Students who ousted Hasina are helping lead Bangladesh, from the streets to the ministries

Two students who led the charge are also settling into the interim government, ushered in just a few days after Hasina resigned and fled to India. (AP)
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Updated 14 August 2024
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Students who ousted Hasina are helping lead Bangladesh, from the streets to the ministries

  • Two students who led the charge are also settling into the interim government, ushered in just a few days after Hasina resigned and fled to India

DHAKA: Within a week of unseating Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, the students who drove out Sheikh Hasina were directing Dhaka’s traffic.
Decked out in neon vests, their university IDs slung around their necks, they clutch sticks and umbrellas to wave cars this way and that, filling the void after police went on strike. They stopped drivers, checking their licenses and telling them off for not wearing their seatbelts. Some opened trunks of cars they deemed could belong to officials from the previous government, looking for smuggled riches.
Students have not only manned roads, two who led the charge against Hasina are settling into the interim government they ushered in just a few days after she resigned and fled to India in a military helicopter.
Before Hasina was toppled by the student movement with astonishing speed, she was seen as one of the country’s most unshakeable leaders. In total, she governed for more than 20 years, most recently winning four straight terms as her rule became ever more autocratic.
The question now is what comes next in a country still reeling from the violence surrounding her removal that left hundreds dead. The students hope they can restore peace and democracy and create a “new Bangladesh,” said Asif Mahmud, one of the protest leaders now in charge of the Sports and Youth Ministry.
“We’ve got a big responsibility,” he said. “We never thought, never had an ambition, that we would take such a responsibility at this age.”
“There is pressure, but confidence is also there,” said 26-year-old Mahmud.
The student-led protests began with a demand to abolish a quota system for government jobs they said favored Hasina’s allies but coalesced into a full-scale revolt against her and her Awami League government. Clashes with security forces, and the deaths that resulted, fueled wider outrage against Hasina’s rule, and the students have ridden a wave of popular support.
But concerns are also simmering over their lack of political experience, the extent of their ambitions and crucially, how long it will take the interim government to organize elections. Already, the student ministers along with the protesters have said that before any vote is held, they want to reform the country’s institutions — which they say have been degraded by both the Awami League and its rival, the dynastic Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Experts warn, however, that the interim government is unelected and as such it has no mandate to implement major changes.
The government, headed by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus who was chosen by the students, “must keep in mind that their main responsibility is to hold an election,” said Zillur Rahman, executive director of the Center for Governance Studies, a Dhaka-based think tank. “They shouldn’t take any policy decisions.”
Yunus, an economist and longtime Hasina critic, is known globally for his pioneering use of microcredit to help the poorest of the poor — but also has never run a government. He’s made clear that students will play a critical role in a manner never seen before: “Every ministry should have a student,” he said.
Controlling traffic for a few days is one thing but potentially appointing students into ministries could make them “power hungry” at an especially sensitive time, said Rahman.
Nahid Islam, the other student-turned-minister, acknowledged that they have no governance experience but said the grit and determination they showed in pushing out Hasina was proof that they can get things done.
“We think the students who have succeeded in leading an uprising … and the citizens are capable enough to build the nation,” said Islam, who was born in 1998 and now runs the Ministry of Information and Technology.
In the wake of Hasina’s ousting, students have mounted protests and issued ultimatums against authorities seen as close to her, demanding they quit. Six Supreme Court justices, including the chief justice, and the central bank governor all resigned in the past days.
“A modern government cannot be run on such a pattern,” said Mahfuz Anam, the editor-in-chief of The Daily Star newspaper, while adding that there have been some steps toward a stable transition process.
Many of the students who spent the past weeks protesting agree. They want the interim government to be neutral — but insist it must also be untethered to the mainstream political parties their generation has little connection to.
Alvi Mahmud, an 18-year-old student, said that if the interim government does a good job, then “people will not want BNP or Awami League or any traditional, old parties. They will want change. They will want a new way of living.”
The burning question is when new elections can be held. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a senior BNP leader, told reporters on Monday that the party told Yunus that it would give the interim government reasonable time to create a conducive and democratic environment for the polls.
This could create “a sense of calm in the political environment,” said Anam. It could also give student leaders time to politically mobilize ahead of elections.
“We are not thinking of a political platform yet,” said Islam, the new minister. “But a young generation is ready to lead this country, that generation has been built.”
For now, the country and its students are trying to come to terms with the horror of the last few weeks. More than 300 people were killed and tens of thousands injured as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations.
Students are sweeping up the streets that only recently were a battleground stained by the blood of their friends. They’re cleaning up debris at homes and university campuses destroyed in the violence. And though some police have returned to the streets after a strike, many students have remained beside them to help direct traffic.
At an intersection in the heart of the city, a statue of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — Bangladesh’s first leader after its independence in 1971 — used to tower over the constant flow of traffic. Swept up in both anger and joy after Hasina fled, protesters brought it down.
A few days ago, the site of the statue was defaced with graffiti against her, “Hasina you smell of dead bodies” was scrawled on the walls. Now, students have covered those words with murals depicting unity and their fight for change.
“We salute those who fought for our victory,” someone wrote in red and green, the colors of the Bangladesh’s flag. “We are one,” read another.


Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s officials say

Updated 16 September 2024
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Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s officials say

KYIV: Russia launched a drone attack overnight on Kyiv, with air defense units engaged in repelling the strikes, Ukrainian military officials said on Monday on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters’ witnesses reported a series of loud explosions in what sounded like air defense systems in operation.

 


Eight migrants die in Channel crossing attempt

Updated 16 September 2024
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Eight migrants die in Channel crossing attempt

  • Latest tragedy means 46 migrants have lost their lives attempting to reach British shores so far this year
  • The overcrowded vessel had 59 people on board from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran, says French official
  • More than 22,000 migrants have arrived in England by crossing the Channel since the beginning of this year, say officials

AMBLETEUSE, France: Eight migrants died on Sunday when their overcrowded vessel capsized while trying to cross the Channel from France to England, French authorities said, less than two weeks after the deadliest such disaster this year.
The latest tragedy means 46 migrants have lost their lives attempting to reach British shores so far this year, a regional official said, up from 12 in 2023.
The French and British governments have sought for years to stop the flow of migrants, who pay smugglers thousands of euros per head for the passage on overloaded rubber dinghies.
Regional prefect Jacques Billant said the incident happened at around 1:00 a.m. (2300 GMT on Saturday) off the coast of the northern town of Ambleteuse.
“The toll was terrible, with eight people reported dead,” he told the press near the site of the accident.
He said they seemed all to be men.
Six survivors were hospitalized, including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia, he added.
The boat had set off from the Slack river that flows into the sea between the towns of Wimereux and Ambleteuse.
It had 59 people on board from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran, Billant said.
“Only one out of six had a life jacket,” he said.
The dinghy “quickly got into difficulty and ran aground,” he said. “The boat was torn apart on the rocks.”

Christel Leclair, a volunteer at a local charity, said a second boat had departed at around 7:30 a.m. despite the fatal accident.
Departures “happen the whole time — winter, day, night, summer... as soon as the sea is calm,” she said.
“The boats are more and more overcrowded. They don’t have life jackets, just sometimes the inner tube of a tire,” she added.
“There are children, pregnant women and tiny babies. We’re sad and deflated.”
The Auberge des Migrants (Migrant shelter) charity on X called on the French and British states to “immediately rethink their migration policy.”
Billant said that this year French authorities had dismantled 20 people smuggling networks, arresting 77 people of whom 59 have been referred to the courts.
But Charlotte Kwantes, of the Utopia 56 charity helping migrants, said departures would only continue.
Without enough legal options for migrants wishing to reach the United Kingdom, “people are continuing and will continue to take the same risks, whatever the quantity of patrols and means deployed at the border,” she said.

Maritime authorities said Saturday that migrants had made numerous attempts to cross the Channel in recent days, with 200 people rescued in 24 hours over Friday and Saturday alone.
The latest incident comes after at least 12 migrants including six minors, mostly from Eritrea, died when their boat capsized off the northern French coast on September 3.
More than 22,000 migrants have arrived in England by crossing the Channel since the beginning of this year, according to British officials.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France’s President Emmanuel Macron pledged this summer to strengthen “cooperation” in handling the surge in undocumented migrant numbers.
Starmer’s office on Sunday announced the appointment of Martin Hewitt as chief of the new UK Border Security Command, set up to bolster the fight against illegal migration notably by leading joint investigations with other European countries.
Hewitt will accompany Starmer during a trip to Rome on Monday for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni where tackling illegal migration will be high on the agenda.
The Channel crossings often prove perilous, and in November 2021, 27 migrants died when their boat capsized in the deadliest single such disaster to date.
French authorities seek to stop migrants taking to the water but do not intervene once they are afloat except for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.
 


British ministers head to Gulf for talks on new trade deal

Douglas Alexander (L) and Jonathan Reynolds. (AFP file photo)
Updated 16 September 2024
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British ministers head to Gulf for talks on new trade deal

  • Trade has been a weak point in Britain’s economy in recent years — with business groups pointing to Brexit as one cause

LONDON: Britain’s new trade ministers visited the Gulf region on Monday in a first joint visit for talks on a possible trade deal, the government said.
Trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds and minister for trade policy Douglas Alexander will meet their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Trade has been a weak point in Britain’s economy in recent years — with business groups pointing to Brexit as one cause.
The government, elected after a landslide win for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in July, is also targeting trade deals with India, Switzerland and South Korea as part of its plan to boost economic growth.
“I want to see a high-quality trade deal that supports jobs, helps UK companies sell their products to the region and increases choice for consumers — so it’s great to be here to discuss exactly that,” Reynolds said in a statement.
Britain’s Business and Trade Department estimates a free trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council could boost the UK economy by 1.6 billion pounds ($2.10 billion) over the long run.
Out of the Group of Seven advanced economies, Britain ranks bottom for growth in goods and services exports since 2019, even when accounting for the country’s large precious metals trade, according to national accounts data.

 


Mali, Burkina and Niger to launch new biometric passports

Updated 16 September 2024
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Mali, Burkina and Niger to launch new biometric passports

  • In July, the allies consolidated their ties with the creation of a Confederation of Sahel States which will be chaired by Mali in its first year and groups some 72 million people

BAMAKO: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will soon launch new biometric passports, Mali’s military leader Col. Assimi Goita said Sunday, as the junta-led states look to solidify their alliance after splitting from regional bloc ECOWAS.
The three Sahel nations, all under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, joined together last September under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), after severing ties with former colonial ruler France and pivoting toward Russia.
They then said in January that they were turning their backs on the Economic Community of West African States — an organization they accused of being manipulated by France.
In July, the allies consolidated their ties with the creation of a Confederation of Sahel States which will be chaired by Mali in its first year and groups some 72 million people.
“In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonizing travel documents in our common area,” Goita said during a televised address late Sunday.
“We will be working to put in place the infrastructure needed to strengthen the connectivity of our territories through transport, communications networks and information technology,” he said.
The announcement came a day before the three states are due to mark the one-year anniversary of the alliance’s creation.
The neighbors are all battling jihadist violence that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
The unrest is estimated to have killed thousands and displaced millions across the region.
 

 


Latest Trump shooting incident a reminder of past assassination attempts against US leaders

Updated 16 September 2024
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Latest Trump shooting incident a reminder of past assassination attempts against US leaders

  • Four US presidents were assassinated while in office
  • Four presidents were wounded but survived assassination attempts, while in office or afterwards

WASHINGTON: The FBI is investigating what it said was another assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The incident occurred Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach in Florida where Trump, the former president, was golfing.
Law enforcement officials said Secret Service saw a man with a rifle in the bushes and shot at the suspected assassin.
The suspect fled the bushes and was later apprehended on a highway, according to law enforcement.
Previous attempt on Trump
In July, Trump was shot by a gunman during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in what the FBI said was an attempted assassination. The former president was wounded in the ear.
The Congressional Research Service says direct assaults against presidents, presidents-elect, and candidates have occurred on at least 15 separate occasions, with five resulting in death.
Below is a list of other previous attempts on the lives of American leaders, successful or not.

Assassinations
Four US presidents were assassinated while in office.
Abraham Lincoln: Killed in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.
James Garfield: Shot in 1881 in Washington at a train station and died of his wounds two and a half months later.
William McKinley: Assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist in Buffalo, New York.
John F. Kennedy: Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, as the president rode in a motorcade.

Leaders who survived assassination attempts
Four presidents were wounded but survived assassination attempts, while in office or afterwards.
Donald Trump: Trump had just started a campaign speech in Pennsylvania on July 13 when shots rang out. Trump was shot in the ear. He was rushed by security officials to a black SUV.
Ronald Reagan: He was shot in 1981 outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington. Reagan was wounded when one of the bullets ricocheted off a limousine and struck him under the left armpit.

Gerald Ford: Survived two attempts on his life in less than three weeks in 1975 without being hurt.
Theodore Roosevelt: He was shot in the chest in 1912 while campaigning for election in Milwaukee, but insisted on delivering his speech to supporters before being taken to a hospital.
Assassination attempts on other US leaders
Robert F. Kennedy: A US presidential candidate, and a US senator, Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 by a gunman in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
Alabama Governor George C. Wallace: A candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, he was shot in 1972 and became paralyzed from the waist down. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Lincoln Feast and Leslie Adler)