A huge rally of BNP protesting the latest hike in fuel prices and power crisis is underway in front of its Nayapaltan central office in the capital. The rally, organised by BNP’s Dhaka south and north city units, formally began with the recitation from the Holy Quran around 1:50pm. Thousands of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies started to gather in the area since morning blocking one side of the road. Vehicles were moving on the other side of the road, stretching from Bijoynagar crossing to Fakirerpool, causing immense suffering to commuters. BNP senior leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee members, will address the rally. Read: BNP works out long-term protest against fuel price hike

A man was killed and 30 people  including seven policemen were injured in a clash between BNP activists and police during the party’s protest rally at Kalinath Roy Bazar in Sadar upazila of Bhola district on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Abdur Rahim, an activist of BNP. As part of BNP’s demonstration programme in districts, the leaders and activists of  the party gathered in front of their district party office in the morning. At one stage, police obstructed them when they tried to stage demonstrations at Kalinath Roy Bazar around 11:30 am, said Additional superintendent of Bhola Police Farhad Sardar. The leaders and activists pelted brickbats targeting police, prompting them to fired bullets and lobbed teargas shells, triggering a clash that left one people dead, he said. Read: Power Outages: BNP announces 3-day protest programme Humayun Kabir Shopan, joint secretary of District unit BNP, said, “A BNP activist identified as Abdur Rahim was killed in police firing.” Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further trouble. A tense situation has been prevailing in the area following the clash. BNP on July 26 announced three-day demonstrations across the country to protest against the ongoing load-shedding and mismanagement in the power and energy sector. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the programme at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office.

Some activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked a protest rally of progressive students organisations in front of Shahbagh police station on Monday evening. The incident occurred around at 6.45 pm when progressive student organizations went for a protest rally from in front of the national museum demanding proper investigation into the BM Container Depot fire, arrest of its owner and proper amends to the victims and their families. "Anik Roy, vice-president of the student union, was badly injured in the attack and received eight stitches on his head at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Besides several more of our activists were injured ,” said Acting President of Bangladesh Socialist Student Front, Joydeep Vatyacharya . "We were on our way to the Raju sculpture with the procession and as we reached in front of Shahbagh police station, BCL leaders and activists suddenly attacked us with bricks and stones", he added. Also read: BCL factions clash at DU over ‘occupying hall seat’ According to another witness, some BCL leaders and activists were going toward Shahbag on motorcycles when they were blocked by the procession of leftist organizations. They allowed an ambulance to pass but did not allow the BCL leaders and activists to do so which led to an altercation and soon it turned violent, he said. Moudut Hawlader, Officer-in-Charge of Shahbagh police station said, "I was informed about the incident. The leaders and activists of the leftist organizations were attacked by BCL men due to a quarrel between them over not allowing them to cross the road but we did not get any complaint yet in this regard. " Also read: BCL-JCD clashes at DU: HC grants 35 JCD men anticipatory bail However, the victims of progressive students organizations were identifying the attackers as Masruk Hasan Sujon, follower of Siam-Master Da Surja Sen hall(DU) Chhatra League general secretary- Najmul Hasan Rupu, Dhaka University Chhatra League Human resources development deputy secretary.

Hundreds of people marched Saturday through central London and other cities across England and Wales to protest the British government's plan to hand the police new powers to tackle demonstrations. Protesters walked past Buckingham Palace towards Parliament Square, just outside the Houses of Parliament. A ring of officers positioned themselves around the statue of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. The statue had been defaced during anti-racism protests last year. Protesters, including many who carried anti-sexism placards and chanted “Women scared everywhere, police and government do not care!” passed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office at 10 Downing Street. Also read: Anti-tobacco lobby wants stricter measures introduced through legislation London's Metropolitan Police said the majority of people “have tried to adhere to social distancing" but that a ”small minority" had blocked the road at Parliament Square. “Officers are on scene engaging and encouraging them to move so we can reopen the roads,” it said. The protests were taking place over the long Easter holiday weekend, including in the Welsh capital of Cardiff and in the northern England cities of Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. The demonstrators were upset at the Conservative government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently going through parliament. Under the terms of the bill, which covers England and Wales, police will be able to ban or shut down protests. A recent protest against the new legislation in Bristol, southwest England, descended into widespread violence that saw police officers injured, a police station damaged and police vehicles torched. Separately, 27 police officers were injured during riots in Northern Ireland on Friday evening and eight people were arrested. The reasons behind the unrest were unclear.   Also read: Chinese officials lash out at US over new legislation The Police Service of Northern Ireland said 15 officers were injured in Belfast after being targeted by a crowd of mainly young people, throwing stones, fireworks, flares, manhole covers and petrol bombs. It said 12 more police were injured in Londonderry after young adults threw stones, bottles, petrol bombs and fireworks. Political leaders called for calm over the long Easter weekend. Northern Ireland's first minister, Arlene Foster, urged young people “not to get drawn into disorder."

The students of Islamic University staged demonstrations for the 3rd consecutive days on Tuesday and gave a 5-day ultimatum to the authorities for reopening of the campus and the residential halls of the university.

Stating that the government has lost the ground beneath its feet, BNP senior leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain called upon their party leaders and activists to initiate a movement to oust it immediately.

BNP leaders and activists locked into a clash with police at the end of a protest rally of the party in front of Jatiya Press Club in the capital on Saturday, leaving over a hundred people injured.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters gathered in Thailand’s capital again on Sunday, seeking to keep up pressure on the government a day before a special session of Parliament that was called to try to ease political tensions.

Chief coordinator of the BNP-led 20-party alliance Nazrul Islam Khan on Sunday said they want to get Khaleda Zia freed by any means.

Jatiya Oikyafront (JOF) will stage a protest rally on February 8 in the city, marking the second anniversary of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment.