US President Donald Trump wrote to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on August 31, 2026, praising what he described as the decision to purchase Boeing aircraft. The letter, issued from the White House in Washington and addressed to the Bangladesh government in Dhaka, said Trump had just received Rahman’s letter concerning the proposed purchase.

Trump said Boeing would not disappoint Bangladesh and thanked Rahman for his attention to the matter. He also said he would not forget the prime minister’s decision and expressed anticipation of meeting him soon. The letter was signed by Trump in his capacity as president of the United States.

In the message, Trump asked Rahman to convey his sincere greetings and affection to the people of Bangladesh. He said the country’s people had endured many storms, while expressing confidence that Bangladesh and its people would see a bright future under Rahman’s leadership. The source provides no further details on the aircraft purchase, including the number of planes, financial terms, or delivery timeline.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari voiced concern over rising prices of essential goods in Kolkata’s retail markets on Tuesday. Speaking at the launch of Consumer Protection Week outside Hogg Market, he said sugar and vegetables had become more expensive and questioned why rice prices were rising when rice is produced in the state.

Adhikari said the state’s consumer protection department had previously been neglected and described the week-long programme as an effort to publicise and expand awareness of a law effective before 2019. He said authorities were taking action against cheating consumers through artificial colouring and manipulation of weighing scales. He warned that artificial colours used to make vegetables and fish appear fresh were poisonous, and said banned colours were also being used in sweets for profit.

He said some police officers, consumer officials or food inspectors could be involved in such practices. Adhikari also raised concerns about fraud in flat sales and referred to a New Town search conducted 10 days earlier, where 120 people were allegedly taking money through false food-delivery app bookings without supplying products. He said both consumers and sellers needed protection and awareness.

The Dhaka Education Board has issued strict instructions to educational institutions not to submit incorrect student information. The directive was issued in an emergency public notice signed by board member secretary Professor S M Kamal Uddin Haider on Monday. It addresses student names, parents’ names and dates of birth submitted during admission, registration and examination-related processes.

The board said applications to correct such information are increasing across education boards, particularly as students move through different stages of education. It warned that inaccurate records create administrative complications and can directly affect students’ future education, employment and the accuracy of official documents. Institution heads must verify birth registration certificates and other authentic documents before recording or sending any information to the board.

Authorities of institutions are responsible for ensuring accuracy in their records and before submission, and administrative action may follow negligence. Parents were asked not to provide false information to alter a child’s age or identity details for benefits. Students were urged to check all details carefully and promptly report errors to their institutions, as corrections after results or certificates are issued can become more complicated.

Bangladesh national football team captain Jamal Bhuyan has become a brand ambassador for mobile financial service provider Nagad under a six-month agreement. The contract was signed on Tuesday at Hotel Sheraton in Dhaka, with Nagad administrator Md Motasim Billah present. Bhuyan will take part in the company’s promotional activities and customer-engagement initiatives during the term.

Nagad said it wants to use Bhuyan’s association to highlight the importance of financial inclusion among young people and sports fans. Expressing his enthusiasm, Bhuyan said he had worked with Nagad before and was happy and honoured to sign as its brand ambassador. He also referred to an earlier World Cup-based Nagad campaign, describing it as very good.

Bhuyan said Nagad was bringing change to digital transactions in Bangladesh through innovation and customer-friendly services. Motasim Billah said Nagad was seeking to build relationships with Bangladeshi footballers and planned to bring more star athletes into the Nagad family in the future. He also said the company would stand beside sports and athletes at all levels in the country.

India’s Supreme Court has quashed all cases filed against students over protests by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) between 20 and 25 July. On Tuesday, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant declared the related FIRs invalid nationwide, covering all states and union territories. The order excludes cases involving people with prior records of serious criminal offences.

The court acted under its special powers under Article 142 after the central government assured it that cases linked to the 20 July CJP protest would be withdrawn and that no new cases would be filed over the matter. The court nevertheless allowed Delhi Police to pursue one specified FIR against 2,873 people who joined the Jantar Mantar protest and have records of serious criminal offences.

Following the ruling and the government’s assurance, CJP spokesperson and co-convener Saurabh Das withdrew the party’s planned 5 September Delhi march. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said Delhi Police and the governments of Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Maharashtra had sought dismissal of protest-related FIRs. The court also directed the central government to complete compensation procedures within three months for families of students who died by suicide after the NEET-UG 2026 examination was cancelled.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Aminur Rashid Yasin said Bangladesh has fertiliser stocks sufficient for four to five months and rejected allegations that fertiliser prices have risen. He alleged that a syndicate was attempting to create the appearance of a fertiliser shortage, adding that police were searching for those responsible. He made the remarks on Tuesday while answering reporters’ questions after a discussion meeting in Cumilla.

The minister spoke at an event organised by Cumilla Metropolitan BNP to mark the party’s 48th founding anniversary. He said Bangladesh would become self-sufficient in cultivating import-dependent spices within the next three years. He also said vegetable prices rise during the monsoon because farmers’ production costs increase, and that the government is considering incentives for monsoon vegetable production.

Yasin said no onions had been imported so far this year, unlike in previous years, and expressed hope that imports would not be needed in the future. He said efforts were underway to end imports of onions, chillies and tomatoes within two years. He also said Bangladesh imports 100,000 tonnes of ginger annually and described agricultural products as potential leading export goods.

Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon said MPO-enlisted teachers and employees at private educational institutions will be included in the new pay scale and receive salaries and allowances accordingly. He made the announcement in a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, following cabinet approval of the National Pay Scale 2026 on Monday afternoon.

After the cabinet meeting, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani had said no decision had yet been made on including MPO-enlisted teachers and staff in the new scale. The MPO-Enlisted Education Nationalisation Aspirants Alliance, representing more than 625,000 teachers and employees, immediately expressed anger and demanded a notification formally including them in the pay scale.

MPO-enlisted personnel receive the main portion of their salary and some allowances from the government each month. BANBEIS data list 398,000 under secondary and higher education, nearly 175,000 under madrasa education and more than 23,000 under technical education. Their house-rent allowance was recently raised to 15 percent of basic pay in two stages, with the final 7.5 percent effective from July 1 this year.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has temporarily banned three people, including former director and former Audit Committee chairman Muhammad Mokhlesur Rahman Shamim, from all cricket activities over serious corruption allegations linked to the 12th Bangladesh Premier League. The BCB Integrity Unit took the action under multiple provisions of the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Code.

The other two accused are former BCB Security Liaison Officer Zakir Hossain and former Bogura district BCB councillor and former Audit Committee member secretary Rakibul Islam Sani. A BCB-compiled investigation report alleged that the three directly or indirectly tried to improperly influence match results or the natural course of play, encouraged corrupt activity, concealed information about unethical proposals and failed to cooperate with investigators.

Shamim faces specific allegations of attempting to fix or influence parts of BPL matches, encouraging others to engage in wrongdoing, failing to report proposals to BCB ACU and deleting sensitive evidence. BCB has given all three 14 days to submit written explanations. After reviewing their responses, the board will determine final disciplinary action or further legal steps under the ICC code.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has urged traders not to raise prices of essential goods by citing the newly announced pay scale. FBCCI Convener Md Fazlul Haque made the appeal on Tuesday morning at a consultation meeting with businesses at the organisation’s headquarters, convened to help keep stocks, supply, imports and prices of daily necessities stable.

Haque said the public had become concerned about essential-goods prices after approval of the pay scale and called on businesses to assure consumers that there was no connection between the pay scale and price increases. Traders, wholesalers and importers said prices need not rise if supplies remain normal, but warned that fuel shortages, supply-chain obstacles and unchecked middlemen could make market stability difficult.

Participants sought uninterrupted fuel for production-oriented factories, solutions to letter-of-credit complications, stronger monitoring of prices at mill gates and wholesale and retail markets, and action against harassment in supply channels. Haque said observations from the meeting would be conveyed to the government and that he would pursue discussions with relevant ministries and agencies within his three-month term.

US President Donald Trump has expressed hope of meeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in person soon, according to a letter sent to the prime minister on Monday, August 31. The information was disclosed by the prime minister’s additional press secretary, Atikur Rahman Rumon.

In the letter, Trump said he firmly believes Bangladesh and its people have a bright future under Rahman’s leadership, despite facing various adversities. He also conveyed his sincere greetings and affection to the people of Bangladesh.

Trump additionally thanked the prime minister for the decision to purchase Boeing aircraft from the United States. He said Boeing would not disappoint Bangladesh and noted that he would always remember the prime minister’s personal attention to the matter.

Fishers and wood collectors were allowed to re-enter the Sundarbans on Tuesday after a three-month closure, with entry passes issued for fishing and ecotourism activities. In the Satkhira Range, 159 passes had been issued by noon, allowing more than 400 forest-dependent workers to enter. Persistent rain and adverse weather, however, delayed many departures and kept tourist numbers low on the first day.

Authorities renewed 2,938 boat licence certificates across four stations in the Satkhira Range for the current season. The Kolagachhi and Dobeki ecotourism centres are ready for visitors, according to Assistant Forest Conservator Mashieur Rahman, who said tourist traffic could rise when weather conditions improve. A fisherman from Shyamnagar said workers must enter the forest despite storms because fishing in the Sundarbans sustains their households.

Workers also voiced fears of water and forest bandits, while alleging that brokers collected extra money beyond official costs during boat licence renewal. Forest officials said joint patrols with the Coast Guard continued during the closure and remain ongoing. Access is closed annually from June 1 to August 31 to protect fish breeding and biodiversity.

Punjab National Bank found counterfeit notes worth about Rs 74 million in a currency chest in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The discovery emerged after a Rs 436,000 cash shortfall was detected while reconciling money sent to the Reserve Bank of India on August 10 and 11. An audit team identified the fake notes during a regular verification process.

PNB chief manager Nisha Singh said the accounting discrepancy prompted an inquiry that uncovered broader irregularities involving notes held in the currency chest. A senior PNB official informed police. The bank said the counterfeit notes had not entered the market and had not been sent to any other bank branch.

Media reports said police filed an FIR against four bank officials and one other person, while a special investigation team has been formed. PNB suspended four officials and took disciplinary action against another employee. Separately, cleaner Vishal Kumar was accused in connection with the cash shortage. Police are examining transaction records and CCTV footage, treating the shortage and counterfeit-note case as two separate matters.

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has called on Ansar and Village Defence Party members to play a more effective role in constructive national work alongside maintaining law and order at the field level. He made the call on Tuesday afternoon at বঙ্গভবন during a courtesy meeting with Ansar and VDP Director General Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud, according to Presidential Press Secretary Md Sarwar Alam.

The president praised the force’s work in ensuring public safety after the mass uprising, the thirteenth general election and other state activities. He stressed improving members’ professionalism, discipline and public engagement, while providing foreign-language, technical and technological training to make them more skilled and employable.

The director general congratulated the president on assuming office and briefed him on training programmes, a members’ database, microcredit activities and grassroots solar-power initiatives. The president described Ansar and VDP as the country’s largest public-engagement security and discipline force. He also praised its contributions to solar energy, human-resource development, sports, culture and public-oriented programmes, and assured continued overall support for the force’s development.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) has instructed all secondary schools and colleges in Bangladesh to organise cultural competitions under their own arrangements to mark Nazrul Year. The directive was issued in a letter sent on Tuesday and applies to institutions offering higher secondary and equivalent, undergraduate and postgraduate education under the directorate.

The instruction cites memorandums from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs dated August 27, 2026, and the Ministry of Education. DSHE said the competitions must be arranged in accordance with guidelines set by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The government has decided to observe Nazrul Year from May 25 through May 25 of next year, and the ministry prepared the guideline for institution-based competitions nationwide.

Under the guideline, winner lists from schools and colleges in Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Chattogram, Rajshahi and Khulna city corporations must be sent to the relevant city corporation’s chief executive officer. Winner lists from institutions in Sylhet, Barishal, Narayanganj, Cumilla, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Gazipur city corporations, as well as all upazilas including municipalities, must be sent to the respective upazila nirbahi officer.

Fifty-two members of four pirate groups active in the Sundarbans surrendered to Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion on Monday, August 31, according to RAB-6. The surrender came a day before the forest was scheduled to reopen to tourists and forest-dependent workers on September 1 after a three-month closure.

A RAB-6 press release said the surrendering members included 16 from the Boro Jahangir group, 13 from the Anarul group, 15 from the Afzal, also known as Dulabhai, group, and eight from the Aftab group. RAB said piracy and forest banditry, including kidnapping and ransom collection, had created insecurity among fishers, woodcutters and honey collectors.

RAB said it had maintained intelligence surveillance and conducted operations to control such crimes. It also cited sustained operational activity, the difficult forest environment and uncertainty in criminal life as factors behind the surrender decisions. The forest had been closed from June 1 to August 31 to protect wildlife breeding, movement and biodiversity. RAB-6 said legal action would be taken against the 52 men under existing laws before they are produced before a court.