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Bangladesh’s interim leader held a second day of marathon talks Sunday with multiple parties seeking to build unity and calm intense political power struggles, party leaders and officials said.Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has called for rival parties to give him their full support.The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years.Yunus met around 20 party leaders on Sunday, after talks that stretched late into Saturday evening with the major political parties, including those who have protested against the government this month. Mamunul Haque, leader of the Islamist Khelafat-e-Majlish party, was among those who spoke to Yunus on Sunday in discussions that he said focused on “the ongoing crisis”. – ‘Broader unity’ -After a week of escalation during which rival parties protested on the streets of the capital Dhaka, the government led by Yunus warned on Saturday that political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made.”Broader unity is essential to maintain national stability, organise free and fair elections, justice, and reform, and permanently prevent the return of authoritarianism in the country,” it said in a statement.Yunus on Saturday met with the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election front-runners, who are pushing hard for polls to be held by December.According to Bangladeshi media and military sources, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also said this week that elections should be held by December, aligning with BNP demands.Microfinance pioneer Yunus, who returned from exile at the behest of protesters in August 2024, says he has a duty to implement democratic reforms before elections he has vowed will take place by June 2026 at the latest.The caretaker government has formed multiple reform commissions providing a long list of recommendations — and is now seeking the backing of political parties.Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December but that holding them later — with the deadline of June — would give the government more time for reform. – ‘May further deteriorate’ -But Mujahidul Islam Selim, a veteran leftist politician, said he told Yunus that the interim government was not required to complete all reforms.”We urged them to leave fundamental reforms to the people”, Selim said Sunday.”If they delay solving problems, the opposite may happen — the situation may further deteriorate.”Yunus last held an all-party meeting — to discuss efforts to overhaul Bangladesh’s democratic system — on February 15. Some parties cited frustration at the lack of contact.”We told him that if only he had engaged with political parties more frequently, nobody would mind delaying the election by a few weeks,” Saiful Haque, of the Biplobi Workers Party, told reporters after his meeting.Sources in his office and a key political ally said on Thursday that Yunus had threatened to quit, but his cabinet said he would not step down early.On Saturday, the government warned that it had faced “unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and jurisdictionally overreaching statements”, which it said had been “continuously obstructing” its work.Bangladesh’s tax authority workers ended a two-week partial strike on Sunday after they said the interim government would address their demands to stop an overhaul of the body.Security forces had surrounded the national tax authority headquarters, after government orders to reform the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sparked fury from employees.Yunus also met with leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority nation’s largest Islamist party, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina’s rule.NCP leader Nahid Islam warned on Saturday that rival parties were pushing for swift elections to skip reforms and “assume power”, and that he believed there were “indications” that a “military-backed government could re-emerge”.

Bangladesh’s tax authority workers ended a two-week partial strike on Sunday after they said the interim government would address their demands to stop an overhaul of the body.Earlier on Sunday, security forces had surrounded the national tax authority headquarters, after government orders to reform the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sparked fury from employees.Joint Tax Commissioner Monalisa Saha Sushmita told reporters at the main NBR building in Dhaka, where police and armed security gathered, that the workers would begin a “complete” shutdown.Hours later, NRB senior official Abdur Rouf said the strike had ended.”The government assured to take care of our demands, and that’s why we have called off our strike,” Rouf told AFP. “Our next step is negotiation.”NRB officials had said their strike had resulted in the revenues not being collected that totalled $122-163 million per day. It was not possible to verify those figures.Bangladesh has been in turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year iron-fisted rule.The interim government — led by Nobel Peace Prize-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus — is trying to enact sweeping reforms.The tax board protest reflects the divisions, rival loyalties and confusion between government branches and the caretaker administration.The government proposals would have allowed civil servants from outside the NRB to take top roles.Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of the country’s exports.The industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard by last year’s unrest.In separate protests on Sunday, hundreds of civil servants demonstrated in Dhaka against a government order giving it greater power to sack employees for disciplinary breaches.”If the government proceeds with the amended ordinance, the interim government will face severe criticism,” said Mohammad Nazrul Islam from the Inter-Ministerial Employees Association.es-mma-sa-pjm/sst

Opener Devon Conway and Dewald Brevis hit half-centuries to help bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings end their IPL campaign with a crushing 83-run win over Gujarat Titans on Sunday.New Zealand’s Conway hit 52 and South African Brevis made 57 off 23 balls to fire Chennai to 230-5 after they elected to bat first at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.The bowlers then combined to dismiss Gujarat, who have already qualified for the playoffs, for 147 in 18.3 overs.Chennai ended with four wins in 14 matches with debate over the future of their veteran M.S. Dhoni, who took over as leader midway after injury to regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. But the 43-year-old Dhoni kept his cards close to his chest.”Every year it’s a new challenge, especially when you reach the last stage of your career, you have to respect the body,” said Dhoni at the toss.”Also it needs a lot of maintenance. I would only thank God that when I was playing international cricket and representing my country it didn’t trouble me.”Gujarat, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians are certain of filling the top four places, but are fighting to finish in the top two spots which offer two shots at reaching the final on June 3.Gujarat end the group stage with 18 points. Punjab (17), Bengaluru (17) and five-time winners Mumbai (16) have one match left.The spotlight was on Gujarat captain Shubman Gill, who took the field a day after he was named captain of the Indian Test team.He was the first batter out for 13 off nine balls in Gujarat’s chase that never took off due to regular wickets.Gill said the defeat was a “hard pill to swallow”.England’s Jos Buttler fell for 13 and West Indies left-hander Sherfane Rutherford out for a duck as Gujarat slipped to 30-3.Gill’s partner Sai Sudharsan, who has been included in the Test team for India’s five-Test tour of England starting with the opener on June 20, made 41 but the rest of the batting fell flat.Medium-pace bowler Anshul Kamboj and Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad took three wickets each.The batters set up victory after the left-handed Conway and 17-year-old opener Ayush Mhatre, who hit 34 off 17 balls, gave Chennai a strong start.Mhatre fell but Conway kept up the charge with Urvil Patel and then Shivam Dube before Brevis took over to boost the total.Brevis, who got out on the final ball of the innings, and the left-handed Ravindra Jadeja, who hit an unbeaten 21, put on 74 from 39 balls to pummel the opposition attack and set up the win.

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill fell for just 13 runs on Sunday in his first Indian Premier League outing after being named captain of the Indian Test team.The 25-year-old was named as Rohit Sharma’s successor on Saturday, when the selectors announced the team for the five-Test series in England beginning on June 20.”Feels exciting to be able to have that (Test captaincy) kind of a challenge, it’s going to be a really exciting series for us,” Gill said at the toss against Chennai Super Kings, his team’s last league match.Gujarat has already made the playoffs of the T20 tournament and are chasing 231 at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, the venue for the June 3 final.With the spotlight on the newly crowned Test leader, Gill hit a four and a six in his nine-ball stay before being caught at slip off medium-pace bowler Anshul Kamboj.Gill will lead a Test team still coming to terms with the shock retirements of Rohit and Virat Kohli after the two stalwarts walked away from the longer format within six days of each other this month.

A Liberian-flagged container ship with hazardous cargo has sunk off the coast of Kerala in India’s south, the navy said on Sunday after rescuing all 24 crew members safely.India’s navy said the MSC ELSA 3, listed as a 184-metre (603-foot) long freight ship, which was sailing from the Indian port of Vizhinjam to Kochi, ran into trouble on Saturday and issued a distress call.Navy aircraft scrambled to the area and spotted two life rafts, with the container ship listing at a dangerous angle some 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi.”All 24 crew members on board were rescued,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement, with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and a navy patrol boat collecting the sailors, who were from Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and the Philippines.”The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide,” the statement said.The Defence Ministry did not specify what was inside the containers it said were hazardous.  Calcium carbide is used in the chemical industry, including for fertiliser production and steelmaking.”Given the sensitive marine ecosystem along Kerala’s coast, ICG has activated full pollution response preparedness,” the navy said.The vessel also contained some 370 tonnes of fuel and oil but, while the coast guard had deployed “detection systems”, it said that “so far, no oil spill has been reported”. 

In India’s sprawling financial hub of Mumbai armies of “dabbawalas” have for decades crisscrossed the city by foot and bicycle, delivering home-cooked food to office workers who are keen to avoid the searing heat and traffic-snarled streets.Now, across the country, young entrepreneurs are taking that tradition to the next level with the explosion of shopping apps that allow customers to get hold of not only food and drink but anything else from clothes to iPhones — within minutes.The so-called quick commerce apps are redefining the retail game, not only disrupting e-commerce titans such as Amazon with their speed and efficiency but also long-established “mom and pop” stores which are no longer convenient enough.At a warehouse managed by online grocer BigBasket in central Mumbai, employees work with military-like precision to pull off deliveries in just 10 minutes.These warehouses are known within the industry as “dark stores”, a reference to being closed off to customers.When a new order is received, a worker leaps into action, darting through aisles filled with everything from fizzy drinks to vegetables, packing a bag of groceries handed to a motorbike rider — the modern-day “dabbawala”, Hindi for “lunchbox man”.Local tech companies have poured in billions to set up these nifty logistical networks across big cities, fuelling India’s rapid shopping industry.  – ‘Unprecedented’ -For millions of customers, it’s an easy way to avoid shopping in the sweltering heat — visiting multiple food stalls — and spending hours navigating the country’s notorious traffic jams. Growth has been “very strong”, BigBasket co-founder Vipul Parekh told AFP, pointing to forecasts that indicate a compounded annual growth rate of more than 60 percent over the next two to three years. “When you talk of a large industry transforming and growing at this pace, that is unprecedented,” he said. Delivery apps such as Getir or Jokr have faltered in Europe and the United States in recent years, as pandemic-induced demand wore off and rising inflation pinched customer wallets.  But sales in India have soared from $100 million in 2020 to an estimated $6 billion in 2024, according to projections by market analysis firm Datum Intelligence.This could hit $40 billion by the end of the decade, according to investment bank JM Financial.    Companies say India’s quick commerce’s growth is partly down to the sheer scale of people living in tight-packed cities within a roughly two kilometre (one mile) radius of a “dark store”, said Parekh.”The revenue potential in that catchment is very high,” he said.A lack of many traditional supermarket grocery chains in India aid the business model, he said. Rinish Ravindra, a regular user, admits that they make him “lazy”, but argues that the convenience is unbeatable. “I just press a bunch of keys and all of it comes delivered to home,” says the 32-year-old, who works in Mumbai’s film industry. Local players have made rapid progress but competition is heating up. Amazon is getting its act together, along with Walmart-owned Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries as they belatedly roll out rapid delivery offerings.”One of the problems with e-commerce players like Amazon is that, until now, they’ve relied on these big fulfilment centres that sit on the outside or outskirts of cities,” said Satish Meena of Datum Intelligence.”These aren’t suited for rapid delivery, which is why they now need to invest to build their own dark store networks within urban areas.”  – ‘Just order it online’ -However, a more crowded industry threatens the sustainability of the sector that has already seen one prominent start-up go bust.”My sense is that the market is good enough for two to three players,” said Rahul Malhotra of Bernstein, a research firm, adding that the total addressable market may be worth around $50-$60 billion. “Some of the early movers, with hyperlocal capabilities obviously, have an advantage here.”The sector could also face challenges from thousands of small, family-run shops. The Confederation of All India Traders, a leading industry group that claims to represent over 90 million small businesses, has called for “a nationwide movement” against newer platforms. Its president likened quick commerce to being a “modern-day East India Company”, a reference to the rapacious British power that began in the 17th century to seize swathes of India, preceding colonial rule.For now, customers are voting with their wallets.  “When I think of groceries I think, ‘I can just order it online’,” said Ravindra. 

Bangladesh’s interim government, which took over after a mass uprising last year, warned on Saturday that unity was needed to “prevent the return of authoritarianism”.The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by student-led protests in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years.After a week of escalation during which rival parties protested on the streets of the capital Dhaka, the government led by Muhammad Yunus said political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made and pleaded for people to give it their full support.”Broader unity is essential to maintain national stability, organise free and fair elections, justice, and reform, and permanently prevent the return of authoritarianism in the country,” it said in a statement.- ‘Continuously obstructing’ -Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who returned from exile at the behest of protesters last year, says he has a duty to implement democratic reforms before elections that are due by June 2026 at the latest.However, the government warned that it had faced “unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and jurisdictionally overreaching statements”, which it said had been “continuously obstructing” its work.Sources in his office and a key political ally said on Thursday that microfinance pioneer Yunus had threatened to quit.”If the government’s autonomy, reform efforts, justice process, fair election plan, and normal operations are obstructed to the point of making its duties unmanageable, it will, with the people, take the necessary steps,” Saturday’s statement said, without giving further details.Wahiduddin Mahmud, who heads the finance and planning ministry, insisted that Yunus will not step down early. “We are going to carry out the responsibilities assigned to us,” Mahmud told reporters on Saturday. “We can’t simply abandon our duties.” – ‘Return of dictatorship’ -Yunus held talks on Saturday evening with key political parties, including those who have protested against the government this month.His press secretary Shafiqul Alam insisted that the parties all had “full trust” in Yunus, with an all-party meeting scheduled for Sunday.Yunus met leaders of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election front-runners, who are pushing hard for polls to be held by December.”Any excuse to delay the election may open the door for the return of dictatorship”, senior BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said after the meeting.”The interim government and its allies will be held responsible for such a consequence.”Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December but that holding them later — with the deadline of June — would give the government more time for reform. But Hossain said that reforms, justice and elections were not “mutually exclusive goals”.According to Bangladeshi media and military sources, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also said this week that elections should be held by December, aligning with BNP demands.Bangladesh has a long history of military coups, and the army retains a powerful role.The upcoming elections will be the first since Hasina fled to India, where she remains in self-imposed exile in defiance of an arrest warrant to face trial for crimes against humanity related to last year’s police crackdown on protesters, during which at least 1,400 people were killed.Shafiqur Rahman, the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority nation’s largest Islamist party, said after his meeting with Yunus that he had asked for an election timetable — saying he was open to a later date if it allowed for reforms.He also said he had sought “progress in the ongoing trials” of those from Hasina’s ousted regime. – ‘Anti-democratic’ -Nahid Islam, leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina’s rule, has said he wants later elections to allow time for “fundamental reforms”.He fears rival parties want swift elections to “assume power”.Speaking after meeting with Yunus, he said the NCP had “demanded a specific roadmap for reforms, trials, and the election of a constituent assembly”.Islam, an ally of Yunus who previously served in his cabinet, speaking earlier on Saturday, warned that he had seen “indications” that a “military-backed government could re-emerge — one that is anti-democratic and anti-people”.

A key Bangladeshi party leader at the forefront of the revolt that ousted premier Sheikh Hasina warned on Saturday an army-backed leadership could replace the interim government.Nahid Islam, leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina’s 15-year iron-fisted rule last year, said he worried about an “anti-democratic” future.Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading the caretaker government until elections are held, has called for rival political parties jostling for power to give him their full support.Bangladesh has a long history of coups, and the army retains a powerful role.Islam, an ally of Yunus who previously served in his cabinet, told reporters on Saturday that he foresaw a situation similar to January 11, 2007, when a state of emergency was declared resulting in a two-year-long military-backed government.”There are indications that a 1/11-style military-backed government could re-emerge — one that is anti-democratic and anti-people,” Islam said.- ‘Should not interfere’ -Bangladesh’s political crisis escalated this week as rival parties protested with competing demands.Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said this week elections should be held by December, Dhaka’s newspapers reported, aligning with the demands of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).But Islam said that the military’s role was “to ensure national security”, and not to get involved in politics.”While the military is an essential institution for state security, it should not interfere in political affairs,” he said.Yunus has said elections could come as early as December but holding them later — at the latest by June 2026 — would allow more time for democratic reforms he says are needed.Islam said it was for those reforms that students launched their protests last year, but that Yunus told him during a meeting on Thursday that the pressure put on him had frustrated him.”He assumed office to bring about fundamental change. People expect to see trials, reforms, and a peaceful transition of power. Under the current circumstances, he feels he cannot deliver to those expectations,” Islam said.”There is a real fear that elections may not be free and fair but instead heavily restricted.”

India named top-order batsman Shubman Gill as the new Test captain, the cricket board said Saturday, as it announced the team for next month’s all-important tour of England.Gill, 25, succeeds Rohit Sharma, who retired from Tests recently along with Virat Kohli. He will take charge in the five-Test series in England starting June 20.Gill will lead a team in transition after Rohit, 38, and Kohli, 36, walked away from the five-day format in the space of six days this month to leave a big void.”Shubman Gill-led TeamIndia are READY for an action-packed Test series,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement.His vice-captain will be Rishabh Pant.Gifted with a wide range of shots, Gill has led Gujarat Titans into the playoffs of the current Indian Premier League T20 tournament.”Obviously, he’s very young but we’ve seen the improvement,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told reporters after the team announcement in Mumbai.He said that, as well as Gill’s IPL performances, the board “take feedback from a lot of people” and the choice was a “unanimous decision”.”It’s obviously going to be a high-pressure job. But we’re hopeful that we’ve picked the right guy. I mean, he’s a terrific player,” Agarkar said.”It’s a big job, big transition,” he said, especially with “two of our big players retiring”.”We were all confident that he is the guy to take us forward”, he said.- Shami ‘setback’ -However, pace bowler Mohammed Shami has been left out of the 18-member squad due to fitness concerns, Agarkar said.”He’s had a little bit of a setback over the last week or so,” Agarkar said, adding medical scans had ruled Shami out for the series.Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah is in the squad, although he will not be able to play all five Tests. Bumrah’s workload is being managed while he recovers from a career-threatening back injury — a key reason for him not getting the Test captaincy.Bumrah was Rohit’s deputy in India’s last Test tour of Australia.Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj returns after he was dropped from the ODI team for the Champions Trophy this year.Batsman Karun Nair, who hit an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in 2016, will make a comeback eight years after he last played a Test for India.Gill’s opening partner at Gujarat, Sai Sudharsan, who leads the IPL batting chart with 638 runs, also made the cut.Agarkar said coach Gautam Gambhir and Gill will decide the batting order and who will replace Rohit and Kohli as opener and number two batter.Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05, with five hundreds, since his debut in Melbourne in 2020.He has been a mainstay of India’s batting in Test and ODI cricket and played a key role in the team’s 50-overs Champions Trophy title in Dubai this year.The Tests in England will be India’s first in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.The opener is at Headingley, followed by the second Test at Edgbaston from July 2.Lord’s hosts the third Test from July 10, with the fourth at Old Trafford beginning July 23 and the final Test at The Oval from July 31.Squad: Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (vice-capt, wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh.

Shubman Gill, long Indian cricket’s “Prince” in waiting, has been entrusted with leading a new era after the Test retirements of greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.The 25-year-old Gill was identified in 2020 as a batting successor to Kohli after impressing on his Test debut in Melbourne, where he opened and made 45 and an unbeaten 35 as India beat Australia by eight wickets.Gifted with a wide variety of shots at the top of the order, it has been Gill’s inspiring leadership of Gujarat Titans that clinched his elevation to the Test captaincy to succeed Rohit.Gill played a captain’s knock of 93 this week to secure a place in the playoffs for Gujarat, who were IPL champions in their 2022 debut season.”I have talked about this a couple of times, when I’m batting, I want to play and think as a batsman, not as a captain. At the back end last season I learnt that,” said Gill, who is in his second season leading Gujarat.Gill, who has scored 636 runs at an average of 57.81 to lie second on the IPL batting charts, has led from the front and been dubbed “Prince” by pundits in the cricket-obsessed country.”Let Shubman Gill remain Shubman Gill instead of calling him a ‘Prince’,” said former India wicketkeeper and Gujarat assistant coach Parthiv Patel.”You gave him this name from the commentary box. He is leading from the front and makes his presence felt in the dressing room. “He doesn’t talk much, but his words carry a lot of weight.”Rohit and batting great Kohli’s departures paved the way for Gill to lead a young India squad for five Tests in England beginning on June 20.Other candidates included Jasprit Bumrah, who was Rohit’s deputy in Australia this year, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.- Competitive instinct -Gill got the nod but he has big boots to fill.Rohit won 12 of his 24 Tests as skipper and his predecessor Kohli was India’s most successful Test captain with 40 wins from 68 matches in charge.Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had already identified Gill’s leadership credentials and competitive instinct ahead of his appointment, and he urged fans to give him time.”It would take a couple of years to get to the level of our ‘super captains’,” said Gavaskar.”All of them brought something unique to the table.”When you look at Gill, Iyer, and Pant… you can see a mix of different qualities. “Gill seems the most competitive. When there’s a close call, he’s quick to question the umpire. He’s very involved in the game.”In 2023, Gill scored a Twenty20 hundred to become the fifth Indian batsman — including Kohli and Rohit — to record centuries across all three formats.Gill, who hails from a family of farmers in the northern state of Punjab, said he owed much of his success to his father.”I think the way I practise and the way my dad made me practise… 90 percent of the credit should go to him because it was his vision,” said Gill.Gill has played 32 Tests, scoring 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05 with five hundreds. But there are question marks over his record outside India. In his 13 overseas Tests, Gill’s average is only 29.50.