Twenty-five US states have sued to challenge the legality of President Donald Trump’s decision to impose new additional tariffs on 60 trading partners. The case was filed Monday in the US Court of International Trade. The Trump administration imposed duties ranging from 10% to 12.5%, alleging that the targeted partners produce goods through forced labor or import such goods.

The plaintiff states include New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with 17 other states joining the case. In July, the administration imposed the tariffs on 59 countries, including India, Canada, Japan, Norway, Taiwan and China, as well as the European Union. The measure was taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said imports from the 60 partners account for 99.4% of total US imports. Governor Kathy Hochul said the tariffs raise costs for consumers and small businesses. White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended the policy, saying action was needed to stop imports of goods made with forced labor and that Section 301 tariffs remain a legally effective tool.

The Katiadi upazila administration demolished a limestone factory allegedly built around an attempt to obtain an illegal gas connection from a high-pressure Titas Gas transmission pipeline in Kishoreganj. The operation took place Monday afternoon in Kazirchar village of Masua union, led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) Laboni Akter Tarana. Officials demolished three kilns and seized a large quantity of limestone from the facility, which had not yet begun operations.

The pipeline runs beneath the Arial Kha riverbed, and gas was still escaping from the leakage point during an on-site visit. Residents initially saw small bubbles in the water but became alarmed as the bubbles increased. Titas began an investigation after local complaints and found evidence of an attempted illegal connection. Its preliminary assessment is that the leak occurred while gas was being stolen from the pipeline for the factory. Union chairman Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique said no trade licence had been issued for the factory.

Titas engineers are repairing the leak. The seized limestone and bricks from the kilns were placed in the custody of the union parishad chairman. Officials said preliminary information indicates involvement by several local people, while the landowner allowed the land to be used without legal approval or licence. Legal action is being prepared, and Titas is preparing a case.

The 24-Hour CNG Gas Supply Implementation Unity Council has issued five demands, including keeping all CNG filling stations open around the clock and ensuring uninterrupted gas supply. The demands were announced at a Tuesday press conference at the National Press Club, where the group also called for an end to illegal gas supply to covered vans and trucks carrying cascade cylinders.

Member secretary Md Golam Faruk said official Energy and Mineral Resources Division data show daily gas demand of 3,800 million cubic feet against supply of 2,700 to 2,800 million cubic feet. He said damage to the Maheshkhali LNG terminal has worsened the shortage, affecting CNG-powered transport. He also said the sector faces about Tk125 crore in daily economic losses and nearly 90 million wasted work hours.

The council sought dedicated gas lines for filling stations, supply of vehicle-allocated gas only to legal CNG vehicles, and regular monitoring and mobile courts to prevent irregularities. It plans a roundtable at Dhaka Reporters Unity on August 16, followed by a gathering outside the National Press Club and submission of a memorandum to the ministry on August 24.

A tense situation prevailed at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur on Tuesday as Chhatra Dal held a sit-in programme. University-unit Chhatra Dal members, along with leaders and activists from Rangpur metropolitan Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal, staged the programme at 4pm. Activists were seen positioned at several points on campus, while the university unit also held a protest march. Students reported anxiety amid fears of further clashes.

The programme followed repeated clashes on Monday night between Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists, in which five people were injured. Tensions have persisted across the campus since then. Chhatra Dal activists raised slogans referring to Chhatra Shibir. Chhatra Dal university president Yamin said the organisation would protest and resist anyone who mocked 1971 or diminished July.

Rangpur Metropolitan Police deployed additional personnel to prevent clashes. The university barred entry of all outsiders, including guests and visitors, until further notice, and also restricted several types of vehicles. Vice-Chancellor Md Shawkat Ali said the programme was organised by Rangpur metropolitan Chhatra Dal and was being held peacefully outside the campus. Police said the situation was calm and under control.

Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has condemned and protested what it described as a planned attempt by Chhatra Shibir to create disorder and disrupt an official July uprising memorial programme at Jagannath University. In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday, the student organisation said the incident occurred during the event at the university’s central auditorium.

According to Chhatra Dal, 40 to 50 Chhatra Shibir leaders and activists forcibly entered the auditorium while the programme was underway and attempted to derail it. Chhatra Dal said its members intervened to protect the event from being disrupted and to maintain a peaceful campus environment. It alleged that Chhatra Shibir’s provocative conduct subsequently created an unwanted situation.

The statement said Chhatra Dal and other progressive student organisations had led earlier demands to hand second-campus work to the army, while Chhatra Shibir had opposed that movement. It described Shibir’s recent activity, after the tender process had reached its final stage, as an effort to influence the development project and make the memorial event controversial. Chhatra Dal said it would remain firm against terrorism, provocation and disorder on campuses.

A Narayanganj court sentenced Moktar Ali, 47, to death for murdering his second wife, Fatema Akter Rekha. Additional District and Sessions Judge Nivana Khair Jacy delivered the verdict on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of the defendant. The court also imposed a fine of Tk20,000.

Court Police Inspector Abdus Samad confirmed the verdict. He said Moktar Ali killed Rekha in 2022 over an extramarital affair. Ali is the son of the late Mokshed Ali and lives in the Barirtek area of Gognagar Union in Narayanganj Sadar Upazila.

After reviewing evidence and witness testimony in the case, the court found the charge proven beyond reasonable doubt, according to the court police inspector. It then ordered the death sentence and the financial penalty. The report was published on August 4, 2026, and subsequently updated the same day.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to face international media virtually from New Delhi on August 5, marking two years since she left Dhaka amid a student-public uprising. The South Asia Foreign Correspondents’ Club is organizing the event. Citing organizers, CNN-News18 reported that Hasina will join only through an audio connection from an undisclosed location in India, where she has remained since leaving Bangladesh in August 2024.

Organizers said Hasina may discuss her political future, plans to return to Bangladesh and the country’s current situation. She may also answer journalists’ questions during the event. The report described the appearance as her first direct interaction with journalists since losing power; previously, she had communicated through written statements or recorded messages.

Organizers said an audio-only format was chosen because of security and technical considerations. The report said she may address her wish to return to Bangladesh later this year and ongoing legal proceedings against her. It also said an arrest warrant was issued against her by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal and that she was sentenced to death in absentia. Hasina has denied the allegations and said she intends to fight them legally after returning.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief and opposition leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman said the public would again build resistance if there were any attempt to establish new fascism. He made the remarks on Tuesday at an award ceremony for the “July Awakening Documentary Competition 2026,” organised by Islami Chhatra Shibir at the National Museum auditorium in Shahbagh, Dhaka. He described the July movement, which took place two years earlier, as a unique chapter in Bangladesh’s history.

Speakers at the event stressed preserving memories of the July movement, the sacrifices of martyrs, and presenting its history to new generations. Rahman praised Shibir’s month-long initiative to preserve those memories and said children and young people should learn this history. Jamaat Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Parwar said people in Bangladesh do not accept autocratic or repressive rule and would resist another effort to establish fascism.

Shibir central president Nurul Islam said the competition aimed to gather documents, memories and information from across the country and present them through documentaries. “Gramer Chokhe July” by Mahmud H M of Noakhali won first place, receiving Tk 200,000, a crest and certificate. Other prizes ranged from Tk 150,000 for second place to Tk 30,000 for fifth place.

Singer Asif Akbar voiced anger over what he described as Bangladesh’s political, economic and social decline in a Facebook post published on Monday. He argued that reports of minor theft and irregularities receive extensive media and social-media attention, while the alleged anti-national activities of looting groups receive far less discussion. The article was published on August 4, 2026.

Akbar wrote that people and animals are beaten to death over allegations of stealing small amounts of food, while those who use politics to hollow out the country can later become public representatives. In his view, ordinary people fall into the trap of promises, follow such figures, and eventually suffer because of leaders they helped elevate. He described this as a continuing cycle within Bangladesh’s politics and social system.

He also criticised the leadership of SAFF football, the elected Bangladesh Football Federation and the sports ministry. Akbar said these were not isolated developments but parts of an older design linked by the same thread. In the post, he referred to the first Bengali sound film, “Mukh O Mukhosh,” released on August 3, 1956, and compared it with a political event from August 3, 2024 while presenting his views.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian government has no involvement in an event in New Delhi where ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to deliver a virtual address. The position was reported on August 4, 2026, by Amar Desh Online.

An Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the event in New Delhi is being organized by a private institution and has no connection with the Indian government. Bangladesh had sought an explanation from New Delhi regarding the Indian government’s position on the planned event.

The South Asian Foreign Correspondents’ Club is scheduled to organize the programme on August 5 to mark the second anniversary of the student-public uprising. Sheikh Hasina is expected to speak virtually at the event. The report cited Reuters as its source.

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has found dangerous levels of mercury in eight brands of skin-whitening cream collected from the market. In information published on August 4, 2026, the agency urged businesses to stop selling, distributing and stocking the products, while advising the public not to use them because of potential serious health risks.

BSTI said the products contained mercury far above the maximum acceptable level of 1.00 ppm under Bangladesh Standard BDS 1382. The highest reading, 123.37 ppm, was found in Dew Beauty Cream from Pakistan's Creative Cosmetics, while Chandni Whitening Cream contained 120.39 ppm. Other tested products included Navia, Noor, Gouri and Natural Pearl Screen creams.

The agency said such whitening creams are entering the domestic market through luggage and smuggling routes rather than legal imports. BSTI Director General Kazi Imdadul Haque said legal action would be taken against entities producing, importing or marketing cosmetics containing harmful ingredients. The agency warned that prolonged use of mercury-containing creams may damage skin, kidneys and the nervous system, and may affect fetal development during pregnancy.

Supporters of Chhatra Dal and Shibir engaged in a chase and counter-chase at the Alia Madrasa campus in Old Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon, leaving several people reportedly injured. The campus situation became tense amid ongoing clashes at Jagannath University and Dhaka College.

General students said the confrontation began over the alleged takeover of a hall. Reporters at the scene saw students from both sides carrying sticks and throwing bricks and stones. Many participants were also seen wearing helmets during the clash.

Police personnel were working to stop the confrontation. The report did not provide the number or identities of those injured, nor details about medical treatment. It also did not include official statements from the groups involved or further information on the campus situation after the incident.

Patuakhali Science and Technology University held a prayer gathering and discussion meeting to remember those killed and injured in the July mass uprising. The university administration organized the event at 11 a.m. on August 4 at the TSC Conference Room.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. S. M. Hemayet Jahan attended as chief guest. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. A. B. M. Saiful Islam, Treasurer Professor Dr. Mohammad Atikur Rahman and Registrar Professor Mohammad Jamal Hossain were special guests. Deans, teachers, employees and students also attended the discussion chaired by Professor Md. Hamidur Rahman.

The vice-chancellor said the best way to honor the martyrs' sacrifice was to carry out duties with honesty, sincerity and dedication in building an equitable, humane and accountable developed Bangladesh. Speakers remembered the martyrs, wished speedy recovery for the injured, and urged people to learn from their sacrifice to establish democracy, justice and human values. The father of July martyr Hridoy Tarua received a commemorative honor. A special prayer followed.

Leaders of Jagannath University Central Students’ Union, or JAKSU, alleged that Chhatra Dal activists attacked injured Shibir and Chhatra Shakti leaders receiving treatment at Dhaka National Medical Institute Hospital in Johnson Road, Old Dhaka, on Tuesday afternoon. The allegation followed an earlier confrontation at Jagannath University over attempts to enter a UGC chairman’s event carrying placards outlining student demands. JAKSU leaders said no action was taken against Chhatra Dal despite the hospital attack occurring in front of administrators.

According to JAKSU representatives, the confrontation began Tuesday morning at the university’s central auditorium when they sought to present demands to the UGC chairman. The placards called for faster handover of second-campus work to the army, quicker implementation of temporary housing in Keraniganj, and improved medical-centre facilities and services. They alleged the placards were seized and torn up before an assault occurred.

The report said JAKSU Vice President Md Riazul Islam, General Secretary Abdul Alim Arif, Assistant General Secretary Masud Rana, law affairs secretary Faruk, and Chhatra Shakti leaders Shahin Mia and Ferdous Sheikh were seriously injured. Sutrapur police station officer-in-charge Matiur Rahman said police were trying to calm the situation after chase and counter-chase incidents at the hospital.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has sought support from the Trump administration after a plan to sell part of World Cup commercial rights was abandoned, according to the New York Post, cited by the report published on August 4. The report said Infantino unsuccessfully tried repeatedly to contact US President Donald Trump by phone after the controversial proposal was withdrawn on Friday.

FIFA had planned to sell about 20 percent ownership in the World Cup and other football tournaments, seeking to raise up to $4.2 billion from private investors. The proposal involved placing commercial assets of world football’s governing body under a new company supported by private investors. It was dropped following strong opposition from relevant parties, while the report said negative media coverage had left Infantino feeling isolated.

The failed initiative has put added scrutiny on Infantino’s candidacy for a fourth term as FIFA president from 2027 to 2031. Thrive Capital, linked to Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was expected to be involved. US Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said there were no plans for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to speak with Infantino and no meeting had been arranged.