Thousands of Bangladeshis held demonstrations in the capital city of Dhaka on Friday to protest the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and Israeli aggression against Palestinian Muslims.

Demonstrators marched the banner of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, one of the largest Islamic political parties in the country.

They carried colorful banners and festoons, calling on all peace-loving people and world leaders to speak up against the prevailing anti-Muslim campaigns in different parts of the world.

Speakers urged Muslim countries and the big platform of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to play an effective role against Israel and other Islamophobic propaganda in different countries.

“It’s our earnest request to the OIC as well as the United Nations and other global leaders not to discriminate against Muslims and not to dishonor the holy Quran which is the most respectful thing for millions of Muslims across the world,” said Mufti Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim, leader of Islami Andolan Bangladesh.

He said Sweden is a very civilized state and such a hateful act of burning the holy divine book of a community in that country is very “unfortunate.”

On Thursday, Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish politician and leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, reportedly burned a copy of the Quran in the southern city of Linkoping.

Speakers urged those who are fond of spreading Islamophobic speeches to read the Quran where they would find the Muslims’ holy book respects Moses and Jesus Christ, whom Jews and Christians, respectively, consider as their holy prophets.

Referring to the strong voice of the United Nations and big countries against human rights violations in Ukraine, speakers criticized the same entities are inactive against oppression against Muslims.

The Bangladesh government condemned the burning of the Quran in Sweden and the aggression against Palestinians.

“Bangladesh strongly condemns the act of burning of the Holy Quran by a far-right extremist group in several cities of Sweden. Bangladesh expresses concern over the subsequent unrest and violent protests leading to casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel,” according to a foreign ministry statement issued Wednesday.

In a separate statement issued Monday, the government said: “Bangladesh expresses deep concern over the violations of basic civil norms, international human rights laws and international accords by the Israeli forces which has invoked sympathy of millions of oppressed people around the world.”/aa

Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Friday that Moscow informed Kyiv about the order of civilian evacuations from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

Konashenkov said the situation in Mariupol had normalized and residents could calmly wander the streets and humanitarian aid was provided to the city.

Noting that the Azov Battalion and foreign mercenaries from the EU and the US were besieged at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, he said their demands for the release of Ukrainian women and children allegedly standing by Ukrainian troops were ignored.

The order for civilian evacuation from the field of the Azovstal zone is communicated with the troops inside, he said, adding that Russian authorities were in contact with Irina Vereshchuk, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine.

According to the spokesman, the Azov Battalion and foreign mercenaries could be identified as terrorists if they were keeping civilians hostage.

Russia uses high-precision weaponry against Ukrainian targets and they struck 13 Ukrainian military elements on Friday, including two headquarters and fortified posts, said Konashenkov.

Furthermore, he said Russian forces destroyed 140 planes, 107 helicopters, 523 unmanned aerial vehicles, 258 air-defense missile systems, 2,458 tanks and armored vehicles, 272 multiple rocket launchers, 1,069 howitzers and mortars along with 2,305 military vehicles have been destroyed since the start of the war.

Since the war began Feb. 24, the civilian death toll in Ukraine has climbed to 2,435, while 2,946 have been injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

More than 5 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7 million more internally displaced, the UN refugee agency has said./aa

Russia's war on Ukraine will have severe economic consequences for Europe, coming at a time when economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was incomplete, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report on Friday. 

"Large increases in commodity prices and compounded supply-side disruptions will further fuel inflation and cut into households’ incomes and firms’ profits," said the report, titled Regional Economic Outlook for Europe.

"Inflation is projected to hit a multi-decade high in many countries. And new risks loom from escalating fighting and disruptions to critical energy flows," it added.

The IMF said European policymakers' main challenges are caring for the refugees, helping vulnerable households and companies that try to cope with higher spending on energy, and improving energy security.

"The war and its aftermath will also add to the structural challenges facing post-pandemic Europe. In Ukraine, social and economic infrastructure destroyed by the war will need to be rebuilt, which will require large financing flows from donors," it added.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow./aa

At least six people were killed and more than seven others wounded after a heavy explosion targeted a restaurant in Mogadishu’s Lido Beach on Friday evening, a police officer said. 

Abdi Mohamud, a police officer in Mogadishu's Abdiasis district, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that they believe that the attack was a suicide bombing that hit a restaurant, killing six people, including security personnel and civilians.

He said that at the time of the attack, several senior government officials were at the restaurant, including Somali police commander Abdi Hassan Mohamed ⁦Hijaar⁩ and lawmakers.

Somali National News Agency (SONNA) also reported that Al-Shabaab terrorists blew up the hotel on the Lido beach of Mogadishu, while 11 members of the Somali parliament and other politicians were at the scene of the blast.

"The number of casualties of deaths and injuries not known yet," SONNA said in a tweet.

Local media reported that heavy gunfire ensued in the hotel after the bomb blast.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab claimed numerous recent attacks in the Horn of African country./aa

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted more than 900 points on Friday to post its worst daily loss since October 2020. 

The blue-chip index lost 981 points, or 2.82%, to close at 33,811. The S&P 500 dove 121 points, or 2.77%, to 4,271.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq decreased 335 points, or 2.55%, to end the day at 12,839.

The decline in indices came amid American companies' disappointing financial results for the first quarter, and the Federal Reserve officials indicating this week that the central bank will make a 50 basis points of rate hike in its next meeting on May 4.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 0.63% to 2.899%.

The dollar index rose 0.58% to 101.16, while the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, jumped 24.2% to 28.18.

Precious metals declined, with gold losing 0.9% to $1,933 and silver losing 1.9% to $24.18 an ounce.

Crude oil prices lost more than 2%.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $105.57, down 2.5%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $101.11 with a 2.6% loss./aa

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers demand the Biden administration establish field hospitals on Ukraine's borders, and expedite other medical aid, ahead of an expected Russian push to take eastern Ukraine. 

The letter, signed by 17 Democratic and Republican members of the House of Representatives, asks Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to immediately provide Ukraine with armored ambulances, and establish military field hospitals in Poland to treat sick and wounded fighters.

"These field hospital centers should also work in cooperation with Polish authorities as well as humanitarian organizations providing assistance along the border (including U.N. entities and local and international non-governmental organizations) and take into account international humanitarian principles in any activities," the wrote.

The lawmakers further requested the administration increase operations at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to provide medical assistance to Ukrainian fighters whose injuries are too grave to be treated at the field hospitals.

"At the beginning of April, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned of a protracted conflict in Ukraine; therefore, we need to bolster the Ukrainian and surrounding NATO countries’ healthcare and medical capabilities," they said.

Asked about the letter, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed the Defense Department has received it, and will "take it seriously and respond appropriately."

Thousands of Ukrainian troops are estimated to have died in the conflict, and thousands more have been wounded, since Russia began its assault on the country on Feb. 24.

President Joe Biden has authorized two $800 million military aid packages in the past two weeks to bolster the Ukrainian military, including with heavy artillery systems, drones and ammunition his administration believes will be integral to defending against the upcoming phase of Russia's war.

Since the war began on Feb. 24, the civilian death toll in Ukraine has climbed to 2,435 while 2,946 others have been injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

More than 5 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7 million more internally displaced, according to a UN tally./aa

The Netherlands said on Friday that it aims to completely stop importing Russian gas by the end of this year. 

According to a written statement, the Dutch government will focus on energy saving, sustainability, and more energy imports from other countries to stop purchasing Russian gas.

The statement noted that the government is actively working at the national and European levels to reduce the dependence on Russian coal, oil, and gas as quickly as possible, adding that it aims to make the country independent from Russian fossil fuels by the end of this year.

It also noted that like the EU countries, the Netherlands will stop importing Russian coal as of Aug. 11 at the latest.

The Russian war on Ukraine prompted the US and its allies in the West to impose sweeping sanctions on Moscow.

At least 2,435 civilians have been killed and 2,946 injured in Ukraine in the war that started Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher./aa

The Belgian government has granted the asylum to former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who has been convicted of corruption, Correa's team said on Friday. 

"On April 19, 2022, the federal government of Belgium granted political asylum to the economist Rafael Correa Delgado, Ecuador's former President, thus recognizing the political persecution against him," the team said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Ecuador initiated the process to request to Belgium the extradition of Correa.

The president of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador, Ivan Saquicela, announced Friday that he signed the extradition request of Correa, who was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison in 2020 for corruption during his 10-year term in office.

“Yesterday I signed the order initiating the extradition process as it corresponds of former president of Ecuador Rafael Correa,” Saquicela told Teleamazonas news channel.

Correa, who now lives in exile in Belgium, was investigated, and later tried in Ecuador, for allegedly having received "illegal" contributions for his campaign and his political movement while he held office from 2007 to 2017.

Among the companies involved in the alleged bribery network is the questioned Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht, which is involved in one of the biggest corporate corruption cases in Latin America.

The former president reacted to the announcement of Saquicela on his Twitter account calling him a clown and a “puppet of the government”.

Correa denies any wrongdoing and claims that he is the victim of political persecution.​​​​​​​/aa