AI advances stoke fears of job losses among workers in China
A Beijing programmer's layoff two weeks after his employer questioned whether AI could replace coders illustrates a growing anxiety across sectors.
English edition
International Desk, page 20
3,095 reports translated from the Bengali original, most recent first. বাংলা সংস্করণ
Islami Bank’s defaulted loans near 990 billion taka, highest in banking sector
The bank's default rate has surged to 52% of total loans, with most of the bad debt tied to the S Alam Group and entities linked to it.
Tehran says no country has reason to fear Iran unless it aids aggression
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran reserves the right to retaliate against any country that lets aggressors use its bases against it.
Indian political party’s school inspection team attacked in Rajasthan
Cockroach Janata Party representatives say they were pelted with bricks and beaten while visiting a Jaipur-area school; villagers filed a counter-complaint.
Retired Israeli general warns country nearing collapse: report
Yitzhak Brik said political polarization and factional infighting have pushed Israeli society toward a crisis it may struggle to pull back from, Iranian media reported.
Delhi issues red alert as heavy rain floods city, disrupts flights
More than 250 flights failed to land on schedule and 15 were diverted as waterlogging paralyzed roads across the Indian capital.
Government to organize Quran recitation competitions in schools
The education ministry says the national-level competitions are aimed at strengthening students' moral and religious values.
BGB seizes drugs, hilsa fish in Jibannagar border operations
Border Guard Bangladesh seized Indian liquor, marijuana and hilsa fish in two separate raids along the Chuadanga border, though no arrests were made.
‘We are in a total war’: Pezeshkian
Iran's president said his government feels “shame” over economic hardship it cannot relieve, even as he claimed Iran has emerged stronger despite US pressure.
BAJUS targets $7 billion in jewelry exports within five years
The jewellers' association outlined plans for a special economic zone, new factories and a diamond-processing unit to make jewelry the country's second-biggest export earner.
Two young cousins drown in Srinagar
Two boys from Kathalbari village, whose fathers both work in Saudi Arabia, were found unconscious in a pond near their home and pronounced dead at hospital.
France to give Ukraine missile-defense systems
Macron pledged new interceptor missiles and production technology after a call with Zelensky following a deadly Russian drone strike on a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih.
Ukraine would split if elections held during war: Zelensky
Zelensky warned that voting amid Russia's invasion would be a “tsunami” dividing the country, criticizing calls from ex-minister Mikhailo Fedorov to find a way to hold one.
Israel using phosphorus shells in Lebanon: report
Lebanon's state news agency reported heavy Israeli shelling and airstrikes across southern villages, as Amnesty International renewed warnings over white phosphorus.
Call to halt imports of Israeli settlement goods
Labour MP Emily Thornberry urged the UK government to ban trade with West Bank settlements, saying individual sanctions alone won't curb settler violence.
Massive corruption blocking end of Ukraine war: former defense minister
Sacked minister Mikhailo Fedorov said networks tied to public funds have slowed decision-making, and alleged an anti-corruption probe touched Zelensky's own office.
Israel maintains secret contact with Turkey to avoid war
An Israeli defense official said Tel Aviv is exchanging messages with Ankara through covert channels after strikes in Syria raised tensions between the two countries.
Security tightened in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone
DMP's diplomatic security unit says it suspects a scam behind threatening emails sent to the Chinese and Russian embassies, though monitoring has been reinforced.
Bihar raises concerns over Farakka Treaty
India's foreign minister assured Bihar its long-standing complaints over Farakka Barrage water-sharing will be raised when the Bangladesh treaty comes up for renewal.
Trump posts map claiming Hormuz Strait as ‘US territory’
Iran rejected Trump's renewed claim over the strategic waterway and warned any country aiding Washington's sanctions campaign would be treated as an enemy.
Russia withdraws ambassador from Britain
Andrei Kelin quietly stepped down as Moscow's envoy in London in July with no successor named, deepening a diplomatic chill amid rising tensions over Ukraine.
No room left to bury the dead in Gaza
With more than 73,000 killed since October 2023 and dozens of cemeteries destroyed, families like Omar al-Sawahi's are burying relatives in overcrowded, unmarked graves.
Armed forces chief tours secret underground missile factory
Iranian state media reported Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi's visit to an underground weapons complex, where he said suicide-drone production capacity has tripled.
More than 20,000 US troops sexually assaulted in 2025
A Pentagon report found an estimated 20,492 service members experienced sexual assault in fiscal 2025, even as harassment rates and victim counts declined from 2023.
PM’s India visit to wait on national interest: junior foreign minister
Humayun Kabir said there is no rush on a New Delhi trip, and called Sheikh Hasina’s extradition an ongoing bilateral matter under the two countries' existing treaty.
Arjun-Gabriella marry after eight years, two children and living together
Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal and model-designer Gabriella Demetriades held a low-key registry wedding in Goa, PTI reports, after years of describing themselves as married in spirit.
Possible dates for Ramadan, Eid 2027 released
Astronomical calculations reported by Jordan News put the likely start of Ramadan 1448 AH at February 8, 2027, with Eid-ul-Fitr expected around March 8.
US commission recommends sanctions on RSS, India calls it ‘biased’
USCIRF urged sanctions on the RSS ahead of chief Mohan Bhagwat's New York visit; India's foreign ministry dismissed the commission as having no credibility.
Indian captain faces 10 years in UK prison
Ajay Panth, captain of a sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet” tanker seized in the English Channel, could face a decade in prison in a case seen as a legal test for seafarers.
Islami Bank offers smartphones for Bangla QR transactions
A new campaign will award smartphones to 50 customers and 50 merchants using Bangladesh Bank's Bangla QR payment system between August 23 and September 30.
US judge strikes down visa suspension policy affecting Bangladesh, 74 other countries
A Manhattan federal judge ruled the Trump administration's blanket immigrant-visa suspension for 75 countries exceeded the secretary of state's legal authority.
Trump-Natalie closeness: leaked letters
Two letters aide Natalie Harp wrote U.S. President Donald Trump have surfaced, reigniting speculation over their relationship after a Democratic senator raised her name in a speech.
Excelerate terminal back online, boosting LNG supply
A tanker delivery to Excelerate Energy's floating terminal off Moheshkhali is easing an LNG shortage that began with an April boiler fire, officials say.
Four films in talks — is Apurba becoming a regular on the big screen?
Actor Ziaul Faruq Apurba says he is in early talks on four film projects, alongside a busy television slate and a growing concert schedule in the United States.
Amit Shah blames Mamata over India-Bangladesh border fence
India's home minister said West Bengal's previous government denied land for border fencing for years, crediting the new state government with handing over 1,000-plus acres.
PTI files contempt petition over Imran Khan hospital transfer
Imran Khan's party alleges the government defied a Supreme Court order to move him to Shifa International Hospital, taking him to a government facility instead.
We want to end this war from a position of strength: Iranian president
Masoud Pezeshkian called for an immediate end to the war with the US, saying Iran now negotiates from strength, even as its military warns it is ready to retaliate against new threats.
India builds ‘triangular security grid’ around the ‘Chicken’s Neck’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah outlined a three-tier security plan for the Siliguri Corridor, crediting West Bengal's new government with resolving a long-stalled land transfer.
Muslim World League condemns Israeli settlements in West Bank
The MWL called Israel's E1 settlement-expansion plan “dangerous” and said it threatens the path to an independent Palestinian state.
Kunming-Chittagong corridor could open new trade gateway with China
Bangladesh's consulate in Kunming pitched Yunnan entrepreneurs on investment opportunities, citing a proposed corridor linking southwest China to the Bay of Bengal.
Iran now adopting a more offensive posture
Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia said Iran's military doctrine is shifting from defensive to offensive after lessons from recent wars, though not toward preemptive strikes.
Pakistan’s name enters cricket’s record of shame
Pakistan became the first Test side to lose their first wicket for zero in both innings of the same match, as England won at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs.
Quran recited beside a grave, unbroken, for 98 years
At a 700-year-old mosque in Tangail's Dhanbari, four hafezes have kept round-the-clock Quran recitation going beside the grave of Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury since 1927.
Canada threatens dollar-for-dollar tariffs on US goods
PM Mark Carney ordered retaliatory tariffs after last-minute trade talks with Washington collapsed, while the US trade representative accused Canada of reneging on agreed terms.
Imran Khan being tortured in prison, sister alleges
Uzma Khan says her brother, imprisoned former Pakistani PM Imran Khan, told her he has been repeatedly tortured, a day after he was briefly hospitalized for court-ordered tests.
Severe medicine shortage hits hundreds of thousands of patients in Gaza
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society says more than 350,000 patients in Gaza urgently need medicine that current aid shipments are failing to provide in sufficient volume.
US has put allies at risk to serve Israel’s interests: Ghalibaf
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said U.S. policy has endangered its own regional allies and called for an independent regional security framework.
President pays tribute to Liberation War martyrs at national memorial
President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir laid a wreath at the National Memorial in Savar and planted a sapling, a day after being sworn in as Bangladesh's 23rd president.
Thakurgaon-1 parliamentary seat declared vacant
The seat held by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been declared vacant under Article 50(4) of the constitution after he assumed the presidency, triggering a by-election process.
Major shift in world gold prices
Gold hit a three-month high after a weaker dollar, driven by the U.S. Treasury's bond-buyback plan, sent spot prices up 2.4 percent to $4,623.94 an ounce.
Hasina must be brought back to enforce sentence: Shibir president
Islami Chhatra Shibir president Nurul Islam Saddam called on the government to pursue Sheikh Hasina's extradition from India, including through Interpol, to carry out her death sentence.
Four new cabinet members sworn in
Abdul Moyeen Khan, Andaleeve Rahman Partho, Sachingprue Jerry and M Rashiduzzaman Millat took their oaths at Bangabhaban immediately after President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir's own swearing-in.
From municipal chairman to president
A profile of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, from student politics and a teaching post to BNP secretary general and, now, Bangladesh's 23rd president.
Mirza Fakhrul sworn in as president
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir took the oath as Bangladesh's 23rd president Friday evening, the first contested presidential vote in 35 years.
El Niño-driven drought cuts ship traffic through Panama Canal
The Panama Canal Authority will reduce daily ship transits starting next month as drought lowers water levels in the lakes that feed the waterway.
No decision yet on PM Tareque Rahman’s India visit
Bangladesh's press secretary told Reuters no final decision has been made on a reported New Delhi trip, with Dhaka awaiting India's response on extraditing Sheikh Hasina.
US debt is growing by $90,000 every second
The United States' national debt has topped $40 trillion, and economists warn that rising interest payments now exceed defense spending and could ripple into borrowing costs for ordinary Americans.
Sylhet shrine waqf dispute erupts into clash, 38 hurt including police
Rival factions fighting over control of a Sylhet shrine's waqf estate clashed with brickbats and homemade weapons on Friday, injuring dozens including the local police chief.
Turkey seeks Interpol red notice against Netanyahu
Turkey has applied for an Interpol red notice against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an Israeli official over an attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek…
Anti-discrimination case complainant killed in Narayanganj, gang leader Sifat among 9 arrested
Criminals hacked to death the complainant in a case over an attack on his rickshaw garage during last year's anti-discrimination student movement, prompting a highway blockade and the arrest of a gang leader and…