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Syrupy aromas drift across the guarded compound of Bangladesh’s only licensed distillery, a state-owned producer posting record profits in the Muslim-majority nation, where Islamists are staging a political comeback.That’s a surprising success in a country where the vast majority of its 170 million people are barred from buying its products.Alcohol is tightly regulated in Bangladesh, the world’s fourth most populous Muslim nation.Carew and Co, established under British rule 87 years ago, produced $10 million in profit in 2024–25, and paid the same again in taxes, said managing director Rabbik Hasan.”This is the highest profit since the company’s establishment,” Hasan told AFP. “We expect further growth in the coming year.”Bangladesh has faced turbulent times.A mass uprising in August 2024 ousted the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina, who had been criticised for extensive human rights abuses and had taken a hard line against Islamist movements during her 15-year rule.Since she fled to India — defying extradition orders to attend her crimes against humanity trial — Islamist groups have grown increasingly assertive.Alcohol, forbidden under Islam, has escaped their condemnation, but they have demanded restrictions on cultural activities they consider “anti-Islamic” —  including music and theatre festivals, women’s football matches, and kite-flying celebrations.An interim government is leading the South Asian nation towards elections expected in February 2026.But at the sprawling Darsana facility near the Indian border, humming machines fill bottles.Carew’s popular brands range from the golden-hued “Imperial Whisky” to “Tsarina Vodka”, distilled from sugarcane with flavourings imported from the Netherlands.”We never encourage anyone to drink — we only sell to those who already do,” Hassan added.- ‘Zero doubt’ -Buying an alcoholic drink in Bangladesh requires a government permit, issued only to those aged over 21, and mainly granted to non-Muslims, who require a medical prescription.”Alcohol is forbidden,” said Hasan Maruf, director general of the Department of Narcotics Control, but added that “exemptions exist for certain communities”.That includes foreigners and workers on the country’s tea estates, where Carew’s low-cost liquor is popular among the 150,000 mainly Hindu workers.Around 10 percent of Bangladeshi are not Muslims, mainly Hindus.This year, only the company’s sugar division suffered losses — with its mills also producing fertiliser, vinegar, and industrial alcohol.Carew provides the only source of regulated liquor — alongside a separate brewery producing Hunter, Bangladesh’s only beer, owned by the Jamuna Group conglomerate.Those are reliable products in a country where illegal moonshine stills — or the dangerous adulteration of imported liquor — has been a persistent problem.Fish trader Prince Mamun, 42, said he has been drinking Carew for two decades. “It’s cheaper and safer than imported brands,” he said, adding that he holds a permit and drinks about 20 days a month.”I drink Carew products with zero doubt.”Shah Alam, a devout Muslim and 38-year employee in the bottling unit, has never tasted the products.Yet he praises the distillery for its contributions to the local community, from education to employment.”I don’t drink anything from here, nor am I involved with the selling,” Alam, 59, said. “All I am doing here is my job.”

When families of those killed in Nepal’s deadly September protests that toppled the government demanded justice, the anguish felt painfully familiar to Sunamati Chaudhari.Her husband, an English teacher, was taken by security forces 22 years ago at the height of a decade-long civil war. He never returned.Chaudhari, 62, has been searching for the truth about her husband’s disappearance ever since.”We left no stone unturned in search of my husband. We went to court, sought help of many organisations — and even reached Geneva,” she told AFP, referring to her bid to seek help from the United Nations. “But nothing happened.”She is among the thousands of relatives waiting for closure since a 2006 peace deal ended a conflict in which more than 16,000 people were killed and 1,400 remain missing.Abuses were committed by both Maoist rebels and state forces.”I would dream of him every night,” Chaudhari said.Justice has been glacial in the Himalayan nation.Nepal’s authorities have long been criticised for failing to adequately probe wartime abuses.Two transitional justice commissions set up in 2015 have yet to resolve a single case, despite receiving more than 65,000 complaints of rape, murder and enforced disappearances.- ‘Culture of impunity’ -Nepal is now reeling from fresh political upheaval.Youth-led demonstrations against a social media ban, worsening economic woes and corruption erupted nationwide in September, leaving at least 76 people dead in a violent crackdown.Parliament, courts and civil service buildings were torched, and the government collapsed.Former chief justice Sushila Karki, 73, was named interim prime minister to steer Nepal until elections in March 2026.For many families still haunted by the civil war, the political shake-up has stirred a fragile mix of hope and anxiety.Preeti Tharu, 22, whose father was abducted by rebels before she was born, fears history will repeat itself.”The previous government only showed assurances,” she said. “And I know, with this changing situation, the state’s priority might be something else.”Gita Rasaili, who heads the Conflict Victim Women National Network, said she hoped they could find common cause with the new generation demanding government action.”We worried that our agenda was over, because there are now new victims’ families and new martyrs,” she told AFP.”But we are all fighting against a culture of impunity.”- ‘Volatile’ -In August, before the uprising, families gathered to mark the International Day of the Disappeared at a new memorial park in western Nepal’s Bardiya district.Families of some of the 258 missing people from the district planted trees and lit candles.Park coordinator Niranjan Kumar Chaudhari, whose father was taken away by the army, said the new crop of politicians in the interim government were among the few who had taken action to support their cause.”The current prime minister and home minister are both advocates for victims of war crimes,” Chaudhari said.”But the political situation is volatile.”It was under Karki’s watch as chief justice that a court in 2017 sentenced three soldiers to 20 years in jail for the murder of a teenage girl.At the time, it was only the second conviction for crimes committed during the war.The Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons says its work will continue regardless of the political situation.”We have received 2,610 complaints so far,” said commission chief Lila Devi Gadtaula, who aims to complete investigations within four years, with progress slowed by limited forensic resources.But for families like Chaudhari’s, time has already run out.In July, she and her two sons performed her husband’s death rites.”It’s already too late,” she said. “Many prime ministers have come and gone, but nobody addressed our problem.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital a “conspiracy”, vowing those responsible will face justice.Police are yet to give exact details of what caused Monday’s incident near the historic Red Fort, one of India’s most well-known landmarks, and the site of the prime minister’s annual Independence Day speech.The blast killed at least eight people, and 19 others were injured when flames ripped through several vehicles.It was the first significant security incident since a shooting attack in late April left 26 people, mainly Hindus, dead at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.”I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy,” Modi said in a speech during a state visit to neighbouring Bhutan, without giving further details.”All those involved will be brought to justice,” he said.Indian authorities have stopped short of calling the blast an attack, saying they were awaiting forensic analysis.But on Tuesday, the home affairs ministry said that India’s anti-terrorism force, the National Investigation Agency, are leading the probe.Monday’s explosion came hours after Indian police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles.Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based Islamist group, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot of jihadist group Al-Qaeda.Both groups are listed as terrorist organisations in India.Home Minister Amit Shah, after chairing security talks following the blast, said he had instructed officials “to hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident”.”Everyone involved in this act will face the full wrath of our agencies,” he added in a statement.- ‘People were burning’ -New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP shortly after the explosion that eight people had been killed.The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure has not been confirmed.Witnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.”People were on fire and we tried to save them… Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.”I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.”The emergency ward at Delhi’s LNJP hospital was chaotic after the explosion as wounded people streamed in and doctors rushed to treat them.In the attack in April in Pahalgam, Indian authorities were swift to accuse Pakistan of backing the gunmen — claims denied by Islamabad.That attack sparked clashes between the nuclear-armed arch rivals in May, when more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire was struck.On Tuesday, after a suicide bomber in Islamabad killed at least 12 people, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed “terrorist proxies backed by India”.He did not provide any evidence.India on Tuesday night said it rejected the “baseless and unfounded” allegations made by an “obviously delirious Pakistani leadership”.Without directly referencing the Islamabad incident, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement that “it is a predictable tactic by Pakistan to concoct false narratives against India in order to deflect the attention” from its internal issues.

Charred vehicles and a mangled motorcycle lay outside Islamabad’s district court Tuesday, their metal frames still warm as investigators sealed off the area where a suicide bomber had killed at least 12 people.It was a rare assault at the heart of Pakistan’s capital where blood stained a two-way street, and shattered glass glimmered among the debris.”It was a very strong and terrifying explosion,” said Khalid Mandokhel, a 24-year-old lawyer.”Many of the victims were bystanders,” he told AFP at the scene.The blue police van hit in the blast stood crippled at the entrance, its metal pierced by shrapnel and tyres shredded, as investigators documented every mark on the vehicle.More than 25 people were wounded in the attack.Rustam Malik, another lawyer, said he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he entered the complex, where daily, hundreds of people arrive to sort out legal matters. They did not expect to leave with their lives hanging by a thread. “There was thick smoke,” Malik told AFP.Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists outside the court that the attacker had lingered outside the building for several minutes before striking.”He could not go inside (the complex); he blew himself up near the police vehicle,” Naqvi said.- ‘Complete chaos’ -The complex, home to several courts, is usually one of the busiest areas in Islamabad during the day. Nearby offices of senior administration and police officials add to the dense crowds.Outside the government-run hospital where most of the victims were taken, people were milling about as rescue workers wheeled people with head and leg injuries into the emergency room. Security guards, on alert, prevented the media from entering.Back at the blast site, cordoned off at several points, investigators gathered evidence until late afternoon.A heavy presence of police and paramilitary soldiers combed through the wreckage as a stray dog rummaged through the remains, sniffing at the scattered debris.Malik recalled “complete chaos” —  lawyers and visitors running in panic after the explosion thundered through the compound. As investigators processed the scene, the lawyer waited patiently for police clearance so he could collect his vehicle which was damaged in the attack.”I saw two dead bodies lying at the gate and several cars were on fire,” he said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed a suicide bombing that killed at least 12 people in Islamabad on Tuesday, a rare attack by the militant group on the country’s capital. The first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic, leaving shattered glass and charred vehicles on the road outside district court buildings. “Judges, lawyers and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,” the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) said, threatening more attacks until Islamic law is implemented in the Muslim-majority country. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said 12 people were killed and 27 wounded when the assailant detonated explosives near a police vehicle.A lawyer at the scene, Mohammed Shahzad Butt, said there was a “massive blast”.”Everyone started running inside out of panic. I have seen at least five dead bodies lying at the front gate,” he told AFP.An AFP journalist saw paramilitary troops cordoning off the site of the attack, which struck an area that also houses several government offices. Rustam Malik, another lawyer, told AFP he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he was entering the complex. “It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire,” said Malik.The bombing follows the Indian capital Delhi being hit by a car explosion Monday, which killed at least eight people.The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, earlier accused the TTP and separatists from the country’s Balochistan region, both of whom have carried out attacks mostly on security forces.Islamabad has largely been spared major militant violence in recent years, with the last suicide attack occurring in December 2022.- Cross-border violence -But the country is facing a resurgence of attacks, which officials attribute mainly to armed groups allegedly sheltered on Afghan soil.The bombing came as Pakistani security forces battled militants who had holed up in a school in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Wana district, near the Afghan border.”There was an attack in Wana as well last night,” Naqvi said. “Three people died in that attack. The attacker involved in that attack is an Afghan. Afghanistan is directly involved in that attack.”Recent attacks prompted a bloody clash between Pakistan and Afghanistan in October, their worst fighting across their border in years.More than 70 people were killed on both sides, including about 50 Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations.The two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire, but failed to finalise its details during several rounds of negotiations that collapsed last week. Each side blamed the other for the impasse.Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the Islamabad suicide attack should be seen as “a wake-up call”.”In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul,” he wrote on X.Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups that launch attacks across a long, porous border, which the Afghan government denies.

A suicide bombing outside district court buildings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 on Tuesday, the interior minister said.The first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic in an area which also houses several government offices. “A suicide attack was carried out,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists. “So far 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded.”An AFP journalist saw paramilitary troops cordoning off the area where the minister said the assailant detonated the explosives near a police vehicle. “We are trying to identify who he (the attacker) is and where he came from,” Naqvi said.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pinning the blame on “terrorist proxies backed by India”, Pakistan’s longtime foe, without providing evidence.India’s capital Delhi was hit by a car explosion Monday, which killed at least eight people.Sharif accused the Pakistani Taliban militant group and separatists from the country’s Balochistan region, both of whom have carried out attacks mostly targeting the security forces.In Islamabad, lawyer Mohammed Shahzad Butt said there was a “massive blast”.”Everyone started running inside out of panic. I have seen at least five dead bodies lying at the front gate,” he told AFP.Rustam Malik, another lawyer, told AFP he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he was entering the complex. “It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire,” said Malik.Islamabad has largely been spared major militant violence in recent years, with the last suicide attack occurring in December 2022. The bombing came as Pakistani security forces battled militants who had holed up in a school in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Wana district.”There was an attack in Wana as well last night,” Naqvi said. “Three people died in that attack. The attacker involved in that attack is an Afghan. Afghanistan is directly involved in that attack.”

India’s defence minister vowed on Tuesday that those responsible for a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital that killed at least eight people will face justice.Monday’s blast, if confirmed as an attack, would be the first significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.”The country’s leading investigative agencies are conducting a swift and thorough inquiry into the incident — findings of the investigation will soon be made public,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told a conference in New Delhi.”I want to firmly assure the nation that those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice, and will not be spared under any circumstances.”Crime scene investigators scoured through the wreckage of a car early on Tuesday, hours after the intense explosion.Senior Delhi police officer Raja Banthia said they were investigating the blast, near the landmark Red Fort in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city, under anti-terrorism laws.However, they have not given details on the cause of the explosion, which also wounded at least 19 people when intense flames ripped through other vehicles near the 17th century structure.New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP shortly after the explosion that eight people had been killed. The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure has not been confirmed.Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters late on Monday that security forces were “keeping all angles open”, adding that it was “very difficult to say what caused the incident” until forensic samples had been analysed.At dawn on Tuesday, AFP reporters at the site said police had erected white sheets around the charred remains of vehicles overnight.Security was increased across New Delhi as both forensic and anti-terrorism agencies searched for evidence.Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his “condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi” before leaving for a state visit to neighbouring Bhutan.”I understand the pain of the families. The whole nation stands with them,” he said.The Red Fort is one of India’s most well-known landmarks. Prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and its striking features appear on India’s largest banknote.- ‘People were burning’ -Eyewitnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.”I saw the car explode while it was moving,” said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.”People were on fire and we tried to save them… Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” he said. “I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.”The emergency ward at Delhi’s LNJP hospital was chaotic after the explosion as wounded people streamed in and doctors rushed to treat them.A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated. “I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said as her brother tried to console her.New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the gunmen after the April attack in Pahalgam, a claim denied by Islamabad.That attack sparked deadly clashes between the nuclear-armed arch rivals in May, when more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire was struck.The last significant attack in the Indian capital was in September 2011, when a bomb hidden in a briefcase ripped through a crowd outside New Delhi’s High Court, killing at least 14 people.

Indian crime scene investigators scoured through the wreckage of a car on Tuesday that exploded hours earlier in the heart of the capital, killing at least eight people.Police have not given details on the cause of the explosion, which also left at least 19 people injured, when intense flames ripped through other vehicles near the landmark Red Fort in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city.Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters late Monday that the security forces were “keeping all angles open”, adding it was “very difficult to say what caused the incident” until forensic samples had been analysed.At dawn on Tuesday, AFP reporters at the site of the explosion said police white sheets had been erected around the charred remains of vehicles overnight.Both forensic and anti-terrorism agencies were searching for evidence, while security was increased across New Delhi.Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of those killed, and said he had “reviewed the situation” with Shah.”Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi… may the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi said in a statement.The 17th century Red Fort is one of India’s most well-known landmarks.Prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.- ‘People were burning’ -Both forensic and anti-terrorism agencies were deployed at the site.Citing hospital authorities, New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP that “eight people have died so far and 19 are injured”.The Press Trust of India news agency on Tuesday reported that the toll had risen to nine dead.Eyewitnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.”I saw the car explode while it was moving,” said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.”People were on fire and we tried to save them… Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” he added. “I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.”After the explosion, at the city’s LNJP hospital, the emergency ward was chaotic as injured people streamed in and doctors rushed to attend to them.A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated. “I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said, as her brother tried to console her.Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a statement that the deaths from the explosion were “heartbreaking”.The US State Department said its “hearts are with those affected by the terrible explosion”, and that it would “continue to closely monitor the situation”. 

A car explosion in the bustling heart of the Indian capital on Monday killed at least eight people and injured another 19, officials said.Police have not given details on the cause, but said that forensic and anti-terrorism agencies were at the site, near the landmark Red Fort.Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of those killed, and said he had “reviewed the situation” with Home Minister Amit Shah and other officials.”Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi…may the injured recover at the earliest”, Modi said in a statement. “Those affected are being assisted by authorities.”The blast took place in the early evening as people returned from work, close to a metro station in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city.Ambulances streamed into a nearby public hospital, carrying several injured people, AFP reporters said.Citing authorities at the hospital, New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP that “eight people have died so far and 19 are injured.”- ‘Heartbreaking’ -The capital’s Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters that “a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light — an explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged.”AFP photographers at the site saw pools of blood spattered across the road.At the city’s LNJP hospital, the emergency ward was chaotic as injured people streamed in and doctors rushed to attend to them. A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated. “I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said, as her brother tried to console her.Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a statement that the “news of the car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station is extremely heartbreaking”.The blaze engulfed at least six cars and several motorised rickshaw taxis.The nearby hospital building was cordoned off amid a heavy police deployment as officers moved through the corridors.Outside, anxious relatives gathered after hearing that their loved ones had been brought in.Musarrat Ansari said her brother was injured after a burning car hit the motorbike he was riding.”He called me and said his leg was hurt — he couldn’t walk,” she told AFP.The Red Fort, which was completed under Moghul rule in 1648, is one of India’s most well-known landmarks.Indian prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.

Dozens of protesters rallied in New Delhi on Sunday to demand government action on toxic air, as a thick haze containing dangerous microparticles shrouded the Indian capital.Parents in the crowd brought their children, who wore masks and waved placards, with one reading: “I miss breathing”.New Delhi with its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals.Acrid smog blankets the skyline each winter, when cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, creating a deadly mix of emissions from crop burning, factories and heavy traffic.Levels of PM2.5 — cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream — sometimes rise to as much as 60 times the UN’s daily health limits.”Today I am here just as a mother,” said protester Namrata Yadav, who came with her son.”I am here because I don’t want to become a climate refugee.”On Sunday, PM2.5 levels around India Gate, the iconic war memorial where protesters had assembled, were more than 13 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum.”Year after year, it is the same story but there is no solution,” said Tanvi Kusum, a lawyer who said she had come because she was “frustrated”.”We have to build pressure so that the government at least takes up the issue seriously.”Piecemeal government initiatives have failed to make a noticeable impact.These included partial restrictions on fossil fuel-powered transport and water trucks spraying mist to clear particulate matter from the air.”Pollution is cutting our lives,” said a young woman who claimed to be “speaking for Delhi” and refused to share her name.A study in The Lancet Planetary Health last year estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution.The United Nations children’s agency warns that polluted air puts children at heightened risk of acute respiratory infections.As the sun set into the smog-covered skyline, the crowd of protesters appeared to swell before police bundled several activists into a bus, seizing their placards and banners, arguing they did not have a permission to protest there.One of them, half-torn, read: “I just want to breathe”.