Twenty-one former cricket captains from several countries have urged Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to ensure medical care for jailed PTI founder Imran Khan. In a letter reported on August 24, 2026, they said a Supreme Court-directed examination by an independent medical board, in the presence of Khan’s personal doctor and sister, had not been fully implemented.

The former captains said Khan was returned to prison after spending several hours in hospital and being declared medically fit. They called for a comprehensive, independent health assessment, regular family visits and prompt treatment in line with doctors’ recommendations. They also asked that reports of reduced vision in Khan’s right eye be examined seriously.

The letter requested a medical board under Supreme Court directions that includes Khan’s personal physicians, weekly family meetings without administrative obstacles, and no delay in providing recommended treatment. It said Khan is 73 and has been in custody for more than three years. Signatories include Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Allan Border, Sunil Gavaskar, David Gower, Clive Lloyd, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Waugh.

More than 600 Bangladeshi workers living in Malaysia’s Penang state and nearby areas received mobile consular services from the Bangladesh High Commission without travelling to Kuala Lumpur. The two-day mobile consular camp was held on August 22 and 23 for expatriate Bangladeshis in Penang and surrounding locations.

The High Commission provided more than 500 passport enrolment services, over 100 passport deliveries, travel permits and other consular assistance through separate camps over the two days. The mobile service is intended to assist workers who cannot obtain leave from their workplaces or cannot travel the roughly 500 to 600 kilometres to Kuala Lumpur for services.

The Bangladesh High Commission said it is operating mobile consular teams in different Malaysian states, including on public holidays, for the convenience of expatriate Bangladeshis. It said the mobile teams’ activities would continue to make services easier to access. The mission also advised Bangladeshi workers to avoid irregular migration and to respect local laws and customs.

India’s High Commissioner to Dhaka, Dinesh Trivedi, said political tensions between Bangladesh and India would persist but would not affect the economy. He made the remarks to journalists after a meeting with Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir at about 11am on Monday. Trivedi said relations between the two countries would improve further in the future.

The high commissioner said politics would follow its own course, while Bangladesh and India must continue advancing their relationship. He described the people of both countries as highly talented and said young people in Bangladesh and India have many aspirations. He said it is everyone’s responsibility to do what is necessary to help fulfil those aspirations.

Trivedi said Bangladesh and India are two independent and sovereign countries, with neither being larger nor smaller than the other. He said both sides are equal and should continue working on the basis of that equality. The source did not provide details of the discussions held with the commerce minister or specify any economic initiatives arising from the meeting.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has urged Israel to stop the E1 settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank. The appeal followed the Israeli government’s publication last week of a tender for construction of more than 1,200 housing units in the E1 area, according to the report published on August 24, 2026.

Kallas said the project would seriously damage the prospects for a two-state solution. In a statement, she called on the Israeli government to withdraw the tender and to halt all other settlement expansion projects.

The report says implementation of the E1 project would separate the northern and southern parts of the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank have long faced international criticism and are seen as a major obstacle to Palestinians establishing an independent state. Kallas’s appeal is aimed at preserving the possibility of a two-state solution involving Israel and Palestine.

Iran has threatened retaliatory measures against countries that participate in what it calls the United States’ “economic war” against Tehran. Mohsen Rezaei, described as Iran’s top security official, said any country involved in imposing economic restrictions on Iran would be treated as an enemy. The article, published on August 24, 2026, says Iran would initially urge such countries through diplomacy to abandon the US position.

Rezaei said Iran could target the interests and facilities of countries that do not respond to diplomatic appeals. Tehran specifically warned Gulf states, saying it would seek to halt oil exports from the Gulf through routes other than the Strait of Hormuz if they help implement US economic pressure. The report says this could further disrupt global oil and gas supplies.

The United States is preparing tougher sanctions on Iran, while President Donald Trump said countries assisting Iran would face major economic consequences. Washington is also increasing pressure on China, identified as a major buyer of Iranian oil. Analyst Hamidreza Azizi called Iran’s warning to Gulf countries an ultimatum, while noting that regional states face risks to oil exports, trade and their economies in a prolonged conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that holding an election while the war with Russia continues could divide and “destroy” Ukraine. His comments were his first response to former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s call last week for an election during the conflict. Zelenskyy said moving toward elections in such conditions would be a way to destroy the country.

Ukrainian law prohibits elections during wartime, and analysts say conducting a vote under current conditions would be extremely difficult. Many Ukrainians are abroad because of the war, others live in Russian-occupied areas, and millions are serving on the front line, making broad voter participation difficult. Zelenskyy’s support remains around 60 percent, while pollsters say Ukrainians may want new political faces but have little interest in voting now.

A Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll dated August 5 found that 57 percent of Ukrainians want elections only after the war ends. Zelenskyy said an election could be possible during the war if allies provided security guarantees, but no allied country has proposed such a plan. He said his strategy is to end the war and preserve Ukraine as an independent, sovereign state.

Two children were killed after debris from a Ukrainian drone struck a private child care centre in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region early Monday, regional authorities said. Nine people, including seven children, were injured in the incident, according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev. The report was published on August 24, 2026.

Kondratyev said in a Telegram post that debris from one drone fell on the care centre. He also said another drone fell on a warehouse, causing a fire. Russian e-commerce company Ozon said a major fire broke out at one of its logistics centres in Krasnodar following the drone attack, but reported no casualties there.

Ukraine’s military said on Saturday that it had launched new operations targeting Ozon, one of Russia’s largest online retailers. Ozon said its facilities in the Orenburg region, near St Petersburg and in the Samara region had also been attacked in recent days. Ukraine is preparing to mark the 35th anniversary of its independence and plans a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing with European allied leaders.

Police have strengthened security in Dhaka’s Gulshan and Baridhara diplomatic areas after criminals sent emails threatening attacks and demanding extortion money from four embassies. The report, published on August 24, 2026, said additional uniformed and plainclothes security personnel were deployed, while embassies were placed under special surveillance.

Detective Branch officials said the extortion emails sent to embassies and several government offices appeared to be the work of a fake group intended to embarrass the government. Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit officers met embassy representatives and advised them not to panic. No embassy filed a general diary or written complaint with Gulshan police station.

Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said police were investigating the matter seriously and working to identify those involved. Investigators questioned three or four people linked to bKash numbers included in the emails, but they said they knew nothing about the case. Police have increased checkpoints, patrols and embassy-front surveillance, kept a quick response team ready, and are examining whether the threats originated abroad.

A Bangladeshi man, Yusuf Raju, 44, was killed in a shooting at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, police said. The shooting occurred after midnight on Sunday night in the Brownsville area, at American Best Wings and Pizza on Rockaway Avenue. Raju was an employee of the restaurant, and another employee was injured.

Police found a 44-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head and a 39-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg at the scene. Both were taken to a local hospital, where doctors pronounced the older man dead. Police said the injured 39-year-old man was in stable condition.

Restaurant owner Sheikh Russell and Raju’s friend Abdul Jalil confirmed the victim’s identity. Police have not determined whether the gunman was inside the restaurant or fired from outside. The motive for the attack remains unknown, and police are searching for the person involved. Authorities had not publicly released the identities of the deceased and injured people.

A rapidly spreading wildfire in western Nevada prompted officials on Sunday to order residents to leave homes near Reno as the Hawk Fire moved toward the city. Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told CNN that about 42,000 people had already moved to safety, while another 45,000 were told to prepare for rapid evacuation. Governor Joe Lombardo declared an emergency in Washoe County.

Within a day of igniting, the fire had burned about 15,040 acres, or 6,087 hectares. By Sunday afternoon, it was burning about 5 miles, or 8 kilometers, northwest of Reno. Local media reported that several homes on hilltops had burned. Six people were injured, including three emergency workers, while the federal InciWeb wildfire monitoring website described conditions as very severe.

Fire service chief Richard Edwards urged residents to be ready to leave as soon as evacuation instructions were issued, or earlier if possible. He said the fire was highly changeable and that wind was driving its rapid spread, potentially allowing flames to reach residential areas quickly. Images posted by the local fire service showed flames on hills near Reno and thick smoke across the sky.

Iran’s parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has approved a draft law to impose fees on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the state news agency IRNA. The committee approved Article Three of the proposed law, titled “Strategic Action to Ensure the Security and Progress of the Strait of Hormuz.” The report was published on August 24, 2026.

Committee spokesperson Hassan Khashkavi said the charges would cover services provided to vessels, including maritime, environmental, insurance, security and other services. Fees could also apply to fuel supplies provided under special circumstances. The charges would be collected from ships owned by countries granted permission to transit the strait.

Payments would be made in Iranian rials or another currency designated by Tehran, Khashkavi said. He added that the proposal considers the rights of countries bordering the Strait of Hormuz, referring to Oman’s position after adoption of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The strait has become a major point of dispute in efforts to end the US-Israel war with Iran.

The government plans to organize a national-level Holy Quran competition across educational institutions at different levels, Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Haq Milon said. He announced the initiative in a Facebook post on Monday, saying it is intended to strengthen students’ moral and religious values.

Under the proposed initiative, students from different levels of education will have an opportunity to participate in the national Quran competition. The minister said the government is taking steps to introduce the competition throughout the education system.

Milon had previously disclosed the plan on June 18, saying the government was working in an integrated manner across all areas of education. At that time, he said the planned activities would seek to establish morality, family values and religious values among students.

Iran has warned that vessels violating Tehran’s procedures for transit through the Strait of Hormuz could face fines, detention or confiscation. The warning was issued by Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority on August 24, 2026, after it said several ships had breached the prescribed arrangements for passage through the strategic waterway.

In a post on X, the authority said restrictions would be imposed on the future movement of vessels found to have violated the rules. It also warned that other ships cooperating with vessels under sanctions could themselves be listed as non-compliant.

The authority said ship or cargo owners seeking removal from the list must submit an application with supporting documents. It urged shipping companies and cargo owners to check its published Non-Compliant Vessels List before using a vessel, in order to avoid possible fines or other restrictions.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi is due to travel to Tehran on Tuesday to meet Iranian officials on the Strait of Hormuz, bilateral relations and regional issues. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported the planned visit, citing the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The report was published on August 24, 2026.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said al-Busaidi will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Their discussions are expected to cover ties between Iran and Oman as well as a range of regional matters. Baghaei described the trip as part of the two countries’ ongoing political dialogue.

Iran and Oman border the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and share responsibility for its security and stability, Baghaei said. He said the visit is intended to strengthen bilateral cooperation and continue regular political consultations, with the aim of supporting peace and stability in the region. Tensions over the key global energy transport route have increased recently, making the high-level talks between the two littoral states significant, according to the report.

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has called for an international protection force to be deployed in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, describing such action as urgently needed. In a post on the US social media platform X, she said third states have a responsibility to act to end what she described as Israel’s illegal occupation, in line with an International Court of Justice ruling.

Albanese referred to the ICJ’s advisory opinion of July 2024, which described Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory as unlawful. The ruling also called on states not to assist in maintaining the occupation. Her appeal focuses on the responsibilities of third states under that opinion.

She also questioned the effectiveness of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s diplomatic efforts and the General Assembly’s “Uniting for Peace” process in overcoming Security Council deadlock over Gaza and the West Bank. The process allows the General Assembly to consider international peace and security issues when permanent members’ lack of agreement prevents Security Council action. The source says US vetoes have blocked effective Security Council measures on the situation.