position at the top of the standings.

The Trump administration has temporarily suspended visa appointment scheduling for applicants worldwide as US embassies and consulates adjust services to accommodate a global training programme. A US State Department spokesperson announced the change on Tuesday, but the department did not say how long appointments would remain suspended or provide further details on the training.

The State Department said the programme is intended to help consular officers identify visa applicants who may become dependent on US government public benefits. It also aims to ensure that applicants are assessed comprehensively and consistently. Financial Times first reported that immigrant visa applicants with scheduled interviews at several US missions were informed by email that their appointments would be rescheduled, with new dates to be announced later.

The move follows broader immigration policy changes under President Donald Trump’s second term, including intensified action against illegal immigration and stricter treatment of legal immigration. A US judge last Friday struck down a policy that had suspended immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Bangladesh, ruling that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had exceeded his legal authority. Human rights groups have criticized the administration’s measures as discriminatory and harmful to free expression and due process.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that all sea mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have been removed amid the war between the United States and Iran. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said the US Navy searched the strategic waterway with support from US defence satellites and the Space Force, declaring it mine-free.

Trump warned Iran that the United States would apply a “zero tolerance” policy if mines were laid in Hormuz again. He said US forces had been ordered to destroy any warship or vessel sent there to lay mines. The 167-kilometre Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and Oman and carries about one-fifth of global energy products.

According to the report, Tehran blocked foreign shipping in Hormuz after the war began on February 28, while the United States announced a blockade on Iranian seaports. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps placed more than a dozen mines in the strait. Trump announced mine-clearing operations in mid-March, and US forces deployed Littoral Combat Ships in mid-April. Defence officials had estimated the work could take about six months, but Trump said it was completed within four months.

Brazil’s data protection authority has fined TikTok parent ByteDance nearly $30 million for allegedly failing to adequately protect the personal data of children and teenagers. The decision is part of Brazil’s recent efforts to strengthen safeguards for minors on social media. Regulators said TikTok breached data protection law for both logged-in users and people browsing the platform as guests.

The authority said TikTok may have processed data from at least 8 million children and adolescents without sufficient safeguards or a valid legal basis. Its decision also cited structural weaknesses in the platform’s age-verification system. Regulators expressed particular concern about TikTok’s logged-out feed, which allows people to view videos and other content without creating an account or signing in.

ByteDance has been given 10 days to appeal the decision. Alongside the fine, TikTok was ordered to delete all unlawfully collected data and develop a more effective, coordinated framework to protect minors’ information. Brazilian authorities recently also ordered Discord to suspend live-streaming nationwide over concerns involving the online safety of children and teenagers.