BULGARIA: The government withdrew its 2026 draft budget today following days of major street protests over steep tax increases and warnings from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said the budget, which had passed its first reading, would be revised after talks with unions, employers and opposition parties to address its “defects” ahead of the country’s planned eurozone entry next year.

Protesters denounced plans to raise pension contributions, double the dividend tax and increase spending, warning the measures would harm investment and deepen the shadow economy.

CHINA: Eleven railway maintenance workers were killed and two were injured when a train conducting seismic equipment tests struck them on a curved section of track in Kunming, Yunnan province, this morning.

State media said emergency teams were deployed immediately and medical care for the injured was under way as investigators examined the cause of the crash.

Rail operations at Luoyangzhen station have since returned to normal, according to Xinhua.

BANGLADESH: Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced in absentia today to 21 years in prison across three corruption cases linked to land allocations in a government project.

Ms Hasina, who has already been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity and is in Indian exile, was ruled to have illegally secured Purbachal New Town plots for herself and her family.

Her Awami League party has denounced the trials as political, while rights groups have raised concerns about fairness as Bangladesh undergoes a turbulent transition before elections in February.

US: All immigration requests from Afghans have been suspended, after a man who arrived under a post-2021 resettlement programme was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House.

Authorities named the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker who is accused of assault with intent to kill and firearms offences.

President Donald Trump called the attack an “act of terror” and said he would move to expel foreign nationals “who do not belong here,” prompting a review of vetting procedures.