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Bangladesh elects BNP veteran Alamgir as president

Bangladeshi lawmakers elected veteran Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the country's new president on Thursday, making the longtime opposition figure head of state after his party came to power in a major political transition. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with executive authority remaining with the prime minister and cabinet. Alamgir, 78, defeated retired army Colonel Oli Ahmed in a parliamentary vote. He is expected to be sworn in on Friday evening. The BNP returned to power in February in the long wake of the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government in 2024. While the presidency is largely ceremonial, Alamgir will serve as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Executive authority remains with the prime minister and cabinet in the South Asian nation of about 173 million people. Alamgir defeated Oli Ahmed, a retired army colonel and chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, who was the candid...
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China urges South Korea not to take sides, blames US policy for Korea tensions

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged South Korea not to take ​sides between Beijing and Washington, saying the US should abandon its "hostile" policy toward ‌North Korea to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Wang made the remarks in a meeting with South Korea's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac in Seoul on Thursday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, where ​he also met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. "The fundamental solution to the tensions on ​the Korean Peninsula lies in addressing the root causes of the problem ⁠and urging the United States to abandon its hostile policy toward North Korea," Xinhua cited Wang as saying. China hopes South Korea will "achieve genuine strategic autonomy, refrain from bloc confrontation and ​taking sides, and develop relations with major powers including China and the United States in parallel and without contradiction," Wang said. The remarks came after US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he plans to meet with ​North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, adding that the Asian nation ​held 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons. Trump had also ordered Pentagon officials to cut short joint military exercises with South ‌Korea, ⁠citing his "very good relationship" with Kim. Read: China to tighten export controls on drone-related dual-use items to US for ‘national security’ The US has maintained its official stance demanding that North Korea denuclearise, which Pyongyang has consistently rejected. North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile towards the sea on Thursday, Japan's government and coastguard said. "China would be glad to see the peninsula move ​toward peaceful coexistence between ​South Korea and ⁠North Korea," Wang told Wi, calling for a restart of dialogue and restoration of trust. In separate talks with Lee, Wang urged Seoul to ​adhere to a friendly policy towards China, saying bilateral ties had "fully ​recovered" and ⁠made positive progress this year. "A rational, pragmatic, and positive policy towards China is entirely in line with South Korea's interests and the trend of the times," he said. Wang also called for an ⁠early ​completion of second-stage talks with South Korea for a ​free trade agreement, saying the two countries should promote regional economic integration amid intensifying fragmentation in the global economy ​and rising trade protectionism, Xinhua reported.

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At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

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