Russia Says Its Forces Take Control of Yasnobrodivka in Eastern Ukraine

 Smoke rises after recent Russian air strikes, near a memorial to soldiers who died in World War Two, in the town of Toretsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after recent Russian air strikes, near a memorial to soldiers who died in World War Two, in the town of Toretsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Russia Says Its Forces Take Control of Yasnobrodivka in Eastern Ukraine

 Smoke rises after recent Russian air strikes, near a memorial to soldiers who died in World War Two, in the town of Toretsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after recent Russian air strikes, near a memorial to soldiers who died in World War Two, in the town of Toretsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 3, 2024. (Reuters)

Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday that its forces took control of Yasnobrodivka settlement in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, it said in a report on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine acknowledged no such loss and identified the village as one of several where its forces were defending positions.

The Russian defense ministry, in its daily report on the front, said: "As a result of decisive actions, units of the 'center' group of forces liberated the Yasnoborivka settlement...and improved their tactical positions."

Ukraine's General Staff said the village was one of nine in the Pokrovsk sector of Donetsk region, west of the Russian-held town of Donetsk, where its forces had withstood more than 20 Russian attempts to advance over the past 24 hours.

The report said the Pokrovsk sector had seen the highest number of clashes along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.

Russia's military says it has captured a string of villages in its slow drive through Ukraine's Donetsk region after it captured the key town of Avdiivka in February.

DeepState, a popular Ukrainian military blog, made no mention of Yasnoborivka in its frontline accounts, but reported heavy fighting in nearby areas. It said Russian forces were trying to secure control over two villages further north.

"Today is another difficult day in the area," it said.



Bangladesh Protesters Call for Nationwide Shutdown Amid Clashes

17 July 2024, Bangladesh, Dhaka: Bangladesh police personnel fire tear shells during clashes. Photo: Habibur Rahman/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
17 July 2024, Bangladesh, Dhaka: Bangladesh police personnel fire tear shells during clashes. Photo: Habibur Rahman/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Bangladesh Protesters Call for Nationwide Shutdown Amid Clashes

17 July 2024, Bangladesh, Dhaka: Bangladesh police personnel fire tear shells during clashes. Photo: Habibur Rahman/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
17 July 2024, Bangladesh, Dhaka: Bangladesh police personnel fire tear shells during clashes. Photo: Habibur Rahman/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Student protesters demanding an end to quotas for government jobs in Bangladesh called on Thursday for a complete shutdown nationwide, after deadly clashes this week killed six and injured hundreds.
Angered by high youth unemployment, with nearly 32 million out of work or education among a population of 170 million, the students have pressed for the abolition of a quota of 30% reservations for the families of freedom fighters.
"We will go ahead with our plans for complete shutdown ... All establishments will remain closed," protest coordinator Nahid Islam told Reuters.
"Only hospitals and emergency services will remain operational, with ambulance services being the sole permitted transport."
Many government and private offices were open on Thursday in the capital, Dhaka, with three-wheelers and motorcycles on its streets, although public buses were fewer than usual.
Authorities had closed all public and private universities indefinitely from Wednesday and sent riot police and the Border Guard paramilitary force to university campuses to ensure law and order.
The protests are the first significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government since she won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Hasina promised her government would set up a judicial panel to investigate the deaths after police fired bullets and tear gas to scatter protesters.
On August 7, the Supreme Court will hear the government's appeal against a High Court verdict that ordered reinstatement of the 30% reservation for the families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, she added.
Hasina asked the students to be patient until the verdict.
The violence was sparked by nationwide clashes between thousands of protesters and members of the student wing of Hasina's ruling party, the Awami League. At least three students were among the six killed in Tuesday's clashes, police said.
The demonstrations intensified after Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, refused to meet the protesters' demands.
Rights groups, such as Amnesty International, as well as the United Nations and the United States, have urged Bangladesh to protect peaceful protesters from violence.