Politics
Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister of Bangladesh and fled the country, following weeks of mass protests led by students. Hundreds of people were killed by the security forces in a crackdown on the demonstrators. Sheikh Hasina had ruled Bangladesh for 20 of the past 28 years with an iron fist. The recently appointed head of the army described the uprising as a “revolutionary period”. Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister and leader of the opposition, was freed from house arrest after the dictator fled. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel peace prizewinner, was named interim leader.
The Constitutional Court of Thailand ordered Move Forward, the main opposition party, to disband for trying to reform the country’s lèse-majesté law, which protects the monarchy from any criticism. It also banned its senior leaders from politics for ten years. Move Forward came first in an election last year, but it was blocked from taking office by Thailand’s royalist establishment. Its MPs will retain their seats in parliament and probably reorganise as a new party. Amnesty International said the court’s decision was a “serious violation” of the freedom of expression.
Vietnam’s president, To Lam, was confirmed as general secretary of the Communist Party, the country’s most important political job. His predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong, who died in July, was elected party chief in 2011 and spent the following years consolidating his power. Mr Lam led a crackdown on corruption when he was security minister. He became president only in May.
Venezuela’s attorney-general opened a criminal investigation into two leaders of the opposition, Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, for calling on the rank and file of the armed forces to reject the government’s claim that it won a presidential election on July 28th. Voting receipts obtained by the opposition show that Mr González in fact won. Government forces have killed 24 people during protests and arrested 2,200 more.
A summer of discontent
Britain experienced its worst rioting in over a decade, after far-right activists exploited the murder of three girls to indiscriminately attack asylum-seekers and ethnic minorities. Social-media disinformation stoked the disorder, for example by falsely claiming the murderer was an immigrant. The rioting spread across the country, the first serious test for the month-old new Labour government, led by Sir Keir Starmer. Public opinion is strongly against the rioters, but more people think the prime minister handled the situation badly than well.
Evan Gershkovich, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal, returned to America, after being incarcerated for 16 months in Russia. Mr Gershkovich’s release was part of a wider prisoner swap that saw 16 Americans, Germans and Russians freed by Russia in exchange for eight Russians (and two children) in the biggest such exchange since the cold war.
Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s, according to Volodymyr Zelensky. The first ten fighter jets (out of a promised 79) arrived in Ukraine at the end of July. It is unclear how many are currently flying. Meanwhile, Ukrainian defences shot down four missiles and 15 drones in another Russian attack. And the Kremlin was embarrassed by its failure to repel an incursion by as many as 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers into Russia’s Kursk province, which seems to have been penetrated by at least 10km (6 miles).
The European Union imposed sanctions on 28 officials in Belarus. The assets of judges and prosecutors who sent opposition activists to jail were frozen. Officials in the interior ministry’s department for tackling corruption were also targeted. The EU described the bureau as “one of the main bodies responsible for political persecution in Belarus.”
Three Taylor Swift concerts were cancelled in Vienna, after the authorities uncovered a plot by Islamist extremists to target the events. One 19-year-old suspect had allegedly collected explosive materials to mount the attack.
Hamas named Yahya Sinwar, its leader in Gaza and the architect of its terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, as its new supreme leader. The surprise choice will tie the group more closely to Iran and reduce the chances of a ceasefire that might end a war that has claimed almost 40,000 lives.
America deployed additional fighter jets and other forces to the Middle East to help defend Israel and existing American forces in the region from a possible attack by Iran and its proxies. Seven American citizens, including five service members, were injured in a rocket attack on a military base in Iraq. A militia aligned with Iran carried out the attack.
B’Tselem, a human-rights organisation in Israel, published details of what it said was a “systemic institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture” of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel since October 7th.
The UN’s Famine Review Committee confirmed that after nearly 16 months of civil war, famine is under way in Sudan. This is only the third time the UN has used the word “famine” since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system was established two decades ago.
At least 21 people were killed in demonstrations in Nigeria, according to Amnesty International. People have taken to the streets to protest against a deepening cost-of-living crisis, the removal of a fuel subsidy and food inflation.
Al-Shabab, a jihadist group in Somalia linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for a suicide-bombing and attack by gunmen on a popular beach that killed at least 37 people and injured more than 200.
America’s defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, revoked the recent deal through which the plotters of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his abettors, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and murder in exchange for a life sentence rather than face the death penalty. Mr Austin said that “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me”. The families of some of the victims of 9/11 had been angered by the plea deal.
Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running-mate in America’s presidential election. Mr Walz has been governor of Minnesota since 2019. By selecting him Ms Harris hopes to boost the Democratic ticket across swing states in the Midwest. Mr Walz delighted Democrats recently when he described Donald Trump and J.D. Vance as “weird people”.
The Democratic National Committee officially confirmed Ms Harris as the party’s presidential candidate, after holding a virtual roll call of delegates. The DNC wanted to avoid any potential legal challenges at the party’s convention, which starts in Chicago on August 19th.
The less-awkward squad
A second member of the progressive “Squad” and critic of Israel in the House of Representatives was booted out by voters in a Democratic primary. Cori Bush lost her bid for re-election in St Louis to Wesley Bell, who was backed by pro-Israel campaign groups.