A video of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar recounting a tense helicopter ride with Devendra Fadnavis in July 2024 has resurfaced after Pawar's death in a plane crash. Pawar humorously described his fear during the flight due to bad weather, while Fadnavis remained calm.
Bangladesh's newly-elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman pledged to strengthen the rule of law and ensure the country is a safe land for people of all faiths, while also addressing corruption and improving law and order.
A day after her release from house arrest, Bangladesh's former prime minister and Bangladesh National Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday thanked the people of the country for their 'struggle to make possible the impossible' and said it is not 'anger' or 'revenge' but 'love and peace' which will rebuild the nation.
Bangladesh will hold general elections on February 12, 2026, the first since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. A referendum on reform proposals will be held simultaneously.
If the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins, Tarique Rahman will be Bangladesh's first male prime minister in 36 years.
Sensitive issues remain. Water sharing of the Ganga and Teesta rivers. Treatment of minorities, particularly Hindus. Border management. Trade imbalances. Connectivity projects.What happens next will shape not just bilateral ties, but the balance of South Asia itself, points out Ramesh Menon.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserts India's right to defend against terrorism from 'bad neighbours' while highlighting India's support for friendly nations.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman has returned to Dhaka after 17 years in self-exile in the UK, amid political instability following the killing of a youth leader. His return is significant as BNP emerges as a forerunner in the changed political landscape.
Bangladesh is set to hold the funeral of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi amid tight security following unrest triggered by his death. The funeral prayer will be held at the National Parliament Building. The country is also observing a day of state mourning.
'Tarique Rahman's refrain during the electoral campaign was that the minorities are safe under BNP. He has to honour that promise.'
Bangladesh's interim government has ordered a nationwide security clampdown following the shooting of a youth leader and election candidate, leading to renewed unrest.
A key leader of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party (NCP), Mahfuz Alam, has distanced himself from the party's alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, citing ideological differences and concerns over Jamaat's controversial history.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been instructed by its sports ministry to seek shifting of the country's T20 World Cup league games from India to Sri Lanka as there are "concerns about players' safety".
Now, in exile in India, Hasina, often dubbed the 'Iron Lady' of Bangladesh, watches from across the border as the nation she helped build, and often ruled with a firm hand, grapples with the legacy her rise and fall has left behind.
Bangladesh's interim government has called on India to extradite Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death in absentia. The move has sparked reactions from various political parties.
'Should China's interest in the Teesta River projects be approved, it would likely result in heightened Chinese presence near the Siliguri corridor.'
Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of the July Uprising in Bangladesh, died after being shot, sparking protests and political unrest. The interim government has promised action, while demonstrators have targeted media outlets and blamed India.
"Everything has been finalised. Now only the formalities, including getting a visa, remain to be completed, which might be completed in a day," a source said.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islam's student front, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), has secured a significant victory in the central students union elections at Jahangirnagar University (JU), following a similar win at Dhaka University. This outcome has surprised many, as these universities were not traditionally strongholds for the Islamist group.
Bangladesh's Election Commission has announced that general elections will be held in the first week of February 2025. The announcement comes amid concerns about ensuring a free, fair, and impartial election. The BNP is expected to participate, potentially without its former ally, Jamaat-e-Islami.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which Sheikh Hasina has crushed during her multiple terms as prime minister, has stirred into action after its leader Begum Khaleda Zia was released from prison.
A court in Dhaka on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, scrapping her existing bail in connection with two graft cases after she did not appear for the hearing citing "security reasons".
Moreover, the process to release those arrested between July 1 to August has started, and many have already been released, it added.
The private BDnews24 quoted Zia as saying that she was not frightened to go to jail.
A Bangladeshi court has sent 16 people, including veterans of the 1971 Liberation War, to jail under the Anti-Terrorism Act after a mob disrupted their public discussion.
Although there is no extradition treaty between the two countries, the Indian government assured that they would inquire into it, and if any terrorists were found, they would take measures to send them back, the Bangladesh premier said.
"This farcical election is unacceptable to BNP," Zia told reporters just after midnight and claimed that she had evidence of rampant vote-rigging and that the high figures given by the Election Commission for voter turnout were false
The joint forces also arrested the assistant personal secretary to former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and one of Babar's cousins.
Sheikh Hasina, who was elected for a record fourth consecutive term and fifth overall term this year, was always admired by her supporters as "Iron Lady", before the dramatic development that abruptly ended her 15-year-rule in Bangladesh.
Rahman now awaits trial at an ordinary prison ward of Dhaka Central Jail. Legal experts said if convicted he could be imprisoned for five years.
Ahead of Premier Sheikh Hasina's three-day visit to New Delhi next week, Bangladesh's main opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia has warned her against inking any "unequal deal" with India and threatened to take to streets if the government "compromised" the country's interests.
A former chief of Bangladesh's premier military intelligence agency on Monday claimed that ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia knew beforehand the 2004 grenade attack plot mainly targeting the then leader of Opposition Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh government on Tuesday reacted sharply to top opposition leader Khaleda Zia's refusal to meet visiting President Pranab Mukherjee, saying it 'is a departure from democratic norms and courtesy'.
Zia returned home late last night after a three-day visit to India.
Invoking her father's sacrifice in founding Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday lashed out at Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia and its fundamentalist ally Jamat-i-Islami over their campaign about 'sellout' of the country during her recent India visit.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal is set to formally hear charges against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday allowing state-run BTV to broadcast live the event, a first such instance in the country's history.
Zia, elected for a second term in 2001, was making her first bilateral visit to India eight months before her tenure ends.
Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced that the next general election will be held in February 2026, marking the first anniversary of the 'July Uprising'.
"Nobody will be spared... we have arrested those who were once believed to be above law," Task Force Coordinator Major General Masududdin Chowdhury told newsmen in a separate briefing after talks with Chowdhury.
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