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Shooting at Start of Bangladesh Election Campaign Kills One

Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)
Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)
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Shooting at Start of Bangladesh Election Campaign Kills One

Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)
Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)

Gunmen on motorbikes attacked a Bangladesh political rally, killing one person and wounding two others, including a candidate, officials said on Thursday, after parties began campaigning for landmark elections.

Major parties opened their campaigns on Wednesday for the elections slated for February 2026, the first since a deadly uprising last year toppled the autocratic government of former ruler Sheikh Hasina.

Campaigning turned violent almost immediately, AFP said.

The shooting took place at a rally on Wednesday for the powerful Bangladesh National Party (BNP) attended by hundreds in the port city of Chattogram on Wednesday, police said.

Senior BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said "it was an attempt to destabilize politics and disrupt the election".

The BNP are widely seen as the frontrunner in the polls.

Police said the gunmen opened fire quickly on a crowd of hundreds at the rally but insisted that the BNP candidate was not the target.

"The miscreants... shot their target, and fled in a flash," senior police officer Hasib Aziz told reporters late on Wednesday.

Candidate Ershad Ullah was shot and wounded, along with a supporter. A third man was killed.

"We would urge candidates to inform the police station at least 24 hours prior to any election campaign, so that more police can be deployed," Aziz said.

The South Asian nation of about 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising in August 2024.

Campaigning is technically unofficial because the election commission is not expected to announce the voting day until December.

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner serving as chief adviser, has repeatedly promised the elections will be held in February.

Yunus has ordered an investigation into the shooting, his media team said in a statement.

The interim government "calls on all political actors and their supporters to uphold calm, show restraint, and ensure that the February general election takes place in an atmosphere of peace, dignity, and fairness", it said on Thursday.

Bangladesh police offered cash rewards on Wednesday for the surrender of more than 1,300 machine guns, rifles and pistols looted during last year's uprising.

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World

Trump Says He Has Not Heard From Iran That They Are Suspending Talks

President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
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Trump Says He Has Not Heard From Iran That They Are Suspending Talks

President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had not heard from Iranians that they were suspending talks with the Washington, but added that silence would be fine and he was willing to wait.

"I think we've ‌been talking ‌too much if you ‌want ⁠to know the truth. ⁠I think going silent would be very good, and that could be for a long time," Trump said in an interview with NBC News.

"It ⁠doesn't mean we're going ‌to go ‌and start dropping bombs all over there," ‌Trump was quoted as saying. "We'll ‌just go silent. We'll keep the blockade."

"I think I can wait as long as they want. They're ‌losing a fortune."

The Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported earlier ⁠that Iran ⁠was halting indirect negotiations with the US after Israel ordered its troops to push deeper into Lebanon, complicating diplomatic efforts to end three months of war.

Trump said the Iranians were better negotiators than fighters, but that he had not been informed that they were suspending talks.

World

Türkiye’s Erdogan Distances Govt from Main Opposition Crisis, Warns Against Unrest

30 October 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Türkiye, speaks at the press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after talks at the presidential palace. (dpa)
30 October 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Türkiye, speaks at the press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after talks at the presidential palace. (dpa)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Distances Govt from Main Opposition Crisis, Warns Against Unrest

30 October 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Türkiye, speaks at the press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after talks at the presidential palace. (dpa)
30 October 2025, Türkiye, Ankara: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Türkiye, speaks at the press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after talks at the presidential palace. (dpa)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the government would not be drawn into disputes within Türkiye's main opposition CHP and would not allow unrest on the streets, in ‌his first ‌public comments ‌since ⁠a court ruling last ⁠month annulled the party's 2023 congress and removed its leadership.

The court ruling effectively reinstated former CHP ⁠chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a divisive ‌figure ‌within the party who ‌lost a presidential election ‌to Erdogan in 2023.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said ‌the government had no part in a ⁠political ⁠and legal struggle that had "spilled from party congress halls into court corridors" and would not allow "the streets to be thrown into turmoil" or the public to be pitted against security forces.

World

Mandelson Documents Cast Light on Government Work, Appointment of US Ambassador

Former UK ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is pictured as he walks his dog near his residence in central London on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
Former UK ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is pictured as he walks his dog near his residence in central London on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Mandelson Documents Cast Light on Government Work, Appointment of US Ambassador

Former UK ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is pictured as he walks his dog near his residence in central London on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
Former UK ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is pictured as he walks his dog near his residence in central London on April 20, 2026. (AFP)

Britain's government released reams of documents on Monday relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, offering a glimpse into the often acerbic world of Westminster and his messy clearance for the job.

The Mandelson saga, which forced the departure of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's closest aide, has become a focus for criticism of Britain's prime minister, who is fighting for his political survival against a probable leadership challenge.

In a 1,504-page document, the government released messages — ranging from vetting emails to personal WhatsApps — in a data dump it hopes will take some of the focus off Starmer and show that ‌Mandelson was ‌less than frank over his ties to the late convicted sex ‌offender ⁠Jeffrey Epstein.

MANDELSON: 'YOU WILL ⁠NEVER REGRET' THE APPOINTMENT

In one document, the government said it had written to Mandelson on March 31 to request any information held on his personal phone as part of an investigation into his appointment and work - something he had declined to hand over.

Private messages from Mandelson - who was twice sacked from cabinet under Labour's longest-serving prime minister, Tony Blair - show him regularly chatting to Labour insiders, pressing his case and sometimes exchanging criticisms of ⁠the government.

In a handwritten note to then-foreign minister David Lammy on ‌November 18, 2024, Mandelson writes: "I just wanted you ‌to know that if you were minded to appoint me (as ambassador), I would make sure you ‌never regret it."

He also said he went "tonto" over the government's failure to immediately approve ‌a personalized red ministerial box as a gift to US President Donald Trump, using a slang term for going crazy.

He also took a swipe at Starmer, telling senior minister Pat McFadden he believed "Keir is not leading from the front".

In the same exchange, McFadden told Mandelson the government was "asking ‌the wrong questions", saying that every meeting was about "who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others".

The government ⁠hopes the release ⁠of the documents and his messages will put an end to questions surrounding Starmer's judgment in appointing a man whose friendship with Epstein was known. But they are unlikely to silence calls for the prime minister to stand down after Labour lost in local elections last month.

Mandelson is under police investigation for allegedly leaking government documents to the late Epstein. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.

An initial tranche of documents was released in March, which showed Starmer was warned of the risks of the appointment, not just over Mandelson's ties to Epstein but also because of the Labour veteran's support for closer ties with China.

Starmer now faces a possible leadership challenge later this year, if his main rival, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, wins a seat in parliament in an election on June 18.