Bangladesh, 15 officers on trial for enforced disappearances during the 2024 protests

Today's headlines: Thailand's ousted prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resigns as leader of the Pheu Thai party; Defying a UN ban, Pyongyang launches ballistic missiles: the first since May; Three women acquitted in Singapore for organising an “illegal” pro-Palestine march;  Another mass grave containing 20 women and children found in Syria.

BANGLADESH

A court in Bangladesh has indicted 15 senior army officers on charges of enforced disappearances and atrocities committed during the 2024 uprising that overthrew the government. This is the first time that formal charges have been brought for enforced disappearances in Bangladesh and the first time that so many senior military officers have been tried in a civil court. The men are accused of running a secret detention centre during the premiership of Sheikh Hasina.

THAILAND

Thailand's recently ousted Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has resigned as leader of the Pheu Thai party founded by her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin, marking the potential end of the family's political dynasty, which has been at the helm of the party for more than 25 years. Paetongtarn, 39, had held the government post for less than a year before being dismissed by a court in August for ethical violations related to her handling of the border dispute with Cambodia.

NORTH KOREA - SOUTH KOREA

North Korea has launched what appear to be several short-range ballistic missiles, a week before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled to take place in South Korea on 31 October and 1 November. This is Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since May, defying the United Nations Security Council's ban on such weapons. It is also the first of its kind since Lee Jae Myung was elected president in Seoul, with an agenda focused on dialogue.

SINGAPORE

A Singapore court has acquitted three women who organised a march to the presidential palace to show their support for the Palestinian cause. The women had been prosecuted for organising an illegal procession, but the judge ruled that their actions were not sufficient to justify the charge. Public demonstrations are rare in Singapore, where there are very strict rules against protests and where a police permit is required for any gathering.

SYRIA

The Syrian civil defence has recovered the remains of 20 people from a mass grave east of the city of Douma, near Damascus. Most appear to be children and women, found without clothes; investigators have been unable to identify the victims. The National Commission for Missing Persons, a government agency, is coordinating the activities. Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, numerous mass burial sites have been discovered throughout Syria.

TURKMENISTAN

In Turkmenistan, citizens returning from abroad, especially labour migrants, are increasingly being subjected to interrogation. Dozens of them are stopped at Ashgabat airport by members of the security services and detained for 5-6 hours, particularly those returning from Turkey, asking them where they worked and whether they met other Turkmen, requesting their details and asking “if they said anything against our Arkadag”.

RUSSIA

The Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill (Gundjaev), consecrated a new military church on the border with Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don, dedicated to St. George the Victorious for the entire southern military district of the Armed Forces, which also includes the occupied areas in Ukraine, distributing ecclesiastical honours to generals and architects for their special ‘work of guarding Russian land on this border of our patriotic Orthodox faith’.

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