Bangladesh

March 19, 2025 3:37 PM

Bangladesh arrests leader of Rohingya insurgent group on criminal charges

Bangladesh authorities have arrested the leader of a Rohingya Muslim insurgent group, Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, on charges of murder, illegal entry, sabotage and militant activities, police said on Wednesday. Ataullah, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and 10 others were arrested on Tuesday during a raid in Narayanganj district, near Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. According to an International Crisis Group report, Ataullah lead ARSA's violent campaign in 2016 against Myanm...

March 13, 2025 12:10 PM

Moody’s downgrades Bangladesh’s banking outlook to negative

Moody's Ratings downgraded Bangladesh's banking system outlook to negative from stable, citing rising asset risks, political instability and worsening economic conditions. In its latest report released Wednesday, Moody's highlighted key concerns, including escalating asset risks, weakening economic growth, and heightened inflationary pressures that are expected to negatively impact banks' profitability and financial stability. The American credit ratings agency also forecasts that Bangladesh's...

March 13, 2025 12:07 PM

Bangladesh: UN Secretary General arrives Dhaka today on four-day visit

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres is set to arrive on a four-day official visit to Bangladesh today to witness the Rohingya refugee camps situation. This visit is expected to strengthen international efforts to mobilise increased food aid for the Rohingya refugees and to accelerate efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis, according to the statement of Chief Adviser Dr Yunus’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam. Bangladesh Foreign ministry officials said the UN secretary general wil...

March 12, 2025 1:47 PM

Malnutrition reaches alarming levels in Rohingya refugee Camps: UNICEF

Children in the world’s largest refugee camp are experiencing the worst levels of malnutrition since the massive displacement that occurred in 2017, said UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh, Rana Flowers on Tuesday in Geneva during a press briefing. In Cox’s Bazar of Bangladesh, home to over one million Rohingya refugees, including more than 500,000 children, malnutrition levels have reached emergency levels, Unicef said in a statement. Severe acute malnutrition in the Rohingya refugee ca...

March 10, 2025 4:34 PM

Bangladesh Army had no direct communication with UN during July Uprising: ISPR

The Bangladesh Army has said that it did not have any direct communication or request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the comments made by UN High Commissioner Volker Turk in his interview with BBC HARDtalk, according to the Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR). In a press release issued on Monday, ISPR said Bangladesh Army finds it necessary to clarify certain aspects of Turk’s statement to ensure accuracy and transparency. In an interview ...

March 7, 2025 4:16 PM

Bangladesh police use tear gas to disperse Islamist march in Dhaka

Police in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka used tear gas and sound grenades on Friday to disperse hundreds of members of the banned militant group Hizb-ut-Tahrir seeking to march to demand the country's secular democracy be replaced by an Islamic caliphate. Hundreds of activists chanting “Khilafat, Khilafat” gathered for the ‘March for Khilafat’ procession at the Baitul Mukarram Mosque after Friday prayers, defying police barricades. Police were unable to control the crowd and had to use tea...

February 21, 2025 6:11 PM

Bangladesh should not normalize terrorism, says MEA

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, during his meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat earlier this week, conveyed that it is important for Bangladesh to not normalize terrorism, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) revealed on Friday. Jaishankar held a series of meetings with his counterparts from neighboring countries, including Bangladesh, on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat on February 16. While Jaishankar stated that his ...

February 19, 2025 2:23 PM

Sonowal inaugurates inland waterways terminal in Assam, boosting trade with Bhutan, Bangladesh

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Inland Waterways Terminal (IWT) at Jogighopa on Tuesday, marking a milestone in India's inland water transport network. To commemorate the occasion, a vessel with two barges—MV Trishul, accompanied by Barges Ajay and Dikshu—was flagged off, carrying 110 metric tonnes of coal and stone chips to Bangladesh. The foundation stone for the terminal was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2021. Prime Minister Modi hailed the inaugurati...

February 13, 2025 4:32 PM

Human rights violations ongoing in Bangladesh even during interim government’s tenure: OHCHR Report

The United Nations' Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has found that human rights violations in Bangladesh did not occur only during the Awami League era but are also taking place under the interim government’s tenure. This finding was revealed in a fact-finding report made public by the UN agency on Wednesday. Divided into two broad sections, the report states that human rights violations during the interim government's tenure include revenge abuses targeting the police, Awami League members, and ...

February 11, 2025 2:12 PM

Bangladesh opposition says government aims to hold polls by December

Bangladesh is working towards holding general elections by December, the party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said after some of its officials held a meeting with Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government. The South Asian nation has been in charge of a caretaker government led by Nobel Peace laureate Yunus since August, when mass protests forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to neighbouring India. Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Par...