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EU leaders to clash over ‘Buy European’ push at Belgium summit

EU leaders are expected to diverge on whether “Buy European” is an answer to Europe’s waning economic fortunes, at a summit on how to secure the continent’s future in a more volatile global economy. At a moated castle in the east Belgian countryside, the EU’s 27 leaders will gather on Thursday for a brainstorming session on how Europe can regain its economic competitiveness vis-a-vis the US and China, at a time of economic threats and political turbulence. Arriving at the summit on Thursday, the European Council president, António Costa, said: “We have a clear priority to strengthen economic growth in Europe. That is essential to our prosperity, to create quality jobs, and to sustain our economic social model.” The question of Europe’s declining competitiveness has long troubled the EU, but gained new urgency when painful vulnerabilities were revealed by the sudden loss of Russian gas in 2022, Donald Trump’s trade wars and China’s pursuit of economic dominance via huge state subsidies. Against this backdrop, the EU is considering the once-taboo policy of European preference, namely favouring European companies in strategic sectors such as clean tech. Long promoted by France, Buy European could mean imposing requirements on governments to prioritise locally manufactured goods in public contracts. Later this month, the EU executive will publish an Industrial Accelerator Act, which is expected to set targets for European content in a range of strategic products, such as solar panels and electric vehicles. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, told European newspapers this week that European preference should be focused on certain strategic sectors, such as clean technologies, chemicals, steel, automotive and defence “otherwise Europeans will be swept aside”. He described European preference as “a defensive measure” and essential because “we are facing unfair competitors who no longer respect the rules of the World Trade Organization”. A group of northern European countries that champion free trade have fired a warning shot against the idea. A joint paper from the Nordics, Baltics and the Netherlands stated that European preference “could risk adding another layer of complex regulation” and push away investment. Speaking on Thursday, Ireland’s prime minister, Michéal Martin, said: “We must protect the open free trade ethos of the European Union in my view. And so there will be debates around that.” Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said he was wary of any protectionist agenda. “The basic idea of trying to protect European business, if that is the purpose of Buy European, to try to avoid trading with or partner with other countries, then I’m very sceptical,” he told the Financial Times. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, skirted the issue in a recent joint paper, but found common ground on “legislative self-restraint”, or less EU regulation. Both would like the EU’s deregulation agenda to go further. The flourishing German-Italian partnership has raised questions about the health of the Franco-German relationship, the traditional motor of the European project. Despite a rapprochement in Franco-German relations since Merz’s election, Paris and Berlin diverge on key economic questions. Merz is sceptical about the Buy European concept, favouring a more aggressive deregulation agenda and trade deals. Merz and Macron also disagree on the EU’s long-sought trade deal with Mercosur. While the German leader has called for speedy entry into force of the agreement with South American countries, Macron dismissed it as “a bad deal”. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, sounded a cautious note about Buy European. Speaking in the European parliament on Wednesday, she said European preference was “a necessary instrument” in strategic sectors. “But I want to be clear – it is a fine line to walk,” she said, adding every proposal must be “underpinned by robust economic analysis and be in line with our international obligations”. The Buy European question is only one part of a sprawling summit agenda taking place at Alden Biesen in Limburg, an estate founded in the 13th century by Teutonic knights. Leaders will also discuss deregulation, fragmented capital markets that constrain green and digital investment, as well as barriers in the European single market that hamper trade. Von der Leyen told MEPs there was “too much gold-plating” – extra layers of national regulation that make life harder for business. As an example, she said a truck in Belgium was allowed to weigh 44 tonnes, but could carry only 40 tonnes when it crosses into France. The leaders will hear from Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, two former Italian prime ministers, who produced agenda-setting reports on the economy. Draghi warned last week that the current economic world order was “dead” and Europe risked becoming “subordinated, divided and deindustrialised at once”. He said Europe needed to move from “confederation to federation”, adding that veto power for individual member states in key policies made countries “vulnerable to being picked off one by one”. Acknowledging the EU’s difficulties in taking decisions, von der Leyen said she was open to moving ahead with passing laws on integrating the EU’s capital markets in a smaller formation, if there was no agreement at 27. “We have to make progress and tear down the barriers that prevent us from being a true global giant,” she said, referencing plans for integrating the European financial system.

Nearly 300,000 people in Ukrainian city of Odesa without power or water after Russian drone strikes - Europe live

We have some images from the newswires showing the fires that engulfed parts of Odesa in Ukraine’s south last night and the aftermath. Local officials said the Russian attack damaged residential buildings and the city’s markets.

Thursday briefing: Britain is flooding, so why is support for net zero drying up?

Good morning. It has rained for 40 days and 40 nights. No, I’m not reciting the story of Noah’s Ark, but a tale from the Met Office. In some parts of the UK, the forecaster said it really has rained for 40 days in a row. Devon, Cornwall and Worcestershire have barely had a break. January 2026 was marked by exceptionally high rainfall, particularly in Northern Ireland, which saw its wettest January in 149 years. Southern England recorded its sixth wettest January since records began in 1836. The culprit behind Britain’s endless drizzle is no mystery. At current levels of global heating, the Met Office estimates that very wet winters have shifted from once-in-80-year events to once in every 20 years. And yet, at the very moment the climate crisis feels impossible to ignore, the UK’s sense of urgency on net zero targets and its support for climate policies is falling sharply, according to a major new study. To understand why, and what it means for climate action in Britain, I spoke to Guardian environment editor Damian Carrington. That’s after the headlines. Five big stories Politics | Female Labour MPs have told Keir Starmer to appoint a woman as his de facto deputy to oversee a “complete culture change” in Downing Street after a series of scandals. Canada | Canadian police have identified the suspect who carried out a school massacre in remote British Columbia as an 18-year-old woman with a history of mental health problems. UK news | An undercover officer who deceived three women into sexual relationships said his superiors did nothing to prevent him from doing so, the spycops public inquiry has heard. US news | A Cheshire woman who was shot dead by her “reckless” father while visiting him in the US after a row about Donald Trump was unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled. Television | James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for playing the lead in hit 90s teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died. With flood warnings flashing across the country and extreme rainfall becoming the new normal, it might seem baffling that public support for tackling the climate crisis is slipping. But Damian Carrington says the contradiction makes sense when placed within the current economic and political context. “I saw a good quote from someone who was being asked about this, who said ‘how can you expect me to worry about the end of the world when I’m worried about the end of the week?’” Damian says. The UK’s cost of living crisis has been compounded by the successive shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, the latter of which has resulted in a sharp rise in energy prices. “People are having a really difficult time in making ends meet so things that seem like they’re potentially in the future, like climate change, tend to fall to the back seat,” he says. There is historical precedence for this, Damian adds. In 2007, there was a peak in interest in climate change after scientists conclusively blamed humanity for the crisis for the first time. But then the 2008 financial crash came and the salience of climate change in people’s lives dropped off. *** A growing tide Before we properly dig into why support for reaching net zero is going down, let’s spell out exactly what the study (pdf) says. The study found that just 29% of the public now say the UK should reach net zero before the government’s 2050 target. That’s down from 54% in 2021. At the same time, the proportion who say the UK shouldn’t have a net zero target at all, has jumped from 9% to 26%. The research was carried out by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, Ipsos, and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations, and is based on a large, nationally representative survey. Support has also fallen across a range of specific policies. Backing for low-traffic neighbourhoods, taxes on frequent flyers, subsidies for electric vehicles and taxes on environmentally damaging foods have all declined. In several cases, opposition now outweighs support, a sharp reversal from just a few years ago. The drop has been steepest among people aged over 55. *** A weapon in the culture war The falling support for net zero targets cannot be separated from a broader political shift taking place in the UK. “Up until very recently, there was a consensus among the British political parties about the damage the climate crisis is already causing and the urgent need to act,” Damian explains. “But that has been broken in recent years, most notably by Reform in Nigel Farage, but also the Conservative party, which has reversed its position.” Last October, Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader, vowed to repeal the Climate Change Act if the Conservatives win the next election, dismantling what has been the cornerstone of green and energy policy for successive Conservative governments. Climate policy has increasingly been pulled into the culture wars. Measures designed to cut emissions, from low-traffic neighbourhoods to heat pumps, have become symbols in wider arguments about the role of the state and personal freedom. Bluntly put, some people don’t like to be told where they can drive in their local neighbourhoods, even if such rules mean the air is clearer for them to breathe. Misinformation is also a huge issue. “When you look at some of the policies that this polling considers, like low-traffic neighbourhoods or electric cars or heat pumps, there’s a great deal of rubbish published about these things, which is having an effect,” Damian says. “People are repeatedly told these things are useless, which they are not. It’s not surprising some people come to believe that.” One of the most powerful and misleading narratives is the idea that the push towards net zero, and especially the development of renewable energy, is to blame for rising energy bills. In reality, the main driver of higher prices has been the soaring cost of gas, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It’s a complete red herring,” Damian says. “If we didn’t have the renewable energy that is being increasingly built out, Britain would have spent a lot more.” There is also a deeper ideological tension at play. Tackling climate change requires collective action, long-term planning and regulation, all of which sit uneasily with parts of the political right. As climate action becomes framed as an attack on individual freedom, support erodes. *** Fair and green If public support for climate action is to be rebuilt, fairness has to be at the centre of policy design, Damian says. “Britain, like many countries around the world, is very unequal. The rich are incredibly rich and the poor are really poor,” he argues. “The problem with climate action sometimes is that it requires upfront investment to save money.” He points to heat pumps as a good example. While they can be cheaper to run in the long term, the initial cost can be daunting. Air-source heat pumps cost just over £12,500 to buy and install on average, according to a report published last year. This is about four to five times more than a gas boiler. Without proper support, policies that encourage uptake risk feeling as if they are designed for the well-off. “One of the failings of the last government and the current one is that climate policies have to be affordable and fair for everybody, including people on lower incomes. When that’s not happening, people will react against it,” he says. And while people are experiencing more extreme weather, “there has always been bad weather,” Damian says. “The climate crisis means it’s getting worse. If you’ve never had floods, and suddenly you get floods that you can pin to the climate crisis, that would be different.” The other important factor is that the UK, alongside the US and Australia, hosts powerful fossil fuel companies, and has a strong strain of neoliberal economics, as well as a highly influential rightwing press. Together, those forces make it especially difficult to sustain a broad public consensus on climate action, even as the physical impacts become harder to ignore. But all is not lost. Despite the falling sense of urgency, the study shows a clear majority of the public (64%) still believe the government’s target for net zero should be at least 2050, if not earlier. The challenge now is not just holding on to that consent, but building on it. What else we’ve been reading Last October, police in Rio carried out a raid against criminal gang, the Red Command, which left 122 people dead. This in-depth investigation brilliantly unpacks the many lingering questions, while Nesrine Malik’s interview with Tiago Rogero for The Long Wave newsletter explores how the event revealed Brazil’s race and class fissures. Lucinda Everett, newsletters team Simon Hattenstone is a generational talent. His interview with Lisa Nandy has it all: a great news line, funny, and engrossing from start to finish. Aamna Jonathan Liew is searing and incisive on how Reform’s plan to save the great British pub actually means maintaining “a refuge where old white lads can say whatever they like without ever being challenged”. Lucinda We are entering a new age of discovery in the field of ancient history, Marcus Haraldsson writes in this fascinating long read on how new technologies are transforming what we know about Maya civilisation. Aamna “The impossible contradictions around motherhood are a way of making femaleness impossible,” is one of many spot-on insights from Zoe Williams’ interview with Rose Byrne, the star of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Lucinda Sport Winter Olympics | Lewis Gibson did his best to smile, but the pained pinch on the face of his partner, Lilah Fear, as they twirled around the Milan Ice Skating Arena gave the game away. The Team GB pair had dreamed of becoming the first British Olympic skating medallists since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1992. Instead, they endured a nightmare on ice. Football | Premier League | Manchester City closed the gap on Arsenal to three points with a 3-0 win against Fulham. Liverpool ended Sunderland’s unbeaten home record, while Sean Dyche has been sacked by Nottingham Forest after a draw with rock‑bottom Wolves. Olympics | Qatar’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games has received a boost with the state-owned broadcaster beIN Sports concluding a media rights deal for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The front pages “Select female deputy to end ‘boys club’ in No 10, PM told,” is the splash on the Guardian on Thursday, while the Mail has “Labour women’s fury over second paedophile crisis,” and the Telegraph: “Labour ‘up for’ closer ties with Europe.” “PM knew his peerage pick had backed sex offender,” says the Times. “Andrews faces growing police inquiry into Epstein links,” has the i. “Credit cad,” says the Sun. “UK ‘colonised by migrants’ claims United chief,” is the lead story over at the Express. “Man U Jim ‘racism ‘ storm’”, writes the Star. The Mirror covers the same, running the headline: “Shameful.” Today in Focus The untold story of Brazil’s deadliest police raid Guardian journalists Tom Phillips and Tiago Rogero investigate the bloodiest day in Rio de Janeiro’s modern history, when police last October attempted to capture a drug kingpin in the favelas. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Being plunged suddenly into darkness as streetlights switch off around you may, very reasonably, not sound like good news. However, there is a growing trend in Europe of deliberately darkening our evenings – for the sake of our wildlife. In this report on one national park in Belgium (curiously, one of the most light-polluted countries on the planet), Phoebe Weston explains how, across the continent “unnecessary lighting is being extinguished, and a key motivation is to protect nature “Over the past decade an increasing amount of research has shown that illuminating night skies is bad for a wide range of species, including insects, birds and amphibians – disrupting their feeding, reproduction and navigation.” Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Martin Belam’s Thursday news quiz Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Switzerland to vote on far-right proposal to cap population at 10 million

Switzerland will vote this summer on a proposal from the far-right Swiss People’s party (SVP) to limit the country’s population to 10 million, a move that would threaten key agreements with the EU and, opponents say, cripple the economy. The government said on Wednesday the referendum on the SVP’s “No to a 10 million Switzerland” initiative, which is strongly opposed by both chambers of parliament and the business and financial services community, would be held on 10 June. The initiative would oblige the Swiss government and parliament to act if the country’s permanent population, currently 9.1 million, exceeds 9.5 million by denying entrance to newcomers, including asylum seekers and the families of foreign residents. If the population reaches 10 million, further restrictions would come into force, and if numbers do not start to fall the government would be required to pull out of the free-movement agreement it has with the EU, by far its biggest export market. Switzerland’s population has grown about five times faster than the average in surrounding EU member states over the past decade, as its economic success has attracted both low-skilled workers and highly paid corporate expats. About 27% of Swiss residents are not citizens, according to government figures. The SVP, the country’s largest political party, says the “population explosion” is inflating rents and straining public infrastructure and services to breaking point. The party, which has finished first in every election since 1999, has long campaigned against immigration, highlighting crimes committed by foreigners and posting images of bloody knives, hooded criminals, fists and frightened women. The radical nationalist changes it frequently proposes, such as a 2016 proposal to automatically deport immigrants found guilty of even minor offences, and a 2020 plan to end free movement with the EU, have not generally fared so well. Switzerland’s system of direct democracy allows citizens to propose so-called popular initiatives that are put to a plebiscite if they get 100,000 backers in 18 months. They are a long-favoured tool of the SVP, but only about 10% of popular initiatives pass. However, a poll in December revealed broad support from 48% of voters for the “No to a 10 million Switzerland” initiative, reflecting deeply divided sentiment about how open the country wants and needs to be in a fast-changing world. Opponents, including multinationals such as Roche, UBS and Nestlé, say the proposal would jeopardise the bilateral agreements with the EU, including a deal reached last year over single market access, on which much of Switzerland’s prosperity rests. Economiesuisse, a leading business lobby, has described it as the “chaos initiative” and warned that many Swiss companies rely on EU and other European workers, without whom they will have to relocate abroad, hitting tax revenue and services. Rival parties have said a close relationship with Europe is Switzerland’s only option: about half of all the country’s exports go to the EU. Employers’ associations have said the population will increase mainly through natural growth and longer life expectancy.

Russia attempted to ‘fully block’ WhatsApp, Meta-owned company says

Russia has attempted to “fully block” WhatsApp in an attempt to push users towards its own state-sponsored communications app, Max, a spokesperson for the Meta-owned company has said. The company did not reveal more detail on what extent the attempt succeeded or what action was taken to try to block the app. Speaking to the Guardian, the WhatsApp spokesperson said: “Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia. We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.” The move fits into the Kremlin’s aim to achieve a “sovereign internet” – an online space cut off from western technology and foreign influence, and more vulnerable to state control. The latest rift between Russia and WhatsApp comes amid a broader crackdown on social media, most recently targeting Telegram, another popular messaging app used by more than 60 million Russians each day. The move triggered criticism from frontline Russian troops, as well as pro-war bloggers and exiled opposition figures. After users reported slower traffic and delays in downloading videos and images on Tuesday, Telegram’s Russian-born billionaire founder, Pavel Durov – who is based in Dubai – criticised Russian authorities. “Restricting citizens’ freedom is never the right answer,” he said, adding: “Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privacy, no matter the pressure.” The Russian state-sponsored app, Max, is largely modelled on China’s own “super app” WeChat and has approximately 55 million users across Russia. In August last year, Russia ordered Max be pre-installed on new phones, with critics arguing that the app could be used to surveil users, a claim dismissed in state media as false. Owned by Meta, WhatsApp reportedly has at least 100 million users in Russia, making it the country’s most widely used messaging service, according to the Financial Times, which previously reported that Russian authorities removed the app from an online directory operated by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media monitoring agency. The outlet added that Russian authorities also removed Facebook and Instagram – both also owned by Meta – from the directory. In December last year, Russian authorities blocked access to Snapchat and also placed restrictions on FaceTime, Apple’s own video calling service. When asked if WhatsApp would return in Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Tass in a video published on Wednesday: “This is again a question of fulfilling the legislation. If the Meta corporation fulfils this and enters into dialogue with Russian authorities, then we have the possibility of reaching an agreement.” Peskov added: “If the corporation [Meta] sticks to an uncompromising position and, I would say, shows itself unready to align with Russian legislation, then there is no chance.” The Guardian has contacted the Kremlin for additional comment.

‘Enemies of Italy’? Meloni’s rebuke of Olympics protesters shows ‘repressive’ drift, say critics

As leader of the Milan unit of Cub, a grassroots workers’ union, Mattia Scolari joined thousands who marched on Saturday in the northern Italian city against the Winter Olympics. “Wages never grow, young people are fleeing abroad for work and there is more and more poverty. We are fed up with an Olympics that causes mayhem in the city, only brings temporary jobs and will leave lasting ecological damage,” he said. The rally, which brought together an array of activist groups, was predominantly peaceful, marred only by a brief clash at the end when protesters on the march’s fringe threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at the police, who in turn responded with teargas, water cannons and six arrests. On the same day, rail infrastructure in northern Italy was sabotaged in a protest action subsequently claimed by anarchists. With Italy under the global spotlight, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, pulled no punches in her condemnation. Sharing video footage of the clashes in Milan published on the US rightwing network Fox News, she described anti-Olympics protesters as “enemies of Italy and Italians” while expressing solidarity with the “police forces, city of Milan and all those whose work is undermined by these gangs of criminals”. For Scolari, the prime minister’s rebuke, coupled with the enacting of security bills that crack down on peaceful dissent and empower the police, is a further indication of her far-right government’s “repressive” goals. “We are used to being attacked in this way, but the real enemies of Italy are those who are making the whole country precarious,” he said. “This is the reason why protests are happening. The event on Saturday was 99% peaceful. There is always a small minority who come only to make a scene and then run away … and as a result we have a government making laws that are more and more repressive.” Since taking office in October 2022, Meloni’s ruling coalition has made restoring “law and order” a priority. First came laws against illegal raves, juvenile crime and climate activists. Then the government enacted a draconian security bill in 2025 which, among other things, introduced jail terms for blocking traffic and roads during protests and tough sentences for resisting police officers. The most recent security decree, swiftly drafted in response to violent clashes during protests in Turin over the eviction of a leftwing social centre and approved one day before the Olympics began, introduces a measure allowing police to detain for up to 12 hours those suspected of being potential agitators prior to a protest. Riccardo Magi, the president of the leftwing party Più Europa (More Europe), said the move marked “a shift towards illiberalism”, while Angelo Bonelli, an MP for the Green-Left Alliance (AVS), said it represented “a serious violation of the constitutional right to demonstrate”. Bonelli added: “At this point, we would all be suspects, even for simply carrying a Palestinian flag.” Bonelli accused Italy’s justice minister, Carlo Nordio, of being irresponsible in trying to justify “repressive excesses” after the minister said the latest package was necessary to “avoid the return of the Red Brigades”. Nordio was referring to the far-left militant organisation that fought against far-right opponents during an intense period of sociopolitical violence known as the “years of lead” (anni di piombo) between the late 1960s and late 1980s. Meloni said the package, which includes a measure shielding police officers from criminal investigation when acting in self-defence while on duty, was not a “one-off” and was part of the government’s strategy to “defend those who defend us” while “restoring security and freedom to citizens”. Scolari said it had become increasingly difficult even just to organise a demonstration, with more limits in place on where events can be held. “Today in Italy, it is very complicated to do general protests because of all the procedures you have to respect, otherwise the organisers can be sanctioned,” he added. Another often mooted proposal is to oblige organisers to pay a deposit before a protest takes place in order to cover the cost of any damage incurred during the event. “These are all examples of the attitude of a government which finds any opposition or any criticism insufferable,” said Lorenzo De Sio, a politics professor at Luiss University in Rome. “So any force that democratically opposes what the government does is considered a bit of an obstacle.” De Sio said he would not use “words like ‘authoritarian’” to describe the government’s approach. But he added: “While one single measure doesn’t change much, all of them together does [gradually] push things.”

Tarique Rahman promises era of clean politics as Bangladesh holds first election since fall of Hasina

Tarique Rahman, who after 17 years in exile is the main contender to be the next prime minister of Bangladesh, has pledged to end entrenched corruption and put the country on a “new path” as voting began in the first free and fair elections in almost two decades. Speaking to the Guardian before polls opened on Thursday morning, Rahman promised a new era of clean politics, including a “top down, no tolerance” approach to graft, if his Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) was brought to power. According to polls, the BNP are likely to win a sizeable majority over their rival, the Islamist party Jamaat e-Islami, returning the party to power after 20 years. Softly spoken and understated, 60-year-old Rahman acknowledged the elections were taking place at a pivotal but “challenging” moment for Bangladesh, which has long ranked among the world’s most corrupt countries and where democracy has faced a sustained attack for more than a decade. “We saw in the last regime that corruption was encouraged,” said Rahman. “Our economy was left destroyed. It will take time, but if we establish real accountability in every part of the government and send a message down the chain, that will eventually control corruption.” The elections are the first since the fall of autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the summer of 2024. The student-led uprising that toppled Hasina after 15 years in power left an estimated 1,400 people dead according to the UN, after it was met with a ruthless and violent crackdown by the state. Last year, the former prime minister – now exiled in India – was found guilty of crimes against humanity committed during the final days of her rule and sentenced to death. For the past three elections, Hasina and her Awami League party have been accused of rigging the results and ruthlessly crushing and jailing opponents, including thousands of BNP activists and leaders. Since August 2024, Bangladesh has been led by an interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, tasked with restoring democracy and readying the country for free and fair polls. However, the country has remained in turmoil, amid a decline in law and order and frustrations over economic stagnation. Analysts emphasised that a fair and violence-free election would be a vital step forward for the country. There are 127 million registered voters and in a bid to keep security tight, more than 900,000 police, army and security personnel have been deployed on polling day. “This is the first credible election the country’s held in 17 years so it’s incredibly significant,” said Thomas Kean, Crisis Group’s senior consultant on Bangladesh. “People are eager to have the chance to vote after so long.” In Dhaka, young voters spoke of their thrill at experiencing democracy first hand. “I am excited, this is the first time I am freely taking part in an election,” said Yasmin Sorupa, 30, who said she intended to vote BNP. “In the past, I could never cast my vote because when I went to the polling station, somebody had already cast it.” Rahman returned to Bangladesh to fight the elections on Christmas day, ending more than 17 years spent as a political fugitive. He took over leadership of the BNP from his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, a giant of Bangladeshi politics and longtime political nemesis of Hasina. She died just five days after Rahman’s return home in December. “Physically, I may have been out of the country but for all those years I was always connected to my people in Bangladesh,” he said. “As soon as the opportunity came to serve my people, I came back.” Rahman’s time in self-imposed exile in London, living in the suburb of Kingston with his wife and daughter, is said by associates to have mellowed him. His experiences of day-to-day British life also left an imprint, from his push for more tolerance in Bangladeshi politics to his determination to introduce weekly rubbish bin collections in the country. Many in Bangladesh say they cannot forget the corruption that flourished during the last BNP regime between 2001 and 2006, under his mother. Rahman did not dispute that “mistakes” had been made by his party in the past. “I will not deny that. If we do, it will not help anything,” he said. Though Rahman did not serve an official role in the previous regime, he was seen as having undue influence and in a leaked 2008 diplomatic cable was described as “a symbol of kleptocratic government”. He was jailed in 2007 as part of an anti-corruption drive by a military-backed caretaker government on charges he denies. In 2008, he was released to seek medical treatment in London, after being so badly tortured in jail that he was taken to the plane in a wheelchair. During Hasina’s subsequent 15-year rule, he was convicted of a slew of terror and corruption charges, which he alleges were politically motivated to keep him out of Bangladesh. In 2024, after Hasina’s fall, the courts overturned his convictions, finally freeing him to return home. “It’s been more than 18 years and they’ve failed to prove anything,” said Rahman. “Don’t you think that’s good enough, long enough to prove that I did nothing wrong?” Yet not all in Bangladesh have cheered Rahman’s return. Both his parents were Bangladeshi prime ministers and to many, he is just the next generation of dynastic politicians, continuing the grip that two families have had over Bangladesh since independence in 1971 and which many had hoped the July uprising would bring to an end. Even if the BNP win a sizeable majority in the election, analysts emphasised that the resurgence of the Islamist Jamaat e-Islami party and their Islamist alliance – parties that were banned under Hasina – could present major challenges for the BNP and Bangladesh’s secularism in the future. Jamaat e-Islami, alongside allies that follow even more hardline Islamist politics, all believe in the introduction of sharia law and are likely to gain the largest vote share in their history and form a formidable opposition. Jamaat e-Islami’s leader has already been accused of regressive policies and controversial views on women’s rights in the home and workplace. Human rights groups have also raised an alarm over a recent surge in moral policing of women, with incidents such as girls being prevented from playing football and enforcement of modest dress and headscarves. Rahman acknowledged there were “some extremist people who are trying to do these things” but he said it didn’t have “any relation with Islam or religion”. Instead, he attributed it to the “absence of democracy … People were not allowed to express themselves for so long, it has built up frustration and in some cases, extremism”. He insisted the rise of radical Islamist politics was not a threat to the plurality of Bangladesh. “If we are able to practise democracy, if we can create jobs for young people and the opportunity to have a decent life, I believe people will come away from this kind of thought.” One of the biggest geopolitical challenges facing the new government of Bangladesh will be rebuilding relations with its neighbour India. Under Hasina, India was Bangladesh’s closest ally but ties severely frayed after her government fell and have become outwardly hostile in recent months. Rahman acknowledged that there were “issues” with India and he would only want “a relationship of mutual respect, mutual understanding”. Questioned on whether India and Bangladesh could rebuild a friendship while Delhi continued to give a safe haven to Hasina and hundreds of her party members, Rahman was cagey. “That depends,” he said. “It has to be on them too.”

Canadian police identify suspect in school massacre that left nine dead

Canadian police have identified the suspect who carried out a school massacre in remote British Columbia as an 18-year old with a history of mental health problems. Six people, including a teacher and five students, were killed in the attack on Tuesday in the town of Tumbler Ridge, in the foothills of the Rocky mountains. The suspect’s mother and step-brother were later found dead at the family home, police said. The body of the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, was also found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident was one of the worst mass casualty events in Canada’s recent history. “This is a deeply distressing incident where nine individuals have senselessly lost their lives,” said Dwayne McDonald, deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at a briefing on Wednesday in which he revised the death toll down to nine from the initially reported 10. In a somber update to a tragedy that has shaken the country, McDonald said one of the victims believed to have succumbed to her injuries had survived but remains in critical condition. Amid questions over how Van Rootselaar was described in alerts, McDonald said police “identified the suspect as they chose to be identified” in public and in social media. “I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male who, approximately six years ago, began to transition to female and identified as female, both socially and publicly,” he said. According to police, Van Rootselaar, arrived at a Tumbler Ridge secondary school on Tuesday afternoon, armed with a long gun and a modified handgun. The shooter opened fire on staff and students, killing one teacher and five students, whose ages ranged from 12 to 13. Police arrived within two minutes of the shooting and were fired upon. When they entered the school, they found the victims in a stairwell and a classroom. The body of the shooter was also found. Police later visited the family home and found Van Rootselaar’s mother, 39, and 11-year-old step-brother dead from gunshot wounds. According to RCMP deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald, the deaths at the family home occurred prior to the school shooting, CBC reported. McDonald said police had responded to Van Rootselaar’s home for mental health-related calls over the last several years, with some of the calls concerning weapons. He said that, on at least one occasion, firearms had been seized from the home, and the lawful owner of the firearms had petitioned to have them returned. McDonald cautioned that the investigation remained in its early stages and police could not yet comment on a possible motive. Speaking to CBC, Tumbler Ridge resident Dennis Campbell said his daughter had just been coming out of one of the school’s bathrooms when the shooting began. According to Campbell, his daughter ran to the gym and hid in the gym. “Dad, there’s a shooting, there’s a shooting here,” Campbell recalled his daughter saying, adding that she was mourning the loss of four of her friends. The prime minister, Mark Carney, said: “What happened has left our nation in shock and all of us in mourning. “These children and their teachers bore witness to unheard-of cruelty. I want everyone to know this: our entire country stands with you, on behalf of all Canadians,” he said in an emotional address following a minute of silence in parliament. Speaking to lawmakers in the House of Commons following the moment of silence, Carney said: “Tumbler Ridge … is one of the youngest towns in the great province of British Columbia, carved out of the wilderness in the 1980s, built on the promise of the resource economy and by the determination of its residents. It’s a town of miners, teachers, construction workers, families who have built their lives there, people who have always shown up for each other there.” Carney, who had already suspended plans to travel to Germany for the high-level Munich security conference, said he had ordered flags on all government buildings be flown at half-mast for the next seven days. “We will get through this. We will learn from this,” he told reporters earlier in the day, at one point looking close to tears. “But right now, it’s a time to come together, as Canadians always do in these situations, these terrible situations, to support each other, to mourn together and to grow together.” The attack has left people reeling in Canada, where mass shootings are rare, especially compared with the US. While the country has relatively high levels of gun ownership, it has imposed much stricter laws than its southern neighbour, including a ban on assault-style firearms and a freeze on the sale of handguns. Carney said he was also dispatching the federal public safety minister, Gary Anandasangaree, to the small community of Tumbler Ridge, an isolated town of fewer than 2,500 residents, more than 1,000km (600 miles) north-east of Vancouver by road. At least two other people were hospitalised with serious or life-threatening wounds, and as many as 25 people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The town’s mayor, Darryl Krakowka, said the small community was like a “big family”. “I broke down,” Krakowka said. “I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims.” British Columbia’s public safety minister, Nina Krieger, has said “speed and professionalism” had saved lives, and that a small detachment from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had “responded in two minutes”. A 12-year-old girl was said to be “fighting for her life” in a Vancouver hospital after being shot in the head and neck, according to a widely shared Facebook post local media said was written by the girl’s mother, Cia Edmonds. “She was a lucky one, I suppose. Condolences to the other families during this tragedy,” the post read. “This doesn’t even feel real.” The district of Tumbler Ridge issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, calling the shooting a “deeply distressing” incident. “We recognise that many residents may be feeling shocked, scared and overwhelmed,” the district said. “In the days ahead, we know this will be difficult for many to process. Please check in on one another, lean on available supports, and know that Tumbler Ridge is a strong and caring community.” The Tumbler Ridge secondary school has 160 students in grades seven to 12, roughly ages 12 to 18, according to its website. The school will be closed for the rest of the week and counselling will be made available to those in need, school officials said. “Our priority at this time is taking care of each other and re-establishing a sense of safety in our community,” school officials said. “There are no words that can ease the fear and pain that events like this cause in a school community,” the Tumbler Ridge parent advisory council said in a statement. “We want families to know that the safety and wellbeing of students and staff are paramount, and we are grateful to the first responders and emergency personnel who acted quickly and professionally.” The attack is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history. In 1989, a gunman killed 14 students at Montreal’s L’Ecole Polytechnique in an attack that targeted women. In 2016, five people were killed in a series of shootings in La Loche, Saskatchewan. After the country’s deadliest mass shooting attack, which left 22 people dead in Nova Scotia in 2020, Canada banned about 1,500 models of assault weapons. British Columbia’s premier, David Eby, called Tuesday’s attack an “unimaginable tragedy”. As a father of three, Eby said news of the shooting “makes you want to hug your kids a little tighter”. “Wrap these families with love. Not just tonight but tomorrow and into the future. This is something that will reverberate for years to come,” he said.