Upazila authorities and police seized about 2 million counterfeit cigarettes during a raid on an illegally operated factory in Daulatpur, Kushtia. The operation was conducted from 11:30am to 2pm on Wednesday at Habib Master’s farm in Garbaria village of Sadar union. Officials estimated the market value of the seized cigarettes at Tk 20 million.

Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Pradip Kumar Das said the raid followed a tip-off and uncovered the illegal factory inside a warehouse. Authorities seized counterfeit cigarettes branded Navy, Derby and Royal, along with a large quantity of raw materials and production equipment. No one was detained during the operation.

Warehouse owner Habib Master said he had rented the premises for Tk 40,000 a month to two people named Shakil and Leon Hossain and claimed he did not know counterfeit cigarettes were being made there. On May 9, a joint RAB and customs raid at the same factory seized five cigarette-making machines and about 100,000 counterfeit cigarettes before sealing it. The seized goods were handed to Daulatpur police station, and a regular case is being processed.

A special exhibition, “Flotilla: Bangladesh Sails for Gaza,” will open at Drikpath Bhaban in Panthapath, Dhaka, on Friday, August 14, at 6pm. Organised by the international photography organisation Drik Picture Library, it focuses on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s journey toward Gaza in protest against Israel’s blockade of Palestinians in the besieged territory.

The exhibition will use photographs, video footage and archival materials to document the journey of British-Bangladeshis Zubair Islam Khan and Mohammad Ali, also known as Liaqat, as well as prominent Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam. It presents details of their participation in the Gaza-bound mission and the experiences described as part of that journey.

According to the exhibition account, Israeli occupation forces illegally intercepted their vessel in international waters during the mission and unlawfully detained them at Israel’s Ketziot prison. Images and materials from that period of confinement and struggle will be displayed. The exhibition is scheduled to run from August 14 to August 29, 2026, and will be open to the public daily from 3pm to 8pm.

University Grants Commission member Professor Dr Abdullah-Al-Mamun said initiatives are being taken to strengthen young teachers’ skills and orient them toward research. He made the remarks on August 12 as chief guest at the opening of a daylong workshop at the Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Social Sciences. The faculty organised the workshop, titled “The Modern Social Scientists: Navigating Research, Teaching and Academic Growth.”

Mamun said activities are under way under the HEAT project to ensure knowledge- and skills-based education in higher education. The plans include training for young teachers, increased research grants, funding for participation in conferences and priority in faculty exchange programmes. He also said steps are being taken to involve them in programmes such as summer schools and young scholars programmes.

Dhaka University Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education Professor Dr Abdus Salam stressed internationally standard research, publication of research papers and increasing citations. He also highlighted the need for research facilities, international collaboration and funding mobilisation. Faculty Dean Professor Kazi Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman delivered the welcome address, while department heads and teachers attended.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until the war ends. Speaking during a meeting in Tehran with Chinese Ambassador Zong Peiyu on August 12, 2026, Rezaei blamed the United States for insecurity in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. He said the United States had put the wider region at risk by imposing what he called an illegal war on Iran.

Rezaei said the strait would remain closed until the United States changes its conduct and accepts Iran’s conditions. He called for an end to the war, the return of Iranian funds that he said were seized, and a halt to fighting across the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza. He added that Iran had conveyed further conditions to the United States through mediators.

He said any Iran-Oman agreement on a route for vessel movements in the strait would be separate from the issue of the blockade. Ambassador Zong reaffirmed China’s support for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposed US and Israeli military attacks on Iran, and said China wanted to expand cooperation with Tehran.

A wooden footbridge over the Nautara River collapsed while Nilphamari-1 MP Principal Abdus Sattar was inspecting it in Natabari, Nautara Union, on Wednesday morning. Several Jamaat leaders and activists fell into the river after the rear section gave way, and at least two people were injured. Local residents quickly rescued those who fell, while the two injured people received local treatment.

Residents said Natabari and nearby communities have long lacked a permanent bridge over the river, leaving the deteriorated wooden structure as their only means of crossing. The footbridge was built with local funding and had become worn down after prolonged use. Union Parishad Chairman Ashik Imtiaz Morshed said many people had climbed onto it with the MP before it suddenly broke.

Abdus Sattar said the structure was risky and collapsed under pressure after he and accompanying activists stepped onto it. He said some people tore their clothes in the fall and confirmed that two were injured. The MP said he would discuss construction of a permanent government-funded bridge with the relevant authorities.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Commander Mohebbi has claimed that no United States warships are currently in the Persian Gulf. In a report published on August 12, 2026, he said the region had hosted about 30 to 40 US warships before the latest Iran-US war.

Citing Press TV’s report based on the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, the article said Mohebbi described the situation as a severe decline in the US military presence in the Persian Gulf. He said that before the Ramadan war, the United States had 30 to 40 warships in the area, while there is now not a single American warship in the Gulf.

Mohebbi also said that any renewed threat against Iran could put long power transmission lines, thousands of power plants, American and non-American systems, and global infrastructure connected to the internet at risk. He further claimed that a reduction in US weapons during conflict with Iran has become a threat to Washington’s ability to confront Russia and China in the central Pacific.

Pakistan is undertaking intensified diplomatic efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table amid international tensions. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed the initiative at a news conference on August 12. He said Islamabad had taken the step to preserve the peace process between the two countries and avoid an ongoing conflict.

Andrabi said work is under way to implement the “Islamabad Memorandum,” or MOU, signed to restore a ceasefire between the United States and Iran and resolve disputes related to the strait. As part of the initiative, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister held high-level meetings with officials from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on August 10.

Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi is currently visiting Tehran as part of efforts to protect regional security. The Foreign Ministry also said discussions are moving forward on the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement,” aimed at further strengthening Pakistan’s strategic and defense relations with Saudi Arabia.

France’s Montreuil administrative court upheld a six-month closure of the Chanteloup Mosque in Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris, rejecting a request to suspend the order. In a ruling issued Friday, the court said the mosque would remain closed until January under an order issued in July. The case has renewed concerns about state control over Islamic belief and worship.

Lawyer Rafiq Chekkat, representing the mosque, said part of the authorities’ case concerned imams citing seven Quranic verses and works from Islamic tradition, including writings by the 13th-century Syrian Islamic thinker Imam al-Nawawi. Authorities also objected to religious statements referring to hell for “unbelievers” and punishment in the grave. The court said the decision by Seine-Saint-Denis prefect Julien Charles did not constitute a serious and clearly unlawful violation of freedom of worship or expression.

Chekkat called the decision incompatible with religious freedom and said the mosque’s side would appeal to the Council of State, France’s highest administrative court. The US-based Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the ruling and urged the US State Department to denounce the mosque closure.

The Bangladesh government has dismissed six police officers, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police officials, over prolonged absence from their workplaces. The Home Ministry announced the dismissals through separate notifications on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

Those dismissed include Biplob Kumar Sarkar and Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, both former joint police commissioners of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police attached to the Barishal Range DIG office. Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, former deputy commissioner of DMP’s Wari Division and attached to the Khulna Range DIG office, was also dismissed.

The others are Kazi Ashraful Azim, former deputy commissioner of DMP’s Uttara Division attached to the Chattogram Range DIG office; Rajon Kumar Das, an additional superintendent of police at Cox’s Bazar APBn; and former DMP assistant police commissioner Md Golam Ruhani. The ministry issued separate notifications concerning each officer’s dismissal.

Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir central president Nurul Islam Saddam said people whose student life ended 10 or 15 years ago should not serve as university presidents. He made the remarks on Wednesday as chief guest at a freshman reception and career guidance programme organized by the Cumilla University unit of Chhatra Shibir at Fun Town Park in the Dhulipara Choumuhani area of Cumilla city.

Saddam said leadership should emerge from students currently enrolled at universities and connected to students’ daily concerns. He cited accommodation, transport, academic and career-related issues as matters that current students understand. He also said the leadership of a student organization is not any individual’s personal property and argued that working in students’ interests requires being close to them and understanding their real problems.

He questioned how a person brought from outside a university could represent its students after no longer being a student. Saddam said student politics should focus on speaking about students’ problems, standing beside them and working for their rights. The event was moderated by unit general secretary Saiful Islam and chaired by unit president Mozammel Hossain Abir.

Bangladesh has transferred and appointed 23 senior police officers across range, metropolitan and specialized units, according to four separate notifications issued by the Public Security Division of the Home Ministry on August 12. Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud was appointed deputy inspector general of Rangpur Range, while Industrial Police DIG Md Zulfiqar Ali Haider was posted as DIG of Barishal Range.

The changes also cover the Highway Police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the Armed Police Battalion, the Criminal Investigation Department and police training institutions. Highway Police Additional DIG Farida Yasmin was attached to the Barishal Range DIG office, while Additional DIG Mir Modachchher Hossain was sent to the Bangladesh Police Academy in Rajshahi's Sardah. RAB Additional DIG Md Saleh Uddin was appointed to the Highway Police.

Four officers from Barishal Metropolitan Police, APBN, Sylhet Metropolitan Police and CID were posted as deputy commissioners in DMP. Mohammad Jasim Uddin became the new superintendent of police in Gazipur, and Sarkar Omar Faruk was assigned as the new SP of Khulna. The ministry described the moves as part of ongoing administrative restructuring and regular transfers, with the notifications stating they were issued in the public interest. Newly appointed officers are expected to join their respective workplaces soon.

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is visiting Iran to discuss regional security, stability and recent developments, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that Naqvi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni on Tuesday night. During the visit, he delivered a message from Pakistan’s prime minister and army chief to Pezeshkian, according to the Iranian government’s website.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the meetings were addressing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, constructive engagement among parties in the region, and the recent regional situation. The content of the message delivered by Naqvi was not disclosed.

Naqvi had previously been involved in mediation efforts aimed at easing tensions between Iran and the United States. His visit comes as Iran has maintained its position on controlling the strategic Strait of Hormuz and has said it plans to charge fees to ships transiting the waterway. Tehran also said last week it had reached an understanding with neighbouring Oman on a route through the strait.

Students in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India, protested on Tuesday demanding construction of a road to help them reach school. Accompanied by parents and villagers, they walked about five kilometres and staged a sit-in outside the district collectorate. The demonstrators called for a paved road connecting their village toward Hamirpur from Chandupur.

The students said no paved road has been built for their village since India’s independence. During the monsoon, the unpaved route is submerged, forcing pupils to cross mud and water to attend school. They said the conditions dirty uniforms, damage shoes and make travel difficult. Protesters also claimed that one student had to leave school because of the lack of a road.

Carrying posters with slogans demanding construction of the Chandupur-Hamirpur road, the protesters highlighted difficulties faced by farmers, students and sick people. SDM Abhishek Kumar and a circle officer held discussions with students and parents. The protest was withdrawn after officials assured them that road work would begin quickly. Abhijit Deep, founder of the Gen Z group Cockroach Janata Party, praised the movement.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar won the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District on Tuesday, securing her party’s nomination for the U.S. House election. Preliminary results showed Omar receiving more than 80 percent of the vote in the contest, according to the report published on August 12, 2026.

Omar has represented the district since 2018 and has previously been elected to Congress from the seat four times. The district is described as a Democratic stronghold. Her Democratic primary opponents were Julie T. Lee, Abena McKenzie, Latonia Reeves and Nat Schluter. The report said she did not face a major strong challenger in this year’s primary.

Known as a critic of President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies, Omar won the previous general election by nearly 50 percentage points and defeated a Democratic primary opponent by 13 points in 2024. In the Republican primary for the district, John Nagel was projected to win with 52.1 percent of the vote. Omar’s victory moves her closer to another election to the House from Minnesota’s 5th District.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia will retaliate if Russian commercial ships are seized. The warning, reported on August 12, 2026, was presented as a response to European plans to detain vessels from Russia’s oil-carrying “shadow fleet” and sell cargo confiscated from them.

Putin described the seizure of Russian ships as “piracy and banditry.” He said Russia would have to take comparable action in response, and warned that such measures could be taken anywhere in the world if considered necessary. The report did not specify particular European vessels or locations that could be targeted.

The report also said that a detained Russian ship suspected of transporting grain from Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia would be handed over to Ukraine. Putin’s warning was issued amid reports concerning that vessel and the broader European plans involving Russian oil tankers and seized cargo.