Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in north Gaza, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza, Israel, Aug 12, 2025. REUTERSSmoke rises after an Israeli air strike in north Gaza, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza, Israel, Aug 12, 2025. REUTERSIsraeli planes and tanks kept bombarding eastern areas of Gaza City overnight, killing at least 11 people, witnesses and medics said on Tuesday, with Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya due in Cairo for talks to revive a US-backed ceasefire plan. It has also raised fears of further displacement and hardship among the estimated one million Palestinians in the Gaza City region. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports of the latest bombardments and that forces take precautions to mitigate civilian harm.

Holding elections now risks pushing the military into crisis, says Farhad MazharFarhad Mazhar, writer and columnist, has said the current conditions in Bangladesh are not suitable for holding elections and warned that proceeding with polls now will compound the military’s woes. He stressed that without unanimous agreement on holding elections, Bangladesh risks heading toward disaster. Several political parties, including the BNP, have demanded national elections as part of reform initiatives, though differences persist among the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party. The BNP’s pressure on the government has intensified, culminating in a meeting between Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman in London. Mazhar criticised interim government positions supporting elections, calling the process rigged to reinstall “looter mafia” groups who have amassed wealth through corruption.

Bangladesh has recorded one death from dengue fever, while 382 patients have been hospitalised nationwide in the past 24 hours. The Directorate General of Health Services’ Tuesday bulletin said the patient who died was undergoing treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital. The highest number of dengue deaths this year, 41, was recorded in July. July saw the highest number of dengue hospitalisations this year, with 10,684 admissions. Bangladesh saw 101,211 hospitalisations from dengue in 2024, with 575 deaths, which is the third-highest annual caseload and the second-highest death toll on record.

Jamaat surpasses all parties in income, spending in year of July UprisingThe Jamaat-e-Islami, which regained party registration this year after more than a decade, has declared the highest income and expenditure among all political parties in the calendar year 2024. In financial disclosures submitted to the Election Commission on Jul 31, the party showed an income of Tk 289.7 million and spending of Tk 237.3 million for the year. Jamaat reported a closing balance of Tk 52.36 million for the previous year, having started 2024 with Tk 104.94 million in reserves. In 2024, the BNP declared an income of Tk 156.59 million and reported spending of Tk 48 million. The Jatiya Party reported income of Tk 26.44 million and expenditure of Tk 17.99 million, ending the year with Tk 8.45 million in reserves.

Parents of students killed and injured in the Air Force jet crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara have demanded an inquiry, compensation, justice, and an end to coaching centre businesses linked to the school. They condemned the coaching business and called for accountability for the crash that killed 34 and left 69 injured, mostly schoolchildren. The government must pay Tk 50 million compensation for every student who died and Tk 10 million for every injured student. The school must pay Tk 20 million compensation for every deceased and Tk 10 million for every injured student. On separate compensation claims from the government and school management, Rubel said: “The government is as responsible as the school authority.

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has urged Malaysian businesses to invest in Bangladesh, saying the interim government has taken a series of steps to make the country more business-friendly. Speaking at a business forum in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Yunus said that business in Bangladesh had not progressed in the past as it should have, but “many new possibilities” were now emerging in the “New Bangladesh”, according to state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). “Bangladesh is trying to become business-friendly in every possible way...I found an unlimited prospect in changing Bangladesh," he was quoted as saying. Highlighting the country’s young and creative population, Yunus called on investors to take advantage of the Bangladeshi diaspora spread across the world. Referring to young Bangladeshis living abroad, he said they “always have eagerness to do something for Bangladesh”.

REUTERSRussian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine near the mining town of Dobropillia in a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Ukraine to cede land as the US and Russian presidents prepare to meet. Ukrainian military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said only small groups were penetrating defensive lines, and this did not amount to a breakthrough. He said, without citing evidence, that Ukraine had redeployed elite forces to try to thwart the advance. Russia's Interfax news agency and Ukrainian war bloggers reported the same. To do that, though, Russian forces would first need to take control of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka - four places Russian military analysts call "fortress cities".

He said the survey collected responses from 1,373 people across all districts, including 335 women, 1,033 men and five people of the third gender. Eighty-seven percent supported a provision barring the same person from simultaneously serving as prime minister, parliamentary leader and party leader. Eighty-nine percent wanted to limit a prime minister’s tenure to two terms, while 87 percent favoured a cabinet-led government, and 88 percent supported expanding presidential powers. This government is a non-partisan government.”Dhaka University Prof Robaet Ferdous said good governance does not automatically follow from elections alone. By implementing the proposed national charter, he said, Bangladesh could move toward becoming a “democratic, humane and prosperous state”.

The Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a national platform of labourers and workers, has warned of extensive action if the lease of Chittagong Port is not cancelled and labour laws are not amended immediately. The organisation’s Joint Coordinator Abdul Quader Howlader issued the warning during a rally held outside the Jatiya Press Club on Tuesday afternoon. "We have only one demand - the nine points of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad must be implemented, and a new labour law must be enacted by the 31st of August," he said. Chattogram Port cannot be leased, and a corridor cannot be given. Following the rally, SKOP activists held a protest march, which ended at the Paltan intersection.

The government is pressing ahead with efforts to reduce the US supplementary duty on Bangladeshi goods from 20 percent to 15 percent, according to Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin. Officials believe the reduction has already improved Bangladesh's position in the US market as the duty is slightly lower than the rate for some competing countries. “The US has imposed a 20 percent supplementary duty. We are optimistic.”“We are hopeful that perhaps some kind of agreement can be reached in return for the steps we have taken to reduce the trade deficit. “We will try to reduce the trade deficit by importing energy products from the US.

According to Bangladesh Bank data released on Monday, credit growth stood at 6.49 percent at the end of June. He also argued that if inflation drops to 7 percent, the policy interest rate should be cut, as high lending rates are having a significant negative effect on the economy. The private sector credit growth target has been set at 7.20 percent. Governor Ahsan H Mansur has indicated that the policy rate will remain unchanged until inflation falls below 7 percent. The central bank’s website holds credit growth data from 2015, which shows that June recorded the lowest rate in that period.

Centuries-old cannons flank the entrance gate of Building No. 1 at Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka. Photo: Abdullah Al Momin

Bangladesh and Malaysia sign five MoUs, exchange three notesBangladesh and Malaysia have signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and exchanged three notes in different areas of cooperation on the first day of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’s three-day visit to Malaysia on Tuesday. Chief Adviser Yunus and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnessed the signing of the MoUs and the exchange of notes in Putrajaya. The third MoU is for cooperation between the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies. ISIS Malaysia Chairman Mohd Faiz Abdullah and Bangladesh High Commissioner in Malaysia Md Shameem Ahsan signed the MoU. The fifth MoU is between the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

The Election Commission headed by AMM Nasir Uddin is going to amend the Representation of the People Order (RPO) rules to empower itself with the authority to annul voting in an entire constituency in the event of irregularities. The proposed changes also include a provision allowing the revocation of a candidate’s status even after voting, if the candidate is found to have provided false information in their affidavit. These changes were part of a package of reform proposals finalised at a meeting on Monday, said Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah, who briefed media in the evening. The day began with the ninth commission’s adjourned meeting at the Nirbachan Bhaban, presided over by the Chief Election Commissioner Nasir. Sanaullah said the finalised set of RPO reform proposals will be sent to the relevant ministry for government approval next week.

Four National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders have held a two-hour meeting at the Dhaka residence of Tracy Ann Jacobson, the US chargé d’affaires in Bangladesh. The party’s Convenor Nahid Islam, Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, Senior Joint Member Secretary Tasnim Jara, and Joint Member Secretary Alauddin Mohammad visited her residence on Monday afternoon. The meeting took place six days after rumors spread of a meeting between five top NCP leaders and former US Ambassador Peter Haas in Cox’s Bazar on the anniversary day of the July Uprising. In response, Nasiruddin wrote that he had gone to Cox’s Bazar to privately think about the “future direction of politics”. Hasnat explained that he went to Cox’s Bazar to express his “silent protest” against the “incomplete July Proclamation”.