Bangla poll: BNP calls for 48-hour general strike
Dhaka, Jan 4: Bangladesh’s main opposition party BNP on Thursday called for a 48-hour nationwide general strike starting Saturday to protest against the January 7 general election, which it is boycotting. Led by former prime minister Khalida Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is boycotting the general election on Sunday. It is demanding an interim non-party neutral government to hold the election. The demand was rejected by the government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is heading the ruling Awami League. BNP Joint Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the general strike at a press conference on Thursday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. The BNP aims to garner support for its non-cooperation movement against the Awami Party-led dispensation through the strike. It has urged people not to pay taxes and utility bills to press its demand for a non-party interim government for election oversight by amending the country’s Constitution. Through the strike, which will end at 6 am on Monday, the opposition party is also demanding the release of its leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who were arrested over charges of violence. (PTI)
SL to deploy naval vessel to fight Houthi attacks
Colombo, Jan 4: President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced that Sri Lanka will provide a Navy vessel to fight attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea, joining countries like India in protecting the key waterway for global trade. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched more than 20 attacks on merchant ships in recent weeks, claiming to take revenge against Israel for its military campaign against Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza. These attacks have sharply raised goods costs between Asia and Europe. Addressing an award ceremony here on Wednesday, Wickremesinghe, who holds the defence ministry portfolio, noted that merchant shipping was hit by Houthi attacks at the Red Sea and said if the ships were to be diverted and re-routed around South Africa, the voyages would become much more expensive. This could create (an) escalation of the cost of goods. “So we have agreed to send a Naval vessel to combat Houthi attacks,” he said. (PTI)
Iran-backed militia leader killed
Baghdad, Jan 4: An airstrike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad on Thursday killed a high-ranking militia commander, militia officials said. Thursday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fuelled by Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries. The Popular Mobilization Force – a coalition of militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military – announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or “Abu Taqwa,” had been killed “as a result of brutal American aggression.” It was not immediately clear who had carried out the strike. (AP)