Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

14 jihadists sentenced to death over plot to kill Bangladesh prime minister

FOURTEEN jihadists were sentenced to death in Bangladesh on Tuesday (23) for attempting to assassinate prime minister Sheikh Hasina more than two decades ago, a prosecutor said.

The 2000 bomb plot was one of several attempts on Hasina's life in a wave of violence by Islamic extremists who were angry at her secular stance at the time.


Since then, a major crackdown against homegrown Islamist groups has seen more than 100 extremists killed in raids by police and more than 1,000 suspected militants arrested.

A fast-track court handed down death sentences to all 14 accused -- five of them absconding -- after they were found guilty of sedition and criminal conspiracy, prosecutor Abu Abdullah Bhuilyan told AFP.

They planted two bombs in the grounds of a college where Hasina was due to address a rally. The devices were discovered and defused.

"They are Islamist extremists belonging to the HuJI (Harkat ul Jihad al Islami) and JMB (Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh)," he said, referring to local extremist outfits blamed for a series of deadly bombings and grenade attacks in the 2010s.

Mufti Abdul Hannan, the Afghan-trained leader of Bangladesh chapter of HuJI, and two of his associates were executed in 2017 for an attempt to kill the British High Commissioner in Dhaka.

Hasina's government also executed five top leaders of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, between 2013 and 2016 over war crimes during the country's 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.

Prosecutor Bhuiyan said two among the 14 sentenced to death are brothers of HuJI leader Hannan, and another his brother in-law.

Bangladesh sentences scores of people to death every year but only a handful of people are executed.

Bangladesh has hanged 23 people since 2013 while around 1,750 are on death row, according to a local rights group.

More For You

Aga-Khan-Getty

Over the years, the Aga Khan became both a prominent philanthropist and a business magnate, balancing religious leadership with global development work. (Photo: Getty Images)

Aga Khan, Ismaili Muslim leader and philanthropist, dies at 88

HIS HIGHNESS Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim community and head of a vast philanthropic network, died on Tuesday at the age of 88.

His Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community announced that His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, the 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, passed away in Portugal, surrounded by his family.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lucy Letby

Letby, 35, is serving 15 whole-life sentences for the deaths of babies at neo-natal units in northwest England between 2015 and 2016.

Review launched into Lucy Letby case after experts challenge evidence

A REVIEW has been launched into the case of Lucy Letby, a nurse sentenced to life imprisonment for killing seven newborn babies, as medical experts argue there was no evidence to support her conviction.

Letby, 35, is serving 15 whole-life sentences for the deaths of babies at neo-natal units in northwest England between 2015 and 2016. She was convicted of murdering seven newborns and attempting to kill seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, making her the most prolific child serial killer in modern UK history.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty

Trump shakes hands with Modi during a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi invited to White House meeting with Trump next week: Report

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has invited Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House next week, a White House official said.

The announcement came hours after a US military plane left for India carrying deported migrants.

Keep ReadingShow less
Obesity drug
Boxes of Wegovy are seen at a pharmacy in London. (Photo: Reuters)

GPhC tightens rules for online obesity drug prescriptions

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), which oversees UK pharmacies, has introduced stricter rules for online pharmacies prescribing obesity drugs. The regulator said the changes aim to prevent individuals from receiving medicines that could pose health risks.

The new guidance, updated for the first time in three years, follows concerns about how some online pharmacies dispense weight-loss drugs.

Keep ReadingShow less
chai-point-kumbh

India's Para-Commandos at a Chai Point tea stall at the Maha Kumbh. (Photo: X/@Chai_Point)

Robotic tea machines serve chai to millions at Maha Kumbh Mela

AT THE Maha Kumbh Mela in India's Prayagraj, modern technology is being used to enhance traditional practices. Chai Point, in collaboration with the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), has introduced robotic tea-making stalls at the event.

These automated tea stations aim to serve over one crore cups of chai throughout the Mela. The tea is prepared using Nandini brand milk, and organisers plan to set a Guinness World Record for the most cups served at a single event. Despite having only 10 stalls, each can serve thousands of cups daily to meet the demand of millions of visitors.

Keep ReadingShow less