World
Bangladesh plans to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus says implementing full list of electoral reforms could delay elections by a few months.
General elections in Bangladesh will be held in late 2025 or early 2026, the country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after a popular revolution in August, announced.
“Election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026,” the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader said in a national broadcast on Monday delivered on the 53rd anniversary of Bangladesh winning independence.
Pressure has been growing on Yunus, appointed the country’s “chief adviser” after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, to set a date for elections.
Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, whose refusal to support Hasina during the deadly student protests led to her departure, said in September that democracy should be restored within 12 to 18 months.
Opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of two dominant parties in the country alongside the Awami League, have also called for elections to be held as soon as possible.
Yunus has launched commissions to oversee a group of reforms he says are needed, and setting an election date depends on what political parties agree to.
“Throughout, I have emphasised that reforms should take place first before the arrangements for an election,” he said.
“If the political parties agree to hold the election on an earlier date with minimum reforms, such as having a flawless voter list, the election could be held … by the end of 2025,” he added.
But including the full list of electoral reforms would delay polls by a few months, he said.
‘Extremely tough’ reforms
The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people following Hasina’s removal.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on August 5 as thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister’s palace in Dhaka.
Hundreds of people were killed in the weeks prior to Hasina’s removal, most by police gunfire.
Dozens more died in the hours after her toppling, largely in reprisal killings against prominent supporters of her Awami League party.
Her government was also accused of politicising courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections, to dismantle democratic checks on its power during 14 years in power.
Key among the reforms Yunus is pushing is an updated voter list, a “complex” challenge after years of turbulent democratic processes, requiring both the stripping of false names from lists and the registration of first-time voters in a rapidly growing youth population.
Yunus said he dreamed of “ensuring 100 percent voter turnout” in polls.
“If this can be achieved, no government will ever dare to strip citizens of their voting rights again,” he said.
Bangladesh last held general elections in January when Hasina celebrated victory, a poll denounced as neither free nor fair and boycotted by rivals after a crackdown during which thousands of opposition party members were arrested.
Yunus has said his administration is also focused on ensuring those guilty of abuses during the past government’s term face justice, including issuing a warrant for Hasina’s arrest.
United States President Donald Trump has pledged there will be no tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, unless they are collected by his own country.
Trump’s statement, made in a Saturday afternoon post on Truth Social, is the latest sign that a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) may be unravelling.
list of 3 itemsend of listRecommended Stories
“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.”
Since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, Iran has successfully used the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure point, closing the strategic waterway to traffic.
But under the terms of Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum, the strait is supposed to reopen for an interim period of 60 days. During that time, Iran is barred from charging vessels for passage.
On Saturday, however, Iran’s joint military command said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing a “clear breach” of the memorandum’s commitments.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency that oversees military operations in the region, denied that report and maintained that the traffic continues to flow through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in the conflict between the US and Iran. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the strait, as well as about 30 percent of the global fertiliser trade.
Closure of the strait has caused global fuel costs to soar and has tested agricultural sectors across the world.
Trump had responded to Iran’s chokehold over the strait by imposing a US naval blockade on Iran’s ports in the region.
But that naval blockade was lifted under the terms of Wednesday’s memorandum. The deal also paused fighting on all fronts in the regional conflict, including in Lebanon.
The memorandum, though, was not intended as a long-term deal. It serves as a launching point for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Several points of divergence also went unaddressed in the memorandum. Nowhere does the memo say that future tolls cannot be collected from the strait after the 60-day period expires.
Before the war, there was no charge for passage through the strait. Trump himself said in an interview with The New York Times that the waterway should remain “permanently toll-free”.
But he appeared to reverse course in Saturday’s post, once again floating the possibility that the US could extract tolls in the strait, while barring Iran from doing so.
No fees should be levied, Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed”.
He explained that such a charge would compensate the US “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs”.
Trump used similar language in his New York Times interview earlier this week, floating the US becoming “the guardian of the Middle East” in exchange for 20 percent of its revenue.
Saturday’s post is not the first time Trump has mused about the US imposing tolls in the strait, either.
In April, for instance, he discussed the idea with reporters, saying, “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”
There has been no indication that Trump’s plans have been officially presented to countries in the region, many of whom have struck a careful balance in their dealings with both the US and Iran during the war.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly said they will not rule out imposing tolls in the strait, framing the issue as a matter of sovereignty and regional negotiation. The strait sits between Iran and Oman.
Further discussions are expected on the matter in the coming weeks.
But such negotiations have been thrown into jeopardy amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which threaten to violate Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum.
Iran claimed that Saturday’s closure of the strait was a result of new Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which killed dozens of people after the ceasefire was announced.
Iranian officials have also said that any upcoming talks should focus on proper implementation of the initial memorandum, and that the 60-day negotiating period stipulated in Wednesday’s deal would begin after that was settled.
Pakistan, a top mediator between the US and Iran, has said that follow-up talks are set to begin in Switzerland on Sunday.
Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Iranian delegation, led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has already arrived for the negotiations.
On the US side, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance are expected to attend.
Vance departed for Switzerland late Saturday.
new video loaded: Moscow Tanker Blast Most Likely Russian Missile, Video Shows
By James McManagan, Paul Sonne, Malachy Browne and Jackeline Luna
June 19, 2026
World
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
Man FORCES child into crocodile enclosure
A British man has been arrested after allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. The child suffered critical injuries, and authorities say the suspect did not know the boy as the investigation continues.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
GEORGIA MOM’S WALMART TRIP DEVOLVES INTO ‘TUG-OF-WARRING’ IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE HER SON
A crocodile rests inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview,” police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK
“I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her,” a local told BBC News. “She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in “immense danger” during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
Crocodiles rest inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” the owners wrote on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farm and zoo north of London in Huntingdon, England. (Google Maps)
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t “fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there,” The Guardian reported.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
-
Entertainment3 minutes agoThe hottest new rock star is the Vampire Lestat — with help from Bowie, Iggy and Freddie
-
Politics13 minutes agoEven UFC boss Dana White is ‘completely against’ Josh Hokit’s ugly jab at Michelle Obama
-
Sports25 minutes agoSummer football notebook: Running back AJ McBean transfers to Gardena Serra
-
World40 minutes agoTrump vows Iran will not charge Strait of Hormuz tolls, but says US might
-
News1 hour agoDOJ memo stokes fear among disability advocates of a return to institutionalization
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoArmed home invasion in L.A.’s Fairfax District leaves resident assaulted
-
Detroit, MI3 hours agoTigers top Chicago White Sox 4-1; Detroit pitcher Troy Melton allows 1 hit in 6 innings
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoMLB Rumors: Latest Intel on Potential Matt Chapman Trade for San Francisco Giants
