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DHAKA: Bangladesh has signalled that it could consider joining the emerging economic or defence framework involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, opening a potentially significant new chapter in regional diplomacy and security cooperation. Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir said Dhaka was taking a positive view of the possibility of becoming part of a framework involving the three countries. His comments come only weeks after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The agreement, signed in Makkah on Aug 7, commits the three countries to strengthening collective security and defence cooperation. It also states that an armed attack against any one of the three signatories would be regarded as an attack against all three. Kabir, speaking to Bangladesh’s state news agency, indicated that Dhaka would examine the idea through the lens of its own national interests and the rapidly changing global economic and trade environment. “The government is following a Bangladesh First policy,” Kabir said, according to reports, stressing that national interests remain at the centre of Dhaka’s foreign policy. The remarks are particularly noteworthy because Bangladesh has recently been working to strengthen practical ties with Pakistan. Kabir said the two countries were seeking greater cooperation in trade and people-to-people contacts, suggesting that economic engagement could form an important part of the relationship. For Pakistan, Bangladesh’s interest could give the Makkah framework a wider South Asian dimension. For Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, Dhaka’s possible participation could also expand the reach of an arrangement that the signatories have described as defensive rather than directed against any particular country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the agreement is open to other friendly countries seeking peace, prosperity and stability in the region. Turkish officials have also stressed that the pact does not identify a common enemy and is intended to strengthen defence cooperation and collective deterrence. Bangladesh’s possible move comes as Dhaka is also deepening its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Kabir said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to visit Saudi Arabia following an invitation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The visit could provide an opportunity for discussions on economic cooperation, regional security and Bangladesh’s possible role in broader regional frameworks. For now, Dhaka has not announced any formal decision to join the defence agreement. But its positive signal is already attracting attention, particularly because Bangladesh’s participation could reshape the strategic picture across South Asia and the wider Muslim world. The next step will likely depend on how Dhaka assesses the proposed framework against its national interests, economic priorities and wider foreign-policy objectives.

Anthropic on Friday released Claude Opus 5, a new artificial intelligence model that the company says approaches the performance of its most powerful system at half the price. The San Francisco-based startup, a chief rival to OpenAI, said the model tops industry benchmarks for coding and knowledge work while consuming fewer computing resources than earlier versions. The claim addressed rising concerns among business customers who have balked at the expense of running advanced AI systems. Claude competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, with customers paying based on the amount of work performed, measured in units called tokens. Opus 5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, half the price of Fable 5, Anthropic’s most expensive publicly available offering. The company said the new model performs close to Fable 5 across many tasks despite the lower cost. Cost has become a major issue after Anthropic and its rival OpenAI both filed for stock market listings in June. Wall Street is scrutinising their business performance more closely than ever ahead of their market debuts. The release of Opus 5 is a strategic move by Anthropic to address the growing demand for affordable AI solutions while maintaining high performance. On cybersecurity, Anthropic said it deliberately avoided training Opus 5 on cyber tasks, and that the model remains behind Mythos 5  its most capable and most tightly restricted system, available only to select partners  on both offensive cyber work and biological research capabilities that could be misused. Mythos is Anthropic’s most advanced series of AI models, and its strength at finding weaknesses in computer systems has caused controversy, pushing the company to build tight guardrails around them. The company said Opus 5 finds software flaws about as well as Mythos 5 but lags far behind in turning those flaws into something that could be weaponised into an attack. Citing the reduced risk, Anthropic said its automated safety filters will intervene roughly 85% less often on Opus 5 than on Fable 5, the Mythos-class model it released last month. Fable 5 and Mythos 5 were briefly pulled from public access in June after the US Commerce Department imposed export controls, which were lifted at the end of that month. The release of Claude Opus 5 marks a significant milestone for Anthropic as it seeks to compete in the rapidly evolving AI market. By offering a high-performance model at a lower cost, the company aims to attract a broader range of customers, including businesses and developers who may have been priced out of the market. The focus on affordability and performance reflects the growing demand for AI solutions that can deliver results without breaking the bank. As the AI industry continues to evolve, the competition between Anthropic, OpenAI, and other players is expected to intensify, with companies racing to develop models that are both powerful and cost-effective. Anthropic’s strategic approach to balancing performance, cost, and safety positions it well in the competitive landscape, and the company is likely to continue innovating to meet the needs of its customers. The launch of Opus 5 is a testament to Anthropic’s commitment to advancing AI technology while addressing the practical concerns of businesses and developers. The AI industry will be watching closely to see how the market responds to this new offering and how it shapes the future of AI development and deployment.