Bangladesh marks Bengali New Year with tribute to student uprising

Special Throngs of people attend the Bengali New Year’s parade in Dhaka, which showcased an elaborate, dark-colored figure meant to depict former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on April 14, 2025. (Ministry of Cultural Affairs)
Throngs of people attend the Bengali New Year’s parade in Dhaka, which showcased an elaborate, dark-colored figure meant to depict former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on April 14, 2025. (Ministry of Cultural Affairs)
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Updated 14 April 2025
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Bangladesh marks Bengali New Year with tribute to student uprising

Throngs of people attend the Bengali New Year’s parade in Dhaka. (Ministry of Cultural Affairs)
  • New Year’s parade in Dhaka added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2016
  • This year is the first time the parade has been held since Hasina’s downfall 

DHAKA: Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis crowded the streets of Dhaka on Monday to welcome the Bengali New Year, with a parade that pays tribute to the student-led uprising that led to the ousting of longstanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

In the capital, people wore traditional attire as they marched, danced and sang in a colorful procession that started from the Art College of Dhaka University, alongside larger-than-life handmade figures depicting the ousted premier and symbols related to the mass student movement that took place last July. 

Monday’s parade was the first under the new interim government led by Nobel-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, who assumed office in August 2024. 

“The memories of July spirit are still very fresh in our hearts. And we tried to demonstrate this spirit through this New Year's parade,” Dr. Azharul Islam, the dean of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, which organized the event, told Arab News. 

“Our efforts were to represent the country from historic to contemporary time. That’s why the July movement spirit also got a placement along with other traditional Bengal cultural elements.”

The student-led movement of July 2024 began with protests that were initially sparked by opposition to public sector job quotas, but it quickly grew into a broader, nationwide uprising against Hasina’s government. 

After a violent crackdown by security forces and a communications blackout, the unrest peaked in early August with protesters defying nationwide curfew orders and storming government buildings, forcing former premier Hasina to resign and flee the country, ending 15 years in power of her Awami League party-led government.

This year, the new year’s parade, called Ananda Shobhajatra, was held under the theme “Symphony of the New Year, End of Fascism.” It featured an elaborate, dark-colored figure meant to depict Hasina as a “Face of Fascism,” seemingly chased by a figure of a Bengal tiger trailing behind it. 

The parade also featured a huge water bottle, which became a symbol of the student movement and a nod to a young protester called Mugdho, who was shot and killed as he was handing out bottles of water during a protest.   

A watermelon figure made it into the line-up of festivities in Dhaka as a symbol of solidarity with Palestine from the country of 170 million people, which have held several pro-Palestine rallies since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023.  

“The main success of this rally is people's participation,” Islam said. “People joined the rally hand in hand in a peaceful way. It shows that with this event, we have been able to uphold the people's voices of the time."

The parade, which was formerly known as Mangal Shobhajatra, was in 2016 recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. 

It was first organized in 1989 as a protest against military rule by art college students at Dhaka University. Since then, it has been held annually to mark the first day of Bengali New Year — known locally as Pohela Boishakh. 

While celebrations have in the past focused on Bangladesh’s heritage, the additional themes have added new layers to the event. 

“The specialty of this year's celebration is the representation of (the July spirit), the resistance for the Palestinians, the fall of the fascist regime, and other traditional elements of Bengal culture,” Dhaka resident Puja Sen Gupta told Arab News. 

“This year’s celebration arrangement was a bit different compared with other years. I enjoyed participating in the parade a lot.” 


Another round of anti-Trump protests hits US cities

Another round of anti-Trump protests hits US cities
Updated 7 sec ago
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Another round of anti-Trump protests hits US cities

Another round of anti-Trump protests hits US cities
  • Organizers hope to use building resentment over Trump’s immigration crackdown, his drastic cuts to government agencies and his pressuring of universities, news media and law firms, to forge a lasting movement

NEW YORK: Thousands of protesters rallied Saturday in New York, Washington and other cities across the United States for a second major round of demonstrations against Donald Trump and his hard-line policies.
In New York, people gathered outside the city’s main library carrying signs targeting the US president with slogans like “No Kings in America” and “Resist Tyranny.”
Many took aim at Trump’s deportations of undocumented migrants, chanting “No ICE, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” a reference to the role of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in rounding up migrants.
In Washington, protesters voiced concern that Trump was threatening long-respected constitutional norms, including the right to due process.
The administration is carrying out “a direct assault on the idea of the rule of law and the idea that the government should be restrained from abusing the people who live here in the United States,” Benjamin Douglas, 41, told AFP outside the White House.
Wearing a keffiyeh and carrying a sign calling for the freeing of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian student protester arrested last month, Douglas said individuals were being singled out as “test cases to rile up xenophobia and erode long-standing legal protections.”
“We are in a great danger,” said 73-year-old New York protester Kathy Valy, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, adding that their stories of how Nazi leader Adolf Hitler rose to power “are what’s happening here.”
“The one thing is that Trump is a lot more stupid than Hitler or than the other fascists,” she said. “He’s being played... and his own team is divided.”

Daniella Butler, 26, said she wanted to “call attention specifically to the defunding of science and health work” by the government.
Studying for a PhD in immunology at Johns Hopkins University, she was carrying a map of Texas covered with spots in reference to the ongoing measles outbreak there.
Trump’s health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, spent decades falsely linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) jab to autism.
“When science is ignored, people die,” Butler said.
In deeply conservative Texas, the coastal city of Galveston saw a small gathering of anti-Trump demonstrators.
“This is my fourth protest and typically I would sit back and wait for the next election,” said 63-year-old writer Patsy Oliver. “We cannot do that right now. We’ve lost too much already.”
On the West Coast, several hundred people gathered on a beach in San Francisco to spell out the words “IMPEACH + REMOVE,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Others nearby held an upside-down US flag, traditionally a symbol of distress.
Organizers hope to use building resentment over Trump’s immigration crackdown, his drastic cuts to government agencies and his pressuring of universities, news media and law firms, to forge a lasting movement.
The chief organizer of Saturday’s protests — the group 50501, a number representing 50 protests in 50 states and one movement — said some 400 demonstrations were planned.
Its website said the protests are “a decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies” — and it insisted on all protests being non-violent.
The group called for millions to take part Saturday, though turnout appeared smaller than the “Hands Off” protests across the country on April 5.
 


Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided
Updated 19 April 2025
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Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided
  • “Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow,” Zelensky said

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that, according to his top commander, Russian artillery fire had not subsided despite the Kremlin’s proclamation of an Easter ceasefire.
“As of now, according to the Commander-in-Chief reports, Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,” Zelensky wrote on the social media platform X.
“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow.”


He recalled that Russia had last month rejected a US-proposed full 30-day ceasefire and said that if Moscow agreed to “truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia’s actions.”
“If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20,” Zelensky wrote.


Ministers from Pakistan, Afghanistan discuss security, trade cooperation, border management

Ministers from Pakistan, Afghanistan discuss security, trade cooperation, border management
Updated 19 April 2025
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Ministers from Pakistan, Afghanistan discuss security, trade cooperation, border management

Ministers from Pakistan, Afghanistan discuss security, trade cooperation, border management
  • Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on visit to Kabul
  • Border management also on agenda in Ishaq Dar’s talks in Kabul

ISLAMABAD: Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, held discussions on Saturday with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on security, border management and regional trade, Pakistan’s Foreign Office reported.

Dar arrived in Kabul on Saturday morning for a day-long visit to discuss Islamabad’s security concerns and trade and investment opportunities with Afghanistan amid strained ties between the neighbors.

His visit was taking place amid surging militancy in Pakistan, which Islamabad blames on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban are accused of providing the group with sanctuaries, allegations that Kabul has repeatedly denied.

HIGHLIGHT

Dar’s visit is seen as a continuation of Pakistan’s efforts to engage with Afghanistan despite frosty ties.

Dar’s visit also takes place as Pakistan intensifies its campaign to deport what it says are “illegal immigrants,” mostly Afghan nationals, which it has blamed without evidence for being involved in suicide attacks and militancy in the country. Pakistan’s deportation drive has further soured ties between the two nations.

“The discussions encompassed a comprehensive range of topics pertaining to bilateral relations, underscoring the need to devise strategies for enhancing cooperation across diverse areas of mutual interest, including security, trade, transit, connectivity, and people-to-people contacts,” the foreign office said.

Dar stressed the importance of addressing all issues between the two countries, particularly those related to security and border management, to fully realize the potential for regional trade and connectivity, the foreign office added.

“Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to fostering mutually beneficial relations and agreed on the importance of maintaining high-level engagement,” its statement said.

The deputy prime minister was also scheduled to meet Afghanistan’s Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund.

Speaking to the state-run Pakistan Television before leaving for Kabul, Dar acknowledged there had been “coldness” in ties between the countries in recent years.

“I believe the security of Pakistan, its people, their lives and properties, is very important,” Dar said. “So one of our concerns is regarding terrorism, which we will discuss.”

He said there was also immense potential for economic, trade and investment opportunities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Our connection with Central Asian states can be established through rail links, but that’s not possible unless Afghanistan becomes a partner in this,” he said.

Dar’s visit is seen as a continuation of Pakistan’s efforts to engage with Afghanistan despite frosty ties, and its aim to address mutual concerns and explore avenues for cooperation with the country.

 


Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours
Updated 19 April 2025
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Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours
  • Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating a US-brokered 30-day moratorium

MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of attacking Russian energy facilities 10 times over the past 24 hours.
The US brokered a 30-day moratorium in March between Ukraine and Russia against strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating it.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked if the energy moratorium was over, said it had already been a month but that no orders from the president had been received to change Russia’s position.


More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad
Updated 19 April 2025
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More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad
  • The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened
  • A local Mongo official said prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns

MONGO, Chad: More than 100 inmates escaped a Chad prison during a shoot-out that left three people dead, and wounded a state governor visiting the facility, officials told AFP on Saturday.
The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened in the high-security penitentiary five kilometers (three miles) from the town of Mongo, in the center of the country.
“There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” Hassan Souleymane Adam, secretary general of the Guera province in which Mongo is located, said.
A local Mongo official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns.
“A shootout with guards ensued, at the same time the governor arrived. He was wounded,” he said.
The Mongo official confirmed there were three dead, and put the total number of escaped prisoners at 132.
He said the prisoners revolted after complaining about a lack of food.
Chad’s Justice Minister Youssouf Tom told AFP by telephone that he was about to fly to region and would be able to give “precise information once I am at Mongo in the coming hours.”