Bangladesh voters go to the polls in one-sided election marred by violence

Published

4 months ago

January 7, 2024

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Violence has been reported in Bangladesh as 120 million people vote in a general election that has a foregone conclusion.

There have been a total of 18 arson attacks, including 10 on polling booths in the 48 hours before Sunday, authorities said.

On Friday, four people including one child were killed when a passenger train heading towards the capital, Dhaka, was set on fire.

A total of 120 million people are eligible to vote in Sunday’s election – which will grant Sheikh Hasina a fifth term in office, her fourth consecutive one.

The 76-year-old will then be the longest-serving head of state in Bangladesh‘s history.

The main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia, has boycotted the election after demanding Ms Hasina steps down to make way for a caretaker government that could organise a fair vote.

Their call was met with a severe government crackdown, which saw at least 11 BNP members killed and tens of thousands arrested by security forces during protests last year.

Bangladesh’s national parliament, the Jatiya Sangsad, has 350 MPs, of which 300 will be elected in Sunday’s vote.

The remaining 50 seats are reserved for women selected by the ruling party or coalition government.

The election result will be declared on Monday, though nobody is in doubt about who the winner will be.

Awami League, the ruling party, has dominated the country’s political landscape for decades.

Ms Hasina, the daughter of the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been praised for making its $416bn (£327bn) economy one of the fastest growing in the world.

She has also won international praise for sheltering nearly one million Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in neighbouring Myanmar.

Bangladesh is one of the largest ready-made garment exporters and clothing accounts for more than 80% of the country’s exports.

Ms Hasina has campaigned on her track record of modernising and improving the lives of more than four million garment workers, most of whom are women.

However, the pandemic stalled the garment industry’s growth, and the rise of fuel costs due to the Russia-Ukraine war has put a huge strain on the economy, depleting foreign exchange reserves and weakening the domestic currency.

Bangladesh is also experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, which sparked violent protests last year, before a $4.7bn (£3.7bn) International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout cleared the first review in December.

Ms Hasina’s government has faced allegations of being authoritarian, rigging elections, suppressing people’s votes and targeting opposition parties.

Human Rights Watch condemned the arrests of opposition members last year, and said “the government’s autocratic crackdown will jeopardise future economic cooperation” with other countries.

The US also previously raised concerns over human rights and imposed sanctions on two Bangladeshi security officials for alleged extrajudicial killings.

Opposition leader Ms Zia has been under house arrest for over two years on corruption charges, which she denies.

Her son, Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the party, is in exile in London. In August, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for amassing illegal wealth but he was not in court for the verdict.

World

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to become heavyweight champion of the world

Published

36 mins ago

May 19, 2024

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Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to become heavyweight champion of the world

Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating British boxing star Tyson Fury.

The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113.

Follow the match as it happened

Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I think he won a few rounds but I won the majority of them.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion.

In response Usyk said he was “ready for rematch,” but later added: “I don’t think about rematch now, I want to rest.”

Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.

At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.

The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.

But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble.

The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was given a standing 10-second count saved by the bell.

It left Fury struggling through the final three rounds as Usyk chased him around the ring.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian became the first boxer to hold all four major heavyweight belts at the same time and the first undisputed champion in 24 years.

He’s the best fighter of a generation, there’s nothing left

Jacquie Beltrao

Sports presenter

There’s something very special about Oleksandr Usyk and it’s something all brilliant sports people have: the ability to find that extra bit of grit, to dig a bit deeper, when the battle is slipping away.

It’s exactly the character he showed, coming back at Fury in the 7th and 8th rounds, with some impressive shots, to take the sting out of any Fury resurgence and to swing momentum back his way. And enabling him to go for the kill in that brilliant 9th round. Fury looked stung, he looked confused and he was lucky the referee didn’t stop the fight there and then.

It was amazing that Fury made it to the end. That took courage. But it’s hard to see how he’s going to recover from this. It’s going to hurt. He says he wants to invoke the rematch clause and go again, but will he really want to?

Will Usyk want to? He’s the best fighter of a generation, there’s nothing left to prove. No fighter has ever won the undisputed cruiserweight championship of the world and followed that with the undisputed heavyweight crown. He can take four belts back to Kyiv safe in the knowledge that it’s unlikely anyone will be able to match that achievement anytime soon.

Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).

Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.

Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.

Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.

Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.

World

Fury v Usyk: The fight of the century – as it happened

Published

36 mins ago

May 19, 2024

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World

Benny Gantz: Israeli war cabinet member threatens to resign if Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t adopt new plan for Gaza

Published

36 mins ago

May 19, 2024

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Benny Gantz: Israeli war cabinet member threatens to resign if Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't adopt new plan for Gaza

A member of Israel’s three-man war cabinet has threatened to resign from the government if it does not adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza.

The move by Benny Gantz escalates a divide within Israel’s leadership more than seven months into the war.

Israel is yet to accomplish its stated goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages abducted during the attack on 7 October.

Mr Gantz, a long-time political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has now set out a six-point plan that includes the return of hostages, ending Hamas’ rule, demilitarising Gaza and establishing an international administration of civilian affairs.

Mr Gantz’s plan also supports efforts to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia.

He said if it is not adopted by 8 June he will quit the government.

His departure would leave Mr Netanyahu even more beholden to far-right allies who have taken a hard line on negotiations over a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and who believe Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.

“If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss – we will be forced to quit the government,” Mr Gantz has said.

The centrist politician joined Mr Netanyahu’s coalition and the war cabinet in the early days of the conflict.

Mr Gantz’s six-point plan comes days after Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the war cabinet, openly said he has repeatedly pleaded with the other two members to decide on a post-war vision for Gaza.

Mr Gallant said this should involve the creation of a new Palestinian civilian leadership.

It comes as Mr Netanyahu is under growing pressure on multiple fronts.

Hardliners in his government want the military offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah to press ahead with the goal of crushing Hamas.

However, Israel’s most important ally, the US, and others have warned against the offensive on a city where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million had sheltered.

Hundreds of thousands have now fled Rafah and Israel’s allies have threatened to scale back support over the humanitarian crisis.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan will be in Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend to discuss the war and is scheduled on Sunday to meet with Mr Netanyahu, who has declared that Israel would “stand alone” if needed.

Meanwhile, many Israelis are accusing Mr Netanyahu of putting political interests ahead of all else. They also want him to agree a deal to free the hostages and stop the fighting.

There was fresh frustration Friday when the military said its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three hostages killed by Hamas in the 7 October attack.

The discovery of the body of a fourth hostage was announced Saturday.

The latest talks in pursuit of a ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, have brought little progression.

A vision for Gaza beyond the war is also uncertain.

The conflict started after Hamas militants carried out an attack on Israel on 7 October – killing 1,200 people and capturing around 250 hostages.

Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, while hundreds more have been killed in the occupied West Bank.