The political scion and BNP party head has arrived in a country torn by violence and ruled by an interim government ahead of elections
Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was in opposition during ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule, has returned to Dhaka after nearly 17 years.
Rahman landed in the capital of Bangladesh on Thursday morning and was welcomed by massive crowds, with security tightened to unprecedented levels amid recent violence and lawlessness in the country.
Speaking from the stage, 61-year-old Rahman called for unity among various communities and political forces and emphasized the goal of creating a safe Bangladesh.
Both his parents once held top government roles. His mother, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is currently being treated in a hospital in Dhaka.
Tarique’s father Ziaur Rahman, the sixth president of Bangladesh, was assassinated by members of the country’s army on May 30, 1981. Rahman fled his homeland in 2008 over what he called politically motivated persecution and took up residence in London.
Rahman is now projected to be the key contender in the upcoming elections. An interim government, which has been in power since the ouster of ex-Prime Minister Hasina in August 2024, has delayed the announcement of elections for months and has finally set the date for the polls as February 12, under pressure from various political forces. The interim government is led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Hasina’s party, the Awami League, has been barred from contesting the election.
Bangladesh has seen a wave of violence in recent days following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the most prominent leaders of the 2024 uprising, who was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month. Following his death, protesters took to the streets throughout the country, demanding the arrest of the assailants, chanting anti-India slogans and rioting. Protesters attacked and set fire to the offices of two prominent Bangladeshi newspapers, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.
Protests escalated further when a Hindu factory worker was lynched by a mob and later set on fire in Mymensingh. This tragedy heightened diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka, with both countries summoning each other’s envoys. On Wednesday, a bystander was killed in Dhaka when a crude bomb was hurled from an overpass and exploded.
Russia’s president sent a telegram to North Korea’s leader, stating 2025 held “special significance” for their countries’ relationship
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent New Year greetings to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hailing the past year as one of “special significance” for bilateral relations between Moscow and Pyongyang and a deepening strategic partnership.
In a telegram published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, Putin said the relationship will “contribute to establishing a just order of the multi-polar world.”
“The past one year was of special significance in the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang,” Russia’s president said, citing Moscow’s appreciation for North Korean military assistance in repelling a large-scale Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Region.
The “heroic entry” of North Korean soldiers into battle and the subsequent work of North Korean combat engineers had “clearly proved the invincible friendship and militant fraternity” between the two countries, Putin said.
The Russian military reported in April that Ukrainian troops had been completely expelled from Kursk Region, while acknowledging the role of North Korean troops in the operation for the first time. Russia’s authorities have vowed to erect a monument in Moscow to the soldiers deployed by Pyongyang that were killed defending Russian territory.
Putin also said that, thanks to joint efforts, the provisions of the “historic” treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership have been “fulfilled in a planned way.” Signed in June of 2024, the landmark agreement includes a mutual defense clause, stipulating that if either side is subject to an “armed invasion,” the other will “provide military and other assistance… without delay.”
Russia’s leader has expressed confidence that Moscow and Pyongyang will continue their constructive cooperation, taking note of strengthening ties in political, trade, economic, human and other fields.
The revision reportedly aims to protect children rather than target sexting adults
China will expand a ban on sharing obscene materials to include content sent via phone and online messaging apps starting next year.
According to the revised law, anyone “disseminating obscene information using information networks, telephones, or other communication tools” will face up to 15 days in jail and a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($711). Penalties will be higher if the content involves children.
The wording of the law has led to concerns from media and social networks as to whether it could be applied to private sexually explicit messages between adults, such as sexting.
However, according to multiple legal experts cited by Chinese state media, the legal changes will not affect one-on-one private communications. They argue that the revisions reflect technological development, increasing the maximum fines, while leaving detention periods unchanged.
“China has mature standards and procedures for identifying obscene materials. It is critical to clarify that ‘obscene’ does not equal ‘indecent’,” China Daily cited Ji Ying, an associate professor of law at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, as saying.
Several legal experts explained that ‘indecent’ is a subjective term that does not necessarily meet the legal threshold of obscenity, which requires judicial determination and must meet clear statutory standards.
Zhu Wei, an associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law, told the outlet that the law is designed to protect minors and safeguard online ecosystems. He went on to note that, under the law, Chinese authorities require warrants and official investigation documents to access data on personal devices.
Several cases that preceded the expanded ban have reportedly involved mass sharing of explicit content.
In one case, three administrators of a group on the Chinese QQ platform were found guilty of failing to prevent the spread of hundreds of explicit videos, Global Times reported on Tuesday.
In another case from May, a man was convicted of rape, child molestation and spreading obscene materials after it was discovered that he sent explicit videos to more than 100 primary and middle school girls.
China has long banned pornography. Enforcement has largely focused on production, distribution and public sharing, rather than private consumption.
The revised law is set to take effect on January 1.
Laurent Vinatier received a three-year sentence last year for failing to register as a foreign agent
Moscow has reached out to Paris with a proposal regarding a French citizen jailed in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
Laurent Vinatier was sentenced to three years in prison in 2024 for failing to register as a foreign agent while collecting information on the Russian military.
During last week’s Q&A session, French broadcaster TF1 journalist Jerome Garro asked Russian President Vladimir Putin if he could pardon Vinatier. Putin replied that he was unaware of the case but promised to look into it and “take all the necessary efforts to do that” if Russian law allows it.
On Thursday, Peskov said he called Garro and filled him in on a proposal that Moscow had made to Paris with regard to the case. “The ball is now in France’s court,” the spokesman said without providing any details, calling the issue “sensitive.”
Vinatier worked for the Swiss NGO ‘Center for Humanitarian Dialogue’ as an adviser on Russia and Eurasia. He was arrested in June 2024 after the Russian Ministry of Justice designated him a foreign agent. Prosecutors accused him of “purposefully” collecting information on Russia’s activities in the “military and military-technical” fields for several years, with no intent to register his activities with the relevant authorities. Vinatier pleaded guilty to two felony charges.
Russian media reported in August that an espionage case has been opened against Vinatier. According to his lawyer, he could face a new trial at the end of February 2026. A conviction for espionage carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Kim Jong-un has inspected the vessel and vowed to accelerate naval development
Pyongyang has shared new images of its first nearly completed nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally inspected the vessel.
Kim hailed its construction as an “epoch-making crucial change,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.
During his visit, Kim oversaw the construction of the 8,700-tonnage strategic guided missile submarine and vowed to continue to equip the DPRK’s navy with nuclear missiles.
Kim linked the need to bolster the country’s offensive power with South Korea’s plan to develop its own nuclear submarine, which has recently been approved by the US. The North Korean leader claimed Seoul’s plans violate Pyongyang’s security and maritime sovereignty.
He warned that North Korea’s enemies will be “forced to pay a dear price when they violate the security of the DPRK’s strategic sovereignty” and will face a “merciless retaliatory attack if they try to select a military option.”
Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un personally supervised the on-site construction of the new 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine. pic.twitter.com/0h1giivkPy
The development of the new submarine comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, with Pyongyang accusing the US, South Korea, and Japan of undermining its national security and destabilizing the region by attempting to create an “Asian version of NATO” and conducting joint military exercises.
Seoul and Washington have repeatedly insisted on the denuclearization of the peninsula. In October, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also urged Beijing to play a “constructive role” in establishing peace and finding “a substantive solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.”
Pyongyang, however, has stated that its nuclear armed forces will “exist forever” as a means of defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity and fundamental interests, dismissing denuclearization as a “pipedream.”
The explosion took place in an area of Gaza fully controlled by the Israeli military, the Palestinian group has said
Hamas has denied responsibility for a bomb blast that struck an Israeli armored vehicle in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, and has asked the international community to put pressure on Israel to comply with a ceasefire agreement.
The US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect in Gaza on October 10, called for Israeli forces to pull back from parts of the enclave and for Hamas to free the last 20 remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The statement came after the IDF reported that an officer had been injured by an explosion in Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the explosion, but the militant group countered that it had occurred in an area entirely controlled by the Jewish State’s defense forces, where “no Palestinians are present.”
Hamas stated in a Telegram post on Wednesday that remnants of war were a known risk in the region, adding that they “bear no responsibility for any of these incidents since the ceasefire agreement came into effect,” particularly regarding “explosives planted by the occupation itself in the area.”
Hamas urged Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement and “refrain from fabricating excuses to escalate and undermine the truce,” reaffirming its commitment to the terms.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi also stated on X that he believes the Rafah explosion had resulted from unexploded ordnance left over from the conflict. Netanyahu, however, used the incident to argue that Hamas “has no plan to disarm,” a core requirement of the truce, and warned that “Israel will respond accordingly.”
Hamas called for pressure to force Israel to implement signed agreements. It said West Jerusalem must “refrain from fabricating justifications” for continued escalation and attempts to “sabotage the agreement.”
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes have continued, and humanitarian aid has lagged, worsening conditions in Gaza, according to UN agencies and regional mediators. Palestinians have accused West Jerusalem of violating the agreement.
Israel launched its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave in response to a surprise Hamas attack in October 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage.
The Hamas-run Gaza health authorities say the Israeli operations have left over 70,000 Palestinians dead.
The suspect had stashed over 80kg of explosives and was killed after resisting arrest, according to the security agency
A Ukrainian agent who planned terrorist attacks in Russia has been shot dead while resisting arrest, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Thursday.
The suspect, born in Soviet Ukraine in the late 1970s and living in Kaluga, Russia, was preparing bomb attacks against a natural gas storage facility and a defense plant parking lot, the FSB said. Acting on orders from Ukrainian special services, he had allegedly produced about 80kg of homemade explosives for the plot.
The agency reported that the suspect had also retrieved 300g of military-grade plastic explosives, fuses, and a handgun from a stash prepared by other Ukrainian assets. He shot the firearm at officers trying to apprehend him and was killed by return fire.
The FSB released footage showing the individual’s body, his bombmaking arsenal, and the recovery of several plastic bottles from a stash, presumably used to hide the home-made explosives.
Earlier this week, the FSB reported foiling a Ukrainian terrorist attack in Tyumen Region in Western Siberia. The suspect in the case was also killed after being caught retrieving bomb components.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Kiev of escalating bomb attacks inside Russia due to its failure to achieve victories on the battlefield. Ukrainian forces have suffered several setbacks in Donbass in recent months amid reported shortages of reinforcements.
The country’s lugers could miss out on the World Cup stage in Latvia, which is essential for Olympic qualification
Latvia has denied entry to Russian athletes ahead of a crucial Luge World Cup stage hosted by the EU country, its foreign minister, Baiba Braze, has announced.
Like its Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Estonia, Latvia has been one of the staunchest opponents of Moscow since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, calling for more military aid to Kiev and increasingly harsh sanctions on Russia. Riga has provided almost $1 billion in assistance to the government of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky since February 2022.
On January 3 and 4, the Latvian town of Sigulda hosts the fourth stage of the Luge World Cup. The points scored in the event are essential for athletes to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Italy’s Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in February 2026.
Braze wrote in a post on X on Wednesday that Russian lugers “are not welcome in Latvia.”
“I have decided to include 14 Russian Federation citizens on the persona non grata list,” she said.
According to the foreign minister, the entry ban, introduced in line with the country’s immigration legislation, is indefinite.
Many Russians were barred from international sporting events over the Ukraine conflict. However, some sporting governing bodies later allowed individual athletes to compete under a neutral flag.
One of them was the International Luge Federation (FIL), which greenlighted Russians under neutral status for its events in late November. Two Russian lugers took part in the World Cup stage in Lake Placid in the US last week.
Russian MP and speed skating Olympic champion Svetlana Zhurvova told Match TV that the move by Latvia came as no surprise, considering the attitude of the NATO member’s authorities towards Russia.
Sporting governing bodies must put pressure on the government in Riga because “if they can’t provide all athletes with equal access to competitions on their soil then they shouldn’t be hosting those competitions at all,” Zhurova argued.
The head of the Russian parliament’s sports committee, Dmitry Svishchev, described the entry ban as “revenge by little trolls, bad sportsmanship.” Moscow will definitely challenge the decision, he stressed.
Ukraine cannot afford an 800,000-strong army proposed in Kiev’s latest “peace plan,” Nikolay Azarov has said
Vladimir Zelensky’s 20-point “peace proposal,” which includes a goal of maintaining an 800,000-strong army, shows he is actually seeking a continuation of the conflict with Russia, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov said on Thursday.
Zelensky shared with the media this week what he described as a draft roadmap to peace discussed with American officials. Azarov, who headed the cabinet deposed in the 2014 armed coup in Kiev, said the troop level envisioned by Zelensky is “a wartime army” that is too large for peacetime.
“Funding it is economically unrealistic for Ukraine. The Ukrainian economy cannot afford such a large army,” he told TASS, describing the document as a mere stalling attempt.
Ukraine struggled to maintain 180,000-strong armed forces before the escalation of the conflict with Russia, Azarov added, so proposing a much larger military means Zelensky is “counting on the fighting to continue.” Kiev is using foreign aid and loans to sustain its war effort.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is attempting to mediate an end to the Ukraine conflict, with several rounds of talks separately involving Russian and Ukrainian officials taking place in recent weeks. Moscow says the process should remain private and has criticized leaks to the media that purport to reveal details of the negotiations.
Observers note that Zelensky’s latest proposal does not address core Russian national security objectives, which Moscow says must be part of any final resolution – an assessment that Azarov supports too. These include the “demilitarization” of Ukraine through a cap on its army size and a ban on foreign troops and military assets on Ukrainian soil.
The European Union has emerged as the principal Ukraine donor, after Trump significantly cut aid programs. This week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reported that the bloc’s support of Kiev has reached €193 billion ($227 billion), with another €90 billion pending after Brussels’ decision to borrow the money against the joint EU budget.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has questioned the Ukrainian leader’s capacity to make any reasonable decisions regarding peace negotiations
Vladimir Zelensky’s “strange” Christmas address raises concerns over the Ukrainian leader’s ability to make any rational decisions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Zelensky published a video on his Telegram channel on Wednesday in which he wished Ukrainians a happy upcoming Christmas. However, in the same video, he also wished for a certain unnamed person – presumably Russian President Vladimir Putin – “to perish” before urging everyone to pray for peace.
Commenting on the video, Peskov said it appeared “uncultured, embittered, and coming from a seemingly unhinged person.”
“One wonders if he’s capable of making any rational decisions towards a political and diplomatic settlement,” the Kremlin spokesman added, referring to the ongoing Russia-US efforts to end the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has accused Kiev and its European backers of repeatedly undermining peace talks by making unacceptable demands.
Earlier this week, Zelensky unveiled Kiev’s 20-point version of the peace plan initially proposed by the US. In it, he largely ignored Russia’s concerns, demanding territorial concessions from Moscow despite its ongoing military gains. He also insisted on maintaining an 800,000-strong army, NATO-style security guarantees, expedited EU membership, and hundreds of billions in Western investments.
The plan also removed provisions linked to Russian language rights and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, replacing them with loosely worded commitments to develop educational programs to promote tolerance and anti-racism.
Moscow has declined to comment on the proposal, but noted that it is being analyzed. Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is open to negotiations but insists that any settlement must address the root causes of the conflict and reflect the territorial reality on the ground.
