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.
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.
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.”
“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
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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