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Bangladesh court sentences former PM Sheikh Hasina to death

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A special tribunal in Dhaka has sentenced former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia, finding her guilty of crimes against humanity for her government’s role in the deadly crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.

The verdict, delivered by a three-judge panel of the International Crimes Tribunal, concluded that Hasina directly ordered and oversaw operations that resulted in large-scale killings during the July–August unrest that ultimately led to the collapse of her administration.

The 453-page judgment described her as the “mastermind” behind the violent suppression, which left hundreds dead and thousands injured across the country.

Alongside Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who cooperated with investigators, received a five-year prison term.

Hasina, 78, fled Bangladesh in August 2024 as public anger surged over alleged abuses of power and human rights violations. She has since been living in exile in India and has dismissed the charges as politically motivated. In her first reaction to the ruling, she denounced the verdict as “biased,” claiming the tribunal lacked independence.

The tribunal’s findings stated that security forces used drones, helicopters, and live ammunition to suppress demonstrators, many of whom were unarmed university students demanding reforms and accountability. Some international estimates have put the death toll as high as 1,400, though the exact figure remains disputed.

Political tensions in Bangladesh have remained high since Hasina’s ouster. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been leading an interim government tasked with restoring stability and preparing the country for a new political roadmap. Meanwhile, Hasina’s Awami League has rejected the tribunal’s decision and has begun organizing protests demanding her exoneration.

The ruling marks one of the most dramatic moments in Bangladesh’s recent political history, setting the stage for prolonged legal and diplomatic battles as the country grapples with the legacy of last year’s unrest and the future of its democratic institutions.

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Israeli attacks kill 31 Palestinians in Gaza, including children

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At least 31 Palestinians, including six children, were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis since early Saturday, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.

The strikes came a day before Israel is scheduled to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday, marking the first reopening of the border crossing since May 2024.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since a United States-brokered ceasefire came into effect on October 10.

According to local health authorities, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 71,769 Palestinians and wounded 171,483 others since it began in October 2023. In Israel, at least 1,139 people were killed during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, with approximately 250 people taken captive.

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Guterres warns of UN’s ‘imminent financial collapse’

In his letter, Guterres said “decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced.”

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The U.N. chief has told member states the organisation is at risk of “imminent financial collapse,” citing unpaid fees and a budget rule that forces the global body to return unspent money, a letter seen by Reuters on Friday showed.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly spoken about the organisation’s worsening liquidity crisis but this is his starkest warning yet, and it comes as its main contributor the U.S. is retreating from multilateralism on numerous fronts.

“The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future,” Guterres wrote in a letter to ambassadors dated January 28.

The U.S. has slashed voluntary funding to U.N. agencies and refused to make mandatory payments to its regular and peacekeeping budgets.

U.S. President Donald Trump has described the U.N. as having “great potential” but said it is not fulfilling that, and he has launched a Board of Peace which some fear could undermine the older international body.

Founded in 1945, the U.N. has 193 member states and works to maintain international peace and security, promote human rights, foster social and economic development, and coordinate humanitarian aid.

In his letter, Guterres said “decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced.”

He did not say which state or states he was referring to, and a U.N. spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Under U.N. rules, contributions depend on the size of the economy of each member state. The U.S. accounts for 22% of the core budget followed by China with 20%.

But by the end of 2025 there was a record $1.57 billion in outstanding dues, Guterres said, without naming the nations that owed them.

“Either all Member States honour their obligations to pay in full and on time – or Member States must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse,” he said.

U.N. officials say the U.S. currently owes $2.19 billion to the regular U.N. budget, another $1.88 billion for active peace-keeping missions and $528 million for past peace-keeping missions.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Guterres letter.

Guterres launched a reform task force last year, known as UN80, which seeks to cut costs and improve efficiency. To that end, states agreed to cut the 2026 budget by around 7% to $3.45 billion.

Still, Guterres warned in the letter that the organisation could run out of cash by July.

One of the problems is a rule now seen as antiquated whereby the global body has to credit back hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent dues to states each year.

“In other words, we are trapped in a Kafkaesque cycle expected to give back cash that does not exist,” said Guterres, referring to author Franz Kafka who wrote about oppressive bureaucratic processes.

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Man sprays U.S. lawmaker Ilhan Omar with liquid, disrupting Minnesota event

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Police arrested a man who sprayed Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar with a foul-smelling liquid in Minneapolis on Tuesday as she condemned the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Minnesota.

Omar, the frequent target of political insults from President Donald Trump, was uninjured. A security guard immediately grabbed the man and took him to the ground, according to a Reuters witness and video of the town hall event, Reuters reported.

Police said they arrested the man for third-degree assault.

In her remarks, Omar was criticizing ICE and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, demanding that Noem resign after the recent shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge.

“ICE cannot be reformed, it cannot be rehabilitated, we must abolish ICE for good, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment,” Omar said, to applause.

Moments later, a man seated in a front row stepped toward her and sprayed her with the contents of what police described as a syringe, telling Omar, “You must resign.”

Omar defiantly took a few steps toward him, with her hand raised, before he was subdued.

She continued her remarks after a short break, resisting associates’ urging to seek medical attention, saying she just needed a napkin. Her office later issued a statement saying she was OK.

Forensic scientists were gathering evidence at the scene, Minneapolis police said in a statement.

A Reuters witness said the liquid smelled of ammonia and caused minor throat irritation.

“I learned at a young age, you don’t give in to threats,” Omar told the audience, after refusing to suspend the event. “You look them in the face and you stand strong.”

Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar in public remarks and social media posts, also taking aim at her Somali nationality.

“Ilhan Omar is garbage,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting in December. “She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage.”

Omar, 43, came to the United States as a 12-year-old girl and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

On Tuesday, U.S. Capitol Police said its threat assessment cases rose in 2025 for the third year in a row, spiking nearly 58% from 2024.

In 2025, it investigated 14,938 instances of statements, behavior, and communications directed against members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol complex, it added, up from 9,474 in 2024.

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