Poised

Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, appeared on course for a sweeping victory in national elections, with television projections showing the party vaulting past the 150-seat mark needed for a parliamentary majority in the first vote since a deadly 2024 uprising. The projections, based on partial counts late Thursday, indicated that Jamaat-e-Islami and its Islamist-led allies had secured 63 seats — a sharp surge from previous performances but well short of an outright win. Official…

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is on course for a sweeping victory in snap elections, with her ruling bloc securing a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house, according to media estimates Sunday, a result likely to buoy her agenda while unnerving Beijing and financial markets. Early projections show the Liberal Democratic Party winning about 300 of the 465 seats contested — up from 198 in the last vote — positioning Takaichi’s party to regain a stand-alone majority and possibly a supermajority without…

Iran and the United States will open talks in Oman as early as this week, with Washington signaling it will test the chances for progress on Iran’s nuclear program while refusing to rule out military action. Both capitals confirmed late Wednesday that delegations would meet in Muscat, the first such encounter since June, when the United States joined Israel’s war against Iran with strikes on nuclear sites. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are due to lead…

A massive winter storm is bearing down on the United States with a hazardous mix of freezing rain and heavy snow threatening some 160 million people through the weekend, prompting states of emergency across at least 14 states and Washington, D.C., and warnings of “catastrophic” icy conditions. The National Weather Service said the sprawling system could bring catastrophic ice accumulation capable of downing trees and power lines, leading to long-duration power outages and making travel extremely dangerous or impossible. The…

Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in as New York City’s first Muslim mayor at midnight local time, taking his oath of office at an abandoned subway stop in a gesture he says underscores his commitment to working people and the city’s soaring cost-of-living crisis. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democrat who was virtually unknown a year ago, campaigned on an ambitious agenda that includes a rent freeze, universal childcare and free public buses. His office said the understated venue reflects his governing priorities. New York Attorney…

Japan’s Niigata prefectural assembly on Tuesday approved a plan to allow the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station—the world’s largest—to resume operations, marking a pivotal step in the country’s return to nuclear energy nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster. The vote advances Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s first nuclear restart since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled its Fukushima Daiichi plant and led to a nationwide shutdown of 54 reactors. Since then, Japan has permanently retired some units and restarted…

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia is preparing to relaunch Somali Airlines in the coming months, marking the national carrier’s first return to service since it was grounded more than 30 years ago during the civil war, the country’s transport minister said Sunday. Government says management, regulation and fleet plans are in place as the carrier enters final operational planning. Two Airbus A320s have been acquired; additional jets are slated from 2026. IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan access is being reinstated after 33 years, a…

BRUSSELS — Ireland is expected to opt for a financial contribution to frontline migration states in emergency situations rather than take in relocated migrants, as European Union justice ministers meet in Brussels to sign off on elements of the EU Migration Pact. The pact’s central “solidarity mechanism” is designed to ease sudden pressure on countries such as Italy and Greece when arrivals spike. Under the plan, other member states would share the burden either by relocating some migrants for screening and processing or by…

Ireland is expected to choose financial solidarity over relocation under the European Union’s new migration framework, as justice ministers meet in Brussels to sign off on key elements of the EU Migration Pact. Under the pact’s emergency solidarity mechanism, member states would be required to help frontline countries such as Italy and Greece when they are suddenly overwhelmed by migration flows. Governments could either accept a share of people for screening and processing, or make a financial contribution to ease the…

Japan’s choice of a conservative woman to lead the ruling party reframes familiar dilemmas The Liberal Democratic Party’s selection of Sanae Takaichi as its leader — a 64‑year‑old conservative who could become Japan’s first female prime minister — is less a break with the past than a new turn in an old playbook. Her victory, against younger and more moderate rivals, signals the LDP’s attempt to recapture voters unsettled by inflation, stagnating wages and a rising appetite for parties that promise real change on immigration…