Cardinal George Pell to face trial on sex abuse charges

By IBTN News Bureau --
01 May 2018

One of the Catholic church's top officials will face a criminal trial in Australia to defend himself against decades of sexual abuse accusations.

A court in Melbourne has decided there is enough evidence against Cardinal George Pell to be tested in front of a jury.

Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas reports from Melbourne.

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Live: Trump claims Maduro of Venezuela captured after attacks

By IBTN News Bureau --
03 January, 2026

Live: Trump claims Maduro of Venezuela captured after attacks

Saurday, 3 Jan 2026

President Donald Trump says the United States ⁠has ‘captured’ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flown them out of ⁠the country after “large-scale” strikes.

Earlier, Venezuela’s government accused the US of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states, as ‍it rejected “military aggression” ‍by Washington. The government of President Maduro had declared ‌a national ‌emergency following the series of attacks.

The attacks came after months of tension with the US, which has accused Venezuelan President Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the accusations.

On Thursday, January 1, 2026, Maduro indicated he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking. The US has carried out more than 20 air strikes in the sea near Venezuela since September, 2025, as it slapped sanctions and upped military pressure on Caracas.

Live: Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death, Bangladesh asks India to return her

By IBTN News Bureau --
17 November, 2025

Live: Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death, Bangladesh asks India to return her

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has found toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death over her government’s bloody crackdown on last year’s protests.

Interim government of Bangladesh denies trial is politically motivated

By IBTN News Bureau --
17 November, 2025

Interim government of Bangladesh denies trial is politically motivated

Monday, 17 November 2025

A spokesperson for the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took over after Hasina’s 15 straight years in power ended, denied the trial was politically motivated, saying the court “functioned transparently, allowing observers and publishing regular documentation”.

Hasina was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial, but she refused to recognise the court’s authority and said she rejected all charges. In a written interview with the AFP news agency in October, she said a guilty verdict was “preordained”, and that she would “not be surprised when it comes”.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry also summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka this month, demanding that New Delhi block the “notorious fugitive” Hasina from talking to journalists and stop “granting her a platform to spew hatred”.

The court says the attacks during the student protests last year were “directed against the civilian population”, and “widespread and systematic”.

“Therefore, in the atrocities of killing and gravely injuring protesters, as aforesaid, accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina committed crimes against humanity by her incitement order and also failure to take preventive and punitive measures under Charge 1,” it says.

“Accused Sheikh Hasina committed one count of crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons under Charge number 2,” the court adds.

The special tribunal sentenced the toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, concluding a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

Live footage shows people in the courtroom cheering and clapping as the court issued the death sentence for Hasina.

According to a United Nations report, up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the protests between July 15 and August 5, 2024, with thousands more injured – most of them by gunfire from security forces – in what was the worst violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 war of independence.

During the trial, prosecutors told the court they had uncovered evidence of Hasina’s direct command to use lethal force to suppress the student-led uprising.

Bangladesh has been tense before the verdict, with at least 30 crude bomb explosions and 26 vehicles torched across the country over the past few days.

The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has called the death sentence for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a “historic verdict”.

It also warned that any attempt to create chaos and disorder would be dealt with strictly. “We urge people to remain calm, restrained and responsible,” it said.

Live: Bangladesh’s Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity

By IBTN News Bureau --
17 November, 2025

Live: Bangladesh’s Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity

Monday, 17 November 2025

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity over her government’s violent crackdown on student-led protests last year.

That is ordering the deployment of drones, helicopters and lethal weapons against protesters, and “by virtue of her order” the killings of 12 protesters in Chankarpul of Dhaka and Ashuliya of Sava.

The court also issued a separate sentence of imprisonment till death on three other counts.

That is incitement against protesters, issuing order to kill them and failure to prevent the atrocities and take punitive action against the perpetrators.

“The government is directed to pay considerable amount of compensation to the protesters concerned in this case, who have been killed in the July movement 2024 and also to take measures, to pay adequate compensation to the wounded protesters, in consideration of the gravity of their injury and loss,” the court says.

The 78-year-old fugitive politician is on trial in absentia for being the “mastermind and principal architect” behind last year’s suppression of mass demonstrations, in which some 1,400 people were killed.

The 2024 uprising ended Hasina’s 15-year “authoritarian” rule marked by allegations of suppression of dissent, and extrajudicial detentions and killings. She has been in exile in India since losing power and has not been seen in public or online.

Hasina’s now-banned Awami League party has called the Dhaka tribunal a “kangaroo court” and has urged supporters to protest, raising fears of violence in the country.

“We lost control of the situation but one cannot characterise what happened as premeditated assault on citizens,” Hasina says, according to Reuters news agency.

In a statement carried by AFP news agency, she called the verdicts “politically motivated”.

“The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically motivated,” she said from India.

“I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.”

Bangladesh’s special tribunal sentences former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity.

Ex-police chief Al-Mamun sentenced to five years

The court says Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is being awarded leniency for his contribution to the trial, including “material evidence to the tribunal to arrive at the correct decision”.

Why did the Grand Alliance suffer a crushing defeat in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections?: Analysis

By Perwez Anwer, MD & CEO, IBTN GROUP --
15 November, 2025

Why did the Grand Alliance suffer a crushing defeat in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections?: Analysis

The Grand Alliance suffered a crushing defeat in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The NDA, on the other hand, achieved a landslide victory. While the NDA secured 202 seats, the Grand Alliance secured only 35 seats, while other parties secured six seats.

In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is part of the NDA, won 89 seats, the Janata Dal (United) 85 seats, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 19 seats, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) 5 seats, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha 4 seats.

Whereas in the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which was part of the Grand Alliance, won 25 seats, the Indian National Congress won 6 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) won 2 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won 1 seat, and the Indian Inclusive Party won 1 seat.

Furthermore, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won 5 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party won 1 seat in the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections.

Why did the Grand Alliance suffer a crushing defeat in the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections?

Perwez Anwer is a senior political analyst and the news director and editor-in-chief of the IBTN Group.

Perwez Anwer says that there are several reasons for the Grand Alliance's crushing defeat. First, the biggest reason is the internal conflict within the Lalu family, which sent a wrong message in Bihar. Lalu Yadav expelled his elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party and family for six years. As a result, Tej Pratap Yadav formed his own party, the Janshakti Janata Dal, and contested the elections. Although Tej Pratap Yadav lost the election, it harmed the RJD.

Second, Asaduddin Owaisi's party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, had demanded six seats from the Grand Alliance, which the Grand Alliance refused to provide. Owaisi's party won five seats and lost one by a narrow margin. However, contesting more than 20 seats harmed the Grand Alliance.

Third, declaring Mukesh Sahni as the Grand Alliance's Deputy Chief Ministerial face proved suicidal for the Grand Alliance. This led to considerable opposition. The question was raised: if Mukesh Sahni, who belongs to the Mallah caste, which constitutes approximately 2% of Bihar's population, could be declared the Deputy Chief Ministerial face, why was not a Muslim, who constitutes 18% of the population, declared the Deputy Chief Ministerial face?

Mukesh Sahni's party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections. None of its candidates won.

Fourth, Prashant Kishore Pandey's Jan Suraj Party may have suffered a crushing defeat, but it caused a significant loss to the Grand Alliance.

Fifth, just before the elections, the Bihar government gave ₹10,000 to each of approximately 13.5 million women, ensuring a landslide victory for the NDA.

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Cardinal George Pell to face trial on sex abuse charges

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