Military in control of Bangladesh after Hasina flees

Military in control of Bangladesh after Hasina flees
People celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 5, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 06 August 2024
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Military in control of Bangladesh after Hasina flees

Military in control of Bangladesh after Hasina flees
  • Hasina stepped down as PM after violent protests in Bangladesh claimed at least 300 lives since last month 
  • Protesters stormed parliament, torched TV stations while some smashed statues of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s military was in control of the country on Tuesday after mass protests forced longtime ruler Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee.

Hasina, 76, had been in power since 2009 but was accused of rigging elections in January and then watched millions of people take to the streets over the past month demanding she step down.

Hundreds of people died as security forces sought to quell the unrest, but the protests grew and Hasina finally fled Bangladesh aboard a helicopter on Monday as the military turned against her.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Monday afternoon on state television that Hasina had resigned and the military would form a caretaker government.

“The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” said Waker, shortly after jubilant crowds stormed and looted Hasina’s official residence.

Millions of Bangladeshis flooded the streets of Dhaka after Waker’s announcement.

“I feel so happy that our country has been liberated,” said Sazid Ahnaf, 21, comparing the events to the independence war that split the nation from Pakistan more than five decades ago.

“We have been freed from a dictatorship. It’s a Bengal uprising, what we saw in 1971, and now seeing in 2024.”

But there were also scenes of chaos and anger, with police reporting at least 66 people killed on Monday as mobs launched revenge attacks on Hasina’s allies.

Protesters stormed parliament and torched TV stations, while some smashed statues of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero.

Others set a museum dedicated to the former leader on fire, flames licking at portraits in destruction barely thinkable just hours before, when Hasina had the loyalty of the security forces under her autocratic grip.

“The time has come to make them accountable for torture,” said protester Kaza Ahmed. “Sheikh Hasina is responsible for murder.”

Offices of Hasina’s Awami League across the country were torched and looted, eyewitnesses told AFP.

The unrest began last month in the form of protests against civil service job quotas and then escalated into wider calls for Hasina to stand down.

Her government was accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.

At least 366 people died in the unrest that began in early July, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and doctors at hospitals.

Student protest leaders, ahead of an expected meeting with the army chief, said Tuesday that they wanted Nobel laureate and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus, 84, to lead the government.

“In Dr. Yunus, we trust,” Asif Mahmud, a key leader of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) group, wrote on Facebook.

Waker said a curfew would be lifted on Tuesday morning, with the military set to lead an interim government.

Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin late Monday ordered the release of prisoners from the protests, as well as former prime minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, 78.

Zia, who is in poor health, was jailed by her arch-rival Hasina for graft in 2018.

The president and army chief also met late Monday, alongside key opposition leaders, with the president’s press team saying it had been “decided to form an interim government immediately.”

It was not immediately clear if Waker would lead it.

Hasina’s fate was also uncertain. She fled the country by helicopter, a source close to the ousted leader told AFP.

Media in neighboring India reported Hasina had landed at a military air base near New Delhi.

A top-level source said she wanted to “transit” on to London, but calls by the British government for a UN-led investigation into “unprecedented levels of violence” put that into doubt.

There were widespread calls by protesters to ensure Hasina’s close allies remained in the country.

Bangladesh’s military said they had shut Dhaka’s international airport on Monday evening, without giving a reason.

Bangladesh has a long history of coups.

The military declared an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest and installed a military-backed caretaker government for two years.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, warned that Hasina’s departure “would leave a major vacuum” and that the country was in “uncharted territory.”

“The coming days are critical,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the importance of a “peaceful, orderly and democratic transition,” his spokesman said. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell echoed that call.

Former colonial ruler Britain and the United States meanwhile urged “calm.”


Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital

Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital
Updated 20 February 2025
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Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital

Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital
  • Loyalist of Modi’s party, Rekha Gupta is the fourth woman to hold the capital region’s top office
  • BJP won Delhi election on promises to tackle air and river pollution, and subsidize poor women

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s loyalist and Delhi’s new chief minister, Rekha Gupta, was sworn in on Thursday, as India’s ruling party regained power in the national capital region after a 27-year gap.

The national vice president of the BJP’s women’s wing, Gupta had previously served as the party’s general secretary in Delhi.

She is the fourth woman to hold the office of Delhi’s chief minister.

“We will empower Delhi through modern infrastructure, excellent healthcare services, excellent education and new employment opportunities,” she said upon inauguration.

“Today, I took oath as the chief minister with the resolve to develop Delhi under the guidance of Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is not just a responsibility but an opportunity to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Delhi.”

A first-time legislator, Gupta won the capital’s Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency in February’s assembly elections.

Modi’s party won 48 of the 70 assembly seats — over twice more than the opposition Aam Aadmi Party of the previous chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, Modi’s fierce critic.

The win was a boost for the Hindu-nationalist leader after last year’s general election saw him lose his parliamentary majority.

The BJP’s victory came on the promise of cleaning the capital’s Yamuna River, one of the most polluted waterways in the world. The Yamuna is particularly polluted downstream of New Delhi, which dumps about 60 percent of its waste into the river. At the same time, the river provides more than half of the Indian capital’s water.

Another promise was to tackle Delhi’s air pollution, which during winters soars to hazardous levels. In December, it was 35 times over the safe limit set by the World Health Organization, leaving residents complaining of breathing problems.

The toxic smog, which seasonally chokes the city for months, is caused by several factors, including construction activities, vehicle emissions, industrial pollutants and the seasonal burning of crop residue in neighboring states.

“The two biggest issues in Delhi are the river and the air. And I don’t see how they can do it,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst and the author of Modi’s biography “Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.”

While the farmers around Delhi have regularly been blamed for the pollution, the region’s air quality remained bad in February, even as there was no burning of paddy stubble to clear the soil for the next crops.

“So why is Delhi still so polluted at the moment? ... Automobile pollution is possibly one of the biggest things, but would the Indian government be doing anything to reduce the numbers of vehicles which have been sold in Delhi and the National Capital Region? No, it will not because it involves a lot of further financial matters,” Mukhopadhyay told Arab News.

Another promise was monthly payments of 2,500 Indian rupees ($28) to poor women, a one-time payment of 21,000 rupees to every pregnant woman, subsidized cooking gas, a monthly pension of 2,500 rupees for the elderly, and 15,000 rupees for youth preparing for competitive exams.

“Fiscally it is going to be a big challenge. I do not know from where they will provide this money,” Mukhopadhyay said.

“It is going to be very difficult, but they will have to do it otherwise within three months, there will be a backlash against the BJP. It is going to be fiscally mind-blowing.”


Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda

Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda
Updated 20 February 2025
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Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda

Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda
  • At least 10 Americans remain behind bars in Russia, including two who have been designated as “wrongfully detained” by Washington

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Thursday that the idea of a possible new prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States was on the agenda after Moscow and Washington agreed to start work on restoring relations at all levels.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked by reporters about the possibility of a new swap, said US-Russia talks in Riyadh had contributed to a general rapprochement between Russia and the US.
At least 10 Americans remain behind bars in Russia, including two who have been designated as “wrongfully detained” by Washington. Moscow freed an American citizen, Kalob Byers, days before the Russian and American delegations met in the Saudi capital.


G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US

G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US
Updated 20 February 2025
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G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US

G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US
  • Analysts say that Rubio and Bessent’s absence signalled the USwas pulling back from the G20 and demonstrated how strained relations are

JOHANNESBURG: A meeting of foreign ministers from G20 countries will get underway in Johannesburg on Thursday, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend amid diplomatic tensions between South Africa and the US.
Diplomats including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are expected to attend the gathering, while the US will be represented by acting ambassador to South Africa Dana Brown.
The European Union, the United Nations and the African Union, which is part of the G20, will also be in attendance.
Rubio snubbed the meeting after an executive order by US President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid to the country over a law that the White House said amounts to discrimination against the country’s white minority. The US is also displeased with South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said that Rubio’s decision was “not a complete boycott of South Africa’s G20.” He said the US would be represented in Johannesburg this week “in one form or shape or another.”
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent has also confirmed his will not attend a meeting of G20 finance ministers scheduled to take place in South Africa next week.
Bessent said on the social media platform X that he would not participate in the event because of obligations in Washington. A senior Treasury official will attend in his place, he said.
Analysts say that Rubio and Bessent’s absence signalled the US was pulling back from the G20 and demonstrated how strained relations are.
“I think if we want to really know what message the US administration is trying to send, you have to know whether the treasury secretary will come next week or not. And if he chooses not to come as well, that’s a quite serious sign,” said political analyst Daniel Bradlow.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to officially open and address the gathering under the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability,” which Rubio has described as a diversity, equality and inclusion framework — one that the new Trump administration vocally opposes.
South Africa will host over 130 working group meetings and 23 ministerial-level meetings this year as part of their G20 presidency, which began in December last year.
The US is expected to take over the G20 presidency in 2026 after South Africa’s tenure.


China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia

China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia
Updated 20 February 2025
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China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia

China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia
  • In Pakistan, railway linking Gwadar Port with China’s Xinjiang province has long been on the cards
  • If the project moves ahead, a 2023 Chinese study estimated an eyewatering price tag of $58 billion

TOKYO: Vietnam approved plans on Wednesday for a multi-billion-dollar railway with China, boosting links between the two communist countries.
Around the region, China has been financing railways under its Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects globally, but has come under fire with a number of plans stalled or mired in controversy.
Here are some of the key instalments in Asia’s China-backed railway network:
PAKISTAN
In Pakistan, a railway linking southwestern Gwadar Port with China’s northwestern Xinjiang province has long been on the cards but has yet to materialize.

This official route map, posted on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor website, presents a monographic study on transport planning for CPEC’s Railway Network, covering the period from 2014 to 2030. (Photo courtesy: CPEC)

If the project moves ahead, a 2023 Chinese study estimated an eyewatering price tag of $58 billion.
INDONESIA
Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway in October 2023, after years of delays. The $7 billion China-backed project links the capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung in 45 minutes — slashing the journey by about two hours.

A hi-speed train built in cooperation between Indonesia and China moves along its dedicated track, prior to a dynamic test, in Tegalluar on November 9, 2022. (AFP/File)

Built by a joint venture of four Indonesian state companies and Beijing’s China Railway International Co, it was initially set to cost less than $5 billion and be completed by 2019. But construction challenges and the pandemic led to delays and surging expenses.
Indonesia’s then-president Joko Widodo nevertheless hailed its opening as a symbol of modernization.
LAOS
Laos unveiled its $6 billion Chinese-built railroad in 2021, bringing hopes of an economic boost despite backlash after thousands of farmers had to be evicted to make way for construction.
The 414-kilometer (260-mile) route connects the Chinese city of Kunming to Laotian capital Vientiane, with plans for the high-speed line to ultimately reach Singapore.

This photo taken on October 12, 2024 shows passengers boarding a high-speed train in the railway station in Laos' capital Vientiane. (AFP/File)

Infrastructure-poor Laos, a reclusive communist country of about 7.4 million people, previously had only four kilometers of railway tracks.
It was hoped that the railway would boost the Southeast Asian country’s ailing tourism industry, which struggled to rebound from the pandemic.
But experts also raised concerns over whether cash-strapped Laos — where public debt made up 116 percent of GDP in 2023 — would ever be able to pay back Beijing.
THAILAND
After long delays, Thailand is pressing ahead with a Chinese-backed high-speed line set to partially open in 2028. The $5.4 billion project aims to expand the connection to Kunming, running to Bangkok via Laos by 2032.
Thailand already has nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) of railway but the sluggish, run-down network has long driven people to favor road travel — despite extremely high accident rates.

In this photo taken on March 29, 2023 a train sits below an elevated track, still under construction as part of the Thai-Chinese Bangkok-Nong Khai high-speed railway project at Sung Noen Station in Nakhon Ratchasima province. (AFP/File)

When the new railroad is fully complete, Chinese-made trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the border with Laos, at up to 250 km/h.
Unlike Laos, Thailand signed a deal to cover project expenditures itself and has pitched it as a way to boost the economy through trade with China.
KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov inaugurated construction in December of a railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with hopes it will serve as a supply route to Europe.

In this handout picture taken and released by the Kyrgyz presidential press office on December 27, 2024, fireworks explode behind state flags during the commencement ceremony of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project in the settlement of Tash-Kitchu. (Photo courtesy: VCG/File)

“This route will ensure supply of goods from China to Kyrgyzstan and then onto Central Asia” and nearby countries “including Turkiye” and “even to the European Union,” he said.
The project, which Kyrgyz authorities estimate could cost up to $8 billion, includes construction through mountains and in areas of permafrost, where the ground never fully thaws.
VIETNAM
Vietnam this week approved an $8-billion railroad running from its largest northern port city to China. The line will operate through some of Vietnam’s key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn and Pegatron factories, many of which rely on components from China.

Railway workers guide a train at a railway crossing in Hanoi on February 18, 2025. (AFP/File)

Another yet-to-be-approved line to China would connect Hanoi to Lang Son province, traveling through more areas packed with manufacturing facilities.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia has revived construction of a nearly $17 billion railroad to carry passengers and freight between shipping ports on its east and west coasts. The China-backed, 665-kilometer project was originally launched in 2011 under ex-leader Najib Razak, but shelved due to a dispute about payments.
After blowing past several deadlines and budgets, it now looks set to be operational by 2027.
MYANMAR
In coup-hit Myanmar, talks on building a railway from Mandalay to China’s Yunnan province appear to have stalled.
And in the Philippines, plans for China to fund three railways flopped after Manila backed out of talks in 2023 as the South China Sea dispute heated up.


Europe needs to ‘wake up’ following US policy shift, Greek PM says

Europe needs to ‘wake up’ following US policy shift, Greek PM says
Updated 20 February 2025
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Europe needs to ‘wake up’ following US policy shift, Greek PM says

Europe needs to ‘wake up’ following US policy shift, Greek PM says

ATHENS: Europe should wake up and build its own defense policy following a dramatic shift by the United States over Ukraine and geopolitical developments in recent months, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said late on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump upended US policy on the Ukraine war this week, denouncing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” and suggesting Kyiv started the three year war between Ukraine and Russia.
Trump warned that Zelensky had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.
The US and Russia held peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week without Ukraine, stunning Kyiv and its European allies.
Ukraine has said it will not accept a deal imposed on it without its consent, which European leaders have echoed, while Russia has ruled out conceding land it has won.
Addressing a business conference in the city of Thessaloniki late on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said that Europe needed to “wake up from the geopolitical and economic lethargy into which it has unfortunately fallen for some time.”
“Recent developments and this different view of things from the United States now oblige us not only to face the truth, but to move at a very high speed and implement decisions that we have been discussing for long,” he said.
Mitsotakis pointed to Europe setting up a defense policy which will allow it to develop its own deterrent power and reduce reliance on the United States.
His comments were made shortly after he joined virtually a second meeting that France convened with European leaders and Canada to discuss Ukraine.
Europe has relied heavily on US might within NATO for security and Trump has consistently demanded Europe spend more on defense. Trump has now demanded that Europe provide more military muscle for any future Ukraine peace(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Michael Perry)