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India and Europe hope to strike the “mother of all deals” when EU chiefs meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi next week, as the two economic behemoths seek to forge closer ties.Facing challenges from China and the United States, India and the European Union have been negotiating a massive free trade pact — and talks, first launched about two decades ago, are nearing the finishing line.”We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week.Von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa will attend Republic Day celebrations Monday before an EU-India summit Tuesday, where they hope to shake hands on the accord.Securing a pact described by India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as “the mother of all deals”, would be a major win for Brussels and New Delhi as both seek to open up new markets in the face of US tariffs and Chinese export controls.But officials have been eager to stress there is more to it than commerce.”The EU and India are moving closer together at the time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure through wars, coercion and economic fragmentation,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas said Wednesday. – ‘Untapped potential’ -Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs have brought momentum to the relationship between India and the EU, said Praveen Donthi, of the International Crisis Group think tank.”The EU eyes the Indian market and aims to steer a rising power like India away from Russia, while India seeks to diversify its partnerships, doubling down on its strategy of multi-alignment at a time when its relations with the US have taken a downward turn,” he said. The summit will offer Brussels the chance to turn the page after a bruising transatlantic crisis over Greenland — now seemingly defused.Together the EU and India account for about a quarter of the world’s population and GDP.Bilateral trade in goods reached 120 billion euros ($139 billion) in 2024, an increase of nearly 90 percent over the past decade, according to EU figures, with a further 60 billion euros ($69 billion) in trade in services.But both parties are eager to do more. “India still accounts for around only around 2.5 percent of total EU trade in goods, compared with close to 15 percent for China,” an EU official said, adding the figure gave a sense of the “untapped potential” an agreement could unlock.EU makers of cars, machinery and chemicals have much to gain from India lowering entry barriers, said Ignacio Garcia Bercero, an analyst at Brussels think tank Bruegel, who led EU trade talks with New Delhi over a decade ago.”India is one of the most heavily protected economies in the world, with very, very high tariffs, including on many products where the European Union has a competitive advantage,” he told AFP. Its economy in the doldrums, the 27-member EU is also pushing to ease exports of spirits and wines and strengthen intellectual property rules.India — the fastest‑growing major economy in the world — wants easier market access for products such as textiles and pharmaceuticals. – Defence pact -EU officials were tight-lipped about the deal’s contents as negotiations are ongoing.But agriculture, a sensitive topic in both India and Europe, is likely to play a limited role, with New Delhi eager to protect its dairy and grain sectors.Talks are focusing on a few sticking points, including the impact of the EU’s carbon border tax on steel exports and safety and quality standards in the pharmaceutical and automotive sectors, according to people familiar with the discussions. Still EU officials said they were confident negotiations could be concluded in time for the summit. An accord on mobility to facilitate movement for seasonal workers, students, researchers and highly skilled professionals, is also on the menu, alongside a security and defence pact.The latter envisages closer cooperation in areas including maritime security, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, an EU official said. It is also a “precondition” for the possible joint production of military equipment, said a second EU official. New Delhi, which has relied on Moscow for decades for key military hardware, has tried to cut its dependence on Russia in recent years by diversifying imports and pushing its own domestic manufacturing base. Europe is doing the same vis-a-vis the US. “We’re ready to open a new chapter in EU-India relationships, and really to unlock what we think is the transformative potential of this partnership,” said another EU official. 

Bangladesh is preparing for the first election since the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina, but supporters of her banned Awami League (AL) are struggling to decide whether to shift their allegiance. In Gopalganj, south of the capital Dhaka and a strong bastion of Hasina’s iron-grip rule, residents are grappling with an election without the party that shaped their political lives for decades. “Sheikh Hasina may have done wrong — she and her friends and allies — but what did the millions of Awami League supporters do?” said tricycle delivery driver Mohammad Shahjahan Fakir, 68, adding that he would not vote.”Why won’t the ‘boat’ symbol be there on the ballot paper?” he said, referring to AL’s former election icon.The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people will hold elections on February 12, its first since the uprising.Hasina, who crushed opposition parties during her rule, won landslide victories in Gopalganj in every election since 1991.After a failed attempt to cling to power and a brutal crackdown on protesters, she was ousted as prime minister in August 2024 and fled to India.She was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity by a court in Dhaka in November, and her former ruling party, once the country’s most popular, has been outlawed.Human Rights Watch has condemned the AL ban as “draconian”.”There’s so much confusion right now,” said Mohammad Shafayet Biswas, 46, a banana and betel leaf seller in Gopalganj.”A couple of candidates are running from this constituency — I don’t even know who they are.”As a crowd gathered in the district, one man shouted: “Who is going to the polling centres? We don’t even have our candidates this time.”- ‘Dehumanise’ -Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh, hailed from Gopalganj and is buried in the town.Statues of Rahman have been torn down nationwide, but in Gopalganj, murals and statues are well-maintained.Since Hasina’s downfall, clashes have broken out during campaigning by other parties, including one between police and AL supporters in July 2025, after which authorities filed more than 8,000 cases against residents.Sazzad Siddiqui, a professor at Dhaka University, believes voter turnout in Gopalganj could be the lowest in the country.”Many people here are still in denial that Sheikh Hasina did something very wrong,” said Siddiqui, who sat on a government commission formed after the 2025 unrest.”At the same time, the government has constantly tried to dehumanise them.”This time, frontrunners include candidates from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party.Both are from Hasina’s arch-rivals, now eyeing power. “I am going door to door,” BNP candidate S.M Zilany, 57, told AFP, saying many would-be voters had never had a candidate canvass for their backing.”I promise them I will stand by them.” Zilany said he had run twice against Hasina — and was struck down by 34 legal cases he claimed had been politically motivated.This time, he said that there was “a campaign to discourage voters from turning up”.Jamaat candidate M.M Rezaul Karim, 53, said that under Hasina, the party had been driven underground.”People want a change in leadership,” Karim told AFP, saying he was open to all voters, whatever their previous loyalties.”We believe in coexistence; those involved in crimes should be punished; others must be spared,” Karim said. Those once loyal to Hasina appear disillusioned.Some say they had abandoned the AL, but remain unsure whom to support.”I am not going to vote,” said one woman, who asked not to be named.”Who should I vote for except Hasina? She is like a sister.”

Children sliding around on plastic bags, boys engaging in lively snowball fights, and families taking selfies on white-covered streets: residents of Kabul rejoiced on Friday at the long-awaited first snowfall of the winter.Snow usually comes to the Afghan capital in December, but its six million inhabitants are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, which has brought rising temperatures and water shortages that have disrupted daily life.”In recent years, snow in Kabul has felt like nothing less than a blessing,” 22-year-old Rukhsar Adel told AFP.She and her family eagerly checked the weather forecast the night before and felt “happy and relieved” when white flakes started to fall on Thursday morning.Kabul may run out of ground water by as early as 2030 due to climate change and rapid urbanisation, studies show.A United Nations projection also indicates that nearly half of Kabul’s boreholes — the primary source of drinking water for residents — are already dry.”More than half of the winter had already passed without snowfall. People became worried and even prayed for snow,” Adel said.- Hope for water -“We all need water, and there is a lack of water in Kabul,” said 32-year-old Hekmatullah Ahady, adding that a 100-meter-deep (330-foot) well at his house dried up last year.He said he hoped the snow would help to replenish water levels and make it easier for his family to get water.Plus, he said, seeing the city blanketed in white was “so nice”, even though his commute to work took longer.Severe storms and heavy rains have killed at least 16 people, including children, across Afghanistan in the last three days, officials have said, though there have been no reported casualties in Kabul.Heavy snow both in the provinces and the capital has caused traffic accidents, with rescue teams mobilised all night to give assistance, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.In a change from Kabul’s traffic-clogged streets, people enjoyed a rare dose of quiet as some drivers left their cars unused.Boys took full advantage, hurling snowballs at each other along roadsides and in alleys, while small crowds gathered at street stalls to buy warm soup or coffee.

Rusted nails hold used infusion tubes on the wall of a clinic run by one among hundreds of thousands of unqualified doctors operating across Pakistan.Dozens of patients visit the small roadside shop each day in the southern Sindh province, where a few chairs are arranged around wooden tables used to lay patients down. “These patients have faith in me. They believe I can treat them well,” said Abdul Waheed, who opened the facility a few months ago outside Hyderabad city. During the day, the 48-year-old works at a private hospital in Hyderabad. In the evenings, he comes to the village of Tando Saeed Khan to see patients at his clinic, charging 300 rupees ($1) per consultation. “I have spent so much time in this field. I have worked with several doctors. Thanks to God, I have confidence to diagnose a patient and treat the disease,” Waheed told AFP. There is no signboard, no registration number, and he has no legal authorisation to practise as a doctor.Waheed, who has a diploma in homeopathy and has completed a four-year nursing course, speaks with confidence.After examining two young children, he insisted that patients come to him willingly and trust his abilities.”No one has questioned me yet. If someone comes, I will see what to do,” he said, reflecting the ease with which unqualified individuals practise medicine in Pakistan.Such unlicensed clinics are often the first, and sometimes the only, point of care for poor communities.- Dangerously reusing equipment – Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association, said there are “more than 600,000 fake doctors” operating across Pakistan. This nationwide figure has been confirmed by the Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC), based on estimates from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.Calling the practise a public health epidemic, Shoro said that such practitioners work with doctors, learn a few things there, and then open their own clinics. “Unqualified doctors don’t know the side effects and exact dosage of medicines. If a disease is not properly diagnosed, it can become dangerous,” Shoro said. “The instruments they use are not sterilised. They simply wash them with water and continue using them. They reuse syringes, which increases the spread of hepatitis and AIDS.” As AFP journalists visited Tando Saeed Khan, another unqualified doctor immediately closed his clinic and disappeared.Outside Waheed’s shop, villager Ali Ahmed said there are multiple such clinics in the area.”None of them have qualified doctors. People aren’t educated and can’t recognise qualified doctors,” the 31-year-old told AFP. – Lifelong damage -Medical experts say this unchecked practise has a direct impact on Pakistan’s already strained healthcare system, with tertiary care hospitals overwhelmed by patients whose conditions worsen after improper treatment. Khalid Bukhari, the head of Civil Hospital Karachi, said the facility regularly receives such cases from across the country. “They misdiagnose and mistreat patients. Our hospital is overloaded. Most of the cases we receive are those ruined by them,” said Bukhari, whose public hospital is one of the largest in the country. “These people are playing with the lives of poor citizens. If people go to proper doctors and receive precise treatment, they will not need to come to us.” Regulatory authorities acknowledge their failure to control the problem.  “We have limited resources. This practise cannot be eliminated easily. If we shut down 25 outlets, 25 new ones open the very next day,” said Ahson Qavi Siddiqi, the head of Sindh HealthCare Commission (SHCC).The commission recently sealed a bungalow in Karachi that had been operating as a hospital — complete with intensive care units for children and adults — because it was unregistered. “The law against it is weak. We file cases, but the accused get bail the next day because it is a bailable offence,” Siddiqi told AFP. The official also described serious security threats faced by inspection teams.”These people are influential in their areas. In many cases, our teams are taken hostage. We are fired upon. I don’t have the force to take strong action,” the SHCC head said.Shoro said the practise also financially destroys families who are left with big hospital bills when something goes wrong. “Many people die or become disabled, and their families suffer for the rest of their lives.”

Sri Lanka’s spinners turned the screws to script a hard-fought 19-run victory over England in the opening one-day international at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.Set 272 for victory, England appeared to be cruising at 129-1 with Ben Duckett and Joe Root stroking the ball sweetly and the asking rate firmly under control.But once the 117-run stand was broken, Sri Lanka dried up the runs and England faltered with the bat, being bowled out for 252 in the final over.”It was a good game of cricket, but we need to keep improving. Our spinners did a terrific job. We knew it would start turning after the 30th over and batting would become a challenge,” Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said.Duckett’s attempted reverse sweep brought Sri Lanka back into the game as he was ruled leg before to Jeffrey Vandersay. However, it was Root’s dismissal that truly changed the complexion of the contest.The former England Test captain, a perennial thorn in Sri Lanka’s side with imposing averages of 61 in ODIs and 62 in Tests against them, misjudged a sweep off part-time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva.Sri Lanka reviewed instantly, the on-field decision was overturned and the roar from the Premadasa stands said it all.With the required rate climbing north of eight an over, England were forced into risk mode.Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell both paid the price, brilliantly stumped by Kusal Mendis, with Brook undone off a wide by his opposite number Asalanka.Jamie Overton injected late drama with a muscular 34 off 17 balls, adding 39 for the last wicket with Adil Rashid, but it proved too steep a hill to climb and he was the final wicket to fall.Sri Lanka’s fielders matched their bowlers stride for stride, with De Silva and Dunith Wellalage pulling off stunning catches to keep the pressure relentless.- Mendis holds Sri Lanka together -Earlier, Mendis had been the glue that held Sri Lanka’s innings together after England’s leg-spin pair of Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed reduced the hosts to 124 for four.Battling cramps but showing sharp game awareness, Mendis rotated the strike cleverly and punished anything loose.He added 88 runs for the fifth wicket with Janith Liyanage, who made 46.Mendis was on 92 at the start of the final over and watched from the non-striker’s end as Wellalage stole the limelight, launching three fours and a six in a blistering 25 not out from 12 balls as the last over bowled by Overton yielded 23.That proved crucial as it dragged the hosts to 271-6 from their 50 overs.”Sri Lanka outplayed us,” England captain Harry Brook said.”We thought we could chase it and we were in a good position, but with the asking rate climbing it became difficult. It’s hard to start and someone needed to go on and finish the job.”The teams meet again at the same stadium on Saturday for the second game of the three-match series.

Severe storms and a rain-triggered landslide have killed at least 14 people across Afghanistan, officials said, with residents facing further risks on Thursday as heavy snow hit the country.Strong wind and heavy rain in Kandahar killed six children on Wednesday, damaging homes and causing significant financial losses in several districts, the emergency department in the southern province said.An avalanche also killed one person in Parwan province, west of the capital Kabul.In total, “owing to the snow and rain, 11 people” were killed across six provinces in the country’s north, centre and south, including the Kandahar and Parwan incidents, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority told AFP.In a separate incident in eastern Nuristan province, a landslide triggered by heavy rain struck a house in Quraish village on Wednesday, killing three members of the same family and injuring two others.”Two 10-year-old girls and a teenage boy were killed,” Nuristan provincial government spokesman Fraidoon Samim told AFP.In central Ghazni province, an AFP correspondent said that around 80 centimetres (31 inches) of snow fell over the past 24 hours, forcing the closure of markets and blocking roads.Heavy snow in many provinces and Kabul has also caused traffic accidents.Afghanistan frequently experiences deadly floods, landslides and storms, particularly in remote areas with fragile infrastructure, leaving communities vulnerable to extreme weather.strs-iw/mjw/md

Bangladesh began official campaigning on Thursday for the hugely anticipated general elections next month, the first since the 2024 uprising ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina.Tens of thousands of flag‑waving supporters of key frontrunner Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) crowded the streets of the northern city of Sylhet, chanting his name.”We have liberated the country from autocratic rule,” prime ministerial hopeful Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile, told crowds of BNP loyalists. “Now we must establish the rights of the people.”Rahman vowed to create jobs for “millions of unemployed youth” and support women’s economic independence. Key rival Jamaat-e-Islami — the largest Islamist party in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million — began its campaign in the capital Dhaka, after being crushed during Hasina’s 15 years in power.Jamaat’s leader Shafiqur Rahman said he wanted to clamp down on corruption and build a nation where “people from all races, religions and communities will be treated equally”.Among the sea of Jamaat supporters was Kakoli Akter, 36, who said it was the first election rally she had ever attended.Although eligible to vote since 2008, she said this would be the first time she would cast a ballot, as she could finally support the party of her choice.”We came here to pray for the party,” she said.The South Asian nation votes on February 12 to elect 350 lawmakers, polls that will bring in new leadership after prolonged turmoil following the ouster of Hasina’s government, reshaping domestic politics and regional dynamics.It comes against the backdrop of insecurity — including the murder last month of a student leader of the anti-Hasina protests — as well as warnings of a “flood” of online disinformation.- ‘Progress of reform’ -Rahman, 60, better known in Bangladesh as Tarique Zia, assumed leadership of the BNP following the death of his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December at the age of 80.Bangladesh, home to one of the world’s largest Muslim-majority populations, has a significant Sufi following, and the BNP’s Rahman followed tradition to launch his campaigns in Sylhet, home to the centuries-old shrine of Shah Jalal.Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposes Sufi mystical interpretations of the Koran, began its campaign in the capital Dhaka.Ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists are seeking a return to formal politics after years of bans and crackdowns.The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising, now allied with Jamaat, launched their campaign with its chief Nahid Islam urging voters to “carry forward the progress of reform”.- ‘New Bangladesh’ -Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who returned from exile in August 2024 at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government as “chief adviser”, will step down after the polls.Yunus said he inherited a “completely broken” political system, and championed a reform charter he argues is vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule, with a referendum on the changes to be held on the same day as polling.”If you cast the ‘yes’ vote, the door to building the new Bangladesh will open,” Yunus said on January 19, in a broadcast to the nation urging support for the referendum.Earlier this month, he warned he was “concerned about the impact” a surge of disinformation could have.”They have flooded social media with fake news, rumours and speculation,” Yunus said, blaming both “foreign media and local sources”.Relations with neighbouring India have soured after Hasina escaped to her old ally New Delhi as protesters stormed her palace.Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power, remains in hiding in India.

Severe storms and a rain-triggered landslide have killed at least nine children across southern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said, with residents facing further risks on Thursday as heavy snow hit the country.Strong wind and heavy rain in Kandahar killed six children on Wednesday, and caused significant financial losses in several districts, the emergency department in the southern province said.The storms also damaged homes, it said.In a separate incident in eastern Nuristan province, a landslide triggered by heavy rain struck a house in Quraish village on Wednesday, killing three members of the same family and injuring two others.”Two 10-year-old girls and a teenage boy were killed,” Nuristan provincial government spokesman Fraidoon Samim told AFP.In central Ghazni province, an AFP correspondent said that around 80 centimetres (31 inches) of snow fell over the past 24 hours, forcing the closure of markets and blocking roads.Heavy snow in many provinces of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul has also caused traffic accidents.Afghanistan frequently experiences deadly floods, landslides and storms, particularly in remote areas with fragile infrastructure, leaving communities vulnerable to extreme weather.strs/iw/rsc/pbt

An Afghan who fought against Soviet forces still visits a museum celebrating the resistance, but, in keeping with rules by the Taliban authorities, the displays have undergone notable changes recently.Saaduddeen, 67, travels each month to the Jihad Museum, a building of glittering blue and white mosaics over the hills of Herat in western Afghanistan.More than a million Afghans were killed and millions more were forced into exile during the decade-long Soviet occupation, which ended in 1989.”The Russians came to Afghanistan with jets, choppers, tanks; it was very violent,” said Saaduddeen, who requested his surname not be published for security reasons.”I was just a young guy, but I wanted to stand for the independence of Afghanistan,” he added.Out of 21 fighters, or mujahideen, in his group, only seven survived.At the foot of the museum, a stone statue symbolises the departure of the last soldier, ending a conflict which killed 15,000 Soviet troops.- Figurines with no faces – Inside the building, a display made by academics at Herat University’s art department recalls the suffering of civilians and the struggle for independence. There are plaster figurines of women throwing stones at pro-Soviet government forces, or tending to wounded fighters, with one passing a rifle to a man.A teenager draws his slingshot, while fighters holding prayer beads take control of a Soviet tank, and peasants clutching pitchforks face Soviet soldiers. When the museum opened in 2010, and for many years after, the figurines showed the faces of these women and men. But today, their mouths, noses and eyes have been removed, with beards and hair left on the men. The heads of animals have also been covered with a layer of plaster. The Taliban government, which took power for the second time in 2021, has banned depictions of living things under its strict interpretation of Islamic law. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the government’s morality police, said in 2024 that this rule should be gradually applied nationwide. It was not clear precisely when the museum changes were made, as staff declined to comment on the issue.”Now it’s less personal, and it touches us less,” said Saaduddeen. But it’s better than nothing, he thought: “It’s good that the museum exists.” – Heroes’ hall disappears -The garden is still filled with the remnants of war: a Soviet fighter jet, helicopters, tanks, pieces of heavy artillery and military vehicles. But a gallery originally conceived as a hall of fame has been removed, according to a comparison with pictures taken in the 2010s. It once displayed large portraits of mujahideen commanders, who later fought against each other in a civil war that resulted in the Taliban taking power in 1996.Among them was Ahmad Shah Massoud, who fought the Taliban and was killed weeks before the group was ousted from power in 2001. Families are also absent because, with very rare exceptions, women are not allowed to enter. “It would be better if entire families could come because this is a very important part of our history,” a visitor told AFP on condition of anonymity. One of the museum’s most emblematic employees, known as Sheikh Abdullah, also no longer walks its rooms. He went to Afghanistan as a Soviet officer named Bakhretdin Khakimov and suffered a head wound in 1985, but was treated and saved by the mujahideen.Upon his death in 2022, the Taliban government’s spokesman highlighted Khakimov’s life story and offered condolences. He now rests, as he wished, in a flower-adorned grave on the heights above the museum. 

Bangladesh begins official campaigning on Thursday for hugely anticipated general elections next month, the first since the 2024 uprising ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina.The South Asian nation of 170 million people votes on February 12 for 350 lawmakers, ushering in new leadership after prolonged political turmoil following the overthrow of Hasina’s government, reshaping domestic and regional power dynamics.It comes against the backdrop of insecurity — including the murder last month of a student leader of the anti-Hasina protests — as well as warnings of a “flood” of online disinformation.European Union election observers say the vote will be the “biggest democratic process of 2026”.Mass rallies are expected with hundreds of thousands of supporters gathering, as the frontrunners the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, formally launch their campaigns.- Sufi shrine -BNP chief and prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman, 60, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile, is due to address a string of rallies starting in the north-eastern city of Sylhet.Rahman assumed formal leadership of the BNP after the death in December of his mother, 80-year-old former prime minister Khaleda Zia.Bangladesh, home to one of the world’s largest Muslim-majority populations, has a significant Sufi following, and parties have traditionally launched campaigns in Sylhet, home to the centuries-old shrine of Shah Jalal.Lines of supporters lined both sides the streets as Rahman prayed at the shrine on Wednesday night, cheering as his election bus passed by, with his countrywide roadshow of rallies to begin later Thursday.Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposes Sufi mystical interpretations of the Koran, begins its campaign in the capital Dhaka, in the constituency of its leader Shafiqur Rahman.Ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists are seeking a return to formal politics after years of bans and crackdowns.Since Hasina fled to India, key Islamist leaders have been released from prison, and Islamist groups have grown increasingly assertive.The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising, and who have formed an alliance with Jamaat, will also launch their rally in Dhaka.- ‘New Bangladesh’ -Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who returned from exile in August 2024 at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government as “chief adviser”, will step down after the polls.Yunus said he inherited a “completely broken” political system, and championed a reform charter he argues is vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule, with a referendum on the changes to be held on the same day as polling.He says the reforms will strengthen checks and balances between the executive, judicial and legislative branches. “If you cast the ‘yes’ vote, the door to building the new Bangladesh will open,” Yunus said on January 19, in a broadcast to the nation urging support for the referendum.Earlier this month, he warned UN rights chief Volker Turk of a “flood” of misinformation targeting the polls, saying he was “concerned about the impact” disinformation could have.”They have flooded social media with fake news, rumours and speculation,” Yunus said, blaming both “foreign media and local sources”.Relations with neighbouring India have soured, after Hasina escaped to her old ally New Delhi as protesters stormed her palace.Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power, remains in hiding in India.