Struggling with loneliness, people in Japan use an online chat service for mental health support and social connection.
Loneliness is a growing epidemic worldwide, but in Japan, it has become particularly severe as the pressures of modern life increasingly isolate individuals from their communities.
A Place for You is a mental health hotline where dedicated volunteers provide critical support to thousands in need every day. Two people who are struggling to find meaning in their lives turn to the online chat service as they seek connection. As they become aware of their need for human bonds, they embark on a journey of healing and renewal.
Bangladesh is heading to the polls for the first time since student-led protests dramatically ousted its longtime leader, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, amid a brutal crackdown on demonstrators, and forced her to flee the country in 2024.
More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in the February 12 elections, which are being referred to as the biggest democratic exercise of the year. However, there are concerns about the possibility of unrest. About 15 million Bangladeshi expatriates, whose remittances are highly significant for the economy, will also be able to vote by post for the first time.
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Elections in the South Asian country, which is currently led by the caretaker government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, have historically been marked by bitter political campaigns, boycotts and allegations of rigging.
Traditionally, the country’s politics has been dominated by Hasina’s former ruling Awami League, and the former main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The Awami League, however, has been banned as its leader, Hasina, and other party officials face criminal trials over their brutal crackdown on protests in 2024.
Hasina was tried and issued a death sentence in absentia for ordering the killing of protesters. But India, where she has taken refuge, has not agreed to her extradition.
Bangladesh operates a single-house parliamentary system, and a prime minister typically appoints a ceremonial president. A total of 1,981 candidates are vying for 350 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad national assembly. The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami are the two main contenders, each leading multi-party coalitions.
Elections are usually held every five years. There have been 11 democratically elected governments since Bangladesh’s formation in 1971, punctuated at intervals by periods of military rule.
Here’s a timeline of the country’s past elections:
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman, third from left, waves to supporters during a rally as he begins campaigning ahead of the upcoming national election, in Sylhet on January 22, 2026 [AFP]
1970 – Pakistan elections, pre-independence
When Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan, general elections were held in the former East and West Pakistan in December 1970. The two regions were geographically separated by India, and the majority Bengali population in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) had been pushing for independence.
Pro-independence politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League won close to all 162 seats allocated to East Pakistan in the common Pakistani parliament. The Awami League also effectively won a majority in the then-313-seat National Assembly of Pakistan — which should have allowed it to form the national government of a united Pakistan, with Rahman as prime minister.
However, the Pakistani military government refused to allow him to become PM. Rahman delivered a fiery speech in which he declared that Bangladesh would be independent of Pakistan by March 1971.
The Pakistan army violently attacked activists, triggering the Bangladeshi Liberation War from March to December 1971, during which Bengalis in East Pakistan were ethnically cleansed. An estimated three million people were killed and 200,000 women sexually assaulted, according to the United Nations.
Rahman — better known as Mujib in Bangladesh — was imprisoned at the beginning of the conflict, but a provisional government was formed in his absence in exile. It operated from nearby Kolkata in India under acting President Syed Nazrul Islam until Rahman’s release in January 1972 following independence. Rahman then served as prime minister.
1973 – First post-independence election
After Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in December 1971, a provisional government held the country’s first general election in March 1973. It was controversial, however, and has since been seen as an indicator of Mujib’s subsequent autocratic policies. While 14 political parties contested the election, the Awami League won an overwhelming 73 percent of the vote and snatched 293 of the contested 300 seats.
While the party was the favourite to dominate the elections in any case, Mujib nevertheless was alleged to have taken extra measures to consolidate power, including rigging polls through ballot-stuffing and intimidating and arresting opposition leaders.
Opposition parties Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and the Jatiya League won only one seat each.
In 1974, Mujib banned all opposition parties, ushering in a one-party state. He also restricted journalists’ access to parliament.
1975 to 1986 – an era of chaotic military
Mujib and most of his family were assassinated in August 1975 during a bloody coup organised by mid-level officials, led by Colonel Sayed Farooq-ur-Rahman. Finance Minister Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad immediately declared himself president with the army’s backing.
Ahmad undid the one-party policy, allowing opposition parties to form, but was toppled shortly after in a counter-coup in November 1975 led by General Khaled Mosharraf, an ally of Rahman. Chief Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem then ruled as president with the military’s support until he resigned on health grounds in April 1977.
Then-army chief Ziaur Rahman took over as president. Zia, as he was popularly known, had also been a major figure during the liberation struggle – he broadcast the Bangladesh Declaration of Independence at the time.
As leader, he is credited with instituting economic recovery in the struggling country by liberalising the economy. He also pushed for a national Bangladeshi identity, rather than a Bengali one, which, until then, had excluded minority ethnic groups. Most notably, he ushered in multi-party elections again.
1979 multi-party elections
In February 1979, Ziaur’s government organised the first polls since 1973, in which his newly formed Bangladesh National Party (BNP) participated and won 207 out of 300 parliamentary seats. The Awami League, now the major opposition, won 39 seats but claimed the elections were rigged.
1986 and 1988 elections discredited
After Ziaur’s assassination in an abortive military coup on May 30,1981, Vice President Abdus Sattar became acting president and conducted presidential elections in November of the same year. BNP again won 65 percent of the vote. But within months, army chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad had seized power in a bloodless coup in March 1982, imposing martial law.
Ershad ruled for the next four years. When he held elections in May 1986, his Jatiya Party won 183 seats, securing a parliamentary majority. Opposition parties like the BNP had boycotted the vote, calling it a sham. Opposition parties again criticised the elections held in March 1988, when the Jatiya Party won 259 seats, as unfair and manipulated. Widespread protests calling for Ershad’s resignation broke out.
Students chant slogans near a vandalised mural of Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during a protest demanding accountability and a trial against Hasina, near Dhaka University on August 12, 2024 [AFP]
1991 ‘free and fair’ elections
The BNP, led by the late Khaleda Zia – Ziaur’s widow – and the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina – the eldest of Rahman’s two surviving daughters – joined forces to lead mass protests in December 1990, which forced Ershad’s government to resign.
A caretaker government, led by Supreme Court justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, then held new elections on February 27, 1991, which were widely regarded as legitimate.
Khaleda Zia’s BNP won 140 seats while Hasina’s Awami League took 88. The Jatiya Party won 35 seats.
Khaleda Zia became Bangladesh’s first female prime minister.
1996 – Hasina’s first win
Tensions between the ruling BNP and Awami League were boiling over following a parliamentary by-election for the Magura-2 constituency. Although the BNP’s candidate had won, the Awami League claimed the vote had been rigged, and began pressing Khaleda Zia to hand power over to a caretaker government to conduct forthcoming elections.
The Awami League and other opposition parties then boycotted the February 15, 1996 election, clearing the way for the BNP to win nearly all seats in parliament. Voter turnout was one of the lowest in the country ever, at only 21 percent.
However, general strikes across Bangladesh forced the BNP to hand power to a caretaker government just 12 days after the vote. In March, a requirement that a neutral caretaker government must oversee all future general elections was written into the constitution.
More elections were held on June 12. There was a much better turnout of 75 percent, and voting was widely seen as free. Hasina won her first term as prime minister, with the Awami League securing 146 parliamentary seats, just ahead of the BNP, which won 116 seats.
2001 elections – BNP retakes power
Another caretaker government oversaw the next general election in October 2001. This time, the opposition BNP surged in popularity and won 193 parliament seats, ahead of the ruling Awami League, which secured 62 seats.
The elections were mostly peaceful, although there were some reports of violence towards the country’s minority Hindu population. Khaleda Zia of the BNP was able to form a government for a second time.
2006 – Election crisis and a failed vote
A dispute erupted between the ruling BNP, opposition Awami League, and other major players over who would lead the next caretaker government ahead of the January 2007 elections.
Riots broke out after the BNP named a retired chief justice with ties to then-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
The BNP-appointed president, Iajuddin Ahmed, ultimately declared himself leader of the caretaker government after no consensus was reached.
In December, revelations that fake names had been included on the list of candidates sparked riots. Thousands of protesters blockaded the transport system and shut down schools and offices. The country descended into a political crisis that would last for several months.
Ahmed declared a national emergency, allowing the military to intervene. In protest, the Awami League withdrew from the planned elections. The elections failed to be held.
2008 – Hasina’s return
The delayed election eventually took place on December 29, 2008, with an 80 percent turnout – the highest the country had ever seen. It was also largely seen as fair.
The Awami League, led by Hasina, allied with several other opposition groups to form the Grand Alliance. The coalition ended up winning a majority of 230 seats. The BNP took just 30 seats. A new government was formed in January 2009. Hasina returned to power for the second time.
2014 – Opposition boycotts and crackdowns
Hasina’s Awami League government was highly critical of the military intervention that had delayed the 2009 election.
Upon her return to power, she moved to amend the constitution to get rid of the caretaker government requirement. However, the BNP boycotted a June 2011 parliamentary session where lawmakers voted on the amendment. The amendment to the constitution was passed by parliament by a vote of 291 to 1.
Hasina’s government also began to crack down on opposition leaders. Ahead of elections slated for January 5, 2014, opposition BNP leader Khaleda Zia was placed under house arrest, and there were widespread reports of violence against other opposition members. On election day, the BNP and its supporters refused to participate.
Hasina’s Awami League, therefore, won the elections again, securing 234 seats in parliament, in a vote widely panned — in Bangladesh and internationally — as illegitimate.
2018 – Awami League wins supermajority
The next general election was held on December 30, 2018, amid major technological upgrades. For the first time, voters could participate in electronic voting.
However, the BNP and other opposition parties accused the ruling Awami League-Jatiya Party coalition of rigging, despite the upgrades. There were again reports of violence against opposition BNP members and the party’s supporters, as well as allegations of vote rigging.
The Awami League government had also banned the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamic party and a BNP ally at the time. Several Jamaat leaders were executed after convictions by a Hasina-appointed tribunal for alleged war crimes in 1971.
The government also shut down mobile internet ahead of the vote to stop the spread of fake news, it claimed. Khaleda Zia of BNP was outright barred from running after she was convicted and handed a 17-year jail term in a corruption case. The BNP maintained that the trial was politically motivated. Zia was acquitted after Hasina’s ousting.
The Awami League-Jatiya Party alliance won a supermajority – more than 90 percent of parliamentary seats. The elections were broadly seen as a sham.
2024 elections – the prelude to Hasina’s ousting
The last election to be held under Hasina’s administration was on January 7, 2024.
Hasina continued to crack down on opposition politicians and was largely seen to have near-total influence over the electoral commission that had been established in 1972.
The opposition BNP boycotted the elections, and the Jamaat was still under a ban, paving the way for Hasina to win her fifth term in office and cement her government’s position as the longest-serving administration in Bangladesh’s history. Bangladesh had effectively become a one-party state again.
In July, mass protests led by students broke out after the Supreme Court restored a job quota system that had prioritised the descendants of the country’s liberation activists. The 46-year-old law had initially been struck down in 2018, following student-led protests. Its reinstatement pushed thousands of students back onto the streets in what is now called the July Revolution.
However, the protests turned deadly when Hasina’s government responded violently. Security officials massacred demonstrators in the streets, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,400 people.
On August 5, Hasina resigned and fled the country to India.
Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has slammed Israel’s “interference” in his country, saying its recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland has further increased instability and weakened international order.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Saturday, Mohamud said Somalia “will never allow” the establishment of an Israeli base in Somaliland and will “confront” any such move.
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He also warned that the proposed Israeli base could be used as a springboard to attack neighbouring countries.
Mohamud’s comments came amid a regional outcry over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision in December to recognise Somaliland, a breakaway part of Somalia comprising the northwestern portion of what was once the British Protectorate.
The territory sits astride one of the world’s most critical maritime choke routes, flanked by multiple conflicts in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Israel’s move made it the first country in the world to recognise Somaliland as an independent state and came months after The Associated Press news agency reported that Israeli officials had contacted parties in Somaliland to discuss using the territory for forcibly displacing Palestinians amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Israel and Somaliland have denied the claims, but a Somaliland official from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation told Israel’s Channel 12 in January that an Israeli military base is “on the table and being discussed”, though its establishment depends on the terms.
Somalia has denounced Israel’s move as an attack on its territorial integrity and unity, a position backed by most African and Arab leaders, and urged Netanyahu to withdraw the recognition.
But Somaliland’s leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Cirro, has welcomed Israel’s diplomatic move, praising Netanyahu for his “leadership and commitment to promoting stability and peace” in the region.
‘We will defend ourselves’
In his interview with Al Jazeera, Mohamud described Israel’s diplomatic manoeuvre as a “reckless, fundamentally wrong and illegal action under international law”.
He also pledged to fight back against any Israeli military presence in Somaliland.
“We will fight in our capacity. Of course, we will defend ourselves,” he said. “And that means that we will confront any Israeli forces coming in, because we are against that and we will never allow that.”
The Israeli recognition represents a dramatic shift in Somaliland’s fortunes after years of diplomatic isolation.
The region seceded from Somalia during a brutal civil war that followed decades under the hardline government of Siad Barre, whose forces devastated the north. While large parts of Somalia descended into chaos, Somaliland stabilised by the late 1990s.
Somaliland has since developed a distinct political identity, with its own currency, flag and parliament. But its eastern regions remain disputed by communities that do not back the separatist programme in the capital, Hargeisa.
In recent years, Somaliland developed ties with the United Arab Emirates – a signatory to the Abraham Accords with Israel – and Taiwan as it sought international acceptance.
In his interview, Mohamud said Israel’s move “interfering with Somalia’s sovereign and territorial integrity” also “undermines stability, security and trade in a way that affects the whole of Africa, the Red Sea and the wider world”.
He added that Israel’s deadly use of force against Palestinians in Gaza cannot be separated from what is happening in Somaliland, adding that it reflects the weakening of the foundations of global governance.
“Key among the global concerns is the weakening of the established rules-based international order. That order is not intact any more,” Mohamud said.
He warned that institutions created after World War II “are under grave threat”, as “the mighty is right” increasingly replaces adherence to international law.
The United States, meanwhile, has yet to signal a major shift on the question of Somaliland.
But in August, US President Donald Trump – who has previously lobbed insults at Somalia and Mohamud – suggested he was preparing to move on the issue when asked about Somaliland during a White House news conference.
Russian forces launched more than 400 drones and about 40 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday, targeting the country’s power grid, generation facilities and distribution substations, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal said two thermal power stations in Ukraine’s western regions were hit, and electricity distribution lines were also targeted.
Zelenskyy said more than 1,000 apartment buildings remain without heating in bitterly cold temperatures in the capital, Kyiv, due to the attacks.
The Ukrainian president criticised Moscow’s targeting of energy infrastructure, saying Russia must be deprived of the ability to use the cold winter weather as leverage against Kyiv. “Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but it chooses new strikes,” he said.
Poland suspended operations at the Lublin and Rzeszow airports near the border with Ukraine on Saturday following the Russian strikes. Polish authorities later said there had been no violation of the country’s airspace and reopened the two airports.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on X that Ukrainian nuclear power plants have reduced output due to the renewed military activity that affected electrical substations and disconnected some power lines.
Ukrainian military and security officials said that Kyiv struck an oil depot in Russia’s Saratov region and a plant that makes missile fuel components in the Tver region in western Russia.
Ukrainian forces also launched a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region, according to the governor there, using long-range Neptune missiles and HIMARS rocket systems. The attacks wounded two people and disrupted power in seven municipalities, the official said.
The Russian TASS news agency said another Ukrainian missile attack on the border region of Belgorod caused power outages at several water supply facilities, and that experts are “investigating the extent of the outage”.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its troops captured the village of Chuhunivka in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Peace talks
Zelenskyy said the United States has given Moscow and Kyiv a deadline of June to reach an agreement on ending the war, after the two countries held two days of talks in Abu Dhabi this week.
Zelenskyy said Washington has proposed talks in Miami in a week, and that Kyiv has agreed.
The US also asked Russia and Ukraine to agree to a new ceasefire covering strikes on energy infrastructure as a de-escalation step during the talks, Zelenskyy said. He added that Kyiv was ready to stop attacks on Russian oil facilities and other energy infrastructure, but Moscow has yet to agree.
The Ukrainian leader said he had reports from Ukrainian intelligence services on discussions in which Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev had proposed US-Russian cooperation deals worth as much as $12 trillion. Any such agreements between Moscow and Washington must not violate Ukraine’s constitution, Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine and Russia remain far apart in the discussions about territory. He said the US was proposing a free economic zone in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which Russia mostly occupies, but that neither Ukraine nor Russia was thrilled by this idea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that a third round of talks aimed at ending Russia’s war on Ukraine should take place “soon”. But he said there is no fixed date yet.
Politics and security
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdrii Sybiha said Kyiv supports a call for a ceasefire during the Winter Olympic Games after Italy and Pope Leo urged world leaders to use the Milano Cortina games to further peace.
The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that two suspects in the attempted assassination of top Russian military intelligence official General Vladimir Alexeyev “will soon be interrogated”. It cited a source close to the investigation.
Alexeyev, the deputy head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence arm, was shot in his Moscow apartment building and rushed to hospital on Friday. He underwent successful surgery and regained consciousness on Saturday, but remained under medical supervision, Kommersant added.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said – without providing evidence – was designed to sabotage peace talks.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order rescinding a punitive 25 percent duty on all imports from India over its purchases of Russian oil, the White House said. The two nations earlier announced a trade deal slashing US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent from 50 percent in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.
Polls have opened in Thailand in a closely watched general election, with progressive reformers, military-backed conservatives and populist forces vying for control.
Polling stations opened at 8am local time (01:00 GMT) on Sunday and were set to close at 5pm (10:00 GMT).
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More than 2.2 million voters had already cast ballots during an early voting period that began on February 1, according to the Election Commission.
The battle for support from Thailand’s 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment.
While more than 50 parties are contesting the polls, only three – the People’s Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai – have the nationwide organisation and popularity to gain a winning mandate.
With 500 parliamentary seats at stake and surveys consistently showing no party likely to win an outright majority, coalition negotiations appear inevitable. A simple majority of elected lawmakers will select the next prime minister.
The progressive People’s Party, led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, is favoured to win the most seats. But the party’s reformist platform, which includes promises to curb the influence of the military and the courts, as well as breaking up economic polices, remains unpalatable to its rivals, who may freeze it out by joining forces to form a government.
The party is the successor to the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the House of Representatives in 2023, but was blocked from power by a military appointed Senate and later dissolved by the Constitutional Court over its call to reform Thailand’s strict royal insult laws.
The Bhumjaithai, headed by caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is seen as the main defender and preferred choice of the royalist-military establishment.
Anutin has only been the prime minister since last September, after serving in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced out of office for an ethics violation regarding the mishandling of relations with Cambodia. Anutin dissolved parliament in December to call a new election after he was threatened with a no-confidence vote.
He has centred his campaign on economic stimulus and national security, tapping into nationalist fervour stoked by deadly border clashes with neighbouring Cambodia.
The third major contender, Pheu Thai, represents the latest incarnation of political movements backed by jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and trades on the populist policies of the Thai Rak Thai party, which held power from 2001 until 2006, when it was ousted by a military coup.
The party has campaigned on economic revival and populist pledges like cash handouts, nominating Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, as its lead candidate for prime minister.
Sunday’s voting also includes a referendum asking voters whether Thailand should replace its 2017 military-drafted constitution.
Voters in Japan are casting their ballots in a parliamentary election expected to deliver a resounding victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s conservative coalition.
The snap vote on Sunday comes as Takaichi seeks a new mandate to push through an ambitious agenda, including increased defence spending and tougher immigration measures.
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The coalition of Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, could win more than 300 of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament, according to multiple opinion polls.
The figure would mark a substantial gain from the 233 it is defending.
The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist alliance and a rising far-right, is seen as too splintered to be a real challenger.
Takaichi, 64, is Japan’s first female prime minister and took office in October after being selected as the LDP’s leader. The ultraconservative politician has pledged to “work, work, work” and her style – seen as both playful and tough – has resonated with younger voters.
She has said she will step down if the LDP fails to win a majority.
Takaichi has put the rising cost of living at the centre of her campaign. The issue is voters’ main concern, with prices rising while real wage growth lags behind inflation, leaving households worse off. Japan also faces longstanding problems with sluggish economic growth. The economy expanded just 1.1 percent last year and is on track to grow by only 0.7 percent in 2026, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Takaichi has promised to suspend the 8 percent sales tax on food for two years to help households cope with rising prices.
The pledge follows the approval last year of Japan’s largest stimulus package since the COVID-19 pandemic, a 21.3 trillion yen ($136bn) injection into the economy heavily focused on cost-of-living relief measures, including energy bill subsidies, cash handouts and food vouchers.
Takaichi has also pledged to revise security and defence policies by December to bolster Japan’s offensive military capabilities, lifting a ban on weapons exports and moving further away from the country’s post-war pacifist principles.
Al Jazeera’s Patrick Fok, reporting from Tokyo, said Takaichi, who is popular with young voters, is hoping to capitalise on her “tremendous popularity” and secure a landslide victory for her coalition.
“That result – if indeed that’s how it turns out – will mark a remarkable turnaround really for the LDP. Months ago, it was a party in disarray. It had lost its parliamentary majority and was embroiled in a slush fund scandal. So, this turnaround has very much been engineered by Takaichi and what some describe as an almost cult-like popularity,” Fok said.
Sunday’s vote comes amid record snowfall in parts of the country. With up to 70cm (27.5 inches) of snow forecast in northern and eastern regions, some voters will have to battle blizzards to cast their ballots. The vote is only the third post-war election held in February, with polls typically called during milder months.
Fok said the heavy snowfall could affect voter turnout, but “there’s no suggestion that’s going to impact the outcome of the election”.
