Instant Article

The Bangladesh Case: Hasina Sentenced to Death   In Bangladesh, the International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, related to her government’s violent crackdown on a 2024 student-led uprising.  The tribunal found that she ordered lethal force, including  use  of drones, helicopters, and other weapons, and  failed to  prevent mass killings. Reportedly up  to 1,400 people may have been killed, according to UN-linked estimates.  Hasina, who is now in India, has strongly rejected the verdict, calling it “biased and politically motivated.”  Her conviction comes just ahead of a February 2026 parliamentary election, and the political tension in Bangladesh is  very high .    The Nepal Situation: Instability, Youth Uprising, and Institutional Crisis   In Nepal, 2025 has been marked by deep political instability and major youth-led protests. A key f...

  Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is a city steeped in history, symbolism, and cultural significance. Situated along the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia, it was deliberately designed as a neutral federal district, separate from any individual state, to serve as the nation’s political heart. Today, it remains a place where the ideals, debates, and institutions that shape the country converge. At the core of Washington, D.C., lie its iconic monuments and memorials, many of which are located on or near the National Mall—a vast, green expanse stretching from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Monument rises prominently at the center, while nearby museums belonging to the Smithsonian Institution offer unparalleled collections in art, history, science, and culture. These public spaces serve not only as landmarks but also as gathering places for celebrations, demonstrations, and reflection. The city’s architecture reflects both cla...

Kathmandu – Nepal sees surge in political party registrations ahead of March 2026 polls The Election Commission of Nepal (EC) is witnessing a sharp uptick in new political-party applications as the country gears up for general elections on 5 March 2026. According to official records and media reports, 178 parties are currently registered for organisational purposes.  Of these, at least 17 new parties have applied in recent months specifically to contest the upcoming polls.  Meanwhile, the EC is actively assessing the documentation of five or more newly-formed parties, signalling a wave of fresh entrants, many tied to youth-led protest movements.  One of the most prominent new parties is the Shram Sanskriti Party, led by Harka Sampang, mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City. The EC granted its registration certificate on 2 November 2025, making it the first of the post-protest-wave entities to be formally recognised.  EC spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai to...

Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump announced that he plans to give most Americans $2,000 each as a “tariff dividend,” funded by revenues from his administration’s heightened import tariffs. He said the payout would apply to lower- and middle-income individuals, excluding “high-income people.”  Trump posted on his social networking  However, the plan remains vague in detail: including eligibility criteria, whether children qualify, how the payments will be delivered, and how the funding will be secured. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that the idea “could come in lots of forms,” potentially as tax cuts rather than direct checks.  Experts warn the numbers don’t add up. The federal government collected about $195 billion in tariff revenue this fiscal year, but giving $2,000 to even 150 million adults would cost roughly $300 billion — and significantly more if children were included.  Legal questions also loom. The president’s broad use of t...

The 2025 2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests In September 2025, Nepal found itself in the throes of a major upheaval. What began as a youth-led outcry against a sweeping social-media ban quickly morphed into one of the most intense episodes of civil unrest in the country’s recent history. This is a detailed look at what happened: the roots of the movement, how it unfolded, the human and material toll, and how the turbulence is shifting Nepal’s political landscape. Why the protests erupted Several underlying conditions combined to spark the movement: At the heart of the protest was the government’s decision to ban access to dozens of social-media platforms — including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat and others — after the companies failed to comply with a registration deadline set by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority.  While the ban itself was the immediate trigger, the broader context was youth anger at corruption , nepotism , and the flaunting o...