- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
Bangladeshi students on guard as exiled PM urges show of strength
Hundreds of Bangladeshi students wielding bamboo rods patrolled the site of a planned gathering Thursday of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina's supporters, vowing to quash any show of strength.
Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter last week to neighbouring India, where she remains, as student-yet protests flooded Dhaka's streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted 15-year rule.
Thursday is the anniversary of the 1975 assassination of her father, independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, during a military coup -- a date her government had declared a national holiday.
Previous years saw huge rallies around Bangladesh to mark the occasion, but the students who toppled Hasina were eager to ensure supporters of her Awami League party did not have a chance to regroup.
"Awami League will try to create chaos on Thursday in the name of observing (the) mourning day," prominent student leader Sarjis Alam told reporters the previous day, accoding to the Daily Star newspaper.
"We will remain on the streets to resist any such attempts."
With no police in sight, hundreds of students on Thursday patrolled the street leading into Hasina's old family home where her father and many of her relatives were gunned down nearly 50 years ago.
The landmark was until recently a museum to her father, but it was torched and vandalised by a mob hours after her fall.
In her first public statement since her abrupt departure, Hasina had this week asked supporters to "pray for the salvation of all souls by offering floral garlands and praying" outside the landmark.
Thousands of civil servants were required to join public demonstrations marking her father's death during her tenure.
Awami League organisers would also set up temporary public address systems around Dhaka to blare Mujib's old speeches and devotional songs praising his leadership.
The caretaker administration now running Bangladesh cancelled observance of the politically charged holiday on Tuesday, requiring bureaucrats to remain in the office.
And on Thursday, the prevailing sound in the city of 20 million people was the horns and motors of its perennially gridlocked traffic.
- 'Identified and punished' -
Hasina's statement came hours after a court in the capital opened a murder case into her, two senior Awami League allies and four police officers related to last month's unrest.
Several other top Awami League politicians have also been detained in unrelated probes, including former law minister Anisul Huq and business adviser Salman Rahman.
Hasina's statement also demanded an investigation into violence during the unrest that forced her out of office, with the culprits to be "identified and punished".
Police weaponry was the cause of the more than 450 people killed during the protests that ousted Hasina, according to police and hospital figures previously gathered by AFP.
F.Dubois--AMWN