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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Politics
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Four killed in violent clashes at political rally in Bangabandhu's hometown
At least four people were killed in clashes over a rally organised by the National Citizen Party (NCP) on Wednesday in Gopalganj, the hometown of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, according to media reports. The hometown of Rahman, also known as Bangabandhu, turned into a virtual battlefield as hundreds of supporters of his daughter and deposed premier Sheikh Hasina clashed with police, ahead of the planned march of student-led NCP, Prothom Alo newspaper reported. Three of the deceased were identified as Dipto Saha (25), Ramazan Kazi (18) and Sohel Molla (41), the paper said. The deceased were brought to Gopalganj General Hospital with gunshot injuries, doctors said, adding that nine more people were being treated at the facility with bullet wounds. Four extra platoons (nearly 200 soldiers) of the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were rushed to Gopalganj as authorities vowed stern action against those who carried out attacks on the NCP. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's office said a 22-hour curfew has been ordered from 8 pm Wednesday for Gopalganj, adding the perpetrators of the attack on the NCP would not go unpunished. According to media reports and witnesses, the protesters, equipped with bamboo sticks and brickbats, clashed with police and security forces, including the army and paramilitary BGB. The security arrangements were made to facilitate a planned rally by the newly-floated National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged as an offshoot of the Students against Discrimination movement in February, with the support of interim government chief Muhammad Yunus. Protesters vandalised the vehicles of police and that of the local administrative chief, alongside launching an assault on the NCP convoy, prompting the law enforcement agencies to fire gunshots, according to reports. The NCP managed to proceed with the rally on the vandalised stage with broken sound systems, chaired by its convenor Nahid Islam, vowing to ensure justice themselves if law enforcement agencies failed to do so. Islam and influential NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah promised to dismantle the remnants of "Mujib's legacy". The NCP convenor declared that if justice over the attack on their rally venue was not delivered promptly, their party would return to "liberate Gopalganj from Mujibism" with their own hands. We are going to bring our justice if the police forces fail," said Islam. The comments came shortly after NCP leader Sarjis Alam blasted the attack on their motorcade earlier in the day, calling on everyone to rush to Gopalganj and put up a resistance against members of the banned Awami League. "In Gopalganj, the agents of the killer Hasina have attacked us. The police are just standing by, watching the drama, retreating," Alam said in a Facebook post. The use of violence today in Gopalganj is utterly indefensible. Preventing young citizens from peacefully holding a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of their revolutionary movement is a shameful violation of their fundamental rights, a statement by Yunus's office read. This heinous act allegedly carried out by members of the banned Awami League's Chhatra League and AL activists will not go unpunished. The perpetrators must be swiftly identified and held fully accountable. There is no place for such violence against any citizen of Bangladesh, the chief adviser's office said. A local newspaper editor, preferring anonymity, said ordinary people and even former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) joined hands with local Awami League leaders and activists to prevent the NCP. In February, thousands of protesters set fire to Mujibur Rahman's residence in 32 Dhanmondi in Dhaka, which was converted into a memorial. Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 last year, when she fled Bangladesh following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League's 16-year regime. Hasina's father is widely viewed as an independence hero, but anger at his daughter has tarnished his legacy. He was killed along with most of his family members in a coup staged by a group of junior or mid-ranking military officers on August 15, 1975. Hasina and her sister Rehana survived as they were in Germany.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Trump tariffs may cost South Africa 100,000 jobs: Central bank chief
US President Donald Trump's tariffs on South Africa could cause around 100,000 job losses, with the agriculture and automotive sectors hardest-hit, central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday. Kganyago told local radio station 702 that the impact of the 30 per cent tariff, which Africa's biggest economy faces from August 1, could cause significant damage to specific industries. "The impact in agriculture could actually be quite devastating because agriculture employs a lot of low-skilled workers, and here the impact is on citrus fruit, table grapes and wines," Kganyago said. He said statistics showing South African car exports to the United States slumped more than 80 per cent in the wake of import tariffs imposed on cars by the Trump administration in April were very concerning. "If we do not find alternative measures the impact on jobs could be around 100,000, so that is what we actually face," the governor said. South Africa already has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, with the official rate sitting at 32.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year and an expanded definition at 43.1 per cent. Farmer groups have also warned of the adverse impact of the tariffs on producers of citrus, macadamia nuts, grapes, wine, fruit juices and ostrich leather. In the citrus sector alone the tariffs have put 35,000 jobs in jeopardy and threaten to devastate towns such as Citrusdal in the Western Cape that are heavily dependent on exports to the U.S.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Indian Army tests Akash Prime missile in Ladakh, scores 2 direct hits
In a significant development, the Indian Army on Wednesday carried out successful trials of the indigenously developed Akash Prime air defence system at an altitude of over 15,000 feet in the Ladakh sector. The trial was carried out by the Army Air Defence along with senior officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which has developed the system. During the trials, the surface-to-air missiles registered two direct hits against very fast-moving target aircraft in the very high altitude area in a rarified atmosphere. The Akash Prime system would form the third and fourth regiments of the Akash air defence systems in the Indian Army. The system also performed very well during Operation Sindoor in thwarting aerial attacks by the Pakistan military using Chinese aircraft and Turkish drones in it. In comparison to the existing Akash System, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy. Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under low-temperature environments at higher altitudes. A modified ground system of the existing Akash weapon system has also been used. The Akash Prime system has further enhanced the confidence of the users (Indian Army and Indian Air Force). The missile can be deployed at heights up to 4,500 metres and can take down targets at a distance of around 25-30 km.
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Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business
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University of Southampton opens India's first foreign varsity campus
The Gurugram campus marks the first operational foreign university in India under NEP 2020 reforms, offering UK-aligned UG and PG courses and enabling student mobility Sanket Koul New Delhi Listen to This Article Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday inaugurated the Gurugram campus of the UK-based University of Southampton, making it the first foreign university to operationalise its campus in India. The university received its official letter of intent from the Union education ministry in August last year, followed by a public announcement and formal launch on September 13, 2024. The development follows the University Grants Commission's 2023 notification of rules facilitating the entry of foreign higher education institutions into India as part of the National Education Policy 2020 reforms. Under these regulations, foreign institutions seeking to establish campuses in India must
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Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Politics
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Orthodox Party quits Israeli cabinet but throws Netanyahu a lifeline
An ultra-Orthodox party quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Wednesday, but said it would remain within his coalition for now, giving the government more time to resolve a thorny dispute over military conscription. Another ultra-Orthodox group abandoned the coalition on Tuesday over the deeply divisive issue, leaving Netanyahu with just a one-seat majority in parliament. But rather than follow suit, the other ultra-Orthodox partner, Shas, said on Wednesday it would just pull its ministers from government ranks while continuing to back the coalition in parliament. "Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement, a day after the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party had announced its full walkout. The Shas decision means Netanyahu does not face the threat of early elections, for now, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza ceasefire. Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the problem of who should serve in the military -- a debate that has long caused huge tensions within Israel's deeply divided society. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu or other partners within his increasingly splintered cabinet. While the ultra-Orthodox parties have focused their anger on the conscription issue, far-right parties have been pressing Netanyahu not to make concessions in ceasefire talks with Hamas militants that are underway in Qatar. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich want Israel to press on with the war, but Netanyahu would still be likely to have enough cabinet votes to back any eventual ceasefire without them. WAR WEARY Underscoring divisions in the coalition, Shas in its statement on Wednesday urged Netanyahu to do "everything in his power" to reach a deal with Hamas. Israelis have become increasingly weary of the 21-month war in Gaza, which began with Israel's single deadliest day on October 7, 2023, when a surprise attack by Hamas killed 1,200 and saw 251 taken hostage by the Palestinian militants. Israel's subsequent offensive against Hamas has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population of Gaza, led to a humanitarian crisis and left much of the enclave in ruins. It has also exacted Israel's highest military death toll in decades, with around 450 soldiers killed so far in Gaza combat. This has added fuel to an already explosive debate over a new conscription bill that lies at the centre of the latest crisis to rattle Netanyahu's coalition, which took office in late 2022 and is due to stay in office until the autumn of 2026. Ultra-Orthodox seminary students have long been exempt from mandatory military service. Many Israelis are angered by what they see as an unfair burden carried by the mainstream who serve. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders say full-time devotion to the study of holy scriptures is sacrosanct and fear their young men will steer away from religious life if they are drafted into the military. Last year the Supreme Court ordered an end to the exemption. Parliament has been trying to work out a new conscription bill, which has so far failed to meet UTJ demands.
