Iran has resumed attacks after several days of relative calm in the Middle East, saying through the report's account that it acted on its own terms rather than in response to a new US strike. The United States described the move as an “unexpected attack.” In a Fox News interview on Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump warned that Washington would strike Iran hard. The report was published on July 30, 2026.

An Iranian senior official had said the armed forces had decided not to take military action, despite Tehran making no public commitment to a pause. Hours after that message of restraint, Iran targeted American forces. Researcher Hamidreza Azizi said Iran’s strategy had fundamentally shifted, with Tehran prepared to strike in advance if it detects an impending threat. He also linked the attack to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House.

After the Iranian attack in Jordan, US and Saudi forces jointly struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq. US Central Command said the operation responded to more than 30 drone attacks over 72 hours on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz a red line and said efforts to create alternative shipping routes threatened Iran’s long-term security.

Abhijit Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he should become an influencer rather than remain prime minister. Speaking to journalists in his hometown in Maharashtra on July 30, 2026, Dipke also warned of a larger nationwide movement if FIRs filed against students are not withdrawn.

Dipke’s remarks followed several Instagram videos posted by Modi for young people. He said that if Modi is such a good influencer, he should leave the prime minister’s chair and allow someone else to do the country’s work. The report also cited Congress parliamentarian Priyanka Gandhi’s earlier parliamentary comments that changing camera angles would not win Gen Z support and that the prime minister needed to change his perspective.

The CJP founder also spoke against the recently passed anti-question-paper-leak bill in the Lok Sabha. He argued that passing laws alone would not solve the problem unless they were properly implemented. Referring to a fast-track court announced by the prime minister, Dipke alleged that its first hearing was postponed because a CBI lawyer was absent, questioning the value of announcements without effective follow-through.

A teacher, A T M Yusuf, 45, was killed after a BRTC passenger bus ran over him at Doyal intersection in Naogaon town on Thursday at about 8am. Yusuf was a resident of Jagatsinghpur Hajipara in Naogaon town and taught at Joypurhat Technical School and College.

According to the victim’s family and local sources, Yusuf was travelling by scooter to his workplace at Joypurhat Technical School and College, as he did regularly. At Doyal intersection, his scooter collided with a battery-powered autorickshaw approaching from the opposite direction. He then fell onto the road.

The sources said a speeding BRTC passenger bus travelling from Baludanga bus stand toward Muktir Mor then ran over him, killing him at the scene. Naogaon Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Asaduzzaman said police recovered the body after receiving information about the incident. The body will be handed over to the family after legal procedures are completed.

Tehran has blamed US and Israeli military actions for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption to international shipping, while saying talks with Omani representatives are continuing in Tehran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the discussions began last week and remained under way, with a further meeting held on Thursday.

Speaking to the Iranian Labour News Agency, Baghaei said US measures and the insecurity he said Washington had imposed on the waterway were responsible for the strait’s current closure. He said international vessel traffic had been seriously damaged and disrupted as a result of US actions.

Baghaei also attributed the situation to what Iran describes as US and Israeli military aggression and continuing attacks beginning on March 28. He cited attacks on Iranian vessels, what he called illegal blockades of ports and transit routes, and continuing air strikes on Iran. The Foreign Ministry said engagement with Omani officials in Tehran was still ongoing.

Bangladesh has approved the import of one cargo of liquefied natural gas from Singapore to maintain normal gas supplies and meet rising energy demand. The government procurement-related Cabinet Committee approved the proposal at a meeting at the Secretariat chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury on July 30, 2026. The total cost for the cargo is Tk949 crore, 43 lakh, 12 thousand and 184, including advance income tax.

Under a proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the LNG will be purchased through an international quotation process under Rule 105, sub-rule (3), clause (a) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2025. The shipment is scheduled for delivery between August 15 and 16 and will be the country’s 42nd LNG cargo.

Singapore-based Vitol Asia Private Limited was selected as the lowest bidder. The company will supply LNG at $22.35 per MMBtu. The proposal received final approval following the recommendation of the government procurement-related Cabinet Committee. The import is intended to keep supplies continuing for industrial, power and other sectors amid the existing gas supply situation.

The government has appointed 86 deputy attorneys general and 179 assistant attorneys general. A notification on the appointments was issued on Thursday by the Solicitor Wing of the Ministry of Law, according to a report published by Amar Desh Online.

The report refers to two separate lists of appointees, identified as List 1 and List 2. It directs readers to links for viewing those lists, but does not provide the names of the appointees or further details about them in the text.

The report was published on July 30, 2026, at 17:41 and updated at 17:49. It states that further details are forthcoming. No information was provided on when the appointees would assume their duties, the terms of their appointments, or any additional administrative steps beyond the issuance of the notification.

Bangladesh’s Public Works Department has transferred and assigned 767 civil sub-assistant engineers through a lottery for the first time, aiming to ensure transparency, accountability, dynamism in government development work and orderly human-resource management. The lottery was held Thursday at the conference room of Purta Bhaban in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, to determine work locations and branches for engineers across the country’s eight divisions. Housing and Public Works Ministry Additional Secretary Md Sarwar Alam supervised and coordinated the process.

Under the results, 317 engineers were assigned to offices in Dhaka division, 73 to Rajshahi, 133 to Chattogram, 74 to Khulna, 44 to Barishal, 33 to Sylhet, 29 to Mymensingh and 64 to Rangpur. The engineers were posted to different branches at the department’s headquarters, divisional offices and executive engineers’ offices at district level.

Sarwar Alam said the lottery-based process would ensure transparency, neutrality and accountability while introducing an effective, modern and acceptable method of human-resource management. Additional Chief Engineer Kazi Md Firoz Hasan said the first such initiative would help build trust, equality and transparency among engineers. The department plans to complete lottery-based transfers for sub-assistant engineers in its electromechanical branch next week.

Bangladesh has set airfare for Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims at Tk130,000 for the current Hajj season, following a further reduction of Tk25,000, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat said. He announced the decision on Thursday morning at the opening of the three-day National Hajj and Umrah Fair 2026, organised by the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.

Millat said Hajj ticket prices had been reduced by Tk12,000 last year. The government is prioritising Hajj packages at reasonable cost and in an environment free from harassment, he said. He added that the 2026 Hajj had been completed smoothly and that the government aims to improve the process further in 2027. He warned that corruption and fraud would not be tolerated.

The ministry has asked the Saudi government to reduce construction tax imposed by Saudi airports on air tickets, Millat said. It has also discussed special facilities with the Saudi ambassador to lower accommodation costs for Bangladeshi pilgrims. Religious Affairs Secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad said 5 percent of pilgrims travel under government arrangements, while 95 percent use private agencies, urging agencies to prevent fraud.

Bangladesh Bank has withdrawn the administrator from EXIM Bank, one of five banks merged into Sammilito Islami Bank. The move means EXIM Bank’s operations will now be run through Sammilito Islami Bank’s board of directors and managing director. Administrator Shawkatul Alam and his representatives were withdrawn on Thursday, according to a report published on July 30.

During the interim government period, EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank and Global Islami Bank were merged to form Sammilito Islami Bank. The boards of the banks were dissolved and their managing directors were removed. Bangladesh Bank subsequently appointed administrators to oversee the banks’ operations.

In June, the government appointed Kazi Shayrul Hasan as chairman of Sammilito Islami Bank’s board and Abedur Rahman Shikdar as managing director. After the new board and management assumed responsibility, Bangladesh Bank decided to withdraw administrators in stages. Relevant central bank officials said administrators would also be withdrawn from the remaining four merged banks by August.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan urged people to prevent anyone from using the spirit and achievements of the July mass uprising for personal or political gain. He made the appeal on Thursday while chairing a publication launch, photography exhibition and discussion marking July Martyrs’ Day 2026 at the DFP auditorium.

Swapan said people have historically been inspired by the spirit of independence to resist injustice and oppression when those forces have increased in society. He called for collective work to establish justice, democracy and human values while carrying the ideals of July. He also urged that the July spirit not be “sold” in the way he alleged the Awami League had sold the spirit of the Liberation War.

The minister said the enduring spirit of the independence war lies within the spirit of sacrifice of July, and that the Liberation War’s contribution to Bangladesh’s political process cannot be forgotten. He said the public had succeeded in an anti-fascist movement with the anti-discrimination student movement at its forefront and that work to build the country was now under way. Guests inaugurated a July Martyrs’ Day publication and visited the photography exhibition.

Residents of Panishwar union in Sarail, Brahmanbaria, say recurring Meghna River erosion has destroyed homes, rice mills, mosques, businesses and farmland for more than three decades without a permanent riverbank protection embankment. The report, published July 30, said erosion is continuing along roughly three kilometres in Palpara, Sakhaiti, Dewbaria and Layarhati, with hundreds of people facing renewed losses during each monsoon.

Local residents said the river takes more land every year and warned that remaining villages could disappear without durable protection. Acting union chairman Md Touhid Mia said several hundred families in Palpara, Sakhaiti, Sholabari and Dewbaria are directly at risk. He said about 20 rice mills and more than 100 homes have already been lost to the river.

Bangladesh Water Development Board official Mohsin Kabir Shihab said a proposal for 1,350 metres of riverbank protection work in Panishwar has been sent to the Water Resources Ministry under an integrated water resources management project. Geobags have been placed at several locations as an emergency measure. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiful Islam said the situation is highly concerning and that alleged illegal sand extraction is being examined; legal action will follow if allegations are verified.

National Citizen Party (NCP) northern region chief organiser Sarzis Alam alleged that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s silence over repeated attacks on NCP demonstrates its direct or indirect support for those incidents. He made the allegation at a discussion with family members of July uprising martyrs at Golapganj municipality auditorium in Sylhet on July 30. Alam said BNP wanted to silence NCP and called on BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman to clearly state whether NCP would be allowed to speak politically.

Alam said NCP would determine its political strategy if no clear position was given. He urged an end to what he described as a political culture of attacking from behind, saying NCP would strongly resist BNP if it followed the authoritarian political culture he attributed to the Awami League in the past. Referring to a past remark by former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, he also warned against creating militants through Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.

Alam called for ensuring the rights, dignity and government benefits of families of seven July uprising martyrs from Golapganj. He alleged that such families were not properly included in government martyr day events and often failed to receive effective solutions when approaching district commissioners or superintendents of police.

Authorities tightened security in six upazilas of Sylhet over the National Citizen Party’s pre-announced “July March” programme on July 30. District Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun said five platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh personnel had been deployed, while additional police were also on duty to maintain control of the situation.

Security was reinforced in Kanaighat, Golapganj, Osmaninagar, Companiganj, Gowainghat and Jaintapur, six of Sylhet’s 13 upazilas. The measures follow allegations that Chhatra Dal activists attacked an NCP march in Habiganj on Tuesday. NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, northern region chief organiser Sarjis Alam and several other party activists were injured, according to the report.

After NCP called a protest rally on Wednesday, Chhatra Dal announced a rally at the same venue. The administration imposed Section 144 over concerns of deteriorating law and order, and police stopped NCP convener Nahid Islam and central leaders from travelling to Habiganj; they later returned from Bahubal to Moulvibazar. NCP filed a complaint naming 11 people and accusing another 100 unidentified individuals. It plans marches in three more upazilas on Friday.

Prime Minister’s political adviser Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi called for rule of law, expanded education and grassroots cultural awareness to combat human trafficking in Bangladesh. He made the remarks on July 30, 2026, at a national seminar at Dhaka University’s R C Majumdar Arts Auditorium marking World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The Dhaka University Journalists’ Association and Bangladesh Art Criticism Trust jointly organized the seminar, titled “Role of Media and Culture in Preventing Human Trafficking.”

Rizvi said declining cultural activities have reduced public awareness and increased criminal tendencies. He said education should enable even illiterate people at the grassroots to contact local authorities and avoid fraud, exploitation, violence and trafficking. State Minister for Social Welfare Barrister Farzana Sharmin said journalists can play an important role through evidence- and data-based investigative reporting, while stressing coordinated work with domestic and foreign organizations for survivor protection and rehabilitation.

Professor Rezaul Karim Sohag said forced labour, and the exploitation of children and women, remain concerning alongside cross-border trafficking. He urged effective implementation of the re-enacted Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2026. This year’s theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” focused on awareness of trafficking, cyber slavery and digital exploitation concealed behind online fraud.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that four people were newly killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the previous 24 hours. At least six bodies arrived at hospitals during that period, according to the ministry’s report. The report said Israel has continued regular attacks in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

Of the six bodies received by hospitals, four were newly killed people, one person died from injuries while receiving treatment, and one body was recovered from beneath rubble. The ministry reported that since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, at least 1,214 people have been killed and 3,977 wounded.

Since the war began on October 7, 2023, the number of people killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks has risen to at least 73,341, the ministry said. It reported that 174,086 people have been injured over the same period. The report did not provide further details on immediate measures or reactions beyond the casualty figures.