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• The Bangladesh government has launched a five-year strategic plan to clean up the banking sector, focusing on recovering bad loans, tightening supervision, and restoring depositor confidence. • The Bangladesh Bank will spearhead regulatory and supervisory reforms, while the Financial Institutions Division will coordinate policy and legal changes for state-owned financial institutions. • Success will be measured using specific indicators, including asset quality, capital adequacy, liquidity, transparency, and governance standards.

• The Busan Film Festival has selected 23 titles for its "Vision Korea" and "Vision Asia" sections for the 2026 edition. • The lineup consists of 12 independent Korean films and 11 works from emerging directors across Asia. • These sections are designed to showcase innovative storytelling and provide a platform for new talent within the regional cinema landscape.

• Democratic Party chair Kim Min-seok has initiated a reconciliation push by calling for frequent, informal talks with People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok. • Simultaneously, Kim is seeking to revive cooperation with the Rebuilding Korea Party, exploring the possibility of a merger to strengthen the liberal alliance. • The Rebuilding Korea Party has responded cautiously, stating that rebuilding trust is a necessary prerequisite after previous merger negotiations collapsed.

• The Supreme Court has established a High-Powered Committee, led by retired Justice R Subhash Reddy, to investigate violence and police actions during student protests in Delhi last month. • The probe will examine allegations of police excesses, targeted violence, and the harassment or molestation of women protesters. • The panel is tasked with determining whether the police force acted lawfully and used a proportionate level of force during the demonstrations.

• South Korea's net external financial assets dropped to $64 billion in Q2, marking a 12-year low after a decrease of $689.5 billion. • The decline was primarily driven by a soaring KOSPI, which increased the valuation of Korean stocks held by foreign investors. • The Bank of Korea emphasized that the drop is a result of asset valuation rather than a loss of stability, noting that net external debt remains steady.

• European ETFs reached a record $323.6 billion in year-to-date net inflows by the end of July. • This surge highlights a significant increase in investor appetite for exchange-traded products across the European market. • The growth reflects broader trends in asset management and a shifting preference toward liquid, diversified investment vehicles.

Loggerhead turtles abound this season but rollback of Endangered Species Act protections could threaten futureWildlife groups in Florida are celebrating record numbers of sea turtle nests this season, but experts warn Donald Trump’s recent gutting of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could reverse decades of their recovery from the edge of extinction.With more than two months of the summer nesting season still to run, loggerhead turtles have already laid 13,770 nests, hundreds more than recorded in any previous year, along an 8.5-mile stretch of shoreline monitored by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Continue reading...