A concert at the Dhaka University central playground took an unexpected turn last night (17 January) as students responded to a Ducsu leader’s slogans with satirical and derisive chants.

The event, titled “Kuashar Gaan” (song of the mist), was jointly organised by the “Spirit of July”, a platform of students involved in the 2024 July-August uprising, and the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu).

The concert was intended to support people suffering from the harsh winter.

However, the atmosphere shifted when Ducsu Literary Secretary Musaddiq Ali Ibn Muhammad took to the stage to address the crowd.

Video footage shows Musaddiq attempting to lead the audience in a series of call-and-response slogans reminiscent of the July Uprising.

When Musaddiq shouted, “quota or reform?” a large section of the crowd began screaming back “Quota, Quota!” instead of the anticipated response.

Another group was heard shouting “Uranium, Uranium!” in a mocking reference to a controversial political comment he made recently.

The friction intensified when the Ducsu leader chanted, “slavery or reform?” to which students loudly responded with the phrase “UK Job!”

According to several students present at the scene, the negative reaction was not aimed at the cause of the concert but specifically at the presence and rhetoric of the literature and culture secretary.

Brahmanbaria-2 independent candidate Rumeen Farhana got into an argument with an executive magistrate yesterday (17 January) after a mobile court fined one of her supporters for violating the election code of conduct in Brahmanbaria’s Sarail upazila.

The incident occurred around 4pm in the Islampur area under Noagaon Union, where supporters of Rumeen Farhana had arranged a rally. A mobile court led by Executive Magistrate Shahriya Hasan Khan fined a supporter, identified as Jewel, Tk40,000 for organising the gathering.

Confirming the matter, Sarail Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Assistant Returning Officer for the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency Md Abubakar Sarkar said the fine was imposed for organising a rally in violation of the election code of conduct.

He added that the candidate later argued with the executive magistrate over the action.

A video of the confrontation later circulated on social media, drawing criticism from various quarters.

The video shows Rumeen Farhana arguing with the magistrate and gesturing with her thumb. Her personal assistant, Zakir Hossain Shuvo, was also accused of behaving inappropriately with the magistrate.

More than 3,000 people have died in Iran’s nationwide protests, rights activists said on Saturday, while a “very slight rise” in internet activity was reported in the country after an eight-day blackout.

The US-based HRANA group said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, after residents said the crackdown appeared to have broadly quelled protests for now and state media reported more arrests.

The capital Tehran has been comparatively quiet for four days, said several residents reached by Reuters. Drones were flying over the city, but there were no signs of major protests on Thursday or Friday, said the residents, who asked not to be identified for their safety.

A resident of a northern city on the Caspian Sea said the streets there also appeared calm.

The protests erupted on 28 December over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic, culminating in mass violence late last week. According to opposition groups and an Iranian official, more than 2,000 people were killed in the worst domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Metrics show a very slight rise in internet connectivity in #Iran this morning” after 200 hours of shutdown, the internet monitoring group NetBlocks posted on X. Connectivity remained around 2% of ordinary levels, it said.

A few Iranians overseas said on social media that they had been able to message users living inside Iran early on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump, who had threatened “very strong action” if Iran executed protesters, said Tehran’s leaders had called off mass hangings.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he posted on social media.

Iran had not announced plans for such executions or said it had cancelled them.

Indian students and pilgrims returning from Iran said they were largely confined to their accommodations while in the country, unable to communicate with their families back home.

“We only heard stories of violent protests, and one man jumped in front of our car holding a burning baton, shouting something in the local language, with anger visible in his eyes,” said Z Syeda, a third-year medical student at a university in Tehran.

India’s External Affairs Ministry said on Friday that commercial flights were available and that New Delhi would take steps to secure the safety and welfare of Indian nationals.