Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia passed away at the age of 80 in a Dhaka hospital on Tuesday after battling prolonged health issues, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said in a statement.

She was the South Asian nation’s first female prime minister, serving as the head of the government from 1991 to 1996 and 2001 to 2006.

“I am deeply saddened and grief-stricken by her death,” Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh said. He added that Zia “represented an important chapter” in the history of Bangladesh.

“Despite political differences, her long political journey dedicated to national welfare, her people-oriented leadership, and her firm resolve always showed the way,” Yunus said.

Zia’s death was also mourned by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Besides serving as leader of the opposition twice, Zia was the country’s first lady from 1977 to 1981. Her husband Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh’s sixth president, was assassinated by members of the country’s army in 1981. A bitter rival of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Zia faced several corruption cases but was acquitted by the country’s Supreme Court.

Last week, her son Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the BNP, returned to Dhaka after nearly 17 years in exile. Rahman is projected to be a key contender in the country’s general elections, which are to be held in February.

On Monday, the National ‌Citizen Party (NCP), which was born out of the protest movement that ousted Hasina last year, said it has formed an electoral alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami – an Islamist party. This has caused a rift in the NCP, which has positioned itself as a centrist, reformist alternative to the BNP and Hasina’s Awami League.

In recent days, Bangladesh has seen a wave of violence prompted by the murder 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 newspapers.

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Iran has vowed a swift and harsh response to any act of aggression following renewed military threats from the US and Israel. 

On Monday, US President Donald Trump, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, threatened to “knock the hell” out of Iran if it tries to rebuild its nuclear or ballistic missile projects. 

In response, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared on X that Iran’s defense doctrine dictates that “some responses are determined long before threats reach the stage of execution.” He warned that any aggression would be met with an “immediate” and “harsh” response “beyond the imagination of its planners.” 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed the warning on Tuesday, stating that “Iran’s response to any tyrannical aggression will be harsh and regrettable.” Earlier, he also framed the tensions as part of a broader conflict, stating that Iran is in a “full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe.” 

The verbal exchange comes months after a 12-day air war in June, when the US and Israel conducted a joint airstrike campaign against Iranian nuclear sites, claiming, without evidence, that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denied the accusations and responded with its own strikes on Israel. 

Russia, meanwhile, has called for de-escalation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Tuesday that Moscow believes it is necessary to “refrain from any steps that could lead to an escalation of tension in the region” and that “dialogue with Iran” should be the priority. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin also held a phone call with Pezeshkian on Tuesday during which the two leaders discussed bilateral ties, strategic cooperation, as well as the situation around Iran’s nuclear program, according to the Kremlin.

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Zohran Mamdani has been sworn in as New York City’s 110th mayor, the first Muslim and African-born person of Indian descent to hold the position.

The 34‑year‑old took his midnight oath on a centuries-old Quran in a long‑closed subway station beneath City Hall on Thursday.

At a public inauguration speech outside City Hall later in the day, Mamdani leaned heavily into his democratic socialist ideology, vowing to “govern expansively and audaciously.”

“My fellow New Yorkers – today begins a new era!” he declared in a nearly 25‑minute address before a crowd of about 4,000 people.

“I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,” he said. “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.”

Mamdani, previously a little-known state lawmaker, pledged to provide universal childcare, freeze rents, offer free buses and tax the city’s wealthiest residents to fund his agenda.

He explicitly rejected the influence of wealth and power in city governance, vowing to answer to the people, not to “any billionaire or oligarch who thinks they can buy our democracy.”

The ceremony was attended by progressive allies including Sen. Bernie Sanders, who administered the public oath, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez, who hailed the election as a response to “untenable and unprecedented times.”

Mamdani’s radical political stance has been a focal point of controversy and criticism both from conservatives and fellow Democrats. The Muslim socialist has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which he has characterized as “genocide,” and has promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant if he visits New York.

In response, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams issued executive orders opposing divestment from Israel and banning protests near houses of worship.

President Donald Trump, who during the campaign branded Mamdani a “communist lunatic” and threatened to strip federal funding from the city, struck a notably different tone after a White House meeting in November.

“I can tell you, some of my views have changed… I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump said. Mamdani, for his part, said the meeting was “productive” but later reaffirmed that he still considers Trump a “fascist.”

Mamdani struck a unifying note in his inaugural speech, promising to represent all New Yorkers. “Regardless of our differences, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never hide from you,” he said.

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Lithuania has begun engineering work to prepare bridges on the border with Russia and Belarus to be outfitted with explosives, the NATO country’s armed forces confirmed in a statement to the media on Tuesday.

The Lithuanian Defense Ministry told the LRT news outlet that the selected bridges are being fitted with “engineering structures for attaching explosive materials” in order to enable rapid demolition of the crossings in the event of a military conflict.

Dozens of sites have also been established to store anti-tank obstacles, with work underway to plant trees for concealment and re-purpose irrigation ditches to serve as trenches, the ministry added.

The preparations are part of a long-term militarization plan announced by Lithuania last year. The Baltic state has already placed concrete anti-tank obstacles, known as “dragon’s teeth”, along its border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region and has pledged to spend hundreds of millions of euros on anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. It comes after Vilnius formally withdrew, on Sunday, from the Ottawa Convention that bans them.

Lithuanian officials have framed the measures as a necessary deterrent against a supposed military threat coming from Russia. Other European NATO countries, including Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland, have also cited concerns over a potential Russian attack as justification for mining their borders with Russia and Belarus and setting up an “explosive Iron Curtain,” The Telegraph reports.

Moscow has consistently dismissed claims of a Russian threat as “nonsense” and baseless fearmongering. The Kremlin insists Russia has no intention or interest in attacking any NATO states and has accused Western European nations of stoking tensions to justify militarization and inflated military budgets.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has also warned that the hostile policies being pursued by European NATO states raise the risk of a direct clash with Moscow.

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A new Ukrainian government must be elected by a legitimate inclusive vote before a peace treaty can be signed with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Presidential and parliamentary elections have been suspended in Ukraine under martial law, with Vladimir Zelensky’s mandate to lead the country expiring last year. In an interview with Rossiya Segodnya media group, Lavrov dismissed the idea that a temporary ceasefire is needed so that the current Ukrainian administration can hold a referendum on peace terms.

“The leadership in Kiev needs a mandate to seal a peace agreement. Only an election following a transparent and fair electoral campaign, in which all interested political forces take part, can provide that,” Lavrov said.

“The Ukrainian people, including many who live in Russia, have to finally be given an opportunity to determine their fate,” he added. “Organizing the ballot must not be used as a pretext for a temporary ceasefire to rearm the Ukrainian army.”

Before his meeting with US President Donald Trump last weekend, Zelensky said a ceasefire of at least 60 days would be needed for his team to put the peace deal being mediated by Washington to a general vote. He also described Moscow’s call for the millions of Ukrainian citizens living in Russia to have the ability to participate in a potential election as a ploy to delegitimize his government.

Zelensky claimed martial law and mobilization can only be suspended if Western nations provide his country with the security guarantees in the 20-point plan he revealed last week – a plan Trump declined to endorse during their Miami meeting last week.

Lavrov stressed that Russia sees elections not as an end in themselves, but as a way for Ukraine to return to being a neutral nation that has no aspirations to join military blocs and respects the rights of all its citizens, including ethnic Russians. Any security guarantees it receives must address the security of all the nations on the continent, he added.

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Indian security forces have neutralized bombs and recovered arms and ammunition thought to have been left by militant groups in the violence-hit northeastern state of Manipur, according to media reports.

Security forces have found 27 bombs and neutralized them in Manipur’s Imphal East district, PTI news agency has reported, quoting a senior official.

The forces also recovered arms and ammunition from the district, according to the report. Militant groups operating in the region commonly loot ordnance used by the Indian army.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands left homeless in ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo militant groups in Manipur since May 2023.

New Delhi suspended local government in Manipur after Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, a member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resigned in February 2025.

The state assembly, which is up for re-election in 2027, has been suspended.

Violence between the two communities – the majority Meitei, who inhabit the interior plains, and the minority Kukis, who live in the surrounding hills – has escalated since May 2023. Since the onset of this conflict, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.

In November 2024, New Delhi reimposed a special security act in several regions of the state. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) gives army and paramilitary forces special powers to search, arrest, and open fire if deemed necessary for maintaining public order.

AFSPA, which has been enforced for decades in several states of India, has long been a point of contention between regional governments and New Delhi. In Manipur, AFSPA has been in effect since 1980, but was withdrawn in certain areas considered “peaceful” in 2022 and 2023.

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At least 24 people were killed and more than 50 injured when Ukrainian drones struck a cafe and hotel during New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Black Sea village of Khorly, according to the governor of Russia’s Kherson Region. He said that three UAVs hit the crowded venue, sparking a large fire.

Communities in Russian border regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk, have frequently come under Ukrainian missile and drone strikes since the conflict escalated in 2022. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev’s forces of deliberately targeting civilians using NATO-supplied artillery systems, drones, and cluster munitions.

RT recaps the deadliest Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilians in populated areas.

A Saudi-led coalition has carried out what it called a “limited airstrike” on a key seaport in Yemen, targeting an alleged weapons shipment intended for UAE-backed separatists.

In a statement carried by Saudi state news agency SPA on Tuesday, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen – a Saudi-led alliance formed to fight Houthi rebels in 2015 at the request of Yemen’s internationally recognized government – said the strike targeted weapons and combat vehicles unloaded from ships arriving from the UAE. The military supplies were allegedly bound for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is seeking self-rule in the south.

According to the statement, two ships arrived from the UAE port of Fujairah over the weekend without government authorization and entered Mukalla – the only seaport in Yemen’s southern Hadramout governorate. The vessels allegedly disabled their tracking systems and unloaded large quantities of military equipment intended “to support the STC.” At the request of Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi, coalition air forces carried out a strike on the unloaded supplies early Tuesday, saying it caused no casualties or collateral damage.

The STC separatists initially fought within the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen after the outbreak of civil war in 2014 but later pivoted toward seeking self-rule in the south.

Since 2022, they have controlled much of southern Yemen as part of a power-sharing arrangement and seized large swathes of territory, including in the strategically important Hadramout and Mahrah provinces, both of which border Saudi Arabia. The Houthis hold northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, having driven the Saudi-backed government south. Tuesday’s strike follows reports that Saudi Arabia has recently launched air attacks on separatist positions in Hadramout.

The UAE’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment. Alimi declared a 90-day state of emergency in Yemen, imposing a 72-hour air, sea, and land blockade, and canceled a security pact with the UAE after the strike. In a televised address, he ordered the STC to hand territory over to Saudi-backed forces, branded the separatist advance an “unacceptable rebellion,” and demanded that UAE forces withdraw from Yemen within 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia warned that the UAE’s backing of the separatists poses a “threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as to security and stability in Yemen and the wider region,” while urging Abu Dhabi to comply with Yemen’s demand to withdraw its forces.

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