Far-right demonstrations turned violent for a second night across England Wednesday, in the wake of this week’s mass stabbing in Southport – the worst attack on children in the country in recent history.

While a community continues to grieve the murder of three young girls, far-right agitators have mobilized around online misinformation and hateful, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim narratives – fueling disorder in London, Manchester and the northeastern town of Hartlepool.

Chaotic scenes unfolded in the capital on Wednesday night, with protesters from the “Enough is Enough” demonstration throwing bottles and cans at police, and hurling flares toward the gates of Downing Street while chanting far-right, anti-Islam slogans, including, “We want our country back.”

In Manchester, demonstrators wearing balaclavas gathered outside a hotel that houses asylum seekers, and in Hartlepool, police cars were set ablaze by a mob who carried sticks and pelted officers with objects.

More than 100 people in London were arrested for “violent disorder” and an “assault on an emergency worker,” according to the city’s Metropolitan Police. There were two arrests in Manchester, and eight in Hartlepool, according to police there.

The violence follows Tuesday’s night of unrest in the northwest English town of Southport, where a group of far-right protesters hurled bricks at a mosque, set cars and police vehicles on fire and clashed with police barely an hour after a peaceful vigil for Bebe King (6), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7) and Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9) was held across town.

Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the attack and five of them are in critical condition. Two adults also remain in critical condition after being injured in the attack, police said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the scenes, saying the protesters “hijacked” the community’s grief.

Met police superintendent Neil Holyoak said that while “it is understandable the public have strong feelings” about the Southport stabbings, “the subsequent violent, unlawful disorder that unfolded was completely unacceptable and driven by misinformation.”

Shortly after Monday’s attack, far-right groups began to circulate a false name for the alleged attacker across social media, and falsely claimed that he was an asylum seeker.

The suspect is a 17-year-old from Banks, Lancashire. He was born in Cardiff, Wales, according to police.

Axel Rudakubana, who was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, was named on Thursday after a judge lifted reporting restrictions.

Less than 24 hours after the attack, however, before the suspect’s name had been released, the false name had already received over 30,000 mentions from more than 18,000 unique accounts on X alone – and was amplified by prominent far-right leaders, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).

That false name had been also recommended to users through X’s algorithm, and was trending as a top recommended search result for users under the “What’s happening” sidebar.

“White nationalists will seize on any opportunity to spread misinformation about Muslims, about anyone who’s not White. So they were immediately on it – and were happy to spread basically whatever would confirm their presuppositions about who had done it,” he said.

Whether it was a malicious actor, or whether it was someone who was looking for “clicks,” is unclear, Squirrell added. “But we do know that the name that they gave out was made up… and that all the details are completely made up.”

Squirrell pointed to the fact that the viral posts about the alleged attacker said that he was on a watch list for MI6, Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. However, MI5 – MI6’s internal counterpart – is the organization responsible for fighting domestic terrorism. “They gave out details that were basically designed to pick up the attention of the far-right, and also for anyone who is concerned about migration,” he said.

Algorithms tend to favor emotive, sensationalist, outrageous, engaging content – because they are based on engagement.

“Things that people on the far-right – or people who are interested in peddling misinformation as a way of getting engagement – tend to post things that will appeal to the algorithm,” Squirrell said. He added that, while the algorithm played a part, there was also a “huge amount of organizing happening” in a variety of different places that are not algorithmically oriented – for example in far-right groups on the instant-messaging platform Telegram.

Such Telegram groups have been instrumental in organizing these demonstrations.

Hope Not Hate, a UK advocacy group that campaigns against racism and fascism, identified one of the first Telegram groups that appeared on the encrypted social media network just hours after the Southport stabbings.

Like what was being shared on X and other platforms, the Telegram group “Southport Wake Up,” also posted false information about the alleged suspect. Hours after the attack, the group’s creator sent out the details for the first protest: Meet near a Southport mosque on Tuesday.

It was there that the violence began.

The “Southport Wake Up” group is still active, and on Thursday, posted calls for similar disruptions at Muslim centers in other cities across England.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Starmer was set to meet with senior police leaders in London on Thursday.

In a statement, Downing Street said: “While the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will be clear that criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law.”

Yuval Green, a 26-year-old former paratrooper, is one of a handful of soldiers who have served in Israel’s war against Hamas and are now publicly criticizing the way it is being prosecuted.

Green described the behavior and alleged misdeeds of his reservist peers while serving in the Palestinian enclave, and the day he decided to tell his commanders he could no longer be part of his unit.

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza on October 7 after Hamas attacked southern Israel. At least 1,200 people were killed, and more than 250 others abducted in the assault, according to Israeli authorities.

Israeli military action in the strip has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians and injured over 90,000, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. As of early July, nearly 2 million people had been displaced in Gaza – almost the entire population, according to figures from the United Nations.

“When the 7th of October struck, it was difficult for me at this time to tell them that I’m not willing to come with them,” Green said. “So I decided to join my friends … I didn’t know what would be the right thing to do.”

Atmosphere of ‘demonizing Gazans’

“In the days before we entered Khan Younis … there was this atmosphere that was kind of growing of demonizing the Gazans,” he said, adding that he heard people “speaking about killing, ruining all of Gaza. Wiping it out became something that people (were discussing), as if it was some kind of a legitimate idea.”

IDF rules of engagement in Gaza have been under great scrutiny. Green claims that IDF commanders on the ground seemed to acquiesce to soldiers’ desires to have fewer restrictions on their conduct than in previous incursions.

“I felt like my commanders were trying to kind of go with the soldiers and try to say things that they thought … (were) what the soldiers wanted to hear. You know, saying things like, ‘We’re not going to have any boundaries in Gaza this time.’”

Green said he did not serve during earlier cycles of violence in Gaza but took part in guard duty on the Gaza perimeter and in the West Bank, as well as training.

‘We don’t care enough’ about Palestinian lives

The war in Gaza has caused widespread material destruction to homes, infrastructure, hospitals and schools. Green says he witnessed the “unnecessary” destruction of Palestinian homes.

“We’ve seen a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. Everything tends to (get) really mix up, you know – people are destroying houses because they believe that they should (get) revenge (for) what happened on (October 7) and it mixes up with the reasons to destroy houses for military reasons,” Green said, adding he witnessed “chaos … I could tell you 100% that we’ve destroyed houses at least for reasons that … we don’t care enough about the lives of Palestinians.”

Describing the extent of the damage in Gaza, he said, “You can’t imagine it. Cities that are completely ruined.”

Accusations of looting

“You’re seeing looting by your peers all the time. That was something (that) was very difficult for me to see. I mean, people were taking ‘souvenirs’ (from) the Palestinians’ houses, which I think directly relates to the demonization we’ve seen before the entrance to Khan Younis,” he said. “People were taking, you know, necklaces and doing graffiti on the walls and … leaving behind damage to the houses that was just completely unnecessary.”

When asked if he thinks this behavior was condoned by IDF commanders, Green said that officially, they disapproved of such conduct – but were unable to stop it.

“The superior commanders of the IDF, I think they do believe that this shouldn’t happen – looting or graffiti,” Green said. “But I don’t think (the IDF) has the resources to stop it, and I think, you know, it all comes down to the soldiers (in) the field. You can’t stop any soldier from doing things.”

While witnessing the alleged looting, Green said he confronted his peers, which resulted in “a lot of arguments,” but he was unable to sway his superiors to act: “Some of them agreed with me, some of them didn’t – or some of them, you know, were in between.”

“But all of them weren’t able to control our actions.”

The decision to leave

In the end, one specific moment pushed Green to make the tough decision to leave his unit: when a commander allegedly ordered the burning of a Palestinian home they were stationed in.

“At some point, my commander told my platoon to burn down the house we’re staying at,” Green recounted. “And I went to him, I approached him and I asked him, ‘Why are we doing that?’ And he gave me a few reasons, and I think those reasons were just not strong enough.”

“They were, you know, military type of reasons, but they (were mixed up with) the revenge type of reasons. Now, I think this is just what’s going on in Gaza. Israel is doing things because it needs to fulfil a type of military purpose, but it all mixes up with our need for – or the Israeli need for – revenge.”

“I said, ‘I’m not willing to participate in that. I’m not destroying a house that belonged to a few families that would become homeless because of that – and I’m leaving.’ And I just (left) with the next car that went out.”

Green said he decided to speak out publicly to put pressure on the Israeli government to accept a ceasefire and hostage deal. The Israeli government said this week that it was Hamas leadership that was preventing an agreement.

“I think there are concrete deals on the table right now, that Hamas is agreeing to, that make sense. I mean, those deals say that all the hostages would be freed – and Israel is not accepting the ending of the war. And this is crazy,” Green said.

Green added that Israel’s alleged refusal to accept a deal was causing the deaths of hostages. “I’ve seen it from within,” he said. “I mean, we said nothing before we entered Gaza about the hostages. We could have killed them, you know, any moment, and it’s something that has happened. We know about more than 10 hostages that were killed directly from Israeli bombings or, you know, the three hostages that were killed,” referring to an incident of friendly fire by the IDF in December, in which soldiers fatally shot three hostages.

“We have to tell our government to stop the war. This is the only right solution to save the lives of Palestinians that are dying every day and going through a living hell the past few months, saving the lives of soldiers, Israeli soldiers, that are now present in Gaza and dying every day, and obviously the lives of hostages.”

Facing criticism at home

In June, Green cosigned a letter with 40 other reservists refusing to serve in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. He is one of only three soldiers who have come out publicly, and his family and friends have voiced concern over his decisions.

“Obviously it’s something very controversial in Israel, but I was willing to sacrifice, you know, my privacy and (to come) out with a topic as controversial as that, because I believe that right now, it’s a matter of life and death.

“When people are criticizing me for that, and I’ve heard people … that said they were worried that I might get hurt in that process – that always felt very weird because, you know, I went inside Gaza. I literally have risked my life. But people are now more afraid that I might get hurt, you know, by just coming out with words,” he added. “It’s part of the problem with our situation right now.”

Reflecting on the violence committed by Hamas, he also urged Palestinians not to support Hamas or call for an intifada: “They don’t understand that those calling for violence are damaging the Palestinian cause, and have been killing Palestinians for years now … I support Palestine too, but don’t confuse between supporting Palestine and supporting the violence of Hamas.”

Responding to Green’s allegations, the IDF stated: “The actions of the IDF and its operational activity in particular are subject to Israeli law and international law, which is reflected, among other things, in the rules of engagement among other military orders … IDF commanders are guided by values of the IDF ​​and lead the soldiers on the battlefield in a professional manner. When events that defer from the expected conduct occur, they are handled by the commanders as required.

“In some cases, IDF forces are required to act to remove a threat posed to them from buildings located in the territory of the Gaza Strip. The destruction of buildings is done with the appropriate means. Actions done otherwise, and not as a result of operational needs, are contrary to the army’s orders and the IDF’s values ​​and are examined. Taking property that is not in accordance with the army’s orders is prohibited by law and is not in line with the values ​​of the IDF. Incidents in which forces acted not in accordance with the orders and the law are examined and will continue to be examined, including as part of investigations by the MPCID (Military Police Criminal Investigation Division). As a general rule, when details concerning concrete events are given, they are reviewed and dealt with accordingly.”

Russia’s release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva is cause for celebration: The three were freed as part of a sweeping prisoner exchange that also saw the release of prominent Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza and other opponents of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

But the Russians can also count a win. This was not an episode ripped from a John le Carré-style thriller, with spies on both sides being exchanged across a bridge. Instead, the Kremlin collected human collateral – journalists and opposition figures, both Russian and foreign – to secure the release of Russians apparently serving the interests of the state.

Among those headed back to Russia are convicted hackers and several Russian nationals detained in the West for spying. And the biggest prize for Russia was the return of Vadim Krasikov, a convicted hitman whose release had been publicly sought by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Krasikov was convicted by a German court of the 2019 killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, an ethnic Chechen of Georgian nationality, in a Berlin park. In a February interview with right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson, Putin cast the assassination of Khangoshvili as a public service, describing Krasikov as “a man who, for patriotic reasons, eliminated a bandit.”

The release of Krasikov and others accused of espionage appears to send a familiar message. If you work for us, you will ultimately be rewarded and protected. And if you betray us, our memories are long.

Take the case of Viktor Bout, the Russian who was exchanged in 2022 for basketball star Brittney Griner. Described as “one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers” by the US Department of Justice – and the inspiration for the anti-hero of the Hollywood film Lord of War – Bout was long suspected of ties to Russian intelligence services.

After his return to Russia, Bout found a place in politics, winning a seat in a regional legislature. He had flattering interviews in the press and appeared at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the favorite annual talking-shop for Putin and the Russian elite.

Anna Chapman, one of 10 Russian sleeper agents deported from the US in a 2010 prisoner swap, was also feted on her return to Russia.  She was elected to a pro-government board. She also launched her own line of clothing.

Chapman and nine other so-called “illegals” were traded for four people, including former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, who had been convicted of spying for the United Kingdom.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia survived poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok in the English cathedral city of Salisbury in 2018. Britain blamed the poisoning on Russia; Russia has consistently denied involvement, although Putin referred to Skripal as a “scumbag” and a “traitor,” his contempt suggesting that Skripal had gotten his just desserts.

The long arm of the Kremlin also seemed apparent in the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian agent turned whistleblower. Both a 2016 British inquiry and the European Court of Human Rights concluded the two men who allegedly poisoned Litvinenko – former KGB and FSB employee Andrei Lugovoi and former Russian army officer Dmitri Kovtun – were acting on behalf of the Russian state.

Lugovoi went on to win a seat in the Russian parliament. He won an “Order of Merit” medal from Putin in 2015.

This pattern of history, then, reinforces a message to all who work the Russian state – and especially for its massive security and intelligence apparatus – that Russia looks after its own. Putin, after all, is a graduate of the intelligence services, and knows the code of honor that is peculiar to world of Russian espionage.

But what does this complex deal tell us about Russia’s ongoing confrontation with the West? Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, relations between Moscow and Washington have been at an all-time low. But the negotiations that led to Thursday’s swap show that channels of communication between US and Russian officials remain open.

And even with the Ukraine war raging, top US and Russian generals have also kept crucial lines of communication open, in large part to keep the United States and Russia from veering inadvertently into open conflict.

The exchange of Russian opposition figures, however, is also a sort of victory for the Kremlin. Even in prison, individuals such as Vladimir Kara-Murza – who was serving a lengthy sentence for treason – retained stature internationally as prisoners of conscience. Dissidents such as Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko, who was sentenced to seven years for a protest that involved putting anti-war messages on price tags in a Russian grocery store – have laid bare the absurdity of Russia’s draconian wartime media laws.

The exchange, at least in the short term, means those anti-war voices are exiled, and not a threat to the system. The release of Russians in the swap means that Russia’s political climate is no less repressive.

And in geopolitical terms, little changes. Following the prisoner exchange, the West will still have to confront a Russian leadership that has made clear what its priorities are: protecting the interests of the security state and maintaining a path of open hostility toward the West.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says she’s in hiding, fears for her life, and can prove President Nicolas Maduro did not win Sunday’s contentious presidential election.

“I am writing this from hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom,” Machado wrote in an opinion editorial published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal. “I could be captured as I write these words.”

Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, who is a member of Maduro’s inner circle, called for the arrest of Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez on Tuesday. Though the country’s Public Ministry later clarified that no arrest warrant had been issued for either opposition figure.

Protests broke out across Venezuela after the country’s electoral body, which is stacked with regime allies, announced Maduro as the winner with 51% of the votes.

The election was seen as the most consequential poll in years, with Venezuela’s stalling democracy and hopes of recovering its shattered economy on the line. Many young opposition supporters said they would leave the country if Maduro was re-elected, pointing to the devastating collapse of Venezuela’s economy and violent repression under his rule.

An energized opposition movement – which overcame their divisions to form a coalition and coalesce around a single candidate – enjoyed strong polling figures prior to the vote. It had been seen as the ruling establishment’s toughest challenge in 25 years.

Though Maduro had promised free and fair elections, the process was marred with allegations of foul play – with opposition figures arrested, their key leader Machado banned from running, opposition witnesses allegedly denied access to the centralized vote count, and overseas Venezuelans largely unable to cast ballots.

The Carter Center, one of the few independent institutions allowed to monitor the vote, said Tuesday that “Venezuela’s electoral process did not meet international standards of electoral integrity at any of its stages and violated numerous provisions of its own national laws.”

Venezuela’s opposition and multiple Latin American leaders have refused to recognize Maduro’s victory. The United States is among numerous countries that have called on Venezuelan electoral officials to publish detailed results from Sunday’s presidential election.

Machado says she can prove that Maduro didn’t win. “He lost in a landslide to Edmundo González, 67% to 30%,” she wrote in the WSJ.

“I know this to be true because I can prove it,” she claimed. “I have receipts obtained directly from more than 80% of the nation’s polling stations,” she wrote, claiming to have known Maduro’s government “was going to cheat.”

“We have known for years what tricks the regime uses, and we are well aware that the National Electoral Council (CNE) is entirely under its control. It was unthinkable that Mr. Maduro would concede defeat,” she wrote.

‘The repression must stop’

“The truth is that Mr. Maduro didn’t win in a single one of Venezuela’s 24 states,” Machado wrote, adding that this was confirmed by several independent exit polls, quick counts and by “every single voting receipt that we saw coming in, in real time.”

The opposition leader said “most” of her team were currently in hiding and some, including those in the Argentine Embassy fear an “imminent raid.”

Machado ended her article by saying it is “now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government.”

“The repression must stop immediately, so that an urgent agreement can take place to facilitate the transition to democracy. I call on those who reject authoritarianism and support democracy to join the Venezuelan people in our noble cause,” she said.

Deadly protests in Venezuela have seen more than 1,000 people detained, according to Venezuelan authorities.

According to Human Rights Watch, there are at least 20 “credible reports” of deaths related to the protests that broke out after the elections results were announced by the CNE. Local NGO Foro Penal has confirmed 11 deaths linked to the protests.

Maduro pledged to release all voting data in a private conversation Monday with Brazilian foreign policy envoy Celso Amorim, according to a source who was knowledgeable about the conversation.

But on Wednesday, the strongman filed an appeal before the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice to carry out an expert appraisal and certify the results of Sunday’s presidential election.

He also warned that he would not hesitate to call on the population for a “new revolution” if forced by what he called “North American imperialism and fascist criminals.”

Protests erupted in multiple cities across Nigeria Thursday as frustrated citizens took to the streets, voicing their anger over increasing hunger and “bad governance.”

The demonstrations are part of a larger wave of unrest spreading across Africa in places such as Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and now Nigeria.

The demonstrations spiraled out of control in parts of the country, including the northern Yobe and Kano states where authorities declared a 24-hour curfew as private and public properties were looted in chaotic scenes that also saw many vehicles burned.

In Kano, protesters stormed and looted a Digital Innovation Park scheduled to open next week, Communications Minister Bosun Tijani said.

Gunshots rang out in the capital Abuja and also in the neighboring Niger state as police lobbed tear gas to disperse defiant protesters. In Niger, at least six people are now feared dead, local media reported.

Abiodun said police officers also dispersed protesters who had occupied a major highway, adding that “there was no loss of life.”

In Abuja, protesters gathered outside the national stadium, where they faced off with pro-government supporters.

“The protesters became violent and began throwing stones at the police, reasons why the police had to disperse them,” she said.

‘Ten days of rage’

Demonstrators gathered under the ‘End Bad Governance in Nigeria’ coalition, using the slogan “10 Days of Rage,” and are demanding the reinstatement of a fuel subsidy whose abrupt removal last May caused a dramatic spike in the cost of food, transportation, and other commodities.

These increases have hit a populace already struggling with widespread unemployment and soaring inflation of 34%, the highest level in nearly 30 years.

One protester in the Nigerian capital told the national Channels Television that he was forced to join the Thursday protests due to hunger.

“Hunger … brought me out. I don’t have money to buy fuel … there’s total bad government. It’s 10 days (of rage). We’ll remain on the streets till our demands are met.”

Dele Farotimi, a spokesperson for the coalition coordinating the protests, attributed the large nationwide turnout of protesters to hunger, which he says “unifies every Nigerian across the political, ethnic, and religious divides.”

Ahead of the protests, President Bola Tinubu called for calm, urging citizens not to take to the streets as he feared that it “could degenerate into violence and set the country backwards.”

The government also announced last-minute measures to halt the demonstrations but they proved unsuccessful.

On Monday, Tinubu signed into law a bill that doubled the national minimum wage from N30,000 ($18.06) a month to N70,000 ($42.14). He also approved the removal of taxes on food imports, which his office said would address food inflation.

“Most of the demands that the protesters are making are actually being addressed by the federal government,” Information Minister Mohammed Idris told a press conference Monday, adding that the government had opened centers across the nation where rice would be sold to citizens “at about 50% of its cost.”

Protesters are also calling for the government to address the country’s worsening security problems, amid challenges including kidnappings for ransom.

“In the northern part of Nigeria, the largest part of our country … the primary cause of hunger is insecurity. The people cannot go to their farms. A lot of people are living in internally displaced persons camps. So you have a lot of disruptions on account of insecurity which is manifesting in both banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism,” Farotimi said.

Leaders living in luxury

This is the first major coordinated protest in Nigeria since the deadly EndSARS demonstrations against police brutality in 2020, which resulted in deaths and injuries after security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters.

He added that Nigerians were also pained watching their leaders live in luxury while they struggled to make ends meet.

“It has gotten to that point where the people just need to be heard,” he said.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has faced a backlash over his government’s spending plans despite the country’s mounting debts and cost-of-living crisis.

Last year, lawmakers rejected plans for a multimillion-dollar presidential yacht before approving a budget that allocated millions of dollars for a presidential fleet, including the purchase of SUV vehicles for the presidency and the First Lady’s Office.

Heavy rains and floods from Typhoon Gaemi caused at least 30 deaths and left 35 people missing across eight towns in the southern Chinese province of Hunan, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday, citing local authorities.

On Thursday, rescue teams reached eight towns that had been cut off from the outside world since last Sunday, due to destroyed infrastructure and power grids.

“As of 12:00 on August 1, the roads, electricity, and communications in the eight towns in Zixing City most severely affected by Typhoon Gaemi are largely restored, and search and rescue efforts have made significant progress,” the local authorities confirmed to Xinhua.

Rescue operations are still underway, local authorities said.

In response to the severe flooding in Hunan, China raised its emergency response level to better support local disaster relief efforts and ensure basic living security for the affected people, the country’s Ministry of Emergency Management said Thursday.

Typhoon Gaemi initially made landfall in China on the evening of Thursday July 25, with winds approaching 110 kph (70 mph). The storm continued west-northwest through China, bringing heavy rainfall and winds, with forecasters predicting that rainfall could range from 150 to 250 mm (6 to 10 inches), with amounts up to 400 mm (15 inches) in higher elevation areas and along the coast.

The storm previously caused torrential flooding in Taiwan, with rainfall in five townships totaling over 1,285mm (50 inches).

Typhoon Gaemi was deflected off its forecasted track by Taiwan’s mountainous terrain and spent more than six hours offshore, making a loop near the Hualien coastline instead of making landfall on the evening of Wednesday, July 24.

Farther south, Gaemi had also flooded much of the Philippine capital after it worsened torrential monsoon rains.

Bangladesh on Thursday banned the Jamaat-e-Islami party, its student wing and other associate bodies as “militant and terrorist” organizations as part of a nationwide crackdown following weeks of violent protests that left more than 200 people dead and thousands injured.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her political partners blamed Jamaat-e-Islami, its Islami Chhatra Shibir student wing and other associate bodies for inciting violence during recent student protests over a quota system for government jobs.

In an official circular seen by The Associated Press, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs said Thursday the ban was imposed under an anti-terrorism law.

Since July 15, at least 211 people have died and more than 10,000 people were arrested across the country.

The chief of Jamaat-e-Islami on Thursday rejected the decision in a statement, calling it anti-constitutional, and denied it was behind the recent violence.

“The government carried out massacres by party cadres and state law and order forces in the country to suppress the non-political movement of students. The country’s teachers, cultural personalities, journalists and people of different professions are protesting against this genocide of the government,” said Shafiqur Rahman, the party chief.

At least 15 people have died after a bridge partially collapsed in China’s Shaanxi province with rescue efforts remaining underway as of Sunday evening, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Authorities said a portion of the bridge in Zhashui County in the city of Shangluo collapsed on Friday evening after recent rains and flash flooding, with CCTV reporting at least 25 vehicles falling off the bridge.

China’s national fire and rescue authority dispatched a total of 1,630 people, 205 vehicles, and 63 boats to carry out the rescue, the broadcaster reported Sunday.

It was unclear how many people remained missing or had been rescued as of Monday morning. Chinese state media earlier reported that one person was rescued.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Saturday called for “all-out rescue efforts” and for authorities to stay alert to ongoing hazards.

The situation comes as wide swaths of China have been grappling with torrential rains causing flooding and landslides in recent weeks in a flood season that started two months earlier than usual.

In neighboring Henan province, more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a result of flooding, according to state media.

In the southwestern Sichuan province, more than 10 people were killed and 29 remained missing as of Sunday afternoon after flash floods hit a village in Hanyuan County early Saturday, CCTV reported.

Authorities said sudden floods struck around 2:30 a.m. local time, while many were sleeping and caused damage to homes, roads and bridges.