Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League party has been the prime minister of Bangladesh since 2008 and is poised to win a fourth straight term because the election has been boycotted by the main opposition party – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The BNP is led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who is under house arrest after being convicted on corruption charges. The party has called a 48-hour nationwide general strike, which began at 6 am on Saturday. Party spokesperson Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the strike was aimed at pressing for their demands for “resignation of the illegal government, establishment of a non-party neutral government and release of all party leaders and activists from prison”.
There have been incidents of violence and arson ahead of the election. At least five schools, including four designated as polling centres for the general election, have been set ablaze. Four coaches of the Jessore-Dhaka Benapole Express were also set on fire on Friday, killing four people. Arson related to the polls is suspected in both incidents.
Kazi Habibul Awal, Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh, said there is no question about the legitimacy of elections. “One issue is violence is visible and the voters are aware of the violence. If it is repeated, that may have a negative impact on the voters in turning up at polling stations, and I have no hesitation in admitting that. But we have engaged 8 lakh law enforcement personnel, all well-armed, who will be on duty during polling time,” he said.
“This time, a little crisis is going to happen as one major political group has said don’t go to the polling stations. Another major political group has said come to the polling station and show people that voters have turned up… Had BNP participated in the election, it would have been more competitive, more inclusive and more festive. That is a reality,” Mr Awal added.
Sheikh Hasina, whose government has arrested thousands of rival politicians and supporters ahead of the polls, has urged pro-democratic and law-abiding parties not to fuel ideas that “disrupt” the country’s constitutional process, news agency PTI reported.
The prime minister is credited with turning around the country’s economy and supercharging its garments industry. The growth has, however, slowed since mid-2022 and experts have said economic stability will be a major challenge for the next government. 
Over 100 foreign observers, including three from India, will monitor the election. India has said the election is an “internal matter” while some countries, including the United States, have called for credible and inclusive polls, according to PTI.
Voting will be held for 300 constituencies in the 350-strong Parliament – the Jatiyo Shangsad. The other 50 seats are reserved for women and are allotted based on the strength of the parties in the Parliament after the election.
Nearly 2,000 candidates are in the fray and a record 5.1% of them are women. Voting will begin at 8 am local time – when Sheikh Hasina is expected to cast her ballot – and end at 4 pm. Counting will start after voting ends and initial results are expected by Monday.

The third batch of court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, now known as the Epstein files, were released yesterday. The new files reveal more information about the convicted sex offender and his associations with high-profile names including disgraced Hollywood producer and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.

Harvey Weinsten

The documents include a handwritten note dated 2005 that mentions Weinstein’s name, indicating that he attempted to reach Epstein at around 10.20 am in March 2005. “She had on the phone, Mr. Harvey Weinstein,” the note said. According to reports, Epstein and Weinstein were close associates.

According to a book by Bradley Edwards, a lawyer for Virginia Giuffre who accused Maxwell and Epstein of trafficking her as a young girl, he was told that Weinstein and Epstein were close until they had a falling out.

“Weinstein was at Epstein’s apartment in France receiving a massage from one of Epstein’s girls when he attempted to aggressively convert the massage into something sexual. “The girl rejected his advances. As the story goes, Harvey then verbally abused her for rejecting him,” the book says.

“Little did Harvey know, this was one of Epstein’s favourite girls at the time and Jeffrey viewed the aggressive mistreatment as disrespectful to him. Jeffrey then came into the room, got in Harvey’s face, and kicked him out of his house, delivering the message that he was never to come back,” it read.

Edwards says he heard similar versions of this story including one by Epstein himself who called Harvey Weinstein “a pig”.

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to a total of 39 years in prison for sexually assaulting several women over the last few decades. 

The Epstein Files

Hillary Clinton was one of the “thirteen specific witnesses” mentioned by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, the new documents claim. The court filing, however, emphasizes that there are no accusations or allegations against the former first lady in this matter.

Former housekeeper Juan Alessi claimed that Prince Andrew’s extended stays at Epstein’s Palm Beach home, where he received daily massages

It is mentioned that former US President Donald Trump had come to Epstein’s south Florida house. The former US President, however, “never” stayed at the home, said Juan Alessi.

The Delhi government has extended the winter break till January 12 for students from nursery to Class 5 due to the cold weather.

Delhi minister Atishi in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said schools will remain closed for five more days for nursery to Class 5 children. “Schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next five days due to the prevailing cold weather conditions, for students from nursery to Class 5,” Atishi said.

Schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next 5 days due to the prevailing cold weather conditions, for students from Nursery to Class 5.

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) January 7, 2024

The Delhi government, in a previous order yesterday, extended the winter break till January 10 in government-aided and unaided recognised private schools due to the cold wave and the India Meteorological Department’s ‘yellow alert’.

Hours after the order, however, the government retracted it. Then Atishi’s announcement came this morning.

There is extreme cold in Delhi, parts of east and northwest Rajasthan, Haryana and in isolated pockets over Punjab. The maximum temperatures at various stations showed a significant departure from the normal range for this time of the year.

Cold to severe cold conditions are likely to continue over Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, and a significant decrease thereafter, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD)

Maximum temperatures are in the range of 9-12 degree Celcius over many parts of Punjab and Haryana; and in the range of 13-16 degree Celsius over north Rajasthan, Delhi, northwest Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Uttar Pradesh. It is below normal by 4-9 degree Celsius in these areas.

The IMD said northwest and central India are likely to receive a fresh spell of rainfall with thunderstorms and hailstorm between Monday and Wednesday.