MOSCOW, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Russia's army chief Valery Gerasimov visited Moscow's troops in Ukraine and said the Kremlin's forces seized a dozen eastern villages in February, the defence ministry said Sunday. The pace of Moscow's advance picked up in Autumn, but Russia has not reached its goal to seize the Donetsk region in four years of war. Russia demands that Kyiv withdraw from the Donetsk region for any deal to end the conflict -- terms unacceptable to Ukraine. Moscow's forces are around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Moscow is intent on seizing the whole of the Donetsk region by force if diplomacy fails.

On Sunday morning, Asif Mahmud wrote on Facebook, “We are preparing to form a shadow cabinet. The shadow cabinet will act as a watchdog to ensure transparency and accountability and to oversee overall activities.”What is a shadow cabinet? A shadow cabinet typically consists of opposition members assigned to “shadow” each government ministry. In the United Kingdom, the shadow cabinet regularly monitors government activities and ensures accountability by questioning ministers in Parliament. Analysts note that a shadow cabinet serves as a vital mechanism for ensuring accountability within the democratic process.

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman will visit the residences of Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman and NCP Convener Nahid Islam Sunday evening. Tarique Rahman will first visit the residence of the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer at 7pm and Nahid Islam’s residence at 8pm, BNP Chairman's press wing member Shamsuddin Dider told BSS on Saturday. The visits are intended as post-election courtesy calls following the 13th national parliamentary election held on Thursday. Earlier, during a press conference at a city hotel on Saturday, Tarique Rahman called upon all political forces to remain united for building a democratic Bangladesh. However, I urge everyone to remain vigilant so that such disputes do not transform into revenge or political vengeance," the BNP chairman said.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a first-of-its-kind device for the treatment of adult patients who have locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Optune Pax, developed by Novocure, is a portable, non-invasive device that delivers alternating electrical fields, known as tumor treating fields (TTFields), to the abdomen. “Having treated many patients with pancreatic cancer, I know how difficult the diagnosis can be. The pancreatic cancer community deserves better therapeutic options,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. Device treatment technological parameters are preset by the manufacturer and cannot be adjusted by the patient or physician.

The scramble for copper exposes geopolitical rivalries as industrial heavyweights -- including China, the United States, Canada, Europe, India and Gulf states -- compete to secure supplies. Another major player is Canada's First Quantum Minerals, Zambia's largest corporate taxpayer. "The world is waking up to Zambia's copper. But Zambia has been living with copper and its consequences for a century," Muchena told AFP. Environmental damage caused by mining has long plagued Zambia's copper belt.

DHAKA, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS) - The government today clarified the cancellation of the contractual appointment of Cabinet Secretary Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid, urging all concerned to refrain from spreading unnecessary speculation or misleading statements regarding the matter. "Various forms of misinformation and speculative statements are being circulated through different media regarding the cancellation of the contractual appointment of Cabinet Secretary Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid," said a statement issued by the Chief Adviser's Press Wing. In reality, he had submitted an application to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, seeking release from his duties citing personal reasons a few days before the election, it said. However, as the election was approaching and in the interest of maintaining discipline and continuity in field-level administration, he agreed-at the request of the Chief Adviser-to continue performing his responsibilities during the election period, the statement added. Therefore, the statement called on all concerned to avoid spreading speculation or misleading information on the issue.

Photo : BSSBy Md Aynal HaqueRAJSHAHI, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS) - As the winter season ends, tens of thousands of mango trees have started flowering in the Rajshahi region, famous nationwide for its delicious mango production. Farmers in the region are dreaming of a good harvest as mango orchards are filling up with blossoms. New mango orchards, especially of Amrapali and BARI Mango-3 and 4 varieties, are increasing rapidly in the districts every year. The area covered by mango orchards in Naogaon increased by 14,925 hectares in the period while the increase was 9,520 hectares in Chapainawabganj. Instead of creating mango orchards for a hundred years or more, farmers are targeting only 10 years.

At this year's edition of the festival several productions have found creative solutions to the problem. On Thursday the festival opened with a rare offering from Afghan cinema: "No Good Men", the third feature-length film from director Shahrbanoo Sadat. "I know that all the filmmakers, including myself, we are running to Middle East for any stories about Afghanistan," Sadat told AFP. Sadat told herself that: "I can definitely create it". "It was rainy Berlin and we wanted sunny Kabul," Sadat recalled.

CARACAS, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Relatives of political prisoners in Venezuela launched a hunger strike Saturday outside a prison in Caracas, as talks drag on over the adoption of a promised amnesty law. According to the non-governmental organization Foro Penal, 431 political prisoners have been offered conditional release so far, and 644 are still behind bars. Emil Brandt, regional coordinator for the political party of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, arrived in his hometown of Barinas on Saturday, after two years in detention. The Trump administration has also pressured Rodriguez to release political prisoners. Thousands of opposition supporters poured into the streets of Caracas ahead of the debate over the amnesty bill to demand the release of all remaining political prisoners.

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DHAKA, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS) – The United Kingdom (UK) has expressed its commitment to working closely with Bangladesh on shared priorities of economic growth, migration, climate and security following the country’s parliamentary elections. “We look forward to the new government advancing democratic, economic and social reforms,” said a spokesperson at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government. “This represents an important step forward in Bangladesh’s ambitions and the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh,” said the British government official. The UK also greeted the people of Bangladesh as the country enters a new chapter. "We look forward to working together on our shared priorities: economic growth, migration, climate, and security," said the British High Commission in Dhaka on Friday in a message.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday sent floral greetings and sweets to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman following the party's landslide victory in the 13th national election. BNP Media Cell member Atiqur Rahman Ruman received the flowers and sweets in the evening at the party chairman’s political office in Gulshan. Earlier on Friday, Mamata Banerjee extended her congratulations to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman for guiding his party to victory in Bangladesh’s national election. For this great victory, my congratulations to my Tarique-Bhai, his party, and all the parties. Pray, you all be well and happy.”The national election was held on Thursday, in which BNP secured 209 parliamentary seats.

Within just a year of its launch, six candidates from the National Citizen Party (NCP) have won seats in the 13th National Parliamentary Election. The party believes their success stems from people’s trust in the leadership of the mass uprising, and says their future plan is to expand the organization at the grassroots level. The youth-led political party, National Citizen Party, was launched on February 28, 2025. The party has a 151-member central committee, with Nahid Islam as its founder and current convener, and Akhtar Hossain as member secretary. On the day of its launch, Nahid Islam said: “There will be no place for India- or Pakistan-aligned politics in Bangladesh.

HANOI, Vietnam, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Vietnam has granted a licence to Elon Musk's Starlink to operate its satellite internet services in the communist country, a government agency said. The radio frequency regulator said local unit Starlink Services Vietnam Co. can initially deploy four gateway stations and a maximum of 600,000 terminal devices in Vietnam. Nearly 80 percent of Vietnam's around 100 million people are internet users, according to the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center. US-based Starlink says its services in Vietnam are "coming soon", according to an availability map on its website. It was not clear if Communist Party General Secretary Lam would also hold trade talks with Trump.

MUNICH, Germany, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Russia's Vladimir Putin as a "slave to war" in a speech to the Munich Security Conference Saturday, adding that Russia's attacks had damaged every power plant in the country. Of Putin, who launched the war in February 2022, Zelensky said: "He may see himself as a tsar, but in reality he is a slave to war." Russia and Ukraine will hold US-brokered talks next week, and Zelensky said Kyiv was doing "everything" to end the war. - Security guarantees -Zelensky also met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich conference. Returning to the question of elections in Ukraine, Zelensky said they would be held once Kyiv received security guarantees and a ceasefire had been agreed.