WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela&#39;s interim government will deliver up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, and that the proceeds &quot;will be controlled by me&quot; as president. &quot;The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. &quot;This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.&quot;<div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115850817778602689/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" spellcheck="false">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div>&#39;No foreign power&#39; running countryVenezuela&#39;s interim president Delcy Rodriguez insisted Tuesday that no foreign power was governing her country, after US President Donald Trump said Washington would &quot;run&quot; it during a transition after ousting her predecessor. Rodriguez, who was vice president under toppled leader Nicolas Maduro, has given mixed signals about how much she is prepared to cooperate with Trump, at times sounding conciliatory, at others defiant. Speaking three days after US special forces snatched Maduro and his wife in a stunning raid in Caracas prefaced by airstrikes, Rodriguez said: &quot;The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no-one else.&quot; &quot;There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela.&quot; Trump insists Washington is now &quot;in charge&quot; of the Caribbean country but says he is prepared to work with Rodriguez -- provided she submits to his demand for access to Venezuela&#39;s vast oil reserves. Rodriguez has offered an olive branch but also appeared anxious to keep on her side the hardliners who control the security forces and paramilitaries, which have patrolled the streets since Maduro&#39;s capture. &quot;We are a people that does not surrender, we are a people that does not give up,&quot; she declared, paying tribute to the &quot;martyrs&quot; of the US attacks. Confirmation of lossesIn its first confirmation of losses, Venezuela&#39;s military on Tuesday published a list of 23 troops, including five generals, killed in the US strikes. Top ally Cuba separately issued a list of 32 dead Cuban military personnel, included two colonels and a lieutenant colonel, many of whom were members of Maduro&#39;s security detail. Venezuela has not yet confirmed the number of civilian casualties in the operation in which US forces grabbed Maduro and Flores and took them to the United States to face trial. Attorney General Tarek William Saab spoke Tuesday of &quot;dozens&quot; of civilian and military dead, without giving a breakdown.

Americas

Post on Truth Social says ‘The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.’ 

Trump says Venezuela 'turning over' up to 50M barrels of oil to US

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is withdrawing the United States from a foundational climate treaty and the world&#39;s leading global warming assessment body, as part of a sweeping exit from the United Nations system, the White House announced Wednesday. A total of 66 international organizations were named in a White House memorandum as &quot;contrary to the interests of the United States.&quot; Most notable among them is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty underpinning all major international climate agreements. Trump, who has thrown the full weight of his domestic policy behind fossil fuels, has openly scorned the scientific consensus that human activity is warming the planet, deriding climate science as a &quot;hoax&quot; at the UN&#39;s high-level summit last September. The UNFCCC was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 and approved later that year by the US Senate during George H.W. Bush&#39;s presidency. The US Constitution allows presidents to enter treaties &quot;provided two thirds of Senators present concur,&quot; but it is silent on the process for withdrawing from them &mdash; a legal ambiguity that could invite challenges. Trump has already withdrawn from the landmark Paris climate accord since returning to office, just as he did during his first term, a move that Democratic president Joe Biden later reversed. Exiting the underlying treaty could introduce additional legal uncertainty around any future US effort to rejoin. &quot;President Trump&#39;s withdrawal of the United States from the bedrock global treaty to tackle climate change is a new low and yet another sign that this authoritarian, anti-science administration is determined to sacrifice people&#39;s well-being and destabilize global cooperation,&quot; Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists told AFP. The memo also directs the United States to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN body responsible for assessing climate science, alongside other climate-related organizations including the International Renewable Energy Agency, UN Oceans and UN Water. As in his first term, Trump has also withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement and from UNESCO &mdash; the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization &mdash; which Washington had rejoined under Biden. Trump has likewise pulled the US out of the World Health Organization and sharply reduced foreign aid, slashing funding for numerous UN agencies and forcing them to scale back operations on the ground, including the High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Program. Other prominent bodies named in the memo include the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which works on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which focuses on trade, investment and development. Speaking before the General Assembly in September, Trump delivered a scathing broadside against the UN, saying it was &quot;not even coming close to living up&quot; to its potential.

A total of 66 international organizations are named in a White House memorandum as "contrary to the interests of the United States"; most notable among them is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the parent treaty underpinning all major international climate agreements.

Trump pulls US out of key climate treaty, science body: White House

DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket said on Wednesday it was in talks with the governing body, the ICC, seeking a &quot;practical&quot; solution to its request to move its T20 World Cup matches out of India. India forced Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman to quit the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, prompting anger in Dhaka. With ties tense between the two countries, Bangladesh wants the ICC to shift its World Cup games from India to co-hosts Sri Lanka, citing security concerns. The World Cup begins on February 7, and Bangladesh are scheduled to play its four group matches in India. Senior Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official Nazmul Abedeen Fahim told AFP on Wednesday that talks were ongoing with the ICC &quot;regarding security issues.&quot; A BCB statement said it would &quot;continue constructive engagement with the ICC and relevant event authorities,&quot; seeking an &quot;affable and practical solution that ensures the smooth and successful participation of the team.&quot; The ICC has not commented. Bangladesh international Mustafizur was snapped up at IPL auction in December by the Kolkata Knight Riders for more than $1 million. But he was let go on the Indian cricket board&#39;s &quot;advice&quot; after what it called &quot;recent developments.&quot; Political relations between India and Bangladesh soured after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi. India&#39;s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called &quot;unremitting hostility against minorities&quot; in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Bangladesh&#39;s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence. The BCB on Wednesday said it was &quot;firmly committed to placing the highest priority on the safety, security, and well-being&quot; of the team.

Bangladesh

India

BCB says it is "firmly committed to placing the highest priority on the safety, security and well-being" of the team; ICC have not commented.

Bangladesh in talks with ICC over fate of cricket World Cup games

MINNEAPOLIS: An immigration agent in Minneapolis shot dead a woman on Wednesday, triggering outrage from local leaders even as President Donald Trump claimed the officer acted in self-defense.&nbsp;Jacob Frey, the mayor, called the government&#39;s stance &quot;bullshit&quot; and called on ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers conducting a second day of mass raids to leave Minneapolis.&nbsp;A video of the incident, which has not been verified by AFP, shows a Honda SUV apparently blocking unmarked law enforcement vehicles as they attempt to drive down a snow-covered street.&nbsp;The driver, who the mayor said was a 37-year-old woman, attempted to drive off as officers walked over and tried to open the door, with one agent firing three times with a handgun as the vehicle pulled away.&nbsp;President Donald Trump, who has ordered nationwide anti-immigrant raids, accused the victim of &quot;viciously&quot; running over the agent.&nbsp;&quot;The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting,&quot; he said on Truth Social, adding the agent &quot;seems to have shot her in self-defense.&quot;&nbsp;The incident occurred during a protest action against immigration enforcement in the south of the city in the midwestern state of Minnesota.&nbsp;&quot;Attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them &mdash; an act of domestic terrorism,&quot; the Department of Homeland Security, which runs ICE, said on X.&nbsp;&quot;An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement, and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.&nbsp;&quot;The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.&quot;&nbsp;The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be involved in the investigation into the shooting, as would the FBI, officials said.&nbsp;Minnesota&#39;s governor, Tim Walz, called the federal government&#39;s response to the incident &quot;propaganda&quot; and vowed his state would &quot;ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation.&quot;&nbsp;Large crowds chanting anti-ICE slogans formed near the scene of the shooting.&nbsp;Anti-ICE protests&nbsp;There have been passionate protests against immigration operations of the Trump administration, which has vowed to arrest and deport what it says are &quot;millions&quot; of undocumented migrants.&nbsp;The DHS called the violence a &quot;direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers.&quot;&nbsp;The shooting reportedly occurred at 34th Street and Portland Avenue in Minneapolis.&nbsp;Nearby, ICE officers pepper-sprayed and shoved protesters, footage broadcast by local CBS affiliate WCCO showed.&nbsp;Dozens of protesters and bystanders were seen on the scene after the incident.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s no way whatever this person did that they deserved to be killed for it,&quot; one bystander told the broadcaster.&nbsp;Trump has made preventing unlawful immigration and expelling undocumented migrants&rsquo; priority during his second term, and has tightened conditions for entering the United States and obtaining visas.&nbsp;During his campaign, Trump likened undocumented migrants to &quot;animals,&quot; frequently linking them, without evidence, to criminal behavior.&nbsp;ICE &mdash; which critics accuse of transforming into a paramilitary force under Trump &mdash; has been tasked with deporting an unprecedented number of undocumented migrants.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s White House called Minneapolis Mayor Frey a &quot;scumbag&quot; for comments after the shooting in which he accused ICE of &quot;causing chaos and distrust.&quot;&nbsp;US authorities said that as many as 2,000 officers had been deployed to Minneapolis and surrounding areas to conduct immigration sweeps, partly in response to claims of fraud against some Somali residents.&nbsp;In November 2025, a judge threw out charges against two people accused of using their vehicle to ambush officers carrying out immigration enforcement in Chicago.

US authorities say as many as 2,000 officers deployed to Minneapolis, surrounding areas to conduct immigration sweeps, partly in response to claims of fraud against some Somali residents; Department of Homeland Security says “attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them” is “an act of domestic terrorism.”

US immigration officer fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan&rsquo;s Taliban leadership has carried out repeated administrative reshuffles by decree of Emir Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, moves critics say are consolidating power within a closed circle of loyalists and sidelining broader participation in governance.&nbsp;Over recent months, Akhundzada has ordered multiple rounds of appointments and reassignments across provincial administrations, security forces, and key ministries. Taliban interim spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the changes were made directly by the Emir.&nbsp;&ldquo;The appointments were made by the Emir,&rdquo; the spokesperson said in a statement announcing the latest reshuffle, which involved 25 officials, including provincial governors, corps commanders, and senior local administrators.&nbsp;Under the changes, Qari Gul Haidar Shafiq was appointed governor of Bamyan province, while outgoing Bamyan governor Abdullah Sarhadi was named governor of Jawzjan. Ahmad Shah Dindost, former commander of the 205th Al-Badr Corps, was appointed governor of Sar-e-Pol, replacing the previous governor.&nbsp;Andar Gul Abdullah, formerly chief of staff of the 201st Khalid bin Walid Corps, was appointed deputy governor of Laghman. Akhundzada also approved three new appointments in Kandahar, including a district chief, a commissioner, and a military commander, and authorized 15 additional changes within the defense ministry.&nbsp;Further restructuring followed within the corps command system. The former governor of Sar-e-Pol was appointed commander of the 205th Al-Badr Corps, while the former deputy commander of Panjshir&rsquo;s special brigade was named deputy commander of the same corps.&nbsp;Earlier decrees issued by Akhundzada last year also reassigned senior Taliban officials across provinces and ministries. These included governors, security commanders, department heads, and intelligence officials being rotated into new roles, according to Taliban-run announcements.&nbsp;In one reshuffle, Sher Mohammad Sharif, previously director general of border police at the interior ministry, was appointed governor of Zabul province, while Hezbollah Afghan, the former Zabul governor, assumed Sharif&rsquo;s previous post. Other reassignments placed Taliban officials into agriculture, port administration, district governance, and religious oversight roles.&nbsp;The Taliban leadership has largely relied on reassigning existing members rather than appointing external professionals or technocrats. That approach drew attention in December, when Mawlawi Mohammad Wazir Fedayi, a cleric, was appointed water adviser at the energy and water ministry, replacing Dr. Farooq Azam, a PhD-holder in water resources.&nbsp;Dr. Azam was removed after publicly criticizing the ban on girls&rsquo; education and pointing to weaknesses in the Taliban&rsquo;s law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice.&nbsp;Estimates indicate that between January 2025 and January 2026, Akhundzada overhauled Afghanistan&rsquo;s administrative structure six times through decrees.&nbsp;Critics inside Afghanistan have condemned the process, describing it as a &ldquo;monopolization&rdquo; of authority that places government institutions firmly in the hands of a narrow group of Taliban loyalists. They argue that many appointees lack the professional qualifications and administrative experience required to manage critical sectors.&nbsp;Citizens have also voiced concerns that the closed-circle appointments are worsening unemployment, deepening poverty, and eroding public trust in state institutions amid Afghanistan&rsquo;s ongoing economic crisis.&nbsp;Despite sustained domestic and international criticism, Taliban leaders have shown little indication of opening government positions to wider segments of Afghan society or forming a more inclusive administration.

Afghanistan

Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada repeatedly reshuffles loyalists across government posts, prompting criticism that closed-circle appointments monopolize power, sideline professionals, and worsen Afghanistan’s economic and governance crises

Taliban reshuffles entrench loyalists as critics warn of power monopolization

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump&#39;s administration said Wednesday it will dictate decisions to Venezuela&#39;s interim leaders and control the country&#39;s oil sales &quot;indefinitely&quot; after toppling Nicolas Maduro. Trump&#39;s assertion of US dominance over the oil-rich South American country comes despite its interim leader Delcy Rodriguez saying there is no foreign power governing Caracas. &quot;There is a stain on our relations such as had never occurred in our history,&quot; Rodriguez said about the US attack to depose her predecessor. US special forces snatched president Maduro and his wife on Saturday in a lightning raid and whisked them to New York to face trial on drug charges, underscoring what Trump has called the &quot;Donroe Doctine&quot; of US dominance over its backyard. &quot;We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now&quot; following the capture operation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing. &quot;We&#39;re continuing to be in close coordination with the interim authorities, and their decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States of America.&quot; Trump has said the United States will &quot;run&quot; Venezuela, which has the world&#39;s largest proven oil reserves. But Washington has no boots on the ground, and appears to be relying on a naval blockade and the threat of further force to ensure the cooperation of the interim president. Meanwhile Caracas announced Wednesday that at least 100 people were killed in the US attack and a similar number were injured. Among those hurt were Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said. The couple were seen walking on their own power during a New York court arraignment earlier this week. According to Havana, the death toll includes 32 members of the Cuban military. Maduro, like his firebrand predecessor Hugo Chavez, employed specialized Cuban soldiers as bodyguards. &#39;Not just winging it&#39;Trump&#39;s administration &mdash; which has so far indicated it intends to stick with Rodriguez and sideline opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado &mdash; has given few details about its plans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Wednesday, after meeting lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have been critical about the post-Maduro planning, that the United States was &quot;not just winging it.&quot; But so far, the US plan relies heavily on what Trump said on Tuesday was an agreement for Venezuela to hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States for it to then sell. Trump said Wednesday that under the deal Venezuela &quot;is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive&quot; from the oil profits they receive. That would include agricultural products, machinery, medical devices and energy equipment, he added. Rubio said that in a second &quot;recovery&quot; phase, US and Western companies would have access to the Venezuelan market and &quot;at the same time, begin to create the process of reconciliation nationally within Venezuela.&quot; Venezuela&#39;s state oil firm said it was discussing oil sales with the United States for the &quot;sale of volumes of oil&quot; under existing commercial frameworks. But Washington is looking at longer term control, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. &quot;We&#39;re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela,&quot; Wright said Wednesday. &#39;Immense opportunity&#39;&nbsp;Trump will on Friday meet executives from US oil companies, whom he has said will invest in Venezuela&#39;s crumbling facilities, despite no firm having yet made such pledges amid the turmoil in the country. &quot;It&#39;s just a meeting to discuss, obviously, the immense opportunity that is before these oil companies right now,&quot; Leavitt told reporters. Trump also invited leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro to meet at the White House &quot;in the near future,&quot; after the two leaders had their first phone call Wednesday since Trump took office last year. Washington moved further to stamp its authority on Venezuela when it seized two oil tankers, including a Russian-linked vessel that it pursued from Venezuela to the North Atlantic. Moscow condemned the operation but Leavitt insisted the oil tanker had been &quot;deemed stateless after flying a false flag.&quot;

Washington says it also seized a Russian-linked oil tanker after pursuing it from Venezuela, stepping up Trump's assertion of US dominance over its neighborhood following Saturday's capture of Maduro.

US says to dictate Venezuela decisions and oil sales

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has &quot;actively discussed&quot; the purchase of Greenland with his team, the White House said Wednesday, saying he preferred diplomacy but would not rule out military action. &quot;That&#39;s something that&#39;s currently being actively discussed by the president and his national security team,&quot; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about a possible US offer to buy the territory from Denmark. &quot;His team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like.&quot; Leavitt reiterated that Trump believes acquiring Greenland would be in the interest of US national security. &quot;He views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. And so that&#39;s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like.&quot; Asked why Trump would not rule out military action against a fellow NATO member, Leavitt replied: &quot;That&#39;s not something this president does. All options are always on the table for President Trump. &quot;But I will just say, the president&#39;s first option, always, has been diplomacy.&quot; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said separately Wednesday that he planned to meet next week with Denmark, which requested talks after Trump&#39;s threats to Greenland. &quot;I&#39;ll be meeting with them next week,&quot; Rubio told reporters.

Europe

The White House confirms President Trump is actively discussing purchasing Greenland, citing US national security and Arctic threats, while emphasizing diplomacy and planning talks with Denmark despite not ruling out military options.

Trump 'actively' discussing purchase of Greenland: White House

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it from off the coast of Venezuela, in an operation set to ratchet up tensions with Moscow. US officials say the tanker is part of a so-called shadow fleet that carries oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions. The ship had thwarted an earlier attempt to board it last month near Venezuela, where a US raid on Saturday toppled the country&#39;s authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro. &quot;The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court,&quot; US European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said in a statement on X. After the operation, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth posted that the US blockade on Venezuelan oil was in full effect &quot;anywhere in the world.&quot; Shortly after confirming the successful North Atlantic seizure, the US military announced a second sanctioned tanker ship had been seized in the Caribbean Sea. US special forces at the weekend snatched Maduro and his wife from Caracas and flew them to New York to face trial on drug charges. Since then, Trump has said that the United States will &quot;run&quot; Venezuela and US companies will control its critical oil industry. The North Atlantic operation came despite Russia sending a submarine to escort the empty tanker, saying the vessel was sailing under the Russian flag and was far from the US coast. &quot;For reasons unclear to us, the Russian vessel is receiving heightened attention from the US and NATO militaries &mdash; attention that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status,&quot; Russia&#39;s foreign ministry said, prior to the seizure. Venezuelan oil The vessel, formerly known as the Bella-1, switched its registration to Russia, changed its name to the Marinera and the tanker&#39;s crew reportedly painted a Russian flag on the tanker. The tanker had been en route to the South American country but was not carrying cargo before it evaded the US blockade. It has been under US sanctions since 2024 over alleged ties to Iran and Hezbollah. Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela will hand over tens of millions of barrels of oil to the United States after Maduro was seized. Trump said 30&ndash;50 million barrels of &quot;high‑quality, sanctioned&quot; Venezuelan crude will be shipped to US ports, with the revenue &mdash; perhaps more than $2 billion at current market prices &mdash;&nbsp;placed under his personal control. It was not clear whether Venezuela&#39;s new ruler &mdash; interim president Delcy Rodriguez &mdash; had agreed to hand over the oil, how the plan would work, or what its legal basis would be. Interim president Rodriguez &mdash; a long-time member of Maduro&#39;s inner circle as vice president and energy minister &mdash; has vowed cooperation with the United States amid fears that Trump could persue wider regime change. Trump has said Washington is now &quot;in charge&quot; of the South American nation and has vowed a new doctrine of US dominance in the western hemisphere.

US officials say the tanker is part of a 'shadow fleet' that carries oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.

US seizes Russia-flagged oil tanker chased to North Atlantic

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China agreed&nbsp;to strengthen rapid response mechanisms against terrorism and crime while expanding police training exchanges between the two nations, according to an official statement. &nbsp; Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Xiaohong, reached an understanding during talks in Beijing that covered counterterrorism cooperation and security collaboration. The countries established a framework requiring their Joint Working Group to convene quarterly, with interior ministers meeting annually. Wang praised Pakistan&#39;s counterterrorism efforts and security measures protecting Chinese nationals and projects. China values Pakistan&#39;s sacrifices in combating terrorism, he stated. The ministers discussed sister-city cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing and approved a joint strategy to improve training for police and security personnel. Naqvi talked about information sharing between security institutions through training programs. He told Wang that protecting Chinese nationals and joint development projects remains Pakistan&#39;s top priority. He stated that the government is establishing a special protection unit in Islamabad. Pakistan seeks Chinese assistance in combating cybercrimes and wants to leverage Chinese expertise to strengthen its National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency, Naqvi said. He stated that AI-based Chinese technologies could significantly aid Pakistan&#39;s counterterrorism and security operations. The Pakistani interior minister invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Pakistan. Meanwhile, Wang invited Naqvi to the Global Security Cooperation Forum in China to be held in September this year.

Security

The countries established a framework requiring their Joint Working Group to convene quarterly, with interior ministers meeting annually.

China offers AI technology to Pakistan in expanded security partnership

Simran Siraj

KARACHI: As the red double-decker bus pulls away from popular Zainab Market, Sakina Attaria climbs the narrow stairs to the upper deck, claiming a window seat just as Karachi opens itself below her.&nbsp;From the top, the city looks different.&nbsp;Painted bright red and wrapped in illustrations of Karachi&rsquo;s landmarks, Mazar-e-Quaid, Frere Hall, and the old Empress Market, the bus moves steadily along Shahrah-e-Faisal, the city&rsquo;s main commercial artery. Below, banks, corporate headquarters, and advertising agencies rush past, marking the daily grind of Pakistan&rsquo;s financial hub.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is my first day on the double-decker, and the experience is fantastic,&rdquo; Sakina says, smiling as the wind presses against the sealed glass. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been using public transport since April. This is good, affordable, and it&rsquo;s quite pretty too.&rdquo;&nbsp;After a gap of nearly 65 years, double-decker buses have returned to Karachi, a city of more than 23 million people struggling with traffic congestion and a chronic shortage of reliable public transport.&nbsp;The Sindh government officially launched the service on December 31 last year, with Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon inaugurating the fleet. Operations for the public began on New Year&rsquo;s Day.&nbsp;The initial rollout includes five Chinese-made diesel buses running a 22-kilometre route from Model Colony in Malir to Zainab Market in Saddar. The journey begins near residential neighborhoods, cuts through downtown Karachi&rsquo;s business district, continues toward Jinnah International Airport, and then reconnects via the highway that marks both the city&rsquo;s exit and its gateway.&nbsp;Each bus can carry up to 120 passengers and is fully air-conditioned, with an adjustable roof designed for Karachi&rsquo;s extreme and unpredictable weather. Fares range from Rs80 [$0.28] to Rs120 [$0.42], depending on distance.&nbsp;For Sakina, who commutes regularly across the city, affordability matters as much as comfort. &ldquo;For students like us, transport costs add up quickly,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;This makes a big difference.&rdquo;&nbsp;Other commuters share her enthusiasm. Nida, a schoolteacher travelling on the first day, calls the service overdue. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great experience for students, working professionals, and especially ladies,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;We need more of these in Karachi. All cities should get such buses.&rdquo;&nbsp;The novelty of the upper deck, a rarity in Pakistan&rsquo;s urban transport, has drawn young riders eager for a new perspective. &ldquo;The top-deck view makes the daily commute feel different,&rdquo; says Urooj Kaifulwara, a university student. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re very excited and hope there are more initiatives like this.&rdquo;&nbsp;But the buses are not only about the future. For some passengers, they are a moving archive of the past.&nbsp;Friends Muhammad Danish and Ahmed Khan boarded the bus to relive memories from decades ago. &ldquo;Last I saw this was in the 1960s,&rdquo; Danish recalls. &ldquo;What memories. We just came to see it again.&rdquo;&nbsp;The transport minister says the service is part of a broader effort to revive public transport in Karachi, including electric buses and expanded routes. He has announced plans to increase the fleet through 2026, with the goal of deploying double-deckers on all major roads across the city.&nbsp;For now, as the red bus glides past office towers, airport roads, and highways leading out of Karachi, Sakina watches the city move beneath her, a commuter suspended between nostalgia and necessity.&nbsp;&ldquo;It feels like Karachi is finally moving forward,&rdquo; she says, as the bus heads toward the city&rsquo;s edge.

Climate & Environment

Karachi’s iconic double-decker buses return after 65 years, offering affordable, air-conditioned travel, nostalgic city views, and hope for improved public transport as commuters welcome the Sindh government’s new service across Pakistan’s largest and busiest metropolis.

Red double-deckers roll Karachi forward, reviving memories and mobility

ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh&rsquo;s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally ordered the enforced disappearance of political opponents during her 15-year rule, a government commission has concluded, according to the country&rsquo;s state news agency.&nbsp;The findings were presented to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.&nbsp;&ldquo;In many cases the former prime minister herself was the direct order-giver behind disappearances,&rdquo; commission members said during the presentation, according to BSS.&nbsp;The 287-page report, titled &ldquo;Unfolding the Truth: A Structural Diagnosis of Enforced Disappearance in Bangladesh,&rdquo; documents at least 1,569 verified cases of enforced disappearance. The commission estimates the true number may range between 4,000 and 6,000, BSS reported.&nbsp;The inquiry found that disappearances were &ldquo;mainly politically motivated crimes&rdquo; and operated through &ldquo;a coordinated institutional system&rdquo; involving state security forces.&nbsp;Senior officials, including Hasina&rsquo;s security adviser and the then home minister, were found to have been involved, according to the report.&nbsp;Opposition figures overwhelmingly targetedNearly all verified victims were affiliated with opposition political movements, the commission found.&nbsp;Among survivors who later returned, 75% were members of Jamaat-e-Islami or its student wing, while 22% belonged to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and allied groups, BSS reported.&nbsp;Among those still missing, 68% were BNP members and 22% were from Jamaat-e-Islami, according to the state news agency.&nbsp;Out of 1,913 complaints received, the commission verified 1,569 cases as meeting the definition of enforced disappearance. Of those, 287 people remain missing and are presumed dead, BSS reported.&nbsp;Commission member Dr. Nabila Idris said the documented cases likely represent only a fraction of the total.&nbsp;&ldquo;The number of enforced disappearances could be four to six thousand,&rdquo; Idris said, according to BSS. &ldquo;Contacting many of the victims of disappearances leads to the discovery of more victims who have not contacted us, do not know about us or have moved to other countries.&rdquo;&nbsp;She added that many potential victims declined to testify on the record.&nbsp;Senior officials named in high-profile casesThe report cited evidence implicating Hasina, her security and defense adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and then-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in several high-profile disappearances, BSS reported.&nbsp;Cases highlighted include BNP leaders Ilias Ali, Salahuddin Ahmed, Hummam Quader Chowdhury and Chowdhury Alam, as well as Jamaat leader and former Brigadier General Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, Barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, and former ambassador Maroof Zaman.&nbsp;Former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) chief Lt. Gen. Akbar Zaman testified that he directly discussed Hummam Quader Chowdhury&rsquo;s detention with Hasina, according to BSS.&nbsp;Former Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun acknowledged knowledge of Mir Ahmad bin Quasem Arman&rsquo;s detention. He said he was informed by his predecessor, Benazir Ahmed, and later passed the information to his successor during a command handover, BSS reported.&nbsp;Secret detention sites and body disposalThe commission found that the Rapid Action Battalion and DGFI jointly operated a secret interrogation facility known as &ldquo;Aynaghar,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Mirror House,&rdquo; where many victims were detained, BSS reported.&nbsp;Claims by security officials that disappearances resulted from rogue officers acting independently were rejected.&nbsp;Senior officials who denied knowledge of detention facilities &ldquo;ought to have known&rdquo; about operations conducted under their authority, the commission concluded. Detention cells were often located near or on the same floors as senior officials&rsquo; offices, making ignorance implausible, according to BSS.&nbsp;The commission identified the Baleshwar River in Barisal as the site where the highest number of victims were allegedly killed and their bodies dumped. Evidence also pointed to body disposal in the Buriganga River and in Munshiganj, the report said.&nbsp;Alleged transfers to IndiaThe inquiry obtained information suggesting some disappeared victims were secretly transferred to India without legal process, carried out &ldquo;on orders from the highest levels of the government,&rdquo; commission members said, according to BSS.&nbsp;The report did not specify how many such cases occurred or whether Indian authorities were involved.&nbsp;Nearly 200 officers summonedDuring the investigation, the commission issued summonses to 98 police officers and 108 military officers, BSS reported.&nbsp;Responding to criticism that the inquiry unfairly targeted the armed forces, the report noted the near-equal number of police and military officials summoned.&nbsp;Yunus calls findings &lsquo;historic&rsquo;Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus thanked the commission and described its work as historic.&nbsp;&ldquo;This report is a documentation of the kind of demonic behavior that can be perpetrated on people by twisting all the institutions of Bangladesh and wearing the garb of democracy,&rdquo; Yunus said, according to BSS.&nbsp;&ldquo;It shows how low people can go down, how demonic and disgusting they can be,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Those who committed these terrible incidents are human beings like us. They are living a normal life in society after committing the most atrocious incidents.&rdquo;&nbsp;Yunus directed the commission to prepare recommendations for future action and ordered the report to be made publicly available in simplified language, BSS reported.&nbsp;The interim government formed the commission in August, the same month Hasina fled the country amid mass protests that ended her party&rsquo;s more than 15 years in power.

The Commission of Inquiry concludes Bangladesh’s ex-PM Sheikh Hasina ordered politically motivated enforced disappearances, documents 1,569 cases, and estimates thousands more during her 15-year rule.

Trump says Venezuela 'turning over' up to 50M barrels of oil to US

Related Articles

Trump eyes US oil giants to run Venezuela after Maduro

US operation in Venezuela undermined international law: UN

Latest News

Trump pulls US out of key climate treaty, science body: White House

Bangladesh in talks with ICC over fate of cricket World Cup games

US immigration officer fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis

Taliban reshuffles entrench loyalists as critics warn of power monopolization

US says to dictate Venezuela decisions and oil sales