1,151 BGB platoons on patrol ahead of January 7 Bangla polls
Dhaka, Dec 29: Bangladesh on Friday deployed a total of 1,151 platoons of paramilitary border guards across the country to ensure that the January 7 general election can be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner amid a boycott by the main Opposition BNP and its allies. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel will work in tandem with the police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and armed forces for 13 days surrounding the January 7 polls, starting on Friday. Typically, each platoon consists of around 30 BGB troopers. From December 29 to January 10, the BGB will operate as a mobile and striking force to ensure security in constituencies across the country, including Dhaka, the paramilitary force said. Army personnel will be deployed across the country from January 3 to January 10 to help maintain law and order before, during, and after the upcoming national polls. Ailing former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is carrying out an anti-election street campaign, calling for intermittent strikes and transport blockades, saying no election under the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would be fair or neutral. The BNP has also called for civil disobedience against the Awami Party-led dispensation. (PTI)
Naval commander appointed as new Defence Minister
Beijing, Dec 29: China on Friday named naval commander General Dong Jun as the new defence minister, two months after the summary dismissal of General Li Shangfu without any explanation. China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), had confirmed Li’s ouster in October. Dong, the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), was appointed as Defence Minister by the NPC Standing Committee, official media here reported. Dong, whose age is not known, has served in all major naval divisions in the PLAN. Before becoming the navy’s top commander in 2021, he served in the Northern Sea Fleet, now a regular player in joint drills with the Russian Navy, the Eastern Sea Fleet, which focuses on potential conflicts with Japan, as well as the Southern Command Theatre, which oversees the South China Sea, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. The appointments for the top defence posts are cleared by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the head of the Central Military Commission (CMC). (PTI)
Navalny’s friend sent to prison
Moscow, Dec 29: An associate of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday, the latest move in a relentless Kremlin crackdown on dissent. Ksenia Fadeyeva, a regional legislator who headed a local branch of Navalny’s organisation in the Siberian city of Tomsk, was convicted on charges of organising an extremist group. Her lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, arguing that Fadeyeva had ended her involvement with Navalny’s organisation before the authorities labelled it extremist in 2021. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, hailed Fadeyeva as “honest and brave,” on her X account. (AP)