Author: Asian Bangla

Asianbangla, Dhaka : President Abdul Hamid made a unique record in the history of Bangladesh by swearing in as the head of the state for second consecutive term yesterday. He is the first politician in Bangladesh to get re-elected as president after completion of the first term. He is a lucky president for many other reasons. He completed a five-year term without being mired into any controversy. None of his predecessors have had such luck. A seasoned politician and well-known for his sense of humour, Hamid is the seventh elected president after restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991. Seven is…

Asianbangla, London : The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has refused to answer questions about her country’s human rights record. She is in the UK as part of the Commonwealth Summit. This programme has been investigating the many cases of the so-called “missing” in Bangladesh who are political opponents of her government. Alex Thomson (the reporter): There will be a reception for the Bangladesh Prime Minister with the British Prime Minister, but across the day another reception was on the streets of London. But one thing the British Foreign Office these protesters of course and a host of human…

BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Prothom Alo file photo The documents state minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam produced to support his claim that BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman along with his wife and daughter handed over their passports to the British Home Office four years ago are not authentic, BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged on Tuesday. At a press conference at the party office in the city, Fakhrul termed Shahriar’s claims mysterious and said the documents have as many as 13 flaws, which do not go with a UK state entity. The state…

Asianbangla, London : The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has refused to answer questions about her country’s human rights record. She is in the UK as part of the Commonwealth Summit. This programme has been investigating the many cases of the so-called “missing” in Bangladesh who are political opponents of her government. Alex Thomson (the reporter): There will be a reception for the Bangladesh Prime Minister with the British Prime Minister, but across the day another reception was on the streets of London. But one thing the British Foreign Office these protesters of course and a host of human…

Elections are expected in Bangladesh soon, as by law they must take place between October 31 and December 31 this year. This is not an easy prospect either for Bangladesh or for its principal neighbor, India. The previous general election in 2014 was marred by violence and was boycotted by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP). It saw a turnout of just 22%. The international community is hoping that the elections this time around are more credible and help stabilize the polity of this volatile country, which is witnessing the growth of Islamist radicalism. This month, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit…

Asianbangla, Dhaka : In a plastic-roofed shack near an open sewer, Rohingya refugee widow Sufia Khatun is doing all she can to fend for the family she now heads. Her husband, Nur Mohammad, was struck with a machete and killed when he went to investigate smoke and commotion in their Myanmar village in late August. After fleeing to Bangladesh, she now provides for their five children, aged 20 and under, and her grandson. “The main challenge is food … The rations we get every month are not enough to meet our needs, and we have to borrow 10 kilos of…

Seven Myanmar soldiers have been sentenced to ‘10 years in prison with hard labour in a remote area’ for participating in a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in a village in northwestern Rakhine state last September, the army said on Tuesday. The military said in a statement published on Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing’s office Facebook page that seven soldiers have had ‘action taken against them’ for ‘contributing and participating in murder’. The massacre was being investigated by two Reuters journalists – Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 – who were subsequently arrested in December and are still…

Asianbangla Desk : An Algerian military plane crashed near an airport outside the capital Algiers, killing several people on Wednesday, local media and a witness said. More than 100 military personnel were on board the plane when it came down near Boufarik airport, local channel Ennahar TV reported. There was no immediate confirmation from authorities. Television footage showed black smoke billowing near a motorway and a crowd of security officials and others standing in a field next to the crash site. The tail fin of a plane could be seen above olive trees, with smoke and flames rising from the…

Protests for quota reform started with fresh vigor this morning, following last night’s heat and tension at Dhaka University; and now protesters say they will not stop until the government gives out specifics. “We want a specific declaration by Prime Minister Sheikh Haisna,” Nurul Haque, joint convener of the leading platform Bangladesh General Students’ Rights Protection Forum, said in a press conference this morning, after decisions of a united demonstration last night. Placards shunning Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury during processions at Dhaka University on April 11, 2018. Hasan Al Mamun, convener of the forum, placed two fresh demands: expulsion of…

Asianbangla, Dhaka : Thousands of students today blocked two major highways — Dhaka-Rajshahi and Dhaka-Aricha highways — as part of a countrywide demonstration demanding reforms of the quota system in government service recruitment process. Leaders of Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad yesterday called for a nationwide road blockade and strike at universities and colleges from today. The blockade and strike will continue until their demands are met, they said yesterday. Dhaka-Rajshahi highway : The Dhaka-Rajshahi highway remained blocked since morning as several hundred students of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) blocked it in front of the university’s…