Chelsea began the new English Premier League season with a dramatic 3-2 away win over neighbouring Fulham, ending a four-year wait for an opening-match league victory. Joao Pedro scored after 31 seconds from Cole Palmer’s pass, while Palmer later struck the winning goal through goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s legs.

The match also brought together former Real Madrid coaches Xabi Alonso, now in charge of Chelsea, and Fulham’s Alvaro Arbeloa. Fulham levelled in the first half when teenage midfielder Josh King beat Chelsea goalkeeper Roberto Sanchez with a powerful shot.

Chelsea’s new record signing Morgan Rogers scored the team’s second goal on his debut, assisted by fellow debutant Maxence Lacroix. Fulham’s new recruit from Real Madrid, Gonzalo Garcia, restored parity and raised hopes of a point for Arbeloa’s side. Palmer’s late finish, however, secured Chelsea’s 3-2 win and gave Alonso a victorious start to his Premier League chapter.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal ordered Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed and former Cox’s Bazar lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi sent to jail in a crimes against humanity case over the alleged killing of Ekramul Haque in Teknaf in 2018. The two were brought before Tribunal-2 on Tuesday morning, where a judge issued the detention order after a hearing.

The prosecution submitted formal charges on July 26 against 11 people, including the death-sentenced Hasina, in the case. After taking the charges into cognizance, the tribunal issued arrest warrants for eight fugitives. Other defendants include former ministers, police officials and military officers, according to the case details.

Ekramul Haque was killed in what was described as a “gunfight” in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, on the night of May 26, 2018. He was a councillor for Ward 3 of Teknaf municipality and president of the local Upazila Jubo League. The incident drew widespread discussion, and the case is now under judicial proceedings at Tribunal-2.

International Crimes Tribunal-2 has ordered newspaper notices directing seven accused, including Sheikh Hasina, to appear in a crimes against humanity case over the alleged killing of Ekramul Haque in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, in 2018. The three-member panel, led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, issued the order on Tuesday afternoon after the seven did not appear before the court.

The other accused named in the notice order are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former road transport minister Obaidul Quader, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, Major Ruhul Amin, army officer Nazmus Sakib and former army officer Ashiqur Rahman. The panel’s other members are Manjurul Basid and Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.

On 26 July, prosecutors submitted formal charges against 11 people, including Sheikh Hasina. The tribunal took cognisance of the charges and issued arrest warrants for eight fugitives, directing them to appear on the scheduled date. Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed appeared, while former MP Abdur Rahman Badi, Brigadier General Mahbub Alam and Colonel Anwar Latif were brought before the tribunal and sent to jail in the case.

Egypt’s government has approved the establishment of a special free economic zone in New Alamein for Fujairah Alamein Oil and Gas Company, which is linked to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The zone will cover about 738,000 square metres and will be used for storing and trading crude oil and various petroleum products.

Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade said the project aims to use New Alamein’s geographical location and infrastructure to expand regional energy trade. Under the government decision, the company must export all of its produced goods outside Egypt and use at least 50 percent local components in production.

The company must obtain environmental clearance and other required government approvals before implementing the project. The initiative follows earlier energy-sector cooperation between Egypt and Fujairah: in October 2025, the sides signed agreements on creating a logistics zone in Alamein for crude oil and petroleum-product storage and trade, including plans to develop and expand El-Hamra Petroleum Port.

Police detained Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation storekeeper Md Akhtarul Islam, 35, over allegations that about 227 metric tonnes of government fertiliser were sold without approval in Dinajpur. The operation was conducted around 11pm on Monday at a BADC government fertiliser warehouse in the Nashipur area of Dinajpur Sadar upazila. Police said the warehouse official was taken into custody during the raid.

According to police, Akhtarul Islam admitted during preliminary questioning that he sold a total of 227 metric tonnes of fertiliser at different times in July and August without permission from higher authorities. Police also said they found information indicating the involvement of two BADC-contracted dealers, Sohag Hossain of Birganj upazila and Ansarul Islam of Kaharol upazila.

BADC said Nashipur has two government fertiliser warehouses, named Kanchan and Steel, with a combined storage capacity of about 18,000 metric tonnes for MOP, DAP and TSP fertilisers. Kotwali police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Nurnabi said BADC authorities were preparing to file a case and legal procedures were under way. He said police would take action against others if the investigation finds evidence of their involvement.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has strongly rejected a new threat of sanctions made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, describing it as empty rhetoric. In a social media post, Ghalibaf said Americans know that no one takes such threats seriously and argued that the United States lacks the economic capacity to further restrict trade relations with other countries.

Ghalibaf also said Iran’s trading partners had already clarified their positions to Tehran. According to him, through media outlets and direct messages, they said they were not taking the US treasury secretary’s statements or threats seriously. His remarks signal that Iran does not intend to yield to Washington’s recent hardline stance.

The source says the situation has nevertheless placed Tehran before both diplomatic and military challenges. A slim hope for talks with the United States and normalization of bilateral relations remains, while Iran also faces continuing military threats. It says concerns have emerged about a prolonged war extending beyond regional boundaries or a renewed spread of conflict.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested 501 people during regular operations across the capital in the past 24 hours and filed 53 cases, according to DMP. Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Mehdi of the Media and Public Relations Division disclosed the information on Tuesday, August 25.

Mirpur Division made the highest number of arrests, with 127 people detained. Other arrests included 75 in Motijheel, 72 in Wari, 70 in Uttara, 53 in Tejgaon, 42 in Gulshan, 35 in Ramna, 23 in Lalbagh and four by the Detective Branch.

Police said the operations recovered four foreign pistols, three magazines, 12 rounds of ammunition, 32,161 yaba tablets, 20 kilograms and 711 grams of cannabis, and two grams of heroin. Officers also recovered 17 mobile phones, a private car, a CNG vehicle and one victim. DMP said legal action against those arrested is under process.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran attempted to kill one of his sons. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Monday, Netanyahu described the alleged incident as extraordinary and said Iran had targeted one of his children.

Netanyahu did not provide details on when or where the alleged attempt occurred, or identify which of his sons was targeted. He has two sons and a daughter. The report cites Al Jazeera and The Jerusalem Post as sources.

Israeli authorities decided in July to provide additional personal security to Netanyahu’s wife and two sons. His elder son, 35-year-old Yair Netanyahu, has been living in Miami, United States, since early 2024. The use of Israeli taxpayers’ money for Yair Netanyahu’s security has been a subject of controversy.

Afghan national Imal Mohammadi has travelled to Jhenaidah to seek the return of his brother Hasmat Mohammadi’s body, more than four and a half months after it was buried as unclaimed. Although the Home Ministry has issued a no-objection letter, the exhumation and handover remain stalled pending formal instructions from the Foreign Ministry. Imal arrived in Jhenaidah on Monday, August 24, 2026, with DNA documents, ministry correspondence and identification papers.

Police and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel recovered an unidentified floating body from the Ichamati River near Polianpur border in Maheshpur on April 13. The PBI could not match the fingerprints with Bangladesh’s national identity card database, and Anjuman Mufidul Islam buried the body at Jhenaidah municipal cemetery on April 14. An unnatural death case, numbered 20, was filed at Maheshpur police station that day.

Family members identified the body through photographs on social media, according to a reliable source. Imal said the autopsy report cited heart disease and that the family wants to bury Hasmat in Afghanistan under religious rites. Jhenaidah Deputy Commissioner Noman Hossain said the administration is ready to assist once it receives the Foreign Ministry’s formal letter.

Pakistan has begun fresh discussions with Tehran to revive the previously signed Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran, aiming for a long-term and lasting resolution to the ongoing conflict. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said he and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir held a constructive and productive meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran.

In a post on X, Naqvi said the high-level meeting focused on the Iran-US conflict, rising tensions in the Middle East, and ways to emerge from the continuing crisis. He said both sides placed special emphasis on reactivating the Islamabad memorandum through their respective measures to pursue a comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

Naqvi said the Iranian president openly presented his government’s position, principal perspective and concerns, followed by sincere and meaningful exchanges between the two sides. He described the talks as having made notable progress and said they concluded with a highly positive message. Naqvi expressed hope that continued discussions would help resolve the conflict and support lasting peace in the region.

Internal conflict within the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Ishwardi, Pabna, has escalated beyond party rivalry into repeated clashes, shootings, attacks, vandalism and alleged displays of weapons over the past two years. The violence is linked to competing influence and control over sand leases, scrap business, tenders, transport stands and drug trade. Most recently, Ishwardi Upazila Jubo Dal volunteer wing convener Shariful Islam Sharif was shot and hacked late Thursday and remains in critical condition at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

Sharif accused Pabna district BNP convener Habibur Rahman Habib in a Facebook post. Local leaders say the long-running dispute involves supporters of Habib and Zakaria Pintu, a district BNP joint secretary and former general secretary of Ishwardi municipal BNP. The source lists numerous incidents since August 2024, including gunfights, injuries, property damage and the killing of Chhatra Dal worker Sachin Biswas.

Mehedi Hasan, Pintu’s brother and a former upazila volunteer wing member secretary, alleged that Habib uses influence to secure the release of armed people. Habib denied the allegation, saying Pintu’s four brothers were expelled from the party and were involved in criminal activity. Ishwardi police chief Asadur Rahman said patrols and surveillance have been increased, while maintaining that law and order across the entire upazila had not collapsed.

Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed was brought before International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Tuesday morning in connection with a crimes against humanity case over the 2018 killing of Ekramul Haque in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. He arrived at the tribunal in an army microbus, and a hearing in the case was scheduled to take place.

The prosecution filed formal charges on July 26 against 11 people, including former prime minister Hasina, who is described as sentenced to death in the source. After taking cognisance of the charges, the tribunal issued arrest warrants against eight absconding accused. Other defendants include former ministers, a former inspector general of police, military officers and former lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi.

Ekramul Haque, a councillor of Teknaf municipality’s Ward 3 and upazila Jubo League president, was killed in an alleged gunfight on May 26, 2018. His death drew widespread discussion and later led to the tribunal case. ISPR said Miftah Uddin was taken into army custody on the night of July 27 after the warrant was issued. The case remains under trial at Tribunal-2.

United States elections are among the world’s most expensive, with candidates, political parties and interest groups spending heavily during each campaign season. Forecasts indicate that spending in the 2026 midterm elections could set a new record, reaching about $11.6 billion, according to AdImpact.

Analysts attribute the high costs to extensive spending on television advertising, social media, digital outreach, opinion polls and field campaigning. Business figures, wealthy individuals, political organizations and interest-based groups also contribute large sums. Organizations operating outside official candidate campaigns can promote preferred candidates or positions under comparatively less regulation.

Political spending expanded after the US Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, which increased opportunities for corporations and organizations to make independent political expenditures. The projected 2026 total would exceed the roughly $8.9 billion spent in the 2022 midterms and could surpass the $11.2 billion spent during the 2024 presidential election cycle. Critics warn that major donors may gain greater influence over policymaking, intensifying debate over whether heavy spending broadens democratic participation or concentrates political power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit India after seven years to attend the BRICS summit scheduled for September 12 and 13. India and China have begun preparations for the visit, with Chinese officials working on finalising hotel arrangements and security protocols, according to an official linked to the summit’s organising committee.

Xi last visited New Delhi in 2019, also for a BRICS summit, accompanied by about 200 officials. This time, his delegation is expected to include about 400 officials. Relations between India and China deteriorated significantly after a severe border clash between their soldiers in Ladakh in June 2020.

The source says ties have shown some renewed warmth in recent times. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Beijing last year, his first China trip since 2018, and diplomatic contacts between New Delhi and Beijing have increased since then. Xi’s planned India visit is being viewed as an important next step in the recent progress in bilateral relations.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized 138,000 Burmese yaba pills concealed inside a truck chassis compartment at the Morichya joint checkpoint in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar. One person was detained during the operation, which took place at about 4am on Tuesday following intelligence information.

The seizure was led by Major Md Ashikur Rahman, deputy commander of the Ramu Battalion, also known as 30 BGB. According to the report, the pills had been hidden using a special method within the truck’s chassis storage area.

Legal action against the detained person and in connection with the recovered yaba is under process in accordance with regulations. Ramu Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Imrul Kayes Mehdi said BGB regularly conducts operations to prevent drug trafficking, smuggling, illegal entry and other cross-border crimes alongside its border-security duties. He said such activities would continue to ensure border security.