Morning Filter: Bangladesh goes to the polls today

1. Tamil Nadu Govt’s 3rd Global Investors Meet set to begin on Jan 7 Tamil Nadu is all set to host the third edition of the Global Investors Meet, and the first one by the ruling DMK government, from Sunday with a galaxy of leaders set to participate in it. A host of representatives from several multinational companies, over 450 international delegates, and representatives from 50 countries are expected to attend the two-day event. The previous editions of the Global Investors Meet (GIM) were held in 2015 and 2019, when AIADMK was the ruling party, under the chief ministers late J Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami, respectively. The Ministry of Industries and Guidance Tamil Nadu--the state’s investment promotion agency--, who are the organisers of the event, expect over 30,000 participants during GIM 2024 with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal set to be part of the inauguration along with Chief Minister M K Stalin and his cabinet colleagues. “As the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 approaches, the air is thick with anticipation! With over 30,000 participants, our campaign - Titans of Tamil Nadu- has sparked widespread excitement,” Stalin said. 2. Bangladesh to hold general elections on Jan. 7; PM Hasina poised to win 4th consecutive term Bangladesh will go to the polls on Sunday in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to win a fourth straight term in the absence of the main Opposition BNP which on Saturday began a 48-hour nationwide strike against the “illegal government” amidst sporadic violence. The election commission said it has nearly completed the preparedness for voting in the 300 constituencies across the country and also ensured security arrangements. A total of 119.6 million registered voters are eligible to vote at Sunday’s polls in more than 42,000 polling stations, according to the country’s Election Commission. More than 1,500 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting in the election besides 436 independent candidates. Over 100 foreign observers, including three from India, will monitor the 12th general election, which is being held under tight security. The election commission said voting will start at 8 am and will end at 5 pm. The results are expected to start flowing from early on January 8. 3. Thousands of opposition activists languish in prison as Bangladesh gears up for national election Fazlur Rahman died on a hospital floor with his hands and legs still cuffed, his son Mohammad said, his voice breaking while recalling his father’s final moments. Rahman, 63, was one of thousands of opposition activists who were arrested in the months leading to Sunday’s parliamentary election amid a sweeping polarized political culture. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former premier Khaleda Zia, said Rahman was one of 10 members who died in police custody. According to his family, he was arrested on October 25 outside the tea stall he ran and taken to jail. He fell sick and was later transferred to a hospital where he died over a week ago, they said. Rahman’s arrest came three days before a massive opposition rally turned violent, leaving at least 11 dead and nearly a hundred injured. 4. Nadda in JK on January 7, will discuss BJP’s LS poll strategy for JK with leaders BJP president J P Nadda is reaching here Sunday on a daylong tour to discuss and finalise the party’s Lok Sabha poll strategy for Jammu and Kashmir, a leader said. Nadda will begin his tour by paying obeisance at the historic Raghunath temple in the heart of the city before chairing a meeting of senior members led by J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina at the party headquarters here. National General Secretary, incharge J&K, Tarun Chugh will also attend the meeting along with both Member Parliaments from J&K -- Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma -- who have won Udhampur and Jammu seats twice for the party, respectively. The leader quoted above said the meeting is likely to finalise the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha elections based on an internal survey report which was recently submitted to Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. The focus of the meeting would be to finalise the party strategy to counter the INDIA bloc which has hinted of putting up joint candidates against the BJP, he said. 5. Kejriwal to attend 2024-25 Delhi budget meeting, cuts short Gujarat tour by a day Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal has cut short his three-day Gujarat tour by a day to attend an important meeting related to the Delhi government’s 2024-25 budget, officials said. During his visit to Gujarat, Kejriwal is scheduled to address public meetings and meet party workers. He is also likely to meet jailed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Chaitar Vasava, according to sources in the party. The chief minister was scheduled to leave for Gujarat on Saturday but now he will go there on Sunday because he has to attend an important budget-related meeting, they said. The process of preparing the Delhi government’s annual budget is underway. The three-day Gujarat tour will now be wrapped up in two days, the officials said. 6. Red Sea crisis may push costs for traders; govt should consider financial help: GTRI The increasing Red Sea crisis may impact trade as it is expected to push shipping and insurance costs for exporters, and to deal with the situation the government should consider extending financial assistance to exporters, a report by economic think tank GTRI said on Saturday. It said the crisis could push shipping costs up to 60 per cent and insurance premium by 20 per cent. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said India must prepare for long-term shipping disruptions due to the current situation. “The attacks by drones and missiles on merchant vessels have seen shipping costs and time to deliver a cargo go through the roof putting margins of exporters under severe pressure. The real problem is being faced by those whose contracts also included costs of delivering goods at buyers’ ports,” it added. 7. DMs of all districts in Delhi to spend a night in villages, hold talks with residents District magistrates of all 11 districts in Delhi will spend the night in villages on Sunday, hold consultations with residents and chalk out development work plans, officials said. The exercise will be undertaken on the direction of Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena, they said on Saturday. After a ‘Samvaad @Raj Niwas’ dialogue initiative with representatives from 180 villages earlier this month, the LG announced that DMs will be spending a night in the villages in their respective districts, according to Raj Niwas officials. Accordingly, the district magistrates will reach the villages on January 7 morning and spend the night there as well. During the stay, the officials will hold ‘Samvaad’ sessions with residents of the areas and neighbourhood villages, and prepare a plan to be implemented by the executing agency Delhi Development Authority (DDA), they said. 8. Mercurial India Women wary of Australia backlash in search of T20I series win A mercurial Indian Women’s team will be keen to produce another all-round show as they look to seal the three-match series against Australia in the second T20I here on Sunday. Putting behind the disappointment of a 0-3 hammering in the ODIs — marred by poor efforts in all areas — India Women came out firing on all cylinders in the first T20 to thrash Australia by a huge nine-wicket margin for the first time in history. Criticised for being sloppy in the ODIs, India were spectacularly athletic in the field on Friday, while the bowlers led by young Titas Sadhu did not allow Australia to get away at any stage in the first half of the opening T20. Shafali Verma (64 not out) and Smriti Mandhana (54) then shared 137 runs -- India’s best opening partnership against Australia in T20I history -- to take them home. It was a near-perfect night for the 19-year-old Sadhu (4/17), who set the ball rolling with three powerplay wickets, while spinners Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil too claimed two wickets each to support the young pacer. The Indian team also brought up their fielding several notches higher to save plenty of runs. The catching was good too with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur herself holding on to four chances. 9. US northeast is preparing for weekend storm that threatens to dump snow, rain, and ice Millions of people across the eastern US are preparing for a wintry mix of precipitation as a potent storm system looks to bring snow, freezing rain and ice to the region. The system is expected to reach North Carolina by Saturday morning and then track along the northeastern coastline throughout the weekend. It could bring to Philadelphia and other major cities amounts of snow not seen in several years. The heaviest snowfall is expected in regions including the Poconos in Pennsylvania, parts of the Hudson Valley and portions of New England. However, winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout much of the Northeast. Chris Stachelski of the National Weather Service said localized accumulations of snowfall could exceed one foot in areas of higher elevation. Elsewhere, the concern is ice - with up to a quarter of an inch forecast for parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. 10. Sabalenka sets up a Brisbane final vs Rybakina. It’s a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open decider Almost a year after contesting the Australian Open final, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will meet in the title match of a key tune-up event for the first major of 2024. Top-seeded Sabalenka overpowered her compatriot and two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in a 6-2, 6-4 win Saturday that earned her a spot in the Brisbane International final against Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner. The win extended top-seeded Sabalenka’s streak to 15 on Australian soil, including a title run in Adelaide last year before her Grand Slam breakthrough at Melbourne Park. That 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the Australian Open final last January was the highlight of Sabalenka’s five wins over Rybakina in their seven career meetings. “Let’s just say it’s going to be great battle as always,” Sabalenka said, looking forward to Sunday’s final. “Always great matches against Elena. 11. David Warner looking to draw curtains on his international career after T20 World Cup After calling his time in Test and ODI career, Australia opener David Warner wants to “finish” his international career after winning another coveted title for the Kangaroos in the forthcoming T20 World Cup this year. The talismanic batter had a fairytale ending to his red-ball career as Australia sweeped Pakistan in a three-match Test series. After Australia’s 8-wicket victory in the third Test on Saturday, Warner talked about the T20 World Cup in June being his “finishing goal” and bringing an end to his prolific international career which saw him make his debut in the same format against South Africa in 2009.”That [the T20 World Cup] was my finishing goal if I wasn’t getting to here [to Sydney]. [logo] The Morning Filter 07 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Morning Filter newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories and events to follow today. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today 1. Tamil Nadu Govt’s 3rd Global Investors Meet set to begin on Jan 7 Tamil Nadu is all set to host the third edition of the Global Investors Meet, and the first one by the ruling DMK government, from Sunday with a galaxy of leaders set to participate in it. A host of representatives from several multinational companies, over 450 international delegates, and representatives from 50 countries are expected to attend the two-day event. The previous editions of the Global Investors Meet (GIM) were held in 2015 and 2019, when AIADMK was the ruling party, under the chief ministers late J Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami, respectively. The Ministry of Industries and Guidance Tamil Nadu--the state’s investment promotion agency--, who are the organisers of the event, expect over 30,000 participants during GIM 2024 with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal set to be part of the inauguration along with Chief Minister M K Stalin and his cabinet colleagues. “As the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 approaches, the air is thick with anticipation! With over 30,000 participants, our campaign - Titans of Tamil Nadu- has sparked widespread excitement,” Stalin said. 2. Bangladesh to hold general elections on Jan. 7; PM Hasina poised to win 4th consecutive term Bangladesh will go to the polls on Sunday in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to win a fourth straight term in the absence of the main Opposition BNP which on Saturday began a 48-hour nationwide strike against the “illegal government” amidst sporadic violence. The election commission said it has nearly completed the preparedness for voting in the 300 constituencies across the country and also ensured security arrangements. A total of 119.6 million registered voters are eligible to vote at Sunday’s polls in more than 42,000 polling stations, according to the country’s Election Commission. More than 1,500 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting in the election besides 436 independent candidates. Over 100 foreign observers, including three from India, will monitor the 12th general election, which is being held under tight security. The election commission said voting will start at 8 am and will end at 5 pm. The results are expected to start flowing from early on January 8. 3. Thousands of opposition activists languish in prison as Bangladesh gears up for national election Fazlur Rahman died on a hospital floor with his hands and legs still cuffed, his son Mohammad said, his voice breaking while recalling his father’s final moments. Rahman, 63, was one of thousands of opposition activists who were arrested in the months leading to Sunday’s parliamentary election amid a sweeping polarized political culture. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former premier Khaleda Zia, said Rahman was one of 10 members who died in police custody. According to his family, he was arrested on October 25 outside the tea stall he ran and taken to jail. He fell sick and was later transferred to a hospital where he died over a week ago, they said. Rahman’s arrest came three days before a massive opposition rally turned violent, leaving at least 11 dead and nearly a hundred injured. 4. Nadda in JK on January 7, will discuss BJP’s LS poll strategy for JK with leaders BJP president J P Nadda is reaching here Sunday on a daylong tour to discuss and finalise the party’s Lok Sabha poll strategy for Jammu and Kashmir, a leader said. Nadda will begin his tour by paying obeisance at the historic Raghunath temple in the heart of the city before chairing a meeting of senior members led by J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina at the party headquarters here. National General Secretary, incharge J&K, Tarun Chugh will also attend the meeting along with both Member Parliaments from J&K -- Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma -- who have won Udhampur and Jammu seats twice for the party, respectively. The leader quoted above said the meeting is likely to finalise the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha elections based on an internal survey report which was recently submitted to Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. The focus of the meeting would be to finalise the party strategy to counter the INDIA bloc which has hinted of putting up joint candidates against the BJP, he said. 5. Kejriwal to attend 2024-25 Delhi budget meeting, cuts short Gujarat tour by a day Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal has cut short his three-day Gujarat tour by a day to attend an important meeting related to the Delhi government’s 2024-25 budget, officials said. During his visit to Gujarat, Kejriwal is scheduled to address public meetings and meet party workers. He is also likely to meet jailed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Chaitar Vasava, according to sources in the party. The chief minister was scheduled to leave for Gujarat on Saturday but now he will go there on Sunday because he has to attend an important budget-related meeting, they said. The process of preparing the Delhi government’s annual budget is underway. The three-day Gujarat tour will now be wrapped up in two days, the officials said. 6. Red Sea crisis may push costs for traders; govt should consider financial help: GTRI The increasing Red Sea crisis may impact trade as it is expected to push shipping and insurance costs for exporters, and to deal with the situation the government should consider extending financial assistance to exporters, a report by economic think tank GTRI said on Saturday. It said the crisis could push shipping costs up to 60 per cent and insurance premium by 20 per cent. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said India must prepare for long-term shipping disruptions due to the current situation. “The attacks by drones and missiles on merchant vessels have seen shipping costs and time to deliver a cargo go through the roof putting margins of exporters under severe pressure. The real problem is being faced by those whose contracts also included costs of delivering goods at buyers’ ports,” it added. 7. DMs of all districts in Delhi to spend a night in villages, hold talks with residents District magistrates of all 11 districts in Delhi will spend the night in villages on Sunday, hold consultations with residents and chalk out development work plans, officials said. The exercise will be undertaken on the direction of Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena, they said on Saturday. After a ‘Samvaad @Raj Niwas’ dialogue initiative with representatives from 180 villages earlier this month, the LG announced that DMs will be spending a night in the villages in their respective districts, according to Raj Niwas officials. Accordingly, the district magistrates will reach the villages on January 7 morning and spend the night there as well. During the stay, the officials will hold ‘Samvaad’ sessions with residents of the areas and neighbourhood villages, and prepare a plan to be implemented by the executing agency Delhi Development Authority (DDA), they said. 8. Mercurial India Women wary of Australia backlash in search of T20I series win A mercurial Indian Women’s team will be keen to produce another all-round show as they look to seal the three-match series against Australia in the second T20I here on Sunday. Putting behind the disappointment of a 0-3 hammering in the ODIs — marred by poor efforts in all areas — India Women came out firing on all cylinders in the first T20 to thrash Australia by a huge nine-wicket margin for the first time in history. Criticised for being sloppy in the ODIs, India were spectacularly athletic in the field on Friday, while the bowlers led by young Titas Sadhu did not allow Australia to get away at any stage in the first half of the opening T20. Shafali Verma (64 not out) and Smriti Mandhana (54) then shared 137 runs -- India’s best opening partnership against Australia in T20I history -- to take them home. It was a near-perfect night for the 19-year-old Sadhu (4/17), who set the ball rolling with three powerplay wickets, while spinners Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil too claimed two wickets each to support the young pacer. The Indian team also brought up their fielding several notches higher to save plenty of runs. The catching was good too with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur herself holding on to four chances. 9. US northeast is preparing for weekend storm that threatens to dump snow, rain, and ice Millions of people across the eastern US are preparing for a wintry mix of precipitation as a potent storm system looks to bring snow, freezing rain and ice to the region. The system is expected to reach North Carolina by Saturday morning and then track along the northeastern coastline throughout the weekend. It could bring to Philadelphia and other major cities amounts of snow not seen in several years. The heaviest snowfall is expected in regions including the Poconos in Pennsylvania, parts of the Hudson Valley and portions of New England. However, winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout much of the Northeast. Chris Stachelski of the National Weather Service said localized accumulations of snowfall could exceed one foot in areas of higher elevation. Elsewhere, the concern is ice - with up to a quarter of an inch forecast for parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. 10. Sabalenka sets up a Brisbane final vs Rybakina. It’s a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open decider Almost a year after contesting the Australian Open final, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will meet in the title match of a key tune-up event for the first major of 2024. Top-seeded Sabalenka overpowered her compatriot and two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in a 6-2, 6-4 win Saturday that earned her a spot in the Brisbane International final against Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner. The win extended top-seeded Sabalenka’s streak to 15 on Australian soil, including a title run in Adelaide last year before her Grand Slam breakthrough at Melbourne Park. That 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the Australian Open final last January was the highlight of Sabalenka’s five wins over Rybakina in their seven career meetings. “Let’s just say it’s going to be great battle as always,” Sabalenka said, looking forward to Sunday’s final. “Always great matches against Elena. 11. David Warner looking to draw curtains on his international career after T20 World Cup After calling his time in Test and ODI career, Australia opener David Warner wants to “finish” his international career after winning another coveted title for the Kangaroos in the forthcoming T20 World Cup this year. The talismanic batter had a fairytale ending to his red-ball career as Australia sweeped Pakistan in a three-match Test series. After Australia’s 8-wicket victory in the third Test on Saturday, Warner talked about the T20 World Cup in June being his “finishing goal” and bringing an end to his prolific international career which saw him make his debut in the same format against South Africa in 2009.”That [the T20 World Cup] was my finishing goal if I wasn’t getting to here [to Sydney]. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[Ram Temple should not be politicised, says Muslim body] Ram Temple should not be politicised, says Muslim body]( [[Etikoppaka toys see resurgence, but who will shape the future?] Etikoppaka toys see resurgence, but who will shape the future?]( [[Digital tools set to save Kashmiri script from disuse] Digital tools set to save Kashmiri script from disuse]( [[Should India study wastewater to track malaria, dengue?] Should India study wastewater to track malaria, dengue?]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](