Dhaka/New Delhi, April 23: Bangladesh’s far-right Islamist political outfit, Khelafat Majlish, is set to stage a mass march and submit a memorandum to the Indian Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday, demanding the repeal of the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Act by the Indian Parliament.

According to local media reports, Khelafat Majlish chief Maulana Mamunul Haque claimed that Muslim-owned lands in India were being encroached upon, alleging that properties governed by Islamic endowments (Waqf) were being illegally acquired to build various structures, including temples.

In a provocative statement, Haque accused India of giving legal backing to these alleged actions through the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

“We have already expressed our anger and condemnation of these steps. Muslims across India erupted in protest against the Bill. This Bill basically interferes with the religious laws and rights of Muslims,” he said.

Haque further urged the global Muslim community to raise its voice against what he called the “killing of Muslims by the Indian state and interference in their religious matters.”

The announcement of the protest comes at a time when Bangladesh itself is under scrutiny over a spate of violent attacks against minority communities, including Hindus and Christians, especially in the aftermath of the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

India has strongly condemned recent acts of violence in Bangladesh, particularly the abduction and murder of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a well-known Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the incident as part of a disturbing pattern of minority persecution under the country’s interim administration.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in a post on X, said, “We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity.”

“We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions,” he added.

India has previously voiced similar concerns regarding rising attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh, but Roy’s murder has drawn particular attention due to his prominence in the Hindu community.

The Indian government’s response is being seen as a clear signal that it will not remain silent on the issue of minority rights in the neighbouring country.

The Khelafat Majlish protest plan, viewed in India as a politically motivated move, has triggered responses from analysts and officials who suggest it is an attempt to divert attention from the internal human rights issues plaguing Bangladesh, particularly those targeting vulnerable minority populations.

Los Angeles, April 22: Hollywood actor Andrew Garfield, who has openly expressed his desire to return as Spider-Man, has said that the idea has to be very novel.

If the actor returns as the web-slinging superhero, it will be his fourth movie following 2012’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, 2014’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and 2021’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, the latter of which powered to $1.9 billion at the worldwide box office on the strength of Garfield teaming up with fellow web-slingers Tom Holland and Tobey Maguire, reports ‘Variety’.

However, Andrew Garfield said at Middle East Film & Comic Con that coming back as Spider-Man hinges on an offbeat story idea.

He said (via Entertainment Tonight), “It would have to be very weird. I would like to do something very strange. Something very unique, and offbeat and surprising, kind of like the creative freedom they have with the animated ‘Spider-Verse’ movies”.

In an interview with Esquire magazine last year, the two-time Oscar nominee said he was “left dangling” when his Spider-Man role came to such an abrupt end after ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ disappointed at the box office.

As per ‘Variety’, that film’s lackluster performance resulted in Sony coming to an agreement with Disney to share ‘Spider-Man’ so that the superhero could officially enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tom Holland took over the role with 2017’s ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. But the success of ‘No Way Home’ proved there’s still a lot of love for Garfield’s iteration of the comic book hero.

“For sure, I would 100% come back if it was the right thing, if it’s additive to the culture, if there’s a great concept or something that hasn’t been done before that’s unique and odd and exciting and that you can sink your teeth into”, Garfield told Esquire.

“I love that character, and it brings joy. If part of what I bring is joy, then I’m joyful in return”, he added.

Tom Holland’s next ‘Spider-Man’ movie is officially titled ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and is set to hit theaters July 31, 2026.

Houston, April 21: Three people were killed as heavy storms hit the central US state of Oklahoma over the weekend, authorities said.

A 12-year-old boy and his mother died in Moore, about 10 miles (about 16 km) south of Oklahoma City, on Sunday after floodwaters washed away their vehicle, said local police.

“This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,” Moore police said in a statement.

Another person was killed on Saturday night after a tornado hit Spaulding, a town in Hughes County, the county wrote on Facebook, Xinhua news agency reported.

Several homes and structures were destroyed, and there were “numerous washouts” of county roads, it said.

On April 20, the National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings across several states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana. According to AccuWeather, regions of Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois faced a high risk of severe thunderstorms.

The Storm Prediction Centre warned that strong, damaging winds, hail, and thunderstorms were likely to persist throughout the night. Severe weather was expected to continue across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, extending into the Ozark Mountains and the mid-Mississippi Valley.

By late evening, local news outlets in Arkansas and Montana confirmed at least two tornado touchdowns. In Illinois, the National Weather Service issued alerts for severe storms capable of producing tornadoes.

Around 9 p.m. local time, a tornado was detected east of East Moline, a city in northwestern Illinois that’s part of the Quad Cities. At the time, no injuries or damages were reported.

Looking ahead, forecasters predicted ongoing showers and thunderstorms along and ahead of a front stretching from the Great Lakes down through the Tennessee and Lower Mississippi Valleys to the Gulf Coast on Monday. While heavy rainfall could lead to flooding, the severe weather threat was expected to diminish throughout the day.