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Russia-Ukraine War Enters Fourth Year: Can Flamingo, Oreshnik Missiles, F-16 Jets and AI Drones Change the Balance?
On the 24th of this month, four years will be completed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This war has continued without pause for four years, and there are still no visible signs that it will end. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are being held in Abu Dhabi under U.S. mediation. On Thursday, another round of these talks ended without any progress. If diplomacy is failing to deliver results, do the two countries possess such advanced weapons that could potentially tilt the balance of war in favor of either side?
By Real content18 days ago in Chapters
Bangladesh Student Revolution 2024: Rahat Hossain Story and the Future of Bangladesh Politics
Rahat Hossain was close to being killed himself while trying to save his friend, as the rebellion of many young people like him turned into one of the bloodiest episodes in Bangladesh’s history. In a video that went viral during the recent revolution in the country, he is seen trying to carry Imam Hasan Taim Bhuiyan to safety after he had been shot by police. On 20 July 2024, during the crackdown on protests, 24-year-old Rahat Hossain and 19-year-old Imam Hasan Bhuiyan took refuge at a tea stall in Dhaka. Police dragged them out, beat them and ordered them to run. Bhuiyan was shot. Seeing him fall to the ground, Rahat Hossain began dragging him away, but the police continued firing. Rahat realized that a bullet had struck his own leg. “I had to leave him behind,” Rahat says. Later, Imam Hasan Bhuiyan was declared dead at the hospital. Such violence transformed the student-led demonstrations into large-scale nationwide protests centered on the capital, Dhaka. Within two weeks, the government was removed from power and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country. According to the United Nations, nearly 1,400 people were killed during the protests, most of them in the security crackdown ordered by Sheikh Hasina. Hasina’s fall appeared to promise a new era. The uprising was regarded around the world as the first and most successful Gen-Z protest movement. Some Bangladeshi student leaders assumed important positions in the interim government and tried to shape the country for which they had taken to the streets. After decades of rule by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), they were expected to play a role in the country’s future administration. But as Thursday’s general elections approach, the newly formed student political party appears deeply divided. The Awami League is banned, and decades-old parties seem to be filling the vacuum. Rahat Hossain had taken part in the student-led protests of 2024. Those demonstrations brought together the younger generation—men and women, secular and religious people alike. Initially the protests were against new quotas in civil service jobs, but gradually they developed a “single common goal”: the end of authoritarian rule. “The interim government has failed to build the beautiful Bangladesh based on peace, equality and justice that was expected from it.” He is not alone in feeling that the student-led National Citizens Party (NCP) is inexperienced. Instead, many believe it is influenced by another older party, Jamaat-e-Islami. This Islamist party has historically played the role of a small ally in Bangladeshi politics, but its popularity has grown ahead of the 12 February elections, in which the Awami League is barred. Founded in 1941, the party has always been questioned over its stance during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, in which millions were killed and more than ten million displaced. Some of its politicians were accused of siding with West Pakistan at the time. But this history does not trouble Rahat Hossain. He believes the party has changed. He explains, “Jamaat supported the July uprising and the students in many ways.” Party leader Shafiqur Rahman said Jamaat promises to eradicate corruption and restore the independence of the judiciary. Although such claims are difficult in a country with historically high levels of corruption, they are resonating with many people. Professor Towfique Haque of North South University in Dhaka says most young voters born after 1971 can separate Jamaat from its past and do not see it as a “red line.” He says, “It is a generational issue,” arguing that the new generation does not want to be entangled in that debate. Haque adds that young voters see Jamaat as a party like themselves—one that suffered under Sheikh Hasina’s repression, was banned from politics, and whose leaders were jailed. Rahat Hossain is not alone in leaning toward Jamaat-e-Islami. Last September, candidates backed by Jamaat’s student wing won major victories in elections at Bangladesh’s top universities, seen as a sign of a national trend. Notably, for the first time since independence, an Islamist group gained control of the student union at Dhaka University. This was a major signal for student leaders, especially in a country where nearly four out of ten voters are under 37. A controversial compromise The lack of confidence in the NCP has been a major setback for student leaders. Twenty-seven-year-old Asif Mahmud, former adviser in the interim government and now chairman of the NCP election committee, admits, “We hoped to do far better.” But he argues the challenges were enormous. “For the last 50 years only two parties have ruled Bangladesh… we are trying to prove ourselves.” So the NCP made a decision. In December it announced a multi-party alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. Like Jamaat, the NCP also promises to eliminate corruption. Its manifesto includes other pledges for young voters: justice for families of those killed in the uprising, lowering the voting age to 16, and creating jobs through tax and economic reforms. Asif Mahmud says, “We may disagree on some issues, but Jamaat has grassroots reach and the NCP needs that.” “We have always said we are not an Islamist party. This is not an ideological alliance.” However, Jamaat allowed the NCP to field only 30 candidates—just two of them women—while Jamaat itself has more than 200 candidates, all men. This compromise has been called an “ethical red line” by senior NCP women like Tasnim Zara, who along with others resigned from the party. Twenty-five-year-old student Shima Akhter, who played a key role in the protests, says, “They wanted to push us out.” Although women were central to the uprising, Shima says the interim government under Muhammad Yunus remains largely male-dominated. After the revolution, Shima and other female activists were targeted in social-media posts. “Some meme videos were very violent and depressing. We were defamed and mocked,” she recalls. Videos circulated calling them unintelligent, claiming their marriage prospects were ruined, and even mocking Shima’s complexion. Both parties deny ignoring women and claim the number of female candidates reflects Bangladesh’s “social structure.” Jamaat leader Shafiqur Rahman said he hopes the situation will change. Shima dismisses this as “just a patriarchal excuse.” She leans toward the BNP, which has fielded 10 women among more than 250 candidates. “At least it’s better than the worst,” she says. Will dynastic politics continue? The lack of support for the NCP and the ban on the Awami League are also benefiting the BNP, which now presents itself as a liberal democratic force. After seeing thousands of supporters and senior members jailed under Awami rule, the BNP is now the largest party contesting the elections, further pressuring the student party. Just as the Awami League was led by Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the BNP is also tied to a political dynasty. Its new leader Tarique Rahman is the son of Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister. Khaleda herself came to power after her husband, a former president, was assassinated in a military coup. Former BNP commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said, “Whether you belong to a family or not is irrelevant.” Ironically, this family legacy revived because of the student-led uprising, which allowed Rahman to return after 17 years of self-exile. After Hasina’s departure, both he and his mother were cleared of corruption charges they called politically motivated. He has criticized Jamaat for exploiting religious sentiment for votes and promises economic and democratic reforms and a “rainbow nation,” with a new national reconciliation commission to heal divisions. Sheikh Hasina ruled Bangladesh for 15 years, overseeing economic growth but continually silencing opposition through politically motivated arrests, disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Last year the Bangladesh war crimes tribunal sentenced her to death for the 2024 crackdown. A hidden district leader of the Awami League said, “Free and fair elections are impossible without including the Awami League. If Sheikh Hasina orders it, the party and its supporters will resist the elections.” He warned, “If she says people should not go to polling stations, we will not go. If she says disrupt the elections, we will do so.” He called allegations by independent human-rights groups of political arrests and extrajudicial killings “false and fabricated.” After the 12 February elections, students will know whether their revolution and bloodshed achieved anything. Rahat Hossain sits near the Jatrabari flyover in Dhaka—the place where he lost his friend. He is still waiting for the trial of the police officers accused in his friend’s death to be completed. Imam Hasan Bhuiyan’s father is himself a police officer. When he identified his son’s body, he called a senior officer and asked, “Sir, how many bullets does it take to kill a boy?” Rahat says he still feels fear from the day his friend was shot. He watched the video eight days later when the internet was restored. “My screams can be heard… I kept crying.” A year later, on 5 August, he marked the first anniversary of Hasina’s ouster with his “fellow rebels. But Rahat admits that his “new Bangladesh” has not yet been realized. He believes this will not be possible until an elected government carries out reforms. “You cannot expect mangoes from a tamarind tree,” he says.
By Real content18 days ago in Chapters
The Fight for Darfur: Gold, Oil, Water and the Geopolitics Shaping Sudan’s Future
Why are world powers interested in Sudan, the land of secrets, ‘Darfur’? Much has been written about the ongoing civil war in Sudan between the government army and the rebel militia RSF since April 2023, but the short story is that the center of all this fighting is Darfur province. Which is also the hometown of the Rapid Force, the rebel militia. The Darfur war is not new, but even in the nineties, the massacres played out in Darfur had disturbed the Islamic world. This time, the scope of the fighting has spread from the capital Khartoum to Darfur. Darfur means the land of the Fur tribe.
By Real content3 months ago in Education
Potential Role of Pakistan Army in the Gaza Peace Force: Benefits and Drawbacks
t Potential Role of Pakistan Army in the Gaza Peace Force: Benefits and Drawbacks Officials at Pakistan’s Foreign Office in Islamabad have stated that “Pakistan is also evaluating the possibility of joining this force; however, discussions are still at an initial stage, and much remains to be finalized.”
By Real content4 months ago in Chapters
Negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and Russia's threat to Pakistan
between Pakstan and Afghanistan and Russia's threat to Pakistan The Russian embassy in Pakistan has declared a video attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin—purportedly threatening Pakistan—to be fake, stating that the clip is actually part of the president’s remarks to the media in which Pakistan was not mentioned.
By Real content4 months ago in Chapters
Pakistan-Afghanistan Ceasefire: Torkham Border Reopening Likely as Trade Losses Mount
Pakistan-Afghanistan Ceasefire: Torkham Border Reopening Likely as Trade Losses MountThe positive effects of the ceasefire following tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have begun to emerge. There is a strong possibility that the Torkham border, closed for ten days, will reopen soon. According to sources, Islamabad and Kabul have reached a principled agreement on reopening the border crossing, after which customs staff have been instructed to immediately return to the Torkham terminal.
By Real content4 months ago in Chapters
I Love Muhammad” Banner Sparks FIR, Protests and Arrests in Kanpur in India
In India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, a dispute that began in Kanpur over putting up a banner during Eid Milad-un-Nabi (the birthday of Prophet Muhammad) is escalating. The banner carried the words “I Love Muhammad.”
By Real content5 months ago in Chapters
Bagram Revisited: A Historic Afghan Hub at the Center of Global Tension
Bagram is once again the focal point of power narratives. Built in the 1950s by the Soviet Union at the foot of Afghanistan’s snow-covered mountains, this airbase became the military hub for two global powers — the Soviet Union and the United States. Today, it is under the administration of the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Yet, the history of this site in Parwan province in northern Afghanistan is centuries old.
By Real content5 months ago in Earth
UK, Canada and France Recognize Palestinian State
.Destruction in Gaza and the severe humanitarian crisis are bringing notable changes to the diplomatic landscape. On Sunday, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal recognized the existence of the Palestinian state, while more countries are preparing to do so during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
By Real content5 months ago in Chapters
Taliban Rejects US Plan to Reclaim Bagram Air Base | China Warns of Regional Tensions
Taliban Reject US Plans to Retake Bagram Air Base The Taliban government in Afghanistan has rejected the US announcement about taking back control of Bagram Air Base, saying that “those harboring such ambitions should look at the history of Afghanistan.”
By Real content5 months ago in Chapters
UN Report Accuses Israel of Genocide in Gaza: Evidence, Allegations, and Global Reactions
The allegations of genocide against Israel in Gaza by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry are based on a report which states that since the beginning of the war with Hamas in 2023, Israel has committed four out of the five acts required under international law to classify a situation as genocide.
By Real content5 months ago in History
Why TTP Attacks Are Rising in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Taliban’s Return, Political Discord, and Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Struggle
Earlier this month, following the viral footage of a militant attack on a military center in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—showing Major Adnan Aslam of the Pakistan Army risking his life to save a wounded comrade—tributes poured in for his bravery from both public and official quarters. At the same time, many also voiced concerns over the growing wave of militant activities in the province.
By Real content5 months ago in Chapters
