The United States and Russia have agreed to resume high-level military communication following two days of discussions in Abu Dhabi, held amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The decision is being viewed as a significant step forward in bilateral relations, marking the first such engagement since senior military dialogue was suspended in 2022 before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The talks also led to the exchange of more than 300 prisoners, the first in four months.

According to the U.S. European Command, maintaining military dialogue is vital for global stability and peace, as it enhances transparency and helps reduce tensions. Moscow has not yet issued an official response. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the discussions as complex and urged faster progress, while Kyiv’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said trilateral talks would continue in the coming weeks.

The main dispute remains over the future of eastern Ukraine’s territories. Russia demands Ukrainian troop withdrawal from the Donbas region and international recognition of occupied areas, while Kyiv has proposed a ceasefire along current frontlines and rejected withdrawal demands.

Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, a partner in the 11-party alliance, announced its manifesto for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election at its central office in Purana Paltan on Friday. Party chief Allama Mamunul Haque presented the manifesto, pledging to build a new Bangladesh based on justice, integrity, and humane Islamic governance. The manifesto outlines 22 commitments across six priority areas, including balanced development, good governance, national security, foreign policy, education reform, and youth employment.

The party emphasized ending the culture of enforced disappearances, killings, and corruption, calling for state reform grounded in truth, justice, and accountability. It proposed a welfare-oriented state ensuring citizens’ basic rights to food, shelter, healthcare, education, and justice. The manifesto also supports a professional defense system, an independent foreign policy, and a unified moral education framework. It promises employment guarantees for youth and equal rights for women across all sectors.

Mamunul Haque described the manifesto as a moral duty rather than a political promise, asserting that a state built on piety, justice, and humane governance would ensure peace, prosperity, and security for all citizens.

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher has said that Pakistan’s decision to boycott its T20 World Cup match against India, in protest of a recent ICC decision involving Bangladesh, could spell disaster for both India and the International Cricket Council. The move has created a major crisis for the ICC, as the India–Pakistan match is considered one of the most financially lucrative and high-profile contests in world cricket.

Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, Butcher argued that India often influences cricket decisions to its advantage, leaving Pakistan in a weaker position. He recalled that during the Champions Trophy, India’s refusal to play in Pakistan forced a complete rescheduling that affected all teams. Butcher said such actions disrupt tournament balance and logistics, with schedules frequently adjusted for India’s convenience.

He added that Pakistan’s stance reflects solidarity with Bangladesh, noting that while Pakistan and Dubai were allowed to co-host the Champions Trophy, Bangladesh was denied similar flexibility. Butcher warned that canceling the India–Pakistan match would cause massive financial losses for organizers and broadcasters.

Lebanese Army Chief Rodolphe Haykal met this week with top US military official General Dan Kane, following the cancellation of Haykal’s previously planned Washington visit. A spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Kane met Haykal on Tuesday and Qatar’s defense chief the day before. The meetings reaffirmed the importance of the United States’ enduring defense relationships in the Middle East.

Haykal’s Washington trip, scheduled for November 2025, was canceled just hours before departure after US political and military officials withdrew from all planned meetings. Reports at the time indicated that influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham played a role in the decision. Graham had accused Haykal of failing to take effective steps to disarm Hezbollah and said their meeting was abruptly shortened after he questioned whether Lebanon’s military considered Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Last month, the Lebanese army announced completion of the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, implemented between the Israeli border and the Litani River region.

The United States has seized more than 200 illegal online pharmacies connected to an India-based international criminal organization, according to a statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The agency said multiple nationwide operations led to the arrest of four individuals. The DEA described the pharmacies as spreading poison among Americans by selling counterfeit and unauthorized pills. The enforcement actions began on January 27 across the country.

Investigations into these online pharmacies had been ongoing since 2022. The DEA stated that the operations were conducted jointly with Indian law enforcement agencies to combat illegal drug traffickers. The agency emphasized that such joint actions aim to curb the flow of dangerous and unapproved drugs that threaten public health and safety in the United States.

During the investigation, the DEA identified thousands of customers who had purchased drugs from these websites and sent over 2,000 letters seeking public information. The agency also issued five immediate suspension orders and one show-cause notice as part of the crackdown.

BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman is scheduled to visit three northern districts of Bangladesh on Saturday, beginning with Thakurgaon, followed by Nilphamari and Dinajpur. During the trip, he will attend election rallies and later visit the graves of his grandparents and aunt. The visit marks his first return to Thakurgaon in 23 years, and local BNP leaders and supporters are preparing for large gatherings at Thakurgaon Boys High School field, where the main rally will be held.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, whose constituency includes Thakurgaon, has urged party members and supporters to attend the event. Police have confirmed that security preparations are complete for the visit. Local residents and party activists have expressed excitement about seeing Tarique Rahman in person after nearly two decades, viewing his presence as significant for the region’s development.

Following the Thakurgaon rally, Tarique Rahman will travel to Nilphamari and then to Birampur in Dinajpur, an area connected to his mother’s memories. BNP Standing Committee member Dr. A Z M Zahid Hossain said public attendance at the rallies will demonstrate the people’s affection for the Zia family and Tarique Rahman.

In East London’s Bangladeshi community, conversations about Bangladesh’s upcoming February 12 national election have intensified as expatriates gain the right to vote for the first time. The election follows the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the installation of an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has banned Hasina’s Awami League from contesting. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, now led by Tarique Rahman, and the Jamaat-e-Islami in alliance with the National Citizen Party are among the main contenders. For many in Britain’s large Bangladeshi diaspora, the vote carries emotional and symbolic weight after decades of exclusion.

Despite new rights, participation remains limited. Only about 32,000 Bangladeshi citizens in the UK have registered to vote, compared with millions in Gulf countries. Complex registration procedures, lack of awareness, and technological barriers have discouraged many, particularly older voters. Younger British Bangladeshis often feel detached from politics in Bangladesh, focusing instead on life in the UK. Some, however, view the election as a chance for long-awaited change, while others question its legitimacy after the Awami League’s ban.

The diaspora’s mixed engagement underscores enduring ties to Bangladesh alongside evolving identities rooted in Britain.

Voters in Thailand will head to the polls on Sunday, February 8, 2026, in a snap election marked by political volatility and a fragile truce with Cambodia after deadly border clashes. The contest features Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party, aligned with the royalist conservative establishment, against the progressive, youth-led People’s Party. Pheu Thai, long a dominant force in Thai politics, is also seeking a comeback after its founder Thaksin Shinawatra’s imprisonment and the removal of two of its prime ministers by the courts.

The election will fill 500 seats in the House of Representatives through a mixed system, with 400 constituency and 100 party-list seats. For the first time in recent cycles, the appointed Senate will not participate in selecting the prime minister, who will require 251 votes in the House. Voters will also decide in a referendum whether to rewrite the 2017 constitution drafted under military rule. Polls show the People’s Party leading, followed by Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai trailing.

Analysts say no party is expected to win an outright majority, making coalition-building inevitable but potentially unstable. The vote is widely viewed as a test of whether Thailand can end decades of coups, protests, and judicial interventions.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt partially reopened this week after two years of Israeli-imposed closure, allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave for medical treatment abroad. However, many elderly Palestinians have chosen to remain in Gaza, viewing their decision as an act of resistance and a connection to their homeland. Among them is 73-year-old Kefaya al-Assar, who has been displaced multiple times during Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and now shelters in a school in Nuseirat. Despite health issues and the destruction of her home in Jabalia, she insists on staying, saying she would rather die on her land than seek treatment abroad.

The reopening of Rafah is part of the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire, though Israeli attacks continue. Amnesty International and HelpAge International report that elderly Gazans face a severe physical and mental health crisis due to Israel’s blockade of aid and medicine. Their research found that most elderly people live in tents, lack access to medication, and often skip meals. Despite these hardships, many, like 85-year-old Nazmeya Radwan, refuse to leave Gaza, citing lifelong displacement since the 1948 Nakba.

The persistence of elderly Palestinians to remain underscores both the humanitarian crisis and the enduring attachment to their homeland amid ongoing conflict and devastation.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has discovered a local firearm manufacturing factory in Sandwip, Chattogram, and arrested two craftsmen along with weapons and equipment. The detainees were identified as Md. Rashed, 40, from Amanullah Union, and Akbar, 43, from Rahmatpur Union. The operation was conducted jointly by the Coast Guard Station Sandwip and a Navy team on Wednesday night in the Amanullah embankment area. Officials recovered a single-barrel gun, two live cartridges, and various firearm-making tools during the raid.

According to Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq, the raid was carried out based on information about suspicious activities in the area. Legal proceedings are underway against the arrested individuals, and the seized weapons and tools have been taken into custody.

Reports indicate that due to the remote coastal nature of the region, small-scale workshops have long been used to conceal illegal firearm production. However, regular law enforcement operations have significantly reduced such activities in recent years.

Bangladesh’s Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Sunil Karmakar, who played a significant role in promoting the songs of philosopher and poet Jalal Uddin Khan. In a condolence message issued on Friday, Farooki said that philosophy and art in Bangladesh have long evolved together, with the nation’s people expressing both worldly emotions and philosophical reflections through song. He noted that the country’s intellectual heritage is best found in its music, enriched by thinkers such as Lalon, Hasan, Jalal Khan, and Shah Karim.

Farooki described Sunil Karmakar as a distinguished musician and spiritual artist from the Jalal Khan tradition. He recalled being inspired by Karmakar’s rendition of Jalal Khan’s songs many years ago and praised his mastery of multiple instruments, including the violin and dotara. The adviser added that the Ministry of Cultural Affairs had promptly extended support upon learning of Karmakar’s illness.

Farooki said the news of Karmakar’s passing deeply saddened him personally and marked an irreparable loss for Bangladesh’s cultural community.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said his party would ensure equal justice for all if it came to power. Speaking at an election campaign rally on Friday morning at Patahat RC College field in Mehendiganj upazila of Barishal, he stated that the same law would apply to both ordinary citizens and the president. He emphasized that Jamaat seeks victory not for itself but for all 180 million people of Bangladesh, aiming to build a fair and inclusive nation.

Rahman pledged that under Jamaat’s rule, no extrajudicial killings would occur, referring to frequent incidents before August 5. He criticized the Awami League for alleged oppression and inequality after independence, claiming that despite changes in government, the nation’s fate had not improved. He described Jamaat as the most oppressed political group, yet committed to speaking for public interest.

He added that the 11-party alliance was determined to establish a humane, discrimination-free Bangladesh and eradicate corruption. Several senior Jamaat and allied leaders attended the event.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) announced that from 9 a.m. today, the country will experience mainly dry weather with partly cloudy skies for the next 24 hours. Mild cold waves are currently sweeping across Moulvibazar, Panchagarh, Rajshahi, and Pabna districts, and these conditions may persist for a few more days. Light to moderate fog may form in river basin areas during early morning hours.

According to the BMD, both day and night temperatures across the country are expected to remain largely unchanged. The highest temperature recorded today was 31.6 degrees Celsius in Teknaf, while the lowest was 8.4 degrees Celsius in Sreemangal. In Dhaka, winds are blowing from the west-northwest at speeds of 8 to 12 kilometers per hour, with relative humidity measured at 68 percent at 6 a.m.

The department also reported that sunset in Dhaka will occur at 5:48 p.m. today, and sunrise tomorrow will be at 6:37 a.m.

Government employees have begun marching toward the Chief Adviser’s residence at Jamuna, demanding immediate publication and implementation of the gazette for the 9th pay scale based on the Ninth National Pay Commission’s report. The march started around 11 a.m. on Friday when participants broke through a police barricade near Hotel Intercontinental in Dhaka. Protesters declared they would not return home unless the gazette was issued within the day.

Earlier in the morning, government workers gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka before setting out for Jamuna. Participants included members of the Government Officers and Employees Welfare Association, as well as staff from various government, semi-government, and pay-scale-covered offices. Demonstrators alleged that although a pay commission was formed during the interim government, the failure to publish the gazette constituted an injustice.

The protest reflects growing frustration among public servants over delays in formalizing the new pay scale, with demands centered on immediate government action.

At least 18 workers were killed and eight others seriously injured after an explosion ripped through an unauthorized coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, India, on Thursday morning, February 5. The blast occurred in the remote Thangsu area, and several workers are feared trapped inside. Police said the total number of miners present remains uncertain, and preliminary investigations suggest the explosion was triggered by dynamite used for illegal coal extraction.

Joint state and central rescue teams launched operations soon after the incident but were forced to suspend efforts Thursday evening due to difficult terrain and lack of equipment. Operations resumed Friday morning. Officials described the site as an illegal “rat-hole” mine with narrow tunnels, where toxic gas and smoke have reduced chances of survival for trapped workers. Most victims reportedly died from burns or suffocation caused by poisonous gases.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma expressed deep sorrow and promised strict action against illegal mining. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of 200,000 rupees for each victim’s family. Despite a 2014 ban on rat-hole mining, weak enforcement has allowed such dangerous operations to continue in remote areas.