Bangladesh to hold referendum on reform charter proposals, Yunus says
Bangladesh will hold a national referendum on implementing its ‘July Charter’ for state reform, drafted after last year's deadly student-led uprising, Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country's interim government, said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
He also reiterated that parliamentary elections will be held in the first half of February and that they would be free and fair.
The interim government approved the July National Charter (Constitution Reform) Implementation Order 2025 on Thursday and it will be implemented depending on the outcome of the referendum, according to Reuters.
Thai king set to be country's first ruling monarch to visit China
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn is due to arrive in China on Thursday, the first ever visit by a reigning Thai monarch, BBC reported.
The visit is at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to celebrate the 50th anniversary of both countries establishing diplomatic ties in 1975. China is believed to have been pushing for this visit for some years.
Thailand is still officially a military ally of the US, but relations with China have grown steadily closer in recent years, according to BBC.
Trump signs spending bill to end longest shutdown in US history
President Donald Trump has signed a spending bill to reopen the government and end the longest shutdown in US history, BBC reported.
He signed the short-term bill into law just hours after the House of Representatives voted 222-209 to approve it on Wednesday night, and two days after the Senate narrowly approved the same bill.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said the government would now "resume normal operations" after "people were hurt so badly" from the 43-day shutdown, according to BBC.
Pakistan’s prime minister offers talks to Afghanistan after deadly militant attacks
Pakistan’s prime minister on Wednesday offered talks to Afghanistan’s Taliban government in a renewed peace overture, about a week after negotiations between the two sides collapsed in Istanbul, raising fears that a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey could unravel and trigger new border clashes, Associated Press reported.
Shehbaz Sharif made the offer in a televised speech to parliament, a day after a deadly suicide bombing outside a court in Islamabad killed 12 people and wounded 27 others.
