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Dec 20 (Reuters) – Bangladesh tightened security on Saturday, deploying police and paramilitary forces in the capital Dhaka ahead of funeral prayers for a slain youth leader and election candidate whose death has sparked a surge of violence.

The unrest in the South Asian nation after the shooting death of Sharif Osman Hadi has included coordinated mob attacks on major newspapers and cultural institutions.

Hadi, 32, a key figure in the student-led uprising last year that toppled longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka last week while launching his campaign. He died on Thursday night in Singapore after six days on life support.

Bangladesh is to elect a new parliament on February 12 – a transition many hope will help the Muslim-majority nation of 175 million people recover from nearly two years of instability and reclaim its position as a regional success story.

RIGHTS GROUPS CONDEMN KILLING, ATTACKS ON MEDIA

But frequent bouts of violent protests and political wrangling among disparate groups including Islamist hardliners have punctured the national sense of euphoria that arose after Hasina was ousted in August 2024.

It has also exposed the limitations of the interim government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, analysts say, raising questions over his grip on governance in the world’s largest apparel producer after China.

Yunus’ government, which declared Saturday a day of state mourning for Hadi, urged citizens to resist “mob violence by fringe elements”, warning that turmoil threatens Bangladesh’s fragile democratic transition.

Human Rights Watch called Hadi’s killing a “terrible act” and urged the government to act urgently to halt the violence that has gripped the country since Hasina’s ouster.

The group also condemned the attacks on media as an assault on free expression.

Bangladesh ranks 149th of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. Rights groups warn that continued attacks on journalists and activists could further shrink civic space ahead of the election.

Amnesty International urged prompt, independent investigations into Hadi’s killing and the subsequent violence, including the burning of newspaper offices and harassment of journalists.

Demonstrations continued on Friday in the Shahbagh area of the capital, where crowds demanded justice for Hadi and accountability for the attacks. A mob stormed the Dhaka office of Udichi Shilpigosthi, Bangladesh’s premier progressive cultural organisation.

The violence has spread beyond the capital. In Chittagong, protesters attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission, reflecting growing anti-India sentiment since Hasina fled to New Delhi after her ouster.

Her party, the Awami League, which has been barred from the election, has threatened unrest that some fear could derail the vote.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by William Mallard)

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By Steve Holland and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 – U.S. negotiators are set to meet Russian officials in Florida on Saturday for the latest talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to coax an agreement out of both Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict.

The meeting follows U.S. talks on Friday with Ukrainian and European officials, the latest discussions of a peace plan that has sparked some hope of a resolution to the conflict that began when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is leading the Russian delegation that will meet with property tycoon-turned-diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Marco Rubio, Trump’s top diplomat and national security advisor, said he may also join the talks.

Previous meetings have taken place at Witkoff’s golf club in Miami’s Hallandale Beach. 

U.S., Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week reported progress on security guarantees for Kyiv as part of the talks to end the war, but it remains unclear if those terms will be acceptable to Moscow.

A Russian source told Reuters that any meeting between Dmitriev and the Ukrainian negotiators had been ruled out. 

PUTIN OFFERING NO COMPROMISE

U.S. intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to capture all of Ukraine, sources familiar with the intelligence said, contradicting some U.S. officials’ assertions that Moscow is ready for peace. 

Putin offered no compromise during his annual press conference in Moscow, insisting that Russia’s terms for ending the war had not changed since June 2024, when he demanded Ukraine abandon its ambition to join NATO and withdraw entirely from four Ukrainian regions Russia claims as its own territory.

Kyiv says it will not cede land that Moscow’s forces have failed to capture in nearly four years of war.

Ukraine’s top negotiator Rustem Umerov said U.S. and European teams on Friday held talks and agreed to pursue their joint efforts.

“We agreed with our American partners on further steps and on continuing our joint work in the near future,” Umerov wrote on Telegram of the discussions in the United States, adding that he had informed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of the outcome of the talks.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rubio told reporters earlier on Friday that progress has been made in discussions to end the war but there is still a way to go.

“In the end, it’s up to them to make a deal. We can’t force Ukraine to make a deal. We can’t force Russia to make a deal. They have to want to make a deal,” Rubio said.

“The role we’re trying to play is a role of figuring out whether there’s any overlap here that they can agree to, and that’s what we’ve invested a lot of time and energy and continue to do so. That may not be possible. I hope it is. I hope it can get done this month before the end of the year.”

(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Steve Holland; Editing by Don Durfee and Saad Sayeed)

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