International

Nobel Peace Prize in Bangladesh to lead the interim government after the protests

Nobel Peace Prize holder Muhammad Yunus arrived in Dhaka this Thursday to take office as the new leader of the interim Government of Bangladesh, which will put an end to four days of power vacuum after the resignation and flight from the country of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, pressured by anti-government student protests.

The plane carrying Yunus, 84, landed around 2:10 p.m. (8:10 GMT) at the capital’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, coming from Dubai, according to the flight monitoring platform, Flightradar24.

“The coming government will protect the people and earn their trust,” said this economist by profession in his first public statement to the media, in which he added that one of the priorities of the interim government will be to regain the trust of the people.

The head of the Army, Waker-Uz-Zaman, as well as other high members of civil society and some of the main student leaders went to the airport to receive him, according to images from Channel 24 television, among strict security measures.

The winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize will take office at the head of the new interim government in a ceremony in Dhaca scheduled today around 8:00 p.m. (14:00 GMT) this Thursday.

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Yunus was in Paris to undergo a minor medical procedure, when he was proposed by the leaders of the protests to lead the Government.

The new temporary cabinet will be made up of about fifteen members, Zaman said yesterday at a press conference, in which he assured that he will have the full support of the Army.

Among the main priorities of the Government will be the restoration of normality in Bangladesh, after the chaos unleashed by student protests and the violence with which they were repressed by the authorities.

In this sense, Yunus affirmed that his first task will be to “reestablish law and order,” so he asked the population to stop the attacks and eliminate their differences, and indicated that the wave of violence “is part of a conspiracy.”

“Indiscipline and violence are great enemies of progress and the path we have begun. We have to make them understand them, or deliver them to the law, but not by blows,” he said.

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Yunus, known as the “banker of the poor”, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for having founded and designed the Grameen Bank to fight poverty in Bangladesh by developing the concept of microcredit, by which loans are granted to low-income people who would normally be rejected by the financial system.

The economist by profession had a tense relationship with the authorities since Hasina came to power in 2009.

If the enmity with Hasina led Yunus to face dozens of cases in the courts, the fall of the already former prime minister after weeks of demonstrations that left more than 400 dead have catapulted the Nobel laureate to the front line of politics.

Bangladesh is experiencing its fourth day of power vacuum today, after the resignation and departure from the country of Hasina, pressured by the student protests that began on July 1 peacefully but became violent and ended up demanding the resignation of Hasina, after the brutal repression of the demonstrations.

Amnesty International (AI) asked the next interim Government of Bangladesh on Thursday to repeal the controversial cybersecurity law, valid in the Asian country since 2023, and “restore freedom of expression.”

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“It is a continuation of successive repressive legislations that have repeatedly facilitated the state repression of the civic space and human rights, including during the protests led by students for quota reform,” the London-based non-governmental organization said in a statement, on the occasion of the publication of a specific report on Bangladesh.

Amnesty International cited several cases of arrests and accusations that occurred in the context of the protests that took place since last July 1 in Bangladesh, which culminated in the resignation and flight of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

International

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione admitted Friday to fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance group in the United States, during an appearance before a federal judge.

The case shocked the U.S. business community and dates back to December 2024, when Mangione opened fire on Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street. Prosecutors have described the attack as being motivated by Mangione’s opposition to the U.S. health insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said as he pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge related to his pursuit of the executive.

Mangione, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, and prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a life sentence.

In addition to the federal charges related to stalking Thompson, Mangione also faces a murder case brought by the state of New York.

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Following his guilty plea in federal court, Mangione’s defense asked a state court to dismiss the state charges, arguing that prosecuting him again for the same conduct would violate protections against double jeopardy.

“We have just filed our motion in state court to explain why the charges should be dismissed under New York’s protections against double jeopardy,” Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Friday.

Both the federal and state cases could result in a life sentence. Two other federal charges that initially carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

International

ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns

Plans to equip U.S. immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks are raising concerns over potential abuses by a law enforcement agency that critics accuse of using excessive force and providing inadequate training to its personnel.

The plan involves the potential purchase of electric-shock gloves for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized the proposal on X, arguing that the agency has already faced accusations of excessive force during immigration enforcement operations.

“As if assaulting and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough,” Frost wrote. He also criticized the reported $20 million potential expenditure on the devices and called for greater restrictions on ICE.

The agency has faced growing scrutiny following a series of deadly shootings during immigration enforcement operations. Among the incidents were the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January who were participating in protests against the agency.

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Critics have focused on the tactics used by ICE agents when detaining immigrants, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited personnel have been lowered.

According to a procurement plan first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, could spend between $10 million and $20 million on the devices.

The gloves are described by the agency as tools intended for “distraction and de-escalation,” rather than lethal weapons. The system, known as GLOVE, stands for “Generated Low-Output Voltage Emitter.”

The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company that describes its products as advanced non-lethal tools designed to protect and assist law enforcement and other personnel.

The proposal comes amid an intensifying national debate over ICE’s enforcement methods and the use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

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International

Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.

The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.

In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.

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Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.

Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.

Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.

The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.