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Awami League won’t be allowed to join Bangladesh polls in any way: Yunus’ key adviser

Dhaka, Jan 25 (PTI) Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League would not be allowed to participate in elections, a key adviser of Muhammad Yunus’s interim government said on Saturday. “The elections will be contested among pro-Bangladesh groups only,” said Mahfuz Alam, a top leader of the Anti-Discrimination Movement, which spearheaded the mass uprising that toppled Hasina’s Awami League regime and forced her to flee the country on August 5 last year. Addressing a street rally at central Chandpur district, Alam said only former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islam and other “pro-Bangladesh” groups would carry

How we treat catchment water to make it safe to drink

Melbourne, Jan 25 (The Conversation) Most of us are fortunate that, when we turn on the tap, clean, safe and high-quality water comes out. But a senate inquiry into the presence of PFAS or “forever chemicals” is putting the safety of our drinking water back in the spotlight. Lidia Thorpe, the independent senator leading the inquiry, says Elders in the Aboriginal community of Wreck Bay in New South Wales are “buying bottled water out of their aged care packages” due to concerns about the health impacts of PFAS in their drinking water. So, how is water deemed safe to drink

Pakistani court sentences 4 people to death for blasphemy

MULTAN, Pakistan, January 25, 2025 (AP) — A Pakistani court Saturday sentenced four people to death for blasphemy, allegedly because they posted sacrilegious material on social media about Islamic religious figures and the Quran. Their lawyer said appeal preparations are underway. Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its religious figures can be sentenced to death. Authorities have yet to carry out such a penalty, although the accusation of blasphemy and opposition to the law can incite mob violence or reprisals. Judge Tariq Ayub in the city of Rawalpindi declared that blasphemy, disrespect to holy

Health experts warn against risks of preterm deliveries by Indians abroad amid citizenship law fears in US

New Delhi, Jan 25 (PTI) Health experts and social activists have raised concerns over the alarming rise in preterm deliveries among immigrant families in the US, including Indians, reportedly driven by fears surrounding proposed changes to birthright citizenship laws. According to media reports, families are opting for early cesarean sections to ensure their children are born before the potential legal shift takes effect on February 20, putting maternal and neonatal health at significant risk. Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India, highlighted the unintended and harmful consequences of such rushed decisions. “The trend, fuelled by fears around

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