WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Bangladesh celebrates, Google loses in court, and Strictly gets its first contestant

 
today's international story

Bangladesh army announces interim government

What happened 
Amid scenes of euphoria across Bangladesh yesterday following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that an interim government would now run the country and called for calm.

Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for close to two decades, boarded a military helicopter and fled to India as vast crowds stormed her palace in Dhaka.

Who said what
Waker-Uz-Zaman promised to restore peace to the country after weeks of deadly demonstrations and said he had invited representatives from all major political parties to collaborate with his interim government. The general also promised "justice for all the murders and wrongdoings".

As news of Hasina's departure spread "jubilant crowds waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets", said Al Jazeera.

What next? 
Despite the jubilation "signs of lingering anger were evident as night fell", said The New York Times. Protesters pulled down statues of Hasina's father and torched the museum erected in his name.

"It will not be enough for Sheikh Hasina to flee," said Nahid Islam, a student protest leader. "We will bring her to justice."

The power vacuum leaves "Bangladesh in the grip of a major political crisis", said the Hindustan Times.

For now "the hope is that the army will ensure peace", Naomi Hossain, a research professor at SOAS University, told the Associated Press. But "it could be a while before we are out of the woods".

 
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today's technology story

Google loses massive antitrust lawsuit

What happened
Google violated antitrust laws to maintain a monopoly on online searches, a US judge ruled yesterday in a landmark decision that could have major repercussions for the California-based technology company.

Who said what
"Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," said Judge Amit P. Mehta in his ruling.

Government prosecutors had argued during the trial that Google spent tens of billions of dollars each year with the likes of Apple and Samsung to become the default search engine on their devices. This gave the company an anti-competitive advantage over its rivals, Mehta's ruling found.

The decision does not state what penalties Google will face, leaving "major questions about the future of the company's dominance over the search industry and how it will operate", said The Guardian.

What next?
The ruling is a "harsh verdict" on the rise of giant technology companies and "indicates a potential limit of Big Tech’s power", said The New York Times. It may also influence other US government antitrust lawsuits against Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta.

Google will appeal the decision, according to its president of global affairs Kent Walker.

 
 
Today's entertainment story

Comedian McCausland pulls on dance shoes for Strictly

What happened
Comedian Chris McCausland revealed himself as the first celebrity contestant for this year's series of "Strictly Come Dancing". McCausland, 46, will be the hit BBC show's first blind competitor, having lost his eyesight in his early 20s due to a hereditary condition.

The show's first deaf contestant Rose Ayling-Ellis won in 2021 partnered with Giovanni Pernice, who was recently suspended over allegations of abuse (which he denies).

Who said what
"This is literally the worst-kept secret there has ever been in British television," said McCausland on ITV's "This Morning".

He admits to feeling "massively apprehensive" about appearing on a show he has "obviously" never watched. "I don't dance, I have never danced. I grew up with headbanging and mosh pits."

Disability charity Sense said his inclusion was a "pivotal moment" for representation.

What next?
The 22nd series kicks off next month after weeks of accusations by ex-contestants of inappropriate behaviour behind the scenes. The BBC has introduced new welfare checks, including a chaperone to monitor rehearsals "at all times".

 
 

It's not all bad

Researchers from Northwestern University in the US state of Illinois have developed what they call "dancing molecules" – synthetic nanofibers that can help with cartilage regeneration, something human bodies cannot do in adulthood. In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the molecules were found to have activated gene expression for cartilage regeneration in cells within four hours and had produced essential protein components in three days. The breakthrough is aimed at treating osteoarthritis, which affects 530 million people worldwide. It could lead to radical new regenerative therapies for cartilage tissue in joints.

 
 
under the radar

Australia's hospitals sound alarm on saline shortage

The Australian Medical Association has warned that the health system could "come to a grinding halt" amid an unprecedented global shortage of intravenous fluid.

The association's president Professor Steve Robson said shortages expected as early as next week "could have bigger implications than Covid restrictions", said The Guardian.

Australia's medicines regulator the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) has said that even if the worst shortages can be avoided, supplies of IV fluid products are expected to be restricted throughout this year because of global manufacturing issues and an unexpected increase in demand.

IV fluids contain a saline solution – salt in water at a concentration similar to that of plasma in the human body.  Saline is "one of the go-to fluids" and "an essential part of care" in the health system, said Ged Kearney, a former nurse who is now Australia's federal assistant minister for health.

There is also debate over just how unexpected the problem is, said ABC News. A spokesperson for the Tasmanian Department of Health told the outlet it had raised concerns with the TGA more than 18 months ago.

Royal Australasian College of Physicians president Professor Jennifer Martin said global manufacturing issues were felt more acutely in Australia and New Zealand because the nations were "the end of the supply chain for a lot of these agents and we don't have a back-up manufacturing capability".

Although there are "workarounds" to address the current shortage, wrote Shoohb Alassadi and Nial Wheate on The Conversation, Australia is likely to face ongoing supply issues "for any medicines that we rely on overseas manufacturers to produce", and shortages like this "put Australian lives at risk".

 
 
on this day

6 August 1890

William Francis Kemmler was the first person to be executed by the electric chair. It was a "bungled nightmare", said The New York Times, with several witnesses "nauseated and weak-kneed" as the murderer was killed. According to Supreme Court records, lethal injection is now the most common form of execution for prisoners sentenced to death in America, with more than 1,350 people killed by that method since 1976.

 
 
Today's newspapers

People targeted by "far right thugs" are "too scared" to leave their homes, says The Mirror, as rioting and violent scenes in towns and cities across the UK looms large on the front pages. The Daily Mail leads with comments from Downing Street on Elon Musk's claim that "civil war is inevitable", while The Times says online misinformation fuelling the disorder may be being amplified by foreign state actors. Meanwhile, says the FT, US stocks finished dramatically lower as fears over an American recession drive a "sell-off". 

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Name of Thrones

A "devastated" mum found out that the Passport Office had initially rejected her daughter's application because she was named after a character from "Game of Thrones". Speaking to the BBC, the 39-year-old, known only as Lucy, explained that she had received a letter saying she would need permission from Warner Brothers because her daughter's name, Khaleesi, was trademarked by the company. But her lawyers realised the trademark didn't cover people's names and the Passport Office has since apologised.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Julia O'Driscoll and Chas Newkey-Burden.

Image credits, from top: K. M. Asad / LightRocket via Getty Images; Leon Neal / Getty Images; Jeff Spicer / Getty Images; Boris Horvat / AFP / Getty Images.