Author: Asian Bangla

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the dissolution of parliament yesterday, paving the way for a general election showdown with his old mentor and the country’s most seasoned campaigner, Mahathir Mohamad. Najib is under pressure to deliver an emphatic win for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, as he struggles to appease Malaysians unhappy with rising costs and a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund he founded. The 64-year-old leader is expected to retain power due to a rift in opposition ranks between Mahathir’s bloc and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. But analysts predict a tough fight from Mahathir, who transformed…

Fifteen people were killed on Thursday when a gang of armed men attacked two banks and a police station in the Nigerian town of Offa, police told AFP yesterday. The brazen assault happened in part of Nigeria’s volatile central region, where criminal gangs and cattle rustlers regularly attack security forces. “They attacked the police station and at the same time attacked two banks,” said Kwara state police spokesman Ajayi Okasanmi, adding that nine police and six civilians died in the violence. The gang invaded a busy commercial area where several banks and the police station are located in broad daylight…

The United States struck at the heart of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle yesterday, imposing sanctions on seven of Russia’s most influential oligarchs and stoking a diplomatic crisis that some have dubbed a new Cold War. Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction could now be frozen. Also on the list are tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, under investigation in France over allegations he brought in millions of euros in suitcases full of cash, and…

Facebook yesterday apologised to Myanmar civil society groups who took issue with Mark Zuckerberg’s defence of the platform’s record on curbing hate speech roiling the country. Facebook has been battered by allegations that posts on its site have helped fuel communal bloodshed in Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. On Thursday six Myanmar organisations published an open letter criticising an interview Zuckerberg gave with news site Vox this week. In it he cited examples of both Myanmar Buddhists and Muslims spreading “sensational” messages on Facebook Messenger that warned of imminent violence…

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday invited UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Bangladesh to see for himself the plight of Rohingyas who have taken shelter here amid persecution in Myanmar. She made the invitation when the UN chief phoned her at night. During their conversation, Hasina also sought UN cooperation in implementing the agreement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya repatriation, said PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim. He said the UN chief highly appreciated Bangladesh for its steps over the Rohingya issue. Karim said the UN secretary general phoned the PM at 9:25pm and talked to her for…

The BNP is likely to give the party ticket to the two current mayors of the Gazipur and Khulna city corporations for contesting the upcoming polls, considering their proven loyalty to the party. The party, however, is also keeping other options open. Gazipur city Mayor MA Mannan will get the party blessings if he remains physically fit, while Khulna city Mayor Moniruzzaman Moni is at the top of the list of three prospective party candidates, said BNP insiders. Both the mayors were suspended by the government after they got elected around five years back, and this helped them gain public…

The US Department of State will honour outstanding young leaders from around the world, including Tanzil Ferdous from Bangladesh, on 2 May. The 10 recipients of the third annual ‘Emerging Young Leaders Award’ will be acknowledged in a public ceremony at the State Department for their efforts as partners for peace and drivers of economic growth and opportunity on the day. The 2018 awardees are Sara Abdullah Abdulrahman from Iraq, Diovio Alfath from Indonesia, Ece Ciftci from Turkey, Tanzil Ferdous from Bangladesh, Zina Salim Hassan Hamu from Lithuania, Dania Hassan from Pakistan, Nancy Herz from Norway, Isasiphinkosi Mdingi from South…

Thousands of Palestinians protested along Gaza’s sealed border with Israel on Friday, engulfing the volatile area in black smoke from burning tires to try to block the view of Israeli snipers and cheering a Hamas strongman who pledged that the border fence will eventually fall. Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others – 33 of them seriously – in the second mass border protest in a week, Gaza health officials said. A well-known Palestinian journalist was among the dead, and hundreds of others suffered other injuries, including tear gas inhalation,…

The government has decided to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from next April. The vessels carrying the LNG will anchor at the entrance of the Chattogram port, where Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company Limited (KAFCO) and Chattogram Urea Fertiliser Factory (CUFL) jetties are situated. This will squeeze the space on the port channel. Almost 99 per cent of the container vessels, meant for export and import, use the port channel to enter or leave the port, but vessels carrying LNG create the risk of accidents. Vessel movement will certainly slow down, as the ships have to be more cautious, and this will invariably lead…

Use of public funds for political gains and pervasive corruption in Bangladesh has made the United Nations concerned. This concern was expressed in a report published by the UN committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on Tuesday, following a two-day meeting in Geneva on 14-15 March. State minister for foreign affairs ShahriarAlam presented a country report there. The UN committee further expressed concern over the proposed Digital Security Act, Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 and a few other matters including disparity in society and enforced disappearance. The report appreciated Bangladesh’s attainments in poverty alleviation, increase of per capita income,…