World

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has died aged 80 following a long illness, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party announced on Monday. "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," the party said in a statement. "We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul."  In office from 1991 until 1996, and a second stint from 2001 until 2009, Zia was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second female prime minister in the Muslim world. However, she was later imprisoned by her political archrival, Sheikh Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for  more than a decade before being ousted by a student-led uprising ...

Khaleda Zia, who served as prime minister of Bangladesh for three terms, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 80. Zia and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were once hailed for playing a crucial role in transitioning the South Asian nation from military rule to democracy. She served as prime minister between 1991 and 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006, becoming the first woman to serve as prime minister of Bangladesh. Zia had been sentenced to several years behind bars prior her death for alleged involvement in corruption charges that her party said were politically motivated. Rise to politics Zia entered politics after her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in May 1981 during a military coup. Rahman had fought for Bangladesh's independence war from Pakistan...

Russia has reopened a historic theater in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, more than three years after Russian forces pummeled it with an airstrike, killing civilians sheltering inside. The attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater in 2022 killed 12 people, according to Human Rights Watch. Hundreds had been sheltering inside the theater and the world "children" had been written in giant letters on the street outside in order to be visible by fighter pilots. The incident became a symbol of Russia's three-month-long siege of Mariupol in which 90% of the city was destroyed, according to the United Nations, and some 8,000 were killed, according to Human Rights Watch.The Russian word for 'children' was painted outside the theater where civilians were sheltering when it was attacked by Russ...

Hollywood superstar George Clooney and his well-known wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney have acquired French citizenship along with their twin children, according to an official decree published in the French government gazette. Clooney, now a dual US-French citizen, has previously praised France's strict privacy laws, especially when it comes to children. "I love the French culture, your language, even if I'm still bad at it after 400 days of courses," the 64-year-old actor told RTL radio early in December. "Here, they don't take photos of kids. There aren't any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That's number one for us." Happiest in their home in France, says Clooney The couple lives with their 8-year-old twins on a farm in southern France. Clooney's wife, a British-Lebanese human ri...

Three years ago, German high-end domestic appliances maker Miele began selling refurbished washing machines in the Netherlands alongside its regular products. This involves collecting Miele washing machines that have been returned, including those with scratches or easily repairable faults, fixing them up and reselling them online. The German company chose the Netherlands because Miele products have proven popular in the country and because consumers there are comparatively open to refurbished products. The firm hopes the project will reach new customer groups. Max Wagner, who heads Miele's sustainability team, say the sale of refurbished appliances has not cannibalized his company's sale of new models, as was initially feared. "We have been able to expand our customer base to include yo...

Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti won a clear victory in Kosovo's second parliamentary election in 2025 with some 49.3% of the vote, results suggested on early Monday, with most of the votes counted. Kosovo has been mired in political paralysis for most of the year, after Kurti's leftist party lost the absolute majority it had won in 2021 and failed to secure the support of any other party to form a government. Months of unsuccessful coalition talks led to President Vjosa Osmani dissolving the parliament in November and calling an early election. What are the Kosovo election results? Kurti's left-leaning Self-Determination party fell just short of an absolute majority. But it remains to be seen whether he will need a coalition in order to form a government. According to the preliminar...

At least 13 people were killed and more than 90 others were injured after an intercity train derailed in the Mexican state of Oaxaca on Sunday. The Interoceanic Train was carrying 250 people when it derailed near Nizanda, according to the Mexican Navy, which oversees the railway line. President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that five ‌of ⁠the injured were in critical condition. She said senior officials had been dispatched to the site to assist the families of the victims and that an investigation is underway. Oaxaca state Governor Salomon Jara Cruz also offered his condolences to those who had lost loved ones in the accident.At least 13 people were killed and scores more were injuredImage: Rusvel Rasgado/AFP Mexico's railway push The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by Sheinb...

China announced "major" military exercises around Taiwan on Monday amid rising tensions with Japan over the status of the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.The maneuvers around Taiwan come after Beijing expressed anger at US arms sales to Taipei and a statement from Japan that its military could get involved if China acted against Taiwan. While China's military has conducted live-fire drills and practiced port blockades around Taiwan in the past, Monday's announcement was the first time it publicly stated that drills were aimed at "deterrence" of outside military intervention. China said its live-fire drills simulate a blockade of Taiwan's key portsImage: Eastern Theatre Command/Handout via REUTERS What we know about China's latest drills around Taiwan Giving d...