Law Adviser Asif Nazrul on Friday said former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was unjustly convicted in what he described as the most disgraceful and farcical trial in Bangladesh’s history, referring to the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. Addressing a condolence meeting held at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Asif Nazrul termed the Zia Orphanage Trust case against Khaleda Zia a “sham and disgraceful judgment” in the country’s judicial history. He recalled an incident from the trial, saying a defence lawyer had asked Khaleda Zia whether she had misappropriated orphan funds.  “Hurt and astonished, Khaleda Zia repeated the question—‘Did I embezzle orphan money?’ The court treated this as her statement and convicted her on that basis. As a student of law, I can say with certainty that there cannot be a more disgraceful trial than this,” the law adviser said. Asif Nazrul noted that there was a time when hardly anyone dared to speak out in support of the BNP or against the injustice done to Khaleda Zia. While searching for statements protesting the unfair trial, he said, only four people at home and abroad could be persuaded to issue statements. “I am talking about a time when it was almost impossible to find people willing to stand by Khaleda Zia,” he added, noting that the situation has since changed. Asif Nazrul further said Khaleda Zia has found a permanent place in the hearts of the people, while ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been relegated to a place of rejection. Asif Nazrul remarked that Bangladesh would prosper only if the country is envisioned in the way Khaleda Zia had envisioned it. “Khaleda Zia is no more. Now the biggest concern is what Bangladesh will look like in the days ahead. If we want a better Bangladesh, we must uphold Khaleda Zia, follow her ideals and run the country in that spirit.” Thanking the fighters of the July uprising, the adviser said people in the country are now able to express their opinions freely, without obstruction in expressing either love or dissent. BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman and his family members were present at the programme. Senior leaders, including members of the BNP Standing Committee, also attended the condolence meeting. Eminent citizens from the media, business community and various professional groups spoke at the event, recalling Khaleda Zia’s memories and paying tribute to her.

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran's deadly crackdown on demonstrations. Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet blackout. While Washington has stepped back from military action, the White House said Thursday that "all options remain on the table for the president". "The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She said Trump had warned Tehran of "grave consequences" if the killing of demonstrators continued. The Treasury also announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials on Thursday, with Tehran already under crippling restrictions over its nuclear programme that contributed to the economic woes that sparked protests. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said on Wednesday that Iranian security forces had killed at least 3,428 protesters, warning that the final toll would be far higher. Trump had said Wednesday he had received assurances from "very important sources on the other side" that executions would not go ahead, as Gulf allies scrambled to pull him back from military action. With the belligerent rhetoric on all sides appearing to tone down for now, a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk Trump out of an attack, fearing "grave blowbacks in the region". The Gulf trio "led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention", the official said on condition of anonymity. A second Gulf official confirmed the talks, adding that a message was also conveyed to Iran that attacking US regional facilities would "have consequences". Asked about a New York Times report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Trump against strikes, Leavitt said: "Look, it's true that the president spoke with (him), but I would never give details about their conversation without... the express approval by the president himself." Iranian authorities have lashed out at "rioters" who they claim were backed by Israel and the US, vowing fast-track justice that activists fear will translate into a spree of executions. - 'No hanging today' - In telephone talks on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan that Iran would defend itself "against any foreign threat", according to a statement. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia informed Iran it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to attack the country, two sources close to the kingdom's government told AFP. The Swiss foreign ministry, which represents US interests in Iran, said Iranian security chief Ali Larijani spoke by phone on Wednesday to senior Swiss diplomat Gabriel Luechinger. Bern offered to "contribute to the de-escalation of the current situation", the ministry said. Later on Thursday the country summoned Iran's ambassador to voice its "greatest concern" over the crackdown on nationwide protests, a foreign ministry official said. The developments came hours ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Iran later on Thursday, which was requested by the US. Up until Wednesday, the United States was threatening military action against Iran should it carry out the death penalty against people arrested over the protests. Attention had focused on protester Erfan Soltani, 26, in prison in Karaj outside Tehran since his arrest, and who rights groups said was due to be executed on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Iranian judiciary said Soltani has "not been sentenced to death" and was facing charges of propaganda against Iran's Islamic system. If he is convicted, "the punishment, according to the law, will be imprisonment". In an interview with US network Fox News, Araghchi said there would be "no hanging today or tomorrow". Commenting on Truth Social, Trump said: "This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!" - 'Significant cost' - Araghchi said the Iranian government was "in full control" and reported an atmosphere of calm after what he called three days of "terrorist operation". Despite the internet shutdown, new videos from the height of the protests, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, as distraught relatives searched for loved ones. Another video circulating on social media, said to be from Wednesday, showed people gathered for the funeral of a labourer killed during the protests chanting "Death to Khamenei" and "this year Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown". AFP was able to verify the location of the video as Abdanan in the western province of Ilam, but not its date. Meanwhile, the Canadian government confirmed on Thursday that one of its citizens was killed in the protest. The unnamed Canadian "died at the hands of the Iranian authorities", Foreign Minister Anita Anand said.

China's economy likely grew last year at its weakest rate in three decades, outside of the pandemic, according to an AFP survey of analysts ahead of official data on Monday. The world's second-largest economy struggled to shore up its property market while boosting domestic consumption as Chinese exports to the key US market were crimped by Donald Trump's tariffs. President Xi Jinping said last month that growth probably met an annual target of "around five percent" in 2025. Economists estimated a median figure of 4.9 percent, in what would be the weakest growth since 1990 when China was under Western sanctions after the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown. The announcement will be "close enough for officials to declare victory" in meeting the roughly five-percent number, a "political comfort blanket" for Beijing, said Sarah Tan of Moody's Analytics. But the composition of Chinese growth was "deeply uneven" and official figures "mask the weak sentiment on the ground", she said. Analysts agreed the main problem was China's property sector, which has failed to overcome a persistent debt crisis despite rate cuts and loosened restrictions on homebuying. House prices have risen slightly in some large cities but the broader market remains sluggish. "We see no sign of a near-term property sector bottoming out," analysts from Goldman Sachs said. Without bolder measures like converting housing stock into affordable homes, the industry will remain unstable, analysts warned. - Waning investments - Investments in property and infrastructure likely took a hit last year. Official figures already show that fixed-asset investment slowed 2.6 percent between January and November, its sharpest rate since 2020. Larry Hu and Yuxiao Zhang of Macquarie Group attributed the decline to unannounced "data revisions" by Beijing, adding they did not expect policymakers to respond. Property investment could fall by 12 percent in 2026, they predicted. Tianchen Xu of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) also forecast a real-estate "correction" in 2026, adding: "This will remain a drag on growth." Meanwhile, constraints on local government finances pushed a wider slowdown in manufacturing and infrastructure investment last year, Goldman Sachs analysts said. China's outbound foreign direct investment continued to outpace inbound flows in recent quarters, they noted. - Too anxious to spend - Domestic spending is also cause for concern. Retail sales, a key indicator of consumption, grew at their slowest pace in nearly three years in November. Economists have long urged Beijing to move towards a growth model powered by consumption rather than exports and manufacturing. Excess supply remains an issue in manufacturing despite a government campaign last year to combat overcapacity and price cutting. China aims to become a global powerhouse in advanced manufacturing, but that promises little for domestic spending, according to Goldman Sachs analysts. "High-end manufacturing and frontier technology will not generate many jobs or lead to significantly higher incomes for average households, making only a limited contribution to private consumption," they said. Chinese consumers remain jittery about the wider economy and high unemployment, even though officials have relaxed fiscal policy and subsidised the replacement of household items in a sputtering bid to boost spending. "That anxiety is shaping how households spend," Tan said, noting that while domestic tourism rebounded to pre-pandemic levels last year, the average outlay per traveller was lower. - Minimal US impact - Robust exports have been a bright spot in the cloudy economic picture despite a bruising trade war with the United States that saw Trump slap steep tariffs on Chinese products. Official data showed Chinese exports to the United States plunged by 20 percent in 2025, but that had little impact on demand for Chinese products elsewhere. China's trade surplus hit a record $1.2 trillion last year, with officials lauding a "new historical high" filled by other trade partners. "The trade war 2.0 didn't impact China much, leading Beijing to refrain from implementing major stimulus measures," said Hu and Zhang of Macquarie. Tan agreed that "exports are propping up the economy while consumers and property developers hang back". But whether they continue to drive the economy in 2026 remains to be seen. Economists expect Beijing to reveal new stimulus measures -- potentially at its annual parliamentary session in March -- to address core challenges. "We think there will be a turnaround this year driven by policy support from fiscal and new financing policy tools," said Erin Xin at HSBC. Xu, of the EIU, predicated that fiscal policy would be "expansionary by historical standards" for China to reach its growth target. Macquarie analysts, however, were more conservative, saying "the size of the stimulus package will largely depend on the magnitude of the export slowdown".