Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death

A Bangladesh court sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to be hanged for crimes against humanity on Monday, with cheers breaking out in the packed court as the judge read out the verdict. Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her. The highly anticipated ruling, which was broadcast live on national television, came less than three months before the first polls in the South Asian country of 170 million people since her overthrow in August 2024. “All the… elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled,” judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read to the court in Dhaka. The former leader was found guilty on three counts: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities, the judge said. “We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, sentence of death.” Crowds waved the national fl...

Wildfire rages in Ecuador’s drought-stricken capital

 A raging wildfire filled Ecuador’s capital of Quito with smoke and threatened homes on Tuesday as authorities rushed to control the blaze at a time when a historic drought has stretched resources and patience.

President Daniel Noboa said the armed forces had been deployed to fight the fire, which started around midday in the bohemian Guapulo neighborhood and gradually spread to nearby residences and forested areas.

Some tearful residents worked desperately to put out flames, according to a Reuters witness.

“We couldn’t rescue anything. We just arrived, we didn’t know what to do … I don’t know why this is happening to us,” said Guapulo resident Rosana Cepeda.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

Quito’s firefighting force said its contingents were fully deployed and that its units would be fighting fires throughout the night.

“The fire will not end in the next few hours. It will surely continue into the night,” Mayor Pabel Munoz told the press, adding that falling nighttime temperatures should help efforts to control the blaze.

Ecuador’s worst drought in over 60 years has plunged the hydropower-dependent country into an energy crisis as diminished reservoirs leave hydroelectric dams offline.

The country’s energy minister announced nationwide 12-hour power cuts on Monday and said the country’s dry season started two months early.

Power cuts scheduled for Tuesday were suspended for the coverage area of Electrica Quito, the capital city’s electric utility, the company said on social media.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/n40ZYS6

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