Sheikh Hasina registers landslide win in Bangladesh polls, opposition cries foul

Agencies
December 31, 2018

Dhaka, Dec 31: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cruised to victory for a third consecutive term in Bangladesh's general election on Sunday, following a tense vote that saw at least 17 people killed in poll-related violence and demands of a fresh election by the opposition, according to media reports.

According to media reports, the ruling Awami League-led coalition won over 260 seats in the 300-member House.

Private DBC TV aired results of 299 seats out of 300. The ruling Awami League-led grand alliance bagged 266 seats and its ally Jatiya Party secured 21, while the opposition National Unity Front (UNF) with BNP being its key partner got only seven seats, according to the channel.

Independent candidates won in two seats, according to the local media. The election was postponed in one seat due to the natural death of a candidate.

The Election Commission confirmed the complete result of the constituency in southwestern Gopalganj from where Hasina won bagging 2,29,539 votes, while her BNP opponent got only 123 votes.

Bangladesh's opposition NUF alliance, with BNP as its key partner, rejected the outcome of the general election and demanded fresh polls under a neutral caretaker government.

The National Unity Front (NUF) is a coalition of parties, including BNP, Gono Forum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Nagorik Oikya and Krishak Sramik Janata League.

"We reject the results and demand a new election under a neutral government," NUF convenor and veteran lawyer Kamal Hossain, who heads the Gono Forum party, told reporters after early results suggested a win for AL-led Grand Alliance.

"We ask that you cancel this election right away," Hossain urged the Election Commission, claiming, "we have reports that fraudulence took place in almost all centres".

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who steered the party in Zia's absence and won from his northeastern constituency, described the polls as a "cruel farce".

While Hasina is seeking re-election for a fourth term as the prime minister, her chief rival Zia, who is reportedly partially paralysed, faces an uncertain future in a Dhaka jail.

The voting started at 8 AM and ended at 4 PM. The results are expected by Monday morning which would be announced by the commission headquarters in the capital, the EC said.

EC officials said they have received over a hundred complaints from candidates throughout the country amid reports of violence.

At least 17 people, including a member of a security agency, have been killed in eight districts, and several others were injured in poll-related violence, the Daily Star newspaper reported. The build-up to the election has already been marred by violence.

Reports said most of the dead were ruling party activists, while others were workers of opposition BNP or its allies.

Over 600,000 security personnel including several thousand soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed across the nation for the election in which 10.41 crore people were eligible to vote.

"Barring some unwanted incidents, the polling so far was smooth and peaceful," Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda said.

Citing security reasons, authorities temporarily blocked mobile data services and slowed down the internet.

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News Network
September 17,2024

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New Delhi, Sept 17: Atishi will be the new Chief Minister of Delhi. The decision came after a legislative party meeting was chaired by Arvind Kejriwal at his Delhi residence earlier today.

Kejriwal is expected to tender his resignation later today, and will also meet Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at 4.30 pm.

On September 13, Arvind Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail, where he had been lodged for his alleged involvement in the Delhi liquor policy case. Nearly two days after his release, on Sunday, Kejriwal said he would resign as the Chief Minister within 48 hours.

He also sought early polls in Delhi, and vowed not to sit in the chief minister’s chair until people gave him a “certificate of honesty”.

On Monday, the AAP held a series of meetings as Kejriwal sought feedback from members of the political affairs committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, on his successor in one-on-one meetings at his official residence.

Names of Delhi ministers Atishi, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj were making the rounds as contenders, news agency PTI had quoted party insiders as saying and added that Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel were also the probables.

Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla, who is also the deputy speaker in the assembly, and Kondli legislator Kuldeep Kumar were also potential candidates, they added.

Earlier, sources with the AAP had told PTI that the surprise candidate could also be a member of the minority community as the party has witnessed its support among the community wavering since the 2020 Delhi riots.

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News Network
September 20,2024

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Kasaragod: In a heartbreaking turn of events, the vibrant life of a young medical student from Kasaragod district was tragically cut short in a road accident in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday night.

Mohammed Rashid, a 20-year-old second-year MBBS student, hailed from the close-knit community of Kattatadka AKG Nagar in Kerala's Kasaragod district. Brimming with hope and aspirations, he had recently returned to Coimbatore to continue his studies after spending cherished moments with his family during a brief vacation back home.

On that fateful evening, around 8 PM, Rashid was crossing the road to grab dinner at a nearby hotel when tragedy struck. A speeding tipper truck hit him, leaving the young student fatally injured. Though he was rushed to the hospital, his fight for life ended before he could make it to the emergency room.

The devastating news sent shockwaves through his family and friends. His father, Ahmed, who works in the Gulf, returned immediately, heartbroken, to mourn the unimaginable loss of his beloved son. Rasheed's relatives, too, made the painful journey to Coimbatore, overcome with grief and disbelief.

The passing of Mohammed Rashid has left a deep void not only in the hearts of those who knew and loved him but in the wider community. His dreams of healing others and serving society as a doctor were tragically cut short, leaving behind an irreplaceable loss.

May his memory be a reminder of the fragility of life and the promise that he once held.

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News Network
September 25,2024

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Hezbollah has launched a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv for the first time, triggering sirens in the city and elsewhere including Netanya, the Lebanese resistance group says. 

Warning sirens sounded in Israel’s economic capital Tel Aviv as a single surface-to-surface missile was intercepted by air defense systems after it was detected crossing from Lebanon, the Israeli military said.

There were no reports of damage or casualties and the military said there was no change to civil defense instructions for central Israel.

The Israeli military said that for the "first time ever" a missile fired by Hezbollah reached the Tel Aviv area. "It is the first time ever a Hezbollah missile reached Tel Aviv area."

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire since early October last year, shortly after the regime launched a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by Hamas.

Earlier, Hezbollah targeted the Israeli Ilaniya military base at the northern side of the occupied territories with a salvo of Fadi-1 rockets. 

The base is reportedly affiliated with the 146th Reserve Division of the Israeli military, which is part of the Northern Command.

The group announced in a brief statement that the operation was carried out in defense of Lebanon and its people. 

Hezbollah also said it targeted a military base near Safad twice with salvos of rockets.

The group stated that it targeted “the Dado base near Safad – the headquarters of the Israeli military’s Northern Command – with a total of 90 rockets in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

Hezbollah said in a separate statement that it unleashed a squadron of attack drones on the headquarters of the Israeli army’s Special Naval Task Force at the Alit Base.

The group said the attack on the Alit base, south of the major port city of Haifa, targeted “the locations of [Israeli] officers and soldiers” and achieved direct hits.

The Lebanese resistance movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks as long as the Israeli regime continues its Gaza war, which has so far killed at least 41,467 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Hezbollah officials have repeatedly said they do not want a war with Israel while stressing that they are prepared in case it occurs.

Two Israeli wars waged against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006 were met with strong resistance from Hezbollah, resulting in the retreat of the regime in both conflicts.

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