Lured by jobs, Bangladeshis end up slaves in Thai jungles
Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi nationals in pursuit of jobs in Malaysia are believed to have fallen victim to the modern-day slave trade, amid claims of rampant human trafficking activities over the porous Malaysia-Thailand border, according to The Daily Star today.
The Bangladesh-based English newspaper claimed that at least 250,000 Bangladeshis have been held in the jungles of Thailand for ransom over the past eight years, squeezing their families of anything between TK200,000 (RM9,200) to TK350,000 Bangladeshi Taka for each captive.
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Bill on boundary deal with Bangladesh to be deferred
A statute amendment bill to operationalise the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh has been deferred for the time being with Congress opposing tooth and nail the exclusion of Assam from its ambit.
Sources said the government had planned to bring the bill in Raj ya Saba May 5, first day of the last week of Budget session.
It is learnt that the issue also came at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha today, where Congress opposed the government’s move.
While the government has got various states, including Trinam...
Sources said the government had planned to bring the bill in Raj ya Saba May 5, first day of the last week of Budget session.
It is learnt that the issue also came at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha today, where Congress opposed the government’s move.
While the government has got various states, including Trinam...
Bangladesh: Where free spirits are not so free
Press without freedom is propaganda. Sadly, the press in Bangladesh is rarely independent of political influence or financial control, writes Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam.
Despite these realities a press that finds itself fettered by controls - outside the ethical restrictions that responsible journalism demands - fails in the final analysis to gain the trust of the public or to 
influence public opinion. The public is no longer restricted to a single news outlet. From word of mouth to watchdog blogs, there are al...
influence public opinion. The public is no longer restricted to a single news outlet. From word of mouth to watchdog blogs, there are al...
2 US diplomats due in city
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal will arrive in Dhaka on Thursday to attend a dialogue with high government officials.
Under Secretary Sherman will lead a US delegation to the two-day fourth annual US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue beginning tomorrow.
Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque will lead the Bangladesh delegation, which will be comprised by the representatives from the ministries and divisi...
Under Secretary Sherman will lead a US delegation to the two-day fourth annual US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue beginning tomorrow.
Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque will lead the Bangladesh delegation, which will be comprised by the representatives from the ministries and divisi...
City polls full of fraudulent practices: EWG
Polls monitoring body Election Working Group (EWG) on Wednesday said Tuesday’s elections in Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations were full of fraudulent practices and violence.
“For the misdeeds that were committed during the voting in Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations have made the process not at all 
trustworthy to us,” EWG director Abdul Alim said reading out a statement during a briefing at the National Press Club.
The EWG’s observers stationed in 619 polling centers during the ballot came up with common observations – intimidation o...
trustworthy to us,” EWG director Abdul Alim said reading out a statement during a briefing at the National Press Club.
The EWG’s observers stationed in 619 polling centers during the ballot came up with common observations – intimidation o...
WB-funded projects plagued by corruption
The World Bank-financed several developing projects have allegedly been marred by graft, angering the bank that asked the government to return the funds by June this year.
Due to unfair tendering and procurement processes, some projects ended up in the hands of unqualified companies which failed to execute them at the required level, officials said.
The largest multilateral lending agency recently wrote to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) about the projects afflicted by corruption as procurement and bidding processes were not followed in accordan...
Due to unfair tendering and procurement processes, some projects ended up in the hands of unqualified companies which failed to execute them at the required level, officials said.
The largest multilateral lending agency recently wrote to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) about the projects afflicted by corruption as procurement and bidding processes were not followed in accordan...
