Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia jailed for 5 years in corruption case

Agencies
February 8, 2018

Dhaka, Feb 8: A court in Bangladesh sentenced opposition leader Khaleda Zia to five years in jail on Thursday after convicting the two-time former premier of embezzling money meant for an orphanage.

Zia, leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was found guilty of stealing $252,000 from a trust created for an orphanage, a charge she had dismissed as politically motivated.

“Since the court has been able to prove the charges against her and considering her social and physical status, Zia has been sentenced to five years in jail in the section 409 and 109 of the penal codes,” said the judge, Mohammad Akhteruzzaman.

Violent clashes broke out between security forces and protesters in Dhaka ahead of the verdict.

Police fired tear gas at thousands of opposition activists who defied heavy security to escort the car taking Zia, a two-time former prime minister, to a Dhaka court for the verdict.

The private television station Somoy said at least five police officers had been injured and two motorcycles torched during the clashes that broke out several kilometres (miles) from the court premises.

Hearings have been delayed for years by numerous petitions to higher courts.

Zia’s lawyers say the charges are aimed at keeping Zia and her family, which ruled the country for 15 years, from politics.

“It is not a criminal case. It is a political case,” her lawyer Moudud Ahmed, a former justice minister said.

Zia faces dozens of separate charges related to violence and corruption. Her son, who is in exile in London, was convicted of money laundering in 2016.

Last month, prosecutors sought the death sentence for Rahman for his alleged role in a deadly 2004 grenade attack in which current prime minister Sheikh Hasina was injured.

The trial is fraught with risk for the authorities.

Similar demonstrations in 2014 and 2015 around elections left nearly 200 people dead.

Prime Minister Hasina this month announced a general election would be held this year. The BNP, which boycotted the 2014 polls, is expected to contest the vote.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Feb 24: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has submitted his resignation to the king, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday, amid talks of forming a new coalition to govern the country.

Mahathir, 94, assumed office in May 2018 for his second stint as prime minister.

A spokesman from the prime minister's office declined to comment, saying only that a statement will be issued soon.

The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wuhan, Jan 31: The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections.

The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks.

suspended or reduced service to China include British Airways, German flag carrier Lufthansa, American Airlines, KLM and United.

Chinese efforts to halt the virus have included the suspension of classes nationwide and an extension of the Lunar New Year holiday.

All football matches across the country also will be postponed, the Chinese Football Association said on Thursday, including games in the top-tier Chinese Super League.

World stock markets tumbled again Thursday on fears that trouble in the "world's factory" would upset global supply chains and dent profits.

Toyota, IKEA, Starbucks, Tesla, McDonald's and tech giant Foxconn were among the corporate giants temporarily freezing production or closing large numbers of outlets in China.

Volkswagen announced Thursday its China joint-venture plants would not start production again before February 9.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the coronavirus posed a fresh risk to the world economy.

Throughout China, signs of paranoia multiplied, with residents of some Beijing residential compounds erecting makeshift barriers to their premises.

In one of many similar photos posted online, a man wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a traditional martial arts weapon squatted on a barricade outside a Chinese village, near a sign saying: "Outsiders forbidden from entering".

The crisis has caused food prices to spike, and the central government on Thursday blamed this partly on overzealous preventive measures, issuing a directive banning any roadblocks or other hindrances to food shipments.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Apr 11: The number of global coronavirus deaths has increased to 102,753, while the total number of cases worldwide has surpassed 1.6 million, according to the latest update by the Washington-based Johns Hopkins University.

As of Saturday morning, the overall number of infections increased to 1,698,416, while the tally of those who recovered from the deadly disease stood at 376,677, according to the varsity's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).

In terms of cases, the US had the highest in the world at 501,301, followed by Spain 158,273, Italy 147,577 and France 125,931.

Italy accounted for the highest death toll at 18,849, with the US in the second place with 18,769 fatalities.

Other countries with more than 10,000 deaths include Spain (16,081) and France (13,197).

Although the pandemic originated in China last December, it now only accounts for 3,343 deaths with 83,003 confirmed cases.

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