Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran is not concerned about a new security agreement involving Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Speaking at a news conference in Tehran on Monday, August 10, 2026, he said the Mecca pact reflected a change in approaches to Middle East security.

Baghaei said the agreement signaled a shift in attitudes toward the United States and in how regional countries view security. He said states in the region were seeking to rely more on their own capabilities rather than on outside powers.

He added that any plan based on the region’s geopolitical and historical realities, that is broad and inclusive and correctly identifies enemies and threats, could help strengthen security. According to Baghaei, such a plan could also help counter instability and oppression caused by the Zionist enemy and its allies.

The United States said it redirected 55 commercial ships traveling toward Iran as part of an operation to enforce sanctions imposed on Iranian ports. The US military announced the claim on Monday, according to a report published and updated on August 10, 2026.

US Central Command, the body coordinating US military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement on X that the ships’ routes were changed to ensure compliance with the sanctions. CENTCOM described the action as part of ongoing US efforts to enforce restrictions involving Iranian ports and trade connected to the country.

CENTCOM also said two additional vessels were disabled during the operation, while two ships were searched. The statement did not provide further details on the identities of the vessels, their cargoes, their locations, or the circumstances in which the ships were redirected, disabled, or searched.

The Wall Street Journal has raised concerns about vulnerabilities and risks facing the US military during its war with Iran, according to a report published on August 10, 2026. It said Iranian attacks on US military bases in West Asia, including a recent attack in Jordan, highlighted the growing threat from enemy missiles and drones.

The newspaper said the attacks showed that the United States was not adequately prepared to protect overseas military bases, critical infrastructure, and military and civilian personnel. It claimed Iran had launched more than 2,000 aircraft, missile, and drone attacks across West Asia since the war began, damaging at least 20 facilities used by US forces in eight countries.

The Wall Street Journal estimated military equipment and infrastructure losses at about $13 billion and said more than 42 US military aircraft had been destroyed or damaged. The New York Times said five months of fighting had reduced stocks of key weapons, including more than 1,500 Patriot missiles, and that replenishment could take at least two years. It said the shortfall could weaken US capacity to respond to potential threats in Europe and Asia.

Bangladesh has launched an initiative to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties with New Zealand, focusing on agriculture technology, dairy, green energy, pharmaceuticals, leather, jute, sustainable textiles and information technology. At a meeting with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Bangladesh highlighted opportunities for joint investment, business connections and export expansion. The Commerce Ministry disclosed the information in a Monday statement. Commerce Ministry Secretary Md Ataur Rahman led Bangladesh’s delegation, while Rachel McGakian, NZTE’s market manager for Southeast and East Asia, took part in the discussion.

Annual trade between the two countries currently stands at about $450 million. Bangladesh imports significant dairy and metal products from New Zealand, while its exports to New Zealand total about $147 million and are largely ready-made garments. Bangladesh sought NZTE support to diversify trade by expanding non-garment exports, particularly pharmaceuticals, environmentally friendly jute products, leather goods, sustainable textiles and IT services.

Bangladesh invited New Zealand companies to invest in its special economic zones in dairy processing, cold-chain logistics, agriculture technology, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy and environmentally friendly technology. It proposed direct contact between BIDA and NZTE, virtual business-to-business meetings involving Bangladeshi pharmaceutical, IT and leather exporters and New Zealand buyers, and coordination with New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministry. Both sides also agreed to establish a bilateral business council and arrange or participate in trade fairs.

Bangladesh lawmaker Sachinpru Jery called for increased tree planting to protect environmental balance and reduce landslide risks in Bandarban. Speaking as chief guest at a tree-planting and sapling-distribution event organised by the Bandarban Timber Traders Association in Ruma upazila on Monday morning, he linked heavier rainfall and landslides to climate change.

Jery said the declining number of trees is increasing soil erosion and the risk of landslides. He stressed that planting trees alone would not be sufficient and that regular care of planted trees must also be ensured. He described the traders association’s initiative as commendable in implementing the government’s election manifesto on environmental protection.

The event was attended by Ruma Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tajmin Alam Tuli, Bandarban Forest Department Divisional Forest Officer Md Toufiqul Islam, Pulpwood Plantation Division Forest Officer Abu Yusuf, and leaders of the district timber traders association. Local residents and students from different educational institutions also participated. After the discussion, guests distributed fruit and forest saplings of different species among local communities and students.

Bangladesh is bringing 82,656 mosques under a state monthly honorarium programme in the 2026-27 fiscal year, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said in a press release on Monday. Imams at selected mosques will receive Tk5,000 a month, muezzins Tk3,000 and caretakers Tk2,000. The government has set mosque-selection quotas based on whether areas are unions, municipalities or city corporations.

Fifteen mosques will be selected from each union. In municipalities, four mosques per ward will be selected in category A areas, three in category B and two in category C. Six mosques per ward will be selected in city corporations. Payments will be sent directly to beneficiaries' bank accounts through electronic fund transfer, rather than through intermediaries.

A total of 86,709 religious institutions and 256,074 religious leaders will receive the monthly support this fiscal year. The institutions include 3,000 temples, 752 Buddhist monasteries and 301 churches, alongside the mosques. The budget allocates Tk110 billion for honoraria to religious leaders, and the government plans to extend coverage to all religious institutions over the next three fiscal years.

Kuwait congratulated Pakistan on the recently signed Mecca Joint Defense Agreement involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah spoke by telephone late at night with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and extended congratulations on the agreement.

The two foreign ministers exchanged views on the regional situation, including conditions in occupied East Jerusalem. They also discussed Pakistan-Kuwait bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest. Their call covered follow-up steps after the Kuwaiti foreign minister’s recent visit to Pakistan, as well as ways to strengthen cooperation and investment in important sectors.

The agreement was signed on Friday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Under its terms, an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be treated as an attack against all three. The stated aims are to reinforce collective deterrence capabilities and expand defense cooperation among the three countries.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday afternoon inaugurated the SDG Village pilot project, which will operate in Mitingachhari in Kaptai, Rangamati; Pankhali in Dakop upazila, Khulna; and Nafanagar in Bochaganj upazila, Dinajpur. The current government adopted the initiative under a project aimed at redefining economic strategy for Bangladesh’s sustainable development.

At the inauguration, Rahman said the past 17 years of what he called fascist rule had damaged education, health, the economy and other sectors, and that rebuilding was now necessary. He said the current government was working toward that goal and described all BNP plans as people-friendly. Government support networks, he added, were gradually expanding.

The project covers poverty reduction, drainage and waterlogging relief, quality education, improved health services, lower child and maternal mortality, and access to safe water and sanitation, in line with the 17 SDG goals. Rahman said no single ministry or department could achieve the SDG targets alone and that cooperation from all relevant parties was needed. Residents of Mitingachhari expressed enthusiasm and gratitude for receiving the opportunity.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei said Tehran is not concerned about a new security agreement involving Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. He made the remarks at a news conference in Tehran on Monday, according to the report.

Baghaei said the agreement signals a shift in attitudes toward the United States and in regional countries’ approaches to security. He described the shift as one in which countries in the region rely more on their own capabilities rather than on outside powers.

He said any plan based on the region’s geopolitical and historical realities, and one that is broad and inclusive, could help strengthen security if it correctly identifies enemies and threats. Baghaei added that such an approach could potentially counter instability and oppression caused by the Zionist enemy and its allies.

A court in Satkhira denied bail to Burigoalini Union Parishad Chairman Haji Md Nazrul Islam and Biswajit Mondal in an extortion case linked to a JICA-funded flood-control embankment construction project in Shyamnagar. The two appeared before the Satkhira court on Monday seeking renewed bail. After a hearing, Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Saidur Rahman rejected their applications and ordered them sent to jail.

According to complainant-side lawyer Pabitra Kumar, prosecutors told the court that the accused faced allegations of extortion involving government project work and that their release could disrupt construction. Nazrul Islam and Mondal had previously received six weeks of bail from the High Court, but sought bail again after that period ended. Lawyers Abu Bakkar and Syed Iftekhar Ali represented the accused.

The case was filed at Shyamnagar police station on May 25 by Md Jalal Uddin, legal officer of project implementer R-Rad Corporation. The complaint alleges extortion, assault and disruption of work. Nazrul Islam, the main accused, has denied the allegations as false and motivated, saying he was attending a Union Parishad budget session at the time of the alleged assault. Project-related officials said delays before the monsoon could put broad coastal areas at risk.

The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has nominated retired Colonel Oli Ahmad Bir Bikram for Bangladesh’s 23rd presidential election. His name was announced on Sunday afternoon by Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam after an alliance meeting at the residence of the leader of the opposition. The Liberal Democratic Party chairman was selected unanimously, according to Ahmad.

Speaking to journalists, Ahmad said the alliance wanted the country to move in the right direction. Describing himself as a freedom fighter, he said he had served three times as a minister and six times as a member of parliament. He also claimed that there were no scandals or allegations of corruption against him.

Ahmad said the alliance would be happy if a better candidate could be put forward. If not, he said he hoped ruling-party lawmakers would vote for him and create an opportunity to guide the country in the right direction. Asked whether any BNP lawmakers would support him, he declined to comment immediately, saying there was still time and that an application should be submitted first.

Kosovo's parliament suspended its session after an egg was thrown at acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti during a sitting on Saturday. The incident occurred while Kurti was addressing lawmakers, triggering disorder in the chamber and leading to the adjournment of parliament.

Tima Kadriaj, a lawmaker from the conservative opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, stood up and shouted while Kurti was speaking before throwing an egg toward the prime minister. Kurti said he was prepared to face such unwelcome situations if that was the price of continuing dialogue among political parties.

The report said disorder in Kosovo's parliament is not unprecedented. Kurti's left-wing Vetevendosje party has previously led disruptions and protests in the legislature. In 2018, party members threw tear gas inside the chamber, while a similar unprecedented protest had also taken place in parliament in 2015.

Police arrested Awami League leader Borhan Uddin Chowdhury Murad from the Gulshan residence of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed in Dhaka. The operation took place in the Gulshan-2 area at about 10:30am on Sunday, August 10, 2026. Murad is the relief and social welfare secretary of Anwara উপজেলা Awami League and previously served as a personal assistant to former Chattogram-13 MP Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu.

Murad faces multiple cases involving allegations of abuse of power, abduction, ransom collection and involvement in banned political activities. In October 2024, he was named as a principal accused in a case filed at Anwara police station against Javed and his associates. The complaint alleged that, on the former minister’s instructions, the accused took a person away, held him at an undisclosed location, tortured him and collected Tk10 lakh in ransom.

Murad was also named in a case against 138 people under the Anti-Terrorism Act over a procession by the banned Awami League in Anwara in October 2025. Javed and former state minister for finance Wasika Ayesha Khan were also accused in that case. Anwara police station officer-in-charge Jonayet Chowdhury said Murad would be shown arrested in the multiple cases filed there.

Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has congratulated students who passed the Secondary School Certificate, or SSC, and equivalent examinations. In a press release issued on August 10, the student organization also expressed sympathy for those who did not achieve their desired results. It said the average pass rate in this year's SSC and equivalent examinations was 62.25 percent.

The organization offered heartfelt greetings and sincere congratulations to all successful candidates. It described young people as the country's future and said it expects the next generation to gain genuine education and devote themselves to the welfare of the country and nation. The statement also urged young people to become politically aware rather than politically disengaged.

The release said young people should help collectively resist any domestic or hegemonic conspiracy against democracy, independence and sovereignty. It expressed hope that their talent, qualifications and patriotism would help establish Bangladesh in a dignified position before the world. The organization also pledged to stand beside the new generation in building a beautiful, safe, democratic and discrimination-free future. The message was issued by office secretary Md Jahangir Alam.

Shyamal Chandra Haldar, acting head teacher of Middle Sonakur Government Primary School No. 14 in Kaukhali upazila of Pirojpur, has been temporarily suspended. The action followed allegations that he violated government instructions by having students plant tree branches instead of saplings during a tree-planting programme. A signed order from the district primary education officer confirmed the suspension.

Under a special programme of the prime minister, schools had been clearly instructed to plant fruit, forest and medicinal saplings on their grounds on July 15. According to the allegation, Haldar arranged for students to plant branches in place of saplings and uploaded photographs of the activity to a teachers’ social media group.

Following a written complaint, Kaukhali assistant upazila primary education officer Rafiqul Islam conducted an on-site investigation on July 19 and found the allegation to be true. Authorities temporarily suspended Haldar under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules. Upazila primary education officer Wahidul Islam said action was taken after the allegation was proven. He also said a female teacher’s complaint against an assistant teacher would be investigated under the rules.