Authorities in Bangladesh yesterday urged all universities to close, the day after at least six people died in violent protests over the allocation of government jobs.
Dhaka University, at the center of the violence, suspended classes and closed its dormitories indefinitely, a university official told reporters on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak to media.
The Bangladeshi University Grants Commission asked all public and private universities to close until further notice to protect students, but the request did not have legal force and it was not immediately clear how many universities would comply.
Photo: AP
Authorities said that at least six people were killed on Tuesday in violence across the country as student protesters clashed with other students and police.
Violence was reported across the capital, Dhaka, as well as in Chattogram and Rangpur.
The protests began late last month, demanding an end to a quota that reserves 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence.
Overnight, Dhaka police raided the headquarters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), accusing it of playing a role in the violence.
Detective chief Harun-or-Rashid told reporters that police had arrested seven members of the party’s student wing in connection with two buses that were set on fire on Tuesday.
Detectives found 100 crude bombs, 500 wooden and bamboo sticks, and five to six bottles of gasoline in the raid, he said.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior BNP leader, accused the government of “staging” the raid to divert attention from protests.
Police yesterday clashed with BNP supporters in Dhaka’s Paltan area after a funeral ritual for the six people who died on Tuesday.
Police official Sentu Mia said they used rubber bullets to disperse people after they attacked police, with several protesters arrested.
BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir accused police of barring its supporters from the funeral prayers.
A senior leader of the ruling Awami League Party said that the opposition was using the protests as a weapon against Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Protesters should be patient until the Bangladeshi Supreme Court hears petitions involving the quota issues next month, an Awami League official said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS