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Posts tagged as “Bangladesh”

Free, Fair Polls: US rights bodies urge sanctions, other steps

report in The Daily Star, Aug 117, 2023Rights bodies in the US called for policy tools, including additional sanctions, for ensuring free and fair elections in Bangladesh. Political violence remains high, competing political rallies result in clashes, and the opposition’s demonstrations often face crackdowns, they said. The call was made at a briefing hosted by Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan body of the US House of Representatives, on the human rights situation in…

‘Little known’ BNM, BSP now registered parties

by Mohiuddin Alamgir in The Daily Star, Aug 11, 2023The Election Commission yesterday officially declared two “little-known” and “suddenly established” parties — Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) and Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP) — as registered political parties with the commission. The EC unanimously decided to register the parties. BNM’s symbol will be an “anchor”, while BSP will have “ektara” as its symbol, read an EC statement. This registration took place just ahead of the next polls,…

From DSA to CSA: Key areas of concern stay

report in The Daily Star, Aug 10, 2023Not only was the Digital Security Act not repealed, the proposed changes in the law were not in line with the recommendations made by Bangladesh civil society groups and the United Nations. Also, no stakeholders were invited to review the draft changes before it was approved in the cabinet on Monday, and Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain has said the draft will not be revealed to the public…

Two US Congress members to visit Bangladesh Saturday

report in Dhaka Tribune, Aug 10, 2023Representatives of the US Congress Ed Case and Richard McCormick are coming to Dhaka on Saturday for a four-day visit. Foreign Minister Dr Ak Abdul Momen confirmed the visit to Dhaka Tribune. “We welcome the visit,” he said, adding that: “The Biden administration is sending delegations one after another to strengthen our bilateral relations. This is a good sign.” Ed Case is a Democrat representative from Hawaii. Richard McCormick…

Bangladesh battles its deadliest dengue fever outbreak on record

By Lyric Li in The Washington Post, Aug 6, 2023 at 4:58 a.m. EDTBangladesh’s worst dengue fever outbreak on record has killed more than 300 people this year, overwhelming the country’s vulnerable medical system and prompting calls for a more coordinated response amid a spike in new cases. The mosquito-borne disease has claimed at least 303 lives and infected nearly 63,700 people across the South Asian nation, according to the latest government figures on Saturday,…

Bangladesh approves four transit routes for India

report in Dhaka Tribune. Aug 6, 2023The Bangladesh government has approved four routes for the transportation of goods to traders in Tripura and other northeastern states of India. The four routes are Chittagong Port-Akhaura-Agartala, Mongla Port-Akhaura-Agartala, Chittagong-Bibirbazar-Srimantapur and Mongla Port- Bibirbazar-Srimantapur. Tripura’s Industries and Commerce Minister Santana Chakma during a recent press conference said that India and Bangladesh have reached an agreement that Indian traders will be able to transport goods through the Chittagong and…

Bangladesh police clash with protesters blockading capital

AFP report, July 30, 2023DHAKA: Bangladesh police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse stone-throwing crowds blockading major roads in the capital Dhaka on Saturday in the latest protest demanding the prime minister’s resignation. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have staged a series of protests since last year demanding Sheikh Hasina step down and allow a caretaker government to oversee elections due next January. Clashes erupted in several locations when…

Prime Minister Hasina offers Nepal the use of Bangladesh’s Payra port

by Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, July 29, 2023During a recent meeting between Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina in Italy, the latter offered Nepal its newly-constructed Payra port for third-country trade. Dahal returned from Italy on Friday after attending the United Nations Food Systems Summit plus two Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) held in Rome. The prime minister addressed various sessions and met with the UN Secretary General António Guterres…

BNP finally gets IAB backing

report in The Daily Star, July 16, 2023Both the ruling Awami League and the BNP have been trying to get the Islami Andolon Bangladesh as an ally, but the BNP has finally made it. The Islamist party yesterday expressed its support for BNP’s demand for resignation of the Awami League government. Addressing a rally at Baitul Mukarram masjid, IAB chief Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim said his party would support the peaceful demonstrations of the opposition.…

Bangladesh’s per capita debt Tk 95,019

report in The Daily Star, July 14, 2023Bangladesh’s domestic and external debt stands at around Tk 16.14 lakh crore, according to the latest report of Bangladesh Bank. As a result, the per capita debt of people stands at Tk 95,019. But income is still higher than per capita debt. The current annual per capita income of the people of the country is USD 2,793, which is around Tk 3.3 lakh in Bangladeshi currency. Though Bangladesh…

Yet another attempt at blatant interference in Bangladesh election: Moscow

report in Prothom Alo. July 7, 2023Russia has described the role of several European and American politicians regarding the upcoming election in Bangladesh as neo-colonialism. Moscow sees such types of activities is an “attempt at blatant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia tweeted on Thursday. The tweet said, “We have taken note of certain European and American politicians publishing letters calling for “free and fair”…