New Delhi: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will attend the funeral of Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Wednesday, according to a foreign ministry statement.

“Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will represent the Government and people of India at the funeral of Begum Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and President of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He will therefore visit Dhaka on December 31, 2025,” the statement said.

Begum Khaleda Zia died today early morning at the age of 80, while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
According to a BNP statement on Facebook, Zia died around 6 a.m. (local time), shortly after the Fajr prayer. “Khaleda Zia died around 6 a.m., just after Fajr prayers,” the BNP statement said.

“We pray for the eternal peace of his soul and ask everyone to pray for his departed soul,” the text adds.

Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital Dhaka on November 23 for a lung infection. The former prime minister has long suffered from various physical illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis and kidney complications, and earlier this month she was sent to London for advanced medical treatment for her illnesses.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sadness over the demise of former Bangladesh Prime Minister and BNP Chairman, extending condolences to his family and the people of Bangladesh. In an article on

“Deeply saddened to learn of the death of former Prime Minister and BNP President Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. Our deepest condolences to her family and all the people of Bangladesh. May the Almighty grant her family the fortitude to bear this tragic loss,” the Prime Minister said.

World leaders on Tuesday continued to express their condolences over the death of former Bangladesh Prime Minister and BNP chairwoman Begum Khaleda Zia, remembering her as a prominent democratic leader in her country.

Nepal’s Acting Prime Minister Sushila Karki said she was “deeply saddened” by the death of Khaleda Zia and offered condolences, on behalf of the government and people of Nepal, to her family and the people of Bangladesh.

“Begum Zia leaves behind a lifelong legacy of public service, with her enduring leadership marking a historic chapter in her country’s democratic journey,” Karki said in an article on

Khaleda Zia, a dominant figure in Bangladesh’s political landscape, played a pivotal role in the restoration of democracy after military rule. As the country’s first female prime minister, she played a crucial role in unifying the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) during turbulent times.

Despite significant contributions, Zia’s tenure was marked by complex relations between India and Bangladesh. Allegations of support for Northeast insurgents strained ties, particularly during his second term, when alliances with Jamaat-e-Islami drew criticism from India on security grounds.

Zia’s legacy is highlighted by his leadership in the peaceful transition from dictatorship. However, his passing leaves the BNP at a crossroads, with his son Tarique Rahman set to lead the party amid ongoing electoral challenges.

(With input from agencies.)

DJ MARKETS EUROPA/DAX is up slightly from the target level

DOW JONES–European stock markets are higher Tuesday afternoon. There is little news and most investors are no longer active as the start of the year approaches. We cannot exclude the so-called “window dressing” of individual stocks, i.e. the targeted maintenance of prices in the portfolios of institutional investors. On some exchanges, trading is shortened only on Tuesdays. Trading in Germany and Austria ends at 2 p.m. THIS. While today is the last trading day of the year on some exchanges, shortened listings will take place on Wednesday in Lisbon, London, Madrid and Paris.

The DAX gained 0.5 percent to 24,476 points; the index is up 22 percent since the start of the year. The DAX can look back on an excellent year overall. “A closer look, however, shows that only the first half of the year was excellent for the DAX. The second half of the year was more of a sideways trend,” explains QC Partners. The MDAX is once again lagging and is up 19 percent year to date. The TecDAX has a meager yield of 5 percent. This continues the pattern of German blue-chip companies performing better in their international operations than German mid-sized companies. Whether this will change with Germany’s billion-dollar investment program remains to be seen.

The Euro-Stoxx-50 rose by 0.6 percent to 5,789 points. The majority of the year’s best-performing countries come from the South, where European economic growth was based last year. The Spanish stock market rose by 48 percent, while in Athens the index even rose by 50 percent.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro changes little, at $1.1769; During the year, the greenback lost a lot of value. This is unlikely to make it easier for European companies to sell more expensive products around the world due to the strength of the euro next year. Yields on the bond markets are up slightly. After the liquidation of the day before, precious metals are recovering. The price of gold rose 1.2 percent to $4,385, silver rose 3.8 percent to $74.90. Not surprisingly, European mining stocks were one of the day’s winners, rising 1.6 percent. Shares of silver producer Fresnillo rose 5.5 percent.

The geopolitical situation remains tense. US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with a military strike if the country resumes its nuclear program. Meanwhile, Hamas was threatened with serious consequences if the terrorist organization did not lay down its arms. Finally, China is organizing one of the largest military exercises in recent years off the coast of Taiwan. This is likely a reaction to the recent announcement of US arms deliveries to the island nation.

Additionally, the United States recently carried out an attack on a port area in Venezuela where US President Trump said drugs were being loaded onto boats and smuggled across international waters, saying a “big explosion” had occurred. Oil prices are barely reacting to this news. Brent is up 0.4 percent.

Defense stocks are recovering after the selling pressures of the day before. There is still no sign of progress in peace or ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine. Rheinmetall gained 2.1 percent, Renk 2.5 percent and Hensoldt 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, bank stocks continue to run. The sector can look forward to a good year in 2025 thanks to the rise in yields on the bond markets. Deutsche Bank gains 1.5 percent and Commerzbank 2.0 percent.

Chipmaker Infineon’s sales growth (+1.8%) is down, with only one sector seeing strong growth: semiconductors to power AI data centers. “We are seeing a strong increase in demand and many indicators suggest that this will continue in the coming years,” CEO Jochen Hanebeck told Handelsblatt. “We currently cannot deliver as much as customers order.”

=== 
INDEX           zuletzt    +/- %  absolut +/- % YTD 
Euro-Stoxx-50      5.788,57    +0,6%   36,86   +17,4% 
Stoxx-50         4.918,84    +0,5%   25,52   +13,6% 
DAX           24.476,16    +0,5%   125,04   +22,3% 
MDAX          30.548,50    +0,3%   95,97   +18,4% 
TecDAX          3.613,61    +0,4%   13,79   +5,0% 
SDAX          17.094,60    +0,5%   78,05   +22,6% 
CAC           8.141,91    +0,4%   29,89   +9,8% 
SMI           13.259,65    +0,1%   19,06   +14,2% 
ATX           5.304,29    +1,1%   56,33   +43,2% 
 
DEVISEN          zuletzt    +/- %    0:00 Mo, 18:00  % YTD 
EUR/USD          1,1769    +0,0%   1,1767   1,1756  +13,7% 
EUR/JPY          183,56    -0,1%   183,67   183,59  +13,1% 
EUR/CHF          0,9286    -0,1%   0,9291   0,9287  -1,0% 
EUR/GBP          0,8715    -0,0%   0,8716   0,8712  +5,4% 
USD/JPY          155,94    -0,1%   156,03   156,12  -0,5% 
GBP/USD          1,3505    +0,0%   1,3502   1,3494  +7,9% 
USD/CNY          7,0292    -0,0%   7,0312   7,0324  -2,3% 
USD/CNH          6,9881    -0,2%   6,9987   7,0001  -4,5% 
AUS/USD          0,6701    +0,1%   0,6693   0,6690  +8,4% 
Bitcoin/USD       87.770,40    +0,6% 87.232,35 87.544,55  -7,3% 
 
ROHÖL           zuletzt VT-Settlem.   +/- %  +/- USD  % YTD 
WTI/Nymex          58,29    58,08   +0,4%    0,21  -20,9% 
Brent/ICE          62,12    61,94   +0,3%    0,18  -19,4% 
 
METALLE          zuletzt    Vortag   +/- %  +/- USD  % YTD 
Gold           4.384,52   4.330,40   +1,2%   54,12  +72,8% 
Silber           74,90    72,18   +3,8%    2,73 +173,6% 
Platin          1.854,76   1.791,70   +3,5%   63,06 +137,7% 
Kupfer            5,49     5,49     0%    0,00  +33,6% 
YTD bezogen auf Schlussstand des Vortags 
(Angaben ohne Gewähr) 
=== 

Contact the author: maerkte.de@dowjones.com

DJG/thl/ros

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 30, 2025 7:01 a.m. ET (12:01 p.m. GMT)

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