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Bangladesh protesters furious over job allocation system clash with police, with at least 25 deaths reported
New Delhi — At least 28 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the latest wave of violent clashes between student protesters and police across Bangladesh, local media have reported. Authorities blocked phone and internet services across the country late this week in a bid to quash the unrest as police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators.
“Mobile internet has been temporarily suspended due to various rumors and the unstable situation created… on social media,” Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the country’s deputy information and technology minister told reporters.
Police have also banned all public gatherings and processions in the capital city of Dhaka, indefinitely.
What is happening now in Bangladesh?
The country’s Prothom Alo newspaper said at least 19 people were killed Thursday alone, the deadliest day of clashes yet. Another national newspaper, the Daily Star, reported the same death toll, which would bring the total number of fatalities this week to 25, according to the country’s media.
The Bangladeshi government and police have not released any casualty figures.
Thousands of protesters attacked the headquarters of the state broadcaster, Bangladesh Television (BTV), in Dhaka on Thursday, setting the building and parked cars on fire. A day earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network appealing for peace. BTV and other news networks went off the air on Friday.
Hasina’s government has reached out to protest leaders to engage in talks, and federal Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters Thursday that the government had appointed him and Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury to lead the conversations, but the protesters have rejected the offer of a dialogue.
“The government has killed so many people in a day that we cannot join any discussions in the current circumstances,” protest leader Nahid Iqbal told the regional Bengali service of CBS News’ partner network BBC.
“The Prime Minister is asking for an end to the violence with one hand whilst, with the other hand, attacking students using pro-ruling party groups and the police,” another protester, Aleem Khan, told the BBC.
What are the Bangladesh protests about?
Young people, many of them college students, started protesting in early July against a job reservations system they see as unfairly benefiting ruling politicians and their families. At first it was largely peaceful sit-ins, blocking roads and railways, but the clashes with police have ramped up since Tuesday.
The protests started at Dhaka University but spread quickly to other educational institutions in the capital and beyond, especially after pro-ruling party groups entered the Dhaka campus and attacked protesting students. Earlier in the week, the government ordered schools and universities to close indefinitely as police tried to quash the unrest.
The protesters are demanding changes to a system that reserves 30% of high-ranking government jobs for relatives of veterans of the country’s 1971 war for independence. They argue that the job reservation system is discriminatory and has been exploited to benefit people close to Prime Minister Hasina and other politicians of her Bangladesh Awami League.
Protesters are demanding job recruitment based on merit.
Hasina’s government had scrapped the job reservation system in 2018, but a High Court decision reinstated it last month. The government appealed against the verdict and the Supreme Court suspended the High Court order, pending a government appeal scheduled for Aug. 7.
The country-wide agitation is the biggest crisis Hasina, 76, has faced since her re-election for a fourth term this year. Anger against the job quotas has been fueled by high unemployment rates among young Bangladeshis, who make up nearly a fifth of the country’s population of about 170 million.
Biden administration condemns violence
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller urged the Bangladeshi government to “uphold individuals’ rights to protest peacefully.”
“The freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are essential building blocks of any thriving democracy, and we condemn any violence against peaceful protesters,” Miller said Thursday.
The U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh urged American citizens in the country on Wednesday to “practice vigilance and reconsider their travel plans, especially to areas around public universities… avoid demonstrations and exercise caution in the vicinity of any large gatherings.”
Rights group Amnesty International accused Bangladesh’s police of using unlawful force against the protesters.
“Bangladeshi authorities must fully respect people’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly in line with its commitments under international law and its own Constitution and protect peaceful protesters from further harm,” Taqbir Huda, Amnesty International’s South Asia researcher, said in a statement.
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9/12: CBS Evening News – CBS News
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Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa leaves field with concussion after collision with Bills’ Damar Hamlin
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out of Thursday night’s game with the Buffalo Bills because of a concussion after colliding with defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.
Tagovailoa, who sustained multiple concussions his first three NFL seasons, positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.
He signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left the game with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, which held as the final score.
Tagovailoa was hurt on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
He wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at Tagovailoa as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Skylar Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season.
Going into last season, Tagovailoa added muscle and spent time studying jiu-jitsu in an effort to learn how to fall more safely and try to protect himself against further injury.
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9/12: The Daily Report with John Dickerson
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