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Bangladesh clashes leave nearly 150 students injured

Bangladesh clashes leave nearly 150 students injured
A police personnel patrols around Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) court in Dhaka on November 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 21 sec ago
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Bangladesh clashes leave nearly 150 students injured

Bangladesh clashes leave nearly 150 students injured
Updated 21 sec ago
AFP
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DHAKA: More than 150 students have been injured in Bangladesh during clashes at a university campus, a sign of serious discord between groups instrumental in fomenting a national revolution last year.
Tuesday afternoon’s clashes began after the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) sought to recruit students at the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in the country’s southwest.
That sparked a confrontation with campus members of Students Against Discrimination, a protest group that led the uprising that ousted autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina last August.
At least 50 people were taken for treatment after the skirmish, Khulna police officer Kabir Hossain told AFP.
“The situation is now under control, and an extra contingent of police has been deployed,” he added.
Communications student Jahidur Rahman told AFP that those hospitalized had injuries from thrown bricks and “sharp weapons,” and that around 100 others had suffered minor injuries.
Footage of the violence showing rival groups wielding scythes and machetes, along with injured students being carted to hospital for treatment, was widely shared on Facebook.
Both groups blamed the other for starting the violence, with the BNP student wing chief Nasir Uddin Nasir accusing members of Islamist political party Jamaat of agitating the situation to force a confrontation.
Jamaat activists “created this unwarranted clash,” he told AFP.
Local student Obayed Ullah told AFP that the BNP had defied a decision by the campus to remain free of activities by established political parties.
He added that there was “no presence” of Jamaat on campus.
The incident provoked outrage among students elsewhere in the country, with a protest rally held late Tuesday night to condemn the BNP’s youth wing at Dhaka University.
Students Against Discrimination launched protests last year that toppled Bangladesh’s former government and chased ex-leader Hasina into exile after 15 years of iron-fisted rule.
Activists from the BNP joined with student protesters in the final days of Hasina’s tenure, defying a bloody crackdown by security forces that killed hundreds.
The BNP is widely expected to win fresh elections slated to be held by the middle of next year under the supervision of the South Asian country’s current caretaker administration.
Student leaders have meanwhile struggled to parley their success in engineering Hasina’s fall into a durable political force.

Topics: Bangladesh

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Migrant groups say racist attacks increase in German city after deadly Christmas market violence

Migrant groups say racist attacks increase in German city after deadly Christmas market violence
Updated 7 sec ago
AP
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Migrant groups say racist attacks increase in German city after deadly Christmas market violence

Migrant groups say racist attacks increase in German city after deadly Christmas market violence
  • Migrants who have settled in the German city of Magdeburg say they have experienced a sharp increase in racism and anti-immigration sentiments following a deadly Christmas market attack last year
  • The violence has ensured that migration remains a key issue as the country heads toward an early election Sunday
Updated 7 sec ago
AP
MAGDEBURG: When Haben Gebregergish first immigrated to the German city of Magdeburg seven years ago, the Eritrean immigrant was walking to the supermarket with her child when an intoxicated woman approached her on the street.
At the time, Gebregergish did not speak German well enough to comprehend what the woman was saying. But Gebregergish says that when the woman threw a beer bottle at her head, she immediately understood.
It was one of her first encounters with racism, but certainly not the last. In the aftermath of a deadly attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg late last year, Gebregergish and other migrants who have settled in the city say they have experienced a sharp increase in racism and anti-immigration sentiments.
“We are the same as you,” Gebregergish said earlier this month. “We are not different. Just like you, we have feelings. Sometimes we are sad, sometimes we are happy, just like everyone else.”
The Christmas market violence was one of five high-profile attacks committed by immigrants in the past nine months that have made migration a key issue as the country heads toward an early election on Sunday. The suspect, a Saudi doctor, drove into the holiday market teeming with shoppers and left five women and a 9-year-old boy dead and 200 people injured.
The suspect arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency, and authorities say the suspect does not fit the usual profile of perpetrators of extremist attacks. He is being held in custody as authorities investigate him.
Just one day after Dec. 20 violence, there was a large right-wing demonstration in Magdeburg, and verbal and physical attacks on people with a migrant background have increased significantly in the city since then, according to the German-Syrian Cultural Association in Magdeburg.
“The migrant community and the advice centers report that attacks have increased by more than 70 percent here in the city,” said Saeeid Saeeid, who came to Germany from Syria seven years ago and is a member of the association. “Racism already exists here and everywhere. But it has increased enormously since the attack.”
Ketevan Asatiani-Hermann, newly elected chair of the board for the Advisory Council for Integration and Migration in Magdeburg, said victims of racist attacks in the city often do not feel support from politicians or police.
“The hatred has always been there, people just didn’t dare to say it so clearly before,” said Asatiani-Hermann, who came to Magdeburg in 2011 from Georgia.
Officers sometimes target or search the victims first before the perpetrator, she alleged, and they also worry reporting an attack could have a negative impact on their residence status.
The Magdeburg Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Mayor Simone Borris, in a statement, said: “Cohesion and community are fundamental values of a city that are inviolable.” The mayor also referred media to online services for migrants, and said the city’s Cooperation with the Advisory Council for Integration and Migration will be expanded.
Magdeburg is located in the former communist east, an area where the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has its highest support. The party is polling in second place going into the upcoming election with about 20 percent support and is fielding its first candidate to lead the country.
Even though it’s highly unlikely to take a share of power soon, it has become a factor that other politicians can’t ignore and has helped shape Germany’s debate on migration.
The election’s outcome — and a potential gain in influence for AfD — could have a large impact on Magdeburg’s politics and everyday life, Asatiani-Hermann said.
Saeeid said the city’s migrants feel alone, and want to hear directly from their elected officials to address their concerns.
“We will not allow Magdeburg to become a playing field for racism and hatred,” he said.

Australian PM condemns alleged attack on Muslim women

Australian PM condemns alleged attack on Muslim women
Updated 58 min 28 sec ago
AFP
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Australian PM condemns alleged attack on Muslim women

Australian PM condemns alleged attack on Muslim women
  • The country's Islamic community, joined by Test cricketer Usman Khawaja, have pointed to the February 13 incident in Melbourne as an example of the insufficient government response to threats against Muslims
Updated 58 min 28 sec ago
AFP

SYDENY: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday condemned a "reprehensible" assault on two Muslim women at a shopping centre, rejecting criticism that Islamophia was treated less seriously than anti-Semitism.
The country's Islamic community, joined by Test cricketer Usman Khawaja, have pointed to the February 13 incident in Melbourne as an example of the insufficient government response to threats against Muslims.
Asked if the government would have reacted more swiftly if the incident had been anti-Semitic, Albanese told journalists that an attack on anyone because of their faith was "reprehensible".
"I take all attacks on people on the basis of their faith seriously, and they should all face the full force of the law."
Albanese faced criticism earlier this week for not condemning the attack sooner.
Australian leaders have been vocal in condemning a series of anti-Semitic incidents over recent months in which vandals have torched a Sydney childcare centre, firebombed a Melbourne synagogue and scrawled anti-Semitic graffiti in Jewish neighbourhoods.
But on Monday, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said it was alarmed by a trend of attacks against Muslim people.
The response "remains grossly insufficient", federation president Rateb Jneid said in a statement.
"When compared to the swift and significant attention given to less severe incidents affecting other communities, the disparity in response is not only apparent but also unacceptable."
The country's anti-Islamophobia envoy, Aftab Malik, called Tuesday for Australian leaders to condemn the attack and invest in making Muslims feel safe.
"All forms of hate need to stop," he later told Australian broadcaster ABC.
Khawaja posted on social media Tuesday that such attacks on the Islamic community were being "swept under the rug".
On Wednesday, however, he welcomed Albanese and the country's opposition leader "speaking up" on the matter.
Victoria Police said Wednesday a female suspect would appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court over the alleged assault.
Two Muslim women -- a 30-year-old and a 26-year-old -- allegedly sustained non life-threatening injuries.

Topics: Australia

EU eyes stricter food import rules in agriculture policy review

EU eyes stricter food import rules in agriculture policy review
Updated 19 February 2025
AFP
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EU eyes stricter food import rules in agriculture policy review

EU eyes stricter food import rules in agriculture policy review
  • The EU plans to crackdown on food imports that do not meet its standards as part of an agricultural policy review to be published Wednesday
Updated 19 February 2025
AFP

BRUSSELS: The EU plans to crackdown on food imports that do not meet its standards as part of an agricultural policy review to be published Wednesday that looks to appease disgruntled farmers amid global trade tensions.
The European Commission is due to unveil a new blueprint for a sector that despite gobbling up a third of the bloc’s budget has long resented Brussels’s liberal approach to trade.
Months of protests last year saw farmers irked at regulatory burdens, squeezed revenues and what they see as unfair competition from less-regulated overseas rivals, hurling eggs, spraying manure and blocking the Belgian capital’s streets.
Following consultations with farming lobby groups and environmental NGOs, the “Vision for Agriculture and Food” promises to address some of those concerns.
To ensure that the agricultural sector is not “put at a competitive disadvantage,” the commission will pursue “a stronger alignment of production standards applied to imported products,” according to a draft of the text seen by AFP.
In particular, Brussels will see to it that “the most hazardous pesticides banned in the EU for health and environmental reasons” are not allowed back in “through imported products.”
The draft does not specify a timeline for that or what products or countries could be affected.
“The first mission of this vision is to reduce tensions and calm all parties,” said Luc Vernet of Farm Europe, a think tank, noting the text was “extremely cautious.”
The prospect of a potential ban on some imports could ruffle feathers abroad against the backdrop of a looming trade conflict.
The Financial Times reported this week US crops such as soybean could be targeted, after President Donald Trump unveiled duties that could hit European exports.
European farmers have also been uneasy at a trade deal with Latin America’s Mercosur the commission announced in December.


The draft document also vows to reform the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), cutting red tape and better targeting mammoth subsidies toward farmers “who need it most.”
This suggests Brussels will move away from the current system, which calculates financial aid based on the size of the farms, favoring large landowners.
“This is a big deal,” said Celia Nyssens-James of the European Environment Bureau, an umbrella group of activists, noting that the lion’s share of money is now going to a minority of farmers who don’t “necessarily need it.”
“It’s a paradigm shift,” she said.
The EU subsidises farming to make sure enough food is produced at affordable prices, and farmers are rewarded for taking care of nature.
Those subsidies are massive and prized by farming states, most notably France, Ireland and eastern European nations, where farmers have a strong political influence.
Some 387 billion euros ($460 million) was earmarked for agriculture in the EU’s budget for 2021 to 2027.
Negotiations on the next instalment of the CAP for 2028-2034 are set to be one of the most sensitive subjects during EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s second term in office, which began in December.
According to the draft plans, more money should flow toward young farmers as well as those who contribute to the environmental preservation or work in areas with “natural constraints.”
The document did not provide any details about how a new system could work.
Simplifying access to funding for small- and medium-sized farmers by streamlining “controls and conditions” is also envisaged.
Furthermore the text calls for the 27-nation bloc to reduce “dependencies” and diversify supply chains, with fertilizer imports from Russia highlighted as of particular concern.
Agriculture contributed 1.3 percent to the EU’s GDP in 2023, according to the bloc.
Europe’s agri-food sector employed 30 million people, accounting for 15 percent of EU employment.

Topics: EU

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Gunmen identify, kill 7 Punjabi travelers in Pakistan: govt official

Gunmen identify, kill 7 Punjabi travelers in Pakistan: govt official
Updated 19 February 2025
AFP
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Gunmen identify, kill 7 Punjabi travelers in Pakistan: govt official

Gunmen identify, kill 7 Punjabi travelers in Pakistan: govt official
Updated 19 February 2025
AFP

QUETTA: Gunmen in volatile southwest Pakistan shot seven bus passengers dead after identifying them as being from another region, a government official said Wednesday.
Attackers late on Tuesday burst the tires of a bus that was traveling on a highway through Balochistan, close to the provincial border with Punjab, said Saadat Hussain, a senior government official in the area.
Gunmen boarded the bus and demanded to see the identity cards of passengers, after which Punjabis were taken off the bus.
“The passengers belonging to Punjab province... were taken off by the terrorists and killed,” Hussain told AFP.
“Later they were lined up and shot dead.”
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for decades in the impoverished but mineral-rich Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

Topics: Pakistan

Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure

Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure
Updated 19 February 2025
Reuters
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Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure

Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure
  • Official of an Afghan resettlement advocacy group calls the US administration move ‘a national disgrace’
  • The US government is currently pursuing a drive under Elon Musk to slash $2 trillion in spending
Updated 19 February 2025
Reuters

WASHINGTON: The State Department office overseeing the resettlement of Afghans in the United States has been told to develop plans to close by April, according to a US official, a leading advocate and two sources familiar with the directive, a move that could deny up to an estimated 200,000 people new lives in America.
Family members of Afghan-American US military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the US government during the 20-year war are among those who could be turned away if the office is shut, the advocate and the US official said.
“Shutting this down would be a national disgrace, a betrayal of our Afghan allies, of the veterans who fought for them, and of America’s word,” said Shawn VanDiver, founder of #AfghanEvac, the main coalition of veterans and advocacy groups and others that coordinates resettlements with the US government.
The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The development comes as the administration asks embassies worldwide to prepare staff cuts under a directive by US President Donald Trump to overhaul the diplomatic corps and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE office pursues a government-wide drive to slash $2 trillion in spending.
The Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, CARE, was set up during the chaotic US pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021 as a temporary effort to relocate to the US Afghans at risk of Taliban retaliation because they worked for the US government during the war.
It became permanent in October 2022, expanded to Afghans granted refugee status, and has helped resettle some 118,000 people. VanDiver, the US official and the two sources said they did not know who ordered CARE to begin developing options to close.
Those options would include shuttering processing centers CARE runs in Qatar and Albania where nearly 3,000 Afghans vetted for US resettlement as refugees or Special Immigration Visa (SIV) holders have been stranded for weeks or months.
Those in the centers, including more than 20 unaccompanied minors bound for reunions with parents, live in modular housing. They receive food and other basic “life support,” but a Trump-ordered foreign aid freeze has ended programs for mental health and children, one source said.
According to both sources, the options for shuttering CARE are being prepared for Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, as well as Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, a former US special forces soldier who fought in Afghanistan, are among those slated to make a final decision, they said.
“There are definitely all options (for closing CARE) being considered,” said the second source. Both requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration.
The evacuation and resettlement operations have been stalled since Trump, who launched a promised immigration crackdown after taking office in January, halted pending 90-day reviews the US refugee program and foreign aid that funded flights to the US for Afghans cleared for resettlement.
Trump ordered the reviews to determine the efficiency of the refugee and foreign aid programs and to ensure they align with his foreign policy.
After rigorous background checks, SIVs are awarded to Afghans who worked for the US government during America’s longest war.
UN reports say the Taliban have jailed, tortured and killed Afghans who fought or worked for the former Western-backed government. The Taliban deny the allegations, pointing to a general amnesty approved for former government soldiers and officials.
A permanent shutdown of CARE and the Enduring Welcome operations it oversees could leave up to an estimated 200,000 Afghans without paths to the US, said VanDiver and the US official.
These comprise some 110,000 Afghans in Afghanistan whose SIV and refugee status applications are being reviewed and some 40,000 others who have been vetted and cleared for flights to Doha and Tirana before travel to the US.
An estimated 50,000 other Afghans are marooned in nearly 90 other countries – about half in Pakistan – approved for US resettlement or awaiting SIV or refugee processing, they said.

Topics: Afghanistan US

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