DHAKA, Bangladesh: Thousands of people protested peacefully in Bangladesh’s capital Saturday to demand justice for more than 200 students and others killed during protests last month, but violence was reported at similar events elsewhere in the country.
The protesters chanted anti-government slogans and demanded the resignation of the prime minister as the wave of protest widened beyond students to include people from many walks of life. Some pro-government groups also rallied in the city.
The country’s leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper reported that at least seven protesters were hit by bullets after pro-ruling party groups allegedly opened fire on them as they blocked a road in Cumilla, in the east of Bangladesh. The daily said at least 30 protesters were injured during the violence, but a local leader of the ruling party denied allegations that their supporters attacked the protesters.
Scores of people were injured in other parts of the country, TV stations reported.
The students’ protests last month began with the demand for an end to a quota system for government jobs that they said was discriminatory. Under it, 30 percent of such jobs were reserved for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan in 1971.
The protests began peacefully, but turned violent as students at Dhaka University clashed with police and the activists of a student wing of the ruling Awami League party on July 15. Since then, more than 200 people have died and thousands of others have been injured.
The Supreme Court cut the veterans’ quota to 5 percent on July 21, but protests have continued to spread amid outrage over the violence. Authorities closed schools and universities across the country, blocked Internet access and imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew. At least, 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.
Internet service has been restored and banks and offices have reopened, but tensions remain high.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday offered to talk with student leaders, but a coordinator refused in a Facebook post.
Nahid Islam, a leading protest coordinator, wrote: “One cannot ask a killer government for justice or sit for talks with them. The time to ask forgiveness has passed. When there was still time, the government conducted block raids to arrest and torture students.”
Hasina reiterated her pledges to thoroughly investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence. She said that her doors were open for the talks and she was ready to sit down whenever the protesters want.
Also on Saturday, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, the country’s military chief, directed army officers to safeguard public safety and secure key state installations under all circumstances, the army’s public relations office said in a statement.
The army chief also discussed the current security situation in the country with the officers, it said.
The protests have become a major challenge for Hasina, who returned to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents.
The students had earlier made a nine-point demand, including a public apology from Hasina and release of all the students arrested and jailed. On Saturday, however, they announced they had a single demand — the resignation of Hasina and her administration. They also called for a “non-cooperation” movement from Sunday and urged people not to pay taxes or utility bills and to keep factories and offices closed.
The general secretary of Hasina’s ruling party said Saturday that it was calling on its supporters to demonstrate across the country on Sunday.
Hasina and other Cabinet ministers had earlier blamed the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and now-banned right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party and its student wing for intruding into the student protests and committing violence. Both the parties have denied the allegations.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said Saturday that they would continue to support the protesters in their movement.
Protests, violence break out again in Bangladesh amid calls for government’s resignation
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Protests, violence break out again in Bangladesh amid calls for government’s resignation
- Students protest against quota system for government jobs claimed at least 200 lives last month
- Internet services have been restored and banks reopen in parts of country but tensions remain high
Cambodian garment workers fret Trump’s new tariff threat
“I beg the US to reduce the tariff for the sake of workers in Cambodia,” 38-year-old Im Sothearin told AFP as she rested from her work in an underwear factory in the capital Phnom Penh.
“If they charge a high tariff, it is only workers who are going to suffer,” said the mother-of-three who earns only $300 a month.
“Factories might be closed or workers will have their wages lowered, or be forced to work faster.”
Cambodia — a major manufacturer of low-cost clothing for Western brands — was among the nations hardest hit by Trump’s “Liberation Day” blitz of tariff threats in April.
The US president originally outlined a 49-percent rate if Cambodia failed to broker a deal with Washington. On Monday, he lowered it to 36 percent and extended the negotiation deadline to August 1.
While the levy is lower than the original eye-watering figure, it has done little to allay anxieties.
“If the tariff is that high, companies won’t have money to pay,” 28-year-old pregnant worker Sreymom, who goes by only one name, told AFP as she bought fruit on her lunch break.
“I am worried that we won’t have jobs to do,” the 11-year veteran of the factory floor said. “I want the tariff to be reduced more.”
Cambodia’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington called the reduction in the proposed rate — announced in a letter among more than a dozen Trump despatched to trade partners — a “huge victory.”
“We are so successful in negotiations,” Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol told reporters in Phnom Penh. “We still have a chance to negotiate further to reduce the tariff rate more.”
But back in April commerce ministry spokesman Penn Sovicheat told AFP that harsh US tariffs on his country were “not reasonable.”
Cambodia said it had about $10 billion in exports to the United States last year, mainly garment products.
The nation has been paying a 10-percent standby rate as negotiators rush to make a deal.
Many factories in Cambodia are Chinese-owned. The White House previously accused the kingdom of allowing Chinese goods to stop over on the way to US markets, thereby skirting steeper rates imposed on Beijing.
Yi Mom has had a two-decade career in the garment industry. But she frets it may be ended if Cambodia fails to soften the blow threatened by the United States.
“I fear that the high tariff will affect factories and will result in fewer jobs for workers,” said the 47-year-old.
“Then we will have low wages and will not be able to support our families.”
UN says ‘deeply troubled’ by Kenya protest killings
- The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights meanwhile reported at least 10 deaths, 29 injuries, 37 arrests and two abductions
GENEVA: The United Nations on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the deaths of at least 10 people in Kenya where police and protesters clashed during anti-government demonstrations the previous day.
The violence erupted on Saba Saba Day (meaning Seven Seven) when demonstrators annually mark the events of July 7, 1990 when Kenyans rose up to demand a return to multi-party democracy after years of autocratic rule by then-president Daniel arap Moi.
“We are deeply troubled by the killings yesterday of at least 10 people, as well as looting and destruction of property in Kenya,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
She said that “lethal ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons were used” as police responded to the protests.
She highlighted that Kenyan police had reported that at least 11 people were killed, 52 police officers injured and 567 arrests made.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights meanwhile reported at least 10 deaths, 29 injuries, 37 arrests and two abductions, she added.
“We have also received reports of looting and damage to public and private property by unidentified individuals in multiple locations.”
Shamdasani said the violence came “barely two weeks after 15 protesters were reportedly killed and many more injured in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya on 25 June.”
UN rights chief Volker Turk renews “his call for calm and restrain, and full respect for the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” she said.
“It is essential that legitimate grievances at the root of these protests are addressed,” the spokeswoman said.
The UN rights office noted that Kenyan police had announced an investigation into earlier incidents.
Shamdasani stressed that “under international human rights law, intentional lethal force by law enforcement officers, including with firearms, should only be used when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat.”
Turk reiterates “his call for all reported killings and other alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, including with respect to use of force, to be promptly, thoroughly, independently and transparently investigated,” she said.
“Those responsible must be held to account.”
Acropolis shuts, outdoor work halted as heatwave scorches Greece
- To protect outdoor workers, the labor ministry has decreed a work stoppage from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. in various parts of the country, including several islands
- The Greek culture ministry said the world renowned site would be shut till 5:00 p.m
ATHENS: Greece’s top archaeological monument, the Acropolis, was partially shut Tuesday as part of emergency measures to protect visitors and workers around the country during a four-day heatwave.
The Greek culture ministry said the world-renowned site would be shut till 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) “for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures.”
The four-day heatwave confirmed by meteorologists began Sunday is the second to grip Greece since late June.
Temperatures are expected to reach 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, with a maximum of 38 Celsius in Athens.
Similar temperatures are expected on Wednesday.
To protect outdoor workers, the labor ministry has decreed a work stoppage from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. in various parts of the country, including several islands.
The stoppage mainly affects construction work and delivery riders.
“Days with a heatwave make my job more difficult,” cycle-riding courier Michalis Keskinidis told AFP.
“We drink a lot of water to protect ourselves from the heat, combined with electrolytes, and take breaks whenever possible,” the 43-year-old said.
The 2,500-year-old Acropolis, built on a rock overlooking the capital that offers little shade, draws tens of thousands of visitors daily.
Last year it recorded some 4.5 million visitors, an increase of over 15 percent compared to 2023.
Officials had been forced to order similar shutdowns in the past two years in heatwave conditions.
The Greek civil protection authority has warned of high fire risk in the greater Athens area, in central Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula.
Greece’s fire department has been dealing with up to 50 fires daily, the head of the Greek fire service officers’ union Constantinos Tsigkas told state TV ERT.
Elsewhere, Serbia’s hydrometeorological service RMHZ warned that weather conditions could fuel more fires, after 620 fires were recorded Monday.
But there are also thunderstorms expected in Serbia’s northern Vojvodina region, as well as in western and central areas.
RHMZ has also warned of the possibility of hail and hurricane-force gusts of wind.
Croatia has already felt the impact of storms since Monday, with several of the country’s regions affected.
Two people were injured and hospitalized in Vinkovci after a storm knocked down a power line on a family house near the eastern town, police said.
The authorities said they had taken dozens of calls over wind-related emergencies including trees blocking roads, damaged roofs and power failures.
On Tuesday, heavy rain and gale-force winds flooded roads, knocked down trees and caused power outages at the Croatian port town of Split, the state-run HRT broadcaster reported.
At the town’s port, a ferry broke its moorings and hit a catamaran and a tourist excursion boat, sinking the latter.
There was similar trouble further north, with storms raging in Hungary and Slovakia.
In Budapest, strong winds damaged roofs, felled trees onto roads and downed power lines on Monday, with the national meteorological service HungaroMet measuring winds up to 137 kilometers (85 miles) per hour locally.
Rail traffic was severely disrupted across Hungary with full restoration of services potentially requiring weeks, according to Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar.
In Slovakia, gale-force winds caused power outages and blew off the roof of a block of flats in the eastern town of Gelnica and fallen trees disrupted road and railway transport across the region.
The country’s weather service SHMU has issued a storm warning with heavy rain, wind and hail for Tuesday, mainly for central and eastern Slovakia.
Thousands told to stay home as Spain forest fire rages on
- Forest fire stoked by fierce winds has burned more than 2,300 hectares
- Spain has in recent days sweltered through a heatwave that parched the land and heightened the risk of forest fires
MADRID: Spanish firefighters on Tuesday were battling a forest fire stoked by fierce winds that has burned more than 2,300 hectares (5,680 acres), with authorities urging thousands of residents to stay home.
The Spanish army’s emergency response unit said it had deployed overnight near the northeastern city of Tarragona to assist local authorities.
The blaze has devoured “around 2,377 hectares of land, mostly forest,” countryside rangers in the Catalonia region wrote on X.
The protected Els Ports natural park makes up 30 percent of the affected area, they added.
Firefighters released video footage shot from a helicopter on Monday showing hills enveloped in a cloud of grey and orange smoke stretching into the distance.
Winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour (56 miles per hour) made it harder to extinguish the fire overnight, firefighters said.
The national civil protection authority urged residents in the area to close their doors and windows and stay home, saying that around 18,000 people were affected.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of the extreme heat that causes some forest fires.
Spain has in recent days sweltered through a heatwave that parched the land and heightened the risk of forest fires.
National weather agency AEMET said last month was Spain’s hottest June on record and that the frequency of extreme heat had tripled in the past 10 years.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), some 500 fires destroyed 300,000 hectares in Spain in 2022, a record for the continent.
Around 21,000 hectares have burned so far this year.
Kremlin says former minister’s suicide is shocking
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the suicide of former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit just hours after his dismissal by President Vladimir Putin was shocking.
Starovoit was found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after Putin fired him.
A presidential decree published on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Starovoit after barely a year in the job.
