31/12/2025

WEDNESDAY | DEC 31, 2025

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Bangladeshi ex-PM dies aged 80 DHAKA: Bangladesh’s former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who many believed would sweep elections next year to lead her country once again, died yesterday aged 80, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said. Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026, the first vote since an uprising toppled her rival Sheikh Hasina last year. BNP is widely seen as a frontrunner, and Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, who returned on Thursday last week after 17 years in exile, is seen a potential prime minister if they win a majority. In November, Zia was rushed to hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medics, her condition deteriorated from multiple health issues. Hours before her death, party workers had on Monday submitted nomination papers on her behalf for three constituencies for the polls. “The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6:00 am (0000 GMT), just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer. We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul,“ the party said in a statement. Braving rain, mourners gathered yesterday outside the hospital in Dhaka where Zia’s body rests. “This is an irreparable loss for the nation,“ senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told reporters. “She chose prison over luxury and spent years behind bars,“ said Golam Kibria, 29, a BNP loyalist who claimed he was tortured under Hasina’s government, calling Zia an “unmatched leader who could never be replaced”. During her final days, interim leader Muhammad Yunus called for the nation to pray for Zia, calling her a “source of utmost inspiration”. “The nation has lost a great guardian. Her uncompromising leadership repeatedly freed the nation from undemocratic conditions and inspired people to strive for freedom.“ Zia was jailed for corruption in 2018 under Hasina’s government, which also blocked her from travelling for medical treatment. – AFP SEOUL: The Nuclear Safety and Security Comission said South Korea gave the green light yesterday for the operation of a nuclear reactor with an electricity output of 1,400 megawatts, starting with a pilot run of six months. It added that the Saeul 3 unit in the southeastern city of Ulsan, construction of which begun in 2016, would expand to full operation after its pilot run. According to state-run operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power website, South Korea has 26 nuclear reactor units and three more under construction, apart from Saeul 3, The Industry Ministry said in May nuclear power makes up the bulk of South Korea’s energy mix, accounting for 31.7% of power in 2024. – Reuters South Korea approves nuclear reactor

Myanmar junta accuses rebels of ‘malicious’ attacks

o At least five civilians wounded

“There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out an attack.“ She added that the findings were an initial assessment, and authorities in Australia and the Philippines were continuing their investigation. – Reuters in the waters to the north of the Taiwan Island and achieved desired effects”. The latest show of force follows arms sales to Taipei by the United States, Taiwan’s main security backer, and comments from Japan’s prime minister that the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi yesterday said China would “forcefully counter” large-scale US weapons sales to Taiwan, adding that any attempt to obstruct China’s unification with the island “will inevitably end in failure”. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te yesterday said in a Facebook post that the territory would not be “escalating the conflict” or provoke disputes. China yesterday said it had deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters and bombers “to conduct drills on subjects of identification and verification, warning and expulsion, simulated strikes, assault on maritime targets as well as anti air and anti-submarine operations”. A statement from the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said the exercises in the waters to the north and south of the Taiwan Island “tested capabilities of sea-air coordination and integrated blockade and control”. Announcing the drills on Monday, military spokesman Shi Yi said they were “a stern warning against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces and a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity”. – AFP queued to cast votes,“ the newspaper added. While official results have yet to be posted, the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) on Monday claimed an overwhelming lead. The party won 82 out of the 102 lower house seats contested on Sunday, a senior party official told AFP on condition of anonymity. At the last poll in 2020, the USDP was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which was dissolved after the coup. The Nobel laureate has been in detention since the putsch. Many analysts describe the USDP as a military proxy set to entrench the power of the armed forces in civilian guise. – AFP

in quick succession, each sending a booming sound reverberating throughout Pingtan as they soared across the sky. Tourists rushed towards wooden barricades overlooking the sea, whipping out their phones to snap photos and videos of the rockets. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement it had “conducted long-range live fire drills allegedly hit government buildings and civilian settlements. “While the government and the public were choosing the democratic path, terrorist groups continued violent extremism,” said the newspaper. The junta also accused the unnamed groups of “issuing threat letters”, “spreading false information” and “blocking” would-be voters from travelling to cast ballots. It added that the groups aimed “to disrupt the election process, destroy open polling stations and intimidate voters”. “Although only five civilians were injured, voters who firmly believed in democracy and supported the election management of the government

dissent and a candidate list stacked with military allies likely to prolong the armed forces’ rule. Pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic minority armies opposing the military have pledged to block the election from the patchwork territories they have carved out in the war. Between Saturday and Sunday they attacked in 11 townships out of the 102 where voting was staged in the election’s first phase, according to state media. The junta-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper listed rebel attacks ranging from “firing homemade heavy weapons and rockets from a distance” to “dropping bombs using drones”. Some were said to directly target polling stations, but others

YANGON: junta yesterday accused rebels of “malicious and brutal” attacks on the day and eve of military-run elections, wounding at least five civilians with drones, rockets and bombs. The armed forces snatched power in a 2021 coup that triggered civil war, but on Sunday opened voting in a phased month-long election they pledged would return power to the people. Campaigners, diplomats and the United Nations condemned the vote, citing a crackdown on Myanmar’s

China fires rockets on second day of war games BEIJING: China launched rockets and deployed dozens of fighter aircraft and navy vessels around Taiwan yesterday for a second day of live-fire drills aimed at simulating a blockade of key ports and assaults on maritime targets. The two-day war games, code reckless”. China claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has refused to rule out military action to seize the island democracy.

AFP journalists in Pingtan, a Chinese island that is the closest point to Taiwan’s main island, saw a volley of rockets blast into the air yesterday at about 9am (0100 GMT). At least 10 rockets were launched

named “Justice Mission 2025”, began on Monday and were slammed by Taipei as “highly provocative and

A Taiwanese coast guard ship (left) sending warnings to a Chinese coast guard ship in the waters off Taiwan’s Cape Fugui. – AFPPIC Bondi gunmen acted alone, say police

SYDNEY: Police said yesterday two gunmen who opened fire on a Jewish celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach earlier this month acted alone and there was “no evidence” they were part of a militant cell. Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram are alleged to have killed 15 people at a Hanukkah

long trip by the pair to a Philippines island previously plagued by militancy a major focus of investigation. However, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett yesterday said there was no indication the men had received formal training on the trip.

event on Dec 14, Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades. The incident shocked the nation and led to immediate reforms of already strict gun laws. Police previously said the men were allegedly inspired by Islamic State, with homemade flags of the militant group found in their car after the attack, and a month