- At least 133 people have died so far in this week’s violence, posing a major challenge to the autocratic government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been in power for 15 years. Ms Hasina was due to leave the country on Sunday for a planned diplomatic tour but cancelled her plans because of the protests.
- With the death toll rising and police inability to stop violent protests, the Bangladesh government imposed a national curfew and deployed the army on Friday.
- The curfew was briefly lifted on Saturday afternoon to allow people to carry out essential work, but otherwise people remain ordered to remain at home and all gatherings and demonstrations are banned.
- Authorities on Thursday imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, which is still in effect, severely disrupting communications in and out of Bangladesh. Government websites are still offline and major newspapers, including the Dhaka Tribune and the Daily Star, are unable to update their social media platforms.
- The Supreme Court will meet later today to rule on whether to abolish the controversial job quota.
- Nearly 1,000 Indian students from Bangladesh have returned to India via various land transit points or by air. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Ministry of External Affairs is fully focused on ensuring the safety and well-being of Indians in Bangladesh.
- The US State Department has warned Americans not to travel to Bangladesh and said it will begin evacuating some diplomats and their families from the country plagued by deadly civil unrest.
- Violence escalated in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka and other places as students protested demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs.
- The protesters are demanding an end to the quota system that provides up to 30% reservation in government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan.
- The quotas have caused anger among students, who are facing high youth unemployment rates. About 32 million young Bangladeshis, out of a total of 170 million people, are neither working nor receiving an education.
