Jagannath University (JnU) students detained and handed over Professor Farid Ahmed of Jahangirnagar University’s Philosophy Department to police on Thursday for allegedly assisting in an attack on students during the anti-discrimination student movement at JU in July. Farid was detained on the JnU campus around 11:30 am before being handed over to the Kotwali police station.  “We recognised him when he arrived on our campus this morning,” said Tawhid Islam, a student of the JnU Philosophy Department. “There is a case against him for his role in the attack on students, and we handed him over to the police.” Enamul Haque, Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali Police Station, confirmed the  matter saying students detained him on the campus and handed him over to us.   “A case was filed against him at Ashulia police station for his suspected involvement in the attacks on Jahangirnagar University students. He is currently in our custody. Ashulia Police Station may arrest him, or we can arrest him and produce him to the court if we receive orders from higher authorities.” Read: Students in Rajshahi hand over Tk 18 lakh found on the street to police Farid Ahmed faces allegations of aiding Chhatra League's attack on protesting students on July 15, followed by a police assault two days later. Sajjadul Islam, a JU English Department student, filed the case with Ashulia police station, naming then-Vice Chancellor Nurul Alam as the main accused. He was listed as the seventh accused for his alleged role in the attacks. Read more: HC orders MP Salam Murshedy to hand over Gulshan house to govt

Iranian security forces used heavy gunfire against protesters in a Kurdish town in the country's west on Monday, killing at least five during an anti-government protest that erupted at the funeral of two people killed the day before, activists said. Videos circulating online show dozens of protesters taking shelter in alleyways as heavy gunfire echoes through the streets. Some show individuals lying motionless and bloodied in the streets, while others show residents gathering at a local hospital to donate blood. Iran has been convulsed by anti-government protests since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in the custody of the country's morality police in the capital, Tehran. The protests, which were initially concentrated in the western, Kurdish region of Iran where Amini was from, have spread across the country and escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran's ruling clerics. Hengaw, a Kurdish human rights group, said Iranian security forces unleashed heavy gunfire on protesters in the town of Javanrud, where a funeral was held for two protesters killed the day before. It cited witnesses as saying that Iranian forces used heavy machine guns. Read more: Iran sentences anti-government protester to death: Report Hengaw said seven people were killed on Monday, while another group, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, put the toll at five. The latter group said many of the wounded were being treated in homes because of fears they could be arrested from hospitals, making it difficult to confirm the toll. It said several were shot in the head or chest. Iranian authorities heavily restrict media coverage of the protests and have periodically shut off internet access, making it difficult to confirm details of the unrest. The semiofficial Fars news agency reported protests in Javanrud on Sunday night, saying security forces were fired upon with live ammunition. It said two people were killed and four wounded. Later on Monday, state TV interviewed a local security official, Mohammad Pourhashemi, who blamed the shooting in Javanrud on local gunmen who he said had exchanged fire with security forces. The report did not provide further details. Read more: Iran’s elite technical university emerges as hub of protests Funerals have often been the scene of renewed protests in recent weeks, as they were during the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the clerics to power. The latest demonstrations mark the biggest challenge to the theocracy in over a decade. At least 426 people have been killed and more than 17,400 arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest. It says at least 55 members of the security forces have been killed. Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a lawmaker representing the Kurdish city of Mahabad, told the Etemad daily that 11 people have been killed during protests in the city since late October, many of them in recent days. He said some members of the security forces fired upon homes and businesses on Saturday, and he called on authorities to adopt a softer touch. The unrest cast a shadow over the World Cup on Monday, where the Iranian national team faced off against England. Iran's players did not sing along to their national anthem, and some fans chanted Amini's name at the 22nd minute of the match. The violence has also spilled across the border into neighboring Iraq's northern Kurdish region. Iran has blamed the unrest at home in part on Kurdish groups based in Iraq, and has targeted them with missile and drone attacks. Iran said Monday that its latest strikes were necessary to protect the country's borders, while Kurdish officials condemned the attacks as unprovoked aggression. Iraq's central government, which is dominated by parties close to Iran, also condemned the strikes. A strike late Sunday killed a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a senior official in the Kurdish Iranian group living in exile in Iraq. The group said Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and drones hit its bases and adjacent refugee camps in Koya and Jejnikan. The group also asserted that the strikes had hit a hospital in Koya. The Iranian strikes come in the wake of a visit to Baghdad last week by Esmail Ghaani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force. During the visit, Ghaani threatened Iraq with a ground military operation in the country’s north if the Iraqi army does not fortify the border. Some Kurdish groups have been engaged in a low-intensity conflict with Tehran since the 1979 revolution. Iran accuses them of inciting protests in Iran and smuggling weapons into the country, allegations the Kurdish groups have denied. Iran has not provided evidence to back up the claims. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters that Iran had acted to “protect its borders and security of its citizens based on its legal rights.” He alleged that the government in Baghdad and the Irbil-based administration of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region had failed to implement purported commitments to prevent threats against Iran from Iraqi areas. The government of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq condemned the strikes as a “gross infringement of international law and neighborly relations.” Qaderi told The Associated Press the Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq support the protests in Iran, which he described as a reaction to “the policies of this regime” he said oppresses its people. He denied that his group has sent fighters or weapons to Iran. He said that his group had moved fighters away from the border to avoid giving Iran an “excuse” for further attacks. He called on the international community to prevent further aggression by Iran. The United States condemned the latest Iranian strikes. “Such indiscriminate and illegal attacks place civilians at risk, violate Iraqi sovereignty, and jeopardize the hard-fought security and stability of Iraq and the Middle East," Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, who heads U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. Sunday's Iranian strikes in northern Iraq come a day after Turkey launched deadly airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week’s bomb attack in Istanbul. On Monday, Turkish officials said suspected Kurdish militants in Syria fired rockets into the border town of Karkamis in Turkey, killing two people, including a teacher and a 5-year-old boy.

Sri Lanka was in a political vacuum for a second day Monday with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, whose residences are occupied by protesters angry over the country’s deep economic woes. Protesters remained in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence, his seaside office and the prime minister’s official home, which they stormed on Saturday demanding the two leaders step down. It marked the most dramatic day of protests during three months of a relentless crisis that has pushed many to the brink to despair amid acute shortages of fuel, food, medicine and other necessities. The protesters, who come from all walks of life, vowed to stay put until the resignations of the leaders are official. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Saturday he would leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday. Wickremesinghe’s office said Monday that Rajapaksa had confirmed his earlier decision to resign on Wednesday. Also Monday, a group of nine Cabinet ministers announced they will quit immediately to make way for an all-party government, outgoing Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe said. Wickremesinghe’s office said meanwhile that another group that met the prime minister decided to stay on until a new government is formed. The president hasn’t been seen or heard publicly since Saturday and his location is unknown. But his office said Sunday that he ordered the immediate distribution of a cooking gas consignment to the public, suggesting that he was still at work. Opposition party leaders have been in discussion to form an alternative unity government, an urgent requirement of a bankrupt nation to continue discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout program. Lawmaker Udaya Gammanpila said the main opposition United People’s Front and lawmakers who have defected Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition have had discussions and agreed to work together. Main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Dullas Alahapperuma, who was a minister under Rajapaksa, have been proposed to take over as president and prime minister and have been asked to decide on how to share the positions before a meeting with the parliamentary speaker later Monday. “We can’t be in an anarchical condition. We have to somehow reach a consensus today,” Gammanpila said. Read: Sri Lanka opposition meets to name new gov’t amid turmoil Opposition parties are also concerned over military leaders making statements about public security in the absence of a civil administration. Lawmakers have discussed Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Shavendra Silva’s statement over the weekend calling on people’s cooperation to maintain law and order, said Kavinda Makalanda, spokesperson for Premadasa. “A civil administration is the need, not the military in a democratic country,” Makalanda said. If opposition parties fail to form a government by the time Rajapaksa resigns, Wickremesinghe as prime minister will become acting president under the constitution. However, in line with the protesters’ demand, opposition parties are keen on not allowing him take over even as acting president. They say Wickremesinghe should promptly resign and allow Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena take over as acting president — the next in line according to the constitution. Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May in an effort to solve the shortages and start economic recovery. But delays in alleviating the shortages of basic supplies has turned public anger against him with protesters accusing him of protecting the president. Wickremesinghe had been part of crucial talks with the IMF for a bailout program and with the World Food Program to prepare for a predicted food crisis. The government must submit a plan on debt sustainability to the IMF in August before reaching an agreement. Sri Lanka is relying on aid from India and other nations as leaders try to negotiate a bailout with the IMF. Wickremesinghe said recently that negotiations with the IMF were complex because Sri Lanka was now a bankrupt state. Sri Lanka announced in April that it was suspending repayment of foreign loans due to a foreign currency shortage. Its total foreign debt amounts to $51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027. Months of demonstrations have all but dismantled the Rajapaksa political dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades but is accused by protesters of mismanagement and corruption.

Police imposed a curfew in Sri Lanka’s capital and surrounding areas on Friday, a day before a planned protest demanding the resignations of the country’s president and prime minister because of the economic crisis that has caused severe shortages of essential goods and disrupted people’s livelihoods. Hours before the curfew announcement, police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesting students wearing black clothes, holding black flags, shouting anti-government slogans and carrying banners saying “Enough — now go.” The protesters and other critics have said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is responsible for the economic crisis, the worst since the country's independence in 1948. They also blame Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister two months ago, for not delivering on promises to end the shortages. Civic and opposition activists have announced that thousands more protesters will gather in Colombo on Saturday. But the police announcement of the curfew said it took effect at 9 p.m. and will last until further notice in Colombo and its suburbs. The curfew announcement drew criticism from government opponents and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, which said the “curfew is blatantly illegal and a violation of the fundamental rights.” The bar association statement asked police to immediately withdraw what the association called an "illegal order” imposing the curfew. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa called the curfew“a fraud." Read: Sri Lanka PM says talks with IMF difficult due to bankruptcy “Get on to the streets tomorrow. Defy the dictatorship and join with the people to make democracy victorious. Yes we can,” he said in a tweet. The U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, asked people to protest peacefully and asked the military and police “to grant peaceful protestors the space and security to do so.” “Chaos & force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lankans need right now,” Chung said in a tweet. Sri Lanka is nearly bankrupt and has suspended repayments of $7 billion in foreign debt due this year. It must pay back more than $5 billion annually until 2026. Its foreign reserves are nearly wiped out and it is unable to import food, fuel, cookng gas and medicine. A lack of fuel to run power stations has resulted in extended daily power cuts. People must stand in lines for hours to buy fuel and gas. The country has survived mostly on credit lines extended by neighboring India to buy fuel and other essentials. Because of the economic crisis, inflation has spiked and prices of essentials have soared, dealing a severe blow to poor and vulnerable groups. Due to the fuel and power shortages, schools have been shut for weeks and the government has asked state employees other than those in essential services to work from home. The country is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout package, but Wickremesinghe said this week that the negotiations are difficult because Sri Lanka is effectively bankrupt. He earlier said the country’s economy had “collapsed.” The economic crisis has triggered a political upheaval, with widespread anti-government protests. Protesters have blocked main roads to demand fuel, and people in some areas have fought over limited stocks. Also read: With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka keeps schools closed In Colombo, protesters have occupied the entrance to the president’s office for nearly three months to demand his resignation. They accuse him and his powerful family, which includes several siblings who until recently held Cabinet positions, of precipitating the crisis through corruption and misrule. Months of protests have nearly dismantled the Rajapaksa political dynasty that has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades. One of Rajapaksa’s brothers resigned as prime minister last month, and two other brothers and a nephew quit their Cabinet posts earlier.   President Rajapaksa has admitted he did not take steps to head off the economic collapse early enough, but has refused to leave office. It is nearly impossible to oust presidents under the constitution unless they resign on their own.  

Sri Lankan protesters stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence and nearby office on Saturday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Colombo in the biggest demonstration yet to vent their fury against a leader they hold responsible for the island nation’s worst economic crisis. It was not clear if Rajapaksa was inside his residence but footage showed hundreds of people inside the well-fortified house and on the grounds outside, some taking a dip in the garden pool and others in a jubilant mood. A government spokesman, Mohana Samaranayake, said he had no information about Rajapaksa's whereabouts. Sri Lanka’s economy is in a state of collapse, muddling through with aid from India and other countries as its leaders try to negotiate a bailout with the International Monetary Fund. The economic meltdown has led to severe shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel and other necessities. The turmoil has led to months of protests, which have nearly dismantled the Rajapaksa political dynasty that has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades. The president’s older brother resigned as prime minister in May after violent protests saw him seek safety at a naval base, while three other Rajapaksa relatives had quit their Cabinet posts earlier. Much of the public ire has been pointed at the Rajapaksa family, with protesters blaming them for dragging Sri Lanka into chaos with poor management and allegations of corruption. A new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, took over in May to help steer the country out of the crisis. Meanwhile, Rajapaksa has held on to power despite growing calls for him to quit. On Saturday, as droves of people broke through barriers to occupy the president’s residence, hundreds of protesters, some carrying national flags, also stormed his seaside office in another nearby building. Demonstrators have camped outside the entrance to his office for the past three months. Videos posted on social media showed protesters storming the residence, chanting “Gota go home,” calling the president by his nickname. Dozens were seen jumping into the pool, milling about the house and and watching television. Outside the building, barricades were overturned and a black flag was hoisted on a pole. At the president’s office, security personnel tried to stop demonstrators who pushed through fences to run across the lawns and inside the colonial-era building. At least 34 people including two police officers were wounded in scuffles as protesters tried to enter the residence. Two of the injured are in critical condition while others sustained minor injuries, said an official at the Colombo National Hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. Thousands of protesters entered the capital from the suburbs earlier on Saturday after police lifted an overnight curfew. With fuel supplies scarce, many crowded onto buses and trains to come to the city to protest, while others made their way on bicycles and on foot. Last month, Wickremesinghe said the country’s economy has collapsed. He said that the negotiations with the IMF have been complex because Sri Lanka was now a bankrupt state. In April, Sri Lanka announced it is suspending repaying foreign loans due to a foreign currency shortage. Its total foreign debt amounts to $51 billion of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027. Police had imposed a curfew in Colombo and several other main urban areas on Friday night but withdrew it Saturday morning amid objections by lawyers and opposition politicians who called it illegal. U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Friday asked people to protest peacefully and called for the military and police “to grant peaceful protesters the space and security to do so.” “Chaos & force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lankans need right now,” Chung said in a tweet.

Protesters in Jamaica raised their fists Tuesday as they donned T-shirts emblazoned with a pair of shackled Black wrists surrounded by the phrases “Seh Yuh Sorry!” and “Apologize now!” as they demonstrated just hours before Prince William and Kate arrived. The protest in front of the British High Commission in Kingston comes a couple of days after dozens of prominent leaders in Jamaica publicized a letter demanding that Britain apologize and award its former colony slavery reparations. They also decried the weeklong Central American and Caribbean tour that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on Saturday, which coincides with Jamaica’s 60th independence anniversary and the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. “Kings, Queens and Princesses and Princes belong in fairytales, NOT in Jamaica!” read one poster held aloft by a young girl who joined the protest. The royal couple's trip, which began with a stop in Belize followed by scheduled visits to Jamaica and the Bahamas, was organized at the queen’s behest as some countries debate cutting ties to the monarchy like Barbados did in November. Read: Ukraine says Russia seized relief workers in Mariupol convoy Mike Henry, a veteran Jamaican lawmaker, said in a phone interview that while the topic has been discussed, he worries that demands for an apology and reparations would be rendered moot if the island stopped pledging allegiance to the queen. Maziki Thame, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, noted that Jamaicans have been seeking reparations for decades. “This is not a new cause,” she said in a phone interview as she prepared to join the protest. “The question is whether it will get any traction...whether the British are ready to contend with their history.” The British empire controlled Jamaica for more than 300 years and forced hundreds of thousands of African slaves to toil the island under brutal conditions. Sugar replaced tobacco and cocoa as the main crop, with some 430 sugar estates reported by the mid-1700s, up from 57 nearly a century prior, according to Jamaica Information Services, a government agency. The group protesting the royal visit noted in its letter that the British raped and killed thousands of slaves as it sought an apology for 60 reasons, including “for refusing to acknowledge the historic trade in Africans as a crime against humanity,” and for “pretending that the British led the abolition movement, when our ancestors worked, prayed and fought hard for this.” Tames, the university professor, said she and many other Jamaicans are not celebrating what is known as the queen’s Platinum Jubilee. “That doesn’t speak to us in the way they might imagine that speaks to us,” she said. “In the 20th century, Jamaicans have moved beyond celebrating the crown.” Prince William and Kate are scheduled to spend two days in Jamaica, where they’re expected to meet with government officials and tour Trench Town, the gritty birthplace of rocksteady and reggae where Bob Marley grew up. Ahead of their trip, Jamaican singer Beenie Man told TV show Good Morning Britain that the U.K. still controls the commonwealth of Jamaica: “It’s all about the Queen, and the Queen serve and the Queen this and that – but what are they doing for Jamaica? They’re not doing anything for us." The monarchy has said that Britain and Jamaica have a strong trade relationship, with the island exporting goods including rum and raw cane sugar to the U.K. It also noted the creation of programs targeting poverty, security, natural disaster management, social issues and the economy. Read: 10 'burnt alive' in India's Bengal An estimated 55,000 British citizens live in Jamaica, while some 800,000 people of Jamaican descent live in the United Kingdom. The relationship between the two countries soured in recent years after some Caribbean people who had long lived in Britain legally were denied jobs, housing or medical care, with some deported because they didn't have the required paperwork. Britain has since apologized and pledged compensation.

An army vehicle barreled into a peaceful march of anti-government protesters in military-ruled Myanmar’s biggest city on Sunday, reportedly killing at least three people, witnesses and a protest organizer said. Sunday’s march was one of at least three held in Yangon, and similar rallies were reported in other parts of the country a day ahead of an expected verdict in the first of about a dozen criminal cases against Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was toppled in a military takeover Feb. 1. A video posted on social media showed a speeding small army truck heading into the marchers from behind. Voices can be heard, saying: “The car is coming ... Please help! It hit the children ... Oh! ... Dead! ... Run, ... run!” The video shows about a dozen people running from the spot. A witness told The Associated Press that the protesters had been on his street for just two minutes when the military truck hit them, leaving three people without any sign of movement lying on the road. Also read: Myanmar court readies verdict for ousted leader Suu Kyi “About five armed soldiers got out of the vehicle and chased after the protesters,” said the witness, who insisted on anonymity for fear of arrest. “They opened fire and also arrested young people who had been hit by the car. At least 10 people were arrested.” Security forces have previously used cars to attack protesters since the army took power. They have also freely used live ammunition, killing about 1,300 civilians, according to a detailed list compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The use of lethal force by the army and police has led to less large-scale street protests, which have been replaced by small, quickly organized marches that usually break up at the first sight of the authorities. Sunday’s deaths in Yangon’s Kyeemyindaing neighborhood could not be immediately confirmed. Another witness said that when several people came to gather their items, three more military vehicles arrived and arrested several of them. Also read: US journalist jailed in Myanmar for nearly 6 months is freed “At least four people, including two young girls who were crying near the shoes, were arrested,” he said. “The soldiers told us to go inside or they would shoot us.” About 30 people took part in the march, according to a member of Yangon People’s Strike, the local resistance group that organized it. Media posted online showed the protesters carrying placards with Suu Kyi’s image, and calling for the immediate release of the country’s detained civilian leaders. The organizer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the threat of arrest, said the group held such protests to keep the residents involved in the struggle against the military-installed government. At the same time, militant urban guerrilla groups have attacked officials and planted bombs, while open armed conflict had engulfed rural areas, leading to a warning the country may slide into civil war. Since she was detained by the military, Suu Kyi has faced charges from breaching coronavirus regulations to corruption. They're seen as contrived in order to discredit her and justify the military takeover. The army claims it acted because last November’s election was marked by widespread electoral fraud. Independent observers of the polls, won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, say have seen no evidence justifying the army’s claim.

Skirmishes on Saturday erupted in Serbia between police and anti-government demonstrators who blocked roads and bridges in the Balkan country in protest against new laws they say favor interests of foreign investors devastating the environment. Hundreds of people on Saturday appeared simultaneously in the capital Belgrade, the northern city of Novi Sad and other locations to block main bridges and roads for one hour in what organizers described as a warning blockade. They pledged further protests if the laws on property expropriation and referendum weren't withdrawn. READ: Anti-government protests turn violent in Bangkok  Police officers blocked the demonstrators from reaching the bridges, which led to skirmishes as police helicopters flew overhead. The protesters then marched around while managing to stop traffic at a key bridge in Belgrade and in various central streets. Organizers said a number of people have been detained. Police earlier have warned that any blockade of bridges is illegal. A number of environmental groups and civil society organizations are angry that the authorities have lowered the referendum threshold and allowed for swift expropriation of private property if deemed to be in the public interest. Activists argue this will pave the way for foreign companies to circumvent popular discontent over projects such as the bid by the Rio Tinto company to launch a lithium mine in western Serbia. Serbia’s authorities have rejected the accusations, saying the new laws are needed because of infrastructure projects. The country's autocratic president, Aleksandar Vucic, said a referendum will be organized on the Rio Tinto mine. Environmental issues recently have drawn public attention as local activists accuse the populist government of allowing for the devastation of nature for profit. Experts have warned that the planned lithium mine in western Serbia would destroy farmland and pollute the waters. Following decades of neglect, Serbia has faced major environmental problems such as air and water pollution, poor waste management and other issues. Serbia is a candidate nation for European Union entry, but little so far has been achieved with regards to improving the country's environmental situation. Protesters on Saturday blew whistles during the blockade and chanted “We won't give up Serbia.” Huge columns of cars and other vehicles formed at several locations as the demonstrators allowed only the emergency services to pass. The protest coincided with a convention of Vucic’s populist Serbian Progressive Party as thousands of his supporters were bused into the capital for the gathering that was designed as a show of support for his policies.   READ: Hong Kong election a referendum on anti-government protests Although formally seeking EU membership, Vucic has refused to align the country’s foreign policies with the 27-nation bloc and has instead strengthened the Balkan country’s alliance with Russia and China.

Several people were injured in a clash as Muslim devotees clashed with police in Baitul Mukarram National Mosque area in the capital after Jum’a prayers on Friday. The trouble began as the devotees brought out a procession in protest against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Cumilla.   Read: Another youth arrested in Cumilla over Puja incident Witnesses said a large number of devotees came out from the national mosque after the Jum’a prayers chanting slogans against desecration of the Holy Quran.  

Demonstrators in Myanmar’s biggest city came out Monday night for their first mass protests in defiance of an 8 p.m. curfew, seeking to show support for an estimated 200 students trapped by security forces in a small area of one neighborhood.