The International Crimes Tribunal-2 has ordered former Dhaka-5 Member of Parliament Kazi Monirul Islam and three other accused to appear before the court on August 3 in connection with a case over crimes against humanity committed during the July Revolution in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area. The order was issued on Wednesday by a three-member judicial panel led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, with judges Md Manjurul Basid and Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir as members.

According to prosecutor Faruk Ahmad, eight people were killed in Jatrabari on July 18, 2024, and nine more on July 20, 2024, during the July mass movement. The tribunal directed the appearance of the four accused in relation to these killings. The other accused are former Jatrabari Police Station officer-in-charge Abul Hasan, Jatrabari Thana Awami League general secretary Harunur Rashid Munna, and former Dhaka South City Corporation Ward 63 councillor Shafiqul Islam Khan.

Abul Hasan is already detained in another tribunal case, while the remaining three are in custody in separate police cases. The tribunal’s directive pertains to the alleged killing of 17 people in Jatrabari on July 18 and 20, 2024.

Bangladesh Bank has simplified foreign currency transaction procedures for freelancers and individual service exporters. According to a circular issued on Wednesday, inward remittances up to 20,000 US dollars will no longer require a formal declaration. Additionally, freelancers can now receive up to 10,000 US dollars per transaction through online payment gateway service providers, provided the earnings are repatriated within the stipulated time.

The initiative aims to support the country’s growing digital service sector. The circular allows freelancers to use platform statements, emails, invoices, or other digital communications as valid proof of income, reducing dependence on traditional export documentation. It also introduces a dual-currency “freelancer card” and expands the use of mobile financial service and payment service providers to make digital transactions more efficient.

Under the new rules, IT freelancers may retain up to 50 percent of their export earnings in foreign currency under the Exporters’ Retention Quota, while other service exporters may retain up to 30 percent. Stakeholders believe the move will encourage more freelancers to bring foreign income through formal channels, increase foreign exchange inflows, and enhance transparency in the digital trade sector.

Individual taxpayers in Bangladesh can now file their income tax returns for the 2026–27 fiscal year through the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) e-return system. Acting NBR Chairman Ahsan Habib formally inaugurated the program on Wednesday. The board has introduced a new incentive for early filers: those submitting returns between July and September 30 will receive a 5 percent rebate on net payable tax or up to 25,000 taka. Returns filed after the deadline will not qualify for this benefit, and submissions after December will incur penalties.

The NBR first launched the online return system in 2021 and made it mandatory last year. However, senior citizens aged 65 or above, physically challenged taxpayers, Bangladeshis residing abroad, representatives of deceased taxpayers, and foreign nationals working in Bangladesh may still file paper returns. In the 2025–26 fiscal year, a record 4.7 million individuals filed returns through the e-return system.

Taxpayers can pay taxes via bank transfer, cards, or mobile financial services such as bKash, Rocket, and Nagad. The NBR call center offers assistance during office hours on working days.

Bangladesh has ranked 97th in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, jointly with North Korea, according to the London-based firm Henley & Partners. The index, released on Tuesday, measures how many destinations passport holders can visit without a prior visa. Bangladesh passport holders can now travel visa-free or with visa-on-arrival access to 35 destinations, down from 37 last year. Only Nepal, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan rank below Bangladesh.

The index evaluated 199 passports and 227 travel destinations this year. Singapore retained its top position, allowing visa-free access to 192 destinations, followed by Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates with 188 destinations each. Sweden ranked third with access to 187 destinations. Henley & Partners noted that the average passport now allows visa-free entry to 108 destinations, compared to 58 when the index was first published in 2006.

The report highlighted that global travel access has expanded over two decades, though geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts continue to affect international mobility. The gap between the strongest and weakest passports has widened, with Afghanistan offering visa-free access to only 22 destinations.

Member of Parliament S. M. Faisal for Habiganj-4 (Madhabpur-Chunarughat) stated that the government is taking strict measures to curb drugs, theft, robbery, and other crimes to maintain normal law and order across the country. He made the remarks on Wednesday morning while addressing the Upazila Law and Order Committee meeting as the chief guest. He emphasized that law enforcement agencies have been directed to work with utmost priority to build a crime-free, safe, and peaceful society.

Faisal described drugs as a destructive social disease and urged the administration, public representatives, and conscious citizens to work together to protect the youth from addiction. He said police and related forces are conducting regular drives against theft, robbery, and other crimes, and strict legal action is being taken against offenders. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring public safety and warned that no criminal or terrorist would be spared.

The meeting, chaired by Upazila Executive Officer Md. Mehedi Hasan, was attended by local officials, law enforcement representatives, and political leaders, who discussed ways to maintain peace and order in the area.

The Chhagalnaiya upazila administration in Feni demolished a former Awami League office building that had been constructed illegally on a public sidewalk. The demolition took place on Wednesday afternoon using heavy machinery as part of the second phase of an eviction drive in the municipal area.

Earlier, on Monday, the first phase of the operation removed more than two hundred illegal structures from the market area, but the Awami League office remained untouched, sparking anger among local traders and residents. Social media users also criticized the inaction, questioning the building’s legality and lease process. Local sources claimed the property, originally allocated to a cooperative, had been partitioned into rooms and rented out for deposits of up to six lakh taka, with new shops recently under construction.

Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Omar Faruk, who led the operation, stated that drives against illegal establishments would continue and warned that stronger actions would follow if the cleared areas were reoccupied.

Dhaka University authorities have announced a plan to repaint and rewrite the July Uprising-themed graffiti across the campus, beginning on July 26, 2026. The initiative follows criticism from various quarters, with the administration assuring that the original spirit and significance of the artwork will remain intact. The program will start from the Vice-Chancellor’s building to Rokeya Hall, coordinated by the Dean of Fine Arts, the university proctor, and the director of the Arbory Culture Center. Artists who created the original graffiti and other interested participants have been invited to register by July 25.

The restoration effort is part of a month-long series of events marking the second anniversary of the July Uprising. Activities include discussions, essay and quiz competitions, poetry recitations, cultural programs, and documentary screenings across different halls. A seminar titled “July Uprising 2024: Aspirations of Students and Citizens and the Future of Bangladesh” will be held on July 26 at the Faculty of Science conference room, with the Vice-Chancellor and other senior academics in attendance.

Several halls, including Rokeya, Sufia Kamal, and Jagannath, will host commemorative programs through early August, featuring exhibitions, candle lighting, and prayer sessions for the victims of the uprising.

Haridas Chandra Tarani Das, also known as Tawhid Islam, has been shown arrested in a fraud case by the Mymensingh Joint District and Sessions Judge (Finance and Loan) Court after previously being detained in a money laundering case. The court ordered his transfer to jail. Earlier, he had been sentenced to one year in prison in a separate fraud case filed under the Negotiable Instruments Act and had been absconding for a long time.

On Wednesday, around 40 victims and dozens of residents held a human chain protest in front of the Mymensingh Press Club, accusing Haridas of defrauding people by promising jobs, government housing, and irrigation pumps. They also alleged he was an agent of India’s intelligence agency and demanded maximum punishment. Several new fraud and check dishonor cases have recently been filed against him, including one involving unpaid construction materials worth over 1.4 million taka.

The CID’s Financial Crime Unit continues to investigate his financial transactions, assets, and alleged money laundering activities, claiming to have found suspicious transactions totaling about 93.5 million taka.

The United States has fallen to 10th place in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, losing its former position among the world’s most powerful passports. In 2006, the U.S. passport was among the strongest globally, offering travel freedom comparable to Denmark and Finland. The latest report shows that American citizens can now travel visa-free or with visa-on-arrival access to 180 destinations, up from 130 in 2006.

Singapore holds the top spot in 2026, with its citizens enjoying visa-free access to 192 destinations. Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates share second place, each allowing travel to 188 countries. Sweden ranks third, while Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain jointly occupy fourth place. Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the list, though its visa-free access has increased from 12 to 22 destinations since 2006.

According to the report, passport strength reflects international trust, diplomatic relations, economic capacity, and political stability, with many peaceful nations appearing among the top-ranked countries.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested 387 individuals during a 24-hour regular operation across the capital, according to a report published on July 22, 2026. During the same period, 45 cases were filed in connection with the arrests. The operation covered multiple divisions, including Ramna, Lalbagh, Wari, Motijheel, Tejgaon, Mirpur, Gulshan, Uttara, and the Detective Branch.

Police recovered 11,850 yaba tablets, 47 kilograms of cannabis, four mobile phones, ten sacks of polythene, one engine van, and 10,000 taka in cash allegedly linked to drug sales. The arrests and seizures were made during raids in various police station areas of the city.

Authorities stated that legal proceedings against the detainees are currently underway as part of the ongoing anti-narcotics and crime control efforts in Dhaka.

A protest rally was held in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira demanding the expulsion and removal of Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam from his party and parliament following the circulation of a viral video involving him and a young woman. The demonstration, organized under the banner of the Conscious Citizens’ Society, took place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and drew participation from political and social activists as well as local residents.

Speakers at the rally, including several BNP leaders, alleged that the incident had deeply angered the public and undermined the moral standing of an elected representative who had campaigned on religious values. They declared Gazi Nazrul Islam unwelcome in Shyamnagar and urged Jamaat-e-Islami to take disciplinary action within 24 hours. The protesters also called on the Speaker of the National Parliament to intervene and cancel his parliamentary membership.

Following the rally, demonstrators burned an effigy of Gazi Nazrul Islam in front of the Shyamnagar Press Club. The viral video has sparked widespread discussion and criticism across local political and social circles.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved eight development projects with a total expenditure of Tk 14,041.21 crore. Of this, Tk 10,494.21 crore will come from government funding and Tk 3,550.44 crore from project loans. The approval was given at an ECNEC meeting held on Wednesday at the Cabinet Room of the Bangladesh Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman. Among the approved projects, three are new and five are revised.

The approved projects include three under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, one under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, one under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, two under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, and one under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Additionally, the meeting was informed about 11 smaller projects costing less than Tk 50 crore that had already been approved by the Planning Minister.

These smaller projects cover areas such as regional offices for the National University, road upgrades, mobile network installation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s third terminal, and infrastructure development for power transmission and vocational training centers.

India’s Supreme Court has rejected a plea for an urgent hearing in a case concerning police baton charges on participants of the Cockroach Janata Party’s protest. The request was made on Wednesday before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, who declined to take up the matter. When the lawyer attempted to justify the protest as being in the public interest and related to alleged exam paper leaks, the Chief Justice interrupted, saying, “Thank you very much,” and refused to watch videos presented as evidence of police brutality.

The Delhi High Court had also refused to conduct an emergency hearing on Tuesday, stating that the judiciary should not be drawn into such matters. The protests, held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, are being led by the Cockroach Janata Party and its supporters, demanding education reforms and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The Cockroach Janata Party was formed after Chief Justice Surya Kant once referred to unemployed youth as “cockroaches,” a remark that sparked widespread criticism and inspired the group’s name.

The second death anniversary of Hafiz Monayel Ahmed Imran, one of the youngest martyrs of the anti-discrimination movement, was observed on Tuesday at his home in Lakhai, Habiganj, in deep mourning and respect. Family members expressed anger that even after two years, justice, accountability, and security for the martyr’s family have not been ensured. They also demanded immediate implementation of the July Charter.

Imran, a 16-year-old madrasa student, was shot during the anti-discrimination movement on July 21, 2024, near the Signboard area of the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway. His family alleged that police delayed the ambulance carrying him by about half an hour at Jatrabari’s Rayerbag area, during which some companions were beaten and their phones confiscated. They believe this delay contributed to his death from excessive bleeding.

At the commemoration, local leaders from BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami pledged continued support for martyr families and called for justice, state recognition, and protection. Relatives and residents urged that true respect for the martyrs lies in ensuring justice and security for their families.

Abdullah Al Minhaj, then vice president of the Tamirul Millat Central Students’ Union, has described his experiences during the July 2024 movement in Bangladesh. He detailed how students from the madrasa joined demonstrations near the Uttara BNS Center, where security forces and ruling party groups allegedly carried out violent crackdowns. Minhaj reported that five students from Tamirul Millat were killed and more than three hundred injured during the protests. He himself was wounded by rubber bullets and treated at a local hospital that provided free care.

The account describes the intense confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement, the community’s support for injured protesters, and the emotional toll on participants. Minhaj recalled the trauma of witnessing deaths, the solidarity among students, and the assistance from doctors and local residents. He also recounted the final days of the movement, when large crowds celebrated what they saw as victory after reports of the government’s collapse.

The narrative concludes with a reflection on unity and sacrifice, portraying the July events as a struggle for freedom and a call to preserve national solidarity.