Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus acknowledges recent events may have 'disheartened' India, calls on New Delhi to ensure stronger regional cooperation
The foreign ministry ordered envoys in Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon, New Delhi and the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York to immediately return to the capital, Dhaka
Bangladesh's interim government has recalled envoys from five countries, including India, the UN, and Australia
Bangladesh's chief advisor Muhammad Yunus introduced to an American audience here the brains behind the "meticulously designed" protests that led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina from power. Introducing the students at Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting on Tuesday, where Yunus was welcomed by former US president Bill Clinton, the Nobel laureate suggested the protests against then prime minister Hasina and her Awami League were planned. "These are known to be the brains behind the whole revolution. They look like any other young person, you will not recognise them. But when you see them in action, when you hear them speak, you will be shaking. They shook the whole country," said the 84-year-old Nobel laureate while introducing Bangladeshi student leaders. Yunus specifically pointed towards student activist "Mahfuj Abdullah", and called him the "brains behind the whole revolution". "He denies it repeatedly, he said not me many others. But that's how he is recognised, that he is
The BNP said it would like elections held at the earliest opportunity
Sri Lanka's new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has been noted to have pro-China leanings, and his swearing in comes shortly after pro-India Sheikh Hasina's ouster from power in Bangladesh
Adani Power's Jharkhand plant, which sells its entire output to Bangladesh, is exploring selling power in India. This comes amid reports that Bangladesh may review its pact with the company
Sri Lanka's new leaders must demonstrate they are more responsible than the old guard they revile
Bangladesh's interim government has granted magisterial powers to the Army for two months to improve law and order in the country and prevent "subversive acts". The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification on the government's decision on Tuesday, saying it will be applicable with immediate effect. The powers will be given to commissioned officers of the Army. The order will remain in force for the next 60 days. Section 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or CrPC, which awards Army officers the status of special executive magistrates, says these officers shall be subordinate to the district magistrates, or deputy commissioners, bdnews24.com reported. This authority including arrest and dispersal of unlawful rallies has been conferred upon commissioned officers of the Army. In self-defence and extreme need, the officer can open fire, said an adviser to the interim government on Tuesday, The Daily Star newspaper reported. "We are witnessing subversive acts and disru
Bangladesh faced civil unrest and violence last month following a student-led protest against the quota system in government jobs, leading to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
A fresh case has been filed against Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 58 others on the charges of attempting to murder a student during the violent clashes that led to the fall of her government last month, a media report said on Sunday. It was the latest in the slew of cases filed against the 76-year-old former premier, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs. The case was filed on Friday by 22-year-old Fahim Faisal, who claimed he was shot and injured during an anti-government protest in Dinajpur on August 4, a day before the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, The Daily Star newspaper reported. With this, the tally of cases against Hasina has reached 155, including 136 for murder, seven for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, eight for attempted murder and one for the attack on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party procession, the repor
Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia was admitted to a private hospital in the early hours of Thursday, according to a media report. The 79-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson arrived at the Evercare Hospital from her Gulshan residence around 1:40 am, BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune newspaper. Her physician, Professor AZM Zahid Hossain, said the medical board has recommended several tests and she has been placed in a private cabin following her admission to the hospital. The next course of her treatment will be determined after reviewing the test results, he said. On August 21, Zia had returned home after 45 days treatment at the same hospital. The former prime minister, who was under house arrest for the past five years, was freed by an order of Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin on August 6. She was acquitted of all charges against her following the fall of the Awami League government led by he
Bangladesh will take necessary steps to extradite deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India to try her on charges of mass killings during the student-led mass movement against her government, the newly-appointed chief prosecutor of the country's International Crimes Tribunal said on Sunday. Following unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India. Necessary steps will be taken to bring former prime minister Hasina back under the extradition treaty with India to try her on charges of mass killings during the student-led protests in July and August, International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper. "We will file an application with the International Crimes Tribunal, when it resumes functions, to issue arrest warrants against all the absconding accused including Sheikh Hasina in connection with the cases filed for mass killing and crimes against ...
With the possible exception of Bhutan, India is relatively friendless in South Asia at the moment. Does that matter? Perhaps not, given our sheer size
Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed the country's Chief Adviser after Hasina's ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she be
Chief Adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is exaggerated and questioned the manner in which India projected it. In an interview with PTI at his official residence here, Yunus said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal. He suggested that the attacks were not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime. I have said this to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi also that this is exaggerated. This issue has several dimensions. When the country went through an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those who were with them also faced attacks, the Nobel laureate told PTI. The minority Hindu population faced vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as the destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that erupted followi
Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed the country's Chief Advisor after Hasina's ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she be
A month ago, a student-led movement ousted Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, after weeks of protests and clashes that killed over 600 people and pushed the country to the brink of chaos. What began as student protests over government jobs became a large-scale revolt against the country's longest-serving prime minister. Hasina, 76, fled to India on Aug. 5 as anger against her government swelled. But the ouster triggered more violence. Police went on strike and mobs rampaged across the country until a new interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in. Here is where things stand now, a month after the country was roiled by its worst bloodshed in decades: What is the interim government focused on? Since he was sworn in, Yunus declared that his key tasks would be to restore peace and law and order, fight corruption, and prepare for new elections. His Cabinet, which includes two student leaders who spearheaded the protests, has fixed its sig
Two more murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, taking the total number of cases to 94, a media report said on Wednesday. The 76-year-old Awami League leader, who resigned and fled to India last month, has had a slew of cases filed against her mostly for murders during the mass student protests against a controversial quota system in government jobs. Hasina is now facing at least 94 cases, mostly for murders during the mass student protests. On Wednesday, Hasina and 26 others were booked over the killing of a resident of Dhaka during the protests on July 19, The Daily Star newspaper reported. The victim's wife filed the case in the Court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Afnan Sumi, who asked the Police Bureau of Investigation to submit a report after an investigation. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader and several leaders and activists of Awami League and its front organisations are
Sept 5 marks a month since Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh