Bangladesh Bank and refugee crises defy relief
After a 2.5% first-quarter decline on the MSCI frontier index as the only losing Asian component, Bangladesh shares continued to be shunned by foreign investors on the headline Rohingya refugee influx now at 800,000, and banking sector balance sheet and management woes with bad loans at 10% of the total. Elections are also due this year with the opposition party leader unable to compete under corruption charges, and sporadic street violence erupting among rival political camps amid Islamist terror threats and military takeover rumors. The fifth anniversary of the Rana Plaza garment center collapse, which injured and killed thousands, also focused attention on unresolved worker safety issues in the mainstay export industry, as remittances from abroad remain uncertain with renewed local e...
Suu Kyi ‘should have resigned’
The outgoing UN human rights chief says Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi should have resigned over the military’s violent campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority last year. Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein told the BBC the Nobel Peace prize winner should have considered returning to house arrest rather than excusing the military.
A new UN report says Myanmar’s military should be investigated for genocide. Myanmar has rejected the report as one-sided. The army of the Buddhist-majority nation - which has been accused of systematic ethnic cleansing - has previously cleared itself of wrongdoing.
HRW urges to stop attacks on student protesters, critics
Instead of prosecuting those responsible for unlawfully attacking student protesters demanding road safety, Bangladesh authorities are arresting students and targeting activists and journalists who are highlighting the abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities should order an immediate investigation into reports that renowned photographer and activist, Shahidul Alam, was beaten while in custody. Alam was detained on August 5, 2018, for criticizing the government and its supporters for targeting students.
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Cabinet Okays draft of revised agriculture policy
The cabinet today approved the draft of a revised National Agriculture Policy eying to benefit farmers and attaining food and nutrition security for the people.
The cabinet approval came at its weekly meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports BSS.
“The policy has been framed by upgrading the previous policy of 2013 . . . its prime goal is to make the agriculture sector safe and profitable and attain food and nutrition security,” Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam told a news briefing after the meeting, simultaneously approved in principle the draft of Bangladesh Shishu Academy Act.
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UN starts registering Rohingya refugees
The United Nations(UN) and the Bangladesh government have started formally registering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar, a move that officials say would help their eventual return.
More than 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya have escaped Buddhist-majority Myanmar since last August, when attacks by Muslim insurgents triggered a military offensive that the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies the accusations and has said it waged a legitimate counter-insurgency operation.
The registration programme started jointly by the United Nations High Commissioner for ![]()
