Students rally in Dhaka, pledge to build a 'new Bangladesh' amid political uncertainty
Separately, supporters of the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, also held a rally in the capital, Dhaka, where party leaders also vowed to work to establish democracy following the fall of Hasina.
The rallies took place two days before the country's interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus is marking the anniversary of Hasina's fall.
Hasina fled the country to India last Aug. 5 amid a mass uprising, ending her 15-year rule. Yunus took over three days later and pledged to restore order following weeks of violence that left hundreds killed and thousands injured.
The rallies reflect the shifting power dynamics in Bangladesh following Hasina's dramatic ouster. With her Awami League banned and the political landscape fractured, the country is at a crossroads. The emergence of new political actors and unresolved tensions over the timing of the next election raise concerns about whether Bangladesh will move toward a stable, democratic transition — or slide into deeper political turmoil.
On Sunday, some 1,000 supporters of the student-led National Citizen Party rallied in front of the Shaheed Minar national monument in Dhaka, the capital, where its top leader Nahid Islam announced a 24-point agenda for a 'new Bangladesh.'
'Exactly one year ago, at this Shaheed Minar (memorial), we vowed to free this country from the hands of dictatorship. By responding to that call, we together defeated the fascist rule and regained control of our country,' he said.
He said his party wanted a new constitution that would replace one adopted in 1972 after Bangladesh was born under the leadership of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's father. Bangladesh had just fought a nine-month war to gain its independence from Pakistan.
'Let us all unite and transform this historic 24-point agenda into reality to build a new Bangladesh — a Bangladesh that fulfills the dreams of all citizens, as we move toward the formation of our second republic,' he said.
Also on Sunday, thousands of supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's student wing rallied elsewhere in the city. Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the party, asked his supporters to seek support from young voters in the next election. Rahman has been in exile in London since 2008 and joined Sunday's rally online. He is expected to return to the country before the next elections.
Bangladesh has been at a crossroads since Hasina's ouster and the interim government has been struggling to restore order with allegations of failure in controlling mob violence and maintaining human rights.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Earlham student from Pendleton to run for Statehouse in District 53
RICHMOND, IN — An Earlham College student has officially thrown their hat into a 2026 election race. Reece Axel-Adams, a 21-year-old politics student who is comfortable with an alternate pronoun, said they are running for an Indiana House of Representatives seat in District 53 against incumbent Ethan Lawson. District 53 covers most of Hancock County and part of Madison County. Axel-Adams is from Pendleton, which sits in the district. Axel-Adams said they are living with their parents and spoke about the hardships the current generation faces. Axel-Adams said they have struggled with mental health issues, sharing their history of depression and being put on a suicide alert in January. They took a medical leave from Earlham for a second straight semester but said they have been doing much better with therapy. "The stigma around mental health, especially among men in America, is awful," they said. "For me, that's a center point of the campaign. I could go on and on about the mental health crisis that we as a society and youth in particuliar are facing. (Therapy) is a wonderful thing, because it makes us realize things about ourselves that we didn't know and process those hard, traumatic things in life. It truly is life-changing." Campaign theme centers around Indiana's future Axel-Adams said they are running on the theme of "The Future," asking where the state is now and should be heading. "When you've got people graduating from Indiana and people still in college looking at leaving the state that they grew up in, that's a problem," they said. "If we lose young people, we lose the future." Among Axel-Adams' other platform points are housing, opportunities and jobs, community, equality and unity, cannabis reform and the economy. "The economy is stupid," they said. Prices and rents are high, and it's difficult for younger people to afford to buy a home. "What are we as Gen Zers, Millennials, Gen Alphas and the generations that come after us are supposed to do?" Axel-Adams called themselves a "true-blue Democrat," but they bash their own party as hard as the Republican Party. "Biden and Trump were saying how the economy is doing great," they said. "Jobs are great, how prices were down, how people could afford to buy a house on a single job. Whatever party's not in power is going to be saying the economy's doing awful. "When Jane goes down the road to the grocery store and pays 6 bucks for a dozen eggs and 2 bucks for a gallon of milk, that's 8 bucks right there for two staples that practically every house has in the refrigerator almost every time," they said. "Throw in produce and some meat and other dairy products, you're already up to 50 bucks. If you're creative and are a good enough shopper, you've got food for maybe five days." Axel-Adams said they are in the process of finalizing a domain for a campaign website. Experience with campaigns, lawsuits, protests Axel-Adams is no stranger to being involved in local government. Last year, Axel-Adams was a campaign manager for Indiana Senate candidate Suzanne Fortenberry, which was ultimately unsuccessful but served as further motivation to seek an elected office. "Ever since high school, I knew one day that I was going to run for office of some kind," they said. "A lot of my friends and people who knew me at school were convinced that one day I was going to run for office. There's sort of a gag among some of my friends and I that one day I'd be governor of Indiana. Who knows?" While at Earlham, Axel-Adams was one of the students who spoke out in support of professors becoming unionized and was present at a Richmond Education Association rally in 2023. Axel-Adams also served as a student senator for Earlham's student government and, as a high school junior, sued Pendleton Heights High School for discrimination after teachers were told to take down pride flags in classrooms. "I started a petition online, got 5,000 signatures and talked in front of the school board and administration," they said. "I wasn't able to change their minds, so that prompted me to start the school's Gay-Straight Alliance with one of the teachers, because if they're going to try and make us hide, we're just going to be louder." Axel-Adams partnered with the state's ACLU and filed a lawsuit, which ended in a settlement with the corporation after a judge ruled a preliminary injunction. Axel-Adams said they weren't asking for punitive damages. "I'm not in this whole politics business to get rich," they said. "If I was, there are far easier ways to make a lot of money, and politicians don't make a lot of money in Indiana, especially if you're a state legislator." Axel-Adams also started a nonprofit campaign consulting firm, Axel Campaign Consulting. They focus on low-cost services to local candidates without a lot of money. Expectations to win low Axel-Adams said they don't expect to win but that they are "going to work like hell to win." "I expect to lose because, gerrymandered, I don't think this seat has been Democratic ever," they said. "But I do have to think about the future, because I probably won't win." Despite their low expectations, Axel-Adams said they will run again for another position, possibly for the state's senate. "I think I've got a chance, but if I don't win, by the time I'll be old enough to run for Senate, I'll run against (Mike) Gaskill," they said. "I think in that scenario, I think I'd have a better chance of winning there." Axel-Adams acknowledged they'd be just one of 100 in the Lower House. "I'm not promising to go in there and completely change everything," they said. "I would be ecstatic if I got one bill passed, and that would probably be a very nonpartisan roads funding bill because I like having nice roads to drive on." Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter at The Palladium-Item. Contact him on X (@evan_weaver7) or email at eweaver@ This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Earlham student launches bid for Indiana House of Representatives Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I push Keir Starmer to be more extroverted in Scotland
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said he pushes Sir Keir Starmer to be more 'extroverted' when he comes to Scotland. Mr Sarwar said he speaks to the Prime Minister every two or three weeks, often calling at weekends when they both have more free time. The Scottish Labour leader also said he will not engage in any 'back room stitch-ups' with other parties if he becomes first minister following the Scottish election next year. At an Edinburgh Fringe event in front of a live audience, Mr Sarwar was interviewed by Catherine Salmond, editor of The Herald. He was pressed on his relationship with the UK Labour leader and whether Sir Keir was comfortable coming north of the border. He said: 'We're different personalities… I am much more probably conversational, out there, a bit of an extrovert. 'I think it's safe to say he's a bit more introverted in that sense.' Mr Sarwar said Sir Keir had become more relaxed and confident in the five years since becoming Labour leader. He said Sir Keir was more relaxed in Scotland than in other parts of the UK, adding: 'I think we've built up a rapport, probably because I am pushing to be a bit more of extroverted than perhaps he is in other parts.' He said he spoke to the Prime Minister around 'two or three times a month'. However he said the early part of Labour's response to the war in Gaza had been 'challenging' for his party, referring to an interview the Prime Minister gave where he said Israel had the 'right' to withhold power and water from Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks. 'I think the early part was challenging, he himself accepts that what he said in the LBC interview wasn't right,' Mr Sarwar said. Discussing the Middle East further, he said: 'I think we have to be doing much more to hold the Israeli government to account. 'To provide evidence that there is not any components that are being used in a proactive way in Gaza.' Looking ahead to the 2026 Scottish election, Mr Sarwar said he was putting his 'heart, soul energy, time' into winning. He said it would be a 'very close election' likely to result in a 'parliament of minorities'. Rather than doing deals such as the SNP-Green powersharing agreement, he said he would 'work progressively with the parliament' if he became first minister. He said: 'We are looking to form a minority Scottish Labour government that does no kind of back room stich-up but instead moves to govern based on what we promised.'
Fox News
38 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump voices support for GOP gubernatorial candidate, admits she has 'tough race'
President Donald Trump expressed support for Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, acknowledging that she is in the middle of a "tough race" against an opponent who is "not very good." "Yeah, I would. I mean, I would," Trump told reporters when asked about endorsing Earle-Sears. "I think probably, yeah, she's got a tough race. She shouldn't, she shouldn't, because the candidate she's running against is not very good, but I think she's got a tough race." However, he did not go so far as to give Earle-Sears his "complete and total" endorsement, as he has done with some candidates. Trump has already backed Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey and Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio. Polling out of Virginia may explain Trump's apparent reservations. A recent Virginia Commonwealth Poll from July has Sears at 37% and Spanberger at 49%. Meanwhile, Youngkin's approval rating sits at 49%, nine points higher than Trump's numbers in the same poll. On Aug. 1, in a CNN interview, Earle-Sears seemingly struggled to give an answer as to why Trump had not endorsed her yet. The lieutenant governor said that she had met with the president but repeatedly refused to detail what they had spoken about. Earle-Sears, who currently serves as Virginia's lieutenant governor and is poised to become the nation's first Black female governor, is facing an uphill battle against former Rep. Abigail Spanberger. Despite serving alongside popular Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Earle-Sears is struggling to close the gap and overtake her opponent. Earle-Sears is trailing Spanberger not only in the polls but also in fundraising. While Earle-Sears has yet to release her Q2 numbers, in Q1 she raised $3.1M, whereas Spanberger raked in more than double at $6.7M. In Q2, Spanberger raised $10.7M, according to her campaign.
