US Central Command said internationally recognized shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz have reopened after its forces removed sea mines. In a video posted on X, US military commander Brad Cooper said the mines had been cleared from the strait’s international waterways, which he said had been laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps months earlier.

Cooper said the internationally recognized transit routes were now free of Iranian sea mines. He described the routes as open and said traffic through the strategic waterway was increasing.

The commander also claimed that US forces had helped about 1,500 commercial vessels transit the strait over recent months. The report cited Middle East Eye as its source and did not include a response from Iran or independent verification of the claims.

Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans to introduce a data-driven integrated profile for every taxpayer to identify inconsistencies between declared income, actual spending and accumulated assets. The plan was presented by income tax, VAT and customs officials at a recent parliamentary committee meeting on the Finance Ministry. The system would automatically compare tax returns with credit-card use, education and health spending, foreign travel, bank transactions, vehicle purchases, stock-market investments, and property dealings.

Taxpayers with major discrepancies between income, expenditure and assets would be placed in a high-risk category. NBR aims to complete the integrated profiles and establish a strong income-tax data warehouse within two to three years. It also plans separate profiles for high-net-worth individuals to assess whether their tax payments match their economic capacity. Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio is currently 6.8 percent, with targets of raising it by two percentage points in the short term, to 10 percent in the medium term and 15 percent by 2035.

Within three months, NBR plans to clean and classify its TIN database, list top income-tax arrears, and identify high-risk companies and wealthy individuals. It also outlined phased measures including centralized data links, pilot automated profiling, risk-based audits, faceless assessments, pre-filled returns and automated refunds.

Funeral prayers were held at Molla Azad Memorial Government College field in Atrai, Naogaon, for seven Bangladeshis killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bodies arrived in Atrai late Friday night and were handed over to their families after the prayers, organised by the upazila administration. Eleven of the 16 Bangladeshis reported killed in the incident were residents of Atrai upazila.

Naogaon-6 lawmaker Sheikh Rezaul Islam Rezu, District Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam, Additional Superintendent of Police Moniruzzaman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Moniruzzaman and local political leaders attended the funeral prayers. Large numbers of worshippers, officials, political representatives and media workers were also present.

Rezu said he was deeply saddened by the deaths of 11 people from his constituency and had worked to bring their bodies home through contacts with the foreign ministry and the Saudi embassy. He said efforts were continuing to return the remaining bodies. The UNO said administrative formalities had delayed the return of the others and that the administration was maintaining constant contact with the bereaved families and providing assistance.

Bogura, a key northern district of Bangladesh, is increasingly becoming a drug supply centre or “dumping point,” despite regular law-enforcement raids, arrests and awareness programmes. Authorities say established traffickers and newly involved young people are active in the trade, making identification difficult. The Department of Narcotics Control detained a couple in an anti-drug operation on August 20.

From January 1 to July 31 this year, the department conducted 1,255 operations in Bogura, arresting 560 people and filing 451 cases while seizing large quantities of narcotics. During the same period in 2025, authorities conducted 2,242 operations and arrested 972 people. Nearly 2,000 people received treatment at the district’s 19 drug rehabilitation centres over the past seven months.

Officials say drugs including phensedyl, buprenorphine injections, cannabis and tapentadol tablets enter northern areas through border routes, while large yaba consignments from Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar are allegedly stored in Bogura before wider distribution. Anti-drug billboards have been installed at five main entry and exit points, with expanded campaigns planned across 109 union councils and municipal areas.

Iran has threatened retaliatory measures against what it describes as escalating US economic pressure, including possible attacks on Gulf oil and energy infrastructure and disruption of oil routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday in Washington, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a plan to target networks Iranian entities allegedly use to evade sanctions, including commercial partners in digital assets, technology and shipping.

Iranian officials said countries assisting US or Israeli military actions could be treated as participants in aggression. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei cited flights by US energy-supply aircraft from Bulgaria and said Iran considers itself entitled to strike the source of aggressive acts. Mohsen Rezaei, a leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said continued economic warfare would prevent oil exports through any Persian Gulf route.

Tehran has published a list of 45 oil tankers it says do not comply with its Hormuz rules and warned of fines, detention or seizure. Iranian lawmakers are discussing a bill on leaving the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Rezaei raised the possibility of pursuing nuclear weapons. Experts cited in the report said Tehran may combine economic adaptation with deterrence.

Marginal poultry farmers in Pabna are facing mounting losses as prolonged power cuts during intense heat kill chickens through heatstroke and sharply reduce egg production. Farmers say outages now last six to 10 hours a day and are particularly severe in areas served by rural electricity networks. The disruption has affected ventilation, temperature control, lighting, feed and water supply at layer and broiler farms, forcing some owners to sell birds early at low prices or close operations.

The sector expanded rapidly in Pabna after 2000, but farmers say rising prices of chicks, feed, medicine and vaccines have already eroded profitability. More than 7,000 marginal farmers have reportedly left the business, while the district now has 3,043 registered and unregistered farms, down from about 10,000 five years ago. Feed priced at Tk2,400 per sack now sells for Tk3,400, while some vaccine and medicine imports have stopped after the dollar’s value rose.

The Pabna Poultry Farm Association says generator use adds Tk800 to Tk1,000 daily. Officials say gas shortages have reduced power generation nationwide, while livestock authorities are advising saline and betaine use and pursuing proposed electricity, feed and medicine subsidies.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern about the risk of renewed conflict and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. The concern was conveyed amid fears that developments between the two countries could worsen.

Dujarric said the secretary-general was concerned about any action or statement that could increase tensions. He added that disruptions to energy supplies and food supplies were still being observed. His comments came in response to a question about whether Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had sent Guterres a letter concerning new sanctions against Iran.

Dujarric confirmed that the letter had reached the United Nations. He said it was circulated to members of the Security Council and the General Assembly at Iran's request. The source text did not provide further details about the letter, the sanctions, or any response from the United States.

The bodies of seven Bangladeshi workers killed in a fire at a sofa factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have reached their home area of Atrai in Naogaon. The bodies arrived in Bangladesh from Saudi Arabia on a Bangladesh Airlines flight at 4pm and were transported by refrigerated ambulances from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, reaching Atrai around 1:30am on Thursday night.

Relatives and local residents gathered at the Atrai police station compound to see the bodies, as grief spread among the families. The deceased were identified as Md Farid, Rubel Pramanik, Mohan Ali, Suman Ali, Kalimuddin, Sohel Rana and Abdul Jalil Sardar, all from villages in Atrai Upazila.

Atrai Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Moniruzzaman said the administration remained in regular contact with the victims’ families and arranged ambulance transport without cost. A joint funeral prayer was scheduled for 10am on Friday at Molla Azad Memorial College field before the bodies were handed over to relatives. Authorities said 11 victims from Atrai and one from Naogaon Sadar have so far been identified, while efforts continue to bring back the remaining bodies.

China has warned of a high risk that a lake formed by a landslide near the China-Nepal border could overflow and send floodwaters downstream. State media, citing water resources authorities, said the lake was created after a large flow of mud and debris struck the Gyirong area bordering Tibet on Wednesday. Reports said hundreds of people remain missing after the incident.

CCTV said water levels could rise over the next three days and may reach their highest level around September 1. Xinhua, citing water authorities on Thursday night, reported that continued rainfall could bring about 3 million cubic metres of water into the lake during that period.

Authorities said the increased inflow would raise the danger of the lake’s barrier breaking, potentially causing further damage in downstream areas, including Gyirong port. Rain is forecast in the area for the next three days. By Friday morning, 499 local residents and 555 tourists had been moved to safer locations, CCTV reported. The nationalities of the tourists were not disclosed.

Bangladesh’s government has launched an initiative to expand rooftop solar nationwide, create local entrepreneurs and build an effective solar service network. The move is part of the National Renewable Energy Development Strategy 2026–30, according to a Thursday press release from the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

All electricity distribution agencies have simultaneously issued notices to enlist qualified service providers by district and geographic area. Selected providers will offer technical support for rooftop solar and other renewable-energy installations, investment and business packages, customer service, and operation and maintenance facilities. Local businesses, small and medium enterprises, young people, women entrepreneurs and technology-based firms will be able to participate.

Providers will be selected through a transparent and competitive process, with applications allowed from individual firms and joint ventures. The government is also working on incentives, tax and duty benefits, easier low-interest financing and startup funding, with emphasis on rural and remote areas. The strategy targets a 20% renewable share in power generation by 2030, including 5,500 megawatts from rooftop solar.

La Grande-Motte, a seaside city on France’s southern coast, is known chiefly for its distinctive architecture. Its urban landscape includes pyramid-shaped apartment blocks, curved buildings, theatre-box-like balconies and green-lined walkways, making it a notable destination for admirers of modern architecture.

Architect Jean Balladur was the principal figure behind the city’s design and vision. La Grande-Motte’s main beach is Pointe Zéro, while a Ferris wheel in the city operates on solar power. Curving walls, sloping forms and unusual geometric features are prominent across the resort city.

Balconies at one hotel project outward from the building in a style compared with theatre boxes. French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus published a book about La Grande-Motte in 2014. The city’s architectural character remains its central attraction, according to the source.

Student organisations and general students at the University of Chittagong have called for a prompt roadmap for the next Chittagong University Central Students’ Union, or ChakSU, and hall union elections after the current committee’s term ends on October 23. They asked the university administration to announce a schedule quickly, ensure a fair environment and hold voting impartially. The administration said it would discuss the matter with relevant parties and arrange the election at an appropriate time.

The seventh central and hall union elections were held on October 15, 2025, after a 35-year gap. Students said the current committee has worked on several problems during its 10 months in office, although it has not fully met expectations. Groups argued that regular elections are needed to preserve effective student representation and prevent democratic conditions on campus from being undermined by long delays.

Several organisations want a new election within three months of the current committee’s expiry and warned of tougher protests if that does not happen. Current vice-president Ibrahim Hossain Rony urged the administration to announce a schedule before the term ends. Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Al-Forkan said an election would be arranged in due time after the term expires.

A daylong free eye-care medical camp served about 5,000 women, men and children from across Bogura district on Friday at Bogura Municipal High School and College. Patients received eye examinations, doctors’ consultations, medicines and eyeglasses. The camp was arranged for disadvantaged people who cannot access timely treatment because of financial hardship.

Organisers said the initiative was undertaken by Dr Zubaida রহমান, vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, and organised by Al-Basar International Foundation with support from the foundation. Doctors examined patients who arrived from different parts of the district, including a notable number of elderly people, and provided prescriptions and treatment advice.

Nearly 500 patients with cataracts and vision-related problems were advised to undergo surgery. Organisers said free cataract operations, including lenses, would be arranged at Mohammad Ali Hospital in Bogura, with procedures carried out gradually according to patients’ needs. Several political and foundation representatives visited the camp, spoke with doctors and patients, and district BNP leaders supervised its overall activities.

Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be “sent to hell” and claimed Netanyahu’s “major mistakes” had accelerated Israel’s decline. In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Manar television, Rezaei also described Beirut and its southern areas as Iranian “red lines,” saying aggression there would not be accepted.

Rezaei said Iran does not seek war, but warned that any new conflict would differ from previous wars and draw an unprecedented Iranian response. He said countries from which US aircraft take off or from which US missiles are launched against Iran would also be regarded as enemies.

He identified an end to war in Gaza and Lebanon, an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, and an end to Israeli attacks in Damascus as important conditions. Rezaei said West Asia’s situation is interconnected and its crises must be resolved together. Iran’s contacts with the United States are currently suspended, with Tehran saying no new talks will occur until US military attacks and hostile statements stop.

Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque called on the government to take swift, visible and effective action to address urgent public hardships. Speaking as chief guest at a representative meeting organised by Bangladesh Revolutionary Youth Solidarity’s Dhaka North unit at Flemingo Convention Centre in Farmgate on Friday, he said people no longer wanted excuses six months after the government was formed. Nearly 300 youth representatives from different police-station areas of Dhaka North attended.

Haque warned that failure to reduce severe unemployment could intensify social instability, disorder and crime. He urged action to protect people’s lives, property and livelihoods, and called for strict measures against criminals without regard to political identity. He also said foreign policy should be conducted on the basis of national dignity and interests, while energy sectors such as oil and gas should not remain dependent on foreign sources.

Special guest Bahnishikha Jamali said many young people had faced uncertainty, unemployment and dangers during the interim government period. Speakers discussed youth challenges, employment, inequality and democratic rights, urging young people to unite for rights, justice and social change. The meeting began with the national anthem and observed silence for those remembered.