Dhaka : Over 150 Chinese nationals have been filming and livestreaming from economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, falsely depicting them as parts of New Delhi, India, according to several reports. While recording footage from these locations, they made disparaging comments about India’s living standards, sanitation, food habits, and poverty. The misleading portrayal has sparked concerns over the deliberate distortion of geographical locations and the possible use of deceptive online content to create negative perceptions about India among international audiences. The incident underscored the growing threat posed by misinformation and manipulated content on social media, where sensationalised posts can spread widely before their authenticity is established.

The activities have reportedly been taking place in Dhaka’s Tekpara and Uttara areas for several months, with streamers remaining active from early morning until late at night. One Chinese woman identified as ‘Mianmian’, who claimed to be from China’s Sichuan province, livestreamed from beside a canal in Uttara Sector 12 of Dhaka on November 1. She reportedly presented the area to her online audience as New Delhi and described the residential buildings and surrounding areas as dirty, underdeveloped, and unhygienic. “This is New Delhi. Their homes are extremely dirty. There isn’t even a fan inside the tin-roofed houses. This place is quite underdeveloped, dirty and unhygienic, and the law-and-order situation is poor,” leading Bangladeshi daily ‘Prothom Alo’ quoted her as saying. In another instance, a Chinese national was seen live streaming from tea stalls in the Tekpara locality of Dhaka, making the offensive remarks that the tea consumed by locals was made using “cow urine”.

“Look, they are drinking tea. Do you know what kind of tea this is? This is cow urine tea. They drink cow urine tea,” Prothom Alo quoted him as saying. The footage also contained derogatory comments on the residents’ lifestyles, with repeated references to poor hygiene, lack of sanitation, and substandard living conditions. These are not isolated incidents, as reports of Chinese content creators recording videos in Dhaka’s underprivileged neighbourhoods have been emerging since May 2026. The recurring pattern of Chinese content creators repeatedly filming in the same low-income neighbourhoods, along with allegations of geographical misrepresentation and intrusive filming, raises concerns about attempts to undermine India’s image internationally. These recent developments point to a coordinated anti-India campaign. The issue is not merely the recording of impoverished neighbourhoods, but the calculated misrepresentation of locations in another country as parts of India, coupled with disparaging remarks intended to influence how international audiences perceive Indian society.

Washington : US President Donald Trump said that renewed military strikes on Iran were “highly unlikely” as long as negotiations made progress, but did not rule out further military actions. In a phone interview with CNN, Trump claimed on Sunday that the United States had already dealt a severe blow to Iran and that further military action was “highly unlikely” to be necessary. “It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” Trump noted, referring to Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The president also claimed that the United States had identified potential infrastructure targets in Iran, including power plants and bridges, and could destroy 38 bridges in an hour, Xinhua news agency reported. “Most likely it will not be necessary,” Trump reiterated. “They want to make a deal so badly.” Earlier Trump said that Washington was talking to Iran, as his administration imposed sanctions on eight Canadian businesses accused of helping Tehran move money through cryptocurrency networks. “We’re talking to Iran. We have been,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House. The president portrayed the military situation as favourable to the United States and said the Strait of Hormuz was opening. “We’ve beaten Iran. We are doing very well with Iran,” he said.

Asked for his message to Iran, Trump combined his claim of military success with an indication that diplomatic contacts were continuing. His comments came on the same day that the Treasury Department announced sanctions against eight Canada-based money services businesses under Operation Economic Outcast. Treasury accused the companies of exchanging Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets to facilitate international transactions involving Iran. It said many had dealt with sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges or addresses associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. More than eight months after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Trump has repeatedly sent mixed signals about his willingness to end the conflict. Washington and Tehran remain at a stalemate, with little significant progress in diplomatic efforts.

Washington : A 30-year-old Venezuelan national was arrested near the White House after US Secret Service agents discovered three firearms and ammunition inside a stolen vehicle, with the suspect allegedly telling authorities that voices in his head had instructed him to kill President Donald Trump. The arrest took place shortly before midnight on Thursday when a US Secret Service officer, conducting a routine patrol near the White House, spotted a suspicious blue Ford F-150 pickup truck parked on Constitution Avenue. According to a criminal complaint filed in the DC Superior Court, the officer approached the vehicle and asked the man inside whether he was safe and whether he was carrying any weapons.

The suspect, identified as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, reportedly nodded in response to the question about weapons and made a finger-gun gesture. He subsequently stepped out of the vehicle and communicated with investigators using Google Translate. During questioning, Guanipa Chrinos reportedly told officers that he had a gun because someone had attempted to kill him with it and that he had taken it away from that person. He also directed investigators towards a brown bag inside the vehicle. A subsequent search of the stolen pickup truck uncovered an AR-15 rifle, two handguns and ammunition. According to DHS, the suspect allegedly told officers that voices had instructed him to kill President Trump. He appeared before the DC Superior Court on Friday and remains in custody without bond, according to online court records.

DHS identified Guanipa-Chrinos as an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela who entered the United States through Texas in March 2024. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has also lodged an immigration detainer against him. The incident has once again drawn attention to security concerns surrounding the US President and the White House, which remains under heightened security arrangements. Earlier, in April this year, US authorities charged the suspected gunman in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting with attempting to assassinate President Trump, as officials detailed a fast-moving investigation that they said prevented a “massive attack” from unfolding. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that “that horrible act was stopped because of the courage and professionalism of law enforcement”, adding that “the President and all the protectees and participants at the dinner were safe”. The suspect, identified in court documents as Cole Tomas Allen, faced three federal counts: attempted assassination of the President, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.