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Biden Voices Hope Iran Will Stand Down But is Uncertain

File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)
File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)
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Biden Voices Hope Iran Will Stand Down But is Uncertain

File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)
File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)

US President Joe Biden expressed hope Iran would stand down despite its threat to avenge the assassination of Hamas’ leader in Tehran, as fears mounted that Israel’s war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.

Regional tensions have soared following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top leader, on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility, Reuters reported.

Asked by reporters whether Iran would stand down, Biden said on Saturday in response to a shouted question, "I hope so. I don't know."

Seeking to bolster defenses in the Middle East in response to threats from Israel’s foes, the Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

Haniyeh's death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the Gaza war nears its 11th month, and it fuelled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

Hamas said it had begun a "broad consultation process" to choose a new leader three days after the assassination of Haniyeh, who was the face of the group's international diplomacy.

The US and international partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt continued diplomatic contacts on Saturday seeking to prevent further regional escalation.

The US urged its citizens who wish to leave Lebanon to start making plans immediately, and the British government advised its nationals to “leave now.” Canada warned citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, saying the regional armed conflict endangered security.

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Bangladesh Protests Demand PM Resign, Army Stands 'by The People'

Protesters take part in a demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 August 2024. EPA/MONIRUL ALAM
Protesters take part in a demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 August 2024. EPA/MONIRUL ALAM
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Bangladesh Protests Demand PM Resign, Army Stands 'by The People'

Protesters take part in a demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 August 2024. EPA/MONIRUL ALAM
Protesters take part in a demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 August 2024. EPA/MONIRUL ALAM

Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters, many wielding sticks, crowded into a central Dhaka square Sunday for mass protests demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign following a deadly police crackdown.
Asif Mahmud, one of the key protest leaders in a nationwide civil disobedience campaign, asked supporters to be ready to fight, said AFP.
"Prepare bamboo sticks and liberate Bangladesh," he wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
While the army stepped in to help restore order in the wake of earlier protests, some former military officers have since joined the student movement, and ex-army chief General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan turned his Facebook profile picture red in a show of support.
Current army chief Waker-uz-Zaman spoke to officers at military headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday, telling them the "Bangladesh Army is the symbol of trust of the people".
"It always stood by the people and will do so for the sake of people and in any need of the state," he said, according to an army statement issued late Saturday.
The statement did not give further details, and did not explicitly say whether the army backed the protests.
Rallies against civil service job quotas sparked days of mayhem in July that killed more than 200 people in some of the worst unrest of Hasina's 15-year tenure.
Troops briefly restored order but crowds returned to the streets in huge numbers this week in an all-out non-cooperation movement aimed at paralyzing the government.
On Saturday, when hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in Dhaka, the police were largely bystanders watching the rallies.
- 'Live freely' -
The protests have grown into a wider anti-government movement across the South Asian nation of some 170 million people.
The mass movement includes people from all strata of Bangladesh society, including film stars, musicians and singers, and rap songs calling for people's support have spread widely on social media.
"It is no longer about job quotas," said Sakhawat, a young female protester who gave only one name, as she scrawled graffiti on a wall at a protest site in Dhaka calling Hasina a "killer".
"What we want is that our next generation can live freely in the country."
Counter-protests supporting the government are also expected.
Obaidul Quader, general secretary of Hasina's ruling Awami League, has called on party activists to gather in "all wards in Dhaka city" and "in every district" nationwide to show their support for the government.
"We don't want to engage in any kind of confrontation," Quader said.
The capital Dhaka was tense on Sunday, with fewer cars and buses on the normally congested streets of the megacity of 20 million people.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to rally in Dhaka and nationwide.
- 'Take all preparations' -
Students Against Discrimination, the group responsible for organizing the initial protests, called for rallies across the country.
Protests will be held at entry points to Dhaka, with the main rallies held in Dhaka's central Shahbagh Square, where crowds gathered on Sunday morning.
"We will hold our protests and rallies peacefully," the group said in a statement late Saturday. "But if anyone attacks us, we urge (all) to take all preparations."
Students Against Discrimination have asked their compatriots to stop paying taxes and utility bills from Sunday to pile pressure on the government.
They have also asked government workers and laborers in the country's economically vital garment factories to strike.
Hasina, 76, 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 in early July over the reintroduction of the quota scheme, which reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups. It has since been scaled back by Bangladesh's top court.