PHOTO COLLECTION: Hong Kong Panda

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PHOTO COLLECTION: Hong Kong Panda

2024-12-03 10:38 Last Updated At：10:41

This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

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Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A panda mascot poses for photographs in front of the panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during the welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A staff member carries one of the 2500 panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

More Images

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A panda mascot poses for photographs in front of the panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during the welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A staff member carries one of the 2500 panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Huge crowds join funeral prayers for former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Huge crowds flocked to the area outside Bangladesh’s national parliament building in the capital Wednesday to attend the funeral prayers for former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia , who died a day earlier at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.

Waves of people from Dhaka and elsewhere had been streaming in toward the venue on Manik Mia Avenue, outside the parliament building, since early morning. Witnesses said many cried, calling Zia their “mother” as they arrived at the venue, with some traveling overnight from rural areas to join the prayers. In neighborhoods kilometers (miles) away, crowds also spilled into major streets to pray.

Zia’s funerals were expected to draw hundreds of thousands of her supporters and people from across the country while dignitaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal also arrived in Dhaka, with local media saying foreign envoys and representatives from 32 countries joined the funeral ceremony. She will be buried beside the grave of her husband, a former president who was assassinated in a military coup in 1981, in a park outside the parliament building later Wednesday.

Zia came to politics after her husband’s death and rose to prominence as an opposition leader during a nine-year movement against a former military dictator who was ousted in a mass uprising in 1990. Zia became prime minister for the first time in 1991, with a landslide victory in a democratically held national election as the country introduced parliamentary democracy. She was the leader of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party till her death.

Zia, who was known for having a calm demeanor, maintained a strong political rivalry with her archrival and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, who heads the Bangladesh Awami League party, ruled the country for 15 years before she was ousted in 2024 in a mass uprising.

Zia's coffin, draped in Bangladesh’s national flag, was carried in a van escorted by security officials and party supporters from the hospital to her residence and then to the funeral venue.

Authorities said about 10,000 security officials including soldiers would be deployed around the venue to maintain order on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus announced a three-day mourning and declared Wednesday a public holiday to facilitate the funerals. Flags were kept at half-staff Wednesday across the country to show respect to Zia, the country’s first female prime minister who served two full terms and another brief term.

Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahman, is the acting head of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is the front-runner in the nation’s next elections in February.

Hasina, who has been in exile in India since Aug. 5, 2024, was sentenced to death in November on charges of crimes against humanity involving last year’s uprising.

PHOTO COLLECTION: Hong Kong Panda

News

PHOTO COLLECTION: Hong Kong Panda

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A panda mascot poses for photographs in front of the panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during the welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A staff member carries one of the 2500 panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A panda mascot poses for photographs in front of the panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during the welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda Ke Ke makes her debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

A staff member carries one of the 2500 panda sculptures displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Part of 2500 panda sculptures are displayed at the Hong Kong International Airport during a welcome ceremony of the panda-themed exhibition "Panda Go!" in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

The Beijing-gifted giant panda An An makes his debut appearance to media in Ocean Park during a preview event in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

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