Bangladesh protesters storm prison as police fail to quell unrest

Bangladesh protesters storm prison as police fail to quell unrest
Anti-quota protesters clash with the police in Dhaka on July 18, 2024. Bangladesh woke on July 19 to survey destruction left by the deadliest day of ongoing student protests so far, which saw government buildings torched by demonstrators and a nationwide Internet blackout put into effect. (AFP)
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Updated 19 July 2024
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Bangladesh protesters storm prison as police fail to quell unrest

Bangladesh protesters storm prison as police fail to quell unrest
  • Protesters call for PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, saying she is responsible for the killings during the clashes
  • Students say they are determined to press on with protests despite government’s requests to calm the situation

DHAKA: Bangladeshi student protesters stormed a prison and freed hundreds of inmates Friday as police struggled to quell unrest, with huge rallies in the capital Dhaka despite a police ban on public gatherings.
This week’s clashes have killed at least 105 people, according to an AFP count of victims reported by hospitals, and emerged as a momentous challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government after 15 years in office.
Student protesters stormed a jail in the central Bangladeshi district of Narsingdi and freed the inmates before setting the facility on fire, a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“I don’t know the number of inmates, but it would be in the hundreds,” he added.
Dhaka’s police force took the drastic step of banning all public gatherings for the day — a first since protests began — in an effort to forestall another day of violence.
“We’ve banned all rallies, processions and public gatherings in Dhaka today,” police chief Habibur Rahman told AFP, adding the move was necessary to ensure “public safety.”
That did not stop another round of confrontations between police and protesters around the sprawling megacity of 20 million people, despite an Internet shutdown aimed at frustrating the organization of rallies.
“Our protest will continue,” Sarwar Tushar, who joined a march in the capital and sustained minor injuries when it was violently dispersed by police, told AFP.
“We want the immediate resignation of Sheikh Hasina. The government is responsible for the killings.”
At least 52 people were killed in the capital on Friday, according to a list drawn up by the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and seen by AFP.
Police fire was the cause of more than half of the deaths reported so far this week, based on descriptions given to AFP by hospital staff.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the attacks on student protesters were “shocking and unacceptable.”
“There must be impartial, prompt and exhaustive investigations into these attacks, and those responsible held to account,” he said in a statement.
The capital’s police force earlier said protesters had on Thursday torched, vandalized and carried out “destructive activities” on numerous police and government offices.
Among them was the Dhaka headquarters of state broadcaster Bangladesh Television, which remains offline after hundreds of incensed students stormed the premises and set fire to a building.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain told AFP that officers had arrested Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, one of the top leaders of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
“He faces hundreds of cases,” Hossain said, without giving further details on the reasons for Ahmed’s detention.
Near-daily marches this month have called for an end to a quota system that reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Critics say the scheme benefits children of pro-government groups that back Hasina, 76, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
Hasina’s government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including by the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.
Her administration this week ordered schools and universities to close indefinitely as police stepped up efforts to bring the deteriorating law and order situation under control.
“This is an eruption of the simmering discontent of a youth population built over years due to economic and political disenfranchisement,” Ali Riaz, a politics professor at Illinois State University, told AFP.
“The job quotas became the symbol of a system which is rigged and stacked against them by the regime.”
Students say they are determined to press on with protests despite Hasina giving a national address earlier this week on the now-offline state broadcaster seeking to calm the unrest.
Nearly half of Bangladesh’s 64 districts reported clashes on Thursday, broadcaster Independent Television reported.
The network said more than 700 people had been wounded throughout Thursday including 104 police officers and 30 journalists.
London-based watchdog NetBlocks said Friday that a “nation-scale” Internet shutdown remained in effect a day after it was imposed.
“Metrics show connectivity flatlining at 10 percent of ordinary levels, raising concerns over public safety as little news flows in or out of the country,” it wrote on social media platform X.


Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs

Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs
Updated 6 sec ago
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Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs

Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs

CHERNIGIV REGION, Ukraine: Ukraine and Russia exchanged a new group of captured soldiers on Thursday, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month.
Neither side said how many prisoners were released in the latest exchange.
The two countries pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers each during their direct meeting in Istanbul on June 2 but no follow-up talks have been scheduled.
The return of prisoners of war and the repatriation of war dead have been among the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Today, warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
He shared images of Ukrainian soldiers draped in blue-and-yellow national flags, smiling and tearfully embracing.
AFP reporters in Ukraine’s northern Chernigiv region saw relatives awaiting the prisoner release.
Some family members waved posters of missing or captured soldiers in the hope someone would recognize their loved ones and bring them news.
Svitlana Nosal learned her husband Viktor had been freed.
“It’s such a joy, I don’t know how to describe it, how to put it into words,” she said, laughing and crying in the late afternoon sun.
The majority of those released on Thursday were held captive for more than three years, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Many of them were taken prisoner in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city that fell to Russian forces in 2022 following a nearly three-month siege, it said.
Russia said its soldiers had been transferred to Belarus and were receiving “psychological and medical care.”
“Another group of Russian servicemen has been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
It posted a video showing freed Russian soldiers draped in their national flag, chanting “Russia, Russia, Russia!“


UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30

UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30
Updated 5 min 4 sec ago
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UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30

UN climate chief warns ‘lot more to do’ before COP30

BONN: UN climate chief Simon Stiell urged countries on Thursday to accelerate negotiations ahead of the COP30 in Brazil as there was a lot left to be done.
Speaking after two weeks of technical talks in Bonn, Stiell closed the annual climate diplomacy event saying: “We need to go further, faster, and fairer.”
Bonn is home to the UN Climate Change Secretariat, which coordinates international climate policy and hosts preparatory talks each year ahead of climate summits.
“I’m not going to sugar coat... we have a lot more to do before we meet again in Belem,” he said.
COP30 is due to be held on November 10-21 in the Amazonian city which is the capital of Para state.
At last year’s UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, rich nations agreed to increase climate finance to $300 billion a year by 2035, an amount decried as woefully inadequate.
Azerbaijan and Brazil, which is hosting this year’s COP30 conference, have launched an initiative to reduce the shortfall, with the expectation of “significant” contributions from international lenders.
This year’s COP comes as average global temperatures in the past two years have exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmark set under the Paris climate accord a decade ago.
“There is so much more work to do to keep 1.5 alive, as science demands. We must find a way to get to the hard decisions sooner,” Stiell said.
Under the Paris Agreement, wealthy developed countries — those most responsible for global warming to date — are obliged to pay climate finance to poorer nations.
Other countries, most notably China, make voluntary contributions.


White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say

White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say
Updated 26 June 2025
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White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say

White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say
  • The programs also include work in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Gambia
  • The expectation that Rubio would argue for many of the programs to be continued is slim

WASHINGTON/THE HAGUE: The White House on Wednesday recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to two US sources familiar with the matter and internal government documents reviewed by Reuters.

The recommendation from the Office of Management and Budget, which has not been previously reported, is not the final decision to end the programs since it gives the State Department the option to appeal.

But it sets up a potential back-and-forth between the OMB and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his aides, who will reply to OMB with their suggestions on which programs deserve to continue. The programs also include work in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Gambia.

The State Department and OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The expectation that Rubio would argue for many of the programs to be continued is slim, according to two US officials. However, the top US diplomat could make a case to keep crucial programs, such as aiding potential war crimes prosecutions in Ukraine, according to one source familiar with the matter.

Several of the programs earmarked for termination operate war crimes accountability projects in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said, including Global Rights Compliance, which is helping to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture.

Another is the Legal Action Network, a legal aid group which supports local efforts to bring cases against Russian suspects of war crimes in Ukraine, the sources said.

Requests seeking comment from the groups were not immediately answered.

State Department bureaus that would like to preserve any war crimes and accountability programs should send their justifications by close of business day on July 11, said an internal State Department email seen by Reuters.

CHANGING PRIORITIES
The administration of President Donald Trump has frozen and then cut back billions of dollars of foreign aid since taking office on January 20 to ensure American-taxpayer money funds programs that are aligned with his “America First” policies.

The unprecedented cutbacks have effectively shut down its premier aid arm US Agency for International Development, jeopardized the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid and thrown global humanitarian relief operations into chaos.

The OMB recommendation is yet another sign that the administration is increasingly de-prioritizing advocacy for human rights and rule of law globally, an objective that previous US administrations have pursued.

While US foreign aid freezes had already started hampering an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Wednesday’s recommendations raise the risk of US completely abandoning those efforts.

Among the programs that are recommended for termination is a $18 million State Department grant for Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office that is implemented by Georgetown University’s International Criminal Justice Initiative, two sources said.

While the programs do not directly impact Ukraine’s frontline efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion, supporters say they represent the best chance of extensively documenting reported battlefield atrocities in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two, now grinding toward a fourth year.

Ukraine has opened more than 140,000 war crime cases since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, ravaged vast swathes of the country and left behind mental and physical scars from occupation. Russia consistently denies war crimes have been committed by its forces in the conflict.


PATH TO APPEAL
Other programs include one that does accountability work on Myanmar army’s atrocities against Rohingya minorities as well as on the persecution of Christians and other minorities by Syria’s ousted former president Bashar Assad, two sources said.

While the OMB recommendations could face State Department push-back, the criteria to appeal are set very strictly.

In an internal State Department email, the administration cautioned that any effort to preserve programs that were recommended to be terminated should be thoroughly argued and directly aligned with Washington’s priorities.

“Bureaus must clearly and succinctly identify direct alignment to administration priorities,” the email, reviewed by Reuters said.


US says giving $30 million to back controversial Gaza relief effort

US says giving $30 million to back controversial Gaza relief effort
Updated 26 June 2025
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US says giving $30 million to back controversial Gaza relief effort

US says giving $30 million to back controversial Gaza relief effort
  • The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is backed by armed US contractors with the Israeli troops on the perimeter
  • Nearly 550 Palestinians have been killed near the fountantion’s aid centers while seeking scarce supplies

WASHINGTON: The United States said Thursday it has approved its first direct funding for a controversial Israeli-supported relief effort in the Gaza Strip and urged other countries to follow suit.
"We have approved funding for $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And we call on other countries to also support the GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and its critical work," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters.
Israel starting in March blocked deliveries of food and other crucial supplies into Gaza for more than two months, leading to warnings of famine in the territory widely flattened by Israeli bombing since the massive October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by armed US contractors with the Israeli troops on the perimeter, began operations at the end of May that have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns.
The Gaza health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centers while seeking scarce supplies.
The GHF has denied that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.
Major aid groups and the United Nations have refused to work with the officially private group, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles by coordinating delivery with troops.
Asked about the criticism of the operation, Pigott said that the 46 million meals the group says it has so far distributed are "absolutely incredible" and "should be applauded."
"From day one, we said we are open to creative solutions that securely provide aid to those in Gaza and protects Israel," Pigott said.
The financial support to the GHF is part of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "pursuit of peace in the region," he said.


Members of UK Jewish group to appeal punishments for Gaza war criticisms

Members of UK Jewish group to appeal punishments for Gaza war criticisms
Updated 26 June 2025
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Members of UK Jewish group to appeal punishments for Gaza war criticisms

Members of UK Jewish group to appeal punishments for Gaza war criticisms
  • Board of Deputies of British Jews suspended 5 members for 2 years and reprimanded 31 over a letter they signed criticizing Israel’s conduct during the conflict
  • In a new statement, the disciplined members renewed their concerns about the ‘destruction being wrought on Gazan civilians’

LONDON: Dozens of representatives of the main organization representing Jews in the UK are appealing against disciplinary action taken against them after they criticized Israel’s war on Gaza.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews this week sanctioned 36 of its representatives after they signed a letter in April in which they said they could “no longer remain silent” over the loss of life in Gaza. The board suspended five of the deputies for two years and reprimanded the remaining 31 for breaching its code of conduct.

The reprimanded members said on Thursday they would appeal against the decision, and continued to voice concerns about the conflict, The Guardian newspaper reported.

In a group statement, they said they “remain deeply concerned about the remaining hostages, the appalling humanitarian crisis and ongoing war in Gaza and the further deteriorating situation in the West Bank.”

They added that they stand in solidarity with the majority of Israelis who want an immediate end to the war in Gaza, and there was “no justification for the continuing misery and destruction being wrought on Gazan civilians.”

When it announced the punishments on Tuesday, the Board of Deputies said the letter was “neither authorized by the board nor did the signatories share it with the organization before sending to the Financial Times.” It had received various complaints about the letter and the media coverage that followed, it added.

The five signatories suspended for two years were removed from any elected positions they held. They were handed more severe punishments than the others because they had “contributed to the misleading press release,” the board said, and made public statements relating to the letter.

The remaining 31 deputies who signed the letter but did not promote it received a “notice of criticism” and were warned they would face suspension if they were involved in any similar incidents.

One of the five suspended members, Harriett Goldenberg, was vice chair of the board’s international division.

She told The Guardian: “So many Jews in the UK agreed with our sadly groundbreaking letter. We were inundated with thanks from those who said we represented them, and that we were their voice. It is tragic that voice is still needed.”

The Board of Deputies is the largest representative body for Jews in the UK, with 300 deputies who are elected by synagogues and communal organizations.