West Bengal may withdraw cases against exam-leak protesters
Assam and Bihar have already announced the withdrawal of all cases over Friday's protests, and secretariat sources say West Bengal may issue a similar notification.
English edition
International Desk, page 31
3,095 reports translated from the Bengali original, most recent first. বাংলা সংস্করণ
Tarique Rahman seeks Malaysian help to ease gas crisis
The prime minister asked his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, for cooperation in a telephone call on Tuesday, the state minister for energy said.
Will Dhanush follow Rajinikanth and Vijay into politics?
Speculation is growing in Tamil Nadu about the actor's political intentions, but Dhanush has made no announcement and his focus remains on film.
Two brothers who went to Saudi Arabia return in coffins
Faez Ahmed Sajib, 29, and Farhad Hossain Sujon, 21, were killed in a road crash in Dammam. They were buried side by side at their village home in Lakshmipur on Tuesday.
Man living alone found dead at Chattogram home while family works abroad
Abdur Rahman, 65, was found dead at his home in Chandanaish after his sons in Dubai were unable to reach him by telephone for several days.
Dhaka University teachers demand action against 231 colleagues
A group of teachers calling themselves anti-fascist have submitted a memorandum to the Dhaka University vice-chancellor seeking action against 231 teachers of the Awami League-aligned Nil Dal.
UN expert says Imran Khan has spent 33 months in solitary confinement
The UN special rapporteur on torture has called on Islamabad to end its treatment of the jailed former prime minister, as his party prepares nationwide marches.
Indian state orders demolition of 38 buildings at Jauhar University
Teachers, students and alumni of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh are protesting against an order to demolish 38 of the campus's 40 buildings, which the administration says were built illegally.
Government launches Tk 661.5 crore 'BanglaBiz' platform for investors
The government is bringing every existing one-stop service portal under a single digital platform called BanglaBiz, in a project costing Tk 661.5 crore.
Kuwait ratifies defence pact signed with Pakistan three years ago
Kuwait has formally ratified a defence cooperation agreement signed with Pakistan in June 2023, publishing it in the official gazette.
Only one American in three backs the Iran war
Support for the US role in the war with Iran has fallen to about one in three, a Reuters/Ipsos poll finds, with 69 percent saying Trump has not clearly explained the war's aims.
US diplomats walk out as France speaks at Security Council
US diplomats left a UN Security Council meeting on Russia's war in Ukraine while France's representative was speaking, after an online row over the UN human rights chief's reappointment.
China deploys fifth-generation fighters near the Indian border
Satellite images show at least 11 J-20 stealth fighters at two Chinese air bases near the Indian border, an Indian report says. The Indian Air Force did not comment.
Washington and Tehran want a deal, but the first step is the hardest
Strikes between the United States and Iran have been suspended for three nights. Both sides want to move beyond a memorandum of understanding to a full peace agreement, but the first step is proving…
Ukraine linked to bombings in Iraq, security adviser says
Iraq's national security adviser, Qasim al-Aboudi, says new information points to a “Ukrainian cell” being involved in a series of bombings at government installations.
Johnson agrees to pay $5.5bn to settle baby powder cancer claims
Johnson & Johnson has formally offered 5.5 billion dollars to settle about 69,000 pending talc cases in the United States — some 99.75 percent of the outstanding claims.
US sees Ukraine's strike on Iranian ship as positive, analysts say
Ukraine's attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea will be viewed positively in Washington, a former US ambassador says, because it also serves American interests.
Malaysia will not recognise Israel
Malaysia has said it will not change its long-standing policy of not recognising Israel as a state, despite pressure from the United States.
Preliminary registration for hajj begins
Preliminary registration for the 2027 hajj began on 27 July and will run until 24 September, with final registration to be completed by 10 December.
Johnson agrees to pay $5.5bn to settle baby powder cancer claims
Johnson & Johnson has formally offered 5.5 billion dollars to settle about 69,000 pending talc cases in the United States — some 99.75 percent of the outstanding claims.
In July we waited for the Jagannath University procession: Nahid Islam
The NCP convener and opposition chief whip, Nahid Islam, has recalled the role of Jagannath University students in the July uprising, saying protesters waited for their procession to arrive.
One held with drugs in Damurhuda
Police in Damurhuda in Chuadanga have arrested a man with 40 bottles of the Indian drug Eskuf.
Johnson & Johnson offers $5.5bn to settle baby powder cancer claims
The healthcare group has offered to pay up to 5.5 billion US dollars to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer, while continuing to deny the claims.
Jamaat holds workers' conference in Chougachha
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has held a workers' conference in Jagadishpur union of Chougachha upazila in Jashore, where the upazila Amir said the party would contest every union in the coming polls.
The world's largest desert has not a grain of sand
By the definition that matters — annual precipitation, not temperature — the largest desert on Earth is Antarctica, which receives an average of just two inches a year.
More than 450 civilians killed in Myanmar this year, monitor says
Military repression and air strikes on civilians in Myanmar have risen significantly since the new military leadership took charge, the conflict monitor ACLED says.
First factory in China economic zone to open within 18 months: BEZA chairman
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman wants production to start at the China Economic and Industrial Zone in Anwara within 18 months, the BEZA executive chairman says.
Eisenkot emerges as Netanyahu's main challenger
Ahead of Israel's tightly contested general election on 27 October, a poll puts the former army chief Gadi Eisenkot's new party Yashar ahead of Netanyahu's Likud.
Delhi police move against anti-Modi posts
Delhi police have begun action over what they say was obscene and objectionable language used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media during the NEET protest movement.
Muslims reached America 500 years ago — the history
Decades before Jamestown or Plymouth, a Moroccan named Estevanico crossed what is now the American southwest. Muslims have shaped US music, religious liberty law and charitable giving ever since.
Sheikh Ahmadullah on income from selling cigarettes
The Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmadullah says trade in anything Islam forbids consuming is itself not permissible, so income from selling bidis and cigarettes is not lawful.
Iran war has weakened the United States, congressman says
The Republican congressman Thomas Massie says the conflict with Iran has depleted US missile defences and fuel reserves, killed service members, raised consumer prices and added to the national debt.
Police fire AK-47 at student protesters in India
A Bihar police constable has been dismissed after video showed him firing an AK-47 rifle at student protesters in Siwan district during a state-wide strike on 25 July.
Boyfriends and girlfriends for hire
Hiring a “boyfriend” by the hour, which began in Japan's rental-person economy of the 1990s, is spreading through social media and online platforms into India as a new kind of gig work.
Tough paper-leak bill tabled in India's parliament
Amid opposition uproar, the Indian government has tabled an amendment bill in the Lok Sabha proposing up to 10 years in jail and fines of up to 10 crore rupees for examination paper leaks.
Gas supply to be restored next week, state minister says
The state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Anindya Islam Amit, says supply to the national grid should return to normal from next week as the LNG terminal fault is repaired.
Fears of war on another front
Renewed fighting between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia has raised fears that the US-Iran war could widen, with analysts warning of serious consequences for the global economy.
Satkhira district Awami League general secretary arrested
Detective police have arrested Md Nazrul Islam, general secretary of the Satkhira district unit of the banned Awami League, from the Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka.
Trump calls the munitions shortage a rumour
President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about depleted US munitions stocks, saying the United States has far more ammunition than any other country and more than it needs.
Pentagon changes how it publishes casualty figures
Facing accusations of understating US casualties in the war with Iran, the Pentagon has changed how it publishes the figures — and says the number wounded this month is higher than previously stated.
Vance and Caine's warnings led Trump to pause the strikes
Concerns raised by Vice-President JD Vance and General Dan Caine over munitions stocks and possible civilian deaths preceded the pause in nearly two weeks of nightly US strikes on Iran, CNN reports.
Persian genius: the poet Hafez of Shiraz
Hafez of Shiraz, the 14th-century Persian Sufi poet revered as Lisan-ul-Ghaib, the tongue of the unseen, and Tarjuman-ul-Asrar, the interpreter of mysteries.
Kashmir election in deep uncertainty
At least 40 people have died in months of clashes, blockades and strikes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where assembly elections are about to begin amid a boycott call and a communications blackout.
120 Palestinians arrested in the West Bank
Israeli forces have arrested more than 120 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank over two days, the prisoners' rights group Samidoun says, describing the raids as punitive.
Israeli ministers and settler groups call for revenge on Palestinians
Israeli settler organisations and political leaders have called for revenge against Palestinians, with the finance minister urging the erasure of three West Bank villages after four residents were killed.
Hindu rites staged beside 653-year-old mosque in West Bengal
Hindu groups have organised a Shiva puja within 50 metres of the historic Adina Mosque in Malda district of West Bengal, claiming the 1373 monument was originally a Shiva temple. The site is protected…
Most protesters are Jamaat-leaning fundamentalists: Suvendu
The West Bengal chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari, alleges that most of those involved in violence at protests over an exam paper leak in India were not students, and that investigators will examine possible foreign…
Totini returns to serial drama after five years
The actor Tanjim Saiyara Totini is joining the serial “Fire Ashar Golpo,” directed by Muhammad Mostafa Kamal Raz — her first serial since 2021.
Priyanka Chopra returns to India with husband and daughter
Priyanka Chopra has arrived in India with Nick Jonas and their daughter Malti Marie, reportedly to shoot S S Rajamouli's “Varanasi” — her first Indian-language film in years.
IRGC claims US warplanes destroyed on the ground
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it destroyed a number of US military aircraft on the ground in strikes on American bases in the Middle East. The Pentagon has not commented.
US strikes paused as munitions and missile stocks run low
Vice-President JD Vance and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, warned President Donald Trump about depleting munitions stocks, after which the United States paused nearly two weeks of strikes…
Kona to sing in 16 US cities
The singer Dilshad Nahar Kona has begun a concert tour of the United States that will take her to 16 cities between 25 July and 3 October.
Complaint filed at tribunal against 27 people including actors
The Rashtrasanglap Forum has filed a complaint at the International Crimes Tribunal against 27 people, including several figures from the cultural world, over alleged involvement in killings during the July uprising.
Burkina Faso's military ruler Traoré turns on the clerics
Burkina Faso's military ruler, Ibrahim Traoré, has issued a stern warning to the country's Muslim clerics, saying the state's “fight has begun” against extremist Islam.
I will not hold back from criticising Trump in the national interest: Burnham
The new British prime minister, Andy Burnham, says he will not hold back from criticising US President Donald Trump where the national interest requires it, in an interview with the BBC.
15,000 migrants arrested in Saudi Arabia
Saudi police arrested about 15,000 migrants for breaking the law in a week, the interior ministry said, with 14,970 violators detained nationwide between 16 and 22 July.
Robot being appointed as a teaching assistant in the US
A plan to introduce a humanoid robot and AI teaching assistant at a high school on the Seneca Nation's Allegany territory in New York has drawn sharp criticism from teachers and residents.
Export target set at 63.4 billion dollars, 15 percent growth expected
The government has set an export target of 63.4 billion US dollars for the 2026-27 financial year — 55.2 billion in goods and 8.2 billion in services — seeking 15 percent growth in both.
At-Tahiyyat: the heartfelt supplication and declaration of faith in prayer
At-Tahiyyat (the tashahhud) in full: the Arabic text, transliteration and English meaning, what each phrase declares, and what the authentic hadith say about where it comes from.
Settler attacks on Palestinians up 63 percent
Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians rose 63 percent in the first half of 2026, with 660 incidents recorded against 405 in the same period of 2025, Israeli Army Radio reported.