Connect with us

CBS News

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina flees as protesters storm her residence

Avatar

Published

on


Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled her palace on Monday, a source told the AFP news agency, as masses of protesters demanding her resignation roamed the streets of Dhaka and the army chief was set to address the nation. Local television station Channel 24 showed images of crowds running into the prime minister’s residence in the capital.

CBS News partner network BBC News reported that Hasina resigned as Bangladesh’s prime minister and had left the country. A source close to the embattled leader said she had left her palace in the capital for a “safer place.”

Jubilant looking crowds waved flags, celebrating peacefully. Some danced on top of tanks.

Hasina’s son urged the country’s security forces to block any takeover from her rule, while a senior advisor told AFP her resignation was a “possibility” after being questioned as to whether she would quit.

“She wanted to record a speech, but she could not get an opportunity to do that,” the source close to Hasina told AFP.

Bangladesh’s army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, will address the nation on Monday afternoon, a military spokesman told AFP without giving further details.

Waker told officers on Saturday that the military “always stood by the people,” according to an official statement.

What caused the protests in Bangladesh?

Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old prime minister to leave.

Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

Her government is 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.

Demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota scheme that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.

The protests have escalated despite the scheme having been scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court.

“Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” her son, US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy, said in a post on Facebook.

“It means don’t allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty.”

But protesters on Monday defied security forces enforcing a curfew, marching on the capital’s streets after the deadliest day of unrest since demonstrations erupted last month.

Internet access was tightly restricted on Monday, offices were closed and more than 3,500 factories servicing Bangladesh’s economically vital garment industry were shut.

Soldiers and police with armored vehicles in Dhaka had barricaded routes to Hasina’s office with barbed wire, AFP reporters said, but vast crowds flooded the streets, tearing down barriers.

The local Business Standard newspaper estimated as many as 400,000 protesters were on the streets.

“The time has come for the final protest,” said Asif Mahmud, one of the key leaders in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

“An unprecedented popular uprising by all measures”

At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers.

Protesters and government supporters countrywide battled each other with sticks and knives, and security forces opened fire.

The day’s violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and doctors at hospitals.

“The shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop,” United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

“This is an unprecedented popular uprising by all measures,” said Ali Riaz, an Illinois State University politics professor and expert on Bangladesh. “Also, the ferocity of the state actors and regime loyalists is unmatched in history.”

Videos on social media verified by AFP showed protesters in Dhaka climbing a statue of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence leader, and smashing it with hammers Sunday.

In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem Sunday’s protests, unlike during the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.

“Let’s be clear: The walls are closing in on Hasina: She’s rapidly losing support and legitimacy,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, told AFP.

“The protests have taken on immense momentum, fueled by raw anger but also by the confidence that comes with knowing that so much of the nation is behind them,” he said.

In a hugely symbolic rebuke of Hasina, a respected former army chief demanded the government “immediately” withdraw troops and allow protests.

“Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such an extreme misery will have to be brought to justice,” ex-army chief General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan told reporters Sunday.

The anti-government movement has attracted people from across society in the South Asian nation of about 170 million people, including film stars, musicians and singers.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

CBS News

Israel says Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed by strike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut

Avatar

Published

on


Israel’s military said Saturday that it had killed the overall leader of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in an airstrike the previous day on the group’s “central headquarters” in Beirut, Lebanon. The Friday afternoon strike was the latest in a series of massive explosions targeting leaders of the militant group, which has been firing rockets and drones across Lebanon’s southern border into Israel for almost a year.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a Saturday statement that Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, “was eliminated by the IDF, together with Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders” in a strike by Israeli fighter jets on the group’s command facility “embedded under a residential building” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have long been a stronghold of the U.S.-designated terrorist group.

“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the IDF said.

People stand near a picture of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
People stand near a picture of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the funeral of Hezbollah member Ali Mohamed Chalbi, in Kfar Melki, Lebanon, Sept. 19, 2024.

Aziz Taher / REUTERS


The Friday strikes leveled multiple high-rise apartment buildings in the biggest blasts to hit the Lebanese capital since Hezbollah started firing on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in response to Israel launching its war on the group’s Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip. 

At least six people were killed and 91 were wounded in the strike, Lebanon’s health ministry said Friday, noting that the toll could rise as people were believed to be buried under rubble at the site.

A senior Israeli official said Friday that the IDF had sought to minimize civilian casualties by striking in the daytime, when many people wouldn’t be home. He said Israel was not seeking a broader regional war, but that Hezbollah’s military capabilities had been meaningfully degraded by the recent series of Israeli military operations and that the objective of the strike was to leave Hezbollah with a significant leadership gap. 

People inspect damage at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut
People inspect damage at the site of an Israeli strike amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sept. 27, 2024.

Mohamed Azakir / REUTERS


In a possible early sign of the strikes’ significance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cut short a visit to the United States to return home on Friday instead of waiting until the end of Sabbath on Saturday evening, his office said. Israeli politicians do not normally travel on the Sabbath except for matters of great import.

Hours earlier, Netanyahu addressed the U.N., vowing that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue — further dimming hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire. Several delegates stood up and walked out before he gave his address. 

To a degree unseen in past conflicts, Israel this past week has aimed to eliminate Hezbollah’s senior leadership. Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the strikes targeted the main Hezbollah headquarters, located beneath residential buildings. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said he was huddling with the head of Israel’s air force and other top commanders at military headquarters, following updates.

In a separate statement Saturday, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said Nasrallah’s killing  demonstrated “anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel — we will know how to reach them.” 

The series of gigantic blasts around nightfall on Friday reduced six buildings to rubble in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburbs, according to Lebanon’s national news agency. The shock wave rattled windows and shook houses some 18 miles north of Beirut. TV footage showed several craters — one with a car toppled into it — amid collapsed buildings in the densely populated, predominantly Shiite neighborhood.

Smoke rises after explosions in Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 27, 2024
Smoke rises above buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 27, 2024, in this still image obtained from social media video. 

Social media image /via REUTERS


Nasrallah had been in hiding for years, very rarely appearing in public. He regularly gave speeches, but always by video from unknown locations. The site hit Friday evening had not been publicly known as Hezbollah’s main headquarters, though it is located in the group’s “security quarters,” a heavily guarded part of Haret Hreik where it has offices and runs several nearby hospitals.

The Pentagon said the U.S. had no advance warning of the strikes.

The White House said President Biden was briefed by his national security team “several times” on Friday and “has directed the Pentagon to assess and adjust as necessary U.S. force posture in the region to enhance deterrence, ensure force protection, and support the full range of U.S. objectives. He has also directed his team to ensure that U.S. embassies in the region take all protective measures as appropriate.”

“The events of the past week and the past few hours underscore what a precarious moment this is for the Middle East and for the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference Friday in New York. “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism. The way it does so matters. The choices that all parties make in the coming days will determine which path this region is on, with profound consequences for its people now and possibly for years to come.” 

Israel dramatically intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is determined to put an end to more than 11 months of Hezbollah fire into its territory. The scope of Israel’s operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is a possibility. Israel has moved thousands of troops toward the border in preparation.

Israel’s strikes this week have killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including dozens of women and children, according to Health Ministry statistics.

A predawn strike Friday in the mainly Sunni border town of Chebaa hit a home, killing nine members of the same family, the state news agency said. A resident identified the dead as Hussein Zahra, his wife Ratiba, their five children and two of their grandchildren.

At the U.N., Netanyahu vowed to “continue degrading Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals. His comments dampened hopes for a U.S.-backed call for a 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has not responded to the proposal.


Netanyahu addresses United Nations as Israel continues targeting Hezbollah

07:46

Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which saw terrorists kill some 1,200 people in Israel and take 251 hostage. Since then, Hezbollah and the Israeli military have traded fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.

An Israeli security official said he expects a possible war against Hezbollah would not last for as long as the current war in Gaza, because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.

In Gaza, Israel aims to dismantle Hamas’ military and political regime, but the goal in Lebanon is to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel — “not a high bar like Gaza” in terms of operational objectives, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to military briefing guidelines.

contributed to this report.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

CBS News

9/27: CBS Evening News – CBS News

Avatar

Published

on


9/27: CBS Evening News – CBS News


Watch CBS News



Helene remnants bring catastrophic flooding to southeastern U.S.; Ohio man’s Halloween display cheers up woman on way to cancer treatments

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.




Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

CBS News

Mark Robinson, North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate, treated for burns, campaign says

Avatar

Published

on


Embattled Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — whose gubernatorial bid has been rattled by allegations that he previously posted racist and sexually explicit comments online — was hospitalized with burns Friday, his campaign said.

Mike Lonergan, a campaign spokesperson, told CBS News in a statement late Friday night that the 56-year-old Robinson was “currently being treated for burns following an incident at a campaign event in Mt. Airy.”

Lonergan added that Robinson was in “good spirits,” but did not provide any further details on his condition or the circumstances that prompted.

A source close to the campaign told CBS News that Robinson had been hospitalized.

This follows a bombshell CNN report last week which found that Robinson posted inappropriate comments to the message board of a pornographic website between 2008 and 2012, often under the name of “black NAZI.”

Since the report’s publication on Sept. 19, Robinson has seen several campaign staffers resign, including his campaign manager, general consultant and senior adviser, finance director, and deputy campaign manager. He has also appeared to lose support among the Republican leadership.  

Robinson has not appeared in the two North Carolina rallies Trump has held since the CNN report. And when asked Thursday by reporters if he would pull his endorsement for Robinson, Trump responded, “I don’t know the situation.”

When asked Tuesday if Republicans should halt support for Robinson’s campaign, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responded, “It won’t surprise to you know I’m happy that there’s not a Senate race in North Carolina.”

Robinson, however, has so far vowed to stay in the race.

“This is an election about policies, not personalities,” he wrote on social media Wednesday. “Now is not the time for intra-party squabbling and nonsense.”

and

contributed to this report.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024 Breaking MN

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.