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.


Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if war on Ukraine isn’t resolved within 50 days

President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Faith Office luncheon in the State Dining Room, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Faith Office luncheon in the State Dining Room, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP)
Updated 21 sec ago
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Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if war on Ukraine isn’t resolved within 50 days

President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Faith Office luncheon in the State Dining Room, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP)
  • “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” the Republican president said
  • He said they would be “secondary tariffs,” meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in global economy

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Monday he would punish Russia with tariffs if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days, the latest example of his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” the Republican president said. He said they would be “secondary tariffs,” meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. “I use trade for a lot of things,” Trump added. “But it’s great for settling wars.” Besides the tariff threat, Trump and Rutte discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for US weapons. European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer them to Ukraine. Trump said there would be “billions and billions” of dollars purchased.
Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said “speed is of the essence here,” and he said the shipments should make Putin “reconsider” peace negotiations.
Trump exasperated with Putin
Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. At the same time, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war and called him a “dictator without elections.”
But Russia’s relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump’s patience. In April, Trump urged Putin to “STOP!” launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader “has gone absolutely CRAZY!” as the bombardments continued.
“It just keeps going on and on and on,” Trump said on Monday. “Every night, people are dying.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday.
Zelensky said he had “a productive conversation” with Kellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, joint arms production and purchasing US weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.
“We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ... ambitions are stopped by force,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
Talks on sending Patriot missiles
Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine’s air defenses are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said.
At the same time, Russia’s bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Trump confirmed the US is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defense missiles and that the European Union will pay the US for the “various pieces of very sophisticated” weaponry.
While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons, individual EU member countries can and are, just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons.
Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Monday in Berlin. As far as other European countries financing more systems is concerned, that would have to be seen in talks, he said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was traveling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six.
’Weapons flowing at a record level’
A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia’s full-scale invasion. It’s a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money.
“In the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,” Graham said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He added: “One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.”
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for international investment who took part in talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia in February, dismissed what he said were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington.
“Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure,” Dmitriev said in a post on Telegram. “This dialogue will continue, despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all possible means.”


Four confirmed dead in small plane crash at London regional airport

A plume of black smoke rises from an area near the runway after a small plane crash.
A plume of black smoke rises from an area near the runway after a small plane crash.
Updated 14 July 2025
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Four confirmed dead in small plane crash at London regional airport

A plume of black smoke rises from an area near the runway after a small plane crash.
  • Video footage had shown a 12-meter (39-feet) plane in flames with a plume of black smoke at Southend-on-Sea

LONDON: Four people were killed when a small plane crashed at a London regional airport at the weekend, UK police said on Monday.
The plane went down around 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Sunday, shortly after departing London Southend airport in southeast England for the Netherlands.
“Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died,” Essex Police chief superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
“We are working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals,” he added.
Cronin said the force was interviewing dozens of witnesses, and detectives and forensic teams were working to “build an accurate picture of what happened.”
He added that the airport “will remain closed until further notice.”
Video footage had shown a 12-meter (39-feet) plane in flames with a plume of black smoke at Southend-on-Sea.
Police evacuated a nearby golf club and rugby club as a precaution.
According to the BBC, the plane was a Beechcraft B200.
Southend-on-Sea is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of the capital, and its airport is the sixth largest in the London area.


Japanese FM offers support for Palestine in talk with Salameh

Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.
Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.
Updated 14 July 2025
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Japanese FM offers support for Palestine in talk with Salameh

Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.
  • Iwaya reiterates Japan’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and its commitment to assisting Palestinian state-building efforts

TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Palestine, at CEAPAD IV and expressed his hope that the conference would contribute to promoting CEAPAD’s objectives of expanding assistance to Palestine.

The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD IV) was held in Kuala Lumpur and Foreign Minister Iwaya reiterated Japan’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and its commitment to assisting Palestinian state-building efforts.

According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Minister Salameh expressed his appreciation for Japan’s continued support for Palestine, including through its initiatives such as CEAPAD. He also elaborated on the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, stating that an immediate ceasefire is essential for advancing Palestinian development.

Iwaya expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and stated that Japan has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible.


Nigeria’s former leader Buhari to be buried on Tuesday, official says

Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday. (File/AP)
Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday. (File/AP)
Updated 14 July 2025
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Nigeria’s former leader Buhari to be buried on Tuesday, official says

Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday. (File/AP)

LAGOS: Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in a London clinic on Sunday aged 82, will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday, the state governor said.
Buhari, a former military ruler after a coup in the 1980s, returned to frontline politics to become the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box in 2015. He was re-elected for a second term four years later.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and government officials were in London on Monday to organize the repatriation of the former president’s remains.
Katsina state governor Dikko Umaru Radda said after consultation with Buhari’s family it was agreed the body would arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday for burial the same day in his home town of Daura.
Among those who paid tribute to Buhari was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted on X platform that “his wisdom, warmth and unwavering commitment to India–Nigeria friendship stood out.”
Buhari earned a devoted following for his brand of anti-corruption conviction politics, especially in Nigeria’s largely Muslim north.
He referred to himself as a “converted democrat” and swapped his military uniform for kaftans and prayer caps.
Ibrahim Babangida, another former military ruler who toppled Buhari in a coup in 1985, said he knew Buhari as a deeply spiritual and humble man.
“We may not have agreed on everything — as brothers often don’t — but I never once doubted his sincerity or his patriotism,” Babangida said in a statement.
After leaving office in 2023, Buhari spent most of his time in Daura, away from the public eye.
His successor Bola Tinubu inherited a country grappling with double digit inflation, foreign exchange shortages, economic hardship, low oil production and insecurity that had spread to most parts of Nigeria.
Buhari’s supporters, however, viewed him as Nigeria’s conscience because he had a reputation for shunning the corruption and ostentatious lifestyles often associated with the country’s political elites.
To his critics, Buhari was “an absentee landlord — a leader who governed by delegation, who disappeared for long stretches (often to London for medical treatment), and whose aloofness felt like abandonment,” the local BusinessDay newspaper said.


111 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency

A man along with a child carrying umbrellas walks along a street during monsoon rains in Islamabad on July 14, 2025. (AFP)
A man along with a child carrying umbrellas walks along a street during monsoon rains in Islamabad on July 14, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 14 July 2025
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111 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency

A man along with a child carrying umbrellas walks along a street during monsoon rains in Islamabad on July 14, 2025. (AFP)
  • Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods

ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains in Pakistan have been linked to more than 110 deaths including dozens of children since they arrived in late June, according to government figures released Monday.
Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods.
In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept to their deaths while sheltering from flash floods on a raised river bank.
In its latest report, the disaster agency said 111 people including 53 children have been killed, with the highest number of deaths in the most populous province of Punjab.
Meanwhile, the national meteorological service has issued a warning for further heavy rainfall in the northern and eastern regions of the country, with the potential for urban flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage due to strong winds.
Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.
The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers.
But it brings with it flooding, landslides and causes buildings to collapse.
South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people, with some areas yet to recover from the damage.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.