BJP’s Rajya Sabha tally dips to 86; NDA holds 101 MPs - 12 below majority mark of 113

Dhaka: Bangladesh's interim government said on Monday that it has sent a diplomatic note to India to send back deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to Dhaka.

Hasina, 77, has been living in exile in India since Aug 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests that toppled her 16-year regime. Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for "crimes against humanity and genocide".

“We have sent a note verbale (diplomatic message) to the Indian government saying that Bangladesh wants her back here for the judicial process,” Foreign Affairs Adviser or de facto foreign minister Touhid Hossain told reporters at his office.

Earlier in the morning, Home Advisor Jahangir Alam said his office has sent a letter to the foreign ministry to facilitate the ousted premier's extradition from India.

“We have sent a letter to the foreign ministry regarding her extradition. The process is currently underway,” he told reporters in response to a query.

Alam said an extradition treaty between Dhaka and New Delhi already exists and Hasina could be brought back to Bangladesh under the treaty.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session, sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills which are likely to be referred to a parliamentary committee.

Sources said the government was also keen to consult the Speakers of various state legislative assemblies through the committee.

Moving ahead with its 'one nation, one election' plan, the government in September accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee for holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner.

Citing recommendations of the high-level committee, sources had said one of the proposed bills would seek to amend Article 82A by adding sub-clause (1) relating to the appointed date. It will also seek to insert sub-clause (2) to Article 82A relating to the end of terms of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies together.

It also proposes to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-clauses (3) and (4) relating to the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha. It also has provisions related to the dissolution of the legislative assemblies and amending Article 327 to insert the term simultaneous elections.

This bill will not require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the states, the recommendation said.

However, any move to hold local body elections together with Lok Sabha and state assemblies will require ratification by at least 50 per cent of the state assemblies as it deals with matters relating to state affairs.

Another bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws dealing with Union territories having legislative assemblies -- Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir -- to align the terms of these Houses with other legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha as proposed in the first constitutional amendment bill.

The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union Territories Act-1963 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.

The proposed bill will be an ordinary legislation not requiring a change in the Constitution and will also not need ratification by the states.

The high-level committee had proposed amendments to three Articles, insertion of 12 new sub-clauses in the existing articles and tweaking three laws related to Union Territories having legislative assemblies. The total number of amendments and new insertions stands at 18.

In its report submitted to the government in March, just before the general election was announced, the panel recommended implementing one nation, one election in two phases.

US and British warplanes have carried out fresh airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sana'a and other regions, intensifying attacks as Yemeni Armed Forces continue their anti-Israeli operations in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the regime’s genocide.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported that US and British aircraft targeted the premises of the Yemeni Defense Ministry in the the Assafi'yah district of Sana’a early on Tuesday.

Local sources heard loud explosions echoing from the site of the strikes. 

The report, however, did not provide any details regarding potential casualties or damage.

For his part, the Yemeni information minister vehemently denounced the latest US and British airstrikes against Sana’a, stating that the act of aggression “falls within the framework of attempts to diminish the Yemeni nation’s will to support Palestinian people.”

Hashem Sharaf al-Din underscored that enemies are unable to undermine Yemen’s military capabilities, as its government and nation are standing firm in the face of their vicious and terrorist attacks.

This came hours after the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces announced in a statement that the country’s missile units had carried out a military operation against an Israeli military target in Tel Aviv, using a hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile

Brigadier General Yahya Saree noted that the missile strike was in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and successfully achieved its desired objectives.

The Yemeni Armed Forces will continue their operations, and will strike all Israeli facilities within the occupied territories, Saree pointed out, adding that such strikes will not stop unless the ongoing aggression on Gaza ends and the siege is completely lifted.

Early on Monday, American and British warplanes conducted a joint airstrike on targets at the Midi district in Yemen’s northern province of Hajjah.

US and British military aircraft also targeted a number of locations in the At Tuhayta district of the strategic western province of Hudaydah. Details on potential human or material losses from the strikes were not quickly disclosed.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni armed forces have said they will not stop their attacks as long as Israel continues its ground and aerial offensives in Gaza.

So far, Israel has killed at least 45,028 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 106,962 others in Gaza.

In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to bomb Yemen in support of Israel. Since then, attacks against Yemen have continued in a bid to halt the retaliatory attacks by Sana'a.