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Posts published in “Bangladesh”

B’desh: 58 ethnic minority women and children victimized in 2017: Report

report in Dhaka Tribune, March 31, 2018 A total of 58 women and girls from ethnic minority communities suffered sexual assault in 48 separate incidents across Bangladesh last year, a new report has revealed. The annual report on Human Rights of Ethnic Minority in Bangladesh by the Kapaeeng Foundation said almost half of the incidents (28) occurred in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) region. Kapaeeng Foundation Executive Director Pallab Chakma, who edited the report presented…

B’desh: Survey shows more acts of genocide in 1971 than previously reported

report in Dhaka Tribune,March 31, 2018 Survey shows more acts of genocide in 1971 than previously reporte Over 2,400 genocide acts by the Pakistani army and their local collaborators took place in 10 districts of Bangladesh in 1971, according to a new survey conducted by a group of researchers led by renowned historian Professor Muntassir Mamun. Earlier it had been thought there were 905 incidents of genocide in all 64 districts. The survey has so…

B’desh: Awami League working to win over religious voters

by Shohel Mamun in Dhaka Tribune,March 30, 2018 The government is planning to build and renovate thousands of mosques and madrasas across the country to appeal to the religious spirit of the electorate ahead of the upcoming national polls. Under the plans, 300 lawmakers will receive funds of around Tk7,885 crore from the government to upgrade 1,800 madrasa buildings of up to six storeys high in their constituencies. Besides this, the Islamic Foundation, a wing…

B’desh: High Court asks why Khaleda’s jail sentence won’t be extended

report on bdnews24.com, Mar 28, 2018 at 16:54:20.0 BdST The High Court has issued a rule asking why the jail term for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case will not be extended. Khaleda, a three-time prime minister, is serving a five-year jail term in the old jailhouse in Dhaka after being convicted on Feb 8 in the Zia Orphanage Trust case, filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission or ACC. Justice M…

B’desh: Islamic parties calculate ahead of polls: by Selim Zahid in Prothom Alo, Mar 25, 2018

Though the Islamic parties do not find the current political situation promising for fair polls, they have begun preparing for the 11th parliamentary election. Fresh calculations are already in process. In the past, a significant section of the Islamic parties were against the Awami League, which went to BNP’s advantage. But, the election commission has cancelled Jamaat-e-Islami’s registration and the Islami Oikya Jote has left the BNP alliance. So the scenario has changed for BNP.…

Bangladesh sees little foreign funds for Rohingya refugee island: Minister

Reuters report in Bdnews24.com, Mar 27, 2018 Bangladesh is not expecting much help from foreign donors as it forges ahead with plans to relocate 100,000 Rohingya refugees to an uninhabited island, an undertaking that does not yet have a timeline, a state minister said in an interview. The minister of state for foreign affairs, Mohammed Shahriar Alam, told Reuters on Friday that Bangladesh was paying the entire roughly $280 million to build homes and fortify…

B’desh: Digital Security Act: Freedom of expression to get hurt

report in The Daily Star, Mar 26, 2018 The European Union and 10 countries including the US and the UK have expressed concern over several sections of the proposed Digital Security Act-2018 as what they said is it “would suppress freedom of expression in multiple ways”. Ambassadors of the countries and the EU or their representatives expressed their worry at a meeting with Law Minister Anisul Huq at his secretariat office in Dhaka yesterday. The…

B’desh:Experts say EC’s policy on changing voters’ names will make Hindus suffer

by Bilkis Irani in Dhaka Tribune, March 23, 2018 Experts have voiced objections against an Election Commission move to formulate a new policy on correcting and changing voters’ names on their national identity (NID) cards. According to the draft of the policy, a voter’s name on the NID card must be the same as the one on his or her birth certificate and academic credentials, and corrections and changes will be allowed only in special…

Bangladesh eligible for UN ‘developing country’ status

report on bdnews24.com, Mar 17, 2018 The UN says Bangladesh has fulfilled the eligibility requirements to graduate from ‘Least Developed Country’ to ‘Developing Country’ status and can seek official approval for the advance. The UN Committee for Development Policy (CPD) gave a letter announcing Bangladesh’s eligibility for graduation to the Bangladesh Permanent Ambassador to the UN Masud Bin Momen on Friday evening in New York. This begins the graduation process for Bangladesh, which could receive…

B’desh: ‘What did happen in police remand that led to Zakir?’

Report in Prothm Alo, Mar 13, 2018 at 20:15 hrs JCD leader Zakir Hossain’s namaz-e-janaza is held in front of the BNP central office at Naya Paltan in the capital on Tuesday. Photo: Collected/Prothom AloBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday alleged that pro BNP student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Zakir Hossain was tortured to death in police custody and then he was sent to jail. “What did they…

Child marriage increases in Bangladesh: UNICEF

report in Prothom Alo, Mar 11, 2018 While the incidence of child marriage has decreased worldwide, it has increased in Bangladesh. Bangladesh stands fourth in child marriage prevalence, second only to India in numbers. The three other countries where the child marriage rate is higher than Bangladesh are backward African countries. This report was launched globally on 6 March by UNICEF. In a statement issued on the day, UNICEF stated that over the past one…