• Ex-minister among 16 held in Bangladesh plot case.
• Suspects arrested under anti-terrorism act, say police. 
• Witnesses say mob stormed venue and handed them over to police.
  

DHAKA: An 87-year-old former minister was among 16 people ordered by a Bangladesh court Friday to be detained in custody on charges of plotting against the government, police said.

The South Asian nation has been in turmoil since a mass uprising toppled Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government in 2024, with political parties vying for power ahead of elections scheduled for February.

The 16 were arrested Thursday after attending a meeting at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), a journalists’ association, where they accused political parties of conspiring to undermine the constitution.

Witnesses said a mob stormed the venue, heckled the participants, and later handed them over to police.

“They were arrested under the anti-terrorism act,” said Khalid Mansur, officer-in-charge of Dhaka’s central police station.

Among those held was Abdul Latif Siddiqui, a former minister under Hasina.

Police told the court that the accused were “hatching conspiracies and inciting unrest to destabilise the country and topple the government”.

Hafizur Rahman Karzon, a law professor at the University of Dhaka, was also among those detained.

In court on Friday- where the group was taken in handcuffs, helmets, and bulletproof vests-he said that they were victims, not offenders.

Another of the detained, journalist Manjurul Alam, raised his arms and said: “These hands have written against corruption for years”.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday for an ethics violation after only a year in power, dealing another crushing blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty that could usher in a new period of turmoil.

Paetongtarn, who was Thailand’s youngest prime minister, becomes the sixth premier from or backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or judiciary in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power between the country’s warring elites.

In its verdict, the court said Paetongtarn violated ethics in a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen when both countries were on the brink of an armed border conflict. Fighting erupted weeks later and lasted five days.

The decision paves the way for the election by parliament of a new prime minister, a process that could be drawn out, with Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai party losing bargaining power and facing a challenge to shore up a fragile alliance with a razor-thin majority.

In a 6-3 decision, the court said Paetongtarn had put her private interests before those of the nation and damaged the reputation of the country, causing a loss of public confidence.

“Due to a personal relationship that appeared aligned with Cambodia, the respondent was consistently willing to comply with or act in accordance with the wishes of the Cambodian side,” the court said in a statement.

The ruling brings a premature end to the premiership of the daughter and protégé of influential tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. Paetongtarn, 39, was a political neophyte when she was thrust abruptly into the spotlight after the surprise dismissal of predecessor Srettha Thavisin by the same court a year ago.

Paetongtarn has apologised over the leaked call and said she was trying to avert a war.

Uncertainty ahead

She is the fifth premier in 17 years to be removed by the Constitutional Court, underlining its central role in an intractable power struggle between the elected governments of the Shinawatra clan and a nexus of powerful conservatives and royalist generals with far-reaching influence.

The focus will next shift to who will replace Paetongtarn, with Thaksin expected to be at the heart of a flurry of horse-trading between parties and other power-brokers to try to keep Pheu Thai in charge of the coalition.

Deputy premier Phumtham Wechayachai and the current cabinet will oversee the government in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected by the house, with no time limit on when that must take place.

There are five people eligible to become prime minister, with only one from Pheu Thai, 77-year-old Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former attorney general with limited cabinet experience, who has maintained a low profile in politics.

Others include former premier Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has retired from politics and led a military coup against the last Pheu Thai government in 2014, and Anutin Charnvirakul, a deputy premier before he withdrew his party from Paetongtarn’s coalition over the leaked phone call.

The ruling thrusts Thailand into more political uncertainty at a time of simmering public unease over stalled reforms and a stuttering economy expected by the central bank to grow just 2.3% this year.

Any Pheu Thai administration would be a coalition likely to have only a slender majority and could face frequent parliamentary challenges from an opposition with huge public support that is pushing for an early election.

“Appointing a new prime minister…will be difficult and may take considerable time,” said Stithorn Thananithichot, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.

“It’s not easy for all parties to align their interests,” he said. “Pheu Thai will be at a disadvantage.”

• Development comes against  backdrop of US tariffs on New Delhi.
• Modi is on his first visit to China in seven years to attend SCO bloc. 
• Regional security bloc, whose members also include Russia and Iran.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, as ties between the Asian rivals thaw against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s imposition of punitive tariffs on New Delhi.

Modi is on his first visit to China in seven years to participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) regional security bloc, whose members also include Russia and Iran.

Modi’s visit is the first since a deadly 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese troops on their disputed Himalayan border. The neighbours share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s.

Here is a timeline of the thaw in ties since the military standoff began five years ago:

2020: At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops are killed in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, northern India, in June 2020.

The same year, New Delhi heightened scrutiny of investments from China, banned popular Chinese mobile apps and severed direct passenger air routes.

December, 2022: Minor border scuffles between Indian and Chinese troops break out in the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is also claimed by China as part of southern Tibet.

August, 2023: Modi and Xi meet in Johannesburg on the sidelines of a summit of the BRICS grouping of nations and agree to intensify efforts to disengage and de-escalate tensions.

September 2024: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, speaking at an event in Geneva, says about 75% of the “disengagement” problems at India’s border with China had been sorted out.

India’s aviation minister also indicates a thaw in the standoff, writing in a post on X that the two countries had discussed early resumption of direct passenger flights on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in Delhi.

October 2024: Both nations reach a deal on patrolling their disputed frontier to end the military stand-off.

Modi and Xi hold their first formal talks in five years on October 23 in Russia on the sidelines of a BRICS summit.

The leaders agreed to boost communication and cooperation between their countries and resolve conflicts to help improve ties.

December 2024: Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval travels to China to hold first formal talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the border issue after the October agreement.

Doval and Wang are designated as special representatives by their countries for discussing the border issue.

January 2025: Wang and India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri hold talks in China. Both sides agree to resume direct air services and work on resolving differences over trade and economic issues.

April 2025: Chinese embassy spokesperson says India and China should stand together to overcome difficulties in the face of tariffs imposed by Trump’s administration.

July 2025: Jaishankar makes first visit to China in five years, says India and China must resolve border friction, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalise their relationship.

Reuters reports that the Indian government’s top think tank has proposed easing rules that de facto require extra scrutiny for investments by Chinese companies.

August 2025: Wang tells his Indian counterpart while on a visit to New Delhi that China and India should establish “correct strategic understanding” and regard each other as partners, not rivals.

Later in the month, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong says at an event in New Delhi that China opposes Washington’s steep tariffs on India and will “firmly stand with India”.