An airstrike in Lebanon "eliminated" a Hezbollah missile unit commander, the Israeli military says. Israel and the Iran-backed group have been trading cross-border fire for months on an almost daily basis. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday said it had killed a Hezbollah commander in an airstrike in Lebanon. The IDF identified the man as Ismail Al-Zin and said that he was a senior missile unit commander. "IAF aircraft struck a vehicle in the area of Kounine in Lebanon in which Ismail Al-Zin was located," the military said. "Al-Zin was a significant commander in the Anti-Tank Missile Unit of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces," the IDF said. The Israeli military posted up footage on social media platform X, showing infrared footage of a vehicle being hit by an air strike. On Saturday, three UN observers and a translator were injured by a shell that exploded near them as they patrolled outside of Rmeish in southern Lebanon. The IDF on Friday said it had killed Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket and missiles unit, in an airstrike in the area of  Bazouriyeh in Lebanon. Hezbollah — a Shiite militant group that receives support from Iran — has been designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, Germany and other governments. The hostilities broke out after Hamas carried out its unprecedented deadly attacks on Israel on October 7. Hezbollah announced its support for Hamas, which is also designated a terrorist organization by many countries including the US and Germany. Hezbollah has said that at least 240 of its fighters have been killed since then. There have also been civilian casualties on both sides of the border and tens of thousands of people have fled the area.

Four Egyptian officials are going on trial in absentia for the 2016 torture and death of Italian student Giulio Regeni. The 28-year-old was abducted and killed in Cairo while conducting research for his doctoral thesis. The trial of four senior Egyptian security officials accused of the kidnap, torture and murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni in 2016 gets underway in Rome on Tuesday. The opening hearing marks the second time the four security officers will go on trial in absentia. The first trial was halted in 2021 after it was argued there was no certainty the men had been officially notified that they were charged with Regeni's death. The four defendants have been identified as senior officers in Egypt's domestic security agency. What do we know about Regeni's death? Regeni, who was 28 at the time of his death, had been conducting research in Cairo for his doctoral thesis, when he was abducted in January 2016. His body was discovered nine days later, dumped near a highway and showing signs of torture. His mother said his body was so mutilated that she was only able to recognize the "tip of his nose" when she viewed it. The family's lawyer said that five of his teeth were broken, and 15 of his bones had been fractured, while letters were found carved into his skin. Human rights activists have said the injuries on Regeni's body resembled those resulting from torture in Egyptian Security Agency facilities. Strained ties after student's death Regeni's death strained relations between Italy and Egypt, with Italian lawmakers accusing Cairo of being hostile to attempts at securing justice. At one point, Italy withdrew its ambassador in an effort to press Egypt into cooperating with the investigation. Investigators believe Regeni was abducted and killed after being mistaken for a foreign spy. Egyptian authorities claim the Cambridge University doctoral student was the victim of common robbers.

A mother has allegedly committed suicide by strangling her two children with a pillow at Komalpur village, in Dumuria upazila of Khulna district. The tragic incident occurred on Saturday (Jan 27) around 2 pm, said Khulna’s Additional Superintendent of Police Asif Iqbal. The deceased were identified as Doly Begum, 38, wife of Mannan Sarder, a resident of Kamalpur village in the upazila, and her two children---six-year-old daughter Fatema and seven-month-old son Omar. Following this horrifying act, she committed suicide by hanging herself at home.   Upon receiving the information, the police went to the scene, recovered the bodies, and transported them to the Dumuria Upazila Health Complex. Officer in-charge of Dumuria Police Station Sukanta Saha said being informed police recovered the bodies and sent those to a morgue for autopsy. He said police suspected that Doly might have killed her children before committing suicide between 8am and 11am over family feud.  

Judge of Shariatpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals Md Sohel Ahmed pronounced the verdict this afternoon. The condemned convicts are - Nizam Bali, 45, Mohammad Ali, 35, Omar Faruk Bepari, 24, Al Amin Bepari, 20, and Ibrahim Molla, 21, residents of Dakshin Shitalakathi area under Damudya upazila of the district. The court also fined them Taka 1,00,000 each. Two of them were present in the court. They were sent to the district jail on the order of the court. Three more accused are absconding. According to the case statement, the victim Feroza Begum, 55, hailed from Bhuiyan Bazar area under Dhankathi union of Damudya upazila, disappeared from her home on April 18, 2019 around 5 pm. On April 21, police recovered her body from an abandoned pond in Baro Naogaon area, 10 kilometers from her house. The day after the incident, the victim's younger brother Lal Miah Sardar filed a murder case in the Shariatpur court naming 13 people and 2/3 others as unknown accused. Police submitted a charge sheet against five of them. The rest of the accused were acquitted from the charges. After examining the record and witnesses, the court found them guilty. Public Prosecutor (PP) Advocate Feroz Ahmed confirmed the matter. Source: BSS  

Three Washington state officers were acquitted in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis, which happened in the months before the murder of George Floyd. Footage subsequently emerged of Ellis's death, sparking major protests. A jury in the United States on Thursday acquitted three Washington state police officers of all charges in the 2020 death of an unarmed Black man in Tacoma. The case of Manuel Ellis, who was shocked, beaten, and held face down on a sidewalk as he struggled to breathe, paralleled the murder of George Floyd that same year. Two of the officers, Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank, were charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while Timothy Rankine was charged with manslaughter. The jury found the three not guilty on all counts after a trial that lasted more than two months. The case is the first to charge police with a suspect's death since Washington voters in 2018 approved a ballot measure that made it easier to hold officers criminally responsible in such instances. What happened to Manuel Ellis? Witnesses and a doorbell surveillance camera captured video of parts of the encounter on the night of March 3, 2020. The officers punched 33-year-old Manuel Ellis, put him in a chokehold, and shot him with a stun gun, according to witness testimony and video evidence presented at trial. Video footage showed Collins restraining Ellis by the neck as Burbank fired a Taser into his chest as he lay on the ground. Ellis could be heard repeatedly saying, "Can't breathe, sir," during the encounter and was declared dead at the scene. Parallels with Floyd's case The officers later told investigators that Ellis attacked them and was violent. Witnesses said they saw nothing of the sort. Lawyers for the officers also argued that Ellis, who had methamphetamine in his system, died due to his drug use and a heart condition, even though the Pierce County medical examiner ruled Ellis' death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation. Ellis's killing came weeks before the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked months of protests around the world over racial injustice and police brutality. Bystander video of Ellis's death was released in June 2020, a week after Floyd's killing, leading to protests in Tacoma. In 2021, Derek Chauvin, a former police officer, was sentenced to over 22 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the BNP cannot overthrow the government by killing people. “Those who damage public properties and killed people do not deserve forgiveness,” the premier said in a views exchange meeting with the FBCCI’s newly elected committee at Ganabhaban, referring to a fatal train derailment in Gazipur earlier in the day. She added, “People who cut railway tracks, set people on fire and kill police officers in a planned manner have no humanity. We must stand against them.” PM said some 20 feet of rail track was cut with a gas cutter machine at Sreepur upazila in Gazipur on Wednesday afternoon in which eight bogies of Mohonganj Express, coming from Netrakona, got derailed in Gazipur leaving a man killed and several others injured. "That means it is an attempt to kill the people by distracting the train bogies. They want to overthrow the government by killing the people. What can they achieve from a movement by killing people?" she said. Sheikh Hasina said those who plan to kill people by uprooting rail tracks or burn people alive have no sense of humanity. "So, it is the people who will have to resist it," she added. The premier expressed her disappointment over the misdeeds, saying, "What will be the future of the country if they carry out such activities at a time when we are offsetting the brunt of the global economic recession?" The country’s people had witnessed the oppression of Pakistani forces who burnt everything like this.  “And now we see the attack of Israel on Palestine where the hospital is not spared. They even bombed the hospital. We are now witnessing the same scenario in Bangladesh.”   Sheikh Hasina said: "Attack is being carried out on ambulances in the name of movement.. They are burning ambulances entering police outposts, attacking police and beating police. Such strange incidents are happening in Bangladesh. It is a movement! Whose interest is behind this type of movement?   Referring to the incident of cutting the railway line in Gazipur and derailment of seven coaches along with the train engine, PM Hasina said: “Just think what a destructive act.” “They must be resisted by the people. That is my call to the people of the whole country,” PM said.   Commenting that Awami League is not trying to seize power, the premier said they (BNP) should go to the people and those who the people vote for will come to power.  “We’ve no attempt to hang onto power." "We are making development of Bangladesh as long as we are in power. None can deny that the country witnessed development. Today Bangladesh has radically changed,” she said.   Highlighting various initiatives of the government to ensure a business-friendly environment, the premier further added that: “We don't have a Hawa Bhaban. You don't have to run a business with someone's debt. Businessmen can run their business independently. At least we have given this opportunity.”

Highly-charged protesters blocked roads in Bewal Town and Gujar Khan city on Sunday afternoon after a man was gunned down while another was seriously injured by a group of armed men in the presence of the area police. The protesters raised slogans against the station house officer and the in-charge of the Bewal police post and demanded that the inspector general of police (IGP) take notice of the lawlessness in the area. According to local sources, a property dispute between the two parties in Bewal Town had been continuing for the last few days, and the police were allegedly ignoring it at the behest of a land mafia. On Sunday noon, the ‘gun-point possession’ was underway, and local police were repeatedly called to intervene, but the calls on Rescue 15 went unheeded, alleged Abid, a local activist, while addressing the protesters. According to him, when the police party reached, the other party resorted to firing, leading to the death of Haroon while Hameed, a motorcycle mechanic, sustained serious injuries. The injured was shifted to THQ Hospital Gujar Khan. The infuriated residents first blocked the roads in Bewal Town, and later blocked the dual carriageway for hours after the victims were shifted to the THQ Hospital Gujar Khan. On getting information, SP Saddar Nabeel Khokhar reached Gujar Khan and tried to assure the protesters that justice would be provided to them. However, after he failed to convince them, the police resorted to baton charge and got the traffic between Lahore and Islamabad restored. Three persons were arrested on the charge of blocking roads. Meanwhile, a woman was killed after suspects opened fire on a van on Daultala Road on Saturday afternoon. According to witnesses, five armed men on motorbikes opened fire on Quratulain, 23, and her mother, Bilqis Fatima, who was sitting on the front seat. Two other women, who were sitting on the rear seat, were also injured. Quratulain died in the attack. The armed men managed to escape from the crime scene. A murder case was registered against Waqar Hussain Shah and his alleged accomplices on the complaint of Syed Qalab Hussain Shah, resident of Darkali Kalan. According to the complainant, Waqar Hussain Shah had divorced his daughter Quratulain and a dispute between the couple was settled in the police station the same day, after which his ex-husband and his accomplices killed her. Source : Dawn

Canada on Monday ordered an Indian diplomat leave the country as it investigates the killing of a prominent Canadian Sikh leader who was shot in British Columbia in June. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that an investigation into "credible allegations" that Indian state actors could be behind the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar was ongoing. Ottowa's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said: "If proven true this would be a great violation of our sovereignty and of the most basic rule of how countries deal with each other." "As a consequence we have expelled a top Indian diplomat," Joy said without stating exactly whom.  Canada is home to hundreds of thousands of people of Indian origin, many of whom are Sikhs. The White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement the US was "deeply concerned about the allegations" made by Canada. "We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada's investigation proceeds and the perpetrators be brought to justice," the statement read. India rejects allegations India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that: "Allegations of the Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated."  Such "allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.  Who is the Sikh leader in question and what is the issue? Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot on the premises of a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June of this year. Nijjar was declared a terrorist by the Indian government a few years ago because of his activism for a separate homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of India. The fight for a separate Sikh state or the "Khalistan" movement has its roots in the partition of the Indian subcontinent along religious lines. The 1947 partition sent Muslims to the newly created Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs to India. Punjab province, which was divided between India and Pakistan, saw deadly violence. The Khalistan movement was crushed by the Indian government in the years that followed, especially in the 1980s. The decade saw violent anti-Sikh riots that killed thousands, and the movement was banned, with Indian officials citing it as a security threat. Trudeau spoke to Modi at G20 The Indian government had put Nijjar on a wanted list and accused him of being actively involved in the networking and training of the separatist group he headed. Many in Canada and elsewhere alleged that the Indian government was behind the death of Nijjar. Trudeau said intelligence agencies were looking into those allegations. "Over the past number of weeks Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said. Trudeau added that he brought up the slaying with Modi at the G20 summit. Trudeau said he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation. The Indian government in its response to the conversation between the leaders said that allegations at the time were also "completely rejected."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged on Sunday the country’s alem-ulama to cooperate with her government to eradicate religious superstitions, terrorism and militancy so no one can misguide the children by wrong interpretation of Islam. “I want your cooperation in eradicating religious, superstition, terrorism and militancy. We especially request you to keep watch so our children don’t follow the wrong path,” she said. (Reports UNB) The prime minister was addressing the award giving ceremony of National hifzul quran competition 2023 held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC). She urged the Islamic scholars of the country to protect the dignity of Islam, the religion of peace, also urged the parents and guardians to watch where their children go and with whom they associate. Hasina said Islam, the religion of peace, is getting a bad name because of the terrorism and militant activities of a few people all over the world. “It is not acceptable to me that these terrorists will be known today by the name of Islam and the saddest thing is that a handful of people use our religion to carry out militant and terrorist activities,” she said. The PM said that she does not know who taught them that if anyone kills people, that person can go to heaven. “This is not written anywhere in the Qur'an and the Prophet (PBUH) did not say it. In his farewell hajj speech he told Muslims to show tolerance towards all religions. This is the essence of Islam,” she said. The PM said that she does not know who taught them that if anyone kills people, that person can go to heaven. “This is not written anywhere in the Qur'an and the Prophet (PBUH) did not say it. In his farewell hajj speech he told Muslims to show tolerance towards all religions. This is the essence of Islam,” she said.

The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) has expressed deep concern over the killing of journalist Golam Rabbani Nadeem, the correspondent of Banglanews24.com from Jamalpur district, and the correspondent of Ekattor TV from Bakshiganj Upazila. On Thursday, June 22, in a statement sent to the media, the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) remarked this concern.  The Embassies/High Commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States signed the statement. The statement mentioned, "We, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) in Bangladesh, are deeply concerned at the deadly June 15 attack on Golam Rabbani Nadeem, the Jamalpur district correspondent of BanglaNews24.com and the Bakshiganj upazila correspondent of Ekattor TV.   We offer our sincerest condolences to his family and friends.  We are encouraged to learn that authorities have taken action by arresting the suspected perpetrators of the killing and by initiating legal proceedings.   Journalists play a vital role in asking difficult questions, reporting the facts, and promoting the free flow of ideas.   The Media Freedom Coalition calls on all in positions of influence in Bangladeshi society to speak up for press freedom, the right of journalists to work without fear of retribution or harm, and the need to hold to account those responsible for attacks on journalists."